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Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons™
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Articles 1 - 5 of 5
Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences
Energy In The Corn Belt: Is Maize Production Sustainable?, Matthew Bernau
Energy In The Corn Belt: Is Maize Production Sustainable?, Matthew Bernau
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Technological and scientific innovation has transformed agricultural production. Corn production methods changed from a sustainable, nutrient recycling production system to one reliant on imported fossil energy inputs. Located in the Western Corn Belt, Union County, South Dakota was chosen as the study area. Changes in production methods are represented by four technological epochs: 1) The Draft Horse Epoch, 1890-1920; 2) The Tractor Epoch, 1920-1950; 3) The Fertilizer Epoch, 1950-1980; and 4) The Biotechnology and Precision Agriculture Epoch, 1980-2010. The energy budget method was used to measure the energy sustainability of corn production. The findings show that the volume of corn …
Sagebrush Ecosystem Characterization, Monitoring, And Forecasting With Remote Sensing: Quantifying Future Climate And Wildlife Habitat Change, Collin G. Homer
Sagebrush Ecosystem Characterization, Monitoring, And Forecasting With Remote Sensing: Quantifying Future Climate And Wildlife Habitat Change, Collin G. Homer
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) ecosystems constitute the largest single North American shrub ecosystem and provide vital ecological, hydrological, biological, agricultural, and recreational ecosystem services. Disturbances continue to alter this ecosystem, with climate change possibly representing the greatest future disturbance risk. Improved ways to characterize and monitor gradual change in this ecosystem are vital to its future management. A new remote sensing sagebrush characterization approach was developed in Wyoming which integrates three scales of remote sensing to derive four primary continuous field components (bare ground, herbaceousness, litter, and shrub), and four secondary components (sagebrush, big sagebrush, Wyoming sagebrush, and shrub …
Impacts Of Land Cover Changes On Ecosystem Services Delivery In The Black Hills Ecoregion From 1950 To 2010, Suzanne Cotillon
Impacts Of Land Cover Changes On Ecosystem Services Delivery In The Black Hills Ecoregion From 1950 To 2010, Suzanne Cotillon
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Environmental degradation generated by land use choices and human activities is the first driver of change in the provision of ecosystem goods and services. One of the challenges in ecosystem services research is to evaluate the contribution of each land cover unit to ecosystem services delivery while considering multiple services. In this thesis, I develop a framework to assess the capacity of many land covers to independently produce ecosystem services (i.e., potential production) and the capacity of the whole landscape to deliver multiple services to the population (i.e., potential supply). In the first part, this methodology is used to report …
Lived Experiences Of Graduate Students Who Are The Mothers Of Young Children, Audrey M. Harrington
Lived Experiences Of Graduate Students Who Are The Mothers Of Young Children, Audrey M. Harrington
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
In this qualitative study, the experiences of graduate students who were also the mothers of preschool children were explored through the use of narrative interviews and autoethnographic reflections on personal experience. The study examines the various self-perceived identity dimensions of three graduate student mothers (through a series of interviews) and the researcher (via autoethnographic writings). Analysis of the data identified two superordinate themes: a) the identification of systems of support and role models (including presence and absence of said supports) and b) a negotiation of gendered social expectations as the students navigated the context of graduate school. Recommendations include the …
Cultural Fit Wanted: A Content Analysis Of Human Resource Generalist Job Advertisements, Kelli J. Chromey
Cultural Fit Wanted: A Content Analysis Of Human Resource Generalist Job Advertisements, Kelli J. Chromey
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
This content analytic study explored organizational anticipatory socialization through job advertisements. Human Resource (HR) Generalist positions (n = 100) listed on the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM) website between November 6, 2012, and January 28, 2013 were analyzed through seven quantitative categories (organizational goals, HR job descriptions, job skills and abilities, communication skills, website, mission/values, and word count/reading level). Results indicated that these listings generally included information such as company name and location, but rarely revealed organizational goals, missions and values. The addition or absence of a website, along with readability and word count were also included. Implications included …