Shifting Baselines Of Iconic Marine Species In The Caribbean,
2016
Colby College
Shifting Baselines Of Iconic Marine Species In The Caribbean, Samantha Lovell
Honors Theses
As the degradation of Caribbean coral reefs occurs, memory of past states is lost so the degraded status is used as a standard in management, a phenomenon known as “shifting baselines.” To set restoration targets, marine historical ecology studies are helpful to document baselines of species and understand the past productivity of ecosystems. In this study, I examine the historical ecology of the islands Barbuda, Curaçao, and Montserrat. I analyzed archival materials, including historical maps and other documents from the islands to identify previously abundant or iconic species and understand historical changes. From the archival resources I identified 30 places …
The Impact Of Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals On Wildlife Conservation,
2016
Colby College
The Impact Of Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals On Wildlife Conservation, Eda Reed
Honors Theses
Endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs), such as those from plastics and pesticides, have been hypothesized to affect wildlife populations. According to the U.S. National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, EDCs ‘are chemicals that may interfere with the body’s endocrine system and produce adverse developmental, reproductive, neurological, and immune effects in both humans and wildlife.’ A growing number of studies suggest wildlife are being exposed to EDCs, but how EDCs affect wildlife health and wildlife conservation is less well-understood. Through scientific literature analysis and a survey of wildlife conservationists and practitioners, this study aims to determine the current state of knowledge and data …
Missing The Trees For The Forest: The Socioecological Significance Of Dispersed Farmland Trees In Northern Ethiopia,
2016
Colby College
Missing The Trees For The Forest: The Socioecological Significance Of Dispersed Farmland Trees In Northern Ethiopia, Jacob A. Wall, Travis W. Reynolds
Honors Theses
Scattered trees are prominent features in the agricultural landscape of the Ethiopian highlands. The dry Afromontane forests of the Amhara Region in northern Ethiopia have faced centuries of deforestation - the FAO estimates only 3% of the region is forested today. The remaining landscape has been largely converted into agricultural and grazing lands, with the exception of some limited government-protected lands, as well as thousands of small forest fragments left around Orthodox Churches (“church forests”). But while a growing body of scholarship has highlighted the ecological and cultural importance of church forests and other natural forest fragments, the roles of …
Missing The Trees For The Forest: The Socioecological Significance Of Dispersed Farmland Trees In Northern Ethiopia,
2016
Colby College
Missing The Trees For The Forest: The Socioecological Significance Of Dispersed Farmland Trees In Northern Ethiopia, Jacob A. Wall
Honors Theses
Scattered trees are prominent features in the agricultural landscape of the Ethiopian highlands. The dry Afromontane forests of the Amhara Region in northern Ethiopia have faced centuries of deforestation - the FAO estimates only 3% of the region is forested today. The remaining landscape has been largely converted into agricultural and grazing lands, with the exception of some limited government-protected lands, as well as thousands of small forest fragments left around Orthodox Churches (“church forests”). But while a growing body of scholarship has highlighted the ecological and cultural importance of church forests and other natural forest fragments, the roles of …
Positive Organizational Leadership And Pro-Environmental Behavior: The Phenomenon Of Institutional Fossil Fuel Divestment,
2016
Antioch University - PhD Program in Leadership and Change
Positive Organizational Leadership And Pro-Environmental Behavior: The Phenomenon Of Institutional Fossil Fuel Divestment, Abigail Abrash Walton
Antioch University Dissertations & Theses
Climate change is one of the most significant dynamics of our time.The predominant contributor to climate change is combustion of fossil fuels by humans.This study deepened understanding of organizational leaders’ role in enacting one approach to addressing climate change:institutional fossil fuel divestment.The study used a qualitative research design to explore U.S.-based foundation leaders’ readiness to pursue fossil fuel divestment by their institutions.The study examined leaders’ motivations and actions in pursuing divestment, while simultaneously exercising their fiduciary duty to steward institutional assets.Research questions focused on the divestment behavior change process and the outcomes of divestment on leaders and their organizations.Data collection …
Collaboration In Conservation Networks: Regional Conservation Partnerships In New England,
2016
Antioch University, New England
Collaboration In Conservation Networks: Regional Conservation Partnerships In New England, Jill L. Weiss
Antioch University Dissertations & Theses
Environmental problems are becoming increasingly complex and harder for any one discipline or approach to address. In the case of land conservation, there is an incongruity between how we view and manage social and natural systems even though each is reliant on the other. Adaptive co-management of these socio-ecological landscapes by a cross section of stakeholders and disciplines is necessary. In New England this is happening through Regional Conservation Partnerships (RCPs). RCPs are conservation networks comprised of land trusts, local governments, landowners, and localized conservation action groups. The geographic range of each RCP varies in size from a few hundred …
Making Meaning Together: The Role Of Interpretation During A Short-Term Nature Excursion,
2016
Antioch University, New England
Making Meaning Together: The Role Of Interpretation During A Short-Term Nature Excursion, Kate Jurow
Antioch University Dissertations & Theses
Interpretive nature walks are an important tool for conservation organizations, which use them to educate, and to connect visitors with their sites. Interpretive studies often focus on program outcomes. However, less research exists on how the experience itself is perceived by visitors. Is it primarily a learning process? What role does the guide play, and how does the process of interpretation affect the visitor experience? What implications might this have for interpretive techniques, and for organizations seeking to build supportive stewardship communities? The purpose of this study was to explore how the process of interpretation affects a short-term nature experience …
Opportunities For Conversion To More Sustainable Practices By Houses Of Worship Through Team Performance Enhancing Strategies That Include Leadership With Facilitative Skills,
2016
Antioch University, New England
Opportunities For Conversion To More Sustainable Practices By Houses Of Worship Through Team Performance Enhancing Strategies That Include Leadership With Facilitative Skills, Carolina Del Carmen Saiz
Antioch University Dissertations & Theses
This research focused on assessing the performance of teams of volunteers in Houses of Worship (HOWs) in the State of Massachusetts that are successfully planning, advancing and completing sustainable initiatives. The sustainable initiatives included solar photovoltaic (PV) installations, city public parks cleaning projects, efficient windows installations, efficient lighting fixtures installations, and building insulation improvements. The goal of this research was to assess the dynamics of a total of eight successful teams, including the relationships among team members and their leaders with facilitative skills that they perceived were instrumental to their effective and efficient performance. The role of team leadership was …
Piglets And Perspectives: Exploring Sustainability Communication Through Participatory Filmmaking,
2016
Antioch University, New England
Piglets And Perspectives: Exploring Sustainability Communication Through Participatory Filmmaking, Dyanna Innes Smith
Antioch University Dissertations & Theses
The goal of this research was to conduct a qualitative study applying narrative theory to participatory video methodologies in order to better understand how the process of filmmaking can be used to create a method of sustainability communication. To do this, the study collaborated with individuals who are currently practicing different types of sustainable agriculture on small farms in southern New Hampshire. A group of five farms participated in a new method of filmmaking designed to blend specific elements of participatory video technique with principles of narrative theory. This method included camera training, filmed personal interviews, participants filming their own …
"One Narrow Thread Of Green": The Vision Of May Theilgaard Watts, The Creation Of The Illinois Prairie Path, And A Community's Crusade For Open Space In Chicago's Suburbs,
2016
Antioch University, New England
"One Narrow Thread Of Green": The Vision Of May Theilgaard Watts, The Creation Of The Illinois Prairie Path, And A Community's Crusade For Open Space In Chicago's Suburbs, Anne M. Keller
Antioch University Dissertations & Theses
Women's environmental activism prior to the early 1960s in America focused on women's roles as municipal housekeepers or emphasized wilderness conservation. I offer in this dissertation the story of the Illinois Prairie Path, the country's first rails-to-trails conversion to apply for National Recreation Trail status, and the innovative women who fought for nature preservation in a suburban setting rather than in a wilderness area. Led by renowned writer and naturalist, May Theilgaard Watts, these women built support for the public footpath project by fostering an ecological awareness throughout their region. I place them in the tradition of Chicago female reformers …
Embera Drua: The Impact Of Tourism On Indigenous Village Life In Panama,
2016
Antioch University - PhD Program in Leadership and Change
Embera Drua: The Impact Of Tourism On Indigenous Village Life In Panama, Amy Lethbridge
Antioch University Dissertations & Theses
This case study examines the experience of residents of the Indigenous village of Embera Drua, Panama with 20 years of tourism. It addresses the lack of Indigenous voices in tourism literature by telling the story of Embera Drua through the lens of the villagers themselves. The study uses a mix of ethnographic observation and narrative inquiry and finds that the experience of Embera Drua mirrors the experience of other Indigenous villages offering tourism around the globe, particularly the impact of lack of community capacity on management and growth of such tourism initiatives. Findings of this study are relevant to the …
The Philosophy Of Ecology In John Steinbeck's The Grapes Of Wrath,
2016
Scripps College
The Philosophy Of Ecology In John Steinbeck's The Grapes Of Wrath, Stephanie A. Steinbrecher
Scripps Senior Theses
This thesis explores the possibilities for ecocritical study in fiction through John Steinbeck’s 1939 novel The Grapes of Wrath. Major ecocritical interpretation has yet to gain much traction in novels; by focusing on human nature, this form’s “anthropocentric” posture seems itself to be antithetical to ecocritical efforts, which aim to unseat humans as the center of the moral universe. However, by analyzing The Grapes of Wrath’s formal, narratorial, and thematic valences, I argue that principles of social justice concurrently imply environmental justice in the philosophical currents of the text. Tenets of deep ecology and Aldo Leopold’s “land ethic” …
3d Tool Evaluation And Workflow For An Ecological
Approach To Visualizing Ancient Socio-Environmental
Landscapes: A Case Study From Copan, Honduras,
2016
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
3d Tool Evaluation And Workflow For An Ecological Approach To Visualizing Ancient Socio-Environmental Landscapes: A Case Study From Copan, Honduras, Heather Richards-Rissetto, Shona Sanford-Long, Jack Kerby-Miller
Department of Anthropology: Faculty Publications
Architectural reconstructions are the centerpieces of ancient landscape visualization. When present, vegetation is relegated to the background, resulting in underutilized plant data—an integral data source for archaeological interpretation—thus limiting the capacity to take advantage of 3D visualization for studying ancient socio-environmental dynamics. Our long-term objective is to develop methods of 3D landscape visualization that have value for examining changes in land use and settlement patterns. To begin to work toward this objective, we have (1) identified 3D tools and techniques for vegetation modeling and landscape visualization, (2) evaluated the pros and cons of these tools, (3) investigated biological and ecological …
Assessing The Use Of Food Waste Biochar As A Biodynamic Plant Fertilizer,
2016
Hamline University
Assessing The Use Of Food Waste Biochar As A Biodynamic Plant Fertilizer, Rachel Mazac
Departmental Honors Projects
Biochar is a charcoal-like substance produced from plant material such as food waste. Converting food waste into a useful product would mitigate environmental damage through reduced landfill inputs, reduced greenhouse gas production, and increased benefits to soils. I asked (1) if biochar improved plant growth and (2) if the effects of biochar varied among different samples of mixed food waste (batches) and between different biochar preparation times (treatments). Four independent batches of biochar were prepared with assorted, uncooked food waste collected from a university dining facility. Each batch was dried then placed in a covered ceramic pot at 260℃ for …
Environmental Influences On Elite Sport Athletes Well Being: From Gold, Silver, And Bronze To Blue Green And Gold,
2016
Technological University Dublin
Environmental Influences On Elite Sport Athletes Well Being: From Gold, Silver, And Bronze To Blue Green And Gold, Aoife Donnelly, Tadhg Macintyre, Nollaig O'Sullivan, Giles Warrington, Andrew Harrison, Eric Igou, Marc Jones, Chris Gidlow, Noel Brick, Ian Lahart, Andrew Lane
Articles
This paper considers the environmental impact on well-being and performance in elite athletes during Olympic competition. The benefits of exercising in natural environments are recognized, but less is known about the effects on performance and health in elite athletes. Although some Olympic events take place in natural environments, the majority occur in the host city, usually a large densely populated area where low exposure to natural environments is compounded by exposure to high levels of air, water, and noise pollution in the ambient environment. By combining methods and expertise from diverse but inter-related disciplines including environmental psychology, exercise physiology, biomechanics, …
Hiker Trash And Trail Dogs: An Ethnographic Inquiry Into Human Nature In The Trail Space,
2016
Central Washington University
Hiker Trash And Trail Dogs: An Ethnographic Inquiry Into Human Nature In The Trail Space, Jody A. Chinchen
All Master's Theses
In the face of declining trail maintenance budgets and increasing recreational use, we must develop a critical understanding of trail culture, including the motivations, perspectives, and experiences of various users and how they intersect with one another. Trail use on National Scenic Trails (NSTs) may represent a deeper symbolic yearning to seek out meaningful connections with nature, self, and community. This study seeks to understand: (1) How trails are built and paved with meaning, (2) how trails foster and sustain social, symbolic, and material landscapes, through performance of work and leisure; and (3) the relationship between the National Wilderness Preservation …
Sustainable Safari Practices: Proximity To Wildlife, Educational Intervention And The Quality Of Experience,
2016
Central Washington University
Sustainable Safari Practices: Proximity To Wildlife, Educational Intervention And The Quality Of Experience, Ryan Devine Tarver
All Master's Theses
This research examines the perceived quality of experience for safari tourists in relation to wildlife viewing proximities and the potential of educational interventions as a management strategy to mitigate adverse impacts of safari participant crowding. Crowding emanates from the safari tourist preferences to obtain close proximity to animals, particularly large mammals. Recognizing these preferences and associated impacts to animal behavior defined in previous research, we develop and deliver a survey instrument designed to measure the perceived quality of experience of the safari tourist while controlling for the viewing proximity variable. The survey instrument involves responding to stock photos selected to …
The Pathology Of Command And Control: A Formal Synthesis,
2016
Dartmouth College
The Pathology Of Command And Control: A Formal Synthesis, Michael Cox
Dartmouth Scholarship
One of the most important theories in the study of environmental governance and policy is the pathology of command and control, which describes the negative consequences of top-down, technocratic governance of social and ecological systems. However, to date, this theory has been expressed somewhat inconsistently and informally in the literature, even by the seminal works that have established its importance and popularized it. This presents a problem for the sustainability science community if it cannot be sure of the precise details of one of its most important theories. Without such precision, applications and tests of various elements of the theory …
A Sustainability-Based Project Selection Algorithm: Socio-Technical-Economic Project Selection (Steps) Algorithm,
2016
Michigan Technological University
A Sustainability-Based Project Selection Algorithm: Socio-Technical-Economic Project Selection (Steps) Algorithm, Bharathi Bhattu
Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports
Multi-dimensional aspects play a vital role in the task of project-decision making. Environmental effects are to be considered in addition to other technical and non-technical aspects in order to avoid undue environmental damage. This current work introduces a new decision-making algorithm (Socio-Technical-Economic Project Selection or STEPS) that is demonstrated with the use of RCA (recycled concrete aggregate) as riprap for slope stabilization and erosion control which leaches chemical arsenic when in contact with water. Arsenic has long been recognized for its lethal properties. The main intention of introducing this new algorithm is to use sustainability concepts of social, technical, and …
Mapuche Resilience: Environmental Justice In Chile,
2016
Salve Regina University
Mapuche Resilience: Environmental Justice In Chile, Hannah N. Lussier
ENV 434 Environmental Justice
This paper presents a close analysis of the Mapuche Conflict and its implications from an Environmental Justice perspective. It serves to outline the plight of the Mapuche, a South American indigenous group, in their continued struggle to gain the rights to autonomic control over their ancestral territory from the Chilean government. By utilizing a holistic approach to research, this paper serves to provide a background on the conflict as well as to incorporate claims to justice. It chronicles the depth and breadth of media attention on the issue by incorporating perspectives from scholarly articles, news sources and social media platforms. …
