Social Ecology Research Articles

Overdose prevention activities led by local public health departments, 2019–2023

BackgroundDrug overdose deaths in the United States increased to historic levels in recent years, with provisional estimates indicating more than 111,000 deaths in the 12 months ending July 2023. In 2019, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Division of Overdose Prevention in collaboration with the National Association of City and County Health Officials, funded local health departments (LHDs) to work on overdose prevention activities. This paper aims to: 1) describe the overdose prevention activities that LHDs implemented during the four eighteen-month funding cycles; 2) identify programmatic successes and areas of opportunity for LHDs to consider when implementing future overdose prevention activities; and to 3) inform policy considerations and future overdose prevention programming at the local level.MethodsWe used programmatic data to identify overdose prevention activities implemented by 45 LHDs. Activities were double-coded according to the social-ecological model and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Overdose Prevention Strategies and Guiding Principles. We analyzed final codes to identify distribution and overlap of the Strategies and Guiding Principles across the social ecological model co-occurrences.ResultsApproximately 55.9% (n=123) of the 220 overdose prevention activities that were coded took place at the community level, 32.3% (n=71) at the individual level, 8.6% (n=19) at the relationship level, and 3.2% (n=7) at the policy level. Most of the activities were coded as coordination, collaboration, and integration (n=52, 23.6%), harm reduction (n=51, 23.1%), data and evidence (n=47, 21.4%) or reducing stigma (n=24, 10.9%). Few activities were related to primary prevention (n=14, 6.4%), equity (n=14, 6.4%), recovery support (n=11, 5.0%), and evidence-based treatment (n=7, 3.2%).ConclusionsLocalities have primarily implemented activities focused on the community and individual levels, with most of these centered around coordination, collaboration, and integration; harm reduction; or data and evidence. This study identified gaps in overdose prevention for LHDs related to treatment and health equity and that more interventions should be implemented at the relationship and policy levels. Continuing these efforts is important as LHDs explore opportunities to enhance and expand their work in various strategy areas across the social ecology. Findings from this study may be used to inform localities as they design and implement future overdose prevention activities.

African ecologies: literary, cultural, and religious perspectives – introduction

This article offers an introduction to the special section about the theme of ‘African Ecologies: Literature, Culture and Religion’. It explores the current interdisciplinary field of scholarship on ecology, environment, and climate change in Africa, mapping contributions from across the Humanities and the Social and Environmental Sciences. The article positions this special section in this ever-expanding body of literature, specifically deploying the notion of ‘African ecologies’ as a heuristic lens to examine how the relationship and interaction between living organisms, including humans, and the natural environment is conceived. It argues that social, cultural, literary, and religious ecology provide vital perspectives to enrich and expand the understanding of African ecologies, thereby expanding inventories of possibilities as climate change response pathways. (This article is published in the thematic collection ‘African ecologies: literary, cultural and religious perspectives’, edited by Adriaan van Klinken, Simon Manda, Damaris Parsitau and Abel Ugba.)

Ecological Discourse Analysis of the English Translations of Song of Peach Blossom Land from the Perspective of Transitivity

In light of the degradation of the ecological environment, linguists have integrated ecology with linguistics, giving rise to the emergence of ecolinguistics. Ecological Discourse Analysis (EDA), as a form of discourse analysis, serves as an analytical approach within the field of ecolinguistics. Considering that Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) can be applied in analyzing ecological discourses and acknowledging the existing differences between Chinese and English languages, this paper conducts an EDA on both Chinese and English translations of “Song of Peach Blossom Land” from a transitivity perspective, aiming to present disparities in translation skills and accuracy. The results reveal that material processes account for over 50% of processes in all three texts and are consistently observed throughout them. Natural ecology is portrayed through depictions of the peach blossom land’s scenery; social ecology is presented by describing the social background and friendly relationship between the fisherman and villagers; spiritual ecology is embodied by his decision to leave his hometown but ultimately return to this land again. Furthermore, disparities in translation skills and accuracy exist within the Chinese-English translation.

Asymmetric influence-based superposed random walk link prediction algorithm in complex networks

Random walk-based link prediction algorithms have achieved desirable results for complex network mining, but in these algorithms, the transition probability of particles usually only considers node degrees, resulting in particles being able to randomly select adjacent nodes for random walks in an equal probability manner, to solve this problem, the asymmetric influence-based superposed random walk link prediction algorithm is proposed in this paper. This algorithm encourages particles to choose the next node at each step of the random walk process based on the asymmetric influence between nodes. To this end, we fully consider the topological information around each node and propose the asymmetric influence between nodes. Then, an adjustable parameter is applied to normalize the degree of nodes and the asymmetric influence between nodes into transition probability. Based on this, the proposed new transition probability is applied to superposed random walk process to measure the similarity between all nodes in the network. Empirical experiments are conducted on 16 real-world network datasets such as social network, ecology network, and animal network. The experimental results show that the proposed algorithm has high prediction accuracy in most network, compared with 10 benchmark indices.

Imbalance and Alienation: An Eco-Critical Interpretation of Shuggie Bain

Since its publication in 2020, Shuggie Bain, the debut novel by Scottish author Douglas Stuart, has attracted scholarly attention for its unique ecological perspective. Utilizing the theoretical framework of eco-criticism and drawing on the tripartite division of ecology proposed by Chinese scholar Lu Shuyuan, this paper provides an in-depth interpretation of the novel Shuggie Bain in three dimensions of natural ecology, social ecology, and spiritual ecology, aiming to reveal the ecological imbalance and human alienation in Glasgow, a major industrial city in Scotland during the 1980s. This interpretation will also provide readers with a new research perspective for analyzing Shuggie Bain, enhancing their understanding of the rich ecological implications of it.

Perceived Social Mobility and Smartphone Dependence in University Students: The Roles of Hope and Family Socioeconomic Status.

Drawing upon the cognitive-behavioral model of pathological Internet use (PIU) and tunnel effect, this study aimed to construct a moderated mediation model from the perspective of social ecology. Specifically, the model investigated the relationship between perceived social mobility and smartphone dependence, with a focus on the mediating role of hope and the moderating effect of family socioeconomic status (SES) underlying this relationship. A cross-sectional study was conducted with 718 Chinese university students (Mage = 19.19, 70.2% female) from Beijing, Henan, and Tianjin, who anonymously filled out the Perceptions of Socioeconomic Mobility Scale, Mobile Phone Addiction Index Scale, Openness to the Future Scale, and family socioeconomic status questionnaire. Preliminary data analysis was executed using SPSS 22.0, and the moderated mediation effect was tested using the latent moderated structural equations approach in Mplus 8.3. The results showed that (a) less perceived social mobility was linked with greater smartphone dependence; (b) hope mediated the aforementioned relationship; and (c) family SES moderated the first-stage path of the indirect effect through hope. For university students with low (rather than high) family SES, their level of hope increased with the improvement of perceived social mobility, and in turn, that of smartphone dependence decreased. These findings suggest that positive perceptions of upward social class mobility and hopeful attitudes toward future opportunities and personal development among disadvantaged university students may alleviate their reliance on smartphones. Researchers and policymakers should pay attention to the role of individuals' perceptions of the macro environment in motivating specific risky behaviors among university students. Future interventions are essential to mitigate pessimistic environmental perceptions and foster a sense of hope among university students.

The personal equipment and social ecologies needed for successful employability: an exploration of perceptions among undergraduate social sciences students

The personal equipment and social ecologies needed for successful employability: an exploration of perceptions among undergraduate social sciences students

The social and moral ecology of education for flourishing

ABSTRACT Educational institutions exist in reciprocal relations with broader social and moral ecologies. These ecologies involve interactions of networks of individuals and groups with wider aspects of culture, and are therefore broadly social, and they contain explicit or implicit content with regard to right and wrong, and are therefore moral. There is growing recognition that educational institutions could do more to promote full flourishing for students, teachers, staff, society, and planet, but there has been relatively little attention to the role played by such social and moral ecologies in fostering this desired change. This paper argues that ecosystem stewards can inspire and lead educational institutions in this direction by loving more fully into being a cultural climate that promotes morally good forms of ecosystem-wide flourishing. This includes an exploration of a systems perspective in order to encourage a more intentional and skillful integration of healthy social and moral influences.

Isolation, small population size, and management influence inbreeding and reduced genetic variation in K’gari dingoes

Small island populations are vulnerable to genetic decline via demographic and environmental stochasticity. In the absence of immigration, founder effects, inbreeding and genetic drift are likely to contribute to local extinction risk. Management actions may also have a greater impact on small, closed populations. The demographic and social characteristics of a species can, however, delay the impact of threats. K’gari, a ~ 1 660 km2 island off the Australian east coast and UNESCO World Heritage Site (Fraser Island 1842–2023), supports an isolated population of approximately 70–200 dingoes that represent an ideal opportunity to explore the small island paradigm. To examine temporal and spatial patterns of genetic diversity in this population we analysed single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) genotype data (72 454 SNPS) for 112 K’gari dingoes collected over a 25-year period (1996 to 2020). Genetic diversity was lower in K’gari dingoes than mainland dingoes at the earliest time point in our study and declined significantly following a management cull in 2001. We did not find any spatial genetic patterns on the island, suggesting high levels of genetic connectivity between socially discrete packs. This connectivity, combined with the social structure and behaviour of dingoes, may act in concert to buffer the population from the impacts of genetic drift in the short term. Nevertheless, a general decline in genetic variation via inbreeding and drift has occurred over the past 20 years which we suggest should be considered in any future management planning for the population. Monitoring patterns of genetic variation, together with a clearer understanding of the social ecology of K’gari dingoes, will aid in the development of measurable genetic targets set over ecologically meaningful timelines, and help ensure continued survival of this culturally important population.

Adaptations to sociality in the mimetic and auricular musculature of the African wild dog (Lycaon pictus).

The African wild dog (Lycaon pictus) is a highly social canid that engages in sophisticated, coordinated group hunting tactics to procure large game. It is one of the most effective hunters of the African savannah, due to its highly developed communication methods. It also has large, mobile ears which enhance its auditory capabilities while hunting and assist with thermoregulation. Recent research suggested that certain muscles of facial expression, particularly those involved with expressive eyebrow movement, evolved solely in domestic dogs (Canis familiaris) to facilitate communication with their human owners. However, it is unclear whether highly social wild canid species may also employ similar expressive eye communication. We performed detailed dissections of an adult male L. pictus to evaluate and describe its mimetic and auricular musculature. Overall, L. pictus has well-developed facial and ear muscles. Musculi levator anguli oculi medialis (LAOM) and retractor anguli oculi lateralis (RAOL), mimetic muscles of hypothesized importance in domestic dog-human non-verbal communication, are enlarged in L. pictus, comparable in size to those of domestic dogs, as is m. orbicularis oculi. This morphology suggests that ocular facial expressions contribute to within-pack communication in wild dogs and are not unique to domestic dogs. The auricular muscles of L. pictus are well-developed, supporting greater leverage and fine manipulation of its large, mobile ears. These muscular adaptations facilitate the highly social ecology of African wild dogs and challenge current interpretations about the unique nature of domestic dog facial expressions.

Integrating People and Nature: A Perspective for Environmental Conservation and Livelihoods in the Context of Nepal

In Nepal, protected area approach to environmental conservation has been a highly contested issue,particularly in view of the conflicts between local people and conservation authorities. Presenting evidences and insights from Royal Chitwan National park and reviews of relevant theoretical knowledge, the paper argues that the protected area approach involves enormous local social costs in terms of limiting livelihoods opportunities to local people, as well as ignoring the potential of local institutions in the conservation. It then suggests a social ecology perspective to balance conservation and local livelihoods.

Parenting and family interventions in lower and middle-income countries for child and adolescent mental health: A systematic review

BackgroundGiven the protective effect of nurturing caregivers and families for child and adolescent mental health, there is a need to review and synthesize research evidence regarding the effectiveness of parenting and family interventions in low and middle-income countries, including humanitarian settings. To advance practice, further understanding of the active ingredients of such interventions and implementation factors that lead to effectiveness are essential. MethodThis systematic review, an update from a previous review, included studies on any parenting or family intervention for children and adolescents aged 0–24, living in a low- or middle-income country, that quantitatively measured child or adolescent mental health outcomes. We searched Global Health, PubMed, PsychINFO, PILOTS and the Cochrane Library databases on the 9th July 2020, and updated on the 12th August 2022. Risk of bias was assessed using an adapted version of the NIH Quality Assessment Tool. We extracted data on: effectiveness outcomes, practice elements included in effective interventions, and implementation challenges and successes. Main findingsWe found a total of 80 studies (n = 18,193 participants) representing 64 different family or parenting interventions, 43 of which had evidence of effect for a child or adolescent mental health outcome. Only 3 studies found no effect on child, adolescent or caregiver outcomes. The most common practice elements delivered in effective interventions included caregiver psychoeducation, communication skills, and differential reinforcement. Key implementation strategies and lessons learned included non-specialist delivery, the engagement of fathers, and integrated or multi-sector care to holistically address family needs. Preliminary conclusionsDespite a high level of heterogeneity, preliminary findings from the review are promising and support the use of parenting and family interventions to address the wider social ecology of children in low resource and humanitarian contexts. There are remaining gaps in understanding mechanisms of change and the empirical testing of different implementation models. Our findings have implications for better informing task sharing from specialist to non-specialist delivery, and from individual-focused to wider systemic interventions.

Community Deception in Large Networks: Through the Lens of Laplacian Spectrum

Many complex networks in the real world have community structures. Typical examples include online social networks and ecology networks. While the identification of communities bears numerous practical applications, with the increasing awareness of data security and privacy concerns, the need to protect the community affiliations of individuals from disclosing by attackers emerges. This raises the community deception (CD) problem, that is, the opposite of community detection, which asks for ways to minimally perturb the network structures by rewiring nodes so that the target communities maximally hide themself from community detection algorithms. To this end, we investigate the CD problem through a Laplacian spectrum lens and propose a method named <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\mathtt{ComDeceptor}$</tex-math> </inline-formula> to hide a flexible target set of communities, which is more universal than most existing methods that either focus on hiding the entire communities or a single community. The key idea of <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\mathtt{ComDeceptor}$</tex-math> </inline-formula> is to first allocate the resources of perturbations fairly and effectively. By proving that hiding communities through intercommunity edge addition and intracommunity edge deletion correspond to maximizing the second smallest eigenvalue <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\lambda_2$</tex-math> </inline-formula> and minimizing the largest eigenvalue <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\lambda_n$</tex-math> </inline-formula> of the graph Laplacian, respectively, <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\mathtt{ComDeceptor}$</tex-math> </inline-formula> then incorporates efficient heuristics for approximately solving the problems, thus selecting the appropriate edge to perturb. Experimental results over nine real-world networks and six community detection algorithms not only demonstrate the efficiency of <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\mathtt{ComDeceptor}$</tex-math> </inline-formula> , but also the superior performance on obfuscating community structures over the baselines.

Gender Qualities and Campus Bullying: Psychological Causes and Social Ecology Behind the Rose Boy

In April 2000, "Rose Boy" Ye Yongzhi died due to bullying by his classmates for his unique gender identity. Although the Ye Yongzhi incident has drawn increasing attention to the seriousness of gender identity discrimination and campus bullying, the phenomenon of "gender bullying" still exists today. In this study, the author conducted a questionnaire survey of 100 male youths in mainland China who had experienced or were currently experiencing campus bullying to clarify the current status of campus bullying and gender bullying in mainland China, and conducted statistics on the forms, reasons, solutions, and impacts of bullying. On this basis, this paper adopts a social-psychological perspective to explore the social psychological causes behind "gender temperament bullying". On the one hand, adolescents may develop stereotypes about gender temperament due to prejudice. On the other hand, adolescents may exhibit irrational group behavior under the influence of "deindividuation". In addition, "obeying authority" is also one of the reasons why some teenagers join the ranks of bullies. Finally, this paper elaborates on the deeper macro-social ecology behind social psychology, such as the influence of traditional gender role beliefs on parents' expectations and requirements for their children in traditional Chinese families; most schools in China fail to provide comprehensive and scientific gender education courses, lacking in-depth exploration and correct guidance on gender issues; the administrative and judicial departments have not sufficiently punished and prevented campus bullying; the whole society's attention to campus bullying and gender discrimination also needs to be improved.

Social foraging and the associated benefits of group-living in Cliff Swallows decrease over 40 years.

Animals that feed socially can sometimes better locate prey, often by transferring information about food that is patchy, dense, and temporally and spatially unpredictable. Information transfer is a potential benefit of living in breeding colonies where unsuccessful foragers can more readily locate successful ones and thereby improve feeding efficiency. Most studies on social foraging have been short-term, and how long-term environmental change affects both foraging strategies and the associated benefits of coloniality is generally unknown. In the colonial Cliff Swallow (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota), we examined how social foraging, information transfer, and feeding ecology changed over a 40-year period in western Nebraska. Relative to the 1980's, Cliff Swallows in 2016-2022 were more likely to forage solitarily or in smaller groups, spent less time foraging, were more successful as solitaries, fed in more variable locations, and engaged less in information transfer at the colony site. The total mass of insects brought back to nestlings per parental visit declined over the study. The diversity of insect families captured increased over time, and some insect taxa dropped out of the diet, although the three most common insect families remained the same among the decades. Nestling Cliff Swallow body mass at 10 days of age and the number of nestlings surviving per nest declined more sharply with colony size in 2015-2022 than in 1984-1991 at sites where the confounding effects of ectoparasites were removed. Adult body mass during provisioning of nestlings was lower in more recent years, but the change did not vary with colony size. The reason(s) for the reduction in social foraging and information transfer over time are unclear, but the consequence is that colonial nesting may no longer offer the same fitness advantages for Cliff Swallows as in the 1980's. The results illustrate flexibility of foraging behavior and dynamic shifts in the potential selective pressures for group-living.

Экотопия Мюррея Букчина: утопия или реальная альтернатива?

Using the works of the famous American philosopher, sociologist, environmentalist, speaker and publicist Professor Murray Bookchin (1921–2006), this article examines his project of social structure. In the first part of the study, the author dwells on the relevance of this issue at the present stage of the global socio-political and economic development. In particular, it is noted that idealized utopian ideas were inherent in human society literally at all stages of historical development, being especially pronounced during the periods of social shifts and upheavals. This thesis is confirmed by a number of written and other sources. The current situation is no exception. The economic crises of 2008 and 2020, the global energy crisis of 2021–2023 and a series of food crises of 2022–2023 as well as the growing geopolitical tension have called for finding ways of alternative development. This makes Bookchin’s social ecology especially relevant in view of its detailed elaboration. The second part of the article is devoted to the analysis of the conceptual and methodological basis of Bookchin’s theory, whose main feature is the variability of historical development. Using the anarchist approach and the dialectical method (dialectical naturalism in his terms), Bookchin identifies libertarian and authoritarian tendencies, which have been manifested throughout the written history of humankind, since the appearance of social stratification, cities and the state, and which have eventually led humanity to a deadlock. In the third part, the author examines the transition to a new ecological social structure described by Bookchin, who believed that the scientific and technological progress of the 20th century had made it possible. Real prospects of this project’s implementation in current conditions are discussed. Answering the main question of the study, the author notes that the social structure project, despite all the elaboration and appeal to rationalism, can, with good reason, be considered a classic utopia. In addition, the article points out obvious contradictions in Bookchin’s theory.

The Slowness of Sandkind

Abstract In this article, I examine the potentials and challenges of curating performance art inside an exhibition space for raising environmental awareness. I begin by offering a short history of environmental performance art. While early works were inspired by social ecology, more recent works are better elucidated by Greg Garrard's notion of “deep ecology” and theories of the Anthropocene. I then move on to my case study: the performance SANDKIND by Danish artist Tora Balslev that I curated at Agder Art Center in Kristiansand, Norway. I combine Jean-Paul Martinon and Irit Rogoff's concept of “the curatorial” with Brad Haseman's performative methodology for practice-led research to develop my method of inquiry. I argue that the caring slowness of SANDKIND was its key feature, and that the meditative state that the slowness induced in the performer and audience created a heightened awareness of the other-than-human material of sand, thereby transforming the exhibition space into a multifaceted zone for more-than-human engagement.

허난성 정주시 도시민의 홈트레이닝 소비환경이 소비욕구 및 지속가능성에 미치는 영향

The purpose of this study is to explore the influence of home training consumption environment of citizen on consumption needs and the sustainability of home training behavior by using social ecology theory and structural equation model. In this study, 750 questionnaires were conducted with citizen adult residents in Zhengzhou City, Henan Province, China, among which 706 were valid. In this study, the data of questionnaire survey were analyzed by using spss26.0. The conclusions of this study are as follows, the are as follows. First of all, home training must establish a comfortable environment, with training facilities and equipment needed to encourage people to participate in sports activities. Secondly, face-to-face demand has promoted new forms of interpersonal communication. Thirdly, the sustainability of family training behavior cannot be controlled only by the consumption environment of family training, and the long-term development of citizen training behavior cannot be solved only by the consumption demand.

‘It’s Why Young People Choose to Come Here’: Professional Love and the Ethic of Care in UK Youth Work Practice

ABSTRACT This paper extends the discourse on the importance of the relationship between practitioner and young person as a defining tenet of effective youth work practice, recognising the privileged position occupied by Youth Workers in the social ecology of the young people with whom they work. Reflecting the ethical obligations inherent in this relationship, particularly its focus on enhancing young people’s agency and developmental outcomes, the paper outlines how youth work practice infused with professional love aligns with conceptualizations of an ethic of care. Reporting on interviews conducted with Youth Workers practicing in different settings across one local authority area in the UK, the paper articulates how practitioners’ ethic of care shapes their work with young people, and the extent to which love features as an element of their professional practice. Practitioners describe their motivation to express care that extends beyond legalistic interpretations of their ‘duty of care’ towards young people, using the language of care, love and nurture almost interchangeably. The paper demonstrates the importance of inclusion and reciprocity as fundamental elements of ethical practice, as well as the need to infuse practice with hope, suggesting the value of an affirmative ethic to complement a focus on love and care.

Lost Futures

Embedded within large-scale resource extraction projects is a tension between the immobility of the resource and the mobility of the people who inhabit the surface over which the resource is found. The limited ability to negotiate the place of extraction, and the destruction of prior ecologies, can generate significant hardship to local populations and pose particular ethical dilemmas, as in the small village of Wollar located at the New South Wales coal frontier. Here, the supposed ethical imperatives of coal-based power and energy have dismantled and sacrificed communities as the coal mining industry has advanced and intensified its operations. Looking at both social and environmental ecologies, the paper analyses how imagined coal-centred futures, and progress, is phrased (or not phrased) as an ethical and political issue, and the consequences of that coal-based future, psychologically, emotionally, imaginally and cosmologically on those who live near the mines. What once carried a felt ambience of being home has, through technological and political deployment, become a non-place of transience, anonymity, and change. In this unbalanced political conflict, a natural environment and lived ecology are subject to developmentalist and technological ecologies in ethical-political dispute with a diminishing sense of home, and produce suffering because of unequal power relations which derive from the success of the destructive technologies. Searching for a language to capture the sense of sacrifice and suffering that happens in the shadow of large-scale mining, I propose a new concept: ‘eritalgia’. Eritalgia expands the existing duad of nostalgia and solastalgia, capturing the sense of lost future self in place, emphasising the role of power and discursive hegemony in shaping experiences of and well-being in place.