Geography Commons^™

Volume 56-1 Complete Issue, Steven M. Schnell

The Geographical Bulletin

Volume 56-1 Complete Issue

Global Information Society: Technology, Knowledge, And Mobility By Global Information Society: Technology, Knowledge, And Mobility Wilson, Mark I, Aharon Kellerman, And Kenneth E Corey Rowman & Littlefield, Jessica Breen

The Geographical Bulletin

Global Information Society: Technology, Knowledge, and Mobility authors Mark I . Wilson, Aharon Kellerman and Kenneth E . Corey are very clear in their intentions for this book: to “empower its reader to understand the complexities of the networked global information society and to use that understanding to promote awareness and to positively effect change .” That this work is intended to facilitate the work of practitioners in the field of information and communication technology (ICT) development is a point the authors frequently return to throughout the text, but students of the field will also find this book highly useful

Influence Of Academic Abstract Variables On Geospatial Skills Of Undergraduate Students: An Exploratory Study, Kanika Verma

The Geographical Bulletin

Spatial thinking and learning are essential components of geography education . The National Research Council’s 2006 report “Learning to Think Spatially” emphasized that people vary with respect to performance on spatial tasks . This pilot study at a large Texas university investigated geospatial thinking variances among undergraduate students based on academic experience of students . T his exploratory study uses the Geospatial T hinking Survey (GTS), based on the Spatial T hinking Ability Test (STAT) endorsed by Association of American Geographers (2006) and published by Lee and Bednarz (2012), to assess the geospatial thinking differences of undergraduate students . The …

Compassionately Hidden: The Church Telling Local Homeless To “Come To Our House”, Robert Oliver, Matthew Robinson, C. Theodore Koebel

The Geographical Bulletin

In early 2011, the To Our House (TOH) thermal shelter program opened its doors to homeless men in the New River Valley Area (NRV) of Virginia . The program was a grass roots response to the death of a wellknown local homeless man and the goal of the program is to provide winter shelter for single adult men by using rotating host sites at local churches . We highlight that in the NRV local churches have sought to remedy a socially unjust situation by providing shelter for men that was previously unavailable . We illustrate that faith-based outreach in the …

The Right To The City In The Informal Sector: Claiming Rights Or Gaining Access In Kampala, Uganda?, Matthew F. Pietrus

The Geographical Bulletin

In the developing world, the vast majority of urban poor have been marginalized from their cities, denying them what Henri Lefebvre called the right to the city . In response to this denial, many turn to the informal sector as a means to claim access to space and to the economy . However, using interviews from citizens participating in the informal sector in Kampala, Uganda, this paper argues that while the informal sector provides access to socioeconomic benefits (which is positive), it cannot guarantee them as rights because all activity taking place within it is unprotected and therefore easily and …

Exploring Heat Variations In Columbia, South Carolina, Michael Graeme Hohlfeld

Theses and Dissertations

As the leading cause of weather-related fatalities in the United States, the concept of heat as a hazard has been studied for decades, especially in the urban environment. Urban heat island research is limited by the fact that most investigate land surface temperature rather than air temperature and other variables that affect human comfort including humidity. This thesis utilizes a public network of weather stations in Richland County, South Carolina to investigate differences in heat between the city of Columbia, and more rural parts of the county. The study period was June, July, and August of 2022. Results indicate that …

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Hot Spots In Mississippi, Taylor Jansen, Elizabeth Dugan

Journal of Public Health in the Deep South

Abstract

Introduction. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is the sixth leading cause of death in the US and approximately 10% of people 65 years and older have COPD. This study examines the association of geographic-level risk factors with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) prevalence using spatial-based analyses with the goal of identifying risk factors associated with county-level COPD and to identify communities at risk.

Methods. The study sample consisted of all N=82 counties in Mississippi and all data is reported at the county level. All measures were drawn from the 2023 Mississippi Healthy Aging Data Report. A hot spot …

A Lifetime Of Climate Changes: Female Farmers' Perceptions Of Climate Change Impacts To Well-Being And Livelihood In Antigua And Barbuda, Jamie Matthews

Capstone Collection

This capstone project emphasizes the value of smallholder farmers working on small island developing states (SIDS) in an era of climate change—with a particular focus on female farmers in light of the global feminization of agriculture. This research study engaged female farmers living in Antigua and Barbuda, a SIDS in the Caribbean, to capture their perceptions of climate risks and the impacts climate change has had on their well-being and livelihood. Qualitative data was collected via life history interviews (LHI), as well as focus group discussions (FGD). These methodologies addressed the primary questions of this research: (i) How do female …

Levain: The Sourdough Miracle: Living Cultures Part 3, Jean Lavigne

Environmental Studies Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Exploration Of Large-Scale Vegetation Transition In Wet Ecosystems: A Comparison Of Conifer Seedling Abundance Across Burned Vs. Unburned Forest-Peatland Ecotones In Western Patagonia, Kyla Zaret, Andres Holz

Geography Faculty Publications and Presentations

Altered fire regimes, combined with a warmer and drier climate, have been eroding the resilience of temperate rainforests and peatlands worldwide and leading to alternative post-fire vegetation communities. Chronic anthropogenic burning of temperate rainforests at the forest-peatland ecotone in western Patagonia appears to have shifted vegetation communities in poorly-drained sites from forests dominated by the threatened conifer, Pilgerodendron uviferum, to peat-accumulating wetlands covered by Sphagnum mosses. We collected and modeled post-reburn field data using ordinations and hierarchical Bayesian regressions to examine mechanisms through which P. uviferum forests may recover following fire or become locked into alternative development pathways by comparing …

Global Portraits From A Changing Climate: The Influence Of Environmental Storytelling On The Climate Narrative, Alexandra Welch

Capstone Collection

Environmental Storytelling can influence the climate narrative and serve as a catalyst to structurally alter how individuals think about the environment. The medium of the “Eco-film” allows viewers to create intimate connections with the natural world, and in turn alter how individuals engage and perceive issues like climate change. To combat climate denialism this project showcases different hopeful stories in a deliverable video collection, called “Global Portraits from a Changing Climate”. Two of these videos will be filmed in Germany, featuring the Waldrapp Team Research and Conservation project. One of the videos from Waldrapp Team will touch on the social …

Living Dead Forests: Assessing Detrital Services In Puget Sound Pseudotsuga Menziesii Ecosystems, Forrest Becker

Capstone Collection

Coarse woody debris (CWD), the detrital result of down wood recruitment, contributes to wildlife habitat, nutrient cycling, morphological processes like soil formation, and each forest’s sense of place but if undermanaged can fuel wildfires or obstruct stakeholder use. Despite its ubiquity in Puget Sound Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) forests in Washington, USA, few studies quantify the exact ecosystem services which down wood provides. This study seeks to understand how forest managers can estimate the ecosystem services of down wood and how human communities perceive down wood management between community, public, and private Douglas fir (P. menziesii) …

Watching The Paris Olympics From France, Jean Lavigne

Environmental Studies Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Reflections And Revelations In Autoethnography: A Review Of Meaningful Journeys Of Quest And Identity Transformation, Niroj Dahal

The Qualitative Report

In this review of—Meaningful Journeys: Autoethnographies of Quest and Identity Transformation, edited by Alec Grant, Ph.D., and Elizabeth (Lizzie) Lloyd-Parkes, Ph.D., I have made an effort to offer my evaluation that explores the autoethnographies of quest and identity transformation (Grant & Lloyd-Parkes, 2024). The book presents a curated anthology of personal ethnographic narratives, each grounded in the foundational concepts, philosophical insights, and linguistic roots of “journeying,” “questing,” and both ancient and contemporary interpretations of “pilgrimage.” As an autoethnographer, even during the different phases of life—personal and professional—I have been through the different roots of transformation, and now, at …

Fibersheds: Textiles As The Basis For A New World, Rebecca John

Theses and Dissertations

The Fibershed movement seeks to develop bioregional fiber systems to cultivate natural fibers through regenerative agriculture. Through this, it seeks to revive domestic textile production as an alternative to the global textile industry. This thesis investigates the Fibershed movement at national and regional scales, and assesses how they position themselves as an alternative economy.

Gps Accuracy Of Smartphones For Crowdsourcing Research, Derron L. Dike

Master of Science in Environmental Sciences and Management Projects

ABSTRACT GPS Accuracy of Smartphones for Crowdsourcing Research Derron Dike Utilizing crowdsourcing with smartphones as a method for field data collection can contribute an array of data for scientific studies and land management applications. This study used crowdsourcing to examine smartphone built-in GPS performance for providing location-specific information with potential forestry applications. The usability of smartphones for GPS data collection in forestry studies or other practical applications is dependent on the level of accuracy required for those applications. A Smartphone Accuracy Trial was designed to test the GPS accuracy performance of current smartphones. Participants used the ArcGIS Field Maps application …

Aerialformer: Multi-Resolution Transformer For Aerial Image Segmentation, Taisei Hanyu, Kashu Yamazaki, Minh Tran, Roy A. Mccann, Haitao Liao, Chase Rainwater, Meredith Adkins, Jackson Cothren, Hoang Le

Industrial Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

When performing remote sensing image segmentation, practitioners often encounter various challenges, such as a strong imbalance in the foreground–background, the presence of tiny objects, high object density, intra-class heterogeneity, and inter-class homogeneity. To overcome these challenges, this paper introduces AerialFormer, a hybrid model that strategically combines the strengths of Transformers and Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs). AerialFormer features a CNN Stem module integrated to preserve low-level and high-resolution features, enhancing the model’s capability to process details of aerial imagery. The proposed AerialFormer is designed with a hierarchical structure, in which a Transformer encoder generates multi-scale features and a multi-dilated CNN (MDC) …

No. 25: Responses To Covid-19 By Internal Migrants In South African Cities, Jonathan Crush, Godfrey Tawodzera, Maria Salamone, Zack Ahmed

Migration and Food Security (MiFOOD) Network

This paper explores the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on internal migrants in the urban centres of Cape Town and Johannesburg, South Africa. Focusing on the socio-economic and livelihood challenges faced by this population, the research utilizes a survey conducted in 2023 to investigate how the pandemic exacerbated existing vulnerabilities. Results highlight significant disruptions in employment, increased economic hardship, and heightened health risks among migrants, particularly those living in low-income neighbourhoods. Despite the hardships, very few migrants intended to permanently return to their rural origins, indicating a complex interplay between economic necessity and pandemic-induced constraints. The findings underscore the unique challenges …

No. 24: Food And Health Security Among Burmese Migrant Domestic Workers In Singapore Amid Myanmar’S ‘Triple Crisis’, Brenda Yeoh, Franchesca Morais, Theodora Lam, Kristel Acedera, Bittiandra Chand Somaiah

Migration and Food Security (MiFOOD) Network

Migrating overseas to work as domestic workers is an increasingly important livelihood strategy for capital-poor women in Southeast Asian countries such as Myanmar. However, the recent COVID-19 pandemic and civil unrest in Myanmar has highlighted the entrenched precarities and uncertainties attached to this migration strategy. The health crisis has further heightened the importance of remittances and food security for migrants and their sending households. Food production, food systems and access to food supplies in the country have been especially hit by political instability, the energy crisis and inflation. This paper explores issues concerning the food and health security of female …

No. 26: Pandemic Precarities And Remittance Narratives In The Global South, Jonathan Crush, Sujata Ramachandran

Migration and Food Security (MiFOOD) Network

The COVID-19 pandemic has been referred to as a great disruptor of global migration leading to a crisis of immobility caused by public health lockdowns, closed borders, and the suspension of visa processing. Layoffs and retrenchments of migrant workers led to widespread hardship and an intensification of pre-pandemic precarity, as well as disrupted remittance channels and flows. Against this backdrop, the paper provides an overview of current debates about the relationship between COVID-19 and international migration in the context of South-South migration. We assess how pre-pandemic South-South migration flows were disrupted by the pandemic and the evidence for a crisis …