Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Barriers For Small Businesses To Adopt Sustainable Practices In The Sioux Falls Area, Meredith King

Honors Thesis

Sustainability is a broad concept that encompasses environmental, social, and economic factors to meet current and future needs. Many individuals and large businesses are becoming conscious of the effects they have on the planet and the people around them. However, despite the financial benefits and positive publicity of environmentalism, many businesses are not adopting sustainable practices. This study interviewed local business owners to answer the question “What are the main reasons that small businesses in the Sioux Falls area of South Dakota do or do not adopt sustainable practices that benefit the environment and the community?” Five business owners were …

The Relationship Between Urban Green Space Perception And Use Within The Adolescent Population: A Focused Ethnography, Rachel Lyons

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Introduction: Greenspace is beneficial for improving adolescent mental health, yet we still do not understand the connection between the built environment and subjective mental wellbeing. We also lack understanding of how this population uses greenspace and how they feel when in it. Purpose: The purpose of this qualitative study was threefold: to understand why adolescents use greenspace, to identify how they use greenspace, and to explore how they feel when they are in greenspace. Methods: participated in a focused ethnography that utilized auto photography for photo elicitation. Braun and Clark's (2006), six phases of thematic analysis were used to guide …

Exploring Reusable Takeout Packaging As An Alternative To Disposable Plastics In Maine's Restaurant Industry, Jared Wildwistle

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Since the emergence of plastic over 100 years ago, businesses have increasingly relied on them to protect products. While convenient, the proliferation of plastic packaging is a major contributor to pollutants in the soil, oceans, and bodies of humans and animals alike. Goals in states like Maine seek to reduce the amount of waste and alleviate these issues. However, the deeply embedded popularity of disposable packaging and lack of reliable waste processing capabilities has caused Maine to fall short of its goals. While solutions need to focus on reducing the amount of packaging entering the economy, most businesses rely on …

Energy Efficiency Retrofit And Decarbonization Of Old And Historic Buildings In California, Daria Nikolaeva

Master's Projects and Capstones

Buildings are responsible for almost 40% of total global greenhouse gas emissions and the retrofitting of existing buildings is an essential part of solving the problem. About 75% of buildings in Californian were constructed before the first energy-efficiency building code was adopted in 1978. Old buildings are inefficient, responsible for large carbon footprints and must be retrofitted to stay on track with the state's climate targets. However, current policies do not require substantial changes and tend to favor historic preservation over energy efficiency, missing improvement opportunities. Recognizing the significance of carbon intensity, the 2019 California Energy Efficiency Action Plan shifted …

Recommendations For Sustainable Tourism In Patagonia: An Exploratory Analysis Of Sustainable Tourism In Costa Rica, The Nordic Region, And Thailand’S Communities, Julia K. Lowery

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This thesis explores different levels of governance and its role towards actualizing sustainable tourism in Patagonia. With the growing threat of climate change, international destinations such as Patagonia are looking to continue building their tourism industries in a sustainable way. Through analyzing case studies of national governance in Costa Rica, multi-national governance in the Nordic region, and community-based tourism in Thailand, we can better understand how each form of governance has the potential to create a sustainable tourism industry. With this understanding of successful governance in my case studies, as well as understanding the historical and political forces that have …

Wildfire Smoke Exposure In California: Public Health Impacts And Mitigation Strategies, Jiaxi Hou

Master's Projects and Capstones

Climate change projections show that wildfires are becoming more severe and frequent over the next few decades. In California, as a leader in environmental protection and resilience planning, there are still concerns about the impacts of wildfire. Several places such as Napa Valley, Los Angeles forests, and Yosemite National Park have been exposed to long-lasting wildfire damage. Wildfire smoke contains toxic pollutants such as particulate matter 2.5 (PM_2.5) that can cause negative health impacts on the public. It has been proved that these public health impacts are cumulative, and wildfire PM_2.5 can exacerbate pre-existing conditions. Therefore, there …

The Effect Of Climate Change On Firm Level Costs With Focus On Mena Region, Farah Osama Saieed

Theses and Dissertations

This paper has a main objective of identifying the relationship between environmental factors and climate change on operating costs incurred by firms. This paper also attempts to compare the direction and intensity of the effect on different sectors in order to analyze whether climate change effect differs based on the nature of the business operations. Several papers have previously addressed the relationship between climate change factors ad profits. This literature will add to previous studies by observing the effect on the cost rather than the profits. In addition to providing results that minimize endogeneity, which is found in a large …

Examining The Relationship Between Stomiiform Fish Morphology And Their Ecological Traits, Mikayla L. Twiss

All HCAS Student Capstones, Theses, and Dissertations

Trait-based ecology characterizes individuals’ functional attributes to better understand and predict their interactions with other species and their environments. Utilizing morphological traits to describe functional groups has helped group species with similar ecological niches that are not necessarily taxonomically related. Within the deep-pelagic fishes, the Order Stomiiformes exhibits high morphological and species diversity, and many species undertake diel vertical migration (DVM). While the morphology and behavior of stomiiform fishes have been extensively studied and described through taxonomic assessments, the connection between their form and function regarding their DVM types, morphotypes, and daytime depth distributions is not well known. Here, three …

Policy Implications Of Managing Biodiversity And Natural Resources Across International Boundaries, Dillon Brown

Dissertations

Fisheries Management under the best of scenarios is a complex action. It requires thoughtful consideration of resources that tend to be out of sight, widely distributed, highly variable both spatially and temporally, and present dramatic variation in life history and ecology. No one management approach has been developed which can effectively incorporate all these variables. Add to this the issue of transnational boundary movements of these resources, and one discovers that this complex issue needs to be addressed by multiple entities, agencies, and nations to have any chance of success.

This research set out to discover ways in which fisheries …

An Exploratory Guide To The Work, Efficacy & Potential Of The Usda-Natural Resources Conservation Service In Vermont Through The Perspectives Of Nrcs Staff, Ellen L. Friedrich

Food Systems Master's Project Reports

The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), an agency of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), is the largest provider of conservation incentives payments in private agricultural working lands in the United States. This transdisciplinary and action orientated report is an exploratory guide to the work, efficacy, and potential of the USDA-NRCS in the Vermont context through the perspectives of NRCS staff. The report is built around themes identified from semi-structured interviews conducted with seven NRCS-Vermont staff members. Interviews explored a variety of different topics including natural resource & environmental concerns in Vermont, barriers to conservation and sustainable agriculture, the …

Caribbean Reef-Building Coral-Symbiodiniaceae Network: Identifying Symbioses Critical For System Stability In A Changing Climate, Shaman Patel

All HCAS Student Capstones, Theses, and Dissertations

Increasing global ocean temperatures and frequency of marine heatwaves pose dire consequences for coral reefs. High temperatures often lead to disruptions in coral symbiosis resulting in coral bleaching, increasing the mortality of corals. However, corals can potentially avoid bleaching peril by associating with thermally tolerant symbionts. Here we provide a tool for understanding symbiosis network stability of Caribbean reef-building corals. We created a network of Caribbean hermatypic corals and their associated Symbiodiniaceae phylotypes. A bleaching model was applied to this network to test for resilience and robustness (R50) to thermal stress. It was also layered with trait data for coral …

American Attitudes Toward Nuclear Energy, Eric J. Kirchman

Honors Capstones

Despite the mature underlying technology behind nuclear energy production, public support varies widely among the American public and has often changed over time. This paper seeks to analyze patterns in Americans’ attitudes towards nuclear energy using aggregate polling data from previously collected national public surveys. Standard demographics such as age, education, and political affiliation are utilized in cross-sectional comparisons against public opinion. Males, conservatives and Republicans were found to have strong positive responses towards nuclear energy. Furthermore, time-series data indicates nuclear energy fell out of favor in the early 1980s. It was later favored again in the early 2000s. This …

Anticipating The Impacts Of The Social, Political, And Biophysical Landscape On Long-Term Connectivity For Reintroduced Plains Bison, Jamie Ann Faselt

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Intense anthropogenic pressures on the natural environment have created the need for implementing strategies that promote or restore habitat connectivity. The ability for animals to move between habitat patches allows animals to find mates, access resources, and shift their range in response to the changing climate and ensures that ecological and evolutionary processes persist. Connectivity conservation typically focuses on biophysical barriers to animal movement, but for many species reintroductions, establishing and maintaining connectivity often requires overcoming both ecological and socio-political barriers. Despite the need to navigate complex socio-political landscapes to implement connectivity conservation plans, datasets depicting those conditions are rarely …

Human Appropriation Of Net Primary Production Through Crops, Grazing, And Forestry In The U.S. From 1997 To 2012, Suman Paudel

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This dissertation conducts a county-level analysis of human appropriation of net primary production (HANPP) harvested from crops, timber and grazing in the conterminous United States in the years 1997, 2002, 2007 and 2012. This study consists of three manuscripts (Chapters 2, 3, and 4). The first study quantifies net primary production in US counties in 1997, 2002, 2007 and 2012. The detailed HANPP study conducted concludes that HANPP is a valuable footprint tool for analyzing land use intensity and agricultural ecosystems. The second manuscript shows how HANPP is an improved or modernized ecological footprint and is a sustainable indicator as …

Examining Geographic Variations In Disaster Preparedness Across The United States And Puerto Rico, Forest Kane Cook

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Disaster events, such as floods, wildfires, and earthquakes increasingly cause damage to livelihoods, the economy, and the environment. Preparing for these events to occur is an important part of increasing resilience, however studies have found that households are generally not prepared for these events to happen. When it comes to identifying where these households are, there is typically no related tool or series of maps that can indicate location. In order to fill this gap, we use public survey data from FEMA to create estimates of household preparedness across a number of actions, such as developing an evacuation plan or …

A Study On The Environmental And Societal Impact Of Salad Packaging, Nathanael Stephens

All Theses

Packaged salads are becoming an increasingly popular segment of today’s fresh cut vegetables and salads market. This increased demand is leading to an increased need for packaging. This increase in packaging can lead to a potential increase in impact on the environment. With a large push for sustainability in the modern economy, this environmental impact is becoming more and more unacceptable. Several studies have been conducted to determine environmental impacts of packaging, but none have homed in on the salad packaging market segment in detail until this study. This study is also pioneering the way by pairing environmental impacts of …

Spatiotemporal Change Detection Of The Alpine Meadows At Holcomb Valley, San Bernardino Mountain National Forest, Using Gis And Remote Sensing Techniques, Rama Ewing

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Holcomb Valley, with a general elevation between 2200-2257m, is in the Northeast of Big Bear Lake in the San Bernardino Mountains. Holcomb Valley is covered by Alpine meadows, unlike most mountain landscapes, which are rarely found in Mediterranean climates such as California. The cultural-environmental history of the San Bernardino Mountains in the past century speaks of intense anthropogenic activities such as timbering, grazing, gold mining, and extreme climate changes (i.e., drought, fires, floods). A study is conducted to identify and calculate the changes in the Alpine meadows at Holcomb Valley. The climatical data has been acquired to compute and visualize …

Seabirds As Proxies For Past El Niño Events In Coastal Peru: An Archaeo-Ornithological Approach, Heather A. Landazuri

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis sets an initial foundation for an archaeo-ornithological approach to understanding past El Niño events on the coast of Peru and the use of avifaunal remains as proxies for ecological conditions. Although faunal remains from archaeological sites do not provide exact representations of past environmental conditions, and bird remains can be especially challenging environmental indicators, their presence does reflect decisions made by human occupants in response to environment. Additionally, zooarchaeological data offer a reflection of past animal availability and use, much of which is at least in part determined by environmental conditions. Here I examine the extent to which …

Green On The Map - The Influence Of Conservation Easements On The Naturalness Of Landscapes In The United States, Nakisha Fouch

All Dissertations

Large protected areas have long been the cornerstone of conservation biology, however, in an era branded by the human dominance of ecosystems, regional landscape structure and function are often a consequence of accumulated land-use decisions that may or may not include a nod to conservation planning. With underrepresentation of habitats in publicly protected areas, attention has focused on the function of alternative land conservation mechanisms. Private conservation easements (CEs) have proliferated in the United States, yet assessing landscape-level function is confounded by holder and donor intent, national and regional policy, regional landscape contexts, varying extents, resolution, and temporal scale. Over …

The Rhythm Of The Land: Women’S Use Of Plants During The Pigeon Phase Of Magic Waters (31jk291) In Cherokee, North Carolina, Kelly Dean Santana

Masters Theses

This thesis focuses on the paleoethnobotanical remains of the Pigeon phase village component of the Magic Waters site, 31JK291. The Pigeon phase represented the early Middle Woodland period in the western North Carolina region and spans from approximately 200 BC to AD 200, situated in between the earlier Swannanoa phase (1000 BC to 200 BC) and the later Connestee phase (AD 200 to AD 800; Ward and Davis 1999). The site of Magic Waters is located adjacent to Harrah’s Cherokee Casino and Hotel in Cherokee, Jackson County, North Carolina, among the Blue Ridge ecoregion of the Appalachian Summit. The site …

Effect Of Covid-19 Pandemic On Volunteerism And Fundraising Management Strategies In Nonprofits And Rebuilding Tactics Of Ronald Mcdonald House Charities Of Chicagoland And Northwest Indiana (Rmhc-Cni), Humza Wolf

Student Capstone Projects

The financial sustainability of nonprofits depends highly on volunteerism and funding strategies which got impacted during Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) Pandemic. This capstone study explores to what extent nonprofits got affected and evaluates the efforts of Ronald McDonald House Charities of Chicagoland & Northwest Indiana (RMHC-CNI) to improve the provision of support for underprivileged families of critically ill children. The continual efforts to overcome financial hurdles escalated in pandemic. Mixed method research design was used to collect, analyze, and triangulate both quantitative and qualitative research methods in this single study to understand the research problem. Interpretive approach encompassed the complexities of …

Estimation Of Economic Risk From Coastal Natural Hazards In Louisiana, Rubayet Bin Mostafiz

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Louisiana, U.S.A., is among the most vulnerable areas globally to coastal natural hazards, with risk vulnerability likely increasing. The risks associated with non-tropical-cyclone hazards in Louisiana’s coastal zone have been understudied. This research enhances present and future (i.e., 2050) Louisiana risk assessment using locally-weighted, model-based hazard frequency/intensity and population projections.

Results suggest that property risks associated with extreme cold temperature and tornado are and will remain costlier than those for hail and lightning. Property risks of extreme cold temperature and hail are projected to decrease with the expected warming temperatures, with those of all four of these hazards peaking in …

Debris Of Progress: A Political Ethnography Of Critical Infrastructure, Ethan Tupelo

Doctoral Dissertations

In this dissertation, I advance a political ethnography of critical infrastructure to better understand terminal capitalism, in which the waste products of commodification and resource depletion are destroying the ecological systems that support life. My object of study is the massive disjuncture between individual knowledge and intention, and these catastrophic collective planetary outcomes. Theoretically, I develop critical infrastructure theory to diagnose these destructive structures. By “infrastructure,” I mean systems of material and discursive flows fundamental to sedentary human organization, connecting local actions with global systems. Such infrastructure is “critical” in three senses: A) denoting the most important forms of infrastructure …

The Impact Of Covid-19 On Employment Characteristics, Eliana Shatkin

Theses and Dissertations

The following study examines ways in which COVID-19 has disrupted the United States labor market. My findings present disproportionately negative effects of COVID-19 on employment, labor force participation, worker absence, and weekly working hours for the female population in my sample, as well as veterans, disabled persons, and racial minorities.

Between Two Rivers: Environmental Justice And The Politics Of Ecological Improvement In Puget Sound, Grant M. Gutierrez

Dartmouth College Ph.D Dissertations

Environmental justice (EJ) has become a central framework for historically marginalized communities in the United States to identify unequal exposure to environmental harm. Yet, what once began as a radical social movement challenge to different forms of environmental racism has been taken-up by a wide swathe of civil society across diverse political, cultural, and ecological landscapes. In particular, river restoration efforts – and the many communities they implicate – are emerging as key sites of political-ecological interventions that are central to EJ. However, not all river restoration efforts employ EJ as a guiding framework. Through this dissertation, I ask: how …

A Study On The Ore Grade, Operating Costs And Investment Value Of Iron Ore Miners Amid China's "Dual Carbon" Policy, Shunyi Yao

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

With the growing demand for steel in significant economies, iron ore remains a vital investment in the long run. Although many iron ore miners have recently generated significant returns for investors, some have not performed well financially. The existing literature does not provide an integrated theoretical framework to explain this problem. The study examines the mechanisms determining the investment value of iron ore miners when China establishes carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals ("Dual Carbon" policy). Further, based on the findings, this study also proposes investment strategies for iron ore miners in the future, which also has a high practical …

Environmental Justice Mapping In The U.S. Pacific Island Territory Of Guam, Ben Rocha

Master of Science in Environmental Sciences and Management Projects

Academics, regulators, and the public currently use geospatial analysis tools to identify locations that may be candidates for further environmental justice review in the continental United States (U.S.). However, current environmental justice geospatial analysis tools overlook a small but significant portion of the U.S. - the U.S. Pacific Islands. This study analyzes environmental justice within the U.S. Territory of Guam using existing geospatial analysis methods and publicly available environmental, climate, and socio-economic data to: (1) Spatially map relevant demographic and environmental data and (2) determine the correlation, if any, between the exposure to environmental hazards and the socio-economic status of …

Quantifying Spatial Heterogeneity Of Wild Blueberries And Crop Water Stress Monitoring Using Remote Sensing Technologies, Kallol Barai

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The wild blueberry is one of the major crops of Maine, with significant economic value and potential health benefits. Due to global climate change, drought impacts have been increasing significantly in recent years in the northeast region of the USA, causing significant economic losses in the agricultural sectors. It has been predicted to increase further in the future. Changing patterns of the elevated atmospheric temperatures, increased rainfall variabilities, and more frequent drought events have made the wild blueberry industry of Maine vulnerable, suggesting the adoption of novel approaches to mitigate the negative impacts of global climate changes. Also, wild blueberry …

Manual Of Sustainable Urban Practices Towards Long-Term Conservation, Haley Kilmer

Capstone Collection

This paper analyzes how urban living and design can be detrimental to the surrounding ecosystems and how it is directly affecting the biodiversity loss of an area. To answer this question, I first did extensive background research on urbanization, climate change, and biodiversity loss as it relates to urban ecosystems. Then, the public’s perceptions were collected through surveys and interviews in order to make meaningful suggestions in the construction of an interactive, biological corridor map. The results showed that increasing the biodiversity of an urban area can help to mitigate many of the common environmental challenges associated with living in …

The Theory Of Reasoned Action As A Basis For Investment In Cryptocurrency, Wrr Rinaldo

Masters Theses, 2020-current

In the past decade and a half, emergent blockchain technology has gained widespread attention, especially in the past few years. For the most part, attention has been focused on cryptocurrencies, but non-fungible tokens (NFTs), that use similar technology, have been given attention as well. Many concerns about these technologies have arisen, particularly that of the environmental impacts associated with them. Utilizing the theory of reasoned action, diffusion of technology theory, and surveys conducted through Amazon Mechanical Turk, this research attempts to uncover if there is a link between the level of cryptocurrency knowledge that an individual possesses and the level …