Digital Commons Network^™

Seasonal Variations In Nutrient And Total Suspended Solids Sources And Fluxes In Rivers Of Northern New Jersey And Newark Bay, Usa, Jing Nie

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

In recent decades, aquatic systems have experienced major problems with water quality due to high nutrient concentrations from both point and non-point sources resulting from industrialization, urbanization, and population growth. While nutrient pollution due to land use change cannot be ignored, point sources such as combined sewer overflows and discharging sites have also contributed to the problem. Integrated hydrodynamic, chemical, and biological models have been developed to simulate nutrient transportation from both sources. This paper reviews and analyzes water quality data from published literature to evaluate nutrient pollution in aquatic systems and emphasizes the need for a continuously developed integrated …

The Fate Of Fraxinus Spp. In New Jersey : A Physioeconomic Evaluation Of The Forest System And Infrastructure Implications, Erik W. Lyttek

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Though the impacts of pest infestation on forested ecosystems vary, the natural factors that facilitate outbreaks are of concern across multiple disciplines across the USA, affecting such diverse fields as economics, ecology, hydrology, atmospheric sciences, and pedology. Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) is a typical example of an aggressive invasive forest pest; it has proven difficult to eliminate, resistant to natural predators, and damaging to local flora. EAB has recently proliferated through the northern and mid-western forests of the USA, devastating the native population of ash trees (Fraxinus spp.), and has invaded an estimated 28% of all susceptible trees. In New …

Antarctic Peninsula Ice Sheet Dynamics In The Pliocene From Sedimentological Interpretation Of Ocean Drilling Program Site 1097, Ridley Joseph

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Studying ice sheet behavior during the Pliocene Epoch is of great importance. The Early Pliocene was characterized by warm climatic conditions, similar carbon dioxide levels and high sea levels compared to the present. This time frame provides essential information on the foreseeable future of Earth’s cryosphere, particularly if climate change continues to persist. The sedimentary record of the Antarctic Peninsula Ice Sheet (APIS) is the focus of this study. At Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Site 1097, cores were drilled into Pliocene strata at a shallow depth on the Antarctic Peninsula continental shelf. Sedimentary facies were interpreted, and twenty samples were …

Potential Of Increased Thermal Tolerance As A Response To Acute Heat Stress In A Disease-Transmitting Mosquito Species, Nicole Ashley Scanlon

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Each year hundreds of millions of people are infected with mosquito-borne illnesses. West Nile Virus is the leading cause of mosquito-borne diseases in the United States (McDonald et al., 2021). The first case of West Nile Virus was detected in the United States in 1999 (Sejvar, 2003). Since that time the number of cases has dramatically risen. Mosquitoes are ectotherms which means their body temperature is dependent on the thermal conditions outside of their body. Because of this they are very sensitive to changes in their environment. The Earth’s average temperature has been slowly but steadily rising. This small but …

Economic Impact Assessment Of Nature-Based Coastal Resilience Solutions In Charleston. Estimating Local Economic Effects With Algorithm-Based Supporting Tool., Oksana Veselkova

All Theses

Coastal cities are at the forefront of the risks induced by climate change. Local communities are adversely affected, but the essential cultural assets and economies are also at risk of damage or destruction. In the efforts to limit hazard risk exposure, local governments are increasingly planning for long-term flood protection. One prospective flood risk mitigation measure is living shorelines or nature-based adaptation. The coastal ecosystems, such as beaches, wetlands, barrier islands, oyster reefs, and salt marshes, deliver multiple benefits to communities, including recreation, natural resources, freshwater, and carbon sequestration. Moreover, when combined with structural solutions, they can effectively reduce water …

Causal Modeling Framework For Nuclear Power Plant Licensing Process, Lauren Kimberly Kiser

Theses and Dissertations

Interests in clean energy revived the nuclear power industry. For the first time in decades, innovative technologies and plant designs are being considered by regulatory agencies. This dissertation explores a Bayesian Network and AHP approach to causal modeling of the Combined License review process for new nuclear power plants (NPP). Historically lengthy and expensive, NPP licensing is critical to ensuring safe operation of the plants. With this comes a high standard for applicants to reach that can result in multiple revision cycles and long review times. New plant designs and fluctuating public support lead to a complex and dynamic series …

Disaster Risk Perception, Climate Change Awareness, And Disaster Preparedness Among University Of Texas Rio Grande Valley Students, Anandita Roy

Theses and Dissertations

University students are usually young and have low-income resources, live in dormitories or low-rent housing near the university, and have little to no disaster experience. Therefore, they are vulnerable to disasters due to a lack of resources for preparation. To better understand the vulnerability of students to disasters, the study aims to assess the perceptions of disaster risk, climate change awareness, and the level of disaster preparedness of students at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV). In this study, we collected data from 320 students who participated in an online survey. The study’s findings provide an understanding of …

The Quality Of Our Water: Emerging Contaminants Effect On Human Health, Jeffrey R. Hurst

Honors Theses

In a world that uses plastics in almost every aspect of life, microplastics have become an emerging concern in the context of human health. Known to have cytotoxic effects on life, these particles have been detected in our water systems, including both wastewater treatment plants, and drinking water treatment plants. Additionally, the proliferation of heavy metals is an ongoing issue in modern water infrastructure. Thus, the goal of this paper is to explore the effects of microplastics and heavy metals on our health, how they infiltrate the water supply, how we can mitigate their proliferation, and obstacles in implementing change …

Shop Less, Shop Better: Ethical And Sustainability Concerns Throughout The Fast Fashion Supply Chain, Natali Ann Hoeg

Pacific Undergraduate Research and Creativity Conference (PURCC)

My capstone project is a series of short essays that describe how fast fashion is having negative impacts on local environments, communities, and supply chains. This research is a review of technical sources describing manufacturing of clothing and certification processes for alternative, sustainable textile production. Additionally, this review incorporates perspectives from journalists and documentarians, visiting and describing farms and factories that are involved with fast fashion production. This project was carried out over the course of a semester, as an independent study. The essays focus on the environmental and social impacts of fast fashion. Each of the six essays approaches …

The Intersection Of Herbicide Policy, Exposure, And Health At The University Of Connecticut, Katherine Hayward

Honors Scholar Theses

Pesticides play an extremely complicated role in our everyday lives. From the water you use to make your coffee, to the breastmilk your neighbor provides for their child, to the lake your dog swims in, chemical pesticides or their byproducts have been found in nearly every corner of our lives. The chemicals used in synthetic herbicides, a subcategory of pesticides, have far reaching negative impacts on human health, biodiversity, and water quality. Despite there being numerous published studies on the relationships between pesticide exposures and health, there is still ongoing discord and controversy surrounding their role in our lives. After …

The Power Of Mission Statements: A Comparative Analysis Of Sec And Big 10 Environmental Verbiage, Julia Kienzler

Honors Theses

Since the 1980s, research universities have utilized mission statements as a way to outline their management processes and their knowledge planning. However, even top research institutions across the United States fail to incorporate environmental verbiage into their missions. This study seeks to begin to understand the factors that contribute to a university’s decision to use or to not use bold environmental language in their mission statements, especially as this concerns climate change and sustainability. To accomplish this, I conducted a comparative analysis of all twenty-six public SEC and BIG 10 universities by extracting specific environmental terminology from each school’s ‘mission …

Esg Reporting And Its Effect On Financial Performance Of Oil, Gas, And Utility Companies In The United States, Logan Lam

Honors Theses

According to the Harvard Business Review article ESG Investing Isn’t Designed to Save the Plant (Pucker and King 2022), the term ESG investments – which stands for environmental, social, and governance investing – often confuses investors because it is unregulated. Additionally, the author continued to claim that the data is outdated and mostly unaudited. Even if data on these investments is available to investors, it can still be challenging for them to make decisions regarding ESG. Trusting compatibility and accuracy can be difficult considering that companies can choose how to produce or calculate their own ESG data. Another claim that …

Narrowing The Achievement Gap By Increasing Student Opportunities In An Outdoor Project-Based Learning Environment, Britney Christensen

Masters Projects

The nation’s lack of student achievement on standardized tests is a result of the insufficient number of opportunities a student has to interact with their environment. Research indicates racial and economic disparities limit the number of chances these groups have to build the wide range of background knowledge needed to support the academic demands in the classroom. As a result, their performances show a widening of the achievement gap. Therefore, this project speaks to perspectives centered around constructivism as a way to explain how students acquire knowledge over time. The author contends that reading diverse texts, writing for different purposes, …

Sustainability In Selleck Food Court At The University Of Nebraska–Lincoln, Maya M. Tanikawa-Brown, Chloe E. Hoover

UCARE: Research Products

Our project proposes practical solutions for reducing food waste and improving student perceptions of food sustainability at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL). Our solutions are derived from undergraduate student survey responses and inspired by conversations with UNL Dining and Sustainable campus groups. We collected data from two hundred and six students and focused on students with meal plans who ate at Selleck Food Court. Within the qualitative response field, students could write suggestions for improvements to Selleck Food Court. These responses revealed common themes repeatedly raised by students who are passionate about and interested in dining sustainability, whether that is …

Predictors Of Tropical Cyclone-Induced Urban Tree Failure: An International Scoping Review, Allyson B. Salisbury, Andrew K. Koeser, Michael G. Andreu, Yujuan Chen, Zachary Freeman, Jason W. Miesbauer, Adriana Herrera-Montes, Chai-Shian Kua, Ryo Higashiguchi Nukina, Cara A. Rockwell, Shozo Shibata, Hunter Thorn, Benyao Wang, Richard J. Hauer

Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Faculty Research

Background: Trees are critical components of rural and urban ecosystems throughout the world. While they have adapted to the historic conditions of their native environments, climate change, urbanization, and human-assisted range expansion may test the storm resiliency of many tree species.

Objective: In this global multilingual scoping review, we investigate a range of intrinsic (i.e., tree characteristics) and external (i.e., environmental and management) factors which have been used to predict tree failure during tropical cyclones.

Design: We searched online databases and journals in English, Chinese, French, Japanese, Portuguese, and Spanish to find peer-reviewed papers and dissertations. We retained papers that …

Frontline Insights On Climate Resilience And Adaptations In Sids, Jervon Sands

Environmental Studies Student Work

Climate resilience and adaptation in Small Island Developing States (SIDS) have been global models since the earliest signals of the climate emergency yet the tools needed for SIDS to overcome this growing crisis have not been sufficiently provided. This deficiency is a common problem among SIDS which is becoming more severe in proportion to the climate crisis. According to the report Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability, launched by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC): “Small islands present the most urgent need for investment in capacity building and adaptation strategies (high confidence) but face barriers and constraints which …

Inaugural College Of Liberal Arts Awards Ceremony, 2023, Lee M. Cohen, University Of Mississippi College Of Liberal Arts

Liberal Arts Awards

The College of Liberal Arts presented awards to its faculty, staff, students, and alumni in the Johnson Commons Ballroom.

To Buy Or Not To Buy: The Ethics Of College Clothing, Mariko Hermerding

Celebrating Scholarship and Creativity Day (2018-)

Look back and consider your past and current wardrobe. If you are a college graduate, most likely along the way you owned an article of college apparel. It could be something as simple as a pair of socks with your school’s logo on it. Have you ever considered where you received that piece of clothing from? Have you considered who made it for you? In this essay, research will be conducted to figure out and establish where the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference colleges source their clothes from, how ethically made they are, and suggest sustainable alternatives.

Saint John's Prep Navigation Map, Alec Otte

Celebrating Scholarship and Creativity Day (2018-)

This map was a project commissioned by Jill Pauly, Director of Communications at St. John’s Prep School. The intended purpose of the map is to assist new students and first-time visitors with finding buildings and fields. Places such as Tower Field, Sexton Commons, and Thomas Hall/Life Safety were desired focuses as they are further from the main prep school building and thus more difficult to find without guidance.

Agronomic Investigation Of Spray Dispersion Of Metal-Based Nanoparticles On Sunflowers In Real-World Environments, Dávid Ernst, Marek Kolenčík, Martin Šebesta, Ľuba Ďurišová, Hana Ďúranová, Samuel Kšiňan, Ramakanth Illa, Ivo Safarik, Ivan Černý, Gabriela Kratošová, Veronika Žitniak Čurná, Jana Babošová, Mária Babošová, Huan Feng, Edmund Dobročka, Marek Bujdoš, Kristyna Zelena Pospiskova, Shadma Afzal, Nand K. Singh, Sasikumar Swamiappan, Elena Aydın

Department of Earth and Environmental Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

In environmental and agronomic settings, even minor imbalances can trigger a range of unpredicted responses. Despite the widespread use of metal-based nanoparticles (NPs) and new bio-nanofertilizers, their impact on crop production is absent in the literature. Therefore, our research is focused on the agronomic effect of spray application of gold nanoparticles anchored to SiO2 mesoporous silica (AuSi-NPs), zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO-NPs), and iron oxide nanoparticles (Fe3O4-NPs) on sunflowers under real-world environments. Our findings revealed that the biosynthetically prepared AuSi-NPs and ZnO-NPs were highly effective in enhancing sunflower seasonal physiology, e.g., the value of the NDVI index increased from 0.012 to …

Sustainable Urban Agriculture, Bailey Uttich

Undergraduate Research and Engagement Symposium

Loyola’s Sustainable Urban Agriculture program (Urban Ag) provided me with experiences in hydroponics, aquaponics, indoor mushroom cultivation, outdoor farming, and selling produce at a farmer’s market. Sustainable agriculture techniques are becoming increasingly important globally with growing population and rising food insecurity as a result of the pandemic. Urban Ag completely changed my preferred career path and introduced me to so many likeminded people. My experience as an Urban Ag intern was so valuable to me that I applied for a paid position in the program where I now lead groups of interns in hydroponics production and maintenance.

Growing Community Through Camas, Gerardo Ochoa

Linfield Magazine

Connecting learning, life and community. This is the Linfield mission so many of us have come to love and aspire to as we carry out our work. As Linfield continues to evolve, we must also reflect upon what is meant by “community.”

Linfield Digest, Linfield Magazine Staff

Linfield Magazine

Brief articles and photos of events and news about Linfield University

Environmental Science Curriculum For Elementary Students In Bali, Iliana Chen

Undergraduate Library Research Awards

No abstract provided.

Prefatory Matter

Richmond Public Interest Law Review

No abstract provided.

On Cox Proportional Hazards Model Performance Under Different Sampling Schemes, Hani Samawi, Lili Yu, Jingjing Yin

Biostatistics, Epidemiology & Environmental Health Sciences: Faculty Publications

Cox’s proportional hazards model (PH) is an acceptable model for survival data analysis. This work investigates PH models’ performance under different efficient sampling schemes for analyzing time to event data (survival data). We will compare a modified Extreme, and Double Extreme Ranked Set Sampling (ERSS, and DERSS) schemes with a simple random sampling scheme. Observations are assumed to be selected based on an easy-to-evaluate baseline available variable associated with the survival time. Through intensive simulations, we show that these modified approaches (ERSS and DERSS) provide more powerful testing procedures and more efficient estimates of hazard ratio than those based on …

2023-04-26 Seattle University Demystifies Transfer Application, Madden Armstrong

The Spectator Online

No abstract provided.

April 26, 2023, Faculty, Illinois Wesleyan University

2022-2023

No abstract provided.

Campus Assembly Minutes 04/25 & 04/27/2023, Campus Assembly

Campus Assembly

No abstract provided.

Spartan Daily, April 25, 2023, San Jose State University, School Of Journalism And Mass Communications

Spartan Daily, 2023

Volume 160, Issue 35