Browsing by Subject "geography"
Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
Results Per Page
Sort Options
Item Globalization and the Texas metropolises: competition and complementarity in the Texas Urban Triangle(2009-05-15) Gavinha, Jose Antonio dos ReisThis dissertation examines relationships between cities, and more specifically the largest Texas cities, and the global economy. Data on headquarters location and corporation sales over a 20-year period (1984-2004) supported the hypothesis that globalization is not homogeneous, regular or unidirectional, but actually showed contrasted phases. Texas cities have been raising in global rankings, due to corporate relocations and, to lesser extent, the growth of local activities. By year 2004, Dallas and Houston ranked among the top-20 headquarters cities measured by corporation sales The Texas Urban Triangle had one of the major global concentrations of oil- and computer-related corporation headquarters; conversely, key sectors like banking, insurance and automotive were not significant. Standardized employment data in major U.S. metropolitan areas was examined through principal components analyses. Overall, larger places showed higher degrees of diversity, and no trend toward economic convergence. The TUT also presented a degree of intra-regional diversity comparable to other urban regions. Findings confirmed the relevance of oil- and information-related activities, along with construction, and weakness of activities linked to finance and corporate management. Traffic and air linkages in Texas cities were contrasted to other American gateways. Dallas and Houston have been major nodes in global air transportation, with very important roles as transit hubs for domestic (the former) and short international (the latter) flights. For long-haul international traffic both cities were second-level American gateways, with Houston mobilizing better connected to Western Europe and Mesoamerica, and Dallas to South America and East Asia. Dallas central location strengthened its role in the domestic market, as the center of one of the five major subsystems in the country and a top gateway in enplanements, number of linkages and connectivity measures. The Texas air travel network hierarchical organization was relatively unbalanced, with two strong nodes at the top, three little-relevant middle nodes, and several very poorly interconnected gateways at the bottom. Finally, the high supply of regional flights between primary destinations, namely Dallas and Houston, resulted in significant effects of time-space convergence. Such effects were only found between highly-connected major gateways, and completely bypassed other places, independently of their size and relative location.Item “Mapping the Southwest”: UNT-UTA Collaborative Project(2012-05-25) Alemneh, Daniel; Jones, Jerrell; Hodges, Ann; University of North Texas; University of Texas at ArlingtonMapping the Southwest is a 3-year project (2010 to 2013) funded by a National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) We the People grant. For this project, the University of North Texas (UNT) Libraries partner with the University of Texas at Arlington (UTA) Library’s Special Collections to digitize 5,000 historically-significant (mostly) rare maps. The collection includes maps dating from 1493 to the present and features noted cartographers. While containing maps of all parts of the world, the collection particularly emphasizes the region of the Gulf Coast and the Greater Southwest, which has been defined as the area comprising the state of Texas and the other southwestern states annexed by the United States after the U.S. War with Mexico of 1846-1848. All of the materials digitized for this grant project will be available online for free public access through The Portal to Texas History. More than 1,000 items are already available at http://texashistory.unt.edu/explore/collections/UTAM/browse/. We have registered almost 20,000 uses, and as we complete the project, we expect even more users around the world to access this new collection. In addition to showcasing the cartography of the region, the Mapping the Southwest project seeks to promote best practices and to advance the capacity of academic libraries to reliably curate, preserve, and provide seamless access to historic maps, atlases, and related wide-format items. This panel brings together diverse stakeholders and provides information on the project’s background, deliverables, workflow, and major areas of activity. The participants on this panel will discuss a number of issues from both institutions’ perspectives: • The UTA group will discuss the importance of the collection, selection criteria, cataloging and metadata operations (including workflow for maps without existing MARC records), preparation of the maps for transporting, and the possible impact of the project in facilitating access to such unique and valuable resources. • The UNT team will discuss organization and management of collaborative activities, workflow for capturing and processing digital images of the maps, assessments and enhancements of the quality of the digital images and metadata records, ensuring long-term access and key lessons learned along the way. As we are now starting the second half of the Mapping the Southwest project lifecycle, the project team looks forward to sharing its progress at the upcoming 2012 TCDL Conference.Item Population genetic structure of Conophthorus ponderosae Hopkins (Coleoptera: Scolytidae) inferred from mitochondrial DNA haplotypes(Texas A&M University, 2006-10-30) Menard, Katrina LouisePine cone beetles (Conophthorus sp.) are serious pests of many forest ecosystems since they burrow into pine cone tissues for egg deposition, causing the death of the seeds. Management of these beetles in natural and commercial stands of pines has been problematic due to lack of understanding about species limits and distribution. This study was conducted to investigate the phylogeography and phylogenetics of the genus. Several species represented by disjunct populations appear to be monophyletic including Conophthorus edulis, C. mexicanus, C. coniperda, and C. conicollens, whereas C. ponderosae is polyphyletic with many distinct clades isolated by geography. This study explored whether host use or geography has played a greater role in the diversification of this genus, focusing on the polyphyletic C. ponderosae and the monophyletic C. edulis. In the first study, 751bp of the mtDNA CO1 gene were sequenced to reconstruct a phylogeny of the genus, and the distribution and host use were compared to investigate whether these factors were significantly associated. The second study addressed population structure and possible historical influences on the C. edulis and C. ponderosae populations using a nested clade analysis of the mtDNA haplotypes. Despite potential limitations due to sampling, several conclusions could be drawn. Three separate haplotype networks were found for the C. ponderosae haplotypes, indicating that there have been at least three lineages that have associated with P. ponderosa. Geography was significantly associated with the phylogeny at greater distances (>900km), but host use was not significant. At the species level, association with geography is variable. Population structure for C. ponderosae at the species level is minimal, and suggests that there has not been much time for lineage sorting of the haplotypes based on the nested clade analysis as compared to C. edulis.Item Teaching the tool of the trade: an exploration of teachers' beliefs, knowledge, and practices about maps(Texas A&M University, 2004-09-30) Acheson, GillianMaps are the integral tool of geography. The importance of maps to geographic literacy is reflected in the National Geography Standards (Geography Education Implementation Project 1994): the first essential element, the World in Spatial Terms, details the significance of map comprehension to spatial thinking. Despite that centrality, there is little research which tells us how maps are used in the classroom. This study considers Texas teachers' instructional practices with regards to maps. The following questions are addressed: (1) what are teachers' beliefs and knowledge about maps; (2) what are teachers' practices regarding their use; and, (3) to what extent do teachers understand the curricular requirements related to maps? The study was conducted in two phases. During Phase I, a survey was completed by eighty-eight teacher-members of the Texas Alliance for Geographic Education. In Phase II, eleven teachers were selected from the pool of survey respondents for interviews and classroom observations. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and qualitative techniques. Analysis included evaluation of teachers' practices along a map skills continuum, which was adapted from National Assessment of Educational Progress' (NAEP) standards in geography, the National Geography Standards, and the state curriculum, the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS). The continuum evaluated teachers by grade (elementary, middle, or high school) and proficiency (basic, proficient, or advanced). Teachers in Phase II were representative of the grade and proficiency levels of the survey respondents. Results indicate that map instruction focuses on learning cartographic terminology, performing basic map tasks, and identifying locations. The more advanced tasks illustrated in the continuum are largely absent. The teachers in this study generally had a limited conceptualization of maps and their uses; that limited conceptualization constrained their practices and their understanding of the curricular requirements regarding map skills. Consequently, map instruction does not occur in the rich way conceptualized by the Standards, NAEP, or the TEKS. The implication is that teachers' conceptualization of maps must be improved. This goal could be accomplished by providing teachers with professional development experiences and curricular tools that will enhance their understanding of maps and their many uses.