Matching Items (49)
Description
Terrestrial crude oil spills compromise a soil’s ability to provide ecosystem services by inhibiting plant life and threatening groundwater integrity. Ozone gas, a powerful oxidant, shows promise to aid in soil recovery by degrading petroleum hydrocarbons into more bioavailable and biodegradable chemicals. However, previous research has shown that ozone can change the soil pH and create harmful organic compounds.
The research objective was to determine the short-term ecological toxicity of ozonation byproducts on seed germination of three distinct plant types (radish, lettuce, and grass) compared to untreated and uncontaminated soils. We hypothesize that the reduction of heavy hydrocarbon contamination in soil by ozone application will provide more suitable habitat for the germinating seeds. The effect of ozone treatment on seed germination and seedling quality was measured using ASTM standards for early seedling growth in conjunction with a gradient of potting soil amendments. Ozonation parameters were measured using established methods and include total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH), dissolved organic carbon (DOC), and pH.
This study demonstrated the TPH levels fall up to 22% with ozonation, suggesting TPH removal is related to the amount of ozone delivered as opposed to the type of crude oil present. The DOC values increase comparably across crude oil types as the ozonation dose increases (from a background level of 0.25 g to 6.2 g/kg dry soil at the highest ozone level), suggesting that DOC production is directly related to the amount of ozone, not crude oil type. While ozonation reduced the mass of heavy hydrocarbons in the soil, it increased the amount of ozonation byproducts in the soil. For the three types of seeds used in the study, these changes in concentrations of TPH and DOC affected the species differently; however, no seed type showed improved germination after ozone treatment. Thus, ozone treatment by itself had a negative impact on germination potential.
Future research should focus on the effects of post-ozonation, long-term bioremediation on eco-toxicity. By helping define the eco-toxicity of ozonation techniques, this research can improve upon previously established ozone techniques for petroleum remediation and provide economic and environmental benefits when used for soil treatment.
The research objective was to determine the short-term ecological toxicity of ozonation byproducts on seed germination of three distinct plant types (radish, lettuce, and grass) compared to untreated and uncontaminated soils. We hypothesize that the reduction of heavy hydrocarbon contamination in soil by ozone application will provide more suitable habitat for the germinating seeds. The effect of ozone treatment on seed germination and seedling quality was measured using ASTM standards for early seedling growth in conjunction with a gradient of potting soil amendments. Ozonation parameters were measured using established methods and include total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH), dissolved organic carbon (DOC), and pH.
This study demonstrated the TPH levels fall up to 22% with ozonation, suggesting TPH removal is related to the amount of ozone delivered as opposed to the type of crude oil present. The DOC values increase comparably across crude oil types as the ozonation dose increases (from a background level of 0.25 g to 6.2 g/kg dry soil at the highest ozone level), suggesting that DOC production is directly related to the amount of ozone, not crude oil type. While ozonation reduced the mass of heavy hydrocarbons in the soil, it increased the amount of ozonation byproducts in the soil. For the three types of seeds used in the study, these changes in concentrations of TPH and DOC affected the species differently; however, no seed type showed improved germination after ozone treatment. Thus, ozone treatment by itself had a negative impact on germination potential.
Future research should focus on the effects of post-ozonation, long-term bioremediation on eco-toxicity. By helping define the eco-toxicity of ozonation techniques, this research can improve upon previously established ozone techniques for petroleum remediation and provide economic and environmental benefits when used for soil treatment.
ContributorsJanuszewski, Brielle (Author) / Rittmann, Bruce (Thesis director) / Yavuz, Burcu (Committee member) / Civil, Environmental and Sustainable Eng Program (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor, Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
Volunteering can lead to many positive outcomes on individuals in terms of social, psychological, and professional development. This study sought to understand the process and mindset of volunteers and how their experience affects attitudes towards environment. The purpose of this study is to analyze the attitude change of volunteers toward the environment, culture, and community after volunteering at a community of a background different than theirs. In this study, the volunteer setting is in Shonto, a Native American community in the Navajo Nation, Arizona. This study utilized a qualitative research approach. A total of 12 participants were interviewed in this study. All participants were members of Engineers Without Borders (EWB) at Arizona State University and have traveled to Shonto. Questions were asked to participants about their experiences with EWB and their volunteering experiences in Shonto. The main findings were categorized into four themes: 1) motivations; 2) preconceived perceptions and exposure; 3) collaboration and connection; and 4) commonality and reflection. The findings can be described as a process that participants go through in their entire volunteering experience. The first two themes occur before individuals volunteer and the last two themes occur after. First, individuals develop certain motivations to volunteer. Then, the preconceived perceptions of individuals were analyzed, and it was presumed that these perceptions were a result of their upbringing and exposure, or lack thereof, to the community they volunteer at. The last two themes occur after the individuals have volunteered. Individuals are able to collaborate and form a connection with the community, which influences their awareness and their ability to reflect on their experiences. These last two themes are important because they indicate the change of perceptions that volunteers perceive. These findings connect the motivations that volunteers have all the way to their attitude changes after volunteering. Further, findings demonstrate that the preconceived perceptions are influenced by an individual’s upbringing or exposure, but these misconceptions are changed after volunteering experience, which supports contact theory. Through these findings the study contributes to the existing literature on voluntourism. This study is applicable to organizations and tour operators who offer volunteer tourism programs and work with communities of different backgrounds. It can provide individuals an insight to other volunteering experiences.
ContributorsRoman, Brian (Author) / Nyaupane, Gyan (Thesis director) / Legg, Eric (Committee member) / Civil, Environmental and Sustainable Eng Program (Contributor, Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
This Barrett creative project includes the structural design of a coffee shop using recycled shipping containers in Phoenix, Arizona. Repurposing old shipping containers into commercial and residential buildings has become more popular. Even here in Arizona, buildings have already integrated shipping containers into their design. Shipping containers add a unique character to the architectural design of the building and at the same time cut costs of construction due to their low prices. With using the shipping containers as building materials, there is a positive impact on the use of the structures in builds. The uniqueness of using shipping containers is what sparked my interest to design a shipping container coffee shop. For my creative project, I designed the coffee shop using the already structurally sound core of the shipping container to my advantage. However, when adding modifications to the structure, the materials of the structure were analyzed to ensure the design could take the modifications. I have taken my love for structural design, the environment, and coffee and brought it to life. Through this project, I have a better understanding of how much thought goes into designing a building and have a deeper understanding of the codes that structural engineers must follow to design and analyze buildings.
ContributorsWhite, Celine Johanna (Author) / Ward, Kristen (Thesis director) / Chatziefstratiou, Efthalia (Committee member) / Civil, Environmental and Sustainable Eng Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
The objective of this research paper is to analyze and determine the relationships between childhood and adulthood transit behavior. The study investigates gender differences for each generation regarding childhood transit experiences. Childhood travel socialization was studied to understand its effects on childhood transit experience and perception. Lastly, childhood transit experience and perception were analyzed to determine their effect on adult transit usage. The variables the study analyzed were childhood peer impression of public transit, parental opinion of the safety of public transit, and the respondents’ childhood public transit experience. These variables were investigated to determine if they had an effect on adult use of public transit. The survey Transit Center’s Who’s On Board: 2014 Mobility Attitudes Survey (WOBMAS) was used to perform these analyses. The results showed that gender equality appears to be increasing in younger generations with respect to their ability to travel alone on public transit. In addition, men were more likely to travel by themselves on public transit when compared to women. There is a direct correlation between childhood travel socialization and childhood transit experience and opinion. However, there appears to be no correlation between childhood travel socialization and a child’s likeliness to travel on public transit alone. Childhood travel socialization had a counterintuitive effect on adult transit usage. On the contrary, it appears that childhood experience is significantly linked to adult transit usage. The data suggests that the earlier a person travels on public transit alone, the more likely they are to ride it as an adult.
ContributorsCharles, Allison (Author) / Pendyala, Ram (Thesis director) / Thompson, Marilyn (Committee member) / Civil, Environmental and Sustainable Eng Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
Approximately 1% of the total working population within the United States bikes as their primary mode of commute. Due to recent increased in bicycle facilities as well as a focus on alternative modes of transport, understanding the motivations and type of people who bike to work is important in order to encourage new users.
In this project, a literature review was completed as well as data analysis of the National Household Travel Survey (NHTS) in order to find specific populations to target. Using these target populations, it is suggested that advertising and workplace encouragement occur to persuade more people to bike to work. Through data analysis it was found that the most impactful variables were the region of the country, gender, population density, and commute distance. Bicycle commuters statistically had fewer vehicles in their households and drove less miles annually.
There were five main target groups found through this analysis; people who bike for other reasons besides work and live in a city with more than 4,000 people per square mile, young professionals between 19-39, women in regions with separated bicycle facilities, those with low vehicle availability, and environmentally conscious individuals. Working to target these groups through advertising campaigns to encourage new users, as well as increasing and improving bicycle facilities, will help create more new bicyclists.
In this project, a literature review was completed as well as data analysis of the National Household Travel Survey (NHTS) in order to find specific populations to target. Using these target populations, it is suggested that advertising and workplace encouragement occur to persuade more people to bike to work. Through data analysis it was found that the most impactful variables were the region of the country, gender, population density, and commute distance. Bicycle commuters statistically had fewer vehicles in their households and drove less miles annually.
There were five main target groups found through this analysis; people who bike for other reasons besides work and live in a city with more than 4,000 people per square mile, young professionals between 19-39, women in regions with separated bicycle facilities, those with low vehicle availability, and environmentally conscious individuals. Working to target these groups through advertising campaigns to encourage new users, as well as increasing and improving bicycle facilities, will help create more new bicyclists.
ContributorsImbus, Eileen Elizabeth (Author) / Khoeini, Sara (Thesis director) / Pendyala, Ram (Committee member) / Civil, Environmental and Sustainable Eng Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
DescriptionIn this creative project, a treehouse is designed for a cottonwood tree in Dolores, Colorado. The treehouse design was rooted in engineering principles, and brought to life with using the commercial civil engineering program Risa-3D.
ContributorsOlder, Hunter Donovan (Author) / Ward, Kristen (Thesis director) / Hjelmstad, Keith (Committee member) / Civil, Environmental and Sustainable Eng Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-12
Description
When you get to a point in your day where you need a drink of water, what type of bottle do you reach for? A plastic bottle? In the US alone, over 500 billion bottles are used daily (or in a year), and this leads to an exorbitant amount of plastic waste that ends up in landfills, oceans, and finally, our bodies. Uni Flask is a unique solution tailored to meet the needs of college students throughout the US. Through the pairing of reusable, university themed bottles with our daily reminders and challenges, eliminating plastic waste is at the heart of our group's solution. The themed bottles will be available to not just students, but to anyone who is interested. The reminders you receive can be modified to your exact needs, and can be sent daily, weekly, or even monthly. Regardless of which option you choose, our team will include you in any competitions and challenges available, as our goal at Uni Flask is to not only cut down on plastic waste and consumption, but to help you achieve a healthier, hydrated lifestyle.
ContributorsOwen, Alexander (Author) / Algibez Flores, Lola (Co-author) / Mohandes, Nasim (Co-author) / Li, Amanda (Co-author) / Byrne, Jared (Thesis director) / Satpathy, Asish (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Civil, Environmental and Sustainable Eng Program (Contributor)
Created2022-05
Description
When the Covid-19 virus began to spread worldwide in the spring of 2020, life across the globe changed rapidly. Government restrictions required people to move into prolonged social isolation and the resulting impact of this isolation on mental health has been profound (Brooks et al., 2020). Initial research has begun to be conducted to understand the scope of how social isolation and the pandemic have influenced people’s psychological well-being. Thus far there has been a marked increase in depression and anxiety disorders (Eyice Karabacak et al., 2021). Agoraphobia is an anxiety disorder that is characterized by fear and avoidance of certain settings. Undoubtedly, fear and avoidance of certain settings during the pandemic cannot be considered abnormal behavior as it is in line with a normative response to such a threatening phenomenon. This study investigates how normative avoidance of certain settings during the pandemic may have now evolved into fear of the settings themselves. In particular, it tested if the start of the pandemic is associated with the prevalence rate of Agoraphobia. This was done via a retrospective study that uses self-report data to examine whether participants presented symptoms of Agoraphobia prior to the start of the pandemic and if they currently exhibit symptoms of Agoraphobia. In addition to the study, the website designed to host this study also provided mental health resources to participants, in light of the documented increase in mental illness since the start of the pandemic (Brooks et al., 2020).
ContributorsFranke, Jillian (Author) / Peterson, Bria (Co-author) / Clough, Michael (Thesis director) / Lanphier, Erin (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Civil, Environmental and Sustainable Eng Program (Contributor)
Created2022-05
Description
The monsoon season is an important part of Arizona's ecosystem as it provides 33% of Maricopa's annual rainfall. However, the monsoon also brings storms with high rainfall intensity which can cause floods. As Maricopa continues to expand and become more urbanized, it may become more susceptible to flooding. This project analyzes watersheds across Maricopa County to determine the amount of runoff that occurs for a given rainfall event.
ContributorsHagstrom, Jon (Author) / Mascaro, Giuseppe (Thesis director) / Vivoni, Enrique (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Civil, Environmental and Sustainable Eng Program (Contributor)
Created2022-05
Description
This podcast focused on the experience of women in the field of STEM and more specifically civil engineering. The episodes will explore three main topics surrounding women in the workforce: how women navigate and succeed in a workforce with a predominantly male presence, whether or not women experience “impostor syndrome,” and how to deal with being undermined in the workforce. Also available on Spotify!
ContributorsRivera, Valentina (Author) / DiCaro, Isabella (Co-author) / Hjelsmtad, Keith (Thesis director) / Boyce-Jacino, Katherine (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Civil, Environmental and Sustainable Eng Program (Contributor)
Created2022-05