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Social Sciences Division Minutes 08/20/2026, Social Science Division

Social Science Division

No abstract provided.

The Bambisanani Partnership: A Global Initiative Activating Faith And Sport, David Geldart, Matt Hoven

Journal of Catholic Education

The Bambisanani Partnership: A Global Initiative Activating Faith and Sport Partnership is a United Kingdom-based charity that originated as a sports-based partnership between St. Mary’s Catholic High School in the UK, and Mnyakanya High School in rural KwaZulu- Natal (KZN), South Africa, in 2006. Inspired by papal teaching about sport, this article explores the ways in which this particular program has been successful in providing opportunities to live out the Catholic faith through sports participation. The partnership, which remains based at St. Mary’s School and is run entirely by volunteers, operates in the Nkandla region of South Africa, which is …

Anthropogenic Actions, Inactions, Outcomes And Threats To Green Infrastructure And Environmental Conservation In Port Harcourt City, Ibama Brown, Tari Eyenghe

Cities and the Environment (CATE)

Urban areas are assets to human existence; they also face several challenges. Port Harcourt has abundant green infrastructure and requires environmental conservation practices to protect and manage its environmental resources. The study assessed anthropogenic actions, inactions, outcomes and threats to green infrastructure and environmental conservation in Port Harcourt City. The adopted mixed-methods research approach used a sequential exploratory design. The study employed a judgmental sampling technique to select and interview six (6) key informants from the Rivers State Ministries of Physical Planning and Urban Development, and Environment. Also, an official of Port Harcourt City Local Government Council and a Town …

Evidence For Colony Attendance By Immature Streaked Shearwaters Calonectris Leucomelas During The Chick-Rearing Period., Helen M. Pružina, Akiko Shoji, Masaki Shirai, Sakiko Matsumoto, Ken Yoda, Annette L. Fayet

Marine Ornithology

Many seabird species have a long breeding-deferral period, during which individuals mature and spend most of their time at sea, making them particularly difficult to study. In some species, immatures are known to start visiting colonies before reaching adulthood, presumably to learn the behaviours required to secure a nest and mate for future breeding. However, immature colony attendance remains undocumented in many species, particularly those that are difficult to observe, such as nocturnal, cavity-nesting species and species in which immatures are indistinguishable from adults. Here, we studied the attendance patterns and behaviour of Streaked Shearwaters Calonectris leucomelas on Awashima Island, …

Simulation And Delivery Of The Next Stage Of The Cebra Array, Hanna J. Ross

Physics and Astronomy Summer Fellows

The CeBrA detector array at Florida State University’s Fox Lab uses a collection of CeBr₃ scintillator detectors to collect gamma rays emitted by excited nuclear reaction products to gain information about nuclear energy levels of a nucleus of interest. When the array was commissioned, it contained five individual detectors. Expanding the array maximizes its efficiency and accuracy. In collaboration with FSU, Ursinus College has purchased nine additional detectors that will be added to the array at the end of the summer. While the detectors are still in our possession, we are working to create an accurate simulation model of …

Pushed To The Edges? Electivity Patterns Of Urban Stream Homeless Encampments In Environmentally Burdened Areas, Serena Alexander, Bennett Williamson, Jeff Wootton, Costanza Rampini, Gregory Brian Pasternack, Yufang Jin, Rune Storesund, Igor Lacan

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Urban stream corridors in the San Francisco Bay Area have increasingly become locations for homeless encampments, yet little is known about the environmental conditions of these spaces. This study uses a geospatial electivity index to examine whether urban stream encampments in Santa Clara and Contra Costa counties are disproportionately located in census tracts with high pollution burdens, as measured by CalEnviroScreen 4.0. Findings show a statistically significant overrepresentation of encampments in census tracts in the top 25% of pollution and vulnerability scores, and a significant underrepresentation in lower-pollution areas. These results suggest that homeless individuals are being pushed toward environmentally …

Staff Re-Entry Plan — Indian Trail, Flett, Woodridge, Travis Schulhauser

Spokane Wildfire Academic Consortium Repository

Following the downgrade of Level 3 Evacuation orders at Flett Middle School and Indian Trail and Woodridge elementary schools on Aug. 9, district staff worked with Fulcrum Environmental Consulting to conduct visual inspections and air-quality testing at these sites. More than 100 interior and exterior locations were tested, with indoor air quality within the Good-to-Moderate range under the EPA Air Quality Index. Inspectors also found no indication of unusual ash, soot or other settled particulates inside or outside the buildings.

Sac Newsletter 2026, South Asia Center

Newsletters from the South Asia Center

No abstract provided.

Institute For Global Health And Development : Issue 14 - April-June 2026, Institute For Global Health And Development

IGHD Newsletters

• Honours & Recognition
• Research & Publications
• In the Media
• Events & Convenings
• Training, Projects & Field Work
• People & Milestones
• Research Highlights & Knowledge Contributions
• Publications from IGHD
• Stay Connected

Greenwall Use For Air Repair And Depollution (G.U.A.R.D.), Sophia Elwood, Sophia Piro, Maura Barrada, Kathrine Lopez, Wendi Goffer

Discovery Day - Daytona Beach

Creating habitable indoor environments for long-duration space missions and extraterrestrial habitats requires reliable, sustainable air quality improvement. Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University’s ACE Lab provides a unique opportunity to investigate plant-based purification in a controlled environment while addressing campus air quality concerns linked to a high-traffic airport and exposure to jet fuel particulate matter and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). This collaborative project between Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering researchers and the Botanical Society evaluates whether a green wall can improve indoor air quality as a scalable model for future closed-loop habitats. In the study's first phase, student researchers documented ACE Lab dimensions to …

Understanding The Long-Term Patterns Of Change Of A Tidal Marsh In Mission Bay, San Diego, California, Carrie A. Shuster, Theresa Sinicrope Talley Ph.D., Drew Talley Ph.D., Zhi-Yong Yin Ph.D., Kellie Uyeda Ph.D.

Theses

Coastal marshes are among California’s most productive ecosystems and the most impacted, having been extensively modified by dredging, filling, and urban development. This thesis investigates over a century of change for a marsh in Northern Mission Bay, San Diego, California using ecological and spatial analyses.

Chapter 1 provides an overview of the environmental history and current land use of the Northern Mission Bay marsh, tracing changes from pre-contact Indigenous stewardship through colonial and modern urban development. It also introduces a restoration plant palette derived from historical and contemporary species occurrences, ecological functions, and documented cultural uses. By integrating ethnobotanical knowledge …

Mountain Development In Nepal: Settlements, Infrastructure, And Economic Transformation, Keshav Bhattarai, Ambika P. Adhikari

Himalayan Research Papers Archive

As Nepal urbanizes, expands infrastructure, strengthens local governments, and explores deeper connectivity with India and China, climate change is increasing floods, landslides, heat, and water insecurity. Rapid internal migration, rising disaster risks, youth outmigration, and dependence on remittances are also revealing the limits of conventional urban development, especially in the mountainous region. The central challenge for Nepal is no longer just to accommodate growing towns and cities, but to build settlements that are safe, productive, environmentally resilient, and capable of sustaining long-term prosperity.

This paper argues that Nepal's urban future must be guided by a new development paradigm centered on …

Lessons From Tanzania’S Ujamaa For Smart Settlements In Nepal: Social Justice And Economic Development, Keshav Bhattarai, Ambika P. Adhikari

Himalayan Research Papers Archive

Nepal’s constitutional commitment to a “socialism-oriented” state places social justice, equitable access to resources and housing, and protection of marginalized populations at the center of national development discourse. However, persistent landlessness, informal settlements, unemployment, youth outmigration, and unequal access to infrastructure reveal a significant gap between constitutional aspirations and socioeconomic realities.

This article examines lessons Nepal can draw from Tanzania’s experience with Ujamaa, the African socialist development model initiated by President Nyerere in 1967. Using comparative policy analysis, published research, official documents, and exploratory field observations from selected Tanzanian locations, including the capital and villages in the Iringa Region, the …

The Person As Foundation Of Responsibility: The Insufficiency Of Rights-Based Human Development Approaches, Jaclyn Berg

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Building on the plethora of research that demonstrates the way rights language has been more useful for those with wealth and power to further expand capitalist markets, this text extends that criticism to human development programs and institutions. While they claim to be directed towards addressing global issues of poverty and hunger as well as climate crises, they continue to treat the symptoms without accurately diagnosing the disease. Approaches to development that rely on rights without questioning the way rights have been influenced by neoliberal capitalists or without questioning the capitalist global economic system will never be able to achieve …

Why Do We Need To Prove That Pigs Feel?, Aranza Vera-Espinoza, Nancy Harlet Esquivel-Marín

Animal Sentience

Birch's framework manages uncertainty but overlooks the likelihood that citizen panels have speciesist biases that reduce precaution to mere harm-management even in species that undoubtedly feel.

The Shorthorn: April 4, 1986

The Shorthorn Newspaper Collection: 1980s

No abstract provided.

The Shorthorn: March 26, 1986

The Shorthorn Newspaper Collection: 1980s

No abstract provided.

Creating Sustainable School And Home Gardens: Creating An Outreach Booth, Aurora Hughes Villa, Tyelar Haines, Rita Hagevik, Kathy Cabe Trundle, Michelle Parslow

All Current Publications

An outreach booth is a physical presentation that allows your audience to learn more about a subject and how they can participate. It provides information on a topic (e.g., an environmental issue or a community project) through direct interaction with experts in the field. Through this approach, people become engaged, and discussions emerge that foster a sense of community around the topic. Interested in creating one for yourself? Follow the steps outlined in this fact sheet.

Leventhal, Alan, San Jose State University

Emeritus and Retired Faculty Biographies

San Jose State University, Anthropology, MA 1993

(MA Thesis Title: A Reinterpretation of Some San Francisco Bay Mound Sites: A View from the Mortuary Complex from Prehistoric Site CA-ALA-329, The Ryan Mound): https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/etd_theses/694/

City College of New York, Major: Anthropology; Minor: Education and Geology, BA 1973

Archaeological Field Schools

University of Nevada: Nevada State Museum Archaeological Field School, Dr. Robert Elston, Director, June - August 1972

City College of New York Archaeological Field School, Dr. Robert Schuyler, Director, June - August 1971

See CV for Awards/Scholarships, 1972-2013.

Exploring The Democracy And Climate Policy Nexus, Democracy Mechanisms, And Policy Volatility, Brenna Magliacane

Theses & ETDs

A growing area of climate research explores the forms of government best equipped to confront the climate crisis and shape long-term environmental policy. The theories amongst this research seem to advocate for polar solutions: authoritarianism or democracy. Climate change and related ecological challenges increasingly test the capacity of existing political systems to deliver timely and effective responses. This research project aims to answer the questions: To what extent does democracy influence the adoption and implementation of national climate policy? How do democracies and autocracies differ in the strength and durability of their climate policies? Investigating this relationship can inform future …

Cultivating Kalo In Diaspora: A Qualitative Exploration Of Growing And Harvesting Kalo And Its Connection To Health Among Native Hawaiian Adults In The United States, Nicole Lee Kamakahiolani Ellison

Theses and Dissertations

For Native Hawaiians, kalo, known in English as taro, is more than a traditional food; it is an ancestor. As Hāloa, kalo embodies genealogy, cultural identity, and foundational relationships with ʻāina. Today, the majority of Native Hawaiians live outside of Hawaiʻi, yet little research has explored the experiences of Native Hawaiians cultivating kalo while living in the continental United States. Understanding these experiences shows how Native Hawaiians in diaspora sustain cultural practices, identity, and relationships with Hāloa and ʻāina. This descriptive qualitative study explored the experiences and perceptions of growing and harvesting kalo among Native Hawaiian adults living in the …

A Social-Ecological Systems Approach To Integrating Outdoor Recreation And Black Bear Management: A Michigan Case Study, Megan Dorothy Stone

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Outdoor recreation sits at the intersection of social and ecological systems, representing one of the primary ways in which humans directly interact with their natural environment. As a result, outdoor recreation management must balance providing high-quality outdoor recreation opportunities while simultaneously protecting natural resources in protected areas. Balancing these concurrent management goals has become more challenging in recent years as participation in outdoor recreation increases. This can lead to numerous negative impacts on the environment, such as wildlife disturbance. In this study, I explore the challenges and opportunities for collaboration between managers of outdoor recreation and black bears in the …

Nocturnal Insect Diversity Within Myakka Headwaters Preserve (And Its Implications For Local Bat Populations), Devin Brannon

Theses & ETDs

Insects and bats act as potential bioindicators for environmental health in a given area due to their sensitivity to ecological change, alterations, and placement within the food chain. This study works to establish a baseline framework for the assessing of habitat quality in Big Waters Land Trust Myakka Headwaters Preserve (MHP) within Manatee County, Florida. This was done through the combined use of passive acoustic bat monitoring alongside insect light-trapping. Insect sampling was conducted at 8 sites/habitat types across MHP between September and November 2025. The use of a modified UV light trap design resulted in the collection of a …

Developing A New Uas Method For Estimating Heat Exposure On Western Us Trails, Jared Young

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Heat exposure and the risks to human health that stem from it have been studied extensively in the context of urban and occupational settings. Less studied however, is the effect of heat exposure in a recreational setting such as on hiking trails. What makes this fact more surprising is that recreation, especially in the Western US, is extremely popular, with national parks such as Zion and Arches bringing in hundreds of thousands of visitors every year. With millions of recreationists exposed to the hazard of heat every year, it is critical that recreationists are made aware of the dangers they …

Nitrate Levels In The Tap Water Of Several Northeast Iowa Communities In 2026, Kamyar Enshayan

Faculty Publications

Tap water samples were taken from numerous sites in several northeast Iowa communities along the Cedar River to learn what levels of nitrate people are actually drinking over a several-months period in 2026, with the hope of inspiring public conversations, understanding and action. Samples were taken from February to June 2026.  None of the tap water samples violated the current outdated nitrate limit of 10 mg/l set 35 years ago. However, published public health studies in the past 15 years reveal that consuming nitrate in drinking water at levels as low as 5mg/l for a long time can increase the …

Beyond Beliefs: Factors That Shape Agricultural Plastic End-Of-Life Management Among California Strawberry Growers, Kyle Y. Cahitas

Master's Theses

The practice of using plastics in agriculture is so prevalent it has earned its own name: plasticulture. One key plasticulture tool is polyethylene (PE) mulch film, a thin plastic sheet laid over the field for a single growing season and pulled out before the next. Because PE film is hard to recycle, most of it ends up in a landfill, yet how growers decide what happens to used plastic mulch has rarely been studied. To identify what shapes that decision, this study draws on a survey of California strawberry growers (n = 126). Twenty variables, spanning grower attitudes, farm characteristics, …

University Of Central Florida Undergraduate Catalog, 2025-2026, University Of Central Florida

UCF Catalogs

No abstract provided.

Indigenous Community Research Opportunities, Sharon Hausam, Aaron M. Canter

Faculty Publications

This is a working paper produced as part of National Science Foundation project #2115169, “Transforming Rural-Urban Systems: Trajectories for Sustainability in the Intermountain West,” known as the “Intermountain West Transformation Network” (TN), led by the University of New Mexico with institutional partners at three additional universities in New Mexico, two in Arizona, and one each in Utah, Colorado, and Washington. The TN’s Indigenous and Tribal engagement was supported through a contract with Dr. Sharon Hausam, additional work by Aaron M. Canter, coordination with Dr. Lani Tsinnajinnie, and an Advisory Committee on Indigenous Information Needs primarily comprised of Indigenous representatives in …

Opportunities For Leadership In Indigenous And Tribally Engaged Research At The University Of New Mexico, Sharon Hausam

Faculty Publications

This is a working paper produced as part of National Science Foundation project #2115169, “Transforming Rural-Urban Systems: Trajectories for Sustainability in the Intermountain West,” known as the “Intermountain West Transformation Network” (TN), led by the University of New Mexico with institutional partners at three additional universities in New Mexico, two in Arizona, and one each in Utah, Colorado, and Washington. The TN’s Indigenous and Tribal engagement was supported through a contract with Dr. Sharon Hausam, additional work by Aaron M. Canter, coordination with Dr. Lani Tsinnajinnie, and an Advisory Committee on Indigenous Information Needs primarily comprised of Indigenous representatives in …

Spring Ai 2026 Workshop And Speaker Series Report, Gregory Blike, Hannah (Nyingi) Brown, Dora (Dawn) Nguyen, Rami Huu Nguyen, Ajanee Igharo, Frayni Calderon, Moumita Saha, Chengjie Zheng

Paul English Applied Artificial Intelligence (AI) Institute Publications

The AI Workshop and Speaker Series was organized by the Student Advisory Council of the Paul English Applied Artificial Intelligence Institute at the University of Massachusetts Boston with the guidance of Distinguished Professor of Computer Science Wei Ding to create a practical and student-centered AI learning space. The Spring 2026 series included workshops on LinkedIn Optimization, Data Mining, GitHub, Prompt Engineering, Machine Learning of Structured Data, and Applied LLMs with Responsible AI Use in Research, while the broader speaker series introduced students to AI career development, generative AI and LLMs for cybersecurity, transportation security, political sciences, and AI in biomedicine. …