Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Geography / J. M. Shawn Hutchinson / The theoretical framework of spatial microgenesis as presented by Siegel and White (1975), and updated by Montello (1998) posits that through exposure, humans will create spatial knowledge of places in their minds. This process is thought to be an ongoing one, and will eventually lead to a metrically-scaled ‘map-like’ image in the mind. In Siegel and White’s dominant framework, knowledge of space progresses through the stages of landmark and route, and ends with survey knowledge, whereas in Montello’s continuous framework, metrically-scaled survey knowledge is present from the first exposure. Beyond that primary difference between the two theoretical frameworks, the continuous framework also provides for greater nuance in how the process may occur for different individuals. There is little research directly addressing the differences between the two frameworks, and this dissertation adds support for the continuous framework by testing three of its five tenets. Utilizing a virtual environment as a laboratory, participants were exposed to a novel environment and asked to complete spatial tasks based on knowledge of the layout of said environment. Over the course of three sessions, measures of spatial knowledge were recorded using distance, direction, and sketch map tasks. The results support the first tenet of the continuous framework: metrically-scaled survey-type knowledge was found in all participants beginning with the first session. The concepts of landmark, route, and survey knowledge are still valuable though, as the results clearly showed that they help to describe the way that individuals conceptualize mental representations of space. These conceptualizations may potentially be valuable as a component of a larger spatial ontology for the American public school system. Regarding tenet two, some improvement in error rates was observed over time, but not at a statistically significant rate for all tasks, suggesting that other factors such as the study length and motivating factors may have played a role in performance. Tenet four was also supported, with significant variation in performance between participants with similar levels of exposure to the environment. Overall, this dissertation finds that the continuous framework is largely correct in its descriptions of the process of spatial microgenesis, albeit with some elements that are not fully supported by the data collected. Despite not being a good model of the process, the dominant framework remains valuable for describing how people conceptualize their spatial knowledge of environments.

xiii, 103 p. : ill. (some col.) / This research investigates the relationship between map use tasks, spatial abilities and training-based effects in persons who are blind or visually impaired. A mixed-method approach using theories and methods in behavioral geography, tactile cartography and functional magnetic resonance imaging have produced finds that identify both behaviorally-based as well as biologically-based impacts resulting from systematic tactile map use and spatial thinking training. The neurological results indicate that prior to training a dominant egocentric/route strategy is used to answer all experimental map tasks, while after training an allocentric/survey strategy is used. The current study demonstrates that the adoption of an allocentric perspective is coupled with improved behavioral performance. The findings provide supporting evidence that people who are blind are capable of learning and applying sophisticated spatial strategies. The systematic progression from egocentric/route processing to allocentric/survey processing in the participant population follows traditional developmental models of spatial knowledge. / Committee in charge: Amy Lobben, Chairperson; Andrew Marcus, Member; Patrick Bartlein, Member; Michal Young, Outside Member

The diploma thesis The Images of a City: the Resident's View of the Town of Nymburk deals with the issue of why people behave differently. The thesis is inspired by the approach of behavioral geography, which is represented by Kevin Lynch's work. Lynch has proposed the concept of the image of the city, the people's vision about the surroundings of a place where they live. The image of the city consists of its visible features evoking a strong impression and having an effect on people's sensory perception. Moreover, the direct influence of the city represented by architectural-urbanistic determinism and environmental psychology is also taken into account. I have found out during the research that both of theoretical approaches are important for identifying the relation between the town and his residents which relates to the behavior in the town. The aim of the diploma thesis is to find out which images of the town of Nymburk its inhabitants have, which components create their images and what is the composition of these components. The thesis focuses both on universal image of Nymburk and on images of the town with regard to the current lifecycle stage and respondents' sex. The research is made by the qualitative method using the mental maps and the semi-structured interview with sixteen respondents...