A Strange Land and a Peculiar Problem: Using Local Knowledge to Resolve Ambiguous Property Descriptions in Appalachia

Conveying property in Appalachia can be somewhat like a box of chocolates: “You never know what you’re gonna get.” Carved by ancient rivers and winding streams, the seemingly never-ending “hollers” and hills of Appalachia can disorient even the best navigator. Couple the region’s rugged topography with an already ambiguous demarcation system, and properties once mapped by metes and bounds descriptions become impossible to re-create with any sort of certainty. Thus, though rooted in a desire for clarity, the combination of mountainous terrain and imperfect demarcation results in a property system riddled with ambiguity. Due to this inherent definitional problem in Appalachian land, the lines on a map do not always align with widespread local knowledge. The result is even further uncertainty, as variances between local understandings of place and federally standardized definitions of property cause confusion over which definition is correct, a problem this Note defines as “vertical ambiguity.” When such variances find their way into property descriptions, one’s answer—local or federal—can determine whether entire parcels of land are transferred. The question then becomes how to properly make that choice. This Note offers a clear answer: when such conflicts arise, there should be a presumption in favor of localknowledge

Numerical experiments and theoretical analysis on the sources of irreversibility in mechanical systems

Ph.D.Joseph For

Changing littering practices at Glastonbury Festival

AbstractFindings:This conceptual paper introduces practice theory as a potential alternative to the traditional ways that littering is conceptualised and tackled, and considers the strengths and pitfalls of the theoretical approach for the expensive, pervasive and environmentally dangerous littering problems faced by Glastonbury Festival.Implications:The study of littering has yet to embrace practice theory, despite the theory being considered the cutting edge of sustainable consumption research. This paper is an exploratory starting point, opening up a potential future research and intervention agenda for festival organisers andresearchers alike to consider littering as a by-product of a range of different bundled practices rather than the result of particularly attitudes and behaviours.Limitations:Practice theory has yet to move authoritatively out of a theoretical domain and be used in the process of intervention planning and implementation, although some early efforts are beginning to emerge. As such, the applicability of the theory to a real world setting is untested. Relatedly, it is not fully clear how evaluation can capture the full extent of a multi-disciplinary culture change programme inspired by practice theory.Contribution:The paper offers the first practice theoretical examination of littering and introduces the theory to the practical challenges faced by Glastonbury and other festival organisers as well as introducing the problem of littering to the practice theory field, already central to the study of other issues in sustainable consumption

Social marketing-based strategy for obesity interventions

Terms of reference for this projectWe were requested by Dr Julia Verne to provide a literature-based, judgement-based (i.e. no new primary research) draft social marketing strategy for addressing the rising rates of obesity within the South West region. Public health professionals should note that the strategy in this document emphasises how marketing techniques can be used for preventative approaches aimed at the general population. Curative approaches for the morbidly obese with acute health problems are outside our terms of reference

Disrupting social marketing through a practice-oriented approach

Purpose – This paper aims to explore four disruptions that practice theory makes to traditional social marketing approaches to school physical activity (PA) intervention. Design/methodology/approach – The paper draws on existing literature from sustainable consumption, sociology of health and illness and the authors’ experiences working with primary schools in the UK to plan and execute social marketing approaches to PA, targeting interconnected social practices from which PA emerges or fails to emerge. The paper explores a practice-oriented theoretical framing, engaging with calls from interdisciplinary areas for PA interventions to shape the PA emerging from a school’s everyday routines, rather than promote PA participation at an individual level. Findings – The paper argues first that a practice perspective would focus on situation research rather than audience research, with practices rather than people as the focus. Second, the purpose of practice-orientedsocial marketing would be to achieve transitions in practices rather than behaviour change. Third, theplanning and management approach of practice-oriented social marketing would account for unintended consequences and complex interconnections between practices. Finally, an evolved evaluation approach to practice-oriented social marketing would take a longer term approach to understand how cultural transitions are emerging. Originality/value – This paper contributes to an important stream of critical social marketing scholarship that seeks to advance social marketing away from its individualist routes. It sets an agenda for further research that considers the ontological and practical possibilities for practice informed approach to social marketing

Understanding the Constraints to Transforming Online Fashion Shopping into a More Sustainable Practice

This research contributes a theorization of constraints to transforming online fashion shopping into a more sustainable practice. Qualitative research with fifty-eight sustainably oriented fashion consumers illuminates how critical-reactive reflexive commitment to sustainability destabilizes routinized practices, triggering adaptation. Yet, sustainable online fashion shopping remains unstable as practice elements fail to integrate