Desert Soul; Learning Conservation Through Self Revelation

This thesis, Desert Soul: Learning Conservation through Self Revelation, will focus on an investigation of the question, how can insight from past cultures of the Sonoran Desert inform and direct conservation and sustainability for the future of the desert? The typology for this examination will be a mixture between hospitality and a museum building combined into a 20,840 square foot facility with a site located in Marana, Arizona. The guiding idea behind this investigation is, ?man cannot fully enact change in himself and society for the good of a sustainable future of the Sonoran Desert until the individual has had the opportunity to relate to and learn from the past cultures from that region and from the ecology in which the individual is participating.? The justification behind this project is that ?man cannot save the desert through conservation and sustainable practices if he does not also understand the ecology and learn better ways to inhabit the Sonoran Desert. An architecture that supports and provides for this kind of knowledge is essential to the future of the Sonoran Desert.? The theoretical premise, unifying idea and problem statement will be researched in this project through a Mixed Method, Quantitative Qualitative Approach while following a Concurrent Transformative Strategy

Organising water: The hidden role of intermediary work

ABSTRACT: The increasingly complex challenges of making water management more sustainable require a critical and detailed understanding of the social organisation of water. This paper examines the hitherto neglected role that 'intermediary' organisations play in reshaping the relations between the provision and use of water and sanitation services. In response to new regulatory, environmental, social, and commercial pressures the relationships between water utilities, consumers, and regulators are changing, creating openings for both new and existing organisations to take on intermediary functions. Drawing on recent EU-funded research we provide the first systematic analysis of intermediary organisations in the European water sector, examining the contexts of their emergence, the ways they work, the functions they perform, and the impacts they can have. With a combination of conceptual and empirical analysis we substantiate and elaborate the case for appreciating the often hidden work of intermediaries. We caution, however, against over-simplistic conclusions on harnessing this potential, highlighting instead the need to reframe perspectives on how water is organised to contemplate actor constellations and interactions beyond the common triad of provider, consumer, and regulator

The Influence of Discrepant Sexual Ideals on Relationship Dissolution

While a plethora of research exists on relationships ideals and sex, and how these factors affect important relationship outcomes (i.e. relationship dissolution), there has yet to be an investigation into the existence or importance of sexual ideals. The current study seeks to assess whether sexual ideals affect important relationship outcomes. Specifically, will a greater mismatch in sexual ideals result in a higher likelihood of perceived relationship dissolution? It was predicted that couples that exhibit less of a match in their sexual ideals would be more likely to perceive their relationship to dissolve, and it was further predicted that this effect would be moderated by individuals’ implicit theory of relationships. To assess such, 207 romantic couples completed a Sexual Ideals Questionnaire, the Destiny and Growth Belief Questionnaire, and the Marital Status Inventory-Brief in order to investigate the effect of mismatched sexual ideals on relationship outcomes. It was predicted that those who hold growth beliefs would be less affected by a mismatch in sexual ideals than those who hold destiny beliefs. Using a linear-mixed model, it was found that a mismatch in sexual ideals did significantly predict a higher likelihood of perceived relationship dissolution, however this effect was not significantly moderated by implicit relationship beliefs

Predicting South Africa 's true marine biodiversity : a comparison of methods

Word processed copy.Includes bibliographical references (p. 80-89).The aims of this thesis are to estimate how many marine species remain to be described in this region and which areas are most in need of additional sampling effort