Though about 75 percent of American waste is recyclable, only 30 percent of it is actually recycled and less than ten percent of plastics disposed of in the United States in 2015 were recycled. A statistic like this demonstrates the immense need to increase recycling rates in order to move towards cultivating a circular economy and benefiting the environment. With Arizona State University’s (ASU) extensive population of on-campus students and faculty, our team was determined to create a solution that would increase recycling rates. After conducting initial market research, our team incentives or education. We conducted market research through student surveys to determine the level of knowledge of our target audience and barriers to entry for local recycling and composting resources. Further, we gained insight into the medium of recycling and sustainability programs they would be interested in participating in. Overall, the results of our surveys demonstrated that a majority of students were interested in participating in these programs, if they were not already involved, and most students on-campus already had access to these resources. Despite having access to these sustainable practices, we identified a knowledge gap between students and their information on how to properly execute sustainable practices such as composting and recycling. In order to address this audience, our team created Circulearning, an educational program that aims to bridge the gap of knowledge and address immediate concerns regarding circular economy topics. By engaging audiences through our quick, accessible educational modules and teaching them about circular practices, we aim to inspire everyone to implement these practices into their own lives. Though our team began the initiative with a focus on implementing these practices solely to ASU campus, we decided to expand our target audience to implement educational programs at all levels after discovering the interest and need for this resource in our community. Our team is extremely excited that our Circulearning educational modules have been shared with a broad audience including students at Mesa Skyline High School, ASU students, and additional connections outside of ASU. With Circulearning, we will educate and inspire people of all ages to live more sustainably and better the environment in which we live.

In this paper, our Founders Lab team members — Jacob Benevento, Sydney Evans, and Alec Whiteley — recount the year-long entrepreneurial journey that led to the creation and launch of our venture, Certified Circular. Certified Circular is a program that certifies on-campus events for implementing circular practices into their activities as well as off-campus businesses. The venture was formed in response to our group’s propelling question and industry selection, which called on us to create and market a venture within the ethical circular economy.

This thesis explores the potential for software to act as an educational experience for engineers who are learning system dynamics and controls. The specific focus is a spring-mass-damper system. First, a brief introduction of the spring-mass-damper system is given, followed by a review of the background and prior work concerning this topic. Then, the methodology and main approaches of the system are explained, as well as a more technical overview of the program. Lastly, a conclusion and discussion of potential future work is covered. The project was found to be useful by several engineers who tested it. While there is still plenty of functionality to add, it is a promising first attempt at teaching engineers through software development.

Collective human attitudes influenced by macro-forces that impact environmental issues are partially correlated to our behaviors for the good and the harm of the planet. In this thesis, I will explore how collective human attitudes contribute to pro-environmental behaviors, common and pre-existing frames of mind on major conservation dilemmas, and finally suggest future directions on how humans could be inclined to take on more environmental responsibility through an increase in human-environmental connectivity. It is found that humans are largely driven by institution structures, education, and social influence. In conclusion, more efforts should be placed to further analyze these structural incentives for pro-environmental behaviors and use them to make environmental stewardship more accessible for all people and diverse circumstances. This can be done by evaluating the human dimensions of what influences human attitudes and behaviors, how to use these forces to systematically influence pro-environmental choices, applying these structural forces to main conservation issues, and further incorporating moral discourse into the environmental research in order to appeal correctly to all aspects and perspectives. Only when human connectivity is understood in relation to the natural sciences will we be able to make positive change in the direction of a healthier Earth.

In the current age of global climate crisis, corporations must confront the rising pressure to mitigate their environmental impacts. The goal of this research paper is to provide corporations with a resource to manage waste through the implementation of a circular economy and by increasing Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Navigating this large and complex system required the use of various methodologies including: the investigation of the relationships between waste management systems and sustainable development across major companies; literature reviews of scholarly articles about CSR, circular economies, recycling, and releases of company reports on sustainable development and financials. Lastly, interviews and a survey were conducted to gain deeper insight into the problems that make circular economies so difficult to achieve at scale.

Automated vehicles are becoming more prevalent in the modern world. Using platoons of automated vehicles can have numerous benefits including increasing the safety of drivers as well as streamlining roadway operations. How individual automated vehicles within a platoon react to each other is essential to creating an efficient method of travel. This paper looks at two individual vehicles forming a platoon and tracks the time headway between the two. Several speed profiles are explored for the following vehicle including a triangular and trapezoidal speed profile. It is discovered that a safety violation occurs during platoon formation where the desired time headway between the vehicles is violated. The aim of this research is to explore if this violation can be eliminated or reduced through utilization of different speed profiles.

Objective: This study looked at three key variables of fear of COVID-19, preventative behaviors, and vaccination intent among college students in the United Sates. In addition, the three key variables were compared between genders, age groups, race groups, and over time to see if there were any significant findings. <br/>Method: This longitudinal study consisted of two anonymous online surveys administered on REDCap before and after a COVID-19 vaccine became available. <br/>Results: The findings suggested positive correlations between students’ fear of COVID-19 and their preventative behaviors with the passing of time. Hispanic/Latino participants had significantly higher fear of COVID-19 scores compared to Non-Hispanic Whites and other races at Wave I and II. Participants between 25 and 30 years old had a marginally greater difference fear of COVID-19 score compared to those less than 25. Females had significantly higher mean preventative behavior score than males at Wave II. There was a significant association between race/ethnicity groups and vaccination intent. <br/>Conclusion: Knowing why different groups do not engage in recommended preventative behaviors or receive vaccinations can tell us more about what tailored interventions may need to be developed and implemented to promote health and wellbeing in this population. Further research needs to be done regarding race, gender, and age and how these different groups of college students are responding to COVID-19 and why.

As climate change continues to escalate natural hazards around the globe, certain communities feel the impacts of these disasters more so than others. After Hurricane Maria devastated communities in 2017, Puerto Rico struggled to respond to the needs of its citizens, particularly those in rural areas. Many of the regions affected did not have resilient community structures in place to be able to withstand the systemic ripple effects of the hurricane. However, various community endeavors have developed post-Hurricane Maria to foster community collaboration and resiliency, including the development of agricultural tourism, otherwise known as agritourism. <br/>Although agritourism has begun to develop in rural regions of Puerto Rico, including the municipalities of Utuado, Ciales, Florida, and Jayuya, a systems-understanding is lacking of the current agritourism situation in the region and its related capacities, limitations, and opportunities of agritourism. To address this gap, a spatially explicit understanding and map of the underlying tourism infrastructure is needed to support the development of sustainable agritourism in Utuado, Jayuya, Ciales, and Florida municipalities in Puerto Rico. <br/>This report spatially represents the current state of tourism opportunities in the region as a result of asking “What are the spatial networks of gastronomy, accommodations, farms, and attractions that support the development of agritourism in Utuado, Jayuya, Ciales and Florida municipalities in Puerto Rico?” Three steps lead to the spatial representation starting with developing a comprehensive inventory. Second, we visualize the spatial map through Google Maps. Lastly, we explore the larger context of the report through an ArcGIS Storymap. The inventory will help with better understanding the number and variety of tourism resources available. The spatial visualization will help with understanding the distribution of resources and explore potential connections between resources and what relationships could be fostered in the future. Lastly, the ArcGIS Storymap will serve as a framework for outlining the future development of the SARE project. Overall, this report outlines the spatial maps of tourism resources and provides a tool to be used by community partners, tourists, and project partners.

Food insecure populations suffer from the ability to access affordable and nutritious foods as a result of financial and transportation needs. Often these populations are concentrated in areas referenced as food deserts. A food desert is an area that does not have a supermarket or large grocery store within a mile and often is saturated with small non-traditional food stores and fast- food establishments. In this study, 21 food deserts along Grand Avenue in Downtown Phoenix were analyzed to better understand their access to food, population statistics and barriers to being food secure. The research question analyzed is the impact food insecurity has on communities in Phoenix, Arizona. The findings are presented in the form of a research paper, as well as 15 black and white film photographs accompanied by descriptions. There is primary qualitative data presented through photographs and observations, as well as secondary quantitative data analyzed from Census data. The food deserts studied consist of communities that are low-income and majority minority with little to no access to nutritious food in their area. The economics of food insecurity and grocery stores, racial discrimination, access to transportation, impacts on health and education and the sustainability of food deserts are all aspects of food insecurity discussed in the research. Possible solutions such as community gardens and subsidized grocery stores are also presented. The study revealed that food insecurity has several negative impacts on the affected populations and communities and disproportionately impacts low-income and minority communities.

In a healthcare system already struggling with burnout among its professionals, the COVID-19 pandemic presented a barrage of personal and occupational strife to US healthcare workers. Structural and everyday discrimination contributed to the health inequities of people of color in the US, exacerbated by COVID-19-related racism and xenophobia. There is little research regarding the effects of COVID-19 and related and/or concurring discrimination upon minority nursing staff, despite their importance in supporting the diverse American patient population with culturally competent, tireless care amid the pandemic. This cross-sectional survey study aimed to examine 1) the relationships between discrimination, social support, resilience, and quality of life among minority nursing staff in the US during COVID-19, and 2) the differences of discrimination, social support resilience, and quality of life among minority nursing staff between different racial/ethnic groups during COVID-19. The sample (n = 514) included Black/African American (n = 161, 31.4%), Latinx/Hispanic (n = 131, 25.5%), Asian (n = 87, 17%), Native American/Alaskan Native (n = 69, 13.5%), and Pacific Islander (n = 65, 12.7%) nursing staff from 47 US states. The multiple regression results showed that witnessing discrimination was associated with a lower quality of life score, while higher social support and resilience scores were associated with higher quality of life scores across all racial groups. Furthermore, while participants from all racial groups witnessed and experienced discrimination, Hispanic/Latinx nursing staff experienced discrimination most commonly, alongside having lowest quality of life and highest resilience scores. Native American/Alaskan Native nursing staff had similarly high discrimination and low quality of life, although low resilience scores. Our findings suggest that minority nursing staff who have higher COVID-19 morbidity and mortality rates (Hispanic/Latinx, Native American/Alaskan Native) were left more vulnerable to negative effects from discrimination. Hispanic/Latinx nursing staff reported a relatively higher resilience score than all other groups, potentially attributed to the positive effects of biculturality in the workplace, however, the low average quality of life score suggests a simultaneous erosion of well-being. Compared to all other groups, Native American and Alaskan Native nursing staff’s low resilience and quality of life scores suggest a potential compounding effect of historical trauma affecting their well-being, especially in contrast to Hispanic/Latinx nursing staff. This study has broader implications for research on the lasting effects of COVID-19 on minority healthcare workers’ and communities’ well-being, especially regarding Hispanic/Latinx and Native American/Alaskan Native nursing staff.