PUBLICATIONS
Journal Articles
Thompson, P.O., Mallum, F.B., & Chigbu, G.O. (Submitted for publication). Nigeria: a narrative of competing needs between shifting global trend, sustainable transportation, and economic growth. Journal of Contemporary African Studies.
Abstract
Nigeria is the biggest economy in Africa and a significant player in the geopolitics of the continent. The country’s ability to command so much relevance is based partly on its status as an oil exporter. It is, therefore, imperative that the government of Nigeria protect its golden goose-oil. In this paper, we argue that the recent act of the Nigerian government to resist the promotion of electric vehicles (EV) in the country as a way to protect its economic goose is ill-advised. We contend that past and recent global transportation and energy phenomena suggest that for Nigeria (and other African economies that rely on primary goods) to remain relevant in the future of the world economy, it is pertinent that a shift from its current economic model is pursued. To buttress our claim, we show how embracing sustainable transportation systems, which could entail adopting EV promoting policies, can give Nigeria a rare opportunity to stand a chance of being a big player in the future world economy.
Danis, C., Fernandes, T. & Thompson, P.O. (2019, September). Place, Perception, or Politics? Measuring U.S. Urban-Rural Natural Disaster Resilience Capacity. Int’l Conference on Sustainable Development. https://ic-sd.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/christina_danis.pdf
Abstract
Natural disasters in the United States have caused a spur in conversations regarding best practices and solutions for preparing communities for the implications of climate change. Resilience practices specifically recognize the need to bolster socially vulnerable populations with increased technical assistance and planning capacity. Nevertheless, the perception of the environment and the reception of natural disaster resiliency tools vary across urban-rural regions. This study explores how urban-rural counties across the United States perceive the environment and climate change risk in the context of social vulnerability and their political preferences. Exploring community perceptions of the environment, given their social vulnerability, will highlight regions in need of resiliency education and capacity building tools. These tools are vital for informing strategies to safeguard communities from future natural disaster events and impacts.
We use county-level data across the continental United States to examine if the effects of social vulnerability characteristics, natural disaster exposure risk, and political affiliation affect people’s environmental perceptions, and perceptions of natural disaster readiness, and if such perceptions vary across the urban-rural landscape. The study suggests an innovative approach to allocating natural disaster-related resources to communities based on their risk perception.
Dentith, A. M., & Thompson, O. P. (2017). Teaching adult ecojustice education. New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education, 2017(153), 65-75. https://doi.org/10.1002/ace.20222
Abstract
An ecojustice seminar, held in May 2016 at Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina, is described in this chapter. The ecojustice theoretical framework, the seminar class design, and our findings relative to student learning as gleaned from follow‐up focus groups, reflection papers, and online discussion are reported. Seminars such as these, highlight the crisis and foster knowledge about the positive human‐environmental relationships necessary for changes in perceptions and behaviors.
Seyeditabari, A., Levens S., Maestas, C., Shaikh S., Walsh, J.I., Zadronzny, W., Danis, C., & Thompson, P.O. (2017, April). Cross corpus emotion classification using survey data. In Proceedings of the Society for Artificial Intelligence and Behavior (AISB) Symposium on Computational Modelling of Emotions: Theory and Application. Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3108133 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3108133
Abstract
Although semantic analysis and machine learning are becoming well-established parts of Natural Language Processing (NLP), extraction of discrete emotions from text remains an under-developed area. Even less frequently do we see the application of these technologies to open-ended survey questions in fields such as political science, psychology, public policy, and sociology. In these domains, the need for more fine-grained emotion analysis of text responses has become apparent, particularly for assessing nuanced responses of the population to unexpected high impact events or incidents. Doing such assessments in real-time is even more difficult. We report preliminary results on an ambitious attempt to perform a cross-corpus emotion classification that applies data gathered in one survey to text collected at a different time from different sources. This research is one step in a broader agenda to create new NLP methods to code large-scale text data from surveys and social media to improve studies of emotion contagion through social media networks. Our report is based on a medium-scale experiment from a survey conducted in the Fall of 2016 during a crisis event. Preliminary evidence suggests that with the careful calibration of survey instruments, and proper understanding of natural language expressions (encoded as machine learning features), a transfer of classification code should be possible for some strongly expressed and potentially actionable emotions, like anger.
Book Chapters
Thompson, P.O. & Titiksha, F. (Accepted for publication). Counting Lives: Colonial institutions and Africa’s prevailing conflicts. In Handbook of Africa’s Political Economy (forthcoming). Palgrave MacMillan Publishers.
Excerpt
Conflict in Africa stemming from the remnants of colonial disruption is a long and extensively studied policy issue amongst researchers. While some scholars have explored the relationship between colonial legacies and frequency of conflict and or type of conflict, others have gone a step further and investigated how conflicts impact the economic and social climate of the continent. Within this body of research exists a pool of literature that takes into consideration the different types of colonial styles and their impact on the different economic, social, and political status across the continent. However, studies on the economic cost associated with the number of lives lost due to post-colonial conflicts are inadequate, and this study aims to fill in that void.
Thompson, P.O. (2017). Minority rights and environmental justice in developing countries. In Human Rights Dilemmas in the Developing World: The case of marginalized populations at risk (pp.149-178). Lexington Books.
Excerpt
The central purpose of this chapter is to address the difficult circumstances of minorities in the developing world in order to bring to fore the dilemmas of their human rights—particularly, their environmental rights. The chapter relies on four foundations to address this issue. First, a general theoretical discourse on environmental injustice (or justice) in the developing nations as a platform to anchor the concept of environmental justice. Second, to situate the debate on international environmental agreements as they relate to developing countries. Third, to show with practical case studies of Africa’s biggest economies and how the narratives from the first and second foundations mentioned above influence the dynamics of the majority-minority relationships of communities and countries. And lastly, the likely future trend of this relationship in the context of the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement. Within the overarching context of the above objectives, the chapter explores factors that influence the social constructs of these groups in the contexts of how society at different levels apportions the burdens of environmental degradation to minorities in the developing nations.
Book Reviewed
Thompson, P., & Udogu, E.I. (2016). The Roots of Ethnic Conflict in Africa: From Grievance to Violence by Nasong'o, Wanjala S (ed). Africa Today, 62(4), 67-72. https://muse.jhu.edu/article/620267/pdf
Summary
In this article, we critique based on its content and merit the book edited by Nasong’o Wanjala. The book attempts to advanced a theoretical explanation for the ongoing conflicts in Africa. Its central stance is that the weaponization of the social construct of ethnicity becomes the channel for grievances and group mobilization. By identifying some of the most virulent conflicts in Africa, we show how the authors used historical underpinnings to support their theoretical model.
Working Paper(s)
Thompson, P.O., & Fitzgerald, S. (n.d). Power, policy and discourse: a comparative analysis of the United Nations 2015 Paris Climate Agreement Speeches.
Abstract
The goal of this study is to apply the Narrative Policy Framework to investigate the strategies used by policymakers from developed and developing countries during the 2015 climate negotiations. Narratives help construct reality and policies are produced from discursive battles. Battles over meaning in the climate domain are fiercely fought by experts and literatures have identified how narratives can be employed in defining specific domains including power, knowledge, and agency. Specifically, this study seeks answers to the question: Do developed and developing countries employ distinct narrative strategies during these negotiations?
It is posited that developed and developing countries have different interests to protect and we expect that this will be reflected in the narrative strategies employed during climate change negotiations. We analyze 146 speeches given by world leaders and ministers during the Paris 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference. Using coding categories drawn from the narrative policy framework and social movement framing literatures we identify the discursive strategies of world leaders during this high-profile event. We find that leaders from economically underdeveloped nations are more likely to focus on current problems associated with climate change and the unequal distribution of these negative effects than are leaders from developed countries. Additionally, we develop the concept of an “albatross shift” to highlight how leaders from underdeveloped countries rhetorically use their perceived weaknesses and disadvantages as a bargaining chip by strategically drawing attention to their perceived disproportionate share of the burden of climate change.