Paper long abstract:

National states around the world develop disability classification systems to assess persons with disabilities in order to constitute them eligible or not to welfare services and benefits. On the other hand, national states employ disability classification systems as a mean to gather information regarding the disability population and the work ability of its members. Previous research has shown a multilevel diversity of these systems. Also, there are a few studies that analyze in depth the politics and semantics of disability classifications and assessments both for people with disabilities and the state (Admon-Rick 2014; Mladenov 2011). Since this kind of systems lie at the heart of national states' social policies, it becomes imperative to also study them under extreme conditions such as an economic crisis. This paper will examine the current disability classification system in Greece, a system which was initiated in 2010 during a period that Greece faced a severe economic crisis. Paraphrasing Langdon Winner (1986), "Do disability classification systems have politics" will be the main question that this paper aims to answer. Based on official documents from the Greek state, such as laws and ministerial decisions, and interviews with members of the disability movement as well as newspaper articles, this study will attempt to open the 'black box' of the Greek disability classification system by exploring how it was developed and implemented as well as how it was enacted as a 'political machine'.

Paper long abstract:

Ecosystem Services approach enables the application of a comprehensive perspective in dealing with natural capital by using the metaphor of nature as a stock - within last decade it has been increasingly applied in biodiversity research and policy

This paper presents results of a study conducted within the project LINKAGE that aims at enhancing protection and rational governance of natural resources in Norway and Poland. Here, we present the Polish case which, due to social and historical determinants, is challenging in respect of implementation of ecosystem services governance. We particularly focus on examining the scope to which ecosystem services concept is reflected in legislative and policy documents, and what are reasons for application (or - not) the ecosystem service concept in the legislation.

Analysis comprised of 46 policy documents concerning environment and conservation in Poland. For the analysis we used CICES categorisation of ecosystem services as a base. All texts were coded using Nvivo software. Moreover, in order to comprehend reasons of the specific presence of ES in the Polish legislation individual in-depth interviews (IDI) with key informants were used for data information collection.

The paper shows results of quantitative view of ecosystem services presence in Polish policy documents based on Nvivo analysis and qualitative exploration based on interviews. Results of the analysis shows that the application of the ecosystem services approach is limited in the Polish environmental policy. Constraints for the ES concept application are presented as well as possible future development in this respect.

Paper long abstract:

In the fields of environmental policy and nature conservation it is more are less accepted that various civil society organizations, other societal groups and scientists should cooperate in some way. This paper argues that there is a strong need for 'boundary objects', concepts and practices whose meaning is flexible enough to be acceptable to different parties and strong enough to bring and hold these parties together. However, the use of boundary objects needs reflection

In this paper we analyze the development of several boundary objects. One example is the concept of 'natural limits' and the practice known as the 'hands on the tap approach', which were used to resolve the conflict on gas exploitation in the Dutch Wadden Sea. Large companies, governmental agencies and NGO's accepted the need of certain limits to prevent ecosystems damage. The precise meaning of natural limits was a matter of discussion. Another example is a new method of collecting mussel seed as part of a transition to sustainable mussel fishery, which is accepted by both fishermen and nature conservationists. Also in other contexts,for instance water management, standard setting, wildlife management and rcological restoration, boundary objects appeared to be useful. However, they do not operate in a societal vacuum and not all boundary objects may function successfully. We will discuss the need to evaluate the relationship between different aspects of boundary objects: values, knowledge, practices and social structures, including the concept of power.