This is an inquiry into the evolution of the North American suburb by way of review of notable historical precedents of various types of suburban developments. / A precept of this thesis is that the current, dominant form of urbanization is of a suburban nature, characterized by vast areas of low-density, single-use, disjointed compartments of daily life; that suburbanization has become the physical de-construction of community; and that suburbanization at its most extreme is ultimately deleterious to a healthy society and environmentally unsustainable. The suburban environment is far from the desired ideal and in fact is an aberration. / Given our seemingly innate desire for the ideal of a "home within a garden," and through the inquiry into the successes and failures of past planned suburbs, it is hoped that a better understanding and a melding of the ideal and an equitable reality can be obtained, promoting a healthy, vibrant sense of community that is environmentally sustainable. / The examples of planned suburban precedents that are examined include industrial towns, railroad and streetcar suburbs, as well as pre- and post-war automobile suburbs. Also there is some examination of utopian and alternative planning theories as well as contemporary examples of successful planned communities. All of which provide a greater understanding of the principles that must be applied to address the issues of our future urbanization process, which will likely be of a suburban nature. / It is hoped that through this inquiry into successful suburban precedents, that a clearer understanding can be achieved of how to more closely attain the individual ideal of a home within a garden, while balancing the collective needs of a community and sustainability, within an inherently chaotic, free-market process.

Classification and mapping of ecological zones on a global scale has been a topic of research for many years. This research looks at the development of a global spatial database of ecological zones for the FRA 2000 Report of the United Nations FAO. Besides evaluating the most appropriate type of classification scheme for this purpose, it explores and demonstrates how existing data, for the United States and Canada, can be reclassified to match the FAO classification scheme. Accuracy of mapping is a synergistic function of error, uncertainty, and quality. An assessment of the draft FAO Level D Ecological Zone map was performed which classifies 10-year average, bi-monthly, smoothed AVHRR-NDVI composites of the conterminous United States by applying linear discriminant and decision tree analyses. The results of the linear discriminant analysis were more significantly correlated to the FAO classes, although both approaches suggest that the classification scheme does maximize between-class variance of the NDVI temporal series.

This study analyses certain aspects of the relationship between culture and technology by using the example of the 35mm still photographic camera. Methodologically, the study integrates two perspectives in communication theory, namely diffusion of innovation and cultural studies. The study consists of five segments. First, the need for technological innovation is defined in terms of developing social formations. Secondly, the history of photographic research and development is traced in terms of various models of industrial development, and in terms of the horizontal and vertical integration of manufacturing. The commercialization of the camera is treated in relation to the history of markets, and their disturbances by war and other political developments. Next, the study provides an analysis of specialty magazine advertising as it relates to the 35mm camera. Finally, the adoption and utilization of this new technology are discussed in terms of the competing interests of various social formations in modern society.

Graduation date: 1971

Graduation date: 1983

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hawaii at Manoa, 1990. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 143-148) / Microfiche. / iv, 148 leaves, bound 29 cm

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington. / Bibliography: l. [452]-472.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington. / Bibliography: l. [140]-143.

Thesis (M.S. - Agricultural Economics)--University of Arizona, 1985. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 114-115).

Thesis (M.A. - Anthropology)--University of Arizona. / Bibliography: leaves [82-83].