Ecological Approach Research Articles

Environmental Horror and White Extinction

A literalist ecological approach to performance studies rematerializes theatre beyond a racist anthropocentricity of metaphorical representation and proposes a path to intersectional environmental justice. Escaped Alone (2016) by Caryl Churchill presents a horrifically accurate report of ecological harm. The Evening (2016) by Richard Maxwell and the New York City Players imagines an extinction of whiteness. Both productions propose new understandings of ecology through reconfiguring the theatrical conditions of representation.

The Don Sahong Dam in Laos: Political Ecology, Infrastructure, and the Changing Spatialities of Impacts on Fish and People

The Don Sahong Hydropower Project (DSHPP), located in the Khone Falls area of Khong District, Champasak Province, southern Laos, near the border with Cambodia, has been amongst the most controversial hydropower dams in the Mekong River Basin. Despite considerable regional and international opposition, the dam was finally constructed, becoming commercially operational in 2020. In 2011, I expressed serious concerns about the project's potential impacts on long-distance migratory fish and associated fisheries, especially fish that migrate from Cambodia and Vietnam up the Mekong River to Laos and Thailand. However, my concerns have somewhat changed along with the circumstances, although they continue to focus on dam impacts on migratory fish. I am now particularly concerned about the indirect impacts of the DSHPP on the fishing livelihoods in the Khone Falls area, and the impacts of the dam on fish larvae and fish passing through the dam's turbines when migrating downstream. Using a political ecology approach, this paper considers how infrastructure, in this case a large hydropower dam located on the Mekong River, has altered the spatialities associated with the project in particular ways.

A straightforward protocol to sample morphological traits of dragonflies and damselflies in the field.

Scarcity of morphological data limits the potential of functional ecology approaches, which rely on traits to elucidate ecological processes. Dragonflies and damselflies (Odonata) are a frequently used ecological model for which, however, only limited morphological data is available. Here, it is presented a field sampling protocol to collect ecologically relevant yet largely unavailable morphological traits of Odonata. The protocol enables the straightforward collection of traits from living individuals directly in the field. Those traits include body mass, wing area and wing loading as well as thorax width, hindwing length and body length. Furthermore, the protocol allows for posterior wing morphometric analyses. The protocol proved to be robust and universally applicable based on testing on roughly half (76) of all European odonate species. The use of this protocol can increase our understanding of odonatan morphology at interspecific and intraspecific levels and assist in developing mechanistic understanding of their ecology.

From Digital Literacy to Critical Digital Ecology: Curricula as Digital Places in Art Education

Abstract This article makes a case for the critical potential of media ecology frameworks to address the limits of the media literacy frameworks prevalent in visual culture art education pedagogies that focus on art education with digital materials. In this article, I articulate a brief history of the literacy metaphor in visual culture art education, before summarizing recent arguments advocating for a shift from media literacy to media ecology in critical digital pedagogies. I then examine my own digital curricular place-craft in the development of Crafting Digital Places, a Web-based teaching resource that played a part in a series of remotely taught summer camp programs focusing on critical digital place-craft. In this article, I aim to illustrate the critical and practical limits of engaging digital materials via the literacy metaphor. I also aim to show how a media ecology approach—framing digital systems as places with agentic material qualities—affords art educators distinctive potentials for critical practice and curriculum design.

Habitat changes due to glacial freezing and melting reshape microbial networks

The phenomenon of glacial freezing and thawing involves microbial sequestration, release, and colonization, which has the potential to impact ecosystem functioning through changes in microbial diversity and interactions. In this study, we examined the structural features of microbial communities of the Dongkemadi glacier, including bacteria, fungi, and archaea, in four distinct glacial environments (snow, ice, meltwater, and frontier soil). The sequestration, release, and colonization of glacial microbes have been found to significantly impact the diversity and structure of glacial microbial communities, as well as the complexity of microbial networks. Specifically, the complexity of bacterial networks has been observed to increase in a sequential manner during these processes. Utilizing the Inter-Domain Ecological Network approach, researchers have further explored the cross-trophic interactions among bacteria, fungi, and archaea. The complexity of the bacteria-fungi-archaea network exhibited a sequential increase due to the processes of sequestration, release, and colonization of glacial microbes. The release and colonization of glacial microbes led to a shift in the role of archaea as key species within the network. Additionally, our findings suggest that the hierarchical interactions among various microorganisms contributed to the heightened complexity of the bacteria-fungi-archaea network. The primary constituents of the glacial microbial ecosystem are unclassified species associated with the Polaromonas. It is noteworthy that various key species in glacial ecosystems are influenced by the distinct environmental factors. Moreover, our findings suggest that key species are not significantly depleted in response to abrupt alterations in individual environmental factors, shedding light on the dynamics of microbial cross-trophic interactions within glacial ecosystems.

코로나19 사태가 미혼남녀의 결혼인식에 미친 영향에 대한 생태체계적 접근

코로나19 사태가 미혼남녀의 결혼인식에 미친 영향에 대한 생태체계적 접근

Seabird transported contaminants are dispersed in island ecosystems

Seabirds are long-range transporters of nutrients and contaminants, linking marine feeding areas with terrestrial breeding and roosting sites. By depositing nutrient-rich guano, which acts as a fertiliser, seabirds can substantially influence the terrestrial environment in which they reside. However, increasing pollution of the marine environment has resulted in guano becoming similarly polluted. Here, we determined metal and metalloid concentrations (As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, Pb) in Flesh-footed Shearwater (Ardenna carneipes) guano, soil, terrestrial flora, and primary consumers and used an ecological approach to assess whether the trace elements in guano were bioaccumulating and contaminating the surrounding environment. Concentrations in guano were higher than those of other Procellariiformes documented in the literature, which may be influenced by the high amounts of plastics that this species of shearwater ingests. Soil samples from shearwater colonies had significantly higher concentrations of all metals, except for Pb, than soils from control sites and formerly occupied areas. Concentrations in terrestrial primary producers and primary consumers were not as marked, and for many contaminants there was no significant difference observed across levels of ornithogenic input. We conclude that Flesh-footed Shearwaters are transporters of marine derived contaminants to the Lord Howe Island terrestrial environment.

Ecological approach to the characteristics and determinants of sexual violence against adolescents in Perú

Introduction. Sexual violence against adolescents is a global problem that affects young people around the world. The ecological model examines its forms and determinants through interconnected levels. Objective. To determine the frequency, characteristics, and predictors of sexual violence in adolescents attending school in Perú. Materials and methods. This was a cross-sectional study that secondarily analyzed data from the Encuesta Nacional de Relaciones Sociales (2019). A stratified probabilistic sample involved 1,579 youth aged 12-17 from 93 schools. The questionnaire evaluated physical, psychological, and sexual violence in the family and at school. Models were estimated using logistic regression analysis, calculating odds ratio (OR). Results. Eighteen point sixty eight per cent (95% CI: 16.80-20.60) suffered some type of sexual assault. In addition, 9.75% (95% CI: 8.28-11.21) reported having been touched in some part of the body and 1.84% (95% CI: 1.17-2.50) reported that was a victim of rape. Age was identified as a risk factor in the microsystem (OR = 1.48) (95% CI: 1.26-1.74), while the age of the first experienced sexual violence acted as a protective factor (OR = 0.61) (95% CI: 0.54-0.69). In addition, in the macrosystem, the perception that violence occurs mainly outside the home increased the risk (OR = 2.06) (95% CI: 1.01-4.19). Conclusions. Approximately two out of ten respondents reported having experienced some type of sexual violence, with verbal harassment and invasive personal contact being the most common. No single level or factor can fully explain adolescent sexual violence without considering its ecological interconnectedness.

SOCIOECONOMIC INEQUALITIES, WATER, SANITATION, HYGIENE AND DIARRHEAL DISEASE AMONG CHILDREN UNDER FIVE YEARS IN INDONESIA

Background: Diarrheal diseases are still a serious digestive tract infection in Indonesia. The geographical areas with lower socioeconomic inequalities and water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) contribute to incline diarrheal disease among children under 5 years old. Purpose: This study aimed to map the distribution of diarrheal diseases among children under 5 years old and identify areas with higher risk in socioeconomic status and WASH. Methods: This study used secondary spatial data repository from Indonesia Demographic Health Survey 2017. This study used ecological approach to provide visual geographic distribution of diarrheal diseases among children under 5 years old, as well as to identify the risk based on the socioeconomic inequalities and WASH. The map production was performed by GIS software. Results: We found that provinces with higher percentage of diarrheal diseases in children also had higher percentage of population with the lowest socioeconomic status. Additionally, the provinces which had higher unimproved drinking water sources, unimproved sanitation facility, and limited handwashing facility, had the higher percentage of diarrheal disease among children under 5 years. Conclusion: The percentage of the lowest socioeconomic status and unimproved WASH might contribute to incline the percentage of diarrheal disease among children under 5 years. The government needs to consider the geographical area to decrease the diarrheal diseases among children under 5 years.

Health Disparities: Differences in Veteran and Non-Veteran Populations using Generative AI

Introduction: This study investigated self-reported health status, health screenings, vision problems, and vaccination rates among veteran and non-veteran groups to uncover health disparities that are critical for informed health system planning for veteran populations. Methods: Using public-use data from the National Health Interview Survey (2015-2018), this study adopts an ecologic cross-sectional approach to conduct an in-depth analysis and visualization of the data assisted by Generative AI, specifically ChatGPT-4. This integration of advanced AI tools with traditional epidemiological principles enables systematic data management, analysis, and visualization, offering a nuanced understanding of health dynamics across demographic segments and highlighting disparities essential for veteran health system planning. Findings: Disparities in self-reports of health outcomes, health screenings, vision problems, and vaccination rates were identified, emphasizing the need for targeted interventions and policy adjustments. Conclusion: Insights from this study could inform health system planning, using epidemiological data assessment to suggest enhancements for veteran healthcare delivery. These findings highlight the value of integrating Generative AI with epidemiological analysis in shaping public health policy and health planning.

An Ecological Approach to Conceptual Thinking in Material Engagement.

Although post-cognitivist approaches have shaken the status quo by emphasising the dynamic interactions among the brain, the body, and the environment in cognition, mainstream psychological theories continue to view concepts as primarily representational or skull-bound mental phenomena. As a result, the dynamics of action and the possible impact of material culture on conceptual thinking are poorly understood. In this paper, we explore the process and meaning of conceptual thinking from a material engagement perspective. We argue that conceptual thinking is not a matter of forming representations in the head but something we do-a way of engaging with materiality. Conceptual thinking is conceptual thinging, namely a kind of unmediated practical knowledge that individuals put into play when they engage, in a general way, with and through the world. In this sense, we propose that conceptual thinking is instantiated in the dynamic coordination of bodily practices and artefacts in sociomaterial activities. To elucidate this perspective, we introduce seven principles defining conceptual thinking within an ecological-enactive framework of cognition.

Factors affecting major depression in Iran: a mixed-method study.

Depression is a major cause of disability and, if left untreated, can increase the risk of suicide. Evidence on the determinants of depression is incomplete, making it challenging to interpret results across studies. This study aims to identify the social, economic, environmental, political, and technological factors influencing the great recession in Iran. The study was conducted in two parts. The first step involved a literature review to identify the factors, using PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science for the search. The reference lists of all identified articles were reviewed to find relevant studies, and the extracted information was summarized and reported descriptively. The second steps involved compiling and consulting 14 experts from different fields, using a framework analysis method. Twenty-four articles were used as primary sources of information, and a total of 28 factors were found to exist. After removing duplicates and related factors, 19 of these were subsequently declared as factors, resulting in a total of 36 determinants being identified. Most of these factors belong to the social category. The health policies implemented have a significant impact on disease risk factors and ultimately their occurrence. Political decisions and policy-making processes play a crucial role in all areas, particularly in addressing disease risk factors. Severe depression can disrupt all aspects of the healthcare system, underscoring the importance of access to care. Policies concerning physical education, transportation, nutrition, employment, green spaces, recreational facilities, and tobacco are vital in this context. The influence of health policies on disease risk factors and disease occurrence is profound. Severe depression can have far-reaching effects on the healthcare system, emphasizing the critical need for access to care. The formulation of policies to combat depression must be thoroughly evaluated in terms of economic, political, social, technological, and environmental factors. The findings suggest that addressing social inequalities and emphasizing the role of political action, as highlighted by the social determinants of health, should be top priorities in addressing depression. Efforts to prevent depression should incorporate ecological approaches that consider the impact of the socioeconomic environment on depressive symptoms.

Settlement ecology of Bronze Age Transylvania

The Bronze Age was a time of technological, socioeconomic, and political transformation in Europe. Since Bronze Age socioeconomic institutions were rooted in the landscape, they can be investigated using a settlement ecology approach to how people positioned themselves relative to the environment and each other. Transylvania is home to a rare combination of mineral resources, trade infrastructures, and productive agropastoral land, all of which were critical to Bronze Age societies. This study combines size-and rank-size analyses to suggest that there were several shifts in how people positioned themselves across settlements in Transylvania during the Bronze Age. This research contributes to a broader understanding of the factors that inform where people choose to settle down and the consequences those decisions have on the development of social, economic, and political institutions.

Embedding Learning as a Practice of Value: Learning from the Experiences of Early Career Social Workers in Scotland

Abstract Across the Global North, professional learning for social workers has become a matter of concern. Efforts to ‘fix’ the problem have focused narrowly on formal methods of learning and show limited connect with recent research. In this article, we report on findings from a mixed-method longitudinal cohort study, which examined early career social workers experiences of learning over the first five years of professional practice. Drawing on a repeat-measure annual online survey, our findings provide an inside-view of how early career social workers in Scotland experience work-based learning over time and how professional learning for social workers can be enhanced. Quantitative and qualitative data were analysed using descriptive statistical analysis and reflexive thematic analysis respectively and integrated using a convergence coding matrix to identify meta-themes. Our findings support an integrative, developmental and ecological approach to professional learning, embedded in a value-led understanding of social work as practice. We invite the profession to embrace and embed learning as a ‘practice of value’, both as an antidote to managerial approaches to practice and learning and as a way of valuing the extraordinary work that social workers do.

Radiating diversification and niche conservatism jointly shape the inverse latitudinal diversity gradient of Potentilla L. (Rosaceae)

BackgroundThe latitudinal diversity gradient (LDG), characterized by an increase in species richness from the poles to the equator, is one of the most pervasive biological patterns. However, inverse LDGs, in which species richness peaks in extratropical regions, are also found in some lineages and their causes remain unclear. Here, we test the roles of evolutionary time, diversification rates, and niche conservatism in explaining the inverse LDG of Potentilla (ca. 500 species). We compiled the global distributions of ~ 90% of Potentilla species, and reconstructed a robust phylogenetic framework based on whole-plastome sequences. Next, we analyzed the divergence time, ancestral area, diversification rate, and ancestral niche to investigate the macroevolutionary history of Potentilla.ResultsThe genus originated in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau during the late Eocene and gradually spread to other regions of the Northern Hemisphere posterior to the late Miocene. Rapid cooling after the late Pliocene promoted the radiating diversification of Potentilla. The polyploidization, as well as some cold-adaptive morphological innovations, enhanced the adaptation of Potentilla species to the cold environment. Ancestral niche reconstruction suggests that Potentilla likely originated in a relatively cool environment. The species richness peaks at approximately 45 °N, a region characterized by high diversification rates, and the environmental conditions are similar to the ancestral climate niche. Evolutionary time was not significantly correlated with species richness in the latitudinal gradient.ConclusionsOur results suggest that the elevated diversification rates in middle latitude regions and the conservatism in thermal niches jointly determined the inverse LDG in Potentilla. This study highlights the importance of integrating evolutionary and ecological approaches to explain the diversity pattern of biological groups on a global scale.

“An Un(Even) Playing Field? A Political Ecology of Tourism Impacts in Upper Mustang, Nepal”

ABSTRACT Before the onset of the COVID-19, tourism was one of the world's largest industries; as the pandemic wanes, recovery in the tourism industry is anticipated. While scholarly research on sustainable tourism has expanded, local perceptions of tourism impacts are comparatively understudied. Additionally, the role of power relations in tourism dynamics have been poorly theorized. As a geo-politically sensitive border region, only opened to foreign visitors in 1992, Upper Mustang, Nepal, is an ideal region to explore the dynamics. Using a political ecology approach, this paper examines core facets of tourism impacts and benefits, while incorporating history-driven power relationships. Results from 116 interviews in 24 villages show that perceived impacts of tourism were primarily dictated by geographical location, specifically communities’ centrality to trekking routes and level of interactions. This uneven distribution of tourism benefits can be attributed to power relationships emerging from historically established social structures that predate tourism itself.

Momentary Dynamics Implicate Emotional Features in the ADHD Phenotype.

Emotional dysregulation is increasingly recognized as important to the attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) phenotype alongside inattention and hyperactivity-impulsivity. Studies of ADHD have relied primarily on trait-based conceptualizations that emphasize stability of symptoms across moderate developmental timescales (i.e., months to years). Trait-based conceptualizations provide a critical view but fail to account for short-term dynamic variations in the expression of ADHD symptoms and emotion. This leaves a gap in our understanding of the short-term variation in ADHD symptom expression and the dynamic relationships among ADHD symptoms and emotion. Here, we assessed caregiver report of ADHD symptoms and positive and negative emotion using ecological momentary approaches over 2 weeks in a sample of 36 children with and without ADHD between the ages of 7-12 years old. Between-person (RKF) and within-person (RC) reliability were estimated. Multilevel models tested specific covariation hypotheses between ADHD symptoms and emotion. Analyses confirmed that ADHD and emotion ratings were reliable as individual differences (i.e., between-person; RKF range 0.93-1.0) and moment-to-moment change (i.e., within-person; Rc range 0.66-0.88) measures. Multilevel models found little evidence for lagged effects between domains, but consistently identified concurrent expression of ADHD symptoms and emotions; inattention covaried most strongly with negative emotion and hyperactivity-impulsivity covaried most strongly with positive emotion. Results demonstrate the importance of complementing trait-level conceptualizations with assessment of momentary dynamics. Momentary assessment suggests important covariation of ADHD symptoms and emotion as part of the ADHD phenotype.

An Ecological Approach to the Study of Aquatic Weeds with Special Reference to <i>Salvinia molesta</i> Mitchell in Indian Botanic Garden, Howrah

The study includes observations on the habit, habitat, association with other aquatic flora and growth behaviour of Salvinia molesta, a problematic weed in the lakes of Indian Botanic Garden, Howrah. The minerals and other characteristics of its aquatic media in which this species thrives and perennates have been studied to explain the differential rates of growth in its two phases which come in succession in January and June each year.

The Development of Agrotechnopark Model Based on Modern Villages

Agrotechnopark is an area for implementing various types of technology in agriculture, animal husbandry, fisheries, and product processing (postharvest), which has been reviewed by multiple governments and private research institutions and functions as a training ground and center for technology transfer to the broader community. Implementing the Agricultural Technology Park (TTP) uses socio-cultural, ecological, and economic approaches. A comprehensive understanding of community needs will be obtained through a socio-cultural system, which will become input for the company. At the same time, the environmental system will identify the potential basis of local resource excellence as a reference for community development activities. Furthermore, the economic approach is developing productive business units to increase people's income while paying attention to market demand. South Konawe Regency is one of the autonomous regions in Southeast Sulawesi, which is supported by its potential resources. The position of the South Konawe Regency area is very strategic, a southern cross-section of the Southeast Sulawesi peninsula that connects several Regencies/Cities in Southeast Sulawesi with prototypes of coastal and inland villages. One is Atari Jaya Village because it has a heterogeneous population composition, and most of the Javanese Transmigration community is reasonably competent in agricultural development. Because of this, socio-culturally and economically, this village grows and develops and is dynamic by carrying out the diffusion of technology in various fields supporting Agrotechnopark, such as the development of Integrated Farming (Multiple cropping) and integrated farming (Mixed culture) of plantation crops and plantations. Atari Jaya Village is also a central area for the development of Agropolitan both food crops, as well as plantation and horticultural crops on a national scale and a People's Plantation Centre worthy of being an Agricultural Technology Park Area (Agro et al.) in South Konawe Regency, Southeast Sulawesi Province. Development of the Agricultural Technology Park Area (TTP) to become a center for Agribusiness and Agro-fruit tourism as a basic framework for community and regional economic growth towards Konsel Hebat Regency. Atari Jaya Village was realized as an independent village, a pilot Agrotechnopark village in South Konawe Regency, and a service center for upstream and downstream Agribusiness trade in Agrofruit and plantations.

Constructing the ‘zero family’: Breaking the intergenerational transmission of maltreatment from the perspective of care-experienced parents

BackgroundSeveral studies have explored the mechanisms of intergenerational transmission of child maltreatment (ITCM), which also involves care-experienced parents; however, what is less explored is their direct experience, especially regarding resilience processes. ObjectiveDeveloping the theoretical framework of ITCM through an exploration of the perspectives of those who appear to have interrupted it. Participants and settingA sample of 27 Italian parents - with experience in foster and/or residential care - who have broken the ITCM, completed an in-depth interview between May 2021 and February 2023. MethodsA Constructivist Grounded Theory (Charmaz, 2014) approach was adopted in carrying out the interviews, which focused on daily experiences of parenting (Morgan, 2011) and on factors perceived as supporting ITCM interruption. Data were analyzed using open, focused and theoretical coding; the analysis itself was discussed with a consultive board of care-experienced parents. ResultsThe study highlighted important aspects that, from parents' perspectives, play a role in breaking ITCM: for instance, how their parenting experience is a challenging process of constructing what they term ‘zero family’. Furthermore, starting a family from scratch requires coming to terms with the past, re-imagining oneself as a parent, and managing the complexity of everyday life despite such tensions. ConclusionsThe results throw light on how the transition to parenthood itself is perceived as a significant developmental opportunity for the interruption of ITCM. However, many problems persist, foregrounding the relevance of discussing possible supports to strengthen parenting agency and skills. Such a discussion should therefore be increasingly informed by ecological approaches and parents' perspectives (also on everyday practices and life contexts), thus avoiding the risk of pathologizing responses.