University of Colorado Denver College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Bio

My primary current research efforts include:

• Exploring the role of the urban environment in childhood obesity. While environmental factors are frequently alluded to in discussions of the obesity epidemic, much work remains to be done on the ways that urban environments influence diet and physical activity. The purpose of my research is to consider (a) what kinds of relationships exist between various components of a child’s environment and the behaviors leading to obesity; (b) how to better evaluate whether this relationship is indicative of a causal relationship; and (c) what policy implications can be drawn from this work.
• Examining the ways that research in spatial cognition and pscyhology can inform geographic education. Much recent research has shown that both children and adults have a natural set of skills which enable them to understand and navigate through space, but much work is needed to explore the ways that this basic scientific work can be applied to the classroom in different educationl settings. The purpose of my work is build the bridge between psychological research and educational practice.
• Evaluating biases in bioconservation efforts. While much progress has been made in protecting environmental resources, some have questioned the "representativeness" of recent bioconservation efforts across biomes and ecological realms. The purpose of this work is to evaluate whether and to what extent such efforts favor some environments over others, and to consider the nature of observed biases using simple spatial-analytical techniques.

Select Publications

Anthamatten, P., Fiene, E., Kutchman, E., Mainar, M., Brink, L., Browning, R., and Nigg, C. (in press). "A micro geographic anlaysis of physical activity behavior within elementary school grounds." American Journal of Health Promotion. (doi: 10.4287/ajhp.121116-QUAN-566).

Anthamatten, P.; Brink, L.; Kingston, B.; Kutchman, E.; Lampe, S.; and Nigg C.  (in press).  "An investigation of schoolyard design and physical activity patterns among school children."  Journal of Physical Activity and Health (article page).

Tinker, M., Anthamatten, P., Simley, J., and Finn, M. (in press). "A method to generalize stream flowlines in small-scale maps by a variable flow-based pruning threshold." Cartography and Geographic Information Science (article page).

Wee, B., DePierre, A., Anthamatten, P., and J. Barbour. 2013. "Visual methodology as a pedagogical research tool in geography education." Journal of Geography in Higher Education. 72 (3): 309-318. (article page).

Anthamatten, P.; Wee, B.; and E. Korris. 2013. "Exploring children's perceptions of play using visual methodologies." Health Education Journal 72 (3): 309-318. (article page)

Nikoi, E. and Anthamatten, P. 2013. "An examination of environmental correlates with childhood stunting in Ghana." Public Health Nutrition 16 (1): 46-53. (article page)

Anthamatten, P. and H. Hazen. 2011. An Introduction to the Geography of Health. Cambridge: Routledge Press. (book page)

Anthamatten, P.; Brink, L.; Lampe, S.; Greenwood, E.; Kingston, B.; and Nigg, C. 2011. "An assessment of schoolyard renovation strategies to encourage children's physical activity." International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 8(1): 1-9. (article page)

Anthamatten, P. 2010. "Spatial thinking concepts in early grade-level geography standards." Journal of Geography, 109(5): 169-180. (article page)

Anthamatten, P. 2009. "On Building the Bridge between Research and Teaching Practice: An Evaluation of Spatial Thinking Skills in Geography Curriculum in the United States and England." Research in Geographic Education, 11(2): 94-114. (issue page)

Gersmehl, P. and Anthamatten, P. 2008. Teaching Geography: Interactive CD-ROM. New York: Guilford Press.

Hazen, H. and Anthamatten, P. 2007. "Unnatural Selection: An analysis of the ecological representativeness of natural World Heritage sites." Professional Geographer 59(2): 256-268. (article page)

Anthamatten, P. and Ziegler, S. 2006. "Teaching Geography with 3-D Visualization Technology." Journal of Geography. 105: 231-237. (article page)

Hazen, H. and Anthamatten, P. 2004. "Representation of ecoregions by protected areas at the global scale." Physical Geography 25(6): 499-512. (article page)

Courses Taught

Geog 2080, Mapping and Map Analysis
Geog 3501, Introduction to the Geography of Health
Geog 4080/5080, Introduction to Geographic Information Systems
Geog 4081/5081, Cartography and Computer Mapping
Geog 4235/5235, GIS and Health
PBHL 2020, Introduction to Environmental Health