Village landscape from near and far : Participatory geospatial methods to integrate local knowledge into formal land use planning in Tanzania

In this dissertation, I explore the use of participatory geospatial methods in improving local knowledge integration and inclusiveness in formal land use planning in Tanzania. Communities and governments in the Global South are tackling multiple challenges to human well-being and ecological integrity. Participatory land use planning that combines knowledge sources and balances needs and values of different land users has been promoted as a prerequisite for addressing these challenges in a socio-ecologically sustainable way. Land use planning practice requires tools such as participatory geospatial methods that capture local spatial knowledge (LSK) on human-environment relationships in forms that are compatible with spatial planning standards. There exists, however, little evidence on the usability and impact of these methods in formal planning processes. For my research, Tanzania offers an exciting opportunity to examine the use of these methods due to its decentralized land and natural resource policies and rapid digitalization of planning processes. Through case studies I study what LSK reveals about land use and land use management-related decision-making, how existing Tanzanian land use planning policies and practices integrate LSK into planning decision-making, and I then codevelop participatory geospatial methods capable of integrating LSK into formal land use planning and study their benefits and adoption potential. Finally, I reflect on the limitations of the geospatial methods in representing LSK and diverse perspectives in these processes. The research is based on transdisciplinary and mixed methods approach. I frame my assessments of existing policies and practices with literature-based criteria, which I develop for each study. In each study, I also collaborate with Tanzanian practitioners at various research phases and develop a practitioners’ manual to guide the use of our participatory geospatial method. I combine interviews, group discussions, surveys, participatory mapping exercises and observations to study the relationship between people, their land uses and environment (Article I) and people’s experiences in planning processes (Articles II, III and IV). The findings show that local knowledge is instrumental in identifying land use patterns in the landscape and in explaining the rationale behind local land use, its dynamics and forest-farmland conversion (Article I). The analysis of existing policies and practices reveals that despite the emphasis on inclusive and active participation of local communities, the planning practice does not capture LSK in a georeferenced form or use geospatial tools to facilitate planning deliberation (Articles II and III). Subsequently the plans fail to recognize local priorities and complexities of land use. The codeveloped participatory geospatial method was observed to increase the quality of spatial data in which LSK is captured, and support learning, deliberation and spatial understanding among participants and practitioners during the formal planning process (Articles III and IV). The planning practitioners identified several benefits of the geospatial methods to their work, which is a strong incentive for adoption (Article IV). Wider adoption, however, requires efforts in geospatial education and on-the-job training to practitioners, as well as general commitment to participatory processes at all administrative levels. While the participatory geospatial methods improve integration of LSK into planning decision-making, future research and method development should focus on recognizing the diversity of local spatial knowledge and community priorities. Here self-determination of what LSK is collected and how it is visualized and used plays an important role

A transdisciplinary-based coupled approach for vulnerability assessment in the context of natural resource-based conflicts using remote sensing, spatial statistics and fuzzy logic adapted models

This thesis presents a new approach for investigating vulnerability assessment in the context of natural resource-based conflicts (NRBCs). It develops SEFLAME-CM (A Spatially Explicit Fuzzy Logic Adapted Modeling for Conflict Management). SEFLAME-CM is an innovative tool that improves the holistic vulnerability assessment (the external and the internal driver components) of NRBCs at a community scale towards co-creating scenarios for future conflict management (CM) strategies. It was perceived specifically that a methodology with the worldviews and the knowledge of the actors is capable of understanding conflicts better than the previous linear models such as the Multiple Linear Regression Model (MLRM) and the Multinomial Logistic Regression Models (MNLR). SEFLAME-CM, an adapted model proved to be a reliable modeling tool for capturing the non-linearity, uncertainty, and ambiguity characteristics of the vulnerability assessments of NRBCs. The spatial extent of the study was limited to selected test sites within Ogoni and Okrika territories of the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. These comprise of LGAs/communities and villages. Despite the uncertainty involved in real-world problems such as the Socio-ecological Systems (SES), the NRBCs, the increase in the computational power in the last decades has enabled the modeling of the complexities involved. Issues that cut across social-economic and biophysical interfaces, such as NRBCs, require both the knowledge of the experts and that of the local actors. This is thus following the recommendation of Seidl et al. (2013) on science with social research in the Anthropocene: “A systems perspective on coupled human-environmental systems (HES) help to address the inherent complexities. Additionally, a thorough interaction between science and society (i.e., transdisciplinarity) is necessary, as sustainable transitions are sometimes contested and can cause conflicts. In order to navigate complexities regarding the delicate interaction of scientific research with societal decisions these processes must proceed in a structured and functional way” (: 5). The main sections of the thesis after the introduction and the study area description began by reconceptualizing NRBCs. Current publications indicate that the study of NRBCs in the era of the Anthropocene needs to be reconceptualized to be able to explore strategies for conflict management which are beyond the hitherto military strategies often employed in the different international interventions on conflicts in the developing countries, particularly in Africa and Asia (Section 3). Multilateral agencies such as the United Nations, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and other peacekeeping international organizations, often embark on the use of military strategies which have proved to be unsustainable. This is because NRBCs are complex and “wicked” in nature (Brauch, 2003a, Spring et al., 2009, Brauch, 2010, Brauch, 2016b, Brauch, 2016a). By reconceptualizing NRBCs, the research firstly clarifies the concepts of risk, risk perception resilience, vulnerability assessment, and the “Vulnerability Cube”. Secondly, the bridging of the gap between the concepts of a holistic vulnerability assessment (HVA) and the NRBCs was discussed. Thirdly, the integration of HVA of NRBCs into fuzzy logic theory was presented. This was implemented in Section 5. The main argument of this Section 3 is that the complex characteristics of vulnerability to NRBCs require the use of a non-linear theoretical model that is adaptable and capable of addressing the complexities of NRBCs research. After the reconceptualization of NRBCs in Section 3, the thesis then followed the three phases of the transdisciplinary research approach proposed by Mauser et al. (2013) (see also Section 1.4 and Section 5.1). This phase dealt with a joint problem framing. This helped to operationalize NRBCs for simulation (see Section 4). The problem of NRBCs was framed by integrating the problem structuring methods (PSMs) (e.g GIS) with the qualitative method (e.g discourse analysis). The results of this joint problem framing showed the different drivers of NRBCs which were selected by the actors. With the aid of GIS, the actors’ mental maps were presented based on the different dimensions of NRBCs vulnerability. The results also show the similarities in the interest of local actors. The joint problem framing equally helped to organize and operationalize the input variables that were used for the modeling phase of the research. Hence the operationalization of the conflict drivers/factors generated from the joint problem framing is seen as a critical step in the transdisciplinary-based coupled approach to NRBCs. The second phase of the research after the joint problem phase is a co-production of knowledge for managing the NRBCs with the integration of knowledge from the actors. Here the overall research methodology and the algorithm of SEFLAME-CM were presented in Section 5. This was validated following a rigorous validation process (see Section 6). Prior to the validation of SEFLAME-CM, a non-spatially explicit model, Fuzzy Logic Adapted Modeling for Conflict Management (FLAME-CM) was developed, improved and validated following an iterative process using scores like R2, p-values, RMSE. The results of the validated FLAME-CM was conducted at village scale as a test site, but this was transferred to a spatially explicit context using a resolution of 200 x 200m2. The content of the FLAME-CM helped to establish a SEFLAME-CM. The validation of SEFLAME-CM is, therefore, an extension of FLAME-CM validation result (Figure 6.7). As seen in Figure 6.7, the result of the validated SEFLAME-CM is the final output of the model and the process does not have to go back to the FLAME-CM process. Figure 6.7 shows the schematics of the overall validation process. SEFLAME-CM was firstly validated by comparing outputs with spatial multi-criteria evaluation for conflict management (SMCE-CM) and secondly by using satellite remote sensing data. The result of the latter proved that the model result corresponds with the real world data (remote sensing). The result of the former shows that SEFLAME-CM performed better even when compared with the already established model of SMCE-CM. However, the advantage of SEFLAME-CM is that it accepts weighted inputs by the actors or stakeholders right from the problem framing phase. The entire methodological procedure of the research, therefore, shows a blend of methodology from the natural sciences and the social sciences, and integration of integration co-created knowledge with the actors. The third and the last phase of the research process of this thesis is the outlook and conclusion (see Section 7). It dealt with the research proposal for co-construction of scenario pathways for long-term conflict management strategies. The scenario construction, when applied in the future, would address the positive potential of collective natural resource management for longer-term peacebuilding and sustainable peace (Bruch et al., 2009, Ratner et al., 2013). It was conceived that after developing and validating an innovative spatially explicit component of the simulation model, SEFLAME-CM, the next logical step of the thesis is to apply the methodology for future conflict management. The “scenario” proposal for future CM is a period from 2016 to 2060. The justification is that while global scenarios cover time horizons of say 50–100 years, local scenarios focus on shorter periods, 20–30 years (Folhes et al., 2015). The choice of a scenario time frame that is longer than 20–30 years is because the study outcome is considered to be applicable to regional or national governance. When the co-constructed scenarios are implemented, they would help to explore CM options and strategies that can influence policy and decision making over natural resource management (NRM). For example, in the Niger Delta, the investments in CM can be re-channeled from military strategies and the current unsustainable Presidential Amnesty Programmes to achieve both peacebuilding and sustainability. Since social resilience is a “naturally emergent” response to harm or disaster, it is argued that conflict management plans must recognize and build on community adaptive capacities, while the areas of high resilience in terms of peace should be priority areas for future NRM. In a nutshell, the thesis enables the application of a transdisciplinary-based coupled approach that is based on co-creation of knowledge between the experts and the local actors in the management of NRBCs. Both the external and internal vulnerability drivers of NRBCs were assessed. The results demonstrate that environmental degradation, socio-economic and political drivers of resource conflict can be addressed holistically as well as being treated as separate drivers in the interplay of natural resources and conflicts at the community scale. Though there are limitations, relating to cost, time and the complex social processes involved in modeling a real-world process, the results at a fine-grained spatial and temporal scale proved to be very useful and form the basis for supporting integrated coastal zone management (ICZM) strategies for the future management and development of the Niger Delta region. The model remains very adaptable to other NRBCs cases in Africa and other regions of the world. This is especially where both natural resource extraction and conflicts intertwine, and particularly when there is either data scarcity or the available data sets are imprecise.Diese Arbeit demonstriert eine neue Herangehensweise zur Analyse von Vulnerabilität gegenüber Konflikten, die auf natürlichen Resourcen beruhen (Natural Resource Based Conflicts: NRBCs). Gezeigt wird die Entwicklung von SEFLAME-CM-A, ein räumlich explizites Fuzzy Logic Modell für Konfliktmanagement. SEFLAME-CM-A ist ein innovatives Tool, welches an co-konstruierte Klimamodellszenarien unter verschiedenen Bedingungen anpassbar ist. Im Speziellen wurde festgestellt, dass eine Methode mit weltweitem Blick und Expertenwissen besser dazu in der Lage ist Konflikte zu erklären, als die bisherigen linearen Modelle, wie etwa multivariate lineare Regressionen (MLRM) oder multinomiale logistische Regressionen (MNLR). SEFLAME-CM zeigte sich als verlässliches Tool um die Nicht-Linearitäten, Unsicherheiten, fehlende Präzision und Mehrdeutigkeiten abzufangen, welche Vulnerabilitätsanalysen prinzipiell mit sich bringen. Das räumliche Ausmaß der Studie ist auf ausgewählte Gebiete im Niger Delta begrenzt, die in LGAs/Communitys und Dörfer strukturiert sind. Trotz Unsicherheiten, welche bei realen Anwendung der NRBCs eine Rolle spielen, z.B. sozial-ökonomische Systeme, ermöglichte die zunehmende Leistungsstärke von Computern in den vergangenen Jahrzehnten auch Modellierungen von Sachverhalten höherer Komplexität. Probleme, die sozio-ökonomische und biophysikalische Räume spalten, schaffen eine Notwendigkeit sowohl für Expertenwissen, als auch für Mitwirken der lokal Beteiligten. Seidl et al. (2013) empfehlen für eine Wissenschaft mit Sozialforschung im Anthropozän, dass die Perspektive auf gekoppelte Mensch-Umwelt-Beziehungen dabei helfe, die damit einhergehende Komplixität besser berücksichtigen zu können. Zusätzlich sei eine gewissenhafte Interaktion zwischen Wissenschaft und Gesellschaft (also Interdisziplinarität) notwendig, da nachhaltige Umstellungen manchmal umstritten seien und Konflikte hervorrufen könnten. Um sich in der Komplexität zurechtzufinden, welche die heiklen Interaktionen zwischen wissenschaftlicher Forschung und gesellschaftlichen Entscheidungen mit sich bringen, müssten diese Prozesse auf strukturierte und funktionale Art und Weise ausgeführt werden. Das Hauptkapitel dieser Arbeit, welches sich an die Einleitung und die Beschreibung des Untersuchungsgebiet anschließt, begann mit der Entwicklung eines neuen Denkansatzes bezüglich NRBCs. Aktuelle Veröffentlichungen zeigen, dass die Untersuchung dieser Konflikte neue Strategien des Konfliktmanagements erforderlich macht, die jenseits der bisherigen militärischen Lösungen liegen, wie sie derzeit in Entwicklungsländern vor allem in Afrika und Asien eingesetzt werden. Obwohl sie sich im Anthropozän als nicht nachhaltig erwiesen, da die Ursachen der Konflikte eindeutig in Umweltproblemen zu suchen sind, sind zahlreiche multilaterale Vertretungen wie die Vereinten Nationen, NATO oder internationale Organisationen zur Friedenswahrung auf die militärischen Strategien aufgesprungen (Brauch, 2003a, Spring et al., 2009, Brauch, 2010, Brauch, 2016b, Brauch, 2016a). Aus diesem Grund klärt diese Studie erstens die Konzepte von Risiko, Risikowahrnehmung, Resilienz, Vulnerabilitätsanalysen und Vulnerabilitätswürfel. Zweitens wurde eine Brücke zwischen dem Konzept der holistischen Vulnerabilitätsanalyse (holistic vulnerability assessment HVA) und NRBCs geschlagen. Drittens wurde die Integration der HVA von NRBCs in die Fuzzy Logic Theorie vorgestellt. Dies wurde in Section 5 eingebaut. Dessen Hauptargument war, dass die komplexen Eigenschaften der NRBCs einem nicht-linearen theoretischen Modell bedürfen, welches sowohl anpassungsfähig ist, als auch der Komplexität der NRBC-Forschung gerecht wird. Nach der Neukonzeptionalisierung von NRBCs in Section 3, folgte die Arbeit schließlich dem Ansatz der drei Phasen transdisziplinärer Forschung von Mauser et al. (2013, siehe Section 1.4). Diese Phase verfolgte einen vereinten Problemlösungsansatz. Dieses Framework mit seiner Strukturierung ermöglichte die Operationalisierung von NRBCs für Computer-Simulationen. Dabei werden problemstrukturierende Methoden, wie beispielsweise GIS, mit qualitativen Methoden, z.B. einer Diskursanalyse, kombiniert. Die Ergebnisse der Implementierung von Problemabgrenzung und –strukturierung zeigt die unterschiedlichen Treiber von Konflikten über Naturresourcen, die von den Akteuren genannt wurden. Mithilfe von GIS wurden Mental Maps der Akteure basierend auf den verschiedenen Dimensionen des Konflikts und der Vulnerabilität visualisiert. Die Ergebnisse zeigen die Gemeinsamkeiten des Interesses lokaler Aktuere. Gleichwohl half die gemeinsame Problemabgrenzung dabei, die Eingangsvariablen zu organisieren, die in der Modellierungsphase genutzt wurden. Deshalb wird die Operationalisierung der Konfliktfaktoren, welche bei der gemeinsamen Problemabgrenzung erzeugt wurde, als kritischer Schritt im interdisziplinären Modellansatz naturresourcenbedinger Konflikte gesehen. Die zweite Phase nach der gemeinsamen Problemphase war die Koproduktion zwischen Wissen über Konflikte über Naturresourcen und die Integration des Wissens der Akteure. Die Methodik und der Algorithmus von SEFLAME-CM wurde in Section 5 vorgestellt und anschließend einem strengen Validierungsprozess unterworfen (Section 6). Vor der Entwicklung des disziplinübergreifenden Modellansatzes SEFLAME-CM, welcher validiert und in dieser Arbeit angewandt wurde, wurde ein ähnliches, aber räumlich nicht explizites Modell – FLAME-CM – entwickelt, verbessert und einem iterativen Prozess folgend mit Methoden wie R², p-Values und RMSE getestet. Das Ergebnis des validierten FLAME-CM wurde auf lokaler Skala durchgeführt, aber dann auf räumlich expliziten Kontext mit einer Auflösung von 200x200 Metern übertragen. Wie in Abbildung 6.7 gezeigt, ist der Modell-Output von SEFLAME-CM final und der Prozess muss nicht länger auf FLAME-CM zurückgestuft werden. Abbildung 6.7 skizziert den übergreifenden Validierungsprozess. SEFLAME-CM wurde zunächst validiert, indem die Outputs mit einer räumlich multikriteriellen Evaluierung im Konfliktmanagement (Spatial Multi-Criteria Evaluation for Conflict Management, SMCE-CM) verglichen wurden. Die Ergebnisse des zuletztgenannten Verfahrens belegten, dass die Modellergebnisse korrekt mit echten Daten (Fernerkundung) übereinstimmen. Das Ergebnis des erstgenannten Verfahrens zeigt, dass SEFLAME-CM bessere Resultate erzielt, selbst wenn es mit dem existierenden Modell SMCE-CM verglichen wird. Der Vorteil von SEFLAME-CM ist jedoch, dass es ohne Weiteres gewichtete Inputs durch die Akteure und Stakeholder direkt in der Phase der Problemabgrenzung annimmt. Die gesamte methodologische Wissenschaftsprozedur zeigt daher einen Methodenmix aus Natur- und Sozialwissenschaften, wie beispielsweise eine integrative Kooperation der verschiedenen Akteure. Die dritte und letzte Phase der Arbeit beinhaltet den Ausblick und die Schlussfolgerung (Section 7). Sie behandelt die Anwendung der gekoppelten Informationen. Diese finale Wissenschaftsphase umfasst eine gemeinschaftliche Erarbeitung von Szenarien und eine Simulation von Langzeitstrategien zum Konflikt-Management. Die Erstellung der Szenarien behandelt das Potential eines gemeinschaftlichen Management natürlicher Resourcen. Eine Verbesserung der Zusammenarbeit wird im Konflikt-Management zunehmend als wichtiger Bestandteil dauerhafter Friedensschließung angesehen (Bruch et al., 2009, Ratner et al., 2013). Nach Entwicklung und Validierung einer innovativen, räumlich expliziten Modell-Komponente, SEFRAME-CM, war der nächste logische Schritt dieser ArbAeit die Methoden auf zukünftiges Konflikt-Management anzuwenden, indem das Management natürlicher Resourcen in Klimamodelle integriert wurde. Der Vorschlag für ein „Szenario“ für zukünftiges Konfliktmanagement beinhaltet die Zeitperiode von 2016 bis 2060. Dies liegt darin begründet, dass sich lokale Szenarien mit 20-30 Jahren (Folhes et al., 2015) auf kürzere Zeiträume konzentrieren, während globale Szenarien einen Horizont von 50-100 Jahren umspannen. Die Wahl fällt auf einen Zeitraum von 20-30 Jahren, da die Ergebnisse der Studie auf regionaler und nationaler Regierungsführung anwendbar sind. Eine Implementierung der gemeinschaftlich konstruierten Szenarien würde dabei helfen Optionen und Strategien des Konfliktmanagements zu erkunden, welche die Politik und deren Entscheidungsträger im Bezug auf Ressourcenmanagement beeinflussen. Eine Investition in Konflikt-Management, z.B. im Niger Delta, kann durch Neuausrichtung militärischer Strategien und das derzeit nicht-nachhaltige Presidential Armnesty Programm geschehen um Friedensbildung und Nachhaltigkeit zu erreichen. Da soziale Resilienz eine naturgemäße Antwort auf Unheil und Katastrophen darstellt, wird oft so argumentiert, dass Pläne zum Konflikt-Management die adaptiven Möglichkeiten der Communitys anerkennt und auf ihnen aufbaut, während Gebiete mit hohem Potential an Resilienz prioritär für Naturresourcen-Management der Zukunft angesehen wird Zusammenfassend lässt sich sagen, dass die in dieser Arbeit dargestellte Herangehensweise die Anwendung eines interdisziplinären Modells ermöglicht, das auf gemeinsam entwickeltem Wissen von Experten und lokalen Akteuren im Management von NRBCs beruht. Sowohl die externen als auch internen Vulnerabilitätstreiber der NRBCs wurden bewertet. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass die Degradation der Umwelt sowie sozio-ökonomische als auch politische Treiber von Resourcenkonflikten jeweils holistisch, aber auch als separate Treiber im Zusammenspiel natürlicher Resourcen und Konflikten auf kommunaler Ebene behandelt werden können. Trotz allem gibt es Limitierungen, die hauptsächlich auf den komplexen sozialen Prozessen der realen globalen Prozesse beruhen. Die Ergebnisse aus räumlich und zeitlich hoch aufgelösten Daten zeigte sich als sehr nützlich und stellt die Basis für die Unterstützung der Strategien des integrierte Management von Küstenzonen dar, wie sie für ein zukünftiges Management in der Region des Niger Deltas Anwendung finden soll. Das Modell bleibt dabei stark anpassungsfähig für ähnliche Fälle von NRBCs in Afrika und anderen Regionen der Welt, bei denen biophysikalische, sozio-ökonomische und politische Verbindungen entzweit werden. Dies gilt besonders dann, wenn die Datengrundlage knapp und die verfügbaren Datensätze unpräzise

Training of Crisis Mappers and Map Production from Multi-sensor Data: Vernazza Case Study (Cinque Terre National Park, Italy)

This aim of paper is to presents the development of a multidisciplinary project carried out by the cooperation between Politecnico di Torino and ITHACA (Information Technology for Humanitarian Assistance, Cooperation and Action). The goal of the project was the training in geospatial data acquiring and processing for students attending Architecture and Engineering Courses, in order to start up a team of "volunteer mappers". Indeed, the project is aimed to document the environmental and built heritage subject to disaster; the purpose is to improve the capabilities of the actors involved in the activities connected in geospatial data collection, integration and sharing. The proposed area for testing the training activities is the Cinque Terre National Park, registered in the World Heritage List since 1997. The area was affected by flood on the 25th of October 2011. According to other international experiences, the group is expected to be active after emergencies in order to upgrade maps, using data acquired by typical geomatic methods and techniques such as terrestrial and aerial Lidar, close-range and aerial photogrammetry, topographic and GNSS instruments etc.; or by non conventional systems and instruments such us UAV, mobile mapping etc. The ultimate goal is to implement a WebGIS platform to share all the data collected with local authorities and the Civil Protectio

SPARC 2018 Internationalisation and collaboration : Salford postgraduate annual research conference book of abstracts

Welcome to the Book of Abstracts for the 2018 SPARC conference. This year we not only celebrate the work of our PGRs but also the launch of our Doctoral School, which makes this year’s conference extra special. Once again we have received a tremendous contribution from our postgraduate research community; with over 100 presenters, the conference truly showcases a vibrant PGR community at Salford. These abstracts provide a taster of the research strengths of their works, and provide delegates with a reference point for networking and initiating critical debate. With such wide-ranging topics being showcased, we encourage you to take up this great opportunity to engage with researchers working in different subject areas from your own. To meet global challenges, high impact research inevitably requires interdisciplinary collaboration. This is recognised by all major research funders. Therefore engaging with the work of others and forging collaborations across subject areas is an essential skill for the next generation of researchers

From persuasion to negotiation in health promoting technology

Over recent years, designing technologies to promote health-related behavioural change has been an area of growing interest in HCI. Given the prevalence of self-monitoring and social facilitation in emerging designs, the assumption appears to be that increasing an individual’s awareness of his or her behaviour and the behaviour of others will promote behavioural change. This thesis argues that while this is true to some extent, this represents a somewhat naive view of how individuals come to make decisions regarding their health-related behaviours. Three qualitative studies within distinct health domains illustrate the complex nature of health-related behavioural change. Weight Management was an inherently social activity, albeit subject to selective disclosure and incremental participation. Individuals were generally motivated by appearance rather than health, implementing change based on exposure and orientation to alternative strategies. In Families at Risk, caregivers were highly motivated by a desire to safeguard the health of their children but were restricted by a lack of financial and strategic resources. Lack of trust and a transient community contributed to social isolation, thus inhibiting opportunities for collaboration. In Cardiac Rehabilitation, behavioural change efforts were prompted by an acute health crisis and guided by health professionals. However, behavioural change efforts were sometimes restricted by a desire to return to normal, tensions arising when what was considered normal was composed of risk behaviours. Family involvement varied greatly, ranging from disregard to facilitating change, and a desire for independence and ownership of the rehabilitation sometimes restricted the active involvement of peers. Informed by the findings of these studies this thesis highlights the strengths and limitations of current technological approaches to promoting behavioural change, provides implications for design, and supported by the sociomedical literature, identifies alternative avenues of technological innovation. The thesis reflects on technology’s role in health-related behavioural change and considers associated ethical implications. Overall, the main contribution of this thesis is a reframing of the problem of promoting health-related behavioural change as more than a matter of behavioural awareness and personal motivation. While it is understandable that technologists would look to the clinical domain to inform initial investigations in this area, this thesis argues that technologists should be cautious about blindly adopting its prescriptive paradigm. As an alternative to persuasion, this thesis offers negotiation as a potential model for future innovations in this area

Operational Decision Making under Uncertainty: Inferential, Sequential, and Adversarial Approaches

Modern security threats are characterized by a stochastic, dynamic, partially observable, and ambiguous operational environment. This dissertation addresses such complex security threats using operations research techniques for decision making under uncertainty in operations planning, analysis, and assessment. First, this research develops a new method for robust queue inference with partially observable, stochastic arrival and departure times, motivated by cybersecurity and terrorism applications. In the dynamic setting, this work develops a new variant of Markov decision processes and an algorithm for robust information collection in dynamic, partially observable and ambiguous environments, with an application to a cybersecurity detection problem. In the adversarial setting, this work presents a new application of counterfactual regret minimization and robust optimization to a multi-domain cyber and air defense problem in a partially observable environment

Selected Papers from the 5th International Electronic Conference on Sensors and Applications

This Special Issue comprises selected papers from the proceedings of the 5th International Electronic Conference on Sensors and Applications, held on 15–30 November 2018, on sciforum.net, an online platform for hosting scholarly e-conferences and discussion groups. In this 5th edition of the electronic conference, contributors were invited to provide papers and presentations from the field of sensors and applications at large, resulting in a wide variety of excellent submissions and topic areas. Papers which attracted the most interest on the web or that provided a particularly innovative contribution were selected for publication in this collection. These peer-reviewed papers are published with the aim of rapid and wide dissemination of research results, developments, and applications. We hope this conference series will grow rapidly in the future and become recognized as a new way and venue by which to (electronically) present new developments related to the field of sensors and their applications

Toxic truths

This book examines the relationship between environmental justice and citizen science, focusing on enduring issues and new challenges in a post-truth age. Debates over science, facts, and values have always been pivotal within environmental justice struggles. For decades, environmental justice activists have campaigned against the misuses of science, while at the same time engaging in community-led citizen science. However, post-truth politics has threatened science itself. This book makes the case for the importance of science, knowledge, and data that are produced by and for ordinary people living with environmental risks and hazards. The international, interdisciplinary contributions range from grassroots environmental justice struggles in American hog country and contaminated indigenous communities, to local environmental controversies in Spain and China, to questions about “knowledge justice,” citizenship, participation, and data in citizen science surrounding toxicity. The book features inspiring studies of community-based participatory environmental health and justice research; different ways of sensing, witnessing, and interpreting environmental injustice; political strategies for seeking environmental justice; and ways of expanding the concepts and forms of engagement of citizen science around the world. While the book will be of critical interest to specialists in social and environmental sciences, it will also be accessible to graduate and postgraduate audiences. More broadly, the book will appeal to members of the public interested in social justice issues, as well as community members who are thinking about participating in citizen science and activism. Toxic Truths includes distinguished contributing authors in the field of environmental justice, alongside cutting-edge research from emerging scholars and community activists

Instrumentalization in the Public Smart Bikeshare Sector

This thesis is concerned with understanding how smart technologies are conceived, created and implemented, and explores the ways these processes are shaped by historical, geo-political, economic and technical contexts. At its core the thesis is concerned with understanding how technical citizenship and democracy can be preserved within the design process against a backdrop of increasing neoliberalism and technocracy. This is investigated by means of a comparative study of smart public bikeshare schemes in Dublin, Ireland and Hamilton, Canada. These schemes are configured and systemized using a variety of technical and ideological rationales and express the imaginaries of place in significantly different ways. Utilising a conceptual framework derived from Andrew Feenberg’s critical theory of technology, the thesis unpacks and problematizes the innovation process in order to understand how the outcomes of these schemes support the way of life of one or another influential social group. The philosophical orientation of the study is critical constructivism which combines a form of constructivism with more systematic and socially critical views of technology. The axis of comparison between the schemes is democratization and the manner in which the rationalizations and embedded cultural assumptions characterizing particular places operate to support or resist more egalitarian forms of participation. Methodologically, Feenberg’s critical framework is supported both by theory-driven thematic coding and critical hermeneutics which is an interpretative process that compliments the theoretical framework and positions issues of power and ideology within a wider, macro-level context. Data sources supporting the research comprise interviews, a variety of documentary sources and the architectures and technical specifications of both smart bikeshare systems. The findings from the research illustrate that despite the pervasiveness of a neoliberal orthodoxy conditioning technology production, citizen-centric design is still possible within a climate of consensus building and cooperation. As such, the thesis adds to the body of knowledge on philosophy of technology, critical urbanism, smart city development, democratic engagement and collaborative infrastructuring. In addition, the conceptual framework, developed in response to the empirical cases, represents an elaboration of Feenberg’s work and so the thesis also makes an important contribution to the analytic and methodological potential of critical theory of technology