Geoplastics of relief as a means of forming the perception of landscape compositions on the example of the Pechersk landscape park in Kyiv

Geoplastics, as a method of vertical planning, is gaining more and more popularity among landscape architects, because this method gives the landscape an aesthetic unity, expressiveness, and a peculiar feature. The paper considers the influence of geo-plastic changes in the relief on a person, the viewer's perception of the environment. These factors are extremely important in the creation and design of the park, they allow the key elements to be presented, while creating harmonious combinations in the space, it is admirable and it is this that encourages you to visit the landscape object. Pechersk Landscape Park is located on the picturesque slopes of the Dnieper in Kiev, has a landscape type of planning, which is characterized by large areas of lawns with groups of shrubs and trees, the lack of symmetry in the placement of alleys and other elements of free planning. The park zone itself covers an area of 32,92 hectares. Location in difficult terrain contributes to the use of geo-plastic tools, which can be used to improve and develop park space. The illuminated research is based on the analogy method, by means of which the analog elements of geoplastics are transferred to the results obtained during the field survey of the park territory on difficult terrain. Graphic materials were developed using the ArchiCad 21 software package based on the original cartographic data. A detailed analysis of the problematic aspects of the Pechersky Landscape Park identified the main tasks: adaptability to the needs of society, increasing the comfort of stay, improving the natural landscape, arranging natural zones of park relief. Techniques and methods for improving the territory were applied, such as terracing slopes, creating eco-chairs, using artificial relief in playgrounds. The impact of these changes on the stay of visitors and on the environment as a whole is summarized and predicted. The use of geoplastics in the context of the perception of landscape compositions will contribute to solving problematic relief and exposition aspects of the Pechersk Landscape Park, which will increase its recreational potential.

The Efficiency of Drones Usage for Safety and Rescue Operations in an Open Area: A Case from Poland

The use of unmanned aerial systems (UAS) is becoming increasingly frequent during search and rescue (SAR) operations conducted to find missing persons. These systems have proven to be particularly useful for operations executed in the wilderness, i.e., in open and mountainous areas. The successful implementation of those systems is possible thanks to the potential offered by unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), which help achieve a considerable reduction in operational times and consequently allow a much quicker finding of lost persons. This is crucial to enhance their chances of survival in extreme conditions (withholding hydration, food and medicine, and hypothermia). The paper presents the results of a preliminary assessment of a search and rescue method conducted in an unknown terrain, where groups were coordinated with the use of UAVs and a ground control station (GCS) workstation. The conducted analysis was focused on assessing conditions that would help minimise the time of arrival of the rescue team to the target, which in real conditions could be a missing person identified on aerial images. The results of executed field tests have proven that the time necessary to reach injured persons can be substantially shortened if imaging recorded by UAV is deployed, as it considerably enhances the chance of survival in an emergency situation. The GCS workstation is also one of the crucial components in the search system, which assures image transmission from the UAV to participants of the search operation and radio signal amplification in a difficult terrain. The effectiveness of the search system was tested by comparing the arrival times of teams equipped with GPS and a compass and those not equipped with such equipment. The article also outlined the possibilities of extending the functionality of the search system with the SARUAV module, which was used to find a missing person in Poland.

7. Interest Groups, Advocacy, and Policy-Making

This chapter describes interest, pressure, or advocacy groups, which organize separately from political parties, seeking to influence public opinion and public policy. It discusses the nature of these groups and what they do, before reviewing the debate on the power of interest groups, in particular whether business has a privileged position. Studies of interest groups show the importance of these groups to the delivery of public policy, which reveals a two-way relationship between groups and the state. There is a complex pattern of governance that makes policy-making complicated and difficult terrain for governments or regional and local agencies. In today's turbulent politics, there is room for new advocacy groups to upset the equilibrium. The very unpredictability of the interest group world and the appearance of actors skilled in the use of social media may provide opportunities to influence the political agenda and to engage in more disruptive politics.

Where is the Queer? A case study of LGBTQ representation in Aotearoa New Zealand exhibitions

<p>Modern museums and galleries are cultural spaces that often participate in human rights advocacy and social activism. Exhibitions within these spaces are the physical manifestations of these ideologies, the way that institutions connect with their audiences and with the communities they purport to represent. ‘Where is the Queer?’ explores the ways that museums and galleries in Aotearoa represent queerness within their exhibitions, in various stages of the development process. This dissertation addresses a key gap in the literature by critically re-engaging with queerness, exploring the intersections between queer theory and museum theory in an area under-examined in New Zealand practice. This research was exploratory in nature, utilizing a credible multi-method case study approach to retrieve data from an ephemeral process, exhibition production. Archival documentary research provided the necessary background to the exhibitions’ development, as well as supporting evidence for various curatorial choices. Interviews with curators then established key areas of interest, including curatorial strategies, conceptual goals, tailored public programming, and their perspectives on issues with LGBTQ representation. The findings of this research show that exhibiting queerness is difficult terrain to negotiate, although museums and galleries generally aim to present and include a diversity of perspectives in a balanced way. However, the ways that queerness is represented also tend to rely on now outdated ideologies, such as an emphasis on gay men’s perspectives, reductive ‘coming-out’ narratives, and a neutral stance on the messages the exhibitions put forward. The comparative analysis of the cases points to the need for museums and galleries to engage more critically with queer history, theory and the community more broadly. In practice, this means greater levels of collaboration with the communities they hope to serve, taking a more activist approach that gives authority to queer voices throughout development. This is significant as queer communities become increasingly visible and celebrated in New Zealand society; representing these communities in public spaces needs to be a process in line with current ideas and not rely on defunct, overly simple, or potentially damaging modes of representation. This research therefore has applicability for both museum curatorial practice and a broader human rights movement, by challenging the sector within New Zealand and internationally to engage effectively with queer content.</p>

Where is the Queer? A case study of LGBTQ representation in Aotearoa New Zealand exhibitions

<p>Modern museums and galleries are cultural spaces that often participate in human rights advocacy and social activism. Exhibitions within these spaces are the physical manifestations of these ideologies, the way that institutions connect with their audiences and with the communities they purport to represent. ‘Where is the Queer?’ explores the ways that museums and galleries in Aotearoa represent queerness within their exhibitions, in various stages of the development process. This dissertation addresses a key gap in the literature by critically re-engaging with queerness, exploring the intersections between queer theory and museum theory in an area under-examined in New Zealand practice. This research was exploratory in nature, utilizing a credible multi-method case study approach to retrieve data from an ephemeral process, exhibition production. Archival documentary research provided the necessary background to the exhibitions’ development, as well as supporting evidence for various curatorial choices. Interviews with curators then established key areas of interest, including curatorial strategies, conceptual goals, tailored public programming, and their perspectives on issues with LGBTQ representation. The findings of this research show that exhibiting queerness is difficult terrain to negotiate, although museums and galleries generally aim to present and include a diversity of perspectives in a balanced way. However, the ways that queerness is represented also tend to rely on now outdated ideologies, such as an emphasis on gay men’s perspectives, reductive ‘coming-out’ narratives, and a neutral stance on the messages the exhibitions put forward. The comparative analysis of the cases points to the need for museums and galleries to engage more critically with queer history, theory and the community more broadly. In practice, this means greater levels of collaboration with the communities they hope to serve, taking a more activist approach that gives authority to queer voices throughout development. This is significant as queer communities become increasingly visible and celebrated in New Zealand society; representing these communities in public spaces needs to be a process in line with current ideas and not rely on defunct, overly simple, or potentially damaging modes of representation. This research therefore has applicability for both museum curatorial practice and a broader human rights movement, by challenging the sector within New Zealand and internationally to engage effectively with queer content.</p>

GEO-ELECTRIC INVESTIGATION OF GROUNDWATER POTENTIAL IN LADERIN HOUSING ESTATE, ABEOKUTA, SOUTHWESTERN, NIGERIA

Vertical Electrical Sounding (VES) and 2D Electrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT), with Schlumberger and Wenner electrode array configurations respectively were employed to investigate the groundwater potential of Laderin Housing Estate located at Oke-mosan, Abeokuta, Ogun state, southwestern Nigeria. The area is underlain by the basement complex of the southwestern Nigeria. The research aimed at determining the aquifer/groundwater zone and characterizes the lithology of the study area. The geophysical survey involving nine VES and four profile of 2-D ERT lines with lengths varying from 100 m to 150 m were carried out. The field data from both the ERT and VES were processed and interpreted using RES2DINV and WINRESIST software respectively. Geometrical effects from the pseudo-section were removed and an image of true depth and true formation resistivity were produced. Three to four geo-electric layers were revealed in all, which are; topsoil, weathered layer, fractured and fresh basement rock. The result of 2 D inversion provide lithologic unit, weathering profile and geological structure favourable for groundwater potential. The results show that the basement rock was delineated with resistivity values that range between 701.3 Ωm and 9459.3 Ωm. The bedrock topography has a variable thickness of overburden between 3 m and above 16.4 m, which is fairly shallow. The geophysical survey show that VES 2, VES 3, VES 4, VES 5, and VES 6 are possible location for groundwater extraction. The difficult terrain, where thick overburden are located are also promising target for groundwater development.

Implementation of engineering and geodetic works in the framework of research work, which are aimed at developing proposals for the development of settlements of the municipality

At any stage of urban planning activities, it may be necessary to plan the territory. The territory planning project can be created on topographic plans of a scale of 1: 2000. Modern needs for cadastre maintenance, land management, and design of territories require high quality topographic material obtained in almost real time with high image resolution. This problem is effectively solved by aerial photography from unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Airborne laser scanning allows you to survey difficult terrain and large areas. To clarify the position of some terrain objects, a GNSS survey in RTK mode was used. The combined survey method provides the necessary accuracy of surveying the situation and the terrain, the measurement accuracy corresponds to the possibility of creating engineering-topographic plans at a scale of 1: 2000. In the course of the work, engineering digital terrain models and orthophotomaps were formed. Based on the data obtained, a digital topographic plan of 1: 2000 scale was compiled.

Traditional Vernacular Architecture of Kumaon: The Case of the Hill Towns of Munsiyari, Uttarakhand

Munsiyari is a region located at an altitude of 2,200 meters in the hilly state of Uttarakhand, India. The eponymous town is surrounded by twenty-two villages mostly inhabited by Bhotiya tribes, who once formed a community that traded with those crossing from India to Tibet, though this trade came to an abrupt end with the 1962 Sino-Indian war. Owing to the region’s prosperity, the villages exhibit a very interesting typology of hill architecture. This architectural identity is also a manifestation of a geographical and cultural response to a difficult terrain. Our study was carried out as part of the preparation of a dossier for inventorying the Kailash sacred landscape with the aim of documenting the present state of the traditional vernacular heritage of the selected indigenous community for the UNESCO nomination of the wider region. That thorough documentation process was used as a means of analyzing local vernacular heritage and its current situation, and with a view to offsetting the rapid transformation of the past two decades.

Head for the Hills

<p><b>In the context of urban design, generative design has been examined as a tool for expansion or optimisation of existing urban networks. This optimisation uses information such as geometry of the existing urban fabric and available space for expansion. However, very little research exists into designing around terrain factors, instead usually opting to consider difficult terrain as simply a boundary for network expansion. </b></p> <p>This research seeks to answer the question ‘How can generative design improve the way urban networks are designed in complex terrain?’ It does this by creating a tool that can interpret any terrain information, and with simple designer input, can create conceptual urban schemes in complex terrain. </p> <p>The tool is developed using visual programming language Grasshopper, an extension for the Rhinoceros3D modelling software. Its development and proof-of-concept scheme are executed in Wellington, New Zealand. The city is one uniquely situated between harbour and steep hills, leading to several typologies of hillside urban schemes to use as precedent and comparison with the tool’s outputs. The Wellington City Council Urban Growth Plan anticipates an increase of 80,000 people in the next 30 years, and the city requires additional areas to house the growing population. </p> <p>Through a discussion of urban theory and existing generative design exemplars, the thesis settles on an urban grid-based logic for the tool. The thesis then records the process of designing the tool, using a Wellington site as a base for development. </p> <p>Evaluation of the tool is undertaken using space syntax theory as a key framework, as well as qualitative comparisons with existing hill suburbs in Wellington.</p>