Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

An Assessment Of The Effects Of Desertification In Yobe State, Nigeria, Jibril Musa Phd

Confluence Journal Environmental Studies (CJES), Kogi State University, Nigeria

Desertification is one of the most serious environmental and socio-economic problems of our time. Desertification describes circumstances of land degradation in arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid regions resulting from the climatic variation and human activities. The fundamental goal of this thesis was to assess the effects of desertification in Yobe State, Nigeria. The present threat of desertification in the sahel has reached an alarming stage where crops cultivation and animal rearing/grazing are no more productive, soil has lost its nutrient/fertility, various infrastructure had given way because of windstorm from the neighbouring Niger Republic and sand dunes had taken over. The …

Using Remote Sensing Data To Improve Rice Production In Kutigi, Niger State, Nigeria, Jibril Musa Phd, M B. Yunusa

Confluence Journal Environmental Studies (CJES), Kogi State University, Nigeria

This research work looked in the used of Remote Sensing to improve Agricultural production in Kutigi, Niger State. The aim of the study is to use remote sensing to improve rice farming activities in Kutigi, Niger State. It is very important to identify such methods to improve Agricultural production because experts are always interested in new researches and findings to better the standard of living in any environment. In view of this, Remotely-sensed data could be used or employed to elevate most of these agricultural problems in Kutigi through the following objectives: Using Landsat imagery to assess the present landuse …

Climate Change Adaptation Chapter: Marshfield, Massachusetts, Joshua H. Chase, Jonathan G. Cooper, Rory Elizabeth Fitzgerald, Filipe Antunes Lima, Sally R. Miller, Toni Marie Pignatelli

Landscape Architecture & Regional Planning Studio and Student Research and Creative Activity

Climate change, understood as a statistically significant variation in the mean state of the climate or its variability, is the greatest environmental challenge of this generation (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, 2001). Marshfield is already being affected by changes in the climate that will have a profound effect on the town’s economy, public health, coastal resources, natural features, water systems, and public and private infrastructure. Adaptation strategies have been widely recognized as playing an important role in improving a community’s ability to respond to climate stressors by resisting damage and recovering quickly.

Based on review of climate projections for the …

Contextualizing The Tipton-Haynes State Historic Site (40wg59): Understanding Landscape Change At An Upland South Farmstead., Daniel Whitaker Howard Brock

Masters Theses

This thesis focuses on a contextual archaeological approach to investigate the historic landscape of the Tipton-Haynes State Historic Site. Tipton-Haynes is a late eighteenth- through twentieth-century upland south farmstead located in Johnson City, TN. Home to two prominent Tennessee families and occupied until acquired by the state in the 1960s, the site has experienced many alterations to the landscape over time. The analysis presented views the landscape as material culture investigated through a multidisciplinary approach including historic research, architectural survey, geophysical survey, dendrochronology, and archaeology. To make sense of the complex nature of the Tipton-Haynes site, multiple methods were used …

Variations In Climatic Parameters And Food Crop Yields: Implications On Food Security In Benue State, Nigeria., Emmanuel Adamgbe, Fanan Ujoh

Confluence Journal Environmental Studies (CJES), Kogi State University, Nigeria

Agricultural production in Nigeria like in other developing countries is highly vulnerable to variations in climatic parameters which may have inverse or direct effect on the performance of food crops. This paper examines the patterns and trends of the variations in the climatic parameters and the implications of such variations on efficient yield rates of some food crops in Benue State using data on climatic variables (rainfall, temperature, sunshine) and the yield of some crops per hectare for 25 years (1986-2010). Data on the climatic variables were collected from the Nigerian Meteorological Agency, AirForce Base, Makurdi while the data on …

Prelude To A Master Plan: Ware, Massachusetts, Belen Alfaro, Bruno Carneiro, Margaret Engesser, Kathryn E. Fox, Evadne R. Friedman, Timothy Inacio, Anita Lockesmith, Christina Mills, Stephanie Molden, Meagen Mulherin, Russell Pandres, Vinicius Pereira, Brian Reid, Pedro Soto, Jennifer Stromsten

Landscape Architecture & Regional Planning Studio and Student Research and Creative Activity

Prelude to a Master Plan offers ideas, recommendations, and a toolkit to help the town chart its own path towards that future. While the teams and individual students worked to ‘drill down’ into specific topic areas, the Studio defined three basic areas in order to think about how the various assets, challenges and ideas undermine or reinforce one another. The report is loosely organized in those terms: addressing the outlying rural areas and issues specific to these places, considering one of the key growth areas that has extended from town and the conflicts that arise from the many uses occurring …

Preferred Iconography For Development Of New Garden Identity, Mina Kaboudarahangi, Osman Mohd Tahir, Mustafa Kamal M.S

Mina Kaboudarahangi

The intention of this study is to highlight the importance of garden in creating national landscape identity. Malaysia with great interest and potential with three main ethnic groups was selected as a case study. It is presumed that people with divers cultural backgrounds would have difference opinions about gardens. With the attention to the visual and artistic quality of gardens, an iconographic method dealing with both art and history was selected in this study. It concluded that garden iconography should be understood as a collection of stimuli that is open to perception, interpretation, and judgment. Consequently, four gardens among well …

South Hadley Falls: Report On The Public Process, Elizabeth Brabec, Mark Hamin

Elizabeth Brabec

The goals of this design and visioning process were:

• to identify a common vision for the future of South Hadley Falls;

• to identify opportunities for future growth, change and development that are appropriate to the vision; and

• to consider creative visions to identify alternative outcomes.

Spread over a period of months from September 2011 through February 2012, the process was composed of four activities:

1. an initial information gathering phase of documentary research into the history, background and demographics of the community;

2. a visit to and discussions with residents;

3. a community design charrette to discuss …

Using Locative Media In Heritage Landscapes: A Review Of Current Practice, Elizabeth Brabec, Gordon Mclennan

Elizabeth Brabec

Locative media projects are beginning to be recognized in various arts and humanities disciplines as a portal through which interpretive information can be connected to location. Projects can be accessed from two different perspectives: in front of a computer screen or on the ground with the aid of a GPS enabled smart phone. In either format, content in the form of narrative, video, images, historic documents, etc., can be connected with a specific GPS point location on a map or on a real site. However, while locative media holds the potential to create a visitor experience without negatively impacting the …

Green Infrastructure Resource Directory, New England Environmental Finance Center

Sustainable Communities Capacity Building

Green infrastructure is an approach for managing stormwater that uses vegetation and soils to capture and treat rainwater where it falls. Unlike single-purpose gray infrastructure, green infrastructure realizes multiple benefits at once, including flood mitigation, improved water and air quality, community beautification, provision of recreational opportunities, and energy and cost savings. This resource directory is intended to help communities design, implement, fund, and monitor green infrastructure practices and programs. It was compiled by the Environmental Finance Center Network through the Capacity Building for Sustainable Communities program funded by U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. …

Deep Play, Urban Space, Adolescent Place: A Multi-Sited Study Of The Effects Of Settings On Adolescent Risk/Reward Behavior, Benjamin A. Shirtcliff

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

The extant literature on the play behavior of youth normalizes adolescent behavior in public space as transgressional, resistant, and in need of social control. The dissertation counters this trend by looking to see if physical qualities, peer effects, and neighborhood context of settings play a deeper role in youth behavior. The study documented urban context, peer effects, physical features, and play behavior across 21 urban settings in New Orleans. Unobtrusive observations employed a highly innovative technique based on YouTube videos and analyzed using hierarchical linear modeling. Coded observations of risk-taking and prosocial behavior demonstrated some stability in behavior amongst adolescents—“youth” …

Dynamics Of Land Use/Land Cover Changes And Its Implication On Food Security In Anyigba, North Central, Nigeria, Tokula E. Arome, Sunday P. Ejaro (Phd)

Confluence Journal Environmental Studies (CJES), Kogi State University, Nigeria

This study assessed land use/land cover changes and its effect on Agricultural land in Anyigba. The objectives were to identify and delineate different land use / land cover categories, assess the rate of change that occurred and examine the impact of land use/land cover change on food security using satellite remote sensing data collected at three different years (1987 Land sat TM, 2001 Land Sat TM and 2011 Land Sat ETM). The study utilized GIS software such as Idrisi Andes academic and ArcGIS 9.3. The study area covers approximately 31.8km2, and four major land use/cover classes were utilized (built up, …

The Design Workshop Archive And Digital Collection: A Collaboration Broadening Discovery, Access And Use Of Design Materials, Cheryl D. Walters, Bradford R. Cole, Sara Skindelien, Hillary Osborne

Cheryl D. Walters

This presentation deals with the Design Workshop Archive and Digital Collection, a collaborative project of Utah State University Libraries, the University's Landscape Architecture & Environmental Planning Dept. and Design Workshop, a landscape architectural firm based in Denver, Colorado. The story of this project is told from the above three perspectives. Issues discussed include evolution of protocols to assist firm principals in determining which projects and materials should be archived, strategies for handling diverse formats (obsolete through born digital), and innovative ways to broaden discovery, access and use of these design materials through digital collections and learning objects.

Revitalization Of An Urban Riverfront To Revitalize The Socio-Economic Conditions Of Springfield, Ma, Sneha Rasal

Landscape Architecture & Regional Planning Masters Projects

The City of Springfield, Massachusetts is one of the largest cities in western Massachusetts, and was established on the Connecticut River for trading and as a fur-collecting post. In 18th and early 19th century, it experienced an industrial boom and became a regional financial center. Springfield became a major railroad center and grew to become the regional center for banking, finance, and courts. However, in mid-19th century Springfield suffered due to the flooding of the Connecticut River and the disinvestment in industry. These resulted in an urban sprawl as people started moving away from heart of the city.

Now, once …

Iconographic Method And The Development Of Emerging Garden’S Identity, Mina Kaboudarahangi, Osman Mohd Tahir, Mustafa Kamal M.S

Mina Kaboudarahangi

Garden design has been described as a category of fine arts with a long association with landscape painting. Thus, gardens can be considered as a work of art due to their artistic nature and value. Accordingly, like other artistic artefacts, they can be studied and recognized by their specific icons. This is very true for a number of well-known gardens in the world, like Persian, English, Japanese and Chinese gardens, which are recognized through their individual icons. However, emerging gardens still do not possess any icons that people can identify them with. Consequently, there is a need for these gardens …

The Use Of Spatial And Mixed Methods In Analyzing Cultural Landscapes, Elizabeth Brabec, Chingwen Cheng, Kristina Molnarova

Elizabeth Brabec

The cultural landscape is a complex phenomenon resulting from both natural-geographical and social-cultural processes. Defining the normative patterns produced by each culture and/or historical period is essential to understanding the patterns and features of the anthropogenic landscape and the inherent meaning. Currently, an understanding of both historical and contemporary patterns is developed from the qualitative analysis of a single or small number of cases. Results obtained from a single or small number of cases are inherently limited in their ability to clearly identify the pattern in a complex system, particularly when a chosen case may present an anomaly rather than …

Fairmount Greenway - A Community Initative, Leah H. Bamberger, Liliana Carvajal, Mary F. Dehais, Yuanfang Gong, John E. Hulsey, Eric C. Kells, Kimberley Klosterman, Pamela Jo Landi, Adam G. Monroy, Seth A. Morrow, Bryan O'Bara, Jie Su, Arianna Thompson, Owen M. White

Mary Dehais

This studio was based on the Fairmount Greenway that was developed through a series of public meetings with the neighborhood community and with consultants from the firm Crosby, Schlessinger and Smallridge (CSS). The Fairmount Greenway, while drawing its identity from the traditional greenway model is in fact a reinterpretation of an urban greenway. The greenway path follows along both primary and secondary city streets because of the lack of space along the rail right-of-way. The Fairmount Greenway begins at what will be a new station stop at New Market South Bay near Upham’s Corner in northern Dorchester. The greenway follows …

From The Quadrangle To The River: Revitalizing The Heart Of Downtown Springfield, Mary F. Dehais, Yuanfang Gong, John E. Hulsey, Pamela Jo Landi, Adam G. Monroy, Seth A. Morrow, Alexander G. Seib, Jie Su, Kate A. Tooke, Owen M. White, Emily S. Wright, Kuang Xin, Xiao Zhou

Mary Dehais

This studio report explores community service learning in the graduate urban design studio taught in the in Department of Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and instructed by Professor Frank Sleegers. The project will began with a visioning workshop, conducted to engage community members in the shaping of project goals and objectives within the project area of downtown Springfield. These findings were brought to the studio and guided the design process and outcomes. Five design teams developed five alternative master plans for the core area of downtown Springfield with focus on the revitalization of open …

Phd Thesis Before Upm Senate, Mina Kaboudarahangi

Mina Kaboudarahangi

No abstract provided.

Socio-Economic Effects Of Demolishing Squatter Settlements And Illegal Structures In Abuja Metropolis, Federal Capital Territory, Nigeria, Ishaku Iy Mallo Phd, Victor G. Obasanya

Confluence Journal Environmental Studies (CJES), Kogi State University, Nigeria

Abuja the Federal Capital Territory and study area is located between latitudes 8o25’ and 9o25’ North of the Equator and longitudes 6o45’ and 7o45’ East of the Greenwich Meridian. The study was carried out in Abuja Phase 1, and it is aimed at highlighting various socioeconomic effects of demolition of illegal structures and informal or squatter settlements on the people within the study area. Data was collected through reconnaissance survey, personal interviews with respondents, and a well laid out questionnaire. The results indicate that the demolition exercise embarked upon by the authorities in the Federal Capital Territory was a response …

Rainfall Variability And Crop Zones Classification For The Federal Capital Territory, Nigeria, Shaibu M. Hassan Phd

Confluence Journal Environmental Studies (CJES), Kogi State University, Nigeria

This study aims at analyzing agro-climatological parameters and establishing a link between some selected agro-climatological indices and sustainability of agricultural production in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). Two sets of data, climatic and crop yield data were collected and subjected to various agro-climatological analyses. Agro-climatological analyses include the derivation of Onset, Cessation and Length of Rainy Season (LRS), Seasonality Index, Drought Index and Precipitation Periodicity Index. The statistical analyses include monthly and annual means, deviation from the mean, trend line. The result of moisture index in line with crops optimum moisture requirement was used to classify the Territory into agro-climatic …

Visual Preferences For Wind Turbines: Location, Numbers And Respondent Characteristics, Kristina Molnarova, Petr Sklenicka, Jiri Stiborek, Kamila Svobodova, Miroslav Salek, Elizabeth Brabec

Elizabeth Brabec

There is a dichotomy in the view of wind farms among members of the public: on one hand, there is a desire for renewable energy sources, and on the other hand, there is a major concern about the visual impact of wind turbines used for power production. This concern for visual impact is a major factor in the reaction of the public to the development of new wind farms. Our study aims to objectify this influence and to establish the factors that determine how people evaluate these structures. We tested the visual quality of landscapes in which these structures are …

Social Interaction At The Maya Site Of Copan, Honduras: A Least Cost Approach To Configurational Analysis, Heather Richards-Rissetto

Department of Anthropology: Faculty Publications

In this article, I employ least cost paths using GIS to measure the relationship between site configuration and social connectivity at the ancient Maya site of Copan, Honduras. I investigate two questions. First, did people of different social classes experience varying degrees of social connectivity? Second, did people living in different parts of the city experience difference degrees of social connectivity? Ultimately, the goal is modify traditional configurational analysis using least cost analysis (LCA) to identify how social hierarchy was embedded in landscapes and how ancient people may have strategically manipulated landscapes to structure social interaction and community organization.

Slimplexity: A Glimpse Inside The Hive Mind Of Snohetta, Noel Brady

Articles

Simplexity is an interview with Craig Dykers cofounder of Snohetta. The firm has a unique structure in Architecture circles with a Hive Mind like structure. In addition its parallel interests in Architecture and Landscape Design has meant that both professional strands have equal parity in the firms operation.

Sprawl And The Ideology Of Nature, K. Valentine Cadieux

K. Valentine Cadieux

Special Section: Spatial Order, Scenic Landscapes And Sprawl: Peri-Urban Studies At The Interface Between Landscape And Planning History, Mattias Qviström, K. Valentine Cadieux

K. Valentine Cadieux

The Mortality Of Trees: Conservation As Deferment In Pastoral Modernity, K. Valentine Cadieux

K. Valentine Cadieux