Mixing Methods in Fertility Research

Fertility research in population geography is rooted in a spatial demography tradition which places emphasis on the use of quantitative methodologies to analyse, model and project fertility. As data sources have become more sophisticated and abundant some have questioned whether research within the discipline is now too data-oriented resulting in a reluctance to embrace new methods and concepts. Alternative conceptualisations of fertility and reproduction are outlined which represent a shift away from general explanation to more differentiated understandings of reproductive behaviour and favour the use of qualitative methodologies in combination or in a multi-level framework. The paper illustrates, with reference to a research project in the Kalahari of Botswana, the potential for methodological pluralism in the study of fertility.     

The Politics of Location: Doing Feminist Research at “Home”*

Feminist research methodologies have many advantages over more traditional positivist methodologies. Feminist research is differentiated from nonfeminist research in terms of its critiques of universality and objectivity and its emancipatory purpose. Drawing on my own research on the survival strategies of low-waged women workers in Worcester, Massachusetts, I argue that we need to examine more critically our feminist research methods in terms of the unequal power relationships on which the research process necessarily rests.     

Reflections on participatory research

Participatory research approaches are increasingly popular with geographers in developed as well as developing countries, as critical qualitative methodologies which at their best work with participants to effect change. This paper adds to recent debates over the methodologies, practices, philosophical and political issues involved. Drawing on a project on young people, exclusion and crime victimization in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, we discuss the limitations of participatory diagramming and illustrate some of the social and political barriers to meaningful participation in, and action from, this type of research.     

Ideology and data analysis in African population policies. The case of Kenya

It is argued that the research agenda on fertility decline needs to be explanatory rather than operational and not tied to government policy justification. The research agenda should be set in the broader developmental and geographic contexts and with consideration of cultural practices. Demographic and Health Surveys provide limited biosocial data, which does not provide a fuller analysis of the factors affecting contraceptive use and effectiveness. Clear associations are drawn between rising contraceptive use and fertility decline and are used as supports for national and international policy makers. Although policy formation may be justified by this research agenda, the view is taken that this is "bad science." Kenya has been used as a model for population change in Africa. Kenya is viewed as a country with obvious direct government involvement in policies on fertility reduction, which mirror the ideological biases of the global model. The global model assumes a universal relationship between fertility and contraceptive prevalence and attaches little significance to cultural differences. However, research recognizes that in Africa family relationships, land tenure, and economic organization are different and highly variable. If economic and social variables on Kenya were available, it is possible that the economic change hypothesis could be proven. Kenya has great regional differences and wide gaps in levels of development. For many countries population growth is the key factor in development, and policies reflect the threat of loan conditions or reductions in foreign aid. Many African countries moved in the direction of reducing population growth through improved health and education, more jobs, improved status of women, and other indirect measures. This approach relies on the Western model of demographic transition. This author argues that knowledge and conclusions about fertility in Africa are more conditioned by ideology rather than technical concerns. In the case of Kenya ideology is supported by research, but a fuller explanation of family formation is not yet available. Kenya's population policy is based on the contraception hypothesis, and data are not yet available for testing other alternative child mortality or economic change hypotheses and constructively informing policy makers about fertility decline.     

中国东北黑土地研究进展与展望

东北黑土区是世界四大片黑土区之一,它以高有机质和高肥力而著称,不仅是东北农业发展的基础,也是中国的粮仓,在保障国家粮食安全中具有举足轻重的地位。针对东北黑土自身的特色和面临的问题,首先描述了东北黑土地形成的条件及自然黑土的属性特征;其次阐述了黑土被开垦后农田化过程中土壤属性和肥力的演化情况,土壤有机质大幅度下降,土壤肥力降低,已严重影响到东北黑土地农业的可持续发展;在此基础上分析了黑土区耕作土壤不同保护途经及其对土壤肥力的影响机制;最后展望了未来黑土地理论研究的侧重点：应加大新技术、新方法和跨学科交叉理论的研究,培育更适合东北黑土地气候条件的高产优质作物品种,并结合目前黑土地保护的技术调控模式,优化作物种植模式,提升作物品质和产量,提高黑土区农业的综合生产力和竞争力、保证黑土区农业的永续利用。     

Etna and the Perception of Volcanic Risk

Sicily's uneven geological structure is positioned within a system of tectonic plates, and its very active volcano has always made it prone to disasters. Many Sicilian cities have in fact been destroyed by natural events many times over the centuries. This can certainly be understood negatively as the destruction of entire towns, the emission of volcanic ash, and the mutation of landscapes by a terrifying force have instilled fearful memories in local populations. But from another point of view one must consider the positive elements of Etna. Its beautiful landscapes were a major attraction on the Grand Tour, and its inhabitants have long associated the volcano with the concept of rebirth and fertility. This paper analyzes two age groups of residents in the town of Nicolosi and is a small part of an ongoing research project that is much more complex, involving representative samples of the entire population of several towns around Etna.     

国外基于GIS土地适宜性评价研究进展及展望

土地适宜性评价是土地利用总体规划的一项基本工作和重要内容。随着全球人口的增长及环境问题的日益加剧,研究探讨土地适宜性是处理好人口与资源、走可持续发展之路的重要课题。通过对大量文献的检索,较为系统地总结了国外学者有关基于GIS的土地适宜性评价的观点,按照土地适宜性评价方法的发展历程,将其分为三个方面：计算机辅助叠加制图、基于GIS多指标决策方法和人工智能建模。对于目前常用的基于GIS多指标决策和人工智能建模两种方法进行了评析;并提出评价方法正向精确化、综合化和动态化的方向发展,建议注重土地适宜性评价方法的空间尺度转换,力争在未来实现网络化、可视化。     

PARTICIPATORY LEARNING AND TRAINING FOR DEVELOPMENT

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森林碳汇决策与农村可持续发展研究

认为有必要在基于碳汇的土地利用和当地可持续发展之间建立一种更加明确的联系.依托一个中国-加拿大合作项目,以中国贵州省黎平县为例,阐述了一种将森林碳汇、森林资源管理以及如何促进当地可持续发展联系起来的综合评估方法,并且着重介绍了能帮助资源管理和规划部门实施这种综合评估的土地利用决策支持工具(LUDST).     

森林碳汇决策与农村可持续发展研究(英文)

认为有必要在基于碳汇的土地利用和当地可持续发展之间建立一种更加明确的联系.依托一个中国-加拿大合作项目,以中国贵州省黎平县为例,阐述了一种将森林碳汇、森林资源管理以及如何促进当地可持续发展联系起来的综合评估方法,并且着重介绍了能帮助资源管理和规划部门实施这种综合评估的土地利用决策支持工具(LUDST) .     

中国耕地整理潜力评价初探--以北京延庆县为例

土地整理潜力评价是土地整理规划的基础性工作 ,是合理有效安排土地整理工作的根本依据。对耕地整理潜力进行科学评价是土地整理潜力评价的重中之重。本文以农业土地集约利用和耕地生产力原理为理论基础 ,对影响耕地整理潜力因素分成两个方面 ,即影响净增加耕地数量和提高耕地质量两个方面进行分析。在此基础上 ,提出了耕地整理潜力评价指标体系 ,并以北京市延庆县为案例 ,进行了实证分析 ,证明所建立的耕地整理潜力评价指标体系是可行的 ,为耕地整理潜力评价提供参考     

Higher Order Nuptial Fertility in New South Wales, 1996: Context,process, implications

In the face of below replacement and still declining national fertility rates in most Western societies, the proportion of reproductively aged women having a third or higher order birth has particular demographic significance. This paper seeks to complement previous survey-based studies of the socio-economic, behavioural and motivational characteristics of individuals progressing or intending to progress from a second to a third or higher order birth by examining the spatial patterning and ecological context of such births in NSW during 1996 and, in particular, the extent to which such births are especially characteristic of socially disadvantaged regions and localities in the state. The results suggest that while there is a clear, though not overwhelming, tendency towards such a concentration there is an equally clear tendency for older women living in some of the most socially advantaged areas of the metropolitan zone to engage in higher order childbearing, thereby suggesting the operation of multiple causal pathways. In the more disadvantaged areas of the metropolitan zone religious and/or ethnically based pro-natalist value sets also appear to play a significant role. In better-off localities, however, higher order reproduction would seem to reflect the greater choices - and resources - available to women, whether in or out of the labour force. Because ecological analysis cannot provide precise answers to behavioural questions and because only higher order births to women in current relationships have been taken into account in this study, further research, employing a variety of methodologies, operating at a variety of scales and drawing on alternative data sets would seem desirable if such questions are to be more fully elucidated and their policy implications better understood.     

Plantation Forestry in Tropical Limestone Uplands: Environmental Constraints and Opportunities

This study addresses anthropogenic and ecological factors affecting a 50 hectare farmer-managed reforestation project in the cone karst of the central Philippine island of Bohol. Climate, soil moisture, micro-topographic features, soil fertility, management practices, and pre-plantation land use history are all related to, and assist in explaining the variability in, gmelina and mahogany survival and growth rates. Pre-plantation land use affects soil fertility and structure (affecting moisture-holding capacity), and micro-geomorphologic features such as slope angle, slope length, breaks in slope, and size and distribution of talus influenced tree growth and survival rates because of their relationship to soil erosion and deposition.     

Material Geographies and Postcolonialism

While postcolonial studies have inspired new ideas, a new language and a new theoretical inflection for a wide range of teaching and research in human geography, there have been few sustained discussions about what might constitute a postcolonial geography. This paper attempts to deal with this absence by exploring the possibilities of material geographies of postcolonialism. It suggests that geographers are particularly well placed to respond to criticisms of postcolonialism as remaining overwhelmingly textual, cultural and/or historical in focus by contributing towards a productive engagement between postcolonialism and the material realities of global inequalities, and towards a revivified political and ethical project. It explores how particular tactics might inform postcolonial methodologies within geography and makes some tentative suggestions on what a postcolonial political praxis might look like.     

土地节约集约利用技术方法研究:现状、问题与趋势

目前有关土地节约集约利用研究成果较多,但理论基础薄弱、土地节约集约利用评价尺度和方法单一、对 土地节约集约利用环境效应问题重视不够、节地技术研制力度不足、土地集约利用标准研制进展相对缓慢,本文在 对上述相关技术方法研究存在的一系列问题进行剖析的基础上,对未来发展趋势和研究重点进行了展望。未来土 地节约集约利用研究应加强以下4 个方面：①土地集约利用基础理论研究。梳理相关技术标准、模式以及政策法 规,构建土地集约利用基础理论与支撑理论体系。②土地集约利用调查与评价研究。应着重土地集约利用调查、监 测技术方法及调查精度研究,加强基于政府、开发商、研究者、农民(居民)等多视角的土地集约利用评价研究,重视 不同土地集约利用模式下的环境变化过程与模拟、土地节约集约利用过程与生态风险机制等研究。③土地集约利 用潜力与节地控制技术开发。包括主要行业建设用地节地控制方法、土地利用规划的节地控制方法、土地集约利用 的节地工程化技术等。④退化废弃地恢复与再利用技术开发。包括退化废弃地信息挖掘与评价、退化废弃地生态恢 复与再利用、污染土地风险评估与生物修复、采矿塌陷区土地复垦等技术综合应用示范。⑤土地集约利用技术标准 和规范研制。包括土地集约利用调查及评价技术规范、重点产业用地集约利用控制标准、村庄整理与农地整理标 准、高标准农田建设标准、节约型社会的土地规划用地标准、城镇污染土地再生利用标准、采矿塌陷区土地复垦标 准等。研究结果和结论将对促进我国土地节约集约利用研究具有重要科学意义。     

金衢盆地退化红砂土在不同利用方式下肥力逆转特征

以浙江省金衢盆地为例 ,探讨了我国南方山间盆地广泛分布的退化红砂土的特征 ,研究了退化红砂土在人为参与下土壤肥力的逆转及其与利用方式的关系 ,分析了各种利用方式下红砂土肥力性质的演变特征。     

The Environment of Gender and Science: Status and Perspectives of Women and Men in Physical Geography

In 1995 and 1996 we undertook surveys to identify the status, perspectives, and contributions of women and men in physical geography and geosciences/geology, and to study the evolution of our fields. This paper presents the results of the physical geography survey, and considers the following questions: How have academic men and women physical geographers' professional development experiences differed? Do men and women in physical geography emphasize different research areas? Do their research methods differ from one another? Gender differences were identified most strikingly in rank and tenure status, research topics and methodologies, and professional satisfaction. Generational differences by academic rank were identified in professional satisfaction and in pull factors. Minor gender differences were found in dual career couple status, but this status had major effects on career choices and opportunities for both men and women. This paper is part of our larger project aimed at comparing and contrasting geoscience/geology and physical geography, and at including the earth sciences in gender and science studies that have long focused on mathematics, chemistry, biology, and physics.     

Women in the Field: Critical Feminist Methodologies and Theoretical Perspectives*

Feminist scholars have traditionally emphasized the importance of incorporating “the everyday” worlds of women into the historically masculinist theoretical and empirical foundations of the social sciences. Such emphases have commonly resulted in smaller-scale research projects and more interactive kinds of research methods and methodologies. Feminist geographers have uniquely contributed to the body of feminist scholarship through drawing out the importance of place in everyday constructions of gender and, more recently, sexuality. Critical field-based research has therefore from the beginning been the mainstay of subdisciplinary research. Like the discipline as a whole, however, little explicit attention has been given in publications or pedagogically to the politics of fieldwork (including how a “field” is defined and the politics involved in choosing and working in a particular “field”) or the politics of representation (which includes considerations of the partiality of knowledge and how and to whom we represent our work, ourselves and others in various kinds of texts). These “Opening Remarks” show how these issues are addressed in the papers that follow and how feminist geography has much to contribute to critical analyses of global and multinational processes, including patriarchy, capitalism, and racism.     

定性地理信息系统在城市社会空间研究中的应用

定性地理信息系统(定性GIS)是西方人文地理学定性研究的重要方法。它集成了定性和空间元素,更全面地阐明空间背景是如何被社会建构的。这种多元要素的整合,可以表达人们生活空间的多样性和复杂性,有助于展示生活路径的三维可视化细节,实现可视化社会空间过程。本文试图梳理西方定性GIS的方法论并探讨其在基于情感表达的个体数据采集分析、基于混合方法的可视化活动空间研究以及基于多重互动视角的社会空间研究中的应用。定性GIS包含微观和宏观层面的多重含义,使得研究者可以从多个有利位置观察问题并参与其中,有助于城市社会空间研究理论创新,为社会空间研究提供可探索空间。最后,从学科建设、方法论拓展、研究成果表达和研究议题选择等方面对中国开展同类研究进行展望。     

全面二孩背景下中国省际人口迁移格局预测及城镇化效应

采用第六次中国人口普查数据,基于全面二孩实施背景,预测未来中国与省际城乡人口规模以及省际人口迁移规模;采用2010年人口数据和2020年预测人口数据,从对比视角分析了中国省际人口迁移格局变化及其对城镇化发展的影响。研究发现：① 城乡全面放开二孩政策不会带来区域人口数量的剧烈反弹;② 综合考虑省际人口迁移方向与强度,将中国31个省份划分为4种类型;③ 省际人口迁移促进了城镇化率的提高及省际差异的缩小,对2010~2020年中国城镇化率的增加的贡献占到了30.77%。