Longitudinal Pathways Between Political Violence and Child Adjustment: The Role of Emotional Security about the Community in Northern Ireland

Links between political violence and children's adjustment problems are well-documented. However, the mechanisms by which political tension and sectarian violence relate to children's well-being and development are little understood. This study longitudinally examined children's emotional security about community violence as a possible regulatory process in relations between community discord and children's adjustment problems. Families were selected from 18 working class neighborhoods in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Participants (695 mothers and children, M=12.17, SD=1.82) were interviewed in their homes over three consecutive years. Findings supported the notion that politically-motivated community violence has distinctive effects on children's externalizing and internalizing problems through the mechanism of increasing children's emotional insecurity about community. Implications are considered for understanding relations between political violence and child adjustment from a social ecological perspective.

Political Violence and Child Adjustment: Longitudinal Tests of Sectarian Antisocial Behavior, Family Conflict, and Insecurity as Explanatory Pathways

Understanding the impact of political violence on child maladjustment is a matter of international concern. Recent research has advanced a social ecological explanation for relations between political violence and child adjustment. However, conclusions are qualified by the lack of longitudinal tests. Toward examining pathways longitudinally, mothers and their adolescents (M = 12.33, SD = 1.78, at Time 1) from 2-parent families in Catholic and Protestant working class neighborhoods in Belfast, Northern Ireland, completed measures assessing multiple levels of a social ecological model. Utilizing autoregressive controls, a 3-wave longitudinal model test (T1, n = 299; T2, n = 248; T3, n = 197) supported a specific pathway linking sectarian community violence, family conflict, childrens insecurity about family relationships, and adjustment problems.

Longitudinal relations between sectarian and nonsectarian community violence and child adjustment in Northern Ireland

Although relations between political violence and child adjustment are well documented, longitudinal research is needed to adequately address the many questions remaining about the contexts and developmental trajectories underlying the effects on children in areas of political violence. The study examined the relations between sectarian and nonsectarian community violence and adolescent adjustment problems over 4 consecutive years. Participants included 999 mother-child dyads (482 boys, 517 girls), M ages = 12.18 (SD = 1.82), 13.24 (SD = 1.83), 13.61 (SD = 1.99), and 14.66 (SD = 1.96) years, respectively, living in socially deprived neighborhoods in Belfast, Northern Ireland, a context of historical and ongoing political violence. In examining trajectories of adjustment problems, including youth experience with both sectarian and nonsectarian antisocial behaviors, sectarian antisocial behavior significantly predicted more adjustment problems across the 4 years of the study. Experiencing sectarian antisocial behavior was related to increased adolescent adjustment problems, and this relationship was accentuated in neighborhoods characterized by higher crime rates. The discussion considers the implications for further validating the distinction between sectarian and nonsectarian violence, including consideration of neighborhood crime levels, from the child's perspective in a setting of political violence. Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2013.

Identifying solutions to increase participation in physical activity interventions within a socio-economically disadvantaged community: a qualitative study

Background: There is an urgent need to increase population levels of physical activity, particularly amongst those who are socio-economically disadvantaged. Multiple factors influence physical activity behaviour but the generalisability of current evidence to such ‘hard-to-reach’ population subgroups is limited by difficulties in recruiting them into studies. Also, rigorous qualitative studies of lay perceptions and perceptions of community leaders about public health efforts to increase physical activity are sparse. We sought to explore, within a socio-economically disadvantaged community, residents’ and community leaders’ perceptions of physical activity (PA) interventions and issues regarding their implementation, in order to improve understanding of needs, expectations, and social/environmental factors relevant to future interventions.

Methods: Within an ongoing regeneration project (Connswater Community Greenway), in a socio-economically disadvantaged community in Belfast, we collaborated with a Community Development Agency to purposively sample leaders from public- and voluntary-sector community groups and residents. Individual semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 leaders. Residents (n=113), of both genders and a range of ages (14 to 86 years) participated in focus groups (n=14) in local facilities. Interviews and focus groups were recorded, transcribed verbatim and analysed using a thematic framework.

Results: Three main themes were identified: awareness of PA interventions; factors contributing to intervention effectiveness; and barriers to participation in PA interventions. Participants reported awareness only of interventions in which they were involved directly, highlighting a need for better communications, both inter- and intra-sectoral, and with residents. Meaningful engagement of residents in planning/organisation, tailoring to local context, supporting volunteers, providing relevant resources and an ‘exit strategy’ were perceived as important factors related to intervention effectiveness. Negative attitudes such as apathy, disappointing experiences, information with no perceived personal relevance and limited access to facilities were barriers to people participating in interventions.

Conclusions: These findings illustrate the complexity of influences on a community’s participation in PA interventions and support a social-ecological approach to promoting PA. They highlight the need for cross-sector working, effective information exchange, involving residents in bottom-up planning and providing adequate financial and social support. An in-depth understanding of a target population’s perspectives is of key importance in translating PA behaviour change theories into practice.

Emotional insecurity in the family and community and youth delinquency in Northern Ireland: A person-oriented analysis across five-waves

Background: Over one billion children are exposed worldwide to political violence and armed conflict. Currently, conclusions about bases for adjustment problems are qualified by limited longitudinal research from a process-oriented, social-ecological perspective. In this study, we examined a theoretically-based model for the impact of multiple levels of the social ecology (family, community) on adolescent delinquency. Specifically, this study explored the impact of children’s emotional insecurity about both the family and community on youth delinquency in Northern Ireland. Methods: In the context of a five-wave longitudinal research design, participants included 999 mother-child dyads in Belfast (482 boys, 517 girls), drawn from socially-deprived, ethnically-homogenous areas that had experienced political violence. Youth ranged in age from 10 to 20 and were 12.18 (SD = 1.82) years old on average at Time 1. Findings: The longitudinal analyses were conducted in hierarchical linear modeling (HLM), allowing for the modeling of inter-individual differences in intra-individual change. Intra-individual trajectories of emotional insecurity about the family related to children’s delinquency. Greater insecurity about the community worsened the impact of family conflict on youth’s insecurity about the family, consistent with the notion that youth’s insecurity about the community sensitizes them to exposure to family conflict in the home. Conclusions: The results suggest that ameliorating children’s insecurity about family and community in contexts of political violence is an important goal toward improving adolescents’ well-being, including reduced risk for delinquency.

Adaptation and Evaluation of the Neighborhood Environment Walkability Scale in India (NEWS-India)

Physical inactivity is the fourth leading risk factor for global mortality, with most of these deaths occurring in low and middle-income countries (LMICs) like India. Research from developed countries has consistently demonstrated associations between built environment features and physical activity levels of populations. The development of culturally sensitive and reliable measures of the built environment is a necessary first step for accurate analysis of environmental correlates of physical activity in LMICs. This study systematically adapted the Neighborhood Environment Walkability Scale (NEWS) for India and evaluated aspects of test-retest reliability of the adapted version among Indian adults. Cultural adaptation of the NEWS was conducted by Indian and international experts. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with local residents and key informants in the city of Chennai, India. At baseline, participants (N = 370; female = 47.2%) from Chennai completed the adapted NEWS-India surveys on perceived residential density, land use mix-diversity, land use mix-access, street connectivity, infrastructure and safety for walking and cycling, aesthetics, traffic safety, and safety from crime. NEWS-India was administered for a second time to consenting participants (N = 62; female = 53.2%) with a gap of 2–3 weeks between successive administrations. Qualitative findings demonstrated that built environment barriers and constraints to active commuting and physical activity behaviors intersected with social ecological systems. The adapted NEWS subscales had moderate to high test-retest reliability (ICC range 0.48–0.99). The NEWS-India demonstrated acceptable measurement properties among Indian adults and may be a useful tool for evaluation of built environment attributes in India. Further adaptation and evaluation in rural and suburban settings in India is essential to create a version that could be used throughout India.

Blending adaptive governance and institutional theory to explore urban resilience and sustainability strategies in the Rome Metropolitan Area, Italy

Adaptive governance is an emerging theory in natural resource management. This paper addresses a gap in the literature by exploring the potential of adaptive governance for delivering resilience and sustainability in the urban context. We explore emerging challenges to transitioning to urban resilience and sustainability: bringing together multiple scales and institutions; facilitating a social-ecological-systems approach and; embedding social and environmental equity into visions of urban sustainability and resilience. Current approaches to adaptive governance could be helpful for addressing these first two challenges but not in addressing the third. Therefore, this paper proposes strengthening the institutional foundations of adaptive governance by engaging with institutional theory. We explore this through empirical research in the Rome Metropolitan Area, Italy. We argue that explicitly engaging with these themes could lead to a more substantive urban transition strategy and contribute to adaptive governance theory.

Piñatex, the design development of a new sustainable material

This is a research project by practice, which firstly develops a new material invention derived from natural fibres extracted from waste pineapple leaves; secondly it articulates the contemporary designer’s role in facilitating sustainable solutions through: Insights from my own material invention, PiñatexTM, which integrates the materiality of design with the immateriality of concepts and values Developing a visual model of mapping I began with these questions: ‘What are the challenges in seeking to make a new and sustainable material from the waste products of pineapple agriculture in the Philippines?’ and ‘How can a design practice link elements of materiality (artifacts) with immaterial elements (value systems) in order to improve sustainable social and economic development?’ Significant influences have been the work of Papanek1 (2003), Hawken2 (1999) and Abouleish3 (2008) and in particular the ethical business model initiated by McDonough and Braungart in Cradle to Cradle®4 (2002). My own research project is inspired by the Cradle to Cradle® model. It proposes the development of a new material, PiñatexTM which is derived from natural fibres extracted from waste pineapple leaves and could be used in a wide variety of products that are currently fabricated in leather or petroleum-based materials. The methods have comprised: Contextual reviews; case studies (SEKEM, Cradle to Cradle® and Gawad Kalinga); practical experiments in the field of natural fibres, chemistry, product development, manufacturing and prototyping, leading to an invention and a theoretical model of mapping. In addition, collaboration has taken place across scientific, technological, social, ecological, academic and business fields. The outcome is a new material based on the synchronicity between the pineapple fibres, polymers, resins and coatings specially formulated. The invention of the new material that I developed as a central part of this research by practice has a patent in the national phase (PCT/GB 2011/000802) and is in the first stages of manufacturing, commercial testing and further design input (Summer 2014). The contribution to knowledge is firstly the material, PiñatexTM, which exhibits certain key qualities, namely environmentally non-toxic, biodegradable, income-generating potential and marketability. This is alongside its intrinsic qualities as a textile product: aesthetic potential, durability and stability, which will make it suitable for the accessories, interiors and furnishing markets. The theoretical mapping system Upstream and Downstream forms a secondary contribution.

Adaptation as a part of system resilience. insights from fish producers organizations in Portugal

Complex problems of globalized society challenge its adaptive capacity. However, it is precisely the nature of these human induced problems that provide enough evidence to show that adaptability may not be on a resilient path. This thesis explores the ambiguity of the idea of adaptation (and its practice) and illustrates the ways in which adaptability contributes to resilience of social ecological systems. The thesis combines a case study and grounded theory approach and develops an analytical framework to study adaptability in resource users’ organizations: from what it depends on and what the key challenges are for resource management and system resilience. It does so for the specific case of fish producers’ organizations (POs) in Portugal. The findings suggest that while ecological and market context, including the type of crisis, may influence the character of fishers’ adaptation within POs (i.e. anticipatory, maladaptive and reactively adaptive), it does not determine it. Instead, it makes agency even more crucial (i.e. leadership, trust and agent’s perceptions in terms of their impact on fishers’ motivation to learn from each other). In sum, it was found that internal adaptation can improve POs’ contribution to fishery management and resilience, but it is not a panacea and may, in some cases, increase system vulnerability to change. Continuous maladaptation of some Portuguese POs points at a basic institutional problem (fish market regime), which clearly reduces fisheries resilience as it promotes overfishing. However, structural change may not be sufficient to address other barriers to Portuguese fishers’ (PO members) adaptability, such as history (collective memory) and associated problematic self-perceptions. The agency (people involved in structures and practices) also needs to change. What and how institutional change and agency change build on one another (e.g. comparison of fisheries governance in Portugal and other EU countries) is a topic to be explored in further research.

A constructivist grounded theory of firefighter perceptions of stress, coping and the relationship to health

This qualitative research was a constructivist grounded theory designed to develop an understanding of how firefighters perceive and cope with stressful situations and the impact this has on their perceptions of health. This study was framed in a social ecological perspective with the community of firefighting providing the environment within which to explore stress and coping. Of particular concern here are the stressors associated with firefighting. Prior research with firefighters has often been epidemiological and statistical in nature, focusing on measures of cardiovascular disease, cancer, and depression (Baker & Williams, 2001 ; Brown et al., 2002; Murphy et al.,1999; Regehr et al., 2002; Regehr et al., 2003). Qualitative research examining the perception of stress among firefighters that includes personal stories allows firefighters the opportunity to describe what it is like to be met with physically and mentally challenging situations on a daily basis. Twelve in-depth, semi-structured, face-to-face interviews with a brief questionnaire were conducted with firefighters from a Southern Ontario Fire Department. Four main themes emerged describing the persona of the firefighter, the stressors of firefighters, coping strategies of firefighters, and firefighters' perceptions of health. Stressors include requirements of the job, traumatic calls, tensions with co-workers, the struggle between the family at home and the family at work, political stressors with the City, and the inner struggle. Avoidance coping, approach coping, and gaining perspective emerged as the three coping styles of firefighters. Health was defined as including physical, mental, social and spiritual aspects. A model of the findings is provided that depicts the cyclical nature of the stress-coping-health relationship among firefighters.

Active living in municipal parks and recreation : a case study

If quality of life is an important recreation outcome, then municipal parks and recreation management's efforts have to change because:· Over one-third of all the little kids in schools will be diabetic in their lifetime if the trends we are looking at continue. The average loss of life is about 15 years, and there is an average reduction in quality oflife by about 20 years (Jackson, 2007). This thesis is about municipal parks and recreation, an agency that controls and limits physical activity opportunity. It is also about active living; from an ecological perspective, a multi-disciplinary approach to incorporate physical activity into more 111 people's daily lives. In particular, this thesis examines one case --'. the Donutville Case - . with the intent of providing an explanation of how municipal parks and recreation can advance its management efforts to improve health outcomes of people suffering from daily physical activity deficits. More specifically, how can the tension between external and internal environments to municipal parks and recreation be better balanced to affect the change needed? Given that changing the current social reality is through making decisions, decision-making functions connected with systems theory helps identify how recreation authorities can more effectively influence environmental physical activity determinants. , Sallis et al.' (2006) ·social ecological model provides the a priori focus on active living decision-making. An integrated analogous emerging logic model is developed and presented as an efficacious strategy for how municipal parks and recreation decisionmakers can affect change. Keywords: physical activity, benefits outcomes, healthy livable community, quality of life, systems thinking, social ecological model, deci~ion-making, logic modeling, municipal parks and recreation, active living.

Power, Contextual Intelligence and Leadership: Research Approaches for Understanding Participatory Community Climate Change Adaptation

Analysis of power in natural resources management is important as multiple stakeholders interact within complex, social-ecological systems. As a sub-set of these interactions, community climate change adaptation is increasingly using participatory processes to address issues of local concern. While some attention has been paid to power relations in this respect, e.g. evaluating international climate regimes or assessing vulnerability as part of integrated impact assessments, little attention has been paid to how a structured assessment of power could facilitate real adaptation and increase the potential for successful participatory processes. This paper surveys how the concept of power is currently being applied in natural resources management and links these ideas to agency and leadership for climate change adaptation. By exploring behavioural research on destructive leadership, a model is developed for informing participatory climate change adaptation. The working paper then concludes with a discussion of developing research questions in two specific areas - examining barriers to adaptation and mapping the evolution of specific participatory processes for climate change adaptation.

Resilience: An Annotated Bibliography

This annotated bibliography provides an account of the research that has been done on engineering resilience, ecological resilience, and social-ecological resilience. Undertaken as part of the WEPGN research project titled “Applying resilience analysis to a transboundary river system: Developing surrogates for institutions and governance”, this annotated bibliography investigates factors that lead to greater resilience, with a focus on institutions and governance. Citations for key scholarly publications related to three types of resilience – engineering, ecological, and social-ecological – are listed in the first three sections along with a brief summary of each work. The fourth and final section of the document provides additional resources on resilience.

La résilience, moyen et fin d’un développement durable ?

Du fait de la montée des périls environnementaux, le concept de résilience fait l’objet d’une attention croissante dans le champ du développement. Il a d’abord été exploré dans le champ des analyses systémiques, celui des systèmes socio-écologiques en particulier. Il convient toutefois, d’une part d’interroger la pertinence et la portée de ce concept au niveau microéconomique, d’autre part d’interroger les liens qui l’unissent au développement durable. Le cadre conceptuel proposé articule l’approche par les capabilités et l’analyse économique de la gestion des risques, permettant de mettre en avant les capacités d’action face aux risques et de réaction face aux chocs. Il conduit à envisager la possibilité de faire de la résilience une finalité d’un développement durable. Ceci soulève deux difficultés majeures, tenant à la complexité de l’analyse des capacités d’action individuelles, et à l’articulation de ces capacités avec des dynamiques collectives.

Proposition méthodologique : évaluation développement durable des stratégies de décontamination.

Il est maintenant commun de soumettre les projets à une analyse de durabilité avant qu’ils ne soient autorisés, et ce, malgré la diversité de sens que peut prendre ce type d’analyse. Cette démarche, grandement inspirée de l’évaluation d’impact, a pour principal objectif d’évaluer ex ante les enjeux sociaux, écologiques et économiques des projets au travers du prisme du développement durable. À cet effet, les principes comme l’efficacité économique, la prévention des dommages, l’acceptabilité sociale et l’équité intergénérationnelle, peuvent servir de guide après leur préalable traduction en indicateurs opérationnels. L’objectif de la recherche est de trouver comment le développement durable peut s’intégrer dans le processus décisionnel menant aux choix des stratégies de décontamination des sols et de proposer une démarche propre à l’évaluation de tels projets. La méthode développée devra permettre plus spécifiquement d’intégrer systématiquement les principes du développement durable dans le processus décisionnel; d’orienter les parties prenantes dans une démarche commune; de minimiser les effets négatifs sur l’environnement et les populations touchées et réduire les risques économiques; et finalement, d’adopter une vision holistique des projets.