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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Aiddata Gis International Fellowship: Ghana West-Africa, Jason N. Ready Dec 2016

Aiddata Gis International Fellowship: Ghana West-Africa, Jason N. Ready

International Development, Community and Environment (IDCE)

My internship, or fellowship as it was commonly referred to, was funded by a non-profit organization out of Williamsburg Virginia called AidData. This fellowship took place in in the country of Ghana, West-Africa beginning in May of 2016 and continued for 14 weeks with 40 hours each week. The objective of this internship was to provide in-depth training on the use of geographic Information Systems to Private and Public sectors within the country to allow for increased efficiency, and transparency through data visualization. In accordance with the requirement of Clark Universities GISDE master’s program this paper will delve into the …


Changes In Floristic Composition In The State Forests In Worcester County (Massachusetts) Over 34 Years, Flor A. Monroe May 2016

Changes In Floristic Composition In The State Forests In Worcester County (Massachusetts) Over 34 Years, Flor A. Monroe

International Development, Community and Environment (IDCE)

ABSTRACT

CHANGES IN FOREST DIVERSITY OF STATE FOREST IN WORCESTER COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS, OVER 34 YEARS PERIOD

The forest in Massachusetts has changed since the earliest colonial settlement and today the floristic composition is more homogeneous. This study investigates the potential change in the floristic composition over thirty years in Worcester County State Forests. Shannon, richness and evenness indices for two periods were compared, and Jaccard index was used to analyze similarity in composition between the periods. The possible influence of severe weather events was also analyzed.

It was found Changes in the floristic composition, but the magnitude of the changes …


Summer 2015 Internship: Enterprise Gis Support For The National Audubon Society, Monica Noon May 2016

Summer 2015 Internship: Enterprise Gis Support For The National Audubon Society, Monica Noon

International Development, Community and Environment (IDCE)

From May to August 2015, I worked with the National Audubon Society as an Enterprise GIS Support Intern, under the supervision of Doreen Whitley Rogers. I assisted the department with the GIS help desk requests and supported ArcGIS users with project assistance and training. This report summarizes the structure of the organization, my role as an Enterprise GIS Support Intern and my assessment and reflection of my experience.


Creating Value In The Voluntary Carbon Market: Opportunities For Small-Scale Coffee Producers In Latin America To Access Carbon Capital., Ruby Woodside May 2016

Creating Value In The Voluntary Carbon Market: Opportunities For Small-Scale Coffee Producers In Latin America To Access Carbon Capital., Ruby Woodside

International Development, Community and Environment (IDCE)

Agroforestry producers have not participated on a large-scale in carbon markets. This paper assesses the potential for small-scale coffee producers to access the voluntary carbon market. A review of the current market including standards, trends, and how value is created is followed by an overview of Latin American coffee production. Drawing on tools from the conceptual framework of global production networks I explore how coffee producers can benefit from the development of carbon credits. Current carbon credit projects under development with coffee producers are considered, and one case study presented. The tools and conditions necessary for full access to carbon …


Evaluation Of Alternative Strategies To Prevent Leopard Predation On Livestock Around Yala National Park, Sri Lanka, Sanjiv Fernando May 2016

Evaluation Of Alternative Strategies To Prevent Leopard Predation On Livestock Around Yala National Park, Sri Lanka, Sanjiv Fernando

International Development, Community and Environment (IDCE)

In recent years, many livestock herders living near Yala National Park, Sri Lanka have reported livestock losses due to predation by leopards (Panthera pardus kotiya). Despite herders’ attempts to safeguard their cattle, livestock depredation remains an issue, sometimes causing herders to kill leopards in retaliation. In an effort to mitigate the human-leopard conflict, protective cattle enclosures made from steel pipes and mesh wire were introduced to prevent leopard attacks on cattle. This study aims to assess the severity of leopard predation on livestock, understand the methods used in retaliatory killings, examine the effectiveness of existing livestock protection methods, …


Environmental Science And Policy Master’S Portfolio, Nathaniel K. Lapides May 2016

Environmental Science And Policy Master’S Portfolio, Nathaniel K. Lapides

International Development, Community and Environment (IDCE)

The following Environmental Science and Policy Master’s Portfolio is a compilation of works completed individually and with peers in order to fulfill requirements for the Master of Science degree. These works demonstrate breadth, depth, and the interdisciplinary nature of the course of study. As an undergraduate student at Clark University I studied Environmental Science with a concentration in Earth Systems Science. I was interested in learning about the natural world and wanted to develop a deeper connection to it. Inevitably, I was exposed to courses that examined the causes and effects of global climate change and this topic became my …


Development Of A Decision Support System For Post Mining Land Use On Abandoned Surface Coal Mines In Appalachia, Matthew Zimmerman May 2016

Development Of A Decision Support System For Post Mining Land Use On Abandoned Surface Coal Mines In Appalachia, Matthew Zimmerman

International Development, Community and Environment (IDCE)

Decision support systems are diverse and have been used to solve multiple problems ranging from the complex to the simple. With the complexity of environmental decisions today, these systems provide a logic based approach to evaluating and choosing environmental solutions. Abandoned mining lands (AML) are an issue for the environment in the Appalachian region. Given this a decision support system was designed using previously created frameworks and indices from other systems created. The system is comprised of two main sections, selecting the ideal post-mining land-use (PMLU), and maximizing the potential of land to be reclaimed under budgetary constraints. This system …


Land Change Modeling: Summer 2015 Internship With Clark Labs, Xiaoyang Kong May 2016

Land Change Modeling: Summer 2015 Internship With Clark Labs, Xiaoyang Kong

International Development, Community and Environment (IDCE)

My internship with Clark Labs was completed during the summer of 2015, where I worked under the direction of Dr. Ronald Eastman. As a research assistant, the responsibilities of my internship was to process data for a project that intended to develop a web application for land change modeling. I learned a lot of knowledge about land change science and GIS applications from this internship. The experience I gained will definitely increase my competitiveness in my future career. I am fully satisfied with this internship and I would recommend this internship to anybody interested in GIS and land change science. …


Park Management Gis Intern In New York City Department Of Park & Recreation, Dongjun Zhou 3125032 Mar 2016

Park Management Gis Intern In New York City Department Of Park & Recreation, Dongjun Zhou 3125032

International Development, Community and Environment (IDCE)

My park management GIS internship with New York City Department of Parks & Recreation took place during June and August 2015, where I primarily worked under the guidance of Terese Flores, the park manager for the borough of Manhattan. My internship responsibility was assisting the Park Manager with park improvement project that primarily involved asset mapping for park properties, field data collecting and entry, budget devising as well as park staff coordinating. According to the requirement of GISDE program at Clark University, the content of this report mainly covers three aspects of this internship: the introduction for the mission and …