Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Measuring The Performance Of Sdgs In Provincial Level Using Regional Sustainable Development Index, Nurafiza Thamrin, Ika Yuni Wulansari, Puguh Bodro Irawan

Journal of Environmental Science and Sustainable Development

Measuring the national and sub-national progress in achieving such globally adopted development agendas as Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is particularly challenging due to data availability and compatibility of indicators to measure SDGs, especially in Indonesia. This paper attempts to measure the performance of sustainable development at the regional level in Indonesia by newly constructing a multidimensional composite index called the Regional Sustainable Development Index (RSDI). RSDI comprises four dimensions, covering comprehensive economic, social, environmental, and governance indicators. By applying factor analysis, the paper assesses the uncertainty of RSDI and the sensitivity of its composing indicators, then further investigates the relationship …

Reducing Food Scarcity: The Benefits Of Urban Farming, S.A. Claudell, Emilio Mejia

Journal of Nonprofit Innovation

Urban farming can enhance the lives of communities and help reduce food scarcity. This paper presents a conceptual prototype of an efficient urban farming community that can be scaled for a single apartment building or an entire community across all global geoeconomics regions, including densely populated cities and rural, developing towns and communities. When deployed in coordination with smart crop choices, local farm support, and efficient transportation then the result isn’t just sustainability, but also increasing fresh produce accessibility, optimizing nutritional value, eliminating the use of ‘forever chemicals’, reducing transportation costs, and fostering global environmental benefits.

Imagine Doris, who is …

Community Resilience And Creating Capacities For Risk Reduction In First Nations Communities, Case Study In Minegoziibe Anishinabe (Pine Creek First Nation), Brittany S. Lavallee

Capstone Collection

The colonization of Indigenous peoples in Canada has serious consequences on First Nations, including forced removal and displacement from their ancestral lands, environmental degradation, declining resources and capacities, and human rights violations. First Nations communities are currently facing the amplified effects of human-driven climate change. Sustainability of the environment is not just a concept, but a practiced way of life, that recognizes the interdependence of all living things. This deep respect for Aki (earth) is at the foundation of First Nations cultures and continues to guide their actions to insure better futures for Seven Generations. The community of Minegoziibe Anishinabe …

The Impact Of Conservation Land On Property Taxes And Municipal Budgets In Maine: A Mixed-Methods Study, Abigail Bennett

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study is an interdisciplinary project done in collaboration with the Municipal Budget and Conservation Working group, a group of stakeholders that formed in 2018 to study conservation and town budgets. We use mixed methods to explore the impacts of conservation and municipal budgets in Maine. We use regression analysis on 21 years of panel data to identify causal relationships between conservation and mill rates, controlling for economic and town budget factors. We found statistically significant but small effects on average, with a 1% increase in conserved acres in a town associated with average tax bill increases of $1 or …

Human Dimensions Of Woody Encroachment Management In Nebraska, Emily Rowen

School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Woody plant encroachment (WPE) is a social-ecological problem that will challenge conservation professionals and agricultural producers to adapt their management strategies. This research first examined WPE from the perspective of individual conservation professionals through an online survey. Conservation professionals’ attitudes about adaptation to vegetation transitions, such as WPE, were of interest because these attitudes are one measure of how prepared this group is to respond to WPE. Hypothesized predictors of adaptation attitude were tested through linear regression modeling. These predictors included ecological change, observation of WPE, or risk perception. It was found that risk perception was the strongest predictor of …

Sustainable Energy Distribution Methods At The Azraq And Za’Atari Refugee Camps In Jordan: A Refugee Perspective, Lucie Lagodich

Capstone Collection

The looming climate change crisis requires research and development of mitigation strategies to protect those most vulnerable. This study uses semi-structured interviews to capture the refugee perspective of the successes and shortcomings of large-scale solar farm projects installed at the Azraq and Za’atari Syrian refugee camps in the west and north of Jordan, respectively. These perspectives may be utilized to improve each camp's current renewable energy distribution system. Results suggest that at both camps the current renewable energy systems are deeply flawed with limited hours with rampant distrust among camp residents in the management of the solar farms. Most refugees …

Breaking The Loop: Strategies For Fighting Climate Change On U.S. Farms, Ashley Barry

Honors Capstones

Climate change is an increasingly urgent area of research due to the hardships it causes for lands and communities across the globe. Specifically in regard to the United States (U.S.), climate change has many concerning implications on our agricultural system. Increased weather hazards, decreased crop production, and drought are just a few of the hardships American farmers are facing in their fight to keep their farms alive and feed their communities, despite a rapidly changing climate. This study investigates how farmers can fight and prevent climate change through the use of specific mitigation and adaptation strategies on their farms. Semi- …

Water Efficiency & Sustainability In The Mountain West, 2022, Zachary Billot, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Environment

This fact sheet analyzes the effectiveness of state-level policies related to water usage, conservation, and sustainability for the Mountain West states of Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah in 2022. The original data are published in the “2022 State Policy Scorecard for Water Efficiency and Sustainability” report written by the Alliance for Water Efficiency.

The Public's Perception Of An Earthquake Early Warning System: A Study On Factors Influencing Continuance Intention, Marion Lara L. Tan, Lauren J. Vinnell, Alvin Patrick M. Valentin, Raj Prasanna, Julia S. Becker

Quantitative Methods and Information Technology Faculty Publications

This paper investigates the perceptions of the New Zealand public towards the Android Earthquake Alert (AEA) system, a public-facing earthquake early warning system. Specifically, it examines the public’s continuance intention towards the AEA system and the influencing factors of satisfaction, confirmation, perceived usefulness, and perceived trust. To gather insights into the public’s perceptions regarding the AEA system, this study distributed online surveys following two separate earthquake alert events on 12 October and 22 October 2021. A total of 524 and 671 participants responded to the two events’ surveys, providing valuable data for analysis and exploration. Structural Equation Modelling of the …

Influences On Participation In The National Flood Insurance Program’S Community Rating System In Coastal Counties In Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, And Florida, Jennifer E. Argote

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The National Flood Insurance Program provides an incentive-based program, the Community Rating System (“CRS”), to encourage communities to improve their hazard mitigation protocols to better protect against and prevent flood-related hazards. This dissertation analyzes factors that influence participation and points scored within the CRS to gain an understanding of the conditions under which communities are willing and able to take advantage of an incentive-based flood hazard mitigation program. It also includes an analysis of survey responses from 41 coastal county floodplain and CRS managers to gauge their opinions on the CRS and how it can be improved to better serve …

Water Wise Landscape Practices: A Case Study For The City Of Gering, Christina E. Land

Community and Regional Planning Program: Professional Projects

This professional project is founded on my education, experiences, and networks. I have had the opportunity to use what I have learned thus far and be challenged to look at public planning from a different perspective. In partnership with the City of Gering I was able to get knee deep in the facility planning of the city owned property which is home to the Community Ever Green House. The project reviews how the property is integrated into the community and the impact it has. Then, identifies opportunities to improve overall functionality with a closer look at addressing hazard mitigation using …

The Great Displacement: Climate Change And The Next American Migration, Minnesota State University, Mankato

Weather/Natural Disasters

Bibliography and photographs of a display of government documents from Minnesota State University, Mankato.

Environmental Loss, Displacement, And Anxiety In Portugal: Analyzing News Articles To Differentiate Manifestations Of Environmental Distress, Robin Greene

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Expressions of environmental distress can take different forms, with different symptoms, causes, and treatments. Existing literature generally identifies three primary categories of environmental distress responses: environmental grief, solastalgia, and eco-anxiety. This paper explores these distinctions and identifies words typically associated with each category in Portuguese news articles using Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA). LDA is a Natural Language Processing (NLP) technique that groups words into topics and identifies connections between those words based on how often those words appear together in sequences. This paper uses a modified LDA algorithm called GuidedLDA to identify additional keywords within topics defined by a list …

Oscars Vs. Ozone: The Motion Picture Industry’S Impact On Climate Change And What They Are Doing About It, Alexis J. Simpson

Senior Theses

This thesis focuses on demonstrating that the motion picture industry, which includes film and television production (and thus will also be called ‘the film and television industry’), has notably contributed to the global effects of climate change. Such contributions can stem from the industry’s emissions and waste, with examples including travel for cast and crew, energy use for production equipment (some of which run on diesel), and disposable physical sets and costumes. The intention here is to give an accurate picture of current production practices and share examples of progress in the industry that are combating the negative impacts of …

“Without Water, Nothing”: Examining The Water Saving Practices Of Women In Amman Under Periodic Water Supply, Rory Dixon

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Jordan is among the most water-scarce countries in the world. Consequently, water is only pumped to households once a week and households store water in tanks to last them until the next water day. Women conducting housework do so under conditions of environmental stress that this research calls resource-scarce domestic labor. In this study, I apply an eco-feminist lens to examine the water-saving practices women employ to manage and conserve domestic water supplies. I explore the larger causes of these behaviors including climate change, government management, and regional politics. Resource-scarce domestic labor is not a practice unique to Jordan and …

Do Microplastics, Vibrio Bacteria, And Warming Water Temperatures Cause Disease In The Northern Star Coral, Astrangia Poculata?, Heather Leigh Sheffey

OES Theses and Dissertations

As marine plastic pollution increases, it becomes imperative to study the effects of microplastics on marine fauna. Marine plastic debris is a vector for disease to marine invertebrates (Lamb et al., 2018; Rotjan et al., 2019). In this context, studies have shown Astrangia poculata will consume microplastics as they do their normal food (Allen et al, 2017; Rotjan et al., 2019). Further, with temperatures increasing worldwide, there is a concern the virulence of disease-causing bacteria will increase (Vezzulli et al., 2015). In a series of manipulative laboratory experiments, this study quantified changes in respiration rates and visual health of Astrangia …

Prioritization Of Scientific Sources Of Water Information: The Effect Knowledge, Beliefs, And Political Identity, Sadie Hundemer

Journal of Applied Communications

Scientists are reported to be more trusted than other information sources; yet, on essential water facts, people sometimes reject what they perceive water scientists to believe in favor of other belief determinants. This study examines the factors that affect the difference in people's stated willingness to reconsider their water beliefs in response to information provided by scientists relative to information provided by other sources. Regression analysis of responses provided by 806 Florida and Georgia residents found water science knowledge to be a consistently strong influencer of the gap in reliance on scientific information providers relative to other sources. This result …

A Citizen Science Experiment: How Well Do Park Visitors Identify Wetland Health?, Madison Cicha, Kassidy Haynes, Andrew Mehring, Mark Tierney, Andrea Gaughan Phd

The Cardinal Edge

Citizen science refers to a discipline of scientific projects that utilize public participation and collaboration to complete or supplement a collected data set. Our study as a whole aims to assess the greenhouse gas (GHG) source-sink status of small, constructed wetlands in Kentucky through field and remotely sensed data. Additional facets of the project include evaluating the influence of the primary producer community on GHG uptake and emissions, and our ability to identify healthy small wetlands from science and community-based perspectives. Specifically, the citizen science aspect intends to assess both (1) gaps between knowledge of the general public regarding wetland …

Self-Reported Consumption Of Bottled Water V. Tap Water In Appalachian And Non-Appalachian Kentucky, Jason W. Marion

Journal of Appalachian Health

Introduction: Quantitative studies on drinking water perceptions in Appalachia are limited. High-profile water infrastructure failures in the U.S. and Eastern Kentucky, coupled with human-made and natural disasters in the Appalachian Region, have likely impacted opinions regarding tap water.

Purpose: To use existing unexplored data to describe baseline tap water v. bottled water consumption in Kentucky.

Methods: Telephone-based cross-sectional data were obtained from the 2013 Kentucky Health Issues Poll (KHIP) directed by the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky. Among many items in KHIP, self-reported consumption of bottled water over tap water, reasons for bottled water use, and demographic data were obtained. …

The Implications Of Solidarity For Food Ethics, John Sniegocki

The Journal of Social Encounters

This essay examines numerous ways in which commitments to solidarity have relevance in the area of food ethics. Among the topics explored are food insecurity and hunger, workers’ rights, ecology, and the treatment of animals. Particular attention is paid to the impacts of the production and consumption of animal products. These issues are examined through the lens of the developing understanding of solidarity present in the tradition of Catholic social teaching (CST). The ethical framework provided by CST, it is suggested, could be further enhanced by insights drawn from the growing tradition of “Black veganism” and its holistic, intersectional understanding …

A Framework For Creating Virtual Reality Models For More Effective Coastal Flood Risk Communication, Tina Korani, Alexandrea Martinez

CSU Journal of Sustainability and Climate Change

Coastal cities are exposed to increasing risks of flooding from sea-level rise. Climate change is expected to double the frequency of coastal flooding within the next decade, and some areas could experience floods of a magnitude 100 times higher than currently (Vitousek et al., 2017). People living in at-risk areas often ignore the impact of climate change on flood intensity and frequency. Immersive visual storytelling techniques proved promising and powerful tools to engage with and raise awareness of flood hazards. Here, we are introducing a framework to use Virtual Reality (VR) to reach better people living in coastal cities and …

Environmental And Socio-Economic Stress In The Mountain West, Ayda Atici, Caitlin J. Saladino, Fatma Nasoz, William E. Brown Jr.

Environment

This fact sheet examines data on environmental and socio-economic risk metrics including which metrics pose the most risk for Nevada counties.The data are retrieved from “System for the Triage of Risks from Environmental and Socio-Economic Stressors” created by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) joint program on the science and policy of global change.

Runoff Water Quality And Crop Growth As Affected By Wastewater-Derived Struvite, Machaela Morrison

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Mined phosphate rock, used to produce phosphorus (P) fertilizers, is a finite resource. Struvite (MgNH4PO4 • 6H2O) that has been synthetically produced from a stock solution of known P and nitrogen (N) concentrations has been shown to be an effective, alternative fertilizer-P source for various crops. However, little is known about the runoff-water-quality implications from and the crop response to soil application of struvite created from an actual municipal wastewater source. This study consisted of two objectives: i) to evaluate the effects of soil [i.e., Creldon (Oxyaquic Fragiudalf), Dapue (Fluventic Hapludoll), Roxana (Typic Udifluvent), and Calloway (Aquic Fraglossudalf) series], fertilizer-P …

Coal Ash Dumps In The Mountain West, Julia Salangsang, Nicole Diaz Del Valle, Zachary Billot, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Environment

This fact sheet presents data on coal ash dumps, their management, and the pollutants that exist at each site in the Mountain West states of Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah. The original report includes data on coal ash dumping sites for all 50 states.

Bring On The Heat, Renée Stoute

The Journal of International Relations, Peace Studies, and Development

According to the World Economic Forum, in retaliation to European Union sanctions and embargoes, Russia cut EU gas flows by around 80% between May and October 2022 (WEF, 2022). The EU, in turn, has had to not only reduce energy consumption within the public and private sectors but has also scrambled to find energy alternatives to compensate for its energy shortcomings. However, due to the EU’s rejection of Russian oil and gas, there are now opportunities to embrace more sustainable energy alternatives quicker than previously expected. This could lead to a faster transition towards the use of cleaner and more …

Meet Me In The Middle: A Scoping Review On Understanding Adolescent Needs In Climate Communication, Gwendolyn Monica Hoff Anderson

Master's Projects and Capstones

The greatest effects of climate change are likely to be felt by youth. Young people are disproportionately affected by climate change due to their critical developmental stage and lack of power, and they experience both higher severity and prevalence of mental health issues related to climate change. Strong emotions have long been recognized as potential catalysts for action, or they may lead to paralyzing feelings of being overwhelmed. Climate communication is a critical tool to spark climate concern and encourage action. Activism, in turn, may help youth manage their anxiety about climate change. This scoping review examines emerging evidence on …

Tempers Rising: The Effect Of Heat On Spite, Jake C. Cosgrove

Master's Theses

The relationship between heat and harmful outcomes is well documented, with research connecting various adverse economic outcomes to the climate. In the presence of increasing global warming and climate change, understanding why the climate leads to negative economic outcomes is essential for forming peaceful institutions of the future. We study how behavioral economic outcomes change in the presence of heat through a lab experiment involving 1,110 observations conducted in five different countries. This paper specifically focuses on the social preference outcome of spite. We find that increased time exposure to the treatment effect of heat is required to elicit an …

Approaches And Tools To Solving Complex Problems In Private Land Conservation, John T. Curnyn

Graduate Student Portfolios, Professional Papers, and Capstone Projects

The central theme throughout my four portfolio pieces is: approaches and tools that can be used to address complex problems involving private land conservation. I consider the broader human and environmental community health to be factors in successful private land conservation. The first portfolio piece examines a number of studies of conservation easements implemented to improve water quality, as well as their utility in avoiding land use conflict. My second portfolio piece is a reflective paper on my experience conducting a stakeholder assessment for the organization OneMontana. The assessment focused on creating a shared understanding of the issues related to …

Connecting Social And Ecological Systems In Small-Scale Fisheries In The Philippines, Sara Eisler Marriott

Dissertations

Nearly 50% of all marine fish capture in the Philippines is from artisanal fisheries, most of which is un- or under-reported. As in many emerging nations around the world, the Philippines cannot fully address overfishing by managing only half of the catch that comes from commercial fisheries. Marine reserves are a popular governance strategy for conservation and of growing interest for fisheries management. Many marine reserves in the Philippines, however, are not considered effective. In 2014, Rare, an international NGO, implemented a community-based management program to increase the effectiveness of the marine reserves, and while it found biomass increased, there …

Du Undergraduate Showcase: Research, Scholarship, And Creative Works, Caitlyn Aldersea, Justin Bravo, Sam Allen, Anna Block, Connor Block, Emma Buechler, Maria De Los Angeles Bustillos, Arianna Carlson, William Christensen, Olivia Kachulis, Noah Craver, Kate Dillon, Muskan Fatima, Angel Fernandes, Emma Finch, Colleen Cassidy, Amy Fishman, Andrea Francis, Stacia Fritz, Simran Gill, Emma Gries, Rylie Hansen, Shannon Powers, Jacqueline Martinez, Zachary Harker, Ashley Hasty, Mykaela Tanino-Springsteen, Kathleen Hopps, Adelaide Kerenick, Colin Kleckner, Ci Koehring, Elijah Kruger, Braden Krumholz, Maddie Leake, Lyneé Alves, Seraphina Loukas, Yatzari Lozano Vazquez, Haley Maki, Emily Martinez, Sierra Mckinney, Mykaela Tanino-Springsteen, Audrey Mitchell, Kipling Newman, Audrey Ng, Megan Lucyshyn, Andrew Nguyen, Stevie Ostman, Casandra Pearson, Alexandra Penney, Julia Gielczynski, Tyler Ball, Anna Rini, Christina Rorres, Simon Ruland, Helayna Schafer, Emma Sellers, Sarah Schuller, Claire Shaver, Kevin Summers, Isabella Shaw, Madison Sinar, Claudia Pena, Apshara Siwakoti, Carter Sorensen, Madi Sousa, Anna Sparling, Alexandra Revier, Brandon Thierry, Dylan Tyree, Maggie Williams, Lauren Wols

DU Undergraduate Research Journal Archive

DU Undergraduate Showcase: Research, Scholarship, and Creative Works