Digital Commons Network^™

Spotlight On Superfund: How Are New York’S Most Toxic Waste Sites Doing Under Trump’S E.P.A?, Sarah Stein Kerr

Capstones

No matter where you venture in New York City, you are never far from toxic pollution. And if you are in Brooklyn or Queens, you may be a stone’s throw from a federal Superfund, our nation’s most polluted sites.

For New York City’s Superfunds– Newtown Creek, the Gowanus Canal and the Wolff-Alport Chemical Company in Ridgewood, Queens – change is underfoot.

In February, President Donald J. Trump appointed former Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt to head the Environmental Protection Agency.

Pruitt, who made a career for himself suing and attacking the E.P.A, has already instituted sweeping changes as part of …

Contributor's Notes

Fishladder: A Student Journal of Art and Writing

No abstract provided.

Contributor's Notes

Fishladder: A Student Journal of Art and Writing

No abstract provided.

Administrative Council Meeting Debrief (12/14/2017), Csusb Staff Council

CSUSB Staff Council records

No abstract provided.

Devolution Of Power And Woreda Or District Development In Benshangul Gumuz Regional State: The Case Of Metkel Zone (North West Ethiopia), Aldo Morka Atnafu

International Journal of African Development

Decentralized governance offers opportunities for achieving development through good governance and community participation at the grass root level (Ayenew, 2007). Ethiopia has adopted two phases of decentralization, namely decentralizing of power from the federal government to the regional level and from the regional to the woreda level (Gebre-Egziabher & Berhanu, 2007). Thus, this study has aimed at assessing the effect of the woreda level decentralization on the development of the Metekel zone. In particular, it examines the nature of political, administrative and fiscal decentralization in woredas. The study was conducted in two selected woreda, Bulen and Mandura. Data were collected …

Plant–Soil Feedback: Bridging Natural And Agricultural Sciences, Pierre Mariotte, Zia Mehrabi, T. Martijn Bezemer, Gerlinde B. De Deyn, Andrew Kulmatiski, Barbara Drigo, G.F. Ciska Veen, Marcel G.A. Van Der Heijden, Paul Kardol

Wildland Resources Faculty Publications

In both agricultural and natural systems, researchers have demonstrated large effects of plant-soil feedback (PSF) on plant growth. However, the concepts and approaches used in these two types of systems have developed, for the most part, independently. Here, we present a conceptual framework that integrates knowledge and approaches from these two contrasting systems. We use this integrated framework to demonstrate how (1) knowledge from complex natural systems can be used to increase agricultural resource-use efficiency and productivity and (2) research in agricultural systems can be used to test hypotheses and approaches developed in natural systems. Using this framework, we discuss …

On Location, K Parker

School of Art, Design and Architecture

Kayla Parker’s film On Location poses questions of radicalism both in terms of audio visual aesthetics and of filmmaking methodology in addition to more overtly political issues of environmental degradation, human and non-human relations and marginalised femininities. Acknowledging that her method of filmmaking is ‘predicated on there being no conscious aim either before or during the making process’, Parker reverse engineers an experimental approach to landscape filmmaking that synthesises phenomenology, écriture feminine, structural materialism and critical geography. The result is a beautiful depiction of the countryside hollow way visited by the British avant-garde filmmaker and performance artist, Annabel Nicolson, forty …

Ua45/6 Commencement Program, Wku Registrar

WKU Administration Documents

Commencement program listing graduates.

Career Corner: Alumni Say Take Chances When Starting Careers, Ohio University College Of Arts & Sciences

All Forum Articles

No abstract provided.

Hunger Games: Policies To Address Food Deserts In Rhode Island's Low Income Communities, Jessi Mcneill

Pell Scholars and Senior Theses

This policy paper examines the global, health, and social implications of food deserts in the state of Rhode Island. This paper assesses the inception of the food desert phenomenon and draws attention to three policy options for the state. While there is sufficient research on food deserts in large cities like New York and Philadelphia, little information is available regarding the implications of food deserts and policy options available to provide low-income Rhode Islanders with healthy, affordable food. Research methodology consists of site visits and interviews, as well as research courtesy of the 2017 Rhode Island Food Strategy and nonprofit …

The Firece Green Fire: Vol. 8 Issue 12, Wofford College Environmental Studies Program

The Fierce Green Fire

No abstract provided.

[2017-12-08] Meeting Of The Board Of Visitors Of Virginia Commonwealth University, Virginia Commonwealth University. Board Of Visitors

VCU Board of Visitors Minutes

Official minutes of the VCU Board of Visitors and its Executive Committee.

Biodiversity Of Larval And Adult Dragonflies And Damselflies (Odonata) Of Interdunal Wetlands At Saugatuck Harbor Natural Area, Devon Volz

Honors Theses

The effects of climate change on insects in the United States have yet to be fully understood. Research on the insect populations of Lake Michigan’s interdunal wetlands has been particularly limited. As these vibrant habitats are already at risk of destruction due to increased development, it is vital to have a working knowledge of the species that are living in the habitat. However, to date, there have been no studies on assemblages of interdunal wetlands in Michigan. Examining community compositions is critical to understanding the ecological problems that could occur in the future. This study is the first to look …

Second Law Analysis Of Dual Fuel Low Temperature Combustion In A Single Cylinder Research Engine, Hamidreza Mahabadipour

Theses and Dissertations

A detailed second law analysis of dual fuel LTC is not yet available in the open literature even though dual fuel low temperature combustion (LTC) has been studied before. To address this gap, a previously validated, closed-cycle, multi-zone, simulation of diesel-natural gas dual fuel LTC was used to perform a second law analysis. In the current study, a 2.4-liter single-cylinder research engine operating at a nominal load of 6 bar BMEP and 1700 rpm was used. Zone-wise thermodynamic irreversibilities as well as total cumulative entropy generated and lost available work over the closed cycle were quantified. Subsequently, two convenient second-law …

Kenyon Collegian - December 7, 2017

The Kenyon Collegian

No abstract provided.

Automated Classification Of Dolphin Echolocation Click Types From The Gulf Of Mexico, Kaitlin E. Fraiser, Marie A. Roch, Melissa S. Soldevilla, Lance P. Garrison, John A. Hildebrand

C-IMAGE Publications

Delphinids produce large numbers of short duration, broadband echolocation clicks which may be useful for species classification in passive acoustic monitoring efforts. A challenge in echolocation click classification is to overcome the many sources of variability to recognize underlying patterns across many detections. An automated unsupervised network-based classification method was developed to simulate the approach a human analyst uses when categorizing click types: Clusters of similar clicks were identified by incorporating multiple click characteristics (spectral shape and inter-click interval distributions) to distinguish within-type from between-type variation, and identify distinct, persistent click types. Once click types were established, an algorithm for …

5th Conference Of The Asian Borderlands Research Network (Abrn), Alessandro Rippa

HIMALAYA, the Journal of the Association for Nepal and Himalayan Studies

No abstract provided.

Minutes, December 6, 2017

General Education Committee

No abstract provided.

The Benefits Of Immersion In Learning A Foreign Language, Cassidy Crouch

Honors Theses

The purpose of this study is to measure the linguistic benefits of learning a foreign language in a study abroad immersion program through Western Michigan University’s (WMU) Spanish department. The participants in this study were all participants of the Santander, Spain program of the Summer II semester of 2017. Nineteen students in total went to Spain and eleven of them agreed to participate in this study. During the Spring 2017 semester the eleven participants were given a pre-departure questionnaire and oral interview where they were asked demographic questions as well as program-specific information. During the last week in Santander, Spain …

Failing Food Supply: Permaculture's Potential, John Faltin

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

Conventional agriculture is the currently leading production method to grow crops in the western hemisphere. Long-term sustainability of the system and all the components is secondary to producing high yields each growing season, which leads to issues such as erosion and reduced soil quality. Other agricultural production methods such as permaculture aim to build soil and improve quality every growing season. This experiment intends to look at the potential of permaculture to improve soil quality on small-scales at the end of each growing season. The parameters to gauge success are a larger concentration of macronutrients at the end of the …

Crossing Disciplines And Perspectives: Challenging Norms In Global Business Communication, David A. Victor

Global Advances in Business Communication

No abstract provided.

Faculty Senate Monthly Packet December 2017, Portland State University Faculty Senate

Faculty Senate Monthly Packets

The December 2017 Monthly packet includes the December agenda and appendices and the Faculty Senate minutes and attachments from the meeting held November 6, 2017.

Canada In A Climate Disrupted World, Simon Dalby, Daniel Scott, Clay Dasilva, Alex Suen

Geography and Environmental Studies Faculty Publications

Climate change has already begun impacting economies and societies across the globe, and its impacts are expected to increase into the future. Adaptation to climate change is and will continue to be one of the greatest policy challenges facing the Canadian government. However, im- portant and much-needed work on understanding the future of climate change has not yet been completed. Gaps remain in the body of academic, government, and other policy-relevant publications. Specifically, there is a relative paucity of research done on the indirect impacts of climate change on Canada. These external impacts outside of Canada’s borders may have second-order …

Community Structure Of Benthic Algae In A Lotic Ecosystem, Karbala Province-Iraq, F. M. Hassan, J. M Salman, S. Al-Nasrawi

Baghdad Science Journal

This study focused on benthic algae (epipelic and attached algae on concrete lining stream) in Bani-Hassan stream in Holly Karbala, Iraq. The qualitative and quantitative studies of benthic algae were done by collecting 240 samples from five sites in the study area for the period from December 2012 to November 2013. Also, the environmental variables of the stream were examined in term of temporary and spatial. The results showed that the stream was alkaline, hard, oligohaline and a well aerated. The total nitrogen to the total phosphorus (TN: TP) ratio indicates nitrogen limitation. 129 species of benthic algae belonging to …

The Toxicity Of Nanoparticles Depends On Multiple Molecular And Physicochemical Mechanisms, Yue-Wern Huang, Melissa Cambre, Han-Jung Lee

Biological Sciences Faculty Research & Creative Works

Nanotechnology is an emerging discipline that studies matters at the nanoscale level. Eventually, the goal is to manipulate matters at the atomic level to serve mankind. One growing area in nanotechnology is biomedical applications, which involve disease management and the discovery of basic biological principles. In this review, we discuss characteristics of nanomaterials, with an emphasis on transition metal oxide nanoparticles that influence cytotoxicity. Identification of those properties may lead to the design of more efficient and safer nanosized products for various industrial purposes and provide guidance for assessment of human and environmental health risk. We then investigate biochemical and …

The Firece Green Fire: Vol. 8 Issue 11, Wofford College Environmental Studies Program

The Fierce Green Fire

No abstract provided.

Whiting Farm Cold Storage Assessment, Madeline Mcgonagle, Ayden Eickhoff, Hugh Kenny

Community Engaged Research Reports

This report is an analysis of the potential development of cool, cold, and frozen storage facilities as part of a larger food hub development at Whiting Farm in Auburn, Maine. Whiting Farm is a small farm with its focus split between growing a variety of vegetables for local food banks and farm stand sales, providing educational opportunities for the developmentally disabled clients of John F. Murphy homes and for students in Lewiston and Auburn, as well as creating other community partnerships to bring as many organizations and individuals on site to gain agricultural experience as possible. The goal of developing …

Place, Experience, And Conversation: Understanding How To Most Effectively Talk About Climate Change Risks, Michaela Hefferman, Avery Wolfe, Nicole Friedman

Community Engaged Research Reports

The risks associated with sea level rise and climate change pose a major threat to coastal cities around the United States and the globe. Currently, the climate conversation is essentially a one way conversation based on power structures that fails to recognize the importance of how people approach the abstract nature of this problem. The overarching goals of this research project are 1) to understand the nuances of content framing and delivery approaches of climate change communication and 2) to discover if this reveals more effective ways to truly engage individuals in this difficult topic and to foster further discussions. …

An Inventory And Assessment Of Street Amenities And Vacant Lots In Downtown Lewiston, Maine: Defining Potential To Create A Healthier Neighborhood, Dacota Griffin, Joe Tulip, Noah Morasch

Community Engaged Research Reports

Street amenities are publicly available resources, physical or biological, that have an aesthetic, functional, and/or ecological value (i.e. street trees, benches, traffic calming measures and community gardens). Healthy Neighborhoods (HN) is an organization working to improve the quality of life for residents of downtown Lewiston, Maine, USA through community engagement in increasing the number of street amenities and improving the local housing stock. With their work, HN hopes to encourage more people to get outside, improving health outcomes, and to foster greater cross-cultural community building and an enhanced sense of place. These goals of HN create a value system of …

Increasing Crop Quality And Production On A Sbcmala's Farm In Lewiston, Maine, Julia Nemy, Drew Perlmutter, Dylan Thombs

Community Engaged Research Reports

The Somali Bantu Community Association of Maine Lewiston / Auburn (SBCMALA) is a non-profit organization founded in 2005 (SBCMALA, 2017). The goal of the association is to empower Somali Bantu families to lead successful and healthy lives in the United States. The organization runs several programs to benefit Lewiston’s Somali Bantu community such as the Community Farming Program which began in 2014.

Currently the program lease farming sites in New Gloucester, Auburn, and Lewiston which allow Somali Bantu families to grow their own produce. The program also helps farmers gain familiarity in Maine’s landscape. Currently, thirty families farm on the …