Art and Memory as Reconciliation Tool? Re-Thinking Reconciliation Strategies in the Western Balkans

The violent demise of Yugoslavia and the bloody period that marked most of the 1990s in this region have sparked academic interest in the peacebuilding and reconciliation initiatives which emerged after the conflict. Scholarly literature on the subject went in the directions of transitional justice, social psychology and socio-political approaches. However, an unexplored alley of scholarly interest remains in the role of the arts in these processes. By examining the role of arts and memory creation, this introductory article posits these against the background of a problematic reconciliation process in post-conflict areas of the Western Balkans as its core topic. Situated in a post-Yugoslav geographic space, where ethnic conflicts still hinder development, people rest much on the interpretation of the meaning of lived experiences, and the role of images, arts, myths and stories, which are used to either create or dissemble the path to peace between the many ethnic communities that inhabit this area of Europe. The use of several overlapping, yet differently interpreted themes relating to lived experiences and history shows them as symbolic transitional justice policies. They broadly deal with how such knowledges are interpreted through lived moments, such as cinema, museums and public monuments.

Representing Geographic Space as a Hierarchy of Recursively Defined Subspaces for Computing the Degree of Order

As Christopher Alexander discovered, all space or matter – either organic or inorganic – has some degree of order in it according to its structure and arrangement. The order refers to a kind of structural character, called living structure, which is defined as a mathematical structure that consists of numerous substructures with an inherent hierarchy. Across the hierarchy, there are far more small substructures than large ones, while on each level of the hierarchy the substructures are more or less similar in size. In this paper we develop a new approach to representing geographic space as a hierarchy of recursively defined subspaces for computing the degree of order. A geographic space is first represented as a hierarchy of recursively defined subspaces, and all the subspaces are then topologically represented as a network for computing the degree of order of the geographic space, as well as that of its subspaces. Unlike conventional geographic representations, which are mechanical in nature, this new geographic representation is organic, conceived, and developed under the third view of space; that is, space is neither lifeless nor neutral, but a living structure capable of being more living or less living. Thus, the order can also be referred to as life, beauty, coherence, or harmony. We applied the new representation to three urban environments, 253 patterns, and 35 black-white strips to verify it and to demonstrate advantages of the new approach and the new kind of order. We further discuss the implications of the approach and the order on geographic information science and sustainable urban planning.

Changes of Locomotion Speed Affect Distance Estimations in Virtual Reality

Modern Virtual Reality (VR) applications often use artificial locomotion to allow users to travel distances within VR space that exceed the available space used to transfer real-world and real-time motion into the virtual environment. The locomotion speed is usually not fixed and can be selected dynamically by the user. Due to motion adaptation effects, variations of locomotion speed could affect how distances in VR are perceived. In the context of cartographic VR applications aimed to experience and communicate spatial information, such effects on distance perception could be problematic, because they might lead to distortions in cognitive representations of space acquired via interaction with VR environments. By conducting a VR-based distance estimation study, we demonstrate how changes of artificial locomotion speed affect distance estimations in VR. Increasing locomotion speeds after letting users adapt to a lower locomotion speed led to lower distance estimations and decreasing locomotion speeds led to higher distance estimations. These findings should sensitize VR developers to consider the choice of applied locomotion techniques when a developed VR application is supposed to communicate distance information or to support the acquisition of a cognitive representation of geographic space.

Real-Time Web Map Construction Based on Multiple Cameras and GIS

Previous VideoGIS integration methods mostly used geographic homography mapping. However, the related processing techniques were mainly for independent cameras and the software architecture was C/S, resulting in large deviations in geographic video mapping for small scenes, a lack of multi-camera video fusion, and difficulty in accessing real-time information with WebGIS. Therefore, we propose real-time web map construction based on the object height and camera posture (RTWM-HP for short). We first consider the constraint of having a similar height for each object by constructing an auxiliary plane and establishing a high-precision homography matrix (HP-HM) between the plane and the map; thus, the accuracy of geographic video mapping can be improved. Then, we map the objects in the multi-camera video with overlapping areas to geographic space and perform the object selection with the multi-camera (OS-CDD) algorithm, which includes the confidence of the object, the distance, and the angle between the objects and the center of the cameras. Further, we use the WebSocket technology to design a hybrid C/S and B/S software framework that is suitable for WebGIS integration. Experiments were carried out based on multi-camera videos and high-precision geospatial data in an office and a parking lot. The case study’s results show the following: (1) The HP-HM method can achieve the high-precision geographic mapping of objects (such as human heads and cars) with multiple cameras; (2) the OS-CDD algorithm can optimize and adjust the positions of the objects in the overlapping area and achieve a better map visualization effect; (3) RTWM-HP can publish real-time maps of objects with multiple cameras, which can be browsed in real time through point layers and hot-spot layers through WebGIS. The methods can be applied to some fields, such as person or car supervision and the flow analysis of customers or traffic passengers.

How are maps used in research? An exploratory review of PhD dissertations

Maps are a powerful medium for communicating research. Tools for analysing geospatial data and preparing maps are now readily available and widely used in research. Despite this, concerns are being raised over the quality of maps produced with online and desktop mapping products. As academics and supervisors of postgraduate students, we conducted an exploratory study to determine if and how these concerns apply to maps in PhD dissertations. We reviewed just over 1,000 dissertations published in 2015 and 2017 at three universities. Maps for indicating locations or study areas were used in a diverse range of topics, confirming our reliance on maps to communicate information about geographic space. Maps that communicated scientific results were prevalent in the natural sciences and in the humanities, and in these cases, the dissertations included a large number of maps. We provide a qualitative description of problems identified in the dissertations, which highlight challenges with the accurate and responsible presentation of scientific results in maps. The accumulation of minor inaccuracies on maps, especially if one result is based on another, can have serious consequences for scientific knowledge production. Future work could review maps in PhD dissertations to inform guidelines for preparing and evaluating maps to be included in dissertations.

rassta: Raster-based Spatial Stratification Algorithms

Spatial stratification of landscapes allows for the development of efficient sampling surveys,the inclusion of domain knowledge in data-driven modeling frameworks, and the production of information relating the spatial variability of response phenomena to that of landscape processes. This work presents the rassta package as a collection of algorithms dedicated to the spatial stratification of landscapes, the calculation of landscape correspondence metrics across geographic space, and the application of these metrics for spatial sampling and modeling of environmental phenomena. The theoretical background of rassta is presented through references to several studies which have benefited from landscape stratification routines. The functionality of rassta is presented through code examples which are complemented with the geographic visualization of their outputs.

‘It depends on us’: The experiences of fifteen young Burmese migrants living in the border town of Mae Sot, Thailand

<p>The Burmese diaspora in Thailand attracts significant academic attention. However, the voices of migrant Burmese children are largely unexplored and often ignored altogether. On arriving in Thailand young migrants find themselves located within a new cultural, social, and linguistically different geographic space. Underpinned by the recognition that migrant youth actively engage with the world around them, this study challenges the idea that young migrants are passive bearers of circumstance. Rather, as they seek education in Thailand they exercise their agency in unique ways by performing their cultural traditions, creating their ‘own place’, navigating opportunities, voicing critical political opinions, displaying resilience and setting future goals. Using the participatory method of ‘photo-voice’ this research explores the everyday experiences and stories of fifteen Burmese migrant children living in Thailand as they present them through photography. The participants, most of whom crossed the border unaccompanied, have assessed the relative opportunities available to them in Burma and Thailand. They have chosen to endure the hardships associated with living in a marginalised space away from their parents, culture and country in order to gain an education in Thailand. Technically considered ‘illegal’, these young migrants are facing their present challenges, setting life goals and bending the rules in order to receive an education and establish successful futures.</p>

‘It depends on us’: The experiences of fifteen young Burmese migrants living in the border town of Mae Sot, Thailand

<p>The Burmese diaspora in Thailand attracts significant academic attention. However, the voices of migrant Burmese children are largely unexplored and often ignored altogether. On arriving in Thailand young migrants find themselves located within a new cultural, social, and linguistically different geographic space. Underpinned by the recognition that migrant youth actively engage with the world around them, this study challenges the idea that young migrants are passive bearers of circumstance. Rather, as they seek education in Thailand they exercise their agency in unique ways by performing their cultural traditions, creating their ‘own place’, navigating opportunities, voicing critical political opinions, displaying resilience and setting future goals. Using the participatory method of ‘photo-voice’ this research explores the everyday experiences and stories of fifteen Burmese migrant children living in Thailand as they present them through photography. The participants, most of whom crossed the border unaccompanied, have assessed the relative opportunities available to them in Burma and Thailand. They have chosen to endure the hardships associated with living in a marginalised space away from their parents, culture and country in order to gain an education in Thailand. Technically considered ‘illegal’, these young migrants are facing their present challenges, setting life goals and bending the rules in order to receive an education and establish successful futures.</p>