Master of Landscape Architecture / Department of Landscape Architecture/Regional and Community Planning / Blake Belanger / This master’s project and report examines the correlation between social inequity and vacancy to develop a phased revitalization strategy for Raytown, Missouri. The perception of vacant built landscapes cause people to interpret places as having no productive use (Corbin 2003). Vacant spaces appear void of opportunities and are fueled by a capitalist society where markets move toward the urban fringe in order to remain competitive (Fainstein 2010). Vacancy creates a cultural response that “erodes the local social fabric, [signifying] the ills of neglect, [and] communicating to people the futility of inner-city living” (Jakle and Wilson 1992, 175). As a result, people passing through a community dismiss these vacant spaces because what they see is a place of little value. The perception of vacancy can lead to severe social inequity as society’s affluent members move from inner-city cores. Economic viability and the overall quality of life begins to decrease. Building on the Creating Sustainable Places Initiative for the Kansas City region and planning efforts for redeveloping the currently unused Rock Island Rail Corridor, this project explores how vacant built landscapes within Raytown’s Central Business District can be reprogrammed to establish place identity. Through critical mapping, key equity dilemmas at the metropolitan level are brought forth to identify issues that can be addressed through corridor redevelopment in Raytown. Mapping vacancies in the Raytown CBD identifies current vacant parcels. Together, the identification of vacant parcels with parcel size indicates primary redevelopment sites that can readily support higher density development in anticipation of a potential rail transit system. Using a phased approach, temporary design solutions regain public interest in the community, while working to develop mixed-use neighborhoods, pedestrian oriented streetscapes, and improved open space amenities at future build out. Strategies at each phase provide opportunities for community gathering and living choices that accommodate a variety of people. Studying social inequity and vacancy allows landscape architecture professionals the opportunity to better understand this phenomenon and promote community revitalization through the creation of welcoming places for all people.

In an effort to obtain 100-year level hurricane protection for southeastern Louisiana, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) has implemented design guidelines that both levees and structures shall be designed to. Historically, USACE has used concrete piles or steel H-piles as the foundations for these structures. Because of the magnitude of obtaining 100-year level hurricane protection, limited resources, and a condensed timeline, spiral welded pipe piles can be manufactured as an alternative to either the concrete piles or steel H-piles. This research will provide the necessary background for understanding pile foundations, will compare the behaviors of spiral welded pipe piles to that of other piles with respect to geotechnical concerns through a series of pile load tests, and will offer a current cost analysis. This background, testing, and cost analysis will show that spiral welded pipe piles are a viable alternative for USACE structures from a geotechnical and economic perspective.

Dans la thèse sont étudiées les particularités lexico-sémantiques et les fonctions stylistiques de l'argot utilisé dans le théâtre et le cinéma français contemporains, les transformations que subit l'argot dans les adaptations des récits littéraires au cinéma. Principalement stylistique, la thèse s'inscrit également dans les problématiques de la sociologie. / The thesis is about lexico-semantic properties and stylistic functions of slang used in contemporary French theatre and cinema, its transformations in movies adapted from literature. The research is focused mainly on stylistic aspects, but also refers to sociolinguistics.

To improve students’ scientific literacy and their general perceptions of chemistry, I enacted critical chemistry education (CCE) in two “regular level” chemistry classes with a group of 25 students in a suburban, private high school as part of this study. CCE combined the efforts of critical science educators (Fusco & Calabrese Barton, 2001; Gilbert 2013) with the performance expectations of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) (NGSS Lead States, 2013a) to critically transform the traditional chemistry curriculum at this setting. Essentially, CCE engages students in the critical exploration of socially situated chemistry content knowledge and requires them to demonstrate this knowledge through the practices of science. The purpose of this study was to gauge these students development of chemistry content knowledge, chemistry interest, and critical scientific literacy (CSL) as they engaged in CCE. CSL was a construct developed for this study that necessarily combined the National Research Center’s (2012) definition of scientific literacy with a critical component. As such, CSL entailed demonstrating content knowledge through the practices of science as well as the ability to critically analyze the intersections between science content and socially relevant issues. A mixed methods, critical ethnographic approach framed the collection of data from open-ended questionnaires, focus group interviews, Likert surveys, pre- and post unit tests, and student artifacts. These data revealed three main findings: (1) students began to develop CSL in specific, significant ways working through the activities of CCE, (2) student participants of CCE developed a comparable level of chemistry content understanding to students who participated in a traditional chemistry curriculum, and (3) CCE developed a group of students’ perceptions of interest in chemistry. In addition to being able to teach students discipline specific content knowledge, the implications of this study are that CCE has the ability to affect students’ critical science thinking in positive ways. However, to develop longer lasting, deeper critical insights that students use to participate in science-related issues outside of class, critical science education must be enacted longitudinally and across disciplines. Furthermore, it must be enacted in ways that either prompt or help students to transfer classroom learning outside of the classroom as they engage in critical issues in the classroom.

[pt] Devido ao avanço e à proliferação de sistemas de comunicações wireless, como por exemplo, sistemas de Terceira Geração (3G), Wi-fi e WiMax e, também, o uso de tecnologias como o OFDM (Ortogonal Frequency Division Multiplex), as frequências de operação estão cada vez maiores, face à escassez de espectro. Nesse âmbito, é importante conhecer o comportamento do sinal rádio móvel recebido na presença do canal rádio. Considerando os fatos citados, este trabalho apresenta resultados experimentais de campanhas de medições que permitiram caracterizar o comportamento do canal de rádio-propagação em ambientes com característica suburbana e rural, a análise empírica do comportamento faixa estreita do sinal rádio móvel assim como a análise em faixa larga. As campanhas de medições foram feitas na cidade de Tanguá, BR101-Km 275, cidade do Rio de Janeiro, com um setup de Transmissão na frequência de operação de 5.765 GHz, na faixa de frequência de característica de uso livre, montado no segundo andar (Terraço) do prédio da câmara municipal da prefeitura de Tanguá, considerado um dos pontos altos da cidade. O receptor móvel foi montado dentro do laboratório móvel de telecomunicações (van de medições) com uma antena receptora sobre o teto da van. Serão apresentados, também, os métodos de medição que deverão ser adotados tanto para faixa estreita quanto para faixa larga, a fim de se conseguir dados para realizar uma análise mais completa do canal. Assim, a pesquisa estará baseada em caracterizar a cobertura dos enlaces em 5,8 GHz, obtendo a maior quantidade de informação a respeito das características do canal, incluindo as estatísticas de pequena escala e larga escala, os modelos que melhor se ajustam ao canal, e os parâmetros de dispersão. / [en] Due to the improvements and proliferation of wireless communication systems, such as Third Generation (3G), Wi-Fi, WiMax and the use of technologies like OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplex) the operation frequencies are increasing due the lack of available spectrum. In this context, it is important to understand the behavior of the radio signal received over the radio channel. Considering the facts mentioned above, this work presents experimental results of measurement campaigns, allowing the characterization of radio channel propagation behavior in environments with suburban and rural characteristics, the empirical analysis of narrow band mobile radio signal behavior and also the wideband analysis. The measurement campaigns were performed in the city of Tanguá, BR101, Km 275, in the state of Rio de Janeiro, with a transmission setup operating in the frequency of 5.765 GHz, in the ISM frequency range, assembled on the second floor (roof) of the town hall building of Tanguá, considered one of the tallest points in the city. The mobile receiver was setup inside the telecommunications mobile lab (a van used in the measurements) with a receiving antenna placed on the roof of the van. The measurement methods that must be adopted for both narrowband and broadband to obtain enough data to conduct a more comprehensive analysis of the channel are also presented. Thus, the research is based on characterizing the coverage of the 5.8 GHz links, obtaining as much information as possible about the characteristics of the channel, including small-scale and large-scale statistics, models that best fit the channel, and dispersion parameters.

Diversity practitioners in the United States have taken steps to implement programs for integration of people in organizations from across the socioeconomic and demographic spectrum. Despite changes in U.S. discrimination laws and work by diversity practitioners, maintaining equitable workplace diversity continues to be a problem in U.S. corporations. This correlational study was conducted to examine differences in life-guiding principles, urban identification, and person-organization fit between urban and suburban residents. A purposive sample of 180 adults was drawn in a voluntary online survey from industries in two U.S. representative counties with a mix of urban and suburban sprawl. This study was also conducted to further examine planned behavior, expectancy, normative social influence, and social impact theories by comparing how the independent variable of participant residence location affected the dependent variables of life-guiding principles, urban identification, and person-organization fit. T-test statistics were used to test mean differences in normally distributed data sets, and the Mann-Whitney U test was used for testing differences in non-normally distributed data sets. Test results revealed that there were differences in the dependent variables with a significant difference in urban identification for urban and suburban residents, confirming the hypothesis. Findings from this study may help diversity practitioners and organizational leaders understand the differences among urban and suburban residents. Study findings may also support organizations' social agenda toward addressing diversity issues and for narrowing career achievement gaps between urban and suburban residents through a better understanding of variations in culture.

Ce travail de thèse interroge l’application différenciée des politiques publiques et ses dynamiques.À travers l’étude de huit services publics d’assainissement non collectif, situés dans des espaces périurbains provençaux, hauts-alpins, vauclusiens et rhônalpins, la réflexion met en valeur les tensions entre des normes réglementaires et techniques d’une part et, d’autre part, des territoires disposant de ressources variables pour les appliquer. S’appuyant sur une démarche quantitative et qualitative auprès d’institutions et d’usagers, cette recherche met en évidence la grande différenciation des Spanc. Celle-ci s’explique par la difficulté, pour les Spanc, de s’imposer dans un jeu d’acteurs complexe et face à des usagers souvent récalcitrants. Notre recherche montre, au final, que la professionnalisation des agents de ces services, qui suppose le développement d’une identité, d’une culture et de pratiques communes, permet de réduire les différences d’application de la politique publique. / This research addresses the variations and dynamics of public policy implementation. Through the analysis of eight local authorities and their monitoring of individual waste water treatments, located in suburban and rural areas in southern France (Bouches-du-Rhône, Hautes-Alpes, Vaucluse, Rhône-Alpes and Var), our work highlights the conflict between regulations and technical standardson the one hand, and the unequal resources available for local authorities responsible for their implementation on the other. Adopting a qualitative and quantitative approach to institutions, employees and users, this research highlights the significant differences between local authorities in the service they provide for individual waste water treatments. These differences result from the difficulties experienced by local authorities in interacting with a complex network stakeholders and in dealing with often unwilling users. Our research shows that, the professionalisation process, which is built upon the development of a common identity, culture and practices, reduces differences in the implementation of public policy.

Liminal sites are those on the verge of change, between boundaries and in a temporary state of ambiguity. Throughout my practice as an architect I was aware of the existence of such spaces. I was also aware that they were rarely the product of my intentional design effort. Because of that to me these spaces were precious. They represent moments in space of ambiguous function and questionable beauty but also moments I sought out everyday. This masters research is my way of refocusing my practice to engage with these types of spaces. The sense that this search will take me outside of my understanding of architecture lead me to chose to undertake it as a masters in landscape architecture. My main research question is: How can a designer construct a liminal site? The research concentrates on four central themes - development of a definition of the term

The main objective of this study was to examine the abundance and diversity of ants in suburban sites following vegetation removal or modification for development. This research examines the capacity of suburban sites to support ant diversity, which is dependent on the site characteristics and their surrounding environment. The study focused on 29 suburban garden and 3 suburban reserve sites on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. This region, through continuing land development, undergoes ongoing habitat disturbance and modification. Ground-dwelling ants were collected by pitfall trapping in study sites over three summers between 1997 and 1999. In total, 28,512 ants from 60 species in 31 genera were collected. Garden sites that maintain vegetation structural diversity were found to be most similar to reserve sites in terms of ant community composition. These sites were highest in ant richness and diversity and contained particularly high proportions of specialized ant species. Sites in close proximity to remnants of native vegetation contained higher species diversity and a greater proportion of specialized ant species. The introduced tramp ant, Pheidole megacephala was found in 28 of the 32 sites and was found to significantly reduce ant species richness and diversity and displace the dominant ant Iridomyrmex sp. 1 in suburban environments. This ant poses a serious threat to the recovery of a diverse ant fauna to suburban environments. Ant community composition was shown to vary significantly among suburban sites. The ant functional groups commonly found in disturbed sites were abundant in open sites with little canopy cover in this study. Sites that provided vegetation structural diversity and areas of closed canopy supported similar functional groups to natural vegetation remnants. These results indicate that ant communities in suburban environments respond to disturbance in a similar manner to ant communities in tropical forests and rainforests. The dominance by functional groups and presence of specialized species may therefore be used as an indicator of disturbance and the restoration of suitable habitat in suburban sites. The presence of specialized species of ants in suburban garden sites and their clear preference for particular site characteristics indicate that these species utilize resources available in the suburban matrix. These results indicate that residential suburban sites are of value in the enhancement of ant diversity in fragmented landscapes and that they may provide supportive habitat to, and act as corridors between, vegetation fragments. In order to preserve biodiversity within suburban environments, landowners should be advised to retain as much existing vegetation within a site as possible. Clearing should be limited to that necessary to allow construction of dwellings and for safety. In addition, landowners should be encouraged to establish or maintain structurally diverse vegetation layers within sites in order to provide diverse microenvironments for fauna habitat.

The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine the perceived motivators contributing African American educators' decision to migrate from a suburban school district to an urban school district. The case study approach was used in an effort to capture the participants' voices and the motivators contributing to their decision to migrate to an urban school district after working as an educator in a suburban school district. The findings from this study will contribute to the existing body of literature by providing national policy makers, state policy makers, local school leaders and school district personnel information to create national, state, and local policy initiatives regarding African American educator personnel. The seven informants in this study were members of a large metropolitan area in the state of Texas and the suburban school districts bordering that metropolitan area. Since the enactment of the federal No Child Left Behind Act (2001), the achievement gap has been discussed and studied. However, few studies have investigated African American educator migration from suburban school districts to urban school districts and the strategies used by African American educators to close the achievement gap for African American students who attend those suburban schools left void of African American educators. The interpretational analysis process selected was based on Glaser and Strauss' constant comparative approach to analysis. The constant comparative data analysis generated five major themes of the motivators contributing to African American educator migration: (1) educators migrated to become social change agents, (2) educators migrated for growth opportunities, (3) educators migrated for financial increases, (4) educators migrated due to workplace relationships, and (5) educators migrated due to their perceptions and experiences in their suburban school district. My findings, based on the context of these seven African American educators, suggest that while the school district as an institution is not responsible or accountable for the African American educators migration, it can provide systems of support and initiatives for African America educators to assist them in overcoming the motivators inside of the school walls that contribute to their decision to leave.