Suchergebnisse

Intro -- HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENT SOCIAL SCIENCE PERSPECTIVES -- HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENT SOCIAL SCIENCE PERSPECTIVES -- CONTENTS -- PREFACE -- INTRODUCTION -- ETERNAL QUESTIONS AND PRESENT CONCERNS -- ENGAGEMENT OF SOCIAL SCIENTISTS WITH THE TOPICS OF HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENT -- HEALTH -- ENVIRONMENT -- TRACING LINKAGES -- THE SUSTAINABILITY PARADOX -- CHARITY PARADOX -- STRUCTURE OF THE BOOK -- REFERENCES -- PART I. PROBLEM-FRAMING AND DEBATES -- Chapter 1 SOCIAL SCIENTIFIC ENGAGEMENT WITH HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENT DEBATES: CLASSICAL ROOTS AND CONTEMPORARY SUB DISCIPLINES -- ABSTRACT -- CLASSICAL THEORIES AND CONTEMPORARY INTERPRETATIONS -- Thomas Malthus -- Karl Marx -- Durkheim and Weber -- CHANGES IN THE WORLD SINCE THE "CLASSICISTS" -- Health and Environment in the Context of Globalization -- Population Growth -- Health Issues in the Recent Decades -- Environmental Issues in the Recent Decades -- FROM CLASSICAL SCHOLARS TO MODERN ACADEMIC SUBDISCIPLINES -- Environmental Sociology -- Ecology of Health -- Ecological Sociology -- Environmental Health -- Medical Anthropology -- REFERENCES -- Chapter 2 WHY IS SCIENTIFIC INFORMATION ON SERIOUS ENVIRONMENT AND HEALTH PROBLEMS NOT EASILY RECOGNIZED IN OUR SOCIETY? -- ABSTRACT -- INTRODUCTION -- 1. ENVIRONMENT AND HEALTH SCIENCE -- Current Environment and Health Problems -- Scientific Proof -- Paralysis by Traditional Analysis -- Physical Chemical Hygiene -- 2. SCIENCE AND SOCIETY -- Trial and Retribution -- To Investigate or Not to Investigate: The Mysterious Case of Dendermonde -- To Know and Not to Act -- Mercedes or Health -- 3. THE SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION OF ENVIRONMENT AND HEALTH -- Biased Expertise -- Smokescreen Evidence: Science and Industry -- The Politics of Expert Judgement: Industry Involvement in the IARC -- Huff J. (2002) -- Alignment according to Huff -- I Rest my Case (at Home).

Ecosystem Services: Global Issues, Local Practices is a hands-on, transdisciplinary reflection on ecosystem services directed toward the future development of research, practice, and implementation by professionals. The diversity of values assigned to ecosystems and their services are used to inform policy from local to global scales."--Publisher description

"De Wijers" covers 20.000 ha and is spread out over 7 municipalities in north-east Belgium. The most dominant land-uses are fish ponds, marshes, forests, heathland, grassland, residential areas and industry. An ESS approach was adopted as a guiding framework to develop a vision for several reasons: it was felt that ESS stimulate positive thinking, it was expected to stimulate multi-sectoral thinking, and it was considered as a suitable vehicle to achieve resilient and multi-functional landscapes. The main strategy to build a widely-supported vision was a series of interactive workshops. In total 200 people participated in the workshops (mainly project partners, government agencies and NGO's). Environmental, tourism and fishery sector were well represented, whereas it was much more difficult to mobilise representatives from industry, agriculture and the social sector. The workshops stimulated social learning among partners, increased understanding for other positions, enabled networking, and contributed to higher trust between stakeholders. The strength of employing the ESS concept as a vehicle for vision development was that it was easy to understand, that it was very inclusive, and that it stimulated participants to reflect about the structures and processes which they depend on. By asking participants to list desired benefits for the future (2030), participants were enabled to think more freely (out-of-the-box), and as such we avoided to be bogged down in today problems and conflicts. Scoring and prioritization were found to be simple, yet helpful tools to structure the different ideas. Another powerful tool was the question to identify potential win-win situation between desired services. This enabled to build bridges between (usually contradicting) sectors. A limitation of the ESS concept for regional planning is that it focusses mainly on the contribution of ecosystems to regional development. Other elements, such as employment, transport, regional character, cultural heritage also came up as important vision elements, but could not directly linked to the ESS concept. On the other hand, 'invisible' ecosystem processes are at risk to fall from the radar during a participatory process (e.g. groundwater dynamics). For some, the approach was too abstract, too theoretical and too complex. Overall, this was a very interesting pilot of bottom-up mainstreaming of ESS in regional planning. The concept and the used approach can certainly contribute to vision development, especially for regions with complex land-use and many involved stakeholders. However 4 elements will need special attention: the inclusion of powerful but less concerned partners, inclusion of invisible services and services which are not ecosystem-related, and efficient use of workshop time.

Abstract Background The fields of environment and health are both interdisciplinary and trans-disciplinary, and until recently had little engagement in social networking designed to cross disciplinary boundaries. The EU FP6 project HENVINET aimed to establish integrated social network and networking facilities for multiple stakeholders in environment and health. The underlying assumption is that increased social networking across disciplines and sectors will enhance the quality of both problem knowledge and problem solving, by facilitating interactions. Inter- and trans-disciplinary networks are considered useful for this purpose. This does not mean that such networks are easily organized, as openness to such cooperation and exchange is often difficult to ascertain. Methods Different methods may enhance network building. Using a mixed method approach, a diversity of actions were used in order to investigate the main research question: which kind of social networking activities and structures can best support the objective of enhanced inter- and trans-disciplinary cooperation and exchange in the fields of environment and health. HENVINET applied interviews, a role playing session, a personal response system, a stakeholder workshop and a social networking portal as part of the process of building an interdisciplinary and trans-disciplinary network. Results The interviews provided support for the specification of requirements for an interdisciplinary and trans-disciplinary network. The role playing session, the personal response system and the stakeholder workshop were assessed as useful tools in forming such network, by increasing the awareness by different disciplines of other's positions. The social networking portal was particularly useful in delivering knowledge, but the role of the scientist in social networking is not yet clear. Conclusions The main challenge in the field of environment and health is not so much a lack of scientific problem knowledge, but rather the ability to effectively communicate, share and use available knowledge for policy making. Structured social network facilities can be useful by policy makers to engage with the research community. It is beneficial for scientists to be able to integrate the perspective of policy makers in the research agenda, and to assist in co-production of policy-relevant information. A diversity of methods need to be applied for network building: according to the fit-for-purpose-principle. It is useful to know which combination of methods and in which time frame produces the best results. Networking projects such as HENVINET are created not only for the benefit of the network itself, but also because the applying of the different methods is a learning tool for future network building. Finally, it is clear that the importance of specialized professionals in enabling effective communication between different groups should not be underestimated.

Visiting nature is positively associated with physical and mental well-being. The role of nature became more pronounced during the coronavirus outbreak in the spring of 2020. Countries all over the world implemented confinement measures to reduce the transmission of the virus. These included but were not limited to the cancelation of public events, schools, and non-essential businesses and the prohibition of non-essential travels. However, going outside to exercise was recommended by the Belgian government. During this period, we conducted an online survey to determine if people visit nature more frequently than before and to identify the factors that contribute to this. The results are based on data from 11,352 participants in Flanders, Belgium. With the use of a bivariate and multiple regression analysis, results indicate that people visit nature more frequently than before and that nature helped to maintain social relationships during the coronavirus period. Gardens were reported to be the most popular place, followed by parks. More than half of the people experienced nature in a more positive way, and the belief that nature visits are important for general health increased. In addition, we found a positive association between nature visits and home satisfaction, as well as a positive association with subjective mental and physical health. Lastly, we identified several demographic factors contributing to the frequency of nature visits such as age, gender, and socioeconomic status. Our findings indicate the importance of nature visits for general well-being and highlight the need for nearby green infrastructure.

How can we assess the quality of an analytical deliberative decision support procedure in environmental health practice? Objectifying quality criteria is difficult for several reasons. Opening up evaluation to a diversity of critics is one approach to take into account different actor perspectives and complexity. We describe how social scientists organized extended peer evaluation of a participatory multi-criteria procedure that was applied in Flemish environmental health practice. International peer review was combined with local extended peer evaluation. Social scientists collaborated closely with natural scientists and policy representatives in designing several evaluative activities and in interpreting the results.We discuss how these different perspectives came to reach conclusions, with a special focus on methodological decision-making. A process of learning by doing and negotiating, finding a methodological path amidst practicalities, complexity and ambition.

The Centre of Expertise for Health and Environment started biomonitoring campaign at the end of 2001, in Flanders (Belgium). The main purpose of this project, funded by the Flemish government, is to investigate the relationship between environmental pollution and human health. This is done by measuring pollutants and health effects in human beings. Social scientists cooperating with the environmental and health experts proposed to include a questionnaire on risk perception related to environment and health. Taking into account, risk perception is important with regard to risk communication, risk assessment and the management of complex issues such as health and environment. We present the results of our survey of 1165 mothers of newborn babies, who participated in the first campaign of the biomonitoring. The perception research discussed in this paper can be evaluated as a succesful experiment, with potential for further development and use.

Background: Environmental justice research suggests that inequalities in the distribution of environmental exposure to chemical pollution systematically disadvantage the lower social strata of society. The effects of these inequalities on the human exposure to pollution are however to a large extend unknown. The purpose of this study is to assess social gradients in human biomonitoring results of a representative sample of Flemish adolescents. Methods: We investigate the associations between individual socioeconomic status (SES), measured by parental educational attainments, and internal body concentration of seven chemical compounds in biological samples of 1642 adolescents aged 14–15 in Flanders (Belgium): PCBs, HCB, DDE, lead, cadmium, benzene and PAHs. Social gradients in average and high exposure to these biomarkers were examined with geometric means and odds ratios (with 95% confidence intervals), using multiple regression models, controlling for covariates and confounders. Results: Depending on the (type of) pollutant, adolescents with a lower SES either have higher or lower internal concentrations. Chlorinated compounds (PCBs and pesticides HCB and DDE) are positively associated with SES (higher exposures for higher SES), while heavy metals (lead and cadmium) are negatively associated (higher exposures for lower SES). For metabolites of organic compounds (benzene and PAHs) we find no association with SES. Socially constructed factors, such as dietary and lifestyle habits, play an important role in these relations. Conclusions: Our study suggests that the association between individual SES and the internal body concentration of exposure to environmental pollutants in Flemish adolescents is more complex than can be assumed on the basis of the environmental justice hypothesis. ; Flemish Government (Department of Science, Department of Public Health and Environment, Nature and Energy Department)

Science-policy interface organizations and initiatives (SPIORG) are a key component of environmental governance designed to make links between science and society. However, the science­policy interface literature lacks a structured approach to explaining the impacts of context on and by these initiatives. To better understand these impacts on and interactions with governance, this paper uses the concept of the governance 'meshwork' to explore how dynamic processes – encompassing prior, current and anticipated interactions – co­produce knowledge and impact via processes, negotiation and networking activities at multiple governance levels. To illustrate the interactions between SPIORGs and governance meshwork we use five cases representing archetypal SPIORGs. These cases demonstrate how all initiatives and organizations link to their contexts in complex and unique ways, yet also identifies ten important aspects that connect the governance meshwork to SPIORGs. These aspects of the meshwork, together with the typology of organizations, provide a comprehensive framework that can help make sense how the SPIORGs are embedded in the surrounding governance contexts. We highlight that SPIORGs must purposively consider and engage with their contexts to increase their potential impact on knowledge co-­production and policy making.

Science-policy interface organizations and initiatives (SPIORG) are a key component of environmental governance designed to make links between science and society. However, the science­policy interface literature lacks a structured approach to explaining the impacts of context on and by these initiatives. To better understand these impacts on and interactions with governance, this paper uses the concept of the governance 'meshwork' to explore how dynamic processes – encompassing prior, current and anticipated interactions – co­produce knowledge and impact via processes, negotiation and networking activities at multiple governance levels. To illustrate the interactions between SPIORGs and governance meshwork we use five cases representing archetypal SPIORGs. These cases demonstrate how all initiatives and organizations link to their contexts in complex and unique ways, yet also identifies ten important aspects that connect the governance meshwork to SPIORGs. These aspects of the meshwork, together with the typology of organizations, provide a comprehensive framework that can help make sense how the SPIORGs are embedded in the surrounding governance contexts. We highlight that SPIORGs must purposively consider and engage with their contexts to increase their potential impact on knowledge co-­production and policy making. ; Peer reviewed