Change in Focus
Using Visual Methods in Sustainability Research: From Local to Global View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Debby Cotton, Jennie Winter
In a world rich with visual stimuli, where imagery is fundamental to our construction and comprehension of ourselves, of nature, and of others, visual methods are increasingly recognised as vital tools for research. Visual methods draw on a range of qualitative approaches including auto-photography, visual mapping, films, collages, sculpture, and graffiti (Glaw et al., 2017). These media are used to explore additional, often latent layers of meaning, offering a rich data set, and arguably creating a deeper understanding than traditional research methods. This presentation will outline the range of visual methods available and their strengths and weaknesses. We will explore the different ways in which visual data can be understood, and offer an example of how we have used visual methods in sustainability research. Our research (currently underway) aims to explore staff and student conceptions of sustainability on a UK university campus. Research questions include consideration of the locations identified as embodying positive and negative elements of sustainability, and exploration of the ways in which visual and verbal articulations of sustainability encompass the environmental, social and economic elements. The project involves auto-photography (using a photo competition to gain access to visual images of sustainability on campus) and photo-elicitation (through focus groups using photographs as visual stimulus for discussion). We will analyse the photos as artefacts, as well as exploring the range of meanings that are attributed to them by focus group participants. Moving from the local context to the global, we consider the implications for understanding sustainability in wider contexts.
Agritourism, Natural Environment, Unemployment, and Economic Welfare in a Developed Country View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Kenji Kondoh
This study examines the effects of policy changes and improvements in the agritourism sector in a developed country with free trade and capital movement. This country consists of two regions: an urban area where the manufacturing sector is located and a rural area where both the agricultural and agritourism sectors are located. We consider free labor mobility between two areas and the structural, frictional unemployment in the urban area. We demonstrate that if agritourism is environmentally friendly, a reduction of the ratio of agricultural goods to touristic services in the agritourism sector, an enhancement of labor productivity of tourism sector, and technological improvements about environmental protection in either manufacturing or agritourism sector will enhance the level of the natural environment, urban and rural wage rates, and domestic welfare while reduce the urban unemployment rate and urban-rural wage gap. Labor inflow improves the natural environment and domestic welfare but the effects on urban-rural wage gap and urban unemployment rate are not clear.
A Franciscan Perspective on Nature-centered Leadership for Environmental Justice View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Spencer S Stober
Nature-centered leaders promote dialogue to find common ground among divergent views on how humans should interact with the environment for a sustainable future. The teachings of Saint Francis, and more recently, Pope Francis, are part of that dialogue. Franciscan colleges and universities are uniquely positioned to promote environmental justice with an emphasis on service, humility, peacemaking, contemplation, and collegiality. Mitigating and ameliorating harm to those most vulnerable to climate change is necessary. A model for community engagement is described along with practical steps in the formation of leaders with the courage to seek common ground when exploring difficult questions. Is environmental justice for people or nature? What makes us so doggone special? Does our clever nature and hubris blind us to the possibility that natural systems are more resilient than our social systems? Why is climate change a “Wicked Problem”? Have we acknowledged our predicament? Are we on track for a “Tragedy of the Commons”? Who will pay the price? Where do we go from here? The dialogue around these questions provides a framework for Nature-centered leaders who seek environmental justice and work to transform our relationship with each other to sustain the environment. They advocate with others to promote an aspirational narrative—a hopeful story—one of reconciliation. With time, we, and our many organizations, will restore our relationship with each other and the natural world for a more resilient future.
Cultural Studies - the Specificity of the Study of Culture and the Actuality of the Intellectual Project View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Toni Popovic
The paper considers cultural studies as a specific interdisciplinary approach to the study of popular culture. The definition of culture in the discourse of cultural studies and the development of this intellectual project are specified, with associated criticisms of its proliferation and possible direction of development. The first part of the paper presents the work of the Center for Contemporary Cultural Studies in Birmingham (CCCS) as a canon of cultural studies, highlighting its key intellectual sources, representatives and research topics (e.g. the concept of ideology, women's studies, ethnicity and racial issues). The second part of the paper considers the spread of cultural studies beyond the British context and its current global presence. Although the social context of cultural studies has changed since the time of their appearance in the 1960s (tertiarization, fragmentation of classes, expansion of the Internet, globalization of culture, etc.), it is concluded that this project retains its importance in order to recognize the possibility of culture as a catalyst for social changes and the emancipation of disadvantaged groups (classes, youth, women, racial, ethnic, sexual and religious minorities, etc.). Cultural studies should remain a specific critical thought about society, whose representatives are closely related to the practice of social movements and identity politics in contemporary society.
