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For Inuit in the subarctic transition zone of northeastern Canada, an intimate knowledge of the environment and local biodiversity is crucial for successful traditional activities. This study examines what kinds of landscape features and habitats Inuit of Nunatsiavut recognize and name. During interviews, community members (mostly Elders) were shown photographs from the region and were asked to describe and name salient types of places in Labrador Inuttitut. The most frequently reported geographical units dealt with the region's topography (e.g., mountain, island, flat-place), hydrology (e.g., river, bay), and superficial characteristics (e.g., bedrock, permanent snow patch). Ecological considerations were also prominent, such as plant associations and animal habitats (e.g., shrubby-place, wetland, caribou-return-to-place). Areas were often characterized by a dominant species or substrate type, being named using the plural form of the species and (or)substrate (e.g., 'napâttuk' meaning 'tree' and 'napâttuit' meaning 'forest' or 'siugak' meaning 'sand' and 'siugalak' meaning 'sandy-area'). Some types of places reported by Inuit were significant mainly for traditional activities (e.g., berry-patch, seal-place, dry-wood-place, danger-place), aiding navigation and resource finding. Integrating Inuit conceptions of ecosystems and their component landscape units with those of contemporary science can improve our understanding of subarctic ecology, benefit climate change adaptation strategies, and Inuit language as well as culture conservation initiatives. Key words: landscape ethnoecology, Inuit, traditional ecological knowledge, Nunatsiavut, Labrador Inuttitut. Pour les Inuits de la zone de transition subarctique du nord-est du Canada, une connaissance intime de l'environnement et de la biodiversité locale est essentielle au succès des activités traditionnelles. Cette étude examine quels types de caractéristiques du paysage et d'habitats les Inuits du Nunatsiavut reconnaissent et nomment. Au cours des entrevues, des membres de la communauté (principalement des aînés) ont vu des photographies de la région et ont été invités à décrire et à nommer des types de lieux importants en inuttitut du Labrador. Les unités géographiques les plus fréquemment mentionnées concernaient la topographie de la région (p. ex., montagne, île, endroit plat), l'hydrologie (p. ex., rivière, baie) et les caractéristiques superficielles (p. ex., substrat rocheux, banc de neige permanente). Les considérations écologiques étaient également importantes, telles que les associations de plantes et les habitats d'animaux (p. ex., lieu arbustif, zone humide, lieu où le caribou revient). Les zones étaient souvent caractérisées par une espèce dominante ou un type de substrat, et étaient nommées en utilisant le pluriel de l'espèce ou du substrat (p. ex., <> signifiant << arbre >> et << napâttuit >> signifiant << forêt >> ou << siugak >> signifiant << sable >> et << siugalak >> signifiant << zone sableuse >>). Certains types de lieux signalés par les Inuits étaient importants principalement pour les activités traditionnelles (p. ex., parcelle de baies, lieu de phoques, lieu de bois sec, lieu de danger), pour faciliter la navigation et la recherche de ressources. L'intégration des conceptions inuites des écosystèmes et des unités paysagères qui les composent à celles de la science contemporaine peut améliorer notre compréhension de l'écologie subarctique, profiter aux stratégies d'adaptation aux changements climatiques et aux initiatives de conservation de la langue et de la culture inuites. [Traduit par la Rédaction] Mots-clés: ethnoécologie du paysage, Inuit, connaissances écologiques traditionnelles, Nunatsiavut, inuttitut du Labrador., Introduction Located in northern Labrador, the Inuit territory of Nunatsiavut is unique in Inuit Nunangat due to its location in the ecological transition zone between arctic tundra and open boreal [...]

In 2017, large oil and gas companies formed the Climate Leadership Council (CLC) in response to increased social pressure to reduce their emissions to combat climate change. The CLC developed the Carbon Dividends Plan (CDP), which proposes a carbon emissions market mechanism to solve the climate change crisis. The CLC's lobbying arm, the Americans for Carbon Dividends (AFCD), is currently working to educate US congressional leaders on the importance of a carbon tax, like the one proposed in the CDP. In the paper, I address the following question: what can Polanyi's theoretical insights tell us about the CDP and its social implications? I first discuss the CDP within the context of the current climate change crisis. Then, I apply Polanyi's market embeddedness, fictitious commodities, and double movement concepts to the discussion. I illustrate four main points in this paper. First, the CDP is part of an ongoing societal double movement. Second, despite the CLC's neoliberal 'free' market ideals, the self-regulated market proposed in the CDP is a social construction, embedded in social relations, itself. Third, the CDP, and carbon markets in general, comprise one specific type of unconscious countermovement that extends the self-regulated market to combat the destructive forces of the market itself. Fourth, the CDP's proposal for a carbon emissions market mechanism is an unsatisfactory solution to address the climate change crisis, as it will not address the inherent contradictions in the overall system as a whole., Author(s): Amber M. Blazek [sup.1] Author Affiliations: (1) grid.264756.4, 0000 0004 4687 2082, Department of Sociology, Texas A&M University, , 311 Academic Building, 77843-4351, College Station, TX, USA Introduction After [...]

Attention to the relationship between nature and society has been a defining feature of environmental sociology since its inception. Early research, incorporating insights from ecology, argued for the need to (1) theorize the causal connections between nature and society and (2) contextualize those connections in terms of biophysical limits resulting from resource scarcity. Over the past two decades, partly in response to new forms of existential threat such as climate change, the treatment of nature and society as distinct entities has given way to a focus on socio-natural assemblages. Using the Anthropocene as a lens to explore this emerging view, it is argued (1) that current theorizing on the socio-natural assemblage needs to pay more attention to the issues of temporality and complexity, (2) that taking these factors into account reconceptualizes the nature-society relationship as a complex, evolving socio-natural assemblage, (3) that this evolutionary process needs to be understood in the context of cosmic evolution and the tension between entropy and the emergence of local complexity, and (4) that constraints on human development arise from the tension between these two tendencies, not from resource scarcity. An environmental sociology for the Anthropocene, one based on assumptions about the nature of causal dynamics and context consistent with our understanding of current earth system science, is proposed. L'attention portee a la relation entre la nature et la societe a ete un trait caracteristique de la sociologie de l'environnement depuis sa creation. La recherche initiale, integrant les connaissances de l'ecologie, a soutenu la necessite de (1) theoriser les liens causaux entre la nature et la societe et (2) contextualiser ces connexions en termes de limites biophysiques resultant de la penurie de ressources. Au cours des deux dernieres decennies, en partie en reponse a de nouvelles formes de menace existentielle telles que le changement climatique, le traitement de la nature et de la societe en tant qu'entites distinctes a fait place a un accent sur les assemblages socio-naturels. En utilisant l'anthropocene comme une lentille pour explorer ce point de vue emergeant, on fait valoir (1) que la theorisation actuelle sur l'assemblage socio-naturel doit accorder plus d'attention aux questions de temporalite et de complexite, (2) que prendre ces facteurs en compte reconceptualise la relation entre la nature et la societe en tant qu'assemblage socio-naturel complexe et en evolution, (3) que ce processus evolutif doit etre compris dans le contexte de l'evolution cosmique et de la tension entre entropie et emergence de la complexite locale, et (4) sur le developpement humain decoulent de la tension entre ces deux tendances, et non de la penurie de ressources. Une sociologie de l'environnement pour l'anthropocene, fondee sur des hypotheses sur la nature de la dynamique causale et du contexte compatible avec notre comprehension de la science actuelle du systeme terrestre, est proposee., NEARLY 40 YEARS AGO, William Catton and Riley Dunlap wrote a series of articles defining environmental sociology (Catton and Dunlap 1978, 1980; Dunlap and Catton 1979b, 1979a). Frustrated with perceived [...]

Natural resource management (NRM) analyses often avoid a position on environmental governance as arising from and shaped by social practices and power relations in resource conflicts, contested property rights, and political-economic strategies. I examine a northern Canadian Aboriginal community's experience of a structured yet dynamic sociocultural response to a period of social and political change. Drawing from Pierre Bourdieu's conception of social practice I suggest that a diffuse, or less determinist, theory of practice may help explain how power relations are interwoven throughout yet applied differentially in NRM governance. Drawing on ethnographic research on watershed management and protection of Aboriginal cultural landscapes in the Northwest Territories, I refine the notion of practical understanding to explain the ways government resource managers and community leaders challenge and negotiate one another's conceptions of environmental governance in a dual process of cooperation-conflict. Keywords: social practice, practical understanding, Bourdieu, environmental governance, Aboriginal, Canadian North Les etudes portant sur la gestion des ressources naturelles (GRS) sont souvent muettes sur la gouvernance environnementale vue comme resultat evident des pratiques sociales et des relations de pouvoir dans les domaines suivants: conflits sur le partage des ressources, contestation de droits de propriete et mise en place de strategies politico-economiques. Mon article decrit la reaction tout aussi structuree que souple d'une collectivite autochtone du Nord canadien a une periode de changements politiques et sociaux. On verra que cette reponse est marquee socioculturellement. Tout en m'inspirant du modele de pratique sociale de Bourdieu, je demontre qu'en adoptant un point de vue moins deterministe que celui du sociologue francais, on explique bien comment les relations de pouvoir marquent toute action de gouvernance en matiere de GRN, meme si elles s'y manifestent de facon fort particuliere. En m'appuyant sur des etudes ethnographiques sur l'amenagement des bassins hydrauliques et sur la preservation des paysages culturels dans les Territoires-du-Nord-Ouest, j'ai affine la notion de comprehension pratique pour decrire de quelle facon, dans une espece de jeu duel cooperation-conflit, les fonctionnaires responsables de la GRN et les leaders locaux contestent reciproquement leur conception respective de la gestion des ressources naturelles. Mots cles: Pratique sociale, comprehension pratique, Bourdieu, gestion de l'environnement, Nord canadien, Autochtones, GRN, INTRODUCTION In the Northwest Territories (NWT) of Canada environmental governance is beset by a level of complexity that would likely astound many analysts of energy economies. Federal custodianship of most [...]

Integrated conservation and development projects (ICDPs) are common place in the field of biodiversity conservation. However, there is little evidence in the wider literature on the successes of these projects, with failure attributed to a range of factors, including a bias on either conservation or development, weak assumptions and limited monitoring and evaluation. In this paper, we evaluate an ICDP in the North Rupununi district of Guyana. Using a systems viability approach, we show how assessing the project and the nested systems within which it is operating reveals numerous human and institutional capacity issues which could have been managed better if highlighted at the project development stage. We conclude with the proposal that a systems viability approach to ICDP development, monitoring and evaluation encourages greater learning and adaptive management processes for increasing the long-term impact of ICDPs. KEY WORDS: Guyana, ICDP, system viability, social-ecological system, monitoring and evaluation, adaptive management

The need for an understanding of 'ageing in place' as a progressive process has emerged among researchers in the field of environmental gerontology. The aim of this study was to explore this process, in relation to home modification services. Four older adults who had applied for home modification services in one Swedish municipality were included. Data were collected by open interviews with the participants in their homes on subsequent occasions, from before the modification had been installed until recognised stability in the situation relating to the home modification. In the analysis, the concept of place integration was used as a tool to explore the active relations that connect people and context over time. The main findings show that the participants used creativity and initiative to direct future situations towards increased possibilities for action. This indicates that services aiming to support people 'ageing in place' should be directed towards increasing possibilities for action rather than only facilitating activity performance. Furthermore, it can be concluded that if the service-users' creativity and efforts are recognised as resources in design and provision of services, services that aim to support individuals who are ageing in place have the potential to be empowering. KEY WORDS--agency, empowerment, home modification, place integration, service delivery.

Tropical forest habitat continues to decline globally, with serious negative consequences for environmental sustainability. The small mountain country of Nepal provides an excellent context in which to examine trajectories of forest-cover change. Despite having experienced large-scale forest clearing in the past, significant reforestation has taken place in recent years. The range of biophysical and ecological environments and diversity of tenure arrangements provide us with a context with sufficient variation to be able to derive insight into the impact of a range of hypothesized drivers of forest change. This article draws on a dataset of 55 forests from the middle hills and Terai plains of Nepal to examine the factors associated with forest clearing or regeneration. Results affirm the central importance of tenure regimes and local monitoring for forest regrowth. In addition, user group size per unit of forest area is an important, independent explanator of forest change. These variables also can be associated with specific practices that further influence forest change such as the management of social conflict, adoption of new technologies to reduce pressure on the forest, and involvement of users in forest maintenance activities. Such large-N, comparative studies are essential if we are to derive more complex, nuanced, yet actionable frameworks that help us to plan better policies for the management of natural resources. community forestry | group size | institutions | monitoring | Nepal

Data from the satellite-based Special Sensor Microwave Imager (SSM/I) show that the total atmospheric moisture content over oceans has increased by 0.41 kg/[m.sup.2] per decade since 1988. Results from current climate models indicate that water vapor increases of this magnitude cannot be explained by climate noise alone. In a formal detection and attribution analysis using the pooled results from 22 different climate models, the simulated 'fingerprint' pattern of anthropogenically caused changes in water vapor is identifiable with high statistical confidence in the SSM/I data. Experiments in which forcing factors are varied individually suggest that this fingerprint 'match' is primarily due to human-caused increases in greenhouse gases and not to solar forcing or recovery from the eruption of Mount Pinatubo. Our findings provide preliminary evidence of an emerging anthropogenic signal in the moisture content of earth's atmosphere. climate change | climate modeling | detection and attribution | water vapor

The articles in this special feature challenge the presumption that scholars can make simple, predictive models of social-ecological systems (SESs) and deduce universal solutions, panaceas, to problems of overuse or destruction of resources. Moving beyond panaceas to develop cumulative capacities to diagnose the problems and potentialities of linked SESs requires serious study of complex, multivariable, nonlinear, cross-scale, and changing systems. Many variables have been identified by researchers as affecting the patterns of interactions and outcomes observed in empirical studies of SESs. A step toward developing a diagnostic method is taken by organizing these variables in a nested, multitier framework. The framework enables scholars to organize analyses of how attributes of (i) a resource system (e.g., fishery, lake, grazing area), (ii) the resource units generated by that system (e.g., fish, water, fodder), (iii) the users of that system, and (iv) the governance system jointly affect and are indirectly affected by interactions and resulting outcomes achieved at a particular time and place. The framework also enables us to organize how these attributes may affect and be affected by larger socioeconomic, political, and ecological settings in which they are embedded, as well as smaller ones. The framework is intended to be a step toward building a strong interdisciplinary science of complex, multilevel systems that will enable future diagnosticians to match governance arrangements to specific problems embedded in a social-ecological context. commons | complexity | governance | interdisciplinary research | sustainability science

Collective action is more likely to occur and to be effective when it is consistent with the self-interest of the affected individuals. The Maine lobster fishery is an instructive example of biological and technological circumstances combining with individual self-interest to create conditions favorable to collective action. The model describes the way social structure emerges from the adaptive behavior of competing fishers. Fishers compete in two ways: in a scramble to find the lobsters first and by directly interfering in other fishers' ability to compete, i.e., by cutting their traps. Both forms of competition lead fishers to interact frequently and to self-organize into relatively small groups. They learn to restrain their competitive behavior toward their neighbors but do not extend that same restraint to nonneighbors. Groups work within well defined boundaries, contact one another frequently, actively exchange information about the resource, and, most importantly, depend on continuing mutual restraint for their economic well-being. These self-organizing, competitive processes lay the foundation for successful collective action, i.e., mutual agreements that create the additional restraint required for conservation. The modeling approach we use is a combined multiagent and classifier systems simulation. The model allows us to simulate the dynamic adaptation (learning) of multiple individuals interacting in a complex, changing environment and, consequently, provides a way to analyze the fine-scale processes that emerge as the broad social-ecological patterns of the fishery. Patterns generated by the model are compared with patterns observed in a large dataset collected by 44 Maine fishers. agent-based model | classifier system | self-organizing

Aguada Zacatal is a reservoir located within a bajo 4 km west of Nakbe, Peten, Guatemala. It is 100 m in diameter and the surrounding berm is approximately 1 m [...]

Keywords: sociology of disasters, environmental sociology, sociology of risk Abstract The sociology of disasters has developed in ways that have weakened its ties with mainstream sociology. It has remained remarkably resistant to changes in the broader sociological landscape, and its strong applied focus has been a barrier to theoretical innovation. This situation is changing, as indicated by critiques of traditional ways of conceptualizing and explaining disasters; greater acceptance of constructivist formulations; willingness to acknowledge that disasters are accompanied by both social solidarity and social conflict; and recognition of the significance of the interaction of disasters and risk with gender, class, and other axes of inequality. However, the field is unlikely to overcome its marginal status without significant efforts to link the sociology of disasters with the related fields of risk and environmental sociology and, more broadly, to focus on core sociological concerns, such as social inequality, diversity, and social change.

This article presents a framework for considering the relevance of the physical environment to obesity. The authors adopt the notion that the 'environment' constitutes the space outside the person and therefore broaden the common conceptualization of the 'environment' to encompass a full spectrum from small-scale design elements to large-scale community infrastructure. An energy balance approach is also adopted. The energy balance perspective recognizes the equilibrium of food consumption and energy expenditure, rather than focusing solely on one or the other side of the equation. The authors consider how environmental characteristics present either barriers (that hinder), or supports (that promote) healthy habits. Thus, they describe a range of obesity-related environmental themes that provide opportunities for innovative collaborative research between environmental psychologists and colleagues in fields ranging from apparel design to landscape architecture. Last, conceptual and methodological considerations are briefly presented. Keywords: environment; dietary intake; interdisciplinary; obesity; physical activity

Objectives. We developed a preliminary agent-based simulation model designed to examine agent-environment interactions that support the development and maintenance of drinking behavior at the population level. Methods. The model was defined on a 1-dimensional lattice along which agents might move left or right in single steps at each iteration. Agents could exchange information about their drinking with each other. In the second generation of the model, a 'bar' was added to the lattice to attract drinkers. Results. The model showed that changes in drinking status propagated through the agent population as a function of probabilities of conversion, rates of contact, and contact time. There was a critical speed of population mixing beyond which the conversion rate of susceptible nondrinkers was saturated, and the bar both enhanced and buffered the rate of propagation, changing the model dynamics. Conclusions. The models demonstrate that the basic dynamics underlying social influences on drinking behavior are shaped by contacts between drinkers and focused by characteristics of drinking environments.

Whether or not different environmentally beneficial choices have common motivational causes are discussed in the framework of partial correlation analysis with structural equation modeling. Correlations between recycling, buying organic food products, and using public transport or bicycle are analyzed based on telephone interviews with a random sample of about 1,100 Danish residents and two replication samples of about 300 from the same population. The study finds that theoretically meaningful correlations are suppressed by background characteristics. Common motivational causes, that is, environmental values and environmental concern, can account for the significant partial correlations between behaviors after controlling for background characteristics. Keywords: environmentally responsible behavior; environmental values; environmental concern; generalization of behavior

Analysis of social data is frequently done using aggregate-level data. There may not be a direct interest in spatial relationships in the data, but the presence of spatial interdependence may [...]

This paper explores the health and environmental concerns of parents living close to opencast coal mines in the UK and characterises parental risk perceptions in relation to children's asthma status. This qualitative research was undertaken in tandem with an epidemiological investigation aiming to establish whether opencast coal mining adversely affected children's respiratory health. Using a social construction approach, the centrality of health claims in environmental health disputes becomes apparent for a number of claims-makers. We focus on claims of non-activist participants in an epidemiological study, hitherto unknown and unexplored. In all but one case health claims were anticipated rather than realised. No link was found between children's asthma and exacerbation of the condition although some parents of children with asthma had greater concerns during the opencast planning stage. In fact, parents' discourses on children's health largely mirrored the epidemiological findings which showed increased dust, no increase in asthma prevalence but higher rates of general practitioner (GP) consultations for respiratory conditions suggesting that the commonly observed lack of convergence between lay and expert knowledge should not be taken for granted. In spite of this overall lack of an experienced health effect, the sociological data highlight respondents' recognition of the place-specificity of exposures, hence, the reasons why opencast proposals are likely to continue to be met with opposition. Environmental health studies which incorporate epidemiological and social approaches simultaneously have a better chance of arriving at conclusions meaningful to affected communities and facilitate greater understanding of environmental disputes. Keywords: Environmental sociology; Environmental epidemiology; Social construction; Risk perception; Opencast coalmining; Asthma; UK

Recent developments in social science research suggest that social environmental factors may be important for explaining community variations in health. We investigate the structural sources of two mechanisms that produce community variations in health. Using survey data collected from a representative cross-section of British households we examine variations in neighbourhood social capital and neighbourhood social disorganisation across a sample of British neighbourhoods. Adjusting for respondent's attributes, we assess the effects of neighbourhood characteristics measured by the 1991 census in Britain. The results show that concentrated affluence, residential instability and ethnic heterogeneity predict social capital for women. Population density is the only neighbourhood characteristic to predict social capital for men. For both men and women concentrated disadvantage and population density are associated with social disorganisation. Residential instability is additionally associated with social disorganisation for women. For women it was found that neighbourhood characteristics interact with individual social class in accounting for variations in social capital, the effects of neighbourhood characteristics being larger for those in professional and managerial and skilled non-manual occupations. The results show that neighbourhood structural characteristics influence social organisation processes. This helps establish a link between the structural characteristics of neighbourhoods and individual health outcomes. Keywords: Social capital; Social disorganisation; Neighbourhood characteristics: British household panel survey

This paper examines older people's everyday routines and their implications for older people's uses and perceptions of domestic spaces in both mainstream and sheltered housing settings. It draws from qualitative data collected during a large-scale survey of the housing and support needs of older people, and specifically the responses of 60 informants to personal interviews. The findings are that domestic spaces have a significant influence on the scope that older people have to retain a sense of self-determination. It is shown that environmental defects, such as poorly configured domestic spaces, have consequences for older people's sense of continuity and choice. The conclusions are that domestic spaces are living spaces that embody personal and family-oriented priorities. It is suggested that older people require adequate, accessible and personalised domestic spaces in order to facilitate three important objectives: routines, responsibilities and reflection. KEY WORDS--domestic spaces, daily routines, control, personalisation, self-determination.

There has been little systematic research into the design of care environments for older people. This article reviews empirical studies from both the architectural and the psychological literature. It outlines the instruments that are currently available for measuring both the environment and the quality of life of older people, and it summarises the evidence on the layout of buildings, the sensory environment and the privacy of residents. The conclusion is drawn that all evidence-based design must be a compromise or dynamic and, as demands on the caring environment change over time, this compromise must be re-visited in the form of post-occupancy evaluation. KEY WORDS--environment, quality of life, care settings, older people, design.

Rural and urban residents' attitudes about using pesticides is primarily influenced by personal experience. A secondary influence is residency, while trust can significantly predict perceptions of safety although not acceptability.

Analysis of cross-national environmental surveys supports their validity but not their reliability. Validity and reliability checks are crucial to such surveys' relevance and should be significant elements when designing these kinds of surveys.

In the study reported in this article the roles of social cohesion, residential satisfaction, and place identification are examined for their effect on place-related social identity and its consequential impact on attitudes to environmental sustainability. Two neighborhoods in Guildford, Surrey, England were selected on the basis of their social histories, housing types, and socioeconomic composition. Ninety residents in each neighborhood were sampled. Research methods included cognitive mapping and a questionnaire survey. A structural equation model was used to analyze the covariances between the different factors. The results show clear differences between the two neighborhoods in terms of residential satisfaction, with only some differences in terms of identification and social cohesion and sustainability. Conclusions are drawn that suggest an important relationship between identity and sustainability behavior that is suggestive for future research.

Based on the results of three field research studies in Pads, this article outlines the way in which the individual constructs a cognitive and behavioral relationship with the environment at three different levels: housing, the residential neighborhood, and the city as a whole. Identity and environmental identification generating social cohesion and satisfaction is, according to the City-Identity-Sustainability model, an important condition for ecological behavior to occur. The appropriation or nonappropriation of a particular environmental context is analyzed in light of the showed the existence of a hierarchy in regard to how places are valued, centered on the preference of personal goals (private) or else the collective use of space (public).

The tapestry of life on Earth is unraveling as humans increasingly dominate and transform natural ecosystems. Scarce resources and dwindling time force conservationists to target their actions to stem the [...]

This article discusses the social, economic and environmental aspects of Nicaraguan native peoples' race relations. Topics include prejudice, poverty, agricultural productivity, and self-perception.

Using the framework of social representations theory, this article examines predictors of two belief systems linking beliefs about the environment with beliefs about scientific knowledge. In a survey study with 460 Portuguese respondents, the following four hypotheses were tested: (a) New ecological beliefs were expected to receive higher levels of agreement than old anthropocentric ones, (b) social identities (not only objective positions) were expected to be important predictors of respondents' beliefs, and (c) the explanatory power of social identity variables was expected to be higher for those beliefs receiving lower levels of agreement (d) and for respondents expressing coherent representations. Analyses reconstructed two belief systems: prudence, linking new ecological ideas with a relativist view of science, and confidence, linking old anthropocentric ideas with a positivist view of science. Results support the hypothesis and show that although these systems can be viewed as contradictory, some respondents manage to agree with both.

Within environmental sociology realist critiques of the use of social constructionist approaches abound. This paper challenges features of the realist critique and emphasises the appeal and utility of social constructionist approaches for the study of environmental issues. We start by outlining the criticisms levelled at social constructionism, particularly the claim that the approach amounts to a denial of the existence of environmental problems and provides no contribution to managing them. We argue that this characterisation of 'extreme' constructionism is problematic in two senses. First, in that it bears little resemblance to the mild approach actually used in the majority of empirical studies and, secondly, that it is a misleading characterisation of a more radical constructionism. We conclude that the utility of constructionism can be formulated in terms of two distinct approaches. One refrains from making overt moral and political claims, and treats such claims as topics for analysis; such an approach can, however, provide resources for social criticism. Another adopts an overtly political or environmentally motivated stance towards the issues investigated. Underlying these suggestions is our conviction that a particular model of engagement is implicit in many realist critiques and that others are possible, and perhaps, preferable. Key words: environment, realism, social constructionism, social criticism.

The fourth of the cross-disciplinary 'synthesis' centres set up by the US National Science Foundation (NSF) will be the first to involve social scientists. So far, synthesis centres founded in [...]