Social and Behavioral Sciences 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 …

Identification And Evaluation Of Critical Transportation Infrastructure Resilience After Hydro-Meteorological Event, Herman Serrato

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Modern civilization is dependent on essential infrastructure assets that allow society to function in today’s standards. Critical interdependent infrastructure such as transportation, communication, security, and public health are marvels of human innovation and an important aspect of civilization's evolution. Recent world events such as climate change have underlined the necessity to develop strategic plans to enhance the resilience of infrastructure. This study aimed to identify and evaluate the flooding potential of critical transportation infrastructure that will influence traffic flow and impact the economy. The technical workflow is based on observations, predictions, experiments, testing, and analysis to derive a resilience score …

Examining Segregation Between Chinese And Euroamerican Residences Using Suitability Modeling Within The Built Environment At Terrace, Utah: A Case Study, Kelly N. Jimenez

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Suitability modeling is a useful approach for exploring human interactions with their environments. Within a geographic information system (GIS) environment, locations are weighted relative to each other, resulting in a landscape hierarchy that displays regions from least to most suitable. Suitability modeling is used in various disciplines, from urban planning to natural resources, but a gap exists in research concerning social human behavior. This method can especially contribute to the investigation of social inequality at archaeological sites by considering multiple attributes within a site. In this thesis, I use method to determine social inequality between cultural groups at the historic …

Data-Driven Operational And Safety Analysis Of Emerging Shared Electric Scooter Systems, Qingyu Ma

Computational Modeling & Simulation Engineering Theses & Dissertations

The rapid rise of shared electric scooter (E-Scooter) systems offers many urban areas a new micro-mobility solution. The portable and flexible characteristics have made E-Scooters a competitive mode for short-distance trips. Compared to other modes such as bikes, E-Scooters allow riders to freely ride on different facilities such as streets, sidewalks, and bike lanes. However, sharing lanes with vehicles and other users tends to cause safety issues for riding E-Scooters. Conventional methods are often not applicable for analyzing such safety issues because well-archived historical crash records are not commonly available for emerging E-Scooters.

Perceiving the growth of such a micro-mobility …

Synthesis Of A Multimodal Ecological Model For Scalable, High-Resolution Arboviral Risk Prediction In Florida, Sean P. Beeman

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

West Nile virus (WNV) and Eastern Equine Encephalitis virus (EEEV) represent the two greatest endemic arboviral risks to the state of Florida. Currently, no approved human vaccine exists for the prevention of either virus. In the absence of a vaccine, effective disease surveillance is paramount for public health. In Florida, WNV and EEEV sentinel chicken surveillance is conducted by mosquito control programs operated at the county, municipality, or special taxing district level. This program was implemented in 1978 following human outbreaks of St. Louis Encephalitis virus (SLEV) that occurred between 1959 and 1977, with initial sentinel coops placed in proximity …

Investing In Quiet: A Self-Funding Approach To Mitigating Noise Emissions From Train Horn Use At Grade Crossings, Rand Hough

Senior Theses

This paper argues that there is an economic case for implementing “Quiet Zones”—public, at-grade, road-rail crossings where the usual federal requirement that locomotives sound their horns is suspended—in Richland County, South Carolina in particular, and in the Midlands region of that state in general. Quiet Zones cost money: in some instances, a few thousand dollars; in cases where federal rules require substantial upgrades to infrastructure, many millions. It may nonetheless cost more to not implement them: existing research has found that properties exposed to chronic noise pollution are worth less. While higher property values are not the only benefit of …

Composition, Context, And Community Integration: Evaluating The Relative Strength Of Environmental Factors On Mental Health Outcomes Using A Social Ecology Model, Douglas John Archie Iii

Theses and Dissertations

The relationship between environmental factors and individual health outcomes has historically been a major area of interest for multiple scientific disciplines. However, the specific environmental factors relevant for describing this relationship and effective measuring methods are unclear. One approach that may assist in addressing these issues is by analyzing this relationship using a comprehensive theoretical framework. This study used a social-ecological model first proposed by Moos and colleagues (Insel & Moos, 1974: Moos & Moos, 1976) to investigate connections between environmental factors and mental health recovery outcomes of psychiatric distress, management of mental health symptoms, and recovery-oriented behavior. A series …

Gis Predictive Modelling In The Daniel Boone National Forest: Settlement Patterns During The Intensification Or Horticulture., Jacob Max Ray

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In this study, I explore the Late Archaic and Woodland settlement patterns (3,000 BC – 1,000 AD) in the Daniel Boone National Forest, Kentucky, and surrounding region within the context of the intensification of horticulture. GIS predictive modelling via automated learning algorithms are employed to explore various environmental variables that may have influenced where and why horticultural intensification occurred. Predictive models using random forest and maximum entropy are created and compared for the Late Archaic and Woodland periods. Results show only minimal variance between the Late Archaic and Woodland settlement patterns within the study area with slope and elevation identified …

Using Suitability Modelling To Determine Wildfire Ignition Risk A Case Study Of The Adirondack State Park, Dakota James Bailey

Theses - ALL

The study area centers around a 6 million acre protected area in upstate New York known as the Adirondack State Park. Spatial data are gathered and manipulated, then input into the ArcGIS Pro suitability modeler tool to construct several wildfire ignition risk models, as well as a wildfire spread risk model. Upon comparing these ignition models, contextual conclusions are formed on areas of greatest ignition risk pertaining to the individual models. The wildfire ignition risk models are overlayed with the spread risk model, to assess which areas are most likely to facilitate initial ignition and subsequent spread. Ultimately, it appears …

Mapping The Suitability Of Cal Poly's Insulated Solar Electric Cookers (Isec) In Ghana, Togo, And Jamaica, Julia G. Kraatz

Social Sciences

The World Health Organization estimates that 3 billion people depend on biomass fuels for cooking, heating, and other day-to-day activities, which causes approximately 4.3 million people annually to die from illnesses attributable to indoor air pollution. The issue is especially pressing for women and children in developing countries, because women care for the home and are consequently responsible for attaining household fuels and cooking. In 2015, ISECs (Insulated Solar Electric Cookers) were developed at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, as a technology that utilizes solar electricity to directly cook food in a well-insulated chamber. They are capable of …

Digital Earth: The Impact Of Geographic Technology Through The Ages, Mishka Vance Huq

Theses and Dissertations

Geographic technology encompasses a wide range of geographic knowledge, concepts, processes, and artifacts. Because of its interdisciplinarity and integration with other technologies, the paper examines the diffuse impacts of geographic technology within the evolving relationship between technological and societal developments over time.

A City Divided: A Gis-Informed Study Of Urban Planning In Amman, Jordan, Ella Lawson

Honors Theses

Amman, the capital of Jordan, faces an impending infrastructure crisis. The city is plagued by water shortages, a lack of affordable housing, extreme traffic congestion, and dwindling open space. Over the past seventy-five years, several urban planning commissions have attempted to address these issues through policy change and other municipal directives. These plans help illustrate the different forces at play in constructing the city—whether they be the residents themselves, city officials, or international consultants. All the plans use neighborhoods as a primary metric for measuring need and organizing development. Likewise, all the plans focus on the importance of green and …

Mapping Louisiana's Missing: Spatiotemporal Profiling Of Louisiana's Missing Persons- An Experimental Application Of Geographic Information Systems And Forensic Anthropology, Liam J. Johnson

LSU Master's Theses

The growing number of unresolved unidentified and missing persons cases in the United States is this nation’s ‘silent mass disaster’ (Ritters, 2007). In addition to contextualizing biocultural traits of these cases, forensic anthropologists are uniquely qualified to address this underrecognized humanitarian crisis due to their proven ability to bridge conflicting stakeholders in often complex sociopolitical environments and to create improved opportunities for community collaboration. This project explores local and state demographic trends of missing persons cases and how this information can be used to assist investigative agencies with their missing population, analyzes gaps in identification data, and selects optimal locations …

Politics Vs. The Environment: The Spatial Distributions Of Mississippian Mound Centers In Tampa Bay, Adam J. Sax

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Safety Harbor culture that resided in West-Central Florida during the Mississippian period (~1000-1500 CE) was distant from the Mississippian heartland but built similar platform mound complexes and exhibited social hierarchies despite practicing an estuarine lifestyle that likely did not rely on extensive agriculture. To determine whether this coastal culture exhibited similar spatial patterns of platform mound centers to traditional inland cultures, GIS spatial analyses including distance matrices, density analyses, and least cost analyses (LCA) were performed within the Safety Harbor geographical nexus of Tampa Bay. The results were able to detect temporal changes in settlement patterns and estimate the …

Producing Movement Space In New York City's Solidarity Economy, Lauren Taylor Hudson

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This is a project about how New Yorkers are sharing time, space, resources, and risks to meet their collective needs. To these practitioners the interlocking methods of collective production, use, distribution, and surplus allocation unite to form a ‘Solidarity Economy’ (SE) strengthened by values of cooperation, social justice, ecological sustainability, and mutualism. This work takes many forms, from cooperative businesses, to collective housing, to community gardens—each with their own discrete histories. One thing remains common throughout: In New York City, those who use ‘Solidarity Economy’ as a framework for their work, do so to communicate a shared social and political …

Problematizing Florida’S Extended Reading Time Policy: A Critical Investigation Of Place, Demographics, And Curricula, Carrie L. Gentner

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate Florida’s extended reading time (ERT) policy as enacted during the 2016-2017 school year. This policy requires elementary schools ranking among the 300 lowest performing in the state, as measured by state assessments, to provide an additional hour of reading instruction beyond the regular school day. Extending upon the work of a pilot study suggesting an overrepresentation of minoritized students within low 300 schools, this study presents the geographic, demographic, and socioeconomic distributions of the ERT mandate for a criterion sample of seven districts. Further, the pilot study indicated an underrepresentation of minoritized …

Spatial Patterns Of Crime In District 05, Quito-Ecuador, 2016-2020, Pablo Esteban Ochoa Veloz

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The geography of crime in Ecuador has not been geographically studied. In Quito, few criminal studies have been developed from a geographic approach. This research focuses on studying trends and patterns of crime in Quito`s District 05 by employing spatial analytical tools using GIS (Geographic Information System), statistics and cartographic techniques. This study aims to contribute to the literacy in crime-related topic in the country. Quito´s District 05 houses a representative percentage of the city´s financial services, retail activities, and other tertiary services. This district is among the most important economic business district in the city which attract many people …

A Karst Feature Prediction Model For Prince Of Wales Island, Alaska Based On High Resolution Lidar Imagery, Alexander Lyles

Master's Theses

Investigation into surface karst formation is significant to hazard prediction, hydrogeologic drainage, and land management. Southeast Alaska contains over 600,000 acres of mapped carbonate bedrock, and some of the fastest recorded karst dissolution in the world. The objectives of this study are to develop and compare multiple semi-automated models to map and delineate karst features from bare-earth LiDAR imagery using ArcGIS Desktop 10.7, and to apply a preliminary geostatistical analysis of sinkhole morphometric parameters to highlight potential spatial patterns of karst evolution on Prince of Wales Island, Alaska. A semi-automated approach of mapping karst features provides a dataset that minimizes …

Maternal Proximity To Mountaintop Removal Mining And Birth Defects In Appalachian Kentucky, 1997-2003, Daniel B. Cooper

Theses and Dissertations--Public Health (M.P.H. & Dr.P.H.)

Background: Extraction of coal through mountaintop removal mining (MTR) alters many dimensions of the landscape, and explosive blasts, exposed rock, and coal washing have the potential to pollute air and water with substances known to increase risk of developmental and birth anomalies. Previous research suggests that infants born to mothers living in MTR coal mining counties have higher prevalence of most types of birth defects.

Objectives: This study seeks to examine further the relationship between MTR activity and birth defects by employing individual level exposure estimation through precise satellite data of MTR activity in the Appalachian region and maternal residence …

A Systematic Method For Measuring Gentrification Using Building Permits Data: A Washington D.C Case Study, Andey Fomil

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Gentrification can significantly alter the socioeconomic, demographic, and commercial aspects of a city. It is a complex process that transforms the characteristics of entire neighborhoods, modifying not only the observable physical aspects, but also the community structure. Traditional quantitative gentrification measurement approaches assess the process through analysis of Census demographic indicators coupled with field visit analysis of the physical built environment. This study proposes a new gentrification measuring approach that combines traditional Census indicators with a new indicator in the form of City Building Permits. Two GIS spatial analysis techniques are utilized to evaluate the effectiveness and accuracy of the …

A Survey Of And Site Treatment Plan For The Belle Creek Mounds Archeological Site, 21gd0072, In Goodhue County, Minnesota, Alexander T. Anton

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The Prairie Island Indian Community (PIIC) recently purchased property, on which a portion of a prominent archeological site, encompassing 67 formerly documented burial mounds, resides. In order to better protect the burial mounds and other culturally significant material on the site, as well as on sites residing on the remainder of their new property, the PIIC enlisted the support of Minnesota State University, Mankato’s Earth Science, Archeology, Resources, and Terrestrial Hazards (EARTH) Systems Research Laboratory in developing a site treatment plan. Developing a useful site treatment plan necessitated conducting a geoarcheological survey of a portion of the archeological site, known …

Advancing The Spatial Turn In History Through Deep Mapping: Ghost Maps, Neogeography, And Frederick Jackson Turner, Jessica L. Mathai

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

The permeation of the spatial turn into the humanities, and in particular history, has both imbued scholarship and opened up new areas for research. This dissertation examines the conceptual and theoretical implications of advancing the spatial turn in history and evaluating existing approaches such as Historical GIS and ghost mapping as a foundation for deep mapping. The resulting deep map developed in this study utilizes Neogeography and web technology in the form of JavaScript Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) to develop a prototype that overcomes many of the limitations that occur when simultaneously integrating multiple sources of data and software functionality, …

Evaluating St. Catherines Island's Shoreline, Vegetation Line, And The Locations Of Loggerhead Sea Turtle Nests, Sydney O. Davis

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

St. Catherines Island is a highly dynamic barrier island on the Georgia coast that is also federally listed critical nesting habitat for loggerhead sea turtles. Understanding how St. Catherines’ shoreline and vegetation is changing over time is geographically important as a potential template for other barrier islands. Measuring sea turtle nest locations will provide insight into their natural patterns and how they adjust those locations on a changing barrier island. Analyzing Moving Boundaries Using R (AMBUR) is implemented in this research to assess the movement of the vegetation and shorelines from 2005-2017 using the End Point Rate (EPR) and Linear …

Buffalo In The Mountains: Mapping Evidence Of Historical Bison Prescence And Bison Hunting In Glacier National Park, Kyle Langley

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This study explores 10,000+ years of bison presence and bison hunting within Glacier National Park. Despite significant faunal evidence of bison presence in the area, few people today associate bison with Glacier National Park. Previous archaeological studies have found bison faunal remains and evidence of bison hunting throughout the eastern half of the park going back thousands of years. Furthermore, local tribes such as the Kootenai and Blackfeet maintain oral traditions that detail ancestral hunting strategies and practice in the region. This project reviews all of these sources to contextualize the archaeological signatures of bison and tell the story of …

Mapping Ethnophysiographies: An Investigation Of Toponyms And Land Cover Of Missoula County, Montana, Emily L. Cahoon

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This thesis investigates the ethnophysiography of Missoula County, Montana via place names. Toponyms and landscape have been observed to have a relationship that can be studied through many lenses. Ethnophysiography, the study of how language and landscape relate to each other via human conceptualization, is a lens that was applied to this thesis because it recognizes the embodied information that toponyms carry and investigates landscape accordingly. Thus, the following research seeks to understand if ethnophysiographic diversity exists between toponyms in the Salish and English languages of Missoula County, Montana by analyzing place names and land cover in GIS and analyzing …

Birth Registration And Educational Access In Sub-Saharan Africa: The Case For An Explanatory Spatial Research Design, Thomas Edward Griffin

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

In 2019, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) estimated the global number of children under the age of 5 without birth registrations at 166 million, with the largest share being present in Sub-Saharan Africa. As the author witnessed firsthand while working in Cameroon, the lack of birth registration documentation (i.e. birth certificates) precluded students from progressing from primary to secondary education. Struck by this example of social exclusion, the purpose of this study was to examine the extent to which birth registration acted as a barrier to educational access in primary and secondary education systems elsewhere across Sub-Saharan Africa. An …