Geography Commons^™

Talking Trash And Getting Wasted: A Political Ecology Of Consumption And Waste Management In The Saint Paul, Margaret Pearson

Geography Capstone Projects

Article discusses the historical mechanisms that create a consumer culture, and the consequences of this culture, specifically the waste created.

Citizenship In The Humanities And Social Sciences: A Selective Bibliography, 2000-2009, Wayne State University School Of Library And Information Science, Winter 2010 Lis 7160, James E. Van Loon, H.G.B. Anghelescu

School of Information Sciences Faculty Research Publications

Citizenship in the Humanities and Social Sciences is a selective bibliography consisting of citations to works published during the years 2000-2009 on citizenship-related topics in the humanities and social sciences. Primarily consisting of books/chapters and scholarly journal articles, the bibliography also includes other materials (case studies, reports, dissertations, and working papers) for which scholarship, authority and relevance have been established. Most cited works are published in the English language, although articles published in other languages using a Latin alphabet are also included. Citations were retrieved during January-March 2010 from a variety of aggregated databases accessed through the Wayne State University …

Fire Effects On Demography Of The Invasive Shrub Brazilian Pepper (Schinus Terebinthifolius) In Florida Pine Savannas, Jens T. Stevens, Brian Beckage

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty Publications

Fire is a common disturbance in savanna ecosystems that may either facilitate or impede non-native plant invasions. Although fire can create recruitment opportunities for non-native plants, it can also prevent their invasion if it exerts strong negative effects on their demographic processes. Some savannas may, therefore, be able to resist invasion provided the natural, frequent-fire regime remains intact. We examined the effects of fire on the demography of the invasive shrub Brazilian pepper, Schinus terebinthifolius Raddi., which is invading fire-prone slash pine savannas of southern Florida. We studied survivorship, growth, and reproduction of low-density populations of Brazilian pepper in a …

Temporal And Spatial Variations In Freshwater 14C Reservoir Effects: Lake Mývatn, Northern Iceland, Philippa L. Ascough, G. T. Cook, M. J. Church, E. Dunbar, Á. Einarsson, Thomas H. Mcgovern, A. J. Dugmore, Sophia Perdikaris, H. Hastie, A. Friðriksson, H. Gestsdóttir

School of Global Integrative Studies: Faculty Publications

Lake Mývatn is an interior highland lake in northern Iceland that forms a unique ecosystem of international scientific importance and is surrounded by a landscape rich in archaeological and paleoenvironmental sites. A significant freshwater reservoir effect (FRE) has been identified in carbon from the lake at some Viking (about AD 870–1000) archaeological sites in the wider region (Mývatnssveit). Previous accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) measurements indicated this FRE was about 1500–1900 ¹⁴C yr. Here, we present the results of a study using stable isotope and ¹⁴C measurements to quantify the Mývatn FRE for both the Viking and modern periods. …

Three Decades In The Cold And Wet: A Career In Northern Archaeology, Sophia Perdikaris, George Hambrecht, Ramona Harrison

School of Global Integrative Studies: Faculty Publications

Thomas H. McGovern has been a pioneering researcher in the North Atlantic region for most of the past 40 years. He has taken his specialty in zooarchaeology beyond counting bones to actually addressing questions about human environment interactions and human response to extreme environmental events. A prolific writer and researcher with a multitude of publications and an impressive funding record, McGovern has always been a proponent of multidisciplinarity and international collaboration. His vision resulted in the creation of the North Atlantic Biocultural Organization (NABO) that currently has more than 400 scientific partners and has been leading projects throughout the Circum …

Residential Segregation In The Industrializing City: A Closer Look, Jason A. Gilliland, Sherry H. Olsen

Geography & Environment Publications

This article maps and measures several dimensions of residential segregation in Montreal in 1881, thereby adding to our understanding of the social structure of the industrial city. Taking advantage of an unusual historical database—a historical geographic information system (H-GIS)—we locate 17,000 individual households with precision, and evaluate the "dissimilarity" of neighborhoods along several social dimensions and at various levels of spatial aggregation. The empirical findings suggest that Montreal was highly segregated along lines of ethnic identity as well as socioeconomic status; segregation values increased inversely with size of the spatial unit, but precision of unit boundaries have negligible effect. Coupling …

Ecological Niche Modeling Of Potential West Nile Virus Vector Mosquito Species In Iowa, Scott R. Larson, John P. Degroote, Lyric C. Bartholomay, Ramanathan Sugumaran

Faculty Publications

Ecological niche modeling (ENM) algorithms, Maximum Entropy Species Distribution Modeling (Maxent) and Genetic Algorithm for Rule-set Prediction (GARP), were used to develop models in Iowa for three species of mosquito – two significant, extant West Nile virus (WNV) vectors (Culex pipiens L and Culex tarsalis Coquillett (Diptera: Culicidae)), and the nuisance mosquito, Aedes vexans Meigen (Diptera: Culicidae), a potential WNV bridge vector. Occurrence data for the three mosquito species from a state-wide arbovirus surveillance program were used in combination with climatic and landscape layers. Maxent successfully created more appropriate niche models with greater accuracy than GARP. The three Maxent species’ …

Linking Health Inequality And Environmental Justice: Articulating A Precautionary Framework For Research And Action, Sarah Wakefield, Jamie Baxter

Geography & Environment Publications

This article draws together three issues—the environment, health, and (in)justice—with the overall purpose of articulating an agenda for policy and research that works towards improved justice and sustainability in the environmental health arena. Considerable research in the United States and elsewhere has shown that both environmental exposures and poor health are more prevalent in populations that are marginalized by race and social class (typically measured as income). The logical next step has been to attempt to establish concrete cause-effect links between health effects and environmental exposures in order to mobilize government action to reduce these disparities. However, we caution against …

A Late-Quaternary Record Of Environmental Variability From Lake Sediment Cores, Wind River Range, Wyoming, Tyler Johnson

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Sediment cores from two alpine lakes in Wyoming's Wind River Range were collected and analyzed to establish a record of depositional and mineralogical variability. Due to the hydrologic setting and isolation of Fiddlers and Louis lakes, these cores yielded the longest continuous limnological record in the region that extends back nearly 20,000 years to full-glacial conditions, a rarity for alpine lakes in the western United States.

To develop a paleolimnological record for Fiddlers and Louis lakes, the sediment cores were analyzed using four laboratory techniques. These techniques included particle size analysis, x-ray diffraction, heavy mineral analysis, and loss-on-ignition. Radiocarbon ages …

Combining A Dispersal Model With Network Theory To Assess Habitat Connectivity, Todd R. Lookingbill, Robert H. Gardner, Joseph R. Ferrari, Cherry E. Keller

Geography and the Environment Faculty Publications

Assessing the potential for threatened species to persist and spread within fragmented landscapes requires the identification of core areas that can sustain resident populations and dispersal corridors that can link these core areas with isolated patches of remnant habitat. We developed a set of GIS tools, simulation methods, and network analysis procedures to assess potential landscape connectivity for the Delmarva fox squirrel (DFS; Sciurus niger cinereus), an endangered species inhabiting forested areas on the Delmarva Peninsula, USA. Information on the DFS’s life history and dispersal characteristics, together with data on the composition and configuration of land cover on the peninsula, …

Extractive Reserves, David S. Salisbury

Geography and the Environment Faculty Publications

Extractive reserves are territories dedicated to environmental protection and the sustainable use of nature resources by traditional populations. Reserves follow a traditional land tenure model based on individual family and communal property rights to common areas, such as forest trails used to extract or harvest nontimber forest products. Although the extractive reserve concept originates in the tropical forests of the Brazilian Amazon, reserves have also been created in aquatic, floodplain, and savanna landscapes throughout Brazil. There are now 50 extractive reserves covering more than 10 million hectares, an area larger than Portugal, and more continue to be created. Despite their …

Whti, The Recession, And Cross-Border Travel, Border Policy Research Institute

Border Policy Research Institute Publications

A year has passed since final implementation of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI, the so-called passport law), and almost two years have passed since the economic “meltdown” of late 2008. Each of these events would be expected to have an impact on cross-border travel. This article looks at recent cross-border travel trends, seeking to understand the impacts attributable to the two events. While our usual focus is the Canada – US border, trends at the Mexico – US border are also examined here, as the two borders have exhibited differing patterns in recent years, and the differences are instructive.

Atlas Of Land Entry Ports On The Us-Mexico Border, Austin Rose, David L. (David Lindsay) Davidson

Border Policy Research Institute Publications

This atlas shows the names and locations of all legal land crossing points along the U.S. – Mexico border. Each depicted point is one at which a vehicle can travel by road (or railroad) from U.S. to Mexican soil. There are 52 in all, of which 8 are rail lines, 43 are roadways (24 bridges, 2 dams, and 17 roads), and 1 is a ferry. For record-keeping purposes, USCBP groups the 52 crossings into 26 ports-of-entry (POEs), with data from a set of neighboring crossings aggregated under the name of a “master” POE.

How Dhs Might Address The Mission Of Trade Facilitation, Border Policy Research Institute

Border Policy Research Institute Publications

In the post-9/11 era, businesses engaged in cross-border commerce have persistently said that “security has trumped trade” to an extent that is damaging to our integrated North American economy. This refrain has grown louder in the aftermath of the deep economic recession that began two years ago. Recent reports from academia, think-tanks, and the private sector have urgently called for new efforts to facilitate crossborder trade in order to preserve our competitiveness within the global economy, and thus preserve our way of life.

An Update On Congestion Pricing Options For Southbound Freight At The Pacific Highway Crossing, Mark (Mark Christopher) Springer

Border Policy Research Institute Publications

As discussed in detail in Roelofs and Springer (2007), “congestion pricing” involves charging users a variable price for the use of transportation facilities: increased congestion leads to a higher price, while the price of the facilities declines when overall usage decreases. In the broadest sense, the rationale behind such an approach is to best allocate the scarce resource of transportation capacity. Congestion pricing therefore treats transportation capacity as simply another type of “good” to be purchased by the individual. As with oranges or lumber, an increase in demand or a decrease in supply results in rising prices, while a decrease …

'Breaking Points,' But No 'Broken' Border: Stakeholders Evaluate Border Issues In The Pacific Northwest Region, Victor A. Konrad

Border Policy Research Institute Publications

At the beginning of the 21st century, as global flows emanate from North America and from all around the world to stream across our continent in every direction, the enhanced border between Canada and the United States of America appears strangely enigmatic. Due to the immense pressure on the one hand to step up security, and the almost equally strong imperative on the other to expedite crossing, the border has been re-invented to enable the rapid crossing of some goods and services, and some people (Konrad and Nicol, 2008; Brunet-Jailly, 2007).

Geographic And Temporal Variations In Freight Costs For U.S. Imports From Canada: Measurement And Analysis, Steven Globerman, Paul Storer

Border Policy Research Institute Publications

In recent years, private sector managers in both Canada and the United States have expressed concerns about a “thickening” of the Canada-U.S. border with resulting adverse consequences for continued integration of the North American economy and, more specifically, for Canada-U.S. trade. Several factors have been identified as particularly relevant contributors to higher costs associated with bilateral trade. They include more frequent and closer inspection of goods crossing the border owing to stricter health and safety regulations and heightened security against acts of terrorism. The added delays and uncertainties imposed upon commercial shipments, particularly from Canada to the U.S., arguably add …

2009 International Mobility & Trade Corridor Project (Imtc) Commercial Vehicle Operations Survey: Final Report, Border Policy Research Institute

Border Policy Research Institute Publications

The 2009 International Mobility & Trade Corridor Project (IMTC) Commercial Vehicle Operations (CVO) Survey took place in June, 2009. This project was identified by IMTC participants in order to periodically evaluate CVO at the Cascade Gateway's three ports-of-entry as a priority for informing regional investment strategies, and to analyze the impacts of changes to road and inspeciton systems.

Border Barometer 2010, Border Policy Research Institute, University Of Buffalo Regional Institute

Border Policy Research Institute Publications

Developed through a partnership of the Border Policy Research Institute of Western Washington University and University at Buffalo Regional Institute, the Border Barometer is a tool that provides a U.S. perspective on northern border performance. It seeks to provide researchers, policymakers and other interested parties with a better understanding of economic conditions and trends along the entire border and at individual ports of entry.

Tracking Bare Sand Mobilization Arising From Landscape Manipulations In The Grasslands Destabilization Experiment (Gdex) In The Nebraska Sandhills Using Imaging Spectroscopy, Benjamin Helder

The Journal of Undergraduate Research

The Grassland Destabilization Experiment (GDEX) is a landscape scale manipulative experiment initiated in 2004 in the Nebraska Sandhills to evaluate changes in surface properties following the abrupt loss of stabilizing vegetation. The GDEX features five treatments allocated among ten plots of 120 m in diameter (1.13 ha). The Aggressive Bare Sand protocol included chemical defoliation and subsequent shallow disking and raking in 2004 to devegetate the plot with periodic physical disturbance to maintain bare sand. The Long Term Disturbance (Press) protocol includes an initial chemical defoliation in May 2005 and seasonal spring reapplications, but no physical disturbance. Short Term Disturbance …