Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Analyzing Construction-Related Market Trends In Apec Countries Using Gis, Low Sui Pheng, Benny Raphael, Faisal Manzoor Arain

Business Review

GIS (Geographical Information System) is a means of representing data in digital form that has been used increasingly in various domains. GIS has the ability to capture,model, manipulate, retrieve, analyze and present geographically referenced data. In managing overseas building projects, research and analysis are especially crucial. It is necessary to collect enough information of the country that is related to the rule of law, government policies, and the performance of individual economic sectors, among other things. Although GIS has been shown to be a useful tool in various types of planning and management, it has not been used so far …

Lightning Signature Assessment To Forecast Tornado Formation, Mary Snow, Richard Snow, Nicole Kufa

Publications

Recent research suggests that a maximum rate of lightning strikes occurs at least 15 to 20 minutes prior to tornado formation within a supercell storm. These maxima are associated with strengthening updrafts as they appear in radar measurements. An increase in lightning rates correlates with an increase of shear in the lower part of the storm. In combination with a strong updraft or downdraft, this shear can provide the ingredients for rotation and possibly a tornado. Polarity reversal of lightning around the time of tornado touchdown also has been examined. Thus, increasing lightning flash rates and reversal of lightning strike …

Using Fuzzy Clustering Methods For Delineating Urban Housing Submarkets, Sungsoon Hwang

Sungsoon Hwang

This study investigates whether a fuzzy clustering method is of any practical value in delineating urban housing submarkets relative to clustering methods based on classic (or crisp) set theory. A fuzzy c-means algorithm is applied to obtain fuzzy set membership degree of census tracts to housing submarkets defined within a metropolitan area. Issues of choosing algorithm parameters are discussed on the basis of applying fuzzy clustering to 85 metropolitan areas in the U.S. The comparison between results of fuzzy clustering and those of crisp set counterpart shows that fuzzy clustering yields statistically more desirable clusters.

Mapping Places Of Play And Prey With Denver Kids, Bambi L. Yost

Bambi L Yost

In this study, GIS is used to investigate Denver neighborhoods through children's eyes. This community-based research project teaches inner-city children about the power of mapping and voicing preferences and concerns. Using GIS technology, neighborhood surveys, handdrawn maps, photographs, and other methods of exploration, children create maps of schoolgrounds and surrounding neighborhoods, revealing quantitative and qualitative data in a creative and informative way. This research serves to empower students and educate city officials about the benefits and deficits of inner-city living for Denver youth. Special emphasis is placed on places of play and physical activity as well as on places of …

An Analysis Of Urban Expnasion And Loss Of Vegetation Cover In Lokoja, Using Gis Techniques, Olarewaju Oluseyi Ifatimehin

Olarewaju Oluseyi Ifatimehin

Since Lokoja became an administrative headquarters of Kogi State in 1991, it has been experiencing rapid expansion, urbanization and significant changes in its physical landscape – land use and land cover changes. This study uses remote sensing and GIS techniques combined with field checks and survey to map land use and land cover changes and to measure the rate of urban expansion and loss of vegetation in Lokoja between 1987 and 2005. There was a considerable change in land use types over the said period of the study. The built-up area, vacant land, cultivated land and other land use type …

Multivariate Visualization And Analysis Of Photomapped Artifact Scatters, Nathan M. Craig, Aldenderfer Mark

Nathan M Craig

Simultaneous analysis of relationships between multiple artifact classes is required for characterization of many types of activity areas. This paper illustrates improved forms of multivariate visualization, spatial analysis and integration of experimental results that are possible with GIS based photomapping. Techniques are demonstrated through analysis of a hearth associated artifact scatter exposed during excavations of a Late Archaic pithouse at Jiskairumoko, Peru. A multivariate density raster is created and additive color visualization is used for simultaneous display of three artifact distributions. Performing unconstrained clustering in a GIS, space is classified by simultaneous relative density relationships between multiple object types.

Remotely Sensed Data To Map Forest Age Class By Cover Type In East Texas, Daniel Unger, I-Kuai Hung, Jeffrey M. Williams, James Kroll, Dean W. Coble, Jason Grogan

Faculty Publications

• Remote sensing in conjunction with ground truthing, can accurately quantify forest composition and age distributions in East Texas.
• Method uses standardized and readily available data available to the general public.
• Method was shown to be effective in terms of time and cost.

Air Medical Coverage And The Correlation With Reduced Highway Fatality Rates: Use Of Adams As A Research Tool, Marie Flanigan, Alan Blatt, L Lombardo, D Mancuso, M Miller, D Wiles, H Pirson, Sungsoon Hwang, Jean-Claude Thill, Kevin Majka

Sungsoon Hwang

The Atlas and Database of Air Medical Services (ADAMS) is a web-based, password-protected, geographic information system containing data on air medical service main and satellite base helipads, communication centers, rotorwing aircraft, and major receiving hospitals for trauma in the United States. ADAMS initially was developed to provide the geographic information needed to support realtime, wireless routing of automatic crash notification (ACN) alerts from a crashed motor vehicle to the nearest air medical transport service and trauma center. This coupling of ADAMS and ACN technology to enhance emergency communications is expected to speed delivery of emergency medical care to crash victims …

Search And Recovery Of The Space Shuttle Columbia: A Geospatial 1st Responder Perspective, Jeffrey M. Williams

Faculty Publications

A first person account of the Texas geospatial volunteers and their efforts to recover the remains of the Space Shuttle Columbia and her crew lost over eastern Texas and western Louisiana on February 1st, 2003.

Georeferencing Historical Fars Accident Data: A Preliminary Report, Sungsoon Hwang, Jean-Claude Thill

Sungsoon Hwang

This report documents procedures used to geo-reference data in the FARS database. The scope of the work reported here is limited to New York State and to the period from 1996 to 2001. The expected audience of this report includes a general public interested in getting geo-referenced historical FARS data (i.e., shape file, arc/info coverage, SDTS) or in learning about implementing non-custom geo-referencing procedures in Geographic Information Systems (GIS). The first part (section II, III) describes the source data and reference data. The second part (section IV, V) presents how to geo-reference the source data against reference data. More specifically, …

Gis Modeling Of Desert Root Crop Maturation On The Mid-Columbia Plateau, Mary Michelle Phillips

All Master's Theses

The settlement patterns of the prehistoric inhabitants of the Columbia Plateau were choreographed to match the cadence of the seasons, with movements timed to efficiently utilize available resources. Desert roots, such as lomatium and bitterroot, provided a primary source of dietary nutrition, yet the ideal conditions for exploiting these plant resources coalesced for a very limited time in any one location. It was therefore necessary to possess an intimate knowledge of the plants' lifecycles in order to effectively plan gathering activities. In order to predict the growth patterns and maturation rates of these desert root crops, a GIS model was …

The Use Of Geographic Information Systems To Study Repeat Victims Of Domestic Abuse In The Waterloo Region Of Ontario, Canada, Claudia Saheb

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The importance of repeat victims as an effective target for crime prevention measures has been widely recognised. Many have studied repeat victims of property crimes, but few have studied repeat victims of personal crimes and their spatial distribution. This study used 1996 and 1997 crime data from the Waterloo Regional Police Service (WRPS) in Ontario, Canada and focused specifically on domestic-abuse-related crimes and repeat victims of those crimes. Various methods of mapping and analysis were used to better understand the spatial distribution of those crimes and vulnerability of the victims. Standardised crime rates and crime density were calculated. Thematic and …

A Spatial And Temporal Analysis Of Riparian Vegetation Along Satus Creek On The Yakama Indian Reservation, Kathryn Gellenbeck

All Master's Theses

Satus Creek provides critical habitat for the Yakima River Basin steelhead. A diverse community of riparian vegetation is important for healthy fish habitat; vegetation changes can affect shade, cover, channel structure, water quality, and food availability. The purpose of this thesis is to analyze and illustrate riparian vegetation change, both temporally and spatially, along three separate reaches of Satus Creek. A Geographic Information Systems approach was applied to assess the vegetation change by comparing plant species composition and density on 1949 and 1995 aerial photographs. The GIS approach allowed patterns and trends in the vegetation to be identified. In less …