Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Toward A More Holistic Worldview: Environmental Values In Context, Erica Lynne Walters

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

This study extensively examines the formation of pro-environmental behaviors as mediated by the Value-Belief-Norm (VBN) Theory. Using this theoretical framework, qualitative, in-depth interviews were conducted with a small number of Butler University students (n=10). The findings of the data collection demonstrate the limitations of the VBN Theory when applied to pro-environmental behavior. Data analysis demonstrates the role that formative experiences, environmental education, and connectedness to nature can play as intervening influences in the linear translation posited by the VBN Theory. Moreover, the confluence of various values that emerged among research participants suggests the need for a more holistic value orientation …

Improving Logistics Efficiency Through Collaborative Truck Routing, Patrick Dougherty

Industrial Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

The logistics industry is among the world’s largest and most essential. Specifically, trucking is a massive component of the modern logistics system. In 2012, truck transportation carried 68% of all freight tonnage in the U.S. However, trucking currently faces significant problems with efficiency and sustainability. Of all miles driven by trucks yearly in the U.S., 25% are driven with empty loads and 36% are driven with underutilized loads. In addition to this economic inefficiency, the industry faces social and environmental challenges. Driver turnover rates are near 100%, and trucking accounts for a significant level of greenhouse gas emissions. One potential …

Institutional Changes In Western Michigan University For Incorporation Of Education For Sustainability, Saman Khan

Dissertations

Higher Education institutions (HEIs) have the potential to be significant contributors in the pursuit of a sustainable world through the incorporation of Education for Sustainability (EFS). However, HEIs are entrenched with structures and values that are often resistant to change. The literature reveals that instructors’ beliefs and institutional contexts are the two main factors that impact the implementation of institutional change for sustainability education. Western Michigan University (WMU) has created new required curriculum “WMU Essential Studies” (WES) for undergraduate students and they have targeted sustainability as an essential learning outcome, by integrating and applying it in content courses. Using a …

Technology And Sustainability: The New Business Playing Field, Havovi Joshi

Asian Management Insights

Two topics that have consistently cropped up in conversations among business leaders during the pandemic are technology, in the context of the pervasiveness and quickening pace of digital transformation, and sustainability, especially how we should be doing business without harming the environment and society. The collective belief is that both topics will continue to rise on the world’s agenda, reshaping entire industries while creating new ones. They have changed the way of doing business. So what does the new playbook look like?

Evaluating Urban Parks Accessibility And Equity: A Case Study Of Hartford, Ct And New Haven, Ct, Natalie Roach, Mara Tu

Honors Scholar Theses

Public parks provide cities with environmental benefits, positive health effects, recreational opportunities, community building, educational spaces, and public amenities. However, certain populations have been systematically denied their fair share of these benefits because of unjust practices in the creation and maintenance of urban parks. With a lens of environmental justice, the goal of this research was to assess park quality and accessibility of two Connecticut cities, Hartford and New Haven, by gathering publicly available information as well as using GIS tools.

The Trust for Public Land (TPL) has an existing ParkScore rating system that evaluates the quality of a city’s …

Sustainability Newsletter: Vol. 5 Issue 4, Jennifer Mclaughlin

SD State Sustainability Newsletter

Content:

• Don't Dump! Donate!
• Spruce Up SDSU Day
• Sustainability Institute Coming in May
• Sustainability Tidbits

Keeping Earth Healthy Together, Megan Shaw

Honors Projects

This project is a book for young children to be exposed to sustainable practices. Practices range from simple daily activities to career options. There is also a parents' section in the back for additional resources. The book can be accessed at: https://flipbookpdf.net/web/site/c2637bb1d14d17cf91b7262fb3fa2bf6a7f5fbec202104.pdf.html.

A Study Of The Social, Cultural, And Environmental Influences On Appalachian Agriculture, Morganne May

Senior Theses

Appalachia, despite its rich history and abundant biological and cultural diversity, is commonly associated with a generalized notion of ignorance, resistance to progress, and "backwardness." This study aims to shed light on the socioeconomic, cultural, and environmental influences which have shaped the present food systems of Appalachia through a review of relevant literature. This history provides the necessary context to strategize a region-specific, socioeconomically and environmentally sustainable food system moving forward.

The Economic And Environmental Effects Of Recycling Plastic In South Carolina, Sophia Gouhin

Senior Theses

The state of South Carolina generated 4,809,041 tons of municipal solid waste during the fiscal year of 2019 (July 1, 2018 to June 30, 2019). During this same period, the state maintained an average municipal solid waste recycling rate of 28.2% (Toomey, 2019b). This thesis gives an in-depth look in to the economic and environmental effects of recycling, specifically plastic, in South Carolina. I have researched and analyzed the process, capabilities, and impact of recycling plastic in South Carolina. This includes all seven types of plastic as classified by their chemical makeup. In addition, I surveyed South Carolina residents to …

Energy Analysis For The Sustainability Of An Agro‐Ecosystem In Ningxia Province, China, Huilong Lin, Ruijun Long

IGC Proceedings (1993-2023)

No abstract provided.

Estilosantes Campo Grande: An Economical And Environmental Success Forage Legume For The Tropics, Celso D. Fernandes, Bela Grof, Rosangela M. S. Resende, Jaqueline R. Verzignassi, Cesar Heraclides Behling Miranda

IGC Proceedings (1993-2023)

No abstract provided.

Sustainable Bioproduction By Rhodopseudomonas Palustris Tie-1 Through Metabolic Engineering, Wei Bai

McKelvey School of Engineering Theses & Dissertations

The heavy reliance of the petroleum industry for raw material and the rising atmospheric CO2 caused by this reliance have driven the research and development of sustainable alternatives. Microbial production of chemicals, such as fuel and plastic, has been viewed as a feasible method. The wide selection of substrates by microbes enables them to produce chemicals using naturally abundant material or industrial waste, such as CO2, making the production sustainable. Compared to the model organisms such as Escherichia coli, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, many non-model organisms have a broader selection for carbon, electron, and nitrogen sources, making them great candidates for sustainable …

Bundles And Hotspots Of Multiple Ecosystem Services For Optimized Land Management In Kentucky, United States, Yang Bai, Thomas O. Ochuodho, Jian Yang, Domena A. Agyeman

Forestry and Natural Resources Faculty Publications

Ecosystem services are benefits that the natural environment provides to support human well-being. A thorough understanding and assessment of these services are critical to maintain ecosystem services flow through sustainable land management to optimize bundles of ecosystem services provision. Maximizing one particular ecosystem service may lead to reduction in another. Therefore, identifying ecosystem services tradeoffs and synergies is key in addressing this challenge. However, the identification of multiple ecosystem services tradeoffs and synergies is still limited. A previous study failed to effectively capture the spatial interaction among ecosystem services as it was limited by “space-to-time” substitution method used because of …

Sustainability Newsletter: Vol. 5 Issue 3, Jennifer Mclaughlin

SD State Sustainability Newsletter

Content:

• American Indian Student Center Earns LEED Gold
• Reusable To-Go Container Program
• Campus Race to Zero Waste
• Reusing Is...
• Sustainability Tidbits

The Future Of Living: Exploring Sustainable Residential Developments Through A Case Study Analysis Of The Sustainable City Dubai, Carys Davidson-Huxley

Honors Program Theses

With population growth continuing on an upwards trend and urban living projected to increase in the coming years, a redesign of typical property development is required to ensure that housing demand not only has a lesser impact on the environment, but also meets the needs of communities. Through a combination of literature review, quantitative and qualitative data analysis, this paper presents a case study of The Sustainable City Dubai (TSC), a key sustainable development within the United Arab Emirates (UAE), taking into account its social, economic and environmental strategies and consequent impacts. Investigation has been conducted into the importance of …

Retention Strategies To Ensure Financial Sustainability In Community Colleges, Claudia Yvette Provost

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractA rapid decline in student retention among community colleges reduces revenue and jeopardizes financial sustainability, meaning leaders of community colleges who lack strategies to retain students have lower revenue and financial sustainability. Grounded in the advocacy and participatory worldview conceptual framework, the purpose of this qualitative, single case study was to explore strategies leaders of community colleges used to increase student retention and revenues for achieving financial sustainability. A purposeful sampling of five leaders from a community college in Louisiana who successfully used strategies to increase student retention participated in this study. Data were collected from semistructured interviews and institutional …

Strategies For Small Business Entrepreneur Sustainability For 5 Years And Beyond, Ralph A. Heath Iii

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractSmall business failures impede entrepreneurs' sustainability in localities, the state, and the U.S. economy. Small business entrepreneurs are concerned about strategies to target and minimize obstacles from business inception for business survival because the failure rate increases as the business develop. Grounded in the entrepreneurial theory, the purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore strategies for small business entrepreneur sustainability beyond five years. Participants comprised three small business owners in Southeast Virginia who effectively used strategies to sustain their business beyond five years. Data were collected from semistructured interviews, analysis of participants’ business documentation, and research of …

Strategies To Sustain Small Construction Businesses Beyond The First 5 Years Of Operation, Catherine Nyasha Mukopfa

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Small business owners employ over half the U.S. labor force, yet only 50% of small businesses survive beyond 5 years. When small business owners understand the factors that lead to their business failure, they can develop strategies to remain sustainable and profitable within the first 5 years, thus reducing the potential of business failure. Grounded in the resource-based theory, the purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore strategies five small construction owners in central Georgia used to remain in business beyond 5 years. Data were collected from semi structured interviews, a review of organization income statements and …

Homeowners’ Lived Experience In Developing And Using Accessory Dwelling Units In Ireland, Geraldine Mary Hurley

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Researchers have explored the role of accessory dwelling units (ADUs) as a form of housing since at least the 1970s. Such exploration has taken place across a number of different disciplines, including gerontology, housing affordability, and urban planning. The literature tends to focus on specific policies, however, rather than on the lived experience of the homeowners impacted by those policies. Ireland’s national and local governments have yet to acknowledge the potential use of ADUs as a contributing solution to ongoing problems with housing supply, housing affordability, and homelessness, despite a government-declared national housing crisis. Formal research on ADUs in the …

Corporate Social Responsibility In The United States And Nigeria, Olatokunbo Ahmed Wilfred Tijani

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

A recent spate of violations uncovered by international regulators has suggested an emerging social problem that the current corporate social responsibility (CSR) credibility paradigm could be decoupling between theory and practice. This development has left most stakeholders deliberating if CSR in practice is aligned with CSR in theory. This correlational research study empirically tested the CSR theory, positing improved corporate social performance (CSP) and corporate financial performance (CFP); and stakeholder theory, positing quid pro quo correlation between multinational corporations (MNCs) and their stakeholders. The purpose of this study was to identify if there is a positive association between the corporate …

Sustainability In Construction Projects: A Systematic Literature Review, Reza Kiani Mavi, Denise Gengatharen, Neda Kiani Mavi, Richard Hughes, Alistair J. Campbell, Ross Yates

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

This paper aims to identify the major research concepts studied in the literature of sustainability in construction projects. Two bibliometric analysis tools—(a) BibExcel and (b) Gephi, were used to analyze the bibliometrics indices of papers and visualize their interrelations as a network, respectively. Therefore, a research focus parallelship network (RFPN) analysis and keyword co-occurrence network (KCON) analysis were performed to uncover the primary research themes. The RFPN analysis clustered the studies into three major categories of evaluating sustainability, project management for sustainability, and drivers of sustainable construction. The KCON analysis revealed that while each paper had a different focus, the …

Informing Sustainable Urban Forestry Policy With Carbon Sequestration Analysis, Ellen Danford

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Urban forestry is an environmental solution for an increasingly city-centered world. The ecosystem services that trees provide in natural settings, including carbon sequestration, oxygen production and aesthetic beauty, also apply in urban settings. Every tree in the Western Kentucky University (WKU) urban forest provides these services and each tree was measured to determine how much carbon they sequestered a year on average between 2015 and 2020. With an interactive map of the forest and its carbon sequestration, the condition of the forest and change over the five year period was analyzed. Comparing the welfare of the forest with the plans …

Can The Circular Economy Concretize Sustainability? A Construal Level Approach To Encourage Sustainable Consumption., Jolie Gutentag

Theses and Dissertations

Despite a growing awareness and understanding of the impact our lifestyles have on the environment, most people have not adequately changed their consumption patterns. One possibility for the disconnect is the perceived abstractness of sustainability. Drawing on construal level theory, this research proposes that framing environmental sustainability as circularity, using the principles of the circular economy, reduces the perceived abstractness of sustainability. Four studies investigate the effects of circular framing on sustainable consumption behavior, including the moderating role of consumers’ chronic level of construal, an innate mindset reflecting a tendency to view information more concretely or abstractly. Findings provide initial …

Policy And Economic Variables Influencing Adoption Of Sustainable Electrification In Rural Sub-Saharan Africa, Payne William Morgan

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Limited access to electricity remains a primary constraint to economic growth and the improvement of livelihoods throughout sub-Saharan Africa. In rural areas, electricity access is especially sparse. The reasons for the scarcity of electricity supply in the region are well documented, with low population density, limited household incomes, and poor regulatory institutions compounding to often make the investment of expanding electricity access result in poor or risky economic returns. However, the declining cost of solar PV and mandates for clean energy development throughout the region have created new channels for bringing electricity supply in potentially more cost-effective ways.Despite these macro …

Factory To Table: A Philosophic Analysis Of The Justice Or Lack Thereof Of Agricultural Markets, Will Carter

CMC Senior Theses

How food is produced has dramatic consequences on how we live, our world’s justice, and the future of our planet. In a world increasingly driven by neoliberalism, agricultural markets have been incentivized to industrialize, globalize, and consolidate. This has resulted in the global dominance of a new type of agriculture, industrial agriculture, driven by the market logic of lowering costs and raising profits. Industrial agriculture has undoubtedly generated the profound benefit of cheaper, more plentiful food in much of the world. These favorable innovations lead many scholars to argue that free markets produce the most just and efficient arrangements for …

Enhancing Wku Sustainable Food Systems Through Education And Local Agriculture Development, Chloe Cooper

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

In an effort to increase the amount of locally sourced food utilized by dining services at WKU, the Office of Sustainability, WKU Restaurant Group, and the WKU Agriculture & Research Education Center have partnered to establish garden spaces on campus properties. This project developed a detailed plan for implementation of this effort. In addition, this project established a plan to educate students and the local community alike on the benefits of sustainable farming and locally-sourced food, while also creating profiles on local farmers from whom the university could buy crops in order to further supplement items for dining services. Using …

Do Blockchain And Iot Architecture Create Informedness To Support Provenance Tracking In The Product Lifecycle?, Somnath Mazumdar, Thomas Jensen, Raghava Rao Mukkamala, Robert John Kauffman, Jan Damsgaard

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Consumers often lack information about the origin and provenance of the products they buy. They may ask: Is a food product truly organic? Or, what is the origin of the gemstone in the ring I purchased? They also may have sustainability concerns about the footprint of a product at the end of its life. Producers and sellers, meanwhile, wish to know how longitudinal tracking of the provenance of products and their components can boost their sales prices and after-market value, and re- veal new business opportunities. We focus on how the product lifecycle (PLC) can be leveraged to track information …

A Review Of Measuring Ecosystem Resilience To Disturbance, Chuixiang Yi, Nathan Jackson

Publications and Research

Resilience is the central concept for understanding how an ecosystem responds to a strong perturbation, and is related to other concepts used to analyze system properties in the face of change such as resistance, recovery, sustainability, vulnerability, stability, adaptive capacity, regime shift, and tipping point. It is extremely challenging to formulate resilience thinking into practice. The current state-of-art approaches of assessing ecosystem resilience may be useful for policy makers and ecosystem resource managers to minimize climatological or natural disaster related impacts. Here, we review the methods of assessing resilience and classify and limit them to three cases: (1) forest resilience …

Linking Landscape Attributes To Salmon And Decision-Making In The Southern Kenai Lowlands, Alaska, Usa, Coowe M. Walker, Dennis F. Whigham, I. Syverine Bentz, Jacob M. Argueta, Ryan S. King, Mark C. Rains, Charles A. Simenstad, Chris Guo, Steven J. Baird, Conrad J. Field

School of Geosciences Faculty and Staff Publications

While Pacific salmon are economically and culturally important worldwide, Alaska, USA is one of the few remaining places on earth where sustainable management of salmon is possible, even in the face of wide-ranging threats, including overharvesting and the impacts of climate change. A continuing challenge that we face is to understand the ecological processes that result in sustainable salmon populations and report that science to stakeholders in a way that promotes decision-making to avoid the destruction of salmon populations that has occurred in most areas of the lower 48 states. To address this challenge, our studies in the southern Kenai …

Sustainability Assessment Of Direct Energy Deposition (Ded) Based Hybrid Manufacturing Using Life Cycle Assessment (Lca) Method, Faujia Islam

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

As sustainability has emerged as a highlight for almost every field over the last few decades, the manufacturing field is no exception. Generally, additive manufacturing performs better than traditional manufacturing in terms of sustainability because of its lean energy- and material usage. Previous studies have compared the sustainability performance between traditional and additive manufacturing, but hybrid manufacturing was not focused upon much. In this paper, the life cycle assessment method is used to analyze and compare the energy consumption and environmental impact of direct energy deposition (DED) based hybrid manufacturing and traditional manufacturing “CNC milling” process for a turbine blade. …