American Studies Commons^™

The Effect Of Mortgage Liberalization On Housing Patterns In Tampa Bay, Jason Richardson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study seeks to determine whether the process of mortgage finance liberalization, manifested in concurrent activities of securitization, deregulation, and neo-liberal policy, have resulted in changes to the tenure of residents in neighborhoods in Tampa Bay. It makes use of existing literature on gentrification and mortgage finance and compares those findings with three sample neighborhoods in and around the city of Tampa. To do so the thesis employs data collected from lenders pursuant to the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act, court records of sales and mortgages filed with the Clerk of the Circuit Court of Hillsborough County, and interviews with stakeholders …

Cottonwood Riparian Site Selection On The Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation, Julie A. Thorstenson, Diane Rickerl, Janet H. Gritzner

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences

The construction of the Oahe Dam on the Missouri River eliminated thousands of acres ofriparian and floodplain lands on the Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation in South Dakota. Restoration is needed to replace wildlife habitat. This study focused on site selection for native cottonwood (Populus deltoides Bartr. Ex Marsh. ssp. Monilifers (Ait.) Eckenwalde) restoration to help mitigate this loss. Geographic information systems technologies were used to develop a suitability model for cottonwood restoration. Tribal lands were extracted from a digital dataset oflandownership. Those touched by or included in a 46 m border of the Moreau River were candidate sites. Of …

Food Deserts' And 'Food Swamps' In Hillsborough County, Florida: Unequal Access To Supermarkets And Fast-Food Restaurants, Dana Beth Stein

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Research has shown that the suburbanization of supermarkets has created `food deserts', defined as areas where socially disadvantaged individuals lack access to nutritious food outlets. Additionally, the growing presence of fast-food restaurants has created `food swamps', or areas where socially disadvantaged individuals encounter an overabundance of unhealthy food outlets. While previous studies have analyzed either `food deserts' or `food swamps' using conventional statistical techniques, a more comprehensive approach that includes samples of both healthy and unhealthy entities and considers the variety of available food options is necessary to improve our understanding of the local food environment and related disparities.

This …

The Clash Of Heritage And Development On The Island Of Roatã¡N, Honduras, Alejandro J. Figueroa

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The present study examines the spatial relationship between archaeological sites on the island of Roatán, Honduras and their topographical and biophysical location, as well as how these relationships are and continue to be impacted by the island's current socioeconomic context. Despite several studies and explorations conducted on the island's history, archaeology, and geography since the early twentieth century, little is known of its place and role within the larger cultural and socioeconomic spheres of interaction in this region: Mesoamerica and the Intermediate Area. Previous archaeological research has shown that hilltops on Roatán were chosen in prehispanic times for the location …

Nearer, My Farm, To Thee: A Spatial Analysis Of African American Settlement Patterns In Hillsborough County, Florida, Matthew Andrew O'Brien

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Geographic Information Systems (GIS) have demonstrated their utility in predictively modeling the location of archaeological sites, and providing a framework for cataloging sites eligible for heritage management status. The intent of this GIS-based study is to begin to create a geohistorically organized database of information culled from historic documents and archaeological excavation. In this case study of postbellum land tenure in Hillsborough County, Florida, a GIS-based approach is used to demonstrate the impacts of federal and state land ownership policy decisions during the Reconstruction Era and beyond. GIS data are also used to reveal information about how people use their …

The Dirt On Prehispanic Water Management At Palmarejo, Honduras, Zaida Darley

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Water is an essential resource for human life. Even in the tropical environment of the Maya Lowlands, water scarcity is a concern, because the region cycles between abundant rainfall and seasonal droughts. To understand how societies flourished during periods of water scarcity, archaeologists have studied prehispanic water management in the Maya Lowlands. Yet, water management research has tended to focus predominantly on large urban Maya populations, excluding smaller-scale societies that face the same challenges associated with water scarcity. This study investigates the neighboring non-Maya society of Late Classic (A.D.650-900) Palmarejo in northwestern Honduras to explore how water management was organized …

Potential Habitat Of Acropora Spp. On Florida Reefs, Katherine Wirt

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Elkhorn and Staghorn corals (Acropora palmata, A. cervicornis) were listed as threatened species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in 2005. The threatened status of these species is unprecedented given the vital role they historically played as major constructors of western Atlantic and Caribbean coral reefs. The goal of my study was to evaluate the current extent of habitat of the two species using a database of reported in situ observations. From these observations, potential habitat maps were produced based on benthic substrata and depth parameters throughout the Florida reef tract using GIS software. Locations of 99% of …

Modeling Roadside Safety Hazards To Predict Annual Crash Cost To Encroaching Vehicles In Rural Road Networks, Isidro Delgado

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Roadside crashes account for a large portion of total fatal crashes that occur annually in the United States. About 30% of those fatalities are the result of single vehicle run-off-road crashes. A large proportion of these fatal crashes occur in rural roads when vehicles depart from the travel lane and collide with trees or other roadside safety hazards. Many of these run-off-road accidents occur in local roads that carry traffic volumes between 1,000 and 20,000 vehicles per day. Many of these roads are part of the jurisdiction of county authorities faced with the dilemma of having too many "potentially dangerous" …

Park Access And Distributional Inequities In Pinellas County, Florida, Kyle Ray Hirvela

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Although environmental justice research has traditionally focused on environmental disamenities and health hazards, recent studies have begun to examine social inequities in the distribution of urban amenities such as street trees and parks that provide several direct and indirect health benefits to local residents. This thesis adds to this knowledge by evaluating distributional inequities in both distribution and access to parks in Pinellas County, the most densely populated and one of the most racially segregated counties in Florida. An important objective was to determine if neighborhoods with lower levels of park access are more likely to contain a significantly higher …

Linking Soil Loss To Sediment Delivery In Two Estuaries In Puerto Rico, Nekesha Bernadette Williams

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Enhanced soil loss from the watershed is a major environmental issue. Increased soil loss from a watershed can potentially increase sediment delivery and loading to aquatic ecosystems such as rivers and estuaries. An increase in sediment delivery and loading to freshwater and transitional marine ecosystems can impact water quality and supply specifically by: (1) reducing water clarity, (2) transporting nutrient and pollutant laden sediments and (3) reducing the storage capacity of reservoirs. To address these broader environmental impacts of increased sediment delivery and loading to aquatic ecosystems it is imperative that potential source areas of sediments available for transport are …

Gis Spatial Analysis Of University Of Nebraska At Kearney Alumni Cohorts, 1930–2004, Paul R. Burger, Brett R. Chloupek

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences

The purpose of this study was to utilize Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technology and spatial analysis coupled with the University of Nebraska at Kearney (UNK) alumni data from 1930 to 2004 in order to compare and contrast the changing distribution patterns of five-year alumni cohorts. Mean centers, location quotients, and cluster analysis were used to assess the degree to which UNK alumni cohorts have migrated over the 75-year period, the extent to which any regionalization or lack thereof occurs, and the proportion of UNK alumni per county compared to college graduates as a whole. These spatial patterns were then compared …

Redefining The Dust Bowl Region Via Popular Perception And Geotechnology, Jess C. Porter, G. Allen Finchum

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences

The Dust Bowl is a historical vernacular region that has been delimited by a diverse group of academics, literary authors, and popular cultural voices. However, the general public’s perception of the Dust Bowl region has not been mapped and analyzed. This research queried residents of 93 Great Plains counties in order to ascertain their perceptions and knowledge of the vernacular Dust Bowl region. Analysis of the responses via the application of geographic information system mapping reveals striking differences between respondents of varying age and place of residence. Findings suggest that spatial understanding of the Dust Bowl phenomena is eroding among …

Gis Spatial Analysis Of Multiple Scenes In Criminal Homicides, Casey C. Anderson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Anthropological studies of community structures and human relationships of today's societies are becoming increasingly important for crime analysis. Law enforcement agencies are often challenged with the task of connecting multiple locations to persons involved in crimes to solve cases. Using the structures of the target communities and the social relationship between the victim and offender, spatial distributions of crimes can be reconstructed.

Data used in this analysis were collected from Hillsborough County, Florida (n=420) and Lancaster County, Nebraska (n=48) law enforcement agencies within the years 1997-2007. The hypothesis of this paper is: if the social relationship between the victim and …

An Assessment Of The Impacts Of Relocation On Public Housing Youth, Emily Zupo

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This paper will explore the social and economic impacts of public housing revitalization on households with minor children. The research traces the relocations of families from two public housing complexes to other public housing complexes or market housing, using Housing Choice formerly Section 8 vouchers. We contrast and compare the socioeconomic characteristics of the original neighborhoods to the relocation sites from the census tract level, exploring changes in resources available to families.

Managing Geographic Data As An Asset: A Case Study In Large Scale Data Management, Clay Smithers

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Geographic data is a hallowed element within the Geographic Information Systems (GIS) discipline. As geographic data faces increased usage in distributed and mobile environments, the ability to access and maintain that data can become challenging. Traditional methods of data management through the use of file storage, databases, and data catalog software are valuable in their ability to organize data, but provide little information about how the data was collected, how often the data is updated, and what value the data holds for an organization. By defining geographic data as an asset it becomes a valuable resource that requires acquisition, maintenance …

Linking Health Hazards And Environmental Justice: A Case Study In Houston, Texas, Marilyn Marie Williams

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation seeks to extend quantitative research on environmental justice and address methodological limitations of previous studies by: (a) using new indicators of exposure to air pollution and contemporary risk modeling techniques; (b) assessing disparities in human health risks, instead of focusing only on potential exposure or proximity to pollution sources; and (c) using multivariate regression models that consider the effects of spatial dependence. The case study examines racial/ethnic and socioeconomic disparities in the geographic distribution of exposure to airborne toxic emissions from industrial point sources in the Houston-Galveston-Brazoria metropolitan statistical area. Industrial pollution sources for this study comprise facilities …

Application Of Remote Sensing Methods To Assess The Spatial Extent Of The Seagrass Resource In St. Joseph Sound And Clearwater Harbor, Florida, U.S.A., Cynthia A. Meyer

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In the event of a natural or anthropogenic disturbance, environmental resource managers require a reliable tool to quickly assess the spatial extent of potential damage to the seagrass resource. The temporal availability of the Landsat 5 Thematic Mapper (TM) imagery, 16-20 days, provides a suitable option to detect and assess damage to the seagrass resource. In this study, remote sensing Landsat 5 TM imagery is used to map the spatial extent of the seagrass resource. Various classification techniques are applied to delineate the seagrass beds in Clearwater Harbor and St. Joseph Sound, FL. This study aims to determine the most …

The Spatial Distribution Of Geoprivacy Concerns In Florida: A County Level Analysis, Joshua W. House

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Certain types of spatial data maintained and distributed by counties at taxpayer expense can be used with powerful mapping and analysis software, called Geographic Information Systems (GIS), to compromise an indvidual's locational privacy. The kind of privacy at threat here is referred to as geoprivacy, which is concerned with the rights to prevent disclosure of the location of one's home, workplace, or daily activities. While the availability of accessible and accurate geospatial data has increased geoprivacy concerns in recent years, this threat remains virtually unknown to the general public.

Although previous research has explored various components of the geoprivacy …

The Paleoindian Chipola: A Site Distribution Analysis And Review Of Collector Contributions In The Apalachicola River Valley, Northwest Florida, William D. Tyler

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

At the end of the Pleistocene and the beginning of the Holocene, between 12,000 and 10,000 years ago, humans began to spread throughout North America and into many areas of Florida. These first Floridians are known as Paleoindians, and their culture is largely defined by their lithic assemblage, which includes the well known Clovis point. As the Pleistocene ice age came to a close glaciers melted, rivers experienced a drastic increase in water volume and the landmass of Florida began to shrink as the sea level in the Gulf of Mexico rose. This event likely submerged many early Paleoindian sites …

Geomorphology Of Submarine Spring West Of Fort Myers, Florida, Shihadah M. Saleem

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In March of 2000, March of 2001, and April of 2002, multibeam bathymetry and backscatter data were collected, which revealed several low-temperature hydrothermal submarine springs in the Mudhole Submarine Springs (MHSS) area that were investigated by SCUBA divers. High-resolution multibeam sonar provides a precise way of defining the geomorphology of the seafloor. The bathymetry data were used to understand (1) vent geomorphology and how it varied from vent to vent; (2) spatial patterns of active vents compared to extinct vents and known land springs identified by Kohout (1977) and Breland (1980); and (3) potential correlations between geochemical and geomorphological characteristics …

Understanding And Closing The Gaps: A Gap Audit Approach Linking Archaeology And Land Acquisition Strategies In Florida, Lori D. Collins

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The population in Florida is projected to double over the next 50 years. Large land areas now in rural settings will become residential and urban areas. More than seven million acres of agriculture and open space will convert to housing developments, shopping malls, and business space. At stake are natural and cultural resources, which are lost or fragmented in this growth process. New planning measures are called for in order to grow in ways that minimize and least impact resources.

Archaeological value in preservation projects is often examined after priorities for natural resources have been set, relegating archaeology to a …

Determining Habitat Preferences Of The Juvenile Gopher Tortoise (Gopherus Polyphemus) Using Spatially Modeled Vegetation On A Central Florida Sandhill, Kristan Marie Nicole Raymond

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Public and private conservation areas are becoming increasingly important to the continued survival of the gopher tortoise, making it imperative that land managers know the specific habitat requirements of juvenile gopher tortoises because recruitment is key to species persistence. Little is currently known about environmental factors that underlie hatchling and juvenile survival and recruitment in gopher tortoise populations. Because of the short duration and distance of juvenile tortoise foraging journeys, food availability, thermoregulatory conditions, and refugia near the burrow may considerably affect juvenile growth and survival. This two-year study of a central Florida sandhill examines the spatial relationship between juvenile …

Modeling Larval Connectivity Among Coral Habitats, Acropora Palmata Populations, And Marine Protected Areas In The Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, Christopher John Higham

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary (FKNMS) encompasses North America's only living coral barrier reef and the third longest barrier reef in the world, making it a unique national treasure of international notoriety (FKNMS, 2005). Recent evidence of environmental decline within the sanctuary has created a sense of urgency to understand and protect the valuable resources within. This thesis contributed to the understanding of habitat connectivity to aid managers and decision makers in the creation of additional Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in the FKNMS to help prevent further environmental decline. This research specifically focused on modeling larval transport and larval …

Precipitation Variability Of Streamflow Fraction In West Central Florida, Michael H. Scott

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

There is a strong interest to develop a method to estimate mean annual ungaged streamflow with varying precipitation. A method was developed utilizing GIS and other statistical analysis to estimate ungaged mean annual streamflow. This method utilizes a normalized streamflow fraction (NSF) method previously developed which relies on drainage basin area, coupled with mean annual local precipitation, to estimate the ungaged streamflow variability. This method has been applied to west central Florida.The test of the method yielded an R squared value of 0.9894, proceeded by a verification that yielded an R squared value of 0.998. This method is believed to …

Distribution And Habitat Characterization Of The Florida Burrowing Owl In Non-Urban Areas, Mark S. Mueller

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The full geographic distribution and habitat use of the Florida Burrowing Owl, a state "Species of Special Concern," is not well-understood, particularly in remote, non-urban areas. This thesis aimed to expand and improve knowledge about non-urban burrowing owls. We first compiled databases of historic sighting observations. Fieldwork verified and updated existing breeding observation point records and also yielded new breeding locations. Using a GIS, we characterized observed land use, landcover, relevant soil attributes, projected future land use and managed area status for selected points. We quantified landcover within biologically-determined buffer distances around burrows from our own field-verified records. Using standard …

The Effect Of Dem Resolution On The Computation Of Hydrologically Significant Topographic Attributes, David Alexander Crosby

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Terrain attributes computed from Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) are widely used in hydrology and hydrologic modeling. It is important to consider that the values of the attributes can be different depending on the resolution of the DEM from which they are derived. The question arises as to how much exactly the high-resolution DEMs created through LIDAR remote sensing techniques change the values of the terrain attributes when compared to lower resolution DEMs.In this thesis a LIDAR-derived DEM of 20 feet resolution was resampled using a nearest-neighbour algorithm to various coarser resolutions to examine and quantify the effect of DEM resolution …

The Feasibility Of Establishing A Telecenter In An Urban Corridor: A Case Study Of The Sr 836/Dolphin Expressway Corridor In Miami, Florida, Anurag Komanduri

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Telecenters are alternate work locations and are used as a means to reduce the commute discomfort to employees. Telecenters provide advantages to both the employees and the employers and are a good Travel Demand Management measure. The history of telecenters is relatively new. Many telecenters were established in the early 1990's with the support of the Federal and State Governments. While initial signs were encouraging, the inability of these telecenters to carry on running in the absence of continued funding made them cost intensive unsuccessful experiments. There have been fewer attempts by private individuals/ Governments to work with the concept …

Modeling Hurricane Evacuation Vulnerability: A Case Study Of Pinellas County, Florida, Raymond A. Miller Jr.

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Determining where people are most likely to suffer losses and have difficulty in evacuating from a hurricane is important to developing a hurricane response strategy. This thesis proposes a methodology for modeling and assessing evacuation vulnerability to a specific hurricane and applies this method to study Pinellas County, Florida.

The vulnerability of Pinellas County to evacuation problems and the degree of loss that may be suffered from a hurricane is quantified in the Hurricane Evacuation Vulnerability Index. This index is the sum of three indices that represent social, transportation, and geophysical aspects of hazards research. Social vulnerability is assessed with …

Creation, Analysis, And Evaluation Of Remote Sensing Sinkhole Databases For Pinellas County, Florida, Larry D. Seale Jr.

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A database of likely sinkholes in Pinellas County, Florida, created using airborne laser swath mapping (ALSM a.k.a LIDAR for light detection and ranging), correlates poorly with other databases of likely sinkholes created from modern and historic aerial photographs. Urbanization appears to be the cause of the poor correlation. Buildings obscure much of the ground surface in urban areas, and many man-made depressions can be confused with natural sinkholes. Additionally, the lack of air photos contemporaneous with the ALSM data hinders ALSM analysis in rapidly developing areas.

Selecting a lightly-developed portion of the county for further study reduced the effects of …

Spatial Analysis Of Pedestrian Accidents, Tomoyuki Hashimoto

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Improving traffic safety for pedestrians is an urgent task for the Hillsborough County. The objective of this research is to understand the contributing factors that cause pedestrian accidents in Hillsborough County in the State of Florida. Specifically, this research attempts to determine the effects of demographic, land use, roadway and traffic volume factors on the number of pedestrian accidents. Five hypotheses were proposed to examine these factors. GIS was used to perform spatial analysis. Based on pedestrian accident records from 1999 to 2001, accident density map was created using Kernel density method. The value of the accident density was assigned …