Application of GIS Tools in the Measurement Analysis of Urban Spatial Layouts Using the Square Grid Method

The principal aim of this paper is to present the capabilities of newly developed GIS tools for measurement analysis of urban spatial layouts, using the square grid method. The study of urban morphology and metrology is a multistage process, which involves the metrological analysis of town plans. The main research step is the determination of measurement modules of town layouts, using the square grid. By using GIS software, the authors developed a new tool, named HGIS Tools, which allow to create any number of modular grids with the selected cell size that corresponds to urban units of distance and surface area. When investigating a large number of towns and cities, this offers a significant improvement of the research procedure. The paper presents a test of the tool’s potential on the example of regular medieval towns from the area of the former Teutonic Order state (currently the territory of Poland), diversified in terms of size, genesis and morphometrics. The obtained results confirmed that HGIS Tools allowed to determine the hypothetical measurement module of the layout of the cities studied. The results were consistent with the analyses of other authors carried out with the traditional grid-square methods. The test of the HGIS Tools showed their significant potential in conducting morphometric analyses of spatial arrangements of urban spatial layout on a larger scale.

Link Between Topographic Memory and the Combined Presentation of ADHD (ADHD-C): A Pilot Study

Background: Topographic memory is the ability to reach various places by recognizing spatial layouts and getting oriented in familiar environments. It involves several different cognitive abilities, in particular executive functions (EF), such as attention, working memory, and planning. Children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) show impairments in inhibitory control, regulation of attention, planning, and working memory.Aim: The aim of this study was to evaluate the topographic memory in children with ADHD-combined subtype (ADHD-C).Method: Fifteen children (8–10 years) with a diagnosis of ADHD-C (DSM-5) (ADHD-C group) were compared to 15 children with typical development (TD group) of the same age. All children performed Raven's colored progressive matrices (CPM) test to obtain a measure related with cognitive functioning. The walking Corsi test (WalCT), a large-scale version of the Corsi block-tapping test, was used to assess topographic memory in experimental environment.Results: A higher impairment was observed in ADHD-C than TD with significant differences in the WalCT, in particular on the topographic short-term memory (TSTM) task, on the topographic learning (TL) task, and on the repetition number (RN) task during the TL task. Perseverative errors were reported in performing the square-sequence in the WalCT. Zero-order correlations showed a positive correlation between TSTM and auditory attention, and memory of design of NEPSY-II and digit span of WISC-IV. No statistically significant differences were found between the ADHD-C group and TD group in the TL task in the WalCT condition.Conclusion: In ADHD-C, initial topographic learning was compromised whereas the long-term retention of learned topographical material seemed to not be impaired. In particular, these impairments seem to be linked with difficulties in sustained attention, in spatial memory for novel visual materials, in a poor working memory, and in perseverative behaviors.

How Do Visual Explanations Foster End Users' Appropriate Trust in Machine Learning?

We investigated the effects of example-based explanations for a machine learning classifier on end users' appropriate trust. We explored the effects of spatial layout and visual representation in an in-person user study with 33 participants. We measured participants' appropriate trust in the classifier, quantified the effects of different spatial layouts and visual representations, and observed changes in users' trust over time. The results show that each explanation improved users' trust in the classifier, and the combination of explanation, human, and classification algorithm yielded much better decisions than the human and classification algorithm separately. Yet these visual explanations lead to different levels of trust and may cause inappropriate trust if an explanation is difficult to understand. Visual representation and performance feedback strongly affect users' trust, and spatial layout shows a moderate effect. Our results do not support that individual differences (e.g., propensity to trust) affect users' trust in the classifier. This work advances the state-of-the-art in trust-able machine learning and informs the design and appropriate use of automated systems.

Spatial layouts of the Josephine villages in Galicia

The main aim of the article is to analyse the spatial layouts of selected settlement areas of the Josephine villages on the territory of former Galicia. After a short introduction on the legal aspects of demarcating of new villages, the primary forms of settlements were studied. In the first part of the article, the analyzes covered the following layouts of settlement areas: one-sided linear villages, two-sided linear villages and street-green villages. In the further part of the article, multi-road layouts were presented, including two- street layouts, radially -p lanned layouts, lattice chessboard layouts and cross-shaped layouts. The comparative analysis covers the discussion of all available types of settlement areas. Street layouts turned out to be the dominant pattern of settlement areas. After in-depth analyses, it is impossible to determine the regionalization of the linear villages’ distribution, as they were located throughout Galicia. The situation is different with the location of multi-road layouts, which were designed only in Eastern Galicia in the vicinity of Lviv. In the implementation of the assumed research problem, cartographic materials and source documents in the form of the Josephinian Cadastre, the Franciscan Cadastre and the Galician Cadastre obtained during searches conducted at the National Archives in Krakow, State Archives in Przemyśl and the Central State Historical Archives of Ukraine in Lviv were used.

Running scared: Fear and space in Amnesia: The Dark Descent

Popular horror video game titles such as Outlast, Dead Space, and Amnesia: The Dark Descent are well-known for their effectiveness at evoking negative affects of terror and anxiety. The various camera tricks, control schemes, and visual cues these games deploy to confuse players and limit their sense of control and personal mastery. This article examines how Frictional Games’s Amnesia: The Dark Descent pairs confined spatial layouts with an intentionally vague user interface design to disorient players and heighten the likelihood that they will walk into one of the game’s threatening monsters. This article deploys Marxist and Affect theory conceptualizations of proximity and space to analyse how the game’s use of corners frighten players by narrowing their available field of view. The resulting analysis examines the negative feelings and subjective experiences players are likely to feel when they are unable to properly see the virtual diegetic world with absolute clarity.