Matching Items (67)
Description
Previous studies have referred to Arizona as a prime destination for agrivoltaics (AVs)adoption due to favorable climatic conditions and the food-energy-water nexus benefits reported on a few scientific field pilots. Despite this demonstrated potential, there are very few farms in Arizona that have adopted AV technology. This slow pace of adoption of AVs in Arizona seems puzzling, relative to the urgency of multiple sustainability challenges. This dissertation attempts to unravel the different layers of complexity that underlie this puzzle and sheds light on the pathways of transition to AVs in Arizona. The first study investigates barriers to the adoption of AV technology in central Arizona using a mixed-methods approach, wherein qualitative analysis of semi-structured interviews with stakeholders is complemented with Social Network Analysis to reveal the structure of relationships among the barriers and associated stakeholders. Results indicate high economic costs and lack of cross-sectoral collaboration as among the top ranked barriers to be addressed first. Results also highlight the critical role of city governments as hybrid actors that connect actors across sectors andas gatekeepers regulating flow of resources and information. The second study develops a techno-economic optimization model that demonstrates the various economic benefits derived from the characterization of electricity to meet urban and farm-based energy demands. The findings reveal that optimum use of electrical energy from AVs
can add significant value in terms of offsetting a portion of the growing power grid
load through clean energy and by providing better annual rate of returns via the optimum supply of electricity. Finally, the third study applies Multi-Level Perspectives framework to analyze the interactions among actors and processes at different levels that influence the development of the technology, and derives pathways to navigate
through the challenges of AV transition. In summary, this dissertation provides key findings on the barriers of adoption,demonstrates the value of optimally using the electrical energy derived from AVs and
highlights the numerous challenges of AV transition. The findings from this research
will be critical in the future growth of AVs as it is currently in the early phases of
AV technology adoption in Arizona.
ContributorsRoy Choudhury, Mayuri (Author) / Aggarwal, Rimjhim (Thesis advisor) / Breetz, Hanna (Committee member) / Pasqualetti, Martin (Committee member) / Parker, Nathan (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2024
Description
This study explores the responses of Arizona’s Refugee SupportNetwork (RSN) to the COVID-19 disaster, focusing on the role of both formal
and informal networks in shaping refugee access to services. Research
demonstrates that resilient refugee support systems must be informed by the
communities they serve. However, mainstream refugee resettlement programs
often need more flexibility to integrate local, community-based feedback into
their service delivery models, limiting the adaptability of formal support
networks during disasters. Through 17 expert interviews and 19 refugee
community interviews, analysis of disaster and COVID-19 policies, and social
infrastructure mapping this research explored how informal and formal
networks shifted to remote services and the lived experiences of refugees
navigating systemic barriers like digital literacy and institutional distrust. The
findings highlight that neither formal nor informal networks can effectively
operate in isolation; their integration is essential for addressing gaps in service
delivery and ensuring adaptable, inclusive support, particularly during crises
like the COVID-19 disaster. While formal networks, such as local resettlement
agencies (LRAs), were constrained by regulatory frameworks and rigid
workflows, community-based organizations (CBOs) were able to leverage
grassroots approaches and culturally responsive strategies to fill service gaps.
ContributorsReiswig, Clinton (Author) / Smith, Lindsay (Thesis advisor) / Chhetri, Nalini (Committee member) / Um, Mee Young (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2024
Description
My Critical Yoga Studies investigation maps from the early 20th century to present day how yoga has become white through U.S. law and cultural productions, and has enhanced white privilege at the expense of Indian and people of color bodies. I position Critical Yoga Studies at the intersection of Yoga Studies, Critical Race Theory, Indigenous Studies, Mobilities Studies, and transnational American Studies. Scholars have linked uneven development and racial displacement (Soja, 1989; Harvey, 2006; Gilmore, 2007). How does racist displacement appear in historic and current contexts of development in yoga? In my dissertation, I use yoga mobilities to explain ongoing movements of Indigenous knowledge and wealth from former colonies, and contemporary “Indian” bodies, into the white, U.S. settler nation-state, economy, culture, and body. The mobilities trope provides rich conceptual ground for yoga study, because commodified yoga anchors in corporal movement, sets billions of dollars of global wealth in motion, shapes culture, and fuels complex legal and nation building maneuvers by the U.S. settler state and post-colonial India. Emerging discussions of commodified yoga typically do not consider race and colonialism. I fill these gaps with critical race and Indigenous Studies investigations of yoga mobilities in contested territories, triangulating data through three research sites: (1) U.S. Copyright law (1937-2015): I chart a 14,000% rise in U.S. yoga copyrights over a century of white hoarding through archival study in Copyright Public Records Reading Room, Library of Congress; (2) U.S. popular culture/music (1941-1967): I analyze twentieth-century popular song to illustrate how racist tropes of the Indian yogi joined yoga’s entry into U.S. popular culture, with material consequences; (3) Kerala, India, branded as India’s wellness tourism destination (2018): I engage participant-observation and interviews with workers in yoga tourism hubs to document patterns of racialized, uneven access to yoga. I find legal regimes facilitate extraction and displacement; cultural productions materially segregate and exclude; and yoga tourism is a node of racist capitalism that privileges white, settler mobility at the expense of Indian people, land, culture.
ContributorsSingh, Roopa (Author) / Lomawaima, K. Tsianina (Thesis advisor) / Aggarwal, Rimjhim (Committee member) / Swadener, Elizabeth (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2019
Description
What happens to community-based institutions (CBIs) when persistent out-migration changes the socio-demographic structures in the community? This question needs exploration in the context of increasing urbanization in the developing countries, where a substantial population depends on forests for subsistence livelihoods. In pursuance of this question, Almora district in India provided the necessary conditions of high out-migration, and the presence of oldest surviving CBIs of forest management (locally called as Van Panchayats or VPs). Framing the research question as social resilience of VPs amidst high out-migration, a representative sample of six VPs in Almora was investigated. Factors considered crucial to social resilience were analyzed by using qualitative and quantitative techniques on primary data collected through household surveys (n=111) and secondary data from authentic sources. Results, organized by three levels of analysis, highlight: 1) community - low participation, particularly of women, in proceedings of VPs, and a transition away from forest-based livelihoods; 2) institutional (VPs) - low adaptability to changes in gendered composition and a shift away from the community-specific needs; and, 3) policy - reduced use and access of forest resources for the community, and curtailed autonomy of VPs. The findings suggest that out-migration is one among the multiple factors, and its impacts on VPs are mediated by the broader political economy around VPs, thus obviating a linear causal relationship. Therefore, the findings arguably inform policy and future research by highlighting linkages between diverse contextual factors at the regional and community level, and the points of concern for social resilience of VPs, with particular focus on out-migration.
ContributorsPrateek, Gautam (Author) / Knopf, Richard (Thesis advisor) / Aggarwal, Rimjhim (Committee member) / Kelman, Candice Carr (Committee member) / Mobarakeh, Behrang Forroughi (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2017
Description
This paper discusses the second phase of sustainability in the field of design and identifies the success factors of design innovation in the ethnic craft industry in northern Thailand. This study explored craftspeople’s capital, their means of developing it, and potential routes to sustainable development on the capital.
The literature review examines three topics: (1) ethnic identity and craft; (2) northern Thailand and hill tribes; and (3) design thinking, vulnerability, and resilience.
Empirical research was conducted with hill tribe craftspeople in northern Thailand. Seven types of capital—human, social, natural, physical, financial, cultural, and emotional capital—were identified through interviews and observation. Those types of capital indicated what the craftspeople wanted and needed.
The key findings were as follows: First, social capital has a close relationship with both human capital and emotional capital, indicating that for craftspeople, networks and membership ensure knowledge and increase connections with friends and family. Secondly, emotional capital is affected by financial capital. Financial capital refers to the monetary resources used to achieve craftspeople’s livelihood objectives. The craftspeople required high order volumes to earn to more money and thus improve their economic condition; they experienced more stress when order volumes were low. Third, financial capital is not related to social and cultural capital. Graphs implied certain relationship among them, with the reasons varying depending on the individual craftsperson’s environment. A high level of social and cultural capital does not affect low financial capital, and vice versa. Finally, cultural capital directly influences emotional capital because the happiness of hill tribe craftspeople is related to their identity and dignity as craftspeople.
The literature review examines three topics: (1) ethnic identity and craft; (2) northern Thailand and hill tribes; and (3) design thinking, vulnerability, and resilience.
Empirical research was conducted with hill tribe craftspeople in northern Thailand. Seven types of capital—human, social, natural, physical, financial, cultural, and emotional capital—were identified through interviews and observation. Those types of capital indicated what the craftspeople wanted and needed.
The key findings were as follows: First, social capital has a close relationship with both human capital and emotional capital, indicating that for craftspeople, networks and membership ensure knowledge and increase connections with friends and family. Secondly, emotional capital is affected by financial capital. Financial capital refers to the monetary resources used to achieve craftspeople’s livelihood objectives. The craftspeople required high order volumes to earn to more money and thus improve their economic condition; they experienced more stress when order volumes were low. Third, financial capital is not related to social and cultural capital. Graphs implied certain relationship among them, with the reasons varying depending on the individual craftsperson’s environment. A high level of social and cultural capital does not affect low financial capital, and vice versa. Finally, cultural capital directly influences emotional capital because the happiness of hill tribe craftspeople is related to their identity and dignity as craftspeople.
ContributorsLee, Hyojin (Author) / Takamura, John (Thesis advisor) / O’Neill, Gerald Daniel (Committee member) / Chhetri, Nalini (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2017
Description
Development is a compelling, but imprecise goal. Although the concept can motivate action and mobilize resources, fundamental questions about what it means to ‘develop’ and what actions are required to achieve that goal remain the subject of intense debate. Faced with this uncertainty, development actors can look to two sources of guidance: other disciplines, or the practice of development itself. This dissertation explores the origins of the theories which guide development action and argues that in order for development to deliver on its mandate it must reject supposedly universal theories borrowed from other disciplines (‘exogenous’ theories) and instead must develop contingent, local theories based in the on-the-ground experiences of those doing development (‘endogenous’ theories).
This argument is demonstrated using the case of innovation theory in Guyana. Innovation and development are both popular ways to make sense of change and in recent decades they have become conflated, with innovation being presented as a near-universal fix for development problems. This discourse has taken root in Guyana, where the recent discovery of oil has made the questions of development increasingly urgent and the promise of innovation increasingly attractive. The argument proceeds in four phases:
Chapter one explores how and why certain theories become influential in development, then discusses the implications of doing development work based on ‘exogenous’ versus ‘endogenous’ theory. It then proposes four guidelines for the use of theory in development.
Chapter two traces how innovation came to become understood as a solution to development problems, and assesses whether and under what conditions it can be expected to contribute to development.
Chapter three turns to Guyana, and builds on interviews and participant observation to present an endogenous theory of innovation in Guyana. The chapter also explores the practical and methodological challenges of building such a theory.
Chapter four compares the endogenous theory of innovation presented in the previous chapter to several dominant exogenous theories, exploring the policy implications of each and demonstrating why the endogenous theory provides a superior source of guidance for development action in Guyana.
ContributorsBarton, Chris J (Author) / Crow, Michael (Thesis advisor) / Anderson, Derrick (Thesis advisor) / Grossman, Gary (Committee member) / Chhetri, Nalini (Committee member) / Calhoun, Craig (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2023
Description
Adaptation to climate change is a core sustainability challenge across the Global South. Development and government organizations conceptualize and govern climate adaptation by creating national and sub-national action plans and implementing projects. This dissertation confronts the inherent tensions that arise when formal planned adaptation interventions encounter the complex, often messy realities of the implementation context. In doing so, this research examines how planned adaptation—with its incentives, provisioned resources, prescribed behaviors, and expectations of commitment from target beneficiaries —interacts with individuals and communities already balancing diverse risks while pursuing their livelihood aspirations. Two broad questions guide this dissertation: 1) how is adaptation envisioned by planners and practitioners? and, 2) how do project beneficiaries engage with, and experience planned adaptation interventions? The research employs an exploratory and inductive qualitative research design. Using Foucault’s lens of governmentality, this research utilises document analysis to examine how the first wave of Indian adaptation projects envision goals, conceptualize problems, delineate roles, and frame expectations of intended beneficiaries. Next, using a case study of an adaptation project implemented in Uttarakhand, India, the study examines the motivations and associated trade-offs behind the engagement and disengagement of the intended beneficiaries: smallholder farmers. Insights from gender-differentiated focus group discussions guide this analysis. Both inquiries are supplemented with findings from semi-structured interviews with Indian adaptation experts and project implementers. The analysis finds that: 1) project reports construct identities of the climate vulnerable beneficiary, implicitly assigning roles and transferring responsibilities for sustaining adaptation efforts beyond project timelines, 2) project participants are not default beneficiaries, but instead exercise agency in decision-making by either opting-in or opting-out of planned initiatives, and 3) the implicit and explicit costs of engaging in planned adaptation interventions are substantial, encompassing significant contributions of time, physical labor, and active participation during and post the project period. This dissertation challenges existing notions of whom planned adaptation serves, and to what end, offering new insights into its design and effectiveness. Furthermore, this research suggests that for planned adaptation to be sustainable, a concerted effort to align with evolving needs, aspirations and livelihood shifts of those on the frontlines of climate change is essential.
ContributorsYogya, Yamini (Author) / Eakin, Hallie (Thesis advisor) / Aggarwal, Rimjhim (Committee member) / York, Abigail (Committee member) / Agrawal, Arun (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2024
Description
In the Ecuadorian Constitution, universities, as part of the Science, Technology, Innovation, and Ancestral Knowledge System, must develop technologies and innovations that promote national production, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve quality of life. However, in their role as promoters of development through the generation and transfer of knowledge, universities worldwide have traditionally focused above all on innovations that benefit industries and the formal economic sector. Therefore, universities continue to be seen as elitist, as institutions that do not work for people with low incomes. This is problematic given that, as stated in the Constitution, universities in Ecuador, even private ones, are seen as public goods; therefore, they can receive resources from the state, civil society, and NGOs or tax exemptions. This research aims to evaluate Ecuadorian universities' approaches towards research, innovation, and development and identify what influences the decision-making, including environmental elements. This work adopts the theoretical perspective of neo-institutionalism that explains how the institutional environment affects how organizations work or tend to survive; in this case, it accommodates Ecuadorian universities. The methodological approach of this research uses a mixed design: First, it conducted a classical content analysis of university documents such as status, strategic plans, and regulations from the 62 existing Ecuadorian universities. The documents provided information on the adoption of development perspectives by Ecuadorian universities. Then, it uses thematic analysis of the responses of key informants from 12 universities, who were informants in-depth with a semi-structured interview; the results help to understand what influences the adoption of different development perspectives by Ecuadorian universities. Whereas Ecuadorian universities present a higher frequency of mentions of the mainstream development perspective, the Ecuadorian Constitution intends to favor outcomes desirable from a post-development perspective. Universities are thus confronted with the imperative to balance socially beneficial research with global trends such as the imperative for economically valuable and profitable research, as well as isomorphic pressures associated with the Constitution, whether mimetic or coercive.
ContributorsLopez Zurita, Hector Santiago (Author) / Parmentier, Mary Jane (Thesis advisor) / Chhetri, Nalini (Thesis advisor) / Dabars, William (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2024
Description
Research shows that effective community development starts with local people. Mainstream academia, however, lacks literature documenting their perspectives as valuable sources of insight for an inclusive implementation. Rural Latin America provides a repository of ideas that can bridge the knowledge gap. This study focuses on exploring and articulating rural visions of community development in Paraguay, through 31 school leaders (principals, teachers, and students) seen as critical representatives of local interests due to their historical, cultural, and social roles. Vital for data collection were the iterative adjustments based on local feedback, yielding findings that reflect a community development approach uniquely contextualized around agents, assets, challenges, decisions, and actions. A number of innovative methodological tools emerged as an immediate contribution to future research: the ABCD (Actively Building Community) Framework, the Maximum Vox Populi (MVP) Strategy, and DeMoS (Drone-enhanced Modeling of Scenarios). As mid- to long-term contributions, the voices explored here provide scholars, practitioners, policymakers, and all stakeholders with profound lessons on designing sustainable community development founded on local wisdom instead of external imaginations.
ContributorsAguilera Ramirez, Augusto Ariel (Author) / Chhetri, Nalini (Thesis advisor) / Dutta, Uttara (Thesis advisor) / Garcia, David (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2024
Description
This dissertation examines the role of farmer cooperatives in fostering inclusiveagricultural development, with a focus on individual and collective women’s
empowerment. Using the coffee sector in Uganda as a case study, the dissertation
adopts an interdisciplinary approach that combines qualitative methods (surveys, in-
depth interviews and scenario planning workshop) to explore how cooperatives address
the empowerment of women. In the Gender and Development (GAD) and Inclusive
Development literature, there is growing interest in collective organizing as a pathway
to social inclusion, with farmer cooperatives seen by scholars as playing a crucial role.
Women often join cooperatives to access financial services, technical information, and
agro-technologies to improve crop quality and yield. However, development scholars,
have not paid adequate attention to how the diverse characteristics of women such as
education, socioeconomic status and marital status intersect to influence women’s
empowerment. A wider framework is therefore crucial for analyzing the
multidimensional inclusive processes that occur within cooperatives. This study
proposes a new framework, empowerment conundrum framework, which explores how
cooperatives can promote inclusive development by facilitating individual and collective
empowerment among women. It investigates how intersectional factors such as
education, socioeconomic status, and marital status shape women’s access to resources,
technology adoption, and their ability to organize collectively within cooperatives.
Findings from this study provide empirical evidence that farmer cooperatives are
important spaces that provide economic, social value, and agency that supports
individual and collective empowerment. However, the extent to which these benefits are
realized vary among women. It also explores the potential for men to act as allies in
women’s empowerment and shows that organizational legislations within cooperatives
have facilitated men acting as allies but not without tension. Inclusive processes within
cooperatives are complex processes that involve overcoming challenges such as poor
leadership, lack of transparency and lack of government support. Findings from this
dissertation contribute to GAD literature and offer insights for development actors to
design programs that reduce gender inequality in agriculture. Ultimately, the findings
reveal the ongoing challenges and successes of farmer cooperatives in promoting
inclusive development.
ContributorsMakinde, Oluwabukola Olukemi (Author) / Spackman, Christy (Thesis advisor) / Aggarwal, Rimjhim (Committee member) / Mueller, Valerie (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2024