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Environmental Communication: Changing The Attitude-Behavioral Gap In Science Communication Utilizing Strategic Messaging, Carrie Helgeson Nelms Aug 2022

Environmental Communication: Changing The Attitude-Behavioral Gap In Science Communication Utilizing Strategic Messaging, Carrie Helgeson Nelms

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

National Polls in the United States consistently find the public’s beliefs and attitudes about climate change and other environmental issues significantly diverge from those held by the science community. A communication gap between the findings on the causes and effects of environmental issues and the public’s inability to interpret or refuse to accept these findings are possible causes of this divergence. This communication gap constitutes a threat to society because of inaction to environmental problems and points to needed changes in scientific messaging that better informs and motivates behavioral change. The present research employed a strategic message design to affect …


Climate Change Frames And Emotional Responses On Reddit, Isabel Iruani Villanueva May 2021

Climate Change Frames And Emotional Responses On Reddit, Isabel Iruani Villanueva

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Climate change remains a highly polarized topic in the United States. Research suggests that the divide in climate change beliefs is partly a result of news media’s representation of select aspects of the problem, or framing. Frames influence individuals’ attitudes, emotions, and behaviors towards climate change. Overwhelming representation of certain climate change frames has led to a lack of emotional connection to the issue, resulting in inaction or dismissal. Climate change researchers have investigated the presence and effects of frames on both news media and select social media sites, particularly Twitter. However, little research has investigated the climate change conversation …


Ecology And Conservation Of Shrubland Bird Communities In The Eastern Ghats Of Indi, Anant Deshwal Dec 2019

Ecology And Conservation Of Shrubland Bird Communities In The Eastern Ghats Of Indi, Anant Deshwal

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Anthropogenic disturbance, in its multiple facets represents a major threat to biodiversity and habitat quality. Consequently, extensive research is guided towards understanding anthropogenic disturbance and their effects on wildlife for development of wildlife management plans. However, for development of effective wildlife management plans it is imperative that we understand the habitat use and preference by local fauna along with effects of anthropogenic presence. In this dissertation, I studied the habitat usage and preferences of Shrubland birds in the Eastern Ghats of India during the pre-monsoon and post monsoon seasons. Eastern Ghats show a marked difference from pre-monsoon season to post-monsoon …


Factors Driving Sugar Cane Production In The Kingdom Of Eswatini, Brooke Danielle Anderson Aug 2018

Factors Driving Sugar Cane Production In The Kingdom Of Eswatini, Brooke Danielle Anderson

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Sugar cane is the largest industry in Eswatini with 16 percent of the total workforce working directly or indirectly in the sugar industry. Like all agricultural industries the sugar industry in Eswatini is heavily dependent on an abundant labor supply and climatic conditions. Labor efficiency and abundance is a defining factor of food security and profitability in Eswatini, having one of the highest national HIV/AIDS rates in the world. Small-scale sugar cane producers are often the hardest hit by HIV/AIDS as they traditionally rely on family labor more than hired labor. The 2016 Eswatini Vulnerability Assessment Report indicated that over …


Evaluating Climate Change Policy Through The Endangered Species Act, Richie Donahou Aug 2018

Evaluating Climate Change Policy Through The Endangered Species Act, Richie Donahou

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This research sets out to address a growing knowledge gap of climate change science in regards to the state of Arkansas. Within the coming chapters, the goal of this research is to examine climate data and to identify if any evidence of climate change can be detected and what are the policies in place to adapt to these potential changes. Furthermore, the scope of this research will be narrowed to a few counties over the southwest Arkansas, and a specific endangered species, the Leopard Darter. Upon examination of previous environmental and ecological climate change related research it became clear that …


Sustainable Intensification Of Agriculture: Opportunities And Challenges For Food Security And Agrarian Adaptation To Environmental Change In Bangladesh, Aaron Michael Shew May 2018

Sustainable Intensification Of Agriculture: Opportunities And Challenges For Food Security And Agrarian Adaptation To Environmental Change In Bangladesh, Aaron Michael Shew

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation investigates three unique aspects of sustainable agricultural intensification (SAI) in the context of Bangladeshi rice production. The first article presents a qualitative analysis of SAI and farmer surveys in the embanked polder region of coastal Bangladesh. The second article investigates the global food security and environmental impacts of already adopted High Yielding Variety (HYV) rice and double-cropped rice systems in Bangladesh using a spatial partial equilibrium trade model and a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). The final article demonstrates a remote sensing methodology for monitoring dry season rice production at 30 m resolution in Bangladesh using a harmonic time …


Habitat Ecology, Trophic Interactions, And Distribution Of Endangered Himalayan Musk Deer In The Nepal Himalaya, Kapil Kishor Khadka Dec 2017

Habitat Ecology, Trophic Interactions, And Distribution Of Endangered Himalayan Musk Deer In The Nepal Himalaya, Kapil Kishor Khadka

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation seeks to explore and assess the habitat selection, trophic interactions and distribution of Himalayan musk deer. Chapter one deals with seasonal diet analysis of musk deer along with the overlap in consumption with livestock during summer. Microhistological technique was employed to assess dietary consumption. Results showed that Abies spectabilis, Pinus wallichiana, and Berberis species constituted the major portion of musk deer’s diet. Dietary breadth measured by the Shannon index was found higher in winter compared to summer. Although musk deer and livestock shared a considerable number of plant species in their diets, the consumption however was significantly different …


Interactive Effects Of Flow Regime, Climate Change, And Angler Harvest On Smallmouth Bass At The Southern Range Extent, Christopher Middaugh Jan 2017

Interactive Effects Of Flow Regime, Climate Change, And Angler Harvest On Smallmouth Bass At The Southern Range Extent, Christopher Middaugh

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Ozark-Ouachita Interior Highlands of Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Missouri are the southern extent of native Smallmouth Bass Micropterus dolomieu range. Smallmouth Bass are an important species economically and ecologically, but it is unknown how climate change may affect them in this region and in particular how Smallmouth Bass may be affected differently across streams from various flow regimes. Here I present three projects investigating how climate change, flow regime, and angler harvest may interact to affect Smallmouth Bass over the coming century. I first modeled present and future water temperatures and calculated growth rate potential for Smallmouth Bass from streams …


The Economic Viability Of Cocoa Crop Insurance In Ghana, Justin D. Mckinley Dec 2014

The Economic Viability Of Cocoa Crop Insurance In Ghana, Justin D. Mckinley

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study was motivated by the fact that Ghanaian cocoa producers face lower yields than other main cocoa producing counties which in turn increases food insecurity for smallholder producers. In addition, low yields experienced by Ghanaian producers is a driving factor for forest degradation and deforestation as cocoa producers encroach further into previously undisturbed forests in efforts to increase their incomes. There are currently production methods to achieve higher yields readily available in Ghana; however, many producers choose not to adopt these methods because they are seen as too risky, or simply cannot adopt them due to financial/credit constraints. A …