Social Policy Commons^™

Adaptation And Power, Elizabeth Weinlein '17

EnviroLab Asia

Academic knowledge of some of the inequities and injustices embedded in economic development was given greater depth and significance after the EnviroLab Asia clinic trip to Southeast Asia; the same was true result occurred after the group’s meeting with Dyack activists.

Re-Envisioning Sustainable Oil-Palm In Se Asia, Wallace M. Meyer Iii

EnviroLab Asia

In Southeast Asia, expansion of oil-palm agriculture, in combination with other industries (logging, fiber, and mega-dams), is transforming significant portions of the landscape threatening biodiversity, key ecosystem services, and human cultural diversity. While transformative answers to these multifaceted environmental issues seem daunting, the conservation biology literature provides a road map for effective techniques to mitigate environmental degradation while allowing for thoughtful, well-planned economic growth. I suggest that the lack of strict operational definitions and a holistic approach to sustainability are the two most critical factors hindering development of sustainable oil-palm agriculture. The task for environmental practitioners is to succinctly define …

The Impacts Of Logging And Palm Oil On Aquatic Ecosystems And Freshwater Sources In Southeast Asia, Isabelle Ng '17

EnviroLab Asia

The process of deforestation has large environmental implications on terrestrial as well as aquatic habitats. Palm oil plantations lead to sedimentation and agricultural runoff into streams and rivers. Such high nutrient inputs could lead to eutrophication, bioaccumulation, and toxic blooms, which could lead to changes in aquatic ecosystems as well as drinking water quality for surrounding communities. Pollutants from streams and rivers are furthermore, channeled down into estuarine and coastal marine ecosystems, thus negatively impacting those areas as well. One possible way to reduce the amount of runoff is by treating the waste produced by palm oil mills as well …

Narratives About Energy, Megaprojects, And The Ecology Of Tropical Rivers: The Baram River Dam Project, Marc Los Huertos

EnviroLab Asia

The conflict between development goals to build dams for hydroelectricity and indigenous peoples in Sarawak was set in motion in the 1970s. In spite of the potential ecological damage, hydroelectric development has been justified by developed and developing countries for decades. These impacts include changes in river geomorphology, water quality, and habitat value and access. Moreover, in the Bakun and Baram river watersheds, the Dayak people of Sarawak have poignantly demonstrated the socio-ecological disruption. For the time being, the construction of the Baram Dam has been halted.

Institutional Responses To Pressures For Sustainable Palm Oil, Stephen Marks, Justin Lauw '18, Shivang Mehta '19, Fernando Salud '17

EnviroLab Asia

As the two leading palm oil producing countries, Indonesia and Malaysia have come under external pressures to limit deforestation and greenhouse gas emissions related to land use conversion for oil palm cultivation. We examine various institutional frameworks that have emerged to mediate these pressures. These frameworks can be distinguished by their geographic scope—domestic, region, and global—as well as by the nature of control—private, non-profit, and governmental. The frameworks have taken the form of sustainability certification systems from non-profit organizations or governments, corporate sustainability policies, or the setting through global or bilateral negotiations of voluntary national targets for limiting deforestation or …

Forest Threnody, Yii Kah Hoe

EnviroLab Asia

Yii Kah Hoe’s Forest Threnody, which received its world premiere on November 1, 2015 in Garrison Theater at Scripps College, Claremont CA, was performed by the Claremont Concert Choir and Claremont Chamber Choir of CMC, Harvey Mudd, Pitzer and Scripps Colleges.

College Students Reporting Responses To Hypothetical And Actual Safety Concerns, Brandon A. Hollister, Mario Scalora, Sarah M. Hoff, Heath J. Hodges, Alissa Marquez

University of Nebraska Public Policy Center: Publications

Campus violence prevention often includes proactively reducing crime through noticing and resolving concerning situations. Within these efforts, interventions aimed at enhancing reporting have been considered necessary. The current study explored several reporting influences on college students’ responses to hypothetical and actual campus safety concerns. Students were unwilling to report most (i.e., 52%) vignettes of pathway behavior, and most students who witnessed campus safety concerns did not report (i.e., 87%). Students who witnessed several concerning behaviors from a nonfriend perpetrator tended to be more willing to report, especially if personally victimized and understanding the violence risk associated with pathway behavior. Analyses …

Foreword, Deborah Lapidus

EnviroLab Asia

No abstract provided.

Indigenous People, Development And Environmental Justice: Narratives Of The Dayak People Of Sarawak, Malaysia, Elizabeth Weinlein '17

EnviroLab Asia

Focusing on the indigenous people of Sarawak, this article explores the authors learned biases as well as the dispelling of myths through hands on experiences in Malaysia. Over the period of a couple days, it becomes apparent that the indigenous people in Sarawak are not victims of systems of oppression, but survivors who continue to fight for their land rights and livelihoods.

Demining Programme Office In The Falkland Islands - Exploitation 2017, Fenix -. Insight Ldt.

Global CWD Repository

In January 2017, exploitation work was carried out by Fenix Insight Ltd on mines and other ordnance recovered by the Land Release Contractor (LRC).

Examination of grenades used in booby traps revealed that one, considered to be complex and dangerous, had been rendered safe by the ageing process. The other, though more familiar, was still fully functional and highly lethal. The findings highlight the continued danger from unexploded ordnance, and the need for threat assessment to be based on technical evidence rather than intuition.

International Campaign To Ban Landmines-Cluster Munition Coalition Annual Report 2017, Icbl-Cmc

Global CWD Repository

In 2017, the International Campaign to Ban Landmines – Cluster Munition Coalition (ICBL-CMC) encouraged the universalization and full implementation of the Mine Ban Treaty and Convention on Cluster Munitions, with a focus on three goals:

• No more use of landmines or cluster munitions
• A significant decrease in land contaminated by landmines and cluster munitions
• Measurable progress in the quality of life for victims of mines and cluster munitions

This was done through advocacy activities and through the publication of the most comprehensive research data on landmines and cluster munitions in Landmine and Cluster Munition Monitor reports.

Small grants and technical …

Victim Assistance In Cambodia The Human Face Of Survivors And Their Needs For Assistance, Hi

Global CWD Repository

The initial intention of the research was to bring the lives of victims/survivors of landmines to the forefront. After discussions and some desk study, the research focus still remained on the lives of the victims and elaborated towards positioning these victims within the conditions that surround them. The Kingdom of Cambodia served as an ideal case study because of the heightened impact to lives of people in the country as a result of extensive of presence of landmines. Furthermore, the country’s confirmation as a host for the upcoming 11th State Party meeting on MBT provided an important moment to launch …

Apopo Annual Report 2017, Apopo

Global CWD Repository

APOPO is a global nonprofit organization that researches, develops, and implements scent-detection technology to combat global humanitarian issues. APOPO’s detection rats currently detect landmines or tuberculosis in 5 affected countries around the world.

The rats are trained through clicker/reward methods, receiving tasty food treats when they identify explosives or tuberculosis. They are never harmed, because they are too light to actually set off any landmines and are cared for under strict animal welfare guidelines.

APOPO has mine action programmes in Angola, Cambodia, and Mozambique and is preparing operations in Zimbabwe and Colombia. APOPO also detects tuberculosis in Tanzania and Mozambique, …

Straits Talk, Char Miller

EnviroLab Asia

No abstract provided.

Just Research, Ki’Amber Thompson '18

EnviroLab Asia

The trip to Malaysia Borneo was an eye-opening experience that reinforced the need for researchers to listen to the indigenous peoples and to integrate their knowledge and understanding of place into any scientific, political, or policy analyses designed to restore the impact of deforestation and dam projects in the region.

Up Close: An Interview, Madi Vorva '17

EnviroLab Asia

A long-time US activist against the deleterious impact of oil-palm deforestation in Southeast Asia learned a great deal about the indigenous peoples’ struggles there to gain control over their lives and livelihoods.

Mandation Of Two Police Officers Per Patrol Unit And The Impact Of Diversity, Jolito Rivera

Bridges: A Journal of Student Research

The purpose of this research is to explore the operation of police patrol units. Many police patrol units currently lack diversity as well as accountability on police officers. The first phase of correcting the deficits of the patrol units is identifying pros and cons of the current police patrolling methods. The second phase involves alternative solutions that could be put in place to create safer and more efficient police patrolling units. I analyze these solutions to determine why they would be positive and what restrictions prevent them from being feasible. In the final phase of the paper, I present a …

Are Older Adults Who Participate In The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Healthier Than Eligible Nonparticipants? Evidence From The Health And Retirement Study, Jin Kim

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This research examined the impact of participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program on the health of older adults. The study used panel data from the 2004-2012 Waves of the Rand version of the Health and Retirement Study to estimate regression models of self-reported health and the number of doctor-diagnosed conditions, controlling for individual characteristics and time fixed effects. The findings revealed that program participants did not maintain or improve their health status relative to non-participants during the study period. Thus, the study confirms that program participation confers negligible benefits in maintaining and improving the health status of older adults.

Homelessness In Spokane: An Inquiry Into The Experience Of Homelessness In A Mid-Sized City, Jocelyn M. Brown

EWU Masters Thesis Collection

This study focuses on the condition of homelessness in Spokane, Washington, as compared to the same condition in larger and more frequently studied cities, using San Francisco and Seattle as a collective comparison tool for examples of large cities. By examining the neoliberalization of large American cities in a capitalist society, I draw out the similarities and differences of how homelessness is manifest and managed in these two different urban contexts. Examined are the societal factors that impact homelessness, for both those without housing and those (i.e., business owners, service providers) impacted by homelessness. This study also highlights the criminalization …

What Impact Is Felony Disenfranchisement Having On Hispanics In Florida?, Angel E. Sanchez

Honors Undergraduate Theses

This research produces original empirical estimates of Hispanics in Florida’s Dept. of Corrections (FDOC) and uses those estimates to measure the impact felony disenfranchisement is having on Hispanics in Florida. Research institutions find that data on Hispanics in the criminal justice system, particularly in Florida, is either lacking or inaccurate. This research addresses this problem by applying an optimal surname list method using Census Bureau data and Bayes Theorem to produce an empirical estimate of Hispanics in FDOC’s data. Using the Hispanic rate derived from the empirical FDOC analysis, the rate of Hispanics in the disenfranchised population is estimated. The …