Aspects Of Landscape Research Articles

Being a Teacher in a Plurilingual Environment: An Attitudinal Analysis

This paper aims to examine the understanding of teachers' sociolinguistic representations of languages and their attitudes towards using code-switching (CS) in the classroom. While previous literature has explored the linguistic and functional aspects of CS, the attitudinal dimension towards code-switching remains largely unexplored. Therefore, the paper attempts to provide an attitudinal analysis of interviews with high school teachers to demarcate the way linguistic representations are conceived in the educational context. The study uses the interview technique to elicit information from ten selected teachers. The data is comprised of a collection of both oral data produced in French and, in a few instances, rarely identified as Arabic (standard or dialectal). The study focuses on the content analysis of the epilinguistic discourses of teachers in plurilingual environments. The findings reveal that teachers generally possess a well-developed language awareness, especially those who teach languages (DL). However, some aspects of the sociolinguistic landscape are not fully perceived, such as the use of Spanish in the communication of Moroccan speakers in the northern parts of the country. The study also reveals that Moroccan teachers generally have a high level of language awareness and positive attitudes towards CS. The use of CS is often in response to a didactic or communicative need felt by the teachers and dictated by the learners' deficient language skills. Certain components of the sociolinguistic dynamic remain insufficiently perceived, mainly the presence of the Spanish language in northern Morocco. These findings have proved to be significant because they first emphasize the crucial role of promoting language awareness and equipping teachers with the knowledge and skills necessary to navigate the linguistic landscape of their classrooms, and second they highlight the need for further research and education on the diverse sociolinguistic realities of language use in the classroom.

Dynamic landscapes and the influence of human activities in the Yellow River Delta wetland region

The Yellow River Delta (YRD) wetland is one of the largest and youngest wetland ecosystems in the world. It plays an important role in regulating climate and maintaining ecological balance in the region. This study analyzes the spatiotemporal changes in land use, wetland migration, and landscape pattern from 2013 to 2022 using Landsat-8 and Sentinel-1 data in YRD. Then wetland landscape changes and the impact of human activities are determined by analyzing correlation between landscape and socio-economic indicators including nighttime light centroid, total light intensity, cultivated land area and centroid, building area and centroid, economic and population. The results show that the total wetland area increased 1426 km2 during this decade. However, the wetland landscape pattern tended to be fragmented from 2013 to 2022, with wetlands of different types interlacing and connectivity decreasing, and distribution becoming more concentrated. Different types of human activities had influences on different aspects of wetland landscape, with the expansion of cultivated land mainly compressing the core area of wetlands from the edge, the expansion of buildings mainly disrupting wetland connectivity, and socio-economic indicators such as total light intensity and the centroid mainly causing wetland fragmentation. The results show the changes of the YRD wetland and provide an explanation of how human activities effect the change of its landscape, which provides available data to achieve sustainable development goals 6.6 and may give an access to measure the change of wetland using human-activity data, which could help to adject behaviors to protect wetlands.

The Ontology of Successful Teaching: Capturing Voices of Primary School Teachers

The teaching philosophies and qualities that characterize the best teacher remain contentious aspects of the multilayered educational landscape of Pakistan. The present study explores the ontological configuration of successful teaching while examining primary school teachers' beliefs and philosophies asking what are the fundamental requirements for becoming an excellent teacher who ultimately can contribute enormously to the development of both individual and collective intellectual capital. For this study, a qualitative approach of inquiry was adopted employing in-depth interviews with 33 primary school teachers (17 males, 16 females) from Rawalpindi city to elicit the grassroots perception concerning their beliefs regarding the perquisites of becoming a successful teacher. The study point to a number of traits that teachers believe are essential for successful teaching including loyalty and honesty, commitment, punctuality and passion vis-a-vis, effective communication skills, efficient classroom management, in-depth subject knowledge, and an awareness of students' issues to foster a conducive learning environment.

Relationship between Visual and Thermal Comfort and Electrodermal Activity in Campus Blue–Green Spaces: A Case Study of Guangzhou, China

The rapid speed of urbanization in modern cities has led to various environmental challenges impacting human activities, livelihoods, and comfort. One of these effects is the urban heat island, which describes the increase in temperature in an urban area resulting from the replacement of natural surfaces with concrete, buildings, and other structures that absorb and retain heat. Variations in individual perception and adaptative ability present additional challenges when trying to ensure outdoor comfort and require advanced measuring instruments and simulation tools to accurately predict a broad range of related variables. In this study, we investigated three different types of blue–green spaces (six in total) on the campus of Guangzhou University, focusing on their distinct layouts. The aim was to evaluate these spaces’ microclimate and sunlight intensity conditions by quantifying several environmental factors. Subjective comfort assessments and objective physiological parameter measurements were conducted using questionnaires and biosensors, respectively. The results revealed the following: (1) Different types of blue–green spaces exhibit distinct microclimate and visual environment characteristics, and while similar patterns emerged, certain environmental parameters revealed important differences. (2) There is a significant association between individuals’ thermal and visual comfort in blue–green spaces and multiple environmental factors. (3) Linear regression analysis demonstrated the strong predictive capabilities of skin conductance indicators (Rsc, SCR, and nSCR) in assessing individuals’ outdoor visual–thermal comfort levels, with R2 exceeding 0.5, indicating high accuracy. These findings provide valuable insights and references for urban planners and designers seeking to enhance the visual and thermal aspects of sustainable landscapes on campuses as well as in other outdoor environments.

Political Ecology of Urban Agricultural Pollution

The Yamuna khadar or the floodplains of the river Yamuna in Delhi is a deeply contested agrarian space. While thousands have been involved in farming these floodplains for decades, contestations over their legality, compensation, land use, displacement, and impact on the river, soil, and city have been significant public concerns over the last few decades. In this paper, I focus on one aspect of this agrarian landscape—the toxicity associated with river water due to the pesticides and fertilizers used in agriculture. I examine how toxicity is perceived, discursively constructed, and dealt with by differently located stakeholders in this landscape. The differently located stakeholders associated with the toxic agrarian landscape of Yamuna khadar are not experiencing pollution as a homogenous community, i.e., neither all of them see themselves as suffering from pollution nor do they see themselves as contributing to the toxicity of the landscape in a similar way.

Aspects of traditional agricultural landscapes: potential alternative development paths for sustainable agriculture—A review

Aspects of traditional agricultural landscapes: potential alternative development paths for sustainable agriculture—A review

Tourism, feelings, and the consumption of heritage

More and more research has been conducted to examine individuated, affective, and embodied themes related to heritage landscapes. Following this recent trend, the paper analyzes how tourists experience heritage landscapes to retrieve positive feelings from the past and thus seek inspiration for a better life. Specifically, this paper has two objectives. First, it examines the embodied interactions between tourists and heritage landscapes in Lijiang Old Town, a well-known cultural heritage site in Yunnan, China. Studying these interactions will add substance to the affective aspect of heritage landscapes, showing the cultural value of heritage to individuals who live in a speedy world. Second, this paper attempts to understand the complex feelings developed by tourists towards heritage landscapes. We find that leisurely tourists attempt to enjoy heritage landscapes in order to counter their hectic pace of life in China’s big cities. They engage in either strolling in the town to decode the cultural values of heritage landscapes or staying put to immerse themselves in a heritage aura, for the purpose of relaxation and slowness. All the positive feelings in the town can lead to selftransformation and even spiritual rejuvenation. By apprehending heritage for inspiration, a situated and relational picture of tourism consumption unfolds to highlight how tourists develop a subjective sense of and feeling about heritage..

구릉지 저밀주거의 재생 활성화방안 연구

The purpose of this study is to find out design guidelines and local management policies for invigorating regeneration of hillside residences in Korea. Focused especially on finding levels of slope and altitude needed local governments' management in aspects of landscape and safety, alternative management methodologies by landscape plans and master plans of residential redevelopments, and detailed guidelines utilized for planning hillside neighborhoods. The process were as follows. First, reviewing system and policy cases in domestic and foreign local governments. Second, summarizing environmental problems of hillside residences from precedent POE researches in Korea. Third, by executing and analyzing experts questionnaire survey, practical detailed guidelines of offcial plans were suggested for invigorating regeneration of hillside areas. Those are separated in private and public sectors. Finally, local governments' improvement directions were proposed about management methods and regeneration policies in hillside districts. The results were as follows. First, domestic governments mainly used levels of altitude, ranged 40~70m, but foreign governments mainly used levels of slope, under 10°. Korean local governments need divided standards in levels of slope, especially under 10° and using combined levels of slope and altitude standards. 7.5°, 10°, 15° could be used as new standards in levels of slope. Second, high needed improvement directions for hillside regeneration were managing structures in accordance with levels of slope, securing a sense of openness, managerial support and system reform, controlling outer walls and housetops, controlling zones according to regional characteristics, and introducing new systems and guidelines to each zones. These results may be useful to invigorate regeneration and improve systems about controlling hillside and producing district.

Tájvédelmi szempontok érvényesíthetősége az autópálya-tervezés során – a hazai gyakorlat értékelése és mintaterületi példák

The main goal of this research is to assess the enforceability of landscape protection in road planning processes. This work includes the overall research summarizing the planning framework of road development in Hungary and landscape aspects in connection with road infrastructure planning. Moreover, this paper evaluates the enforcement of some landscape protection aspects in the planning processes based on three cases studies – two Hungarian and one Swedish – focusing on different aspects of landscape protection. Highlighting the main results of the research, the main messages show that the enforceability of landscape protection principles is impeded in the current planning practice, especially during the choice of road corridor which is dominated by technical and economic aspects. Landscape protection aspects can be integrated on a local level in the phases of environmental impact assessments, detailed design and construction plans. The amount of space available is a significant limiting factor to realise the landscape protective proposals as planting design. Even though preliminary estimation of the impact of road network developments on landscape is a common practice, the follow-up is missing, therefore the long-term impacts on land potential remain unknown.

Forecasting Remittance Inflow in Nepal Using the Box-Jenkins ARIMA Model

The remittance, defined as a portion of household income sent by individuals from their earnings in foreign economies, constitutes a substantial aspect of Nepal's current financial landscape. This research endeavors to identify an appropriate ARIMA model to forecast the remittance inflow in Nepal from 1990/91 to 2021/22. The Box-Jenkins methodology serves as the framework for modeling and forecasting the annual remittance inflow, with EViews 12 software employed for comprehensive data analysis. Various ARIMA models were evaluated to capture nuances in annual remittance trends. The investigation identified the ARIMA (1,1,1) model as the most suitable for forecasting Nepal's remittance inflow. This finding provides essential insights for policymakers, economists, and stakeholders, facilitating informed decisionmaking and future economic planning in the country.

Estimating quality of life: A spatial microsimulation model of well-being in Aotearoa New Zealand

Quality of life is a complex concept characterised by several dualities, it has many definitions depending on the field of research and an abundance of diverse objective and subjective measures. The latter often represents the extent of perceived (dis)satisfaction with various domains of life experienced by individuals or groups, and research is increasingly focusing on subjective measures of well-being to better understand personal drivers related to quality of life. A better understanding of these factors at a local level has potential to shed light on an often-overlooked aspect of the mental health landscape in Aotearoa New Zealand. Individual-level data on adults (15+ years) is sourced from the New Zealand Attitudes and Values Study 2018 (N = 47,949) and aggregate-level data from the Census 2018 (N = 3,775,854). Matching constraint variables include sex, age, ethnicity, highest qualification, and labour force status. Outcome variables include personal and national well-being scores from 0 to 10 (extremely dissatisfied–extremely satisfied). Spatial microsimulation is used to create a synthetic population based on the above data. Results show lower mean national well-being scores than personal well-being scores, with spatial variations that broadly reflect patterns of socioeconomic deprivation. Low mean values for both personal and national well-being scores are seen in rural areas of high socioeconomic deprivation, particularly those with large Māori populations. High mean values are associated with areas of low deprivation. Additionally, high national well-being scores are associated with areas of agricultural activity, particularly in the South Island. Consideration should be given to factors that influence responses in such topics however, including demographic profiles as well as economic and social conditions of individuals and their surrounding communities. This study demonstrates that spatial microsimulation can be used as a powerful tool to understand population well-being. It can help support future planning and resource allocation, aiding in achieving health equity.

POST-WAR RECONSTRUCTION OF CITIES IN UKRAINE IN AREAS OF THE BELLIGHERATIVE LANDSCAPES’ SPREAD

Problem statement. The war of Russia against Ukraine, which began on February 24, 2022, brought the destruction of a large number of cities and villages in the regions that were in the zone of military operations. Many populated areas, regardless of their size and status in the country's settlement system, have been completely destroyed. In their place, only ruins remained, pits from houses burned down and broken to stone, countless craters from explosions and other types of disturbed territories. Unfortunately, as of April 2023, the war is still going on. On the territory of cities and villages, in fields and forests, on the banks of rivers, on the tops and slopes of hills and beams, along the roads connecting the settlements, as well as in other places located where battles were or continue to be fought, special types of landscapes have arisen, referred to in scientific publications as belligerative. They have special functioning mechanisms, special schemes for the destruction of the matrices of matter exchange, energy, information, momentum, and goal-setting, which exist both in zonal natural landscapes and in azonal anthropogenic landscapes. The area of belligerative landscapes is growing, and it is they who now dominate the ruined settlements and around them. The revival of cities after our victory is impossible without knowledge of the architectural and urban planning aspects of belligerative landscapes. The purpose of the article is to reveal the urban planning aspects of belligerent landscapes and the algorithm for their further accounting.

Technological Mediation of Photovoltaic System to Improve Rural Sustainability in the Background of Resettlement and Consolidation: Evidence from the Rural Community and Villages in China

Settlement structure is the most essential aspect of rural landscapes and habitations in China. The process of merging rural settlements has given rise to tensions in spatial-social structures, posing significant risks to rural sustainability. However, little research has been undertaken to analyze potential resolutions for the challenges of sustainable development in the context. Based on the technological mediation theory, we used participant observation and interviews to investigate the effects of the photovoltaic system on spatial-social structures, governance patterns, and rural sustainability. By focusing on a representative merger project area situated in Shandong Province, our research revealed that the photovoltaic system improved spatial, social, and governance sustainability in rural areas rather than only the environmental aspect. In the spatial dimension, the photovoltaic system reconstructed domestic spaces and activated scenarios conducive to public life. In the social dimension, it fostered the eradication of disparities in identity and facilitated the reintegration of social networks. In the governance dimension, a large-scale governance pattern supported by mutual interest, collective trust, and the integrated system was developed to successfully resolve emerging problems and ultimately promoted the sustainability of the community–village region. The findings highlight the efficacy of employing technological design as a means to resolve resettlement dilemmas, which could shed light on the elimination of conflicts arising from the interplay between urbanization and sustainability of rural areas.

Exploring Estonian Forests and Urban Green Spaces: A Cultural Ecosystem Services Mapping Approach Using Flickr Photographs

Abstract. With the increasing use of social media, we can analyze digital data to gain insights into social and cultural aspects of landscapes and cities. The understanding of the existing cultural ecosystem services (CES) can help improve human life quality through proper planning and execution of plans. This study aims to locate CES produced by Estonian forests and urban green spaces using Flickr photographs. Quantitative analysis of Flickr photos identified hot spots within the study area and determined the suitable distance of CES accessibility. CES were categorized into four categories: recreation, sense of identity, aesthetic pleasure, and education. The results showed aesthetic pleasure and sense of identity were the most identified CES, while recreation and education were identified less. Factors such as population density, seasonal variation, biodiversity, accessibility, and facilities can impact the identification of CES. While social media data has limitations, combining qualitative research methods with surveys and questionnaires can provide a more well-rounded result. The findings can help stakeholders make better plans and management policies for Estonian forests and urban green spaces.

Reconsidering Polar Literature in the Anthropocene: Locating Hope in the Works of Jean McNeil and Barry Lopez

Abstract This article examines the capacities of polar literature within an interwoven framework to think through climate crisis and human involvement therein in the midst of the Anthropocene. Ice Diaries (2016) and Arctic Dreams (1986) provide the opportunity to reconsider Earth’s cryosphere in literary form as mediated places that participate in the global network of the planetary imaginary (Clarke). Examining polar literature through a reparative lens (Sedgwick) enables the tutelary aspects of both landscapes to emerge as they provide strategies for investigating present and future trouble (Haraway). Employing theories from Earth System Science and spatial studies, this paper locates the potential for hope in remote regions that are nonetheless embedded within global realities—climatic and political—through the sharing of stories that encourage life to flourish even in what appear to be the harshest of circumstances. (IMK and IS)

Exploring the Teaching of Rural Tourism Landscape Planning Course in the Context of Rural Revitalization

The rural revitalization strategy is one of the important strategies proposed by the Chinese government, aiming to promote rural economic development and improve farmers' living standards. And rural tourism, as an important part of the rural revitalization strategy, can not only promote rural economic development but also promote the local cultural inheritance and ecological protection. Among them, rural tourism landscape planning is an important part of rural tourism, and its teaching is getting more and more attention. This paper introduces the background and significance of rural tourism landscape planning teaching, course purpose and design, innovation and evaluation. Through actual cases and combined with practice, various aspects of rural tourism landscape planning teaching and evaluation methods are discussed in depth.

Laying foundations for success

Science in the UK has been subject to unprecedented pressures over recent years, from political and economic stresses. The research landscape is changing too and may change further after the completion of the Nurse Review. Here, the Astronomer Royal focusses on two aspects of the research landscape: education and the international dimension.

Supervised machine learning for predicting and interpreting dynamic drivers of plantation forest productivity in northern Tasmania, Australia

The capacity of a plantation forest to grow and produce timber is locally constrained by topography, climate, soil conditions, and external factors such as fire and timber harvesting. Accurate estimation of forest productivity supports effective forest management. However, efficiently generating accurate models of forest productivity is hampered by the need to gather, process and integrate large volumes of disparate, high dimensional data that require computationally intensive data analysis processing methods. Recent developments in cloud-based machine learning systems offer a means to address this problem.This research investigates the use of supervised machine learning to model and predict forest productivity across pine (Pinus radiata) plantations in northern Tasmania, Australia. Forest productivity models are generated by integrating 23 predictive features, including multi-temporal LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) derived topographic attributes, climate (rainfall and temperature) information, and edaphic conditions (geology and soil). Five machine learning (ML) regression algorithms are compared for this task: Linear Regression (LR), Polynomial Regression (PR), Decision Trees Regression (DT), Random Forests (RF) and Gradient Boosted Decision Trees Regression (GBDT). The best performing algorithm, in terms of the optimal bias-variance trade-off, was RF (RMSE 2.08 and Bias −0.72) followed closely by GBDT (RMSE 2.13 and Bias −0.68) and DT (RMSE 2.94 and Bias −0.68). Tuning Model Complexity was used to provide a clear understanding of the relationship and interactions between input features and forest productivity, resulting in more accurate and interpretable models. In contrast, we conclude that GBDT results in a more reliable predictive performance than RF, and transferability model to unseen data by assessing the spatial autocorrelation. Across the top performing models, rainfall was the most important factor driving forest productivity, followed by geological class, topographic position index (TPI), landscape aspect and Digital Elevation Model (DEM).This work demonstrates the usefulness of supervised machine learning techniques to generate accurate and efficient forest productivity predictions from large and diverse spatial datasets. Moreover, users are afforded the ability to gain insight into changes that affect forest productivity through time, such as the increasing risks of wildfire and climate change by identifying the factors that contribute the most to the tree growth. By delivering a framework to understand complex and dynamic drivers of productivity through a machine learning pipeline enhanced by cloud-based machine learning systems, forest managers are provided with easily accessible tools to maximisation productivity.

A Public Participation GIS for Geodiversity and Geosystem Services Mapping in a Mountain Environment: A Case from Grayson County, Virginia, U.S.A.

Geodiversity and geosystem services are essential concepts for conservation efforts in mountain regions. Approaches that integrate both natural and human dimensions of mountain abiotic nature are best suited for this purpose; however, geodiversity research and associated conservation efforts along this vein are still developing. Here, we explore the potential of a public participation GIS, which integrates qualitative surveys with quantitative geodiversity information, to assess possible relationships between geodiversity and geosystem services for Grayson County, Virginia, U.S.A. Specifically, we: (1) used a geodiversity index to model geodiversity for the study area, (2) used a public participation GIS to map geosystem services markers, and (3) visualized geodiversity–geosystem services hotspots to uncover potential relationships between geodiversity and geosystem services values. Participants placed 318 markers, most frequently representing aesthetic (32%), artistic (22%), and educational (15%) geosystem services values. The majority (55%) of these markers corresponded to low and very low quantitative geodiversity index scores. Geosystem services value markers were clustered around population centers and protected areas. Although quantitative geodiversity measures are often used to identify and prioritize areas for conservation, our results suggest that locations valued by respondents would be missed using quantitative metrics alone. This research thus supports the need for holistic approaches incorporating place values to conserve and best understand relationships between people and abiotic aspects of mountain landscapes.

Evaluation of indicators for desertification risk assessment of Oleshky sands desertification based on Landsat data time series

Earth's surface monitoring allows the assessment of the dynamics and mapping of desertification indicators and is currently one of the priority research regions in remote sensing. In addition to the fact that desertification is a serious global threat to economic, social and food security, the risks of desertification have also become relevant for southern Ukraine. In recent years, climate change has become more and more noticeable in Ukraine. As a result, the time frames of the seasons are blurred, the boundaries of natural zones are shifting, abnormal values of meteorological indicators are increasingly observed, and the intensity of natural disasters is increasing. Since southern Ukraine is most vulnerable to adverse climate and landscape changes, including desertification, the article considered long-term landscape changes on the right bank of the Dnieper River in the Kherson region, mainly represented by sandy massifs of the Oleshky region, which are called the Oleshky Sands. Arid landscapes, which include the vast majority of Oleshky, are especially vulnerable to degradation processes, so space monitoring this territory is an urgent task given the current global climate changes. Within the framework of the presented study, the long-term dynamics of several indicators of desertification within the sandy arenas of the Oleshkovsky sands were mapped. Based on a series of multispectral space images obtained by Landsat satellites for the period 1986-2020 was considered. Spectral ranges characterize the key biophysical aspects of arid landscapes: the degree of soil moisture, vegetation density and sand distribution. Regression analysis was used to illustrate the dynamics of each indicator, which showed a general increase in each indicator over the experimental period. Furthermore, we determined the relationship between the values of the rise in desertification indicators and landscape changes that occurred in the research region, the classification of several images for different years was also carried out, and spatial and quantitative changes in the distribution of land cover classes were characterized.