Assessment of Transportation Emissions for Ferrous Scrap Exports from the United States: Activity-Based Maritime Emissions Model and Theoretical Inland Transportation Model. (open access)

Assessment of Transportation Emissions for Ferrous Scrap Exports from the United States: Activity-Based Maritime Emissions Model and Theoretical Inland Transportation Model.

Industrial ecology is a field of study that encourages the use of closed-loop material cycles to achieve sustainability. Loop closing requires the movement of materials over space, and has long been practiced in the iron and steel industry. Iron and steel (ferrous) scrap generated in the U.S. is increasingly exported to countries in Asia, lengthening the transportation distance associated with closing the loop on the iron and steel life cycle. In order to understand the environmental cost of transporting this commodity, an activity-based maritime transportation model and a theoretical in-land transportation model are used to estimate emissions generated. Results indicate that 10.4 mmt of total emissions were generated, and emissions increased by 136 percent from 2004 to 2009. Increases in the amount of emissions generated are due to increases in the amount of scrap exported and distance it is transported.
Date: December 2011
Creator: Caldwell, Amanda
System: The UNT Digital Library
Spatial Patterns in Development Regulation: Tree Preservation Ordinances of the DFW Metropolitan Area (open access)

Spatial Patterns in Development Regulation: Tree Preservation Ordinances of the DFW Metropolitan Area

Land use regulations are typically established as a response to development activity. For effective growth management and habitat preservation, the opposite should occur. This study considers tree preservation ordinances of the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area as a means of evaluating development regulation in a metropolitan context. It documents the impact urban cores have on regulations and policies throughout their region, demonstrating that the same urban-rural gradient used to describe physical components of our metropolitan areas also holds true in terms of policy formation. Although sophistication of land use regulation generally dissipates as one moves away from an urban core, native habitat is more pristine at the outer edges. To more effectively protect native habitat, regional preservation measures are recommended.
Date: August 2011
Creator: Cox, Carissa
System: The UNT Digital Library
Analysis of Micro Enterprise Clusters in Developing Countries:  A Case Study of Toluca, Mexico. (open access)

Analysis of Micro Enterprise Clusters in Developing Countries: A Case Study of Toluca, Mexico.

Businesses cluster to achieve agglomeration benefits. However, research in developing countries suggests that the economic environment limits small business’ propensity to benefit from agglomerations. The study examines the location, networking patterns, formal structures and owner characteristics of 1256 micro businesses from ten industries and thirteen sample areas in Toluca, Mexico. First, the thesis analyses whether clustering has a positive impact on the success rates of the surveyed enterprises, e.g. higher sales per employee. On an industry scale only Retail benefits from agglomerations economies. However, results of the neighborhood data show that specific areas benefit from urbanization economies. Overall, the study finds that businesses located within agglomerations, have higher levels of formalization, networking and professional training, hence constituting a more sophisticated base for economic development. Conclusions can be drawn for development policies and programs, arguing for a more differentiated approach of small business development depending on business location and cluster characteristics.
Date: August 2011
Creator: Drauschke, Kristin
System: The UNT Digital Library
Geologic and Lithic Analysis of the Red River Cache (open access)

Geologic and Lithic Analysis of the Red River Cache

The Red River Cache is an assemblage of 33 bifaces, found in Cooke County, along Cache Creek, a tributary to the Red River. Also found with the cache was a hearth which yielded charcoal for AMS dating which returned an age of 2770- 2710 Cal YBP placing the cache in the Late Archaic. The geologic investigation of Cache Creek established 3 Holocene allostratigraphic units that provide information depositional environments adjacent to the Red River. Lithic analysis explored the production of bifaces during the Late Archaic and compared the cache to regional records. Using both geologic and lithic analysis this thesis investigates the temporal and cultural context of the cache using a geoarchaeological approach.
Date: May 2011
Creator: Gregory, Brittney
System: The UNT Digital Library
Faunal Exploitation during the Depopulation of the Mesa Verde Region (A. D. 1300): A Case Study of Goodman Point Pueblo (5MT604) (open access)

Faunal Exploitation during the Depopulation of the Mesa Verde Region (A. D. 1300): A Case Study of Goodman Point Pueblo (5MT604)

This analysis of faunal remains from Goodman Point Pueblo (5MT604), a large village occupied just before the ancestral Puebloans permanently left southwestern Colorado at the end of the thirteenth century, explores the effect of dietary stress during abandonment in the Four Corners region. As archaeologists, we interpret what these former cultures were like and what resources they used through what they left behind. By specifically looking at faunal remains, or remains from food resources, environmental change and dietary stress can be assessed. Identifications of taxa identified at Goodman Point are made explicit via a systematic paleontology. This is followed by site-level taxonomic abundances and spatial analysis. Then, effects of technological innovations, environmental change, and sample quality are examined as alternate explanations of shifts in foraging efficiency, particularly related to animal hunting. Analyzing why and if the availability of faunal resources changes over time helps to clarify why the ancestral Puebloans left southwestern Colorado.
Date: August 2011
Creator: Hoffman, Amy Susan
System: The UNT Digital Library
An Exploration of the Ground Water Quality of the Trinity Aquifer Using Multivariate Statistical Techniques (open access)

An Exploration of the Ground Water Quality of the Trinity Aquifer Using Multivariate Statistical Techniques

The ground water quality of the Trinity Aquifer for wells sampled between 2000 and 2009 was examined using multivariate and spatial statistical techniques. A Kruskal-Wallis test revealed that all of the water quality parameters with the exception of nitrate vary with land use. A Spearman’s rho analysis illustrates that every water quality parameter with the exception of silica correlated with well depth. Factor analysis identified four factors contributable to hydrochemical processes, electrical conductivity, alkalinity, and the dissolution of parent rock material into the ground water. The cluster analysis generated seven clusters. A chi-squared analysis shows that Clusters 1, 2, 5, and 6 are reflective of the distribution of the entire dataset when looking specifically at land use categories. The nearest neighbor analysis revealed clustered, dispersed, and random patterns depending upon the entity being examined. The spatial autocorrelation technique used on the water quality parameters for the entire dataset identified that all of the parameters are random with the exception of pH which was found to be spatially clustered. The combination of the multivariate and spatial techniques together identified influences on the Trinity Aquifer including hydrochemical processes, agricultural activities, recharge, and land use. In addition, the techniques aided in identifying areas …
Date: August 2011
Creator: Holland, Jennifer M.
System: The UNT Digital Library
An Investigation of the Relationship between HIV and Prison Facilities in Texas: The Geographic Variation and Vulnerable Neighborhood Characteristics (open access)

An Investigation of the Relationship between HIV and Prison Facilities in Texas: The Geographic Variation and Vulnerable Neighborhood Characteristics

Previous research suggests that prisons may be fueling the spread of HIV infection in the general population. In 2005, the HIV rate was more than 2.5 times higher in US prison populations. Environmental factors in prisons such as illicit drug use and unprotected sexual activities can be conducive for HIV transmission. Because the vast majority of prison inmates are incarcerated for less than three years, transmission of HIV between prison inmates and members of the general population may occur at a high rate. The environment in which an individual lives and the entities that comprise it affect the health of that person. Thus the location of prisons within communities, as well as socio-demographic characteristics may influence the geography of HIV infection. HIV surveillance data, obtained from the Texas Department of State Health Services, were used to investigate the relationship between the location of prison units in Texas and HIV infection rates in the surrounding zip codes. The results suggest that HIV prevalence rates are higher among geographic areas in close proximity to a prison unit. With continued behavioral risks and low treatment adherence rates among individuals infected with HIV, there is a possibility of increased HIV prevalence. Vulnerable places, locations …
Date: August 2011
Creator: Kutch, Libbey
System: The UNT Digital Library
Gis, Modeling And Human Civilization: The Birth Of Geo-social Engineering (open access)

Gis, Modeling And Human Civilization: The Birth Of Geo-social Engineering

Computer-based, mathematical models have significant value in describing the processes behind urban development and its inhabitants. The following research describes the theories and concepts behind modeling and offers insight into the potential future of the field. First, the research covers a brief history of applicable modeling strategies. This is followed by a summary of current popular approaches. The numerical background of geo-social engineering is developed through mathematical techniques. Geo-social engineering is the integration of modeling into the basic design human civilization. The mathematical models will be incorporated into a design of a computer program. From this, a possible geo-social model structure is presented and its architecture is described.
Date: December 2011
Creator: Morris, E. Scott
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Expansion of a Retail Chain: An Analysis of Wal-Mart Locations in the United States (open access)

The Expansion of a Retail Chain: An Analysis of Wal-Mart Locations in the United States

Retail geography is an expanding field that is becoming increasingly important within academia, the business environment, and the national and global economy. The focus of this study is to provide insight and additional understanding of the site selection processes employed by Wal-Mart in the United States. The research studies Wal-Mart from a national perspective and investigates the patterns of retail store expansion across the United States from 1990 to 2005. The study employs the use of a continuous Poisson model to check for significant clustering, and a single and multiple correlation analysis to identify the types of relationships that exist between retail stores and location. The results of the study make apparent several distinct patterns of retail store dispersion within the United States between the years 1990 to 2005.
Date: May 2011
Creator: Ostrander, Anthony P.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Gentrification in Oklahoma City:  Examining Urban Revitalization in Middle America (open access)

Gentrification in Oklahoma City: Examining Urban Revitalization in Middle America

Gentrification applies not only to the largest and oldest cities; it is a multi-scalar phenomenon playing out in smaller and less prominent settings as well. This study examines temporal changes in property values, demographic characteristics, and types of businesses in the central Oklahoma City area. A major urban revitalization project which began in 1993 created strong gentrification characteristics near the renewal's epicenter, the Bricktown entertainment district. Data suggest that several specific neighborhoods in the surrounding area exhibited rising property values, improving educational attainment rates, decreasing household sizes, and a shift toward cosmopolitan retail activity. While it is evident that Bricktown has been transformed, the socio-economic traits of surrounding neighborhoods have been altered by the ripple effects of urban renewal.
Date: August 2011
Creator: Petty, Clint C.
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Impact Of Land Use And Land Cover Change On The Spatial Distribution Of Buruli Ulcer In Southwest Ghana (open access)

The Impact Of Land Use And Land Cover Change On The Spatial Distribution Of Buruli Ulcer In Southwest Ghana

Buruli ulcer (BU) is an environmental bacterium caused by Mycobacterium ulcerans. Modes of transmission and hosts of the disease remain unknown. The purposes of this study are to explore the environmental factors that are possibly explain the spatial distribution of BU, to predict BU cases by using the environmental factors, and to investigate the impact of land use and land cover change on the BU distribution. The study area covers the southwest portion of Ghana, 74 districts in 6 regions. The results show that the highest endemic areas occur in the center and expand to the southern portion of the study area. Statistically, the incidence rates of BU are positively correlated to the percentage of forest cover and inversely correlated to the percentages of grassland, soil, and urban areas in the study area. That is, forest is the most important environmental risk factor in this study. Model from zero-inflated Poisson regression is used in this paper to explain the impact of each land use and land cover type on the spatial distribution of BU. The results confirm that the changes of land use and land cover affect the spatial distribution of BU in the study area.
Date: December 2011
Creator: Ruckthongsook, Warangkana
System: The UNT Digital Library