Digital Commons Network^™

Ethics In U.S. Immigration, Christy Mak

Bryant University Undergraduate Journal

No abstract provided.

A Historical Examination Of Native American And European Agroforestry, Reed Bryant

Bryant University Undergraduate Journal

According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), “Agroforestry is the intentional integration of trees and shrubs into crop and animal farming systems to create environmental, economic, and social benefits. It has been practiced in the United States and around the world for centuries.” However, for many practitioners in the past, agroforestry was not simply an “integration of trees and shrubs into animal farming systems,” nor was it simply a means to produce foodstuffs. For them, agroforestry defined a way of life where trees were fixtures in the landscape which bore many life-giving gifts: fruits and nuts to eat, …

The Carriage House, Emma Kane

Bryant University Undergraduate Journal

Poem created for LCS 220 - Creativity and the Arts taught by Joan Zaretti. For the assignment, students chose a piece of campus artwork (either in the AIC or in the Unistructure) and wrote a poem describing the painting.

A Lonely Waterfall, Sarah Lostowski

Bryant University Undergraduate Journal

Poem created for LCS 220 - Creativity and the Arts taught by Joan Zaretti. For the assignment, students chose a piece of campus artwork (either in the AIC or in the Unistructure) and wrote a poem describing the painting.

Famous?, Jaeden Patterson

Bryant University Undergraduate Journal

Poem created for LCS 220 - Creativity and the Arts taught by Joan Zaretti. For the assignment, students chose a piece of campus artwork (either in the AIC or in the Unistructure) and wrote a poem describing the painting.

Table Of Contents

Bryant University Undergraduate Journal

No abstract provided.

Blue Vista #8, Tristan Beale

Bryant University Undergraduate Journal

Poem created for LCS 220 - Creativity and the Arts taught by Joan Zaretti. For the assignment, students chose a piece of campus artwork (either in the AIC or in the Unistructure) and wrote a poem describing the painting.

Verso

Bryant University Undergraduate Journal

No abstract provided.

The Fierce Green Fire: Vol. 13 Issue 17, Wofford College. Department Of Environmental Studies

The Fierce Green Fire

No abstract provided.

A Cost-Benefit Analysis Of Preserving The Great Barrier Reef, Taylor Cox

Honors Theses

This paper investigates both the economic benefits and costs of protecting Australia’s Great Barrier Reef (GBR). The benefits associated with the Reef come from a 2016 Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited report and quantifies direct economic contributions, nonuse values, and a social, economic, and icon value. The costs of protecting the Reef come from a collection of sources, including the Reef 2050 Long-Term Sustainability Plan, “The Cost and Feasibility of Marine Coastal Restoration”, and a number of annual reports from governmental and non-governmental organizations. By analyzing these documents, the net benefits were calculated. The Great Barrier Reef contributes $6.4 billion to …

21st Century Political Agronomy: Between Collapse And Apocalypse In The Capitalist World System, Harrison Raskin

Honors Scholar Theses

Examinations of the causal chain between ecological impacts and food shortages reveal significant impending global disturbances. This paper draws a causal link between ecological impacts and low food productivity which will lead to food insecurity and economic crises in the near term. Further, this paper argues that food insecurity may lead to the collapse of the capitalist world system. This threat is contrasted with “business as usual” climate models which, rather than depicting the collapse of the capitalist world system, depict its persistence throughout the collapse of the world ecology.

The Impact Of Environmental Education Delivery Methods And Outreach Messaging On Attitudes, Interests, And Intended-Behavior Changes Toward Nature, Vanessa Elizabeth Hoffman

Theses and Dissertations

Environmental education (EE) is important for environmental awareness and stewardship. Involving youth and adults in EE ensures current and future generations will conserve natural resources. This thesis explores impacts of delivery methods on participants’ environmental attitudes and behaviors toward nature through middle school classroom- and camp-based EE instruction, focus group interviews with rural minority youth, and adult responses to aquatic conservation outreach messaging. I observed no difference in environmental attitudes between online versus in-person delivery of EE lessons for middle-schoolers. Outdoor-based learning may be more impactful for EE than experiential, classroom-based learning. Focus group outcomes suggested youth EE programs should …

Synthesis Of Biomass-Based Graphene Nanomaterials For Aqueous Heavy Metal Removal And Cement-Based Composite Property Enhancement, Tharindu N. Karunaratne

Theses and Dissertations

Utilizing biomass such as lignin, bamboo, soybean, corn stalk, rice husk, etc., as a carbon source to produce graphene-based nanomaterials has been reported recently. However, the potential of using such nanomaterials for engineering and environmental applications has not been realized. This dissertation investigates the use of graphene-based nanomaterials synthesized from using biomass as a carbon source for water remediation and cement-based composites’ (CBCs) property enhancement.

The first chapter introduces graphene and graphene-based nanomaterials, as well as the synthesis and application of graphene-based nanomaterials for removing heavy metals in an aqueous solution and for property enhancement in CBCs. The experimental investigation …

Nature-Based Group Therapy For Women Living With Depression Through A Narrative Lens, Cora Anderson

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

The field of nature-based therapy treatment is rapidly expanding. With an emphasis on healing the disconnectedness of the modern world through experiencing interconnectedness with the natural world, this modality is particularly useful in treating symptoms of social isolation and hopelessness within populations living with major depressive disorder. The literature highlights emotional and biological benefits of mental health counseling in a natural setting with key therapeutic factors. Researchers highlighted these factors as the natural environment itself, the element of challenge, nature as a third-party influence on therapeutic relationship, and expansiveness and interconnectedness of the natural world (Naor & Mayseless, 2021). Within …

Renovating America's Electrical Grid: Renewable Sources And Resilient Delivery, Justin O'Hare Giffee

Student Theses 2015-Present

Since the late 1800s, America’s electrical grid systems have relied primarily upon fossil fuels for sources of electricity. Due to the outdated structural foundations and glaring holes in distribution networks, the existing electrical grids struggle with electricity escaping, and modern issues such as cybersecurity, resilience, and weather-related events associated with climate change. This essay discusses ongoing problems with current electric grid systems and aims at explaining the importance of incorporating renewables as a solution for these problems into a new grid system. In the first chapter, a detailed explanation is provided regarding the current issues present in America's grid systems. …

A Path To Achieve European Energy Security, Nicholas Wolf

Student Theses 2015-Present

The apparatus of Europe’s energy security has collapsed. The Russian Federation’s invasion of Ukraine, hydrocarbon market turmoil, and the ever-growing threat of climate change has thrust the continent into crisis. As the risks of severe recession, acute energy shortages, and climatic disasters have begun to materialize, the member states of the European Union (EU) have been left scrambling to secure novel energy supplies. In the short-term, these developments pose severe risks to the EU and its member states. Yet, opportunity often presents itself in the midst of hardship, and the European Energy Crisis of 2022 is no different. This essay …

Identity Vs Institution: Political Violence Against Environmental Activists In Colombia, Sophie Genolio

Student Theses 2015-Present

This paper addresses the political violence against environmental activists in Colombia and analyzes the roles colonization, political history, and identity play in this violence. It discusses the causes environmental activists have put their lives on the line for and the response of the state, which is often to murder, displace, silence, or brutalize these individuals. I argue that from the first instances of European colonization in the Americas to the modern extractive economies of globalization, the hegemony of foreign interests in Colombia has been maintained through the violence against Colombians resisting environmental degradation and the theft of wealth and resources …

Celebration Of Faculty Scholarship 2022, Olin Library

Celebration of Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Ready For The World - Journey To Commencement, Edwin Smith

Journey to Commencement

Matt Knerr excelled in every aspect of university life and beyond.

Fight To Ignite: The Impacts Of Climate Change On Prescribed Burning In Pine Forests, Chloe Anderson

Celebrating Scholarship and Creativity Day (2018-)

Prescribed burning is a strategy that has been used to manage the health of forest ecosystems for thousands of years. While these practices have certainly evolved over time, recent impacts of climate change are threatening the future feasibility of implementing fire in forest management altogether. This ecological process is essential to restoring and maintaining a healthy forest ecosystem as fire acts as a catalyst by returning nutrients to soil and promoting healthy regrowth. Prescribed burning prepares forestlands for reforestation by destroying weeds and other competitive species so that native and fire-dependent species can reproduce. This process also lessens the fuel …

A New World Order?: Considering Slaughter’S Notion Of The Disaggregated And Networked State, Darlene N. Moorman

The Downtown Review: An Interdisciplinary Journal Written and Peer-Reviewed by Mandel Honors College Students at Cleveland State University

This paper briefly explains Slaughter's (2004) argument for the emergence of a new world order defined by a disaggregated and networked state where the relevance of soft power has become all the more critical in conversations of politics and corresponding theory. This transformation (arising in the face of the so-called 'globalization paradox') is considered, exploring (a) what this means for the world system and (b) what concerns it may consequently bring.

Enst 411: Merrill W. Linn Conservancy - Dale’S Ridge, Shaun Parrish, Chris Maskus, Catherine O'Leary, Elizabeth Yewaisis

Final Reports in ENST 411: Environmental Community Projects

Collaborative community-based project working on developing an ecological management and trail maintenance plan alongside updating the trail brochure for the Dale’s Ridge property managed by the Merrill W. Linn Conservancy in East Buffalo Township, Pennsylvania. This is a collaborative project between the Conservancy & the ENST 411 culminating experience course.

Spartan Daily, May 10, 2023, San Jose State University, School Of Journalism And Mass Communications

Spartan Daily, 2023

Volume 160, Issue 42

Milton Time Final Report, Jacqueline Rounsavill, Eleanor Geno, Alessandra Costantini, Brian Miller, Mia Bohi-Green

Final Reports in ENST 411: Environmental Community Projects

Our main focus with this project was to hold a well-attended event in Milton, PA on Earth Day (April 22nd) that raised awareness for TIME’s “The Landscape of Main Street” Museum. We wanted this event to be accessible to all ages and marketed towards, but not limited to, the Milton community. Additionally, we hoped this event would generate attendance to the museum, educate attendees (especially children) on Milton’s history and ecology, get local businesses involved, and ultimately generate excitement within the community; getting residents more involved and bringing people together. We planned that this event would also include a brochure- …

Heatwaves In The Arctic: Their Effects On Northern Alaska, Tayler M. Rogers

Student Theses 2015-Present

Images of polar ice caps melting and news of global sea levels rising have dominated the media’s coverage of climate change during the past three to four decades. Focusing on these broad-scale impacts without further context does not adequately explain the complexities of what is currently happening in the Arctic and SubArctic Regions. This paper examines why changes to natural cycles like sea ice melt and permafrost thaw are posing significant threats to both human and non-human life. Shifts from the natural pattern of warming and melting in the Arctic, caused by external, human-induced pressures, have thrown these cycles into …

Land Dispossession And Native American Climate Adaptation: The Hopi Tribe, Jessica M. Curran

Student Theses 2015-Present

Since the 16th century, Native American communities have lost over 99% of their historical land. New settlers came in and completely destroyed the natives’ way of life, disregarding the love and respect that was once shown for mother earth. Flash forward to the 21st century and we are now struggling with the constant rising threat of climate change. However, this is not an equal fight. Past studies have shown that Native American communities are more vulnerable to climate change hazards compared to the general United States population due to their existing disparities. This paper focuses on the Hopi Tribe and …

Sick Of Zoning In Metropolitan Chicago: Healing Environmental Racism And Investing In A Segregated City, Caroline M. Sandoval

Student Theses 2015-Present

This paper addresses the issue of the historical and present-day built environment in the Chicago metropolitan area, its roots in environmental racism, and impacts on community health. Chapter 1 utilizes mapping of Chicago to analyze U.S. Census and public health data, drawing conclusions based on community area residential patterns and demographics. Chapter 2 explores the origins of zoning practices in the United States and environmental history of Chicago, tracing the immediate impacts of the built environment and today’s community impacts. Chapter 3 dives into the political background of the built environment and city zoning in Chicago, with particular attention to …

The Value Of Zoos And Aquariums; A Perspective Via The Bronx Zoo And New York Aquarium, Reiariel D. Garcia

Student Theses 2015-Present

Zoos and aquariums have always been a controversial topic. The image of animals behind bars is synonymous with zoos and aquariums from all over the world and that's all most people see. Zoos and Aquariums go much deeper than that negative perception and the notion that we are “locking away” animals solely for our selfish entertainment clouds zoos and aquariums higher purposes. Chapter 1 focuses on the histories of zoological parks, it brings to light some of the environmental problems zoos and aquariums are striving to fix while revealing to us why zoos possess such stereotypes. Chapter 2 dives into …

A Human-Animal Dialogue: Positive Reinforcement Training In Zoos And Aquariums, Kathryn Bennett

Student Theses 2015-Present

This paper addresses the benefits of positive reinforcement training in zoos and aquariums across America, and why this form of training is best for both the animals and people. There is a long standing public debate about the appropriateness of keeping wild animals in zoos and aquariums and their treatment within these facilities. The way in which some animal care facilities have historically managed animal behavior using dominance-based training, which uses methods such as punishment and deprivation, has rightly come under criticism and has proven to provide poor animal welfare. This poor mis-management has fueled an anti-zoo and aquarium agenda …

An Oasis In Crisis: Lesotho Highlands Water Project Turned Drought, Justine Wendt

Student Theses 2015-Present

Water insecurity in underdeveloped countries is one of the most pressing issues for the longevity of our exponentially developing global economy. Countries like Lesotho, which are land-locked within another, more developed country, have few resources for water, food, and power without the aid of external forces. This paper investigates the Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP), its relationship to South Africa, and the ramifications faced by local communities. Further, this paper can serve as a case study into what we can avoid in the future, as water initiatives are both inevitable and crucial. Chapter 1 explores quantitative data regarding water scarcity …