Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Geography Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration

Theses/Dissertations

2014

Articles 1 - 11 of 11

Full-Text Articles in Geography

Fifty Years Of Weathering The Storm: Are The Louisiana Gulf Coastal Parishes Prepared For Another Major Hurricane?, Danielle L. Boudreau Dec 2014

Fifty Years Of Weathering The Storm: Are The Louisiana Gulf Coastal Parishes Prepared For Another Major Hurricane?, Danielle L. Boudreau

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

This study examines ten major storms that have affected Louisiana in the last fifty years, beginning with Hurricane Betsy in 1965. The goal is to determine if the nine coastal parishes are prepared adequately for another major hurricane impact. It examines storms that have affected the state physically, in terms of property and ecological damages. It also considers storms that provided non-physical influences, by way of mitigation policy changes and social, economical, ecological, and political policy alterations. The main focus is on the transformations, if any, of social vulnerability in light of emergency preparedness in the areas impacted, particularly along …


Into The Red: A Look Into The Reasons Why Refugees Decide To Flee, Settle Or Migrate To And From Morocco, Fadeelah E. Holivay Dec 2014

Into The Red: A Look Into The Reasons Why Refugees Decide To Flee, Settle Or Migrate To And From Morocco, Fadeelah E. Holivay

Master's Theses

This research paper explores some of the main reasons why refugees and asylum seekers, particularly from sub-Saharan African countries, embark on a journey and decide to settle, flee or migrate to and from Morocco. Because of this phenomenon, Morocco has seen a 96% increase of refugees migrating to the borders of Morocco each year for the past three years. Many say that this astonishing increase of migrants choosing Morocco is due to such factors as: wars breaking out regionally across central African and Middle Eastern countries causing them to flee; Morocco being a culturaly diverse francophone country whose laws and …


A Spatial Exploration Of Institutional Investment In Canada For The Year 2010, Martin R. Lefebvre Sep 2014

A Spatial Exploration Of Institutional Investment In Canada For The Year 2010, Martin R. Lefebvre

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Using measures of central tendency, the average nonUS-based institutional investor has more capital invested in securities than his US-based counterpart. The present study shows that US-based investors favour manufacturing companies, whereas Canadian investors prefer companies based in natural resources. Nationally, Toronto acts more as the centre of gravity for Canadian institutional investors than New York City does for the United States. Comparatively, Toronto accounts for 70% of all Canadian investors while New York accounts for only 30% of the American total, despite it being the city with the most capital invested worldwide. Notwithstanding Alberta’s oil boom, inter-provincial investment capital show …


Interpreting, Stephanie Jo Kent Aug 2014

Interpreting, Stephanie Jo Kent

Doctoral Dissertations

What do community interpreting for the Deaf in western societies, conference interpreting for the European Parliament, and language brokering in international management have in common? Academic research and professional training have historically emphasized the linguistic and cognitive challenges of interpreting, neglecting or ignoring the social aspects that structure communication. All forms of interpreting are inherently social; they involve relationships among at least three people and two languages. The contexts explored here, American Sign Language/English interpreting and spoken language interpreting within the European Parliament, show that simultaneous interpreting involves attitudes, norms and values about intercultural communication that overemphasize information and discount …


Analysis Of Influencing Factors Of Coastal Port Cargo Throughput In China From Economic Aspect, Hongyi Zhang Aug 2014

Analysis Of Influencing Factors Of Coastal Port Cargo Throughput In China From Economic Aspect, Hongyi Zhang

World Maritime University Dissertations

No abstract provided.


The Importance Of Community Resilience: Developing The American Red Cross International Services Department In The New Hampshire Region, Sarah Romac Jul 2014

The Importance Of Community Resilience: Developing The American Red Cross International Services Department In The New Hampshire Region, Sarah Romac

Capstone Collection

Disaster management and humanitarian aid organizations have had to reevaluate how communities and individuals can better adapt and prepare for future disaster events. One concept organizations are incorporating into their overall framework is strengthening community resilience. Increasing a community’s resilience level increases its ability to cope with the changes that affect it. Creating awareness of the vulnerabilities in an area, addressing these vulnerabilities with preparedness training, disaster risk reduction (DRR), and sustainable changes made over the long-term can develop a community’s adaptive capacity to be more resilient.

For my practicum, I was given the opportunity to be the International Services …


In Harm's Way: How Philadelphia's Urban Renewal Practices Steered Marginal People To Marginal Land, Katera Ya'shea Moore Jun 2014

In Harm's Way: How Philadelphia's Urban Renewal Practices Steered Marginal People To Marginal Land, Katera Ya'shea Moore

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The dumping of locally unwanted land uses (LULUs) on marginal communities has been well documented, however environmental justice scholars have rarely written about how marginal groups have come to occupy their landscapes, particularly when natural hazards lie beneath.

This dissertation research focuses on a broad definition of the environment that includes the built, social, and physical. I am interested in extending Logan and Molotch's Growth Machine theory to consider how the political and economic elite guided the urban renewal process to place particular communities on particular landscapes, despite the presence of a flooding hazard. To understand this issue, I examined …


A Form In The Road: U.S. Foreign Policy And The Path Toward Globalization In The Middle East, 1945-2014, Joshua P. Brotka May 2014

A Form In The Road: U.S. Foreign Policy And The Path Toward Globalization In The Middle East, 1945-2014, Joshua P. Brotka

History Theses

This thesis examines the history of U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East since 1945. From the start of the Cold War immediately following the conclusion of WWII and up to the present day (2014), U.S. policy has been subject to many revisions and simultaneously, upheld national security measures. As the world heads toward an era where globalization is most prevalent, the United States will have to make drastic decisions regarding its foreign policy in the Middle East. Its alliance with Israel, oil interests, Islamic fundamentalism, an evolving Muslim society, and supporting a national security agenda has forced the United …


An Examination Of Cultural Motives, Festival Motivator Attributes, Desired Experiences And Authenticity In Tourists To Oktoberfest In Helen, Georgia, Janet Marie Gunnels May 2014

An Examination Of Cultural Motives, Festival Motivator Attributes, Desired Experiences And Authenticity In Tourists To Oktoberfest In Helen, Georgia, Janet Marie Gunnels

All Theses

Helen, Georgia is nestled in a valley of the southern Blue Ridge Mountains along the Chattahoochee River in northeast Georgia. Originally a logging community serving as a stop for tourists to Anna Ruby Falls, Helen is now a faux-Bavarian town and the third largest tourist draw in the state. Research exists on 'theme towns' paying tribute to their cultural background by hosting seasonal events to boost tourism. There are also studies on residents of a town with an Oktoberfest, but little research exists concerning places using a not-native history to accomplish similar goals of producing cultural events that tourists see …


Natural Phenomena As Potential Influence On Social And Political Behavior: The Earth’S Magnetic Field, Jackie R. East Jan 2014

Natural Phenomena As Potential Influence On Social And Political Behavior: The Earth’S Magnetic Field, Jackie R. East

Theses and Dissertations--Political Science

Researchers use natural phenomena in a number of disciplines to help explain human behavioral outcomes. Research regarding the potential effects of magnetic fields on animal and human behavior indicates that fields could influence outcomes of interest to social scientists. Tests so far have been limited in scope. This work is a preliminary evaluation of whether the earth’s magnetic field influences human behavior it examines the baseline relationship exhibited between geomagnetic readings and a host of social and political outcomes. The emphasis on breadth of topical coverage in these statistical trials, rather than on depth of development for any one model, …


Sustainability Policy’S Inherent Dilemmas – Exemplified Via Critical Examination Of The Las Vegas Metropolitan Sustainability Campaign, Kathryn A. Zimmerman Jan 2014

Sustainability Policy’S Inherent Dilemmas – Exemplified Via Critical Examination Of The Las Vegas Metropolitan Sustainability Campaign, Kathryn A. Zimmerman

All Master's Theses

In response to a dual problem of critical water scarcity and rapid population growth, leaders of metropolitan Las Vegas implemented a region-wide, internationally marketed sustainability campaign. Preliminary studies found that, while sustainability policy attains its rhetorical goals, solutions initiated not only perpetuate but also purposefully expand the original dual problem to justify continuous water resource acquisitions. To examine this sustainability conundrum constructed by leadership—problem-perpetuation rather than problem-resolution—a critical examination in resource management asked two basic questions: what is being sustained and by what means? Via this inquiry, specific processes by which leaders perpetuate problems can be identified; and, so-informed, new …