Geography Commons^™

Spatial Disparities And Socio-Economic Conditions : A Food Desert Analysis Of Greater Des Moines, Iowa, David Jensen

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Current research suggests that socioeconomic makeup of geographic areas within a city has implications on location and accessibility of food retail stores. Disadvantaged areas with relatively poor access to healthy and affordable food are what literature has identified as “food deserts”. The purpose of this research is to explore the relationships between geographic areas with relatively low socioeconomic characteristics and food stores within the greater Des Moines, Iowa area. By way of survey, grocery and convenience stores are measured on their healthy food quality, advertisements, and other factors. GIS techniques are then used to measure accessibility to stores by low …

Landscape And Climate Drivers Of Harmful Algal Blooms In Iowa, Aaron Padilla

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Insuring the safety of our water for consumption and recreation is a crucial but extremely difficult and resource intensive activity of environmental protection agencies. One of the ways our water is at risk is through the increased frequency, and intensity of harmful algal blooms (HABs). When CyanoHABs occur, they can produce a toxic byproduct, most notably microcystin in freshwater, which can be harmful to humans and animals. Previous research has indicated these blooms are driven by increased eutrophication of water bodies, the excess loading of nutrients. In Iowa, the main driver of CyanoHABs in most watersheds is agricultural runoff, which …

Affective Risk Perception In Automotive Environments, Dane Atkins

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Traversing the automotive environment exposes drivers to a risk of property damage, injury, and death. This risk varies across the road network. This research questions whether drivers are capable of accurately perceiving their own exposure to risk in this environment. Analysis begins with an assessment of risk exposure at roadway intersections (as measured in terms of crash frequency, severity, and mixed-weighting methods). This assessment provides risk indices for a cross-section of road intersections across an urban Iowa community. These indices are then used in the development of an experimental visual cognition survey used to record risk perceptions of roadway sites …

“Inconvenient Neighbours, Whom It Was Desirable Ultimately Wholly To Remove”: Differing Factors In The Dispossessions Of Studied Anishinaabe Groups Of The Great Lakes Basin, 1820-1865, Heather J. Sanguins

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Despite being located within a relatively close geographic area, the Anishinaabeg of the eastern Great Lakes basin had different experiences of, and responses to, attempted and actual dispossession between 1820 and 1865. This research explores these experiences and the exercise of colonial power through the dispossession of six groups: the Lake Erie Anishinaabeg, the Walpole Anishinaabeg, the “American” Anishinaabeg who migrated into Upper Canada and Canada West, the Chippewa of Lakes Huron, Couchiching, and Simcoe, the Potaganasee Ojibwa of Drummond Island, and the Manitoulin Anishinaabeg. While eight themes weave their way through the cases, every case of attempted or actual …

Arriving Somewhere, Not Here: Exploring And Mapping The Relationship Between Border Enforcement And Migration By Boat In The Central Mediterranean Sea, 2006 To 2015, Kira Williams

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The European Union (EU) implemented a maritime interdiction network using search and rescue which interdicted at least 462,813 “illegal migrants” in the Central Mediterranean Sea between 2006 and 2015. This involved 15 discrete, militarised and semi-secret maritime interdiction operations (MIOs) at a minimum cost of 126.9 million 2014 Euros. In this dissertation, I will explore and map these operations and their geographies between 2006 and 2015.

First, and based on the given existence of the European Patrols Network, I examine how this network came into being in the first place. This serves to show that the EU purposely created regular …

Ground Deformation Studies And Evacuation Behavior During Eruptions At Guatemalan Volcanoes, Hans Lechner

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Volcanic eruptions can be an especially problematic hazard when considering the uncertainty in eruption timing and magnitude coupled with challenges associated with delivering warnings to remote areas and facilitating effective evacuations. The hazards presented by Guatemala’s active volcanoes demand enhanced monitoring capabilities and instrumentation infrastructure. Strengthening the link between the physical and social sciences should lead to more accurate, reliable, and timely hazard information to the people living in proximity to the volcano and facilitate rational decisions and actions that reduce their level of risk. While there is no one single technique that can provide unambiguous diagnostics about the timing, …