Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Articles 1 - 12 of 12

Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Children Tell Landscape-Lore Among Perceptions Of Place: Relating Ecocultural Digital Stories In A Conscientizing/Decolonizing Exploration, Meredith Jean Bird Miller Jan 2023

Children Tell Landscape-Lore Among Perceptions Of Place: Relating Ecocultural Digital Stories In A Conscientizing/Decolonizing Exploration, Meredith Jean Bird Miller

Antioch University Full-Text Dissertations & Theses

We know that when children feel a sense-of-relation within local natural environments, they are more prone to feel concern for them, while nurturing well-being and resilience in themselves and in lands/waters they inhabit. Positive environmental behaviors often follow into adulthood. Our human capacities for creating sustainable solutions in response to growing repercussions of global warming and climate change may grow if more children feel a sense of belonging in the wild natural world. As educators, if we listen to and learn from students’ voices about how they engage in nature, we can create pedagogical experiences directly relevant to their lives. …


To Change Everything, We Need Everyone: Belonging, Equity, And Diversity In The U.S. Climate Movement, Clara Changxin Fang Jan 2023

To Change Everything, We Need Everyone: Belonging, Equity, And Diversity In The U.S. Climate Movement, Clara Changxin Fang

Antioch University Full-Text Dissertations & Theses

Climate change affects everyone but lack of racial diversity in the climate movement makes it challenging for it to be truly inclusive, champion solutions that are equitable, and affect transformative change. This dissertation describes a two-part study of diversity in the climate movement using a survey of 1,003 climate activists and interviews with 17 people of color who work or volunteer in the U.S. climate movement. The study analyzes differences between Whites and people of color in terms of their (a) demographics, (b) engagement in climate action, (c) experience of climate impacts, (d) worries, (e) challenges and barriers to participation, …


Eating Change: A Critical Autoethnography Of Community Gardening And Social Identity, Jessica Gerrior Jan 2023

Eating Change: A Critical Autoethnography Of Community Gardening And Social Identity, Jessica Gerrior

Antioch University Full-Text Dissertations & Theses

Community gardening efforts often carry a social purpose, such as building climate resilience, alleviating hunger, or promoting food justice. Meanwhile, the identities and motivations of community gardeners reflect both personal stories and broader social narratives. The involvement of universities in community gardening projects introduces an additional dimension of power and privilege that is underexplored in scholarly literature. This research uses critical autoethnography to explore the relationship of community gardening and social identity. Guided by Chang (2008) and Anderson and Glass-Coffin (2013), a systematic, reflexive process of meaning-making was used to compose three autoethnographic accounts. Each autoethnography draws on the author’s …


The Use Of A Habitat Quality Stress Index To Evaluate Stress As An Analog For Proximate Fitness In The American Crow Within A Matrix Of Landcover Characteristics To Assess Its Potential Contribution To Disease Etiologies, Theodore Lee Grabarz Jan 2023

The Use Of A Habitat Quality Stress Index To Evaluate Stress As An Analog For Proximate Fitness In The American Crow Within A Matrix Of Landcover Characteristics To Assess Its Potential Contribution To Disease Etiologies, Theodore Lee Grabarz

Antioch University Full-Text Dissertations & Theses

All organisms occur within spatial and temporal environments to maximize proximate fitness (health) and thus life history outcomes. Previous work has examined the temporal and behavioral aspects of proximate fitness on life history outcomes particularly regarding highly perturbed environments (i.e., climate and land use change, resource extraction, agricultural erosion, etc.). My work focuses on the less examined spatial aspect of these perturbed environments. More specifically, this dissertation examines habitat selection and quality as the basis for understanding stress response (negative and positive feedback mechanisms) to environmental stressors within the larger context of regional or gamma (ɣ) biodiversity. Through the lens …


Connecting Antibiotic Resistance To The Environment (Care): Introducing A Novel Framework Integrating Chemical Cross-Resistance And Place-Based Engagement To The Blue Marsh Watershed In Reading, Pennsylvania, Jill Felker Jan 2023

Connecting Antibiotic Resistance To The Environment (Care): Introducing A Novel Framework Integrating Chemical Cross-Resistance And Place-Based Engagement To The Blue Marsh Watershed In Reading, Pennsylvania, Jill Felker

Antioch University Full-Text Dissertations & Theses

Antibiotic resistance is a serious health threat around the world. Millions of individuals are infected with antibiotic-resistant bacteria yearly, and thousands die from previously curable illnesses. Although antibiotic resistance occurs naturally, misuse of antibiotics accelerates the loss of their effectiveness. Public health campaigns focusing on antibiotic awareness have not effectively communicated and educated the public on this health crisis. New efforts to combat antibiotic resistance are urgently needed. This dissertation focuses on the ecological and public health components of antibiotic resistance research that must be addressed to decelerate antibiotic resistance. A new interdisciplinary theoretical framework was developed to Connect Antibiotic …


The Walls At The Ends Of Empires: Towards A Political Ecology Of The Imperial Border, Benjamin Allen Stahnke Jan 2023

The Walls At The Ends Of Empires: Towards A Political Ecology Of The Imperial Border, Benjamin Allen Stahnke

Antioch University Full-Text Dissertations & Theses

This dissertation study investigates the intricate and complicated interplay between the border walls of imperial states, environmental change, and dispossession. Employing a multidisciplinary approach rooted in Political Ecology, and drawing on the theoretical frameworks of Social Metabolism, Social Kinetics, and Green History, the study is built around an analysis of two historical examples: the Roman border walls in the north of England (Hadrian’s Wall and the Antonine Wall), and the U.S.-Mexico border wall. The research uncovers two overarching conclusions: firstly, imperial border walls serve as discriminatory structures, targeting and segregating Indigenous populations while asserting control over Indigenous geographies; secondly, the …


Diving To New Depths: An Exploration Of Aquarium Visitors' Reflection At A Shark Exhibit, Nicole Leigh Conklin Jan 2023

Diving To New Depths: An Exploration Of Aquarium Visitors' Reflection At A Shark Exhibit, Nicole Leigh Conklin

Antioch University Full-Text Dissertations & Theses

Zoos and aquariums (Z/As) are conservation-oriented free-choice learning institutions. In order to support their mission of advancing wildlife conservation, Z/As deliberately design opportunities and experiences to meaningfully engage visitors in understanding, caring for, and acting on behalf of exhibited species. Conservation psychologists and practitioners have applied values-based and models of human behavior to design and evaluate experiences aimed to influence myriad cognitive, affective, and behavioral outcomes. However, there is little research exploring the role of and opportunity for reflection within these institutions. Models of reflection and reflective practice, which are rooted in both theory and empirical data, stress the importance …


Effects Of Management And Environmental Variables On Ant Richness, Diversity, And Nest Abundance In Pitch Pine-Scrub Oak Barrens, Heathlands, And Dry Rocky-Ridge Communities In Inland Massachusetts, Usa, Kyle Bradford Jan 2023

Effects Of Management And Environmental Variables On Ant Richness, Diversity, And Nest Abundance In Pitch Pine-Scrub Oak Barrens, Heathlands, And Dry Rocky-Ridge Communities In Inland Massachusetts, Usa, Kyle Bradford

Antioch University Full-Text Dissertations & Theses

Heathlands and pitch pine-scrub oak (PPSO) barrens are globally-imperiled natural communities threatened by human development and disruption of natural disturbance regimes. To restore these habitats in the northeastern United States, many sites are managed by mechanical tree harvesting, mowing, selective herbicide, and prescribed fire. Restored PPSO barrens and heathlands are important habitat for rare and threatened biota; barrens habitat has been shown to support high ant diversity including rare and threatened species. Ants are important providers of ecosystem services and functions, yet their ecology and response to management in inland Massachusetts barrens are not well known. I used hand-sampling to …


Adaptive Regulation For Ecosystem Restoration: A Context For Effective Environmental Permitting, Jennifer M. Auger Jan 2023

Adaptive Regulation For Ecosystem Restoration: A Context For Effective Environmental Permitting, Jennifer M. Auger

Antioch University Full-Text Dissertations & Theses

This dissertation investigates the regulatory challenges faced by large-scale ecosystem restoration (LSER) projects by exploring the perspectives of practitioners and regulators. Focusing on the federal regulatory permitting process, the study aims to understand its impact on LSER projects and proposes the application of adaptive regulation for improvement. Employing Q methodology, participants expressed their views on 34 statements related to wetland permitting for LSER projects. Factor analysis revealed two distinct perspectives: Factor 1 emphasizes the reorganization of the permitting process within existing regulations, advocating for more documentation and structured processes. Factor 2 highlights the need for restructuring both the permitting process …


Land Reform In Sub-Saharan Africa: Exploring Interested Parties Perspectives On Cameroon's Land Tenure And Land Law Reform, Jacques Kenjio Jan 2023

Land Reform In Sub-Saharan Africa: Exploring Interested Parties Perspectives On Cameroon's Land Tenure And Land Law Reform, Jacques Kenjio

Antioch University Full-Text Dissertations & Theses

This research study seeks to understand interested parties’ perspectives on Cameroon's existing land tenure systems, the 1974 land law, and ongoing efforts to reform this land law. It identifies both concerns and specific recommendations from these parties on the formulation and implementation of future reforms. In the decades following the achievement of independence from European colonizers, most governments in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) have adopted new national land tenure policies to meet their countries’ needs and aspirations. In some parts of SSA, however, this process of land tenure formalization has negatively impacted the land rights of people observing customary land tenure. …


Forest Bathing Increases Adolescent Mental Well-Being And Connection To Nature: A Transformative Mixed Methods Study, Jennifer Keller Jan 2023

Forest Bathing Increases Adolescent Mental Well-Being And Connection To Nature: A Transformative Mixed Methods Study, Jennifer Keller

Antioch University Full-Text Dissertations & Theses

Previous research has demonstrated that practicing forest bathing has significant positive effects on well-being. However, few studies have investigated whether forest bathing increases adolescent well-being despite the growing adolescent mental health crisis in the United States. Similarly, few studies have explored forest bathing’s impacts on connectedness to nature. Considering the ongoing environmental crisis, determining if forest bathing increases connectedness to nature is a critical expansion of forest bathing research, as connectedness to nature is linked to environmental care and concern. This study investigated the possibility that forest bathing, a nature-based mindfulness practice, could increase adolescent mental well-being and connectedness to …


Artistic Engagement With Monadnock: A Hermeneutic Phenomenological Study, Jonathan W. Coffin Jan 2023

Artistic Engagement With Monadnock: A Hermeneutic Phenomenological Study, Jonathan W. Coffin

Antioch University Full-Text Dissertations & Theses

This hermeneutic phenomenological study discloses the lived experience of creating art in association with New Hampshire’s Mount Monadnock. This study reveals the potential for artistic invention in association with place gradually to undermine an established sense of separation from environment and to prompt conscious awareness of continuity with environment. A series of interviews with four artists who create art of or in the presence of Monadnock revealed in the lived experience of creating Monadnock art a process that consists of five phases: first encounter, abstract appreciation, existential understanding, sustained attention, and continuity. A hermeneutic circular method of interpretation based upon …