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- All Subjects: Sustainability
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- Creators: Department of Psychology
- Creators: Dooley, Kevin
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Description
Social relationships are the single most factor that create joy in human lives. And yet, the ways we are building our cities and structuring our lives reduces our chances of interaction and increases isolation. Creating more public spaces may be a possible solution to this problem of declining social cohesion. Public spaces have been shown to improve rates of social cohesion and social interaction. They have also been show to have positive effects on physical health, local economies, the natural environment, reducing crime rates and psychological health. Creating public spaces in areas that are low-income or have limited amounts of space can be very challenging. This paper profiles options of community created spaces, space public spaces and temporary public spaces. All of which are options for low-income and limited space communities. The paper concludes with the summery of an active project to create a public space in such a community through a joint-use agreement.
ContributorsChampagne, Elizabeth Anne (Author) / Golub, Aaron (Thesis director) / Kelley, Jason (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Sustainability (Contributor) / School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
This study investigates how well prominent behavioral theories from social psychology explain green purchasing behavior (GPB). I assess three prominent theories in terms of their suitability for GPB research, their attractiveness to GPB empiricists, and the strength of their empirical evidence when applied to GPB. First, a qualitative assessment of the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), Norm Activation Theory (NAT), and Value-Belief-Norm Theory (VBN) is conducted to evaluate a) how well the phenomenon and concepts in each theory match the characteristics of pro-environmental behavior and b) how well the assumptions made in each theory match common assumptions made in purchasing theory. Second, a quantitative assessment of these three theories is conducted in which r2 values and methodological parameters (e.g., sample size) are collected from a sample of 21 empirical studies on GPB to evaluate the accuracy and generalize-ability of empirical evidence. In the qualitative assessment, the results show each theory has its advantages and disadvantages. The results also provide a theoretically-grounded roadmap for modifying each theory to be more suitable for GPB research. In the quantitative assessment, the TPB outperforms the other two theories in every aspect taken into consideration. It proves to 1) create the most accurate models 2) be supported by the most generalize-able empirical evidence and 3) be the most attractive theory to empiricists. Although the TPB establishes itself as the best foundational theory for an empiricist to start from, it's clear that a more comprehensive model is needed to achieve consistent results and improve our understanding of GPB. NAT and the Theory of Interpersonal Behavior (TIB) offer pathways to extend the TPB. The TIB seems particularly apt for this endeavor, while VBN does not appear to have much to offer. Overall, the TPB has already proven to hold a relatively high predictive value. But with the state of ecosystem services continuing to decline on a global scale, it's important for models of GPB to become more accurate and reliable. Better models have the capacity to help marketing professionals, product developers, and policy makers develop strategies for encouraging consumers to buy green products.
ContributorsRedd, Thomas Christopher (Author) / Dooley, Kevin (Thesis advisor) / Basile, George (Committee member) / Darnall, Nicole (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2012
Description
Ecolabels are the main driving force of consumer knowledge in the realm of sustainable product purchasing. While ecolabels strive to improve consumer's purchasing decisions, they have overwhelmed the market, leaving consumers confused and distrustful of what each label means. This study attempts to validate and understand environmental concerns commonly found in ecolabel criteria and the implications they have within the life cycle of a product. A life cycle assessment (LCA) case study of cosmetic products is used in comparison with current ecolabel program criteria to assess whether or not ecolabels are effectively driving environmental improvements in high impact areas throughout the life cycle of a product. Focus is placed on determining the general issues addressed by ecolabelling criteria and how these issues relate to hotspots derived through a practiced scientific methodology. Through this analysis, it was determined that a majority the top performing supply chain environmental impacts are covered, in some fashion, within ecolabelling criteria, but some, such as agricultural land occupation, are covered to a lesser extent or not at all. Additional criteria are suggested to fill the gaps found in ecolabelling programs and better address the environmental impacts most pertinent to the supply chain. Ecolabels have also been found to have a broader coverage then what can currently be addressed using LCA. The results of this analysis have led to a set of recommendations for furthering the integration between ecolabels and life cycle tools.
ContributorsBernardo, Melissa (Author) / Dooley, Kevin (Thesis advisor) / Chester, Mikhail (Thesis advisor) / Fox, Peter (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2012
Description
I present a new framework for qualitative assessment of the current green purchasing practices of U.S. state governments. Increasing demand from citizens for green public purchasing has prompted state governments to adopt new, and improve existing, practices. Yet there has been little assessment of public green purchasing in academic research; what has been done has not provided the conceptual support necessary to assess green purchasing practices as a single component of the procurement process. My research aims to fill that gap by developing a conceptual framework with which to assess the status of green purchasing practices and by applying this framework to determine and describe the status of green purchasing in the five most populous U.S. states. The framework looks at state purchasing practices through the lenses of policy, policy implementation, and transparency.
ContributorsSharma, Lucky (Author) / Melnick, Rob (Thesis advisor) / Dooley, Kevin (Thesis advisor) / Basile, George (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2012
Description
South Mountain is the largest municipal park in the nation. It is a bundled amenity, providing a series of linked services to the surrounding communities. A dataset of 19,209 homes in 155 neighborhoods within three miles of the park was utilized in order to complete a hedonic estimation for two nearby urban villages, Ahwatukee Foothills and South Mountain Village. Measures of access include proximity to the park, trailhead access, and adjacency to the park. Two regressions were estimated, the first including lot characteristics and subdivision fixed effects and the second using the coefficients for each subdivision as the dependent variable. These estimates describe how the location of a house in a subdivision contributes to its conditional mean price. As a result they offer a direct basis for capturing amenities measured at the neighborhood scale on home values. Park proximity, trailhead access and adjacency were found to significantly influence the price of homes at the 5% confidence level in Ahwatukee, but not in South Mountain Village. The results of this study can be applied to issues of environmental justice and park access in determining which areas and attributes of the park are associated with a high premium. Though South Mountain was preserved some time ago, development and future preservation in the City of Phoenix can be informed by such studies.
ContributorsRamakrishna, Saritha Kambhampati (Author) / Abbott, Joshua (Thesis director) / Smith, V. Kerry (Committee member) / Schoon, Michael (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Sustainability (Contributor) / Economics Program in CLAS (Contributor) / Department of English (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
Derived from the idea that the utilization of sustainable practices could improve small business practice, this honors thesis offers a full business assessment and recommendations for improvements of a local, family-owned coffee shop, Gold Bar. A thorough analysis of the shop's current business practices and research on unnecessary expenses and waste guides this assessment.
ContributorsSorden, Clarissa (Co-author) / Boden, Alexandra (Co-author) / Darnall, Nicole (Thesis director) / Dooley, Kevin (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Sustainability (Contributor) / W. P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Department of Management (Contributor) / Department of Supply Chain Management (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
Studies have shown that arts programs have a positive impact on students' abilities to achieve academic success, showcase creativity, and stay focused inside and outside of the classroom. However, as school funding drops, arts programs are often the first to be cut from school curricula. Rather than drop art completely, general education teachers have the opportunity to integrate arts instruction with other content areas in their classrooms. Traditional fraction lessons and Music-infused fraction lessons were administered to two classes of fourth-grade students. The two types of lessons were presented over two separate days in each classroom. Mathematics worksheets and attitudinal surveys were administered to each student in each classroom after each lesson to gauge their understanding of the mathematics content as well as their self-perceived understanding, enjoyment and learning related to the lessons. Students in both classes were found to achieve significantly higher mean scores on the traditional fraction lesson than the music-infused fraction lesson. Lower scores in the music-infused fraction lesson may have been due to the additional component of music for students unfamiliar with music principles. Students tended to express satisfaction for both lessons. In future studies, it would be recommended to spend additional lesson instruction time on the principles of music in order help students reach deeper understanding of the music-infused fraction lesson. Other recommendations include using colorful visuals and interactive activities to establish both fraction and music concepts.
ContributorsGerrish, Julie Kathryn (Author) / Zambo, Ronald (Thesis director) / Hutchins, Catherine (Committee member) / Division of Teacher Preparation (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
A growing number of jobs in the US require a college degree or technical education, and the wage difference between jobs requiring a high school diploma and a college education has increased to over $17,000 per year. Enrollment levels in postsecondary education have been rising for at least the past decade, and this paper attempts to tease out how much of the increasing enrollment is due to changes in the demand by companies for workers. A Bartik Instrument, which is a measure of local area labor demand, for each county in the US was constructed from 2007 to 2014, and using multivariate linear regression the effect of changing labor demand on local postsecondary education enrollment rates was examined. A small positive effect was found, but the effect size in relation to the total change in enrollment levels was diminutive. From the start to the end of the recession (2007 to 2010), Bartik Instrument calculated unemployment increased from 5.3% nationally to 8.2%. This level of labor demand contraction would lead to a 0.42% increase in enrollment between 2008 and 2011. The true enrollment increase over this period was 7.6%, so the model calculated 5.5% of the enrollment increase was based on the changes in labor demand.
ContributorsHerder, Daniel Steven (Author) / Dillon, Eleanor (Thesis director) / Schoellman, Todd (Committee member) / Economics Program in CLAS (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law (Contributor) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
I will be investigating the merit of participatory culture in online literary roleplaying. While looking at an affinity space within participatory culture, I will be examining the importance of narrative within a roleplay board, the value placed in writing ability and habitual participation, and the gaining of social capital within the affinity space of players through the scope of two forms of participatory culture: expressions and collaborative problem solving. I will also look at the limitations of literary roleplaying before talking about the potential of roleplaying to be used as a tool for students in the classroom. Throughout my investigation, I pool information from online roleplay forum boards as well as Tumblr blogs. Drawing from these examples, I hope to not only show the value and merit of online roleplaying as a form of literature, but also demonstrate its potential as a curriculum guide for educators.
ContributorsLacson, Therese (Author) / Lussier, Mark (Thesis director) / Daer, Alice (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of English (Contributor) / School of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
Nations have a vital interest in creating a citizenry with certain attributes and beliefs and, since education contributes to the formation of children's national identity, government authorities can influence educational curricula to construct their ideal citizen. In this thesis, I study the educational systems of Pakistan and Arizona and explore the historical and conceptual origins of these entities' manipulation of curricula to construct a particular kind of citizen. I argue that an examination of the ethnic studies debate in Tucson, Arizona, in conjunction with Pakistan's history education policy, will illustrate that the educational systems in both these sites are developed to advance the interests of governing authorities. Resource material demonstrates that both educational systems endorse specific accounts of history, omitting information, perspectives, and beliefs. Eliminating or reimagining certain narratives of history alienates some students from identifying as citizens of the state, particularly when contributions of their ethnic, cultural, or religious groups are not included in the country's textbooks.
ContributorsFritcke, Emily Anne (Author) / Saikia, Yasmin (Thesis director) / Haines, Chad (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of English (Contributor) / School of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies (Contributor)
Created2014-12