Geographical Research Research Articles

SpaCE: a spatial counterfactual explainable deep learning model for predicting out-of-hospital cardiac arrest survival outcome

Understanding the relationship between risk factors, geospatial patterns, and disease outcomes is essential in health geography research. These relationships can inform the implementation of healthcare and public health strategies to improve health outcomes. To accurately uncover such complex relationships, it is necessary to have a predictive model capable of integrating both health variables and spatial information to forecast health outcomes, along with a tool to interpret and reveal the patterns identified by this model. We developed a Spatial Counterfactual Explainable Deep Learning model (SpaCE), comprising a spatially explicit health outcome predictor and a prototype-guided counterfactual explanation. The SpaCE model unifies geospatial and health variables to improve predictions and generates hypothetical examples with minimal changes but opposite outcomes. Using these counterfactuals, SpaCE assesses the impact of each variable in different spatial contexts. We evaluated the model for predicting cardiac arrest survival outcomes. With a 0.682 AUCROC score, the SpaCE exceeds baseline models by 10.2%. Further analysis also reveals that the geospatial context significantly affects how various risk factors affect the survival outcomes of patients. Overall, the SpaCE model significantly improves predictive accuracy and explainability. It provides targeted interventions at both individual and geographic levels, and the cardiac arrest case study shows its high adaptability to various disease scenarios.

Doing urban geography in times of crisis: introduction to the forum “Urban geography in times of crisis”

Abstract. Crises dominate current political debates. They shift the spaces of possibility for geographical research practice and global theory formation. Our starting point in this forum is the diagnosis of a dual crisis: on the one hand, the epistemological crisis put forth in post- and decolonial scholarship and, on the other hand, the ubiquity of worldly crises – variously described as the pluri-crisis, polycrisis, or socio-ecological crisis. This pervasiveness poses new questions about how the entanglement of these diagnoses operates in the realm of geographical knowledge practice. Clearly, crisis phenomena have always conditioned the production of geographical knowledge. As crises restrict mobility or create precarious working conditions, they have not only shaped the everyday research life of many scholars worldwide, but also defined current knowledge (production) through the absence of certain scholars' voices at international conferences or in international publications. Having patterned global theory formation in this way, crises are firmly embedded in any knowledge canon. This forum discusses the transformation of urban geography in times of multiple crises. In our introductory reflections, we highlight some of the forum contributions' crosscutting insights, weave a common thread through this dialogue, and discuss obstacles to as well as critical resources necessary when rethinking and possibly changing practices of knowledge production.

A place in the shade? Shaded spaces as a domain of geographical research: a literature review (1990–2024)

The study of shade and shaded spaces has attracted growing interest in a number of disciplines. Although geographic studies specifically focused on this subject are relatively rare, there is a substantial body of interdisciplinary research that addresses the theme of shade in relation to ecological, urban, medical and social research interests. There have recently been calls to further analyze these spaces, especially if we consider their importance in relation to climate change. In response to this, this paper aims to examine shade as a field of geographical research through a literature review. Ninety-four articles published in international journals between 1990 and 2024 were identified. The articles were analyzed with particular reference to the distribution in time of the publications, the geographic location of the case studies, interdisciplinary connections, research interests, and the methodologies used. The study reveals the interdisciplinary nature of shade studies and their growth in recent years. The literature analysis enables us to identify dominant research trends and at the same time highlight certain gaps. The study also emphasizes the value of shade as a resource, its many benefits, and its environmental and social significance as a geographical factor at various levels. In conclusion, this paper seeks to bring the topic of shade to the forefront of research, encouraging further empirical studies with a particular focus on the right to shade and climate change mitigation.

New economic geographies of war: risks and disruptions in Eurasian transport routes and supply chains through the military conflict in Ukraine

Abstract The pandemic and the last years’ geopolitical disruptions have laid bare the vulnerability of Europe’s supply chains, as well as the challenges posed by insecure oil and gas supplies. In this contribution, we aim to add to this debate by raising awareness of the vulnerability of trade and supply chain infrastructure between Europe and Asia. We give an overview of the risks for supply chain securities due to the risk of military and armed conflicts and geopolitical challenges more broadly, illustrated by a map of central logistic corridors and hubs. We further discuss the contemporary implications for each corridor due to the war in Ukraine. By making use of the example of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), we argue that trade along these corridors is highly interdependent and that the continued conflict in Ukraine poses a danger for independent, diversified and resilient trade across Eurasia. The paper calls for future research in economic geography, military geographies and related international business literature to (jointly) reemphasize the economic geographies of war, by for instance analysing shifts in global value chains and global production networks as a result of violent conflicts.

Current trends in household food insecurity, dietary diversity, and stunting among children under five in Asia: a systematic review.

Household food insecurity (HFI) and poor dietary diversity (DD) are major public health challenges in Asia, greatly contributing to stunting among children under five. While previous research has focussed primarily on African regions, this systematic review provides novel insights into the association between HFI, DD, and stunting within the Asian context. We searched across six major databases for studies published between 2019 and 2023 exploring the association between HFI, DD, and stunting in children under five across Asia. We then extracted their characteristics, evaluation methods, and outcomes related to stunting for analysis. From 3215 records, 37 met the inclusion criteria. Most studies were from South Asia (n = 22), followed by Southeast Asia (n = 8), with fewer from West (n = 4), East (n = 2), and Central Asia (n = 1), highlighting geographical research gaps. We found high stunting rates among children under five, especially in South and Southeast Asia. Stunting was strongly linked to HFI and poor DD, suggesting that these factors are critical in addressing malnutrition. Socioeconomic factors, maternal education, and access to clean water also influence stunting outcomes. Current research on HFI, DD, and stunting in Asia shows substantial variation, with the highest stunting rates in South and Southeast Asia. Limited data from Central and East Asia highlights the need for more comprehensive research in these regions. Addressing HFI and improving DD is critical for reducing stunting and achieving global nutrition targets by 2030.

AI-Enhanced Design and Application of High School Geography Field Studies in China: A Case Study of the Yellow (Bohai) Sea Migratory Bird Habitat Curriculum

China’s Yellow (Bohai) Sea bird habitat is an important ecological region. Its unique ecology and challenges provide rich resources for research and study. Our course design concept is supported by AI technology, and improves students’ abilities through innovative functions such as dynamic data support, personalized learning paths, immersive research and study experience, and diversified evaluation mechanisms. The course content revolves around the “human–land coordination concept”, including pre-trip thinking, research and study during the trip, and post-trip exhibition learning, covering regional cognition, remote sensing image analysis, field investigation, and protection plan display activities. ERNIE Bot participates in optimizing the learning path throughout the process. The course evaluation system starts from the three dimensions of “land to people”, “people to land”, and the “coordination of the human–land relationship”, adopts processes and final evaluation, and uses ERNIE Bot to achieve real-time monitoring, data analysis, personalized reports, and dynamic feedback, improving the objectivity and efficiency of evaluation, and helping students and teachers optimize learning and teaching. However, AI has limitations in geographical research and study, such as insufficient technical adaptability, the influence of students’ abilities and habits, and the adaptation of teachers’ role changes. To this end, optimization strategies such as improving data quality and technical platforms, strengthening student technical training, enhancing teachers’ AI application capabilities, and enriching AI functions and teaching scenarios are proposed to enhance the application effect of AI in geographical research and promote innovation in educational models and student capacity building.

Current Scientific Insights on the Antioxidant Effects of Melissa officinalis Extracts

Melissa officinalis L. commonly known as Lemon balm, is a popular medicinal plant from Lamiaceae family, valued for its therapeutic properties since antiquity. This study aims to evaluate the current scientific literature status on antioxidant effect of Melissa extracts, highlighting geographical research trends, publication patterns, and article accessibility. Using the Web of Science (WoS) database, 283 articles published between 2015 and 2024 were initially identified. After screening and filtering, 165 eligible studies were analysed, with the majority published in recent years and originating from Iran, Turkey, Romania, and Poland. The findings underline the increasing interest in Melissa officinalis, with open-access research predominating, in agriculture, biochemistry, medicine, and food science. This review underscores the need for continued exploration to expand understanding of Melissa's antioxidant potential.

Geographical Engineering and Its Role in Promoting Integrated Geography Research

Geographical Engineering and Its Role in Promoting Integrated Geography Research

Hegemonic masculinity: new spaces, practices, and relations

Hegemonic masculinity is a key theory in research about men and masculinities, including in human geography. We focus on its spatial and temporal specificity, the ways it is practised and performed, and the relationalities that are a key component of it, advocating for the importance of geographical contributions. For each, we review important work and suggest ways forward for scholarship. We also outline ways in which the concept could be advanced through paying attention to spatial issues relating to bodies, embodiment, and intersectionality, in geographic research about work, employment, and migration, and in studies about climate, sustainability, and well-being.

Seeing economic development like a large language model. A methodological approach to the exploration of geographical imaginaries in generative AI

The recent hype surrounding the disruptive potential of AI technologies in the form of large language models or text to image generators also raises questions for geographical research and practice. These questions include the power relations and inequalities inscribed in these systems, their significance for work and labor relations, their ecological and economic impact, but also the geographical and spatial imaginaries they reproduce. This article focuses on the latter and formulates a series of theoretical and methodological considerations for dealing with the output of these systems. As we assume that outputs generated by large language models will play an increasing role in the future, both in public and media discourses as well as in the discourses and practices of spatial planning and economic policy making, we consider it important to gain a critical understanding of these socio-technical systems. The empirical object of investigation of this paper is generated output that deals with questions of regional development and economic challenges in three European regions that are currently particularly affected by the transition to a climate-neutral economy and are designated by the European Union as Just Transition Fund Territories. We are particularly interested in how geographical imaginaries about these regions are formulated, how economic and social problems of these regions are presented and how this is translated into planning advice and development plans.

Digital animal deathscapes: The online circulation of animals killed for conservation

AbstractThis paper brings together animals, death, and digital geographies to examine the sharing of dead animal imagery on social media by conservationists in Aotearoa New Zealand (NZ). It is particularly concerned with two key questions: (1) Why (and how) do dead animals attract support for conservation? (2) How are personal feelings about animal death navigated in the public space of social media? In answering these questions, this paper extends geographical research on animals' affective allures (including online) beyond the realm of the living, and contributes to ongoing conversations around how to live with ‘unwanted others’. I draw on interviews with the leaders of conservation groups about whether, when, and why they post images of dead animals and kill counts, which I collectively refer to as ‘death media’. I show that because some viewers (at times disparaged as ‘precious’) were expected to respond with physical and/or moral disgust, conservationists typically only share death on ‘mainstream’ platforms if it is sufficiently sanitised or incorporated into positive narratives—though more commonly, death is absent from these platforms. Other audiences, particularly volunteer trappers, were described as ‘pragmatic’ or ‘bloodthirsty’; death was shared with these audiences to cultivate affects of hope and solidarity, in a context where killing can affectively feel like success. Yet even those comfortable with both killing and viewing death media at times expressed regret and sadness at the deaths of pests; they simply avoid sharing these feelings online. Death media thus perpetuate the public un‐grievability of ‘pests’, despite indications that even those who do the work of killing may experience sadness privately. I conclude by asking: what would be needed for pests killed for conservation to become grievable online, and how could doing so change relationships between humans and ‘pest’ animals?

The Utilization of Maps in Geographic Citizen Science: A Preliminary Analysis of Usability and User Experience Issues and Opportunities

The rapid proliferation of geospatial technologies and the widespread utilization of Web and mobile maps by nonexpert audiences spurred new perspectives and research paradigms within geography. One area affected by this transformation is citizen science, where geospatial technologies facilitated its more widespread use and revolutionized the way scientific knowledge is coproduced, especially in the environmental context. Geographic citizen science is widely used to support the collection and analysis of geolocated scientific data, extend existing geographic data coverage, and enable communities to address local issues. The inherent complexity of geospatial interfaces and data is widely recognized and there is a wealth of geographic research focusing on improving human–map interactions, with less emphasis, nevertheless, given to citizen science. Not only do these applications have their unique characteristics, but inclusiveness is paramount, which further adds to these complexities. Through an investigation of 229 geographic citizen science applications, we provide an overview of how geographic interfaces are currently employed in citizen science. We then evaluate a selection of applications to identify critical usability barriers, which might have a detrimental impact on the overall user experience and the success of these projects. Among others, we found that geographic citizen science applications need to better support visual thinking and leverage participants’ geographic knowledge. We subsequently provide a set of recommendations for map design and functionality and identify opportunities for future geovisualization research.

Yhteisopettajuus ja sen toteutuminen yliopistossa:

Well-functioning co-teaching contributes to students’ learning, and teachers’ professional skills and well-being, but most of the previous studies on the topic as well as pedagogical guidelines for teachers are made in basic-level education context. To fill this knowledge gap, we analysed the implementation of university-level co-teaching in geography research methodology course context. The results demonstrate the meaning of co-teaching to university teachers’ work, for the social teaching-learning environment, and for the construction of students’ geographical expertise. We show that co-teaching can positively contribute to creation of participatory teaching-learning environment and support the learning of multi-disciplinary contents. Co-teaching is thus a valid pedagogical method for courses where integration of different perspectives is essential.

A TÁJ- ÉS KÖRNYEZETFÖLDRAJZI KUTATÁSOK TÖRTÉNETE MAGYARORSZÁGON AZ 1880-AS ÉVEKTŐL NAPJAINKIG A FÖLDRAJZI KÖZLEMÉNYEKBEN MEGJELENT ÉRTEKEZÉSEK ÉS AZ MTMT ADATBÁZIS BIBLIOGRÁFIAI ELEMZÉSE ALAPJÁN

Since Humboldt, landscape is a core concept within geographical research. From the 19th century onwards, the main aim of landscape studies from a geographical perspective was to investigate holistically the interactions between the factors that shape the landscape. From the end of the 19th century to the present day, Hungarian-language geographical publications have always included landscape research, although in varying proportions and with varying emphasis. The complex approach and spatial analysis methods of geography have replaced them in environmental analyses since the second half of the 20th century. In this publication, we analyse quantitatively the content of the titles of scientific publications summarised in the Hungarian Science Bibliography, the Geographical Review of Hungarian Geographical Society, and present the trends in environmental geography and landscape research in Hungary from the 1880s to the present day. According to our results, the changes of wider social environment, the shifting paradigms within geography and the actual research problems had their influence on the frequency and approach of landscape studies – thus, different waves of publications can be identified.

Spatial Autocorrelation Methods in Identifying Migration Patterns: Case Study of Slovakia

The collapse of the socialist regime led to significant changes in migration patterns, garnering considerable attention in geographical research. However, despite the increased interest, many studies on internal migration lack a detailed analysis of its spatial aspects. Spatial autocorrelation methods can reveal spatial patterns, but so far they have not been applied in the detailed research of internal migration in post-socialist countries. The aim of this study is to explore the spatial patterns of internal migration with regard to intra-regional and inter-regional migration processes using selected indicators of spatial autocorrelation (Global Moran’s I, Anselin local Moran’s I and Getis-Ord Gi* statistic) with Slovakia as a case study. A partial goal is to evaluate the benefits of applying these methods in the assessment of internal migration. Local indicators of spatial autocorrelation demonstrated significant differentiation of both intra-regional and inter-regional migration processes. The dominant intra-regional process is the decentralization of the population, which is very intensive in the regions of the largest towns and cities. Inter-regional migration displays spatial polarisation, emphasizing the importance of the location of key economic centres. The methodology employed in this study clearly displays the clusters of municipalities with above-average and below-average values. This approach enables the identification and cartographic interpretation of specific municipalities where migration contributes the most to the spatial redistribution of the population. The study serves as a valuable framework for similar analyses, emphasizing the broader applicability of spatial autocorrelation methods in studying migration patterns.

The Legal Geographies of Contracts: A Method on Formation, Substance and Enforcement

ABSTRACTThe legal technology of the contract has infiltrated modern society throughout public and private realms of law: from imaginaries and practices of citizenship, to commercial and governmental practicality. Contracts, in one form or another, underpin societal interactions across time and space as they are embedded within, and construct, networks of connections that not only regulate behaviours through immediate rights and obligations, but also reflect and produce broader social, political and economic regimes of power. Contracts also make, and unmake, places through regulation of access or exclusion, control and use in accordance with private agreements. Yet express scrutiny of contracts in geographical inquiry is scarce: geographers lack an established, contract‐focused methodology. This paper proposes a blueprint for an analytical research method that focuses on three elements of contractual relationships: formation, substance and enforcement. It will argue that concentrating analysis on these aspects of contractual relationships can generate understanding of how contracts reflect and shape power dynamics across society. This analytical framework aims to encourage and facilitate collaboration between scholars and practitioners to develop knowledge that can expose and address spatial injustice.

A geoinformatikai módszerek kiaknázatlan lehetőségei a földrajzi kutatásokban a Modern Geográfia c. folyóirat példáján = Underutilized Potentials of GIS in Geographical Research: A Case Study of the Journal ‘Modern Geográfia’

Tésits, R., Tóth, E. Z., & Halmai, Á. (2024). Underutilized Potentials of GIS in Geographical Research: A Case Study of the Journal ‘Modern Geográfia’. Modern Geográfia, 19(4), 111–127. https://doi.org/10.15170/MG.2024.19.04.06 The study aims to analyze articles published in the scholarly journal ‘Modern Geográfia’, founded in Hungary but internationally indexed, with a focus on GIS usage. Authors used the journal’s website as a secondary source for content analysis. Primary data evaluation involved a summary table outlining relevant features of GIS-related articles. Through a questionnaire survey with previous authors, the study aimed to uncover reasons for limited GIS tool and service utilization. Additionally, a semi-structured interview was conducted with the staff of the Department of Cartography and Geoinformatics (University of Pécs), gathering examples of untapped opportunities based on decades of teaching experience. It is observed that the diffusion of geoinformatics as an innovation appears to lose momentum among geographers. The continually expanding services are often unfamiliar to users, and in many cases, refreshing or supplementing existing knowledge could lead to significant progress.

Historical Geographies of Engineering: Knowledges, Practices, Identities

ABSTRACTDrawing on established scholarship in the historical geography of science, the history of technology and science and technology studies, this paper argues for the significance of an historical geography of engineering. Large‐scale and transformative infrastructure projects have been a common focus in historical geography, however comparatively little attention has been paid to the engineers responsible for designing and implementing them. This paper reviews recent work which has foregrounded engineers and their work across diverse times and places. It conceptualises engineering in three ways: as a form of knowledge about the world that is connected to, but distinct from, science; as a set of practices undertaken in specific locations; and as an identity that, since the profession's origin in the 18th century, has enabled individuals to claim expertise in relation to environmental management and therefore exert power over land, territory and people. The article reviews geographical inquiry that foregrounds these perspectives on engineering and suggests future directions for research in the field.

Biosensing and Biosensors-Terminologies, Technologies, Theories and Ethics.

Which biosensing technologies are geographers using in their research, and what exactly do they measure? What are the theoretical origins of geographic interests in biosensing? This article provides an overview of the variety of biosensors applied in biosensing research, tracks the theoretical debates and roots of geographic engagement with biosensing, and discusses the potentials, limitations and ethical implications of applying biosensors. We critically reflect on the varied terminologies that have been used to describe a rapidly evolving array of biosensing technologies and methodologies and suggest a common understanding for key terms such as "biosensing" (technologies or methodologies), "biosensors," "wearable biosensors" and "biosignals." We offer an overview of the broader theoretical debates that have inspired geographers turn to biosensing, including behavioral geography, more-than-representational theory, critical neurogeography, the mobilities and biosociality paradigms, and visual geographies. These have called for methodologies that can capture affects neglected in representational research, follow people, things and technologies as they are mobile in space and time, investigate the links between brain, cognition and biopolitics or attend to visualities in everyday life. Although geographers have so far engaged with a limited number of the ever-growing variety of available (bio-)sensors, the development and application of biosensing methodologies is vibrant, highly diverse and very promising for diverse geographical research questions and fields. Going forward, we particularly encourage experimentation with eye-trackers, which come closest to measuring instantaneous responses to environmental stimuli and offer interesting opportunities for the analysis of social and material environments through the visual data they create. Finally, we conclude with a call for a stronger emphasis on data ethics, procedural ethics and ethics of care in biosensing, which have so far received too little attention in these often interdisciplinary and complex biosensing research endeavors.

Mail art methods and the social and cultural geographies of families affected by rare disease

ABSTRACT Building on geographic scholarship around disability and drawing on a programme of arts-based research, we bring attention to the social and cultural geographies of families affected by rare disease. Seeking creative methodological opportunities, we invited families to send us postcards as a means of sharing experiences and reflections. We contextualize the emergence of the postcard as a modality of communication, situating our work within a wider epistolary and artistic tradition, before examining the opportunities postcarding might produce for geographic and broader qualitative research, noting the forms conduciveness to multimodality and recent calls for more engagement with the medium. We detail our own practices of participatory postcarding and the questions, challenges, and hopes such raised. Analysing the postcards received, we discuss how such helps understand the shifting social and cultural geographies of rare disease, reflecting on themes of (in)accessibility and exclusion, changing domestic geographies, and the importance of, and challenges associated with, family-based identities and communities in the context of rare disease. Such highlights opportunities for disability geography to engage in cross-cutting conversations and agenda-building with the nascent area of family geographies, along with further geographic inquiry into the spaces and worlds of rare disease.