Digital Commons Network^™

Slides: The Yampa: New Rules For An Old River, Jerd Smith

Shifting Baselines and New Meridians: Water, Resources, Landscapes, and the Transformation of the American West (Summer Conference, June 4-6)

Presenter: Jerd Smith, Reporter, Rocky Mountain News

11 slides

Slides: The Future Of Energy: What Are The Major Projections For The U.S. Energy Future, And What Are The Implications For The West?, Gary Bryner

Shifting Baselines and New Meridians: Water, Resources, Landscapes, and the Transformation of the American West (Summer Conference, June 4-6)

Presenter: Gary Bryner, Brigham Young University, Department of Political Science

9 slides

Slides: "Mitaku Oyasin" Means "We Are All Related", Bob Gough

Shifting Baselines and New Meridians: Water, Resources, Landscapes, and the Transformation of the American West (Summer Conference, June 4-6)

Presenter: Bob Gough, NativeEnergy, Inc.

72 slides

Traditional Natural Resource Use And Development In Northeast Thailand, Christie Moulton

Senior Honors Projects

This paper explores the effects of development projects on traditional natural resource use in three communities in Northeast Thailand, a region known as Isan. I interviewed villagers in each community and asked them to describe their environmental perceptions, management practices and livelihood strategies. Participants described several subsistence livelihoods that have traditionally been present in Isan. These include rice farming, fishing, community forestry, and wetland use. Residents from the three communities all described various cultural activities, knowledge systems, and religious ceremonies that are closely tied to their local resources. Raising silk worms, making clay pots, and performing rituals for a spirit …

2008 - The Thirteenth Annual Symposium Of Student Scholars

Symposium of Student Scholars Program Books

The full program book from the Thirteenth Annual Symposium of Student Scholars, held on April 14, 2008. Includes abstracts from the presentations and posters.

The Equation, Spring 2008, College Of Science And Mathematics, Wright State University

College of Science and Mathematics Newsletters

This 4 page newsletter discusses various happenings within the College of Science and Mathematics. It begins with a letter from the dean, and continues on with news, events, alumni news, and other community news.

Sustainable Portland: Implementation Series 1, New England Environmental Finance Center

Climate Change

When the Sustainable Portland Task Force Report was released in November 2007, under the leadership of Mayor Jim Cohen, Portland Councilor Kevin Donoghue had the idea that students at the Muskie School of Public Service might be able to help implement recommendations from the report. It may have helped that Kevin was himself a graduate of the Community Planning and Development Master’s program at the Muskie School, but it was a good idea nevertheless. He approached Professor Sam Merrill in the CPD program, who spoke with the new Mayor Ed Suslovic about a possible partnership between the City and the …

Collaborative Learning Guide For Ecosystem Management, Christine Baumann Feurt

Environmental Studies Faculty Publications

Community-based ecosystem management is an approach to getting things done. It manifests as actions that collectively maintain or restore nature’s ability to provide clean water, clean air and support for living systems. Sustaining the earth’s natural capital requires integration within the system of social capital. Through collaboration, people can accomplish the first step toward sustainability – the development of a collective vision of desired future outcomes for the places where they live, work and play. The individual perspectives that shape these visions take many forms. They are present in town Comprehensive and Open Space plans, in mission statements for organizations …

Ua12/13 Wku Sustainability Report 2007-2008, Christian Ryan-Downing

Sustainability Publications and Resources

No abstract provided.

Students And Their Contributions Towards A Greener Campus, Windy Gonzalez Roberts

Spanish Publications

For the last several years, UMM has been positioning itself as a national leader in use of renewable energy. The students will discuss their awareness about the efforts of their university campus to be energy self-sufficient by the year 2010. They will reflect about their responsibility to implement changes that will create a more sustainable campus, community and world around them. The students will be able to convey to others in the campus and in the community the need to increase involvement in the process. They will also compare green efforts of their university with similar efforts in the Hispanic …

Comprehensive Planning In Louisiana, Lynn A. Maloney-Mújica

LSU Master's Theses

This study explores the factors associated with the implementation of land use planning policies and tools among the parishes (counties) of Louisiana. There is an absence of statutory standards, strict guidelines, and other external drivers for planning in Louisiana and the extent to which local governments regulate land use varies widely among local jurisdictions. The purpose of this study is to provide an empirical model of intrinsic factors that might explain why some parishes have decided to intervene in land use by adopting a high number of planning policies and tools, and why others have failed to adopt few, if …

Toward A New Social Contract: A Tripartite Mixed-Methods Analysis Of Social Sustainability At Three Land-Grant Universities, Lyndsay Josephine Agans

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Increasingly, colleges and universities in the United States are adapting toward a model of behavior that incorporates issues of sustainability. This adaptation in universities and in society has implications on the organizational and nation-state level, the very core of which may serve to reshape the social contract between the two. In addition to supplying a strong counter-hegemonic argument that alters the competitive economic agenda-setting paradigm, this study serves as a tripartite comparative case study analysis of university adaptation toward social sustainability. By employing a social capital lens to understanding social sustainability in higher education, this study seeks to examine the …

Fostering Sustainability In Higher Education: A Mixed-Methods Study Of Transformative Leadership And Change Strategies, Kim H. Mcnamara

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

As evidence of the earth’s limited capacity to sustain human life mounts, institutions of higher education are being looked to for leadership in the effort to educate students about environmental concerns and support the development of sustainable innovations. Colleges and universities are responding to this call for leadership by starting and/or expanding environmental research programs, integrating sustainability issues throughout the curriculum, adopting sustainable operations, and building green facilities. Reflecting upon the sustainability efforts of these institutions, this research study explores the following questions: What factors are essential for initiating and leading a successful change effort to foster sustainability in higher …

Social Network Analysis Of Video Bloggers' Community, John Warmbrodt, Hong Sheng, Richard H. Hall

Business and Information Technology Faculty Research & Creative Works

Video blogs (or vlogs) have become increasingly popular in recent years. As the main motivation for vlogging is to interact with other vloggers, it is important to investigate the structure of the videobloggers' community and the interactions among vloggers. This research conducted a quantitative analysis using social network analysis. A list of personal vloggers was identified from VlogDIR and linking patters of vlogs were analyzed. The results suggest that video bloggers' community is highly decentralized and exhibits a core/periphery structure.

Conflicts Between Local Villagers And Tibetan Brown Bears Threaten Conservation Of Bears In A Remote Region Of The Tibetan Plateau, Fiona R. Worthy, J. Marc Foggin

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Tibetan brown bears (Ursus arctos pruinosus) are rare across most of the Tibetan Plateau (Schaller 1998, Harris 2008). Yet, contacts between bears and local herders are increasing. Unlike other countries where nuisance bears may be shot or relocated (Peine 2001, Gunther et al. 2004), China forbids these practices, and most hunting is forbidden. In addition, all firearms were confiscated from local herders in 2000. Thus, despite their increasing threats to Tibetan communities, Tibetan brown bears generally are safe from retaliatory killings by local villagers.

Shaping The Future Of Southern Nevada Conference Key Points, Ron Smith

Shaping the Future of Southern Nevada: Economic, Environmental, and Social Sustainability

General summary of key points raised at the conference

Concurrent Panel Session 1: Sustainability In Community Development And Architecture In Las Vegas, Alfredo Fernandez-Gonzalez, Craig Galati, Mary Kay Peck, Jeff Roberts, Suzanne Sanders, Richard Serfas

Shaping the Future of Southern Nevada: Economic, Environmental, and Social Sustainability

Moderator: David Frommer, AIA, UNLV Planning & Construction Scribe: Michael Spurr, UNLV Department of History Conference white paper & Full summary of panel session, 5 pages

Concurrent Panel Session 2: Service Learning: Linking Students And Community, Daniel Mclean, Jane Pike, Seth Pollack, Fran Smith, Jean Whitney, Cheri Young

Shaping the Future of Southern Nevada: Economic, Environmental, and Social Sustainability

Moderator: Peg Rees, UNLV Public Lands Institute Scribe: Melanie Taylor, UNLV Department of Criminal Justice Conference white paper & Full summary of panel session, 4 pages

Concurrent Panel Session 1: Environmental Sustainability And Las Vegas, Dale A. Devitt, David E. James, Patricia Mulroy, Alan O'Neill, Thomas C. Piechota, Doug Selby, Krystyna Anne Stave, Michael Yackira, Bruce Turner

Shaping the Future of Southern Nevada: Economic, Environmental, and Social Sustainability

Moderator: Dr. Stan Smith, UNLV School of Life Sciences Scribe: Crystal Jackson, UNLV Department of Sociology Conference white paper & Full summary of panel session, 6 pages

Building Social Capital In Forest Communities: Analysis Of New Mexico's Collaborative Forest Restorative Program, Tyler Prante, Jennifer A. Thacher, Daniel W. Mccollum, Robert P. Berrens

Economics Faculty Scholarship

In part because of its emphasis on building social capital, the Collaborative Forest Restoration Program (CFRP) in New Mexico represents a unique experiment in public lands management. This study uses logit probability modeling to investigate what factors determined CFRP funding, which totaled $26 million between 2001 and 2006. Results reveal program preferences for projects that encourage collaboration and improve forest health, especially in poor counties. Negative determinants of funding include measures of small-diameter material utilization and whether a project takes place across multiple land jurisdictions. There is no evidence of bias toward funding any particular applicant type or land jurisdiction.

Why Logging? A Value Assessment Of Forestry Uses In The Huon Forest District, Ryan Bailey

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The Huon Forest District comprises 762,800 hectares of forests in southwest Tasmania, with 128,900 hectares of that total designated as state forest managed by Forestry Tasmania. These forests are used primarily for wood production, although tourism, carbon storage, leatherwood honey and the specialty timbers industry are competing for access to these forests. This study examines the socio-economic values of these uses and determines whether the Huon Forest District is being utilized efficiently.

To accomplish this, an extensive literature review of past research was conducted. This information supplemented 7 semi-structured interviews that were conducted with experts from the forestry industry, tourism …

Strategies For The Future Of Conservation, Bradford Gentry, Rebecca Sanborn, Gordon Clark

Yale School of the Environment Publications Series

2006 Berkley Workshop Summary and Background Materials

Potantico Conference Center, Tarrytown, New York, June 8-10, 2006 Hosted by The Land Trust Alliance and the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies

Social Network Structures In Open Source Software Development Teams, Y. Long, Keng Siau

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Drawing on social network theories and previous studies, this research examines the dynamics of social network structures in open source software (OSS) teams. Three projects were selected from SourceForge.net in terms of their similarities as well as their differences. Monthly data were extracted from the bug tracking systems in order to achieve a longitudinal view of the interaction pattern of each project. Social network analysis was used to generate the indices of social structure. The finding suggests that the interaction pattern of OSS projects evolves from a single hub at the beginning to a corel periphery model as the projects …

Damming Grand Canyon: The 1923 Usgs Colorado River Expedition, Diane E. Boyer, Robert H. Webb

All USU Press Publications

In 1923, America paid close attention, via special radio broadcasts, newspaper headlines, and cover stories in popular magazines, as a government party descended the Colorado to survey Grand Canyon. Fifty years after John Wesley Powell's journey, the canyon still had an aura of mystery and extreme danger. At one point, the party was thought lost in a flood. Something important besides adventure was going on. Led by Claude Birdseye and including colorful characters such as early river-runner Emery Kolb, popular writer Lewis Freeman, and hydraulic engineer Eugene La Rue, the expedition not only made the first accurate survey of the …

Accelerating Adoption Of Fire Science And Related Research, Jamie Barbour

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

Since its inception in 1998, the Joint Fire Science Program (JFSP) has funded over 350 projects. The Joint Fire Science Program has long recognized that the investments made in wildland fire science need to be accompanied by an emphasis on science interpretation and delivery. Program success is ultimately measured by how well information from research efforts is being conveyed to resource managers and end users, and whether this information is improving management decisions. This project introduced a conceptual model for an adaptive process to improve the delivery of scientific information. We developed this process through these steps: 1. Creating a …

Multifunctional Rural Landscapes: Economic, Environmental, Policy, And Social Impacts Of Land Use Changes In Nebraska, Twyla M. Hansen, Charles A. Francis, J. Dixon Esseks, J. Allen Williams Jr.

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The conversion of farmland near cities to other human uses is a global trend that challenges our long-term capacity to provide food, fiber, and ecosystem services to a growing world population. If current trends continue in the United States, the population will reach 450 million by the year 2050. At the same time, an accelerating change in land use will reduce today’s two acres per person of farmland to less than one acre per person. This is scarcely enough to produce food for our domestic population, without any food available for export – even assuming advances in technology. We need …

Sustainable Las Vegas 2007, City Of Las Vegas, Nevada

Publications (SD)

This publication is dedicated to the citizens of Las Vegas, to the 3,000 men and women who serve them at the city of Las Vegas and to future generations who will make Las Vegas their home. Together we are working to create a world-class city of today, as well as continuing to maintain that lofty status well into the future. It is this essence of promoting our greatness into the years ahead that is at the heart of a concept known as sustainability. Throughout this publication we have listed what the city is doing to make sure all will be …

Essential Elements Of Sustainable Fire Management In The Wildland-Urban Interface, Christopher Dicus

Natural Resources Management and Environmental Sciences

Fire and fuels management in the wildland-urban interface is a multifaceted aggregation of biophysical and sociopolitical components. To best insure sustainable communities in the wildland-urban interface, stakeholders from a diversity of disciplines and worldviews must collaborate to develop a management plan for a given area that minimizes fire risk while simultaneously maximizing the benefits that distinct vegetation types and structures provide. This paper discusses critical elements that must be considered in order to maintain sustainable communities in the wildland-urban interface. These factors include fuels treatments, suppression forces, enforceable infrastructure and construction standards, and community education, each of which will vary …

With One Stroke Of The Pen: How Can Wildlife Extension Specialists Involve Developers And Policy-Makers In Wildlife Conservation?, Mark Hostetler

Triennial National Wildlife and Fisheries Extension Specialists Conference: 11th (2006)

Residential developments have a huge impact on natural resources and wildlife, and sustainable or “green” communities are beginning to be built throughout the United States with goals to conserve wildlife habitat, to create healthy lifestyles, and to promote a sense of community. Buzzwords can be heard in the media and in town meetings: sustainability, smart growth, new urbanism, low impact development, and conservation subdivisions. Ultimately, with one stroke of a pen, developers and policymakers can determine how a community will look and feel for many years to come. Plus, citizens make day-to-day decisions that determine whether a community operates as …

First-Stop Planning And Communication For Landhelp, Delwin E. Benson

Triennial National Wildlife and Fisheries Extension Specialists Conference: 11th (2006)

I developed an Internet-based, planning and communication system for professional and private users to make plans for their lands, which is branded as LandHelp (www.LandHelp.info). The project was funded by grants from the Renewable Resources Extension Act, Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Wildlife Habitat Management Institute, Colorado State Forest Service, United States Department of Agriculture, Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (USDA SARE) from the Western Region, and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agro-forestry program with the NRCS. Currently, LandHelp contains links to 31 broad categories of information that then link to 2,613 more resources. Major topics include, but …