A  B  C  D  E  F  G  H  I  J  K  L  M  N  O  P  Q  R  S  T  U  V  W  X  Y  Z  

  Subjects -> SOCIOLOGY (Total: 553 journals)
The end of the list has been reached or no journals were found for your choice.
   Most Followed Journals

   Top Publishers

   Top Subjects
Similar Journals
Journal Cover
Socio-Ecological Practice Research
Number of Followers: 0  
 
  Hybrid Journal Hybrid journal (It can contain Open Access articles)
ISSN (Print) 2524-5279 - ISSN (Online) 2524-5287
Published by Springer-Verlag Homepage  [2468 journals]
  • A 2023 socio-ecological imagination: What if a self-learning,
           wisdom-generating AI machine became a reality'

    • Free pre-print version: Loading...

      PubDate: 2023-06-06
       
  • Correction to: The disarming simplicity of wicked problems: the biography
           of an idea

    • Free pre-print version: Loading...

      PubDate: 2023-05-17
       
  • Integrating social and ecological considerations in floodplain relocation
           and restoration programs

    • Free pre-print version: Loading...

      Abstract: In the United States, most floodplain relocation (or buyout) programs focus on moving homeowners, then deal separately with what happens with the land afterward. These programs typically divide processes for relocation planning, engagement, funding, and implementation from those related to post-buyout land management and restoration. The structural and operational conditions that lead to this separation of roles and responsibilities miss out on opportunities to create more synergistic socio-ecological strategies that may produce healthier outcomes for both people and the environment. In other domains, research shows that healthy people and healthy environments can co-create each other through more virtuous cycles. In this perspective essay, we argue that we can better create such virtuous cycles in floodplain relocation programs by integrally considering social and ecological components. Such efforts can encourage more people to decide to relocate, thereby creating more contiguous places to restore. They can also empower more residents to help steward these sites, an action that in turn helps heal and strengthen flood-affected communities. These arguments, while particular to the United States, have resonance for floodplain management and land use planning worldwide.
      PubDate: 2023-05-04
       
  • Green waste to green architecture: optimizing urban tree systems for
           renewable construction material supply chains

    • Free pre-print version: Loading...

      Abstract: In this article, we share the prospect of using the lifecycle and growth advantages of urban trees as construction materials beyond the existing, more typical green infrastructure uses. Much work has been completed on green infrastructure, but the potential tie to the material and construction industry is completely underdeveloped. It is this symbiosis between our environmental green infrastructure systems, natural and designed, and our social systems, the decision-making, design, materiality and fabrication of our built environment in more sustainable directions which is the goal of this research. Technological advances now allow urban wastes from tree maintenance to be locally processed as viable construction materials in new ways and that if optimized in coordination with other environmental and social systems and efforts, we will see functional and environmental improvements in our urban environments with reductions in both imported materials, and exported wastes and improved energy levels and carbon sequestering.
      PubDate: 2023-04-18
       
  • Do the ends justify the means' Problematizing social acceptance and
           instrumentally-driven community engagement in proposed energy projects

    • Free pre-print version: Loading...

      Abstract: Proposed energy projects across rural working landscapes play an important role in energy transitions. While community engagement has been increasingly a part of these projects, instrumental motivations for engagement and the emphasis placed on achieving social acceptance has remained uncritically examined. Here, we aim to highlight relationships between actor rationale, the structuring of engagement processes, and how communities perceive the driving forces behind engagement practices. To do so, we draw on lived experiences of communities facing proposed shale gas and wind energy projects across rural working landscapes in the UK and Canada, respectively. We find that engagement is often perceived by community members as insincere, insufficient, ineffective and instrumentally-driven. We suggest that a more community-centered approach to engagement is necessary and will require a move beyond existing engagement and acceptance practice and frameworks. This can include creating more inclusive decision-making processes where powers are balanced and designing community engagement to incorporate multiple rationales beyond achieving social acceptance of energy projects.
      PubDate: 2023-04-12
       
  • A typology to guide design and assessment of participatory farming
           research projects

    • Free pre-print version: Loading...

      Abstract: Participatory modes of agricultural research have gained significant attention over the last 40 years. While many scholars and practitioners agree that engaging farmers and other stakeholders is a valuable complement to traditional scientific research, there is significant diversity in the goals and approaches used by participatory projects. Building on previous conceptual frameworks on divergent approaches to participatory farming research (PFR), we propose an updated synthetic typology that can be used to design, evaluate, and distinguish PFR projects. Key elements of our typology include a recognition of the multidimensionality of projects that reflect different combinations of: (a) the goals or motivations behind engaging farmers in research, (b) the specific methods or approaches used to implement a PFR project, and (c) the social, institutional, and biophysical contexts that shape the dynamics and outcomes from PFR. We use this typology to highlight how particular manifestations of participatory agricultural research projects—ranging from farmer advisory boards, on-farm demonstrations, and researcher- versus farmer-led on-farm research projects—combine goals, methods, and contexts in distinctive ways. Proponents of PFR projects would benefit from clarifying how their work fits into or extends this multidimensional typology.
      PubDate: 2023-04-07
       
  • The disarming simplicity of wicked problems: The biography of an idea

    • Free pre-print version: Loading...

      Abstract: The idea of “wicked problems” indicates the intractability and dilemmatic nature of design and planning. At the same time, it also encourages the development of design methods and information systems. So how do designers, technologists, and administrators reconcile and respond to these competing ideas' Using William James’s “psychology of truth,” the paper answers this question by putting wicked problems in intellectual relief. It also suggests that as long as pluralism, diversity, and interdisciplinary thinking are in good currency, the idea of wicked problems will retain its popularity, appeal, and usefulness.
      PubDate: 2023-04-06
       
  • Dwelling drawing: seeking ecological wisdom in situ

    • Free pre-print version: Loading...

      Abstract: Drawing is an important component of socio-ecological practice, whether for land planning, design, construction, or management. Dwelling drawing is an in situ exploratory method for understanding the qualities and values of places in time and space. While dwelling drawing is practiced in landscape architecture, it is not widely used or understood across socio-ecological practice. This paper argues that dwelling drawing has a broad use: working toward the practical ecological wisdom to shape the world for the greater good. It presents the author’s drawings as evidence of the practice’s transformative value. The drawings focus on experiences while living on Brush Mountain in southwest Virginia and demonstrate six lessons learned. Through dwelling drawing the practitioner (1) forms deep connections to places; (2) notices hidden qualities in the landscape; (3) engages senses other than sight; (4) shifts from a human-centered perspective to an appreciation of the more-than-human world; (5) nurtures a conservation ethic; and (6) cultivates humility and empathy in practice. Dwelling drawing instills a duty of care to landscapes and nurtures ecophronesis (Xiang, Landsc Urban Plan 155:53–60, 2016), the improvisational skill of wise ecological practice par excellence.
      PubDate: 2023-04-05
       
  • The who, what, and how of virtual participation in environmental research

    • Free pre-print version: Loading...

      Abstract: As a group of social scientists supporting a large, national, multi-site project dedicated to studying ecosystem services in natural resource production landscapes, we were tasked with co-hosting kick-off workshops at multiple locations. When, due to project design and the Covid-19 pandemic, we were forced to reshape our plans for these workshops and hold them online, we ended up changing our objectives. This redesign resulted in a new focus for our team—on the process of stakeholder and rightsholder engagement in environmental and sustainability research rather than the content of the workshops. Drawing on participant observation, surveys, and our professional experience, this perspective highlights lessons learned about organizing virtual stakeholder workshops to support landscape governance research and practice. We note that procedures followed for initiating stakeholder and rightsholder recruitment and engagement depend on the convenors’ goals, although when multiple research teams are involved, the goals need to be negotiated. Further, more important than the robustness of engagement strategies is flexibility, feasibility, managing expectations—and keeping things simple.
      PubDate: 2023-03-08
      DOI: 10.1007/s42532-023-00146-w
       
  • Place attachment and social barriers to large-scale renewable energy
           development: a social–ecological systems analysis of a failed wind
           energy project in the south-central United States

    • Free pre-print version: Loading...

      Abstract: Transitioning to a sustainable energy production system is an integral component of mitigating climate change impacts. Increasing renewable energy development—such as large-scale wind farms—is a vital part of this transition. Wind energy development is often controversial due to local pushback to the proposed installations. This phenomenon of local opposition is characterized as Not-In-My-Back-Yard (NIMBY). Here, we used Ostrom’s Social-Ecological System (SES) framework to conduct a structured analysis of anti-wind energy development narratives associated with the failed Wind Catcher Project in the south-central region of the United States of America (USA). Our findings indicate that local values and perceptions of social and economic resources are the most critical factors explaining opposition to wind energy development, with little weight placed on environmental concerns. The wind farm, turbines, and associated transmission lines were seen as a threat to people’s way of life and their perception of place. In addition, past experiences with volatile energy prices caused distrust of long-term projections on cost savings. Our analysis suggests that new energy development projects must include open discussions with local stakeholders, more thoughtful consideration of opposing arguments and concerns, and acknowledgment of local place attachment to avoid pushback.
      PubDate: 2023-03-03
      DOI: 10.1007/s42532-023-00142-0
       
  • Ecological and societal impacts of antibiotics pollution in China

    • Free pre-print version: Loading...

      Abstract: China has experienced significant increase in antibiotic pollution in recent years due to increased production and consumption of antibiotics aimed at improving population health and promoting livestock growth. Antibiotic use in China is higher than the international average possibly due to widespread (mis)use in animal husbandry. Increasing levels of antibiotic pollution threaten the humans’ health and the environment, thus requires major policy changes and scientific efforts to mitigate the threat of antibiotic pollution. Antibiotics even disrupt the microbial ecosystem in the environment and the human microbiome. In an attempt to control antibiotics abuse, the Chinese government has issued a series of policies and regulations in the last few years. Given the ongoing prevalence of antibiotics pollution, it is crucial that not only government officials and policymakers, but also scientists and society as a whole, take steps to address the issue.
      PubDate: 2023-03-01
      DOI: 10.1007/s42532-023-00147-9
       
  • When the process socio-ecological practice meets the virtue ecophronesis,
           the SEPR community receives benefits

    • Free pre-print version: Loading...

      PubDate: 2023-02-27
      DOI: 10.1007/s42532-023-00144-y
       
  • An appreciation letter to our 2022 reviewers and guest editors

    • Free pre-print version: Loading...

      PubDate: 2023-02-17
      DOI: 10.1007/s42532-023-00145-x
       
  • The importance of being taught: improving public engagement in resource
           management through learning by doing

    • Free pre-print version: Loading...

      Abstract: While public engagement is a legal (and moral) requirement in many countries, good engagement is hard to do. Bad public engagement is too often the norm, often ending in court cases or protests. While government and industry proponents often do not see public engagement as important, in turn practitioners often assume it can be done “on the fly” to comply with the law. We argue that the appropriate role of community engagement, building relationships and ownership of initiatives within communities, is neglected and its promise of improved community-Industry/government relations overlooked. Recently, there has been a resurgence in the creation of engagement tools enabling effective discussion and progress on shared agendas. Unfortunately, as many do not understand or practice engagement ethically, these tools and the deepening understanding of public engagement is underutilized. Our answer to this challenge is to teach university courses that explicitly focus on how to do good public engagement, the importance of many different approaches and the requirement to implement custom supports. Many of our examples are drawn from the authors’ own engagement practice and experiences. We try to teach students, through our own example, a willingness to be a different sort of practitioner: making a difference in the world. We stress that public engagement is key to increased civic engagement and democracy. In this article, we use personal and professional reflection to examine the need for good practice, our own understanding of it and how we teach good engagement practices at a Canadian university, including developing an innovative practice.
      PubDate: 2023-02-14
      DOI: 10.1007/s42532-023-00141-1
       
  • Low public participation and weak rules threaten exclosure sustainability
           in Tigray, Northern Ethiopia

    • Free pre-print version: Loading...

      Abstract: Range exclosures have been used as a tool to restore degraded communal grazing lands in Tigray region of Northern Ethiopia. Although there seems to be ecological evidence of success in rehabilitation of degraded rangelands in Tigray, there is unclear translation of these achievements into socio-economic benefits. It was hypothesized that this could be partly attributed to poor governance of the range exclosures occasioned by low participation and weak rules. This paper tried to characterize the exclosure governance system in Tigray Region of Northern Ethiopia to understand the key and interconnected exclosure governance elements of public participation and rules at the grass-roots level. Tanqua-Abergele located in the lowlands of Tigray was systematically selected from districts under Sustainable Land Management Programmes (SLMP). Five Tabias were selected from the district for the governance study. Data was collected from 331 surveyed households, 43 Key Informants and 72 Focus Groups. The results of binary logit regression showed that public engagement in exclosure governance was determined by gender, age, training in SLMP, Tabia and administrative role (p < 0.05). Participation of local community during exclosure selection varied significantly with respondents’ administrative roles (p = 0.026), age group (p = 0.001), SLMP training (p < 0.001), and gender (p = 0.007). The main challenges reported to undermine sustainability of the exclosure programme were illegal grazing and encroachment of exclosures. Communities were not adequately involved in decisions on establishment, formulation of bylaws, and benefit distribution. This has led to incidences of forceful access to resources within exclosures, often resulting in conflicts among guards and community members. Institutionalizing exclosure management at village level is necessary to provide ownership and responsibility to the communities and for the sustainability of the rangeland rehabilitation programme.
      PubDate: 2023-02-14
      DOI: 10.1007/s42532-023-00140-2
       
  • Boundary spanning in the context of stakeholder engagement in
           collaborative water management

    • Free pre-print version: Loading...

      Abstract: Boundary spanners are individuals able to reach across organizational borders to build relationships and interconnections to help better manage complex problems. What is not clear, however, are the skills that allow boundary spanners to cross diverse scales, sectors, and organizations. To address this gap, we use a qualitative case study approach to examine evidence for how boundary spanning skills are implemented in the context of stakeholder engagement for addressing water challenges in agricultural settings. We employ a hybrid deductive-inductive thematic analysis approach to examine interview data collected with 25 stakeholder participants as well as direct observation of engagement behavior. Interview instruments were designed to elicit responses related to six deductively derived skills of boundary spanning: relationship builder, authentic leadership, trustworthiness, autonomy, perspective-taking, and effective science communication. Our inductive analysis identified evidence for three additional boundary spanning skills. Our study finds that some boundary spanning skills were exhibited more than others, and their frequency of use varied throughout the engagement process, and certain skills were used interchangeably. This research provides guidance on what boundary spanning looks like in action, and thus provides guidance on identifying and enhancing these skills in stakeholder engagement for water resource management.
      PubDate: 2023-01-25
      DOI: 10.1007/s42532-023-00138-w
       
  • The ethics of wicked problems: an exegesis

    • Free pre-print version: Loading...

      Abstract: For nearly all the most urgent issues confronting humanity today, there is neither consensus about how to address them nor clarity on how tackling them might further compound existing inequality, erode democratic capacities and accelerate environmental decline. Urgent issues of climate change, rapid urbanization and public health are teeming with wicked problems. Even so, their prospective solutions may nevertheless exacerbate these problems and bring about new ones. Taming any one of these wicked problems with planning and public policy tools presumes making decisions on ethical questions such as what to tame and what to ignore, who or what to prioritize in the solution, or conversely, who or what should bear the costs and risks, and how to strike a balance between uncertain benefits and probable harms. Despite the saliency of ethics in the formulation of wicked problems and how they are tamed, the ethics of wicked problems has remained woefully under-developed ever since (Rittel and Webber, Policy Sci 4:155–169, 1973) publication nearly five decades ago. In this article, each of the ten properties of the wicked problem, following their original sequence, will be examined in relation to ethics. What is the moral significance of each of these properties' How does explicating their moral content advance present understanding of wicked problems' And how might this study of ten properties in relation to ethics enable planners to avoid moral blindspots and pitfalls that often accompany wicked problems' Finally, how can the ethics of wicked problems aspire new planning ideals'
      PubDate: 2023-01-18
      DOI: 10.1007/s42532-022-00137-3
       
  • Citizen science’s transformative impact on science, citizen empowerment
           and socio-political processes

    • Free pre-print version: Loading...

      Abstract: Citizen science (CS) can foster transformative impact for science, citizen empowerment and socio-political processes. To unleash this impact, a clearer understanding of its current status and challenges for its development is needed. Using quantitative indicators developed in a collaborative stakeholder process, our study provides a comprehensive overview of the current status of CS in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Our online survey with 340 responses focused on CS impact through (1) scientific practices, (2) participant learning and empowerment, and (3) socio-political processes. With regard to scientific impact, we found that data quality control is an established component of CS practice, while publication of CS data and results has not yet been achieved by all project coordinators (55%). Key benefits for citizen scientists were the experience of collective impact (“making a difference together with others”) as well as gaining new knowledge. For the citizen scientists’ learning outcomes, different forms of social learning, such as systematic feedback or personal mentoring, were essential. While the majority of respondents attributed an important value to CS for decision-making, only few were confident that CS data were indeed utilized as evidence by decision-makers. Based on these results, we recommend (1) that project coordinators and researchers strengthen scientific impact by fostering data management and publications, (2) that project coordinators and citizen scientists enhance participant impact by promoting social learning opportunities and (3) that project initiators and CS networks foster socio-political impact through early engagement with decision-makers and alignment with ongoing policy processes. In this way, CS can evolve its transformative impact.
      PubDate: 2023-01-12
      DOI: 10.1007/s42532-022-00136-4
       
  • Urban green space planning in the Kumasi Metropolis, Ghana: a
           prioritization conundrum and its co-benefits solution

    • Free pre-print version: Loading...

      Abstract: Urban green spaces (UGS) are often promoted as a pathway to achieving urban sustainability. In relation to climate change impacts, they offer both mitigating and adaptive pathways for cities. Yet, increasing UGS is set against other development needs that confront cities of the Global South. This can result in a prioritization conundrum in urban planning processes. Using data from a questionnaire administered to 400 residents of the Kumasi Metropolis, Ghana, this paper examines residents’ awareness and priorities of UGS for conflicting rationalities and explains how this can engender a prioritization conundrum. The study finds conflicts in residents’ rationalities of UGS, manifesting as residents’ low prioritization of UGS despite their experiences of climate change impacts and awareness of UGS benefits including its role in tackling climate change impacts. Here, the prioritization conundrum concerns how to account for residents’ awareness and priorities in urban planning and plan for goals that residents do not consider a priority. Such a conundrum can derail efforts to use UGS to tackle climate change impacts. Hence, to navigate the prioritization conundrum, this paper emphasizes co-benefits to adduce two implications. First, effective mainstreaming of UGS co-benefits into urban planning is imperative, which can be achieved by harmonizing residents’ priorities with climate change goals during plan preparation for the Kumasi Metropolis and actively engaging residents in UGS planning. Secondly, traversing the prioritization conundrum is dependent on the capacity to effectively mainstream UGS co-benefits in urban planning—without which planning for UGS to tackle climate change impacts can be hindered.
      PubDate: 2022-12-27
      DOI: 10.1007/s42532-022-00135-5
       
  • Assessing indigenous community’s perspectives and attitudes toward
           tourism development impacts in the northwestern Himalayas, India

    • Free pre-print version: Loading...

      Abstract: An assessment and monitoring of tourism impacts coupled with community perception have emerged as a vital tool for ensuring the sustainability of mountain tourism destinations in recent years. The present study aims to explore the indigenous community’s perspectives on tourism impacts and their participation in the process of tourism development at Doodhpathri, an emerging tourist resort in Jammu and Kashmir, India. A non-probability convenience sampling method based on 344 questionnaires has been used to accomplish the research objectives. Inferential statistics and factor analysis were employed to analyze the collected data. Our assessment reveals that in general, tourism is viewed as a development industry. Its positives are better perceived than its negatives, given that it generates employment prospects, boosts household income, improves the image of the area, and raises the indigenous community’s standard of living. However, a substantial portion of the population living in the area perceives tourism activities as the cause of multiple environmental and biophysical issues, such as increased waste generation leading to pollution and water quality deterioration. On the whole, most of the residents were positive about future tourism development and optimistic about tourism management practices. However, the area has recently observed a voluminous influx of both local and foreign tourists, which necessitates the formulation of a sustainable tourism planning strategy.
      PubDate: 2022-12-01
      DOI: 10.1007/s42532-022-00134-6
       
 
JournalTOCs
School of Mathematical and Computer Sciences
Heriot-Watt University
Edinburgh, EH14 4AS, UK
Email: journaltocs@hw.ac.uk
Tel: +00 44 (0)131 4513762
 


Your IP address: 3.238.111.130
 
Home (Search)
API
About JournalTOCs
News (blog, publications)
JournalTOCs on Twitter   JournalTOCs on Facebook

JournalTOCs © 2009-