Place and Environment Commons^™

Why Mexicans Migrate: A Glimpse At The Causes And Effects Of Rural Mexican Migration In The Community Of Yogana As Well As Current Movements Towards Local Development, Katie Norris

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Migration is a current matter confronting both U.S. and Mexican society. For Americans, the topic signifies an ever-increasing entry of Mexican migrants to U.S. factory and agricultural hotspots. In comparison, for millions of Mexican citizens, migration marks an intricate aspect of daily life with a story embedded not only in the present day but in the histories and futures of individuals, families and communities as well. An on-going cycle of poverty explains the principle motivation behind the growing number of migrating citizens from Mexico. Social and environmental injustices associated with free-trade agreements such as the North American Free Trade Agreement …

As Rivers Run Dry: A Study Of Global Freshwater Scarcity And Its Implications For Socio-Economic Development, Sophia Wenzlau

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Water scarcity is a serious problem—without adequate supplies of clean freshwater, there cannot be life. The direct and indirect costs of water scarcity are huge, including poor public health, gender inequality, and acute restrictions for economic development. Currently, around 20 percent of the global population lacks access to safe drinking water and 2.4 billion people do not have access to adequate sanitation facilities (UNEP Brief, 1). About 1.8 million people—most of them children less than five years old—die every year due to water-borne diseases from fecal pollution—the equivalent of about 15 killer tsunamis each year or 12 Boeing 747 crashes …

“Mieux Vaut Prévenir Que Guérir”: The Effect Of Natural Disasters On Water- And Sanitation-Related Infectious Diseases And The Increasing Need For Disaster Preparedness, Naomi Malam

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The world is suffering from an extreme global water crisis. 1.1 billion people in the world lack access to adequate clean water, and 2.6 billion people lack access to water and sanitation. Approximately 10 million deaths per year can be attributed to this water crisis; water-borne infectious diseases play a significant role in this death toll. Diarrhoeal disease accounts for 2.6 million deaths per year and is one of the leading causes of death in many developing countries.

We are entering a period of undeniable climate change which is bringing about more natural disasters and extreme weather events than ever …

Ending Generational Poverty: A Contemporary Application Of The Work Of Paulo Freire In Nicaragua, Los Angeles And Uganda, Nicole Broom

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Para disminuir el nivel de pobreza generacional en poblaciones marginalizadas, hay que explorar formas educativas alternativas porque los esfuerzos existentes no han mostrado una habilidad para reducir ese fenómeno. A pesar de las diferencias en geografía y el estatus socioeconómico de los países de origen de esas organizaciones, las siguientes instituciones comparten ciertos fundamentos filosóficos, muchos de los cuales corresponden a las teorías de Paulo Freire en Pedagogy of the Oppressed, que sirven como prácticas efectivas para servir a poblaciones marginalizadas: Pearl Lagoon’s Academy of Excellence en Laguna de Perlas, Nicaragua; Camino Nuevo Charter Academy en Los Ángeles, California; …

Reminding, Retelling, And Re-Remembering: The Evolution Of Staro Sajmište, Its Future, And The Marginalization Of The Holocaust In Serbian Public Memory, Benjamin Somogyi

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This research paper examines the evolution of Staro Sajmište, its future and the resultant marginalization of the Holocaust in Serbian public memory. Sajmište was the largest Nazi concentration camp in territory of the Republic of Serbia. After a brief overview the history of the Holocaust and the history of the site, this paper focuses on the political manipulation of Sajmište’s memory since the Second World War. The paper divides the evolution of Staro Sajmište in Serbian public memory into four phases: rewritten memory, reduced memory, fabricated memory, and erased memory. Through the analysis of Sajmište’s legacy in Serbian public memory, …

How's The Water?, Michelle R. Marlow

Social Sciences

Man's manipulation of fresh water and the consequences of said manipulation.

Perceptions And Evaluation Of An Urban Environment For Pedestrian Friendliness: A Case Study, Elizabeth H. Lee

Master's Theses

Public health is an increasingly important issue addressed from both environmental and public health sectors for the future development of urban environments. From a planning perspective, one possible solution is to increase walkability throughout the cities. Many assessment methods are being developed and administered to evaluate the quality of existing urban environments to promote walkable cities/communities. The results from using these methods provide policymakers and stakeholders with valuable information regarding the existing physical conditions of the environment. Although several US cities started to develop and refocus plans toward pedestrian-oriented policies approaches, results from this particular study determined that the quality …

Dog Parks: An Application Of Place Attachment Theory, Andrew Pariser

Human Movement Studies & Special Education Theses & Dissertations

Despite their increasing popularity, dog parks have been subjected to little research. The purpose of this study was to determine if place attachment and its generally recognized sub-components of place dependence and place identity apply to dog parks. Survey respondents were given an on-site questionnaire at a Virginia and at a Florida dog park. Respondents answered questions similar to those used in previous studies of place attachment at other recreational facilities. There was a significant correlation between the constructs of place dependence and place identity and dog park usage. The combined construct of place attachment showed the highest correlation. Regression …

La Integración De Los Inmigrantes: Una Sociedad Que Acoge, Weddy Worjroh

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The first truth that I stumbled across upon arriving in Granada is that immigration has and continues to have a great impact on the society as a whole. I have always been intrigued by immigration because both of my parents were immigrants. Coming from a country that was built by the hands of immigrants, I get irritated when people say offensive things about the immigrants of today. Ever since I was a child my parents have told me many stories about the struggles and adversities they overcame in order to obtain a better life. For this reason, when I look …

La Cara De La Explotación: Un Estudio De La Industria Minería En El Sur De La República De Ecuador, Jillian Howell

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Mi viaje continúo al sur oriente a la ciudad de Macas en la provincia de Morona Santiago, a dónde había una reunión del Programa de Pequeños Donaciones (PPD) de las Naciones Unidas - Proyecto de Desarrollo (UNDP) sobre los pequeños proyectos sostenibles en el sur de Ecuador. Unos de estos proyectos era sobre mitigando de los impactos ambientales de los mineros artesanales de La Pangui y Congüime en el Cordillera del Cóndor. Yo visité este proyecto una semana después, cuando fui a La Pangui y viví una noche con la familia del presidente de una asociación de los mineros artesanales. …

Cultural Tourism In Mjini Ole, Pemba: A Case Study In Its Establishment And Marketing, Peter Rashid Clabby

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The purpose of this study was to attempt to better outfit the Kidike Pemba Flying Fox Ecotourism Center of Pemba Island, Zanzibar, in order to increase its appeal to a wider audience of tourists and to benefit the surrounding community of Mjini Ole. This goal was specifically carried out by establishing and marketing cultural tourism under the Kidike brand. In Kidike’s initial condition, guests were able to see the roost site of this endemic giant fruit bat – the Pemba Flying Fox – and continue on to see historical ruins and a mangrove forest, but the presentation and experience as …

Using The American Community Survey To Build A Dashboard Of Regional Economic Indicators, Randall W. Eberts

Conference Papers

No abstract provided.

Rebuilding Distressed Regions: Problem Diagnosis And Tracking, Randall W. Eberts

Conference Papers

No abstract provided.

Places For Races: The White Supremacist Movement Imagines U.S. Geography, Barbara Perry, Randy Blazak

Sociology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Increasingly, scholars are acknowledging that racial and other forms of animus assume a spatial dimension. Not only does intercultural hostility take different forms depending on location, but so, too, does the concomitant bias-motivated violence imply “places for races.” The very intent and motive of hate crimes are grounded in the perceived need of perpetrators to defend carefully crafted boundaries. While these boundaries are largely cultural, they may also take on a real, physical form, at least from the perpetrator’s perspective. Nowhere is this more evident than in the geographical imagination of the White Supremacist movement. This paper will trace the …

Comparing Individual- And National-Level Explanations Of Environmental Attitudes, Andrew V. Bedrous

Department of Sociology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Data from the 1999-2001 World Values Survey (WVS), the Environmental Sustainability Index (ESI), and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) World Factbook are used to assess individual and national level explanations of environmental attitudes among 34,555 respondents from 27 countries. Three analyses are presented: an individual-level analysis that examines the previously assessed correlates of environmental attitudes; a national-level analysis of the relationship between a variety of national-level characteristics and aggregate environmental attitudes; and a multilevel (HLM) model assessing these effects simultaneously. Guided by the New Ecological Paradigm (NEP), the post-materialist thesis and the World-Systems Perspective national-level characteristics are assessed in the …

'The Edge Of The Island': Neighborhood Identity And Evolving Community In 'Liminal Places', Gordon Douglas

Faculty Publications, Urban and Regional Planning

This paper examines the contemporary processes at work in urban areas without clear spatial identities that are simultaneously facing the challenges of cultural change and gentrification. I do so through the close analysis of one such ‘liminal place’ on Chicago’s West Side. I use the phrase ‘a community on the edge of the island’ to describe the area, inspired by an interview subject who referred to the tenuous search for a sort of ideal bohemian hipness as the need to stay as “close to the edge of the island” as possible without actually leaving it. Making use of ethnographic and …

Preservation Ethics In The Case Of Nebraska's Nationally Registered Historic Properties, Darren Michael Adams

Department of Geography: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This dissertation focuses on the National Register of Historic Places and considers the geographical implications of valuing particular historic sites over others. Certain historical sites will either gain or lose desirability from one era to the next, this dissertation identifies and explains three unique preservation ethical eras, and it maps the sites which were selected during those eras. These eras are the Settlement Era (1966–1975), the Commercial Architecture Era (1976–1991), and the Progressive Planning Era (1992–2010). The findings show that transformations in the program included an early phase when state authorities listed historical resources pertaining to the settlement of the …

Brain Drain, Waste Or Gain? What We Know About The Kenyan Case, Ruth Uwaifo Oyelere

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

Over the last three decades, Kenya and many other countries in Sub Saharan Africa (SSA) have experienced rapid emigration to the developed world. The general view is that emigration from developing countries especially Africa has led to brain drain and brain waste. However, recent research on emigration from Mexico provides evidence of significant gains from emigration. This recent finding highlights the importance of looking at individual countries' diasporas. In this review paper, I focus on trends in the Kenyan diaspora. More importantly, I summarize what we know from the literature and data on Kenya with respect to issues of brain …

Diaspora In Global Development: First Generation Immigrants From Kenya, Transnational Ties, And Emerging Alternatives, Maria M. Kioko

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

Transnational ties form an important aspect of immigrants' experiences. Using ethnographic accounts of 38 first generation immigrants from Kenya this study analyzed (a) why and how participants maintain ties, (b) characteristics of the ties, and (c) the degree to which ties influence immigrants' experiences. Findings revealed that participants connected to Kenya through social, economic, and political transnational practices. Ties took on a U-shaped curve with the highest intensity at points of arrival and after extended stay in the United States. While participants had moved spatially, their values and attitudes remained static resulting in "particularistic" development efforts. This demonstrated how ethnicity, …

The Emerging National Culture Of Kenya: Decolonizing Modernity, Olubayi Olubayi

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

Kenya exists as a legitimate nation state that is recognized by the United Nations and by other countries. This paper is an exploration of, and a response to, the following two questions: "Is there a national culture of Kenya?" and "what is the relationship between the national culture of Kenya and the 50 ethnic cultures of Kenya?" The evidence indicates that a distinct national culture of Kenya has emerged and continues to grow stronger as it simultaneously borrows from, reorganizes, and lends to, the 50 ancient ethnic cultures of Kenya. The emerging national culture of Kenya has several strong dimensions …

Ethnographic Performance And Global Learning: Lessons From "You Always Go Home", Margaret Baldwin, Karen Robinson

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

Ethnographic performance draws upon fieldwork in a particular social/cultural "lived domain" (Madison, 2005, p. 5) as the text (aural, visual, gestural) for the performance (or representation) of other identities. Through ethnography, we are required to enter into a "deep and abiding dialogue with the Other" (Madison, 2005, p.B). Ethnographic performance is particularly focused on giving representation to individuals and groups whose voices and stories often go unheard.

This essay will focus on the conception, development, and impact of an ethnographic performance entitled You Always Go Home that was produced by the Department of Theatre and Performance Studies at Kennesaw …

The Role Of The Kenyan Diaspora In Constructing A New Political Culture And Identity, Eric Masinde Aseka

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

This paper focuses on the need for and the prospects of a congenial politics of identity construction in Kenya as spearheaded by the country's diasporic communities. It identifies and interrogates the intersection of consciousness and historical experience as the basis of such identity construction. It posits the leadership function as a critical component in this process and points out how mismanagement of the African polity has led to swelling ranks of refugees. These émigrés have contributed to the making of a global Africa embodied in the Black Diaspora. This diaspora can help reconstruct the politics of identity within Kenya as …

Africa's Contemporary Global Migrations: Patterns, Perils, And Possibilities, Paul Tiyambe Zeleza

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

The literature on international migration is dominated by economic and political perspectives. This paper begins with the culturalist readings to remind ourselves that there is more to international migration than the search for greener pastures or flight from political terror. It is about the movement of human beings, a story that is as old as humanity itself, going back to the great migrations within and out of Africa to populate the planet. But those who advance the culturalist perspectives also need to be reminded that in our contemporary world more often than not people migrate to sell their labor power …

Key Dynamics Of Assimilation Among First-Generation Turkish Immigrants Residing In Romania, Hasan Aydin

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

The purpose of this study was to examine the consequences of integration and assimilation of first-generation young adults (over 18 years old) who are Turkish immigrants in Romania. This is a qualitative study with 31 first-generation Turkish immigrants in two different Romanian cities. The participants were interviewed and were asked open-ended questions relating to their culture, religion, and language. The comparative analyses of the two cities indicate that the processes and intensity of assimilation differ widely. The participants' degree of assimilation or integration was related to various things, such as histories prior to migration, reason for relocation, and particular characteristics …

The Places Of Birth: Navigating Risk, Control, And Choice, Hannah E. Emple

Geography Honors Projects

Through qualitative research in the Twin Cities, Minnesota and a literature review grounded in health and feminist geography, this paper analyzes how women, their families, and health care providers view and navigate places of birth. Over four million births occur annually in the United States, making birth the most common reason for hospitalization of women. Although 99% of women in the U.S. give birth in hospitals, a small but vocal minority seek alternative places to birth – primarily at home. Where to give birth is a contested subject infused with social and political significance. I suggest that place is highly …

Belize As A Classroom, Jordan Norris, Molly Calico

Impact Belize

During the week of January 7-14, 2010, Molly Calico and Jordan Norris participated in the Impact Belize program through the College of Health and Human Services. This program took place in Gales Point, a rural, underserved community in Belize. Impact students provided medical, dental and public health services to the community in an interdisciplinary service-learning format. As Master of Public Health students, Molly and Jordan directed health education initiatives and served on the Leadership Team for the program. Having participated in January of 2009 as well, Molly and Jordan were well prepared to conduct public health research and to assume …

Somalian Immigration And Assimilation To Minnesota, Chantae Erickson

Academic Symposium of Undergraduate Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Impact Belize 2010 Executive Report, Ritchie D. Taylor, Jordan Norris, Molly Calico, Bernie Strenecky, Daniel Carter, Dawn Garrett Wright, Eve Main, Bonny Petty, Molly Kerby, Jill Norris

Impact Belize

No abstract provided.

Evaluation Of The Level Of Contaminants, Mercury And Arsenic In Fiddleheads, New Brunswick, N.A.

Aboriginal Policy Research Consortium International (APRCi)

In spring 2010, Maliseet Nation Conservation Council (MNCC) has conducted a study to test fiddleheads for contaminants. As Fiddleheads are important traditional foods of Maliseet Indians of the Saint John River Valley and widely consumed veggie in the province of New Brunswick we decided to test fiddleheads for contaminants. Though it was initially planned to test fiddlehead samples from entire province of New Brunswick, due to unavoidable circumstances the study has to be restricted to the Fredericton and suburbs. In accordance with the revised experimental plan, twenty five fiddlehead samples collected from Jemseg, Sugar Island, Mactaquac and Nashwaaksis areas were …

Nebraska Annual Social Indicators Survey (Nasis) 2010 Methodology Report, Bureau Of Sociological Research

Nebraska Annual Social Indicators Survey (NASIS)

CONTENTS

Introduction 1

Mode Selection 1

Design & Item Selection 1

Sampling Design 1

Experimental Design Treatment 2

Data Collection Process 2

Response Rate 3

Data-Entry Training, Supervision, and Quality Control 3

Processing of Completed Surveys 3

Data Cleaning 4

Representativeness of the Survey 4

NASIS Sample Weights 5

Questions 5

Appendix A: Cover Letter 9

Appendix B: Formatted Mail Survey 11

Appendix C: Future Research Interest Card 20

Appendix D: Reminder Postcard 21

Appendix E: City and County FIPS Codes 22

Appendix F: Variables and Descriptions 27