Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Utah Model: Lessons For Regional Planning, Brenda C. Scheer

Brookings Mountain West Publications

Utah has become an unlikely leader in regional planning through a voluntary partnership of key leaders, agencies, local government, and the general public. Given that regional planning efforts around the nation have generally evoked strong reactions from residents concerned about losing local control, the success of Envision Utah—the organization that emerged as a key driver of regional planning in Utah—in building a consensus around regional growth management holds lessons for other regions.

Envision Utah adopted several strategies that have distinguished Utah’s regional planning efforts from other regions and given rise to what can be called the “Utah model” of collaborative …

Slides: Routes To Sustainability: Natural Gas Development And Air And Water Resources In The Rocky Mountain Region, Mark Williams

Monitoring and Protecting Groundwater During Oil and Gas Development (November 26)

Presenter: Mark Williams, University of Colorado Boulder

14 slides

Slides: Sources Of Electrical Energy For Those Who Are Remote And Poor, Frank Barnes

2012 Energy Justice Conference and Technology Exposition (September 17-18)

Presenter: Dr. Frank Barnes, Distinguished Professor, Electrical, Computer, and Energy Engineering, University of Colorado

24 slides

Empowering The Citizen-Consumer: Re-Regulating Consumer Information To Support The Transition To Sustainable And Health Promoting Food Systems In Canada, Rod Macrae, Michelle Szabo, Kalli Anderson, Fiona Louden, Sandi Trillo

Publications and Scholarship

Both health and sustainability are stated public policy objectives in Canada, but food information rules and practices may not be optimal to support their achievement. In the absence of a stated consensus on the purposes of public information about food, the information provided is frequently determined by the marketers of product. No institution or agency has responsibility for determining the overall coherence of consumer food messages relative to these broader social goals of health and sustainability. Individual firms provide information that shows their products to best advantage, which may contradict what is provided about the product by another firm or …

Temple Bar Resident Survey, 2012, Jane Fitzgerald, Sheila Flanagan, Kevin Griffin

Reports / Surveys

No abstract provided.

Ecosystem Services: The Economics Debate, Joshua Farley

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty Publications

The goal of this paper is to illuminate the debate concerning the economics of ecosystem services. The sustainability debate focuses on whether or not ecosystem services are essential for human welfare and the existence of ecological thresholds. If ecosystem services are essential, then marginal analysis and monetary valuation are inappropriate tools in the vicinity of thresholds. The justice debate focuses on who is entitled to ecosystem services and the ecosystem structure that generates them. Answers to these questions have profound implications for the choice of suitable economic institutions. The efficiency debate concerns both the goals of economic activity and the …

A Survey Of Seafood Traceability And Sustainability In The United States— Processes, Regulations, And Current Initiatives, Nancy A. Olsen

Working Papers

The global seafood industry currently lacks a standardized, widespread method to easily trace the chain of custody of products that they purchase. With global overfishing leading to declining fish stocks around the world, it is vital for seafood providers to have the ability to identify and buy products from sustainable fisheries that are well managed, target abundant species, and fish in environmentally responsible ways. This paper analyzes public and private initiatives that seek to provide product traceability. In summarizing the current status of seafood traceability, stakeholders agree that are a number of challenges with trying to piece together so many …

System Dynamics Implementation Of A Model Of Population And Resource Dynamics With Adaptation, Takuro Uehara, Yoko Nagase, Wayne Wakeland

Systems Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

We build and analyze a dynamic ecological economic model that incorporates endogenous innovation on input substitutability. The use of the system dynamics method allows us to depart from conventional equilibrium thinking and conduct an out-of-equilibrium (adaptation) analysis. Simulation results show that while improvement in input substitutability will expand an economy, this change alone may not improve sustainability measured by indicators such as utility-per-capita and natural resource stock. It could, however, be possible that in combination with other technological progress, improvement in input substitutability will contribute to sustainable development. Sensitivity analysis also indicates a possible complication with the use of exogenous …

Challenges & Trends To Keep On The Radar, Scwg

DataONE Sociocultural and Usability & Assessment Working Groups

A short list of challenges and trends that DataONE should keep on its radar. This is a rough draft so content is not fully integrated. PURPOSE: To help DataONE leadership identify sociocultural considerations that are occuring/on the horizon during development/deployment/marketing.

The Role Of The Household In Urban Forestry As A Measure Of Urban Sustainability: A Matrix Of Action And Change, Anthony M. Rodriguez Ph.D.

Faculty Scholarship

The urban forest holds several important positions within the built and unbuilt environments. Those positions include economic, health, sustainability, quality of life measures, and overall protection of the environment, including air, water, and soil. The points are highlighted by Wolf (2005, 2007), McPherson (2005), and Rowntree & Nowak (1991). This research references the four socio-economic sectors; the public or government sector, for profit or market sector, philanthropic or nonprofit sector, and the household or private sector (Biggs & Helm 2007). The common purposes and role of each sector with respect to the urban tree cover takes on importance as they …

The “Green Eating” Project: A Pilot Intervention To Promote Sustainable And Healthy Eating In College Students, Kelleigh E. Eastman

Senior Honors Projects

The “Green Eating” Project: A Pilot Intervention to Promote Sustainable and Healthy Eating in College Students

Kelleigh Eastman

Sponsor: Geoffrey Greene, Nutrition and Dietetics

A topic of interest that is growing in the general population is the idea of being sustainable, or “green”, and there is a rising awareness in sustainable practices involving food and the environment. Some of the “green” eating behaviors identified through my research included eating a plant-based (i.e. vegetarian or semi-vegetarian) diet, eating locally grown foods, eating organically grown foods, and eating foods that are labeled fair-trade. Frequently, these “green” eating behaviors are healthful eating behaviors …

Big Blue And You: An Interdisciplinary Look At Science And The Ocean, A Students Teaching Students Course, Benjamin Negrete Jr., Megan Nepshinsky, Alexa Kretsch

Senior Honors Projects

This class is the second project under the new Honors Program initiative, Students Teaching Students (STS). STS was brought to URI and implemented by Bridget Griffith as part of her Senior Honors Project in 2011. Students apply in their Junior year to design, research, and teach an honors course on a topic about which they are passionate. The STS program allows motivated honors students to have a unique opportunity to lead a class as student professors. This allows students a freedom of creativity on the topic, assignments, and teaching style. Drawing on our own experiences, we were able to create …

An Exploration Into Project Management: A Grassroots Experience In A Developing Nation, Brittany L. O'Brien

Senior Honors Projects

As a senior at the University of Rhode Island, it has been my experience that the knowledge that has been most successfully retained within my mind has been that which I gained through active learning. As an international development minor I have taken many courses on how developmental aid is provided around the world, and throughout these courses I have learned that the drive for creating those endeavors came from an understanding of need. In order to best complete my education on international development I created a sustainable developmental aid project which provided education for specific needs in Malawi, Africa. …

Academic Libraries: Sustainability In Action, Marianne A. Buehler

Library Faculty Presentations

Faculty and Librarian Collaborations:
- Sustainability Across the Curriculum
- Sustainability Research
- Sustainable Activity
- Opportunities

Center For Rebuilding Sustainable Communities After Disasters, Adenrele Awotona, Center For Rebuilding Sustainable Communities After Disasters, University Of Massachusetts Boston

Office of Community Partnerships Posters

Center for Rebuilding Sustainable Communities after Disasters (CRSCAD) cultivates alliances with local, national, and international agencies, government and academic institutions, NGOs, and for-profit and not-for-profit bodies which share common interests in the area of post-disaster reconstruction globally.

Green Boston Harbor Project (Gbh), Community Environmental Stewardship: Applied Research, Education And Outreach, Anamarija Frankić

Office of Community Partnerships Posters

The GBH methodology is derived from a 1500 year old Native Hawaiian Ahupua’a approach. This approach defines sustainable relationships among land, water and humans from the tops of islands to the coral reefs and open ocean. GBH seeks a similar interconnection between the City of Boston and Boston Harbor: from watersheds to the harbor and its coastal habitats and islands.

Nantucket Shellfish Management Plan, Kristin Uiterwyk, Steve Bliven, Dan Leavitt, Jack Wiggin, Urban Harbors Institute, University Of Massachusetts Boston

Office of Community Partnerships Posters

Nantucket’s shellfish resources are an important part of the Island’s history, culture, and economy. Nantucket waters support one of the country’s last wild-caught bay scallop fisheries. Elsewhere along the Atlantic coast, fishing pressure, habitat loss, and disease have severely depleted bay scallop populations. Although Nantucketers continue to make a living harvesting shellfish from the Island’s waters, many do so with concern for the future of the resources and the habitats that support them. Urban Harbors Institute (UHI) provided technical assistance to the community to develop a Shellfish Management Plan (SMP) that addresses issues of water quality, habitat loss, climate change, …

Case Study: University At Albany Develops A Guide To Examine Commuting Behavior And Patterns, Catherine T. Lawson, Mary Ellen Mallia, Chris Franklin, Benjamin Fischer, David Hogenkamp, Matt Ryan

Publications

The University at Albany conducted an examination of campus commuting patterns and behaviors over an eighteen month period. The components included a review of existing options, the development of GIS maps indicating origin points of commutes, a survey of campus perceptions of barriers to using alternative transportation and on-time tracking of mass transit offerings. The study revealed that the success of alternative transportation is hindered by limitations in bus routes and frequency in scheduling, the need for commuters to make additional trips outside their commute route and a distrust of bus reliability.

The Fukushima Disaster And Japan’S Occupy Movement, Hiro Saito

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

On October 15, 2011, OccupyTokyo protests took place in three different districts: Hibiya,Shinjuku, and Roppongi. Before the rallies began, protesters gathered in parkswhere organizers and participants gave speeches. They expressed solidarity withthe worldwide Occupy movement, criticized a widening economic gap in Japan, anddemanded a more just world. Protesters then took to the streets with theirplacards, drums, and megaphones to shout slogans to reclaim society for “the99%.”

Agenda: Drawing The Blueprint For A Sustainable Natural Gas Future, University Of Colorado At Denver. Wirth Chair In Environmental And Community Development Policy, University Of Colorado Boulder. Natural Resources Law Center. Intermountain Oil And Gas Bmp Project

Drawing the Blueprint for a Sustainable Natural Gas Future (January 18)

A stakeholder-led forum discussing the key topics affecting natural gas as a safe and sustainable energy resource. Participants learned about the current research and related resources at Colorado’s three research universities and participated in designing future research needs.

Process Vs. Performance Standards For Sustainable Meeting And Event Management, Andrew Stephen Walker

Transnational Business Governance Interactions Working Papers

This paper examines two emerging voluntary industry standards — the process-based ISO 20121 Event sustainability management systems and the performance-based APEX/ASTM Environmentally Sustainable Event Standard — and examines whether they can complement, rather than compete with, each other to provide a comprehensive approach to the complex task of managing and measuring sustainability within meetings and events. A framework for analysis was developed through examining the academic literature on competition between process and performance-based sustainability standards within the forestry sector where several internationally-recognized standards have interacted in the marketplace for over a decade. Three criteria — legitimacy, accountability and effectiveness — …

Are Subcompact Cars Driving Consumers Towards Sustainable Transport, Enda Mcgovern

WCBT Faculty Publications

Access to private transport is a critical component of the modern industrialized world but it is also recognized as a major source of carbon dioxide emissions, one of the global warming gases contributing to climate change. This paper looks at increased use of subcompact cars as a key component in developing a sustainable transport policy. These cars benefit the environment by emitting reduced levels of carbon emissions due to their smaller engines. This empirical research explores the opinions of Smart car owners in a focus group study. Smart car owners are primarily focused on reducing their costs due to difficult …

Can Consumer Demand Deliver Sustainable Food?: Recent Research In Sustainable Consumption Policy & Practice, Cindy Isenhour

Anthropology Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

The New England Food System In 2060: Envisioning Tomorrow's Policy Through Today's Assessments, Margaret Sova Mccabe, Joanne Burke

Law Faculty Scholarship

This Essay analyzes how the New England states' planning processes are envisioning revitalized local, state, and regional food systems. This Essay has five parts. First, it begins with examining compelling reasons for promoting more sustainable food systems based on national and global trends, and identifies strategies for promoting regional food systems approaches with a brief introduction to the major influences on the national and New England food system. Second, it describes the states' planning efforts and their enabling legislation or source of authority.

The Essay then introduces the New England Food Vision 2060 (the Vision) an emerging discussion of food …

Strategic Discussions For Nebraska: Opportunities For Nebraska -- Food Scarcity, Mary Garbacz

Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education, and Communication: Faculty Publications

Strategic Discussions for Nebraska is a program in the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources that produces an annual publication called Opportunities for Nebraska, focusing on a different topic each year. The publication is produced in hard copy and also is available online at www.sdn.unl.edu.

The content for each publication is produced by UNL students enrolled in a Magazine Writing course each spring semester, taught by the SDN coordinator. Students conduct interviews with UNL researchers and write stories for inclusion in the publication. The interviews are captured on video and are edited into video montages, …

Living Together But Apart: Material Geographies Of Everyday Sustainability In Extended Family Households, Natascha Klocker, Chris Gibson, Erin Borger

Faculty of Science - Papers (Archive)

In the Industrialized West, ageing populations and cultural diversity-combined with rising property prices and extensive years spent in education-have been recognized as diverse factors driving increases in extended family living. At the same time, there is growing awareness that household size is inversely related to per capita resource consumption patterns, and that urgent problems of environmental sustainability are negotiated, on a day-to-day basis (and often unconsciously), at the household level. This paper explores the sustainability implications of everyday decisions to fashion, consume, and share resources around the home, through the lens of extended family households. Through interviews with extended family …

Sustainability In The Plastics Industry: Concerns, Issues, And Strategies, Bonnie Bachman, Shristy Bashyal, Margaret Baumann

Economics Faculty Research & Creative Works

An increased corporate emphasis on sustainability can be seen in such areas as: annual reports with published sustainability goals, sustainability management systems with balanced scorecards and dashboards, websites using increased screen area and space for sustainability communications, internal and external stakeholder opinion gathering, development of sustainable supply chain plans, and marketing strategies focusing on green or sustainable consumers. To address this ever increasing attention to sustainability, a research project to understand sustainability in the plastics industry was initiated with the membership of the Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE). This paper focuses on the results of the research (global survey) and …

Recipes Of Resolve: Food And Meaning In Post-Diluvian New Orleans, Jessica Claire Menck

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

In 2005 the city of New Orleans experienced catastrophic flooding as a result of the failure of the federal levee system following Hurricane Katrina. This was an immediate disaster that evolved into a longer-term crisis as the city, state, and national government struggled to respond to the event. This study focuses on one part of managing crisis: meaning making. Specifically, the study investigates meaning making within the food community of New Orleans, asking the questions: is food a way for individuals and groups to make meaning following critical change events such as the failure of the federal levee system in …

Emancipation From Affluenza: Leading Social Change In The Classroom, Merri Mattison

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

The purpose of this quasi-experimental study was to determine if one's level of affluenza could be reduced through education and awareness. In particular, this study measured whether or not exposure to the benefits of community involvement, and the harm of overconsumption could alter the intentions that college students have regarding their behavior, as it pertains to materialism, consumption, and civic responsibility. The data were collected from college students in the form of pre-tests and post-tests utilizing an affluenza scale created for this research. Over the course of a semester, information and activities that elucidated the benefits of community involvement and …

The Emergence Of A Standards Market: Multiplicity Of Sustainability Standards In The Global Coffee Industry, Juliane Reinecke, Stephan Manning, Oliver Von Hagen

Management and Marketing Faculty Publication Series

The growing number of voluntary standards for governing transnational arenas is presenting standards organizations with a problem. While claiming that they are pursuing shared, overarching objectives, at the same time, they are promoting their own respective standards that are increasingly similar. By developing the notion of ‘standards markets,’ this paper examines this tension and studies how different social movement and industry-driven standards organizations compete as well as collaborate over governance in transnational arenas. Based on an in-depth case study of sustainability standards in the global coffee industry, we find that the ongoing co-existence of multiple standards is being promoted by …