Geography Commons^™

The Effect Of Meteorological Conditions On Fly Ball Distances In North American Major League Baseball Games, Mark D. Kraft, Brent R. Skeeter

The Geographical Bulletin

This study examines the effect of meteorological conditions on the flight of baseballs hit in North American major league baseball games. Statistical analyses are used to relate game-time temperature, humidity, wind speed and wind direction data to the flight distance of every fair fly ball hit in non-domed stadiums during the 1991 and 1992 seasons. Results indicate that temperature is the most important meteorological variable affecting fly ball distances at most stadiums. The effect of wind speed and direction varies in different stadiums, with surprising influences at certain stadiums. The results of this study may be strategically valuable to managers …

The Renaming Of A Tennessee Region, John Morgan, Leonard W. Brinkman

The Geographical Bulletin

The northeastern section of Tennessee has been known as Upper East Tennessee since the 1840s. During the last few years, however, a new regional label, Northeast Tennessee, has been promoted as a more appropriate regional name. The push for a shift from the use of Upper East Tennessee to Northeast Tennessee has been spearheaded by agencies whose missions are to increase tourism and to attract new industry in the region. The local medianewspapers, radio, and television-have played key roles in the renaming process. Although there is some opposition to the new name, a campaign to designate the region as Northeast …

The Elderly Return-Migration In The United States: Role Of Place Attributes And Individual Characteristics In Destination Choice, Rshood M. Khraif

The Geographical Bulletin

The return migration of the aged is analyzed using a logit model that integrates selected place attributes (i.e., climate, living costs, and health services), distance to the state of birth, and several personal characteristics (i.e., gender, marital status, age, and income). A five-percent Publ ic Use Microdata sample of the 1980 Census of the United States of America is utilized in this paper. Results indicate that a recently retired elderly person is likely to select his/ her place (state) of birth if it has a pleasant climate and low living costs. Also the less wealthy and single people are more …

Place And Cultural Identity Among Guatemalan Indians: "The Fragility Of Goodness", Edward Davis

The Geographical Bulletin

Place experience may be more important to culture groups in war-torn and impoverished countries than to those in stable, developed regions. There is evidence from diverse sources that place experiences are directly relevant to the distinct Indian identities found within Guatemala's western highlands. Individual municipios often are distinct in their clothing, language and attachment to the land. A rereading of ethnographies gathered during the last few decades, along with new survey data, suggest that place and identity are strongly linked, possibly in part as a response to a history of violence and oppression in the region.

Editorial Comments: Why Are You A Geographer?, Yi-Fu Tuan

The Geographical Bulletin

Many geographers have been asked this question, and I perhaps more than most because I am a special kind of human geographer, one who has published books with such titles as Dominance and Affection and Passing Strange and Wonderful, which do not sound like those that a geography professor will assign. To the question, then, I have three answers, each suited to a different level of the questioner's sophistication and seriousness. At a party, when people are more interested in not spilling Pepsi on their coat than anything truly intellectual, my reply goes like this. " I traveled a lot …

The Age Of Light: An Overview Of Arab Geography In The Middle Ages, Elizabeth A. Gutierrez

The Geographical Bulletin

The Medieval Arab world was a time of curiosity and inquiry, and many contributions to the knowledge of the earth were made during this period. Scientific study was strongly encouraged by many of the caliphate leaders. For this reason, we can call this period the "Age of Light." In contrast, many scientific studies during the " Dark Ages" of Medieval Europe were hindered by the Christian Church. Unfortunately, many Western scholarly accounts of the Middle Ages ignore the writings of Arab geographers. This study highlights the findings and theoretical underpinnings of selected Medieval Arab geographical works. It also discusses why …

Generalization Enhancement Strategies To Enable Cross-Year Cropland Mapping With Convolutional Neural Networks Trained Using Historical Samples, Sam Khallaghi, Rahebeh Abedi, Hanan Ali Abou, Hamed Alemohammad, Mary Dziedzorm Asipunu, Ismail Alatise, Nguyen Ha, Boka Luo, Cat Mai, Lei Song, Amos Olertey Wussah, Sitian Xiong

Geography

Mapping agricultural fields using high-resolution satellite imagery and deep learning (DL) models has advanced significantly, even in regions with small, irregularly shaped fields. However, effective DL models often require large, expensive labeled datasets, which are typically limited to specific years or regions. This restricts the ability to create annual maps needed for agricultural monitoring, as changes in farming practices and environmental conditions cause domain shifts between years and locations. To address this, we focused on improving model generalization without relying on yearly labels through a holistic approach that integrates several techniques, including an area-based loss function, Tversky-focal loss (TFL), data …

Virginia Heat Watch: Collaboration To Assess Climate Vulnerability At Local To Regional Scales, Todd R. Lookingbill, Karin P. Warren, J. Christopher Haley, Elizabeth G. Malcolm, Lisa Jordan Powell, Scott M. Starr, Srarah Melissa Witiak, Michael J. Wolyniak, Beth Zizzamia

Geography and the Environment Faculty Publications

Systematic studies of temperature using consistent, field-validated methods are needed to make inter- and intra-urban heat comparisons and to prioritize resources and mitigation strategies. This study investigated spatial patterns of heat hazard across 10 small- to medium- sized cities in Virginia, USA, using a community science approach. Air temperature data were collected on a high-heat day in July 2021, employing a network of 213 volunteers. Geolocated one-second temperature and humidity measurements were used to create and validate 10-m resolution temperature models for each locality. Results indicate substantial intra-urban temperature differentials even in the smallest localities, averaging 3.2 °C for …

Beyond Water Surface Profiles: A New Iterative Methodology For 2d Model Calibration In Rivers Using Velocity Data From Multiple Cross-Sections, Fabian Rivera-Trejo, Gabriel Soto-Cortes, Kory M. Konsoer, Eddy J. Langendoen, Gaston Priego-Hernandez

Faculty Publications

Observed longitudinal water-surface profiles are commonly used to calibrate river hydrodynamic models, relying on assumptions of lateral uniformity in water surface elevation and velocity distribution. While suitable for 1D models, this approach has limitations in regard to 2D model calibration. When 2D flow measurements are available, a more robust quantitative evaluation is necessary to assess model accuracy. This study introduces a novel methodology to improve 2D model calibration and evaluate performance. High-resolution bathymetric and hydrodynamic data collected with a multibeam echosounder (MBES) and acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP) were aligned to compare observed and simulated flow velocities at matching spatial …

Earliest Ancient Maya Salt Production In Southern Belize: Excavations At Jay-Yi Nah, Heather Mckillop, E. Cory Sills

Faculty Publications

Salt works along the Yucatan coasts of Mexico and Belize provide a record of salt production for inland trade during the height of Late Classic Maya civilisation (AD 550-800). At the Paynes Creek Salt Works in Belize, production focused on the creation of salt cakes by boiling brine in pots supported over fires in dedicated salt kitchens. Underwater excavations at the Early Classic (AD 250-550) site of Jay-yi Nah now indicate there was a longer and evolving tradition of salt making in the area, one that initially employed large, incurved bowls to meet local or down-the-line trade needs before inland …

Assessing Vegetation Changes And Ecosystem Impacts Of Invasive Species In Florida's Water Conservation Area 3a (2004–2024) Using Landsat Data, Gideon Tandoh

Research, Papers & Creative Work

The spread of invasive species is a concrete problem, threatening biodiversity, ecosystem integrity, and the functional status of wetlands. As these species continue to advance, it is crucial to assess their spread as well as management success through the more sophisticated invasive monitoring methodologies. This research examines the change in vegetation communities and the spread of invasive plants in the Water Conservation Area 3A (WCA-3A) using Object-Based Image Analysis (OBIA) and Support Vector Machine (SVM) classifiers on time series Landsat images. Unlike traditional pixel-based methods, OBIA enhances classification accuracy by incorporating spatial, spectral, and contextual information, enabling precise differentiation between …

Predicting Post-Wildfire Stream Temperature And Turbidity: A Machine Learning Approach In Western Us Watersheds, Junjie Chen, Heejun Chang

Geography Faculty Publications and Presentations

Wildfires significantly impact water quality in the Western United States, posing challenges for water resource management. However, limited research quantifies post-wildfire stream temperature and turbidity changes across diverse climatic zones. This study addresses this gap by using Random Forest (RF) and Support Vector Regression (SVR) models to predict post-wildfire stream temperature and turbidity based on climate, streamflow, and fire data from the Clackamas and Russian River Watersheds. We selected Random Forest (RF) and Support Vector Regression (SVR) because they handle non-linear, high-dimensional data, balance accuracy with efficiency, and capture complex post-wildfire stream temperature and turbidity dynamics with minimal assumptions. The …

Pumped Storage Hydropower In The United States: Emerging Importance, Environmental And Social Impacts, And Critical Considerations, Surabhi Karambelkar, Alida Cantor, Thien-Kim Bui, Bethani Turley, Maryalice Fischer, Shannon Ames

Geography Faculty Publications and Presentations

Pumped storage hydropower is a widely used, long-duration energy storage system that sits squarely at the water-energy nexus. Bold decarbonization goals have propelled a rapid resurgence of interest in pumped storage hydropower in the US, given its ability to provide bulk energy storage, manage grid reliability, and support increasing integration of variable renewable energy sources. Drawing on published research from both technical and social science perspectives, this paper provides an overview of pumped storage hydropower technology, the project development pipeline, potential social and environmental impacts, including a comparison of open-loop and closed-loop design configurations, and critical considerations for project development. …

Integration Of Data Sets For Modelling Gender Violence And Perception Of Insecurity, Sandra Lucia Hernandez Zetina, Ana Belen Anquela Julian, Angel Esteban Martin Furones, Carlos Martinez Montes, Santos Fernandez Noguerol

Articles

The dataset offers a comprehensive information to analyse cities and neighbourhood that are potentially unsafe for women, this information has been collected for four cities: Toluca (Mexico), Valencia (Spain), Dublin (Ireland) and San Francisco (USA). The collection includes quantitative and qualitative variables obtained and processed from open data, georeferenced publications from a social media platform, and points located through participatory mapping sessions.

The data is structured in raw format, organized by country and city, and categorized according to the data source used while processing, which allows unrestricted access with most data analysis software and it does not depend on specific …

Montana Resident Report: In-State And Out-Of-State Travel Q2 2024, Carter Bermingham, Megan Schultz, Matthew Pettigrew, Jayce Beck

Institute for Tourism and Recreation Research Publications

A summary of Montana residents’ self-reported travel behavior, both in-state and out-of-state, for 2024.

Extended State Infrastructure Power In An Age Of Networked Competition: The Cases Of Thailand And Taiwan, Sol Andrew Stokols, Justin Kollar

Research Collection College of Integrative Studies

Scholars have highlighted the emergence of infrastructure as a key domain in the struggle over network centrality in what some call the ‘Second Cold War’ between the U.S. and China. We qualify this ‘infrastructural turn’ by drawing attention to the contingent nature of state infrastructural power as depending on key domestic firms that often serve as intermediaries between domestic infrastructure and global supply chains or international partners. Utilising empirical case studies based on field research conducted between 2021 and 2023 in Thailand and Taiwan, we analyse the ways in which state infrastructure power is exercised through strategic negotiation between national …

Synchronizing Work And Teaching Practices With The Spatial Dna Of Distributed Work And Learning, Manju Aishwarya Adikesavan

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Phygitality, the seamless and synergistic integration of physical and digital realms, is an indispensable and irrevocable part of contemporary office-based work. Phygitality facilitates spatially and temporally distributed or multi-local working where employees work from diverse locations such as their home, office, and third places at any time of day or night. It also makes nonterritorial working at temporary workspaces accessed on a session-by-session basis possible.

This dissertation examines how phygital, multi-local, and nonterritorial working reshape individual and group work behaviors, organizational spatial practices, work-centric settings, non-work-centric settings, neighborhoods, cities, and regions. The Spatial DNA of Distributed Work encapsulates a conceptual …

Spatiotemporal Trends In Anopheles Funestus Breeding Habitats, Grace R. Aduvukha, Elfatih M. Abdel-Rahman, Bester Tawona Mudereri, Onisimo Mutanga, John Odindi, Henri E.Z. Tonnang

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Effective identification and control of malaria vector larval breeding habitats are crucial for the management and eradication of malaria. Despite its importance, the last decade has seen a decline in data availability and intervention efforts due to reduced attention and prioritization. This study addresses the geographic data scarcity concerning Anopheles funestus larval breeding habitats in a malaria-prone region of western Kenya. Employing a two-step methodological approach, we integrated multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) and rule-based fuzzy logic analysis to evaluate the spatiotemporal similarity or divergence of these habitats. The analysis spanned a five-year interval, 2008, 2013, and 2018 with 2013 serving …

Towards The Next Generation Of Geospatial Artificial Intelligence, Gengchen Mai, Yiqun Xie, Xiaowei Jia, Ni Lao, Jinmeng Rao, Qing Zhu, Zeping Liu, Yao-Yi Chiang, Jiao, Junfeng

Research Collection College of Integrative Studies

Geospatial Artificial Intelligence (GeoAI), as the integration of geospatial studies and AI, has become one of the fastest-developing research directions in spatial data science and geography. This rapid change in the field calls for a deeper understanding of the recent developments and envision where the field is going in the near future. In this work, we provide a quantitative analysis of the GeoAI literature from the spatial, temporal, and semantic aspects. We briefly discuss the history of AI and GeoAI by highlighting some pioneering work. Then we discuss the current landscape of GeoAI by selecting five representative subdomains including remote …

Gamification For Air Quality Education: A Systematic Literature Review, Abdollah Baghaei Daemei, Ruggiero Lovreglio, Zhenan Feng, Daniel Paes, Clayton Miller

Research Collection College of Integrative Studies

Air quality is crucial to our health and well-being, as poor air quality can lead to serious health problems such as asthma, allergies, and other respiratory conditions. Educating people about air quality is key to improving awareness and taking action to reduce its negative effects. Gamification offers a creative and engaging way to deliver educational content by incorporating game elements into the learning experience. However, despite its potential, there has been no review of how gamification has been used for air quality education. Thus, this review aims to fill that gap by systematically examining how gamification is applied to air …