Mussel and Seaweed Cultivation in Offshore Wind Farms: An Opinion Survey

German coastal regions and adjacent offshore waters are claimed for a variety of different, and often overlapping, uses. Conflicts of interest are expected to increase due to the planned construction of offshore wind farms. The development of an integrated approach combining different commercial activities, such as open ocean aquaculture and wind farming, could be a possible solution to overcome these conflicts. To illuminate existing perception and opinions on this multiple-use idea, this study examines the attitudes of representatives of eight different actor groups toward potential offshore wind farm–mariculture integration in the German North Sea. Results from our questionnaire survey show that the respondents’ attitudes toward the suggested multiple-use setting seem to be largely influenced by their general opinion toward offshore wind farms. The Fisheries actor group differs from the other questioned groups in that negative attitudes are overall predominant. This case study points to the need for a credible mechanism that more successfully integrates key actor groups, such as fisheries, into future planning and research issues.     

Weekly rhythms in task and time allocation of households

Analysis of household activity scheduling has to date been limited to one-day periods. This paper extends the study of household task allocation to a one-week period. Using a one-week time use survey held under couples in The Netherlands in 2003, the paper proposes indicators for measuring task allocation on a daily and weekly scale and investigates to what extent role expectations, work status and indicators of time pressure influence task allocation patterns. The outcomes suggest that egalitarian role expectations and higher female work status lead to a more balanced allocation of work and households tasks between spouses. More traditional role views and increased time pressure lead to more specialisation and inequality between spouses. Interestingly, households under time pressure apply day-to-day specialisation to arrive at balanced weekly allocation totals.