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As the COVID-19 crisis (Ahmed et al., 2022; Bancel & Philippe, 2021; Szymanski, 2021) and the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar (Ward, 2022) have made abundantly clear, running a football club is a precarious enterprise in terms of both existential financial risk and ethical challenges. In an industry that is increasingly being perceived as scandalridden and “morally bankrupt” by the general public (BBC, 2021; Leeks, 2022; Magee, 2022; Zeidan & Fauser, 2015), a small set of football clubs in Germany, Switzerland, and the UK have been using strong sustainability and CSR (corporate social responsibility) language in order to establish an identity for themselves as socially progressive pioneers trying to stem the tide of ever-increasing commercialization and corruption in modern football. Our paper addresses this phenomenon in two steps: (1) We draw on debates around the “business case for CSR” (Carroll & Shabana, 2010), i.e., the conflict between intrinsic versus instrumental motivations for CSR (Scherer & Palazzo, 2007), to ask what motivates these specific football clubs to put such a strong emphasis on their CSR activities. In this context, organizational resilience is assumed to play a major role in motivating instrumental CSR strategies. Empirically, we will investigate this using data gathered from expert interviews with managers from five “progressive” football clubs in Germany, Switzerland, and the UK. (2) Given the many inherent sporting and business risks in football (such as relegation, loss of successful players and coaches, financial volatility, etc.), we will investigate how the above-mentioned clubs make use of their CSR activities in order to boost their organizational resilience. To that end, we will use a quantitative approach and analyze whether said clubs outperform their more conservative peers, comparing them along several sporting and financial criteria (such as average place in league standings, team value, reputation, etc.). The paper will thus, on

It is estimated that up to half of global methane (CH4) emissions are derived from microbial processes in aquatic ecosystems. However, it is not fully understood which factors explain the spatial and temporal variability of these emissions. For example, light has previously been shown to both inhibit and stimulate aerobic methane-oxidizing bacteria (i.e., methanotrophs) in the water column. These contrasting results indicate that the mechanisms that light has on CH4 oxidation are not yet clearly known, even less so for benthic aerobic methanotrophs. Here, we tested whether light reaching the seafloor can inhibit methanotrophic activity on the sediment surface. We sampled and distributed over 40 intact sediment cores from two coastal sites (illuminated 10 m, and a dark site at 33 m water depth) into 0, 50, and 100 PAR light treatments. After 10 days, we found no difference between treatments for each site in pore-water CH4 concentrations, relative abundance of aerobic methanotrophs, or the number of RNA transcripts related to methane oxidation. Our results suggest that light attenuation in coastal waters does not significantly affect aerobic methanotrophs in coastal sediments.

Dieses Praxispapier fasst Erkenntnisse des Forschungsprojekts «HybOrg – Entstehung und gesellschaftliche Wirkung hybrider Organisationen im lokalen Krisenmanagement» zusammen und nutzt dessen wissenschaftliche Ergebnisse, um konkrete Handlungsempfehlungen abzuleiten, die dabei helfen sollen, lokales Verwaltungshandeln und zivilgesellschaftliches Engagement in Krisen besser aufeinander abzustimmen. Die Erkenntnisse und Empfehlungen sollen den Verantwortungsträgerinnen und -träger in der Verwaltung auch im Umgang mit der aktuellen COVID-19 Pandemie eine praxisnahe Entscheidungsunterstützung bieten. This practice paper summarizes the findings of the research project “HybOrg - the emergence and social impact of hybrid organizations in local crisis management” and uses its scientific results to derive concrete recommendations for action that should help to better coordinate local administrative action and civil society engagement in crises. The findings and recommendations are intended to also provide those responsible in the administration with practical decision-making support when dealing with the current COVID-19 pandemic.

This chapter examines the governance of health technologies during the COVID-19 pandemic and reflects on three interrelated challenges that need to be addressed in future assessment approaches for achieving systemic resilience: problems of scale, trust and politics. The chapter focuses on digital surveillance technologies and vaccines, two cornerstones in the efforts to mitigate the spread of SARS-CoV-2 around the globe. Tracing apps were introduced in many countries, but their effectiveness has been constrained by issues of data privacy, insufficient interoperability and digital inequalities. In parallel, a global research race enabled the development of different vaccines with unprecedented speed, building on innovative biotechnologies. However, vaccination worldwide was marked by disparities in access and controversy. We conclude that governance and assessment should be built around strong international coordination and cooperation, without limiting local experimental learning and innovation. Further, public trust should be considered as a necessary condition for the success of any technological innovation in the health context. As trust in policymakers, academia and industry is strongly context-specific, global governance should also be sensitive to the diversity of social and cultural contexts. Finally, to improve overall systemic resilience, global power imbalances should be addressed in all phases of the innovation process.

This study builds upon a previous CSS report that examined the hazard information needs of the Swiss population through the use of panel survey data. More specifically, it does so by using this data to look at factors that may influence information seeking and preparedness behavior related to disaster risks, including demographic characteristics, general hazard perceptions, and individual risk perceptions. Based on the analysis, the authors draw three conclusions: 1) people appear to be seeking more information about risks and demonstrate higher levels of risk perception, but this does not necessarily correlate with increased knowledge about potential preparations or actual preparation; 2) considering how influential factors interact when developing risk information and communication processes will likely improve the ability of the public to translate risk information into action; and 3) proper preparedness requires planning.

This report develops a comprehensive view of the specific social situation in Zürich, and of the potentially important dynamics that could have an influence on social vulnerability in the city. Methodology: To better understand social vulnerability in Zürich, CSS’s research team conducted, in a first step, several written and face-to-face interviews with experts working with very different social groups in the city of Zürich on a day-to-day basis. The insights gained during the expert interviews were used, in a second step, for a refined quantitative analysis of social vulnerability in Zürich, and the economic, demographic and cultural factors that influence it. The basis for both the interviews and the quantitative analysis was a set of scenarios of natural and human-induced hazards that could affect the city of Zürich: Flooding, chemical accident, pandemic, heatwave, earthquake, and criminality. Of these possibilities, three hazards were ultimately chosen for detailed spatial analysis: chemical accidents, flooding, and heatwave. Temporal variability in social vulnerability: Although Zürich is an affluent city, there are parts of the population that would lack the resources to cope with and recover from a major disaster. In many cases, vulnerability to hazards is associated with the same characteristics that determine vulnerability in everyday life, such as income, ethnicity, or age. However, the analysis found little evidence for a direct link between socio-economic factors and social vulnerability. Much more important was the issue of social isolation, which was found to be a main direct driver of vulnerability. Social isolation is particularly widespread among certain parts of the population (e.g. elderly people living alone, so-called sans papiers), whose situations may be exacerbated by additional socio-economic factors. In the context of disaster management, these factors are becoming increasingly relevant, as Zürich is being affected by several large-scale d