On May tenth, 2004 Monsanto announced that it would discontinue breeding and field level research of transgenic Roundup Ready (RR) wheat. This decision was heavily influenced by the widespread rejection of RR wheat by Canadian prairie producers who voiced their opposition through a diverse coalition of rural and urban organizations. With six of the nine member organizations representing rural and farm groups, this research departs from the most common representation of anti-GM movements as being urban and European-centred. This dissertation contrasts the general acceptance of Monsanto’s Roundup Ready canola just five years earlier (in the mid 90s) with the widespread opposition amongst prairie producers to RR wheat. It uses an updated version of the agrarian question and the production of nature thesis to show how capitalist relations are differentiated across place and commodities. The research finds that producer resistance to RR wheat hinged on the specificities of local histories and institutions, cultural conceptions of worth and economic fair treatment, and the character of wheat as a commodity with particular biophysical properties. The research is also concerned with the ways in which producers articulated their resistance with and through discourses of consumption, while at the same time rejecting the attempts made by proponents of RR wheat to relegate them to consuming subjects, who would best register their dissent by voting with their dollars on the market. For many prairie farm organizations, the fate of the family farm is tied up with the future of wheat farming and the capacity of farmers to collectively market their wheat in international markets. Monsanto’s vision for the future of prairie wheat crossed moral and cultural boundaries for producers and organizations that understood themselves as active subjects.

This thesis examines the confluence between pan-Islamist politics, neo-liberalism and urban development in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. After tracing a history of the Islamic revival in Bosnia, I examine the results of neo-liberal policy in post-war Bosnia, particularly regarding the promises of neo-liberal institutions and think tanks that privatization and inflows of foreign direct investment (FDI) would de-politicize the economy and strip ethno-religious nationalist elites of their power over state-owned firms. By analyzing three prominent new urban developments in Sarajevo, all financed by FDI from the Islamic world and brought about by the privatization of urban real-estate, I show how neo-liberal policy has had unintended outcomes in Sarajevo that contradict the assertions of policy makers. In examining urban change, I bring out the role played by the city in mediating between both elites and citizens, and between the seemingly contradictory projects of pan-Islamism and neo-liberalism.

What part does migration play in the construction and reconstruction of social identity? What kind of social relations are produced and reproduced through the migration process? What are the manifestations of power involved in the process of constructing and negotiating social identities through space? These are the central questions in this research. This research not only draws upon current literature on migrant women, but also expands it to address the complexity of construction of social identities and places through migration processes by incorporating critical social theories and feminist geography into the research. I examine embodied geographical experiences and the geography of emotions, by looking at current Taiwanese migrant women’s everyday practices in Toronto. This research provides concrete examples – from a substantial sample of individuals – to support feminist geographers’ arguments on women’s experiences in space. I employ Bourdieu’s concept of habitus to illustrate how personal and private space is constructed and reconstructed by a complex interplay between different discourses and practices, and how new spaces and practices are created for new identity claims. I also examine how the dynamics of habitus shifts through displacement. By looking at the generative aspect of habitus, this research extends the existing scope of the notion of habitus. Collecting more than 125 hours of in-depth interviews with Taiwanese migrant women in Toronto, I examine multidimensional re-configurations of the everyday practices of Taiwanese migrant women in Toronto. Research findings regarding the hidden geography of everyday language practice, the reconstruction of food culture and the exploration of culinary practice, the negotiation of home practice, and the creation of new spaces for new identity claims provide a complicated picture that grasps the contingency and fluidity of identity construction. In addition to concepts of ‘third space’ and ‘paradoxical space,’ my research shows that metaphoric expressions, what I call ‘glass wall’, ‘comfort zone’, ‘unlocked spaces’, ‘dialogical space’ and ‘provocative space’ are important to unveil dynamic pictures of geographical experiences along migration. Indeed, space plays an integral role in the making of social identity.

This thesis examines the confluence between pan-Islamist politics, neo-liberalism and urban development in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. After tracing a history of the Islamic revival in Bosnia, I examine the results of neo-liberal policy in post-war Bosnia, particularly regarding the promises of neo-liberal institutions and think tanks that privatization and inflows of foreign direct investment (FDI) would de-politicize the economy and strip ethno-religious nationalist elites of their power over state-owned firms. By analyzing three prominent new urban developments in Sarajevo, all financed by FDI from the Islamic world and brought about by the privatization of urban real-estate, I show how neo-liberal policy has had unintended outcomes in Sarajevo that contradict the assertions of policy makers. In examining urban change, I bring out the role played by the city in mediating between both elites and citizens, and between the seemingly contradictory projects of pan-Islamism and neo-liberalism.

This research examines representations of condominiums in the real estate section of the Toronto Star from 1967 through 1997, and in the Star’s Condo Living section between 1997 and 2007. I depart from conventional approaches by evaluating the articles as well as the advertisements that comprise the real estate section, based on the assumption that the context in which these texts appear is significant: a major newspaper is not a neutral vehicle, and ads and articles—consumed together, as they are in a print newspaper—will interact in creating representations of condominiums. The Condo Living section in particular is seen to perform a number of brand-like activities, most obviously in positioning the Toronto high-rise condominium as a dwelling that is particularly well-suited to young, middle-class women. This occurs partly as a function of the frequency with which women are portrayed as condominium owners. Beyond this, however, I show how the advertisements and articles in Condo Living help remake the public image of the condominium by countering existing stigmas attached to high-rise living. The section also helps to differentiate the condominium from other dwelling types by emphasizing elaborate amenities and making claims to urbanity through high-profile cultural and entertainment events. Perhaps most importantly, I demonstrate how the leading present-day design aesthetic—a reworking of midcentury modernisms—came to thoroughly dominate the image and the built form of the recent-era condominium. Positioning the condominium as a design-led dwelling type had profound implications: due to the links between design and high-end fashion, health and beauty items, the condominium immediately became a member of an aspirational product category associated with women, wealth, style and glamour. In addition to positioning the condominium as ‘naturally’ suited to young single, women, it removed the condo from direct competition with the single-family house, allowing it to be perceived as a desirable and distinct—rather than denigrated—dwelling type.

This thesis examines children’s (aged 11-12) ideas about climate change. Seventh grade children in 9 schools in Ontario were interviewed and submitted illustrated responses about climate change over a one year period of data collection. Qualitative grounded theory was used to allow themes from the data to emerge, and the use of computer software, NVivo7, was used to code and classify themes. The data were analyzed to answer three main research questions. First, the thesis explored if there were common similarities or differences between the children’s and adults’ responses (as gained from the literature). Second, children’s responses were grouped by geographical location. These locations included rural, urban, and suburban school. This was conducted in order to determine if any group differences exist among children in these three areas. The study found that children’s and adults perceptions are quite similar, and that in some situations, both groups tend to use substitution of other environmental knowledge (cultural models) in lieu of knowledge of climate change but that children also tended to use different cultural models to explain their ideas about climate change. The thesis concluded that no group differences existed among rural, urban, and suburban children and children in all groups tended to have much more detailed knowledge of mitigation strategies than the effects and causes of climate change. The thesis also concluded that a new educational framework, modeled after the Causes, Effects, and Mitigation Strategies of Climate Change (CEM Framework) ought to be used to redistribute this knowledge across these three areas.

This research examines representations of condominiums in the real estate section of the Toronto Star from 1967 through 1997, and in the Star’s Condo Living section between 1997 and 2007. I depart from conventional approaches by evaluating the articles as well as the advertisements that comprise the real estate section, based on the assumption that the context in which these texts appear is significant: a major newspaper is not a neutral vehicle, and ads and articles—consumed together, as they are in a print newspaper—will interact in creating representations of condominiums. The Condo Living section in particular is seen to perform a number of brand-like activities, most obviously in positioning the Toronto high-rise condominium as a dwelling that is particularly well-suited to young, middle-class women. This occurs partly as a function of the frequency with which women are portrayed as condominium owners. Beyond this, however, I show how the advertisements and articles in Condo Living help remake the public image of the condominium by countering existing stigmas attached to high-rise living. The section also helps to differentiate the condominium from other dwelling types by emphasizing elaborate amenities and making claims to urbanity through high-profile cultural and entertainment events. Perhaps most importantly, I demonstrate how the leading present-day design aesthetic—a reworking of midcentury modernisms—came to thoroughly dominate the image and the built form of the recent-era condominium. Positioning the condominium as a design-led dwelling type had profound implications: due to the links between design and high-end fashion, health and beauty items, the condominium immediately became a member of an aspirational product category associated with women, wealth, style and glamour. In addition to positioning the condominium as ‘naturally’ suited to young single, women, it removed the condo from direct competition with the single-family house, allowing it to be perceived as a desirable and distinct—rather than denigrated—dwelling type.

What part does migration play in the construction and reconstruction of social identity? What kind of social relations are produced and reproduced through the migration process? What are the manifestations of power involved in the process of constructing and negotiating social identities through space? These are the central questions in this research. This research not only draws upon current literature on migrant women, but also expands it to address the complexity of construction of social identities and places through migration processes by incorporating critical social theories and feminist geography into the research. I examine embodied geographical experiences and the geography of emotions, by looking at current Taiwanese migrant women’s everyday practices in Toronto. This research provides concrete examples – from a substantial sample of individuals – to support feminist geographers’ arguments on women’s experiences in space. I employ Bourdieu’s concept of habitus to illustrate how personal and private space is constructed and reconstructed by a complex interplay between different discourses and practices, and how new spaces and practices are created for new identity claims. I also examine how the dynamics of habitus shifts through displacement. By looking at the generative aspect of habitus, this research extends the existing scope of the notion of habitus. Collecting more than 125 hours of in-depth interviews with Taiwanese migrant women in Toronto, I examine multidimensional re-configurations of the everyday practices of Taiwanese migrant women in Toronto. Research findings regarding the hidden geography of everyday language practice, the reconstruction of food culture and the exploration of culinary practice, the negotiation of home practice, and the creation of new spaces for new identity claims provide a complicated picture that grasps the contingency and fluidity of identity construction. In addition to concepts of ‘third space’ and ‘paradoxical space,’ my research shows that metaphoric expressions, what I call ‘glass wall’, ‘comfort zone’, ‘unlocked spaces’, ‘dialogical space’ and ‘provocative space’ are important to unveil dynamic pictures of geographical experiences along migration. Indeed, space plays an integral role in the making of social identity.

Master of Arts / Department of Geography / Melinda Daniels / The US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) has begun side channel restoration projects on the Missouri River as part of the Missouri River Recovery Program. The USACE acquires land on the Missouri River needed to develop fish and wildlife habitat. There is a need to prioritize which land to purchase on the Missouri River. High priority land would be areas that had side channels and can be constructed to restore ecosystems to a more natural state. Much of the river has since been dammed, straightened, and channelized starting heavily in the mid 1890’s, and historical side channels have been eliminated, leaving little information to guide USACE efforts to restore them. My thesis documents the historical distribution of side channels on the Missouri River between St. Louis and Kansas City and explores the relationships between side channel location and a variety of potential driving variables, including channel sinuosity, valley width, valley slope and the presence of large confluences. This is the first know study to document the historical extent of side channels on a major river system, and it is also the first to quantitatively explore driving variables of side channel formation. The historical analysis revealed abundant side channels in the late 1800’s, with a dramatic decline into the early 1920’s as engineering works on the river began in earnest. Results also show that high channel sinuosity and the presence of a large confluences are the two variables most correlated with side channel formation. Based on documented frequencies and locations of historical side channels, recommendations for specific side channel restoration opportunities are also highlighted.

Master of Arts / Department of Geography / Lisa M. Harrington / The Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) was established by the Food Security Act of 1985 for the purpose of retiring environmentally sensitive cropland for a period of ten to fifteen years. The initial focus of the program was to reduce on-site soil erosion and excess crop production, however the program benefits were later expanded to include water quality and wildlife habitat among others. The overall success of the CRP has been questioned due to the occurrence of slippage. The term ‘slippage’ as it relates to the CRP occurs when producers plant newly cultivated land or fallow acres, offsetting acreage that is retired through enrollment in the reserve program. The goal of this study is to measure the degree to which slippage has affected the CRP within the state of Kansas; and to analyze the relationship between agricultural commodity output prices and input cost with respect to county level slippage rates. Annual slippage calculations for all one-hundred and five counties within Kansas for the period of 1995-2005 reveal significant spatial disparity, with the vast majority of slippage occurring in the western two-thirds of the state. Annual fluctuations in slippage rates varied both regionally and at the county level. Maximum annual slippage was seen in the northwest, with slippage rates in excess of 100 percent; thus the CRP was entirely ineffective in regards to reducing overall land in production. Minimums were located primarily in the southeast and included slippage values below zero percent; indicating a reduction in acreage beyond that of the CRP. To analyze the relationship between agricultural commodity output prices and input costs with CRP slippage, a multivariate regression model was used. The regression analysis ultimately showed a significant lack of fit within the model, indicating the need for additional predictor variables in order to account for variations in CRP slippage rates. Although the model does indicate the presence of a minor relationship between the selected variables of agricultural commodity output prices and input costs with CRP slippage rates, further analysis is needed to identify additional county level variables impacting slippage.