Geography Commons^™

Pressure From Tourism Hardest For Religious World Heritage Sites And Those In Forest And Coastal Areas, Eva Hagsten, Martin Thomas Falk

GSTC Academic Symposium - In conjunction with the GSTC Global Conference Sweden April 23, 2024

Short abstract (max 250)

This study empirically investigates tourism as a threat to UNESCO World Heritage Sites, given their characteristics and location. The main contribution of the study is a new measure that relates the time from inscription to the occurrence of a threat, based on data from the State of Conservation reports. In this database, there is information on 1,200 World Heritage sites for the period 1978-2023 with 29,000 observations. Two indicators relating to tourism as a threat are used: One relating to demand and the other to supply. Estimation results reveal that the occurrence of a tourism threat …

Food Tourism And Storytelling In The Scandinavian North, Kajsa G. Åberg

GSTC Academic Symposium - In conjunction with the GSTC Global Conference Sweden April 23, 2024

The relation between place, food and tourism is gaining interest from actors in both private and public sectors in the Nordic countries. Food is discussed as potential for product development and image building, based on reasoning on how value may be added through geographical food branding. However, food and drink may also be regarded as a tangible way to communicate local ways of life and as bearers of symbolism and values. The process of commercialization is therefore closely linked to aspects of control and respect, elements found in the criteria section on socio-cultural sustainability in the Global Sustainable Tourism Council …

Estimating Effects Of Tourism Using Multiple Data Sources: The Miranda Tool As Part Of A Spatial Decision Support System For Sustainable Destination Development, Tobias Heldt

GSTC Academic Symposium - In conjunction with the GSTC Global Conference Sweden April 23, 2024

Planning for sustainable mobility and destination development in rural areas is increasingly important when tourism grows in numbers. A key to address the challenge of transformation and adaptation of local communities to mitigate adverse effects in seasonal peak hours like traffic congestion, power failure, waste management and sewage flooding, is to properly estimate the number of visitors to a destination.

The problem of estimating tourism numbers is a known challenge since, for example, guest nights statistics are in-complete and non-commercial lodging (sharing solutions) are increasing. Recently, the promising utilization of mobile phone data has emerged as a means to estimate …

Sustainable Hospitality Workforce - A Study Of Decency And Dignity In Hotel Housekeeping, Maria Thulemark, Susanna Heldt Cassel Prof., Tara Duncan Prof.

GSTC Academic Symposium - In conjunction with the GSTC Global Conference Sweden April 23, 2024

Key Words: hospitality work, decent work, sustainable work, working participant observation, embodied intersectionality

Evaluating The Environmental Impacts Of U.S. Historical Oil Spill Incidents, Yiming Liu, Hua Cai

Graduate Industrial Research Symposium

Exposure to risks associated with the production and usage of products, particularly oil, poses significant threats to both ecological systems and human health. Notable examples include the Gulf War Oil Spill (1991) and the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill (2010). However, numerous smaller-scale oil spills, which collectively contribute to substantial oil releases, often remain overlooked. To fill this gap, our study first developed a detailed oil spill incidents database, covering 1967 to 2023. We quantified the released amount (RA) of oil spills recorded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Subsequently, we utilized life cycle impact indicators in ReCiPe to …

Gis For Public Health: Exploring Diseases Of Despair In Metro Atlanta, Chanice Brown

Symposium of Student Scholars

Diseases of despair are a set of behaviors that can cause a significant amount of mortality within a population. These behaviors, which typically include drug abuse, alcoholism, and suicides, have existed for quite some time. However, the idea of “Diseases of Despair” is fairly recent. In 2015, researchers Anna Case and Angus Deaton first coined the concept while studying an increase in mortality and decrease in life expectancy amongst middle-aged, white populations in different rural communities. They theorized that external pressures, like economic insecurity and increased morbidity, were driving these populations to seek out dangerous methods to relieve their stress. …

Spatial Associations Of Liver Disease Rates With Socioeconomic And Health Risk Factors In Georgia, Nguyet Le

Symposium of Student Scholars

According to the CDC Cancer Statistics Report in 2020, Liver and Intrahepatic Bile Duct is the 6th leading cancer in both USA and the State of Georgia ranked by Rates of Cancer Death. Aflatoxin-containing foods, alcohol consumption, smoking, overeating, and other risky behaviors are among the factors linked to liver diseases. They have also been related to the socioeconomic status (SES) of individuals. The behaviors and SES of individuals are affected by the socioeconomic characteristics of the communities where they live. However, the relationships between the rates of liver diseases and community-level socioeconomic factors are not well studied. The objective …

Complex Impacts Of Wars On Global Sustainable Development In A Metacoupled World, Qutu Jiang, Zhenci Xu, Yuanzheng Cui, Jianguo Liu

I-GUIDE Forum

Wars and armed conflicts have had profound impacts on local and global sustainable development in an interconnected world. However, evidence on the impacts of wars is fragmented and little attention has been paid to the impacts on the 17 UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a unifying framework for achieving global sustainable development. This perspective synthesizes the scattered information to provide a holistic analysis and highlight the applications of remote sensing in assessing the impacts of wars on global sustainable development in a metacoupling world. Wars have complex impacts on all 17 SDGs, which cascade beyond conflict zones and spillover to …

Streamlined Hpc Environments With Cvmfs And Cybergis-Compute, Alexander C. Michels, Mit Kotak, Anand Padmanabhan, Shaowen Wang

I-GUIDE Forum

High-Performance Computing (HPC) resources provide the potential for complex, large-scale modeling and analysis, fueling scientific progress over the last few decades, but these advances are not equally distributed across disciplines. Those in computational disciplines are often trained to have the necessary technical skills to utilize HPC (e.g. familiarity with the terminal), but many disciplines face technical hurdles when trying to apply HPC resources to their work. This unequal familiarity with HPC is increasingly a problem as cross-discipline teams work to tackle critical interdisciplinary issues like climate change and sustainability. CyberGIS-Compute is middle-ware designed to democratize to HPC services with the …

Decentralized Infrastructure For Reproducible And Replicable Geographical Science, Joseph Holler, Peter Kedron

I-GUIDE Forum

The I-GUIDE cyberinfrastructure project for convergence science is a leading example of the possibilities the geospatial data revolution holds for scientific discovery. However, rapidly expanding access to increasingly complex data sources and methods of computational analysis also presents a challenge to the research community. With more data and more potential analyses, researchers face the possibility of jeopardizing the inferential power of convergence research with selection bias. Well-designed infrastructure that can flexibly guide researchers as they record and track decisions in their research designs opens a path to mitigating this problem, while also expanding the reproducibility and replicability of research. Much …

Geospatial Data Integration Middleware For Exploratory Analytics Addressing Regional Natural Resource Grand Challenges In The Us Mountain West, Shannon Albeke, Nicholas Case, Samantha Ewers, Jeffrey Hamerlinck, William Kirkpatrick, Jerod Merkle, Luke Todd

I-GUIDE Forum

This paper describes CyberGIS-based research and development aimed at improving geospatial data integration and visual analytics to better understand the impact of regional climate change on water availability in the U.S. Rocky Mountains. Two Web computing applications are presented. DEVISE - Derived Environmental Variability Indices Spatial Extractor, streamlines utilization of environmental data for better-informed wildlife decisions by biologists and game managers. The WY-Adapt platform aims to enhance predictive understanding of climate change impacts on water availability through two modules: “Current Conditions” and “Future Scenarios”. It integrates high-resolution models of the biophysical environment and human interactions, providing a robust framework for …

An Agent-Based Modeling Approach To Spatial Accessibility, Alexander C. Michels, Shaowen Wang

I-GUIDE Forum

Place-based spatial accessibility represents the ability of populations within geographic units to access goods and services, and thus is an important indicator for sustainable development. Existing spatial accessibility models treat population as simply demand, calculating statistics or optimizing average cost for the population within each geographic unit, rather than modeling individual decisions. This paper proposes AgentAccess, a general-purpose Agent-Based Model (ABM) for spatial accessibility analysis. An ABM framework brings us closer to reality by simulating individual and imperfect decision-making. We introduce the model and compare its results against existing spatial accessibility models using a case study of hospital beds in …

Solving Geospatial Problems Under Extreme Time Constraints: A Call For Inclusive Geocomputational Education, Coline C. Dony

I-GUIDE Forum

To prepare our next generation to face geospatial problems that have extreme time constraints (e.g., disasters, climate change) we need to create educational pathways that help students develop their geocomputational thinking skills. First, educators are central in helping us create those pathways, therefore, we need to clearly convey to them why and in which contexts this thinking is necessary. For that purpose, a new definition for geocomputational thinking is suggested that makes it clear that this thinking is needed for geospatial problems that have extreme time constraints. Secondly, we can not further burden educators with more demands, rather we should …

I-Guide Climbers: A Model For Multidisciplinary Academic Labs For Early Career Development, Iman Haqiqi, Wei Hu, Ramya Kumaran, Pin-Ching Li, Nicholas Manning, Alex Michels, Ayman Nassar, Jinwoo Park, Jimeng Shi, Adam Tonks, Zhaonan Wang

I-GUIDE Forum

In this paper, we propose a new form of multidisciplinary academic collaboration that goes beyond the traditional modes of knowledge exchange. We argue that most research collaboration today is based on interactions between closely related disciplines, in which researchers share data, methods, and insights within a common framework or problem. However, such collaboration may not foster the development of the communication and management skills essential to a multi-disciplinary research career. Therefore, we suggest establishing a network of researchers from divergent, yet complementary, disciplines who are interested in improving these skills through regular interactions and feedback. The main goal of this …

Reducing Uncertainty In Sea-Level Rise Prediction: A Spatial-Variability-Aware Approach, Subhankar Ghosh, Shuai An, Arun Sharma, Jayant Gupta, Shashi Shekhar, Aneesh Subramanian

I-GUIDE Forum

Given multi-model ensemble climate projections, the goal is to accurately and reliably predict future sea-level rise while lowering the uncertainty. This problem is important because sea-level rise affects millions of people in coastal communities and beyond due to climate change's impacts on polar ice sheets and the ocean. This problem is challenging due to spatial variability and unknowns such as possible tipping points (e.g., collapse of Greenland or West Antarctic ice-shelf), climate feedback loops (e.g., clouds, permafrost thawing), future policy decisions, and human actions. Most existing climate modeling approaches use the same set of weights globally, during either regression or …

Shark-Diving Tourism In The Macaronesian Archipelagos: Challenges And Opportunities, Pedro Gonzáles Mantilla

ITSA 2022 Gran Canaria - 9th Biennial Conference: Corporate Entrepreneurship and Global Tourism Strategies After Covid 19

The Macaronesian region is typically heavily exploited by fisheries; however, in recent years, marine wildlife tourism has become popular and a shark-diving industry has emerged, potentially presenting an alternative for the sustainable use of sharks. Combining a literature review with interviews with dive operators conducting shark encounters in the Macaronesian archipelagos, we provide an overview of the challenges and conservation potential of shark-diving tourism for these territories. Owing to the regular presence of important shark species for tourism and the growth of the scuba-diving industry, shark-diving has potential to expand over the region. Yet, the overlap between European industrial fishing …

China's Public Diplomacy Philosophy, Logan Webb

ATU Research Symposium

China has become a giant in the globalized world in such a short period of time. This led me to the research question, “What is China’s public diplomacy philosophy?” Using a textual analysis of major geopolitical events that China is involved in (The Belt and Road Initiative, the South China Sea dispute, Uyghur imprisonment, and the Hong Kong government takeover) and the history of China since the Chinese Civil War, it becomes apparent that the country uses the concept of hard and soft power for its public diplomacy. If a country is not receptive to China or its intended actions, …

A Feasibility Study To Determine The Most Optimal Location For A Ski/Mountain Bike Resort In Greater Northwest Arkansas, Timothy Constantino

ATU Research Symposium

This project was completed by the author with some assistance and consulting from his faculty mentor, Dr. Patrick Hagge. In order to answer the fundamental study questions concerning the feasibility of a mountain bike and ski resort being established in Arkansas, ArcGIS Pro mapping software was utilized. Some data was collected from outside sources, including NOAA and the Arkansas GIS Office. Other data was either interpolated from the aforementioned sources or created by the author. For regionwide suitability, four broad factors were considered. Those included aspect, slope, temperature, and snowfall. Ten specific resort sites were chosen and then ranked considering …

Community Resilience: Conducting A Tornado Risk Assessment For Oklahoma City, Oklahoma​, Chanice Brown

Symposium of Student Scholars

On May 20th, 2013, the Newcastle-Moore tornado carved a 14-mile-long path of destruction through Oklahoma City, McClain, and Cleveland Counties. This event led to the deaths of 24 people, more than 200 injuries, and at least 2 billion dollars in damages. Tornadoes like the Newcastle-Moore are sporadic and technological advances have provided an extra layer of protection against them. However, researchers have found that one of the best methods for bolstering the safety of a community when facing such severe weather threats is developing a hazard mitigation plan. As such, the focus of this particular project was to identify the …

Lidar Buoy Detection For Autonomous Marine Vessel Using Pointnet Classification, Christopher Adolphi, Dorothy Dorie Parry, Yaohang Li, Masha Sosonkina, Ahmet Saglam, Yiannis E. Papelis

Modeling, Simulation and Visualization Student Capstone Conference

Maritime autonomy, specifically the use of autonomous and semi-autonomous maritime vessels, is a key enabling technology supporting a set of diverse and critical research areas, including coastal and environmental resilience, assessment of waterway health, ecosystem/asset monitoring and maritime port security. Critical to the safe, efficient and reliable operation of an autonomous maritime vessel is its ability to perceive on-the-fly the external environment through onboard sensors. In this paper, buoy detection for LiDAR images is explored by using several tools and techniques: machine learning methods, Unity Game Engine (herein referred to as Unity) simulation, and traditional image processing. The Unity Game …

Gis Observations Of Missouri Amphibian Diversity, Kat Townsend, Tara Vansell

2023 Student Academic Showcase

Over the past decade, amphibian populations have been noticeably declining. As struggles between climate change, human development, and sustaining healthy ecosystems grows, it is vital to understand how these threats impact amphibians. Missouri has a rich diversity of toads, frogs, and salamanders but some of these species are struggling, such as the spring peeper and Ozark hellbender. Projects such as the St. Louis Zoo’s Frog Watch and iNaturalist observations have been implemented to involve citizens of Missouri in collecting valuable data pertaining to where amphibians are present and establishing where populations are struggling to thrive. The goal of this project …

The Human And Environmental Concerns Of The Ohio Train Derailment Using Geographic Information Systems, Lillian M. Nix, Tara Vansell

2023 Student Academic Showcase

The Norfolk Southern train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio poses many long term concerns for humans and the environment. Over a hundred thousand gallons of hazardous chemicals were released into the air, soil, and waterways after the train derailed and started a fire. Norfolk Southern performed a controlled burn of the chemicals after residents were told to evacuate. Was this really the best solution? Geographic Information Systems (GIS) datasets and tools can be used to get a better understanding of the impact the accident has had on the community. Overlaying datasets of waterways and cropland onto a map can help …

Permission-Based Marketing: Using Gis To Create Information Visualizations For Nonprofit Organizations., Mark J. Sciuchetti Dr., Jianping Huang

Atlantic Marketing Association Proceedings

No abstract provided.

Mapping For Cultural Resurgence: Reclaiming Geocultural Knowledge Of Kamchatka's Indigenous Peoples From Early Scientific Explorers, Semyon Drozdetckii

INSPIRE Student Research and Engagement Conference

The goal of this research is to develop a co-produced geospatial platform for reclaiming geocultural knowledge of the Kamchatka’s Indigenous Peoples from early scientific expeditions.

Lidar Field Data Collection For 3d Cartography, Danny Jang

Symposium of Student Scholars

Remote sensing using LiDAR technology for terrestrial mapping can be done using airborne or ground-based methods. Ground-based methods of LiDAR scanning have the favorable advantage of being much more cost-effective compared to the majority of aerial choices (balloons and drones might overcome this advantage in the future) for small-area large-scale cartography. LiDAR data collection has been traditionally utilized for urban applications, forest applications, agricultural applications, and geoscience applications. This student research aims to use the data gathered from this process for crafting 3D maps using cost-effective 3D printers.

Learning From Public Spaces In Historic Cities, Cody Josh Kucharski

Symposium of Student Scholars

Successful public spaces in cities are key for enhancing social cohesion and improving health and safety. Learning from historic cities involves the development of representational and analytical tools aimed at capturing their essence as places of human interaction. The research reports findings of the spatial analysis of twenty Adriatic and Ionian coastal cities, which addresses the question of how the network of public spaces calibrates different degrees of spatial enclosure necessary for creating successful social interactions. Cities in the littoral region include well-preserved historic centers that are renowned for the successful integration of urban squares into the urban fabric. For …

F15 Mapping For Cultural Resurgence: Repatriating Geographical Knowledge Of Kamchatka’S Indigenous Peoples Through Restorative Re-Mapping Of Materials From Early Scientific Expeditions, Semyon Drozdetckii

Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) at UNI

The Kamchatka Peninsula in the Russian Far East was one of the last territories to become part of Russia during its colonization of Siberia. Here Russians came into contact with its Indigenous peoples - nomadic Koryaks and settled Itelmens. Just like other Indigenous peoples of Russia and the rest of the world, they faced the terrible consequences of colonization. They were forcibly baptized, Russified and expelled from their ancestral territories. Nowadays, Indigenous knowledge here is largely forgotten. This study will attempt to help the Indigenous peoples of Kamchatka repatriate this knowledge by focusing on geographic knowledge, mainly among the Itelmens. …

Measuring The Exposure And Vulnerability Of Transit Riders To Cold Temperatures In London, Ontario, Armin Mahboubi

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

Due to the expansion of suburban areas in many cities around the world, accessibility to public transit through walking has become a new challenge for riders. Considering the impacts of climate change in creating more extreme weather, such as extreme cold, heat, or flooding, transit riders may thus be at a higher risk of exposure for various weather-related illnesses (Fraser & Chester, 2016).

Using ArcGIS Pro and ArcMap software, and data collected from City of London’s Open Portal, the United States Geological Survey, Open Mobility Data, and Statistics Canada, the exposure and vulnerability of transit riders to cold temperatures in …

An Explorative Study Of The Methods Used In Dendrochronology And Its Applications, Matthew Bowery

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

The science of dendrochronology involves the dating of tree rings and analysis of their annual growth rates. It is important to conduct field studies to determine what tree species in a given area are suitable for analysis. This project began by coring Acer plantanoides, Acer saccharinum, Acer saccharum, and Picea abies from the Fanshawe Conservation Area in London, Ontario. Each core was prepped using standard procedures and analyzed for the visibility of annual rings. The tree rings of Acer plantanoides and Acer saccharinum were inadequate for accurate dating, and thus, only Acer saccharum and Picea abies were …

Digital Road Safety Education Intervention For Children: A Pilot Feasibility Study, Julia Pham

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

Over the summer, the Active School Travel (AST) Digital Road Safety Education Pilot Feasibility project was developed as part of the School Travel Plan (STP) study, which aims to improve children’s AST behaviour, physical activity, and reduce air pollution around schools. The Pilot Feasibility study will be evaluating the effectiveness of the implementation of an online educational intervention that teaches Grade 4 to 6 students about the rules and skills involved in walking and wheeling to and from school (and around their community) daily. The curriculum is broken up into four modules that will consist of readings, an audio/visual resource, …