College of Behavioral & Social Sciences
Permanent URI for this communityhttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/8
The collections in this community comprise faculty research works, as well as graduate theses and dissertations..
Browse
11 results
Search Results
Item USING GEOSPATIAL INFORMATION SYSTEMS TO PREDICT THE FORM OF “ROADBEDS AND ROAD SEGMENTS” CLASSIFICATIONS FOR THE CHEROKEE TRAIL OF TEARS IN MISSOURI, 1837-1839(2024) Lester, Ansley; Palus, Matthew M; Anthropology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This thesis aims to answer the questions, “How can we efficiently use the processes of categorization and Geospatial Information System (GIS) methods and analyses to help identify the ‘form’ that various segments on the Trail of Tears, specifically the listed National Historic Trail (NHT) of the “Cherokee Trail of Tears in Missouri, 1837-1839”? Can a predictive model be developed by looking at the spatial relationships between modern roads and the suspected paths taken by the Cherokee in 1837- 1839? If so, what other information can be gained from this approach?”The classifications are derived from the National Register of Historic Properties (NRHP) Multiple Property Documentation Form (MPDF) and discuss the classifications and criteria that segments of the Trail of Tears must meet to be considered contributing characteristics. The NRHP documentation form defines these different classes of the Trail of Tears into ‘three basic forms:1) Modern Roads, 2) Limited-Use, Passable Roads, and 3) Abandoned Roads. This thesis is limited to the segments of the Trail of Tears that fall within the Mark Twain National Forest (MTNF) boundaries. Though much of the Trail has been modified into modern roads, traces are still evident in many locations along these modern routes that hold integrity from the significant period of the late 1830s. Because the Trail of Tears passes through multiple states and traverses over 6,000 miles, managing the protection of its physical traces can be a logistical challenge for cultural resource managers. For this thesis, I developed a carefully constructed GIS model that is able to predict these classifications of various Trail of Tears segments using a sequence of geoprocessing methods, logical operators, and Boolean algebraic expressions. Using GIS, I determine the spatial relationship between the National Park Service’s Trail of Tears linear data and the extant roads that have been documented to date. I then use statistical analysis to assess the model itself and its findings. The results identified seventeen segments of the Trail that are likely to hold integrity in the roadbed and road segment form three: abandoned. This is important because this form is the most sensitive to any undertakings and includes the segments that hold the greatest amount of integrity. The results also confirmed that the Trail of Tears does have a spatial relationship with many modern and limited-use roads that are still used today. Basic statistical analysis confirmed that the sample segments used to develop the draft model are representative of the model’s outcomes when applied to a forest-wide scale and that a total of 68.94 miles of the Trail crosses through the Mark Twain National Forest. This thesis also emphasizes collaboration and consultation methods with the Cherokee Nation throughout the chapters as the way forward before this model is considered finished. The intent of this thesis is to provide a management tool for cultural resource managers to predict which segments of the Trail of Tears fall into the three classifications by using a specific set of geoprocessing methods. This tool can be helpful in identifying areas of the Trail that may hold more physical integrity than others and implementing specific protection measures from any undertakings. It also adds to our understanding of the Trail of Tears within the MTNF. This model can also contribute to our understanding of the Trail of Tears and the hardships the Cherokee faced during that time. It will also provide research and public education opportunities so we can adequately convey the significance that the Trail of Tears has in our history. This model is built to be flexible for adding additional parameters that may be added through future research or consultation. The methodology used to produce this model would stay the same if used in other areas where the Trail crosses. The input parameters are likely to differ, but the methodology would stand.Item MINDING YOUR FEET: AN EXAMINATION OF CEMETERY RECORDATION AND ANALYSIS THROUGH GEOSPATIAL DOCUMENTATION IN FAIRFAX COUNTY, VIRGINIA(2024) Boyle, Colleen; Palus, Matthew; Anthropology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Cemeteries are a wealth of information and are a vital cultural resource for the communities in which they reside. These spaces reflect the cultural and community practices, the evolution of public space, economic conditions, and religious traditions of those interred. This thesis seeks to answer the research question: can cemetery landscapes be understood using a phenomenological approach to interpreting cultural patterns and trends in a digital landscape? Understanding cemetery landscapes is vital to the understanding and preservation of the cultural landscapes of these communities, so clear and accurate documentation of these sites is possible and necessary when using modern geospatial technology. This thesis examines the results of the Fairfax County Park Authority’s Archaeology and Collections Branch cemetery survey using geospatial mapping methodologies to record cemetery boundaries and inventory grave and grave marker locations. Through the examination of each of the three cemeteries highlighted throughout this thesis, it was determined that a hybrid approach to cemetery analysis utilizing the theoretical framework of phenomenology in conjunction with the broader perspective offered through digital data and mapping allows for a greater understanding of a space and its use over time.Item Rediscovering New Ireland: locating 17th - 18th century Irish settlements in Cecil County, Maryland(2023-05-15) Candiotti, Jack; Brighton, StephenThere has been little scholarship on the Irish in colonial American history. Fortunately, archaeology allows for the study of groups that are not well represented in the historical record through the analysis of their material remains. To initiate the study of this topic, the aim of this research was to locate archaeological sites associated with historically attested, late 17th and early 18th century settlements of Irish emigrants in Cecil County, Maryland. Historical information and aerial remote sensing data were analyzed in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) software to locate potential sites of buried and exposed structural remains in the areas where Irish settlement was recorded to have occurred. These sites were evaluated for their likelihood to be the remains of a structure built in the time period of Irish settlement. 23 sites of potential structural remains discovered in this study and 8 sites of structural remains discovered by previous research were determined significantly likely to be associated with the Irish settlements. Further archaeological research will be required to determine whether these sites actually contain structural remains dating to the late 17th or early 18th century. Archaeological excavation of the sites that contain these structural remains will yield information about the Irish emigrants who once occupied them. The level of wealth, diet, place of origin, and other information about the late 17th and early 18th century Irish community in Cecil County could be discovered. This new knowledge would contribute to the history of the Irish in America and the local history of Cecil County.Item THE SPATIAL ANALYSIS OF OPIOID-RELATED HEALTH OUTCOMES AND EXPOSURES IN THE UNITED STATES OPIOID OVERDOSE CRISIS(2022) Sauer, Jeffery Charles; Stewart, Kathleen; Geography; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)The United States continues to endure the Opioid Overdose Crisis. Yet the burden of the crisis is not experienced uniformly across the United States. The discipline of geography offers a framework and spatial analysis methodology that are direct ways to investigate placed-based differences in opioid-related outcomes, exposures, and proxy measures. This dissertation combines the contemporary frameworks of health geography and geographic information science to provide novel studies on both the geographic patterns in opioid-related health measures at different scales across the United States as well as the actual spatial analytic methods that provide evidence on the Opioid Overdose Crisis. Three main research objectives are addressed over the course of the dissertation: 1) Model the space-time risk of heroin-, methadone-, and cocaine-involved emergency department visits in the greater Baltimore metropolitan area from January 2016 to December 2019 at the Zip Code Tabulation Area-level; 2) Estimate the local and neighboring relationship between prescription opioid volume and treatment admissions involving a prescription opioid across the United States from 2006 to 2014 at the county-level; and 3) Investigate and provide a framework as to how geographic information science has been used to provide knowledge over the duration of the crisis from 1999 to 2021. The first study demonstrates how a recently proposed spatio-temporal Bayesian model can produce disease risk surfaces for opioid-related health outcomes in data constrained scenarios. The second study executes spatial lag of X models on a nationwide prescription opioid distribution dataset, allowing for estimates on the relationship between neighboring prescription opioid volume and nonfatal treatment admissions involving a prescription opioid at the county-level. The third and final study of the dissertation developed and implemented a scoping review methodology, ultimately analyzing the study design and geographical elements of 231 peer-reviewed publications using geographic information science on research questions related to the crisis. Examination of the geographical components of these studies reveals a lack of evidence available at sub-state scales and in the Midwest, north Rocky Mountains, and non-continental United States. Several important future research directions - such as geographic meta-analyses and geographical machine learning - are identified. Taken as a whole, the dissertation provides a contemporary geographical framework to understand the ongoing United States Opioid Overdose Crisis.Item THE CLOISTERED INFRASTRUCTURE OF THE OHIO & ERIE CANAL: AN ANALYSIS AND INVENTORY OF THE CANAL WITH A THEORETICAL LANDSCAPE ARCHAEOLOGY AND HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS APPROACH(2022) Waugh, Mason Richard; Palus, Matthew M; Anthropology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)The period of the 1820s and 1830s experienced a burst of canal construction across Ohio. The Ohio & Erie Canal connected the Cuyahoga River to Akron, and thence southward to Portsmouth along the Ohio River. The opening of the canal allowed early settlers within Ohio to easily transport products, effectively lowering the costs of goods and increasing the profitability of businesses utilizing the thoroughfare. Towns near the canal flourished as commodities previously difficult to obtain were now brought from long distances. These improvements that the Ohio & Erie Canal brought, as well as the context and significance of the canal, have been thoroughly documented in historical literature. A few intact portions of the Ohio & Erie Canal are currently included on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) and listed on the Ohio State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) online Geographic Information System (GIS) mapping system. Several Cultural Resource Management (CRM) compliance surveys have also identified and documented canal remnants. However, most portions of the canal are not inventoried or listed on the SHPO online GIS mapping system. Few components of the canal are listed on the NRHP and within Scioto County there are only two locks represented on the NRHP. The general location of the Ohio & Erie Canal is well documented on historical maps; however, the placement of stream crossings and ancillary components (culverts, weirs, bridges) are poorly understood or perhaps cloistered, communicating little to the outside world as they are currently known. A series of plat maps was recorded in the early 1900s by the Canal Commission of the State of Ohio. Plat maps of the Ohio & Erie Canal in Scioto County were obtained for this project and were provided by the Ohio History Connection (2022). No large-scale effort to my knowledge has been made to georeference the plat maps of the Ohio & Erie Canal and analyze archaeological potential using Historical GIS (hGIS), which uses historical documents such as plat maps to answer questions about the past or to inventory canal features based on their location. To address the lack of recorded ancillary structures on the southern descent of the Ohio & Erie Canal, a total of 35 separate portions of the canal plat maps were georeferenced to the modern landscape to identify archaeological potential, ancillary structure locations, and to support recommendations for new contributing resources to the NRHP-listed historic districts. Seven separate categories of ancillary canal components or features which could be extrapolated from the canal plat maps were assigned GPS coordinates. The seven categories consisted of aqueducts, buildings, bridges, culverts, inlets, locks, and waste weirs. These components represent 70 individual features correlating to what was indicated on the canal plat maps through stations 1770-2660 in Scioto County. The inventory of these features breaks down the Ohio & Erie Canal component types and lists coordinates to increase accessibility of the information for future researchers and planners. A cross comparison of the portions of the canal currently listed on the NRHP and the SHPO online GIS mapping system is also completed and contained in this thesis. With the previously inventoried canal components and the newly georeferenced portions of the canal analyzed, this thesis assists further studies in assessing archaeological potential along the canal. Lastly, a recommendation is made suggesting which ancillary components along the canal could be contributing elements to the discontinuous or incomplete NRHP listing. This thesis attempts to provide interested researchers a better understanding of the ancillary components of the canal and how these components should be evaluated for NRHP eligibility. The Ohio & Erie Canal was not simply a historical waterway providing transportation of commodities, but also an early historical engineering feat containing a culmination of various structures whose design was to maintain water levels and one of the first mass engineering attempts in Ohio to manage the landscape and communities around the canal. Culverts along the canal are not only important, but they are also necessary for understanding how the Ohio & Erie Canal operated, how it adapted to certain topographical challenges, and were essential to the functioning of the canal. Removing culverts along the canal would not have allowed the canal to function due to the necessity of proper water levels. The public dissemination of the georeferenced data included in this thesis is intended to be a lasting benefit to gongoozlers, historians, researchers, and planners alike. As such this data will be made available by allowing the georeferenced maps and associated layers available through ArcGIS Pro. The map package in ArcGIS Pro is available upon request by contacting the author of this thesis.Item UNDERSTANDING GEOSPATIAL DYNAMICS OF PARASITE MIGRATION AND HUMAN MOBILITY AS FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO MALARIA TRANSMISSION IN THE GREATER MEKONG SUBREGION(2021) Li, Yao; Stewart, Kathleen; Geography; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Much effort has been made to control malaria over the past decades in South-East Asia Confirmed cases of Plasmodium falciparum (P.f.) and Plasmodium vivax (P.v.) malaria were reduced by 46%, and mortality by 60%. However, malaria remains a major problem in the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) with the emerging resistance to the artemisinins and their partner drugs. This raises concerns that the usefulness of first-line malaria treatments may be diminishing in the GMS, and that drug resistance could spread worldwide. Estimating malaria parasite migration patterns is crucial for malaria elimination as well as understanding the role that human mobility plays in malaria transmission. This dissertation will focus on the GMS, especially Cambodia and Myanmar which have been widely regarded as the epicenter of emerging resistance to artemisinin-based combination therapies. This dissertation is structured as three separate studies that look first at the movement of malaria parasites across a region, and then two studies that focus on human movement and how these movements can lead to increased exposure as well as transmission of malaria. In the first study, a semi-automatic workflow was developed to select the optimal number of demes that will maximize model accuracy and minimize computing time when computing estimated effective migration surfaces. A validation analysis showed that the optimized grids displayed both high model accuracy and reduced processing time compared to grid densities selected in an unguided manner. In the second study, an agent-based simulation model was built to estimate and simulate the daily movements of local populations in Singu and Ann Townships in Myanmar in order to identify how two townships in different parts of Myanmar compared with respect to mobility and P.v. and P.f. positivity. The third study examined mobility patterns of local village populations in Singu Township, Myanmar when they traveled longer distances outside of Singu, and discuss these patterns of regional travel in the context of daily mobility within the township.Item WRITTEN IN STONE: A LANDSCAPE APPROACH TO EXAMINING OHIO PETROGLYPH SITES(2021) Goodrich, Christopher; Lafrenz-Samuels, Kathryn; Anthropology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)A petroglyph study was completed using a novel combination of landscape theory and GIS spatial analysis in Ohio. Building on the knowledge base of James L. Swauger’s 1984 publication of Petroglyphs of Ohio, petroglyph site data was checked against the Ohio State Historic Preservation Office Archives. These data were then compared with regional and local geology, hydrology, and known cultural sites using a GIS database. Significant insights were discovered linking petroglyph site locations to Ohio’s unglaciated plateau, “open areas consisting of sandstone,” and to waterways. These insights have contributed to the development of a new baseline of petroglyph knowledge in Ohio, paving the way for future petroglyph research in the state.Keywords: petroglyph, GIS, spatial analysis, landscape archaeology, Ohio archaeologyItem “THE REAL DISTANCE WAS GREAT ENOUGH”: REMAPPING A MULTIVALENT PLANTATION LANDSCAPE USING HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS (HGIS)(2019) Skolnik, Benjamin Adam; Leone, Mark P.; Anthropology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This dissertation uses the tools of historical Geographic Information Systems (hGIS) to locate and describe mid-nineteenth-century plantation landscapes in Talbot County, Maryland. The methodology described here combines historic maps, historic and modern aerial photography, LiDAR-derived elevation data, historic census data, and textual descriptions. It also uses them in conjunction with an ongoing archaeological research project at Wye House, the ancestral seat of the Lloyd family and site of enslavement of Frederick Douglass, near Easton, Maryland in order to further develop ways for archaeologists, historians, and other researchers to work with cartographic and spatial data in a digital framework. This methodology can be used across multiple scales to survey remotely individual sites or even entire counties for potential archaeological resources. Furthermore, it examines the autobiographies of Frederick Douglass, not only because he was a witness to these landscapes, but also because he can be read as a social theorist who addresses issues of race and racialized landscapes throughout his writings. Lastly, it uses these sources of data to consider Dell Upton’s spatial hypothesis regarding racialized plantation landscapes. Taken together, this study of mid-nineteenth-century Talbot County, Maryland represents one way to identify and recover lost sites of African American heritage that would otherwise remain lost.Item A Spatial-Temporal Analysis of Wetland Loss and Section 404 Permitting on the Delmarva Peninsula from 1980 to to 2010(2017) Stubbs, Quentin A.; Yeo, In-Young; Geography; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Geospatial approaches for wetland change analyses have emphasized the evaluation of landscape change on a local level, but have often neglected to examine and integrate regional trends and patterns of land use and land cover change as well as the impacts of wetland management policies. This study attempts to bridge the gaps by integrating a geospatial assessment of land cover change and a geostatistical analysis of the physical and anthropogenic drivers of wetland change. The aim is to demonstrate how urban development, conservation, and climate change policy decisions influenced wetland change trends and patterns on the Delmarva Peninsula from 1980 to 2010. Historical data on the nine counties on the Delmarva Peninsula illustrated the dynamism of population growth, sprawl, and different wetland management strategies. Data sets from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Chesapeake Bay Program, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the U.S. Census Bureau, and other sources were gathered and assessed. A land cover database was developed and analyzed using geospatial techniques, such as cross tabulation matrices and hot spot density analyses, in order to quantify and locate land cover change between 1984 and 2010. The results highlighted that anthropogenic drivers such as urbanization and agriculture were associated with the loss of wetlands in coastal areas as well as in upland, forested, suburban areas that were at low risk to flooding, but required deforestation in order to expand residential and commercial development. The greatest quantity and percentage of loss occurred between 1992 and 2001, and it was likely the result of increases in tourism and suburban sprawl (e.g., the Housing Boom and roadway expansion). The majority of wetland loss tapered off in 2000, except on coastal areas suffering from sea level rise and shoreline erosion. The results also reinforced the need to address the negative impacts from certain activities related to agriculture and silviculture, which are exempt from Section 404 of the Clean Water Act, have on wetlands. Physical drivers and processes like inundation from sea level rise and soil erosion from surface runoff force communities to simultaneously adapt to multiple drivers of wetland loss and alteration. This study supports the hypothesis that an increase in development and wetland permitting indicates an increased a risk of wetland loss. In the end, the study demonstrates that geostatistical modelling techniques can be used to predict wetland loss, and that model performance and accuracy can be improved by reducing the multicollinearity of independent variables. Planners and policymakers can use these models to better understand the wetland locations that are at greatest risk to loss, as well as the drivers and landscape conditions that have the greatest influence on the probability of wetland loss.Item DETERMINING CONSERVATION PRIORITIES AND PARTICIPATIVE LAND USE PLANNING STRATEGIES IN THE MARINGA-LOPORI-WAMBA LANDSCAPE, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO(2012) Nackoney, Janet; Justice, Christopher O; Geography; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Deforestation and forest degradation driven largely by agricultural expansion are key drivers of biodiversity loss in the tropics. Achieving sustainable and equitable management of land and resources and determining priority areas for conservation activities are important in the face of these advancing pressures. The Congo Basin of Central Africa contains approximately 20% of the world's remaining tropical forest area and serves as important habitat for over half of Africa's flora and fauna. The Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is currently laying the foundation for a national land use plan for conservation and sustainable use of its forests. Since 2004, the African Wildlife Foundation (AWF) has led efforts to develop a participatory land use plan for the Maringa-Lopori-Wamba (MLW) Landscape located in northern DRC. The landscape was recognized in 2002 as one of twelve priority landscapes in the Congo Basin targeted for the establishment of sustainable management plans. This dissertation focuses on the development of geospatial methods and tools for determining conservation priorities and assisting land use planning efforts in the MLW Landscape. The spatio-temporal patterns of recent primary forest loss are analyzed and complemented by the development of spatial models that identify the locations of 42 forest blocks and 32 potential wildlife corridors where conservation actions will be most important to promote future viability of landscape-wide terrestrial biodiversity such as the bonobo (Pan paniscus). In addition, the research explores three scenarios of potential agricultural expansion by 2050 and provides spatially-explicit information to show how trade-offs between biological conservation and human agricultural livelihoods might be balanced in land use planning processes. The research also describes a methodological approach for integrating spatial tools into participatory mapping processes with local communities and demonstrates how the resulting spatial data can be used to inform village-level agricultural land use for resource planning and management. Conclusions from the work demonstrate that primary forest loss is intensifying around agricultural complexes and that wildlife corridors connecting least-disturbed forest blocks are most vulnerable to future forest conversion. Conservation of these areas is possible with the development of land use plans in collaboration with local communities.