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Environmental Studies

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2016

Articles 1 - 15 of 15

Full-Text Articles in Medicine and Health Sciences

Patterns Of Fecal Progestagens, Estrogens, And Androgens Associated With Reproduction In Blue-Throated Piping Guans (Pipile Cumanensis), Leslie Ann Sterling, Helen Clawitter, Corinne P. Kozlowski, Michael Macek, Anne Tieber Oct 2016

Patterns Of Fecal Progestagens, Estrogens, And Androgens Associated With Reproduction In Blue-Throated Piping Guans (Pipile Cumanensis), Leslie Ann Sterling, Helen Clawitter, Corinne P. Kozlowski, Michael Macek, Anne Tieber

Undergraduate Research Symposium Posters

While fecal hormone analyses are routinely employed to monitor reproduction in mammals, few studies have used these techniques for monitoring reproductive events in birds. This study describes the endocrine patterns associated with reproduction in the blue-throated piping guan (Pipile cumanensis), a less threatened relative of the critically endangered Trinidad piping guan (P. pipile). Fecal samples were collected approximately once a week for 3 years from seven female guans and six male guans at the Saint Louis Zoo. Concentrations of fecal progestagens, estrogens, and androgens were quantified using commercially available enzyme immunoassays. Baseline progestagen concentrations for females …


The Importance Of Nature: An Investigation On How Geography Influences Well-Being, Christina Cobb Oct 2016

The Importance Of Nature: An Investigation On How Geography Influences Well-Being, Christina Cobb

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The objective of this community service project (CSP) was to study how a community’s location, specifically within nature, influences their well-being. I hoped to see how the community’s location, within Chapada Diamantina national park, influences the many ways health is promoted, and how these ways are affected by their location within nature. This project was built upon a review of the literature, which found that there is a theoretical basis for the notion that contact with nature is beneficial, a term deemed Biophilia. There is a robust body of academic research that highlights the health benefits deriving from contact …


Short-Beaked Common Dolphin (Delphinus Delphis) Occurrence In The Moray Firth, North-East Scotland, Kevin P. Robinson, Sonja Eisfeld, Marina Costa, Mark P. Simmonds Jul 2016

Short-Beaked Common Dolphin (Delphinus Delphis) Occurrence In The Moray Firth, North-East Scotland, Kevin P. Robinson, Sonja Eisfeld, Marina Costa, Mark P. Simmonds

Mark P. Simmonds, OBE

The short-beaked common dolphin (Delphinus delphis) is regarded as notably rare or absent from the northern North Sea, but recent evidence suggests a rising frequency of the species in these waters with increasing regional sea temperatures. The following paper documents the presence of D. delphis in the Moray Firth in north-east Scotland and provides the first evidence for the sustained occurrence of these delphinids in this region during the warmer summer months at least. Sightings were collated during systematic surveys of the outer Moray Firth between 2001 and 2009 by independent research teams from the CRRU and WDCS. A total …


Exponential Growth, Animal Welfare, Environmental And Food Safety Impact: The Case Of China’S Livestock Production, Peter J. Li Jul 2016

Exponential Growth, Animal Welfare, Environmental And Food Safety Impact: The Case Of China’S Livestock Production, Peter J. Li

Peter J. Li, PhD

Developmental states are criticized for rapid “industrialization without enlightenment.” In the last 30 years, China’s breathtaking growth has been achieved at a high environmental and food safety cost. This article, utilizing a recent survey of China’s livestock industry, illustrates the initiating role of China’s developmental state in the exponential expansion of the country’s livestock production. The enthusiastic response of the livestock industry to the many state policy incentives has made China the world’s biggest animal farming nation. Shortage of meat and dairy supply is history. Yet, the Chinese government is facing new challenges of no less a threat to political …


A Comparative Sustainability Study For Treatment Of Domestic Wastewater: Conventional Concrete And Steel Technology Vs. Vegetated Sand Beds (Vsb’S) And Their Relative Differences In Co2 Production, Alicia M. Milch Jul 2016

A Comparative Sustainability Study For Treatment Of Domestic Wastewater: Conventional Concrete And Steel Technology Vs. Vegetated Sand Beds (Vsb’S) And Their Relative Differences In Co2 Production, Alicia M. Milch

Masters Theses

Conventional wastewater treatment in the U.S. is an energy dependent and carbon dioxide emitting process. Typical mechanical systems consume copious amounts of energy, which is most commonly produced from fossil fuel combustion that results in the production of CO2. The associated organic load is also metabolized by microorganisms into CO2 and H2O. As the desire to reduce CO2 output becomes more prominent, it is logical to assess the costs of conventional treatment methods and to compare them to alternative, more sustainable technology. Vegetated Sand Bed (VSB) and Reed Bed (RB) systems are green technologies …


Influence Of Rock-Pool Characteristics On The Distribution And Abundance Of Inter-Tidal Fishes, Gemma E. White, Grant C. Hose, Culum Brown May 2016

Influence Of Rock-Pool Characteristics On The Distribution And Abundance Of Inter-Tidal Fishes, Gemma E. White, Grant C. Hose, Culum Brown

Culum Brown, PhD

Rock pools can be found in inter-tidal marine environments worldwide; however, there have been few studies exploring what drives their, fish species composition, especially in Australia. The rock-pool environment is highly dynamic and offers a unique natural laboratory to study the habitat choices, physiological limitations and adaptations of inter-tidal fish species. In this study rock pools of the Sydney region were sampled to determine how the physical (volume, depth, rock cover and vertical position) and biological (algal cover and predator presence) parameters of pools influence fish distribution and abundance. A total of 27 fish species representing 14 families was observed …


Childhood Trauma, A Cycle Of Violence: Worcester, Ma, Samantha Arsenault May 2016

Childhood Trauma, A Cycle Of Violence: Worcester, Ma, Samantha Arsenault

International Development, Community and Environment (IDCE)

This research examines the relationship between childhood trauma, indicated by early police contact, and the probability of later negative life experiences, including involvement in and perpetration of violence, criminal activity and gang involvement for men age 0-27 in Worcester, MA. This research was conducted using probit and tobit regression analysis using the Worcester Police Dataset. This study shows a positive and highly statistically significant correlation between childhood trauma and gang involvement as well as involvement in violence, perpetration of violence, and the number of incidents of violence. This suggests that a crisis intervention for childhood trauma, including witness-based childhood trauma, …


Healthcare Facility Location: A Breast Cancer Alliance Case Study, Alexandra Knopf May 2016

Healthcare Facility Location: A Breast Cancer Alliance Case Study, Alexandra Knopf

International Development, Community and Environment (IDCE)

Community health is impacted by the location of a health advocacy agency. This commissioned report for the Breast Cancer Alliance of Greenwich, CT, consists of a location analysis to review potential cities in which they might locate expansion efforts. Such cities include Boston, MA, Chicago, IL, Greenwich, CT, Los Angeles, CA, San Francisco, CA, and Washington, D.C. This report will look at five ways (4 mathematical and one spatial) of conducting a location analysis that require specialized knowledge for interpretation. For this study, a Spatial Geographic Information System methodology is preferred because of the visualization component, which can ensure that …


An Integrated Strategy For Strengthening Worcester's Regional Food System: Key Roles For Education And Information, Joel Simonson May 2016

An Integrated Strategy For Strengthening Worcester's Regional Food System: Key Roles For Education And Information, Joel Simonson

International Development, Community and Environment (IDCE)

Food security and access to healthy food are public health issues that continue to persist in the United States and are ones that are strongly influenced by social and environmental factors. In Worcester, Massachusetts there are many organizations that contribute to alleviating the resulting effects, but do not always have the capacity to reach full potential and expand upon current initiatives. Students can provide existing human resources and knowledge that would benefit all parties. This would allow for organizational capacity development, ultimately impacting local residents, and for students to gain deeper connections to the greater Worcester community while learning vital …


High Performance Bayesian Applications In Medical, Economics And Climate Sciences, Ahmed Almulihi Apr 2016

High Performance Bayesian Applications In Medical, Economics And Climate Sciences, Ahmed Almulihi

Research and Creative Activities Poster Day

We apply high performance numerical integration to problems in Bayesian statistics. These are applied to data arising in the analysis of problems in such areas as medical statistics (birth weight data, heart transplant data, photocarcinogen data, radio therapy data), climate (global weather, tornado data), and general statistics applications (multivariate logistic distribution, multivariate normal, nonlinear regression). We compute Bayesian moment integrals using the ParInt integration software that runs efficiently on computer clusters. We compare our results to those in the literature and show excellent performance with respect to accuracy and execution time.


Inquiry Into The Implementation Of Bush’S Executive Order 13211 And The Impact On Environmental And Public Health Regulation, Elizabeth Ann Glass Geltman, Gunwant Gill, Miriam Jovanovic Apr 2016

Inquiry Into The Implementation Of Bush’S Executive Order 13211 And The Impact On Environmental And Public Health Regulation, Elizabeth Ann Glass Geltman, Gunwant Gill, Miriam Jovanovic

Publications and Research

Executive Order 13211, promulgated in 2001, requires the federal government to consider the impact of federal action on energy independence as part of the George W. Bush’s National Energy Policy. This law review examines whether EO 13211 was used to curtail environmental protection and natural resource conservation. The article begins with a review of the procedure required of federal agencies under EO 13211 and its associated documents. The paper then examines case law and published federal rulemaking proceedings and examines how federal agencies apply tests to evaluate the potential energy effect. The study concludes that EO 13211 strikes a reasonable …


Oil & Gas Drilling In National Parks, Elizabeth Ann Glass Geltman Jan 2016

Oil & Gas Drilling In National Parks, Elizabeth Ann Glass Geltman

Publications and Research

While a great deal of public attention addresses the Halliburton loophole of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 and Bureau of Land Management efforts to regulate hydraulic fracturing on public lands, less attention has been paid to the National Park Service “9B Regulations,” which provide a national regulatory framework governing the exercise of nonfederal oil and gas rights in national parks. This article begins with a review of law pertaining to oil and gas drilling in national parks. The article examines the tension in striking a balance between environmental protection, conservation of national lands and achieving energy independence, including National …


Water Sanitation And Waste Management In Latin America, Colombia, And Cartagena: A Study Of The Relationship Between Environment, Health, Poverty, And Policy, Andrea K. Sullivan Jan 2016

Water Sanitation And Waste Management In Latin America, Colombia, And Cartagena: A Study Of The Relationship Between Environment, Health, Poverty, And Policy, Andrea K. Sullivan

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The objective of this research is to identify the need for stricter environmental standards and regulations in three areas of study. Organized by their level of analysis, these areas are Latin America (at the System-Level-of Analysis), Colombia (at the State-Level-of-Analysis), and the city of Cartagena (at the Sub-National-Level of Analysis). This research was accomplished in two phases. The first involved conducting an exhaustive literature search of sources, germane to the objective, published in Spanish and English. The second featured a site inspection conducted over a 10-day period during the month of May 2016 to Cartagena, Colombia. The purpose of the …


The Ethical Issues Of Dumping Electronic Waste In India, Krista E. Dawson Jan 2016

The Ethical Issues Of Dumping Electronic Waste In India, Krista E. Dawson

Augustana Center for the Study of Ethics Essay Contest

Electronic waste, also referred to as “e-waste,” is all waste made from electronic products such as computers, mobile phones, digital music players, refrigerators, washing machines, and TV’s (Pinto, 2008). There is e-waste produced in the manufacturing process as well as the final disposal of the product. Although developed countries consume most electronics, it is increasingly common for countries that are still developing to possess electronic goods (Larrdis, 2011). Use of technology and connection to worldwide networking is a huge step for the progress of these countries, but having gained a “part” of the developed world without the associated infrastructure to …


The Impact Of Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals On Wildlife Conservation, Eda Reed Jan 2016

The Impact Of Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals On Wildlife Conservation, Eda Reed

Honors Theses

Endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs), such as those from plastics and pesticides, have been hypothesized to affect wildlife populations. According to the U.S. National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, EDCs ‘are chemicals that may interfere with the body’s endocrine system and produce adverse developmental, reproductive, neurological, and immune effects in both humans and wildlife.’ A growing number of studies suggest wildlife are being exposed to EDCs, but how EDCs affect wildlife health and wildlife conservation is less well-understood. Through scientific literature analysis and a survey of wildlife conservationists and practitioners, this study aims to determine the current state of knowledge and data …