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Essays On Farmer Willingness To Participate In Best Management Practices In The Kentucky River Watershed, Hua Zhong

Theses and Dissertations--Agricultural Economics

This dissertation explores the adoption of Best Management Practices (BMPs) in the Kentucky River watershed. Through a survey of farmers in the Kentucky River watershed, chapter two investigates farmers’ current BMP adoption and their willingness to engage in additional adoption incentivized through a proposed Water Quality Trading (WQT) program. This chapter includes two parts: the first part is to investigate the factors influencing farmers’ current usage of BMPs; the second part is to estimate farmers’ willingness to implement BMPs given different levels of compensation specified in the survey. Farmers’ experiences about BMPs are more likely to persuade them to adopt …

Impacts Of Man-Made Structures On Avian Community Metrics In 4 State Parks In Northwestern Arkansas, R. D. Keith, B. Grooms, R. E. Urbanek

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

Avian community metrics often differ between areas with no human disturbance and areas with high levels of human disturbance. However, the relationships between avian community metrics and smaller-scale disturbances are not as clear. Our goal was to investigate if avian abundance, richness, evenness, and diversity differed in areas with and without small-scale human developments. We used fixed-radius 50-m avian point counts to compare points which contained a man-made structure (n = 47), such as a picnic area, road, or campsite to those that did not contain a man-made structure (n = 181) at 4 state parks in Arkansas during 18 …

12. Results From Four Decades Of Successional Prairie Restoration And An Update On Ecological Land Management At Fermilab In Batavia, Illinois, Ryan E. Campbell, Jacques L. Hooymans

North American Prairie Conference Proceedings

Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab) is a 2,573-ha (6,800-acre) Department of Energy site located in Batavia, Illinois, USA. Tucked among the particle accelerators are nearly 1,619 ha (4,000 ac) of natural areas including remnant and restored grasslands, woodlands, and wetlands. Dr. Robert F. Betz began his large-scale prairie restoration project on the Fermilab site in 1975. During the course of that work, he defined 4 successional stages of prairie restoration and listed species occurring in each of the stages. We present results after 40 y of successional prairie restoration and summarize current ecological land management efforts at Fermilab. Ninety-five percent …

09. Matching Long-Term Fire Effects Research To Pressing Questions Facing Tallgrass Prairie Managers Across The Upper Midwest, Tom Bragg, Craig Maier, Yari Johnson

North American Prairie Conference Proceedings

The goal for this paper is to explore how a network of coordinated prescribed fire experiments could be developed and applied to tallgrass prairie management. In a 2011 survey conducted by the Tallgrass Prairie and Oak Savanna Fire Science Consortium in their region, 61% of 207 land managers indicated that their greatest need with respect to fire regimes was information on the outcome of variations in fire frequency and season, with information on these variables ranging from limited to completely lacking. Need for this kind of information was echoed during a breakout discussion session at the 2016 North American Prairie …

Virginia Commonwealth University Fall Commencement Program [2016], Virginia Commonwealth University

VCU Commencement Programs

No abstract provided.

Agroforestry Horizons: Experiences And Reflections: Report-Out, Steve Rasmussen

United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

The USDA National Agroforestry Center (NAC) is charting a course for the next five years. As part of this process, NAC and the USDA Interagency Agroforestry Team hosted a meeting of leaders in the fields of agroforestry, agriculture, and forestry, from government, universities, and the private sector, to share experiences and insights on agroforestry opportunities and challenges. The meeting occurred on April 27th and 28th, 2016, in Washington, DC, and entailed presentations and discussions on current and potential roles of agroforestry in supporting water quality, soil health, economic diversification, food security, and pollinator/wildlife habitat. This report-out provides a summary of …

The Developmental Effect Of State Alcohol Prohibitions At The Turn Of The 20th Century, Mary F. Evans, Eric Helland, Jonathan Klick, Ashwin Patel

CMC Faculty Publications and Research

We examine the quasi-randomization of alcohol consumption created by state-level alcohol prohibition laws passed in the United States in the early part of the twentieth century. Using a large dataset of World War II enlistees, we exploit the differential timing of these laws to examine their effects on adult educational attainment, obesity, and height. We find statistically significant effects for education and obesity that do not appear to be the result of pre-existing trends. Our findings add to the growing body of economic studies that examine the long-run impacts of in utero and childhood environmental conditions.

2016 Celebration Of Inquiry Program, Coastal Carolina University

Celebration of Inquiry

12th Celebration of Inquiry, April 11-16, 2016. Theme: Beyond Borders: Living in a Global Society. 8th Annual Undergraduate Research Competition abstracts and schedule are included in the program, but not separated from the general schedule.

Comparative Use Of A Caribbean Mesophotic Coral Ecosystem And Association With Fish Spawning Aggregations By Three Species Of Shark, Alexandria E. Pickard, Jeremy J. Vaudo, Bradley M. Wetherbee, Richard S. Nemeth, Jeremiah B. Blondeau, Elizabeth A. Kadison, Mahmood S. Shivji

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Understanding of species interactions within mesophotic coral ecosystems (MCEs; ~ 30–150 m) lags well behind that for shallow coral reefs. MCEs are often sites of fish spawning aggregations (FSAs) for a variety of species, including many groupers. Such reproductive fish aggregations represent temporal concentrations of potential prey that may be drivers of habitat use by predatory species, including sharks. We investigated movements of three species of sharks within a MCE and in relation to FSAs located on the shelf edge south of St. Thomas, United States Virgin Islands. Movements of 17 tiger (Galeocerdo cuvier), seven lemon (Negaprion …

Through My Great-Grandfather’S Eyes: The Environmental History Of Hilo, Carmen Garson-Shumway

Gateway Prize for Excellent Writing

No abstract provided.

Milestone 2016, Hope College

Milestone

Milestone, the Hope College yearbook, is an annual publication of Hope College. The first yearbook was published in 1905 as a single edition and was titled The Hope College Annual. The yearbooks became an annual publication in 1916, which was also when it was titled Milestone.

Course-Based Science Research Promotes Learning In Diverse Students At Diverse Institutions, Nancy L. Staub, Lawrence S. Blumer, Christopher W. Beck, Veronique A. Delesalle, Gerald D. Griffin, Robert B. Merritt, Bettye Sue Hennington, Wendy H. Grillo, Gail P. Hollowell, Sandra L. White, Catherine M. Mader

Biology Faculty Publications

Course-based research experiences (CREs) are powerful strategies for spreading learning and improving persistence for all students, both science majors and nonscience majors. Here we address the crucial components of CREs (context, discovery, ownership, iteration, communication, presentation) found across a broad range of such courses at a variety of academic institutions. We also address how the design of a CRE should vary according to the background of student participants; no single CRE format is perfect. We provide a framework for implementing CREs across multiple institutional types and several disciplines throughout the typical four years of undergraduate work, designed to a variety …

Elouise Cobell Fellowship Report, Anne Des Rosier Grant

Cobell Institute Publications

The main objective of the Elouise Cobell Fellowship for the 2015-2016 academic year at the University of Montana College of Humanities and Sciences (CHS) was to document the history of the Blackfeet Indian Land Conservation Trust Corporation “to better understand its development and intent to preserve and sustain Native American communities” (CHS 2015).

The Blackfeet Indian Land Conservation Trust Corporation (BILCTC) was established in 2000 as a land resource conservation organization. The Trust is the first Native American Land Trust in the nation and the only one of its kind on an Indian Reservation.

Elouise Cobell was one of the …

Digital Refuse: Canadian Garbage, Commercial Content Moderation And The Global Circulation Of Social Media’S Waste, Sarah T. Roberts

Media Studies Publications

The story of a rogue Canadian garbage barge attempting to offload illegal garbage in the Philippines opens this article on techno-trash, in order to underline both the relationships between countries of the Global North with countries of the Global South in matters of waste, as well as to reframe discussions of techno-trash as one fundamentally tied to material things. The definition of techno-trash is then expanded, to cover digital detritus created through an entirely digital set of practices I term “Commercial Content Moderation.” The attempt to offload mounds of e-waste and the similar ways in which a great deal of …

Riparian Trees And Aridland Streams Of The Southwestern United States: An Assessment Of The Past, Present, And Future, D. Max Smith, Deborah M. Finch

United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

Riparian ecosystems are vital components of aridlands within the southwestern United States. Historically, surface flows influenced population dynamics of native riparian trees. Many southwestern streams has been altered by regulation, however, and will be further affected by greenhouse warming. Our analysis of stream gage data revealed that decreases in volume of annual discharge and mean peak discharge and a shift to earlier peak discharge will occur in the Southern Rockies region of Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. These changes will likely decrease rates of reproduction and survival of cottonwood (Populus fremontii and Populus deltoides ssp. wislizenii), Goodding's willow …

Turning On The Lights: Transcending Energy Poverty Through The Power Of Women Entrepreneurs, Leslie C. Gray, Alaina Boyle, Victoria Yu

Miller Center Fellowship

Solar lanterns offer affordable, high-quality lighting in developing countries. A number of organizations, including social enterprises, make solar lanterns available to rural households as an alternative to candles or kerosene lamps. One of the most successful of these organizations is Solar Sister.

Solar Sister, a social enterprise operating in Tanzania, Uganda, and Nigeria, is dedicated to eradicating energy poverty through the economic empowerment of women. In addition to economically empowering its women entrepreneurs, the business model of Solar Sister also cultivates sales networks built on trust in last-mile distribution methods.

While Solar Sister has previously conducted research regarding its many …

Use Of Freshwater Ponds By Whooping Cranes During A Drought Period, Karis Ritenour, Elizabeth Smith, Barry K. Hartup

Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop

Whooping cranes (Grus americana) spend nearly half their annual cycle in coastal habitats within and around the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge Complex (ANWRC) located in the central portion of the Texas Coast. When drought conditions prevail in their winter range and salinities in the local bays exceed 23 parts per thousand (ppt), whooping cranes must seek alternate sources of dietary drinking water (Stehn 2008, Chavez- Ramirez and Wehtje 2012). They begin frequent (often daily) trips to freshwater sources in upland areas. These trips may result in extra energy expenditures that can impact their overall health and ability to …

From Planning To Action: An Evaluation Of State Level Climate Action Plans, Serena E. Alexander

ETD Archive

Climate change is one of the most daunting problems of our time requiring innovative responses to its causes and consequences. In the United States, the long absence of strong federal leadership along with growing public awareness of the problem created a fertile ground for state-level climate action planning. To date, 34 states have adopted Climate Action Plans (CAPs). The question that this study addresses is: Does state-level climate action have the potential to reduce carbon emissions significantly? This question was examined by assessing the relationships between CAPs, emissions reduction targets, plan implementation and emissions mitigation. My hypothesis was that CAPs …

The French Army And Its African Soldiers, Ruth Ginio

University of Nebraska Press: Sample Books and Chapters

As part of France’s opposition to the independence of its former colonies in the years following World War II, its army remained deeply invested in preventing the decolonization of the territories comprising French West Africa (FWA). Even as late as the 1950s, the French Army clung to the hope that it was possible to retain FWA as a colony, believing that its relations with African soldiers could offer the perfect model for continued ties between France and its West African territories.

In The French Army and Its African Soldiers Ruth Ginio examines the French Army’s attempts to win the hearts …

Narratives Of Resistance: (Re) Telling The Story Of The Hiv/Aids Movement – Because The Lives And Legacies Of Black, Indigenous, And People Of Colour Communities Depend On It, Ciann L. Wilson, Sarah Flicker, Jean-Paul Restoule, Ellis Furman

Psychology Faculty Publications

Centering the narratives of the intersectional struggles within the HIV movement for Indigenous sovereignty, Black and People of Colour liberation, and LGBTQ rights tirelessly fought for by Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour communities legitimates their lives and legacies within the movement; and the relevance of a focused response to the HIV epidemic that continues to wreak devastation in these communities. The recent political push for a post-HIV era solely centers the realities of middle-class white, gay men and has genocidal implications for Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour communities.

Panel Presentation On The Power Dialog, Mary Ellen Mallia, John Pumilio

Presentations

Presented at the State of NY Sustainability Conference.

The Upper Peninsula As It Was: What The Europeans Encountered, Robert Archibald

Upper Country: A Journal of the Lake Superior Region

This essay establishes a baseline for measuring environmental change caused by the influx of Europeans beginning in the seventeenth century. In it the author describes the natural forces including volcanism, sedimentation, geologic metamorphism, and glaciation as natural forces that shaped the landscape of the Upper Peninsula and created deposits of minerals. He uses survey notes, travel accounts and journals to describe flora and fauna prior to large-scale commercial exploitation

Suffolk Journal, Vol. 76, No. 17, 4/6/2016, Suffolk Journal

Suffolk Journal

No abstract provided.

2016 International Pinot Noir Celebration Program, International Pinot Noir Celebration

IPNC Documents

This document is the 2016 program for the International Pinot Noir Celebration (IPNC), held annually on the campus of Linfield College in McMinnville, Oregon. The program contains a detailed schedule of the celebration’s major events, presentations, and meals, as well as information regarding guest speakers and chefs visiting the campus. The program also includes a short description of all participating wineries for 2016, both foreign and domestic, along with a listing of the IPNC board of directors and all major supporters and contributors to the event.

Energy And Economy: Recognizing High-Energy Modernity As A Historical Period, Thomas Love, Cindy Isenhour

Faculty Publications

This introduction to Economic Anthropology’s special issue on “Energy and Economy” argues that we might find inspiration for a much more engaged and public anthropology in an unlikely place—19th century evolutionist thought. In addition to studying the particularities of energy transitions, which anthropology does so well, a more engaged anthropology might also broaden its temporal horizons to consider the nature of the future “stage” into which humanity is hurtling in an era of resource depletion and climate change. Net energy (EROEI), or the energy “surplus” on which we build and maintain our complex societal arrangements, is a key tool …

Psyx 594.01: Political Psychology Seminar, Lucian G. Conway

University of Montana Course Syllabi

No abstract provided.

Commercial Drone Research Takes Off At Vcu, Joe Forcier

The Scope

As microprocessors and mounted cameras have become smaller, unmanned aerial vehicles, commonly known as drones, have skyrocketed in popularity. But UAVs aren’t just child’s play. Researchers at VCU say the devices could be used in a range of beneficial ways, from inspecting bridges and searching for lost hikers to shooting documentaries and surveying land.

Challenges To Bay Scallop Restoration In Sarasota Bay: From Biofouling To Red Tide, Isabella G. Soutullo

Theses & ETDs

Bay scallops (Argopecten irradians) are an ecologically, economically, and culturally valued species in Florida. Coastal human expansion and development have reduced water quality through nutrient runoff and substantially reduced seagrass coverage, the bay scallop’s primary habitat. These pressures, in combination with commercial and recreational overharvesting, have promoted a statewide decline in bay scallop populations. Their susceptibility to environmental changes and unique life-history characteristics fail to promote natural recovery, even when limitations to harvesting are enacted. Restoration efforts have become a prominent component in Florida bays where scallop abundance has been compromised. Bay scallop populations in Sarasota Bay are currently non-existent, …

“Seeking Justice Through Unjust Law”: Environmental Justice And The Navajo Nation, Lillian Juliet Bryan

Theses & ETDs

Northern Arizona and southern Utah have historically been home to several Native American tribes, including the Navajo Nation. This region has also seen a large focus on energy development, specifically with mining and power plants. Rainbow Bridge and the Navajo Generating Station are two connected cases that demonstrate environmental injustices to the Navajo Nation. Through archival research, field research, and interviews, this thesis explores industrial developments sustained impacts on the Navajo Nation. Additionally, this thesis highlights the efforts of Navajo grassroot groups working to remedy the negative impact of development on their land and reclaiming their sovereignty and self-determination.

Environmental Ethics In J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord Of The Rings And Modern Day Applications: Radical Nostalgia Through An Ecocritical Lens, Savannah J. Winstanley

Theses & ETDs

This thesis examines current cultural-environmental problems through looking at the works of J.R.R. Tolkien and extrapolating the environmental themes and messages inherent in his work. The theoretical basis of this thesis comes out of the scholarly disciplines of ecocriticism and radical nostalgia. These work as relevant disciplines for this thesis as ecocriticism incorporates an analysis of literature which examines the interaction between humanity, society, and nature. Radical nostalgia, as defined by Patrick Curry's book Defending Middle Earth provides also provides a useful framework with which to present the fantastical and nostalgic nature of Tolkien's work in a way which can …