Browsing by Author "Veliz, Karina D."

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    Applying circular business models in the Chilean construction sector: A system dynamics perspective
    (2024) Veliz, Karina D.; Pabon-Pereira, Claudia; Walters, Jeffrey P.; Fernandez, Javiera
    The construction sector remains a significant contributor to global climate change, accounting for one-third of global greenhouse gas emissions as well as a substantial portion of solid waste. In response to this pressing crisis, the adoption of circular business models (CBMs) emerges as a way to avoid negative environmental impacts. This study sought to model the interconnected factors influencing future CBM implementation in the Chilean construction industry using a system dynamics modeling approach. By engaging 20 sector experts in a system modeling workshop, it was possible to model and analyze these interconnected factors as a CBM System. The structural analysis of the resulting CBM system model revealed the triumvirate importance of information dissemination, certification of projects and products, and professional training and education. Recommendations for policy and practice that successfully leverage these mechanisms center on a three-pronged approach of combining effective stakeholder collaboration, technological innovation, and thoughtful product certification frameworks. Overall, a systems thinking and modeling approach, such as the one applied here, is essential for identifying the complex interactions between enablers and barriers that promote or inhibit sustainable transformation in the construction industry in Chile and beyond.
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    Disaster risk reduction education: tensions and connections with sustainable development goals
    (MDPI, 2021) Cabello González, Valeria Magaly; Veliz, Karina D.; Moncada Arce, Ana M.; Irarrazaval Garcia Huidobro, Maria; Juillerat, Felipe
    In the last decades, environmental risks and threats have increased human exposure to natural hazards, often affecting the quality of life, especially for vulnerable groups. This article explores the tensions and connections within educational research concerning disaster risk reduction (DRRE) in relation to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Twenty-seven articles published between 2014 and 2020 in various geographic regions regarding disaster risk reduction (DRR) were reviewed, finding that (a) the participation of children, youth, families, and the community is central; (b) non-formal and informal education are equally as relevant as formal education; (c) DRR initiatives can favor broader objectives, such as reducing poverty or advancing towards sustainable communities; and (d) achieving community resilience in the face of socio-natural disasters requires local voices for the design, implementation, and scaling of strategies. However, certain tensions were also found due to the lack of emphasis on the crucial areas of SDGs, which are related to a comprehensive notion of well-being and health education, including mental health and a gender approach, the limited mitigation of risk aggravating factors arising from extreme poverty and the climate crisis, the disconnection between modern and ancestral knowledge, the "top-down " versus "bottom-up " approach in the generation of local solutions, the role of education on disaster risk reduction as a risk mitigation factor, and the requirements to adjust the curriculum synchronously to global environmental needs, are all discussed, thus highlighting and encouraging the urgent cultural changes needed in the Anthropocene era that can be triggered through disaster risk reduction education.