Acting, predicting and intervening in a socio-hydrological world

This paper asks a simple question: if humans and their actions co-evolve with hydrological systems (Sivapalan et al., 2012), what is the role of hydrological scientists, who are also humans, within this system? To put it more directly, as traditionally there is a supposed separation of scientists and society, can we maintain this separation as socio-hydrologists studying a socio-hydrological world? This paper argues that we cannot, using four linked sections. The first section draws directly upon the concern of science-technology studies to make a case to the (socio-hydrological) community that we need to be sensitive to constructivist accounts of science in general and socio-hydrology in particular. I review three positions taken by such accounts and apply them to hydrological science, supported with specific examples: (a) the ways in which scientific activities frame socio-hydrological research, such that at least some of the knowledge that we obtain is constructed by precisely what we do; (b) the need to attend to how socio-hydrological knowledge is used in decision-making, as evidence suggests that hydrological knowledge does not flow simply from science into policy; and (c) the observation that those who do not normally label themselves as socio-hydrologists may actually have a profound knowledge of socio-hydrology. The second section provides an empirical basis for considering these three issues by detailing the history of the practice of roughness parameterisation, using parameters like Manning's n, in hydrological and hydraulic models for flood inundation mapping. This history sustains the third section that is a more general consideration of one type of socio-hydrological practice: predictive modelling. I show that as part of a socio-hydrological analysis, hydrological prediction needs to be thought through much more carefully: not only because hydrological prediction exists to help inform decisions that are made about water management; but also because those predictions contain assumptions, the predictions are only correct in so far as those assumptions hold, and for those assumptions to hold, the socio-hydrological system (i.e. the world) has to be shaped so as to include them. Here, I add to the ``normal'' view that ideally our models should represent the world around us, to argue that for our models (and hence our predictions) to be valid, we have to make the world look like our models. Decisions over how the world is modelled may transform the world as much as they represent the world. Thus, socio-hydrological modelling has to become a socially accountable process such that the world is transformed, through the implications of modelling, in a fair and just manner. This leads into the final section of the paper where I consider how socio-hydrological research may be made more socially accountable, in a way that is both sensitive to the constructivist critique (Sect. 1), but which retains the contribution that hydrologists might make to socio-hydrological studies. This includes (1) working with conflict and controversy in hydrological science, rather than trying to eliminate them; (2) using hydrological events to avoid becoming locked into our own frames of explanation and prediction; (3) being empirical and experimental but in a socio-hydrological sense; and (4) co-producing socio-hydrological predictions. I will show how this might be done through a project that specifically developed predictive models for making interventions in river catchments to increase high river flow attenuation. Therein, I found myself becoming detached from my normal disciplinary networks and attached to the co-production of a predictive hydrological model with communities normally excluded from the practice of hydrological science.

Extension des prestations de type "équipe mobile" aux foyers socio-éducatifs: projet pilote dans le canton de Vaud [Extension of mobile team services to socio-educational home: pilot project in the Vaud canton].

L'objectif principal de ce projet d'extension des prestations, de type Antenne d'intervention dans le milieu pour enfants et adolescents (AIMEA) aux foyers socio-éducatifs pour l'ensemble du canton de Vaud, vise à décloisonner les champs socio-éducatifs et pédopsychiatriques. 64 patients ont fait l'objet d'une évaluation au cours de la phase pilote (après une année de fonctionnement). De plus, une enquête de satisfaction a été effectuée soit à la fin du suivi, soit à la fin de la phase pilote de ce projet (au 31.12.2012). Cette expérience très positive, relevée par une grande majorité des acteurs impliqués dans la prise en charge socio-éducative et pédopsychiatrique des mineurs, suscite un désir d'extension des prestations de type équipe mobile à d'autres structures ou à d'autres types de situations. The main objective of this project about mobile team service extension to the socio-educational home of the whole Vaud canton targets to decompartmentalize the socio-educational and youth-psychiatry domains. 64 patient were assessed during this pilot phase (after one-year functioning). In addition, a satisfaction survey was done either at the end of the follow up or at the end of the pilot phase of the project (31.12.2012). This experience was very positive as highlighted by the vast majority of the person involved in the socio-educational and youth-psychiatric domains taking care of youth. A desire of extension of mobile team service to other institutional structure or other situations was expressed.

Excess winter deaths caused by cardiovascular diseases are associated with both mild winter temperature and socio-economic inequalities in the U.S.

Mortality from cardiovascular diseases (CVD) exhibits seasonal variation. For example, 30% more deaths occurred in winter compared to summer in a multicountry study [1]. The effect of cold temperature on several CVD risk factors and on seasonal influenza infection may partially underlie this seasonal variation [2] and [3]. However an unexplained paradox has been observed: seasonality in CVD mortality is larger in temperate mid-latitude countries (e.g. Portugal) than in colder northern countries (e.g. Scandinavian countries) [1]. This paradox has also been previously observed in Europe for overall mortality, and it may relate to uneven proportions between countries of people who are unable to adequately protect themselves against cold due to low socio-economic status (SES), e.g. inadequate clothing, housing insulation and heating systems [4] and [5]. We hypothesized that the seasonal variability in CVD mortality is larger in low socio-economic U.S. states experiencing mild winters compared to high socio-economic states experiencing cold winters.

La collaboration interprofessionnelle à l'interface des institutions socio-éducative et psychiatrique. Jeux et enjeux de l'intervention auprès de personnes en situation de handicap mental et de troubles psychiques

La prise en charge et le suivi de personnes en situation de handicap mental souffrant de troubles psychiques et se trouvant donc à l'interface des domaines socio:éducatif et psychiatrique, constituent des défis complexes en matière de collaboration interprofessionnelle. Dans le canton de Vaud, les acteurs concernés par ce problème s'efforcent depuis de nombreuses années de créer des réseaux pluridisciplinaires visant un meilleur échange entre professionnels et le développement de compétences et de connaissances permettant d'améliorer le bien:être des bénéficiaires. Ce travail se propose ainsi d'étudier et de questionner ces modalités de travail dans une perspective socioculturelle (Vygotski, 1934/1997), afin d'en comprendre le fonctionnement, d'en éclairer les mécanismes et de fournir des pistes de réflexion aux professionnels. Il repose sur un travail de terrain mené auprès des membres du Dispositif de Collaboration Psychiatrie Handicap Mental (DCPHM) du Département de psychiatrie du CHUV, dont la mission principale est de faciliter la collaboration entre les institutions socio:éducatives et psychiatriques spécialisées dans le suivi des personnes en situation de handicap mental et souffrant de troubles psychiques. Le travail empirique est basé sur une approche qualitative et compréhensive des interactions sociales, et procède par une étude de terrain approfondie. Les données recueillies sont variées : notes de terrain et récolte de documentation, enregistrement de réunions d'équipe au sein du DCPHM et de réunions de réseau, et entretiens de différents types. L'analyse montre que le travail de collaboration qui incombe à l'équipe est constitué d'obstacles qui sont autant d'occasions de développement professionnel et de construction identitaire. Les résultats mettent en lumière des mécanismes discursifs de catégorisation concourant à la fois à la construction des patients comme objets d'activité, et à la construction d'une place qui légitime les interventions de l'équipe dans le paysage socio:éducatif et psychiatrique vaudois et la met au centre de l'arène professionnelle. -- Care and follow:up for people with mental disabilities suffering from psychological disorders : therefore at the interface between the socio:educational and psychiatric fields : represent complex challenges in terms of interprofessional collaboration. In the canton of Vaud, the caregivers involved in this issue have been trying for years to build multidisciplinary networks in order to better exchange between professionals and develop skills and knowledge to improve the recipients' well:being. This work thus proposes to study and question these working methods in a sociocultural perspective (Vygotski, 1934/1997) so as to understand how they operate, highlight inherent mechanisms and provide actionable insights to the professionals. It is based on fieldwork conducted among members of the Dispositif de Collaboration Psychiatrie Handicap Mental (DCPHM), of the Psychiatry Department at the CHUV University Hospital in Lausanne, whose main mission is to facilitate collaboration between the socio:educational and psychiatric institutions specialising in monitoring people presenting with both mental handicap and psychiatric disorder. The empirical work is based on a qualitative and comprehensive approach to social interactions, and conducted based on an in:depth field study. The data collected are varied - field notes and documentation collection, recordings of team meetings within the DCPHM and network meetings, and various types of interviews. The analysis shows that the collaborative work that befalls the team consists of obstacles, all of which provide opportunities for professional development and identity construction. The results highlight discursive strategies of categorisation which contribute both to the construction of the patients as objects of activity and to building a position that legitimates the team's interventions in the socio: educational and psychiatric landscape of canton Vaud and puts it in the centre of the professional arena.

Regional differences of physical activity and sedentary behaviour in Swiss children are not explained by socio-demographics or the built environment.

OBJECTIVE: We evaluated whether regional differences in physical activity (PA) and sedentary behaviour (SB) existed along language boundaries within Switzerland and whether potential differences would be explained by socio-demographics or environmental characteristics. METHODS: We combined data of 611 children aged 4 to 7 years from four regional studies. PA and SB were assessed by accelerometers. Information about the socio-demographic background was obtained by questionnaires. Objective neighbourhood attributes could be linked to home addresses. Multivariate regression models were used to test associations between PA and SB and socio-demographic characteristics and neighbourhood attributes. RESULTS: Children from the German compared to the French-speaking region were more physically active and less sedentary (by 10-15 %, p < 0.01). Although German-speaking children lived in a more favourable environment and a higher socioeconomic neighbourhood (differences p < 0.001), these characteristics did not explain the differences in PA behaviour between French and German speaking. CONCLUSIONS: Factors related to the language region, which might be culturally rooted were among the strongest correlates of PA and SB among Swiss children, independent of individual, social and environmental factors.

Brain Connections Associated With Socio-Cognitive Skills in Preterm and Low Birth Weight School Age Children

Identification of neuroimaging biomarkers following extreme prematurity (EP) and intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) is crucial for understanding their cognitive and behavioral impairments at school age

Bien-être et croyance en un monde juste en ex-Yougoslavie: traces laissées par les guerres et la précarité socio-économique

RÉSUMÉ En combinant la perspective du parcours de vie à la théorie du stress et selon une approche psychosociale, cette thèse montre comment les expériences individuelles et collectives de victimisation ont marqué les parcours de vie, les croyances et le bien-être d'une cohorte de jeunes adultes ayant traversé les guerres en ex-Yougoslavie. Le premier article applique des analyses de courbes de croissance à classes latentes et dégage différentes trajectoires d'exclusion entre 1990 et 2006. L'analyse de ces trajectoires met en évidence les intersections entre vies individuelles, contexte et temps socio-historique et démontre que les expériences de guerre et les périodes d'exclusion socio-économique laissent des traces sur le bien-être à long terme. Les deuxième et troisième articles montrent que la croyance en un monde juste est ébranlée suite à des expériences de précarité socio-économique et de victimisation dues à la guerre au niveau individuel et contextuel. Un effet curvilinéaire et des interactions entre les niveaux indiquent que ces relations varient en fonction de l'intensité de la victimisation au niveau contextuel. Des effets de récence sont aussi relevés. Le quatrième article démontre que l'impact négatif de la victimisation sur le bien-être est en partie expliqué par un effritement de la croyance en un monde juste. De plus, si les individus qui croient davantage en un monde juste sont plus satisfaits de leur vie, la force de ce lien varie en fonction du niveau de victimisation dans certains contextes. Cette thèse présente un modèle multiniveaux dynamique dans lequel la croyance en un monde juste n'exerce plus le rôle de ressource personnelle stable mais s'érode face à la victimisation, entraînant ainsi un bien-être moindre. Ce travail souligne l'importance d'articuler les niveaux individuels et contextuels et de considérer la dimension temporelle pour expliquer les liens entre victimisation, croyance en un monde juste et bien-être. ABSTRACT By combining a life course perspective to stress theory and according to a psychosocial approach, this thesis shows how individual and collective victimisation experiences marked the life course, beliefs and well-being of a cohort of young adults who lived through the wars in former Yugoslavia. In the first article, latent class growth analyses were applied to identify different exclusion trajectories between 1990 and 2006. The analysis of these trajectories highlighted the intersections between individual lives, socio-historical context and time and demonstrated that experiences of war and socio-economic exclusion leave traces on well-being in the long term. The second and third articles showed that the belief in a just world was shattered due to socio-economic precariousness and war victimisation at individual and contextual levels. A curvilinear effect and cross-level interactions indicated that these relations varied according to the intensity of victimisation at the contextual level. Time effects were also noted. The fourth article showed that the negative impact of victimisation on well-being was partly explained by an erosion of the belief in a just world. Furthermore, if high believers were more satisfied with their lives, the strength of this relation varied depending on the level of victimisation in particular contexts. This thesis presents a multilevel dynamic model in which the belief in a just world no longer exercises the role of a stable personal resource but erodes in the face of victimisation, leading to a lower well-being. This work stresses the importance of articulating individual and contextual levels as well as considering the temporal dimension to explain the links between victimisation, belief in a just world and well-being.