Digital Commons Network^™

Multiple Hazard Research In Kananaskis Country, Alberta: A Geographical Information System Approach, Alastair J. Small

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This research is concerned with the application of Geographical Information System techniques to multiple hazard research in Kananaskis Country Recreation Area, southern Alberta. The study is focused on Peter Lougheed Provincial Park, a high mountain environment in the front range Rockies. Increasing human activity in the area is putting more and more people at risk from natural hazards, thus the need for more efficient land use planning is evident. This research attempts to map and predict avalanche, forest fire, rockslide/rockfall, and flood hazard occurrence, and estimate the degree of risk associated with each. Data relating to the physical characteristics and …

The Benefits Trickled Up: The Political Geography Of Water Provision In Paris, Ontario, 1882-1924, John Solomon Hagopian

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The social and political factors which affected nineteenth-century waterworks development have been relatively well researched in the United States. The few Canadian studies have found inequities in the systems of water provision. Using Paris, Ontario as a case study, an attempt is made to fill this research gap in Canada. The research centres on the identification of the social classes which paid for the Paris waterworks and which received the benefits. The spatial distribution of these social classes is determined and then compared to the spatial pattern of waterworks development. A similar comparison is done between the functional zonation of …

Hydrologic Investigations Of Meltwaters Draining Gornergletscher And Findelengletscher, Switzerland Using Hydrochemistry And Isotopic Analyses, Robert A. Metcalfe

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The purpose of this thesis is to investigate the hydrological dynamics of Gornerglestcher and Findelengletscher, Switzerland by performing hydrochemical analyses on the bulk runoff exiting the portal of these two alpine glaciers. The hydrochemical analyses utilized electrical conductivity, as a surrogate for total dissolved solids, to determine the flow of routing of the bulk runoff (englacial or subglacial as defined by Collins, 1979b) and 8^18O to determine the contributions of pre-event and event water to bulk runoff during precipitation events. The pre-event water was defined as a combination of snow meltwater, ice meltwater and groundwater as these flow components could …

The Impact Of The Bruce Nuclear Power Development Planned Workforce Increase On Kincardine, Ontario, Robert Mark Flesch

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This study investigates the underlying dimensions of public attitudes toward the impact of the Bruce Nuclear Power Development planned workforce increase on Kincardine, Ontario. Kincardine, a small rural community of approximately 5900 inhabitants (Statistics Canada, 1986), is located in the southwestern portion of Bruce County. Much of the current landscape, demographic composition, and industrial structure can directly be attributed to the locality’s function as a residential nucleation for the Bruce Nuclear Power Development workforce and their families (Hecht and Sharpe, 1990; Chalk, 1990). Two propositions form the basis for this study of community response. The first states that the underlying …

Rapid Population Growth And Its Impact On Residential Land Use In Ghana: The Case Of Madina-Adenta In The Accra Metropolitan Area, Louis Awanyo

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Rapid population growth rates coupled with low levels of economic development in developing countries have created among others immense obstacles to the provision of adequate housing to the majority of residents. Population growth rates are growing faster than the provision of new housing and housing infrastructure. This has resulted in intensive usage of the existing stock of housing and deterioration of housing environments. Some of the manifestations of housing and residential land use intensification are increasing room occupancy levels, in—situ housing adjustments involving physical changes in housing space and housing space conversions. Intensification of residential land use also has environmental …

The Energy Crisis: The Case Of The Economic Community Of West African States (Ecowas), With Special Reference To Nigeria, Ghana And Burkina Faso, Francis Bliss Lagbo

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The energy crisis of West African countries has assumed major importance over the past few decades. The oil price increases of the 1970s have posed innumerable problems to these countries. But that is hardly the entire story. The vegetation cover of most places have been stripped so bare that people must walk for hours to find the day's supply of firewood, the traditional energy source. Doing something about the problem involves, first of all, understanding what the situation really is. This study provides an analysis of the spatial, sectoral and social inequalities in energy production and consumption in BCOWAS. Scrutiny …

Technological Development In Mississauga And Canada's Technology Triangle: A Calibrated Application Of The Product Life Cycle, J. Colin Wright

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

No abstract provided.

A Case Study Of Black West Indian Migrants In Urban Canada: The Decision To Migrate, Patrick Richardson

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The main purpose of this study is to examine the extent to which traditional models of the migration decision making process adequately account for and describe the decision making process of black West Indian immigrants in Canada. Traditional models of the migration decision making process have suggested that individuals migrate after a rational comparison of place utilities (Wolpert, 1964; Roseman, 1971). These human capital models of migration (De Jong et al, 1981) suggest that individuals, acting in a very rational manner, seek always to maximize their “profits” at an optimum location. However, this study suggests that in the case of …

Rural-Urban Migration And Squatter Settlement Formation In African Cities: A Case Study Of A Ghanaian Squatter Settlement (Tema), Thomas Y. Owunsu

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The massive rural to urban migration in developing countries has been identified as the cause of the existence of squatter settlements in the neighboring urban areas. This thesis puts forward a comprehensive theoretical framework of the process that leads to the formation and growth of such settlements. It is argued that, under intense urbanization, the number of urban migrants far exceeds the capacity of the receiving city to provide sufficient employment and housing opportunities. A certain segment of migrants, especially those with low levels of skills, educational background and support in the city of destination are assimilated in the squatter …

Determination Of Morphologic And Volumetric Change, Peyto Glacier, Alberta, 1966-1989, Peter J. Glenday

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

During the summer months of July and August 1989, approximately 23 years after a photogrammetric survey on August 22, 1966, Peyto Glacier, a glacier selected for study during the International Hydrologic Decade (IHD) 1965-74, was re-surveyed using terrestrial geodetic surveying techniques. The volumetric and morphologic change of Peyto Glacier, Alberta from 1966 to 1989 is estimated through a combined application of digital cartometry, digital geodetic survey and Triangulated Irregular Network (TIN) digital terrain modeling and analysis. Changes in glacial volume, areal extent, teriminus position, percentage basin glaciation, slope, and aspect for the 23 year interval are shown. Additionally, a 1:10000 …

Population Concentration Or Deconcentration In Ontario? An Examination Of Recent Patterns And Probable Causal Factors, Sinisa Aleksa

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The process of population deconcentration has received little attention from a methodological and causal perspective. In the early 1970’s, most western and industrialized nations including Canada experienced an intense movement of the population away from the larger metropolitan and urban areas. As a result, much of the growth during this time period was taking place at lower levels of the settlement hierarchy. In fact, much of the growth in those areas had in the past been characterized by heavy out-migration and overall population losses. Research in the 1980’s has been of a critical nature. There have been two main criticisms. …

Consumer Spatial Shopping Behaviour Analysis: A Case Study Of The Kitchener Cma (Ontario), Yalin Wu

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Many marketing geographers concern themselves with the study of consumer spatial choice behaviour. Addressing some of the concerns, this thesis provides an evidence of customers’ spatial shopping behaviour at the study region of Kitchener Census Metropolitan Area (CMA). A customer’s spatial choice decision-making in the study area was first assumed to be a two-levelled process: regional and subregional level. This study was to identify the factors motivating consumers’ choice on where to shop at these two levels. A previous 804 households’ shopping behaviour survey conducted by Dr. A. Hecht in 1986 was used as the data basis of this study. …

Gentrification In Canadian Inner Cities: An Investigation Of Major Factors (Montreal, Quebec, Toronto, Ontario, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Vancouver, British Columbia), M. Anne Sinclair-Puchtinger

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Over the past two decades, the literature regarding gentrification has become extensive. More recently, a smaller body of research has emerged. This research, which takes a more theoretical approach, accepts some of the views of earlier literature, but places an emphasis on explaining the underlying causes of gentrification, rather than describing its instances. The purpose of this thesis has been to consider recent literature on gentrification in terms of whether a relationship exists between contemporary demographic and societal changes and the process of gentrification. This has been accomplished by using three methods. The first method involves the computation of growth …

Bed Load Measurements: Nottawasaga River And Selected Tributaries, Ontario, Canada, Marylou B. Burkard

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Between July, 1989 and March, 1990, bed load samples were taken from ten bridge sites on the Nottawasaga River and three of its tributaries. The Helley-Smith Sampler was used to collect bed load samples, the DH-48 Suspended Sediment sampler was used to sample the suspended load, and velocity estimates were obtained with a Marsh-McBirney Model 512M electromagnetic current meter. Results show that the Pine River, which is a tributary of the Nottawasaga River, had higher bed load transport rates than the Nottawasaga River. The other tributaries, Willow Creek and Boyne River, transported less. During the summer and fall, bed load …

Elderly Housing Choice: A Case Study Of Brantford, Ontario, David Owen Diegel

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

As Canada’s population ages, policy analysts are increasingly concerned with issues related to housing the elderly. Addressing some of these concerns, this thesis provides evidence of the characteristics of the elderly who choose to move to Senior Citizens’ Apartments (SCAs), as opposed to staying in their own homes. Choice based sampling and binary logit analysis are used to investigate the connection between the choice made and the characteristics of the elderly. The results indicate that being married and owning a car increase the odds of elderly persons staying in their own homes as opposed to moving to an SCA, while …

The Impact Of Teaching Cartographic Lexicon And Of Geographic Experience On Map Use, James Cuame Saku

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Although maps are often thought to be easily understood, for many people they are not. Research into how best to make the map more useful to the user has taken different forms including applied psychology. While some researchers focus on the map maker, others are concentrating on the map user. In this study, attention is focused on the map user. Specifically, the study tries to look at how “years of geographic instruction” and teaching of “geographic lexicons” can enhance the performance of map use activities. Since maps are more associated with geographers, it is believed that they are in a …

Characteristic Discharge And Suspended-Sediment Relationships In Two Glacier-Fed Rivers In The Karakoram, Richard E.J. Kelly

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The purpose of this thesis is to investigate relationships between meltwater flow and production and flushing of suspended-sediment beneath two alpine glaciers. During the ablation seasons of 1987 and 1988, discrete, hourly measurements were taken of discharge, stage, suspended-sediment concentration and electrical conductivity in two rivers draining catchments of the Bualtar and Batura Glaciers in the Karakoram, N. Pakistan. The discharge time series of the Bualtar River reveals that flow varies over a daily period of three to four weeks, at a diurnal level and over one to four hours. Over all three time scales, electrical conductivity is inversely proportional …

Water Quality Dynamics In Meltwaters Draining Peyto Glacier, Alberta, Christopher Bradley

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Variations in the quantity and quality of meltwaters draining Peyto Glacier, Alberta, are assessed to examine to what extent meltwater characteristics might be indicative of any distinctive source and routing of water through a glacierised drainage basin. Continuous monitoring of solute concentrations of the principle melt-stream, Peyto Creek, was undertaken for significant periods in 1982, 1984 and 1987, coupled with measurements of suspended sediment concentration at the glacier terminus. Discharge of meltwater was determined for periods in 1982 and 1987. Supplementary monitoring of hydrogen-ion variation and total solute concentration was undertaken at additional sites within the basin, at a stream …

The Effect Of Mid-Winter Snowmelt Events On Nitrate And Ammonium Concentration In The Unsaturated And Shallow Saturated Zones: A Case Study, Richard J. Elgood

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

During the period of December 19, 1987 to March 28, 1988, the unsaturated and shallow saturated groundwater zones under two agricultural land use sites, near Waterloo, Ontario, were investigated to determine the effect of snowmelt percolation on the groundwater quality. Periods of widely fluctuating temperatures and sporadic rain events produced large changes in snowpack water equivalence. The resulting infiltration of snowmelt significantly altered the extent of the saturated area and the concentration of N (nitrogen) ions in both the soil column and percolate water. An N flux from the vadose (unsaturated) zone to the shallow phreatic (saturated) zone, occurring in …

Depositional And Deformational Structures In Three 'Esker-Like' Ridges, Southwestern Ontario, John D. Parish

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The Dundalk Till Plain in southwestern Ontario is crossed by five “esker-like” ridges, believed to have been formed simultaneously during the early stage of the mid-Port Burce Stadial. The three middle ridges are the focus of this research, with each ridge having a different topographic form, but the length of, and distance between, ridges are similar. Occurrences of differing depositional structures and the presence of deformational structures over short lateral and vertical distances reveal the complexity of processes involved. The dominant primary sedimentary structures are large-scale tabular cross-beds. Many individual cross-beds are composed of poorly sorted, matrix-supported gravels. High variability …

The Impact Of Multi-Stop, Multi-Purpose Shopping On The Location And Efficiency Of A Supermarket Chain: A Location-Allocation Approach, Andrea K. Dawkins

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

As the retail environment became increasingly competitive and the risks of opening new outlets also increased, there became a need for firms to develop a quantifiable location strategy in order to help them minimize these risks and be successful in the market place. Past location models however, modeled consumer shopping trips as consisting of a single-stop, single-purpose, were home generated and were only considered with the impact of a single store location. Recent literature however, has revealed consumer shopping trips as being more complex with multiple stops and multiple purposes. In addition, the retail environment has shifted from consisting of …

High Technology Industry And Material Linkages In The Toronto Region, Jim Torretto

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This study examines the material linkage patterns of a sample of 80 high technology establishments located in the Toronto Census Metropolitan Area (CMA). The main focus of the research is to relate the spatial spread of linkages to aspects of plant structure, most notably ownership. In addition, an attempt is made to compare linkage arrangements of firms in Toronto with other regional studies of high technology industry. The results reveal the expected linkage patterns with respect to ownership. Foreign owned companies show much lower levels of purchasing and selling within the Toronto economy than domestic firms. Further dimensions of plant …

Regulatory Reform And The Ontario For-Hire Motor Carrier Industry: An Investigation Of Associated Impacts, Clarence G. Woudsma

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The for-hire motor carrier industry is a vital component of the Ontario economy. The industry is presently going through a period of instability brought about by a variety of changes. This research deals with one such change, namely, recent changes in the economic regulation of the for-hire industry. This research focuses on the impact of this regulatory reform on the industry and on the Province in general. The two main issues identified in past research include the impact of regulatory reform on the rates for trucking service, and the impact on service to small/remote areas. An improved methodology for examining …

An Evaluation Of Phosphorus Export From Four Urban Land Uses During Summer Rainfall-Runoff Events In The Laurel Creek Watershed, E. Martin Pemberton

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Cultural eutrophication, resulting from anthropogenic inputs of nutrients, such as phosphorus, can be detrimental to aquatic ecosystems. The effectiveness of recent phosphorus abatement programs, focused on point source inputs such as municipal and industrial effluent, has brought attention to the reduction of non-point sources, such as urban runoff. Target phosphate loads for the Great Lakes, set by the International Joint Commission, are deemed unattainable, without phosphorous reduction from non-point sources (Yaksich and Rumer, 1980), and it is with this knowledge that this thesis is undertaken. Analysis of phosphate export data from areas of different urban land uses indicates that residential …

Identifying Directional Properties Of Spatial Point Patterns An Investigation Of Two Methods, Rolf Puchtinger

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Analyses of spatial point patterns tend to focus on deviations from randomness by either clustering or regularity. One assumption of these analyses implies that the point generating process is equal in all directions. However, the association of the location of points with a process biased in one or more directions is widely neglected due to a lack of appropriate statistical procedures. This is surprising, since patterns generated by directional processes are important in Geography. The purpose of this thesis is to investigate the blunt-triangle method and the third moment method for their potential of identifying directionality in spatial point patterns. …

Summer Stormflow Generation In A Small Precambrian Shield Basin, Larry C. Pezzutto

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The environmental isotope oxygen-18 and natural water chemistry were used to identify both the percent individual source component and mechanisms responsible for generating summer surface storm runoff in a small Precambrian Shield catchment. In addition, variations in radon gas (Rn-222) concentration in both surface and groundwaters were monitored in order to gain additional information not obtainable through use of the above stated tracers. Results indicate that the percent component contribution and the mechanism(s) responsible for stormflow generation within the study basin are largely dependent upon antecedent basin conditions and physical storm characteristics. Generally speaking, shortly after initiation of precipitation under …

The Perception Of Refuse In West African Cities The Case Of Techiman, Ghana, Joseph Mensah

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The refuse problem in most West African cities has attained such a massive proportion that even the most insensitive city dweller cannot overlook it. Of the very few studies undertaken on the issue most emphasize the distribution, the magnitude and the economic effects of refuse on the urban environment. Although evidence suggests that culture is the filter through which different environments are held significant by the people, little has been documented on the attitudes and perceptions of West African people in relation to the quality of their environment. The present study analyses the public perception of refuse and how this …

Ablation On Barpu Glacier, Karakoram Himalaya, Pakistan A Study Of Melt Processes On A Faceted, Debris-Covered Ice Surface, Mohammad Inamullah Khan

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

No abstract provided.

University Growth-Poles And The Canadian Aggregate Situation, Stephen Paul Meyer

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The utilization of higher education resources in a regional development function has become an increasingly popular ploy within the realm of government policy. The university, typically through an interaction with today’s growth-inciting high-technology industry, has tended to replace the traditionally-used manufacturing plant as the ‘new’ growth-pole. It is likely that no other single institution could benefit a region in as wide an array of economic and social capacities as can the university. And, it is with respect to this notion that a Canadian university study was pursued. However, where most university ‘impact-type’ assessments have tended to look at individual cases, …

Environmental Planning Of Large-Scale Water Projects: The Three Gorges Dam Case, China, Long Li

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Controversy over the construction of the Three Gorges Dam across the Yangtze River in China is an on-going national issue. Proposals have been advanced by numerous disciplinary research teams to identify the environmental consequences of the project development. However, whether the project will benefit or damage the overall environment still remains in question.

No matter which one of the four storage schemes is going to be put into operation, the human, economic, biological, and physical environmental alterations will have no equal in the our contemporary world and probably even for some time in the future. Above all, flood control, hydro-electricity …