Geography Commons^™

Human Diversity In Jordan: Polymorphic Alu Insertions In General Jordanian And Bedouin Groups, Daniela Zanetti, May Sadiq, Robert Carreras-Torres, Omar Khabour, Almuthanna Alkaraki, Esther Esteban, Marc Via, Pedro Moral

Human Biology Open Access Pre-Prints

Jordan, located in the Levant region, is a crucial area to investigate human migration between Africa and Eurasia. Even thought, the genetic history of Jordanians is far to be clarified including the origin of the Bedouins today resident in Jordan. Here, we provide new genetic data on autosomal independent markers in two Jordanian population samples (Bedouins and general population) in order to approach the genetic diversity inside this country and to give new information about the genetic position of these populations in the frame of the Mediterranean and Middle East area. The analyzed markers are 18 Alu polymorphic insertions characterized …

Human Paternal Lineages, Languages And Environment In The Caucasus, David Tarkhnishvili, Alexander Gavashelishvili, Marine Murtskhvaladze, Mariam Gabelaia, Gigi Tevzadze

Human Biology Open Access Pre-Prints

Publications that describe the human Y-DNA haplogroup composition in different ethnic or linguistic groups and geographic regions provide no explicit explanation of the distribution of human paternal lineages in relation to specific ecological conditions. Our research attempts to address this topic for the Caucasus – a geographic region that encompasses a relatively small area but harbors high linguistic, ethnic, and Y-DNA haplogroup diversity. 224 men that identified themselves as ethnic Georgian were genotyped for Y-chromosome 23 STR markers and assigned to their geographic places of origin. The genotyped data were supplemented with the published data on the haplogroup composition and …

Toward A Biocommunicable Cartography Of Health Decision-Making In The Amazon Basin Of Ecuador, James Cartwright

Lawrence University Honors Projects

This paper comprises a critical, ethnographic study of health communication in a rural community of Amazonian Ecuador. By synthesizing approaches from anthropology, discourse studies, and public health, the study explores how conversations influence health decisions, how communities understand health systems, and how macrostructural discourse changes the political economy of healthcare in Ecuador. My work draws on the recent theoretical development of ‘biocommunicability’ in anthropology as well as earlier sociological research on knowledge construction. Most importantly, this paper offers a critique of current interventions by NGOs in the region.

Phylogeography Of E1b1b1b-M81 Haplogroup And Analysis Of Its Subclades In Morocco, Ahmed Reguig, Nourdin Harich, Abdelhamid Barakat, Hassan Rouba

Human Biology Open Access Pre-Prints

In this work, we have analyzed a total of 295 unrelated Berber-speaking men from the northern, center and southern of Morocco, in order to characterize frequency of E1b1b1b-M81 haplogroup and to refine the phylogeny of its subclades: E1b1b1b1-M107, E1b1b1b2-M183 and E1b1b1b2a-M165. For this purpose, we have typed four biallelic polymorphisms: M81, M107, M183 and M165. As results, a large majority of the Berber-speaking male lineages belong to the Y chromosomal E1b1b1b-M81 haplogroup. The frequency ranged from 79.1 to 98.5% in all localities sampled. Then, the E1b1b1b2-M183 was the most dominant subclade in our samples, which ranged from 65.1% to 83.1%. …

Mitochondrial Dna Variability Among Six South-American Amerindian Villages From The Pano Linguistic Group, Celso T. Mendes-Junior, Aguinaldo L. Simoes

Human Biology Open Access Pre-Prints

Although scattered throughout a large geographic area, the members of the Pano linguistic group present strong ethnic, linguistic and cultural homogeneity, a feature that causes them to be considered as components of a same “Pano” tribe. Nevertheless, the genetic homogeneity between Pano villages has not been examined before. To study the genetic structure of the Pano linguistic group, four major Native American mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) founder haplogroups were analyzed in 77 Amerindians from six villages of four Pano tribes (Katukina, Kaxináwa, Marúbo, and Yaminawa) located in the Brazilian Amazon. The central position of these tribes in the continent makes them …

Ala Schedule Place Poster Announcement, Place Project Group

PLACE Project

Page from the ALA Conference Schedule announcing the PLACE Poster Session.

How To Estimate Relative Spatial Resolution Of Different Maps Or Images Of The Same Area?, Christian Servin, A A. Velasco, Vladik Kreinovich

Departmental Technical Reports (CS)

In this paper, we describe how to estimate relative spatial resolution of different maps or images of the same area under uncertainty. We consider probabilistic and fuzzy approaches and we show that both approaches lead to the same estimates -- which makes us more confident that this joint result is reasonable.

The Impact Of Internet Gis On Access To Water Quality Information, Joseph H. Hoover

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Empowering citizens to comprehend complex environmental issues affecting their daily lives is essential to sustaining a healthy and informed public. The work of many environmental nongovernmental organizations (ENGOs) and institutions of higher education (IHEs) center around helping their stakeholders become informed of, and in turn, better understand complex environmental problems. However, providing individual stakeholders with knowledge about environmental issues that is easily accessible and understandable represents a recurring challenge in today's society. As a result, a gap continues to exist between that which is known about environmental problems and the public's awareness and understanding of those issues. Arsenic contamination of …

Interannual Variation In Biomass Burning And Fire Seasonality Derived From Geostationary Satellite Data Across The Contiguous United States From 1995 To 2011, Xiaoyang Zhang, Shobha Kondragunta, David Roy

GSCE Faculty Publications

Wildfires exhibit a strong seasonality that is driven by climatic factors and human activities. Although the fire seasonality is commonly determined using burned area and fire frequency, it could also be quantified using biomass consumption estimates that directly represent biomass loss (a combination of the area burned and the fuel loading). Therefore, in this study a data set of long-term biomass consumed was derived from geostationary satellite data to explore the interannual variation in the fire seasonality and the possible impacts of climate change and land management practices across the Contiguous United States (CONUS). Specifically, daily biomass consumed data were …

Changing Geographic Patterns Of High- And Low-Income Groups In Eight United States Metropolitan Areas, Taylor J. Hafley

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Income segregation produces unequal social outcomes and has steadily increased since the 1970s. High-poverty neighborhoods suffer from low performing schools, fewer jobs, an evaporation of local role models (Wilson 1987; Reardon and Bischoff 2011a). Recent evidence suggests growing income inequality influences the segregation of affluence more than the segregation of poverty (Reardon and Bischoff 2011b). Metropolitan areas that display strong population and economic growth are susceptible to higher levels of income inequality. I use three unique quantitative approaches to measure the segregation of affluence and poverty in a comparison of four metropolitan areas exhibiting strong growth to four metros with …

Geography Of Development Of Eastern Europe, Kathryn E. Dyas

Social Sciences

The aim of this senior project is to evaluate the long-standing effects the geography of development has had on Eastern Europe since the 1900s onward. The analysis concentrates on Poland, Croatia, and Ukraine thoroughly examining the political, cultural, and geographic nature that has affected the history and development of these countries. The author outlines theories of development and how they are applicable to Eastern Europe’s continuing development. The focus of this paper is on the influence of socialism and communism, as well as the affect the European Union has had, and continues to have on Eastern Europe as a whole. …

Mapping And Analyzing Historical Sanborn Maps Of San Luis Obispo From 1905 And 1950, Troy A. Lawson

Social Sciences

This project was conducted to map, analyze, and determine historical changes in the city of San Luis Obispo, California. Sanborn maps from 1905 and 1950 were drawn showing streets, parcels, creeks, and buildings of the city. These publications had limited use because they were in a physical format without any geographic reference. Here, these maps were digitized into a GIS format to analyze building trends and identify cultural and historical buildings not on the City’s list of Historic and Culturally Contributing Buildings, as well as published online on the City of San Luis Obispo’s website and on ArcGIS Online. Additionally, …

Questioning The “Melting Pot”: Analysis Of Alu Inserts In Three Population Samples From Uruguay, Pedro C. Hidalgo, Patricia Mut, Elizabeth Ackermann, Gonzalo Figueiro, Monica Sans

Human Biology Open Access Pre-Prints

The way that immigrants integrate to recipient societies has been discussed for decades, mainly from the perspective of the social sciences. Uruguay, as other American countries, received different waves of European immigrants, although the details of the process of assimilation, when occurred, are unclear. In this paper, we use genetic markers to understand the process experienced by the Basques, one of the major migration waves that populated Uruguay, and its relation to other immigrants as well as to Native American and African descendants. For this purpose, we analyze the allele frequencies of ten ALU loci (A25, ACE, APOA1, B65, F13B, …

Delineating Firewise Communities/Usa® Developing Self-Mapping Techniques For Communities For Wildland Fire Behavior Modeling, Jennifer Muha

Geography and the Environment: Graduate Student Capstones

In an effort to collect boundaries of Firewise Communities/USA® participants in Colorado for academic and professional research, fire prevention efforts of homeowner’s insurance policy holders, and community-level risk planning, an instructional document for Google Maps Engine to self-define was developed. Ten ‘test communities’ were asked to participate, with a 60% response rate. From these responses, no initial problems or difficulties were noted. One boundary was used to model fire behavior in ArcMap, utilizing Spatial Analyst for fuel mitigation and the Wildland Fire Assessment Tool plugin to run behavior models with raster outputs. In conclusion, when Firewise communities worked in conjunction …

Water In The 21st Century, Grayson Michael Shor

Social Sciences

The aim of this research project is to provide a comprehensive and global analysis of water use in order to provide the reader with a comprehensive grasp of current and impending issues. The included five (5) chapters discuss water distribution, conservation, purification, law, international development, economic debates, ethical consideration, as well as educated estimations of the effects water related issues may cause in the next one-hundred years.

Latino Rhythms In Downtown Los Angeles: A Case Study Of The Social, Physical, And Economic Environment Of "La Broadway", Ulises Antonio Gonzalez

Master's Theses

In an attempt to practice inclusive planning, this research project explores whether Broadway Avenue functions as an ethnic commercial strip and identifies social, physical, and economic components that contribute to the Latino neighborhood/ barrio. Using pilot studies Loukaitou-Sideris (2000), Loukaitou-Sideris (2002), Rojas (1993), Manzumdar et al. (2000), Main (2007), and Fernando (2007) as a foundation, this research uses a single case study in addition to several research methods: 42 random surveys, literature review and analysis, site observations/pictures, and land use survey.

Various scholars write that barrios have unique physical, social, economic, and political attributes. A new aesthetic, art, symbols, …

Spatially-Explicit Simulation Of Urban Growth Through Self-Adaptive Genetic Algorithm And Cellular Automata Modelling, Yan Liu, Yongjiu Feng, Robert Gilmore Pontius

Geography

This paper presents a method to optimise the calibration of parameters and land use transition rules of a cellular automata (CA) urban growth model using a self-adaptive genetic algorithm (SAGA). Optimal calibration is achieved through an algorithm that minimises the difference between the simulated and observed urban growth. The model was applied to simulate land use change from non-urban to urban in South East Queensland's Logan City, Australia, from 1991 to 2001. The performance of the calibrated model was evaluated by comparing the empirical land use change maps from the Landsat imagery to the simulated land use change produced by …

Predictive Modeling In The Search For Vertebrate Fossils: Geographic Object Based Image Analysis (Geobia) In The Eocene Of Wyoming, Bryan Bommersbach

Masters Theses

The development and testing of predictive models for identifying productive fossil localities represents a promising interdisciplinary endeavor among geographic information scientists, paleoanthropologists, and vertebrate paleontologists. This thesis analyzed high resolution (2m spatial resolution) commercial satellite imagery from the Worldview-2 satellite of five areas of the Great Divide Basin using a GEographic Object-Based Image Analysis (GEOBIA) technique, which segments the image into spectrally homogeneous, multi-pixel image objects. In addition to allowing statistical analysis of the spectral characteristics of the image objects, GEOBIA techniques also let analysts incorporate expert knowledge and contextual information to improve classification accuracy. The spectral characteristics of the …

Mapping Landscape Values: Issues, Challenges And Lessons Learned From Field Work On The Olympic Peninsula, Washington, Diane Besser, Rebecca J. Mclain, Lee Cerveny, Kelly Biedenweg, David Banis

Geography Faculty Publications and Presentations

In order to inform natural resource policy and land management decisions, landscape values mapping (LVM) is increasingly used to collect data about the meanings that people attach to places and the activities associated with those places. This type of mapping provides geographically referenced data on areas of high density of values or associated with different types of values. This article focuses on issues and challenges that commonly occur in LVM, drawing on lessons learned in the US Forest Service Olympic Peninsula Human Ecology Mapping Project. The discussion covers choosing a spatial scale for collecting data, creating the base map, developing …

In Harm's Way: How Philadelphia's Urban Renewal Practices Steered Marginal People To Marginal Land, Katera Ya'shea Moore

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The dumping of locally unwanted land uses (LULUs) on marginal communities has been well documented, however environmental justice scholars have rarely written about how marginal groups have come to occupy their landscapes, particularly when natural hazards lie beneath.

This dissertation research focuses on a broad definition of the environment that includes the built, social, and physical. I am interested in extending Logan and Molotch's Growth Machine theory to consider how the political and economic elite guided the urban renewal process to place particular communities on particular landscapes, despite the presence of a flooding hazard. To understand this issue, I examined …