Geography Commons^™

Assessing The Acceptance Of The New Environmental Paradigm In Kalamazoo County, Michigan, Jaclyn Rose Burke

Masters Theses

Since the first Earth Day in 1970, there has been an expanding popular movement to protect the environment and a growing consciousness that humans are an integral part of nature. The New Environmental Paradigm (NEP) is a worldview that emphasizes the relationship that exists between humans and the environment. The purpose of this Master's Thesis is to assess Kalamazoo County, Michigan residents' attitudes on the environment based on their acceptance of the NEP. The acceptance of the NEP by Kalamazoo County residents was evaluated by residents' responses on a survey developed to measure their environmental attitudes. Kalamazoo County was found …

Low-Fired Earthenwares In The African Diaspora: Problems And Prospects, Mark W. Hauser, Christopher R. Decorse

Anthropology - All Scholarship

Local earthenware associated with enslaved African populations in the Americas, variously called “Colono-Ware,” “Afro-CaribbeanWare.” “Yabbas,” and “Criollo ware,” has received considerable attention from researchers. What unifies this disparate group of ceramics is not method of manufacture, design and decoration, or even form and function but the association or potential association with African diaspora populations. The ceramics incorporate some skills and techniques possibly brought by African potters to the Americas, as well as skills reflecting European and Native American traditions, and local adaptations in form, function, and manufacture.Analogies linking African ceramic traditions to American industries have at times been employed uncritically …

Decision Analysis Model For Refreshment Of Geobase Imagery: Basis For Investment Strategy, Matthew S. Craig

Theses and Dissertations

The United States Air Force is in the process of implementing GeoBase, an initiative to change how geospatial information resources are being acquired, implemented, exploited, and sustained on USAF installations around the world. Using GeoBase increases situational awareness and minimizes decision risk for all installation personnel GeoBase is a geographic information system, using commercial-off-the-shelf software to provide one source for spatial information on an installation. GeoBase uses imagery as one layer of information. The accuracy of the imagery directly impacts the effectiveness of GeoBase. The purpose of this thesis was to develop a decision model to be used in determining …

Remote Sensing Systems Optimization For Geobase Enhancement, Steve J. Paylor

Theses and Dissertations

The U.S. Air Force is in the process of implementing GeoBase, a geographic information system (GIS), throughout its worldwide installations, Air Force GIS needs can be augmented by imagery from aerial and satellite platforms. Imagery has greatly improved over the past several years and provides high resolution coverage of features on earth. Various imagery types will significantly increase GeoBase usefulness in a range of mission requirements, Potential Air Force uses of imagery include identifying heat loss, environmental monitoring, command decision-making, and emergency response, The research develops a decision tool to determine the appropriate imagery for a given Air Force Application, …

Geographic Information System Methodologies To Evaluate Relationships Between Land Use And Groundwater Quality In South Central Kentucky, Rhonda Pfaff

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The development of Geographic Information System (GIS) technology has provided techniques for a holistic approach to the study of karst groundwater contamination. While karst groundwaters supply water to a large percentage of the earth's population, its complex environments often have lacked the scientific examination and conservation measures typical of non-karst regions. In this study, GIS methodologies were explored to examine the relationships between land-use and water quality in karst watersheds. Eight watersheds throughout southern and western Kentucky were examined. The study areas included the Mammoth Cave Karst Aquifer, which is the watershed that drains the Mammoth Cave System, and seven …

Incorporating Local Knowledge Into Population And Habitat Viability Assessments: Landowners And Tree Kangaroos In Papua New Guinea, Philip J. Nyhus, J Williams, J Borovansky, O Byers, P Miller

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Taking The Bite Out Of Wildlife Damage: The Challenges Of Wildlife Compensation Schemes, Philip J. Nyhus, Hank Fisher, Steve Osofsky, Francine Madden

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Wildlife Knowledge Among Migrants In Southern Sumatra, Indonesia: Implications For Conservation, Philip J. Nyhus, Sumianto Tilson, Ronald Tilson

Faculty Scholarship

The value of traditional ecological knowledge for biodiversity research and conservation is widely recognized. The value of wildlife knowledge provided by recent migrants is less clear. Photographs of 10 mammal species were shown to 622 individuals in communities near Way Kambas National Park in Sumatra, Indonesia, to assess wildlife knowledge among recent migrants and to identify socio-economic variables that can be used to identify more knowledgeable informants. Knowledge scores were categorized by taxonomic family, genus and species. Large, charismatic and abundant animals were identified more frequently than smaller and more secretive animals. Higher knowledge scores were significantly associated with males, …

Dangerous Animals In Captivity: Ex Situ Tiger Conflict And Implication For Private Ownership Of Exotic Animals, Philip J. Nyhus, Ronald L. Tilson, J L. Tomlinson

Faculty Scholarship

The risks associated with tiger attacks on people in the wild are well documented. There may currently be more tigers in captivity than in the wild, but relatively little is known about the risks of injury or death associated with owning and managing captive tigers and other large carnivores. The purpose of this study was to conduct a global assessment of attacks by captive tigers on people, with particular emphasis on cases in the United States. Our analysis of 30 international media sources and additional documents uncovered 59 unique incidents in 1998-2001 in which people were reportedly injured or killed …

Shaping Leisure/Tourism Places:The Role Of Holiday Home Owners: A Case Study Of Courtown, Co. Wexford, Ireland, Ziene Mottiar, Bernadette Quinn

Articles

This article investigates the role played by holiday home owners in shaping leisure / tourism places. Having reviewed recent trends in the holiday home literature, the paper argues the literature has failed to adequately consider how this group of actors can play a role in developing leisure / tourism places. The research is case study based and reports the findings of a study undertaken in Courtown, a small seaside resort in the Republic of Ireland. Specifically, it investigates the role that holiday home owners played in a controversy that arose with respect to developing tourism accommodation in an area of …

Symbols, Practices And Myth-Making: Cultural Perspectives On The Wexford Festival Opera, Bernadette Quinn

Articles

In recent decades geographers have paid increasing attention to festivals. They have construed festivals as important practices through which people connect with their place and as authored landscapes designed to promote particular sets of values and attach specific meanings to place. Tourism influences the processes and dynamics ongoing in festival settings and this paper seeks to unravel some of the complex ways in which it influences the reproduction of cultural meanings there. It draws on research conducted on the Wexford Festival Opera in the Republic of Ireland and analyses the symbolism, practices and meanings found to be associated with the …

Shaping Tourism Places: Agency And Interconnections In Festival Settings, Bernadette Quinn

Books / Book chapters

In the contemporary era local places seem exposed to more and faster change than ever before. The difference between places seems to be diminishing and debates as to whether ‘cultural homogenisation’ or ‘reconstituted difference’ best describes the changes affecting place feature prominently in recent social science and humanities literatures. Local places are linked to regional, national and supra-national spheres through multiple connections. Tourism is one important globalising force, linking places into the wider world and influencing the changing meanings of place. This chapter is broadly concerned with examining how tourism is implicated in changing the meanings of place. The type …

Das Zeitalter Der Knappheit – Ressourcen, Konflikte, Lebenschancen, Isidor Wallimann, Michael Dobkowski

Books

Michael N. Dobkowski and Isidor Wallimann establish a disturbing but realistic scenario of the disastrous future that awaits humankind as surplus populations collide with dwindling resources. Authors consider a number of cause-and-effect situations on industrialization, biophysical limits, exponential population growth, and genocide, to name a few. This volume is a critical contribution to the field and will serve as an ideal introduction to courses in the environment, population, resources, genocide, and social conflict.

Wild Horses And Burros In The United States, Allen T. Rutberg

State of the Animals 2003

Treatment of wild horses and burros has improved remarkably over the last fifty years. In the mid-twentieth century, free-ranging horses and burros suffered horribly at the hands of “mustangers” who captured them at will and whim, sometimes using the most brutal of techniques, including aerial pursuit and shooting or crippling key herd members. The horses were packed into livestock trucks hurt, bleeding, and exhausted, and shipped to slaughter without stopping for rest or watering (Ryden 1999). Unprotected by law, only the good will of a few ranchers protected these abused animals. Public awareness of the plight of the wild horses …

Nest Building In Captive Gorilla Gorilla Gorilla, Kristen E. Lukas, Tara S. Stoinski, Kyle Burks, Rebecca Snyder, Sarah Bexell, Terry L. Maple

Sentience Collection

Although various aspects of gorilla nest building have been described in wild populations, nest-building behavior of captive gorillas has not been subject to much scientific review. We observed nest building in 17 gorillas during three periods: summer baseline, winter baseline, and winter treatment, in which the amount of available nesting material was doubled. We conducted observations exclusively in the indoor holding area in the hour following evening departure of animal care staff. During baseline, gorillas engaged in nest-building on 3.1% of scans and were on a constructed nest on 27.9% of scans. Overall, gorillas spent significantly more time on elevated …

Charting Neptune's Realm: From Classical Mythology To Satellite Imagery, Osher Map Library And Smith Center For Cartographic Education

Osher Map Library Exhibition Catalogs

Charting Neptune's Realm: From Classical Mythology to Satellite Imagery.

April 4, 2000 to January 11, 2001

The charts in this exhibition explore how mariners have distinguished one piece of water from any other, by determining what phenomena can be delineated across the vast, trackless ocean and by developing notations to express those phenomena.

Alternative Theoretical Approaches To Post-Communist Transformations In Central And Eastern Europe, Petr Pavlinek

Geography and Geology Faculty Publications

Since the start of post-communist transformations in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), there have been disagreements about the best strategies to follow and policies to implement the reforms.¹ Similar disagreements have existed in practical and theoretical interpretations of these transformations. These differences have reflected various and often conflicting understandings of the previous state socialist system, the existing political-economic situation and the nature of post-communist reforms by economists, political scientists, sociologists, historians and members of other disciplines and suggest the complexity, diversity and unpredictability of post-communist developments. Views have also differed significantly within the individual disciplines.

Two basic groups of …

Canyonlands National Park, Robert J. Johnson, R. Douglas Ramsey

Wildland Resources Faculty Publications

Satellite image map of Canyonlands National Park, Utah

William E. Doolittle: Mediator Between The World Of Work And The World Of Books, Andrew Sluyter

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Neo-Environmental Determinism, Intellectual Damage Control, And Nature/Society Science, Andrew Sluyter

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Material-Conceptual Landscape Transformation And The Emergence Of The Pristine Myth In Early Colonial Mexico, Andrew Sluyter

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Futures Thinking For The Built And Human Environment: The Prospective Process Through Scenario Thinking For The Built And Human Environment: A Tool For Exploring Human Futures, John Ratcliffe, Lorcan Sirr

Articles

We are currently living through an era where we can, and need to, create exciting new possibilities in the way we think about, plan, design and build new places and spaces for working and living. At the same time, two irresistible forces – change and complexity – face decision-makers charged with framing and executing future policy and practice for the built and human environment. This paper generally argues the case for employing a ‘prospective’ process through scenario thinking for strategic planning and management in the urban arena. It does not attempt to identify or explore the advances made in planning …

Evaluation Of The Ncep/Ncar Reanalysis In Terms Of Synoptic Scale Phenomea: A Case Study From The Midwestern Usa, Justin T. Schoof, S C. Pryor

Publications

We evaluate the ability of the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP)–National Center for Atmosphere Research (NCAR) reanalysis to represent the synoptic-scale climate of the Midwestern USA relative to radiosonde data. Independent, automated synoptic classifications, based on rotated principal component analysis (PCA) of 500 hPa geopotential heights, 850 hPa air temperatures, and 200 hPa wind speeds and a two-step clustering algorithm, result in a 15-type NCEP–NCAR synoptic classification and a 14-type radiosonde classification. The classifications are examined in terms of similarities and differences in the modes of variance manifest in the PCA solutions, the spatial patterns and variability of input …

Downstream Geomorphic Impacts Of Large American Dams, William L. Graf

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Testimony In Support Of The Congaree National Park Act Of 2003, William L. Graf

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Book Review Of Letters From The Dust Bowl By Caroline Henderson, Christina E. Dando

Geography and Geology Faculty Publications

The American ‘Dust Bowl’ landscape of the 1930s has been etched into the global imagination through powerful narratives: Farm Security Administration photography (1935–43), Per Loretz’s film, The Plow that Broke the Plains (1936), and John Steinbeck’s Grapes of Wrath (1939). In the last quarter of the twentieth century, historians such as Donald Worster (1979) have constructed their own narratives of this time and place. Caroline Henderson’s Letters from the Dust Bowl, edited by Alvin O. Turner, provides a counterpoint, in the form of a first-hand account and a woman’s voice, to the news stories, government propaganda, and historians’ analyses …

Census 2000 Demographic Profile Report Of The Older Adult Population In Cuyahoga, Lake, Geauga, Lorain And Medina Counties, Mark Salling, Sharon Bliss, Mcnamara, Brian

All Maxine Goodman Levin School of Urban Affairs Publications

No abstract provided.

Gis Modeling Of Desert Root Crop Maturation On The Mid-Columbia Plateau, Mary Michelle Phillips

All Master's Theses

The settlement patterns of the prehistoric inhabitants of the Columbia Plateau were choreographed to match the cadence of the seasons, with movements timed to efficiently utilize available resources. Desert roots, such as lomatium and bitterroot, provided a primary source of dietary nutrition, yet the ideal conditions for exploiting these plant resources coalesced for a very limited time in any one location. It was therefore necessary to possess an intimate knowledge of the plants' lifecycles in order to effectively plan gathering activities. In order to predict the growth patterns and maturation rates of these desert root crops, a GIS model was …

The Urban Heat Island In Winter At Barrow, Alaska, Kenneth M. Hinkel, Frederick E. Nelson, Anna E. Klene, Julianne H. Bell

Geography Faculty Publications

The village of Barrow, Alaska, is the northernmost settlement in the USA and the largest native community in the Arctic. The population has grown from about 300 residents in 1900 to more than 4600 in 2000. In recent decades, a general increase of mean annual and mean winter air temperature has been recorded near the centre of the village, and a concurrent trend of progressively earlier snowmelt in the village has been documented. Satellite observations and data from a nearby climate observatory indicate a corresponding but much weaker snowmelt trend in the surrounding regions of relatively undisturbed tundra. Because the …

Birds, Landslides And Pastures: A Biogeographic Conundrum, Mark R. Welford

Earth, Environment & Sustainability: Faculty Presentations (1988-2022)

No abstract provided.