Geographical Place Research Articles

An analytical framework for the study of geographical places in the scientific literature

Scientometrics has traditionally examined place in terms of author affiliations and, as such, has tended to overlook the more detailed use of geographical data in scholarly publications to design indicators of the scientific literature. This study constructs a comprehensive framework to formalize and unify the Scientometrics analysis of places (Spatial Framework to identify Bibliographic Relationships or SFBR), constituting three main stages: identification, description, and measurement. We present five descriptive dimensions and a set of 57 core metrics for scrutinizing the place-related features of science. These metrics encompass author-, publication-, and place-level parameters, categorized according to the specific section (zone) containing the geographical information (i.e., citing author affiliation, the body of the text, and cited author affiliation). The SFBR serves as an innovative tool for unraveling the significance and influence of place in scientific literature. By considering place a fundamental element in Scientometrics studies, it extends the boundaries of spatial bibliometrics and provides a more holistic understanding of place as research object.

Proteolytic degradation of seed proteins of vetch species (Vicia L. subgenus Vicia) of section Peregrinae Kupicha during SDS-electrophoresis and its prevention

Background. Due to its simplicity and good reproducibility, SDS-electrophoresis of seed proteins is widely used for investigating the gene pool of legumes and other plants, for species and varietal identification, analyzing the intraspecific variability, and registering collection material. The data obtained by this method agree well with the DNA analysis results complement them. Typically, legume seed proteins, including representatives of the genus Vicia L., show clear informative SDS electrophoretic profiles. When analyzing seed accessions of vetch species of the section Peregrinae Kupicha using standard approaches previously developed at VIR and approved by ISTA (the International Seed Testing Association), clear electrophoretic protein profiles could not be obtained for many accessions. This called into question the applicability of standard approaches to identifying vetch species in the section Peregrinae. The objective of the work was to clarify the nature of seed proteins degradation in representatives of the Peregrinae section and to find ways to prevent it to ensure the possibility of carrying out species identification and registration of all accessions in the vetch collection using a unified approach. Material and methods. Seed proteins of a number of vetch species Vicia L. from sections Bithynicae (B. Fedtsch.) Maxted, Hypechusa (Alef.) Aschers. et Graebner, Microcarinae Maxted and Peregrinae, members of the subgenus Vicia, were analyzed by SDS-electrophoresis using the standard method of protein extraction from flour with 0.025 M Tris-glycine buffer pH 8.3 at room temperature and its modifications, including heating the extract at 80°C or 100°C with or without the addition of 2-mercaptoethanol, as well as the addition of cysteine and serine protease inhibitors. Results and discussion. An analysis of seed proteins of representatives of most sections of the subgenus Vicia yielded informative species-specific protein profiles, whereas species of the section Peregrinae were characterized by the protein profiles, which indicated protein degradation, and species of this section differed in the frequency of such profile occurrence. While such profiles were obtained for all seeds of seven accessions of V. aintabensis Boiss & Hausskn. ex Boiss differing in geographical origin, year and place of regeneration, and 12 out of 13 of V. peregrine L. accessions demonstrated profiles of partially or completely degraded proteins, complete seed protein profiles were obtained for six out of nine V. michauxii Sprengel accessions. A change in conditions for protein isolation, namely replacement of their extraction from flour with Tris-glycine buffer pH 8.3 at room temperature with extraction in the same buffer by a short-term heating at 100°C in the presence of 2-mercaptoethanol, made it possible to obtain complete protein profiles for all accessions representing the section Peregrinae. The protein profiles of representatives of other vetch sections, as well as the profile of soybean proteins used as a standard for legume species identification, did not differ from the original ones under the modified conditions. Conclusions. The obtained results suggest that protein degradation in species of the Peregrinae section is associated with the abnormal activity of endogenous seed proteases under standard protein extraction conditions, and this trait is determined genotypically. A new modification of the method for isolating proteins from seeds makes it possible to apply the generally accepted approaches based on SDS-electrophoresis in the analysis of the gene pool of the Peregrinae section of the subgenus Vicia, as well as other vetch species.

Serving Hot Tea: Analyzing Narratives of ‘Abroad’ on Glocal Kenyan Twitter/X Spaces

ABSTRACT Social media reconstitutes the idea of ‘abroad’ as a geographical place, shortens the symbolic distance between borders, and renders the local and global into one almost seamless space. This seamlessness is both metaphorical and symbolic, where happenings on the spatial or geographical ‘abroad’ are rendered through context onto both the spatial and virtual ‘local’. Context via social media and other virtual spaces therefore serves to not only demarcate the local from the abroad, but also serves to at once create a seamless, borderless ‘glocal’ where texts are immediately ‘translated’ and ‘transposed’ into different forms. For this paper, I am interested in Twitter/X Spaces, where Kenyans congregate every day to discourse and reinforce certain public scripts. I use the euphemisms of ‘serving hot tea’ and ‘character development’, and how the use of these metaphors become spaces within which news, gossip, ‘gender wars’, and rumour get arbitrated. I am interested in the ways in which these vocabularies flatten, as well as expose, the distances between the ‘here’ and the ‘there’, and the multiple layers they espouse. I also end with a postscript on the 2024 political uprisings in Kenya that had their root and nexus on social media spaces.

User profile visualisation for privacy awareness on Geo-Social Networks

ABSTRACT Geo-Social Networks (GeoSNs) enable user interaction by sharing personal location and contextual information, leading to the accumulation of large databases of users’ physical presence and experiences in geographic places. These data form the basis of building (geo)graphic profiles for users on GeoSNs. Users’ awareness of the data they share is limited. Without active reminders of the contents of their geoprofiles, users may fail to recognise possible privacy risks associated with their location sharing behaviour. In this work, we argue that users’ awareness on GeoSNs should consider the spatial, temporal, and social dimensions of the data, as well as their combinations. We propose a basic strategy for representing and visualizing geoprofiles that aggregates the interaction of users in space over time to summarise the degree of relatedness of users to place and to other users. We conducted a user study with 26 participants to assess the perception of their geoprofiles on a typical GeoSN against the proposed approach. Results demonstrate the potential value of the proposal for improving user awareness of their data and privacy implications, compared to basic search and retrieval functions offered by typical GeoSNs. This work highlights the need for considering and improving user awareness on these platforms.

Welcome to Greenville South Carolina: Urban Geography of Place

Welcome to Greenville South Carolina: Urban Geography of Place

Application of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) in the Study of Prostate Cancer Disparities: A Systematic Review.

Introduction: PCa is one of the cancers that exhibits the widest disparity gaps. Geographical place of residence has been shown to be associated with healthcare access/utilization and PCa outcomes. Geographical Information Systems (GIS) are widely being utilized for PCa disparities research, however, inconsistencies in their application exist. This systematic review will summarize GIS application within PCa disparities research, highlight gaps in the literature, and propose alternative approaches. Methods: This paper followed the methods of the Cochrane Collaboration and the criteria set of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA). Articles published in peer-reviewed journals were searched through the PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science databases until December 2022. The main inclusion criteria were employing a GIS approach and examining a relationship between geographical components and PCa disparities. The main exclusion criteria were studies conducted outside the US and those that were not published in English. Results: A total of 25 articles were included; 23 focused on PCa measures as outcomes: incidence, survival, and mortality, while only 2 examined PCa management. GIS application in PCa disparities research was grouped into three main categories: mapping, processing, and analysis. GIS mapping allowed for the visualization of quantitative, qualitative, and temporal trends of PCa factors. GIS processing was mainly used for geocoding and smoothing of PCa rates. GIS analysis mainly served to evaluate global spatial autocorrelation and distribution of PCa cases, while local cluster identification techniques were mainly employed to identify locations with poorer PCa outcomes, soliciting public health interventions. Discussion: Varied GIS applications and methodologies have been used in researching PCa disparities. Multiple geographical scales were adopted, leading to variations in associations and outcomes. Geocoding quality varied considerably, leading to less robust findings. Limitations in cluster-detection approaches were identified, especially when variations were captured using the Spatial Scan Statistic. GIS approaches utilized in other diseases might be applied within PCa disparities research for more accurate inferences. A novel approach for GIS research in PCa disparities could be focusing more on geospatial disparities in procedure utilization especially when it comes to PCa screening techniques. Conclusions: This systematic review summarized and described the current state and trend of GIS application in PCa disparities research. Although GIS is of crucial importance when it comes to PCa disparities research, future studies should rely on more robust GIS techniques, carefully select the geographical scale studied, and partner with GIS scientists for more accurate inferences. Such interdisciplinary approaches have the potential to bridge the gaps between GIS and cancer prevention and control to further advance cancer equity.

Living and dying between cultural traditions in African & Caribbean Heritage families: a constructivist grounded theory

BackgroundEthnic differences influence end-of-life health behaviours and use of palliative care services. Use of formal Advance care planning is not common in minority ethnic heritage communities. Older adults expect and trust their children to be their decision makers at the end of life. The study aim was to construct a theory of the dynamics that underpin end-of-life conversations within families of African and Caribbean heritage. This is a voice not well represented in the current debate on improving end-of-life outcomes.MethodsUsing Charmaz’s constructivist grounded theory approach, a purposive sample of elders, adult-children, and grandchildren of African and Caribbean Heritage were recruited. In-person and online focus groups were conducted and analysed using an inductive, reflexive comparative analysis process. Initial and axial coding facilitated the creation of categories, these categories were abstracted to constructs and used in theory construction.ResultsElders (n = 4), adult-children (n = 14), and adult grandchildren (n = 3) took part in 5 focus groups. A grounded theory of living and dying between cultural traditions in African and Caribbean heritage families was created. The constructs are (a) Preparing for death but not for dying (b) Complexity in traditions crosses oceans (c) Living and dying between cultures and traditions (d) There is culture, gender and there is personality (e) Watching the death of another prompts conversations. (f) An experience of Hysteresis.DiscussionAfrican and Caribbean cultures celebrate preparation for after-death processes resulting in early exposure to and opportunities for discussion of these processes. Migration results in reforming of people’s habitus/ world views shaped by a mixing of cultures. Being in different geographical places impacts generational learning-by-watching of the dying process and related decision making.ConclusionsRecognising the impact of migration on the roles of different family members and the exposure of those family members to previous dying experiences is important. This can provide a more empathetic and insightful approach to partnership working between health care professionals and patients and families of minority ethic heritage facing serious illness. A public health approach focusing on enabling adult-children to have better end of life conversations with their parents can inform the development of culturally competent palliative care.

Geo-economic analysis for selecting the best site for economic development in the Ruste River watershed (using GIS

The ability of natural geography contains the geographical places, the surfaces of earth, climate, water resources, the surface of plants. And the significance of it will be changed according to the places. And it will be changed according to its activities. The Abilities of natural geography affect the irrigation process and the economic activities such as (agriculture, tourism, industry and it helps researchs, that is why it is true. And because of the vital model ( the best place for selecting it in Arc Gis program we prepared a research about it. In this research we indicated the Significant of the abilities of natural geography and its effects of choosing the best place for economical activities (agricultural and tourism) and that is our main purpose in this research. Also by using the analytical methods for data for the purpose of selecting the levels of the rivers, and also this research relayed on the new technical tools, different data, and at the end it reached the best place for developing agriculture is Ruste River, it means that river takes the first best place for developing agriculture and takes the second place for developing industry and takes the third place for tourism.

Nucleotide sequence characterization, amino acid variations and 3D structural analysis of HN protein of the NDV VIId genotype.

Haemagglutinin-neuraminidase (HN) is one of the membrane proteins of Newcastle disease virus (NDV) that plays a significant role during host viral infection. Therefore, antibodies against HN are vital for the host's ability to protect itself against NDV infection due to their critical functions in viral infection. As a result, HN has been a candidate protein in vaccine development against the Newcastle disease virus. This report used the full-length sequence of the HN protein of NDV isolated in Iran (VIId subgenotype). We characterize and identify amino acid substitutions in comparison to other more prevalent NDV genotypes, VII subgenotypes and vaccine strains. Furthermore, bioinformatics tools were applied to determine the three-dimensional structure, molecular dynamics simulation and prediction of B-cell antigenic epitopes. The results showed that the antigenic regions of our isolate are quite comparable to the other VII subgenotypes of NDV isolated from different geographical places. Moreover, by employing the final 3D structure of our HN protein, the amino acid residues are proposed as a B-cell epitope by epitope prediction servers, which leads to the introduction of linear and conformational antigenic sites. Immunoinformatic vaccine design principles currently exhibit tremendous potential for developing a new generation of candidate vaccines quickly and economically to eradicate infectious viruses, including the NDV. In order to accomplish this, focus is directed on residues that might be considered antigenic.

‘The South in the North’: Worlding Kenyanness in Alex Chamwada’s TV series Daring Abroad

ABSTRACT Recently, there has been a proliferation of narratives that recount the daily experiences of Africans in White spaces. However, the scholarship on how Black people navigate predominantly White spaces has remained scanty. This article aims to help fill this gap by interrogating how Kenyans abroad negotiate, re-imagine and maintain their Kenyanness, especially in Euro-American urban spaces. This article argues that the Daring Abroad TV series by Alex Chamwada re-imagines, resituates and worlds Kenyanness through retention and continual use of Kenyan food and Sheng' as a lingua franca. The paper locates itself within the Bhabhasquan idea of third space and Afropolitanism theory in interpreting the use of Sheng’ language and Kenyan food in Euro-American urban spaces. Employing a lit-crit methodology, the paper mines data comprising running motifs, tropes, and themes found in narrations of Kenyans abroad in these episodes. The argument developed is that Chamwada’s show Daring Abroad is not just about how Kenyans are conquering Majuu [abroad] but also a show deconstructing the idea of home as a geographical place by presenting it as a state of mind using Kenyan food and Sheng' language to craft a worlding of Kenyanness in the globalised world that threatens and constantly ignores its existence.

Sense of place in geography and environmental education: a literature review of empirical research

Sense of place in geography and environmental education: a literature review of empirical research

A Study of the Elemental Profiles of Wines from the North-Eastern Coast of the Black Sea

Due to the increasing consumer interest in wines with a controlled place of origin, PGI (Protected Geographical Indication) and PDO (Protected Designation of Origin), the most acute question is how to identify them. One of the most effective ways to confirm the place of origin of wine in global practice is a comprehensive study of the elemental profile using statistical analysis methods. In the period from 2020 to 2023, 152 grape samples of grapes were collected from various wineries in Crimea and Kuban. The grape must that was obtained from them was fermented in laboratory conditions. The elemental profile was determined in the prepared wines, which included 71 indicators. In the conducted work, it was revealed that wines from Crimea and Kuban differ statistically significantly in the concentration of the elements B, Ca, Cu, Mn, Na, Ni, Re, Si, Sn and U. At the same time, the contents of the elements U, Sn and Re prevail in wines from Crimea, and those of B, Ca, Cu, Mn, Na, Ni and Si prevail in wines from Kuban. At the same time, methods of univariate and multivariate statistics do not allow us to reliably classify wine samples from Crimea and Kuban by their place of origin. In order to reveal the non-linear dependence of the studied indicators in wines on the geographical place of grape growing, the method of a supervised learning Random Forest was used. After training the model on the dataset, the proportion of its correct predictions was 96%. The model used 61 parameters, among which the most important were Ni, Re, Ba, Rb, Na, U, Sb, Zn, Bi, Ag and Ti.

POTHOLE DETECTION SYSTEM

One of the major problems in developing countries is maintenance of roads. Well maintained roads contribute a major portion to the country's economy. Identification of pavement distress such as potholes and humps not only help drivers to avoid accidents or vehicle damages, but also helps authorities to maintain roads. This paper discusses previous pothole detection methods that have been developed and proposes a cost-effective solution to identify the potholes and humps on roads and provide timely alerts to drivers to avoid accidents or vehicle damages. Ultrasonic sensors are used to identify the potholes and humps and also to measure their depth and height, respectively. the proposed machine captures the geographical place coordinates of the potholes and humps using a worldwide positioning device receiver. The sensed-data includes pothole depth, height of hump, and geographic location, which is stored in the database (cloud). This serves as a valuable source of information to the government authorities and vehicle drivers. An android application is used to update the pics of location on the android application named "meri sadak" so that measures can be taken to evade accidents. Alerts are given to the driver and simultaneously pics are updated on application.

Performance analysis of PVSyst based grid connected photovoltaic systems in Pakistan compared to SAARC countries

Electricity demand increasing day by day with the passage of time, fossil fuels and traditional electricity sources are becoming obsolete. The possibility of dealing with a power deficit and importing oil and gas for electricity generation exists for developing nations like Pakistan. One of the most accessible and affordable sources of renewable energy in the world is solar power generating. Photovoltaic (PV) cell performance is influenced by the environment and the technology used to capture the available energy. The Islamabad region of Pakistan is blessed with an average of 300 days of sunshine a year due to its location in the solar band at 33.7215°N latitude and 73.0433°E longitude. The current study compares and contrasts how Pakistan and South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) countries generate electricity using solar systems. Choosing one geographical place from all SAARC nations, PVSyst software is used to develop and estimate the performance study for solar model cell Panasonic 320Wp, 48V and 1.5 kW Inverter Fronius for a 9.6 kWp load. Energy supplied into the grid is studied together with various losses that occur in the system, with the choice of PV arrays and other factors remaining the same for comparison study of all SAARC countries. The approach to minimize losses through the utilization of an adjustable tilt angle has been implemented. This study will be useful in estimating and planning the solar energy output in all SAARC nations for the same photovoltaic system, and it will be simple to trade all PV system components in the region.

Introduction: racism doesn’t care about democracy either

ABSTRACT As the US approaches an intense inflection point in this grand experiment with democratic ideals, a pinched nerve in the form of a presidential election, this second special anniversary forum considers what resources (I almost said weapons) lay undiscovered or undervalued with which we may forge a future. Fortunately, there are gems – brilliant in the proper light – available for use; from the Global South to the US South, this forum imagines more than geographic places, but rather forms of care and powerful Black feminist community-building and critique of the retrenchment of multiple forms of racialized domination.

Country‐of‐origin, region‐of‐origin or terroir branding to entice premium Price? The curious case of geographic place origin construal and psychic distance

AbstractDespite firms' long reliance on geographic place origin branding, such as country‐of‐origin (COO), region‐of‐origin (ROO), and terroir, to sell their products in international markets, little theoretical and empirical work has been carried out to investigate which level of geographic specificity stimulates greater premium price when entering new markets. An experiment was conducted in India and Saudi Arabia manipulating place origin as a 3 factorial design (COO vs. ROO vs. terroir) using Australia as the country context, and honey as the product context. Results suggest that COO, ROO, and terroir prompt different place construal, which interacts with psychic distance to people (individual consumer difference), resulting in varying premium price. The study explains under which conditions which of the three place origins benefit companies and which ones backfire.

Whose feminism is it anyway? Reinterpreting digital media and feminisms from the non-metropolitan global south

ABSTRACT This paper seeks to reflect on the ways in which a non-metropolitan academic feminist community engages with digital media to reimagine the discipline of Women’s Studies, and consequently feminist politics. Based on ethnographic fieldwork conducted in a Women’s Studies Centre at a university in Tamil Nadu, India, this paper moves away from the framework of the digital as simply enabling or empowering, and instead seeks to examine these digital cultures as shaped by the particularities of their geographic coordinates, and as part of a larger media environment which is characterised as much by continuities as it is by innovations. In doing so, it attempts to understand feminisms as media phenomena that are actively shaped by and shaping media technologies and discourses. It argues that Women’s Studies scholars in these locations, operating from hybrid geographical and digital places, enable the possibility of decentring feminist scholarship and thus allow for a reframing of the digital. To do this, it focuses on three distinct areas of engagement—the co-creation of knowledge in Tamil language Wikipedia, interactions on social media platforms, and their engagements with little magazines in their online avatars.

Heading for health policy reform: transforming regions of care from geographical place into governance object

This article analyses how regional actors and national authorities shape and transform ‘the region’ from a geographical place into an object of governance for organising and delivering older person care. Drawing on an extensive ethnographic research project in the Netherlands, our findings show that these actors in interaction constitute the region through three practices: consistently creating urgency to foreground regional problems and solutions; renegotiating regulatory policies to facilitate regional care provision; and reconstructing care infrastructures to materialise regional care provision. Actors use and obtain power from co-existing and interacting institutional arrangements to develop new regional care arrangements. This evokes new interdependencies that reconfigure existing governance arrangements. Studying governance objects in-the-making reveals the required iterations, reconsiderations, and adjustments as processes within a given (ambiguous) institutional context, and which lead to institutional change. As regional organisation policies are increasingly scrutinised, this article provides an interesting and important contribution to this field.

Placing Homelessness: Reading J.H. Prynne's Wound Response

This paper proposes that the concept of place in J.H. Prynne’s Wound Response (1974) is founded on a condition of homelessness. Prynne recognizes the complicity of a humanist idea of home with totalitarian fantasies of foundations and origins. We argue that Wound Response constitutes a homeless geography of place, which becomes an ethical alternative to the politics of exclusion that underlie the process of homemaking. Destabilizing the anchorage of home, the volume encounters both the land and the body in moments of vulnerability. Politicized and territorialized, the wounded body in Wound Response becomes a reminder of the fundamental homelessness that haunts contemporary forms of spatial being. While stressing the severe inadequacy of a concept of place marked by rootedness, security, and permanence, the poems offer transient modes of shelter consistently underlined by a sense of precarity. By analyzing the figures of shelter and ‘human’ configurations of place in Wound Response, this paper maps the alternative geography of place that emerges from an ethically charged commitment to homelessness.

Bioanthropological analysis of human remains from the archaic and classic period discovered in Puyil cave, Mexico.

Determine the geographic place of origin and maternal lineage of prehistoric human skeletal remains discovered in Puyil Cave, Tabasco State, Mexico, located in a region currently populated by Olmec, Zoque and Maya populations. All specimens were radiocarbon (14C) dated (beta analytic), had dental modifications classified, and had an analysis of 13 homologous reference points conducted to evaluate artificial cranial deformation (ACD). Following DNA purification, hypervariable region I (HVR-1) of the mitogenome was amplified and Sanger sequenced. Finally, Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) was performed for total DNA. Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) variants and haplogroups were determined using BioEdit 7.2 and IGV software and confirmed with MITOMASTER and WebHome softwares. Radiocarbon dating (14C) demonstrated that the inhabitants of Puyil Cave lived during the Archaic and Classic Periods and displayed tabular oblique and tabular mimetic ACD. These pre-Hispanic remains exhibited five mtDNA lineages: A, A2, C1, C1c and D4. Network analysis revealed a close genetic affinity between pre-Hispanic Puyil Cave inhabitants and contemporary Maya subpopulations from Mexico and Guatemala, as well as individuals from Bolivia, Brazil, the Dominican Republic, and China. Our results elucidate the dispersal of pre-Hispanic Olmec and Maya ancestors and suggest that ACD practices are closely related to Olmec and Maya practices. Additionally, we conclude that ACD has likely been practiced in the region since the Middle-Archaic Period.