Chasing Dangerous Women: The Social Justice Rhetoric of the Women Nobel Peace Laureates

Flyer for Fall 2011 ICS Faculty Fellow Lecture by Ellen Gorsevski.https://scholarworks.bgsu.edu/ics_fellow_lectures/1081/thumbnail.jp

Impacts of Conflict on Land Use and Land Cover in the Imatong Mountain Region of South Sudan and Northern Uganda

The Imatong Mountain region of South Sudan makes up the northern most part of the Afromontane conservation `biodiversity hotspot' due to the numerous species of plants and animals found here, some of which are endemic. At the same time, this area (including the nearby Dongotana Hills and the Agoro-Agu region of northern Uganda) has witnessed decades of armed conflict resulting from the Sudan Civil War and the presence of the Ugandan Lord's Resistance Army (LRA). The objective of my research was to investigate the impact of war on land use and land cover using a combination of satellite remote sensing data and semi-structured interviews with local informants. Specifically, I sought to 1) assess and compare changes in forest cover and location during both war and peace; 2) compare trends in fire activity with human population patterns; and 3) investigate the underlying causes influencing land use patterns related to war. I did this by using a Disturbance Index (DI), which isolates un-vegetated spectral signatures associated with deforestation, on Landsat TM and ETM+ data in order to compare changes in forest cover during conflict and post-conflict years, mapping the location and frequency of fires in subsets of the greater study area using MODIS active fire data, and by analyzing and summarizing information derived from interviews with key informants. I found that the rate of forest recovery was significantly higher than the rate of disturbance both during and after wartime in and around the Imatong Central Forest Reserve (ICFR) and that change in net forest cover remained largely unchanged for the two time periods. In contrast, the nearby Dongotana Hills experienced relatively high rates of disturbance during both periods; however, post war period losses were largely offset by gains in forest cover, potentially indicating opposing patterns in human population movements and land use activities within these two areas. For the Agoro-Agu Forest Reserve (AFR) region northern Uganda, the rate of forest recovery was much higher during the second period, coinciding with the time people began leaving overcrowded Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps. I also found that fire activity largely corresponded to coarse-scale human population trends on the South Sudan and northern Uganda side of the border in that post-war fire activity decreased for all areas in South Sudan and northern Uganda except for areas near the larger towns and villages of South Sudan, where people have begun to resettle. Fires occurred most frequently in woodlands on the South Sudan side, while the greatest increase in post-war, northern Ugandan fires occurred in croplands and the forested area around the Agoro-Agu reserve, Interviews with key informants revealed that while some people fled the area during the war, many others remained in the forest to hide; however, their impact on the forests during and after the conflict has been minimal; in contrast, those interviewed believed that wildlife has been largely depleted due to the widespread access to firearms and lack of regulations and enforcement. This study demonstrates the utility of using a multi-disciplinary approach to examine aspects of forest dynamics and fire activity related to human activities and conflict and as such contributes to the nascent but growing body of research on armed conflict and the environment

Barbara Lee’s Peacebuilding Discourse as Transformative Social Justice Politics

This essay explores discourses of Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), appreciating her intersectional standpoint as a leader in Trumpian times, and as the lone AA woman dissenter who has long advocated peace over war in the United States” Congress in the aftermath of two politically seismic shifts: (1) September 11, 2001 and (2) the rise of right wing politics in the U.S. and internationally. As bellicose and right wing politics have expanded, Lee’s nonviolent voice has persisted, offering critiques of (1) post 9/11 and (2) Trump Administration era xenophobic rhetoric, policies, and systems. Rhetoric of White male politicians pervades discourse studies, yet comparatively little has been studied on countervailing peacebuilding discourses of U.S. Congresswomen. This study refocuses discourse scholarship on sociopolitical justice rhetoric across the activist career of Congresswoman Barbara Lee. Lee’s career-spanning politics bears study as successful peacebuilding leadership. Lee’s political discourses espousing peacebuilding exemplify contemporary women of color’s activism, which rebalances foci in discourse studies between necessary critiques of right politicians and legislation. Studying transformative politics recenters leaders of social, environmental, and economic justice who buck status quo via peacebuilding discourse (PD)

Native America Persists: Pocahontas versus Trump

This essay explores Pocahontas as a polysemic symbol of multiculturalism in the US. Such critique supports decolonizing by illuminating normalizing processes refashioning Indigenous people past and present within masculinized whiteness narratives that dominate the US\u27s current political climate. President Trump\u27s repetition of Pocahontas as slur presents an opportunity to theorize possible ways white supremacist memes invoke colonial myths, inviting intersectional silencing through associatively equating Pocahontas, via synecdoche, with Senator Warren as representative of women in progressive politics. I problematize my standpoint as a white scholar with a matrilineal family narrative linkage to Pocahontas. Indigenous histories, bodies and voices may be variously represented by synecdoche in simultaneously positive and negative ways through polysemy. Exploring her mythic role as peacebuilder and multicultural heroine indicates possibilities for agency of those identified with her within multicultural discourses

The rhetoric of the Dalai Lama

This thesis examines the rhetoric (persuasive discourse) of the Fourteenth Dalai Lama, the exiled spiritual and temporal leader of Tibet. The analysis of this thesis provides an historical foundation of understanding for the international campaign of rhetoric which the Dalai Lama has been leading for the past forty years, culminating with his Nobel Peace Prize award in 1989. The thesis provides an overview of the Dalai Lama's persuasive tactics spanning his time spent campaigning in exile, from 1959 to the present time (1995). The Dalai Lama has been a strong leader in the movement to raise support and international awareness for Tibetans in Chinese controlled Tibet. Specifically, this thesis presents an analysis of two of the Dalai Lama's most well known speeches: the Five Point Peace Plan, presented to members of the United States Congress on September 27, 1987, and the Strasbourg Proposal, presented to members of the European Parliament on June 15, 1988. The Dalai Lama's discourse is examined from the perspective of rhetorical criticism, using the theories of Kenneth Burke as the framework for understanding the texts. This analysis incorporates Burke's theories on mortification, scapegoating, victimage, and transcendence, as well as the tragic and comic frames for presenting a vision of dramatic conflict. The Dalai Lama's rhetoric is also analyzed for its cross cultural implications according to Geert Hofstede's dimensions of cultural variability. This thesis includes a discussion of the Dalai Lama's role as a social movement leader with a charismatic persona and a strong ability to organize and manage a diverse international following while working to preserve the Tibetan diaspora in exile. Lastly, the ethical groundings of the Dalai Lama's rhetoric are taken into consideration. The purpose of this thesis is to introduce to communication students the significance of the Dalai Lama's body of work, and to indicate potential directions for future research. The rationale behind the thesis is this: in rhetorical theory and social movement theory, there exist numerous studies of the nonviolent rhetoric and social movement leadership of both Dr. Martin Luther King of the United States and Mahatma Gandhi of India; yet the Dalai Lama, whose work I show to be comparable in many ways to that of King and Gandhi, has remained unexamined by scholars in many disciplines, most notably rhetorical criticism and social movement theory. The intent of this thesis is to focus upon the Dalai Lama's rhetoric and communication skills in order to stimulate an enduring interest in him as a remarkable orator and leader, from whom we may gain insight into improving our ability to communicate and to manage conflict in a nonviolent manner

Unraveling the Determinants of Protrusion Formation

A computerized morphometric classification technique based on latent factors reveals major protrusion classes: factors 4, 5, and 7. Previous work showed that factor 4 represented filopodia, 5 the distribution of lamellar cytoplasm, and 7 a blunt protrusion. We explore the relationship of focal contact (FC) characteristics and their integrated actin cables to factors values. The results show that FC maturation/cytoskeletal integration affects factor 5, because FC elongation/integration was correlated with its values. On the contrary, 7 values decreased with maturation, so cable or FC size or their integration must be restricted to form these protrusions. Where integration did occur, the cables showed distinctive size and orientation, as indicated by correlation of 7 values with FC shape. Results obtained with myosin inhibitors support the interpretation that a central, isometric, contractile network puts constraints on both factor 5 and 7 protrusions. We conclude that cells establish functional domains by rearranging the cytoskeleton

Sensitivity Analysis for Optimal Parameters for Marine Radar Data Processing

A bird and bat monitoring system has been developed that uses marine radar, IR camera and acoustic recorders for wind farm applications. IR video recording is used to monitor birds and bats activity which will be useful for wildlife biologists in developing mit igation techniques to minimize impact of wind turbines on birds and bats. The goal is to quantify birds and bats activity near wind turbines. Radar will provide z-coordinate (alt itude) and IR camera will provide (x, y) coordinates of birds/bats. Acous tic monitoring is used to identify birds and bats at their species level. This paper deals with the use of marine radar for determining altitudes, direction and quantity (passage rates) of birds/bats. Data from the marine radar is digitized and processed with open source radR software. Since the data is unknown tracking and quantification can be very challenging. This paper deals with the sensitivity analysis and effects of various parameters used in the tracking algorithm so resulting data can be meaningful

An advanced inventory method for forest roads

This thesis presents the idea for FORIN (Forest Roads Inventory), a computerized forest roads inventory system. FORIN is a tool to more efficiently inventory and manage information of forest roads. FORIN is intended for use by field personnel, who will use pen-based computers to improve productivity, accuracy of inventories, to lower the cost, and provide an efficient management tool for forest roads inventory. FORIN is a relational database computer system designed for gathering data for forest roads. FORIN displays a menu, which controls the display of all other forms. The main purpose of the forms is for data collection, plus data updates for the roads and their elements. The data entry in the forms will be assisted by a pen-based computer, which will allow for fast, efficient, and accurate data gathering. FORIN replaces the existing paper forms method of inventory with computerized forms, so that collected information can be transcribed into a summary report immediately after the data has been collected and input into the program

Development, test and comparison of two Multiple Criteria Decision Analysis(MCDA) models: A case of healthcare infrastructure location

When planning a new development, location decisions have always been a major issue. This paper examines and compares two modelling methods used to inform a healthcare infrastructure location decision. Two Multiple Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) models were developed to support the optimisation of this decision-making process, within a National Health Service (NHS) organisation, in the UK. The proposed model structure is based on seven criteria (environment and safety, size, total cost, accessibility, design, risks and population profile) and 28 sub-criteria. First, Evidential Reasoning (ER) was used to solve the model, then, the processes and results were compared with the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP). It was established that using ER or AHP led to the same solutions. However, the scores between the alternatives were significantly different; which impacted the stakeholders‟ decision-making. As the processes differ according to the model selected, ER or AHP, it is relevant to establish the practical and managerial implications for selecting one model or the other and providing evidence of which models best fit this specific environment. To achieve an optimum operational decision it is argued, in this study, that the most transparent and robust framework is achieved by merging ER process with the pair-wise comparison, an element of AHP. This paper makes a defined contribution by developing and examining the use of MCDA models, to rationalise new healthcare infrastructure location, with the proposed model to be used for future decision. Moreover, very few studies comparing different MCDA techniques were found, this study results enable practitioners to consider even further the modelling characteristics to ensure the development of a reliable framework, even if this means applying a hybrid approach

Landslide susceptibility mapping at VAZ watershed (Iran) using an artificial neural network model: a comparison between multilayer perceptron (MLP) and radial basic function (RBF) algorithms

Landslide susceptibility and hazard assessments are the most important steps in landslide risk mapping. The main objective of this study was to investigate and compare the results of two artificial neural network (ANN) algorithms, i.e., multilayer perceptron (MLP) and radial basic function (RBF) for spatial prediction of landslide susceptibility in Vaz Watershed, Iran. At first, landslide locations were identified by aerial photographs and field surveys, and a total of 136 landside locations were constructed from various sources. Then the landslide inventory map was randomly split into a training dataset 70 % (95 landslide locations) for training the ANN model and the remaining 30 % (41 landslides locations) was used for validation purpose. Nine landslide conditioning factors such as slope, slope aspect, altitude, land use, lithology, distance from rivers, distance from roads, distance from faults, and rainfall were constructed in geographical information system. In this study, both MLP and RBF algorithms were used in artificial neural network model. The results showed that MLP with Broyden–Fletcher–Goldfarb–Shanno learning algorithm is more efficient than RBF in landslide susceptibility mapping for the study area. Finally the landslide susceptibility maps were validated using the validation data (i.e., 30 % landslide location data that was not used during the model construction) using area under the curve (AUC) method. The success rate curve showed that the area under the curve for RBF and MLP was 0.9085 (90.85 %) and 0.9193 (91.93 %) accuracy, respectively. Similarly, the validation result showed that the area under the curve for MLP and RBF models were 0.881 (88.1 %) and 0.8724 (87.24 %), respectively. The results of this study showed that landslide susceptibility mapping in the Vaz Watershed of Iran using the ANN approach is viable and can be used for land use planning