Search Results (23)

Al-Madafah (the guesthouse) is a cornerstone of the cultural and social fabric of Sweida Province in southern Syria. Rooted in the Druze community’s history following their settlement in Jabal al-Arab in the 17th century, these structures have served as spaces for hospitality, cultural exchange, political resistance, and community cohesion. Despite their significance, scholarly research on Madafahs in Sweida remains limited. This article examines their architectural design, socio-cultural roles, and historical evolution to uncover this understudied tradition and advance conservation efforts for this heritage. Combining archival research, case studies, and oral histories from residents and experts, this study employs narrative analysis to decode the cultural meanings embedded in these spaces. Findings reveal that Madafahs are more than architectural landmarks; they serve as living embodiments of resilience, cultural pride, and communal identity, fostering social cohesion, while their basalt stone construction reflects Jabal al-Arab’s vernacular heritage. Historically, they hosted revolutionary activities against colonial rule. Today, urbanisation and economic pressures threaten their traditional role, yet they endure as symbols of continuity. This study highlights Madafahs as valuable heritage sites and cradles for narratives of magnanimity and defiance. Collaborative efforts between stakeholders and policymakers could revitalise these spaces, ensuring that their legacy persists amid modern challenges. Full article

As the “Ninth Grotto-Heaven” in Daoist tradition, Linwu Cave has served as a symbolic bridge between the human and immortal realms since the Tang Dynasty. During the Ming Dynasty, painters of the Wu School in Suzhou reimagined Linwu Cave through landscape paintings, transforming it into a visual emblem that merged Daoist cosmology with the ancient Chinese literati ideal of reclusion. This article adopts an interdisciplinary approach, combining art history and religious studies, to analyze Linwu Cave-themed paintings by Wu School artists such as Shen Zhou, Wen Zhengming, and Tang Yin. The study examines how these painters reinterpreted the Daoist concept of “grotto-heavens and blessed lands” into “habitable spaces” through a process of “de-ritualization”. This strategy involved the use of imagery such as the alchemical metaphors of stalactites and the qi (vital energy) symbolism of auspicious clouds on sacred mountains, which diminished Daoist ritualistic elements while amplifying the literati’s idealized vision of reclusion. Drawing on local historical records and field investigations, the research further reveals how the transformation of Linwu Cave into a cultural landmark reflected the Ming Dynasty scholar-officials’ cultural strategies. Through art, these individuals articulated the tension between their aspirations for official success and their longing for a secluded life, set against the backdrop of a rigid civil service examination system and intense political rivalries. By employing the theoretical framework of “Sacred Space”, this study argues that literati painting functioned not only as an aesthetic expression but also as a dynamic medium for religious and philosophical ideas. This perspective offers new insights into the interpretation of Daoist art and its broader cultural significance. Full article

Posture recognition is critical in modern educational and office environments for preventing musculoskeletal disorders and maintaining cognitive performance. Existing methods based on human keypoint detection typically rely on convolutional neural networks (CNNs) and single-scale features, which limit representation capacity and suffer from overfitting under small-sample conditions. To address these issues, we propose MSBN-SPose, a Multi-Scale Bayesian Neuro-Symbolic Posture Recognition framework that integrates geometric features at multiple levels—including global body structure, local regions, facial landmarks, distances, and angles—extracted from OpenPose keypoints. These features are processed by a multi-branch Bayesian neural architecture that models epistemic uncertainty, enabling improved generalization and robustness. Furthermore, a lightweight neuro-symbolic reasoning module incorporates human-understandable rules into the inference process, enhancing transparency and interpretability. To support real-world evaluation, we construct the USSP dataset, a diverse, classroom-representative collection of student postures under varying conditions. Experimental results show that MSBN-SPose achieves 96.01% accuracy on USSP, outperforming baseline and traditional methods under data-limited scenarios. Full article

Cultural ecosystem services are difficult to evaluate due to their subjective nature and the lack of indicators of the benefits they provide to people. This study applied an innovative methodology to assess the cultural landscape’s ecosystem services in the coastal countryside of La Janda in Cádiz, Spain, based on heritage assets situated outside urban centers. After identifying 700 cultural landmarks scattered throughout La Janda that represent the region’s cultural values and foster feelings of identity and belonging at a local level, public domain routes totaling 243.78 km have been selected to appreciate them. These routes have been incorporated into an Android application, enabling users to access a bibliographic summary of the landmarks and generate data on social preferences when contemplating cultural heritage. Integrated into a Public Participation Geographic Information System, these data serve as an indicator for evaluating cultural ecosystem services and support efforts to conserve and enhance the cultural capital spread across the territory. These data also allow for the identification of symbolic and emotional values linked to place identity, offering valuable inputs for sustainable place-branding strategies that promote the territory beyond conventional tourism models. Full article

China’s rapid urbanization has presented challenges for sustainably revitalizing the historic and cultural heritage within its urban villages. Often, these efforts overlook the crucial roles of community ties and cultural values. This study focuses on 15 representative urban villages in Guangzhou (2019–2024). It tests the core idea that the physical layout of these spaces reflects underlying community structures and cultural values shaped by specific policies. Integrating this understanding into landscape planning can significantly improve revitalization outcomes. We used a mixed-methods approach: (1) Extended fieldwork to understand community networks and cultural practices; (2) Spatial analysis to measure how building density relates to land uses; (3) Sentiment analysis to reveal how people perceive cultural symbols; (4) A coordination model to link population influx with landscape suitability. Key findings reveal different patterns: Villages with strong clan networks maintained high cultural integrity and public acceptance through bodies like ancestral hall councils. Economically driven villages showed a split—open for business but culturally closed, with very low tenant participation. Successful revitalization requires balancing three elements: protecting physical landmarks in their original locations; modernizing cultural events; and reconstructing community narratives. Practically, we propose a planning framework with four approaches tailored to different village types. For instance, decaying villages should prioritize repairing key landmarks that hold community memory. Theoretically, we build a model linking social and spatial change, extending the cultural value concepts of Amos Rapoport to the context of fast-growing cities. This provides a new methodological perspective for managing urban–rural heritage in East Asia. Full article

This article analyzes the role of parish churches, erected after 1945, in shaping the urban and social structures of the Szczecin housing estates, examining their importance and impact on the surrounding space. This research focused on three groups of churches as spatial landmarks and symbols of young heritage, analyzing their location, form, and social significance. The objective of the present research was to determine how contemporary churches perform a dominant function in space and how they affect the social identity of residents, to determine whether these churches can be considered objects of young cultural heritage. This work used field research, spatial and photographic analysis, and typological classification. Six selected churches were subjected to comparative analysis. The results indicate a clear impact of sacred architecture on public spaces and the need to formulate new monument protection strategies for contemporary sacred objects as elements of urban cultural heritage. This article fits into the current discussions on the creation of criteria for evaluating post-war architecture and its place in the structure of a developing city. We noticed the lack of tools and directions for the protection of young heritage, and suggested directions for the sustainable protection of contemporary buildings. Full article

For adolescents and young adults (AYAs) with cancer, fertility preservation is recommended before starting gonadotoxic treatments. This is an important aspect of psychological support in the treatment of the disease. However, the enormous psychological impact of this procedure on adolescents and young adults with cancer needs to be addressed by professionals. The traumatic nature of cancer diagnosis disrupts the psychosocial development of AYAs. A young adolescent’s perception of reproduction, and in particular of sperm freezing, is greatly altered by the disease. For a teenager, the success of sperm banking results from a positive balance between facilitators and barriers, which are mentioned here. Moreover, this article proposes a symbolic interpretation of sperm banking, referring to landmarks integrated during childhood, especially in fairytales. Furthermore, it offers an original video documentary that can be used as an information support to help AYAs adhere to the process of preserving their fertility through sperm freezing. Full article

There has been an increasing number of calls to apply new technologies to learning contexts for STEM education. However, limited studies have explored the role of technology in bridging teachers and children to create STEM knowledge collaboratively. Therefore, early childhood teachers encounter challenges integrating digital technologies to support children’s STEM learning. The challenges include developing effective and innovative scaffolding strategies to incorporate digital technology and visualize the processes of using technologies in children’s STEM knowledge building. This study reports on an in-depth exploratory case study from a kindergarten classroom in Hong Kong, exemplifying a new approach to integrating digital technologies within spatialized STEM learning. The case selected continuity learning episodes from a spatially directed STEM learning unit on making a safe traffic city. Under digital technology-integrated scaffolding, the teacher and children co-created a traffic symbolic system by designing symbols of landmarks, developing and applying spatial language, making maps and traffic games with rules. The thematic analysis was adopted to analyze the teachers’ STEM activity plans and reflective reports. The finding indicated that the process through which the teacher and children collaboratively created STEM knowledge via technology-integrated scaffolding involved recalling spontaneous understanding about everyday concepts, exploring ideas in authentic contexts, sorting and organizing their collected information, and identifying and correlating abstract concepts with corresponding everyday practices. The children required two levels of technology-integrated scaffolding strategies to engage in STEM knowledge collaborative creation: scaffolding for technology using and scaffolding through use of technology. Three novel roles of technology emerged that transform learning from knowledge delivery to collaborative creation in inquiries STEM tasks for young children: application, mediator, and catalyst. The study also highlights teachers and children transforming into new roles in knowledge collaborative creation processes in spatialized STEM learning under the technology-integrated scaffolding strategies. Moreover, it spotlights the reconceptualization of the STEM learning culture in the technology-integrated knowledge co-create classroom from teacher-centered to more open child-centered learning. Full article

Historically, bell towers have been religious and architectural symbols in the landscape that summoned the faithful to celebrations and fulfilled a crucial territorial significance task. This function was assumed by the towers of some universities. The real need of the University Francisco de Vitoria to build a bell tower for its new chapel and to be significant both for its campus and the city is the pretext to investigate the need for this element in the current context through an academic exercise with architecture students. Traditionally, the religious autority proposed a concrete celebration space. In this case, architecture students were commissioned to propose a contemporary response for the new bell tower of their university campus through a Design Workshop. The workshop result raises interesting questions about what the architecture of a bell tower should be like in the XXI century, the relationship with public space, the construction of a landmark on an urban scale, the need to respond to both the city and the immediate environment at its different scales, the obsolescence of elements such as clocks or bells, and, above all, the relevance of symbols and the way that architecture raises questions in the contemporary landscape. Full article

Mobile map landmark symbols are pivotal in conveying spatial semantics and enhancing users’ perception of digital maps. This study employs a three-factor hybrid experimental design to investigate the effects of different landmark symbol types and their color associations with annotations on search performance using eye tracking methods. Utilizing the Tobii X2-60 eye tracker, 40 participants engaged in a visual search task across three symbol types (icons, indexes, and symbols) and two color conditions (consistent and inconsistent). This study also examines the impact of gender on search performance. The results indicate that INDEX, emphasizing the landmarks’ functions and key features, most effectively improve search accuracy and efficiency while demanding the least cognitive effort. In contrast, SYMBOL type characters, with clear semantics and minimal information, require less visual attention, facilitating faster preliminary processing. Additionally, cognitive style differences between genders affect these symbols’ effectiveness in visual searches. A careful selection of symbol types and color combinations can significantly enhance user interaction with mobile maps. Full article

Despite emerging empirical findings and computational tools that extend city image research to include social dimensions beyond visual perception, methodologies for effectively identifying and analyzing the relationships between the five city image elements remain underdeveloped. This paper addresses the gap by proposing a big data-driven method, integrating Weibo check-in data, Baidu Map POI, and ArcGIS algorithms to identify city image elements and further reveal a city’s overall morphological characteristics. Based on different modes of observation, city image elements are categorized as spatial descriptors (“districts”, “nodes”, and “paths”) and symbolic descriptors (“landmarks” and “edges”). Taking Hangzhou as a case study, the findings show a strong alignment between urban development achievements and the distribution patterns of city image elements. “Districts” and “landmarks” stand out as the most prominent, reflecting functional zoning and urban maturity, while “nodes” emphasize the city’s polycentric structure. “Paths” offer clear insight into the city’s development trajectory, while “edges” appear to be legible only in relation to other elements. This method innovates cognitive mapping by merging real-world perceptions with algorithmic precision, offering a valuable tool for understanding urban morphology, monitoring development changes, and fostering participatory urban design. Full article

This paper explores the replanning, reconstruction, and rebranding of Austro-Hungarian military buildings, encompassing common military administrative, healthcare, and housing facilities as well as railways that were under military jurisdiction, and their profound influence on the development of Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina. These structures, originally built for military and logistic purposes during the Austro-Hungarian period (1878–1918), played a pivotal role in shaping the city’s urban and architectural landscape. The study employs historical analysis of archival documents, maps, and photographs, combined with contemporary field observations that assess the current state and adaptive reuse of these buildings. This approach allows for a comprehensive understanding of the buildings’ transformation over time, from symbols of military authority to cultural and social landmarks within the city. The key periods of transformation—between 1945–1991 and post-1995—were largely driven by changes in national politics, military ownership, and local urban development policies that promoted the urbanization of unused military zones. The findings reveal a dynamic process of adaptive reuse, wherein the rebranding of these historical edifices has repurposed them into cultural, educational, and public spaces. These adaptive transformations not only preserved the architectural integrity of the buildings but also revitalized their roles in the community. The study concludes that Banja Luka’s experience serves as a model for sustainable heritage management, demonstrating the balance between historical preservation and modern urban development. The results highlight how the city successfully merged its rich architectural past with contemporary needs, contributing to its cultural identity and urban growth. Full article

Recent studies have demonstrated the significance of mental maps in facilitating a more comprehensive understanding of how individuals perceive and mentally represent physical spaces. It is of great importance to consider discrepancies between real and perceived environments when utilising mental maps as instruments. The objective of this paper is to examine the mental representations of Timișoara, Romania in order to identify the spatial elements (neighbourhoods, streets, landmarks, urban symbols) that are particularly salient in the respondents’ mental representations of the city. A total of 559 mental maps were conducted using GIS and quantitative methods to indicate the perceived spatial elements. The findings suggest that spatial perception is influenced by certain dimensions connected to respondents’ socio-demographic features. The findings also indicate that peripheral areas of the city are perceived as lacking memorability and attractiveness, confirming that these neighbourhoods do not fulfil the necessary functions of an urban space. It can be concluded that mental mapping serves as an efficient approach to the analysis of community–space relationships. The implications of this study are valuable for any stakeholders with activities in the city of Timisoara and contribute to sustainable, qualitative, and community-based urban planning. Full article

Exploring the impact of landscape planning on visual and spatial perception is particularly significant for historical district tourism. The existing literature offers limited insight into which historical landscapes most effectively influence tourists’ visual and spatial perceptions. Our study investigates this relationship within the cultural heritage context of Laomendong, a historical district in Nanjing, China. Utilizing the Stimulus–Organism–Response (SOR) theoretical framework, this research explored how the stylistic, symbolic, and spatial dimensions of historical landscapes influence tourists’ visual and spatial perceptions. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to test hypotheses concerning the relationships between historical landscapes, visual perception, spatial perception, and individual predispositions. The findings revealed that stylistic factors (material, color, and ornament), symbolic factors (landmark, relic, and sign), and spatial factors (openness, scale, and layout) significantly enhance visual perception and subsequently spatial perception. Visual perception plays a mediating role in the influence of historical landscapes on spatial perception. Individual predispositions, like sensation-seeking, intensify spatial perception, while destination familiarity surprisingly shows a negative effect, suggesting that over-familiarity might diminish the novelty and excitement of a spatial experience. These insights provide practical implications for the sustainable development of landscape planning in historical district tourism. Full article

The Edmund Pettus Bridge, Selma, Alabama, a symbol of the American Civil Rights Movement and an exemplar of early 20th-century engineering, stands as a testament to the progress and challenges of its era. The bridge, recognized for its pivotal role in the 1965 “Bloody Sunday” conflict and the following Selma to Montgomery marches for voting rights, also represents significant engineering achievements with its distinctive design and construction methodology. In this study, the research team presents a comprehensive framework for documenting heritage bridges by utilizing Terrestrial Laser Scanning (TLS) technology, supplemented by other Reality Capture (RC) techniques, including Structure from Motion (SfM), 360-degree photography, and Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), and integrating the data within a Building Information Modeling (BIM) environment. The focus on the Edmund Pettus Bridge case study demonstrates how this novel approach can capture the intricate details of its structural and architectural features while preserving its historical narratives. The documentation outcomes, including a detailed BIM model and a set of Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) drawings, highlight the effectiveness of combining TLS and BIM in conserving unconventional heritage structures like bridges. This paper also discusses the technological challenges encountered, such as dealing with heavy traffic and environmental constraints during data acquisition and developing the BIM model and drawings. It outlines the strategies implemented to address these issues. This research contributes to preserving a severely under-represented American National Historic Landmark (NHL). It sets a precedent for documenting other non-building heritage structures, balancing technological advancements with historical integrity. Full article