Global climate change has been a point of concern over the past century. Some of its major consequences, which are already present, include melting of glaciers, increasing sea water level, temperature rise and excessive acidity of sea water. The natural fluctuations harm the ecology and the biological species will face increased extinction risk. The raise of the water level will cause sinking and gradually vanishing of the land’s surface as a natural resource and place for habitation. It has been estimated that if Greenland ice sheet melts completely, the water would be enough to cover the land with up to 6 meters. The project investigates the consequences of the rising sea levels due to the climate change and what impact this will have on the topography and the natural landscape. It proposes a utopian vision for a large scale strategy for agriculture which does not rely on the use of land. The structure comprises of inflatable spherical modules, which float on the water surface. It is a dynamic and expandable system, with minimal environmental footprint, designed for low-lying areas vulnerable to flooding and land shortage. The more the land surface is vanishing due to the increasing sea levels, the more the structure will stretch to compensate for the loss of farmland.

In Murakami's Norwegian Wood, romance and coming-of-age confront the growing trend of postmodernity that leads to a discontinuity of life becoming more and more common in post-war Japan. As the narrator struggles through a monotonous daily existence, the text gives the reader access to the narrator's struggle for self- and societal identity. In the end, he finds his means of self-acceptance through escape, and his escape is a product of his attempts at negotiating the multiple settings or "scapes" in which he finds himself. The thesis follows the narrator through his navigation of these scapes and seeks to examine the different way that each of these scapes enables him to attempt to negotiate his role in an indifferent and increasingly consumerist society. The Introduction discusses my overview of the project, gives specifics about Murakami's life and critical reception and outlines my particular methodology. In the overview section, I address the cultural and societal tensions and changes that have occurred since the Second World War. Following this section, I provide a brief critical history of Murakami's texts, displaying not only his popularity, but also the multiple disagreements that arise over the Japanese-ness of his work. In my methodology section, I plot my eco-critical, eco-feminist, eco-psychological and deconstructive procedure for dissecting Murakami's text. The subsequent chapters perform a close reading of Murakami's text, outlining the different scapes and their attempts at establishing identity. Within these chapters, I have utilized subheadings as I felt they were needed to mark a change not on theme, but on character and emphasis. My conclusion reasserts my initial argument and further establishes the multiscapes as crucial negotiations, the price and product of which is self-identity.

A conservation planning protocol based on components from successful conservation projects in Mexico and other countries was developed to evaluate conservation planning practices and to serve as a template to guide future conservation planning efforts in Mexico. My research specifically explored stakeholder analysis and performance measurement as currently applied to conservation planning. Twenty-seven natural protected area (NPA) management plans and 6 plans from modified rural landscape projects (MDRL), all within Mexico, were evaluated. Additionally, 38 planning team members from 8 selected case studies were interviewed. I used the Laguna de Babicora Watershed planning process and management plan as the focus of my examination of stakeholder analysis. Seventy-four individuals who represented 5 major stakeholder categories were identified and interviewed. Examples of process-, outcome-, output-, and input-related performance measures (PMs) were developed for the Babicora project using information collected from my interviews, the existing management plan, and my conservation planning protocol. The approaches used and products generated from NPA and MDRL plans differed substantially. NPA plans often used pre-established planning guidelines dictated by the overseeing or authorizing agency. Institutional rigidity was a limiting factor to development of NPA management plans. NPA plan content suggested that planners focused more attention on inventory and strategic planning than on other planning components, yet recommended operational strategies in NPA management plans still were comprehensive. MDRL planning processes were more sensitive to local conditions, but less comprehensive than NPA plans. With MDRL plans, on-the-ground pilot projects often were initiated concurrent with inventory and strategic planning efforts. As a result, MDRL planning teams often did not complete management plans due to demands imposed by these concurrent projects. Performance measurement systems for both plan implementation and monitoring of planning processes largely were absent in all NPA and most MDRL projects. Only one MDRL case study addressed process-related performance measures. NPA and MDRL plans both suffered from poor issue identification and problem definition, offering only generic strategic statements that lacked indicators of spatial scale, geographic location, and causative agents. Management plans overall, but NPA in particular, also lacked clear links among identified problems, other key stages of the planning process, and desired or stated outcomes. Unfamiliarity with or failure to use effective diagnostic tools, coupled with a need to comply with existing planning protocols, produced management recommendations that frequently were not justified or related to identified management problems, particularly among NPA plans. MDRL case studies, which typically targeted smaller geographic areas, were not as comprehensive as NPA plans. However, MDRL case studies more often incorporated stronger participatory components. Demands from participatory processes often delayed final development of MDRL management plans. Although NPAs and MDRLs currently follow different planning processes, ultimate success in conservation management may best be served by blending complementary components from each approach. Stakeholders who participate in conservation planning fundamentally are issue specific. Current environmental literature on stakeholder methodologies endorses use of general categories. Although cross-category stakeholder analysis is useful during inventory and strategic planning, within-stakeholder analysis is necessary for successful plan implementation. My findings suggest that within-stakeholder analysis helps (1) identify problems or needs important to particular stakeholders, (2) identify stakeholders with contrasting behavior within categories, and (3) establish areas for potential collaboration. Stakeholder involvement, tailored to local conditions, should occur in all planning stages. Successful conservation planning in Mexico currently should be addressed more as a question of human organization. Suggested performance measures to help monitor and evaluate both the planning process and plan implementation were developed. Process-related PMs focused on the 4 major planning stages. Process-related PMs allow planners to analyze and reassess the direction of the planning process; they are not prescriptive, rather statements that recognize planning as a social exercise likely to face areas where trade-offs are likely to occur (e.g., problem identification, sharing decision-making, public involvement). Performance measures for plan implementation should be hierarchical, nested, and include input-, output-, and outcome-related assessment attributes. / Ph. D.

With the rise of intergenerational programming (e.g., intergenerational co-housing) across Canada and a demographic shift whereby the number of people 65 years and over is expected to almost double from 13.2% to 24.5% by 2036, mechanisms supporting intergenerational relations are crucial. Intergenerational landscapes (IL) is a term I use to describe all that is across, between, and within generational cohorts. The conceptual understandings of intergenerational landscapes and how they could be beneficial (or detrimental) in later life require revisiting in gerontological research. This dissertation uses a multi-method qualitative design to examine conceptual frameworks, experienced relations, and contemporary dynamics of IL. I am investigating IL at diverse locations of experience emphasizing the voices of both older and younger people. This includes, a conceptual review of intergenerational knowledge (Paper One), the intersections of intergenerational dynamics in a co-housing setting (Paper Two), and an autoethnographic account of managing an intergenerational co-housing project (Paper Three). This dissertation focuses on conceptual models, how paradigms of IL are reproduced in practice, and how contemporary dynamics are experienced in a Canadian context. This thesis aims to initiate a meaningful dialogue on how current theorizing requires revisiting, given the contemporary landscape. This thesis supports the advancement of academic knowledge, programming, and public policy in aging research. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) / The aim of this thesis is to understand how contemporary conditions, such as population aging, may influence intergenerational relations. In this dissertation, I examine conceptual understandings, social influences, and people’s experiences of intergenerational co-housing. In the first section of this dissertation, I suggest a new language to discuss the 'intergenerational’ and highlight the importance of critical gerontological perspectives. I then examine how participants of an intergenerational co-housing program experience their living arrangement against a backdrop of contemporary change through a critical realist lens. I then turn to an autoethnographic account of managing an intergenerational co-housing project that sheds light on features of contemporary society that impact intergenerational realities. Finally, this research suggests ways to better discuss and debate intergenerational ideas and how they are related to aging, the field of gerontology, and older people.

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