Global biodiversity is currently being lost at an unprecedented rate, posing a threat to vital ecosystems and hence the generation of ecosystem services that human society is entirely reliant upon. Within the European Community, the EU has set a target of halting biodiversity loss within the territory by 2010. This goal is intended to be operationalized by the implementation of the Habitats Directive and the Birds Directive. These directives constitute the framework for the establishment of a coherent ecological network, referred to as the Natura 2000 network. This study examines and analyses the socio-ecological complexities surrounding the designation of Natura 2000 sites in Östhammar municipality, Sweden. The use of a case study-approach to focus on this area is applied in pursuit of identifying and explaining the inherent intricacies in the designation processes and linking them to the broader global context. Throughout Europe, biodiversity exists in a rich variety of grasslands, but only a few studies have been performed to establish appropriate conservation management strategiesrequired for each habitat. This study makes a significant contribution towards shedding light on the Natura 2000 designation process, a phenomenon which has previously been only modestly documented, especially in Sweden. Ecosystem management is discussed and utilized as the theoretical basis for managing ecosystems sustainably, and an important aspect of note is the recognition that the distinction between man and nature needs to be understood as artificial and arbitrary. The study explains how social-ecological factors have had a prominent effect on the designation process of Natura 2000 sites. The main determining factor behind the designation process has been the time-constraints, which have affected the designation of SCIs as well as the interaction between the Uppsala CAD and local stakeholders. The lack of adequate participatory approaches used during this process has heightened the risk of compromising the aim of the network: to achieve Favourable Conservation Status (FCS) for natural habitat types as well as species. / Biodiversiteten världen över minskar i en tidigare aldrig skådad hastighet vilket resulterar i ett hot mot fundamentala ekosystem, samt dess produktion av de ekosystemtjänster som det mänskliga samhället är beroende av. På grund av detta har EU satt upp målet att stoppa förlusten av biodiversitet inom unionens gränser tills 2010. Detta mål skall uppnås genom implementeringen av Habitat- och Fågeldirektivet. Dessa direktiv utgör ramen för etableringen av ett sammanhängande ekologiskt nätverk, det så kallade Natura 2000 nätverket. Denna studie utreder samt analyserar de socio-ekologiska aspekter som omger utpekandet av Natura 2000 områden i Östhammars kommun, i Uppsala län i Sverige. Genom appliceringen av en fallstudie av området söker denna uppsats att identifiera samt förklara inneboende svårigheter i processen av dessa utpekanden, samt att sätta dem i ett globalt sammanhang. Inom Europa existerar biodiversitet bland annat i olika typer av ängar, dock har endast ett fåtal studier tagit sig an uppgiften att formulera anpassade förvaltningsstrategier för dessa habitat. Denna studie bidrar till att sprida ljus över implementeringen av Natura 2000, ett fenomen som tidigare endast studerats i blygsam utsträckning, speciellt i Sverige. Den teoretiska grunden utgörs ekosystemansatsen, som appliceras för att utvärdera ett uthålligtförvaltande av ekosystem. Vidare understryks vikten av att betrakta ekosystem och mänsklig aktivitet som ett och samma system, och att synen på dem som skilda system bör anses artificiell och motsägelsefull. Denna uppsats förklarar hur socio-ekologiska aspekter har påverkat utpekandeprocessen av Natura 2000-områden i Östhammars kommun. De avgörande faktorerna bakom detta är en identifierad tidsbrist, vilket har influerat utpekandet av områden av gemenskapsintresse samt interaktionen mellan Länsstyrelsen i Uppsala och lokala markägare. Bristen på samverkan och information har resulterat i en förhöjd risk av att målet med nätverket inte kommer att nås: att åstadkomma gynnsam bevarandestatus för arter och habitat.

This investigation, comprising two studies, examined the number of barriers to physical activity (Study 1) and barrier strength (Study 2) reported by middle-aged and older adults using a social ecological framework (McLeroy et al., 1988). Researchers were interested in assessing age group (45-54; 55-64; 65-74 yrs) by physical activity group (active, less active) effects for barrier responses using analyses of variance. In Study 1, 180 participants completed a physical activity level survey (Godin & Shephard, 1985) and answered open-ended questions about barriers. Results indicated that 45-54 yr-olds reported more barriers overall, and more intrapersonal barriers than older groups. Less active 45-54 yr-olds reported more organizational-interpersonal barriers than the other groups. Descriptive analyses of coded themes demonstrated that common intrapersonal barrier sub-themes cited by younger adults related to family commitments, while sub-themes reported by middle-aged and older adults related to having a health problem or an injury. In the organizational-interpersonal category, the most common barrier sub-theme related to the workplace. In Study 2, 116 participants completed a survey assessing weekly physical activity and barrier strength for items pertaining to ecological categories and barrier sub-factors. Results showed that less active adults reported each of intrapersonal, interpersonal, and physical environment barriers more strongly than active adults, irrespective of age; the intrapersonal category was relatively the most constraining for our participants. In terms of barrier sub-factors, results showed that significantly higher barrier strength scores are most often associated with physical activity level (i.e., less active), and only occasionally associated with age group. The overall investigation can provide valuable information for improving physical activity interventions for middle-aged and older adults.

This investigation, comprising two studies, examined the number of barriers to physical activity (Study 1) and barrier strength (Study 2) reported by middle-aged and older adults using a social ecological framework (McLeroy et al., 1988). Researchers were interested in assessing age group (45-54; 55-64; 65-74 yrs) by physical activity group (active, less active) effects for barrier responses using analyses of variance. In Study 1, 180 participants completed a physical activity level survey (Godin & Shephard, 1985) and answered open-ended questions about barriers. Results indicated that 45-54 yr-olds reported more barriers overall, and more intrapersonal barriers than older groups. Less active 45-54 yr-olds reported more organizational-interpersonal barriers than the other groups. Descriptive analyses of coded themes demonstrated that common intrapersonal barrier sub-themes cited by younger adults related to family commitments, while sub-themes reported by middle-aged and older adults related to having a health problem or an injury. In the organizational-interpersonal category, the most common barrier sub-theme related to the workplace. In Study 2, 116 participants completed a survey assessing weekly physical activity and barrier strength for items pertaining to ecological categories and barrier sub-factors. Results showed that less active adults reported each of intrapersonal, interpersonal, and physical environment barriers more strongly than active adults, irrespective of age; the intrapersonal category was relatively the most constraining for our participants. In terms of barrier sub-factors, results showed that significantly higher barrier strength scores are most often associated with physical activity level (i.e., less active), and only occasionally associated with age group. The overall investigation can provide valuable information for improving physical activity interventions for middle-aged and older adults.

Sustainable management of natural resources requires an in-depth understanding of the interplay between social and ecological change. Linked social-ecological systems (SES) have been described as complex adaptive systems (CAS), which mean that they are irreducible, exhibit nonlinear dynamics, have interactions across scales and are uncertain and unpredictable. These propositions have however rarely been tested empirically, in part due to a lack of methodological approaches and suitable datasets. In this thesis, I address this methodological and empirical gap in a study of long-term change of Baltic Sea fisheries. In Paper I, we develop the concept of fishing style through integrating multivariate statistical analysis and in-depth interviews. We thereby identify an intermediate level of detail for analyzing social-ecological dynamics, embracing the case specific and context dependent approaches of the social sciences with the generalizable and quantifiable approaches from the natural sciences. In Paper II we ask: How has the Baltic Sea fishery been regulated over time, and can we identify a way to quantify regulations in order to be able to analyze their effects? We analyze all regulatory changes in Sweden since 1995 with a new methodology and conclude that there is a clear trend towards increased micro-management. In Paper III, we use the fishing styles developed in Paper I and examine how they have changed over time. We relate these changes to the dynamics of regulation (Paper II), as well as to the dynamics of fish stocks and prices. We conclude that regulation has been the main driving force for observed changes, but also that regulation has prompted significant specialization and decline in flexibility for fishers over time. These changes are unintended consequences and may represent a looming risk for the long-term sustainability of this social-ecological system. Paper IV zooms in on a particular fishery, the pelagic trawl fishery for sprat Sprattus sprattus and Atlantic herring Clupea harengus, mainly targeted for the production of fishmeal and fish oil. Suspicions of non-compliance in this fishery motivated us to apply a statistical approach where we used socioeconomic data to re-estimate the historical catches in this fishery (a novel approach to catch-reconstruction estimates). We found that catches had been significantly underreported over several years, with consequences for the quality of stock assessments and management. The study underlines the importance of understanding linked social, economic and ecological dynamics for sustainable outcomes. Finally, Paper V takes a longer historical look at the Baltic Sea fishery, using regionally disaggregated data from 1914-2009 (96 years), which were analyzed with a novel type of nonlinear statistical time-series methods (Empirical Dynamical Modeling). Our analysis explicitly recognized the potential nonlinear dynamics of SES and showed high predictability across regions of catches and prices of cod Gadus morhua and herring. The signal was generally nonlinear and predictability decreased strongly with time, suggesting that the dynamics of this SES are ever-changing. To our knowledge, this is the first long-term analysis of a SES using empirical data and methods developed from the CAS field of research. The main contributions of this thesis are the integrated analysis of social and ecological data, the development of novel methods for understanding SES dynamics, insights on the ever-changing nature of CAS and the quantitative analysis of management outcomes. Future work should focus on assessing the generality of these findings across a broad range of SES and evaluate alternative governance approaches given the complexity and uncertainty of SES suggested by this thesis. / <p>At the time of the doctoral defense, the following paper was unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 5: Manuscript.</p>

Graduate students' teaching contributes to undergraduate education throughout North America (Park, 2004), the United Kingdom (Muzaka, 2009), Australia (Kift, 2003), and New Zealand (Barrington, 2001), particularly in first-year courses. Mandatory and voluntary training programs, courses, workshops, and certificate programs have been implemented centrally (Mintz, 1998) and departmentally (Ronkowski, 1998) to develop graduate students’ knowledge and skills and improve their teaching. Research assessing outcomes of these programs indicates improvements in individuals’ conceptions about teaching (Saroyan, Dagenais, & Zhou, 2009), but limited impact on practice (Buehler & Marcum, 2007). A potential explanation for this discrepancy is that current individual-focused support for graduate students is not sufficient; rather, teaching and teaching development are influenced by local disciplinary and institutional culture (Taylor, 2010; Trowler & Bamber, 2005). Literature on graduate studies completion further indicates the role of informal supports in graduate students’ academic success (e.g., Lovitts, 2004). This mixed-method research sought to widen the traditional research focus regarding support for graduate students’ scholarly teaching by examining: (1) how support is characterized and described in official visioning documents, policies, and websites at a single institution; (2) how graduate students at this institution generally viewed department and institution-wide supports listed on past surveys, and (3) how current graduate students and supportive individuals from the same institution described available and desired supports. Four themes emerged during analysis of the survey and interview data: formal support, informal support, communication/collaboration, and feedback. These themes were sometimes echoed and sometimes absent in the official documents and existing literature on graduate students’ teaching, which primarily focused on formal supports. Throughout this research, support was explored within the contextual reality in which graduate students learned and taught by examining the sources of such support across the social ecological layers of sector, institution, department, courses, faculty members, peers, and the individual. By broadening the conceptualization of support beyond formal programming, a single social ecological layer, a small group of official support providers, or a one-time event, this study expands both the depth and breadth of possibilities for resource planning within institutions, and future research on teaching supports and graduate student experiences. / Thesis (Ph.D, Education) -- Queen's University, 2012-09-26 17:24:15.055

This investigation, comprising two studies, examined the number of barriers to physical activity (Study 1) and barrier strength (Study 2) reported by middle-aged and older adults using a social ecological framework (McLeroy et al., 1988). Researchers were interested in assessing age group (45-54; 55-64; 65-74 yrs) by physical activity group (active, less active) effects for barrier responses using analyses of variance. In Study 1, 180 participants completed a physical activity level survey (Godin & Shephard, 1985) and answered open-ended questions about barriers. Results indicated that 45-54 yr-olds reported more barriers overall, and more intrapersonal barriers than older groups. Less active 45-54 yr-olds reported more organizational-interpersonal barriers than the other groups. Descriptive analyses of coded themes demonstrated that common intrapersonal barrier sub-themes cited by younger adults related to family commitments, while sub-themes reported by middle-aged and older adults related to having a health problem or an injury. In the organizational-interpersonal category, the most common barrier sub-theme related to the workplace. In Study 2, 116 participants completed a survey assessing weekly physical activity and barrier strength for items pertaining to ecological categories and barrier sub-factors. Results showed that less active adults reported each of intrapersonal, interpersonal, and physical environment barriers more strongly than active adults, irrespective of age; the intrapersonal category was relatively the most constraining for our participants. In terms of barrier sub-factors, results showed that significantly higher barrier strength scores are most often associated with physical activity level (i.e., less active), and only occasionally associated with age group. The overall investigation can provide valuable information for improving physical activity interventions for middle-aged and older adults.

While research on alternatives to growth at the level of the economy as a whole is accumulating, few studies have related the criticism of growth to the business level. This paper starts to address this gap by investigating mechanisms of growth for small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), presenting a case study that applies Q methodology and interviews with owner-managers of both growing and non-growing SMEs in Austria. Some mechanisms stimulating growth are identified across SMEs including contributing to innovativeness and motivation of employees. Others are only of relevance for some SMEs: competition, financial stability and a desire for market power. The owner-managers of non-growing SMEs hold values and pursue goals that free them from mechanisms of growth or prevent them from being triggered. Moreover, they exhibit a strong identification with their SME, operate in niche markets and strive for financial independence. This illustrates that a growth imperative is neither inevitable nor are growth mechanisms always operative, but depend upon structures and institutions. / Series: SRE - Discussion Papers

The role of citizens working with urban nature in making cities more resilient is under-explored and under-theorised. The social-ecological system (SES) is an appropriate concept to explore these interactions but challenges in applying it to cities have been identified. It has been suggested that there is a need to strengthen the 'social' in the SES. This thesis develops a conceptual framework that splits the social component of the SES into culture and agency and operationalises it through the concept of landscape. Previous scholarship has demonstrated that landscape is a powerful force in how people think about the world and that citizens are increasingly active in transforming urban landscapes. Using a critical realist framework, the SES is approached as an underlying mechanism that can only be apprehended through the landscapes that it produces. This directs attention to people’s experience of and responses to landscape. Three ‘layers’ of landscape are elucidated: the material landscape, the cultural landscape and responses to the landscape, drawing on the disciplines of landscape ecology, cultural geography and others concerned with environmental perception and people-environment interactions. The research surveyed citizen interaction with landscapes across North West England before focusing in on two key case studies in the city of Manchester. This analysis gave rise to development of a new concept, the Inviting Landscape, to describe landscapes that invite citizens to engage with them in ways that enhance the resilience of the underlying SES. The thesis identifies characteristics of Inviting Landscapes and links them to three stages of citizen engagement with landscapes. Potential practical applications of this characterisation of landscapes are discussed. Intellectually, the SES approach is enhanced through a deeper understanding of positive feedback mechanisms whereby landscapes influence citizen-nature interactions, which in turn impact on social-ecological resilience. The thesis concludes by making the case that attending more carefully to the role of culture and agency can strengthen the applicability of the SES approach to cities.

This investigation, comprising two studies, examined the number of barriers to physical activity (Study 1) and barrier strength (Study 2) reported by middle-aged and older adults using a social ecological framework (McLeroy et al., 1988). Researchers were interested in assessing age group (45-54; 55-64; 65-74 yrs) by physical activity group (active, less active) effects for barrier responses using analyses of variance. In Study 1, 180 participants completed a physical activity level survey (Godin & Shephard, 1985) and answered open-ended questions about barriers. Results indicated that 45-54 yr-olds reported more barriers overall, and more intrapersonal barriers than older groups. Less active 45-54 yr-olds reported more organizational-interpersonal barriers than the other groups. Descriptive analyses of coded themes demonstrated that common intrapersonal barrier sub-themes cited by younger adults related to family commitments, while sub-themes reported by middle-aged and older adults related to having a health problem or an injury. In the organizational-interpersonal category, the most common barrier sub-theme related to the workplace. In Study 2, 116 participants completed a survey assessing weekly physical activity and barrier strength for items pertaining to ecological categories and barrier sub-factors. Results showed that less active adults reported each of intrapersonal, interpersonal, and physical environment barriers more strongly than active adults, irrespective of age; the intrapersonal category was relatively the most constraining for our participants. In terms of barrier sub-factors, results showed that significantly higher barrier strength scores are most often associated with physical activity level (i.e., less active), and only occasionally associated with age group. The overall investigation can provide valuable information for improving physical activity interventions for middle-aged and older adults.

The purpose of this study is to qualitatively explore how physical activity engagement is initiated and maintained in adult patients with congenital heart disease (ACHD). The rising number of aging ACHD patients means they could need more healthcare resources for lifelong treatments to maintain their health. One cost-efficient and natural way to maintain the health of ACHD patients is through physical activity participation. Unfortunately, though, ACHD patients tend to be sedentary, and research has yet to adequately explore the factors influencing physical activity behaviour within this population. To gain a better understanding on this topic, this study combines the transtheoretical model and social ecological model to uncover factors influencing physical activity behaviour in ACHD patients who are at different levels of motivation. This study utilizes a qualitative research design: over six months, 27 participants took part in three individual semi-structured interviews for a total of 78 interviews (three participants did not complete all three interviews). The study revealed that several factors influenced physical activity behaviour in ACHD patients at different stages of motivation. In addition, findings on the characteristics of participants in each stage, meanings of physical activity and strategies for promoting physical activity for ACHD patients are also presented, as well as practical findings (i.e., physical activity program for ACHD patients). This thesis is important for healthcare professionals as it could facilitate the development of stage-specific interventions designed to increase physical activity behaviour in ACHD patients.