A República Argentina baseia sua economia interna na produção agropecuária. Na província de Buenos Aires se encontra o Município de Pergamino, que abriga um complexo sistema de produção agroindustrial (SAG), que representa a vanguarda desta economia. Por sua forte inserção internacional, a dinâmica deste sistema reflete a dinâmica dos agronegócios internacionais. Este trabalho analisa a dinâmica deste sistema local, com vistas à antecipação dos cenários futuros dos agronegócios da região pampeana Argentina. Foi procedida a caracterização dos vetores da dinâmica dos agronegócios do município de Pergamino, por meio da identificação dos principais stakeholders, das variáveis-chave que incidem na evolução dos sistemas agroindustriais e suas inter-relações, correlacionando-as com as tendências de cada um dos setores-elos deste SAG. A identificação e análise destes elementos se constituem nas etapas preliminares da construção de cenários futuros dos agronegócios do município e do seu entorno. A análise prospectiva do SAG pretende capacitar os principais stakeholders vinculados ao uso do solo do Município de Pergamino às possíveis mudanças que poderão acontecer no futuro. A metodologia se baseia no emprego de 49 entrevistas semi-estruturadas com os principais stakeholders dos setores do SAG local, relacionados aos insumos, produção, indústria, mercado e às atividades de implicações gerais. A identificação dos stakeholders foi apoiada por consultas a oito especialistas vinculados ao SAG. Esta pesquisa concluiu que as mudanças estruturais no SAG do município de Pergamino são geradas primordialmente pelos stakeholders internacionais. Destacaram-se um total de 24 variáveis-chave, relevantes aos agronegócios do município. As variáveis-chave de maior freqüência de menção se referem às políticas nacionais do Estado Argentino, à bioenergia, à demanda asiática, à biotecnologia e às barreiras comerciais internacionais. As principais variáveis-chave dinamizadoras das tendências do futuro dos agronegócios de Pergamino estariam relacionadas à demanda internacional, principalmente da China, à concentração das empresas dos setores de insumos e indústria, aos avanços da biotecnologia e à inclusão das culturas voltadas ao mercado de bioenergia na sua pauta de produção. Ao lado destas variáveis, afetas a elementos mercadológicos e à inovação tecnológica, também seriam vetores importantes de construção do futuro do município de Pergamino, a concentração das empresas nos setores de insumos e da indústria, associada às inversões estratégicas das trading e às barreiras comerciais. Uma variável de importância latente no município de Pergamino se refere à possibilidade de ocorrência de crises sociais, possivelmente derivada da ameaça associada aos processos de concentração de atividade econômica ou a quedas de demanda do mercado exterior, que incidiria no desenvolvimento da economia regional. Pelos resultados desta pesquisa, o futuro dos agronegócios de Pergamino será determinado primordialmente pelas variáveis que se derivam da sua forte inserção e interdependência dos mercados internacionais e da concentração dos negócios em um pequeno número de empresas, as quais subordinam, tanto as reações e iniciativas relativas aos investimentos e as escolhas locais, como as próprias políticas públicas de adaptação às mudanças externas. Neste trabalho foi revelador que a importância para a economia local das variáveis relativas à evolução do mercado, à concentração empresarial e à inovação tecnológica são fortes indicadores da inserção e interdependência internacional dos agronegócios da região pampeana Argentina / The economics of Republic of Argentina is based on agricultural production. In the province of Buenos Aires is located the county of Pergamino, which encloses a complex system of agribusiness production (SAG), representing the frontline of this economy. For its strong international insertion, the dynamics of this system reflects the dynamics of the international agribusiness. This research analyses the dynamics of the local system, aiming the anticipation of future scenarios of agribusiness of Argentina Pampas. The characterization of the vectors of the agribusiness dynamics of Pergamino County was carried out by identifying the main stakeholders, the key variables that underline the evolution of agribusiness systems and their interrelationships, correlating them with the trends of each one of the link-sectors of this agribusiness system. The identification and analyses of these elements are the preliminary steps in the construction of the future scenarios of the agribusiness in the county. The prospective analyses of the agribusiness system intend to capacitate the main stakeholders linked to the land use of Pergamino to face the possible changes that may happen in that field in the future. The methodology is based on the use of 49 semi-structured interviews with the main stakeholders of the local agribusiness system sectors, related to inputs, production, industry, market and general activities. The stakeholders identification was supported by consulting eight experts related to the local, agribusiness system. The conclusion of this research is that the structural changes in the county of Pergamino agribusiness system are generated mainly by international stakeholders. A total of 24 key variables were identified as relevant to the county agribusiness future. The most frequent key variables mentioned by the interviewers are related to Argentina Government politics, bioenergy, asian demand, biotechnology and international market barriers. The main forces driving Pergamino agribusiness future trends would be related to international demand, mainly from China, concentration of companies in the inputs and industry sectors, advances in biotechnology, and the inclusion of crops used in the production of bioenergy in the local fields. Along with these variables, affected by market elements and technological innovation, are also important vectors in the construction of the future of Pergamino County the concentration of companies in the inputs and industry sectors, associated to the strategic initiatives of the tradings, and the commercial barriers. A variable of latent importance in Pergamino is the possibility of occurring social crisis, possibly due to the threat related to concentration processes of economic activities or reduction in the demand of international trade, which would influence the regional economic development. Based in these research results, the future of Pergamino agribusiness will be determined mainly by variables that derive from the strong insertion and dependence of international trades, and concentration of business in a small number of companies, which subordinate the reactions and the initiatives related to local investments and choices, and the public policies towards the adaptation to international changes. This study has shown the importance of the variables related to market evolution, concentration of companies and technological innovation to the local economy, which can be understood as strong indicators of the international insertion and interdependence of Argentina Pampa agribusiness.

A República Argentina baseia sua economia interna na produção agropecuária. Na província de Buenos Aires se encontra o Município de Pergamino, que abriga um complexo sistema de produção agroindustrial (SAG), que representa a vanguarda desta economia. Por sua forte inserção internacional, a dinâmica deste sistema reflete a dinâmica dos agronegócios internacionais. Este trabalho analisa a dinâmica deste sistema local, com vistas à antecipação dos cenários futuros dos agronegócios da região pampeana Argentina. Foi procedida a caracterização dos vetores da dinâmica dos agronegócios do município de Pergamino, por meio da identificação dos principais stakeholders, das variáveis-chave que incidem na evolução dos sistemas agroindustriais e suas inter-relações, correlacionando-as com as tendências de cada um dos setores-elos deste SAG. A identificação e análise destes elementos se constituem nas etapas preliminares da construção de cenários futuros dos agronegócios do município e do seu entorno. A análise prospectiva do SAG pretende capacitar os principais stakeholders vinculados ao uso do solo do Município de Pergamino às possíveis mudanças que poderão acontecer no futuro. A metodologia se baseia no emprego de 49 entrevistas semi-estruturadas com os principais stakeholders dos setores do SAG local, relacionados aos insumos, produção, indústria, mercado e às atividades de implicações gerais. A identificação dos stakeholders foi apoiada por consultas a oito especialistas vinculados ao SAG. Esta pesquisa concluiu que as mudanças estruturais no SAG do município de Pergamino são geradas primordialmente pelos stakeholders internacionais. Destacaram-se um total de 24 variáveis-chave, relevantes aos agronegócios do município. As variáveis-chave de maior freqüência de menção se referem às políticas nacionais do Estado Argentino, à bioenergia, à demanda asiática, à biotecnologia e às barreiras comerciais internacionais. As principais variáveis-chave dinamizadoras das tendências do futuro dos agronegócios de Pergamino estariam relacionadas à demanda internacional, principalmente da China, à concentração das empresas dos setores de insumos e indústria, aos avanços da biotecnologia e à inclusão das culturas voltadas ao mercado de bioenergia na sua pauta de produção. Ao lado destas variáveis, afetas a elementos mercadológicos e à inovação tecnológica, também seriam vetores importantes de construção do futuro do município de Pergamino, a concentração das empresas nos setores de insumos e da indústria, associada às inversões estratégicas das trading e às barreiras comerciais. Uma variável de importância latente no município de Pergamino se refere à possibilidade de ocorrência de crises sociais, possivelmente derivada da ameaça associada aos processos de concentração de atividade econômica ou a quedas de demanda do mercado exterior, que incidiria no desenvolvimento da economia regional. Pelos resultados desta pesquisa, o futuro dos agronegócios de Pergamino será determinado primordialmente pelas variáveis que se derivam da sua forte inserção e interdependência dos mercados internacionais e da concentração dos negócios em um pequeno número de empresas, as quais subordinam, tanto as reações e iniciativas relativas aos investimentos e as escolhas locais, como as próprias políticas públicas de adaptação às mudanças externas. Neste trabalho foi revelador que a importância para a economia local das variáveis relativas à evolução do mercado, à concentração empresarial e à inovação tecnológica são fortes indicadores da inserção e interdependência internacional dos agronegócios da região pampeana Argentina / The economics of Republic of Argentina is based on agricultural production. In the province of Buenos Aires is located the county of Pergamino, which encloses a complex system of agribusiness production (SAG), representing the frontline of this economy. For its strong international insertion, the dynamics of this system reflects the dynamics of the international agribusiness. This research analyses the dynamics of the local system, aiming the anticipation of future scenarios of agribusiness of Argentina Pampas. The characterization of the vectors of the agribusiness dynamics of Pergamino County was carried out by identifying the main stakeholders, the key variables that underline the evolution of agribusiness systems and their interrelationships, correlating them with the trends of each one of the link-sectors of this agribusiness system. The identification and analyses of these elements are the preliminary steps in the construction of the future scenarios of the agribusiness in the county. The prospective analyses of the agribusiness system intend to capacitate the main stakeholders linked to the land use of Pergamino to face the possible changes that may happen in that field in the future. The methodology is based on the use of 49 semi-structured interviews with the main stakeholders of the local agribusiness system sectors, related to inputs, production, industry, market and general activities. The stakeholders identification was supported by consulting eight experts related to the local, agribusiness system. The conclusion of this research is that the structural changes in the county of Pergamino agribusiness system are generated mainly by international stakeholders. A total of 24 key variables were identified as relevant to the county agribusiness future. The most frequent key variables mentioned by the interviewers are related to Argentina Government politics, bioenergy, asian demand, biotechnology and international market barriers. The main forces driving Pergamino agribusiness future trends would be related to international demand, mainly from China, concentration of companies in the inputs and industry sectors, advances in biotechnology, and the inclusion of crops used in the production of bioenergy in the local fields. Along with these variables, affected by market elements and technological innovation, are also important vectors in the construction of the future of Pergamino County the concentration of companies in the inputs and industry sectors, associated to the strategic initiatives of the tradings, and the commercial barriers. A variable of latent importance in Pergamino is the possibility of occurring social crisis, possibly due to the threat related to concentration processes of economic activities or reduction in the demand of international trade, which would influence the regional economic development. Based in these research results, the future of Pergamino agribusiness will be determined mainly by variables that derive from the strong insertion and dependence of international trades, and concentration of business in a small number of companies, which subordinate the reactions and the initiatives related to local investments and choices, and the public policies towards the adaptation to international changes. This study has shown the importance of the variables related to market evolution, concentration of companies and technological innovation to the local economy, which can be understood as strong indicators of the international insertion and interdependence of Argentina Pampa agribusiness.

Urbanization is one of the biggest threats to biodiversity. To address this problem, landscape planners have increasingly adopted landscape ecology as a theoretical basis for planning. They use spatial concepts that express principles of landscape ecology in diagrammatic form to create frameworks for planning. This dissertation presents a quantitative approach to evaluate the application of spatial concepts developed to create an armature of open space in areas subject to urbanization. It focuses on the predicted urban expansion of Damascus, Oregon, as a case study. An alternative futures study was used to test three open space spatial concepts for patches, corridors and networks in combination with compact and dispersed urban development patterns. The resulting eight scenarios of land use and land cover were then modeled for the year 2060 to evaluate their effects on habitat quantity, quality and configuration and to identify tradeoffs between urban development and conservation for three focal wildlife species: Red-legged frog, Western meadowlark, and Douglas squirrel. Open space spatial concepts strongly influenced habitat quantity and quality differences among future scenarios. Development patterns showed less influence on those variables. Scenarios with no landscape ecological spatial concept provided the most land for urban development but reduced habitat quantity and quality. Greenway scenarios showed habitat increases but failed to provide sufficient habitat for Western meadowlark. Park system scenarios showed habitat increases, but high-quality habitats for Western meadowlark and Red-legged frog decreased. Network scenarios presented the best overall amount of habitats and high-quality habitats for the three species but constrained urban development options. Next, I used an individual-based wildlife model, HexSim, to simulate the effects of habitat configuration and to compare and contrast resulting wildlife population sizes among the eight future scenarios with the ca. 2010 baseline landscape. Network scenarios supported the largest number of Red-legged frog breeders. Park scenarios performed best for meadowlarks, while greenway scenarios showed the largest populations of squirrels. Four of the eight scenarios sustained viable populations of Western meadowlarks. Compact development scenarios performed best for most indicators, but dispersed development scenarios performed better for Western meadowlarks. This dissertation includes both previously published and unpublished material.

abstract: Transformational sustainability science demands that stakeholders and researchers consider the needs and values of future generations in pursuit of solutions to sustainability problems. This dissertation research focuses on the real-world problem of unsustainable water governance in the Phoenix region of Central Arizona. A sustainability transition is the local water system is necessary to overcome sustainability challenges and scenarios can be used to explore plausible and desirable futures to inform a transition, but this requires some methodological refinements. This dissertation refines scenario methodology to generate water governance scenarios for metropolitan Phoenix that: (i) feature enhanced stakeholder participation; (ii) incorporate normative values and preferences; (iii) focus on governance actors and their activities; and (iv) meet an expanded set of quality criteria. The first study in the dissertation analyzes and evaluates participatory climate change scenarios to provide recommendations for the construction and use of scenarios that advance climate adaptation and mitigation efforts. The second study proposes and tests a set of plausibility indications to substantiate or evaluate claims that scenarios and future projections could become reality, helping to establish the legitimacy of radically different or transformative scenarios among an extended peer community. The case study of water governance begins with the third study, which includes a current state analysis and sustainability appraisal of the Phoenix-area water system. This is followed by a fourth study which surveys Phoenix-area water decision-makers to better understand water-related preferences for use in scenario construction. The fifth and final study applies a multi-method approach to construct future scenarios of water governance in metropolitan Phoenix in 2030 using stakeholder preferences, among other normative frames, and testing systemic impacts with WaterSim 5.0, a dynamic simulation model of water in the region. The scenarios are boundary objects around which stakeholders can weigh tradeoffs, set priorities and reflect on impacts of water-related activities, broadening policy dialogues around water governance in central Arizona. Together the five studies advance transformational sustainability research by refining methods to engage stakeholders in crafting futures that define how individuals and institutions should operate in transformed and sustainable systems. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Sustainability 2014

A República Argentina baseia sua economia interna na produção agropecuária. Na província de Buenos Aires se encontra o Município de Pergamino, que abriga um complexo sistema de produção agroindustrial (SAG), que representa a vanguarda desta economia. Por sua forte inserção internacional, a dinâmica deste sistema reflete a dinâmica dos agronegócios internacionais. Este trabalho analisa a dinâmica deste sistema local, com vistas à antecipação dos cenários futuros dos agronegócios da região pampeana Argentina. Foi procedida a caracterização dos vetores da dinâmica dos agronegócios do município de Pergamino, por meio da identificação dos principais stakeholders, das variáveis-chave que incidem na evolução dos sistemas agroindustriais e suas inter-relações, correlacionando-as com as tendências de cada um dos setores-elos deste SAG. A identificação e análise destes elementos se constituem nas etapas preliminares da construção de cenários futuros dos agronegócios do município e do seu entorno. A análise prospectiva do SAG pretende capacitar os principais stakeholders vinculados ao uso do solo do Município de Pergamino às possíveis mudanças que poderão acontecer no futuro. A metodologia se baseia no emprego de 49 entrevistas semi-estruturadas com os principais stakeholders dos setores do SAG local, relacionados aos insumos, produção, indústria, mercado e às atividades de implicações gerais. A identificação dos stakeholders foi apoiada por consultas a oito especialistas vinculados ao SAG. Esta pesquisa concluiu que as mudanças estruturais no SAG do município de Pergamino são geradas primordialmente pelos stakeholders internacionais. Destacaram-se um total de 24 variáveis-chave, relevantes aos agronegócios do município. As variáveis-chave de maior freqüência de menção se referem às políticas nacionais do Estado Argentino, à bioenergia, à demanda asiática, à biotecnologia e às barreiras comerciais internacionais. As principais variáveis-chave dinamizadoras das tendências do futuro dos agronegócios de Pergamino estariam relacionadas à demanda internacional, principalmente da China, à concentração das empresas dos setores de insumos e indústria, aos avanços da biotecnologia e à inclusão das culturas voltadas ao mercado de bioenergia na sua pauta de produção. Ao lado destas variáveis, afetas a elementos mercadológicos e à inovação tecnológica, também seriam vetores importantes de construção do futuro do município de Pergamino, a concentração das empresas nos setores de insumos e da indústria, associada às inversões estratégicas das trading e às barreiras comerciais. Uma variável de importância latente no município de Pergamino se refere à possibilidade de ocorrência de crises sociais, possivelmente derivada da ameaça associada aos processos de concentração de atividade econômica ou a quedas de demanda do mercado exterior, que incidiria no desenvolvimento da economia regional. Pelos resultados desta pesquisa, o futuro dos agronegócios de Pergamino será determinado primordialmente pelas variáveis que se derivam da sua forte inserção e interdependência dos mercados internacionais e da concentração dos negócios em um pequeno número de empresas, as quais subordinam, tanto as reações e iniciativas relativas aos investimentos e as escolhas locais, como as próprias políticas públicas de adaptação às mudanças externas. Neste trabalho foi revelador que a importância para a economia local das variáveis relativas à evolução do mercado, à concentração empresarial e à inovação tecnológica são fortes indicadores da inserção e interdependência internacional dos agronegócios da região pampeana Argentina / The economics of Republic of Argentina is based on agricultural production. In the province of Buenos Aires is located the county of Pergamino, which encloses a complex system of agribusiness production (SAG), representing the frontline of this economy. For its strong international insertion, the dynamics of this system reflects the dynamics of the international agribusiness. This research analyses the dynamics of the local system, aiming the anticipation of future scenarios of agribusiness of Argentina Pampas. The characterization of the vectors of the agribusiness dynamics of Pergamino County was carried out by identifying the main stakeholders, the key variables that underline the evolution of agribusiness systems and their interrelationships, correlating them with the trends of each one of the link-sectors of this agribusiness system. The identification and analyses of these elements are the preliminary steps in the construction of the future scenarios of the agribusiness in the county. The prospective analyses of the agribusiness system intend to capacitate the main stakeholders linked to the land use of Pergamino to face the possible changes that may happen in that field in the future. The methodology is based on the use of 49 semi-structured interviews with the main stakeholders of the local agribusiness system sectors, related to inputs, production, industry, market and general activities. The stakeholders identification was supported by consulting eight experts related to the local, agribusiness system. The conclusion of this research is that the structural changes in the county of Pergamino agribusiness system are generated mainly by international stakeholders. A total of 24 key variables were identified as relevant to the county agribusiness future. The most frequent key variables mentioned by the interviewers are related to Argentina Government politics, bioenergy, asian demand, biotechnology and international market barriers. The main forces driving Pergamino agribusiness future trends would be related to international demand, mainly from China, concentration of companies in the inputs and industry sectors, advances in biotechnology, and the inclusion of crops used in the production of bioenergy in the local fields. Along with these variables, affected by market elements and technological innovation, are also important vectors in the construction of the future of Pergamino County the concentration of companies in the inputs and industry sectors, associated to the strategic initiatives of the tradings, and the commercial barriers. A variable of latent importance in Pergamino is the possibility of occurring social crisis, possibly due to the threat related to concentration processes of economic activities or reduction in the demand of international trade, which would influence the regional economic development. Based in these research results, the future of Pergamino agribusiness will be determined mainly by variables that derive from the strong insertion and dependence of international trades, and concentration of business in a small number of companies, which subordinate the reactions and the initiatives related to local investments and choices, and the public policies towards the adaptation to international changes. This study has shown the importance of the variables related to market evolution, concentration of companies and technological innovation to the local economy, which can be understood as strong indicators of the international insertion and interdependence of Argentina Pampa agribusiness.

The question of peatlands management in Ireland is characterised by tensions between environmental, social and economic concerns, making it of central relevance to the field of sustainable development. This thesis examines the complexities associated with the current peatlands landscape in Ireland through the analytical framework of social-ecological systems including the concepts of environmentalism, heritage and future agency. The landscape and its complexities are demonstrated through an analytical description, the analysis of interviews with Irish people involved in peatlands, and the development of future scenarios. The results show that the Irish peatlands landscape is a highly complex topic displaying clashes between rural communities, government and environmental authorities in numerous ways. They also indicate that the heritage associated with Irish peatlands is diverse and multi-dimensional. Within this context, there is a need for balance between environmental and social concerns. However, the question of sustainability might never be settled in the future and instead will likely require constant evaluation and re-evaluation by the various actors involved in carrying it out.

In this master’s thesis project, future scenarios for year 2050 were constructed for Denmark, Finland and Sweden using an environmentally extended input-output analysis (EEIOA). Scenarios were constructed based on national sustainability targets. A case-specific five stage modeling approach was developed. Approach consists of changes in input-output tables for Electricity grid, Fossil primary energy, Industry sectors, Transport and Allocation of fossil fuel replacements. To represent business-as-usual development, EEIO tables for 2009 were used as reference and baseline scenarios. Constructed scenario models resulted in substantial CO2 emission reductions compared to baseline scenario. In scenario results for Denmark, emissions reduced 98.17 %, in Finland 81.41 % and in Sweden 77.90 %. Furthermore, based on Planetary Boundary framework, greenhouse gas emission carrying capacities were estimated in sectoral level for 2050. Carrying capacities for year 2050 for Denmark, Finland and Sweden were 9909.99 kton CO2-eq, 9049.42 kton CO2-eq and 18691.96 kton CO2-eq, respectively. Compared to radically reduced emissions in scenario results, Denmark and Sweden reached emission levels below estimated national carrying capacities. For Finland, carrying capacity level was exceeded by 2437.77 ktons. EEIOA was found to be an efficient tool for constructing and analyzing explorative long-term scenarios. In addition, it is possible to integrate absolute sustainability thresholds to EEIOA. Scenario results indicate that implementation of the existing national sustainability targets would lead to radical emission reductions in Denmark, Finland and Sweden by 2050 compared to business-as-usual development. Based on the scenario results, transport and industry sectors were identified as the emission hotspot sectors in 2050. EEIOA is a noteworthy method for decision-support for assessing sustainability strategies. With EEIOA, it is possible to allocate and study national sustainability targets on a sectoral level, and that way potentially substantially increase the effectiveness and implementation of defined sustainability targets. However, further research on modeling dynamics, data quality and underlined uncertainties are needed before studied approaches can develop into decision-support tools.

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / The meteorological systems modulate the behavior of rainfall and temperature on large regions and must be correctly simulated by the climate models. The representation of these events should be good for the reliability model to be higher. This research therefore has the primary aim of examining how atmospheric blocks and frontal systems are being detected. Was used for this, the model of the British Center, HadGEM2-ES (Hadley Centre Global Environment Model version 2 Earth System) in two climate change scenarios, RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 in the future (2020-2049) projections series, comparing them with series of reference for the past 30 years (1975-2004). The results will be validated from those already found by other studies. For the blocks, the detection method proposed by Pelly e Hoskins (2003), in which find meridionaly anomalous variations of potential temperature in the dynamical tropopause. Frontal systems were found by frontogenetic function first proposed by Petterssen (1956). Moreover, the study of changes in rainfall, simulated by RegCM4 (Regional Climate Model version 4) model for the South and Southeast regions of Brazil is made. The main results show that there good agreement between the annual cycle and positioning of both systems by the model on past. There is a reduction of blocking systems on Central Pacific (170.0◦W-120◦W) and increased over the same region of the Southeast Pacific (117.5◦W-80◦W) and the Southwest Atlantic (77.5◦W-40◦W) in both future scenarios. The frontal systems, which also show a good agreement in the reference series, have a tendency to increase the frequency in the two studied regions. Likewise the accumulated rainfall simulated on RegCM4 indicating to be more significant in summer, fall and spring seasons and behavior similar to that reported previously for the winter months. / A atuação de sistemas meteorológicos modula o comportamento das chuvas e da temperatura de grandes regiões, devendo ser corretamente simulados pelos modelos climáticos. A representação dos sistemas deve ser consideravelmente boa para que a confiabilidade no modelo seja mais alta. Esta pesquisa, portanto, tem o principal objetivo de analisar como bloqueios atmosféricos e sistemas frontais estão sendo reproduzidos por estes modelos. Foi utilizado para isso, o modelo do centro britânico, o HadGEM2-ES (Hadley Centre Global Environment Model version 2 Earth System) em dois cenários de mudança climática, o RCP4.5 e o RCP8.5, em séries de projeções futuras (2020-2049), comparando-os com uma série de referência de 30 anos para o passado (1975-2004). Os resultados encontrados serão validados a partir daqueles já encontrados por outros estudos. Para os bloqueios, o método usado é o proposto por Pelly e Hoskins (2003), em que se buscam variações meridionalmente anômalas de temperatura potencial na tropopausa dinâmica. Já os sistemas frontais foram encontrados através da função frontogenética proposta inicialmente por Petterssen (1956). Além disso, é feito o estudo da alteração no regime de chuvas, simulados pelo modelo RegCM4 (Regional Climate Model version 4) para as regiões Sul e Sudeste do Brasil. Os principais resultados mostram que existe uma boa concordância entre o ciclo anual e o posicionamento de ambos os sistemas pelo modelo no passado. Verifica-se uma redução dos sistemas de bloqueio sobre a região do Pacífico Central (170.0◦W-120◦W) e um aumento dos mesmos sobre a região do Pacífico Sudeste (117.5◦W-80◦W) e do Atlântico Sudoeste (77.5◦W-40◦W) em ambos os cenários futuros. Já os sistemas frontais, que também mostram uma boa concordância na série de referência, possuem uma tendência de aumento em sua frequência nas duas regiões estudadas. Da mesma forma o regime de chuvas simuladas pelo RegCM4 indica acumulados mais significativos nas estações de verão, outono e primavera e um comportamento próximo ao observado para os meses de inverno.

In order for the societal paradigm to shift in favor of climate-conscious practices and behaviors, it is clear that new and radically different perspectives need to be introduced to the public’s perception of climate change and sustainability. Humanity is currently suffering from a crisis of the imagination; the illustrious yet hegemonic worldview that we have exhausted all options available to us in the face of climate change. This locks our future in to a set trajectory, as other options that may be unlikely yet possible and (un)desirable are ignored. Through the use of interactive media, specifically commercial video games, such radically different perspectives on the future can be presented to large audiences on a global scale and with instantaneous distribution. Commercial games are able to, through the interplay between interactivity, narrative intrigue and symbolic/ empathetic resonance, create worldmaking interactions which may in turn lead to escape velocity; a possible way to break free of the crisis of the imagination. The empirical foundation for the thesis was gathered through interviews with gamers from all over the world, in which participants shared their stories about gaming, sustainability and climate change. The thesis found that commercial video games are able to aid in the visualization of potential futures by offering worldmaking interactions. The strongest argument for using commercial video games as a conduit for worldmaking interactions seem to be their ability to appeal to our sense of empathy. Further, the thesis found that in this, commercial games are in some ways superior to serious games, though a joining of aspects from both types of games seem to hold greater potential still. Arguments can be made that commercial games lack transferability of experience, though the empirical results of this thesis seem to at least partially discredit this. Further research is needed to assert this fact more firmly. Keeping the empirical results in mind, the thesis offers a simple framework for developers to use in the development of commercially viable games aimed at worldmaking interactions for sustainability.

As a technical writer I have come to see that the collaborative media landscape has started to change the way many B2C companies work with support information. It is companies producing software based consumer products that has taken the lead in this new way of approaching the customers. More and more companies in other product segments are starting to go in the same direction. But what happens to the technical writer when more and more customers are creating their own support information? The death of the technical writer has been proclaimed for several years. It is no wonder that one asks: What is the future role of the technical writer facing the challenges with collaborative media? That is also the research question for this thesis.To investigate this I have experimented with a method called scenario planning and scenario writing. In order to get a well-grounded base of trends to create the scenarios from I’ve concluded a rigorous empirical base. The following methods where used: In-depth interviews with practitioners in the technical writer field Content analysis of a support forum Email interviews with frequent forum users.It was clear that when implementing new media structures it also involves new challenges. These challenges could potentially also lead to new roles for the technical writer. The challenges I consider to be most important were; trust, transparency, motivation and information overload. To facilitate those needs and challenges roles like community manager, content curator and content strategist are needed.With those roles in mind I created four scenarios. Each with a different take on collaborative media (and one that actually ignored this emerge). The names of the scenarios are: The outcasts The insider matter Sharing is caring The third player