Graduate Student Research Conference
Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/10877/8272
The Graduate College invites graduate students from all disciplines to present at the Graduate Student Research Conference (GSRC) (previously known as the International Research Conference) and showcase their original research and creative works!
Graduate Student Research Conference Website: https://www.gradcollege.txst.edu/events/research/graduate-student-research-conference.html
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Browsing Graduate Student Research Conference by Department "Geography and Environmental Studies"
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Item Automotive Crashes Across Texas in 2020(2021-04) Atkins, DaneDespite increasing vehicles miles traveled – more cars and more drivers – automotive fatality rates have been in decline for decades. However, in 2020, amidst a global pandemic and widespread societal lockdowns, driving behaviors changed dramatically. Reports emerged as early as mid-summer and were later reaffirmed by the National Highway Safety Administration: the number of automotive collisions in 2020 had decreased from previous years, but the number of fatal crashes held steady – or even increased. I validate these observations for the State of Texas and provide a closer examination of the spatial and temporal trends underlying the increased fatality rates. The analysis utilizes four years of official crash records from the state of Texas, where the fatal crash rate from the year 2020 is compared to earlier year-records using a statistical difference of proportions test. Overall, fatal crash rates increased across the state, but these increases were primarily associated with highly urbanized areas (rural areas enjoyed a slight decrease in fatal crash rates). Although fatality rates peaked in April 2020, the fatality rate remained unusually high throughout the year.Item Comparison of Historical Markers in the Different States(2022-04) Liu, YanyanHistorical markers show the memory of the past. Historical markers' contents may vary due to local governments or the different time series. To know the historical markers' memorial topics in different places, this project collected Texas and Florida's existing records, analyzed the most frequent keywords. The result shows that the markers in these two states shared some common things, such as the positive correlation between population and the number of markers. Besides, Texas markers are more related to religion, while Florida markers are more connected to the environment. Results show that the topic varies within a state in different periods.Item Exploration of Temporal-spatially varying Impacts on COVID-19 Cumulative Case in Texas using Geographically Weighted Regression (GWR)(2021-04) Wu, Xiu; Chow, T. EdwinSince COVID-19 is extremely menacing human’s health, it is a significant to expose on its factor’s impacts for curbing the virus. To address the complexity of COVID-19 expansion in spatial-temporal scale, this research is appropriately analyzed the spatial-temporal heterogeneity at county-level in Texas. First, factors impact of COVID-19 are captured on social, economic, and environmental multiple-facets and the Communality is extracted through Principal Component Analysis (PCA). Second, this research is used COVID-19 CC as the dependent variable and the common factors as the independent variable. According to the degree of the virus spreading, spatial-temporal disparity is categorized four quarters in the modeling GWR analysis. The findings are exhibited that GWR models provided higher fitness, more geodata-oriented information than OLS models. In Texas El Paso, Odessa, Midland, Randall areas, population, hospitalization, and age structure presented static, positive influences on COVID-19 cumulative cases, indicating they should be adopted stringent strategies in curbing COVID-19. Winter is the most sensitive season for the virus spreading, implying the last quarter should be pay more attention to prevent the virus and take precautions. This research is expected to provide references for preventing and controlling COVID-19 and related infectious diseases, evidence for disease surveillance and response systems to facilitate the appropriate uptake and reuse of geographical data.Item Exploring the association between the Noyce Scholarship Program and Public-School Districts with Spatial Patterns in the U.S(2023-04) Wu, Xiu; Feng, Li; Chih, Yao-YuBackground: The Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program (RNTSP) provides financial support to undergraduate students who are interested in pursuing a career in teaching STEM subjects. However, there are some challenges associated with estimating the effectiveness of this program. These challenges include time lag, spatial non-synergistic effects, and the lack of an object-based surveillance mechanism. These factors contribute to uncertainties in the estimation of the program's impact. Research Purpose: This research aims to identify the spatial relationship between RNTSP and public-school districts in the U.S. The main objective is to examine the potential effects of RNTSP on the current public school system. This will be achieved by the use of the spatial join tool. Specifically, different radii intersections will be used to determine the extent of the relationship between RNTSP and the public-school districts. By doing so, the research will provide valuable insights into the effectiveness of RNTSP and how it impacts the education resources available to public schools. Research Questions: How does the RNTSP influence public school districts in the U.S. in space?Item Save Water, Drink Beer: The hybridity of Texas craft breweries and impacting water stewardship through participatory action research(2022-04) Wiley, Delorean; Smith, LindsayEvery brewery has a different culture and space. However, all are places where people and resources flow for a common purpose – beer. Breweries are large users of water and act as public spaces for community gathering. Therefore, they are simultaneously consumers of resources and curators of culture. In this way, hybridity can help conceptualize breweries as “hydrosocial” spaces. This is important when considering water reduction projects at breweries. There cannot be a one-size fits all solution to water conservation. Stakeholders for water are vast and have competing needs and desires. Feminist political ecology combined with participatory action research offers a framework to engage breweries, constituents, and water to preserve these unique fermented landscapes. This project includes members from Texas Brewshed Alliance (TBA), researchers at Texas state University, breweries, water conservation groups, and Texas residents. Texas Brewshed Alliance was established in 2019 by the Wimberley Valley Watershed Association (WVWA) to inspire communities across Texas through fun, educational events and to engage them in taking action to steward their local lands and waters, which are vital for brewing exceptional beer (wimberleywatershed.org). This presentation is in preparation of a dissertation with the goal of creating measurable change for the Texas Brewshed Alliance. Specifically, the project will see how Texas craft breweries can act as spaces to educate about water stewardship, increase community watershed knowledge, and change water conservation behavior among project participants.