Browsing by Subject "Environment"

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Before the Sun Rises: Contesting Power and Cultivating Nations in the Colorado Beet Fields
(2017-06) Pérez, Bernadette
This dissertation analyzes how Colorado’s sugar beet industry, one of the most important agricultural industries in the American West before World War II, was built through the expansion of an exclusionary, settler colonial American nation-state and the racialization and criminalization of migrant workers. It does not look only to elites to tell this story. Through multi-sited research in U.S. and Mexican archives, it privileges the perspectives of diverse agricultural working communities. Beet workers contested and creatively appropriated hegemonic and colonial visions of nation, land, industrial modernity, gender, labor, indigeneity, and race. From rural Colorado, they shaped the improvisational nature of state power and American capitalism.
The burden of Yellow Fever in Brazil: Quantifying disease mortality and producing short-term forecasts
(2020-07) Servadio, Joseph
Yellow Fever is a mosquito-borne viral disease impacting much of South America and sub-Saharan Africa. It is endemic in several nations, causing hundreds of thousands of annual infections and tens of thousands of deaths. In Brazil, cases in recent decades have been seen in western areas of the nation, typically in regions adjacent to the Amazon Rainforest. A major outbreak beginning in December 2016, however, saw a major increase in cases, particularly in southeastern states. As a result, there is interest in finding ways to predict when and where future Yellow Fever cases are expected. Also of interest is the ability to anticipate future fatalities by finding the proportion of cases that are fatal. Several mechanisms influence risk of Yellow Fever cases, including human activities and environmental conditions. The latter is comprised of many characteristics outside of human control, representing a component of risk that cannot be targeted for direct intervention, but only used for preparations. Using environmental conditions to predict future Yellow Fever burden typically employs the use of either mathematical or statistical models to quantify relationships between environmental predictors and disease burden. In developing such models, several assumptions are made out of necessity. One particular assumption, relating to the time units used in developing a model, is not commonly investigated for its potential impact on describing disease dynamics. In order to investigate these various topics, four studies were conducted in order to predict Yellow Fever burden using various environmental conditions, estimate fatality risk among severe Yellow Fever cases, and examine assumptions of time unit sizes when describing disease incidence probabilistically. The findings of the various studies show sensitivity when changing time unit sizes, offer an update of the estimated fatality risk among severe Yellow Fever cases, and estimate potential for Yellow Fever case burden throughout Brazil both using annual environmental trends and weekly weather patterns. Methodological contributions are discussed.
The Challenge of Using Public Transport: Descriptions by People with Cognitive Functional Limitations
(Journal of Transport and Land Use, 2009) Rosenkvist, Jenny; Risser, Ralf; Iwarsson, Susanne; Wendel, Kerstin; Ståhl, Agneta
This paper describes the findings of a study aiming to achieve deeper insight into reasons people with cognitive functional limitations cease to use public transport. Semi-structured interviews in combination with a qualitative content analysis were performed with nine participants. The results showed that reasons not to use public transport were to some degree a usability problem—both real and imagined. Other reasons were that participants had changed from buses or trains to other modes of transport or had psychologically adapted themselves to a new situation which meant that they did not miss using public transport.
Characterizing specific henetic and environmental influences on alcohol use
(2012-09) Irons, Daniel Edward
Although both genetic and environmental influences, as well as the interplay between them, are clearly important to the development of alcohol use and related psychopathology, the effects of many of the particular genetic variants and environmental risk factors responsible have not yet been confirmed. We conducted three studies with the goal of moving beyond abstract estimates of genetic and environmental variance to the assessment of whether specified risk factors were causally implicated in the development of alcohol-related behaviors and problems. First, in a longitudinally assessed sample of 356 adopted adolescents and young adults of East Asian descent, we examined the progression over time of the relationship between a functional polymorphism in the alcohol metabolism gene aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (ALDH2) and multiple measures of drinking behavior. We found that the protective effect of the less-functional ALDH2 variant increased between mid-adolescence and early adulthood, and that non-biological parental alcohol use, but not sibling alcohol use, nor deviant peer affiliation, moderated the effect of the gene. In a second study, using a community-based sample of 7224 individuals assessed in early and middle adulthood, we employed multiple methods to conduct a comprehensive examination of the effects of markers in GABA system genes on measures of alcohol use and related symptomatology. We tested not only the potential effects of individual markers, but also their effects in aggregate, and at the whole-gene and system-wide levels. None of these methods produced results indicative of an effect of GABA system variants on measures of alcohol use or misuse. We conducted a third study with a sample of 1512 twins, longitudinally assessed from early adolescence into adulthood, to determine whether adult alcohol use and misuse, as well as other adult outcomes, could be attributed to the causal effect of alcohol exposures in early adolescence. We used two separate techniques to adjust for potentially confounding factors. First, we used a propensity score design to adjust for the potentially confounding effects of a number of measured background covariates. Second, we used the cotwin control design to adjust for confounding due to unmeasured factors (including genetic influences) shared between twins in pairs discordant for early alcohol exposure. The results of both methods applied in this third study were generally consistent with there being a causal effect of early alcohol exposures on the later development of adult alcohol problems and other related adult outcomes, but contrasting the two methods indicated that exposure effect estimates from the propensity score application were likely to be biased by unmeasured confounding variables. In summary, we have first substantially elaborated upon the effects of a genetic variant known to influence alcohol-related behaviors (in the ALDH2 gene); next, despite thorough investigation, we have found no evidence for the effects of a second set of purported genetic influences (GABA system genes); and finally, we provided evidence that early alcohol exposure likely exerts a genuinely causal influence on later alcohol-related problems and other adult outcomes.
Child nutritional well-being in Ghana: an analysis of associated individual, household, and contextual health indicators and socioeconomic and biophysical environmental variables.
(2011-08) Nikoi, Ebenezer Goodman Ashie
Depriving children of the nutrients needed for growth sets them up to fail in life. When children are well nourished and cared for, they are more likely to survive, thrive, and to meaningfully contribute to society. This study assesses the association of characteristics of individual children under age five in Ghana, their mothers, and their households—as well as socioeconomic and environmental characteristics of the places where they live—with differential nutritional well-being. What distinguishes this study from most research on young children’s nutritional status in the Global South is its analysis of data for individual children, made possible by use of Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS), and assignation of district variables that capture characteristics of their places of residence to individual children as cases. This enables assessment of the relative explanatory role of variables that describe the socioeconomic and biophysical environments. This study implements a three-level multivariate logistic regression analysis with separate models for each of the nutritional outcome variables—height-for-age, weightfor- age and hemoglobin—at each level. Descriptive statistics summarize the prevalence of stunting, underweight, and hemoglobin and delineate frequencies and proportions for selected independent variables at each level. Further statistical analysis relies on chisquared (χ2) tests to determine significant bivariate associations. All significantly associated variables in the bivariate analysis are subjected to binary logistic regression analysis. The results of fixed effects are reported with odds ratios (ORs) along with confidence intervals for p<.05. The following variables were found to be significantly associated with at least one of the three nutritional outcomes in multivariate analyses at the child and district levels: child’s age, months of breastfeeding, fever, mother’s health status, prenatal care, mother’s occupation, mother’s ethnicity, household water supply, household wealth status, population density, percent literate (vs. illiterate) in district, percent in rural (vs. urban) locations, wealth status of district residents, and ecological zone of residence. As found in much previous research, mother’s education and occupation, father’s education and occupation, household size and structure, and sanitation were significantly associated with children’s nutritional status in bivariate analysis but not in multivariate analysis. After controlling for the characteristics of children, mothers and households, significant associastions with children’s nutritional status were found for population density, percentage of literate (vs. illiterate) residents in a district, wealth status of district residents, and residence in the Guinea Forest-Savanna Mosaic and Central African Mangrove ecological zones. Other significantly associated variables in the final models were the age of the child, months of breastfeeding, whether the child’s mother has health insurance and the wealth status of a child’s household. Notwithstanding the shortcomings of this study, its findings can potentially assist stakeholders by providing a better understanding of the diverse set of factors that influence children’s nutritional status and some explanation for differences in nutritional status among places within Ghana.
The CREATE Initiative Policy Toolkit: Sharing In the Benefits of a Greening City
(2020) Swift, Kaleigh; Klein, Mira
"What are ways that we can envision greening as a way to create a more equitable and just world?" The CREATE Initiative, an interdisciplinary group of scholars, community leaders, and engaged researchers funded by the University of Minnesota's Grand Challenges Research Initiative, works to tackle issues at the intersection of environment and equity. In this video, research associate Mira Klein and program coordinator Kaleigh Swift of the CREATE Initiative describe the scope and purpose of the initiative's policy toolkit. The toolkit aims to redesign existing anti-displacement policy tools to provide guidance for institutions and organizations working with communities of color and low-income communities who face displacement as a result of green gentrification, housing crisis, and historic inequities. Klein and Swift discuss the process of creating the toolkit, explain its goals and strategies, and share their hopes for its implementation: "There's a clear relationship between environmental justice types of work and housing work. If people are able to make that connection, that's really important." Listen to Humphrey School assistant professor Bonnie Keeler discuss the CREATE Initiative in more detail in this Civios podcast: https://hdl.handle.net/11299/218236
Enhancing Environment and Health in Transportation Project Design
(University of Minnesota Center for Transportation Studies, 2007-12) Carmody, John; Singh, Virajita
Good transportation design that enhances communities results in positive impacts on the natural environment--the air, water, soil, and biodiversity that are the life support systems for human society on earth. Design of outdoor and indoor environments can also positively influence human health. The issues related to environment and health fall under the concept of sustainability. This research includes a review of environmental assessment methods, rating systems and guidelines that are currently being used to transform sustainable building practices in the United States. In addition, there is an examination of case studies of exemplary transportation projects demonstrating the benefits of sustainable design approaches. The research includes case studies at three scales--large-scale development, buildings, and infrastructure--and identifies the lessons learned from these projects. While environmental sustainability issues are not new in transportation projects, there is a new and growing recognition that problems are more extensive and more urgent than previously recognized and that there must be a deeper understanding of the connection between planning, design, and construction decisions, as well as their resulting impacts. Transportation design can and should address regional and community scale ecological issues. Effective practices include applying an integrated design approach, making environmental outcomes explicit in the design process, and measuring performance outcomes during the life of the project. An emerging set of sustainable guidelines and standards can be effective tools for setting goals and organizing the design process for well-designed transportation projects.
Environment and development: essays on the link between household welfare and the environment in developing countries
(2014-07) Rogers, Martha H.
In this dissertation, I present three methods of evaluating local populations' interactions with their natural environments using household-level data from Tanzania. To date, little effort has been made to evaluate the non-market benefits of natural resources for local populations and this dissertation makes important contributions to this budding research area. First, I apply a travel cost model and estimate that households in Kagera, Tanzania are willing to pay approximately $200 per year (2012 U.S. dollars) for local community forests access, a value equal to roughly 25 percent of annual total household expenditures. Second, using a long-term panel data set I estimate that an additional hour required to collect firewood when a child is young translates into $475 (2010 USD) in lost earnings over 30 years, roughly 1.7 percent of income. Finally, I show evidence of significant interdependencies between a household's agricultural production and food consumption decisions. This inter-dependency implies that programs aimed at environmental conservation through agricultural intensification may have important unintended consequences on a household's food consumption and subsequent micronutrient levels. In sum, the results in this dissertation indicate that households in Tanzania interact with their environments in complex ways and receive significant non-market benefits from natural resources.
Environmental Sustainability Policies and Resources
(Minneapolis: Center for Urban and Regional Affairs, 2010) Shively, Emily
Episode 11: Local Health Co-Beenfits of Urban Climate Action
(2017-12-21) Ramaswami, Anu; Conners, Kate
Reducing carbon emissions across multiple urban infrastructure sectors can yield significant local air pollution related health co-benefits. But cities will see and experience these co-benefits in different ways and to different degrees. In this podcast, Anu Ramaswami, professor at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs, discusses the emerging science around how to connect global carbon reduction actions to city-specific health outcomes.
Episode 12: Circular Economies and Low-Carbon Urban Infrastructure Planning
(2017-12-21) Ramaswami, Anu; Conners, Kate
What is the unique role that urban infrastructure planning can play in national carbon mitigation? In this podcast, Anu Ramaswami, professor at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs, discusses how cities are positioned to plan infrastructure systems using circular economy principles that reduce material and energy reuse across sectors to deliver a low-carbon future.
Episode 13: All-city Carbon Emissions: Understanding City Types and Impact
(2017-12-21) Ramaswami, Anu; Conners, Kate
It is common practice to consider the carbon emissions of single cities. But what happens when you analyze carbon emissions for all cities in a country using nationally aligned data? In this podcast, Anu Ramaswami, professor at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs, discusses how all-city analysis can reveal “city types” that help inform carbon policy and action.
Episode 23: New Directions for Disaster Planning Research
(2019-04-29) Jacobs, Fayola; Conners, Kate
“Talking about some of the theoretical underpinnings that have devalued the lives of oppressed communities worldwide is a really important conversation to have,” says Fayola Jacobs, an assistant professor in the urban and regional planning area at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs. Jacobs' recent work explores how disaster planning has engaged—or failed to engage—oppressed communities. Using the lenses of black feminism and radical planning theory, Jacobs breaks down the concept of "social vulnerability" and its implication for environmental planning and policy. “When we pretend that the field is even and we can just ignore race ... then we implement policies that continue to exacerbate inequities,” she says.
Episode 25: Green Infrastructure and Stormwater Utility Fees
(2020-01-27) Sarmiento, Camila Fonseca; Conners, Kate
Deep below St. Paul, Minnesota, 450 miles of storm sewers and funnels snake throughout the city. Invisible to everyday life, underground pipeline systems such as these are called gray infrastructure. Camila Fonseca Sarmiento, a research associate at the Humphrey School's Institute for Urban and Regional Infrastructure Finance (IURIF), has been working with the City of St. Paul to identify ways to fund more green infrastructure—a more resilient, sustainable approach to managing stormwater that combines gray infrastructure with natural ecological systems. Governments in the US and abroad have begun to fund stormwater management via a new financial model as an alternative to taxes: stormwater utility fees. Stormwater credits, which reward properties implementing best practices, are also increasing in popularity. With her research, Fonseca Sarmiento aims to help local governments make informed decisions about the tools available to fund stormwater management.
Episode 26: The CREATE Initiative: Research at the Intersection of Environment and Equity
(2020-02-17) Keeler, Bonnie; Foy, Melanie Sommer
Bonnie Keeler, assistant professor in the science, technology, and environmental policy area at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs, discusses her work with the CREATE Initiative. In founding the initiative, Keeler and University of Minnesota geography professor Kate Derickson sought to combine their research areas in a program that addresses issues at the intersection of environment and equity using interdisciplinary, community-engaged, mission-driven scholarship. Groups of CREATE graduate researchers have partnered with members of the Policy Think Tank—a team of community leaders from Minnesota, Atlanta, and elsewhere—to consider the context of historic racial inequality in cities and understand community members' concerns as cities increasingly invest in policies to address climate change and improve urban sustainability. The CREATE Initiative has also developed an action-oriented policy toolkit to help community members advocate for the benefits of greening initiatives to reach their communities without engendering displacement.
Episode 28: Community Solar Intermediaries: Bridging the Gap Between Policy and Practice
(2020-12-10) Harrington, Elise; Welter, Emma
In the fall of 2020, Elise Harrington joined the Humphrey School as an assistant professor in the science, technology, and environmental policy area. In her new role, Harrington hopes to continue the research she began with MIT's Tata Center for her PhD, which brought her to both India and Kenya to study innovation in small-scale solar technologies. In this podcast episode, she speaks with us in more depth about her work in Kenya, where she's been investigating ways to close gaps between policy and practice in distribution models and consumer education for off-grid solar technologies like lanterns. Harrington is especially interested in the role played by "frontline solar intermediaries": individuals who act as go-betweens on behalf of solar companies. Intermediaries travel to communities to inform people about solar technology, sell products based on a variety of pricing models, and act as a resource for ongoing help with solar. When it comes to building a more resilient electricity infrastructure, Harrington says,"social interactions really matter”—and these intermediaries play an important role.
Evaluating Urban Food Systems
(2018) Boyer, Dana
It is projected that about two thirds of the world's population will live in cities by 2050. Making sure that cities can handle the influx of people means considering more than transportation, energy, and water systems."Looking at urban food systems becomes really important when you want to sustain a global population,” explains Dana Boyer, a researcher in the Science, Technology, and Environmental Policy area at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs. "A perspective shift is necessary to think about food systems as we would a transportation system or a water system." As food demands continue to shape our cities, Boyer says it is important to take into account environmental and health impacts as well as issues of equity. Her research focuses on developing metrics and methods to measure the energy, greenhouse gas, water, and land resources that a city needs to support their food system. "When a city wants to work on their food supply the first question is—how much food does our city need and where is it coming from?"
Evaluation Plan for an Earthworm Rapid Assessment Tool Training Program for Land Managers in Northern Hardwood Forest Types in the Western Great Lakes Region
(2012) Hueffmeier, Ryan M
Invasive species are causing environmental and economic harm all across the globe. Stopping the introduction of non-native species is the most effective way to deal with them. Non-native earthworms are one particular invasive species affecting the Great Lakes region. There is a need for a rapid assessment method to understand current impacts and identifying areas still earthworm-free. Through research in Minnesota and Wisconsin an Invasive Earthworm Rapid Assessment Tool (IERAT) was developed. The IERAT is a tool for the identification of earthworm impacts using visual indicators. Once earthworms are established there is no known effective way to remove them from the landscape and it is proposed that outreach and education are an effective method to prevent new introductions and to slow the spread of earthworms in northern hardwood forests of the Great Lakes region. This project develops the evaluation framework of the IERAT training. Using the framework evaluators will be assessing the tools’ validity, reliability of land mangers to use the tool, ability of trainers to conduct workshops, best dissemination techniques, changes in participants’ knowledge, attitudes and behaviors from before and after the training, and effects on management decisions. The evaluation plan will be carried out during the second year of training season. The results of the evaluation will be used to make appropriate adjustments to the IERAT and trainings. With earthworm distribution data that the IERAT provides, land managers will be able to develop important areas of protection and work with other interested parties to protect these areas for future generations.
The Feasibility and Sustainability of Architectural Biomaterials
(2016-04) Becker, Patrick J; Brownell, Blaine E
This research was centered on the development of a materials database as a resource for architects, designers,contractors,scientists, and consumers. A primary focus of the research is the feasibility and sustainability of materials with a metabolic or distinctly biological. Application of biomaterials and recycled materials can significantly reduce the impact of construction and the waste it generates. However,this application depends directly on the influence of architects in the design process, specifically material selection. The usage of the Transmaterial series, as a resource, can provide designers, architects, contractors, and end-users with access to cutting-edge materials that are changing the built environment.
Finding A Way: Aids To Support Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
(2017-05) WILLIAMS, JULIE
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a developmental disorder affecting around 1:68 children. Among other characteristics, children with ASD can be unduly sensitive to the elements in the environment, such as noise or light. Those affected have also described childhood difficulties finding their way around school. Despite the increasing numbers of children diagnosed with ASD, to date there has been little evidence-based research investigating how the environment affects them. The purpose of this exploratory experimental study was to determine whether wayfinding aids, (colored doors, colored shapes on the floor, and signage), applied in an elementary school corridor could help children with ASD find their way to a given destination with minimal assistance. This could improve their wayfinding skills and promote independence. Person-environment Fit Theory guided the research. This states that if a person is well-matched to their environment it can have a positive effect on them. A convenience sample of participants with ASD aged 8-11 (n=9) were randomly assigned to control or treatment groups. A study route was set up along part of the school corridor unfamiliar to participants. Each participant was given wayfinding instruction and shown the way to a destination before being asked to find the way on his/her own. Participants in the control group used existing cues in the environment. Participants in the treatment group used wayfinding aids applied along the route. A mixed methods approach to data collection included observation, behavioral mapping, and a post-study interview/questionnaire to find out what participants felt about their wayfinding experience and what they remembered about the route. The study found that all participants were able to find their way to the destination. This suggests that wayfinding could be used as an educational intervention to teach children with ASD how to find their way around school. Participants in the treatment group remembered more colors, shapes, and signs along the route compared to the control group. Some participants demonstrated a hypersensitivity to the environment, adversely affected by noise, light, and smell. Some participants demonstrated Weak Central Coherence, focusing on small details to help them find their way around rather than perceiving the larger environment. With further testing, it may be possible for clinicians who treat children with ASD to use wayfinding as a diagnostic tool to help them find out how children with ASD perceive their environment and what they are sensitive to in it. This is believed to be the first research study to test children with ASD in wayfinding. By documenting an evidence-based research process with children with ASD as participants, this study could act as a model for other designers and researchers to follow. It could also be replicated to determine whether the results are applicable to wayfinding in other school corridors, or other environments, used by children with ASD.

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