Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Future Of Transportation Alternative Fuel Vehicle Policies In China And United States, Jiyi Lai

International Development, Community and Environment (IDCE)

The number of passenger cars in use worldwide has been steadily increasing. This has led to an increase in greenhouse gas emissions and other air pollutants, and new efforts to develop alternative fuel vehicles to mitigate reliance on petroleum. Alternative fuel vehicles include a wide range of technologies powered by energy sources other than gasoline or diesel fuel. They use electricity, biofuels, and other alternative energy sources. Governments around the world are working to encourage the development and adoption of alternative fuel vehicles, including production mandates, tax subsidies, and other incentives. This paper discusses and compares the programs and policies …

Fostering Household Energy Saving Behavior And Socialization Of Smart Grid Technologies: Outcomes Of A Utility Smart Grid Program, Josephine W. Munene Ms

International Development, Community and Environment (IDCE)

Smart metering and feedback technologies are designed to foster changes in demand side behavior. But the question, Do smart grids and smart technologies actually change behavior and promote more sustainable energy use? is yet to be answered—notably at the scale of a city. This study examines the way by which residential customers adopted and engaged with smart grid technologies, and the resulting changes in behavior from both these and pricing incentives from the utility. Data was obtained by analyzing a random sample of 240 respondents to three questionnaires (total n=1,303) implemented by a private sector consulting firm over summer in …

Turning Points: The Lived Experience Of Addiction Recovery, Kori Bloom

International Development, Community and Environment (IDCE)

In addiction research, while academics are designing treatment, due to stigma surrounding substance abuse, the voices of those experiencing addiction are simultaneously being silenced. This paper sought to give these voices a platform from which they could be heard and educate others about addiction recovery. Photovoice, which is a participatory research method, was used as vehicle to discuss this topic. Through this project, four main themes emerged. Activities, relationships, reflection and motivation, and environment are a significant part of recovery. Participants openly appreciated that their stories were important and that someone wanted to learn from them. Further research should be …

Nepalese Migrant Workers And Their Hardship In The Desert, Ambar Hajariya

International Development, Community and Environment (IDCE)

The exploitation of Nepalese migrant workers is linked with glitch and the glamor of Gulf states. The gulf is now a glamorous region in the world. Their infrastructures are breathtaking. For example, Burj Khalifa in Dubai is the tallest structure in the world. Some wonderful structures are in progress, such as a Qatar stadium for the FIFA World Cup 2022. However, the exploitation of Nepalese migrant workers exposes the glitch of the Gulf, which is the extreme violation of human rights. Reports reveal that Nepalese migrants are dying at a rate of one in two days while doing a construction …

Evaluating Home Lending Patterns For Discrimination In Worcester, Ma, Curtis B. Wiemann

International Development, Community and Environment (IDCE)

This paper analyzes home lending trends measured in dollars lent per census tract per capita in Worcester, MA, in order to determine whether anti-discrimination measures have been successful, and to suggest this framework for analysis and policy remedies for cities with similar challenges. When analyzed alone with Federal Housing Administration (FHA) and conventional lending by tract, proportional rates of African-American residency were found to be negatively correlated with conventional lending, and Hispanic residency was found to be negatively correlated with both conventional and FHA lending, rejecting the null hypothesis that race/ethnicity and home lending would have no observable relationship. When …

Aiddata Gis International Fellowship: Ghana West-Africa, Jason N. Ready

International Development, Community and Environment (IDCE)

My internship, or fellowship as it was commonly referred to, was funded by a non-profit organization out of Williamsburg Virginia called AidData. This fellowship took place in in the country of Ghana, West-Africa beginning in May of 2016 and continued for 14 weeks with 40 hours each week. The objective of this internship was to provide in-depth training on the use of geographic Information Systems to Private and Public sectors within the country to allow for increased efficiency, and transparency through data visualization. In accordance with the requirement of Clark Universities GISDE master’s program this paper will delve into the …

Cloud-Based Land Change Modeler Application: Summer Internship With Clark Labs, Lei Rong

International Development, Community and Environment (IDCE)

ABSTRACT

Cloud-based Land Change Modeler Application:

Summer Internship with Clark Labs, Worcester, MA

Lei Rong

This report provides a detailed illustration of my internship experience with Clark Labs in Worcester, MA, during the summer of 2015. The internship is about two Land Change Modeler projects which conducted by Esri. The first one is a cloud-based Land Change Model on ArcGIS online for professional change analysts. Another one is a free cloud-based App for land change analysts and the public to explore land change of 48 states in United State. This work mainly relied on TerrSet skills and Land Change Modeler …

Masters Of Science In Environmental Science And Policy Portfolio, Annalise B. Kukor

International Development, Community and Environment (IDCE)

Through my work as a Master’s student in Environmental Science and Policy at Clark University I have acquired a wide variety of knowledge and skills which will be showcased in this document. The breadth of courses and sub disciplines that I have taken has expanded my awareness and understanding of the current state of Environmental Science and Policy. My undergraduate degree from Clark University in Environmental Science focusing on Earth Systems Science focused primarily on comprehension of the Earth’s physical processes with applications for Global Climate Change. This master’s work has expanded upon those quantitative skills as well as deepened …

Why Doesn't Worcester Vote?, Molly B. Kazin

International Development, Community and Environment (IDCE)

This research presents findings from a study of voter turnout and registration in Worcester, Massachusetts and takes steps to examine possible reasons why turnout has been consistently low in municipal elections. Specifically, it assesses educational attainment, income, race and ethnicity, and types and function of municipal government as reasons for the minimal turnout. Drawing on literature, case studies throughout the United States, and census and city clerk data, this paper will discuss reasons for voters’ lack of involvement, a comparison of seven municipalities throughout Massachusetts, and recommendations for creating a more civically engaged community in Worcester.

Growing The Green Energy Economy: Workforce Development And Cluster Growth In The Pioneer Valley Of Massachusetts, Nicholas B. Altonaga

International Development, Community and Environment (IDCE)

Workforce development programs have a positive effect on the formation of a cluster. Incorporating these programs into cluster theory is essential to creating more robust and dynamic local growth in the emerging green energy sector. Studying programs in the green energy sector in the Pioneer Valley has shown an increase in collaboration, local and regional connectivity, and industry communication. These aspects reinforce the comparative advantage of organizations within the cluster, while downplaying their challenges . Applying this focus on workforce development is important for cementing the green energy cluster into an enduring force in the domestic economy in the 21 …

Urban Synagogues-Changing Relationship With Tikkun Olam, Rena Schuman Stoler

International Development, Community and Environment (IDCE)

Synagogues in their urban context are searching for ways to responsibly act on the value of tikkun olam. Tikkun olam has adapted in the American context but in its essence is Jewish value of repairing the world. Five rabbis and one organizer were interviewed to shed light on the intricate dynamic between Jewish synagogues and social justice work in their city. The five synagogues were challenged by the Jewish call to social justice, and challenges that influenced their vision for a better world. Therefore, rabbis need to strike a balance between appeasing internal issues and being a present force in …

Gis And Location-Based Crime Risk Analysis: Summer Internship With Location, Inc., Zhilan Deng

International Development, Community and Environment (IDCE)

My internship with Location, Inc. took place from May 20th, 2015 to August 24th, 2015. I worked with one direct supervisor, Jonathan Glick, as well as the CEO of Location, Inc. Andrew Schiller. I have four main responsibilities during the summer: 1) collecting U.S. crime point data, 2) geocoding and processing crime point data; 3) collecting and processing Canada Crime statistics and demographic data; 4) updating school performance data and U. S. crime statistics. This report includes the introduction of Location, Inc., where I did my internship, the details of my responsibilities in Location, Inc., and my assessment to Location, …

Climate Change Instability And Gender Vulnerability In Nepal: A Case Study On The Himalayan Region, Akriti Sharma

International Development, Community and Environment (IDCE)

For the past decade, low-income developing countries have and will continue to remain on the frontline for the consequences of human induced climate change. While climate change is expected to have universal negative impacts on the health, well-being and the livelihoods of people, it is expected to specifically affect women from low-income developing countries where poverty and gender inequality are both still very prevalent. A closer look at previous research reveals that women, specifically in the Himalayan region of Nepal are more vulnerable due to the already challenging terrain in which they live in. This paper analyzes the vulnerability of …

The Political Economy Of Wasted Food Policies In The United States And European Union: A Multi-Scale Analysis, Rebecca Miller

International Development, Community and Environment (IDCE)

Between 33 and 40 percent of food produced is wasted while one quarter of the population of the United States and the European Union is food insecure (Gunders, 2012, p. 4). How is this problem addressed through policy in the United States and the European Union? Although there are non-governmental organizations working to redistribute food and educate consumers, a more comprehensive policy-based approach is needed to fully address this problem. Several cities and states in both the U.S. and E.U. have adopted policies before they were nationally or internationally implemented. These early adopter cases were examined here to determine best …

Nuclear Power Plant Policy Comparison Between The U.S. And Republic Of Korea, Vara Ha

International Development, Community and Environment (IDCE)

Five years after the Fukushima accident, people and countries still argue about the opportunity costs of denuclearization. While nuclear power generation has safety and waste issues, it is carbon free. Climate change has created more pressure for greenhouse gas reduction, so a few countries have decided to maintain or even increase nuclear power generation. The United States ranks first for using nuclear power produced by electricity generation, while the Republic of Korea, the closest country in proximity to Japan, ranks fourth in countries that use nuclear power. In fact, Korea even rapidly increased nuclear business after the Fukushima accident. Despite …

Evaluation Of Alternative Strategies To Prevent Leopard Predation On Livestock Around Yala National Park, Sri Lanka, Sanjiv Fernando

International Development, Community and Environment (IDCE)

In recent years, many livestock herders living near Yala National Park, Sri Lanka have reported livestock losses due to predation by leopards (Panthera pardus kotiya). Despite herders’ attempts to safeguard their cattle, livestock depredation remains an issue, sometimes causing herders to kill leopards in retaliation. In an effort to mitigate the human-leopard conflict, protective cattle enclosures made from steel pipes and mesh wire were introduced to prevent leopard attacks on cattle. This study aims to assess the severity of leopard predation on livestock, understand the methods used in retaliatory killings, examine the effectiveness of existing livestock protection methods, …

Gis And 2016 Water Quality Assessment: Summer Internship With The Massachusetts Department Of Environmental Protection, Xiaoyan Hu 3736156

International Development, Community and Environment (IDCE)

My 2015 summer internship at Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection lasted for 12 weeks from June 1 to August 12. I was supervised by Juliet Swigor. As a GIS Specialist intern, I assisted staff from Division of Watershed Management, working on 2016 National Water Quality Assessment project. My responsibilities were diverse, including watershed delineation, database management, customized ArcGIS add-in tool development and mapping. I extracted sub-basins and generated land use statistic summary for all of them across the entire Massachusetts using python scripts. Also a map covers detailed distribution of watersheds was created. This paper reports information of organization description, …

2015 Summer Gis Internship In Archipelagos, Institute Of Marine Conservation, Mengyi Chen

International Development, Community and Environment (IDCE)

My summer internship is in Archipelagos, Institute of Marine Conservation, starting from June to July of 2015. My work includes manipulating geospatial data, conducting analysis, and creating maps for the conservation work in Archipelagos. This report introduces the organization of the internship, the detailed content of work I have done for this internship, and the assessment of the internship.

Development Of A Decision Support System For Post Mining Land Use On Abandoned Surface Coal Mines In Appalachia, Matthew Zimmerman

International Development, Community and Environment (IDCE)

Decision support systems are diverse and have been used to solve multiple problems ranging from the complex to the simple. With the complexity of environmental decisions today, these systems provide a logic based approach to evaluating and choosing environmental solutions. Abandoned mining lands (AML) are an issue for the environment in the Appalachian region. Given this a decision support system was designed using previously created frameworks and indices from other systems created. The system is comprised of two main sections, selecting the ideal post-mining land-use (PMLU), and maximizing the potential of land to be reclaimed under budgetary constraints. This system …

Supporting Mentor Competency At African Community Education, Kelsey Renner

International Development, Community and Environment (IDCE)

This practitioner paper focuses on the African Community Education (ACE) Mentoring for Empowerment and Exchange (MEE) in Worcester, Massachusetts and its ability to develop mentor competency in their volunteer mentors. In order to be effective mentors to their mentees, mentors need to be given tools to develop their own personal sense of competency via programmatic support like check-ins and trainings. Using interviews with mentors, literature in the field of mentoring, and program data, recommendations are made for ways ACE MEE program staff can enhance their programmatic structures to promote mentor competency and therefore develop high quality matches that support the …

Conservation Planning And Decision Support In A Nonprofit Organization: A Summer Internship With Natureserve, Samantha Coccia

International Development, Community and Environment (IDCE)

This report is an account of my internship spent with NatureServe, a nonprofit Conservation organization that provides detailed scientific data used in conservation decisions made across the Americas. NatureServe works with a network for natural heritage programs and is made up of four regional offices with headquarters in Arlington, VA. I spent my summer in their Boulder, CO location in the Conservation Planning and Decision Support Department under the guidance of Dr. Patrick Crist. I was offered my choice of two projects to work on, and was also offered a continuation of my internship with additional responsibilities given. Throughout the …

Assessment Of The Environmental Sector And Climate Change In Malawi: Relationships Between Environmental Policy, Scientific Literature, And Development Projects, Esther A. Baumann

International Development, Community and Environment (IDCE)

As funding increases for climate change related issues in Sub-Saharan Africa there should also be an increase in research to understand how scientific literature in the environmental sector can assist in developing policy and implementing development projects. Using secondary research, this paper centers on Malawi to develop an understanding of what is occurring in Sub-Saharan Africa as a whole in regards to climate change and environmental policy, science and development projects. It sought to determine if scientific thematic areas of research and recommended courses of action were being incorporated into actual government policies and on the ground development projects. This …

Land Change Modeler Application:Summer Internship With Clark Labs, Siqi Cheng, Nan Ding

International Development, Community and Environment (IDCE)

This paper is a description of our internship with Clark Labs in the summer of 2015. We worked as research assistants in the Land Change Modeler Application (App) project. This project aimed to display the land cover changes in the United States from 2001 to 2010, show the vulnerability in 48 states and predict changes from the yaer 2050. Our responsibility was to extract eight variables (slope, elevation, surface water, roads, high intensity land, protected areas, county subdivisions, and cultivated crops) in TerrSet, and use them in several models to test the accuracy of prediction.

The internship is a great …

Land Change Modeler Application: Summer Internship With Clark Labs, Nan Ding, Siqi Cheng

International Development, Community and Environment (IDCE)

This paper is a description of our internship with Clark Labs in the summer of 2015. We worked as research assistants in the Land Change Modeler Application (App) project. This project aimed to display the land cover changes in the United States from 2001 to 2010, show the vulnerability in 48 states and predict changes from the yaer 2050. Our responsibility was to extract eight variables (slope, elevation, surface water, roads, high intensity land, protected areas, county subdivisions, and cultivated crops) in TerrSet, and use them in several models to test the accuracy of prediction.

The internship is a great …

Web Application Development For Election Polling Places In The City Of Worcester Area: Summer Internship With The City Of Worcester, Shuhong Yan

International Development, Community and Environment (IDCE)

My summer internship is in the Technical Services, the City of Worcester, starting from June to August of 2015. My supervisor is Claire Brill who gave me guidance at each step of my internship. I devoted to customizing a web application for Election Polling Places in the City of Worcester. This application aims to provide citizens with the latest information about their related polling place and elected officials. For the project, I collected data for elected officials and transferred data for polling places, precincts, and others from the Geodatabse of the City of Worcester to a new Local Government Geodatabase …

Natural Disasters Aren't The Problem: Poverty And Environmental Degradation In Rural Coastal Tanzania, Sarah R. Martin

International Development, Community and Environment (IDCE)

This paper examines how two theoretical frameworks, systems and resilience thinking, provide differing understandings of natural disasters, poverty and environmental degradation in rural coastal Tanzania. Both frameworks aim to expand the scope of reductionist thinking, in order to better understand the complex interrelationships between various actors, which may have not otherwise been considered. Although both theories have their individual strengths and weaknesses, neither have been able to catalyze effective solutions to these problems. As a result, I propose a hybrid version of systems and resilience thinking, as a means to best examine poverty and environmental degradation in rural coastal Tanzania. …

"Refugee Industrial Complex," Neoliberal Governance Within The Resettlement Industry And Its Effects: Is An Alternative Structure Possible?, Amira F. Al-Dasouqi

International Development, Community and Environment (IDCE)

Within the current political climate and discussions surrounding displacement, refugee resettlement is a ‘hot-button’ issue. While working at one of the largest resettlement agencies in New England, the author began to analyze how power itself is structured within the Refugee Resettlement Industry (RRI) nationally. This paper argues that the RRI is embedded within neoliberal governance and can be better understood and improved with this understanding. The author argues for the term “Refugee [Resettlement] Industrial Complex,” to more adequately understand the ways that power is enacted through the current structure, and how it inhibits social justice work rooted in advocating for …

The Hartford Food System: A Review Of Assets, Challenges, And Opportunities, Zachary A. Fromson

International Development, Community and Environment (IDCE)

Abstract

Healthy food systems hold potential to improve a city’s social, health, and economic well-being. Currently, there is a worldwide trend in refocusing food systems to invest in the local community rather than relying on hyper-industrial food value chains that erect barriers for local residents in a city’s food sector. It is the purpose of this report to assess how Hartford’s food sector currently is working so that the city may move in a more innovative direction with its food sector, improving the social, health, and economic conditions for the city and its residents. Thus, this report examines Hartford’s food …

Towards Embracing A Critical Love Ethic In Community Development: A Case Study From Nicaragua, Patrick Barnosky

International Development, Community and Environment (IDCE)

This research is based on a community sanitation project from Cuajchillo Dos, Nicaragua, in which I served as a field volunteer for Walu International and simultaneously conducted interviews and focus groups with project participants.The goal of this research is to determine to what extent dialogues that took place in this project were based on an ethic of critical love, which is has two primary components: relationality and critical social consciousness. The main findings from this research were that the essential components of dialogue based on a critical love ethic are: listening deeply and sharing openly, building trust and relationships, entering …

Changes In Floristic Composition In The State Forests In Worcester County (Massachusetts) Over 34 Years, Flor A. Monroe

International Development, Community and Environment (IDCE)

ABSTRACT

CHANGES IN FOREST DIVERSITY OF STATE FOREST IN WORCESTER COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS, OVER 34 YEARS PERIOD

The forest in Massachusetts has changed since the earliest colonial settlement and today the floristic composition is more homogeneous. This study investigates the potential change in the floristic composition over thirty years in Worcester County State Forests. Shannon, richness and evenness indices for two periods were compared, and Jaccard index was used to analyze similarity in composition between the periods. The possible influence of severe weather events was also analyzed.

It was found Changes in the floristic composition, but the magnitude of the changes …