Geography Commons^™

The Tadpole Of Hypsiboas Atlanticus (Anura, Hylidae) From Northeastern Brazil, Filipe A. C. Do Nascimento, Marcelo G. De Lima, Gabriel O. Skuk, Rafael O. De Sá

Biology Faculty Publications

The tadpole of Hypsiboas atlanticus (Caramaschi & Velosa, 1996) is described from the municipality of Maceió, State of Alagoas, Brazil. At stage 36 the larvae have an overall elliptical body in lateral and dorsal views, oral disc anteroventral, spiracular tube sinistral, and labial tooth row formula 2(1,2)/3(1). The oral disc is surrounded, almost completely (anterior medial gap present) by a single row of marginal papillae. Described tadpoles of the H. punctatus species group can be differentiated by a combined disc oral features. Additional descriptions of H. punctatus (Schneider, 1799) tadpoles from populations throughout South America may be helpful in determining …

Uncharted Dimensions Of Media: A Map Of The Social Implications Of Geographic Information Systems (Gis), Caitlin Dufraine

Honors Theses

I explore how scholars are beginning to understand the social and historical implications of the introduction, development, and increasingly widespread use of GIS. This paper uses an STS framework to evaluate both literature from the early 1990s and more recent literature that examines the influence and social implications of GIS. I provide context for my discussion of the social implications of GIS by commenting on the merits and shortcomings of theoretical frameworks that scholars have used to evaluate the influence of GIS on society. To gain a holistic appreciation of issues surrounding the role of GIS in society I have …

Risk Management Of Commercial Overland Food Transport And Distribution, Lucas Charles Hartman Geadelmann

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The purpose of this research was to study the contemporary safety issues related to the overland transport of perishable food items via semi-truck and trailer. An anonymous survey instrument consisting of 20 questions was developed in order to examine semi-truck driver habits. The questions pertained to truck driver safety and subsequent food safety matters related to the perishable food items contained within the trailers. The paper surveys were distributed to the semi-truck driving employees of two food distributors located in the upper Midwest, which had agreed to voluntarily participate in the study. A total of 90 surveys were completed and …

Responding To Change In A Northern Aboriginal Community (Fort Resolution, Nwt, Canada): Linking Social And Ecological Perspectives, Sonia Darienne Wesche

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Human and environmental systems in the circumpolar north are particularly affected by the Earth’s changing climate, thus acting as a bellwether for other parts of the globe. Rural indigenous communities are most visibly impacted due to their close relationship with the land. These challenges are compounded by socio-economic transformations typical of peripheral communities within a larger, centrally governed system.

This dissertation links a community-based study of environmental change in Fort Resolution, Northwest Territories, Canada to evolving adaptation science. The study was prompted by local concern about changing environmental conditions caused by climatic, hydrological and resource development drivers. Its collaborative research …

The Role Of Geospatial Thinking And Geographic Skills In Effective Problem Solving With Gis: K-16 Education, Niem Tu Huynh

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Effective use of a Geographic Information System (GIS) is hampered by the limited geospatial reasoning abilities of students. The ability to reason with spatial relations, more specifically apply geospatial concepts, including the identification of spatial patterns and spatial associations, is important to geographic problem solving in a GIS context. This dissertation examines the broad influence of three factors on GIS problem solving: 1) affection towards computers, geography, and mathematics, 2) geospatial thinking, as well as 3) geographic skills.

The research was conducted with 104 students in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. Students were drawn from four educational levels: grade 9 students, 13 …

Im/Possible Lives: Gender, Class, Self-Fashioning, And Affinal Solidarity In Modern South Asia, Coralynn V. Davis

Faculty Journal Articles

Drawing on ethnographic research and employing a micro-historical approach that recognizes not only the transnational but also the culturally specific manifestations of modernity, this article centers on the efforts of a young woman to negotiate shifting and conflicting discourses about what a good life might consist of for a highly educated and high caste Hindu woman living at the margins of a nonetheless globalized world. Newly imaginable worlds in contemporary Mithila,South Asia, structure feeling and action in particularly gendered and classed ways, even as the capacity of individuals to actualize those worlds and the “modern” selves envisioned within them are …

Cookie Monsters: Seeing Young People’S Hacking As Creative Practice, Gregory T. Donovan, Cindi Katz

Publications and Research

This paper examines the benefits and obstacles to young people’s open-ended and unrestricted access to technological environments. While children and youth are frequently seen as threatened or threatening in this realm, their playful engagements suggest that they are self-possessed social actors, able to negotiate most of its challenges effectively. Whether it is proprietary software, the business practices of some technology providers, or the separation of play, work, and learning in most classrooms, the spatial-temporality of young people’s access to and use of technology is often configured to restrict their freedom of choice and behavior. We focus on these issues through …

Rhizomatic Encounters And Encountering Possibilities, Pamela Moss, Karen Falconer Al-Hindi

Geography and Geology Faculty Publications

Many thanks to Joni Palmer, the panellists, and the participants in the Author Meets Critics session at the Association of American Geographers meeting (April 2008) where the conversation that we continue here began. We appreciate the gracious criticisms and are delighted with the authors‟ enthusiasm. Criticisms offered with such care nurture the larger intellectual project from which the book comes (see Schuurman and Pratt; Aufhauser ). We feel fortunate to be able to address some of the issues identified that we believe need more attention. We thank the editors of Thirdspace for the opportunity.

It may seem curious for editors …

Blood Culture And The Problem Of Decadence, Jeffrey P. Cain

English Faculty Publications

This paper examines the commodification of hunting practices via the deterritorializing function of capitalism described by Deleuze and Guattari. It also studies counter trends-- predicted by or consistent with Deleuzean theory--that indicate a subtending authenticity displayed by certain hunting practices apparently resistant to commercial exploitation. "Blood culture" is my term for inauthentic hunting activity--a distinction drawn directly by Deleuze in his televised interviews with Claire Parnet. Aspects of "becoming-animal" and other transversal and cross-disciplinary flows of thought are also of course in play. As in some of my former work, I again argue for a Deleuzean cultural mechanics of the …

Proving Grounds Of Urbicide: Civil And Urban Perspectives On The Bombing Of Capital Cities, Kenneth Hewitt

Geography and Environmental Studies Faculty Publications

In the bombing of urban settlements, the main impacts have been on resident civilians, living space and non-military functions. This is shown in the bombing of London, Berlin and Tokyo in the Second World War, arguably the first and only serious tests of strategic air power and urbicide to determine war outcomes. The history and scope of raiding of these capital cities differed in many ways, but the civilian experience and urban implications were very similar. The bombings attacked the most vulnerable areas, where resident populations found themselves poorly protected at best. The intentions, as well as results, of the …

Sensitive Detection Of Novel Effects And Characteristic Signal Structure Of Higher Harmonic Detection In Wavelength Modulation Spectroscopy, Mohammad Amir Khan

Electrical & Computer Engineering Theses & Dissertations

We discuss experimental and theoretical results of absorption features of the oxygen A-band transitions when synchronous detection at higher harmonics using Wavelength Modulation Spectroscopy (WMS) is performed. A key aspect of structure higher harmonic detection is discussed. It is shown that the signal magnitude and spectral locations of turning points and zero crossings of WMS signal demonstrate key signatures of collision dynamics of gaseous specie parameters and lineshape parameters. In addition, it is also shown that these salient features provide sensitive probes for any changes in the gas environment or lineshape parameters. We discuss several advantages and subtle physical effects …

Surface Mining And Reclamation Effects On Flood Response Of Watersheds In The Central Appalachian Plateau Region, Todd R. Lookingbill, Joseph R. Ferrari, B. Mccormick, P. A. Townsend, K. N. Eshleman

Geography and the Environment Faculty Publications

Surface mining of coal and subsequent reclamation represent the dominant land use change in the central Appalachian Plateau (CAP) region of the United States. Hydrologic impacts of surface mining have been studied at the plot scale, but effects at broader scales have not been explored adequately. Broad-scale classification of reclaimed sites is difficult because standing vegetation makes them nearly indistinguishable from alternate land uses. We used a land cover data set that accurately maps surface mines for a 187-km2 watershed within the CAP. These land cover data, as well as plot-level data from within the watershed, are used with HSPF …

Altered Ecological Flows Blur Boundaries In Urbanizing Watersheds, Todd R. Lookingbill, Sujay S. Kaushal, Andrew J. Elmore, Robert Gardner, Keith N. Eshleman, Robert H. Hilderbrand, Raymond P. Morgan, Walter R. Boynton, Margaret A. Palmer, William C. Dennison

Geography and the Environment Faculty Publications

The relevance of the boundary concept to ecological processes has been recently questioned. Humans in the post-industrial era have created novel lateral transport fluxes that have not been sufficiently considered in watershed studies. We describe patterns of land-use change within the Potomac River basin and demonstrate how these changes have blurred traditional ecosystem boundaries by increasing the movement of people, materials, and energy into and within the basin. We argue that this expansion of ecological commerce requires new science, monitoring, and management strategies focused on large rivers and suggest that traditional geopolitical and economic boundaries for environmental decision making be …

Glacial Deposits, Vol. 37, 2008-2009, Department Of Geography-Geology

Glacial Deposits

Newsletter of the Department of Geography-Geology

Cuba, U.S. Naval Blockade Of, Bert Chapman

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

Provides an overview and analysis of the U.S. naval blockade of Cuba during this conflict.

"Please Mr Bebbington, Don't Come Here And Tell Us What To Do", Anthony J. Bebbington

Geography

The work in question addresses the relationships between mining, local development and democracy, and the thus-far most contentious part of this research has focused on a region affected by a mining project executed by a UK based "resource development" company. This specific part of the research has been conducted in conjunction with a UK based solidarity organization, the Peru Support Group as well as with Oxfam UK's office in Perú. The criticism of meddling came from the director in Peru of the Chinese consortium that in early 2007 acquired majority ownership of the mining company – the title paraphrases his …

The ‘Benchmark Glacier’ Concept – Does It Work? Lessons From The North Cascade Range, Usa, Andrew G. Fountain, Matthew J. Hoffman, Frank Granshaw, Jon L. Riedel

Geology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Benchmark glaciers were established in many alpine areas during the 1960s as part of the International Hydrological Decade to represent ‘typical’ mass and energy processes on glaciers in different climatic regions around the world. These glaciers have received new interest in the past decade because they are used to infer the contribution of alpine glacier wastage to global sea-level rise. We compare South Cascade Glacier, the benchmark glacier for the northwest contiguous USA, and four other secondary glaciers, against the topographic, area and mass changes of 321 glaciers in the surrounding region. Results show that South Cascade Glacier is unusually …

Empowerment Zone Designation And Community Economic Development In Minneapolis, Mn., Elias Popuch

Geography Honors Projects

The Empowerment Zone is a federal program designed to incentivize investment in economically blighted communities. The Empowerment Zone provides a combination of federal grant money for community development initiatives along with tax incentives for private sector firms that locate in zone areas. This study explores the effects of Empowerment Zone designation on community economic development in Minneapolis, MN. The project employs both quantitative and qualitative methodologies to study the Empowerment Zone. GIS mapping and analysis explores changes in socio-demographic stakeholders and government officials provide insight into the Empowerment Zone planning and implementation process. The Minneapolis Empowerment Zone program was able …

A Remote Sensing And Gis-Assisted Spatial Decision Support System For Hazardous Waste Site Monitoring, John R. Jensen, Michael E. Hodgson, Maria Garcia-Quijano, Jungho Im, Jason A. Tullis

Faculty Publications

Humans produce large amounts of waste that must be processed or stored so that it does not contaminate the environment. When hazardous wastes are stored, waste site monitoring is typically conducted in situ which can lead to a serious time lag between the onset of a problem and detection. A Remote Sensing and GIS-assisted Spatial Decision Support System for Hazardous Waste Site Monitoring was developed to improve hazardous waste site management. The system was designed to be recursive, flexible, and integrative. It is recursive because the system is implemented iteratively until the risk assessment subsystem determines that an event is …

The Legacy Of Race Based Slavery In The United States, Jennifer Maloney

Pell Scholars and Senior Theses

Alexis de Tocqueville qualifies the race based slavery of the United States as the greatest evil in the history of man. Through the lens of Tocqueville, I will examine the origin, nature, and characteristics of the race based system of slavery that was born in colonial times up to the implementation of the Civil Rights movement of 1964. The focus of this presentation will be on the dramatic effect that climate and topography have on the development of regional character, and the accuracy of Tocqueville's predictions concerning the future of race relations in the United States.

The World Development Report 2009 'Reshapes Economic Geography': Geographical Reflections, Jonathan Rigg, Anthony J. Bebbington, Katherine V. Gough, Deborah F. Bryceson, Jytte Agergaard, Niels Fold, Cecilia Tacoli

Geography

The Report focuses on the spatial transformations that must happen for countries to develop. Cities, migration and trade, it is claimed, have been the main catalysts of progress and hence ‗Growing cities, ever more mobile people, and increasingly specialised products are … essential for economic success‘ (World Bank 2009, xx). These greater densities, shorter distances and reduced divisions will, the Report argues, bring about unbalanced growth: however, over time, other policies and mechanisms for integration will foster convergence in living standards. Development, seen through the Report‘s eyes, involves a necessary (and welcome) spatial unevenness in economic activity coupled with progressive …

Contesting Environmental Transformation: Political Ecologies And Environmentalisms In Latin America And The Caribbean, Anthony J. Bebbington

Geography

The available download on this page is the author manuscript accepted for publication. This version has undergone full peer review but has not been through the copyediting, typesetting, pagination and proofreading process.

Minimum Flow Rules For South Carolina Rivers, William L. Graf

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Making Sustainable Creative/Cultural Space In Shanghai And Singapore, Lily Kong

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Shanghai and Singapore are two economically vibrant Asian cities that have recently adopted creative/cultural economy strategies. In this article I examine new spatial expressions of cultural and economic interests in the two cities: state-vaunted cultural edifices and organically evolved cultural spaces. I discuss the simultaneous precariousness and sustainability of these spaces, focusing on Shanghai's Grand Theatre and Moganshan Lu and on Singapore's Esplanade-Theatres by the Bay and Wessex Estate. Their cultural sustainability is understood as their ability to support the development of indigenous content and local idioms in artistic work. Their social sustainability is examined in terms of the social …

The Palaeoceanography Of The Leeuwin Current : Implications For A Future World, Karl-Heinz Wyrwoll, Benjamin J. Greenstein, George Kendrick

Arts & Sciences Faculty Publications

Long-term progressive changes of the Leeuwin Current are linked to plate and ocean basin ‘geography’ and Cenozoic global climates and palaeoceanography. Suggestions of the presence of a proto-Leeuwin Current as early as late Middle to Late Eocene times (c. 35–42 Ma) cannot be verified by the fossil record of the western margin of Australia. “Leeuwin Current style” circulation around Australia was certainly established by the early Oligocene, in response to palaeogeographic changes in the Tasman Strait. This, followed by tectonic eorganisation of the Indonesian Archipelago throughout the Miocene, provided a palaeogeographic setting, which by the Pliocene was essentially that of …

Flame, Furnace, Fuel: Creating Kansas City In The Nineteenth Century, Twyla Dell

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Though this work is a fuel and energy history of Kansas City from 1820 to 1920, it also provides a tool to describe and analyze fuel and energy transitions. The four parts follow the rise and fall of wood, coal and oil as their use grows to a peak and, in the case of wood, declines. The founding and growth of Kansas City as an “instant city” that grew from zero population to over three hundred twenty thousand in a hundred years embodies the increased use of fuels and energy in an urban setting and serves as a case study. …

Validation Of Inverse Seasonal Peak Mortality In Medieval Plagues, Including The Black Death, In Comparison To Modern Yersinia Pestis-Variant Diseases, Mark R. Welford, Brian H. Bossak

Earth, Environment & Sustainability: Faculty Publications

Background: Recent studies have noted myriad qualitative and quantitative inconsistencies between the medieval Black Death (and subsequent ‘‘plagues’’) and modern empirical Y. pestis plague data, most of which is derived from the Indian and Chinese plague outbreaks of A.D. 1900615 years. Previous works have noted apparent differences in seasonal mortality peaks during Black Death outbreaks versus peaks of bubonic and pneumonic plagues attributed to Y. pestis infection, but have not provided spatiotemporal statistical support. Our objective here was to validate individual observations of this seasonal discrepancy in peak mortality between historical epidemics and modern empirical data.

Methodology/Principal Findings: …

Computing Travel Time When The Exact Address Is Unknown: A Comparison Of Point And Polygon Zip Code Approximation Methods, Ethan M. Berke, Xun Shi

Dartmouth Scholarship

Travel time is an important metric of geographic access to health care. We compared strategies of estimating travel times when only subject ZIP code data were available.Using simulated data from New Hampshire and Arizona, we estimated travel times to nearest cancer centers by using: 1) geometric centroid of ZIP code polygons as origins, 2) population centroids as origin, 3) service area rings around each cancer center, assigning subjects to rings by assuming they are evenly distributed within their ZIP code, 4) service area rings around each center, assuming the subjects follow the population distribution within the ZIP code. We used …

Geography Newsletter, 1969-2009, University Of Northern Iowa. Department Of Geography.

Geography Newsletter

Inside this issue:

-- Alumni Newsletter 1969-2009
-- News From the Head
-- Departments Anniversary
-- Department News and Activities
-- Department Faculty
-- Student News
-- Alumni News

Temporal And Spatial Stability Of Anopheles Gambiae Larval Habitat Distribution In Western Kenya Highlands, Li Li, Ling Bian, Laith Yakob, Guofa Zhou, Guiyun Yan

Political Science & Geography Faculty Publications

Background: Localized mosquito larval habitat management and the use of larvicides have been proposed as important control tools in integrated malaria vector management programs. In order to optimize the utility of these tools, detailed knowledge of the spatial distribution patterns of mosquito larval habitats is crucial. However, the spatial and temporal changes of habitat distribution patterns under different climatic conditions are rarely quantified and their implications to larval control are unknown.

Results: Using larval habitat data collected in western Kenya highlands during both dry and rainy seasons of 2003-2005, this study analyzed the seasonal and inter-annual changes in the spatial …