Drifting Producers

Drifting Producers (2004) is an installation artwork built around three large urban models representing a utopian city. [Figure 27] The installation is created by a group of South Korean artists, designers, and curators who call themselves Flying City. The installation is part of a larger project which the artists carried out in an old neighbourhood in Seoul. The project and the installation of Drifting Producers (they bear the same title) are interconnected, although the project lasted for many years (2003–2009) and took many different forms, such as art-and-community workshops, performances, publications, and yet another installation artwork (no longer existent).

Findings from Community Workshops Designed to Help Expand Arizona's Dementia Capable System

Among the 5.8 million people living with Alzheimer’s disease (AD), there are three vulnerable groups where community partners can join efforts to serve the community more comprehensively. These include (a) people living alone with Alzheimer’s disease and other related dementias (ADRD) who may or may not have a family caregiver, (b) people with Down Syndrome or another intellectual or developmental disability aging with ADRD and their family caregivers, and (c) people with ADRD and their family caregivers in the Latino community. Dementia capable systems are designed to address the needs and concerns of all individuals, families, and communities impacted by ADRD. The project develops and expands ADRD programs and services across Arizona through educational workshops, case management services, and evidence-based programs. Workshops (N=67) were provided to a variety of professionals and community members ranging from promotores/CHW’s (community health workers) and case managers to family caregivers and people living with dementia (N=2,272). Workshops successfully attracted a substantial proportion of Hispanic or Latino/a participants (63%) and women (84.5%). Perception of benefit ratings were overwhelmingly positive with over 90% of participants agreeing or strongly agreeing that: the workshops met expectations; they were willing to attend other programs by us; and they learned something they could use. Moreover, based on their workshop experience, they felt more confident that they could help these three underserved populations. Overall, workshops were clearly acceptable to participants and feasible to deliver. In addition, they contributed to an increased awareness in ADRD related to the project’s three target groups.

Transforming tourism governance Futures thinking for destination community well being

There have been growing calls for greater community engagement in tourism planning and governance. These are often accompanied by arguments for the use of more futures thinking to deal with the complex problems that tourism faces. This suggests that there is a need for different approaches to engaging destination communities in tourism planning. The aim of the present research was to evaluate such a different approach using futures thinking techniques focussed on destination community wellbeing (DCW) as the primary tourism planning goal. The outcomes of a series of community workshops that used the new futures thinking DCW approach were compared to the strategies described in relevant traditional tourism planning documents. This evaluation revealed that the residents in the futures and community wellbeing workshops generated more varied, specific, innovative and sustainable tourism futures than the traditional tourism planning processes. Tourism governance needs to focus more on empowering destination residents and on making specific links between aspects of tourism and changes in aspects of DCW.

Enhancing physical geography schools outreach: Insights from co-production and storytelling narratives

Global environmental change is one of the most pressing issues facing future generations. Equipping schoolchildren with a clear understanding of physical geography is therefore a key educational priority. Effectively engaging schoolchildren with complex scientific ideas can be challenging, but with the appropriate tools, scientists can play a valuable role in developing meaningful science communication experiences. Climate Explorers addressed these issues by forging a collaboration between physical geography and social science academics, and 320 UK school students and their teachers in seven primary (elementary) schools. Using insights from co-production techniques and storytelling, the project aimed to 1) produce new open access, online climate science education resources, and 2) test co-production and storytelling approaches to physical geography science engagement. Our findings demonstrated that school children responded especially well to working with ‘real life’ scientists, where meaningful and memorable educational interactions were forged through the use of narratives, personal experiences and tailored language. Here we summarise our approach, and provide templates that can be readily applied by scientists working across the physical geography spectrum anywhere in the world. The flexibility of the templates means that they can be adapted and developed for a range of formats, from small-scale community workshops to national-scale educational initiatives, for delivery both in-person or online. We hope that our approach will provide a springboard to transform and enhance physical geography science communication more broadly.

#SelfHelp : A Supplementary paper for the film #SelfHelp

The film #SelfHelp critically examines Toronto’s mental health care system, it’s flaws and the different reasons why people resort to other options. After facing ongoing challenges, three young women decided to take matters into their own hands. Through the use of social media, starting community workshops and dedication to knowledge-sharing, these women begin to not only heal themselves, but others as well.

#SelfHelp : A Supplementary paper for the film #SelfHelp

The film #SelfHelp critically examines Toronto’s mental health care system, it’s flaws and the different reasons why people resort to other options. After facing ongoing challenges, three young women decided to take matters into their own hands. Through the use of social media, starting community workshops and dedication to knowledge-sharing, these women begin to not only heal themselves, but others as well.

Eat Healthy, Be Active Community Workshops implemented with rural Hispanic women

Background In the U.S., obesity disproportionately affects some racial/ethnic groups more than others; 42.5% of Hispanic adults are obese, compared to 32.6% of non-Hispanic whites (NHW). Research also shows that Mexican American women are 40% more likely to be overweight, as compared to NHW women. With high obesity rates among Hispanics, improving healthier lifestyle practices is an important step for reducing health disparities. The Eat Healthy, Be Active (EHBA) community workshops were developed to assist individuals in translating national nutrition and physical activity recommendations into action. Promotora-led EHBA workshops could be used to promote obesity-related health behavior lifestyle changes among Hispanics. Methods Hispanic women from rural communities in Washington state were recruited to participate in a six-week Promotora-led workshop series. This pilot study used a pre- and post-test study design to examine differences in healthy lifestyle knowledge and practices. Results A total of 49 Hispanic women participated in the workshops, of whom 45% were obese. Six-weeks after implementation of EHBA, women had improvements in healthy lifestyle practices, including an increase in nutrition label literacy, decrease in consumption of food eaten in restaurants, and an increase in the number of times a woman performed physical activity long enough to make them sweat. Conclusion The findings from this pilot study indicate that delivering EHBA workshops through promotoras is a feasible culturally relevant approach to promoting healthier lifestyle practices among Hispanic women. Further, focusing on females, who do the food shopping and preparation in their homes, may help increase awareness among whole families.

Drivers of cocoa encroachment into protected forests: the case of three forest reserves in Ghana

The study sought to unearth the immediate causes and underlying factors that fuel cocoa-driven deforestation in Ghana through four pathways: interviews, participatory rural appraisal techniques, facilitated community workshops and field observations in five forest-fringe and two admitted communities of Ghana's Ashanti and Western North Regions. The study found agricultural expansion and infrastructure extension to be the proximate causes of deforestation. These are driven by population growth, low cocoa productivity, inadequate cultivable land for cash and subsistence farming, abrupt shifts in government policies, droughts, wildfires, pests and diseases, land insecurity, limited alternative livelihoods in rural areas and lack of maintenance of admitted farm boundaries. The magnitude of the surge in cocoa encroachment in protected forests requires collaboration among diverse stakeholders and interlocutory action to stem the challenge while more holistic solutions are sought.

Leading Age-Friendly University Initiatives at a Research Intensive University in Manitoba, Canada

When Dublin City University introduced the Age-Friendly University (AFU) principles in 2012, the Centre on Aging at the University of Manitoba had been fully immersed in age-friendly cities research, so it was a natural for it to champion the University becoming more age-friendly. As a university-wide research centre, at a research intensive university, the Centre on Aging has built on its strengths to advance the AFU movement. Related to its goals on research, knowledge mobilization, training, and partnerships, it has been able to work with its many Research Affiliates, students and community/university partners to tackle new AFU initiatives. Recent activities have included: an awareness raising workshop/showcase, discussions with Research Affiliates about potential new degree course offerings, an environmental scan of post-secondary inter-generational possibilities, a home-sharing project, workshop development on older learners in the classroom, and provincial community workshops and consultations on communicating about aging and healthy aging. Part of a symposium sponsored by Directors of Aging Centers Interest Group.

Participatory Methods to Identify Perceived Healthy and Sustainable Traditional Culinary Preparations across Three Generations of Adults: Results from Chile’s Metropolitan Region and Region of La Araucanía

Traditional diets reflect different cultures and geographical locations, and may provide healthy diet options. In Chile, it is unknown whether traditional culinary preparations are still remembered, let alone consumed. Therefore, we adapted methods to identify traditional culinary preparations for healthy and sustainable dietary interventions. In Chile’s Metropolitan Region and the Region of La Araucanía, we collected data on the variety of traditional diets through cultural domain analyses: direct participant observation (n = 5); free listing in community workshops (n = 10); and pile sort activities within semi-structured individual interviews (n = 40). Each method was stratified by age (25–45 year, 46–65 year and ≥ 65 year) and ethnic group (first nations or not). About 600 preparations and single-ingredient foods were identified that differed both in frequency and variety by region. The foods most consumed and liked (n = 24–27) were ranked in terms of sustainability for public nutrition purposes. Methods originally designed to collect information about plants of indigenous peoples can be extended to collect data on the variety of existing traditional culinary preparations, globally. Context, both geographical and cultural, matters for understanding food variety, and its subsequent use in the design of healthy and sustainable diet interventions.