Matching Items (31)
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- All Subjects: Sustainability
- Creators: School of Life Sciences
- Member of: Barrett, The Honors College Thesis/Creative Project Collection
Description
We created a website with the intent to educate on the Valley Metro light rail. We showcased different aspects of the light rail and presented an argument as to why it should be utilized and expanded. We also created a social media account that highlights art pieces along the light rail.
ContributorsRussell, Abigail (Co-author) / Smith, Grace (Co-author) / Hawthorne-James, Venita (Thesis director) / Roschke, Kristy (Committee member) / School of Art (Contributor) / School of Community Resources and Development (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2021-05
Description
An analysis of university flight emissions, carbon neutrality goals, and the global impact of university sanctioned flight.
ContributorsKoehler, Megan Anne (Author) / Halden, Rolf (Thesis director) / Driver, Erin (Committee member) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2021-05
Description
One of the salient challenges of sustainability is the Tragedy of the Commons, where individuals acting independently and rationally deplete a common resource despite their understanding that it is not in the group's long term best interest to do so. Hardin presents this dilemma as nearly intractable and solvable only by drastic, government-mandated social reforms, while Ostrom's empirical work demonstrates that community-scale collaboration can circumvent tragedy without any elaborate outside intervention. Though more optimistic, Ostrom's work provides scant insight into larger-scale dilemmas such as climate change. Consequently, it remains unclear if the sustainable management of global resources is possible without significant government mediation. To investigate, we conducted two game theoretic experiments that challenged students in different countries to collaborate digitally and manage a hypothetical common resource. One experiment involved students attending Arizona State University and the Rochester Institute of Technology in the US and Mountains of the Moon University in Uganda, while the other included students at Arizona State and the Management Development Institute in India. In both experiments, students were randomly assigned to one of three production roles: Luxury, Intermediate, and Subsistence. Students then made individual decisions about how many units of goods they wished to produce up to a set maximum per production class. Luxury players gain the most profit (i.e. grade points) per unit produced, but they also emit the most externalities, or social costs, which directly subtract from the profit of everybody else in the game; Intermediate players produce a medium amount of profit and externalities per unit, and Subsistence players produce a low amount of profit and externalities per unit. Variables influencing and/or inhibiting collaboration were studied using pre- and post-game surveys. This research sought to answer three questions: 1) Are international groups capable of self-organizing in a way that promotes sustainable resource management?, 2) What are the key factors that inhibit or foster collective action among international groups?, and 3) How well do Hardin's theories and Ostrom's empirical models predict the observed behavior of students in the game? The results of gameplay suggest that international cooperation is possible, though likely sub-optimal. Statistical analysis of survey data revealed that heterogeneity and levels of trust significantly influenced game behavior. Specific traits of heterogeneity among students found to be significant were income, education, assigned production role, number of people in one's household, college class, college major, and military service. Additionally, it was found that Ostrom's collective action framework was a better predictor of game outcome than Hardin's theories. Overall, this research lends credence to the plausibility of international cooperation in tragedy of the commons scenarios such as climate change, though much work remains to be done.
ContributorsStanton, Albert Grayson (Author) / Clark, Susan Spierre (Thesis director) / Seager, Thomas (Committee member) / Civil, Environmental and Sustainable Engineering Programs (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2014-12
Description
Consumption of seafood poses a substantial threat to global biodiversity. Chemical contamination found in both wild-caught and farmed seafood also presents significant health risks to consumers. Flame retardants, used in upholstery, plastics, clothing, and other products to reduce fire danger, are of particular concern as they are commonly found in the marine environment and permeate the tissues of fish that are sold for consumption via multiple pathways. By summarizing various metrics of sustainability and the mercury content in consumed species of fish and shellfish, researchers have found that high levels of chemical contamination was linked with lesser fishery sustainability. I conducted a literature review of flame retardant content in seafood to further compare contamination and sustainability in addition to the initial analysis with mercury. My review suggests that the widespread issue of fishery collapse could be alleviated by demonstrating to stakeholders that many unsustainable fish stocks are mutually disadvantageous for both human consumers and the environment. Future research should address the need for the collection of data that better represent actual global contaminant concentrations in seafood.
ContributorsNoziglia, Andrea Joyce (Author) / Gerber, Leah (Thesis director) / Smith, Andrew (Committee member) / Pratt, Stephen (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
It is the intent of this research to determine the feasibility of utilizing industrial byproducts in cementitious systems in lieu of Portland Cement to reduce global CO2 emissions. Class C and Class F Fly Ash (CFA and FFA, respectively) derived from industrial coal combustion were selected as the replacement materials for this study. Sodium sulfate and calcium oxide were used as activators. In Part 1 of this study, focus was placed on high volume replacement of OPC using sodium sulfate as the activator. Despite improvements in heat generation for both CFA and FFA systems in the presence of sulfate, sodium sulfate was found to have adverse effects on the compressive strength of CFA mortars. In the CFA mixes, strength improved significantly with sulfate addition, but began to decrease in strength around 14 days due to expansive ettringite formation. Conversely, the addition of sulfate led to improved strength for FFA mixes such that the 28 day strength was comparable to that of the CFA mixes with no observable strength loss. Maximum compressive strengths achieved for the high volume replacement mixes was around 40 MPa, which is considerably lower than the baseline OPC mix used for comparison. In Part 2 of the study, temperature dependency and calcium oxide addition were studied for sodium sulfate activated systems composed of 100% Class F fly ash. In the presence of sulfate, added calcium increased reactivity and compressive strength at early ages, particularly at elevated temperatures. It is believed that sulfate and calcium react with alumina from fly ash to form ettringite, while heat overcomes the activation energy barrier of fly ash. The greatest strengths were obtained for mixes containing the maximum allowed quantity of calcium oxide (5%) and sodium sulfate (3%), and were around 12 MPa. This is a very low compressive strength relative to OPC and would therefore be an inadequate substitute for OPC needs.
ContributorsTweedley, Shannon Elizabeth (Author) / Neithalath, Narayanan (Thesis director) / Mamlouk, Michael (Committee member) / Civil, Environmental and Sustainable Engineering Programs (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment (Contributor)
Created2014-05
DescriptionThis paper provides an analysis of the differences in impacts made by companies that promote their sustainability efforts. A comparison of companies reveals that the ones with greater supply chain influence and larger consumer bases can make more concrete progress in terms of accomplishment for the sustainability realm.
ContributorsBeaubien, Courtney Lynn (Author) / Anderies, John (Thesis director) / Allenby, Brad (Committee member) / Janssen, Marco (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor)
Created2013-05
Description
The goal of this research was to analyze the impact of consumer behavior on the sustainability of the fast fashion industry, specifically in regards to the framework of the Triple Bottom Line. First, a review of relevant literature investigating the three aspects of the Triple Bottom Line (environmental, social, and economic) as it pertains to the fast fashion industry was conducted to provide context for this research. Research methods utilized scholarly articles and journals along with companies’ CSR reports to determine the course of development of the fast fashion industry over time. Additionally, the impact of consumer behavior was investigated and linked to trends observed in the production and business practices of the industry over time. Based on the analysis of the influence of past consumer behavior on the industry, it was clear consumers play a major role in the industry and its sustainability in terms of the Triple Bottom Line. This suggests that the unsustainability of the fast fashion industry is due in part to consumer behavior and the retailers themselves, which is important to understand for the industry going forward as it aims to improve overall sustainability.
ContributorsBeltran, Gabriella Maria (Co-author) / Stoller, MacKenzie (Co-author) / O'Flaherty, Katherine (Thesis director) / Sewell, Dennita (Committee member) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2021-05
Description
Although sustainability as a concept and a science has been around for quite some time, it has only recently come into the common vernacular of citizens around the world. While there are a number of arguments that have been and can be made about the role of sustainability in developing countries, it can be said with certainty that sustainability education, especially at the pre-university level, is commonly neglected even in countries that have sustainability initiatives elsewhere in their systems. Education is an important part of development in any country, and sustainability education is critical to raising generations who are more aware of the connections in the world around them. Informal education, or education that takes place outside of a formal classroom, can provide an especially important platform for sustainability ideas. These factors take on unique characteristics within the environment of a small island with noble sustainability goals but limited resources and an economy that includes a significant domestic goat population. After providing basic background on sustainability and the nature of the educational process within the environment of the small island-nation of Grenada, I discuss the importance of informal education and follow my path with a local non-profit in Grenada leading to the development of a locally-relevant sustainability curriculum for implementation in a K-6 school.
ContributorsMelkonoff, Natalie Anne (Author) / Eder, James (Thesis director) / BurnSilver, Shauna (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / School of Sustainability (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
As ASU students, we saw that our peers had opinions regarding sustainable issues, but did not feel like their voices were being heard by the university. We saw a space we could fill to promote engagement and let students know that they could participate in finding sustainable solutions to problems they faced around campus. This created our venture which works to promote engagement through sustainable solutions. We ran a successful competition with students and local professionals by focusing on sustainability topics students were interested in. Promoting engagement can often come across as disingenuous and thus serve the opposite effect of its function. By centering around the topic of tailored sustainability related competitions, we can direct goodwill to the organizations by harnessing the positive feelings individuals have toward sustainability topics.
ContributorsDesmond, Sarah C (Co-author) / Williams, Brock (Co-author) / Byrne, Jared (Thesis director) / Miller, Clark (Committee member) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / Department of Finance (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / Department of Information Systems (Contributor) / Dean, W.P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
The objective of this study was to evaluate sustainability knowledge and practices in place at university-associated food pantries across the United States. A survey was sent to university- associated food pantries and responses were collected at a rate of 25% (n=84 of 326) to assess the knowledge and practices of this topic. The pantries surveyed were chosen solely based on ability to contact through email (emails were retrieved from online sources) and about 50% of the 680 university-associated pantries in the United States were sent the survey. The data was analyzed by quantifying the qualitative responses to the 9 sustainability- rated questions addressing zero- waste practice, barriers to offering sustainably sourced foods, types of sustainable donations, desire for sustainable products, and client demand for sustainable products and practices were posed to pantries. Results from this study provided insight into awareness of sustainability in these pantries and also assessed what sustainability practices are already being practiced by these pantries. Among those surveyed, a low percentage of university-associated pantries actually provide sustainably sourced foods (9.5%), but given the choice about a third (38.1%) would choose to offer these foods. It was reported that availability and cost were perceived as main barriers to providing sustainably sourced foods and that a small proportion of pantries teach their clients about zero waste practices, compost, and recycling. There is little client concern about this issue. Most pantries reported recycling more often than composting and also reported participating in some zero-waste practices. These results are unique to this study as not much research has been done in this area to assess environmental sustainability awareness in university-associated food pantries. Further research is required to further evaluate pantries across the nation as this sample size is approximately 12% of all university- associated pantries in the United States.
ContributorsCrowe, Alexandra B (Author) / Bruening, Meredith (Thesis director) / Payne-Sturges, Devon (Committee member) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / School of Sustainability (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05