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Mitigation And Preparedness In Disaster Communication: Examining The Need For Closing The Loop In The Discourse Of Renewal Theory, Abigail Renee Riggs

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Flooding across rural Appalachia has historically negatively impacted communities, and flood frequency is only expected to increase in the region as global temperatures rise. This indicates a need for effective disaster and crisis communication in flood-prone communities within the region. The discourse of renewal and readiness for renewal theories provide potential avenues for improving crisis and disaster communication. Readiness for renewal in particular focuses on closing the gap between the pre and post-crisis phases. However, readiness for renewal has yet to be applied to disaster communication and has not been studied qualitatively. Additionally, ethical guidelines for communication within renewal have …

Changes In Ecosystem Processes And Functional Traits Over An Elevational Gradient, Tiana Issa

Honors Theses

Elevation gradients have been used to understand how climate change impacts various ecosystems processes by substituting distance across elevation with time, reflecting a previous, colder climate. To monitor the changes in soil organic carbon (SOC), plant community, and functional traits across time in the face of climate change, this study used space-for-time substitution to emulate a long-term study with elevational gradients and revisited the same gradient for nearly two decades to monitor elevational effects across time. With this research, I aim to answer the following questions: (1) How does elevation impact ecosystem processes and alpine plant traits? (2) How does …

"War In Ukraine: Religious, Geopolitical And Cultural Dimensions Of Value-Worldview Clashes At The Beginning Of The 21st Century": International Theological Conference, Vladyslav Fulmes

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

On June 15, 2023 Volyn Orthodox Theological Academy (Lutsk, Ukraine) held an international theological conference “WAR in UKRAINE: Religious, Geopolitical and Cultural Dimensions of Value-worldview Clashes at the Beginning of the 21st century”. Brief information about this international scientific conference is given.

A Case Study On The Practice Of Carbon Offset Projects In Michigan: Forest Practitioners’ Perspectives, Zachary B. Hough Solomon

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

This report examines the practice of carbon offset programs on private nonindustrial forestlands in the state of Michigan ass. Previously, the state of Michigan provided technical assistance for enrollment in carbon offsets through the Michigan Working Forest Carbon Offset Program, but this program has now been discontinued. Currently, private companies and nongovernmental organizations are developing projects throughout the state with nonindustrial private landowners. This descriptive analysis in this case study examines the roles of different forest practitioners who are working on carbon offsets, including private consulting foresters and foresters within Michigan public agencies. I review the academic and grey literature …

Tuberkulosis Di Indonesia: Apakah Status Sosial-Ekonomi Dan Faktor Lingkungan Penting?, Amalia Kusumaningrum, Grace Wulandari, Achmad Kautsar

Jurnal Ekonomi dan Pembangunan Indonesia

This study aims to find the social-economic status and environmental factors for tuberculosis in Indonesia by using Indonesia Family Life Survey (IFLS) data in 2014. First, this study analyzes individual characteristics with regression logistic method. Second, this study estimating social-economic status by entering a correction from the first stage. Meanwhile at the third stage, adding factors home environmental conditions and entering a correction from the previous stage. This study find that household income is the affecting factors, especially for households with incomes of less than IDR 600.000. In additions, level education especially high school and college also has a significant …

Land Reform In Sub-Saharan Africa: Exploring Interested Parties Perspectives On Cameroon's Land Tenure And Land Law Reform, Jacques Kenjio

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This research study seeks to understand interested parties’ perspectives on Cameroon's existing land tenure systems, the 1974 land law, and ongoing efforts to reform this land law. It identifies both concerns and specific recommendations from these parties on the formulation and implementation of future reforms. In the decades following the achievement of independence from European colonizers, most governments in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) have adopted new national land tenure policies to meet their countries’ needs and aspirations. In some parts of SSA, however, this process of land tenure formalization has negatively impacted the land rights of people observing customary land tenure. …

Forest Bathing Increases Adolescent Mental Well-Being And Connection To Nature: A Transformative Mixed Methods Study, Jennifer Keller

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Previous research has demonstrated that practicing forest bathing has significant positive effects on well-being. However, few studies have investigated whether forest bathing increases adolescent well-being despite the growing adolescent mental health crisis in the United States. Similarly, few studies have explored forest bathing’s impacts on connectedness to nature. Considering the ongoing environmental crisis, determining if forest bathing increases connectedness to nature is a critical expansion of forest bathing research, as connectedness to nature is linked to environmental care and concern. This study investigated the possibility that forest bathing, a nature-based mindfulness practice, could increase adolescent mental well-being and connectedness to …

Using Machine Learning To Predict Student Outcomes, Saba Fatima

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Predicting students’ performance to identify which students are at risk of receiving aD/Fail/Withdraw (DFW) grade and ensuring their timely graduation is not just desirable but also necessary in most educational entities. In the US, not only is the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) major becoming less popular among students, the graduation rate of STEM students is steadily declining. The lack of STEM graduates in the US is a serious problem that will place this country at a disadvantage as a competitor in international technological advancement. In order to secure its status as a technological leader internationally, the US institutions …

Late Holocene Terrestrial Hydroclimate Reconstructions From Central And South American Sites, Brittany N. Price

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Terrestrial records of hydroclimate variability from Central and South America were developed to better constrain previously unknown regional responses to a range of hydroclimate drivers in the recent past. Developing these late Holocene terrestrial hydroclimate records improves our understanding of past hydroclimate variability by increasing temporal resolution and allows us to further understand complexities in spatial dynamics of the climate system. From South-Central Chile, a geomorphic analysis of landforms emplaced in a glacial valley indicated a positive glacial mass balance in the recent past. A high-precision chlorine-36 chronology was developed from basaltic boulders, with additional minimum constraining ages from Araucaria …

Assessing The Knowledge On Sustainability And Barriers To Daily Sustainable Practices Among Faculty And Students In Higher Education: The Case Of Eastern Illinois University, Joel Edem Holison

Masters Theses

The concept of sustainable development gained prominence with the publication of the Brundtland Report, which emphasized economic progress without jeopardizing future generations' well-being. Following that, the Education for Sustainability (EfS) program was created by the United Nations to raise sustainability awareness. However, the transition to sustainable living is fraught with difficulties, including a lack of knowledge, financial constraints, infrastructure gaps, and political ideologies. This study focuses on sustainable practices among Eastern Illinois University (EIU) students and faculty, as well as the barriers to daily sustainable behaviors. As independent variables influencing sustainable practices, the study evaluates sustainability knowledge/awareness, personal financial situation, …

Understanding Mentorship In Undergraduate Research: Three Perspectives On Experiencing, Conceptualizing, And Contextualizing Mentorship, Carinna F. Ferguson

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This dissertation aimed to explore mentorship in undergraduate research (UR) contexts. Specifically, the work aimed to provide three perspectives of mentorship from the perspectives of both mentors and mentees in undergraduate research. These three studies contributed to a greater understanding of the experiences, conceptualizations, and contextual factors that impact mentorship in the UR setting.

Highlighted in the first study were the storied experiences of eight faculty members who had served as a mentor to undergraduate students at a mid-Atlantic, research-intensive university from a range of research disciplines. Results of the first study highlighted the impact of faculty members’ initial and …

Confluence: Evaluating The Individual Learning Outcomes Of A Combined Citizen Science And Environmental Education Project, Evan A. Harms

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Citizen Science has moved beyond a methodological tool for ecologists to crowdsource data to a novel platform for environmental and informal science education. However, few studies document the individual learning outcomes of citizen science as an educational tool, particularly in youth or extension education. This quantitative study focused on evaluating the individual learning outcomes of an environmental education and citizen science non-formal learning experience about water quality.

In this study, an existing lesson plan using four sequenced activities was adapted for use with West Virginia 4-H summer camps in 2022. Potential outcome areas were first identified from foundational environmental education …

Freedom And Heteronomy In The Anthropocene, Alexander M. Stoner, Harry F. Dahms

Journal Articles

No abstract provided.

Red White And Blue – And Also Green: How Energy Policy Can Protect Both National Security And The Environment, David M. Schizer

Faculty Scholarship

Too often, energy policy protects the environment while neglecting national security, or vice versa. Since each goal is critical, this Article shows how to advance both at the same time.

For national security, the key is to avoid depending on the wrong suppliers. If they are vulnerable to attack (like some Middle Eastern producers), they need to be defended. Or, if they are themselves geopolitical threats (like Russia and Iran), their energy exports fund harmful conduct. This Article breaks new ground in showing why suppliers tend to be insecure or menacing: authoritarian regimes — which are more likely to pose …

The Vital Role Of Dehcho Dene Knowledges In Climate Change & Permafrost Thaw Adaptation In Jean Marie River First Nation Nwt, Mackenzie Bell

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Across the globe climate change has become an issue of growing concern for both Indigenous and non – Indigenous peoples alike. In Northern Canada this narrative is no different. For Indigenous groups such as the Jean Marie River First Nation (JMRFN) anthropogenic climate change is not only a reality but is visible through their daily interactions with the environment around them. Additional insight pertaining to these climatic changes and their impacts can be found through analyzing the traditional knowledge systems of the JMRFN and how these before mentioned interactions have changed over time. This two-year participatory research project has investigated …

The Dynamic Relationship Between Permafrost And Landcover In Northwestern Canada’S Discontinuous Permafrost Zone, Olivia Carpino

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Northwestern Canada’s subarctic is among the most impacted regions in the world as it is experiencing rapid climatic and environmental change. As a result, northwestern Canada has been experiencing region-wide permafrost thaw and disappearance, both of which are also occurring at unprecedented rates. Permafrost temperatures in the Taiga Plains have been warming steadily over the last several decades, which has been particularly detrimental across its lower latitudes of the discontinuous permafrost zone where the permafrost is already relatively thin and warm. These factors indicate that permafrost in the southern Taiga Plains may be in a state of disequilibrium with the …

Above And Below, Kristen Brown

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

My recent graduate artwork uses abstraction of form to describe the intersection between humans and the environment while relating the landscape of our skin to the ever-changing qualities of the natural landscape surrounding us. The photographic material is stressed into three dimensional shapes, producing creasing and tears as it is being contorted by human impact. At the same time that I am creating something new, I am manipulating artifactual evidence of something that already exists in everyday life. This is akin to how our bodies are distorted by outer influence, as well as our own autonomy. Above and below the …

Microbial Community And Genome Structure In Coastal Seawater From A Commercial Port And Nearby Offshore Island In Northern Taiwan, Chi-Yu Shih, Ching-Hsiang Chin, Shiow-Yi Chen, Chun-Ru Hsu, Lee-Kuo Kan, Wen-Shyong Tzou

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

The pollution stemming from the use of petroleum by boats, the presence of deceased marine life, hazardous chemicals, and wastewater is a major issue in human-made commercial ports. This pollution poses a considerable challenge to the diverse organisms inhabiting the seawater. To comprehend the impact of this pollution on the microbiome, we conducted a study in which we collected surface water samples from a commercial port called Keelung Port, as well as a nearby offshore island known as Keelung Islet. These locations are situated in northern Taiwan, along the Northwestern Pacific Ocean. Through the use of whole-metagenome shotgun sequencing, we …

Effects Of Management And Environmental Variables On Ant Richness, Diversity, And Nest Abundance In Pitch Pine-Scrub Oak Barrens, Heathlands, And Dry Rocky-Ridge Communities In Inland Massachusetts, Usa, Kyle Bradford

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Heathlands and pitch pine-scrub oak (PPSO) barrens are globally-imperiled natural communities threatened by human development and disruption of natural disturbance regimes. To restore these habitats in the northeastern United States, many sites are managed by mechanical tree harvesting, mowing, selective herbicide, and prescribed fire. Restored PPSO barrens and heathlands are important habitat for rare and threatened biota; barrens habitat has been shown to support high ant diversity including rare and threatened species. Ants are important providers of ecosystem services and functions, yet their ecology and response to management in inland Massachusetts barrens are not well known. I used hand-sampling to …

Adaptive Regulation For Ecosystem Restoration: A Context For Effective Environmental Permitting, Jennifer M. Auger

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This dissertation investigates the regulatory challenges faced by large-scale ecosystem restoration (LSER) projects by exploring the perspectives of practitioners and regulators. Focusing on the federal regulatory permitting process, the study aims to understand its impact on LSER projects and proposes the application of adaptive regulation for improvement. Employing Q methodology, participants expressed their views on 34 statements related to wetland permitting for LSER projects. Factor analysis revealed two distinct perspectives: Factor 1 emphasizes the reorganization of the permitting process within existing regulations, advocating for more documentation and structured processes. Factor 2 highlights the need for restructuring both the permitting process …

Impacts Of Polyethylene Microplastics On The Microalga, Spirulina (Arthrospira Platensis), Sajjad Abbasi, Sahar Amiranipour, Javad Karimi, Sasan Mohsenzadeh, Andrew Turner

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences

Microalgae play a critical role in the food web and biogeochemical cycling and produce compounds that are commercially exploited. However, their reactions and responses to microplastic contamination are not well understood. In this study, the widely distributed and commercially important cyanobacterium, Spirulina (Arthrospira platensis), was exposed to different concentrations (1–100 mg L−1) of low-density polyethylene microplastics (<5 μm) over a 20-d period. Various end-points were combined with different microscopic techniques in order to examine physiological and biochemical effects and interactions between the plastic and microalga. Growth rate and photosynthetic activity decreased with increasing microplastic concentration, and a maximum inhibition ratio of about 9% was calculated from optical density measurements. Plastic concentrations above 10 mg L−1 resulted in oxidative stress and the intracellular production of proline. Fragmentation and swelling of trichomes and attachment of microplastics was observed in the exposures, and microplastics appeared to adhere or aggregate around fragmented or fragmenting regions. The latter effect may indicate trichome weakening by microplastics or their concentration around cytosolic debris; nevertheless, it provides a potential mechanism for internalisation of small particles. Although unrealistically high concentrations of well-defined microplastics have been employed, relatively small disruptions at the population level incurred by lower concentrations could have more serious implications for ecosystem services and functioning.

To Change Everything, We Need Everyone: Belonging, Equity, And Diversity In The U.S. Climate Movement, Clara Changxin Fang

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Climate change affects everyone but lack of racial diversity in the climate movement makes it challenging for it to be truly inclusive, champion solutions that are equitable, and affect transformative change. This dissertation describes a two-part study of diversity in the climate movement using a survey of 1,003 climate activists and interviews with 17 people of color who work or volunteer in the U.S. climate movement. The study analyzes differences between Whites and people of color in terms of their (a) demographics, (b) engagement in climate action, (c) experience of climate impacts, (d) worries, (e) challenges and barriers to participation, …

Eating Change: A Critical Autoethnography Of Community Gardening And Social Identity, Jessica Gerrior

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Community gardening efforts often carry a social purpose, such as building climate resilience, alleviating hunger, or promoting food justice. Meanwhile, the identities and motivations of community gardeners reflect both personal stories and broader social narratives. The involvement of universities in community gardening projects introduces an additional dimension of power and privilege that is underexplored in scholarly literature. This research uses critical autoethnography to explore the relationship of community gardening and social identity. Guided by Chang (2008) and Anderson and Glass-Coffin (2013), a systematic, reflexive process of meaning-making was used to compose three autoethnographic accounts. Each autoethnography draws on the author’s …

Lake Huron Microbial Mats: A Novel Anagnostidinema Species, A Cyanobacteria-Specific It's Motif Slicer, & A Multi-Marker Community Analysis, Callahan Mcgovern

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A region of Lake Huron near Alpena, Michigan (U.S.A) includes karstic sinkholes with oxygen-poor, sulfur-rich ground water that contain vibrant microbial mats resembling life in early Earth’s shallow seas. We sought to document some of this unique ? diversity including the cyanobacteria, heterotrophic bacteria, and diatoms. Using culture-based investigations, we recovered strains of a novel cyanobacterium, Anagnostidinema visiae, and by employing a polyphasic approach we described this novel species from the Middle Island Sinkhole. In the processes of characterizing this novel species, the challenges of cyanobacterial systematics became evident. This led us to create a bioinformatics tool to help in …

Less Meat, Less Heat: Analyzing Meat Consumption Through The Theory Of Planned Behavior, Identity, Past Behavior, And Conservatism, Madeleine Powers

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Meat reduction is a largely underutilized means of combatting climate change that warrants further investigation. The current study utilized an extended model of the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) to predict intention to eat red meat. In addition to traditional TPB components of attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control, this study adds to the literature by including meat-eating identity, past meat-eating behavior, and conservatism as predictors of meat consumption intentions. 744 participants were recruited via Mturk and compensated $1 for completing surveys assessing the extended TPB constructs related to meat consumption. The sample was 57% men, and 81% white, …

The Environmental Cellular Stress Response: The Intertidal As A Multistressor Model, Michael Collins, Melody S. Clark, Manuela Truebano

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

The wild poses a multifaceted challenge to the maintenance of cellular function. Therefore, a multistressor approach is essential to predict the cellular mechanisms which promote homeostasis and underpin whole-organism tolerance. The intertidal zone is particularly dynamic, and thus, its inhabitants provide excellent models to assess mechanisms underpinning multistressor tolerance. Here, we critically review our current understanding of the regulation of the cellular stress response (CSR) under multiple abiotic stressors in intertidal organisms and consider to what extent a multistressor approach brings us closer to understanding responses in the wild. The function of the CSR has been well documented in laboratory …

Entrainment And Horizontal Atmospheric Transport Of Microplastics From Soil, Sajjad Abbasi, Mahrooz Rezaei, Monireh Mina, Abdolmajid Sameni, Patryk Oleszczuk, Andrew Turner, Coen Ritsema

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences

Soils are an important source of microplastics (MPs) to the atmosphere but the fluxes and mechanisms involved in MPs entrainment are not well understood. In the present study, a series of horizontally aligned sediment traps have been deployed at different heights within 1 m above the ground for a two-month period at various locations in an arid region (Sarakhs, Iran). MPs were isolated from sediments and were quantified and characterised according to size, colour, shape and polymer composition by established techniques. Most MPs were <250 μm in length, fibres were the most important shape, black and blue-green were the dominant colours, and polymer abundance decreased in the order polyethylene > nylon > polypropylene > polystyrene > polyethylene terephthalate. The distributions of sediment mass (range <0.01–9 g) and number of MPs (range = 0 to 21) were heterogeneous, both between sites and at the different heights sampled, and yielded median, vertically-averaged horizontal fluxes for the region of about 450 g m−2 d−1 and 2600 MP m−2 d−1, respectively. However, when data were pooled, the number of MPs normalised to sediment mass exhibited a significant inverse relationship with sediment mass, an effect attributed to the presence of ambient suspended MPs and sediment that are diluted by the suspension of soil and deposited MPs at higher wind speeds. The mechanisms of MP saltation and entrainment were not ascertained but a theoretical framework for threshold shear velocity based on regularly-shaped particles and density considerations is presented. Further experimental work is required to verify this framework, and in particular for fibrous MPs with different aerodynamic properties to soil particles.

Accumulation Of Polystyrene Nanoplastics And Triclosan By A Model Tooth-Carp Fish, Aphaniops Hormuzensis (Teleostei: Aphaniidae), Maryam Saemi-Komsari, Reza Pashaei, Sajjad Abbasi, Hamid Reza Esmaeili, Reda Dzingelevičienė, Hadavand B Shirkavand, Kalako M Pasalari, Malgorzata Szultka-Mlynska, Renata Gadzała-Kopciuch, Boguslaw Buszewski, Andrew Turner

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences

The presence and effects of nanoplastics (NPs; <1 μm) in the aquatic environment are a growing concern. In this study, a model tooth-carp fish, Aphaniops hormuzensis, has been exposed to different concentrations of fluorescent polystyrene nanoplastics (PS-NP) in its diet (up to 5 mg kg−1) over periods of 28 d and the particle accumulation in different tissues determined. Accumulation was observed in both digestive and non-digestive organs, with concentrations greater in the gut, liver and gill (up to 400 μg kg−1 dw) than in the skin and muscle (<180 μg kg−1 dw), but no dependency on exposure time or dose was evident. The presence of the organic contaminant, triclosan (TCS), in the diet and at concentrations up to 0.5 μg kg−1 did not affect PS-NP uptake by A. hormuzensis, while TCS accumulation in the whole body increased with time (up to 10 μg kg−1) and, likewise, appeared to be unaffected by the presence of PS-NPs. These observations suggest that the two contaminants do not interact with each other or that any interactions have no impact on accumulation. The results of this study add to the growing body of evidence that NPs can be translocated by aquatic organisms after ingestion, and reveal that, for the species and conditions employed, nanoplastics are accumulated more readily than a widely used organic chemical.

Influence Of Lactobacillus Plantarum Administration On Some Serum/Tissue (Uterus) Antioxidant And Cytokine Levels In Female Rats Exposed To Cadmium (Cd), İhsan Kisadere, Bariş Güner, Hakan Tavşanli, Mehmet Faruk Aydin, Mustafa Usta

Turkish Journal of Veterinary & Animal Sciences

The study aimed to investigate the effects of oral Lactobacillus plantarum (Lp) administration on some serum/tissue (uterus) antioxidant and cytokine levels as well as histopathologic changes in female rats exposed chronically to Cd. For this purpose, rats were separated into four groups including control (C, n = 8), cadmium (Cd, n = 8), Lp (n = 8), and Cd + Lp (n = 8). Cd (dissolved in water at a dose of 2.04 mg/mL) was orally administered to Cd and Cd + Lp groups for 28 days. Besides, active-live Lp, which was grown at a level of approximately 10$^{8}$-10$^{9}$ cfu/mL …

Influence Of Prescribed Burning On Coast Redwood (Sequoia Sempervirens) Forest Wildfire Resistance, Resilience, And Risk Of Repeated Fire, Sky B. Biblin

Master's Theses

Land managers need tools to mitigate wildfire proliferation in the western United States. Prescribed burning may be an effective tool to reduce wildfire severity and promote healthy landscapes. In 2020, a large-scale wildfire provided a rare opportunity to compare early postfire data between areas with and without a history of prescribed burning. Field data were collected approximately one year after a wildfire in fifty 20-meter plots from sites treated with prescribed fire in either 1999, 2007, or 2011 and fifty from sites without a history of prescribed fire. The influence of prescribed burning on forest resistance, resilience, and risk of …