Geography Commons^™

Banking On The Impossible: The Political Life Of Wetlands In Southern Louisiana, Michael Kantor

Geography and the Environment - Theses

Wetland banking is an increasingly prominent environmental governance strategy in the United States. Associated with larger trends toward the financialization of ecosystem services, wetland banking acts as a mode of social regulation while stabilizing a particular regime of accumulation. Its use by the Army Corps of Engineers and the Environmental Protection Agency to regulate the development of wetlands has certain implications for the distribution of and access to land, water, and capital. This thesis investigates a particular wetland development project in southeastern Louisiana and its relation to a local wetland bank, the Army Corps of Engineers, and a multinational oil …

Battle For The Mountains: Restructuring Extractive Production And The Socio-Ecological Crisis In West Virginia's Coalfields, Ben Marley

Geography and the Environment - Theses

The coalfields of southern West Virginia have faced recurring crises linked to its regional political economy. Today's crisis is constituted by the decimation on the United Mine Workers of America and the greater use of mountaintop removal coal mining in conjunction with policies and market conditions. This thesis argues that crisis in southern West Virginia's coalfields, like previous crises, will mean the reorganization of human and extra-human natures in which social movements along with economic conditions play an integral role in transcending the crisis. Tracing the history of crises in southern West Virginia's coalfields and interviewing retired coal miners, community …

Men's Modesty, Religion, And The State: Spaces Of Collision, Karen M. Morin

Faculty Journal Articles

This article examines religious practices in the United States, which govern modesty and other dress norms for men. I focus both on the spaces within which they most collide with regulatory regimes of the state and the legal implications of these norms, particularly for observant Muslim men. Undergirding the research are those ‘‘gender equality’’ claims made by many religious adherents, that men are required to maintain proper modesty norms just as are women. Also undergirding the research is the extensive anti-Islam bias in American culture today. The spaces within which men’s religiously proscribed dress and grooming norms are most at …

A Geomechanical Study Of The Mississippian Boone Formation, Karen Nicole Mason Buckland

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Boone Formation in northwest Arkansas is a chert-limestone sequence analogous to the subsurface Mississippi Lime reservoir in parts of Oklahoma and Kansas. It has low permeability and produces via horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing. The response to stimulation by fracturing is dependent on the quantity of chert in the area. Chert nodules and laterally extensive chert layers in the sequence are variable. Locally, cm- to dm-scale chert bedding is continuous and comprises up to 50% of the outcrop. Elsewhere, the chert is nodular and intermittent.

Samples collected from representative outcrops spanning the thickness and aerial extent of the formation …

Finding Nature In Your Neighborhood: A Field Mapping Protocol For Community Based Assessment Of Greenspace Access, James Bryant, Mark Cordell, Garry Deihl, Abel Gebrezgi, Tamara Layden, Thomas Arenas Marshall, Kathryn Newman, Amy Pitts-Lore, Leah Sobieck

Asset Mapping: Community Geography Project

The Audubon Society of Portland and PSU Capstone students developed the Greenspace Access Point Field Mapping Protocol during the summer of 2013. The protocol was developed as a tool for a community-based approach to inventorying open space access points and to generate more accurate information on open space access in the Portland-Metro region.

Utilizing Remote Sensing And Geospatial Techniques To Determine Detection Probabilities Of Large Mammals, Patricia A. Terletzky-Gese

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Whether a species is rare and requires protection or is overabundant and needs control, an accurate estimate of population size is essential for the development of conservation plans and management goals. Wildlife science has traditionally relied on human observers in airplanes, helicopter, or ground vehicles to count the number of individuals seen during wildlife surveys. However, these traditional surveys of wildlife require significant resources, are difficult to conduct quickly and safely over remote and/or extensive locations, are disruptive to the studied species, and are prone to significant error due to unobserved or missed animals and multiple counts of single animals. …

An Embodied Perspective Of Expertise In Solving The Problem Of Making A Geologic Map, Caitlin Norah Callahan

Dissertations

The task of constructing a geologic map is a cognitively and physically demanding field-based problem. The map produced is understood to be an individual’s two-dimensional interpretation or mental model of the three-dimensional underlying geology. A popular view within the geoscience community is that teaching students how to make a geologic map is valuable for preparing them to deal with disparate and incomplete data sets, for helping them develop problem-solving skills, and for acquiring expertise in geology. Few previous studies have focused specifically on expertise in geologic mapping. Drawing from literature related to expertise, to problem solving, and to mental models, …

Hidup Adalah Perjuangan: Strategi Pemuda Yogyakarta Dalam Transisi Dari Dunia Pendidikan Ke Dunia Kerja, Oki Rahadianto Sutopo

Masyarakat: Jurnal Sosiologi

This article shows the experiences of six young people from Yogyakarta who struggle in the process of school to work transition. These young people creatively implemented long term strategy both inside and outside the field of education They accumulate various kind of capitals so that it can be converted in the future. All of the informants are from middle class background. The result shows they still get benefits from strategies and capital that they had previously created. As a young people from middle class background, they are optimist that they can reach their dream jobs in the future as long …

Kelekatan Kelembagaan: Industri Distro Fesyen Di Bandung, Rochman Achwan

Masyarakat: Jurnal Sosiologi

This paper tries to enrich three perspectives for the study of creative industry, cultural entrepreneurship, social contract, and contextual knowledge, by employing an institutional approach and argues that institutional embbededness plays a vital role in promoting creative fashion distro (distribution store) in Bandung that historically well-known city of fashion. Qualitative method has been used to collect data from various informants. This study reveals that disembeddedness between state and creative fashion business and within society of fashion become a mayor feature of the business. As a consequence, creativity of fashion entrepreneurs unable to prosper and internal business organisation is difficult to …

Menggantung Ke “Atas”: Perkumpulan Sosial Perdesaan Di Era Desentralisasi, Anggoro Yudo Mahendro

Masyarakat: Jurnal Sosiologi

In democracy, the government at the national and local level strives to create an active community, which manifests in a variety of community associations. Desa Rintis shows the active role of local government in supporting the establishment of community associations at the village level. We can understand this because the local government has the structural strength through its regulations to influence the society. Besides, the local government also provides cultural as well as economic capital that is included in the relational process between the state and social associations. This condition causes initiative of some members of the community to form …

Revivalisme Kekuatan Familisme Dalam Demokrasi: Dinasti Politik Di Aras Lokal, Wasisto Rahajo Djati

Masyarakat: Jurnal Sosiologi

The article aims to elaborate political dynasty that developed in local politics arena. The emergence of political dynasty is indicated by several points. First of all, the failure of function from local political party to conducts political regeneration. Secondly, high cost democracy which impeding public to participate in public office succession. Third, political power from local elite was uneven, thus resulting power centralization in few strong local elite that transforming dynasty. Patrimonialism is not always becoming main perspective to analyzing political dynasty. There are many alternative political perspectives to analyze this case. This paper used familism political culture to elaborate …

Modal Budaya Dan Modal Sosial Dalam Industri Seni Kerajinan Keramik, Antonius Purwanto

Masyarakat: Jurnal Sosiologi

Cultural and social capital is important in the development of industrial cluster of ceramic art craft. This paper describes and explains the role of cultural and social capital in the development of industrial cluster of ceramic art craft in Kasongan. This paper also describes and explains the dynamics of domination and resistance among entrepreneurs in the cluster. By using qualitative research methods show that cultural capital is important for the change of the cluster from the one which produce traditional-functional ceramic to the one which produce artistic ceramic. It is also important for upward social mobility among entrepreneurs. Social capital …

Dead White Men And Other Important People: Sociology’S Big Ideas, Fitrah Munir

Masyarakat: Jurnal Sosiologi

No abstract provided.

Anti-Masyarakat Sipil, Redaksi Jurnal Masyarakat

Masyarakat: Jurnal Sosiologi

No abstract provided.

Remote Sensing Of Soil Moisture In Vineyards Using Airborne And Ground-Based Thermal Inertia Data, Aiman Soliman, Richard J. Heck, Alexander Brenning, Ralph Brown, Stephen Miller

Publications and Research

Thermal remote sensing of soil moisture in vineyards is a challenge. The grass-covered soil, in addition to a standing grape canopy, create complex patterns of heating and cooling and increase the surface temperature variability between vine rows. In this study, we evaluate the strength of relationships between soil moisture, mechanical resistance and thermal inertia calculated from the drop of surface temperature during a clear sky night over a vineyard in the Niagara region. We utilized data from two sensors, an airborne thermal camera (height ≈ 500 m a.g.l.) and a handheld thermal gun (height ≈ 1 m a.g.l.), to explore …

Remote Sensing Of Green Leaf Area Index In Maize And Soybean: From Close-Range To Satellite, Anthony L. Nguy-Robertson

School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This dissertation seeks to explore alternative methodologies for estimating green leaf area index (LAI) and crop developmental stages. Specifically this research [1] developed an approach for creating a Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) high spatial resolution product for estimating green LAI on the base of data collected using two different close-range sensors. It was determined that the vegetation indices (VIs) Wide Dynamic Range Vegetation Index (WDRVI) and Enhanced Vegetation Index 2 (EVI2) were capable of accurate estimation of green LAI from MODIS 250 m data using models developed from hyperspectral (RMSE < 0.69 m² m^-2; CV < 33%) or multispectral sensors (RMSE < 0.69 m² m^-2; …

Reviewing Models Of Land Availability And Dynamics For Biofuel Crops In The United States And The European Union, Ruopu Li, Nicola Di Virgilio, Qingfeng Guan, Song Feng, Goetz M. Richter

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

The biofuel-related land use in the USA and the EU has significantly expanded during the last decade; models have been used to estimate land availability and demand in these regions. This paper provides an overview of different land-use modeling practices applicable to first- and second-generation biofuels. We review the importance of different land categories for biofuels, modeling approaches (top-down/bottom-up) and their integration, data availability for calibration and validation, model scale, and uncertainty. Possible future changes of biofuel land use and research gaps and limitations are synthesized. Key issues are the lack of data for independent validation and the need for …

The Politics Of The "New North": Putting History And Geography At Stake In Arctic Futures, Andrew T. Stuhl

Faculty Journal Articles

References to a “New North” have snowballed across popular media in the past

10 years. By invoking the phrase, scientists, policy analysts, journalists and others

draw attention to the collision of global warming and global investment in

the Arctic today and project a variety of futures for the region and the planet.

While changes are apparent, the trope of a “New North” is not new. Discourses

that appraised unfamiliar situations at the top of the world have recurred

throughout the twentieth century. They have also accompanied attempts to

cajole, conquer, civilize, consume, conserve and capitalize upon the far north.

This …

More Effective Human Spaceflight Programs And Their International Security Implications, Bert Chapman, Sarag J. Saikia

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

NASA can more effectively perform its missions by transferring its aeronautic responsibilities to the Federal Aviation Administration and be renamed the National Space Agency. The U.S. must also recognize that space is an emerging arena of international competition and conflict and militarily protect its space assets from China which seeks to use space to restrict the U.S.' ability to defend its strategic interests in regions such as the Western Pacific.

Great Plains Research, 23-2 Fall 2013, Editorial Matter, Richard Edwards, Peter Longo

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences (through 2013)

Masthead

Contents

Volume Introduction, by Richard Edwards & Peter Longo

Instructions to authors

Security Here Is Not Safe': Violence, Punishment, & Space In The Contemporary U.S. Penitentiary, Karen M. Morin

Faculty Journal Articles

The US penitentiary at Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, was retrofitted in 2008 to offer the country’s first federal Special Management Unit (SMU) program of its kind. This model SMU is designed for federal inmates from around the country identified as the most intractably troublesome, and features double-celling of inmates in tiny spaces, in 23-hour or 24-hour a day lockdown, requiring them to pass through a two-year program of readjustment. These spatial tactics, and the philosophy of punishment underlying them, contrast with the modern reform ideals upon which the prison was designed and built in 1932. The SMU represents the latest punitive phase …

The Role Of Suburbia In The Attribution Of Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Jochen Albrecht, Peter Marcotullio, Andrea Sarzynski, Niels Schulz

Publications and Research

The original goal of the research presented here was to quantify by world region, the contribution of urbanized areas to global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (EDGAR, 2011). Regressions on population density and growth rate, GDP, and heating/cooling degree days, as well as a row of other non-significant variables, show that the contribution of urban extents is between 38% and 49% of total emissions (Marcotullio et al., 2012). In spite of using very liberal definitions of urban extents (GRUMP, 2011) this is at the low end of academic estimates (Satterthwaite, 2008; WEO, 2008; Dhakal, 2010). It is no surprise that the …

Avalanche Chronology Of The Maple Mountain/Spanish Fork Peak Avalanche Paths, Kimball Hansen, Dr. Matthew Bekker

Journal of Undergraduate Research

I began planning my project of the avalanche chronology of the Maple Mountain/Spanish Fork Peak Avalanche Paths in 2009 while applying for the ORCA grant. I was currently wrapping up a similar project of an avalanche chronology of Loafer Mountain near Woodland Hills Peak. This later project helped form a basis for the new avalanche path near Spanish Fork Peak. Since the two paths are relatively close to each other in the Wasatch Mountain Range, I can use the chronology found from Loafer Mountain avalanche path with the new path I will be researching and correlate the data and help …

The Effects Of Migration On Salvadoran Families, Teresa Gomez, Dr. Matthew Shumway

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The results of our research were presented on April 14th at the Annual meeting of the Association of American Geographers in the “Immigrants in the USA” session. The presentation was successful. Afterward presenting, we had the opportunity to talk with other professors studying migration that were interested in our research.

Understory Diversity And Succession On Coarse Woody Debris In A Coastal, Old-Growth Forest, Oregon, Shannon Lee Mcdonald

Dissertations and Theses

This research examines the relationship between understory plant diversity and logs in a Pacific Northwest (PNW) Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis)-western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla) old-growth, coastal forest. These forests are renowned for their high forest productivity, frequent wind storms, and slow log decomposition rates that produce unmatched accumulations of coarse woody debris (CWD) yet few studies have examined the relationship between CWD and understory vegetation ecology. My research addressed this topic by comparing understory plant census data between paired fallen log and forest floor sites (n=20 pairs). My objectives were to: 1) determine the influence of substrate type on community composition …

Identifying Potential Wilderness Areas On The Fremont-Winema National Forest With Arcgis Modelbuilder, Zach Adams

Geography and the Environment: Graduate Student Capstones

The Fremont-Winema National Forest administers over two million acres in south central Oregon. Part of managing this landscape includes overseeing existing wilderness areas and identifying new potential wilderness areas. In the past this process has been cumbersome, with little thought given to standardizing the effort across the administrative area. This project was an effort to develop a geospatial model that incorporates U.S. Forest Service spatial datasets ultimately standardizing the potential wilderness identification process during site specific NEPA analysis.

Gis Analysis Of Placer Gold Mining Potential In The Yuba River Watershed, California, J. D. Chandler

Geography and the Environment: Graduate Student Capstones

Can a Geographic Information System (GIS) be used to analyze and locate precise geographic locations along rivers and creeks that have high potential for placer gold extraction in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, California?

Spacing Units In The Greater Wattenberg Area, Tera Dillon

Geography and the Environment: Graduate Student Capstones

Horizontal wells are the most commonly drilled wells in the Wattenberg Field, located in Weld County, Colorado. Petroleum engineers have become interested in determining how many horizontal wells can economically be drilled per section in this vertically, well-developed field. Using the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission’s spacing unit regulations as a guide, a GIS workflow was developed to create the deliverables required for further analysis. Spacing units were created by applying a buffer to horizontal well surveys, and using this buffer to select intersecting quarter-quarter sections. The selected quarter-quarter sections were simplified using the dissolve tool and then spatially …

Guidance In Feature Extraction To Resolve Uncertainty, Boris Kovalerchuk, Michael Kovalerchuk, Simon Streltsov, Matthew Best

Computer Science Faculty Scholarship

Automated Feature Extraction (AFE) plays a critical role in image understanding. Often the imagery analysts extract features better than AFE algorithms do, because analysts use additional information. The extraction and processing of this information can be more complex than the original AFE task, and that leads to the “complexity trap”. This can happen when the shadow from the buildings guides the extraction of buildings and roads. This work proposes an AFE algorithm to extract roads and trails by using the GMTI/GPS tracking information and older inaccurate maps of roads and trails as AFE guides.

Evaluation Of A Coupled Event-Driven Phenology And Evapotranspiration Model For Croplands In The United States Northern Great Plains, V. Kovalskyy, G. M. Henebry, D. P. Roy, B. Adusei, M. Hansen, G. Senay, D. M. Mocko

Natural Resource Management Faculty Publications

A new model coupling scheme with remote sensing data assimilation was developed for estimation of daily actual evapotranspiration (ET). The scheme consists of the VegET, a model to estimate ET from meteorological and water balance data, and an Event Driven Phenology Model (EDPM), an empirical crop specific model trained on multiple years of flux tower data transformed into six types of environmental forcings that are called “events” to emphasize their temporally discrete character, which has advantages for modeling multiple contingent influences. The EDPM in prognostic mode supplies seasonal trajectories of normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI); whereas in diagnostic mode, it …