Browsing by Subject "GIS"

Now showing 1 - 10 of 17
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    Applications of geospatial analysis techniques for public health
    (2016-05-02) Stanforth, Austin Curran; Filippelli, Gabriel; Johnson, Daniel P.; Wang, Lixin; Wilson, Jeffrey; Moreno-Madriñán, Max J.; Jacinthe, Pierre-André
    Geospatial analysis is a generic term describing several technologies or methods of computational analysis using the Earth as a living laboratory. These methods can be implemented to assess risk and study preventative mitigation practices for Public Health. Through the incorporation Geographic Information Science and Remote Sensing tools, data collection can be conducted at a larger scale, more frequent, and less expensive that traditional in situ methods. These techniques can be extrapolated to be used to study a variety of topics. Application of these tools and techniques were demonstrated through Public Health research. Although it is understand resolution, or scale, of a research project can impact a study’s results; further research is needed to understand the extent of the result’s bias. Extreme heat vulnerability analysis was studied to validate previously identified socioeconomic and environmental variables influential for mitigation studies, and how the variability of resolution impacts the results of the methodology. Heat was also investigated for the implication of spatial and temporal resolution, or aggregation, influence on results. Methods studying the physical and socioeconomic environments of Dengue Fever outbreaks were also studied to identify patters of vector emergence.
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    A comparison of geocoding baselayers for electronic medical record data analysis
    (2014-01-16) Severns, Christopher Ray; Wilson, Jeffrey S. (Jeffrey Scott), 1967-; Johnson, Daniel P. (Daniel Patrick), 1971-; Martin, Pamela A.
    Identifying spatial and temporal patterns of disease occurrence by mapping the residential locations of affected people can provide information that informs response by public health practitioners and improves understanding in epidemiological research. A common method of locating patients at the individual level is geocoding residential addresses stored in electronic medical records (EMRs) using address matching procedures in a geographic information system (GIS). While the process of geocoding is becoming more common in public health studies, few researchers take the time to examine the effects of using different address databases on match rate and positional accuracy of the geocoded results. This research examined and compared accuracy and match rate resulting from four commonly-used geocoding databases applied to sample of 59,341 subjects residing in and around Marion County/ Indianapolis, IN. The results are intended to inform researchers on the benefits and downsides to their selection of a database to geocode patient addresses in EMRs.
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    Exploratory Analysis of Dengue Fever Niche Variables within the Río Magdalena Watershed
    (MDPI, 2016-09-19) Stanforth, Austin; Moreno-Madriñán, Max J.; Ashby, Jeffrey; Department of Environmental Health Sciences, FSPH
    Previous research on Dengue Fever have involved laboratory tests or study areas with less diverse temperature and elevation ranges than is found in Colombia; therefore, preliminary research was needed to identify location specific attributes of Dengue Fever transmission. Environmental variables derived from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellites were combined with population variables to be statistically compared against reported cases of Dengue Fever in the Río Magdalena watershed, Colombia. Three-factor analysis models were investigated to analyze variable patterns, including a population, population density, and empirical Bayesian estimation model. Results identified varying levels of Dengue Fever transmission risk, and environmental characteristics which support, and advance, the research literature. Multiple temperature metrics, elevation, and vegetation composition were among the more contributory variables found to identify future potential outbreak locations.
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    From Hometown to Practice: Mapping and Analyzing the Medical Student Pipeline at the Indiana University School of Medicine
    (2019-10) Fancher, Laurie Michelle; Wilson, Jeffrey; Kochhar, Komal; Lulla, Vijay
    Indiana University School of Medicine (IUSM) teaches approximately 350 medical students each year. These students come from varied backgrounds and eventually end up practicing in a vast array of clinical specialties and settings. It is extremely important to monitor specialties and practice locations to understand exactly how IUSM is fulfilling physician workforce needs. This knowledge can help policymakers and school administrators shape programs and policies to better fulfill physician workforce needs. Geographic information technologies provide a framework to organize, analyze and visualize medical student data. Maps are a convenient and easily understandable method of conveying information with a location-based component. This project represents a step towards creating a coherent student database visualized with maps. Using data about the graduating classes from 2011-2018, a database was created that linked together geographic information of students from the various segments of their medical education such as residency, fellowship, and practice location. ArcGIS 10.5 was used to produce maps visualizing segments of this database. These maps also served to answer questions about the medical student graduates at IUSM, such as how many came from an in-state location and how many practice in-state. SPSS 25 was also used to compare results of various segments of the medical education pipeline. The database proves to be an incredibly necessary tool for keeping track of all IUSM graduates. Coherent, clean, and complete data is necessary for researchers at all levels as well as administrators. Keeping data up to date and centralized is essential and this project provides an easily updateable and useable format. The maps created from this database are also useful in showing trends across the graduates of IUSM, such as the Indiana counties that the graduates are most likely to practice in or the likelihood of practicing in specific shortage areas.
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    A GIS Approach to Understanding Mississippian Settlement Patterns in the Central Illinois River Valley
    (2020-07) Swoveland, Kayla Jan; Wilson, Jeffery; Wilson, Jeremy; Lulla, Vijay
    Geographic Information Science (GIS) technologies have helped to further the research of archaeologists almost since the inception of the field. Archaeologists have long made observations rooted in what would become GIS, but it wasn’t until the early 21st century that science was able to back up these observations. From the seemingly simple task of organizing and storing spatial data to more robust statistical and spatial calculations, GIS has quickly become a valuable tool used by archeologists to better understand past populations. This research applied GIS to help understand the regional distribution of settlement locations from the Mississippian Period (AD 1050-1450) in the central Illinois River Valley (CIRV) of west-central Illinois. Settlement distribution was examined in two contexts, first in the context of larger, more “metropolitan” site placement in relation to smaller, more transitory sites. Secondly, site distribution was examined to see what, if any, pattern existed between site placement and a set of ecological factors. The results found that while smaller sites were prevalent around many of the larger sites, a few metropolitan sites did have a larger number of smaller sites surrounding them, supporting the idea of certain Mississippian sites serving as hubs. Additionally, it was demonstrated that several different types of GIS based analyses were particularly effective in helping to identify these patterns, thus solidifying and improving the role of GIS in the field of archaeology.
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    A Habitat Suitability Model for Ricord’s Iguana in the Dominican Republic
    (2009-06-23T20:28:12Z) Dine, James; Wilson, Jeffrey S. (Jeffrey Scott), 1967-; Banerjee, Aniruddha; Ramer, Jan
    The West Indian iguanas of the genus Cyclura are the most endangered group of lizards in the world (Burton & Bloxam, 2002). The Ricord’s iguana, Cyclura ricordii, is listed as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) (Ramer, 2004). This species is endemic to the island of Hispaniola (Figure 1), and can only be found in limited geographic areas (Burton & Bloxam, 2002). The range of this species is estimated to be only 60% of historical levels, with most areas being affected by some level of disturbance (Ottenwalder, 1996). The most recent population estimation is between 2,000 and 4,000 individuals (Burton & Bloxam, 2002). Information on potentially suitable habitat can help the conservation efforts for Ricord’s iguana. However, intensive ground surveys are not always feasible or cost effective, and cannot easily provide continuous coverage over a large area. This paper presents results from a pilot study that evaluated variables extracted from satellite imagery and digitally mapped data layers to map the probability of suitable Ricord’s iguana habitat. Bayesian methods were used to determine the probability that each pixel in the study areas is suitable habitat for Ricord’s iguanas by evaluating relevant environmental attributes. This model predicts the probability that an area is suitable habitat based on the values of the environmental attributes including landscape biophysical characteristics, terrain data, and bioclimatic variables.
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    "How Others Have Built": A Sketch of Indianapolis Construction and Demolition Patterns
    (2018-12) Ryan, Jordan B.; Monroe, Elizabeth Brand; Barrows, Robert G.; Cramer, Kevin; Selm, William
    This thesis argues that an architectural surveying methodology via newspaper sampling offers new insight historic preservationists can use to more efficiently predict demolitions. Using data collected from the “Home Builder’s Department” section of the Indianapolis Star, this study compiles architectural information on 425 structures, mostly single-family and duplex residences, built between 1909 and 1926. Engaging with the historiographical themes of public history and architectural history as well as methodological components of historic preservation and digital humanities, the data-centric model relies on a collection of sampled newspaper articles, which were analyzed for specific information, compiled into a data repository with supplemental research, and then incorporated into the ArcGIS program for interpretation. The project provides a synopsis on early twentieth century building trends in Indianapolis and offers implications regarding the role that factors such as building type, geographic location, federal and municipal historic district protections, architectural style, and exterior building material or cladding play in predicting demolitions. Beyond these predictive results, this study also suggests a city-wide surveying methodology for organizing and analyzing large quantities of historic architecture for preservation planning initiatives.
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    Identifying enhanced urban heat island convection areas for Indianapolis, Indiana using space-borne thermal remote sensing methods
    (2015-04-02) Boyd, Kelly D.; Johnson, Daniel P.; Wilson, Jeffery S.; Martin, Pamela A.
    Heat is one of the most important factors in our atmosphere for precipitation (thunderstorm) formation. Thermal energy from local urban land-cover is also a common source of heat in the lower atmosphere. This phenomenon is known as the urban heat island effect (UHI) and is identified as a substantial cause to a changing climate in surface weather modification. The proceeding study investigates this connection between the UHI and surface weather using remote sensing platforms A ten-year analysis of the Indianapolis UHI and thunderstorms were studied from the summer months of May, June, July, August and September (MJJAS) from 2002 until 2011. LANDSAT space borne satellite technology and land-surface based weather radar technology was used in this analysis for thunderstorm investigation. Precipitation areas identified from land-based NEXRAD WSR-88D technology were used to identify convection from non-synoptic forcing and non-normal surface diurnal heating scenarios. Only convection appearing from the UHI were studied and analyzed. Results showed twenty-one events over eighteen days with the year 2005 and 2011 having the largest frequency of events. The month of August had the largest concentration with seven events during the late afternoon hours. UHI results showed July had the largest heat island magnitude with April and September having the lowest magnitude in UHI temperatures. Three events of the twenty-one storm paths did not had a significant mean temperature difference in the heat island below the storm reflectivity. The nineteen storm paths that were significant had a warmer area underneath storm path development by an average 6.2°C than surrounding areas. UHI initiation points showed twelve of the twenty-one events having statistically significant differences between 2 km initiation areas and the rest of the study areas. Land-cover results showed low intensity developed areas had the most land-cover type (48%) in the 2km initiation buffer regions.
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    Impact of the Proposed I-69 Corridor on Bobcat (Felis rufus) Habitat in Southwestern Indiana
    (Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research, 2013-04-05) Ashby, Jeffrey L.
    “Habitat loss is known to be the main cause of the current global decline in biodiversity, and roads are thought to affect the persistence of many species by restricting movement between habitat patches” (Eigenbrod, Hecnar et al. 2008). This research looks at the impact of the I-69 corridor being built in Southwestern Indiana on Bobcat habitat (Felis rufus) identified through the use of remote sensing and GIS. Bobcats are solitary animals that require steep, forested areas with plenty of cover for both themselves and the small mammals they prey upon. Identifying where Bobcats are likely is the first step in knowing the impact on their diversity in Southwestern Indiana. In this research, we used the 2012 National Agriculture Imagery Program (NAIP) imagery for each of the 47 counties in this study, along with the 2005 IndianaMap Elevation Model (DEM) data, both obtained from the Indiana Geospatial Portal (gis.iu.edu). These were combined with the cities and town, interstate, and highway shapefiles from the IndianaMap website (indianamap.org), and then classified and assigned suitability values to highlight high, medium, and low probability locations for Bobcats within the study area. The I-69 corridor shapefile was then added and the reduction in habitat calculated to show the impact the corridor will have on existing Bobcat habitat. The methods used in this research project can be used by State and other agencies to evaluate the impact on not only Bobcat habitat, but adapted to other species as well.
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    Integrating GIS in a Statewide Medical Education Administrative System
    (2019-04) Davis, Ashley Michelle; Wilson, Jeffrey S.; Kochhar, Komal; Lulla, Vijay O.
    Geographic technologies can be used to visualize and analyze data patterns that may go unnoticed from other approaches. The purpose of this project was to provide examples of how GIS and cartographic methods are being used to help facilitate communication and inform management processes for a complex statewide medical education system administered by the Indiana University School of Medicine, the largest medical school in the United States. The IU School of Medicine has nine regional campuses located around the state in addition to numerous partnering hospitals where medical students are trained. We illustrate geographic examples of various stages of medical student education from admissions, through campus assignments and clinical rotations, to residency training. These geographic processes are being used to inform reaccreditation processes as well as assisting administration with recruitment/retention strategies, statewide planning, and analysis in a complex medical education system.