Defining Urban Sustainability in the Context of North American Cities

2012 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 16-30 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael J. Lorr
Keyword(s):  
North American ◽  
Urban Sociology ◽  
Urban Sustainability ◽  
Future Research ◽  
The Past ◽  
Working Definition ◽  
Theoretical Approaches ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
American Cities ◽  
Green Cities

Urban sociology and urban studies increasingly employ the idea of sustainability to explain, analyze, and critique city redevelopment. While the ambiguous and oxymoronic nature of sustainability goals has been extensively covered in the past, the current resurgence and popularity of the term “sustainability,“ especially under the aegis of “urban sustainability“ or “green“ cities, requires us to rethink the usefulness of sustainability as a concept for understanding and evaluating urban redevelopment. Confronting this challenge, this article reviews three of the most common theoretical approaches to sustainability, problematizes those approaches in the context of North American cities, and then provides a working definition of urban sustainability. Finally, the article recommends four plausible research hypotheses to guide future research on urban sustainability.

The Contribution of Teleworking towards a Green Computing Environment

2016 ◽  
pp. 1723-1738
Author(s):  
Iheanyi Chuku Egbuta ◽  
Brychan Thomas ◽  
Said Al-Hasan
Keyword(s):  
Conceptual Model ◽  
Green Computing ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Computing Environment ◽  
Theoretical Frameworks ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Working Definition ◽  
Future Research Directions ◽  
The Many ◽  
Definition Of

The aims of the chapter are to consider the strategic green issues of teleworking in terms of the environment, transport, location, office space, and resource use for modern organisations and business sectors and to formulate a conceptual model of the processes involved. In fact, teleworking technologies are variously implemented for green computing initiatives, and the many advantages include lower greenhouse gas emissions related to travel, greater worker satisfaction, and as a result of lower overhead office costs, increased profit margins. The chapter initially investigates the appropriateness of a working definition of teleworking with regard to green computing, and following this, explores the benefits and barriers of teleworking in a green computing environment. The theoretical frameworks and models of teleworking are then considered, and a conceptual model of the contribution of teleworking to green computing is formulated. It is the intention of the chapter to identify and articulate those teleworking concepts that will be useful to academicians, scientists, business entrepreneurs, practitioners, managers, and policy makers, and to indicate future research directions for research scholars and students with similar interests.

Understanding flexibility for multifunctional flood defences: a conceptual framework

2016 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 467-484 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fatemeh Anvarifar ◽  
Chris Zevenbergen ◽  
Wil Thissen ◽  
Tushith Islam
Keyword(s):  
Real Options ◽  
Flood Management ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Illustrative Case ◽  
Working Definition ◽  
Self Consistent ◽  
Characteristic Features ◽  
Illustrative Case Study ◽  
Definition Of

Flexibility is often proposed as a valuable capability to cope with uncertainty and change. However, there is no consensus about what constitutes flexibility across the literature. A review of publications on flood management, real options and manufacturing reveals remarkable commonalities along with substantial inconsistencies in the use of flexibility. These observations are used for structuring the discussion of flexibility in this paper. A framework is proposed in the form of four self-consistent and step-wise questions: (Q1) why is flexibility needed; (Q2) what is it that flexibility is required for; (Q3) what are the dimensions of flexibility; (Q4) what needs to change or be adapted? In order to answer the questions in the context of multifunctional flood defences (MFFDs), eight characteristic features of flexibility in connection with the four questions are distilled from the synthesized publications. Subsequently, a working definition of flexibility is developed. An illustrative case study examines the framework's potential for the development of a MFFD. It is shown that the iterative use of the framework can serve as a guideline for identifying and evaluating flexibility for MFFDs. The paper ends with some challenges for future research.

scholarly journals Undefined lands: A review of their role as an underexplored resource of landscape

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 ◽  
pp. 60-69
Author(s):  
Maryam Naghibi ◽  
Mohsen Faizi ◽  
Ahmad Ekhlassi
Keyword(s):  
Temporal Trends ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Vacant Land ◽  
Formal Definition ◽  
Systematic Analysis ◽  
Comprehensive Review ◽  
The Past ◽  
Ecological Aspects ◽  
Landscape Research ◽  
Definition Of

Landscape areas have spatial discontinuities, such as vacant land and leftover spaces. Undefined lands present a compelling area for landscape research, aesthetical experience, and development of cities which discuss irregular and unexpected aspects in landscape settings. Having lacked a formal definition of undefined land, this study aims at proposing keywords of undefined lands, a comprehensive review of knowledge, and definition. In order to promote new aspects of such spaces in the future research, the study conducts a systematic analysis of 65 peer-reviewed papers for their temporal trends, locations, methods, key authors, and commonly studied aspects. Results show the production of vacancy and the temporary use of undefined lands as an opportunity, and a flexible method of regeneration. An increase in publications over the past 30 years demonstrates that leftover space is an evolving subject. Although socio-ecological aspects are the most effective, serious gaps are mentioned in the literature considering aesthetical and ecological qualities in leftover spaces formed by visual, sensorial (hearing, touch, smell, taste), and cognitive perception. These gaps in the literature suggest that it is important to understand the potential effects of repurposing citizen's ideas about interventions in which to use leftover spaces. Having identified the knowledge gaps, undefined lands are suggested as a significant sub-discipline in landscape research.

A Sociology of Luck

2020 ◽  
Vol 38 (3) ◽  
pp. 193-216 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Sauder
Keyword(s):  
Social Construction ◽  
Present Article ◽  
Social World ◽  
Real Effects ◽  
The Past ◽  
Working Definition ◽  
Theoretical Inquiry ◽  
The Social ◽  
Research Questions ◽  
Definition Of

Sociology has been curiously silent about the concept of luck. The present article argues that this omission is, in fact, an oversight: An explicit and systematic engagement with luck provides a more accurate portrayal of the social world, opens potentially rich veins of empirical and theoretical inquiry, and offers a compelling alternative for challenging dominant meritocratic frames about inequality and the distribution of rewards. This article develops a framework for studying luck, first by proposing a working definition of luck, examining why sociology has ignored luck in the past, and making the case for the value of including luck in sociology’s conceptual repertoire. The article then demonstrates the fertile research potential of studying luck by identifying a host of research questions and hypotheses pertaining to the social construction of luck, the real effects of luck, and theoretical interventions related to luck. It concludes by highlighting the distinctive contributions sociology can make to the growing interdisciplinary interest in this topic.

scholarly journals Strong and Weak Teleology in the Life Sciences Post-Darwin

Religions ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 298
Author(s):  
Michael A. Flannery
Keyword(s):  
Life Sciences ◽  
Evolutionary Synthesis ◽  
Complex Relationship ◽  
Origin Of Species ◽  
The Past ◽  
Working Definition ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Descent Of Man

It is often assumed that direction and purpose in nature—teleology—is a dead relic of the past, a result of Charles Darwin’s Origin of Species (1859) and Descent of Man (1871). But teleology has had a long and complex relationship with science. This paper will trace its general history with an emphasis upon the life sciences, especially biology. Particularly important is the fact that all teleology is not equal; strong (transcendent) teleology (designated Ts) should be distinguished from weak (purely descriptive and utilitarian) teleology (designated Tw). A working definition of teleology in its most meaningful aspects is then given. The challenges that Darwinism faced in dealing with purpose in nature are discussed, as is their proposed solution in the evolutionary synthesis, and the persistence of Ts following that synthesis is outlined and critiqued. Evidence of Ts persistence in the life sciences is presented with several relevant examples, and strong teleology is further differentiated by specific (Ts+) and nonspecific (Ts−) varieties. This essay concludes that Ts remains an ongoing and integral part of the life sciences and will likely remain so, even though it may be true but not verifiable empirically.

The Curious Construct of Active Learning

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 8-43
Author(s):  
Doug Lombardi ◽  
Thomas F. Shipley ◽  
Janelle M. Bailey ◽  
Paulo S. Bretones ◽  
Edward E. Prather ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Active Learning ◽  
Classroom Practice ◽  
Interdisciplinary Collaboration ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Traditional Lecture ◽  
Construction Of Knowledge ◽  
Working Definition ◽  
Undergraduate Stem Education ◽  
And Mathematics ◽  
Definition Of

The construct of active learning permeates undergraduate education in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), but despite its prevalence, the construct means different things to different people, groups, and STEM domains. To better understand active learning, we constructed this review through an innovative interdisciplinary collaboration involving research teams from psychology and discipline-based education research (DBER). Our collaboration examined active learning from two different perspectives (i.e., psychology and DBER) and surveyed the current landscape of undergraduate STEM instructional practices related to the modes of active learning and traditional lecture. On that basis, we concluded that active learning—which is commonly used to communicate an alternative to lecture and does serve a purpose in higher education classroom practice—is an umbrella term that is not particularly useful in advancing research on learning. To clarify, we synthesized a working definition of active learning that operates within an elaborative framework, which we call the construction-of-understanding ecosystem. A cornerstone of this framework is that undergraduate learners should be active agents during instruction and that the social construction of meaning plays an important role for many learners, above and beyond their individual cognitive construction of knowledge. Our proposed framework offers a coherent and actionable concept of active learning with the aim of advancing future research and practice in undergraduate STEM education.

scholarly journals Defining Self-Awareness in the Context of Adult Development: A Systematic Literature Review

2021 ◽  
pp. 105256292199006
Author(s):  
Julia Carden ◽  
Rebecca J. Jones ◽  
Jonathan Passmore
Keyword(s):  
Leadership Development ◽  
Literature Review ◽  
Adult Development ◽  
Systematic Literature Review ◽  
Management Education ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Self Awareness ◽  
Working Definition ◽  
Self Knowledge ◽  
Definition Of

Self-awareness is often seen as a critical component in leadership and career success, and has therefore become a feature in MBAs, leadership development, and management education. It has become a popular “buzzword” in management literature, yet when reviewing this literature, there appears to be no consistent definition of the construct. This article reports a systematic literature review, covering how the construct of self-awareness is defined and how it differs from self-consciousness and self-knowledge within the context of management education. After screening, 31 articles were included in the review, analysis of which identified there is an overlap with how self-awareness, self-consciousness, and self-knowledge are defined. Other themes from our analysis include the identification of the components of self-awareness, how to be self-aware, and the purpose of self-awareness. The contribution of our article is the provision of clarity on the construct of self-awareness and a working definition, which can be used in the fields of leadership and management development by practitioners in education and organizations, and for future research within the context of adult development and the workplace.

scholarly journals Undefined lands: A review of their role as an underexplored resource of landscape

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 ◽  
pp. 60-69
Author(s):  
Maryam Naghibi ◽  
Mohsen Faizi ◽  
Ahmad Ekhlassi
Keyword(s):  
Temporal Trends ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Vacant Land ◽  
Formal Definition ◽  
Systematic Analysis ◽  
Comprehensive Review ◽  
The Past ◽  
Ecological Aspects ◽  
Landscape Research ◽  
Definition Of

Landscape areas have spatial discontinuities, such as vacant land and leftover spaces. Undefined lands present a compelling area for landscape research, aesthetical experience, and development of cities which discuss irregular and unexpected aspects in landscape settings. Having lacked a formal definition of undefined land, this study aims at proposing keywords of undefined lands, a comprehensive review of knowledge, and definition. In order to promote new aspects of such spaces in the future research, the study conducts a systematic analysis of 65 peer-reviewed papers for their temporal trends, locations, methods, key authors, and commonly studied aspects. Results show the production of vacancy and the temporary use of undefined lands as an opportunity, and a flexible method of regeneration. An increase in publications over the past 30 years demonstrates that leftover space is an evolving subject. Although socio-ecological aspects are the most effective, serious gaps are mentioned in the literature considering aesthetical and ecological qualities in leftover spaces formed by visual, sensorial (hearing, touch, smell, taste), and cognitive perception. These gaps in the literature suggest that it is important to understand the potential effects of repurposing citizen's ideas about interventions in which to use leftover spaces. Having identified the knowledge gaps, undefined lands are suggested as a significant sub-discipline in landscape research.

The Bioarchaeology of Childhood

2018 ◽  
pp. 33-60 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raelene M. Inglis ◽  
Siân E. Halcrow
Keyword(s):  
Social Life ◽  
Future Research ◽  
The Past ◽  
Theoretical Approaches ◽  
Life Course Approach ◽  
Theoretical Perspectives ◽  
The Social ◽  
Children And Childhood ◽  
Future Research Directions ◽  
Theoretical Issues

Over the past two decades, there has been a rapid increase of research in the study of children and childhood in the past from anthropological, archaeological, and bioarchaeological perspectives. Despite recent research and theoretical developments, the advancement of research into childhood in the past continues to be somewhat hampered by the disparate theoretical approaches that are applied. This chapter reviews both the development of the bioarchaeological study of childhood and the important theoretical issues – including age, gender, and biocultural approaches – and offers suggestions for the development of approaches that “speak” between the different theoretical perspectives in the study of childhood in the past. Suggested future research directions include the integration of biological aspects into the social life course approach, by incorporating aspects of the biologically underpinned life history theoretical approach. Another imperative is to critically evaluate the attribution and meaning of “agency” in the bioarchaeology of childhood.

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