Digital Commons Network^™

October Trail, Vanessa C. Curran

The Mercury

No abstract provided.

Bee, Madeline A. Price

The Mercury

No abstract provided.

Heart Rock, Madeline A. Price

The Mercury

No abstract provided.

On Slippery Constitutional Slopes And The Affordable Care Act, Stewart Jay

Connecticut Law Review

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is one of the most significant laws ever passed by Congress. It is aimed at a social problem of the first order, the spiraling costs of health care and the millions of Americans without health insurance. The new law has engendered an enormous amount of public discussion and likely will be a major issue in the upcoming national elections. At the center of the controversy is the keystone of the Act: a mandate that almost all Americans obtain a minimum amount of health insurance or be assessed a penalty when paying their income …

Table Of Contents

Richmond Journal of Law and the Public Interest

The General Assembly in Review

Law's Slow Violence: A Review Of Rob Nixon's "Slow Violence And The Environmentalism Of The Poor" (Hup, 2010), Dayna Nadine Scott

Comparative Research in Law & Political Economy

With gripping urgency, Rob Nixon’s book "Slow Violence and the Environmentalism of the Poor" seeks to reveal the “occluded relationships” between transnational economic actors and the things that tie them to particular places, such as labour, land, resources and commodity dynamics. He brings into view the bodies caught in the middle – those that have been raced and erased, made invisible, and wiped away -- by exposing the violence perpetrated against them across time and space. Nixon’s work is a broad synthesis of a seemingly disparate set of literatures in post-colonial studies, eco-criticism and literary studies. His arresting narrative engages …

Emerging Private Governance: The Challenges Of Choosing A Policy Focus, Graeme Auld

Comparative Research in Law & Political Economy

Across sectors of the global economy, private governance has emerged as a new instrument for addressing pressing social and environmental problems. Although better suited for tackling the challenge of reaching agreements among states to address problems transcending national borders, these initiatives create new boundaries based on what problems they choose to focus on and which actors they choose to regulate – that is, the different policy foci of individual programs. Specialization is not inherently problematic. Private governance can focus attention on the problems of a single-issue area and build capacity among actors to resolve its problems, but equally a particular …

Covariation Between Understorey Light Environments And Soil Resources In Bornean Mixed Dipterocarp Rain Forest, Sabrina E. Russo, Lin Zhang, Sylvester Tan

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Variation in understorey irradiance is both a cause and consequence of the structure and dynamics of closed-canopy forests, which are also influenced by soil nutrients and water availability. We tested the hypothesis that understorey light regimes differ among four mixed dipterocarp forest types that share the same rainfall, but grow on different soils along an edaphic gradient at one site in Borneo. Based on data from photosynthetically active radiation sensors deployed at 1-m height at 36 locations for 351 sensor-days, we found significant soil-related variation in irradiance. The more productive forest types on clay and fine loam had lower daily …

Landscaping Perceptions And Behaviors: Socio-Ecological Drivers Of Nitrogen In The Residential Landscape, Leesa Souto

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Driven by individual influences such as beliefs, attitudes, personal norms, and abilities, as well as by social influences like community norms, mandates, and the market, suburban homeowners are motivated to select and maintain a turf grass landscape. In many areas of Florida, effective suburban lawn maintenance requires regular inputs of nitrogenous fertilizer, some of which is lost to the environment, contributing to water quality degradation and ecosystem dysfunction. Reducing nitrogen inputs to aquatic systems requires a better understanding of the links between residential landscape management and the potential for fertilizer loss. This dissertation examines the linkages between the human behaviors …

Impacts Of Soil Heavy Metal Contamination On Methane Flux And The Primary Production Of Phragmites Australis, Adam G. Piombino

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Liberty State Park in Jersey City, NJ, a mixed landscape encompassing areas of freshwater wetlands, was the site of an abandoned train yard and contains several areas in which soil concentrations of As, Cr, Cu, Pb, V and Zn occur above ambient levels of New Jersey soil. Human population growth and expanding urbanization are both placing an increased amount of stress on wetland environments. Methane, a greenhouse gas is both produced and consumed by the respiration of microorganisms in the soil. The methane flux rate and direction might be impacted by soil metal contamination. This variation could have broad implications …

2012 Commencement Program, Seattle University

Commencement Programs

No abstract provided.

The Embededness Of Responsible Business Practice: National Institutional Environments And Corporate Social Responsibility, Luc Fransen

Comparative Research in Law & Political Economy

Academic literature recognizes that firms in different countries deal with Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in different ways. Because of this, analysts presume that variations in national institutional arrangements affect CSR practices. Literature however lacks specificity in determining, first, what parts of national political economic configurations actually affect CSR practices, second, the precise aspects of CSR affected by national-institutional variables, third, how causal mechanisms between national institutional framework variables and aspects of CSR practices work. Because of this the literature is not able to address to what extent CSR practices are affected by either global or national policies, discourses and economic …

University Of New Hampshire Graduate Catalog, 2012-2013, University Of New Hampshire

Graduate Catalog

No abstract provided.

Overview Of Majors At A Glance, Nova Southeastern University

Undergraduate Programs Course Catalogs

No abstract provided.

Can We Get There From Here? Ecosystem Based Governance In The Bay Of Fundy/Gulf Of Maine Region, John R. Coon

Doctoral Dissertations

Decades, even centuries, of resource extraction and exploitation by humans have taken a toll on the Bay of Fundy/Gulf of Maine ecosystems. The very real threats posed by population growth and coastal development, climate change, habitat loss, overharvesting, chemical pollution, nutrient overloading, and invasive species invasions show no sign of abating. Traditional methods of managing the human activities that impact the Bay of Fundy/Gulf of Maine are proving unable to keep pace with the growing threats. The Gulf of Maine Council and others have joined in the chorus calling for a broader, more holistic ecosystem approach to the governance of …

A Multi-Temporal Image Analysis Of Habitat Modification In The Coastal Watershed, Nh, Meghan Graham Maclean

Doctoral Dissertations

Habitat modification has become a progressively important concern as human populations increase and urbanization continues to replace natural environments with anthropogenic landscapes. Habitat modification concerns both the loss and fragmentation of environments, and these actions can have profound effects on ecosystem function, including increasing the potential of invasion by exotic species in vulnerable landscapes. The Coastal Watershed of New Hampshire (NH) has seen a 52% growth in population over the last 30 years which has led to marked urbanization and land use change. However, little has been done to study current land cover types, levels of fragmentation, and how fragmentation …

An Empirical Investigation: How Small To Mid-Sized Enterprises Use Innovation On The Path Toward Ecological Sustainability, Shelley F. Mitchell

Doctoral Dissertations

Dependence upon the natural environment is redefining the business relationship between ecological, economic, and social systems. In addition, the major market forces of diminishing natural resources, extreme transparency, and increasing social expectations are reshaping a new sustainability path for companies. This empirical investigation explored the phenomenon of sustainability in small to mid-sized enterprises, focusing on the link between innovation and ecological sustainability. In addressing the research questions, an Eco-Sustainability Conceptual Framework was developed and applied to a sample of small to mid-sized enterprises. In addition, the development and use of an Eco-Scorecard helped to identify key performance indicators for measuring …

Bird Red List And Its Future Development In Mongolia, Sundev Gombobaatar, D. Samiya, Jonathan M. Baillie

Erforschung biologischer Ressourcen der Mongolei / Exploration into the Biological Resources of Mongolia, ISSN 0440-1298

With the involvement of the World Bank, Zoological Society of London, Dutch Government and National University of Mongolia, the volumes of Mongolian Red Lists of Fish, Amphibians and Reptiles, Birds and Mammals were completed, and Mongolia is now among the few nations that have up-to-date conservation assessments for all vertebrates. Of the 476 assessed native bird species of Mongolia, 10% were categorized as regionally threatened including Near Threatened. A further 0.6% were categorized as Critically Endangered (CR), 1.7% as Endangered (EN), 3.3% as Vulnerable (VU), and 4.4% as Near Threatened (NT). Almost 90% of Mongolian birds are categorized as Least …

About The Authors

Journal of the National Collegiate Honors Council Online Archive

Eunice Soriano de Alencar, PhD, is Professor Emerita of Psychology at the University of Brasília, Brazil. For the last forty years, she has published numerous books and articles, especially on giftedness and creativity. She is on the editorial board of several journals in Brazil and abroad and is an honorary member of the Brazilian Council for Giftedness.

Honors In Chile: New Engagements In The Higher Education System, Juan Carlos Skewes, Carlos Alberto Cioce Sampaio, Frederick J. Conway

Journal of the National Collegiate Honors Council Online Archive

Honors programs are rare in Latin America, and in Chile they were unknown before 2003. At the Universidad Austral de Chile, an interdisciplinary group of scholars linked to environmental studies put forward a pilot project for implementing a new experience in higher education. Challenged by an educational environment where (i) apathy and mediocrity have taken over the classrooms, (ii) monodisciplinary training rules the university campus, and (iii) authoritarian teaching persists, this has been an experiment in new ways of approaching the classroom. Stimulated by experiences in the USA, a project proposal was written, finding support in the Chilean Secretary of …

Responding To The Response: Reforming The Legal Framework For Dispersant Use In Oil Spill Response Efforts In The Wake Of Deepwater Horizon, Abby J. Queale

UC Law Environmental Journal

No abstract provided.

Keeping Dry Streams Green: Can Landowners In Arizona And California Use Property Rights To Maintain Groundwater-Dependent Riparian Habitat Along Non-Perennial Watercourses?, Christopher J. Losi

UC Law Environmental Journal

No abstract provided.

Just Places: Creating A Space For Place In Environmental Justice, Damayanti Banergee

Societies Without Borders

This paper explores how discourses on sense of place and cultural heritage inform environmental justice conflicts. I argue that while economic distribution remains the overarching frame within environmental justice scholarship, cultural entitlement concerns are rarely discussed in the literature. I argue that environmental justice scholarship can draw upon place and cultural research to explore how cultural entitlement claims can be incorporated in environmental justice. I draw upon place literature to propose a three-dimensional typology of place. I call these three dimensions – political place, cultural place, and moral place. The proposed typology allows us to examine how discourses of place …

Standardised Classification Of Pre-Release Development In Male-Brooding Pipefish, Seahorses, And Seadragons (Family Syngnathidae), Stefan Sommer, Camilla M. Whittington, Anthony B. Wilson

Publications and Research

Background: Members of the family Syngnathidae share a unique reproductive mode termed male pregnancy. Males carry eggs in specialised brooding structures for several weeks and release free-swimming offspring. Here we describe a systematic investigation of pre-release development in syngnathid fishes, reviewing available data for 17 species distributed across the family. This work is complemented by in-depth examinations of the straight-nosed pipefish Nerophis ophidion, the black-striped pipefish Syngnathus abaster, and the potbellied seahorse Hippocampus abdominalis.

Results: We propose a standardised classification of early syngnathid development that extends from the activation of the egg to the release of newborn. The classification consists …

Life Cycle Assessment For Solid Waste Disposal Options In Malaysia, S. Saheri, M.A. Mir, N.E.A. Basri, N.Z. Mahmood, R.A. Begum

Research Publications (2011 to 2015)

The largest percentage of MSW in Malaysia is contributed by the state of Selangor, with a 3,923 tons generated daily. Therefore, the aim of this study is to consider the current condition of the open dumps and sanitary landfills in Selangor from an environmental point of view. Moreover, the local authorities of Malaysia prefer to use landfills that have no liners, biogas capture, and many others as a method of getting rid of collected waste. In Malaysia, this is the first time life cycle assessment (LCA) is being used. In this study, LCA is used to weigh up different treatment …

Regulation Or Litigation: Using The American Legal System To Address Climate Change, Stacy Lynne Boman

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

While a growing scientific consensus recognizes that anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions are contributing to the global phenomenon known as climate change, little progress has been made to pass comprehensive legislation addressing climate change. Many concerned with the effects of climate change have turned to the American court system as a means of addressing climate change or reducing greenhouse gases. Similar to the early litigation history of many environmental cases, climate change litigation has thus far been unsuccessful in holding major greenhouse gas emitters liable for the impacts of climate change. Plaintiffs have not given up, however. Many climate change cases …

Negative Transfer In The Writing Of Proficient Students Of Russian: A Comparison Of Heritage Language Learners And Second Language Learners, Daria Aleeva

Dissertations and Theses

This study explored the phenomenon of negative transfer from English in the writing of proficient heritage vs. second language learners of Russian. Although a number of studies have examined negative transfer from English into Russian, and other studies have compared the performance of heritage language learners (HLLs) to second language learners (SLLs), little research has investigated the phenomenon of negative transfer in the writing of both HLLs and SLLs and compared the two groups. Thus, this study employed an exploratory approach to empirically investigate the differences in language transfer between the two groups of learners. Specifically, the study addressed the …

Restoring The "Shining Waters": Milltown, Montana And The History Of Superfund Implementation, David James Brooks

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This dissertation is a case study of a dam removal and river restoration within the nation's largest Superfund site. In 1981, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency included Milltown Reservoir on its first list of Superfund sites. Superfund law capped two decades of the federal government's most aggressive environmental legislation. While tracking the national story of Superfund law, my story provides a local view of how individuals, organizations, and agencies shaped the Superfund process. After the EPA designated Milltown a national Superfund site, the environment itself, persistent work within the channels of public policy, and federally-mediated compromise helped restore some shine …

Assessing The Role Of Shame And Honor During The Alta Conflict, Michael T. Bremmer

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

For nearly a century the Sami peoples of Norway were subject to colonial policies of assimilation and integration. According to historians of the Sami, colonial processes stigmatized Sami individuals and the Sami culture, producing feelings of shame. The concept of shame, for both individuals and groups, centers on experiencing fear, pain, and/or uneasiness, and requires a judging audience. Honor is about individuals transcending self-interest and the need for individuals and groups to acquire self-esteem for that purpose; it also requires a judging audience. Concepts of shame and honor played an important role during the Alta conflict; a watershed moment in …

Comparison Of Charcoal And Tree-Ring Records Of Recent Fires In The Northern Rocky Mountains, Kalispell, Mt, Usa, Ian Hyp

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

In the Northern Rocky Mountains, climate and vegetation histories have been developed using charcoal and pollen deposits in the sediment of lakes to determine the effect of changing climate on species distribution and disturbance regimes through time. However, few studies have been done on the spatial and temporal accuracy of these charcoal and pollen sediment strata analyses. In this study we created a dendrochronological fire history using fire-scarred trees in the watershed of Foy Lake in the Flathead Valley, MT, to determine the synchronicity between two fire proxies: the watershed’s tree fire scar chronology and the dated charcoal in the …