In the Critical Zone: Geography at the U.S. Geological Survey

Geography is again becoming an integral part of the premier natural‐science agency of the federal government. Geographic research emphasizes the surface of the earth, a portion of the earth system that the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) defines as the “critical zone.” Although geography was part of the USGS from the creation of the agency, in recent years geography in the agency has largely been limited to topographic mapping. Recently, the USGS and an advisory committee of the National Research Council (NRC) reviewed the role of geography at the Survey. The committee's report, along with ongoing decision‐making in the federal government, is likely to reshape geography in the USGS. The newly defined USGS has a regional structure and four disciplines: geology, hydrology, biology, and geography. The NRC report emphasizes the need for the creation of a spatial database called the National Map to replace the existing series of paper topographic maps. The report also outlines the need for geographic research in geographic information science (GIScience), nature‐society connections, and bridging of science to decision‐making. The NRC report has been briefed throughout the USGS, in the federal executive branch, and in Congress. The changing role for geography in the USGS requires change in the agency culture, revised budgetary decisions, and the establishment of a long‐term core agenda for research. Academic geographers will need to prepare a new generation of geographers for participation in the USGS and similar agencies.     

不均衡的跨国人口流动：对美墨移民历程与政策的思考

美国是全球最大的移民接收国,墨西哥是美国最大的移民来源国,特殊的地缘关系和巨大的发展差距使众多墨西哥人移民美国。墨裔移民为美国提供了充足的劳动力,在美墨边境地区,移民集聚带动了两国边境地区的发展。但族裔矛盾始终是美国主要社会问题之一,特别是“9·11”事件后,少数族裔和非法移民问题加剧美国社会分裂和对立,成为美国国内政治博弈的焦点。基于区域地缘关系的视角来看,美国与墨西哥之间长期不对等的国际关系决定了跨国移民的流入状态和生存境遇,也是美国族群矛盾的主要原因之一。移民问题政治化将持续强化墨裔移民政策的不确定性,使移民个人与家庭面临更大的融入困难。     

The Valley of Chin lee

Abstract

This paper is concerned with an instructional design for the teaching of landform geography. A sequence of organizational problems is examined and suggestions made from a previous study of the southern peninsula of Michigan. Considerations of grid design, selection of terrain parameters, and the problem of regional definitions are assessed from both the historic point of view and the results of the pilot study. Of three basic landform parameters, i.e., average elevations, local relief, and average slope, the single criterion of elevation is advocated for the detection of regional homogeniety over large topographic surfaces. However, the use of local relief as a measure of surface texture is proposed for the delineation of individual terrain compartments. Suggested for all age levels above the elementary school, this project is a feasible design for an oft-neglected aspect of physical geography.     

美国本土的外国投资与投资环境的地区差异

本文论述了美国的外国直接投资额、外国直接投资密度和外国直接投资年增长率的地区差异，并用这三个数量指标来综合评价各州投资环境的优劣，按综合得分值的高低将美国本土划分为四类区域：Ⅰ类投资环境区、Ⅱ类投资环境区、Ⅲ类投资环境和Ⅳ类投资环境区。     

美国铁路网的形成、分布和改造

本文分析了美国铁路网迅速形成和急剧缩减的原因，指出其非均衡分布的特点，介绍其远景改造设想，对我国铁路网的建设有一定的参考价值。     

蒙美关系及其对中国国家安全的影响——基于“地缘政治支轴国”的视角

布热津斯基的"地缘政治支轴国"概念,对分析当前美国在欧亚大陆上的地缘战略有着重要的启示作用。蒙古国作为一个位于中国与俄罗斯之间的大型内陆国家,其地理位置特殊,又因其与中国和俄罗斯的政治外交关系复杂而引人注目。近年来,蒙古国与美国关系发展不断,双方在政治军事层面的密切交往更是引人注意,蒙美两国军事交往的深入,将对中国国家安全带来不可预知的影响。对蒙美军事合作,尤其对蒙美在将来可能结成的军事同盟关系、蒙古加入北约等情况,中国应充分准备,积极应对。     

Differentiating Between Subsystems and Typologies in the Analysis of Migration Regions: A U.S. Example*

Studies of migration regions are characterized by two separate conceptual approaches. The first views migration regions as clusters of highly interconnected spatial units (subsystems) while the other defines them as groups of spatial units with a similar geographic structure of flows (typologies). This paper highlights the theoretical and methodological distinctions between migration subsystems and typologies. An empirical analysis using U.S. migration data for 1940, 1960, and 1980 shows that although migration subsystems and typologies have both changed over time, each reveals a different dynamic of regional change and has different morphological characteristics.     

美国国家公园志愿者服务及机制——以海峡群岛国家公园为例

具有百余年历史的美国国家公园志愿者服务已成为美国国家公园管理的重要部分,志愿者服务有效实现了美国国家公园的全民管理思路。通过实地考察和访谈记录梳理,就国家公园志愿者服务的相关概念、服务动机、服务决策、服务内容、服务支持和服务机制深入剖析,从庞大有序的服务系统、管理与运行、功能实现三方面分析国家公园志愿者服务机制;提炼出美国国家公园志愿者服务的四个支持：宣传支持、技术支持、学习支持和立法支持。并以美国海峡群岛国家公园为例进行论证。最后提出国家公园志愿者服务和中国国家公园志愿服务尚需研究的诸多内容,任重而道远。