Visualizing spatiotemporal trajectories of mobile social media users using space–time cube

The implementation of social network applications on mobile platforms has significantly elevated the activity of mobile social networking. Mobile social networking offers a channel for recording an individual’s spatiotemporal behaviors when location-detecting capabilities of devices are enabled. It also facilitates the study of time geography on an individual level, which has previously suffered from a scarcity of georeferenced movement data. In this paper, we report on the use of georeferenced tweets to display and analyze the spatiotemporal patterns of daily user trajectories. For georeferenced tweets having both location information in longitude and latitude values and recorded creation time, we apply a space–time cube approach for visualization. Compared to the traditional methodologies for time geography studies such as the travel diary-based approach, the analytics using social media data present challenges broadly associated with those of Big Data, including the characteristics of high velocity, large volume, and heterogeneity. For this study, a batch processing system has been developed for extracting spatiotemporal information from each tweet and then creating trajectories of each individual mobile Twitter user. Using social media data in time geographic research has the benefits of study area flexibility, continuous observation and non-involvement with contributors. For example, during every 30-minute cycle, we collected tweets created by about 50,000 Twitter users living in a geographic region covering New York City to Washington, DC. Each tweet can indicate the exact location of its creator when the tweet was posted. Thus, the linked tweets show a Twitter users’ movement trajectory in space and time. This study explores using data intensive computing for processing Twitter data to generate spatiotemporal information that can recreate the space–time trajectories of their creators.     

Promoting social justice and conserving montane forest environments: a case study of Nepal's community forestry programme

This paper analyses participatory forest policy and the ways it has influenced the relationships between people as it relates to the forest resource management. This case study was conducted in the middle hills of Nepal, and information was collected through direct observation, individual interviews, group discussion and secondary information analysis. It substantiates a few examples of how the community forestry programme can be used as a means to promote the participation of the women, the poor and dalit (untouchables) in forest resource management, as well as enhancing social justice and improving the forest resources in their locality. However, it also demonstrates that though the community forestry programme has a positive impact, it faces several constraints and challenges. The local Forest User Group is controlled by a few élites making the poor and disadvantaged vulnerable to further marginalization. The results of the case study strongly indicate that community forestry processes must address the political, economic and social needs of the forest users, and also provide a neutral platform on which the poor can present their cases.     

可持续发展评估指标、方法及应用研究

可持续发展评估指标及方法研究是可持续发展定量评估研究的基础,是实施可持续发展管理的依据,是生态经济学与可持续发展研究的前沿领域和热点问题之一. 在概括介绍可持续发展评估的工具--指标/指数的概念和功能、国际上代表性可持续发展研究机构指标选取的原则的基础上,全面分析归纳了可持续发展指标(体系)的类型及其框架模式. 详细介绍了联合国可持续发展委员会(UNCSD)、经济合作与发展组织(OECD)、世界保护同盟(IUCN)、世界银行等国际上代表性机构的可持续发展系统性指标体系的最新研究进展,并分析了这些系统性指标体系的优缺点. 深入分析了国际上典型的社会发展类、经济发展类、生态环境类可持续发展指标(指数)的研究、开发与实际评估应用的情况. 最后,总结了当前可持续发展指标(体系)研究的特点与趋势.     

新文化地理学的理论统一性与话题多样性

新文化地理学起源于20世纪80年代,是对传统文化地理学研究范式的激进反思甚至颠覆。首先,新文化地理学具有理论基础的统一性。其反对伯克利学派"超有机体"的文化观,认为"文化"并非具象的"物体",而是在特定的社会情景或社会关系之下由社会群体自下而上地建构或生产的。自然、景观、地方、空间等地理学要素也并非"文化"被动的表达或容器,而是建构意义与价值系统的关键维度。其次,新文化地理学具有研究话题的多样性。这种多样性不应该被简单理解为研究视角的分散性或破碎性,而是新文化地理学的文化观带来的必然结果。新文化地理学关注草根群体自下而上的文化实践、不同群体与不同尺度的文化事项、以及瞬息万变的日常生活经验。因此,这极大地拓展了其研究话题的广度。目前,中国地理学中有关文化的研究还处在比较边缘化的位置,但现代中国社会的高速变迁迫切地要求文化地理学者从文化的社会性与空间性出发,探讨社会成员赋予自然、景观、地方、空间等地理学要素的文化意义,以及文化这一维度在经济地理学、城市地理学等研究中的重要作用。     

基于水资源承载力的城市规模研究

就水资源与城市规模关系的研究而言,学者们对具体城市水资源承载力的应用性研究较多,理论性研究较少。基础理论的缺失必然导致应用性研究出现问题,导致有人对是否客观地存在水资源承载力产生怀疑。本文从承载力的内涵出发,论证了城市水资源承载力存在的客观性;在界定水资源承载力概念的基础上,提出了水资源承载力存在的两个极限:自然极限和社会极限;给出了因学者不同得出城市水资源承载力不同的解释,构建了基于水资源承载力的城市规模模型,并以北京市为例,计算了其水资源承载力。     

转型期广州市居民职住模式的群体差异及其影响因素

职住关系是城市研究领域重要的议题之一。体制改革后中国社会分层结构特殊,检验不同阶层居民在职住地选择偏好的差异,有助于理解居民职住格局形成的内部机制。利用广州市入户问卷调查、建成环境和人口普查等数据,采用两步聚类和多项logistic回归,对广州市居民进行阶层划分,对比居民职住模式的群体差异及其影响因素。结果表明：职住决策时,体制外工薪阶层追求低生活成本,受职住地建成环境影响显著;体制内阶层习惯于传统单位制下社会关系密切的社区,受邻里环境影响显著,还受个人属性影响;无固定工作者决策自由和平衡程度高,受少量建成环境因素影响。研究有助于了解居民职住格局形成的制度性机制,为优化居民职住格局提供思路。     

基于块数据的社会治理云平台研究与实现

针对当前基层社会治理所面临的主要问题,利用GIS技术实现空间信息与社会治理数据资源的关联融合,按照管理层级构建底数明朗的社会治理数据底板.以深圳市南山区为例,设计并开发了基于块数据的社会治理云平台,建立了任务分配、事件分拨、指挥调度、考核评价等功能模块,通过数据驱动基层工作,以信息化建设助力基层社会治理精细化、智能化水...     

日本近现代地震及其次生灾害的社会影响

灾害作用于人类社会后成为灾难, 从而兼具了自然属性和社会属性． 本文侧重灾害的社会属性, 分析日本近现代地震灾害的社会影响趋势变迁, 指出日本在不断总结灾害应对经验的基础上逐步完善了防灾减灾体制, 其防灾减灾水平在不断提高, 但是由于生活方式日益城市化, 灾害越来越具有多样性、 连锁性的特征． 在日本, 地震后的核安全不是新问题, 但是由于缺乏前瞻性以致核危机扩大． 日本的经验提醒面临社会急剧变迁的我们, 防灾减灾需要考虑到社会变迁的前瞻性制度建设．     

Three-dimensional discontinuous deformation analysis (3-D DDA) using a new contact resolution algorithm

This paper presents a new contact calculating algorithm for contacts between two polyhedra with planar boundaries in the three-dimensional discontinuous deformation analysis (3-D DDA). In this algorithm, all six type contacts in 3-D (vertex-to-face, vertex-to-edge, vertex-to-vertex, face-to-face, edge-to-edge, and edge-to-face) are simply transformed into the form of point-to-face contacts. The presented algorithm is a simple and efficient method and it can be easily coded into a computer program. In this paper, formulations of normal contact, shear contact and frictional force submatrices based on the new method are derived and the algorithm has been programmed in VC⁺⁺. Examples are provided to demonstrate the new contact rule between two blocks.     

BOOK REVIEWS

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