BA, Kent State University, 2021, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of Geography

The scope of Studentification literature in an American context is minuscule compared to its global counterparts. Researchers in the United Kingdom, Australia and even China have studied this concept in depth, but seldom in the United States. Plagued by falling under the umbrella term of gentrification, studentification shares a similar long-term process but experiences a vastly different outcome and target demographic. This thesis aims to both distinguish studentification apart from gentrification and provide a concrete methodology identifying the process of studentification in an American context. By combining urban geography concepts and Dr. Mark Gottdiener's theory of the Sociospatial Approach for gentrification, a newly designed framework for studentification was created that could be compared to real world instances. To do so, we used Cecil B. Moore, a neighborhood of downtown Philadelphia adjacent to Temple University as our case study site. Through a means of collecting relevant geospatial data and formulating GIS maps, we created a final Getis-Ord GI* hotspot map of studentification likelihood in Cecil B. Moore. The results suggest that studentification is most intense within three blocks of the Temple Campus, and greatly dissipates within the neighborhood each block moving west until little change has been seen in the last 20 years. Studentification significantly impacts the need for public services, affordable housing, petty crime and decreasing green space. As a result, it is necessary to acknowledge studentification and find alternative solutions using urban geography concepts to tackle this emerging problem in American cities.

Committee: David Kaplan (Advisor); Alison Smith (Committee Member); Richard Adams (Committee Member); Aimee Ward (Committee Member) Subjects: Geography

Master of Science (MS), Ohio University, 2021, Geography (Arts and Sciences)

Despite considerable progress made over recent decades in scientific understanding of the structure, evolution, and dynamics of supercell thunderstorms and tornadoes, there are still aspects of their evolution, including tornadogenesis and decay, that have yet to be understood. One area in which scientific understanding is particularly incomplete is how land surface heterogeneity or complex topography interacts with and/or affects tornadoes. Past investigations embarked on the endeavor to quantify the relationship between tornado events with land cover or elevation, with inconclusive or conflicting results. The purpose of this study is to identify the genesis and decay points of tornadoes over an eighteen-year timeframe of 2000-2017 within the state of Arkansas and a ten-year timeframe of 2008-2017 within the State of Oklahoma to determine whether elevation and/or surface roughness of the nearby land cover relative to the broader landscape might impact these events. This study was completed utilizing Storm Prediction Center tornado reports, National Land Cover Data, and USGS digital elevation models (DEMs), with ArcGIS Pro and Microsoft Excel as the modes of data visualization and analysis. A combination of buffer analyses, Mann - Whitney U tests and Getis-Ord Gi* hotspot analyses were incorporated to assess the relationship between genesis/dissipation locations and surface roughness and complex terrain. The qualitative and quantitative results herein suggest a local increase in surface roughness heterogeneity favors genesis events, while regions defined by complex terrain may act to dissipate tornado events. Furthermore, hotspot analyses suggest regions with complex terrain and increased roughness values favor tornado activity.

Committee: Jana Houser (Advisor); Gaurav Sinha (Committee Member); Ryan Fogt (Committee Member) Subjects: Atmospheric Sciences; Geographic Information Science; Geography; Meteorology

Master of Science (MS), Bowling Green State University, 2020, Biological Sciences

With the expansion of the human population, new roads are continually being built, leading to an increase in fragmentation or loss of natural habitats. These roads can act as corridors for vertebrates connecting natural habitats or aiding in migration, but they can also act as barriers or boundaries leading to fragmentation, isolation, and/or mortality on roadways. Research has focused mainly on larger highways, outside of the U.S., and away from larger urban areas. The Oak Openings Region, a biodiversity hot spot in northwestern Ohio, is a matrix of human dominated land use and remnant natural patches. This research focused on identifying vertebrate mortality hot spots and the spatial and temporal variables associated with vertebrate road mortality. From mid-April to the end of September 2019, we surveyed 38 road transects within and around three protected (natural) areas to record diversity, abundance, and distribution of roadkilled vertebrates and to identify influencing factors (e.g., land use, canopy cover, environmental data, road characteristics). We found an uneven spread of roadkill, with 45% of roadkill found on nine out of the 38 (24%) surveyed transects, highlighting potential areas to prioritize for mitigation. During the spring months (April 14 - June 20), nine of the transects had no roadkill, but in the summer months (June 21 - September 18), only one transect had no roadkill. This suggests that seasonality influenced the abundance and distribution of roadkill. As transects moved northward, there was a positive trend of more roadkill with increased developed land use. We found a total of 297 roadkill on or around the roads, with all vertebrate taxa included. Mammals made up 49.8% of the roadkill found. Mammal roadkill showed a significant positive trend with average canopy cover (p < 0.0001). Amphibians made up the second largest roadkill group, but showed a seasonal peak in August. These results can help land managers predict where animal dispersal (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Karen Root PhD (Advisor); Enrique Gomezdelcampo PhD (Committee Member); Shannon Pelini PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Biology; Conservation; Ecology; Wildlife Conservation

MA, Kent State University, 2014, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of Geography

COAKLEY, CORRINE, M.A. AUGUST 2014 GEOGRAPHY ACTIVITY SPACE IN A TERMINAL CLASSIC MAYA HOUSEHOLD, XEUNKAL, YUCATAN, MEXICO (222 pp) Director of Thesis: Mandy Munro-Stasiuk The Terminal Classic Maya period in the Northern Yucatan was a time of political upheaval, when long established cities such as Uxmal collapsed and Chichen Itza began to rise to power. Xuenkal, a site about 40 km north of Chichen Itza, was located directly on trade routes that would have supplied the city of Chichen Itza with imported goods and prestige items during this transition. Xuenkal itself shows several occupational phases, from a monumental phase during the Classic period, to abandonment, to a third phase in which population expanded during the Terminal Classic and new structures were built upon the former monumental, ritual spaces from the Classic period. These new structures include the subject of this research, Structure 9L-31, a walled complex of three buildings built on the platform of Xuenkal's most impressive structure, Structure 10M-62, the site's Classic period temple. Focusing on the social construction of place and scale, this thesis uses concepts from feminist geography and time geography to determine activity spaces across Structure 9L-31. Household scale analysis includes type variety analysis of the ceramics found at Structure 9L-31 and source and production stage analysis on the lithic artifacts. Through the use of artifact patterns as social behavior proxies, residents' space use and behavioral patterns are explored. Methods used include the use of descriptive statistics, Getis Ord Gi* analysis, and geostatistical prediction surfaces. Specifically, gendered use of space, production and domestic uses of space, and household vs. prestige artifact patterns are examined. Traditional archaeological ceramic analysis is compared to geostatistical techniques to inform upon both practices and answer the question of how the residents of Structure 9L-31 used their space. Re (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Mandy Munro-Stasiuk Ph.D. (Advisor); T. Kam Manahan Ph.D (Advisor); Jacqueline Curtis Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Archaeology; Geographic Information Science; Geography