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System Change, Not Climate Change: Collaborative Development Of A Few Nexus Experiential Learning Course For A Justice-Centered Comparative Study Abroad Program, Sonya Ahamed

National Collaborative for Research on Food, Energy, and Water Education (NC-FEW)

The International Honors Program (IHP) on Climate Change: The Politics of Land, Water and Energy Justice has been offered by the School for International Training (SIT) since 2013. This thematic multidisciplinary program currently travels to Morocco, Nepal, and Ecuador for one month each, introducing students to local food, water, and energy challenges in the context of a changing climate. In updating the program following its relaunch in 2023, renewed attention was given to the food, energy, and water nexus from a comparative perspective across and within these countries. This presentation will focus on the development of experiential learning cycles for …

Integrating The Few-Nexus Into An Agricultural Issues Course, Christopher M. Estepp, Hannah Scherer

National Collaborative for Research on Food, Energy, and Water Education (NC-FEW)

To address the global challenges facing the agricultural industry, graduates of agricultural degree programs must learn to utilize systems thinking skills, which can help them view the interconnectedness among issues and design holistic solutions. The Food-Energy-Water (FEW)-Nexus is an interdisciplinary framework that can support undergraduate student achievement of sustainability education competencies, including systems thinking. This project utilized the FEW-Nexus framework in an agricultural issues course to help students improve their systems thinking. Students were given lectures on various agricultural issues by experts in those areas. Two assignments, agricultural issue concept maps and critical reflections over each speaker’s session were completed …

Examining Intersectional Queer Biases In Large Language Models: A Combined Statistical And Visual-Qualitative Approach For Quantification And Explanation, Huu Duong (Chip) Nguyen

Computer Science Senior Theses

Despite significant advancements in research on (intersectional) social biases in Large Language Models (LLMs), intersectional biases affecting subgroups within the LGBTQ+ community remain critically understudied. Existing bias detection methodologies often prioritize quantification but lack depth in explaining the specific stereotypes/biases that shape evaluation metrics. To address these gaps, this study proposes a combined statistical and visual-qualitative approach to quantify and identify persistent intersectional queer biases in five recent, state-of-the-art LLMs through a downstream story generation task. Findings from analysis uncover substantial evidence of stereotypes that perpetuate harmful, reductive narratives against intersectionally marginalized groups within the LGBTQ+ community. To promote public …

Hoping For A Better World: Utopian Performatives In Jez Butterworth's "The Hills Of California", Lily Jensen

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Jez Butterworth’s 2024 play, The Hills of California, tells the story of the Webb sisters—Joan, Gloria, Ruby, Jillian—and their mother, Veronica, in 1950s and 1970s Blackpool, England. In 1976, it is the hottest summer on record in Blackpool, and Veronica is dying of cancer. Jillian, Gloria, and Ruby have gathered together to wait for her to die, with the hope that Joan (who has supposedly been living a fabulous life in America for 20 years) will come back to say a last goodbye to their mother. The play flips back and forth between the 70s and the 50s. We …

Exploring Health Equity With Culturally Specific Providers Of Permanent Supportive Housing, Judith Solomon

University Honors Theses

Chronic homelessness is an important public health issue. Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) is a promising opportunity for transitioning people experiencing homelessness into housing, however there remain unaddressed racial inequities in service provision and outcomes. The aim of this study is to better understand the role of culturally specific (CS) providers of PSH in improving health equity. I analyzed interviews with CS PSH providers for themes related to health and healthcare. Providers spoke about the importance of connecting clients to healthcare. Providers stressed the importance of honesty and lived experience, highlighting the strong sense of responsibility to the community. Providers also …

‘Malaysia’ Resurveyed: From Representation And Separation To Alternative Tropical Futurities, Wai Liang Tham

Research Publications (2021 to 2025)

This essay, in the form of a literary survey,revisits the idea of “Malaysia” by examining how the interlinked practices of representation and separation have been fundamental to the reification of tropicalityin the region once known as the Malay Archipelago: contemporary maritime Southeast Asia. It suggests how the two contradictory facets of colonial-era tropicality as envisioned in British Malaya (i.e., a fecund wasteland and inescapable degradation) have become embedded in the logic of governance in postcolonial Malaysia and Singapore. The persistent effects of this discourse in the present are discussed in terms of the challenges facing mobilization over issues of climate …

A Coastal Risk Analysis For The Outermost Small Islands Of Indonesia: A Multiple Natural Hazards Approach, Rima Gusriana Harahap, Gerd Masselink, Sarah Boulton

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

Coastal risk analysis is important for the sustainable development and resilience of small islands. Even though there is an increasing effort to develop risk analysis at the global scale, the integration of multi-hazard, exposure, and vulnerability for outermost small islands is still rare. This study is the first to address the coastal risk on the outermost small islands of Indonesia, located at the country's territorial edge. The methodology quantifies hazard, exposure, and vulnerability variables, and collating the indices into a risk matrix. The results identify the full range of risk levels on outermost small islands represented in the island dataset, …

The Ins And Outs Of Procurement Contracting: Opportunities And Challenges For Military-Affiliated Entrepreneurs, Adam Pritchard, Rosalinda V. Maury

Institute for Veterans and Military Families

This research brief explores the ins and outs of procurement contracting from the perspective of military-affiliated small businesses, examining the differences between the government and corporate procurement landscapes. Using data from the 2024 National Survey of Military-Affiliated Entrepreneurs, this brief investigates the return-on-investment (ROI) from procurement contracting, summarizes effective strategies that military-affiliated entrepreneurs have used to maximize their ROI, and leverages these experiences to guide entrepreneurs and business ecosystems towards effective approaches to improve the procurement capabilities of military-connected small businesses.

In Case I Make It: An Autoethnographic Argument For Care, Space, And Utopia, Faelyn T. Cowan

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Taking an autoethnographic and autotheoretical approach I examine within this project TomboloBooks’ Queer Comic Book Club. Drawing from José Esteban Mun֮oz’s ideas of queer utopia and Jen Jack Gieseking’s framework of constellations, and analyzing my own experiences, I present the Queer Comic Book Club (QCBC) as a moment of utopic queer worldmaking and argue for it’s potential as a site of alternative mental health care. Though I cannot provide here a generalizable model of book clubs as care, what I offer here is a series of possibilities, arguing for the potential of these spaces as community resources and sites of …

Harriet Beecher Stowe: Saints And Sinners Analysis Of The Moral Suasion And Motivations Behind The Creation Of Uncle Tom's Cabin, Makendric James Bowman

Student Summer Scholars Manuscripts

This project examines the motivations behind Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin (UTC), focusing on how her desire for both financial gain and moral reform shaped her writing. Stowe’s use of religious themes to expose the moral and human costs of slavery positioned her novel at the center of national debate, forcing both defenders and opponents of slavery to confront uncomfortable truths. Her book ultimately made her the best-selling author of the 19th century, selling 300,000 copies mostly by door-to-door subscriptions. This is equivalent to about 4.4 million Americans today who do not have access to Amazon or bookstores. Even …

Regional Government Preparedness In Response To The Covid-19 Pandemic In Indonesia, Eme Stepani Sitepu, Dumilah Ayuningtyas, Purnawan Junadi, Satibi Satibi

Journal of Health Research

Background: The high number of COVID-19 cases in Indonesia, with 6,811,201 people affected and 161,844 deaths up to June 2023, was influenced by regional governments' varying approaches to disease control. This study aimed to analyze regional government preparedness in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the factors that influenced their preparedness.

Methods: We conducted a qualitative research study using purposive sampling. We collected data from September 2023 to April 2024 via semi-structured interviews with staff at health and disaster agencies in Bali and West Java. The interview guide was developed using the Six Building Blocks of World Health Organization (WHO)’s …

Factors Associated With Access To Water, Sanitation, And Hygiene (Wash) Services In Communities Along Siem Reap River, Cambodia, Cindy Is Lee, Yee Chu Kwa, Aminiril Aa Hamid, Norlilawati Suboh, Massimo Maio, Michaela L Goodson, Claire L Walsh

Journal of Health Research

Background: Access to clean water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) are essential rights that impact individual and community health. The Siem Reap River is a vital water source in Cambodia for domestic, agricultural, and industrial use. However, limited local data and resources in the region exacerbate the challenge of providing adequate WASH services. This study aimed to evaluate WASH provision for communities living near the Siem Reap River and identify associated factors.

Method: A cross-sectional study in April 2023 across four Siem Reap River villages used purposive sampling to select 120 respondents from diverse backgrounds. Data were gathered through face-to-face …

Using Edna To Supplement Population Genetic Analyses For Cryptic Marine Species: Identifying Population Boundaries For Alaska Harbour Porpoises, Kim M. Parsons, Samuel A. May, Zachary Gold, Marilyn Dahlheim, Christine Gabriele, Janice Straley, John R. Moran, Kimberly Goetz, Alexandre N. Zerbini, Linda Park, Phillip A. Morin

Faculty, Staff, and Students

Isolation by distance and biogeographical boundaries define patterns of population genetic structure for harbour porpoise along the Pacific coast from California to British Columbia. Until recently, inadequate sample sizes in many regions constrained efforts to characterise population genetic structure throughout the coastal waters of Alaska. Here, tissue samples from beachcast strandings and fisheries bycatch were supplemented with targeted environmental DNA (eDNA) samples in key regions of Alaska coastal and inland waters. Using a geographically explicit, hierarchical approach, we examined the genetic structure of Alaska harbour porpoises, using both mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequence data and multilocus SNP genotypes. Despite a lack …

Environmental Justice: Healing Environmental And Societal Wounds In The Overstory And Torto Arado, Marcia Tagg

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This thesis examines the approaches of two contemporary novels, The Overstory and Torto Arado, in providing pathways to environmental justice. The Overstory by Richard Powers is an American novel that provides a post-secular perspective on trees and their ability to provide answers on how to heal a wounded world. This wisdom works in the lives of individuals, and it alludes to how society at large could be impacted by the adoption of a more tree-like perspective, especially in how they view time. Torto Arado by Itamar Vieira Junior is a Brazilian novel that shows the importance of Afrodiasporic religious …

Special Delivery: Special District Use Of Collaboration To Solve Challenges, Kelly Irene Fahl Sherbo

Dissertations and Theses

As the special district sector continues to increase in number across the U.S., understanding their role in public governance increases in value both to practitioners and academia alike. The state of the academic literature on special districts does not yet reflect the large size and importance of the sector and has been severely limited by available data, mainly coming from the U.S. Census Bureau. Existing research has focused on broad descriptions of the field of special districts, some studies focus on policy and political effects; but scant research analyzes behavior within and among special districts, particularly with their public entity …

Cultural Competency When Providing Intimate Partner Violence Assistance, Deanna Lashawn Stewart

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a significant public health crisis that disproportionately affects African American and Latina women due to systemic barriers, cultural stigmas, and inadequate culturally competent support services. This qualitative study explored the experiences of English-speaking African American and Latina women aged 23 to 60 in seeking culturally competent assistance for IPV in the United States. Using a generic qualitative research design and relational-cultural theory as a theoretical framework, this study examined how cultural beliefs and values influence help-seeking behaviors and the perceived adequacy of IPV support services. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 10 participants who had previously …

Alcohol Use Disorder Medication Coverage And Utilization Management In Medicaid Managed Care Plans, Maureen T. Stewart, Sage R. Feltus, Christina Andrews Ph.D., Andrea Acevedo, Cindy Parks Thomas, Jeffrey Bratberg, Constance M. Horgan, Dominic Hodgkin, Rachel Sayko Adams

Faculty Publications

IMPORTANCE Evidence-based, patient-centered treatment for alcohol use disorder (AUD) can include pharmacotherapy with naltrexone, acamprosate, or disulfiram; however, these medications are rarely used. Medicaid managed care plans (MCPs) manage health services for nearly 80% of Medicaid enrollees and are the largest payer for addiction treatment services. Little is known about Medicaid MCP policies for AUD medications.

OBJECTIVES To describe Medicaid MCPs’ coverage and management of acamprosate, naltrexone, and disulfiram for AUD and examine associations of plan characteristics and state policies with medication coverage.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS In this cross-sectional study, a content analysis was performed of 2021 insurance benefit …

Characterizing Rainfall Variability Within A Series Of Storms Over Northern California In February 2017, Parker Jan Malek

Dissertations and Theses

In February 2017, a series of storms with associated atmospheric rivers (ARs) made landfall in the US state of California, dropping large amounts of precipitation over the Sierra Nevada Mountains and their western foothills. The rainfall from these ARs, long, narrow bands of water vapor that transport large amounts of water vapor from the tropics to the mid-latitudes, instigated the near-failure of the Oroville Dam located at the southeastern edge of the Feather watershed outside the city of Oroville in the state's Central Valley. This case study provides a synoptic and mesoscale diagnosis of the drivers of rainfall pulses that …

Volume 29-2 Complete Issue, C. Nicholas Raphael

The Geographical Bulletin

Volume 29-2 Complete Issue

Cover And Forewords, C. Nicholas Raphael

The Geographical Bulletin

Cover and Forewords

News From The Chapters 1986-1987, C. Nicholas Raphael

The Geographical Bulletin

During the fall the Gamma Delta Chapter held a series of seminars on topics of controversial nature, such as the causes of glaciation and the extinction of the dinosaurs. The fall picnic was a well-attended success as was the Christmas banquet. During the spring term, the chapter is running a seminar on the Great Plains and is co-sponsoring, with Biology's Tri Beta and Geology's SGE, the visit of Carnegie Museum's Leonard Krishtalka, a paleontologist. The annual spring picnic is held in early May.

Geographic Variations In Resale Housing Values Within A Metropolitan Area: An Example From Suburban Phoenix, Arizona, Diane Whalley, William J. Lowell-Britt

The Geographical Bulletin

The average cost of single family resale housing displays geographic variation at many scales. Regional variations in the cost of housing are used in the compilation of cost-of-living indices, (Follain and Malpezzi, 1980) and have been well documented (inter alia Butler, 1980; Ozanne and Thibodeau, 1983; Blackley et aI, 1986). Geographic patterns of housing values within a metropolitan area are not as sensitive to the conditions affecting the national market, but are the result of a series of local influences (Bednarz and Wilson, 1982). It is the purpose of this paper to identify the nature of local variations in the …

Variation In Grassland Biomass: A Spatial And Temporal Perspective, Stephen J. Walsh

The Geographical Bulletin

During a sampling period extending from May 07 through August 13, 1985, plant biomass, soil temperature, soil moisture, and other selected biophysical variables were collected on a weekly basis at 12 sample sites distributed along a 200 km east-west trending transect in west-central Oklahoma. Correlation coefficients showed temporal and spatial relationships between dry mean biomass and the relative location of sample sites along the transect, Universal Transverse Mercator coordinate location of each sample site, sample site elevation, and sample week (-0.43, +0.43, -0.54, and +0.42, respectively). A multiple regression analysis showed that 84.5 percent of the variation in plant biomass …

United States Mid Tropospheric Flow Patterns: A Monthly Climatology Based On Transect Difference Analysis, Brent R. Skeeter

The Geographical Bulletin

A simple technique exists for documenting the strength and orientation of mean monthly mid-tropospheric flow. The technique involves finding the differences in the 500-mb heights between stations along selected north-south and east-west transects. Each difference is a measure of the pressure gradient along the transect. Differences along northsouth transects give a measure of the strength of the west to east flow between the two sites. Differences between the east and west sites give an indication of the strength of the meridional (i.e., northerly or southerly) flow component between these particular sites. By using multiple transects, the monthly flow characteristics across …

Climatic Implications Of A Tree-Ring Record Of Ground Heave, Ram River Area, N.W.T. Canada, David R. Butler

The Geographical Bulletin

Soil movements by ground heave and subsidence have affected areas of the North American Arctic for thousands of years (1). Zoltai (2) reconstructed the history of ground heave on hummocky permafrost terrain for the period 18101972 A.D. in the Inuvik and Norman Wells (Northwest Territories) areas, using compression-wood growth patterns in annual rings of conifers affected by heaving. His data revealed above-average levels of activity for the period 1847 to 1943, and low levels of activity since the mid-1940s. He suggested that the high levels of activity were related to higher than normal fall temperatures and precipitation; i.e., activity related …

Editor's Comments, C. Nicholas Raphael

The Geographical Bulletin

I wish to extend my thanks to the officers of The Geographical Bulletin for selecting me as its new editor. Professor James W. Gallagher was one of my former geography teachers and the first editor of The Bulletin. Professor Robert "Rocky" Ward, your retiring editor and I have been colleagues at Eastern Michigan University since 1969. Rocky has held the editorship since 1979. Under his guidance The Bulletin was expanded to two issues per year.

Cover And Forewords, Robert M. Ward

The Geographical Bulletin

Cover and Forewords

News From The Chapters Of Gamma Theta Upsilon, Robert M. Ward

The Geographical Bulletin

News from the Chapters of Gamma Theta Upsilon

Volume 29-1 Complete Issue, Robert M. Ward

The Geographical Bulletin

Volume 29-1 Complete Issue

Signature Of A Precipitation Event: A Comparison Of Three Spatial Perspectives, Stephen J. Walsh, Mark S. Gregory Oklahoma State University

The Geographical Bulletin

On April 03, 1981, a precipitation event in the form of a series of thunderstorm cells affected the central portion of Oklahoma. The event was recorded by the WSR-57 radar positioned at the National Severe Storms Laboratory in Norman, Oklahoma. In addition, the rainfall from the series of thunderstorms was recorded at rainfall gauges located at the Oklahoma Cooperative Weather Stations distributed throughout the state. The ground pattern of the corresponding rainfall event also was detected by the NOAA-6 (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) satellite over-pass on April 04, 1986, one day after the precipitation event. This paper presents three …