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2008 West Lakes Meeting of the Association of American Geographers: AbstractsConference PapersTitle: "Living Together Separately in Urban Kazakhstan"Author: brunn, stanley Keywords: ethnicity, Russian identity, Central Asia I explore this concept developed by Israeli geographers Romann and Weingrod and apply it to recent changes in Kazakh society where Russians and Kazakhs in the industrial city of Semipalatinsk. Here the two ethnic groups live but have contrasting views of the importance of Kazakh and Russian history, employment opportunities, and their optimism about the future of their state. Title: A Feature Extraction Approach to Vegetation Mapping Author: Berlin, Cynthia Keywords: feature extraction, vegetation , aerial phtographs The National Park Service in collaboration with the US Geological Survey has an ongoing program to map vegetation associations within the National Park and National Wildlife Refuge systems using aerial photography. Manual photo-interpretation methods continue to be used by this program, and although they can produce highly accurate results, these methods are extremely time consuming. The primary goal of this research is to investigate an automated feature extraction approach to land cover/use (LCU) classification for the National Park Service. A test area within the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore was selected, and surface cover types were extracted from aerial photography. The study area included Pinhook Bog, which is surrounded by a variety of upland areas comprised of forests, grasslands, agriculture and urban developments. Feature Analyst software was used to classify LCU types using 1:12,000-scale CIR aerial photography. Each cover type was extracted using a hierarchical learning algorithm that incorporates spatial context along with spectral signatures. The photographs were classified manually and the two data sets were compared spatially. The results indicate that the two classifications have a 91% overall agreement. It is hoped that these results will provide a foundation on which to base larger, more comprehensive vegetation mapping programs. Title: A Reconsideration of Fagus grandifolia's Paleorange Author: Markley, Stephen Keywords: palynology, chloroplastic DNA, Fagus grandifolia One of the major consequences of forecasted future climate change will be on the distribution of plant life due to individual taxa's migration or extinction response to this change. This has caused many scientists to look at the history of vegetation's response to climate change in the past to help us understand changes that may occur in the future. Our knowledge and understanding of past long-term ecological processes is currently best understood by the examination of ecological patterns interpreted from the palynological record. The details of these patterns might be sharpened by an understanding of how life history and dispersal affected past species' migration. Paleopollen data from the World Data Center and recent chloroplastic DNA data from Mclachlan, Clark and Manos', "Molecular Indicators of Tree Migration Capacity under Rapid Climate Change" in the journal Ecology #86, is examined by mapping these data in GIS for one species of temperate woody vegetation, Fagus grandifolia, to see if the presently inferred paleoranges, refugia locations and migrational routes of this species can be reinterpreted. Title: A Texas Sized Transportation Plan for America's Fastest Growing Metro Area Author: McCormick, Brian Keywords: transportation, economy, region The Dallas "“ Ft. Worth metropolitan area is the fastest growing metropolitan area in the United States. The region's explosive growth perpetuates the need for alternative transit options. In 1996 Dallas "“ Ft. Worth began service of the DART light rail system. Twelve years later the system has seen minimal expansion. However, the region has put together an area wide plan that will include service not only in and around Dallas - Ft. Worth, but also to suburbs up to thirty five miles from the downtown transit hubs. The purpose of this paper is to examine the economic consequences this expansion will have on the metropolitan area. In the past, transit systems have left indelible marks on some of our country's most important cities. Cities such as Chicago and New York were, in a sense, built around their rail systems. The DART rail system expansion will play a central role in shaping the future of the Dallas "“ Ft. Worth metro region. Title: An historical and religious geography of civil war in Uganda Author: Kilian, Katie Keywords: Uganda, civil war, Lords Liberation Army The northern regions of Uganda have been devastated by civil war for nearly two decades. Inhumane crimes and widespread landscape change are the responsibility of all parties involved in the political mayhem engulfing this geographically diverse nation. In this paper, I will explore the history and geography of the Lords Liberation Army, guerilla warriors notorious for their brutal human and environmental impacts. I will discuss the devastation plaguing this country as well as the intricate twists and turns of domestic and international peace efforts. Title: Athletics USA: A Geographical Analysis of Men's NCAA Div. I Track Athlete Origins. Author: Johnson, Brett E. Keywords: college sports, track & field, sport geography Geographic research has been conducted in the field of sport geography regarding male involvement in athletics. In particular, college football and basketball have extensive literature. However, at this time, little work has been conducted regarding the geography of men's track & field athletes origins at the collegiate level. The purpose of this study was to collect NCAA Division I Men's Track roster data in order to build a geographic database to conduct a geographical analysis. This includes a study of the origin (hometown/high school) and diffusion (college/university) of the college athletes. A spatial analysis of events divided into four groups (sprint, jumps, throws & distance) indicates distinct regionalization. In addition, compiling the necessary database to determine the overall recent team success of major college programs over the past five years was undertaken. This database included college team location, overall success based on rankings, national & regional meet success and, number of NCAA All-Americans. An examination of the completed maps and quantitative analysis provides more insight into the present day spatial distribution of major college track & field success and athlete origins. Title: Athletics USA: A Geographical Analysis of Men's NCAA Div. I Track Athlete Origins. Author: Volz, Anthony M. Keywords: college sports, track & field, sport geography Geographic research has been conducted in the field of sport geography regarding male involvement in athletics. In particular, college football and basketball have extensive literature. However, at this time, little work has been conducted regarding the geography of men's track & field athletes origins at the collegiate level. The purpose of this study was to collect NCAA Division I Men's Track roster data in order to build a geographic database to conduct a geographical analysis. This includes a study of the origin (hometown/high school) and diffusion (college/university) of the college athletes. A spatial analysis of events divided into four groups (sprint, jumps, throws & distance) indicates distinct regionalization. In addition, compiling the necessary database to determine the overall recent team success of major college programs over the past five years was undertaken. This database included college team location, overall success based on rankings, national & regional meet success and, number of NCAA All-Americans. An examination of the completed maps and quantitative analysis provides more insight into the present day spatial distribution of major college track & field success and athlete origins. Title: Atmospheric Characteristics of the 2008 Midwest Floods Author: Budikova, Dagmar Keywords: floods, climate, hazards This research examines the characteristics of synoptic-scale atmospheric circulation associated with the 2008 Midwest floods that affected the Upper Mississippi and Missouri river basins, and the Illinois and Wabash watersheds during the months of June and early July. Significant modifications that contributed to the extreme amounts of rainfall received during the flooding period were observed at all levels of the atmosphere. The floods developed and persisted in conjunction with four major circulation features including an unseasonably strong zonal polar jet, a trough of low pressure positioned over the Great Lakes and the Upper Midwest, an anomalous influx of moist air from the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico, and a northern hemispheric flow characterized by a well-developed dipole between Greenland and the Azores. Together, these synoptic conditions enhanced the influx of cyclones from the north Pacific into the U.S. and helped steer them directly over the Upper Midwest through Nebraska, Iowa, northern Illinois, and southern Wisconsin. The persistent wave of warm/moist air from the Gulf of Mexico travelled towards the northeast through Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana, helping supply the travelling summer storms form the west with moisture and energy, depositing heavy rainfall over the central U.S. Title: Beyond Their Backyards: Invoking Scale and Evoking the Foreign Author: Cidell, Julie Keywords: scale, freight transportation, qualitative GIS As freight traffic increases in volume, a shift from road to rail is occurring across the U.S. In some cases, this means increased traffic on rail lines that have been little-used for many years. The proposed acquisition of the Elgin, Joliet, and Eastern by Canadian National, which is intended to provide a bypass around the congested rail lines of Chicago, would increase train traffic through a ring of suburbs around the city. At a series of public hearings on the proposed acquisition, hundreds of people from these suburbs expressed their opposition by invoking scale at a number of different levels, from the health of an individual to the problem of subsidizing a foreign company. Using qualitative GIS, this paper maps out how different scales were invoked by residents, politicians, and businesspeople across the metropolitan area to oppose this local manifestation of the globalization of production and distribution. Title: Biofuel Feedstock Production Scenarios for the West Lakes Region: Sustainability Implications Author: Iutzi, Fred Keywords: biofuels, agriculture, sustainability Elevated fossil fuel prices, increasing concern over greenhouse gas emissions from fossil energy production and consumption, and enactment of direct and indirect public policy instruments are among the factors driving the rapid expansion of biofuel feedstock production in the US and in the West Lakes Region. The prospect exists for large-scale changes in agricultural and natural resources management in the region, and with those changes large environmental, social, and economic impacts. The nature and extent of these impacts will be determined by multivariable and interacting sets of decisions made in inside and outside of the region. Key parameters include feedstock type, intensity of production or collection, and level of ecological resilience at the chosen production sites. These choices will be mediated by biofuel conversion technologies and fuel types, site selection for biorefineries, transportation infrastructure demands and resources, and the presence of competing or complementary agricultural production and processing activities. Finally, development of biofuel production, processing, and transportation systems will proceed in the context of Federal and state policy and of biofuel expansion in neighboring regions. Selected scenarios for biofuel industry development are reviewed, and implications for regional sustainability are discussed. Title: Boreal light regimes and sugar maple carbon assimilation at the northern limit of its range Author: Kwit, Matthew Keywords: Acer saccharum, carbon assimilation, vegetation migration Anthropogenic effects are having a dramatic effect on plant communities worldwide. The climate is changing rapidly and plant communities must respond. The sugar maple is one species predicted to experience drastic changes in future distributions. This change will be especially pronounced on the ecotone at the northern limit of its range. Sugar maple are expected to migrate further north into areas currently occupied by boreal forest. The future viability of this species depends on its successful migration; however, the boreal forest poses many challenges to the northward progression of sugar maple. One challenge is the differing light environment in the boreal forest. This field experiment in Lake Superior Provincial Park (Ontario, Canada), was set up to examine sugar maple under boreal light regimes. These light regimes are predicted to alter the photosynthetic response to differing light environments and levels. To approximate boreal light levels, seedling and sapling plots were set up in stands with a high density of coniferous species in both the under- and over-story. The photosynthesis level of each plant was determined at two distinct light intensities and several light curves were run in to characterize the photosynthetic response of seedlings in each plot. Title: Brownfield redevelopment in Indianapolis, IN: Resident perceptions of site reuse Author: Fuller, Trevor Keywords: brownfields, reuse, environmental justice Brownfields dot the landscapes of America's cities, leaving abandoned properties as reminders of blighted communities in which local citizens remain. In an effort to foster reuse of these properties, states offer various incentives to attract developers and businesses. Sites which pass through state programs often end up being redeveloped for a use not very different from their old uses. Such redevelopment may not always be perceived as advantageous by local residents, yet the financial incentives for the state are obvious. This presentation investigates the spatial distribution and reuse of brownfield sites in Indianapolis, IN and responses of local residents to such reuse. I investigate whether reuse addresses residents' concerns or reproduces the uneven landscape. Each brownfield is assessed to determine the type of reuse realized and is compared to its past use. The majority of sites are reused for commercial purposes rather than neighborhood amenities such as parks or social/health facilities. Three sites are chosen for in-depth analysis of local residents' responses to reuse. Through questionnaires I determine whether residents feel they can direct the transformation of their environment in accordance with their own visions, and whether the changes that have occurred are better for the community. Title: Caribbean Landscapes: A New Resource for Caribbean Tourism Author: Brothers, Tim Keywords: Caribbean , Tourism, I will introduce "Caribbean Landscapes",a new atlas-style publication meant introduce a general audience to the physical and human landscapes of the Caribbean through the eyes of professional geographers. The guiding idea for this book was to introduce the best of Caribbean geographic research to a broad public through an unusually rich combination of high-resolution satellite imagery, ground photos, graphical illustration and interpretive essays. The geographical coverage was also to be unusually broad, including the Hispanic and French islands so often overlooked by American geographers. Caribbean Landscapes, less forbidding than a classroom text but more profound than a coffee-table picture book, may prove useful for those tourists who would like to understand the Caribbean beyond the beach. Title: Cesium-137 analysis at run-of-river dams in Illinois Author: Csiki, Shane Keywords: Cesium-137, Dams, Illinois The potential effect of dam removal upon stream systems is becoming of increasing concern as many dams are deteriorating and owners no longer desire to utilize limited funds on maintenance. This situation is especially true for run-of-river dams, which do not create impoundments exceeding the bankfull stage of a river channel during normal flow conditions. As the pace of removal of these structures increases, it is vital to comprehend how existing run-of-river dams impact sediment storage, as some agencies desire to have stored sediment treated prior to removals. Large dams amass sizeable quantities of sediment behind them. However, sediment retention behind run-of-river dams has not been examined extensively. To explore this problem, sediment cores were collected in the area behind two run-of-river dams in Illinois for Cesium-137 dating. Cesium-137 is a derivative of nuclear weapons testing, with atmospheric concentrations peaking during 1963-1964, with practical non-existence by 1970, and subsequently, is a useful method to date reservoir sediments, and to assist in answering whether small run-of-river dams are efficient sediment traps through time. In this paper, results of the Cesium-137 analysis is presented. Title: Contributions of Temperature and Humidity to Trends in Apparent Temperature in the Midwestern USA Author: Schoof, Justin Keywords: temperature trends, apparent temperature, heat index The Midwestern region of the USA is highly susceptible to heat waves that frequently result in elevated human mortality and agricultural stress. The most common measure used to assess heat stress is apparent temperature (or heat index), a combination of air temperature and humidity. Changes in apparent temperature can result from air temperature changes under constant humidity, humidity changes under constant air temperature, or any other combination of changes in air temperature and humidity. Results will be presented from an initial investigation of apparent temperature trends in the Midwestern USA, with particular attention paid to the contributions from air temperature and humidity. Output from coupled climate model simulations will be used to assess further changes in air temperature and humidity as they apply to changes in the apparent temperature. Implications for heat wave occurrence, intensity and preparation will also be discussed. Title: Cultural Pulls, Repetitive Visiting, Friends and Family Networks in Trinidad. Author: Conway, Dennis Keywords: repetitive visiting, new tourism, Trinidad and Tobago I intend to demonstrate that there is a promising link between migration and tourism through the transnational practice of repetitive visiting, which incorporates the significance of cultural pulls - Carnival and Christmas, for example- into the mix. The return of family, kith and kin, the visiting of transnational friends, among others within wider social fields of transnational networks in the diaspora constitutes a valuable and promising component of an appropriate 'new tourism' for Trinidad that complements the three Ss - sun, sand and sea - advantages of conventional Caribbean coastal zone tourism that her twin island of Tobago enjoys. This 'new tourism' entails few of the drawbacks of mass tourism. Rather, it circumvents that model's tourist-to-local dissonance, and the dependent and potentially conflictual relations that often have emerged elsewhere in the Caribbean. Amongst these return visitors there is a rewarding understanding about, and sensitivity to, the socio-cultural richness of Trinidad's multi-cultural heritage that can foster a permanent return. My multi-method analysis is based on use of a limited set of travel data to set the national context, and 40 detailed "narratives" collected in 2004/2005 from a snowball sample of youthful transnational professionals who had returned in their 30s and 40s. Title: Ecuador Migration Patterns I Author: Smith, Betty Keywords: Migration, Latin America, Ecuador Emigration of approximately one million individuals from Ecuador to North America and Europe in the period of a decade has forever transformed the economic, social and cultural fabric of the country. The migratory flow is most likely underestimated given the impossibility of counting those engaged in clandestine migration by land and sea. Nevertheless, there is a great deal of data available that allows the approximation of demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of Ecuadorian emigrants. This paper discusses gender, age, and level of education by region of origin and destination. Title: Empowerment of Suharto's Oligarchs Author: Iftekhar, Haroon Keywords: Suharto, power, The sheer magnitude of the corruption in Indonesia under Suharto's reign of roughly thirty years may never be fully realized; yet certain prominent aspects of this era perhaps can be analyzed, such as the policy of issuing licenses to conduct business by the Suharto regime in return for heavy bribes while attempting to retain an air of legitimacy. This widely-implemented procedure, along with stark samples of nepotism are the classic hallmarks of Suharto's era. Throughout this paper, examples of such policy along with detailed illustrations of some of the schemes that served to empower Suharto's friends, family members and the Chinese-minority business elite are provided. Title: Empowerment, endangerment, and unruliness: An evaluation of international migration in the post 1980's period Author: Lindley, Todd Keywords: migration, transnational, human trafficking The post-1980's era ushered in a ‘New Age of Migration’ – one that is less predictable, less regulated, and less easily defined by rigid categories or quantitative models. This paper seeks to re-conceptualize contemporary international migration as a dynamic process defined most accurately by its persistent pattern of ‘unruliness.’ I characterize ‘unruliness’ as a process that avoids and circumvents border regulatory mechanisms, embraces informal, underground economy associations, and results in volatility and unpredictability. Utilizing a review of contemporary social science literature on modern slavery, human trafficking, border security, transnational livelihoods and a set of case studies, this paper suggests that the persistent uncertainties associated with contemporary cross-border movement serve to empower some migrants, while gravely endangering others. Title: Engaging in Urban Explorations: The Minnesota Interactive Internet Mapping Project Author: Kayzar, Brenda Keywords: Urban geographic pedagogy, Internet mapping, Urban issues As academic geographers we try to make sense of the urban condition. From a pedagogical standpoint, making sense of the urban condition entails imparting knowledge of the social, economic, and political context within which urban change takes place in a way that fosters reflection in students, encouraging them to think critically about how we live, occupy, and imagine the built landscape. This paper introduces a pedagogical tool aimed at enhancing the learning experience for students interested in urban geographical topics. The Minnesota Interactive Internet Mapping (MIIM) Project is a web-based application that enables post-secondary students to use remote sensing and GISc data resources to investigate urban issues related to social diversity and inequality, the impacts of uneven development, and environmental concerns. The system, with customizable interfaces, security, and digitizing functionality, allows students to comprehend and interrogate spatially the characteristics of neighborhoods and metropolitan areas, map urban features, and to engage in technologically-enhanced field work. I will demonstrate two course projects currently employing MIIM, and discuss the pedagogical benefits experienced by both professors and students. Title: Environmental Conservation and Development: Unraveling the Convoluted History of Akamas, Cyprus Author: Harris, Sarah Keywords: Cyprus, environmental history, development The Akamas Peninsula, located in the northwest of Cyprus, is an area of diverse ecological and aesthetic value for the Mediterranean. Its "pristine hills" and "unspoiled coastlines" contain approximately one third of the endemic plant species on Cyprus and serve as a home or nesting ground for a variety of animals, including green and loggerhead turtles. Local and international NGOs along with the Cypriot government have made sustained efforts to "preserve" this area since the 1980s with the financial support and strong encouragement of the international community (World Bank, UN-FAO, EU). Many of these funds have been used to institute a rural development program emphasizing agrotourism and community involvement among the eleven villages and their approximately 2,000 inhabitants which surround the area and have undergone notable socio-economic decline over the years. There is one flaw in this picture of sustainable rural development: most local inhabitants do not want it. They have strongly protested government actions through the years, even to the extent of threatening to set the forest on fire. This paper critically examines this resistance by situating their actions in the broader context of environmental policies and history on Cyprus over the last century. Title: Evaluating Root Distributions in Land Surface Modelling Author: Hatzis, Joshua Keywords: Root distributions, Land surface modelling, Net primary productivity Root distributions determine the ability of plants to extract both water and nutrients from the soil. Land surface process models have used a number of different root distributions, and in order to test the sensitivity of a model to changes in these distributions, a series of sensitivity tests were run on the Community Land Model coupled with the Carbon/Nitrogen Model (CLM-CN). Three rooting distributions were used: (1) linear, (2) exponential, and (3) dynamic, under three precipitation regimes: (a) normal, (b) 10% reduction, and (c) 20% reduction. The results showed that a decrease in precipitation resulted in a 0-2% decrease in net primary productivity (NPP) across most of the Northern Hemisphere. Large areas of a 0-2% increase in NPP also existed in the northern latitudes where soils are often oxygen poor. The largest decreases (>50%) were located in arid environments, such as the Southwestern US. The dynamic rooting distribution showed a lower NPP decrease than the linear distribution, especially in arid environments such as the Southwestern US and the Arctic (>50% reduction). Using the USDA's National Soil Characterization Database, gridded nutrient profiles will be produced in order to more accurately represent soil nutrient distributions as required by the dynamic root scheme. Title: Getting Their Kicks: A Spatial Assessment of Men's Major College Soccer, 2008 Author: Jorgenson, Brent Keywords: college sports, soccer, sport geography Soccer is considered the most popular sport in the world. However, geographers have conducted little research on the spatial dimensions and origins of collegiate men or women soccer players. Rooney and Pillsbury in their book, "The Atlas of American Sport," mention women's soccer only briefly in the context of a graph that examines the growth in high school girls soccer participants during the 1970's & 80's. John Bale devoted a chapter in his book, Sport & Place to Men's Football (soccer). This study created a database consisting of 197 Div. I Men's Soccer programs. This data was derived from team websites in the form of rosters. Thus, the mapping of the players by origin (high school and state) and, destination (college) was made possible once the compilation of the roster data was completed. In addition, the 'success' of the teams was formulated based on an indexed system consisting of poll rankings, win-loss %, team post-season tournament success and the number of All-Americans. An examination of the completed maps and quantitative analysis provides more insight into the present day spatial distribution of major college soccer player origins and program success. Title: Glittering Icons and Peircean Icons: The Post-socialist Cityscape of Budapest Author: Metro-Roland, Michelle Keywords: Central Europe, Urban Landscape, Culture Almost twenty years after the fall of communism, post-socialist cities are faced with a paradox when it comes to the question of destination branding, requiring these countries to hold in balance all aspects of their past with their drive to show themselves as thoroughly modern i.e. on par with their Western European neighbors. Though these countries have undertaken sweeping political and economic reforms, have joined supranational organizations such as the European Union, and have modernized their urban infrastructure with respect to urban image questions remain. How successfully do post-socialist cities present themselves as appealing destinations? How does the communist past get treated within the context of destination branding? How do the many historical narratives interact within the urban landscape? While many studies have looked at the ways in which cities have entered into the branding arena from the perspective of the planners, one cannot forget the other side of the destination image coin, the consumption side. This paper offers a glimpse into the way in which residents and foreign visitors view the contemporary post-socialist city by presenting an ethnographic view of one such city, Budapest, through an analysis of nearly 500 photos which resulted from a participant generated photographic study. Title: HXiVeTmazvhfhJ Author: ewktrnd, ewktrnd Keywords: ZaeNrJwxYEgLGgYsgR, hLtjLpmckTa, qViHtpZTD eMbSAA uqqzphsyryie, [url=http://gjmlkfxdniji.com/]gjmlkfxdniji[/url], [link=http://isvloptmofju.com/]isvloptmofju[/link], http://mxgicmvfirae.com/ Title: IrAeGWrzx Author: jyblpceuuw, jyblpceuuw Keywords: QLrFFryNPzyXIgmA, wpYdZzsyBeQhFlTUBBl, eKmpZjPTbOa 4SGGhr nheoojftxifg, [url=http://dtkcntquyxuu.com/]dtkcntquyxuu[/url], [link=http://cftgqttepgzp.com/]cftgqttepgzp[/link], http://kyayjbigmihw.com/ Title: Land Trust Involvement in Forest Transitions Author: Midgley, Meghan Keywords: land trust, reforestation, forest transition Forest transition theory posits that an initial surge in economic activity spurs deforestation, but as economic activity develops and cities grow larger, reforestation occurs due to timber scarcity and migration to cities. Many empirical studies have evaluated transitions at coarse spatial scales and not examined the local-level actors that contribute to reforestation and forest conservation. In Indiana, forest cover has increased from 6% of total land area in 1920 to 20% today. National and state governments are important actors in encouraging reforestation and holding forested land. However, local land trusts can also protect land, which may result in the continued increase in forest cover. This paper examines the contributions of Indiana land trusts to forest conservation and reforestation. On-site, land trusts can reforest their properties and protect forested areas. Regionally, land trusts can encourage reforestation and forest conservation through education and outreach programs and by working synergistically with other groups. To assess the contributions of Indiana land trusts to forest conservation and reforestation, semi-structured interviews were conducted with land trusts executive directors and websites were reviewed to gather information on the amount of forestland they protect, the amount of land they have reforested, and their forest-related education and outreach programs. Title: Longevity Under Adversity with Resilience in Pines on the Mokst Butte Lava Flow, Oregon Author: Speer, Jim Keywords: Dendrochronology, Disturbance Ecology, Longevity The "Longevity Under Adversity" hypothesis was first proposed by Schulman in 1953 suggesting that trees growing on the harshest sites grow slowly and consequently will be the oldest individuals in the species. As part of that hypothesis, Schulman suggested that these trees grow old because they are protected from disturbances, such as fire, grazing, and insect outbreaks. We use a 1500-year long reconstruction of drought and pandora moth (Coloradia pandora) outbreaks in ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) on the Mokst Butte lava flow in central Oregon to demonstrate that these trees grow slow and old, but still survive repeated disturbances. We suggest that these trees grow old because of their slow growth, but they continue to be resilient to disturbances and are not growing at their physiological limit. Title: MAP INTERPRETATION INSTRUCTION IN INTRODUCTORY TEXTBOOKS: A PRELIMINARY INVESTIGATION Author: Gillen, Jamie Keywords: map interpretation, textbooks, Research indicates that the number of students taking map interpretation courses and the number of available classes have declined since the early 1980s. This decline raises a question regarding how map interpretation skills are developed. As geography students are expected to master the uses of maps, we investigated the materials available in introductory text books that promote the development of those skills. Sixteen widely used introductory physical, human, world regional and general geography texts were analyzed for the following: 1) The presence of text material dedicated to map interpretation, 2) Content related to map interpretation concepts and 3) Additional resources such as problems, skill-sets, and study-boxes that were designed to enhance student map interpretation abilities. We found that fifteen of the texts had dedicated a portion of the book to map interpretation. More complete findings will be discussed during the meeting presentation. Because learning depends on the use of these resources, future research calls for a study of individual course materials to determine if each syllabus actually calls for and devotes a portion of the class to such study. Title: Mediating Change And Changes In Mediation: Adapting Icts For Collaborative Planning Author: smith, christopher Keywords: geographic communication, environmental justice, Internet map systems Information and communication technologies (ICTs) are important research areas for scientists examining theories of communication, conflict resolution and collaborative decision making, particularly because they offer impressive analytical capabilities and the capacity to integrate different modes of deliberation and forms of content. The exponential growth in the adoption and diffusion of these media currently has, and will likely continue to have, considerable social ecological implications in part because ICTs are increasingly positioned as "places" of convergence for contested information and knowledge. However, the nature of these implications, especially questions concerning how these technologies influence collaborative modes of decision making, is unclear and controversial. This research adopts an interpretive approach to examine the role of ICTs in mediating environmental justice concerns. Particularly, I trace the development and deployment of a particular spatial ICT application co-designed by a grassroots environmental justice organization based in southeast Los Angeles. Participant observation, in-depth interview, narrative analysis and ICT logs are employed to examine various types of interactions within this ICT-mediated setting and more traditional face-to-face forums. Through these analyses, I find that geography-based knowledge claims expressed through spatial ICTs differ from those uttered in more traditional face-to-face settings with respect to category, frequency, scale and trajectory. Title: Milpa, household gardening, and food sovereignty in Chemax, Yucatán, México Author: kargl, alexis Keywords: Food Sovereignty, Oportunidades, Procampo Milpa, the subsistence farming method prevalent throughout Mesoamerica, is coordinated at the household level with gardening for provision of food needs among approximately 2 million households in Mexico alone. Though little research has examined the relationships between milpa and household gardening, extensive research has demonstrated that each can in its own way be highly beneficial to rural people, in ecological, economic, nutritional, and cultural terms. Most subsistence households in Mexico, however, show declining nutrition and persisting or increasing poverty in general, despite government anti-poverty programming for rural people. I suggest that an examination of how milpa and household gardening interact and are coordinated at varying socio-political and cultural levels could provide some insight. Through a case study of Chemax, Yucatán, I am looking at social programs such as Procampo and Oportunidades and broad international indicators of poverty, as structural factors, and on the other hand at factors in the otherwise disparate discursive fields of television, human-environment studies of Yucatán, and stories drawn from semi-structured interviews with milpa-based households. I am pursuing an analysis of this constellation of factors that is grounded in the principles of food sovereignty as defined in the Nyeleni Declaration of 2007 and centered on household gardening. Title: Modeling Storm Surge Height Using Trapped Fetch Wave Theory Author: Steele, Jeremiah Keywords: Trapped Fetch, Storm Surge, Hurricane In 2005, Hurricane Katrina made landfall in Louisiana as a category 3 hurricane with sustained wind speeds of 130 miles per hour, yet its storm surge was higher than Hurricane Camille. On-site observation of surge damage indicated a storm surge higher than that measured by gauging stations. Trapped fetch wave modeling is one method of determining storm surge height at landfall. Trapped fetch waves occur when the rotation of the storm and the direction of travel of the storm are in synch. This research suggests that trapped fetch wave theory offers insight into the height of Hurricane Katrina's storm surge. As global climate change suggests increased hurricane frequency, workable models to predict storm surge are essential to understanding hurricane impacts and coordinating a response. Hurricane Katrina specific data was mined from NOAA's weather bulletins. This included latitude and longitude of the center of the eye, date and time, average wind speed, extent of hurricane force winds and extent of tropical storm strength winds. Fetch length was determined based on tropical storm strength wind extent and direction of travel of the hurricane. The data was then placed in a trapped fetch wave model to determine maximum wave height potential. Title: Monitoring the successes and failures of Community Forestry in Nepal Author: Bhattarai, Keshav Keywords: Community forestry, deforestation, Nepal In 1978, the government of Nepal brought significant changes in forestry policy from a top-down to bottom-up process of local governance and management. Since then the management responsibilities of many local forests have been handed over to local communities (user groups) for sustainable management. This user group model has been claimed most successful in many Asian countries. However, such a blanket assumption might be premature, when market conditions over-ride resource extraction constraints and infrastructural developments open up forests to exploitation. This paper uses separate regression models for three ecological regions"”tropical/subtropical (<1200 m), temperate (1200-2400 m), and alpine/subalpine (2400-5000 m)--to examine deforestation/reforestation scenarios from 1975 to 2000 across the whole of Nepal. It uses remote sensing and GIS technologies to analyze data derived from MSS (1975-76), TM (1989-90), and ETM (1999-2000) sensors including the ASTER derived 30 m digital elevation data. The units of analyses are 3,900 Village Development Committees (VDCs), which are smallest administrative political units. The research's main focus is to examine how successful community forestry has been in slowing, or not increasing deforestation in country's most significant three ecological zones in terms of their forest cover as development advances in multi sectors. Title: Not for Profit Organizations Assisting Education in Ecuador Author: Buzan, Heather Keywords: , , Observations and data collection for the present research about not for profit education began with the amazing experience of studying abroad in Ecuador for three weeks during summer 2007 and continued with library resources after returning home. Near the beginning of the trip we visited the Amazon rainforest and stayed at a place called the Yachana Lodge, run by Funedesin, one of the most amazing not for profit organizations I have ever known. One of the many wonderful accomplishments of this organization is the Yachana High School. Yachana in the native language means place of learning. I had the privilege of visiting with the high school students and seeing the difference this organization made in so many lives. This paper explains some of the problems of the wider educational system of Ecuador and defines the benefits and difficulties of not for profit organizations in providing assistance with education. The Yachana High School and the nearby Yachana Lodge provide an interesting and successful case study for the delivery of education in the rural Amazon region of Ecuador. The rise in enrollment rates and literacy rates throughout Ecuador display positive impact from these organizations. Title: Object-Oriented Land Classification System for Evaluating Biofuel Production on Marginal Lands Author: Fox, Amelia Keywords: land use, land classification, marginal lands Heightened interest in high-volume biofuel production has resulted in calls for production of biofuel feedstocks on marginal lands. In order to characterize potential feedstock production opportunities, environmental risks, and socioeconomic impacts, marginal lands must be located, mapped, and classified according to appropriate agricultural use. Spatial data products to support this characterization are scant, particularly at regional and local scales. As part of a larger study in biofuel production systems and land use, this work will build a usable spatial database from existing remote sensing imagery resources and create a marginal land classification system. A core method will be implementation of an object-oriented image analysis system using eCognition software. Segmentation of remote sensing raster data (e.g. 30 m LANDSAT coverages) into image objects will address the presence of raster noise in baseline data, allow use of maximum likelihood and nearest-neighbor classification procedures, and facilitate incorporation of agroecological expert opinion classification criteria. The resulting marginal land classification dataset will be structured to support follow-on efforts to model spatial and temporal land use change and create decision support systems for land managers. Work will progress from a 19-county validation area in west-central Illinois to a statewide database, and a methodology extensible to other regions. Title: Paleolimnological Evidence for Peak Holocene Warmth at 5200 cal yr BP in the Great Basin, USA Author: Reinemann, Scott Keywords: Chironomids, Paleoclimate, Temperature A sediment core recovered from Stella Lake, a small sub-alpine lake in the Snake Range, NV, was analyzed for sub-fossil chironomids, diatoms and sediment organic content (estimated by loss on ignition). Radiocarbon dating indicates the basal age of the sediment is ~ 7000 cal yr B.P. Chironomid-based mean July air temperature reconstructions were developed using a WA-PLS inference model (r2jack = 0.55, RMSEP = 0.9°C). Sub-fossil chironomid analysis indicates that the Stella Lake record is consistent with the paleoclimate trends in the Great Basin of a warm, arid mid-Holocene, followed by a cool and moist "Neoglacial", with the last two millennia characterized by a return to warmer conditions. Throughout the core the Stella Lake diatom-community composition is dominated by small, periphytic taxa which are suggestive of shallow, cool, alkaline, oligotrophic waters with increased ice cover. Chironomid evidence exists for peak Holocene warmth of ~11.0°C in the Great Basin is centered at ~5200 cal yr B.P. This record may provide insight to future conditions by providing a quantitative estimate of peak Holocene warmth in the Great Basin, a region projected to experience higher than normal temperatures and increasingly arid conditions in the future. Title: Payday Lending: Spatial Dispersion, and Neighborhood Demographics Author: Treece, Paul Keywords: Economic Geography, Payday Lending, Location Analysis Payday loan companies provide small loans, often carrying an APR of over 400%, to high risk borrowers. Payday lenders state that the loans provide quick liquidity for families when cash falls short between paydays. However, the industry has been accused of targeting low-income and minority neighborhoods, knowing that their weak financial status will force them to continue borrowing. Utilizing proprietary data of borrowers' addresses, this study analyzes the residential patterns of borrowers and their proximity to their payday lending branches. The findings will address the broader issue of whether or not it is practical for legislators to implement spatial restrictions on payday lenders rather than financial restrictions. Title: Planning for Displacement at the Beijing Olympics Author: Levy, Laura Keywords: displacement, Beijing, poverty This paper will discuss the Chinese government's planning for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, emphasizing how these plans relate to the displacement of certain segments of the urban population as a result of housing demolitions and evictions. These demolitions were part of a beautification campaign that disproportionately affected rural migrants, forcing many to relocate to the outskirts of the city. Olympic planning has exacerbated income inequality in the city of Beijing. Title: Post-maquila livelihoods in Yucatán, Mexico: where's the agency? Author: Biles, James Keywords: livelihoods, gender, Mexico By the turn of the 21st century, export-oriented maquiladoras, largely producing clothing and apparel for markets in the United States, employed more than 37,000 workers in Yucatán, Mexico and accounted for approximately 40 percent of manufacturing jobs and more than 80 percent of the region's exports. Following China's accession to the World Trade Organization in 2001 and the concomitant economic downturn in the United States, however, maquiladora production in Yucatán has experienced a rapid demise. By 2008, more than 50 percent of export-oriented assembly plants had closed or relocated, resulting in the elimination of nearly 50 percent of all maquiladora employment. In light of the rapid demise of export-oriented production in Yucatá¡n, this paper explores the livelihood strategies of women who have left maquiladora employment in recent years. Title: Predicting 1-April Snowpack in the Columbia River Basin using Teleconnection Indices Author: Conley, Heather Keywords: Snowpack, Teleconnections, Colubmia River Basin Increasing demands on water supply have raised the need for improved methods of forecasting water supply in the western United States. Water managers must balance the demands of competing users of water with water supply. Because 75% of the water in the western United States falls as snow, forecasting 1-April snowpack is essential for scheduling water releases from the reservoir. The goal of this paper is to predict 1-April snowpack for SNOTEL stations in the Columbia River Basin using teleconnection indices. Previous studies have illustrated the relationship between individual teleconnections and western US snowpack; however, this paper uses multiple teleconnection indices and 1-January snowpack estimates to predict 1-April snowpack. Predictive models demonstrate that the relationships between snowpack and teleconnections vary based on location, elevation, slope, and aspect. Title: Preliminary diatom-based reconstruction of environmental conditions at Lake Nicaragua Author: Bloom, Amy Keywords: Paleolimnology, Paleoenvironmental, Diatoms Diatoms (single-celled algae) were analyzed from two sediment cores recovered from Lake Nicaragua as part of a larger, multi-proxy study (geochemical, sedimentological, and biological proxies) undertaken to reconstruct paleoenvironmental conditions at Lake Nicaragua, the largest (surface area approximately 8,264 km2) natural freshwater lake in Central America. Two sediment cores (3.5 m and 4.8 m) spanning the late Pleistocene through present were recovered from opposite sides of the lake, approximately 120 km apart. Diatom data from each of the two independently-dated cores suggest comparable environmental reconstructions. Diatom abundances were extremely low and/or diatoms were poorly preserved near the base of the cores, which is likely due to the colder and drier conditions of the late Pleistocene. The early Holocene is marked by an abundance of certain planktonic diatom taxa which suggest wetter conditions and highly turbid water. Planktonic diatoms gradually decline during the middle Holocene, suggesting a return to drier conditions. With the onset of the late Holocene, planktonic diatoms increase, with specific taxa indicating wetter conditions and increased nutrients. The increase in nutrients is likely related to anthropogenic impacts on the lake basin (e.g., deforestation of the catchment and agricultural development), especially throughout the last 2,000 years. Title: Redeveloping Union Station and Urban Renewal in Downtown Denver Author: Angyal-Barton, Katherine Keywords: Urban Renewal, Gentrification, Denver This paper examines the redevelopment of Denver's Union Station, how it may differ from previous urban renewal initiatives, and the role community support can play in ensuring this development benefits all of the Denver community. Recent years of urban renewal and billions of dollars in public and private investment has given some new life to downtown Denver. However, many downtown service workers struggle to earn a self-sufficient wage, and fewer residents can afford to live downtown. Denver must take every opportunity to achieve a more sustainable balance between jobs and housing. If past attempts at revitalizing downtown are any indication of which segment of the community the redeveloped Union Station and surrounding neighborhoods are intended for, it is not the working-class. Title: Reforestation and the Impact of the US Conservation Reserve Program in Indiana Author: Schmitt-Harsh, Mikaela Keywords: Forest Transition, Indiana Land Cover Change, CRP There is growing evidence that countries worldwide undergo a forest transition, from a period of high deforestation to a period of declining rates. The turnaround from deforestation to stagnation or reforestation can take place at different temporal and spatial scales. While there is a growing body of research modeling the forest transition theory using national level trajectories, further research is needed to understand the dynamic of social and environmental systems at different scales. The objective of this study is to examine the role of the US Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) in recent land cover change processes at multiple scales of analysis. CRP was enacted in 1985 and provides financial incentives to landowners to maintain forest cover, or convert land from non-forest to forest land uses. Using land cover classifications (Forest/Non-Forest) produced from satellite imagery and aerial photography, county-level and parcel-level forest trends from 2001 to 2006 were analyzed for four south-central Indiana counties. This research compiled property level CRP data and integrated it with land cover change data to determine trajectories of change on CRP enrolled properties. These data were then compared to properties with similar biophysical characteristics not enrolled in the CRP program. Title: Remnant Tropical Moisture-Induced Heavy Rainfall in Illinois Author: Williams, Tom Keywords: flooding, heavy rainfall, Illinois An abundant supply of tropical moisture interacted with a nearly stationary frontal boundary to produce record-setting heavy rainfall from Missouri through northern Illinois into southern Michigan. Over a four-day period from 11-14 September 2008, a wide swath extending WSW-ENE from Moline to Peoria to Chicago received more than seven inches of rain. The purpose of this study is to examine the synoptic weather pattern responsible for this heavy rain event. The key parameters were a copious tropical moisture flow from the southwest, remnants of former Pacific Tropical Storm Lowell followed by Hurricane Ike's moisture shield (on the last day), combined with strong forcing associated with a slow-moving cold front approaching Illinois from the west/northwest. The pattern resulted in the continuous development and redevelopment of showers and thunderstorms, initially formed north of a weak trough/warm front in southern Illinois lifting northward, then along and ahead of the approaching cold front. Thus, the axis of heavy rainfall shifted with the location and movement of the frontal boundaries. The Chicago area was hardest hit, with widespread flash flooding and subsequent river flooding significantly affecting the Chicago, Des Plaines, DuPage, and Fox Rivers, and later, downstream into the Illinois River. Title: Residential- and Commercial-Scale Distributed Wind Energy in North Dakota Author: Klink, Katherine Keywords: wind power, North Dakota, distributed generation We use one year of hourly wind speed measurements at 14 sites across North Dakota to evaluate how residential- and commercial-scale wind turbines can help to meet electricity needs within the state. Data are available from April 2004 through March 2005, a period with slightly lower mean wind speeds as compared to a long-term climatology; thus our calculations represent a conservative estimate of wind power for these sites. Using capacity factors of 20% (residential) and 35% (commercial), we estimate the amount of electricity generation in the 14 counties and compare it to county-based estimates of electricity usage. Our results show that residential-scale turbines could provide between 90% and 165% of annual net per-person electricity usage in these counties, depending on the wind speed. An evaluation of month-to-month electricity supply and demand showed that between 9% and 20% (13% and 29%) of monthly electricity needs for a county with low (high) average wind speeds could be met if 30% of the county's households had a residential-scale turbine. Our results show that residential-scale turbines have the potential to contribute meaningfully to a distributed-generation wind energy landscape. Title: Seed Rate Study For Restoration Ecology: What Seed Density Should Be Planted For Best Results? Author: Glaves, Brian Keywords: Biodiversity, Species Richness, Restoration Management This study evaluates the density of dispersed seed per hectare required to produce a high quality prairie planting. In December 2006, a planting at Nachusa Grasslands, (Franklin Grove, IL), established a random 3x5 block design of 4 seed treatments, (11.2, 33.6, 56.0, and 78.5kg/ha). In 2008, six individual square meter quadrants were used to census the floristic and soil nutrient data in the 15 cells. Floristically the following variables were observed in the months of June, July and August of 2008: species richness, density, cover, and height. From this floristic data a Floristic Quality Index (FQI) was calculated to find the best seed density treatment. Climate data (temperature and precipitation) was gathered from Dixon, IL. Finally, soil samples were taken in August of 2008 as bulk samples. From the bulk soil samples levels of carbon and nitrogen will be tested and provide a baseline. This baseline should show high levels of nitrogen and low levels of carbon in the topsoil. Over time nitrogen levels should decrease to a stable level and carbon levels should increase. Our floristic data should help an optimal seed density in establishing a diverse prairie community. Title: Seeing the Forest (Fire) for the Trees: Tourists and Fire in Yellowstone National Park. Author: Meyer, Judith Keywords: Yellowstone National Park, historical geography, forest fire This paper investigates role of fire as part of the early Yellowstone tourist experience through analysis of historical accounts and images produced prior to the era of widespread and effective fire suppression in the park. Three aspects of how fire appears in the park's historical record are discussed. First is how forest fires are described objectively as part of the visual scene. Second is the more subjective response to forest fires as either good or bad. Third is a moralistic response whereby the very idea of forest fires in a national park is associated with other tourist activities and attitudes as well as loftier beliefs in the purposes of the national parks more generally. Title: Sensitivity of corn and soybean yield in Illinois to past and future climate Author: Goldblum, David Keywords: climate change, agriculture, biogeography This study considers the potential county-scale impact of climate change on corn (Zea mays L.) and soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] yield in the important agricultural state of Illinois, USA. By identifying specific monthly climate variables (mean daily temperature and precipitation) to which corn and soybean yield is sensitive, this study compares monthly regional General Circulation Model (GCM) predictions with the monthly climate variables to which corn and soybean yield is sensitive to predict crop yield under future climate. Corn yield is negatively correlated with July and August temperature in much of the state, and positively correlated with precipitation from the previous September (in the central portion of the state) and July and August precipitation in most of northern and southern Illinois respectively. Soybean yield is negatively correlated with mean monthly temperature in the central and southern Illinois during the summer, and positively correlated with July and August precipitation in the same regions. Given the regional GCM prediction for increased summer temperatures and summer drought, both corn and soybean yield will likely decrease under future climate conditions, most likely in the central and southern portions of Illinois. Title: Shades of Green in New Orleans' Lower Ninth: an opportunity for green (re)building? Author: Hutton, Craig Keywords: green-building, post-disaster recovery, community development A fast growing industry in the United States, green building has been championed as a timely approach community recovery in post-disaster situations. How local recovery efforts respond to national green building trends and the associated "living laboratory" goals is unclear. This research uses self-reported information from organizations in New Orleans Lower Ninth Ward and Holy Cross neighborhoods to explore adoption of green building ideals into organizational goals and their subsequent use as a focal point for whole community recovery. I use content analysis to explore the reported descriptions, goals, and mission statements of a random sample of community rebuilding organizations vis-à -vis local and national green building efforts. I argue that local community recovery efforts have responded positively to the larger green building community especially when a strong local-national partnership exists, but that their responses vary between the recovery planning and recovery implementation stages. Support for green building and sustainable communities exist at national and local levels, but as focus narrows to local concerns, everyday concerns such as housing affordability and basic community infrastructure take precedence. Title: Small banana farmers under the WTO: Fair Trade and other export options Author: Klak, Thomas Keywords: Neoliberalism, fair trade, Caribbean Since the 1950s Eastern Caribbean farmers earned a good living exporting bananas to the UK, and bananas earnings were key to the Caribbean islands' strong human development indicators. However, in 1996 the World Trade Organization ruled that the preferential market access provided by Britain was contrary to the rules of free trade. Since then there have been many disruptions, and subsequent adjustments on the part of the British government, transportation providers, and the farmers themselves to cope with new exporting rules. Fair Trade has emerged as the predominant way in which Eastern Caribbean bananas reach Britain. This research interviewed 150 former or current banana farmers to better understand how they are coping with the loss of the preferential market. The findings reveal hard working farmers with drastically declining incomes. The farmers point to key issues that need to be addressed, if agricultural exports are to remain a viable income earner, and if food production is to provide social stability for the region. Title: Spatial Dimensions of Chicago's Housing Boom to Bust: Mapping the dynamics of home sales 2000-2008 Author: Peter, Piet Keywords: Chicago housing market, employment centers, sector model In this paper we analyze the spatial dimensions of changing home sales and sales prices for Chicago during a tumultuous period for the U.S. housing market, 2000 to 2008. We consider demographics, transportation infrastructure, proximity to employment centers, and submarkets defined by price strata and geography as explanatory variables. Our findings shed light on important housing policy debates including affordable housing inventories and sprawl. We conclude by generalizing our findings in the context of Chicago's long established concentric rings and sectors. Title: Studying Foliose Lichens as Bio-indicators in the Chicago Park District Author: Goehler, Jessica Keywords: Lichens, Bio-indicators, Transplants The north side of Chicago, mostly commercial and residential, has different land uses than the South side, which consists of residential, industrial and municipal waste areas, resulting in different levels of environmental quality. Studies in European urban areas have shown that lichens are viable bio-indicators of the human impact on air quality. Since few studies have been done in the United States on using lichens as bio-indicators, this paper focuses primarily on comparing growth patterns of lichens between the North and South Sides of Chicago. Data were collected using a belt transect method at 0.5 and 1.5 m from the base of 30 sample trees. Data were analyzed by creating lichen density and species richness indices, which also allows for assessing height and directional preferences of individual lichen species. Non-native transplants were placed strategically on the Chicago State University campus, which is bordered by Interstate 94, in order to obtain information about elements in the air from traffic and industry. Lichen clippings were collected at three-week intervals over a four month time frame and analyzed using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). This paper will report the results of the study regarding the potential success of lichens as bio-monitors. Title: Tainted Water Supplies for the First Nations in Canada Author: Tobin, Ian Keywords: First Nations, Neoliberalism, Environmental Justice This paper looks at the environmental impacts of neo-liberal policies on the Kashechewan Community in Ontario, Canada. The author examines how budget cuts have left this community vulnerable to a Locally Unwanted Land-Uses (LULU) that has tainted their water supply. The LULU came to be because of a struggle over indigenous semi-autonomy and neo-liberal policies. This struggle led to the government giving the Kashechewan community authority to regulate and manage the envirnment. At the same time the government ignored this community when it came to making policy decisions that would warrant their participation. The author claims that this paradigm shift has led to environmental injustices that disproportionately harm the Kashechewan Community. Title: The Assessment of Airborne Pollutant Levels in Nepal and Pakistan Author: Hildebrandt, Mark Keywords: South Asia, Air Quality, High levels of air pollution are known to adversely affect human health throughout South Asia. This includes the politically unstable nations of Nepal and Pakistan. Preliminary studies in select cities in Pakistan and in Kathmandu, Nepal suggest that the poorest air quality tends to occur during the wintertime when microclimatic conditions were dry and cool, mesoscale winds were weak, and cities were dominated by inversions caused by anti-cyclonic activity on the synoptic scale. Conversely, the best quality was found during the summer when microclimatic conditions were warm and moist, mesoscale winds were stronger, and synoptic moisture levels were higher due to the advection of maritime tropical air during the Asian monsoon. Title: The Cultural Landscape of American Baseball Spaces: A Tale of Two Cities Author: Yeager, Chuck Keywords: Cultural Landscape, Sports Geography, Recreation The American ballpark occupies a prominent place in the landscape of a city and its residents, and one can assume that the attributes of a ballpark can have a distinct effect on the baseball experience, as well as the baseball community in the city. Methods have been adopted in the construction of baseball spaces that have served to embed these spaces into the community, or make them distinct from the rest of the community. Ballparks and other baseball spaces can also be venues for the display of local and regional identity, a factor that can bond regional populations and endear local baseball spaces to the regional populace. The purpose of this research is to examine the cultural landscapes of baseball spaces in American cities. It examines how those landscapes can influence the presence and strength of baseball communities in each city based on displays of regional identity in the area's baseball spaces. Case studies reveal dramatically different cultural landscapes of baseball spaces in the cities, which exhibit a wealth of information about the baseball communities in each city. Title: The Geography of Ethnic Conflict at the Neighborhood Level: Life and Death of Omorphita, Cyprus. Author: Oswald, John Keywords: Cyprus, Urban Geography, History During the waning years of British Colonial rule on Cyprus (1878-1960), Omorphita (Küçük Kaimakli) was selected as the site for a "Garden City" inspired workers housing project. This ethnically mixed community was designed as a model of British colonial welfare and as a symbol of peaceful cohabitation of working class Greek and Turkish Cypriots for the troubled island. With the start of construction in 1945, Omorphita became an arena for ethnic rivalries and a competition over contracts soon morphed into a sustained struggle over ownership rights. In December 1963, simmering tensions erupted into an island-wide armed conflict and Omorphita became the epicenter of some of the worst atrocities carried out in the history of the "Cyprus Problem." Using a postcolonial analytical framework, Omorphita serves as a "local level" window into the materialization of the overt ethnic conflict, the ramifications of which continue to affect the overall socio-spatial realities of Cyprus today. This paper examines three crucial aspects of Omorphita by: 1) examining archival evidence to help reconstruct its suburban history; 2) describing the origins of the fierce intercommunal fighting within the area; and 3) demonstrating the continuing effects of Omorphita on the perpetuation of the division on Cyprus. Title: The Iraq War and 9/11 as Footnotes to the Palestine-Israel Conflict Author: Ould-Mey, Mohameden Keywords: Iraq, Palestine/Israel, 9/11 The human/economic/moral costs of the "Iraq war" are staggering. Over 4,000 Americans were killed and 30,000 wounded (CNN). Over 1 million Iraqis were killed (ORB, 1/2008) and 4.4 million were turned into refugees inside and outside Iraq (UN, 2/15/2008). US financial costs range from $600 billion (CNN, 3/23/2008) to $1.5 trillion (Washington Post, 11/13/2007) to $3 trillion (Stiglitz and Bilmes, 2008). The moral costs are obvious from the Abu Ghraib torture chambers. But this is only the "what" of the war. What about the "why/who"? Five years into the war, many are still confused about whether or not the war was about WMD, Iraqi-9/11 connection, democracy, oil, or Israel? Drawing upon (1) the vast academic and media coverage of the topic, (2) the absence of any oil lobby supporting the war in Iraq or the confrontation with Iran, and (3) the careful statements made by President Bush, Senators McCain and Obama, ADL's Foxman, Al-Qaeda leader Bin Laden, Iraq's President Hussein, and others (http://mama.indstate.edu/users/mouldmey/AAG%202008%20Presentation%20Handouts.pdf), this paper argues that the war was launched primarily to make Israel more secure. It calls for a UN/US independent investigation commission into the Iraq war. Title: The role of aggregate complexity in an energy-based framework for comprehensive landscape study Author: Donnelly, Shanon Keywords: landscape, energy, complexity Landscape has had an important and ambiguous history in the field of geography. One of the strengths of the landscape approach has been the potential for effectively "holding together nature and society in single explanatory framework" when other approaches in the field have implicitly or explicitly separated them. Towards the goal of further developing a means for comprehensive study of the landscape, we first present an energy-based framework for studying the whole landscape. This framework categorizes landscape features according to their energy inputs, transformations, and outputs. A landscape in Southern Indiana, including portions of Bloomington, is used to illustrate the strengths and weaknesses of this approach. Concepts from complexity science, and especially "aggregate complexity", are then introduced to further develop the framework and draw connections between these two perspectives. Title: The role of Private Protected Areasin the Conservation of Natural Resources in Brazil Author: Siqueira, Angela Keywords: private reserves, conservation, Brazil In Latin America the creation of protected areas has been primarily accomplished through the development of public protected area systems. However additions to these public systems are still needed as important areas for protection are on private lands (80% in most countries). Thus, the conservation of privately-held lands is seen as an important component of national strategy for the protection of natural resources. Until 1990's the most widely legal approach used by the Brazilian government to achieve the conservation of private lands has been the mandatory conservation restrictions created by direct government regulations. Only in 1990 with the Federal Law 98.914 the government recognizes the creation of private reserves by landowners, allowing the civil society to participate actively in the protection of natural resources. However, the government economic incentives are still the most important tools in promoting the creation of private reserves. Despite government support, private landowners still face many obstacles: delay in the process to obtain the status of Private Protected Area, lack of enforcement, technical support and, resources to create new RPPNs. Nevertheless, 756 RPPNs were created encompassing 580,878.73 hectares in Brazilian territory, establishing one of the best systems for permanently protected private reserves in Latin American. Title: The Russia-Georgia Conflict: A brief Summary Author: Kory, William Keywords: South Ossetia, Georgia, Abkhazia On August 8, 2008 troops and armored vehicles from the Russian Federation rolled into South Ossetia in support of that breakaway region from Georgia. The USA and NATO condemned the invasion, calling on Russia to withdraw its forces. Russia's justification for its action was a response to Georgia's move the week before to re-take South Ossetia by force, after the region declared its desire to separete from Georgia. The uneasy peace between the two former Republics of the USSR was brockered by President Nickolas Sarkozy of France. The presintation will deal briefly with the issue of Russia/Georgia conflict and the future status of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. Is there a similarity between these regions and the Kosovo ? In addition, a short discussion will follow focusing on the internal republics of the Russian Federation with special emphasis on the Caucasus Republics in the southwest region of the country. Title: The Sacred and the Profane: Landscape and Identity Change Among the Inuit of Iqaluit Author: Vidon, Elizabeth Keywords: Inuit, Landscape, Identity Drawing on ethnographic material from the community of Iqaluit, Nunavut Territory, this study attempts to demonstrate the connection between the Arctic landscape and the changing identities of the Inuit of Iqaluit. The change in relationship between the Inuit and their land has been brought about largely by increased contact with and dependence on Southern institutions and (federal) government, and has led to problems with identity and culture change for the Inuit of Iqaluit. Data in this paper come from archival sources, current literature, and long, semi-structured interviews with Inuit residents of Iqaluit. Although the Inuit are a people who have survived and existed successfully in the North for millennia, they have faced daunting challenges and modifications in their lives and in their landscapes, particularly in the last 50 years. They are now attempting to transition between the traditional and the contemporary, and enormous differences may be observed between generations and genders. As connections with their land weakens, their identities as Inuit also weaken. These issues with landscape and identity may be observed as they manifest themselves on the physical landscape itself, in generational and gender differences, and in the social problems that have come to plague the community of Iqaluit. Title: The Summit for Visioning Iowa's Future Agriculture: food and energy systems sustainability Author: Williams, Carol Keywords: local/regional, sustainability, transdisciplinary Iowa agriculture is entering a new era in which sustainability is increasingly important. The Summit for Visioning Iowaââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s Future Agriculture is a state-level, long-term process spearheaded by the Agronomy Department at Iowa State University, aimed at identifying pathways to greater agricultural sustainability by involving multiple stakeholders in a transdisciplinary process of problem framing and solution seeking. Stakeholders include conventional and non-conventional producers, advocacy groups, federal and state government agencies, community development practitioners, researchers, and others. During preliminary workshops, participants identified major challenges to and opportunities for improvement in Iowaââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s food and energy systems. Past decades of consolidation and centralization of capital, ownership and infrastructure in agricultural, and food and energy systems, has resulted in economic and spatial scales that provide important benefits, but also impose negative impacts to human and natural systems. There are significant opportunities for creation of economic and spatial scales of production, distribution and marketing that may better foster whole-systems sustainability. Key attributes of such systems include: local/regional ownership of the means of production and distribution; local/regional consumer markets; diversification of food and energy sources; food and energy literacy; and integration of animal and commodity agriculture with energy production. Title: The Tourist Narrative: At the Nexus of Temporal and Spatial Touristic Experience Author: Rickly, Jillian M. Keywords: tourism, place, narrative While understanding the tourist experience is an ever-elusive goal of tourism studies, the importance of the tourist's personal narrative formation has been overlooked as an essential element of this experience. Observation and interaction with tourists at a regional heritage site in southern Indiana has revealed several significant aspects of the touristic experience. Through their personal experience in the landscape over the course of multiple visits, tourists form memories that combine past with present experiences and incorporate other elements as well, such as companion visitors, historic objects/artifacts of the site, and their sensory stimulation. This complex experience results in place creation as tourists form personal narratives through which they relive layers of memories. Title: The Vernacular Becomes Symbolic: Nationscape and Tourism on Fyn, Denmark Author: Knudsen, Daniel Keywords: landscape, tourism, picturesque Within the field of geography, tourism has suffered from a theoretical void. In the last decade, two approaches have emerged. The first, due to the sociologist John Urry (1990), theorizes tourism by analogy to Foucault's clinic wherein the patients become the host society, the medical students become the tourists and the physician the tour guide. This approach has been heavily criticized. A second approach suggests that the geographical study of tourism be linked to the study of landscape and defines the tourist landscape as a particular type of cultural landscape, thus allowing the rich theory of landscape to be utilized in the analysis of tourism (Knudsen, Soper and Metro-Roland 2007). This paper examines a popular Danish heritage tourist destination as an example of the role of picturesque landscape in the formation of nationscape and thus heritage tourism. Title: Topographic controls on the distribution of tree islands in the high Andes of southwestern Ecuador Author: Keating, Philip Keywords: Geomorphometry, Landscape Ecology, Tropical Montane Forest During the past several decades, tropical montane forests have received increasing attention from geographers, ecologists, and conservationists. In many sections of the Ecuadorian Andes, upper montane forest extends up to 4300 m elevation on the outer flanks of both cordilleras. In most other montane areas, however, forests typically occur as isolated patches. Here we focus on factors that maintain or alter current landscape structure above 3500 m elevation in Cajas National Park. After reviewing several viewpoints concerning the environmental history of upper montane landscapes, we present an analysis of the terrain parameters that influence the vegetative cover in this region. The eigenvalue ratio method was utilized to evaluate the geomorphometric parameters of a 30-m DEM, and we quantified topographic roughness, organization and gradient, relating these factors to the spatial distribution of vegetative cover. We demonstrate a strong spatial correlation between several terrain characteristics and the locations of tree islands. Our results substantiate the notion the Andean tree islands are located in relatively inaccessible topography where burning occurs infrequently. Finally, we will discuss the limitations of current techniques used to study Andean landscape ecology, and will recommend directions for future research. Title: Understanding our place in the food system: a multicoordinate approach Author: Miller, Michelle Keywords: food, midwest, leverage The Good to Grow project met with food system activists, businesses, academics, farmers, government bureaucrats to discuss revitalizing a regional food system in the Upper Midwest. The Chicago - Twin Cities market is 20 million people, and demands more local food. Much work on local food systems focuses at the small scale, where people grow their own food (such as in urban gardening programs) or buy direct from farmers through farmers markets or CSAs. While these efforts embody the values of fair, green, healthy, and (sometimes) affordable, they are unable to meet the volume demands for local food. Concurrently, retailers like Wal-Mart are purchasing food regionally to offset transportation costs. Retailers deal in the world of a global food supply where efficiency is valued. To facilitate productive discussions, our team developed a way to think about the roles of various players in the system using four "coordinates" and leverage points for greening our food system emerged. Aligning our work continues through the Good Food Network representing 6 states, a project to align interests in the Driftless Region - a four state region of marginal agricultural land threatened by high corn prices for ethanol, and presentations at meeting such as this. Title: Water Resource Requirements of Corn-based Ethanol Author: Mubako, Stanley Keywords: ethanol, evapotranspiration, water footprint Ethanol derived from fermentation of corn is a very water-intensive product with water:ethanol mass ratios of 927 to 1178 and volumetric ratios of 1174 to 1492 for the major rainfed corn-growing U.S. states of Illinois and Iowa, and the leading irrigated corn-growing state of Nebraska, respectively. Over 99 percent of water requirements are for growing corn feed stocks, with 99 percent of this, in Illinois and Iowa, occurring as evapotranspiration of rainfall in corn fields, and 60 percent as evapotranspiration of applied irrigation water in Nebraska. As a rough measure of water quality impacts, 65.5 g N, 23.8 g P, and 1.03 g of pesticides are applied and 4.8 kg of soil is eroded per liter of ethanol produced. These results add to knowledge on corn-based ethanol's low net energy balance and high carbon footprint by demonstrating the high water resource intensity of corn-based ethanol production. Title: Women's Major College Basketball Player Origins: A Geographical Analysis. Author: VanNordstrand, Kim Keywords: college sports, women's basketball, sport geography Research regarding the geography of women's basketball is limited. In particular, collegiate basketball has had little over the past decade. Goudge and Wennstedt investigated the geography of blue-chip players in 1998. The purpose of this study was to collect NCAA Division I Women's Basketball roster data in order to build a database to conduct a geographical analysis. This included a study of the origin (hometown/high school) and diffusion (college/university) of the college players. In addition, compiling the necessary database to determine the overall team success of major college programs over the last decade was undertaken. This database includes college team location, overall success based on poll rankings, post-season involvement & tournament success and, number of All-Americans. An examination of the completed maps and quantitative analysis provides more insight into the present day spatial distribution of major college player origins and team success. Title: Women's Major College Basketball Player Origins: A Geographical Analysis. Author: Goudge, Theodore L. Keywords: college sports, women's basketball, sport geography Research regarding the geography of women's basketball is limited. In particular, collegiate basketball has had little over the past decade. Goudge and Wennstedt investigated the geography of blue-chip players in 1998. The purpose of this study was to collect NCAA Division I Women's Basketball roster data in order to build a database to conduct a geographical analysis. This included a study of the origin (hometown/high school) and diffusion (college/university) of the college players. In addition, compiling the necessary database to determine the overall team success of major college programs over the last decade was undertaken. This database includes college team location, overall success based on poll rankings, post-season involvement & tournament success and, number of All-Americans. An examination of the completed maps and quantitative analysis provides more insight into the present day spatial distribution of major college player origins and team success. Title: Wonder Valley: A Peculiar Place Author: Sowers, Jacob Keywords: place identity, community, existential ecotone Wonder Valley, California, in the southern Mojave Desert, is home to nearly 1,000 residents. It is situated on 150 square miles and centered between BLM wilderness, Joshua Tree National Park, the city of Twentynine Palms, and a Marine Base. To most, Wonder Valley is a peculiar place. Passersby have wondered why anyone would live within such a desolate desert landscape filled with a strange mélange of vernacular landscapes? The complexities of place identities/intentions of the residents provide the answer to the question and form the crux of this paper. Early settlers came for 2.5-acre tracts of land for health reasons in the 1950s. Decline increased and miscreants took over abandoned cabins and a serious crime problem developed. In the 1990’s Joshua Tree became a National Park and the amount of visitors exponentially rose. Artists from nearby cities moved in and saw the landscape as inspirational, and thus formed an art community making once abandoned cabins their home and studio. Bringing us to the current quagmire of a community with: ambiguously defined BLM wilderness acreage; dystopic liminal spaces; occupied homesteader cabins that are quintessential palimpsests; and artists and exurbanites caught amidst an existential ecotone of wilderness, rurality, and urban identities. Conference PostersTitle: "An Investigation into the Relationship of Tree Line to Farm Size:East Central Illinois, 1953-2007Author: Whippo, Tara Keywords: , , In the 1930s, agricultural regions suffered from soil erosion due to drought and wind activity. Subsequently, the soil conservation service suggested the planting of trees to form shelterbelts. This offered valuable benefits to property owners including reduced soil erosion and crop protection. In the late twentieth century and continuing today, there has been a removal of shelterbelts as farms have grown in size. The objective of this study is to determine the net loss of shelterbelts in east central Illinois. I hypothesize that the loss of shelterbelts corresponds to increasing farm size through time. Historic aerial photographs from 1953-2007 have been examined in three distinct physiographic regions within Coles County. The appropriate photography was analyzed at 20-30 year intervals. Tree lines were divided into three categories of classification, including mature, discontinuous, and spotty. My research has shown noticeable decreases in shelterbelts from 1952-2007. In 1952, approximately 5.79 linear miles of mature and discontinuous shelterbelt were accounted for. The amount of shelterbelts has since declined, ranging from 3.98 in 1960 to 3.20 miles of mature and discontinuous tree line in 2007. The loss of shelterbelts is due to increasing numbers of farmsteads and farm fields. Title: A GPS/GIS Analysis of Urban Streetlight Efficiency and Spatial Distribution Author: Hopper, R. Timothy Keywords: GPS, GIS, Streetlights With rising energy costs and environmental degradation being of concern to most people, it is imperative that citizens and municipalities attempt to reduce energy expenditures and promote responsible resource use. The objective of my research project was to analyze urban streetlight efficiency in Charleston, Illinois. I believe that each streetlight should have a certain cone of illumination that is emitted from the lamp. My goal was to analyze the cone sizes and intensities for each lamp type and then compare those results to see which lights would be most beneficial in certain areas. Using a GPS, 1,433 streetlights were mapped and stored in a database. Among this information was fixture style, wattage, and bulb type. Small samples, 3 to 5 lights of each configuration, were tested using a light meter. Intensity readings were taken at 5 foot intervals to provide a cone of illumination. I found that fixtures which used metal halide bulbs were more efficient in providing uniform coverage than those with high pressure sodium bulbs. In addition, metal halide bulbs provided more overall intensity than the same fixture with a high pressure sodium bulb. These results can be utilized to make informed decisions when replacing current streetlights. Title: An Investigation of a Soil Exposure Along Indian Creek, Ohio-Indiana Author: green, jerry Keywords: soil profile, land use, sedimentation Soil along Indian Creek, Ohio displays horizons reading upward as follows: A) bedrock, B) mixed silt/bedrock, C) silt, D) coarse sand/gravel capped by, E) a fifty-one inch silt layer. A literature review of settlement /sedimentation and valley alluviation produced two promising explanations for this exposure : 1) Knox proposed that such a sequence might result from land use changes following settlement accompanied by increased runoff. 2) Walter and Merritt proposed that such sequences could be silt layers associated with mill pond sedimentation. Research identified seven mill sites along Indian Creek, several in adjacent sections of the township, but none at the study site. This option was, therefore, removed from further consideration. A study of the watershed land use and flood histories indicates parallels to Knox's study suggesting a preliminary fit between the two observed cases ie the observed profile may be the result of agricultural land clearing associated with post settlement enhanced runoff and flooding. Future investigation calls for more accurate dating of the silt layer and a correlation of its composition with the watershed capstone material (loess). Title: Anasazi Red Ware of the Northern San Juan: A Spatio-Compositional Study Using ICP-MS & ArcGIS Author: DINASO, STEVEN Keywords: Ceramics, Provenience, Archaeology Compositional analysis of prehistoric ceramics and geological materials allow archaeologists to establish provenience of artifacts through comparative analysis of the materials used in prehistoric ceramic production. Where pottery clay pastes and tempering constituents originate from locally or regionally available geological materials, identifying their chemical composition and their geographic location and distribution facilitates a better understanding of the inter and intra socio-spatial and socioeconomic patterns among neighboring communities. Title: Anthropogenic Impacts on Soil Organic Matter at Ipsitch Prairie, Wisconsin Author: Trewartha, Rebecca Keywords: Biogeography, Human impacts on soil, Prairie Ipswich Prairie is one of the last remaining mesic remnant prairies in Southwest Wisconsin, and is important due to ongoing environmental research. The goal of the study is to determine human impacts on the prairie's organic composition by studying the soil in close proximity to a railroad grade. Ten meter square grids were placed according to terrain and location corresponding to the railroad grade, the road, and the farm fence line. We used a Leco oven to determine the amount of organic material by burning the samples at 550°C for five hours. The only major decrease in organic matter was found in proximity to the railroad grade. The average organic composition was approximately 12%. However, samples taken adjacent to the railroad grade resulted in only 8% organic matter. Future research needs to collect data closer to the road and farm fence to determine whether these human installations have had an impact. Title: Education Within Islamic Countries Author: Shabrou, Patricia Keywords: Education, Islamic Countries, Gender In this paper I will look at the educational systems of various Islamic countries. I will exam the correlation, if any, of culture, religious, and economic factors and their role in determining the type of education which is made available to the children. I will look at both boys and girls in primary and secondary levels and if available, the university. How much of a role do culture, religion, and economics play in determining the type of educational system a country has? I gathered my data and information from books on the culture, religion, and education of these countries. I also used internet sites such as UNESCO, World Bank, Population Reference Bureau, and the various Ministry of Education websites for each country. I was also able to interview some people from my local mosque who are from some of these Islamic countries and use their perspectives in my research. I came to the conclusion that although these countries are all Islamic, it is due to the different interpretations of Islam, the cultures, and the economies that these countries have such different educational systems. Title: Effects of stream bank stabilization on channel geomorphology and fish population, 1998-2006. Author: Gutowski, Vincent Keywords: bendway weir, stream bank stabilization, fish population An experimental bank stabilization technique, a Bendway Weir field, was installed along a half mile segment of the Embarras River near Toledo, Illinois. Bendway weirs, a network of barbs angled upstream, are designed to reduce cut bank erosion by forcing the thalweg nearer to the channel's center, away from the cut bank. The site was mapped in 1998, before installation of 21 weirs. After construction, surveys were performed each year (1999-2002). Weirs appear to be most effective at sites where Peaked Stone Toe Protection (PSTP) was added between weirs. In areas where no PSTP was present, the banks continued to erode in cusps downstream of each weir. The site was visited again in 2006 and there remains a shallowing of the scour pools along the majority of the reach, while between the first 6 weirs, the entire pool structure changed, from a 7 foot deep pool to a flat, sandy channel less than 18 inches deep. It was stated that the weirs would enhance the local fish population, however, this was found not to be the case. Species richness, the IBI, and species diversity all showed decreases between pre-construction status and when surveyed again 4 and 8 years later. Title: Examining Relationships Between Forest Stand Attributes and Multispectral Data in Southwestern Ohio Author: Maingi, John Keywords: forest stand, SPOT XS, Landsat TM Estimates of forest stand attributes are obtained in labor-intensive and time-consuming forest inventories. Efforts to make forest inventories more efficient and reduce cost are increasingly incorporating remotely-sensed. This study sought to establish whether forest stand attributes such as plot density, basal area, and various measures of species richness were correlated with Landsat TM and SPOT XS. In addition, the study sought to establish whether forest community types identified through ecological classifications and ordinations were spectrally distinct in multispectral images. Species diversity was best correlated with Moisture Vegetation Index (MVI5) obtained from Landsat TM image (r=-0.620, p< 0.01) while NDVI from SPOT XS image had the highest correlation with basal area (r=-0.694, p<0.01). Landsat TM band 1 had the best correlation with stand density. (r=-710, p<0.01). Jefferies-Matusita (JM) distances calculated for the six forest community types identified indicated that most were spectrally distinct with the exception of upland old-growth forest and upland second-growth forest. There were also some difficulties separating floodplain forest from upland second-growth forest. Landsat TM data were generally better at separating different forest communities compared to SPOT XS data. Title: Examining Spatial Mismatch in the Twin Cities Metro Area: An Urban GIS Seminar Project Author: Smith, Laura Keywords: GIS, spatial mismatch, transportation Investigations of the spatial mismatch hypothesis in U.S. cities have employed a variety of methods to try to measure the disconnect between jobs and residences. During the spring of 2008, students in my Urban GIS seminar examined the extent of spatial mismatch for various groups in the Twin Cities metro area using GIS and statistical analyses, as well as case studies of different residential and commercial areas. Using detailed worker origin-destination data from Minnesota's Department of Employment and Economic Development, we were able to map commuting patterns as well as residential and workplace area characteristics, and compare these to patterns of affordable housing and public transit access. Students found a mismatch in terms of basic spatial proximity and commuting distance measures, as well as a transportation mismatch both spatially and demographically. This poster describes the data and methods employed in the project, highlights key maps and research findings, and summarizes both our policy and research reflections. Title: Historical Analysis of Disturbance Zones on Finley Creek, SW Missouri Author: Martin, Derek Keywords: Bank Stability, Channel Change, Ozarks This project applies geographic information systems (GIS) and the use of historical aerial photograph analysis to quantify channel change and assess watershed- and reach-scale relationships among channel disturbance zones, riparian vegetation, bank erosion, and gravel bar distribution along Finley Creek, southwest Missouri. Historical aerial photograph coverage of the main stem of Finley Creek was acquired for the years 1955, 1979, and 2005. Channel bank lines, gravel bars, and riparian land cover were digitized from each of the georectified photographs and overlaid in a GIS in order to identify disturbance zones. Disturbance zones were organized into one of four types: (i) extension, (ii) translation, (iii) chute cutoff, or (iv) megabar. Spatial analyses were performed to examine possible controlling factors of disturbance type development and evolution such as tributary and sub-watershed inputs, valley characteristics, channel confinement, and landuse/landcover. Initial investigations suggest that tributary drainage area and land use as well as valley characteristics exert a strong influence on disturbance reach development, whereas riparian land cover appears to have a negligible effect. This finding may result from the "internal" forcing effect that excess gravel bar deposition has on the channel bank erosion that is independent of bank resistance offered by vegetation. Title: Nonpoint Source and Water Quality Trends in the Pearson Creek Watershed Author: Hutchison, Erin Keywords: water quality, baseflow, storm runoff The purpose of this one-year water quality monitoring study of Pearson Creek is to address unknown toxicity and nonpoint pollution sources including nutrients, metals, and bacteria to support efforts to develop a Total Maximum Daily Load. Pearson Creek Watershed is located east of Springfield, Missouri and drains 61 km2 at its confluence with the James River. The watershed is composed of mixed agricultural, urban, and forest land uses and there are management concerns that nonpoint and industrial releases may be degrading aquatic life in lower Pearson Creek. There are eight main channel sampling sites and seven tributary sites. To date, about eleven baseflow samples and nine storm runoff samples per site have been collected. Some tributaries are sampled only during the highest flows. Sites T1 and M8 have the highest concentrations to TSS during baseflow while sites T3 and M8 have the highest concentrations of TSS during storms. Site M8 has the highest concentration of TN during baseflow and site T4 has the highest concentration of TN during storms. Sites T1 and M4 have the highest concentrations of TP during baseflow and sites T4 and T6 have the highest concentrations of TP during storms. Title: Particle Size Distribution Across The Central Sand Plain Of Wisconsin Author: Morris, Bennett Keywords: Wisconsin, Sand, Particle-Size The Central Sand Plain (CSP) of Wisconsin is a relatively flat area covering ~9000 sq km. The CSP includes the basin of glacial Lake Wisconsin, which merges eastward with sandy outwash. Much of the surface was modified by the wind into dunes prior to landscape stabilization; however, dune thickness varies throughout the CSP. Large dunes, up to 15m high, are limited to a small area (~150 sq km) in the west central portion of the CSP. Proposed reasons for the distribution of thick eolian strata include melting of permafrost, elevation of the basin in relation to ground water, sediment inputs from the Wisconsin River, and sediment particle-size. Particle-size analysis of the large dunes shows that the median grain-size is between 200-300 microns. Therefore, if the distribution of thick eolian sand is controlled by particle-size, areas without dunes should be deficient in those grains. This project tests this hypothesis by analyzing ~100 samples across the CSP for particle size distribution. Based on these analyses, the northern portions of the CSP are to coarse for eolian transportation. However, the southern portion of the CSP has 300 micron grains but dunes are absent or small. Title: SPATIAL ANALYSIS OF EFFECTS OF IMPERVIOUS URBAN COVER ON RUNOFF Author: Muchiri, gitonga Keywords: Impervious Surface, GIS, Remote sensing, Stormwater Urbanization is increasingly leading to the creation impervious surfaces as cities continue to grow beyond their boundaries. This is illustrated in the case of Springfield and particularly its southern "bedroom" cities of Nixa and Ozark in Christian County, which continue to annex land (previously under pasture) and subdividing it into smaller lots for commercial and residential development. This study seeks to understand the impact of this alteration in land use to the quality of stormwater coming from these newly built enterprises. It is a fact that where impervious surfaces exist, there is a remarkably increased flow of stormwater that can no longer percolate. Using GIS and Remote Sensing tools, the study aims to map out the areas that have converted to impervious surface and determine the percentage change in land use. Using stormwater quality data from the field, the research seeks to make a determination of the impact of this landuse change as it relates to urban developments. Feature analyst tools are applied on 2005 NAIP aerial photo with an image resolution of 6 inches per pixel in order to accomplish this goal. The process calls for delineation of small neighborhoods and applying the results to a wider coverage area. Title: test Author: test, test Keywords: test, test, test test test test test test testtestv test test test test test test test test test test test test test test test test test test test Title: The effects of temperature and seed origin on germination and growth rates of sugar maple Author: McCarragher, Shannon Keywords: Climate Change, Biogeography, Sugar Maple Sugar maple (Acer saccharum) is recognized as being sensitive to changes in climate, as well as, an important species in eastern North America for both economic and ecological reasons. In general, it is within the earliest stages of development that plants are most vulnerable to outside events that are not conducive to the subsequent developmental stages. For that reason, this study explored: (A) whether seed origin affected sugar maple germination and growth rates in the field, and (B) whether temperature at and above the optimal germination temperature (1 degree Celsius) affected sugar maple germination in a laboratory growth chamber. To address those topics, sugar maple samaras were collected from sites near sugar maple's northern, central, and southern portions of its range. Seeds from the northern, central, and southern locations were then redistributed into reciprocal transplant plots at the northern and central study sites. Subsequent measurements, such as growth and success rates, were taken from the reciprocal transplant plots over a two year period. Simultaneously, seeds from each location were also placed in a growth chamber for three, three-month germination trials, at different temperatures (1, 7, and 14 degrees Celsius). From those lab trials, baseline germination viability rates were obtained. Title: The Geography of Advertising and Neighborhood Gentrification in 3 Chicago Neighborhoods Author: Kulemeka, Owen Keywords: urban renewal, low-income, Illinois This poster presents findings from a study that is examining how urban renewal affects the type and locations of advertising in a neighborhood. In the US, many low income urban neighborhoods are filled with outdoor ads. This is because residents of these neighborhoods often lack the power to restrict how advertisers use outdoor space. Advertisers take advantage of social disorganization and physical blight to place ads on unregulated spaces such as abandoned buildings. The study is being conducted in three Chicago neighborhoods undergoing different stages of urban renewal: West Englewood, North Lawndale, and Kenwood-Oakland. Data is being collected by recording the locations and content of ads in each neighborhood using a geographic information system and photographs. The poster will provide insight into how the redevelopment of buildings and arrival of residents with higher incomes has affected the number, locations, physical types, and themes of advertising in each neighborhood. This insight can be useful to those seeking to understand the relationship between advertising and the physical environment. Title: The Geography Police Misconduct in the United States, 1999-2005 Author: Lopez, Jose Javier Keywords: police malpractice, geography of crime, crime mapping Police misconduct has been a serious problem in every modern society throughout the world. Although the majority of law enforcement officers in the United States are of the highest moral and ethical standing, this highly developed country is not immune to police malpractice. Until the previous work by Jose Javier Lopez and Pedro M. Thomas during the 1990s, social scientists and policy makers concerned about the spatial dynamics of crime have ignored, at least in the formal literature of their fields, the geographic understanding of law enforcement misconduct. It is within their work lies the foundation of the present analysis. The main research objective is to use thematic maps to illustrate the regional distribution of police malpractice during the 1999-2005 period, an era not analyzed by Thomas and Lopez. Additionally, the study contrasts these relatively recent patterns with the official misconduct geography reported by Lopez and Thomas during the 1989-1999 period. This analysis stresses the comparison of state rankings between two eras. The preliminary findings demonstrate a northern flow of police malpractice clusters, from the Gulf States to the interior lowlands of the U.S. Title: The Geography Police Misconduct in the United States, 1999-2005 Author: Bruss, Nathan James Keywords: police malpractice, geography of crime, crime mapping Police misconduct has been a serious problem in every modern society throughout the world. Although the majority of law enforcement officers in the United States are of the highest moral and ethical standing, this highly developed country is not immune to police malpractice. Until the previous work by Jose Javier Lopez and Pedro M. Thomas during the 1990s, social scientists and policy makers concerned about the spatial dynamics of crime have ignored, at least in the formal literature of their fields, the geographic understanding of law enforcement misconduct. It is within their work lies the foundation of the present analysis. The main research objective is to use thematic maps to illustrate the regional distribution of police malpractice during the 1999-2005 period, an era not analyzed by Thomas and Lopez. Additionally, the study contrasts these relatively recent patterns with the official misconduct geography reported by Lopez and Thomas during the 1989-1999 period. This analysis stresses the comparison of state rankings between two eras. The preliminary findings demonstrate a northern flow of police malpractice clusters, from the Gulf States to the interior lowlands of the U.S. Title: Using Quickbird imagery to map macrophyte beds in Creek Lake Author: Gidley, Susan Keywords: macrophyte, Quickbird, satellite imagery Large scale mapping of aquatic macrophytes using traditional survey methods is difficult because of the time, expense and challenges involved. Yet maps of aquatic macrophyte beds are needed in order to monitor water quality and the impact of invasive species on freshwater lakes. A case study of Cree Lake in Noble County, Indiana was done to test the effectiveness of remote sensing in mapping macrophyte beds in preparation for a further study of ten lakes in the 2008 field season. QuickBird satellite imagery, field surveys, digital photographs, and GPS information about the macrophyte beds in Cree Lake were obtained during the peak growth season in 2007. An unsupervised classification of the satellite imagery divided the macrophyte beds into several categories based upon their spectral signatures. This was then compared to the field data to find the correlation between spectral signature and the make up of the macrophyte beds. A pattern between spectral signature and plant structure emerged, though it is unclear if plants can be identified to the species level. Careful analysis of mixed-species beds and algae covered submerged vegetation is still needed. The test case shows that mapping of macrophyte beds is feasible, although technical issues remain. |
