Evaluating ethics in planning : a heuristic framework for a just city : a thesis presented for partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Resource and Environmental Planning at Massey University, Manawatū

Many urban planners are engaged with the idea that cities should be ‘Just’: that is, planning should facilitate good outcomes for the people who choose to live and work in cities, particularly the least advantaged. The concept of a just city is an evolving planning paradigm which focuses on the needs of the least advantaged. This thesis revisits existing ideas of what constitutes a just city and explores why planners should care about the effects of ethics on its realisation. It extends conceptual understandings of what constitutes a ‘just city’, through a focus on care ethics and kindness. Then, by developing and applying the Just City Plan Evaluation Approach (JCPEA), it presents a heuristic framework to surface embedded ethics invoked in planning policy. Ethics in urban planning have not been systematically considered in practice for decades. This inattention can be partially attributed to the distancing of planners from their role as public interest advocates, the multiplicity of competing views about what ethics should or could inform planning policy, and the lack of a systematic, formal approach to evaluate them. Yet normative views of what constitutes right and wrong are central to theoretical debates about planning and are used to inform arguments for or against policy. For decades, ethics of justice have dominated these debates. However, increasing calls for virtue ethics to complement justice ethics present an opportunity for the planning profession to reimagine its role as advocates for the public interest. The JCPEA is based on a theoretical understanding of: (a) theories of justice (b) care ethics, and (c) Fainstein’s concept of the just city and her three just city principles (equity, diversity, and democracy). It enables ethical arguments in planning discourse to be evaluated against four criteria – extent, focus, merit, and power, using both political discourse analysis and a Foucauldian-type discourse analysis. The application of this dual-method approach, to a suite of planning documents from Auckland, New Zealand, proved useful in identifying and evaluating ethics and power in planning. The current intention to replace the Resource Management Act 1991, provides an opportune time to begin a conversation about ethics in plans, to focus on particular ethics, to address the silences, ruptures, and subsequent power imbalances in planning discourse, and to take steps not just towards the realisation of just city ethics and principles in practice, but also to reflect on planning more broadly. Drawing on and extending existing just city narratives, this thesis posits kindness, a practical response to the needs of others, as a principle to invoke in planning policy. This principle of kindness is grounded in an ethic of care, but also sits within an emerging post-secular and intersectional approach to address injustice. It is an ethic that was first signaled by New Zealand Prime Minister Ardern in a speech to the UN General Assembly in 2018, when she called for ‘kindness’ as a means of pursuing peace, prosperity, and fairness, and which subsequently became part of the New Zealand response to the Covid-19 pandemic. Invoking kindness represents a step-change in ethics informing government policy and was a signal to the world that there is another way of governing. It is also an ethic that lends itself to planning practice. This thesis argues that exposing and discussing the ethical basis of planning discourse using this heuristic framework provides the means to give agency to planners to act as non-neutral arbiters of the public interest, and as parrhesiastes focussing on the needs of the least advantaged

A Beautiful Living Thing

On the 23rd May 2014 fire spread through The Glasgow School of Art, Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s masterpiece, badly damaging the heart of the School. In the immediate aftermath of the fire there was an overwhelming response evidencing a sense of loss and sadness amongst GSA’s worldwide community. This emotional reaction developed into a desire to engage with the Mackintosh Building, and this research project being one of several focused on the building. Following this tragic event, Birrell and Crotch were both driven by a desire to record the irrevocable damage, and the concept of ‘A Beautiful Living Thing’ developed. Both authors independently felt a connection with the building in the context of their own research, Birrell’s fascination with the relationship of music and place, and Crotch’s concerns with embodied experience and memory. The ambition was to capture and record the beauty within the building viewing the restoration of this damaged work of art from the immediate aftermath of the fire, and through the process of restoration to completion. Through discussion the project developed and it was agreed that a series of three films would be produced; designed as a series of visual ‘movements’ each would be aligned to mark significant stages of rehabilitation of the building; before, during and after the restoration work. Film 1 (completed) places a single musician within the damaged library, and records a new composition transposed from the words of Mackintosh ‘A Beautiful Living Thing’. Film 2 (currently in the editing stage) will concern itself with ‘improvisation’ in response to the improvisatory nature of fire and takes place during the reconstruction phase. Film 3 will celebrate completion and a new beginning through a choral piece. This is a linear project that has been conceived as a whole but with each part having independent legitimacy

Growing Our Own for Urban Classrooms: The Paraprofessionals-to-Teachers Pipeline

The Center for Urban Education (CUE) with the University of Northern Colorado hosts a grow-your-own paraprofessional to teacher pipeline program. CUE offers teacher preparation degree programs for Colorado licensure in elementary, early childhood and special education. Housed at the University of Northern Colorado’s Denver campus, the CUE teacher candidates complete a K–12 classroom apprenticeships; a broad liberal arts curriculum; and focused teaching methods courses. The Center for Urban Education is designed to accommodate a non-traditional student body that ranges in age from 18-65 years old and includes individuals shouldering the responsibilities of work, school, and family simultaneously. CUE offers the elementary majors a concentration in English as a Second Language or a concentration in special education. The approach fashioned by CUE for its students effectively addresses key issues confronting the field: teacher supply, teacher quality, teacher diversity, and the preparation of teachers for success in urban settings. CUE is different from traditional teacher preparation programs in two ways. First, the apprenticeship allows students to graduate with more than 3000 hours of classroom experience vs. 800 hours in a traditional teacher education program. Next, block scheduling (five week-long courses) allows students greater focus with their academic work, and better access for students with family and work commitments who could not attend a traditional program to obtain their teaching license. The Center has achieved great success developing paraprofessionals to be teachers who understand and appreciate urban students

Influential Spheres: Examining Actors’ Perceptions of Education Governance

Many layers of education governance press upon U.S. schools, so we separated state actors into those internal to and those external to the system. In the process, we unpacked the traditional state–local dichotomy. Using interview data (n = 45) from six case-study states, we analyzed local leaders’, state-internal actors’, and state-external players’ perceptions of implementation flexibility and hindrances across several policy areas. We observed how interviewees’ spheres of influence linked to which policy areas they viewed as salient or not, and their relative emphaseson who and what within state education systems contributed to implementation flexibility and/or hindrances, and how these factors played out. We found important differences by sphere: the local sphere produced the most coherent findings, and state-internal was least coherent. We discuss implications for education governance research, applications for practitioners and policymakers, and a methodological contribution

Examining the Role of Natural Environments through Retirement Transitions: A Longitudinal Narrative Study

Increasing longevity in Western society means that older adults will spend more of their later lives as retirees, or as older workers. In this respect, what it means to live as an older adult represents a shifting landscape, where the health and well-being of older adults are guided by the socio-cultural narrative of decline (being aged passively), and ageing in the era of the Third Age (actively growing old). As such, there is a need for research to examine how older adults can age well as retirees, or as older workers. To date, research in this field has seldom considered the role of the natural environment in this respect, despite a burgeoning body of research that indicates the beneficial impact of natural environments upon health and well-being. The aim of this research, therefore, was to examine the role of natural environments in the lives of older adults during the retirement process, and in the lives of older workers, and the potential implications for ageing well. Pluralistic methods were utilised within a longitudinal design in order to generate narrative data. Specifically, 7 retirees and 3 older workers were interviewed in 3 stages, over a time period of 2 years. Narrative analysis revealed that, initially, pre-retirees’ stories were guided by notions of being aged passively, facilitated by a relational narrative and often illustrated by dys-appearing body-self relationships. In contrast, older workers’ stories were driven by notions of actively growing old, facilitated by an individualistic narrative. In the later stages of data collection, retirees’ stories developed to also be guided by actively growing old, where embodied decline was overshadowed by aspects of being such as spirituality, intellectual stimulation, and mindfulness. Such stories were complemented by a developed sense of self, highlighting the importance of self-awareness in later life. Natural environments played a role by providing a multi-dimensional platform from which to age well. For example, on a physical level, spending time in natural environments often involved being active in a non-prescriptive way coupled with a sense of autonomy, calmness and relief from stress. On an emotional level, pleasurable memories from childhood were re-ignited when in natural environments, which participants found invigorating. On a cognitive level, whilst in natural environments, participants were able to engage in a spiritual and intellectual process of negotiation whereby selves were re-discovered from the past, contemplated in the present, and constructed for the future. Implications of these findings for policy and practice, and the original contribution to knowledge made by this research, are discussed within.PenCLAHR

Breast education improves adolescent girls’ breast knowledge, attitudes to breasts and engagement with positive breast habits

Many females experience breast-related issues that are considered to negatively impact health and wellbeing. These include breast cancer, issues related to incorrect bra fit, and issues related to breast movement including an increased incidence of breast pain, breast sag and embarrassment, which can be a barrier to physical activity participation. Knowledge and awareness of these breast issues among females is low. Furthermore, these breast concerns are more prevalent in adolescent girls compared to adult females, with 87% of girls reporting ≥ one breast concern. This study evaluated the short- and longer-term impact of a 50-minute breast education intervention on adolescent girls’ (11 to 14 years) breast knowledge, attitudes to breasts and engagement with positive breast habits. A mixed methods, controlled, longitudinal, cohort design was employed, using two control schools (n: 412; receiving no intervention) and two intervention schools (n: 375; receiving the intervention) from privileged and less privileged areas. Adolescent girls in four schools completed a validated breast survey pre- and immediately post-intervention as well as three- and six-months post-intervention. Additionally, in one intervention school, six focus groups were conducted immediately and four-months after the intervention. The intervention was equally effective in the two intervention schools. Following the intervention, participants in the intervention schools significantly improved their breast knowledge, their attitudes to breasts and their engagement with positive breast habits, compared to participants in the control schools, p < 0.01 (with large effect sizes). These improvements were sustained six months post-intervention. Participants described the session as “informative”, it made them “feel less embarrassed” about their breasts; they also reported wanting to do more exercise and to change their bra purchasing and bra wearing habits. These novel, positive findings provide insight into the benefits of teaching adolescent girls about breasts from a young age and can be used to inform effective breast education in schools. It is recommended that education on multiple breast topics should be introduced in schools, preferably being first introduced in primary schools, with a modular structure and progressive information

Stability Evaluation of Extemporaneously Compounded Vancomycin Ophthalmic Drops: Effect of Solvents and Storage Conditions

Vancomycin is the drug of choice for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus keratitis and other ocular infections. Vancomycin ophthalmic drops are not commercially available and require compounding. The present study was designed to investigate the stability of vancomycin ophthalmic drops in normal saline, phosphate-buffered saline (PBS), and balanced salt solution (BSS) while stored at room temperature or under refrigeration. Vancomycin ophthalmic drops (50 mg/mL) were aseptically prepared from commercially available intravenous powder using PBS, BSS, and saline. Solutions were stored at room temperature and in a refrigerator for 28 days. The vancomycin stability was tested by a microbiology assay and high-performance liquid chromatography HPLC analysis immediately after formulation and at days 7, 14, and 28 after storage at room temperature or under refrigeration. The pH, turbidity was also tested. Vancomycin formulations in PBS, BSS and normal saline had initial pH of 5; 5.5; 3 respectively. The formulation in PBS developed turbidity and a slight decrease in pH upon storage. Microbiological assay did not show any change in zone of inhibition with any of the formulation upon storage either at room temperature or under refrigeration. HPLC analysis did not detect any decrease in vancomycin concentration or the accumulation of degraded products in any of the formulations upon storage either at room temperature or under refrigeration. Vancomycin ophthalmic drops prepared using PBS, BSS, and normal saline were stable up to the tested time point of 28 days, irrespective of their storage temperatur

Altered collective mitochondrial dynamics in the Arabidopsis \u3ci\u3emsh1\u3c/i\u3e mutant compromising organelle DNA maintenance

Mitochondria form highly dynamic populations in the cells of plants (and almost all eukaryotes). The characteristics and benefits of this collective behaviour, and how it is influenced by nuclear features, remain to be fully elucidated. Here, we use a recently developed quantitative approach to reveal and analyse the physical and collective ‘social’ dynamics of mitochondria in an Arabidopsis msh1 mutant where the organelle DNA maintenance machinery is compromised. We use a newly created line combining the msh1 mutant with mitochondrially targeted green fluorescent protein (GFP), and characterize mitochondrial dynamics with a combination of single-cell time-lapse microscopy, computational tracking, and network analysis. The collective physical behaviour of msh1 mitochondria is altered from that of the wild type in several ways: mitochondria become less evenly spread, and networks of inter-mitochondrial encounters become more connected, with greater potential efficiency for inter-organelle exchange—reflecting a potential compensatory mechanism for the genetic challenge to the mitochondrial DNA population, supporting more inter-organelle exchange. We find that these changes are similar to those observed in friendly, where mitochondrial dynamics are altered by a physical perturbation, suggesting that this shift to higher connectivity may reflect a general response to mitochondrial challenges, where physical dynamics of mitochondria may be altered to control the genetic structure of the mtDNA population

Trends in bullying victimization in Scottish adolescents (1994-2014) : changing associations with mental well-being

Objectives Bullying victimization among schoolchildren is a major public health concern. This paper aims to analyse the changing associations over two decades between bullying victimization and mental well-being in a representative Scottish schoolchildren sample. Methods Data were collected in six rounds of the cross-sectional Health Behaviour in School-aged Children study in Scotland, with 42,312 adolescents (aged 11, 13 and 15 years). Logistic and linear regression were used to examine changes in the association between bullying victimization and mental well-being. Results The prevalence of bullying victimization rates in Scotland increased between 1994 and 2014 for most age-gender groups, apart from 13-year old boys and 15-year old girls. Over time, female victims reported less confidence and happiness and more psychological complaints than their nonbullied counterparts. This worsening effect over time was not observed in boys. Conclusions Overall, our evidence indicates that the associations between bullying victimization and poor mental well-being strengthened overtime for bullied girls. This finding might partly explain the observed deterioration in mental health indicators among Scottish adolescent girls.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe