266 research outputs found

    Psychological approaches to the study of saving / 7

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    Bibliography: p. 95-114

    Exploring the basic ecological unit: ecosystem-like concepts in traditional societies

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    Ancient conceptualizations of ecosystems exist in several Amerindian, Asia-Pacific, European, and African cultures. The rediscovery by scientists of ecosystem-like concepts among traditional peoples has been important in the appreciation of traditional ecological knowledge among ecologists, anthropologists, and interdisciplinary scholars. Two key characteristics of these systems are that (a) the unit of nature is often defined in terms of a geographical boundary, such as a watershed, and (b) abiotic components, plants, animals, and humans within this unit are considered to be interlinked. Many traditional ecological knowledge systems are compatible with the emerging view of ecosystems as unpredictable and uncontrollable, and of ecosystem processes as nonlinear, multiequilibrium, and full of surprises. Traditional knowledge may complement scientific knowledge by providing practical experience in living within ecosystems and responding to ecosystem change. However, the "language" of traditional ecology is different from the scientific and usually includes metaphorical imagery and spiritual expression, signifying differences in context, motive, and conceptual underpinnings

    PII: S0921-8009(99)00008-7

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    EDITORIAL The ecology of ecosystem services: introduction to the special issue Throughout history, humankind has enjoyed a love-hate relationship with Nature, praising its bounty, fearing catastrophe, or challenging and conquering wilderness and sea. Regardless of our sense of distance from Nature, humans are nonetheless one species out of millions of others on Earth, one with an exceptional ability to harness a vast spectrum of energy sources, materials, and organisms for our welfare. As we exit the second millennium, we enter a world in which our impacts on the environment no longer can be ignored on global scales. In the coming century, our species, numbering roughly 10 -12 billion, will be squeezing many natural resources to and in excess of their limits. We will also continue to affect profoundly biogeochemical and hydrological processes that occur at scales ranging from microbial to global-atmospheric. How did we get here? By doing what all organisms do: we use resources to survive and we reproduce successfully. As highly social creatures, we have been effective at organizing and developing infrastructure and mores that sequester resources and protect us from the environmental adversities of weather, disease, starvation, etc. The development of civilization and culture has blinded many to the fact that humans are irrevocably tied to the natural world, a blindness exacerbated during the fossil-fuel era. Many societies have become philosophically and mentally 'disembedded' from the biophysical milieu (see Borgströ m-Hansson and Wackernagel, this issue), despite the fact that socio-economic development ultimately depends on the dynamic capacity of ecosystems to support it. Although ecologists and other environmental scientists have long understood the strong coupling between humans and the rest of Nature, many choose to ignore this relationship and instead derive knowledge about the natural world by studying 'pristine' situations. Today, increasing numbers of these scientists are re-examining the Man-Nature links and attempting to make these clear to the public as well as to their colleagues. For example, Wilson (1992) drew attention to the importance of biodiversity, and to the emerging crisis of massive species extinction due to human alterations of ecosystems. Today, few people question the human dominance of the plane

    Ecological resilience, climate change, and the Great Barrier Reef

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    The vulnerability assessments in this volume frequently refer to the resilience of various ecosystem elements in the face of climate change. This chapter provides an introduction to the concept of ecological resilience, and its application as part of a management response to climate change threats. As defined in the glossary, resilience refers to the capacity of a system to absorb shocks, resist dramatic changes in condition, and maintain or recover key functions and processes, without undergoing "phase shifts" to a qualitatively different state (Figure 4.1)32, 72. For example, people who are physically and mentally fit and strong will have good prospect of recovery from disease, injury or trauma: they are resilient. In Figure 4.1, a ball placed at position 1 is dynamically stable: not only will it remain in position, but if pushed in any direction, it will return to its original position; thus the ball in this state is resilient, in that it can absorb shocks and return to a similar condition or state. In contrast, a ball placed at position 2 may be initially stable (it will remain in position if undisturbed) but not dynamically stable: if disturbed, it will move away. Thus the ball at position 2 is not resilient, and disturbances will result in a shift in state. If the ball at position 1 is disturbed to anywhere within the red circle, the ball will return to position 1; however, if disturbed further, the ball may not return, but may move to a new, alternate stable state (eg position 3). This system is resilient to disturbances that push it within the red boundary. However, if external factors decreased the depth of position 1, or lowered the saddle at point 2, then the system's resilience would be reduced. By analogy to coral reef ecosystems, position 1 might be a coral-dominated reef, and position 3 algal dominated. A disturbance such as killing coral that is overgrown by algae would move the reef toward an algal-dominated state; if the reef is resilient, this change would be temporary and natural processes would allow coral to re-establish and recover. If not, the algal dominance might be sufficient to preclude coral regrowth or recruitment, and the reef would change trajectory, moving toward algal dominance. Ecological resilience refers to the capacity of an ecosystem, habitat, population or taxon to withstand, recover from or adapt to impacts and stressors, such as climate change, and retain the same structure, processes and functions³². For example, coral reefs are naturally very dynamic, undergoing constant change and disturbances, but, under natural conditions, they have considerable capacity to recover or maintain key processes and functions in the face of such disturbances or pressures. Tropical storms may cause dramatic damage to coral populations, and hence to the physical habitat structure, with dead coral being overgrown by various forms of algae. This will result in a temporarily changed state, and changes in ecological functions. On a resilient reef, over a period of five to 20 years, the altered state is unstable: coral fragments will regrow, and new corals will settle, grow and gradually replace the algae, restoring the reef to coral dominance, and restoring ecological structure and processes. In contrast, however, if human impacts have undermined that resilience, algal growth may be exacerbated, coral regrowth and colonisation may be suppressed, and the altered state and processes may become stable, causing a long-term "phase shift", or change, to algal dominance

    Transforming innovation for sustainability

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    The urgency of charting pathways to sustainability that keep human societies within a "safe operating space" has now been clarified. Crises in climate, food, biodiversity, and energy are already playing out across local and global scales and are set to increase as we approach critical thresholds. Drawing together recent work from the Stockholm Resilience Centre, the Tellus Institute, and the STEPS Centre, this commentary article argues that ambitious Sustainable Development Goals are now required along with major transformation, not only in policies and technologies, but in modes of innovation themselves, to meet them. As examples of dryland agriculture in East Africa and rural energy in Latin America illustrate, such "transformative innovation" needs to give far greater recognition and power to grassroots innovation actors and processes, involving them within an inclusive, multi-scale innovation politics. The three dimensions of direction, diversity, and distribution along with new forms of "sustainability brokering" can help guide the kinds of analysis and decision making now needed to safeguard our planet for current and future generations

    Pre-existing disease: the most important factor for health related quality of life long-term after critical illness: a prospective, longitudinal, multicentre trial

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    Introduction The aim of the present multicenter study was to assess long term (36 months) health related quality of life in patients after critical illness, compare ICU survivors health related quality of life to that of the general population and examine the impact of pre-existing disease and factors related to ICU care on health related quality of life. Methods Prospective, longitudinal, multicentre trial in three combined medical and surgical intensive care units of one university and two general hospitals in Sweden. By mailed questionnaires, health related quality of life was assessed at 6, 12, 24 and 36 months after the stay in ICU by EQ-5D and SF-36, and information of pre-existing disease was collected at the 6 months measure. ICU related factors were obtained from the local ICU database. Comorbidity and health related quality of life (EQ-5D; SF-36) was examined in the reference group. Among the 5306 patients admitted, 1663 were considered eligible (>24 hrs in the intensive care unit, and age ≥ 18 yrs, and alive 6 months after discharge). At the 6 month measure 980 (59%) patients answered the questionnaire. Of these 739 (75%) also answered at 12 month, 595 (61%) at 24 month, and 478 (47%) answered at the 36 month measure. As reference group, a random sample (n = 6093) of people from the uptake area of the hospitals were used in which concurrent disease was assessed and adjusted for. Results Only small improvements were recorded in health related quality of life up to 36 months after ICU admission. The majority of the reduction in health related quality of life after care in the ICU was related to the health related quality of life effects of pre-existing diseases. No significant effect on the long-term health related quality of life by any of the ICU-related factors was discernible. Conclusions A large proportion of the reduction in the health related quality of life after being in the ICU is attributable to pre-existing disease. The importance of the effect of pre-existing disease is further supported by the small, long term increment in the health related quality of life after treatment in the ICU. The reliability of the conclusions is supported by the size of the study populations and the long follow-up period.

    Rethinking resilience and development : a coevolutionary perspective

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    The interdependence of social and ecological processes is broadly acknowledged in the pursuit to enhance human wellbeing and prosperity for all. Yet, development interventions continue to prioritise economic development and short-term goals with little consideration of social-ecological interdependencies, ultimately undermining resilience and therefore efforts to deliver development outcomes. We propose and advance a coevolutionary perspective for rethinking development and its relationship to resilience. The perspective rests on three propositions: (1) social-ecological relationships coevolve through processes of variation, selection and retention, which are manifest in practices; (2) resilience is the capacity to filter practices (i.e. to influence what is selected and retained); and (3) development is a coevolutionary process shaping pathways of persistence, adaptation or transformation. Development interventions affect and are affected by social–ecological relationships and their coevolutionary dynamics, with consequences for resilience, often with perverse outcomes. A coevolutionary approach enables development interventions to better consider social–ecological interdependencies and dynamics. Adopting a coevolutionary perspective, which we illustrate with a case on agricultural biodiversity, encourages a radical rethinking of how resilience and development are conceptualised and practiced across global to local scales.The GRAID programme funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency; the European Research Council under the European Union's Seventh Framework Programme (FP/2007-2013)/ERC grant; the Swedish Research Council Vetenskapsrådet and the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme. Open Access funding provided by Stockholm University.http://link.springer.com/journal/13280hj2022Future Afric
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