Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Geographical Analysis Of Offender Vulnerability: Modeling Coastal Hazards And Social Disorganization In Southern Mississippi, Ashleigh Nicole Price

Master's Theses

Hazards research continually examines how specific groups are affected by damaging events and how their unique sociodemographic characteristics contribute to variations in resilience and recovery. Studies have shown that underprivileged communities suffer more adversely and take longer to recover from hazard events. Probationers and parolees are uniquely disadvantaged regarding demographics and economic opportunity, both of which contribute to increased vulnerability and reduced resilience. Numerous legal restrictions and widespread discrimination towards former criminals means offenders are often relegated to underserved, criminogenic neighborhoods. Given such severe social and financial limitations, offenders have little capacity to prepare for or recover from disasters.

The …

Get To The “Point”: Improving Location Services In Tippah County Mississippi, Haley Feather

Master's Theses

Point location using geographic information systems (GIS) technology has become integrated into everyday society and daily decision-making by utilizing addresses to provide goods and services. A need exists at a national, state, and local level for an address database. The objectives of this study were to [1] determine the most suitable address data model to be used in Mississippi, [2] determine how positional accuracy changes between urban and rural areas, and [3] determine spatial variations in aerial imagery. Address data model comparisons were conducted using match rates between street, parcel, and point address models. Positional accuracy was determined for urban …

The Invisible People Of The Invisible Coast: The Resilience Of People Experiencing Homelessness To Disasters On The Alabama, Louisiana, And Mississippi Gulf Coasts, Nicole Elizabeth Callais

Master's Theses

While extensive research has been conducted on vulnerability and resilience with regard to hazards, very few studies have researched the resilience of homeless populations. The Gulf Coast region is densely populated and susceptible to natural and anthropogenic hazards. Climate change studies indicate that this region will experience an increase in severe and intense tropical cyclones[1], thereby increasing the risk of experiencing adverse impacts from future coastal hazards. While local government agencies in this region have policies in place to protect communities, these policies tend to exclude any action regarding the evacuation and safety of the homeless population.

In …

Geographical Analysis Of Hub City Transit, Joshua Adam Watts

Master's Theses

This study assess Hub City Transit, the public bus system of Hattiesburg, MS. Statistical analysis is used to determine how well the transit system serves low income areas of the city. A 0.5 mile buffer was applied to the bus routes to determine the coverage of the transit system. Areas of disorder along the routes were also assessed to analyze the landscape routes pass through. Lastly, an analysis of ridership on each route was performed to determine the most heavily used areas, as well as to assess where riders are going on each route.

The findings show that Hub City …