Digital Commons Network^™

Wellbeing, Mental Health, And Natural Resource Dependency In Rural Utah, Kristen Rene Koci

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

This dissertation examines wellbeing, mental health, and natural resource (NR) dependency in rural Utah. The following questions are asked: How do wellbeing and mental health vary throughout the state of Utah, including by rural-urban location? What concerns do applied practitioners have regarding mental health in rural parts of the state? How do chronic stress and social dislocation contribute to mental health outcomes in rural NR dependent communities in the state? Four studies were conducted to pursue these research questions.

The first two studies use data from the Utah Wellbeing Survey to explore wellbeing and mental health in Utah communities over …

Water Equity And Planning: Acid Mine Drainage In Deckers Creek Watershed, Brooke O. Waters, Lennon Jewell Auvil, Grace Dever

Undergraduate Scholarship

When mines close, they simply do not disappear. They cannot be buried or forgotten about. The implications of mining leave a lasting history and impact not only on our lands but on the people as well. Abandoned mine lands are areas of our community and environment that have been destroyed due to the extraction of coal and other minerals. Mining results in the destruction of landscapes, contamination of waterways, and the emission of harmful chemicals to our communities.
Acid Mine Drainage (AMD) is a resultant water pollutant that is derived from mining practices, active or abandoned. This pollutant forms from …

Preservice Teachers Learning To Teach In An Anti-Racist/Climate-Justice Program: Challenges And Promises, Richard Sawyer

Northwest Journal of Teacher Education

The global climate crisis represents the most urgent problem facing the planet, impacting social, cultural, political, economic, and environmental dimensions of life. Alarmingly, it has impacted communities of color in disproportionate ways (Goddell, 2023; Pellow, 2013). The climate crisis, along with the intertwined context of racism, places a profound responsibility on social justice teacher educators to prioritize addressing these issues in teacher preparation. The intent of the following two case studies is to explore the impact of a project based teacher preparation program focused on cultural and environmental justice on the pedagogical knowledge and practice of teaching interns at the …

Developing More Useful Equity Measurements For Flood-Risk Management, Adam Pollack, Casey Helgeson, Carolyn Kousky, Klaus Keller

Dartmouth Scholarship

Decision-makers increasingly invoke equity to motivate, design, implement and evaluate strategies for managing flood risks. Unfortunately, there is little guidance on how analysts can develop measurements that support these tasks. Here we analyse how equity can be defined and measured by surveying 167 peer-reviewed publications that explicitly state an interest in equity in the context of flood-risk management. Our main result is a taxonomy that systematizes how equity has been, and can be, defined and measured in flood-risk research. The taxonomy embodies how equity is a pluralistic and unavoidably ethical concept. Despite this, we find that most quantitative studies fail …

Creating A New Border Culture In The Midst Of The Climate Crisis: Activism And Pedagogy Strategies For Teacher Preparation, Puneet S. Gill

Northwest Journal of Teacher Education

This paper documents the efforts of an activist group that came to teach about activist efforts, climate change/climate justice/climate crisis issues, and to create leaders in one border community. The leaders of this three-day workshop are a part of an activist organization named SOMOS Sunrise, the Latine constituency of the Sunrise movement. In this paper, I will analyze the climate change workshop training days and components of the workshops. Secondly, this paper will document a climate cohort education group conducted with undergraduate students and pre-service teachers the following summer. This climate cohort helped articulate art activism and public speaking opportunities …

323-What Is The Geospatial Distribution Of Dairy Farms In Western New York And How Does This Distribution Compare To Documented Violations Of Dairy Farmworkers’ Rights?, Kerrin Cleary

GREAT Day Posters

The dairy industry in Western New York plays a crucial role in the region's economy and agricultural landscape. However, there are many injustices within the dairy industry. This project aims to map dairy farms in Western New York while discussing dairy farmerworkers' rights with the goal of implementing them. The overall goal of this project is to create a transparent publicly accessible map of dairy farms in western New York.The first step is to create a comprehensive map of dairy farms in Western New York using geospatial technology such as Google Earth Pro and Mymaps. The next step is to …

112-Shade Speaks Louder Than Words - An Analysis Of And Solution To Tree Canopy Inequity In Rochester, Ny, Kayla Andersen

GREAT Day Posters

Disproportionate and inequitable tree canopy cover and access to urban green space is a common issue in many cities of the United States, including Rochester, New York. Due to racially discriminatory practices in Rochester’s past, such as redlining and resource distribution (e.g. tree replacement), many communities in the city experience an urban heat island effect, where surface temperatures in urban neighborhoods reach dangerous temperatures in the absence of vegetational interference. Communities which are the most impacted include those of high poverty levels and races other than white, such as the neighborhood near Clifford and Joseph Avenues in the notorious “Crescent …

The Ugliness Movement: Riot Grrrl's Use Of Ugliness As Feminist Subversion, Maylee Rollins

The Purdue Historian

In the 1990s, Riot Grrrl took the punk and feminist worlds by storm. It emphasized community and represented third-wave feminism in radical form. One particular example that represents the Riot Grrrl ideology well is ugliness. Throughout the movement, artists like Courtney Love and Kathleen Hanna used their musical platform to show the world their view of femininity. This involved body writing and reclaiming words used to degrade women, as well as dressing up in controversial outfits dubbed as “kinderwhore.” The aims of these women in using ugliness in their music were to subvert sexism in the punk scene and bring …

The Symbolic Capital Of The Neoliberal University, Chad Lavin

Emancipations: A Journal of Critical Social Analysis

The paper examines the concerns about the enduring value of liberal education in the broader context of a shift from a liberal to a neoliberal society. While so much literature on “the neoliberal university” tends to characterize neoliberalism as a hostile force invading the sacred space of the university, the knowledge comprising neoliberalism is in large part the product of research coming out of universities. Using the concept of symbolic capital to explore the role of university researchers in developing and consecrating neoliberal ideas, the paper argues that even in this era of heightened skepticism toward experts and expertise, university …

Indigenous Communities Are Disproportionately Burdened By Environmental Contamination, Rae Cade, Danlin Yu, Kyle Whyte, Pankaj Lal, Cortni Borgerson

Student Research Symposium

Indigenous populations are disproportionately affected by both environmental pollution and health disparities resulting in mortality rates 60% higher than their white counterparts. Previous research has revealed instances of pollution from facilities which have caused severe health issues in Indigenous communities. Despite this, widespread geographic studies of the spatial correlation between Environmental Justice (EJ) and Indigenous populations remain lacking. This chapter examines whether Indigenous people in the northeastern United States are inequitably burdened by contamination. I find that Indigenous people are disproportionately exposed to 21 superfund contaminants, regardless of state or federal recognition. The sources of these contaminants varied, ranging from …

Water Security And Justice: Community Pfas Exposure In Monongalia County, Selena A. Melendez, Ilan Rice, Grace Dever

Undergraduate Scholarship

Water security and justice is the right of all people to have reasonable access to clean and safe water. Pollution in the form of toxic discharge from various industries poses a significant risk to public and environmental health. Among these toxic pollutants are per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), also known as "forever chemicals” that compromise water quality in our communities. Despite the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) in 1974 aimed at ensuring clean drinking water for WV, there is still an alarming pattern of neglect and injustice to communities related to race, ethnicity, socio-economic status, and language barriers . Non-compliance …

Volume Cxliii, Number 20, April 26, 2024, Lawrence University

The Lawrentian

No abstract provided.

Elois Freeman Full Interview Transcript, Urban Green Lab, Tennessee State University

Hear from Elois Freeman - Native Nashvillian Who Came Home

No abstract provided.

Quantitative Trends Of Air Quality In Nwi Using And Evaluating The Purpleair Sensors, Abe Orozco-Munoz, Emma Bollech, Christopher Iceman

Symposium on Research and Creative Expression (SORCE)

Regulations imposed on air quality have a direct impact to respiratory health. The relationship of particulate matter to respiratory health has been improving and the link to health problems has only grown stronger. The purpose of this investigation was to quantitatively study and monitor air quality trends of particulate matter using low cost air quality sensors in Northwest Indiana (NWI) and evaluating the PurpleAir sensors for use in the community. Multiple PurpleAir air quality index (AQI) sensors were placed across several cities in NWI. A years’ worth of data was accumulated and processed data consisted of particulate matter of 2.5µm …

Reverberation Of Ecocritical Concerns In The Novels Of Kazuo Ishiguro, Bavetra S

Theses and Dissertations

Kazuo Ishiguro, one of the most celebrated contemporary writers, has authored eight novels. As a Noble Laureate of 2017, his works are constantly under academic scrutiny. One of the best-explored themes in the works of Ishiguro is memories and emotions. No writer of meritable artistic integrity can ever stay away from the pressing issue of his age. Intriguingly, Ishiguro's works seem to lack engagement with environmental issues. The extensive study of Literature reiterates the point that Ishiguro's works are explored solely for a diminished ratio in terms of environmental challenges.

The researcher has identified the lack of critical attention on …

Restorative Parks And Emotional Wellbeing In Camden City, Nj, Benjamin Woodward, Hannah Genereux, Jonathan Hansel, Mahbubur Meenar

STEM Student Research Symposium Posters

The content presented in this poster is associated with two projects that focus on the intersection of restorative park design and the emotional and mental wellbeing of park users within the context of the City of Camden, NJ, a community that has faced environmental injustices for many decades. Both projects are initiated by the Rowan University Community Planning + Visualization Lab, with one funded by NASA and the other by the Rowan University Catalyst Grant program. Collaborators include Rowan students, faculty, as well as researchers from external entities, both national and international. Additionally, the Rowan University Planning Studio 2023 participated …

Prefatory Matter And Table Of Contents

University of Miami Law Review

No abstract provided.

Prefatory Matter And Table Of Contents

University of Miami Law Review

No abstract provided.

Critical Language Education For Peace: On The Significance Of Communicative Agency For Education For Human Rights, Peace, And Sustainable Development, Frauke Matz, Ricardo Römhild

International Journal of Human Rights Education

This conceptual paper explores the intersection of human rights, children's rights, and peace education, and language education. Languages, communication, and dialogue play a crucial role in international understanding and cooperation towards human rights, children's rights, and peace.

This contribution recognizes communicative competence as inclusive of ideology-critical abilities (Delanoy, 2017) and begins by arguing that for students to become “agents of change and protagonists of their future” (UNESCO, 2024, p. 5), their communicative agen-cy must be considered an essential aspect of transformative education. The discussion will focus on the field of English (as a “foreign,” second or additional) language education, as …

Dispossession Of Ancestral Land: Effect Of Displacement On Indigenous Peoples' Life Satifaction, Kaitlyn Bird, Hailey Shangin, Alana Smutz, Julisa Lopez, Adam Farero, Stephanie Fryberg

University of Montana Conference on Undergraduate Research (UMCUR)

North America's history of forced displacement and relocation of Indigenous tribes continues to affect contemporary Indigenous peoples (Wolfe, 2006). As climate change, socioeconomic disparities, and industry encroachment shape displacement, Indigenous people continue to be negatively impacted (Covey, 2021). The current work explores how displacement impacts life satisfaction for Indigenous Peoples, and whether cultural embeddedness modifies this relationship. Using the Indigenous Climate Justice survey (N=282), regression analysis illustrates that those who have not been displaced generally report higher life satisfaction than those who have been displaced (β=-0.255, SE= 0.108 p= 0.019). Lower reported life satisfaction is especially prevalent when those displaced …

Green Road Project From An Environmental Justice Perspective: Stakeholders, Alternatives And Conflicts, Öykü Öztürk Karali

GSTC Academic Symposium - In conjunction with the GSTC Global Conference

The Green Road Project, viewed from an environmental justice perspective, delves into the complex interplay between tourism and the environment. Tourism heavily relies on natural resources and environmental beauty to sustain itself, yet it also inflicts significant negative impacts such as land and resource depletion, waste generation, and carbon emissions. Unfortunately, these adverse effects often go unaddressed or are deliberately disregarded in tourism policies, leading to socio-environmental conflicts globally.

This study specifically examines the socio-environmental conflict surrounding the Eastern Black Sea Green Road Project, aiming to understand the perspectives of stakeholders in the region. The Green Road Project, proposed by …

Family Medicine’S Role In Addressing The Intersections Of Redlining And Climate Change, Daryl O. Traylor, Eboni E. Anderson, Brianna Clark, Alex M. Smith, Cooper K. Allenbrand

Journal of Sustainable Social Impact

Redlining, the practice of discriminating against specific neighborhoods based on race and socioeconomic status, leads to persistent environmental hazards and socioeconomic inequalities that have lasting adverse health effects on their populations. Health disparities are further exacerbated through the concentration of environmental hazards, as well as the escalating impact of climate change, which poses an increased risk of respiratory illness, cardiovascular disease, mental health issues, heat-related illness, infectious diseases, food insecurity, and socioeconomic difficulties in redline neighborhoods.

This paper examines the interplay of redlining, climate change, and health disparities, with an emphasis on the enduring consequences for these marginalized communities. Through …

Smoldering Fire On The Mountain: The Wider Context Of The Battle Of Blair Mountain, Benjamin Grist

Liberty University Research Week

The Battle of Blair Mountain was the largest labor uprising in American history, and the climactic end to the West Virginia Coal Wars. Most modern scholars focus on the events in the year leading up to the battle. This is understandable, as a gunfight between a union-sympathizing sheriff and company-back detectives is a thrilling event to begin a book or journal article with and acts as a good starting point to explain year-long escalation that ended with the military being called in to put down the uprising. However, the West Virginia Coal Wars were not simply those events leading up …

2024 Reday Awards, Bryant University

Bryant REDay (Research and Engagement Day)

No abstract provided.

Love Canal By Richard Newman, Brooklyn Minix, Alura Schaum, Eli Thomas, Douglas Mock

2024 Celebration of Student Scholarship - Poster Presentations

Richard Newman's 2016 book Love Canal: A Toxic History from Colonial Times to the Present takes readers on a journey through time as he examines one of the most infamous examples of environmental disasters in American history. Newman details an unfortunate series of events beginning with the creation of Love's Canal and concluding with the aftermath of the residential horror. Newman places the situation in Love Canal inside of a broader context by considering the various environmental justice movements taking place across the country at the time. Newman's "Love Canal" is not only a compelling narrative that brings awareness to …

Front Matter And Table Of Contents

University of Miami Business Law Review

No abstract provided.

The State Of The Carbon Capture And Sequestration Industry In California In 2024: Challenges And Policy Solutions, Noah Jackson

School of Public Policy Capstones

Carbon Capture and Sequestration (CCS) is the process of capturing CO₂ from an above ground carbon source, transporting it to a sequestration well, and permanently sinking it deep underground. Despite the state of California depending on CCS to reach carbon neutrality, not one CCS project is operational yet in the state. Due to the recent creation and expansion of state low carbon fuel standard (LCFS) credits and the federal 45Q credits, CCS projects are beginning to be developed. Between 2021 and 2023 twelve Class VI applications were submitted to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in California.

This paper …

Water Stories: A River Harvest, Tru Leverette Hall Ph.D., Maureen E. Mccluskey Ph.D.

DHI Digital Projects Showcase

Poster presented at the 2024 DHI showcase

Identifying Multilevel Predictors Of Behavioral Outcomes Like Park Use: A Comparison Of Conditional And Marginal Modeling Approaches, Marilyn E. Wende, S. Morgan Hughey, Alexander C. Mclain, Shirelle Hallum, J. Aaron Hipp, Jasper Schipperijn, Ellen W. Stowe, Andrew T. Kaczynski Ph.D.

Faculty Publications

This study compared marginal and conditional modeling approaches for identifying individual, park and neighborhood park use predictors. Data were derived from the ParkIndex study, which occurred in 128 block groups in Brooklyn (New York), Seattle (Washington), Raleigh (North Carolina), and Greenville (South Carolina). Survey respondents (n = 320) indicated parks within one half-mile of their block group used within the past month. Parks (n = 263) were audited using the Community Park Audit Tool. Measures were collected at the individual (park visitation, physical activity, sociodemographic characteristics), park (distance, quality, size), and block group (park count, population density, age structure, racial …

The Link April 16, 2024, Access To Justice Institute

The Link Newsletter

No abstract provided.