Geography Commons^™

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 …

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 …

“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 …

“But I Only Wanted Them To Conform”: A Detailed Look Into The Initial Cohort Of Girls At The Indiana Reformatory Institution For Women And Girls Between 1873 And 1884, Molly Whitted, Michelle Williams

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

For the past four years, as part of a group of currently and formerly incarcerated scholars, we have researched the “inmates” and staff at the Indiana Women’s Prison during the institution’s first decade. Then known as the Indiana Reformatory Institution for Women and Girls, the facility was located near downtown Indianapolis on Randolph and Michigan Street. We focused on a key constituent of the Indiana Reformatory for Women and Girls: the girls themselves, heretofore voiceless and uninvestigated.

Our primary sources include the annual reports of the reformatory and the original registries for the girls during the survey period of 1873–1884. …

Re-Reading The Map Of Middle-Earth: Fan Cartography's Engagement With Tolkien's Legendarium, Stentor Danielson

Journal of Tolkien Research

J.R.R. Tolkien provided an elaborate textual history for his writings about Middle-earth, but did not do so for his now-iconic maps. This paper examines how this difference, in concert with the general tendency of readers to treat maps as objective records of geography, has manifested in Tolkien's work and fan works based upon it. An examination of fan cartography shows a strong tendency to treat the published maps as records of geographical fact rather than historical documents from within Middle-earth.

Climate Change And Politics: A Connection Between Congressional Voting And Our Warming Planet Using Gis, Kelsie Rudolph

Symposium on Research and Creative Expression (SORCE)

While climate change is widely accepted by the scientific community, it is not as accepted in the political world. Recently, there was an amendment to a bill put to a vote in the House of Representatives to accept that climate change is occurring and has anthropogenic causes. This amendment did not pass. This project aims to find a connection between the voting record of the representatives and the average temperature change over the last 50 years in their districts. Data from the Library of Congress, as well as NOAA will be analyzed using GIS methods. It is hypothesized that there …

The Effects Of Obesity, Eating Habits, And Lack Of Physical Activity Leading To Heart Disease, Natalie Jarrett

Symposium on Research and Creative Expression (SORCE)

Obesity has become a major problem throughout the United States. By the year 2030, a projection report has estimated that all 50 states could have obesity rates above 44 percent. Throughout the spring semester, I have been working on a project using the mapping program ArcGIS to show the greatest areas for obesity within Cook County, Illinois. The project deliverables will be in the form of a map of Cook County that will determine areas of highest obesity. The map will show fast food restaurants, parks, and income level. Once the map is completed, it will be determined whether highest …

A Gis Analysis Of Environmental Justice In Lake And Porter Counties, Halina Hopkins

Symposium on Research and Creative Expression (SORCE)

Starting with the publication in 1987 of the United Church of Christ Racial Justice Commission Report "Toxic Wastes and Race in the United States," environmental justice research addresses the geospatial relation between environmental hazards and the social characteristics of the communities hosting toxic sites. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) allows environmental justice researchers to consider questions involving public policy, health effects, risk analysis, and more nuanced considerations of race, income, and injustice. This project is an analysis of environmental justice in two counties in northwest Indiana: Lake County, which contains the city of Gary; and Porter County, an adjacent county with …

An Examination Of The Occurrence Of Divorce And Social And Demographic Factors Within Chicago, Louise Hahn

Symposium on Research and Creative Expression (SORCE)

This research looks at the occurrence of divorce among Cook County-Chicago census tracts from data gathered from the 2006-2010 American Community Survey (ACS) of the U.S. Census Bureau. Previous research has looked at various factors believed to affect the divorce rate of a country, in particular the economic development, average educational attainment, and participation of women in the labor force. These past studies have often found a significant and positive correlation between divorce and a country's economic development, educational attainment, and participation of women in the labor force. However, these studies have mostly focused on cross-national boundaries, thus allowing for …

Changes In Indiana Water Usage Rates Related To Population From 1990-2005, Using Gis Analysis, Alexandra Olson

Symposium on Research and Creative Expression (SORCE)

Water is arguably our most important resource and the issue of its sustainability arises with our ever expanding population. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has five accessible data sets on their website regarding the water usage rates of each county in Indiana from 1985 to 2005. It does not provide any comparison among these years or display any maps regarding this data. Because this analysis is missing, I will focus on the correlation between water usage rates and population averages in each county of Indiana during the same years. I will then create a series of maps that display this …

Watts Up With That: Comparing Wind Farms In Texas And California While Explaining Why Farm Quantity Does Not Overcome Wind Quality, Alexandra Thompson

Symposium on Research and Creative Expression (SORCE)

Since the 1980s, California has been the leader in wind energy for the United States. In 2004, wind energy produced 1.5 percent of the state’s electricity. That is 4,258 x 108 kilowatt hours per year. The California wind farms producing the most energy are located in three regions: Altamont Pass, Tehachapi, and San Gorgonio. Research for California will be focused on the southern part of the state – the regions of Tehachapi and San Gorgonio. Presently, California has five major wind farms. This project will examine the major wind farms in both Texas and California. California was in the number …

Enhancing Interest In Stem At Nw Indiana Middle And High Schools Through Balloon Launches And Tracking, Mark Spychala, Raymond Finzel

Symposium on Research and Creative Expression (SORCE)

Our vision with this project is to develop and implement a research project led by undergraduates from Valparaiso University (VU) that would involve the participation of local middle and high school students in innovative balloon payloads . Under the guidance of Dr. Gary Morris, two VU undergraduate students will develop their designs, then present and test their system at local schools to help instill excitement about STEM in curious young minds. All students (college, middle, and high school) gain knowledge, experience, and confidence in STEM-related areas. The primary goal of this project is to provide competency-building education and research opportunities …

Ambler Flatwoods: Invasive Species Control, Alexandra Olson

Symposium on Research and Creative Expression (SORCE)

The poster will cover topics of our daily work at Shirley Heinze Land Trust, mainly invasive species control in the area and the techniques used to control the number of these plants. I would also like to cover the topic of herbicides because we use them on a daily basis. In addition I would like to present some of our research techniques that we use while evaluating areas and performing pre- and post-treatment on them.

Violent And Wintertime Tornadoes In The Central Midwest: A Study Of History, Trends, And Climatology, Anthony Lyza

Symposium on Research and Creative Expression (SORCE)

Tornadoes are among the most widely-feared elements of weather. The central Midwest, a region that, for the purposes of this study, encompasses eastern Iowa, southern Wisconsin, northern and central Illinois, northern and central Indiana, southern Michigan, and northwestern Ohio, is notorious for some of the worst tornado events in recorded history. The purposes of this study are manyfold. The goals are to establish a violent (F4/EF4-F5/EF5) tornado and wintertime tornado climatology for the central Midwest, to search for previously hypothesized patterns in major tornado occurrences, and to determine whether there are links between climate variables and incidences of violent and …

Estimating Economic Loss From Flash Flooding: A Study Of Porter County, In, Samantha Cornwell

Symposium on Research and Creative Expression (SORCE)

This project attempted to determine what kinds of losses occurred during the flash floods of September 2009, caused by Hurricane Ike, in Northwest Indiana. Flash floods are dangerous due to how quickly they can overtake humans, houses, vehicles, and property. Flash floods caused Northwest Indiana to be under a State of Emergency, with drastic human and economic losses. Discovering where the problem is and defining the problem can help to prevent future losses. In addition, geographic software was analyzed for its helpfulness for this kind of problem. It was found that current software, including FEMA's HAZUS-FM, is not suitable for …

Mapping Statewide Flash Flood Potential Index (Ffpi) In Indiana, Evan Bentley

Symposium on Research and Creative Expression (SORCE)

National Weather Service (NWS) employees must make forecasting decisions on a daily basis. These forecasts are important to save people’s lives and property. One area where the NWS has very little guidance is flash flood prediction. A GIS project was undertaken to create a preliminary flash flood potential index map for the state of Indiana to help weather forecasters issue more accurate flash flood watches and warnings. In this project, slope, soil type, land use, and forest canopy layers were used to create an index map for flash flood potential.

Tornadic Behavior Related To Land-Falling Tropical Cyclones In The United States, Jaclyn M. Ritzman, D S. Arndt, M C. Kruk

Symposium on Research and Creative Expression (SORCE)

The 2004 and 2005 North Atlantic hurricane seasons were among the most active and economically devastating for the United States, during which 18 tropical cyclones (TCs) made landfall. These TCs were analyzed using the International Best Tracks Archive for Climate Stewardship (IBTrACS) and Local Storm Reports (LSR) datasets to determine whether they produced tornadoes within a preferred quadrant and distance from the center of circulation of the TC. The land-falling TCs were tracked and analyzed through their weakening stages with tornado reports being classified based on the strength of the TC at the time of occurrence. Tornado reports were not …