Environmental Social Science (eBook)

Emilio F. Moran is Distinguished Professor and Rudy Professor of Anthropology and Professor of Environmental Sciences at Indiana University in Bloomington. He is the author of Through Amazonian Eyes: the human ecology of Amazonian Populations (1993), Human Adaptability, 3rd Edition (2007), and People and Nature (2006, Blackwell).

Preface.

1. The Challenge of Human-Environment Interactions
Research.

The Evolution of Social Ecological Systems.

Characterization of Contemporary Global Environmental
Changes.

History of the Development of the Human Dimensions Agenda.

Characteristics of the Research on the Human Dimensions.

The Way Forward: Integrative Science.

2. Theories and Concepts from the Social Sciences.

Population, Technology and Central Place Theories .

Population and Environment Theories.

Agency and History.

Decision-theoretic Approaches.

Political Economy and Political Ecology.

Cultural Ecology.

3. Theories and Concepts from the Biological
Sciences.

Evolution by Natural Selection.

Species respond individualistically, not as communities, to
environmental change.

Interactions with other species help determine if a particular
species will persist in a particular place (Niche and Neutral
Theories).

Top-down vs. bottom-up control in ecosystems.

Succession.

Island Biogeography.

Equilibrium/non-equilibrium theories of competition,
coexistence, community composition

Biodiversity and ecosystem processes/services.

The Ecosystem Concept in Biology and the Social Sciences.

4. Spatially-Explicit Approaches.

Remote Sensing and GIS.

A Case Study using GIS/ Remote Sensing to study Amazonian
Deforestation.

Urban-rural spatial dynamics.

Modeling and GIS.

5. Multi-Scale and Multi-temporal Analysis.

An approach to multi-disciplinary, multi-scale research.

Scale.

Local level of analysis.

Regional Level of Analysis.

Global Level of Analysis.

Future Directions.

6. Bio-complexity in Ecological Systems.

Spatially-explicit Processes in Ecological and Social
Systems.

Agent-Based Modeling of Complex Systems.

Hierarchical Modeling.

Conclusions.

7. Environmental Decision-Making.

Institutional Analysis.

Individual Behavior and Environmental Decisions.

Decisions and Social Context.

Conclusions.

8. Towards Sustainability Science.

Sustainability Science Research Priorities.

Scales of Sustainability.

Cities and Sustainability Science.

Climate Change and Sustainability.

Conclusions.

Bibliography.

"This work represents an impressive bridge between social and
natural science. For anyone interested in the development of a
comprehensive environmental science." (Choice , 1 April 2011)



"Thanks to its capacity of surfing across natural and social
sciences, Moran's work will at minimum help scholars from both
sides to create bridges across the gap that still separates them;
something that can already be seen as a non-trivial result."
(Journal of Artificial Societies and Social Simulation, July
2010)

"This transformative book addresses the foundational theories
and methods essential to both social and biophysical fields in
human-environment research, promoting familiarity with -- and
accessibility to -- research crossing traditional disciplinary
bounds. Destined to become a key text within coupled human-natural
systems research by exploring the complex problems that our
environment faces, this book underscores that those challenges can
be successfully addressed only through interdisciplinary research
teams; this work will be an integral component of educating future
interdisciplinary researchers."

--Jane Southworth, University of Florida

"In the nick of time at the dawn of the era of great
environmental challenge: a work that encompasses the full array of
relevant sciences...fundamental to lasting solutions"

--Thomas E. Lovejoy, The Heinz Center for Science,
Economics and the Environment

"Professor Moran gives scientists the tools to attack the
most critical environmental challenges - those involving the
relations between people and the environment"

--David E. Blockstein, National Council for Science and the
Environment

"The book fills an incredibly important gap. Emilio Moran
provides a remarkably comprehensive coverage of the fundamental
science that underpins the analysis of coupled human-environment
systems. It's a must read for researchers working in the emerging
field of sustainability science."

--Pamela Matson, Stanford University

"A superb overview of the emerging field of sustainability
science. Readers will enjoy his clear writing, engaging examples
and effective answers to real-world problems."

--Ben Orlove, University of California, Davis