Networks of Networks? Toward an External Perspective on Whole Networks

2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 213-233 ◽  
Author(s):  
Branda Nowell ◽  
Mary Clare Hano ◽  
Zheng Yang
Keyword(s):  
Population Dynamics ◽  
Population Ecology ◽  
Public Management ◽  
Wicked Problems ◽  
Directed Networks ◽  
Program Of Study ◽  
Theoretical Evolution ◽  
Contemporary Study ◽  
Domain Level

Abstract In light of the burgeoning literature in whole, goal-directed networks for managing wicked problems in public management, it is timely to examine the theoretical evolution that has both shaped and constrained our understanding of these networks. In this article, we argue that contemporary study of whole networks has been dominated by an internal theoretical lens aimed at understanding how internal characteristics influence network functioning and effectiveness. This perspective assumes networks operate in differentiated environments rather than emphasizing interdependence as part of a broader ecology—networks of networks. In this article, we draw from population ecology to introduce the concept of network domains and offer evidence drawn from a population of 60 health-oriented networks in three counties to illustrate domain level characteristics. Using an inductive mode of theorizing, we leverage insights from these domains to consider population dynamics and pose propositions for advancing a program of study into domain level characteristics that may shape and constrain whole networks and their members.

scholarly journals The population dynamics of perennial chenopod shrubs in semi-arid western New South Wales.

1990 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 29 ◽  
Author(s):  
DJ Eldridge
Keyword(s):  
Population Dynamics ◽  
Population Ecology ◽  
Arid Zone ◽  
Seedling Survival ◽  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Semi Arid

This thesis deals with some aspects of the population ecology of arid zone perennial chenopod shrubs. It examined the effects of grazing on the population dynamics of Atriplex vesicaria, Maireana astrotricha and Maireana pyramidata, the influence of weather on recruitment and survival of Atriplex vesicaria and the effects of various microtopographical features on seedling survival of Atriplex vesicaria.

Problem Definition and the Policy Process: Wicked Problems

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian W. Head
Keyword(s):  
Public Management ◽  
Social Problems ◽  
Social Issues ◽  
Wicked Problems ◽  
Research Literature ◽  
Problem Definition ◽  
Empirical Science ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Inclusive Processes ◽  
Policy And Planning

In the early 1970s, Rittel and Webber asserted that conventional approaches to scientific analysis and rational planning were inadequate for guiding practitioners and researchers who were tackling complex and contested social problems—which they termed “wicked” problems. The full implications of this challenging critique of rational policy planning were not elaborated at that time, but the underlying issues have attracted increasing attention and debate in later decades. Policy analysts, academic researchers, and planning practitioners have continued to grapple with the claim that conventional scientific-technical approaches might be insufficient and even misleading as a basis for understanding and responding to complex social issues. This is paradoxical in the modern era, which has been attracted to notions of evidence-based policymaking, policy evaluation, and performance-based public management. Scholarly discussion has continued to evolve concerning methods for addressing highly contested arenas of policy and planning. One key proposition is that citizens and key stakeholders tend to have conflicting perceptions about the nature of particular social “problems” and will thus have different views about appropriate responses or “solutions.” A related proposition is that these disputes are anchored in differing values and perceptions, which are not able to be adjudicated and settled by empirical science, but require inclusive processes of argumentation and conflict resolution among stakeholders. Hence, several kinds of knowledge—lay and expert, civic and professional—need to be brought together in order to develop transdisciplinary “usable knowledge.” As the research literature produces a richer array of comparative case analyses, it may become feasible to construct a more nuanced understanding of the conditions underlying various kinds of wicked problems in social policy and planning. In the meantime, generalized and indiscriminate use of the term wicked problems is not helpful for delineating the nature of the challenges faced and appropriate remedial actions.

Population ecology of the eastern pygmy-possum (Cercartetus nanus) in a montane woodland in southern New South Wales

2014 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 212 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jamie M. Harris ◽  
Ross L. Goldingay ◽  
Lyndon O. Brooks
Keyword(s):  
Population Dynamics ◽  
Population Ecology ◽  
New South ◽  
Local Population ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
The Body ◽  
Floral Resources ◽  
Nectar Feeding ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Cercartetus Nanus

The population dynamics of nectar-feeding non-flying mammals are poorly documented. We investigated aspects of the population ecology of the eastern pygmy-possum (Cercartetus nanus) in southern New South Wales. We captured 65 individuals over a 4-year period during 5045 trap-nights and 1179 nest-box checks. The body mass of adult males (mean ± s.e. = 24.6 ± 1.0 g) was marginally not significantly different (P = 0.08) from that of non-parous adult females (28.2 ± 1.9 g). Females gave birth to a single litter each year of 3–4 young during February–May. No juveniles were detected in spring of any year. Mark–recapture modelling suggested that survival probability was constant over time (0.78) while recapture probability (0.04–0.81) varied with season and trap effort. The local population (estimated at ~20–25 individuals) underwent a regular seasonal variation in abundance, with a decline in spring coinciding with the cessation of flowering by Banksia. A population trough in spring has been observed elsewhere. This appears to represent some local migration from the study area, suggesting a strategy of high mobility to track floral resources. Conservation of this species will depend on a more detailed understanding of how flowering drives population dynamics.

Population ecology of the Australian frog Crinia signifera: larvae

1999 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 81 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. Williamson ◽  
C. M. Bull
Keyword(s):  
Population Dynamics ◽  
Population Ecology ◽  
South Australia ◽  
Predation Pressure ◽  
Temporary Pools ◽  
Permanent Pond ◽  
Complete Failure ◽  
One Year ◽  
Predator Community

There are few published studies of the population ecology of the larvae of Australian native anurans. In this study we report on the population dynamics of the larvae of the Australian frog Crinia signifera at a study site near Bridgewater in the Adelaide Hills, South Australia. The predator community was also monitored to provide an indication of the importance of predation in influencing the population dynamics of C. signifera larvae. Pool drying meant larvae failed to metamorphose from temporary pools in all years of the study. In a permanent pond, mortality was high and variable, with an average of 10% survival over the three years of the study. There was a complete failure to recruit to the terrestrial phase in one year. Predation pressure was thought to be the most important source of mortality in the permanent pond, although predator numbers varied considerably between and within years. When combined with information on the population ecology of the embryonic (Williamson and Bull 1994) and terrestrial (Williamson and Bull 1996) stages, the data suggest that the aquatic phase is the key phase in the population dynamics of this species.

scholarly journals Population dynamics of Cosmoclopius nigroannulatus Stal (Hemiptera, Reduviidae) in tobacco culture

2002 ◽  
Vol 62 (4b) ◽  
pp. 819-826 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. M. JAHNKE ◽  
L. R. REDAELLI ◽  
L. M. G. DIEFENBACH
Keyword(s):  
Population Dynamics ◽  
Population Ecology ◽  
Population Estimates ◽  
Daily Survival Rate ◽  
Porto Alegre ◽  
Individual Number ◽  
Mark Release Recapture ◽  
Culture Cycle ◽  
The Individual

The role of predators influencing populations of insects considered as pests is extremely important for agroecosystems. The population ecology of Cosmoclopius nigroannulatus, a predatory reduvid associated with the tobacco culture was investigated aiming to study the population dynamics of adults, along the culture cycle. In an experimental plot of approximately 300 m², in Porto Alegre (30°0'S; 51°13'W), RS, Brazil, 270 tobacco plants were grown; each plant identified by alphanumeric coordinates. Using the mark-release-recapture method, daily samplings were done from August to December 1999, and three times a week from this date until April 2000. The adults were captured by hand, marked, sexed and released on the same plant they were captured. The individual number and plant coordinate were registered. Population estimates were analyzed by the Fisher-Ford method. In 107 sampling occasions, 604 individuals were marked, 273 males and 331 females. Three generations of C. nigroannulatus were registered during the culture cycle. The colonizing generation was represented by 14 males and 15 females (a sex ratio of 0.48), the first by 109 males and 137 females (0.44) and the second by 150 males and 179 females (0.46). The estimated daily survival rate varied between generations decreasing from 98% in the colonizing generation to 87% in the second. The observed longevity or permanence time in the experimental area varied significantly among generations, being at about 40 days in the colonizing generation, 13 days in the first and 5 days in the second. It was observed that as the population increases, the survival and/or permanence time in the area decreases, suggesting a relation between this and a decline in the available resources probably with an associated increase in intra-specific competition.

scholarly journals Dynamic energy budget theory and population ecology: lessons from Daphnia

2010 ◽  
Vol 365 (1557) ◽  
pp. 3541-3552 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roger M. Nisbet ◽  
Edward McCauley ◽  
Leah R. Johnson
Keyword(s):  
Population Dynamics ◽  
Population Ecology ◽  
Energy Budget ◽  
Large Body ◽  
Energy Utilization ◽  
State Variables ◽  
Bioenergetic Model ◽  
Dynamic Energy Budget ◽  
Individual Organism ◽  
Starting Point

Dynamic energy budget (DEB) theory offers a perspective on population ecology whose starting point is energy utilization by, and homeostasis within, individual organisms. It is natural to ask what it adds to the existing large body of individual-based ecological theory. We approach this question pragmatically—through detailed study of the individual physiology and population dynamics of the zooplankter Daphnia and its algal food. Standard DEB theory uses several state variables to characterize the state of an individual organism, thereby making the transition to population dynamics technically challenging, while ecologists demand maximally simple models that can be used in multi-scale modelling. We demonstrate that simpler representations of individual bioenergetics with a single state variable (size), and two life stages (juveniles and adults), contain sufficient detail on mass and energy budgets to yield good fits to data on growth, maturation and reproduction of individual Daphnia in response to food availability. The same simple representations of bioenergetics describe some features of Daphnia mortality, including enhanced mortality at low food that is not explicitly incorporated in the standard DEB model. Size-structured, population models incorporating this additional mortality component resolve some long-standing questions on stability and population cycles in Daphnia . We conclude that a bioenergetic model serving solely as a ‘regression’ connecting organismal performance to the history of its environment can rest on simpler representations than those of standard DEB. But there are associated costs with such pragmatism, notably loss of connection to theory describing interspecific variation in physiological rates. The latter is an important issue, as the type of detailed study reported here can only be performed for a handful of species.

scholarly journals Population dynamics and the evolution of sex-determination in lemmings

1980 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 199-209 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. D. Carothers
Keyword(s):  
Population Dynamics ◽  
Population Ecology ◽  
Evolutionary Genetics ◽  
Direct Consequence ◽  
Evolutionary Stability ◽  
Direct Link ◽  
Wood Lemming ◽  
Characteristic Features ◽  
Myopus Schisticolor ◽  
Dicrostonyx Torquatus

SUMMARYThe hypothesis is advanced that the evolutionary stability of the unusual sex-determining mechanisms of the Wood Lemming (Myopus schisticolor) and of the Varying Lemming (Dicrostonyx torquatus) is a direct consequence of certain characteristic features of their population dynamics, and that these include phases of unrestrained population growth and of mass dispersal. Computer simulations confirm the feasibility of such an explanation. Predictions of this hypothesis are found to differ in a potentially testable manner from those of the ‘inbreeding’ hypothesis of Stenseth (1978). The demonstration of such a direct link between population ecology and evolutionary genetics would, if substantiated, be exceptional in mammals.

Variations in the reproductive rate of birds

1956 ◽  
Vol 145 (920) ◽  
pp. 329-333 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Population Genetics ◽  
Population Dynamics ◽  
Clutch Size ◽  
Population Ecology ◽  
Wild Population ◽  
Survival Rates ◽  
Reproductive Rate ◽  
Death Rates ◽  
Balanced Polymorphism ◽  
In The Wild

At the present time, some geneticists are using the term ‘population dynamics’ for differences in the survival rates of different genotypes in the wild (population genetics), while some ecologists are using it for the balance between birth-rates and death-rates in a whole population (population ecology). Hence further clarification and definition seem desirable if confusion is to be avoided. My own studies are ecological. The reproductive rate of birds seems, in general, to he the highest possible, each species breeding when conditions normally permit it to raise young, and laying a clutch corresponding to the largest number of young that it can successfully nourish (Lack 1954). Since in the same population some individuals consistently lay rather larger clutches than others, there is probably some hereditary variability in clutch size. This may be a balanced polymorphism due to the fact that, through differences in feeding conditions, the most effective size of family differs somewhat in different years. My later research has been concerned with a different problem, namely, the variations in the clutch size of the same individual under different conditions. As such variations directly affect the number of offspring, the tendency to vary in such ways is presumably adaptive and subject to strong selection.

scholarly journals The Notion of Good and Bad Governance in Comparative Perspective

2011 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-16
Author(s):  
Rockman Bert A. ◽  
Hahm Sung Deuk
Keyword(s):  
Public Management ◽  
Comparative Perspective ◽  
Theoretical Frameworks ◽  
Social Instability ◽  
Government Institutions ◽  
Economic Stagnation ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities ◽  
Theoretical Evolution ◽  
The Government ◽  
Better Than

A governance crisis may not only be detrimental to public trust of the government, but can also be a source of economic stagnation and social instability. Good and bad governance has become an indispensable line of research in public management. Scholars and practitioners in public management are concerned about what makes some government institutions better than others. This paper first explores the theoretical evolution of the term "governance" as distinct from "government." Second, it sorts out factors related to definitions and measurements of good and bad governance in comparative perspective based on two competing theoretical frameworks for understanding these concepts: principles and consequences. Third, it provides criteria for the notion of good and bad governance and argues that it is multidimensional, continuous rather than discrete, conditional, consequential, and empirical as well as philosophical. Finally, this paper identifies emerging challenges and opportunities for advancing understanding of good and bad governance.

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