Matching Items (41)
Description
Global climate change (GCC) is among the most important issues of the 21st century. Adaptation to and mitigation of climate change are some of the salient local and regional challenges scientists, decision makers, and the general public face today and will be in the near future. However, designed adaptation and mitigation strategies do not guarantee success in coping with global climate change. Despite the robust and convincing body for anthropogenic global climate change research and science there is still a significant gap between the recommendations provided by the scientific community and the actual actions by the public and policy makers. In order to design, implement, and generate sufficient public support for policies and planning interventions at the national and international level, it is necessary to have a good understanding of the public's perceptions regarding GCC. Based on survey research in nine countries, the purpose of this study is two-fold: First, to understand the nature of public perceptions of global climate change in different countries; and secondly to identi-fy perception factors which have a significant impact on the public's willingness to sup-port GCC policies or commit to behavioral changes to reduce GHG emissions. Factors such as trust in GCC information which need to be considered in future climate change communication efforts are also dealt with in this dissertation. This study has identified several aspects that need to be considered in future communication programs. GCC is characterized by high uncertainties, unfamiliar risks, and other characteristics of hazards which make personal connections, responsibility and engagement difficult. Communication efforts need to acknowledge these obstacles, build up trust and motivate the public to be more engaged in reducing GCC by emphasizing the multiple benefits of many policies outside of just reducing GCC. Levels of skepticism among the public towards the reality of GCC as well as the trustworthiness and sufficien-cy of the scientific findings varies by country. Thus, communicators need to be aware of their audience in order to decide how educational their program needs to be.
ContributorsHagen, Bjoern (Author) / Pijawka, David (Thesis advisor) / Brazel, Anthony (Committee member) / Chhetri, Netra (Committee member) / Guhathakurta, Subhrajit (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013
Description
Research indicates that projected increases in global urban populations are not adequately addressed by current food production and planning. In the U.S., insufficient access to food, or the inability to access enough food for an active, healthy life affects nearly 15% of the population. In the face of these challenges, how are urban planners and other food system professionals planning for more resilient food systems? The purpose of this qualitative case study is to understand the planning and policy resources and food system approaches that might have the ability to strengthen food systems, and ultimately, urban resiliency. It proposes that by understanding food system planning in this context, planning approaches can be developed to strengthen urban food systems. The study uses the conceptual framework of urban planning for food, new community food systems, urban resiliency, and the theory of Panarchy as a model for urban planning and creation of new community food systems. Panarchy theory proposes that entrenched, non-diverse systems can change and adapt, and this study proposes that some U.S. cities are doing just that by planning for new community food systems. It studied 16 U.S. cities considered to be leaders in sustainability practices, and conducted semi-structured interviews with professionals in three of those cities: Portland, OR; San Francisco, CA; and Seattle, WA. The study found that these cities are using innovative methods in food system work, with professionals from many different departments and disciplines bringing interdisciplinary approaches to food planning and policy. Supported by strong executive leadership, these cities are creating progressive urban agriculture zoning policies and other food system initiatives, and using innovative educational programs and events to engage citizens at all socio-economic levels. Food system departments are relatively new, plans and policies among the cities are not consistent, and they are faced with limited resources to adequately track food system-related data. However they are still moving forward with programming to increase food access and improve their food systems. Food-system resiliency is recognized as an important goal, but cities are in varying stages of development for resiliency planning.
ContributorsTaylor, Constance M (Author) / Talen, Emily (Thesis advisor) / Crewe, Katherine (Committee member) / Pijawka, David (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2014
Description
This study explores the potential risks associated with the 65 U.S.-based commercial nuclear power plants (NPPs) and the distribution of those risks among the populations of both their respective host communities and of the communities located in outlying areas. First, I examine the relevant environmental justice issues. I start by examining the racial/ethnic composition of the host community populations, as well as the disparities in socio-economic status that exist, if any, between the host communities and communities located in outlying areas. Second, I estimate the statistical associations that exist, if any, between a population's distance from a NPP and several independent variables. I conduct multivariate ordinary least square (OLS) regression analyses and spatial autocorrelation regression (SAR) analyses at the national, regional and individual-NPP levels. Third, I construct a NPP potential risk index (NPP PRI) that defines four discrete risk categories--namely, very high risk, high risk, moderate risk, and low risk. The NPP PRI allows me then to estimate the demographic characteristics of the populations exposed to each so-defined level of risk. Fourth, using the Palo Verde NPP as the subject, I simulate a scenario in which a NPP experiences a core-damage accident. I use the RASCAL 4.3 software to simulate the path of dispersion of the resultant radioactive plume, and to investigate the statistical associations that exist, if any, between the dispersed radioactive plume and the demographic characteristics of the populations located within the plume's footprint. This study utilizes distributive justice theories to understand the distribution of the potential risks associated with NPPs, many of which are unpredictable, irreversible and inescapable. I employ an approach that takes into account multiple stakeholders in order to provide avenues for all parties to express concerns, and to ensure the relevance and actionability of any resulting policy recommendations.
ContributorsKyne, Dean (Author) / Bolin, Bob (Thesis advisor) / Boone, Christopher (Committee member) / Pijawka, David (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2014
Description
This six month IRB approved qualitative study was held at Arizona State University to see how a group of seven university dancers' body appreciation and body perception would be affected by introduction and familiarized with Bartenieff Fundamentals and other somatic practices. During this process the individuals gained knowledge about their own bodies through somatic movement activities, journal writings, group discussions, and personal interviews. Movers then used this knowledge to create movement phrases that represented their own personal journeys with body image struggles, doubts, and insecurities. These movement phrases were then linked together in a 40-minute expressive movement piece that represented the journey the group of movers had made and was still making together.
ContributorsRodgers, Patricia (Author) / Jackson, Naomi (Thesis advisor) / Britt, Melissa (Committee member) / Vissicaro, Pegge (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2014
Description
Scholars have called for better understanding of the generative process, a process underlying the creation of urban form that often has positive qualities such as coherence, human scale, flexibility, and adaptability. The generative process is incremental and continually refined, producing urban settlements that respond to feedback. Redefining the pattern language as a system of knowledge generation, and a method to acquire essential information and re-create historical contexts, this dissertation aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the generative process and the corresponding urban codes of traditional cities. The dissertation consists of three complete yet interconnecting articles. The first article examines the structural components of the generative process— place-based norms and urban codes—and their roles in generative development. Two traditions of urbanism with distinctive and coherent forms and different levels of imposed regulations were investigated: medieval European and Arabic-Islamic. The study finds that place-based norms are the core of any generative process. Whenever written codes do not control urban space, these norms emerge to operationalize the building process. The second article investigates the generative process through the operationality of patterns, properties, and a sequence in the creation of the traditional form of the town of Hoian, Vietnam. The recurrence of each property and the pattern of its repetition in urban elements are investigated to assess the impact of generative forces on the urban form of Hoian. Fifteen of Alexander’s properties and ten of Lynch’s qualities were also combined into a set of twenty properties of urban elements. Finally, the third article observes and then explores the unfolding of the generative process using the virtual online platform OpenSim, thereby verifying the operationality of the generative process revealed in the previous two articles. The paper substantiates the proposition that the generative system includes patterns and urban properties that can serve as rules for directing urban growth. These rules build diverse and unified urban settlements.
ContributorsNguyen, Ngoc Hong, Ph.D (Author) / Talen, Emily (Thesis advisor) / Huang, Liling (Committee member) / Pijawka, David (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2015
Description
This mixed-method study of a community association discusses the potential for a comeback in associationalism. This comeback is posited to first occur within associations before it can occur across associations. This study discusses research on associations and critiques its failure to not go far enough to understand how to spur this comeback. In particular, this study suggests that future research needs to focus more on the psychological components of social capital and pay more attention to the more informal forms of association behavior.
The findings of this community case study provide a preliminary model of psychological social capital development and transference. The findings suggest that Herzberg's (1959) factors, attitudes, and effects complex still holds merit after considering psychological social capital effects, specifically cognitions and behaviors. Evidence from looking at associational and community involvement is presented that suggests that psychological social capital can be transferred between associations and their respective communities. A framework for intentionally stimulating psychological social capital transference is presented based on an association's leadership program. Thus, psychological social capital transference as a theory is presented for consideration in future research and application.
The findings of this community case study provide a preliminary model of psychological social capital development and transference. The findings suggest that Herzberg's (1959) factors, attitudes, and effects complex still holds merit after considering psychological social capital effects, specifically cognitions and behaviors. Evidence from looking at associational and community involvement is presented that suggests that psychological social capital can be transferred between associations and their respective communities. A framework for intentionally stimulating psychological social capital transference is presented based on an association's leadership program. Thus, psychological social capital transference as a theory is presented for consideration in future research and application.
ContributorsTalmage, Craig Allen (Author) / Knopf, Richard C. (Thesis advisor) / Hager, Mark A. (Committee member) / Pijawka, David (Committee member) / Phillips, Rhonda G (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2014
Survivability of a place brand: politics of place in downtown Scottsdale, in the 1950s and the 1960s
Description
Place branding by its very nature is a highly selective endeavor. Typically, place branding focuses on highlighting positive aspects of place while discounting others that are deemed less appealing. Whether it pertains to attracting tourism, investment or people, or whether it concerns achieving a level of cultural significance, ultimately place branding impacts physical planning decisions and consequently the built environment. The selectivity entailed in projecting a sellable place image, together with the presence of different interests among the particular place stakeholders, may lead to a divergent dialectic of assertion and resistance over which brand ought to be projected and how it ultimately should be represented. This dynamic, I argue, will have impact on equity, on the issue of authenticity and on representation. Through a historical analysis approach and a case study, this dissertation examines how such a dynamic plays out in the built environment and how it evolves and shapes it over time. Downtown Scottsdale is chosen as a case because it offers an example of a small city downtown in the US West that experienced significant place branding activity in the 1950s and the 1960s. In the 1950s, the City of Scottsdale branded itself as a Western town and the built environment of the downtown area was themed to reflect this image; in the 1960s, the Western brand was challenged and calls for change emerged. Stakeholders and supporters of the Western image and those of the call for change are identified, and the dialectic that ensued is examined and discussed in relation to its impact on the built environment.
ContributorsElmubarak, Marwan G (Author) / Crewe, Katherine (Thesis advisor) / Talen, Emily (Committee member) / Pijawka, David (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2014
Description
The uncertainty of change inherent in issues such as climate change and regional growth has created a significant challenge for public decision makers trying to decide what adaptation actions are needed to respond to these possible changes. This challenge threatens the resiliency and thus the long term sustainability of our social-ecological systems. Using an empirical embedded case study approach to explore the application of advanced scenario analysis methods to regional growth visioning projects in two regions, this dissertation provides empirical evidence that for issues with high uncertainty, advanced scenario planning (ASP) methods are effective tools for helping decision makers to anticipate and prepare to adapt to change.
ContributorsQuay, Ray (Author) / Pijawka, David (Thesis advisor) / Shangraw, Ralph (Committee member) / Holway, James (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2011
Description
As a significant level of the reformation and transformation of our society has been provoked by environmental deterioration, ecological approaches in environmental design have drawn much attention from professionals as an alternative world view and also as a practical design approach. Particularly in landscape architecture, ecological understanding has been at the very core of the profession since its emergence and plays an important role in the decision making processes. While ecology supports the profession with an objective rationale, aesthetics plays another major role in providing various understandings about the aesthetic experience of people, which is rather subjective. However, the ways to seek the balance between them are still controversial. Furthermore, the conventional aesthetic value system of landscape appears to have limitations for guiding us to an appropriate appreciation, especially in dealing with newly emerging urban landscape patterns such as regeneration of post-industrial landscapes. Understanding these issues, there have been continuous attempts to describe the relation between ecology and aesthetics, suggesting that a new approach known as "ecological aesthetics," can bring us a new set of viewpoints seeking a reunion of nature and culture, and science and art. It asserts that "there is a type of beauty" in the landscape associated with its ecological health which people could aesthetically appreciate; and therefore, revealing the "hidden" beauty of nature in more visible ways should be the primary concern of today's ecological designers. This research mainly consists of extensive literature research and a case study on two landscape restructuring projects of post-industrial landscapes in Seoul, Korea. The literature research redefines the tasks of landscape architecture based on the idea of ecological aesthetics, and the case study seeks the potentials and limitations of current design projects. This research proposes a framework for landscape perception and reflects on the lessons that would be useful for better practice and research.
ContributorsMin, Byoung Wook (Author) / Cook, Edward (Thesis advisor) / Crewe, Katherine (Committee member) / Pijawka, David (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2011
Description
Bisexuality is a unique kind of sexual identity, as a gray area between heterosexuality and homosexuality. The piece You made up the Story and I Played with all the Parts explores bisexuality as a lived artistic experience based on my sexual journey within a society that advocates heterosexuality. The piece includes movement phrases and text derived from conversations with intimate partners, characters based on former partners, storytelling, a 1950s-style sex education video parody, and audience participation via dialogue. The creation of movement and dialogue manipulated heteronormative social stigmas into a canny social acceptance of bisexuality. The multifaceted nature of the piece provokes viewers to consider how sexuality is constructed socially through my own interpretation. As a result, the work suggests that bisexuality is a legitimate sexual identity and represents a culture within American society.
ContributorsBedford, Crystal (Author) / Corey, Frederick (Thesis advisor) / Dove, Simon (Thesis advisor) / Jackson, Naomi (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2011