Geographies, Volume 1, Issue 1 (June 2021) – 5 articles

The movement to reconnect children to nature touts the many benefits associated with exposure to nature and encourages designers and planners of the physical environment to incorporate more nature into the daily lives of children. However, connecting children with nature may not be as simple as designing more nature into the physical environment. Variables beyond convenient availability of natural environments affect children’s engagement with nature. Of particular interest is the influence of the social environment. The research seeks to build a model to understand the influence of caregivers and peers on a child’s direct engagement with nature. An initial model of social influences was constructed from existing literature and refined from findings from an original research study, a qualitative investigation exploring the highly imaginative and social experience of a group of boys who played in a neighborhood creek (n = 3, boys, n = 2, parents). The most meaningful social influence on the boys’ direct engagement with nature was the level of autonomy granted by caregivers; however, the physical environment supported the autonomy as well. The autonomy afforded an opportunity to navigate risks, forge long-term friendships, and support higher-order cognitive play behavior. Full article

Skilled birth attendance and institutional delivery have been advocated for reducing maternal, neonatal mortality and infant mortality (NMR and IMR). This paper examines the role of place of delivery with respect to neo-natal and infant mortality in India using four rounds of the Indian National Family Health Survey conducted in 2015–2016. The place of birth has been categorized as “at home” or “public and private institution.” The role of place of delivery on neo-natal and infant mortality was examined by using multivariate hazard regression models adjusted for clus-tering and relevant maternal, socio-economic, pregnancy and new-born characteristics. There were 141,028 deliveries recorded in public institutions and 54,338 in private institutions. The esti-mated neonatal mortality rate in public and private institutions during this period was 27 and 26 per 1000 live births respectively. The study shows that when the mother delivers child at home, the chances of neonatal mortality risks are higher than the mortality among children born at the health facility centers. Regression analysis also indicates that a professionally qualified provider′s antenatal treatment and assistance greatly decreases the risks of neonatal mortality. The results of the study illustrate the importance of the provision of institutional facilities and proper pregnancy in the prevention of neonatal and infant deaths. To improve the quality of care during and imme-diately after delivery in health facilities, particularly in public hospitals and in rural areas, accel-erated strengthening is required. Full article

The paper presents the development of conceptual, theoretical, and methodological foundations of a complex and novel method for evaluating visual–aesthetic values of landscape. The novelty lies in the combination of methods for assessing the overall attractiveness of the landscape (geocomplex) and the view field (as seen from an observation point). The analysis was carried out for a highly environmentally diverse fragment of the Małopolska Upland (central Poland). The proposed method of evaluation is in two-stage procedure. At the first stage, the visual attractiveness of landscape units (geocomplexes distinguished on the basis of relief and land cover types) was calculated. The assessment took into account the diversity of landscape form and content (shape of the unit, contrast of landscape boundaries, vertical differentiation of relief and land cover, typological richness of vegetation). In the second stage, first, the view extent was determined using a specially written computer program from multiple points on a map in an assumed grid every 50 m. More than 3200 measurements were taken in a transect from an area of 8 sq. km for an area enclosing 77 sq. km. Then, in each of these 3.2 thousand delineated view reaches, the unit values of the physiognomic–aesthetic evaluation of the landscapes seen by the observer (first-stage evaluation) were counted. The developed method tries to make a conceptual–theoretical and methodological contribution to the study of physiognomy and aesthetics of landscapes, as the evaluation combines the aspects of surface and point attractiveness. Hence, the proposed method has a comprehensive character and can be a universal platform for physiognomic and landscape evaluation, also for practical purposes, e.g., nature protection, tourism development and spatial planning. Full article

The vernacular architectural style is on the verge of disappearing in Transylvania because of the depopulation of the Saxon villages of German origin as a result of massive migration to Germany. The nomination of Hărman cultural property on the UNESCO list is part of an international legal framework, and the Convention on the Vernacular Architectural Heritage protects this architectonic style because it represents the expression of a community’s culture, as well as its relations with the territory and cultural diversity. The proposed area includes a 63.47 ha perimeter of the historic centre of Hărman, consisting of a compact group of 260 houses and the entire fortified Evangelical Church. A buffer zone of 290.09 ha is included alongside this area. Thus, we propose that Hărman be nominated for the Cultural Evolutive Landscape Category under cultural criteria ii, iii, and v. The assessment of the authenticity and conservation status of Hărman cultural property was carried out by applying the following criteria: form and design, materials and substances, use and functions, and location and positioning, which apply to the tangible features of the landscape. Furthermore, the evaluation of intangible heritage was achieved by applying the following criteria: traditions, techniques and management system, language and other forms of intangible heritage, spirit, and feelings. Full article