Spatial Norms Research Articles

Spatial norms as traversable and gendered: A study of parental experiences of no-kids zones in South Korea

This study examines the emergent yet understudied cultural phenomenon of ‘no-kids zones’ in South Korea, a business policy in commercial establishments prohibiting children and their caregivers from entering its premises. Drawing on 32 in-depth interviews of mothers and fathers with active caregiving responsibilities for young children, we examine the impact of the no-kids zone policies on parents’ everyday childcare experiences in urban consumption spaces. We argue that the rise of no-kids zones, indicative of a lack of social ethos of care, has further intensified unwelcoming sentiments towards children and parents, with mothers particularly subject to gendered stigma and blame around caregiving. We first find that spatial norms traverse; the acceptance and popularization of no-kids zones have in turn led to an expansion of hostile sentiments in urban consumption spaces beyond no-kids zones. We also find that such exclusionary norms manifest in gendered ways, with mothers reporting notably heightened levels of wariness and consciousness about how they are perceived by other consumers. We offer novel perspectives and insights on the intersection of societal norms and spatial configurations which, together shape caregiving experiences within urban consumption spaces. Our work highlights a gendered understanding of the challenges and dynamics parents face as they navigate child-unfriendly spaces.

Planning the great acceleration: spatial norms and urban expansion in Prince George, Canada, 1946-1981

ABSTRACT The decades following the Second World War are characterized as a Great Acceleration in global energy and resource use. Norms related to urban planning and development in these decades created social-ecological structures that led to elevated carbon use and biodiversity loss. In this paper, we connect perspectives on the mass suburbanization that transformed North American cities to a global scale discourse on the Great Acceleration and Anthropocene. Taking Prince George, British Columbia, Canada, as our case, we review how two dominant spatial norms (Howard’s Garden City and Perry’s Neighbourhood Unit) were deployed between 1946 and 1981 to both rationalize and accommodate urban expansion in the province’s northern capital. Archival sources and historical land development data relate a pattern of growth over this period to the actors, mechanisms, and planning theories that were used to promote urban expansion for a population that would ultimately never come.

Adaptive Reuse of High-Rise Buildings for Housing: A Study of Istanbul Central Business District

The abrupt shift to remote work due to the Covid-19 pandemic increased vacant office spaces globally, especially in high-rent central business districts (CBDs). These vacant office spaces offer the potential for conversion into housing, addressing the shortage of affordable housing in central areas. Additionally, this topic presents a unique experimental ground for architecture students. This study focuses on the Istanbul CBD as a case study, examining the historical developments that led to a rise in office vacancy rates and housing inequality, and exploring the potential for adaptive reuse of these vacant office buildings. A key focus of this study is to underline the pedagogical value of adaptive reuse, highlighting how such projects can inspire more diverse and equitable housing models, fostering experimental and sustainable design approaches. It systematically evaluates the outcomes of a 4th-year architectural design studio that focuses on the adaptive reuse of the Tat Towers in the Istanbul CBD, a structurally vacant high-rise office building, and asks: How does the context of adaptive reuse enable a different design approach, and, potentially, new spatial norms and standards to emerge, and how might this hold a pedagogical value for architecture education? Following these questions, the article discusses how norms and standards are not only culturally but also typologically contextual, and how the students have explored how norms and standards might change, outlining new design approaches to adaptive reuse.

A Preliminary Geography of the (Mega)Dungeon Spatial Practice and Tabletop Role-Playing Games

The dungeon and megadungeon are imagined spaces of a complex and interconnected network that emerged in fantasy tabletop role-playing games (TTRPGs) from the 1970s. As a space distinctive to early TTRPGs it is characterised by asymmetry between the dungeon as an object of design, and the dungeon as a practice of play. The discourse of games manuals, independent publications and blogs emerging from the TTRPG scene tracks the origins and evolution of these procedural and labyrinthine spaces, and the distinct spatiality of the megadungeon as a geographical object. The space of the megadungeon can be mapped onto a Lefebvrian triad of spatial production: it exists as a representation of space produced by a dungeon master or algorithmic generation that forms an infrastructure of play; it exists as a spatial practice emerging out of the unique experience of players traversing the megadungeon; and it forms a space of representation by seeking to imagine the megadungeon as a living fictional world, intersecting with the assumptions about spatial norms and relations originating in tropes of fantasy fiction. Surveying these trends in conversation with recent insights from human geography illustrates the distinct spatiality of the megadungeon that is derived from its origins in TTRPG play. This brings forward important questions for the utility of the megadungeon as a metaphor for digital media ecologies, and asks whether the metaphor could be extended to enrich conceptual debates in human geography.

Monikielisen toimijuuden tukeminen koulun toimintayhteisössä

This chapter discusses multilingual agency and its construction in the school. Regarding multilingualism, we describe five discursive spaces that organize interaction in the communities of practice: monolingualism, parallel monolingualism, situational multilingualism, institutional multilingualism, and a hybrid space with new ethnicities. The teacher’s actions and the chosen pedagogical approach transform the discursive and spatial norms; transforming norms and practices go hand in hand. The teacher can facilitate individual students in becoming autonomous agents, in interaction with the community. Developing multilingual agency requires student reflection, and dynamic feedback provided by the teacher. Including pupils with different backgrounds in learning is crucial in times of transnational lives. Thus, the practices of the school communities must be grounded in social justice and equity. Translanguaging and linguistically responsive pedagogies offer inquiry-based practices for inclusive language education that supports the pupils’ multilingual selves and language ownership.

Joint Coefficient and Solution Estimation for the 1-D Wave Equation: An Observer-Based Solution to Inverse Problems

The estimation of an unknown source coefficient and of the solution to a 1-dimensional (1D) wave equation via exponentially convergent state observers is the problem under consideration in this work. The coefficient is assumed to depend on the space variable only and to be polynomial. The main observation information for this inverse problem is the value of the solution to the wave equation in a subinterval of the domain, including also some of its higher-order spatial derivatives. In order to estimate the source coefficient, we turn it into a new state as in finite-dimensional parameter identification approaches. However in this infinite-dimensional setting, this requires the introduction of a novel indirect approach involving an infinite-dimensional state transformation. Sufficient conditions allow the design of a composite observer consisting of an internal observer, which estimates in higher regularity spatial norms both the source term and the solution on a subinterval, and a boundary observer, in order to eventually provide the estimation of the solution everywhere. The observer convergence is proven by means of Lyapunov analysis. An extension of this approach to the case of the identification of a potential in the wave equation is finally considered, which is a nonlinear inverse problem since here, in the equation, the unknown coefficient multiplies the solution.

To Find a Seat: Tracing the Ideoscape of Seats in the Pathars’ Lifeworld in Penang

This article examines the roles taken by seats in the buildings that form the lifeworld of Pathars—traditional Tamil goldsmiths—as an ideoscape following their migration to Penang during the British colonial period in the 19th century. This study used a phenomenological ethnography method to bring Pathars’ lived experiences with their physical environment to the forefront, highlighting the subjectiveness of architecture that shapes their lifeworld. The ideoscape of seats is analysed in themes to examine the power and politics of seats in the Pathars’ lifeworlds, including present-day migrant workers. To find a seat is a metaphor that elicits discussion on Pathars’ existential lives and highlights how this community has attempted to negotiate its way as agents of change or to bring the agency to their position in creating spatial norms in place amidst the state reifying its enclaves with essentialised notions of ethnic identity, following the formation of nation-states.

A comparative study of heritage visitors’ perceptions of time in the modern era

ABSTRACT This study aims to identify the factors affecting the formation of visitors’ perception of time in the two heritage sites of Naqsh-e Jahan and Merdeka from the interpretive approach. The explanatory method was used to ensure a deep understanding of visitors’ perceptions. Initially, 376 questionnaires were collected in Naqsh-e Jahan and 366 questionnaires in Merdeka. The Friedman test showed the differences between visitors’ prioritization of time perception variables. It was concluded that the sub-indices of environmental variables and special days rejected the hypothesis. In the qualitative part, researchers used methods of interviews and narrative stories based on their observations and lived experiences. Narrative descriptions allowed researchers to become aware of visitors’ perceptions and to make meaningful interpretations in which social context and culture are considered. Qualitative data analysis was performed by the triple coding method. 4 core categories were obtained, based on which the perception of time was formed in the visitors’ minds. These categories are sense of rhythm, speed of time, sense of change, and normative components of each country. It states that just as the amplification of spatial norms in a particular place is effective in strengthening the sense of place, it can also be generalized in time.

Damping-Robustness of Various 1-D Wave PDEs under Boundary Feedback Control

This paper is devoted to the study of the robustness properties of the 1-D wave equation for an elastic vibrating string under four different damping mechanisms that are usually neglected in the study of the wave equation: (i) friction with the surrounding medium of the string (or viscous damping), (ii) thermoelastic phenomena (or thermal damping), (iii) internal friction of the string (or Kelvin-Voigt damping), and (iv) friction at the free end of the string (the so-called passive damper). The passive damper is also the simplest boundary feedback law that guarantees exponential stability for the string. We study robustness with respect to distributed inputs and boundary disturbances in the context of Input-to-State Stability (ISS). By constructing appropriate ISS Lyapunov functionals, we prove the ISS property expressed in various spatial norms.

ПОКАЗНИКИ І КРИТЕРІЙ ЕФЕКТИВНОСТІ ДЛЯ ОЦІНЮВАННЯ МОЖЛИВОСТІ ВИКОНАТИ БОЙОВЕ ЗАВДАННЯ СТОРОЖОВОЮ ОХОРОНОЮ ЩОДО НЕДОПУЩЕННЯ РАПТОВОГО НАПАДУ ПРОТИВНИКА НА ПІДРОЗДІЛ НАЦІОНАЛЬНОЇ ГВАРДІЇ УКРАЇНИ

Indicators and performance criteria are presented, the application of which can allow commanders of units of the National Guard of Ukraine and other military formations to assess and achieve the predicted possibility of successful execution of a combat mission by sentry guards during their location in the concentration area or base camp. The performance indicators and criteria are based on the tactical and technical characteristics of the available weapons units, military equipment, surveillance equipment, linear and spatial norms for the relevant units and the application of known and proven provisions of probability theories and modeling. The assessment of the predicted ability to perform the main tasks of the guard of the unit is carried out on the example of a company of operational assignment, which is located on the spot in the concentration area or base camp. Untimely detection of sabotage and reconnaissance forces or an enemy attack by sentry guards can lead to significant losses among the personnel of the unit, weapons and military equipment, or the defeat of friendly forces. That is why more attention should be focused on guarding units. The success of the task of sentry protection during the location of the unit in place depends to a greater extent on the combat experience of junior commanders in the field. However, the experience may be insufficient or completely absent. Assumptions made during the research: the morale and psychological state, the level of training (training) of the personnel of the guard and the guarded unit are accepted as sufficient for the performance of the combat task; available weapons and military equipment are in good working order; the probability of destroying the enemy with that type of weapon is known; the reconnaissance range of the guard forces is assumed to be equal to the tactical and technical characteristics of the available means of surveillance; camouflage, topography, weather conditions are not taken into account. Guard posts continuously monitor the designated security lane. If an enemy is detected, whose forces are not significantly superior, the sentry post destroys it or captures it. In the event that the sentry forces are not able to destroy the enemy, the task of the sentry post will be to bind the enemy with fire during the deployment of the guarded unit in order of battle to enter the battle on favorable terms, after which, with the permission of the senior commander, to withdraw. The direction of further research is the development of a model for assessing the ability to perform a combat task by sentry guards in order to prevent a sudden enemy attack on a unit of the National Guard of Ukraine during their location in a concentration area or a base camp.

The Internal Structure of Mercury's Core Inferred From Magnetic Observations

AbstractPrevious models of Mercury's core magnetic field based on high altitude data from first MESSENGER flybys revealed an axisymmetric structure of the field. Here, we use low altitude MESSENGER data covering the entire mission period to construct spherical harmonic models based on various spatial norms. Although we find a dominantly axisymmetric field, our models nevertheless include detectable deviations from axisymmetry. These non‐axisymmetric features appear at high latitudes, resembling intense geomagnetic flux patches at Earth's core‐mantle boundary. Based on this core field morphology, we then attempt to infer Mercury's internal structure. More specifically, assuming that Mercury's high‐latitude non‐axisymmetric features are concentrated by downwellings at the edge of the planet's inner core tangent cylinder, and accounting for the presence of a stably stratified layer at the top of Mercury's core, we establish a relation between the inner core size and the thickness of the stratified layer. Considering plausible ranges, we propose that Mercury's inner core size is about 500–660 km, which corresponds to a stratified layer thickness of 880–500 km, respectively.

Pop-up food provisioning as a sustainable third space: reshaping eating practices at an inner urban university

ABSTRACT We examine one innovative response to the social, spatial and environmental sustainability challenges posed by food provisioning and consumption for large-scale organisations—pop-up or mobile food provisioning—focusing on the specific example of a large, inner urban university campus in Melbourne, Australia. Emerging from a larger project examining sustainability and eating practices on campus, this study of pop-ups draws on a multi-method empirical investigation involving ethnographic fieldwork, semi-structured interviews, and digital methods. While the university’s use of pop-ups in this case has been primarily as a flexible, just-in-time way of engaging with the food needs of students during a large-scale campus rebuild, we argue that the mobile and malleable nature of pop-ups may offer a more sustainable way of envisaging eating spaces in urban organisational contexts. Drawing on conceptual frameworks taken from social practice theories and theories of space, the paper conceptualises the hybrid and convivial spaces produced through the bundling of mobile food provisioning practices with the university practices as third spaces of hybrid hospitality and urban commons. We argue that through disrupting and challenging many of the temporal and spatial norms that govern mainstream food provisioning and consumption, these third spaces can enable pathways to sustainable social practices.

Analyzing the Relationship between Spatial Representations and Gender in Charlotte Gilman’s Novel, HERLAND

The aim of this paper is to explore the connections between architecture, interior spaces, urban environment, and social issues through the medium of literary fiction. In particular, it is to analyze the spatial representations through cues and interpretations as well as their impact on social inequalities, specifically gender discrimination, which is the governing theme that shapes the plot, within Charlotte P. Gilman’s utopian fiction Herland. Space within literature can be seen as an essential part of storytelling because it allows the reader to fully comprehend the surroundings that the author hopes to portray throughout the literature. In relevance to the novel, the portrayed environment emphasizes the gender inequalities that were evident through Gilman’s lifetime. In addition, gender governs the overall space within Herland, therefore, the space holds the same characteristics as women; the country existed as it is for the sole purpose of benefitting the user profile – the inhabitants of Herland. Gilman also criticizes architecture and interior spatial norms of her time throughout the novel by suggesting a completely different layout and function. To address the questions and issues mentioned, an in-depth study of the novel, the author, the authors’ time, and related publications were employed to further understand the relationship between space, gender and literature. The conducted analysis revealed this relationship by the elimination of gender roles and the alteration of conventional spaces; thus depicting a more utopian country, as a form of literary criticism to her dystopian era.

THE Exploration of Effective Spatial Performance of Accessible Neighbourhood Green (Ang), Including its Proportion and Standard Distance from User in Dhanmondi Residential Area, Dhaka

Urban physical context can be analyzed across three key matrixes (3-P) among others i.e. place, path, and people. So, pragmatic analysis of spatial effective performances connecting 3-P, require provoking frequency of people’s experience. Acknowledging this issue, the demand for accessible neighbourhood green (ANG) at an appropriate distance becomes the primary concern to enhance the quality of life and liveability in a city. However, with the continued urban growth and densification, the discrepancy between the demand and supply of open space continues to vary requiring adjustments to remain responsive. The real-life circumstance results in a shortage of parks and open areas in terms of demand and supply within accessible distance in Dhaka city. This paper intends to examine this issue through the case of the planned Dhanmondi Residential Area (DRA) in Dhaka. Despite having provision of multiple open spaces in DRA, visitor’s frequency varies due to age and gender group accessibility conditions and varying distances. Considering existing spatial norms set by Detail Area Plan (DAP), Dhaka structure plan (DSP), and numerous research works on Dhaka open spaces, the major inquiry posed here is whether these open spaces are appropriate for DRA or not. Therefore, the objective of this paper focuses on examining the quality of the physical environment of Neighbourhood public open spaces termed here as accessible neighbourhood green (ANG) in DRA to examine their adequacy concerning proportion and distance synchronized with the frequency of visits. The initial part of the paper focuses on conceptualizing the problem vis-à-vis the existing scenario. Surveys and interviews have been conducted to assess people’s perceptions in terms of comfort, accessibility, sociability, and user frequency aligned with proximity. The result indicates that the provision of one appropriate ANG within two or three standard blocks apart contribute to enhancing the quality of life for the city dwellers and their liveability.

ДЕЙСТВИЕ АГРОТЕХНИЧЕСКИХ ПРИЕМОВ НА РАСПРОСТРАНЕННОСТЬ РЖАВЧИННЫХ БОЛЕЗНЕЙ И ПРОДУКТИВНОСТЬ ПОЛЕВЫХ КУЛЬТУР

The productivity potential of field crops is currently realized by no more than 25%. One of the main reasons is the deterioration of the phytosanitary situation due to low agricultural technology, the cultivation of unstable varieties, non-compliance with spatial isolation norms, and others. Rust diseases take the top place in the decline in the yield of most crops, especially cereals. In a stationary field three-factor experiment of the Department of Agronomy of Yaroslavl State Agricultural Academy, the authors studied the influence of resource-saving processing systems and fertilizers on the prevalence of rust diseases and the productivity of field crops. Over the years of research (2016–2019), stem rust of oats, yellow and brown rust of wheat, linear rust of timothy were found in the crops. In 2018, warm and humid weather favored increased development of oat stem rust in annual grasses. On average, in terms of factors, the use of the studied soil cultivation systems did not cause any significant changes in the prevalence of rust diseases on cereals with minimal values on the surface-moldboard soil cultivation system. The full rate of mineral fertilizers caused a statistically significant majority of leaf rust in 2017 by 4.58%. In 2018, the use of straw contributed to a significant increase in the prevalence of oat stem rust by 18.34%. On average, for the studied soil cultivation systems in 2019, the use of the full norm of mineral fertilizers, both separately and together with straw, led to a statistically significant decrease in the above indicator with the minimum values for the background “Straw+NPK” by 6.39%. The use of a surface treatment system for all the years of research has led to a slight decrease in the productivity of field crops in comparison with surface-moldboard treatment. On average, for soil cultivation systems, the use of all types of fertilizers increased the productivity of field crops with the maximum reliable values for the background “Straw+NPK.”

Spatial and communication practices of Chettiar women in their ancestral homes

The Chettiars are a mercantile community in Tamil Nadu who built large palatial houses called the Valavu Veedu (ancestral homes). Applying Lefebvre’s theory of space, this study documents spatial and communication practices of Chettiar women belonging to three different generations from three families and how their use of space in their ancestral homes have changed with time. From the data collected through direct observation, in-depth interviews and auto-ethnography, it was found that women who live(d) in the ancestral home are able to relate to spatial norms within the domestic space whereas the younger generations women experience alienation. While Chettiar women suffered from curtailed interpersonal communication, limited access to media, and access to knowledge within the ancestral space, their rights within the domestic space have drastically improved due to change in spatial practices, which include enhanced socialization and exposure to other cultures afforded by modern houses in cities. Appropriation of space occurs when changes in social space affect the perceived space, conceived space, and lived space. When these families lived in modern houses in other towns and cities, the design and architecture affected the lived experience and spatial practices. This change has helped women in appropriating space in the ancestral home.

The Crank–Nicolson orthogonal spline collocation method for one-dimensional parabolic problems with interfaces

One-dimensional parabolic problems with interfaces are solved using a method in which orthogonal spline collocation (OSC) is employed for the spatial discretization and the Crank–Nicolson method for the time-stepping. The derivation of the method is described in detail for the case in which cubic monomial basis functions are used in the development of the OSC discretization. With this background, the method is easily extended to monomials of higher degree. No matter the degree of the monomials, the method requires the solution of an almost block diagonal linear system at each time step using an existing algorithm at a cost of O(N2) on a spatial partition of N subintervals. The results of extensive numerical experiments involving examples from the literature are presented. Both cubic and quartic basis functions are employed. In each case, the results exhibit optimal global accuracy in the L∞,L2 and H1 spatial norms and second order accuracy in time. Moreover, superconvergence is observed at the nodes.

Spaces of encounter: relations between the occupier and the occupied in Norway during the Second World War

ABSTRACT With Nazi Germany’s aggressive expansion, millions of Europeans were forced under German rule. Although the worlds of the occupier and the occupied overlapped in multiple ways, the everyday interactions between members of opposing sides of the conflict have received little scholarly attention. Using German-occupied Norway as a case study, this article explores the manifold relations between German soldiers and civilians during the Second World War. It argues that the asymmetry of power was not stable but constantly shifting as a result of these encounters. Based on an analysis of German military court records, the article identifies crimes and spaces as nodes where these worlds converged. First, using crimes as a lens, it explores how people on both sides responded to the constraints and opportunities the occupation produced. Secondly, it illustrates how space became the real and symbolic battleground in the struggle for power, and how the spatial norms inscribed in public, private and work spaces shaped these interactions. Since concepts of ‘resistance’ and ‘collaboration’ are inadequate to make sense of the complex reality of occupation, the article proposes the categories of conflict, cooperation and solidarity to analyse the diverse social relations between the occupier and the occupied.

‘I have to be at home’: Place and gender among student-mothers in higher education

Mothers who study in higher education (HE) experience many roadblocks that typical traditional students do not. These challenges are most referred to in terms of a lack of time to dedicate to their responsibilities as students and carers. However, there is an overlooked relation between student-mothers’ identities and space, considering the classic dichotomy of private/home space and the public sphere that had prevented many women to study. Based on interviews (N=4) and one focus group (N=3) with student-mothers at a prestigious university in Scotland, this research examines their place in HE in the United Kingdom. Data analysis revealed that these students’ mobilities are constrained by their caring responsibilities but that they also challenge established gendered norms by building bridges between their homes and public spaces. Moreover, although all these students are marginalised due to their motherhood, other axes of power impact on their educational experiences. This paper provides an original contribution to discussing gendered spatial norms and accessibility of educational spaces using intersectional lens and moves the academic debate forward by exploring not only the spatial relations that constrain, but are also produced by, these mothers.

Lateral-privatisation of the publics: Hong Kong’s spatial struggles

Hong Kong is one of the most ‘public’ open space challenged cities in the world. As a result of the city’s ‘patchwork’ planning practices, the privatisation of all space has become a means of control that directly impacts developmental typologies and social mobility. It remains a landscape which is more opportunistic than strategic, resulting in spatial compression for the sake of profitability. Through over privatisation, the multi-utilities of ‘spaces for the public’ constitutes negotiated spatial norms, a process whereby space is re-claimed through tactical means. This paper focuses on how the social mechanises the concept of spatial piracy of accessible (in and exterior) space to define what we term ‘lateral-privatisation’, in the lieu of a civic-spatial relationship. The argument presents two examples that expedite lateral-privatisation, discussing the umbrella movement and weekly takeover of open space by foreign domestic helpers. Conclusions are made by arguing that lateral-privatisation should be viewed as a spatial alternative, an informal design mechanism that advocates socially driven, spatially situated social justice. Through examining ‘by who’, ‘for whom’ and ‘where’, the lateral-privatisation concept positions an alternative model, between the privatisation of cities and the social (re)claims made within dense landscapes that promotes social dis-inclusion.