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- Dornelas, M., et al.
(author)
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BioTIME: A database of biodiversity time series for the Anthropocene
- 2018
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In: Global Ecology and Biogeography. - : Wiley. - 1466-822X .- 1466-8238. ; 27:7, s. 760-786
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Motivation: The BioTIME database contains raw data on species identities and abundances in ecological assemblages through time. These data enable users to calculate temporal trends in biodiversity within and amongst assemblages using a broad range of metrics. BioTIME is being developed as a community-led open-source database of biodiversity time series. Our goal is to accelerate and facilitate quantitative analysis of temporal patterns of biodiversity in the Anthropocene. Main types of variables included: The database contains 8,777,413 species abundance records, from assemblages consistently sampled for a minimum of 2 years, which need not necessarily be consecutive. In addition, the database contains metadata relating to sampling methodology and contextual information about each record. Spatial location and grain: BioTIME is a global database of 547,161 unique sampling locations spanning the marine, freshwater and terrestrial realms. Grain size varies across datasets from 0.0000000158 km(2) (158 cm(2)) to 100 km(2) (1,000,000,000,000 cm(2)). Time period and grainBio: TIME records span from 1874 to 2016. The minimal temporal grain across all datasets in BioTIME is a year. Major taxa and level of measurement: BioTIME includes data from 44,440 species across the plant and animal kingdoms, ranging from plants, plankton and terrestrial invertebrates to small and large vertebrates.
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| 3. |
- Currie, Margaret, et al.
(author)
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Understandings and applications of rural community resilience amongst Scottish stakeholders : introducing dual discourses
- 2022
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In: Community Development. - : Routledge. - 1557-5330 .- 1944-7485.
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This paper considers understandings and applications of community resilience deployed by multiple stakeholders in rural Scotland. By exploring what stakeholders think rural community resilience means in theory and practice, we enhance existing understandings of the concept. Scottish policy has shifted towards neoliberalism and community empowerment, with the Government encouraging communities to play a proactive role in enhancing their own resilience. For this to occur successfully, we argue that it is important to understand the perspectives of multiple stakeholders in how they conceptualize community resilience, identify what practical factors they believe enhance community resilience, and provide a greater understanding of the mechanisms through which community resilience can be delivered. Drawing on data collected from focus groups and in-depth, semi-structured interviews, we question what resilience means and what factors can facilitate it in practice. We find that by examining the perspectives of multiple stakeholders, dual discourses of resilience emerge: the emergency which reflects the policy focus on short-term damage reduction, and the everyday which reflects the desire for more long-term adaptive capacities developing in response to gradual change in rural communities. We conclude that the discourse which stakeholders predominantly align with will affect how they understand, adopt, and practice the concept.
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| 4. |
- Glass, Jayne, et al.
(author)
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Translating community resilience theory into practice : A deliberative Delphi approach
- 2022
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In: Sociologia Ruralis. - : Wiley Blackwell. - 0038-0199 .- 1467-9523.
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Despite the availability of important theoretical insights that could enhance the resilience of rural communities to complex challenges, there is a paucity of guidance on how to apply these insights in practice. This paper therefore presents and assesses a deliberative research process using the Delphi technique to elicit expert knowledge from 22 academics, community practitioners and policy makers working in roles related to community resilience delivery in rural Scotland. The participants co-produced an operational framework for community resilience, with support from researchers who facilitated the three-stage, interactive process. The methodology enabled participants to work together in an iterative and inclusive manner, culminating in the collective development of a conceptual framework consisting of eight resilience-enabling factors and corresponding criteria for monitoring change, which can be used to plan practical action and provide feedback to enable ongoing adaptation. The process also produced an in-depth understanding of participants’ perceptions of rural community resilience, identified key factors that enable or impede rural community resilience, analysed the potential to assess community resilience, and explored scale-related issues. The paper explores the implications of this framework for those working to make rural communities more resilient and reflects on the benefits and wider application of this type of research approach for developing shared understandings of complex concepts.
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| 5. |
- Currie, Mags, et al.
(author)
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Understanding the response to Covid-19 : exploring options for a resilient social and economic recovery in Scotland’s rural and island communities
- 2021
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Reports (other academic/artistic)abstract
- This research considered the impacts of Covid-19 on rural and island communities, how resiliently they have responded; and the most effective ways forward for their recovery. Our research approach involved: interviewing people in key rural sectors then producing a map to identify factors of resilience. This map was used to identify case study communities. Interviews were undertaken in these communities to understand local perspectives.Rural and island communities have been vulnerable to the impacts of Covid. Specific factors that have increased their vulnerability include reliance on limited employment sectors, being located far from centralised services (e.g. hospitals), limited digital connectivity; and an ageing population. Communities with a more resilient response had some or all of the following features: a strong sense of community; community organisations and local businesses that have been responsive to local needs; the existence of strategic partnerships between community organisations and the public/private sector; and good digital connectivity.Covid-19 has brought rural vulnerabilities into sharp focus and these vulnerabilities are often connected. Strategic and joined-up partnerships between community, public and private sector organisations will remain important, as well as novel and flexible funding mechanisms to enable place-based and context-specific responses.This research highlighted nine actions that would assist rural and island communities to thrive in the future. These include: 1. Building on existing and new partnerships and supporting anchor organisations 2. Capitalising on and rewarding community spirit 3. Encouraging and supporting young people to move to rural and island communities 4. Retaining and enhancing digital connectivity opportunities 5. Supporting adaptable local businesses 6. Strategic partnerships with deliver place-based solutions 7. Continue to support diversification of the rural economy 8. Enhancing the knowledge base on local-regional vulnerabilities 9. Retaining a flexible, targeted and responsive approach to financial support.
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