State of the Bulletin

Author\u27s note For those who were able to attend CARTO 2025 in Kingston, Ontario, you\u27ll have an idea of some of the work being done for the Bulletin at present. This is a recap and expansion of that work for those who couldn\u27t attend, and to add to the record. The discussion covered the past, present, and future considerations for the journal of our association, as well as its status as the preeminent journal of geospatial librarianship in Canada

Aligning Feature Distributions in VICReg Using Maximum Mean Discrepancy for Enhanced Manifold Awareness in Self-Supervised Representation Learning

Self-supervised learning (SSL) methods like VICReg have shown considerable success in generating ro- bust data representation by promoting invariance across augmented views. However, VICReg’s focus on pairwise alignment between augmentations lim- its its capacity to ensure broader consistency across entire batches of diverse transformations. In this paper, we enhance VICReg by integrating a Maxi- mum Mean Discrepancy (MMD) term, which aligns feature distributions across the entire batch in a Reproducing Kernel Hilbert Space (RKHS), thereby promoting batch-level invariance. By enforcing a unified feature distribution across a batch, MMD enables the model to capture higher-order depen- dencies and reduce variability among augmented views. We have evaluated our approach on MNIST, CIFAR-10, and STL-10, where the results demon- strate improved representation quality, as evidenced by clustering accuracy and linear classification per- formance. The results highlight the effectiveness of incorporating MMD term into VICReg in enhancing the representation quality

Mapping Archival Architecture Records: Interdisciplinary Research and Approach with GIS Technologies

The Murphy Moore Collection comprises over 2000 architectural plans, drawings, and correspondence with individuals involved in John M. Moore\u27s work and the firm\u27s various iterations, as well as material from other London-based architects. The plans are primarily focused in London, Ontario, but expand across Southern Ontario and include illustrations of residential, industrial, commercial, and ecclesiastical buildings–some of which are still present. Traditionally kept as text-based metadata records, this catalogue was transformed using ArcGIS program Dashboards to create an interactive user interface that encourages active discovery. However, to connect these records to their geographical location, various archival research methods such as the use of city directories, fire insurance plans, maps, and historical photography were used to accurately display these records

Awards

2025 Award Winners: ACMLA Honours: Sherri Sunstrum Cathy Moulder Paper Award: Larry Laliberté Student Paper Award: Jay Maudsle

Stampede Story Map

Stampede Story Map by Adrian Stimson Adrian Stimson, a member of the Siksika Nation, was invited by the Calgary Institute for the Humanities at the University of Calgary to create a story map that highlights lesser-known and sometimes controversial histories of the Calgary Stampede. The first Calgary Stampede was held in 1912, evolving from the Calgary Exhibition, which began in 1886

An Outpost of Digital Hope: Frank Odasz and the Lost Promise of Grassroot Networking

This interview with Frank Odasz, a pioneering educator and technologist, chronicles the arc of rural community networking from its earliest days through the internet’s rapid commercialization. Born in rural Wyoming and educated in California during the rise of Silicon Valley, Odasz’s journey embodies the tensions and possibilities at the heart of alternative technology movements. His creation of the Big Sky Telegraph—a network for rural teachers and communities in Montana—became a touchstone for grassroots, people-centered computing long before the World Wide Web, drawing inspiration from the culture of early electronic bulletin board systems and colorful figures like David Hughes. Odasz’s candid reflections illuminate how rural challenges—lack of infrastructure, skepticism toward digital technologies, and the need for self-sufficiency—fostered innovation, collaboration, and a vision for networked empowerment outside urban and corporate centers. The conversation traces the successes and limitations of early community networks, the profound impact of technological shifts such as the advent of the web browser, and the complex consequences of the internet’s commercialization and privatization. Odasz articulates both the promise and the losses: as the web grew, collaborative grassroots networks faded, supplanted by corporate platforms and new barriers to digital self-determination. His experiences teaching digital literacy in Indigenous and remote Alaskan communities, and his ongoing advocacy for inclusive, empowering uses of technology, challenge the field to reckon with both historical lessons and urgent contemporary risks—from misinformation to deepfakes and the social costs of digital divide. The interview offers essential insights into the history of computing, alternative technology, and the unfinished project of building equitable, community-driven digital futures

Estimating the fundamental value of sports clubs and stadia: Application to Panathinaikos FC and Leoforos

We propose a fundamental valuation model for sports clubs and stadia using discounted (adjusted) revenues. We argue that a sports club is a “quasi firm” that aims to balance budgets, achieve an efficient allocation of financial resources, and maximize revenues. Under this objective the sports club’s welfare and value are maximized. Then we offer a method for estimating the value of a sports club’s stadium. The proposed valuation model can be useful during acquisition negotiations or for assessing managerial performance. Combining the proposed model with stochastic Monte Carlo simulations, we estimate the brand-name value and the club’s total value of the football team of Panathinaikos, as well as the value of its iconic home ground, Apostolos Nikolaidis Stadium (known as Leoforos) located in the heart of Athens at Alexandra’s Avenu

Does International Trade Affect Structural Change?

We analyze the effects of international trade on structural change. We show a positive correlation between openness and the share of the agricultural sector for developing economies and present a model to rationalize this stylized fact. We built a two-sector model to compare the autarky and open economy equilibrium. The results indicate that, for developing economies, international trade may delay structural change. If the comparative advantage is in agricultural goods, trade leads to greater specialization in this kind of goods and lower participation of other goods