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Climate Disasters, Mass Violence, And Human Mobility In South Sudan: Through A Gender Lens, Marisa O. Ensor 2022 Georgetown University

Climate Disasters, Mass Violence, And Human Mobility In South Sudan: Through A Gender Lens, Marisa O. Ensor

Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal

This article examines the links between gender, mass violence, climate change, and displacement in South Sudan. I argue for risk-informed gender-sensitive strategies that incorporate local capacities and sources of resilience. When civil war engulfed South Sudan again in 2013, egregious human rights violations, including sexual and gender-based violence, were perpetrated with near complete impunity. As the national army was divided along Dinka-Nuer ethnic lines, soldiers from each faction turned against each other in a deadly pattern of revenge and counter-revenge attacks that soon spread across the national territory. Inter-communal conflicts also intensified, often centering on competition over land for pasture, …


Information Sources, Perceived Personal Experience, And Climate Change Beliefs, Sonny ROSENTHAL 2022 Singapore Management University

Information Sources, Perceived Personal Experience, And Climate Change Beliefs, Sonny Rosenthal

Research Collection College of Integrative Studies

This study proposes and tests a model of serial mediation based on the norm activation model and value-belief-norm theory. It argues that beliefs about climate change are related to perceived personal experience, which is related to the use of different information sources. Structural equation modeling of survey data from 1084 adult residents of Singapore found mixed support for three hypotheses. Results showed that perceived personal experience of climate change was related to the use of traditional media (β = 0.20), social media (β = 0.16), and interpersonal sources (β = 0.13), but not institutional sources. Perceived personal experience of climate …


Air Quality And Vehicular Emissions: Evaluating Vehicular Emission Contributions To And Distribution Of Ambient Particulate Matter Pollution With Low-Cost Sensors In Richmond, Virginia, Morgan Malstead 2022 University of Richmond

Air Quality And Vehicular Emissions: Evaluating Vehicular Emission Contributions To And Distribution Of Ambient Particulate Matter Pollution With Low-Cost Sensors In Richmond, Virginia, Morgan Malstead

Environmental Studies Senior Seminar Projects

Hazardous air quality prematurely kills millions of people a year and exacerbates underlying health issues for millions more. Unsafe levels of particulate matter are typically associated with newly industrialized and developing countries, however, this is a misconception, especially when considering ambient air pollutants in densely packed urban areas. According to the Airbeam and Purple Air data collected on 07/15/2021, Richmond, Virginia has good air quality with the vast majority of values falling below the United States Environmental Protection Agency annual PM2.5 standard of 12 micrograms per cubic meter (μg/m3). Vehicular emissions may not account for a large percentage of PM2.5 …


Disorientations, Noah Greene-Lowe 2022 Washington University in St. Louis

Disorientations, Noah Greene-Lowe

MFA in Visual Art

The materials that make up the ordinary and mundane in the United States also reinforce and normalize a white spatial imaginary. Conventions of mapping, imaging of land and landscape, and elements of the built environment continue to orient us in a logic of space as property. In my sculptural work, I employ strategies of disorientation and creative repair, or reconstruction, to unsettle the spatial practices of whiteness and structures of power embedded in the mundane, the familiar, and the domestic. I consider the planned cohousing community where I grew up as an influence on my work, and my whiteness. By …


Using Lidar To Estimate Carbon Sequestration Of Evergreen Trees At Eastern Washington University (Ewu) Campus, Cheney, Washington, Kristy A. Snyder 2022 Eastern Washington University

Using Lidar To Estimate Carbon Sequestration Of Evergreen Trees At Eastern Washington University (Ewu) Campus, Cheney, Washington, Kristy A. Snyder

2022 Symposium

EWU contains a variety of deciduous and evergreen trees across its campus, providing several benefits. However, no comprehensive record exists of the total number, location, species, or ages of these trees. This knowledge can inform facilities of proper care for individual trees and can be used to estimate carbon sequestration on campus. Traditional on-the-ground methods for assessing trees require tree cores or clinometers, making trees susceptible to pests or disease and leading to inaccurate results. Remote sensing using lidar data is a noninvasive, more precise method to measure tree height and subsequently assess tree age. This poster explores using point …


What Can We See From The Road? Applications Of A Cumulative Viewshed Analysis On A Us State Highway Network, Sterling D. Quinn 2022 Central Washington University

What Can We See From The Road? Applications Of A Cumulative Viewshed Analysis On A Us State Highway Network, Sterling D. Quinn

Geography Faculty Scholarship

In many parts of the world, motorized travel is one of the most common ways that people interact with their regional landscape. This study investigates how travelers' understandings of place might be influenced by what landforms they can see from a vehicle. It uses a cumulative viewshed analysis on the Washington State (United States) highway network to determine which physical landscape features are most frequently visible or obscured from the road. Adapting ideas from Kevin Lynch's The Image of the City, I propose spatial data processing methods to derive landmarks, edges, and districts that could most contribute to the mental …


The Demotechnic Index Of Nations, 1980-2018, Camden Rainwater 2022 University of Arkansas, Fayetteville

The Demotechnic Index Of Nations, 1980-2018, Camden Rainwater

Geosciences Undergraduate Honors Theses

The Demotechnic Index (DI) is a non-dimensional metric that is the scalar multiple of energy consumption over and above that required for mere subsistence of a national population. Thus, the DI is a measure of energy efficiency that scales a country’s industrial energy consumption (called the total technological energy) and the energy required to meet the metabolic demand of the population (called the total metabolic energy). The DI was created by scientist John Vallentyne in 1982, refined in 1994, but never gained popularity or wide use as a sustainability metric. The objective of this thesis was to re-evaluate the DI …


Transforming Trees, Transcending Binaries: Gender In Augustan Poetry, Kendall Swanson 2022 College of the Holy Cross

Transforming Trees, Transcending Binaries: Gender In Augustan Poetry, Kendall Swanson

College Honors Program

Humans have been inextricably linked to nature since before the rule of Emperor Augustus in Ancient Rome. Nature feeds humans, it gives people the tools to build a society. Because of this relationship, it is no surprise that authors, both ancient and modern, incorporate various themes of the natural world into their works. Additionally, nature appears linked to human conceptions of gender, as seen in literature and real-world experience. According to the United Nations, one goal to accomplish in order to achieve sustainable development is gender equality in all countries. Gender and nature work together: when inequality exists, environmental degradation …


Analysis Of Gentrification And Green Spaces In East Austin, Texas, Carly Fordyce 2022 University of Arkansas, Fayetteville

Analysis Of Gentrification And Green Spaces In East Austin, Texas, Carly Fordyce

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Gentrification, the urban process that results from uneven development within cities, can cause unjust displacement of traditional, low-income residents in residential neighborhoods, and inequitable access to community services and benefits. Because of the negative social impacts that gentrification can have, many local governments and agencies have been known to attempt to mitigate changes by initiating different types of planning policies. Such policies usually apply changes in housing or zoning rules to enable lower-income residents to have access to housing and community amenities in the area. Another aspect resulting from gentrification that local government will try to rectify is low access …


Geese Management At The University Of Richmond, Virginia Mead 2022 University of Richmond

Geese Management At The University Of Richmond, Virginia Mead

Environmental Studies Senior Seminar Projects

Geese are a nuisance in all fifty states and particularly at the University of Richmond. For the most part, Canada Geese, Branta canadensis, have effectively stopped migrating which has led them to be a problem for the surrounding ecosystem (Handwerk, 2021). The university has taken some preliminary steps to discourage geese from inhabiting our campus, but none have proven to be effective in the long run. To answer the question of how to deter geese from hanging out on campus, I assessed various geese management practices with the intention that the university could potentially adopt one of the practices. Our …


Sharing Air: A Review And Application Of Effective Methods Of Communicating Temperature Data, Claire A. King 2022 University of Richmond

Sharing Air: A Review And Application Of Effective Methods Of Communicating Temperature Data, Claire A. King

Environmental Studies Senior Seminar Projects

One’s residence should not determine an individual’s health or lifespan. Further, if the environment where someone lives is detrimental to one’s health, that information ought to be shared with him or her. Surface heat exposure poses dangers to human health, and surface temperature is influenced by surrounding environmental factors. Surface temperature and related environmental data should be shared with communities in formats that best meet local needs. It is a matter of environmental and health justice. On July 15, 2021, a team of citizen scientists united under the Virginia Heat Watch project to collect surface temperature data in ten localities …


Down The Drain: Stormwater Management Effects On The Quality Of The Westhampton Lake, Indya Woodfolk 2022 University of Richmond

Down The Drain: Stormwater Management Effects On The Quality Of The Westhampton Lake, Indya Woodfolk

Environmental Studies Senior Seminar Projects

This paper examines incidents of illicit discharges on the University of Richmond campus as outlined by the City of Richmond's MS4 permit. Illicit discharges contaminate the Westhampton Lake by flowing from our storm drains directly into the Westhampton Lake. I detected incidents of illicit discharges by performing visual inspections as guided by numerous scholarly articles. The visual inspections were done with a special consideration of land use on campus. Along with the visual inspections, I inspected the storm drains during a dry weather event to find whether there was any flow during this period. In this study, I found several …


The Green Passport Program: Proposing A Study Abroad Program To Encourage Sustainable Behavior And Offset Emissions, Suraya Souidi 2022 University of Richmond

The Green Passport Program: Proposing A Study Abroad Program To Encourage Sustainable Behavior And Offset Emissions, Suraya Souidi

Environmental Studies Senior Seminar Projects

The University of Richmond has a goal to reach carbon neutrality by 2050, and in order to do this, carbon offsets are likely a necessary component to implement in lieu of adequate technology to abate the usage of carbon from behaviors such as travel. The scope of this proposal focuses on the Office of International Education and study abroad travel, which accounts for a large amount of emissions in the University’s portfolio. The purpose of this study was to propose a program to the Office of International Education which oriented students towards sustainability while they engaged in a study abroad …


Our Air: Determining Ideal Locations For Tree Planting In Richmond, Va In Order To Deter Inequalities In Temperature, Nina VanAtta 2022 University of Richmond

Our Air: Determining Ideal Locations For Tree Planting In Richmond, Va In Order To Deter Inequalities In Temperature, Nina Vanatta

Environmental Studies Senior Seminar Projects

With the ever increasing effects of climate change, it is pertinent that an effective, efficient, and economic solution be reached in order to mitigate the extremity of urban heat islands. Since heat can contribute to a variety of health problems, it is very important that the unequal distribution of heat be minimized in order to promote the equal well-being within a city. One substantial and popular method of doing so is through the planting of trees, as there is research done to show that they reduce air pollution on top of reducing overall surface temperatures. This paper explores how and …


Red Wolf Reintroduction: Land Ownership And Protection Status Analysis, Anna Frisbie 2022 University of Richmond

Red Wolf Reintroduction: Land Ownership And Protection Status Analysis, Anna Frisbie

Environmental Studies Senior Seminar Projects

Red wolves (Canis rufus) are critically endangered, and currently the only wild population exists in northeast NC (“Red Wolf,” FWS, n.d.). Here, I use geospatial analysis to investigate the potential for another wild population to establish in the Delmarva Peninsula. I consider land ownership and protection status because these factors influence local public support (Nie, 2001; Naughton-Treves et al., 2003; Berger-Tal et al., 2020), as well as reintroduction success (Carroll et al., 2003; Wolf & Ripple, 2018). I compare the ownership and protection status of land in the Delmarva Peninsula to that in the Albemarle Peninsula, where the red wolf …


Testing The Waters: An Analysis Of Recent Nutrient Levels In Westhampton Lake And Their Implications For Water Quality Management, Taylor Coleman 2022 University of Richmond

Testing The Waters: An Analysis Of Recent Nutrient Levels In Westhampton Lake And Their Implications For Water Quality Management, Taylor Coleman

Environmental Studies Senior Seminar Projects

This investigation was undertaken to understand recent nutrient levels of Westhampton Lake and determine the implications of its water quality relative to the sustenance of aquatic life on campus at the University of Richmond. Nutrient data was obtained from the documentation of ongoing monthly sampling by a research team from Virginia Commonwealth University and consisted in the evaluation of total nitrogen, total phosphorus, ammonia, nitrogen oxides, chlorides, and the bacteria, Escherichia coli between November 20, 2018, and December 9, 2021. Analysis of each individual nutrient included the comparison of its minimum, maximum, and mean level relative to recommended criteria provided …


Unfair: Investigating The Links Between Richmond’S Air Quality Issues And Environmental Racism, Charles Miller 2022 University of Richmond

Unfair: Investigating The Links Between Richmond’S Air Quality Issues And Environmental Racism, Charles Miller

Environmental Studies Senior Seminar Projects

With breathable air being a resource inequitably distributed among populations based on race and socioeconomic status, this study’s objective was to analyze heat and air quality distributions in Richmond, Virginia and provide recommendations for minimizing its effects throughout the city. Richmond provided an ideal subject for this analysis as it has a lengthy history of racial segregation and discrimination and is one of the worst ranking cities for Asthma sufferers. Background was given on environmental racism as a means of systemic disproportionate pollution distribution to minorities, urban air pollution( via Fine Particulate Matter/PM 2.5) and the historical housing segregation process …


Economics Of Red Wolf Reintroduction, Logan West 2022 University of Richmond

Economics Of Red Wolf Reintroduction, Logan West

Environmental Studies Senior Seminar Projects

In any animal reintroduction, one main component that is heavily evaluated is the economics of the reintroduction process of introducing an endangered animal to a specific area. Red wolves in specific, have a strong economic correlation between ecotourism and economics, as red wolves are an almost extinct species. In this analysis, I examined the economics of ecotourism as a benefit for red wolf reintroduction into the Delmarva. Additionally, I further examined how ecosystem services are an additional benefit to the economics in Delmarva. I used two case studies in my analysis to determine if the Delmarva Peninsula would enhance economically …


Invasive Plant Management At Huguenot Flatwater, Antonia Kempe 2022 University of Richmond

Invasive Plant Management At Huguenot Flatwater, Antonia Kempe

Environmental Studies Senior Seminar Projects

Invasive plants have become a wicked problem of the 21st century. Brought to areas outside of their native range by humans, they cause ecological and economic harm by disrupting ecosystem dynamics that in turn affect humans. Management methods include mechanical, chemical, and biological treatments, but each of these have their own advantages and limitations, which further adds to the complexities of invasive plant management. Units of the James River Park System in Richmond, Virginia are plagued by invasive plants, which are managed by the Invasive Plant Task Force. One of these units, Huguenot Flatwater, is overrun by invasive plants but …


Mapping The Impact Of A Trailway System On The Amount Of Trash Present Within Two Watersheds Of Lynchburg City, Virginia, Lillian Smith 2022 University of Lynchburg

Mapping The Impact Of A Trailway System On The Amount Of Trash Present Within Two Watersheds Of Lynchburg City, Virginia, Lillian Smith

Student Scholar Showcase

Transportation of trash debris within water systems is a prominent occurrence which has been linked to natural and artificial processes such as wind, rain, and littering. Recreational areas, such as activities along greenway trails, have been determined to be a source of debris found in waterways. This study examines whether the presence of an established recreational trail system limits trash accumulation in the entirety of a watershed. Trash data collected at Blackwater Creek, which contains an established trail system, was compared to trash data collected at Fishing Creek, containing a non-established trail system, to answer this hypothesis. A distance of …


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