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- Creators: Barrett, The Honors College
- Creators: Kavazanjian, Edward
- Creators: Allenby, Braden
- Creators: Cadillo – Quiroz, Hinsby
Description
Using the case of a children's home in Nepal, Ama Ghar, this study utilizes concepts of resiliency and community service to assess children's ability to react and recover from disaster. As earthquakes continues to strike rural and urban populations \u2014 from Mexico to Italy \u2014 learning the recovery stories of the 2015 Nepal Earthquake from the Ama Ghar family may further understanding on how to promote resiliency for youth in a post-disaster stage. Although community service in many respects has been supported as a successful youth development tool in Western contexts, researchers call for a more extensive look that compares variables of community service through a global lens. Because of the research backing the benefits that community involvement has on promoting civic responsibility, citizenship, and human and societal well-being, this study proposes that facilitating an active role through community service is a positive way to generate resilience among a child. After conducting in-depth interviews on Ama Ghar caretakers and alumni, it was ultimately concluded that there is a positive relationship between community service and overall resilience of a child. It was found that different forms of discussions of disaster, community service, and resilience shows the complex interconnectedness among these attributes and how this relationship accounts for the building up of resiliency among children who have faced disaster such as the earthquake in Nepal. Learning about the nurturing of children within the blended Ama Ghar family and their vivid first-hand experiences may be scalable however more in-depth research should be conducted to fully understand the complex factors that contribute to the rebuilding of well-being for disaster-affected youth.
ContributorsZapata, Lindsay (Author) / Chhetri, Nalini (Thesis director) / Legg, Eric (Committee member) / School of Public Affairs (Contributor) / School of Community Resources and Development (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
ContributorsDolan, Kattie (Author) / Leong, Karen (Thesis director) / Wilson, Bradley (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-12
Description
It is no great secret that languages come into contact with each other. From people interacting on the street, to children in school, to nations working on international policies, days do not pass where languages do not collide. And, while this is a well-documented and studied phenomenon with many books devoted to it, it is one that is incomplete. Throughout the course of time, natural and social disasters have impacted language in an unrelentless and undocumented way. The question, therefore, becomes: what happens to the languages of the people who are affected by some sort of disaster? It is well known that there are many factors that affect a language's life and development. However, what about the events like a massive volcanic eruption or the destruction of a population due to genocide? It makes sense to theorize that natural and social disasters could have lasting effects on the languages of the world. As language is one of the most important aspects of human societies, it is crucial to be able to explore and possibly understand any potential patterns of change that are stimulated from different types of devastating events. The disasters that a society undergoes directly alter the language of that people. By studying the patterns of these changes and using integral examples, the key factors of change can be identified and an evaluative system can be developed. By first giving an in-depth overview of the relevant field, Contact Linguistics, understanding the current methods for analyzing language change, and then assessing these for their usefulness in disaster cases, this paper aims to arrive at a new, integrated method for evaluation of these unique situations.
ContributorsGallo, Antonette Lynn (Author) / Van Gelderen, Elly (Thesis director) / Kruger, William (Committee member) / Department of English (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-12
Description
Currently conventional Subtitle D landfills are the primary means of disposing of our waste in the United States. While this method of waste disposal aims at protecting the environment, it does so through the use of liners and caps that effectively freeze the breakdown of waste. Because this method can keep landfills active, and thus a potential groundwater threat for over a hundred years, I take an in depth look at the ability of bioreactor landfills to quickly stabilize waste. In the thesis I detail the current state of bioreactor landfill technologies, assessing the pros and cons of anaerobic and aerobic bioreactor technologies. Finally, with an industrial perspective, I conclude that moving on to bioreactor landfills as an alternative isn't as simple as it may first appear, and that it is a contextually specific solution that must be further refined before replacing current landfills.
ContributorsWhitten, George Avery (Author) / Kavazanjian, Edward (Thesis director) / Allenby, Braden (Committee member) / Houston, Sandra (Committee member) / Civil, Environmental and Sustainable Engineering Programs (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2013-05
Description
The main factor that has brought humanitarian logistics to the forefront of the disaster relief process is simply the general increase in the number of natural disasters that affect our world. This increase is due to a few different factors. First, global warming is raising the average temperatures of the oceans, which will bring more intense storms in years to come. Next, the overall increase in global population means that more and more people are affected by these storms. Finally, the increased number of people living in low-lying, coastal regions means that a larger percentage of the population will be affected. Focusing more heavily on humanitarian logistics will help mitigate the amount of suffering by the affected populations. For the purposes of this research paper, humanitarian logistics will be defined as the activities of "planning implementing and controlling the efficient, cost-effective flow of and storage of goods and materials as well as related information, from point of origin to point of consumption for the purpose of alleviating the suffering of vulnerable people" (Thomas and Kopczak, 2005 page 4). A relatively large amount of research has been conducted over the past several decades in regards to humanitarian logistics. However, there is a lack of studies that compare the effectiveness of relief responses on a region-by-region basis. In order to understand why these location-driven logistical differences exist, this study compares and contrasts relief responses from both developed and developing countries. The responses were analyzed in terms of government regulations, beginning infrastructure of the country, relative wealth/GDP of the citizens, and the regional culture. The four disasters that were examined are Hurricane Katrina in the United States, Hurricane Mitch in Honduras, the Tohoku Earthquake and resulting tsunami in Japan, and the Haitian earthquake. These cases are first analyzed separately, and then are evaluated against each other. Each case had its shortcomings in terms of humanitarian logistics. Overall, it was concluded that the governments are typically more involved in developed countries, infrastructure and culture affects all regions, and beginning relative wealth/GDP affects mostly the developing countries. These effects can be both positive and negative; for example, the government regulations in the United States severely hampered the response to Hurricane Katrina, while in Japan the government involvement saved lives and reduced suffering. The other effects are analyzed in depth throughout this paper. Overall, there has never been and probably will never be a perfect relief response that is able to immediately end suffering, but there are many steps to take. These future implications can take various forms. One option is to reduce competition between aid organizations so that they may pool resources and share modes of transportation to both lower cost and increase efficiency of response. Natural disasters are only going to increase in number and severity, so understanding how to respond to them will be integral in the world community moving forward.
ContributorsFenton, Maggie Marie (Author) / Oke, Adegoke (Thesis director) / Eftekhar, Mayhar (Committee member) / W. P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / Department of Supply Chain Management (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Characterization and Manipulation of Microbiomes From Arid Landfills for Improved Methane Production
Description
Environmentally harmful byproducts from solid waste’s decomposition, including methane (CH4) emissions, are managed through standardized landfill engineering and gas-capture mechanisms. Yet only a limited number of studies have analyzed the development and composition of Bacteria and Archaea involved in CH4 production from landfills. The objectives of this research were to compare microbiomes and bioactivity from CH4-producing communities in contrasting spatial areas of arid landfills and to tests a new technology to biostimulate CH4 production (methanogenesis) from solid waste under dynamic environmental conditions controlled in the laboratory. My hypothesis was that the diversity and abundance of methanogenic Archaea in municipal solid waste (MSW), or its leachate, play an important role on CH4 production partially attributed to the group’s wide hydrogen (H2) consumption capabilities. I tested this hypothesis by conducting complementary field observations and laboratory experiments. I describe niches of methanogenic Archaea in MSW leachate across defined areas within a single landfill, while demonstrating functional H2-dependent activity. To alleviate limited H2 bioavailability encountered in-situ, I present biostimulant feasibility and proof-of-concepts studies through the amendment of zero valent metals (ZVMs). My results demonstrate that older-aged MSW was minimally biostimulated for greater CH4 production relative to a control when exposed to iron (Fe0) or manganese (Mn0), due to highly discernable traits of soluble carbon, nitrogen, and unidentified fluorophores found in water extracts between young and old aged, starting MSW. Acetate and inhibitory H2 partial pressures accumulated in microcosms containing old-aged MSW. In a final experiment, repeated amendments of ZVMs to MSW in a 600 day mesocosm experiment mediated significantly higher CH4 concentrations and yields during the first of three ZVM injections. Fe0 and Mn0 experimental treatments at mesocosm-scale also highlighted accelerated development of seemingly important, but elusive Archaea including Methanobacteriaceae, a methane-producing family that is found in diverse environments. Also, prokaryotic classes including Candidatus Bathyarchaeota, an uncultured group commonly found in carbon-rich ecosystems, and Clostridia; All three taxa I identified as highly predictive in the time-dependent progression of MSW decomposition. Altogether, my experiments demonstrate the importance of H2 bioavailability on CH4 production and the consistent development of Methanobacteriaceae in productive MSW microbiomes.
ContributorsReynolds, Mark Christian (Author) / Cadillo-Quiroz, Hinsby (Thesis advisor) / Krajmalnik-Brown, Rosa (Thesis advisor) / Wang, Xuan (Committee member) / Kavazanjian, Edward (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2022
Description
Zero-Valent Metals (ZVM) are highly reactive materials and have been proved to be effective in contaminant reduction in soils and groundwater remediation. In fact, zero-Valent Iron (ZVI) has proven to be very effective in removing, particularly chlorinated organics, heavy metals, and odorous sulfides. Addition of ZVI has also been proved in enhancing the methane gas generation in anaerobic digestion of activated sludge. However, no studies have been conducted regarding the effect of ZVM stimulation to Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) degradation. Therefore, a collaborative study was developed to manipulate microbial activity in the landfill bioreactors to favor methane production by adding ZVMs. This study focuses on evaluating the effects of added ZVM on the leachate generated from replicated lab scale landfill bioreactors. The specific objective was to investigate the effects of ZVMs addition on the organic and inorganic pollutants in leachate. The hypothesis here evaluated was that adding ZVM including ZVI and Zero Valent Manganese (ZVMn) will enhance the removal rates of the organic pollutants present in the leachate, likely by a putative higher rate of microbial metabolism. Test with six (4.23 gallons) bioreactors assembled with MSW collected from the Salt River Landfill and Southwest Regional Landfill showed that under 5 grams /liter of ZVI and 0.625 grams/liter of ZVMn additions, no significant difference was observed in the pH and temperature data of the leachate generated from these reactors. The conductivity data suggested the steady rise across all reactors over the period of time. The removal efficiency of sCOD was highest (27.112 mg/lit/day) for the reactors added with ZVMn at the end of 150 days for bottom layer, however the removal rate was highest (16.955 mg/lit/day) for ZVI after the end of 150 days of the middle layer. Similar trends in the results was observed in TC analysis. HPLC study indicated the dominance of the concentration of heptanoate and isovalerate were leachate generated from the bottom layer across all reactors. Heptanoate continued to dominate in the ZVMn added leachate even after middle layer injection. IC analysis concluded the chloride was dominant in the leachate generated from all the reactors and there was a steady increase in the chloride content over the period of time. Along with chloride, fluoride, bromide, nitrate, nitrite, phosphate and sulfate were also detected in considerable concentrations. In the summary, the addition of the zero valent metals has proved to be efficient in removal of the organics present in the leachate.
ContributorsPandit, Gandhar Abhay (Author) / Cadillo – Quiroz, Hinsby (Thesis advisor) / Olson, Larry (Thesis advisor) / Boyer, Treavor (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2019
Description
Research has been conducted analyzing factors that affect mental health in regions that suffer from water insecurity and water scarcity. Amber Wutich and Alexandra Brewis (2019) explain the effects that water scarcity has on mental health and how chronic worry can trigger depression, stress, anxiety and in extreme cases this can lead to suicidal thoughts. Bina Agarwal (2000) analyzes gender roles in relation to water insecurity where women express more signs of anxiety and worry due to the limited options they have when seeking water outside their household. There are limited studies done on water insecurity at a household level which limit an understanding of possible coping mechanisms along with additional factors that affect mental health. In this study, surveys are conducted in the city of San Juan Del Rio, Queretaro in Mexico where residents have been affected by massive flooding’s. Additionally, residents in Mexico not only suffer from water scarcity but also from poor water infrastructure, constant water outages, shortages, and contaminated water supply. Respondents answers (n=23) regarding the amount of worry, household size, being head of household, and gender was used to conduct paired sample statistical tests where associations were determined. Associations relating to the amount of worry resulted in the idea that residents in San Juan Del Rio because they consistently struggle with water shortages, have developed a coping strategy to deal with water outages and therefore, show fewer signs of worry when faced with a household water situation. In consideration, surveys conducted in surrounding towns and in a rural setting can provide additional information regarding how poverty is related to mental health and water scarcity along with a deeper understanding of possible coping strategies at a household level.
ContributorsRamirez Arellanes, Andrea (Author) / Wutich, Amber (Thesis director) / Brewis, Alexandra (Committee member) / School of Human Evolution & Social Change (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05