Consilience

Travel Pattern Analysis on Switching Behavior in Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic

Xu Chen — 2023-06-07

The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly affected people’s daily life across the globe. This paper aims to understand the change of individual travel behavior during the pandemic. We administer a survey to record people’s travel habits before, during and after the stay-at-home order in New York City. Respondents’ information, including travel mode, travel frequency, trip purpose and demographics, is gathered to study switching behavior regarding travel patterns during the pandemic. Results show that among all travel mode choices, public transits are the most affected by the pandemic while bikes and automobiles are the least affected by the pandemic.

Investigating environmental values and psychological barriers to sustainable behaviors among college students

Najla Mouchrek — 2023-06-07

Sustainable and pro-environmental actions at the individual level are influenced by a myriad of external and internal factors. The “value-action gap” describes the disconnect between one’s environmental values and attitudes, and their actual behaviors. While many acknowledge that climate change is a major threat in today’s world, a multitude of structural and psychological barriers exist which prevent individuals from engaging in eco-friendly practices. This study investigated environmental values and psychological barriers to pro environmental behavior among college students in a North American University. Data was collected through a survey that received 765 responses and used the New Ecological Paradigm - NEP and the Dragons of Inaction Psychological Barriers - DIPB measurement scales. Students widely expressed environmental values and concern about climate change. Agreement or strong agreement with statements reflecting the New Ecological Paradigm ranged from 67% to 92%. Respondents agreed that action should be taken to promote sustainability, but they might need help to translate beliefs into action. The most influential psychological barriers showed: resistance to transforming habits and lifestyles, need for more information on how to change, and a feeling of unfairness in face of industry-caused environmental degradation. Most students would be willing to engage in a sustainability campaign. Identifying what prevents students from changing their habits and behaviors will help guide institutional efforts to promote a culture of sustainability on our campus. By understanding how students view and practice sustainability on an individual level, measures can be implemented that effectively address and overcome psychological barriers to pro-environmental behaviors.

Recording Humidity, Temperature, and Moisture in a Hydroponic Greenhouse

McKenna Olsen — 2023-06-07

George Mason University’s hydroponic greenhouse and the Patriot Green Fund requested an irrigation data logging system to track how weather conditions affect the frequency at which plants need to be watered. A prototype system was created and tested in the greenhouse. The initial prototype was found to have significant issues and was brought back to the lab for modification. Upon testing in the lab, it was found that the sensors had multiple issues; further testing is required to find solutions. This project has wide implications in the field of sustainability, as it could be used in medium- and small-scale hydroponics operations across the world.

The World of Coffee: 21st Century Solutions for A Commodity Facing Climate Change Risks

Laura Negre — 2023-06-07

This paper examines the environmental impacts of climate change on the yields of Arabica coffee and the economic impacts on smallholder coffee farmers. To address these challenges, environmental and socio-economic solutions are proposed alongside a gap analysis of key coffee related certification programs. As temperatures increase, farmers are forced to move to higher elevations to grow coffee, where less land is available for farming. These climate change outcomes are visibly affecting Central and South American countries, which are experiencing up to 2°C of warming above pre-industrial averages (Sachs, 2019). Environmental risks may lead to smallholder farmers abandoning coffee production altogether, resulting in a decrease of supply and expertise for the coffee industry. At the same time, this industry is seeing increased demand from consumers for products with “green” certifications. Currently, sustainability certifications do not offer a full-fledged solution for environmental and socio-economic concerns. This gap analysis focuses on four main sustainability certifications and aims to provide an understanding of why certifications fail to address environmental and socio-economic challenges. This study seeks to identify the factors that certification models should incorporate in their supply chain assessments to examine climate change threats and improve outcomes for farmers. Analyzing the different criteria for certifications shows that: 1) Integrating environmental criteria within certifications is a resilient solution to addressing immediate climate change risks, and 2) mechanisms for protecting farmers against price volatility are required. The research shows that the Rainforest Alliance’s certification program is currently best positioned to serve the needs of an increasingly at-risk sector.

Gender Marketing and the Consumption of Family Planning Methods

Aforfem Afobunor — 2023-06-07

Questions remain about how we can initiate use of vasectomy and other underutilized birth-control methods for men over contraception medication for women. This paper’s analysis of sex promotion in Nigeria, utilizing the indicators continually featured in the extant literature, uncovers the result of the masculinization of contraception medication marketing and use. People are projected to change their conceptive activities to decelerate populace increase, but the converse is also true. How can we better comprehend the contradiction in the birth control market and the reasons behind birth control manufacturers’ decision to choose a particular business strategy in a time marked by sustainability champions? Although companies hold divergent views on marketing approaches for successful and broad utilization of contraception medication, over the long run, most have zeroed in on mass promotion. Researchers have identified the financial and segment conditions that rouse couples to oversee their fertility, but this study examines gender marketing and family planning methods. We hypothesize that masculinization of birth control marketing induces consumption in men. We adopted the Likert scale of 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree) for the data collection on birth control consumption. Data analysis relied on the use of graphs and ANOVA. This study substantiates that masculinization of the marketing mix elements (combined stakeholder engagement, mass marketing, celebrity endorsement, & communications) will induce birth control consumption in males. This discovery is an invaluable contribution to knowledge in both theory and practice.

Comparing Sodium-ion Battery Electrode Materials in the Scope of Grid-Scale Batteries supporting Renewable Energy Sources and Future Electrification Demands

Aryan Saha — 2023-06-07

With current emission outputs from electricity generation, multiple stakeholders seek to decarbonize and transform current energy grid technology and energy generators. In support of this transition, this paper analyzes the technological capabilities of current grid-scale level energy storage systems and provides a process of prioritizing electrode material qualities. In specific, this paper explores anode and cathode materials for Sodium-ion batteries utilizing attributes oriented for energy grid usage. This paper proposes the weighted-ranking system considering factors of reversible capacity, energy density, cycling ability, and material abundance. This paper seeks to aid those researching future electrode materials for SIBs in the context of future grid-scale level batteries through contextualizing various electrode materials in comparison. This paper also seeks to provide a valid method of comparing multiple electrode materials to recommend specific research and development areas.