Parental perception of social risk and of positive potentiality of outdoor autonomy for children: The development of two instruments

An important factor that limits children's autonomy outdoors is parental perception of social danger and traffic danger. To obtain quantitative instruments for these dimensions, this work aimed to explore the validity and reliability of three scales. Two of them describe, respectively, problematic aspects of the area of residence linked to traffic and situations of social degradation that could constitute risk factors for the child's psychological and physical safety (Traffic Danger Perception Scale, Social Danger Perception Scale). The third scale investigates parental perception of the positive potentiality of outdoor autonomy for children's maturation and growth. Interviews were conducted with 377 mothers of children between 8 and 10 years of age residing in six different areas in Italy. The results indicated weak reliability of the Traffic Danger Perception Scale, which requires further investigation, and they confirmed the reliability and the construct validity of the Social Danger Perception Scale and the Perception of Positive Potentiality of Outdoor Autonomy for Children Scale. The perception of social danger was higher in mothers who live in larger urban contexts and who have more personal fear of crime and a lower sense of community. The positive perception of children's autonomy of movement was higher among mothers who live in greener areas, who have a greater sense of community and who have more neighbourhood relations.     

中国社会发展水平的衡量标准与实践

中国社会统计指标体系由15大类,1000多个指标构成,适应于多层次、多角度、多目的的社会发展需要,在社会发展综合评价和实践活动中发挥了重要作用。     

Meeting the Climate Change Challenge (MC3): The Role of the Internet in Climate Change Research Dissemination and Knowledge Mobilization

This paper explores the role that Internet and online technologies played in research dissemination and knowledge mobilization in a recent climate change research project, MC³. In addition, the team looked at the potential of online expert-practitioner research collaborations for these purposes. Electronic communication was seen as a key element for creating distributed networks essential to the project and for building new practitioner/research knowledge collaboratives. The paper discusses how online communication strategies and technologies were used for wide dissemination of its research outcomes. MC³'s research dissemination and knowledge mobilization strategies are analyzed, using engagement as the primary measure, to gain insights on the effectiveness and challenges of using Internet-based tools for communicating climate change innovations and actions.     

近代我国应对海洋灾害的社会动员机制

近代以来,海洋灾害对沿海区域的社会经济发展造成了严重威胁。为应对发生的灾害,社会力量发挥了重要作用,成为救灾的主体。通过考察社会动员的主体、途径、力量等方面,探讨近代我国应对海洋灾害的社会动员机制,为我国未来应对突发性的海洋灾害提供历史借鉴,丰富应对措施与经验,保障人民生命财产安全。     

“Talking of citizenship … ” Exploring the contribution an intergenerational,participatory learning project can make to the promotion of active citizenship in sustainable communities

The value of participating in community projects for the creation of a sustainable community is widely recognised but there remains little research into the multiple dispositions, knowledge, and competencies necessary for building and maintaining such a community. This article examines a small intergenerational social learning project that brought together students from a local community college and members of the town community association to explore the concept of sustainability-focused citizenship. The project was founded on themes of active citizenship, social learning, and intergenerational interaction, and was jointly evaluated by the participants and the researcher. This article presents two key ways in which this community-based learning project contributed to the promotion of citizenship for a sustainable community – firstly, as effective preparation for citizenship for sustainability, through the development of knowledge, disposition, and competencies, and secondly, in the performance of citizenship during the course of the workshops, through the encounter with, and negotiation of, difference.     

Social innovation and the governance of sustainable places

This article explores social innovation as a tool for the promotion of place-based sustainable development. The literature highlights the satisfaction of basic needs and situations of crises as two major drivers of socially innovative actions. We use these insights to explore the conditions under which social innovation can lead to social transformation and sustainable place making. We also recognise that social processes occur through, and are shaped by, the material forms that constitute and are constituted in place-specific settings. This highlights the deep interconnections that exist between place making and the resources, attributes and characterises – the materiality (such as rivers, soil, trees) – that exist within that locality. It is here that a close tie can be discerned between understanding the adaptive process in complex socio-ecological systems and the role of social innovation in such adaptation. Socially innovative initiatives at the community level can also be scaled upwards through the co-ordinating role of the state, while at the same time act as a pressure for more participatory forms of governance. Governance processes that enhance the role of both economic and social actors in the steering of social change help to infuse more open, democratic practices into social steering. With social, economic and state actors co-mingling as agents of social change, social innovation can come to play a key role in enhancing sustainable human–environment interactions.     

Fragile environment in need of resilient carers? A case of regional natural resources management in Perth,Western Australia

The Perth region is one of the 56 designated Natural Resources Management (NRM) regions in Australia. A community-led body – Perth Region NRM (PRNRM) – is in charge of overseeing NRM initiatives in the region. PRNRM heavily relies on Environmental Care Organisations (ECOs) that are involved in a wide variety of activities ranging from managing nature reserves to restoring ecosystems on a voluntary basis. While ECOs have become an integral component of PRNRM, they are often vulnerable because of the uncertain availability of financial and human resources. The way these organisations can overcome resource scarcities and become resilient is therefore significant for the effective delivery of regional NRM arrangements. However, what makes some ECOs in the Perth region more resilient than others is not well understood. This paper responds to this gap and explores the state of ECOs in the Perth region. The paper begins by reviewing the notion of resilience using a social capital lens. Drawing on a survey of ECOs and interviews, the method used for data collection and data analysis is presented next. Finally, the paper makes a case for fostering social capital as a way of enhancing the resilience of ECOs in the Perth region and beyond.     

Marginal recycling: place and informal recycling in St. John's,Newfoundland

Informal recycling networks are systems through which impoverished populations earn money and residents recycle waste which might otherwise go into a landfill. These networks, in which people voluntarily self-organise to collect recyclables, occur throughout the world. This article discusses results of an exploratory, qualitative study of one such network in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador which identifies motivational characteristics of the network and their implications for public policy. Through close attention to particularities of place, the research identified community interaction and community inclusion as two of the most active motivating factors within the studied network. The findings suggest public recycling programmes can increase public participation through greater attention to place-based motivational factors. Such participation could contribute to increased sustainability and reach of recycling programmes.     

Making space for social inclusion in conceptualising climate change vulnerability

Impacts from climate change pose a raft of challenges for societies, governments and policy-makers internationally. The anticipated changes are well documented, including rising sea levels, increased floods and other extreme weather conditions. Much research and policy emphasis has focused on technical and economic aspects. Less debated are questions about different communities' vulnerabilities, inequitable distributional impacts, social justice issues and how vulnerability links to social inclusion/exclusion. This paper explores a case study mapping social exclusion and vulnerability in Brisbane, Queensland, which found that while communities can be vulnerable through physical aspects of an area when social dimensions are added to the equation it amplifies or exacerbates the scale of vulnerability. The findings also suggest that in developing research agendas and policy debates around climate change, there could be benefits from interlinking the currently separate areas of work on social vulnerability to extreme weather events, to forms and processes of social inclusion/exclusion.     

Spatially identifying vulnerable communities to climate change impact in South Australia

The impending form and extent of climate change and its direct impacts present disproportionate challenges for the most socially and economically disadvantaged groups within populations. Evaluating the vulnerability of disadvantaged groups in the context of climate change has presented tremendous theoretical, methodological and policy challenges especially where vulnerability assessment research is focused at the local community level. This study addresses the challenges by developing an interdisciplinary methodology, based on expert knowledge, and uses the state of South Australia as a case study. It focuses on key indicators that measure the exposure of local communities to climate change and socio-economic vulnerabilities of local populations. A main contribution in this study is the novel incorporation of physical, environmental and socio-demographic data sets and extensive use of spatial modelling and estimation methods to spatially define climate change and social vulnerability “hot spots”. This paper assesses vulnerability under moderate and high Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change CO₂ emission scenarios in order to generate an assessment model to be used before planning is done. The result is the creation of a practical tool through which decision-makers can better understand how the complexity of one's local spatial context influences the unique exposure, which different vulnerable communities have, to the impacts of climate change. This paper presents a useful tool that can be used in the initial assessment phase by planners and policy-makers to better assist those who are limited in their ability to adapt to climate change.