Colin Robertson
Biographic Data
| ID | 3581400 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Colin Robertson |
| GIVEN NAMES | Colin |
| FAMILY NAME | Robertson |
| SIGNATURE | ROBERTSON C |
| AFFILIATIONS | Wilfrid Laurier University |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-0998-2971 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 15 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 16 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 15 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1939 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2024 |
| H-INDEX | 3 |
Future prospects for backyard skating rinks look bleak in a warming climate
Each winter, purpose‐built outdoor skating rinks are constructed in backyards and community parks across much of Canada and the northern United States. Past research projects that warmer winters will make it increasingly difficult to build outdoor rinks without artificial refrigeration. Here we build upon previous studies by mapping areas of North America where present average January temperatures are generally suitable each year for building out…
A machine learning analysis of drought and rural population change on the North American Great Plains since the 1970s
CWDAT—An Open-Source Tool for the Visualization and Analysis of Community-Generated Water Quality Data
Citizen science initiatives span a wide range of topics, designs, and research needs. Despite this heterogeneity, there are several common barriers to the uptake and sustainability of citizen science projects and the information they generate. One key barrier often cited in the citizen science literature is data quality. Open-source tools for the analysis, visualization, and reporting of citizen science data hold promise for addressing the challe…
Population responses to the 1976 South Dakota drought
Droughts on the North American Great Plains once led to elevated levels of out‐migration from rural areas. Large‐scale drought migration has not been observed since the 1950s due to changes in land management and agricultural systems that lessened farm‐level vulnerability to drought. Have droughts had less observable population impacts in subsequent decades? Here, we present findings from an investigation of an unusually severe, localised drought…
The Spatial-Comprehensiveness (S-COM) Index
Social media and other forms of volunteered geographic information (VGI) are used frequently as a source of fine-grained big data for research. While employing geographically referenced social media data for a wide array of purposes has become commonplace, the relevant scales over which these data apply to is typically unknown. For researchers to use VGI appropriately (e.g., aggregated to areal units (e.g., neighbourhoods) to elicit key trend or …
Reconstruction of past backyard skating seasons in the Original Six NHL cities from citizen science data
This study conducted linear and change‐point analyses of historical trends since 1942 in the length and number of days suitable for skating on backyard rinks in the “Original Six” National Hockey League cities of Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Montreal, New York, and Toronto. Analysis is based on the relationship between ambient air temperatures and the probability of skating, using thresholds identified through the RinkWatch citizen science project. …
A unified ecological framework for studying effects of digital places on well-being
Comparing spatial patterns
The comparison of spatial patterns is a fundamental task in geography and quantitative spatial modelling. With the growth of data being collected with a geospatial element, we are witnessing an increased interest in analyses requiring spatial pattern comparisons (e.g., model assessment and change analysis). In this paper, we review quantitative techniques for comparing spatial patterns, examining key methodological approaches developed both withi…
Towards a geocomputational landscape epidemiology
Spatial data issues in geographical zoonoses research
Key Messages Spatial data are of increasing use in the investigation of emerging zoonoses. Due to the heterogeneity of required data sources, issues of scale misalignment, data linkage, and access to data are found to be important factors. Geographers can make significant contributions to zoonoses research through their expertise in evaluating, integrating, and modelling spatial data
Bumps and bruises in the digital skins of cities
As momentum and interest build to leverage new forms of user-generated content that contains geographical information, classical issues of data quality remain significant research challenges. In this article we explore issues of representativeness for one form of user-generated content, geotagged photographs in US urban centers. Generalized linear models were developed to associate photograph distribution with underlying socioeconomic descriptors…
Winters too warm to skate? Citizen‐science reported variability in availability of outdoor skating in Canada
Key Messages Citizen scientists have contributed thousands of reports of skating conditions in Canada. Variability in reported “skateability” is evident across 10 Canadian cities and the temperature‐skating relationship varies across Canada. Climate modelling scenarios suggest significant declines in opportunities for outdoor skating across Canada
Decision at Midnight
The child behaviour checklist in a melbourne urban sample
Child Behaviour Checklist scores for 7-, 12-, and 15-year-olds from a two-stage cluster sample of Melbourne schoolchildren were compared with U.S. 1991 norms and with children from Sydney. This study was prompted by a previous finding that Sydney parents rated children substantially higher on behaviour problems compared with U.S. norms. Response rates in Melbourne parents varied from 30-60% for the different age groups with 7-year-olds having the…
Colin Robertson's Correspondence Book, September 1817 to September 1822
"(Half-title: The publications of the Champlain Society. Hudson's Bay Company series, 2). Binder's title: Robertson's letters, 1817-1822. Limited edition issued to members and subscribing libraries. Printed in Great Britain by Robert Maclehose and Co. Ltd., The University Press, Glasgow. Compiled in 1837 from copies of private letters in his daily journal for submission to the Committee of the H.B.C. in his own defence against Sir George Simpson'…
A unified ecological framework for studying effects of digital places on well-being
Population responses to the 1976 South Dakota drought
Droughts on the North American Great Plains once led to elevated levels of out‐migration from rural areas. Large‐scale drought migration has not been observed since the 1950s due to changes in land management and agricultural systems that lessened farm‐level vulnerability to drought. Have droughts had less observable population impacts in subsequent decades? Here, we present findings from an investigation of an unusually severe, localised drought…
Winters too warm to skate? Citizen‐science reported variability in availability of outdoor skating in Canada
Key Messages Citizen scientists have contributed thousands of reports of skating conditions in Canada. Variability in reported “skateability” is evident across 10 Canadian cities and the temperature‐skating relationship varies across Canada. Climate modelling scenarios suggest significant declines in opportunities for outdoor skating across Canada
The child behaviour checklist in a melbourne urban sample
Child Behaviour Checklist scores for 7-, 12-, and 15-year-olds from a two-stage cluster sample of Melbourne schoolchildren were compared with U.S. 1991 norms and with children from Sydney. This study was prompted by a previous finding that Sydney parents rated children substantially higher on behaviour problems compared with U.S. norms. Response rates in Melbourne parents varied from 30-60% for the different age groups with 7-year-olds having the…
Reconstruction of past backyard skating seasons in the Original Six NHL cities from citizen science data
This study conducted linear and change‐point analyses of historical trends since 1942 in the length and number of days suitable for skating on backyard rinks in the “Original Six” National Hockey League cities of Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Montreal, New York, and Toronto. Analysis is based on the relationship between ambient air temperatures and the probability of skating, using thresholds identified through the RinkWatch citizen science project. …
Comparing spatial patterns
The comparison of spatial patterns is a fundamental task in geography and quantitative spatial modelling. With the growth of data being collected with a geospatial element, we are witnessing an increased interest in analyses requiring spatial pattern comparisons (e.g., model assessment and change analysis). In this paper, we review quantitative techniques for comparing spatial patterns, examining key methodological approaches developed both withi…
Colin Robertson's Correspondence Book, September 1817 to September 1822
"(Half-title: The publications of the Champlain Society. Hudson's Bay Company series, 2). Binder's title: Robertson's letters, 1817-1822. Limited edition issued to members and subscribing libraries. Printed in Great Britain by Robert Maclehose and Co. Ltd., The University Press, Glasgow. Compiled in 1837 from copies of private letters in his daily journal for submission to the Committee of the H.B.C. in his own defence against Sir George Simpson'…
The child behaviour checklist in a melbourne urban sample
Child Behaviour Checklist scores for 7-, 12-, and 15-year-olds from a two-stage cluster sample of Melbourne schoolchildren were compared with U.S. 1991 norms and with children from Sydney. This study was prompted by a previous finding that Sydney parents rated children substantially higher on behaviour problems compared with U.S. norms. Response rates in Melbourne parents varied from 30-60% for the different age groups with 7-year-olds having the…
Decision at Midnight
Bumps and bruises in the digital skins of cities
As momentum and interest build to leverage new forms of user-generated content that contains geographical information, classical issues of data quality remain significant research challenges. In this article we explore issues of representativeness for one form of user-generated content, geotagged photographs in US urban centers. Generalized linear models were developed to associate photograph distribution with underlying socioeconomic descriptors…
Winters too warm to skate? Citizen‐science reported variability in availability of outdoor skating in Canada
Key Messages Citizen scientists have contributed thousands of reports of skating conditions in Canada. Variability in reported “skateability” is evident across 10 Canadian cities and the temperature‐skating relationship varies across Canada. Climate modelling scenarios suggest significant declines in opportunities for outdoor skating across Canada
Spatial data issues in geographical zoonoses research
Key Messages Spatial data are of increasing use in the investigation of emerging zoonoses. Due to the heterogeneity of required data sources, issues of scale misalignment, data linkage, and access to data are found to be important factors. Geographers can make significant contributions to zoonoses research through their expertise in evaluating, integrating, and modelling spatial data
Towards a geocomputational landscape epidemiology
Comparing spatial patterns
The comparison of spatial patterns is a fundamental task in geography and quantitative spatial modelling. With the growth of data being collected with a geospatial element, we are witnessing an increased interest in analyses requiring spatial pattern comparisons (e.g., model assessment and change analysis). In this paper, we review quantitative techniques for comparing spatial patterns, examining key methodological approaches developed both withi…
A unified ecological framework for studying effects of digital places on well-being
The Spatial-Comprehensiveness (S-COM) Index
Social media and other forms of volunteered geographic information (VGI) are used frequently as a source of fine-grained big data for research. While employing geographically referenced social media data for a wide array of purposes has become commonplace, the relevant scales over which these data apply to is typically unknown. For researchers to use VGI appropriately (e.g., aggregated to areal units (e.g., neighbourhoods) to elicit key trend or …
Reconstruction of past backyard skating seasons in the Original Six NHL cities from citizen science data
This study conducted linear and change‐point analyses of historical trends since 1942 in the length and number of days suitable for skating on backyard rinks in the “Original Six” National Hockey League cities of Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Montreal, New York, and Toronto. Analysis is based on the relationship between ambient air temperatures and the probability of skating, using thresholds identified through the RinkWatch citizen science project. …
CWDAT—An Open-Source Tool for the Visualization and Analysis of Community-Generated Water Quality Data
Citizen science initiatives span a wide range of topics, designs, and research needs. Despite this heterogeneity, there are several common barriers to the uptake and sustainability of citizen science projects and the information they generate. One key barrier often cited in the citizen science literature is data quality. Open-source tools for the analysis, visualization, and reporting of citizen science data hold promise for addressing the challe…
Population responses to the 1976 South Dakota drought
Droughts on the North American Great Plains once led to elevated levels of out‐migration from rural areas. Large‐scale drought migration has not been observed since the 1950s due to changes in land management and agricultural systems that lessened farm‐level vulnerability to drought. Have droughts had less observable population impacts in subsequent decades? Here, we present findings from an investigation of an unusually severe, localised drought…
A machine learning analysis of drought and rural population change on the North American Great Plains since the 1970s
Future prospects for backyard skating rinks look bleak in a warming climate
Each winter, purpose‐built outdoor skating rinks are constructed in backyards and community parks across much of Canada and the northern United States. Past research projects that warmer winters will make it increasingly difficult to build outdoor rinks without artificial refrigeration. Here we build upon previous studies by mapping areas of North America where present average January temperatures are generally suitable each year for building out…
Geography (12 works) · Computer Science (7 works) · Data science (7 works) · Cartography (4 works) · Demography (4 works) · Ecology (4 works) · Human Mobility and Location-Based Analysis (4 works) · Citizen science (3 works) · Climate change (3 works) · Data mining (3 works)