Digital Commons Network^™

Space-Time Pattern Of Underground Radon Emission And The Influence Of Environmental Factors Using Sensor Networks, Sumya Tasnim

Geosciences Theses

Radon is the leading cause of lung cancer after smoking. There is a lack of information regarding underground radon concentrations at a local scale. This research assessed the underground radon emissions from 30 sensors from May 2022 to January 2023. This thesis utilized the emerging hotspot technique to identify the hotspots and coldspots of underground radon concentrations. It then evaluated their correlations with temperature, humidity, air pressure, CO₂, and volatile organic compound (VOC). The results indicated that the western side of the testbed and the warmer season had more hotspots than the rest of the area and colder …

No Easy Path: A Ground-Penetrating Radar Investigation Of The Historic Penfield Cemetery., Robert Paul Theberge

Anthropology Theses

Numerous historic cemeteries in the rural American South currently face deterioration due to natural and human elements. Those founded by enslaved African American communities are particularly vulnerable due to historical inequities, and to events affecting Black populations after emancipation. Rediscovery of these sites prompts inquiries into best practices for their preservation and revitalization. Tools such as Ground-Penetrating Radar (GPR), have proven valuable in addressing preliminary questions essential for effective cemetery preservation efforts. This thesis employs GPR to assess the number and distribution of burials in the historically segregated African American section of the Penfield Cemetery in Greene County, Georgia. Following …

Integration Of Misaligned Spatial Data For Evidence-Based Planning And Disaster Risk Assessment, Faris Hawamdeh

Computer Science Dissertations

Disasters, whether natural or anthropogenic, can be catastrophic and deadly. Without readiness and a well-planned response from local agencies and public health authorities, the number of casualties and the damage to the infrastructure can have long-term effects on the economy and the well-being of the community and country. The main obstacle to developing robust disaster plans and estimating hazard impacts is the availability of region-specific data. This dissertation encompassed the creation of a data repository of geospatial and demographic data in support of emergency response and risk assessment tools such as Re-PLAN and RAMP. Several hazard specific geospatial data types …

Pregnancy Associated Conditions And Birth Outcomes Among Georgia Mothers: A Population-Based Study, Meosha Simpson

Public Health Theses

Introduction: Georgia has one of the highest rates of maternal mortality in the nation with 30.2 pregnancy-related deaths per 100,000 live births between 2018-2020. Pregnancy-associated conditions (PACs) are associated with maternal mortality and negative birth outcomes. Evidence supports that pre-pregnancy overweight, and obesity are associated with weight gain, increased body mass index (BMI) during pregnancy, gestational hypertension (GHT), and gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) which in turn are associated with adverse birth outcomes. The primary objective of the study is to investigate the risk of pre-pregnancy BMI associated with adverse maternal conditions and birth outcomes among Georgia mothers after controlling …

Habitat Suitability Assessment For Urban Beavers In Metro Atlanta, Ga, And Charlotte, Nc, Alisha Guglielmi

Geosciences Theses

Degradation in urban streams results from expansive impervious surface cover channeling stormflow directly to streams, lessening water storage ability. To slow velocity and decrease peak flow in urban watersheds, stormwater management ponds can be effective in alleviating the impact of flooding but require resources for establishment and maintenance. Urban beaver ponds also effectively store large quantities of water, while offering ecological and geomorphic benefits. Conflicts between beavers and humans arise when dams cause localized flooding and unexpected landscape changes. Lessening conflict requires a spatial understanding of habitat suitability, which this study attempted by modelling key habitat characteristics using GIS. I …

Application Of Epidemiologic Methods To Investigate The Heterogenous Impact Of Covid-19, Sushma Dahal

Public Health Dissertations

Epidemiologic methods have been critical in shedding light on the dynamics and impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, including monitoring and quantifying morbidity and mortality over time to guide prevention and mitigation strategies. Here we apply different epidemiologic methods across different geospatial levels, population groups, and time scales to investigate the impact of COVID-19 using epidemiological data from Mexico.

In the first study, we assess the mortality impact of the COVID-19 pandemic by estimating absolute and relative excess mortality above an expected level of deaths and employ a generalized logistic growth model to generate short-term forecasts of excess mortality. We also …

Disparities In Covid-19 Vaccination Booster Coverage Among Healthcare Personnel (Hcp) In Urban, Suburban, And Rural Long-Term Care Facilities (Ltcf), National Healthcare Safety Network (Nhsn), United States, January 2022 – March 2022, George E. Segovia

Public Health Theses

As of March 2022, only 47% of healthcare personnel (HCP) in U.S. long-term care facilities (LTCFs) have received a COVID-19 booster dose, despite having access to the booster two months before the general population. The slower uptake of COVID-19 boosters among HCP may result from vaccine hesitancy and socioeconomic challenges, which are factors that vary across urbanicity. As previous studies have found lower completion of primary COVID-19 vaccine series among rural communities, it is important to examine if booster uptake vary among HCP, which could help inform where strategies to increase booster uptake are most needed. Using COVID-19 booster data …

Analysis Of Links Between Food Accessibility And Walkability In Boston, Massachusetts And Three Surrounding Suburbs, Rachel B. Anderson

Political Science Theses

What are the connections between food insecurity and walkability? Food insecurity remains one of the most concerning policy issues in the United States today. As a car-dependent nation, it begs the question of how members of the population without personal vehicle access suffer from food insecurity because of that lack of access. 14 million Americans reside in areas considered by the USDA as “food deserts,” or further than one square-kilometer from a supermarket in urban areas and further than 10 square kilometers in rural areas. I argue that walkability contributes to food security by reducing barriers to access healthy grocery …

Banks On A Plane: Disparities In Financial Access And Critiques Of Geospatial Accessibility, Ryan Pardue

Geosciences Theses

Banking and credit are necessary to build wealth, but they are unequally available across space, race, and class. Research on the spatial distribution of financial services indicates a robust pattern of banks retreating from low-income and predominantly minority communities to be replaced by alternative financial services (AFS); however, the methods used to measure and visualize the availability of services create different spatial imaginaries of financial exclusion that alter understandings of urban inequality. This project examines disparities in access to financial services in Atlanta area using five geospatial accessibility estimates. Locations for bank branches and alternative services are used to calculate …

A Descriptive Study Of Well Water Contaminants In Georgia From 2010-2022, Angelique Willis

Public Health Theses

Introduction: Safe, reliable, and clean drinking water sources are a basic necessity; however, chemical contamination of private wells has plagued Georgia. More than 1.7 million individuals in Georgia rely on private wells for drinking water; nonetheless, wells are not under mandated regulations as municipal water supplies. Well water can contain chemical contaminants such as arsenic, uranium, lead, nitrate-nitrogen, and radon that can impact health when above the federal Maximum Contaminant Limit (MCL). In Georgia, previous studies suggested that the variation of soil and rock in a physiographic province (region) plays an essential role in the quality of private well water. …

Blocking Out The Sun: Restricting Rooftop Solar In Atlanta, Georgia, Carys Behnke

Geosciences Theses

This study examines the uneven geographies of residential rooftop solar energy adoption across the City of Atlanta. Rooftop solar has the potential to reduce the racial wealth gap, advance economic independence for low-income households, and decrease utility bills. However, research in cities nationwide has consistently shown a marked discrepancy in rooftop solar adoption between white and minority neighborhoods. In Atlanta, analysis of solar permit applications and demographic data shows that 64% of solar installation permits are in majority-white census tracts, though the majority of permits have been located in majority-Black neighborhoods over the last two years. While rapidly increasing adoption …

Comparative Analysis Of Inter-Basin Transfers, Leakage, And Precipitation As Inflows Within The Urban Hydrologic Cycle, Sarah Lowe

Geosciences Theses

Water budgets are useful frameworks for urban planning, water management, and water conservation efforts—particularly as urban populations continue to grow. This research quantifies and compares magnitudes and temporal dynamics of precipitation, inter-basin transfers (IBTs), and leakage of potable water as inflows within the South River Watershed (SRW), an urbanized watershed located near Atlanta, GA USA. Monthly and annual precipitation totals derived from local gauge networks and from the PRISM model showed good agreement, with a long-term spatial average of 1407 mm for the watershed. Annually, precipitation was the dominant inflow into the watershed at 88%, the net IBT of potable …

Law Of The Land: Tribal Sovereignty And Legally Legitimated Resource-Based Control Of Native Americans, Carrie Stallings, Kat Albrecht

CJC Publications

In this article we reject the premise that race is merely an independent variable when studying the relationship between Native Americans and U.S. law. Instead we advance a new theory construct that more accurately understands the specific relationship between tribal sovereignty and inequality in the U.S. legal system. We term this new theoretical approach resource-based control that considers 1) how groups are racialized in their economic relationships with the United States, 2) how that process is derivative of the continuing process of U.S. settler-colonialism, and 3) how U.S. law functions to protect the capital of the United States.

We test …

Sinkhole Susceptibility Analysis Using Machine Learning For West Central Florida, Olanrewaju Muili

Geosciences Theses

In this study, I compared the predictive capability of five machine learning models (logistic regression (LR), multilayer perceptron (MLP), support vector machine (SVM), k-nearest neighbor (KNN), and random forest (RF)), and used the best-performed model to construct a susceptibility map for west central Florida. A total of 9 layers were extracted from the collected data and employed as conditional factors for the correlation analysis. Factors with negligible contribution to the quality of predictions, according to the information gain ratio technique, were later discarded. The validation of the machine learning models, performed using different statistical indices and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) …

Evaluating The Confluent Impact Of Geology, Housing Characteristics, And Season On Indoor Radon In Atlanta Metropolitan Area, The United States, Eunhee Kim

Geosciences Theses

Radon is a radioactive gas that potentially causes lung cancer after long-term exposure. This thesis investigated the confluent impact of geology, housing characteristics, and season on indoor radonand identified the significant factors associated with elevated radon levels in Atlanta metropolitan area, USA. Using the data obtained from the private vendor, Air Chek, this study identified hot spots of high radon levels. The hot spots were found in Douglas, Fulton, DeKalb, and Gwinnett. Through binary logistic regression analysis, this study identified that the granite and orthogneiss bedrock, the ranch-style house, the presence of a basement, and the test in cold seasons …

A Data Visualization Framework For Esda: Understanding Pre-Diabetes And Diabetes Prevalence In Florida, Brindal Dhol

Computer Science Theses

Exploratory spatial data analysis (ESDA) is a technique for analyzing data from different geographic regions. To examine patterns, ESDA uses univariate and multivariate graphical approaches. Through a case study of diabetes and pre-diabetes prevalence in Florida, we built a novel data visualization framework for ESDA.

Diabetes is a rapidly increasing global disease that is a major global health concern with significant implications for healthcare spending. Information about the relationship between diabetes and geographical sociodemographic characteristics could assist public health programs better targeting those who are at risk. We show the regional prevalence of disease in Florida and its relationship to …

Rooted Resistance: The Struggle For Black Liberation Through Food Cultivation, Lauren Forbes

AYSPS Dissertations

The U.S. has a long and sordid history of racialized oppression, and the implications of this history are reflected in the persistence of racially and spatially segregated urban poverty. Low-income, predominately Black and brown neighborhoods are consistently lacking in the resources needed for families and communities to thrive due to policymaking decisions that undergird uneven development and resource extraction. Urban farms and gardens, present a unique opportunity to address many of the challenges facing these communities; however, depending on the characteristics of these agriculture projects, specifically the racial identity of the leadership and the project’s objectives, urban agriculture can also …

Stories I Have Always Heard: The Rhetorical Life Of An American Song, Jessica Rose

English Dissertations

This dissertation investigates the song “You Are My Sunshine” as a cultural and material artifact, using archival and primary materials and drawing from research in feminist and sonic rhetorics to reconstruct the song’s muddy origins and reveal its rhetorical potential. While scholarship tying these traditions together exists, discussions of songs as rhetorical, historical, and cultural objects are scant, and much research focuses on the material state of sound. This investigation of the song shifts that focus to cultural environments, built across time, set amid the backdrop of emerging sound technologies. Employing Hall and du Gay’s research tool “Circuit of Culture,” …

Developing And Disseminating The Children’S Environmental Health Index With Web Gis, Allegra Yeley

Public Health Capstone Projects

A common adage in the field of children’s environmental health is “children are not small adults”. Children’s behavior, physiology, and dependency can increase their risk of and vulnerability to environmental exposures. Screening and web mapping tools like EPA’s EJSCREEN and California’s CalEnviroScreen highlight populated areas where residents may be at an increased risk of poor environmental health outcomes or environmental injustices. These tools provide valuable insight for policy makers, public health professionals, and the public. However, there are currently no screening tools that focus on spatial disparities in children’s environmental health at the local level.

This project sought to address …

Examining The Relationship Between Perceived Neighborhood Context On Sexual Risk Behaviors Among Black Men Who Have Sex With Men In The South, Terrika Barham

Public Health Dissertations

Background: The burden of HIV in the South remains disproportionate among Black MSM, who account for 48% of HIV diagnoses among MSM. Reasons for these disparities include higher-level structural and social factors, as well as psychosocial factors, that influence individual sexual risk behaviors, including neighborhood conditions, discrimination, depression, resilience, and religiosity/spirituality. The purpose of this dissertation is to examine the relationship between perceived neighborhood context and sexual risk behaviors among Black MSM in the South.

Methods: The dissertation utilized data from the MARI study, which included 412 Black MSM from Jackson, MS and Atlanta, GA. The theoretical framework was …

Distribution Of Contamination Sources In The Atlanta Metropolitan Area Along The Upper Chattahoochee River Basin: An Environmental Justice Focus, Ahmadou T. Deme

Geosciences Theses

Over the last few decades, the rapid expansion of the Atlanta urban area has led to the increase of the number of sources of pollutions around the area and the level of pollution in the Chattahoochee River. This research analyzed the change in the distribution of sources of contamination over time and space, and evaluated their impact on environmental justice in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The results indicate contaminated areas increased from 2000 to 2019, spreading from the central metropolitan area to the south along the Chattahoochee River. The Box and whisker plots indicated existence of spatio-temporal variations in the …

The Weight Of Administrative Burden: The Distributive Consequences Of Federal Disaster Assistance On Recovery After Hurricane Harvey, Natasha Malmin

AYSPS Dissertations

My dissertation identifies the impacts of administrative burden on individuals and communities through differential federal recovery assistance allocation. I present four essays that evaluate the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) direct-to-households grant program and the Small Business Administration (SBA) disaster home loan program. These are large federal programs directed at providing recovery assistance to individuals. I also utilize the Kaiser Family Foundation/Episcopal Health Foundation Harvey Anniversary Survey to assess perceptions of recovery by individuals who applied to FEMA and/or SBA for disaster assistance.

I find that disparities in funding exist for specific demographic profiles, particularly persons with disabilities. Moreover, administrative …

Characterizing Solute Transport And Processing Dynamics In The Headwaters Of The South River (South Atlanta, Ga, Usa), Christopher Wheeler

Geosciences Theses

Urban development has degraded numerous headwater streams. Objectives of this study are: (1) to characterize variation in baseflow hydrochemistry in headwater streams of the South River Watershed (Atlanta, GA, USA) and relate it to differences in land use and other characteristics, as well as to (2) examine solute dynamics during storm events. Results suggest that land use on the watershed scale has a significant influence on mean baseflow nitrate concentration at a given site, with antecedent precipitation also playing a role. Additionally, we collected samples throughout storm events at three USGS stream gage sites. Water chemistry data was paired with …

Assessment Of Urban Flood Vulnerability Using Thesocial-Ecological-Technological Systems Framework In Six Us Cities, Heejun Chang, Arun Pallathadka, Jason Sauer, Nancy B. Grimm, Rae Zimmerman, Chingwen Cheng, David M. Iwaniec, Yeowon Kim, Robert Lloyd, Timon Mcphearson, Bernice Rosenzweig, Tiffany Troxler, Claire Welty, Ryan Brenner, Pablo Herreros-Cantis

Sustainable Futures Lab Publications

As urban populations continue to grow through the 21 st century, more people are projected to be at risk of exposure to climate change-induced extreme events. To investigate the complexity of urban floods, this study applied an interlinked social-ecological-technological systems (SETS) vulnerability framework by developing an urban flood vulnerability index for six US cities. Indicators were selected to reflect and illustrate exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity to flooding for each of the three domains of SETS. We quantified 18 indicators and normalized them by the cities’ 500-yr floodplain area at the census block group level. Clusters of flood vulnerable areas …

Epidemiology Of Malaria And Other Diseases Of Public Health Importance And Implications For Interventions In High Transmission Settings In Sub-Saharan Africa, Leah Moriarty

Public Health Dissertations

Infectious diseases remain a major cause of disability of death in low-resource settings. Malaria alone was responsible for an estimated 405,000 deaths globally in 2018, with the 94% of these deaths occurring in sub-Saharan Africa. In Mozambique and Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), communicable diseases, including malaria, lower respiratory infections, and neonatal disorders are among the top causes of disability and death. Understanding malaria and co-endemic diseases in these two countries can aid the planning, evaluation, and targeting of public health interventions. Additionally, studying the efficacy of the drugs used to treat malaria will preserve the ability for malaria …

Population-Level Characterization Of Nocardiosis In The United States, Rita M. Traxler

Public Health Dissertations

Nocardiosis is caused by opportunistic, soil-borne bacteria in the genus Nocardia. The disease is characterized by severe pulmonary and systemic infections, and mild to severe skin infections. People thought to be at risk are older adults and those with underlying comorbidities, particularly immunosuppressive conditions. Treatment duration can be long and may require antimicrobial and surgical interventions. Considered a rare disease, the existing literature and knowledge base regarding the clinical presentation, persons at risk, incidence, and mortality estimates are primarily from case series or limited hospital-based retrospective analyses. Evaluating the disease characteristics from more generalizable data can aid in our …

Essays On Pollution, Health, And Education, Wes Austin

AYSPS Dissertations

Coal ash accounts for one third of industrial water pollution in the United States. In Chapter 1, I assess the relationship between coal ash surface water discharges and three relevant outcomes: surface water quality, municipal system water quality, and fetal health indicators from a birth certificate database in North Carolina. Identification relies on geographic variation in downstream status of monitoring sites and municipal water intake locations, plant closures or conversions, and the relative quantity of coal ash released over time. I find that coal ash releases are associated with higher conductivity and pH in both downstream surface waters and municipal …

Towards Sustainable Cities: Lessons From Urban Decentralization In India And Bangladesh, Simanti Bandyopadhyay, Firdousi Naher, Aishna Sharma

ICEPP Working Papers

Fiscal and financial management in South Asian cities typically face constraints in capacity and utilization of resources. This paper attempts a systematic analysis of three corporations in the region: the Indian city of Kolkata (Kolkata Municipal Corporation, KMC) and the city corporations in Bangladesh’s capital city, Dhaka (Dhaka North City Corporation, DNCC, and Dhaka South City Corporation, DSCC). Based on the incomes and expenditures of these corporations, this paper attempts for the first time a comparison in the status of finances and service delivery in cities of two South Asian Countries. The main findings suggest that the revenue receipts of …

An Analysis Of Climate Resilience Planning In Atlanta, Georgia, Nkosi Muse

Geosciences Theses

This research focused on identifying the spatial distribution of two potential climate hazards in the City of Atlanta, Georgia. Extreme heat (1) is one of Atlanta’s most significant threats, and flooding (2) continues to plague its communities. Potential socioeconomic predictors of extreme heat (poverty, percent of black residents) proved not to have strong relationships with high land surface temperature (LST) at the census tract level. Urban flooding was found to be at its highest risk in southern areas of the city. A content analysis of city governance was performed to see how much of the previously identified hazards are addressed …

The Differential Incidence Of Gestational Hypertension Among Georgia Counties, Douglas Hoffmann

Public Health Theses

ABSTRACT

The Differential Incidence of Gestational Hypertension Among Georgia Counties

Douglas G. Hoffmann, MD

October 31, 2019

INTRODUCTION: Gestational hypertension is responsible for a significant number of maternal mortality cases. It is hypothesized that county-level incidence differences of gestational hypertension in Georgia are related to county demographic or environmental characteristics and disease risk.

AIM: This study aims to determine factors related to differential incidence rates of gestational hypertension in Georgia.

METHODS: Data was obtained from the Georgia Department of Public Health and publicly available sources for the years 2013-2017. Gestational hypertension clusters were identified using GeoDa software. Contextual continuous variables …