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Abiotic Stress Impacts On Macrophomina Root Rot And Nano-Encapsulated Citrus Oils To Control Fruit And Foliar Pathogens Of Strawberry, Marina J. Gutierrez

Master's Theses

Disease remains one of the major constraints to the productivity and economic success of the California strawberry industry. The most important soilborne pathogen is Macrophomina phaseolina, causing Macrophomina root rot (MRR). The most economically significant airborne pathogens include Botrytis cinerea, causing Botrytis fruit rot (BFR), and Podosphaera aphanis, causing powdery mildew (PM).

Disease severity of MRR is highly dependent on environmental factors. Therefore, understanding which abiotic stressors contribute most to disease development is crucial for effective management. A two-year field experiment at Cal Poly, SLO (2024 and 2025) evaluated the effects of drought stress, two elevated chloride …

Using Scenario-Based Design Activities To Explore Sociotechnical Thinking In Engineering Professionals, James M. Whealan

Master's Theses

Sociotechnical thinking is the ability to recognize the interconnectedness of both technical and non-technical dimensions such as environmental, economic, social, cultural, and political factors. Although traditional engineering curriculum often emphasizes technical knowledge and skills, research suggests that engineering work is inherently sociotechnical. While sociotechnical thinking is a critical engineering skill, relatively little is understood about the nature of it or the different aspects comprised within it. To that end, this study addresses the following research question: What sociotechnical factors do engineering professionals consider in a collaborative scenario-based design activity? To answer this question, we conducted a qualitative study of engineering …

Storage-Dependent Variability In Alzheimer Disease-Related Plasma Biomarker Results Using The Fujirebio Lumipulse G1200 Platform, Ibrahim Choucair, Tiffany L. Lee, Linda J. Van Eldik, Jeffrey L. Dage, Brian T. Gold, Erin L. Abner, Gregory A. Jicha, Peter T. Nelson

Epidemiology and Environmental Health Faculty Publications

Alzheimer disease plasma biomarkers have emerged as minimally invasive, cost-effective tools for early diagnosis and disease monitoring yet their stability under common “real world” pre-analytical conditions remains incompletely characterized. We evaluated the stability of six plasma biomarkers, Aβ40, Aβ42, pTau181, pTau217, NfL, and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) using the Fujirebio Lumipulse G1200 platform. Plasma samples were initially collected from four healthy and cognitively unimpaired volunteers. Samples were stored under four conditions: room temperature (0-4h), +4°C (1-10days), −20°C (1-3weeks), and −80°C (4-8weeks). In this pilot study, Aβ40 and Aβ42 remained generally stable. In contrast, pTau181 readings exhibited marked elevations in …

Using Low-Cost Sensors And Gps To Assess Spatiotemporal Variations In Personal Exposure To Pm2.5 In The Washington State Twin Registry, Ningrui Liu, Ally Avery, Elena Austin, John S. Meschke, Nicola K. Beck, Graeme Carvlin, Yisi Liu, Anne V. Moudon, Igor Novosselov, Jeffry H. Shirai, Glen E. Duncan, Edmund Seto

Epidemiology and Environmental Health Faculty Publications

Epidemiological studies typically rely on exposure assessments based on ambient PM_2.5 concentrations at participants' home addresses. However, these approaches neglect personal exposures indoors and across different non-residential microenvironments. To address this problem, our study combined low-cost sensors and GPS to conduct two-week personal PM_2.5 monitoring in 168 adults recruited from the Washington State Twin Registry between 2018 and 2021. PM_2.5 mass concentration, size-resolved particle number concentration, temperature, humidity, and GPS coordinates were recorded at 1-min intervals, providing 5,161,737 data points. We used GPS coordinates and a processing algorithm for automatic classification of microenvironments, including seven land use …

Discreet But Accessible, Rachel M. Marschke, April M. Young, Hannah K. Knudsen, Chelsi N. Cheatom, Hannah L.F. Cooper

Epidemiology and Environmental Health Faculty Publications

Background: Rural Appalachia has been significantly affected by drug-related harms (Hepatitis C, HIV, overdose deaths) over the past two decades, but harm reduction responses still lag behind other regions. Harm reduction vending machines (HRVMs) are an effective intervention for preventing overdose and the spread of infection, though they are newer to the US and have rarely scaled out to rural areas. Here, we report on guidance from people who use drugs (PWUD) and health department staff on how to adapt HRVMs to suit local needs in rural Appalachian Kentucky. Methods: Focus groups were conducted with local health department and syringe …

Knowledge-Informed Deep Learning To Mitigate Bias In Joint Air Pollutant Prediction, Lianfa Li, Roxana Khalili, Frederick Lurmann, Nathan Pavlovic, Jun Wu, Yan Xu, Yisi Liu, Karl O’Sharkey, Beate Ritz, Luke Oman, Meredith Franklin, Theresa Bastain, Shohreh F. Farzan, Carrie Breton, Rima Habre

Epidemiology and Environmental Health Faculty Publications

Accurate prediction of atmospheric air pollutants is critical for public health protection and environmental management. Traditional machine learning (ML) methods achieve high spatial resolution but lack physicochemical constraints, leading to systematic biases that compromise exposure estimates for epidemiological studies. Chemical transport models incorporate atmospheric physics but require expensive parameterization and often fail to capture local-scale variability crucial for health impact assessment. This gap between data-driven accuracy and physical realism presents a major obstacle to advancing air quality science. We address this challenge through a novel physics-informed deep learning framework that integrates advection–diffusion equations and fluid dynamics constraints directly into neural …

Long-Term, Bidirectional Associations Between Depressive Symptom Severity And Opioid Use Among People With Hiv, Alexandria Macmadu, Yu Li, Fiona Bhondoekhan, Chung Chou H. Chang, Anees Bahji, Stephen Crystal, Kirsha S. Gordon, Robert D. Kerns, Rachel A. Vickers-Smith, E. Jennifer Edelman, Brandon D.L. Marshall

Epidemiology and Environmental Health Faculty Publications

Background: The bidirectional relationships between opioid use and depressive symptom severity among people living with HIV (PLHIV) are poorly understood. We hypothesized that higher opioid use frequency would be associated with greater subsequent depressive symptom severity and that greater depressive symptom severity would be associated with higher subsequent opioid use frequency. Methods: We analyzed data from the Veterans Aging Cohort Study (VACS) – survey sample, a prospective cohort including PLHIV receiving care at 8 US Veterans Health Administration sites. From 2002 to 2018, we assessed past year opioid use frequency based on self-reported heroin and/or prescription opioid use at study …

Multi-Ancestry Genome-Wide Meta-Analysis Of 56,241 Individuals Identifies Known And Novel Cross-Population And Ancestry-Specific Associations As Novel Risk Loci For Alzheimer’S Disease, Farid Rajabli, Penelope Benchek, Giuseppe Tosto, Nicholas Kushch, Jin Sha, Katrina Bazemore, Congcong Zhu, Wan Ping Lee, Jacob Haut, Kara L. Hamilton-Nelson, Nicholas R. Wheeler, Yi Zhao, John J. Farrell, Michelle A. Grunin, Yuk Yee Leung, Pavel P. Kuksa, Donghe Li, Eder Lucio Da Fonseca, Jesse B. Mez, Ellen L. Palmer, Jagan Pillai, Richard M. Sherva, Yeunjoo E. Song, Xiaoling Zhang, Takeshi Ikeuchi, Taha Iqbal, Omkar Pathak

Epidemiology and Environmental Health Faculty Publications

Background : Limited ancestral diversity has impaired our ability to detect risk variants more prevalent in ancestry groups of predominantly non-European ancestral background in genome-wide association studies (GWAS). We construct and analyze a multi-ancestry GWAS dataset in the Alzheimer’s Disease Genetics Consortium (ADGC) to test for novel shared and population-specific late-onset Alzheimer’s disease (LOAD) susceptibility loci and evaluate underlying genetic architecture in 37,382 non-Hispanic White (NHW), 6728 African American, 8899 Hispanic (HIS), and 3232 East Asian individuals, performing within ancestry fixed-effects meta-analysis followed by a cross-ancestry random-effects meta-analysis. Results: We identify 13 loci with cross-population associations including known loci at/near …

Nonfatal Injury Emergency Department Visits And Inpatient Hospitalizations Among Persons Under Age 65 With An Intellectual And Developmental Disability Or Deaf Or Hard Of Hearing Disability, Terry L. Bunn, Jacqueline Seals, Dana Quesinberry, Alaina Murphy, Julia F. Costich

Epidemiology and Environmental Health Faculty Publications

Background: Vulnerable populations at risk of injury include persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), and persons who are deaf or hard of hearing (DHH). The purpose of this study was to describe and compare emergency department and inpatient hospitalization (ED + IP) injury rates and rate ratios by injury type among persons under age 65 with IDD or with DHH to those without IDD or DHH. Methods: This is a descriptive population-based retrospective cross-sectional study of injuries among patients under the age of 65 with an IDD disability or a DHH disability using Kentucky ED + IP discharge datasets …

Preferences For Harm Reduction Vending Machine Design Among Rural People Who Use Drugs, April M. Young, Tasfia Jahangir, Susan Westneat, Chelsi Cheatom, Amanda Fallin-Bennett, Laura C. Fanucchi, Patricia R. Freeman, Jennifer R. Havens, Hannah K. Knudsen, Kathryn E. Mccollister, Susannah Stitzer, Jack Stone, Peter Vickerman, Melvin D. Livingston

Epidemiology and Environmental Health Faculty Publications

Globally, harm reduction vending machines (HRVMs) have been used for decades to dispense safe injection equipment and other supplies to people who use drugs (PWUD). However, HRVMs have only recently scaled up in the U.S. and few operate in rural settings. This study describes preferences for HRVM design among rural PWUD in two Appalachian Kentucky communities. Peer-referral and outreach were used to recruit participants (n = 731). Eligibility criteria were ≥ 18 years, residing in the target counties, and having used any drug (excluding alcohol, cannabis, and tobacco) to get high within 6 months. Interviewer-administered questionnaires elicited data on behavioral/demographic …

Probing Tau Citrullination In Alzheimer’S Disease Brains And Mouse Models Of Tauopathy, Huimin Liang, Jerry B. Hunt, Chao Ma, Andrii Kovalenko, John Calahatian, Cecelie Pedersen, Haiying Liu, Junyan Li, Malina Serrano, Danielle Blazier, Mallory Watler, Patricia Rocha-Rangel, Christopher Saunders, Laura J. Blair, Leonid Breydo, Kevin Nash, Zainuddin Quadri, Brian Kraemer, Peter Nelson, Christopher Norris, Erin L. Abner, Vladimir N. Uversky, Dale Chaput, Maj Linda B. Selenica, Daniel C. Lee

Epidemiology and Environmental Health Faculty Publications

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) includes a defining hallmark that correlates most closely to cognitive decline, namely misfolded tau protein. However, the “upstream” etiology and downstream clinical manifestations of tauopathies are quite diverse. Tau deposition elicits different pathological phenotypes and outcomes depending on the tau strain, proteoforms, and regional susceptibility. Posttranslational modifications (PTM) can alter tau structure, function, networks, and its pathological sequelae. We uncovered tau citrullination on multiple epitopes caused by peptidyl arginine deiminase (PAD) enzymes. PAD-induced citrullination irreversibly converts arginine residues to citrulline, producing a net loss of positive charge, elimination of pi–pi interactions, and increased hydrophobicity. We observed increased …

Prospective Cohort Study Of Fentanyl Test Strip Use And Distribution In Three States, Janet E. Childerhose, Kitty Gelberg, Rachel Vickers-Smith, Megan E. Dzurec, Emmanuel Oga, Mallory Harris, Rachel Caspar, Denise C. Babineau, Megan E. Hall, Beth S. Linas, Katherine E. Marks, Amanda Fallin-Bennett, Laura C. Fanucchi, Louisa Gilbert, James L. David, Mary Russo, Kathryn E. Lancaster, Soledad Fernandez, Michael Konstan, Redonna K. Chandler, Carter Roeber, Jennifer Villani, Rebecca D. Jackson, Bridget Freisthler, Sharon L. Walsh, Nabila El-Bassel

Epidemiology and Environmental Health Faculty Publications

Background: The Stay Safe Study is the first observational prospective cohort study investigating fentanyl test strip (FTS) use by people who use drugs (PWUD) and distribution by community organizations that provide harm reduction services (e.g., naloxone distribution) in three states (Kentucky, New York, and Ohio). The purpose of this paper is to describe the study design, along with implementation successes and challenges. A related goal is to provide recommendations and encourage researchers to undertake multi-state and multilevel studies of FTS use and distribution. Methods: The Stay Safe Study has one primary, five secondary, and three exploratory objectives. From May-December 2023, …

Referrals And Utilization Of Diabetes Self-Management Education And Support (Dsmes) Among Patients With Type 1 And Type 2 Diabetes At A Regional Medical Center In Kentucky, Omer Atac, George C. Bryant, William B. Burrows, Kory R. Heier, James W. Keck, Key C. Douthitt, Mary E. Lacy

Epidemiology and Environmental Health Faculty Publications

Background: The goal of this study was to examine referral and attendance patterns for diabetes self-management education and support (DSMES) among patients with both type 1 (T1D) and type 2 diabetes (T2D) at a regional medical center in Kentucky, and to identify demographic and clinical factors associated with these outcomes. Methods: We analyzed electronic health records of adults with diabetes (n = 10,587; n = 817 with T1D and n = 9,770 with T2D) who received care from 1/1/2016-12/31/2019 at University of Kentucky HealthCare. We compared DSMES referral and attendance rates by various demographic and clinical factors and used logistic …

Using The Practical, Robust Implementation And Sustainability Model To Identify Implementation Determinants Of A Statewide Diabetes Learning Collaborative In Kentucky, Aaron J. Kruse-Diehr, Borsika A. Rabin, Jessica Elliott, Vance Drakeford, Laura Wright, Brent Mckune, Russell E. Glasgow, Key C. Douthitt, James W. Keck, Mary E. Lacy

Epidemiology and Environmental Health Faculty Publications

Background: Prevalence of type 2 diabetes (T2D) in Kentucky is among the highest in the United States. Diabetes self-management education and support (DSMES) is an evidence-based intervention that teaches people living with T2D to self-manage their disease but is underutilized in Kentucky despite being available free-of-charge to residents of every county. One promising strategy to improve DSMES utilization is clinic participation in a learning collaborative, wherein participants undertake small tests of change to improve the referral process. The purpose of this study was to identify determinants related to successful implementation of the learning collaborative, as well as perceived progress on …

How Fundraisers Met Goals During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Cody C. Greene

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted nearly every aspect of higher education operations, including fundraising and donor engagement. This qualitative study explored how Vice Presidents for Advancement and other senior fundraising leaders in higher education adapted their practices to meet fundraising goals during the pandemic. Using a narrative design, in-depth interviews were conducted with nine participants representing diverse institutions in the southeastern United States. Braun and Clarke’s (2006) six-phase thematic analysis was used to code and interpret the data.

Seven major themes emerged: communications, technology, donor relations, managing a fundraising team, overall giving impact, successful strategies, and the future. Participants described how …

From Policy To Practice: How Institutional Interpretations Of Ferpa Shape The Campus Safety Conversation, Britney Deaver

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) is a foundational federal law designed to protect the privacy of student education records. FERPA includes exceptions—such as for health and safety emergencies—that institutions may interpret and apply in varied ways. This qualitative study explores how higher education professionals across diverse institutional contexts conceptualize and apply the health or safety exception, and how those interpretations influence campus safety practices and policy-making. Through semi-structured interviews with compliance officers and administrators, the research examines the intersection of federal policy, institutional culture, and individual judgment.

Findings reveal a range of interpretations shaped by institutional risk …

Code Crimson Ob: A Lifeline For Maternal Health, Colleen Cowie, Elizabeth Barrera, Leah Williams-Jones, Mercy R. Banaszak, Leonor Ruiz, Arvinder Singh

Nursing & Health Sciences Research Journal

Introduction: Postpartum hemorrhage (PH) accounts for 12% of maternal deaths in the U.S. and affects approximately 5% of obstetric individuals. Despite available treatments, delays in recognition and response can lead to severe complications or death. The purpose of this evidence-based practice project was to improve maternal outcomes by implementing Code Crimson OB, a specialized obstetric rapid response team (RRT) for managing maternal hemorrhage.

Methods: An unannounced maternal hemorrhage drill revealed critical delays in mobilizing appropriate personnel. In response, the RRT protocol was revised to include Code Crimson OB, ensuring rapid, coordinated intervention. Hospital-wide education was conducted, and the protocol officially …

Implementation Of A Pharmacist-Driven Monitoring Protocol For Individuals Receiving Multiple Qt-Prolonging Medications In Acommunity Hospital, Maria A. Ruiz, Maura Falli, Kristina Lee, Mario Pascual, Radhan B. Gopalani

Nursing & Health Sciences Research Journal

Background: Torsades de pointes is a life-threatening polymorphic ventricular tachycardia, associated with QT interval lengthening on an electrocardiogram. Hospitalized individuals are routinely administered multiple medications with the potential to prolong the QTc interval. This quality improvement project sought to implement a pharmacist-driven protocol to identify and monitor individuals on multiple QT-prolonging medications using pharmacovigilance software, VigiLanz®, and the Tisdale risk score, aiming to reduce adverse drug reactions (ADRs) in a community hospital.

Methods: This was a single-center prospective quality improvement project of individuals admitted to the hospital from February through March 2024. Individuals with two or more scheduled QT-prolonging medications …

A Case Of Monocular Diplopia In The Setting Of High-Grade Urothelial Bladder Carcinoma Treated With Pembrolizumab, Leanne Dumeny, Joana Nuraj, Roshni Bisoondial, Nicole Moscoso, Arvinder Singh, Lorena Bonilla Md

Nursing & Health Sciences Research Journal

Case Presentation: We present the case of a 70-year-old male with a history of highgrade urothelial carcinoma who had been treated with multiple cycles of immune checkpoint treatment, pembrolizumab, presenting to the emergency department with worsening bone pain, abdominal discomfort, and hematuria.

Clinical Course: He reported blurry vision and monocular diplopia in the right eye for the past month. Physical examination revealed an inability to fully track with the right eye along with fatigue-induced diplopia, raising concerns for metastatic or immunotherapy-related ocular involvement. Imaging primarily revealed metastatic disease in the right orbital apex involving the rectus muscles, intraconal fat, and …

From Crisis To Commitment: How Covid-19 Reshaped Motivation In Small Business Organizational Culture, Boone G. Depenbrock

Honors Theses

This study examines how the COVID-19 pandemic reshaped employee motivation and organizational culture in small businesses and explores the role of job characteristics in that process. Using an online survey administered to small business employees and owners, respondents reported their experiences before, during, and after the pandemic across validated measures of motivation, organizational commitment, job satisfaction, goal internalization, turnover intentions, and core job design factors. After data cleaning, 21 responses were analyzed. Results showed statistically significant increases in organizational commitment, job satisfaction, and goal internalization after COVID-19, along with a decrease in turnover intentions. Internal work motivation showed a small, …

The Impact Of Multiple Measure Placement In Determining College Readiness On Student Perceived Readiness, Steven A. Szeszko Ii

Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this research is to propose a qualitative grounded theory study that explores the impact of multiple measures placement on determining college readiness as perceived by students, specifically within a community college located in South Central Texas. During the COVID-19 pandemic, colleges and universities found themselves needing an alternative method to the traditional college placement testing to determine student readiness for college courses. This change impacted not only the higher education sector but also students. Therefore, this study will collect data from approximately 20 students, through the use of open-ended electronic student questionnaires and interviews, filtered for patterns …

Translational Research On Color Vision: From Mechanisms To Performance Enhancement In Diverse Settings, Jewearly Lundby

Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation investigated the mechanisms and applications for optimizing color vision performance across diverse contexts. In a world where color cues augment critical decisions to optimize performance and safety in transportation (e.g., aviation, railway), military, law enforcement, medical diagnostics, and myriad occupational tasks, deficiencies in color perception pose significant challenges. By uniting four interrelated studies, this work explored intrinsic retinal processes, assistive technologies for deficiencies, and novel pathways that challenge conventional understandings of vision. The research bridged fundamental vision science with applications in occupational settings, low vision rehabilitation, and clinical diagnostics, ultimately aiming to optimize color performance.

The first study …

The Importance Of Leader-Member Exchange And Psychological Contracts In Highly Qualified Researchers, Robin L. Ingerick Dba

Theses & Dissertations

This study examined the significance of the relationship between leader-member exchange (LMX) and psychological contracts in United States-based research organizations. When the organization-manager-employee relationship deteriorates, psychological contract breaches can occur, negatively affecting employee outcomes and the organization's financial success and stability. Existing knowledge highlights several factors that influence relationships, including reciprocated treatment, work behaviors and reactions, trust, professional respect, affect, mutual interaction, work autonomy, communication, job satisfaction, and fulfillment. The study sought to determine to what extent is there a predictive relationship between LMX and psychological contracts (employee obligations, employer obligations, fulfillment, and contract transitions) of highly qualified United States-based …

Building Community Resilience For Disasters In The Wabash Valley, Nathan Myers

2025 Fall Reports (Terre Haute)

As part of the 2025 Indiana State University Sustainable Cities Initiative, we worked on two interconnected research projects: conducting a community needs assessment (as requested by Catholic Charities) and developing a climate-related disaster plan for the City of Terre Haute, Indiana. To complete this work, a student research team examined current statistical information for the Wabash Valley region (including Vigo, Clay, Parke, Vermillion, and Sullivan counties), as well as conducting and analyzing interviews, focus groups, and survey data to determine strengths, challenges, opportunities, and threats related to community resilience in the area. This same information, in conjunction with information from …

Reimagining Terre Haute's Parks: Smart Parks For A Connected Community, Natasha Rascon

2025 Fall Reports (Terre Haute)

Through collaborations with the City of Terre Haute, the following community issue was identified: Resiliency Education (RE-1) Smart parks - Sign designs, Web page design, a community survey to determine park attendance, ideas for ways to track park attendance, recommendations for improvements in high-risk parks, Finding and/or helping with grant applications. To address the identified community issue, students enrolled in Comm495 Senior Capstone partnered with the City of Terre Haute to provide possible solutions. The students in this class conducted research to identify areas of opportunity relevant to the city of Terre Haute to produce their suggestions. The students formed …

The Leaf Composition & Sustainability Initiative, Christy Pearison

2025 Fall Reports (Terre Haute)

The LEAF Composition & Sustainability Initiative was developed by students in BUS 100-005 in collaboration with the City of Terre Haute and Indiana State University’s Office of Sustainability. The primary goal of this project was to raise awareness of leaf and organic waste management, encourage composting, and strengthen community engagement around sustainable practices. Students explored the environmental impact of leaf waste and food waste, discovering that while the United States produces approximately 66 million tons of food waste annually, only a small percentage is composted. Locally, Terre Haute sends thousands of tons of yard waste to landfills each month—material that …

Building The Housing Justice Pipeline: Law Schools’ Role In The Right To Counsel Movement, Housing Justice Leadership Institute

Reports

No abstract provided.

Israeli Hasbara And The Nba’S Palestine Exception: The Impossibility Of Capitalist “Social Justice”, Chen Chen, Anthony J. Weems, Roc Rochon, Daniel Sailofsky

Sport Management Collection

Sport is a notable site for the Israeli state in its hasbara (public diplomacy, or “explaining”) effort that seeks to normalize the conditions of ethnic cleansing, illegal settlement, and apartheid practices in historic and occupied Palestine. Against the backdrop of the genocide in Gaza and the lack of international sport sanctions against Israeli teams, this paper maps several hasbara activities/attempts featuring the National Basketball Association (NBA) in the last decade. This is a worthwhile case, not least because of the NBA’s self-branding as a socially “progressive” league composed of a primarily Black/African American athletic workforce. Two major observations are made: …

Ticking Away: A Study On How Multiple Sclerosis Patients In The Us And Australia Navigate Their Day, Ella M. Stahl

Honors Theses

Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune disease that damages the nervous system. Individuals diagnosed with MS experience a wide variety of symptoms, the most common being fatigue and numbness in the hands and feet. This disease affects close to three million people worldwide. Current research shows that individuals with chronic conditions spend more time managing their medical issues, therefore impacting their quality of life. This study compares time use of Multiple Sclerosis patients in the US and Australia. The central investigative question is: what are the differences and similarities in time use of those diagnosed with MS in the United …

A Closer Look At Your Closet: An Analysis Of Consumer Desires, Fast Fashion’S Negative Harms, And Sustainable Solutions For Change, Sarah Hallman

Honors Theses

This thesis serves as an in-depth analysis of the fast fashion industry as it relates to consumers and seeks to identify and promote changes to enhance sustainability with a focus on reusing and repurposing secondhand clothing. The fast fashion industry is unique in its business model, means of production, and harm associated with it. It thrives on the exploitation of consumer desires that silently influence what and how consumers purchase clothing. Through an analysis of consumer desires and the harms associated with the industry through a literary discussion of scholarly articles previously written on these topics, solutions for both businesses …