Current Search: Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College (x) » O’Brien, William (x)
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- Title
- "Double sustainability" in Botswana and South Africa: the case of the san in the central Kalahari game reserve and Kgalagadi transfrontier park.
- Creator
- Nelson, Lindsay, O’Brien, William, Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College
- Abstract/Description
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The question of land access rights for indigenous peoples is now a prominent theme in the management of large parks and game reserves in Africa. This comparative study addresses different government responses to this question regarding land dispossession of the San in Southern Africa. Ancestral lands of this unique and marginalized indigenous population had been rendered off limits by the creation of Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park (KTP) in South Africa and the Central Kalahari Game Reserve ...
Show moreThe question of land access rights for indigenous peoples is now a prominent theme in the management of large parks and game reserves in Africa. This comparative study addresses different government responses to this question regarding land dispossession of the San in Southern Africa. Ancestral lands of this unique and marginalized indigenous population had been rendered off limits by the creation of Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park (KTP) in South Africa and the Central Kalahari Game Reserve (CKGR) in Botswana. In more recent years, the government of Botswana and the post-apartheid government of South Africa have pursued quite divergent approaches to addressing the question of renewed San access rights in the parks. Central to the comparative analysis in this study is the degree to which South Africa and Botswana have embraced the concept of “double sustainability” in park management, which emphasizes the protection of biodiversity and people’s livelihoods at the same time.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2013
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00003527
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- Title
- “LEED”ERSHIP IN RESIDENCE HALLS.
- Creator
- Terry, Loren, O’Brien, William, Florida Atlantic University, Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College
- Abstract/Description
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What are the features of environmentally sustainable student housing? How might these features be reflected in the design of a new residence hall on FAU’s Jupiter Campus? As enrollment in the Wilkes Honors College expands, the necessity for more housing also grows. This new need brings the opportunity to construct a residence hall according to LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) standards, focusing on reducing environmental harm caused by new infrastructure. Toward this end,...
Show moreWhat are the features of environmentally sustainable student housing? How might these features be reflected in the design of a new residence hall on FAU’s Jupiter Campus? As enrollment in the Wilkes Honors College expands, the necessity for more housing also grows. This new need brings the opportunity to construct a residence hall according to LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) standards, focusing on reducing environmental harm caused by new infrastructure. Toward this end, I investigate best practices of sustainable residence hall design, considering features of existing LEED buildings on the Boca Raton campus and those at other colleges and universities nationwide. I compile a comprehensive list of design features that have been implemented as well as a list of the types of materials and practices that should be considered in designing the future Honors College residence hall and consider additional sustainable practices to incorporate on the Jupiter Campus.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2017
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00012640
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- Title
- Aliens are animals too! ethics and stigmatization within invasive species rhetoric.
- Creator
- Brockway, Gina A., O’Brien, William, White, Daniel, Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College
- Abstract/Description
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Management of nonnative invasive species (NIS) frequently involves removing animals or plants from an area in order to conserve native communities. Methods of removing invasive animals include killing individuals, justified as a means of protecting broader ecological values. This management approach, however, is often controversial and highlights differences between discourses of environmental and animal rights. The former values life at a holistic level while the latter emphasizes the value...
Show moreManagement of nonnative invasive species (NIS) frequently involves removing animals or plants from an area in order to conserve native communities. Methods of removing invasive animals include killing individuals, justified as a means of protecting broader ecological values. This management approach, however, is often controversial and highlights differences between discourses of environmental and animal rights. The former values life at a holistic level while the latter emphasizes the value of individual lives. Language both reflects and shapes belief and action, and to assess these divergent views, I compare invasive species rhetoric of a prominent environmental organization with that of an influential animal welfare group. The goal is to identify the most prevalent themes in the different organizations’ characterizations, highlighting areas of convergence and divergence regarding such themes, and, ultimately, to find out if their rhetoric points to any viable suggestions for compromise.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2013
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00003507
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- Title
- ASEXUAL REPRODUCTION OF NATIVE AND NON-NATIVE SPECIES OF MILKWEED IN VARIANT SOIL CONDITIONS.
- Creator
- Young, Jessica Elizabeth, O’Brien, William, Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College, Florida Atlantic University
- Abstract/Description
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Milkweeds (genus Asclepias) are the host plants for caterpillar stages of milkweed butterflies (subfamily Danianae), notably the monarch butterfly, Danaius plexippus (Linnaeus). Loss of suitable habitat and host plants threaten monarch populations. For my thesis research, I examined artificial propagation of milkweed plants, specifically the effects of three different soil substrates and exposure to hormone powder on the survival rates of cuttings from two milkweed species, A. tuberosa...
Show moreMilkweeds (genus Asclepias) are the host plants for caterpillar stages of milkweed butterflies (subfamily Danianae), notably the monarch butterfly, Danaius plexippus (Linnaeus). Loss of suitable habitat and host plants threaten monarch populations. For my thesis research, I examined artificial propagation of milkweed plants, specifically the effects of three different soil substrates and exposure to hormone powder on the survival rates of cuttings from two milkweed species, A. tuberosa rolfsii and A. curassavica. Fifty-four cuttings of each species were transplanted to substrates of a mixture of peat moss and perlite, only peat moss, and potting soil. Half of each of the groups of cuttings were exposed to rooting hormone powder. A binomial logistic regression model was developed to determine the significance of each of the independent variables in the likelihood of survival of any individual cutting. The model specified had an 84.3% accuracy in correctly predicting the survival of the cuttings. This experiment may offer insights on the best environment for the propagation of native species of milkweed, which could be beneficial in the development of more native habitats for monarch butterflies in Florida.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2022
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FAUHT00238
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- Title
- CONTRIBUTION OF FEAR AND DISGUST TO SPIDER AVOIDANCE AND SPIDER-RELATED STROOP INTERFERENCE.
- Creator
- Vassilopoulos, Areti, Vernon, Laura, O’Brien, William, Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College
- Abstract/Description
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Emotional Stroop tasks are used to observe the effects of interference in colornaming performance when under high arousal. Participants in the present study completed the Spider Phobia Questionnaire, trait fear questionnaire and trait disgust questionnaire. Response latency data were collected by an emotional Stroop task with spider-related words. Although interference effects were not observed, it is possible that this is due to the suppression effects threatening stimuli evoke in high...
Show moreEmotional Stroop tasks are used to observe the effects of interference in colornaming performance when under high arousal. Participants in the present study completed the Spider Phobia Questionnaire, trait fear questionnaire and trait disgust questionnaire. Response latency data were collected by an emotional Stroop task with spider-related words. Although interference effects were not observed, it is possible that this is due to the suppression effects threatening stimuli evoke in high distress participants. Participants also took part in a Behavioral Approach Task (BAT) with a Chilean Rose-hair tarantula and a Chilean Rose-hair tarantula’s shed exoskeleton. There was not a significant difference between approach distance between the distressed and non-distressed groups nor many consistent significant differences between reported fear and disgust in response to the two stimuli between the two groups. There were some significant correlations between trait fear and BAT responses to the exoskeleton stimuli.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2014
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00003631
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- Title
- Ethics and Mythology: Conflicts between Two Attitudes toward Nonhuman Species.
- Creator
- Sharp, Alden, O’Brien, William, Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College
- Abstract/Description
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Western attitudes toward nonhuman animal species can be organized into two kinds: an ethical and a mythological. The ethical attitude is that which characterizes the animal as a subject of ethical consideration, while the mythological attitude is that which characterizes the animal as a semiotic tool for human communicability. Many important conflicts on the issue of animal rights arise out of a conflict of these two attitudes. This thesis examines these conflicts in case studies focused on...
Show moreWestern attitudes toward nonhuman animal species can be organized into two kinds: an ethical and a mythological. The ethical attitude is that which characterizes the animal as a subject of ethical consideration, while the mythological attitude is that which characterizes the animal as a semiotic tool for human communicability. Many important conflicts on the issue of animal rights arise out of a conflict of these two attitudes. This thesis examines these conflicts in case studies focused on the wolf species canis lupus as well as in the practices of zoo maintenance and species conservation, with philosophical background in structuralism in the case of the mythological attitude, and contrasting forms of utilitarianism.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2015
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00003654
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- Title
- EXAMINING INTERFERENCE AND SUPPRESSION EFFECTS FOR SPIDER STIMULI IN THE EMOTIONAL STROOP TASK.
- Creator
- Banks, Jenna, Vernon, Laura, O’Brien, William, Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College
- Abstract/Description
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The emotional Stroop task is an information processing approach that assesses emotion. College students completed a neutral and a spider-word emotional Stroop task in the presence of a fear stimulus, a disgust stimulus or nostimulus for control participants. Following the Stroop tasks, participants underwent a Behavioral Approach Task with the stimulus present during the Stroop task. Participants were asked to come back for a second session where the Stroop tasks and Behavioral Approach Task...
Show moreThe emotional Stroop task is an information processing approach that assesses emotion. College students completed a neutral and a spider-word emotional Stroop task in the presence of a fear stimulus, a disgust stimulus or nostimulus for control participants. Following the Stroop tasks, participants underwent a Behavioral Approach Task with the stimulus present during the Stroop task. Participants were asked to come back for a second session where the Stroop tasks and Behavioral Approach Task was repeated in the presence of the opposite stimulus seen in the first session. Although not statistically significant, the findings of this study suggest that spider phobics take a longer time to color name spider words on the emotional Stroop task than non-phobics in the presence of a disgust stimulus or in the absence of a stimulus. However, they appear to perform about the same as non-phobics in the presence of a feared stimulus.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2014
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00003608
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- Title
- HOW THE VIRTUALIZATION OF JOBS WILL IMPACT DEMAND FOR OFFICES: A CASE STUDY OF FORT LAUDERDALE, FLORIDA.
- Creator
- Meyers, Kirk, O’Brien, William, Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College, Florida Atlantic University
- Abstract/Description
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The COVID-19 outbreak forced institutions around the world to integrate remote work into their business operations for the purpose of maintaining continuity throughout the pandemic. During the pandemic, rapid enhancements were made in virtual technologies that facilitated the practice of using them for work-related tasks, which has caused speculation as to whether these resources will remain useful in a post-pandemic workforce. Numerous academic and institutional studies suggest that the...
Show moreThe COVID-19 outbreak forced institutions around the world to integrate remote work into their business operations for the purpose of maintaining continuity throughout the pandemic. During the pandemic, rapid enhancements were made in virtual technologies that facilitated the practice of using them for work-related tasks, which has caused speculation as to whether these resources will remain useful in a post-pandemic workforce. Numerous academic and institutional studies suggest that the evolution of remote work will inspire significant changes in workplace activity, and will be adopted within workplaces to some degree. This thesis considers the data produced in previous reports, and conducts a case study on the City of Fort Lauderdale to better understand how remote work will impact the demand for office property in a post-pandemic world. Additionally, this thesis provides researchers with a starting point for re -evaluating the need for offices in consideration of the changing market for office space.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2022
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FAUHT00208
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- Title
- POLITICAL BARRIERS TO DISTRIBUTED GENERATION SOLAR IN THE SUNSHINE STATE.
- Creator
- Taylor, Debra, O’Brien, William, Florida Atlantic University, Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College
- Abstract/Description
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Scientists agree that human activity, particularly the burning of fossil fuels to produce energy, is a major contributor to climate change. Recent global efforts to curb climate change involve the investment in carbon-cutting renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar. Despite being known as “the Sunshine State,” only 0.26% of Florida’s energy production came from solar sources in 2016. Florida ranks third in the U.S. for rooftop solar potential but only twelfth in the cumulative amount...
Show moreScientists agree that human activity, particularly the burning of fossil fuels to produce energy, is a major contributor to climate change. Recent global efforts to curb climate change involve the investment in carbon-cutting renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar. Despite being known as “the Sunshine State,” only 0.26% of Florida’s energy production came from solar sources in 2016. Florida ranks third in the U.S. for rooftop solar potential but only twelfth in the cumulative amount of solar capacity installed. Distributed generation (DG) solar refers to electricity generated near the point-of-use via photovoltaic (PV) solar panels, which includes rooftop solar. Distributed solar remains a controversial topic in Florida. This study attempts to identify the political barriers to distributed generation solar in Florida and examines the connection between political ideology and the success rate of renewable energy legislation in Florida.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2017
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00012652
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- Title
- RACHÉ MANYOK BAY TÉ-A BLANCHE: DEFORESTATION IN HAITI AND THE POWER OF AN IMAGE.
- Creator
- Christophe, Gerline, O’Brien, William, Njambi, Wairimũ N., Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College
- Abstract/Description
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Media representations perpetuate stereotyped images of Haiti and Haitians. Such expressions typically emphasize extreme poverty, mismanagement, exploitation, hopelessness, and also environmental degradation. The environmental image of Haiti is that it is massively deforested, and the connection of deforestation to poverty and other problems has been captured in an iconic aerial photograph of the Haitian and Dominican Republic (DR) border. First appearing in National Geographic in 1987 and...
Show moreMedia representations perpetuate stereotyped images of Haiti and Haitians. Such expressions typically emphasize extreme poverty, mismanagement, exploitation, hopelessness, and also environmental degradation. The environmental image of Haiti is that it is massively deforested, and the connection of deforestation to poverty and other problems has been captured in an iconic aerial photograph of the Haitian and Dominican Republic (DR) border. First appearing in National Geographic in 1987 and replicated since in various sources, the image displays a stark contrast between the tropical lushness of the DR and a desert-like Haiti, stripped of its vegetation. The stark image in effect dichotomizes a supposedly dysfunctional Haiti with a normally-functioning DR. This study analyzes the “mythologies” that are reinforced by the photo and the discourse surrounding it, which produces an accepted story of the way Haiti “is.” Going beyond such stereotypes, the study considers ways of rewriting such depictions to account for greater complexity.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2014
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00003611
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- Title
- Reparations and reconciliation: negotiating claims of historical injustice in the case of the herero genocide.
- Creator
- Williams, Leslie, O’Brien, William, Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College
- Abstract/Description
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To date, Germany has denied any obligation to financial compensation for the Herero genocide of 1904-1907. The Herero began petitioning in 1995 and haven’t yet seen results. The reconciliation process has been slowed by German denial and Namibian politics alike. Germany maintains that genocide was not technically illegal until the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in 1948, an argument that contradicts the hundreds of millions of dollars they continue to pay...
Show moreTo date, Germany has denied any obligation to financial compensation for the Herero genocide of 1904-1907. The Herero began petitioning in 1995 and haven’t yet seen results. The reconciliation process has been slowed by German denial and Namibian politics alike. Germany maintains that genocide was not technically illegal until the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in 1948, an argument that contradicts the hundreds of millions of dollars they continue to pay to Jewish victims as restitution for WWII. Historians argue that there are extensive links between German colonialism and the Jewish Holocaust. German concentration camps in Namibia developed extermination techniques that later enabled Jewish Holocaust, and both used the victims’ bodies for scientific research. In 2012, a delegation of Namibians retrieved 20 skulls of Herero and Nama victims from Germany. The repatriation of the skulls stimulated a resurgence of debate about reparations, motivating the Left Party to make a motion in German parliament that outlines an apology, repatriation, reparations, and continued partnership between the two nations.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2013
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00003540
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- Title
- The Political, Environmental, and Economic Impact of the Dry-cleaning Industry.
- Creator
- Moore, Ian, O’Brien, William, Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College
- Abstract/Description
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The dry-cleaning industry relies on solvents to perform the cleaning, and there are several environmental issues that result from the use of these solvents, which are dangerous to human and environmental health. These solvents are regulated by several agencies, but pollution can still be found in at least 75% of active drycleaners. This pollution is very expensive to remediate, and would put most drycleaners out of business unless they are in the Dry-cleaning Solvent Cleanup Program, which is...
Show moreThe dry-cleaning industry relies on solvents to perform the cleaning, and there are several environmental issues that result from the use of these solvents, which are dangerous to human and environmental health. These solvents are regulated by several agencies, but pollution can still be found in at least 75% of active drycleaners. This pollution is very expensive to remediate, and would put most drycleaners out of business unless they are in the Dry-cleaning Solvent Cleanup Program, which is a State Government program in Florida that finances the remediation costs for these businesses. I will analyze literature on the environmental impacts of dry-cleaning solvents, the economic burdens that the industry places on our society, and the policies regulating the dry-cleaning industry. There are several viable alternatives for operation, solvent choice, and regulation methods that would greatly improve the quality of the environment and the health of humans who are involved with the industry.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2015
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00003650
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- Title
- The United States of America and Cuba: World Structure and International Support for the Cuban Embargo.
- Creator
- Berg, Michael, O’Brien, William, Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College, Florida Atlantic University
- Abstract/Description
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With Fidel Castro’s takeover of the Cuban government in 1959, Cuba’s relationship with the United States deteriorated significantly. Since 1962, the United States has maintained a comprehensive trade embargo on the communist Caribbean state, despite criticism from the international community, including the closest partners of the only remaining superpower. As the most frequent imposer of economic sanctions, the United States has employed this coercive measure unilaterally on the Cuban...
Show moreWith Fidel Castro’s takeover of the Cuban government in 1959, Cuba’s relationship with the United States deteriorated significantly. Since 1962, the United States has maintained a comprehensive trade embargo on the communist Caribbean state, despite criticism from the international community, including the closest partners of the only remaining superpower. As the most frequent imposer of economic sanctions, the United States has employed this coercive measure unilaterally on the Cuban government, ignoring calls from allies and adversaries alike to end the embargo. This thesis investigates the role that world structure has on support for the U.S. embargo against Cuba, and what implications this has on the future role the United States will play on the international stage as the world shifts to a multipolar world structure.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2022
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FAUHT00187
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- Title
- THE UNITED STATES VERSUS CHINA: A COMPARISON OF CLIMATE COMMITMENTS AND RELATIVE SUCCESS UNDER THE PARIS AGREEMENT.
- Creator
- Charlton, Joseph, O’Brien, William, Florida Atlantic University, Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College
- Abstract/Description
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China and the United States are respectively the largest emitters of carbon dioxide in the world. The human production of carbon dioxide along with other greenhouse gases, mainly associated with the burning of fossil fuels, has led to an increase in the average global surface temperature. To combat climate change, both the United States and China entered the Paris Agreement in late 2015 and made commitments aimed at reducing their greenhouse gas emissions. While the United States is working...
Show moreChina and the United States are respectively the largest emitters of carbon dioxide in the world. The human production of carbon dioxide along with other greenhouse gases, mainly associated with the burning of fossil fuels, has led to an increase in the average global surface temperature. To combat climate change, both the United States and China entered the Paris Agreement in late 2015 and made commitments aimed at reducing their greenhouse gas emissions. While the United States is working towards reducing emissions per capita, China’s current goal is to peak emissions with all best efforts by the year 2030. Pre-existing policies in both countries suggest that they should be able to reach their goals, but China’s rising emissions per capita will likely eclipse the levels in Europe and possibly reach the same very high level as the United States.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2017
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00012613
- Format
- Document (PDF)