Les conflits de territoire qu‟ils soient des conflits d’aménagement, des conflits environnementaux, ou des conflits d’usage, sont en augmentation constante ces dernières années, retardant ou annulant souvent de multiples projets. Plusieurs travaux ont mis en évidence les rapports complexes entre conflit et territoire, mais peu d‟entre eux ont tenté de remettre les différents acteurs à égalité dans la prise en compte de leur parole territoriale.Cette thèse cherche à comprendre la place réelle prise par le territoire dans les discours d’acteurs à l’occasion de conflits de territoire. Trois études de cas ont été mobilisées pour tenter d‟éclairer cet aspect. La première étude porte sur le conflit autour du projet d’aéroport international de Notre Dame des Landes, la seconde compare les conflits liés à l’implantation de centres d’enfouissement de déchets en Bretagne et la troisième analyse le conflit d’usage de l’hypercentre rennais à l‟occasion des soirées du jeudi.La question des échelles de mobilisation et des arguments mobilisés a été étudiée sous l‟angle de l’analyse des représentations des acteurs. Nous avons interprété la parole des différents acteurs, ceux que l‟on peut qualifier de « profanes » et les « experts » ou décideurs en les positionnant sur le même objet de départ : le territoire du projet. Nous avons aussi cherché ce qui pourrait permettre de nouvelles médiations entre ces deux savoirs par une compréhension des convergences et divergences dans les différents discours.Pour ce faire, nous avons principalement mobilisé un outil appelé « carte mentale ». Nous avons au préalable défini précisément les contours de l’objet, puis bâti une méthodologie d’exploitation qui n‟existait pas jusqu‟à présent. L‟étude des représentations par l‟outil mobilisé a permis indubitablement de mieux comprendre la place réelle des arguments territoriaux dans le discours des opposants et nous avons réussi à reconfigurer de nouveaux systèmes d’acteurs, ainsi que des modèles territoriaux complexes.A partir de ces modèles nous avons alors cherché à bâtir une synthèse globale du conflit que nous avons appelée la « belliforme », qui pourrait être le point de départ de nouveaux processus de concertation territoriale en amont mais aussi en aval de la décision territoriale. Plus globalement, nous avons posé la question du rôle clé que pourrait jouer une cartographie davantage centrée sur les acteurs que sur les projets dans la compréhension des interactions dont les territoires et les conflits se nourrissent mutuellement / Territorial conflicts, whether they involve environmental, land use, planning or urban development issues, are on the rise and often lead to the delay, or even the abandon, of diverse projects. While previous studies have emphasized the complex relationships that exist between conflicts and territories, few have successfully set the perspectives of the different actors on an equal footing.This thesis seeks to understand the real place occupied by the territory in the different perspectives of the various actors involved in territorial conflicts. Three case studies in particular have been used to clarify this aspect. The first study concerns the Notre-Dame-des-Landes International Airport conflict. The second is a comparison of land-fill site conflicts and the third focuses on the analysis of the conflict surrounding „Thursday night parties” in Rennes City Centre.The different scales of mobilisation and the different arguments advanced in these case studies were examined from the angle of the analysis of the different representations made by the various actors. We interpreted the positions of the different actors, laypersons, experts, and decision-makers, on the same level: that of the project territory. We also investigated how new mediations between different players could be put into place to allow a better understanding of the convergences and divergences of the positions held by different actors.To do this, we mainly used a “mental mapping” tool, which involved precisely outlining the objective of our study before developing a new methodology for resolving conflicts. The study of the different representations with this tool has undoubtedly allowed a better understanding of the different assertions made by opposing positions in territorial conflicts. As such, we have established a new design for the system of different actors and of the models of territorial complexes.From these new models, we established a global synthesis of conflict which we have termed “belliforme”, and which serves as a starting point for new processes of territorial cooperation, both prior to and following, the decision-making process. Furthermore, we question the key role that could be played by a cartography centred around the actors, rather than around the projects, in the understanding of the interplay between conflicts and territories.

Master of Arts / Department of Geography / John A. Harrington Jr / A question exists on how cultural backgrounds influence the paths students take to understand cultural geography and construct mental maps of their communities. This thesis draws on the interconnections among student multiculturalism, geo-progressions (learning trajectories in geography), and perception of the environment at the community scale. As a result of the Road Map for 21st Century Geography Education, geo-progressions have received increased attention by geography education researchers. The majority of the effort to-date has focused on the first theme of the National Geography Standards: the world in spatial terms (Standards 1-3). This study attempts to deconstruct and rethink a geo-progression by considering multiple paths to learning Geography Standard Six, "how culture and experience influence people's perceptions of places and regions." The study incorporates the concept of community, a major theme for third grade as indicated in the Kansas Standards for History, Government, and Social Studies. During this longitudinal study, students were asked to make mental maps and talk about their community-based sense of place twice during part of the 2015-2016 school year. Third-grade classrooms from four demographically distinct areas of Kansas were surveyed: Manhattan, Garden City, Horton, and Junction City. The first session was conducted in September 2015. In January 2016, the same students were asked to perform the same tasks to assess any temporal differences. Mental maps and interviews were coded and analyzed to assess the spectrum of how students perceive a spatial sense of community over time. Interviews with teachers helped document classroom-to-classroom differences in how the concept of community was incorporated into the teaching effort.

Atualmente, para obter um melhor desempenho na tomada de decisão, as empresas estão utilizando a informação geográfica, considerada essencial na resolução de problemas, e algumas ferramentas, como o geomarketing, que auxiliam neste processo e minimizam as possibilidades de erros. Mesmo que não utilizem ferramentas computacionais de georreferenciamento, os tomadores de decisão formam uma representação mental da distribuição geográfica de seus clientes e mercados, as quais são utilizadas no processo decisório, principalmente nas empresas cujas decisões estão intimamente relacionadas ao fator geográfico como as que atuam no ramo imobiliário. Assim, o objetivo deste estudo foi confrontar o modelo mental de profissionais do ramo imobiliário acerca da distribuição geodemográfica dos moradores urbanos de Presidente Prudente/SP com um mapa de distribuição, construído a partir do geomarketing, utilizando dados oficiais de escolaridade, renda e local de residência e verificar se existem fatores que expliquem diferenças entre essas representações mentais. Esta pesquisa teve caráter quantitativo descritivo e foi realizada por entrevistas com profissionais que atuam no ramo imobiliário de Presidente Prudente/SP. O mapa com a distribuição geodemográfica foi confeccionado a partir de dados do IBGE e dos softwares AutoCAD Map e ArcGIS e mediu-se o quanto a representação mental dos entrevistados se assemelha a esse mapa de dados oficiais. Por fim avaliou-se a relação entre esse nível de semelhança ou acerto e variáveis de perfil teoricamente relevantes na formação de modelos mentais, constatando-se que a experiência e a formação do indivíduo têm relação significativa com a precisão dos mapas mentais da população pesquisada. / Nowadays, in order to have a better performance in decision making, companies are using geographic information, considered essential in problem solution, as well as some tools, such as geomarketing, which can help in this process and minimize error possibilities. Even if they do not use georreferencing computational tools, the decision makers form a mental representation of the geographic distribution of their clients and markets, which are used in the decision process, especially in companies where decisions are intimately related to the geographic factor, such as real estate agencies. Considering this, the objective of this study was to confront the mental model of real estate agents concerning the geodemographic distribution of the urban population of the city of Presidente Prudente Sao Paulo State (Brazil) and a distribution map, elaborated through geomarketing, using official data about education background, income and place of residence, in order to verify if there are any factors that explain the differences of these mental representations. This research had described quantitative approach and was performed through interviews with professionals that work in the area of real estate agencies in the city of Presidente Prudente/SP. The map with the geodemographic distribution was elaborated using data from IBGE (Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics) and the software AutoCAD Map and ArcGIS in order to measure how much of the mental representations of the interviewees and this official data map are alike. Finally, the relation between this level of similitude or correction and the profile variables theoretically relevant in the formation of mental models was analyzed. It was verified that the individual experience and level of instruction have significant relation with the precision of the mental maps of the researched population.

This dissertation advances previous research on the journalistic interpretive community by placing news at the center of a community's construction of place. By focusing on the construction of Iowa City, Iowa's "Southeast Side" - neighborhoods home to predominantly newly arrived black residents from Chicago and other urban areas - this study identifies dominant news characterizations of the Southeast Side that mark the place as a "ghetto" or "inner city." Beyond providing information about community issues and social conditions from southeastern neighborhoods, the term Southeast Side performed a singular ideological purpose: to identify and maintain dominant community values throughout the rest of Iowa City. Racialized and stereotyped news narratives of urban people, places, and problems in a place called the Southeast Side created an ideological boundary between those in and outside the Southeast Side. Such a boundary subjugated the Southeast Side's cultural diversity and its people, presenting them as being counter to Midwestern values and a threat to notions of a safe, white and historically homogeneous community. Indeed, the creation of Southeast Side was just as much about creating an "inner city" as it was about constructing notions of Iowa City itself. Through mental mapping, this project then compares dominant news characterizations to those made by Southeast Side residents, journalists, and public officials. In the end, this study explores cultural meanings that emerged from examining the similarities or differences between the place-making of residents, journalists, and news sources. This study reveals place-making as a fundamental role of the journalistic community and identifies another ideological function of the press in that they assign power and meanings by describing news by where it happens. Journalists and media scholars have long talked about the press as improving community journalism to meet the notion of the public sphere. Yet, this dissertation is not another such study that only encourages journalists to alter how they report on local news and communities. Instead, this study suggests that journalists and scholars recognize the cultural power of journalistic place-making and the challenge to their authority to do so by residents from a particular place.

Atualmente, para obter um melhor desempenho na tomada de decisão, as empresas estão utilizando a informação geográfica, considerada essencial na resolução de problemas, e algumas ferramentas, como o geomarketing, que auxiliam neste processo e minimizam as possibilidades de erros. Mesmo que não utilizem ferramentas computacionais de georreferenciamento, os tomadores de decisão formam uma representação mental da distribuição geográfica de seus clientes e mercados, as quais são utilizadas no processo decisório, principalmente nas empresas cujas decisões estão intimamente relacionadas ao fator geográfico como as que atuam no ramo imobiliário. Assim, o objetivo deste estudo foi confrontar o modelo mental de profissionais do ramo imobiliário acerca da distribuição geodemográfica dos moradores urbanos de Presidente Prudente/SP com um mapa de distribuição, construído a partir do geomarketing, utilizando dados oficiais de escolaridade, renda e local de residência e verificar se existem fatores que expliquem diferenças entre essas representações mentais. Esta pesquisa teve caráter quantitativo descritivo e foi realizada por entrevistas com profissionais que atuam no ramo imobiliário de Presidente Prudente/SP. O mapa com a distribuição geodemográfica foi confeccionado a partir de dados do IBGE e dos softwares AutoCAD Map e ArcGIS e mediu-se o quanto a representação mental dos entrevistados se assemelha a esse mapa de dados oficiais. Por fim avaliou-se a relação entre esse nível de semelhança ou acerto e variáveis de perfil teoricamente relevantes na formação de modelos mentais, constatando-se que a experiência e a formação do indivíduo têm relação significativa com a precisão dos mapas mentais da população pesquisada. / Nowadays, in order to have a better performance in decision making, companies are using geographic information, considered essential in problem solution, as well as some tools, such as geomarketing, which can help in this process and minimize error possibilities. Even if they do not use georreferencing computational tools, the decision makers form a mental representation of the geographic distribution of their clients and markets, which are used in the decision process, especially in companies where decisions are intimately related to the geographic factor, such as real estate agencies. Considering this, the objective of this study was to confront the mental model of real estate agents concerning the geodemographic distribution of the urban population of the city of Presidente Prudente Sao Paulo State (Brazil) and a distribution map, elaborated through geomarketing, using official data about education background, income and place of residence, in order to verify if there are any factors that explain the differences of these mental representations. This research had described quantitative approach and was performed through interviews with professionals that work in the area of real estate agencies in the city of Presidente Prudente/SP. The map with the geodemographic distribution was elaborated using data from IBGE (Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics) and the software AutoCAD Map and ArcGIS in order to measure how much of the mental representations of the interviewees and this official data map are alike. Finally, the relation between this level of similitude or correction and the profile variables theoretically relevant in the formation of mental models was analyzed. It was verified that the individual experience and level of instruction have significant relation with the precision of the mental maps of the researched population.

This master’s thesis is focused on qualitative creative method of mental mapping. The theoretical part deals with creativity and qualitative research too, these terms are linking with mental maps. In practical part is implemented analysis of specific research and on the basic of attained results are suggested possibilities solutions and applications of this method.

This master´s thesis is focused on developing creavitivty in organization oriented work in team. The theoretical part deals creativity, qualitative research and mental mapping. In practical part is implemented qualitative research based on the results and suggestions for improvement.

This work deals with the possibilities of assessments of mental maps using GIS tools. The main goal is to create a collection of methods to evaluate positioning and relative accuracy of mental maps. The method principles are based on methods of GIS. The emphasis is on maximum versatility and automation the assessment procedure. For all proposed methods there are further discussed the advantages and disadvantages. First part of this work deals with the theme of mental maps, followed by a brief introduction to GIS and their use in the field mental maps. The main part is devoted to the description and practical examples of evaluation methods. At the conclusion there is a discussion of the proposed methods and the appropriateness of use GIS at this issue in general. This work was created under the project No. 26609 called "Mental Maps: Object and Device for Assessment" supported by the Grant Agency of Charles University.

There can be little dispute that today's society makes extensive use of mass media. Movies, television, and radio are far more prominent today than ten years ago, both locally and globally. We rely on these forms of communication for news and information and entertainment and recreation. New technologies increase our access and our dependence on mass media. In fact, in the U.S. the average person spends 40 percent of their time attending to television at some level (Adams, 1992). Adams then goes on to say that culture and television are clearly involved in reciprocal relations: television affects culture, but culture also affects television (Adams, 1992). It should come as no surprise, therefore, that generational differences in recreation are far more prominent today than they were twenty years ago. Indeed, we are a passive society dependent upon technology and the creativity of others for pleasure. The Internet and television of today have replaced the bicycle and board games of yesterday in terms of babysitting the young for hours on end. Almost all major types of entertainment come from the viewing of some sort of screen or monitor, with children spending vast amounts of time engaging in these passive activities. By the age of sixteen, a contemporary child has probably spent more time watching television than he/she has attending school or doing chores. However, entertainment is only one use for mass media. For example, the term "Information Age" refers to much more than recreation. Large quantities of information can be acquired through these forms of transmission. Unfortunately, false representations are sometimes the goal of those who produce these data media. In addition to the deliberate distortion of truths, those who consume mass media obtain many falsities inadvertently. A perfect example of this is stereotyping. All too often, one's only exposure to certain regions and/or peoples is obtained through television and movies. Instead of becoming familiar with specific facts about cultures, conclusions are drawn based upon viewing and hearing popular culture material. Stereotypes of cultural groups create myths about their respective geographic regions and vice-versa. We are well aware of these myths (for example, the idea that all Southerners are dumb) but what is their link to place perception? How are mental constructs of regions related to cultural stereotypes? How have popular culture and mass media affected stereotypes? / Master of Science

Many rural village schools have closed over the years, both in Sweden and internationally, because of urbanisation, centralisation and the quest for efficiency. This study shows the impact of two school closures in the rural area of Ydre, south-east Sweden, and describes the reactions of children and families concerned. The aim is to analyse what rural village schools mean for everyday life and how such meaning is based on time-spatial everyday stories. How the children and families view the school closures emerges in the time-geographic perspective, on their own terms, given their opportunity to demonstrate how they use different time-space components. This was studied by interviewing and sketching mental maps with 28 pupils of various ages, and by interviewing and drawing up weekly time schedules with 12 families. This also enabled the analyses to be extended, using the time-geographic conceptual framework, and in particular the interplay between structural changes and individuals’ day-to-day lives, and the interconnections between school and private life, to be clarified. One conclusion is that a school is no mere teaching venue. It is also a key meeting place for children, part of community life and a space for social networking and daily decision-making: a local community hub for the children and their parents alike. When a local school closes and the pupils need to travel further for schooling elsewhere, it affects their travel and activity patterns and social networks. Children’s drawings express their perceptions of place, time and distance. This study shows that the locations where children spend time and have their social networks, as well as how and how often they travel on particular routes, are crucial for their assessment of distance, both temporal and spatial. Describing the value of the closure-threatened school, parents express concern about their local village. They stress the importance of the village school, which they regard as excellent, unique and a resource for the family, but also for the community as a whole. Thereby, they highlight their hope that their community will be attractive to visitors, and also to themselves, the residents. The threats of closure upset them and provoke discussions on how to sustain a living countryside. Studies of children’s and families’ experience of school closures pinpoint the complexity of rural life and show it in a more human-centred, everyday light. Since children are absent from the municipal closure procedure, views of children’s participation are also discussed.