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Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons™
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Articles 1 - 7 of 7
Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences
Investigating The Spatio-Temporal Relationships Between Snowmelt Timing And Wildfire Area Burned In The Us Mountain West, Donal Seán (Donal Seán) O'Leary Iii
Investigating The Spatio-Temporal Relationships Between Snowmelt Timing And Wildfire Area Burned In The Us Mountain West, Donal Seán (Donal Seán) O'Leary Iii
WWU Graduate School Collection
Wildfire is a growing problem in the US mountain west, with suppression costs exceeding $2 billion in 2015. Wildfire outbreaks occur in climate-driven synchronous events, and by studying the climate patterns that lead to dangerous fire conditions scientists have been able to identify numerous climatic factors that contribute to large fires. Low snow years and early snowmelt have long been hypothesized as indicators of large fire years, though there are few papers that identify this link explicitly, and those that do show great variation between the different mountainous areas of the west. In this thesis I, along with my co-investigators, …
Science And Strategy: How Scientific And Technical Information Are Used In Disputes Over Landslide Regulations In Seattle, Wa, Ana E. Miscolta-Cameron
Science And Strategy: How Scientific And Technical Information Are Used In Disputes Over Landslide Regulations In Seattle, Wa, Ana E. Miscolta-Cameron
WWU Graduate School Collection
This thesis investigates the ways in which scientific and technical information are used to challenge policies regarding development in landslide-prone areas in Seattle, Washington. It examines the values that underlie actor arguments within those challenges, using the theoretical lens of Science, Technology, and Society. Twelve case studies are selected from a set of 90 permitting appeals, court cases, and growth management hearings board appeals between the years of 1990 and 2015, and analyzed to identify the complex ways in which scientific information is used to further actor positions. A narrative analysis approach is used to analyze the case studies, archived …
One Hundred Years Of Vegetation Succession In The Easton Glacial Foreland, Mount Baker, Washington, Katherine A. (Katherine Ann) Rosa
One Hundred Years Of Vegetation Succession In The Easton Glacial Foreland, Mount Baker, Washington, Katherine A. (Katherine Ann) Rosa
WWU Graduate School Collection
This research describes stages of primary succession in the Easton glacial foreland on Mount Baker, Washington. The Easton foreland is an alpine landscape displaying the processes of primary succession from barren substrate to a developed forest within 1.95 kilometers and over a short geologic period of approximately one hundred years. Patterns of vegetation succession vary among forelands around the world. In the Easton foreland, vegetation development was measured by percent cover, richness, and species diversity. Environmental variables (distance from glacier (proxy for time), elevation, soil moisture, photosynthetic active radiation (PAR), slope, and aspect) were measured to determine factors influencing vegetation …
Climatic Drivers Of Western Spruce Budworm Outbreaks In The Okanogan Highlands, Todd M. Ellis
Climatic Drivers Of Western Spruce Budworm Outbreaks In The Okanogan Highlands, Todd M. Ellis
WWU Graduate School Collection
The western spruce budworm is recognized as the most ecologically- and economically-damaging defoliator in western North America. Like other defoliating insects, the western spruce budworm consumes the needles of host tree species like the Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco), causing limb and tree mortality, regeneration delays, and reduction in tree growth rates. Synchronous western spruce budworm outbreaks can occur over much of a host species' range, and we need a better understanding of the mechanisms driving the species’ population dynamics in order to predict climate change effects, mitigate ecological and resource management impacts, and understand ecosystem dynamics. To contribute …
Detecting Fires: A Nationally Consistent, Rule Based Approach, Jacob D. (Jacob Daniel) Lesser
Detecting Fires: A Nationally Consistent, Rule Based Approach, Jacob D. (Jacob Daniel) Lesser
WWU Graduate School Collection
One of the continuing challenges in wildland fire management is maintaining accurate vegetation and fuel data of an adequate resolution on an ever-changing landscape. The USGS’s LANDFIRE program produces national, mid-level resolution datasets of fuel, vegetation, and fire regime data useful in the modeling of wildland fire behavior. One of the most effective and least expensive ways for maintaining the accuracy of these layers is to incorporate area updates by detecting landscape changes. While many algorithms exist for detecting change and disturbances, these algorithms are often tuned for a particular landscape and require very precise training data or rely heavily …
Blurred Vision? Evaluating The Legacy Of Puget Sound Smart Growth, Stacy Clauson
Blurred Vision? Evaluating The Legacy Of Puget Sound Smart Growth, Stacy Clauson
WWU Graduate School Collection
This research examines tensions in Smart Growth in Central Puget Sound, Washington, an early adopter of regional planning influenced by Smart Growth planning principles. I examine evidence of social equity, environmental exposure, and health outcomes. Using longitudinal geographic cluster analysis, longitudinal and cumulative air pollution analysis, and health assessment, I compare socioeconomic changes with environmental and health measures. My research indicates that economic inequality has increased over time and the region remains spatially divided by socioeconomic status and race and ethnicity, despite implementation of Smart Growth policies that were intended to improve social equity outcomes. Further, despite a trend of …
Globalized Garment Systems: Theories On The Rana Plaza Disaster And Possible Localist Responses, Elizabeth A. Evans
Globalized Garment Systems: Theories On The Rana Plaza Disaster And Possible Localist Responses, Elizabeth A. Evans
WWU Graduate School Collection
Since 2005, more than 1,300 people in Bangladesh – the majority women – have died, while producing apparel for Western, especially United States, markets. Today, the US imports 97.5 percent of its apparel, mostly from developing countries such as Bangladesh. However, such import reliance was not always so. By examining past and present garment systems in the United States, my thesis seeks to address injustice in globalized garment systems, and suggest new directions for the future. The Rana Plaza factory collapse disaster thus is presented as a case study of injustice in globalized garment systems. In this thesis, I hypothesize …