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Human Dimensions (human + dimension)
Selected AbstractsFetishising Violence, Marginalising the Human DimensionANTIPODE, Issue 4 2005Federico Caprotti First page of article [source] Reconciling traditional inland fisheries management and sustainability in industrialized countries, with emphasis on EuropeFISH AND FISHERIES, Issue 4 2002Robert Arlinghaus Abstract In northern industrialized countries, the inland fisheries sector has long been dominated by recreational fisheries, which normally exploit fish for leisure or subsistence and provide many (poorly investigated) benefits to society. Various factors constrain the development and existence of inland fisheries, such as local user conflicts, low social priority and inadequate research and funding. In many cases, however, degradation of the environment and loss of aquatic habitat are the predominant concerns for the sustainability of inland fisheries. The need for concerted effort to prevent and reduce environmental degradation, as well as conservation of freshwater fish and fisheries as renewable common pool resources or entities in their own right is the greatest challenge facing sustainable development of inland waters. In inland fisheries management, the declining quality of the aquatic environment coupled with long-term inadequate and often inappropriate fisheries management has led to an emphasis on enhancement practices, such as stocking, to mitigate anthropogenic stress. However, this is not always the most appropriate management approach. Therefore, there is an urgent need to alter many traditional inland fisheries management practices and systems to focus on sustainable development. This paper reviews the literature regarding the inputs needed for sustainability of inland fisheries in industrialized countries. To understand better the problems facing sustainable inland fisheries management, the inland fisheries environment, its benefits, negative impacts and constraints, as well as historical management, paradigms, trends and current practices are described. Major philosophical shifts, challenges and promising integrated management approaches are envisaged in a holistic framework. The following are considered key elements for sustainable development of inland fisheries: communication, information dissemination, education, institutional restructuring, marketing outreach, management plans, decision analysis, socioeconomic evaluation and research into the human dimension, in addition to traditional biological and ecological sciences. If these inputs are integrated with traditional fisheries management practices, the prospects for sustainability in the inland fisheries will be enhanced. [source] From critical care to comfort care: the sustaining value of humourJOURNAL OF CLINICAL NURSING, Issue 8 2008Ruth Anne Kinsman Dean PhD Aims and objectives., To identify commonalities in the findings of two research studies on humour in diverse settings to illustrate the value of humour in team work and patient care, despite differing contexts. Background., Humour research in health care commonly identifies the value of humour for enabling communication, fostering relationships, easing tension and managing emotions. Other studies identify situations involving serious discussion, life-threatening circumstances and high anxiety as places where humour may not be appropriate. Our research demonstrates that humour is significant even where such circumstances are common place. Method., Clinical ethnography was the method for both studies. Each researcher conducted observational fieldwork in the cultural context of a healthcare setting, writing extensive fieldnotes after each period of observation. Additional data sources were informal conversations with patients and families and semi-structured interviews with members of the healthcare team. Data analysis involved line-by-line analysis of transcripts and fieldnotes with identification of codes and eventual collapse into categories and overarching themes. Results., Common themes from both studies included the value of humour for team work, emotion management and maintaining human connections. Humour served to enable co-operation, relieve tensions, develop emotional flexibility and to ,humanise' the healthcare experience for both caregivers and recipients of care. Conclusions., Humour is often considered trivial or unprofessional; this research verifies that it is neither. The value of humour resides, not in its capacity to alter physical reality, but in its capacity for affective or psychological change which enhances the humanity of an experience, for both care providers and recipients of care. Relevance to clinical practice., In the present era which emphasises technology, efficiency and outcomes, humour is crucial for promoting team relationships and for maintaining the human dimension of health care. Nurses should not be reluctant to use humour as a part of compassionate and personalised care, even in critical situations. [source] Technology-Enhanced Learning: A Question of KnowledgeJOURNAL OF PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION, Issue 3-4 2008JAN DERRY This paper is concerned with the human dimension of technology-enhanced learning; many suppositions are made about this but the amount of attention it has been given relative to that paid to technology is quite limited. It is argued that an aspect of the question that deserves more attention than it has received in the work on the application of technologies to education is epistemology on the grounds that the nature of knowledge and the general character of mind are critically important. As regards epistemology this paper draws on recent developments in philosophy by John McDowell and Robert Brandom that deal with the relation of mind to world and the nature of experience. From McDowell it draws on the idea of second nature and particularly the argument that human beings acquire their cognitive capacities by initiation into language and tradition. From Brandom it draws on the idea that humans stand apart from animals and machines in that they respond to reasons as well as to causes. It is argued that the implication of these ideas for education differ radically from the pedagogic models that underpin much work on technology-enhanced learning where the suppositions about experience are quite different. Indeed the nature of knowledge is usually presumed rather than examined and often what is taken for granted is awareness as a conceptually unmediated response to the world. These questions are raised in the context of so far disappointing results of the use of technologies to enhance learning. [source] Ecohydrological feedbacks and linkages associated with land degradation: a case study from MexicoHYDROLOGICAL PROCESSES, Issue 15 2006Elisabeth Huber-Sannwald Abstract Land degradation and desertification are major environmental problems of human societies in drylands of North and South America. Mexico is one of the most severely affected countries. An assessment of how both biophysical and socio-economic processes simultaneously affect, and are affected by, land degradation is recognized as one of the most important and challenging topics in the research on global change. Towards meeting this challenge, in June 2004 an interdisciplinary mix of scientists assembled in Mexico to participate in a workshop convened by the ARIDnet network. The focus of the workshop was to apply a new conceptual framework,the Dahlem Desertification Paradigm (DDP),to La Amapola, a small rural community located in the Central Plateau of Mexico. The DDP aims to advance understanding of global desertification issues by focusing on the interrelationships within coupled human-environment systems that cause desertification. In this paper we summarize the conclusions of the La Amapola workshop. First, we present a brief review of some of the broader issues and concerns of global desertification, which led to the formation of ARIDnet and to the DDP. Second, we provide an overview of land degradation issues in La Amapola, highlighting examples of hydrological linkages between biophysical and socio-economic factors. Third, we summarize our findings in a conceptual model, which highlights linkages between biophysical and socio-economic factors in La Amapola, and the role of hydrology in desertification. Lastly, we discuss the results derived from the application of the major assertions of the DDP to La Amapola. The numerous feedbacks, linkages, and causal pathways between the biophysical and human dimensions suggest that hydrology is the fundamental component of the livelihoods of rural communities in this region of Mexico, and thus it is of central importance when evaluating desertification. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] The partnership between project management and organizational change: Integrating change management with change leadershipPERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENT, Issue 1 2007Barber Griffith-Cooper The nature of project management is change. Even though all knowledge areas in the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) are rooted in controlling change, none of these areas specifically addresses the human elements of change. There is a significant distinction between directly controlling change relative to the nonhuman aspects of a project ( change control) and effecting change in the human dimensions of a project through leadership ( change leadership). This article characterizes the distinctive activities of change leadership and change control and their interrelationship throughout the project life cycle. Although distinct, change control and change leadership are interdependent and mutually supporting,both are needed to support project success. [source] Natural and human dimensions of environmental change in the proximal reaches of Botswana's Okavango DeltaTHE GEOGRAPHICAL JOURNAL, Issue 1 2010HAMISAI HAMANDAWANA Though wetlands are vital for the proper functioning of terrestrial ecosystems and provisioning of a wide range of goods and services, their sustainability is being threatened by inappropriate human resource use practices due to our limited understanding of how these systems operate and lack of appropriately informed interventions. We attempt to address these limitations by using historical CORONA photographs of 1967, Landsat imagery of 1989, 1994 and 2001 and information from the literature to investigate the role of natural and human factors in influencing the direction of environmental change in the proximal reaches of Botswana's Okavango Delta. Results of this investigation point to fragmentation of natural habitats, localised degradation of areas close to perennial water supplies, significant increase in woody cover, significant decrease in open grassland, increase in scrub and shrubs, deterioration in the quality of grazing and depletion of specific woody species. With the direction of change pointing to persistent decrease in the environment's supporting potentials, there is urgent need to adopt intervention strategies potentially capable of enhancing sustainable utilisation of natural resources in this sub-region. [source] China's Recovery: Why the Writing Was Always on the WallTHE POLITICAL QUARTERLY, Issue 1 2009OLIVER TURNER China has been a major power for far longer than is typically acknowledged in the West. This paper seeks to redress established discourse of China as a ,rising' power which now enjoys common usage within Western policy-making, academic and popular circles, particularly within the United States; China can more accurately be conceived of as a ,recovering power'. A tendency by successive Washington administrations to view the world in realist terms has forced the label of ,rising' power onto China along with the negative connotations that inevitably follow. We should acknowledge the folly in utilising a theoretical approach largely devoid of any appreciation for the social and human dimensions of international relations as well as the importance of social discourse in the field. Finally, policy-makers in Washington must reconsider their realist stance and, with a fuller appreciation of world history, recognise that American hegemony was always destined to be short-lived. [source] | ||||||||||