Family change theory: A preliminary evaluation on the basis of recent cross-cultural studies

Family change theory (Kagitcibasi, 1996, 2007) is an approach which can be used to explain how modernisation and globalisation processes affect the family. The most important assumption of the theory is that when traditional interdependent cultures modernise, they need not necessarily develop in the direction of the independent family model typical of Western individualistic societies. Instead, they may develop towards a family model of emotional interdependence that combines continuing emotional interdependencies in the family with declining material interdependencies and with rising personal autonomy. In this chapter a preliminary evaluation of the empirical status of family change theory is given based on a review of recent cross-cultural studies. It will be shown to what extent the few studies that have been systematically conducted in this respect have found results either supporting or not supporting aspects ofthe theory, and where the strengths and problems of this research lie.

Stakeholder analysis combined with social network analysis provides fine-grained insights into water infrastructure planning processes

Environmental policy and decision-making are characterized by complex interactions between different actors and sectors. As a rule, a stakeholder analysis is performed to understand those involved, but it has been criticized for lacking quality and consistency. This lack is remedied here by a formal social network analysis that investigates collaborative and multi-level governance settings in a rigorous way. We examine the added value of combining both elements. Our case study examines infrastructure planning in the Swiss water sector. Water supply and wastewater infrastructures are planned far into the future, usually on the basis of projections of past boundary conditions. They affect many actors, including the population, and are expensive. In view of increasing future dynamics and climate change, a more participatory and long-term planning approach is required. Our specific aims are to investigate fragmentation in water infrastructure planning, to understand how actors from different decision levels and sectors are represented, and which interests they follow. We conducted 27 semi-structured interviews with local stakeholders, but also cantonal and national actors. The network analysis confirmed our hypothesis of strong fragmentation: we found little collaboration between the water supply and wastewater sector (confirming horizontal fragmentation), and few ties between local, cantonal, and national actors (confirming vertical fragmentation). Infrastructure planning is clearly dominated by engineers and local authorities. Little importance is placed on longer-term strategic objectives and integrated catchment planning, but this was perceived as more important in a second analysis going beyond typical questions of stakeholder analysis. We conclude that linking a stakeholder analysis, comprising rarely asked questions, with a rigorous social network analysis is very fruitful and generates complementary results. This combination gave us deeper insight into the socio-political-engineering world of water infrastructure planning that is of vital importance to our well-being.

Significance of telecoupling for exploration of land-use change

Land systems are increasingly influenced by distal connections: the externalities and unintended consequences of social and ecological processes which occur in distant locations, and the feedback mechanisms that lead to new institutional developments and governance arrangements. Economic globalization and urbanization accentuate these novel telecoupling relationships. The prevalence of telecoupling in land systems demands new approaches to research and analysis in land science. This chapter presents a working definition of a telecoupled system, emphasizing the role of governance and institutional change in telecoupled interactions. The social, institutional, and ecological processes and conditions through which telecoupling emerges are described. The analysis of these relationships in land science demands both integrative and diverse epistemological perspectives and methods. Such analyses require a focus on how the motivations and values of social actors relate to telecoupling processes, as well as on the mechanisms that produce unanticipated outcomes and feedback relationships among distal land systems.

Response of subfossil Cladocera in Gerzensee (Swiss Plateau) to early Late Glacial environmental change

Sub-fossil Cladocera were studied in a core from Gerzensee (Swiss Plateau) for the late-glacial periods of Oldest Dryas, Bølling, and Allerød. Cladocera assemblages were dominated by cold-tolerant littoral taxa Chydorus sphaericus, Acroperus harpae, Alonella nana, Alona affinis, and Alonella excisa. The rapid warming at the beginning of the Bølling (GI-1e) ca. 14,650 yr before present (BP: before AD 1950) was indicated by an abrupt 2‰ shift in carbonate δ18O and a clear change in pollen assemblages. Cladocera assemblages, in contrast, changed more gradually. C. sphaericus and A. harpae are the most cold-tolerant, and their abundance was highest in the earliest part of the record. Only 150–200 years after the beginning of the Bølling warming we observed an increase in less cold-tolerant A. excisa and A. affinis. The establishment of Alona guttata, A. guttata var. tuberculata, and Pleuroxus unicatus was delayed by ca. 350, 770, and 800 years respectively after the onset of the Bølling. The development of the Cladocera assemblages suggests increasing water temperatures during the Bølling/Allerød, which agrees with the interpretation by von Grafenstein et al. (2013-this issue) that decreasing δ18O values in carbonates in this period reflect increasing summer water temperatures at the sediment–water interface. Other processes also affected the Cladocera community, including the development and diversification of aquatic vegetation favourable for Cladocera. The record is clearly dominated by Chydoridae, as expected for a littoral core. Yet, the planktonic Eubosmina-group occurred throughout the core, with the exception of a period at ca. 13,760–13,420 yr BP. Lake levels reconstructed for this period are relatively low, indicating that the littoral location might have become too shallow for Eubosmina in that period.

Spatial cognition, body representation and affective processes: the role of vestibular information beyond ocular reflexes and control of posture

A growing number of studies in humans demonstrate the involvement of vestibular information in tasks that are seemingly remote from well-known functions such as space constancy or postural control. In this review article we point out three emerging streams of research highlighting the importance of vestibular input: (1) Spatial Cognition: Modulation of vestibular signals can induce specific changes in spatial cognitive tasks like mental imagery and the processing of numbers. This has been shown in studies manipulating body orientation (changing the input from the otoliths), body rotation (changing the input from the semicircular canals), in clinical findings with vestibular patients, and in studies carried out in microgravity. There is also an effect in the reverse direction; top-down processes can affect perception of vestibular stimuli. (2) Body Representation: Numerous studies demonstrate that vestibular stimulation changes the representation of body parts, and sensitivity to tactile input or pain. Thus, the vestibular system plays an integral role in multisensory coordination of body representation. (3) Affective Processes and Disorders: Studies in psychiatric patients and patients with a vestibular disorder report a high comorbidity of vestibular dysfunctions and psychiatric symptoms. Recent studies investigated the beneficial effect of vestibular stimulation on psychiatric disorders, and how vestibular input can change mood and affect. These three emerging streams of research in vestibular science are—at least in part—associated with different neuronal core mechanisms. Spatial transformations draw on parietal areas, body representation is associated with somatosensory areas, and affective processes involve insular and cingulate cortices, all of which receive vestibular input. Even though a wide range of different vestibular cortical projection areas has been ascertained, their functionality still is scarcely understood.

Volitional processes and daily smoking: Examining inter- and intraindividual associations around a quit attempt

The Health Action Process Approach (HAPA) assumes that volitional processes are important for effective behavioral change. However, intraindividual associations have not yet been tested in the context of smoking cessation. This study examined the inter- and intraindividual associations between volitional HAPA variables and daily smoking before and after a quit attempt. Overall, 100 smokers completed daily surveys on mobile phones from 10 days before until 21 days after a self-set quit date, including self-efficacy, action planning, action control, and numbers of cigarettes smoked. Negative associations between volitional variables and daily numbers of cigarettes smoked emerged at the inter- and intraindividual level. Except for interindividual action planning, associations were stronger after the quit date than before the quit date. Self-efficacy, planning and action control were identified as critical inter- and intraindividual processes in smoking cessation, particularly after a self-set quit attempt when actual behavior change is performed.

Coalition Structures and Policy Change in a Consensus Democracy

This paper studies the relation between coalition structures in policy processes and policy change. While different factors such as policy images, learning processes, external events, or venue shopping are important to explain policy change, coalition structures within policy processes are often neglected. However, policy change happens as a result of negotiations and coordination among coalitions within policy processes. The paper analyzes how conflict, collaboration, and power relations among coalitions of actors influence policy change in an institutional context of a consensus democracy. Empirically, I rely on a Qualitative Comparative Analysis to conduct a cross-sector comparison of the 11 most important policy processes in Switzerland between 2001 and 2006. Coalition structures with low conflict and strong collaboration among coalitions as well as structures with dominant coalitions and weak collaboration both facilitate major policy change. Competing coalitions that are separated by strong conflict but still collaborate strongly produce policy outputs that are close to the status quo.

The late Miocene to Holocene erosion pattern of the Alpine foreland basin reflects Eurasian slab unloading beneath the western Alps rather than global climate change

We synthesized published data on the erosion of the Alpine foreland basin and apatite fission-track ages from the Alps to infer the erosional sediment budget history for the past 5 m.y. The data reveal that erosion of the Alpine foreland basin is highest in front of the western Alps (between 2 and 0.6 km) and decreases eastward over a distance of 700 km to the Austrian foreland basin (similar to 200 m). For the western Alps, erosion rates are >0.6 km/m.y., while erosion rates for the eastern foreland basin and the adjacent eastern Alps are <0.1 km/m.y., except for a small-scale signal in the Tauern Window. The results yield a large ellipsoidal, orogen-crossing pattern of erosion, centered along the western Alps. We suggest that accelerated erosion of the western Alps and their foreland basin occurred in response to regional-scale surface uplift, related to lithospheric unloading of the Eurasian slab along the Eurasian-Adriatic plate boundary. While we cannot rule out recent views that global climate change led to substantial erosion of the European Alps since 5 Ma, we postulate that regional-scale tectonic processes have driven erosion during this time, modulated by an increased erosional flux in response to Quaternary glaciations.

Adapting agricultural water governance to climate change: Experiences from Germany, Spain and California

This study describes and discusses initiatives taken by public (water) agencies in the state of Brandenburg in Germany, the state of California in the USA and the Ebro River Basin in Spain in response to the challenges which climate change poses for the agricultural water sector. The drivers and actors and the process of changing agricultural water governance are its particular focus. The assumptions discussed are: (i) the degree of planned and anticipatory top-down implementation processes decreases if actions are more decentralized and are introduced at the regional and local level; (ii) the degree of autonomous and responsive adaptation approaches seems to grow with actions at a lower administrative level. Looking at processes of institutional change, a variety of drivers and actors are at work such as changing perceptions of predicted climate impacts; international obligations which force politicians to take action; socio-economic concerns such as the cost of not taking action; the economic interests of the private sector. Drivers are manifold and often interact and, in many cases, reforms in the sector are driven by and associated with larger reform agendas. The results of the study may serve as a starting point in assisting water agencies in developing countries with the elaboration of coping strategies for tackling climate change-induced risks related to agricultural water management.

Revealing regional deforestation dynamics in north-eastern Madagascar - Insights from multi-temporal land cover change analysis

The north-eastern escarpment of Madagascar harbours the island’s last remaining large-scale humid forest massifs surrounded by a small-scale agricultural mosaic. There is high deforestation, commonly thought to be caused by shifting cultivation practiced by local land users to produce upland rice. However, little is known about the dynamics between forest and shifting cultivation systems at a regional level. Our study presents a first attempt to quantify changes in the extent of forest and different agricultural land cover classes, and to identify the main dynamics of land cover change for two intervals, 1995–2005 and 2005–2011. Over the 16-year study period, the speed of forest loss increased, the total area of upland rice production remained almost stable, and the area of irrigated rice fields slightly increased. While our findings seem to confirm a general trend of land use intensification, deforestation through shifting cultivation is still on the rise. Deforestation mostly affects the small forest fragments interspersed in the agricultural mosaic and is slowly leading to a homogenization of the landscape. These findings have important implications for future interventions to slow forest loss in the region, as the processes of agricultural expansion through shifting cultivation versus intensified land use cannot per se be considered mutually exclusive.

Dimensions of Global Change in African Mountains: The Example of Mount Kenya

This paper discusses the effects of global change in African mountains, with the example of Mount Kenya. The geographical focus is the northwestern, semi-arid foot zone of the mountain (Laikipia District). Over the past 50 years, this area has experienced rapid and profound transformation, the respective processes of which are all linked to global change. The main driving forces behind these processes have been political and economic in nature. To these an environmental change factor has been added in recent years – climate change. After introducing the area of research, the paper presents three dimensions of global change that are manifested in the region and largely shape its development: Socio-political change, economic change, environmental change. For the regions northwest of Mount Kenya, climate models predict important changes in rainfall distribution that will have a profound impact on freshwater availability and management. The results presented here are based on research undertaken northwest of Mount Kenya within the framework of a series of long-term Kenyan-Swiss research programmes that began in the early 1980s.

Explaining Endogenous Control Change in Outsourced Software Projects

Given the centrality of control for achieving success in outsourced software projects, past research has identified key exogenous factors that determine the choice of controls. This view of exogenously driven control choice is based on a number of assumptions; particularly, clients and vendors are seen as separate cognitive entities that combat opportunistic threats under environmental uncertainty by one-off choices or infrequent revisions of controls. In this paper we complement this perspective by acknowledging that an outsourced software project may be characterized as a collective, evolving process faced with the challenge of coping with cognitive limitations of both client and vendor through a continuous process of learning. We argue that if viewed in this way, controls are less subject of a deliberate choice but rather are subject of endogenously driven change, i.e. controls evolve in close interaction with the evolving software project. Accordingly, we suggest a complementary model of endogenous control, where controls mediate individual and collective learning processes. Our research contributes to a better understanding of the dynamics in outsourced software projects. It also spells out methodological implications that may help improve cross-section control research.

Monitoring the temporal development of natural hazard risks as a basis indicator for climate change adaptation.

The potential effects of climatic changes on natural risks are widely discussed. But the formulation of strategies for adapting risk management practice to climate changes requires knowledge of the related risks for people and economic values. The main goals of this work were (1) the development of a method for analysing and comparing risks induced by different natural hazard types, (2) highlighting the most relevant natural hazard processes and related damages, (3) the development of an information system for the monitoring of the temporal development of natural hazard risk and (4) the visualisation of the resulting information for the wider public. A comparative exposure analysis provides the basis for pointing out the hot spots of natural hazard risks in the province of Carinthia, Austria. An analysis of flood risks in all municipalities provides the basis for setting the priorities in the planning of flood protection measures. The methods form the basis for a monitoring system that periodically observes the temporal development of natural hazard risks. This makes it possible firstly to identify situations in which natural hazard risks are rising and secondly to differentiate between the most relevant factors responsible for the increasing risks. The factors that most influence the natural risks could be made evident.

Parks of the future: Protected areas in Europe challenging regional and global change

Climate change, declines in biodiversity, increasing consumption of resources, urbanisation, urban sprawl and demographic change continue to challenge theregions of Europe. In response to these processes of regional and global change, there has been an unmistakeable boom in parks in Europe since the 1990s. Morethan a fifth of the continent is now protected using designations such as regionalnature parks, national parks, UNESCO Biosphere Reserves and World Heritagesites. The responsibilities of these areas are usually diverse and, in addition tonature protection and the conservation of cultural landscapes, increasingly involvethe promotion of sustainable development. In the 22 chapters of this volume, 28 authors from all over Europe analyse and comment on experiences of tackling the challenges of regional and global changein parks. They illustrate discussions with selected case studies and deal with keyissues of current protected area policy: How do parks address the pending challengesand what successes have they had thus far? What pioneering approaches are there in spatial planning and regional development? Which forms of park managementand governance are most promising? This informative and well-illustratedbook also considers which tasks will be assumed by parks in the future and whatroles parks may play in the debate concerning transformations required to promotesustainability in Europe.