Digital Commons Network^™

Riga: A Rich Internet Geospatial Analytics Application For Area-Based Data, Tin Seong Kam

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

In this information age, more and more public statistical data such as population census, household living, local economy and business establishment are distributed over the internet within the framework of spatial data infrastructure. By and large, these data are organized geographically such as region, province as well as district. Usually, they are published in the form of digital maps over the internet as simple points, lines and polygons markers limited or no analytical function available to transform these data into useful information. To meet the analytical needs of casual public data users, we contribute RIGA, a rich internet geospatial analytics …

Searching The Silence: Finding Black Women’S Resistance To Slavery In Antebellum U.S. History, Loucynda Jensen

PSU McNair Scholars Online Journal

This paper will explore the topic of black female resistance to slavery in the antebellum United States with a focus on how female slaves’ reproductive decisions, namely abortion and infanticide, can be analyzed as resistance against slaveholders' methods of slave breeding, and therefore against the system of slavery and oppression itself. Within my paper I will appraise how a nuanced definition of resistance can be applied to these gendered methods of opposition, and how other historians before me have chosen to use this term in these instances. I will also investigate how other historians and writers have decided what, or …

The Lents International Farmer’S Market: A Case And Comparative Study, Sarah Egan

PSU McNair Scholars Online Journal

The Lents neighborhood is a designated urban renewal area that has historically lacked access to ample grocery stores offering fresh produce. The Lents International Farmer’s Market enhances health and community by providing a community space to purchase fresh fruits and vegetables. Examining the Lents International Farmer’s Market is an invaluable opportunity to learn more about consumer shopping behavior and market expectations. This study also seeks to identify vendor opportunities and barriers when establishing themselves as retailers at Lents International Farmer’s Market. From both a business and consumer perspective, it is crucial for the market’s survival to gain a sense what …

Front Matter Volume 4, 2010, Mcnair Scholars Program

PSU McNair Scholars Online Journal

Front matter includes program background, Table of Contents, and a complete listing of 2010 Portland State McNair Scholars.

The Chanticleer, 2013-09-23, Coastal Carolina University

The Chanticleer Student Newspaper

The editorially independent student produced weekly newspaper of Coastal Carolina University.

Gathering Media For A Turkish Language Course, Laura Ann Knight, Dr. Michael Bush

Journal of Undergraduate Research

When a person visits another country with which they are unfamiliar, it can be hard to understand both the language and the culture of the people. It can be very useful to learn a bit about a country, its people, and language before visiting it. In this project we developed a multimedia computer based program that could be used by business people, tourists, exchange students, or any person interested in being introduced to life in another country. The specific focus of this project was on Turkey.

Faculty Senate Executive Committee Agenda, September 23, 2013, Utah State University

Faculty Senate & Faculty Senate Executive Committee

• Education Policies Committee Annual Report - Larry Smith
• Libraries Advisory Council Report - Jennifer Duncan
• Parking Committee Report - James Nye
• Honors Program Report - Nick Morrison
• Recent changes to the Honors Program - Noelle Cockett
• PRPC Section 402, Language on RCDE, USU Eastern, and GSS (Second Reading) - Stephen Bialkowski
• EPC Items - Larry Smith
• Discussions on Disposition of Unfinished Business from 2012-2013 - Yanghee Kim

Emily Dickinson’S Place Names, Malina Nielson, Dr. Cynthia L. Hallen

Journal of Undergraduate Research

During her prolific writing career, nineteenth-century poet Emily Dickinson produced 1,789 poems. Dr. Cynthia Hallen of the English Language and Linguistics Department has been researching and defining all of Emily Dickinson’s words according to the way Dickinson used them for the forthcoming Emily Dickinson Lexicon.

Heimatfilme 1945-55: Austrian Identity Reconstructed Through The Alpine Image, Shane D. Peterson, Dr. James K. Lyon

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Approximately one-third of Austrian cinema during the mid-1950s was composed of the genre of Heimatfilme (Homeland films) which depicted country landscapes, especially the alpine terrain, in a mythical and nostalgic light. Though often dismissed as trivial and therefore largely unexamined on their own visual terms, these films depict “an intact, guiltless, eternal Austria” through the prolific imagery of natural settings. Indeed, so significant is the role of the Austrian landscape that it is listed alongside the actors in the credits of the 1954 film Echo der Berge (Echo of the Mountains) , a film whose lead actor, Rudolf Lenz, said …

Craft Education: Authentic Design Constraints, Embodied Thinking, And Craft Making, Pirita Seitamaa-Hakkarainen, Kaiju Kangas

Learn X Design Conference Series

Craft education, as a form of design learning, has a special significance in inspiring human creativity, particularly when conceptual and material aspects of the process reciprocally support one another. This article underlines the relevance of craft and design education; 1) the importance of dealing with various constraints and professional design knowledge, 2) the role of the embodied thinking in design and making activities, and 3) the ability to foster students’ awareness and competence in exploring, evaluating and improving their local environment and design culture. Two longitudinal elementary students’ design projects will be described as examples of integrative and thematic school …

Agriculture And The Food System: A Short History And Country Case Study In Mongolia, Marissa L. Markowitz

Capstone Collection

This paper includes a brief history of the human food system. It includes an exploration of the formation of the food system, the development of the modernized food and agriculture system, and challenges arisen throughout. Additionally, a specific case study into Mongolia and the unique geography of its food system is highlighted. The purpose of providing the case study is to consider challenges of a food system in transition amidst development in one country. Recommendations for Mongolia anent sustainable development are provided.

Incorporating Satellite Derived Cloud Climatologies To Improve High Resolution Interpolation Of Daily Precipitation., Adam M. Wilson, Benoit Parmentier, Brian Mcgill, Rob Guralnick, Walter Jetz

Yale Day of Data

Conservation of biodiversity demands comprehension of evolutionary and ecological patterns and processes that occur over vast spatial and temporal scales. A central goal of ecology is to understand the factors that control the spatial distribution of species and this has become even more important in the face of climate change. However, at global scales there can be enormous uncertainty in environmental data used to model species distributions. Even ‘simple’ metrics such as mean annual precipitation are difficult to estimate in areas with few weather stations and available data sets do not quantify uncertainty in these surfaces. We are developing a …

K’Iche’ Kinship Terms And Social Identity, Kristine Kinship Whipple, Dr. John Hawkins

Journal of Undergraduate Research

During the summer of 2005, I lived and worked among the indigenous Maya-K’iche’ of the Guatemalan highlands. Prior to leaving, I had anticipated examining kinship terms in a bilingual country and whether the use of K’iche’ terms vs. Spanish terms would indicate a difference in the type of kinship relationship created. Upon arrival, I learned that I would spend the season in a rural, monolingual K’iche’ hamlet. Without my informants knowing any Spanish, I abandoned my bilingual project altogether and studied, instead, the native conceptions of communication and how these conceptions interplayed with their models of kinship and family. Having …

Minority Group Awareness In Tamil Nadu, India, Matt Shurtleff, Dr. Chad Emmett

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Most political situations have an interesting background. They are the stuff that spy movies are made of. The involvement of India in the Sri Lankan civil war is no exception.

Changing Agricultural Land Use In Suzhou, China, Emily J. Long, Dr. Richard H. Jackson

Journal of Undergraduate Research

China’s recent economic boom has brought many changes to its urban and rural landscape. Urban communities are growing larger and are often encroaching upon important agricultural land. The city of Suzhou provides a prime case study of the effects that development can have on once fertile agricultural land in China. Suzhou is located in the fertile Yangtze River delta in the Jiangsu Province bordering Shanghai on the east. The city of Suzhou is over 2,500 years old and is famous for its beautiful scenery, classical gardens, and rich cultural heritage. This fertile delta provided good farming soil for thousands of …

Paleokarst Shafts In The Western Desert Of Egypt: A Unique Landscape, Ashraf Mostafa

KIP Articles

Paleokarst shafts in the western desert of Egypt: A unique landscapeThe Eocene limestone plateau of the Western Desert of Egypt has various karst features, including shafts created during ancient wet periods. These Paleokarst shafts have been investigated on the plateau to the west of the Nile valley, specifically northwest of Assiut. Most of these shafts are infilled by conglomerate (cemented flint, red soil and limestone chips) and appear as pockets in limestone hills. The morphology of the shafts and the characteristics of their infillings suggest that they developed in vadose zone at the base of epikarst limits. This stage probably …

The New Hampshire, Vol. 103 [104], No. 04 (Sep. 20, 2013), The New Hampshire

The New Hampshire Print Edition

An independent student produced newspaper from the University of New Hampshire. This volume was printed as 103, but it is the 104th volume in the series. This was corrected in pencil.

Soundings 2013-09-20, N/A N/A

Soundings

No abstract provided.

Research Highlights, Fall 2013, Roslyn Miller

All Maxine Goodman Levin School of Urban Affairs Publications

Through academics, research, and community involvement, the Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs is advancing effective city management and sound urban policy, and changing America’s cities one graduate at a time.

Our graduates work in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors — government, human services, health care, public safety, community development, housing, environmental advocacy — both within our own region and in other parts of the nation.

Our faculty and professional staff are actively engaged in applied research and community problem-solving around city management, community development, environmental policy and management, economic development, and more.

We invite you to visit …

Suzhou Urban Developments And Economic Growth The Impact Of Special Economic Zones And The Light Rail System, Songjie Li, Dr. Richard Jackson

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Suzhou, China is an ancient Chinese city facing rapid and wrenching changes. Located in the Delta of the Yangtze River some fifty miles northwest of Shanghai, it is famous for its classical gardens and numerous canals that connect to the famous Grand Canal and Tai Lake. Suzhou is frequently mislabeled as the “Venice of the East”, but Chinese people more likely to call it the “Paradise on Earth”. Written historical records indicate that people started to live in Suzhou area over 4000 years ago, it is one of the oldest settlements in Yangtze River basin.

Recent Macalester Graduates Depart For Peace Corps, Macalester College

College Press Releases

No abstract provided.

2013.09.19 - Board Of Trustees Meeting Minutes, Northeastern Illinois University Board Of Trustees

Board of Trustees - 2013

Meeting materials for the NEIU Board of Trustees

The Murray Ledger And Times, September 19, 2013, The Murray Ledger And Times

The Murray Ledger & Times

No abstract provided.

Principles Of Family-Centered City Planning Achieving True Mixed-Income Housing In New Urbanist Developments, David Gay, Dr. Richard Jackson

Journal of Undergraduate Research

New Urbanism, or traditional neighborhood design (TND), is a growing trend in American real estate development. It is characterized by mixed-uses, a variety of housing sizes, and pedestrian-oriented streetscapes. It often encourages more efficient land uses, which, in turn, makes way for better transportation planning and less congested traffic patterns. These designs are more akin to pre-WWII development than to the typical contemporary subdivisions. New Urbanism aims to be more family friendly, especially in terms of affordability, but due to several underlying factors, these developments often demand an artificially large cost from homebuyers, excluding many potential residents who would most …

A Climate Reconstruction And Drought Assessment Of The Wasatch Front, Daniel F. Bently, Dr. Matthew F. Bekker

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The purpose of this study was to extend the climate record of the Wasatch Front Area in order to assess drought along the Wasatch Front. In order to accomplish this, tree-ring analysis was done using Limber Pine (Pinus flexilus) trees from the rocky, north face of Mount Olympus, Wasatch Mountains.

Vietnamese Migration To Cambodia, Kyle Larsen, Dr. Chad Emmett

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Vietnamese migration to Cambodia is unique because, unlike most immigrants who seek sanctuary in a nation more economically and socially stable countries, the Vietnamese in Cambodia face many worse conditions than in Vietnam. In many ways, Cambodia is much less-developed than Vietnam in terms of GDP, literacy, poverty rates, and more. The traditional rivalry between Cambodia and Vietnam exacerbates the situation, which results in violence and social ostracism to the immigrants. According to the 2005 CIA Factbook, the Vietnamese make up five percent of the Cambodian national population of more than 13 million. Virtually all of them have migrated since …

The Kingdom Of Tonga And The Unwritten Order, Doug Farr

Journal of Undergraduate Research

In this paper I will address the unwritten order that exists in the highly stratified society of the Kingdom of Tonga. The relationship between power and rank in Tonga has created informal laws that govern the people. These informal laws, as well as a struggle for power, have created a division between the elite class and the powerless class, and this division is generating an uprising of the powerless class. I argue that the powerless class may win independent battles against the informal laws, however they will not defeat it completely, as this system has proven to be a testing …

The Comment, September 19, 2013, Bridgewater State University

The Comment

No abstract provided.

Shack Settlement Planning And Public Participation: Duncan Village, South Africa, David Kay, Dr. Richard Jackson

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Over the last ten years, government programs have facilitated the redevelopment of many South African communities; however, for many the promise of redevelopment has been elusive. In 2002, there were an estimated 8 million people living in shack settlements in South Africa. From 1994 to 2004, the government had built over a million houses in order to provide adequate shelter for its citizens, but there are many more still in need of assistance.

Asian International Students' College Experiences At Universities In The United States: Relationship Between Perceived Quality Of Personal Contact And Self-Reported Gains In Learning, Krishna K. Bista

Student Theses and Dissertations

This study examined associations between Asian international students' perceived quality of contact with faculty, administrative personnel and other students, and self-reported gains in areas identified in College Students Experience Questionnaire. The sample included 705 Asian students from 25 research universities across the United States. Of 705 Asian international students, 390 were from East Asia, 219 from South and Central Asia, and 96 from Southeast Asia. Results indicated that Asian international students' relationships with peers were positively associated with all five domains of gains of learning (i.e., personal development, science and technology, general education, vocational preparation, and intellectual skills). Also, Asian …