Digital Commons Network^™

Illiquid Capital: Are Conservation Easement Payments Reinvested In Farms?, Joshua M. Duke, Brian J. Schilling, Kevin P. Sullivan, J. Dixon Esseks, Paul D. Gottlieb, Lori Lynch

Center for Great Plains Studies: Staff and Fellows Publications

Agricultural conservation easements have positive externalities but few studies examine the supply-side. This paper explores whether easements may also overcome a credit-market failure, as banks may not be lending based on the full developed value of land. Original survey data test our research hypotheses and show profitable owners and nonoperators to be using easement payments to extract capital from their land by using the preservation programs as a bank. The results also show that the unprofitable owners and operators are reinvesting in their agricultural enterprises. Both results are consistent with an underlying credit-market failure, and the latter suggests that easements …

Sorting Through The Rubbish: A Case Study Of Rollins College Recycling, Courtney W. Banker

Honors Program Theses

This study analyzes the overall state of the recycling program at a private, liberal arts college in the southeastern United States. By conducting a waste audit of four campus buildings, a campus-wide web survey, and two in-depth interviews, the study revealed a 62% contamination rate within the recycling stream and a paralyzing operational obstacle that rendered the college’s real diversion rate close to 0% of the waste stream. This defends the stance that “diversion” does not equate to “recycling.” The study also exposed a disconnect between the lack of campus faith in the ability of the recycling program to capture …

Influential Factors In Encouraging Or Dissuading Orlando Businesses To Seek Leed Certification, Katrina M. Zdanowicz

Honors Program Theses

Orlando, Florida, is home to 85 building projects that have received a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification and 74 projects that are in the process of seeking certification. Over 90 percent of these 159 buildings have been or are being rated by LEED commercial standards. This paper argues that while LEED has played a valuable role in encouraging environmentally sustainable design in the Orlando commercial sector and will continue to be a significant presence in sustainability discussions, local government legislation can assist the end-goals of LEED by promoting more localized initiatives. The benefits of LEED certification include …

Avian Species Observed At The Gordon Natural Area (Data From Ebird And The 2004 West Chester Bird Club Survey Of The Gna), Nur Ritter, Josh R. Auld

Gordon Natural Area Bird Survey Documents

No abstract provided.

President's Report, 2015-2016, University Of Montana (Missoula, Mont.). Office Of The President

University of Montana President’s Report, 1993-2016

The President’s Report of the University of Montana, produced by University Relations on behalf of the President’s Office.

Late Holocene Expansion Of Ponderosa Pine (Pinus Ponderosa) In The Central Rocky Mountains, Usa, Jodi R. Norris, Julio L. Betancourt, Stephen T. Jackson

United States National Park Service: Publications

Aim: Ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) experienced one of the most extensive and rapid post-glacial plant migrations in western North America. We used plant macrofossils from woodrat (Neotoma) middens to reconstruct its spread in the Central Rocky Mountains, identify other vegetation changes coinciding with P. ponderosa expansion at the same sites, and relate P. ponderosa migrational history to both its modern phylogeography and to a parallel expansion by Utah juniper (Juniperus osteosperma).

Location: Central Rocky Mountains, Wyoming and Montana, and Black Hills, Wyoming and South Dakota, USA.

Methods: Plant macrofossils were analysed in …

Bumpers College Students In Action, Discovery Editors

Discovery, The Student Journal of Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

No abstract provided.

Greenhouse Gas Emission In Jewelry Industry: A Case Study Of Silver Flat Ring, Parnuwat Usapein, Chantra Tongcumpou

Applied Environmental Research

This paper describes an assessment of the carbon footprint (CF) of a silver ring, together with an attempt to measurematerial and energy consumption. The boundary of analyzing CF was defined as Business to Business (B2B). All primary data were obtained from a survey of the case study factory. Acquisition of raw material (silver) was the main GHG contribution to the overall CF and was thus considered as a CF hotspot. Acquisition accounted for 0.9740 kg CO2e or 94.44% of total emissions, followed by production processes (0.0573 kg CO2e) and tran-sportation (0.002 kg CO2e). The total CF amounted to 1.03 kg …

The Econometric Model Of Ship-Generated Operational Waste: The Underlying Tool For Waste Management In Container Port, Chalermpong Senarak

Applied Environmental Research

Marine pollution prevention through adequate provision of garbage reception facility (GRF) is a legal obligation of every port. According to MARPOL 73/78, each port authority should explore ways to increase its ability to prevent marine pollution from ship-generated waste. The paper supports this legal requirement by developing an econometric model for estimating the amount of operational waste delivered at GRF. The multiple regression with ordinary least squares technique was used to analyze the relationship between the amount of operational waste per month and two explanatory variables - size of ship and travelling distance from the last port of discharge. Data …

Acidic Recovery From Wastewater Of Automotive Battery Plant Using Membrane Technology, Nantanee Chaimongkalayon, Sudtida P. Thanasupsin

Applied Environmental Research

Diffusion dialysis (DD) equipped with anion exchange membranes (AEMs) is used as an effective tool to recover acidfrom various types of waste acid solutions. The aim of this study was to investigate the possibility of using the DD process to recover sulfuric acid (HsSO4) from the acidic wastewater from an automotive battery plant. A numbers of experimental runs was conducted to optimize the equipment's operating conditions, particularly variations in feed flow and flow rate ratios . The results showed that H2SO4 permeated well through the AEM, while metal ions were efficiently rejected. The recovery of H2SO4 increased as flow rate …

Student-Athlete Undergraduate Degree And Career Alignment, Courtney C. Cox

Master of Education in Applied Human Development Graduate Projects

Little research has been done on student-athletes after graduation. The question driving this study was do athletes use their degree after graduation in lieu of academic clustering, fraud, emphasis on winning and athletic identity. The purpose of this study was to determine whether or not student-athletes undergraduate degree and career alignment was greater, less, or similar to the average collegiate body. Data was collected from 65 former male student-athletes from a Midwest Division I Mid-Major University over the 2009 through 2015 athletic seasons. Two sports were evaluated, Football (n= 54) and Men’s Basketball (n= 14). Degree fields were determined by …

Determination Of Neonicotinoid Residues In Hive Products From Kiambu And Nairobi Counties, Kenya, Protus Wanjala Mulati

All Master’s Theses

Information on pesticide residue occurrence in hive products is scanty or lacking yet it is important so as to safeguard human health from effects of pesticides. The aim of the study was to identify and quantify neonicotinoid residues in hive products. The study was undertaken for 6 months between (March-August, 2015) at Kiambu and Nairobi Counties. The objectives of the study were to find out the pesticides used in the cultivation of crops, the frequency of use and the concentration of neonicotinoids in honey and bee bread (pollen).The methodology used was a structured questionnaire which was used to find out …

Uri Undergraduate And Graduate Course Catalog 2016-2017, University Of Rhode Island

URI Course Catalogs Archive

This is a downloadable PDF version of the University of Rhode Island course catalog.

Commencement Program (December 2016), Csusb

CSUSB Commencement Programs

No abstract provided.

Commencement Program (June 2016), Csusb

CSUSB Commencement Programs

No abstract provided.

Kenyon College Catalog 2016-2017

Kenyon College Course Catalogs

No abstract provided.

2016 Commencement Program, Seattle University

Commencement Programs

No abstract provided.

Gulf Of Mexico Low-Frequency Ocean Soundscape Impacted By Airguns, Sean M. Wiggins, Jesse M. Hall, Bruce J. Thayre, John A. Hildebrand

C-IMAGE Publications

The ocean soundscape of the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) has not been well-studied, although it is an important habitat for marine mammals, including sperm and beaked whales, many dolphin species, and a potentially endangered baleen whale species. The GOM is also home to high levels of hydrocarbon exploration and extraction, heavily used commercial shipping ports, and significant fishery industry activity, all of which are known contributors to oceanic noise. From 2010–2013, the soundscape of three deep and two shallow water sites in the GOM were monitored over 10 – 1000 Hz. Average sound pressure spectrum levels were high, > 90 dB …

Cave Protection As A Karst Conservation Tool In The Environmentally Sensitive Lagoa Santa Karst, Southeastern Brazil, Augusto S. Auler

KIP Articles

Karst areas in densely populated and industrialized areas in Brazil are under severe environmental pressure due to urbanization, quarrying, groundwater pollution, groundwater overpumping and cave vandalism. Although karst terrains receive no specific protection according to Brazilian environmental law, caves, regardless of rock type, are classified as belonging to the society, and must be studied in detail to have their significance (and related level of protection) determined. Most caves (>90 %) are of either maximum or high significance, which results in protection of not only the cave but also of an associated buffer zone. Given the very conservative definition of …

Persistent Teaching Practices After Geospatial Technology Professional Development, Lori A. Rubino-Hare, Brooke A. Whitworth, Nena E. Bloom, Jennifer M. Claesgens, Kristi M. Fredrickson, James C. Sample

Publications

This case study described teachers with varying technology skills who were implementing the use of geospatial technology (GST) within project-based instruction (PBI) at varying grade levels and contexts 1 to 2 years following professional development. The sample consisted of 10 fifth- to ninth-grade teachers. Data sources included artifacts, observations, interviews, and a GST performance assessment and were analyzed using a constant comparative approach. Teachers’ teaching actions, beliefs, context, and technology skills were categorized. Results indicated that all of the teachers had high beliefs, but their context and level of technology skills strongly influenced their teaching actions. Two types of teachers …

Environmental Law: Time To Reboot, James Gustave Speth

Sabin Center for Climate Change Law

Presentation given by James Gustave Speth at the 2016 David Sive Memorial Lecture.

Education & Practice (Newsletter Of The Section On Education Of Lawyer, Virginia State Bar) - V. 25, No. 1 (Fall 2016), Dale Margolin Cecka

Law Faculty Publications

What You Do and Do Not Learn in Law School: A Family Law Associate’s Perspective

Hiring and Supervising New Lawyers: A Family Law Partner’s Perspective

Chair’s Column

Law Faculty News and News and Events Around the Commonwealth

Call for Nomination: William R. Rakes Leadership in Education Award

2016-2017 Board of Governors

Earthquake Hazard Mitigation In The New Madrid Seismic Zone: Science And Public Policy, Alice M. Orton, Zhenming Wang, Lanmin Wang, Edward W. Woolery

Report of Investigations--KGS

In the central United States, earthquake sources that are not well defined, long earthquake recurrence intervals, and uncertain ground-motion attenuation models have contributed to an overstatement of seismic hazard for the New Madrid Seismic Zone on the national seismic hazard maps published by the U.S. Geological Survey. A series of informal interviews in western Kentucky with local businesspersons, public officials, and other professionals in occupations associated with seismic-hazard mitigation discussed seismic-mitigation policies in relation to depressed local economy. Scientific and relative economic analysis was then performed using scenario earthquake models developed with the Federal Emergency management Agency's Hazus-MH software. The …

Parting The Green Curtain: Tracing Environmental Inequality In Portland, Oregon, Lindsay E. Mccord

Pitzer Senior Theses

This thesis utilizes a lens of environmental justice to analyze the history of Portland, Oregon and the formation of the Albina neighborhood in North Portland to understand how this community became a space of environmental inequality. Portland has been a leader in sustainable development, and yet, even with its successes, the city either been unable or unwilling to address the disproportionate impacts of environmental hazardss on low-income and communities of color in Albina. Through an examination of Portland’s history of segregation, stigmatization of Albina and its residents, housing policies, and urban renewal as they relate to Albina, this thesis traces …

The Price Is Right: Investigating Net Metering Policies For Rooftop Solar In California, Jesse Honig

Pitzer Senior Theses

As an increasing number of homeowners decide to take advantage of distributed renewable resources such as rooftop solar, we may need to rethink the current regulatory paradigm and governance structure of the electric market. This thesis examines the shortcomings of current net metering programs in California. While the current Net Metering 2.0 proceeding highlights a clash of solar advocates and electric utilities, it is in fact revealing an underlying structural flaw that has been present all along. In order to send the appropriate price signals to solar customers, both the structure by which utilities recover costs and the rate at …

Faith In A Changing Planet: The Role Of Religious Leaders In The Fight For A Livable Climate, Morissa Zuckerman

Pitzer Senior Theses

Progressive religious leaders are playing an increasingly important role in the effort to combat climate change. Through a combination of unstructured in-depth interviews and primary source analysis, this thesis highlights nine U.S. religious leaders from various denominations of Christianity, Judaism and Islam who are actively involved in working on climate issues. Drawing on literature in social movement theory, I explore how clergy are uniquely influential in climate issues because of the organizational advantage and moral authority they hold through their positions as religious leaders, granting them the ability to highlight social justice implications of climate change with distinctive legitimacy. Clergy …

African Fire Cultures, Cattle Ranching, And Colonial Landscape Transformations In The Neo-Tropics, Andrew Sluyter, Chris S. Duvall

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Missing The Trees For The Forest: The Socioecological Significance Of Dispersed Farmland Trees In Northern Ethiopia, Jacob A. Wall, Travis W. Reynolds

Honors Theses

Scattered trees are prominent features in the agricultural landscape of the Ethiopian highlands. The dry Afromontane forests of the Amhara Region in northern Ethiopia have faced centuries of deforestation - the FAO estimates only 3% of the region is forested today. The remaining landscape has been largely converted into agricultural and grazing lands, with the exception of some limited government-protected lands, as well as thousands of small forest fragments left around Orthodox Churches (“church forests”). But while a growing body of scholarship has highlighted the ecological and cultural importance of church forests and other natural forest fragments, the roles of …

Missing The Trees For The Forest: The Socioecological Significance Of Dispersed Farmland Trees In Northern Ethiopia, Jacob A. Wall

Honors Theses

Scattered trees are prominent features in the agricultural landscape of the Ethiopian highlands. The dry Afromontane forests of the Amhara Region in northern Ethiopia have faced centuries of deforestation - the FAO estimates only 3% of the region is forested today. The remaining landscape has been largely converted into agricultural and grazing lands, with the exception of some limited government-protected lands, as well as thousands of small forest fragments left around Orthodox Churches (“church forests”). But while a growing body of scholarship has highlighted the ecological and cultural importance of church forests and other natural forest fragments, the roles of …

Entering Into Dialogue With Pope Francis' Laudato Si: On Care For Our Common Home, Sarah Jeanne Shimer

Honors Theses

Pope Francis’ 2015 encyclical Laudato Si: On Care for Our Common Home brings together the spheres of science and religion. In this document, Francis puts forth a call for action towards religious and non-religious communities alike to address climate change. The strength of the document lies in the way Francis expresses his call. By drawing on scientific and religious tradition, he situates the encyclical in a broader conversation about the moral obligation for humans to care for the environment. This thesis explores the reception of Laudato Si by religious and environmental communities through political cartoons, written critiques, and personal interviews. …