Digital Commons Network^™

A Review On Ecosystem Services And Their Threats In The Conservation Of Nyando Wetland, Kisumu County, Kenya, Joseph K. Maithya, Felix L .M. Ming’Ate, Sammy C. Letema

Tanzania Journal of Science

Wetlands are vital ecosystems as they are essential to human health, wellbeing, ecological integrity and national development as well as in the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals. However, despite their contributions to human wellbeing, they have been destroyed and degraded over years. The aim of this paper is to review literature on the ecosystem services in Nyando wetland ecosystem and how they have been helpful to the well-being of its residents and also to determine the threats to the Nyando ecosystem services. A total of 88 documents were reviewed out of 20,400 documents from the Google engine search. It …

Odu Researchers Work With Pamunkey Tribe To Address Sea Level Rise On Its Lands, Amy Matzke-Fawcett

News Items

No abstract provided.

A Critical Reflection On The Role Of Power And Privilege In Conducting International Development Research, Margaret Hegwood

Purdue Journal of Service-Learning and International Engagement

In this article, the author reflects on the role of power and privilege during her interactions with international partners. She dissects how factors like social justice, intersectionality, and intercultural competence, which go beyond technical expertise, can dramatically influence the success of international projects. The goal of this paper is to provide insight for those interested in working in international development, while discussing challenges that are frequently unaddressed in the field.

New Usage Reports, New Insights! How To Use Your Counter Data In Decision Making Processes, Athena Hoeppner, Sonja Lendi, Kornelia Junge

Charleston Library Conference

Librarians have been receiving COUNTER Release 5 reports since February 2019 and are becoming familiar with the new robust usage data. In this paper three experts explain how the new usage reports provide greater clarity and how they give insight into users’ actions. Athena Hoeppner outlines the new reports and metrics and explains how to interpret book usage data and how to use the data effectively in decision making process. Sonja Lendi focuses on journal usage data and the differences between Release 4 and Release 5 of the COUNTER Code of Practice. She also explains Distributed Usage Logging (DUL). This …

Parish Records And The History Of Philippine Epidemics, Peter Xenos

Philippine Studies: Historical and Ethnographic Viewpoints

The Philippine epidemic experience suggests a research perspective that is attentive to local spatial variation and also recognizes connections across long periods of time, particularly across the Spanish and American colonial eras and the epidemic experience then and since. Among historical materials that need to be incorporated into the discourse and connected with evidence from modern, spatially disaggregated data systems are parish archival records of births, deaths, and marriages; households; and population changes. This research note outlines the Philippine parish records and presents illustrative results from twenty-eight parishes. Those records include local time series of deaths from which mortality crises, …

Wildfires Force Thousands To Evacuate Near Los Angeles: Here’S How The 2020 Western Fire Season Got So Extreme, Mojtaba Sadegh, Ata Akbari Asanjan, Mohammad Reza Alizadeh

Civil Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Two wildfires erupted on the outskirts of cities near Los Angeles, forcing more than 100,000 people to evacuate their homes Monday as powerful Santa Ana winds swept the flames through dry grasses and brush. With strong winds and extremely low humidity, large parts of California were under red flag warnings.

High fire risk days have been common this year as the 2020 wildfire season shatters records across the West.

More than 4 million acres have burned in California – 4% of the state’s land area and more than double the previous annual record. Five of the state’s six largest historical …

Newsroom, Georgia Southern University

Newsroom (2006-2023)

• Georgia Southern professor organizes presentation on South China Sea disputes

• Georgia Southern featured on Princeton Review list of green colleges for 10th consecutive year

Given Harper On Study Showing Lead Contamination In Illinois Venison, Charlie Schlenker

Interviews for WGLT

A new study shows lead contamination in ground venison harvested in Illinois. Given Harper, Professor of Biology at IWU, discusses the findings of his study with Charlie Schlenker from WGLT. The study was co-authored with IWU Professor of Environmental Studies Aaron Schultz Wilson, Professor of Chemistry Manori Perera, alum Genevieve Alexander, and veterinarian Matt Fraker. The study has been published in The Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology.

The Future Of The Public Trust: The Muddied Waters Of Rockweed Management In Maine, Sarah M. Reiter, Dillon Post, Lisa Wedding, Aaron L. Strong

Ocean and Coastal Law Journal

Seaweeds, or more properly, intertidal macroalgae have never been easy to classify—by law or by science: they are not part of the animal kingdom, nor part of the plant kingdom (and scientific controversies about their phylogenetic placement abound), they are not completely on terra firma, nor completely submerged in ocean water. One such organism that exists at the space in between land and sea—the brown alga commonly known as Rockweed (Ascophyllum nodosum) presents an intriguing legal question with implications that extend far beyond the shoreline. Recently, in Ross v. Acadian Seaplants Ltd. , the Supreme Judicial Court of Maine (Court) …

Election 2020 | How Climate Change, Health Care Intertwine, Ohio University College Of Arts & Sciences

All Forum Articles

No abstract provided.

Conquer And Prevail Issue 37 Oct 22 2020, Wofford College. Office Of Marketing And Communications

Conquer and Prevail Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Researchers Find Lead Contamination In Shotgun-Harvested Deer, Rachel Mccarthy

News and Events (Discontinued Series)

No abstract provided.

Educational Simulation Design To Transform Learning In Earth And Environmental Sciences, Michelle Zhu, Matthew Johnson, Aditya Dutta, Nicole Panorkou, Bharath Samanthula, Pankaj Lal, Weitian Wang

Department of Computer Science Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

This Innovative Practice Full Paper presents several educational simulation designs to transform learning in the earth and environmental sciences. In recent years, K-12 education has seen a widespread pedagogical shift from traditional textbook-based learning to a student-centered interactive learning environment. Innovative teaching technologies including games and simulations are exploited to make learning fun and engaging for students at various grades. As technology continues to advances, stakeholders such as teachers, parents, and educational policymakers are motivated to know the most effective technology platform to engage students in active learning. In this paper, we discuss some useful simulation techniques from the perspectives …

Advocacy And Lobbying As Instruments For Public Relations In Nigerian Special Libraries, James Ngushin Mngutyo, Elizabeth Okon Inyang Unn, Obisike N. Atuh

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Nigerian institutions and society at large are shroud in deep, prevailing and wide spread ignorance of special libraries’ importance. As a result these libraries are underutilized hence the slow and little national development being witnessed. Advocacy and lobbying are therefore identified as necessary instruments for public relations in dispelling this deep rooted, prevailing and widespread ignorance that has prevented Nigerian special libraries from being optimally utilized for national development. In this light, the paper takes a look at the concept of special libraries, public relations and more specifically advocacy and lobbying and proceeds to examine the need to use advocacy …

Effects Of Urbanization And Habitat On The Diet And Reproduction Of Red-Shouldered Hawks In Central California, Catherine Y. Fisher

Master's Theses

Urbanization alters biological community interactions and trophic structures compared to natural habitats; these changes may be reflected in the diets of apex predators such as raptors. The red-shouldered hawk (Buteo lineatus) is a dietary generalist that is expanding from natural and rural habitats into urbanized areas. In this study, direct observation was used to quantify the diet and reproductive success of red-shouldered hawks in Santa Clara County, California during the 2019 breeding season. GIS methods were used to quantify the nesting habitat and level of urbanization at each nest. Hawk diet consisted of mammals (50.4% by frequency and 77.7% by …

Peak Grain Forecasts For The Us High Plains Amid Withering Waters, Assaad Mrad, Gabriel G. Katul, Delphis F. Levia, Andrew J. Guswa, Elizabeth W. Boyer, Michael Bruen, Darryl E. Carlyle-Moses, Rachel Coyte, Irena F. Creed, Nick Van De Giesen, Domenico Grasso, David M. Hannah, Janice E. Hudson, Vincent Humphrey, Shin'ichi Iida, Robert B. Jackson, Tomo'omi Kumagai, Pilar Llorens, Beate Michalzik, Kazuki Nanko, Catherine A. Peters, John S. Selker, Doerthe Tetzlaff, Maciej Zalewski, Bridget R. Scanlon

Engineering: Faculty Publications

Irrigated agriculture contributes 40% of total global food production. In the US High Plains, which produces more than 50 million tons per year of grain, as much as 90% of irrigation originates from groundwater resources, including the Ogallala aquifer. In parts of the High Plains, groundwater resources are being depleted so rapidly that they are considered nonrenewable, compromising food security. When groundwater becomes scarce, groundwater withdrawals peak, causing a subsequent peak in crop production. Previous descriptions of finite natural resource depletion have utilized the Hubbert curve. By coupling the dynamics of groundwater pumping, recharge, and crop production, Hubbert-like curves emerge, …

Ecological Indicators In A Derived Savanna Disturbed By Oil Spillage And Vegetation Fire In Nigeria, Emmanuel Nzegbule

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

No abstract provided.

The Use Of Green Pond Conglomerate As Building Stone In Morris County, New Jersey, Gregory A. Pope

Department of Earth and Environmental Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Green Pond Conglomerate (GPC) is a maroon colored quartzite with white quartz pebbles, a classic “puddingstone”. GPC derives from a NW-SW-trending sliver of Paleozoic sediments, the “Green Pond Outlier”, surrounded by older metamorphic and igneous rocks of Morris and Passaic Counties. Buildings, retaining walls, field fences, and monuments incorporate the durable and attractive stone, in a distinct geographic area of Morris County. Several instances of structures completely constructed or faced with GPC occur in and around Morristown, limited to affluent houses and one prominent church. In these cases, GPC stones were dressed and faced, a labor-intensive effort. Elsewhere in the …

The Nexstem Program: A Community Assets Program That Fosters The Next Generation Of Stem Leaders, Maggie Evans, Sheri L. Glowinski, Pennie Gray, Rebecca Roesner

Together We RISE (Making Excellence Inclusive)

Underrepresentation in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields by individuals with low socioeconomic status (SES) is a long-standing concern. Funded in late 2018, the NexSTEM Program (the “Program”) is a National Science Foundation multi-institution consortia S-STEM grant-funded program at Illinois Wesleyan University (IWU), Illinois State University (ISU), and Heartland Community College (HCC) with the goal of reducing barriers for low SES students from Central Illinois enrolling in and completing STEM degree programs at the three institutions and identifying effective, and sustainable, programmatic components. To help address barriers, the Program awards 2- and 4-year scholarships to academically successful students with …

2020 12th Annual Student Center For Science Engagement Research Symposium, Student Center For Science Engagement

Student Center for Science Engagement Research Symposium

Student presentations in Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Earth Science, Environmental Science, Computer Science, Mathematics, & Psychology

Please note, this conference was held remotely due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Sovereign Lands, Brent D. Chicken, Amanda J. Dick

Oil and Gas, Natural Resources, and Energy Journal

No abstract provided.

The Fierce Green Fire: Vol. 11 Issue 2, Wofford College. Department Of Environmental Studies

The Fierce Green Fire

No abstract provided.

Conquer And Prevail Issue 36 Oct 15 2020, Wofford College. Office Of Marketing And Communications

Conquer and Prevail Newsletter

No abstract provided.

From Beowulf Through Virginia Woolf To The Coastal Wolves Of British Columbia: Animals, Interdisciplinarity And The Environmental Humanities, Pamela Banting

The Goose

Researching and teaching literary works about wild animals within the university system can present productive challenges both within and across disciplinary structures and conventions.

Carbon Footprints As Cultural-Ecological Metaphors By Anita Girvan, Alexandra Simpson

The Goose

Review of Anita Girvan’s Carbon Footprints as Cultural-Ecological Metaphors.

Environmental Stewardship Promotes A Sense Of Place: Coral Health Monitoring On Maui, Cynthia Brunold-Conesa

The International Journal of Ecopsychology (IJE)

Environmental stewardship is an integral aspect of the Montessori curriculum. It usually includes care of the school’s setting (classrooms, grounds, gardens, eating areas, etc.) and, depending on each school’s unique situation, ideally extends into the larger environment in which the school is situated. During the 2014-15 school year, our class of Middle School students at Montessori Hale O Keiki (MHOK) were asked to select community service projects that were directly relevant to environmental and/or ecological issues on Maui. For our students, Coral Watch was the perfect project through which to integrate marine science, environmental stewardship, and community service. Through a …

Morita Therapy According To Morita: Dwelling In The Tension Between Hardy And Fragile Life, Peg Levine

The International Journal of Ecopsychology (IJE)

At the turn of the last century, Shōma Morita, MD (1874-1938), observed the ways thriving habitats revitalize and sustain humans, other mammals, birds, insects, fish, trees, fungi, and other life. Compatibly, Morita progressed his theory of peripheral consciousness (mushojūshin), which informed his therapeutic ecological habitat and methods. In Morita’s era, scholars and clinicians mulled over diverse hypotheses on consciousness and how consciousness theories (or lack of a theory) influence therapy and places of delivery. Largely by the 1980s, phenomenological inquiry was displaced (if not discredited) by advocates and funders of cognitive science. Therein, consciousness was reframed as …

Medieval Thinking In The 21st Century: Crystal Balls, Black Swans, And Darwin's Finches In The Time Of Corona, George Conesa

The International Journal of Ecopsychology (IJE)

Twenty years into the 21st Century, a sizable swath of the world populace thinks, makes decisions, and defines itself in a conflicted and contradictory chimera. Millions of individuals make use of cutting-edge technologies while simultaneously throwing salt over their shoulders and consulting with the local ‘healer’ about any number of illnesses--to caricaturize, a sort of medieval-thinker-tech-savvy orientation. It is here affirmed that the practical consequences of this agentic amalgamation, modes of thinking, and “being in the world” are counterproductive at best and self-defeating at worst, resulting in much uncertainty and leading to, for example, mixed messages in public health …

Indigenous Animistic Belief Systems And Integrated Science: Perspective On Humans’ Relationship With Nature And The Coronavirus Pandemic, Cesario Garcia

The International Journal of Ecopsychology (IJE)

This paper explores some perspectives of indigenous animistic belief systems from researchers who have made observations while studying amongst North American tribes. Specifically, it will address indigenous interactions with the natural world and, in particular, their belief that humans are a part of nature. Next, other perspectives, not rooted in Indigenous belief systems, will be discussed that demonstrate how other cultures and individuals across the globe also view humans as a part of nature, including concepts found in Morita Therapy (Morita, 1928), Arne Naess’ (1987) theory of the ‘ecological self’, and nations around the world that are implementing policies that …

Meeting The Gray Fox, Pablo Deustua Jochamowitz

The International Journal of Ecopsychology (IJE)

No abstract provided.