Academic literature on the topic 'Regionalised environments'

This study identifies environmentalist themes in the fiction and nonfiction of Sarah Orne Jewett, Kate Chopin, and Willa Cather and argues that these ideals are interdependent upon the authors’ humanistic objectives. Focusing on these three authors’ overlapping interest in topics such as women’s rights, environmental health, and Native American history, this dissertation calls attention to the presence of a frequently unexplored but distinct, traceable feminist environmental ethic in American women’s regional writing. This set of beliefs involves a critique of the threats posed by a patriarchal society to both the environment and its human inhabitants, particularly the women, and thus can be classified as proto-ecofeminist. Moreover, the authors’ shared emphasis on the benefits of local environmental knowledge and stewardship demonstrates vital characteristics of the bioregionalist perspective, a modern form of environmental activism that promotes sustainability at a local level and mutually beneficial relationships among human and nonhuman inhabitants of a naturally defined region. Thus, the study ultimately defines a particular form of women’s literary activism that emerged in the last decades of the nineteenth century and argues for these authors’ continued theoretical relevance to a twenty-first-century audience increasingly invested in understanding and resolving a global environmental predicament.

Recent events within the Black Sea geopolitical environment reveal that Russia is taking extreme measures to retain its ‘strategic glacis’. Meanwhile, the EU maintains its vocal promotion of a neighbourhood that should be conflict-free, prosperous and well governed. Even if it is feasible to envision the potential for achieving the EU’s goal of promoting a ring of well governed countries to the East with which it can enjoy close and cooperative relations, in addition to a Russia-loyal near abroad comprised of countries which have ‘space’ as a main characteristic, this thesis argues that the two outcomes are mutually exclusive. Black Sea state leaders have become acutely aware that the nature of the EU makes balancing Russia both possible and impossible at the same time. Positioned within intersecting spheres of influence of a traditional and a modern great power, Black Sea small states are caught in a pragmatic limbo regarding their foreign policy orientation. Borrowing insights from Buzan and Waever (2003) and Neumann’s (2003) region-building approaches, this thesis finds that between 2003 and 2012 the Black Sea geopolitical environment has shifted from an environment sharing a ‘regional security’ logic to a (potentially transitory) ‘region’ per se. Through the case studies of Moldova and Georgia between 2003 and 2012, the thesis makes a cross-sectional historical comparison to put forth an ‘integrated approach’ to understanding how conflict, economic dependence, and foreign policy orientation serve as ‘triggers’ of change in the Black Sea geopolitical environment. The thesis concludes that the Black Sea has generated a new form of regionalism, a ‘reactive regionalism’ characterized by pragmatic responses to traditional and aggressive (albeit predictable) Moscow and the extremely appealing European model, which, however, provides no substantial geopolitical backing.

Made available in DSpace on 2015-05-14T12:40:02Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 arquivototal.pdf: 3971350 bytes, checksum: 441c43057034d1f9b1bd0dbfdf5ad4ef (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-06-05<br>Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES<br>The current dissertation has, for its objective, the investigation of Jorge Amado's work Terras do sem fim, in the light of the philosophical principles of Ecofeminism. This project demonstrates the relation between the environment and the female character inserted in the patriarchal system of the cacaueiran society, in the south of Bahia, in the beginning of the XX century. To achieve this objective, two philosophical lines will be used, namely: 1) The spiritualist ecofeminism, promoted by Maria Mies and Vandana Shiva; 2) the care ethics, created by Karen J. Warren. Amado's work will be analyzed with the goal of discovering the feminine behavior and pondering about the transgressor aspect of such a relation with the environment, reciprocal in its own nature, as the environment also manifest itself when it feels threaten by its dominator. For method of analysis, the bibliographical research of a wide-range of fields, including Literature, Sociology, Philosophy and Ecofeminism, was used in this study. The research is divided in three chapters. In the first, the novel Terras do sem fim will be characterized in the regionalist movement of the 1930s and the critical response of this work will also be used. The second chapter aims to justified and elaborate the ecofeminists principles used in this analytical and critical investigation. Finally, in the third chapter, the ecofeminists principles will be used to analyze the female characters and their transgressions connected to the environment, under the regime of the patriarchal system. The conclusion of the work tries to show that the novel Terras do sem fim has, in its literary structure, the opening of a critical discussion not presented in its time of publishing, bringing a wider perspective into the studies of Ecofeminism.<br>A presente dissertação tem como objetivo investigar a obra Terras do sem fim, de Jorge Amado, na perspectiva dos princípios filosóficos do ecofeminismo. Objetivamos demonstrar a relação entre meio ambiente e personagem feminino inserido num sistema patriarcal da sociedade cacaueira, no sul da Bahia, no início do século XX. Para atingirmos nosso objetivo, recorreremos a duas linhas de discussão filosóficas, a saber: 1) o ecofeminismo espiritualista, difundido por Maria Mies e Vandana Shiva; 2) a ética do cuidado, criado por Karen J. Warren. Analisaremos o romance amadiano, buscando inferir o comportamento da mulher e o aspecto transgressor dessa relação com o meio ambiente, o que se torna recíproco, uma vez que a natureza também se manifesta quando se sente ameaçada pelo seu dominador. Adotamos como método de abordagem a pesquisa bibliográfica que abrange a área da Literatura, Sociologia, Filosofia e a área que se identifica com a discussão das relações de gênero e meio ambiente como o Ecofeminismo, que nortearam a proposta deste estudo. Confere à pesquisa a divisão da dissertação em três capítulos. No primeiro, trataremos de situar o romance Terras do sem fim no modernismo regionalista de 30 e um levantamento da fortuna crítica sobre a obra. O segundo, visa fundamentar os princípios ecofeministas que sustentem a nossa investigação crítica e analítica, acerca do ecofeminismo. O terceiro capítulo tenta utilizar os princípios ecofeministas na análise das personagens femininas e suas confluências e transgressões, relacionadas com o meio ambiente, sob o regime do sistema patriarcal. Constatou-se, ao final da pesquisa, que o romance Terras do sem fim carrega em sua estrutura literária a abertura para uma discussão crítica de uma abordagem que ainda não era difundida em seu tempo. Dessa forma, trouxe para os estudos ecofeministas um maior aprofundamento das questões que envolvem a relação entre o meio ambiente e a mulher, propondo uma releitura do romance de Jorge Amado e obras contemporâneas.

Orientador: Pedro Wagner Gonçalves<br>Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Geociências<br>Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-18T17:40:51Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 RodriguesNeto_Anfrisio_M.pdf: 16512583 bytes, checksum: ab9ce169a14538fb39309ffc2574d6d9 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011<br>Resumo: A pesquisa procura mostrar as relações dos moradores da região do Morro de Araçoiaba e a construção da Real Fábrica de Ferro de São João de Ipanema no início do século XIX. O uso dos recursos naturais pela fábrica, como o minério de ferro (magnetita), as árvores para a feitura do carvão, combustível dos fornos e da água para mover as rodas, motivou uma série de atritos entre os moradores do Morro e a direção da Fábrica. A reserva da mata do morro 10 anos antes da construção da Fábrica e a retirada dos moradores para terras menos férteis iniciaram os embates. Os moradores eram em sua maioria pequenos proprietários e sitiantes que dependia dos recursos naturais, principalmente madeireiros e da terra para plantio de mantimentos. Por outro lado a Fábrica precisava destes sitiantes para fornecer comida à Fábrica, fazer o carvão para os fornos e braços para diversos serviços. A queima dos arvoredos mudou ecossistemas de várias espécies de pássaros e mamíferos. Afetou também a rica diversidade botânica repleta de árvores nobres. A pesquisa insere-se no campo metodológico da História Ambiental e para norteá-la valeu-se de levantamento realizado com pessoas que trabalham com educação na cidade de Sorocaba. O interesse dessas pessoas pela questão ambiental orientou a feitura do texto. Como resultados podemos destacar a forte intervenção do poder imperial português na região do Morro de Araçoiaba no início do século XIX e a resistência dos moradores. Apesar dos ordenamentos proibindo cortes e derrubadas, estas continuaram. Também mostra o impacto das instalações siderúrgicas na diversidade botânica e da fauna local que levou à extinção de várias espécies<br>Abstract: The research seeks to demonstrate the relations of the residents of Araçoiaba hill and the construction of the Royal St. John of Ipanema Iron Foundry, in the early XIX century. The use of natural resources by the plant, such as iron ore (magnetite), the trees for coal production, fuel for furnaces and water to move the wheels, resulted in a range of conflicts between the residents and the factory management. The reserve of the forest 10 years before the factory construction and the removal of the residents to a less fertile land started the conflicts. The residents were mostly small farmers, who depended on the natural resources, especially timber, and the land for planting provisions. On the other hand, the factory needed the small farmers to provide food to the factory, make the coal for the furnaces and as workforce for various services. The burning of trees changed the ecosystems of several species of birds and mammals. It also affected the rich botanical diversity, full of noble trees. This research is part of the methodological field of Environmental History. A survey was made with people who work in education in the city of Sorocaba. The interest of this people for environmental issues guided the formulation of the text. As a result, we can highlight the strong intervention of the Portuguese imperial power in the region of Araçoiaba hill, in the early XIX century and the resistance of the residents. Despite orders forbidding tree felling, they continued. The research also shows the impact of steel plants in the botanical diversity and in the local fauna, which resulted in the extinction of several species<br>Mestrado<br>Ensino e Historia de Ciencias da Terra<br>Mestre em Ensino e Historia de Ciencias da Terra

Soil and freshwater are two absolutely essential resources for ecosystems and humanity. Agriculture depends very much on these resources, and so, without their correct management, farmland practices can trigger many adverse impacts on the environment and jeopardise the availability of soil and water for future agricultural activities. Agricultural lands represent only 12% of the world’s land area. However, roughly 70% of water withdrawals from nature are for irrigated agriculture and 30-40% of the agricultural land is affected by soil degradation. Desertification, irreversible soil degradation, is one of the main problems for sustainability in drylands, areas that cover 40% of the earth’s surface. For these reasons, the environmental impacts of the use of water and land by agricultural activities should be measured. Life cycle assessment (LCA) is a method to construct the environmental profile of production systems. It was initially developed for industrial production, but a considerable amount of research has been undertaken in recent years to adapt LCA to agricultural systems as well. Conventional LCA methodology does not determine the environmental impacts of water and land use, which is a very significant shortcoming when evaluating the environmental performance of agricultural systems. Furthermore, contrary to other global environmental impact categories such as global warming, the environmental impacts of water and land use vary in every location of the globe, depending on the spatio-temporal conditions of the location, requiring therefore an extension of current LCA methodology. This thesis focuses on the development of the LCA methodology to incorporate the environmental impacts arising from the use of water and land. The spatio-temporal variability of these resources is taken into account in the proposed methods using the complementary tool of geographic information systems (GIS). For water use, two screening frameworks are built to capture the impacts of soil-water consumption by plants, when, until now, efforts have been directed towards evaluating the environmental impacts of irrigation water consumption. For land use, a multi-indicator approach for a new impact category, desertification, until now never modelled in the LCA context, is provided, as well as a methodology for including soil erosion impacts, in which the soil loss has been related to the loss of organic carbon, as a measure of the soil quality, and finally, to the loss of biomass productivity of ecosystems. The methods developed deal with the life cycle inventory (LCI) and the life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) phases. In addition, to verify the applicability of the developed location-dependent methods and characterisation factors, these are applied to agricultural crop rotations with energy crops growing in Spain, with the aim of quantifying the side effects of producing bioenergy on the disputed water and land resources in the country. The outcomes indicate that there is no best solution of a single crop rotation grown in a specific location capable of minimising water and land use environmental impacts simultaneously. This is because, firstly, rainfed crop rotations exhibit higher land use related impacts but, in contrast, they are not irrigated. And secondly, locations with more surface, ground and soil water reserves are subjected to more intensive and erosive rainfalls, thus, to higher land use damages. Among other important follow-up lines of research, future work should focus on the study of suitable functional units for agricultural LCA, calculate the uncertainties of the developed methods as well as try to identify a feasible and relevant geographical scale at which to address the spatial differentiation of the characterisation factors for water and land use impacts, and in general, for any location-dependent impact category.<br>Suelo y agua dulce son dos recursos imprescindibles para los ecosistemas y la humanidad. La agricultura depende de la disponibilidad de estos recursos, que por tanto, debe gestionar correctamente. En caso contrario, las prácticas agrícolas pueden provocar impactos adversos en el medio ambiente y poner en peligro la disponibilidad de suelo y agua para futuras actividades agrícolas. Los suelos agrícolas representan sólo el 12% de la superficie terrestre mundial. Sin embargo, aproximadamente el 70% de las extracciones de agua de la naturaleza se utilizan en la agricultura de irrigación y el 30-40% de los suelos destinados a la agricultura están degradados. La desertificación, entendida como la degradación irreversible del suelo, es uno de los mayores problemas para la sostenibilidad de las tierras áridas, áreas que cubren el 40% de la superficie terrestre. Por estos motivos, deben evaluarse los impactos ambientales debidos al uso del suelo y del agua en la agricultura. El análisis de ciclo de vida (ACV) es un método para evaluar el perfil ambiental de sistemas productivos. El ACV se desarrolló inicialmente para estudiar la producción industrial, pero en los últimos años la investigación se ha dirigido a la adaptación del método para poder aplicarlo también en los sistemas agrícolas. La metodología convencional de ACV no determina los impactos ambientales debidos al uso del suelo y del agua, siendo ésta una importante deficiencia para evaluar el perfil ambiental de los sistemas agrícolas. Además, al contrario de otras categorías de impacto ambiental global, como el calentamiento global, los impactos ambientales derivados del uso del suelo y del agua son distintos en cada lugar del planeta, en función de las condiciones espacio-temporales del sitio. Por tanto, es necesario extender la metodología actual de ACV. Esta tesis se centra en el desarrollo de la metodología de ACV para incorporar los impactos ambientales resultantes del uso del suelo y del agua. La variabilidad espacio-temporal de estos recursos se tiene en cuenta en los métodos propuestos utilizando la herramienta complementaria de los sistemas de información geográfica (SIG). Para el uso del agua, se presentan dos métodos de aproximación para medir los impactos debidos al consumo de agua de las reservas del suelo, cuando, hasta la fecha, los estudios han intentado evaluar los impactos ambientales debidos al consumo de agua para la irrigación. Para el uso del suelo, se propone una aproximación multi-indicador para modelar el impacto de la desertificación, una categoría nunca antes incluida en ACV, así como una metodología para incluir los impactos de la erosión del suelo, donde la pérdida de suelo se relaciona con la pérdida de carbono orgánico, como medida de la calidad del suelo, y finalmente, con la disminución de producción de biomasa de los ecosistemas. Los métodos desarrollados comprenden las fases de inventario de ciclo de vida (ICV) y de evaluación de impacto de ciclo de vida (EICV). Además, para comprobar la aplicabilidad de los métodos regionalizados de ACV y de los factores de caracterización desarrollados, estos se aplican en rotaciones de cultivos con cultivos energéticos en España, con el objetivo de cuantificar los efectos colaterales de producir bioenergía sobre los recursos suelo y agua, muy disputados en el país. Los resultados revelan que no hay una solución idónea, con una rotación de cultivos sembrados en una zona específica del país, que sea capaz de reducir, simultáneamente, los impactos ambientales debidos al uso de suelo y agua. Esto se debe, en primer lugar, a que los cultivos de secano muestran mayores impactos relacionados con el uso del suelo, pero, al contrario, no utilizan agua de irrigación. Y en segundo lugar, a que las zonas con más reservas de agua en superficie, acuíferos y suelos están también sometidas a lluvias más intensas y erosivas, y en consecuencia, a un mayor deterioro del suelo. Entre otras importantes líneas de investigación a seguir, próximos trabajos deben centrarse en el estudio de unidades funcionales adecuadas para el ACV de sistemas agrícolas, el cálculo de las incertidumbres de los métodos desarrollados en la tesis, así como en la identificación de una escala geográfica significativa y de aplicación factible que aborde la diferenciación espacial de los factores de caracterización para los impactos del uso del suelo y del agua, y, en general, para cualquier categoría de impacto ambiental regional.

Environ 65% des eaux intérieures sont menacées modérément ou fortement par l'altération anthropique et le changement climatique. La Terre a perdu environ la moitié de ses habitats d'eau intérieure au cours des cent dernières années et le prélèvement mondial d'eau devrait augmenter de plus de 50% au cours des 20 prochaines années. Dans ce contexte, la concurrence pour les ressources en eau entre les humains et les écosystèmes est appelée à s'intensifier au détriment de la biodiversité d'eau douce. Pour cette raison, il est aujourd'hui impératif de quantifier et de sauvegarder les besoins en eau de ces écosystèmesEn tant qu'outil global d'aide à la prise de décision, plusieurs modèles d'évaluation d'impact de la consommation d'eau sur les écosystèmes ont été proposés dans le cadre de l'analyse du cycle de vie (ACV). L'un des défauts importants des modèles actuels d'ACV, qu'ils soient mécanistes ou non-mécanistes, midpoint ou endpoint, c’est la prise en compte limitée des besoins environnementaux en eau (EWR). Pour cette raison, les approches existantes pour l'évaluation des EWR ont été étudiées, afin d'évaluer les avantages potentiels d'une meilleure prise en compte des principes écohydrologiques dans l’ACV sur les écosystèmesCela a permis de définir le concept d'habitat d'eau douce en ACV et d'élaborer un cadre conceptuel pour l'application des méthodes de simulation d'habitat dans la modélisation. Un indicateur midpoint du potentiel de changement d'habitat (HCP) évaluant l'impact de la modification du débit sur les habitats des poissons et des invertébrés dans les cours d'eau a été élaboré. Le nouveau modèle a été testé sur le réseau fluvial français à l'échelle du tronçon fluvial, en caractérisant le changement d'habitat en saison sèche et humide. Les HCP ont ensuite été agrégés à l'échelle du bassin versant. Après, le nouveau modèle a été généralisé pour permettre une extension globale. Les variables d'entrée du modèle HCP généralisé ont été calculées à partir des bases de données et des modèles existants sur une résolution mensuelle. Les limites, l'incertitude et les perspectives de recherche de la nouvelle approche ont finalement été discutées<br>Approximately 65% of inland waters are under moderate or high threat by anthropogenic alteration and climate change. Earth has lost around half of inland water habitats in the last hundred years and global water withdrawal is expected to increase by more than 50% within the next 20 years. In this context, competition for water resources between humans and ecosystems is set to rise at the expense of freshwater-dependent biodiversity. For this reason, nowadays it is imperative to quantify and safeguard water needs of freshwater-dependent ecosystems.As a global tool to support decision-making, in life cycle assessment (LCA) several models for life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) of water consumption on ecosystems have been proposed. One important flaw of current LCIA models, whether they are mechanistic or non-mechanistic, midpoint or endpoint-oriented, is their limited consideration of environmental water requirements (EWR). For this reason, existing approaches for EWR assessment have been investigated to evaluate potential benefits of better including ecohydrological principles in LCIA on ecosystems.This enabled the definition of the concept of freshwater habitat within the boundaries of LCIA and the development of a framework for the application of habitat simulation methods in LCIA modeling. A midpoint habitat change potential (HCP) indicator assessing the impact of flow alteration on instream habitats of fish and invertebrates was developed. The new model has been tested on the French river network at the river reach scale, characterizing habitat change in wet and dry seasons. HCPs were then aggregated at watershed scale. The new model was subsequently generalized to allow global extension. Input variables of the generalized HCP model have been calculated from existing databases and models on a monthly resolution. Limitations, uncertainty and research perspectives of the new approach are discussed

A study of the importance, elements and techniques of architectural contextualism. Contextual architecture is here defined as architecture that creates relationships with its specific site or its broader physical or visual environment. This study posits the comprehensive definition of architectural contextualism on multiple levels: denotatively, connotatively, historically, philosophically, and in its aspects of critical regionalism. American architects adept at the practice of architectural contextualism during the mid-twentieth century offer principles and techniques. These architects are John Carl Warnecke, E. Fay Jones, and George White and others. This research has yielded the systematic, comprehensive definition of contextualism, a set of metrics which can be used as a basis of design and aid in the evaluation of the degree to which a building or set of buildings and their landscape are contextually congruent.