Browsing by Author "Cavdar, Gamze, committee member"
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Item Open Access Essays on migration and tourism in Georgia(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2024) Murvanidze, Elene, author; Alves Pena, Anita, advisor; Miller, Ray, committee member; Weiler, Stephan, committee member; Cavdar, Gamze, committee memberIn the context of the Georgian economy, migration, tourism, and agriculture are fundamental sectors, each significantly influencing the country's socio-economic structure. Migration, driven by economic opportunities and geopolitical factors, impacts labor markets, remittance flows, and cultural diversity. Although emigration has historically led to challenges such as brain drain, remittances from Georgian migrants support household incomes and contribute to GDP. Tourism leverages Georgia's cultural heritage, scenic landscapes, and urban attractions to draw international visitors, creating jobs and generating foreign exchange. Agriculture, with its deep historical and geographical roots, remains crucial for food security, export earnings, and rural livelihoods, benefiting from the diverse crops grown in Georgia's fertile soils. As Georgia progresses economically, understanding and leveraging the interactions between migration, tourism, and agriculture is essential. This requires thorough examination and expansion of existing research to gain deeper insights into their socio-economic impacts. Only through such detailed analysis can policymakers develop strategic policies and make informed decisions. This dissertation aims to represent one small step towards this goal. Since 1990, over one million individuals, comprising about 25% of the country's population, have emigrated from Georgia due to political instability, security concerns, and socioeconomic challenges. Among the 25 East European and former Soviet countries, only Albania and Kazakhstan have experienced a greater proportion of population loss through emigration. Women constitute over half of all migrants, 39% of Georgian children reside in households with at least one migrant family member, and 19% of children live in households that receive remittances. Public discussions surrounding migration have subtly evolved: the stigma attached to independent female migrants for "abandoning" their families has gradually given way to an acknowledgment of their role in ensuring household survival. The first chapter of this dissertation examines the relationship between remittances and the education outcomes of children left behind. We use the 2012 household survey collected by Maastricht University and the International Centre for Social Research and Policy Analysis and measure the impacts on education outcomes of children between 11 and 18 years old. We estimate results for being a high academic performer (probit model), and average academic scores (OLS model). Our findings show that remittances do not impact children's school performance. When we control for migrant characteristics, we find that the migration of a female household member negatively impacts the child's school performance. To further investigate the impact of migrant gender on school performance, we analyze the child's current caregiver arrangements. The results show that a child's education outcomes are negatively impacted when mother is abroad and father is a caregiver. The impact is larger for girls than for boys. We do not find statistically significant evidence of adverse effects when fathers migrate and mothers are caregivers, or when both parents migrate and grandparents are caregivers. Remittances do not have a statistically significant impact in any of our specifications (in rural or urban settings, for daughters or sons). The dissolution of the Soviet Union drastically transformed the Georgian economy. High rates of unemployment and poverty, prompted the government to reconsider its economic strategies. Recognizing the need to diversify the economy, particular emphasis was placed on boosting the tourism sector. From 2009 to 2016, Georgia had one of the fastest-growing tourism sectors in the world. The number of international visitors quadrupled, and the tourism revenue as a share of GDP increased eight-fold. Despite the pivotal role played by tourism development in Georgia's economic landscape and policy formulation, its effects have not been extensively studied. There is no research indicating that the development of tourism in Georgia leads to sustainable economic growth. The second chapter investigates the impact of tourism development on economic growth. We utilize the autoregressive distributed lag bounds testing (ARDLBT) model, examining both annual data spanning from 1997 to 2019 and quarterly data from 2011 to 2019. The annual data results for the trivariate model (real GDP, tourism, real effective exchange rate) confirm Aliyev and Ahmadova's (2020) findings. Cointegration tests indicate the relationship between tourism and economic growth, a 1% increase in tourism arrivals is associated with a 0.14% decrease in real GDP. However, once we add agriculture (AGR) and foreign direct investments (FDI) as additional controls we do not find the long-run relationship between tourism and real GDP to be statistically significant. These conclusions are consistent across various model specifications and are further supported by our analysis of quarterly data. In terms of other tourism impacts, we find tourism to have a positive impact on the real effective exchange rate (REER), a 1% increase in tourism development is associated with a 0.08-0.19% increase in REER in the long-run. Additionally, tourism demonstrates short-term correlations with agriculture (AGR) and foreign direct investment (FDI), with a 1% increase in tourism development corresponding to increases of 0.11-0.49% in AGR and 1.07-1.46% in FDI. The third chapter evaluates the effects of protected areas on land use and income distribution, focusing on changes in tourism and agricultural production in a theoretical framework. Our findings show that conservation policy has economic and environmental consequences even when it does not directly intersect the agricultural frontier. The establishment or expansion of the protected area tends to attract more visitors. The growth of tourism and agricultural sectors will raise nominal wages and agricultural prices. The extent of these changes will determine whether inequality increases or decreases.Item Open Access How community institutions in Turkey engage in disaster risk reduction: a case study of Istanbul and Antakya(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2012) Schilperoort, Liesel Mary, author; Peek, Lori, advisor; Taylor, Peter, committee member; Cavdar, Gamze, committee memberThis thesis explores how different community institutions - government, education, healthcare, business, and grassroots organizations - in Turkey engage in disaster risk reduction (DRR) strategies and how each institution fosters a culture of resilience. The framework used to assess DRR engagement is the Hyogo Framework for Action (HFA), which is the structure of resilience and preparedness created by the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR). The goal of the research is to understand the ways that DRR is integrated into social institutions in Turkey, using the cities of Istanbul and Antakya as the primary case study communities. The analyses of 21 interviews, as well as supplemental respondent surveys, highlight primary themes informing how the five community institutions address seismic risk in Turkey. The current social organization of Turkey has key characteristics found in 'fatalistic' societies, or societies that are characteristically reactive. However, the ways community institutions engage in DRR illustrates that Turkey is determined to shift its DRR strategies from reactive to proactive. "A current state of unpreparedness" is how a respondent described the risk culture in Turkey today. Still, an examination of the data verifies that, despite the barriers, Turkey is beginning to develop a strong culture of resilience and gradually shifting toward a more 'self-reliant', proactive society.Item Open Access Organic geochemistry of Mesoproterozoic Nonesuch Formation at White Pine, Michigan, USA(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2012) Fourgani, Aiyda Ibrahim, author; Sutton, Sally, advisor; Ridley, John, advisor; Cavdar, Gamze, committee memberThe quality and quantity of the preserved organic matter (OM) in the Mesoproterozoic Nonesuch Formation at White Pine are evaluated in this project. Specifically, I have considered whether the rocks had source rock potential and whether there is a relationship between the OM and copper mineralization. The copper mineralization and hydrocarbons migration pathways are hypothesized to be related. There are three possibilities for the relationship. The copper ore fluid may have migrated with the hydrocarbons. The copper may also have precipitated where the hydrocarbons had accumulated, or the copper precipitated where there were accumulations of OM. Three cores (42C, 37F, and 30G) from in or near the White Pine mine were described and analyzed. The sampled core intervals are mostly from the Lower Nonesuch Formation with some from higher intervals. The overall lithology is gray laminated siltstone, with some sandy siltstone and lesser shale and sandstone. The core samples have various colors, with brown to dark brown samples hosting organic matter. The most abundant minerals are quartz, feldspar (plagioclase, orthoclase), mica, and some rock fragments; calcite and chlorite are mostly found as cement. Various analyses were done to investigate the organic matter. For estimating the maturity, kerogen type, and potential source rock quality, samples were subjected by the Rock Eval pyrolysis. Also other techniques were used for evaluating maturation, including ultraviolet microscopy and vitrinite reflectance microscopy; it was determined that the majority of samples have little to no vitrinite-like material. The organic matter as analyzed by the UV microscope is observed to be of three types, kerogen, bitumen, and oil inclusions. The oil inclusions are mostly found in the sandy siltstone samples. The organic matter is mostly not fluorescent possibly because it is overmature or immature; it contains less than about 10% pyrolyzable hydrocarbons. The organic matter may have been produced from remains of organisms like algae and fungus deposited within a lacustrine and/or transitional marine environment. The generative potential of the organic matter is in the poor to fair range. The range of TOC (total organic carbon) content is between 0.01 and 0.86 wt %. The highest value is detected above the mineralization zone in the Upper Nonesuch Formation. The kerogens of the Nonesuch Formation are types III and IV, types that usually are gas prone, or have no hydrocarbon potential. The samples may have been oxidized by copper bearing fluids which altered the organic matter and reduced its potential to produce hydrocarbons. Overall, the organic matter of the lower Nonesuch Formation at White Pine has no potential to produce hydrocarbons.Item Open Access Spectral gamma ray characterization of the Elko Formation, Nevada - a case study for a small lacustrine basin(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2015) McGowan, Erin M., author; Egenhoff, Sven O., advisor; Schutt, Derek, committee member; Cavdar, Gamze, committee member; Amerman, Robert, committee memberHandheld gamma ray spectrometry is a cost-effective and time-efficient means of furthering understanding of lake facies and small-scale lake systems. Spectral and total gamma ray data were recorded every foot vertically through a succession in situ at four outcrops along a NNW-to-SSE transect representing the lower to middle Eocene Elko Formation in northeast Nevada, USA. The lacustrine Elko Formation consists of, from oldest to youngest, four major units: 1) a basal conglomerate, 2) an overlying carbonate, 3) a fine-grained organic-rich mudstone with intercalated carbonate mudstones, and 4) volcaniclastics. These units comprise fourteen sedimentological facies identifiable in outcrop. In this study, these fourteen facies have been reduced to eight that are discernable by spectral gamma ray (SGR) signals. Each recorded interval in the Elko Formation succession was assigned to one of these eight facies. These eight facies comprise five siliciclastic (plant-bearing mudstone, clay-dominated mudstone, microbial-mat-bearing mudstone, ash-bearing mudstone, and conglomerate) facies, two carbonate (calcareous mudstone and fossiliferous mudstone-wackestone) facies, and one volcanic tuff facies. In conjunction with SGR, outcrop observation, X-ray diffraction (XRD), thin section observation, and total organic carbon (TOC) analyses allowed a thorough understanding of facies composition and its SGR signal. The primary controls of SGR components [potassium (K), uranium (U), and thorium (Th)] reflect K-bearing volcanic minerals (feldspars and micas), U-enriched organic material, and clay abundance (illite and montmorillonite; potentially derived from volcanic ash), respectively. High radioactivity, with signals above 120 American Petroleum Institute (API) units, was demonstrated for five facies (plant-bearing mudstone, clay-dominated mudstone, microbial-mat-bearing mudstone, ash-bearing mudstone, and volcanic tuff) in contrast to the remaining three facies (calcareous mudstone, fossiliferous mudstone-packstone, and conglomerate) exhibiting low radioactivity of less than or equal to 120 API. Distribution of radioactive minerals across the outcrops was largely found to be not only a function of general lithologic composition, but also the paleogeographic locations of the outcrops within the lake basin, due to the differing contributions of organic debris and volcanic constituents. This distribution of radioactive minerals across each outcrop supports a recent depositional model of north-to-south diachronous deposition of the Elko Formation (Horner, 2015). The microbial-mat-bearing mudstone facies was a traceable, deep-lake sediment throughout the basin by which outcrops could be assigned to more proximal or more distal positions within the paleo-lake by applying Th/U ratios. The proximal outcrop data show a low Th/U ratio (below 2.5), as opposed to the distal outcrop data that have a high Th/U ratio (2.5–4). These data confirm that most likely Th/U ratios reflect the increase in the amount of clay with distance from the proximal outcrops. Thin section microscopy and scanning electron microscope (SEM) analyses allowed for recognition of eight diagenetic cements reflecting a strongly varying diagenetic history in the Elko Formation sedimentary rocks. One calcite, four stages of dolomite, two types of silica, and one zeolite cement were identified. The calcite, dolomite, and silica cements were typically formed sequentially as listed above, whereas the zeolites formed independently. Intraparticle, interparticle, matrix, shelter, and fracture porosity types are also present, each forming post-deposition, except for interparticle and matrix porosity within volcaniclastics. Calcite, dolomite,and silica cements were found succeeding shelter and fracture porosity, whereas the timing of zeolite cement in matrix porosity was unclear. Overall, cement phases and porosity were found to be minimal, and therefore, probably had only a minor influence on the overall gamma ray signal of the Elko Formation sedimentary rocks. SGR characterization of each of the eight facies across a proximal-to-distal transect of the Elko continental-lacustrine sedimentary basin reflects the strong influence that climate and tectonics have on depositional changes in a small-scale lake. Applying gamma ray techniques to the small-scale lake system of the Elko Formation was found to be a useful tool and provides a framework to apply to lacustrine studies as a predictive tool in future exploration.