Adaptive Preferences Research Articles

Competition, trait–mediated facilitation, and the structure of plant–pollinator communities

In plant–pollinator communities many pollinators are potential generalists and their preferences for certain plants can change quickly in response to changes in plant and pollinator densities. These changes in preferences affect coexistence within pollinator guilds as well as within plant guilds. Using a mathematical model, we study how adaptations of pollinator preferences influence population dynamics of a two-plant–two-pollinator community interaction module. Adaptation leads to coexistence between generalist and specialist pollinators, and produces complex plant population dynamics, involving alternative stable states and discrete transitions in the plant community. Pollinator adaptation also leads to plant–plant apparent facilitation that is mediated by changes in pollinator preferences. We show that adaptive pollinator behavior reduces niche overlap and leads to coexistence by specialization on different plants. Thus, this article documents how adaptive pollinator preferences for plants change the structure and coexistence of plant–pollinator communities.

Quality of life in a broader perspective: Does ASCOT reflect the capability approach?

PurposeEconomic evaluation of services and interventions in care services tends to focus on quality of life(QoL) based on health-related measures such as EQ5D, with a major focus on health and functioning. The Capability Approach (CA) provides an alternative framework for measuring QoL and challenges some of the conventional issues in the current practice of measurement of QoL. The Adult Social Care Outcomes Toolkit (ASCOT) aims to measure social care-related QoL in a broad sense. This article investigates whether and, if so, how the ASCOT addresses issues put on the agenda by the CA.MethodsLiterature analysis concerning theoretical assumptions and arguments of CA and ASCOT.ResultsThe Capability Approach (CA) puts three issues on the agenda regarding QoL. First, the focus of evaluation should not be on functioning, but on freedom of choice. Second, evaluation should be critical about adaptive preferences, which entail that people lower expectations in situations of limited possibilities. Third, evaluation should not only address health, but also other domains of life. Our analysis shows that freedom of choice is reflected in the response option ‘as I want’ in the ASCOT questionnaire. The problem of adaptive preferences is countered in the ASCOT by developing a standard based on preferences of the general population. Third, the ASCOT contains several domains of life.ConclusionsWe conclude that the CA and the ASCOT contribute to the discussion on QoL, and that the ASCOT operationalizes core assumptions of the CA, translating the issues raised by the CA in a practical way.

Expanding Capabilities in Integrated Service Areas (ISAs) As Communities of Care: A Study of Dutch Older Adults’ Narratives on the Life They Have Reason to Value

We apply the capability approach to understand the scope and limitations of community efforts to support older adults dwelling in integrated service areas (ISAs) in the Netherlands. An ISA is a neighborhood-based form of care organization aimed at the widening of opportunities to achieve well-being goals by building on local community resources. To gain insight in the complex effects of ISAs on older adults’ well-being, a narrative study was performed on their daily lived experiences. Emerging narrative patterns were aggregated in a Manifesto of the Independently Living Older Person. Narrative patterns and Manifesto provided insight in both respondents’ capabilities and functionings, expressing values such as autonomy, human dignity and contributions to community care by older adults themselves. Older adults balance realistic and optimistic expectations for the future in ways that can be explained using the concepts of capability security, adaptive preferences, care-receiving and caring-with. Since interventions transpire through local interactions and shared practices, ISAs represent a social space in between individuality and collectivity where older adults enact community by sharing common ends. Findings imply that the complex interventions developed in ISAs expand older adults’ capabilities involving the challenge for all stakeholders to negotiate individual freedoms in community care settings.

AN EMPIRICAL ASSESSMENT OF COMPONENTS OF CLIMATE ARCHITECTURES

Based on unique data from a worldwide survey among participants of international climate conferences, I investigate the acceptance of the most discussed components of architectures for an international climate agreement, namely: global quantitative targets, sector targets, research and development, geoengineering, land use, and adaptation. Regional and economic differences as well as personal attitudes play an important role for the perception of the different components. Global quantitative targets and adaptation are the most accepted in contrast to a low acceptance of geoengineering. People that are more affected by climate change and value fairness a lot care more about global and sector targets and research and development. Surprisingly, being vulnerable to climate change does not increase the preference for adaptation by much. Furthermore, I analyze which countries or groups of countries are expected to play a leading role for each component. The EU is seen as a key player and not much is expected from the USA and China. I detect a normative bias that increases expectations on China, the EU, and the USA for some of the components.

Commercial surrogacy in India: The presumption of adaptive preference formation, the possibility of autonomy and the persistence of exploitation

India’s proposed 2016 Bill on the regulation of surrogacy is its latest attempt to respond to criticism regarding the lack of protection given to those entering into a commercial surrogacy arrangement. Adaptive preference theorists presume that a decision made in an oppressive environment, which is inconsistent with the woman’s well-being, is not autonomous and that she is therefore exploited. This article challenges this presumption, arguing that some decisions may be suspected as adaptive preferences but they may nevertheless be autonomous. However, it is contended that even if the choice is autonomous, there may still be exploitation given the imbalance of bargaining power and the nature of the service. Rather than a blanket ban on commercial surrogacy, it would be better to reduce exploitative conditions by establishing adequate protection and safeguards for the commercial surrogate and others who are party to the arrangement.

Environmental variation is a major predictor of global trait turnover in mammals

AbstractAimTo evaluate how environment and evolutionary history interact to influence global patterns of mammal trait diversity (a combination of 14 morphological and life‐history traits).LocationThe global terrestrial environment.TaxonTerrestrial mammals.MethodsWe calculated patterns of spatial turnover for mammalian traits and phylogenetic lineages using the mean nearest taxon distance. We then used a variance partitioning approach to establish the relative contribution of trait conservatism, ecological adaptation and clade specific ecological preferences on global trait turnover.ResultsWe provide a global scale analysis of trait turnover across mammalian terrestrial assemblages, which demonstrates that phylogenetic turnover by itself does not predict trait turnover better than random expectations. Conversely, trait turnover is consistently more strongly associated with environmental variation than predicted by our null models. The influence of clade‐specific ecological preferences, reflected by the shared component of phylogenetic turnover and environmental variation, was considerably higher than expectations. Although global patterns of trait turnover are dependent on the trait under consideration, there is a consistent association between trait turnover and environmental predictive variables, regardless of the trait considered.Main conclusionsOur results suggest that changes in phylogenetic composition are not always coupled with changes in trait composition on a global scale and that environmental conditions are strongly associated with patterns of trait composition across species assemblages, both within and across phylogenetic clades.

Time to Reconsider Work: Dual-Earner Couples’ Work-Related Adaptive Strategies and Preferences for Reduced Work Hours

In this study, we use the life course perspective and the paradigm of the social construction of gender to examine the relationships between dual-earner couples’ adaptive strategies, such as their work-hour arrangements, conjoint occupational status, and relative earnings, and men’s and women’s own preferences for reduced work hours as well as their desire for reduced work hours of their spouses. Using the 2010 European Social Survey, we document a pervasive preference for reduced work hours in European countries, which is common to both men and women. Our findings indicate that, regardless of their actual work hour arrangements, conjoint occupational status, and relative earnings, couples generally report preferences for working hours for themselves and their spouses that conform to a modified male breadwinner/female homemaker template. More specifically, the ideal couple-level working time arrangement combines a husband who has a full-time job but does not work long hours and a wife working shorter hours, either in a part-time or full-time job. We discuss the impact of these findings on gender inequality, individuals, and organizations.

Political efficacy, respect for agency, and adaptive preferences

ABSTRACTSerene Khader and Rosa Terlazzo have each recently proposed theories of adaptive preferences (APs) which purport to both respect persons’ agency and provide an effective political tool. While Khader and Terlazzo thus share a similar goal, they take fundamentally different paths in its pursuit: Khader offers a perfectionist account of APs and Terlazzo an autonomy-based theory. In this paper, I argue first that if it is to adequately respect persons’ agency, a theory of APs should in some way include autonomy considerations. If it is to provide an effective political tool, however, our theory should not be entirely autonomy-based, but include a condition addressing a preference’s compatibility with basic flourishing. The suggestion is thus that it is worth considering the possibility of a ‘mixed,’ rather than exclusively perfectionist or exclusively autonomy-based, theory of APs. I outline two such theories. The first, I argue, does quite well with respect to the political efficacy aim of AP theorizing, but has difficulty satisfying the respect for agency aim. The reverse is true of the second. I conclude by suggesting that respect for agency should in this context take priority over political efficacy and that we therefore should accept the latter of the two theories outlined.

User preferences for adaptive user interfaces in health information systems

An adaptive user interface requires identification of user requirements. Interface designers and engineers must understand end-user interaction with the system to improve user interface design. A combination of interviews and observations is applied for user requirement analysis in health information systems (HIS). Then, user preferences are categorized in this paper as either data entry, language and vocabulary, information presentation, or help, warning and feedback. The user preferences in these categories were evaluated using the focus group method. Focus group sessions with different types of HIS users comprising medical staff (with and without computer skills) and system administrators identified each user group’s preference for the initial adaptation of the HIS user interface. User needs and requirements must be identified to adapt the interface to users during data entry into the system. System designers must understand user interactions with the system to identify their needs and preferences. Without this, interface design cannot be adapted to users and users will not be comfortable using the system and eventually abandon its use.

USING EVIDENCE TO TRANSLATE NATIONAL POLICY INTO LOCAL ACTION

The challenge of turning national policy into actions, implemented at a local level, is one faced by policy-makers world-wide. Ireland’s national policy for promoting Positive Ageing explicitly acknowledges the role that the Age Friendly Cities and Counties (AFCC) programme plays in improving the lives of older people. Through a collaborative study jointly funded by national and local governments, the Healthy and Positive Ageing Initiative uses links established with the WHO’s Age Friendly Cities Programme to translate knowledge into action. Data from a random sample survey of people 55 and older in 20 AFCC programme areas during 2015/2016 (n=10,000) was disseminated to local AFCC alliances. Reflecting the priorities of the National Positive Ageing Strategy and the AFCC program, the survey covered areas such as deprivation and neighbourhood social capital, preferences for housing adaptation and local area walkability. Results link the social and built environment to the health and wellbeing of older people and identify barriers to participation and essential health and social services. As the AFCC program expanded to 10 new local authority areas, results are used to develop a common understanding of age friendly priorities, to optimise and sustain political and social commitment and to identify areas for action in new AFCC programs. The efficacy of the dissemination practices is explored through a qualitative study using thematic content analysis of the locally produced strategies and semi-structured interviews with the key stakeholders responsible for the implementation of strategies.

Sexual Dimorphism and Aging Differentially Regulate Adaptive Homeostasis.

External and internal stimuli cause modifications to gene and biochemical pathways. In turn, demonstrating that biological systems continuously make short-term adaptations both to set-points, and to the range of "normal" capacity, due to mild conditional changes, or to subtoxic, nondamaging levels of chemical agents. This is termed as "Adaptive Homeostasis," defined with the following: "The transient expansion or contraction of the homeostatic range in response to exposure to sub-toxic, nondamaging, signaling molecules or events, or the removal or cessation of such molecules or events." Research from several laboratories, including our own, found that adaptive homeostasis declines with age in organisms as diverse as worms, flies, and mammals, and decreases with senescence in mammalian cell cultures. We suggest that diminishing adaptive homeostasis may play a causal role as a factor responsible for the aging phenotype. Furthermore, although studies of humans, animals, and model organisms are often limited to a single sex, and cell culture studies may even be conducted with lines whose donor's sex was unknown, studies reveal distinct sexual dimorphism in adaptive homeostasis. Interestingly, although young males and females may exhibit dramatic differences in adaptive capacities and/or preferences, these distinctions are lost with age as adaptive homeostasis patterns converge.

Climate change adaptation in the Morogoro Region of Tanzania: women’s decision-making participation in small-scale farm households

This article estimates factors influencing the adoption of 18 household and individual-level adaptation practices among small-scale farmers in the Morogoro Region of Tanzania. Using a unique dataset of 343 married women, logistic regression analysis is used to examine adaptation practices ranging from agricultural to coping and livelihood diversification strategies. Specifically, we investigate the role of wives’ intrahousehold decision-making participation in adaptation decisions. Drawing on the literatures of intrahousehold bargaining and agricultural technology adoption, we argue that although extrahousehold factors are important determinants of households’ adaptation behaviour, adaptation outcomes can also be different when decided by husbands or by wives. We find that when wives are more involved in intrahousehold adaptation decision-making, they are also more likely to choose to be engaged in non-farm income-earning activities, and their households are more likely to plant cover crops and drought-resistant crops. We argue that in general Tanzanian smallholders’ adaptation options are limited and their intrahousehold bargaining sets relatively narrow, leaving little room for differing intrahousehold adaptation preferences, especially in the case of quasi-public household goods.

A globally deployable strategy for co-development of adaptation preferences to sea-level rise: the public participation case of Santos, Brazil

Sea-level rise (SLR) poses a range of threats to natural and built environments in coastal zones around the world. Assessment of the risks due to exposure and sensitivity of coastal communities to coastal flooding is essential for informed decision-making. Strategies for public understanding and awareness of the tangible effects of climate change are fundamental in developing policy options. A multidisciplinary, multinational team of natural and social scientists from the USA, the UK, and Brazil developed the METROPOLE Project to evaluate how local governments may decide between adaptation options associated with SLR projections. METROPOLE developed a participatory approach in which public actors engage fully in defining the research problem and evaluating outcomes. Using a case study of the city of Santos, in Brazil, METROPOLE developed a method for evaluating risks jointly with the community, comparing ‘no-action’ to ‘adaptation’ scenarios. At the core of the analysis are estimates of economic costs of the impact of floods on urban real estate under SLR projections through 2050 and 2100. Results helped identify broad preferences and orientations in adaptation planning, which the community, including the Santos municipal government, co-developed in a joint effort with natural and social scientists.

Addressing Barriers to Deliberative Participation in Adaptive Preference Interventions

ABSTRACTSerene Khader’s ‘deliberative perfectionist approach’ to adaptive preferences is intended to provide a guide to identifying and intervening when those in situations of deprivation adapt to their situation in ways that perpetuate their own deprivation. Her approach has the advantage of helping to avoid ethical and epistemic injustices, by ensuring that the agency and values of those who hold such preferences are fully respected. However, she does not include a detailed account of what the ‘deliberative’ component entails in her discussion of the approach. Her reference to David Crocker’s account of ‘deliberative participation’ provides some content, however the different context in which Crocker develops his account results in several problems for Khader’s approach. I suggest adding an additional step to the approach, using Crocker’s ‘participatory implementation’ to establish the necessary preconditions for deliberative participations in situations of ‘Inappropriately Adaptive Preferences’ (IAPs) in order to circumvent these problems.

Motivation for Ethno-Cultural Continuity as a Predictor of Acculturation and Adaptation in Two Generations of Latvian Russians

This article presents the results of empirical research on the relationship of motivation for ethno-cultural continuity (MEC) and strategies of acculturation among two generations of the Russian minority in Latvia. We sampled 107 Russian families (mothers: N = 107, age = 35-59, M = 42 years; late adolescents and youth: N = 107, age = 16-24, M = 17 years). The questionnaire included measures of motivation for ethno-cultural continuity, acculturation strategies, sociocultural adaptation, and self-esteem. A path model showed that motivation for ethno-cultural continuity, preference for assimilation, self-esteem, and sociocultural adaptation of mothers significantly related to those of their children. A motivation for ethno-cultural continuity of mothers predicted their preference for integration and self-esteem, while a motivation for ethno-cultural continuity of adolescents predicted their preference for separation. Preference for integration promoted better sociocultural adaptation and self-esteem in both generations. The results allowed consideration of the process of acculturation on the three interrelated levels: individual, family, and ethnic group, with the central role of the family, teaching younger generations to maintain heritage culture and successfully integrate in the larger society.

Participatory governance and trans-sectoral mobilities: The new dynamics of adaptive preferences in the case of transport planning in Seoul, South Korea

This study looks at how adaptive preferences develop in participatory governance characterised by the trans-sectoral mobility of key actors in the context of a transport planning project in Seoul. The mayor of the city, who used to be an influential civil society figure, and his former colleagues, moved from the civil society sector to government. Based on participant observation in one such negotiation and at public hearings, in-depth interviews with key members, and archival analysis, this research argues that first, trans-sectoral mobilities and increased opportunities for participation enabled opponents of the light rail to see the problem of limited access to information and lack of knowledge transfer. The opponents faced constraints of transparency; a condition that the Seoul government argued was inevitable due to the need for confidential information and lack of expertise on the part of opponents of the plan. Second, at the same time, opponents developed an adaptive preference for dropping opposition to the plan based on a long-term political opportunity structure, as well as political support towards the mayor, in the context of the domain of national politics. By examining how they develop such adaptive preferences despite expanded opportunities for participation, this research contributes to the debate on the dynamics of participatory governance.

De capability approach als normatief-evaluatief kader voor sociale interventies: Kwalitatief onderzoek in India met inzichten voor de Vlaamse en Nederlandse praktijk

De capability approach als normatief-evaluatief kader voor sociale interventies: Kwalitatief onderzoek in India met inzichten voor de Vlaamse en Nederlandse praktijk

Must Adaptive Preferences Be Prudentially Bad for Us?

ABSTRACT:In this paper, I argue for the counterintuitive conclusion that the same adaptive preference can be both prudentially good and prudentially bad for its holder: that is, it can be prudentially objectionable from one temporal perspective, but prudentially unobjectionable from another. Given the possibility of transformative experiences, there is an important sense in which even worrisome adaptive preferences can be prudentially good for us. That is, if transformative experiences lead us to develop adaptive preferences, then their objects can become prudentially better for our actual selves than the objects of their nonadaptive alternatives would now be. I also argue, however, that the same worrisome adaptive preferences might still be prospectively prudentially objectionable: that is, our pretransformation selves might be prudentially better off undergoing a nonadaptive alternative transformative experience instead. I argue that both claims hold across the range of the most broadly defended accounts of well-being in the literature.

Adaptive Preferences Are a Red Herring

ABSTRACT:Current literature in moral and political philosophy is rife with discussion of adaptive preferences. This is no accident: while preferences are generally thought to play an important role in a number of normative domains (including morality, the personal good, and political justice), adaptive preferences seem exceptions to this general rule—they seem problematic in a way that preference-respecting theories of these domains cannot adequately capture. Thus, adaptive preferences are often taken to be theoretically explanatory: a reason for adjusting our theories of the relevant normative domains. However, as I shall argue here, the relentless focus on the phenomenon of preference adaptation is a mistake. While I do not take a stand on whether typical examples of adaptive preferences are or are not problematic, I argue here that if they are problematic, it cannot be because they are adaptive.

The Importance of Disambiguating Adaptive States in Development Theory and Practice

This article proposes a way to disambiguate the evaluative states currently identified as “adaptive preferences” in development literature. It provides a brief analysis of Serene Khader's Deliberative Perfectionist Approach, and demonstrates that distinguishing between adaptive states has important implications for the theory and practice of development intervention. Although I support Khader's general approach and consider my project to be complementary, I argue that the termpreferencesbe replaced with four distinct terms:beliefs, choices, desires, andvalues. Distinguishing among adaptive states can serve to prevent inappropriate intervention and appreciate the costs of transforming inappropriate adaptations. I argue that adaptive values are especially problematic, given how central a person's values are to their sense of meaning and self. Attempts to transform adaptive values are likely to produce internal conflict, resulting in psychological distress and diminished agency. Furthermore, some values (referred to in moral psychology as sacred values) preclude deliberation and comparison given their communal status as infinitely valuable. To deliberate about sacred values is to violate them. The emotional and psychological damage that may result from value transformation is thus likely to be extensive, and must be taken into account when determining whether, and what type of, intervention is justified.