Digital Commons Network^™

Neoliberal Legacies: Peru, Potatoes And The Challenges Of Agricultural Reform, Emma Belliveau

Honors Scholar Theses

Peru and the potato; the two have been linked together for almost 10,000 years. This relationship has developed and born rich food, cultural heritage, and agricultural tradition. Once Spain, one of the dominant global and colonial powers, entered the mix in the 16th C, the makeup of Peru's potato growing industry changed for good. While the potato catapulted Europe's population out of hunger and allowed the Western world to modernize, Peru became merely a stomping ground for raw materials. The economy of Peru--to this day--is dependent on exporting raw materials, which means exporting agricultural goods as well. At one time …

Combined Use Of Sentinel‐1 Sar And Landsat Sensors Products For Residual Soil Moisture Retrieval Over Agricultural Fields In The Upper Blue Nile Basin, Ethiopia, Getachew Ayehu, Tsegaye Tadesse, Berhan Gessesse, Yibeltal Yigrem, Assefa M. Melesse

National Drought Mitigation Center: Faculty Publications

The objective of this paper is to investigate the potential of sentinel‐1 SAR sensor products and the contribution of soil roughness parameters to estimate volumetric residual soil moisture (RSM) in the Upper Blue Nile (UBN) basin, Ethiopia. The backscatter contribution of crop residue water content was estimated using Landsat sensor product and the water cloud model (WCM). The surface roughness parameters were estimated from the Oh and Baghdadi models. A feed‐forward artificial neural network (ANN) method was tested for its potential to translate SAR backscattering and surface roughness input variables to RSM values. The model was trained for three inversion …

Radical Utu : Critical Ideas And Ideals Of Wangari Muta Maathai, Besi Brillian Muhonja

Ohio University Press Open Access Books

Wangari Muta Maathai was a scholar-activist known for founding the Green Belt Movement, an environmental campaign that earned her the Nobel Peace Prize. While many studies of Maathai highlight her activism, few examine Maathai as a scholar whose contributions to various disciplines and causes spanned more than three decades.

In Radical Utu: Critical Ideas and Ideals of Wangari Muta Maathai, Besi Brillian Muhonja presents the words and works of Maathai as theoretical concepts attesting to her contributions to gender equality, democratic spaces, economic equity and global governance, and indigenous African languages and knowledges. Muhonja’s well-rounded portrait of Maathai’s ideas …

Creating New Futures: Collaborative Design Practice, Josea Cotto, Nick Jenisch, Emilie Taylor Welty, Rashidah Williams, Anna Yoachim

Pluriversal Design Conference Series

Collaborative design offers one opportunity to address longstanding inequities in the built environment. The work of the Albert and Tina Small Center for Collaborative Design, the community design center of the Tulane School of Architecture in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA, serves as a case study to better understand the process and possibilities of this practice. Founded fifteen years ago, the Center believes each of us should have the opportunity to shape the places we live, work, and play. At the heart of the Center’s work is a commitment to iteration, responsiveness, and action. Unique in its structure for a university- …

Speculation Of The Purpose Of Life In 2050 From Kyoto: Case Study On Transition Design In Japan, Masaki Iwabuchi, Daijiro Mizuno

Pluriversal Design Conference Series

Japanese life and career situation have become opaque due to nationwide problems such as the collapse of lifetime employment, the aging society with declining birth rates, and the drop in GDP manifested in a reduction in international competitiveness. Statistics show that the younger generation of Japan has significantly lower ratings of self-confidence, willingness to contribute to society, and hopes for the future, compared to other nations. Under these circumstances, we aimed to speculate on a humane vision where everyone can live with a meaningful purpose (*ikigai* in Japanese) from the historical city of Kyoto, Japan. Using the theories underpinning Transition …

The Role Of Socio-Technical Instruments In Craft And Design Practice In Indonesia, Prananda Luffiansyah Malasan, Meirina Triharini, Muhammad Ihsan

Pluriversal Design Conference Series

Craft and design practice has emerged as a tool to improve the economic and social conditions in various countries. Many approaches have been formulated, particularly participatory design (PD) method to bring a democratic design process. However, the narrow focus of PD on micro activities tends to neglect wider contextual factors, such as formal and informal types of institutions. Based on the study of the development of craft products organized by the design center in Indonesia, this paper attempts to identify the diverse interests of the actors, including the objectives of the design center, the target market set by the designers, …

Justice For Juristac: Using International And Comparative Law To Protect Indigenous Lands, Zartner, Dana

Santa Clara Journal of International Law

Justice for Juristac: Using International and Comparative Law to Protect Indigenous Lands

Changes In The Energy Dynasty: Transitioning Away From King Coal. A Case Study Of Energy Transitions In Germany And Poland, Sara Rzegocki

European Union Policy Studies Graduate Symposium

This paper examines the “3-i” framework and to understand energy transitions in the European Union (EU). The EU has prioritized environmental sustainability and declared that EU countries will transition away from coal towards renewable energy. The capacity and priority of transitioning away from coal varies across the EU. Germany and Poland were chosen as case studies to analyze the variables that affect energy transition speed. These two countries were chosen because they have the largest coal reserves in the EU but are drastically different in how they are transitioning their energy sectors. To understand the differences, institutions, interests and ideas …

Wofford Today Summer 2020, Wofford College. Office Of Marketing And Communications

Wofford Today

No abstract provided.

Can Increased Training And Awareness Take Forest Research To New Heights?, David L. Anderson, Sarah Schulwitz, Matthew May, Gregory Hill, Will Koomjian, Christopher J. W. Mcclure

University Author Recognition Bibliography: 2020

Forest canopies contribute significantly to global forest biodiversity and ecosystem functioning, yet are declining and understudied. One reason for a knowledge gap is that accessing forest canopies can be difficult and dangerous. Thus, lack of relevant canopy access skills may compromise knowledge gain and personal safety. We assessed skill levels in canopy access methods and self-perception of skills amongst ecologists worldwide via a web-based survey, available in four languages. We obtained responses from expert arborists as a control group. From 191 respondents who said canopy access is relevant to their research (of 1,070 total responses), we found that ecologists are …

The More We Do, The Less We Gain? Balancing Effort And Efficacy In Managing The Solidago Gigantea Invasion, Dávid U. Nagy, Emily S.J. Rauschert, Tamás Henn, Kevin Cianfaglione, Szilvia Stranczinger, Robert W. Pal

Biological, Geological, and Environmental Faculty Publications

Developing invasive plant management strategies is an important task in modern ecology, conservation biology and land management. Solidago gigantea is considered a problematic invader in Europe and Asia, where it forms dominant stands that can decrease species diversity. There is, therefore, an urgent need for effective management to reduce S. gigantea infestations and their negative impacts. We examined the efficacy of multiple approaches to S. gigantea management in Hungary. In our study, we evaluated the effect of several long-term management techniques such as grazing, mowing and periodic flooding on the invader's density as well as native community diversity. In addition, …

Mixed Consequences Of Divorce On Reproductive Success Of Songbirds Nesting In Agricultural Hayfields, Kylee Dimaggio, Noah G. Perlut, Allan Strong

Environmental Studies Faculty Publications

Agricultural management, particularly haying, can cause synchronous nest failure of ground-nesting songbirds. As a consequence, these birds may subsequently renest and choose a new social mate (divorce). This study (1) quantified within-year and between-year divorce rates of grassland songbirds, and (2) determined if divorce rates differed after haying or predation-caused nest failure, and if so, whether divorce influenced reproductive success. From 2002 to 2017, we monitored 121 Bobolink (Dolichonyx oryzivorus) pairs and 436 Savannah Sparrow (Passerculus sandwichensis) pairs in an agricultural region of Vermont, USA. Within-year and between-year divorce rates were 0–84.9% for Bobolinks and 17–69.1% …

Changes In The Exposure Of California’S Levee-Protected Critical Infrastructure To Flooding Hazard In A Warming Climate, Iman Mallakpour, Mojtaba Sadegh, Amir Aghakouchak

Civil Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Levee systems are an important part of California's water infrastructure, engineered to provide resilience against flooding and reduce flood losses. The growth in California is partly associated with costly infrastructure developments that led to population expansion in the levee protected areas. Therefore, potential changes in the flood hazard could have significant socioeconomic consequences over levee protected areas, especially in the face of a changing climate. In this study, we examine the possible impacts of a warming climate on flood hazard over levee protected land in California. We use gridded maximum daily runoff from global circulation models (GCMs) that represent a …

A Big Fracking Deal: Pennsylvania's Departure From Traditional Rule Of Capture Interpretation Paves Way For Fracking Trespass Claims, Andrew Belack

Washington Journal of Environmental Law & Policy

This Comment explores the Pennsylvania Superior Court's rejection of the traditional rule of capture as it applies to oil extraction from adjacent land parcels using the hydraulic-fracturing method. At the time of writing, the Pennsylvania Superior Court's departure from the rule of capture has opened the door for trespass claims filed by an adjacent land owner, when oil under her property is extracted by a neighboring frack well. This Comment also examines the various health and environmental concerns that are consequent of the hydraulic-fracturing method of oil extraction.

The Role Of Attitudes, Social Norms, And Perceived Behavioral Control As Factors Influencing Urban And Suburban Residential Adoption Of Stormwater Best Management Practices, Francis R. Eanes, Xiaoqing Zhou

All Faculty Scholarship

© 2020, Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature. Nonpoint source pollution conveyed by stormwater in urban areas poses a significant threat to quality of waterbodies in the US. In the absence of systematic regulations on household stormwater management, municipalities rely largely on educational programs to encourage voluntary adoption of lawncare best management practices (BMPs) by residents who slow down and temporarily capture excess stormwater and filter out pollutants entering waterways. The current literature on factors influencing urban dwellers’ adoption of lawncare BMPs mostly focuses on demographics, barriers to adoption, and effectiveness of education and outreach programs. This study …

Using Transformative Learning Theory To Help Prospective Teachers Learn Mathematics That They Already “Know”, Kim Johnson, Dana Olanoff

The Mathematics Enthusiast

Prospective Teachers (PTs) often enter their mathematics content courses believing that they know enough mathematics to teach elementary school. However, research has shown that much of PTs’ knowledge is procedurally based and lacks depth and conceptual understanding. One job of Mathematics Teacher Educators (MTEs) in mathematics content courses is to help PTs become more mathematically proficient, by relearning the mathematics that they believe they already know in deeper, more connected ways. We suggest that one way for MTEs to do this is to incorporate Transformative Learning Theory (TLT) into their mathematics content courses. TLT is an application of andragogy, which …

Learning To Survive: Wicked Problem Education For The Anthropocene Age, William J. F. Keenan

Journal of Global Education and Research

This article addresses major lacunae in higher education from the standpoint of Anthropocenic survival. Wicked problems transcend national, cultural and disciplinary boundaries. Eco-survival, international migration, destabilized global markets, shifts in the balance of strategic power, population pressures, cultural imperialism, post-secular quests for meaning-in-life, ambivalence of bio-scientific progress, to name a selection, are global. The case is put that features of a postmodern orientation to the academic curriculum—transdisciplinarity, transnationalism, wicked problem engagement—are better equipped to meet the fuzzy knowledge interests of tomorrow’s world than traditional mono-disciplinary curricula. However, both subject-based and transdisciplinary approaches can coexist with profit in the education …

Emergent Model For Community Engagement: Developing Courses And Programs, Barbara S. Spector, Cyndy S. Leard

Journal of Global Education and Research

This retrospective emergent design qualitative evaluation study documents the development of a unique model for community engagement and engaged scholarship in higher education. The primary novel aspect of the model is participatory involvement of both the target audience for the program and representatives of various stakeholder groups who initiated, conceptualized, tested, assessed, and evaluated the courses and program with the professor. Members of the target audience and stakeholder groups also recruited participants, contributed to refining the courses and program to meet the needs of the stakeholder groups, and contributed to redesigning courses for online learning. The model emerged while developing …

Advancing Ecohydrology In The 21st Century: A Convergence Of Opportunities, Andrew J. Guswa, Doerthe Tetzlaff, John S. Selker, Darryl E. Carlyle-Moses, Elizabeth W. Boyer, Michael Bruen, Carles Cayuela, Irena F. Creed, Nick Van De Giesen, Domenico Grasso, David M. Hannah, Janice E. Hudson, Sean A. Hudson, Shin'ichi Iida, Robert B. Jackson, Gabriel G. Katul, Tomo'omi Kumagai, Pilar Llorens, Flavio Lopes Ribeiro, Beate Michalzik, Kazuki Nanko, Christopher Oster, Diane E. Pataki, Catherine A. Peters, Andrea Rinaldo, Daniel Sanchez Carretero, Branimir Trifunovic, Maciej Zalewski, Marja Haagsma, Delphis F. Levia

Engineering: Faculty Publications

Nature-based solutions for water-resource challenges require advances in the science of ecohydrology. Current understanding is limited by a shortage of observations and theories that can further our capability to synthesize complex processes across scales ranging from submillimetres to tens of kilometres. Recent developments in environmental sensing, data, and modelling have the potential to drive rapid improvements in ecohydrological understanding. After briefly reviewing advances in sensor technologies, this paper highlights how improved measurements and modelling can be applied to enhance understanding of the following ecohydrological examples: interception and canopy processes, root uptake and critical zone processes, and up-scaled effects of land …

Exploring Opportunities For A New Community Garden In Santa Fe Springs, Camille Kelem

City and Regional Planning

No abstract provided.

Enst 420.50b: U.S. Environmental Movement, Brittany Palmer

University of Montana Course Syllabi

No abstract provided.

Enst 391.01b: Special Topics - Zero Waste Communities, Sarah Blyth Lundquist

University of Montana Course Syllabi

No abstract provided.

How Globalization, Sustainability, And Human Impacts Are Affecting Two Major Mexican Cities: Mexico City And Guadalajara, Cristina Sedano

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Mexico is one of the richest countries in the world, not in terms of economic stability but in terms of natural resources, culture, and atmosphere. When people think of Mexico, they usually think of the high-tension relationship with the United States, their neighboring country to the North. Although there are many diverse historical and present-day characteristics of Mexico, most associate the county with the high levels of crime due to narco and cartels, the high levels of poverty in regional areas, and to some just a party destination. Unbeknownst to many is the thousands year old culture that is passed …

Montclair Magazine (Spring/Summer 2020), Montclair State University

Montclair: The magazine of Montclair State University

No abstract provided.

The Effect Of Climate Change On Groundwater Recharge In The United Arab Emirates, Yuliya Fadlallah Saade

Civil and Environmental Theses

Climate change is impacting ecosystems and the water resources by causing temperature variation. Evapotranspiration rates are increasing when the temperature is high whereas, precipitation amount and intensity are varying based on geographical locations.

This change in precipitation has an inevitable impact on the groundwater recharge. Quantification of groundwater recharge is a prerequisite for efficient and sustainable groundwater resources management in arid regions.

Although, both surface and groundwater resources in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are scarce; the anticipated climate change impacts could make these resources even scarcer. As such, the main aim of this thesis is to assess the potential …

“New” Cyanobacterial Blooms Are Not New: Two Centuries Of Lake Production Are Related To Ice Cover And Land Use, Holly Ewing, K. C. Weathers, K. L. Cottingham, P. R. Leavitt, Meredith Greer, C. C. Carey, B. G. Steele, A. U. Fiorillo, J. P. Sowles

All Faculty Scholarship

Recent cyanobacterial blooms in otherwise unproductive lakes may be warning signs of impending eutrophication in lakes important for recreation and drinking water, but little is known of their historical precedence or mechanisms of regulation. Here, we examined long-term sedimentary records of both general and taxon-specific trophic proxies from seven lakes of varying productivity in the northeastern United States to investigate their relationship to historical in-lake, watershed, and climatic drivers of trophic status. Analysis of fossil pigments (carotenoids and chlorophylls) revealed variable patterns of past primary production across lakes over two centuries despite broadly similar changes in regional climate and land …

Analysis Of Burning Wood In The Transient State And The Application To Structural Design, Roberta Veliz, Kimberly Guzman

Architectural Engineering

Determining the extent of the contribution of exposed timber on compartment fire dynamics in open floor plans is a complex process. Designers traditionally used compartmentalization design methods which create spaces where flashover is likely, given the fuel load and ventilation conditions. However, due to the large geometric dimensions and spread of fuel, fires in open floor plans are more likely to remain as localized or traveling fires. As such, an understanding of not only ignition potential but also flame spread is critical to characterizing the contribution of exposed timber. An integral step in characterizing the potential contribution is through an …

June 2020 News Releases, University Of Montana--Missoula. Office Of University Relations

University of Montana News Releases, 1928, 1956-present

No abstract provided.

Using Historical Maps For Contaminated Site Identification And Prediction, And Environmental Justice Implications: A Case Study In Grand Rapids, Michigan, Dana Heusinkveld

Masters Theses

As the production of synthetic chemicals has grown in the past centuries to increase production, lower costs, and generally make our lives more convenient, detecting and understanding the environmental impacts of these compounds has lagged significantly behind their mass production and wide-spread use. To combat this trend, sources of these contaminants, especially those that have been removed from the landscape, need to be quickly identified to make mitigation and remediation efforts more effective. In this study, historical Sanborn maps are used to extract and digitize historical site/land use in Grand Rapids during the early 1900s through the practical application of …

'Odd Secrets Of The Line': Emily Dickinson And The Uses Of Folk, Wendy Tronrud

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Emily Dickinson and her poetry have famously been used as a defining example of American lyric poetry. The traditional scholarly perspective maintains that the lyric poem and its speaker exist in isolation and at a remove from social and political contexts. Recent scholarship on American poetry of the long nineteenth century, however, has taken a more historical and cultural turn, reconsidering how poetic and vernacular forms and genres circulated both privately and publicly. “Odd Secrets of the Line”: Emily Dickinson and the Uses of Folk joins this conversation by theorizing how Dickinson’s poetry, written during the 1859-1865 period, registers the …