Newest Batch of GIS-Related Theses & Dissertations

Have not posted a new batch of dissertations or theses since the summer, so here are the latest dissertations & theses that have caught my eye. Some of these are really quite fantastic.

Most of the following links include a free 24-page preview of the dissertation.

Previous lists include 11/05, 01/06, 01/06, 04/06, 07/06

• Decolonizing geographic information systems, by Eades, Gwilym Lucas, MA, Carleton University, 2006, 107 pages.
• "This thesis consists of four parts, each of which contributes to answering the primary research question: to what extent are Geographic Information Systems (GIS) a colonial technology?...By way of conclusion, a process of decolonization is theorized, focusing on the lands of Indigenous peoples and on the practices of GIS 'experts' situated within Indigenous communities. "
• The capitalization of exogenous features into the sale price of single family homes, by Ehlen, Victoria A., MA, State University of New York at Binghamton, 2006, 105 pages.
• "This thesis examines the role of exogenous housing features in predicting the sale price of homes, using data acquired for the Greater Binghamton area. With GIS and statistical methodology, a regression equation was generated to predict sale price based on endogenous and exogenous variables."
• The built environment and walking: An examination of school transport mode, by Dreyling, Erin Kyle, PhD, The Johns Hopkins University, 2006, 241 pages.
• "It was concluded that research on walking can benefit from greater use of these tools in several ways. First, GIS can facilitate environmental data collection by aiding in the identification of locations to examine in a study area. Second, GIS and spatial statistics can help investigators generate hypotheses about the environmental determinants of walking that may go unnoticed in nonspatial analysis. Third, spatial statistics can improve regression modeling by ensuring models account for spatial dependence."
• Assessing the impacts of the 2004 tsunami on mangroves using GIS and remote sensing techniques: A case study of Phang Nga, Thailand, by Sirikulchayanon, Poonthip, MS, Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, 2006, 102 pages.
• "The study focuses on the spatial association between mangrove forests and the damage. Using GIS and remote sensing techniques, we compile the data from various sources and detect the land cover changes to determine the level of damage in regions with and without mangroves. The proposed novel approach integrates GIS proximity analysis and change detection with remote sensing techniques to creatively delineated buffer zones from the coastline into four homogenous sub-regions."
  
• Quantification and delineation of the nonattainment boundary for fine particulate matter: Using geographic information system (GIS), remote sensing data, and in situ monitoring, by Rush, Alan C., PhD, George Mason University, 2006, 183 pages.
• "This dissertation describes the work of developing a tool for use in delineating the boundaries of nonattainment areas as defined by the Clean Air Act. The weakness of the ambient monitoring system is discussed, and the need for an advanced method for pollutant assessment is concluded."
• Student discipline referral rates and neighborhood crime statistics, by Cash, Tamara G., PhD, The University of Kansas, 2006, 133 pages.
• "Students' gender, grade level, and ethnicity variables were analyzed, and GIS software was used to geocode or map the students' home addresses and the crime locations. Results found a low positive correlation between the frequency and severity of student infractions and the frequency and severity of crime incidents per cell location. An inverse relationship was found between student infraction frequency and severity and the students' proximity to high-crime areas."
• A battlefield preservation plan for Champion Hill (Mississippi), by Dean, Leslie Alan, MLA, Mississippi State University, 2006, 272 pages.
• "This plan creates a long-range vision for preservation of Champion Hill while focusing on specific and short-term measures. This study employed GIS technology as a tool for gathering, recording, and analyzing important site data based on McHarg (1969), Hopkins (1977), and Drummond (1998). This study concludes with eleven recommendations for the preservation of the Champion Hill Battlefield area. "
• Urban growth and segregation in the Roanoke, Virginia, metropolis: The effects of low-density development on low-income populations and racial minorities, by Etienne, Freed G. (Mike), PhD, Virginia Comonwealth University, 2006, 173 pages.
• "...[W]e must understand the social consequences to urban life, relative to concentration of poverty and racial minorities in central cities. Toward that end, this study uses the statistical techniques called Social Area Analysis and Factorial Ecology to examine and describe the social-spatial patterns of the Roanoke, Virginia, metropolis, focusing on poverty and race. "
• Online public participation GIS. Shaping the scales and spaces of comprehensive planning: A case study on the use of geographic information systems on the Web to support comprehensive planning in the town of Amherst, New York, by Howard, Daniel C., PhD, State University of New York at Buffalo, 2006, 341 pages.
• "Comprehensive planning is an opportunity for communities to collectively envision their future through a communicative participatory endeavor that can establish a foundation for lasting civic involvement. Comprehensive planning involves a process that guides the future designation of geographic spaces through social action; this process can simultaneously be empowering for some, and marginalizing for other stakeholders."

Oh yes, and lest we forget, everyone have a frightful Halloween, OK?