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Title: Michigan State University Distinguished Professor Emeritus John M. Hunter talks about his reearch done in Africa
Creator: Hunter, John M. (John Melton), 1928-
Date: 2003-05-19
Collection: G. Robert Vincent Voice Library Collection
Description: Peter Limb, Michigan State University Librarian and Africana Bibliographer introduces David Robinson, University Distinguished Professor of History and David Wiley, Director of the MSU African Studies Center who both interview John M. Hunter, University Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Geography. Hunter tells of his field research in the Gold Coast, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Gambia, and Nigeria in the mid-1950s, while serving as an MSU professor abroad. He also discusses the census mapping...
Show morePeter Limb, Michigan State University Librarian and Africana Bibliographer introduces David Robinson, University Distinguished Professor of History and David Wiley, Director of the MSU African Studies Center who both interview John M. Hunter, University Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Geography. Hunter tells of his field research in the Gold Coast, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Gambia, and Nigeria in the mid-1950s, while serving as an MSU professor abroad. He also discusses the census mapping model he developed and used in Ghana in 1960, which was funded by UNESCO and became a model used in many African countries. Other topics covered include medical geography, socio-economic geography, river blindness, schistosomiasis, elephantiasis, guinea worm disease and seasonal hunger.
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Title: An assessment of the geographic knowledge and understandings of fifth grade students in Michigan
Creator: Bettis, Norman Clyde, 1938-
Date: 1974
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations

Title: USING EXISTING INFRASTRUCTURE AS GROUND CONTROL TO SUPPORT CITIZEN SCIENTIST COASTAL UAS MONITORING PROGRAMS
Creator: Rabins, Lucas Frederick
Date: 2022
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: Recent publications have described the ability of citizen scientists to conduct unoccupied aerial system (UAS) flights to collect data for coastal management. Ground control points (GCPs) can be collected to georeference these data, however collecting GCPs require expensive surveying equipment not accessible to citizen scientists. Instead, existing infrastructure can be used as naturally occurring GCPs (NGCPs), although availably of NGCP placement on such infrastructure differs from published...
Show moreRecent publications have described the ability of citizen scientists to conduct unoccupied aerial system (UAS) flights to collect data for coastal management. Ground control points (GCPs) can be collected to georeference these data, however collecting GCPs require expensive surveying equipment not accessible to citizen scientists. Instead, existing infrastructure can be used as naturally occurring GCPs (NGCPs), although availably of NGCP placement on such infrastructure differs from published best practices of GCP placement. This study therefore evaluates the achievable accuracy of sites georeferenced with NGCPs through an analysis of 20 diverse coastal sites. At most sites NGCPs produced horizontal and vertical root mean square errors (RMSE) less than 0.060 m which are similar to those obtained using traditional GCPs. To support future UAS citizen science coastal monitoring programs, an assessment to determine the optimal NGCP quantity and distribution was conducted for six coastal sites. Results revealed that generally at least seven NGCPs collected in the broadest distribution across the site will result in a horizontal and vertical RMSE less than 0.030 m and 0.075 m respectively. However, the relationship between these placement characteristics and RMSE was poor, indicating that georeferencing accuracy using NGCPs cannot be optimized solely through ideal quantity and distribution. The results of these studies highlight the value of NGCPs to support UAS citizen science coastal monitoring programs, however they also indicate a need for an initial accuracy assessment of sites surveyed with NGCPs at the onset of such programs.
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Title: KNOWLEDGE SPILLOVERS AND SAFE DRINKING WATER ACT COMPLIANCE
Creator: Redican, Kyle James
Date: 2022
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: In the wake of the 2014 Flint Water Crisis, researchers, regulators, and utility professionals have given increased attention to understanding drivers of (CWS) Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) compliance by community water systems (CWSs). Most of this research has only explored system traits while ignoring the vital role of human capital, especially the operator. The status of CWS operators can vary widely between different systems. More critically, scholars have not investigated how effective...
Show moreIn the wake of the 2014 Flint Water Crisis, researchers, regulators, and utility professionals have given increased attention to understanding drivers of (CWS) Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) compliance by community water systems (CWSs). Most of this research has only explored system traits while ignoring the vital role of human capital, especially the operator. The status of CWS operators can vary widely between different systems. More critically, scholars have not investigated how effective external linkages between CWS operators have impacted SDWA compliance. Drawing from the theories of Organizational Learning’s inter-organizational learning, Innovation Systems’ knowledge transfers, and Agglomeration Economics’ knowledge spillovers, I hypothesized that increased interactions between CWS operators, facilitated in part by geographic proximity, would lead to more information sharing, increased CWS performance, and fewer SDWA violations. Remarkably little is known about the drivers of inter-operator interactions or whether such interactions improve SDWA compliance, and this research helped fill the data gap through a large-sample survey of CWS operators in Michigan to capture the frequency of interactions along with a range of operator and system characteristics which may explain why some operators participate in more inter-operator interactions than others. With this novel dataset, along with publicly available system and community data, this research first investigated what endogenous operator characteristics were associated with more reported inter-operator interactions. Through multiple methods on reported operator interactions, the Utility and Contract operators and operators with memberships in professional organizations appear more likely to report more interactions than Non-Affiliated operators and all operators who were not members of professional organizations. Second, based on Tobler’s first law of geography, there should be some spatial autocorrelation in the number of reported interactions, and this was tested using variogram modeling. Observed spatial autocorrelation indicated location-based differences in the number of reported interactions. Third, we used multiple methods to explore the primary research question to identify endogenous and spatial drivers of reported inter-operator interactions. Multiple models found that rural districts had a higher probability of fewer SDWA violations with increased interactions, while the urban districts had the inverse relationship. Fourth, the research incorporated CWS-specific and operator-specific variables, as the operator-specific data were not independent of the CWS observations (since some operators run multiple CWSs). I used a Generalized Linear Mixed-Model to estimate these relationships accounted for the multiple levels and found that more interactions increased the probability of SDWA compliance for certain types of operators. The broader implications of this research encourage stakeholders to pursue more inter-operator interactions as a low-cost mechanism to increase SDWA compliance. Seven avenues to increase interactions are outlined, ranging from open operator contact lists to operator focus groups to identify common problems and solutions to creating a state-level operator mentorship program to support new operators.
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Title: The metacoupled Arctic and North Pacific : Analyzing the spatiotemporal patterns and impacts of marine vessel traffic in coupled human and natural systems
Creator: Kapsar, Kelly
Date: 2022
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: Climate change is causing Arctic and sub-Arctic systems to warm at twice the global average rate. Warming temperatures are leading to unprecedented rates of sea ice decline, which is shifting the migratory patterns of animals, increasing accessibility to natural resources, and spurring tourists to travel to the Arctic. Many of these changes have the potential to increase marine vessel traffic in the Arctic. Ships are a primary mode of transportation in the Arctic, which has many remote...
Show moreClimate change is causing Arctic and sub-Arctic systems to warm at twice the global average rate. Warming temperatures are leading to unprecedented rates of sea ice decline, which is shifting the migratory patterns of animals, increasing accessibility to natural resources, and spurring tourists to travel to the Arctic. Many of these changes have the potential to increase marine vessel traffic in the Arctic. Ships are a primary mode of transportation in the Arctic, which has many remote communities and a fragmented road network. Ships take resources, such as fish, ores, and oil and gas, from the Arctic to global markets, and also serve as lifelines, bringing essential supplies to isolated communities. While these vessels serve to connect distant social-ecological systems and support human wellbeing, they can also have detrimental effects on the ecosystems through which they travel. Noise pollution, habitat degradation, ship strikes, invasive species introduction, and oil spills are all potential consequences of vessel traffic. Knowledge of the movements of vessels in space and time is necessary to determine the role that vessels are playing within Arctic systems and quantify their impacts. This information is also needed to predict the consequences of different vessel traffic policies for Arctic communities, ecosystems, and the interactions between them. The purpose of this dissertation is to quantify the spatiotemporal patterns of vessel traffic in Arctic social-ecological systems and to relate these patterns to other system components, including sea ice and wildlife movements. In chapter 2, we review the existing Arctic coupled human and natural systems literature and apply the newly introduced framework of metacoupling to explore the connections among the coupled human and natural systems of the Arctic and between Arctic systems and distant systems. We suggest that applying the metacoupling framework would improve future studies of Arctic coupled human and natural systems by distinguishing between different external connections and their unique impacts on sustainability. In chapter 3, we create a new, six-year data set of vessel activities in the North Pacific and Pacific Arctic Oceans. We then use these data in a case study examining the spatiotemporal patterns of vessel movements in the Bering Strait Region. As the only route connecting the Pacific and Arctic Oceans, the Bering Strait is a critical corridor for marine vessel traffic and migratory animals. While most vessel traffic in the region is local, we find that transient vessel traffic, particularly fishing activities and transport along the Northern Sea Route, increased between 2015 and 2020. In chapter 4, we focus on the movements of marine vessels in the ice-covered waters of the Pacific Arctic. We find that movements in ice differ by vessel type, and that while vessel traffic declines with increasing sea ice concentration, the overall amount of vessel traffic in sea ice increased between 2015 and 2020. In chapter 5, we evaluate the resource selection decisions of an endangered marine predator, the Steller sea lion (Eumetopias jubatus), in relation to fishing and non-fishing vessel movements in a sub-Arctic system, the Gulf of Alaska. Our results illustrate that adult female Steller sea lions select areas away from fishing vessel activities at a weekly timescale. This finding supports the hypothesis that large fishing vessels may disturb Steller sea lions, with potential consequences for their fitness. This dissertation expands upon the metacoupling framework by building a foundational understanding of the transportation of metacoupled flows. This work also contributes to the growing body of knowledge of vessel movements and their impacts on marine systems, which can be applied to design policies that promote the sustainable use of marine systems in a changing world.
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Title: CLIMATIC VARIABILITY AND CHANGE IN THE MIDWESTERN UNITED STATES : IMPLICATIONS FOR NITROGEN LEACHING IN AGRICULTURAL SYSTEMS
Creator: Baule, William James
Date: 2022
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: How has the background climate of the Midwestern United States changed over recent decades and how has this affected nitrate leaching? These are the core questions addressed in this dissertation, through three self-contained studies focused on different aspects of the climate-agriculture interface in the Midwestern United States. In Chapter 2, statistical methods are used to quantify the solar radiation biases present in a widely used reanalysis-based hydrometeorological dataset over space,...
Show moreHow has the background climate of the Midwestern United States changed over recent decades and how has this affected nitrate leaching? These are the core questions addressed in this dissertation, through three self-contained studies focused on different aspects of the climate-agriculture interface in the Midwestern United States. In Chapter 2, statistical methods are used to quantify the solar radiation biases present in a widely used reanalysis-based hydrometeorological dataset over space, implement statistical bias correction and interpolation to address the spatial nature of this bias, and quantify the impacts of the solar radiation bias and proposed correction on simulated maize yields and water stress. Correction of reanalysis solar radiation alone brought simulated yield and water usage more in line with simulations forced with in-situ solar radiation. Chapter 3 examines changes in precipitation, utilizing a unique approach to station screening during the period 1951-2019 over a region encompassing the Great Lakes and broader Midwestern regions, of the United States. A multiple tier procedure was utilized to identify high quality input data series from the Global Historical Climatology Network-Daily dataset. Temporal and spatial trends were analyzed for a broad range of related annual and seasonal indicators ranging from accumulated totals and frequency of threshold events to event duration and potential linkages with total precipitable water. Our analyses confirm the results of previous studies while providing unique insights to data quality and seasonality. The trends of the indicators in our study exhibited more cohesive spatial patterns and temporal similarities when compared with studies with different quality control criteria, illustrating the importance of quality control of observations in climatic studies and highlighting the complexity of the changing character of precipitation. In Chapter 4, System Approach to Land Use Sustainability, a process-based crop model was applied with gridded soil and meteorological data using a yield stability zone concept to simulate corn and soybean production in 14 Midwestern states at the sub-field scale during the 1989-2019 period. Five zones based on multi-year yield stability were simulated for each field at 30m x 30m resolution, with zones being relative to each individual field. Outputs were evaluated using a nitrogen balance approach to establish zone-specific statistical distributions of nitrate leaching across the 14 states, specifically highlighting periods with changing and highly variable precipitation. Results indicate that low stable, unstable hill tops, and unstable slope zones are associated with an outsized contribution to overall nitrate leaching and that unstable zones exhibit variable year-to-year response to weather tied to their position in the landscape. Spatial analysis of the results suggests leaching is tied to precipitation variability, water stress, and total precipitation amount. In aggregate, the chapters presented here highlight the interconnectedness of the soil-plant-atmosphere continuum to changes in hydrologic regime and sensitivity to the biases in the data used to conduct analyses, run models, and from which conclusions are drawn. The study findings shed light on the potential for improved management of agricultural fields and illustrate how process-based crop models can be useful for designing management practices to reduce environmental pollution and increase profits to producers.
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Title: TEMPORAL LINKAGES BETWEEN NEARSHORE BATHYMETRY, SHORE ICE MORPHOLOGY, AND GEOMORPHIC CHANGE ALONG A COLD-CLIMATE COASTLINE
Creator: Hartley, Brittany M.
Date: 2022
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: The nearshore ice complex (NIC) though previously studied, has given researchers muddled conclusions when studies are compared, as the documented morphological response to ice presence has been varied. This blurriness of understanding promoted the opportunity for research, and with the availability of new and improved technology, an opportunity for high accuracy analysis also arises. This study showed that ice ridge location corresponded to the bar and trough system in lakebed morphology,...
Show moreThe nearshore ice complex (NIC) though previously studied, has given researchers muddled conclusions when studies are compared, as the documented morphological response to ice presence has been varied. This blurriness of understanding promoted the opportunity for research, and with the availability of new and improved technology, an opportunity for high accuracy analysis also arises. This study showed that ice ridge location corresponded to the bar and trough system in lakebed morphology, rather than just a nearshore bar or trough. Along with that, the ice presence lowered the overall elevation of the lakebed profile, and this promoted erosion throughout the remainder of the study period. During the entirety of the research study period, the most change that was documented was found between August and November 2020 due to a large, recoded storm event that moved through the study location.
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Title: A map of the Garden of Eden, before God destroy'd it with the flood
Date: 1738
Collection: Maps
Description: Map showing the Garden of Eden located inside a bend of a river formed by the confluences of the Hiddekel [Tigris], Perath [Euphrates], Pison [Pishon], and Gihon rivers, with the Tree of Life and Fountain of Life at its center.

Title: The water-energy-food nexus assessments of carbon neutral efforts
Creator: Xie, Yachen
Date: 2022
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: Efforts toward carbon neutrality are crucial for humans' well-being and the environment. Currently, two main ongoing carbon mitigation efforts are enhancing carbon sequestration and reducing carbon emissions. However, there are debates regarding the tradeoffs of these two efforts' related policies and action plans. This dissertation investigates and assesses the tradeoffs of carbon neutral efforts from a WEF nexus perspective. Three typical efforts were selected as assessment targets to...
Show moreEfforts toward carbon neutrality are crucial for humans' well-being and the environment. Currently, two main ongoing carbon mitigation efforts are enhancing carbon sequestration and reducing carbon emissions. However, there are debates regarding the tradeoffs of these two efforts' related policies and action plans. This dissertation investigates and assesses the tradeoffs of carbon neutral efforts from a WEF nexus perspective. Three typical efforts were selected as assessment targets to answer the overarching question of how carbon neutral efforts would affect the water-energy-food (WEF) nexus. The Chinese conversion of cropland to forestland program (CCFP) is representative of carbon sequestration. The hydropower development in MRB is an example of the energy transition to reduce emissions. The coal power industry is the coupling effort of energy transition and carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) applications in reducing carbon emissions. This dissertation consists of three main chapters, each corresponding to a journal article to address the three assessment targets. In Chapter 2, I evaluated the accomplishment of CCFP in China and its WEF nexus tradeoffs by applying remote sensing images from 2001 to 2019. The WEF assessment includes the transition matrix generation and the water yield calculation of the converted cropland and irrigation land. Indices related to WEF systems are also considered. In Chapter 3, a diagnostic approach with ten indicators was developed to assess the unilateral change's impacts on the WEF nexus. Using the diagnostic method, I provided statistical evidence of the benefits and tradeoffs of water, energy, food, economic prosperity, and the environment surrounding hydro dams in the Mekong River Basin. In Chapter 4, a scenario-based, life cycle coal power production assessment tool was proposed. By evaluating three portfolios or scenarios, the tradeoffs between reducing coal power production and CCUS application were revealed. This dissertation has successfully assessed the primary tradeoffs of carbon mitigation efforts from the WEF nexus perspective. The three studies can be wrapped up and come to three major conclusions: 1) The cons of major carbon mitigation efforts on WEF nexus and local sustainability exist, but not as speculated, especially for the CCFP and the hydropower dam construction. 2) The carbon neutral policies in China can accomplish their goals if adequately implemented. 3) The adaptive equilibrium between the CCUS application and coal power production reduction in China is crucial and needs to be better planned. The dissertation can enrich the carbon neutrality debate and fill gaps in the current literature on WEF nexus tradeoff studies on carbon mitigation by providing a remote-sensing approach and detailed coal modeling tools. The assessment tools proposed in Chapters 3 and 4 can be widely used by policymakers to understand better the tradeoffs regarding sustainability and WEF nexus in carbon neutral efforts.
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Title: “BLACK, SET, SPIKE : ” AN ANALYSIS OF THE RACIAL EXPERIENCES OF BLACK FEMALE VOLLEYBALL PLAYERS IN EUROPE
Creator: Fry, Jen
Date: 2022
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: Sports and geography each profoundly impact the lived and professional experiences of Black female athletes. These experiences also significantly shape their personal and professional identities, as both deal with the occupation of space and the way people move and interact in geographic spaces. Little attention has been paid by the academic and athletic communities to the lived experiences of professional athletes who play abroad. Currently, minimal research has been conducted on the...
Show moreSports and geography each profoundly impact the lived and professional experiences of Black female athletes. These experiences also significantly shape their personal and professional identities, as both deal with the occupation of space and the way people move and interact in geographic spaces. Little attention has been paid by the academic and athletic communities to the lived experiences of professional athletes who play abroad. Currently, minimal research has been conducted on the experiences of Black female volleyball players (BFVPs) who have played in Europe and how race, gender identity, space, and sports affected their lived experiences abroad based on their identities. This dissertation utilized qualitative methods to analyze the racial experiences of Black women who have played professional volleyball in Europe and whose experiences have not been documented within studies of geography—or, more specifically, within perspectives of Black feminist thought, Black geographies, and theory of racial space. The goal of this dissertation was twofold: (a) explore how intersecting racial and gendered identities, place, and space influenced the racism encountered by U.S. BFVPs in Europe; and (b) provide a source of information for future Black female college athletes who want to play professionally but do not know what they do not know. By developing a body of literature within sports geography on the overlooked and unresearched experiences of professional Black female athletes (BFAs), I contributed to the ever-increasing body of literature on BFAs across various disciplines. Some of the discoveries from my research were that BFVPs experienced racism in ways similar to what they experienced within the United States, such as being oversexualized, expected to play up racially stereotypical views of Black women, and having their hair touched without their consent. They also experienced racism in wildly different ways, such as being spit on, teammates withholding English skills, and accusations of prostitution. When conducting my research, a qualitative approach of a brief demographic survey of 15 questions was sent to over 100 current and former BFVPs; I used these data to narrow down participants. There was a response rate of more than 50%, which resulted in 60 women filling out the survey; of that population, 51 checked yes to interest in being interviewed, and nine checked no to denote no interest in being interviewed. Based on criteria of the number of years played, countries played in, and teams played for, I narrowed the sample to 18 participants willing to participate in qualitative interviews. The theoretical frameworks of Black feminist thought, Black geographies, and theory of racial space were used to understand the experiences of the participants and helped me create a new conceptual framework called critical Black feminist sports geographies.
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Title: IMPACTS OF DISTANT DRIVERS ON LANDSCAPES AND BIODIVERSITY
Creator: Hovis, Ciara Layne
Date: 2022
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: Global biodiversity is increasingly impacted by distant drivers. With societies more connected than ever before, natural resource consumption has expanded beyond administrative and political boundaries. International food trade in particular has profound impacts on land-use and socioeconomic and environmental outcomes. At the same time, global biodiversity is threatened at an unprecedented scale, with many of the causes obfuscated by complexities of distant, interacting socioecological...
Show moreGlobal biodiversity is increasingly impacted by distant drivers. With societies more connected than ever before, natural resource consumption has expanded beyond administrative and political boundaries. International food trade in particular has profound impacts on land-use and socioeconomic and environmental outcomes. At the same time, global biodiversity is threatened at an unprecedented scale, with many of the causes obfuscated by complexities of distant, interacting socioecological systems. Understanding the ultimate drivers of biodiversity change and translating them to local biodiversity outcomes is integral to addressing conservation challenges in the age of globalization. This dissertation analyzes the impacts of international trade on biodiversity in an agroecosystem undergoing land-use change driven by global markets. Chapter 1 provides background on the study region, Heilongjiang Province, and describes disruption of soybean production in the area due to changes in global trade. Chapter 2 is a systematic review of studies on distant drivers of biodiversity change. Across all taxa, harmful impacts on biodiversity were the most frequent outcome reported, with distant impacts of trade and tourism most frequently studied. In Chapter 3, satellite imagery was classified into landcover classes to create high-fidelity maps of the agriculture-dominated study landscape. By utilizing phenological, synthetic aperture radar, and vegetation/soil index data, accuracies of 91%- 80% were achieved. In Chapter 4 these landcover maps were used to calculate landscape metrics. These metrics were then used to analyze relationships between landscape structure (i.e., composition and configuration) and bird communities. Functional biodiversity indices derived from life history and morphological traits were examined in addition to taxonomic measures. Though no discernable differences between taxonomic and functional community metrics were observed, several significant relationships between landscape structure and biodiversity metrics were found. Crop diversity, natural landcover, and edge metrics, were positively correlated with bird richness. Aggregation of patches, corn area, and soybean area were negatively correlated. We also compared landscape structure and biodiversity between two regions impacted by global soybean trade. Despite the more impacted region having lower crop diversity and natural area, there was no difference in biodiversity between the two regions. The more impacted region also had more rice area, demonstrating that negative biodiversity impacts may be mitigated by rice cultivation. Chapter 5 built on the previous chapter by modeling bird occupancy to assess species-specific relationships with landscape structure. Results indicated that increased crop diversity significantly increased occupancy of birds at both the taxonomic and functional level, particularly for birds belonging to less common functional groups. Percentage of natural area was not as important as expected, while metrics related to landscape configuration had very few significant impacts on occupancy. Increases in rice area were not as detrimental to bird occupancy as increases in corn and soybean. In fact, soybean area exhibited more significant negative relationships with bird occurrence than corn, suggesting that decreases in soybean area due to global trade may have benefitted bird biodiversity in the case of a monocultural landscape. However, due to the prevalence of small-scale farming practices, the more likely outcome would be a decrease in crop diversity due to soybean fields being converted to more profitable crops (e.g., corn, rice). By linking global trade, changes in landcover/use, landscape structure, and local bird communities in the same context, the results of this dissertation highlight the need for integrated biodiversity studies that place ecosystems in the broader context of globalization.
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Title: EXPLORING NEIGHBORHOOD PATHWAYS TO HEALTH : AN INTEGRATED ANALYSIS ACROSS SCALES
Creator: Rzotkiewicz, Amanda T.
Date: 2018
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: This research is a synthesis and discussion of two papers that apply diverse geographic techniques to closely examine neighborhoods and health, introduced in Chapter 1. Chapter 2 is titled, “Systematic review of the use of Google Street View in health research: Sampling, exposure assessment, prevention or monitoring, and health policy compliance” and of 54 studies qualifying for the review, one (2%) utilized GSV for sampling, forty-four (82%) for exposure assessment, and six (11%) for policy...
Show moreThis research is a synthesis and discussion of two papers that apply diverse geographic techniques to closely examine neighborhoods and health, introduced in Chapter 1. Chapter 2 is titled, “Systematic review of the use of Google Street View in health research: Sampling, exposure assessment, prevention or monitoring, and health policy compliance” and of 54 studies qualifying for the review, one (2%) utilized GSV for sampling, forty-four (82%) for exposure assessment, and six (11%) for policy monitoring. Most studies reported considerable benefits of GSV, when compared to non-virtual methods, through the reduction of research time and costs, making it a promising tool for automated environmental assessment for health research. Chapter 3 explores a relatively novel pathway to health (the microbiome) and is titled, “Evaluating the relationship between neighborhood vegetation and the human microbiome: implications for green space-health research”. Neighborhood vegetation scores and impervious surface area were compared to the microbial genera and biodiversity of the mouth, ears, eyes, nose and rectum (a surrogate of the gut) human microbiomes of postmortem residents of Wayne County, Michigan (n = 98). Relationships between neighborhood greenness and microbial composition varied by neighborhood size and area of the body. Results suggest that each body area is a unique microbial niche that interacts with the environment in different ways, an important consideration for targeted modification of the microbial environment. Overall, this research illustrates how an integrated analysis of neighborhoods and health has the potential to improve both health research and public policy across a wide range of geographic contexts and scales.
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Title: Understanding the Spatial Concentration of Fatal and Non-Fatal Shootings Through Social Disorganization and Collective Efficacy Theory
Creator: Magee, Lauren A.
Date: 2018
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: Firearm violence continues to plague American cities across the United States. For example, the overall homicide rate was 5.3 per 100,000 in 2016 (Federal Bureau of Investigation, 2016). More simply stated, over five people become victims of lethal violence per 100,000 people across the country. Research demonstrates that firearm violence is higher in areas of social disadvantage and clusters in neighborhoods with high levels of socioeconomic disadvantage (Cohen & Tita, 1999; Rosenfeld, Bray,...
Show moreFirearm violence continues to plague American cities across the United States. For example, the overall homicide rate was 5.3 per 100,000 in 2016 (Federal Bureau of Investigation, 2016). More simply stated, over five people become victims of lethal violence per 100,000 people across the country. Research demonstrates that firearm violence is higher in areas of social disadvantage and clusters in neighborhoods with high levels of socioeconomic disadvantage (Cohen & Tita, 1999; Rosenfeld, Bray, Egley, 1999). Neighborhood and crime researchers have historically focused on the macro level of analysis when studying crime within and across neighborhoods, but more recent research displays that crime spatially clusters at the micro level (Braga et al., 2010, Weisburd et al., 2004). It is still unclear if specific measures of neighborhood characteristics, such as collective efficacy influences crime at the street segment level (Braga and Clark, 2014). Similarly, much firearm research is based on homicide incidents and omits more common non-fatal shootings. This study addresses these limitations by including both the macro (i.e., census tract) and micro (i.e., street segment) levels of analyses and includes both fatal and non-fatal shootings. Using the theoretical framework of social disorganization theory and collective efficacy theory, this research seeks to examine how fatal and non-fatal shootings cluster across neighborhoods, examine the patterns of disorder and disadvantage across neighborhoods and street segments, and improve the construct of collective efficacy through a unique measurement system. The study examines over 1500 fatal and non-fatal shootings in Indianapolis, Indiana, over a three-year time period. Independent measures of neighborhood disadvantage are drawn from the US Census Bureau, as well as a unique dataset from the City of Indianapolis. The data measures for disorder and collective efficacy allow for analyses at the neighborhood and street segment level. Descriptive statistics explain where fatal and non-fatal shootings cluster across the city and generalized hierarchical linear modeling was conducted to explain how disorder, social disadvantage and collective efficacy correlate with firearm violence. Results suggest fatal and non-fatal shootings cluster at both the neighborhood and street segment level and including non-fatal shootings into the study of gun violence gives a more robust picture of where firearm violence is occurring within the community. Additionally, community level measures vary at the street segment level when accounting for neighborhood levels of poverty. These findings have both methodological and policy implications that contribute to the study of communities and crime and firearm violence.
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Title: MEASURING AND MODELING THE EFFECTS OF SEA LEVEL RISE ON NEAR-COASTAL RIVERINE REGIONS : A GEOSPATIAL COMPARISON OF THE SHATT AL-ARAB RIVER IN SOUTHERN IRAQ WITH THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER DELTA IN SOUTHERN LOUISIANA, USA.
Creator: Kadhim, Ameen Awad
Date: 2018
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: There is a growing debate among scientists on how sea level rise (SLR) will impact coastal environments, particularly in countries where economic activities are sustained along these coasts. An important factor in this debate is how best to characterize coastal environmental impacts over time. This study investigates the measurement and modeling of SLR and effects on near-coastal riverine regions. The study uses a variety of data sources, including satellite imagery from 1975 to 2017, digital...
Show moreThere is a growing debate among scientists on how sea level rise (SLR) will impact coastal environments, particularly in countries where economic activities are sustained along these coasts. An important factor in this debate is how best to characterize coastal environmental impacts over time. This study investigates the measurement and modeling of SLR and effects on near-coastal riverine regions. The study uses a variety of data sources, including satellite imagery from 1975 to 2017, digital elevation data and previous studies. This research is focusing on two of these important regions: southern Iraq along the Shatt Al-Arab River (SAR) and the southern United States in Louisiana along the Mississippi River Delta (MRD). These sites are important for both their extensive low-lying land and for their significant coastal economic activities. The dissertation consists of six chapters. Chapter one introduces the topic. Chapter two compares and contrasts bothregions and evaluates escalating SLR risk. Chapter three develops a coupled human and natural system (CHANS) perspective for SARR to reveal multiple sources of environmental degradation in this region. Alfa century ago SARR was an important and productive region in Iraq that produced fruits like dates, crops, vegetables, and fish. By 1975 the environment of this region began to deteriorate, and since then, it is well-documented that SARR has suffered under human and natural problems. In this chapter, I use the CHANS perspective to identify the problems, and which ones (human or natural systems) are especially responsible for environmental degradation in SARR. I use several measures of ecological, economic, and social systems to outline the problems identified through the CHANS framework. SARR has experienced extreme weather changes from 1975 to 2017 resulting in lower precipitation (-17mm) and humidity (-5.6%), higher temperatures (1.6 C), and sea level rise, which are affecting the salinity of groundwater and Shatt Al Arab river water. At the same time, human systems in SARR experienced many problems including eight years of war between Iraq and Iran, the first Gulf War, UN Security Council imposed sanctions against Iraq, and the second Gulf War. I modeled and analyzed the regions land cover between 1975 and 2017 to understand how the environment has been affected, and found that climate change is responsible for what happened in this region based on other factors. Chapter four constructs and applies an error propagation model to elevation data in the Mississippi River Delta region (MRDR). This modeling both reduces and accounts for the effects of digital elevation model (DEM) error on a bathtub inundation model used to predict the SLR risk in the region. Digital elevation data is essential to estimate coastal vulnerability to flooding due to sea level rise. Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) 1 Arc-Second Global is considered the best free global digital elevation data available. However, inundation estimates from SRTM are subject to uncertainty due to inaccuracies in the elevation data. Small systematic errors in low, flat areas can generate large errors in inundation models, and SRTM is subject to positive bias in the presence of vegetation canopy, such as along channels and within marshes. In this study, I conduct an error assessment and develop statistical error modeling for SRTM to improve the quality of elevation data in these at-risk regions. Chapter five applies MRDR-based model from chapter four to enhance the SRTM 1 Arc-Second Global DEM data in SARR. As such, it is the first study to account for data uncertainty in the evaluation of SLR risk in this sensitive region. This study transfers an error propagation model from MRDR to the Shatt al-Arab river region to understand the impact of DEM error on an inundation model in this sensitive region. The error propagation model involves three stages. First, a multiple regression model, parameterized from MRDR, is used to generate an expected DEM error surface for SARR. This surface is subtracted from the SRTM DEM for SARR to adjust it. Second, residuals from this model are simulated for SARR: these are mean-zero and spatially autocorrelated with a Gaussian covariance model matching that observed in MRDR by convolution filtering of random noise. More than 50 realizations of error were simulated to make sure a stable result was realized. These realizations were subtracted from the adjusted SRTM to produce DEM realizations capturing potential variation. Third, the DEM realizations are each used in bathtub modeling to estimate flooding area in the region with 1 m of sea level rise. The distribution of flooding estimates shows the impact of DEM error on uncertainty in inundation likelihood, and on the magnitude of total flooding. Using the adjusted DEM realizations 47 ± 2 percent of the region is predicted to flood, while using the raw SRTM DEM only 28% of the region is predicted to flood.
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Title: Toward the detection of landscape features : clustering 3D points using spatial and thematic characteristics
Creator: Romero, Boleslo Edward
Date: 2010
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: ABSTRACTTOWARD THE DETECTION OF LANDSCAPE FEATURES:CLUSTERING 3D POINTS USING SPATIAL AND THEMATIC CHARACTERISTICSByBoleslo Edward RomeroThe study of Geography generally concerns phenomena at or near the surface of the earth. High resolutions of 3D quantitative and qualitative data can represent such phenomena as objects or fields. The data can be grouped to reveal representations of contiguous regions of spatial and thematic homogeneity. My thesis is concerned with finding groups of 3D...
Show moreABSTRACTTOWARD THE DETECTION OF LANDSCAPE FEATURES:CLUSTERING 3D POINTS USING SPATIAL AND THEMATIC CHARACTERISTICSByBoleslo Edward RomeroThe study of Geography generally concerns phenomena at or near the surface of the earth. High resolutions of 3D quantitative and qualitative data can represent such phenomena as objects or fields. The data can be grouped to reveal representations of contiguous regions of spatial and thematic homogeneity. My thesis is concerned with finding groups of 3D points with similar locations, spatial relationships, and thematic values of spectral reflectance. To accomplish this successfully, I synthesized elements of two geographic theories: point aggregation from cartographic generalization and hierarchical geographic ontology. My experimental design used synthetic 3D point data with spectral values. I employed the multi-dimensional Mean Shift clustering technique from the discipline of Computer Vision, and adapted a 3D range image segmentation accuracy assessment technique. I also contributed new techniques for segmentation quality assessment including two area under the curve indices and the development of new segmentation surface plots. Experimental evaluations included comparisons of the Mean Shift results with K-means clustering results, spatial resolution results, noise evaluation results, and the results of an alternative color configuration. I modified the variable sets to address uneven lighting conditions and employed the experimental methods to grouping real-world terrestrial LiDAR scan data. Though my new spatial relationship variable needs improvement, the methods yielded groups of points representing features in the LiDAR data and provided evidence of the potential for grouping richly attributed 3D points that represent geographic features.
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Title: Small-multiples and animation : measuring user performance with wildfire visualization
Creator: Socia, Kristie Marie
Date: 2011
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: Recent investigations in cognitive psychology and cartography have examined the communicative efficiency of animation and static small-multiple visualizations on knowledge construction and apprehension. In theory, animation may be the most congruent method to represent a dynamic geographic process. However, some have suggested that cartographic animations are too complex and transient, making them difficult to comprehend. Others have demonstrated that static small-multiples facilitate...
Show moreRecent investigations in cognitive psychology and cartography have examined the communicative efficiency of animation and static small-multiple visualizations on knowledge construction and apprehension. In theory, animation may be the most congruent method to represent a dynamic geographic process. However, some have suggested that cartographic animations are too complex and transient, making them difficult to comprehend. Others have demonstrated that static small-multiples facilitate comprehension, inference and learning and afford map-readers interactive capabilities that are unavailable in most conventional animations. This thesis empirically investigates the influences of map-design and temporal resolution on apprehension and inference affordance, in the context of wildfire visualization. A human-subjects experiment was conducted to measure participants task accuracy, response time, and confidence between animated and small-multiple maps. The results reveal the importance of both map design and temporal resolution; small-multiples and fine temporal resolution maps elicit more accurate and more confident responses from readers. While participants performed better with the small-multiple maps, they prefer to view animated maps. The results of this research suggest that map type is an important factor that influences response time, while temporal resolution is significant for accuracy and confidence yet inversely related to participants overall map preference.
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Title: Science in the digital age : overcoming uncertainty and the adoption of Volunteered Geographic Information for science
Creator: Langley, Shaun Arthur
Date: 2014
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: With the advent of Web 2.0, the public is becoming increasingly interested in spatial data exploration. The potential for Volunteered Geographic Information (VGI) to be adopted for Science through collaborations between researchers and non-scientists is of special interest to me. In particular, mobile devices and wireless communication permit the public to be more involved in research to a greater degree. Furthermore, the accuracy of these devices is rapidly improving, allowing me to address...
Show moreWith the advent of Web 2.0, the public is becoming increasingly interested in spatial data exploration. The potential for Volunteered Geographic Information (VGI) to be adopted for Science through collaborations between researchers and non-scientists is of special interest to me. In particular, mobile devices and wireless communication permit the public to be more involved in research to a greater degree. Furthermore, the accuracy of these devices is rapidly improving, allowing me to address questions of uncertainty and error in data collections. Cooperation between researchers and the public integrates themes common to VGI and PGIS (Participatory Geographic Information) to bring about a new paradigm in GIScience. This dissertation discusses VGI in the context of a new paradigm, eScience, and the broader framework of Neogeography. I discuss current issues with data quality and uncertainty regarding VGI and detail one approach to quality credibility of the data. Finally, the dissertation outlines the framework for utilizing VGI in the context of case study in disease ecology for the purpose of surveillance of tsetse flies, the primary vector of African Trypanosomiasis. My system allows for two-way communication between researchers and the public for data collection, analysis, and the ultimate dissemination of results. Enhancing the role of the public to participate in these types of projects can improve both the efficacy of disease surveillance as well as stimulating greater interest in science.
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Title: Survival geography of tropical South America
Creator: McGuire, Martin E.
Date: 1964
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations

Title: USING THE “KITE” FRAMEWORK FOR UNDERSTANDING LANDSCAPE CHANGE AND IMPROVING EAST AFRICAN AGRICULTURAL SYSTEMS UNDER CLIMATE CHANGE
Creator: Wanyama, Dan
Date: 2021
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: The Mount Elgon Ecosystem (MEE), an important hydrological and socio-economic area in East Africa, has exhibited significant landscape changes, driven by both natural factors and human activities, therefore leading to more frequent natural disasters (frequent and extended droughts, floods, and landslides). Yet, few studies have focused on the MEE socio-ecological system; no comprehensive knowledge exists of how humans and nature interact, at multiple scales, to drive ecosystem-wide landscape...
Show moreThe Mount Elgon Ecosystem (MEE), an important hydrological and socio-economic area in East Africa, has exhibited significant landscape changes, driven by both natural factors and human activities, therefore leading to more frequent natural disasters (frequent and extended droughts, floods, and landslides). Yet, few studies have focused on the MEE socio-ecological system; no comprehensive knowledge exists of how humans and nature interact, at multiple scales, to drive ecosystem-wide landscape changes. This dissertation focuses on three interrelated questions: (1.) What is the nature and magnitude of change in MEE greenness for the period 2001-2018, and how is this change related to long-term trends and variability in MEE precipitation? (2.) How is ecological and environmental (eco-environmental) vulnerability distributed across the MEE, and what are the major factors driving these patterns? and (3.) How will the MEE landscape change in the future, and what opportunities exist for streamlining livelihood improvement and environmental conservation efforts?Study 1 characterized comprehensively, over multiple time scales, recent patterns and trends in MEE vegetation greening and browning. The MEE was found to exhibit significant variability in vegetation dynamics and precipitation regimes. There was persistent greening and browning at different time scales and this change was attributed to both natural factors (including changing precipitation) and anthropogenic factors (especially the vegetation-to-cropland conversion). The study also concluded that MEE precipitation had increased substantially in the post-2000 era, which influenced greening and browning patterns observed in the 2006-2010 period. The integration of Mann–Kendall, Sen’s slope and bfast (breaks for additive season and trend) proved useful in comprehensively characterizing recent changes in vegetation greenness within the MEE. Study 2 examined eco-environmental vulnerability for the MEE using freely available remote sensing (RS), topographic, and socio-economic data. The study found that the majority of the MEE (comprising savannas, grasslands, and most of the agricultural land in Ugandan MEE) was moderately vulnerable based on the analysis methods and variables used. The eco-environmental vulnerability index (EEVI) showed a marked increase in vulnerability with decrease in elevation. Eco-environmental vulnerability was strongly associated with multi-year variables based on precipitation, temperature, and population density. Moreover, precipitation distribution was changing especially in the wet season, thus adding another layer of risk for agriculture and ultimately for local community livelihoods.Study 3 simulated possible future land use changes in the MEE based on existing RS LULC products and a well-known land use change model. The study projected that agriculture will possibly expand from approximately 58% in 2001 to more than 64% in 2033 if current and future LULC transformation follows rates in 2001-2017. These new croplands will occur mostly around edges of the protected forest and zones of transition between mixed vegetation and existing croplands. Due to the unpredictable LULC transitions in the MEE, simulating forest-to-cropland conversion was less accurate compared to mixed-to-cropland conversion. This research provides a more complete explanation of the underlying complex human-environment interactions shaping the MEE landscape. This is the first study to comprehensively assess landscape dynamics at multiple scales (10-day, 16-day, monthly, seasonal, and household). It is also the first to define and assess at the annual scale, eco-environmental vulnerability as influenced by climate, topographic and socio-economic variables. In addition, by simulating future LULC change, this research provides the opportunity to quantify and anticipate possible LULC changes in the MEE. This research relies on publicly available RS and geospatial datasets and therefore analyses conducted here can easily be translated to other similar regions.
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Title: INVESTIGATING UGANDA’S HIGH HIV INCIDENCE AMONG YOUNG WOMEN IN AN ERA OF WIDESPREAD GAINS IN HIV PREVENTION AND TREATMENT
Creator: Namanya, Judith
Date: 2021
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: This dissertation examines the factors driving risky sexual behavior associated with reported high numbers of new HIV infections among young women in Uganda, using Mbarara District as a case study. Using the modified Social Ecological Model for Young Women’s Vulnerability to HIV Infection, the study investigates the contextual and broader structural factors, their interactions within and across multiple levels, and how they influence the sexual behaviors of individual young women in ways that...
Show moreThis dissertation examines the factors driving risky sexual behavior associated with reported high numbers of new HIV infections among young women in Uganda, using Mbarara District as a case study. Using the modified Social Ecological Model for Young Women’s Vulnerability to HIV Infection, the study investigates the contextual and broader structural factors, their interactions within and across multiple levels, and how they influence the sexual behaviors of individual young women in ways that increase their vulnerability to contracting HIV. The objectives of the study are: 1) Evaluate individual-level factors associated with sexual risk-taking behavior, specifically having unprotected sex, among young women ages 15-35 years; 2) Describe contextual and broader structural factors that make young women vulnerable to HIV-related risky sexual behaviors, and assess how these contextual factors interact with individual-level factors in ways that perpetuate high levels of HIV infection; and 3) Re-examine the connection between poverty and other economic factors to risky sexual behavior and vulnerability in the context of high HIV transmission among young women. The study used mixed qualitative and quantitative methods, combining household surveys, focus group discussions, key informant interviews, and in-depth interviews. Household survey results show that risky sexual behavior i.e., having sex without a condom, is still high (over 48%) among the unmarried young women ages 15-35 years. Engagement in unprotected sex increased by age, with young adults reporting more unprotected sex encounters than adolescent girls. Those with primary or some secondary education were at an increased risk of having unprotected sex. Surprisingly, women with tertiary education were at higher risk of engaging in unprotected sex than those who had completed secondary education. Negative binomial regression analyses show that women with no employment and those with part-time employment were at an increased risk for unprotected sex compared to those with low paying but stable employment. These findings on education and HIV risk call for a careful reexamination of the link between higher education and HIV vulnerability to inform policy. Education policies and interventions need to focus on curricula that incorporate entrepreneurial skills at different educational levels from primary to college. Keeping girls in school under the protective eye of parents, guardians and teachers is key in reducing exposure to unprotected sex among young girls. Findings from the qualitative analysis revealed that sociocultural and structural factors, including social norms (premarital sex as taboo, early marriage pressures, subornation of girls and women), youth unfriendly HIV services (e.g., long waiting times, rude and unprofessional clinic staff), high unemployment rates, sexual harassment, exploitation by male employers, and discrimination were key factors perceived to drive risky sexual behavior in relation to HIV contraction among young women. The findings show that while many young women, especially those with children, engaged in risky transactional sexual behavior to meet basic needs, many younger women, including college-level ones, did so to meet materialistic wants and to fit-in with peers. Widespread availability of antiretroviral drugs (ARVs) caused complacency among young people. HIV was no longer perceived as life threatening due to ARVs, which prevent progression into full-blown AIDS, morbidity and death. In fact, some young women were more scared of getting pregnant than contracting HIV. We suggest that efforts to reduce new HIV infections among young women and young men should target individual risk perception, and balance HIV treatment and prevention messages. Findings reveal a complex mix of dynamic and interacting factors operating at different levels that create context specific sexual behavioral risk socioscapes that sustain or accentuate the high rates of new HIV infections among the young women. Using a Social Ecological Model for Young Women’s Vulnerability to HIV as a guiding framework, we contend that efforts for addressing the high HIV infections among young women, including sexual behavioral change interventions, economic empowerment programs, should not only aim at individual women but also target factors operating at the sociocultural and structural levels.
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