Search Results (172)

Spatial literacy and spatial thinking are fundamental skills for understanding space, interpreting geographical phenomena, and enabling active citizenship in a society increasingly driven by geospatial information. This review examines how digital tools and geospatial technologies contribute to cultivating spatial literacy and thinking within primary geography education. Following an integrative, PRISMA-informed review methodology combining searches of Scopus, Web of Science, and ERIC (n = 1373 records identified), this study draws on a corpus of 141 studies—comprising an original set of sources supplemented by newly identified, priority-ranked literature—examining digital maps, Geographic Information Systems (GIS), Web GIS, StoryMaps, collaborative mapping, digital games, and augmented and virtual reality in geography teaching. This review proposes an explicit conceptual model clarifying the hierarchical and complementary relationships among spatial skills, spatial thinking, critical spatial thinking, spatial literacy, and spatial citizenship, together with a four-dimensional typology distinguishing technological platforms, representational formats, pedagogical approaches, and learning activity types; both are proposed as synthesizing heuristics for organizing the reviewed evidence and are offered as a basis for future empirical validation rather than as established models. The findings suggest that pedagogically grounded digital integration strengthens spatial skills, shifts learning toward active, participatory models, and helps cultivate spatial citizenship, though the strength of this evidence varies considerably by tool and by educational level, with primary-specific support remaining comparatively limited for higher-order outcomes such as critical spatial thinking. Crucially, the effective integration of these technologies depends on structured teacher training—addressing self-efficacy and confidence-related barriers alongside technical skills—and the adoption of innovative instructional approaches. Ultimately, digital tools provide effective means of deepening geographical learning and strengthening spatial literacy in primary schools. Realizing this potential, however, depends on matching the selection and use of each tool to the specific dimension of spatial learning it is evidenced to support. Full article

Safe means of egress are central to occupant safety, social sustainability, and building resilience, yet evidence on BIM-based code checking in Saudi Arabia remains limited. This study assesses the feasibility of an IFC-based Solibri workflow for means-of-egress provisions of SBC 201-CR-2024 using a three-story Group R-1 hotel. Code clauses were decomposed into computable variables and conditions requiring manual review. The Revit model was exported to IFC, validated for semantic and topological readiness, classified in Solibri, and checked using the code-neutral SOL/179 Escape Route Analysis template. The final archived run contained nine rule instances: eight returned OK, while one produced a moderate-severity flag in a supporting fire-compartment rule rather than an SBC-mapped egress rule. One source-model revision was required before the final run. Results indicate that the occupant-load calculation was fully checkable within the bounded case, whereas required route count, travel distance, route-origin and measurement logic, egress height, exit-passageway width, and clear door width were only partially checkable. Credible execution required consistent classifications, explicit exit designations, complete spatial relationships, and continuous routes. Applicability conditions, sprinkler qualification, capacity requirements, exceptions, and route validity still required professional judgment. The workflow demonstrates bounded feasibility rather than validated detection performance or proof of SBC compliance. Full article

The rapid urbanization and development of vertical construction and subsurface spaces in Iran, along with national policy emphasis on transparency in land administration, have highlighted the need to transition from a two-dimensional (2D) to a three-dimensional (3D) cadastre. Iran’s current cadastral system, based on 2D parcel maps, fails to adequately capture complex ownership relationships in multi-story buildings and underground spaces. This study proposes an integrated model combining the Land Administration Domain Model (LADM) country profile with the Industry Foundation Classes (IFC) standard for 3D cadastre implementation. The LADM country profile of Iran was extended to support 3D spatial units. A 3D building model was developed in Autodesk Revit by integrating as-built cadastral maps with architectural drawings and exported in IFC format. Legal attributes were added to Building Information Modeling (BIM) elements in Simplebim via custom Property Sets, allowing physical and legal information to be stored in one IFC file. Functional and interoperability testing in IFC-compatible software showed that the file could be read and used for legal-spatial queries, although the results may depend on each software’s IFC support. For national use, database-level implementation may provide a more reliable option. These results demonstrate that integrating LADM and BIM for a 3D cadastre is technically feasible in Iran at the building scale, as shown by the successful mapping between LADM classes and IFC entities, implementation of custom Property Sets, and interoperability testing across IFC-compatible software platforms. Full article

This article examines the representation of mental illness, emergency treatment, and recovery, in Ned Vizzini’s 2006 Young Adult novel, It’s kind of a funny story. Existing criticism has predominantly pursued what we term “diagnostic realist” approaches, which evaluate fictional representations against clinical criteria. We both affirm what this work achieves and make the case for extending it. Drawing on work on disability representation in Young Adult Literature and perspectives from Mad Studies, we propose that a social model lens, which locates mental difference within social and structural contexts rather than within individual pathology, opens out further possibilities for understanding what this and related novels do. We then demonstrate how close attention to Vizzini’s artistry—including to his use of romance conventions, figurative language, intertextuality, and first-person focalisation—reveals a text that does not simply mirror mental illness realistically, but which actively dramatises how social environments, institutional structures, and modes of creative expression shape the experience of and recovery from mental ill health. Rather than displacing diagnostic approaches, we argue that these wider critical paradigms, inclusive of the social model and attendant attention to craft, can enhance understanding of the help such novels can provide for different kinds of readers. Full article

The topology optimization of reinforced-concrete (RC) building frames is relatively underexplored compared to steel structures, partly due to the lack of a systematic approach to generate and select ground structures (GS). Existing methods often use less systematic GS strategies, limiting efficient exploration of the vast and sparse design space shaped by large bay widths and story heights. This work addresses this gap by providing a comprehensive and systematic pipeline tailored for RC frames. The key contributions are: (1) development of a GS generation framework that systematically enumerates all feasible RC frame configurations within user-defined constraints, (2) introduction of a candidate GS selection map, a surrogate-based tool employing graph-based Latin hypercube sampling (LHS) and sparse Gaussian Process (GP) models, which predicts compliance early and strategically guides candidate selection, reducing computational cost by limiting full finite-element evaluations to the order of ${10}^3$ out of up to ${10}^5$ generated frames while serving as a reference for understanding design-parameter influences; and (3) implementation of an integrated topology-optimization pipeline applying particle swarm optimization (PSO) to selected candidates, achieving efficient compliance minimization with reduced computational effort. The complete workflow—which spans GS generation, surrogate-based candidate selection, and iterative optimization—is implemented and validated in two design domains with width-to-height aspect ratios of 1:1 and 1:1.5 and generates 438,984 and 104,032 different frame configurations, respectively. These selected candidates undergo PSO-based optimization, yielding designs with volume fractions below 0.55 and preserving critical floor beams, demonstrating the framework’s ability to identify structurally efficient stiffness-driven RC frame topologies for early-stage screening. The framework is designed as an extensible foundation that can be coupled with more detailed member-level design checks and nonlinear RC analysis in future work, rather than replacing full reinforced-concrete design procedures. Full article

Land and place are often framed within Western ecological traditions as “wild”, meaning pristine, uninhabited, and separate from human life, yet from a First Nations perspective no place exists without relationship, story, or responsibility. This study investigates how environmental understanding emerges when land is approached as a living, relational system rather than an object of detached observation. Guided by a sensory–phenomenological framework, the research brings together phenomenological attention to lived experience with First Nations sensory practices and arts-based methods. Fieldwork was undertaken on Dharug Country with First Nations women artists and cultural practitioners and involved walking on Country, deep listening, stillness, sensory mapping, visual making, and group yarning as interconnected ways of generating knowledge. The findings show that environmental awareness developed through attention to sound, rhythm, vibration, seasonal change, and affect, revealing Country as an active participant in knowledge formation rather than a passive setting. The study concludes that what is commonly described as “the wild” is not unknown or untouched but deeply known through sustained sensory, relational, and creative engagement, demonstrating that ecological reconnection arises through ethical, culturally grounded relationships with living systems and offering implications for more respectful, place-responsive approaches to environmental research and care. Full article

StoryMapping has emerged as an accessible geotechnological approach that combines spatial analysis, interactive cartography and digital storytelling to communicate urban landscape transformations. This study aims to demonstrate the methodological potential of StoryMaps for integrating historical cartography, GIS-based analysis and narrative visualisation to explain long-term urban landscape change in an accessible and scientifically rigorous way. Using a case study of Madrid, the research integrates more than 150 years of historical maps, georeferenced images and thematic GIS layers to visualise shifts in blue–green infrastructures, land-use patterns and morphological configurations. The methodology includes the compilation of historical cartographic sources, GIS processing of contemporary datasets, georeferencing of archival materials and the construction of an interactive narrative using ArcGIS Pro 3.6 StoryMaps. Results show that StoryMapping enhances public understanding of complex urban processes, supports participatory planning, and provides a bridge between technical analyses and community engagement. The study concludes that StoryMapping is not only a powerful communication tool but also a valuable geotechnological solution for sustainable landscape planning, complementing traditional GIS approaches and promoting interdisciplinary perspectives in urban studies. Full article

With the acceleration of digital transformation in education, this paper examines how blockchain is being framed as a governance solution for trust, transparency, and decentralization. Using a hybrid bibliometric and thematic analysis of 93 Web of Science and Scopus publications, the study maps publication trends, leading outlets, author networks, and conceptual clusters. We analyze co-authorship networks, keyword co-occurrence patterns, and conceptual structures using VOSviewer version 1.6.19 and the R-based Bibliometrix package. Then, we apply qualitative coding to offer a more profound interpretation of governance stories. Findings show that blockchain in educational governance is predominantly positioned through techno-managerial lenses—focusing on secure credentials, tamper-proof records, and efficiency—while critical perspectives on power, equity, and participation remain limited. Global North institutions and computer science–oriented venues dominate the field, with little engagement from Global South contexts or educational leadership scholarship. The paper concludes by proposing a research agenda that reimagines blockchain not as a neutral tool, but as a socio-technical assemblage that must be interrogated through equity-, ethics-, and community-centered frameworks. Full article

As Villanova University students navigate campus life, ghost stories tied to specific buildings, paths, and rituals circulate as grassroots spatial narratives. This article argues that these stories involving haunted halls, underground tunnels, and ritualized practices surrounding seals, arches, and fountains, function as forms of Radical Placemaking, through which students collectively reinterpret, appropriate, and sometimes resist the university’s officially sanctioned spatial order. Drawing on 162 student testimonies collected in 2019, translated into Spanish, and analyzed using topic modeling, co-occurrence mapping, and GIS visualization, the study demonstrates how vernacular stories encode lived experiences, informal knowledge, and alternative claims to campus space. Nine thematic clusters emerge, organized into three narrative domains: supernatural encounters anchored to institutional buildings (including Alumni Hall’s Civil War history, the St. Mary’s nun legend, and Tolentine Hall hauntings), ritual and tradition practices that reinscribe or subvert formal authority (the Corr Chapel arch, the Driscoll Hall seal ritual, and student ceremonies), and hidden-space narratives that imagine infrastructures beyond official visibility (such as underground tunnels linking campus buildings). Analysis of narrative transmission reveals uneven power relations: institutional channels circulate curated traditions aligned with university identity. Peer networks and personal experiences generate counter-mappings that privilege exploration, embodiment, and affect. Villanova’s ghost stories constitute spatial perceptions that enable students to assert belonging, contest institutional narratives, and produce place through collective storytelling within an evolving and hierarchically governed campus landscape. Full article

Natural ventilation remains a key strategy for improving indoor environmental quality (IEQ), lowering energy demand, and increasing resilience in low-rise residential buildings, especially in warm climates where mechanical ventilation is costly or unreliable. Classical ventilation studies are very often performed on computational fluid dynamics (CFD) or simplified thermal models, but they are computationally resource-heavy, data-dependent, or at odds with early design scenarios. Thus, this study proposes a Multi-Scale BIM-Driven Framework for Predictive Ventilation Opportunity Mapping (PVOM), presenting a geometry-based, data-light approach for investigating ventilation potential over micro-, meso-, and macro-scale spatial dimensions. Based on BIM models of two single-story residential buildings (Building A—author-developed and Building B—public reference model), the framework combines LOD 300 spatial modeling, multi-scale ventilation morphometrics, pathway prediction, and design optimization via opening repositioning, resizing, and envelope porosity adjustments. The outcomes indicate that PVOM correctly detects airflow constraints, stagnation pockets, and underperforming spaces, while simultaneously identifying geometrical areas for improvement on cross-ventilation. Performance for optimization scenarios indicated enhanced air change potential (ACH-P), cross-ventilation score (CVS), and spatial airflow continuity (SAC), thereby indicating the framework is adequate in facilitating early-stage sustainable design. This study presents a reproducible BIM-based method on natural ventilation assessment without CFD or advanced sensing systems, indicating PVOM as a scalable approach toward architects, engineers, and sustainability practitioners. BIM; natural ventilation; PVOM; ventilation morphometrics; low-rise buildings; sustainable design; performance optimization. Full article

An increased interest in decreasing the environmental impact of the construction sector and in vertical urbanization has renewed attention to timber as a primary structural material in multi-story buildings. This study investigated whether an existing 10-story reinforced concrete (RC) residential building can be redesigned as an equivalent mass-timber structure while satisfying the same structural performance requirements. It addressed the lack of like-for-like building-scale comparisons that redesigned an existing multi-story RC residential building into a functionally equivalent mass-timber scheme. A real RC building in Gävle, Sweden, was modeled, analyzed, and designed using StruSoft FEM-Design software in accordance with the Eurocodes and the Swedish National Annex, after which all main structural elements were systematically replaced with timber. Through iterative adjustments of member sizes, support conditions, and added reinforcing elements, both the RC and timber schemes were verified with respect to load-bearing capacity, serviceability, and global stability under identical load combinations. The RC and timber buildings reached maximum utilization ratios of 99% and 98%, respectively; displacements were higher in the timber building but remained within serviceability limits, and both systems were classified as globally stable. The timber alternative reduced the total structural weight to about 19% of the RC building and roughly halved the maximum vertical reaction forces, at the expense of additional beams, columns, and basement wall segments. Moreover, this article developed an equivalent-design methodology for material substitution, a bottom-up reinforcing elements logic that resolved serviceability and stability constraints in tall timber, and a performance trade-off map based on structural performance, offering guidance for future mass-timber design. Full article

Embodied-carbon accounting is increasingly required at the early design stage to guide material and construction choices during design iterations. However, many life-cycle assessment (LCA) workflows and centralized building information modeling (BIM)–LCA plugins still rely on fragmented data, non-transparent mapping rules, and limited cross-project reuse, which slows rapid iteration. This study develops an open and traceable embodied-carbon assessment workflow driven by BIM object geometry and semantic attributes and demonstrates it through a single case study, enabling automated accounting for the A1–A3 stages from model input to result reporting. The framework is implemented as a Revit add-in prototype connected to an open-data platform. It uses assemblies as standardized assessment units, applies configurable rule-based mapping, and performs unit normalization to link model quantities with carbon factors. A single three-story brick–concrete residential building in Wuhan with an LoD 300 model is used as the sole validation case to demonstrate workflow feasibility, report coverage, and time metrics. The case yields an A1–A3 embodied-carbon intensity of approximately 333 kgCO₂ e/m², dominated by the structural system. Rule mapping achieves 82% coverage within the defined accounting scope. Compared with manual workflows (290–380 min), first-time accounting is reduced to 83–98 min and further to within 30 min when assemblies and rules are reused. Contribution decomposition shows a concentrated pattern and supports traceability from assemblies to material types. Overall, within the tested scope, the Revit-based prototype provides efficient and verifiable embodied-carbon feedback for early-stage design. Full article

Foreign direct investment (FDI) has often been cast as a straightforward engine of growth, yet its record across Central and Eastern Europe tells a more tangled story where outcomes hinge on the interplay of education, governance, and the timing of external shocks. This study embeds fixed effects panel econometrics within a systems framework, treating FDI as a subsystem of socio-economic dynamics. Using a long-run panel of eleven economies from 2000 to 2023, the analysis models path dependence and regime shifts through interaction terms and period-specific dummies set against a systems-thinking backdrop. The analysis shows that for the average CEE economy, FDI’s contribution has waxed and waned: it dragged on growth during the early transition years (2000–2007), settled into a neutral role after the global financial crisis, and proved unpredictable in the pandemic era. Romania stands out, however, with a marked “FDI premium” quantified as approximately 0.7 pp of growth per pp of FDI that seems to stem from reinforcing loops between rising tertiary enrolment and productivity spillovers. Mapping these feedbacks brings to light virtuous circles where human capital and resilience make or break the benefits of foreign capital. The policy message is plain: nurture the positive loops through investment in skills and firm linkages, keep institutions nimble enough to adapt, and watch for early warning signs of systemic strain. Full article

Understanding how learners process data visualizations with seductive details is essential for improving comprehension and engagement. This study examined the influence of task-relevant and task-irrelevant seductive details on attentional distribution and comprehension in the context of data story learning, using COVID-19 data visualizations as experimental materials. A gaze-based methodology was applied, using eye-movement data and saliency maps to visualize learners’ attentional patterns while processing bar graphs with varying embellishments. Results showed that task-relevant seductive details supported comprehension for learners with higher visuospatial abilities by guiding attention toward textual information, while task-irrelevant details hindered comprehension, particularly for those with lower visuospatial abilities who focused disproportionately on visual elements. Working memory capacity emerged as a significant predictor of attentional distribution. Additionally, repeated exposure to data visualizations enhanced participants’ ability to recognize visualization types, improving efficiency and reducing reliance on legends and supplementary text. Overall, this study highlights the cognitive mechanisms underlying visualization processing in data story learning and provides practical implications for education, human–computer interaction, and adaptive technology design, emphasizing the importance of tailoring visualization strategies to individual learner differences. Full article

This study presents a multimodal framework that uses smartphone motion sensors and generative AI to create audio comics from live news headlines. The system operates without direct touch or voice input, instead responding to simple hand-wave gestures. The system demonstrates potential as an alternative input method, which may benefit users who find traditional touch or voice interaction challenging. In the experiments, we investigated the generation of comics on based on the latest tech-related news headlines using Really Simple Syndication (RSS) on a simple hand wave gesture. The proposed framework demonstrates extensibility beyond comic generation, as various other tasks utilizing large language models and multimodal AI could be integrated by mapping them to different hand gestures. Our experiments with open-source models like LLaMA, LLaVA, Gemma, and Qwen revealed that LLaVA delivers superior results in generating panel-aligned stories compared to Qwen3-VL, both in terms of inference speed and output quality, relative to the source image. These large language models (LLMs) collectively contribute imaginative and conversational narrative elements that enhance diversity in storytelling within the comic format. Additionally, we implement an AI-in-the-loop mechanism to iteratively improve output quality without human intervention. Finally, AI-generated audio narration is incorporated into the comics to create an immersive, multimodal reading experience. Full article