Vernacular Region Research Articles

Fusing machine learning with place-based survey methods: revisiting questions surrounding perceptual regions

This article explores questions on perceptions of the location of the ‘Midwest’, a contested vernacular region of the United States. We created a custom online survey with R’s web framework Shiny, in which participants were presented with a blank web map and asked to ‘draw’ their definition of the Midwest. Instead of simply describing the aggregated results, we employ machine learning algorithms – Naive Bayes, Random Forest and Categorical Boosting – in an attempt to classify users into groups, with a focus on the features that most effectively separate responses. We also demonstrate a way to engineer features from a single spatial response question and provide an implementation through a small R package. Furthermore, we discuss misclassified observations and suggest some driving factors in the construction of regional perception. This research is important not only for its contribution to perceptual regions but also for the approach, which could be applied to place-based survey analysis more broadly.

ВЫЯВЛЕНИЕ ГРАНИЦ ВНУТРИГОРОДСКИХ ВЕРНАКУЛЯРНЫХ РАЙОНОВ ПО ОНЛАЙН-ДАННЫМ НА ПРИМЕРЕ ГОРОДА САН-ФРАНЦИСКО

This article focuses on the identification of one of the forms of territorial organization of society – vernacular region in urban area (UVR), case-study of San-Francisco. In the course of the study, was analyzed a wide layer of foreign and domestic sources of the concept of vernacular regions, as well as its various interpretations. Author made an attempt to distinguish between the concepts of «neighborhood» and «vernacular region in urban area». Relevance and innovativeness of this work stem from the use of volunteered geographical information (VGI) as a data source, exactly social network Instagram. In the course of the study, the main methodological approaches were formulated – one online method for determining the boundaries of the UVR was developed and described, and its advantages and dis- advantages were also identified. As a result, the boundaries of the San Francisco UVR are delineated. Also, the identified boundaries are compared with the administrative boundaries of the administrative districts of the city (neighborhoods). For clarity of this comparison, maps have been compiled. Visible discrepancies are analyzed, lacunas are found in the urban vernacular grid of San Francisco. At the end of the study, the author explains the similarities and differences between the two concepts of «neighbourhood» and «vernacular region in urban area», and also suggests which of the elevations is best suited for specific tasks.

In Search of Spatial Perceptions: The Balkans as A Vernacular Region

AbstractThe Balkans are still an imprecisely defined and relatively unknown area in southeastern Europe. They are a historical‐political term, often provoking negative associations that are synonymous with underdevelopment, backwardness, and primitiveness. This research is aimed primarily at exploring how the Balkans are perceived by students of geography in Zagreb and Maribor and what associations they provoke. It further seeks to investigate whether the Balkans are primarily a cognitive construct that is spatially determined on an individual level, based on an individual’s own insights, attitudes, values, and other determinants. Therefore, a questionnaire survey regarding perceptions of the Balkans was conducted. The results indicate that the Balkans can be seen as a sort of vernacular anti‐region: the kind from which states in or near its boundaries attempt to exclude themselves, while simultaneously trying to include their neighbors to the south and east.

Vernacular as a space: writing in the Deccan

ABSTRACTThis is not an essay about mysticism in the Deccan. The aim is neither to track the movement of holy men and cults into the Deccan, nor the expansion of their networks and the creation of sacred geographies; this essay is also not about the comparative textual and spiritual discourses of saints from different sects. Instead, the attempt here is to suggest that every geographical region had a complex world of religious domains and of life-worlds in which multiple faith-agencies were active, catering to different audiences. There were some spiritual agencies that were part of larger ‘global’ networks, and others which were ‘local’ or vernacular. The term ‘vernacular’ is a description not necessarily limited to the discursive language used. This vernacular life-world was shaped by a several factors, natural and cultural: geographical realities, shared political and historical memories. Even if such a vernacular region, in this case, the Deccan, was a part of an ‘Islamic frontier’ politically and spiritually, certain vernacular traditions such as the Marathi literary spiritual movement cannot be easily accommodated within such a model of frontiers, contact zones and interfaces. This essay considers literary and spiritual practices in the northern Deccan from the thirteenth to the eighteenth centuries, primarily in the Marathi language, to demonstrate a spatial and conceptual character that was not just linguistic.

Labels of Interest Groups as Indicators of A Vernacular Region: A Case Study in Croatia

ABSTRACTWhile not necessarily actual in the contemporary administrative divisions, vernacular regions are an integral part of regional identities. As such, they are a type of perceptual regions based solely on the inhabitants’ inner perception of a region. Vernacular regions are usually articulated through the occurrence of a region's name in various informal narratives such as labels of interest groups. The aim of the paper is to use the official online databases as a means to identify and extract interest groups such as businesses, companies and public associations with labels containing the name of Zagora region in southern Croatia. The extracted data is used to map the vernacular region and reach conclusions about the applicability of the method and the utilised data sources, as well as to find out how external perception influences regional affiliation in a traditional region without institutional frame.

Cascadia rising: soccer, region, and identity

In this article we examine the relationship between soccer culture and the vernacular region of Cascadia. Specifically, we consider how supporters of the Portland Timbers, Seattle Sounders and Vancouver Whitecaps mobilize the bioregional narrative of Cascadia. This Cascadian narrative helps to solidify supporter culture and identity by fostering a connection between supporters and place. As a result, soccer has also become one conduit through which ideas about Cascadia are constructed, experienced and communicated. In this way, ideas about Cascadia help to construct regional and local soccer cultures in Portland, Seattle and Vancouver and in turn, those soccer cultures help to construct and promote Cascadia. We examine three aspects of this situation: the formation of the Cascadia Football Federation, the Cascadia Cup Controversy and the use of Cascadian iconography by supporters of the aforementioned clubs.

Medijska percepcija prostornih identiteta: konstrukcija imaginativne karte dalmatinske unutrašnjosti

Koristeći odabrani informativni medij kao izvor podataka o percepciji prostora, u radu se istražuju imena korištena u svakodnevnoj komunikaciji za identitet pet područja dalmatinske unutrašnjosti: Zagoru, Bukovicu, Ravne kotare, Zabiokovlje i Neretvanski kraj. Analizom i pretragom arhive odabranoga medijskog izvora uz detaljno razrađen skup kriterija te izdvajanjem i prostornom klasifikacijom geografskih imena nastoje se prepoznati i definirati prostorni obuhvati percepcije pojedinih regija kao misaonih modela (koncept vernakularne regije). Dobivenim rezultatima za pet vernakularnih regija, standardiziranim na razini službenih upravnih jedinica, konstruira se imaginativna karta dalmatinskoga zaobalja kao odraz kolektivne predodžbe njihova prostornog obuhvata.

VERNACULAR REGIONS AS A DETERMINANT FOR DEVELOPMENT OF CREATIVE TOURISM IN BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA

Creative tourism is an escape from unvaried offer and mass cultural tourism. It is based on direct encounters between ―tourists‖ and ―locals‖ with exchange of authentic experiences. This fact indicates its relationship and reliance on specificity which is manifested by separation of the vernacular region. Creative tourism was recognized as a selective form of tourism twenty years ago, but in this area it has just begun. An important role for a good plan of tourism developing in certain tourist destination, especially for the problem of seasonality, plays the valorisation of the cultural and historic heritage. Since the intangible heritage is the base of creative tourism, the customs, beliefs, games, gastronomy, embroidery, dance, crafts and other skills are the key elements of modern tourism demand. There is no mass tourism or selective tourism offer in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Creative tourism could be developed and based on the distinctive vernacular regions. Separating the vernacular regions is an important issue which will be discussed about by the authors in this paper at the level of only recognition, by using the survey method. Based on the results, this paper will present the determinants and potentials for the development of creative tourism. Problem on the way of development is the need of recognizing that potential by the local community, making a strategic plan, but also building the awareness of local people about the potential and possibilities of valorisation of the same in terms of tourism offer. It is necessary to educate the local population for the purpose of this type of tourism.

Use of Business-Naming Practices to Delineate Vernacular Regions: A Michigan Example

This article provides a history of efforts to map vernacular regions as context for offering readers a way of using business directories in order to construct a GIS-based map of vernacular regions. With Michigan as a case study, the article discusses regional-naming conventions, boundaries, and inclusions and omissions of areas from regional labels in order to offer educators ideas that can enhance classroom content on regions. This article concludes by providing suggestions for classroom activities collecting, analyzing, and discussing vernacular region patterns and processes in accordance with National Geography Standard Five at the eighth-grade level.

The “Oldest River” As An Appalachian Popular Region

Appalachia's New River was labeled “the second oldest river in the world” during the 1970s as part of a campaign to save the river from being dammed. Despite the absence of geomorphic evidence, the promotion of the superlative age of the river was so successful that the mythical label became reality in the minds of the region's populace. The “oldest river” thus became a popular or vernacular region, defined as one perceived to exist by its inhabitants. Sources of evidence for the current existence of the oldest river as a popular region include Internet references, which typically use the positive place image of the ancient stream to enhance the value of the river valley's attributes. Geography educators and students at all levels will benefit from class research projects aimed at identifying and understanding popular regions found near their educational institutions.

The Land of Lincoln: Genesis of a Vernacular Region

Abraham Lincoln is prominent in the business names across central Illinois. A review of Lincoln place and business names serves as the source to delimit the vernacular "Land of Lincoln." Lincoln as a town name is common in Illinois, although the state is not prominent as part of the overall nationalistic place-naming enterprise. Business names associated with the popularization of travel to Lincoln historic sites and the state's promotion of central Illinois as Mr. Lincoln's country serve as a gauge of the rise and extent of the Land of Lincoln. Within Illinois, the vernacular region focuses on Springfield and trends to the southeast where the Lincoln family entered the state.

Perceptual Regions in Texas

PERCEPTUAL or vernacular regions are those perceived to exist by their inhabitants and other members of the population at large. They exist as part of popular or folk culture. Rather than being the intellectual creation of the professional geographer, the vernacular region is the product of the spatial perception of average people. Rather than being based on carefully chosen, quantifiable criteria, such regions are composites of the mental maps of the population. Geographers in the United States have recognized the existence of perceptual regions for some years, but few have attempted to study them. Pioneer works by Joseph W. Brownell and Gary S. Dunbar appeared in the early I96o's.' Seemingly these have had little impact; and even the infusion of behavioral psychology, which yielded such a rich and abundant harvest of perception studies in American geography, has so far produced only a handful of investigations of perceptual regions.2 In an effort to map and analyze the major vernacular regions of Texas, I gathered data by means of a questionnaire administered to 3,860 Texans in the spring of 1977. Questionnaries were distributed in classrooms at thirty colleges and universities across Texas (Fig. I). Under controlled conditions designed to prevent prior discussion or suggestion of correct answers, respondents were asked to reply in writing to questions concerning vernacular regions as related to their home county.3 A fairly good distribution of counties was obtained in this manner. To cover most of the scattering of rural counties for which no responses were received, questionnaires were distributed to some nonstudent residents-county farm agents, postmasters, newspaper editors, and the like. Tlie large majority of respondents, however, were college students, and as a result most were young, above average in education, and wealthier than the norm. The sample is thus biased in several respects and my findings should be regarded with some caution. I do feel, however, that the regional patterns shown are basically accurate.