“I know, therefore I adapt?” Complexities of individual adaptation to climate-induced forest dieback in Alaska

Individual actions to avoid, benefit from, or cope with climate change impacts partly shape adaptation; much research on adaptation has focused at the systems level, overlooking drivers of individual responses. Theoretical frameworks and empirical studies of environmental behavior identify a complex web of cognitive, affective, and evaluative factors that motivate stewardship. We explore the relationship between knowledge of, and adaptation to, widespread, climate-induced tree mortality to understand the cognitive (i.e., knowledge and learning), affective (i.e., attitudes and place attachment), and evaluative (i.e., use values) factors that influence how individuals respond to climate-change impacts. From 43 semistructured interviews with forest managers and users in a temperate forest, we identified distinct responses to local, climate-induced environmental changes that we then categorized as either behavioral or psychological adaptations. Interviewees developed a depth of knowledge about the dieback through a combination of direct, place-based experiences and indirect, mediated learning through social interactions. Knowing that the dieback was associated with climate change led to different adaptive responses among the interviewees, although knowledge alone did not explain this variation. Forest users reported psychological adaptations to process negative attitudes; these adaptations were spurred by knowledge of the causes, losses of intangible values, and impacts to a species to which they held attachment. Behavioral adaptations exclusive to a high level of knowledge included actions such as using the forests to educate others or changing transportation behaviors to reduce personal energy consumption. Managers integrated awareness of the dieback and its dynamics across spatial scales into current management objectives. Our findings suggest that adaptive management may occur from the bottom up, as individual managers implement new practices in advance of policies. As knowledge of climate-change impacts in local environments increases, resource users may benefit from programs and educational interventions that facilitate coping strategies.

The governance of adaptation: choices, reasons, and effects. Introduction to the Special Feature

The governance of climate adaptation involves the collective efforts of multiple societal actors to address problems, or to reap the benefits, associated with impacts of climate change. Governing involves the creation of institutions, rules and organizations, and the selection of normative principles to guide problem solution and institution building. We argue that actors involved in governing climate change adaptation, as climate change governance regimes evolve, inevitably must engage in making choices, for instance on problem definitions, jurisdictional levels, on modes of governance and policy instruments, and on the timing of interventions. Yet little is known about how and why these choices are made in practice, and how such choices affect the outcomes of our efforts to govern adaptation. In this introduction we review the current state of evidence and the specific contribution of the articles published in this Special Feature, which are aimed at bringing greater clarity in these matters, and thereby informing both governance theory and practice. Collectively, the contributing papers suggest that the way issues are defined has important consequences for the support for governance interventions, and their effectiveness. The articles suggest that currently the emphasis in adaptation governance is on the local and regional levels, while underscoring the benefits of interventions and governance at higher jurisdictional levels in terms of visioning and scaling-up effective approaches. The articles suggest that there is a central role of government agencies in leading governance interventions to address spillover effects, to provide public goods, and to promote the long-term perspectives for planning. They highlight the issue of justice in the governance of adaptation showing how governance measures have wide distributional consequences, including the potential to amplify existing inequalities, access to resources, or generating new injustices through distribution of risks. For several of these findings, future research directions are suggested.

Theory development in humanitarian logistics : A framework and three cases

Purpose: There is a need for theory development within the field of humanitarian logistics to understand logistics needs in different stages of a crisis and how to meet these. This paper aims to discuss three dimensions identified in logistics and organization theories and how they relate to three different cases of humanitarian logistics operations - the regional concept of the International Federation of Red Cross Red Crescent Societies, the development and working of the United Nations Joint Logistics Centre and coordination challenges of military logistics in UN mandated peacekeeping operations. The purpose is to build a framework to be used in further studies. Design/methodology/approach: A framework for the study of humanitarian logistics along three dimensions is developed, followed by a discussion of the chosen cases in relation to these dimensions. The framework will be used as basis for the case studies to be undertaken for the purpose of understanding and identification of new questions and needs for other or revised concepts from theory. Findings: The paper shows the relevance of a wide literature to the issues pertinent to humanitarian logistics. There is considerable promise in extant literature on logistics, SCM and coordination, but this needs to be confronted with the particular issues seen in the humanitarian logistics setting to achieve further theory development. Originality/value: The major contribution of the paper lies in its breadth of theoretical perspectives presented and combined in a preliminary theoretical framework. This is applied more specifically in the three case studies described in the paper.

Using Statistics to Set Priorities

In November 2015-March 2016, I assigned my Graduate Assistant, David Durden, a project to compile usage statistics and trends for digitized collections between 2013-2015 from UMD Digital Collections and our contributions to the Internet Archive between 2008-2015. The original intent of the project was to provide usage metrics to assist the Digitization Initiatives Committee in prioritizing projects or content areas. The project also uncovered trends that should impact how we think about making digital collections discoverable and accessible. For example, if 50-60% of traffic into UMD Digital Collections comes from outside the University or College Park, MD, how will this impact the potential usage of content when access is restricted to campus due to licensing, copyright, or ownership restrictions? With a growing population using mobile browsers, how will a flash-based viewer restrict users’ access to content? How might we develop content or its discoverability for a growing social media user base? In this talk, I will briefly discuss the usage trends for the represented collections, how we may use these in prioritizing future projects, and issues I will discuss with collection managers as we develop project plans and the Manager of Digital Programs and Initiatives as we develop the digital collections repository.

Happy and Other Stories

The characters in “Happy,” “The Price of Independence,” “Itch,” and “Guillotine” all struggle with their loss of power and ability to successfully navigate their own lives. Though different genders, ages, and worlds are rendered each character must choose to either face their conflict head on or submit to the external pressure present. “The Price of Independence” and “Itch” highlight the precariousness of relationships and how one relationship, whether it be romantic or platonic, can change everything. “Happy” and “Guillotine” feature characters struggling from within, they are separated from the world around them and their failures force a spotlight on the misconceptions of mental health care.

The use of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy to address psychological distress experienced by caregivers: a randomised controlled feasibility trial

Background: An extensive research literature has documented the impact of caring for an individual with acquired brain injury (ABI) on caregivers and family members, including role adjustment, psychological distress, social isolation, family tension and coping with the cognitive and behavioural difficulties of the injured person. Given these findings it is important this population have access to services and supports. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is an intervention that helps individuals to accept difficult experiences and commit to behaviour that is consistent with their values. Research into the effectiveness of ACT to support caregivers is at a preliminary stage. Aim: To investigate the feasibility of using ACT to reduce psychological distress and increase psychological flexibility in ABI caregivers. A secondary aim was to gain an understanding of the experience of caregivers in this context and how this can inform the development and delivery of interventions for this population. Method: Phase one was a randomised controlled feasibility trial of an ACT intervention for use with ABI caregivers. The parameters of this study were formulated around the PICO (population, intervention, control, and outcome) framework. Eighteen carers were recruited and randomised to ACT or an enhanced treatment as usual (ETAU) group. ACT was implemented over 3 sessions; and ETAU was implemented over 2 sessions. The General Health Questionnaire, Valuing Questionnaire, Acceptance and Action Questionnaire, Experiential Avoidance of Caregiving Questionnaire and the Flexibility of Responses to Self-Critical Thoughts Scale were administered to both groups at baseline and following the final session. Phase two used a retrospective qualitative design that involved conducting semi-structured interviews with four participants from phase one. Results: ACT and control participants were successfully recruited. Positive feedback was obtained from ACT participants suggesting that the intervention was acceptable. There were no significant differences between the ACT and ETAU groups on outcome measures. However, there were challenges retaining participants and the overall attrition rate was high (44.44%). Therefore a number of participants did not complete the full complement of sessions, which may have impacted on this result. Qualitative results illustrated the challenges this population face including significant adjustments in their life, the emotional impact of having a loved one with a brain injury and trying to adapt to the changes in the injured person. In addition, findings elucidated the types of support that this population would find helpful and the barriers to accessing same. Conclusions: Findings from this study highlight factors that will help the development of this intervention further for a caring population. Recommendations for future implementation include completing some preparatory work with carers before beginning the intervention, consideration of a larger sample and wider recruitment strategy from local services, barriers to attending interventions and the possibility of holding groups in local venues.

A house, not a home? Examining the use of the private rented sector to resolve homelessness in Scotland

Changes to homelessness legislation in post-devolution Scotland have resulted in an expansion of rights for homeless households seeking formal assistance from local authorities. These changes have led to Scotland’s homelessness arrangements being considered among the most progressive in Europe. In recent years, however, the Scottish Government has increasingly promoted homelessness prevention and Housing Options approaches as a means by which homelessness might be avoided or resolved without recourse to statutory rights. As part of that, they have promoted greater use of the private rented sector (PRS) as a key housing option, with the potential to meet the needs of homeless households. The arguments made to support use of the PRS have much in common with arguments for privatisation in other areas of social policy, notably greater choice for the individual promoting better welfare outcomes, and competition among providers encouraging improvements in quality of service provision. Critics have argued that such benefits may not be realised and that, on the contrary, privatisation may lead to exclusion or act to worsen households’ outcomes. This thesis considers the extent to which the PRS has been utilised in Scotland to accommodate homeless households, and the consequences of this for their welfare. The thesis uses a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods. To examine trends in the use of the PRS, it presents quantitative analysis of the data on the operation of the statutory system and Housing Options arrangements, and of data from a survey of local authority homelessness strategy officers. To examine the consequences of this for homeless households, the thesis uses qualitative research involving face-to-face interviews with 35 homeless households across three local authority areas. This research considers the extent to which households’ experiences of homelessness, housing need and the PRS reflect the arguments presented in the literature, and how settled accommodation has impacted on households’ ability to participate fully in society. The research found an increasing but still limited role for the PRS in resolving statutory homelessness in Scotland, with indications that the PRS is being increasingly used as part of the Housing Options approach and as a means of resolving homelessness outside the statutory system. The PRS is being utilised to varying degrees across different local authority areas, and a variety of methods are being used to do so. While local authorities saw clear advantages to making greater use of the sector, a number of significant barriers including affordability, available stock and landlord preferences - made this difficult in practice. Research with previously homeless households in the PRS similarly found broadly positive experiences and views of the sector, particularly with regard to enabling households to access good quality accommodation in desirable areas of their choosing, with many households highlighting improvements relating to social inclusion and participation. Nevertheless, concerns around the security of tenure offered by the sector, repairs, service standards and unequal power relations between landlord and tenant persisted. As such, homeless households frequently expressed their decision to enter the sector in terms of a trade-off between choice and security.

Social Policy and Time

Time is crucial to the implementation, operation and effectiveness of social policies, yet the subject has often treated the meaning of time as theoretically unproblematic. It focuses more upon what policies do and less upon the contexts within which the practices and assumptions of social actors are embedded. The article offers a more sophisticated theoretical account of time upon which is based an exploration of the main temporal features of welfare capitalism. It then goes on to examine three recent and prominent research projects in order to show how and why they fail to incorporate a convincing social theory of time.

Tackling health inequalities in primary care: an exploration of GPs’ experience at the frontline

In Scotland, life expectancy and health outcomes are strongly tied to socioeconomic status. Specifically, socioeconomically deprived areas suffer disproportionately from high levels of premature multimorbidity and mortality. To tackle these inequalities in health, challenges in the most deprived areas must be addressed. One avenue that merits attention is the potential role of general medical practitioners (GPs) in helping to address health inequalities, particularly due to their long-term presence in deprived communities, their role in improving patient and population health, and their potential advocacy role on behalf of their patients. GPs can be seen as what Lipsky calls ‘street-level bureaucrats’ due to their considerable autonomy in the decisions they make surrounding individual patient needs, yet practising under the bureaucratic structure of the NHS. While previous research has examined the applicability of Lipsky’s framework to the role of GPs, there has been very little research exploring how GPs negotiate between the multiple identities in their work, how GPs ‘socially construct’ their patients, how GPs view their potential role as ‘advocate’, and what this means in terms of the contribution of GPs to addressing existing inequalities in health. Using semi-structured interviews, this study explored the experience and views of 24 GPs working in some of Scotland’s most deprived practices to understand how they might combat this growing health divide via the mitigation (and potential prevention) of existing health inequalities. Participants were selected based on several criteria including practice deprivation level and their individual involvement in the Deep End project, which is an informal network comprising the 100 most deprived general practices in Scotland. The research focused on understanding GPs’ perceptions of their work including its broader implications, within their practice, the communities within which they practise, and the health system as a whole. The concept of street-level bureaucracy proved to be useful in understanding GPs’ frontline work and how they negotiate dilemmas. However, this research demonstrated the need to look beyond Lipsky’s framework in order to understand how GPs reconcile their multiple identities, including advocate and manager. As a result, the term ‘street-level professional’ is offered to capture more fully the multiple identities which GPs inhabit and to explain how GPs’ elite status positions them to engage in political and policy advocacy. This study also provides evidence that GPs’ social constructions of patients are linked not only to how GPs conceptualise the causes of health inequalities, but also to how they view their role in tackling them. In line with this, the interviews established that many GPs felt they could make a difference through advocacy efforts at individual, community and policy/political levels. Furthermore, the study draws attention to the importance of practitioner-led groups—such as the Deep End project—in supporting GPs’ efforts and providing a platform for their advocacy. Within this study, a range of GPs’ views have been explored based on the sample. While it is unclear how common these views are amongst GPs in general, the study revealed that there is considerable scope for ‘political GPs’ who choose to exercise discretion in their communities and beyond. Consequently, GPs working in deprived areas should be encouraged to use their professional status and political clout not only to strengthen local communities, but also to advocate for policy change that might potentially affect the degree of disadvantage of their patients, and levels of social and health inequalities more generally.

Os critérios de gatekeeping que evitam que uma lovebrand se transforme numa hatebrand

A relação marca/consumidor é importante e, atualmente, com a evolução tecnológica e com a disseminação das redes sociais, a sua importância subiu de nível pois o meio online permite que os consumidores estejam mais informados e tenham mais consciência das diversas opções que existem no mercado. Como tal, as marcas aproveitam as redes sociais, tais como o Facebook, para se fazerem notar, para mostrarem o seu lado mais humano e assim estabelecer comunicação com os utilizadores de forma a criar ou manter uma relação mais íntima com o mesmo. Contudo, a liberdade de expressão que existe nas redes sociais nem sempre é favorável às marcas, o que faz com que estas optem por utilizar critérios de gatekeeping para filtrar alguns conteúdos. O que se pretende deste estudo não experimental de tipo exploratório e de método qualitativo, é aferir que critérios de gatekeeping é que são mais suscetíveis de serem utilizados pelas marcas, de forma a evitarem que a relação forte que detêm com o consumidor fique comprometida e manchada pelo ódio e, consequentemente, perceber como é feita a gestão das próprias páginas de Facebook. O objeto do estudo em causa envolve, assim, duas empresas do setor eletrónico que são concorrentes diretas e que têm consumidores muito dedicados e que foram selecionadas através de um método de amostragem não aleatório intencional.