Digital Commons Network^™

Assessing Renewable Technologies At Wild Mountain Cooperative, Kyra Bleicher, Connor Gray, Korbin Houston

Community Engaged Research Reports

This report is a renewable energy analysis for an intentional community, Wild Mountain, who would like to decrease their dependence on fossil fuel sources for energy. The homestead’s goal is to further move toward targets of environmental sustainability and eco-justice. Our methods involved a partial energy audit recording the energy usage at the homestead, focusing on the electricity usage, and energy consumption used for heating. Three renewable energy sources were researched and evaluated to assess their viability for offsetting estimated fossil-fuel based energy usage. These three technologies are solar electricity production, methane digestion, and compost heap heating. Calculations and data …

Ella Savesthe Beach, Leena Aly, Maddie Hodgdon

Environmental Studies Student Projects

The intention of this project is to start educating children on the consequences of polluting our planet with seemingly harmless waste such as plastics. Many do not realize how small plastic objects can be fatal to many animals. We asked elementary school children to collect trash as part of their participation. Then the trash was used to make a poster featuring Ella the crab. This poster is paired with a children’s story book, where Ella and her animal friends are featured dealing with the consequences of littering. The story book depicts how people’s behavior in natural areas can harm innocent …

Colin The Cormorant, Chelsey Jankauskas, Samantha Schultz

Environmental Studies Student Projects

Colin the Cormorant was an art project created to represent the effects of pollution on local organisms, such as Colin the Cormorant. We hope by seeing this sculpture people think twice about how they dispose of their trash. Colin is made from trash collected at Fortunes Rocks Beach in Biddeford Pool. We chose to make a cormorant because we frequently see cormorants around the Biddeford Pool area and they are a seabird that has been impacted by various types of pollution (garbage, air pollution, etc.).

Measurement Of Airport Operations Using A Low-Cost Transponder Data Receiver And Collection Unit, John H. Mott

Open Access Dissertations

Accurate counts of aircraft operations at unmonitored or partially-monitored general aviation airports are important due to their role in the allocation of funds for airport development and improvement. While the Federal Aviation Administration annually invests approximately $1B in small commercial and general aviation airports, fewer than 270 of these 2,950 airports have either full- or part-time air traffic personnel available to register operations counts. Aircraft operations at airports with limited personnel may be counted using temporary acoustic, pneumatic, or video devices, and observations from contract staff. The related sample sizes are inherently small, leading to inaccuracies in the extrapolation of …

Greenhouse Gas Offset Programs For Bates Study Abroad Air Travel, Caitlin Keady, Sarah Sachs

Community Engaged Research Reports

In 2010, after signing on to the American College and University Presidents’ Climate Commitment (ACUPCC), Bates College set out a goal to achieve carbon neutrality by 2020. While the gap between GHG emissions and neutrality has been significantly decreased by emissions reductions, increased energy efficiency and increased awareness of sustainability on campus, Bates still has a substantial amount of emissions to reduce over the next few years to reach neutrality. Currently, emissions resulting from Bates-associated travel, including student study abroad programs, are not included in Bates College’s total carbon footprint. This project is part of a larger proposal to quantify …

Linkages Among Population, Food Production, And The Environment At Multiple Scales, Daniel Ervin Ph.D., Daniel López-Carr Ph.D.

Journal of International and Global Studies

Human population, its number and distribution on our planet, has a seemingly direct linkage to how much food we consume and how we practice agriculture. How this population-foodenvironment interface manifests across the globe is complex, non-linear, and both local- and scale-dependent. This essay is an overview of the population-food-environment nexus, providing recent history and statistics on these processes at several crude scales. We include a discussion of theory, review different drivers of the population-food-environment processes, provide a global overview of population and agricultural statistics from 1970 to 2010, and discuss trends and implications for Latin America, as well as some …

Re-Engineering Nigeria’S Foreign Policy In The Post-Military Era: Olusegun Obasanjo’S Presidency And Nigeria’S African Foreign Policy, Isiaka Alani Badmus Ph.D., ’Dele Ogunmola Ph.D.

Journal of International and Global Studies

This article explores Nigeria’s current foreign policy under the Fourth Republic (May 1999- ). It investigates the gamut of events surrounding Nigeria’s foreign policy-making and practice since independence (1960) and how this compares with the Obasanjo (1999-2007) administration’s efforts at foreign policy formulation and implementation in Nigeria’s recently hard-won recognition in the international system after 16 years of military authoritarianism. The paper argues that the Obasanjo administration was a success given the range of domestic and international issues that the administration was able to address. The article supports this by focusing on the main issues in the life of the …

Adopting The Principles Of Universal Design Into International And Global Studies’ Programs And Curriculum, Kimberley Brown Ph.D., Rosa Dene David Ma, Shawn C. Smallman Ph.D.

Journal of International and Global Studies

The ideals of universal design have profoundly impacted instruction, policy, and infrastructure in course architecture and design within elementary education and at some universities. Within international and global studies, however, these principles have not deeply affected either pedagogy or scholarship despite the fact that classes in international studies may include more international students and third culture kids1 than classes in other programs. Instead, in North America (as well as in much of Latin America and Europe), the current pedagogical model calls for students either to develop strategies on their own to succeed in class or to self-identify with documented disabilities …

Role Of Intermediary Recruiters In Higher Education Preparation: Perceptions Of Nepalese Students In The United States, Krishna Bista Ed.D.

Journal of International and Global Studies

Higher education in the United States has long been attractive to international students. International students from many countries seek the assistance of recruiters or educational agents when collecting information about colleges and college application in preparation for studying abroad. This study examines how educational agents facilitate Nepalese students in their U.S. higher education preparation. The author analyzes survey and interview data from 112 Nepalese students to investigate the experiences and issues Nepalese students typically face when preparing to study abroad and the ways in which educational agents are utilized to mitigate those issues. Results suggest that Nepalese students use educational …

Edwards, D. Caravan Of Martyrs: Sacrifice And Suicide Bombing In Afghanistan. Berkeley: University Of California Press, 2017., Homayun Sidky Ph.D.

Journal of International and Global Studies

Book review.

Manzenreiter, W. And Holthus, B. (Eds.). Happiness And The Good Life In Japan. New York: Routledge, 2017., Ilana Maymind Ph.D.

Journal of International and Global Studies

Book review.

Hancock, J.F. Plantation Crops, Plunder And Power: Evolution And Exploitation. London And New York: Routledge, 2017., James H. Mcdonald Ph.D.

Journal of International and Global Studies

Book review.

Jie Yang, J. (Ed.). The Political Economy Of Affect And Emotion In East Asia. London And New York: Routledge, 2014., Sharon R. Wesocky Ph.D.

Journal of International and Global Studies

Book review.

Crehan, K. Gramsci’S Common Sense: Inequality And Its Narratives. Durham, Nc: Duke University Press, 2016., Faisal Chaudhry Jd, Ph.D.

Journal of International and Global Studies

Book review.

Fitzgerald, R., & Rowley, C. (Eds.). The Evolution Of Multinationals From Japan And The Asia Pacific: Comparing International Business Japan, Korean, China, India. London: Routledge Taylor & Francis Group, 2017., George M. Poluse

Journal of International and Global Studies

Book review.

Shakir, F. The Iraqi Federation: Origin, Operation And Significance. Abingdon: Routledge, 2017., Autumn Cockrell-Abdullah

Journal of International and Global Studies

Book review.

Rehbein, B. Society In Contemporary Laos: Capitalism, Habitus And Belief. New York, Ny. Routledge, 2017., Julie Bridges

Journal of International and Global Studies

Book review.

Vanden, H.E., Funke, P.N. & Prevost, G. (Eds.). The New Global Politics: Global Social Movements In The Twenty-First Century. London: Routledge, 2017., Shirin Saeidi Ph.D.

Journal of International and Global Studies

Book review.

Shinno, Reiko. The Politics Of Chinese Medicine Under Mongol Rule. London: Routledge, 2016., Tarique Niazi Ph.D.

Journal of International and Global Studies

Book review.

Steger, M.B. & Wahlrab, A. What Is Global Studies? Theory And Practice. New York, Ny: Routledge, 2016., Anas Alahmed

Journal of International and Global Studies

Book review.

Longo, S., Clausen, R. & Clark, B. The Tragedy Of The Commodity: Oceans, Fisheries And Aquaculture. New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 2015., Tarique Niazi Ph.D.

Journal of International and Global Studies

Book review.

A Summer At Azavea Working With Nonprofit Organizations: The Summer Of Maps Fellowship, Sarah Gates

Sustainability and Social Justice

This report details my experience as a Summer of Maps Fellow at Azavea during June 2017 to August 2017. As a Summer of Maps Fellow I worked with nonprofit organizations, the Fair Tech Collective and the World Resources Institute, on two geospatial analysis projects. For the Fair Tech Collective I analyzed data on refinery flaring pollution, air toxin concentrations, and sensitive receptor populations to produce a series of maps and infographics detailing the impacts of petrochemical pollution in the San Francisco Bay Area. For the World Resources Institute I used data-driven methods to analyze conservation efforts in the Central African …

Greening The Gateway Cities: Summer Internship With The Clark University Human Environment Regional Observatory (Hero) And Massachusetts Department Of Conservation And Recreation (Dcr), Zhiwen Zhu

Sustainability and Social Justice

This report provides a detailed account of my internship experience with the Clark University Human-Environment Regional Observatory (HERO) and Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) in the summer of 2017. This internship concerns the urban tree health assessment in three ‘Greening the Gateway’ cities in Massachusetts. During the internship, I conducted tree survey field work, database management, mapping, tree survey data analysis and urban tree plantation benefits microclimate simulation. During the internship I worked with the professors and students at Clark University and University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and the staff from Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR), Worcester Tree …

Cluster Approach: Gaps And Shortcomings In Un Coordination Of Humanitarian Actors In Post-Earthquake Haiti And Implications For Policy Concerns Of The New Humanitarian School Of Thought, Naomi Vinbury

Sustainability and Social Justice

This research analyzes the role of the UN OCHA Cluster Approach in the context of Haiti after the 2010 earthquake. Gaps and shortcomings of the current humanitarian model are identified and the Sustainable Livelihoods Approach is considered as a model to be used as an instrument to inform the New Humanitarian school of thought. A recent history of Haiti and the political relationship to the international community will be reviewed as context that outlines the vulnerabilities that created a risk society leading up to the disaster. A brief history of the recent trajectory of humanitarian aid will be reviewed and …

Contentions At The Human-Wildlife Interface: An Analysis Of Chicago’S Coyote Management Plan, Ilanah Taves

Sustainability and Social Justice

Urbanization and habitat fragmentation cause animal species to either adjust to human- dominated landscapes or suffer population loss. This paper examines the municipal challenges associated with coyotes, an animal successfully adapting to cities throughout North America. The presence of predators in highly developed areas challenges conceptual and spatial attempts to separate cities from nature. This report’s introductory sections critically examine the alienation of wildlife from the urban form. Theoretical perspectives from the discipline of animal geographies are employed to deconstruct problematic relationships between cities and animals, and reimagine a metropolis that considers the presence of nonhuman others. Engaging Jennifer Wolch’s …

Media, Family, And Friends: Normative Environment And Global Citizenship Identification, Stephen Reysen Ph.D., Iva Katzarska-Miller Ph.D.

Journal of International and Global Studies

Prior research has shown that Bulgarian participants report greater global normative environment and identification with global citizens than U.S. participants; it has also shown that the relationship between country sample (U.S. vs. Bulgaria) and global citizenship identification is mediated by the perception that one’s normative environment promotes a global citizen identity. In Study 1 of the present research, we examined the number of global (vs. domestic stories) in U.S. and Bulgarian print media to find a greater number of global stories in Bulgarian media. In Study 2, Bulgarians’ frequency of media consumption was associated with self-reported global citizenship identification, and …

Protection Of Human Rights Or State Sovereignty: Which Way To Go?, Tarique Niazi Ph.D.

Journal of International and Global Studies

Book review on:

• Hehir, A. & Murray, R. Protecting Human Rights in the 21st Century. London: Routledge.

• Yilmaz, G. Minority Rights in Turkey: A Battlefield for Europeanization. London: Routledge, 2017.

Mikkonen, S. & Suutari, P. (Eds.). Music, Art And Diplomacy: East-West Cultural Interactions And The Cold War. London: Routledge, 2016., Myna German Ph.D.

Journal of International and Global Studies

Book review.

Lopez, Jr., D.S. & Thupten Jinpa. Dispelling The Darkness: A Jesuit’S Quest For The Soul Of Tibet. Cambridge, Ma: Harvard University Press, 2017., Enrico Beltramini Ph.D.

Journal of International and Global Studies

Book review.

Stiglitz, J.E. & B.C. Greenwald (Eds.) Creating A Learning Society: A New Approach To Growth, Development, And Social Progress. Kenneth J. Arrow Lecture Series. Columbia University Press, 2014., Suwithida Charungkaittikul Ph.D.

Journal of International and Global Studies

Book review.