Can practical factors influence a subject's position to know? Traditionally this question has been answered in the negative. A subject's position to know proposition p is not thought to improve merely because the subject wants to know p or has certain practical stakes depend on whether p. Appealing to these wants and practical interests while defending a claim to know is thought to be epistemically inappropriate. We argue, to the contrary, that practical factors can influence (i.e. encroach upon) a subject's position to know and can do so in an epistemically appropriate way. The argument we provide is relatively straightforward. We claim that knowledge of a certain set of propositions requires a prior action taken on behalf of the subject. This prior action can be influenced by practical factors and thus practical factors can influence a subject's position to know. Furthermore, we argue that such a move can be epistemically appropriate if it arises in an instance when the evidence and arguments favoring belief -- at least from the subject's own point of view -- are inconclusive. We conclude with an argument that the provided account offers a new framework to defend moral encroachment. The prior action taken on behalf of a subject, when it is both practically influenced and is epistemically appropriate, can be interpreted as a moral action.

Can practical factors influence a subject's position to know? Traditionally this question has been answered in the negative. A subject's position to know proposition p is not thought to improve merely because the subject wants to know p or has certain practical stakes depend on whether p. Appealing to these wants and practical interests while defending a claim to know is thought to be epistemically inappropriate. We argue, to the contrary, that practical factors can influence (i.e. encroach upon) a subject's position to know and can do so in an epistemically appropriate way. The argument we provide is relatively straightforward. We claim that knowledge of a certain set of propositions requires a prior action taken on behalf of the subject. This prior action can be influenced by practical factors and thus practical factors can influence a subject's position to know. Furthermore, we argue that such a move can be epistemically appropriate if it arises in an instance when the evidence and arguments favoring belief -- at least from the subject's own point of view -- are inconclusive. We conclude with an argument that the provided account offers a new framework to defend moral encroachment. The prior action taken on behalf of a subject, when it is both practically influenced and is epistemically appropriate, can be interpreted as a moral action.

No description available.

Brush encroachment is a serious problem on pastures in Western Canada. It results in a loss of productivity and habitat for wildlife. Sixty-seven pastures were visited in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta. Approximately half were privately owned lands and the remainder were public lands. Each field sampled was divided into grass, shrub and forest strata, within each stratum vegetation cover was noted and biomass and soil samples were taken. A historical reconstruction was created using aerial photos dating back to the 1940s up until most recent photos available. Six cover classes were delineated and patch statistics were calculated. Information on historical management practices were obtained also. It was determined that woody encroachment is occurring on pastures, but no significant trends found between environmental factors and encroachment. Therefore it was concluded that management probably has the greatest impact on the occurrence and extent of woody encroachment.

Brush encroachment is a serious problem on pastures in Western Canada. It results in a loss of productivity and habitat for wildlife. Sixty-seven pastures were visited in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta. Approximately half were privately owned lands and the remainder were public lands. Each field sampled was divided into grass, shrub and forest strata, within each stratum vegetation cover was noted and biomass and soil samples were taken. A historical reconstruction was created using aerial photos dating back to the 1940s up until most recent photos available. Six cover classes were delineated and patch statistics were calculated. Information on historical management practices were obtained also. It was determined that woody encroachment is occurring on pastures, but no significant trends found between environmental factors and encroachment. Therefore it was concluded that management probably has the greatest impact on the occurrence and extent of woody encroachment.

Thesis(M.S.)--Auburn University, 2006. / Abstract. Vita. Includes bibliographic references (p.97-100).

Submitted by Valquíria Barbieri (kikibarbi@hotmail.com) on 2018-04-09T21:46:44Z No. of bitstreams: 1 DISS_2014_Felipe de Sá Palis e Souza.pdf: 1290142 bytes, checksum: 9410c7973ce99bbf6ee94deb616b1907 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Jordan (jordanbiblio@gmail.com) on 2018-04-26T17:17:30Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 DISS_2014_Felipe de Sá Palis e Souza.pdf: 1290142 bytes, checksum: 9410c7973ce99bbf6ee94deb616b1907 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-04-26T17:17:30Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 DISS_2014_Felipe de Sá Palis e Souza.pdf: 1290142 bytes, checksum: 9410c7973ce99bbf6ee94deb616b1907 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-03-31 / CAPES / A diversidade biológica pode ser representada pela abundância e riqueza de espécies, e pela mudança na composição de espécies entre locais e gradientes ambientais. Essa mudança pode estar associada a alguns fatores, como as condições e recursos ofertados pelo ambiente. Vários fatores determinam os padrões de distribuição de espécies em escala regional e local. Em áreas úmidas, como o Pantanal, as dinâmicas de inundação e seca, juntamente com os diferentes tipos de hábitats, afetam a distribuição de aves. Além disso, algumas espécies vegetais também podem se beneficiar com a dinâmica de inundações, como o cambará (Vochysia divergens Pohl), conhecida pela grande capacidade de invadir ambientes campestres e nele se expandir e por formar ambientes com estrato arbóreo monodominantes, chamados cambarazais. Esse adensamento da vegetação, comum em várias regiões, é chamado de encroachment, sendo responsável pela conversão de campos e savanas (áreas abertas) em vegetação arbustiva ou arbórea. Nesse estudo foi avaliado o efeito de cambarazais sobre a estrutura de assembleias de aves e como esse hábitat contribui na manutenção da diversidade regional desse grupo. O trabalho foi realizado na região do Pirizal, localizada na sub-região do Pantanal de Poconé - MT. Os dados foram coletados na grade de pesquisas do Pirizal, que é composta por 30 parcelas com diferentes fitofisionomias abertas e florestadas: cambarazal, landizal, cordilheiras, campos de murundus e pastagem exótica. Para a amostragem da avifauna foram utilizados dois métodos, redes de neblina e censos por pontos. Para análise de dados fizemos regressões lineares simples entre riqueza, abundância ou composição de aves (representada por uma dimensão de NMDS) em função das variáveis ambientais (primeiro eixo da PCA, composta pela densidade de cambarás, riqueza vegetal e duração do alagamento). Para avaliar se os padrões encontrados se deviam ao grau de proximidade entre as parcelas, foi realizado um teste de Mantel Parcial, com a distância biológica em função da distância ambiental e da distância geográfica. Para o segundo objetivo foi realizado uma Permanova para verificar se existe diferença na composição de aves entre os tipos de vegetação. Além disso, simulamos como acréscimos graduais de manchas de cambarazais afetam a diversidade de aves na paisagem. Foram registradas 183 espécies de aves nos cambarazais distribuídas em 45 famílias. O resultado da primeira regressão mostrou que a riqueza de espécies aumentou em função do eixo ambiental, principalmente em locais com maiores densidades de cambarás e que permaneceram mais tempo alagados. Em outras palavras, o encroachment teve reflexos positivos na riqueza de aves. A composição também foi afetada pelas variáveis ambientais e o resultado do teste de Mantel Parcial mostrou que não houve efeito da distância geográfica sobre a composição de espécies de aves. Os resultados da Permanova e da simulação mostraram que a composição foi diferente entre as fitofisionomias e que os cambarazais contribuem muito para a diversidade regional de aves. A mudança nas características do hábitat ocorre mesmo em escalas pequenas e é determinante para a distribuição das espécies. Hábitats com estruturas diferentes têm maiores chances de apresentar comunidades também diferentes, o que de fato contribui para o aumento da diversidade regional. A contribuição dos cambarazais não é somente em termos de aumento da diversidade; representa também um ambiente adicional e importante para várias espécies da região. Assim, o processo de encroachment do cambará, para essa região estudada, é um fenômeno importante para a diversidade de aves. / The biological diversity can be represented by the abundance and species richness and by the change in the composition between places and environmental gradients. This change can be associated with the conditions and resources offered by the environment. Several factors determine the patterns of species distribution at local and regional level. In Wetlands, the dynamics of flood and drought, together with the different types of hábitats, affect bird´s distribution. In addition, some plant species can also benefit with the dynamic of floods, as the cambara (Vochysia divergens Pohl), known by the great ability of invasion and expansion and by forming monodominant environments with arboreal stratum considered, called cambarazais. This overgrowth, common in several regions, is called encroachment, being responsible for the conversion of fields and savannas in shrub vegetation. In this study it was evaluated the effect of cambarazais on the structure of bird assemblies and how this hábitat contributes in maintaining regional diversity of this group. The work was carried out in the region of the Pirizal, located in the sub-region of the Pantanal of Poconé. The data were collected in grid research of Pirizal, which features 30 plots with different environments: “cambarazal”, “landizal”, “cordilheiras”, “campos de murundus” and exotic fields. For the bird sampling were used two methods, mist nets and census by points. The environmental variables used were the density of cambaras, richness and plant composition and the duration of flooding on the plots. For data analysis we have made simple linear regressions between richness, abundance or composition of birds (represented by one dimension of NMDS) and environmental variables (first axis of the PCA, composed by density of cambaras, plant species richness and flooding duration). To assess whether the patterns found were due to degree of proximity between the plots, it was carried out a Partial Mantel test, with the biological distance in function of environmental and geographic distance. For the second objective, was performed a Permanova to check if there is any difference in bird composition among the different environments. In addition, we simulate as gradual increases of patches of cambarazais affect the bird diversity in landscape. We recorded 183 species of birds in cambarazais distributed in 45 families. The result of the first regression showed that the species richness increased with the change in environmental variables, especially in places with higher densities of cambaras which were more time flooded. In other words, the encroachment has had positive impacts on bird richness. The composition was also affected by environmental variables. The result of Partial Mantel test showed that there was no effect of geographic distance on the bird species composition. The results of the Permanova and simulation showed that the composition was different between different environments and that the cambarazais contribute very much to the bird diversity. The change in the characteristics of the hábitat occurs even in small scales and is determinant for the species distribution. Hábitats with different structures have higher chances of presenting different communities also, what actually contributes to the increasing of regional diversity. The contribution of cambarazais is not only in terms of increasing diversity; it also represents an additional and important environment for several species in the region. Thus, the process of encroachment of cambara, for this studied region, is an important phenomenon for the bird diversity.

Over the past century tree encroachment has occurred in North American subalpine meadows. Causes of tree establishment have been related to climate influences and exclusion of fire, but very few studies have looked at the consequence of tree encroachment on meadow vegetation. Within the southern Canadian Rocky Mountains, Waterton Lakes National Park and Castle Special Management Area, 14 meadows were randomly selected at wet and dry sites. Nonmetric multidimensional scaling showed that species composition changed during the transition of open meadow to forest for both wet and dry habitats. There were no significant differences in these two management areas in terms of conifer encroachment and the effects on meadow species. Results of this study show that conifer encroachment has increased over the last century with the consequences of loss in meadow species through a decrease in abundance, richness and diversity. Wet sites were significantly more sensitive to conifer encroachment than dry sites. The greatest inhibitory effects of trees on meadow vegetation within the ecotone occurred when trees were 54-72 years old for wet sites and 77-112 years old for dry sites. Ecological restoration of these meadows is important for ongoing habitat conservation, maintaining species and landscape diversity and ecosystem resilience.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Nevada, Reno, 2006. / "May, 2006." Includes bibliographical references (leaf 80). Online version available on the World Wide Web.

This paper will build upon the idea that informal settlements communities develop characteristic spatial morphologies as a response to outside forces. By understanding those forces and the resulting use of space, in particular public spaces, we can develop more appropriate urban design and planning interventions based in local realities. I begin by presenting the urban theories of Christopher Alexander and Bill Hillier, which provide analytical tools for understanding public space morphologies and the uses of public space. I then introduce Asef Bayat’s concept of quiet encroachment to more fully theorize the characteristics of public space as a response to the outside forces, in particular as an informal means of claiming space and rights to the city. Finally, I draw on this analytical and theoretical framework to analyze public space in the informal settlement of Jallah Town, in Monrovia, Liberia. I conclude by outlining how these analytical and theoretical tools can be used to further urban theory and international development and planning practice in informal settlements. / text