Digital Commons Network^™

The Use Of Instructional Materials In Elementary Science Classrooms, Mary Jo Hoeft

Dissertations - ALL

This mixed methods study explored how elementary teachers reported using a commercially published instructional unit to plan and deliver science instruction in their elementary classrooms. Of particular focus is what elements of the program teachers eliminated during planning and instruction, what outside materials teachers added to instruction, what modifications they made to the materials, and their rationales for these changes to the prescribed program. This study consisted of two phases. The first was a survey of elementary science teachers who taught the Smithsonian Science for the Classroom units. Data collected from this phase informed the subsequent interview phase. I used …

“But Is It Worth The Maintenance?”: Exploring The Ways Adolescent Preservice Teachers Develop Teaching Identities And Implement Pedagogical Practices, Tiffany Hamm

Dissertations - ALL

The climate crisis is an environmental issue that affects people of all walks of life but has disproportionate effects on those living in impoverished communities. The climate crisis therefore is not only an issue of environmental justice, but also social justice. However, incorporating environmental issues within education has typically been left to science classrooms. Teaching for environmental social justice, however, has the potential to extend beyond science content and science classrooms, and instead be incorporated in content across all academic disciplines. This dissertation is a teaching experiment that explored the ways adolescent preservice teachers from various disciplines develop their teaching …

"When The Water Stops But The Bills Never Do”: Contentious Water Politics And Collective Action In El Salvador, Claudia Isabel Diaz-Combs

Dissertations - ALL

This dissertation explores the water crisis in El Salvador, a small Central American country surrounded by abundant freshwater resources that is nonetheless plagued with chronic water shortages, contaminated drinking water, and expensive water bills. For nearly two decades, competing groups pursued water legislation intended to address these multi-faceted issues. Finally, in December 2021, President Nayib Bukele codified the Law of Water Resources, bringing the protracted struggle to a conclusion. Yet a few years later, water issues persist, and no one is satisfied with the policy. I approach this issue through the perspective of five different social groups: the environmental movement, …

Federal Government: Assessing The Impact Of Lithium Mineral Resource Extraction On Indigenous Communities In The State Of Nevada, Zachary Johnigan

Student Research

The research topic for this project is lithium mining which holds significance to indigenous populations in the State of Nevada and mineral extraction companies seeking to mine there. My research objective is to gain a deeper understanding of the direct impacts that lithium mining has had on indigenous communities, throughout history and today. Overall, the purpose of the project is to expound upon the implications of lithium mining on indigenous communities in response to the recent higher demand for the critical mineral in the United States. If it can be understood exactly how lithium mining has affected Nevada’s indigenous population, …

Moral Arguments For Water Justice And The Jackson Water Crisis, Benjamin Oliver

Honors Theses

Across the United States, residents of towns and cities find themselves increasingly concerned with their water supply. In 2022, attention shifted to Jackson, Mississippi, as over 150,000 residents of the majority Black capital city were left without clean water. In this thesis, I discuss this case study as well as cases in Baltimore, Maryland, Flint, Michigan, and Newark, New Jersey, finding that across these cities, there exist patterns of environmental racism and divestment in public resources. Crisis is soon to follow when these patterns compound with the climate change consequences of more intense weather and pollution. To discuss this pattern …

'My Body Is Fertile Ground': Exploring Relational Agriculture Through Gender, Body, And Local Food Policy, Erin M. Tansimore

Graduate Student Portfolios, Professional Papers, and Capstone Projects

This master's portfolio, "'My Body Is Fertile Ground': Exploring Relational Agriculture Through Gender, Body, and Local Food Policy," explores the concept of relational agriculture through multiple forms of practice. It comprises three parts: a personal essay discussing the author's experiences with the land as a young woman with a turbulent relationship with her own body; a literature review on gender dynamics in alternative agricultural spaces; and a survey report and a USDA Census of Agriculture data brief produced during an internship with two local food entities.

The first piece, "My Body Is Fertile Ground," details the author's experience with an …

Cooking, Colonialism, & Color, Vibi S. Bakshi

Graduate Student Portfolios, Professional Papers, and Capstone Projects

My project is decolonial, exploring how colonization applies to non-human animals. Engaging animal philosophy, philosophy of culinary authenticity, and philosophy of race, I will create vegan cooking tutorials aimed at communities of color. While there is significant literature exploring ourselves as primarily bodily beings before being individuals with personhood, it is often situated in an ecofeminist lens. My contribution builds on existing efforts to reveal the implicit bias within veganism and work to counteract it by applying how colonization of non-human animals and people can be resisted through cooking. A goal of this community engagement project is reducing environmental injustice …

Matthew's Professional Portfolio, Matthew James Feth

Graduate Student Portfolios, Professional Papers, and Capstone Projects

A comprehensive summary of my experiences thus far and my mastery of the core competencies of the social work profession.

Social Work - Acting In Love, Dawn Rain Lyga

Graduate Student Portfolios, Professional Papers, and Capstone Projects

No abstract provided.

The Literary Imagination In A Post-Natural World, Kat L. Jackson

Graduate Student Portfolios, Professional Papers, and Capstone Projects

Environmental Writing Workshops Community Engagement Project - Kat Jackson

The Environmental Craftsfolk: Making Things In A World Full Of Stuff, Zoey Ballard

Graduate Student Portfolios, Professional Papers, and Capstone Projects

This Civic Engagement Project (CEP) proposes a transformative approach to addressing the complex challenges of environmental degradation and disconnection from nature through the establishment of the Eco-Craft Cabal in Missoula, Montana. The project seeks to reframe environmental consciousness through the lens of craft, fostering improved connections with the local environment and promoting community resilience. By repurposing both natural and artificial materials in inclusive, accessible crafting activities, the Eco-Craft Cabal aims to empower participants to confront feelings of despair and hopelessness with tangible, meaningful actions.

And Food Justice For All: Advancing Access To Just And Sustainable Food Systems, Makenna Grace Landry

Graduate Student Portfolios, Professional Papers, and Capstone Projects

A collection of work exploring food justice and food access programming in Western Montana, as well as a critique of the Bayer-Monsanto merger.

Corporate Environmental Responsibility: Navigating Policy, Impact, And Equity, Tyler Halligan

Graduate Student Portfolios, Professional Papers, and Capstone Projects

This master's portfolio, "Corporate Environmental Responsibility: Navigating Policy, Impact, and Equity," explores the profound impact of corporations on environmental degradation. It comprises three key pieces:

The first piece, "Understanding Factors Shaping Corporate Environmental and Social Responsibility: Navigating a Path Towards Greater Accountability," examines seven critical areas influencing corporate conduct: legal frameworks, global trade, multilateral development banks, international investment laws and agreements, corporate lobbying, transparency and environmental accountability, and economic growth priorities. The analysis covers historical contexts and contemporary challenges, advocating for robust regulatory measures and ethical business practices.

The second piece, "Treatment as a State (TAS) under the Clean Air …

Autonomy, Compassion, And Connection: Msw Portfolio, Lucy Elizabeth Chadwick

Graduate Student Portfolios, Professional Papers, and Capstone Projects

No abstract provided.

The Contribution Of Pope Francis’ Integral Ecology To Global Ethics, Salvatore Enzo Del Brocco

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The defense of the dignity and inviolability of human life has always gained prominence in the doctrine of the Catholic Church. With Pope Francis' concept of integral ecology, Catholic bioethics is expanded to a broader understanding. His vision of integral ecology, global bioethics, and solidarity emphasizes the interconnectedness of all things and the importance of caring for one another and the planet. It calls us to recognize our common humanity and to work together for the common good by facing the numerous emerging problems of our times, which threaten the dignity of human life and the future life of the …

Patagonian Precarity: Extractive Tourism And Subaltern Activism In El Chaltén, Argentina, Kaitlyn C. Sisco

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines the relationship between extractive tourism and social activism in Southern Andean Patagonia. Its central goal is to unpack the systems that structurally marginalize subaltern populations and inspire their resistance. Through ethnographic attention to El Chaltén, Argentina, I investigate how extractive tourism generates various forms of social activism that manifest in social dimensions such as class and gender. In El Chaltén’s ecotourism terrain, feminine and dissident experiences have been historically devalued. I argue that El Chaltén is a crucible for subaltern, structurally marginalized activism. The extractive tourism industry—tied to housing/land inequality and gender violence—generates and catalyzes various forms …

Front Matter

Texas A&M Law Review

Front Matter

Carrots, Sticks, And The Evolution Of U.S. Climate Policy, Brian Murray, Jonas Monast

Texas A&M Law Review

The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), enacted by Congress in 2022, is the most significant federal investment in decarbonization in U.S. history. The law makes hundreds of billions of dollars available for clean energy tax credits, grants to state and local governments, and other financial incentives for public and private investments. The IRA’s focus on incentives, or “carrots,” marks a significant departure from the emphasis on prescriptive regulations and penalties, or “sticks,” that are prominent in federal and state climate policies that predate the IRA. This Article situates the IRA within the existing climate policy framework and explores the long-term impacts …

The Climate Moratorium, Keith H. Hirokawa, Cinnamon P. Carlarne

Texas A&M Law Review

Climate change is our new reality. The impacts of climatic changes, including massive forest fires, floods, drought, severe storms, saltwater intrusion, and the resulting migration of people displaced by such impacts, will continue to ravage communities across the nation into the foreseeable future. In the meantime, communities continue to expand and growth continues unabated in many of the most climate-impacted areas. Given that most communities are unprepared for the onslaught of climate disasters and many continue to increase existing community vulnerabilities through unsustainable growth and development practices, we need legal tools that will provide space to engage in effective adaptation …

Msw Portfolio, Mallory Phillips

Graduate Student Portfolios, Professional Papers, and Capstone Projects

No abstract provided.

Breaking Ground: Understanding Indigenous Mining Disputes Through Negotiation Theory, Shaadie Ali

Minnesota Journal of Law, Science & Technology

No abstract provided.

Factors Influencing Donation Decisions To Environmental Nongovernmental Organizations, Fernando Alferd Crocheron

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

While philanthropic studies have been conducted for centuries, little information exists regarding factors that impel donors to make financial donations to environmental nongovernmental organizations (ENGOs). The phenomena surrounding human motivation have been studied via numerous lenses providing information focused on various domains of interest e.g., poverty alleviation, provisioning of educational opportunity, disease eradication, disaster relief, etc. The theoretical framework for this study was Self-Determination Theory (SDT). This study focused specifically on U.S. citizens and the motivational factors that impel said citizens to make monetary contributions to ENGOs. Ten participants ages 18 and over who had donated to an ENGO in …

Nothing At Stake But Life’S Essentials: How Sole Reliance On New Textualism Endangers Clean Water, Environmental Justice Communities, And Environmental Law (And A Judicial Framework To Fix It), Samantha Bingaman

Maryland Law Review

No abstract provided.

Table Of Contents

Maryland Law Review

No abstract provided.

Querida Promotora, Cristina Faiver-Serna

Faculty Publications

This open letter to the promotoras de salud (community health workers) of Long Beach, California explores the multifaceted demands placed on low-wage, highly skilled health educators within the nonprofit industrial complex, and exposes the geographies of Latinx health precarity from the perspective of urban health care feminized labor. The letter also shares and celebrates the deep commitment to justice that promotoras struggle toward through their care work.

“If We Don't Get The Help That We Need, What Does That Say About The Future For Americans?”: A Rhetorical Analysis Of Public Responses To Ohio Environmental Disasters, Kaitlin M. Gold

Masters Theses, 2020-current

This thesis examines three case studies surrounding various Ohio environmental disasters and controversies. In particular, I explore how the public has resisted and asserted themselves through advocacy measures to ensure that their homes and communities are safe. The case studies examine how the state of Ohio has evaded responsibility and not taken action, and thus how the public has attempted to resist those efforts through various means. While Olson and Goodnight’s (1994) conception of oppositional arguments acts as a methodological backbone to the thesis, each case study employs other specific tools of rhetorical analysis to better understand each chapter and …

Examining The Urban Heat Island Effect In Albany, Ny Using Remote Sensing And Gis Techniques, Zhaoxin Ma

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This research delves into the complex dynamics of the Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect within the urban landscape of Albany, New York, employing advanced remote sensing and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) methodologies. With a primary focus on two interconnected objectives, this study attempts to unravel the spatial patterns of temperature extremes and assess associated vulnerabilities within communities, while also exploring the influence of green space distribution on the intensity of urban heat islands. The first objective examines temperature extremes' spatial distribution and vulnerability among demographic groups such as race/ethnicity, age, and income. It examines whether marginalized communities bear a disproportionate …

Breaking The Green Ceiling: A Study On The Impact Of State Legislatures' Gender Representation On The Implementation Of Environmental Policy, Isabelle Mcgill

Honors Theses

As the significance of climate change and other environmental issues escalates, it becomes imperative for lawmakers to address these pressing challenges. At the same time, our country is slowly electing more women to office, and legislatures are becoming more representative of their constituencies. In my research, I investigate whether greater gender representation influences the adoption of environmental policies in the context of U.S. state legislatures. The study begins by examining descriptive representation and its relationship to substantive representation, highlighting how the presence of women in legislative offices can impact policy outcomes. Drawing on research that shows a gender gap between …

Navigating Global Influence: A Qualitative Exploration Of Funding Dynamics And Stakeholder Engagement In Sexual And Reproductive Health Organizations In Nepal, Jenisha Mainali

Masters Theses, 2020-current

This paper investigates the dynamics of power and influence within transnational advocacy networks (TANs) operating in the realm of Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) through qualitative interviews with eight SRHR advocates from Nepal. The research explores the collaborative processes and dialogues and relationship between non-governmental organizations (NGOs) receiving funding from the Global North and international nonprofits. By analyzing the thematic results derived from the interviews, two themes emerged, one being the Duality of Funding Relationship and Domestic Challenges being the other. The findings reveal that participants utilize various communication channels, such as email, WhatsApp, phone calls, and Zoom …

Madre Tierra: Black Women And Environmental (In)Justice On The Pacific Coast Of Colombia, Kache Claytor

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation tracks the stories of Black Colombian women, mothers, and children in relation to mining, and especially illegal mining, to highlight the intersections of gender, class, race, space, and time amid (un)natural environmental catastrophes in contemporary Colombia. Black Colombians have an interdependent relationship with the earth and also have rights to ancestral lands, territories, and natural resources according to Law 70 of 1993, which established collective rights for Black communities. The failure to recognize this has led to increased forced internal migration and expropriation in Black territories because of illegal mining. Nevertheless, in this dissertation, I spotlight how Black …