Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Uncertainty Assessment Of Spectral Mixture Analysis In Remote Sensing Imagery, Yingbin Deng

Theses and Dissertations

Spectral mixture analysis (SMA), a scheme of sub-pixel-based classifications, is one of the widely used models to map fractional land use and land cover information in remote sensing imagery. It assumes that: 1) a mixed pixel is composed by several pure land cover classes (endmembers) linearly or nonlinearly, and 2) the spectral signature of each endmember is a constant within the entire spatial extent of analysis. SMA has been commonly applied to impervious surface area extraction, vegetation fraction estimation, and land use and land cover change (LULC) mapping. Limitations of SMA, however, still exist. First, the existence of between- and …

Measured Expectations: An Examination Of Urban Agriculture Development And Operations In Milwaukee, Wi, Jamison Ellis

Theses and Dissertations

Urban agriculture has begun to shape urban spaces throughout the United States. Building from research on urban agriculture projects in Milwaukee I argue that in order for researchers to better understand urban agriculture, they must more thoroughly examine the various developmental and operational strategies that urban agriculture nonprofit organizations implement. The research questions that guides my thesis are the following: first, how do the developmental and operational strategies of urban agriculture projects differ? Second, how do different stakeholders perceive the implications of these approaches for creating positive and negative effects? To do this, I collected data through interviews and participant …

Examining Urban Heat Island Effect And Its Public Health Implications With Remotely Sensed Data, Yang Song

Theses and Dissertations

The Urban heat island (UHI) as a byproduct of urbanization has long been studied utilizing remote sensing technologies. However, issues remain to be addressed. Land surface temperature (LST) as the indicator of surface UHI can be retrieved from remotely sensed data, but its accuracy is limited as existing studies neglect the neighboring effect. Further, while LST serves well as an indicator of surface thermal condition, it lacks the ability to reveal human heat stress, which is an environmental hazard that can seriously affect productivity, health or even survival of individuals. Although human heat stress has long been studied and can …

Synthesizing Population For Travel Activity Analysis, Hong Zhuo

Theses and Dissertations

Population synthesis is a fundamental procedure for individual-based modeling in transportation research. The population synthesis generates anonymized individuals with selected social-demographic variables that have similar statistical distributions as that of the samples from the real population. Previous studies on population synthesis focused on generating general-purpose population by fitting the joint distributions of multiple variables to their sampled distributions. In addition to fitting the joint distributions, this study focuses on generating population for travel activity analysis by considering individuals’ travel activity patterns and associated social, economic, and demographic characteristics.

A person’s daily movement is a time-sequence of activities connected by travel …

Ash Tree Identification Based On The Integration Of Hyperspectral Imagery And High-Density Lidar Data, Haijian Liu

Theses and Dissertations

Monitoring and management of ash trees has become particularly important in recent years due to the heightened risk of attack from the invasive pest, the emerald ash borer (EAB). However, distinguishing ash from other deciduous trees can be challenging. Both hyperspectral imagery and Light detection and ranging (LiDAR) data are two valuable data sources that are often used for tree species classification. Hyperspectral imagery measures detailed spectral reflectance related to the biochemical properties of vegetation, while LiDAR data measures the three-dimensional structure of tree crowns related to morphological characteristics. Thus, the accuracy of vegetation classification may be improved by combining …

Thinking With The Global South And Decolonizing Indigeneity: Indigenous And Peasant Struggles To Reclaim Spaces, Identities, And Futures In Cauca, Colombia, Nicholas L. Padilla

Theses and Dissertations

In this dissertation, I examine indigenous and rural identities and economic practices in Cauca, Colombia that are illustrative of Southern efforts to destabilize Western and European hegemonic histories, and reassert the plural worldviews and practices that persist to this day. The indigenous and peasant movements that I highlight problematize coloniality’s totalizing and universalizing tendencies to erase local specificity across the post-colonial world. I argue these efforts are collectively decolonial in their orientations, as they seek to decenter the centrality of Western experiences in favor of the plurality of worldviews that are thriving in the Global South. Employing ethnographic methods, I …

Large-Scale Urban Impervous Surfaces Estimation Through Incorporating Temporal And Spatial Information Into Spectral Mixture Analysis, Wenliang Li

Theses and Dissertations

With rapid urbanization, impervious surfaces, a major component of urbanized areas, have increased concurrently. As a key indicator of environmental quality and urbanization intensity, an accurate estimation of impervious surfaces becomes essential. Numerous automated estimation approaches have been developed during the past decades. Among them, spectral mixture analysis (SMA) has been recognized as a powerful and widely employed technique. While SMA has proven valuable in impervious surface estimation, effects of temporal and spectral variability have not been successfully addressed. In particular, impervious surface estimation is likely to be sensitive to seasonal changes, majorly due to the shadowing effects of vegetation …

Growing Food Equity: A Participant Observation Exploring The Role Of Communication In A Nonprofit Organization’S Work To Improve Food Access In Urban Areas, Samantha Jane Kaufman

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores the concept of food equity and a nonprofit organization in Milwaukee, Victory Garden Initiative, that is working towards food equity by increasing food access in the city. The work explores issues of inadequate food access, urban development, and other nonprofit organizations working towards food equity. Through participant observation and interviews with VGI, the researcher found that a small nonprofit organization like Victory Garden Initiative is still bound by time, financial, and staffing constraints. In order for nonprofit organizations to market and run effective programming, they need to be efficient with limited resources, take advantage of any research …

Assessing The Effect Of Parks On Surrounding Property Values Using Hedonic Models And Multilevel Models, I-Hui Lin

Theses and Dissertations

The various kinds of park benefits have been extensively discussed in the literature in order to suggest a better living environment for urban residents. Among them, the economic benefit has been suggested as the crucial one to support park development and management. A number of studies have been studied the economic impact of parks on surrounding property values and suggested that park proximity brings increment in property values. Some studies further considered park characteristics. The general suggestion from the literature was that parks primarily for passive recreation tend to have a positive impact on nearby property values and parks mainly …

Late Prehistoric Lithic Economies In The Prairie Peninsula: A Comparison Of Oneota And Langford In Southern Wisconsin And Northern Illinois, Stephen Wayne Wilson

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis is an examination of the environmental settlement patterns and the organization of lithic technology surrounding Upper Mississippian groups in Southeastern Wisconsin and Northern Illinois. The sites investigated in this study are the Washington Irving (11K52) and Koshkonong Creek Village (47JE379) habitation sites, contemporaneous creekside Langford and Oneota sites located approximately 90 kilometers apart. A two-kilometer catchment of Washington Irving is compared to that of the Koshkonong Creek Village to clarify the nature of environmental variation in Langford and Oneota settlement patterns and increase our understanding of Upper Mississippian horticulturalist lifeways. Lithic tool and mass debitage analyses use an …

Food Inequities, Urban Agriculture, And The Remaking Of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Margaret Pettygrove

Theses and Dissertations

Evidence of growing food insecurity and diet-related disease (e.g., diabetes) in North America has raised concerns among scholars and community groups about the quantity and quality of food available to urban residents (Guthman 2012). Research indicates that low-income and racial or ethnic minority populations experience disproportionately limited food access (Zenk et al 2005). Scholars hypothesize that limited physical proximity to full-service retail food stores or to sources of affordable fresh produce leads to unhealthy dietary practices (such as overconsumption of fat) that then produce diet-related illness. This “obesogenic environment thesis” has shaped much of the geographic research on food access, …

Embodying The Regime Of Automobility: A Phenomenology Of The Driving Subject And The Affects Of Governable Space, George Ananchev

Theses and Dissertations

Automobility describes the car as a particularly universalized form of mobility, a dominant ‘regime’ that locks social life into ‘coercive flexibility’. Despite its liberatory promise and its capacity to emancipate people from the restrictions of physical distance, the car is perhaps the most regulated and controlled commodity that Americans live with today, implicating them in the production of driving subjectivities. This research uses ride-along interviews to inquire into the ways that people’s emotional, bodily, and affective relationships to the practice of driving contribute to the reproduction of the regime of automobility. When we ask questions regarding how power is embodied …

Land Use Analysis Of The Milwaukee County Institutional Grounds: A Chronological And Spatial Depiction Of Cultural Change, Sarah Klingman-Cole

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis uses GIS analysis of spatial data and historical documentation to determine land use change in the Milwaukee County Institutional Grounds (MCIG) located in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin. This chronological and spatial land use analysis specifically examined aspects of the grounds in relationship to historically documented changes taking place during MCIG operations from 1850 to 1980. The purpose of this thesis is to provide a more accurate account of the grounds throughout the timeframe. This thesis, featuring a GIS model, includes a series of digitized maps that provide for a more accurate account of the grounds throughout the timeframe studied. Results …

Public Geospatial Data In Wisconsin: Information Access, Data Sharing, And The University, Stephen Robert Appel

Theses and Dissertations

This research explores public geospatial data sharing in Wisconsin. The research is informed by literature on GIS and Society, Participatory GIS, Spatial Data Infrastructure, Information Justice, The Digital Divide, and Library and Information Science. Original research consists of a survey and follow up interview to public land information professionals in Wisconsin gauging their interest in a UW System-wide geographic information portal for distributing public spatial data to UW System users. The research finds that social and institutional rather than technical factors are major drivers of data-sharing activities in Wisconsin. However, technical aspects of geographic information are changing quickly with a …

Estimating Errors: The Politics Of Environmental Impact Assessment Along The Savannah River, Ryan Craig Covington

Theses and Dissertations

In this dissertation research, I investigate three interrelated conflicts which emerged as part of an environmental impact assessment along the Savannah River in the late 1990s: a controversial plan to improve water quality through supplemental oxygen injection; a lengthy struggle over federal funding policies that constrained efforts to address scientific uncertainty; and an entrenched refusal to investigate human health risks from air toxics at the Port of Savannah. In each of these conflicts, I trace the dismantling of controversy, investigating how, and with what effect, the slow and tedious work of building consensus has reshaped the governance of the lower …

Relationships, Knowledge, And Resilience: A Comparative Study Of Stakeholder Participation In Great Lakes Areas Of Concern, Kathleen Colin Williams

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation investigates the current practices of environmental governance in the Great Lakes region, where at one time the rivers that fed the Great Lakes were choked with debris and on fire. The Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement of 1978 and the 1987 updates inspired collective action to remediate and restore the rivers and nearshore zones of the lakes through the implementation of an ecosystem approach, which included a public participation dimension. While funding and momentum has fluctuated, the constructs – Areas of Concern (AOC), Remedial Action Plans (RAP), and Public Advisory Councils (PAC) persist. In 2010, the Great Lakes …

Milwaukee's Ethnic Festivals: Creating Ethnic-American Heritage For Urban Ethnic Tourism, Joy Neilson

Theses and Dissertations

Ethnic identity is dynamic social construction. Ethnic groups define and display their heritage to meet the social, economic, and political interests of the group. Tourism is one outlet for ethnic groups to express their identity while stimulating local economies. Ethnic tourism is becoming more popular in urban settings, as municipal governments attempt to compete for tourism income and establish a unique brand. Placing ethnic tourism within an urban setting creates additional layers of complexity that have the potential to alter the way ethnic groups interact and are perceived by locals and visitors. Tourism involves the construction of expectations through deliberate …

Spatial Dimensions Of Tower Karst And Cockpit Karst: A Case Study Of Guilin, China, Wei Huang

Theses and Dissertations

Tower karst (fenglin) and cockpit karst (fengcong) are two globally important representative styles of tropical karst. Previously proposed sequential and parallel development models are preliminary, and geomorphological studies to date do not provide enough satisfactory evidence to delineate the spatial and temporal relation between the two landscapes. This unclear interpretation of tower-cockpit relationships not only obscures understanding of the process-form dynamics of these tropical karst landforms, but also confuses their definition. Moreover, previous technological limitations, as well as the fragmental nature of the karst landscapes, has limited incorporation of geologic and other data into broad geospatial frameworks based on geographic …

Landscape Genetics Of The American Badger: Understanding Challenges In Elusive Species, Elizabeth Marie Kierepka

Theses and Dissertations

American badgers are one of the most poorly understood carnivores in North America due to their highly elusive, semifossorial lifestyle. To complicate understanding their biology further, badgers possess life history characteristics that predict radically different responses to habitat heterogeneity. In particular, they are considered grassland specialists, so their movement and population viability could be highly dependent on grassland habitats. Badgers are also highly mobile, which suggests they experience high gene flow. Predicting how these life history traits impact gene flow, however, is difficult based on the high diversity in responses to landscape heterogeneity among carnivores. To assess how landscape heterogeneity …

New Sheriff In (Down)Town?: Business Improvement Areas And The Regulation Of Public Spaces: A Case Study Of Seattle, Washington, Shannon R. Kelley

Theses and Dissertations

This study examines Business Improvement Areas (BIAs) in Seattle, WA. While the literature on BIAs continues to grow, interestingly, very few studies have been performed on BIAs in west coast cities, as the mass preponderance of the BIA literature body within the United States has focused on east coast cities. Thus, the first purpose of this study is to provide a comparative analysis of Seattle BIAs. This analysis describes the formation, organizational structure, geographic size, budget size, and service programming of each BIA in Seattle. In addition, this thesis also briefly assesses the accountability, the democratic nature, and the potential …

Habitat Preferences Of The Common Nighthawk (Chordeiles Minor) In Cities And Villages In Southeastern Wisconsin, Jana M. Viel

Theses and Dissertations

Limited survey data and numerous anecdotal accounts indicate that the Common Nighthawk (Chordeiles minor) is experiencing population declines in Wisconsin. However, the magnitude of the decline is unclear because current avian monitoring efforts are not conducted at dusk when Common Nighthawks are most active nor do they specifically target urban areas such as cities and villages where Common Nighthawks are known to nest on flat graveled rooftops. New urban, crepuscular monitoring methods are needed in order to gain a better understanding of current Common Nighthawk demographics in Wisconsin.

The goal of this thesis was to conduct a baseline study using …

Urban River Restoration And Environmental Justice: Addressing Flood Risk Along Milwaukee's Kinnickinnic River, Nicholas Joel Schuelke

Theses and Dissertations

Flood risk has only recently received attention in environmental justice research. Few `flood justice' studies in the US have focused on urban inland flooding or flood control efforts. I develop a conceptual framework of a paradigm shift from a technocratic, utilitarian approach to river engineering to that of bioengineering and public participation. Qualitative analysis of a combination of archival, interview, and observational data is conducted using the Kinnickinnic River in Milwaukee as a case study. I demonstrate that the channelization of the river in the early 1960s was largely the result of political pressures following significant flood events, rather than …

Recommitting To The Car? The Politics Of Multimodal Transportation In Wisconsin, Gregg Nathan Culver

Theses and Dissertations

In this dissertation research, I investigate two cases which exemplify a larger politics of multimodal transportation in Wisconsin: the 2010 Wisconsin high-speed rail (HSR) debate; and the 2011 debate over whether to add a bike path to Milwaukee's Hoan Bridge during its redecking. In both case studies, I trace the politics of these projects, and investigate how the decisions not to pursue these projects came to be legitimized. I approach these case studies using a transportation-focused politics of mobility framework, located at the intersection of transportation geography and new mobilities paradigm scholarship. Employing a range of qualitative methods, I find …

Impacts Of Spatial, Environmental, And Compositional Differences On Community-Level Flowering Phenology, Isaac William Park

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation investigates three important topics related to flowering phenology throughout the United States. First, this work evaluates the utility of herbarium records for estimating historical variation in community-level flowering phenology, and evaluate the relationship of such estimates to satellite-derived greenup timing at regional scales. This dissertation then reconstructs historical variations in flowering phenology throughout the spring, summer, and autumn across South Carolina for the years 1951 through 2009. These estimates will then be compared to seasonal temperature variations throughout this period. Finally, this dissertation develops novel herbarium-based methods to separate intraspecific phenological variations over space from changes in flowering …

Developing Population Grid With Demographic Trait: An Example For Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, Wei Xu

Theses and Dissertations

Population grids have been widely used in estimating population in environmental justice studies and emergency management. The currently available population grids are only for total population. There is an increasing need for population grids that have not only total population but also populations of different age, gender, race, and ethnicity. This study explores the methodology to develop these population grids endowed with the demographic characteristics. Areal interpolation methods are used to transfer total population at census blocks to the cells of the grid. Kernel density method is used to estimate the relative probability of population of different subgroups at the …

Re-Examining An Air Mass-Based Approach To Detecting Structural Climate Change, 1948-2011, Joseph James Larsen

Theses and Dissertations

Air mass-based approaches to observing changes in climate can have considerable value beyond simple trends of temperature and moisture, providing more thorough understanding of structural climate patterns. Few methodologies have adequately characterized recent air mass modification, however. This research seeks to update and improve upon the methods of a prior study, providing new data from 1948-2011, as well as more rigorous statistical analyses. Air mass types were created, and monthly averages of temperature, dewpoint, and relative frequency were calculated for each of the air masses in all four seasons; then the time series were submitted to regression analysis. The results …

The Elliniko Airport: Contested Politics And The Production Of Urban Space In Athens, 1938-2014, George Papakis

Theses and Dissertations

This study traces the historical forces that conditioned the dearth of public spaces in Athens, Greece, and through the case study of the city's first civil airport, examines the current redevelopment plans of Athens' largest remaining open space as part of a wider process of urban transformation. After serving the city for sixty years, the airport closed its doors in 2001, and since then the site has remained vacant. The government aims at attracting investments in upscale tourism and real estate, hoping to reposition this sector of the city as a thriving business center and entertainment destination. Yet, given the …

An Anthropological Investigation Of The Dynamic Human-Vervet Monkey (Chlorocebus Aethiops Sabaeus) Interface In St. Kitts, West Indies, Kerry M. Dore

Theses and Dissertations

Over 350 years ago, the ecology of St. Kitts was dramatically altered by the advent of sugar cane production and the introduction of a highly adaptable, invasive animal species: the vervet monkey (Chlorocebus aethiops sabaeus). This project employed both primatological and ethnoprimatological techniques to assess conflict between vervet monkeys and Kittitian farmers. Methodological tools from primatology allowed for the creation of a predictive model of monkey crop-raiding behavior. The model was highly informative about monkeys' current raiding patterns; however, viewing Kittitian farmers and vervet monkeys as interconnected through an ethnoprimatological perspective revealed the significance of history with regard to this …

Food Fight: Sharing Meals And Confronting Biopolitics In The Disciplinary City, Jeremy Sorenson

Theses and Dissertations

This project interrogates the tensions surrounding food provision in Las Vegas, Nevada. More precisely, groups of ad hoc individuals, unaffiliated with local shelters or social service provision agencies intervene in homelessness and hunger in the city by showing up in places where homeless individuals congregate and provide food, water, basic medical sundries and companionship to those on the streets. Conversely, local officials and shelter administrators conceptualize these activities as damaging to homeless individuals and have acted to prohibit these acts of care. Engaging with key contributions in the geographic literature, I employ specific frameworks - critical poverty research, disciplinary bio- …

Landscape Ecological Analysis Of Patterns Influencing Bat Activity In Southeast Glacial Plains Of Wisconsin, Angela Leckie Jackson

Theses and Dissertations

Nearly half of the world's bat species are threatened by anthropogenic land use. To contribute to the conservation of these cryptic mammals, it is imperative to understand bat habitat selection in human-dominated landscapes. Bat activity was calculated using active acoustic surveys conducted June and July for three years along river and lake transects in an agricultural matrix. Using multiple logistic regression and ANOVA regression tree analyses, I examined the relationship between bat activity of four species and habitat structure at multiple scales.

Aquatic features were determined to be the greatest predictor of bat activity with rivers supporting greater amount of …