Digital Commons Network^™

Examining The Relationship Between Social Capital And The Built Environment: A Case Study In Measuring Community Sustainability, Shannon H. Rogers

Doctoral Dissertations

The concepts of sustainability and sustainable development are frequently described as having three main components, sometimes referred to as the three pillars or the triple bottom line: environmental, economic, and social. Because the origins of sustainability come from a desire to right environmental wrongs much consideration has been given to the environmental issues, especially how they interface with economic ones. Frequently mentioned but rarely examined, the social aspects of sustainability have been considered the weakest and least described pillar. This work explores the utility of social capital, the value of one's networks and connections, as a measure of sustainability. As …

Writing The Northland: Jack London's And Robert W. Service's Imaginary Geography, Cara Erdheim

English Faculty Publications

Book review by Cara Erdheim.

Giehmann, Barbara Stefanie. Writing the Northland: Jack London's and Robert W. Service's Imaginary Geography. Würzburg, Germany: Könighausen & Neumann, 2011.

Knowns, Unknowns, And Impacts, Randall Jackson

Regional Research Institute Working Papers

Jouke van Dijk opened the most recent issue of Papers in Regional Science with “Long lasting knowledge in Regional Science,” an editorial highlighting the role that the Association”s journal has played in documenting much of the key regional science research since its inception. Publications obviously provide a long lasting chronicle of research in regional science, but I had rather hoped to find in his editorial an actual identification and enumeration of examples of specific long lasting knowledge gleaned from the regional science record. My hopes stemmed from having spent the past year contemplating appropriate content for this Presidential Address on …

Effects Of Water Conservation On Evapotranspiration In Las Vegas, Nevada, Joseph Belli

Master's Theses

Las Vegas, Nevada, is a rapidly growing arid city that is experiencing significant challenges in water consumption. Most of the water is used outdoors, precluding recycling and reuse of water. With a large increase in population, the Southern Nevada Water Authority created the Water Smart Landscape Program to limit outdoor water usage. This study used remote sensing images and techniques to examine how much water was lost to the atmosphere through evapotranspiration (ET) in the Las Vegas metropolitan region from 1999 to 2009. The results showed that both extreme weather conditions and water policy influence ET rates.

Problem Solving With Geographic Networks In The Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, Steven Hong

Master's Theses

The Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta (Delta) serves as the crossroads for many geographic networks that crisscross California. These include a conveyance network for drinking water, a biological network for delta smelt, and a transportation network for roads. As a result, local Delta issues concerning flooding and endangered fish hold implications for the entire state. This thesis explores these underlying network structures that pass through the Delta as a means for solving subsets of these most difficult challenges.

Recognition of these larger networks enable the transformation of the Delta's convoluted maze of waterways and islands into a series of nodes and segments. …

Communicating Air: Alternative Pathways To Environmental Knowing Through Computational Ecomedia, Andrea Polli

Other Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Business Theses

This dissertation, Communicating Air: Alternative Pathways to Environmental Knowing through Computational Ecomedia, is the culmination of an art practice-led investigation into ways in which the production of ecomedia may open alternative pathways to environmental knowing in a time of urgent climate crisis. This thesis traces the author’s artistic, personal and political development across the period of study and presents an extended argument for greater public engagement with weather and climate science, greater public and private support for long-term collaborations between media art and climate science, and increased public open access to global weather and climate monitoring and computationally modelled data.

Formulating A Conceptual Framework To Understand Native American Perceptions Of Place And Identity: A Temporal Examination Of The Spatio-Social Effects Of Uneven Development Through Accumulation By Dispossession, Denyse Wyskup

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This research dialectically conceptualizes how capitalist uneven development and subsequent occurrences has shaped, and continues to shape, Native American perceptions of place and identity. Specifically, this research focuses on accumulation by dispossession, a key component of uneven development, and the spatio-historic effects this form of dispossession has had on Native American lifeworlds. This research focuses primarily upon federal legislation in the form of treaties, acts, and court rulings as the predominant component sustaining accumulation by dispossession and, in turn, perpetuating uneven development within Native American communities. In order to more holistically conceptualize the impacts of accumulation by dispossession three Native …

Engaging The Virtual Landscape: Toward An Experiential Approach To Exploring Place Through A Spatial Experience Engine, Susan J. Bergeron

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The utilization of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and other geospatial technologies in historical inquiry and the humanities has led to a number of projects that are exploring digital representations of past landscapes and places as platforms for synthesizing and representing historical and geographic information. Recent advancements in geovisualization, immersive environments, and virtual reality offer the opportunity to generate digital representations of cultural and physical landscapes, and embed those virtual landscapes with information and knowledge from multiple GIS sources. The development of these technologies and their application to historical research has opened up new opportunities to synthesize historical records from disparate …

Earth Science For Secondary Schools: Earth Science Teaching Curriculum, Chelsea Devries

Earth and Soil Sciences

Creating this senior project, based on secondary Earth Science curriculum, will be directed toward teachers and will assist in lessons and instruction and reaching students at a deeper level. This Earth Science curriculum will challenge students and enlighten teachers. This curriculum will impact students in a way that they will never forget. After completing this course, the students will be knowledgeable and have a strong foundation in the fundamentals of Earth Science. Creating this curriculum will challenge students in subjects such as, the universe, biodiversity / conservation biology, introduction to soils, rocks and minerals, and the geography of California. The …

The Power-Knowledge To Move Mountains: Subaltern Discourses Of Mountaintop Removal In Coal River Valley, West Virginia, Jen Osha

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This research investigates the perspectives of local residents within the Coal River Valley, WV, who are concerned about the impacts of mountaintop removal (MTR) on themselves, their families and communities, and their environment. In this dissertation, the term 'subaltern' represents a heterogeneous community of resistance to MTR with multiple perspectives around intersections of gender, age, and livelihood. The objectives of my study are twofold: to illuminate how dominant legal discourse continues to subjugate the discourse of resistance to MTR, and to identify possible spaces of resistance within which the subaltern discourse can challenge the power relations that continue to permit …

Poverty And Indigenous Peoples Of Nepal, Gyanesh Lama, Martha Ozawa, Palsang Lama

Himalayan Policy Research Conference

This study analyzes nationally representative sample of women (N =10793) to quantify the magnitude and predictors of poverty among indigenous peoples of Nepal. The study estimates the risk of poverty among the major ethnic groups in Nepal. Cross-sectional data from the Nepal Demographic and Health Survey 2006 (NDHS 2006) was used. Step-wise multivariate logistic regressions were conducted.

Geographic Isolation And Poverty Among Indigenous Peoples In Nepal, Gyanesh Lama, Marth N. Ozawa, Palsang Lama

Himalayan Research Papers Archive

This study analyzed nationally representative sample of women (N =10793) to quantify the magnitude and predictors of poverty among indigenous peoples of Nepal. The study estimated the risk of poverty among the major ethnic groups in Nepal. Cross-sectional data from the Nepal Demographic and Health Survey 2006 (NDHS 2006) was used. Step-wise multivariate logistic regressions were conducted. The results show that significant variations exist in the risk of poverty between indigenous and non-indigenous peoples. Tamang were at the highest risk of poverty among the indigenous peoples. Controlling for geography further exacerbated the disparity between indigenous and non-non indigenous peoples. Attentions …

Path Dependence, Institutions And The Density Of Economic Activities: Evidence From Italian Cities, Marco Percoco

Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei Working Papers

In recent years a growing body of literature has begun to consider the possible presence of path dependence in the development processes of countries. This phenomenon has always been recognized in regional and urban studies because the path of development almost naturally follows a history-dependent spatial diffusion influenced by both physical geography and the quality of institutions. In this paper, I consider the case of firm concentration in Italy and its impact on local development. A large and growing literature has argued in favour of persisting effects of past institutions on current outcomes. Hence, in order to identify the impact …

Our Kook: Surfing And The Political Economy Of Place In Cardiff, California, Shivaun Watchorn

Cities in the 21st Century

No abstract provided.

Triumph Against The Growth Machine: Examining The Case Of The Northeast Minneapolis Hhw Facility, Peter Truax

Cities in the 21st Century

No abstract provided.

Shackdweller Citizenship, Margaret Scott

Cities in the 21st Century

Literature on slum and shack settlements focuses mainly on the staggering numbers of shackdwellers, the steadily increasing urban population, and the perils of rapid urbanization yet largely ignores the rights of the poor people housed in these disputed and often highly politicized areas. Even in literature sympathetic to the need for improved conditions, little agency is granted to those who have the greatest stake in how slums are managed, the shackdwellers themselves. The paper looks carefully at shackdwellers' rights, considering the activism of a South African movement, the Abahlali baseMjondolo. Details on the Abahlali are revealed through a variety of …

Offshore Urbanism: The Intersecting Roles Of Neoliberalism And Historical Memory In Creating Dubai's Palm Jumeirah, Zach Selke

Cities in the 21st Century

No abstract provided.

Health And Place: Special Commodities In New Urban Development, Chloe Mirzayi

Cities in the 21st Century

No abstract provided.

Flood Control And The Growth Machine In Des Moines, Julian Hyde

Cities in the 21st Century

No abstract provided.

The Soldier And The Growth Machine: An Examination Of Fort Bliss, Texas, Robert Heyman

Cities in the 21st Century

No abstract provided.

Integrating The Suburbs: A Park Forest Case Study, Joseph Houlihan

Cities in the 21st Century

The production of human living spaces operates largely within the confines of political economy. As such, myriad actors influence the economic and social character of places. And over time, places prove essentially dynamic. This paper considers the influence of political economy on the African American suburban experience during the second half of the twentieth century, focusing specifically on Park Forest, Illinois.

The Struggle For Legitimacy: Dissecting Discourse On The Expansion Of Gilo, Elise Goldin

Cities in the 21st Century

In August 2009, the United States called for a freeze on Israeli settlements in order to promote peace talks between Israel and Palestine. Israel agreed to the settlement freeze yet less than three weeks later approved a plan by the Israel Land Administration and the Jerusalem Planning Committee to build an additional 900 houses in the town of Gilo. While much of the international community understands Gilo to be an illegal settlement built on occupied territory, Israel disputes this claim and views Gilo as a legal suburb of Jerusalem. Though many states, international organizations, and human rights groups protested Gilo’s …

Visions Of The Future As Spaces Of Engagement: The Political Economy Of Transit-Oriented Redevelopment In Tysons Corner, Va., Avery Bowron

Cities in the 21st Century

In the 1950s, Tysons Corner was a rural area of Fairfax County, VA. Today, it is the nation's 12th largest collection of commercial and office space, and the textbook example of “Edge City” suburban sprawl. Throughout its history, development in Tysons closely resembled Logan and Molotch's growth machine thesis. Over the past two years, a radically different future has been planned for Tysons with the arrival of the Dulles Metrorail and the drafting of a new Comprehensive Plan. This paper analyzes the new Comprehensive Plan through its series of drafts, public comments, and coverage in the media in order to …

Linking Tourism Resources And Local Economic Development: A Spatial Analysis In West Virginia, David Dyre

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Tourism has proven to be a major contributor to West Virginia's economy after much of the states agricultural, mining, and chemical manufacturing have ceased. This study created a database of cultural tourism resources (battlefields, historic sites, festivals, and museums) and tourism businesses (camping sites, lodging, and restaurants) and created a location map of each resource type, determined their spatial distribution across the state, categorized counties based on cultural tourism resources, tourism businesses and travel spending, and examined the relationship of the tourism resources and travel spending at the county level. Two large portions of the state were found to rank …

Ethnicity, Boundaries, And Nationalism In A "European" Croatia, Jennifer L. Titanski

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Despite the E.U.'s attempts to create a sense of European homogeneity between its members, issues of nationality and identity continue to play a vital role in both its function and expansion. This research examines the shifting role that the nation plays in Croatia's transition to the European Union. Employing discourse analysis of state documents and online surveys of Croatian youth, this study analyzes the role of the state in perpetuating an image of stability and westward thinking toward greater Europe; identifies the perspective young Croatian adults have on European integration; gauges the importance of nationalism for a post-socialist generation; and …

Hegemonic Conflict In The Caspian Region: Accumulation By Dispossession And The Spatial Fix, Patrick L. Ehland

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This research examines the political-economic and military activities of three major powers, the United States, China and Russia, in the Caspian region, comprising the nation states of Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Azerbaijan, since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. The activities of these three powers have been guided primarily by resource and strategic needs, and they have had a significant effect on the uneven development of the Caspian states. The interests and actions of the three powers have frequently come into conflict with each other, and the responses of the individual Caspian states have varied widely. …

Assessing The Cumulative Impact Of Disturbance On Canopy Structure And Chemistry In Appalachian Forests, Lindsay N. Deel

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Eastern forests experience a range of disturbance events over time, from stand-replacing disturbances, such as clear cuts, to ephemeral disturbances, such as insect outbreaks. By understanding the cumulative impact of disturbances on canopy structure and chemistry, we can gain insight into management strategies, assess a variety of ecosystem services, and even contribute to a larger body of knowledge on global climate change. I transformed a series of Landsat images spanning approximately 25 years into cumulative disturbance maps covering Green Ridge State Forest and Savage River State Forest in western Maryland. Intensive field surveys collected during the summer of 2009 provided …

Preservation Ethics In The Case Of Nebraska's Nationally Registered Historic Properties, Darren Michael Adams

Department of Geography: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This dissertation focuses on the National Register of Historic Places and considers the geographical implications of valuing particular historic sites over others. Certain historical sites will either gain or lose desirability from one era to the next, this dissertation identifies and explains three unique preservation ethical eras, and it maps the sites which were selected during those eras. These eras are the Settlement Era (1966–1975), the Commercial Architecture Era (1976–1991), and the Progressive Planning Era (1992–2010). The findings show that transformations in the program included an early phase when state authorities listed historical resources pertaining to the settlement of the …

Trade And Geography In The Economic Origins Of Islam: Theory And Evidence, Stelios Michalopoulos, Alireza Naghavi, Giovanni Prarolo

Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei Working Papers

This research examines the economic origins of Islam and uncovers two empirical regularities. First, Muslim countries, virtual countries and ethnic groups, exhibit highly unequal regional agricultural endowments. Second, Muslim adherence is systematically larger along the pre-Islamic trade routes in the Old World. The theory argues that this particular type of geography (i) determined the economic aspects of the religious doctrine upon which Islam was formed, and (ii) shaped its subsequent economic performance. It suggests that the unequal distribution of land endowments conferred differential gains from trade across regions, fostering predatory behavior from the poorly endowed ones. In such an environment …

A Geographic Approach To Place And Natural Resource Use In Local Food Systems, Leslie Duram, Lydia Oberholtzer

Publications

This article illuminates the geographic concept of ‘place’ in local foods. Because the social aspects of local food have been more fully addressed in previous literature, this review focuses instead on the ecological aspects of farming and food. First, the literature on natural resource use in agriculture provides contextual understanding of water use, biodiversity, soils and agro-ecological methods. The complex relationship between climate change and agriculture is described and models assessing the impacts of climate change on agriculture are detailed. The geography of local food is specifically addressed by describing methods for assessing natural resource use in local food, including …