Organics management at Sodexo: case study at Clark University Dining Services

Melissa Joyce
IDCE/ GSOM • Advisors: Dr. Halina Brown and Dr. Laura Graves

In a regulatory atmosphere which increasingly emphasizes source reduction and diversion from disposal, operators of college and university food service establishments experience inexorability linked issues of business and environment. This case study analyzes the extent and distribution of the tangible and intangible economic costs and benefits of Clark University’s existing organics management program. Results of this case study confirm that the contractor, Sodexo at Clark Dining Services, and the client, Clark University, continue to economically benefit from the successful execution of the organics management program. The win-win scenario demonstrates potential in the institutional food service industry for organics management programs to positively impact stakeholders’ bottom lines while reducing negative environmental impacts resulting from the disposal and incineration of organic waste.

The relationship between perceived stress and social support: the experiences of Ghanaian women in central Massachusetts during antenatal and neonatal periods

Jacqueline Osei-Owusu
IDCE • Advisors: Dr. Marianne Sarkis and Dr. Ellen Foley

In the process of migration, a change in the ideal model of social support causes people to report more negative health outcomes such as high blood pressure, depressive symptoms, and high levels of perceived stress (Dressler 1997). Motherhood in an immigrant setting becomes a source of a double burden as women struggle to maintain social responsibilities in the context of fragmented support networks and insufficient resources (Liamputtong 2005). In Ghana, social and communal supports typically mitigate the stress that accompanies the liminal antenatal and neonatal periods through familial support and communal rituals. However, Ghanaian women in central Massachusetts reported being “stressed” as a result of losing their essential kin networks and feeling overwhelmed by the amount of economic and cultural challenges they must face on their own. The project on which this paper is based was motivated by an alarming increase in the last fifteen years in the infant mortality rate to African-born women that community members and biomedical researchers attribute to stress. Findings will be presented based on a year-long multi-sited ethnography investigating the relationship between perceived stress and social support at different stages of childbearing within the Ghanaian community in central Massachusetts and in Ghana. The aim of this research is to understand the lived experiences of Ghanaian women during antenatal and neonatal periods in terms of their perceptions of the causes and outcomes of stress in the context of changing support networks, nutritional and cultural practices in the US Ghanaian Diaspora.

Sustainable Solid Waste Management in Danang, Vietnam: 3R Approach Focusing on Community Participation

Hoang Dao
IDCE • Advisos: Dr. Timothy J. Downs and Dr. Verna DeLauer

Building a more sustainable society drives Danang to improve the current solid waste management (SWM) system. The 3R program that has been implemented successfully in several countries is considered a feasible solution for the city to resolve its existing solid waste-related pollution problems. Through examining Danang’s current SWM system, this study delved into the demand and available resources for implementing the 3R initiative in a specific region. Additionally, this research sought to determine the level of public awareness and attitudes toward the city’s current SWM and 3R programs. Face-to-face interviews were conducted with 30 households in ward three, Cam Le district. The results indicated that most respondents were unsatisfied with particular elements of the SWM system. Respondents want the city to improve curbside containers, collection activities, waste fees, and street sweeping. The majority of participants thought that 3R is a good program and revealed their willingness to participate. The existing large fraction of compostable materials in the solid waste stream (76%) and the willingness of 53% of respondents to compost at home are advantageous for designing policies encouraging household composting. The results also showed that 60% of respondents favor implementing the “pay as you throw” program. The results provide policy makers, environmentalists, and authorities with essential information in designing educational programs and making improvements in SWM policies and technologies. These improvements assist Danang to develop more sustainably.

The value of common lands ecosystem to local communities: an analysis with the application of the economic caluation approach in Jhadol block of Udaipur district, India

Arun Poojary
IDCE • Advisors: Dr. Timothy Downs and Dr. Samuel Ratick

In the dry land regions of India and around the world, the village pastures and community forests play a critical role in supporting local livelihoods especially during the frequently occurring drought periods. Common lands as wastelands by the government agencies have higher socio-cultural values to the local communities. Local communities are collectively managing and fighting for the protection of these common lands against the degradation, illegal encroachments and privatization efforts. This study on valuation of common lands tries to analyze value of these lands to local communities and the factors influencing the people’s interest to protect commons. People are asked to state their willingness pay (WTP) for the protection and management using Contingent Valuation Methods. In addition to this, study also used free list technique to analyze the socio-cultural importance of common lands to local communities. Communities found to associate the commons with the ideas of communal and collective responsibility. The factors of benefits such as grass, firewood and minor forest benefits found to have a positive influence on the WTP, while factors of encroachment and distance have a negative influence. The mean WTP value of INR 1831.22 (USD 33.82) per family per annum expressed by the respondents is lower than the mean economic benefits they receive from the common lands. However, the qualitative data suggests that people place high value on socio-economic importance of common lands.

Enhancing soil nutrients and water conservation through sustainable farming techniques: a field research component of the IWMI’s project on sustainable groundwater irrigation in the Greater Mekong Sub-region of Lao PDR

Jenkins Macedo
IDCE • Advisors: Dr. Timothy Downs, Dr. Marianne Sarkis, Dr. Yelena Ogneva-Himmelberger, Dr. Paul Pavelic (IWMI), Dr. C. T. Hoanh(IWMI)

Water scarcity for agricultural production during the hot dry season in the Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS) in Lao PDR continues to be a major challenge among smallholder farmers who rely on farming for their livelihoods. This project is based on an on-going research project being implemented by the International Water Management
Institute (IWMI) in collaboration with other partners in enhancing the resilience and productivity of rainfed irrigation through sustainable groundwater irrigation. The overarching objective of this proposed project is to contribute a component to the water scarcity needs and usability among smallholder farmers through regenerative and resource conserving technologies (RCTs) to enhance soil nutrients and water productivity through drip irrigation systems. The proposed project will be conducted at two trial plots (15m × 15m) in both Vientiane and Champasak provinces in Lao PDR. Results from pre-planting, planting and post-planting analyses of soil nutrients, soil water content and soil pH will be integrated into existing datasets to create a geodatabase that will be used by IWMI and its partners as additional resource for further research and informational purposes.

Where are the women in cattle raiding? A gendered analysis of militarized cattle culture in South Sudan

Cassie DeFillipo
IDSC • Advisor: Marianne Sarkis

Cattle raiding has been common in pastoralist communities in South Sudan for hundreds of years. In the past, it was a means of replenishing resources and asserting manhood, yet it was always supposed to follow certain guidelines. These guidelines included the protection of women. The onset of militarization in South Sudan since their independence in 1956 replaced these rules with ak-47s. This has removed many of the past rules of war and left women especially vulnerable. This paper’s gendered analysis of cattle culture in South Sudan aims to show, through both primary and secondary literature, that the militarization of South Sudan has increased the amount of patriarchal structural violence experienced by women in cattle camps. There are five primary and secondary findings of this research: bride price plays a role in the continuation of cattle raiding, ideas of manhood play a role in the continuation of cattle raiding, the commoditization of women occurs in South Sudanese culture, militarization has led to more violent cattle
raids, and women have become increasingly vulnerable in South Sudan’s militarized society, in part due to increased duties and decreased decision-making abilities. This report uses ethnographic and secondary research in order to understand how pastoralist culture, especially women’s roles in pastoralist culture, has changed due to militarization. The ethnographic research was collected during a one-month stay in South Sudan, primarily through participant observations and informational interviews. The primary research was then compared to available secondary research.

 

Can any model be geographically weighted? Exploring the association between low birth weight and exposure to air pollution using geographically weighted logistic regression

Chia-Rung Yang
GISDE • Advisor: Yelena Ogneva-Himmelberger

This study is aimed at examining the association between low birth weight (LBW) and exposure to chemicals that are listed in the National Ambient Air Quality Standards in Massachusetts. We explored the relative levels of exposure in every 810 by 810m cell using the risk scores estimated by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Risk-Screening Environmental Indicators (RSEI) Model. Logistic regression is commonly used to explore the relationship between one binary variable and multiple independent variables in spatial epidemiology. However, applying one single model to entire study area is not sufficient to characterize the spatial heterogeneity within the study area, while the current local regression models, such as geographically weighted regression (GWR), cannot describe the associations involving binary variables. Thus, we developed a geographically weighted logistic regression to explore the relationship a binary variable and several numerical variables. We also evaluate the relevancy of applying this method in our case. Our results indicate that in addition to developing geographically weighted models, researchers should also be aware of the limitations of logistic regression itself in order to take advantage of using this model.

 

Researchers’ perceptions of stakeholder engagement in the development of a regional earth systems model

Elizabeth Allen
ES&P • Advisor: Jennie Stephens

Engaging stakeholders in the development of earth systems models has potential to improve model accuracy and enhance model relevance for decision makers. It is vital to understand how researchers in academia perceive the role of stakeholders in order to design effective engagement strategies. Analysis of researchers’ perspectives was conducted using questionnaires and semi-structured interviews with each of the 18 principal investigators involved in the BioEarth regional earth systems modeling initiative. BioEarth aims to improve understanding of climatic and anthropogenic impacts on environmental nitrogen and carbon cycling in the Pacific Northwest. Integrating input from natural resource managers and other stakeholders will ensure that project outputs are applicable to industries and communities in the region. This research reveals that there is significant variation in principal investigators’ conceptualizations of stakeholder identities. Assessments of the benefits and challenges of stakeholder engagement varied with regard to scientists’ level of experience with stakeholder-oriented research. Insights gained from the questionnaire and interview analysis provide valuable information about scientific communication as well as project specific insights that will guide the design of stakeholder engagement strategies as the BioEarth research initiative progresses.

 

Liberian refugees in Ghana: environmental security implications of the indiscriminate disposal of municipal solid waste

Jenkins D. Macedo
IDSC • Advisors: M. Sarkis, A. H. Fabos, and, Jude Fernando

Liberian refugees have been seeking refuge at the Buduburam Refugee Settlement (BRS) in Ghana for more than two decades. There have been two successfully held elections in Liberia since the end of the 14 years civil war in 2003. Drawing from these elections, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) terminated all humanitarian assistance to Liberian refugees in hope of a return. In spite of this, Liberian refugees continue to live at the BRS in deplorable sanitary conditions. This thesis explores the environmental security implications of the indiscriminate disposal municipal solid waste in the local environment at the BRS. In this study, I used the mixed methods research approach to collect data through personal observations, free lists, pile sorts, survey, semi-structured interviews, and focus groups directed towards the refugee population, state and non-state actors. MSW data were collected from the sanitation team of the National Catholic Secretariat (NCS) at the BRS and the use of a Global Positioning System (GPS) to record waypoints of open dumpsites. The results show that the indiscriminate disposal of MSW in the local environment is associated with high increase of greenhouse gas emissions (GHG), land pollution and the outbreak of waterborne diseases at the refugee camp.

 

Evaluating deforestation, topsoil erosion and sedimentation in MaMaBay, Madagascar from 2000 to 2010 – a remote sensing approach to assess human impact on ecosystem

Jing Wang
GISDE • Advisors: John Rogan and Florencia Sangermano

MaMabay in northeastern Madagascar preserves 1% of the Earth’s biodiversity in its three components, the Antongil Bay, Makira Natural Park and Masoala National Park. This area is prone to anthropogenic influences, particularly in the form of deforestation for agricultural purposes and logging. This deforestation leads to significant topsoil erosion, which produces sedimentation in the bay itself. By analyzing satellite imagery from Landsat-7 ETM, Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM), as well as ancillary data such as Food and Agricultural Organization Soil Maps, the dynamics of this watershed are explored from 2000 to 2010 in a low-cost methodology to determine the extent of degradation. The result can be adopted to evaluate land cover change, prioritize conservation area, and improve policy.

 

Institutional dilemmas: a multi-scaled analysis of risk management within a non-governmental organization

Heather Tomlins

IDSC • Advisors: David Bell and Denise Bebbington

This research explores the dilemmas created by dithering perceptions of "risk management" at multiple levels within one NGO. The research is based on fieldwork carried out in the remote Kimberley region of Western Australia. The fieldwork included implementation of a programmatic risk assessment on youth development programs, and reporting gaps in risk management to the state and national branches of the organization. This analysis found that risk appears to be transferred in multiple directions, resulting in a dissonance between mandated institutional norms communicated via policies and the actualization of programs, services, and projects on the ground that do not connect with institutional standards of "risk management." The paper argues that risk is "scaled up" through the organization due to differences in tolerability to risk at all levels, but awareness of these processes may assist the organization with adopting a more culturally and institutionally appropriate risk management framework.