Digital Commons Network^™

Amazonian Dark Earths, William Balee

Tipití: Journal of the Society for the Anthropology of Lowland South America

Review article of Amazonian Dark Earths: Origins, Properties, Management. Johannes Lehmann, Dirse C. Kern, Bruno Glaser, William I. Woods, eds. Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2003. 505 pp., $279.00 (cloth).

ISBN 978-1-4020-1839-8 [http://www.springer.com/]. Amazonian Dark Earths: Explorations in Space and Time. Bruno Glaser and William I. Woods, eds. Berlin: Springer-Verlag., 2004. 216 pp., $189 (cloth). ISBN 978-3-54000754-8 [http://www.springer.com/].

Amazonian Dark Earths: Wim Sombroek’s Vision. William I. Woods, Wenceslau G. Teixeira, Johannes Lehmann, Christoph Steiner, Antoinette M.G.A. WinklerPrins, and Lilian Rebellato, eds. New York: Springer Science and Business Media B.V., 2009. 502 pp., $249 (cloth). ISBN 978-1-4020-9030-1 [http://www.springer.com/].

Why You Should Care About The Threatened Middle Class, Jill Littrell, Fred Brooks, Jan Ivery, Mary L. Ohmer

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

In the last two decades, the income and security of the individual middle class worker has declined and the gap between the middle class and the wealthy has widened. We explain how this is bad for democracy, the economy, and the aggregate health of the nation. We examine the governmental policies and interventions that increased the middle class following the depression and maintained its vigor through the post-World War II period. The impetus for these changes in governmental policies in the 1930s was to end the Great Depression. We pose the question of whether a nation can recover from a …

Are Indian Libraries Vip-Friendly? Information Use And Information Seeking Behaviour Of Visually Impaired People In Delhi Libraries, K.P. Singh, Easther Moirangthem

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

The purpose of this paper is to study the various library services and information sources provided to the visually impaired people in different Braille Libraries and Talking Book Libraries in Delhi and also explore the information needs and information seeking behavior of this special group of people. For this study, literature survey and review of literature related to the study were made to have a better understanding of the problem and examine the findings of earlier relevant studies. Semi-structured interview was used as a data collection tool to collect the relevant data from the subjects under study. An interview was …

Religion And Regionalism : Congregants, Culture And City-County Consolidation In Louisville, Kentucky., Joshua D. Ambrosius

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Literature on religious involvement in public affairs typically examines the national scene, particularly public opinion and political behavior in presidential elections. Few scholars examine religious actors in urban politics and policymaking. Those who do study local politics emphasize morality policy and ignore issues of metropolitan governance and institutional design, central concerns of the urban politics field. This dissertation fills that gap by studying Louisville, Kentucky, site of the first large-scale city-county consolidation since 1969. I ask: does religion affect how people vote in a consolidation referendum and shape their opinions about merged government? I employ a survey instrument (N=807), collected …

Religion And Regionalism: Congregants, Culture And City-County Consolidation In Louisville, Kentucky, Joshua D. Ambrosius

Political Science Faculty Publications

Literature on religious involvement in public affairs typically examines the national scene, particularly public opinion and political behavior in presidential elections. Few scholars examine religious actors in urban politics and policymaking. Those who do study local politics emphasize morality policy and ignore issues of metropolitan governance and institutional design, central concerns of the urban politics field. This dissertation fills that gap by studying Louisville, Kentucky, site of the first large-scale city-county consolidation since 1969. I ask: does religion affect how people vote in a consolidation referendum and shape their opinions about merged government? I employ a survey instrument (N=807), collected …

Evaluating Native Wheatgrasses For Restoration Of Sagebrush Steppes, Jayanti Ray Mukherjee

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Pseudoroegneria spicata and Elymus wawawaiensis are two native perennial bunchgrasses of North America's Intermountain West. Frequent drought, past overgrazing practices, subsequent weed invasions, and increased wildfire frequency have combined to severely degrade natural landscapes in the region, leading to a decline in the abundance of native vegetation. Being formerly widespread throughout the region, P. spicata is a favorite for restoration purposes in the Intermountain West. Elymus wawawaiensis, which occupies a more restricted distribution in the Intermountain West, is often used as a restoration surrogate for P. spicata. However, since most restoration sites are outside the native range of …

Human-Wildlife Conflict Across Urbanization Gradients: Spatial, Social, And Ecological Factors, Amanda H. Gilleland

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

As suburban and exurban residential developments continue to multiply in urban areas, they encroach on wildlife habitats leading to increased human-wildlife interactions. The animals involved in direct conflict with homeowners are often relocated or exterminated by the homeowners. Often the homeowners contact state licensed wildlife trappers to eliminate the problem animal. In this study I examined how landscape, ecological, and social factors influence the incidence of human-wildlife conflict of thirty two residential areas in the Tampa, Florida metropolitan area. These residential areas, totaling over 300 km2, are part of the urban development gradient representing a range of urban land use …

Parental Factors As A Moderator Of The Co-Occurrence Of Substance Use And Depression In Hispanic Adolescents, Rebecca Shoff

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship between parenting factors and Hispanic adolescent substance use and depression. Specifically, the study examined the relationship between parental support, parental knowledge, and parental psychological control among Hispanic adolescents' use of alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, hard drugs and depressive symptoms. The sample included 839 Hispanic (primarily Mexican) 9th – 12th graders from west Texas area school districts who were given a self-reported survey to assess parental behaviors, substance use, and adolescent depression. Using structural equation modeling (SEM), findings indicated that higher levels of maternal support were related to lower levels of depressive …

School Of Natural Resources Collection Development Policy, Joan Latta Konecky

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries: Collection Development Policies

The collection supports the teaching, research and service activities of the School of Natural Resources and the related research endeavors of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln community.

School of Natural Resources cooperative research is conducted with various academic units including Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Department of Geosciences, Department of Civil Engineering, Department of Biological Systems Engineering, Department of Agricultural Economics, Arsenic Info System, College of Law, Public Policy Center, and Cooperative Extension.

Family Change And Poverty In Appalachia, Daniel Lichter, Lisa Cimbulak

University of Kentucky Center for Poverty Research Discussion Paper Series

The current economic and political climate provides a vivid contrast with the circumstances of the 1990s, when the passage of the 1996 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) ushered in welfare reform during a period of unprecedented economic expansion and job growth (Blank 2002; Ziliak 2009). This legislation sought to “end the dependence of needy parents on government benefits by promoting job preparation, work, and marriage.” Among PRWORA’s goals were to reduce out-of-wedlock births and encourage the formation of two-parent families. For most states, much of the initial emphasis on self-sufficiency was placed on “work first” programs (i.e., …

What Is The Taxonomic Identity Of Minnesota Wolves?, L. David Mech

United States Geological Survey, Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center: Publications

The taxonomic identity of the historical and current wolf (Canis lupus L., 1758 or Canis lycaon Schreber, 1775 or their hybrids) population in Minnesota (MN) and the Great Lakes region has been, and continues to be, controversial. So too does its legal status under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. This review summarizes the morphological and genetic information about that population and concludes that historically the MN population consisted of a gray wolf (C. lupus) in the west and an eastern type (Canis lupus lycaon or C. lycaon) in the east with intergrades or hybrids between …

Animal Science Collection Development Policy, Dana W.R. Boden

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries: Collection Development Policies

The Animal Science collection supports the teaching, research and service activities of the entire university community. Its primary audience is the faculty, staff, and students of the Animal Science department in the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources within the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources. The collection’s primary focus is support for the undergraduate and graduate curricula for Animal Science. Specific and transient research needs of Animal Science faculty and graduate students are supplemented through Interlibrary Loan.

The focus of the Animal Science collection is diverse in nature as it encompasses disciplines that are well established within colleges …

Scampering In The City: Examining The Ecological And Social Viability Of Black-Tailed Prairie Dogs (Cynomys Ludovicianus) In Denver, Colorado, Lauren K. Morse

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The conservation of prairie dogs is highly contested due to the embedded view that they are pests. This research addressed the ecological and social viability of prairie dog colonies in Denver, Colorado. Remote sensing analysis was applied to identify potentially viable areas for urban prairie dog colonies. In order to assess the social viability of urban colonies, knowledge and attitudinal surveys were distributed to residents near existing colonies and residents near potential colonies. Statistical analysis of responses provided insight into relationships between proximity to colonies, ecological knowledge, attitudes towards prairie dogs, demographics, and the presence of educational literature. Results indicated …

Comparative Morphology Of Two Sympatric Species Of Hedgehog In Ikh Nart Nature Reserve, Mongolia, Richard P. Reading, David Kenny, Sodnomphil Batdorj, James Murdoch

Erforschung biologischer Ressourcen der Mongolei / Exploration into the Biological Resources of Mongolia, ISSN 0440-1298

Daurian hedgehog (Mesechinus dauuricus) and long-eared hedgehog (Hemiechinus auritus) inhabit Ikh Nart Nature Reserve, Mongolia and both species appear to occupy similar niches. We gathered morphological measurements to test for differences between species and sexes. We hoped to gain insight into the mechanisms that allow the species to coexist. We collected morphometric data from 10 long-eared hedgehogs (6 male, 4 female) and 18 Daurian hedgehogs (10 male, 7 female, and 1 unknown sex). Only total body length in Daurian hedgehogs differed significantly between males and females. Otherwise, we found no significant differences between morphometric measures of …

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, …

Community-Level Crime Control : A Closer Look At The Mediating Variables Of Social Disorganization Theory, David Paul Armstrong

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The present study focuses on the mediating factors of social disorganization theory. To be more specific, this study combines the insights from the classical social disorganization model, the systemic model of crime, and the more recent work of Sampson and colleagues on collective efficacy and Carr (2003) on the new parochialism to answer some of the lingering questions within the perspective. The three mediating factors examined are social ties, collective efficacy, and organizational activism, a concept derived from Carr's work on the new parochialism. The concept organizational activism refers to using local organizations with access to outside resources to indirectly …

Land Use, Individual Attributes, And Travel Behavior In Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Anzhelika Antipova

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Although the interrelationship between land use and travel behavior was given more than scant attention in the past, urban planners are far from a solution to reduce commuting and travel by car. One of the reasons is that studies of this kind are often conducted at the aggregate scale limiting one’s probabilities of making inferences of individual/household-level travel behavior. Using 1997 Baton Rouge Personal Transportation Survey (BRPTS) data this study attempts to overcome this limitation. First, a multi-level modeling (MLM) approach is applied to investigate the geographical effect of a place and the role of population composition in accounting for …

Influence Of Wetland Landscape Structure On Duck Nest Success At Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, Oregon, Daniel Robert Craver

Geography Masters Research Papers

The decline of waterfowl populations and their requisite wetland habitats remains a concern. Because migratory bird refuges are often artificial landscapes of actively managed wetlands, and wildlife populations experience their greatest change during the breeding season, refuges should be designed to maximize breeding habitat. While past nest success studies have focused on at-nest variables, new approaches are needed to evaluate the effect of composition and configuration of plant communities at the landscape scale. This study aims to quantify landscape patterns within individual refuge management units to determine influence upon historical nesting success averages of ducks at Malheur National Wildlife Refuge …

Anthropology Collection Development Policy, David C. Tyler

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries: Collection Development Policies

The anthropology collection supports the teaching, research and service activities of the entire university community. Its primary audience is the faculty, staff, and students of the Department of Anthropology in the College of Arts and Sciences (note: prior to 2009, the department was part of the conjoined Department of Anthropology & Geography). Its primary focus is support for the undergraduate and graduate curricula for anthropology. Narrowly specific and transient research needs of anthropology faculty and graduate students are supplemented through Interlibrary Loan. Materials are not purchased for the general public, though the public may benefit from the collection. The collection …

The Importance Of Fallback Foods In Primate Ecology And Evolution, Paul J. Constantino, Barth W. Wright

Biological Sciences Faculty Research

The role of fallback foods in shaping primate ranging, socioecology, and morphology has recently become a topic of particular interest to biological anthropologists. Although the use of fallback resources has been noted in the ecological and primatological literature for a number of decades, few attempts have been made to define fallback foods or to explore the utility of this concept for primate evolutionary biologists and ecologists. As a preface to this special issue of the American Journal of Physical Anthropology devoted to the topic of fallback foods in primate ecology and evolution, we discuss the development and use of the …

An Integrated Assessment Of Archaeobotanical Recovery Methods In The Neotropical Rainforest Of Northern Belize: Flotation And Dry Screening, Jon B. Hageman, David J. Goldstein

Anthropology Faculty Publications

This report presents results of a study examining the ancient use of plants at four Late Classic (CE 600-900) Maya rural farmsteads in northwestern Belize. Our research specifically targeted residential middens for macrobotanical recovery. Samples yielded the remains of more than a dozen plant families, representing some genera that do not currently grow in the area. These plants were used in the Late Classic, countering the idea that ancient botanical remains do not survive in Neotropical archaeological contexts. We also evaluated two macrobotanical sample processing methods vis-à-vis one another: flotation and dry screening. Our results indicate that flotation recovered 58% …

"That Charm Of Remoteness": A Study Of Landscape Stability In Little Compton, Rhode Island, Katharine M. Johnson

Graduate Masters Theses

Little Compton, Rhode Island has long been considered a stable, isolated and rural location relative to surrounding towns and cities. A geophysical and archaeological examination in the front yards of the Wilbor house and Brownell farm was undertaken in order to gain a better understanding about how residents of the town maintained stable, rural lifeways during the period of industrialization and urbanization that characterized the rest of the state in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The results from these examinations revealed that there was a distinct lack of features and landscaping changes in the archaeological record in the …

Climate Change And Heatwaves : China’S Responsibility Before The Poor Elderly, José Azoh Barry

Conference on China and Global Climate Change : Reconciling International Fairness and Protection of the Atmospheric Commons

OBJECTIVE: To address the extent of China’s obligation toward the elderly – a growing segment of the population -- as more vulnerable to heat waves.

METHOD: Data handled are secondary and derived from a non-exhaustive review of a specialized scientific literature. The search for relevant publications was conducted from a multidisciplinary perspective.

RESULTS: Of the various sources of human influences on climate, two major ones related to heat waves appear to be urban designs and greenhouse gas emissions. The urban heat islands effects as local anthropogenic impacts on climate increase the need for air conditioning and demand for power consumption …

Judge, Jury, And Executioner: Organizational Factors That Affect Police Use Of Lethal Force, Mikaela Cooney

Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

There currently exists an empirical gap in our knowledge of organizational factors as they relate to police use of lethal force. As a result of waning interest in macrolevel policing studies over the last three decades, the majority of our understanding of lethal force is derived from studies that specifically focus on microlevel factors (such as officer race or suspect behavior). The present study examined the relationship between organizational variables and the number of self-reported instances of lethal force by law enforcement officers. Departmental variables, jurisdictional characteristics, and the number of lethal force incidents reported annually were collected from law …

Effects Of Targeted Grazing And Prescribed Burning On Fire Behavior And Community Dynamics Of A Cheatgrass (Bromus Tectorum)-Dominated Landscape, Joel M. Diamond

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Studies were conducted to determine the effectiveness of using targeted grazing and prescribed burning as tools to reduce fire hazards and cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) dominance on rangelands in the northern Great Basin. A field study, with four grazing-burning treatments (graze and no-burn, graze and burn, no-graze and burn, and no-graze and no-burn), was conducted on a B. tectorum-dominated site near McDermitt, Nevada from 2005-2007. Cattle removed 80-90% of standing biomass in grazed plots in May 2005 and 2006 when B. tectorum was in the boot (phenological) stage. Grazed and ungrazed plots were burned in October 2005 and …

Consequences Of Vegetation Change On The Dynamics Of Labile Organic Matter And Soil Nitrogen Cycling In A Semiarid Ecosystem, Toby D. Hooker

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Sagebrush-dominated ecosystems are being transformed by wildfire, rangeland improvement techniques, and exotic plant invasions. These disturbances have substantial effects on the composition and structure of native vegetation, but the effects on ecosystem C and N dynamics are poorly understood. To examine whether differences in dominant vegetation affect the quantity and quality of plant organic matter inputs to soil, ecosystem C and N pools and rates of plant turnover were compared among historically grazed Wyoming big sagebrush, introduced perennial crested wheatgrass, and invasive annual cheatgrass communities. Since low soil moisture during the summer may inhibit the microbial colonization of plant detrital …

Application Of Electrified Fladry To Decrease Risk Of Livestock Depredation By Wolves (Canis Lupus), Nathan J. Lance

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Wolf (Canis lupus) predation on livestock can cause economic and emotional hardships for livestock producers, complicating the balance of wolf conservation with other human interests. New management tools that decrease risk of predation may offer additional flexibility or efficiency for both livestock producers and management agencies. I examined 1) the efficacy of electrified fladry compared to fladry at protecting a food source from wolves in captivity, 2) the efficacy of electrified fladry for reducing wolf use of pastures and preventing depredations, and 3) the applicability of electrified-fladry. In captivity I tested the reaction from 15 groups (46 wolves) …

Quantile Regression: An Education Policy Research Tool, Edward B. Reeves, Jesse Lowe

Journal of Rural Social Sciences

Ordinary least squares regression is often used in education policy research. Unfortunately, OLS regression coefficients may mislead. In OLS models, the coefficients express the conditional mean relations among the variables. Still, what if this estimate of central tendency in the conditional distribution fails to convey important information about the distribution? Quantile regression is a statistical technique that allows variation in the conditional distribution to be examined. Therefore, it can be used to check the validity and applicable range of OLS coefficients. Following the method of Koenker and Hallock (2001), we compare OLS and quantile regression results, examining variables related to …

A Comparison Of Two Common Classification Procedures For Economical Urban Land Cover Mapping Using Naip Imagery, Kent Lowell Simons

Theses and Dissertations

Detailed urban land cover maps are increasingly useful and important applications of remote sensing. Municipal agencies and others use land cover maps and data for numerous critical local planning and monitoring functions and for urban geographical research studies. Because of this, there is a demand for accurate urban land cover maps that can be produced quickly and economically. The availability of very high resolution multispectral imagery is an important factor in enabling such production, as the judicious selection of source imagery has a large impact on the resulting map products. Likewise, the implementation of appropriate digital image processing methods is …

Health Professionals’ Roles In Animal Agriculture, Climate Change, And Human Health, Aysha Z. Akhtar, Michael Greger, Hope Ferdowsian, Erica Frank

Human Health Collection

What we eat is rapidly becoming an issue of global concern. With food shortages, the rise in chronic disease, and global warming, the impact of our dietary choices seems more relevant today than ever. Globally, a transition is taking place toward greater consumption of foods of animal origin, in lieu of plantbased diets. With this transition comes intensification of animal agriculture that in turn is associated with the emergence of zoonotic infectious diseases, environmental degradation, and the epidemics of chronic disease and obesity. Health professionals should be aware of these trends and consider them as they promote healthier and more …