Moral panics and newspaper reporting in Britain: between sceptical and realistic discourses of climate change

This thesis provides the first attempt to empirically apply the moral panic framework to study British newspaper reporting on climate change by drawing upon a unique dataset of 958 news articles over three decades (1988-2016). It is original in the sense that it illuminates the "missing link" between media reporting on climate change and think tanks' denial strategies. By adopting mixed approaches, this work explores both news articles and think tanks' documents and shows how moral panics can help explore rival discourses, and the strategies adopted by powerful actors to "defend" their interests by inflaming confusion. The main implications can be identified in the use of moral panics as a valuable tool for exploring conflicts in which powerful interests are involved, and in better understanding how the "denial machine" works. I argue that in the British context, the politicisation of newspapers' narratives around climate change causes a fracture between two groups characterised by specific dominant traits, which in turn correspond to moral panic attributes. However, even in the context of "conflicted moral panics", one direction prevails, which in this case is the more conservative narrative. This can only be understood by simultaneously observing the processes of construction of each single narrative and their comparison. Therefore, simultaneously considering the two narratives, the overall "confusing image" resulting from both conflicted panics ("centre-left vs centre-right"), and the multidimensionality within the same politicised narrative, might favour a "status quo instance", which reflects the economic, political and social status quo. The interconnections between conservative think tanks and the oil industry, and in turn their influence on dictating the sceptical "story line", suggest that the media "voluntarily" reflect elite power conflicts. These results inform on those elements that inflame hostility and resistance to climate change acceptance. Policy-making that aims to promote "intervention-oriented" approaches should take into account these results, especially in relation to the dialectics between the forces at play

Climate Change Adaptation in Africa (CCAA) final report

As much as climate change variability and other physical processes, it is very often poverty – in terms of lack of resources or choices – that creates vulnerability. For example, reduced rainfall doesn’t have to be disastrous for farming communities if they have knowledge and resources to adapt their livelihood strategies. The report reflects different expressions and styles of the multi-disciplinary team members, providing a narrative through which to understand the rich tapestry of CCAA work over the past six years. CCAA recognizes both social and technical aspects of adaptation. Its research provides a vivid account of how biophysical and social factors intersect

Vulnerability and resilience to climate change in the northern mountainous region of Vietnam

Vietnam is one of the most vulnerable countries to climate change in the world. Therefore, adaptation is increasingly seen as both a necessary and urgent response. However, little is known in terms of who are the most vulnerable and how adaptation will take place. This thesis examines vulnerability and resilience to climate variability and change among communities in the northern mountainous region (NMR) of Vietnam which have been identified as among the most vulnerable communities in Vietnam. The conceptual framework of this thesis draws on the linkage between vulnerability, adaptive capacity and resilience through which to gain a better understanding of vulnerability, adaptation and resilience to climate change in Vietnam's NMR. I adopt a participatory approach to vulnerability assessment using community villages as case studies and using drought, flood and cold weather snaps as study events. The case study of the human-natural system is located in the Ba Be district of Bac Kan province in the NMR of Vietnam. Data were collected in the field from July 2009 to February 2010. Primary data in the form of interviews, focus groups and community workshops, and field observations, as well as insights from local and regional decision-makers, resource managers, scientists and secondary data in the form of published and unpublished literature are used to investigate how communities manage and experience climate-related risks. This study found that households and communities in the NMR are vulnerable to multiple stresses. The main socio-econmic determinants of local vulnerability include poverty, inequality, environmental degradation, ethnicity and community. The interaction of climate risks and local vulnerability factors threatens to overwhelm their resilience. Therefore, this thesis argues that adaptation needs to be rooted in both reducing vulnerability and increasing resilience of communities. The central approach is to increase the adaptive capacity of communities to become resilient in the context of change and uncertainty. It will be more fruitful if policy interventions focus on improving adaptive capacity of vulnerable communities rather than providing specific solutions to uncertain future climates. Addressing fundamental livelihood and development problems and strengthening social, economic, and environmental resilience will make it easier for local communities to respond to climatic risks, whether they are droughts, floods or cold snaps. Another key conclusion is that communities that learn to live with change and uncertainty become resilient. The insights emphasize the importance of learning, information exchange, reflection, innovation, and anticipation, all of which are key elements of the adaptation process

Understanding climate variability and livelihoods adaptation in rural Zimbabwe : case of Charewa, Mutoko

Rural farmers in Zimbabwe have been grappling with various changes and challenges occurring in the country since the early 1990s. Amongst these, climate variability has emerged as one significant aspect. It has introduced new challenges for these farmers who are already facing various difficulties in maintaining their insecure livelihoods. Yet, current adaptation theories and inquiries have failed to sufficiently account for and analyse the capacity of these farmers to adequately respond to changing climatic conditions. In this respect, a number of studies have been heavily embedded in deterministic concepts that regard rural farmers as passive victims who play only a minor part in decisions and actions that affect their own livelihoods and well-being. Similarly, although some studies have acknowledged farmers’ capacity to adapt and build elements of resilience, they have not adequately shown how farmers interpret changes in climate and the structures, processes and conditions underpinning adaptation. Following that, my study uses a case study of a rural community in a semi-arid region of Mutoko district in eastern Zimbabwe and Margaret Archer’s sociological theory to understand and analyse how farmers problematise climate variability and respond to it. The study utilises a qualitative approach to divulge the subtleties on how rural people interpret processes of change and adapt to such changes. The thesis found that farmers are encountering increasingly unpredictable and unreliable rainfall patterns as well as shifting temperature conditions which are inducing labyrinthian livelihoods conundrums. However, these climatic shifts are not being experienced in a discrete manner hence farmers are also discontented with the obtaining socio-economic circumstances in the country. Simultaneously, whilst farmers in large part conceived changes in rainfall and temperature to be caused by natural shifts in climate, they also ascribed them to cultural and religious facets. Importantly, the thesis reveals considerable resourcefulness by farmers in the face of nascent changes in climate variability. Farmers have therefore constructed versatile coping and adaptive strategies. What is crucial to mention here is that climatic and non-climatic challenges are negotiated concurrently. Therein, farmers are adapting to climate variability and at the same time navigating difficult socio-economic landscapes. All the same, the process of adaptation is ostensibly not straightforward but complex. As it evolves, farmers find themselves facing numerous constraining structures and processes. Nonetheless, farmers in this study are able to circumvent the constraints presented to them and at the same time activate the corresponding enabling structures, processes and conditions

Spatial epidemiology of parasitic infections and optimal survey design

Recent years have seen a shift towards integrated control of a number of tropical diseases. Such a strategy, however, relies on an understanding of the spatial distribution and overlap of different diseases. Using a combination of fieldwork, spatial and economic analyses and computerized simulations, optimal survey designs were explored for soil-transmitted helminths (STHs), Schistosoma mansoni and Plasmodium /alciparum in East Africa, and the potential of an integrated survey approach was evaluated. For STH, analysis indicated that hookworm clusters over larger scales than Ascaris lumbricoides and Trichuris trichiura, and that surveying small numbers of children, from four to five schools per district, provides a rapid and cost-effective approach to target treatment at district levels. For S. mansoni, Lot Quality Assurance Sampling (LQAS) was compared to a geostatistical survey design that allows spatial prediction at unsurveyed locations based on a subset of schools. Results showed that targeted treatment was more cost-effective than presumptive treatment and that, whilst LQAS correctly classified a higher proportion of schools requiring treatment, a geostatistical design proved more cost-effective. An investigation into the optimal spatial scale to conduct surveys for STH, S. mansoni and P. /alciparum in Kenya found that, over various cost scenarios, surveying fifty children from three randomly selected sites per sub-district provided a balance of performance and cost-effectiveness for all species. In sub-districts of low S. manson; and P.alciparum prevalence, LQAS should be used to target treatment. This thesis has shown that species-specific differences in spatial heterogeneity of infection and the costs of both mapping surveys and programme intervention have important implications for the optimal design of surveys. A two stage framework for integrated surveys is proposed allowing for a flexible approach to mapping. Similar studies in different settings are crucial and would help to assess whether changes in survey strategy are required as transmission drops due to control activities