地理学与区域开发整治的政策研究

区域开发整治中的政策研究主要包括对现行政策进行效果评价和影响分析，并预测其对区域开发整治可能产生的积极和消极作用，从而为现行政策修正以及新政策的制定提供依据，供决策机构参考。区域开发整治政策具有地方性、阶段性和稳定性特征。地理学在区域开发整治中重点研究的应是自然、经济和社会相互联结的综台性政策问题，主要有资源利用政策、环境保护政策、生产布局政策以及城市发展政策等等。     

COLONIAL EXPERIENCE AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF TROPICAL GEOGRAPHY IN FRANCE

This article broadly positions the successful establishment of the field of French tropical geography in the immediate postwar period against developments stemming from a longer history of French colonial engagement in Africa, Asia and South America, and clarifies the seemingly late timing of, and paradoxes involved in, the creation of a body of French scientific knowledge about the tropics. Colonial scientific research did not develop in France until the end of the nineteenth century. However, the colonial geography appearing at this time did not rely on fieldwork but, rather, catered to the demands of the business class for overseas expansion and to public curiosity. Even while the medical geography of tropical areas and knowledge of tropical soils and ecology progressed greatly between 1900 and 1940, there were still only a few French geographers working in the tropics. With the advent of the Second World War, when “big science” appeared in France and its colonial empire, the number of French geographers involved in tropical research grew rapidly. The field of tropical geography built up by Pierre Gourou was a synthesis of approaches developed in South America, Africa and Indochina. Although it soon came under strong criticism for its pessimistic view of prospects for industrialisation and urbanisation in the tropics, it seduced French geographers because it matched the contemporary interest in zonality and relied on a genre de vie analysis of, typically, rural areas. Thus, the postwar blossoming of tropical geography shaped by Gourou was more a response to various internal dynamics within French geography than an exercise in imperialism. Its demise was not due to the eclipse of French colonialism but, rather, its inability to deal with the modernisation of tropical societies.     

ENGLISH AS INTERNATIONAL LANGUAGE IN GEOGRAPHY: DEVELOPMENT AND LIMITATIONS

ABSTRACT. The rise and spread of English as a language of international communication is discussed through an analysis of two bodies of data: languages used in twenty‐nine International Geographical Congresses (1871–2000); and utilization of supplementary abstracts or text in international languages in geographical periodicals and serials, from initial use of English in 1882 to widespread use of it in 2002. Five stages in the use of English are recognized: 1) no use of English; 2) provision of abstracts in English; 3) occasional inclusion of articles in English; 4) publication of special issues in English, particularly for international meetings; and 5) a shift to English as the basic language of the text. English provides a window into the geographical literature; but it is only a window, not the full panorama of the richly diverse geographical literature in the six main languages that have been used in International Geographical Congresses and in the fifty‐five languages that have been used in geographical serials.     

COMPUTATIONAL GEOMETRY AND GEOGRAPHY *

New developments in computational geometry are applicable to geographic data processing. Computationally efficient procedures incorporating logarithmic searches over appropriate data structures, and other shortcuts, can yield important savings in computation time and data storage space. There are “fast”methods for two-dimensional problems such as point inclusion, nearest-neighbor and two-nearest-neighbors determination, and grid overlay. Worst-case analysis of algorithms provides useful performance bounds for the developers of geographic production software.     

西方女性地理学的发展与启示

西方女性地理学源自对地理学研究中忽视女性独特经验的性别主义取向以及对学科中缺少女性参与的双重不满而兴起的，大致经历了初始阶段、蓬勃发展阶段和更加多元化3个发展阶段共30余年的发展历史，并逐步走向了成熟。它着眼于女性不同于男性的独特经验及女性内部间的差异性，提供了以女性主义的视角来分析研究问题的新的发展领域。改革开放以来，由于单位制的解体，中国女性的整体地位不升反降，女性问题日益成为学者们研究的热点。女性地理学无论是对中国地理学的发展还是对女性问题的研究都有重大的启示作用，理应加以重视并作更深入的研究。     

试论地理学实验技术的特点与开发

本文讨论了地理学实验的基本特点与局限性，及其在地理学研究，教学上的应用，把地理学实验技术加以归纳总结，使之理论化，系统化和规范化，并从培养技术人才，着眼于实验手段现代化等方面提出了如何更好地应用和发展地理学实验技术的设想。     

HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY IN JAPAN*

A regret frequently expressed at International Geographical Congresses concerns the lack of summary information about the nature of geographic research in the host country. During a discussion of this point with members of the Association of Japanese Geographers, the idea of publishing a series of reports on various aspects of Japanese research surfaced. The concept was later enthusiastically supported by the United States National Committee for the International Geographical Union. This first report, “Historical Geography in Japan,” has been modified for the benefit of the English-speaking readers of THE PROFESSIONAL GEOGRAPHER. Although the reports will be of particular interest to those planning to attend the 1980 IGC in Tokyo, they should prove of general interest as well.—H. Jesse Walker, Member, U.S. National Committee, IGU.     

STRUCTURATION THEORY AND ATTEMPTS AT INTEGRATION IN HUMAN GEOGRAPHY*

Integration in human geography is achieved through multidimensional research or by the study of a variety of aspects of a whole. Giddens's structuration theory provides a new theoretical framework for integrative study in human geography in its attempt to connect individuals and societies, context and composition, time and space. Integrative studies in geography have focused on space (regional geography), time (historical geography) and society (time-geography). Structurationist analysis in geography can put society, space, or society and space at its focus. Thrift's spatial structurationist theory may lead to a new theoretically-based regionalism. On the other hand, integration at one level or between several elements may entail disintegration, at another level or element respectively.     

西方欧美现代历史地理学的发展及其趋势

现代历史地理学，作为现代地理学中的一个独立发支学科，是自十九世纪末才逐渐从西方历史学科中脱胎出来，至本世纪２０、３０年代发展成为一门现代学科，从２０年代至９０代代，西方现代历史地理学的发展经历了学科定义探讨时期、方法论探索时期、新哲学思维影响时期和９０年代以来的多元化研究趋势。     

试论地理科学与持续发展

本文简述二十世纪以前传统地理学漫长的发展过程，并论及研究内涵、领域的演化。本世纪中叶以来，随着社会经济的发展与科学技术的进步，地理学不仅扩展了研究领域，且在理论、方法和技术上都取得了长足之进展。现代地理学逐渐成为一个分支众多的学科体系，地理学的研究领域正经历着横向扩展与纵向深化的新的过程，这种既有学科综合，又有学科分化的趋势，适应了现代科学发展的潮流。新理论、新方法和新技术的引入，极大地提高了地理学的系统分析与系统综合能力，从而相应地提高了地理科学体系的理论水平和应用能力。21世纪无疑地将为地理学的发展带来新的契机，地理环境的持续发展将成为研究重心。在第三次科学大综合浪潮推动下，改革传统的地理学结构，构建地理科学的新体系与方法论，对其科学价值与功能进行新审视，在理论和应用领域不断进取与开拓，才能释放这门学科所蕴蓄的科学力量。