The last two decades has seen a growing dedication to the digitalization of education, with numerous reports and classroom innovations arising and traveling across national lines. Much contemporary research on digitalization, however, identifies the same kind of problems that were raised twenty years ago: the careless migration to new technology…

The purpose of this mixed methods action research was to determine if increased interactive Schoology-based modules could alter learner perceptions concerning the lack of meaningful learning (learner-instructor, learner-learner, learner-content) in the culture unit of instruction in an Advanced Placement Human Geography (APHG) classroom. A series…

Location-based social networks (LBSNs) have recently attracted the interest of millions of users who can now not only connect and interact with their friends--as it also happens in traditional online social networks--but can also voluntarily share their whereabouts in real time. A location database is the backbone of a location-based social…

This dissertation constitutes a multi-scale quantitative and qualitative investigation of patterns of urban development in metropolitan regions of the United States. This work has generated a comprehensive data set on spatial patterns of metropolitan development in the U.S. and an approach to the study of such patterns that can be used to further…

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…

Air cargo enjoys a special importance: together with maritime transport it is the backbone of global trade and is indispensable for contemporary globalization. Air transport is the only mode that combines worldwide reach with high speed. Nonetheless there is a dearth of geographic research that analyzes the current restructuring affecting the air…

This study examines peer social networks among low-income students at an elite college. A qualitative case study used semistructured individual interviews to consider how peer social networks are constructed and developed, the importance of these networks, and which institutional facilitators promote and inhibit same- and cross-class peer social…

The purpose of this study is to explore perceptions of return migration experiences and gain knowledge from rural residents who have left to obtain a college education and start careers in non-rural areas, and who then returned to their rural hometowns with the social and economic benefits of a college education, and other valuable resources. This…

This study examines from a geographical perspective the factors that impact the performance of public elementary schools in New York City during 2001-2005, a period when its schools were undergoing major reforms at both the local and national level. Education reforms have focused their attention on schools by increasing their responsibility and…