Master of Science / Department of Civil Engineering / David R. Steward / The Ogallala Aquifer is a supply of water for several municipalities in western Kansas, as well as an irrigation source for local farmers. Since the 1950’s, when the aquifer started to be pumped for irrigation, the region has seen steady declines of the groundwater table. These declines have reduced stream flow in the Arkansas and Cimarrron Rivers, and caused a redistribution of riparian phreatophytes. This thesis studies this redistribution of phreatophytes, and develops statistical relationships relating a phreatophyte’s location to depth to groundwater, increase in depth to groundwater, distance from a stream or river, and hydrologic soil group. Remote sensing was used to determine tree locations on predevelopment and post-development aerial photography. These locations were mapped using ArcGIS, and ArcAEM was used to model groundwater flow in six riparian regions taking root uptake into account. It was found that once the depth to groundwater becomes greater than about 3 m, tree population will decrease as depth to water increases. Trees were located within 700 m of the river. Areas with a dense tree population (>10% tree cover) occurred where the average depth to water ranged from 0.24-1.4 m. Areas with moderate tree density (5-10% tree cover) corresponded to an average depth to water ranging from 2.1-19 m. Areas with a low tree density (<5% tree cover) corresponded to an average depth to water ranging from 11-28 m. It was found that phreatophytes have a high likelihood of growing on hydrologic soil group A and a low likelihood of growing on hydrologic soil group B. The number of trees located on hydrologic soil group D was what would be statistically expected if tree location were independent of soil type. It was also found that tree locations could be used as an indicator of good hydraulic connectivity between surface water and groundwater. This information can be used to help guide future installation of monitoring networks and expand research projects from central Kansas to western Kansas.

This investigation is concerned with perceived detrimental aspects of land use and the desirability of extending government participation in land use goals. Interviews with 179 persons were conducted. The data reveal a possible direct relationship between social class and the acceptance of land use and economic controls. The project endorses the following proposals: Local regulations should require housing developers to provide the streets and utilities and to dedicate land for parks and schools. Taxation should be used as a regulatory tool for the attainment of public policy objectives. A federal commission is needed to encourage comprehensive land management programs. It is also suggested that future land management questionnaires should use random samples and ask questions about specific land use problems.

Ma thèse explore les rencontres qui eurent lieu entre Français, Amérindiens et Africains en Louisiane, à l'époque de l'Amérique coloniale. C'est plus précisément sur la partie sud du territoire que ce travail s'est penché. Les bornes chronologiques sont 1686, découverte du territoire par Robert La Salle et 1803, vente du territoire, alors Français, aux Américains par Napoléon en 1803. Mon projet était d'analyser les rapports établis entre ces trois groupes en mettant l'accent sur les relations intimes qui se sont créées entre eux (relations sexuelles, concubinage, mariages mixtes), et les liens de parenté sont également des objets d'étude dans cette recherche. De ces relations intimes émergent diverses communautés : ainsi, les " métis " font référence aux enfants nés de Français et d'Amérindiens alors que les " Griffe " désignent une autre communauté, résultat d'unions entre Africains et Amérindiens. L'étude de ces deux groupes représente une partie de ce travail. Cette thèse s'attache aussi à analyser les conséquences de ces unions sur les rapports sociaux, économiques, et diplomatiques entre ces différents peuples.

This thesis looks at the current fracking debate on a national scale, before focusing specifically on how this debate is playing out in the landscape of Central Arkansas. Focusing on the lack of national regulation, the unique array of state regulations that have popped up are assessed in their effectiveness on the ground through speaking with residents of the area. The demographics of these residents are analyzed within an assessment of environmental injustice vulnerability. This ethnographic approach also compares the de jure v. de facto outcomes of these regulations through the narratives of residents working with organizations across the political spectrum, and specifically seeks to gauge their own personal stories and experiences with regulators and the fracking industry. Other key actors are identified. This thesis concludes that agency capture is a reality for these residents, and their perceived powerlessness drastically increases the power of the gas companies that monopolize the political agenda in the region.

This long work of imagination is a culmination of years of writing about two characters, cousins Barb and Debbie: Barbara Catherin Owens and Deborah Jean Magee. Born in south-eastern Arkansas, Barb and Debbie haunted Amber Nicole Brooks until she initiated them into the world of fiction in an initial short story set in 1970. Since then, many stories, ranging from the 1960s to 1990s, have been born of these characters’ exploits, despair, and erotic encounters. In a drastic overhaul of prose, Amber has reworked the episodes of these characters lives into one long, linear narrative, a thing some folks might perhaps characterize as a novel.

This thesis looks at the current fracking debate on a national scale, before focusing specifically on how this debate is playing out in the landscape of Central Arkansas. Focusing on the lack of national regulation, the unique array of state regulations that have popped up are assessed in their effectiveness on the ground through speaking with residents of the area. The demographics of these residents are analyzed within an assessment of environmental injustice vulnerability. This ethnographic approach also compares the de jure v. de facto outcomes of these regulations through the narratives of residents working with organizations across the political spectrum, and specifically seeks to gauge their own personal stories and experiences with regulators and the fracking industry. Other key actors are identified. This thesis concludes that agency capture is a reality for these residents, and their perceived powerlessness drastically increases the power of the gas companies that monopolize the political agenda in the region.

Understanding underlying mechanisms and pathways that lead to chronic homelessness would help develop intervention strategies that could help prevent subsequent episodes of homelessness. Quantitative data for this cross-sectional study was gathered by interviewing individuals who were homeless in the State of Arkansas, using a structured survey between 2007 and 2011. Qualitative data was gathered using semi-structured interviews between 2016 and 2018. Chi-square statistics and a multivariate logistic regression model was used to analyze the quantitative data, while phenomenological methods were used to analyze the qualitative data. Nearly half of the study participants identified themselves as being chronically homeless. Chronically homeless adults in this region were significantly more likely to be older men with no family ties, more likely to be victims of domestic violence, have higher rates of physical health problems, and have alcohol and substance abuse problems. Results from the multivariate nominal regression revealed that individuals who reported themselves as chronically homeless were more likely to be in the 50 years or older age group. In addition, study findings highlighted a dynamic interplay between three biopsychosocial risk factors for homelessness. Fostering development of inclusive sustainable communities, intergenerational relationships, and shared housing practices could help ease such social inequities and prevent problems such as chronic homelessness in older homeless adults.

In this thesis I look at the Arkansas Project and more specifically the racial dynamics within the project and the surrounding communities in Arkansas where SNCC engaged to assist the residents fight for their civil rights. In addition, I analyze how the differences in the urban and rural communities were affected by the racial dynamics of the project's leadership. The Arkansas project was led by William Hansen, a white man, which made him and the project unique from not only other SNCC projects, but other civil rights organizations. This distinction made the strategy that had to be implemented with the project staff internally and also externally in the Arkansas communities different because his race had to be taken into consideration for all purposes. Another aspect that came into play in Arkansas was the fact that some of their activities occurred in urban communities and others occurred in rural communities. These difference in communities affected not only how the local blacks received the SNCC volunteers, but also affected how local whites received the SNCC volunteers. Although the fact that the Arkansas Project had a white field director made it unique and the racial dynamics worthy of scholarly investigation, Bill Hansen's racial identity was far from the only reason that the organization's work in Arkansas is historically significant. This thesis also looks at the important activities in which SNCC engaged and impacted because of their presence in Arkansas. Of those activities, SNCC impacted the creation of several local groups where local citizens helped to fight for their civil rights, in fighting for their civil rights, those groups engaged in sit-ins, protests, and fighting legal battles in court where some of their cases made it all the way to the United States Supreme Court and impacted the civil rights movement in the south. Two important legal cases that had ramifications for the civil rights movement beyond the state that originated in Arkansas. The cases of Lupper v. State of Arkansas and Raney v. Board of Education made it all the way to the United States Supreme Court out of Arkansas. They helped shape the civil rights movement because Lupper helped clarify sit-in cases and the constitutionality of the arrests. The arrests were deemed unconstitutional because the Civil Rights Act of 1964 forbade discrimination in places of public accommodation and allowed peaceful attempts to be served like any other member of the public from punishable activities in spite of the fact the activities occurred prior to the date of its enactment. In addition, Raney helped define desegregation efforts in the south as many states attempted to avoid the Brown v. Board of Education decision by implementing "freedom of choice plans." Freedom of choice plans were state attempts to circumvent the Brown decision by making the students and their family choose which school they would attend. These cases helped shape the civil rights movement and dealt with sit ins and integrating schools. This thesis provides an important addition to the scholarship about SNCC and SNCC's Arkansas Project.

The purpose of this study is: 1) To point out some similarities and differences of the two school systems in the twin cities. 2)To determine the comparative readiness of the students finalizing the seventh grade in Texas and those finishing eighth grade in Arkansas to pursue high school work. 3) To make a comparative study of the progress made during the Freshman year in high school by these same students. 4) To determine the difference in achievement of students in the two school systems by making a study of the graduating seniors of the session 1936-1937.

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