Digital Commons Network^™

The Management Of Residential Solid Waste In Mombasa, Kenya, Yen Joe Tan

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Residential solid waste management refers to the managing of unwanted materials discarded by households so that these materials are either properly disposed of or reprocessed to reenter the production material stream. This issue is usually the responsibility of the municipal council; however in Kenya just like many other developing countries, this critical issue is often mismanaged, causing environmental pollution and exposing residents to health risks. Through one month of full-time archival research and field work, this study presents the current state of residential solid waste management in Mombasa, examines the roles played by various stakeholders involved in this area through …

Manifestations Of Tibetan Buddhism In Pudacuo National Park And Its Effectiveness As An Environmental Education Tool, Ellen Martin

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Pudacuo National Park in Shangri-la, Yunnan is mainland China’s first national park and comprehensive conservation and eco-tourism attempt. The Nature Conservancy worked with Yunnan provincial government to establish park guidelines and advocate for certain conservation measures. One of the important guidelines that The Nature Conservancy included was local cultural preservation. A primary goal of this experiment in US-modeled national parks is to ensure the longevity of traditional values and beliefs in the parkland area. Pudacuo National Park is not only attempting to conserve the local Tibetan Buddhist tradition but also is attempting to capitalize on the uniqueness of the experience …

Traditional Wild Protein Collection Techniques Of The Naso People: On The Verge Of Change, Caldwell Rohrbach

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

I studied the traditional wild protein collection techniques of the Naso people in the Syellick community Naso Territory, Bocas del Toro for 15 days during the end of November. The goal of this research was to record the various hunting techniques used by the Naso and determine whether those practices will disappear after the passing of this generation. I used informal and unstructured interviews as well as participant, objective, and passive observation (Master of Business Administration).

The Naso people complete at least one form of wild protein collection every day. The given technique is directly related to the weather on …

Too Much Weed: Invasive Species In Chitwan National Park, Laura Nelson

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Invasive plant species threaten jungle eco-systems in Chitwan National Park. Mikania micrantha is the most destructive invasive plant in the park and has been named one of the world’s 100 worst invaders. It is an exceptionally fastgrowing and aggressive perennial plant that is quickly spreading throughout Chitwan and ousting native plant species that comprise the diets of rhinos and other important wildlife species. M. micrantha poses both immediate ecological concerns to wildlife and threatens rural subsistence farming populations by destroying cropland. In Nepal, no policy or program exists to contain invasive plant species, and large-scale management of M. micrantha is …

Iowa Academy Of Science: The New Bulletin, V08n3, Fall 2012, Iowa Academy Of Science

New Bulletin

Inside This Issue:

--Message from the Executive Director

--Congratulations Jody Stone

--ISTS Fall Conference

--Sneak Peek at Academy’s new web design

--Getting More Science Teachers to Model “Doing” Science

--Iowa needs the Iowa Academy of Science

--Announcements, Events & Deadlines

Finding A Better Confidence Interval For A Single Regression Changepoint Using Different Bootstrap Confidence Interval Procedures, Bodhipaksha Thilakarathne

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Recently a number of papers have been published in the area of regression changepoints but there is not much literature concerning confidence intervals for regression changepoints. The purpose of this paper is to find a better bootstrap confidence interval for a single regression changepoint. ("Better" confidence interval means having a minimum length and coverage probability which is close to a chosen significance level). Several methods will be used to find bootstrap confidence intervals. Among those methods a better confidence interval will be presented.

Multi-Level Opinion Dynamics Under Bounded Confidence, Gang Kou, Yiyi Zhao, Yi Peng, Yong Shi

Information Systems and Quantitative Analysis Faculty Publications

Opinion dynamics focuses on the opinion evolution in a social community. Recently, some models of continuous opinion dynamics under bounded confidence were proposed by Deffuant and Krause, et al. In the literature, agents were generally assumed to have a homogeneous confidence level. This paper proposes an extended model for a group of agents with heterogeneous confidence levels. First, a social differentiation theory is introduced and a social group is divided into opinion subgroups with distinct confidence levels. Second, a multi-level heterogeneous opinion formation model is formulated under the framework of bounded confidence. Finally, computer simulations are conducted to study the …

Extending A Mobile Device's Interaction Space Through Body-Centric Interaction, Xiang Chen, Nicolai Marquardt, Anthony Tang, Sebastian Boring, Saul Greenberg

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Modern mobile devices rely on the screen as a primary input modality. Yet the small screen real-estate limits interaction possibilities, motivating researchers to explore alternate input techniques. Within this arena, our goal is to develop Body-Centric Interaction with Mobile Devices: a class of input techniques that allow a person to position and orient her mobile device to navigate and manipulate digital content anchored in the space on and around the body. To achieve this goal, we explore such interaction in a bottom-up path of prototypes and implementations. From our experiences, as well as by examining related work, we discuss and …

Understanding The Pathoecological Relationship Between Ancient Diet And Modern Diabetes Through Coprolite Analysis: A Case Example From Antelope Cave, Mojave County, Arizona, Karl J. Reinhard, Keith L. Johnson, Sara Leroy-Toren, Kyle Wieseman, Isabel Teixeira-Santos, Mônica Vieira

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

The elevated prevalence of non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) in Native Americans of the Southwest has been explained by several authors in terms of a dietary change from preindustrial traditional foods to modern foods. Physiology adapted to traditional foods became deleterious during the process of modernization. Although several versions of this hypothesis exist, they all relate to the rise in modern NIDDM with change from prehistoric subsistence practices to modern dietary practices. This is especially true for the Southwestern desert tribes of Arizona and New Mexico. Coprolite analysts have been recovering the sort of data needed by diabetes researchers to explore …

Development And Dissemination Of Clean Cookstoves: A Model Law For Developed Countries, Scott Miller

Drafting Model Laws on Indoor Pollution for Developing and Developed Nations (July 12-13)

21 pages.

"This model law was developed at a legislative drafting workshop on July 12-13, 2012, entitled Drafting Model Laws on Indoor Pollution for Developing and Developed Nations, which was sponsored by the Center for Energy & Environmental Security and the Colorado Natural Resources, Energy & Environmental Law Review at the University of Colorado Law School in Boulder, Colorado."-- Excerpted from 24 Colo. Nat. Resources, Energy & Envtl. L. Rev. 355 (2013).

"Scott Miller ed."

Laser Ablation-Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry Analysis Of Lower Pecos Rock Paints And Possible Pigment Sources, Jon Russ, Kaixuan Bu, Jeff Hamrick, James V. Cizdziel

Master of Science in Analytics (MSAN) Faculty Research

Chemical analyses of prehistoric rock paints from the Lower Pecos Region of southwestern Texas were undertaken using laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry. This technique allowed us to measure the chemical composition of the paint pigments with minimal interference from a natural rock coating that completely covers the ancient paints. We also analyzed samples representing potential sources of paint pigments, including iron-rich sandstones and quartzite from the study area and ten ochre samples from Arizona. Cluster analysis, principle component analysis and bivariate plots were used to compare the chemical compositions of the paint and pigment sources. The results indicate that limonite …

Circle Hooks In Commercial, Recreational, And Artisanal Fisheries: Research Status And Needs For Improved Conservation And Management, Joseph E. Serafy, Steven J. Cooke, Guillermo A. Diaz, John E. Graves, Martin Hall, Mahmood S. Shivji, Yonat Swimmer

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

The intent of convening the International Symposium on Circle Hooks in Research, Management, and Conservation was to yield a contemporary, science-based assessment of the management and conservation utility of circle hooks in commercial, recreational, and artisanal fisheries around the globe. The symposium objective was to provide a forum for individuals, organizations, and agencies to share relevant research results and perspectives. Based on the presentations, an examination of the literature, and the collective experience and knowledge of the authors, we provide a brief overview of the current status of circle hook research along with a list of research needs, with a …

Iowa Academy Of Science: The New Bulletin, V08n2, Summer 2012, Iowa Academy Of Science

New Bulletin

Inside This Issue:

--Message from the Executive Director

--Iowa Science Teaching Section Elections

--Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science

--Announcements, Events & Deadlines

--Iowa Academy of Science Saylorville Lake Summer Speakers Series

--REAP-CEP Funds Project WET Preservice Workshops

Stratigraphy Of Quaternary Dunes By Sand Mineralogy And Pedogenic Features, Los Osos, California, Lyssa A. Cousineau

Master's Theses

The goal of this study was to assess mineralogy and pedogenic features of sand dunes in a stratigraphic sequence. The purpose was to determine whether these features significantly differ to reflect age differences with depth within the sequence. This study was conducted in Montaña de Oro State Park, located on the central Californian coast eighteen kilometers northwest of San Luis Obispo in San Luis Obispo County.

Samples were collected from the vertical exposure of one dune face by stratified random sampling at 1.0-m vertical intervals. Particle size distribution was determined through particle-size analysis by hydrometer and sieve. Electrical conductivity and …

Water Current, Volume 44, No. 3, Summer 2012

Water Current Newsletter

November Law and Science, Practice and Policy Events at Cornhusker Hotel

NU, Food and Agriculture Organization Partner on Water and Food Security

Meet the Faculty: Larkin Powell, Ph.D., Tonya Bernadt

From the Interim Director: Moving into a Busy Fall Schedule

Urrea Breeds Drought-Resistant Edible Beans in Western Nebraska

Advisory Board Meets in June

UNL's National Drought Mitigation Center

UNESCO-IHE Students Make First Visit to University of Nebraska

Schild Puts Priority on Conserving Water In Home Landscapes

Is Your Water Affecting Herbicide Performance?

Water Cap and Trade A Problem Solver for U.S. Rivers?

Operations of the Central Nebraska Public Power and …

Reducing The Enviromental Impact Of Horse Keeping, Amanda R. Shere

Social Sciences

No abstract provided.

The Invasion Of California Grasslands: Past, Present, And Future Implications, Danielle Simone Caziarc

Social Sciences

No abstract provided.

More Of A Receiver Than A Giver: Why Do People Unfollow In Twitter?, Haewoon Kwak, Sue Moon, Wonjae Lee

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

We propose a logistic regression model taking into ac- count two analytically different sets of factors–structure and action. The factors include individual, dyadic, and triadic properties between ego and alter whose tie breakup is under consideration. From the fitted model using a large-scale data, we discover 5 structural and 7 actional variables to have significant explanatory power for unfollow. One unique finding from our quantitative analysis is that people appreciate receiving acknowl- edgements from others even in virtually unilateral com- munication relationships and are less likely to unfollow them: people are more of a receiver than a giver.

Sedimentology And Geochronology Of Holocene Paleochannel Features In The Lower Ohio River Valley, Indiana, Kathryn G. De Rego, C. Russell Stafford, Mark Cantin

Symposium 2012

Rivers condition human settlement strategy by determining both the location of aquatic resources and the stability of the landscape. Therefore, understanding where the river was and how quickly it migrated in the past aids in predicting buried site potential. This study investigates the sedimentology and geochronology of paleochannel deposits along the Lower Ohio River floodplain. A series of low, wide swales are prominent features in a series of bottoms in a ~40 km section of the river valley downstream from the Falls of the Ohio. Previous studies in Knob Creek Bottom indicate that one of these paleochannel swales was active …

The Fierce Green Fire: Vol. 2 Issue 26, Wofford College Environmental Studies Program

The Fierce Green Fire

No abstract provided.

Regimes And Resilience In The Modern Global Food System, Sara W. Tower

Student Publications

Much public discourse surrounding the modern global food system operates on the assumption of the primary agency of individual consumers in ensuring an equitable and sustainable food supply. However, this approach fails to account for the larger structural forces of the system which frame the limits of how we interact with and are affected by our food system. Taking a closer look at the global economic, political, cultural, and environmental forces that have collectively shaped historical food regimes reveals the deeper structural patterns that currently determine how we produce, distribute, and consume food around the world. Due to the underlying …

Empirical Sampling From Permutation Space With Unique Patterns, Justice I. Odiase

Journal of Modern Applied Statistical Methods

The exact distribution of a test statistic ultimately guarantees that the probability of a Type I error is exactly α. Several methods for estimating the exact distribution of a test statistic have evolved over the years with inherent computational problems and varying degrees of accuracy. The unique pattern of permutations resulting from using experimental data to sample within the permutation space without the risk of repeating permutations is identified. The method presented circumvents the theoretical requirements of asymptotic procedures and the computational difficulties associated with an exhaustive enumeration of permutations. Results show that time and space complexities are drastically reduced …

Impacts Of Hard Stabilization On The Shore Of Yellowstone Lake, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, Usa, John Chandler Dennis

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Discussions related to the adverse impacts associated with shore armor (i.e. seawalls and riprap) are a common topic within the coastal community. While many agree that the installation of these structures alters the shores geomorphic response, there is disagreement in the type and degree of response. Furthermore, studies that have delved into this topic have been conducted in numerous settings but have been confounded by a lack of data regarding shore morphologies prior to installation of these structures. At Yellowstone National Park, there is an opportunity to assess the impacts of shore armor quantitatively because the National Park Service requires …

Demographic Indicators Of Reported Value Of Nebraska's Natural Resources, Chelsea Forehead

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

This research was conducted in various towns of eastern and central Nebraska using a survey which asked respondents about how valuable the resources and ecological benefits are that were to be involved in the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline. Surveys were administered in public locations using a combination of convenience and snowball sampling. A total of 38 respondents from the eastern region and 40 from the central region were surveyed. The research seeks to investigate if there is correlation between certain demographic categories and high value placed on the environmental facets in question. Do males or females place higher …

Geoarchaeology Of The Orontes River Floodplain Surrounding Tell Qarqur, Syria, Anna Flora Wieser

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This project combines geoarchaeological soil description and GIS analysis of archaeological site distribution to investigate the history of marsh formation in the northern Ghab Basin, located within the Orontes River Valley of western Syria. Tell Qarqur, the archaeological site around which this project is focused, has a continuous occupational sequence throughout the Holocene. Annual inundation of the site by seasonal marshlands suggests that the marsh was either smaller or non-existent in the past, but its history remains unknown. The objectives of this investigation are to interpret the nature of depositional environments, particularly fluvial action, in the vicinity of Tell Qarqur, …

Day To Day Change Making: The Transformative Potential Of Dumpster Diving, Elizabeth Emery Donovan

Pomona Senior Theses

This paper investigates the potential of dumpster diving as a tactic of the freegan movement. The goal of the freegan movement is the realization of a postcapitalist world. I first investigate the scope, legality and demographic of dumpster diving in the U.S. I then contextualize dumpster diving within the history of waste, consumerism and excess in the U.S. since the beginning of the 20th century. I conclude by assessing the viabaility of freegan dumpster diving as a transformative tactic in light of its inaccessibility to various individuals as a result of their race and class. I ultimately argue that freeganism …

The Role Of Emotion In Understanding And Promoting Sustainability And Eco-Friendly Behavior, Chevelle Schreiner

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

Research has demonstrated the effectiveness of empathy and perspective-taking in influencing

environmental concern (Sevilliano, Aragones, & Schultz, 2007) Although there may be a number of internal factors that inhibit pro-environmental behavior, it is important to evaluate the ways by which we can use emotion to encourage this type of behavior. This study was designed to evaluate the impact of emotion on eco-friendly behavior by investigating the effect of viewing high- or low-fear appeals on changing consumers‘ food choices will have on their attitudes and behaviors. Results show that the

likelihood that a participant intended to partake in more pro-environmental behaviors …

Do Tree Species In A Bornean Mixed Dipterocarp Forest Display Preferential Uptake Of Different Nitrogen Forms?, Jocelyn Onley

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

Lambir Hills National Park in Malaysian Borneo is composed of dipterocarp tree species which specialize on different soil types. Although the mechanisms contributing to this distribution of tree species are unknown, one hypothesis is that tree species at Lambir differ in their preferences for different nitrogen forms. In this study we investigated (1) whether clay soil and sandy loam soil types at Lambir differ in the availability of ammonium and nitrate and (2) whether tree species specializing on either clay soil or sandy loam soil at Lambir have differing preferences or capacities to take up ammonium, nitrate, or glycine (organic …

Agenda: A Life Of Contributions For All Time: Symposium In Honor Of David H. Getches, University Of Colorado Boulder. School Of Law, University Of Colorado Law Review

A Life of Contributions for All Time: Symposium in Honor of David H. Getches (April 26-27)

On April 26-27, 2012, Colorado Law honored David H. Getches with a symposium to celebrate his life and legacy of trailblazing scholarship. “A Life of Contributions for All Time” featured a keynote address by Distinguished Professor Charles Wilkinson entitled, “Hero for the People, Hero for the Land and Water: Reflections on the Enduring Contributions of David Getches.” Top scholars in the fields of natural resources, water, and American Indian law reflected on Dean Getches’ contributions and their own insights into these fields, including Professor John Leshy, John Echohawk, Professor Carole Goldberg, Professor Joe Sax, Professor Rebecca Tsosie, Justice Greg Hobbs, …

Paleobiological Assessment Of Controls Underlying Long-Term Diversity Dynamics, Andrés L. Cárdenas

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Deciphering the factors underlying both long-term patterns of diversity and taxonomic turnover rates (i.e., extinction, and origination) has been one of Paleobiology's major foci for the past three decades. The importance of documenting these components is that they will expand our ability to interpret and model the evolutionary processes underlying those trends, highlight the evolutionary impact of historical events, and contribute to the formulation of robust predictions about the future of global diversity in response to the current anthropologically driven environmental changes. Accordingly, the first part of this study examines the possible occurrence of global marine evolutionary environmental controls into …