Digital Commons Network^™

Greenwall Use For Air Repair And Depollution (G.U.A.R.D.), Sophia Elwood, Sophia Piro, Maura Barrada, Kathrine Lopez, Wendi Goffer

Discovery Day - Daytona Beach

Creating habitable indoor environments for long-duration space missions and extraterrestrial habitats requires reliable, sustainable air quality improvement. Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University’s ACE Lab provides a unique opportunity to investigate plant-based purification in a controlled environment while addressing campus air quality concerns linked to a high-traffic airport and exposure to jet fuel particulate matter and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). This collaborative project between Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering researchers and the Botanical Society evaluates whether a green wall can improve indoor air quality as a scalable model for future closed-loop habitats. In the study's first phase, student researchers documented ACE Lab dimensions to …

Mountain Development In Nepal: Settlements, Infrastructure, And Economic Transformation, Keshav Bhattarai, Ambika P. Adhikari

Himalayan Research Papers Archive

As Nepal urbanizes, expands infrastructure, strengthens local governments, and explores deeper connectivity with India and China, climate change is increasing floods, landslides, heat, and water insecurity. Rapid internal migration, rising disaster risks, youth outmigration, and dependence on remittances are also revealing the limits of conventional urban development, especially in the mountainous region. The central challenge for Nepal is no longer just to accommodate growing towns and cities, but to build settlements that are safe, productive, environmentally resilient, and capable of sustaining long-term prosperity.

This paper argues that Nepal's urban future must be guided by a new development paradigm centered on …

Lessons From Tanzania’S Ujamaa For Smart Settlements In Nepal: Social Justice And Economic Development, Keshav Bhattarai, Ambika P. Adhikari

Himalayan Research Papers Archive

Nepal’s constitutional commitment to a “socialism-oriented” state places social justice, equitable access to resources and housing, and protection of marginalized populations at the center of national development discourse. However, persistent landlessness, informal settlements, unemployment, youth outmigration, and unequal access to infrastructure reveal a significant gap between constitutional aspirations and socioeconomic realities.

This article examines lessons Nepal can draw from Tanzania’s experience with Ujamaa, the African socialist development model initiated by President Nyerere in 1967. Using comparative policy analysis, published research, official documents, and exploratory field observations from selected Tanzanian locations, including the capital and villages in the Iringa Region, the …

The Person As Foundation Of Responsibility: The Insufficiency Of Rights-Based Human Development Approaches, Jaclyn Berg

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Building on the plethora of research that demonstrates the way rights language has been more useful for those with wealth and power to further expand capitalist markets, this text extends that criticism to human development programs and institutions. While they claim to be directed towards addressing global issues of poverty and hunger as well as climate crises, they continue to treat the symptoms without accurately diagnosing the disease. Approaches to development that rely on rights without questioning the way rights have been influenced by neoliberal capitalists or without questioning the capitalist global economic system will never be able to achieve …

Creating Sustainable School And Home Gardens: Creating An Outreach Booth, Aurora Hughes Villa, Tyelar Haines, Rita Hagevik, Kathy Cabe Trundle, Michelle Parslow

All Current Publications

An outreach booth is a physical presentation that allows your audience to learn more about a subject and how they can participate. It provides information on a topic (e.g., an environmental issue or a community project) through direct interaction with experts in the field. Through this approach, people become engaged, and discussions emerge that foster a sense of community around the topic. Interested in creating one for yourself? Follow the steps outlined in this fact sheet.

Developing A New Uas Method For Estimating Heat Exposure On Western Us Trails, Jared Young

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Heat exposure and the risks to human health that stem from it have been studied extensively in the context of urban and occupational settings. Less studied however, is the effect of heat exposure in a recreational setting such as on hiking trails. What makes this fact more surprising is that recreation, especially in the Western US, is extremely popular, with national parks such as Zion and Arches bringing in hundreds of thousands of visitors every year. With millions of recreationists exposed to the hazard of heat every year, it is critical that recreationists are made aware of the dangers they …

Beyond Beliefs: Factors That Shape Agricultural Plastic End-Of-Life Management Among California Strawberry Growers, Kyle Y. Cahitas

Master's Theses

The practice of using plastics in agriculture is so prevalent it has earned its own name: plasticulture. One key plasticulture tool is polyethylene (PE) mulch film, a thin plastic sheet laid over the field for a single growing season and pulled out before the next. Because PE film is hard to recycle, most of it ends up in a landfill, yet how growers decide what happens to used plastic mulch has rarely been studied. To identify what shapes that decision, this study draws on a survey of California strawberry growers (n = 126). Twenty variables, spanning grower attitudes, farm characteristics, …

Indigenous Community Research Opportunities, Sharon Hausam, Aaron M. Canter

Faculty Publications

This is a working paper produced as part of National Science Foundation project #2115169, “Transforming Rural-Urban Systems: Trajectories for Sustainability in the Intermountain West,” known as the “Intermountain West Transformation Network” (TN), led by the University of New Mexico with institutional partners at three additional universities in New Mexico, two in Arizona, and one each in Utah, Colorado, and Washington. The TN’s Indigenous and Tribal engagement was supported through a contract with Dr. Sharon Hausam, additional work by Aaron M. Canter, coordination with Dr. Lani Tsinnajinnie, and an Advisory Committee on Indigenous Information Needs primarily comprised of Indigenous representatives in …

Opportunities For Leadership In Indigenous And Tribally Engaged Research At The University Of New Mexico, Sharon Hausam

Faculty Publications

This is a working paper produced as part of National Science Foundation project #2115169, “Transforming Rural-Urban Systems: Trajectories for Sustainability in the Intermountain West,” known as the “Intermountain West Transformation Network” (TN), led by the University of New Mexico with institutional partners at three additional universities in New Mexico, two in Arizona, and one each in Utah, Colorado, and Washington. The TN’s Indigenous and Tribal engagement was supported through a contract with Dr. Sharon Hausam, additional work by Aaron M. Canter, coordination with Dr. Lani Tsinnajinnie, and an Advisory Committee on Indigenous Information Needs primarily comprised of Indigenous representatives in …

Too Hot To Work? Exploring The Average And Seasonal Effects Of Temperature Variability In The Philippine Labour Market, Paolo R. Magnata, Maire Carroline Magante

Economics Department Faculty Publications

Using temperature and employment data covering 16 regions from Q3 2003 to Q1 2022, this study examined the average and seasonal effects of temperature on year-on-year employment growth in the Philippines. Average effects are insignificant while seasonal effects are heterogeneous. During the dry and cool season (Q1), higher temperatures are associated with a temporary 0.0397% increase in employment growth. In contrast, higher temperatures in the dry and hot season (Q2) are associated with a persistent decrease of 0.1361% while higher temperatures during the wet and hot season (Q3) are associated with a persistent increase of 0.1450%, which is primarily driven …

Examples And Evaluation Of Sustainability Research With Tribes, Aaron M. Canter, Sharon Hausam

Faculty Publications

This is a working paper produced as part of National Science Foundation project #2115169, “Transforming Rural-Urban Systems: Trajectories for Sustainability in the Intermountain West,” known as the “Intermountain West Transformation Network” (TN), led by the University of New Mexico with institutional partners at three additional universities in New Mexico, two in Arizona, and one each in Utah, Colorado, and Washington. The TN’s Indigenous and Tribal engagement was supported through a contract with Dr. Sharon Hausam, additional work by Aaron M. Canter, coordination with Dr. Lani Tsinnajinnie, and an Advisory Committee on Indigenous Information Needs primarily comprised of Indigenous representatives in …

The Effect Of External Debt On Environmental Degradation Indicators: Case Studies Of Oic Countries, Fandy Fadillah, Nur Dhani Hendranastiti

International Journal of Islamic Economics and Business Sustainability

The current climate problem has a real impact on human life in which humans have also contributed to exacerbating this problem. One activity that can contribute to environmental degradation is through debt, including external debt, that can be used as financing instrument for development projects that exploit resources. On the other hand, the use of debt can also be advantageous for environment if it is used for financing green projects. The use of external debt becomes more debatable for OIC countries, as Islam has particular rules in how debt can be used. Hence, this study aims to observe the existence …

Ethnographic Insights Into Community-Based Circular Economy: The Case Of Waste Banks In Semarang, Rahoyo Rahoyo, Teti Susilowati, Sri Purwantini, Darto Sachius, Wilson M. A. Therik

ASEAN Journal of Community Engagement

The linear economy model has led to severe environmental degradation, prompting a shift toward the circular economy (CE) framework to promote sustainability. However, CE literature often overlooks grassroots, community-based initiatives in urban contexts, particularly in the Global South. This study addresses that gap by examining waste banks in Semarang, Indonesia, highlighting the critical importance of these grassroots initiatives within the broader discourse of community engagement. Using an ethnographic approach, data were collected through in-depth interviews, field observations, and open-ended survey responses across multiple community waste banks. The findings reveal the complex interdependence of four key actors—waste banks, itinerant collectors, scavengers, …

Payment For Forest Environmental Services For Sustainable Coffee Production: Engaging Stakeholders’ Perspectives, Quyen Nguyen Thi Ngoc, Vung Nguyen Xuan, Nam Vu Hai, Cuong Nguyen Thuy, Nghi Tran Huu, Thang Tran, Thuy Phan Thi

ASEAN Journal of Community Engagement

Engaging the community becomes crucial for environmental payment mechanisms as their implementation depends on the participation and coordination of beneficiaries, businesses, public agencies, and local resource users. Departing from this belief, this study examines the potential for expanding Vietnam’s Payment for Forest Environmental Services (PFES) program to the coffee sector, with a focus on sustainable production. Using a mixed-method approach, the study assessed consumers’ perceptions of forest environmental services and their willingness to pay for PFES-supported coffee, while also examining stakeholder perspectives on a potential implementation mechanism. Data were collected from a survey of 457 customers in Dak Lak province …

Sources Of Energy Production In Mountain West States, 2026, Kahlen Coss, Yash Kalla, Kian Parikh, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Environment

This fact sheet presents data on electricity generation and energy sources in March 2026 for five Mountain West states: Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah. Each state's share of total U.S. electricity production and its generation by source (coal, hydroelectricity, natural gas, nuclear, solar, and wind) are included. The Choose Energy report, "Electricity Generation by State," includes data on all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Ascc-M Based Transformational Education Model For Enhancing Carbon Literacy And Agroecological Resilience Among Rural Farmers, Alya Dwi Arianty, Fitria Fatichatul Hidayah, Eny Winaryati, Rica Mae Badilla Guarin

Jurnal Pendidikan Geografi: Kajian, Teori, dan Praktek dalam Bidang Pendidikan dan Ilmu Geografi

Climate change has become a major ecological and social challenge affecting food security and agricultural sustainability worldwide. The agricultural sector significantly contributes to carbon emissions through fertilizer use and land conversion, particularly in developing countries. This study aims to conceptualize a place-based, technology-enhanced Transformational Education Model grounded in Agro-Smart Carbon Capture Microbiome (ASCC-M) technology, designed to strengthen rural farmers' carbon literacy and agroecological resilience while advancing geography education through deeper understanding of human–environment interactions, spatial agricultural processes, and climate-related dynamics within real rural landscapes. The research employed conceptual design through systematic literature review and model development, integrating theories of transformative …

The Calculation Debate In A New Century: A Conversation Between An Austrian School Economist And A Socialist Philosopher, Tegan L. Truitt, Larry Alan Busk

Emancipations: A Journal of Critical Social Analysis

No abstract provided.

Planification Against Extractivism: Towards A Democratic Agroecological Planification Against Agrarian Capitalism In A Estrada (Galicia, Spain), Jacobo Rivas Sanmartín, Rubén Camilo Lois González, Paula Noya Vázquez

Emancipations: A Journal of Critical Social Analysis

This article analyses the expansion of vineyards in the parish of San Xiao de Vea, in the municipality of A Estrada (Galicia, Spain), as a concrete manifestation of extractive agrarian restructuring under contemporary capitalism. Drawing on land-use data, socio-metabolic indicators, and qualitative testimonies, it shows how financialization, speculative land practices, and state selectivity reorganize rural space, degrade mixed farming systems, and intensify contradictions between capital accumulation and the ecological and social conditions of reproduction. The article argues that existing green planning frameworks, shaped by market logics and technocratic indicators, are structurally incapable of confronting these dynamics. As an alternative, it …

Democratic Economic Planning From And For Social Reproduction: Foundations For A Postcapitalist Research Agenda, Sophie Elias-Pinsonnault, Bengi Akbulut, Audrey Laurin-Lamothe

Emancipations: A Journal of Critical Social Analysis

As ecological and social crises render the transformation of capitalist economic organization increasingly urgent, the resurgence of interest in democratic economic planning confronts a foundational blind spot: the systematic neglect of social reproduction. This paper argues that any genuinely needs-based planned economy must extend its scope beyond formally recognized productive activities to encompass the full spectrum of reproductive labor through which human and non-human life is sustained and regenerated. Drawing on feminist political economy and the Marxist-feminist tradition, the authors argue that meeting needs requires more than reorganizing production: it demands confronting the question of who does reproductive work, at …

Biologically-Based Alternatives To Plastic Mulch Enrich Microbiome And Buffer Yield In Small-Scale Strawberry Production, Olivia L. Fragiacomo

Master's Theses

Much of commercial agriculture has used plastic mulch since the 1950s to contain fungicides and fertilizers, control weeds, retain soil moisture, and warm the top soil to start the growing season earlier. Research suggests that small-scale strawberry (Fragaria x ananassa) growers may be able to incorporate biological techniques, such as wheat straw mulch with microbial amendments, to reduce the use of single-use plastic mulch with a comparable yield. For this study, I carried out a randomized complete block comparison of five strawberry management techniques: plastic mulch (PM), straw mulch alone, and straw mulch inoculated with either arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), …

Who Bears The Burden: Tax Incidence And Water Governance In The Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District (Mrgcd) Within Bernalillo County, Michael W. Wilson

Economics ETDs

This study examines how property-value-based assessments within a large western irrigation and flood-control district distribute fiscal burdens across property owners. The empirical analysis is restricted to Bernalillo County within the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District (MRGCD), using parcel-level administrative data from fiscal year 2025 merged with 2021 irrigation service records and geospatial information. The analysis classifies 34,397 parcels by irrigation status, agricultural valuation enrollment, and primary use to evaluate whether non-irrigating residential and commercial parcels, including renter-occupied properties that lack direct irrigation access, bear a disproportionate share of financial responsibility for a district whose first listed priority under their primary …

Stop Blaming My Users: Illumination Of The Technocentric Mythos Bias, Ervin H. Frenzel, Richard Lightcap

Journal of Cybersecurity Education, Research and Practice

 Abstract -This conceptual essay addresses the need for systemic and systematic transdisciplinary analytical techniques within cybersecurity and technical security. This conceptual essay is contingent upon recognition that cybersecurity is not simply technical in nature, it does not need an adversary, and more importantly it is based upon systems engineering and systems thinking.  The essay contributes a socio-technical attribution chain and field-specific ontology/taxonomy which distinguish user-triggered events from root causes, latent conditions, technical debt, validation failures, governance failures, and attribution bias before assigning responsibility to end users. It systematically defines an ontology inclusive of developer technical debt, organizational debt arising from …

A Socio-Ecological Study Of Coyote And Human Interactions In San Francisco Bay Open Space Preserves, Zhiyi Zhou

Master's Theses

Urban open space preserves support both intensive recreation and wildlife, but the information on carnivore activity and visitor perceptions is limited. This study combined camera-trap monitoring and on-site visitor surveys to evaluate activity patterns of medium- to large-bodied mammals and perceptions of coyotes at Windy Hill and Rancho San Antonio Open Space Preserves (South San Francisco Bay Area). From October 2024 to July 2025, thirteen cameras recorded 213,681 photo events; detections were standardized as detections per 1,000 camera-hours. Ten mammal species and two avian species were detected, including four focal carnivores: coyote (Canis latrans), bobcat (Lynx rufus), mountain lion (Puma …

Presence Without Exposure: Feminist Pedagogy In The Home-As-Classroom, Kristy Kelly

Feminist Pedagogy

This commentary reflects on teaching during and after COVID-era remote instruction, when the classroom moved into students’ homes and “presence” became equated with visibility. Drawing from a course-based study conducted with students, I describe how patterned differences in men’s and women’s experiences of online participation illuminated the unequal costs of being seen—costs shaped by privacy, domestic constraints, and the risks of interpretation. I argue that feminist pedagogy requires decoupling engagement from visual exposure and designing participation around those most vulnerable to surveillance and stigma in online spaces. The essay outlines practical shifts—camera-optional norms, modality-equivalent participation, structured breaks, and low-stakes entry …

Water Scarcity On Arizona’S Navajo Nation, As An Environmental Justice Issue, Chenoa Marks

Scholarly Horizons: University of Minnesota, Morris Undergraduate Journal

For the Navajo–or Diné, meaning ‘the people’ in Diné Bizaad (Navajo language)–water is not only a resource. It is life, story, and relationship. It is tied to origin, movement, and balance within the natural and spiritual world. Water exists not only in rivers and rainfall, but in teachings, ceremonies, and the way knowledge is passed down from one generation to the next. In this sense, water is both physical and cultural, shaping how people live, understand the land, and connect to one another.

At the same time, water on the Navajo Nation–known by the Diné as Diné Bikéyah, also translated …

Clearing The Air: Tracking Spatial And Temporal Pm2.5 Variability Along A Biking Transect In Chicago, Beau R. Rass

DePaul Discoveries

Fine particulate matter (PM₂.₅) poses significant risks to human health and disproportionately affects marginalized communities in urban environments (World Health Organization [WHO], 2021; Tessum et al., 2021). Using low-cost mobile sensors, this study explored spatiotemporal PM₂.₅ concentration patterns along a north–south transect of Halsted Street in Chicago. A 2B Technologies Portable Aerosol Monitor (PAM) mounted on a bicycle was used to continuously record PM₂.₅ concentrations with associated GPS coordinates at approximately two-second intervals during 16 sampling events between 08-12-2025 and 10-05-2025. PM₂.₅ concentrations did not differ significantly among the South Side, West Loop, and North Side regions, contrary to the …

Scheduled Coal Plant Retirements In The Mountain West, 2022-2031, Kerima Awol, Sophia Booth, Ty Tan, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Environment

This fact sheet presents data on publicly announced coal-fired power plant retirements in five Mountain West states: Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah, between 2022 and 2031. The Visual Capitalist’s 2021 report, “Road to Decarbonization: U.S. Coal Plant Closures,” includes information on the location, retirement year, and electricity generation capacity of coal-fired power plants scheduled for retirement across the United States.

Scraping The Earth: Testing Ndvi As An Indicator Of Military Ground Maneuver Within The Israeli Invasion Of The Gaza Strip, Thomas A. Bergeron

LSU Master's Theses

The advancement of open-source (OSINT) and geospatial intelligence (GEOINT) has allowed independent researchers to study human conflict in new ways, with tools that were previously reserved only for state intelligence agencies. In order to advance methodologies, researchers must continue to evaluate new tools to study war.  Valued for its accessibility and moderate spatial resolution, the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) is one such tool that has not been widely systematically tested for its use in an open-source GEOINT investigation of modern conflict. This study tests NDVI as an indicator of military maneuver by leveraging a mixed-method approach against open-source kinetic …

Blue Economy In Madura: Research Trends And Structural Change, Herry Yulistiyono, Aditya Tri Prasetyo, Ari Warokka

Jurnal Ekonomi dan Studi Pembangunan

This study examines the development of the blue economy in Madura through bibliometric analysis, focusing on research trends and economic structural changes from 2020 to 2024, as well as analyzing gaps and potential areas for future research. The methodology employed is a quantitative approach utilizing bibliometric methods. Data were obtained from scientific publications and analyzed using metrics that measure the ratio of citations to publications.

The results indicate a significant increase in the number of publications on the blue economy in Madura, peaking in 2023 with 29 researchers focusing on diverse topics. Performance metrics analysis revealed Marine Policy as the …

A Quantitative Content Analysis Of Media Framing Of Illegal Mining In Ghana, Ebenezer Ato Kwamena Aidoo, Patrick Ansah, Fredrick Daoyenikye, Maame Aba Afful

Faculty Scholarship

Illegal mining in Ghana has attracted considerable public and policy attention due to its far-reaching environmental, social, and health consequences. Our study examines how Ghanaian news media frame illegal mining, the tone of media coverage, and the stakeholders represented in news narratives. Using a quantitative content analysis, 800 news articles were sampled from six widely read media outlets, Daily Graphic, Ghanaian Times, TV3 Ghana, GTV, Joy FM, and Citi Newsroom. A multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was employed to examine differences in framing, tone, and stakeholder representation across outlets. Findings indicate that news organizations emphasize distinct frames, resulting in varied …