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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Brazil, Big Hydro, And A Beautiful Monster: “Green” Energy Generation In The Xingu River Basin, Ian F. Hirons Dec 2020

Brazil, Big Hydro, And A Beautiful Monster: “Green” Energy Generation In The Xingu River Basin, Ian F. Hirons

Student Works

Brazil is quickly becoming an influential actor on the world stage of geopolitics. The nation has achieved global economic and environmental recognition due to the extensive development of its hydrological resources in the form of hydroelectric power plants. As the world’s second greatest generator of hydroelectricity, Brazil has proven a staunch adherence to building dams in the large-scale. Though these dams have brought electricity to millions of people across the country, the socio-ecological toll inflicted by their construction has been devastating to natural biomes and local inhabitants. This article traces Brazil’s proclivity for large-scale hydropower to four motivational categories often …


Puerto Rico’S Electric Power System: An Analysis Of Contemporary Failures And The Opportunity To Rebuild A More Resilient Grid, Including The Development Of A Utility-Scale Solar Farm On The Island Municipality Of Culebra, Federico Sotomayor Dec 2020

Puerto Rico’S Electric Power System: An Analysis Of Contemporary Failures And The Opportunity To Rebuild A More Resilient Grid, Including The Development Of A Utility-Scale Solar Farm On The Island Municipality Of Culebra, Federico Sotomayor

International Development, Community and Environment (IDCE)

Puerto Rico’s grid was decimated in 2017 after experiencing back-to-back hurricanes – Maria and Irma. Although the hurricanes caused tremendous damage and hardship to the island, it also created the right circumstances for the local energy landscape to transition toward a more resilient and sustainable model. Through an analysis of recent challenges by the local electric utility PREPA, and subsequent fallout from the hurricanes, we see that they now hold a unique opportunity to redeem themselves by taking advantage of catalyzed resources to rebuild a better system. One region that could greatly benefit from an improved and reimagined grid are …


Gender And Trait Preferences For Banana Cultivation And Use In Sub-Saharan Africa: A Literature Review1, Pricilla Marimo, Cynthia Caron, Inge Van Den Bergh, Rhiannon Crichton, Eva Weltzien, Rodomiro Ortiz, Robooni Tumuhimbise Jun 2020

Gender And Trait Preferences For Banana Cultivation And Use In Sub-Saharan Africa: A Literature Review1, Pricilla Marimo, Cynthia Caron, Inge Van Den Bergh, Rhiannon Crichton, Eva Weltzien, Rodomiro Ortiz, Robooni Tumuhimbise

Sustainability and Social Justice

Understanding trait preferences of different actors in the banana value chain may facilitate the selection and adoption of new cultivars. We systematically reviewed the scholarly and gray literature on banana trait preferences, with specific attention to studies that document gender-differentiated traits. Of 44 publications reviewed, only four reported gender-specific trait preferences, indicating a significant gap in the literature. The review found that banana farmers, irrespective of gender, value similar characteristics that are related to production constraints, income enhancement, consumption, and cultural or ritual uses. Farmers (as producers, processors, and consumers) often prefer traditional cultivars because of their superior consumption attributes, …


Redesigning Our Conception Of Local Food Utilizing A Value-Based Approach, Heather Riesenberg May 2020

Redesigning Our Conception Of Local Food Utilizing A Value-Based Approach, Heather Riesenberg

International Development, Community and Environment (IDCE)

The goal of this study was to design a new method of evaluating and building local food systems which is based on a new conception of how we view local food. Beginning with a review of the current literature on how local food is defined and its apparent goals, I begin to pick apart the dated idea that local needs not be more complex than the 400-mile limit offered by the USDA. Utilizing the literature review, I bring together a host of values that local food seems to (want to) embody and use these to form a pathway toward the …


Refugee Housing In Worcester: A Neighborhood Case Study Of Bell Hill, Tyler Seth Maren May 2020

Refugee Housing In Worcester: A Neighborhood Case Study Of Bell Hill, Tyler Seth Maren

International Development, Community and Environment (IDCE)

This paper examines refugee resettlement practices at the neighborhood level, asking what neighborhood characteristics are conducive to achieving positive integration and housing stability outcomes. Using data from a quantitative study of refugee resettlement case files from Ascentria Care Alliance as a foundation, this research takes the form of an analysis of the Bell Hill neighborhood in Worcester, MA, a major resettlement destination. Using Ascentria data, secondary data sources such as US Census data and the Worcester Assessor’s Database, and site visits, this paper constructs a profile of Bell Hill along four major dimensions: community characteristics, housing, social infrastructure, and physical …