Environmental Studies Commons^™

Going To Extremes: The National Parent Teacher Association And Political Extremism In The 1960s, Sarah E. Heath

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

In the 1960s, the National Parent Teacher Association (PTA) reported efforts at “infiltration” by conservative extremist groups, including the John Birch Society (JBS). Extremists sought to take over PTA meetings to obtain a mainstream platform for minority opinions. The PTA parried extremists’ efforts with a deluge of activities and publications dedicated to democratic fair play and research-based approaches to education. In spite of a coherent plan for dealing with such techniques in the 1960s, the methods used by the Birch Society and other conservative extremist groups appear to have resumed in contemporary educational discussions. Once again, opinions that appeal to …

Analysis Of Colombian Trade Agreements From 2007 To 2013, Ryan Lee

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

I analyze the firm-level effects on Colombia entering into Preferential Trade Agreements (PTAs) between 2007 and 2013. The combination of detailed firm-level data and PTAs make this article unique. In particular, I look at two separate potential trade-promotion effects of the agreements. The first result deals with how exporting firms in Colombia respond to the tariff cuts in the agreements. The tariff cuts from the agreements increase the size of exports by Colombian firms (the intensive margin); however, tariff cuts do not increase the number of exporting Colombian firms (the extensive margin). The second result deals with how the signed …

Racial Segregation In Indianapolis, 1990–2010: A Spatial Perspective, Vijay Lulla, Owen Dwyer

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

The index of dissimilarity is the most widely used method for measuring racial segregation. When applied to Indianapolis, this index has returned results showing the city to be among the most segregated in the country. The resulting measure, however, suffers from two shortcomings. First, the index of dissimilarity is sensitive to the census-defined geographic unit chosen for the analysis; thus, this index returns different (though proportionate) results depending on whether the population data are aggregated to larger or smaller enumeration units. Second, the index of dissimilarity cannot account for the influence of spatial proximity; adjacent census blocks interact regardless of …

Race And Racism In The Historical Imagination: Slavery And Civil Rights In Popular Culture, Denise Lynn, Sakina Hughes, Aimee Adam

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

Because Hollywood films often lack black representation, films on slavery and civil rights often fail to recognize the roles that black Americans have played in their own emancipation from slavery and in the civil rights movement. Our contention is that historically inaccurate films perpetuate inaccurate understandings of Black history and thus inform contemporary race relations. We selected a more and a less accurate film about slavery and about the civil rights movement, discussing these four films in terms of their historical context.

We also conducted an experiment. After watching one of the four movies, or after viewing no movie, participants …

“We Are A Very Happy Family”: 19th-Century Familial Power Dynamics, Stella A. Ress

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

This article examines the roles of family members in the mid-19th century in America, using the Willard family as a case study. Ultimately, this thick description of the Willard family demonstrates that power within the family structure was neither intrinsic nor static; moreover, one person did not control the family and its decisions at all times. Instead, each family member, depending upon circumstances, situations, and his or her own nature, negotiated and laid claim to power through various sources of authority. Josiah Willard’s authority stemmed from his role as father and husband; society crowned him king of the household, and …

Genealogical Trends In Solving Cold Cases: An Investigation Into The Merits And Concerns With New Cold-Case Lead Development, Katie Smolucha, Tyler Counsil

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

In the criminal justice system, not all offenders are brought to justice; unfortunately, cold cases exist and provide long-term challenges to investigators. From historic breakthroughs in forensic DNA analysis to today’s new trends, advancements in technology continue to give investigators hope of resolving unsolved mysteries with no clear-cut suspect. This article examines the progression of DNA analysis over the past three decades and explores the recent trends in the use of genealogy websites to solve cold cases. DNA technology’s innovative uses, from its early years to modern, are explored herein. By exploring traditional DNA analysis to advances that explore the …

Societal Rebirth: The Importance Of Spirituality, Lauren Rothstein

English Department: Traveling American Modernism (ENG 366, Fall 2018)

This article offers an exploration of what the social consequences are when modernity strips away religious-human relationships to the land. The two texts Black Elk Speaks and Grapes of Wrath both include moments of anonymous forces imposing systematic modernization on society. Particularly, I try to understand the controversial subject of societal rebirths, traditionally defined through employment and steady food source availability. This paper proposes an approach to societal rebirths that emphasizes the importance of spiritual connection to the land through a critical analysis of Bakhtin's theory of Chronotope and Leopold's theory of Land Ethic. On the issue of spiritual connection …

Disasters Fast And Slow: The Temporality Of Hazards In Environmental History, Fiona Williamson, Chris Courtney

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Popular representations of disasters tend to focus upon dramatic moments of chaos. They envision panicked communities desperately scrambling for safety as earthquakes reduce cities to rubble or lava turns villages to ashes. Yet disasters actually unfold on numerous temporal scales. Media reports tend to reduce disasters to discrete events, initiated on the shallow causal timescale of a meteorological fluctuation or seismic disruption. Social scientists, by contrast, have often sought to emphasise the processual nature of disasters—embedding causality in the deeper timescale of a community, in which risk and vulnerability build over months or years.2 Environmental historians elongate causality even further, …

Nature, Place, And Story: Rethinking Historic Sites In Canada By Claire Campbell, Emma K. Morgan-Thorp

The Goose

Review of Claire Campbell's Nature, Place, and Story: Rethinking Historic Sites in Canada.

The Impact Of World War One On The Forests And Soils Of Europe, Drew Heiderscheidt

Ursidae: The Undergraduate Research Journal at the University of Northern Colorado

The First World War was one of the deadliest conflicts in human history thus far. With the human toll being over eight million deaths, and millions more wounded, and as such it has taken hold in peoples imaginations for over a hundred years. However, one overlooked impact of the war is the environmental impact it had. The forests of Europe were significantly changed, going from being diverse ecosystems pre-war to monocultures after the war, dominated by single species of trees. The soil was also affected, more heavily in some places, becoming contaminated with heavy metals, as well as becoming entirely …

Complete Issue

Landscapes: the Journal of the International Centre for Landscape and Language

The complete issue 1 of volume 8, Landscapes Journal.

Beyond 'Owls Versus Jobs': A Twenty-Year Retrospective Of The Headwaters Forest Controversy, Jennifer Bernstein

Humboldt Journal of Social Relations

In 1999, the Headwaters Forest Reserve was established in Humboldt County after more than 20 years of community activism, negotiations, and litigation. The ‘last stand’ of unprotected, privately-owned old growth redwood had finally been safeguarded, though many on the North Coast felt that the final deal fell far short of what was needed to protect the watershed’s ecological functioning. This article uses academic and journalistic research, supplemented by oral histories, to make three main points about the North Coast ‘post deal.’ One, forest management practices in the region have evolved to be more consistent with the practices of ecological forestry. …

Radical Social Ecology As Deep Pragmatism: A Call To The Abolition Of Systemic Dissonance And The Minimization Of Entropic Chaos, Arielle Brender

Student Theses 2015-Present

This paper aims to shed light on the dissonance caused by the superimposition of Dominant Human Systems on Natural Systems. I highlight the synthetic nature of Dominant Human Systems as egoic and linguistic phenomenon manufactured by a mere portion of the human population, which renders them inherently oppressive unto peoples and landscapes whose wisdom were barred from the design process. In pursuing a radical pragmatic approach to mending the simultaneous oppression and destruction of the human being and the earth, I highlight the necessity of minimizing entropic chaos caused by excess energy expenditure, an essential feature of systems that aim …

Using Digital Mapping Techniques To Rapidly Document Vulnerable Historical Landscapes In Coastal Louisiana: Holt Cemetery Case Study, Alahna Moore

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

This thesis outlines a technique for rapid documentation of historic sites in volatile cultural landscapes. Using Holt Cemetery as an exemplary case study, a workflow was developed incorporating RTK terrain survey, UAS aerial imagery, photogrammetry, GIS, and smartphone data collection in order to create a multifaceted database of the material and spatial conditions, as well as the patterns of use, that exist at the cemetery.

The purpose of this research is to create a framework for improving the speed of data creation and increasing the accessibility of information regarding threatened cultural resources. It is intended that these processes can be …

Resilience Through Connection To Place: How Native Peoples Rely On The Land And How The Land Relies On Us, Tabitha N. Espinoza

Graduate Student Portfolios, Professional Papers, and Capstone Projects

No abstract provided.

Towards An Agreed Definition Of Sustainability: Exploring The Concept Of Sustainability In Amherst, Massachusetts, Babatunde Ajao

Capstone Collection

Many educators agree that to learning about sustainability and discussing it’s implications on values, ethics and the role of humans are essential. With so many moving parts it is difficult to determine a sustainable assessment to encompass the changing world. The time has come for us to ask reflective questions about what exactly sustainability means. How has the term sustainability been used worldwide? What was the goal of sustainability and what is the result? Is there a better alternative to achieving this goal? By identifying the characteristics of best practice for sustainability, we take a step towards understanding the concept …

The Beholder, Allan Lake

Landscapes: the Journal of the International Centre for Landscape and Language

A poem on the effect of landscape on the emotions.

The Legendary Topography Of The Viking Settlement Of Iceland, Verena Höfig

Landscapes: the Journal of the International Centre for Landscape and Language

From the time of their earliest texts in the vernacular, Icelanders were interested in the semioticization of their landscape, the mapping of nature into culture by inscribing it with memories from the settlement of the island during the Viking Age. Such a de-scription and in-scription of landscape with meaning occurs most prominently in The Book of Settlements or Landnámabók, a thirteenth century prose text preserved in several versions. This paper focuses on Icelanders' myth of origin as presented in the various Landnámabók redactions, and explores how a largely fictional medieval text can assert ownership and control over territory, and ultimately …

Shifting Rurality American Gothic, Iowa Nice, Biotech And Political Expectations In Rural America, William D. Nichols 890252

Landscapes: the Journal of the International Centre for Landscape and Language

This paper traces the linkage between heritage landscape within the context of the election of Donal Trump. Trump's invocations of heritage riled certain regions of the US which had a distinct connection to Regionalism, both as a political idea and as an aesthetic practice. Focusing on Iowa, home to the quintessential American painting, American Gothic, the paper looks at modernity and agriculture, and how the two categories seem to rely on (but also negate) heritage. By examining what a genetically modified landscape might mean in relation to the historical image of the pastoral/provincial farmer, a network of frictions and …

On The Wire, Sarah F. Lumba

Landscapes: the Journal of the International Centre for Landscape and Language

“On the Wire” is a work of creative non-fiction that weaves together a local myth and actual events to describe the devastating effects of Typhoon Ketsana, which struck Marikina, a small but progressive city in the Philippines, on September 2009. It explores how colonial subjugation has erased a people’s memory of their collective soul and has severed their strong ties to the land, thus putting the lives of future generations in jeopardy.

Poetry Of Roe 8, Nandi Chinna

Landscapes: the Journal of the International Centre for Landscape and Language

Poetry of Roe 8

The occasion for the writing of these poems was activism surrounding the controversial highway known as the Roe 8 extension in the areas of Cockburn and Fremantle in Western Australia. Planned in the 1950s, Roe 8 is contentious for a number of reasons, including extraordinary political deals over funding, undue process regarding environmental reporting, lack of a business case, inadequate noise and traffic modelling, erasure of Indigenous heritage sites, and clearing of the sensitive Beeliar wetlands and Coolbellup banksia woodlands which were designated a Threatened Ecological Community in 2016. During the summer of 2016/2017 contractors started …

Darwin’S Landscapes (And Seascapes), Patrick H. Armstrong

Landscapes: the Journal of the International Centre for Landscape and Language

Charles Darwin, particularly in his early writings, had a strong appreciation of landscape. He describes scenery that he regarded as attractive and spectacular in his writings from the Beagle period with considerable perception. Through much of his career, he integrated ideas and facts from different sources supremely well; thus understanding that a landscape was a product of the rocks, the processes they had undergone, vegetation, animal life, and human activities. Another component in the development of his appreciation of landscape – or ‘scenery’ as he usually identified it – was his quite strong aesthetic sense which existed from his teenage …

Intensive Cultural Resources Survey For The Proposed Farm-To-Market 1625 Realignment Project, Travis County, Texas, Ashely Eyeington, Christopher Shelton

Index of Texas Archaeology: Open Access Gray Literature from the Lone Star State

At the request of Brookfield Residential, SWCA Environmental Consultants (SWCA) conducted an intensive cultural resources survey for the proposed realignment of Farm-to-Market Road (FM) 1625 in southeast Austin, Travis County, Texas. Portions of the project area are located within road right-of-way (ROW) owned by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), a political subdivision of the State of Texas. As such, the proposed undertaking is subject to review under the Antiquities Code of Texas. Archaeological field investigations required a Texas Antiquities Permit issued by the Texas Historical Commission. SWCA conducted investigations under Antiquities Permit No. 7975 issued to Principal Investigator Ken …

Intensive Archeological Survey Of The Willrae Tract City Of Florence, Williamson County, Texas, Caitlin Gulihur, Beth Valenzuela, Ann M. Scott

Index of Texas Archaeology: Open Access Gray Literature from the Lone Star State

Georgetown Independent School District (GISD) has proposed the Willrae Tract project where school facilities will be constructed south of Florence, Williamson County, Texas. GISD retained Terracon Consultants, Inc. to conduct a systematic, intensive pedestrian survey of the approximate 100-acre project area. Because GISD, a political subdivision of the State of Texas, sponsored the project, the proposed undertaking is subject to compliance with the Antiquities Code of Texas and oversight from the Texas Historical Commission. In addition, the survey meets the standards for compliance under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as amended, should a US Army …

Archeological And Historical Investigations Of The Proposed 28.7-Acre Sweeny Hospital Tract, Sweeny, Brazoria County, Texas, Jeffrey D. Owens, Eugene Foster

Index of Texas Archaeology: Open Access Gray Literature from the Lone Star State

Horizon Environmental Services, Inc. (Horizon) was selected by Berg-Oliver Associates, Inc. (BOA), on behalf of the Sweeny Hospital District, to conduct a cultural resources inventory survey and assessment for the proposed development of an approximately 11.6-hectare (28.7- acre) tract in Sweeny, Brazoria County, Texas. The proposed tract consists of a largely undeveloped, lightly wooded parcel bounded on the north by County Road (CR) 524 (a.k.a. Main Street) and on the south by Stevenson Slough. The proposed project would involve the construction of a new hospital that represents a single-site replacement facility for an existing community hospital. The Area of Potential …

Cultural Resources Investigation Report Of The Proposed Longview Arboretum In Longview, Texas Gregg County, Texas, Michael Ryan, Victor Galan

Index of Texas Archaeology: Open Access Gray Literature from the Lone Star State

Sphere 3 Environmental, Inc. (Sphere 3) and Deep East Texas Archaeological Consultants (DETAC) conducted an intensive pedestrian cultural resources survey of an approximately 10.5- hectare (26-acre) tract of land on April 2, 2018 for MHS Planning & Design, LLC. Proposed development includes 1,255.8 meters (m) (4,120 feet (ft)) of trails 3.1 m (10.0 ft) wide with two bridges, three benches, and a boardwalk for the Longview Arboretum in Longview, Texas. The project area is located east of the Muade Cobb Convention Center, south of W. Cotton Street, west of The Green, and north of Highway 31. The land is owned …

Intensive Archaeological Survey Of The Proposed Saws Masterson Road Water Line Project, Bexar County, Texas, Virgina Moore

Index of Texas Archaeology: Open Access Gray Literature from the Lone Star State

At the request of the San Antonio Water System (SAWS), an intensive archaeological survey was conducted by Pape-Dawson for the proposed Masterson Road water line project located southwest of the City of San Antonio in Bexar County, Texas. The project area’s southern terminus is 6,560 feet (ft) (2,000 meters [m]) south of U.S. Highway 90 (US 90), and the linear project area extends north along Masterson Road for about 2,904 ft (885 m) before turning east and northeast along a proposed new road (Copper Crossing Street), for a total length of 6,726 ft (2,050 m). The proposed water line will …

Sh 71 At Pope Bend Road Intersection, Bastrop County, Texas, Jon Dowling

Index of Texas Archaeology: Open Access Gray Literature from the Lone Star State

PROJECT TITLE: Intensive Archeological Survey of SH 71 at Pope Bend Road Intersection, Bastrop County, Texas.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION: The proposed undertaking would consist of roadway improvements along SH 71 between Pope Bend Road and Still Forest Drive for a distance of approximately 1.75 miles. This area is comprised of properties owned by the State of Texas (existing right-of-way [ROW]), as well as properties that are privately owned (proposed new ROW). Blanton & Associates, Inc. conducted survey of portions of the project area of potential effects (APE) on behalf of the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), Austin District.

PROJECT LOCATION: Bastrop …

Intensive Archeological Survey For The Bridge Replacement On County Road 279 At Kings Creek, Kaufman County, Texas, Jay King, Benjamin Morton

Index of Texas Archaeology: Open Access Gray Literature from the Lone Star State

On behalf of the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), SWCA Environmental Consultants (SWCA) conducted an intensive archeological survey on June 6–7, 2018, of a potential bridge replacement consisting of approximately 2.0 acres of new and existing rightof-way (ROW) along County Road (CR) 279 in Kaufman County, Texas. Because the project will receive funding from the Federal Highways Administration, it qualifies as an undertaking as defined in Title 36 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 800.16(y) and, therefore, the work was conducted in compliance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (54 U.S. Code 306108). Furthermore, the project must …

Intensive Mechanical Scraping Near The Mitchell Cemetery, Tarrant County, Texas, Fort Worth District, Christopher Shelton, Steve Carpenter

Index of Texas Archaeology: Open Access Gray Literature from the Lone Star State

On behalf of the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), SWCA Environmental Consultants (SWCA) conducted an intensive archeological survey in April 2018 of 0.22 acres of existing TxDOT right of way (ROW) adjoining the western side of the Burlington Northern/Santa Fe railroad located within the City of Fort Worth in Tarrant County. This survey was conducted in support of the proposed State Highway (SH) 183 improvements. Investigations included pedestrian survey and intensive mechanical scraping to assess the presence of or potential for unmarked extramural graves associated with the historic Mitchell Cemetery. Because the project will receive funding from the Federal Highways …