From Tomato Fields to Tourists: Hilton Head Island and Beaufort County, South Carolina, 1950-1983

Between 1950 and 1983, Hilton Head Island was transformed from a sleepy rural barrier island to a humming urban tourist destination. In the process, Hilton Head\u27s native black population which had originally dominated the island was ultimately both politically and economically marginalized. This study seeks to answer two questions: first, what are the ways in which blacks sought to retain political power in the face of massive demographic and economic change? and second, how successful were they? I examined three issues through which blacks at Hilton Head sought political empowerment. They are the question of land acquisition and use, the controversy over the location of a potentially polluting industry just upstream of Hilton Head, and the final incorporation of the town of Hilton Head Island itself. I concluded that although blacks were informed and active participants in the island\u27s political and economic life, the dramatic influx of whites with different economic profiles ultimately overwhelmed blacks through sheer numerical superiority

Land surface response to climate change forcing over Southern Africa

The land surface is important to the climate system for the exchanges of moisture, momentum and heat. Momentum, radiation, and sensible and latent heat fluxes between the atmosphere and the surface will likely affect atmospheric dynamics, temperature, precipitation and humidity fields (Sato et ai., 1989). These may subsequently feed back into the land surface processes as part of a cyclical system. Therefore it is evident that our livelihood is largely dependent on interactions and exchanges between the land surface and climate system (Henderson-Sellers et ai., 1993) and it is thus essential that we gain a better understanding of the interactive sensitivity. This is of particular relevance in the context of the portended future global climate change. In the present study the interactions between the land surface and the atmosphere are considered over the southern African region. This region has a climate showing a high degree of spatial and temporal variability, most notably with rainfall. Regional climates are characterised by summer, winter and all-year-round rainfall. There are steep vegetation gradients and a wide range of vegetation types adapted to suit the variable climate. These factors, combined with the societal implications of changes in the climate and land surface systems, make southern Africa a challenging and important study domain for examining the sensitivity between the different elements of the atmosphere and biosphere. This research makes use of a biosphere model driven by climate change data derived from a general circulation model (GCM). Regions susceptible and sensitive to changes on an annual and seasonal basis are identified and examined. The thesis comprises 8 chapters. The first chapter, Chapter 1, provides some background information on climate change, biosphereatmosphere interactions, GCMs and transient simulations, vegetation models and vegetation representation over southern Africa. This chapter also sets out the research objectives. The following chapter, Chapter 2, introduces the atmospheric GCM model data from the Hadley Centre Model (HadCM2) used in the analysis. The chapter additionally provides a detailed description of the biosphere model, the Integrated Biosphere Simulator (IBIS). Chapter 3 examines the Hadley Centre HadCM2 GCM input data used in driving the biosphere model, while Chapter 4 presents the input forcing data and configuration of the IBIS model. In Chapter 5 the results of the IBIS model simulation are examined on the annual scale and in Chapter 6 the results are examined on the seasonal scale. Some of the implications of climate change are considered in Chapter 7. This chapter also places the HadCM2 GCM model data used in driving IBIS into the context of the latest emissions scenarios. In the final chapter, Chapter 8, an overview summary is provided and conclusions are drawn

Atmosphere-vegetation interactions over South Africa

Bibliography: pages 107-118.This study examines the sensitivity of the atmospheric circulation to vegetation change over South Africa in the context of the portended global warming. This is achieved using a vegetation model driven by climate change information and subsequently incorporated within a general circulation model (GCM). The stand-alone vegetation model is driven using precipitation, temperature and relative humidity derived from downscaling using artificial neural networks. The vegetation model is then run with perturbed precipitation, temperature and relative humidity from downscaled model data from lxCO₂ and 2xCO₂ GCM simulations. The resultant vegetation perturbation response to climate change is then examined and incorporated into the GCM in order to ascertain the atmospheric sensitivity to vegetation changes. The off-line results of the vegetation model indicate a moderate degree of sensitivity of the vegetation to perturbations in precipitation, temperature and relative humidity. The general trend in response to the CO₂ climate is a westwards and altitudinal shift of lowland vegetation over the eastern part of the country, and a southwards and eastwards shift of the more dryland vegetation in the west. These shifts are in accordance with expected responses, since lowland vegetation responds more to temperature changes and the dryland vegetation to precipitation changes. Nonetheless, the use of the model provides a physically justifiable scenario on which to base the GCM studies, and at a finer resolution than otherwise available. A GCM simulation with the perturbed vegetation was then performed using sea surface temperature boundary conditions for 1980 and compared to an identical GCM run without the perturbation. 1980 was chosen since this year does not represent either a strong El Niño or La Niña year. The atmospheric sensitivity to the vegetation perturbation has been examined in terms of climatic variables such as temperature, precipitation, pressure, specific humidity, horizontal divergence, and sensible and latent heat fluxes. The results show that the atmosphere is quite sensitive to relatively small vegetation changes. Atmospheric response to vegetation perturbations indicates greater sensitivity over the NW and SE regions of southern Africa. The perturbation indicates a reduction in precipitation over the SE interior, related to less moisture feeding in over the interior from the SE Indian Ocean. Wind speed changes over the adjacent ocean were also evident, and are probably related to the changes in the South Atlantic and Indian high pressures. A southwards extension of the Hadley Cell was also suggested, as well as changes in sensible and latent heat fluxes, relating to precipitation and temperature changes. It is suggested that changes may be in response to the general drying out of the country and the associated increase in aridity. This research forms the preliminary investigation for further work incorporating the atmospheric perturbation response back into driving the vegetation model in order to examine the direction of the feedback -- whether this is positive or negative in the longer term. Thus, this study has demonstrated that the atmosphere is significantly sensitive to vegetation changes over South Africa and reinforces the need for improved land surface parameterization schemes and vegetation models in general circulation models

Principals\u27 Perceptions of the Importance of Classroom Walkthroughs

Education reform has required school administrators to become instructional leaders that ensure teacher effectiveness and academic success for all students. Classroom walkthroughs are one way that instructional leaders can accomplish this task. This study examined the level of importance that principals place on the practice of classroom walkthroughs and on specific elements of classroom walkthroughs; it further explored the relationships among perceptions about classroom walkthroughs and student achievement, school performance levels (AYP), and socio-economic status (SES) of the school. This was a quantitative study that utilized survey methodology, archival data and correlational analyses to identify the relationships among principals‟ perceptions of the importance of the practice of classroom walkthroughs and school socio-economic status, school performance level and student achievement. Participants were identified through a convenience sample of elementary school principals from three metro-area school districts in a Southeastern state that included both metropolitan and suburban communities. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, the Pearson product-moment correlation and hierarchal multiple regression. SSPS was used to determine the statistical relationships among the variables. The study revealed that principals value the practices associated with classroom walkthroughs. Significant relationships were not identified among the importance principals place on classroom walkthrough design, SES, AYP or student achievement, or among the relative importance principals place on classroom walkthroughs and SES or AYP. This study identified a significant relationship between the perceived importance of classroom walkthroughs relative to administrative duties of building student, family and community relations and student achievement

THRESHOLDS

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Languages and Literature of Bard College

Using BIM to Increase the Efficiency of Energy-Driven Retrofitting Projects

The building sector is responsible for nearly 40% of global energy consumption. Many existing buildings have poor thermal insulation and low energy performance, hindering sustainability goals. Energy-driven building retrofitting could address this issue and implementing Building Information Modelling (BIM) in retrofitting can reduce process time, costs, and waste associated with such undertakings. Yet, there is a lack of research and insufficient guidance for implementing BIM in energy-driven retrofitting. A BIM framework is presented to enhance decision-making processes during retrofitting. The aims of this study were to (1) identify BIM technologies and methodologies that could address existing barriers and improve efficiency in green retrofitting, (2) evaluate two BIM frameworks previously adopted in retrofitting projects, and (3) provide a set of recommendations. A comprehensive literature review was conducted to benchmark current retrofitting strategies and measures and identify the opportunities for implementing BIM. Then, a comparative analysis was conducted using two published case studies, to evaluate the BIM frameworks adopted in the research. The comparison provided an understanding of cases where BIM modelling and analysis tools were adopted, and costs and energy savings subsequently accrued; this facilitated the identification of the market\u27s most cost-effective and energy-efficient retrofitting package at the time of publication

Pre-Service Foreign Language Teachers’ Awareness of White Privilege

Over the last several years teacher preparation programs have strived to adequately prepare pre-service teachers for more diverse populations in the classroom. However, little research has been done to examine the attitudes of pre-service teachers related to white privilege. This is the qualitative report from a mixed-methods study which examined those attitudes, the quantitative report has previously been published. The quantitative portion employed a pre/post-test survey surrounding interactive activities and found a significant change in participants’ attitudes regarding social issues of privilege, such as racism and sexism (McGowan & Kern, 2014). This paper reports the ways pre-service foreign language teachers examined their understandings of white privilege. Students in a language methods course (N=19) participated in specific activities to explore how they relate privilege and oppression to their own lives and futures as teachers. A grounded theory approach was utilized to analyze the students’ responses to questions regarding the activities. From the analysis, six major themes were discovered. Three themes indicated the affordances pre-service teachers gained from the activities regarding privilege. Whereas, the other three themes indicated possible challenges in regards to privileged thinking. Suggestions for further research include determining the long-term effects of the intervention and extending the instructional intervention length