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Articles 121 - 150 of 226
Full-Text Articles in Geography
From Bricks And Mortar To Bricks And Clicks: The Transformation Of A Bank Branch Network Within The Greater Toronto Area (Ontario), Michelle Anne Mok
From Bricks And Mortar To Bricks And Clicks: The Transformation Of A Bank Branch Network Within The Greater Toronto Area (Ontario), Michelle Anne Mok
Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)
Over the last 20 years, Canadian retail financial services have undergone a dramatic transformation due to a number of driving forces: technology, globalization, changing lifestyles and demographics, competition, and deregulation. Because retail financial services have been impacted, the way Canadians perform banking transactions has also been impacted, resulting in a shift from a spatially-oriented banking approach to a non-spatial approach. Transactions are being performed using alternative delivery channels including the automated banking machine, telephone banking, internet banking, point of sale purchasing, and new format branches, rather than in the traditional branch network. This research examines changes in the branch network …
Risk, Vulnerability And Environmental Hazards In The Village Of Darkot, Northern Pakistan, Nicholas Andrew Cradock-Henry
Risk, Vulnerability And Environmental Hazards In The Village Of Darkot, Northern Pakistan, Nicholas Andrew Cradock-Henry
Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)
Conventional approaches to studying environmental risks and hazards have focused on the physical parameters of geomorphic, hydrologic and climatic events—magnitude, duration and frequency—without adequately accounting for the role of human agency in averting disaster and distributing loss. Secondly, where human intervention was recognized it was often in an incriminating way, particularly in work dealing with the developing world or peripheral regions such as mountain areas. Here, humans were portrayed as helpless victims; unable to successfully adapt to their environment or else they were viewed as having played an unwitting role in their own downfall through ‘short-sighted’ agricultural practices such as …
The Use Of Geographic Information Systems To Study Repeat Victims Of Domestic Abuse In The Waterloo Region Of Ontario, Canada, Claudia Saheb
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 …
Radiation Budget, Ground Thermal Regime And Hydrological Balance Of A Low Arctic Tundra Basin, Coppermine River, Northwest Territories, David S. Turcotte
Radiation Budget, Ground Thermal Regime And Hydrological Balance Of A Low Arctic Tundra Basin, Coppermine River, Northwest Territories, David S. Turcotte
Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)
The effects of slope, aspect and vegetation cover on the radiation balance and active layer thermal regime of arctic tundra were investigated during the summer of 1999 and the spring of 2000. The study site is located at Daring Lake, N.W.T (64°52'N, 111°35'W) in the Slave Geological Province of the Coppermine River Basin. A sub-basin 14 ha in area and with approximately 30 meters of relief was intensely monitored for hydrological radiation and energy balance components. Initiation of active layer development and subsequent thawing was earlier and more pronounced on predominantly west facing slopes due to increased receipt of incoming …
Health And Development: Infectious Intestinal Diseases In A Transborder Region (United States-Mexico), Flavia Bianchi
Health And Development: Infectious Intestinal Diseases In A Transborder Region (United States-Mexico), Flavia Bianchi
Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)
Intestinal infectious diseases are considered the northern Mexican border’s most obvious challenge facing children. The Mexico-US Border region is a 200-kilometer border zone that extends 100 kilometers on either side of an imaginary borderline and stretches 3,141 kilometers from the Pacific Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico. In 2000, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), the World Health Organization’s representative for the Americas, published a study of the top causes of mortality between 1995 and 1997 to estimate the absolute burden of mortality in the primary Mexican and American border community, collectively known as the Sister Cities. Using the PAHO …
The Impact Of Large Plant Closure On Small Firm Creation In Kitchener, Ontario, 1987 To 1998, Christopher William Charman
The Impact Of Large Plant Closure On Small Firm Creation In Kitchener, Ontario, 1987 To 1998, Christopher William Charman
Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)
The impact of restructuring in the manufacturing sector of Kitchener, Ontario has been felt in many ways. For those who were displaced, the alternatives for re-employment were limited. In some cases, workers have turned to self employment and small firm creation as a source of income. This study attempts to quantify the business dynamic at work in the Manufacturing and Business Service sectors in Kitchener between 1987 and 1998. Using a database developed from the Kitchener Business Directory the process of manufacturing loss and service industry increase is studied. The examination follows new business creation, the change in activity within …
Aids In Ontario: An Examination Of Mobility Patterns And Spatial Variations (Immune Deficiency), Holly Nadean Innes
Aids In Ontario: An Examination Of Mobility Patterns And Spatial Variations (Immune Deficiency), Holly Nadean Innes
Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)
The primary objective of this thesis is to examine mobility patterns of people with Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) in terms of where they go for testing, treatment and support. The secondary objective is to examine and describe spatial variations in the prevalence of AIDS among the forty-two Public Health Units (PHUs) of Ontario, and to explain the processes underlying these patterns. An assessment of the spatial perspective will be completed utilizing two contributors. The first employs the process of interviewing the AIDS Educators at the Ontario PHUs and capturing their impressions as to what is occurring within their areas regarding …
Shoreline Bluff Failures: A Gis Assessment Of Susceptibility And Risk For Lake Erie's North Central Shore (Ontario), Nathan Joel Badger
Shoreline Bluff Failures: A Gis Assessment Of Susceptibility And Risk For Lake Erie's North Central Shore (Ontario), Nathan Joel Badger
Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)
One of the characteristic features of the north shore of Lake Erie is its steep, eroding bluffs. Combined with an increase in human presence and pressures at the shoreline, the failure of these slopes has become hazardous. Over the past two decades alone, slope failures have been responsible for millions of dollars of damage to shoreline property, as well as the deaths and near deaths of a number of individuals. Despite the seriousness of this hazard, few studies have identified specific hazard areas and their associated risk of failure along Lake Erie's north shore, and other reaches in the Great …
The Historical Geography Of The Distilling Industry In Ontario: 1850-1900, Tanya Lynn Mackinnon
The Historical Geography Of The Distilling Industry In Ontario: 1850-1900, Tanya Lynn Mackinnon
Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)
A significant change occurred in the spatial pattern of Ontario’s distilling industry during the second half of the nineteenth century. Around 1850 there were approximately 150 distilleries and, by 1871, there were only 19. The industry went from numerous small, local distilleries to a few large industrial enterprizes. This industry was one of the manufacturing industries to lead the way during Canada’s industrial revolution. By 1871, the beginnings of whisky region was created for Canada in Southern Ontario, based on the “Big Five”: Hiram Walker & Sons Ltd. located in Walkerville near Windsor; Joseph E. Seagram in Waterloo; Gooderham & …
Working Towards A Cartographic Lexicon: The Role Of Units, Structure, Content, And Expression In Geographic Information, Michael Charles Fabbri
Working Towards A Cartographic Lexicon: The Role Of Units, Structure, Content, And Expression In Geographic Information, Michael Charles Fabbri
Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)
This thesis was conceived from an interdisciplinary perspective towards the advancement of cartographic research and geographic education. The primary focus is to understand the cognitive process of cartographic communication as an approach both to improvements in design and to teaching and learning of the cartographic language. Specifically, it attempts to understand more about how the map functions. It accepts that the map is a functional graphic display, whose main purpose is to represent, communicate, and store geographical information, which allows a focus on what that geographical information is conceptually. The essential goal of map use is geographic comprehension, and if …
Assessing The Role Of Geographical Information Systems (Gis) In The Classroom, Christopher D. Storie
Assessing The Role Of Geographical Information Systems (Gis) In The Classroom, Christopher D. Storie
Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)
Only within the past few years has the diffusion of geographical information systems (GIS) technologies made their way down the educational ladder. Until recently GIS was largely restricted to the confines of upper year university and college programs in Canada. Over time, the instruction of GIS has made its way towards first and second year post secondary students. Recently, GIS has been gaining popularity within the High School curriculum and continues to filter its way down the educational hierarchy. This thesis covers two major areas pertaining to GIS in education. The first area deals with the literature pertaining to GIS, …
Adaptation Of Ghanaian Immigrants In Metropolitan Toronto: A Focus On The Spatial Aspects Of Their Labour Market Activity (Ontario), Edmund Nkansah Okoree
Adaptation Of Ghanaian Immigrants In Metropolitan Toronto: A Focus On The Spatial Aspects Of Their Labour Market Activity (Ontario), Edmund Nkansah Okoree
Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)
The major thrust or aim of this study, which focuses on the Ghanaian immigrant population living in Metropolitan Toronto (which has the largest proportion of Ghanaians in Canada), was to find out whether respondents living in the main area of Ghanaian concentration in Metropolitan Toronto have different socio-economic characteristics from those living away from the main Ghanaian concentration, as is suggested by the general urban ethnic literature. It had three specific research objectives. First, the study sought to ascertain the relationship between the residential location patterns of Ghanaian immigrants in Metropolitan Toronto and their socio-economic characteristics, as defined by their …
A Winter Index For Benchmarking Winter Road Maintenance Operations On Ontario Highways, Jianzhong Li
A Winter Index For Benchmarking Winter Road Maintenance Operations On Ontario Highways, Jianzhong Li
Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)
Canada is one of the snowiest countries in the world, and winter road maintenance activities cost in the order of a billion dollars a year. These activities vary considerably over both space and time, partly due to differences in winter weather, but also because of differences in road and traffic mix, terrain and other factors. The thesis explores the association between winter road maintenance activities and winter weather. The first objective is to characterize the spatial and temporal variation in severe winter weather in Ontario. The second objective is to identify a winter weather index that is sensitive to road …
Vulnerability To Natural Disasters In A Rapidly Growing, Affluent Society, British Columbia, Canada, Jonathan P. Maclean Belcher
Vulnerability To Natural Disasters In A Rapidly Growing, Affluent Society, British Columbia, Canada, Jonathan P. Maclean Belcher
Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)
British Columbia is a province that experienced rapid demographic, urban and economic growth in the past few decades. It is a modern and technologically sophisticated society. Although the province possesses the knowledge and resources to combat most dangers that threaten its people and communities, these dangers continue to outstrip the precautions and safety measures in place. The reasons for this seem to lie less in the characteristics of dangers or hazards, but rather relate to socioeconomic processes and organisations that disadvantage particular people, groups and sectors of the population, or make them more vulnerable to dangers than others. This thesis …
Improving Map Literacy: The Application Of Second Language Instruction Views And Techniques, Heather Anne Rayner
Improving Map Literacy: The Application Of Second Language Instruction Views And Techniques, Heather Anne Rayner
Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)
Maps are a common and useful tool, yet many people do not know how to use them effectively. Map education has typically been inadequate for teaching people the skills involved in map use and map reading. Map education in schools, where people typically learn their mapping skills, can be improved. This thesis looks at specific ways to improve map education. Based upon previous research, it looks at cartography from a language perspective to determine whether findings from the language research can be applied to cartography, and more specifically to map education. Maps serve to communicate information, and have been compared …
Political Participation In Kitchener-Waterloo: A Spatial Analysis Of The 1993 Federal Election (Ontario), Paul Churcher
Political Participation In Kitchener-Waterloo: A Spatial Analysis Of The 1993 Federal Election (Ontario), Paul Churcher
Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)
This study examines political participation in the 1993 federal election in Kitchener- Waterloo. Voter turnout is modeled at the polling division level using statistical analysis with spatial diagnostics. This study is different from other Canadian research since it uses a fine scale spatial unit and it explores the geographical aspect of political participation. The findings confirm results from other studies as well as showing that geography plays a small but significant role in the decision to vote. The results of the statistical analysis show that polling divisions are appropriate spatial units for the examination of political participation. Demographics, political motivation, …
Where Are The Urban Elderly? Clustered And Concentrated In Aged Spaces: Three Examples Kitchener-Waterloo, Halifax And Victoria (Ontario, Nova Scotia, British Columbia), Susan Lucas
Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)
This research uses enumeration area data from the 1991 census and a methodology consisting of principal components analysis (PCA), cluster and discriminant analysis to define 'aged spaces', highly localized concentrations of the elderly, in Kitchener-Waterloo, Halifax and Victoria.. The results show that: (1) it is possible to define aged spaces on the basis of the old-age family status dimensions identified by the PCA for each individual city, as well as a joint analysis of all three cities; (2) the old-age dimensions derived by the PCA are differentiated by marital status, advanced age and gender and (3) aged spaces defined on …
An Evaluation Of Ambulance Service Performance Using A Geographic Information System, Jeremy Peters
An Evaluation Of Ambulance Service Performance Using A Geographic Information System, Jeremy Peters
Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)
The accessibility, distribution and utilization of emergency health care services have a great impact on the effectiveness, efficiency and equity of health service delivery. The impact of these factors is heightened by the fact that ambulance resources, which are an important component of emergency health care, are often insufficient, resulting in performances below those required to respond reliably to emergency calls from demand areas. Measures of realized geographic accessibility of ambulances to call locations are of considerable importance in planning the deployment of this service as they allow planners to account for response time variations, often caused when ambulances are …
Labour Market Marginalisation Of Young Latinos In San Antonio, Texas: A Geographical Perspective Of Neighbourhood Processes, Harald Sven Bauder
Labour Market Marginalisation Of Young Latinos In San Antonio, Texas: A Geographical Perspective Of Neighbourhood Processes, Harald Sven Bauder
Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)
Latinos cluster in the lower segments of the U. S. labour market and therefore suffer disproportionately from labour market marginalisation and poverty. This dissertation examines supply side forces of the ethnic division of labour. Expanding upon structuration theory and realism, the research investigates the role of place in shaping career decisions of Latino youth. A case study of greater San Antonio, Texas, uses quantitative analysis of U. S. Census data to examine the patterns of youth labour market marginalisation in census tracts. In addition, qualitative in-depth interview analysis was conducted with twenty-nine youth and seventeen community-based institutions in two selected …
Modelling Spatial Processes: The Identification And Analysis Of Spatial Relationships In Regression Residuals By Means Of Moran's I (Germany), Michael Tiefelsdorf
Modelling Spatial Processes: The Identification And Analysis Of Spatial Relationships In Regression Residuals By Means Of Moran's I (Germany), Michael Tiefelsdorf
Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)
This thesis deals with the implementation, identification and analysis of relationships between geo-referenced objects. Significant spatial relationships manifest themselves in a spatial process which is modelled on a combination of spatial structure and spatial autocorrelation levels. Simple spatial structures reflect plain spill-over effects between adjacent spatial objects, whereas theoretical guided spatial structure mirror functional exchange relationships within the system of spatial objects. In empirical work, the underlying spatial process is unknown. The linking mechanism between a hypothetical spatial structure and a stochastic input must be identified from the observed data. This is accomplished here by means of the test statistic …
Spatial And Structural Determinants Of Residential Burglary Rates In Kitchener-Waterloo (Ontario), Martin Christopher Anstey
Spatial And Structural Determinants Of Residential Burglary Rates In Kitchener-Waterloo (Ontario), Martin Christopher Anstey
Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)
Traditional ecological analyses of burglary have a number of shortcomings. First, break-ins occurring within a neighbourhood have been regarded as a solely the product of local residents. Second, the relationship between burglary and its determinants has been considered constant across space. Third, the data used in ecological analysis has been treated as statistically independent. The purpose of this study is to expand upon previous ecological studies through an analysis of residential burglary in Kitchener-Waterloo, Canada Theory from environmental criminology (a discipline concerned with the spatial aspects of crime) is used in conjunction with spatial data analysis techniques and GIS technology …
Issues In Representing Ethnic Residential Segregation, Wanda Teresa Gayle Smith
Issues In Representing Ethnic Residential Segregation, Wanda Teresa Gayle Smith
Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)
This study will look at some of the issues involved in representing ethnic residential segregation. Segregation studies rely heavily upon indices and maps. However, both of these are sensitive to the spatial boundaries used. As well, maps have a visual element which affects the nature and degree of representation. Toronto has been chosen as the area of study because of its high degree of ethnic diversity. Five indices that describe the five dimensions of segregation (Massey and Denton, 1988) will be calculated at four standard levels of aggregation. As well, several types of maps will be produced to illustrate the …
The Dynamics Of Ethnic Residential Patterns In The Toronto Census Metropolitan Area (Ontario), Marinel Mandres
The Dynamics Of Ethnic Residential Patterns In The Toronto Census Metropolitan Area (Ontario), Marinel Mandres
Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)
Responding to contemporary urban changes and increasing social complexities, this research endeavours to determine whether recently arrived immigrants still follow residential configurations as prescribed by traditional urban ecological models or whether ethnic groups are displaying a new dispersed (i.e. ‘shot gun’) domiciliary pattern characterized by enclave scattering. A new conceptual model describing various spatial outcomes relative to primary destinations of initial immigrant settlement and subsequent relocation is developed according to propositions discussed in the literature review. Subsequent statistical analyses focus upon the hypothesized post-1980 areal placement of six ethnic groups (Greek, Jewish, Multiethnic, Aboriginal, Chinese, and Jamaican) using the British …
Teaching Secondary School Geography With The Use Of A Geographical Information System (Gis), Angela Louise Crechiolo
Teaching Secondary School Geography With The Use Of A Geographical Information System (Gis), Angela Louise Crechiolo
Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)
Until quite recently, geographical information systems have been limited to the resources and students of post-secondary institutions. This situation is now changing in Ontario. In the early 1990's the Ministry of Education adopted mandates to develop curriculum guidelines for the integration of computers into all areas of the curriculum. Although the process is well underway in Ontario, limited access to hardware and software, insufficient pre-service and in-service training, and a paucity of teaching resources has lead to mounting teacher frustration. Although the literature base on teaching GIS at the pre-collegiate level is increasing, it lacks clearly defined examples of how …
Socio-Economic Factors And The Journey To Work: A Case Study Of At&T Gis Employees, Thomas A. Hammers
Socio-Economic Factors And The Journey To Work: A Case Study Of At&T Gis Employees, Thomas A. Hammers
Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)
Individuals who must commute to work are often concerned with the spatial separation of their home and job site. In many of these cases the socio-economic characteristics of these individual's lives play an important part in deciding how long this commute is, in terms of both time and distance. The following study seeks to identify the relationships between several selected socio-economic characteristics and the journey to work distances for employees at AT&T GIS. The factors being examined in this study are age, education level, number of dependents, income, length of service to the company, occupation type and gender. Significant differences …
Obstetrical Care In The Baffin Region, Northwest Territories: Geographical, Medical And Cultural Perspectives, Christine Clara Earnshaw
Obstetrical Care In The Baffin Region, Northwest Territories: Geographical, Medical And Cultural Perspectives, Christine Clara Earnshaw
Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)
In the Baffin Region, and other regions of the Canadian Arctic, geographic impediments and the history of southern-based health care delivery have influenced the present health care delivery and service. This is especially the case for obstetrical care since the whole process of childbirth has been transformed into a medical issue administered mainly by southern, non-Inuit health care workers and policy makers. Using 350 maternal and infant health records from the Baffin Regional Hospitals from September 1993 to September 1994, variables such as maternal age, fertility rates and low birth weight rates were calculated for communities in the region to …
Higher-Order, Multiplicatively Weighted Voronoi Diagrams: A New Approach To Trade Area Analysis, Robert William South
Higher-Order, Multiplicatively Weighted Voronoi Diagrams: A New Approach To Trade Area Analysis, Robert William South
Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)
Trade area models have traditionally been classified into one of two groups: spatial monopoly models or market penetration approaches. Spatial monopoly models define trade areas in a deterministic manner, while market penetration models construct market areas that are probabilistic. Past research has grouped Voronoi diagram models exclusively with the spatial monopoly approach. However, the research contained within this thesis demonstrates that Voronoi diagrams can be used to generate trade areas that are consistent with market penetration models. This thesis introduces two new Voronoi diagrams: the order-k, multiplicatively weighted Voronoi diagram (OKMWVD) and the ordered order-k, multiplicatively weighted Voronoi diagram (OOKMWVD). …
Economic Development And Local Agency In Pond Inlet: A Community In Baffin Region, Northwest Territories, Paul Emile Blais
Economic Development And Local Agency In Pond Inlet: A Community In Baffin Region, Northwest Territories, Paul Emile Blais
Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)
In Canada over the last decade, economic development policy-makers have emphasized the role that localities can play in creating or capitalizing on their own capacities for development. Through an investigation of the situation in Pond Inlet, Northwest Territories, the author defines the role that local agency has played in the economic development process in that community. This investigation, based upon interviews of the role players and a broad literature search, involved an examination of the evolution of the economic development organizational structure over the last decade. More specifically, the author evaluated how the individual roles of the different development institutions …
Urban-Rural Socio-Economic Links In African Countries: The Case Of Accra, Ghana, Edmund Nkansah Okoree
Urban-Rural Socio-Economic Links In African Countries: The Case Of Accra, Ghana, Edmund Nkansah Okoree
Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)
One of the most significant spin-offs of migration in developing countries is the remittance of cash and other resources from migrants to their family members remaining in the area of origin. Through remittances, income is redistributed from urban areas to rural areas. This results in an extension of social, economic, cultural and political fruits of urban life to rural households and communities. This study examines the types of links migrants in Accra, Ghana, maintain with their kin back home. Through a study of the flow of cash remittances and other resources between migrants in Accra and their area of origin, …
Maps As A Visual Language: A Chinese Perspective, Zhaoyuan Li
Maps As A Visual Language: A Chinese Perspective, Zhaoyuan Li
Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)
One primary goal of cartographic research is to improve cartographic communication. Psychophysical and cognitive research has assisted our understanding of the map use process. The present study is from a perspective of maps as a visual language. This study hypothesizes that (1) the map symbol system constitutes a visual ideographic language and (2) cartographic communication may be improved by applying the methods of teaching visual ideographic languages as a second language. Chinese script originated in primitive drawings of concrete things--pictographs--and ideographs. These became stylized and combined, and were expanded greatly in number. Although the characters came to include phonetic symbols, …