In Ghana, spatial patterns of TB vary for different regions and variations may occur within the same region. This study examines TB distribution in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana using Geographic Information Systems (GIS). Behavioral, cultural and economic variables associated with TB morbidity are examined. From January 1998 to June 1999, data obtained from the Ghana Ministry of Health revealed that, men had a higher TB rate than women, TB was common among the age groups 20-29 and 30-39, and the average TB rate of 67.7 per 100, 000 population in the Greater Accra Region was higher than the national average (58.6 per 100,000 population). Using the human ecology model, this study attempts to explain the spatial distribution of the disease.

ArcView and ArcInfo were used to identify and delineate areas contaminated by fluoride, sulfate, chloride, and nitrate in the Woodbine Aquifer. Water analysis data were obtained from the TWDB from the 1950s to 1990s covering 9 counties. 1990s land use data were obtained to determine the relationship with each contaminant. Spearman's rank correlation coefficients and Kruskal-Wallis tests were used to calculate relationships between variables. Land uses had little effect on distributions of contaminants. Sulfate and fluoride levels were most problematic in the aquifer. Depth and lithology controlled the distributions of each contaminant. Nitrate patterns were controlled mainly by land use rather than geology, but were below the maximum contaminant level. In general, contaminant concentrations have decreased since the 1950s.

This study utilized geographic information systems, remote sensing, and infrared-triggered cameras to assess white-tailed deer habitat in Denton County, Texas. Denton County is experiencing tremendous growth in both population and development. Despite their presence here historically, white-tailed deer were all but extirpated by the beginning of the 20th century, and there are no data available which support their presence in Denton County again until the 1980's. This study attempts to equate the increase in white-tailed deer population to Denton County's transformation from an agricultural to an urban economy and lifestyle. Eighteen sites were chosen throughout the county to research the following metrics: geology, soils, landcover, landscape ecology, streams, shorelines, land use, population, roads, structures, and census methods.

Storm water sediment runoff from disturbed landscapes has the potential to impair aquatic environments. Small construction sites of 1-5 acres in the United States are currently regulated by the United States Environmental Protection Agency to minimize storm water runoff damages to the environment. Gas well construction sites are similar to other construction sites in how the landscape is altered, but are not similarly regulated. This study identified sediment runoff from gas well development sites by collecting it in traps and weirs, and by measuring sediment debris lobes. Sediment primarily consisted of silt and clay sized particles. Sediments from two gas well sites formed five debris lobes that ranged in size from 325 to 3,290 square feet. Sediment loadings estimated from the debris lobes averaged 57.1 tons per year/acre. Future studies should focus on further quantification of sediment movement off of gas well sites and identify effective erosion control methods.

The United States has the highest teen birth rate among western industrialized countries and the highest levels of pregnancy among adolescents (Alan Guttmacher Institute, 1994). While the rate of teen births is high throughout the country, considerable variations exist between and within regions. Texas is one of the 5 leading states with the highest teen birth rates to mothers less than 18 years of age. This research provides a detailed analysis of births to mothers aged between 10 and 19 years in North Central Texas counties. Due to the modifiable area unit problem and to provide a finer geographical scale of analysis, teen births in Dallas County zip codes were examined as a special case study. Statistical and Geographic Information System (GIS) analysis reveal that race/ethnicity, education and income are significant factors in teen births in the region. Single parent households and receipt of public assistance were not statistically significant. Suggestions for reducing vulnerability to teen births are presented.

This thesis is an analysis and synthesis of the geologic and archaeological history of the Dickie Carr site, 41PR26, on Mill Creek in north central Texas. Included are analyses of the stratigraphy, sedimentary environments, and soils of the locality. A regional comparison is made with respect to the Late Quaternary geology of the upper Trinity River basin, Texas to interpret the geologic data. Two stratigraphic units were identified that record the Pleistocene-Holocene transition. The buried lower unit is comprised of terrace, floodplain, and channel deposits with extensive pedogenesis. The unit is Late Pleistocene in age and contains the remains of Mammuthus columbi. The upper stratigraphic unit is comprised of terrace and floodplain sediments with well-expressed pedogenesis. The unit is Early Holocene in age with Late Paleoindian and Late Archaic occupations. The archaeological components are compared and contrasted with documented sites from the Elm and East Forks of the Trinity River. The occupations are examined in a geoarchaeological context. The Late Paleoindian occupation is post-depositional and located in terrace deposits. The Late Archaic occupation is syndepositional and located in floodplain deposits.

Mycobacterium ulcerans is sweeping across sub-Saharan Africa, but little is known about the mode of transmission and its natural reservoirs. Since the only effective treatment is excision of the infection and surrounding tissue, early diagnosis and treatment is the only way to reduce the havoc associated with Buruli ulcer. Using data from a national case search survey conducted in Ghana during 2000 and suspected risk factors this study tests the hypothesized factors and probes the challenges of developing a spatial epidemiological regression model to explain Buruli ulcer prevalence in the southwestern region of Ghana representing 42 districts. Results suggest that prevalence is directly related to the degree of land cover classified as soil, elevation differential, and percent rural population of the area.

This study utilized GIS and statistical methods to map the spatial variability of nitrate and related groundwater constituents in 30 counties above the Seymour Aquifer, analyze temporal patterns of nitrate pollution, identify probable sources of pollution, and recommend water development strategies to minimize exposure to nitrate and reduce future aquifer contamination. Nitrate concentrations in excess of 44 mg/L (US EPA limit) were commonly observed in the Seymour Aquifer region, especially in the central agricultural belt. Data indicated that this is an ongoing problem in the Seymour Aquifer and that agricultural activity and rural septic systems are the likely sources of the nitrate. Inconclusive results emphasized the need for a more comprehensive spatial and temporal water quality monitoring.

Mass transit investments continue to be utilized in many cities as means of dealing with various transportation issues. In Dallas Texas, light rail transit was developed with the hopes of encouraging compact and orderly growth. This research uses the DART system as a case study in examining transportation/land use relationships in Dallas. As such, this thesis reviews past research that examined transit systems impacts on urban areas, analyzes historical changes in land use pattern development around the existing twenty stations of the DART light rail starter system, and summarizes the progression of land use trends in the transit corridor as they relate to DART impacts. Results of this study suggest that DART's light rail system has been an effective tool used in achieving the transportation and land use goals for the region. Finally, recommendations are presented with respect to what can be expected for future light rail development in Dallas.

Retail geography is a field of study that is growing in significance and importance within the academic, business, economic, and governmental realms. This study's main focus is on the changing retail environment with regards to business location and function within a small Midwestern city. The research focuses on Port Huron, Michigan because of the growth and shift of the retail community within the city over the past twenty years. The study specifically examines the changing influence and roles of Port Huron's central business district and of Birchwood Mall a retail development opened on the urban area's north end in 1990. The study uses the chi-squared, ANOVA, and cross tabulation statistical tests to analyze the changing geography of retail functions in the city. These statistics are used along with relative entropy equations to distinguish areas of high diversification, changing area functions, and common locations for multiple retail types.

This thesis analyses major U.S. military bases closed by the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) Commission since 1988. The study focuses on geographic patterns of pre-existing versus BRAC bases, statistical attributes, environmental restoration, and reuse of bases. Comparative case studies supplement the analysis, highlighting rural versus urban location, success versus failure, politics, conflict, and local versus national goals. Thesis findings are that: 92 bases closed versus 97 commonly published; a fairly even national closure pattern occurred, indicating Commission efforts to achieve equity, except for three closure clusters indicating efforts to consolidate functions in some regions and leave others; base reuse, while commonly perceived negatively, has been positive in most cases; the BRAC process is becoming more efficient, such that allowed years between BRAC closure decisions and base closures should be reduced from six to three years to benefit both communities and the Defense Department.

Archaeologically site catchment analysis produces valuable information regarding prehistoric subsistence strategies and social organization. Incorporating archaeological data into catchment analyses is an effective strategy to develop regional models of prehistoric site selection and settlement patterns. Digital access to data permits the incorporation of multiple layers of information into the process of synthesizing regional archaeology and interpreting corresponding spatial patterning. GIS software provides a means to integrate digital environmental and archaeological data into an effective tool. Resultant environmental archaeology maps facilitate interpretive analysis. To fulfill the objectives of this thesis, GIS software is employed to construct site catchment areas for archaeological sites and to implement multivariate statistical analyses of physical and biological attributes of catchments in correlation with assemblage data from sites. Guided by ecological, anthropological and geographical theories hypotheses testing evaluates patterns of prehistoric socio-economic behavior. Analytical results are summarized in a model of prehistoric settlement patterns in North Central Texas.

Tree diameter data from 29 years of observations in six permanent plots was used to calculate the growth rate parameter of the FACET gap model for 39 species in the Imataca forests in Venezuela. The compound topographic index was used as a measure of differential soil water conditions and was calculated using geographic information systems. Growth rate values and topographic conditions typical of hill and valley were input to FACET to simulate dynamics at the species level and by ecological and functional groups. Species shade-tolerance led to expected successional patterns. Drought-tolerant/saturation-intolerant species grew in the hills whereas drought-intolerant/saturation-tolerant species occurred in the valleys. The results help to understand forest composition in the future and provide guidance to forest management practices.

Advocates of urban light rail transit argue that positive developments around station area(s) should offset the costs of implementing a transit system by creating more livable communities and enhance surrounding residential property values. In some cases, decreased urban landscape aesthetics have been reported. The purpose of this study is to contribute to this debate via an analysis of the impact of the Dallas Area Rapid Transit system on residential property values in Dallas County. By examining the impact of distance on property values of two features of the DART system: the transit station and the rail line, and by holding a series of structural variables constant, a net change in value can be calculated using a multi-regression model.

This study analyzes the proposed passenger rail line expansion along US Interstate Highway 35 in Denton County, Texas. A multi-dimensional approach was used to investigate potential environmental justice (EJ) consequences from the expansion of the transportation corridor. This study used empirical and historical evidence to identify and prioritize sites for potential EJ concerns. Citizen participation in the decision making process was also evaluated. The findings of this research suggest that the southeast Denton community has the highest potential for environmental justice concerns. This study concludes by offering suggestions for an effective public participation process. These include the incorporation of a community's local history into an environmental justice assessment, and tailoring the public planning process to the demographics and culture of the residents.

The success of independent rock music ("indie rock"), once a marginalized sub-genre of the rock idiom and now a globally recognized cultural force, has impacted the urban landscape of Omaha, Nebraska via the mixed-use urban redevelopment project, "Slowdown" - a result of cultural production by the city's successful indie rock business entities. While geographic research has previously analyzed urban redevelopment initiated by fine artists, the event of indie rock music being a catalyst for urban redevelopment has never been considered in a geographic scope. By examining the topics of affordable technological tools, Omaha's reduced cost-of-living, and cooperative efforts by city leaders, insight into how an indie rock "scene" can become a successful urban redevelopment catalyst is gained.

Jamaica has an abundance of freshwater resources, however, a lack of infrastructure makes treated, piped water inaccessible in many areas. Through literature reviews and site visits, this thesis is an analysis of how the people and land, and money and policy, interact with one another in relation to Jamaica's freshwater resources and water infrastructure. Special attention is given to the island's type-example Cockpit karst geology; tourism, mining, and farming's relation to this karst; types of water delivery systems in rural southern Trelawny's Cockpit Country; southern Trelawny residents' perceptions of the water situation; and policy and development goals in the context of Jamaica and southern Trelawny. I hope to bring attention to the unique social, geologic, and developmental context of water in Jamaica, and more specifically to garner attention for major water infrastructure improvements in south Trelawny. A number of recommendations for improvements with policy and infrastructure are made.

This research project concerns changes in hydrology resulting from urbanization of the upper sub-basin of the White Rock Creek Watershed in Collin and Dallas Counties, Texas. The objectives of this study are: to calculate the percent watershed urbanized for the period of 1961 through 1968 and the period of 2000 through 2005; to derive a 1960s average unit hydrograph and a 2000s average unit hydrograph; and, to use the two averaged hydrographs to develop a range of hypothetical storm scenarios to evaluate how the storm response of the watershed has changed between these two periods. Results of this study show that stormflow occurs under lower intensity precipitation in the post-urbanized period and that stormflow peaks and volumes are substantially larger compared to the pre-urbanized period. It is concluded that changes in watershed surface conditions resulting from urbanization have lowered the precipitation-intensity threshold that must be surpassed before storm run-off is generated.

In this research, hyperspectral and multispectral images were utilized for vegetation studies in the greenbelt corridor near Denton. EO-1 Hyperion was the hyperspectral image and Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) was the multispectral image used for this research. In the first part of the research, both the images were classified for land cover mapping (after necessary atmospheric correction and geometric registration) using supervised classification method with maximum likelihood algorithm and accuracy of the classification was also assessed for comparison. Hyperspectral image was preprocessed for classification through principal component analysis (PCA), segmented principal component analysis and minimum noise fraction (MNF) transform. Three different images were achieved after these pre-processing of the hyperspectral image. Therefore, a total of four images were classified and assessed the accuracy. In the second part, a more precise and improved land cover study was done on hyperspectral image using linear spectral unmixing method. Finally, several vegetation constituents like chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, caroteoids were distinguished from the hyperspectral image using feature-oriented principal component analysis (FOPCA) method and which component dominates which type of land cover particularly vegetation were correlated.

Integrating decision analytical techniques in geographic information systems (GIS) can help remove the two primary obstacles in spatial decision making: inaccessibility to required geographic data and difficulties in synthesizing various criteria. I developed a GIS model to assist people seeking optimal residential locations. Fuzzy set theory was used to codify criteria for each factor used in evaluating residential locations, and weighted linear combination (WLC) was employed to simulate users' preferences in decision making. Three examples were used to demonstrate the applications in the study area. The results from the examples were analyzed. The model and the ArcGIS Extension can be used in other geographic areas for residential location selection, or in other applications of spatial decision making.

This study elucidates the underlying relationships for the distribution of oak landcover on bedrock and soil orders in two counties in Texas and one in Oklahoma. ESRI's ArcGis and ArcMap was used to create surface maps for Denton and Coke Counties, Texas and Choctaw County, Oklahoma. Attribute tables generated in GIS were exported into a spreadsheet software program and frequency tables were created for every formation and soil order in the tri-county research area. The results were both a visual and numeric distribution of oaks in the transition area between the eastern hardwood forests and the Great Plains. Oak distributions are changing on this transition area of the South Central Plains. The sandy Woodbine and Antlers formations traditionally associated with the largest oak distribution are carrying oak coverage of approximately 31-32% in Choctaw and Denton Counties. The calcareous Blackland and Grand Prairies are traditionally associated with treeless grasslands, but are now carrying oak and other tree landcover up to 18.9%. Human intervention, including the establishment of artificial, political and social boundaries, urbanization, farming and fire control have altered the natural distribution of oaks and other landcover of this unique georegion.

This thesis presents a Web-based geographic information system (GIS) application for campus emergency management that allows users to visualize, integrate, and analyze student population, facilities, and hazard data for efficient emergency management of University of North Texas before, during, and after a terrorism event. End-users can locate and search the source area of an event on a digital map from the ArcIMS-based Website. The website displays corresponding population information and attributes of impacted facilities in real time. School officials and first responders including police, firefighters and medical personnel can promptly plan the appropriate rescue and response procedures according to the displayed results. Finally, the thesis outlines the limitations of Web-based GIS in the arena of campus emergency management.

This thesis is a contribution to the work of the Texas Environmental Observatory (TEO), which provides environmental information from the Greenbelt Corridor (GBC) of the Elm Fork of the Trinity River. The motivation of this research is to analyze the short-term water dynamic of soil in response to the substantial rainfall events that occurred in North Texas in 2007. Data collected during that year by a TEO soil and weather station located at the GBC includes precipitation, and soil moisture levels at various depths. In addition to these field measurements there is soil texture data obtained from lab experiments. By comparing existing water dynamic models, water balance equations were selected for the study as they reflect the water movement of the soil without complicated interrelation between parameters. Estimations of water flow between soil layers, infiltration rate, runoff, evapotranspiration, water potential, hydraulic conductivity, and field capacity are all obtained by direct and indirect methods. The response of the soil at field scale to rainfall event is interpreted in form of flow and change of soil moisture at each layer. Additionally, the analysis demonstrates that the accuracy of soil characteristic measurement is the main factor that effect physical description. Suggestions for model …

Population estimation in inter-censual years has many important applications. In this research, high-resolution pan-sharpened IKONOS image, LiDAR data, and parcel data are used to estimate small-area population in the eastern part of the city of Denton, Texas. Residential buildings are extracted through object-based classification techniques supported by shape indices and spectral signatures. Three population indicators -building count, building volume and building area at block level are derived using spatial joining and zonal statistics in GIS. Linear regression and geographically weighted regression (GWR) models generated using the three variables and the census data are used to estimate population at the census block level. The maximum total estimation accuracy that can be attained by the models is 94.21%. Accuracy assessments suggest that the GWR models outperformed linear regression models due to their better handling of spatial heterogeneity. Models generated from building volume and area gave better results. The models have lower accuracy in both densely populated census blocks and sparsely populated census blocks, which could be partly attributed to the lower accuracy of the LiDAR data used.