Spatial patterns of adolescent drug use

Adolescent drug use is individually and socially harmful in terms of disrupting adolescent development and social cohesion. Prior research has identified populations at risk and risk factors for adolescent drug use. This research sought to contextualize adolescent drug use by examining this behavior from a geographic perspective. The specific objectives were to identify patterns, local clusters and excess spatial risk for 5-digit zip codes within the 5-county Cincinnati, Ohio region. Adolescents (n = 57,241) were recruited within local schools by the Coalition for a Drug-free Greater Cincinnati. Results of this research show spatial clusters for perceived safety of marijuana; peer approval of alcohol, tobacco and marijuana; and age of onset for other drugs. The location and nature of these clusters are discussed and displayed in-text. Further, zip codes that were in excess risk compared to the 5-county region were identified. The utility of this research is two-fold: (1) It identifies the geographic variability in adolescent drug use and correlated factors of use, and (2) It provides a methodological framework for future research in spatial epidemiology of drug use.     

Using simulated data to investigate the spatial patterns of obesity prevalence at the census tract level in metropolitan Detroit

Obesity is a serious public health problem in the United States. It is important to estimate obesity prevalence at the local level to target programmatic and policy interventions. It is challenging, however, to obtain local estimates of obesity prevalence because national health surveys such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) are not designed to produce direct estimates at the local levels (e.g. census tracts) due to small population samples and the need to preserve individual confidentiality. In this study we address the problem of estimating local obesity prevalence rates by implementing a spatial microsimulation modeling technique to proportionally replicate the demographic characteristics of BRFSS respondents to census tract populations in metropolitan Detroit. Obesity prevalence rates are examined for high and low spatial clusters and studied in relation to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) measures of low-income neighborhoods and local food deserts and CDC's measure of healthy and less healthy food environments currently used to target obesity reduction initiatives. This study found that obesity prevalence was largely clustered in the City of Detroit extending north into contiguous suburbs. The spatial patterns of highest obesity prevalence tracts were most similarly aligned with USDA-defined low-income tracts and CDC's less healthy food tracts. The locations of USDA's food desert tracts rarely overlapped with the highest obesity prevalence tracts. This study demonstrated a new methodology by which to assess local areas in need of future obesity interventions.     

A spatio-temporal analysis of academic performance at the Basic Education Certificate Examination in Ghana

Over the last decade, Ghana has more than tripled investment in its basic education system. Consequently, the country has made huge educational gains, primarily in providing universal access to basic education. However, many stakeholders are worried that academic performance is lagging because of disproportional attention to accessing basic education. Discussion of these concerns is hampered by ongoing disagreement about the true trajectory of academic performance at the basic education level and the widespread nature of students' lagging academic performance. In part, this disagreement stems from the failure of empirical studies to comprehensively examine trends in academic performance standards at the basic education level by concurrently considering a geographical and longitudinal perspective. Thus, this study examines the spatio-temporal trends of academic performance at the junior high school level since 2009 by using multilevel growth curve modeling, spatial statistics, and district-level longitudinal data. Results reveal 3 statistically distinct trajectories of academic performance: erratic, accelerating, and decelerating changes. Results also show that rural–urban gaps explain 31% of the performance trajectories, a trend which is expected to persist in the long term. In addition, we find extreme variations in academic performance within rural areas. Given the varying trajectories and geographical variability in academic performance, we suggest a localized approach to addressing challenges of low academic achievement at the basic education level in Ghana.     

Multitemporal settlement and population mapping from Landsat using Google Earth Engine

As countries become increasingly urbanized, understanding how urban areas are changing within the landscape becomes increasingly important. Urbanized areas are often the strongest indicators of human interaction with the environment, and understanding how urban areas develop through remotely sensed data allows for more sustainable practices. The Google Earth Engine (GEE) leverages cloud computing services to provide analysis capabilities on over 40 years of Landsat data. As a remote sensing platform, its ability to analyze global data rapidly lends itself to being an invaluable tool for studying the growth of urban areas. Here we present (i) An approach for the automated extraction of urban areas from Landsat imagery using GEE, validated using higher resolution images, (ii) a novel method of validation of the extracted urban extents using changes in the statistical performance of a high resolution population mapping method. Temporally distinct urban extractions were classified from the GEE catalog of Landsat 5 and 7 data over the Indonesian island of Java by using a Normalized Difference Spectral Vector (NDSV) method. Statistical evaluation of all of the tests was performed, and the value of population mapping methods in validating these urban extents was also examined. Results showed that the automated classification from GEE produced accurate urban extent maps, and that the integration of GEE-derived urban extents also improved the quality of the population mapping outputs.     

‘The magical operations of separation’: English elite schools’ on-line geographies,internationalisation and functional isolation

This paper examines the enduring separation and isolation of elite schools in England, in the face of increasing and substantial internationalisation. It presents the findings of a research project examining the geographical narratives produced by 30 elite schools on their websites and through their prospectuses, newsletters, blogs and twitter feeds. A critical visual and textual analysis was undertaken. Drawing on these data, the paper argues that elite schools remain highly focused on promoting and defending their separateness and isolation, despite extensive, documented international involvements. Work on institutional and carceral geographies and geographies of education have provided some theoretical justification for why this might be the case, and we explore these reasons here. The paper concludes with a plea for more work on the elite schooling sector in England, as their spatial practices (isolation and internationalisation) continue to have a weighty bearing upon society.     

Experimenting with spaces of encounter: Creative interventions to develop meaningful contact

To-date geographical research on encounters has primarily comprised observation of naturalistic settings (both micro publics and everyday public spaces) or narrative accounts of encounters generated by conventional methods, this paper focuses on a contrived spatial experiment to create meaningful contact across difference. Inspired by, and drawing on insights from, Architecture – a discipline relatively neglected by geographers in recent times – we use a creative form of spatial play to stimulate groups of people to explore their differences and to develop shared understandings. Whereas previous studies have identified the importance of material objects in art projects and home spaces in mediating relations between people, surprisingly little attention has been paid to the physical configuration of space in work on encounters, despite the fact that geography is a spatial discipline. Here, we engage directly with the role of the form and function of space. Our spatial experiments demonstrate how paying attention to the materiality of micro-spaces rather than social relations alone, can provide insights into the generation of positive interactions by contributing to a greater understanding of how meaningful encounters happen, and what can be done to facilitate them. Specifically, by exploring the size and configuration of space, issues of ownership and surveillance, the relationship between primary and secondary space, and aural architecture this research identifies how working together to create a shared private or intimate space – might facilitate a sense of empowerment and the production of social relations characterised by democracy and inclusion.     

近40年来塔什干低涡活动特征的统计分析

利用1971-2010年NCEP/NCAR逐日再分析资料,根据塔什干低涡定义,分析了塔什干低涡的时空分布特征、移动路径及其对南疆天气的影响.结果表明:(1)1971-2010年,塔什干低涡过程平均每年出现7.95次,成熟期生命史平均为3.1天,4天以上的仅有13.5％; (2)4-6月和9-10月是塔什干低涡活动的两个高峰期,其中5月出现次数最多,其次是10月和6月;(3)塔什干低涡频次的年代际变化呈抛物线型,1970-1980年代由78次增加到83次,之后逐渐减少,年低涡频次存在7年左右的显著振荡周期,同时具有1 3年的次振荡周期;(4)塔什干低涡活动有两个高频中心,分别位于67.5°E,40.0°N和72.5°E,35.0°N,移动路径以偏东方向为主,占84％,西退塔什干低涡仅有5.7％;造成南疆显著降水天气的塔什干低涡占其总数的23.3％,夏季此类低涡所占比例最高,达41.2％.     

1961-2009年新疆伊犁地区暴雨日数时空变化特征

根据1961-2009年伊犁地区10个自动站逐日降水资料,采用线性趋势、累积距平、M-K 突变检验、以及周期分析等方法,分析近 49 a暴雨日数的年代际、年际、月、旬、空间的变化规律及其周期变化,并对该地区近 49 a暴雨日数进行突变检验。结果表明：近49 a来伊犁地区的暴雨日数呈上升趋势,其线性倾向率为0.107 d/10 a;暴雨主要发生在5-7月,约占总数的73.2 %,其中6月最多,7月次之;暴雨异常偏少年为1995年,暴雨异常偏多年为1996、1999、2002、2003和2007年;暴雨日数由西向东、由北向南均呈逐渐增加趋势;暴雨日数发生频次存在显著2.8 a左右年际变化周期。     

空间数据自动化建库工具研究

空间数据库的建设速度和成本是影响GIS应用的重要因素。目前空间数据建库存在软件通用性差、建库过程操作复杂、人工干预多、建库效率低等问题。本文针对建库中存在的问题，研究并提出了基于可视化建模思想的空间数据库自动化建库技术，有助于大幅度降低建库复杂性及建库成本，提高效率。     

地理信息系统的现状及其技术系统的研究动向

地理信息系统作为新兴的高技术系统，已经应用于整个空间信息的处理领域。本文将在分析现有系统应用水平和存在问题的基础上，着重讨论了六个方面值得重视的研究课题。