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PDF
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Type:
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Journal Article |
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Author:
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Daedlow, Katrin; Beckmann, Volker; Arlinghaus, Robert |
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Journal:
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Ecology and Society |
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Volume:
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16 |
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Page(s):
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Date:
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2011 |
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URI:
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https://hdl.handle.net/10535/7596
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Sector:
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Fisheries |
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Region:
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Europe |
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Subject(s):
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adaptive systems
fisheries
social behavior
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Abstract:
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"The adaptive cycle constitutes a heuristic originally used to interpret the dynamics of complex
ecosystems in response to disturbance and change. It is assumed that socially constructed governance
systems go through similar phases (K, W [omega], a [alpha], r) as evident in ecological adaptive cycles.
Two key dimensions of change shaping the four phases of an adaptive cycle are the degree of connectedness
and the range of potential in the system. Our purpose was to quantitatively assess the four phases of the
adaptive cycle in a social system by measuring the potential and connectedness dimensions and their
different levels in each of the four phases. We assessed these dimensions using quantitative data from
content analysis of magazine articles describing the transition process of East German recreational fisheries
governance after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. This process was characterized by the discussion of
two governance alternatives amendable for implementation: a central East German and a decentralized
West German approach. Contrary to assumptions in the adaptive cycle heuristic, we were unable to identify
the four phases of the adaptive cycle in our governance system based on quantitatively assessed levels of
connectedness and potential alone. However, the insertion of in-group (East Germans) and out-group (West
Germans) dimensions representing the two governance alternatives in our analysis enabled us to identify
the specific time frames for all four phases of the adaptive cycle on a monthly basis. These findings suggest
that an unmodified 'figure-eight model' of the adaptive cycle may not necessarily hold in social systems.
Inclusion of disciplinary theories such as intergroup relation theory will help in understanding adaptation
processes in social systems."
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