TRADITIONS AND RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES IN FOLK GEOGRAPHY

The term “folk geography” is relatively new, although the study of folk culture has long been a part of the geographic discipline. With the growth of folklore as an academic discipline, geographers have the opportunity for greater interdisciplinary research, particularly in non-material culture. Music, oral histories, and folktales are neglected non-material components of folklife that represent fertile areas for research.     

THE URBAN LABOR MARKET IN MEXICO: GLOBAL CHANGE,INFORMALITY, AND SOCIAL POLARIZATION

In this study I argue that Mexico's integration into the global economy has increased the dependent nature of its capitalist development and has resulted in the weakening of organized labor and growth of the informal sector. Neoliberal policies in Mexico have accentuated the disparities between the formal and informal sectors and between highly paid skilled workers and those working in unskilled and poorly paid occupations. New forms of geographic dispersion and agglomeration of economic activities contribute to the reproduction of differentiated labor markets in various regions and cities. This is particularly true in those areas most affected by the global economy, such as the major metropolitan areas and the northern regions of the country.

The main changes in the urban labor market associated with economic restructuring in Mexico during the 1980s are analyzed. The paper makes three main points: (1) the ability of the formal sector and especially industry to absorb labor has declined, and there is a clear trend toward a tertiarization of the economy; (2) the informal sector has experienced rapid growth, particularly in small firms and other less productive economic activities; and (3) the occupational structure displays more marginal employment and signs of polarization between the proportions of jobs with the highest and lowest levels of skill.     

RURAL ADDRESSING AND COMPUTER MAPPING IN NEW MEXICO

Specifying the location of a rural residence is a common geographic problem. Most addressing systems are designed for urban areas and are not applicable to rural areas. The mile marker addressing system meets all of the requirements for a rural addressing system. With the addition of computer mapping techniques, rural addressing can be done efficiently and can provide the basis for a county's computer mapping system. Projects in New Mexico provide several examples of computerized rural addressing projects.     

WOMEN AND GEOGRAPHY IN SPANISH UNIVERSITIES

An analysis of the presence of women geographers in Spanish universities indicates that women lecturers are a minority, especially in the top posts. The written contributions of women geographers in geographical journals published by geography departments, and in unpublished M.A. theses and doctoral dissertations are proportionally fewer than the corresponding percentage of staff members.     

WOMEN GEOGRAPHERS IN BUSINESS AND GOVERNMENT: A SURVEY

A survey of women AAG members in applied geography shows a geographical concentration in the Washington metropolitan area and an employment concentration in the private sector. The typical educational preparation is a master's degree. Job titles reflect the importance of planning, environmental issues, and cartography; cartography is cited as the most helpful career skill. Respondents want the AAG to promote geography and to help graduates in finding careers.     

GENDER DIFFERENCES IN COMMUTING DISTANCE,RESIDENCE, AND EMPLOYMENT LOCATION: METROPOLITAN HAIFA 1972 AND 1983*

This paper highlights three major aspects of gender differences in employment in Haifa, Israel (1972 and 1983): commuting distance, place of residence, and employment location. In 1972 working womenaposs residences were more central-city-oriented, whereas in 1983 they were more suburbanized. Commuting distances increased between 1972 and 1983 for both sexes, but more for men than for women. This shorter “female'’distance is related to the location of employment and its occupational segregation. The lower commuting values in Haifa compared to other places relate to the size, housing patterns, and structure of the study area, and to its levels of suburbanization and automobile ownership.     

THE PRODUCTION AND EMPLOYMENT OF GEOGRAPHERS IN CANADA

This paper considers the appropriateness of typologies of urban retailing areas based on multivariate functional data. The findings of a case study in which statistical and graphical methods were employed within the framework of multivariate ordination are presented. It is shown that the functional attributes of retail areas are closely associated with their location, accessibility, quality, morphology, size, period of development, and socioeconomic character.     

EXPLORING MARKET‐BASED DEVELOPMENT: MARKET INTERMEDIARIES AND FARMERS IN CALAKMUL,MEXICO*

ABSTRACT. Market intermediaries play important roles in the development of tropical‐forest frontiers but are often overlooked in the assessment of land‐change dynamics. Consistent with research beyond land‐change studies, intermediaries are found to be a pivotal element in land‐use and land‐cover change in southeastern Mexico. They have stimulated commercial chili cultivation in this development frontier, providing transportation and other services to smallholders who could otherwise not enter the chili market. This role comes at the cost of a near monopoly on chili marketing. The various roles played by these intermediaries, or coyotes, the means by which they operate, and the consequences for smallholders and land use are detailed for the Calakmul Municipality, Campeche, Mexico.     

MUEBLES RÚSTICOS IN MEXICO AND THE UNITED STATES

ABSTRACT. Sales of muebles rústicos, or rustic wooden furniture made in Mexico, have grown rapidly in the United States since 1994. Analysis of the recent rise of the industry tracks manufacturing and marketing methods in major production areas of Mexico. Consumer taste for “authentic” handmade goods of simple design and the vogue of the “Santa Fe” style across the American Southwest mesh with Mexican producers' need to seek foreign markets during an economic crisis. Changing style preferences, along with the furniture's handcrafted appearance, its competitive cost, and the makers' flexible production methods, are reasons for the increased popularity of this folk commodity.     

THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF FOREST POLICY IN MEXICO AND CHILE

Widespread agreement exists on the broad outlines of the concept of sustainable development for developing countries. This calls for a development model capable of meeting basic needs without depleting natural resources at a rate that robs future generations of their use. In this regard, citizen participation is also considered key to legitimise such policy choices. However, there is considerable disagreement over the substance and meaning of the major components of the concept and the relationship between them. This paper argues that positions in policy disputes over the sustainable development of the forest cluster in two distinct approaches: market‐friendly initiatives and grassroots development. Since market economies prevail almost everywhere, the question that is posed concerns the conditions under which the grassroots development approach is included as a significant complement to market‐friendly initiatives. This is a political question, requiring an examination of actors, interests and power resources. The paper thus applies a political economy framework to a paired comparison of Mexico, where grassroots development approaches (community forestry) had notable successes, and Chile, where market‐friendly forest policy crowded out alternatives.     

CHANGING EXPECTATIONS AND INSTITUTIONS: AMERICAN WOMEN GEOGRAPHERS IN THE 1970S

ABSTRACT. In 1973 Wilbur Zelinsky lamented and documented the low representation of women in American academic geography. His attention reflected the climate of the times—the challenges of the women's movement, affirmative action, and feminist activism in the professions. Drawing on archives and personal narratives, this article addresses the paradoxes and politics of women's place in American academic geography in the 1970s. As increasing numbers developed new aspirations for graduate education and professional work, stereotyping, discrimination, the lack of mentoring, and the challenges of a job market whose peak had passed presented difficulties. Yet persistence, resistance, and feminist political activism worked to advance women's professional standing and visibility, especially at the national level within the Association of American Geographers and in the development of new research and teaching on the geography of women.     

BEACH RIDGES AND PALEOGEOGRAPHY,CENTRAL BAJA CALIFORNIA,MEXICO

Two spatially separated sets of beach ridges were studied in Baja California. Each set contains several well-preserved beach ridges and each is adjacent to an arroyo mouth. Modern beach ridges mark coastal location whereas abandoned paleobeach ridges record coastal change. Paleobeach ridges were dated by absolute and relative techniques for rate-change, chronology, and longshore correlation purposes. With time, shape becomes more planar, foreslope angle is reduced, and there is a progressive tendency for constituent shingle to disintegrate and develop both rinds and surficial roughness. One paleobeach ridge on the lowest emergent terrace was assigned a 1,150 ± 230 yr. B.P. radiocarbon date whereas another beach ridge 18 km farther north has a partially overlapping date. Older but undated beach ridges also exist on the lowest emergent terrace as well as on the highest persistent terrace. Those beach ridges on the highest persistent terrace are highly weathered and Pleistocene in age. All beach ridges have paleogeographic implications and suggest that shoreline orientation has been generally stable although its position has shifted laterally by up to 720m westward in the last 1,150 ± 230 years.     

PERSONALITY,GEOGRAPHICAL ART,AND LESSONS FROM SAUER'S MEXICO

Editors' note: This essay by Dan Arreola begins the second set of retrospective pieces commissioned to celebrate the centennial volume. Members of the Editorial Board responded to our request to prepare brief commentaries on landmark Geographical Review articles that were influential in their professional careers. Although many other articles touched the minds of emerging scholars, this small sampling covers a fairly wide swath of the fabric of American geography. It also reminds us that each future article has the potential to have a similar enduring value and help open new intellectual vistas. In addition to Arrreola's piece, the short essays include the musings of Barry Keim, Susan Walcott, Larry Ford, and Risa Palm.