Coffee Hour and Coffee Hour To Go

Coffee Hour: Mapping Around the World: A Cartographic Study Abroad Experience

January 11, 2013 - 3:30pm - 5:00pm

While global experiences for university students are common, there are few examples of cartography or GIS-focused study for undergraduates. We share our experiences with an around-the-world trip with twelve students focused on topographic and other base mapping at multiple scales. We combined key elements of real-world business travel with visits to regional and/or national mapping agencies in Germany, United Arab Emirates, and Japan, exposing students to a wide range of mapping practices and map use. They also spoke to staff from three distinct cultures. Each student completed individual projects in one country to delve into a specific subtopic, such as energy, water, habitat conservation, and transit. The students planned the trip spring semester and traveled for three weeks in June 2012. During the fall semester 2012, the students presented their projects at USGS headquarters, bringing national mapping ideas home to the United States to inform the next generation of The National Map. Cynthia Brewer is a professor of geography, director of the Peter R. Gould Center for Geography Education and Outreach, and the undergraduate program officer for the Department of Geography. Anthony Robinson is the lead faculty member for Penn State's Postbaccalaureate GIS Certificate and Master of Geographic Information Systems programs in the John A. Dutton e-Education Institute. He is also an assistant director for the GeoVISTA Center in the Department of Geography.

Coffee Hour: Self-reinforcing patterns of fire severity

January 18, 2013 - 3:30pm - 5:00pm

Self-reinforcing patterns of fire severity in a mixed conifer forest landscape, southern Cascades, USA. Fire severity in mixed conifer forests in California has increased in the recent decades due in part to fire suppression and fuel build up. This has resulted in more severe fire effects in these ecosystems. In 2008, the Cub Fire burned through a watershed with an earlier fire history study (1997) that identified fire severity patterns in the 19th century. No logging had occurred in this watershed so differences in fire severity between the late 19th century and 2008 are related to fire history, vegetation structure, topography, changes in vegetation and fuels since fire suppression, and weather conditions during the fire. This work tests the working hypothesis that fire severity patterns in 2008 are driven mainly by fire severity patterns in the 19th century. In other words, patterns of fire severity are self-reinforcing and tend to be fixed in place. At the landscape scale, fire severity in 2008 was greatest where fire severity was greatest in the 19th century, on upper and mid-slope positions, and lowest on lower slope positions. This is the same fire everity pattern present in the 19th century landscape and supports the view that patterns of fire severity are self-reinforcing over long periods of time, at least in complex terrain. The lifting of an atmospheric inversion also contributed to fire severity patterns. In Cub Creek, fire severity patterns promote persistence of old forests with a multi-layered canopy in valley bottoms and on lower slopes and young dense forests on upper slopes. See attached article below for more background information About the speakerAlan Taylor is a professor of geography at Penn State and the director of the Vegetation Dynamics Lab. He has broad research interests in ecological biogeography and vegetation dynamics, particularly the role of natural and human disturbance and climate variation on forest dynamics. Much of his recent research has focused on identifying the influence of changes and interactions of land use history and climate on fire disturbance and forest conditions in the western United States.

Coffee Hour: Constructing a Climate Change Logic

January 25, 2013 - 3:30pm - 5:00pm

Constructing a Climate Change Logic: An Institutional Perspective on the “Tragedy of the Commons” Shahzad Ansari, Frank Wijen and Barbara Gray Forthcoming in Organization Science Abstract Despite increasing interest in transnational fields, transnational commons have received little attention. In contrast to economic models of commons, which argue that commons occur naturally and are prone to collective inaction and tragedy, we introduce a social constructionist account of commons. Specifically, we show that actor-level frame changes can eventually lead to the emergence of an overarching, hybrid ‘commons logic’ at the field level. These frame shifts enable actors with different logics to reach a working consensus and avoid “tragedies of the commons.” Using a longitudinal analysis of key actors’ logics and frames, we tracked the evolution of the global climate change field over forty years. We bracketed time periods demarcated by key field-configuring events, documented the different frame shifts in each time period, and identified five mechanisms (collective theorizing, issue linkage, active learning, legitimacy seeking, and catalytic amplification) that underpin how and why actors changed their frames at various points in time – enabling them to move towards greater consensus around a transnational commons logic. In conclusion, the emergence of a commons logic in a transnational field is a non-linear process and involves satisfying three conditions: 1) key actors view their fates as being interconnected with respect to a problem issue; 2) these actors perceive their own behavior as contributing to the problem; and 3) they take collective action to address the problem. Our findings provide insights for multinational companies, nation-states, non-governmental organizations, and other stakeholders in both conventional and unconventional commons. About the speaker Barbara Gray is a professor and Executive Programs Faculty Fellow in the Smeal College of Business at Penn State. She also serves as director of the Center for Research in Conflict and Negotiation. She has studied organizational and environmental conflict, framing and sensemaking, collaborative partnerships and institutional processes for over 35 years. She has published three books and over 90 other articles in journals such as Administrative Science Quarterly, Academy of Management Journal, Academy of Management Review, and Organization Science. Her research has been funded by NSF, EPA, NIH, and the Hewlett Foundation. She has served as an organizational consultant, mediator and trainer for many private, public and non-governmental organizations worldwide including Greenpeace International, the Dutch Ministry of Environment, Union Carbide, US Steel, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, the MacArthur Foundation, PA DEP, and many others. She has a B.S. in chemistry from University of Dayton and a Ph.D. in organizational behavior from Case Western Reserve University.

Coffee Hour: Restoring the American Chestnut

February 1, 2013 - 3:30pm - 5:00pm

Restoring the American Chestnut: Considerations on the Reintroduction of a Species Effectively Removed for Over a CenturyOnce the mighty giants of the eastern forests, American chestnuts (Castanea dentata) stood up to 100 feet tall, and numbered in the billions. They were a vital part of the forest ecology, a key food source for wildlife and an essential component of the human economy. In 1904 the fungal pathogen, accidentally imported from Asia, spread rapidly through the American chestnut population. By 1950 it had killed virtually all the mature trees from Maine to Georgia. Several attempts to breed blight resistant trees in the mid-1900s were unsuccessful.Current efforts to breed blight-resistance into American chestnut appear to be successful and attempts to study reintroduction of the species to its original range have now started with a small series of preliminary plantings. But the Appalachian forest ecosystem that made up the majority of this species’ original range is much different now than it was over 100 years ago when American chestnut was often the dominant species of a stand.New invasive and exotic competing species, introduced diseases and pests, ravenous and excessive deer herds, overdevelopment, and threats of climate change, just to name a few, face a species made effectively dormant by a fungal disease that continues to exist in rampant amounts throughout the chestnut’s homeland.Given all those hurdles, one might think working toward chestnut restoration is simply a setup for defeat. Thankfully, there are some very reachable milestones that, when combined, can make restoration a more conceivable goal. By conserving as much native diversity as possible, modeling the best habitat for reintroduction, and creating an effective deployment strategy, populations of American chestnut could be self-sustainable, despite changing pressures, within the next 50–100 years. About the speakerSara Fitzsimmons started working with the American chestnut as a Duke Stanback Intern in the summer of 2000. Then hired full-time at Penn State in 2003, Sara has worked as a contact for chestnut growers and researchers throughout the mid-Atlantic. Born and raised in southern West Virginia, Sara obtained her bachelor’s degree in biology from Drew University in Madison, New Jersey. She then received a master’s degree forest ecology and resource management from Duke University’s Nicholas School of the Environment. After a short stint as assistant editor of All About Beer Magazine, Sara returned to the forestry field, where she has been ever since.

Coffee Hour: Estimative Analysis, Strategic Planning, and Geography

February 8, 2013 - 3:30pm - 5:00pm

Abstract An early behavioral psychologist, Kurt Lewin, once said, “If you want truly to understand something, try to change it.” Change is inevitable. It is driven by known and unknown processes, trends, events, wild cards and surprises. Knowing the base line from which change will take place is critical. Knowing the drivers and game changers is critical as well. Understanding that you cannot know them all is even more critical. When considering the future of such inherently geographic issues as development, environmental management, national security, domestic and international affairs, corporate growth, and a host of others, strategic thinking is important. Estimative analysis is an approach to thinking strategically. Estimative analysis incorporates a wide variety of quantitative and qualitative techniques integrated to help put bounds on the types and ranges of uncertainty surrounding possible futures. When attempting to increase the likelihood that a desired future emerges or attempting to ensure your entity can survive or adapt into the future, strategic planning is a valuable process. Thinking and planning strategically rely on deep understanding of the physical, biological, social, technological, and economic realms in which the issue of interest resides; the variables that may or do impinge on that issues environment; how that environment is likely to change; and possible alternative outcomes. Techniques have been developed to estimate those changes. Strategic thinking and strategic planning are two very different but interrelated thought processes. Using both when addressing a geographic issue of interest can provide deep insights to the issue and the changing environment in which it resides. Previous efforts in strategic thought, plans and actions tend to verify Lewin’s assertion. About the speakerJohn A. Kelmelis joined the School of International Affairs faculty in September 2008 as a scholar of national and international geography. He brings to Penn State more than thirty years of distinguished government service and leadership, during which time he has provided scientific advice on U.S. foreign policy, regional resource management, disaster response, and information infrastructure. Kelmelis formerly served as Senior Counselor for Earth Science in the Office of the Science and Technology Advisor to the Secretary of State (STAS), where he provided policy advice to the White House, Department of State, and other high-level government entities on geology, hydrology, biology, geography, and related sciences and technologies in establishing and executing U.S. foreign policy. He concurrently served as senior science advisor for international policy in the Office of the Director, U.S. Geological Survey, where he served as principal staff advisor on incorporating science into international policy. He is currently a scientist emeritus at U.S. Geological Survey and consults with the Department of State and other organizations.

Coffee Hour: Living with HIV: Women and Antiretroviral Treatment in Uganda

February 22, 2013 - 3:30pm - 5:00pm

About the talk Increasingly, HIV/AIDS is an illness that can be lived with over many years. Nonetheless, in sub-Saharan Africa, there are still daily challenges of poverty and limited resources which shape the illness course. The recent discourses surrounding “normalization” and HIV as a chronic disease are useful, though limited in these settings. The narrow gaze of medical interventions, such as antiretroviral treatment, focuses on individuals as patients while leaving other needs unattended. Using data from a study in Uganda, this talk will explore women’s experiences of long-term antiretroviral treatment for HIV and the compounding vulnerabilities of poverty, gender imbalances, and intimate partner violence. Illness narratives reveal strategic ways in which women mobilize resources to maintain adherence to medication and seek help for medical and non-medical daily concerns. About the speakerMeg Winchester joined the geography department at Penn State in 2012 as a Postdoctoral Scholar. She is a medical anthropologist with research interests in global health, HIV/AIDS, intimate partner violence, gender, and health policy, especially in eastern and southern Africa. Prior to joining the department, she worked as a visiting lecturer for postgraduate students at Makerere University in Kampala, and previously as a consultant for the Center for AIDS Research (CFAR) and coordinator for the Center for Social Science Research on AIDS (CeSSRA).

Coffee Hour: The Triumph of Economics Over Geography ...

April 5, 2013 - 3:30pm - 5:00pm

The Triumph of Economics over Geography: A New Theory of Scarcity About the talk Poverty is universally seen as the lack of income to purchase a minimum threshold market basket of basic use-values such as food, health, housing, transport, and energy—a perspective that automatically transforms basic use-values into commodities to be purchased in the market. What use-values are produced is of course quite incidental to the business of maximizing exchange value or profit. Poverty exists, not due to lack of income, but because the economy systematically fails to produce basic use-values such as healthy bodies, good nutrition, affordable houses, and sustainable energy systems. The standard geography of poverty is a map showing the distribution of low income; as such, what it shows is the spatial distribution of people’s inability to purchase commodities. This is what I call the triumph of economics over geography. The more fundamental question is why the economy is grossly incapable of producing quality basic use-values at affordable prices. To answer that question, we need a new view of geography and a new theory of scarcity that goes beyond the economist’s claim that scarcity exists because resources are limited (the state of nature) and demand is unlimited (the state of human nature). Contrary to that claim, I argue that scarcity is not natural, but socially constructed, and therefore, we the people have a lot of power to change the conversation and overcome scarcity socially. About the speaker Lakshman Yapa is a professor of geography at Penn State. He is originally from Sri Lanka where he did his undergraduate studies. His Ph.D. is from Syracuse University, New York. He teaches courses on poverty and economic development and was the director of the Philadelphia Field Project from 1998–2010. He has won numerous university and national awards for teaching and service learning. He won Outreach Award in 2000, Penn State; Wilson Outstanding Teaching Award 1992, and the Wilson Outstanding Service Award in 2001 in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences; The President’s Award for Excellence in Academic Integration in 2006 (an award given for excellence in integration of teaching, research, and service); National Association for Multicultural Education Program Award in 2004; Magrath/Kellog Regional Engagement Award Northeast in 2008; and the Magrath/Kellog National Engagement Award in 2008; and the Ryan Faculty Fellowship 2009-2012. Additional reading1. “Transforming the University through Community Engagement,” Journal of Higher Education Outreach and Engagement, Vol. 13, No. 3, 2008, 131-148. 2. “Geography and Discourse Theory” Ed. B. Warf, Sage Encyclopedia of Hunan Geography, Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, 2006. 3. “What is Scarcity?” in The Future of Knowledge and Culture: A Dictionary for the Twenty-First Century Eds. A. Nandy and V. Lal , Penguin, Delhi, 2005, pp. 286-291.

CANCELED Coffee Hour: In Search of Lost Frogs ...

April 19, 2013 - 3:00pm - 5:00pm

THIS TALK IS CANCELEDIn Search of Lost Frogs: Changing perceptions one frog at a timeAbout the talkEngaging an apathetic public in the conservation of less charismatic creatures can be a tricky business. But if we are to scale up conservation efforts for the most threatened vertebrate group, the amphibians, this is exactly what we need to be doing. So how do we engage a public that is increasingly disempowered by prophecies of inevitable doom and gloom? I will discuss three initiatives designed to deliver a serious message about amphibian conservation in unconventional packages. First, the Search for Lost Frogs dispatched more than thirty teams in twenty countries in search of species lost to science. The campaign was quickly picked up by the media and generated over 650 news articles in 20 countries with a potential viewership of over a billion. The initiative resonated with the public, tapping into a sense of adventure and exploration, and rediscoveries transformed amphibians from symbols of extinction to symbols of hope in Israel, Haiti, and beyond. The campaign reinforced the potential of rediscoveries as a policy and publicity tool, and of amphibians as flagship species for conservation. Second, I will present Metamorphosis, a unique visual campaign blending science and art to explore our connection with amphibians. Last, I will discuss an initiative called Frame of Mind that I recently co-founded to connect youth in Haiti with their environment through photography and visual storytelling. Together, these three approaches strive to engage and reconnect us with our natural world. About the speaker Since his first foray into conservation during an undergraduate expedition to the rainforests of Cameroon, Dr. Robin Moore has been instrumental in establishing and supporting conservation projects in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. He holds a Ph.D. in biodiversity conservation and for the past seven years has been amphibian conservation officer with Conservation International and the IUCN Amphibian Specialist Group. His work has focused on supporting the protection of critical habitats for amphibians worldwide and developing innovative campaigns to raise the profile of amphibian conservation. Robin is an associate fellow of the International League of Conservation Photographers (ILCP) and is represented by National Geographic Image Collection. His images have been awarded by Nature's Best, National Geographic and the International Conservation Photography Awards. Robin recently co-founded Frame of Mind to empower youth around the world to connect with their natural and cultural worlds. More to explorewww.frameofmind.orgwww.robindmoore.comwww.conservation.org/lostfrogs

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