Geography Commons^™

Serving A Segregated City: Primary Medical Care Access Disparities In Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Michael Vingiello

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.

Purgatorio, Rosie Pineda

Ray Browne Conference on Cultural and Critical Studies (2015-2021)

Rodrigo Reyes’ provocative essay film re-imagines the Mexico/U.S. border as a mythical place comparable to Dante’s purgatory. Leaving politics aside, he takes a fresh look at the brutal beauty of the border and the people caught in its spell. By capturing a stunning mosaic of compelling characters and broken landscapes that live on the US/Mexico border, the filmmaker reflects on the flaws of human nature and the powerful absurdities of the modern world. An unusual border film, in the auteur tradition of camerastylo, Purgatorio ultimately becomes a fable of humanity, an epic and visceral experience with powerful and lingering images. …

Lupe Under The Sun, Rosie Pineda

Ray Browne Conference on Cultural and Critical Studies (2015-2021)

Lupe Under the Sun is a neorealist film following an aging migrant worker living in California, who longs to return to Mexico before it is too late. Featuring a cast of nonprofessional actors, real farmworkers and authentic locations, Lupe Under the Sun tackles issues of depression, homesickness and the immigrant myth of the American Dream.

Long estranged from his family in Michoacán, migrant laborer Lupe finds relief from the backbreaking work of harvesting peaches in California’s Central Valley through camaraderie and a quiet love affair with fellow immigrant Gloria. Soon the stability of his daily routine begins to crack under …

Place: A Dynamic Geospatial Data Repository, Eleta Exline, Hannah Hamalainen

PLACE Project

Poster presented at University of Massachusetts and New England Area Librarian e-Science Symposium, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, Massachusetts, April 5, 2018

Elephants Of The Pink City, Jaipur, India: A Study Of The Captive Elephant Welfare And Management Practice In Ex-Situ Environmental Conditions, Ayan Sasmal

Annual Graduate Student Symposium

Although the arid Rajasthan desert is far from native elephant habitat, captive elephants (Elephas maximus) are managed by some private owners in Jaipur. The semi-arid Jaipur experiences a very hot summer and an extreme cold winter. Along with this, improper management practice and tremendous work load has changed the captive elephant normal life drastically. This study aims to identify the gaps in the management practice of captive elephants. A total of 72 captive elephants were studied in Jaipur. Data about the captive elephant status, veterinary care and the socio-economic conditions of their mahouts were collected through daily observations and conducting …

Using Gis For Determining Optimal Refugee Camp Placement In Western Thailand, Christopher Pierce

Annual Graduate Student Symposium

Refugee camps are often over crowded, which can create security issues and create strain on the camp infrastructure, supplies, officials, and other areas. ‘GIS for Good’ created methodology to determine optimal placement for refugee camps in Uganda using GIS. Their model focused on environmental (ie. Distance to water, land use, etc.) and social factors (population density, distance to education and health facilities, etc.). These factors were reclassified to rank most optimal sites 10 and least optimal sites 1. Factors were also weighted to give more emphasis to distance from water, slope, and food suitability sites compared to other factors. These …

Impact Of Tibetan Household Livelihood Capital On Tourism Participation Level: A Case Of Jiaju Tibetan Village In Garze, Yiyi Zhang

Annual Graduate Student Symposium

As more people move from countryside to cities and those left behind struggle to sustain livelihoods, China’s 19th National Congress of the Communist Party has prioritized the implementation of rural revitalization. A number of studies have examined drivers of livelihood transition from farming to non-farm activities, especially the participation in tourism against the backdrop of rural tourism development. There are, however, few studies identifying ways to measure tourism participation level or discussing how household-level capitals influence the decision on tourism participation made by Tibetan ethnic households. This article assessed the roles of livelihood capitals in the adoption of tourism activities …

Linguistic Political Ecology With The Ngäbe Indigenous People Of Panama, Ginés A. Sánchez Arias

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Indigenous communities from all corners of the globe live in uncertain times. From the vantage point of their “remote" lands, they undergo some of globalization’s most harmful externalities. Their homes become increasingly harder to maintain as extractive industries, development schemes, clandestine land grabs, and national bureaucracies encroach creating new colonial lands. First by assimilation, and then integration, these processes systematically undermine indigenous culture and autonomy. In place of such destructive coloniality, indigenous societies shelter unique ecological and linguistic knowledge that continues to serve their progress. This research applies lessons learned from studying with Ngäbe communities of western Panama, towards a …

The Greater Effects Of Ocean Acidification: Shellfish In The Arctic, Bailey Aasen

Scandinavian Studies Student Award

This paper explains the impacts of ocean acidification, specifically on the shellfish population in the Arctic. It explores the physical, economical and social implications that this issue has on the Arctic and the Arctic community. Originally written in 2016 and revised in 2018, this paper aims to address the increasing problem of ocean acidification in the Arctic and what solutions are being brought to the table to address the problem.

The Paul Barker Ethnographic Research In Haiti, 1950s-1960s: Assessing The Usm Vodoucollection, Hannah Marcel

Thinking Matters Symposium Archive

The Collection was obtained by Paul Barker, a faculty member of the Gorham State Teachers College, during the period of 1950-1960s (see Figures 1-4, 7). It is compiled of religious artifacts mostly relating to Haitian Vodou, with a few objects from Africa and the Dominican Republic. Haitian Vodouis heavily influenced by aspects of African religions that traveled to the Americas on the slave trade. It shares some characteristics with Louisiana Voodoo, Santeria, and other Afro-Caribbean religions who were also influenced by religions being introduced to the Americas by means of the slave trade. Each religion developed distinct characteristics shaped by …

Geochemistry Of Archaeological And Marine Environments In Southwest Maine, Heather L. Bushie

Thinking Matters Symposium Archive

Two archaeological excavations for the University of Southern Maine collected sediment columns from select units for geological and chemical analysis. The Spiller Farms site is a Native American site located in Wells, Maine marking a transition period between the Pleistocene and Holocene epochs, 12,000 BP. The Malaga Island site was a historic mixed-race community at the north end of Casco Bay where sediment columns were obtained in near-shore and subtidal zones. The samples obtained from Malaga Island have been radiocarbon dated to 3800 +/- 30 BP at 23 meters below the low-tide line. X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analysis is being conducted …

Land-Use And Land-Ownership Changes In Usoma Village, Kenya, Ernest Tan

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This study attempted to find out how land-use activities and land-ownership patterns have changed since land adjudication in Usoma Village, a peri-urban community on the fringe of Kisumu City. The methods used were photo-observation and geo-tagging based on walkabouts onsite, documentary analysis of maps obtained from the Ministry of Lands, interviews with key authority figures, independent experts and community leaders, and interviews as well as focus-group discussions with community members. In terms of land ownership, it was found that subdivisions of land, both formal and informal, had been common over the period. Land transfers based on compulsory acquisition and investment …

Cuando La Vida Era Tranquila: Land Use And Livelihood Changes Following The Construction Of The Chan 75 Dam In Nance Del Risco, Bocas Del Toro, Patrick Mckenzie

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The Ngobe are Panama’s most populous indigenous group. While the Ngobe that live in the comarca have land and resource rights, those that live immediately outside of it do not. This issue has been exacerbated by the creation of Palo Seco Forest Reserve which has removed all land rights from the Ngobe living within it. In order to meet its growing demand for energy, Panama is expanding its hydroelectric sector. One such hydroelectric dam built by AES is Chan 75. However, Chan 75 has had a controversial history, especially regarding its treatment of the Ngobe people of the corregimiento Nance …

Plant Poetics And Politics Of The West Usambaras: Power And Memory Of Narrative Botanical Science In Kizanda, Sagara, And The Mazumbai Forest Reserve, Cameron Daddis

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This is a story about people and plants. About the power of relationships between floral organisms and human lives. Using narrative botanical science as a methodological framework, this study highlights the power of local people’s ecological knowledge from the villages of Kizanda and Sagara in the West Usambara Mountains. Building from semi-structured interviews and personal conservations with thirty residents of these villages—voices of local healers, farmers, and forest guides—this work unfolds through a series of vignettes. Its aim is to identify both the precise yet diverse ways in which these people have developed botanical knowledge of their local environment. From …

‘Padre Nuestro Que Estás En La Tierra’: Una Exploración Teórica Del Territorio Ancestral Afroecuatoriano / 'Our Father Who Is On Earth': A Theoretical Exploration Of The Afro-Ecuadorian Ancestral Territory, Wes Vanderburgh

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Este es un proyecto colaborativo que documenta el fenómeno del territorio y explora cómo influye en la identidad del pueblo afrodescendiente de la sierra ecuatoriana. Empezamos por presentar el marco teórico, incluso la distinción clave entre territorio y tierra en este contexto. Entonces nos lanzamos al análisis por problematizar el nombre mismo del área bajo discusión. Luego, discutimos su geografía física y social. A continuación, presentamos una historia breve de la región. Por fin, conducimos una sociología del territorio, revelando los elementos sociales y discursivos detrás de los conceptos de ancestralidad, identidad, derecho, y política. Concluimos con sugerencias para proyectos …

Student Engagement Curriculum For The Philadelphia Gay Men's Chorus, Michael Angelo Caban

Capstone Collection

This paper is a guide for a student engagement curriculum for the Philadelphia Gay Men’s Chorus(PGMC). Included are the theoretical frameworks for youth empowerment and development, Lesbian, Gay, Bi, Trans, Queer/Questioning, and more (LGBTQ+) empowerment, and intercultural training design and facilitation that are at the center and the considerations an intercultural trainer and youth programmer and facilitator should constantly regard. The main purpose of this is to put forth a document that PGMC, as well as any group or organization, can use to empower LGBTQ+ young people, as well as their straight allies, and to develop leaders in their schools …

Determinants Of Youth (Un)Employment In Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Aynalem Megersa

International Conference on African Development Archives

Informed by the Macro-Micro approach (Steiber, & Haas, 20122 ), the paper aims to examine the major determinants of youth (Un)employment in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from a gender perspective. The study primarily uses quantitative data from the 2014 urban unemployment and employment survey conducted by the Ethiopian Central Statistical Authority. The study employs descriptive statistics and Multinomial logit model to analyse the quantitative data. Qualitative data generated using in-depth interviews and focus group discussions with selected youth in the City were also used to substantiate the quantitative results. Findings of the study reveal that different levels of factors- structural factors, …

Investigating The Influence Of Esri Story Map Design On Partcipation In Sustainability-Related Activities, Brittany Grace Austin

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Decades of scientific inquiry have conveyed evidence in support of sustainability efforts to mitigate some of the greatest challenges and dilemmas facing modern and future societies. The solutions to these dilemmas may not be achievable in the short-term, yet, through increased public participation in sustainable community development, smallscale, localized solutions can be obtained. This preliminary research explored the influence of Environmental Systems Research Institute (Esri) story map designs on participation in sustainability-related activities among individuals who expressed interest in sustainable lifestyles. Specifically, this exploratory study was designed to demonstrate the applicability of interactive web geographic information systems (GIS) applications as …

Preserving Identity Through Discourse In A Changing Ladakh, Emma Cyr

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Situated in the rain shadow of the Himalayas, Ladakh is a vast high altitude desert. It's looming mountains, rocky vistas, crystalline lakes, and unique indigenous culture makes Ladakh not only a favorite destination for adventurers, thrill seekers, and camera toters of all types, but also marks it as one of the most ecologically fragile areas in the world. However, Ladakh has only been open for tourism since 1974. Prior to then, the region was fairly isolated, open to travellers only a few months of the year, when the high, icy passes melted enough to let trade through. In the time …

Deer-Vehicle Collisions In Kalamazoo County, Michigan: A Study Using Gis And Statistical Modeling, Alex Todd Laporte

Masters Theses

Kalamazoo County ranked 15th among 83 Michigan counties in 2015 with 917 deer-vehicle collisions (DVCs). With the white-tailed deer population on the rise, the chances of collisions are also more likely to increase. Most predictive models developed for wildlife-vehicle collisions are used for specific areas and have localized characteristics that are hard to apply to different locations and animal species. By analyzing Kalamazoo County’s specific land cover, weather, traffic, and time variables with locations of deer-vehicle collisions throughout the county, characteristics are identified distinguishing between areas of differing risk. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) can locate areas with a high rate …