Geography Commons^™

Correction: Using Participatory Design To Develop (Public) Health Decision Support Systems Through Gis, S. Michelle Driedger, Anita Kothari, Jason Morrison, Michael Sawada, Eric J. Crighton, Ian D. Graham

Anita Kothari

Background: Organizations that collect substantial data for decision-making purposes are often characterized as being 'data rich' but 'information poor'. Maps and mapping tools can be very useful for research transfer in converting locally collected data into information. Challenges involved in incorporating GIS applications into the decision-making process within the non-profit (public) health sector include a lack of financial resources for software acquisition and training for nonspecialists to use such tools. This on-going project has two primary phases. This paper critically reflects on Phase 1: the participatory design (PD) process of developing a collaborative web-based GIS tool.

Methods: A case study …

Applicability Of Satellite Remote Sensing And Gis Techniques And Ground Data In Watershed Planning: The Case Of Kubili, Nigeria, Olarewaju Oluseyi Ifatimehin

Olarewaju Oluseyi Ifatimehin

Watershed land and hydrology are resources that are very important in agricultural development. Adequate and proper land use planning and management of these resources is of ultimate importance in sustainable development. In this study remote sensing and Geographic Information System (GIS) techniques were used to generate information on the current status and utilization potentials of the Kubili watershed and generate local specific micro watershed development plans for the area. The study revealed that about 33.25 per cent of the land cover is used for rain fed agriculture that lacks sufficient soil and moisture to support good yield. The drainage density …

Dialogue Television: The Climate Engineers, James Fleming

James R. Fleming

The problem of global warming is getting massive public attention. This comes forty years after the first major government report outlining the problem. But there is considerable disagreement over what steps should be taken to mitigate the problem and some scientist fear that politicians are not displaying sufficient urgency. James Fleming describes the technological quick fixes proposed by some scientists and the problems they might create.

Land Cover Classification And Economic Assessment Of Citrus Groves Using Remote Sensing, Jennifer Gebelein

Jennifer Gebelein

The citrus industry has the second largest impact on Florida's economy, following tourism. Estimation of citrus area coverage and annual forecasts of Florida's citrus production are currently dependent on labor-intensive interpretation of aerial photographs. Remotely sensed data from satellites has been widely applied in agricultural yield estimation and cropland management. Satellite data can potentially be obtained throughout the year, making it especially suitable for the detection of land cover change in agriculture and ...

Quarries, Caravans, And Routes To Complexity: Prehispanic Obsidian In The South-Central Andes (Ph.D. Dissertation, Uc Santa Barbara Anthropology), Nicholas Tripcevich

Nicholas Tripcevich, Ph.D.

Research And Theory In Advancing Spatial Data Infrastructure Concepts

Harlan J Onsrud

At a high level, the term “spatial data infrastructure” (SDI) is largely self-explanatory. Yet when applied in practice, the concept is complex and has attracted varying definitions in different institutional, social and national contexts. In many nations the assumption is that an SDI is the geographic information technology component of electronic governance. In these nations there may be a strong focus on government itself actively supplying or at least facilitating the creation and maintenance of each of the above elements in order to achieve government objectives. In other nations, government may consciously take a much more passive role in regard …

Kimmerling, Jon A., Phillip Muehrcke, And Juliana O Muehrcke. Map Use: Reading, Analysis & Interpretation. 5th Ed. Madison, Wi: Jp Publications, 2005. Information Bulletin, November., Bruce Sarjeant

Bruce Sarjeant

No abstract provided.

Using Fuzzy Clustering Methods For Delineating Urban Housing Submarkets, Sungsoon Hwang

Sungsoon Hwang

This study investigates whether a fuzzy clustering method is of any practical value in delineating urban housing submarkets relative to clustering methods based on classic (or crisp) set theory. A fuzzy c-means algorithm is applied to obtain fuzzy set membership degree of census tracts to housing submarkets defined within a metropolitan area. Issues of choosing algorithm parameters are discussed on the basis of applying fuzzy clustering to 85 metropolitan areas in the U.S. The comparison between results of fuzzy clustering and those of crisp set counterpart shows that fuzzy clustering yields statistically more desirable clusters.

The Parkes Elvis Revival Festival: Economic Development And Contested Place Identities In Rural Australia, Christopher Brennan-Horley, John Connell, Christopher Gibson

Chris Gibson

This paper discusses the annual Elvis Revival Festival in the small town of Parkes, 350 km to the west of Sydney, in rural Australia. It explores the way in which a remote place with few economic prospects has created a tourism product, and subsequently captured national publicity, through a festival based around commemoration of the birthday of Elvis Presley, a performer who had never visited Australia, and certainly not Parkes. The Festival began in the early 1990s, when a keen Elvis fan rallied promoters (and other fans) around the idea of bringing Elvis impersonators to the town for an annual …

The Climate Engineers: Playing God To Save The Planet, James Fleming

James R. Fleming

As alarm over global warming spreads, a radical idea is gaining momentum. Forget cuts in greenhouse-gas emissions, some scientists argue. Find a technological fix. Bounce sunlight back into space by pumping reflective nanoparticles into the atmosphere. Launch mirrors into orbit around the earth. Create a “planetary thermostat.” But what sounds like science fiction is actually an old story. For more than a century, scientists, soldiers, and charlatans have hatched schemes to manipulate the weather and climate. Like them, today’s aspiring climate engineers wildly exaggerate what is possible, and they scarcely consider political, military, and ethical implications of attempting to manage …

Dewing, Rolland. Regions In Transition: The Northern Great Plains And The Pacific Northwest In The Great Depression. Lanham, Md: University Of America Press, 2006. Choice, August., Bruce Sarjeant

Bruce Sarjeant

No abstract provided.

Linking Identity And Dialect Through Stancetaking, Barbara Johnstone

Barbara Johnstone

No abstract provided.

Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis Of Ochre Artifacts From Jiskairumoko, Peru, Rachel S. Popelka-Filcoff, Nathan M. Craig, Michael D. Glascock, David Robertson, Mark Aldenderfer, Robert J. Speakman

Dr David Robertson

Ochre is very common in the Terminal Archaic-Early Formative archaeological site of Jiskairumoko, (Rio Ilave, Lake Titicaca Basin, southern Peru). Within the site, ochre was found on tools, palettes, and in burials and soil deposits within structures in several contexts, suggesting both symbolic and functional uses of ochre. Variations in the color and contexts imply possibilities for different uses of ochre.. Instrumental neutron activation analysis was used to analyze the ochre samples found in Jiskairumoko. Multivariate analysis of the elemental data by principal components analysis suggests trends in the data related to the compositional variation of ochres on the site. …

Tackling Biocomplexity With Meta-Models For Species Risk Assessment, Philip J. Nyhus, Robert C. Lacy, Francis R. Westley, Philip S. Miller, Harrie Harrie Vredenburg, Paul C. Paquet, John Pollak

Philip J. Nyhus

We describe results of a multi-year effort to strengthen consideration of the human dimension into endangered species risk assessments and to strengthen research capacity to understand biodiversity risk assessment in the context of coupled human-natural systems. A core group of social and biological scientists have worked with a network of more than 50 individuals from four countries to develop a conceptual framework illustrating how human-mediated processes influence biological systems and to develop tools to gather, translate, and incorporate these data into existing simulation models. A central theme of our research focused on (1) the difficulties often encountered in identifying and …

Are Home Values Affected By Sinkhole Proximity? Results Of A Hedonic Price Model, Spencer Fleury Ph.D.

Spencer Fleury Ph.D.

Though they lack the high profile and sheer destructive force of hurricanes, floods, and other natural hazards, sinkholes have on occasion generated significant damage to buildings, roads, and other human-built structures, and should be considered natural hazards in their own right. In sinkhole-prone areas where market insurance against sinkhole damage is available, economic theory suggests that homes located there should be valued somewhat lower than homes located in areas where sinkholes are rare or nonexistent, in recognition of both the risk faced by the homeowner in a sinkhole-prone area, and the cost of insuring one’s property against that risk. Working …

Remaking Regional Economies: Power, Labor, And Firm Strategies In The Knowledge Economy, Susan Christopherson, Jennifer Clark

Jennifer Clark

Therapeutic Uses Of Place In The Intentional Space Of Purposive Community, Brian A. Hoey

Brian A. Hoey, Ph.D.