Local Case Studies Research Articles

Geophysical and Societal Dimensions of Floods in Manitoba, Canada: A Social Vulnerability Assessment of the Rural Municipality of St. Andrews

Being strongly influenced by the landscape of the Red River Valley, geophysical and a variety of sociodemographic and economic factors, the characteristics of floods are complex in the Province of Manitoba, Canada, which causes substantial loss and damage to lives and properties. The primary objectives of this study are two-fold: (i) to identify the geophysical and human-induced conditions of floods, and examine the trend in flood loss and damage in the Province of Manitoba, Canada; and (ii) to analyze the social vulnerability perspectives of floods in the Rural Municipality of St. Andrews, as a local community case study. Using the Delphi technique, primary data were procured from the field for community-level vulnerability analysis. Secondary data for a provincial-level analysis were collected from various public domains, including governmental departments and other non-government sources. The results reveal that a nested set of geophysical and societal factors determine the degree of vulnerability of individual community members. In Manitoba, it was found that socioeconomic damages caused by floods have increased considerably over time despite undertaking costly structural flood mitigation measures. We conclude that minimization of flood damages requires complementing structural measures with knowledge-sharing, collaboration among pertinent institutions, and the adoption of an interactive flood management system approach.

Upcycling Systems Design, Developing a Methodology through Design

Design has an important role in shaping the modes of production, consumption and disposal. Decisions made early in the product, service and system development influence the majority of the environmental impact and social consequences. With sustainability emerging as the major challenge of our times, the creation of novel methodologies, economic models and innovative materials is critical. In this paper, we put forward a new methodology that aims to bridge the ecomodernist business-focused circular economy models with the expressive material driven design (MDD) approach. The ‘design out waste methodology’ (DOWM) bridges existing concepts, methods and practices, creating an innovative design and production process that redefines waste and sets it up as a subject of creative study. The purpose of this process is to help designers understand the importance of evaluating the entire life cycle of a product; it also enables local ‘degrowth’ by shifting our modes of production towards a human scale with local makers exchanging knowledge and expressing themselves through upcycled materials, while simultaneously eradicating the very concept of waste. The methodology has been developed in an iterative research-through-design process that combines experiential and tacit knowledge from local case studies with desk research of emerging case studies in MDD.

Quantifying fish catches and fish consumption in the Amazon Basin

Abstract The Amazon Basin is the largest in the world and for many of its inhabitants fishing is a crucially important source of food and income. However, the benefits derived from mostly informal, part time, seasonal, and subsistence-based activities such as fishing are largely invisible to policy-makers, and addressing the threats to aquatic habitats, ecosystem functioning, and fisheries is frequently given low priority in national development agendas. To estimate the total extraction of fish in the Amazon Basin, we reviewed various publications and databases with quantitative data related to the landings, trade, and consumption of fish. We estimated the total landings to be between 422,000 and 473,000 t yr-1 in live weight, near to previous estimates. Almost 75%, however, represented landings in the Brazilian part of the basin, and there is a very large margin of uncertainty given that, among other issues, there are no recent official statistics on commercial landings. Conversely, landings in Bolivia, Colombia, and Ecuador seem to be considerably higher than previously thought. In all Amazonian countries, from 50% up to almost 100% of the fishing takes place for personal consumption, implying that it is not recorded in official landing statistics. Available time series data indicate that fish consumption in Brazil, as well as commercial fish landings in Peru and Colombia, have declined in recent years. Local case studies, national household consumption and expenditure surveys (HCES), and market surveys, all have their benefits and drawbacks. Some minor modifications of HCES procedures could considerably improve their usefulness for estimating fish landings in the Amazon Basin. To improve such estimates, we propose that local case studies be used to calibrate HCES data, thus combining the high precision of local case studies with the wide coverage and representativity of HCES data

Business Entry and Exit: Career Changes of Proprietors in England and Wales (1851–81) Using Record-Linkage

AbstractThe article links the digital records of individual proprietors in the manuscript censuses 1851–81 for the whole of England and Wales using the BBCE database to identify career changes of employers and own account proprietors. It investigates continuing proprietorship, entry to business from previous activity, and switching out of business. The article identifies the effects on switching of demography, gender, household relationships, sector markets, and opportunity/necessity measured by location and access to railways. Previous analysis of nineteenth-century proprietor careers has been based mainly on local case studies and large firms. This article allows examination across the spectrum of small and large businesses for a representative sample large enough to generalize to the behavior of the whole population. The analysis shows a larger proportion of flows between employer, own account, and worker status than often expected, indicating a relatively open and flexible Victorian economy, and higher than in the modern United Kingdom. Farm and nonfarm activities show contrasted patterns, with farm proprietors more stable with less switching, as to be expected. Switching appears to have slowed slightly over time, with incumbency increasing for both farm and nonfarm employers, and for both men and women, but own account proprietorship was often relatively ephemeral. The article assesses the factors influencing switching using logistic regression. This confirms age, sex, marital status, family position, location, and sector as significant for explaining switching/nonswitching. The results demonstrate that although open and flexible, proprietorship was highly varied between sectors, with changes of railway accessibility mainly significant for farmers.

Sociometabolic research in Latin America: A review on advances and knowledge gaps in agroecological trends and rural perspectives

Current agricultural systems have reached a critical transition point in their biophysical performance, social and environmental impacts, and energy patterns. The theoretical underpinnings of transitions towards sustainable futures have been studied from different approaches. The perspective of Social Metabolism (SM) studies how dynamic equilibriums of society-nature interactions arise in complex agroecosystems characterized by specific metabolic profiles that set their capabilities and limits. Changes between these regimes are understood as sociometabolic Transitions (SMT).This article offers a quantitative and qualitative review of how these SM and SMTs have been studied in Latin America so far, pointing out: i) the main conceptual and methodological approaches used, ii) the geographical scales of analysis, and iii) the main periods studied in the literature review. After identifying the different ways to account for the SMTs in LA, it discusses the prevailing SM narratives on the region's economic development. We found a scarce effort in carrying out multi-scalar studies linking national data with local case studies and a need to spread and adopt innovative SM methodologies and indicators to carry out more complex and comprehensive research on how inequality has framed the LA's agricultural paths and set their prospects.

Intersections of Gender and Race among Older Workers during the COVID-19 Pandemic

The novel coronavirus/COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 has impacted the aging workforce. In addition to local data and case studies that are rapidly increasing, baseline national-level inquiries are needed for investigating relevant social inequalities. Also, the intersections of gender and race/ethnicity among older adults are critical yet understudied areas. For example, older minority women’s experience in the pandemic, compared to older men, are yet to be investigated. We analyzed the nationally representative 2020 Health and Retirement Study (HRS) COVID-19 module data. Based on the sample of 2,086 adults aged 50 years and older, employment during the pandemic as well as psychosocial measures, including social support and attitudes toward work, are examined. We used survey-weighted binary logistic regression models. Results showed that older Black women (Odds-ratio = 0.52, p = 0.02 < 0.05) were less likely to work for pay compared to White women during the pandemic. Also, older Hispanic men (Odds-ratio = 2.82, p = 0.03 < 0.05) were more likely to work for pay than older White men. Older Hispanic women (Odds-ratio = 2.41, p = 0.03 < 0.05) were more likely to worry about getting social support during the pandemic than White women. However, there was no significant differences in the changes in attitudes toward work across gender and racial/ethnic groups during the pandemic. Based on the baseline national data analysis, we discussed possible policy changes and interventions that consider the intersections of gender and race/ethnicity to help older adults re-adjust to post-pandemic work environments and labor markets.

Landslides vs Archaeology

Landslides are one of the few types of natural hazards that have affected Sweden regularly in the recent past. We can expect that this geological phenomenon will only increase in frequency in the near future given the ongoing processes of anthropogenic climate change, and this likelihood motivates some historical retrospection. This paper explores how landslides have impacted archaeological sites in Västra Götaland, the country’s most landslide-prone region, from the mid-twentieth century onwards, and how, in turn, archaeologists have had to respond to these disasters. The 1957 Göta, 1973 Fröland, 1977 Tuve and 2006 Småröd landslides are highlighted in particular, as is the landslide-impacted site Hjälpesten. Connections are made to other different but related archaeologies of hazard and disaster, providing insights into the impact that climate change has had and will have on the discipline. While the paper showcases a set of local case studies, it is further argued that its findings have relevance for other areas as well, calling for the attention of the cultural heritage sector.

Examining Women, Peace, and Security Agenda in Local Concept Case study: Aceh, Indonesia

&#x0D; The UN security council established Resolution 1325 (SCR1325) to affirm women's vital role in peacemaking and peacebuilding in conflict. Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) agenda emphases equal participation of men and women in the negotiation process and creates gender equality in post-conflict, and eradicates gender violence in conflict. This study illustrates how women in Aceh fight for their rights throughout the conflict and post-conflict within an unequal society; and also highlights how important to adapt the WPS agenda to ensure gender equality and social justice. By applying narrative analysis, researchers enable to explore Acehnese women's experiences and struggles in seeking justice through their narratives. The implementation of the WPS agenda in Aceh faces many challenges, both structural and cultural. Thegovernment and combatant groups overlooked women's participation in peace negotiation. When the conflict ended, gender inequality is still lingering in every aspect. Aceh women experience injustice, sexual violence, and discrimination in the domestic and public sphere. Besides revealing the challenges in adapting the WPS agenda and creating gender equality in Aceh, this study also obtains policy recommendations to be considered by the local and central governments to ensure gender justice and substantial peace for women in Aceh post-conflict.&#x0D; &#x0D; &#x0D; &#x0D;

A comparative study on green wall construction systems, case study: South valley campus of AASTMT

Cities are experiencing a rapid expansion causing environmental, economic and social concerns that are compromising the human’s welfare and the sustainability of cities. The urbanization process has been destructing the green areas, and due to increasing the land value, it became very difficult to plant horizontally. This causes catastrophic impacts on our environment that suffers from an unbearable concrete chaos. Several studies have shown that, introducing green walls to the construction field, is a promising design approach that can bring a large surface of vegetation on a relatively small footprint and they can greatly contribute in enhancing and restoring the urban environment as well as improving the building’s thermal performance and decreasing albedo. Thus, this paper aims to provide a comparative study on green wall construction systems, in addition to; shedding light on innovative studies regarding green walls’ benefits and addressing important design considerations through inductive and deductive methodologies. Then, it analyzes Aswan’s AASTMT as a local case study in Upper Egypt for applying the previously formulated framework through a field survey. The findings reveal that the presence of green walls has resulted in: providing greater green area coverage (4765 m2) compared to the building’s footprint (3250 m2), reducing the high energy consumption and the overall high energy costs, altering the adjacent micro-climate and improving the air quality, enhancing the aesthetic appeal and creating a distinctive sense of place indoors and outdoors, increasing the workability and productivity of users, enhancing the biodiversity of Aswan, and reducing the noise pollution.

Spatio-temporal variability of topoclimates and local palaeoenvironments in the Upper Dniester River Valley: Insights from the Middle and Upper Palaeolithic key-sites of the Halych region (western Ukraine)

The lowest section of the Upper Dniester River Valley (DRV), located between the uplands of Opillia and Eastern Subcarpathians, was a separate and specific Pleistocene geoecosystem, interesting for the hunter-gatherer communities. This is evidenced by three main (Yezupil, Mariampil and Halych), and a dozen or so additional Palaeolithic open-air sites. They occur as cultural layers within the loess-palaeosol sequences (LPSs) and represent semi-permanent settlement (except for the periods with the maximum intensity of the loess sedimentation); the oldest occur in the Eemian palaeosol. All sites are located on both sides of the river. In the past, the DRV was characterized by local environmental diversity changing with time. In consequence, it has very individual features, so the analysis of environmental changes is a local case study. In order to obtain information about the changes of climate and environment, the multi-proxy analyses were carried out. Chronology was based on the luminescence and radiocarbon dating. The diversity of habitats was local. Its degree was changing with time: it was minimal in the periods with extreme climatic conditions, such as the climate optimum and pessimum, and clearly greater in the climatically intermediate periods with fluctuations. Based on the materials indicating the mesoclimate and local vegetation diversity during the human occupation episodes as well as the location of the Palaeolithic sites, we found that generally the possibilities of choosing a warmer or sheltered place for a camp were not significant for hunters representing different cultures of different ages. Palaeolithic groups very often occupied the same places in the DRV. The camps had a hunting function, the choice of places was dictated primarily by the need to find a good place to observe game animals and to organize hunting – first of all – in the mouth sections of the tributaries of the Dniester River, regardless of the situation of localities relative to riverplains. The settlement attractiveness of such places was essentially timeless.

Afifa’s Migration

Afifa’s Migration

Growing Spatial Overlap Between Dam-Related Flooding, Cropland and Domestic Water Points: A Water–Energy–Food Nexus Management Challenge in Malawi and Ghana

In sub-Saharan Africa, land cover change, expansion of hydropower infrastructure, and increased flooding complicate country-level efforts to meet the Sustainable Development Goal target concerning access to safe water. The Water, Energy and Food (WEF) nexus approach recognises that addressing these complex challenges requires cross-sectoral analyses at multiple scales. Building on such an approach, our study examined the interrelationships between land cover change, dam-related flooding and access to safe water via a national-level spatial analysis with local case studies in Malawi and Ghana. Our assessment of the water–food interactions found that areas of overlap between water points and cropland increased from 2000 to 2020 for both countries at national scale, but overlap extent varied greatly depending on the land cover product used. Local-scale exploration of water point installation patterns in Zomba, Malawi confirmed this pattern, highlighting increasing non-governmental funding of borehole installation programmes. Our assessment of water–energy interactions found that flooding mediated by hydropower dams increased for the White Volta Basin in Ghana, thereby increasing inundation of groundwater points. Local-scale focus group discussions revealed flooding resulted in contaminated water sources and high risk of injury or drowning whilst fetching water. Overall, our study highlights how socio-economic drivers are bringing water points, flooding and cropland into closer proximity, requiring flood mitigation measures at water points and agro-chemical management to minimise potential water quality impacts. Given differences between land cover products, we recommend more robust integration of existing land cover products to better monitor these phenomena.

How do senior citizens cope with energy poverty? Evidence from a local case study in the Polish Silesia region

How do senior citizens cope with energy poverty? Evidence from a local case study in the Polish Silesia region

Mediating Knowledge Co-Production for Inclusive Governance and Delivery of Food, Water and Energy Services in African Cities

Rising rates of urbanisation in Africa, without attendant improvements in critical infrastructure, have occasioned gaps in the provision of basic services in cities across the continent. Different systems and scales of service delivery — decentralised and centralised, public and private — coexist and often compete in urban spaces but rarely connect in ways that ensure the needs of the poorest are met. Our paper interrogates the value of transdisciplinary research for bringing actors in these systems together to co-produce knowledge for inclusive and sustainable outcomes. Drawing on empirical data from two complementary projects in four African cities, we demonstrate the possibilities for facilitating this kind of knowledge co-production among system actors in the food, water and energy domains. We show, through a comparative approach, elements of the co-production process that enable more responsive engagement by traditionally detached policy actors. From our findings, we generate a framework that local researchers serving as ‘knowledge intermediaries’ can use to stimulate research-policy-society interactions aimed at fostering sustainable and inclusive service delivery across Africa. By synthesising the findings from local case studies into a widely applicable framework, our analysis informs both the theory and practice of transdisciplinary sustainability research in the African context where the imperative to bridge gaps in methodological innovation and service delivery is high.

Mountain Landscape Dynamics after Large Wind and Bark Beetle Disasters and Subsequent Logging—Case Studies from the Carpathians

High winds and the subsequent infestation of subcortical insect are considered to be the most extensive types of large natural disturbances in the Central European forests. In this paper, we focus on the landscape dynamics of two representative mountain areas of Slovakia, which have been affected by aforementioned natural disturbances during last two decades. For example, on 19 November 2004, the bora caused significant damage to more than 126 km2 of spruce forests in the Tatra National Park (TANAP). Several wind-related events also affected sites in the National Park Low Tatras (NAPALT). Monitoring of related land cover changes during years 2000–2019 was based on CORINE Land Cover data and methodology set up on satellite and aerial images interpretation, on detailed land cover interpretation (1:10,000) for the local case studies, as well as on the results of field research and forestry databases. The dynamics of forest recovery are different in the clear-cuts (usually with subsequent tree planting) and in the naturally developing forest. The area in the vicinity of Tatranská Lonmnica encroaching on the Studená dolina National Nature Reserve in TANAP represents a trend of the gradual return of young forest. The area of Čertovica on the border between NAPALT and its buffer zone are characterized by an increase in clear-cut sites with potentially increasing soil erosion risk, due to repeated wind disasters and widening of bark beetle. Proposed detailed, large-scale approach is being barely used, when considering recent studies dealing with the natural disturbances.

Editorial: The cross-cultural effects of COVID-19 on higher education learning and teaching practice

The novel coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) that began in the late part of 2019 in Wuhan, China has created significant challenges for higher education. Since the inception of COVID-19 research and practice in the higher education discipline, there has continued to be a focus on exploring its effects in localised contexts. The place-based context, while useful in enhancing individual practice, limits the potential to examine the pandemic from a broader lens. There are for many of us, shared examples of good practice that can serve to collectively improve the higher education sector during and beyond the pandemic. This Special Issue came about as an effort to reinvigorate collaboration across jurisdictional boundaries in a discipline environment characterised by exponential growth in local case studies. This Editorial explores the role that we can play in supporting collaboration among researchers as both a process and end-product to support innovation in the university learning and teaching domain. We believe this Special Issue provides a curated cornerstone for the future of COVID-19 in higher education research. This work, contributed from each corner of the globe seeks to understand not just what is occurring now, but what might occur in the future. We find inspiration in the manuscripts within this Special Issue as they provide innovative responses to the pandemic and opportunities for us to collectively grow to better support academics, students, employers, and communities. We hope you find benefit in progressing through this knowledge dissemination project.

Pengaruh Sistem Pengendalian Internal Pemerintah Terhadap Kinerja Pemerintah Daerah

PThis study aims to determine the effect of the internal control system on the performance of local government Case Study in Gorontalo Regency. This study uses quantitative research methods, and the data sources use primary data obtained from questionnaires distributed to respondents. Meanwhile, the data analysis used in this research is descriptive quantitative analysis using statistical t-test and coefficient of determination test (ajusted R-Square). The results showed that the internal control system had a positive effect on the performance of local governments with a determinant value of 48.7%. The result of this study contribute to the government to establish and implement a more effectives Internal Constrol Systems (ICS).&#x0D;

Refugee experiences in Cincinnati, Ohio: A local case study in the context of global crisis

AbstractWe examined refugees’ perceptions of their experiences living in greater Cincinnati, Ohio, USA and linked these findings to colonial context, coloniality theory, and decolonial psychology. We describe the process of developing a community based participatory research process with members of local refugee communities, and then discuss the findings of a survey completed by 280 local refugees that was collaboratively designed and administered. Noting historic and continuing disenfranchisement of the Black community in Cincinnati, in our survey analyses we compared the experiences of African refugees (Burundian, Congolese, and Somali) to the experiences of Bhutanese, Latinx, and Middle Eastern refugees residing in greater Cincinnati on several aspects of civic life. Analyses indicate that refugees from African countries reported more negative outcomes than other refugees residing in this area. Further, refugees residing in neighborhoods with a higher percentage of Black residents reported less satisfaction, likely due to neighborhood disinvestment. We discuss the costs and benefits of these findings and interpretation in the context of decolonial theory. Specifically, we connect racist colonial history to differences in treatment of refugees based on their physical appearance (i.e., Blackness) to the continued disenfranchisement of African Americans.

Review: British Gods: Religion in Modern Britain, by Steve Bruce

Steve Bruce is one of Britain’s best-known sociologists of religion. Over a career spanning four decades, he has become a noted expert on the relationship between religion and politics as well as vocal defender of the secularization theory. Bruce calls British Gods an “end-of-career summation study” (vi) and in many ways it continues ideas that he has outlined in previous publications. The central argument underlying the book is that not only has religious adherence declined significantly in Britain since the mid-nineteenth century, but that its power and prestige has similarly crumbled. Throughout, Bruce draws not only upon the quantitative data demonstrating this national decline but also localized case studies from across the country.British Gods covers a range of topics. These include the decline of widespread elite patronage of local churches; the changing social roles of the Christian clergy; the rise of the Charismatic and Black Pentecostal movements; the growth of Islam; Spiritualism and New Age; and religion’s impact on recent British politics. Bruce is certainly convincing in his argument that religion as an organized, institutional phenomenon has seen a clear numerical decline that shows no sign of reversal in Britain. The growth of minority religious communities, usually of immigrant origin, have not offset this much larger decline. Where Bruce’s argument perhaps faces its biggest challenge is in the perseverance of supernaturalism in the form of belief about ghosts, mediumship, horoscopes, and so on, among those who do not align with a particular religious identity. He repeats the argument, which he has made elsewhere, that less than 2 percent of the UK population engages in New Age activities, but that perhaps fails to account for those who believe (or at least take an agnostic interest) in such topics without actually taking part in related activities. If I understand correctly, Bruce leans toward not considering this sort of unstructured belief to be religion at all. If that is the case, it would be better if he provided a clear stipulative definition of precisely what he means when he talks about religion.In keeping with Bruce’s trademark style, British Gods is characteristically straightforward, down-to-earth, and eminently readable. Here is a writer who knows how to get his argument across to a wide and often non-academic readership. At points the book is genuinely funny, a rare quality in scholarly writing. Not one to be swayed by academic fads or community lobbyists, Bruce refuses to serve as an apologist for any particular religious community or for religion itself. When he wants to criticize religious groups, he does so. He readily refers to those who object to developments like same-sex marriage as “homophobes” (87, 88), for instance. Moreover, he pulls no punches in pointing to how accusations of Islamophobia are sometimes used to stifle criticism of Islam in British public life and rejects the premise that self-segregation among many British Muslim communities can be purely explained as a response to prejudice from non-Muslims. While Bruce’s own beliefs certainly inform his writing, here he has (perhaps unintentionally) championed the value of evidence-based argument over scholarship informed more by ideology, apologetics, or wishful-thinking.This is not a book about new religious movements per se, and thus its especial value to new religions scholars is limited. Its discussions of Spiritualism and New Age are perhaps most useful in this regard, although such topics have been covered in far greater depth elsewhere. However, this is probably a book that anyone interested in religion in Britain (or the Western world more broadly) would really benefit from reading—students and established scholars alike. Those of us who study new religions can sometimes forget how small and uninfluential such groups typically are in the grand scheme of things. A book like British Gods serves as an important corrective to such attitudes.

The use of diversity indices for local assessment of marine sediment quality

Diversity indices are commonly used to measure changes in marine benthic communities. However, the reliability (and therefore suitability) of these indices for detecting environmental change is often unclear because of small sample size and the inappropriate choice of communities for analysis. This study explored uncertainties in taxonomic density and two indices of community structure in our target region, Japan, and in two local areas within this region, and explored potential solutions. Our analysis of the Japanese regional dataset showed a decrease in family density and a dominance of a few species as sediment conditions become degraded. Local case studies showed that species density is affected by sediment degradation at sites where multiple communities coexist. However, two indices of community structure could become insensitive because of masking by community variability, and small sample size sometimes caused misleading or inaccurate estimates of these indices. We conclude that species density is a sensitive indicator of change in marine benthic communities, and emphasise that indices of community structure should only be used when the community structure of the target community is distinguishable from other coexisting communities and there is sufficient sample size.