Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

From Accessibility And Exposure To Engagement: A Multi-Scalar Approach To Measuring Environmental Determinants Of Children’S Health Using Geographic Information Systems, Martin Healy

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

A growing body of research suggests that increasing the accessibility to health-related environmental features and increasing exposure to and engagement in outdoor environments leads to positive benefits for the overall health and well-being of children. Additionally, research over the last twenty-five years has documented a decline in the time children spend outdoors. Outdoor activity in children is associated with increased levels of physical fitness, and cognitive well-being. Despite acknowledging this connection, problems occur for researchers when attempting to identify the child’s location and to measure whether a child has made use of an accessible health-related facility, or where, when and …

Space-Time Analysis Of Breast Cancer In Middlesex County Between 2003 And 2013, Jenny T. Tjhin

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Breast cancer is the leading cancer among women in Canada and the incidence rate continues to increase despite improved screening programs and advanced cancer treatments. Some studies have linked breast cancer with risk factors such as genetics, the age of first menstruation, parity, and environmental exposures. This study investigated the spatial distribution of breast cancer cases between 2003 and 2013 in Middlesex County using geospatial techniques. Point data were analyzed with SaTScan and aggregated data were observed at two geographical units, census sub-divisions and dissemination areas using Moran’s Index to detect clusters. Both analyses showed consistency in the cluster locations …

Tensor-Based Hyperspectral Image Processing Methodology And Its Applications In Impervious Surface And Land Cover Mapping, Boyu Feng

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The emergence of hyperspectral imaging provides a new perspective for Earth observation, in addition to previously available orthophoto and multispectral imagery. This thesis focused on both the new data and new methodology in the field of hyperspectral imaging. First, the application of the future hyperspectral satellite EnMAP in impervious surface area (ISA) mapping was studied. During the search for the appropriate ISA mapping procedure for the new data, the subpixel classification based on nonnegative matrix factorization (NMF) achieved the best success. The simulated EnMAP image shows great potential in urban ISA mapping with over 85% accuracy.

Unfortunately, the NMF based …

Comparing Geospatial Approaches To Delineating Children’S Interactions With Their Physical Environments: A Case Study Of Children In Rural Northwestern Ontario, Katherine L. Schieman

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Researchers from a variety of disciplines have produced a large body of evidence indicating that the environment a child lives in can profoundly impact their overall health in a multitude of ways. Among this growing body of literature, there is a wide diversity of methodologies and general inconsistency in how the physical environment is conceptualized and delineated. The primary purpose of this study is to gain a better understanding of how the physical (natural and built) environment is conceptualized in children’s health studies and to quantify how children engage with their environment. Using a multi-tool protocol, 128 children in grades …