Geography Commons^™

Smart Phone App Puts Rain Gardens Into Mobile Tech Mode, Margaret (Peg) A. Van_Patten Ms.

Wrack Lines

A fun smart phone app can help you design the rain garden of your dreams.

A New Planting Tool For Coastal Homeowners, Juliana Barrett

Wrack Lines

It's not a shovel--it's an online visualization aid.

Shifting Sands, Clay Arnold, Joel Stocker, Juliana Barrett

Wrack Lines

Tells the story of Griswold Point and shoreline change.

Colorful Colorado: The Relationship Between Demographics And The Changing Political Color Of Colorado, Leslie Forbes

Geography and the Environment: Graduate Student Capstones

This research will address the individual relationships between five demographic variables and the changing political color of Colorado (from a “red” state to a “blue” state). The variables addressed are age, education, income, gender, and the Hispanic[1] population growth. Building on recent literature reviews for Colorado’s political trends, I will attempt to show the relationships of the five variables and voting behavior. This data will then be statistically analyzed through Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to determine what relationship strength, weak or strong, exists between the demographic variables. My goal for this research is to determine which of the five …

Contemporary Problems Of Gis Interoperability: A Review Of Gis Integration With Current Technology, Tim Jones

Geography and the Environment: Graduate Student Capstones

This paper examines GIS interoperability with three current technology trends: Open Source, Smart Devices and Web 2.0. It firsts takes a look at both varying definitions of interoperability as well as different types of interoperability. The author samples a variety of GIS formats with examples of each of the said technologies as a way to measure the current state of GIS interoperability with current technological trends. GIS functions such as viewing, editing and analyzing spatial data are used as a scoring matrix to determine the level of interoperability. The methodology of measure focuses on a technical level of interoperability and …

Aging In Our Communities: Six Case Studies Of Neighborhood Walkability In Clackamas And Washington Counties, Oregon And Clark County, Washington, Reema Alhamidi, Edelina Naydenova, Katherine Dahlin, Jason Rush, Margarita Gonzales, Kevin Ryan, Laura Harmon, Marcel Schaeffer, Bianca Iliesi, Laura Silverman, Brady Jones, John Todoroff, Megan Mulsoff Brown, Adrian Wells

Asset Mapping: Community Geography Project

The focus of this project was to evaluate the age-friendliness of the communities surrounding assisted living facilities in Clark, Clackamas, and Washington counties. Two facilities were selected in each of the aforementioned counties and researchers from our team surveyed the pedestrian environmental features of the surrounding area within a quarter-mile radius of the each facility. The survey data from each site was then distributed among two groups for qualitative and quantitative analysis. Quantitative analysis consisted of a compiling process that took the measures of quantifiable features (e.g. number of sidewalk breaks, abandoned lots, etc.) gathered in the field and standardized …

Portland Region Parks: Measuring Equity In Access, Harold Shields, Sindre Fredsvik, Jonah Horn, Robert Kalei Miller, Cameron Hill, Anna Petry, Daniel Mogelinski, Stephen P. Kyle, Jenna Knobloch, Jonah Horn, Henrich Biorn, Andew Wyatt, James Bedell, Evan Kent, Adrien Young

Asset Mapping: Community Geography Project

The goal of this Capstone project is to examine equity as it applies to the Portland region. CLF defines equity as “the right of every person to have access to opportunities necessary for satisfying essential needs and advancing their well-being” (CLF, 2007). Equity as it relates to parks is a difficult concept to define. Our project specifically focused on cataloging the amenities of ninety-three newly developed parks and making observations about park access in an effort to build a better picture of what equity looks like in the Portland region.

Motivations To Migrate: Migration From Morocco And The “Failure” Of Rural Development During The Eurozone Financial Crisis, Alexander Djaha

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

EU’s closing borders are impeding a fifty-year pattern of Moroccan migration to southern Europe to find work, prosper and provide for their families back home. Moroccan NGOs, as well as the Spanish and Italian governments, have recently invested in rural development initiatives aimed at increasing employment opportunities in Morocco and deterring workers from migrating. Yet Moroccans keep risking their lives and continue to migrate illegally every day as these initiatives are proving to be ineffective. This study examines the current conditions for Moroccan migrant workers amidst tightening European Union borders and a narrowing European frontier for employment. The Eurozone financial …

Gagner La Vie: Examining Return Preparedness And Resource Mobilization Among Moroccan Immigrants To France Who Return To Live Permanently In Agadir, Morocco, Karolina Michelle Dos Santos

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

If Moroccan immigrants are so in tune to their home culture and home happenings, under what conditions do they stay in France facing the problems of unemployment and homelessness? This study focuses on the return migration of Moroccans from the Sousse region; specifically Agadir and the surrounding Tiznit areas, who left Morocco during the decade of 1960 and who have permanently returned to live in Morocco. The study was conducted by using the snowball sampling technique to conduct semi-structured interviews of Moroccan return migrants in AitMelloul, a neighborhood of Agadir. My findings suggest that the return migrants from the Sousse …

Economic Autonomy Of The Miskitu Women Of The North Atlantic Autonomous Region, Nicaragua: Do Current Development Polices Apply To Matrifocal Societies?, Ariana M. Toth

Masters Theses

This thesis provides an ethnographic investigation into the economic autonomy of Miskitu women in the North Atlantic Autonomous Region of Nicaragua. The purpose of this study is to determine whether dominant development models created by patriarchal Western powers are suited to alleviating gendered poverty disparity among the matrifocal Miskitu Indians. Surveys of Miskitu women obtained during field research, with support from relevant literature, comprise the main source of information considered. It is concluded that while dominant development models are not best suited to alleviating gendered poverty in this region, it is the overarching indigenous nature of Miskitu culture and not …

Food Pantries And Food Accessibility In Columbus, Ga, Amanda Rees, Angel Jorcin, Dustin Laska

Columbus Community Geography Center

Columbus, Georgia, the state’s third largest city, has a population of 189,885 residents (United States Census Bureau 2010). Of this population, 18.8% are living below the poverty line. This poverty rate is 2.2% higher than the Georgia average (16.5%), and 4.5% higher than the national poverty rate (14.3%) (US Census Bureau 2010). Unemployment rates in April 2013 in Columbus were 7.9%, the rate of unemployment in the state is 8.2%, while the national rate is 7.5% (Bureau of Labor 2013). With nearly 1 in 5 Columbus residents in poverty, the federal government’s The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) plays an …

Butler Community Redevelopment Plan, Brad Huff

Columbus Community Geography Center

The Intermediate GIS class worked with Tina Rust, GIS Planner and Allison Slocum of the River Valley Regional Commission (RVRC) and city leaders in Butler, Georgia in the preliminary stages of the council’s construction of a community redevelopment plan.

Prior to an initial public visioning meeting, maps displaying aerial, demographic, topographic, and planning/morphological data (i.e. streets, railroads) were assembled and reviewed by the class.

A subset of data was selected for large-format maps for use by participants at a public planning meeting and maps were constructed and printed.

Perception Of Disease Risk And Vulnerability As A Function Of Proximity To National Park Boundaries In East Africa, Irene Bridget Feretti

Honors Theses and Capstones

Studies suggest households closest to parks and protected areas (PAs) are more likely to sustain park-related losses, but the relationship between human sickness and PAs has not been fully explored. Existing literature primarily focuses on human-wildlife conflicts (i.e. crop raiding) and the potential for zoonotic disease spillover and emergence at the human-livestock-wildlife interface at PA boundaries. Understanding local perceptions of disease risk and vulnerability is essential for assessing human health relative to conservation areas. This understanding will promote better-informed consideration of human health impacts in decision making for conservation. Data from surveys taken at 301 households around Kibale National Park …

Review Of The Negative Influences Of Non-Native Salmonids On Native Fish Species, Kelly C. Turek, Mark A. Pegg, Kevin L. Pope

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

Non-native salmonids are often introduced into areas containing species of concern, yet a comprehensive overview of the short- and long-term consequences of these introductions is lacking in the Great Plains. Several authors have suggested that non-native salmonids negatively influence species of concern. The objective of this paper is to review known interactions between non-native salmonids and native fishes, with a focus on native species of concern. After an extensive search of the literature, it appears that in many cases non-native salmonids do negatively influence species of concern (e.g., reduce abundance and alter behavior) via different mechanisms (e.g., predation and competition). …

Aquatic Invertebrate Community Structure In The Niobrara River, Agate Fossil Beds National Monument, Nebraska, 1996-2009, David E. Bowles, David G. Peitz, J. Tyler Cribbs

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

Aquatic invertebrates were sampled annually in the Niobrara River, Nebraska, during the period 1996-2009 using Hester-Dendy multiplate samplers. Collections indicated the invertebrate community in the river has shifted from one dominated by Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, and Trichoptera (EPT) taxa to one dominated by Chironomidae and Amphipoda. Generally, EPT richness and percentage abundance of EPT of the total community, as well as percentage abundance of Heptageniidae and Leptophlebiidae, has declined across the years. During that same period, percentage abundance of Amphipoda and Chironomidae, taxa evenness, Shannon's Index, and the Hilsenhoff Biotic Index have increased. Stream discharge decreased significantly during the 15-year period …

Taking The Measure Of A Mark: Exploratory Size And Shape Analysis Of Cut Marks, Eileen Johnson, Patrick J. Lewis, Leland C. Bement

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

A database of 128 measured incised butchery marks (i.e., the classic cut mark) was the basis for exploratory statistical tests of length and width measurements from late Pleistocene mammoth localities and an early Holocene bison locality. The tests reveal several trends. The initial approach uses univariate descriptive statistics, regression, and ANOVA to examine differences in size and shape of marks. Significant differences are noted in length and width of marks based on location, element, and type. Length and width variables demonstrate low variability within incised marks. Results demonstrate a consistency in incised marks across the two taxa. Other consistencies are …

Review Of Inequity In The Technopolis: Race, Class, Gender, And The Digital Divide In Austin Edited By Joseph Straubhaar, Jeremiah Spence, Zeynep Thfekci, And Roberta G. Lentz, Anthony M. Orum

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

Austin, Texas, by most accounts, is one of the most attractive cities in America. It is said by many people and magazines to be one of the best cities in which to live. Outside of Silicon Valley, it possesses some of the best high-tech companies and the most generous investors in high technology. Young people from across the country attend the University of Texas at Austin- and few of them ever seem to leave. It has become the Urbantopia of our age, the model for the new "creative economy."

But is it? How much of what we know about Austin …

Review Of Community And Frontier: A Ukrainian Settlement In Thecanadian Parkland By John C. Lehr, Jim Mochoruk

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

At first glance this slender volume appears to be nothing more than a study of one small and seemingly insignificant Ukrainian Canadian settlement located in the harsh bush country of southeastern Manitoba. Appearances can be deceiving. While Community and Frontier is most assuredly a case study, it is a brilliant little work-a true gem-that sparkles with intellectual vitality as it broadens our understanding of the entire Ukrainian Canadian experience, particularly in the pioneer phase.

Great Plains Research, Volume 23, Number 1. Spring 2013 (Complete Issue)

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

CONTENTS

Aquatic Invertebrate Community Structure in the Niobrara River, Agate Fossil Beds National Monument, Nebraska, 1996-2009 — David E. Bowles, David G. Peitz, and J. Tyler Cribbs

Late Holocene Activation History of the Stanton Dunes, Northeastern Nebraska —Rebecca A. Puta, Paul R. Hanson, and Aaron R. Young

Relative Abundance of Northern Flying Squirrels and Red Squirrels in Different Forest Types, Black Hills, South Dakota — Melissa Hough and Charles Dieter

Accuracy of Antler Metrics in Predicting Age of White-Tailed Deer and Mule Deer — Casey W. Schoenebeck, Brian C. Peterson, and Jason A. Obermiller

Review of the Negative Influences of …

Review Of Green Illusions: The Dirty Secrets Of Clean Energy And The Future Of Environmentalism By Ozzie Zehner, Jonathan Hladik

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

As we grapple with climate change and pollution, resource scarcity and rising prices, it's clear we need to make difficult choices about our energy consumption. In the opinion of many, the solution begins and ends with increased investment in renewable energy systems, an investment that will help us cut back on emissions and lower prices-while creating economic opportunity here at home. Ozzie Zehner doesn't share that opinion. His critique of modem American environmentalism in Green Illusions maintains that many of us could be wrong.

Zehner begins by addressing the seductive nature of renewable energy systems, dissecting popularly circulated solutions, and …