Exploring Chile: Identities and Their Relation with the Environment through the Film Football Stories

Cinema can be considered a useful tool for understanding different geographic concepts, showing physical and human factors and the interactions between them. Andres Wood's film Football Stories explores the Chilean territory allowing the observation of the differences between the north and south of the country. Geographic components such as landscapes, architectures, the impact of anthropogenic activities, social inequalities, ways of life, and city and countryside differences are analyzed, as well as the importance of location, the spatial environment, and cinematic narration. The study of geography through films could contribute to understanding of our world and to spatial knowledge.     

Environmental and socioeconomic dynamics of the Indian Ocean tsunami in Penang,Malaysia

This paper addresses some of the environmental and socioeconomic dimensions of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami on Penang, Malaysia. We aim to offer wide access to unique and perishable data, while at the same time providing insight to ongoing debates about hazards, vulnerability and social capital. Our social survey examines some of the dynamics that shaped the tsunami impact, response and recovery process. While in terms of lives lost Penang may not conform to arguments surrounding vulnerable environments, the recovery process is more marked by social disparities in terms of the ability to access resources. Our physical survey records local topography, flow depth and flow direction, and charts the differential impact of the tsunami. Yet measuring hazards is not a straightforward process, and relies on reflexive methodologies and eyewitness accounts.     

Rural poverty in Peninsular Malaysia and the Malaysian national agricultural policy

The National Agricultural Policy was implemented to arrest the decline that agriculture experienced in the 1970s and early 1980s. It aims to modernise and revitalise Malaysian agriculture and alleviate rural poverty while retaining labour in agriculture. This paper evaluates its likely effects on poverty among small‐scale padi farmers. The analysis is based on an evaluation of the strategies and programs that are being implemented as part of the policy. It is argued that the National Agricultural Policy will not alleviate poverty in the padi sub‐sector for three main reasons. Firstly, the strategies and programs currently being employed are essentially unchanged from those that were unsuccessfully employed in the past. Secondly, it is premised on a theoretical base which will not lead to the development of effective anti‐poverty strategies. And, finally, it is flawed by policy contradictions.     

Transport and Housing Security in the Klang Valley, Malaysia

This paper explores links between transport and housing security issues for the urban poor using the example of the Klang Valley in Malaysia. The interface between these issues is identified as a gap in the literature, including policy debates, on both housing and transport. A number of linkages are shown to be important and likely to be relevant in many cities of the South, especially those with rapid motorisation and large numbers of "squatters". A simple framework for understanding these linkages is presented. Key examples include displacement to make way for transport infrastructure and the impact on transport problems for the poor of policies affecting the location of urban poor housing, including relocation sites and transit accommodation. The case study of the Klang Valley is used to illustrate and test the relevance of a focus on this issue and the utility of the conceptual framework. Some policy implications of the investigation and case study are suggested.     

Globalisation and the pattern of inbound tourism in Australia

International tourist flows to Australia are examined from the perspective of globalisation. The factors influencing such flows are identified and their geographical impact outlined. Inbound tourism is shown to be growing quickly in both absolute and relative terms and to have a metropolitan emphasis that contrasts with the non‐metropolitan focus of domestic tourism. Tourism illustrates many of the social and cultural changes occurring in contemporary society; the nature of tourism is changing as society changes with a result that new forms of tourism are emerging. Particularly noteworthy is the shift from mass to ‘new tourism’. The nature and likely impact of these changes in Australia is assessed. The paper concludes that growth rates comparable with those achieved in the past might not be sustainable.     

Government Intervention in the Muda Irrigation Scheme, Malaysia: 'actors', expectations and outcomes

At the dawn of the third millennium the problems associated with large-scale irrigation lie largely unresolved. The outcomes of government policies rarely correspond with expectations, leading to conflict and misunderstanding between federal governments, local agencies and farmers. This paper examines the mis-match of expectations between policy implementors and policy recipients in the implementation of one government policy (tertlary intervention) in the Muda irrigation scheme, Malaysia. The findings illustrate that this policy is not achieving the productivity increase or water saving expectations for which it was designed. Instead, tertiary intervention has increased the capacity of the farmers to unofficially control the distribution and supply of the water resource and to engage in off-farm productive and non-productive activities. This results in: a significant over-supply of water; the inefficient use of this supply; and a reduction in yields without a reduction in incomes. Importantly, tertiary intervention has enabled the farmers to diversify their livelihood strategies whilst retaining access to the rice-farming culture. The findings presented in this paper serve to illustrate the significance of 'actor'expectations on policy outcomes and agrarian change.     

Bridging the knowledge divide between public and experts using PGIS for land use planning in Malaysia

Ineffective public participation in land-use planning contributes to the lack of communication and understanding between the public and experts, acting as a barrier to successful planning outcomes. In this study, we assess whether Participatory GIS (PGIS) is a suitable method to bridge the communication gap between the public and expert knowledge for planning in the developing country context of Malaysia. Through a mixed methods approach, we investigate whether expert knowledge converges or diverges with the public's perceived knowledge obtained through a PGIS process and assess the potential benefits of PGIS from public and expert planning perspectives. The results indicate more convergence than divergence in knowledge and perspective, indicating that a PGIS process can communicate local knowledge to planning authorities to inform land use and development planning in Malaysia. Both the public and planning experts recognize the potential benefits of PGIS, but successful implementation will require major changes in traditional Malaysian public participation processes.     

山地农村社会经济缓慢发展的实证分析--以河南省上河村为例

通过实证调查,山地农村社会经济发展呈下滑态势,指出:人力资源外流、兼业弱化、农户投入减少且偏向生活投资、农民负担日渐加重等是山地农村社会经济缓慢发展的主要原因,提高山地农村社会经济发展的主要措施包括:大力发展山地农村的文化教育,发挥当地的林业优势,积极有效引导劳动力合理流动,增加农民收入渠道,加强农村市场建设,切实减轻农民负担等。     

西方劳工地理学研究进展及对中国的启示

与新古典工业区位论和新马克思主义经济地理学论将工人视为一种生产要素和抽象劳动力不同,劳工地理学将工人视为具有能动性的社会主体,研究工人如何按照自身的意愿创造有助于自身生存和再生产的空间。这种劳工认识论的转变在国际经济地理学界产生了极大和持续的反响,促使劳工地理学发展成为具有独特概念体系的经济地理子学科。本文梳理了近20年西方劳工地理学的研究进展,围绕工人能动性的概念、表现形式、形成机制以及它与空间、尺度、地方、全球生产网络之间的关系展开分析。最后基于劳工地理学前沿问题的分析,认为中国劳工地理研究应重点关注中国特色工会体制下工人能动性的构成、经济地理影响与形成的地域条件,并探索有助于社会升级的制度安排。开展劳工地理研究有助于拓展经济地理学的劳动力研究范畴,对认识中国市场经济深入发展时期面临的劳资矛盾和探索共享发展政策具有重要的现实意义。     

Flogging a dead norm? Newspaper coverage of anthropogenic climate change in the United States and United Kingdom from 2003 to 2006

The journalistic norm of 'balanced' reporting (giving roughly equal coverage to both sides in any significant dispute) is recognised as both useful and problematic in communicating emerging scientific consensus on human attribution for global climate change. Analysis of the practice of this norm in United States (US) and United Kingdom (UK) newspaper coverage of climate science between 2003 and 2006 shows a significant divergence from scientific consensus in the US in 2003–4, followed by a decline in 2005–6, but no major divergence in UK reporting. These findings inform ongoing considerations about the spatially-differentiated media terms and conditions through which current and future climate policy is negotiated and implemented.