Matching Items (92)
Description
Individual happiness is not always correlated with societal happiness. Intrinsic happiness usually stems from sources such as authenticity, self-fulfillment, and community involvement. In contrast, extrinsic happiness comes from career success, wealth status, and popularity. The difference in these sources of happiness can create an unrealistic search for happiness in society. Individuals are chasing happiness in ways that are not obtainable or fulfilling for their individual needs. Because of this, there is an excessive amount of materialism and consumerism in society as an attempt to find or replace intrinsic happiness. Thus, I propose that if humans could learn to gather happiness intrinsically, the outcome may be a society that balances maintainable happiness and a more sustainable way of living. This hypothesis is tested by interviewing four individuals about what makes them intrinsically happy versus what they believe society says happiness comes from. Open-ended semi-structured interview questions were created by drawing on happiness literature and personal experience. Participants discussed how a focus on intrinsic happiness could affect society as a whole. The results indicate that humans naturally lean toward human connection and community involvement. Both are values with inherently positive sustainability implications and correspond to a sustainable way of life. The challenge, however, is the societal values placed on extrinsic aspects of happiness and the push away from sustainability.
ContributorsJohnson, Faith (Author) / Cloutier, Scott (Thesis director) / Goebel, Janna (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Management and Entrepreneurship (Contributor) / Dean, W.P. Carey School of Business (Contributor)
Created2023-05
Description
How does the idea of the visible and invisible, tangible and intangible, interact with the garments on the body? Perception, to become aware through the sense, involves the way in which the eye sees space, both visible and invisible. The way in which we see objects are significant in our everyday life and how we evaluate it. The main pattern the garments encompass are the accordion pleating and the variety in which the pattern can be utilized; the accordion pleating can be scaled, attached together, and twisted around the body. Effervescence is a 6-look collection that entails the idea of perception. The results of the project include 3 completed looks, 3 3D print on fabric, and 8 3D print accessories. In this paper, I will explain the process of creating the collection, the experimentation, and the results.
ContributorsNguyen, Juliana (Author) / Mihaleva, Galina (Thesis director) / Stephenson, Kathy (Committee member) / Tevzadze, Irina (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Art (Contributor)
Created2022-05
Description
For the past six months, I have been working with Black Lives Matter Phoenix Metro on the Tempe’s People’s Budget coalition. I served as a member on the research team as well as a temporary member of the Black Lives Matter’s nucleus leadership team. I joined weekly meetings for both groups, and conducted research on city budget proposals, initiatives, and resources. I also lead discussions and conversations about progress, next steps, and goals of the coalition with over 50 volunteers within the coalition. The Tempe’s People Budget crafted a survey in late October and sent it out mid-November to members of the Tempe community, asking them what community resources they would use and which resources and investments they believed the city of Tempe should commit to. After five months of survey collection, we presented a preliminary budget proposal to Tempe’s financial office for consideration for the 2022-2023 budget, using data from 318 survey responses. With the creation of the survey among the adaption of the Tempe’s coalition, we wanted to look at what preventive community resource most respondents wanted Tempe to reinvest in. We found that the majority of survey respondents would like investments in renewable energy, housing stability, and alternatives to police. It is the city’s job to protect and serve all members of their communities, and public safety should be prioritized by investing in preventive measures instead of remedial punishments. Public safety concerns would be most effectively resolved by addressing issues such as: little to no income, housing instability, lack of access to food and water and other basic necessities to survive. Currently, Tempe is investing in the police, who most often only serve punishments.
ContributorsNelson, Phoenix (Author) / Cloutier, Scott (Thesis director) / Tekola, Sarra (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Human Evolution & Social Change (Contributor) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor)
Created2022-05
Description
The aim of this thesis is to explore and understand how cultural, socio-economic, and political factors intersect to influence and affect societal happiness. We examine this by exploring the discrepancies that exist between the world’s happiest country, Finland, and the world’s 15th happiest nation, the United States. Through our explanation, we find that the cultural differences in nations is the implicit key to success in happiness. More specifically, the differences between femininity, experienced in the Nordic region, and masculinity, experienced in the United States. Social, economic, and political factors are in large part a result of the underlying culture. We see the nuanced ways in which cultural orientations shape social structures and policies which directly impact a society’s well-being. In analysis of the World Happiness Report, we acknowledge the multifaceted nature of happiness metrics, highlighting the importance of inclusive policy-making and responsive governance. Amidst its growing popularity the topic of societal happiness is growing in attention from both the public and policymakers. A collective pursuit of happiness emerges despite the cultural diversity prevalent throughout the world. By examining these complex relationships, we look to offer insight that helps create a deeper understanding of the complex relationship that exists between culture and societal happiness and well-being.
ContributorsSilva, Matthew (Author) / Echerivel, Emerson (Co-author) / Sturgess, Jessica (Thesis director) / Cloutier, Scott (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Dean, W.P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Department of Finance (Contributor)
Created2024-05
Description
The aim of this thesis is to explore and understand how cultural, socio-economic, and political factors intersect to influence and affect societal happiness. We examine this by exploring the discrepancies that exist between the world’s happiest country, Finland, and the world’s 15th happiest nation, the United States. Through our explanation, we find that the cultural differences within nations is the implicit key to success in happiness. More specifically, the differences between femininity, experienced in the Nordic region, and masculinity, experienced in the United States. Social, economic, and political factors are in large part a result of the underlying culture. We see the nuanced ways in which cultural orientations shape social structures and policies which directly impact a society’s well-being. In analysis of the World Happiness Report, we acknowledge the multifaceted nature of happiness metrics, highlighting the importance of inclusive policy-making and responsive governance. Amidst its growing popularity the topic of societal happiness is growing in attention from both the public and policymakers. A collective pursuit of happiness emerges despite the cultural diversity prevalent throughout the world. By examining these complex relationships, we look to offer insight that helps create a deeper understanding of the complex relationship that exists between culture and societal happiness and well-being.
ContributorsEcherivel, Emerson (Author) / Silva, Matthew (Co-author) / Sturgess, Jessica (Thesis director) / Cloutier, Scott (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Dean, W.P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / School of Molecular Sciences (Contributor)
Created2024-05
Description
Institutions of higher learning can be centers of meaning-making and learning and are expected to play a pivotal role in a global shift toward sustainability. Despite recent innovations, much sustainability education today is still delivered using traditional pedagogies common across higher education. Therefore, students and facilitators should continue innovating along pedagogical themes consistent with the goals of sustainability: transformation and emancipation. Yet, more clarity is needed about pedagogical approaches that will transform and emancipate students, allowing them to become innovators that change existing structures and systems. My dissertation attempts to address this need using three approaches. First, I present a framework combining four interacting (i.e., complementary) pedagogies (transmissive, transformative, instrumental, and emancipatory) for sustainability education, helping to reify pedagogical concepts, rebel against outdated curricula, and orient facilitators/learners on their journey toward transformative and emancipatory learning. Second, I use a descriptive case study of a sustainability education course set outside of the traditional higher education context to highlight pedagogical techniques that led to transformative and emancipatory outcomes for learners partaking in the course. Third, I employ the method of autoethnography to explore my own phenomenological experience as a sustainability student and classroom facilitator, helping others to identify the disenchanting paradoxes of sustainability education and integrate the lessons they hold. All three approaches of the dissertation maintain a vision of sustainability education that incorporates contemplative practices as essential methods in a field in need of cultivating hope, resilience, and emergence.
ContributorsPapenfuss, Jason (Author) / Merritt, Eileen (Thesis advisor) / Manuel-Navarrete, David (Thesis advisor) / Eckard, Bonnie (Committee member) / Cloutier, Scott (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2019
Description
The United Nations projects that 68% of the world population will live in urban areas by 2050. As urban areas continue to grow, it is critical to consider how cities will be redesigned and reimagined to ensure that they are healthy and beneficial places that can properly support their residents. In addition, college students have been identified as a vulnerable population in regards to overall wellness. In Downtown Phoenix, one the biggest elements of concern will be the built environment and its influence on wellbeing as the city itself and Arizona State University’s Downtown campus populations continue to expand. Given this, the purpose of this study is two-fold. I applied Social-Cognitive Theory as a framework to first, understand student perceptions of the built and social environment and second, explore how perceptions of the built and social environment influence student wellbeing. I used semi-structured interviews and participant-driven photo elicitation to answer these questions. The study took place at Taylor Place Mall on Arizona State University’s Downtown Campus and participants were students who attend classes on the ASU Downtown Campus. Findings displayed the need for design considerations to focus on the safety of students, creating places to gather for social connection, and overall a desire for design to focus on place making and place meaning, as well as other themes. Understanding more clearly how the built and social environment guides behaviors and social opportunities can help urban designers, landscape architects, and community developers better plan healthier environments that foster productive behaviors, create meaningful spaces, and prove to be sustainable in future years.
ContributorsRood, Sydney Kirsten (Author) / Budruk, Megha (Thesis advisor) / Jordan, Evan (Committee member) / Cloutier, Scott (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2019
Description
This research examines the communicative processes of resilience in the organizational context of public education. The research utilizes one-on-one interviews to elicit descriptions of resilience and well-being and collect stories of success and overcoming challenges. The study purpose is two-fold: (1) to understand the ways in which organizational members construct and enact resilience individually and collectively through their talk and stories, and (2) to extend the communication theory of resilience through an empirical investigation of resilience in an organizational context. An iterative, thematic analysis of interview data revealed that resilience, as lived, is a socially constructed, collective process. Findings show resilience in this context is (1) socially constructed through past and present experiences informing the ways organizational members perceive challenges and opportunities for action, (2) contextual in that most challenges are perceived positively as a way to contribute to individual and organizational goals and as part of a “bigger purpose” to students, (3) interactional in that it is constructed and enacted collaboratively through social processes, (4) reciprocal in that working through challenges leads to experience, confidence, and building a repertoire of opportunities for action that become a shared experience between educators and is further reciprocated with students, and (5) is enacted through positive and growth mindsets. This study offers theoretical contributions by extending the communication theory of resilience and illuminating intersections to sensemaking, flow, and implicit person theory. I offer five primary practical applications, discuss limitations, and present future directions highlighting community development and strengths-based approaches.
ContributorsKamrath, Jessica K (Author) / Tracy, Sarah J. (Thesis advisor) / Adame, Elissa A. (Committee member) / Cloutier, Scott (Committee member) / Waldron, Vincent R. (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2018
Description
Positive Youth Development (PYD) programs include intentional efforts by peers, adults, communities, schools, and organizations to provide opportunities for youth to increase their skills, abilities, and interests in positive activities. The goal of PYD is to provide positive outcomes where youth are viewed as resources to be developed rather than problems to be managed. Future generations rely on youth as active contributing members of society and PYD programs promote sustainable futures for young individuals and the community. PYD programs started in the United States and grew out of interest in prevention programs targeting risky behavior of youth.
Interest is growing in expanding PYD programs internationally as they may promote resilient characteristics and sustainable life skills. In particular, and one focus area of this dissertation, interest is growing in rural Asia. However, given the interdisciplinary nature of PYD programs, there are no standard assessment metrics or tools in place. Without standards, comparing PYD programs effectively is impossible. Within this dissertation, in four papers, I 1) develop a universal PYD assessment tool, the Positive Youth Development Sustainability Scale (PYDSS), 2) apply the PYDSS to two PYD programs in rural Thailand as a quantitative analysis, 3) use the categories of the PYDSS as a coding guide for qualitative analysis of two PYD programs in rural Thailand, and 4) assess a PYD program in the Phoenix-metro area that integrates physical activity, academics, and ethics. Results indicate that the PYDSS can be applied to PYD programs in both Thailand and Phoenix and that a mixed methods approach is a suggested form or data collection. My research could lead to the further improvement of current PYD programs and their intervention role, while also promoting universal PYD assessment techniques that support sustainable impacts on youth as a result of program intervention and design.
Interest is growing in expanding PYD programs internationally as they may promote resilient characteristics and sustainable life skills. In particular, and one focus area of this dissertation, interest is growing in rural Asia. However, given the interdisciplinary nature of PYD programs, there are no standard assessment metrics or tools in place. Without standards, comparing PYD programs effectively is impossible. Within this dissertation, in four papers, I 1) develop a universal PYD assessment tool, the Positive Youth Development Sustainability Scale (PYDSS), 2) apply the PYDSS to two PYD programs in rural Thailand as a quantitative analysis, 3) use the categories of the PYDSS as a coding guide for qualitative analysis of two PYD programs in rural Thailand, and 4) assess a PYD program in the Phoenix-metro area that integrates physical activity, academics, and ethics. Results indicate that the PYDSS can be applied to PYD programs in both Thailand and Phoenix and that a mixed methods approach is a suggested form or data collection. My research could lead to the further improvement of current PYD programs and their intervention role, while also promoting universal PYD assessment techniques that support sustainable impacts on youth as a result of program intervention and design.
ContributorsSieng, Michael (Author) / Cloutier, Scott (Thesis advisor) / Dooley, Kevin (Committee member) / Eder, James (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2017
Description
ABSTRACT
The tourism industry continues to mature as many consumers are demanding more responsible and sustainable development. Mindfulness has been studied in tourism as a cognitive trait recognized by actively processing information through an acute sensitivity to an individual's environment and openness to new information. Mindfulness has been shown to predict behaviors related to tourism and recreation. The Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) has been extensively applied to understand human behavior. Despite TPB's extensive history in the social sciences, researchers continue to incorporate new social factors to explain behavior. This study employs an emerging psychological construct, mindfulness, into the TPB model as an enhancement to conceptual and empirical discrepancies.
This study aimed to: (1) understand the presence of mindfulness among those who travel, and (2) test a hypothesized relationship between mindfulness and intent to be sustainable on vacation. The research seeks to answer - does mindfulness add to a traveler's likelihood to behave sustainably in a destination with active sustainable initiatives? The purpose of this study is to showcase emerging consumer traits, like mindfulness, to enhance visitor experiences through sustainability initiatives.
A survey research method was employed to provide a broad, generalizable set of findings from a group of people who were planning a trip and may have visited a specific destination. This study partnered with Sedona Chamber of Commerce and Tourism Bureau to access such a population. The survey was conducted with a self-administered online survey and 550 completed surveys were obtained. Behavior intention to be sustainable, in any visited destination, was regressed twice to address the research question. The first regression included original TPB independent variables (such as attitude, social norms, perceived behavioral control). The second regression added the mindfulness variable. The mindfulness variable was found to be positive and significant in a general context. The model was tested for those who traveled to Sedona and mindfulness and actual behaviors associated with sustainability were strongly related. A traveler's perception of their ability to control behaviors had a significant role when paired with mindfulness. Results suggest the TPB model has availability to incorporate new consumer behavior traits to understand behavior intention.
The tourism industry continues to mature as many consumers are demanding more responsible and sustainable development. Mindfulness has been studied in tourism as a cognitive trait recognized by actively processing information through an acute sensitivity to an individual's environment and openness to new information. Mindfulness has been shown to predict behaviors related to tourism and recreation. The Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) has been extensively applied to understand human behavior. Despite TPB's extensive history in the social sciences, researchers continue to incorporate new social factors to explain behavior. This study employs an emerging psychological construct, mindfulness, into the TPB model as an enhancement to conceptual and empirical discrepancies.
This study aimed to: (1) understand the presence of mindfulness among those who travel, and (2) test a hypothesized relationship between mindfulness and intent to be sustainable on vacation. The research seeks to answer - does mindfulness add to a traveler's likelihood to behave sustainably in a destination with active sustainable initiatives? The purpose of this study is to showcase emerging consumer traits, like mindfulness, to enhance visitor experiences through sustainability initiatives.
A survey research method was employed to provide a broad, generalizable set of findings from a group of people who were planning a trip and may have visited a specific destination. This study partnered with Sedona Chamber of Commerce and Tourism Bureau to access such a population. The survey was conducted with a self-administered online survey and 550 completed surveys were obtained. Behavior intention to be sustainable, in any visited destination, was regressed twice to address the research question. The first regression included original TPB independent variables (such as attitude, social norms, perceived behavioral control). The second regression added the mindfulness variable. The mindfulness variable was found to be positive and significant in a general context. The model was tested for those who traveled to Sedona and mindfulness and actual behaviors associated with sustainability were strongly related. A traveler's perception of their ability to control behaviors had a significant role when paired with mindfulness. Results suggest the TPB model has availability to incorporate new consumer behavior traits to understand behavior intention.
ContributorsAzzi, Maya Violette (Author) / Vogt, Christine A (Thesis advisor) / Buzinde, Christine (Committee member) / Cloutier, Scott (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2017