Digital Commons Network^™

Virtual Learning As An Impetus For Educational Change: Charting A Way Forward For Learning In New Zealand, Michael K. Barbour, Derek Wenmoth

Education Faculty Publications

New Zealand has a long history [of] distance education in the schools sector, beginning with The Correspondence School over 90 years ago. Similar to many jurisdictions, as technology has evolved the schools sector has also evolved in how it has used that technology to provide learning opportunities at a distance. Each technology – from the print-based correspondence model to the current Internet-based virtual learning model – has forced educators to re-think how these educational opportunities are structured and delivered. Over the past two years, there have been significant events within the virtual learning community in New Zealand that place it …

Introduction To Gis Using Open Source Software, 4th Ed, Frank Donnelly

Open Educational Resources

This tutorial was created to accompany the GIS Practicum, a day-long workshop offered by the Newman Library at Baruch College CUNY that introduces participants to geographic information systems (GIS) using the open source software QGIS. The practicum introduces GIS as a concept for envisioning information and as a tool for conducting geographic analyses and creating maps. Participants learn how to navigate a GIS interface, how to prepare layers and conduct a basic geographic analysis, and how to create thematic maps. This tutorial was written using QGIS version 1.8 "Lisboa", a cross-platform (Windows, Mac, Linux) desktop GIS software package.

Banking On The Impossible: The Political Life Of Wetlands In Southern Louisiana, Michael Kantor

Geography and the Environment - Theses

Wetland banking is an increasingly prominent environmental governance strategy in the United States. Associated with larger trends toward the financialization of ecosystem services, wetland banking acts as a mode of social regulation while stabilizing a particular regime of accumulation. Its use by the Army Corps of Engineers and the Environmental Protection Agency to regulate the development of wetlands has certain implications for the distribution of and access to land, water, and capital. This thesis investigates a particular wetland development project in southeastern Louisiana and its relation to a local wetland bank, the Army Corps of Engineers, and a multinational oil …

Battle For The Mountains: Restructuring Extractive Production And The Socio-Ecological Crisis In West Virginia's Coalfields, Ben Marley

Geography and the Environment - Theses

The coalfields of southern West Virginia have faced recurring crises linked to its regional political economy. Today's crisis is constituted by the decimation on the United Mine Workers of America and the greater use of mountaintop removal coal mining in conjunction with policies and market conditions. This thesis argues that crisis in southern West Virginia's coalfields, like previous crises, will mean the reorganization of human and extra-human natures in which social movements along with economic conditions play an integral role in transcending the crisis. Tracing the history of crises in southern West Virginia's coalfields and interviewing retired coal miners, community …

Local Adaptation To Climate Change In A Calcareous Grassland System, Catherine Ravenscroft

Biology - Dissertations

Annual manipulations of temperature and rainfall have been maintained in intact calcareous grassland since 1993 at the Buxton Climate Change Impacts Laboratory (BCCIL) in northern England (UK). Here I investigated the role of local adaptation as mechanism of the apparent resistance of species' to long-term climate manipulations at BCCIL using a common forb, Plantago lanceolata. Plantago lanceolata is a rosette-forming, perennial herb of wide-ranging distribution, and one of the more common forbs in calcareous grasslands, including BCCIL. In the first study I used a common garden approach to test for evidence of selection for different suites of functional traits in …

Planning For Resilient Coastal Communities: An Analysis Of Coastal Plans In South Carolina, Felicia Boulware

All Theses

Resilience is very important to the longevity of inhabited coastal regions. Sea level rise threatens human systems and exacerbates erosion, saltwater intrusion and flooding in coastal regions. Planning for resilience is one way to ensure that coastal communities are prepared for and able to persist through hazardous events, both ongoing and intermittent. This research amasses resilience policies in four categories: ecological, land uses, social, and economic, which reflect concepts of social-ecological resilience. These policies were selected based on their applicability to coastal regions and academic consensus on best practices to increase resilience. These policies were combined in a matrix that …

Access To Justice: Ensuring Meaningful Access To Counsel In Civil Cases, Human Rights Clinic

Human Rights Institute

Legal representation is fundamental to safeguarding fair, equal, and meaningful ac- cess to the legal system. Yet, in the United States, millions of people who are poor or low-income are unable to obtain legal representation when facing a crisis such as eviction, foreclosure, domestic violence, workplace discrimination, termination of subsistence income or medical assistance, and loss of child custody. Indeed, only a small fraction of the legal problems experienced by low-income and poor people living in the United States – less than one in five – are addressed with the assistance of legal representation. A categorical right to counsel in …

On Solid Ground: Toward Effective Resource-Based Development, Lisa E. Sachs

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications

The small island-state of Timor-Leste exemplifies the challenge of resource-based development for a poor country well-endowed with a valuable natural resource. Timor-Leste, which gained its independence in 2002, has accumulated $13 billion in its petroleum fund in less than a decade. Some of the largest multinational oil companies are operating in the country, and the revenues continue to flow. And yet, while Timor-Leste has seen very notable improvements in its development indicators in the past few years, it continues to face a massive challenge of converting financial wealth into economic development. There are also heated debates about how to spend …

Railroads And Coal: Resource Extraction In Indian Territory, 1866–1907, Robert J. Voss

Department of History: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This dissertation examines the history of the interaction of railroads and coal during the end of the nineteenth century in what is today eastern Oklahoma. The Indian territory presented complex opportunities and challenges for railroad developers, coal operators, miners, railroad workers, and Native Americans. Using primary sources, such as published and unpublished accounts of both prominent and typical Native Americans and Euro-Americans, congressional debates, railroad company annual reports, railroad company correspondence, account books, treaties, court cases, and maps, this dissertation explores the process of railroad and coal company incursion in the region and the conflicts that resulted. All participants in …

Assessing The Correlation Between Terrorist Attacks And The Limiting Of Muslim Immigration Due To Anti-Islamic Sentiments, Ratna Okhai

HIM 1990-2015

In the last 12 years, since the devastating attack on the United States Twin Towers on September 11, 2001, the global community has become increasingly wary. The continuing terrorism on July 7, 2005 on the United Kingdom subway system increased tensions between citizens and immigrants in these countries. I use these two countries to examine the consequences effects that these terrorist attacks have had on, in particular, the Muslim immigrant population. In addition to that, I use Germany as a control, since it has not faced a major terrorist attack, yet has a substantial Muslim immigrant population. In the United …

Exploring Elementary Teachers' Perceptions Of Teaching Social Studies Through Historical Fiction Using Google Lit Trips, Kristin Bider

HIM 1990-2015

There is a new generation of students entering our school systems called "Digital Natives"; students who are more technologically inclined than their teachers. With the new cohort of students, it is becoming problematic for teachers to implement engaging lessons. Because social studies is not a state tested subject, teachers and administrators find it very difficult to retrieve the time and the passion for the subject in the everyday classroom. One new Google application called Google Lit Trips is an appealing way to teach social studies for the new generation of students. Prior research on Google Lit Trips showed that this …

From Afghanistan 1979 To Afghanistan 2001: How Three Current High School History Textbooks Frame The Origins Of The “War On Terror” Historical Analysis And Interviews With William Blum, Noam Chomsky And James Loewen, Michael Shawn Galli

Dissertations, Masters Theses, Capstones, and Culminating Projects

This work examines how three current eleventh grade U.S. high school history textbooks report on the origins of the “war on terror.” The researcher chose one textbook from each of the three leading publishing houses that supply the high school market: Holt McDougal, Prentice Hall, and McGraw-Hill. The scope of the researcher’s inquiry covers the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan to the U.S. invasion in 2001. The nomenclature of the “war on terror,” Reagan’s “war on terror,” U.S. support for the Afghan Mujahideen, the Persian Gulf War, and the decision to invade Afghanistan are examined. Interviews with authors William Blum, …

Factors Influencing The Distribution And Structure Of Tropical Vascular Epiphyte Communities At Multiple Scales, Carrie Woods

All Dissertations

Understanding the factors that determine species distributions is a central question in ecology. Niche-based theories stress the importance of environmental heterogeneity in influencing species distributions while neutral-based theories emphasize the effects of dispersal limitation. The relative importance of these factors in influencing species distributions may depend on spatial scale - deterministic factors may be more important at small spatial scales where fine-scale habitat factors become more relevant and stochastic factors may be more important at larger spatial scales where dispersal limitation becomes more relevant. I examined the influence of deterministic and stochastic factors on the distribution and structure of vascular …

Responding To Foreclosures In Cuyahoga County: 2012 Evaluation Report, Kathryn Hexter, Molly Schnoke

All Maxine Goodman Levin School of Urban Affairs Publications

No abstract provided.

Price And Store Image As Mitigating Factors In The Perception And Evaluation Of Retailers' Customer-Based Brand Equity, Hagai Gringarten

Graduate Student Dissertations, Theses, Capstones, and Portfolios

Developing, improving, and achieving sustainable advantage is becoming more challenging than ever before. This is due in part to the complexity and the rapidly changing marketing environment. No matter how strong brands are, it is getting harder to achieve and sustain brand equity. Increasingly, firms realize that branding is one of the most valuable intangible assets that firms have. This study aims to provide a better understanding of customer-based brand equity (CBBE) in the era of super brands.

Consumers often base their buying decisions on impressions of price and store image. The objective of the study was to acquire an …

The River Otter In Idaho: Reproductive And Population Parameters And Liver Concentrations Of Environmental Contaminants, Gina Diggs

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

To obtain current data on the North American river otter (Lontra canadensis) population in Idaho, licensed trappers were mandated to surrender river otter carcasses through provisions of the Idaho Department of Fish and Game’s mandatory harvest report. Throughout the 2002-2003 and 2003-2004 trapping seasons, 237 river otter carcasses were collected. Necropsies were performed to assess age and sex, general body condition, reproductive rates, and concentrations of environmental contaminants in the livers. Reproductive rates were determined by counting corpora lutea and blastocysts in female river otters. Livers were dissected and concentrations of environmental contaminants were determined for the following …

The Pine Effect, Andrea Kay Spofford

Dissertations

This dissertation includes original poems written during my time at The University of Southern Mississippi.

Vol. 36 No. 1/2 (2013): Pacific Studies Full Issue, Et Al Miranda Forsyth

Pacific Studies

Pacific Studies is published two times a year by The Jonathan Nāpela Center for Hawaiian and Pacific Studies, Brigham Young University Hawai‘i #1979, 55–220 Kulanui Street, Lāʻie, Hawai‘i 96762, but responsibility for opinions expressed in the articles rests with the authors alone. Subscription rate is US $26.00 yearly, payable to The Jonathan Nāpela Center for Hawaiian and Pacific Studies. The Jonathan Nāpela Center for Hawaiian and Pacific Studies (formerly The Pacific Institute) is an organization funded by Brigham Young University Hawai‘i. The Center assists the University in meeting its cultural and educational goals by undertaking a program of teaching, research, …

Books Noted: Recent Pacific Islands Publications: Selected Acquisitions, January 2012-December 2012, Riley Moffat

Pacific Studies

THIS LIST of significant publications relating to the Pacific Islands was selected from new acquisitions list received from Brigham Young University-Hawaiʻi, University of Hawai'i at Manoa, Bernice P. Bishop Museum, University of Auckland, East-West Center, University of the South Pacific, National Library of the Australia, Melanesian Studies Resource Center, Center for Pacific and Asian Studies, University of Nijmegen, University of California, San Diego, Secretariat of the Pacific Community Library, Center for South Pacific Studies, University of New South Wales, Macmillan Brown Library at University of Canterbury, and the Australian International Development Assistance Bureau's Center for the Pacific Development Training. Other …

An Embodied Perspective Of Expertise In Solving The Problem Of Making A Geologic Map, Caitlin Norah Callahan

Dissertations

The task of constructing a geologic map is a cognitively and physically demanding field-based problem. The map produced is understood to be an individual’s two-dimensional interpretation or mental model of the three-dimensional underlying geology. A popular view within the geoscience community is that teaching students how to make a geologic map is valuable for preparing them to deal with disparate and incomplete data sets, for helping them develop problem-solving skills, and for acquiring expertise in geology. Few previous studies have focused specifically on expertise in geologic mapping. Drawing from literature related to expertise, to problem solving, and to mental models, …

The Effects Of Socioeconomic, Built Environment, And Food Environment Factors On Childhood Obesity In Montclair, California, Krystal Redman

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

This observational study examines the relationship between socioeconomic status (SES), built environment, and food environment factors and childhood obesity. In this study, the participants were selected from three elementary schools located in the innercity of Montclair, California. Information about each student’s health and family income and was gathered. In addition, the number of parks, fast food restaurants, and grocery stores within the school district border lines were tallied. I also observed the quality of the parks and food sold in the markets, built environment I hypothesized that childhood obesity is associated with SES (i.e., income level and education level), the …

Summer Indiana Bat Ecology In The Southern Appalachians: An Investigation Of Thermoregulation Strategies And Landscape Scale Roost Selection, Kristina Hammond

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In the southern Appalachians there are few data on the roost ecology of the federally endangered Indiana bat (Myotis sodalis). During 2008-2012, we investigated roosting ecology of the Indiana bat in ~280,000 ha in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Cherokee National Forest, and Nantahala National Forest in the southern Appalachians Mountains of Tennessee and North Carolina. We investigated 2 aspects of the Indiana bat’s roosting ecology: thermoregulation and the extrinsic factors that influence body temperature, and landscape-scale roost selection. To investigate thermoregulation of bats at roost, we used data gathered in 2012 from 6 female Indiana bats (5 adults …

Note – Competitive Regulation Of Mobile Software Systems: Promoting Innovation Through Reform Of Antitrust And Patent Laws, Josh Baskin

UC Law Journal

This Note analyzes the current antitrust regulatory framework for high tech, iteratively evolving computer and software systems. This issue has significant implications for the current economy as many modern technology companies base their entire business model on such systems. This Note examines the problems concerning software patents through an analysis of two well-known mobile phone operating systems: Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android.This Note also examines the current regulatory framework that prevents large companies from taking anticompetitive actions to expand their power in fast-moving high tech markets at the expense of smaller competitors—specifically tying, predatory innovation, refusal to deal or license, …

Overlooked Destinations: Suburban Nodes, Centers, And Trips To Strips, Nico Larco, Robert Parker

TREC Final Reports

This study looks at travel to typical suburban commercial strips by residents living within one-third of a mile of the strip by focusing on six sites – four in the Portland, OR., metro area and two in the Atlanta, GA., metro area. The study mapped pedsheds around the commercial strips in these sites and found significant increases in network extents when formal and informal pedestrian paths were added to street centerline data. Informal networks such as goat paths through vacant land and cuts in fences were widespread and suggest a pent-up demand for route directness. Travel surveys of residents found …

Evaluating The Potential For Establishment Of Two Aquatic Invasive Plants In New Mexico, Constance Jones

Water Resources Professional Project Reports

The spread of invasive aquatic plants is an issue of growing concern due to their ability to cause significant negative impacts to the water resources and aquatic environment where they proliferate. The New Mexico Aquatic Invasive Species Management Plan, developed in response to this concern, identified Hydrilla verticillata (L.f.) Royle (hydrilla), and Eichornia crassipes (Mart.) Solms. (water hyacinth) as potential invasive weeds in the state and called for identification of the waterbodies at risk of invasion in New Mexico. To accomplish this, the suitable habitats of hydrilla and water hyacinth in New Mexico were predicted using an ecological niche model, …

Warming Winters And Changing Habitats: Interactive Effects On Raptor Populations And Implications For Conservation, Neil A. Paprocki

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Studies across multiple spatial and temporal scales will improve understanding of the drivers of global change including habitat degradation, invasive species, and climate change. How global drivers affect the ecology of wintering raptors in western North America and the Great Basin may have important implications for changes in distribution and abundance, and consequently population persistence. I examined the winter distributions of six western North America raptor species using Christmas Bird Count data from 1975-2011 to assess range shifts over time and in relation to temperature. Also, I considered whether population patterns within Bird Conservation Regions (BCR) were best explained by …

Analysis Of Post-Cranial Traits For The Assessment Of Biological Distance Among Temporally Distinct New World Populations Of African Descent, Claire Marie Dansereau

Master's Theses

This investigation examines change in post-cranial osteometric markers in temporally distinct New World populations of African ancestry: Newton Plantation series (17th-19th century Barbados; N = 16); two subsamples from the Hamann-Todd (HT) series (U.S.) based on birth year, 1865-1900 (N = 66) and 1901-1915 (N = 62); and the Forensic Databank Collection (FDB) (20th century U.S.; N = 137). It was anticipated that individuals from Newton would exhibit less admixture than those from H-T or FDB. They were also predicted to demonstrate greater skeletal robusticity due to mechanical loading. Additionally, it was expected that stature would increase over time due …

A Vascular Flora Of Bendabout Farm, Bradley County, Tennessee And Survey Of Native Castanea Dentata (Marsh) Borkh. (Fagaceae, American Chestnut), Amelia Paige Harris

Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

The primary goal of this study was to inventory the flora of Bendabout Farm, a 1,467 ha privately-owned farm in Bradley County, Tennessee. A second goal was to conduct a census of the population and distribution of surviving Castanea dentata (Marsh) Borkh. (American chestnut) within the study area. Both natural/semi-natural and altered habitats were described during initial habitat characterization. The study recorded 433 species from 261 genera in 106 families. The study documented 250 new records for Bradley County. Special Concern Species, Panax quinqu efolius L., was vouchered, as were 68 non-native species. C. dentata were located using the sweep …

Under Construction: Viewing Manipulated Space, Michael David Farrell Jr.

Theses

North America, the United States in particular, has established an unique and distinct connection to the the wildspaces outside of urban environments. The two spaces, urban and wilderness, are placed in opposition to one another in a sliding valuation scale that is based on the degradation experienced in these urban areas, due to industrialized capitalist means of production, by the inhabitants. These effects are the source of both literary and visual art protests that originate in the 19th century in both generations of the Hudson River School painters, American pastoral writing, philosophy, and photographs. These romanticized views of natural space …

Creating A Pipeline To Engineering For Women Through An Interdisciplinary Data-Driven And Cyber-Infrastructure Enabled Course, Johann Van Reenen, Kevin Comerford

University Libraries & Learning Sciences Faculty and Staff Publications

Academics have become increasingly interdisciplinary while at the same time, the sciences, engineering and research in general are increasingly data driven. Most higher education curricula, especially in Engineering are, however, still rooted in more traditional, discipline bound curricula and make little use of the vast amounts of data available. We describe an experimental course that address this and aims to include women from non-engineering fields. The interdisciplinary course took a data driven approach to the intersection of womens issues, water rights, and workers' rights, taught by faculty from Civil Engineering, History, American Studies, Earth and Planetary Sciences, Geography, and Informatics. …