Geography Commons^™

Wal-Mart Versus Meijer: A Spatial And Economic Analysis Of Supercenter Competition In Michigan, Christopher J. Washebek

Masters Theses

My research will examine the spatial and demographic strategies of supercenter firms in the State of Michigan, namely those operated by Meijer, Inc. and Wal-Mart, Inc. The competitive nature of retailing in Michigan shifted heavily in 2000 when Wal-Mart brought its Supercenter format to Michigan, making it a direct competitor to Meijer, who has operated in Michigan since 1962. Within seven years, Wal-Mart expanded its Michigan Supercenter operations from one in 2000 to forty-five in 2007. In many cases, small towns throughout the state are supporting both Meijer and a Wal-Mart Supercenter. Heavy competition of this nature between two supercenter …

An Analysis Of The Spatial Distribution Of Chiefdom Settlements: Modeling The Mississippian Culture In The Tennessee River Valley, Jonathan Witcoski

Masters Theses

Location-allocation models based on optimization criteria are appropriate tools for the analysis of archaeological settlement patterns. In early agricultural societies, elite classes might maximize their control of the population and resources by optimally situating their primary settlements. Location-allocation models can simulate the multiple factors that potentially underlie settlement site location decisions. I describe several maximal covering models and their applicability to understand the degree of political centralization in the Upper Tennessee River Valley during several Mississippian archaeological cultural phases (900 to 1600 A.D.). My results support the notion that the main objective of the Mississippian elite in choosing sites for …

Late Holocene Charcoal Stratigraphy And Modern Charcoal Deposition In The Pine Rocklands Of Great Abaco Island, The Bahamas, David N. West

Masters Theses

The paleoecological history of the Bahamas archipelago is one of change throughout the Holocene, and is recorded in the sediments deposited in solution holes. However, with its karstic pine rocklands landscape, Great Abaco Island has virtually no overland flow of water, neither rivers nor sheet-flow. This means that transport of charcoal produced through biomass burning and deposited in local ponds and solution holes is primarily microscopic in size and is probably transported by wind. Fires in the pine rocklands are mainly low-intensity ground fires that result in very little aerial transport of charcoal. Unless a fire occurs immediately adjacent to …

Spatial Analysis Of Great Lakes Ferry Transit Systems, Joe Lane

Masters Theses

This thesis will explore the feasibility of a cross-lake ferry on Lake Michigan between Metropolitan Chicago and Southwestern Michigan. Two potential origins have been chosen in Northeastern Illinois (Evanston and Downtown Chicago) and two potential destinations have been chosen in Southwestern Michigan (St. Joseph/ Benton Harbor and South Haven).

The introduction includes historical information on Great Lakes Ferry Systems, information about Great Lakes ports, routes and locations along with the operation requirements for a ferry system. The Methodology includes In-Depth interviews that were done with maritime experts of the Michigan Department of Transportation. This is in order to illustrate a …

The Changing Landscape: The Urbanization Of Knox County, Tennessee, Charles Steven Brown

Masters Theses

Land use change, in the form of urbanization, is no longer limited to existing municipal boundaries. This change, however, is neither haphazard in direction nor unpredictable in scope. It is a series of highly evolved trends that have become one of the most highly studied and researched phenomenon in the social and physical sciences.

To examine land use change as urbanization for middle tier metropolitan area, Knoxville and Knox County Tennessee were chosen as sites for my research. While Knoxville still serves as the cultural, physical and governmental center for the area, residential and commercial development have scattered throughout the …

Century-Scale Trends In Climatic Variability For The Pacific Northwest From Western Juniper (Juniperus Occidentalis Hook. Ssp. Occidentalis) Tree-Ring Data, Christopher Aaron Underwood

Masters Theses

The history of the Earth’s climate shows many fluctuations, and there is reason to believe that climatic fluctuations will continue to occur in the future. Climatic shifts related to processes such as the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) initiate many environmental anomalies, including interruptions in traditional storm tracks, average precipitation, fire regimes, streamflow, and animal behavior. Our historical climatic records are too short to fully illustrate climatic fluctuations over long time scales. Proxy records are often used to extend these historical climatic records. In this dendroclimatological study, I used wester juniper (Juniperus occidentalis Hook. ssp. occidentalis) from central Oregon …

Educating Fourth Grade Students In Michigan About Gray Wolves (Canis Lupus) Using A Teaching Trunk, Jessica Marie Wesel

Masters Theses

The Michigan Gray Wolf Recovery and Management Plan was signed on December 1997, and made residents aware that the population of gray wolves in Michigan would be on the rise. Because the number of wolf-human interactions eventually will increase, it is essential that people are educated about wolves to avoid the stereotyping and misconceptions that often are associated with wolves. A good place to start with this type of education is with children in elementary school.

A teaching trunk was used in two schools, one in Michigan's Lower Peninsula, and one in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Three classrooms from each school …