This 15-week long course is designed to introduce students, specifically in Arizona, to basic sustainability and conservation principles in the context of local reptile wildlife. Throughout the course, the students work on identifying the problem, creating visions for the desired future, and finally developing a strategy to help with reptile species survival in the valley. Research shows that animals in the classroom have led to improved academic success for students. Thus, through creating this course I was able to combine conservation and sustainability curriculum with real-life animals whose survival is directly being affected in the valley. My hope is that this course will help students identify a newfound passion and call to action to protect native wildlife. The more awareness and actionable knowledge which can be brought to students in Arizona about challenges to species survival the more likely we are to see a change in the future and a stronger sense of urgency for protecting wildlife. In order to accomplish these goals, the curriculum was developed to begin with basic concepts of species needs such as food and shelter and basic principles of sustainability. As the course progresses the students analyze current challenges reptile wildlife faces, like urban sprawl, and explore options to address these challenges. The course concludes with a pilot pitch where students present their solution projects to the school.

Humans use emotions to communicate social cues to our peers on a daily basis. Are we able to identify context from facial expressions and match them to specific scenarios? This experiment found that people can effectively distinguish negative and positive emotions from each other from a short description. However, further research is needed to find out whether humans can learn to perceive emotions only from contextual explanations.

The Constitution is a document that was made over 200 years ago by a population that could have never imagined the type of technology or social advances made in the 21st century. This creates a natural rift between governing ideals between then and now, that needs to be addressed. Rather than holding the values of the nation to a time when people were not considered citizens because of the color of their skin, there need to be updates made to the Constitution itself. The need for change and the mechanisms were both established by the Framers while creating and advancing the Constitution. The ideal process to go about these changes is split between the formal Article V amendment process and judicial activism. The amendment process has infinite scope for changes that can be done, but due to the challenge involved in trying to pass any form of the amendment through both State and Federal Congresses, that process should be reserved for only fundamental or structural changes. Judicial activism, by way of Supreme Court decisions, is a method best applied to the protection of people’s rights.

Universal Basic Income is a proposed policy where the government would regularly pay all citizens in cash. The idea of a Universal Basic Income (UBI) has had a resurgence in recent years because of popular figures like Andrew Yang and Elon Musk, but its history and potential implications go deep into the structure of human society. This thesis delves into how a basic income would transform social concepts of work and disrupt the personal economic model. With the bargaining power and freedom granted by a basic income, workers would find themselves in a position of work freedom and choice that has never existed in human history. With new freedom to do as they wish, the place of work in people’s lives needs to be reimagined as a source of fulfillment instead of an unlikeable but necessary part of everyday life. Workers will be given the choice to leave unfair or unfulfilling work and decide for themselves how they want to contribute within society. From increasing mental and economic well-being for most Americans to serving as a response to unemployment trends in the automated future, to encouraging greater business innovation, there are myriad ways in which basic incomes have the potential to benefit society. Framed by Martin Luther King Jr. and Franklin Delano Roosevelt as the only policy capable of abolishing poverty forever, Universal Basic income will be an important feature of transformative innovative policy advocacy until it is adopted by a major world government at which point the effects in practice will become clear.

Globally, the incidental capture of non-target species in fisheries (bycatch) has been linked to declines of ecologically, economically, and culturally important marine species. Gillnet fisheries have especially high bycatch due to their non-selective nature, necessitating the development of new bycatch reduction technologies (BRTs). Net illumination is an emerging BRT that has shown promise in reducing bycatch of marine megafauna, including sea turtles, cetaceans, and seabirds. However, little research has been conducted to understand the effects of net illumination on fish assemblages, including bony fish and elasmobranchs (i.e. sharks, rays, and skates). Here, I assessed a 7-year dataset of paired net illumination trials using four different types of light (green LEDs, green chemical glowsticks, ultraviolet (UV) lights, and orange lights) to examine the effects of net illumination on fish catch and bycatch in a gillnet fishery at Baja California Sur, Mexico. Analysis revealed no significant effect on bony fish target catch or bycatch for any light type. There was a significant decrease in elasmobranch bycatch using UV and orange lights, with orange lights showing the most promise for decreasing elasmobranch bycatch, resulting in a 50% reduction in bycatch rates. Analysis of the effects of net illumination on elasmobranch target catch was limited due to insufficient data. These results indicate that the illumination of gillnets may offer a practical solution for reducing fish bycatch while maintaining target catch. More research should be conducted to understand the effects of net illumination in different fisheries, how net illumination affects fisher profit and efficiency, and how net illumination affects fish behavior. Further optimization of net illumination is also necessary before the technology can be recommended on a broader scale.

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.

Bioluminescent algae has long fascinated humans as a beautiful natural phenomenon. This creative project uses bioluminescent algae to push the limit of biomimicry, using the algae not as a model but as a technology. Through experimentation with algae samples and industrial design, two potential applications of bioluminescent algae as a sustainable lighting technology were generated. One design focuses on indoor, private lighting, while the other focuses on outdoor, public lighting. Both outcomes attempt to solve problems generated by nighttime lighting including light pollution, wasted electricity usage, and negative impacts on human and environmental health while retaining the benefits of safety and convenience.

The Arizona Civic Education Project is a cross-college collaboration supported by the Maricopa County Community College District to design, develop, and distribute publicly available, interactive, and engaging multimedia modules about Arizona State Government and the justice system. The modules aim to consist of high quality, professionally produced, value- neutral, fact-based, and bias-free videos, lesson plans, printable materials and activities that explain how Arizona state government is structured and how the justice system works in Arizona. The modules also identify and teach the audience how to deal with encounters within the justice system through lessons about the courts and dealing with the police. In addition to the resources we create, links are provided with attribution to other free resources that have been developed by other organizations. The targeted audience for this project is high school and college students attending public high schools and community colleges. In 2015, Arizona legislature passed the American Civics Act (House Bill 2064). This bill requires students to pass a civics test based on the United States Immigration and Naturalization civics questions. Students are required to score 60% or higher in order to graduate from high school or obtain a high school equivalency certificate. The Arizona Department of Education along with help from the Maricopa County Education Service Agency and Arizona educators have developed a mostly multiple-choice version of the required test. The modules provide helpful information that pertains to the civic test along with additional informational useful to students and educators alike.<br/>There were a few goals kept in mind when assembling the modules and collecting information to put them together. The most important thing is to fairly and effectively educate<br/>2<br/>students about their rights and the place they can hold in their own government. The youth in America, and specifically Arizona, with one of the lowest rated public education systems in the country1, needs to better understand the justice system and the way it works in order to really be able to better understand and decide the role they play in it as they grow into the adult population. We also aimed to teach students, mostly young adults, how to navigate being involved with the law and situations they may find themselves in like being arrested or having to go to court. The videos included in the related modules teach students what to do if they’re ever arrested and go over important legal actions that could affect their outcome. It was also important to provide instructors with a fair and trusted curriculum that can be taught across the state. With a shortage of qualified teacher in the state, it is impossible to provide students from all different districts and background with the same content. With the mandated civics test required to graduate from high school, it’s important that students get a fair chance at passing despite their living conditions or resources. With the modules we provide, passing the civics test along with managing other issues that pertain to young Americans, become attainable and don’t require as much additional time spent outside of school hours. The additional topics covered within our modules also provide information regarding resources that students will find useful for their families and loved ones. Students in compromised neighborhoods may have family and loved ones dealing with court cases and the justice system. Overall, we wanted to provide an unbiased, all-inclusive curriculum that can be used across the state to help students learn about all aspects of the government in Arizona.