Spatial Perspective Research Articles

Integrating supply and beneficiaries into assessing the benefit of water purification service: a spatial flow perspective

Integrating supply and beneficiaries into assessing the benefit of water purification service: a spatial flow perspective

Spatial Perspective Taking in Non-Autistic Children and Autistic Children: Do Social Processes Benefit or Obstruct?

ABSTRACT The present study investigated whether the presence of another person in a visuospatial perspective taking (VSPT) paradigm would influence the performance of non-autistic and autistic children. Experiment 1 tested non-autistic children aged 5–7 (N = 82, 42 girls) in a self-condition (pure spatial updating of self-mental rotation) and an other-condition (taking another agent’s perspective). Experiment 2 compared 18 autistic children (3 girls, aged 7.17–14.33 years old) and 22 mental ability-matched non-autistic peers (10 girls, M age = 6.82). Both experiments were conducted in mainland China with Chinese participants. Non-autistic children below 7 years of age and autistic children performed better in the self-condition than in the other-condition, especially when angular disparities were greater than 90°, while no such differences were observed in 7-year-old non-autistic children. The interaction between perspective and angular disparity indicated the interference of another agent’s presence in typical VSPT tasks from a developmental perspective. The results were discussed with regard to the nonsynchronous development of spatial and social ability involved in the VSPT paradigm and its implications for the purity of VSPT as a measure of spatial ability.

Waiting for the Perfect Time: Perfectionistic Concerns Predict the Interpretation of Ambiguous Utterances About Time

Abstract Across numerous languages, individuals frequently employ two spatial perspectives – namely, the Moving Time and Moving Ego metaphors – to represent the movement of events in time. Specifically, the Moving Time perspective conceptualizes time as a dynamic entity that moves toward a stationary observer situated in a fixed location. In contrast, the Moving Ego metaphor positions the individual (the “ego”) as the one traversing through time, while time itself remains static. Previous research has established a positive association between procrastination and the adoption of the Moving Ego perspective. Drawing on findings that highlight the robust link between procrastination and perfectionistic concerns, we hypothesized that perfectionistic tendencies would correlate with a greater propensity to invoke an ego-moving representation of time. The present research tests this hypothesis and provides substantial support for this relationship. We demonstrate that a well-established measure of perfectionistic concerns is linked to an increased use of the Moving Ego perspective when interpreting ambiguous temporal utterances. Furthermore, this relationship is mediated by procrastination. This study presents the first empirical evidence that individual differences in perfectionistic concerns may influence how people perceive and interpret temporal relationships.

Analysis of Spatio-Temporal Relationship Between Ecosystem Services and Human Footprints Under Different Human Activity Gradients: A Case Study of Xiangjiang River Basin

Clarifying the relationship between human activities and the provision of ecosystem services has received significant interest in recent years because of a growing need for sustainable socio-ecological system development. Using multi-source remote sensing data, we assessed the spatial and temporal distribution of the human footprint index and five ecosystem services under four human activity gradients from 2010 to 2020 in the Xiangjiang River Basin. The five ecosystem services include water supply, soil conservation, food production, habitat quality, and carbon sequestration. The relationship between human footprint and ecosystem services was analyzed from quantitative and spatial perspectives. The results showed that over the past 10 years, water supply and habitat quality decreased by 4.59% and 16.49%, respectively. The other three services increased, and the upstream area of the basin had a higher level of ecosystem services provision. The human footprint index increased by 28.83% over the 10 years and was characterized by point and patchy clustering in the middle and lower reaches. In terms of quantitative characteristics, the relationship between human footprint and ecosystem services was primarily negative. The ecosystem services were sensitive to the human footprint index within the 0−0.4 range. In terms of spatial characteristics, the relationship was dominated by trade-offs. The risky “high–low” trade-offs were mainly distributed in the middle and lower reaches. As the gradients of human activity increased, the maximum fluctuation in ESs was 43%, and the maximum fluctuation in human footprint was 28%, making their relationship more complex. Our results identified response thresholds of ecosystem services to human activities, providing a guide for ecological management and sustainable development of basins.

Spatiotemporal Dynamics of Trunk-Injected Pesticide Residue for Management of Pine Wilt Disease in Pinus koraiensis

This study focused on the persistence, distribution, and efficacy of trunk-injected pesticides in Pinus koraiensis (Korean pine) with regard to controlling pinewood nematodes (PWNs, Bursaphelenchus xylophilus), the causative agent of pine wilt disease (PWD). In this study, we compared pesticide residues in the needles and branches of Korean pine, revealing significant declines in pesticide residues over time after treatments were applied. Notably, abamectin residues decreased from 0.2325 mg/kg to 0.0901 mg/kg in branches over a period of 18 months. In contrast, emamectin benzoate showed a variation in residue decline depending on the formulation, with the residue level in branches decreasing from 0.1220 mg/kg to 0.0328 mg/kg over the same period. From a spatial perspective, the results revealed minimal differences in pesticide residue at varying tree heights, although a decrease in upper canopy residue was observed in some cases. The nematicidal efficacy test demonstrated that none of the treated trees developed PWN symptoms. Overall, the findings suggest that the trunk-injected pesticides abamectin and emamectin benzoate can persist for two years, with the residue levels being sufficient to prevent PWN propagation, even when the levels are below critical inhibition concentrations.

Navigating the precarious path: Understanding the dualisation of the Italian labour market through the lens of involuntary part-time employment

This article investigates the surge in Involuntary Part-Time (IPT) employment in Italy from 2004 to 2019, exploring its impact on various socio-economic groups and adopting a spatial perspective. The study tests the hypothesis that technological shifts, specifically routine biased technological change (RBTC), and the expansion of household substitution services contribute to IPT growth. There is a widening negative gap in IPT prevalence among marginalized groups - women, young, and less skilled workers. After controlling for sector and occupation, the higher IPT propensity diminishes but remains significant, hinting at persistent discrimination. Additionally, segregation into more exposed occupations and sectors intensifies over time. Leveraging province-level indicators, and using a Partial Adjustment model, there is statistical support for RBTC’s correlation with IPT, especially among women. The impact of household substitution services is notably pronounced for women, highlighting sector segregation.

The effects of digital economy on manufacturing resource allocation efficiency across Chinese cities: a spatial economic perspective

ABSTRACT The development of digital economy provides significant impacts on spatial distribution of industries. Using microdata from Chinese manufacturing enterprises and adopting a spatial economic perspective, this study reveals that the digital economy exerts non-linear impacts on resource allocation. As the level of urban digital economy improves, the efficiency of manufacturing resource allocation shows an inverted U-shaped trend, and high hierarchy cities exhibit higher critical values. The study finds a positive spatial correlation in manufacturing resource allocation efficiency across cities; however, the growth of digital economy in neighbouring cities may lead to backwash effects and impede local improvements in allocation efficiency. The mechanism analysis indicates that the digital economy primarily affects spatial resource allocation through urban agglomeration economies and diseconomies. Consequently, economic agents and policy makers in cities should consider the dual effects of ‘location optimization’ and ‘transforming the economy from substantial to fictitious’ during digital transformation processes to select optimal development paths and improve allocation efficiency.

Potentials for Reducing Spatial Inequalities in Innovation: A Spatial Econometric Perspective

ABSTRACTThis study explains disparities in regional innovation through specific features of regional knowledge bases, including recently discussed concepts such as, technological relatedness, knowledge complexity, and technological complementarity among neighboring regions and regions connected in R&D networks. We employ a spatial autoregressive panel model for 405 European regions to estimate the effects of these characteristics. While being connected to complementary regions and having a high region‐internal technological relatedness are conducive to regional innovation, knowledge complexity has no positive effect interestingly. In illustrative convergence scenarios, we demonstrate the potential of increasing relatedness and complementarity to reduce inequalities in Europe, pointing to important policy implications.

Connective Urban Greenway Route Planning: A Spatial Optimization Perspective

Urban greenways, as vital green infrastructures, offer a range of societal, environmental, and ecological benefits to city dwellers. However, planning their routes remains a complex task for urban planners. While most studies emphasize either maximizing the number of residents served or enhancing the environmental benefits along these greenways, the role of urban greenways in linking existing facilities like tourist attractions, urban parks, public transport stations, and other greenways has received less attention. This paper introduces an innovative spatial optimization model for the planning of connective urban greenway routes. The model aims to link these facilities while also maximizing the population’s access to the greenway. We developed a set of models applicable to different objectives of connecting existing facilities, such as maximizing the number of facilities to be covered, covering all facilities, and minimizing the distance between facilities and planned greenways. Bi-objective scenarios, including weighted and lexicographical models, are also presented. We delineated the MILP formulation of the proposed models. The paper includes simulation tests with empirical data from Lhasa, China, validating the model’s practicality and computational efficiency.

Exploring the Viewer’s Role in Narrative-Based Animated Virtual Reality Experiences: Strategies for Role Activation and Immersive Storytelling

Virtual reality (VR) storytelling offers immersive experiences that engage viewers in unique and interactive ways. This study investigates the viewer’s role within animated narrative-based VR and explores strategies and techniques employed to facilitate this engagement. Using thematic analysis, the authors examined 22 animated VR experiences and identified six key themes: viewer interaction, virtual body, viewer’s spatial perspective, voice of the narrator, directed viewing and providing options. These themes encompass various strategies used to activate the viewer’s role and enhance their immersion in the narrative. The findings reveal that interactive elements, such as viewer interactions and decision-making opportunities, contribute to a heightened sense of agency and immersion. Additionally, the incorporation of a visible and functional virtual body, strategic placement of the viewer and guidance from a narrator potentially shape the viewer’s experience and understanding of the narrative. However, it is essential to strike a balance between directed viewing and viewer agency to ensure a satisfying and engaging storytelling encounter. The implications of these findings provide valuable insights for VR creators, highlighting the importance of considering these strategies when designing narrative-based VR experiences. By utilizing these techniques effectively, creators can craft immersive and engaging VR narratives that captivate and involve viewers in dynamic and meaningful ways.

Composition of inshore ichthyoplankton community in the Canary islands from a spatial and seasonal perspective: Inshore ichthyoplankton of the Canary Islands

Early life stages of fish are insufficiently studied in most regions around the globe, and consequently, there is an important gap in knowledge on the life cycle of most teleosts. In the Canary Islands (Eastern Central Atlantic), most studies on ichthyoplankton communities are based on traditional net tows in open waters that provide information about early larval stages of pelagic species in the area, while nearshore benthic fish remain highly understudied. In this study, light traps were employed for the first time to assess post-larval stages of neritic fish in this archipelago. A two-year survey was carried out to collect nearshore fish larvae every 6 months at 11 localities from El Hierro, Tenerife and Lanzarote. A total of 3940 fish larvae classified into 13 orders, 28 families and 44 species were collected. These results provide a wide description of the composition of the inshore ichthyoplankton off the Canary Islands, across islands and seasons. Main environmental factors (SST, sea floor orography, oceanographic phenomena …) influencing the population dynamics of this community are discussed. Additionally, the ichthyoplankton assemblages were assessed from the intra-annual perspective, analyzing the species composition and abundances by months and seasons, and providing new insights into reproduction cycles of many common benthic fishes at shallow marine ecosystems of the islands. This study is important to further understand the life cycles of some of the most common fish species in the Canary Islands, unraveling main environmental factors that affect the success of their offspring that sustain populations.

Does advanced human capital structure improve carbon emission performance in China? Empirical research from a spatial spillover perspective

Facilitating coordination between economic growth and carbon mitigation is vital for the sustainability of human society. Identifying the driving factors of Carbon emission performance (CEP) is crucial for its improvement. Nevertheless, empirical research on the relationship between advanced human capital structure (AHCS) and CEP remains scarce. This study analyzes the impact of AHCS on CEP utilizing a dataset covering 30 Chinese provinces from 2006 to 2021. First, we construct a global epsilon-based measure (EBM) model with undesired output to accurately measure the multi-period CEP for Chinese provinces. Next, we evaluate the level of AHCS from the perspective of dynamic evolution. Subsequently, a spatial Durbin model (SDM) is employed to examine the spatial spillover effects of AHCS on CEP. The results illustrate that CEP exhibits significant positive spatial spillover effects across provinces. Additionally, AHCS has a direct and significant positive impact on local CEP and can indirectly enhance CEP in neighboring regions through spillover effects, although the impact varies across different regions. The impact mechanism analysis indicates that AHCS enhances CEP via technological advancement, industrial structure upgrading (ISU), and energy efficiency improvement, despite the asymmetric effects observed between local and neighboring provinces. Therefore, shaping a favorable educational environment to optimize the human capital structure is critical for the improvement of CEP. In addition, promoting resource sharing and technology exchange through regional cooperation is essential for China’s low-carbon transition development.

Mapping the Distance: An Analysis of Visitor Travel Distance to German National Parks and Biosphere Reserves

The ecologically valuable and unique natural and cultural landscapes of protected areas are popular nature tourism destinations. From a spatial perspective, travellers visit protected areas by moving from their place of origin to the destination for a temporary stay. This paper analyses the travel distances of day visitors and overnight guests to German national parks and biosphere reserves. National parks position themselves as both regional and national destinations. In contrast, biosphere reserve tourism is more regionally concentrated due to the proximity of biosphere reserves to urban centres, which are the primary places of origin for visitors. On average, visitors travel 278.6 km by car to visit a national park, taking 172.1 minutes (02:52 hours). Opting for public transport increases the average travel distance to 312.5 km, with a travel time of 284.5 minutes (04:43 hours). Visitors to German biosphere reserves travel 208.7 km by car, requiring 134.7 minutes (02:15 hours). When using public transport to visit biosphere reserves, the average distance increases to 234.0 km, with a travel time of 239.1 minutes (03:59 hours). The automated, GIS-supported distance analyses offer an innovative approach for assessing nature tourism catchment areas and the accessibility of protected areas, serving as a basis for effective spatial planning, development, and regional marketing.

Efficiency of coronavirus testing from a spatial perspective: the Israeli case

ABSTRACT A prominent characteristic of. COVID-19 is the long incubation period, the lack of symptoms during that period, and significant geographic variation in prevalence and testing. This article investigates the relationship between testing and infection based on an Israeli sample of 193 municipalities and a report from 11 May 2020. Results support an exponential rise in the fraction of positive. COVID-19 outcomes with the fraction of tests. Finally, under conditions of equal socioeconomic ranking, population density and income inequality, the projected efficiency of tests rises with population density and the Gini index and drops with socioeconomic ranking.

Spatial and Ethno-national Health Inequalities: Health and Mortality Gaps between Palestinians and Jews in Israel.

This research adopts an analytical spatial perspective to explain ethno-national health inequality between Palestinians and Jews in Israel. The work identifies the forces that instigated and maintained the spatial segregation of Palestinians and elaborates the role of segregation in generating health gaps between Palestinians and Jews. The analysis suggests a novel conceptualization of two types of segregation: (a) exclusion from the center and confinement to the periphery and (b) segregation within the geographic periphery. Using administrative data on COVID-19 incidence, hospitalization, and death and various health indicators for localities, I devise a decomposition method that evaluates the relative contribution of each type of segregation to the total health gap. The findings indicate that the segregation of Palestinians from the center and their confinement to peripheral regions are crucial determinants of their poor health outcomes and that the segregation of the Palestinian community within the geographic periphery also contributes to poorer health.

Temporal and spatial analysis of fertilizer application intensity and its environmental risks in China from 1978 to 2022

Fertilizers are an essential input in agriculture as they can enhance crop yields. However, their use also poses significant environmental risks. To thoroughly explore the intensity of fertilizer use and its potential threats to the ecological environment, this study analyzed the environmental risks of fertilizer use from a temporal and spatial perspective based on fertilizer application data in China from 1978 to 2022. Additionally, the contribution of fertilizer application in Chinese farmland to greenhouse gas N2O emissions was quantified using IPCC emission factor methodology. The results indicated that fertilizer application intensity and N2O emissions in China initially increased and then decreased from 1978 to 2022. Despite the implementation of various fertilizer control measures at the policy level, such as the Zero Growth of Fertilizer Action in 2015 and the Efficiency-Increasing Action for Reducing Fertilizer Use in 2022, the intensity of fertilizer application in China still exceeded international safety standards by 1.33-fold in 2022, reaching 298.79 kg/hm2. Furthermore, N2O emissions amounted to 50.17 × 104t, accounting for 16% of China's total agricultural greenhouse gas emissions that year. Correlation and regression analyses demonstrated that with increasing fertilizer application, crop production exhibits an inverted U-shaped growth trend, indicating limited effectiveness of high-intensity fertilizer use in increasing crop yields. These findings highlight the profound greenhouse effect resulting from the use of agricultural nitrogen fertilizer. Therefore, this study proposed technical and policy-level mitigation measures to address the issues caused by excessive fertilizer application, aiming to provide insights for controlling agricultural non-point source pollution and preserving the agroecological environment.

A High-Resolution Remote Sensing Road Extraction Method Based on the Coupling of Global Spatial Features and Fourier Domain Features

Remote sensing road extraction based on deep learning is an important method for road extraction. However, in complex remote sensing images, different road information often exhibits varying frequency distributions and texture characteristics, and it is usually difficult to express the comprehensive characteristics of roads effectively from a single spatial domain perspective. To address the aforementioned issues, this article proposes a road extraction method that couples global spatial learning with Fourier frequency domain learning. This method first utilizes a transformer to capture global road features and then applies Fourier transform to separate and enhance high-frequency and low-frequency information. Finally, it integrates spatial and frequency domain features to express road characteristics comprehensively and overcome the effects of intra-class differences and occlusions. Experimental results on HF, MS, and DeepGlobe road datasets show that our method can more comprehensively express road features compared with other deep learning models (e.g., Unet, D-Linknet, DeepLab-v3, DCSwin, SGCN) and extract road boundaries more accurately and coherently. The IOU accuracy of the extracted results also achieved 72.54%, 55.35%, and 71.87%.

Does improvement of railway network promote urban economic growth? evidence from Northeast China.

The railway network connects different cities and regions and plays an important role in the transportation system. This paper theoretically analyzes the causal effect and mechanisms of the railway network on urban economic growth, and explores the direct effects, threshold effects, and spatial spillover effects of improved centrality in the railway network on urban economic growth in Northeast China. The results show that: (1) There is a similarity between the economic growth level and the trend of the railway network in Northeast China. From a spatial perspective, there are regional differences in the development of the railway network. (2) From the perspective of the direct effects, each unit improvement in railway network centrality leads to a 0.160 unit increase in urban economic growth in Northeast China. The degree of influence of other variables on urban economic growth, in descending order, is labor employment level, material capital investment, information development level, technological development level, human capital, and degree of openness. (3) From the perspective of the threshold effects of the railway network, the threshold values and the number of threshold levels are different for different regions. (4) There are significant spatial spillover effects in the railway network of Northeast China, and an increase in the centrality of a city's network can have negative spatial spillover effects on the economies of surrounding areas. Based on these results, we recommend that Northeast China should focus on the construction and improvement of the railway network, strengthen the connections between regions, and promote the overall economic growth of the region while improving its international competitiveness.

Does county urban shrinkage in China affect the concentration of lung-accessible particulate matter? An analysis from spatial effects and EKC perspectives.

The environmental effects of urban shrinkage have gradually attracted academic attention. Based on spatial effects and EKC perspectives, this study constructs an environmental impact assessment framework and examines the impact of urban shrinkage on the concentration of lung-accessible particulate matter at the county level in China from 2013 to 2020. The results show that, from a two-dimensional perspective in space and time, lung-accessible particulate matter concentrations show a decreasing trend in the time series and an obvious autocorrelation feature in space. Urban shrinkage can affect lung-accessible particulate matter concentrations through spatial effects. Through direct effects, urban shrinkage promotes the increase of lung-accessible particulate matter concentrations. Through spillover effects, urban shrinkage suppresses the growth of lung-accessible particulate matter concentrations. The effect of urban shrinkage on lung-accessible particulate matter concentration is nonlinear (EKC). This may be the result of the "siphon effect." Furthermore, in the extended STIRPAT model, it was found that population and economic and technological factors differentially affect lung-accessible particulate matter concentrations in shrinking cities. This study gives a new idea and insight into the changes in environmental pollution in shrinking cities.

Infrared image super-resolution reconstruction based on visible light image guidance and recursive fusion

Due to the limitations of hardware equipment, infrared images generally have problems such as low resolution, blurred details and poor visual quality during acquisition. Using visible light images to guide the super-resolution reconstruction of infrared images is an effective way to improve the resolution of infrared images. However, the imaging principles of visible light images and infrared images are different, resulting in differences in detail information between the two images, so problems such as blur and ghosting may occur during reconstruction. This paper proposes an infrared image super-resolution network based on visible light image guidance and recursive fusion. In this network, a flow Fourier residual module is designed, and modules of different depths are used to extract information of different frequencies in visible light images and infrared images, so that each module focuses on the appropriate frequency information. At the same time, a hybrid attention module is used to obtain detail information in multimodal images from channel and spatial perspectives, and fuse them in a complementary way, which helps to eliminate the generation of artifacts. On this basis, a global recursive fusion branch is designed to consider the correlation between multi-layer features, adaptively fuse multi-layer features, and generate clearer high-resolution infrared images. Experimental results show that compared with the comparative methods, this method performs better in objective evaluation indicators; in terms of subjective visual comparison, the images reconstructed by this method have clearer textures and fewer artifacts, and better object distinction in complex environments.