Digital Commons Network^™

Points-To-Consider On The Return Of Results In Epigenetic Research., Stephanie O M Dyke, Katie M. Saulnier, Charles Dupras, Amy P. Webster, Karen Maschke, Mark Rothstein, Reiner Siebert, Jörn Walter, Stephan Beck, T Pastinen, Yann Joly

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

As epigenetic studies become more common and lead to new insights into health and disease, the return of individual epigenetic results to research participants, in particular in large-scale epigenomic studies, will be of growing importance. Members of the International Human Epigenome Consortium (IHEC) Bioethics Workgroup considered the potential ethical, legal, and social issues (ELSI) involved in returning epigenetic research results and incidental findings in order to produce a set of 'Points-to-consider' (P-t-C) for the epigenetics research community. These P-t-C draw on existing guidance on the return of genetic research results, while also integrating the IHEC Bioethics Workgroup's ELSI research on …

Shifting Views: How Experiential Learning Shapes University Students’ Sense Of Civic Engagement And Solidarity On Migration, Karen Larke

Master's Theses

Higher education institutions have put more weight on the use of experiential learning to provide students with opportunities to grow intellectually and develop as engaged citizens. Many recent studies have looked at the quality and educational impacts of a variety of experiential and service learning experiences, yet few have explored what other ideological impacts may result from specific non-curricular experiential learning experiences. This study measured the impact of experiential learning, in the form of week-long migration-themed trips, on undergraduate student’s self-reported levels of solidarity, and related measures of civic engagement and political engagement and activism around migration issues. This study …

Facilitating Greenhouse Gas Reduction And Climate Change Adaptation Within The Coastal Zone: A Policy Analysis For The California Coastal Commission, Nicole Young

Master's Theses

California is already experiencing impacts to its coastline due to climate change, and more severe impacts are anticipated if greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise. These climate change impacts are especially strong within the California coastal zone, which falls under the jurisdiction of the California Coastal Commission. The Commission has a history of rigorous environmental protection and is committed to protecting California’s coast through proactive planning and regulation, however they will need to initiate coastal policies with ambitious targets to facilitate effective climate change adaptation and mitigation. This study analyzed existing California climate policies and Coastal Commission policies to identify …

Watering Black Roots: Exploring Black Ecological Identity Development Within Nature-Based Expressive Arts Therapy, Stormy Saint-Val

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Nature-based expressive arts therapy promotes the holistic healing and recovery of individuals by interweaving the practices of ecopsychology, ecotherapy, and expressive arts therapy. These interventions have been proven to mediate ranges of symptomologies, such as anxiety disorders and PTSD. Research conducted by the U.S. National Park Services indicates that African- Americans are less likely to have a positive relationship to nature than all other racial groups. The amplification of this report without introspection of its context perpetuates racialized generalizations. This can limit a black individual’s ability to embrace their ecological identity and be receptive of nature-based expressive arts therapy interventions. …

‘We Can Simply Not Survive Without Education’ But Can’T We?, Cynthia Wijtsma

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines dynamics of the right to education and argues that this right is used to continue to spread an education system that still has colonial roots and aims at extracting people from their traditional way of living into a western consumer culture. It does this through working towards the universal enrollment of children into a western-style education system that caters towards a western consumer culture. Taking Nepal as the main example, this thesis argues that the right to education and its advocate equivalent, the Sustainable Development Goal 4, have been used to bring about an education system that …

Access To Education For Ethiopian Refugees In Cairo: A Refugee Centered Approach, Cynthia Wijtsma

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis looked at the access to education for Ethiopian refugees in Cairo. Due to legal constraints, Ethiopian refugees do not have access to the Egyptian public school system and are often unable to afford the private schools. Many Ethiopian refugees are therefore depending on non-formal forms of education. This study aimed to look at which forms of education Ethiopian refugees access, and how they access these forms. To do so, ethnographic research and interviews were conducted among several Ethiopian refugee communities and different stakeholders in the field of education. This study found that in contrast to general understanding, Ethiopian …

Teacher Perceptions Of Environmental Science In Rural Northwestern New Mexico Public Schools, Marie Quiahuitl Julienne

Organization, Information and Learning Sciences ETDs

In this study, I explored what teachers perceive as the factors that impact their teaching of environmental science in rural secondary level schools in northwestern New Mexico. I adapted Bronfenbrenner’s (1994) ecological systems model, based on four environmental subsystem levels (microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem, and macrosystem), as the conceptual framework to address the major research question of this study, and developed 18 interview questions to explore teachers’ perceptions of factors that influence their teaching of environmental science. I investigated the perspectives science teachers have about environmental science topics and the influences they perceive that affect how they teach environmental science, and …

Environmental Racism: Nuclear Waste As An Agent Of Oppression?, Andrea Boeckers

Across the Bridge: The Merrimack Undergraduate Research Journal

This research seeks to analyze the decision-making processes of managing nuclear waste for countries dealing with this problem, as well as the interplay between national and local governments, private companies, the populace, and native nations. The long-term storage of nuclear waste is a serious global problem, and despite the millions of people enjoying the benefits of nuclear power, most refuse to accept the burdens associated with its waste. The driving question for this research largely ties to how governments attempt to designate who will bear the burden of these wastes. When a problem needs to be solved, yet there are …

Building An Ecological Church: Laudato Si’, Climate Change, And Clergy In The Roman Catholic Diocese Of Syracuse, Dominic Wilkins

Theses - ALL

Interest in the relationships between the Catholic Church and the environment has grown in recent years, especially following Pope Francis’s 2015 encyclical Laudato Si’, or On the Care for Our Common Home. His letter was widely praised by many Catholic and non-Catholic scholars, journalists, and activists who suggested that this encyclical marked a massive shift in Catholic views about the environment, particularly the climate crisis. Yet despite this early hope, policies around the world remain generally unchanged and the promise early commentators saw in Laudato Si’ lies unfulfilled.

This thesis investigates whether the Catholic Church has attempted to act on …

Desiring Devastated Landscapes: Love After Ecological Collapse, Courtney Eleanor O'Dell-Chaib

Dissertations - ALL

This dissertation examines arguments within religion and ecology, particularly within the ecospiritual movement and methodology called the new cosmology, that humans should cultivate and sustain emotional relationships with nature by caring for nonhuman others as our evolutionary kin. Focusing on the U.S. Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Rita, and the British Petroleum oil spill, I argue that new cosmology affords few opportunities to think about intimacies with severely damaged and toxic environments. I consider how to rethink common themes in religion and ecology, like sacrality, kinship, and hope, within the context of encounters with toxic creatures and damaged ecosystems. …

An Ethical Analysis Of Reproductive Justice In The Context Of The Egenics Movement In The United States, Bernetta Welch

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The history of forced sterilization and the American cultural agreement with this practice robbed women of color of control of their own bodies, destinies, and communities. Negative eugenics as genetic proof of low intelligence, low possibility, and low productivity fed the system of compulsory sterilization even though the science proved faulty and incorrect. As advances in medical technology and genetic science increases, eugenics is making a return into the American psyche. Vulnerable populations which include women of color make reproduction and the subsequent control of their bodies vulnerable once again.

The Reproductive Justice Movement is a collaboration of organized women …

The Santa Clara, 2019-05-09, Santa Clara University

The Santa Clara

No abstract provided.

Nature As Privilege: How Environmental Racism Changes The Access To Fresh Air And The Effects On New York City’S Communities, Sarah C. Morrison

Student Theses 2015-Present

This paper serves to addresses the issue of environmental racism in relation to New York City, and more specifically comparing the South Bronx and Central Brooklyn, often characterized as low-income and high-minority populations with their white counterparts. New York, among other urban centers in the United States serves as an example of environmental racism because of the discrepancy in high air pollution levels in marginalized communities, the subsequent negative health effects (specifically asthma), and the lack of green spaces. The root of this issue is prominent in the history and construction of New York during the 1900s. The construction of …

Nature As Privilege: How Environmental Racism Changes The Access To Fresh Air And The Effects On New York City’S Communities, Sarah C. Morrison

Student Theses 2015-Present

This paper serves to addresses the issue of environmental racism in relation to New York City, and more specifically comparing the South Bronx and Central Brooklyn, often characterized as low- income and high-minority populations with their white counterparts. New York, among other urban centers in the United States serves as an example of environmental racism because of the discrepancy in high air pollution levels in marginalized communities, the subsequent negative health effects (specifically asthma), and the lack of green spaces. The root of this issue is prominent in the history and construction of New York during the 1900s. The construction …

Vista: May 9, 2019, University Of San Diego

USD Vista (1965-)

No abstract provided.

Situating Social Sustainability On Spartanburg’S Northside: An Engaged Neighborhood Study Of Community, History, And Place Making, Helen S. Seddelmeyer

Community Based Research

From the very beginning of my research, I have been interested in sustainability and what it means to be sustainable. I was previously partial to environmental sustainability but came to the realization that understanding social sustainability is a more relevant and important topic for the Northside at this time. When a neighborhood is socially sustainable, they are investing in the next generation, building sincere relationships founded on trust, are adaptable, and have networks with civil society organizations such as schools, churches and businesses. Saffron Woodcraft defines social sustainability as, “a process for creating sustainable, successful places that promote well-being by …

Green Ring Wayfinding Map, Lorena Nascimento, Adam Brunelle, Arlene Amaya

Student Research Symposium

Lents is one of the most diverse neighborhoods in Portland, with a higher percentage of Latinos and Asians than the average city demographics. The neighbors are either long-term homeowners, people displaced from North Portland due to the gentrification, and new residents seeking economic development areas with an affordable price. The Green Ring Wayfinding Map is a community place-making project that improves neighborhood safety, accessibility, and enjoyment through conversations and collaboration across Lents diversity and geography. After three years of focus groups and surveys with the Lents residents, a Green Ring Wayfinding Map is being created to praise the values, branding, …

Cultural Narratives On Constraints To Community Engagement In Urban Water Restoration, Amit Pradhananga, Mae Davenport, Emily Green

Journal of Contemporary Water Research and Education

Natural resource professionals increasingly recognize that water protection and restoration efforts require not only technical solutions, but also the active engagement of stakeholders who live and work in the local community. People of color, and those of lower income brackets, are frequently underrepresented in water-related programming or decision-making, although they are often disproportionately affected by water problems. Effective engagement of diverse community members in water programs and projects requires understanding and addressing constraints to action. We conducted 25 interviews with community members who live or work in a highly urbanized Minnesota watershed to explore perceived obstacles to community engagement in …

Water Scavenging From Roadside Springs In Appalachia, Leigh-Anne Krometis, Hannah Patton, Austin Wozniak, Emily Sarver

Journal of Contemporary Water Research and Education

Significant challenges in the provision of safe drinking water and appropriate, effective sanitation remain in the United States, particularly among communities with few financial resources and/or situated in challenging terrain. Though previous formal research is limited, anecdotal reports suggest that some households in Appalachia may rely on untreated, unregulated roadside “springs” as a primary source of potable water. This effort monitored the water quality at twenty-one of these springs in Central Appalachia and identified potential motivations for this behavior through volunteer surveys in order to better define community challenges and to establish communication for future outreach. The majority (>80%) …

Economic Development And Peace: To Be Pursued In Tandem, Allison Fisher

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

Peace and economic development are often regarded as separate fields with little overlap. The association with the field of economics makes the latter seem more measurable, more tangible, and therefore more academic. However, a shift is taking place as peace practitioners and researchers discover ways to compare the level of peace within and between countries. Current research in peace studies shows a salient link between the level of economic development and the level of peace within societies. Researchers that work in these two fields must pursue them simultaneously and jointly. The purpose of this paper is to highlight evidence of …

How Does Media Coverage Of Oil Pipelines Affect Governmental Response?, Haley Walter

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

This study’s purpose was to first explore the significance of agenda-setting, framing, and inference, which assert that the media’s daily coverage of event significant impact the way it is understood by the public. Then, I aimed to apply this understanding specifically to media coverage of the oil pipeline process of Dakota Access Pipeline.

To this end, I conducted a content analysis of articles from The Bismarck Tribune, the Associated Press, The New York Timesand The Wall Street Journal between January 1^st, 2015 and January 1^st, 2016, and July 25^th, 2016 and October …

Community-Based Healthcare | Interlace Of Biophilic Design In Outpatient Facilities, Joshua Robinson

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

This thesis questions how architects can redesign typical healthcare typology in response to the medical and sociological needs of the community while integrating the measures of wellness and biophilic design. By redefining architectural programs within a wellness clinic, this can allow the facility to prioritize the communities needs through non-medical determinants. The research will look at both the social and medical needs of a community, along with the Seven Standards of Wellness as defined by the Well Building Standard and The Fourteen Patterns of Biophilic Design as defined by the Terrapin Bright Green, to develop a connection between the facility …

Two Arguments For Extending Legal Personhood To Nature, Hailey Walley

Honors Theses

This thesis will articulate new sorts of arguments under a legal philosophy framework that I believe can be used to protect the environment, but which also have a chance at convincing a wide range of citizens and politicians. The conclusion for which I will argue is that the United States should extend legal personhood to Nature. I will first provide detailed analyses of two countries that have already extended rights to nature, Ecuador and Bolivia. I will then proceed to compare the two cases and discuss what aspects of their models can and cannot be applied to the United States, …

Spring 2019 Commencement Program, University Of Alabama In Huntsville

Commencement Programs

No abstract provided.

After The Storm: The Importance Of Acknowledging Environmental Justice In Sustainable Development And Disaster Preparedness, Brie Sherwin

Duke Environmental Law & Policy Forum

The past decade has brought on some of the worst cases of flooding due to natural disasters and the resulting leaching of some of the most hazardous environmental contaminants back into nearby, often low-income, communities. Natural disasters are not “great equalizers” when it comes to recovery. Lower-income individuals are more likely to live in neighborhoods that are more susceptible to flooding and are near industrial areas and hazardous waste sites, leaving them more vulnerable to toxic leaks from storm damage. There is also a serious inequity when it comes to access to recovery based on average income levels of neighborhoods. …

Panel 3 – “Lasting” And Closing Remarks, Summer Quintana, Brie Sherwin, Keith Hirokawa, Mike Woodard, Heather Keefer, Kyle Medin

Duke Environmental Law & Policy Forum

No abstract provided.

Extra-Activism: Counter-Mapping And Data Justice, Dorothy Kidd

Media Studies

Neither big data, nor data justice are particularly new. Data collection, in the form of land surveys and mapping, was key to successive projects of European imperialist and then capitalist extraction of natural resources. Geo-spatial instruments have been used since the fifteenth century to highlight potential sites of mineral, oil, and gas extraction, and inscribe European economic, cultural and political control across indigenous territories. Although indigenous groups consistently challenged maintained their territorial sovereignty, and resisted corporate and state surveillance practices, they were largely unable to withstand the combined onslaught of surveyors, armed personnel, missionaries and government bureaucrats. This article examines …

Leadership For Promoting Sustainable Development: A Study Of Nongovernmental Organization Leaders In Haiti, Adelin Rival

Theses & Dissertations

Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) have played an increasingly important role in global governance. Since the end of the Second World War, they have been involved in every aspect of social, economic, environmental, and institutional life in the whole world. The presence of NGOs has been seen as a necessity for the developing world, but much more so for low-income countries such as Haiti. The amount of scholarship dedicated to the post-2010 Haiti earthquake revitalization indicates that Haiti must heavily rely on the leadership of nongovernmental organizations so that the country can achieve its sustainable development goals by 2030. However, significant delays …

Confronting Environmental Inequality: Assessing And Mitigating Students' Exposure To Near Roadway Air Pollution In Silicon Valley, Christopher M. Bacon, Iris T. Stewart, Emma Hokoda, Martín Pérez, Genevieve Clow, Rawley Loken, Lindsay Tenes, Katie O'Neill, Socorro Madrigal, Eva Marron

Environmental Studies and Sciences

Near roadway vehicle emissions, such as particulate matter (PM), nitrous oxides, and other contaminants, are major sources of air pollution, which can cause respiratory and cardiovascular illnesses.¹ Chronic air and noise pollution exposures can also negatively influence cognitive function and student learning. Of greatest concern are concentrations within 500 feet of high traffic street edges, but concentrations can be harmful at distances up to 1320 ft.² Vulnerable populations such as children, the elderly, or those with impaired health are likely to suffer the greatest impacts. In 2003, the California legislature passed SB 352, prohibiting building new schools within …

Leading Change In Fresh Food Access: Increasing Food Security Through Urban Agriculture, Kelly Rae Kirkpatrick

Leadership Education Capstones

This pragmatic qualitative case study explored leadership strategies regarding urban agriculture related to food deserts in the research city. One-to-one interviews, a focus group, and a review of documents were the data sources for the study. The themes emerging from the investigation were a moral obligation, policy and protocol influence on individual practice, disproportionate access, health factors, cost factors, take it to them, building community with food gardens, and the need for farmers to grow food. This study utilized a political ecology framework that acknowledges the relationship between environmental, economic, political, and social factors. With rapid population growth expected in …