As we know and understand, reading and writing can be digital or material, and these literacy practices occur in complex layers of information intake and production. Much of writing scholarship explores and argues for an expanded and nuanced definitions of "literacy" and "embodiment." Such understandings require us to consider…

This dissertation explores how to teach web mapping. Web mapping skillsets are in demand by employers, yet a minority of Geographic Information Science (GIScience) programs include web mapping in their curricula. The dissertation seeks to promote web mapping education by addressing the barriers to teaching web mapping and instructional strategies…

This exploratory and descriptive research intended to examine ways to engage a vulnerable young adult population in environmental and ecological education and in community planning and public participation processes. A goal was to understand how to be more inclusive in the decision-making process at the community level based on ethical principles…

This dissertation investigates the relationship between storytelling and information in the narration of geographic space. While storytelling has historically shaped our understanding of geography, modern practices in data collection, cartography, and geographic visualization enable one-way forms of representation that remove the negotiation and…

School violence is a complex cultural problem that affects most schools. This study used a participatory action research model involving mapmaking, photography and intercultural grouping to understand how one school's physical environment and social geography contributed to interethnic tensions on campus. The study found that mapmaking allowed…

This research focuses on the current role of mapping practices in communicating climate change in the United States. This includes maps used in monitoring climate change, projecting its potential impacts, and identifying potential adaptation strategies at particular scales. Since few, if any, studies have been done specifically on mapping…

This dissertation explores the notion of participatory community mapping (PCM) for Indigenous knowledge production. Three major questions were posed in the study. First, how can PCM foster Indigenous knowledge production and documentation? Second, how can PCM be used to include local voice and input in mapping projects, and third, how can adult…

This study investigates an elective English class, in which students in grades 10-12 collectively read and collaboratively wrote fantasy fiction in four groups. The purpose of the class was to have students consider the choices fantasy and science fictions writers, directors, and video game designers make when creating a fictional world. The…