Digital Commons Network^™

Smart Growth In Dumb Places: Sustainability, Disaster, And The Future Of The American City, Lisa Grow Sun

BYU Law Review

One of the many lessons of the recent earthquake and tsunami in Japan is that we cannot mitigate disaster risk through building codes and other structural solutions alone. Location is key to a community’s natural hazard vulnerability. Consequently, the most far-reaching and important question for disaster mitigation today is where we will channel the growth that will be needed to accommodate our expanding population. Yet, both environmental scholars and policymakers are promoting sustainability initiatives that will channel our country’s future growth into existing urban areas that are already extremely vulnerable to disaster. Indeed, many of these policies - and the …

Adapting To Climate Change While Planning For Disaster: Footholds, Rope Lines, And The Iowa Floods, Robert R.M. Verchick, Abby Hall

BYU Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Gastonia Novels And Ecofeminism: Rereading The Works Of Fielding Burke Grace Lumpkin And Myra Page., Amanda Leigh Aubrey

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines Fielding Burke's Call Home the Heart, Grace Lumpkin's To Make My Bread, and Myra Page's Gathering Storm through the lens of ecofeminism, an interdisciplinary theory that contributes the necessary insight into the link between the abuse of power on personal, political, and economic levels that underlies the human oppression and environmental exploitation experienced by the novels' characters and communities. A resurrection of the Gastonia novels through the framework of ecofeminism will contribute to the scholarly discourse regarding this maturing theory as well as intensify the critical body of work concerning the Gastonia novels themselves.

This …

Changes In New Hampshire’S Republican Party: Evolving Footprint In Presidential Politics, 1960-2008, Dante J. Scala

The Carsey School of Public Policy at the Scholars' Repository

This brief describes a series of dramatic changes in New Hampshire's political landscape over the past four decades. Examining presidential elections from 1960 to 2008, author Dante Scala uncovers a series of significant shifts in New Hampshire's political geography at the county level. He reports that historically Republican counties Grafton and Merrimack have both tilted Democratic consistently in recent decades and that New Hampshire has become less Republican overall. All of these changes have impacted not just general elections in New Hampshire, but the Republican presidential primary as well.

N.H. Voters Have Become Less Republican Since 1960s, New Carsey Institute Research Shows, Lori Wright

Media Relations

No abstract provided.

Weaving Virtual Service Networks Into Regional Cities: “Nurture The Body Here, And Offer The Mind Anywhere” – Anecdotes From The Coffs Harbour Community Forums To Minimise Carbon Usage And Maximise Regional Innovation, Kurt W. Seemann

Kurt W Seemann

Almost all cities around the world are looking for ways to ease the pressure upon them where caused by a migratory drift from rural and regional areas into to the economic and service hubs that they offer. At the same time, rural and regional areas are losing the idyllic appeal of a “country” or “rural- coastal” lifestyle due to issues related mostly to access to services and employment security. During 2011, the community of Coffs Harbour engaged in a series of public forums to discuss ideas for how to attract more professional people into the area (especially people with capacity …

American Environmentalism And The City: An Ecosystem Services Perspective, Dorothy C. Ibes

Cities and the Environment (CATE)

This study traces the evolution of eight influential American environmental organizations and their relationship with, and conceptualizations of, ‘the city’ and ‘nature.’ Guided by the ecosystem services framework, the organizations’ urban-based initiatives were analyzed to determine what types of ecosystem services they emphasized and what the implications are for cities and environmental health. Results from historical, content, and interview analyses reveal the potential of the ecosystem services framework to unite the interests and efforts of multiple stakeholders, including urbanists, ecologists, economists, and environmentalists in a way that enhances both urban quality of life and conservation efforts overall.

Creating Resilient, Sustainable Local Governments: Merging Human Resource Management And Emergency Management, Stacey Cole Mann

Theses and Dissertations

In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Goodman and Mann (2008) found that many locales along the Mississippi Gulf Coast did not have plans that addressed human resources (HR) issues in the aftermath of a disaster, and many vital employees were not included in the emergency planning process. The authors concluded that if involved in planning, HR managers could address typical HR issues such as compensation, retention, recruitment, and task re-orientation that become more difficult following a disaster. The purpose of this study was to examine the level of involvement of HR departments in the emergency planning process as well as …

December Agenda, Wku Graduate Council

Graduate School

Meeting agenda.

Meeting Minutes, Wku Graduate Council

Graduate School

Meeting minutes.

The Garden Is Always Greener..., Billy Hall

Catalyst: A Social Justice Forum

This essay builds upon a case study of community gardening in Miami to explore the extent to which these gardens are contributing to, and possibly triggering, processes of gentrification within low to lower-middle income neighborhoods. Through a literature review of recent urban planning policy and development in Miami and relevant discourse on the neoliberalization of food, food politics, food justice activism, and gentrification, I situate Miami’s gardens within a complex, multi-scalar web of ideas and processes. I show how the interaction of these forces, varying dramatically with respect to place, is implicit in the motivations for each garden’s development and …

Rates Of Public Health Insurance Coverage For Children Rise As Rates Of Private Coverage Decline, Michael J. Staley, Jessica A. Bean, Jessica D. Ulrich

The Carsey School of Public Policy at the Scholars' Repository

This brief uses data from the 2008, 2009, and 2010 American Community Survey to document changes in rates of children’s health insurance, between private and public. The authors report that, nationally, private health insurance for children decreased by just under 2 percentage points, while public health insurance increased by nearly 3 percentage points. Rural places and central cities witnessed significant declines in rates of private health insurance for children in nearly every region. Rates of public insurance coverage rose in every region and place type. Children’s health insurance coverage overall continued to rise in 2010, increasing by 0.6 of a …

Carsey Institute: Private Health Insurance Coverage Rates For Children Continue To Decline As Families Struggle With Recession, Lori Wright

Media Relations

No abstract provided.

Do You Believe The Climate Is Changing? Answers From New Survey Research, Lawrence C. Hamilton

The Carsey School of Public Policy at the Scholars' Repository

This brief explores how political views influence Americans’ understanding and perception of science. The research is based on a national version of the Community and Environment in Rural America survey called NCERA, and on New Hampshire’s statewide Granite State Poll. Author Lawrence Hamilton reports that most people on both surveys feel that they understand either a great deal or a moderate amount about global warming or climate change. However, deep partisan divisions affect both personal beliefs about climate change and perceptions of agreement among scientists. Democrats are much more likely to state they believe that climate change is happening, caused …

Understanding' Of Climate Change Depends On Politics, New Carsey Institute Research Shows Views Of New Hampshire Residents Largely Mirror National Patterns, Lori Wright

Media Relations

No abstract provided.

Grand Valley Forum, Volume 036, Number 15, December 5, 2011, Grand Valley State University

2011-2012, Volume 36

Grand Valley Forum is Grand Valley State's faculty and staff newsletter, published from 1976 to the present.

Organizational Capacity To Absorb External Knowledge: An Exploratory Study Of Public And Nonprofit Decision Makers' Perceptions Of Impediments And Facilitators, Linda S. Birtley

Theses and Dissertations

Research indicates that many youth-serving agencies do not adopt evidence-based innovations in the field of youth violence prevention. This qualitative study was designed to explore a sample of community-based decision makers’ perceptions of why innovative, evidence-based programs and practices for the prevention of violence by youth are, or are not, adopted at the local level. The rationale for this study was that knowledge of evidence-based innovations in youth violence prevention originates primarily from research scientists who are external to the organizations that are the intended recipients of the innovations. Prior research has not viewed the failure to adopt evidence-based innovations …

The Value Of Government Mandated Location-Based Services In Emergencies In Australia, Anas Aloudat, Katina Michael, Roba Abbas, Mutaz M. Al-Debei

Dr. Mutaz M. Al-Debei

The adoption of mobile technologies for emergency management has the capacity to save lives. In Australia in February 2009, the Victorian Bushfires claimed 173 lives, the worst peace-time disaster in the nation’s history. The Australian government responded swiftly to the tragedy by going to tender for mobile applications that could be used during emergencies, such as mobile alerts and location services. These applications, which are becoming increasingly accurate with the evolution of positioning techniques, have the ability to deliver personalized information direct to the citizen during crises, complementing traditional broadcasting mediums like television and radio. Indeed governments have a responsibility …

Getting There, Increasing Access To Destinations, Part Iv, Land Use And Transportation Planning, Tennessee. Advisory Commission On Intergovernmental Relations.

Land Use Reports

No abstract provided.

Resist Steering Committee Meeting, Dec. 2011, Resist

Resist Board Meeting Minutes

No abstract provided.

Don't Argue With The Members, Jaber F. Gubrium, James A. Holstein

Social and Cultural Sciences Faculty Research and Publications

Mel Pollner regularly cautioned researchers not to argue with the members of settings under consideration. He warned against substituting the researcher’s meaning for the meanings of those being studied. This article discusses facets of the caution as they relate to the research process. Seemingly simple, the tenet is nuanced in application. The article adds to the nuance by distinguishing what is called the “replacement” of meaning with the “displacement” of meaning, providing a way of understanding what members could mean if the contexts and settings of their accounts were taken into consideration.

Feasibility Study And Best Practices For A Campus Community Garden On The University Of Arkansas Campus, Samantha Jones

Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences Undergraduate Honors Theses

Although community gardening on college campuses is not a new concept, campus community gardens have recently grown in popularity. Campus community gardens, however, have not been extensively researched. In order to better understand campus community gardens and to determine the feasibility of a campus community garden at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville (UAF), this study was conducted in three components. An online survey of 88 campus community gardens in the United States and Canada served as the first national survey of universities and colleges with campus community gardens. The survey included demographic information, management, funding, liabilities, risks, obstacles and …

Factors The Cause Growth And Development In The City Of Lincoln, Ne, Kaylene Tegtmeier

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

This qualitative study looks at what factors may contribute to the outward growth and development of the city of Lincoln, Nebraska. The two main factors the study discusses are the Lincoln Public School planners and their placement of schools in the city, and the “American dream” of the people, looking at where the people of Lincoln want to be living throughout the city and what some of their daily habits are. This study also discusses some of the main visions of the city of Lincoln’s 2040 Comprehensive Plan how the plan’s ambitions may affect the two factors looked at in …

Ecological Revival And Sustainable Living In The Tropical Dry Evergreen Forest Of Tamil Nadu: A Measurement Of Residential Perception In Sadhana Forest, Elizabeth Collette Mcguire

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

Since 1970, the role and function of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has been to promote environmental quality and to form strategies for carrying out environmental policy¹. The EPA has committed to sustainability as the next level of environmental protection. The agency states that sustainability calls for policies and strategies that meet society’s present needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs². Presently, society’s requirements have resulted in natural resource exploitation and population distention- projected to reach 10 billion people within two human generations³. These paired occurrences are …

Let The Beauty We Love Be What We Do: A Case Study In Communication-Centered Leadership, Jo Carter

Communication ETDs

While leadership research is widespread, much of it represents leadership psychology assumptions that leaders are singular individuals, different from the body that they are leading. This dissertation provides a close reading of a different approach to leadership, one arising from the cultural community around the Diana's Grove retreat center. This philosophy holds cultural norms of the Cornerstones of Community (choice, thinking well of the group, thinking well of one's self, stewardship of self, and sacred wound) as overt rules that are the foundation of sustainable community interactions. It discusses how service to the idea of community is the primary motivating …

Liability Issues And Agritourism Development, Steven Burr

All Current Publications

According to the Utah Farm Bureau, agritourism is “any activity that allows members of the general public, for recreational, entertainment, or educational purposes, to view or enjoy agricultural related activities.”

Teen Stress And Substance Use Problems In Coös: Survey Shows Strong Community Attachment Can Offset Risk, Karen T. Van Gundy, Meghan L. Mills

The Carsey School of Public Policy at the Scholars' Repository

This brief explores how social stress and community attachment are related to problem alcohol and drug use for girls and boys in Coös County, New Hampshire. The brief uses survey data from the Coös Youth Study, which includes self-reported information from 564 Coös youth who were in seventh and eleventh grades in 2008, and who were surveyed again one year later (in 2009) when they were in eighth and twelfth grades. Nearly one-fourth of youth in Coös County (22 percent of boys and 23 percent of girls) reported at least one alcohol or drug use related problem. The authors note …

Civil Society And Civil Society Organisations' Participation In Global Governance: International And National Legal Systems, Valentina Rustichini

Valentina Rustichini

Social societies are closely related to each other, and their systems of governance should include the following principles of good governance: openness, participation, accountability, effectiveness and coherence. It is essential for a democracy to ensure the involvement of civil society in the decision-making procedures concerning the shaping of public policies that affects people’s lives. The lack of transparency and the unequal division of power and participation in these procedures are issues of increasing concern. This paper examines how a civil law system like Italy’s, a common law system like the United Kingdom’s, and some international organisations such as the International …

Elimination Of Environmental Protection Laws And Agencies. Initiative Constitutional Amendment And Statute.

Initiatives

Repeals the California Environmental Quality Act, California Coastal Act, California Endangered Species Act, California Global Warming Solutions Act, and California Sustainable Communities and Climate Protection Act. Abolishes the California Environmental Protection Agency and Air Resources Board. Establishes new inalienable rights to produce, distribute, use, and consume air, carbon dioxide, water, food, habitat for humanity, universal heal thyself care, and energy generating natural resources. Grants Californians the individual right to nullify all federal powers not specifically delegated to the United States by the federal constitution. Fiscal Impact: It is the opinion of the Legislative Analyst and Director of Finance that the …

"A Growth Industry" (Review Of "Peacebuilding: Catholic Theology, Ethics, And Praxis" Edited By Schreiter, Appleby, And Powers), Brian Stiltner

Brian Stiltner

No abstract provided.