[Truncated abstract] Removal of native vegetation to facilitate traditional agriculture practices has been shown to reduce ecosystem health, and restricts the native habitat. The subsequent change in the predominant vegetation water use patterns has altered the catchment water balance, and hydrology which results in land degradation through such processes of salinisation and water logging. More recently, moves toward more sustainable farming practices have been taken to help re-establish catchment hydrological equilibrium and improve catchment ecosystem services. Agroforestry is one such vehicle for this reestablishment. Perennial native vegetation has been shown to have a significant effect on catchment processes, mitigating any further degradation of the land. The effect of alternating native perennial tree belts with traditional broad acre agriculture in the alleys, referred to as alley farming, is investigated in this thesis due to the potential environmental and economic benefits that can result. This thesis investigates the impact of tree belts upon the water table and aims to gauge the ability of alley farming at controlling recharge within the low-medium rainfall zone on the valley floor. The basis of this research is the analysis of data collected from the Toolibin Alley Faring Trial. This experiment was established in 1995 to assess the viability of alley farming and incorporates different combinations of belt width, alley width and revegetation density. Transects of piezometers within each design have been monitored from October 1995 to January 2008. The piezometers were sporadically monitored over this period on a total of 39 dates. ... To further understand the response observed in the water table data, in depth hydrograph analysis of the control piezometer water levels was conducted. The statistical analysis demonstrates that the belts are having a very limited impact on the water table morphology, this is associated with the restricted use of groundwater by the perennial tree belts due to the poor quality, has been applied. This explains why there is limited signature of increased water table depth in the statistical analysis; there is evidence that alley farming as a means of reducing recharge may work however the overriding control on the trial are the rainfall trends rather than perennial growth. The low perennial biomass production at the site is an effect of limited water resources; however a significant distinction can be made between the water table depth and variability beneath high and low biomass belts. There are three main controls at the site; climate, development of perennial biomass and development of perennial root systems (both vertically and laterally). The regional climatic trends will influence water table levels creating a greater soil water storage capacity; therefore the contribution of soil water to transpiration rates will enable the tree belts to have some impact on recharge. Of the alley farming designs tested, the optimal planting density and belt/alley design, from an economic perspective, is identified as having a 4m belt width which generated the greatest biomass. As a means of controlling recharge at the site the effectiveness of alley farming is limited due the shallow saline water table limiting perennial growth.

Schistosomiasis mansoni is a serious parasitic disease, waterborne and chronic disease, which is the etiological agent of Schistosoma mansoni. This is one of the most prevalent parasitic disease in the world. In Sergipe, the disease has expanded from rural to peri-urban areas and the causal factors of this process of expansion and urbanization from this disease have not yet elucidated, thus characterizing a public health problem. This study aimed to determine the association between the risk factors identified in the distribution of infection by S. mansoni in the community of Santa Maria district, municipality of Aracaju-SE. It is a cross-sectional epidemiological study. The survey was conducted in 04 (four) times: a) survey malacological b) parasitological survey census c) a questionnaire to survey the risk factors socioeconomic, behavioral, and environmental contact with the water associated with the occurrence and transmission of disease d) georeferenced analysis of transmission focus disease and human cases of schistosomiasis. In the analysis of descriptive data were used programs BioEstat (version 5.0) and Microsoft Excel 2007. Spatial analysis of the distribution of the infection in the neighborhood led through programs and GPS TrackMaker and terraView 4.1.0 using kernel intensity estimator. Statistical analysis was performed using the chi-square test, G test and multiple logistic regression. It was found that the prevalence of infection was was 5.4% in 2011; prevailed mild infection with 72.7% according to parasite load, in relation to sex of subjects infected, infection with S. mansoni prevalent in males 63.7%. We identified 444 cases of schistosomiasis in the year under study. The eliminations largest egg schistosomiasis were most prevalent adolescents and young adults in the age group 10-39 years. Individuals most at risk for getting sick of schistosomiasis are residing near the springs with their homes accumulating water in the backyard in the winter, unpaved streets, where the individual and the family head have low education, male and age productive (10-59 years), who do not carry water treatment at home and have constant contact with water. In Malacological survey were collected 147 snails of the species Biomphalaria glabrata, being 19.17% rate of infection by S. mansoni in 22 transmitters of disease outbreaks. Spatial analysis of foci of transmission of schistosomiasis indicates the existence of three major clusters in the neighborhood and viewing areas of greatest concentration of cases exposed to different degrees of risk. The survey results allow offering, the municipal health services, a tool that facilitates the understanding of the occurrence and spatial distribution of schistosomiasis. / A esquistossomose mansônica é uma doença parasitária grave, de veiculação hídrica e evolução crônica, cujo agente etiológico é o Schistosoma mansoni. Trata-se de uma das doenças parasitárias mais prevalentes no mundo. Em Sergipe, a doença vem se expandindo da zona rural para áreas periurbanas, sendo os fatores causais desse processo de expansão e urbanização dessa endemia ainda não elucidados, caracterizando assim um problema de saúde pública. Este estudo objetivou determinar a associação entre os fatores de riscos identificados com a distribuição da infecção pelo S. mansoni, na comunidade do bairro Santa Maria, município de Aracaju-SE. Trata-se de um estudo epidemiológico e transversal. A pesquisa foi realizada em quatro momentos: a) inquérito malacológico; b) inquérito coproscópico censitário; c) aplicação de questionário para levantamento dos fatores de risco socioeconômicos, comportamentais, ambientais e de contato com as águas associados à ocorrência e transmissão da doença; d) análise georeferenciada dos focos de tranmissão da doença e dos casos humanos de Esquistossomose. Na análise dos dados descritivos foram utilizados os programas Microsoft Excel 2007 e BioEstat (versão 5.0). A análise espacial da distribuição da infecção no bairro foi realizada através dos programas GPS TrackMaker e TerraView 4.1.0 utilizando o estimador de intensidade Kernel. A análise estatística foi realizada através dos Teste Qui-Quadrado, Teste G e Regressão Logística Múltipla. Constatou-se que a prevalência da infecção foi foi de 5,4%, em 2011; prevaleceu a infecção leve com 72,7% segundo carga parasitária; em relação ao sexo dos sujeitos infectados, a infecção pelo S. mansoni prevaleceu no sexo masculino 63,7%. Foram identificados 444 casos de esquistossomose mansônica no ano em estudo. As eliminações maiores de ovos de esquistossomose acometeram mais os adolescentes e adultos jovens da faixa etária de 10 a 39 anos. Os indivíduos sob o maior risco para adoecer de esquistossomose são os que residem próximo aos mananciais, com suas residências acumulando água no quintal no inverno, em ruas não asfaltadas, onde o indivíduo e o chefe da família possuem baixa escolaridade, do sexo masculino e em idade produtiva (10 59 anos), que não realizam tratamento da água no domicílio e que tem constante contato com águas. No inquérito malacológico, foram levantados 147 caramujos da espécie Biomphalaria glabrata, sendo 19,17% a taxa de infecção pelo S. mansoni em 22 focos transmissores da doença. A análise espacial dos focos de transmissão da esquistossomose mansônica aponta a existência de três grandes aglomerados no bairro e a visualização de áreas de maior concentração de casos expostos a diferentes graus de risco. Os resultados da pesquisa possibilitam oferecer, aos serviços municipais de saúde, um instrumento que facilite a compreensão da ocorrência e distribuição espacial da Esquistossomose.

Orientador: Lindon Fonseca Matias / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Geociencias / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-09T00:53:44Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 FasinaNeto_Joao_M.pdf: 54741769 bytes, checksum: f1592f15220f7ff4c901e97f61b37a62 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2007 / Resumo: As Áreas de Preservação Permanente (APPs) e as Áreas de Proteção Ambiental (APAs) são instrumentos jurídicos definidos por Legislação Federal, que prevê a criação de unidades territoriais com o intuito de proteger a diversidade biológica e garantir a qualidade ambiental dos ecossistemas. O presente trabalho tem como objetivo central avaliar a distribuição espacial da vegetação natural em APPs. O recorte escolhido foi a APA Municipal de Campinas, que ocupa uma região estratégica em recursos naturais e culturais; mas que, no entanto, tem-se mostrado bastante vulnerável aos impactos ambientais produzidos durante os processos de uso e ocupação do território, culminando com grande parte de suas APPs desprovidas de vegetação natural e em situação de conflito com a legislação. O mapeamento e análise obedeceram a seguinte seqüência: (1) mapeamento da vegetação natural e uso da terra; (2) mapeamento das APPs; e (3) integração e análise dos dados obtidos. Os resultados foram editados em uma base cartográfica dinâmica, que permite, de forma interativo-amigável, visualizar e consultar informações sobre a configuração dos elementos naturais e culturais da área de estudo, contribuindo para a construção de um conhecimento crítico, fundamental à identificação de soluções alternativas de gestão territorial para a introdução de medidas de recuperação e conservação / Abstract: The Permanent Preservation Areas (PPAs) and the Environmental Protection Areas (EPAs) are juridical instruments defined by Brazilian Federal Legislation, which takes care of the creation of territorial units, with the purpose of protecting biological diversity and to guaranteeing the environmental quality of the ecosystems. The purpose of this work is to evaluate the spatial distribution of the natural vegetation in PPAs. The chosen region was the EPA of Campinas City, in the State of São Paulo, Brazil, which occupies a strategic region in natural and cultural resources; however, it has shown itself to be quite vulnerable to the environmental impacts produced during the processes of territorial utilization and occupancy, resulting in a great part of the PPAs being deprived of their natural vegetation and left in a conflict situation with legislation. The mapping and analysis was done according to the following sequence: (1) mapping of the natural vegetation and land use; (2) mapping of the PPAs; and (3) integration and analysis of the obtained data. The results were edited in a dynamic cartographic base, which permits, in an interact-friendly way, to visualize and query informations about the natural and cultural elements configuration of the studied area, which serves as an aid for the construction of a fundamental critical knowledge to identify territorial management alternative solutions to introduce recuperation and conservation actions / Mestrado / Análise Ambiental e Dinâmica Territorial / Mestre em Geografia

This thesis focuses on the use of geographic information systems (GIS) to examine mortuary practices in the Romano-Byzantine period Kellis 2 cemetery located in the Dakhleh Oasis, Egypt. The first research objective examines the relationship between age, sex and grave substructures of 701 burials in Kellis 2 cemetery. The aim of this research objective was to determine if the presence and style of grave substructures were influenced by sex or age. Although not statistically significant, GIS analysis revealed that most of the graves in the Kellis 2 cemetery have no associated substructures, but of those that did have associated substructures, adult male burials were more likely to have a substructure than adult females or juveniles. Moreover, males and females aged from 22 to 50 years were more likely to have an associated substructure than younger and older individuals. In the juvenile age categories, newborns and children aged 1 to 5 years were more likely to have an associated substructure than the other juvenile age categories. This may be related to the second research objective which focused on the spatial relationship between infant and adult burials in the Kellis 2 cemetery. The second objective was to determine if infants were more likely to be buried between two adults, perhaps representing family units. GIS and statistical analysis revealed that the infants in the Kellis 2 cemetery were more likely to be buried closer to each other or to adult females than to adult males. Of those 25 infants buried between two adults most of them were either buried between two adult females, or between an adult male and female. Only three infants were found buried between two males. Interestingly, many of the adult females buried in close proximity with an iv infant were of child-bearing age. GIS was a very useful tool for examining questions of mortuary practices, particularly in examining spatial relationships between variables recorded for the Kellis 2 cemetery.

The problem investigated in this research is the ongoing crime threat and the extreme risks which impact negatively on the sustainability of the Rosslyn Industry - the industrial hub of Tshwane in the Gauteng Provence of South Africa. Businesses in Rosslyn are desperate for a solution that will mitigate these crime threats and risks, and ensure the future sustainability of this important industrial community. An intervention model is urgently required to prevent this type of crime, not only as a short term solution but as a sustainable long term intervention. This research study initiated the collaboration required for the successful implementation of a Crime Prevention Intervention Model (CPIM) in the Rosslyn industrial environment. The intended crime prevention model has been designed in such a way that it addresses the entire environment of crime that prevails in the Rosslyn area involving both the offender and the victim. This design is rooted in the ontology of Environmental Criminology and more specific on the applied epistemology of Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED). Participants in this project are representatives who are responsible for all security functions in both big businesses and small enterprises. And with their dedicated assistance the research findings disclosed the current crime status of the Rosslyn environment regarding the threat, risk, security vulnerabilities, controls and needs: • Crime and its causal factors, in Rosslyn, are rife and no noteworthy action has been implemented to mitigate these threats. • Collaboration between Rosslyn role players (neighbours, local government and law enforcement) is for all purposes non-existent. • And to complicate matters even more, knowledge of how to effectively mitigate crime is limited and handicapped by the re-active physical security methods currently being used. • The implication of these findings is that the status quo will eventually render business in Rosslyn unsustainable. Thus a CPIM in Rosslyn is inevitable. What was crucial to this research and to the CTPED design is the detailed sourcing of accurate data addressing the experiences and the needs the respondents identified in the current Rosslyn crime situation concerning; status, the threat, risk, security, vulnerabilities and controls. In order to achieve this level of data sourcing and assimilation, the essential features of the research method were based on a mixed approach where quantitative and qualitative methods were implemented in parallel. The diverse fields, sources and respondent mix required for a Rosslyn Industry CPIM also necessitated a MIT (Multi,-Inter,-Trans,-Disciplinary) approach. This MIT requirement is successfully facilitated through the applied criminological CPTED approach. The CPIM is based on the combined outcomes of the following three research fields: • Field-one: Environmental criminology theories are researched through an in-depth literature review to demonstrate the criminological grounding of crime prevention and to guide its application through the development of an applied CPTED SUITE. • Field-two: Supply Chain Security (SCS) are researched through an in-depth literature review to establish its criminological relevance and applications. SCS requirements are identified and built into the Field-Three research process and tested for relevance and for incorporation in the CPTED SUITE. • Field-three: Based on a mixed research process, using a custom designed Criminological Risk Analyses tool incorporating scheduled interviews and questionnaires, the crime and needs profile of the Rosslyn Industry are uncovered and analysed. The results are filtered through the CPTED SUITE to indicate the correct criminological approach for mitigating the identified problems and needs. Even though this study takes an applied crime preventative approach, the criminological-philosophical mould of crime prevention is imperative for the effective application of the CPTED. Security and crime prevention training, planning and application, without this approach will remain underdeveloped and outdated. Finally the underlying intention of this research is for this Crime Prevention Intervention Model (CPIM) to be adapted and implemented and to serve as a guide or a benchmark for security practitioners in any industrial environment that has the same crime threats and crime risk challenges. / Criminology and Security Science / D. Litt. et Phil. (Criminology)

Urbanization is a fundamental reality in the developed and developing countries around the world creating large concentrations of the population centering on cities and urban centers. Cities can offer many opportunities for those residing there, including infrastructure, health services, rescue services and more. The living space density of cities allows for the opportunity of more effective and environmentally friendly housing, transportation and resources. Cities play a vital role in generating economic production as entities by themselves and as a part of larger urban complex. The benefits can provide for extraordinary amount of people, but only if proper planning and consideration is undertaken. Global urbanization is a progressive evolution, unique in spatial location while consistent to an overall growth pattern and trend. Remotely sensing these patterns from the last forty years of space borne satellites to understand how urbanization has developed is important to understanding past growth as well as planning for the future. Imagery from the Landsat sensor program provides the temporal component, it was the first satellite launched in 1972, providing appropriate spatial resolution needed to cover a large metropolitan statistical area to monitor urban growth and change on a large scale. This research maps the urban spatial and population growth over the Miami – Fort Lauderdale – West Palm Beach Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) covering Miami- Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties in Southeast Florida from 1974 to 2010 using Landsat imagery. Supervised Maximum Likelihood classification was performed with a combination of spectral and textural training fields employed in ERDAS Image 2014 to classify the images into urban and non-urban areas. Dasymetric mapping of the classification results were combined with census tract data then created a coherent depiction of the Miami – Fort Lauderdale – West Palm Beach MSA. Static maps and animated files were created from the final datasets for enhanced visualizations and understanding of the MSA evolution from 60-meter resolution remotely sensed Landsat images. The simplified methodology will create a database for urban planning and population growth as well as future work in this area. / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2017. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

This dissertation addresses voters' information heterogeneity and its effect on spatial voting. While most spatial voting models simply assume that voter uncertainty about candidate preferences is homogeneous across voters despite Downs' early use of uncertainty scale to classify the electorate, information studies have discovered that well and poorly informed citizens have sizeable and consistent differences in issue conceptualization, perception, political opinion and behavior. Built upon the spatial theory's early insights on uncertainty and the findings of information literature, this dissertation claims that information effects should be incorporated into the spatial voting model. By this incorporation, I seek to unify the different scholarly traditions of the spatial theory of voting and the study of political information. I hypothesize that uncertainty is not homogeneous, but varies with the level of information, which are approximated by political activism as well as information on candidate policy positions. To test this hypothesis, I employ heteroskedastic probit models that specify heterogeneity of voter uncertainty in probabilistic models of spatial voting. The models are applied to the U.S. presidential elections in 1992-2004. The empirical results of the analysis strongly support the expectation. They reveal that voter uncertainty is heterogeneous as a result of uneven distributions of information and political activism even when various voting cues are available. This dissertation also discovers that this heterogeneity in voter uncertainty has a significant effect on electoral outcomes. It finds that the more uncertain a voter is about the candidates, the more likely he or she is to vote for the incumbent or a better-known candidate. This clearly reflects voters' risk-averse attitudes that reward the candidate with greater certainty, all other things held constant. Heterogeneity in voter uncertainty and its electoral consequences, therefore, have important implications for candidates' strategies. The findings suggest that the voter heterogeneity leads candidates' equilibrium strategies and campaign tactics to be inconsistent with those that spatial analysts have normally proposed. / text

Thesis (M.A.)--State University of New York at Binghamton, Department of Geography, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references.

The problem investigated in this research is the ongoing crime threat and the extreme risks which impact negatively on the sustainability of the Rosslyn Industry - the industrial hub of Tshwane in the Gauteng Provence of South Africa. Businesses in Rosslyn are desperate for a solution that will mitigate these crime threats and risks, and ensure the future sustainability of this important industrial community. An intervention model is urgently required to prevent this type of crime, not only as a short term solution but as a sustainable long term intervention. This research study initiated the collaboration required for the successful implementation of a Crime Prevention Intervention Model (CPIM) in the Rosslyn industrial environment. The intended crime prevention model has been designed in such a way that it addresses the entire environment of crime that prevails in the Rosslyn area involving both the offender and the victim. This design is rooted in the ontology of Environmental Criminology and more specific on the applied epistemology of Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED). Participants in this project are representatives who are responsible for all security functions in both big businesses and small enterprises. And with their dedicated assistance the research findings disclosed the current crime status of the Rosslyn environment regarding the threat, risk, security vulnerabilities, controls and needs: • Crime and its causal factors, in Rosslyn, are rife and no noteworthy action has been implemented to mitigate these threats. • Collaboration between Rosslyn role players (neighbours, local government and law enforcement) is for all purposes non-existent. • And to complicate matters even more, knowledge of how to effectively mitigate crime is limited and handicapped by the re-active physical security methods currently being used. • The implication of these findings is that the status quo will eventually render business in Rosslyn unsustainable. Thus a CPIM in Rosslyn is inevitable. What was crucial to this research and to the CTPED design is the detailed sourcing of accurate data addressing the experiences and the needs the respondents identified in the current Rosslyn crime situation concerning; status, the threat, risk, security, vulnerabilities and controls. In order to achieve this level of data sourcing and assimilation, the essential features of the research method were based on a mixed approach where quantitative and qualitative methods were implemented in parallel. The diverse fields, sources and respondent mix required for a Rosslyn Industry CPIM also necessitated a MIT (Multi,-Inter,-Trans,-Disciplinary) approach. This MIT requirement is successfully facilitated through the applied criminological CPTED approach. The CPIM is based on the combined outcomes of the following three research fields: • Field-one: Environmental criminology theories are researched through an in-depth literature review to demonstrate the criminological grounding of crime prevention and to guide its application through the development of an applied CPTED SUITE. • Field-two: Supply Chain Security (SCS) are researched through an in-depth literature review to establish its criminological relevance and applications. SCS requirements are identified and built into the Field-Three research process and tested for relevance and for incorporation in the CPTED SUITE. • Field-three: Based on a mixed research process, using a custom designed Criminological Risk Analyses tool incorporating scheduled interviews and questionnaires, the crime and needs profile of the Rosslyn Industry are uncovered and analysed. The results are filtered through the CPTED SUITE to indicate the correct criminological approach for mitigating the identified problems and needs. Even though this study takes an applied crime preventative approach, the criminological-philosophical mould of crime prevention is imperative for the effective application of the CPTED. Security and crime prevention training, planning and application, without this approach will remain underdeveloped and outdated. Finally the underlying intention of this research is for this Crime Prevention Intervention Model (CPIM) to be adapted and implemented and to serve as a guide or a benchmark for security practitioners in any industrial environment that has the same crime threats and crime risk challenges. / Criminology and Security Science / D. Litt. et Phil. (Criminology)

Invasive alien plants have widespread ecological and socioeconomic impacts throughout many parts of the world, including Swaziland where the government declared them a national disaster. Control of these species requires knowledge on the invasion ecology of each species including how they interact with the invaded environment. Species distribution models are vital for providing solutions to such problems including the prediction of their niche and distribution. Various modelling approaches are used for species distribution modelling albeit with limitations resulting from statistical assumptions, implementation and interpretation of outputs. This study explores the usefulness of Bayesian networks (BNs) due their ability to model stochastic, nonlinear inter-causal relationships and uncertainty. Data-driven BNs were used to explore patterns and processes influencing the spatial distribution of 16 priority invasive alien plants in Swaziland. Various BN structure learning algorithms were applied within the Weka software to build models from a set of 170 variables incorporating climatic, anthropogenic, topo-edaphic and landscape factors. While all the BN models produced accurate predictions of alien plant invasion, the globally scored networks, particularly the hill climbing algorithms, performed relatively well. However, when considering the probabilistic outputs, the constraint-based Inferred Causation algorithm which attempts to generate a causal BN structure, performed relatively better. The learned BNs reveal that the main pathways of alien plants into new areas are ruderal areas such as road verges and riverbanks whilst humans and human activity are key driving factors and the main dispersal mechanism. However, the distribution of most of the species is constrained by climate particularly tolerance to very low temperatures and precipitation seasonality. Biotic interactions and/or associations among the species are also prevalent. The findings suggest that most of the species will proliferate by extending their range resulting in the whole country being at risk of further invasion. The ability of BNs to express uncertain, rather complex conditional and probabilistic dependencies and to combine multisource data makes them an attractive technique for species distribution modeling, especially as joint invasive species distribution models (JiSDM). Suggestions for further research are provided including the need for rigorous invasive species monitoring, data stewardship and testing more BN learning algorithms. / Environmental Sciences / D. Phil. (Environmental Science)