Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Influence Of Landscape Variation On Landform Categorization, Maia Williams, Werner Kuhn, Marco Painho

Journal of Spatial Information Science

This paper compares the landform vocabularies of residents from two regions in Portugal. Participants described both their own and the other less familiar landscapes in response to video footage of the regions. The results indicate that participants used more detailed vocabularies to describe the known landscape compared to the less familiar study site with detail triggered by individual place recognition. A relationship between landform lexica content and landscape type was observed in the relative placement of detail within each vocabulary. The observed drivers of categorization were the salient features of the landscape (elevation and land cover) and utilitarian motivations (land …

Using Remote Sensing Data To Improve Rice Production In Kutigi, Niger State, Nigeria, Jibril Musa Phd, M B. Yunusa

Confluence Journal Environmental Studies (CJES), Kogi State University, Nigeria

This research work looked in the used of Remote Sensing to improve Agricultural production in Kutigi, Niger State. The aim of the study is to use remote sensing to improve rice farming activities in Kutigi, Niger State. It is very important to identify such methods to improve Agricultural production because experts are always interested in new researches and findings to better the standard of living in any environment. In view of this, Remotely-sensed data could be used or employed to elevate most of these agricultural problems in Kutigi through the following objectives: Using Landsat imagery to assess the present landuse …

Agriculture, Influence, And Instability Under The Ancien Régime: 1708-1768, Adam J. Polk

Masters Theses

The French Revolution has been studied from myriad perspectives. The majority of scholarship focuses on the political and urban chaos of the times. Agricultural conditions and the influence of onerous taxation and stagnant agricultural options are given only a cursory examination in most research. This thesis aims to investigate the relationship between agronomic and environmental conditions and the eruption of violence in urban centers during the French Revolution and the years leading up to it (1708-1768). This period prior to the French Revolution serves as a template to investigate the nature of the rural-agricultural influences, with a particular focus paid …

Visualization For Anomaly Detection And Data Management By Leveraging Network, Sensor And Gis Techniques, Zhaoxia Wang, Chee Seng Chong, Rick S. M. Goh, Wanqing Zhou, Dan Peng, Hoong Chor Chin

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

This paper studies the importance of visualization for discerning and interpreting patterns of data and its application for solving real problems, such as anomaly detection and data management. There are various ways to realize visualization to cater to the needs of numerous real life applications. Depending on needs, a combination of some of these ways may be required for presenting an effective visualization. The authors present visualization schemes for anomaly detection/condition monitoring and data management by leveraging network techniques and combining them with modern techniques such as sensor, database, mobile communication, GPS and GIS techniques. Two case studies are presented …

A Combined Gis And Stereo Vision Approach To Identify Building Pixels In Images And Determine Appropriate Color Terms, Philip James Bartie, Femke Reitsma, Steven Mills

Journal of Spatial Information Science

Color information is a useful attribute to include in a building's description to assist the listener in identifying the intended target. Often this information is only available as image data and not readily accessible for use in constructing referring expressions for verbal communication. The method presented uses a GIS building polygon layer in conjunction with street-level captured imagery to provide a method to automatically filter foreground objects and select pixels which correspond to building facades. These selected pixels are then used to define the most appropriate color term for the building and corresponding fuzzy color term histogram. The technique uses …

Introduction To Geographic Science Using Arcgis V10, Bethany Bradley, Charles M. Schweik

Charles M. Schweik

This is a lab exercise manual with extra supplemental exercises for use in an introductory course in GIS for students in environmental conservation programs or studying public policy public administration. The emphasis is on environmental management/analysis-related applications. Lab exercises require the ESRI ArcGIS v10 software. Data for all labs and exercises are available on this site as supplementary material in .zip format.

Creation Of A Spatial Decision Support System As A Risk Assessment Tool Based On Kentucky Tornado Climatology, Christopher Michael Blinn

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Tornadoes are one of Mother Nature’s deadliest phenomena. They affect a large region of the United States. The risk of tornadoes is contingent on dynamic atmospheric conditions that are most likely during spring but which can occur anytime of the year, making the storms challenging to forecast. Using geographical information systems (GIS), a web-based spatial decision support system (SDSS) was created to help understand the spatial dimension of tornado risk assessment. The risk values are calculated using Tornado Days rather than taking a crude density measurement. The SDSS hosts GIS web services that are displayed on an Adobe Flex application. …

An Integrated Approach For Developing Adaptation Strategies In Climate Planning: A Case Study Of Vulnerability In Dukes County, Massachusetts, Jonathan Pollak

Master's Theses

Climate Action Plans (CAP’s) are recent innovations in policy that have been catalyzed by a need to adjust the relationship between human activity and the Earth’s climate system. CAP’s often are composed of methods to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions in addition to adaptation strategies. Research indicates, however, that many plans focus on mitigation strategies while adaptation policies related to predicted changes caused by climate change are often overlooked. This thesis presents an integrative framework for locating areas that are in need of adaptation strategies through a GIS based decision support system that visualizes vulnerability. It is operationalized through an empirical …

Creating A Pedestrian Level-Of-Service Index For Transit Stops: Evidence From Denver’S Light Rail System, Patrick Gallagher

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Spatial Discrepancies Between Nhdplus And Lidar-Derived Stream Networks, Nicole Marie Samu

Masters Theses

Many organizations demand that current water resource issues necessitate improved stream network mapping for more accurate and reliable watershed analysis and modeling results, which can ultimately enable better management and policy decisions. Stream network data from the National Hydrography Dataset Plus (NHDPlus) and derived from Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) are each widely accepted to be of superior quality compared to many other conventional datasets. Each dataset indicates potential to improve a wide range of water resource applications; NHDPlus for its high spatial accuracy and functionality, and LIDAR-derived networks for their high resolutions. NHDPlus is publicly available and widely used; …

The Roc And The Hard Place: The Empirical Effects Of Economic Development Projects On Property Value, And The Reurbanization Of Rochester, Ny, Henry R. Fitts

Senior Theses and Projects

Using quantitative analysis techniques in GIS and SPSS this piece analyzes property assessment data from Rochester, NY dating back to 1990. These values are compared to the City's economic development project sites, and cluster and regression analyses were conducted to measure the effect of proximity. The evaluations held mixed results, and further study is required to prove that proximity to a project site has a positive influence on property values. Nonetheless, the study shows some evidence to support this hypothesis and notes important geographical phenomena.

Volumetric Pipeline Environment Analysis: A Methodology For Creating 3d Data Suitable For Pipeline Environment Risk And Mitigation Products, Anthony Timpson

Geography and the Environment: Graduate Student Capstones

Pipeline risk assessment GIS is constantly seeking to improve the tools and methodologies of data analysis to incorporate more world details. The need for complex 3D systems modeling is expanding as GIS takes a main stage in mapping the infrastructure and environment of medium scale, vertically complex, pipeline systems. Pipeline environments must be specially tailored to suit the data analysis capabilities of ERSI ArcGIS 10. Model based automation facilitates the conversion of data types and preparation of analysis results. The methodology presented is one avenue of possible development in generating a greater level of detail in intricate medium scale pipeline …

Gis Collaborations In Saskatchewan: Sgic And The University Of Saskatchewan Library (Accepted Manuscript Version), Jasmine R. Hoover

Library Research and Publications

GIS (Geographic Information System) libraries face challenges at both ends of the spectrum when it comes to acquiring GIS data. On one hand, the increase in popularity of GIS driven by services like Google Earth, Bing maps, and open data has made large amounts of GIS data freely available to users. On the other hand, specialty GIS data products, often needed by researchers, industry, and government, can be so costly that they are impossible for a library to purchase on its own. In situations like the latter, collaborations often provide the solution for acquiring the necessary GIS data. This report …

Agbufferbuilder: A Filter Strip Design Tool For Gis, Surendran Neelakantan, Tom Mueller, Michael G. Dosskey, Todd Kellerman, Eduardo Abel Rienzi

Plant and Soil Sciences Research Tools

AgBufferBuilder is a GIS-based computer program for designing vegetative filter strips around agricultural fields that utilizes terrain analysis to account for spatially non-uniform runoff (Figure 1). The core model is derived from the process-based Vegetative Filter Strip Modeling System (VFSMOD-W). A detailed description of the core model and its development is provided in Dosskey et al. (2011). The GIS program runs with ArcGIS (ESRI, Redlands, CA).

Use Of Environmental Isotope Tracer And Gis Techniques To Estimate Basin Recharge, Abdulganiu A.A. Odunmbaku

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The extensive use of ground water only began with the advances in pumping technology at the early portion of 20th Century. Groundwater provides the majority of fresh water supply for municipal, agricultural and industrial uses, primarily because of little to no treatment it requires. Estimating the volume of groundwater available in a basin is a daunting task, and no accurate measurements can be made. Usually water budgets and simulation models are primarily used to estimate the volume of water in a basin.

Precipitation, land surface cover and subsurface geology are factors that affect recharge; these factors affect percolation which invariably …

Social Interaction At The Maya Site Of Copan, Honduras: A Least Cost Approach To Configurational Analysis, Heather Richards-Rissetto

Department of Anthropology: Faculty Publications

In this article, I employ least cost paths using GIS to measure the relationship between site configuration and social connectivity at the ancient Maya site of Copan, Honduras. I investigate two questions. First, did people of different social classes experience varying degrees of social connectivity? Second, did people living in different parts of the city experience difference degrees of social connectivity? Ultimately, the goal is modify traditional configurational analysis using least cost analysis (LCA) to identify how social hierarchy was embedded in landscapes and how ancient people may have strategically manipulated landscapes to structure social interaction and community organization.

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 …

Transboundary Political Ecology In The Peru-Brazil Borderlands: Mapping Workshops, Geographic Information, And Socio-Environmental Impacts, David S. Salisbury, A. William Flores De Melo, Pedro Tipula Tipula

Geography and the Environment Faculty Publications

Development, resource, and settlement frontiers inspired by national policies and global demand continue to expand into the international boundary lands of Amazonia. National policies promote development and conservation projects on lands already inhabited and managed. Regional governments are increasingly frustrated by the inadequate and outdated geographic information available to solve overlapping claims and improve planning in sensitive border regions. The resulting combination of inappropriate policies, contested resources, and poor geographic information in the borderlands create impacts not only for national, regional, and local landscapes and livelihoods but also foreign relations due to transboundary effects. This article uses a transboundary political …

Applying Gis Metrics To Determine Degree Of Glacial Modification In Mountainous Landscapes, Carl Delbert Swanson Ii

All Master's Theses

The ability to quantitatively assess the degree of glaciation in mountainous areas can be a powerful tool in unraveling the evolution of landscapes, and provide key insights in regions where field research is difficult. Here we determine, test, and apply metrics that assess the relative degree of past glacial modification in mountainous landscapes. Results show that slope results can be used to quantitatively assess the degree to which an area is modified by glaciation. In particular, analysis of basins using slope frequency distribution curves and slope vs. elevation plots capture steeper slopes, flatter valley bottoms, cirques, and arêtes of glaciated …