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Strategies are proposed to cope with uncertainties in a way that all possible kinds of uncertainty are named, recognized, statistically quantified as far as possible, and utilised in efficient decision making in flood risk management (FRM). We elaborated on the metaphor of uncertainty as a monster. We recommend two strategies to cope with the uncertainty monster to support efficient decision making in FRM: monster adaptation and monster assimilation. We present three cases to illustrate these strategies. We argue that these strategies benefit from improving structure and reducing complexity of decision problems. We discuss ways to involve decision makers in FRM, and how communication strategies can be responsive to their informational needs.

For effective sampling of mosquitoes in malaria surveillance programmes, it is essential to include attractive cues in traps. With the aim of implementing a citizen science project on malaria vectors in rural Rwanda, a handmade plastic bottle trap was designed and tested in the field to determine its effectiveness in capturing adult Anopheles gambiae sensu lato, the main malaria vector, and other mosquito species. Carbon dioxide (CO2) and light were used as attractive cues. CO2 was produced by inoculating sugar with yeast and water. Light was emitted from a torch by light-emitting diodes (LEDs). Under field conditions in rural Rwanda, three handmade trap designs were compared to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention miniature light traps (CDC-LT) in houses. The trap baited with yeast produced CO2 and light caught the highest number of mosquitoes compared to the traps baited with light alone or CO2 alone. The number of An. gambiae s.l. in the handmade trap with light and CO2 was approximately 9–10% of the number caught with a CDC light trap. This suggests that about 10 volunteers with a handmade trap could capture a similar-sized sample of An. gambiae as one CDC-LT would collect. Based on these findings, the handmade plastic bottle trap baited with sugar fermenting yeast and light represents an option for inclusion in mosquito surveillance activities in a citizen science context.

Agricultural policymakers call for the operationalisation of farm resilience as a dynamic concept. Therefore, we quantify farm resilience along the dimensions of robustness, adaptation and transformation. Using the rich Farm Accountancy Data Network panel data set, we explore which farm(er) characteristics affect resilience. We employ a control function approach to address the presence of endogeneity in correlated random effects (fractional) probit models. In general, we find that decoupled payments negatively affect robustness, while rural development payments have a positive effect on robustness. Both decoupled and rural development payments have no effect on adaptation and transformation in most European regions.

Enhancing farm resilience has become a key policy objective of the EU's Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) to help farmers deal with numerous interrelated economic, environmental, social, and institutional shocks and stresses. A central theme in resilience thinking is the role of the unknown, implying that knowledge is incomplete and that change, uncertainty, and surprise are inevitable. Important strategies to enhance resilience are exploiting social capital and learning as these contribute to improved knowledge to prepare farmers for change.

Ongoing climate change results in a large increase in damaging climatic events that affect people's health, environment, biodiversity, and food security. One of the most vulnerable sectors to climate change is agriculture because farming relies heavily on planning for weather and seasons according to experience of past years, and therefore changes in seasons and unusual weather patterns lead to loss of crops or livestock. Responding to climate change impacts requires both mitigation and adaptation, in which communication plays an important role to raise awareness, change behaviours and gain policy support. Gain vs. loss message framing has been extensively studied in persuasive communication. Despite successful examples in risk communication, the effect of gain vs. loss message framing method in communicating climate change, a psychologically distant risk, is still not well understood. This study combines message persuasiveness with psychological distance to develop messages to encourage farmers on climate adaptation. We applied a 2 × 2 factorial design (gain/loss and abstract/concrete framed messages) and conducted the research in a coastal farming community (N = 368). Findings confirm that gain-framed messages are more effective in raising risk perceptions and efficacy, with stronger impact on behavioural intentions toward climate change, compared to loss-framed messages. Above all, farmers were more willing to take adaptation measures when exposed to gain- in combination with concrete-framed messages vs. loss- and abstract-framed. Implications for climate change communication research and practice are discussed.

Global warming and climate change pose serious risks for ecological and social systems worldwide. Vietnam, due to its exposed geographical location and socio-economical context, has been recognized as one of the countries that is most severely affected by climate change. The IPCC’s Fifth Assessment Report concluded that human influence is mostly likely the dominant cause of the observed global warming. The UNFCCC’s Conference of the Parties in 2015 set a target of keeping global temperature increase within 2oC in comparison to the pre-industrialized era to ensure that the world climate system will not collapse. Addressing the consequences of climate change requires both mitigation and adaptation. Moreover, understanding climate change risks appears to be a communication challenge in addressing the determinants of risk negligence, especially among the groups who fail to exercise appropriate responses against the anthropogenic causes and expected consequences. Therefore, climate change communication is important to raise awareness, to garner support for collective initiatives, and to motivate individual action. The main objectives of this thesis are to understand which factors influence flood and climate change risk perceptions and efficacy towards responding to flood and climate risks among different groups of people living in the coastal and delta communities in Vietnam. The thesis also aims to test message framing methods to effectively communicate flood and climate change risks for behavioural changes toward mitigation and adaptation. Several conceptual frameworks were developed or adapted based on existing theories around risk perceptions, efficacy, and communication. The principle data collection method applied in all studies is quantitative with a total sample of 2299 inhabitants in coastal and delta communities in Vietnam. Regarding flood and climate change risk perceptions, Chapter 2 and 3 showed that while pairwise analyses revealed a significant a

European farms face numerous complex and interrelated economic, environmental, social, and institutional shocks and stresses. In addition, farms face unanticipated crises, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. The impact of these shocks and stresses may limit farmers’ access to credit, constrain opportunities to invest, and reduce their willingness to continue farming. This may threaten the delivery of several farm functions, including food production, biodiversity, and the maintenance of natural resources. Resilient farms successfully cope with shocks and stresses and secure the delivery of desired farm functions. This likely requires adaptation and transformation. To this end, the European Commission calls for a better operationalisation and assessment of farm resilience.The general objective of this thesis is to assess the resilience of European farms. Three building blocks are used to assess farm resilience: (i) understanding shocks and stresses, (ii) assessing the resilience capacities of robustness, adaptability, and transformability, and (iii) evaluating the performance of farm functions over time. These building blocks are investigated by perceived and indicator-based resilience assessments, which provide complementary insights. Perceived resilience assessments contribute to a better understanding of decision-making under risk and uncertainty. Indicator-based resilience assessments have a more objective character, allowing researchers to assess farm resilience using secondary datasets.Chapter 2 connects risk theory and resilience thinking using survey data from 916 Dutch farmers. This chapter explores how risk perceptions, risk preferences, and risk management strategies are related to perceived robustness, adaptability, and transformability. The results of the Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Model (PLS-SEM) reveal the importance of a diverse portfolio of risk management strategies. More diverse risk management portfolios are associated with higher percei

Background: Many countries, including Rwanda, have mosquito monitoring programmes in place to support decision making in the fight against malaria. However, these programmes can be costly, and require technical (entomological) expertise. Involving citizens in data collection can greatly support such activities, but this has not yet been thoroughly investigated in a rural African context. Methods: Prior to the implementation of such a citizen-science approach, a household entomological survey was conducted in October–November 2017 and repeated one year later in Busoro and Ruhuha sectors, in southern and eastern province of Rwanda, respectively. The goal was to evaluate the perception of mosquito nuisance reported by citizens as a potential indicator for malaria vector hotspots. Firstly, mosquito abundance and species composition were determined using Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) light traps inside the houses. Secondly, household members were interviewed about malaria risk factors and their perceived level of mosquito nuisance. Results: Tiled roofs, walls made of mud and wood, as well as the number of occupants in the house were predictors for the number of mosquitoes (Culicidae) in the houses, while the presence of eaves plus walls made of mud and wood were predictors for malaria vector abundance. Perception of mosquito nuisance reported indoors tended to be significantly correlated with the number of Anopheles gambiae sensu lato (s.l.) and Culicidae collected indoors, but this varied across years and sectors. At the village level, nuisance also significantly correlated with An. gambiae s.l. and total mosquito density, but only in 2018 while not in 2017. Conclusions: Perception of mosquito nuisance denoted in a questionnaire survey could be used as a global indicator of malaria vector hotspots. Hence, involving citizens in such activities can complement malaria vector surveillance and control.

Context: Resilience is the ability to deal with shocks and stresses, including the unknown and previously un-imaginable, such as the Covid-19 crisis. Objective: This paper assesses (i) how different farming systems were exposed to the crisis, (ii) which resilience capacities were revealed and (iii) how resilience was enabled or constrained by the farming systems’ social and institutional environment. Methods: The 11 farming systems included have been analysed since 2017. This allows a comparison of pre- Covid-19 findings and the Covid-19 crisis. Pre-Covid findings are from the SURE-Farm systematic sustainabil-ity and resilience assessment. For Covid-19 a special data collection was carried out during the early stage of lockdowns. Results and conclusions: Our case studies found limited impact of Covid-19 on the production and delivery of food and other agricultural products. This was due to either little exposure or the agile activation of robustness ca-pacities of the farming systems in combination with an enabling institutional environment. Revealed capacities were mainly based on already existing connectedness among farmers and more broadly in value chains. Across cases, the experience of the crisis triggered reflexivity about the operation of the farming systems. Recurring topics were the need for shorter chains, more fairness towards farmers, and less dependence on migrant workers. However, actors in the farming systems and the enabling environment generally focused on the immediate issues and gave little real consideration to long-term implications and challenges. Hence, adaptive or transformative capacities were much less on display than coping capacities. The comparison with pre-Covid findings mostly showed similarities. If challenges, such as shortage of labour, already loomed before, they persisted during the crisis. Furthermore, the eminent role of resilience attributes was confirmed. In cases with high connectedness and diversity we found that these syste

The ability of a farm to cope with challenges is often conceptualised as resilience. Although improving resilience of farms is a major policy goal in the European Union, the current state of resilience is often unknown. Previous resilience assessments have been based either on pre-defined indicators or on perceptions. In particular, empirical research of perceived resilience is still limited and usually restricted to one specific resilience capacity, one challenge, or one function.

This dataset contains data on Dutch farmers’ perceived resilience, risk management, risk preferences, and risk perceptions. It contains cleaned survey data from 926 Dutch farmers.

Background: Malaria continues to be a major public health concern worldwide, with Sub-Saharan Africa carrying the largest global burden of malaria. Currently, the World Health Organization calls for malaria control interventions that leave no one behind with the aim to realize a malaria-free world. Consequently, engaging community members in malaria control interventions is crucial for malaria elimination in many countries including Rwanda. However, very little is known about how people can be engaged in malaria control, and how this engagement could, in turn, affect the consistent use of malaria control measures. Therefore, the overall objective of this thesis was to better understand the factors that influence the consistent use of malaria control measures, explore how citizens can be engaged through a citizen science program, and how this program could contribute to the use of malaria control measures.Methods: A mixed-methods approach was used in four different phases to design, implement, and evaluate the citizen science program for malaria control. A citizen science program was co-designed to collect and report mosquitoes using a hand made trap, and report mosquito nuisance experienced as well as confirmed malaria cases using a paper-based form. The first phase involved the development and testing of an integrated model of determinants of malaria preventive behaviour. The second phase involved a co-designing process that was employed to engage citizens in malaria control through a citizen science program. In this co-designing phase, participatory design workshops were used to discuss on how community members can report observations such as mosquitoes species, mosquito nuisance experienced, and confirmed malaria cases in case they are asked to; whether they think is something feasible;  how frequently they can do it in case they accept to do it; how they think they can receive feedback; and what could be the content of that feedback. The third and fourth ph

In an era where farmers face considerable levels of intertwined risks and uncertainties, farm resilience is developing into a focal point for agricultural policies. Using survey data from 916 Dutch farmers, we explore how risk behavior relates to perceived resilience. We capture the dynamics of resilience thinking by investigating past risk-management portfolios, current risk preferences, future risk perceptions, and perceived resilience. Partial least squares structural equation models (PLS-SEM) indicate that higher perceived robustness, adaptability, and transformability relate to these farmers with a more resilient future. Additionally, results show the importance of risk management in assessing perceived resilience. More specifically, we find that more diverse risk-management portfolios are associated with (i) higher perceived adaptability and (ii) in specific cases, higher perceived transformability.

Climate change makes coastal communities more vulnerable to floods associated with storm surges and sea level rise, requiring both adaptation and mitigation measures. Moreover, proper understanding of flood risks and their potential impacts on climate change appears to be a communication challenge. In climate change communication, the effect of framing congruency on perception of risk, efficacy and behavioural intentions towards climate change adaptation and mitigation has received limited attention. Messages have not been congruent in framing risks associated with climate change. We define congruency as the coherent alignment of several aspects of message content. Messages are considered congruent when they provide recipients with consistent contents such as giving concrete and actionable advice, or by providing more abstract and general background information. This research focuses on climate change communication in fostering mitigation behaviours among adolescents in vulnerable locations in the global South. Based on Construal Level Theory, this paper investigates how message congruency affects the link between perceptions of climate change risk and efficacy and two predictors of behavioural change: perceived responsibility and mitigation intentions. We conducted an experiment to test the effect of congruent vs. incongruent risk communication among adolescents in highly vulnerable coastal communities in the Mekong Delta in Vietnam (N = 348). Multiple regression analysis found strong effects of congruency in message framing; when messages were congruent in the content, communicative interventions changed adolescents’ perceptions and attitudes toward climate change mitigation more consistently. This research contributes both theoretically and practically to risk communication among adolescents and toward climate change mitigation behaviour.

Agroecology started to amplify agroecology in Nicaragua in the 1980s and was translated into national policy in 2011. Using the Multi-Level Perspective on sustainability transitions (MLP), this paper explores whether the rise of agroecology has fundamentally transformed Nicaragua’s agri-food system. Drawing on the findings of a qualitative study including a range of agroecological actors and organizations, we create a rich innovation history timeline of Nicaragua’s agroecology development at different levels–the agroecological niche (space in which heterogenous actors nurture innovations) and the regime (dominant agri-food system paradigm). MLP analysis is used to explore the extent to which agroecology’s growth has transformed the national agri-food regime. We find that although the term ‘agroecology’ is used widely by government, incentives for transitions to agroecology are only weakly implemented. This stems partly from the co-optation of the agroecological niche’s discourse by regime actors. Currently, it seems the transition process is not a reconfiguration of the agri-food system, but rather that agroecology has been added to the regime without deeper changes.

Using focus groups, the research analyses the mental and social processes through which consumers form perceptions and opinions about unfamiliar technologies and the derived products, taking the perception of nanotechnology and nano-products, GM and GM products as example. Our findings suggest that limited understanding of the technological principles and lack of (visible) products prevent the formation of experience-based attitudes and behavioral intentions. In this context, consumers interpret and assess cognitive interventions such as product labels or product information, as well as the trustworthiness of unfamiliar information sources, based on heuristic clues, association, mutual reassurance and previous attitudes. The established determinants of technology risk perception (e.g. knowledge, social norms, perceived risks and benefits and controllability) were the subject of constant deliberation and negotiation among participants. Consequently, the perception of risk and technology communication interventions might vary greatly across different locations and segments of the public, complicating risk communication and trust-building.

Latin America has historically been a vanguard of agroecology. In Nicaragua, an agroecological transition is occurring, with three decades of building a groundswell based on the farmer-to-farmer movement and the recent institutionalization of agroecology in national law. Yet, problems remain with agroecology’s diffusion. We introduce the Technological Innovation Systems approach to examine systemic barriers to the agroecological transition and cycles of blockages caused by barriers’ interactions. Based on qualitative data from north-central Nicaragua, we find the main barriers hindering the agroecological transition include weak guidance of the search for agroecology, insufficient capacities and quantities of resources, and lacking market development. Beyond the Nicaragua case, the analysis points at the importance of using socio-technical systems analysis to better understand and address the root causes behind issues blocking national agroecological transitions.

This study explores the motivational factors and barriers to participate in a citizen science program for malaria control in Rwanda. It assesses the changes in motivational factors over time and compares these factors among age and gender groups. Using a qualitative approach, this study involved 44 participants. At the initial stage, people participated in the program because of curiosity, desire to learn new things, helping others, and willingness to contribute to malaria control. As the engagement continued, other factors including ease of use of materials to report observations, the usefulness of the program, and recognition also played a crucial role in the retention of volunteers. Lack of time and information about the recruitment process, perceived low efficacy of the mosquito trap, and difficulties in collecting observations were reported as barriers to get and stay involved. Some variations in the motivational factors were observed among age and gender groups. At the initial phase, young adults and adults, as well as men and women were almost equally motivated to contribute to malaria control. For the ongoing phase, for age, the two groups were almost equally motivated by recognition of their effort. Also, the opportunity for learning was an important factor among young adults while ease of use of the materials was central for adults. For gender, the usefulness of the project, ease of use of materials, and learning opportunities were important motivational factors among women, while men were more motivated by recognition of their efforts. A framework including motivational factors and barriers at each stage of participation is presented. This framework may be used to explore motivations and barriers in future citizen science projects and might help coordinators of citizen science programs to determine whom to target, by which message, and at what stage of participation to retain volunteers in citizen science projects

Uncertainty analysis is not typically performed in hydrological and hydraulic modelling. This is problematic because this may lead to inefficient decision making in water management. We therefore explored the role of statistical knowledge on uncertainty in decision-making processes in long term flood risk management within the context of regional water boards in the Netherlands. Research questions were: (1) in which parts of flood risk management statistical information about uncertainty is presented to professionals of district water boards, and in which forms?; (2) how is this information interpreted and used by these professionals, and how does this influence decision-making processes in district water boards?; and (3) how can communication about statistically quantified uncertainty be improved? To answer these questions we conducted interviews and surveys among professionals and board members of Dutch district water boards. Results suggest that statistical information on uncertainty is hard to interpret by professionals. The amount of statistical information on uncertainty strongly reduces during the decision making process, during which the information transforms from quantitative to qualitative. As a result the statistical information on uncertainty is not utilized to solve flood risk management decision problems. These decision problems are not formulated within statistical frameworks for decision making, and statistical information on uncertainty is not collected and presented with the purpose to be input of such frameworks. Practical recommendations for long term flood risk management are discussed.

In several reported cases of the entry of invasive mosquito species (IMSs) into Europe, the introduction was associated with a specific pathway of introduction or dispersal. The identification of potential pathways for the introduction of IMSs and evaluations of the importance of the different pathways are key to designing proper surveillance strategies to promptly detect and control introductions in non-infested areas. The main goals of the present study were to identify other, previously undocumented, pathways of introduction into Europe, and to identify mosquito experts' perceptions regarding control measures against IMS introductions via different documented pathways. At the European Mosquito Control Association (EMCA) conference in Montenegro in March 2017, a questionnaire was distributed among meeting participants to collect expert data. Results showed that ground transportation (by cars, trucks, etc.), passive natural dispersal and the shipping of used tyres are perceived as the most likely pathways. Introduction via aircraft did not appear to be well known and was not perceived as probable. This study shows that there were no pathways unknown to European experts that could lead to cryptic introductions into the experts' countries. Furthermore, the findings demonstrated that the perceived efficacy of surveillance and control is key to overcoming the constraints experienced and to supporting the implementation of actions against introductions.

Over the course of just a few years, shrimp farming has become a major aquaculture production system in coastal areas of several developing countries across the globe. However, farmers are facing a variety of risks related to disease, market, and climate, which influence risk management strategies and adoption of new technologies. This paper looks at three practices related to pond management: (1) water quality management to ensure a good environment for shrimp growth; (2) adequate feed input; and (3) disease control practices in order to mitigate the risk of disease outbreak in the pond. We investigated adoption of these three practices in smallholder shrimp farms in the Mekong Delta, by exploring how and whether membership into a producer's cluster influences access to knowledge and perception of risk in the adoption process. The results show that, after controlling for farm characteristics, farm clustering has a positive relationship with the adoption of water quality management, feed inputs, and disease control practices. Results also indicate that increasing interaction frequency with public sector and private sector's actors, as well as the perceived degree of market risk, positively influences the adoption of the three pond management practices under study. Mediation analyses show that being a member of a farmer cluster influences adoption of farming practices via two underlying processes: frequency of interaction with public and private sector's actors, and perception of market risk, both of which ultimately promote the adoption of practices. We conclude that clustering is a promising avenue for fostering interactions between farmers and key supporting actors in aquaculture, and impacts both the formation of specific aqua-related risk perceptions and subsequent practice adoption. As such, clusters – by fostering linkages and facilitating interactions between different knowledge sources – can promote adoption of practices toward sustainable intensification. H

Genomics, Climate Change, Nanotechnology, Nuclear Magnetic Resonance… For the uninitiated, scientific names created by experts can be difficult to understand. Yet, people have to make decisions about the related scientific concepts. Experts reach understanding with theory and expect non-experts to do the same. However, my research shows that people can satisfy their need to make sense of what they are dealing with by just using associations triggered by a name. For example, people often unfairly presume that genomics and the controversial genetic manipulation are the same because of their similar names. Resulting beliefs are convincing enough to make decisions and they are difficult to change because activated associations influence further learning. This can cause persistent misunderstandings and unnecessary controversies that can harm scientific developments. By working together, experts and the public can prevent misunderstanding by co-creating names that foster meaningful associations by non-experts and promote appropriate understandings.

Current sanitation systems are inherently limited in their ability to address the new challenges for (waste)water management that arise from the rising demand to restore resource cycles. These challenges include removal of micropollutants, water (re)use, and nutrient recovery. New opportunities to address these challenges arise from new sanitation, a system innovation that combines elements of source separation, local treatment and reuse, and less use of water. New sanitation is applied, but not yet widespread, in several residential areas in Europe. Implementation is hindered by the lack of insight into the general public's willingness to engage in new sanitation, and the resulting uncertainty about this among decision makers and other stakeholders in wastewater management. Using value-belief-norm theory as a conceptual lens, this paper addresses the individual motivations (pro-environmental personal norms) and personal drivers (benefits) and barriers (risks) for acceptance of new sanitation by the Dutch general public. The results of an online survey (N = 338) indicated that both pro-environmental personal norms and risk and benefit perceptions predict consumers' willingness to accept new sanitation. More specifically, they showed that consumer acceptance is driven by perceived risks relating to the housing market and the need to change behavior, but also by environmental benefits. Overall, new sanitation was favorably evaluated by respondents: 64% indicated that they would likely use new sanitation if they were owner-occupiers. The results of this explorative study are discussed in light of the development of novel sanitation systems that are sensitive to perceptions of end-users and other key stakeholders.

Societies worldwide are investing considerable resources into the safe development and use of nanomaterials. Although each of these protective efforts is crucial for governing the risks of nanomaterials, they are insufficient in isolation. What is missing is a more integrative governance approach that goes beyond legislation. Development of this approach must be evidence based and involve key stakeholders to ensure acceptance by end users. The challenge is to develop a framework that coordinates the variety of actors involved in nanotechnology and civil society to facilitate consideration of the complex issues that occur in this rapidly evolving research and development area. Here, we propose three sets of essential elements required to generate an effective risk governance framework for nanomaterials. (1) Advanced tools to facilitate risk-based decision making, including an assessment of the needs of users regarding risk assessment, mitigation, and transfer. (2) An integrated model of predicted human behavior and decision making concerning nanomaterial risks. (3) Legal and other (nano-specific and general) regulatory requirements to ensure compliance and to stimulate proactive approaches to safety. The implementation of such an approach should facilitate and motivate good practice for the various stakeholders to allow the safe and sustainable future development of nanotechnology.

BACKGROUND: The public's negative attitudes towards household insects drive tolerance for these insects and their control. Tolerance levels are important in integrated pest management (IPM), as are pest knowledge and information. The risk information seeking and processing (RISP) model describes the relationships between personal factors and information-seeking behaviour. We combined IPM and RISP to determine important relationships between factors driving insect tolerance levels and information-seeking behaviour through an online survey and tested whether this model is valid and generally applicable. RESULTS: Relationships between variables from both IPM and RISP models were tested for seven insect species. Tolerance levels were measured with two factors: willingness to pay for pest control and whether insects are tolerated. Willingness to pay for control was positively affected by age, experience, risk perception, insect characteristics, and negative emotions and affected behavioural intention, by influencing information sufficiency and information-seeking behaviour. Tolerability was influenced by perception of insect characteristics and determines whether control measures are taken. CONCLUSION: It was possible to combine the RISP and IPM models. Relevant driving factors were a person's age, experience, risk perception, negative affective responses, tolerance levels, relevant channel beliefs about online forums, information sufficiency and information-seeking behaviour. There was, however, variation in important factors between different insects.

Malaria remains a major threat to public health. Long-Lasting Insecticide-treated Nets (LLINs) and Indoor Residual Spraying (IRS) have been widely adopted as important malaria prevention and control interventions and have contributed to significant reduction in malaria incidence. However, recently malaria resurgence has been reported in different countries, including Rwanda, indicating that current attempts to control and eliminate malaria may be failing due to environmental changes and changes in human behaviour. Engaging citizens in malaria prevention and control would help them to identify and prioritize their own health concerns and be able to make appropriate decisions. A citizen science approach to monitor ecological changes by providing timely information is likely to support more effective and consistent use of malaria prevention and control interventions. However, the application of citizen science in malaria prevention and control has lagged behind when comparing with areas of disease diagnosis and treatment. In addition, the determinants of participation in such a citizen science program have not been fully analyzed. This paper presents a conceptual model of likely determinants of participation in connective action (sharing and exchange of malaria-related information), effective and consistent use of malaria preventive and control measures (LLINs and IRS) and collective action (participating in public goods for malaria prevention). The model will guide future research on behavioural and contextual factors and may enhance the effective and consistent use of malaria preventive and control interventions.

Despite the implementation of a number of interventions aimed at controlling malaria, Rwanda is experiencing a countrywide resurgence of simple malaria cases over the past five years. To support malaria control, mosquito surveillance activities, such as systematic reporting of the distribution, the diversity and the infectivity rate of malaria vectors throughout the country, have been undertaken. However, mosquito monitoring programmes are not carried out to monitor the impact of all vector control interventions or to determine the distribution of mosquito species in all areas, especially in the remote regions of the country. With a target of reducing malaria mortality by 2020, implementation of mosquito surveillance in those regions is urgently needed as well. In this paper, a Citizen science approach as a capacity resource for malaria vector monitoring for the Rwandan National Malaria Control Programme is presented. The ultimate aim is to complement existing mosquito surveillance currently in place by providing key information on the spatio-temporal distribution of mosquito nuisance and malaria vectors. This will contribute to an insight into the ecology of malaria vectors and thereby to a better understanding of malaria transmission patterns in Rwanda.

Societies worldwide are investing considerable resources into the safe development and use of nanomaterials. Although each of these protective efforts is crucial for governing the risks of nanomaterials, they are insufficient in isolation. What is missing is a more integrative governance approach that goes beyond legislation. Development of this approach must be

Background: Performing a tick check after visiting nature is considered the most important preventive measure to avoid contracting Lyme disease. Checking the body for ticks after visiting nature is the only measure that can fully guarantee whether one has been bitten by a tick and provides the opportunity to remove the tick as soon as possible, thereby greatly reducing the chance of contracting Lyme disease. However, compliance to performing the tick check is low. In addition, most previous studies on determinants of preventive measures to avoid Lyme disease lack a clear definition and/or operationalization of the term "preventive measures". Those that do distinguish multiple behaviors including the tick check, fail to describe the systematic steps that should be followed in order to perform the tick check effectively. Hence, the purpose of this study was to identify determinants of systematically performing the tick check, based on social cognitive theory. Methods: A cross-sectional self-administered survey questionnaire was filled out online by 508 respondents (Mage = 51.7, SD = 16.0; 50.2% men; 86.4% daily or weekly nature visitors). Bivariate correlations and multivariate regression analyses were conducted to identify associations between socio-cognitive determinants (i.e. concepts related to humans' intrinsic and extrinsic motivation to perform certain behavior), and the tick check, and between socio-cognitive determinants and proximal goal to do the tick check. Results: The full regression model explained 28% of the variance in doing the tick check. Results showed that performing the tick check was associated with proximal goal (β =.23, p < 0.01), self-efficacy (β =.22, p < 0.01), self-evaluative outcome expectations (β =.21, p < 0.01), descriptive norm (β =.16, p < 0.01), and experience (β =.13, p < 0.01). Conclusions: Our study is among the first to examine the determinants of systematic performance of the tick check, using an extended version of social cogn