Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Beavers Beyond Boundaries: Perceptions Of Beaver-Related Restoration, Matthew V. Guziejka

Student Research Symposium

The study "Beavers Beyond Boundaries: Perceptions of Beaver-Related Restoration" conducted by Matt Guziejka and Heejun Chang from the WISE Lab, Department of Geography at Portland State University, delves into the social, cultural, and environmental dimensions of Beaver-Related Restoration (BRR) within the urban setting of the Tualatin River watershed. Utilizing a voluntary survey with 187 participants across three urban watershed sites, the research aimed to analyze community perceptions concerning beavers and their impact on the environment, particularly in relation to their proximity to watercourses. Findings indicate that proximity significantly affects attitudes towards beavers, with those living closer to watercourses demonstrating more …

Climate Model Skill At Simulating Large-Scale Atmospheric Circulation Patterns And Associated Temperature And Precipitation Over The Pacific Northwest, Graham Taylor

Student Research Symposium

The ability of the latest state-of-the-art suite of climate models to simulate observed large-scale atmospheric circulation patterns over the Pacific Northwest of North America is evaluated. Twelve representative patterns of atmospheric circulation are identified using machine learning applied to observational data. Climate model data from simulations of the historical period are mapped to each observational-derived pattern, and the resulting differences between patterns, as well as differences in frequency of pattern occurrence, are quantified. In general, models are able to simulate the range of circulation patterns with reasonable accuracy, although model skill varies to some degree across the 25-member climate model …

Glacial Meltwater Modeling To Simulate Streamflow And Lake Levels In Taylor Valley, Antarctica, Julian M. Cross, Andrew G. Fountain

Student Research Symposium

The McMurdo Dry Valleys (MDV) are the largest ice-free region (4,500 km²) in Antarctica. The MDV are a polar desert with an average annual temperature of -18˚C and minimal precipitation, < 50 mm w.e. a^-1. In Taylor Valley (77°35’ S, 163°00’ E), a closed-basin, perennially ice-covered lakes occupy the valley floor. Ephemeral streams transfer glacier meltwater for ~10 weeks each summer. Glacial meltwater accounts for nearly the total inflow to these streams and lakes, groundwater is essentially non-existent. A microbially-dominated ecosystem in Taylor Valley depends on glacier runoff and thus is highly sensitive to changes to the hydroclimatic regime. A model …

Restoring Eden: The Role Of Christianity On Environmental Conservation, A Case Of Karatu District, Arusha, Tanzania, Taylor Allen

Student Research Symposium

In order for environmental conservation to be effective among citizens, it must have a method of relating to their everyday values. Developing countries account for the majority of bio-diversity hotspot areas and thus are important to maintain sustainable development. Due to most of these countries following an organized religion, predominantly Christian, an alternative method of conservation may be successful to motivate citizens to participate in conservation efforts. In order for this method to be successful, members of the congregation must agree that there is a religious obligation to care for the environment. For Christianity this obligation is discussed by the …

Participation Is Not A Panacea, Britta Ricker

Resistance GIS

Britta Ricker is an Assistant Professor in the Urban Studies program at the University Washington Tacoma. Ricker teaches a wide variety of courses related to Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Science and Urban Research Methods. Her research interests convergence around spatial information collection and dissemination opportunities afforded by mobile computers. She is interested in applying these tools for spatial learning related to emergency preparedness and environmental communication initiatives. Her professional experience includes acting as a Hazard Mapping Analyst for Dewberry and Davis, a consultant for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). She has also acted as a cartographic consultation for …

Gis As A Tool For Neighborhood, Adam Brunelle

Resistance GIS

Adam Brunelle is a community organizer and advocacy planner with experience incubating communityprojects and programs at the grassroots level, including his work on climate change as a co-founder of nonprofit 350PDX and more recently engage Portland’s Lents community on livability issues through local nonprofit Green Lents. Brunelle is committed to bottom-up change and community-led advocacy, focusing his work on improving livability, preserving affordability, and fostering community control in the Lents area. He received his Master’s in Urban and Regional Planning from Portland State University in 2016, and was awarded the Excellence in Sustainability: Inspiring Student Award in 2016 by the …

Ground-Truthing: Geographic Information Systems (Gis) As Community-Based And Anti-Racist Praxis, Verónica N. Vélez

Resistance GIS

Dr. Verónica Nelly Vélez is an Assistant Professor and the Director of the Education and Social Justice Minor at Western Washington University (WWU). Before joining WWU, Verónica worked as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow and the Director of Public Programming at the Center for Latino Policy Research at UC Berkeley. Her research interests include Critical Race Theory and Latina/o Critical Theory in Education, the politics of parent engagement in educational reform, particularly for Latina/o (im)migrant families, participatory action and community-based models of research, and the use of GIS technologies to further a critical race research agenda on the study of space …

Spatial Narratives In A Post-Truth World, Dillon Mahmoudi

Resistance GIS

Dillon Mahmoudi will graduate in June 2017 with a PhD in Urban Studies
at Portland State University. He also received his Graduate Certificate in GIS from the Geography department. In the fall of 2017, he will be moving to Baltimore to be Assistant Professor of Geography and Environmental Systems at the University of Maryland Baltimore County where he will teach courses in advanced GIS methods and economic geography. His research and community engagement focuses on critical methods for GIS, bifurcation and deskilling in tech work (software and cartography), geographies of urban inequity, and the intersections of cities and digital technologies.

Resistance (?) Gis (?), Jim Thatcher

Resistance GIS

Jim Thatcher is an Assistant Professor of Urban Studies at the University of Washington Tacoma. His research examines relationships between extremely large geospatial data sets and the creation and analysis of those data sets and society, with a focus on how data has come to mediate, saturate, and sustain modern urban environments. Often referred to as Critical Data Studies or Digital Political Ecologies, Jim’s work has been featured in media outlets including NPR and The Atlantic. His first edited volume, Thinking Big Data In Geography: New Regimes, New Research, is forthcoming from University of Nebraska Press.

Federal Data: Strategies For Maintaining Access And Availability, Elizabeth F. Pickard

Resistance GIS

Beth Pickard is a librarian and assistant professor at Portland State University where she works with geographers and other scientists. She earned her BA in Anthropology from the University of Chicago and her MSI in Information Science from the University of Michigan. In addition to her work in academia, she writes poetry, fiction and other genre-resistant pieces. Her work has appeared in Underwater New York, the Portland Review and elsewhere.

Before coming to PSU, Beth served as Interim Engineering Librarian at the University of Illinois at Chicago and as University Library Associate at the Art, Architecture and Engineering Library …

In Support Of “Difficult Data”, Jamaal Green

Resistance GIS

Jamaal Green is a doctoral candidate in the Urban Studies and Planning Department at PSU. He is an economic development planners, and a sometimes economic geographer, interested in the intersections of land-use and labor market outcomes. Specifically, his dissertation will be studying the conversion of industrial land to non-industrial uses in the country’s fifty largest cities and the politics therein. He cares passionately about the potential for planning to be a progressive force in the development of our cities. He uses GIS as a way to explore questions about the socio-spatial and socio-economic relations of city-regions from the locations of …

Introductory Statement By The Organizers, Resistance Gis Conference

Resistance GIS

Introductory statement by the organizers of the Resistance GIS 2017 Conference, entitled "From our Perspective: What is Resistance GIS?"

An Operational Drought Prediction Framework With Application Of Vine Copula Functions, Mahkameh Zarekarizi

Student Research Symposium

Early and accurate drought predictions can benefit water resources and emergency managers by enhancing drought preparedness. Soil moisture memory is shown to contain helpful information for prediction of future values. This study uses the soil moisture memory to predict their future states via multivariate statistical modeling. We present a drought forecasting framework which issues monthly and seasonal drought forecasts. This framework estimates droughts with different lead times and updates the forecasts when more data become available. Forecasts are generated by conditioning future soil moisture values on antecedent drought status. The statistical model is initialized by soil moisture simulations retrieved from …

Aquifer Vulnerability Modeling In New Jersey Through The Use Of Modified Drastic Methodology, Clement Uduk, Tanja Hopmans

Student Research Symposium

Due to the global average increase in temperature over the last 50 years, sea levels have been rising and making coastal aquifers more susceptible to saltwater intrusion. The average rate of sea level rise has increased from 2 mm/year to 3.5 mm/year during the twentieth century. The state of New Jersey is not only densely populated but the development along coastlines makes inundation a potential serious threat. New Jersey is diverse in aquifer types, in addition to the types of water bodies surrounding New Jersey, and makes for an interesting case study for groundwater vulnerability. The EPA has a universal …