Morphological and functional changes in biologically active points in acupuncture

Acupuncture has been known to mankind for centuries. However, scientific knowledge still seeks an explanation for the morphological and physiological changes that occur in the living organism under its influence. Scientific research provides evidence, explaining the process of initiation and transmission of information in acupuncture points. There is convincing data on the electrical properties, the greater number of receptors, and the free nerve endings in biologically active points of the skin. The changes, observed after needle insertion in biologically active points, and the contribution of various structures form the foundation of the acupuncture effect. This effect includes activation of the circulation of biologically active substances, changes in vascular tone and biochemical processes. The subject of discussion in recent years is the close relationship between acupuncture points and mast cells. Their degranulation and the presence of histamine and serotonin-positive cells near the acupuncture channel have been the focus of attention in numerous experimental and clinical studies

Moving towards multi-layered, mixed-species forests in riparian buffers will enhance their long-term function in boreal landscapes

Riparian buffers are the primary tool in forest management for protecting the habitat structure and function of streams. They help protect against biogeochemical perturbation, filter sediments and nutrients, prevent erosion, contribute food to aquatic organisms, regulate light and hence water temperature, contribute deadwood, and preserve biodiversity. However, in production forests of Sweden and Finland, many headwater streams have been straightened, ditched, and/or channelized, resulting in altered hydrology and reduced natural disturbance by floods, which in turn affects important riparian functions. Furthermore, in even-aged management systems as practiced in much of Fennoscandia, understory trees have usually been cleared right up to the stream's edge during thinning operations, especially around small, headwater streams. Fire suppression has further favored succession towards shade tolerant species. In the regions within Fennoscandia that have experienced this combination of intensive management and lack of natural disturbance, riparian zones are now dominated by single-storied, native Norway spruce. When the adjacent forest is cut, thin (5 - 15m) conifer-dominated riparian buffers are typically left. These buffers do not provide the protection and subsidies, in terms of leaf litter quality, needed to maintain water quality or support riparian or aquatic biodiversity. Based on a literature review, we found compelling evidence that the ecological benefits of multi-layered, mixed-species riparian forest with a large component of broadleaved species are higher than what is now commonly found in the managed stands of Fennoscandia. To improve the functionality of riparian zones, and hence the protection of streams in managed forest landscapes, we present some basic principles that could be used to enhance the ecological function of these interfaces. These management actions should be prioritized on streams and streamside stands that have been affected by simplification either through forest management or hydrological modification. Key to these principles is the planning and managing of buffer zones as early as possible in the rotation to ensure improved function throughout the rotation cycle and not only at final felling. This is well in line with EU and national legislation which can be interpreted as requiring landscape planning at all forest ages to meet biodiversity and other environmental goals. However, it is still rare that planning for conservation is done other than at the final felling stage. Implementing this new strategy is likely to have long-term positive effects and improve the protection of surface waters from negative forestry effects and a history of fire suppression. By following these suggested management principles, there will be a longer time period with high function and greater future management flexibility in addition to the benefits provided by leaving riparian buffers at the final felling stage

Which factors spur forest owners' collaboration over forest waters?

Collaborative river basin governance has been advocated both by research and legislation, while at the same time certain silvicultural practices are shown to lead to deteriorating water quality. In order for collaboration to be initiated, however, the majority of key stakeholders must be willing to participate. This paper investigates which factors at the local level are crucial for initiating collaboration over forest waters among individual private forest owners. For that purpose, a survey was sent out to all individual forest owners within a catchment area in northern Sweden. The survey was complemented by a qualitative analysis of in-depth interviews. The existence of several key preconditions for the initiation of collaboration was investigated, namely: low belief and cultural heterogeneity, information diffusion, perception of the problem, existing stores of social capital, interdependence, and leadership. The results show that although the context was one of low belief and cultural heterogeneity, individual private forest owners are not interested in collaborating for improved forest water unless they perceive the issue of water quality important enough to invest resources in collaboration. It also became clear that the diffusion of information about the problem is not reaching those stakeholders who are crucial for the commencement of collaboration. Moreover, those stakeholders do not recognise their interdependence on each other for resolving the issue and therefore the need for collaboration. Finally, initiating leadership was also found to be lacking, leading to the conclusion that to successfully implement policies requiring collaborative management of natural resources among highly empowered individual forest owners, those missing factors need to be addressed by the state.Special issue: Taking stock of multiple environmental social sciencesFriskt vatten: samverkan för att minska skogsbrukets negativa inverkan på vattenkvalite

The role of legitimacy in the implementation of outputs from collaborativeprocesses : A national dialogue for forest water consideration in Sweden

Governments are increasingly applying collaborative approaches even though little is known about how effectively the outputs are implemented. This empirical study used the ‘Soil and Water’ Working Group of the Dialogue for Nature Consideration in Sweden to investigate which aspects of legitimacy influence the implementation of collaborative outputs. It included document analysis, observation and 38 interviews with participants and representatives of implementing organisations. Despite being recommendations and lacking authoritative rule, the outputs from a collaborative process are implemented to a very high degree in educational and planning material all over Sweden. The forest sector’s general perception of the outputs as having high procedural, source-based and substantive legitimacy has been crucial to their extensive implementation

Global Governance in the Brazilian Amazon : Co-Management of Land Resources

The aim of this paper is to critically asses the different actors participating in the multilevel management of land resources in the Brazilian Amazon, through the theoretical framework of global governance studies and resource co-management. Four principles of adaptive resource co-management from existing theory were used: co-management as power sharing, comanagement as institution building, co-management as good governance, and co-management as trust building. During the analysis of the empirical material it became apparent that one side of the interaction between different actors in the Brazilian Amazon was not covered in previous literature, and that was the formation of horizontal and/or vertical partnerships between independent entities, or “co-management as network creation”. These partnerships, lasting or not, are established for the achievement of the common aim and lead to gains for all parties involved

Global Governance in the Brazilian Amazon : Co-Management of Land Resources

The aim of this paper is to critically asses the different actors participating in the multilevel management of land resources in the Brazilian Amazon, through the theoretical framework of global governance studies and resource co-management. Four principles of adaptive resource co-management from existing theory were used: co-management as power sharing, comanagement as institution building, co-management as good governance, and co-management as trust building. During the analysis of the empirical material it became apparent that one side of the interaction between different actors in the Brazilian Amazon was not covered in previous literature, and that was the formation of horizontal and/or vertical partnerships between independent entities, or “co-management as network creation”. These partnerships, lasting or not, are established for the achievement of the common aim and lead to gains for all parties involved

Forest water governance : challenges in cross-sectoral and multi-level collaboration

Forests and water are highly interconnected with forestry practices negatively affecting forest water. In the last five decades, the Swedish state has enacted multiple policy changes and allocated significant resources towards the implementation of soft policy instruments to alleviate the effects on forest water. The European Union Water Framework Directive has further raised the legal requirements for water protection, including within the forest sector. However, these efforts have largely failed thus far. Forests and water are governed by two separate sectors, each with its own polycentric governance system and policy goals that are often conflicting. The governance mode of these systems is determined by a unique combination of policy instruments and a varying degree of centralisation depending on state involvement. Since governing forest water requires collaboration between the forest and water sector governance systems, it entails interplay between the two systems on different ecological scales. The aim of this thesis is to explore and explain the challenges related to the governance of a resource that requires cross-sectoral multi-level governance and to examine the role of the state in those interactions. The thesis includes a mix of quantitative (survey and aerial photographs) and qualitative (interviews, analysis of documents and meeting observations) research methods for investigating forest water governance across national, regional and local levels. Empirically, it involves four case studies analysing units embedded in the larger case – namely cross-sectoral governance of forest water. The results show that within the current structure of Swedish forest water governance there is minimal cross-sectoral collaboration, with an exception being at the national level. Regional and local implementation of the outputs produced at national level relies mainly on the forest sector, with little to no coordination with water sector institutions at the regional district or river basin levels. Moreover, power asymmetries between the two sectors are transposed to the collaborative process which affects participants’ capacity to influence the governance of forest water. Since the studied cases show that most of the financial resources for forest water protection are provided top-down, the role of the state in initiating and maintaining collaboration is crucial. The thesis confirms previous research findings that water governance requires a more centralised polycentric governance system. Combining polycentric governance (including at the river basin scale) with centralised state-coordination is a potential solution to problems that require cross-sectoral and multi-level governance interplay. Further inquiry into cross-sectoral governance of natural resources could develop a better understanding of how coordination in polycentric governance systems at different ecological scales could be structured to mitigate policy goal conflicts across sectors and institutional levels, thus fostering more effective governance

Forest water governance : challenges in cross-sectoral and multi-level collaboration

Forests and water are highly interconnected with forestry practices negatively affecting forest water. In the last five decades, the Swedish state has enacted multiple policy changes and allocated significant resources towards the implementation of soft policy instruments to alleviate the effects on forest water. The European Union Water Framework Directive has further raised the legal requirements for water protection, including within the forest sector. However, these efforts have largely failed thus far. Forests and water are governed by two separate sectors, each with its own polycentric governance system and policy goals that are often conflicting. The governance mode of these systems is determined by a unique combination of policy instruments and a varying degree of centralisation depending on state involvement. Since governing forest water requires collaboration between the forest and water sector governance systems, it entails interplay between the two systems on different ecological scales. The aim of this thesis is to explore and explain the challenges related to the governance of a resource that requires cross-sectoral multi-level governance and to examine the role of the state in those interactions. The thesis includes a mix of quantitative (survey and aerial photographs) and qualitative (interviews, analysis of documents and meeting observations) research methods for investigating forest water governance across national, regional and local levels. Empirically, it involves four case studies analysing units embedded in the larger case – namely cross-sectoral governance of forest water. The results show that within the current structure of Swedish forest water governance there is minimal cross-sectoral collaboration, with an exception being at the national level. Regional and local implementation of the outputs produced at national level relies mainly on the forest sector, with little to no coordination with water sector institutions at the regional district or river basin levels. Moreover, power asymmetries between the two sectors are transposed to the collaborative process which affects participants’ capacity to influence the governance of forest water. Since the studied cases show that most of the financial resources for forest water protection are provided top-down, the role of the state in initiating and maintaining collaboration is crucial. The thesis confirms previous research findings that water governance requires a more centralised polycentric governance system. Combining polycentric governance (including at the river basin scale) with centralised state-coordination is a potential solution to problems that require cross-sectoral and multi-level governance interplay. Further inquiry into cross-sectoral governance of natural resources could develop a better understanding of how coordination in polycentric governance systems at different ecological scales could be structured to mitigate policy goal conflicts across sectors and institutional levels, thus fostering more effective governance

Is large-scale wind power a problem, solution, or victim? A frame analysis of the debate in Swedish media

Media content analysis was used with the aim of developing an understanding of how the debate on large-scale wind power has played out over time in Sweden, especially in relation to the enactment of national interest areas for wind power. Covering the period 1999 to 2019 and using NVivo for coding and analysis, we reviewed a total of 788 articles in both national and regional daily newspapers. To identify which actors are present in media and how they frame large-scale wind power, we conducted a frame analysis by applying three theoretical elements developed by previous media studies. The first is a diagnostic element used to pinpoint the cause to a problem, the second a prognostic element used to pinpoint the solution to a problem, and the third a motivating element used to identify the person(s) or object(s) suffering from the problem, that is, victim. Our results emphasize that wind power in recent years has been framed as a solution more often than a cause to a problem. One prevailing framing is the localization of large-scale wind power per se and conflicts with other land-uses and national interests. We also identify a tension between international and national policy objectives and local implementation of large-scale wind power. Governmental agencies are the most common framers over time, together with individuals (e.g. locals and second home owners) and wind entrepreneurs. Importantly, whereas politicians and wind entrepreneurs most often frame wind power as a solution, individuals frame it as a cause to a problem

Institutional accountability : the differentiated implementation of collaborative governance in two EU states

Governments increasingly apply collaborative governance based on deliberation that typically takes place in non-majoritarian institutions. However, collaborative institutions face accountability challenges depending on their institutional design. Still, empirical research is missing on the different choices member states make when designing collaborative institutions implementing European Union (EU) political goals. Using four theoretical principles of accountability, the study compares how Finland and Sweden implement the requirements for collaborative governance of two EU directives in national legislation and management plans. While Finland has provided more detailed and stricter rules resulting in higher process accountability, Sweden has delegated final decision making to authorities, achieving a higher degree of institutional independence. The results reveal that since the directives set only some of the key rules and procedures needed for achieving accountable collaborative institutions, member states’ discretion can lead to institutional variation even in similar governance contexts, resulting in differing institutional accountability and legitimacy of EU policies