Geography Commons^™

Using Spatial Methods To Analyse Anthropogenic Predation Risk And Movement Ecology Of White-Tailed Deer (Odocoileus Virginianus), Rhiannon D. Kirton

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Hunting has been used as a central tool by wildlife managers to maintain populations of game species, however, we still lack a good understanding of exactly how hunting influences deer biology. Technological advances in GPS data over the last two decades now enable us to perform more detailed analysis on the effects of human hunters on wildlife populations. This research explores the spatial ecology of hunters and White-tailed deer in the Cross Timbers ecoregion of Oklahoma. Using new statistical methodologies to analyse simultaneous GPS tracking data on deer and hunters to study their spatial interactions. The results show how new …

Bed Particle Dispersion And Scour In The San Juan (Pacheedaht) River, Meghan Sauro

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

As part of a larger river restoration project, bed particle dispersion was tracked at pool tailouts where salmon spawning is known to occur in the San Juan (Pacheedaht) River, B.C. Mobility and pathlengths of surface and sub-surface radio-tagged particles was characterized in three reaches over two deployment years in relation to annual channel change, flow magnitude, bar morphology and particle size. Surface particle mobility was high, with results from subsurface tracers indicating high spatial variation of scour at both the reach and local scale. Results also suggest scour can occur up to depths of 0.3m at some locations, even during …

Life In Between: Prehispanic Settlement Patterns Of The Carabamba Valley, Northern Peru, Amedeo Sghinolfi

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This dissertation is an archaeological study of the Carabamba Valley (ca. 150 - 3,500 m.a.s.l.) in Northern Peru, which aims to reconstruct settlement patterns through the longue durée (ca. 1800 B.C. - A.D. 1532). This study also documents the relations occupants of this frontier zone maintained with neighboring polities on the Peruvian North Coast (Virú Valley) and in the Northern Highlands. The valley features the resource-rich ecological niche called chaupiyunga, fed by rainwater that flows towards the Pacific Ocean and by a number of springs, where crops like coca, fruits, and vegetables can be easily grown. The Carabamba Valley also …

Intra-Field Nitrogen Estimation For Wheat And Corn Using Unmanned Aerial Vehicle-Based And Satellite Multispectral Imagery, Plant Biophysical Variables, Field Properties, And Machine Learning Methods, Jody Seymon Yu

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Management of nitrogen (N) fertilizers is an important agricultural practice and field of research to increase productivity, minimize environmental impacts and the cost of production. To apply N fertilizer at the right rate, time, and place depends on the crop type, desired yield, and field conditions. The objective of this study is to use Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) multispectral imagery, PlanetScope satellite imagery, vegetation indices (VI), crop height, leaf area index (LAI), field topographic metrics, and soil properties to predict canopy nitrogen weight (g/m²) of corn and wheat fields in southwestern Ontario, Canada. Random Forests (RF) and Support …

Empowering The Human-Nature Bond, Lightning Talk (7 Min), Valeria Widjaja

GIS Day

What is land? Is it dirt, the Earth, property, a resource? But rarely we ask who is land? When we change the question, it changes the way we think about land. It transforms the way we make decisions about how we might protect land. Through the Deshkan Ziibi Conservation Impact Bond, this story map explores how Carolinian Canada, Chippewas of the Thames First Nations, VERGE Capital, Ivey Business School, Thames Talbot Land Trust, and 3M are striving to heal the landscape. Overall, this story map visualizes both the human-nature and human-human relationships being facilitated by the bond. Learn the about …

The Spatial Equity Of Dockless Micromobility Sharing Systems In Calgary, Canada, Vivian Kong

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Micromobility sharing systems, including bikes and e-scooters, are often promoted as solutions to urban transportation equity challenges. Dockless micromobility sharing systems however remain understudied due in part to their novelty. In particular, there has been limited research on the spatial equity of e-scooter sharing, which concerns whether systems are equally accessible across a city regardless of the relative advantage and disadvantage of urban areas.

This thesis reports on two related analyses of the spatial equity of e-scooter sharing in Calgary, Alberta, Canada using an open dataset of three months worth of trip data (July – September, 2019): a gravity model …

Community Attitudes And Wind Energy Development Types: A Comparative Study In Ontario And Nova Scotia, Sara M. Wilson

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Wind turbines will continue to be an important part of the green energy transition in Canada. However, opposition to onshore wind projects from potential host communities has increased over time, and install rates are flattening. Dimensions such as NIMBYism, place, distance from turbines and connections to landscapes have proved relatively inadequate for explaining community attitudes. The value of community-based development models over developer-led models has had recent traction, however limited empirical investigation has been done. I used a mail-out mail-back survey in Ontario (n=192) and Nova Scotia (n=170), to communities with (n=172) and without (n=190) a community-based development model. Using …

Climate Change Vulnerability And Perceived Resilience Among Smallholder Farmers In The Upper West Region Of Ghana, Evans Sumabe Batung

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Globally, observed climate change has become a major barrier to agricultural productivity. At the same time, present and projected climate impacts are disproportionately affecting smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) where smallholder agriculture constitutes the predominant source of livelihood. Due to the vast agricultural potential of SSA, climate change resilience has been central in several multi-level deliberations over the past few decades. However, existing policies aimed at improving the effects of climate change on food security have overwhelmingly focused on the climatic dimensions of vulnerability, resulting in a lack of knowledge of the role non-climatic factors also play in shaping …

Ontario Active School Travel Policy Qualitative Survey, Erika S. Romanelli-Baird

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

Early in 2021, the HEALab worked with Green Communities Canada and Ontario Active School Travel (OAST) to conduct a policy scan of existing by-laws, regulations, programs and policies at school board and municipal level to better understand how they affect students ability to travel actively. The results of this policy scan were used to create a qualitative survey to ask parents, community members and other professionals their opinions on where current gaps exist and how they propose that they can be filled. The results were coded and will be used to guide interviews with key stakeholders and provide further recommendations …

General Transit Feed Specification (Gtfs) Data In Transportation Research: A Review Of Applications And Methods, Stanley Ho

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

This research falls under the discipline of Urban Geography/ Geographic Information Science (GIS). The objective of this research is to sharing knowledge of a public transportation dataset named General Transit Feed Specification (GTFS). Transportation research using GTFS and other open source data can be easily reproduced in many cities and to answer many urban geography questions that involves public transportation. Readers can find that GTFS and related research are conducted globally through the selected collection of journal articles. The demonstration aims to showcase that research using GTFS is feasible and easy to learn by public with little amount of open …

Using Qualitative Methods To Examine Influences On Active School Travel And Children’S Health, Sheena Ye

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

Over the last year, three major tools were developed to examine key influences on AST and children’s health and well-being. These tools included two pilot surveys - one for parents and one for children from grades four to eight located in South Western Ontario. The third tool was a comprehensive travel diary for the child survey takers to fill out after completing their initial children’s pilot survey. Over the last four months, these tools were tested in order to collect feedback from volunteers recruited in South Western Ontario. The goal of the pilot testing of these tools was to determine …

Crop Type And Land Cover Mapping In Malawi Utilizing Sentinel-1, Sentinel-2 And Planetscope Satellite Data, Naythan Samuda

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

No abstract provided.

Evaluating Effect Of Tree Canopy Cover On Human Thermal Comfort, Arthur Dolinar

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

No abstract provided.

Parkseek Canada, Alyssa O. Aglipay

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

ParkSeek Canada is a pan-Canadian initiative aimed at collecting and disseminating information about the population health impacts of parks, recreational facilities, and protected areas. This infographic gives an overview of the objectives of the study and goes into detail about the current progress of the study which includes discussing the pilot study that recently started and the pickleball and tennis court sub-study that is taking place.

How The Pandemic Ravaged The Food Retail Environment, Anand Singh Kukreja

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

A blogpost regarding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the food retail environment.

The Physical Properties Of Volcanic And Impact Melt, Gavin Douglas Tolometti

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The emplacement mechanisms of lunar impact melt flows, that form from hypervelocity impact events, have been a subject of debate in the lunar science community, because of their unique physical properties that separate them from other geologic features. Understanding how lunar impact melt flows were emplaced on the surface of the Moon will not only grant us new information about the flow dynamics of impact melt but provide insight into the production and distribution of impact melt and how it built and modified the surfaces of planetary surfaces.

Lunar impact melt flows exhibit surface roughness textures and morphologies that are …

The Mobility Of Experiential Learning Pedagogy: Transferring Ideas And Practices From A Large- To A Small-Campus Setting, Roza Tchoukaleyska, Ken Carter, Emily Dluginski, Marilyn Forward, Andrew King, Olivia Leblanc, Christopher Ratcliffe

Geography & Environment Publications

In this article, we examine the development of a new, experiential learning human geography and planning course at a smaller campus in Newfoundland, Canada. Our interest is twofold: to consider how pedagogical approaches can be transferred between a large urban campus and a small-town location; and to examine the benefits and complications of such transfers through a reflective examination of the resulting experiential learning program. The article captures the experiences of students, faculty, and university engagement staff in the deployment of the course. From these perspectives, we situate the decision to transfer an existing program across universities, the nuances of …

Impacts Of Climate Change On Food Security And Smallholder Livelihoods In Northern Ghana, Kamaldeen Mohammed

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Climate change and food insecurity threaten the livelihoods of smallholder communities in the Global South. In the Ghanaian context, climate change and food insecurity are particularly crucial challenges in the northern regions, where most people are engaged in diverse activities in the agricultural sector. Despite tremendous efforts to curtail food insecurity and climate change vulnerability of smallholder households in northern Ghana, food insecurity and climate change remain pervasive in the region, indicating that smallholder adaptive capacities and resilience to the impacts of climate change are not commensurate with the severity of the problems. Emerging literature has indicated that livelihood diversification …

Working Within Constraints: Examining The Effectiveness Of Local Network Governance In Addressing Complex Social Challenges, Merlin R. Chatwin

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Despite sustained efforts, the pervasiveness of complex social challenges continues to confound governments at all scales. While the local manifestations are unique to socio-political and geographic context, issues such as homelessness, poverty, and food insecurity are global in nature. The centrality of local government in identifying and addressing complex social challenges is at the forefront of global agendas like the New Urban Agenda (NUA) and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). There is broad agreement on the importance of local governments, yet, how to equip them with the resources and autonomy required to meet complex social challenges remains contentious. Indeed, governance …

Participatory Knowledge Of Motion: Ezhianishinaabebimaadiziyaang Mii Sa Ezhianishinaabeaadisokeyaang. The Way In Which We Live, That Is The Way We Write Stories., Erin E. Huner

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This is a dissertation based upon the Customary Ways Dataset, which is comprised of 50 interviews given by Elders from Walpole Island First Nation, in 2010. The over-arching, community-designed research question that guided this dissertation was: How do the Elders of Walpole Island describe their relationship to the land? To answer this question, I co-designed a mixed-methods analysis that included traditional methods from the Social Sciences, including Grounded Theory, to establish emergent themes, and some simple statistical analysis using Chi-square and crosstab analysis. I also utilized methods closely related to the Humanities, deploying Story Mapping, Close Reading and a …

Comparing Household And Individual Measures Of Access Through A Food Environment Lens: What Household Food Opportunities Are Missed When Measuring Access To Food Retail At The Individual Level?, Lindsey G. Smith, Michael J. Widener, Bochu Liu, Steven Farber, Leia M. Minaker, Zachary Patterson, Kristian Larsen, Jason Gilliland

Geography & Environment Publications

Geographers and public health researchers have long been interested in social, spatial, and economic factors that drive access and exposure to food retail. A growing body of evidence draws on mobility data to capture locations accessed by individuals beyond the home address. Given that food-related activities are shared by household members and often gendered, taking an individual-level approach might limit researchers’ ability to accurately describe access to food retail. Using data that includes Global Positioning System trajectories of forty-six adults from twenty-one households in Toronto, this study compares access to food retailers at the individual and household levels and evaluates …

Pollinator People: An Ethnography Of Bees, Bee Advocates And Possibilities For Multispecies Commoning In Toronto And London, On, Rebecca A. Ellis

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

There is growing scientific evidence showing that many important pollinator species are in decline around the world. Bees are the most important pollinators in many parts of the world, and the combination of population declines in wild bees and widespread health problems among domesticated honey bees have potentially devastating impacts on both ecosystem health and agricultural prospects. Some scientists, native bee advocates, and beekeepers argue that cities can provide a refuge for bees from pesticide-laden rural landscapes, which has contributed to an increase in urban, hobbyist beekeeping and pollinator gardening.

This dissertation employs a multispecies ethnography in two cities in …

Building Climate Resilient Communities: Living Within The Earth’S Carrying Capacity, Gordon Mcbean, Paul Kovacs, James Voogt, Greg Kopp, Sophie Guilbault

Geography & Environment Publications

This Knowledge Synthesis examines how Canadian communities can proactively advance climate resilience to effectively reduce the risk from climate change impacts.

Our synthesis reveals that some communities have prepared high level adaptation plans, but very few have a detailed implementation strategy with established funding frameworks. Most actions to build community resilience in Canada are unplanned and take place in recovery following an extreme loss event. Indigenous communities are at the forefront of climate change adaptation in Canada. Self-determination and adaptive capacity building through community-led risk assessments, planning, and disaster recovery organizations, while addressing the broader context of reconciliation gaps and …

From Stateless People To Citizens: The Reformulation Of Territory And Identity In India-Bangladesh Border Enclaves, Md Rashedul Alam

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This dissertation analyzes nation-building in hitherto ungoverned territories of two Indian chhitmahals in Bangladesh and explores the transformation of their residents from stateless Indian nationals to citizens of Bangladesh. Chhitmahals comprised nearly two hundred enclaves located along the Bangladesh-India border that belonged to one country but were located inside another’s territory. Chhitmahals came into existence with the partition of India in 1947; their non-contiguous locations kept them without state administration and citizenship rights. People developed political councils and adopted illicit practices to survive in the absence of the state, but the impossibility of exercising sovereignty in chhitmahals led Bangladesh and …

Spatial Thinking, Gender And Immaterial Affective Labour In The Post-Fordist Academic Library, Karen P. Nicholson

FIMS Publications

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to use spatial thinking (space-time) as a lens through which to examine the ways in which the socio-economic conditions and values of the post-Fordist academy work to diminish and even subsume the immaterial affective labour of librarians even as it serves to reproduce the academy. Design/methodology/approach – The research question informing this paper asks, In what ways does spatial thinking help us to better understand the immaterial, invisible and gendered labour of academic librarians’ public service work in the context of the post-Fordist university? This question is explored using a conceptual approach …