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Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons™

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Selected Works

Sustainability

2015

Articles 1 - 15 of 15

Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Sustainable Reuse Strategies For Vacant And Abandoned Properties, Kathryn Hexter, Cathryn Greenwald, Mary Petrus Dec 2015

Sustainable Reuse Strategies For Vacant And Abandoned Properties, Kathryn Hexter, Cathryn Greenwald, Mary Petrus

Kathryn W. Hexter

No abstract provided.

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Book Review Of Sustainable Knowledge: A Theory Of Interdisciplinarity. December 2015. Journal Of Higher Education Outreach And Engagement 19(4): 219-222., Danielle Lake Nov 2015

Book Review Of Sustainable Knowledge: A Theory Of Interdisciplinarity. December 2015. Journal Of Higher Education Outreach And Engagement 19(4): 219-222., Danielle Lake

Danielle L Lake

Sustainable Knowledge: A Theory of Interdisciplinarity is a valuable, compelling, and quick read for current and future academics and administrators committed to engaged scholarship and outreach as well as those still in need of convincing. A succinct and—at times—radical take on the core problems facing the academy today, Sustainable Knowledge calls academics to take on the task of challenging the barriers posed towards genuinely sustainable and ameliorative knowledge production. Academics begin to do this work by stepping into the fray of modern life: as co-producers of knowledge and field practitioners, facilitators and advisors, experts and lay-citizens.

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Law Of Thrive: Creating Sustainable Diverse & Inclusive Communities: Human Utility Business: Creating Sustainable Communities That Thrive, Robin Roberts Nov 2015

Law Of Thrive: Creating Sustainable Diverse & Inclusive Communities: Human Utility Business: Creating Sustainable Communities That Thrive, Robin Roberts

Robin A. Roberts

Business leaders around the globe are using smart technologies to help them understand how they are using and developing their organization's resources. Leaders are focusing in on increased efficiency and sustainability of systems, operations, and workers. Greater emphasis is being put on the long-term resiliency and vitality of workers as a key indicator of the sustainability of organizations now, through the 21st century, and beyond.

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Peak Oil And Transition: The Making Of A Documentary Video, John A. Duvall Oct 2015

Peak Oil And Transition: The Making Of A Documentary Video, John A. Duvall

John Duvall

Many scientists and academics have raised serious concerns regarding the depletion of fossil fuels—especially the peaking of oil production—and its impact upon society. According to these researchers, oil for transportation and production will soon become expensive and scarce, and known alternative sources of energy will be insufficient to make up the difference within the required time frame. Therefore, world civilization (and the United States in particular) will soon undergo a crisis in energy supply that will have significant impacts on the structure of community life, economic wellbeing, political organization, and individual lifestyles. One response to these threats is to attempt …

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Keynote: Justifying Uberveillance- The Internet Of Things And The Flawed Sustainability Premise, Katina Michael Oct 2015

Keynote: Justifying Uberveillance- The Internet Of Things And The Flawed Sustainability Premise, Katina Michael

Professor Katina Michael

Imagine a world where everything was numbered. Not just homes with street addresses, or cars with number plates, or smart phones with telephone numbers, or email addresses with passwords, but absolutely everything you could see and touch and even that which you could not. Well, that world is here, right now. This vast expanse we call “Earth” is currently being quantified and photographed, inch by inch, by satellites, street cameras, drones and high altitude balloons. Longitude and latitude coordinates provide us with the precise degrees, minutes and seconds of the physical space, and unique time stamps tell us where a …

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Nutritional Narratives: Cultural And Communications Perspectives On Plant-Based Diets, Julie S. Dare, Leesa N. Costello, Lelia R. Green Jul 2015

Nutritional Narratives: Cultural And Communications Perspectives On Plant-Based Diets, Julie S. Dare, Leesa N. Costello, Lelia R. Green

Julie Dare Dr

This paper responds to a range of popular materials circulating in the public sphere asserting a plant-based (PB) diet is of benefit to humans and a protection against many chronic diseases. Although directed at a lay audience, books such as The China Study (Campbell & Campbell) are based upon extensive academic research, and highlight multiple health, environmental and social advantages of PB diets over traditional western diets. Arguments advocating PB nutrition, however, generally struggle to achieve traction in the public sphere. Narratives around PB food choices, and difficulties in shifting mainstream eating patterns, reflect the cultural symbolism attached to food, …

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Social And Economic Sustainability, Jason Sargent, Khanjan Mehta, Katina Michael Feb 2015

Social And Economic Sustainability, Jason Sargent, Khanjan Mehta, Katina Michael

Professor Katina Michael

But what about long-term stability in developing nations? For example, as we strive to mainstream alternate energy sources and make them accessible in resource poor communities [ ], how do we think beyond the technological and economic dimensions and ensure respect for social, political and environmental imperatives? Computers, including the tiny but powerful ones on cell phones can be game-changers, but they will not save lives directly. They cannot be eaten by a starving population. And then, they need to be serviced and maintained. Jason, along with Katina’s husband Michael, visited and taught Karen refugee students in camps and remote …

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Pronounced Particularity: A Comparison Of Governance Structures On Lord Howe Island And Fernando De Noronha, Arianne Reis, Philip Hayward Feb 2015

Pronounced Particularity: A Comparison Of Governance Structures On Lord Howe Island And Fernando De Noronha, Arianne Reis, Philip Hayward

Professor Philip Hayward

This paper compares and contrasts the management systems and governance structures of two island sites with national and international World Heritage recognition: Lord Howe Island (off the mid-east coast of Australia) and Fernando de Noronha (off the north-east coast of Brazil). Using historical and contemporary references, the paper explores the manner in which two distinct approaches to governance are implicated in the daily living of community members, and considers their socioeconomic activities. We use the case of tourism and World Heritage management as examples of the complexities involved in the different forms of governance structures adopted by these two small …

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What Economics Teaches Us About Environmental Protection, Chad J. Mcguire Jan 2015

What Economics Teaches Us About Environmental Protection, Chad J. Mcguire

Chad J McGuire

A basic premise in economics is that companies should pay all of the costs that are incurred in the process of producing their goods and services. The reason? By incurring all of the costs in production, the price charged by the company will reflect those costs. The price consumers pay, then, will also reflect all of the costs incurred in production. This leads to price efficiency, a major goal in free-market economic principles.
Unfortunately we don’t always include the costs to the environment in the production process. Take, for example, electricity generation, which can be accomplished using different inputs. Coal-burning …

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Market Failures And Protecting The Environment, Chad J. Mcguire Jan 2015

Market Failures And Protecting The Environment, Chad J. Mcguire

Chad J McGuire

Whether you agree with government intervention, or with the specific form of gov- ernment intervention applied, it is a fact that government becomes involved in environ- mental issues because, to date, we have failed to fully inter- nalize the costs of our actions toward the environment in our market systems. So this is why government becomes involved in the first place, to correct existing and recurring market failures. Knowing this important fact helps us better understand, and judge, envi- ronmental laws and policies.

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The Influence Of Unrelated And Related Diversification On Fraudulent Reporting, Subrata Chakrabarty Dec 2014

The Influence Of Unrelated And Related Diversification On Fraudulent Reporting, Subrata Chakrabarty

Subrata Chakrabarty

This study suggests that unrelated diversification has a positive influence on the probability of fraudulent reporting whereas related diversification has a negative influence on the probability of fraudulent reporting. The strength of the influence of these corporate level strategies is contingent on the moral character of the firm. Unrelated diversification provides opportunity for financial innovation within the firm's internal capital market, which can result in fraudulent reporting. This is more likely when the moral character of the firm is driven by a conscienceless financial self-interest motive, as implied by the firm's contempt toward the larger community (in terms of damage …

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Comparing Virtue, Consequentialist, And Deontological Ethics-Based Corporate Social Responsibility: Mitigating Microfinance Risk In Institutional Voids, Subrata Chakrabarty, A E. Bass Dec 2014

Comparing Virtue, Consequentialist, And Deontological Ethics-Based Corporate Social Responsibility: Mitigating Microfinance Risk In Institutional Voids, Subrata Chakrabarty, A E. Bass

Subrata Chakrabarty

Due to the nature of lending practices and support services offered to the poor in developing countries, portfolio risk is a growing concern for the microfinance industry. Though previous research highlights the importance of risk for microfinance organizations, not much is known about how microfinance organizations can mitigate risks incurred from providing loans to the poor in developing countries. Further, though many microfinance organizations practice corporate social responsibility (CSR) to help create economic and social wealth in developing countries, the impact of such CSR practices remains an underdeveloped area of inquiry. We use a normative ethics lens to develop an …

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Valuing Ecosystem Services In Coastal Management Policy: Looking Beyond The Here And Now, Chad J. Mcguire Dec 2014

Valuing Ecosystem Services In Coastal Management Policy: Looking Beyond The Here And Now, Chad J. Mcguire

Chad J McGuire

This article explores how the identification and account- ing of ecosystem services can aid coastal management policies, particularly as management looks to a future that includes the impacts of climate change. At the core of making better deci- sions is an understanding of the value of ecosystem services. The economic context of ecosystem services is explored in order to outline what may be considered a complete account- ing of costs. Once contextualized, ecosystem services will then be applied to current coastal management issues associ- ated with sea level rise. In particular, policy-relevant questions about mitigating and adapting to sea level …

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The Role Of Risk Perception In Building Sustainable Policy Instruments: A Case Study Of Public Coastal Flood Insurance In The Usa, Chad J. Mcguire Dec 2014

The Role Of Risk Perception In Building Sustainable Policy Instruments: A Case Study Of Public Coastal Flood Insurance In The Usa, Chad J. Mcguire

Chad J McGuire

Public planning for sustainability implies a forward-looking approach that often includes imagining future harm and taking steps to prevent that future harm before it occurs. A major challenge to implementing such forward looking, or precautionary, a policy instrument is managing the impacts such policies have on existing expectations. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the role of risk perception in the development of forward-looking policy instruments. A case study example focused on coastal flood insurance in the USA is presented to highlight the difficulty of implementing sustainable policy goals when current policies incentivise the discounting of risk. The …

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Culture In Design, Technology, And Environment: Reflecting On Field Experiences, Kurt W. Seemann Dec 2014

Culture In Design, Technology, And Environment: Reflecting On Field Experiences, Kurt W. Seemann

Kurt W Seemann

Culture is a fuzzy kind of idea. We all point to it when we see it among others, but when asked to place a universal boundary around it to define it as framing much of what we do ourselves, we run into trouble. When we design and develop made worlds with, and for, other cultures, or when we think how we engage in the worlds made by others, the opportunity manifests itself to see how culture can be embedded not only in the choices made to create the artifacts, systems, or symbols but significantly in the socio-cultural and even natural …

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