scholarly journals Local disease–ecosystem–livelihood dynamics: reflections from comparative case studies in Africa

2017 ◽  
Vol 372 (1725) ◽  
pp. 20160163 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melissa Leach ◽  
Bernard Bett ◽  
M. Said ◽  
Salome Bukachi ◽  
Rosemary Sang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Case Studies ◽  
One Health ◽  
Cultural Practices ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Patch Dynamics ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Valley Fever ◽  
Humid Forest ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Ecosystem Interactions

This article explores the implications for human health of local interactions between disease, ecosystems and livelihoods. Five interdisciplinary case studies addressed zoonotic diseases in African settings: Rift Valley fever (RVF) in Kenya, human African trypanosomiasis in Zambia and Zimbabwe, Lassa fever in Sierra Leone and henipaviruses in Ghana. Each explored how ecological changes and human–ecosystem interactions affect pathogen dynamics and hence the likelihood of zoonotic spillover and transmission, and how socially differentiated peoples’ interactions with ecosystems and animals affect their exposure to disease. Cross-case analysis highlights how these dynamics vary by ecosystem type, across a range from humid forest to semi-arid savannah; the significance of interacting temporal and spatial scales; and the importance of mosaic and patch dynamics. Ecosystem interactions and services central to different people's livelihoods and well-being include pastoralism and agro-pastoralism, commercial and subsistence crop farming, hunting, collecting food, fuelwood and medicines, and cultural practices. There are synergies, but also tensions and trade-offs, between ecosystem changes that benefit livelihoods and affect disease. Understanding these can inform ‘One Health’ approaches towards managing ecosystems in ways that reduce disease risks and burdens. This article is part of the themed issue ‘One Health for a changing world: zoonoses, ecosystems and human well-being’.

scholarly journals Structural drivers of vulnerability to zoonotic disease in Africa

2017 ◽  
Vol 372 (1725) ◽  
pp. 20160169 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vupenyu Dzingirai ◽  
Salome Bukachi ◽  
Melissa Leach ◽  
Lindiwe Mangwanya ◽  
Ian Scoones ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Political Ecology ◽  
One Health ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Lassa Fever ◽  
Zoonotic Diseases ◽  
Valley Fever ◽  
Health Service Provision ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Structural Drivers ◽  
Political Dimensions

This paper argues that addressing the underlying structural drivers of disease vulnerability is essential for a ‘One Health’ approach to tackling zoonotic diseases in Africa. Through three case studies—trypanosomiasis in Zimbabwe, Ebola and Lassa fever in Sierra Leone and Rift Valley fever in Kenya—we show how political interests, commercial investments and conflict and securitization all generate patterns of vulnerability, reshaping the political ecology of disease landscapes, influencing traditional coping mechanisms and affecting health service provision and outbreak responses. A historical, political economy approach reveals patterns of ‘structural violence’ that reinforce inequalities and marginalization of certain groups, increasing disease risks. Addressing the politics of One Health requires analysing trade-offs and conflicts between interests and visions of the future. For all zoonotic diseases economic and political dimensions are ultimately critical and One Health approaches must engage with these factors, and not just end with an ‘anti-political’ focus on institutional and disciplinary collaboration. This article is part of the themed issue ‘One Health for a changing world: zoonoses, ecosystems and human well-being’.

scholarly journals Zoonoses, One Health and complexity: wicked problems and constructive conflict

2017 ◽  
Vol 372 (1725) ◽  
pp. 20160171 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Waltner-Toews
Keyword(s):  
One Health ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Wicked Problems ◽  
Ecological Systems ◽  
Value Systems ◽  
Complex Interactions ◽  
Constructive Conflict ◽  
Changing World

Infectious zoonoses emerge from complex interactions among social and ecological systems. Understanding this complexity requires the accommodation of multiple, often conflicting, perspectives and narratives, rooted in different value systems and temporal–spatial scales. Therefore, to be adaptive, successful and sustainable, One Health approaches necessarily entail conflicts among observers, practitioners and scholars. Nevertheless, these integrative approaches have, both implicitly and explicitly, tended to marginalize some perspectives and prioritize others, resulting in a kind of technocratic tyranny. An important function of One Health approaches should be to facilitate and manage those conflicts, rather than to impose solutions. This article is part of the themed issue ‘One Health for a changing world: zoonoses, ecosystems and human well-being’.

Wild Capital

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barbara K. Jones
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Natural Resources ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Policy Maker ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Cultural Bias ◽  
Habitat Conservation ◽  
Capital Asset ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Asset Value

How we determine what is nature, what is wild, or even what in nature is worth protecting occurs through our human perspective. Whether it is a charismatic manatee or a majestic redwood, we care about and protect the things we love because they offer us something we value. To make this value relevant in the economic marketplace of competing choices, Wild Capital: Nature’s Economic and Ecological Wealth relies on the ecosystem services model, where nature’s value is determined through the services intact ecosystems provide to our well-being. As one of the recreation components of this model, this book uses ecotourism and the changing tourist dynamic, as well as our evolving relationship with nature, to demonstrate how we can assign a measurable worth to natural resources. If a developer or a policy maker can more equitably compare the capital asset value of development with that of wild nature, better decisions regarding economic and ecological trade-offs can be made. Wild Capital then incorporates the cultural bias we have for charismatic megafauna to link policy decisions regarding biodiversity and habitat conservation to those charismatic animals we care about so intensely. The five megafauna case studies provide solid evidence of the role charismatic species can play in protecting our planet’s biodiversity and ensuring our well-being long into the future.

scholarly journals The Nexus Concept Integrating Energy and Resource Efficiency for Policy Assessments: A Comparative Approach from Three Cases

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 4860 ◽  
Author(s):  
Floor Brouwer ◽  
Lydia Vamvakeridou-Lyroudia ◽  
Eva Alexandri ◽  
Ingrida Bremere ◽  
Matthew Griffey ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Case Studies ◽  
Policy Design ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
National Level ◽  
Feedback Loops ◽  
Comparative Approach ◽  
Low Carbon ◽  
Environmental Pressures ◽  
Use Of Resources ◽  
Trade Offs

As the world increasingly runs up against physical constraints of energy, land, water, and food, there is a growing role for policy to reduce environmental pressures without adversely affecting increases in prosperity. There is therefore a need for policy makers to understand the potential trade-offs and/or synergies between the uses of these different resources, i.e., to encompass the water–energy–food–land nexus for policy and decision making, where it is no longer possible to ignore the limitations in land availability and its links to other natural resources. This paper proposes a modelling approach to help to assess various policies from a nexus perspective. The global macro-econometric model (E3ME) explores a low-carbon transition through different sets of energy and climate policies applied at different spatial scales. The limitations of the E3ME model in assessing nexus interactions are discussed. The paper also argues and offers an explanation for why no single traditional or classic model has the potential to cover all parts of the nexus in a satisfactory way, including feedback loops and interactions between nexus components. Other approaches and methodologies suitable for complexity science modelling (e.g., system dynamics modelling) are proposed, providing a possible means to capture the holistic approach of the nexus in policy-making by including causal and feedback loops to the model components. Based on three case studies in Europe, the paper clarifies the different steps (from policy design towards conceptual model) in modelling the nexus linkages and interactions at the national and regional levels. One case study (The Netherlands) considers national low-carbon transitions at national level. Two other case studies (Latvia and southwest UK) focus on how renewable energy may impact the nexus. A framework is proposed for the generic application of quantitative modelling approaches to assess nexus linkages. The value of the nexus concept for the efficient use of resources is demonstrated, and recommendations for policies supporting the nexus are presented.

Implementing marine ecosystem-based management: lessons from Australia

2017 ◽  
Vol 74 (7) ◽  
pp. 1990-2003 ◽  
Author(s):  
David C. Smith ◽  
Elizabeth A. Fulton ◽  
Petrina Apfel ◽  
Ian D. Cresswell ◽  
Bronwyn M. Gillanders ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Case Studies ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Marine Ecosystem ◽  
South Australia ◽  
Multiple Use ◽  
Marine Systems ◽  
Ecosystem Based Management ◽  
Ocean Policy ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Use Context

Abstract Ecosystem-based management (EBM) is now widely accepted as the best means of managing the complex interactions in marine systems. However, progress towards implementing and operationalizing it has been slow. We take a pragmatic approach to EBM. Our simple definition is balancing human activities and environmental stewardship in a multiple-use context. In this paper, we present case studies on the development and implementation of EBM in Australia. The case studies (Australia’s Ocean Policy, the Great Barrier Reef, New South Wales (NSW) marine estate, Gladstone Harbour, and South Australia and Spencer Gulf) span different spatial scales, from national to regional to local. They also cover different levels of governance or legislated mandate. We identify the key learnings, necessary components and future needs to support better implementation. These include requirements for clearly identified needs and objectives, stakeholder ownership, well defined governance frameworks, and scientific tools to deal with conflicts and trade-offs. Without all these components, multi-sector management will be difficult and there will be a tendency to maintain a focus on single sectors. While the need to manage individual sectors remains important and is often challenging, this alone will not necessarily ensure sustainable management of marine systems confronted by increasing cumulative impacts.

SenCity – Evaluating Users’ Experiences of Intelligent Lighting for Well-Being in Smart Cities

2018 ◽  
pp. 60-67
Author(s):  
Henrika Pihlajaniemi ◽  
Anna Luusua ◽  
Eveliina Juntunen
Keyword(s):  
Case Studies ◽  
Smart City ◽  
Smart Cities ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Evaluation Methods ◽  
Data Analyses ◽  
Sense Of Security ◽  
System Data

This paper presents the evaluation of usersХ experiences in three intelligent lighting pilots in Finland. Two of the case studies are related to the use of intelligent lighting in different kinds of traffic areas, having emphasis on aspects of visibility, traffic and movement safety, and sense of security. The last case study presents a more complex view to the experience of intelligent lighting in smart city contexts. The evaluation methods, tailored to each pilot context, include questionnaires, an urban dashboard, in-situ interviews and observations, evaluation probes, and system data analyses. The applicability of the selected and tested methods is discussed reflecting the process and achieved results.

A Qualitative Study Exploring Harmful Cultural Practices and HIV Stigma in North Central Nigeria

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-11
Author(s):  
Bala Augustine Nalah ◽  
Azlinda Azman ◽  
Paramjit Singh Jamir Singh
Keyword(s):  
Hiv Infection ◽  
Hiv Transmission ◽  
Cultural Practices ◽  
Qualitative Interviews ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Cultural Practice ◽  
Hiv Stigma ◽  
Hiv Positive ◽  
North Central ◽  
Harmful Cultural Practices

Harmful cultural practices have psychosocial implications on stigmatization and vulnerability to HIV infection among HIV positive living in North Central Nigeria. To understand this, we conducted qualitative interviews with purposively selected 20 diagnosed HIV positive to explore how culture influences stigmatization and HIV transmission. Data was collected using audio-recorder, transcribed, and analyzed through thematic analysis using ATLAS.ti8 software to code and analyze interview transcripts. The coded data were presented using thematic network analysis to visualize the theme, sub-themes, and quotations in a model. The findings reveal that lack of education was a significant determinant for the continual practice of harmful cultural rites, thereby increasing the risk of HIV infection and stigmatization. Hence, six cultural facilitators have been identified to include female genital mutilation, lack of education, tribal marks and scarification, postpartum sexual abstinence during breastfeeding, sexual intercourse during menstruation, and gender inequality, polygamy, and inheritance law. We conclude that educational teachings and advocacy campaigns be organized in rural schools and public places on the implications of harmful cultural practice to health and psychological well-being. We recommend that the social workers and behavioral scientists should collaborate with other agencies to employ a behavioral-based intervention in eliminating cultural practices and HIV stigma.

scholarly journals Fathoming postnatural oceans: Towards a low trophic theory in the practices of feminist posthumanities

2021 ◽  
pp. 251484862110285
Author(s):  
Marietta Radomska ◽  
Cecilia Åsberg
Keyword(s):  
Case Studies ◽  
Oil Spills ◽  
Cultural Practices ◽  
Marine Pollution ◽  
Deep Time ◽  
Arts And Humanities ◽  
Slow Violence ◽  
Human Care ◽  
Ethical Stance ◽  
The Baltic

As the planet’s largest ecosystem, oceans stabilise climate, produce oxygen, store CO2 and host unfathomable biodiversity at a deep time-scale. In recent decades, scientific assessments have indicated that the oceans are seriously degraded to the detriment of most near-future societies. Human-induced impacts range from climate change, ocean acidification, loss of biodiversity, eutrophication and marine pollution to local degradation of marine and coastal environments. Such environmental violence takes form of both ‘spectacular’ events, like oil spills and ‘slow violence’, occurring gradually and out of sight. The purpose of this paper is to show four cases of coastal and marine forms of slow violence and to provide counter-accounts of how to reinvent our consumer imaginary at such locations, as well as to develop what is here referred to as ‘low-trophic theory,’ a situated ethical stance that attends to entanglements of consumption, food, violence, environmental adaptability and more-than-human care from the co-existential perspective of multispecies ethics. We combine field-philosophical case studies with insights from marine science, environmental art and cultural practices in the Baltic and North Sea region and feminist posthumanities. The paper shows that the oceanic imaginary is not a unified place, but rather, a set of forces, which requires renewed ethical approaches, conceptual inventiveness and practical creativity. Based on the case studies and examples presented, the authors conclude that the consideration of more-than-human ethical perspectives, provided by environmental arts and humanities is crucial for both research on nature and space, and for the flourishing of local multispecies communities. This paper thus inaugurates thinking and practice along the proposed here ethical stance of low-trophic theory, developed it along the methodological lines of feminist environmental posthumanities.

scholarly journals How Children in Germany Experience Refugees: A Contribution From Childhood Studies

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sabine Andresen ◽  
Sascha Neumann ◽  
Ulrich Schneekloth
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Refugee Children ◽  
Childhood Studies ◽  
Representative Survey ◽  
Fourth World ◽  
Political Issues ◽  
Qualitative Case Studies ◽  
World Vision

AbstractThis paper deals with perceptions, encounters and experiences of children with refugees and refugee children in Germany. It is based on the Fourth World Vision Children Study, which is regularly conducted in Germany since 2007. The study is based on a representative survey among 6- to 11-year-old children, which was combined with qualitative case studies and focuses on children´s well-being, their fears, their concerns as well as their attitudes toward other societal groups and contemporary political issues. For the survey of the Fourth World Vision Children Study, in the questionnaire there were also items included which should allow collecting data on children´s encounters and experiences with refugees, and particularly refugees who are their peers. This paper presents the approach taken in the study and how it is embedded conceptually in childhood studies before reporting and discussing selected findings on the experiences of children in Germany with refugees in their neighbourhood and among their peers. The findings presented in this paper refer to contact as well as interactions and opportunities for establishing friendships between refugee and non-refugee children. This is followed by a discussion of the implications these findings have in terms of consequences for supporting refugee children when arriving at Germany. In the conclusion, we will finally point out the implications of our study for the broader field of childhood studies in social sciences.

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