Education Degree
B.A., Dartmouth College, 1993
M.A., Columbia University, 1996
Ph.D., University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2007
Research Interest
I use GIS/remote sensing and statistical methods to examine the patterns, processes, and drivers of landuse/landcover change. I also use qualitative data gathering techniques to contextualize research, as I am interested in how multiple stakeholder groups act at different geographic scales to affect the protection of ecological, cultural, and economic resources, particularly in protected landscapes. My regional focus for this research is Northern and Eastern Europe.In addition, I conduct methodological research to improve remotely sensed image classification techniques. In particular, I use Bayesian methods, neural networks, and regression techniques to improve on per-pixel and sub-pixel classification accuracies. I am also interested in connections between epidemiology, biostatistics, and geography, particularly in how GIS can add value to solve public health problems in an epidemiological framework.
Courses Taught
Quantitative methods for geography and earth sciences.
Geographic Information Systems.
Recent Publications
Taff, G.N., encyclopedia entry: Latvia, in Encyclopedia of Environment & Society (Robbins, Paul Editor), Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks, CA, forthcoming.
Taff, G.N., Conflict between Global and Local Land-Use Values in Latvia's Gauja National Park, Landscape Research, Vol 30, No. 3, pp 415- 430, July 2005.
Walsh, S.J., Bilsborrow, R.E., McGregor, S.J., Frizzelle, B.G., Messina, J.P., Pan, W.K.T., Crews-Meyer, K.A., Taff, G.N., Baquero, F. Integration of Longitudinal Surveys, Remote Sensing Time-Series, and Spatial Analyses: Approaches for Linking People and Place. In: People and the Environment: Approaches for Linking Household and Community Surveys to Remote Sensing and GIS, (J. Fox, R.R. Rindfuss, S.J. Walsh,V. Mishra, editors), Kluwer Academic Publishers: Boston, 91-130, 2003.
