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Macroinvertebrate Community and Temperature Changes in a Michigan Stream
Get PDFAs the climate warms, global biodiversity is plummeting and extinction rates are rising (Jenkins, 2003). Freshwater ecosystems specifically are experiencing huge losses in diversity (Jenkins, 2003; Ormerod et al., 2010; Collier et al., 2016). Conservation of invertebrates is particularly urgent because they are foundational to the trophic systems in streams and lakes, comprising 95% of all species on earth (Titley et al., 2017), and over 60% of biodiversity in freshwater ecosystems (Collier et al., 2016). Through analysis of both my own field measurements and historical data I seek to gain a preliminary understanding of temperature and macroinvertebrate community changes that have taken place in a small stream in Michigan, in order to develop baseline data that will aid in identifying changes in the future. I utilize data before and after the installation of a unique stream cooling modification to explore: (1) How temperature has changed over time in Pine River? (2) How the macroinvertebrate community changed over time, as compared to a 1993 baseline? and (3) What do these changes mean for the community health of this stream? I compare my own 2020 aquatic macroinvertebrate samples to a 1993 macroinvertebrate dataset and look for statistically significant changes in order level percent abundance and taxa density. I analyze temperature data and find a significant cooling trend as a result of an anthropogenic temperature manipulation. Although Pine River has cooled since 1993 the macroinvertebrate community remains quite similar, with the exception of a significant increase in Trichoptera. My research suggests that this location could provide a refuge for species in the region that are negatively affected by warming water temperatures, and highlights the need for a better understanding of the factors that influence macroinvertebrate communities
The Key Factors Driving CCP Opposition to Taiwanese Independence
Get PDFThe CCP strongly opposes a formal declaration of independence from Taiwan, and has threatened military force should Taiwan take that step. This paper seeks to explain the underlying reasons for the CCP’s aggressive policy. To do so, it uses a two-part methodology composed of a comprehensive engagement with existing secondary sources from the academic literature and four new interviews with experts in the field. The paper considers three main explanations for China’s opposition to independence: nationalism, international geostrategic factors, and factors of domestic politics. It concludes that domestic politics, and specifically the CCP’s perception that independence threatens its claim to legitimacy, constitutes the main driver of China’s foreign policy toward Taiwan
Indigenous Communities Versus Oil Companies: Identifying Trends in Tactics and Success of Indigenous-Led Anti-Petroleum Movements in the Ecuadorian Amazon
Get PDFIn roughly the last 50 years, the Ecuadorian Amazon has become the epicenter of petroleum production in Ecuador. As oil companies attempt to exploit more and more of the rainforest, they have encroached on indigenous lands, leading to violations of indigenous rights through environmental destruction. As their territories have been invaded, indigenous groups throughout the Amazon have formed movements large and small in resistance to petroleum activities. Scholars have studied select campaigns in the past, but the literature lacks a comparative review of the characteristics of those movements. This paper compiles histories of seven campaigns against petroleum in the Ecuadorian Amazon and compares them, focusing on analyzing the tactics groups used and the level of success they found. Results are inconclusive but uncover anecdotal similarities between Ecuadorian movements and those in other countries and open possibilities for future, more definitive research in this field.
Durante los últimos 50 años, la Amazonía ecuatoriana se ha convertido en el epicentro de la producción de petróleo en el país. A medida que las empresas petroleras continúan explotando más y más la selva, han invadido territorios indígenas, dando lugar a violaciones de derechos tras destrucción del medio ambiente. A medida que sus territorios han sido invadidos, grupos indígenas de la selva han formado movimientos grandes y pequeños en resistencia a las actividades petroleras. Algunos académicos han realizado estudios sobre estos movimientos, pero la literatura carece de un resumen comparativo de las características de esos movimientos. Este ensayo recopila las historias de siete campañas contra el petróleo en la Amazonía ecuatoriana y las compara, enfocando en analizar las tácticas que usaron los grupos y el nivel de éxito que tuvieron. Los resultados no son concluyentes pero ellos descubren similitudes anecdóticas entre los movimientos ecuatorianos y los de otros países y abren posibilidades para estudios futuros y más definitivos en este área
El cuerpo en la poesía de mujeres ecuatorianas
No full textEste proyecto examina la presencia del cuerpo humano en la poesía de tres mujeres ecuatorianas: Aleyda Quevedo Rojas, Aurora Estrada y Ayala, y Sophia Yánez. Enfoco en como las imágenes del cuerpo en su poesía están relatados con algunos temas del poder y el genero. Específicamente, exploro los temas del patriarcado, el colonialismo, y la creación. En relación con el patriarcado, encontré que la poesía de Aleyda Quevedo Rojas aborda mucho con la expectativa social para la perfección del cuerpo femenino. Ella rechaza esta expectativa y abraza las imperfecciones de su cuerpo, incluyendo la fracasa del cuerpo a través de la enfermedad. Otro aspecto del cuerpo que está regulado por el patriarcado es la sexualidad. Quevedo escribe abierta y positivamente sobre la sexualidad, proveyendo un ejemplo de un cuerpo femenino liberado. La sexualidad del cuerpo también está conectada con el tema segundo: el colonialismo. Con la poesía erótica, poetas como Aleyda Quevedo Rojas y Sophia Yánez rechazan la regulación de los cuerpos a través de la religión colonial. Yánez también mezcla imágenes de la cultura indígena con la sexualidad, y de la naturaleza con la corporalidad humana. A través de estas combinaciones, Yánez crea una imagen nueva para imaginar el cuerpo afuera del paradigma dominante colonial. La poesía política de Aurora Estrada y Ayala describe el sufrimiento de los trabajadores indígenas, y como sus cuerpos están afectados por el colonialismo. Conectando otra vez con la corporalidad de la mujer, ella usa la imagen a la madre para crear una reacción emocional contra la injusticia del mundo. Las poetas conectan los símbolos de la maternidad con el acto de creación, el tema final. Ellas cuestionan la separación entre la mente y el cuerpo, y conectan el acto de escribir poesía con un acto físico de creación. Podemos ver en su poesía la creación de nuevas paradigmas y cosmovisiones a la realidad en que vivimos
Changing Water Resources’ Effect on Livelihoods and Socio-Ecological Relationships in Himalayan Communities of Nepal
Get PDFThe looming threat of climate change will lead to significant alterations in livelihoods and daily practices for individuals across the world. This paper seeks to identify the effects of climate change on hydrological regimes in Himalayan communities in Nepal with particular focus towards livelihood and socio-ecological transformations. Using the socio-ecological systems framework to analyze specific communities and their resource use, along with vulnerability and adaptative capacity analysis, this paper includes a meta-analysis of existing literature. Numerous findings indicated that rural, mountainous communities of Nepal face a variety of environmental impacts which may reduce viability of two significant modes of production: agriculture and pastoralism. Vulnerability to climate change among these communities is often related to socioeconomic status and history of social, economic, and political power. Additionally, the most significant method for reducing vulnerability is to diversify income generation. This research emphasizes the need for further exploration of the unique vulnerabilities of high altitude communities to transformations of hydrological regimes affected by climate change
Boosting Students’ Fluency through Incorporating Context-Specific Content into Task-Based Language Teaching, Reflecting on their Fatalistic Cultural Beliefs, and Fostering their Agency.
Get PDFThis study will look into incorporating context-specific content into Task-Based Language Teaching techniques to enable students at the American University of the Caribbean in Les Cayes, Haiti, to develop fluency. It will particularly draw lessons from my own language learning and teaching experiences and explore ways to establish a culture that nurtures students’ agency. In my context, students have deeply ingrained fatalistic cultural beliefs which are not conducive to optimal learning. Therefore, fostering a culture that reconsiders these views could strongly help boost their self-efficacy and confidence and compel them to embrace productive learning strategies and behaviors. This study will finally delve into the literature and my own experiences to devise a theoretical framework which can help boost English learners’ fluency development in my context
Found in the World: An Autoethnographic Exploration of how Place Influences the Growing Formation of One’s Identity
Get PDFThis paper incorporates both background information on place, human identity, and the African term Ubuntu, as well as personal stories from interviewees, to attempt to understand how both the physical location as well as human relationships aid in the growing formation of one’s identity. The stories synthesized in this paper come from individuals living in Cato Manor, as well as my own personal experiences living in Colorado, Louisiana, and South Africa. I conducted six interviews with participants ranging in age and gender. I asked them to share their stories with me when answering questions about their personal relationship to Cato Manor, their relationships with other people living in Cato Manor, and who they felt they are as a person. I then used their stories as well as my own story to begin to understand how “place,” both in the physical sense as well as the feeling of belonging to a group, plays a role in the growing formation of identity. Through this autoethnographic lens, I have learned about the complexities of identity formation for both the individuals I interviewed in Cato Manor and for myself, and I have outlined these findings through a narrative approach. As a result, I now better understand how the different places I have lived, as well as the relationships I have formed, have shaped and continue to shape my identity, and I have a better understanding how place and Ubuntu aid in the growing formation of the identities of the six individuals I interviewed
Morocco’s Leadership: Assessing the Relationship Between the State and Non-Governmental Organizations Working on Migration Affairs
Get PDFThe history of Moroccan Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) is almost as long as the country’s history with migration. After Morocco\u27s record as a sending country, its unique location attracted an increasing flow of migrants from the rest of Africa to transit the territory in hopes of crossing over to Europe. More recently, tighter border securitization has resulted in notable numbers of migrants permanently settling in Morocco. Significant changes in migration policy have both prompted and resulted from this progression. And simultaneously, national NGOs have strengthened their role as protagonist advocates for migrants’ rights as well as foremost providers of target-diverse support mechanisms. In this study, through a historical analysis of policy, relevant literature and short interviews, I will examine the relationship between the Moroccan State and the country’s civil society working on migration. By examining the evolution of the legal framework through which the Moroccan State interacts with NGOs, I intend to determine whether there is congruence between the government’s approach and the achievement -or lack thereof- of NGOs’ work. In addition, I will consider the influence of international pressure (i.e. the European Union) in Morocco’s migration affairs. And ultimately, I seek to investigate the contextual implications of these findings in the current and future life of migrants.
Research Question: In what ways is the Moroccan State partnering with, patronizing or marginally involving the country’s civil society with the responsibility of migrant-related issues, and how does this relationship look moving forward
Non-Conventional Vehicles as a Way Towards Carbon Neutrality in Iceland
Get PDFParis Agreement’s chief objective is to protect the Earth and its inhabitants from a point of no return, when the effects of climate change will be so intense that they will shift the equilibrium of ecosystems. The distinctiveness of this international environmental treaty is that it does not impose climate change mitigation measures, but rather allows nation states to create their own set of measures, the NDCs, to reach the global warming of ‘well below 2oC’ by the end of the century. Thus, Iceland has submitted its own NDC, the Climate Action Plan 2018-2030, which has an ambitious goal of reducing the state’s overall GHG emissions by 35% by 2030. One of the two main objectives to achieve this is through GHG emission reductions from land transportation. This paper therefore investigates what is the most fitting path for Iceland to transition to the non-conventional vehicles while simultaneously reducing its carbon footprint. In order to achieve this, three types of non-conventional vehicles and their current implementation in Iceland were investigated: Battery Electric, Compressed Natural Gas and Hydrogen Fuel Cell Electric vehicles. In the analysis of how suitable the three vehicle types would be for the unique conditions of Iceland and the plausibility of the transition to the nonconventional vehicles the following factors where investigated: price per service, cost of transition, adaptability to the country and the emissions reduction potential. The conclusion of the paper is that the current measures of the Icelandic national and local governments to implement a diverse mix of non-conventional vehicles are correct, however, due to Iceland’s unique resources there should be more investment in the hydrogen fuel and HFCEV sector
Gender-based Violence During the 2020 COVID-19 Pandemic: New Challenges and Adaptations at Haguruka
Get PDFHaguruka is a Rwandan NGO founded in 1991 that works to ensure Rwandan women and youth’s access to their legal rights. In addition to providing free legal aid, Haguruka runs educational and capacity building programs across the country to combat gender-based violence (GBV).1 When the Rwandan government instituted lockdown measures to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in January of 2020, many of Haguruka’s programs were no longer feasible under the new guidelines. Additionally, emerging research has shown that incidents of GBV have increased globally due to policies to combat COVID-19.2 Rwanda is no exception. Through a desk review, interviews with Haguruka employees and beneficiaries, as well as personal observations over the course of my internship, this practicum analyzes how the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic has impacted Haguruka’s ability to combat GBV in Rwanda. It assesses how Haguruka has adapted its programs in response to the changes that the COVID-19 pandemic has brought, and to what extent Haguruka has succeeded in adapting. Ultimately this report concludes that Haguruka has had much success in continuing to carry out its mission during the COVID-19 pandemic, but still faces significant barriers in ensuring its beneficiaries have access to its service provision