Geography Commons^™

Gis Librarians' Involvement In Critical Information Literacy Instruction, Melissa Chomintra, Pete E. Pascuzzi

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

Critical information literacy (CIL) is a theory and practice that considers the sociopolitical dimensions of information and knowledge production. As the field of geospatial information evolves, equipping librarians with the skills to critically engage with geospatial information becomes integral to facilitating informed research, promoting spatial literacy, and strengthening the accessibility of geospatial data for their user communities. To understand geospatial data librarians’ current involvement in CIL, librarians were surveyed to examine if they incorporate CIL into their instruction, how they incorporate CIL into their instruction, and what are the benefits and challenges of doing so. The survey gathered both quantitative …

Integration Of Geographic Information Systems And Remote Sensing To A Geologic Analysis Of The Llano Uplift,Texas, Michael Clark

The Geographical Bulletin

Developments in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Remote Sensing (RS) have provided a practical and economical uses to a variety of disciplines. This paper focuses on the application of this technology to a geologic region using polygon analysis techniques. This application evaluates the feasibility of such methods as compared to conventional geologic field techniques. The Llano Uplift region of central Texas is well defined morphologically and geologically which provides good ground control for aerial photography. A GIS/RS-based analysis scheme is used to extract geologic information from morphological features resulting from surface and subsurface shaping agents. GIS polygon establishment and layer …

Geographic Distribution Of Public Health Hospitals In Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Ahmed Alhomaidhi

The Geographical Bulletin

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia City of Riyadh faces many challenges and problems in distributing public health services. The Ministry of Health (MOH) operates eight hospitals within the city, delivering a variety of basic, specialty, and emergency services. Population growth and urbanization has led to an imbalance in facility locations and service delivery for the city, which fails to adhere to the MOH’s recommendations. In this paper, nearest neighbor analysis, service area, and range analysis, as well as a spatial model are used to determine the distribution of hospitals, areas of under-coverage, and potential locations for new hospitals. This methodology …

The Intersection Of Asset Management And Geographic Information Systems For University Facilities Maintenance, Andrew Westerlund Beland

Masters in GIS Practicum Reports

This project describes a proof of concept for developing a digital asset management system dashboard for water backflow assemblies at Portland State University (PSU) using a modified ESRI ArcGIS Online backflow solution. Asset management is crucial for optimizing the lifecycle of tangible assets, which ensures cost-effective operational efficiency and regulatory compliance. PSU manages over 250 backflow assemblies spread across the 50-acre campus and has traditionally relied on manual processes, which can lead to inefficiencies and potential transcription errors.

The system links spatial data with asset attributes for backflow devices, enabling field staff to update inspection results directly from mobile devices. …

The Impact Of Climate Change On Selected Pnw Watersheds Through The Lens Of Western Red Cedar Habitat, Jordan T. Hamann

Dissertations and Theses

Climate change is a real phenomenon that is exacerbating existing natural processes and developing into a new normal for the planet. This change may be devastating for Pacific Northwest populations of Western Red Cedar (WRC) west of the Cascade Mountain range in the states of Oregon and Washington. WRC is a valuable tree species for reasons both economic and cultural. Dieback among WRC is following an accelerating trend. Since dieback is usually followed by tree mortality, understanding its causes and distribution is beneficial to the overall success of the species going into the future.

Through the use of ESRI's ArcGIS …

An Integrated Analysis Of Urban Sustainability In Portland: Issues, Indicators, Stakeholders, And Geospatial Assessment, Arun Kumar Pallathadka

Dissertations and Theses

This dissertation presents three individual studies that collectively explore the concept of urban sustainability. The research is grounded in the recognition that many cities worldwide are striving to achieve sustainable development, yet existing sustainability frameworks often lack comprehensive definition and consideration. Moreover, the existing sustainability frameworks and methods are often not clearly structured to allow for their replication and adaptation to meet the unique needs of diverse local settings. To address this gap, the dissertation utilizes the Social-Ecological-Technological Framework, with particular emphasis on equity, to investigate key issues in urban sustainability, such as indicators, stakeholder engagement, tradeoffs, and assessment. The …

A Lack Of Inclusive Playgrounds And How Gis Can Bridge The Gap: A Case Study In Metro Denver, Brittny N. Wagner

Geography and the Environment: Graduate Student Capstones

Inclusive and accessible playgrounds are a vital component to a sustainable and healthy community. These types of playgrounds encourage interactions between children of all abilities, which is a key component of social, emotional, and physical development. Playgrounds are often outdated or built without considering the needs of different types of community members. This is often due to lack of research about what it means to build an accessible playground and lack of awareness of the need for this type of play coming from city officials and park planners. Many parents and caregivers are left wondering where accessible playgrounds are located, …

Understanding Delays And Improving Emergency Response With Gis - Evergreen Fire Department In Evergreen, Colorado, Adrien Hoff

Geography and the Environment: Graduate Student Capstones

It is expected that both the PSAP and the responders in the field react quickly and arrive on the scene to emergency events as soon as possible. Fire agencies have been held to standards set in place reflective of where the emergency occurs and how quickly responders are expected to reach that location. Calls that experience delays in meeting these standards should be carefully examined and learned from for future events. Utilizing National Fire Protection (NFPA) population zone recommendations, population zones previously established with 2010 census data and unknown methods were recreated for Evergreen Fire Protection District. Then, utilizing SQL …

Precision Weed Management Based On Uas Image Streams, Machine Learning, And Pwm Sprayers, Jason Allen Davis

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Weed populations in agricultural production fields are often scattered and unevenly distributed; however, herbicides are broadcast across fields evenly. Although effective, in the case of post-emergent herbicides, exceedingly more pesticides are used than necessary. A novel weed detection and control workflow was evaluated targeting Palmer amaranth in soybean (Glycine max) fields. High spatial resolution (0.4 cm) unmanned aircraft system (UAS) image streams were collected, annotated, and used to train 16 object detection convolutional neural networks (CNNs; RetinaNet, Faster R-CNN, Single Shot Detector, and YOLO v3) each trained on imagery with 0.4, 0.6, 0.8, and 1.2 cm spatial resolutions. Models were …

Bridging The Geospatial Education-Workforce Divide: A Case Study On How Higher Education Can Address The Emerging Geospatial Drivers And Trends Of The Intelligent Web Mapping Era, Wendy Rose Stout

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this exploratory collective case study is to discover how geospatial education can meet the geospatial workforce needs of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the emerging intelligent web mapping era. Geospatial education uses geographic information systems (GIS) to enable student learning by increasing in-depth spatial analysis and meaning using geotechnology tools (Baker & White, 2003). Bandura’s (1977) self-efficacy theory and geography concept of spatial thinking form an integrated theoretical framework of spatial cognition for this study. Data collection included in-depth interviews of twelve geospatial stakeholders, documentation collection, and supporting Q methodology to determine the viewpoints of a total …

Geographies Of Urban Unsafety: Homeless Women, Mental Maps, And Isolation, Jan Radle Roberson

Dissertations and Theses

This study explores the intersection of urban unsafety and the marginalized population of homeless women. Specifically, it investigates how homeless women identify/perceive and navigate unsafe urban space. Specific research questions include:

1. What does housing insecurity look like for an unhoused woman?

2. In what ways is mental mapping a robust tool for gathering the stories (data) of vulnerable populations such as unhoused women?

3. What does the spatialization of unsafe locations look like and are demographic groupings dissimilarly affected?

4. What are the critical reasons for unsafety identified by participants?

5. How do homeless women respond to urban unsafety; …

Development And Disparity In Glasgow: The Desirability Of Urban Water Proximity, Brian Morgan

Theses and Dissertations

This study was conducted to examine the possibility that a spatial relationship exists between demographic trends considered to be indicative of gentrification, and ongoing regenerative activity taking place along an urban canal and the adjacent neighborhoods in a northern section of Glasgow, Scotland. Rates of demographic change between the 2001 and 2011 Scottish Census results for the study area were contrasted with the same variables citywide, using the census Output Area (OA) as the aggregate unit. Results were combined to produce an index of gentrification. Positive results towards gentrification were identified in many of the OAs for a significant number …

Assessment Of Vertical Accuracy From Uav-Lidar And Structure From Motion Point Clouds In Floodplain Terrain Mapping, Andrew Muller

Dissertations and Theses

Remote sensing technologies are being applied to a variety of uses because of the increase in access to various products (digital sensors, UAVs, software) and its ability to model relatively large areas in a short amount of time. While these new technologies are beginning to be adopted, validation of their merit in floodplain terrain mapping is lacking. The main goal of this study is to evaluate the vertical accuracy of digital elevation models (DEMs) generated with UAV-based LiDAR and Structure from Motion (SfM), also known as photographic LiDAR or PhoDAR. Airborne (manned aircraft) LiDAR has been applied to river research …

Using Gis-Based Spatial Analysis To Determine Urban Greenspace Accessibility For Different Racial Groups In The Backdrop Of Covid-19: A Case Study Of Four Us Cities, Arun K. Pallathadka, Laxemi Pallathadka, Sneha Rao, Heejun Chang, Dorn Van Dommelen

Geography Faculty Publications and Presentations

As the United States leads COVID-19 cases on global charts, its spatial distribution pattern offers a unique opportunity for studying the social and ecological factors that contribute to the pandemic’s scale and size. We use a GIS-data-based approach to evaluate four American cities—Anchorage (Alaska), Atlanta (Georgia), Phoenix (Arizona), and Portland (Oregon) characterized by the significant composition of different racial and ethnic group populations. Building upon previous studies that investigated urban spatial inequalities using the environmental justice framework, we examine: (1) the relative racial vulnerability of Census Block Groups (CBG) and ZIP Code Tabulation Areas (ZCTA) to COVID-19 (2) green space …

Tracking The Change In The Number Of Residential Buildings Using Remote Sensing Techniques: A Case Study For An Area In The North Of Riyadh, Abdulaziz Aldegheishem, Nayef Alharbi

Emirates Journal for Engineering Research

This study aims to determine the urban expansion in a specific area in the north of the city of Riyadh using Remote Sensing techniques and Geographic Information Systems based on visuals and satellite images. The study seeks to determine the size of the increase in housing units in a selected area in the north of Riyadh during the period from 2007 to 2019 by studying the change in the number of residential buildings and comparing the changes that occurred during this period based on data extracted from high-resolution satellite images. Many programs have been used in correcting and balancing satellite …

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.

Using (Gis) In Exploiting The Running Rainwater In The Interior Parts Of The Basin Of Wadi Gaza - Hebron, Mohammad Burqan

Journal of the Arab American University مجلة الجامعة العربية الامريكية للبحوث

The study aimed at using GIS technology to study the characteristics of the best sites for the construction of dams in the inner basins of Hebron Governorate, which intersect with the Wadi Gaza basin. The study used natural and human standards in selecting the best sites for the construction of dams. The analysis of topographic surfaces was done using a set of integrated GIS software programs, such as (ArcGIS 10.1) and its extension (Arc Hydro 2.0) and “Google Earth” to derive some morphometric variables.

The study showed that the amount of water that is expected to be stored in the …

An Evaluation Of The Impact Of Leading Pedestrian Interval Signals In Nyc, Jeremy J. Sze

Theses and Dissertations

I evaluated the impact of the phased introduction of Leading Pedestrian Interval Signals (LPIs) on collision and injury outcomes at 12,987 signalized traffic intersections in New York City over the course of 25 quarters from 2012 to 2018. An intersection is treated when a LPIs is installed to give pedestrians lead time to cross the street before vehicles are allowed to move. Outcomes from NYPD’s Motor Vehicle Collisions data were matched to signalized intersections. I hypothesize that LPIs would reduce collisions and reduce injuries for pedestrians at intersections. A difference in difference fixed effects panel regression was used to identify …

Homelessness In Portland, Oregon: An Analysis Of Homeless Campsite Spatial Patterns And Spatial Relationships, Krystle N. Harrell

Geography Masters Research Papers

Homelessness is a complex American social issue. Understanding the homeless population, including how many people experience homelessness, how they entered the experience, their demographics, how they survive, and where they survive, aids policymakers, planners, and advocates in developing the appropriate approaches and solutions to end and prevent homelessness. Analysis of homeless spatial patterns and distributions across different locales provides a more in-depth understandings of this population and how best to support them, from the local to national level. Using geographic information systems (GIS) and statistical methods, this study examines the spatial patterns of homeless campsites and their relationship with urban …

Mapping And Gis Tools For Disaster Preparation And Recovery, Jim Craner

Collaborative Librarianship

There are many tools for online and offline mapping, as well as geographic information systems ("GIS"), that public librarians can offer their communities. These tools can be invaluable for emergency response planning before a disaster as well as response and recovery operations after a disaster. Librarians, as community information and technology stewards, can play a valuable role in these scenarios.

Spatial Analysis Of Landscape And Sociodemographic Factors Associated With Green Stormwater Infrastructure Distribution In Baltimore, Maryland And Portland, Oregon, Ashley Baker, Emma Brenneman, Heejun Chang, Lauren Mcphillips, Marissa Matsler

Geography Faculty Publications and Presentations

This study explores the spatial distribution of green stormwater infrastructure (GSI) relative to sociodemographic and landscape characteristics in Portland, OR, and Baltimore, MD, USA at census block group (CBG) and census tract scales. GSI density is clustered in Portland, while it is randomly distributed over space in Baltimore. Variables that exhibit relationships with GSI density are varied over space, as well as between cities. In Baltimore, GSI density is significantly associated with presence of green space (+), impervious surface coverage (+), and population density (−) at the CBG scale; though these relationships vary over space. At the census tract scale …

Don't Let Their Future Blow Away: An Integrated Methodology To Inform School Leaders Of The Dimensions And Determinants Of School Vulnerability Leading To Disaster Learning Loss, Kaleen Daneil Weiland

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

School leaders play a key role in the critical functions of emergency response in a school system, including purposefully sustaining safe, secure, and healthy learning environments for all students before and after a disaster. Despite these values, school leaders remain underprepared and often unaware of the vulnerabilities associated with weather, climate, and other disaster events and the potential threat that climate change poses to both student achievement and access to education. This study presents school-leaders with a landscape-scale geospatial vulnerability assessment of school districts exposed to, or threatened by, hurricanes in order to improve mitigation efforts in schools. In this …

Assessing Ppgis Usability And Its Relationship To Spatial Data Production: A Case Study, Timothy Michael Hitchins

Dissertations and Theses

Modern Geoweb-enabled PPGIS methodologies incorporate interactive map applications as the main driver for public engagement and data collection. However, little research explores exactly how the public interact with these applications to produce spatial data, a fact that contributes to criticisms of final data quality. Usability evaluation offers a solution for developing better PPGIS data production systems by identifying problems in the application interface for which the public engage. Drawing on a case study example of a PPGIS application developed to collect socio-spatial data from members of a random public, this paper addresses usability in a three-stage approach. First, controlled experimentation …

Assessing Historical Planform Channel Change In An Altered Watershed With Quantification Of Error And Uncertainty Present In A Gis/Aerial Photography-Based Analysis; Case Study: Minnesota River, Minnesota, Usa., Devon Libby

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Little is known about the historic planform channel change of the Minnesota River of south-central Minnesota, USA. This is despite research that demonstrates anthropogenic activities have altered the Minnesota River Basin's hydrology, land use, and climate. In addition, the threat of invasive carp infestation requires an understanding of Minnesota River planform change to assess mitigation strategies. This thesis focuses on the lower Minnesota River (LMR) by measuring planform channel change (lateral channel migration, width, and sinuosity) from 1937 to 2013. Analysis is conducted by utilizing remote/GIS analysis of historic aerial photographs. A secondary focus addresses and quantifies the inherent/introduced error/uncertainly …

Gis Spatial Analysis Of Arctic Settlement Patterns: A Case Study In Northwest Alaska, Justin Andrew Junge

Dissertations and Theses

In northwest Alaska, archaeologists hypothesize that environmental variability was a major factor in both growing coastal population density, with large aggregated villages and large houses, between 1000 and 500 years ago (ya), and subsequent decreasing population density between 500 ya and the contact era. After 500 ya people are thought to have dispersed to smaller settlements with smaller house sizes in coastal areas, and perhaps, upriver. This settlement pattern was identified through research at four site locations over 30 years ago. The changing geographic distribution of sites, associated settlement size, and house size has not been examined in detail. A …

Introduction To Gis Using Open Source Software, 8th Ed, Frank Donnelly

Open Educational Resources

This tutorial was created to accompany the GIS Practicum, a day-long workshop offered by the Newman Library at Baruch College CUNY that introduces participants to geographic information systems (GIS) using the open source software QGIS. The practicum introduces GIS as a concept for envisioning information and as a tool for conducting geographic analyses and creating maps. Participants learn how to navigate a GIS interface, how to prepare layers and conduct a basic geographic analysis, and how to create thematic maps. This tutorial was written using QGIS version 2.18 "Las Palmas", a cross-platform (Windows, Mac, Linux) desktop GIS software package.

Mapping Meaningful Places On Washington’S Olympic Peninsula: Toward A Deeper Understanding Of Landscape Values, Lee Cerveny, Kelly Biedenweg, Rebecca J. Mclain

Institute for Sustainable Solutions Publications and Presentations

Landscape values mapping has been widely employed as a form of public participation GIS (PPGIS) in natural resource planning and decision-making to capture the complex array of values, uses, and interactions between people and landscapes. A landscape values typology has been commonly employed in the mapping of social and environmental values in a variety of management settings and scales. We explore how people attribute meanings and assign values to special places on the Olympic Peninsula (Washington, USA) using both a landscape values typology and qualitative responses about residents’ placerelationships. Using geographically referenced social values data collected in community meetings (n …

Individual Decision Making In Online Public-Participation Transportation Planning, Martin Swobodzinski

PSU Transportation Seminars

The empirical evaluation of complex decision support systems is often limited to the self-reported satisfaction of the systems’ users.

Such an approach is problematic due to the conflation of the user's satisfaction related to the decision support system and the decision making process and its outcomes.

In addition, it bears limitations that are common among most techniques that solicit participant-stated feedback.

In this talk, based on data that was gathered by a web-based participatory system for transportation planning in the Puget Sound region, I present analytical methods for the empirical evaluation of decision support systems based on human-computer interaction. In …

Archaeological Gis Analysis Of Raised Field Agriculture In The Bolivian Amazon, Thomas W. Lee

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Modern agricultural systems have been criticized for their detrimental effects on the environment and a general emphasis on crop yield rather than long-term sustainability. Traditional forms of agriculture may provide case-specific examples of sustainable alternatives for contemporary societies. In the seasonally inundated savannas of the Llanos de Mojos, pre-Columbian Indians piled earth into ‘large raised field platforms’ elevated high enough above the floodplain to allow crops to grow. Archaeological evidence indicates that raised field agriculture supported much larger populations than those found in the Beni today. The examination of satellite imagery has revealed more than 40,000 individual fields spread across …

Introduction To Gis Using Open Source Software, 7th Ed, Frank Donnelly

Open Educational Resources

This tutorial was created to accompany the GIS Practicum, a day-long workshop offered by the Newman Library at Baruch College CUNY that introduces participants to geographic information systems (GIS) using the open source software QGIS. The practicum introduces GIS as a concept for envisioning information and as a tool for conducting geographic analyses and creating maps. Participants learn how to navigate a GIS interface, how to prepare layers and conduct a basic geographic analysis, and how to create thematic maps. This tutorial was written using QGIS version 2.14 "Essen", a cross-platform (Windows, Mac, Linux) desktop GIS software package.