Territorial Representation Research Articles

Educational ethnographies on memory and territory with children in rural contexts in Colombia

ABSTRACT This paper examines children's perspectives on rural territories in two Colombian areas affected by armed conflict, exploring intersections of knowledge production, territory, and memory. Using Decolonial Perspectives and Escobar's territory concept, an educational collaborative ethnography was conducted. Territory is conceptualised as a biophysical and epistemic space shaped by community worldview. This paper reflects on how collaboration with children contributes to decolonising representations of conflict-affected rural territories, allowing the recognition of its values and the reconstruction of negative dominant representations. Data collection involved five months of participant observation, engaging children, teachers, parents, grandparents, community leaders, and researchers. Activities included walks, reading circles, workshops, map-making, and family garden visits to construct narratives about the past and present. Analysis revealed situated knowledge production, with territory acquiring semantic and experiential meaning. Peasant children's perspectives challenge homogenising discourses about childhood, war, peace, and rurality, emphasising agency and exploring multiple forms of knowledge.

Interrogating regional territorial representation in post-democratic Spain

ABSTRACT In this article, we examine the function of territorial representation by national cabinet ministers in multi-ethnic democracies. In particular, we observe whether ministers from regions with a specific identity shape a distinctive sense of representation in the national executive, and whether this depends on how political parties and the party system articulate it. Borrowing from Pitkin’s four dimensions of political representation, we investigate the recruitment and role of ministers from the three distinct Spanish regions of the Basque Country, Catalonia and Galicia. This paper stresses that these ministers have played a distinctly territorial representative role in the national cabinet quite unlike that of ministers from other Spanish regions. Nevertheless, it is worth noting the poorest performance of Catalan ministers in relation to their Basque and Galician counterparts in terms of descriptive representation, levels of partisanship, survival rates and appointment to certain portfolios.

THE IMPACT OF GOOGLE’S APIS ON LANDSCAPE VIRTUAL REPRESENTATION

Abstract. The field of territorial representation has undergone significant transformations in response to the proliferation of the internet, leading to the emergence of platforms dedicated to global exploration. Notably, Google Earth has assumed a pivotal role and stands as one of the most widely utilized tools for making territorial information universally accessible. Google recently introduced direct access to photorealistic 3DTiles via dedicated APIs, ushering in a new era of possibilities. This integration forms a robust foundation for crafting customized applications and interactive experiences within a geospatial three-dimensional environment. The primary objective of this research is the assessment of the accuracy and potential of the resources provided by Google within a workflow focused on digital twin processing and geospatial data visualization. To achieve this goal, a comparative analysis of distinct models was conducted, with each model representing a unique approach to three-dimensional reconstruction. The research introduces a methodology designed for easy replication in other case studies, demonstrating intrinsic scalability suitable for more complex or diverse scenarios. Furthermore, the study offers a comprehensive assessment of the differences and characteristics of the three methods analyzed, providing insights into their potential and limitations.

Is public control possible in relation to international governmental organizations: towards the formulation of the problem

This article is devoted to the formalization and analysis of the problem associated with the possibility of public control over international governmental organizations. Unlike the public authorities of national States, the constitutions and legislation of most of which provide for the possibility of organizing and exercising public control over their activities, acts and decisions, international governmental organizations created by representatives of public authorities of national States are, in fact, removed from the subject of control of the peoples of the world. This circumstance creates favorable conditions for irresponsibility in the behavior of officials of these international governmental organizations, which leads to violation of the rights, freedoms and legitimate interests of individuals and legal entities provided for by both national legislation and international law. A number of scientific research methods are used in the work, including: formal-logical; comparative-legal; historical-legal; statistical; sociological; method of analyzing specific legal situations. The paper examines the main problems that hinder the organization and implementation by the peoples of the world of public control measures in relation to international government organizations, as well as their territorial representations in individual states. The authors have developed and substantiated a system of measures to resolve these problems, including by: enshrining in the UN Charter and constituent documents of international governmental organizations the right of peoples to organize and exercise public control over international governmental organizations, as well as their territorial representations in individual states (with details of principles, forms, methods, principles and mechanism measures of the specified control, types of its subjects authorized to carry out these public control measures); creation of interstate and international associations and unions of public control, which should be empowered to carry out the above-mentioned measures; consolidation in international and national legislation of a system of measures of legal responsibility for countering the specified subjects of public control in the organization and conduct of the above-mentioned public control measures organization of scientific and practical research on the problems of this type of public control; development of a system of measures to verify the effectiveness and efficiency of the work of the above-mentioned subjects of public control.

Degressively proportional representation in the European Parliament: European Union law versus reality

ABSTRACT As the European Parliament is the first transnational representative body based on the Member States representation, the apportionment of seats among the European Union Member States may be a relevant issue. This article is conceived as an idiographic case study and presents an analysis of the composition of the European Parliament in the territorial representation perspective. According to the 2007 Lisbon Treaty, there should be degressively proportional representation in the European Parliament. Following that existing EU legislation implies an uneven representation of citizens in the European Parliament across the EU Member States, this study pursues the following two goals. Firstly, it seeks to quantify malapportionment (the degressive proportionality principle), i.e. distortion of the proportional representation of the Member States (malapportionment) and under-/over-representation of individual Member States, in European elections since 1979 when the direct elections of MEPs were introduced. Secondly, it aims to answer whether there has in fact been a degressively proportional representation in the European Parliament. This article concludes that malapportionment has stabilized at fourteen to fifteen per cent of the total seats since the 2004 European election, but there has been no degressively proportional representation in the European Parliament since 2004.

ПОТЕНЦИАЛ ГЕНЕТИЧЕСКИХ АЛГОРИТМОВ В ЗАДАЧАХ ПОКРЫТИЯ ТЕРРИТОРИИ ГРУППОЙ БЛА

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have become key tools in automated area coverage tasks due to the fact that they are not limited by obstacles on the ground and are able to quickly complete tasks. However, when planning routes for UAVs covering an area, difficulties arise in finding optimal solutions due to the computational complexity of the problem. Therefore, when solving problems with a group of UAVs over large areas, heuristic algorithms are used to find coverage paths that are close to optimal. one popular algorithm for that is the genetic algorithm. The article studies the potential of using genetic algorithms in the context of solving the problem of covering an area using a group of UAVs. The article provides a review of methods for developing and optimizing modified genetic algorithms that take into account the unique features of the coverage problem. The characteristics of the genetic algorithm and the representation of chromosomes when solving the coverage problem are analyzed, depending on the different types of representation of territories. The article considers features of applying genetic operations to chromosomes that reflect the trajectory of the UAV, as well as the features of the task when working with a group of UAVs. In addition, it also discusses collision avoidance techniques in UAV swarm missions, their advantages and limitations.

ЕТНІЧНИЙ СКЛАД НАСЕЛЕННЯ ОКРУЖНИХ ЦЕНТРІВ СХІДНОГО ПОДІЛЛЯ: МОГИЛЕВА ТА ТУЛЬЧИНА (ЗА МАТЕРІАЛАМИ ПЕРЕПИСУ НАСЕЛЕННЯ 1926 РОКУ)

One the base on the statistical materials of the 1926 census author prepaid tables containing information on the number, ethnic composition and territorial location of the population of Mohyliv and Tulchyn districts as a whole and district centers of Mohyliv and Tulchyn. It has been proven that the Ukrainians composed the absolute majority among the total population of Mohyliv and Tulchyn district and a relative majority among the entire population of Mohyliv and Tulchyn. It was established that the absolute majority of the entire population, Ukrainians and ethnic minorities lived in districts outside the district centers, and the level of urbanization of the population remained rather insignificant. Therefore, the ethnic composition of the population of both of these districts could be quite significant differ from the ethnic composition of the population of both district centers. It was determined that the average of the entire population of Mohyliv and Tulchyn, the level of the share of Jews who mostly lived in cities, and the level of the share of other ethnic minorities was insignificant. Among the rural population of both of these districts, the absolute majority was Ukrainians, and the level territorial representation of ethnic minorities was minimal. That is, they were observed there are noticeable differences in the ethnic composition of the population of the district centers and districts of the East Podillia: Mohylivska and Tulchynska districts. This makes it possible to emphasize the fact that ethnic composition and territorial location of the population in the districts of Eastern Podillia quite noticeably differed in the urban and agrarian settlement environment. After all, the absolute majority of Ukrainians in rural areas among the entire population in rural areas changed to a relative majority among the entire population of urban environment. Instead, the opposite trends were observed in relation to ethnic groups minorities. Their share among the entire population in the agrarian environment was insignificant, however, among the total population in the urban environment, ethnic minorities constituted a much larger share compared to rural areas, where only dispersed residents lived individual representatives of ethnic minorities.

Kharkiv Okruha in the 1920s: Number and Ethnic Composition of the Population

The ethno-cultural environment of Ukraine, in particular the ethnic structure of the population and its territorial features, is an important topic of Ukrainian ethnology. The materials of censuses are the main sources for studies of the ethnic composition. The results of the 1926 census, the publication of which has been the most complete, are of unique importance for conducting such scientific research. The population of not only areas, towns, districts, but also every rural settlement without exception, as well as the ethnic composition of the population of each village council, has been promulgated. There is currently no separate investigation devoted to the study of the population and ethnic composition of the population of Kharkiv Okruha as a whole, its urban and rural population. The author’s tables have been prepared based on the processing of statistical materials of the 1926 census. In 1926 Ukrainians have constituted an absolute majority in the ethnic population of the Kharkiv Okruha as a whole, among the urban and rural population, among the population of 24 out of 27 districts, as well as among the population of 348 out of 411 village councils. In 1926 most of the territories of Kharkiv region have been characterized by the dominance of Ukrainians in terms of number and ethnic homogeneity of the population with a minimal territorial representation of scattered ethnic minorities. The level of the share of Russians and Jews among the entire population of Kharkiv is noticeable, but the majority of them are migrants. Russians have made up the majority of the population in 3 districts of the okruha. The territories of the former Kharkiv Okruha in the borderlines of 1926 now belong not only to Kharkiv Oblast (established in 1932), but also to Sumy Oblast (founded in 1939). The territory of 12 districts of the former Kharkiv Okruha has been under Russian occupation completely or partially from the end of February to the beginning of September, 2022 and suffered significant human losses and material damage from Russian aggression.

“Weighed, not counted”: territorial (mis)representation in Italian metropolitan council elections

Metropolitan cities were established by Italian Law no. 56/2014 (commonly known as the “Delrio Law”) as a new level of government, replacing and redefining functions previously performed by provinces in selected major urban areas. One of their three key governing bodies is the metropolitan council, a representative assembly the members of which are elected via an indirect, second-level, proportional, list-based system in which the electorate comprises all sitting mayors and councillors from metropolitan city municipalities. The election mechanism applies a differential weighting scheme that reflects the population size of the municipalities in which voters serve as mayors or councillors. Using the outcomes of the metropolitan council elections held in the years 2021 and 2022 in eight metropolitan cities, this study highlights the variety of ways (many of which appear to be largely unintended) in which demographic weighting bestows significantly greater (and, arguably, unwarranted) power to larger cities’ representatives, essentially disrupting the principles of territorial representation that the weighting scheme intended to embody. The study also focuses on how the legal framework for metropolitan council elections generates institutional instability via mandatory forfeitures and ensuing substitutions of seat vacancies. Finally, the author identifies potential adjustments to the electoral system – especially a proposal for the attenuation of disproportionate territorial representation via demographic weighting based on the so-called “square-root method”.

The methods used to identify urban, rural, and intermediate territories at European level: A comparison of the methods developed in the framework of TERCET and ESPON

This paper examines the methods developed within the ESPON projects for identifying urban, rural, and intermediate territories, and compares the resulting territorial representations with those resulting from the implementation of the TERCET methods.In recent years, there has been an undeniable need for a harmonised delineation of territories that is both locally relevant and internationally comparable. On the one hand, locally relevant methods reflect the different perspectives that characterize territories and their diversity at the local level. On the other hand, methods that are internationally comparable harmonise comparisons between territories without taking into account intraregional differences and are mainly used for statistical analyses.This comparative analysis of the two types of methods uses documentary evidence and focuses on some key features (such as the preferred variables and statistical techniques, the spatial units, and the identified territorial classes) and some revealing indices of local relevance (such as the number of territorial classes) and international comparability (including use over time). The results demonstrate that the ESPON methods overcome the traditional dichotomous approach between urban and rural areas and provide solid evidence of territorial differences and progress in territorial policies and planning. Since these methods are often by-products, they strictly depend on the individual project's objectives and are rarely adopted in other studies or useful for reliable statistical comparisons. The comparison with TERCET typologies, which are the most commonly used for comparable statistical information at the European level due to their reliability and timeliness, reveals differences in all key characteristics and suggests that the choice of method to be used depends on the objectives of the scholar or policymaker.

Russia's spatial anxiety and the construction of geographical knowledge

AbstractThis commentary addresses the dimensions of Russia's ‘spatial anxiety’—its inability to come to terms with the territorial delimitations of neighbouring states and, consequently, the preoccupation of mainstream political geography with the study of Russia‐centric territorial representations. Although geographical inquiry contributed substantially to understanding Russian territorial politics, most studies are often reduced to an analysis of the official Russian geographical canon. The purpose of this commentary is to unpack these disciplinary approaches by drawing attention to the local, indigenous and peasant geographies that the statist perspectives have unearthed and utilised, while at the same time accentuating the two assumptions that this project might imply—on the re‐territorialisation of the federation and the decolonisation of Russian area studies.

Representations of a vast territory and complex history: diverse faces of contemporary mountain architecture in North America

The vastness of territory that makes up the mountainous areas of the United States and Canada could be characterised more by its diversity than by any common trait. Different environmental, socio-cultural and historic conditions mean a wide array of architectural response strategies. Many elements play a role in dictating contemporary mountain architecture in North America. The ruggedness and remoteness of the mountain territories drives materiality and design influences. Land ownership ranges from private to tribal to federal and has an impact on the built environment, as does the historical context which spans from thousands of years of indigenous habitation to homesteaders and settlers in the last two centuries. Recent efforts to revive and preserve Native American traditions have seen an increase in indigenous influence on design, while inspiration from Europe and Scandinavia has likewise had an impact. The result of this myriad of influences is not a definable American mountain architecture style but rather a multifaceted diversity of approaches to design. The essay begins with an introduction to the diverse contexts of the mountain ranges in Canada and the United States, then illustrates the variety of approaches to contemporary architecture within the territory through examples projects from four architectural studios spread across the region.

Bordering Ladakh, Again: From Ecological Flows to Cartographic Competition

ABSTRACT In August 2019, the Indian government dissolved the state of Jammu and Kashmir, designating its Northern region as the Union Territory of Ladakh. Two months later, it released a new Political Map of India on which Ladakh was drawn as one of India’s largest territories. Like most representations of territory on political maps, the claims made were simplified. India’s rendering did not acknowledge that Pakistan and China administered much of Ladakh’s territory; nor did it represent the region’s intricate, multi-ethnic population, topography, or ecosystems. This article approaches the construction of this political map historically. Rather than using regional history to bolster any state’s claims, we argue that the confusion over the map reflects a disconnect between the abstractions of state territory and the realities of high-altitude socio-ecologies. We compare the socio-ecologically and climatically embedded bordering practices of pre-territorial Tibetan–Ladakhi states outlined in local language sources with the abstract understanding of territorialised borders that the new map represents. The Tibetan–Ladakhi approach, which concentrated on pathways and mountain-pass checkpoints, allowed for social and ecological flows around and through these checkpoints. By contrast, the current bordering regimes have bifurcated communities, demanded fixedness, and required three large armies to defend arbitrary borders.

NUMBER AND ETHNIC COMPOSITION OF THE POPULATION OF THE KOLONTAI DISTRICT OF THE KHARKIV DISTRICT (ACCORDING TO THE CENSUS OF THE 1926 POPULATION CENSUS)

Based on the analysis of statistical materials of the 1926 census, a study of the population and ethnic composition of the population of the Kolontaiv district of the Kharkiv district was conducted. The number and ethnic composition of the population of each of the 10 village councils of this district have been determined. The population in 1926 of each of the 31 settlements of the district, the average population of one village council, one rural settlement and one rural household were determined. It has been proved that the key feature of the population of Kolontaiv district and all its 10 village councils remained its ethnic homogeneity - absolute dominance in the number of Ukrainians against the background of minimal territorial representation of ethnic minorities dispersed.

Spatial Crisis and the Experimental Production of Urban Space in Franco’s Spain: The History of Madrid’s Poblados Dirigidos

The article analyzes the ideological reasoning, planning rationale, and construction of controlled/satellite neighborhoods ( poblados dirigidos) in the metropolitan area of Madrid during the 1950s and 1960s. Poblados dirigidos were compact and minutely planned barrios on which the Franco regime (1939-1975) hinged its hopes for re-directing urban growth and controlling informal urbanization. While the phenomenon of poblados dirigidos was investigated by several Spanish architects and urban planners, their work focused mostly on the design of these neighborhoods, the structure of their housing units, and the innovative construction techniques. The current article suggests that the spatial crisis that drove the dictatorship to embrace the planning module of poblados dirigidos cannot be understood in isolation from the political and economic challenges faced by the regime during its “interim decades.” These challenges led to a progressive shift in the regime’s territorial representations and to a partial shift in its spatial practices, which the article analyzes.

Application of existing algorithms for classification and clustering of laser reflection points (k-Means, DBSCAN, SVM) to solve territorial planning problems

Objective. The aim of the study is to generalize the experience of using and reveal the features of methods for classifying and clustering images obtained by laser scanning.Method. The study is based on the use of algorithms for recognition, clustering and classification of data obtained using laser scanning.Result. A brief review of existing algorithms used for clustering images obtained by laser scanning has been carried out. The possibility of using sequentially the K-means and DBSCAN algorithms for clustering in relation to objects of various shapes is shown. The possibilities of using algorithms for the classification and clustering of laser reflection points (k-Means, DBSCAN, SVM) in the framework of solving territorial planning problems are analyzed.Conclusion. The use of the presented algorithms makes it possible to form data arrays that, when superimposed on each other subsequently and further processed, make it possible to obtain even more accurate representations of objects and territories in territorial planning documents, and in the future, based on the use of machine learning methods and processing of data matrices available in memory, get more accurate information about objects on the ground.

Factors for improving the efficiency of mergers and acquisitions

Developed in modern conditions, such a new form of enterprise reorganization as mergers and acquisitions has many positive aspects for business, including savings on resources, market share growth and much more. However, not all mergers and acquisitions have high efficiency, some of them are unsuccessful. The reason for this is a variety of factors affecting the effectiveness of influence and acquisition transactions. This article is devoted to the study of these factors. The author discusses the essence and main characteristics of mergers and acquisitions. The dynamics of the volume and territorial representation of mergers and acquisitions in the world in 2015-2022 are analyzed. On the basis of foreign and domestic experience, the author identified and systematized factors that influence the level of efficiency of mergers and acquisitions and contribute to its improvement. The author identified two groups of factors contributing to the greatest efficiency of mergers and acquisitions: factors of efficiency improvement at the initial stage; factors of efficiency improvement at the stage of implementation and subsequent transaction support. Detailed study and planning of the factors included in these groups will contribute to the most effective implementation of the mergers and acquisitions transaction, as well as increase its efficiency in the future.

ClaireWeeda: Ethnicity in Medieval Europe, 950–1250: Medicine, Power and Religion. York: York Medieval Press, 2021; pp. 346.

ClaireWeeda: Ethnicity in Medieval Europe, 950–1250: Medicine, Power and Religion. York: York Medieval Press, 2021; pp. 346.

Graphical representation of a servitude territory: legal and practical aspects

Establishing a road servitude is one of the ways of ensuring access to immovable properties, which are not connected to a common use road, thus ensuring complex improvement and development of reachability provided for in the Sustainable Development Strategy of Latvia until 2030 (Latvija2030). The graphical representation of a servitude territory is a legally binding document necessary for the corroboration and registration of the road servitude right. The purpose of the study is to reflect, as a result of studying the development and practical application of the legal framework for the content and form of the graphical representation of a servitude territory, the problems and peculiarities involved to draw conclusions and to provide conceptual solutions to the problems identified. Research methods used are general scientific – descriptive, analytical, formally dogmatic, modelling and legal interpretation – grammatical, systemic and teleological. The study has revealed problems in the development and practical application of a graphical representation of a servitude territory due to the lack of a legal framework to ensure a uniform procedure and principles for the development of content and form.

Детермінанти кластеризації в контексті територіального інноваційного розвитку

The article is devoted to the study of topical issues of accelerating the innovative development of spatial socioeconomic systems; determining the degree of influence of network forms of organization on the dynamics of economic activity; providing a scientific basis for the formation of centers of innovative growth based on the theory and practice of clustering. A systematization of literary sources on the mentioned issues shows that modern economic science pays insufficient attention to the theory and practice of the influence of cluster forms of organization on the nature and dynamics of innovative development of territorial (regional) systems. The problems of creation and diffusion of innovations are studied from the point of view of the representation and positioning of a separate territory (region) as a subject of economic relations, as a multi-aspect and multifunctional cluster network, which is an indispensable component of the development of territorial innovation systems. Further development, the symbiosis of the theory of regionalism, in particular, the spatial organization of production, with the theory and practice of innovative entrepreneurship, is the substantiation of the feasibility of creating and spreading territorial poles of growth – innovation clusters. The idea of the nature and character of cluster forms of modern territorial organization of innovative activity, being a kind of cluster (network) structure, which is a projection of scientific and industrial-economic systems on a certain territory, has been researched and developed. It is shown that the economic power of such a territory is set and determined not only by the volume of sales of innovative products, but also by the synergistic resource of the entire cluster network, its general influence on national and global markets.