Bluetooth tracking of humans in an indoor environment: An application to shopping mall visits

Intelligence about the spatio-temporal behaviour of individuals is valuable in many settings. Generating tracking data is a necessity for this analysis and requires an appropriate methodology. In this study, the applicability of Bluetooth tracking in an indoor setting is investigated. A wide variety of applications can benefit from indoor Bluetooth tracking. This paper examines the value of the method in a marketing application. A Belgian shopping mall served as a real-life test setting for the methodology. A total of 56 Bluetooth scanners registered 18.943 unique MAC addresses during a 19-day period. The results indicate that Bluetooth tracking is a sound approach for capturing tracking data, which can be used to map and analyse the spatio-temporal behaviour of individuals. The methodology also provides a more efficient and more accurate way of obtaining a variety of relevant metrics in the field of consumer behaviour research. Bluetooth tracking can be implemented as a new and cost effective practice for marketing research, that provides fast and accurate results and insights. We conclude that Bluetooth tracking is a viable approach, but that certain technological and practical aspects need to be considered when applying Bluetooth tracking in new cases.     

自然灾害遗址型黑色旅游地参观者动机研究——以汶川地震北川遗址公园为例

黑色旅游是当前国内外研究的热点之一,黑色旅游开发是自然灾害发生地灾后恢复的一种重要方式。以往研究较多关注战争与事件型黑色旅游地,对自然灾害遗址型旅游地的研究较少。本文以汶川地震北川遗址公园为案例,构建了参观者动机测量量表;通过因子分析得到了教育与纪念动机、社交与亲情动机、感受与见证动机、认同与求新动机和好奇心动机五大类参观者动机类型。为分析和比较不同来源地参观者动机的特征,探究事件关注度和认知欲望对不同类型动机的影响程度差异,分别以全体参观者和四川参观者为样本构建了结构方程模型。结果显示:全体参观者模型中,事件关注度对教育与纪念、社交与亲情等动机影响较大,而对好奇心动机影响较小;认知欲望对教育与纪念、感受与见证以及好奇心等动机影响较大,而对认同和求新动机影响较小。在四川参观者模型中,参观者对汶川事件的关注度不能激发感受与见证动机,认知欲望对社交与亲情动机的影响也不显著,而对于汶川地震地区的认同感和集体认同感较强。     

基于链接测度旅游景区吸引力

目前用于测度旅游吸引力的数据多是非公开的第二手资料或采集费时费力的第一手资料。针对以上问题,该文提出了一个基于公开的链接数据度量景区旅游吸引力的新方法。通过北京景区的实证研究,发现景区链接和游客在数量上存在显著的正相关。这种关联表明景区链接数对景区吸引力具有指示作用,链接可以作为测度旅游吸引力的新数据源。研究结果显示,景区客源市场的地理距离影响了景区链接与游客之间的关联程度:景区的客源市场越远,关联度越高;反之,客源市场越近,关联度越低,甚至没有。     

The importance of spatial nested data in understanding the relationship between visitor use and landscape impacts

As managers and researchers of protected natural areas continue to seek balance in promoting visitor use but limiting negative experiential and natural resource impacts, the integration of social and physical spatial data may play a critical role in understanding how visitors and the community interface with the landscape within these protected areas. These spatial considerations are important for inventorying, monitoring, and managing the conditions of natural resources within parks. Specifically related to the visitor impacts of natural resources in parks are the use and condition of multiple-use trails. Technology such as GPS and GIS may allow for a unique assessment of the relationship between factors that influence this resource. This paper focuses on how visitor use distribution (measured through GPS tracking), activity type, and trail design influence the impacts to trail conditions. This paper also addresses statistical concerns related to spatial dependency. Results suggest that failure to account for spatial dependency can lead to erroneous Type I findings. Additionally, activity type (specifically horseback riders) and trail design were found to best predict trail impacts when controlling for spatial dependency.     

Personalized sightseeing tours: a model for visits in art museums

This article describes a method to provide adapted visit tours in art museums according to the preferences expressed by the visitor and exhibits prestige. It is based on a dual approach with, on the one hand an automatic textual analysis of the official information available online (labels of exhibits) that allows to rank the exhibit attractiveness for a standard museum visitor. On the other hand, individual preferences are also taken into account to adapt the visit according to the personal cultural awareness of the visitor. We use operations research to solve a routing optimization problem, aiming at finding a visit tour with time constraints and maximization of the visitor satisfaction. Depending on the instance size and the problem scale, an integer linear programming (ILP) model and a greedy algorithm are proposed to recommend personalized visit tours and applied on two museums: ‘Musée de l’Orangerie’ in Paris and ‘National Gallery’ in London. The obtained results show that it is possible to recommend a good tour to visitors of an art museum by taking into account the common prestige of the exhibits and the individual interests, joining automatic text summarization and routing optimization in a limited geographical space.     

National and Community Market Contributions of Wilderness

Wilderness attracts tourists and generates visitor spending in proximate communities as people enjoy Wilderness for outdoor recreation. Wilderness also attracts amenity migrants and out-of-region investments into surrounding regional economies. To investigate the amount and types of employment and income generated by Wilderness visitation, we conducted an economic contribution analysis of aggregate national visitor expenditures. The U.S. Forest Service National Visitor Use and Monitoring (NVUM) economic spending profiles were used to construct types and amounts of Wilderness visitor spending and were applied to an estimated 9.9 million annual visitors across federal agencies. IMPLAN modeling software was used to estimate total effects and multipliers for output, employment, income, and value added. Results show that some $500 million is annually spent in communities adjacent to Wilderness, generating a direct effect of 5,700 jobs and a total output effect over $700 million across numerous industries ($2012 including indirect and induced effects).     

Application of a spatially explicit backcasting model: A case study of sustainable development in Salzburg,Austria

The high cost of land for housing within urban centres and the common desire to live within extensive residential areas in the green countryside have, in some cases, led to increasing residential development in the urban hinterland, often resulting in dispersed and sprawling development. In order to counteract such development this article seeks to provide a methodology for implementing strategies which aim is to achieve sustainable development in spatial planning. The proposed methodology, which is known as “backcasting”, aims to improve our ability to avoid undesirable future developments and to encourage those developments that are desirable. Backcasting has previously mostly been used within theoretical processes or frameworks. The backcasting exercise presented in this paper used a Python-based model to create often visionary future scenarios based on interviews with relevant experts, and then used these scenarios as input for a backwards running model. This model simulates a development that runs backwards in time, converging towards the present situation. The backcasting model presented herein has been applied to a case study in Salzburg, Austria.     

On the spatial relationship between landslides and causative factors on Lantau Island, Hong Kong

This paper presents a statistical approach to study the spatial relationship between landslides and their causative factors at the regional level. The approach is based on digital databases, and incorporates such methods as statistics, spatial pattern analysis, and interactive mapping. Firstly, the authors propose an object-oriented conceptual model for describing a landslide event, and a combined database of landslides and environmental factors is constructed by integrating the various databases within such a conceptual framework. The statistical histogram, spatial overlay, and dynamic mapping methods are linked together to interactively evaluate the spatial pattern of the relationship between landslides and their causative factors. A case study of an extreme event in 1993 on Lantau Island indicates that rainfall intensity and the migration of the center of the rainstorm greatly influence the occurrence of landslides on Lantau Island. A regional difference in the relationship between landslides and topography is identified. Most of the landslides in the middle and western parts of the island occurred on slopes with slope angles of 25–35°, while in the eastern part, the corresponding range is 30–35°. Overlaying landslide data with land cover reveals that a large number of landslides occurred in the bareland and shrub-covered area, and in the transition zones between different vegetation types. The proposed approach can be used not only to analyze the general characteristics of such a relationship, but also to depict its spatial distribution and variation, thereby providing a sound basis for regional landslide prediction.     

An evaluation of crowdsourced information for assessing the visitation and perceived importance of protected areas

Parks and protected areas provide a wide range of benefits, but methods to evaluate their importance to society are often ad hoc and limited. In this study, the quality of crowdsourced information from Public Participation GIS (PPGIS) and Volunteered Geographic Information (VGI) sources (Flickr, OpenStreetMap (OSM), and Wikipedia) was compared with visitor counts that are presumed to reflect social importance. Using the state of Victoria, Australia as a case study, secondary crowdsourced VGI data, primary crowdsourced (PPGIS data) and visitor statistics were examined for their correspondence and differences, and to identify spatial patterns in park popularity. Data completeness—the percent of protected areas with data—varied between sources, being highest for OSM (90%), followed by Flickr (41%), PPGIS (24%), visitation counts (5%), and Wikipedia articles (4%). Statistically significant correlations were found between all five measures of popularity for protected areas. Using stepwise multiple linear regression, the explained variability in visitor numbers was greater than 70%, with PPGIS, Flickr and OSM having the largest standardized coefficients. The social importance of protected areas varied as a function of accessibility and the types of values (direct or indirect use) expressed for the areas. Crowdsourced data may provide an alternative to visitor counts for assessing protected area social importance and spatial variability of visitation. However, crowdsourced data appears to be an unreliable proxy for the full range of values and importance of protected areas, especially for non-use values such as biological conservation.     

国内网站信息对人流导引作用机理研究综述

以多种期刊数据库和搜索引擎为检索源,评述国内网站信息流对人流导引作用研究的进展及需解决的问题,将国内该领域的研究分为导引作用相关要素间关系框架构建及单要素的研究、导引过程和导引机理的透视、网站信息流与现实人流的关联、信息流对人流导引力的模型设计与计算4部分。网站信息流、人流和导引方式等相关要素构成导引作用机理的框架,网站功能性和信息空间等单要素的研究奠定了网站信息流对人流导引作用机理的研究基础;通过综合旅游网站、留学网站和户外运动网站的实证研究,证明了网站信息流对人流的导引是一个信息决策和执行的过程;网站信息流与现实人流的关联研究不仅体现了网站访问者日内、周内、年内行为的时间分布特征,也构建了网站和访问者供需行为关系的多种模型;信息流自身具有极强的导引力,在距离衰减和替代效应问题上表现显著,将传统地理学区域研究推向一个新的阶段。     

旅游体验价值共创影响机理研究——以北京香山公园为例

顾客与企业共同创造价值是当前管理学、营销学研究的热点,但鲜见在旅游学中的研究。该文将价值共创理论运用到旅游学中,构建了旅游体验价值共创的前因影响要素、过程及结果之间内在影响机理的理论模型,并提出路径因果关系的假设。以北京香山公园游客调研数据为基础,运用因素分析、信度效度检验、积差相关分析及逐步回归分析方法进行实证检验。研究结果表明,游客的某些性格特质、领袖地位、信息交流意愿及景区供给因素与其参与旅游体验价值共创行为具有正相关性,而游客通过与景区共同创造价值会提升旅游体验质量,并产生积极的游后行为意向。据此,提出景区构建旅游体验价值共创机制的具体建议。     

Unraveling Hong Kong Geopark experience with visitor-employed photography method

Geoparks have been established around the world with the major objective of protecting significant geoheritage features and reinforcing geoconservation ideas and support through educating visitors. Understanding visitors' perception of geoheritage can inform educational and conservation endeavors. This study used the visitor-employed photography (VEP) method to unravel visitor perception of geoheritage and associated natural and cultural features in the recently designated Hong Kong Global Geopark of China (HKGP). Participants were asked to take photographs of scenes with an effect on their experience in the HKGP and to elaborate in a logbook the chosen subject, reason of choice, and effect on their travel experience. Aimed at capturing real-time and organic experiences, it was found that geoheritage plays a major role in HKGP visits. Visitors develop strong emotional connections with nature through appreciating and learning about prominent features of both small and landscape scales. However, a mismatch was found between visitor belief or incorrect geological or geomorphological knowledge with inherently strong enthusiasm in deciphering the science behind geoheritage. The findings permit development of a new approach of geopark interpretation, commencing with aesthetic and emotional connections with geoheritage features. Modification of fixed on-site provisions and guiding services directed at visitor interests can better spread geoheritage knowledge and reinforce geoconservation ideas. Modeling after overseas practices, a park ranger system, audio guide devices and smart phone applications are essential to achieve meritorious geopark management, appreciation, and enjoyment.     

北京市旅游客流时空分布特征与调控对策

在对北京市183个重要旅游景区进行了全面考查的基础上,分析北京市整体及中心城区、郊区客流时空变化特征,典型景区的客流变化规律与变化动因,以及客流在时间和空间分布上存在的不平衡现象和旅游产品的供给与需求之间错位问题。据此作者提出进入产品衰落期的旅游产品淘汰的必然性;进入发展停滞阶段的旅游产品的振兴和复苏计划;旅游需求与供给的空间整合;价格杠杆的效用性和城区资源整合等观点。     

The dynamics of tourist excursion ratios in Slovakia show caves from 2000 to 2014

Show caves are one of the most important targets in developing local ecotourism strategies. This work focuses on a tourism visit rate incidence through an Attractiveness Index concerning 12 selected show caves in Slovakia. Our study focuses on visitor counts published from 2000 to 2014. A set of eight criteria were selected in order to analyse and determine the appeal that each cave may have for visitors. Establishing the “degree” of appeal as an indicator of the tourism and geographic absolute attractiveness value is based on a principal components factor analysis; the resultant single factor was correlated with our selected criteria. We find a strong correlation between touristic cave attractiveness and cave locations, ease of cave passage access (vehicle and trail) infrastructures, cave location in main tourism regions, and the growth of urban areas as they encroach on show cave locations. Similar studies in valorization of show caves tourism have not been attempted in Slovakia or Eastern Europe. The data and result from this study are also clearly important from a managerial perspective. This general framework could be easily expanded to include additional attributes that might be relevant for other market segments or other vacation experiences.     

城市园林游憩活动评价及"期望差异-体验水平"管理模式——以无锡为例

游憩活动设计和管理对城市园林实践具有重要意义。评价是设计决策和管理实践的依据,基于"工具设计－测量评价－管理战略决策"这一评价流程,从游憩活动使用者角度出发,通过文献分析构建游憩活动评价指标体系,并以无锡园林作为研究对象,选择其中四个典型城市园林进行游客抽样调查,通过对调查所得数据的统计分析,综合评价无锡市园林游憩活动的现状,并提炼影响游客游憩体验的重要因素。还尝试性地提出了园林游憩活动的"期望差异—体验水平"管理模式,基于调查数据来计算9类游憩活动的期望差异等级表和体验水平等级表,以确定其在"期望差异—体验水平"横向评价矩阵("ED-EL"矩阵)中所处位置,在此基础上对无锡市四个园林的游憩活动发展提出建议。     

A GIS-based exploration of the relationships between human health,social deprivation and ecosystem services: The case of Wales,UK

Being able to analyse the relationships between people and nature has always been of key interest to ecosystems conservation, planning decisions and in a number of disciplines of natural and social sciences. In this framework, it is of paramount importance to evaluate possible correlations between factors such as ecosystem services, human health, and social deprivation. The present study aims at exploring relationships between ecosystem services, human health, and social deprivation for the region of Wales in the United Kingdom. Wales is of special interest because as a region it offers many ‘green’ ecosystems which have already been found to have a positive influence on humans' well-being as well as on socio-economic status. First, a recreational layer showing the size and location of all potential recreational areas in each Welsh local authority was created. Subsequently, correlation/regression analysis and weighted raster analysis were performed which allowed determining quantitatively the degree of correlation between the observed socio-economic factors and recreational areas.The findings of this exploratory study suggested that the relative size of potential recreational area varies widely within the local authorities comprising Wales. Not all the socio-economic factors which were examined herein found to be correlated with recreational areas. Some variables, such as income and employment deprivation showed high correlations with poor recreation options. Very poor correlation was also reported between recreation options and variables such as life expectancy and long-term illness. Our results, in agreement to previous studies conducted elsewhere, suggested that human health is determined by a complex interplay of more than one of the observed determinants, including for example biology and genetics or living and working conditions. As to our knowledge there are no prior research studies on the topic for our study region, this work provides a key contribution concerning the determination of a “social” value of ecosystems in the context of human health and other socio-economic factors. However, as these are only initial results, further work is required to verify those.     

The design and implementation of SPIRIT: a spatially aware search engine for information retrieval on the Internet

Much of the information stored on the web contains geographical context, but current search engines treat such context in the same way as all other content. In this paper we describe the design, implementation and evaluation of a spatially aware search engine which is capable of handling queries in the form of the triplet of ?theme??spatial relationship??location?. The process of identifying geographic references in documents and assigning appropriate footprints to documents, to be stored together with document terms in an appropriate indexing structure allowing real‐time search, is described. Methods allowing users to query and explore results which have been relevance‐ranked in terms of both thematic and spatial relevance have been implanted and a usability study indicates that users are happy with the range of spatial relationships available and intuitively understand how to use such a search engine. Normalised precision for 38 queries, containing four types of spatial relationships, is significantly higher (p<0.001) for searches exploiting spatial information than pure text search.     

Evolution of clusters in dynamic point patterns: with a case study of Ants' simulation

Recent developments in sensing and tracking technologies have enabled large geographical databases to be established that represent spatial dynamics of ‘behavioral entities’. Within this type of dynamics there are several levels and modes of organization that need to be revealed. Clusters are high‐level groupings of entities, where change in their location and form, including split and merge events, represents self‐organization and functioning patterns. Such information may contribute for better understanding spatially complex dynamic patterns. The main objective of this article is to develop an adaptable methodology that facilitates exploration of spatial order and processes in point pattern dynamics. The approach presented here utilizes data‐clustering at each snapshot of the moving pattern, and then involves pairwise linking between the clusters identified at each snapshot and those identified in the following snapshot. Such linking is based on a new methodology that defines well globally optimized solutions for numerous possible linking combinations based on Linear Programming. A preliminary assessment of the approach was conducted with an existing Ants' simulation tool, capable of creating data sets covering in detail a substantial portion of the nest's life cycle.     

Environmental and Cultural Implications of Visitor Access in the Kimberley Region,Australia

The Kimberley coast in Australia's far north-west is the traditional country and home of a number of Indigenous groups and hosts some of the country's richest cultural heritage, most spectacular rock art, scenery and wildlife, making it an attractive tourism destination. A growing expedition cruise industry provides the main means of visitor access to remote coastal sites and offers excursions to shore-based attractions in what are mostly Aboriginal Reserve lands. In light of concerns about environmental and cultural site impacts resulting from increasing visitor numbers, this study examined biophysical site impacts along access trails to shore-based attractions and used qualitative methods to ascertain cultural impacts. The synthesis of the findings highlights that cultural concerns arising from visitor access without having sought traditional owner consent for such access, combined with a lack of traditional owner involvement in the planning, management or running of visitor activities, overshadow currently low environmental impacts of onshore expedition cruise activities. To overcome the continuing impasse regarding the issue of unsanctioned visitor access, the Kimberley urgently needs a coordinated approach by key stakeholders and the traditional owners which recognises and acknowledges the historical context. Such a process would facilitate tourism activities to become culturally sustainable.     

基于百度指数的旅游景区络空间关注度：时间分布及其前兆效应

利用百度指数提供的"用户关注度"功能,通过关键词搜索,获得中国第一批66个5A级旅游景区2006年9月1日至2007年8月31日每天的络空间关注度数据,并对其中具有完整数据系列的53个景区展开统计分析。研究表明,旅游景区络空间关注度在时间分布上具有以下特征:周内呈现周四三二高、周日与周六低的"手掌"模式,其中南方景区和自然类景区尤为明显;年内呈现4月、8月最高的"双峰"模式,其中自然类景区表现出4月、7月、9月最高的"三峰"模式。研究还发现,旅游景区络空间关注度是其现实游客量的前兆:周内表现为"日前兆",即一周之内,以周五为代表的旅游景区工作日络空间关注度是其周末游客量的前兆;年内表现为"旬前兆",即一年之中,旅游景区络空间关注度是其后1～2周游客量的前兆。"前兆效应"也呈现出一定的不确定性,相关机制尚待研究。