Thesis (M.S.W.)--University of Hong Kong, 1990.

Thesis (M.S. in environmental science)--Washington State University, August 2009. / Title from PDF title page (viewed on Aug. 5, 2009). "School of Earth and Environmental Science." Includes bibliographical references (p. 147-154).

Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Western Sydney, 2007. / A thesis submitted to the University of Western Sydney, College of Business, School of Marketing, in partial fulfilment of requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.A.)--Carleton University, 1992. / Also available in electronic format on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Oregon, 2005. / Typescript. Includes vita and abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 177-195). Also available for download via the World Wide Web; free to University of Oregon users.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Idaho, 2006. / Abstract. "August 2006." Includes bibliographical references (leaves 222-227). Also available online in PDF format.

This dissertation is about the learning and use of science at the level of local community. It is an ethnographic account, and its theoretical approach draws on actor-network theory as well as neo-Marxist practice theory and the related notion of situated cognition. This theoretical basis supports a work that focuses on the many heterogeneous transformations that materials and people undergo as science is used to help bring about social and political change in a quasi-rural community. The activities that science becomes involved in, and the hybrid formations as it encounters local issues are stressed. Learning and knowing as outcomes of community action are theorized. The dissertation links four major themes throughout its narrative: scientific literacy, representations, relationships and participatory democracy. These four themes are not treated in isolation. Different facets of their relation to each other are stressed in different chapters, each of which analyze different particular case studies. This dissertation argues for the conception of a local scientific praxis, one that is markedly different than the usual notion of science, yet is necessary for the uptake of scientific information into a community. / Graduate

O objetivo desta pesquisa à compreender como comunidades agrÃcolas Lagoa dos Cavalos, Junco, BarbatÃo e CÃrrego Salgado, municÃpio de Russas, CearÃ, tÃm construÃdo alternativas ao desenvolvimento em defesa de seu modo de vida e como estratÃgia de resistÃncia à expansÃo do agronegÃcio na subbacia do Baixo Jaguaribe. O marco referencial se concentra nas categorias analÃticas âideologia do desenvolvimentoâ (Rigotto, 2008), âalternativas ao desenvolvimentoâ (Santos, 2005), âagroecologiaâ (Altieri, 2009) e âconflito socioambientalâ (Acselrad, 2004.). A abordagem metodolÃgica encontra-se na hermenÃutica de profundidade de Thompson (1996), perpassando por mÃtodos etnogrÃficos da observaÃÃo participante (Malinowsky, 1984) e da descriÃÃo densa (Geertz, 1989). Como resultados da descriÃÃo do modo de vida agrÃcola tradicional das comunidades Lagoa dos Cavalos, Junco, BarbatÃo e CÃrrego Salgado, desvelamos o processo sÃcio-histÃrico na construÃÃo de alternativas de convivÃncia com o semiÃrido; caracterizaÃÃo da agrobiodiversidade e sua inter-relaÃÃo com os processos de trabalho na agricultura familiar e na apicultura; o potencial da organizaÃÃo comunitÃria e da transiÃÃo agroecolÃgica na promoÃÃo da saÃde no campo. Em relaÃÃo à caracterizaÃÃo do conflito socioambiental entre comunidades agrÃcolas e o ÃrgÃo governamental DNOCS, desvelamos as tramas do conflito entre o modelo de produÃÃo do agronegÃcio e os modos de vida agrÃcolas do sertÃo do CearÃ; as limitaÃÃes dos instrumentos de avaliaÃÃo de impactos ambientais; o movimento de resistÃncias local; construÃÃo de alternativas territoriais como contraproposta ao projeto original do governo federal. Este estudo de carÃter descritivo-documental inter-relaciona saÃde, meio ambiente e produÃÃo a partir de um estudo empÃrico e traz reflexÃes sobre o potencial endÃgeno das comunidades para construÃÃo e efetivaÃÃo de polÃticas pÃblicas de desenvolvimento territorial rural e promoÃÃo da saÃde no campo. / The purpose of this research is to understand how the agricultural communities of Lagoa dos Cavalos, Junco, BarbatÃo and CÃrrego Salgado, in the municipality of Russas, state of CearÃ, Brazil, have created alternatives to development in defense of their way of life and as a strategy of resistance to the expanding large-scale agribusiness at the sub-basin of the Lower Jaguaribe River. Our reference framework draws from the analytic categories of âideology of developmentâ (Rigotto, 2008), âalternatives to developmentâ (Santos, 2005), âagroecologyâ (Altieri, 2009) and âsocio-environmental conflictâ (Acselrad, 2004). The methodological approach is based on the depth hermeneutics of Thompson (1996), reaching over the ethnographic methods of participant observation (Malinowsky, 1984) and thick description (Geertz, 1989). As results of the description of the traditional agricultural life of the communities of Lagoa dos Cavalos, Junco, BarbatÃo and CÃrrego Salgado, we reveal the social and historical process in the creation of alternatives of coexistence with the semi-arid climate, characterizing the agricultural biodiversity and its interrelation with the work processes of family-based agriculture and beekeeping, along with the potential for communitorganization; and the process of agroecological transition in the promotion of health in the countryside. Regarding the characterization of the socio-environmental conflict between the agricultural communities and the National Department of Public Works against Drought (in the Brazilian acronym, DNOCS), we unveil the threads of the tension between the production model of agribusiness and the agricultural ways of life in the dry countryside of the state of CearÃ; the limitations of the instruments for evaluating environmental impacts; the local movement of resistance; and the construction of territorial alternatives as a counterproposal to the original project laid down by the federal government. Based on an empirical work, this descriptive-documental study dwells with the linkages between health, environment and production, and presents some reflections on the endogenous potential of the communities in the construction and effective execution of the public policies of rural development and promotion of health in the countryside.

An increasing desire on the part of the public to have more control over the environment in which they live is raising demands for a more decentralized decision-making structure. These demands mean a change in the power structure. Information has become the source of power and control. If citizens are to be involved equally in decisions, it means they must have freer access to the reception and distribution of information - especially in the mass media. Television as a medium has the capacity to deeply involve people and to transmit a large volume of information. In Canada, the content of broadcast television is controlled by the government agency, the CBC, and private broadcasters. Financial interests (advertisers and stockholders) can exert strong influence on programme content. A scarcity of broadcast channels and very expensive and complicated equipment restrict access to broadcast television. Cable television offers a solution. It has a potential capacity of eighty-two channels; it does not require as sophisticated equipment; and the Canadian Radio-Television Commission requires the cable system operator to provide a community channel. Free access by citizens to a cable channel for expression and information is the basis of community television. Several cases, in which media access and citizen influence over decisions were improved, were examined. The Fogo Island project exhibited the power of film to help a community to formulate its goals and define solutions to its problems. The Drumheller project used video-tape, instead of film, to the same ends. In both these projects the citizens controlled the content of the "programmes". The Barrie experiment used two electronic media (television and telephone) for dialogue. The content of the programme was determined by a community committee. The Richmond project used electronic dialogue but the content was greatly influenced by a technical panel. The experiment in the West End was designed to spur discussion of the future of that area, to interest some residents in the use of video and cable television for expression of their attitudes about West End life and some directions for development. On a small scale the experiment was successful; the extension over a longer period of time will determine its final outcome. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Community and Regional Planning (SCARP), School of / Graduate

Feminist researchers have noted the invisibility of women in power structure studies to date and have suggested that it is the methods of main-stream social science research that systematically obscure women's political activities. The primary objective of this study is to identify and describe the women who participate in the public decision-making process at the community level, as a test of the suggestion that there is a bias in the methods, and as a way of beginning to correct the present lack of knowledge about women's contributions to community politics. There is, however, no accepted theory of community power, and the organization and distribution of power in a Canadian suburban community, a previously unstudied setting, could not be taken for granted. Therefore, the research has been designed to determine both the structure of power in the community and the location of women in that structure. Variations on standard research methods are used to identify men and women active in community politics, and interviews with elected and other community leaders provide data about the leaders, their memberships in key organizations, and their political activities and strategies. Fictitious names are given to the community, some of the local organizations, and the community leaders in order to protect the anonymity of the informants. The distribution of power in the community is found to conform to the elite power structure model. An organized opposition somewhat limits the power of the dominant clique, but this does not constitute evidence of the mutual control that some researchers state is the case in pluralistic societies. A comparison of the data in this and other studies indicates that individuals active in sectors such as business, government and the independent professions, are predominant in all the communities in the comparative survey, no matter what type of community or what methods are used to identify the community leaders. It is suggested that this finding lends weight to the stratification theorists' assessment of the distribution of power in the community. It is concluded that the methods of power structure research are designed to focus on the most powerful members of the community, and active women will be under-reported because, although they are similar to influential men in personal characteristics, women are not often elected to positions of power, they are less likely than men to be members of the associations and institutions through which political power is organized, and they are less often active in the issues that are important to the dominant men. However, main-stream social science research has been designed by men to focus mainly on men's experiences. Women have been classified only in terms of the men in their lives, their political behaviour has been defined in different ways than men's, and researchers and informants alike have not thought of women as influential in public decision-making. By using methods which draw attention to the women who are active in community politics, it is shown that women participate in many ways to shape public policy, from activities that are designed to influence economic issues and land use decisions, to those which influence the type of educational and welfare programs available to the community. Women bring many personal resources to the decision-making process, but lack the organizational resource bases that men use to exert influence and gain political power. Women, like less powerful men in the community, exercise influence in different ways than the men in the dominant clique. It is recommended that the study of women's political experiences be used as a starting point in studying the organization, exercise and distribution of power at the community level from the perspective of relatively powerless individuals and groups. It is hoped that apart from offering women a way to validate their political experiences and to understand the nature of the limitations on their power, such studies will provide the impetus to renew efforts in developing a comprehensive theory of community power. / Arts, Faculty of / Anthropology, Department of / Graduate