Matching Items (3)
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- All Subjects: Energy transition
- All Subjects: Fertility, Human
- Genre: Doctoral Dissertation
- Creators: Agadjanian, Victor
- Creators: Singh, Kartikeya
- Member of: ASU Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Description
The main purpose of this dissertation is to examine the effects of migration and household capitals on agricultural and energy transitions in the setting of rapidly changing socioeconomic and environmental conditions of Chitwan, Nepal. The environmental aspects of agricultural and energy transitions are also discussed to weave the changes in the livelihoods of rural households into the discourse of sustainable development, especially in the context of underdeveloped countries. The data used for the analysis is the Chitwan Valley Family Study which has been collected since 1996 at the individual and household level with the focuses on agriculture and family. The results from first difference model and multilevel logistic regression model using discrete-time event history approach deliver a couple of important messages for the future plans for local and national development. Most of all, migration plays an important role in the livelihoods of rural households in Chitwan. It might not have a direct impact, but the findings indicate that social and financial remittances from migration interact with how a household utilizes their current capitals under a given context for the future. Particularly, available labor in a household, prior investment in agriculture, exposure to modern life style, and what other people do, all these factors moderate the association between migration and the transitions. The implications of these results on sustainable development for the future of Chitwan and Nepal in the coming years are discussed afterwards.
ContributorsHan, Seung Yong (Author) / Yabiku, Scott T. (Thesis advisor) / Glick, Jennifer E. (Committee member) / Agadjanian, Victor (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2014
Description
As India expanded its grid infrastructure, decentralized renewable energy technologies, such as off-grid solar, also emerged in parallel as an electrification solution. This dissertation critically examines the role of off-grid solar in facilitating rural electrification efforts in India. Specifically, it applies the frameworks of the multi-level perspective, capabilities approach, and energy justice to achieve three objectives: (1) trace the evolution of off-grid solar in India; (2) understand the role of solar micro-grids in improving household capabilities and well-being; (1) examine whether and how community-scale solar micro-grids can operate as just means of electrification. This research relies on qualitative case-study methods. The historical research in Paper 1 is based on published policy documents and interviews with energy experts in India. It finds that landscape-regime-niche actor relations and politics were crucial in shaping off-grid solar transition outcomes. There is also a narrative component, as the key narratives of energy security, environmental degradation, climate change and energy for development converged to create spaces for state and non-state interactions that could nurture the development of off-grid solar. The community-level research in Papers 2 and 3 analyze a local energy initiative of community operated solar micro-grid using semi-structured interviews and participant observations from three villages in Maharashtra. Solar micro-grids play an important part in expanding people’s choices and opportunities. The benefits are not uniform across all people, however. Increases in energy-related capabilities vary by economic class and gender, and to some extent this means certain biases can get reinforced. In addition, the inability of solar micro-grids to keep up with the changing electrification landscape and daily practices means that the challenges of affordability, reliability and community engagement emerged as important concerns over-time. Empirically, this dissertation finds that off-grid energy initiatives must be carefully designed to be in alignment with local values and realities. Theoretically, it adds to debates on justice in energy transitions by showcasing the regime-led innovations, and temporality elements of energy justice local energy initiatives.
ContributorsRajagopalan, Sushil (Author) / Breetz, Hanna (Thesis advisor) / Klinsky, Sonja (Thesis advisor) / Singh, Kartikeya (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2021
Description
This dissertation explores changes in fertility and family formation in South Korea, a setting in which rapid demographic changes have taken place since the early twentieth century. Despite active debate and discussion among experts and policymakers, knowledge is still limited in regards to the country’s significant demographic changes. I take advantage of Korean census samples data from 1966 to 2010, which span birth cohorts from pre- and early-transitional stages to post-transitional stages, which comprise the entry stage of the second demographic transition. From a cohort perspective, I use diverse demographic methods to analyze three different aspects of fertility and family formation—fertility differentials, marriage delay, and fertility concentration.
The findings illustrate how fertility and marriage patterns have changed over generations and range from a politically tumultuous period, which includes World War II, liberation, and the Korean War, to an advanced economic period. By and large, the three studies suggest that until 1960, fertility and family formation converged as per social norms and leadership guidelines. Then, marriage and childbearing behaviors began to diversify and variation by social groups increased for cohorts born during and after the 1960s. The phrase “convergence towards diversity” captures the reversal of demographic trends within the country. Taken together, this dissertation advances our understanding of how fertility and family formation have changed in South Korea, which has been on an intense demographic journey from pre-transitional fertility through very low fertility, and currently headed toward another destination.
The findings illustrate how fertility and marriage patterns have changed over generations and range from a politically tumultuous period, which includes World War II, liberation, and the Korean War, to an advanced economic period. By and large, the three studies suggest that until 1960, fertility and family formation converged as per social norms and leadership guidelines. Then, marriage and childbearing behaviors began to diversify and variation by social groups increased for cohorts born during and after the 1960s. The phrase “convergence towards diversity” captures the reversal of demographic trends within the country. Taken together, this dissertation advances our understanding of how fertility and family formation have changed in South Korea, which has been on an intense demographic journey from pre-transitional fertility through very low fertility, and currently headed toward another destination.
ContributorsYoo, Sam Hyun (Author) / Sarah, Hayford (Thesis advisor) / Agadjanian, Victor (Committee member) / Yabiku, Scott (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2015