Spatial Entities Research Articles

Listening to what cannot be said: Broken narratives and the lived body

The core of this special issue of Arts and Humanities in Higher Education emerged from the Broken Narratives and the Lived Body conference held in 2016. The ‘Broken Narrative’ essays included in this issue open up a critical space for understanding and theorising illness narratives that defy a conventional cognitive ordering of the self as a bounded spatial and temporal entity. Here, we discuss how narratives might be ‘broken’ by discourse, trauma, ‘ill’ lived bodies and experiences that exceed linguistic representation. We trouble distinctions between coherent and incoherent narratives, attending to what gaps, silences and ‘nonsenses’ can convey about embodied illness experiences. Ultimately, we suggest that ‘breaks’ are in fact a continuation of embodied narration. This is shown in the ‘Art and Trauma’ forum of essays, which reveal how narrative silences can ‘infect’ other embodied subjects and be transformed, achieving musical or visual representation that allow us to apprehend the ‘constitutive outside’ of narratives of illness or trauma.

Ecosystem spatial structure revealed by integrated survey data

Integrated marine survey series such as PELGAS provide comprehensive geo-referenced data over large sea areas in major ecosystem components with defined biological resolution and spatio-temporal sampling scale. These data enable to develop product at different levels of biological organization and spatial scale that are useful for ecosystem integrated assessments. Using the PELGAS integrated data series, we applied a generic procedure made of several steps to identify and map ecologically coherent ecosystem spatial units in the Bay of Biscay. First, the data were interpolated on a common spatial grid and organized as a time series of matrices containing at each time the variables as columns and the grid cell values as rows. The multi-table analysis method known as Multi-Factor Analysis (MFA) was then applied on the series of matrices, thus separating in the analysis the spatial from the temporal variability. Grouping the spatial grid cells based on their relative positions in the MFA space resulted in mapping ecosystem spatial entities based on common spatial patterns across ecosystem components. The result of the analysis is a map of ecosystem seascapes that are consistent over the years together with a map of their inter-annual variability. The ecosystem sub-units were in agreement with sub-regional production systems in the Bay of Biscay. This study thus highlights the possibility to characterize and monitor ecosystem spatial structure and develop indicators thereof for their use in ecosystem assessments. Also, it highlights the importance of identifying spatial limits of production systems for ecosystem description, assessment and management.

Classification of Soil Types Using Geographic Object-Based Image Analysis and Random Forests

There is increasing interest in developing automatic procedures to segment landscapes into soil spatial entities that replace conventional, expensive manual procedures for delineating and classifying soils. Geographic object-based image analysis (GEOBIA) partitions remote sensing imagery or digital elevation models into homogeneous image objects based on image segmentation. We used an object-based methodology for the detailed delineation and classification of soil types using digital maps of topography and vegetation as soil covariates, based on the Random Forests (RF) classifier. We compared the object-based method's results with those of a pixel-based classification using the same classifier. We used 18 digital elevation model derivatives and 5 remote sensing indices that were related to vegetation cover and soil. Using 171 soil profiles with their associated environmental variable values, the RF method was used to identify the most important soil type predictors for use in the segmentation process. A stack of raster-geodatasets corresponding to the selected predictors was segmented using a multi-resolution segmentation algorithm, which resulted in homogeneous objects related to soil types. These objects were further classified as soil types using the same method, RF. We also conducted a pixel-based classification using the same classifier and soil profiles, and the resulting maps were assessed in terms of their accuracy using 30% of the soil profiles for validation. We found that GEOBIA was an effective method for soil type mapping, and was superior to the pixel-based approach. The optimized object-based soil map had an overall accuracy of 58%, which was 10% higher than that of the optimized pixel-based map.

AN OVERVIEW OF THE LOCATION OF AIRPORTS USING GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEM

A geographic information system (GIS) is a system designed to capture, store, manipulate, analyze, manage, and present spatial or geographic data. The acronym GIS is sometimes used for geographic information science (GIS science) to refer to the academic discipline that studies geographic information systems and is a large domain within the broader academic discipline of geoinformatics. GIS can provide the airport management staff with visual pavement information and powerful analysis tool. Meanwhile, the spatial information managed by GIS can ensure the accumulation of valid attribute data of airport. Based on the principle and general implementation process of GIS and the characteristics of airport pavement management, this paper describes the implementation process of GIS in Airport planning and design. To organize the spatial entities effectively, some layers are set according to the characteristics of spatial entities. The spatial database is established, and then the function design of the GIS software is presented including map exploring, map locating, spatial query, rendering style of map and output of map. Finally, in this paper, an overview of locating airports using GIS studied.

Spatial entities and cover mapping by thresholding of a vegetation index: Case of the region of Naama (Algeria)

A large variety of methods and techniques for analyzing multidate satellite images have been developed to detect changes in the Earth's surface. Based on the assumption that changes in land use are reflected in changes in radiance, the preclassificatory method was used in this study, conducted on an arid steppe region belonging to the wilaya of Nama, West Algeria. This method consists in highlighting the radiometric changes between two images of Landsat (TM, 1987) and SpotView (XS, 2007) acquired on different dates but within the same annual period. The interpretation of the two maps derived by thresholding P.V.I. (Perpenducular Vegetation Index) clearly shows the degradation of the environment. The bare soil and low spatial entities increased considerably in 2007 (479 and 1774 km2 respectively) compared to 1987 (258 and 1205 km2 respectively), while the other two entities medium and dense have experienced an opposite scenario at the expense of the first two. Thus, the evolution of spatial features of the vegetation cover of the study area can be perfectly monitored and the associated mapping informs very precisely about spatial changes that have occurred over time. DOI: http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.810032

The many routes of mental navigation: contrasting the effects of a detailed and gist retrieval approach on using and forming spatial representations.

Navigated routes can be recalled by remembering a schematic layout or with additional sensory and perceptual details, engaging episodic memory processes. In this study, we contrasted the effects of these remembering approaches on retrieving real-world navigated routes, the impact on flexibly using familiar route information and on learning new spatial representations. In a within-subjects design, participants were oriented to recall familiar routes under two remembering conditions-a detail condition that promoted episodic memory processes and a gist condition in which routes were recalled via schematic processes. In each condition, participants performed two subsequent navigation tasks. They first described solutions to navigation problems that involved the recalled familiar route (e.g., navigating around a road block or to a new destination) andthen learned and recalled a route within a novel spatial environment. All navigation descriptions were scored for the number of spatial references, entities, and sensory descriptions. We report the following findings.First, when describing the familiar routes, more details were generated in the detail condition, but a higher proportion of these details were spatial references in the gist condition. Route descriptions in the gist condition also relied more on egocentric spatial representations than in the detail condition. Next, when solving navigation problems in the familiar environment, solution routes were described with more details in the detail condition and deviated less from the familiar route than in the gist condition. Finally, the detail condition led to the preferential encoding of entity and sensory descriptive details of new spatial representations. These findings suggest that activating episodic processes at retrieval has distinct effects on how familiar information can be flexibly used and how new spatial representations are formed.

Good Practices for Object-Based Accuracy Assessment

Thematic accuracy assessment of a map is a necessary condition for the comparison of research results and the appropriate use of geographic data analysis. Good practices of accuracy assessment already exist, but Geographic Object-Based Image Analysis (GEOBIA) is based on a partition of the spatial area of interest into polygons, which leads to specific issues. In this study, additional guidelines for the validation of object-based maps are provided. These guidelines include recommendations about sampling design, response design and analysis, as well as the evaluation of structural and positional quality. Different types of GEOBIA applications are considered with their specific issues. In particular, accuracy assessment could either focus on the count of spatial entities or on the area of the map that is correctly classified. Two practical examples are given at the end of the manuscript.

The preposition at from a spatial language, cognition, and information systems perspective

While both linguistic semantics and geographic information science have struggled to accurately and usefully define the meanings of natural language prepositions, there has been less dialogue between these disciplines than one might expect. In this paper we set out to describe the meaning of the English preposition at using well-established formal models of qualitative spatial relations within geographic information science (GIScience), ultimately proposing an account for its meaning which is novel for both discipline areas, and we relate this description to previous definitions of at from within linguistic semantics. The investigation in this paper illustrates that at cannot be handled using the mathematical formalizations of crisp spatial relations in GIScience. However, the model proposed in this paper based on contrast sets, Voronoi Diagrams and Galton & Hood’s (2005) Anchoring theory, contributes to a better understanding of the meaning of at. The model also enables improved automatic interpretations of the preposition by partitioning space into contrast sets and representing at as indicating that a spatial entity is more closely related to a reference object than to any other in the set. We show how the model can be framed within a formal semantics account and how it can in principle be extended to account for spatial uses of other prepositions as well. The paper demonstrates potential areas of fruitful cross-fertilisation between GIScience and linguistic semantics. EARLY ACCESS

Multimodal KB Harvesting for Emerging Spatial Entities

New entities are being created daily. Though the novelty of these entities naturally attracts mentions, due to lack of prior knowledge, it is more challenging to collect knowledge about such entities than pre-existing entities, whose KBs are comprehensively annotated through LBSNs and EBSNs. In this paper, we focus on knowledge harvesting for emerging spatial entities (ESEs), such as new businesses and venues, assuming we have only a list of ESE names. Existing techniques for knowledge base (KB) harvesting are primarily associated with information extraction from textual corpora. In contrast, we propose a multimodal method for event detection based on the complementary interaction of image, text, and user information between multi-source platforms, namely Flickr and Twitter. We empirically validate our harvesting approaches improve the quality of KB with enriched place and event knowledge.

TRANSCENDING THE HUMAN/NON-HUMAN DIVIDE

This article focuses on the analysis of the geo-politics and body-politics of being, and perception as the key concepts in the decolonial option grounded in the spatiality and corporeality of our cognitive and perceptive mechanisms. Revived spatiality refers in this case not only to a physical space that we inhabit but also to our bodies as specific spatial entities – the privileged white male bodies or the damned, non-white, dehumanized and often gendered and sexualized bodies from the underside of modernity. The article presents a decolonial interpretation of the human/non-human binary aimed at rethinking the fundamental modern/colonial division into anthropos and humanitas and the subsequent animalization of large human groups. The main questions are then what does it mean to be animalized by and in modernity and what ways out are possible, desired and attainable for the dehumanized others? The main goal of the article is to further question liberal Western humanism from a decolonial perspective, without yet dropping this concept altogether, and considering instead another humanism model suggested by Sylvia Wynter. Contemporary critical anti-humanist and “other humanism” theories often find a much more accurate and immediate realization through artistic metaphors and activist art projects than traditional theory, problematizing the border between the human and the animal, the man-made and the natural, the individual and the communal. Therefore, the article dwells at some length on one such project balancing between art and critical anthropology – the works of the Northern Caucasus decolonial artist Taus Makhacheva.

A Statistical Toolbox For Mining And Modeling Spatial Data

Most data mining projects in spatial economics start with an evaluation of a set of attribute variables on a sample of spatial entities, looking for the existence and strength of spatial autocorrelation, based on the Moran’s and the Geary’s coefficients, the adequacy of which is rarely challenged, despite the fact that when reporting on their properties, many users seem likely to make mistakes and to foster confusion. My paper begins by a critical appraisal of the classical definition and rational of these indices. I argue that while intuitively founded, they are plagued by an inconsistency in their conception. Then, I propose a principled small change leading to corrected spatial autocorrelation coefficients, which strongly simplifies their relationship, and opens the way to an augmented toolbox of statistical methods of dimension reduction and data visualization, also useful for modeling purposes. A second section presents a formal framework, adapted from recent work in statistical learning, which gives theoretical support to our definition of corrected spatial autocorrelation coefficients. More specifically, the multivariate data mining methods presented here, are easily implementable on the existing (free) software, yield methods useful to exploit the proposed corrections in spatial data analysis practice, and, from a mathematical point of view, whose asymptotic behavior, already studied in a series of papers by Belkin & Niyogi, suggests that they own qualities of robustness and a limited sensitivity to the Modifiable Areal Unit Problem (MAUP), valuable in exploratory spatial data analysis.

A Multi-Scale Residential Areas Matching Method Using Relevance Vector Machine and Active Learning

Multi-scale object matching is the key technology for upgrading feature cascade and integrating multi-source spatial data. Considering the distinctiveness of data at different scales, the present study selects residential areas in a multi-scale database as research objects and focuses on characteristic similarities. This study adopts the method of merging with no simplification, clarifies all the matching pairs that lack one-to-one relationships and places them into one-to-one matching pairs, and conducts similarity measurements on five characteristics (i.e., position, area, shape, orientation, and surroundings). The relevance vector machine (RVM) algorithm is introduced, and the method of RVM-based spatial entity matching is designed, thus avoiding the needs of weighing feature similarity and selecting matching thresholds. Moreover, the study utilizes the active learning approach to select the most effective sample for classification, which reduces the manual work of labeling samples. By means of 1:5000 and 1:25,000 residential areas matching experiments, it is shown that the RVM method could achieve high matching precision, which can be used to accurately recognize 1:1, 1:m, and m:n matching relations, thus improving automation and the intelligence level of geographical spatial data management.

Autopoietikus (társadalmi) terek koncepciója

A kortárs térelméletek fő áramlatai a teret nyitottnak tételezik fel, és sokan úgy vélik, hogy ezt alátámasztják a globalizációs trendek is. E tanulmány az autopoiézisz koncepciójának térelméleti alkalmazásával a konkrét terek lehetséges zártságára hívja fel a figyelmet. A szerző a luhmanni szociális rendszer bemutatását követően az autopoiézisz általános társadalmi koncepciójának főbb jellemzőit tárgyalja. Bemutatja, hogy miben különböznek az autopoietikusan működő zárt rendszerek a nyílt triviális rendszerektől, és melyek az autopoietikus rendszerek főbb jellemzői. Az autopoietikusan működő rendszerek az önépítés, az önfejlődés érdekében alakítják ki a zártság és nyitottság kényes egyensúlyát. A tanulmány a társadalmi (területi) rezilienciát az autopoiézisszel rokon fogalomként mutatja be. A szerző az autopoiézisz általános koncepciójának lényegi elemire építve megalkotja a zárt terek koncepcióját. A belülről építkező önreferenciális terek és területegységek saját maguk konstrukciói, saját „genetikájuk”, logikájuk alapján működnek és határolódnak el a környezetüktől. A konkrét terek határai mindig az alkotóelemeiknek és a relációiknak a sajátosságaihoz igazodnak, a komponenseik és azok relációi a saját maguk által létrehozott térben, saját műveleteikkel termelődnek újjá. Ha az önreferencián alapuló viszonylag autonóm működés megszűnik, azzal megszűnik a természetes téregység is, és elemei egy másik egység részévé válnak. A mesterségesen kívülről létrehozott és irányított terek nem autopoietikusan, hanem gépszerűen működnek.

Regions Set in Stone—Delimiting and Categorizing Regions in Europe by Settlement Patterns Derived from EO-Data

The spatial patterns of landscapes are complex. Highly dense urban centers are not just mirrowed in a dichotomic sense by rural environments; landscapes are a spatially variable continuum. In this logic, nation-states (or any political or administrative unit) spatially integrate different types and physical appearances of land cover. Understanding regions in the sense that similar physical characteristics may construct alternative (natural) spatial entities which may sub-divide or cross-over adminstrative boundaries allows us to overcome common map projections. However, which indicators and which regional logics define and delimit regions is conceptually vague. With this paper we aim to add an empirical study to identify regional phenomena in Europe. To do so, we take advantage of a new data set from remote sensing, the Global Urban Footprint. It features European-wide consistent spatial information on settlement patterns. We use density and distribution of settlements as indicators for delimiting regions by similar characteristics. Our methodological approach classifies urban nodes (by settlement density and size), spans an unbounded soft space by the classification of spatial connectivity between nodes (by continuous settlement) and maps territorial entities (by density around nodes); the approach is following a space of place logic. From a geographic perspective we identify uneven development across Europe. The corridor streching from England via the Benelux areas via Germany, Switzerland, France to Northern Italy is mapped as the European backbone; however, new focal areas such as, e.g., towards eastern Europe are also detected. Applying a plausibility check reveals that the proxy settlement pattern corresponds well with regional conceptions presented in other studies.

A qualitative inference method for prediction of geographic process using spatial and temporal relations

Knowledge engineering is the systematic self-disciplined set of activities involved in design and development of knowledge-based systems. Abstraction of the real world into codified information is the objective of knowledge representation (KR). The survey of various works of researchers in the domain of spatio-temporal knowledge representation for reasoning real world actions in geographic applications is presented. Geographic event attributed spatial entity (GEASE) knowledge-base that will aid in reasoning events causing the spatial change in geographic features over the period of time is proposed. GEASE knowledge-base describing a spatial entity by considering the temporal event as an attribute is constructed to infer events that cause geographical changes. As a result, the significance of the proposed knowledgebase is illustrated by evaluating event based queries on synthetic dataset. Finally, we conclude the work with direction to enhance the logical formulation for its implementation on real datasets in future.

Measurement and modeling of particulate matter concentrations: Applying spatial analysis and regression techniques to assess air quality

This paper presented the levels of PM2.5 and PM10 in different stations at the city of Sabzevar, Iran. Furthermore, this study was an attempt to evaluate spatial interpolation methods for determining the PM2.5 and PM10 concentrations in the city of Sabzevar. Particulate matters were measured by Haz-Dust EPAM at 48 stations. Then, four interpolating models, including Radial Basis Functions (RBF), Inverse Distance Weighting (IDW), Ordinary Kriging (OK), and Universal Kriging (UK) were used to investigate the status of air pollution in the city. Root Mean Square Error (RMSE), Mean Absolute Error (MAE) and Mean Absolute Percentage Error (MAPE) were employed to compare the four models. The results showed that the PM2.5 concentrations in the stations were between 10 and 500μg/m3. Furthermore, the PM10 concentrations for all of 48 stations ranged from 20 to 1500μg/m3. The concentrations obtained for the period of nine months were greater than the standard limits. There was difference in the values of MAPE, RMSE, MBE, and MAE. The results indicated that the MAPE in IDW method was lower than other methods: (41.05 for PM2.5 and 25.89 for PM10). The best interpolation method for the particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10) seemed to be IDW method.•The PM10 and PM2.5 concentration measurements were performed in the period of warm and risky in terms of particulate matter at 2016.•Concentrations of PM2.5 and PM10 were measured by a monitoring device, environmental dust model Haz-Dust EPAM 5000.•Interpolation is used to convert data from observation points to continuous fields to compare spatial patterns sampled by these measurements with spatial patterns of other spatial entities.

CATEGORIAL AND CONCEPTUAL APPARATUS OF NEW REGIONALISM FORMATION

Introduction. The process of a new regionalism formation in Ukraine has become the subject of the study. Its conceptual and categorical apparatus has been determined. Purpose. The article aims to ground the author's interpretation of the concept "regionalization" on the basis of analysis of the "regionalization" concept which is provided by researchers of various scientific schools and their critical analysis. It will help to clarify the categorical and conceptual apparatus of a new regionalism. Method. The author has used general scientific methods of research and specific methods of scientific knowledge. In particular, there have been used the monographic method and the method of generalizations (to make the comparison of concepts regionalization); the method of analysis and synthesis (to determine the most important essential factors of the "regionalization" concept). Results. The results of analysis of essence interpretation of the «regionalization» concept make it possible to come to the following conclusions. In terms of spatial and territorial aspects regionalization has three forms: first form is the so-called "regionalization – from the top" (when within the state the regions with administrative boundaries are determined); second form is the so-called "regionalization – from the bottom" (when within the already formed administrative schematization the region can be separated; third form is the so-called "regionalization – horizontal" (when the associations of the regions are formed or those can be the cross-border regions and units). Regionalization is often associated with new spatial and territorial entities at different levels in order to obtain competitive advantages in the context of the formation of an information society. Regionalization is considered as a mechanism of regional social and economic policy, a variety of innovation activities, and the emergence of interstate relations; as a process of institutional change, territorial division, regionalism, decentralization, the choice of a political course. It has been found out that regionalization, in our opinion, is primarily a certain process, which is confirmed by the discourse on the essence of this concept, which is based on the principle of subsidiarity and decentralization of authority. Scope of results. It has been provided the author's interpretation of the "regionalization" essence as a multidimensional process of increasing autonomy and increasing the importance of regions at the level of different territorial entities, which is accompanied by institutional changes, can contribute to the clarification of the conceptual and categorical apparatus of a new regionalism theory.

Schemata as Maps and Editing Tools in Thirteenth-Century Scholasticism

The essay introduces the reader to thirteenth-century horizontal tree diagrams representing the structure of scholastic questions. Analysis of diagrams in two manuscripts from the early Franciscan school of Paris is enriched with notions from cognitive studies, in order to use these drawings as a lens into scholastic cognitive strategies and perception of texts. While previous scholarship about medieval diagrams has focused on mnemonic and pedagogical functions, I argue that these drawings were used as road maps and as editing tools for both navigating and constructing the increasingly sophisticated forms of scholastic writing. This application of the diagrammatic mode to text structure, I suggest, both reflected and encouraged a new perception of texts as modular, spatial, and hierarchical entities.

Identification Method of the Russian Federation Arctic Zone Regions Statistical Aggregate as the Object of Strategy Development and a Source of Sustainable Growth

The lack of accurate identification of the territories belonging to the Russian Arctic zone is a specific feature. As a result, the problem of statistical observations of circumpolar regions arises. Russian Arctic zone is considered in an article in the format of the threshold spatial socio-economic entity. The identification of the regions included in the Russian Arctic zone is based on the concept of unstable aggregates. The probit regression tools are used to determine the thresholds and to form a threshold aggregates in the study. Equation parameter estimation is performed by a quasi-Newton method. The indicators that reflect a variety of criteria for classifying territories (municipalities) as the Arctic zone (based on not only geographical, but also climatic and biological criteria) were used as the initial data. These calculations allowed forming the list of territories identified as the Russian Federation Arctic zone.

Space, Power, and Locality: the Contemporary Use of Territorio in Latin American Geography

This article explores the concepts involved in the term territorio, the nature of its uses and the interpretations given to it by different user groups in Latin America. In so doing, the authors find that despite its ubiquitous nature, polysemic use and its hybrid conceptual construction, territorio is a specific Latin American concept that can shed light on power relationships in space, triggered by the confrontation between global forces on the one hand and local, place-based, or “territorially anchored” groups on the other. The article unfolds across two sections. The first summarizes diverse conceptualizations of space, power, and locality, which are understood to be core elements of territorio, particularly when these are linked through actions, demands, or claims of a collective. The second section approaches the thematic contexts in which territorio and its associated concepts are used: as spatial entities of jurisdictional administration, appropriation by indigenous, afro and peasant communities, political demands and social movements, control-dispossession and reconstruction, spatial entities of assets, and place-based development. We argue that an understanding of the multiple uses and interpretations of territory in Latin America does not just reveal the uniquely nuanced ways of thinking about geography in the region, but it also raises questions over the possibility of a multiple construction of key geographical concepts.