Thesis (M.S.)--University of Nevada, Reno, 2008. / "August, 2008." Includes bibliographical references (leaves 185-194). Online version available on the World Wide Web.

The cemetery is a feature of the human landscape. It has been described as a memorial to the living as well as to the dead because it reflects the various sustaining mechanisms of the society which creates it. Wealth, prestige, kinship, ethnic and religious barriers are all represented to a degree in the cemetery. This study focuses on the rural cemetery landscape of southern British Columbia in the social and economic context of the 19th century. The cemetery is first described in subjective terms as a series of vignettes. The aesthetic qualities of the cemetery are stressed and the emotions they evoke are considered. A more rigorous examina tion of the rural graveyard landscape in southern British Columbia follows Chapter 1, where the results of field work are presented. The scene is set for an interpretation of that landscape in Chapter 3, including a discussion of English and American antecedents in cemetery planning and ‘death’s celebration’ in the 19th century. Chapter 4 considers the rural cemetery landscape of southern British Columbia as a reflection of 19th century society in that province. / Arts, Faculty of / Geography, Department of / Graduate

No abstract

This thesis posits that throughout history, the Western city has been made and understood according to a shared image of the cosmos. It argues that though the contours of this cosmos have changed over time and place, collectively held understandings of the city endure to the present day. Drawing on literary and cultural theory, this way of understanding the city may be conceptualised as ??magical??, that is incorporating knowledge which is hermeneutic and mythical, as well as empirical. The specific example of places of the dead, understood as cemeteries, memorials and other locations at which the dead are actually or symbolically interred, is used in this thesis to test the notion that that the city may continue to be understood as a reflection of world view. Places of the dead provide an appropriate test case for this task, as their forms and locations have clear associations with temporally and culturally specific understandings of the city. This thesis applies textual analysis and discourse analysis to seven case studies of contemporary places of the dead in order to examine the way in which the magic of the city may operate in one typology of place. It considers the representation of these case studies in a large array of texts, with particular emphasis on fictional, and thus potentially ??magical??, texts such as novels, television series and architectural drawings, as well as postcards, movies, cartoons, photographs, songs and paintings. The results of the case studies are used to argue not only that the city continues to be understood using a wide variety of ways of knowing, but also that these alternative epistemologies offer insights into contemporary cities which are not gained through the use of conventional methodologies.

The purpose of this research has been to evaluate the potential contamination impact of cemeteries on groundwater. A comprehensive study of the groundwaters in the unsaturated and saturated zones of nine Australian cemeteries has been made, with most sampling between October 1996 and August 1998. Periodic sampling from 83 wells or ponds yielded 305 complete samples which were tested for at least 38 inorganic and 5 bacterial analytes. Other, partially complete samples were used for metals and bacterial analyses. The soils of all sites were tested for a range of analytes that might reflect or affect the presence of human decomposition products. The within-cemetery sampling has allowed inorganic chemical characterisation of cemetery groundwaters to an amount of detail not previously attained. In the past 100 years there have been fewer than 12 sampling-based studies published on any of these matters. The forms of nitrogen feature most prominently, but three groupings of analytes are recognised as major contributors, including Na, Mg, Sr, Cl, SO4 and forms of P; these outcomes are similar in each hydrogeological zone. This study is unique in that it has a broad focus on the environmental impacts in respect of bacterial presence and transmission, heavy metals and nutrients, and has put these into the context of cemetery management and operational practices. Cemetery functions are best understood conceptually as a special kind of landfill but they are strongly influenced by the temporal and spatial variability of cemetery practices. Human decomposition mechanisms and products are considered in detail. This information was used to model the impacts for a large municipal cemetery over a twenty year time-frame. The previously unquantified relationship of cemetery proximity to drinking water wells has been determined and guiding principles for cemetery location and operation have been prepared including separation distances from watertables and specification of buffer zones in different hydrogeological settings. The related issue of the disposition of cremated remains is also considered and guidelines developed for scattering of these within buffer zones. The amounts of decomposition products leaving cemeteries are very small, and well sited and managed cemeteries have a low impact on the environment. Cemeteries should not be regarded as a detrimental landuse and the in-soil interment of human remains and re-use of graves are sustainable activities. However, almost all cemeteries have some potential for pollution. The most serious situation is the escape of pathogenic bacteria or viruses into the environment at large. The answer to the question as to ‘whether any one cemetery pollutes?’ depends on the location and operation of the site in adherence to the affecting parameters. The question can only be resolved by a comprehensive geoscientific investigation with a focus on the hydrogeological setting. Such assessment needs to consider the effects if the practices and/or usage patterns within the cemetery change, or if there are unaccounted changes in impacting natural phenomena like floods.

Thesis (M.Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 104-106)

No description available.

This thesis posits that throughout history, the Western city has been made and understood according to a shared image of the cosmos. It argues that though the contours of this cosmos have changed over time and place, collectively held understandings of the city endure to the present day. Drawing on literary and cultural theory, this way of understanding the city may be conceptualised as ??magical??, that is incorporating knowledge which is hermeneutic and mythical, as well as empirical. The specific example of places of the dead, understood as cemeteries, memorials and other locations at which the dead are actually or symbolically interred, is used in this thesis to test the notion that that the city may continue to be understood as a reflection of world view. Places of the dead provide an appropriate test case for this task, as their forms and locations have clear associations with temporally and culturally specific understandings of the city. This thesis applies textual analysis and discourse analysis to seven case studies of contemporary places of the dead in order to examine the way in which the magic of the city may operate in one typology of place. It considers the representation of these case studies in a large array of texts, with particular emphasis on fictional, and thus potentially ??magical??, texts such as novels, television series and architectural drawings, as well as postcards, movies, cartoons, photographs, songs and paintings. The results of the case studies are used to argue not only that the city continues to be understood using a wide variety of ways of knowing, but also that these alternative epistemologies offer insights into contemporary cities which are not gained through the use of conventional methodologies.

Thesis (M.Arch.) - Carleton University, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 105-107). Also available in electronic format on the Internet.

Thesis (M.H.P.)--University of Georgia, 2001. / Directed by Jason Oliver Smith. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 87-90).