Geography Commons^™

A Geostatistical Screening Strategy For Assessing Contaminated Sediment, Yasuyo K. Makido

Masters Theses

Many environmental problems involve the collection and interpretation of spatial data. Screening methods attempt to develop efficient test procedures to determine the presence and absence of contaminants in samples. Screening methods can reduce monitoring costs and effectively identify contamination problems. Adaptive sampling has the flexibility to adjust for follow-up sampling based on the observed patterns in the population. Geostatistical method is employed for the adaptive sampling scheme. Geostatistics are statistical methodologies that use spatial coordinates to help formulate models used in estimation and prediction.

This study seeks to map Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) concentrations in sediment in Lake Allegan and Morrow …

Development Of An Arc View™ Extension To Measure Local Fractal Dimension, Christopher Page Caird

Masters Theses

Texture is defined as the visible cue suggesting the smoothness or coarseness associated with image tone or color (Emerson, 1999). Fractal dimension (D) offers insight towards understanding texture in the spatial as well as spectral context of an image (Mandelbrot, 1982). Fractal dimension is best understood as a range of values between two and three that are used to quantitatively describe a surface. (D) values near 2.0 represent a uniform area containing similar pixel values. In contrast, (D) values near 3.0 represent a domain that is spectrally complex. This complexity stems from light and dark pixels in close proximity to …

Adapting The Habitat For Humanity Model To Sabah, Malaysia, Rozita Abdul Manap

Masters Theses

Building sustainable housing and community developments through the Habitat for Humanity International (HFHI) homeownership program, is one of the many ways that has successfully improved housing standards for low-income communities in the U.S. Findings show that this model can be used as a mechanism to stimulate serious programs and as an alternative to improve and solve housing problems.

This study focuses on how the Habitat for Humanity model can be applied towards increasing the benefits to the community in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. Located on Borneo Island, Sabah is the second largest state in the Federation of Malaysia, but is regarded …

Development Along The Northwestern Boundary Of The Great Smoky Mountains National Park: Can The Park's 'Soft-Edge' Boundary Be Preserved?, Robert Edward James

Masters Theses

Development along the Great Smoky Mountains National Park's northwestern boundary threatens the "soft-edge" characteristics of its bordering communities. The "soft-edge" characteristics enable visitors to gradually transition from the urban to natural environment, and mitigate human impacts on the natural environment. Between 1970and 1994 the Knoxville Metropolitan Area population grew from 424,586to 631,097. Between 1988and 1997Park visitation increased from 8.8million to 9.9million. This thesis questions whether the "soft-edge" character of the Park's northwestern boundary can be preserved in light of the increasing population and development pressures on the bordering communities. In this thesis I have reviewed the roles of the parties …