This paper identified issues related to the production and use of knowledge in the conservation management of the Galapagos and provided frameworks for facilitating efficient engagement and actionable science to overcome knowledge gaps. The literature emphasizes the need for usable knowledge and knowledge exchange mechanisms to ensure that research findings are translated into practical solutions. The partnership between the Galapagos National Park and the Darwin Research Station has the potential to facilitate knowledge exchange through practices such as co production of knowledge, embedded researchers, or actionable science.

"Black in Bleu" is a reflection on my life as a young, Black woman in America told through poetry, and music in conjunction with feminist activists' work as well as results from a survey amongst other young, black students. This paper is a window into Blackness reflecting my experiences as well as many others in a way to find love in that reflection. There is a playlist that goes along with the paper meant to be listened to simultaneously with the reading.

This thesis presents a systematic review of viruses found in the Peromyscus leucopus rodent species in North America. Various viruses cause serious illness in humans through contact with infected rodent urine, droppings, or saliva, or inhalation of dust contaminated with the virus, with Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS) being the most severe manifestation. Therefore, studying their distribution in rodent populations can inform public health interventions to reduce the risk of transmission. Through a literature review and data analysis, this study found that studying the distribution of viruses in rodents can help identify areas where humans may be at higher risk of contracting the virus, inform public health interventions to reduce the risk of HPS transmissions, and better understand the ecology of the virus and its host species, which can, in turn, inform conservation efforts. Furthermore, monitoring the spread of viruses over time and across regions can help us better understand their epidemiology and potential for future outbreaks, which can inform surveillance and response efforts to mitigate the impact of the virus on human and animal health. Overall, this study highlights the importance of interdisciplinary approaches in addressing complex public health and conservation issues and underscores the need for continued research in this area.

As technology has evolved over time and the U.S. population increases each year, this thesis focuses on the ways in which food production has shifted from the original farm to table to industrialized, processed food systems. Through a rationalization perspective, this research looks to the history and repercussions of industrial agriculture as it has shifted over time. The term over-industrialization is used to operationalize the state of our current production methods. These methods focus extensively on the least expensive and most rapid methods to produce large yields of food products and pay no mind to ethics, respect of culture, land, or quality of products. Today, there is a shroud the corporations have placed over food production to ensure a “what we can’t see doesn’t affect us” belief system. In this way, the thesis provides insight on past, current, and future methods of manufacturing. I conclude that although plausible alternatives are present, continued research and substantial producer and consumer changes must be our main priority.

Shifting Horizons in Entrepreneurship, better known as SHE is a multimedia reporting project that explores the experiences and narratives of Arizona-based female business owners. This collaborative project uses multimedia reporting techniques such as writing, photography, social media and a podcast to showcase how women are making a space for themselves in entrepreneurship.

To mitigate climate change, carbon needs to be removed from the atmosphere and stored for thousands of years. Currently, carbon removal and storage are voluntarily procured, and longevity of storage is inconsistently defined and regulated. Clauses can be added to procurement contracts to require long-term management and increase the durability of storage. Well-designed and properly enforced contracts can pave the way to future regulation for long-term carbon management.

Despite historical significance, minimal research has expanded upon initial findings on sundown towns, particularly as they relate to contemporary economic opportunity. While previous literature has examined economic indicators in former sundown towns within the Midwest, the level of opportunity for those born into these places has yet to be explored. In comparison to the county and locality scales used in previous analysis, emerging literature suggests that factors contributing to opportunity take place at the hyper-local level. Building upon this, this analysis explores the economic mobility of low-income children born into former sundown towns at the Census tract level, in addition to expanding the scope of analysis across the contiguous United States. Findings suggest that while former sundown towns are positively correlated with upward mobility for White and Hispanic children, they provide no unique benefits for Black children born into them. These results are in line with previous findings, furthering ideas of historic race-based processes contributing to contemporary exclusions of opportunity.