Digital Commons Network^™

Comparing Levels Of Environmental Literacy Between Stars- And Non-Stars-Rated Universities, Analisa Kathleen Campos

Master's Theses

The Sustainability Tracking, Assessment, and Rating System (STARS) is a program that measures university sustainability levels. STARS ranks university campuses based on the number of points received from individual specifications such as green buildings, access to mass transit, number of environmental courses, and more. Therefore, the rank a school receives translates directly to its level of sustainability as an institution. Currently, it is unknown if there is a relationship between a campus’s STARS-rating and individual students’ environmental literacy (EL). The purpose of this project was to analyze the impacts of university’s sustainable features on student EL. Surveys were administered to …

Spartan Daily, October 16, 2019, San Jose State University, School Of Journalism And Mass Communications

Spartan Daily, 2019

Volume 153, Issue 23

A Framework For Integrating Transportation Into Smart Cities, Susan Shaheen, Adam Cohen, Mark K. Dowd, Richard Davis

Mineta Transportation Institute

In recent years, economic, environmental, and political forces have quickly given rise to “Smart Cities” -- an array of strategies that can transform transportation in cities. Using a multi-method approach to research and develop a framework for smart cities, this study provides a framework that can be employed to:

1. Understand what a smart city is and how to replicate smart city successes;
2. The role of pilot projects, metrics, and evaluations to test, implement, and replicate strategies; and
3. Understand the role of shared micromobility, big data, and other key issues impacting communities.

This research provides recommendations for policy and professional practice …

The Whiteness Of The Elephant In The Room: How White Guilt, White Fragility, And Colorblind Racial Ideology Shape Environmental And Social Justice Activism In Santa Cruz County, Robert Michael Foran

Master's Theses

Using frameworks from critical race theory, social movement theory, and community-based activism, this thesis explores the phenomena of white fragility, white guilt, and colorblind racial ideology and how they impact the ways predominantly white-identified social and environmental justice organizations approach, build, and maintain solidarity with communities of color in Santa Cruz County, California. A qualitative approach was employed to investigate the experiences of white-identified activists and how they attempt to engage in this constantly challenging process. Using twenty-two semi-structured interviews and eight group observations, I explored how white-identified individuals negotiate the transformation from ‘moral passivity’ to meaningful, personal relationships with …

Spartan Daily, November 29, 2018, San Jose State University, School Of Journalism And Mass Communications

Spartan Daily, 2018

Volume 151, Issue 41

Integration Of An Electrical Engineering Capstone Course With Social Justice And Global Studies, David Parent, Patricia Backer

Faculty Publications

A four course package (six units total) consisting of two general education (GE) classes and two electrical engineering capstone classes that are taught in a highly integrated manner, that not only meets university GE requirements, but also meets the new ABET criteria in which the need to address a societal need is embedded with design criteria. The prompts for the new integrated GE/capstone Assessment results are also presented, along with methods to increase student motivation for studying GE.

Together, No. 12, San Jose State University, College Of Social Sciences

Together (College of Social Sciences)

No abstract provided.

Global Research Trends In Entomology During 2012 – 2016: An Analytical Study, Radhakrishnan Natarajan, Priya Saravanan

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

The present study explores the quantum of productivity in the field of Entomology. For this study, the data were downloaded from the ‘Web of Science Core Collection’ database and there were 1671 records contributed globally level over a period of five years i.e. 2012-2016. The study contributes to the different aspects of Entomology research, such as year wise distribution, country wise, authorship pattern, the degree of collaboration, and most prolific authors etc. The highest number of records was published in the year 2016, while lowest numbers of records was published in 2012. The doubling time for publications at the decreased …

Establishing A Central Archive For Transit Passenger Data, Gregory Newmark, Hilary Nixon

Mineta Transportation Institute

This report describes the rationale, background, establishing organization, and future steps of CATPAD, the Central Archive for Transit Passenger Data. The Central Archive for Transit Passenger Data is a repository that collects, indexes, archives, and makes available online the transit survey instruments, data, and reports collected across the country. This resource is unique in its focus on the disaggregated information of individual transit users – information that is critical for a range of transportation planning analyses. In addition, where available, CATPAD contains aggregated information, such as station boardings and service and fare schedules, to provide key context for the disaggregate …

Global Climate Change I-Ii, Kendall Barrett Sooter, Dione Rossiter, Costanza Rampini

Faculty Publications, Environmental Studies

Many different scientific observations and measurements indicate that Earth is experiencing global-scale changes in climate, i.e., in the long-term distributions of temperature, cloud cover, precipitation, and extreme weather events. Scientific consensus considers most these changes to be caused or accelerated by human activities. The economic, ecological, social, and cultural challenges caused by global climate change will affect everyone on the planet, and are very likely to have disproportionate impacts on developing nations. In this course, we will study global climate change from an interdisciplinary perspective, incorporating natural and social science approaches to understanding processes and effects. We will study the …

“‘Relentless Geography’: Los Angeles’ Imagined Cartographies In Karen Tei Yamashita’S Tropic Of Orange,”, Cristina M. Rodriguez

Asian American Literature: Discourses & Pedagogies

What would a map of Los Angeles drawn from the ground up look like? In his groundbreaking work The Production of Space (1974), Henri Lefebvre argues that the conceived space of urban planners is fundamentally distinct from lived space, which cannot be mapped out. In her impressive city-wide narrative, Karen Tei Yamashita’s Tropic of Orange (1997) demonstrates the effects of imposing conceived space upon the lived space of inner city Los Angeles residents, and what happens when the counter-model of space being lived by a city’s inhabitants rebels. Yamashita’s text mirrors this disjuncture between represented and lived space through the …

Environmental And Climate Justice Along The Brahmaputra River In Northeast India, Costanza Rampini

Faculty Publications, Environmental Studies

The glaciers of the Himalayas are the source of all of Asia’s major rivers and are crucial to Asia’s water supply, economies, and livelihoods. The Himalayan region is uniquely vulnerable to the impacts of anthropogenic climate change, while also becoming one of the most dammed regions in the world. This case study explores the unequal distribution of the impacts of climate change and dam building along the Brahmaputra River in Northeast India. It examines how the combined impacts of these two processes negatively affect local communities and explores environmental and climate justice issues. In discussing climate change impacts and hydropower …

Illegal Dumping As An Indicator For Community Social Disorganization And Crime, Amory Anne Brandt

Master's Theses

Illegal dumping of household waste in and around city streets results in many negative health, economic, and environmental effects. This goal of this study was to understand the systemic causes of illegal dumping within San José, California. Illegal dump sites were identified, quantified, characterized, and mapped within urban census block groups at a range of median family income levels. Results showed that commonly dumped debris types were furniture, and garbage. The most illegal dumping occurred within census block groups with low median family incomes, high percentages of non-English speaking individuals, and high percentages of renters. Factors such as social disorganization, …

Juana Alicia: A Case Study Of The Artist As Critical Muralist, Allison Ann Connor

Master's Theses

Much has been written on Mexican Muralism and on the resurgence of mural art in the United States, and Chicana/o murals in San Francisco in particular, but very little has been written about mural artist Juana Alicia specifically, and none of this material has been gathered into one document. This study focuses on Juana Alicia as an important community-educator-artist-leader-activist, what educator and mural artist Arturo Rosette defines in his doctoral dissertation as a “critical muralist.” In particular, this study analyzes Juana Alicia’s 2012 mural, The Spiral Word, and places it within the context of mural art that functions as activist …

Selling Queer Rights: The Commodification Of Queer Rights Activism, Laurence Pedroni

Themis: Research Journal of Justice Studies and Forensic Science

With the recent Supreme Court decision to legalize same-sex marriage throughout the country, many have spoken in support of the decision, calling it a massive expansion of civil rights. While affording marriage rights to same-sex couples, these rights and expansions should be understood in the greater context of historical queer rights struggle and the economic factors that have motivated these civil rights expansions. This article will examine how the expansion of gay marriage rights was motivated not by concerns with civil rights, but out of economic concerns. This process has, in effect, commodified queer rights, weakening queer rights politics to …

Transit Performance Measures In California, Caroline Rodier, Emily Issac

Mineta Transportation Institute

This research is the result of a California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) request to assess the most commonly available transit performance measures in California. Caltrans wanted to understand performance measures and data used by Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) and transit agencies to help it develop statewide measures. This report serves as a summary reference guide to help Caltrans understand the numerous and diverse performance measures used by MPOs and transit agencies in California. First, investigators review the available literature to identify a complete transit performance framework for the purposes of organizing agency measures, metrics, and data sources. Next, they review …

The Promise Of An Energy Tracker Curriculum For Promoting Home-School Connections And Youth Agency In Climate Action, Elizabeth M. Walsh, Derek Jenkins, Eugene Cordero

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Formal classroom learning experiences that support sustainable behaviors outside the classroom necessarily must bridge students’ home and school lives, as knowledge and practice learned in the classroom is implemented outside of school. To this end, we study the impact of the Green Ninja Energy Tracker curriculum, which uses students’ home energy data in the classroom to promote engagement in climate change and conservation behaviors. Data is drawn from class observations, a focus group, and pre- and post- surveys of a pilot implementation of this curriculum in a diverse 12th-grade Earth Science classroom at an alternative school. We investigate what factors …

Are Bay Area Cities Inclusive? Evaluating How San Francisco Bay Area Cities Can Address Environmental Justice Challenges By Strengthening Their Engagement Practices With Low-Income And Minority Communities Through The California Environmental Quality Act Process, Kenneth Antonio Rosales

Master's Projects

No abstract provided.

Open Space Concepts For The Conversion Of Former Railroad Land In The Spartan Keyes Neighborhood San José, Ca, Shila Behzadiaria

Master's Projects

This project aims to analyze the feasibility of converting an abandoned brownfield in the Spartan- Keyes neighborhood, which happens to be a former railroad right-of-way, into an open space such as a linear park, plaza, or community garden. In order to create a vibrant development that provides safety and economic growth, the open space can include some local commercial uses such as coffee shops or can be open to food trucks or mobile vendors. A new linear park in the Spartan Keyes neighborhood can not only meet the community’s need for open space, but also can provide many social and …

Spartan Daily, May 7, 2014, San Jose State University, School Of Journalism And Mass Communications

Spartan Daily (School of Journalism and Mass Communications)

Volume 142, Issue 39

Strategies Employed By Inner-City Activists To Reduce Alcohol-Related Problems And Advance Social Justice, Laurie Drabble, Denise Herd

Faculty Publications

This study explored strategies employed by activists engaged in efforts to change policies and laws related to selling and promoting alcoholic beverages based on in-depth interviews with 184 social activists in seven U.S. major cities. Nine strategies aimed at improving local conditions and influencing policy were described by activists across regional contexts. Grassroots mobilization was central to all other strategies, which included the creation or enforcement of laws, meeting with elected officials, media advocacy, working with police/law enforcement, education and training, direct action, changing community norms, and negotiating with store owners.

The Sjsu Ecological Footprint Challenge And Its Impacts On Pro-Environmental Behavior, Matthew Eugene Lambert

Master's Theses

Estimates suggest that humanity requires one-and-a-half Earths to sustainably provide the resources demanded. Observed consequences of this are rising atmospheric carbon, loss of arable land, fishery collapse, drinking water scarcity, and irreparable degradation to the Earth's ecosystems. The ecological footprint is a tool that calculates the amount of land needed to support a population or an individual's level of resource use. The action of calculating an individual's footprint has been shown to improve knowledge about environmental issues, change attitudes about natural resources, and increase understanding about the connection between one's actions and the environment.

This research examined the impacts of …

Farms On Campus: Strong Stakeholder Support For An Educational Garden At A Non-Land-Grant University, Gina M. Bacigalupi

Master's Theses

University farms and gardens are increasingly seen as effective tools for learning a variety of academic subjects and as resources that allow users to connect experientially to nature. Most existing university farms, however, are found at resource-rich land-grant universities. This research evaluated stakeholder interest and willingness-to-pay in money, time, and labor for a proposed educational farm at a public, urban, non-land-grant university through an online survey of over 400 members of the California State University East Bay, Concord Campus community. Overall, support for an educational farm at this site was high amongst all stakeholder groups. Students and stakeholders who hold …

Time And Self-Valorization Freedom From Work Through Work, An Ej Perspective On Work, Capital, And The Environment, Gabriel R. Valle

NACCS Annual Conference Proceedings

No abstract provided.

Growing Greens And Soiled Soil: Trends In Heavy Metal Contamination In Vegetable Gardens Of San Francisco, Jennifer Gorospe

Master's Theses

As urban dwellers prioritize eating locally grown foods to reduce environmental impacts, benefit the local economy, and bring fresh produce to the table, urban gardening has emerged as a popular approach to improving food security. Researchers have shown previously that urban landscapes can accumulate environmental toxins at levels that may be unsafe for human health, with socioeconomically disadvantaged communities often shouldering an unequal burden of exposure. In order to identify and predict likely risk to gardeners, in this study, soil samples from 91 vegetable gardens in the city of San Francisco were analyzed for 16 heavy metals. A majority of …

Tribal Corridor Management Planning: Model, Case Study, And Guide For Caltrans District 1, Research Report 10-01, Jay K. Adams, Mary Scoggin

Mineta Transportation Institute

In Northern California, tribal governments and personnel of the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) District 1, have applied innovative context-sensitive solutions to meet a variety of transportation challenges along state highways that traverse tribal lands. This report describes and discusses the efforts under way and offer suggestions for continuing and extending these initiatives through the development of Tribal Corridor Management Plans (TCMPs). The methods employed in this project are multidisciplinary and include: (1) content analysis of existing corridor management plans; (2) literature review to identify “best practices;” (3) participant observation; (4) interviews with local stakeholders; (5) focus group interviews with …

Getting Around When You’Re Just Getting By: The Travel Behavior And Transportation Expenditures Of Low-Income Adults, Mti Report 10-02, Asha Weinstein Agrawal, Evelyn A. Blumenberg, Sarah Abel, Gregory Pierce, Charles N. Darrah

Mineta Transportation Institute

How much do people with limited resources pay for cars, public transit, and other means of travel? How does their transportation behavior change during periods of falling employment and rising fuel prices? This research uses in-depth interviews with 73 adults to examine how rising transportation costs impact low-income families. The interviews examine four general areas of interest: travel behavior and transportation spending patterns; the costs and benefits of alternative modes of travel; cost management strategies; and opinions about the effect of changing transportation prices on travel behavior. Key findings include: Most low-income household are concerned about their transportation costs. Low-income …

Noticias De Naccs, Vol. 39, No. 3, September 2010, National Association For Chicana And Chicano Studies

Noticias de NACCS Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Noticias De Naccs, Vol. 39, No. 2, June 2010, National Association For Chicana And Chicano Studies

Noticias de NACCS Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Traveling The Distances Of Karen Tei Yamashita's Fiction: A Review Essay On Yamashita Scholarship And Transnational Studies, Pamela Thoma

Asian American Literature: Discourses & Pedagogies

This essay provides an analysis of scholarly works on the fiction of Karen Tei Yamashita, contextualizing them within major shifts taking place in a number academic disciplines and fields that are addressing transnationalism.