THE HUMAN GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTHEAST ASIA: AN ANALYSIS OF POST-WAR DEVELOPMENTS

This paper reviews the directional shifts in human geographical research on Southeast Asia from 1945 to the present. It first begins with an overview of the identity of the region as conceived in various cultural traditions, such as the Greek, Arabic and Indian traditions. This is followed by an evaluation of regional geographies of Southeast Asia in the post-war period, highlighting the pre-eminence of the geostrategic definition of the region and the failure to come to grips with its rich cultural-historical identity. The paper then goes on to show that, arising from the changes in conceptual developments and methodologies in geography, the early regional emphasis then shifted to systematic concerns, with a movement away from ‘encyclopaedic’ to ‘adjectival’ geography (economic, urban, population, political, cultural and historical) and a greater emphasis on issues concerning national development. Since the 1980s, there have also been fewer regional works on Southeast Asia and though there are now many more indigenous geographers within the region, much of their research is based on their own national or provincial areas. However, this may shift again, given that rapid economic growth has now given the region prominence. Certainly, there is renewed multi-disciplinary interest in Southeast Asia.     

国外人文地理学男性气质研究回顾与启示

国外关于男性气质(Masculinity)的研究由来已久,地理学关于男性气质的探讨最早出现于女性主义的研究中,地理学者通过对其他学科相关理论的引用以及女性主义研究方法的借鉴,采用文本分析、个案研究等方法,对男性气质,特别是支配性男性气质(Hegemonic Masculinity)、乡村与城市男性气质等内容进行了深入的分析与探讨,并将男性气质的理论发展到了城市地理学、经济地理学、人口地理学、后殖民主义地理学等分支学科中。地理学者采用建构理论,综合社会、文化、性别和女性主义地理等多元视角,不仅分析了男性身份政治的形成过程,而且探索了不同男性身份政治形成的空间与环境,并尝试建构男性气质地理学。本文试图通过对国外人文地理学关于男性气质研究的回顾和梳理,为国内人文地理学中男性气质的研究提供指导与借鉴。     

Linguistics,geography, and the potential of Australian island toponymies

Australian placename studies have focused on documenting toponymic histories and issues of concern mainly for placename taxonomy and etymology. Language-external factors such as geographical and environmental conditions have not been of great interest to Australian toponymists. This article assesses the role of geographical and environmental constriction of island places on their toponymy. It considers whether or not island locations breed ‘insular toponymies’ or placename histories inaccessible and not readily accessible to outsider researchers. The case studies are Norfolk Island, South Pacific, and Dudley Peninsula, South Australia, two island environments within political Australia. The results demonstrate that the degree of insularity of the toponymies of the two island environments is driven more by geographical and social factors than linguistic elements. The results put forward several ways in which geographers, linguists, historians, toponymists, and Australian studies scholars could work together and collaborate to better understand Australian island places.     

Landscape Change and Environmental Histories

Historical geography was once a popular element of university curricula in New Zealand. It was also a conspicuous focus of research. Today however there is only one identifiable course in historical geography in New Zealand's university calendars – at Massey – and few writers have maintained an active research interest rooted in the sub‐discipline. This Comment suggests some reasons why now is a good time for New Zealand's geographers to reassess this state of affairs, and outlines five themes that might be pursued in the construction of more explicit historical geographies at the start of the third millennium.     

西方金融地理学研究进展及其启示

金融地理学作为一门新兴的分支学科,已受到越来越多地理学者的重视。本文试图总结国外学者在金融地理学领域的研究进展,阐述其当前主要研究议题,提出对我国金融地理研究的启示。国外金融地理学的研究主要经历了以下几个发展阶段：自20世纪70年代以来,地理学家开始关注金融机构在引导特定地区资本流动过程中所起的作用; 80年代,学者们转向研究金融在西方社会中的角色、特定金融制度的空间组织与运作、金融中心的发展、金融流动与产业发展的关系等; 90年代以来,金融地理研究中出现了三个贯穿、且相互增强的研究对象,即解除管制、技术创新及全球化,相关研究中出现了文化制度转向。当前主要研究议题包括： 金融中心的形成、发展及萎缩; 金融排除及其带来的地方货币系统的研究;货币地理学研究等。根据国外的研究进展及经验,我国可以在金融服务网络的空间格局、货币流地域差异、金融排除及其相关的社会问题等方面展开研究。     

THE GEOGRAPHY OF POST-COLONIAL AFRICA: SPACE,PLACE AND DEVELOPMENT IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA (1960–93)1

This overview of human geographic studies of sub Saharan Africa begins with the contributions made by West European geographers to the colonial service, and the growing interest in post-war ‘development’ and to the anti-imperial movements in the late colonial period (1945–60). The paper provides an intellectual map of the contributions by European and African geographers to the broad array of development problems which emerged after 1960. North American geographers made significant contributions to the debate somewhat later, particularly in association with the growing involvement of U.S. development agencies in the 1970s. Particular emphasis is given to geographic studies in fields such as agrarian change, ecological degradation, industrialization, human mobility and patterns of urbanization and settlement.     

Geography's Human Resources over the Past Half‐Century*

This article examines trends over the past five decades in three human resource issues in geography: the production of new geographers; the size and diversity of the membership of the Association of American Geographers (AAG); and the topical specializations of geographers. The number of geography degrees awarded increased rapidly in the 1950s and 1960s, followed by a modest decline as baby boomers exited their college years. The number surged again in the 1990s, however, and it seems to have stabilized in recent years. AAG membership trends followed a similar trajectory and membership is currently poised to set a new record. The participation of women in the discipline has increased steadily over the past half‐century, but geography still lags the social and physical sciences in the share of women receiving bachelor's degrees. The participation of geographers from ethnic minority groups continues to be very low. The number of AAG specialty groups has doubled since their inception in 1978, and geographic information science (GIS) now occupies a prominent position within the discipline. Challenges in the coming years include increasing the diversity in geography, reducing the turnover in AAG membership, preparing for the imminent retirement of a large cohort of baby‐boom geographers, and reconnecting with nonacademic geographers.     

The Biogeography of Geographers: A Content Visualization of Journal Publications

Biogeographers choose to align their scholarship within different domains, from ecological or historical biogeography, to landscape ecology, macroecology, or the analytical perspective initiated with the theory of island biogeography. Biogeography is also practiced under the umbrella of geography, as geographical biogeography. Using the ISI Web of Science journal article database, I performed content visualizations of research authored by those biogeographers with an identity or interest aligned with geography. Content affinities with ecological biogeography were strong. However, physical geography materialized as the core of biogeographical inquiry for geographers based upon the central location of physical geography within these visualizations, and upon the ranking of journals where these geographers publish. I argue that the systems legacy of physical geography provides geographical biogeographers with an identity and an invitation to connect with the field of scholars advancing the study of complex systems.     

中资企业研发国际化研究述评

中资跨国公司研发国际化服务于中国"全面提高开放型经济水平"和"创新驱动发展战略"两大政策方针,是重要的地理学研究前沿。本文系统评述了中资企业研发国际化的定义、理论基础、研究内容、数据和方法,发现基于发达国家跨国公司实践建立起的经典理论还不足以解释中资企业行为。相比于快速发展的中资企业跨国研发活动行为,现有的实证研究存在着研究视角、内容和方法的局限,未来应发扬地理学多尺度研究的优势,综合分析企业研发国际化与区域发展的互动机制;发扬地理学重视区域差异的优势,开展在"一带一路"国家中资企业研发国际化的异质性研究;发扬地理学重视实地调研的优势,综合多种方法和数据的相互印证。     

Changing Formulations of the Man-Environment Relationship in Anglo-American Geography

Abstract

In the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries most geographers possessed a firm belief in the causal dominance of the physical environment in human affairs. In the face of observation the argument proved difficult to sustain in the simple forms in which it was proposed, and by reaction there was a turn away from man-land studies towards the spatial and area studies traditions in Geography which also had their origins in ancient Greek writings. Geography did not however abandon the search for causal explanations, and the debate on man-land relationships continued vigorously as geographers searched for a more acceptable formulation than direct environmental determinism. If anything the concern for the issue has increased at a time when geographers turn to studies of environmental management and conservation. Figure 1 sets out in diagrammatic form six formulations of the man-nature relationship which have been current since 1900 in Anglo-American geography: the arrangement indicates an approximate chronology.     

The Study of Human Action in the Physical Environment

Scientists have been formally studying the consequences of human action at least since Buffon and Humboldt in the 1700s. In 1864, Marsh published Man and Nature, a comprehensive synthesis documenting how people had been transforming Earth. This prominent catalogue of how people disturb Nature's harmonies was updated by Marsh in 1874 and by geographers in 1956 and 1990. Today the leading conceptions of human-environmental interaction are similar to Marsh's theme that people are the disturbers of Nature's harmonies. Effects of human action are considered using conceptions such as direct/indirect, intentional/accidental, and beneficial/detrimental. For a fresh approach, physical geographers could consider action more directly. Human action can be studied as any other process is. Systems concepts and energy flows used to evaluate natural forces can also be used to evaluate human forces. The centennial of the Association of American Geographers is an appropriate time to reflect on how physical geographers have been studying human-environmental interactions and to consider new approaches.     

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.     

From salvage to recycling – new agendas or same old rubbish?

Recent years have seen increased attention paid by geographers to the phenomenon of household waste recycling. Much of this attention by geographers has focused on contemporary recycling, especially contemporary policy and behaviour. This article takes a wider temporal perspective and considers the antecedent 'National Salvage Campaign' of the Second World War. It considers the conceptual lessons from this recycling campaign, drawing out the importance of themes of scale, relatedness, civic duty and positive identity. The article explores the socially constructed boundaries that attempt to find an 'appropriate' place for waste and how such boundaries are constantly reconsidered and redefined.     

Beyond Postmetropolis

Three recent developments have created new challenges and opportunities for urban geography and geographers: the rediscovery of the generative power of cities, the cross-disciplinary diffusion of critical spatial perspectives, and rising interest in regions and regionalism. With these new developments as background, I reflect upon some of the ideas and themes introduced in Postmetropolis: Critical Studies of Cities and Regions, published in 2000. Like the book, this effort to move beyond Postmetropolis is divided into three parts: Remapping the Geohistory of Cityspace; Six Discourses on the Postmetropolis; and Lived Space: Remembering 1992 in Los Angeles. Some of the same themes are taken up, often with a different emphasis, in the accompanying essays by Robert Beauregard, Mona Domosh, and Deborah Martin.     

BIOGEOGRAPHY: RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES FOR GEOGRAPHERS

The authors of this paper suggest several themes in biogeography worthy of increased research attention by geographers: human impacts on biota, disturbance ecology, and certain aspects of biota-environment interactions. Researchers must gain a firmer command of biological as well as geographical concepts and approaches if biogeography is to join geomorphology and climatology in developing a true geography of environments.     

STAMPS AS MESSENGERS OF POLITICAL TRANSITION*

Previous studies of postage stamps noted their importance in promoting national identity and the objectives of the state. Neglected in this literature by geographers and others is a discussion of stamp themes and issues during political and economic transitions. A content analysis of issues during the Soviet Union's last three years and Russia's first three years revealed some significant changes. The Soviet Union issued many stamps and sets on a wide variety of topics, including nature, folk items and legends, international ties, and ideology. Russia issued fewer stamps: Nature was important, but religion and issues that promoted Russia's heritage replaced ideology and international themes. Early Russian stamps evoked an “inward” worldview that promoted a nascent nationalism. In its final years the Soviet Union noted evidence of these changes in priorities and themes with issues that depicted Soviet environmental disasters or honored the individuals killed in the failed Russian coup attempt in August 1991.     

A bridge over troubled waters? Systems theory and dialogue in geography

In physical geography, systems are seen as a unity of parts and relationships, whereas human geographers using a second-order sociological systems approach define systems in terms of the difference between system and environment. Starting from this, dialogue between physical and human geographers using terms derived from systems theory is mostly in vain. This article explores some of the consequences that follow for dialogue in geography: the differences in defining systems, in the understanding of processes, the problem of system borders, the inconsistent understanding of the 'environment' itself as well as the different epistemology that comes with it (or leads to it). The article tries to bring systems theory back into geography with the decisive aim of enhancing the potentials for interaction between human and physical geographers and, therefore, to explore the possibility of connecting the social with the physical world – deviating from systems theory.     

Geography's Profile in Public Debate “Inside the Beltway” and the National Academies*

Geographers continue to engage in public debate “inside the Beltway” by participation within and through federal agencies and through the National Research Council. Several examples illustrate the level and kind of this engagement, which has been concentrated on environmental and spatial data and analysis themes. Most professional geographers have the opportunity to engage in this form of public debate through participation in the activities of the National Research Council. The level of this participation has been surprisingly strong, given the small size of the community of professional geographers, and has helped to shape both U.S. and international research agendas relevant to geographic research. Participation, however, is concentrated in a few programs and individuals, raising questions about the sustainability of geography's voice in this public activity.     

Population geography in China since the 1980s: Forging the links between population studies and human geography

This paper reviews the progress of population geography in China since the 1980s. The review results suggest that contrary to the common perception of its invisibility and marginalized status in the field, tremendous progress has been made in population geography in China since the 1980s. Population geographers have made significant contribution to the understanding of a wide range of population issues from geographical perspectives, including migration, urbanization, population distribution, the relationships between population, environment and resources, aging, marriage patterns, and migrants’ crimes, although such contribution often did not appear in the geographical circle. Furthermore, population geographers have played an indispensable role in revitalizing population studies in China and forging its links to human geography, occupying an important position in this multi-disciplinary field. Population geographers’ contribution to the areas of migration and urbanization research has been particularly significant, reflected in their leading roles in these areas’ research. The paper demonstrates that as latecomers in the field after more than 20 years of isolation, population geographers in China have gone through a process of catching up and increasing engagement with developments in social sciences and increasing interaction with social scientists since the 1980s, and have benefited greatly from it; however, there is a tendency for population geography to be increasingly alienated from the main stream human geography, a phenomenon similar to but not exactly the same as Anglo-American geography in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The paper argues that population geography is only half way in the course to forge the links between population studies and human geography, and it needs to return to geographical sciences to strike a healthy balance between the field of population studies and that of human geography, and promote its further development in a multi-disciplinary field.