A large portion of the freshwater in western Canada originates as snowpack from the northern Rocky Mountains. The temperature and precipitation in these areas controls the amount of snow accumulated and stored throughout the winter, and the amount and timing of melt that occurs during the spring freshet. Therefore, a better understanding of past and future changes to the extent of snowpack and timing of melt can modify the timing of peak river flow on a continental scale. Trends in temperature, precipitation, snow accumulation, and snowmelt are examined using the Mann-Kendall non-parametric test on a high resolution gridded climate dataset over western Canada for the period 1950-2010. In addition, projected changes in temperature, precipitation, snow water equivalent, and snowmelt are examined through comparison of the current (1971-2000) and future (2041-2070) time periods incorporating several regional climate models. The temporal and spatial analyses of these key hydroclimatic variables indicate that changes vary greatly over space and time. Results reveal that while both maximum and minimum temperature have increased in the past 60 years, minimum temperature has increased more than maximum temperature and is likely to continue doing so in the future. This trend is particularly evident during the colder months of the year, and at higher elevations, contributing to earlier spring melt. Between 1950 and 2010, precipitation has decreased throughout the colder months of the year and increased in the warmer months, particularly in the northern half of the study area. Future projections show increased precipitation, specifically in the north. Throughout the historical period snow accumulation has experienced decreases across the study area and through all months of the year, except for increases at high elevations. In the coldest months of the year snow accumulation is projected to increase in high elevation and northern areas while decreasing across the rest of study area in the future. Snowmelt results indicate slight increases in mid-winter melt events and an earlier onset of the spring freshet; this change is expected to continue into the future period. This study provides a summary of detected trends and potential future changes in key hydroclimatic variables across western Canada with regard to the effects these changes can have on the spring freshet and streamflow, and thus water resources, throughout the study area. / Graduate / 0368

This thesis aims to examine the spatial relationship between elevated air temperatures and populations most vulnerable to heat across the urban environment. To assess this correlation, the analysis focuses on the cities of Atlanta, Georgia and Minneapolis, Minnesota. A three-part methodology was employed: first, continuous air temperature was estimated using satellite imagery and weather station observations; second, a heat vulnerability index was generated based on demographic, social, and environmental variables at the Census block group level; and third, a spatial statistical analysis was performed to measure the correlation between the hottest temperatures and the populations most vulnerable to heat. Finally, the thesis concludes with policy recommendations that address the comprehensive nature of vulnerability in relation to extreme heat. As municipalities and local governments plan for a future with warmer temperatures and larger urban populations, effective policies must be designed with respect to both the social and physical environments; the results herein can help inform such strategies.

This thesis undertakes a complete reinvestigation of the archaeology of a large Early Bronze Age cemetery at İkiztepe in northern Turkey, by utilizing oxygen and strontium isotope analysis of human remains in combination with spatial and biodistance analysis and various dating techniques to identify potential immigrants to the site and to examine larger issues of residential mobility and social organization. The occupation of the Northern Anatolian site of İkiztepe is traditionally assigned to the Late Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Ages. However, the site’s chronological framework has been challenged in recent years. These chronological issues have been addressed by applying fluoride and AMS radiocarbon dating to the skeletal remains from the İkiztepe cemetery, to develop an absolute and relative chronology for the burials. These results have shown that the cemetery dates at least a millennium earlier than previously supposed. Oxygen and strontium isotope analyses allowed the identification of individuals whose bone chemistry suggests that they were possible long distance immigrants to the site of İkiztepe, as well as suggesting the existence of a group of mobile individuals who may represent a transhumant segment of the İkiztepe population. Spatial and biodistance analyses suggest that principles of cemetery organization in this period were highly complex. Immigrant individuals and nomadic or semi-nomadic segments of the population do not appear to have been distinguished in any observable way from their sedentary local counterparts, displaying similar burial types, grave goods and spatial locations. Furthermore, burial within the İkiztepe cemetery does not appear to have been kin structured. These results suggest that assumptions about funerary practices as important indicators of cultural identity and lineage affiliation may represent an over-simplification of complex patterns of interaction and integration among and within populations and cultural groups.

Africanized honey bees (AHB) are a hybrid between African and European honey bees (EHB). Compared to the EHB, AHB exhibit more intense, defensive behaviors but nevertheless provide the same important ecosystem service--pollination. AHB have been found in Tucson, AZ. since 1993. It is important to understand the population ecology of AHB for several reasons. Most directly, the behavioral traits retained from African bees present public safety and health risk. AHB are easily agitated; even slight disturbances (e.g., human movements) can provoke attacks. Several hybridized bee traits (e.g., higher colony growth rates, reproduction at a smaller colony size, nesting in a wider range of cavity materials, etc.) also make them more adapted to urban landscapes. The overlap of habitats and resource-using of AHB with human significantly raise the risk of stinging incidents, especially in the areas of bee aggregation. Although the presence of AHB in urban environments may present a public safety and health risk, they do contribute to urban ecosystems substantially through pollination. The fact that AHB is a part of the urban ecosystem suggests a need for a better understanding of the relationship among climate factors, urban landscape characteristics, and AHB population dynamics. The goal of my dissertation was to understand population dynamics of AHB in urban environments using removal records of AHB colonies in water meter boxes. I have demonstrated useful methods and repeatable procedures to process, extract, and synthesize water meter box data which were not collected or sampled specifically for any ecological research. I also examined the spatio-temporal distributions of AHB colony removals in water meter boxes, and evaluated the effects of variations of temperature and precipitation on observed patterns. Then, I investigated the linkage between spatial patterns of AHB colonies and urban landscape characteristics by evaluating densities of water meter boxes, AHB colony abundance, and colony occupancy among different land cover/land use types. Lastly, a conceptual model and quantitative models were developed to illustrate AHB population dynamics, particularly and the interactions among water meter boxes, alternative cavities, and honey bee colonies. Overall, the probabilities of AHB colonies selecting nesting sites can be influenced by: (1) the ratio of water meter boxes and alternative cavities; (2) the difference of vegetative attributes among locations associated with the preference of AHB in selecting new nesting sites. Seasonal variations of precipitation and temperature can affect the development and productivity of AHB population.

This thesis explores crime hot spots and identifies risk factors of expressive and acquisitive crimes in Toronto, Ontario at the census tract scale using official crime offence data from 2006. Four research objectives motivate this thesis: 1) to understand a number of local spatial cluster detection tests and how they can be applied to inform law enforcement planning and confirmatory research, 2) explore spatial regression techniques and applications in past spatial studies of crime, 3) to examine the influence of social disorganization and non-residential land use on expressive crime at the census tract scale, and 4) integrate social disorganization and routine activity theories to understand the small-area risk factors of acquisitive crimes. Research chapters are thematically linked by an intent to recognize crime as a spatial phenomenon, provide insight into the processes and risk factors associated with crime, and inform efficient and effective law enforcement planning.

This research is an investigation of the spatial organization of household activities and especially the storage facilities in Ancient Burgaz. The four well-preserved houses at the Northeast Sector, their artefact assemblages which come from the final occupation floor level dated to the 4th century B.C., and the storage containers have been evaluated. The spatial distributions of the artefacts were studied through the use of quantitative methods with the objective of identifying storage spaces in Burgaz houses. The results of this quantitative analysis and the observations regarding Burgaz houses have been compared to other contemporary sites in ancient Aegean.

Modern information systems strive to provide effective use of resources. Supplied with analysis tools, geographical information systems (GIS) can serve its stakeholders with minimal requirements. In this study, GIS capabilities were employed for Turkish Flora. Data related with the threatened plants that are indigenous to Turkey were gathered from the relevant literature and reshaped into a dataset in which spatial locations were represented in a geographically referenced format. Afterwards, this output was used to investigate the affects of different factors on the distribution patterns of these plants by means of functions of GIS and multivariate analysis. At last, overlay analysis was employed in order to reveal the congruence between official protection reserves, spatial locations of the plants in danger and areas of importance for other elements of wildlife specifically birds. Outcomes of the study is three-fold. First of all, a simple algorithm was established which can be used in the formation of a unified database of widely distributed floristic data in Turkey. Geographically referenced data and the analysis results produced in the study is another value added for Turkish botanics. From another perspective, effectiveness of GIS in handling different types of non-standard data were scrutinized. Overlay analysis of locations of the plants and the protection reserves constituted the managerial aspect of the study by pointing large gaps in the actual protection coverage and proposing candidate regions for official reserve choices of the future. In essence, GIS was deemed to be an effective tool for parties working on non-standard spatial data.

Although digital equity is a recognized challenge in our K-12 school system, there is little research in using a holistic framework to investigate pre-conditions necessary for K-12 students to participate in digital learning and online processes. A conceptual framework of students' digital opportunity (SDO) is developed to represent the essential components of digital connectivity. The four key components are broadband internet availability, broadband usage, digital device ownership, and speed quality. A composite measure of SDO was created to quantitatively represent and measure the differences across 3,138 counties in the United States. Furthermore, spatial autocorrelation was applied to evaluate if the distribution of the SDO score is associated with geographical characteristics at the county level. The result showed the presence of significant county-level clusters with concentrations of high or low SDO scores. While the spatial analysis provided evidence of where the gaps in digital opportunities are located, there are underlying factors at the micro level that would need further investigation. This study suggests a collective approach between private and public entities to address the K-12 digital equity issue. The necessary conditions presented in the SDO model must be addressed first in order to bring change to K-12 students and schools in terms of obtaining high quality and reliable broadband internet and digital devices for learning with technology. Two research outputs are available from this research to allow others to further evaluate digital equity among K-12 schools and students.

Bibliography: p. 269-279. / viii, 279 p. : ill. ; 30 cm. / Title page, contents and abstract only. The complete thesis in print form is available from the University Library. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Adelaide, Dept. of Applied Mathematics, 1995

[Formulae and special characters can only be approximated here. Please see the pdf version of the abstract for an accurate reproduction.] This thesis is a new proposal for analysing spatial point patterns in spatial statistics using the outputs of popular techniques of (classical, non-spatial, multivariate) cluster analysis. The outputs of a chosen hierarchical algorithm, named fusion distances, are applied to investigate important spatial characteristics of a given point pattern. The fusion distances may be regarded as a missing link between the fields of spatial statistics and multivariate cluster analysis. Up to now, these two fields have remained rather separate because of fundamental differences in approach. It is shown that fusion distances are very good at discriminating different types of spatial point patterns. A detailed study on the power of the Monte Carlo test under the null hypothesis of Complete Spatial Randomness (the benchmark of spatial statistics) against chosen alternative models is also conducted. For instance, the test (based on the fusion distance) is very powerful for some arbitrary values of the parameters of the alternative. A new general approach is developed for analysing a given point pattern using several graphical techniques for exploratory data analysis and inference. The new strategy is applied to univariate and multivariate point patterns. A new extension of a popular strategy in spatial statistics, named the analysis of the local configuration, is also developed. This new extension uses the fusion distances, and analyses a localised neighbourhood of a given point of the point pattern. New spatial summary function and statistics, named the fusion distance function H(t), area statistic A, statistic S, and spatial Rg index, are introduced, and proven to be useful tools for identifying relevant features of spatial point patterns. In conclusion, the new methodology using the outputs of hierarchical clustering algorithms can be considered as an essential complement to the existing approaches in spatial statistics literature.