Using three episodes looking at sanitation and public health, open space preservation, and urban transportation, I argue three factors played a critical role in determining the extent to which environmental values were incorporated into Phoenix's urban growth policy. First, the degree to which environmental values influenced urban policy depends on the degree to which they fit into the Southwestern suburban lifestyle. A desire for low-density development and quality of life amenities like outdoor recreation resulted in decisions to extend municipal sewers further into the desert, the creation of a mountain preserve system, and freeways as the primary mode of travel in the city. Second, federal policy and the availability of funds guided policies pursued by Phoenix officials to deal with the unintended environmental impacts of growth. For example, federal dollars provided one-third of the funds for the construction of a centralized sewage treatment plant, half the funds to save Camelback Mountain and ninety percent of the construction costs for the West Papago-Inner Loop. Lastly, policy alternatives needed broad and diverse public support, as the public played a critical role, through bond approvals and votes, as well as grassroots campaigning, in integrating environmental values into urban growth policy. Public advocacy campaigns played an important role in setting the policy agenda and framing the policy issues that shaped policy alternatives and the public's receptivity to those choices.
Urban policy decisions are part of a dynamic and ongoing process, where previous decisions result in new challenges that provide an opportunity for debate, and the incorporation of new social values into the decision-making process. While twenty-first century challenges require responses that reflect contemporary macroeconomic factors and social values, the postwar period demonstrates the need for inclusive, collaborative, and anticipatory decision-making.
The majority of trust research has focused on the benefits trust can have for individual actors, institutions, and organizations. This “optimistic bias” is particularly evident in work focused on institutional trust, where concepts such as procedural justice, shared values, and moral responsibility have gained prominence. But trust in institutions may not be exclusively good. We reveal implications for the “dark side” of institutional trust by reviewing relevant theories and empirical research that can contribute to a more holistic understanding. We frame our discussion by suggesting there may be a “Goldilocks principle” of institutional trust, where trust that is too low (typically the focus) or too high (not usually considered by trust researchers) may be problematic. The chapter focuses on the issue of too-high trust and processes through which such too-high trust might emerge. Specifically, excessive trust might result from external, internal, and intersecting external-internal processes. External processes refer to the actions institutions take that affect public trust, while internal processes refer to intrapersonal factors affecting a trustor’s level of trust. We describe how the beneficial psychological and behavioral outcomes of trust can be mitigated or circumvented through these processes and highlight the implications of a “darkest” side of trust when they intersect. We draw upon research on organizations and legal, governmental, and political systems to demonstrate the dark side of trust in different contexts. The conclusion outlines directions for future research and encourages researchers to consider the ethical nuances of studying how to increase institutional trust.
The climate conversation is growing more important and necessary than ever. The media has a way of promoting a "doom and gloom" sentiment over conservation efforts and what the public has the power to do in terms of making a change. Now due to the effects of COVID-19 on the population's attention spans and memories, there is a need for a way to communicate climate science effectively and to encourage those who feel discouraged by climate change to find their inner power. The answer lies in photography. Making science accessible and intriguing through the art of photography is what can get people more interested and empowered to fight against climate change and alter their attitudes towards environmentalism. This thesis explains psychological research and the reasons why people feel helpless in terms of our global future. In then dives into human subjects research conducted on ASU's campus and how the survey results argue in favor of the paper's hypothesis. Additionally, ways to get involved and reasons why we need to remain hopeful are discussed.
This thesis looks to explore the common barriers and perceptions surrounding sustainable living in westernized societies. We begin by understanding and explaining the complexity and importance of sustainability. Then we go on into a cultural comparison of sustainable lifestyles from places like Mongolia and Northern Arizona. After the comparison, we look deeper into mental barriers, perceptions, and influences that western minds have on the environment and how these beliefs affect their sustainable behaviors. After noticing these obstacles, we were able to research three key solutions to overcoming these barriers: daily practices, contextual motivation, and subjective values. Using these three solutions, this thesis builds out an implementation plan that allows you to help create a more sustainable lifestyle that you can start living out today.
This study applies spatial theory and an ethnohistorical approach to show how traditional values drove the Klamaths’ contemporary activism. From their perspective, healing the land would heal the people. The Klamaths’ history illuminates the active roles that tribes have had in the institutionalization of the federal self-determination policy as federal agencies resisted recognizing tribes and working with them in government-to-government relationships. Through their efforts to weave their interests into natural resource management with state, federal, and non-governmental stakeholders, the Klamaths took part in a much larger historical trend, the increased pluralization of American society.