Geographic Information Sciences Commons^™

A Better Breath, So Myung Kim, Kavon Valesquez Thompson

Arts & Sciences Student Symposium

Pollution and poor air quality can damage the health of people and their surrounding environments and are often tied to societal factors. This study collected spatial and temporal variability in air quality in the Greater Richmond Area to examine the connections between spatial patterns of pollution and demographic and economic variables. Air quality sensors were used to analyze the particulate matter as we examined the patterns in varying areas around the city and identified communities who were most vulnerable to these health concerns.

The Eviction Landscape In South Carolina, Ethan Magnuson

Senior Theses

The purpose of this thesis is to describe and analyze the South Carolinian eviction crisis from the perspective of radical geography. South Carolina was chosen for the severity of its crisis and the lack of research at a sub-state level. Court records of eviction filings from 2019 were geocoded and tested for spatial clustering, which was clearly visible. Plaintiff names were used to identify the most frequent filers and distinguish landlords by type. At the census tract level, eviction filing counts were compared with neighborhood characteristics using negative binomial regression, and most were found to be significant in South Carolina. …

Análisis De Los Impactos Socio-Ambientales De Las Carretera Propuesta Trocha Uc-105 Entre Nuevo Italia Y Puerto Breu, Ucayali, Perú, M. R. Place *, E. Zizzamia, D. S. Salisbury, V. Galati, S. Spera

Conference Presentations and Posters

A construção de estradas é cada vez mais promovida nas fronteiras compartilhadas pelo Peru e pelo Brasil, apesar de uma compreensão incompleta dos impactos socioambientais da infraestrutura de transporte na região. As estradas amazônicas geralmente se expandem informalmente, sem processo oficial do governo, consulta prévia das populações indígenas e declarações de impacto ambiental. A expansão das estradas na Amazônia também freqüentemente segue um ciclo de feedback progressivo, com novas estradas não planejadas gerando caminhos ilegais de extração de madeira e expansão agrícola que, por sua vez, expande e formaliza os sistemas de estradas. Um sistema de estradas em expansão está …

Predictive Modeling Of Fmol Health System Utilization Using Machine Learning Algorithms And Retrospective Study Of Covid Tested Patients, Ramyakrishna Tummala

LSU Master's Theses

Overutilization of Emergency Departments (ED) is a major problem among the health care providers in the United States. In this research, a machine learning-based predictive model for predicting ED high utilizers will be designed based on a set of existing and proposed facilities and the population and social determinant of health (SDOH) factors influencing utilization. The purpose of the model will be to alert the healthcare systems and government organizations by identifying the reasons for overutilization of the medical services among the people in a particular community. Also, the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) developed in Whunan city, China has …

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 …

Substance Use Disorder Program Facilities In Detroit: A Geographic Analysis, Oksana Doubrovski

Medical Student Research Symposium

Background: Over 630,000 Michiganders have a substance use disorder (SUD) and about 80% are not receiving care (1). The rate of unmet need for SUD care in the Detroit-Dearborn-Livonia area is 81% (1). Geographic placement of facilities may serve as a barrier in patient access to SUD program services. This geographic analysis investigates current Detroit SUD program facility locations and their community demographics.

Methods: ArcGIS Pro was used to visualize and analyze data by creating 2D maps and tables. Data on SUD programs, medically underserved areas, and zip codes were retrieved from government data portals. Census tract data …

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 …

Fine-Grained, Spatiotemporal Datasets Measuring 200 Years Of Land Development In The United States, Johannes H. Uhl, Stefan Leyk, Caitlin M. Mcshane, Anna E. Braswell, Dylan S. Connor, Deborah Balk

Publications and Research

The collection, processing, and analysis of remote sensing data since the early 1970s has rapidly improved our understanding of change on the Earth’s surface. While satellite-based Earth observation has proven to be of vast scientific value, these data are typically confined to recent decades of observation and often lack important thematic detail. Here, we advance in this arena by constructing new spatially explicit settlement data for the United States that extend back to the early 19th century and are consistently enumerated at fine spatial and temporal granularity (i.e. 250m spatial and 5-year temporal resolution). We create these time series using …

Digitization Of Ecological History In The Driftless Area Of Minnesota, St. Mary's University Of Minnesota-Geospatial Services, Winona State University-Library Special Collections

Ecological History StoryMaps

The Winona County Historical Society (WCHS) and Winona State University (WSU) collaborated on applying for a Heritage Partnership grant to produce shared resources with the goal to educate the Winona community about the local ecological history of the area. The grant provided the opportunity to hire St. Mary's University of Minnesota - GeoSpatial Services to reconstruct a map fo the vegetative communities in the city of Winona based on a 1855 land survey and other available data. An 1862 transcription of the 1855 of the land survey was found in the WCHS Laird Norton Archive, which was the starting point …

Informing Sustainable Urban Forestry Policy With Carbon Sequestration Analysis, Ellen Danford

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Urban forestry is an environmental solution for an increasingly city-centered world. The ecosystem services that trees provide in natural settings, including carbon sequestration, oxygen production and aesthetic beauty, also apply in urban settings. Every tree in the Western Kentucky University (WKU) urban forest provides these services and each tree was measured to determine how much carbon they sequestered a year on average between 2015 and 2020. With an interactive map of the forest and its carbon sequestration, the condition of the forest and change over the five year period was analyzed. Comparing the welfare of the forest with the plans …

Using Citizen Science Data To Evaluate The Breeding Distribution Of Merlins, Falco Columbaris, In Michigan, Emilia Shokoohi, Andrew Vander Tuig, Andre Kapteyn, Abigail Liebetreu, William L. Miller

Summer Research

• Merlins are medium-sized falcons found in the Northern Hemisphere.
• Merlins pairs nest near forest edges or open water. These open areas allow them to more easily hunt and capture prey.
• Merlin sightings during the breeding season are relatively rare in Michigan, and the breeding range of merlins has historically been restricted to the Upper Peninsula.
• Merlins are listed as a state threatened species in Michigan, due in part to their restricted breeding range in the state.

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 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 …

Spatial Disparities In Access To Veterinary Care: Problems, Politics & Policies, Sue Neal

West Chester University Doctoral Projects

Access to veterinary care is a complex and wicked social problem. The problem is multidimensional in nature, comprised of a number of barriers ranging from financial to cultural to physical. The Multiple Streams Framework is used to provide a theoretical foundation for the analysis. Subsequent chapters identify the problem, politics and policy streams surrounding this issue. This research examines the issue of access to care as a spatial construct by identifying and analyzing the geographic distribution of the ratios of veterinary staff across the United States to the number of households and predicted companion animal populations. It uses spatial statistics …

Modelling Acoustics In Ancient Maya Cities: Moving Towards A Synesthetic Experience Using Gis & 3d Simulation, Graham Goodwin, Heather Richards-Rissetto

Department of Anthropology: Faculty Publications

Archaeological analyses have successfully employed 2D and 3D tools to measure vision and movement within cityscapes; however, built environments are often designed to invoke synesthetic experiences. GIS and Virtual Reality (VR) now enable archaeologists to also measure the acoustics of ancient spaces. To move toward an understanding of synesthetic experience in ancient Maya cities, we employ GIS and 3D modelling to measure sound propagation and reverberation using the main civic-ceremonial complex in ancient Copán as a case study. For the ancient Maya, sight and sound worked in concert to create ritually-charged atmospheres and architecture served to shape these experiences. Together …

Examining Patterns And Drivers Of Spatial And Temporal Variability In Playa Hydroperiod In The High Plains Region Of Western Kansas, Luis Lepe

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Playa wetlands are some of the most important natural features of the High Plains of the central United States. Playas provide a range of ecosystem services such as groundwater recharge, surface water storage, and wetland habitat. However, playa functions are declining due to land cover change, climate change, and playa and watershed modifications. There are only a few studies that have examined the variability and controls on playa water storage. This project aims to determine how playa and watershed morphology, watershed land cover, and precipitation patterns affect timing and duration of water storage in 92 playas distributed throughout a 10-county …

A Study Of Geographic Information System-Based Watershed Processing For Hydrologic Analysis Of Ungauged Watersheds, Philip Adanbe Adalikwu

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The increasing application of geographic information system (GIS) technology in watershed modeling makes is necessary to further evaluate its impacts on runoff characteristics as a basis for improved hydrologic analysis in ungauged watersheds. Experts in the field of water resources and hydrology have recommended the practice of subdivision when modeling a watershed, and the use of observed data from hydrologically similar watershed to calibrate and validate an ungauged watershed’s model. However, previous studies have failed to adequately address the issues of watershed heterogeneity, spatial and temporal variability in physical parameters, GIS data resolution issues, including artifacts in automated extraction of …

Geoprivacy, Convenience, And The Pursuit Of Anonymity In Digital Cities, Jerome Dobson, William A. Herbert

Publications and Research

Cities demand spatial efficiencies that can be achieved only through sharing of information. Current technologies support collection, processing, and dissemination of unprecedented quantities of personal, public, and corporate information. Inherent in this milieu is an inevitable contest among societal efficiency, corporate profits, consumer convenience, personal privacy, and even freedom. The authors examine current trends in technology, data collection, legislation, and public acceptance. They find that without broad specific regulations limiting location data collection and use—including a universal protected right for individuals to pursue anonymity—governments, commercial enterprises, employers, and individuals increasingly will exploit tracking technologies at the expense of geoprivacy.

Sea Level Rise Impacts On The City Of Cape Coral, Southwest Florida From 2020 To 2050, Jawata Afnan Saba

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Sea level rise, a consequence of global climate change, has been affecting the U.S. coasts with flooding and exacerbated storm surges. Florida is highly vulnerable because it has low-lying topography and coastlines on both the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico. The City of Cape Coral, Southwest Florida, is known as a ‘waterfront wonderland’ with 400 miles of canals that provide waterfront property to the residents. Most of the canals are navigable, and many have access to the Gulf of Mexico. The city is vulnerable to sea level rise because of its canals, site between the Matlacha Pass and …