Scholarly Work - Political Science

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://scholarworks.montana.edu/handle/1/2919

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    Rethinking the heuristic traps paradigm in avalanche education: Past, present and future
    (2020-08) Johnson, Jerry; Mannberg, Andrea; Hendrikx, Jordy; Hetland, Audun; Stephensen, Matthew
    This paper will review the emergence and adoption of decision heuristics as a conceptual framework within the avalanche research and education community and demonstrate how this emphasis on the heuristic decision framework has anchored and was critical in redefining the discussion around avalanche accidents. This paradigm has been a critical and meaningful step in recognizing the importance of decision making in avalanche accidents. However, in an attempt to reduce the incidence of fatal accidents, the adoption of these ideas within the wider avalanche community has overlooked some clearly stated limitations within the foundational work of the heuristic decision frame. With respect to the concept of heuristic traps in conventional avalanche education, the concepts are poorly operationalized to the extent that they are vague about what exactly they describe. The result is that as presently framed, they are of negligible value to avalanche education that seeks its basis on the best available information. We end with a discussion, and a call to action to the avalanche research community, of how we could move towards resolution of these weaknesses and add value to prior work on human factor research. Our aim is not to disparage the seminal, paradigm shifting work by McCammon, but rather draw attention to how it has been operationalized and how the industry needs to move beyond this paradigm to see further gains in our understanding of avalanche fatalities.
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    Climate Action Plan Research Report 2021
    (Montana State University, 2021-06) Bondurant, Nicole; Corradino, Dominic; Fitzmaurice, Nicholas; Halvorson, Cy; Myers, Raye; Stone, Megan; Thompson, Jessica; Washburn, Savanna
    This report examines both the development and implementation of climate action plans in higher educational settings. Research strategies include conducting a literature review utilizing reference management software; collecting institutional data on universities across the United States; narrowing the scope of our research down to the following four case study institutions based on their similarities to Montana State University: Colorado State University (CSU), University of Montana (UM), Utah State University (USU), and Weber State University (WSU); analyzing those universities’ climate action plans and supporting documents; interviewing individuals involved with climate action plan development and implementation from each university; and synthesizing our data based on thematic categories into key findings. These key findings, addressing what institutions in higher education must accomplish in order to see successful climate action taken on their campus, include but are not limited to (1) Establish and secure a reliable, substantial, and centralized funding source; (2) Secure support and endorsement from top university leadership, primarily the President; (3) Conduct a comprehensive GHG emissions inventory baseline, tracking progress through annual inventories; (4) Create a public carbon neutrality goal with interim benchmarks and detailed steps outlining how to reach them; (5) Engage campus and community stakeholders early and extensively in the planning process; (6) Establish institutional accountability mechanisms to ensure the implementation of projects, goals, and plan updates by explicitly identifying timelines, resources, and responsibilities; (7) Communicate the economics of CAP projects effectively; (8) Acknowledge current data gaps and uncertainties and plan to address them; and (9) Incorporate climate justice. While this study focuses on generating recommendations for the drafting and adoption of a new climate action plan on the Montana State University-Bozeman campus, our findings can also serve as a launchpad for future climate action planning endeavors, adaptations, and mitigation strategies at other higher education institutions striving to respond to the climate crisis.
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