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Review: The Color Of Power: Racial Coalitions And Political Power In Oakland By Frédérick Douzet, Translated By George Holoch, Justin Kh Tse

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Frederick Douzet’s account of urban racial politics in Oakland, California attempts to frame the racial geopolitics of California via Yves Lacoste’s geopolitical framework. Suggesting that American political geographers focus too much on international politics, Douzet contends for a return to Lacoste’s classic definition of geopolitics as simply the study of how groups compete for power over territorial space—whether as large as nation-states in an international order or as small as neighbourhoods in cities. Douzet’s study of Oakland thus claims to be about how African Americans in Oakland wrested power from a white oligarchy in the 1970s, only to be faced …

A Model For The Assessment And Analysis Of The Carbon Footprint Of Residential Buildings In Egypt, Jilan Mohamed Saada

Theses and Dissertations

Housing contributes substantially to greenhouse gas emissions. This occurs directly through emissions from materials used during construction, and indirectly through energy consumption during the use-phase. Efforts have been exerted across the construction industry to adopt greener, more sustainable practices. However, there have been no established guidelines for tackling such a vital issue in Egypt and other developing countries. This work examines current practices applied in the design and construction of middle-income housing in the country as a proxy for other building sectors and explores practical solutions that can lead to more sustainable developments. This work also proposes a dynamic model …

Technical And Scale Efficiency Of Cassava Production System In Delta State, Nigeria: An Application Of Two-Stage Dea Approach, S Rahman, Bo Awerije

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences

The present study examines the level of pure technical and scale efficiencies of cassava production system including its sub-processes (that is production and processing stages) of 278 cassava farmers/processors from three regions of Delta State, Nigeria by applying Two-Stage Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) approach. Results reveal that pure technical efficiency (PTE) is significantly lower at the production stage 0.41 vs 0.55 for the processing stage, but scale efficiency (SE) is high at both stages (0.84 and 0.87), implying that productivity can be improved substantially by reallocation of resources and adjusting operation size. The socio-economic determinants exert differential impacts on PTE …

The Philippines And Al-Andalus: Linking The Edges Of The Classical Islamic World, Isaac Donoso

Philippine Studies: Historical and Ethnographic Viewpoints

This research note offers a broad analysis of the central elements that constitute Islamic identity in the Philippines in a manner that reconciles Philippine Islam with the global history of Islamic civilization. The contact with the Spaniards and the legacy of Islamic Spain serve as essential elements in defining Islamicity in the Philippines. Hence, Islam in the Philippines can be appreciated as combining the richness of a cultural process that includes influences from the East as well as the West (al-Andalus), shaping the Philippines as the meeting place of both edges of the Islamic world.KEYWORDS: ISLAMIC CIVILIZATION • PHILIPPINE ISLAM …

Searching For Innovation, Creativity And 21st Century Skills: A Case Study Of A Suburban Elementary School District, Robert Alexander Serdar

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to seek out and identify the traits, attitudes and characteristics of innovative, creative and highly effective teachers within a suburban elementary school district. Participants included five elementary teachers who were identified by their colleagues as being exceptionally innovative, creative and fostering 21^st Century Skills. The research method for this qualitative case study consisted of teacher interviews, student interviews, and multiple classroom observations by the researcher. From this, seven themes, or practices, of highly innovative, creative teachers of 21^st Century Skills emerged: (1) See the Teacher as Lead Learner (2) Encourage Learner Reflection …

Biosecurity Council Stakeholder Workshop - Report By The Biosecurity Council Of Western Australia, Biosecurity Council Of Western Australia

Biosecurity published reports

The Biosecurity Council of Western Australia (the Council) held a stakeholder workshop to explore perspectives on risk-based decision making and biosecurity investment across industry, government and community. This report presents a summary and interpretation of the workshop discussion to enable a statement on ‘where we are at’ in terms of biosecurity decision-making and joint effort.

The workshop process identified clear differences in the current biosecurity priorities of industry, government and community:

• Industry priorities were focused on biosecurity activities that would preserve a profitable/sustainable industry.
• Government priorities were targeted toward prevention and early eradication, but also included ongoing actions for biodiversity …

Where Does Bicycling For Health Happen? Analysing Volunteered Geographic Information Through Place And Plexus, Greg P. Griffin, Junfeng Jiao

Research Collection College of Integrative Studies

Research on the role of bicycling for health through physical activity has been limited by the lack of information on where bicyclists ride. New big data sources available through smartphone-based applications provide a rich source to provide bicycle volume data more comparable to the scale of information available for automotive and public transit modes. In the case of smartphone apps for fitness tracking, results of this data can be used similar to the growing application of global positioning systems for automotive travel surveying. The authors evaluate data from Travis County, Texas for the purpose of determining where bicyclists ride, primarily …

Constructing The Orient: North Africa In The Short Stories Of Albert Camus And Paul Bowles, Lamish Abdelaziz Hamdy

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis looks at how the Other is constructed in Western short fiction. Western writers have represented the Orient through the ages, calling on images disseminated by Orientalism. Such representations result in deconstructing the humanity of the Other and denying them a voice, as Edward Said has shown in his works. Focusing on one particular location, North Africa, the thesis examines how two modern Western writers viewed and represented the natives and the Maghreb (Algeria and Morocco). I chose two creative writers who had a first-hand experience with the Other through decades of living in North Africa—the Algerian French Albert …

The Impact Of Political Developments On Personal Status Law Reforms In Egypt, Mona Saleh

Theses and Dissertations

Personal status law reforms do not only manage relationships within the household, but they are also important political tools that the state has used to serve its interests. However, most of the covered studies on law and gender in Egypt deal with the state as if it is a clear term and a homogenous entity, which is not the matter as several theoretical studies on state show. Therefore, the main research question of this thesis grows out of this conceptual problematic, and it focuses on determining the main state actors that shaped personal status law reforms in Egypt, and the …

Interests, Identity, And The Geopolitical Causes For Military Rule In Egypt., William Lamon

Theses and Dissertations

"Interests, Identity, and the Geopolitical Causes for Military Rule in Egypt." The thesis is an examination of the geopolitics of Egypt, from the Free Officers revolution in 1952, up to the present. The work analyzes the evolution of Egypt's political and economic infrastructure as subsequent military regimes simultaneously pursued state interests and managed internal discontent associated with regional identities. In the work, "identity" refers to ethnic, tribal, and religious affiliations present within populations throughout the Middle East. A population’s loyalty and identification with an alternative community complicates security dynamics in the region, as they undermine the legitimacy of governments and …

The Saudi Reaction To The Arab Revolts: The Paradoxical Saudi Policy Towards The Arab Spring, Youssef Tarek Bastaoros

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines the foreign policy of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia towards the Arab Spring that erupted in early in several Arab countries, and how Saudi Arabia dealt with these events. The reactions of Saudi Arabia towards the events of the Arab Spring seem contradictory in the sense of effectively supporting the regimes in Bahrain and Egypt whilst supporting the opposition in Libya and Syria. Several research questions are raised in this thesis, therefore this study attempts to provide answers on how a conservative status quo like the Kingdom serves its objectives in a revolutionary environment, and why Saudi …

Investor Trading Behavior: Empirical Evidence From The Egyptian Stock Exchange, Heba Mohamed Khalil

Theses and Dissertations

Using unique, intraday transactions data from Egypt, this study examines the extent to which past returns, over several intervals going back to up to six months of past returns, and the level of sophistication of the different investor types, determine the propensity of different investor groups to buy and sell. I adopted the buy ratio differences method to determine which investors adopt a momentum behavior and which investors adopt a contrarian behavior. I find that non-Arab foreign investors tend to be momentum investors, buying past winning stocks and selling past losers while domestic investors, especially individual investors, tend to exhibit …

Using Google Trends For Search Engine Optimization Of Extension Internet Content, Jane A. Parish

Journal of Extension

Google Trends can be a useful tool for Extension professionals in determining online interest in search terms. By knowing this information, online Extension content can be tailored to attract increased Internet traffic from search engines. An example comparison of "cattle nutrition' and similar search terms shows widely varying search interest amongst these terms in the United States from 2011 through 2014. Differences in search term popularity among locations and over time are also worth noting. This demonstrates the importance of making informed wording choices that consider search engine optimization when preparing Extension content for online distribution.

Would Consumers Purchase A Wider Variety Of Produce And Products At West Virginia Farmers' Markets If They Were Available?, Kerri Wade, John Porter, Brenda Porter, Ami Cook, Hannah Fincham, Lauren Weatherford

Journal of Extension

This article examines whether or non-consumers would purchase different produce and products if they were available at farmers' markets in West Virginia? A statewide, multi-year research project has generated data to answer this question. Surveys were administered to indicate what consumers are purchasing at West Virginia farmers' markets and what they would like to purchase. Additional information was gathered to show public perceptions of the markets, consumer shopping habits, and reasons for not shopping at the market. Results show that there is consumer demand for a wider variety of produce at West Virginia farmers' markets.

“Third-Wave” Coffeehouses As Venues For Sociality: On Encounters Between Employees And Customers, John Manzo

The Qualitative Report

Contemporary social life is often depicted, in and out of the social sciences, as an ever-worsening subterfuge of alienation, ennui, and the systematic destruction of traditional, human-scaled, publicly-accessible, “organic” sociality that people once enjoyed. In this paper I do not contend that these trends in our social and commercial landscape are not happening. I will instead contend that conventional face-to-face sociability thrives even in the face of the loss of many traditional public meeting places. My focus in this piece is on social interaction in independent cafes that are known, and that self-identify, as what coffee connoisseurs term “third-wave” coffeehouses. …

Modelling Impacts Of Seasonal Wastewater Treatment Plant Effluent Permits And Biosolid Substitution For Phosphorus Management In Catchments And River Systems, P. G. Whitehead, M. N. Futter, S. Comber, D. Butterfield, L. Pope, R. Willows, C. Burgess

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences

The issues of diffuse and point source phosphorus (P) pollution in river systems are presented using a catchment model to assess nutrient behaviour, seasonal effluent standards and biosolid substitution. A process-based, dynamic water quality model (INCA-P) has been applied to four UK catchments, namely, the Rivers Tywi, Wensum, Lunan and Hampshire Avon, to simulate water fluxes, sediments, total phosphorus and soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP) concentrations. The model has been used to assess impacts of both agricultural runoff and point P sources from wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) on water quality. With increasing costs for P fertilizer and P reduction at WWTPs, …

A Legal Approach To The Improvement Of Energy Efficency Measures For The Existing Building Stock In The United States Based On The European Experience, Teresa Parejo-Navajas

Seattle Journal of Environmental Law

Energy consumption in buildings is on the rise and represents almost half of the total greenhouse gas emissions in cities, which are the main cause of global warming on the planet. There is a great scien-tific consensus that improving energy efficiency of building systems and operations is a very effective way to tackle this important prob-lem. However, despite the fact that the existing building stock has the greatest potential for greenhouse gas emission reduction, most laws and regulations have focused primarily on new buildings. Hence, im-proving energy efficiency in existing buildings represents a great op-portunity for reducing greenhouse gas emissions …

Conversations On The Global South – Thoughts On Theorizing From The South: An Interview With John Comaroff, Lisandro Claudio

Social Transformations Journal of the Global South

The following interview with John Comaroff" (JC), conducted by Social Transformations editor Lisandro Claudio (LC), took place in Copenhagen in November 2014. Its content arises largely out of the recent publication of Theory from the South: Or, how Euro-America is evolving toward Africa, by Jean and John Comaroff" (Boulder, CO: Paradigm Publishers, 2012).

Admissions Report - Detailed Data - May 2015, Office Of Institutional Research & Effectiveness, Wright State University

Admissions Reports

Detailed report of applicants to Wright State including data on county of residency, intended major, and ethnicity for Fall Semester 2015.

Surf-N-Turf, But The Sustainable Kind? The Limits And Potential Of Market-Driven Regulation In Food Production, Zdravka Tzankova, Lauren Gwin

Seattle Journal of Environmental Law

This article examines the dynamics and likely effects of NGO efforts at private, market-driven regulation of antibiotics use in US agricul-ture. Such NGO efforts aim to eliminate the routine feeding of anti-biotics to healthy animals for the purposes of prophylaxis and growth promotion. To that end, NGOs are pressing large food retailers, who are some of the most powerful market actors, to demand antibiotic-free meat and to refuse selling meat produced with sub-therapeutic use of antibiotics. Curbing agricultural overuse of antibiotics is critically important for public health because overuse erodes the curative power of antibiot-ics by creating antibiotic resistant animal …

F(R)Iction, Rami Hammour

Masters Theses

Architecture is a space for stories; stories of the inhabitants, the designers, and the builders...

In my thesis I’m using architecture to tell stories, and criticize ideologies. Stories become the program, the structure, and “building material”, my site is any place where the criticized ideology dominates.

Architecture becomes a question and discussion. It is my question about life, and it is the question of the characters of the story about life. Eventually it’s the question of every inhabitant of it. It’s also an armature for different conditions of interaction of private and public.

In my architecture, spaces are constructed from …

The Void, The Mystery, The Vast Array, The Infinity Of Unities, The Otherworld, The Absolute, The Hidden Order, The Randomness, The Infraworld, The Nothing, The Zone Of Immaterial Sensibility, The Silence, The Hollow Of Space, The Ineffable, The Emptiness, The Wild, Drew Ludwig

Masters Theses

This thesis presents the culmination of two years of excursions into and longing for the void: the sense of absolute presence and connectivity that I have always found in the desert of the Colorado Plateau. Away from the desert, I use my artistic practice as a means of approaching this kinship with the wild, the void.

My work may be understood as a series of experiments, striving to locate and access the void through different language, logic and media. My process speaks to a deep respect for the external wild of landscape (the desert), and a growing recognition of the …

Northern Range Extension Of The Figeater Beetle, Cotinis Mutabilis (Scarabaeidae: Cetoniinae), Into Nevada, Utah, And Colorado, Frank-Thorsten Krell, Jeff B. Knight, Robert Hammon, Pamela Wheeler, Jeffrey Johns Roberts, Jason R. Eckberg

Western North American Naturalist

The native Figeater Beetle, Cotinis mutabilis (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Cetoniinae), is known to occur from Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California to northern South America. Here we present records from Nevada, where it became established in the late 1960s; from Utah, where it has been found since the late 2000s; and from Colorado, where it was found in 2012. These records indicate a recent northward range extension of the species, which circumvents the Colorado Plateau. The range extension of C. mutabilis has potential positive effects, namely the addition of a new pollinator to those areas, but also potential negative implications if …

Antioxidant Capacity Of Wyoming Big Sagebrush (Artemisia Tridentata Ssp. Wyomingensis) Varies Spatially And Is Not Related To The Presence Of A Sagebrush Dietary Specialist, Xinzhu Pu, Lisa Lam, Kristina Gehlken, Amy C. Ulappa, Janet L. Rachlow, Jennifer Sorensen Forbey

Western North American Naturalist

Sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) in North America is an abundant native plant species that is ecologically and evolutionarily adapted to have a diverse array of biologically active chemicals. Several of these chemicals, specifically polyphenols, have antioxidant activity that may act as biomarkers of biotic or abiotic stress. This study investigated the spatial variation of antioxidant capacity, as well as the relationship between a mammalian herbivore and antioxidant capacity in Wyoming big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata wyomingensis). We quantified and compared total polyphenols and antioxidant capacity of leaf extracts from sagebrush plants from different spatial scales and at different levels …

Placing Ourselves In The Story, David J. Mulder

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

"Developing an understanding of the Civil War is an essential part of the curriculum in American schools today. And little wonder: unlike other conflicts in American history, the whole story happens here, at home. The story of the Civil War is the story of us fighting with us, and the conflict shaped not only the immediate situation, but also successive generations of Americans right up to the present day. How can parents and teachers help children and young adolescents understand this pivotal time period in American history?"

Posting about teaching and the Civil War from In All Things - …

Western News, May 28, 2015, Western Michigan University

Western News (1972-2018)

Story highlights: Survey confirms BTR Park is huge success; Summer events mark WMU’s return to Fort St. Joe site; Dining hall project to close part of Ring Road, groundbreaking set; WMU inventors win Lemelson-MIT ‘Cure it!’ prize; On Campus with Drew Martin.

Modeling The Geographic Spread Of Rabies In China, Jing Chen, Lan Zou, Shigui Ruan

Mathematics Faculty Articles

Abstract

In order to investigate how the movement of dogs affects the geographically inter-provincial spread of rabies in Mainland China, we propose a multi-patch model to describe the transmission dynamics of rabies between dogs and humans, in which each province is regarded as a patch. In each patch the submodel consists of susceptible, exposed, infectious, and vaccinated subpopulations of both dogs and humans and describes the spread of rabies among dogs and from infectious dogs to humans. The existence of the disease-free equilibrium is discussed, the basic reproduction number is calculated, and the effect of moving rates of dogs between …

Santa Clara Creek Restoration, Scott Cameron

Civil, Environmental and Sustainable Engineering Senior Theses

The Santa Clara River Valley is an area that has traditionally had a considerably high water table and that remains relatively true today as a result of a local adoption of imported surface water to meet most needs. Historically, the result of this high water table was a network of meandering waterways throughout the valley, several of which came extremely close to our own Santa Clara University. Despite this, there are no natural surface water systems that exist in this location today. In 1851, a Santa Clara county surveyor report showed one creek in particular that flowed nearly to the …

Building Social Sustainability From The Ground Up: The Contested Social Dimension Of Sustainability In Neighborhood-Scale Urban Regeneration In Portland, Copenhagen, And Nagoya, Jacklyn Nicole Kohon

Dissertations and Theses

In response to growing social inequality, environmental crises, and economic instability, sustainability discourse has become the dominant "master signifier" for many fields, particularly the field of urban planning. However, in practice many sustainability methods overemphasize technological and economic growth-oriented solutions while underemphasizing the social dimension. The social dimension of sustainability remains a "concept in chaos" drawing little agreement on definitions, domains, and indicators for addressing the social challenges of urban life. In contrast, while the field of public health, with its emphasis on social justice principles, has made significant strides in framing and developing interventions to target the social determinants …

Discursive Security: F.B.I. Stings And The Nature Of Peace, Adam Testerman

Dissertations and Theses

The current study utilizes Critical Discourse Analysis and Thematic Analysis to study newspaper coverage of F.B.I. sting operations in The New York Times, Washington Post, and USA Today. F.B.I. sting operations are a modern counter-terrorism policy designed to preempt acts of terrorism. This study develops a theoretical approach to understanding F.B.I. sting operations by reviewing the critique of security. The critique of security suggests that nations construct threats in order to produce and maintain ideological and practical hegemony. Thematic categories of the newspaper discourse are formulated and analyzed in the context of security. The study employs aspects of grounded theory …