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Review ‘The Nature Spectacle’ by Jim Igoe

The Nature Spectacle: On Images, Money, and Conservation Capitalism by Jim Igoe is, as its Preface states, an ambitious book that seeks to make connections between diverse times and places. The preface also, in many ways, tells more about the background and intention of the book than its chapters do, tying together the author’s origins and motivation. Igoe recalls his childhood in St. Louis, Missouri, much of which he spent “in front of a television and at a neighborhood movie theatre” (p. XII), once watching a musical, which was “essentially an extended Chevrolet commercial set among the geysers of Yellowstone” (P. 109). It is the mix of such absurd and comical observations of commercialism merging with Nature, and much heavier criticism of the capitalist cult of economic growth, development, and also conservation that characterizes The Nature of Spectacle. Much of Igoe’s outdoor experiences were shaped by green spaces, created in St. Louis as part of commodity exhibits at the 1904 World’s Fair. The author admits to feeling both critical and nostalgic of those places that have merged (sub)urban aesthetics with that of industrially developed commercial “spaces” (p. XII) – important concepts that form a leitmotif throughout the book. https://doi.org/10.1080/03066150.2018.1488355 https://www.linkedin.com/in/helenkopnina/

Exploring experiences with stressors and coping resources among Dutch socioeconomic groups during the COVID-19 pandemic

The COVID-19 crisis impacts populations globally. This impact seems to differ for groups with low- and high-socioeconomic status (SES). We conducted a qualitative study in the Netherlands using a salutogenic perspective to examine experiences with stressors and coping resources during the pandemic among both SES groups to gain insight on how to promote the health and well-being of these groups. We conducted 10 focus group discussions and 20 interviews to explore the experiences, including resources and stressors, of respondents from low- (N = 37) and high-SES (N = 38) groups (25-55 years, Dutch speaking). We analyzed the findings at individual, community, and national levels. The results show that coping depends on government-imposed measures and the way individuals handle these measures; restriction to the home context with positive and negative consequences for work and leisure; psychological negative consequences and resourcefulness; and social effects related to unity (e.g. social cohesion or support) and division (including polarization). Respondents with lower SES expressed more problems with COVID-19 measures and experienced more social impact in their neighborhood than those with higher SES. Where low-SES groups especially mentioned the effects of staying at home on family life, high-SES groups mentioned effects on work life. At last, psychological consequences seem to differ somewhat across SES groups. Recommendations include consistent government-imposed measures and government communication, support for home schooling children, and strengthening the social fabric of neighborhoods.

Partners in Parenting: An Overview of the Literature on Parents‟ and Nonparental Adults‟ Perspectives on Shared Responsibilities in Childrearing

The effects of neighbours on sport club membership

Neighbours have been found to influence each other’s behaviour (contagion effect). However, little is known about the influence on sport club membership. This while increasing interest has risen for the social role of sport clubs. Sport clubs could bring people from different backgrounds together. A mixed composition is a key element in this social role. Individual characteristics are strong predictors of sport club membership. Western high educated men are more likely to be members. In contrast to people with a nonWestern migration background. The neighbourhood is a more fixed meeting place, which provides unique opportunities for people from different backgrounds to interact. This study aims to gain more insight into the influence of neighbours on sport club membership. This research looks especially at the composition of neighbour’s migration background, since they tend to be more or less likely to be members and therefore could encourage of inhibit each other. A population database including the only registry data of all Dutch inhabitants was merged with data of 11 sport unions. The results show a cross-level effect of neighbours on sport club membership. We find a contagion effect of neighbours’ migration background; having a larger proportion of neighbours with a migration background from a non-Western country reduces the odds, as expected. However, this contagion effect was not found for people with a Moroccan or Turkish background.

Scaffolding shared learning about sustainable futures between design engineering students, users, and a smart grid project team

Like the professionals, design students tend to avoid the complexity of the user context, and moral issues are largely overlooked. This inspired us to explore whether we could engage design students in thinking about moral issues by exploring different ethical frameworks in their designing. As a case environment we chose smart-grid product service combinations. In this paper we first discuss the ethical frameworks of four selected philosophers’: Plato, Rousseau, Kant, & Mill. Then we will describe the student design process, the resulting four smart grid service concepts and the user insights that came from a user evaluation. We discuss how this approach allowed the students to get insights in their own ethical stance and how they allowed users to reflect on possible futures. We also discuss how these ‘probing’ concepts were used within the larger smart grid project.