The Donlin and Pebbles mines are two of the eight industrial-scale hard rock mines currently under the review of Alaska’s Large Mine Permitting program. Both projects promise to deliver profit and employment to their respective regions: Pebble to Bristol Bay in the southwest, and Donlin to the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, just north of Pebble. Both projects would also produce exceptional quantities of waste and will require almost-unprecedented infrastructure development, potentially threatening the lives and subsistence livelihoods of the Alaska Native peoples in their respective regions. The Pebble project inspired international protest and led to the emergence of a powerful resistance coalition of commercial, recreational, and subsistence fishers; activists and expert-consultants were thus able to build a powerful movement outside of and prior to the state permitting and impact assessment process. The coalitions that arose to oppose the Donlin project, in contrast, channeled their work through the state’s official public engagement processes – in part, due to strategic limitations stemming from the complexities of land use, sovereignty, and development politics specific to the Yukon-Kuskokwim region. The coalitional resistance to Pebble and the creative use of Donlin’s public participation process are key sites in which Western science and knowledge systems, as well as land use ideologies centered on extraction and profit, meet with Native Alaskan traditional knowledge and subsistence approaches to land use. I draw upon a history of Alaskan land use policy alongside extensive interviews with community organizers, state and federal officials, mining industry officials, and consultants in order to describe and understand the result: a set of creative resistance strategies that forefront hybrid approaches to knowledge and multiple, overlapping understandings of the land. Unfortunately, Alaska’s large mine permitting and environmental assessment processes are often structurally and epistemologically unable to consider these divergent discourses and the public imaginations of alternative futures they support and constitute.

Starting in the 1940s, the cultural revolution associated with the popularity of television placed new demands on how and where designers communicated the value of their work with the American public. "Televising Architecture" explains how architects, planners, and other design professionals used television as a communication technology and as a cultural platform for shaping public opinion on the built environment. Each of the six chapters describes a specific purpose and context for the application of television to architectural practice. I consider public affairs programs produced by the American Institute of Architects; the use of closed-circuit television for space simulations; public service announcements meant to offset negative coverage on urbanism; interactive television projects that elicited community participation in planning; and PBS mini-series on the history of American architecture. I conclude by discussing Home and Garden Television (HGTV) as a lesson in media convergence for design professionals in the twenty-first century. "Televising Architecture" provides a new way to understand architecture not as a text, image, or built object, but as a complex system of communication models — including representation, negotiation, mediation, and participation — that occur between design experts and the public at large. I draw from the work of media and technology scholars who treat media as sites of negotiation and convergence. One of my primary methods is to analyze the largely untapped archive of architectural images, texts, and sound-bites found in television programming. I do so by examining programs themselves, including frame-by-frame analysis to identify what the programs communicated through visual tropes and camera and editing techniques, and a textual analysis, drawing on transcripts, program summaries, and press coverage. As a result, Televising Architecture provides historical perspectives— and a series of media lessons— for understanding the practice of architecture in our current digital culture, wherein architects must navigate a new media environment in the pursuit of social relevance. / text

In this project, I argue for the importance of public engagement as a method of scholarship for the discipline of creative writing, in writing studies, and the broader humanities. I do so by using historical study, ethnography and survey data, in order to trace the history of creative writing's disciplinarity, define its contemporary practices as socially collaborative and inventive, and show how those practices align with the goals and methods of public engagement projects. This dissertation contributes to a growing body of work in composition studies calling for collaboration between composition and creative writing, and I argue that though creative writers in the academy often participate in what is variously called "community outreach" or "public engagement" activities, that work can and should be more clearly articulated as part of the work of the discipline. Higher education's recent turn toward public engagement--as evidenced by monographs on the subject but also by real-world changes like the addition of language about public engagement to the tenure and promotion guidelines and ten-year plans of many universities--presents a compelling opportunity to re-articulate what it means to be a writer in the university. Work in public engagement provides new access to institutional prestige and funding, and opens connections between the various areas of writing studies in order to better serve university communities, teachers, and students.

The practice of environmental assessment (EA) in Ontario, Canada and elsewhere has been criticized for resulting in projects that are not necessarily “good” for the environment or society, but simply “less bad.” In Ontario, the ongoing erosion over time of meaningful public involvement in the EA process is seen as a major reason for the degradation of EA practice from something closer to its idealistic purpose of creating “sustainable” development down to its current state, as many have suggested, as an administrative process to ensure legislated minimum requirements (for action or outcome) are met. Nonetheless, the EA process in Ontario continues to offer one of the best legislated processes available for addressing the potential negative impacts associated with public projects in the province. Ontario’s streamlined Class EA process allows for routine, low-impact public projects to proceed without ministerial review so long as certain minimum standards for technical review and public consultation are met. It also includes a mechanism for stakeholders to request ministerial review should a stakeholder believe a substantive or procedural error or oversight has occurred during the study. This mechanism, called a Part II Order request, has been invoked in recent years for multiple reasons in addition to correcting substantive or procedural errors or oversights. This research asks why stakeholders request Part II Orders. Through review and coding of Part II Order request letters from various projects across Ontario, and conducting detailed case studies of projects for which Part II Order requests were made in the Greater Toronto Area, it was determined that the two most commonly-found issues in the Part II Order letters were related to stakeholders feeling distrustful of the proponent or the EA process, and stakeholders feeling as though they were not adequately engaged in public consultation activities for the EA study. The case studies examined these themes in greater detail, and found that these two issues were intertwined with issues of stakeholder power and control. The research findings suggest that EA outcomes can be improved by altering public consultation activities to provide stakeholders with greater control over the decision-making process in a transparent manner so that stakeholders are aware not only of the perspectives of the proponent, but also those of other stakeholders.

Effective coastal planning is inclusive and incorporates the variety of user needs, values, and interests associated with coastal environments. This requires understanding how people relate to coastal environments as ‘places’, imbued with values and meanings, and accordingly, tools that can capture place and connect with people’s ‘sense of place’ have the potential for supporting effective coastal management strategies. Realistic, immersive geographical visualizations, i.e., geovisualizations, theoretically hold potential to serve such a role in coastal planning. However, significant research gaps exist around this application context. Firstly, place theory and geovisualizations are rarely explicitly linked in the same studies, leaving questions around the (potential) relationship between these tools and sense of place. Secondly, geovisualization work has focused on terrestrial environments, and research on how to realistically model coastal places is currently in its infancy. This dissertation aims to address these gaps by pursuing two research objectives. The first objective is to explore the ‘human component’ of geovisualizations, referring to how these tools operate within the social and cultural dimensions germane to environmental management plans and processes. In accordance with the discussion above, this exploration is framed through place theories and concepts, and regards realistic geovisualizations as ‘place-based’ tools. The second objective concerns the coastal context, and it involves elucidating the considerations around developing and using terrestrial-to-marine geovisualizations as tools for inclusive coastal planning and management. The dissertation is composed of five manuscripts, which have been prepared as standalone articles for submission to academic journals. Each manuscript details a study designed to support an aspect of the research objectives, respectively serving (1) to develop a theory of geovisualizations as place-based tools, (2) to explore the theory in the coastal context, (3) to examine the relationship between sense of place and one’s mental visualization of place, (4) to develop a coastal geovisualization under place-based considerations and examine its capacity for connecting to sense of place, and (5) to assess the geovisualization’s potential as a tool for inclusive coastal planning efforts. The first and second study consist of literature review work. The third study involves a survey administered to residents of the Capital Regional District, which collected data for examining a potential relationship between the way people visualize coastal places and how they value and relate to these places. The fourth and fifth study involve developing a coastal geovisualization of Sidney Spit, and then employing focus groups to examine its ability for connecting with people’s sense of place (i.e., fourth study) and utility as a tool for inclusive planning (i.e., fifth study). Outcomes from the first study include a theory on how geovisualizations can function as place-based tools, and this was developed by integrating place concepts with ideas and conceptual models from human-media interaction and sense of presence research. The second study produced insight on how values and interests of different coastal user groups can influence understandings and perceptions of coastal places, and it used this insight to develop recommendations for coastal geovisualizations - full navigability, dynamic elements, and flexibility (i.e., allowing for continual modification and scenario building). The third study produced empirical evidence that place-based values and interests (i.e., framed through sense of place and concerns for place) can influence one’s mental visualization of place in terms of the types of elements people include and perspectives they take in said visualization. The fourth study demonstrated that the presence of certain elements in coastal geovisualizations (such as people, dogs, birds, marine life, vegetation, and boats) can contribute to realism and sense of place; however, simultaneously, deficiencies in numbers and varieties of these elements can detract from realism and sense of place. In addition, the fourth study found that the incorporation of soundscape and viewshed elements is significant for the tool’s ability to connect with sense of place. The fifth study demonstrated the geovisualization’s usefulness for assessing certain qualities of management scenarios, such as aesthetics and functionality of fencing around a restoration area and potential viewshed impacts associated with locations of moored boats. The study also found that incorporating navigability into the geovisualization proved to be valuable for enhancing understandings around scenarios that hold implications for the marine environment because it allowed users to cross the land-sea interface and experience underwater places. / Graduate

yes / You Are What You Ate was a British public engagement project funded by the Wellcome Trust between 2010 and 2014. It was a collaboration between the University of Leeds, the University of Bradford and Wakefield Council, especially its museums, schools and libraries, which aimed to use medieval food as a way to encourage reflection about modern food and lifestyle. The innovative project ran three exhibitions in Wakefield and Pontefract, a mobile exhibition, numerous schools and youth workshops, and a series of market stalls and osteology workshops for adults and children in the Yorkshire region. This article provides an overview of the project’s aims, activities, outcomes, including an analysis of how to evaluate them, and its legacy.

Climate change is an ongoing problem, and climate adaptation is high on the agenda. Climate adaptation is a global issue with local impacts, and it benefits from participatory planning. Participatory planning has lots of opportunities, but also some challenges, for example, that it requires time and resources. Getting minority groups involved can also be a challenge. This study aims to investigate the opportunities and challenges with digital storytelling as a method to amplify the voices of the community and create a mutual understanding of climate change and climate adaptation between the citizens, planners, and the county government, using the project Future Yetu as a case study. Interviews were conducted with key persons with different roles in the project, and a survey was sent to the digital storytelling workshop participants. The results show that there are many benefits to using digital storytelling; it can help balance out the inherent power structures in society, it creates greater engagement among the participants, the public can more easily relate and gain an increased understanding of the problems, and it creates a sense of togetherness among the residents. In Future Yetu, it has also led to several implementations, and dialogue with Nairobi City County has been started. Challenges with digital storytelling have also been identified. Access to technology and the ability to use it has proven to be the most common challenge, especially in developing countries. It has also been proved to be challenging to integrate digital storytelling into the regular planning process, mainly due to the personnel required. However, there are opportunities for organizations such as the Hope Raisers Initiative, which already has trained facilitators and the technology needed to offer the process as a service to support the work of the county and the policymakers. / Klimatförändringar är ett pågående problem över hela världen och alla människor påverkas, mer eller mindre. Särskilt utsatta för klimatförändringarnas effekter är människor som bor i informella områden. Kunskapen om både klimatförändringar och klimatanpassning måste öka bland invånarna, samtidigt som marginaliserade grupper får höras och vara med och påverka. Beslutsfattare och planerare behöver veta vilka problem som finns och vilka åtgärder som fungera i det specifika området. Deltagandeplanering blir mer och mer vanligt och används med fördel inom klimatanpassning. Klimatförändringarna är ett globalt problem, men effekterna sker lokalt och behöver åtgärdas utifrån den lokala kontextens förutsättningar. Ett problem när det gäller deltagandeplanering har varit att nå marginaliserade grupper, men deltagande metoder som används rätt kan ge dem möjlighet och förmåga att delta i planering och informera dem om vilka åtgärder de själva kan implementera tillsammans, för klimatanpassning och förändra samhället i rätt riktning.  Syftet med den här studien är att undersöka möjligheterna och utmaningarna med digital storytelling som metod för att förstärka samhällets röster och skapa en ömsesidig förståelse för klimatförändringar och klimatanpassning mellan medborgare, planerare och beslutsfattare. Projektet Future Yetu i Korogocho, Nairobi som genomförts av Hope Raisers Initiative används som en fallstudie. Syftet är också att skapa en guide för digital storytelling som ett verktyg för planering av klimatanpassning som kan användas i andra delar av Nairobi eller andra städer och länder.  Intervjuer och en enkätundersökning har genomförts med olika personer som varit delaktiga i projektet Future Yetu. Resultaten visar att det finns många fördelar med att använda digital storytelling, bland annat kan det hjälpa till att balansera ut de inneboende maktstrukturerna i samhället, då alla använder samma språk för att kommunicera inom digital storytelling. Andra fördelar är att det skapar större engagemang bland deltagarna, allmänheten kan lättare relatera och få en ökad förståelse för problemen och det skapar en känsla av gemenskap bland invånarna. I projektet Future Yetu har det även lett till en rad implementeringar och att en dialog med Nairobi City County har påbörjats. Det finns även en del utmaningar med digital storytelling. Tekniken är det som har visat sig vara den vanligaste utmaningen, både tillgång till den och förmågan att använda den, speciellt i utvecklingsländer. Det har även visat sig svårt att integrera digital storytelling i den vanliga planeringsprocessen, främst på grund av personalåtgången. Dock finns det möjligheter för organisationer som till exempel Hope Raisers Initiativ, som redan har utbildad personal och tekniken som krävs att erbjuda processen som en service för att stötta beslutsfattarnas arbete.

Objectives: The use of interactive public engagement methods to elicit public values is becoming routine practice in health system planning, policy and evaluation; however, little systematic attention has been given to the analysis of how these values are articulated. This process will be examined with the use of deliberative discourse methods in the context of health technologies. Approach: The deliberations of a 14-person Citizens’ Reference Panel on Health Technologies were audiotaped and transcribed. The panel provided input to the Ontario Health Technology Advisory Committee in developing its recommendations. Discussion transcripts were analyzed using Gee’s (2005) ‘building tasks’ framework with a focus on identities, relationships, and politics. In depth language-context analysis was then used to study ‘situated meanings’ of social and ethical citizen values. Both levels of discourse analysis were then used to elicit the meso-level dynamics within the citizen panel deliberations. Results: Panel members used the provided materials, personal experience and other sources of information to express their values toward the technologies under review. In the group, members used their occupational, personal and cultural identities and adopted in-group citizen panel roles that involved summarizing small group discussions, challenging other members, providing information, providing expertise, interpreting information and facilitating. These individual roles were similar across meetings and members began to form relationships with their fellow citizens and make connections between the values involved in similar technologies. Conclusion: Discourse analysis methods can be used to draw in-depth insights from public engagement deliberations which contribute important new knowledge to the field of public deliberation and health policy. Further use and refinement of deliberative discourse methods will allow public values to be better understood and more adequately portrayed in the health technology assessment process. / Master of Science (MSc)

Yes / The You Are What You Ate project is a collaboration between historians, archaeologists, museum officers, medieval re-enactors and food scientists. We aim to encourage public debate and personal reflection on modern eating habits through exploration of the dietary choices of the medieval and early modern period. This paper will discuss our osteology workshops, aimed at adults or at school children. We use archaeological examples of diet-related conditions, including dental disease, scurvy, rickets and gout, plus those associated with obesity such as osteoarthritis and DISH, to help the public visualise how dietary choices can affect the body. This information is delivered via an introductory talk and carefully monitored bone handling sessions – and, for the children, includes the analysis of a plastic skeleton modified to display pathological conditions. Evaluation data shows that the majority of adults and all children feel they have learnt something new during the sessions, and that this has led them to think about healthy eating. The inclusion of examples of dental pathology has promoted dental hygiene to school children, although it was not one of our primary aims. It is difficult to assess if these short-term experiences translate to long-term knowledge gain or to changes in behaviour.

Yes / Dig! Arts Access Project brought together excavation with artistic interpretations using collage, painting, drawing and poetry, to engage school learners in the legacy of the Whitworth Park Community Archaeology and History project. Through a series of workshops and site visits with local schools, participants expressed some of the ambiguities felt by urban children about parks. However, by the end of the sessions, they had increased their understanding of the history and heritage of their everyday places and were more confident about visiting parks. / Martin Harris Centre and University of Manchester Alumni Funding - Arts Access Funding