frame analysis in research and policymaking on climate adaptation

Due to the various stakes, values and views of social groups involved with climate change and adaptation, the process of developing the Dutch National Adaptation Strategy (NAS) needs to take a plurality of frames into account. The PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency (PBL) aimed to inform this process using frame analysis. However, researchers at PBL did not succeed in applying the method as planned. Over the course of the production of the NAS, the hegemonic science-risk frame, which focuses on quantitative identification and subsequent prevention of risks, emerged as the dominant frame. Our case analysis based on participant observation and interviews shows that, even when frame-reflection was explicitly aimed for, this happened to be downscaled, unwittingly, under influence of tensions, challenges and paradoxes encountered during the essential balancing act that characterizes complex science-policy interfaces. Roles, interaction processes, client needs, internal processes are dynamically shaping and shaped by institutionalised expectations over objectivity, independence, inclusiveness and effectiveness. We argue that what makes frame analysis worthwhile is not so much its presupposed power to lead to the adoption of a multiplicity of frames, but rather its ability to lead to a form of institutionalized critique that refuses to take automatic recourse to a dominant frame (e.g. the science-risk frame). Thus, frame analysis is a crucial instrument in performing the aforementioned craft of science-policy interfacing, and needs to be more firmly integrated into science-policy interfacing for this very reason

Psychophysiological responses underlying unresolved loss and trauma in the Adult Attachment Interview

Unresolved loss/trauma in the context of the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI) has been theorised to result from dissociative processing of fear-related memories and ideas. To examine the plausibility of this model, this study tested hypothesised associations between unresolved loss/trauma and indicators of autonomic nervous system (ANS) reactivity. First-time pregnant women (N = 235) participated in the AAI while heart rate (interbeat interval; IBI) and indicators of parasympathetic reactivity (respiratory sinus arrhythmia; RSA) and sympathetic reactivity (pre-ejection period; PEP, skin conductance level; SCL) were recorded. Using multilevel modelling, ANS reactivity was examined in relation to topic (loss/trauma versus other questions); discussion of actual loss/trauma; classification of unresolved/disorganised; and unresolved responses during the interview. Responses to loss/trauma questions and discussion of loss were associated with respectively larger and smaller IBIs. There was no moderation by unresolved/disorganised status. Unresolved responses about loss were associated with smaller IBIs. Participants classified as unresolved/disorganised showed decreasing PEP and blunted SCL throughout the whole interview. The findings suggest that unresolved speech about loss co-occurs with physiological arousal, although the inconclusive findings regarding parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous system responses fail to clearly support the role of fear

From paradox to principles: where next for scientific advice to governments?

Scientific advice to governments has never been in greater demand; nor has it been more contested. From climate change to cyber-security, poverty to pandemics, food technologies to fracking, the questions being asked of scientists, engineers and other experts by policymakers, the media and the wider public continue to multiply and increase in complexity. At the same time, the authority and legitimacy of experts are under increasing scrutiny. This thematic article collection (‘special issue’) brings together perspectives on the theory, practice and politics of scientific advice that build on the conclusions of the landmark conference in Auckland in August 2014, which led to the creation of the International Network for Government Science Advice (INGSA). We hope that new papers will continue to be added to this collection over the next year and beyond, making it a living, fully open access repository for new scholarship and policy thinking—and an important contribution to the emerging science and art of scientific advice

Stress, Depressive Symptoms, and Maternal Self-Efficacy in First-Time Mothers: Modelling and Predicting Change across the First Six Months of Motherhood

Background: First-time mothers commonly experience stress and depressive symptoms in the postpartum period. Maternal self-efficacy has been shown to be an important protective factor against these experiences; however, research on the dynamic nature of stress, depressive symptoms, and maternal self-efficacy is limited. The aim of this study was to document changes in these psychological factors among first-time mothers, and determine how early maternal self-efficacy perceptions may predict change in stress and depressive symptoms over the first 6 months postpartum. Methods: Sixty first-time Australian mothers were recruited during their third trimester of pregnancy. Participants completed a baseline survey during the third trimester of pregnancy (M = 32.87 weeks, SD = 2.62 weeks), and subsequently reported stress, depressive symptoms, and maternal self-efficacy every 3 weeks postpartum for 6 months. Latent growth curve modelling was used to estimate participants’ change over time for stress and depressive symptoms. Results: First-time mothers’ stress and depressive symptoms peaked, and maternal self-efficacy was weakest, at 3 weeks postpartum. Maternal self-efficacy at 3 weeks postpartum was a significant (negative) predictor of 3-week levels of, and also (positively) predicted later reductions in, stress. Conclusion: Future interventions aimed at bolstering early maternal self-efficacy may protect against postpartum stress for first-time mothers

Transformative policy mixes in socio-technical scenarios: the case of the low-carbon transition of the German electricity system (2010-2050)

Much research and policy advice for addressing climate change has focused on developing model-based scenarios to identify pathways towards achieving decarbonisation targets. The paper's first aim is to complement such model-based analysis with insights from socio-technical transition analysis to develop socio-technical storylines that show how low-carbon transitions can be implemented. Our second aim is to explore how policymakers could govern such transition processes through transformative policy mixes. We take the example of the transition of the German electricity system towards renewable energies, and elaborate two transition pathways which are assumed to achieve an 80% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, but differ in terms of lead actors, depth and scope of change: the first pathway captures the substitution of technological components (pathway A), while the second aims at broader system transformation (pathway B). We find that multi-dimensional socio-technical change (pathway B) requires greater emphasis on societal experimentation and a more proactive role for anticipatory deliberation processes from the outset. In contrast, shifting gear from a new entrant friendly past trajectory to an incumbent dominated pathway (pathway A) requires agency from incumbents and is associated with regime stabilizing instruments defending the old regime while simultaneously fulfilling decarbonisation as additional success criteria

Government expert organisations in-between logics: Practising participatory knowledge production at the PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency

Petersen, A.C. [Promotor]Tuinstra, W. [Copromotor]Vasileiadou, E. [Copromotor

A longitudinal and experimental analysis of the transition to parenthood: Explaining parenting self-efficacy, anxiety symptoms, and depressive symptoms

Schuengel, C. [Promotor]Oosterman, M. [Copromotor