Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Sustainable developments – Cross-cultural studies'
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Köhly, Nicolette. "An exploration of school-community links in enabling environmental learning through food growing : a cross-cultural study." Thesis, Rhodes University, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003416.
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Agricultural and educational researchers recognize the critical value of an integrated, multidisciplinary approach to education in building a food-secure world, reducing poverty, and conserving and enhancing natural resources. However, schools generally contribute little to communities in the context of food growing and environmental learning. The main objective of this qualitative research was to explore the role of school-community relationships in enabling environmental learning in the context of food growing activities. Findings suggest that the role of school-community links in enhancing environmental learning is more likely where community members are actively involved in school programs that have an emphasis on an experiential learning approach. However, this depends to a large extent on the availability of parents or concerned community members and their willingness to engage in voluntary school-based activities. Factors that could potentially strengthen the role of school-community links in supporting environmental learning include: allowing space for informal learning, mediating learning in civil society settings, ongoing facilitation by a committed coordinator, community buy-in and accountability, and addressing public interests through tangible benefits. A major challenge is to find an appropriate balance between social justice and practical food security concerns, while remaining true to ecological considerations.
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Axelsson, Sindi. "Kultur för en hållbar framtid? : En begreppshistorisk idéanalys av kulturens roll i diskursen om hållbar utveckling." Thesis, Karlstads universitet, Fakulteten för humaniora och samhällsvetenskap (from 2013), 2021. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kau:diva-84978.
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The study seeks to explore the assigned role of culture in the discourse of sustainable development. It combines a conceptual-historical analysis of the concept of cultural sustainability and sustainable development with an analysis of ideas with cultural policy models as a theoretical tool as ideal types. It addresses cultural sustainability as an essentially contested concept, maps a context of leading contributions to the meaning and conceptual history of cultural sustainability and sustainable development and applicates Fornäs four cultural concepts to address different meanings of cultural sustainability. The concept is then explored in its absence in A New European Agenda for Culture by the European Commission. The study also explores how the agenda is implemented in projects throughout the Swedish participation in the Creative Europe program and how it effects the meaning of cultural sustainability. The role of culture in A New European Agenda for Culture seems to be an instrumental view of the capacity culture possesses in bringing people together and to bring creativity into businesses, which also is represented in Creative Europe. The instrumental view of culture and the esthetic cultural concept that permeate cultural policy, may influence the ability for cultural sustainability to be accepted as the fourth pillar of sustainability.
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Johansson, Julia. "Power and Public Goods to the People : A cross-national study on the effect of democracy on climate change policy output." Thesis, Uppsala universitet, Statsvetenskapliga institutionen, 2018. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-352232.
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This thesis investigates in what way democracy affect climate change policy output. The aim of the study is to test the positive correlation between democracy and climate change policy output that Bättig and Bernauer (2009) found. A contribution is made in the form of a new database including 193 countries and a newly constructed climate change policy index. The method of regression analysis using ordinary least squares is utilized. The results confirm a significant and substantial positive relation between democracy and climate change policy output. Furthermore, the effect of civil liberties on climate change policy output seem to be stronger than the effect of political rights. The results underline the instrumental value of democracy for sustainable development. To protect and enforce democratic institutions in high emission countries is important to avoid interruption of social and economic development all over the world, due to the consequences of climate change. Additionally, the results speak in favour of democratization aid to avoid development of carbon dependent economies. Finally, they underline the importance of analysing the possible environmental impact of different kinds of aid. In sum the thesis shows that democracy can affect the likelihood of collective action and increase the provision of public goods in the form of ambitious climate change policies.
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Edmunds, Linsey S. "Transboundary Conservation: Sustainable Resources Management and Lake Skadar/Shkoder." Ohio University / OhioLINK, 2018. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1523877674015642.
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Beban, Ana, and Huseyin Ok. "Contribution of Tourism to the Sustainable Development of the Local Community : Case Studies of Alanya and Dubrovnik." Thesis, Blekinge Tekniska Högskola, Sektionen för teknokultur, humaniora och samhällsbyggnad, 2006. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:bth-1507.
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The Mediterranean is the world’s number one tourist destination and the biggest tourism region in the world, which has been visited by 260 million tourists in 1990 and what is more, it is expected that this number will increase to 655 million by the year 2025. In the last 10 years Croatia and Turkey became two of the most popular Mediterranean destinations, and joined the trend of a growing number of European cities that are promoting the development of tourism in order to overcome the post-industrial crisis, or as in the case of Croatia, the post-war crisis. Consequently, today both countries see tourism as their economic future. However, to achieve continuous and sustainable development of tourism, three interrelated aspects should be taken into consideration: economic, social, and environmental. The main question that we tried to answer is in what ways tourism is contributing to the sustainable development of the local community - based on the case studies of Alanya in Turkey, and Dubrovnik in Croatia. Both communities have experienced rapid development of the tourism sector in the last 10 years, which still seems to rise continuously. As a result, various impacts have occurred. Some of them are positive and there is an obvious contribution to sustainable development, while some of the impacts have negative influence on sustainability. Alanya is characterized by the 3S or mass tourism, while Dubrovnik is a world heritage city, which is offering cultural tourism. Notably, mass tourism in Alanya and cultural tourism in Dubrovnik have different impacts on a place. Although Alanya has the opportunity to diversify their tourism, mass tourism is still the main tourism activity. Since mass tourism generally involves a large number of people visiting a small area, it can change an area dramatically. What is interesting about Dubrovnik is that its tourism has suffered a series of devastating events throughout history, such as a major earthquake in 1979 and war between 1991 and 1995, which has left the local tourist economy in tatters. However, cultural tourism in Dubrovnik has been proven as a more sustainable type of tourism than the mass tourism in Alanya, which can be mostly seen through the environmental impacts. In Dubrovnik, tourism is used to increase environmental awareness of the local population, and moreover, the city has recognized the financial values of cultural sites, which are used for the protection and preservation of the heritage.While Dubrovnik is putting a lot of effort to preserve its culture and heritage, Alanya’s main aim is to attract more tourists. For that reason, Alanya is much more sensitive than Dubrovnik concerning the possible threats to become an overdeveloped and overcrowded destination. The rich cultural and historical heritage make Dubrovnik a special and unique tourist destination, and therefore it is facing less risk than Alanya that it will be replaced by the other destinations in the near future. What is important for both communities is to be aware that positive consequences of tourism can arise only if, and when tourism is carried out and developed in a sustainable way. In order to achieve positive correlation between tourism and the local community, an involvement of the local population is essential. In Dubrovnik, the local population has been already involved in the implementation of the tourism, but the potential is still not completely used and there is much more to be done. On the other hand, the priority for Alanya perhaps should be a development of the alternative types of tourism with the special focus on the cultural tourism, which would enable Alanya to become a year-round tourist destination and provide more jobs for the local population, as well as greater income for the community. Moreover, earned money could be used for the protection of the environment and cultural heritage, and involvement of the local population in the planning process would arguably lead to more sustainable tourism.Ana Beban +385 98 389 420 +385 1 3768 230 anabeban@yahoo.com Huseyin Ok huseyinok@gmail.com
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Blume, Richard, Miriam Karell, and Andrew Outhwaite. "Strategic partnerships for transformational change towards a sustainable society." Thesis, Blekinge Tekniska Högskola, Avdelningen för maskinteknik, 2006. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:bth-3705.
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Today, global socio-ecological problems are too complex and urgent for isolated actions, and cross-sector collaboration is increasingly required to generate transformational change towards a sustainable future. Partnerships between businesses and civil society organisations (CSOs) in particular have the potential to achieve the required change for sustainability. However, the ‘backcasting’ approach used in this study highlights a gap between current approaches and what partnerships might look like in a sustainable future. Research draws on literature, eighteen interviews and an action research project with Interface Europe. Results indicate that: 1) in the current paradigm shift, collaboration provides a competitive advantage; 2) individual, organisational and societal benefits of partnering are significant; 3) understanding the art and science of partnering is needed to make them work 4) organisational development and strategy affect partnership type and outcomes; 5) Corporate Social Responsibility efforts initiate cross-sector partnerships, but are responsive and fall short of being strategic; 6) articulation of visions for a sustainable future is rare and; 7) most partnerships are not aligned with core business strategies. In conclusion, dialogue across all sectors is advocated to co-create a sustainable future and The Natural Step Framework is recommended to align business planning and partnership strategies with sustainability.Andrew Outhwaite (arouthwaite@gmail.com) Miriam Karell (jazzminq@gmail.com) Richard Blume (rblume@gmail.com) Website http://partnerships4SSD.blogspot.com
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Bain, Roderick. "Towards a cultural politics of sustainability transitions : an exploratory study of artistic activism in Scottish community woodlands." Thesis, University of St Andrews, 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/10023/13148.
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Sustainability, and transitions away from currently prevailing unsustainability, is a project with political (economic) and cultural dimensions. Yet, the potential of a cultural political lens to investigate sustainability prefigurations is neglected by the academy. Moreover, existing cultural political conceptualizations are ontologically incoherent with green political perspectives. In this thesis, I articulate a revised notion of cultural politics consistent with normative visions of sustainability transitions, and validate the new approach through an exploratory investigation of Scottish community woodland organizations (CWOs). CWOs are alternative organizations troubling hegemonic land tenurial and forest management practices. However, these organizations are under- researched by sustainability scholars. The study shows how one CWO prefigures sustainability transitions, not least through distinctive woodland artistic activities. The thesis narrates threefold theoretical originality, and also extends empirical knowledge. Originality lies (first) in the practice-theoretical recasting of cultural politics theory, (second) in the synthesis concept describing practices of everyday artistic activism, and (third) in the green republican interpretive framework of sustainability subjectivities, against which cultural political performances may be evaluated. Empirical originality lies in the exploration of community woodlands. I argue that through practices of everyday artistic activism and more general woodland practices, woodland activists perform alternative conceptions of human-nature relations, intrahuman relations, and organization. Through these performances, woodland artistic activists enact a cultural politics of sustainability transitions, and make visible alternative modes of humans being in the world. The study contributes to theoretical debates concerned with cultural politics and artistic activism, with researching community organizing for sustainability transitions, and with interpretive approaches to sustainability knowledge production. Empirically, it extends alternative organizational knowledge, showing how sustainability subjectivities can be communicated through woodland practices.
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Campbell, Andrew, Jovin Hurry, and Maja Zidov. "Designing an Organisation to Activate Cross-sectoral Mass Collaboration Towards Sustainability." Thesis, Blekinge Tekniska Högskola, Sektionen för ingenjörsvetenskap, 2011. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:bth-2088.
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The purpose of this thesis is to design an organisation attempting to facilitate cross-sectoral, action-oriented collaboration to influence systemic change towards sustainability, and to create a Design Guide for achieving this objective. To answer this, we conducted a participatory action research with Smart Urbanism: London (SU:LDN) as a case study. This is a start-up organisation whose goal is to introduce the paradigm of complexity thinking to the planning, design and delivery of cities in order to create a new, responsive and sustainable urban fabric. They intend to faciitate a mass collaboration across the relevant sectors. The Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development (FSSD) was used as a lens for the overall research, the analysis of SU:LDN and the construction of the Design Guide.
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Wälitalo, Lisa. "Introductory methodological support for cross-sectoral municipal and regional strategic work for sustainability." Licentiate thesis, Blekinge Tekniska Högskola, Institutionen för strategisk hållbar utveckling, 2020. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:bth-20579.
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Municipal and regional actors, and in particular their respective governments, have key roles to play for society’s transition to sustainability, and many good efforts have been made. However, co-creating sustainable visions and effective governance towards such visions is a complex challenge and an overarching systems perspective is often lacking in the decision making. This is an often-forgotten piece in the sustainability discourse, which risks leading to ’solutions’ in one area that cause problems in another area. This, in turn, risks leading to unnecessary goal-conflicts, sub-optimizations, and slow progress. Despite good insights and actions on sub-parts of the sustainability challenge, capacity to coordinate efforts across sectors is generally missing. The overarching aim of this work was therefore to explore how practitioners, not the least leaders, in municipalities and regions can be sufficiently supported in their missions to enhance cross-sectoral strategic work for sustainability. The overall pursuit of this aim was undertaken through an action research approach with seven Swedish municipalities, two Swedish regions and one Finnish region. Initially, practitioners’ perspectives of what hinders effective sustainability transitions in their municipalities or regions were investigated through focus group discussions. In addition to many specific, context dependent barriers, a prevailing blindness to barriers that are directly linked to a lack of a sufficiently large systems perspective was found. Most of the action research was about testing an existing preliminary implementation model for multi-stakeholder co-creation and co-learning for strategic sustainable development. The model was evaluated in terms of strengths, weaknesses, barriers and enablers through observations, dialogues, round table discussions and a survey. The preliminary implementation model was generally appreciated by practitioners and was generally considered to fill its purpose. However, a need for additional support was pointed out, to assist continued work with the model in the absence of external expert facilitators. A key element of the asked-for support was ways to involve and engage top leaders into active participation already upfront. An approach to achieve this was explored in one of the participating municipalities. This included an initial assessment of current work and existing steering systems and their alignment with the preliminary implementation model, followed by a focus group discussion with political and administrative leaders. In combination with a comprehensive understanding of barriers to effective sustainability transitions, the result from the testing of the preliminary implementation model and the approach to engaging leaders have laid a foundation for methodological support for cross-sectoral municipal and regional strategic work for sustainability.
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Boumans, Maaike Madelon, Xiaojing Fei, and Silvia Martín. "Leverage Points for Effective Cross-Sector Collaboration in Eco-municipalities : Looking at Eindhoven Case Study." Thesis, Blekinge Tekniska Högskola, Sektionen för ingenjörsvetenskap, 2013. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:bth-4268.
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There is an increasing acknowledgement in Eco-municipalities – cities using the Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development (FSSD) as a tool for their planning process – of the need for Cross-Sector Collaboration, but the necessary expertise is often lacking. The purpose of this study is to better understand effective CSC in Eco-municipalities through indicating potential leverage points and inform the use of the FSSD in this specific context. An 'effective CSC' lens is constructed from general CSC literature and documents from Eco-municipalities. 187 barriers and enablers to effective cross-sector collaboration are identified from interviews with experts and interviews from the In-depth Case Study in the city of Eindhoven. An 'Importance Index' defined by alignment with Lens Factors is developed to select key indicators. These key indicators are clustered into 45 potential leverage points for effective CSC in Eco-municipalities. The use of these potential leverage points is checked in an In-depth Case Study through a Causal Loop Diagram in which nine leverage points were identified. Interrelations between these leverage points, unexpected results and methodology are discussed, conclusions are drawn, and further research is suggested.
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Kaufmann, Mirja, and Patrik Jakobsson. "Hållbar turism i charterparadiset : en studie av Sharm el Sheikh." Thesis, Södertörns högskola, Institutionen för ekonomi och företagande, 2012. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:sh:diva-16899.
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Denna studie syftar till, ur ett hållbarhetsperspektiv, att ge en djupare förståelse för hur turismen har påverkat destinationen Sharm el Sheikh i Egypten. Studiens resultat visar att destinationen Sharm el Sheikh har påverkats i stor omfattning av turismen, inom den socio- kulturella sektorn, den ekonomiska sektorn och miljösektorn, samtliga av de tre områden som enligt FN är definitionen av hållbar turism. Inom den socio- kulturella sektorn finns det flera problem; den bakomliggande orsaken till många av dessa problem är att ursprungsbefolkningen känner sig förbisedda och inte har getts möjlighet till att påverka utvecklingen av destinationen i en önskvärd omfattning. Den positiva påverkan turismen har haft på den socio- kulturella sektorn är en ökad förståelse för den lokala kulturen. Den största negativa effekten på den ekonomiska sektorn, av turismen på Sharm el Sheikh, har visat sig vara att 97 procent av intäkterna försvinner ut ur destinationen genom ett så kallat läckage. Detta beror främst på att det är utländska ägare av hotellen och all-inclusive anläggningarna. Den egyptiska staten har försökt att minska detta läckage genom att införa en lag som säger att en egyptier måste äga minst 49 procent av företaget, detta tycks dock inte ha gett önskat effekt utan istället har vissa egyptier agerat som målvakter mot en fast ersättning istället för ägandeskap i företagen. De miljömässiga problemen som turismen orsakat i Sharm el Sheikh är också flera. Slitaget på den marina miljön, vilket för många turister är en stor reseanledning till destinationen, är en ut av de största. Det har visat sig att turismen orsakar ett stort slitage på miljön genom förstörelse av korallreven, överfiske, sopor och utsläpp. För att bidra med kunskap till hur det påverkat just destinationen Sharm el Sheikh har dels fem intervjuer genomförts med människor som alla koppling till destinationen samt har litteratur och tidigare forskning använts även här.This study aims to, from a sustainable perspective; contribute to a deeper understanding of how tourism has affected the destination Sharm el Sheikh in Egypt. The result show that the destination has been affected to a large extent by tourism, within the socio cultural sector, the economic sector and the environmental sector, all within the UN’s definition of sustainable tourism. Within the socio cultural sector there are several problems; the main one behind many of which is that the indigenous people feel they have not been given the possibility to affect the destination as much as they would have wanted. The positive effect that tourism has had to the socio cultural sector is a greater understanding for the local culture. The largest affect in the economic sector, by the tourism in Sharm el Sheikh, has turned out to be that 97 percent of the income made by tourists disappears from the destination because of a so called leakage, the main reason being the foreign owners of the hotels and the all-inclusive establishments. The Egyptian government has tried to reduce this leakage by introducing a law that at least 49 percent of each company is owned by an Egyptian, although this does not appear to have given the wanted effect. Instead some Egyptians act like goalkeeper’s for a fixed fee instead of a real ownership within the companies. The environmental problems caused by tourism in Sharm el Sheikh is also several. The wear on the marine environment, which is a common reason to travel for many to the destination, is one of the largest. Tourism causes an excessive wear on the environment by destroying coral reefs, over fishing, solid waste and emissions. To contribute knowledge to how it affected the destination Sharm el Sheikh, five interviews were conducted with people who all have a connection to destination, and also literature and previous research has been used.
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Gripenholm, Anna. "Varför diaspora ingår i FN:s nya globala utvecklingsmål : En studie om vad diaspora som utvecklingsaktör kan innebära inom utvecklingsarbete." Thesis, Uppsala universitet, Teologiska institutionen, 2015. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-265950.
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This paper has concluded that the Diaspora contribute to the development of social, economic and political fields, which also means a high level of poverty reduction. This has been largely possible not least because of developments in computing and telecommunications, but also through the Diaspora's grassroots involvement. By being the only player who can get access to specific locations, and through their local knowledge the Diaspora can easily be seen as legitimate actors and therefore also play a unique role in peace processes. They are also not tied to bureaucratic structures on which they can act with direct effect. For example, they can assist quickly to different kinds of crisis situations, such as environmental disasters. Many governments and organizations are interested in cooperating with the Diaspora, but they also see many challenges with it. Further on, Diaspora can feel that their voices are not always heard. The essay has also reached a conclusion that a balance between the UN's two main conventions International Convention on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights increasingly may arise. This is thanks to the co-operations between liberal organizations and the Diaspora whose efforts may be in the private markets to create jobs and development, and their contributions in construction of social infrastructure. Other impacts on the organizational level may be towards more complex models of organization and partnerships, where not least the private sector may be included to a greater extent, which also demonstrates the enhanced globalization trends, where the private market is seen to be the answer to the solution of poverty. As regards to States and the role of various actors in these somewhat newer landscapes, they can also be a result from the processes of globalization and shifts in power from the state to the different levels at which non-state actors gets a stronger role. These processes may also have contributed to greater regionalization; forces which this paper found over time may be a competitor to a weak UN (and the EU) and therefore attract the Diaspora who also may find themselves to be better received there.
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Bette, Miriam. "Political tourism? : A critical social analysis on ecotourism and the indigenous struggle in the Ecuadorian Amazons." Thesis, Stockholms universitet, Romanska och klassiska institutionen, 2019. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:su:diva-168891.
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Enabled by a Minor Field Study scholarship from SIDA, this thesis examines indigenous involvement in ecotourism in the Ecuadorian Amazons. Indigenous people are the most marginalized social group world-wide, and coincidingly often live in resource rich pristine land. The oil-rich lands of the Amazons is called a resource frontier and is now increasingly important for the tourism sector, which comes to entail conflict of interests between the State and indigenous communities living in this area. Both the global call for sustainable development and national policies of “Buen Vivir” promotes ecotourism as an ecologically, socio-economically, and culturally sustainable activity. Scholarly opinion suggest that ecotourism generates potential tools of empowerment for the involved indigenous communities. With this backdrop and with the theoretical framework of the postcolonial debate, main opportunities and challenges are examined with the correlation of tourism ventures and socio-political implications in the local reality of indigenous organizations in Tena, Napo. Complex impediments are uncovered and analysed within the social field of indigenous ecotourism. The conviction of the study holds the call for attentive cross-cultural communication in order to continue the seemingly inevitable path of globalization in a more sustainable and non-discriminatory manner.
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Pan, Bingbing, Yanni Shizhou, and Carl Crone. "Preserving Intangible Cultural Heritage to Facilitate a Transition towards Sustainability : A Case Study of Tibet's Tourism Industry." Thesis, Blekinge Tekniska Högskola, Avdelningen för maskinteknik, 2007. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:bth-3052.
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The purpose of this paper is to give suggestions for how to preserve intangible cultural heritage (ICH) towards sustainability. We will use Tibet as a case study. Understanding the importance of ICH for tourism, we scrutinize ICH through the lens of strategic sustainable development (SSD) and use tourism as a leverage point to enter into a real life situation. ICH is the root of all cultural expression. Without guarding ICH there is little meaning to the physical culture that remains and, ultimately, tourism declines. ICH is a new topic and there is little research and few ideas as to how to guide its preservation. We offer recommendations which include identifying the stakeholders, educating them, adequate marketing research especially in tourism, investing on technology of dematerialization and searching substitutions under the guidelines of the Golden Rule within the social sustainability context. Our contributions is to build a vision of success for preserving Tibetan ICH via tourism within the constraints of the four sustainability principles, and then demonstrate some prioritized actions in order to develop towards sustainability.
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Gartz, Mira. "Desire, cows and resilience : Investigating motivations to steward a bio-cultural refuge in Northern Sweden." Thesis, Stockholms universitet, Stockholm Resilience Centre, 2018. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:su:diva-161296.
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In Sweden, centuries of agricultural modernization have marginalized locally adapted food cultures and food production systems. Yet in some places these practices and cultures survive, even in areas that lack conducive circumstances for agricultural production. These places are called bio-cultural refugia. Dominant agricultural practices are based on the production of only a few species which reduce biodiversity and the resilience of landscapes. Bio-cultural refugia provide important alternatives and pathways toward sustainable agricultural development, but are currently conceived of as living museums and are not well-connected to markets. This study investigates a re-emerging bio-cultural refuge in Northern Sweden, which revolves around an endangered native cattle breed, traditional recipes and an open landscape. It is unclear how bio-cultural refugia emerge or can persist. Recent literature on human adaptive capacity in social-ecological systems explains how sustainability outcomes depend on the dynamic interrelations of opportunities, abilities and desires. In this thesis I empirically investigate the role of desires to stewardship practices through a discourse analysis with roots in psychoanalytic theory. The aim of the thesis is to add to the understanding of how and why a bio-cultural refuge can emerge and persist in the Global North. I find that desires expressed by stewards in the bio-cultural refuge is mostly directed to people, and not to achieve ecological sustainability for its own sake. The most commonly articulated motivation is to care for people in the village by developing the local economy, contradicting a general conception of stewardship originating in pro-environmental values. Nevertheless, the informants do steward a bio-cultural refuge. This is explained by the coincidental opportunity to buy the native cattle and existing subsidies to keep them, and by abilities such as farming- and cooperation skills, creativity and entrepreneurial thinking. Stewardship of bio-cultural refugia is crucial for biosphere resilience. In order to maintain and develop existing bio-cultural refugia we must start to re-imagine what they can mean not only for ecologies but also for society and people, as they hold important knowledge on energy efficient food production. By creating opportunities that resonate with people’s needs and desires in particular places it may be possible to attract new stewards for bio-cultural refugia, and to (re)produce the ecological knowledge that is necessary for a sustainable and resilient future
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Isaka, Kiminori, Yurie Makihara, and Samuel Pereda. "Barriers and Assets for Sustainability in Japanese Organizations." Thesis, Blekinge Tekniska Högskola, Sektionen för ingenjörsvetenskap, 2010. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:bth-3630.
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In order for Japanese companies to move strategically towards sustainability, it is necessary to identify and understand the national and organizational factors that can hinder or facilitate this organizational shift. Literature reviews, workshops with a Japanese company, questionnaires, and interviews were conducted in order to identify these factors. The results showed that there are many common sustainability barriers between Japan and ‘western’ countries. In addition, there are some Distinctive Cultural Characteristics (DCCs) specific to Japan that have a significant impact on the success of an organization that wants to move towards sustainability. According to the findings, suggestions for sustainability practitioners are provided, which involve understanding the barriers and taking advantage of the DCCs in order to help the Japanese companies to move towards sustainability more effectively.
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Ånstrand, Melker. "Community-based tourism and socio-culture aspects relating to tourism : A Case Study of a Swedish student excursion to Babati (Tanzania)." Thesis, Södertörn University College, School of Life Sciences, 2006. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:sh:diva-715.
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This report is the result of the course, Environment and Development in the South, at University of Södertörn in Stockholm, Sweden. The report is about “new tourism” especially community-based tourism (CBT) and socio-cultural aspects relating to tourism. It is based on a literature study and a three weeks field course in Babati district in Northern Tanzania. The aim of this study is to describe how host peoples (communities) get affected especially, socio-culturally, by tourism. The aim is also to describe new tourism (especially CBT). A case-study of a Swedish student excursion to Babati is used as an example of how it affects a community (especially socio-cultural aspects) and if it qualifies as CBT.
The theory of the study is based on sustainable development (especially socio-cultural aspects) supported by the rules of World Tourism Organization (WTO) and United Nation Environmental Program (UNEP). The theory is connected to the principles of CBT and used in the analysis to judge if the Swedish student excursion qualifies as CBT.
The results show that the Swedish student excursion is in line with important principles of CBT, and therefore also in line with sustainable local development in some way. The major advantage with the excursion is the cross-cultural learning and the major problem is jealousness of benefit sharing according to the interviews done.
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Lundgren, Lovisa. "Konsten att odla konst och kultur genom stads- och samhällsplanering : en studie om att skapa bördiga förhållanden för kulturell infrastruktur." Thesis, KTH, Hållbar utveckling, miljövetenskap och teknik, 2018. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-228539.
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Trots att kulturens roll för hållbar utveckling erkänts av många inom såväl akademien som planeringsbranschen, är planeringen av praktiska förutsättningar för konst och kultur - kulturell infrastruktur – bristfällig och ibland helt utebliven i Sverige idag. Syftet med studien är därför att utforska vilka förutsättningar som kan skapas för kulturell infrastruktur genom stads- och samhällsplanering i Sverige. Kulturell infrastruktur innefattar såväl hårda (såsom fysiska lokaler) som mjuka strukturer (såsom ekonomiskt stöd). Studien inriktar sig på offentliga verksamheter (främst kommunalt och regionalt) men behandlar även hur privata konsultfirmor kan skapa förutsättningar för kulturell infrastruktur. Resultaten bygger på kvalitativa intervjuer med såväl konstnärer, konst- och kultursamarbetsorganisationer, arkitekter som tjänstepersoner på kommunal och regional nivå, samt på två enkätundersökningar med såväl konst- och kulturaktörer som planerare. Inom ramen för studien har även två exempelfall studerats – Fyrklövern i Upplands Väsby, samt Gatukonstfestivalen No Limit i Borås. Studien undersöker tre forskningsfrågor: 1) Vad för kulturell infrastruktur behövs i Sverige idag? 2) Vad hindrar etableringen av kulturell infrastruktur idag? 3) Vilken potential finns inom stads- och samhällsplanering att skapa förutsättningar för kulturell infrastruktur? Studiens resultat visar att de former av kulturell infrastruktur som främst behövs i Sverige idag är Tillgängliga mötesplatser, Information och kunskap, samt Nätverk och Finansieringsformer. De tre största hindren som studien identifierar är Brist på värdering och ansvar för konst- och kultur, Finansiering och Struktur och organisation. Samverkan visar sig vara den viktigaste potentialen inom stads- och samhällsplanering, såväl över nivåerna kommun-region-stat, som med konst- och kulturaktörer, övriga civilsamhället och näringslivet. Två andra stora potentialer visar sig vara Strategisk planering och Krav och investering. Här ingår användningen av planeringsverktyg såsom Cultural planning och kulturkonsekvensanalyser. Studien visar på vikten att kommuner våga ställa högre krav och använda sin position som långsiktig samhällsutvecklare med planmonopol för att möjliggöra för konst och kultur - exempelvis genom att tillämpa ett poängsystem likt det i Fyrklövern vid markprissättning. Samtidigt understryks värdet av att inta en möjliggörande roll genom att stötta gräsrotsinitiativ och ge dem långsiktiga förutsättningar att driva kulturell infrastruktur. För att även göra kulturella infrastrukturer tillgängliga och inkluderande krävs ett kritiskt förhållningssätt som uppmärksammar dolda normer. Resultaten av studien talar för komplexitetsteorins relevans för att förstå och beskriva kulturell utveckling. Teorin stöttar studiens resultat såsom vikten av att samarbeta över politikområden såsom bostäder och kollektivtrafik, samt vikten av att inte planera allt i detalj, utan att lämna rum för organisk vidareutveckling. Den förklarar också att det inte går att avkräva direkta och exakt mätbara effekter av konst- och kultursatsningar. Studiens resultat har slutligen sammanfattats i form av rekommendationer för såväl stads- och samhällsplanerare som politiska och privata beslutsfattare.Although the role of culture for sustainable development is recognized by many in the academy as well as in the urban and regional planning sector, the planning of practical conditions for arts and culture - cultural infrastructure - is inadequate and sometimes completely absent in Sweden today. The aim of this study is therefore to explore what conditions can be created for cultural infrastructure through urban and regional planning in Sweden. Cultural infrastructure includes both hard (such as physical premises) and soft structures (such as financial support). The study focuses on public activities (mainly municipal and regional) but also deals with how private consultancy firms can enable cultural infrastructure. The results are based on qualitative interviews with artists, arts and culture associations, architects as well as municipal and regional planners. Moreover, the study comprises of two questionnaires aimed at art and culture actors and planners and architects from the municipal, regional and private sector. Within the study, two sample cases have been studied - Fyrklöven in Upplands Väsby, and the Street art festival No Limit in Borås. The study explores three research questions: 1) What kind of cultural infrastructure that is needed in Sweden today? 2) What prevents the development of Cultural Infrastructure? 3) What potential lies in urban and regional planning? The results of the study show that the types of cultural infrastructure that are primarily needed in Sweden today are Available meeting places, Information and knowledge, as well as Networks and Funding. The three biggest obstacles identified is Lack of value and responsibility for art and culture, Funding and Structure and organization. Collaboration proves to be the most important potential in planning, both over the levels of municipal-region-state, as with art and culture actors and other civil society actors and businesses. Two other main potentials lie in Strategic planning, and Demands and investments. This includes application of planning tools such as Cultural Planning and Culture Impact Assessments. The study also highlights the importance that municipalities set higher demands and use their positions as long-term societal developers with monopoly in order to give room for art and culture – e.g. by applying a scoring system similar to that in Fyrklövern when pricing land. Moreover, the study points to the benefits and importance of supporting grassroots initiatives and providing them long-term conditions for driving cultural infrastructure. In order to make cultural infrastructures available and inclusive, a critical approach is also required that draws attention to hidden norms. The results of the study speak for the relevance of the complexity theory in understanding and describing cultural development. This theory support results of the study such as the importance of collaborating over policy areas, e.g. housing and public transport, the importance of not planning everything in detail and instead leave room for organic development. It also explains that one cannot directly or precisely quantify the effects of art and culture efforts. The results of the study are finally summarized as recommendations for urban and regional planners as well as political and private decision-makers.
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Rinaldo, Nina. "Hållbar kulturarvsturism i Visby : En diskursanalys av utvecklingsplaner för världsarvet." Thesis, Uppsala universitet, Institutionen för ABM, 2018. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-376451.
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Introduction: This is a two years master's thesis in Museum and Cultural Heritage Studies. The purpose of this thesis was to critically examine discourses of sustainable cultural tourism, and how different sustainability dimensions and ideals can coexist and be applied in practice. The starting point was a case study of the World Heritage Site “The Hanseatic town of Visby”, where the relationship between the conservation and the availability of the world heritage site was investigated. The research questions that were formulated were which actors and agendas that cooperate in the production of sustainable heritage tourism, how global and national guidelines for sustainable cultural tourism correspond to the local development work of the Visby world heritage city, which are the prominent discourses in the documents on sustainable heritage tourism in the world heritage city of Visby and how they are described as well as whether there is opposition between the conservation and the availability of cultural heritage, and what potential solutions to such opposition can look like. Theory: Prior to the study, previous research on sustainability, sustainable heritage tourism and the world heritage site Visby has been studied and used as a springboard for the thesis research questions. The theoretical perspectives that were used in the analysis consisted of theories regarding sustainable tourism, posthumanism, system theory and authorized heritage discourse, AHD. Method: The method chosen for the study was Laclau & Mouffes discourse analysis. This enabled a closer examination of the development plans and documents on sustainable heritage tourism produced by local, national and global actors. This was complemented with short interviews with thirteen stakeholders. Results and analysis: The result and analysis showed that several different actors and agendas are involved in the production of sustainable heritage tourism. However, there are difficulties in letting all actors get their voices heard and being part of the decision-making process, such as the local population, which are often disregarded. In addition, interaction between different actors could get better with more clearly defined areas of responsibility. The result also showed that, in particular, the concepts of sustainability and sustainable develop-ment were used in the documents about the development of the world heritage city of Visby, but the concept of sustainable heritage tourism was rarely used. The Swedish National Heritage Board and the region of Gotland are currently working on developing sustainable tourism strategies. At present, however, there is unclear correspondence between global guidelines and local application, where it is up to the municipalities to interpret and apply Unesco’s guidelines themselves, which may be difficult since the guidelines are quite general and vague. The study also showed that there are three clear discourses in the documents about sustainable heritage tourism. Under the overall discourse of sustainable tourism in Visby there is an ecological discourse, an economic discourse and a social discourse. In all documents, sustainable tourism is described as consisting of three discourses, but there is great freedom of interpretation in the use of the term. The discourses are also prioritized and described differently in different documents. Conclusion: The study's conclusion is that there are both oppositions and solutions. Both documents and interviews show that there are oppositions between ecological, economic and social interests in a place like the world heritage site in Visby. At the same time, there are also various suggestions for how the different dimensions can coexist and the actors were generally optimistic. Basically, it is about finding a balance between conservation and accessibility, taking into account both contemporary and future interests. Suggested solutions are to work further with information and knowledge, improve interaction between different actors, work with conservation-based development, productize heritage, better interaction with the local society, develop creative industries in historical buildings, and include visitors in the conservation work. However, most voices agree that the issue is difficult and complex and requires more knowledge and research.
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Florin, Ulrika. "Från idé till gestaltningsförslag : fallstudie från Projekt Konstpaus." Licentiate thesis, Mälardalens högskola, Akademin för innovation, design och teknik, 2010. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:mdh:diva-10679.
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Populär sammanfattning I vårt samhälle finns många offentliga konstverk. Dessa verk har kommit till på olika sätt men gemensamt är att konstverken i de allra flesta fall upphandlats med utgångspunkt i någon form av skiss. Skissen föregår det kommande konstverket och tjänar som underlag för beslut om upphandling av verket i full skala. Kunskapen om hur skisser kan tydas varierar och dessutom förekommer flera typer av skisser som var för sig fordrar olika sorters insikter av betraktaren (beslutsfattaren) för att kunna tolkas. Det övergripande temat för avhandlingen är kommunikationsprocesserna i relation till utvecklingen av 12 konstnärers gestaltningsförslag, tävlingsbidrag, samt hur juryns bedömning av dessa ser ut. Studien är baserad på material insamlat från de deltagande konstnärernas processer i Projekt Konstpaus, ett projekt delfinansierat av EU. Syftet med studien är att öka förståelsen för hur konstnärer utformar sina gestaltningsförslag, samt hur dessa förslag används och värderas. För att göra detta har tävlingsbidragen analyserats och konstnärerna intervjuats. Konstnärliga gestaltningsprocesser har synliggjorts liksom kommunikationen mellan beställare och konstnär.Bland annat har det framkommit att det finns en större potential att förmedla ett komplext gestaltningsinnehåll till en jury med stöd av digitala skisser, än vid användande av traditionella skisser. Det har visat sig att det kommande konstverkets kvaliteter blir synliga, men också att de brister som finns i gestaltningen tydliggörs i 3D- skisserna. Liksom teknologier tidigare i historien haft sin påverkan på bildutvecklingen, tolkningen och seendet har också övergången till digitala skisstekniker denna inverkan. Det har också visat sig att den text som tillhör respektive tävlingsbidrag haft avgörande betydelse för utfallet av jurybedömningen. Muntliga och skriftliga presentationer, bilagor och brev har påverkat juryn i sina beslut.Studien har också visat hur konstnärer kan tolka och förmedla resultat av en inventering och genom sina skisser förmedla dessa tolkningar. Konsten som tolkare av miljö, tid och tanke, kan gestalta information om en plats och i och med detta också fungera värnande för ett samhälles identitet i olika faser av en utveckling.Studien har bidragit med en djupare inblick i konstnärliga gestaltningsprocesser och hur de kan beskrivas samt i och med detta också en fördjupad förståelse i allmänhet av kreativa processer.Abstract The overall intention of this research project is to increase knowledge regarding design processes in general and artists' design processes specifically. The research is carried out as a case study based on the sketch processes that took place within Projekt Konstpaus (The Art Break Project). The sketches, or suggested designs, are the main objective for analysis and consideration in this study. Projekt Konstpaus (The Art Break Project) is a development project partially financed by the European Union (EU). The vision of the project embodied equality, multiculturalism and sustainable community development. The municipality of Strängnäs, Sweden was the leading partner in the project and provided the necessary support for the project idea, financing and infrastructure. The innovative aim of the project was to have various groups of people from different backgrounds working together in the same processes. The project team consisted of several artists and people with university educations, such as archaeologists, cultural geographers, biologists and geologists. The main objective of the project team was to provide the basis for the construction of a culturally inspired walking and bicycle path. Several rest spots/rest stops (“konstpauser”) designed with artistic character and influenced primarily by the municipality’s extensive nature/cultural heritage will be found along the path (which has been approved for construction). One initial task of the project team was to make an inventory of the nature and culture artifacts within the project area as a means of promoting nature/culture preservation for the benefit of future generations through information sharing. The walking/bicycle path will be accessible to all, with special provision for physically challenged individuals. The intention is to provide an environment for both quietude and physical recreation. The artists within the project embedded their artistic interpretations of the inventory and communicated them by suggesting artistic designs (sketches) related to the planned path. A jury then considered the sketches. Sketch, text, models and jury decisions (regarding the designs) are the objective of this research. The analysis of the material (sketches, texts, models and jury decisions, both oral and written) exposes the artistic processes. It is also the key to understanding the messages the artists intend to convey through their suggested designs. It is important to realize the significance (specific characteristics) of different types of sketches to be able to make decisions based on sketch materials. When sketches are examined, this awareness is central to making the right decision. In this study, three different types of sketches are examined, and the reading of each type is discussed. When studying the suggested designs, insight was gained regarding the differences between using computer-aided design and traditional sketch tools. Knowledge was also increased concerning the development of sketch techniques generally, and when using computers specifically. A dualism of sight and seeing in terms of the visualization of an idea exists, and it is discussed in the light of empirical examples. It is also placed in relation to important technological steps taken earlier in history. The use of Camera Obcura as a helpful tool for composition is one such step. The use of this tool impacted on how the inner view was changed and, with that, manners of expression as well. This is seen in the composition of paintings and the use of language. Our thinking is influenced by what we see, and that, in turn, influences our thoughts. In our contemporary western paradigm, our commonly-held definition of "seeing" is influenced by computer-gained visual representations and the processes used when producing them. The study confirms that while this particular type of sketch exposes the suggested design idea a bit clearer than traditional sketches, it also reveals errors in the suggested designs. I have also found that both written and spoken language routes the interpretation of sketch material. In terms of understanding how the suggested designs are chosen by a jury, this component (the spoken or written language) was seen in the empirical material revealed in this study. It was also theoretically confirmed. Together with an overall insight into the artistic processes, this study confirms the possibility of using artists in a development process. In this project, the process was to promote nature and culture preservation. It is valuable to integrate diverse areas of knowledge in the same process. This is true in both a social and an environmental sense. Finally, findings in this analysis confirm that artists are able to convey messages through their suggested designs (sketches). Those messages include interpretations of place, space, history and findings related to the project area.
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Weissnar, Ingrid Helene. "Urban poverty and sustainable development in Namibia : a case study of Keetmanshoop." Thesis, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/10210/12582.
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M.A. (Development Studies)Namibia is a land of great disparities with regard to income distribution and access to resources, which results in the experience of poverty by selected groups of her people. A superficial glance at poverty indicators in Namibia, such as Gross Domestic Product per capita, would not illustrate the depth of the problem that skewed income distribution and access to resources, as indicated by the Gini Coefficient and Human Development Index respectively, would highlight, for the different regions and communities within Namibia. This study aimed to investigate the extent of urban poverty in Keetmanshoop, as very little research had been undertaken in the southern parts of Namibia. Keetmanshoop faces an additional challenge in proactively planning for development alternatives, in view of the nearing completion of the Trans-Kalahari Highway, which will provide an alternative transport route between Gauteng (in South Africa) and Angola, and Zambia, via Namibia. It was anticipated that this would greatly reduce the amount of road traffic through Keetmanshoop and subsequently reduce the economic activity of the town. At the heart of this study were three broad aims, namely to establish a basis of information on the socio-economic conditions experienced by the residents of Keetmanshoop. Secondly, to determine the residents' attitudes towards, and perceptions of development opportunities and needs in the research area. Finally, it was aimed to identify the value of sustainable development as an appropriate development approach and thereby establish a theoretical framework for the contextualization of the development alternatives recommended for Keetmanshoop. In order to establish this base of information four research methods were utilised, namely informal in-depth-interviews with 18 community leaders, formally structured survey schedules with 500 respondents, follow-up personal interviews with 30 residents and a community essay competition...
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Jeong, Seonhee. "Assessing social capital and community involvement : social network analysis for the sustainable Amish community tourism development /." 2008. http://gateway.proquest.com/openurl?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:dissertation&res_dat=xri:pqdiss&rft_dat=xri:pqdiss:3314805.
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Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2008.Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 69-05, Section: A, page: 2013. Adviser: Bruce Wicks. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 238-263) Available on microfilm from Pro Quest Information and Learning.
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Kasongo, Emmanuel. "Are Africa's development failures due to cultural irrationality or the manner of development? : towards a theory of sustainable community development through communication." Thesis, 1999. http://hdl.handle.net/10413/7291.
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This study is an analysis of the implications of the manner of development, decision making and
communication therein on Africa's development performance since the 1950s. It sought to
establish the causes of development failures in Sub-Saharan Africa and to explore a way for
sustainable community development. Four hypotheses were set: • First, Africa's development failures are due to cultural irrationality, as many modernisation theorists have suggested, including Goran Hyden (1980: 3-4) who asserts that "Africa's
underdevelopment lies in the persistence of its pre-modern and pre-capitalist practices and
structures" and Ulf Himmelstrand (1994: 25) with his "European superiority" notion;
• Second, Africa's development failures are due to the exclusionary manner of development;
• Third, as justification for the exclusionary manner of development, community participation
in development could lead to disorder and paralyse governmental delivery capacities
(Huntington, 1991), and
• Lastly, community participation is untenable because communitarian values no longer exist in African communities.
This study is in two parts. Part One verifies the first two hypotheses through reviewing the
literature. Part Two verifies the last two hypotheses using field research data.Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of Natal, Durban, 1999.
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"Sustainable Communities: Through the Lens of Cherokee Youth." Doctoral diss., 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/2286/R.I.42043.
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abstract: This study argues for Indigenous-led community development as a salient field of study whereby both theory and practice would be held to the goals of decolonizing entrenched systems that suppress indigeneity, as well as embodying processes to rediscover, regain, and reimage aspects integral to Indigenous well-being and sustainability. Building on fieldwork with Cherokee youth in Stilwell, OK using community mapping and photovoice methods, it is argued that holistic and culturally relevant frameworks that fully situate such salient factors are needed when examining topics related to sustainability, well-being, and resurgence in Native American communities. Utilizing youth narratives, the study proposes a starting point for a Cherokee-led community development framework.Dissertation/Thesis
Project Booklet
Doctoral Dissertation Community Resources and Development 2016
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Aluko-Kpotie, Oluwabukola Omolara. "Staging sustainability : an indigenous performance approach to development communication." Thesis, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/2152/26612.
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The process of communicating notions of sustainable development in rural grassroots communities in the oil-rich region of southern Nigeria, West Africa, is complex and remains an on-going challenge. The material consequences of ineffective communication between community leaders and their constituencies are evident in the Nigerian communities examined in this dissertation, where poverty is pervasive and where a large majority of the population can neither read nor write in English. Popular performances, specifically theatre, are an essential medium of communication and information dissemination on community development projects in these communities. Theatre for Development (TFD), as these form of popular performances are called, was first introduced to the country in 1975. Its methodology is an adaptation of the techniques of Theatre of the Oppressed created by theatre scholar Augusto Boal. The method is aimed specifically at effecting dialogue, encouraging critical thinking, and motivating the desire for community development and social change. A number of challenges, however, limit the effectiveness of this method in achieving these goals. They include funding constraints, which restrict the amount of time TFD participants spend working in any community and limit follow-up visits to sustain integral dialogues begun during a post-performance discussion. In essence, funding restrictions limit the possibility of achieving sustainable community development. To address this key challenge of time constraints and to facilitate sustained development dialogue between community stakeholders, this dissertation examines the use of indigenous performance practices staged by local performers in rural grassroots communities. By creating and staging a TFD performance using structural elements of oriki, an indigenous performance practice in the region, I address a core research question: How do structures and contents of indigenous performance practices create forums for sustained dialogue and collective consciousness awakening? The answer to this question lays the foundation for sustainable development projects in Nigeria and offers a practical way to improve the effectiveness of TFD as a medium of information dissemination, a tool to facilitate sustained dialogue, and a community development approach in rural grassroots communities in the country.text
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Pickering, Kristin Leigh Morgan. "An anthropological response to the call for cultural midwives based on three case studies of communities." Thesis, 2002. http://hdl.handle.net/1957/28466.
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The ecological crisis, recognized by scientists as well as an increasing number of lay people
urges a response from a variety of disciplines. The consideration of sustainability requires the help
of a variety of disciplines, including anthropology, which can contribute an ability to identify
cultural patterns that impede cultural change towards sustainability, skills to describe culturally
appropriate responses to situations, and capabilities to cultivate changes in lifestyles as aspired to by
the group. I tell the story of three groups focused on sustainable communities. I narrate these with a
postmodern approach. In the case studies, I combined techniques from applied anthropology (rapid
appraisal, participant observation, focus groups, and interviews) with postmodern techniques
(consideration of context, shared authority, multi-vocality, and co-creative ethnography).
This study explores the effectiveness of facilitating changes through the use of anthropology and
empowering participants so they can continue to make changes. The study also explores the
effectiveness of combining applied and postmodern techniques. One example of this, and the
hallmark of the project, is the photographic, co-creative ethnography, which, representing the work
of one local group, invited imagined future sustainable lifestyles, and continued to build community
bonds between participants. The collaborative ethnography engaged individuals in the ethnographic
process, inviting them to contribute their voices and images.
In the case studies, I explored questions such as what are cultural obstacles to living a sustainable
lifestyle, what specific cultural strengths can foster an ecological identity, and what can applied
anthropology offer non-governmental organizations working on similar topics? I also explore emic
definitions of what is the community, what are its needs, and what is sustainability? Further,
objectives include reinvigorating community bonds, testing the assumption that public participation
in the process is more effective than a process dictated by an outside expert, and exploring the dual
role of participant and researcher. I compared the two local case studies of communities of interest
in community and sustainability with a national organization working similarly towards
sustainability.
After analysis of my research questions, I discuss the potential for the applied anthropologist as
midwife based on my experiences with the case studies. The applied anthropologist attempts to
respond to local level concerns and issues about the environment and reducing human impact, while
building community. The action-oriented approach is similar to that of a midwife, which facilitates
empowerment of the community involved to birth a more ecological identity. The approach has
eight phases (recognition of a need, contact, dialogue, definition of needs, definition of the
community, developing a plan of action, implementation, and evaluation), which provide
opportunities for changes to occur in the behaviors and beliefs of the participants. The approach
incorporates systems thinking to comprehend complex situations and to bring systematic approach
to the process. The applied anthropologist as midwife fosters development of a sustainable
community identity through the unique process.Graduation date: 2003
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Eschbach, Philipp. "The effect of entitlement and patronage on empowerment : a case study on a development project in Bangladesh." Diss., 2018. http://hdl.handle.net/10500/25544.
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Text in EnglishSustainable development empowers poverty-affected people and communities by strengthening their capabilities. HRDP, a Bangladeshi development agency aims to achieve this goal by offering literacy classes and primary school edu-cation. In recent years, they have encountered obstacles to their empowerment strategy. Socio-cultural mediated expectations and moral obligations impeded the capability approach. This case study seeks to research the effects of entitlement and patronage on the empowerment of people in one of their projects. To be able to understand these structures and to determine possible implications for the asset-based ap-proach, 14 interviews and two focus-group discussions with local stakeholders have been conducted in the village of Gabtali, Bangladesh. Findings revealed that people desire to invest their own assets to increase their well-being, but expect assistance for this to happen. The study suggests align-ing expectations and obligations with the capability approach and also suggests a few ideas how this could be accomplished.
Development Studies
M.A. (Development studies)
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King, Trevor George. "A burning question? : fire, livelihoods and sustainability in the Navosa region of the Fiji Islands : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Development Studies at Massey University." 2004. http://hdl.handle.net/10179/1299.
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The relevance of the sustainable development approach for land conservation in tropical hill regions is often assumed, but is seldom evaluated against local realities. This study analyses the causes of land degradation and unsustainability in the seasonally fire-prone region of Navosa, Viti Levu, Fiji Islands. A complex and multi-layered set of connections exists between livelihood strategies and the environment in this region where fire is used as a tool. Traditional institutions governing land management have been undermined, however, and the sustainability of the vanua (or land-people nexus) is threatened. Despite their reliance on fire, local participants reported uncontrolled burning (caused by a minority of villagers) and deforestation leading to land degradation, lower productivity and damage to fisheries. Degradation was increasing parallel with escalating human and animal populations, despite relatively equitable, resilient and livelihood-enhancing cultural institutions. Non-indigenous models of resource use, imposed by colonial and neocolonial authorities, have exacerbated land degradation and compromised indigenous resource management. Traditional tenure and leadership are impeded, leading to inequities in access to land as populations increase, and leaving local leaders unable to enact conservation. An intrusive market-based economic system encourages increased resource exploitation with little regard for environmental sustainability. A traditional model of agroarboriculture and indigenous development in the form of still-observable (but largely disused) irrigated terraces suggests the relevance of a sustainable alternative based on indigenous knowledge. To achieve sustainable development in Navosa, the emphasis should be on socio-environmental amelioration rather than on economic development (which exacerbates degradation), and to this end, local participants expressed a desire for particular conservation strategies.
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Carlson, Jennifer D. "Unruly energies : provocations of renewable energy development in a northern German village." Thesis, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/2152/26865.
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This dissertation asks how inhabitants of a sustainable village are living out Germany’s transition from nuclear to renewable energy. The sustainable village remains a locus of optimistic attachments for renewable energy advocates, who argue that a decentralized power grid will enable people to more directly participate in power production and politics as “energy citizens.” Yet while rural areas have become sites of speculation, innovation and growth, few rural-dwellers are enfranchised in (or profiting from) the technoscientific projects in their midst. I draw upon 13 months of fieldwork in a northern German village transformed by wind turbines, photovoltaics and biofuels to consider why, asking what kinds of public life flourish in the absence of democratic engagement with renewable technologies. This ethnography engages the village as multiply constituted across domains of everyday life, including transit, farming, waste management, domestic life, and social gatherings. I found that environmental policy, everyday practices, and the area’s material histories combined to produce ontologies—senses of what exists—that circumscribe citizen participation in the energy sector, affording more formal opportunities to men than to women, and privileging farmers’ interests in plans that impacted the larger community. These findings illuminate how many villagers become ambivalent toward the project of the energy transition and disenfranchised from its implementation. Yet many who were excluded from formal participation also engaged with renewable technologies as they sensed out their worlds, using tropes of sustainable energy and technoscientific materials to place themselves in this emerging energy polity. Their everyday worldmaking brimmed with what I call unruly energies, structures of feeling that registered more as affects than as discourse. In the village, these took form as sensory disturbances, disquiet among neighbors, technoscientific optimism and skepticism toward environmental policy. These affective modes of attention, investment and participation were vital aspects of public life that shaped the transition’s unfolding. They exceeded liberal models of renewable energy citizenship, which presume that socioeconomic interest and environmental commitment are universal among citizens. In this way, unruly energies compel more nuanced attention to the multiple, contingent, site-specific ways in which citizenship takes form in the making of eco-capitalist energy infrastructure.text
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Pennerup, Nilsson Alexander. "Agera hållbart : Hur en påverkar vuxna gamers konsumentbeteenden genom design." Thesis, 2021. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:mau:diva-44465.
Full textAbstract:
Studien undersöker hur design kan främja positiva beteendeförändringar för vuxna gamers, med fokus på hållbarhet. Gaming är den snabbast växande nöjesindustrin och med det ökar omsättningen av tillbehören gamers använder. Elektroniskt avfall är ett snabbt växande problem där användarna inte ser hur sin roll som konsumenter kan göra skillnad, samtidigt som de pressar tillverkarna till att agera mer hållbart. En designprocess påvisar hur motivation från normativ och social press kan facilitera interaktioner till att forma användarens beteenden positivt. Genom en identifierad ovilja om att förändras från både nuvarande tillverkare och konsumenter av gamingrelaterade tillbehör, påvisar studiens resultat att det inte räcker med att fokusera på hållbara alternativ för att facilitera ett hållbart beteende. Ur designprocessen framställs ett designbidrag, Kolla klockan, som exemplifierar hur en designer kan arbeta med användarbeteenden som verktyg för hållbar utveckling, istället för mer traditionella metoder som vanligtvis föreslås i en sådan process.This study examines how design can promote positive behavioral change for adult gamers, focusing on sustainable behaviors. Gaming is the fastest growing segment within the entertainment industry and the growth is contributing to a raised number of accessories gamers consume. Electronic waste is a growing concern where the user doesn’t see themselves as a part of the problem, but at the same time pressure the manufacturers to act sustainable. A design process shows how motivation from norms and social pressure can facilitate interactions that shapes the user behavior in a positive way. By identifying an unwillingness to change from both the manufacturers and consumers of gaming accessories, the study shows that it is not enough to develop sustainable alternatives if one aims to facilitate a sustainable behavior. From the design process the study creates a design proposal, Kolla klockan, that exemplifies how a designer can work with sustainable development from the use of behavioral change as a tool to do so, instead of the more traditional methods more commonly promoted within the field of design.
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Thyni, Emma. "Skapa mervärde på restmaterial : med Material Driven Design." Thesis, 2020. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:mau:diva-24074.
Full textAbstract:
Varje år produceras mer än 10 miljoner ton kaffe i världen (www.ico.org) och Sverige är världens näst störst kaffedrickande nation med ca 80 ton kaffe på år, vilket motsvarar i snitt 3,5 koppar kaffe per person dagligen (www.kaffeinformation.se). Med en stor produktion tillkommer också en stor mängd avfall. När kaffebönor rostas får man ett restmaterial av kaffebönans skall, så kallad kaffechaff. I denna studie undersöks om detta spillmaterial vid kafferosterier kan få ett mervärde genom material driven design. Syftet är att minska avfall och skapa ett nytt material. Arbetet rör sig i områdena materialitet och hållbar utveckling och metod används Material Driven Design method (Karana et al., 2015) samt Material Driven Design for Sustainability (Bak-Andersen, 2018). Resultatet blev tre olika biologiskt nedbrytbara material, bland annat ett som kan användas som till engångsartiklar eller förpackningsmaterial. Studien visar på möjligheter att ge mervärde på restprodukter inom kafferosteri och skulle kunna användas som möjligt underlag till att se om spill från andra industrier skulle kunna få ett mervärde.Every year, more than 10 million tonnes of coffee are produced in the world (www.ico.org) and Sweden is the world’s second largest coffee drinking nation with about 80 tonnes of coffee a year, which corresponds to an average of 3.5 cups of coffee per person daily (www.kaffeinformation.se). With a large production there is also a large amount of waste. When coffee beans are roasted, you get a residual material from the coffee bean shell, so-called coffee chaff. In this study, this waste material are investigate whether it can get added value through material driven design. The purpose is to reduce waste and create new material. The work moves in the areas of materiality and sustainable development, and the method is the Material Driven Design method (Karana et al., 2015) and Material Driven Design for Sustainability (Bak-Andersen, 2018). The result was three biodegradable materials, including one that can be used as a disposable or packaging material. The study shows opportunities to add value to residual products within coffee roasters and could be used as a possible basis to see if waste from other industries could gain added value.
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Nikolakis, William. "Determinants of success among Indigenous enteprise in the Northern Territory of Australia." 2008. http://arrow.unisa.edu.au:8081/1959.8/48854.
Full textAbstract:
This study seeks to improve the understanding of Indigenous Enterprise Development (IED) efforts undertaken on communal Indigenous land in the Northern Territory of Australia. Success in enterprise may support the achievement of a range of social, political and economic objectives for Indigenous peoples. The thesis offers a contribution to knowledge and literature on IED by bringing understanding to the meaning of success for Indigenous enterprise, identifying those factors that contribute to its success as well as presenting the barriers that prevent it. This study is the most recent rigorous scholarly work of IED on Indigenous land in the Northern Territory. The focus of this research is on Indigenous commercial enterprise development at a communal and individual level. Indigenous enterprise development is said to be different from other forms of enterprise development because of the legal rights of Indigenous peoples and because of particular cultural attributes, such as different perceptions of property rights in the Indigenous context and an emphasis on values like collectivism and sharing. These differences are found to shape notions of success and approaches to development. The research reviews literature in the international and domestic context on Indigenous economic development and Indigenous entrepreneurship. It also draws from internal and external documents of relevant institutions and news sources. These sources and findings are then built upon with fifty six in-depth, face-to-face interviews of selected participants who are experts or opinion leaders on IED in the region. These participants represented a variety of interest groups such as the government, academia, the Indigenous community and businesses from both Indigenous and non-Indigenous cultures in the Northern Territory. This study used a qualitative research approach for data collection and analysis. The researcher utilized a qualitative data analysis method, including the reporting of field notes, preparation of field notes into transcripts, coding of data, display of data, the development of conclusions, and creation of a report. This study identified five categories of barriers to successful enterprise development on Indigenous land in the Northern Territory. These barriers are: high levels of conflict and mistrust, socio-cultural norms and values that can work against success, a lack of human capital, a poor institutional framework and economic and structural factors. There were four categories of factors found that support the development of successful Indigenous enterprise: developing business acumen, integrating culture within the enterprise, separating business from community politics and greater independence from government. While definitions of success varied across the region there were common objectives for Indigenous enterprise, such as eliminating welfare dependency and maintaining a link to land. Ultimately, success for Indigenous enterprise was deemed to be business survival, but in ways that are congruent with each Indigenous community?s values. The findings in this research emphasize that certain cultural attributes may act to constrain successful enterprise development, but can be integrated into an enterprise through changes in enterprise structure, or practice, to support successful economic outcomes. The research also emphasizes the importance of institutional settings on human capital and successful enterprise development in the region. This study?s findings can potentially guide and inform further research in this field. The research develops a number of policy recommendations which offer potential support to policymakers in addressing the important social problem of Indigenous disadvantage through enterprise development initiatives.This study seeks to improve the understanding of Indigenous Enterprise Development (IED) efforts undertaken on communal Indigenous land in the Northern Territory of Australia. Success in enterprise may support the achievement of a range of social, political and economic objectives for Indigenous peoples. The thesis offers a contribution to knowledge and literature on IED by bringing understanding to the meaning of success for Indigenous enterprise, identifying those factors that contribute to its success as well as presenting the barriers that prevent it. This study is the most recent rigorous scholarly work of IED on Indigenous land in the Northern Territory.
Thesis (PhD)--University of South Australia, 2008
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Nguyen, Tien Cuong. "Work Integrated Learning: A Case Study of Chinese Students in an Australian University." Thesis, 2020. https://vuir.vu.edu.au/41794/.
Full textAbstract:
International students make a major contribution to Australia, financially and through adding to human capital for a skilled workforce. Given the significant role that international students play in Australia's education, their employment and an understanding of their related issues requires further examination. In response to the demand for greater employability and graduate attributes, Australian institutions have increasingly embedded Work Integrated Learning (WIL) into their curricula. In order to conduct successful WIL programmes, it is of great importance to gain an insight into the experience and perceptions of key stakeholders, especially international students who are a valuable student cohort in Australian Universities.
In designing WIL models, Australian institutions largely assume that students, regardless of their background and context, desire the same certain outcomes which are often common to most, a "one size fits all‟ solution. To date, the effectiveness of a uniform application of WIL models has attracted little attention, especially from the perspectives of international students who, on completion, return to their country where they encounter different working environments, and business protocols.
This study employs a qualitative approach to data collection and analysis and uses two instruments for collecting data, namely an online survey and semi-structured interviews. The two groups of stakeholders who participated in the study were Chinese graduates from Victoria University (VU) who undertook some form of WIL or work placement in Australia as part of their coursework, and VU staff who were engaged in the management, supervision, development or delivery of WIL programmes. Chinese students represent the largest international student cohort at VU; therefore, this particular student cohort was identified as a key focus of the study.
This study explores and interprets the experiences and perceptions of international students and staff from VU regarding the value of WIL programmes in terms of graduate attributes, graduate employability, challenges and institutional support. It reveals several main themes regarding the experience and perceptions of WIL by VU international students and staff. These themes revolve around the contribution of WIL to the development of international students‟ language, interpersonal skills, technical knowledge, cultural awareness, and personal attributes. For each theme, the study analyses the expectations of international students, the development of relevant skills through WIL, and the extent to which these skills are transferrable to the work settings in their home country.
The study also examines the challenges that international students face as a result of their international student status, the lack of prior work experience, the lack of an understanding of the Australian labour market, and their financial constraints. It also explores the extent to which the University provides support for WIL and provides suggestions to improve the development and implementation of WIL programmes. These themes are discussed with specific reference to VU's Chinese student cohort.
Graduate employability for international students is the running concept that informs and connects emerging themes for the key findings of the study. It is found that VU's placement models have, to a large extent, been implemented in alignment with the University's core values and missions for graduate employability. However, mostly the same approach has been used to facilitate the delivery of WIL to students while the practical needs and circumstances of international students are not always attended to.
The findings of the research reinforce those of previous studies, which acknowledge the positive benefits of WIL to the outcomes of international graduate students. On the other hand, it also raises concerns over the multiple challenges that international students face during their WIL participation. These include language and communication barriers, inadequate knowledge of the workplace, cultural differences, and international student status. The study shows that there are some differences between the employment culture in Australia and China that suggest the WIL models for international students in general, and Chinese students in particular, by VU should be developed and implemented with more attention to the particular needs of students and take into account their possible context of employment following their graduation. The findings indicate that more support needs to be allocated to international students since the challenges they face are specific in nature, differing from those needs of domestic students.
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Amerena, Massimo. "Something before, that still remains: experiential treaty-making on Kulin Country." Thesis, 2020. https://vuir.vu.edu.au/42145/.
Full textAbstract:
Narrm, later named Port Phillip Bay by colonisers, shapes Aboriginal politics. This thesis is a place-based
examination of the forms of treaty-making practised around Narrm. It aims to deepen the understandings of
settler-Australians and historians of the political sophistication of the Kulin federation, a group of allied
Aboriginal nations whose Country covers what is now central Victoria, Australia. Drawing on Aboriginal oral
histories and colonial primary sources, as well as anthropological and archaeological scholarship, I use
knowledge of Kulin culture and philosophy to explore, imagine, and decolonise the history of their politics from
14,000 years ago to the end of 1835. The forms of treaty explored in this thesis have been continuously practised
for thousands of generations and exist within, and as an expression of, Kulin law. This thesis is divided into two
parts, each consisting of two chapters. Part I examines the Kulin’s pre-colonial traditions of treaty-making,
showing political relations were performed with Country, the non-human world and humans. Part II builds on
this and shows that when encountering settlers in 1835 the bayside Kulin continued, and evolved, their treatymaking traditions.
To describe these forms of Kulin political agreement-making, highlight Kulin agency and the political role of
women, I introduce the term experiential treaties. An experiential treaty exists within the Indigenous oral
tradition and is a political accord between a sovereign Aboriginal group and another party, be they a
neighbouring Aboriginal clan, a refugee, a group of settlers as guests, or the non-human world of Country and
animals. Exploring the Kulin world through experiential treaties centres Aboriginal political agency and selfdetermination. It is important to highlight that the practice of treaty-making does not have to include the modern
or colonial settler-state. Experiential treaties are characterised by reciprocity and repetition, as they require
iterative renewal through personal interactions between host and guest.
With an imaginative approach based on Greg Dening’s historical methodology, I explore experiential treatymaking on Kulin country to decolonise Victorian history and highlight the silences and absences within current
revisionist historiography of 1835. Rather than analyse the founding of Melbourne, I turn to the underresearched and unacknowledged political agency of the Waddawurrung living around present-day Geelong.
Through exploring interactions with John Batman and his crew, I examine the exclusion of women from the
narrative of 1835. Re-interpreting the political relations between the Waddawurrung and settlers camped at
Indented Head shows that Kulin political traditions were continued, not disrupted, through what I term the
Geelong Treaty based on the principle of iterative renewal and reciprocity.
This thesis has significance in expanding the narrative of 1835 to include Kulin women and the Waddawurrung,
but it also gives new depth to understandings of modern treaty-making and Indigenous activism in Victoria. As
Wiradjuri legal scholar Mark McMillan states on the history and custom of Indigenous treaty-making: “There
was something before, that still remains”.
Key Words: treaty-making, Geelong Treaty, Kulin Treaty, Batman Treaty, Aboriginal treaties, decolonisation,
Victorian colonisation, experiential treaties, Indigenous sovereignty, settler-colonialism, Kulin agency,
Waddawurrung (Waddawurrung, Wathawurrung), Narrm (Port Phillip Bay), Beangala, Indented Head, William
Buckley, cross-cultural lawful relations, environmental history, the Yarra camp.
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Barclay, Vaughn. "Patterns Perceptible: Awakening to Community." Thesis, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/10214/3656.
Full textAbstract:
This paper interweaves narrativized readings and experiential narratives as personal and cultural resources for counterhegemonic cultural critique within our historical context of globalization and ecological crisis. Framed by perspectives on epistemology, everyday life, and place, these reflections seek to engage and revitalize our notions of community, creativity, and the individual, towards visioning the human art of community as a counternarrative to globalization. Such a task involves confronting the meanings we have come to ascribe to work and economy which so deeply determine our social fabric. Encountering the thought of key 19th and 20th century social theorists ranging from William Morris, Gregory Bateson, and Raymond Williams, to Murray Bookchin, Martin Buber, and Wendell Berry, these reflections mark the indivisible web of culture in the face of our insistent divisions, and further, iterate our innate creativity as the source for a vital, sustainable culture that might reflect, in Bateson’s terms, the pattern that connects.