Transit Manipulation by the Koch Brothers: Analyzing the Relationship between the Division of Power in the United States Government, Societal Benefits, Voter and Rider Composition, Referendum Language and Cost of Improvement Under the Lens of the 2018 Nashville Transit Improvement Program Referendum

Transit Manipulation by the Koch Brothers: Analyzing the Relationship between the Division of Power in the United States Government, Societal Benefits, Voter and Rider Composition, Referendum Language and Cost of Improvement Under the Lens of the 2018 Nashville Transit Improvement Program Referendum Samantha Lee, Depts. of Biology and Chemistry, with Prof. Mary Boyes, VCU Honors College In Nashville, Tennessee, Charles and David Koch, known as the Koch Brothers, manipulated these areas--the division of power in the United States government, change in leadership, societal benefits, voter and rider composition, referendum language and cost of the improvement--in order to turn what was initially positive voter feedback into a roadblock for the 2018 Nashville Transit Improvement Program Referendum, even though many voters would have benefitted from such a system. The federal government focuses on the united country whereas the state governments account solely for their respective interests, causing projects in states that received the majority of the funding for the 2010 national high-speed rail to fail since they misrepresented the expectations of the people, alluding to the systemic bias in funding against public transportation in comparison to automobiles. The voter and rider composition of Nashville, specifically the $49,391 median household income contributed to failure of the 2018 Nashville Transit Improvement Program Referendum as the project was neither affordable nor relevant for voting residents, exemplified by the election results. Pro-public transportation voting Americans support public transit because of social benefits: reduction of congestion, cleaner environment, aid for the poor and socially excluded, revitalization of cities, and job creation, resulting in limited in-support votes and ridership, reflecting the greater influence of self-interest on voters, especially when taxes are involved. The referendum language and estimated$5.4 billion project cost prompted the Nashville voters to become dissuaded because of their socioeconomic status, supported by their unwillingness to pay. Understanding the failure of the 2018 Nashville Transit Improvement Program Referendum was a result of the Nashville’s societal and economic conditions that were exploited by conservative political groups, such as Americans for Prosperity, one can apply such knowledge to future transportation referendums and mirror or counteract the Koch Brothers’ actions to prompt successful passage.https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/uresposters/1320/thumbnail.jp

Solemate: A Music App for Runners

Solemate is a mobile application designed to enhance the running experience through music. Our feed-forward algorithm sets the runner’s pace by playing music that varies in tempo. By encouraging the user to match their steps to the beat, our application cultivates a run that feels natural and inspires intrinsic motivation, especially for the beginner runner

Corporate Social Responsibility and Corporate Financial Performance: An Examination into Fortune 500 and DJSI Firms within Consumer-Facing Industries

This paper examines the relationship between a firm’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and its Corporate Financial Performance (CFP) in nine consumer-facing industries classified by the Fortune 500. Unlike prior research on the matter, the firms investigated in this study consist only of firms on both the Fortune 500 for the year 2018 and the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) between the years 2005-2018 in order to define a clear measurement of CSR. In order to gauge investor and market sentiment, CFP is measured primarily by the firm’s stock performance in comparison to the S&P 500 as a basis. The results of this study suggest that while results vary heavily from industry to industry, firms with wealthier target audiences will typically benefit from a more sustainable brand image while firms targeting a lower-income audience actually suffer negative consequences due to the increased costs associated with sustainability and low returns from customers seeking cheap options

Community-Based Water Management in Rural Kenya

Access to safe, reliable, and affordable water remains a major challenge for many communities and households across Kenya, and this challenge will likely be exacerbated by the impacts of climate change and rapid population growth in coming decades. A diversity of approaches is needed to protect and enhance livelihoods that are vulnerable to environmental changes. In contrast to significant foreign aid projects and non-profit involvement in Kenya, community-based development acknowledges the ways in which Kenyan communities themselves are best suited to prioritize, design, and guide development solutions. This article seeks to identify the benefits of a community-based approach for sustainable water management in rural Kenya, as well as explore the role of outside actors under this framework

Voluntourism: What Motivates College Students to Give Back When They Travel?

Volunteer tourism, also known as voluntourism , has become a trendy way to market to culturally and environmentally conscious travelers who seek authentic experiences instead of traditional mass tourism where travelers have little interaction with the local culture. Voluntourism aspects are being added to existing travel itineraries and entire companies have been created around volunteering to specifically target college students. This thesis seeks to examine the individual motivations of college students who have previously participated in at least one voluntourism trip, including mission trips and alternative spring breaks. The data was obtained via a series of one-on-one, in-depth post-trip interviews with program participants. After conducting interviews, the data was classified through Phillip Pearce’s travel-needs theory to determine motivation. Through exploration of previous tourism literature, as well as psychological frameworks, the two research questions that were explored were: (1) would the majority of students fall under the self-esteem/development needs category of travelers?; and (2) were the interviewees dissuaded by the possible negative effects of voluntourism? The primary motivational rungs of relationship needs, self-esteem/development, and fulfillment were observed with participants generally falling under the self-esteem category

Factors Influencing Colorectal Cancer Screening Among Thais in the U.S.

This study examined factors related to colorectal cancer (CRC) screening uptake among Thais in the United States. A total of 121 Thais between 50 and 75 years of age, who were married and living in southern California participated in the survey (mean age = 61 years). Out of all the participants, only 21% of the participants had fecal occult blood tests, 21% had sigmoidoscopy, and 45% had colonoscopy that were within the recommended period. Overall, 55% of participants met CRC screening adherence criteria. Participants who had had regular checkups in the previous 2 years without having any symptoms were 16 times more likely to have obtained CRC screening than their counterparts (OR 16.01, CI 3.75-68.75) in the multivariable logistic regression model. Other significant predictors of screening adherence included older age (OR 1.08, 95% CI 1.00-1.17), having lived in the U.S. 15 years or longer (OR 6.65, 95% CI 1.55-28.59), having had at least some college education (OR 3.74, 95% CI 1.23-11.37), and higher levels of perceived self-efficacy (OR 1.88, 95% CI 1.01-3.50) to obtain CRC screening. Targeted interventions for Thais who are less likely receive CRC screening could be effective in improving CRC screening. Interventions to improve the populations' awareness of the importance of preventive measures when they are not sick could be also effective

Living with a changing climate: Holocene climate variability and socio-evolutionary trajectories, central Turkey

Collaborative studies between Quaternary scientists and archaeologists increasingly provide new and informative discussions about the nature and timing of cultural change and links with variation in the natural world (particularly climate). In the Eastern Mediterranean region, connecting the human past with palaeoclimate is an important research theme but the complex interactions between them are still poorly understood and past climate records have often been collected from regions distant from the human record. The thesis aims to derive a record of past climatic and environmental changes from lake sediment cores and synthesise this with archaeological data in order to reconstruct human-climate interactions at the regional scale. Annually laminated sediment data collected from Nar Gölϋ crater-lake and archaeological archives from the same region, Cappadocia (Turkey) allow problems of chronological uncertainty between records of the human past and palaeoclimatic archives, and spatially variable datasets to be addressed. New sediment cores collected from Nar Lake in 2010 cover the last ~14000 years based on varve counting and climate-stratigraphic correlation. The changing chemical composition of these sediments has been obtained using high-resolution Itrax XRF core scanning, mainly at 200μm resolution over 21.6m. Temporal differences in Ca and Sr are interpreted as a record of regional moisture levels, while Ti and Fe are elemental proxies that detail changes in catchment in-wash. These and other sedimentary data (e.g. total carbon analysis) document lake evolution from a predominately stable and moist early Holocene climate dominated by high authigenic Ca precipitation to a drier and less stable IV late Holocene dominated by increased authigenic Sr and Mg (and higher lake salinity levels). The most arid climatic conditions occurred during Bronze and early Iron Age times, but frequent and intense centennial-scale climatic shifts between wet and dry are also evidenced during the last 2600 years from Ca/Sr data. Peaks in Fe and Ti, along with Si, K and Rb indicate two distinct phases of increased sediment influx into Nar Lake, namely ~9200 to ~8000 yr. BP (ceramic Neolithic) and again – more importantly – during the last 2600 years (Iron Age and later). These appear to be related primarily to increased human impact on vegetation and soils in the lake-catchment, but volcanic activity and intense rainfall events and/or water deficits may also have played a role. To determine the degree to which climatic variability and cultural change are interlinked, the geochemical record from Nar Lake is correlated against long-term settlement histories which have been derived from systematic archaeological site survey and excavation data from Cappadocia. One of the key outcomes of the project is an examination of periods of climatic stability and instability which are identified by amplitudinal changes from the mean state using correlation of coefficient statistics on the Nar Lake geochemical record. This information about the predictability of climate has been coupled to data in settlement density and location within the resiliency model framework of Holling and Gunderson (2002). Together these data suggest that a series of four long-term adaptive cycles (Neolithic, Chalcolithic-Bronze Age, Iron Age-Classical, Byzantine-Ottoman) characterise the dynamic inter-play between people, climate and their environment. In each adaptive cycle, environmental change contributed (both positively and negatively) to community resilience, although at no point during the Holocene is climatic variability seen as the sole driver of societal change. There were times such as the post-Roman Dark Age (1300 to 1100 yr. B.P.) when increased climatic variability and environmental degradation may have heightened social vulnerability.Studentship awarded by SoGEES, Plymouth Universit

Development of the MEAL framework: A multiliteracies approach to engaging adolescents in nutrition education

Establishing and maintaining a healthy diet is integral in promoting optimal health, growth and development. Moreover, the food choices we make and dietary behaviours we adopt are a reflection of the multiple personal, interpersonal and environmental factors to which we are exposed. Consequently, changing food habits and dietary behaviour is complex and requires the implementation of multifaceted public health strategies. Comprehensive nutrition education provided to adolescents during their school years is one such approach. Adolescence is a period of rapid psychological and physiological changes. At a socioemotional level, there is a decreased level of dependence on parents and a greater influence from peers and the environment. As a consequence, adolescents tend to be exposed to a plethora of well-marketed and advertised unhealthy foods. These changes can lead to the development of unhealthy dietary behaviours. At a cognitive level, however, adolescence is also marked as a time when the brain is malleable and the ability to process information and reason accelerates. During this period, adolescents develop the capability of thinking in abstract terms and simultaneously consider different perspectives towards an idea. Therefore, this stage of life provides a unique opportunity for learning and skill development relating to food and nutrition. Further, delivering nutrition education within the school setting is one of the most effective environments to educate and promote healthy food habits and behaviours. The aim of this study was to develop a framework demonstrating the interaction between student engagement and effective pedagogy, and how these constructs can be utilised in an adolescent nutrition education context. This framework will enable teachers, curriculum writers and academics to develop food and nutrition lessons for year 7-8 students, which acknowledge student engagement and effective pedagogy as a key focal point. A generic qualitative research approach was employed and comprised of three sequential phases. The first phase involved an extensive literature review, establishment of a project reference group and qualitative protocol development. The second phase included a series of student focus groups and teacher interviews across six Western Australian non-government schools. Using thematic data analysis, focus group and interview transcripts were analysed which resulted in the development of ten key themes. These data analyses, coupled with literature review findings, informed phase three; the development of a framework that is relevant and practical to an Australian nutrition education context. This framework was then reviewed and refined by the project reference group and led to the finalised Multiliteracies approach, Engagement focused, Adolescent specific Lesson planning (MEAL) framework. The MEAL framework and its accompanying guidelines and resources provide a valuable addition to the adolescent nutrition education resources available to Australian teachers. It is anticipated the uptake and use of this framework, will provide teachers with the confidence in knowing their planned lessons have been guided by education and public health research. Moreover, through the implementation of the MEAL framework, teachers have the capacity to contribute towards a positive change in how nutrition education is planned and delivered in the schooling environment and contribute to the overall health outcomes of Australian adolescents

Fearless Friday: Samantha Lee

Samantha Lee ’16 is SURGE’s Fearless Friday leader for this week! Sam is a Psychology Major with a minor in Religion. Her home is not too far from Gettysburg, just up the way on route 15 in Mechanicsburg. Her graduation is right around the corner, as she’s a senior graduating early in December. [excerpt

Actions and occurrences

I am fascinated with the idea of action and reaction throughout the natural environment. I draw inspiration from natural forces that transform landscapes. For example the way a mountain slowly weathers over time, or the way water erodes a streambed creating a sense of construction and deconstruction. My pieces will be metaphorical landscapes. I will be creating these clay pieces by physically acting upon them for example by pushing, pulling, and tearing the material. The actions I create utilize the responsiveness of clay. My process is a physically direct dialogue with the material. The clay responds to my action with its own physical and visual reaction leaving certain elements of the work to chance. Some pieces will be very fragile and intimate while others will be solid and massive. Some sculptures will be free standing and others will be wall panels. This will create a diverse yet cohesive body of work, intended to suggest natural processes through a variety of changing landscapes