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1.
IOP Conference Series Earth and Environmental Science ; 1180(1):012047, 2023.
Article in English | ProQuest Central | ID: covidwho-20243468

ABSTRACT

There was a change in the environment and food security threat during the COVID-19 pandemic. Many countries, including Indonesia, are forced to allocate funds to reduce the risk of this disaster. The Government Republic of Indonesia, through the Ministry of Social Affairs, has launched a Social Cash Assistance Program for 10 million families affected by COVID-19. This study aims to identify how families affected by COVID-19 take advantage of this social cash assistance. The study was conducted on the beneficiaries of social assistance, in cash transfer of IDR 600,000 (USD 40), per month, for three months. This study involved 2290 beneficiaries as respondents spread across 12 provinces. The sampling technique was the Cohen Manion Morrison Table by proportional stratified random sampling. The findings show that (1) 99% of cash assistance is used for basic needs, especially for food, and (2) cash assistance could be used for basic needs for around two to three weeks, thereby strengthening food security. Recommendations are submitted based on the results of this study related to social cash assistance and food security. The first is that this assistance still needs to be continued until the COVID-19 pandemic is over. It is to help families affected by the COVID-19 pandemic meet their daily needs. Second, most respondents do not have a fixed income during the pandemic, so providing capital and business startups are needed to increase family income sustainably to maintain food security.

2.
Sustainability ; 15(9):7349, 2023.
Article in English | ProQuest Central | ID: covidwho-2320801

ABSTRACT

The preparation of sustainability reports, which a negligible number of organisations had been doing until recently, will soon be the new reality for many more organisations. This research aims to present changes during the COVID-19 pandemic in the ecosystem of sustainability reporting pronouncements, especially those used by organisations. In our research, we compare important information about two different periods and the content demands in reporting on sustainability. Changes in the ecosystem are fundamental and unique. Based on the analysis of events and documents, the current research shows the changes in the ecosystem and the future dynamics in the ecosystem, including the principle standard setters (i.e., International Sustainability Standards Board and European Financial Reporting Advisory Group, EFRAG). The research shows that although the changes occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic, they did not significantly impact the ecosystem's development or slow down or stop their development. The COVID-19 pandemic did not affect the speed or dynamics of changes. In the last few years, EFRAG and the European Union established their position and gained a significant influence in sustainability reporting, with EFRAG at the forefront. The European Sustainability Reporting Standards will be mandatory for organisations doing business in the European Union. At the same time, we do not expect that the IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards will be directly endorsed for use in the European Union. The paper presents a new perspective on examining sustainability via developing organisations' reporting demands within the framework of the uncertain environment caused by COVID-19. In this context, our research also contributes to the literature. The study also has a potential practical impact on organisations and management since it illuminates a wide range of selected sustainability viewpoints and their reporting.

3.
Sustainability ; 15(9):7664, 2023.
Article in English | ProQuest Central | ID: covidwho-2318206

ABSTRACT

Adherence to sustainable development in higher education rests on the assessment of students' academic attainment, especially during unexpected environmental changes, such as the sudden move from face-to-face to online courses during the recent pandemic. Most studies devoted to this issue have compared students' performance online with that of face-to-face courses before the pandemic, tallying together a variety of courses, often from specific disciplines. Besides their mixed results and generality, such studies do not address the issue of students' adjustment to the post-pandemic learning environment. The present retrospective case study offered a simple evidence-based model for educators to measure the relationship between environmental changes and students' behavior for self-reflection and adjustment. It examined students' academic attainment (as measured by grades) within a broader timeframe, including courses taught by the same instructors face-to-face before and after the pandemic and online during the pandemic. Specific courses of the general education curriculum were selected to include a broad spectrum of students. The study then assessed whether students' activities before, during, and after the pandemic predicted summative assessment performance (i.e., final exam grades) differently. In this study, performance differences were recorded, usually in favor of post-pandemic face-to-face classes. Midterm examinations were the best predictors of final exam grades irrespective of the modality of instruction and timeframe. Implications and applications of the methodology used and the results obtained were considered.

4.
Sustainability ; 15(9):7482, 2023.
Article in English | ProQuest Central | ID: covidwho-2315822

ABSTRACT

Physical activity and exercise participation among older adults have decreased dramatically because of the physical distancing measures implemented to prevent the spread of COVID-19. However, even in the face of unforeseen environmental changes, physical activity and exercise for older adults must be sustainable. This study aimed to identify the influencing physical activity and exercise participation among older adults in 2020 when varying levels of quarantine were in place as a protective measure against the COVID-19 pandemic to build a foundation for sustainable older adult health strategies. We utilized a large-scale dataset from the 2020 National Survey of Older Koreans conducted in 2020. Twenty survey questions were used as predictors, and logistic regression and decision tree analyses were utilized to identify influencing factors. Through a logistic regression analysis, 16 factors influencing exercise participation were identified. Additionally, through a decision tree analysis, 7 factors that influence exercise participation and 8 rules were derived through a combination of these factors. According to the results of this study, the use of ICT technologies, such as ‘smartphone or tablet PC', can be a useful tool to maintain or promote physical activity and exercise by older adults in a situation like the COVID-19 pandemic. In conclusion, physical activity and exercise intervention strategies should be developed with comprehensive consideration of the influencing factors to ensure that physical activity and exercise among older adults can be sustained uninterrupted in the face of unforeseen circumstances, such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

5.
Journal of Geophysical Research Atmospheres ; 128(6), 2023.
Article in English | ProQuest Central | ID: covidwho-2257703

ABSTRACT

The radiative effects of the large‐scale air traffic slowdown during April and May 2020 due to the international response to the COVID‐19 pandemic are estimated by comparing the coverage (CC), optical properties, and radiative forcing of persistent linear contrails over the conterminous United States and two surrounding oceanic air corridors during the slowdown period and a similar baseline period during 2018 and 2019 when air traffic was unrestricted. The detected CC during the slowdown period decreased by an area‐averaged mean of 41% for the three analysis boxes. The retrieved contrail optical properties were mostly similar for both periods. Total shortwave contrail radiative forcings (CRFs) during the slowdown were 34% and 42% smaller for Terra and Aqua, respectively. The corresponding differences for longwave CRF were 33% for Terra and 40% for Aqua. To account for the impact of any changes in the atmospheric environment between baseline and slowdown periods on detected CC amounts, the contrail formation potential (CFP) was computed from reanalysis data. In addition, a filtered CFP (fCFP) was also developed to account for factors that may affect contrail formation and visibility of persistent contrails in satellite imagery. The CFP and fCFP were combined with air traffic data to create empirical models that estimated CC during the baseline and slowdown periods and were compared to the detected CC. The models confirm that decreases in CC and radiative forcing during the slowdown period were mostly due to the reduction in air traffic, and partly due to environmental changes.Alternate :Plain Language SummaryContrails produced by aircraft flying in cold but humid air both warm the atmosphere by reducing infrared radiation emitted back into space and cool it by increasing reflected sunlight. Due to the decrease in air traffic during the first months of the COVID pandemic, fewer satellite‐detectable contrails were produced compared to pre‐pandemic times, and thus the radiative effects of contrails were also diminished. But changes in the overall temperature and humidity at aircraft cruise altitudes also affect contrail formation and might explain at least some of the observed decrease in contrail coverage during April and May 2020. Analysis of satellite imagery showed that the thickness and ice‐crystal size of the contrails during the COVID period did not change much from pre‐pandemic contrails. The regional contrail coverage was accurately simulated from a combination of the estimated air traffic activity at cruise altitude and the probable frequency of when atmospheric conditions were favorable for contrail formation. This simulation confirms that most of the decrease in contrails and their radiative effects during the COVID‐related slowdown period were due to the reduction in air traffic, and to a lesser extent to changes in temperature and humidity at cruise altitude during April and May 2020.

6.
J Transp Health ; 28: 101557, 2023 Jan.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-2150223

ABSTRACT

Introduction: In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic prompted community officials to initiate local level environmental and policy changes to slow the spread of infection and provide more opportunities for outdoor recreation. Changes in both regards could positively or negatively impact walking and bicycling. Using a mixed methods approach, the purpose of this United States-based study was to systematically describe municipal response to the pandemic at the community level through environmental and policy changes that may have impacted walking and bicycling. Methods: Websites of all United States' municipalities with a residential population of at least 100,000 (n = 314) were searched to identify environmental and policy changes that might impact walking/bicycling as a result of the pandemic. When actions were identified, we systematically abstracted information from the websites. To provide more contextual information, we interviewed representatives from 12 municipalities about changes made at the municipal level as a result of the pandemic that could impact walking and bicycling. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, and coded for themes. Results: For the 314 municipalities, we identified 353 actions resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic that may impact walking and bicycling. Approximately double the number of actions were identified in large-size municipalities (234 actions in 157 municipalities with population≥165,000) compared to mid-size municipalities (119 actions among 157 municipalities with population 100,000 to 164,999). Generally, fewer actions that might suppress walking and bicycling (n = 59) were identified in comparison to actions that would likely facilitate walking and bicycling (n = 294). In-depth interviews provided further context and insight into these results. Conclusion: This mixed-method assessment provides an overview of the environmental and policy changes which may impact walking and bicycling that municipalities implemented in 2020 due to the pandemic. A next step in this line of inquiry is to quantify the impact of these changes on population levels of walking and bicycling and related health and safety outcomes.

7.
Diagnostics (Basel) ; 12(12)2022 Nov 29.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-2142614

ABSTRACT

The dynamic nature of intellectual disability (ID) and its many comorbidities necessitate repeated screening and functional diagnosis. However, the existing scales are lengthy and expensive and cannot be implemented at all levels of ID. During phase one of this study (September 2019-September 2020), the functional screening tool (FST-ID) was validated for adults with ID and then used as a clinical tool to collect data for 76 participants from their direct service providers (DSP). Their age ranged from 21 to 71 years (mean = 37.63, SD ± 14.61), and they were diagnosed with severe/profound (N = 16) and moderate (N = 29), and mild (N = 31) levels of ID. The scale was found to hold high psychometric values. During phase two (September 2020-June 2022), the scale was found to be reliable as a continuous, clinical on-going screening tool, enabling the screening of functional and environmental changes experienced by adults with ID during acute times of the pandemic and regular times alike. All 76 adults experienced changes at the senior's daycare center mostly. The new scale may also help in the future to determine whether those changes only relate to post COVID-19 symptoms or other comorbidities as well.

8.
Varazdin Development and Entrepreneurship Agency (VADEA) ; : 17-23, 2022.
Article in English | ProQuest Central | ID: covidwho-2112167

ABSTRACT

TDK Corporation, a well-known multinational electronics company that originated in Japan, has gone through a major business change - moving from household electronics to digital technology and components for mobile devices and industrial automation. The company also produces electronic materials, electronic components, recording and data storage media. There is no question that we live in a rapidly changing, unpredictable, and uncertain world where agility reflects a firm's set of capabilities to prosper and thrive in an unpredictable and rapidly changing environment (Vinodh et al. 2012). This paper examines how TDK re-engineered its talent operations to support its business model change during the Covid. The primary goal of this paper is to show how organizations that focus on value creation, dynamic capabilities, and strategic change may benefit from internal communications. As a secondary aim, this paper aims to show how efficient and successful communication support cultural alignment, increased employee engagement, and cultural confidence in the context of remote working and alternative employment conditions.

9.
Mladá Veda ; 10(3):36-43, 2022.
Article in Slovak | ProQuest Central | ID: covidwho-2034212

ABSTRACT

Within the article, we want to draw attention to the necessity of prevention and preparation of enterprises for changes in the environment, as well as the necessity of continuous training of employees. V ďalšej kapitole porovnáme výsledky vlastného celoslovenského prieskumu s výsledkami zo štatistického prieskumu Allianz Risk Barometer, Identifying the Major Business risks for 2021. Tento prieskum sa zameriaval na najvýznamnejšie hrozby vo svete a najdôležitejšie globálne podnikateľské riziká za rok 2021. Prieskum bol spracovaný spoločnosťou Allianz (Allianz Global Corporate and Specialty) (Allianz 2021). V rámci celoslovenského prieskumu sme zisťovali, ktoré z uvedených faktorov externého prostredia podniky považujú za najvýraznejšie ovplyvňujúce ich prevádzkyschopnosť za rok 2020. Výsledkom tejto otázky bolo identifikovanie 3 najvýraznejších faktorov externého prostredia, ktoré pôsobili na prevádzkyschopnosť podnikov za rok 2020. Výsledkom prieskumu boli identifikované najviac dôležité globálne podnikateľské riziká za rok 2020.

10.
SciDev.net ; 2020.
Article in English | ProQuest Central | ID: covidwho-1998353

ABSTRACT

Speed read Intensive agriculture for animal protein source of emerging diseases, experts say But, understanding of animal pathogen spillover incomplete, making pandemic prediction difficult Investment needed in early warning systems, One Health preparedness Sustainable agriculture and better health monitoring needed to break chain of disease transmission in food systems. Environmental hotspots Agriculture and meat production are significant contributors of greenhouse gases, both directly and through land-use change — Andersen notes that the drivers of pandemics are often the same drivers of climate change and biodiversity loss. "Climate change results in changing environmental conditions, which impacts on the ecosystem characteristics and as a result, it changes the distribution of animal species, and therefore also of any microorganisms which they carry,” Dirk Pfeiffer, a professor of veterinary epidemiology at City University of Hong Kong and the Royal Veterinary College in London, tells SciDev.Net.

11.
Sustainability ; 14(15):9715, 2022.
Article in English | ProQuest Central | ID: covidwho-1994199

ABSTRACT

Land-use transition is one of the most profound human-induced alterations of the Earth’s system. It can support better land management and decision-making for increasing the yield of food production to fulfill the food needs in a specific area. However, modeling land-use change involves the complexity of human drivers and natural or environmental constraints. This study develops an agent-based model (ABM) for land use transitions using critical indicators that contribute to food deserts. The model’s performance was evaluated using Guilford County, North Carolina, as a case study. The modeling inputs include land covers, climate variability (rainfall and temperature), soil quality, land-use-related policies, and population growth. Studying the interrelationships between these factors can improve the development of effective land-use policies and help responsible agencies and policymakers plan accordingly to improve food security. The agent-based model illustrates how and when individuals or communities could make specific land-cover transitions to fulfill the community’s food needs. The results indicate that the agent-based model could effectively monitor land use and environmental changes to visualize potential risks over time and help the affected communities plan accordingly.

12.
Sustainability ; 14(15):9065, 2022.
Article in English | ProQuest Central | ID: covidwho-1994152

ABSTRACT

Very drastic environmental changes require the development of an adaptive performance management framework that supports the strengths of the company’s structure. The position of internal CSR as a resource that can solve performance problems needs to be proved. The purpose of the study was to analyze the effect of internal corporate social responsibility on job performance through employee well-being. To this end, this causal study surveyed 282 non-managerial employees at four strategic industrial state-owned enterprises in Indonesia. The respondents were recruited using the proportional random sampling technique. The collected data were analyzed using SEM with SPSS 26. The results showed that changes in job performance can be predicted by the adequacy of work resources and personal resources. Both resources can be realized by the existence of corporate social responsibility intended for employees. Internal corporate social responsibility was found to encourage increased work engagement and decrease burnout, which ultimately improves job performance. Internal CSR is an important personal and work resource for employees. Internal CSR is the company’s main orientation in an effort to strengthen the company’s performance structure while ensuring the implementation of the company’s ethical responsibility in its environment. From the theoretical perspective, this study implied the need for exploring the concept of internal corporate social responsibility to expand our understanding of the relationship between corporate social responsibility and personal and work resources and employee performance. Meanwhile, the practical implications of this study highlight the importance of microlevel corporate social responsibility programs to meet personal and work resource needs so that companies benefit from high employee engagement and low burnout in order to improve adaptive performance and the structure of the company’s performance.

13.
The Polar Record ; 58, 2022.
Article in English | ProQuest Central | ID: covidwho-1984336

ABSTRACT

The archipelago of Svalbard is a good example of an Arctic locale undergoing rapid changes on multiple levels. This contribution is a joint effort of three anthropologists with up-to-date ethnographic data from Svalbard (mostly Longyearbyen and Barentsburg) to frame and interpret interconnected changes. The processes impacting Svalbard are related to issues such as geopolitical interests, and increasing pressure by the Norwegian government to exercise presence and control over the territory. Our interpretations are based on a bottom-up approach, drawing on experiences living in the field. We identify three great ruptures in recent years – the avalanche of 2015, the gradual phasing out of mining enterprises and the COVID-19 pandemic – and show how they further impact, accelerate or highlight preexisting vulnerabilities in terms of socio-economic development, and environmental and climate change. We discuss the shift from coal mining to the industries of tourism, education, and research and development, and the resulting changed social and demographic structure of the settlements. Another facet is the complexity of environmental drivers of change and how they relate to the socio-economic ones. This article serves as an introductory text to the collection of articles published in Polar Record in 2021/2022 with the overarching theme “changing Svalbard”. Issues discussed range from socio-economic change and its implications for local populations including identity of place, through tourism (value creation, mediation, human–environment relations, environmental dilemmas, balancing contradictory trends), to security and risk perception, and environmental and climate change issues.

14.
People and Nature ; 4(4):1032-1048, 2022.
Article in English | ProQuest Central | ID: covidwho-1971311

ABSTRACT

Complex networks of relationships among and between people and nature (social‐ecological networks) play an important role in sustainability;yet, we have limited empirical understanding of their temporal dynamics.We empirically examine the evolution of a social‐ecological network in a common‐pool resource system faced with escalating social and environmental change over the past two decades.We first draw on quantitative and qualitative data collected between 2002 and 2018 in a Papua New Guinean reef fishing community to provide contextual evidence regarding the extent of social and environmental change being experienced. We then develop a temporal multilevel exponential random graph model using complete social‐ecological network data, collected in 2016 and 2018, to test key hypotheses regarding how fishing households have adapted their social ties in this context of change given their relationships with reef resources (i.e. social‐ecological ties). Specifically, we hypothesized that households will increasingly form tight‐knit, bonding social and social‐ecological network structures (H1 and H3, respectively) with similar others (H2), and that they will seek out resourceful actors with specialized knowledge that can promote learning and spur innovation (H4).Our results depict a community that is largely ‘bunkering down’ and looking inward in response to mounting risk to resource‐dependent livelihoods and a breakdown in the collaborative processes that traditionally sustained them. Community members are increasingly choosing to interact with others more like themselves (H2), with friends of friends (H1), and with those connected to interdependent ecological resources (H3)—in other words, they are showing a strong, increasing preference for forming bonding social‐ecological network structures and interacting with like‐minded, similar others. We did not find strong support for H4.Bonding network structures may decrease the risk associated with unmonitored behaviour and help to build trust, thereby increasing the probability of sustaining cooperation over time. Yet, increasing homophily and bonding ties can stifle innovation, reducing the ability to adapt to changing conditions. It can also lead to clustering, creating fault lines in the network, which can negatively impact the community's ability to mobilize and agree on/enforce social norms, which are key for managing common resources.Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

15.
Sustainability ; 14(13):8185, 2022.
Article in English | ProQuest Central | ID: covidwho-1934260

ABSTRACT

This transdisciplinary review of research about international cooperation on social and environmental change builds the case for replacing Sustainable Development as the dominant framework for an era of increasing crises and disasters. The review is the output of an intentional exploration of recent studies in multiple subject areas, based on the authors’ decades of work in related fields since the Rio Earth Summit 30 years ago. It documents the failure to progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Consequently, scholarship critiquing the conceptual framework behind those ‘Global Goals’, and the economic ideology they arose from, is used to explain that failure. Although the pandemic set back the SDGs, it further revealed the inappropriate strategy behind those goals. This suggests the Global Goals constitute an ‘own-goal’ scored against people and nature. Alternative frameworks for organising action on social and environmental issues are briefly reviewed. It is argued that a future framework must relate to a new eco-social contract between citizen and state and engage existing capabilities that are relevant to an increasingly disrupted world. The case is made for an upgraded form of Disaster Risk Management (DRM) as an overarching framework. The proposed upgrades include detaching from economic ideologies and recognising that a wider metadisaster from climate chaos may reduce the future availability of external support. Therefore, self-reliant resilience and locally led adaptation are important to the future of DRM. Options for professionals continuing to use the term sustainability, such as this journal, are discussed.

16.
Sustainability ; 14(11):6747, 2022.
Article in English | ProQuest Central | ID: covidwho-1892978

ABSTRACT

The purpose of our study was to investigate the relationship between business strategy, organizational culture, and market satisfaction. This study focused on Korean companies entering Africa and companies wishing to enter Africa and analyzed the satisfaction of companies with the African market focusing on internal environmental conditions. In terms of data, we collected 183 usable samples from companies. In order to analyze the data, we used structural equation modeling using AMOS 25.0. Based on the results, first, we can see that there is a positive relationship between business strategy and organizational culture. Moreover, there is also a positive relationship between business strategy and market satisfaction. Lastly, we found a positive relationship between organizational culture and market satisfaction. These study results give the following implications in establishing investment strategies for Korean companies entering Africa or willing to enter, which are in the midst of macroscopic environmental changes.

17.
Forests ; 13(5):689, 2022.
Article in English | ProQuest Central | ID: covidwho-1870781

ABSTRACT

Mediterranean coastal areas are among the most threated forest ecosystems in the northern hemisphere due to concurrent biotic and abiotic stresses. These may affect plants functionality and, consequently, their capacity to provide ecosystem services. In this study, we integrated ground-level and satellite-level measurements to estimate the capacity of a 46.3 km2 Estate to sequestrate air pollutants from the atmosphere, transported to the study site from the city of Rome. By means of a multi-layer canopy model, we also evaluated forest capacity to provide regulatory ecosystem services. Due to a significant loss in forest cover, estimated by satellite data as −6.8% between 2014 and 2020, we found that the carbon sink capacity decreased by 34% during the considered period. Furthermore, pollutant deposition on tree crowns has reduced by 39%, 46% and 35% for PM, NO2 and O3, respectively. Our results highlight the importance of developing an integrated approach combining ground measurements, modelling and satellite data to link air quality and plant functionality as key elements to improve the effectiveness of estimate of ecosystem services.

18.
Sustainability ; 14(5):3042, 2022.
Article in English | ProQuest Central | ID: covidwho-1742677

ABSTRACT

Preventing environmental degradation and climate changes are some of the primary challenges of our civilization. Changes to the construction sector, which consumes vast amounts of raw materials, emits significant amounts of greenhouse gas and significant amounts of waste, are very important to reduce emissions and stop negative environmental changes. Regardless of the type of goal, an essential element to achieve it is understanding the purpose and tools necessary to implement appropriate and efficient solutions. This paper presents the survey results on understanding issues related to assessing construction products, including their environmental impact. The survey was conducted among professional groups related to construction, i.e., 181 investors, 522 contractors, and 116 sellers of construction products from various regions of Poland. Questions concerning thermal insulation materials and the external thermal insulation composite system (ETICS), the most widely used solution in the EU for the improvement of thermal performance of buildings, were asked. The obtained results indicate that the knowledge of the basic requirements of construction works under the Construction Products Regulation (CPR) is not too high (the share of correct answers was respectively 33.5%, 23.2%, and 16.2% in contractors, sellers, and investors groups). Similarly, the awareness of the tested, related to the environmental burden in terms of GWP of insulation materials and components of ETICS, should be assessed (49.7% of investors, 57.1% sellers of construction products, and 76.4% contractors indicated the thermal insulation material as the ETICS component with the highest environmental impact in terms of GWP). The obtained research results indicate the need for further education for evaluating construction products and sustainability.

19.
Teaching Geography ; 45(3):118-121, 2020.
Article in English | ProQuest Central | ID: covidwho-1728333

ABSTRACT

[...]there has been much discussion about the diffusion of the virus, geographical variation in incidence and mortality, the environmental impact on our cities of our changing patterns of behaviour, and the micro-geographies of maintaining personal space in public. On one hand, there are those who lament children's withdrawal from public space, citing concerns for public health given children's increasingly sedentary and home-based leisure, and observing an impoverishment of community life that comes with the absence of children's presence. Concerns about children's over-use of screen-based technology in their leisure time have dissipated, as home learning through technology is promoted, and the driver for restricting children in public has been to protect children, rather than protect others from children. In this article, we focus on children's experiences of, and right to, public space, specifically in urban areas, and consider how school geography can be used as an exploratory and explanatory tool to enable children to engage critically with their everyday geographies.

20.
Oceans ; 2(4):738, 2021.
Article in English | ProQuest Central | ID: covidwho-1597350

ABSTRACT

Unlike atmospheric weather forecasting, ocean forecasting is often reflexive;for many applications, the forecast and its dissemination can change the outcome, and is in this way, a part of the system. Reflexivity has implications for several ocean forecasting applications, such as fisheries management, endangered species management, toxic and invasive species management, and community science. The field of ocean system forecasting is experiencing rapid growth, and there is an opportunity to add the reflexivity dynamic to the conventional approach taken from weather forecasting. Social science has grappled with reflexivity for decades and can offer a valuable perspective. Ocean forecasting is often iterative, thus it can also offer opportunities to advance the general understanding of reflexive prediction. In this paper, we present a basic theoretical skeleton for considering iterative reflexivity in an ocean forecasting context. It is possible to explore the reflexive dynamics because the prediction is iterative. The central problem amounts to a tension between providing a reliably accurate forecast and affecting a desired outcome via the forecast. These two objectives are not always compatible. We map a review of the literature onto relevant ecological scales that contextualize the role of reflexivity across a range of applications, from biogeochemical (e.g., hypoxia and harmful algal blooms) to endangered species management. Formulating reflexivity mathematically provides one explicit mechanism for integrating natural and social sciences. In the context of the Anthropocene ocean, reflexivity helps us understand whether forecasts are meant to mitigate and control environmental changes, or to adapt and respond within a changing system. By thinking about reflexivity as part of the foundation of ocean system forecasting, we hope to avoid some of the unintended consequences that can derail forecasting programs.

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