计算机网络信息空间(Cyberspace)的人文地理学研究进展与展望

探讨由于计算机网络技术迅猛发展而带来的网络虚拟信息空间的地理研究、尤其是人文地理学研究这一崭新问题的研究意义,对国内外研究现状进行较广的综述,并提出近期研究的目标、研究的基本内容、研究方法、近期研究的重点问题。

Geographical Approach to Cyberspace review and prospect

Cyberspace is a new phenomenon emerging under the development of computer networks and the related telecommunication, and also an entirely new area for geographical studies with newly transformed geographical spatial organization and new human landscape. Based on the review of recent progresses in research on organization and type of cyberspace, backbone and regional structure of cyberspace, economic geography of cyberspace and social and political geography of cyberspace, it is proposed that the cyberspace is the extension of classic geographical space to some extent. The aim of the geographical research on cyberspace in the near future is: 1) to reveal the nature of cyberspace such as composition, organization, type, sense of virtual place, virtual commodity and the connectivity etc, and the reflection of such nature in the physical geographical spatial pattern, 2) the model of spatial connectivity and the spatial interaction of the cyberspace, and 3) the relationship and interaction between the cyberspace and regional social, economical, and cultural geographical background. The key problem is the relationship between the cyberspace and the classic geographical space. The main research contents include: 1) the constitution of cyberspace, including the type and the classification of the information and the cyberspace, 2) the indices for description of cyberspace, 3)the type and spatial pattern of the cyberspace, such as theme space, technical space, cultural space etc, 4) spatial interaction of the cyberspace, 5) social and cultural geography of extra cyberspace, 6) human geography of inter cyberspace, 7) aggregation of spatial information and the origin of information harbor, 8)economic geography of cyberspace, including regional effects of cyberspace and the reconfiguration of physical geographical space by cyberspace, 9 ) techniques of cyberspace, 10 ) regional distribution of various types of cyberspace of China.