The gendered reconfiguration of low-income urban household space in response to AIDS: Perspectives from Botswana

The study focused on three main actors within low-income urban households in Gaborone, the capital of Botswana. These were primary care givers, persons living with AIDS (PLWA) and AIDS orphans. The survey investigated the extent to which the traditional family system was coping with provisioning for its PLWA and AIDS orphans, the level to which the main actors reorganize household space in response to evolving demands, to cater for PLWA and AIDS needs, and the degree to which such spatial reorganization resonates with the gendered utilization of household space. Although the methodology of this case study was mainly participatory, it also relied on documented literature from archival sources and the Internet for its conceptual, theoretical and statistical information. The results suggest that the traditional family system is failing to cope with care provision for the PLWA and AIDS-orphaned children and that adjustments to their increasing presence within the households influence the gendered reconfiguring of household space. The traditional gendered utilization of space is thus being constantly negotiated in response to the requirements of HIV patients and those of HIV/AIDS-orphaned children. The proliferating female HIV/AIDS patient care giving and orphan children guardianship appear to be threatening the central and pivotal position of the father figure within the patriarchal household setting.     

The Influence of Place on the Willingness to Pay for Ecosystem Services

Sense of place, including an individual’s attitudes toward specific geographic settings, is generally predicted to influence willingness to engage in place-protective behaviors. Relatively little research, however, has empirically examined the influence of people’s attitudes toward a place on their willingness to pay for environmental protection. Using the example of a payment for ecosystem services (PES) initiative in the McKenzie River watershed, Oregon, USA, we found that place attitudes were a significant predictor of respondents’ willingness to pay for a program designed to benefit drinking water quality. These results suggest that connecting conservation actions to landscapes that are meaningful to people may increase their financial support for PES and other conservation programs. While program managers have little or no influence over stakeholders’ political ideology, gender, or income, managers may be able to influence prospective PES buyers’ awareness and attitudes through targeted communications, thereby potentially increasing support for place-based conservation efforts.     

Measuring Potential Access to Primary Healthcare Services: The Influence of Alternative Spatial Representations of Population

Spatial accessibility measures are an important policy tool for managing healthcare provision and reducing health inequality. The two‐step floating catchment area technique, in common with many alternative methodologies, requires that demand‐side population be estimated using spatial interpolation techniques. This article studies the implications of adopting differing spatial representations of population on healthcare accessibility modeling outcomes. Results indicate that a dasymetric model yields lower accessibility scores than a standard pro rata model. More important, the difference is spatially disproportionate, suggesting that the degree of disadvantage experienced in rural areas may be greater than has previously been recognized.     

Fluid Households,Complex Families: The Impacts of Children's Migration as a Response to HIV/AIDS in Southern Africa*

Abstract

The fluidity of southern African families is related to a long history of internal and external migration. Currently, HIV/AIDS is having a dramatic impact on extended family structures, with the migration of individual members employed as a coping strategy. Children's migration is one aspect of this that is often distinct from that undertaken by other household members. This article is based on qualitative research conducted in Lesotho and Malawi with young migrants and the households that receive them. It examines the processes of fragmentation and re-formation of households through the movements of children that are taking place in response to HIV/AIDS, and explores the impacts these processes have on young migrants and the households they join.     

Healthier Geographies: Mediating the Gaps between the Needs of People Living with HIV and AIDS and Health Care in Chiang Mai,Thailand

In this article, I contribute to our understanding of the plurality of approaches that construct the geographies of health care through an examination of the distribution of health care services for people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) in Chiang Mai Province, Thailand. In particular, I focus on the development of a network of support groups for PLWHA in order to examine the differences in the sociospatial organization of these groups, the practices of social actors participating in the groups' activities, and how these activities are mediated through place‐based social relations. The first section of the article analyzes the spatial distribution of PLWHA support groups in relation to the distribution of AIDS cases over two time periods, 1994 and 1997. The second section goes below the surface of the spatial distribution, examining similarities and differences in PLWHA support groups through an analysis of survey data collected on thirty‐five groups in 1997. The final section deepens this examination through an analysis of ethnographic data collected on the outreach efforts of one nongovernmental organization (NGO) and one PLWHA support group with which it worked. Each section offers opportunities for the extension of our understanding of the development of PLWHA support groups, their distribution in relation to the spread of AIDS cases, and their place‐based meanings.     

Healthier Geographies: Mediating the Gaps between the Needs of People Living with HIV and AIDS and Health Care in Chiang Mai,Thailand

In this article, I contribute to our understanding of the plurality of approaches that construct the geographies of health care through an examination of the distribution of health care services for people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) in Chiang Mai Province, Thailand. In particular, I focus on the development of a network of support groups for PLWHA in order to examine the differences in the sociospatial organization of these groups, the practices of social actors participating in the groups' activities, and how these activities are mediated through place-based social relations. The first section of the article analyzes the spatial distribution of PLWHA support groups in relation to the distribution of AIDS cases over two time periods, 1994 and 1997. The second section goes below the surface of the spatial distribution, examining similarities and differences in PLWHA support groups through an analysis of survey data collected on thirty-five groups in 1997. The final section deepens this examination through an analysis of ethnographic data collected on the outreach efforts of one nongovernmental organization (NGO) and one PLWHA support group with which it worked. Each section offers opportunities for the extension of our understanding of the development of PLWHA support groups, their distribution in relation to the spread of AIDS cases, and their place-based meanings.     

Spatial Access to Health Care Services and Disparities in Colorectal Cancer Stage at Diagnosis in Texas

Early diagnosis of colorectal cancer (CRC) is important for improving the survival rate of the disease. Disparities in CRC diagnosis among different population groups have persisted in the United States. This study examines whether spatial access to medical services contributes to disparities of late-stage diagnosis of CRC in Texas. Analysis results suggest that there are significant disparities in late-stage CRC diagnosis by race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and geographic location in Texas. It is concluded that spatial access to primary care is associated with CRC stage at diagnosis, but not with racial/ethnic and socioeconomic disparities.     

Social geography of risk: The role of time,place and antiretroviral therapy in conceptions about the sexual risk of HIV in Kahe,Kilimanjaro, Tanzania

The epidemiological pattern of HIV/AIDS in Africa and Tanzania is characterized by geographical variations in HIV prevalence. Despite the geographical variations, heterosexual contact remains the predominant mode of HIV transmission. The article examines the interrelationships of social, spatial and temporal issues in explaining the sexual risk of HIV/AIDS amongst youths in rural Tanzania. Drawing on discussions with young people, the authors employ a comparative approach to establish categories of social practices that explain HIV risk. HIV risk is largely influenced by social interaction as youths engage in routine day-to-day activities in different geographical locales. The availability of antiretroviral treatment ushered in new dynamics in locally available strategies to manage the risk of HIV infection. Gender relations appear to have an underlining influence in determining the timing and place of risk as well as ways of controlling risk. The study participants emphasized both social and biomedical interventions to manage and control sexual activity and risk. Youth-focused and community-wide interventions addressing HIV prevention, care and treatment need to recognize the fact that the HIV epidemic in Tanzania is increasingly becoming a rural phenomenon structured by a wide range of local, national and global processes.     

Economic vulnerability, beer and HIV/AIDS: The struggle to sustain farmer livelihoods and indigenous sorghum varieties in eastern Uganda

Drawing on a case study from eastern Uganda, this paper describes how social and environmental factors combine to affect the sustainability of both sorghum landraces and the farmers who depend on it for food and income security. It delineates how changing regional patterns of agricultural production and consumption, institutional neglect, economic hardship, natural resource degradation and a labour supply crisis precipitated by the HIV/AIDS pandemic, may be conspiring to place sorghum landraces at risk of extinction and, thus, undermine already precarious livelihoods. The paper therefore challenges the common assumption that marginalized rural women – by virtue of having diverse varieties and species under their care – can be expected to conserve that diversity.     

中国生产性服务业市场潜能与空间分布——基于面板工具模型的实证研究

利用2003~2012年全国285个地级及以上城市面板数据,研究了中国生产性服务业及其市场潜能的空间分布特征,并基于面板工具计量模型,实证检验了生产性服务业市场潜能对其空间分布的影响。主要结论是：① 生产性服务业主要集中在区域中心城市,且中心城市与非中心城市生产性服务业发展差距日益加大;生产性服务业市场潜能主要集中在东部沿海地区,从动态上东部地区与中西部地区生产性服务业市场潜能差距在逐渐减小;② 生产性服务业市场潜能对生产性服务业空间分布具有显著影响。分行业看,市场潜能仅对金融服务业和科技服务业的空间分布影响不显著,对商务服务业的空间分布影响最大;③ 市场潜能有效地带动了区域中心城市生产性服务业的发展,但对非中心城市生产性服务业的带动作用不明显,市场潜能没能有效地转化为真实需求。基于此,建议中国未来应提高非中心城市生产性服务业的市场潜能,带动其生产性服务业的发展,尤其是提高非中心城市的本地化专业服务水平,以满足非中心城市工业转型升级过程中受距离限制不能从中心城市获得的专业化生产服务。     

The domestic divide: Access to the Internet in New Zealand

We use unit records of the 2006 census to show that access to the Internet in the home varies geographically in New Zealand primarily as a result of demographic and socio‐economic differences among individuals. Of particular significance is the much lower rates of domestic access experienced by Māori and Pacific Island individuals even after controlling for differences in their age, gender, education, income, occupation and settlement type. While differences in Internet access by ethnicity has been noted before, it is the magnitude and persistence of this difference in New Zealand after controlling for correlated factors that renders this study unique. Our results have important implications in an education environment increasingly reliant on Web access, but they also raise questions about the extent of access to the Internet outside the home.     

净初级生产力的人类占用研究进展

人类活动对生态系统的影响和改变已达到前所未有的程度,如何量化人类活动对生态系统的影响成为了生态学和地理学研究中的热点问题。净初级生产力的人类占用(HANPP)是量化人类活动对生态系统能量流的影响程度的指标。目前HANPP研究开始从理论和方法的讨论及案例研究,转向作为指标应用到生态学和地理学研究的诸多领域,其重要性日益凸显。因此,论文详细介绍了HANPP的概念和估算方法;综述了其主要研究进展;讨论了HANPP的优劣及其适用范围,并着重展望了其与生态系统结构、功能、服务、生物多样性、可持续发展和人类福祉等方面有关的未来具体研究方向和科学问题,以及如何运用其探讨人类活动对生态系统的影响机制。期望启发更多与HANPP有关的研究,推动人类活动对生态系统的影响研究向定量化、系统化及多学科交叉的方向发展。     

Access to supermarkets among poorer neighborhoods: a comparison of time and distance measures

This research assesses neighborhood differences in access to supermarkets for the Portland, Oregon region. Five-year American Community Survey data for the 2006–2010 period are used to compare a travel time and distance measure of supermarket access for neighborhoods of concentrated poverty relative to other neighborhoods, taking into account their distance to the city center. Poor and nonpoor outer neighborhoods have longer average travel times and distances to nearby supermarkets than their more centralized counterparts. Poor outer neighborhoods fare better on travel distance than nonpoor outer neighborhoods do, but endure penalties in longer travel times. This research demonstrates the potential for variation in results across methods measuring access to neighborhood amenities and suggests that more nuanced methodology will be required for us to understand sociospatial disparities in access.     

Fluid Households,Complex Families: The Impacts of Children's Migration as a Response to HIV/AIDS in Southern Africa*

The fluidity of southern African families is related to a long history of internal and external migration. Currently, HIV/AIDS is having a dramatic impact on extended family structures, with the migration of individual members employed as a coping strategy. Children's migration is one aspect of this that is often distinct from that undertaken by other household members. This article is based on qualitative research conducted in Lesotho and Malawi with young migrants and the households that receive them. It examines the processes of fragmentation and re‐formation of households through the movements of children that are taking place in response to HIV/AIDS, and explores the impacts these processes have on young migrants and the households they join.     

焉耆盆地生态系统服务价值对土地利用/覆被变化的响应

运用土地利用/覆被类型动态度、土地利用/覆被程度模型和生态系统服务价值估算模型,分析了新疆焉耆盆地1990-2011年LUCC变化引起的生态系统服务价值的变化。结果表明：（1）在1990-2011年,焉耆盆地水域、湿地、沙地、耕地和建设用地均呈增加趋势,而盐碱地、草地和林地面积呈减少趋势,总体上研究区的土地利用程度为中下水平。（2）在1999-2011年,研究区的生态系统服务总价值总体上呈增加的趋势,其中水域和耕地对生态系统服务总价值贡献率较大,草地和林地对生态系统服务总价值有明显的负贡献。（3）在1990-2011年,研究区的各类生态系统的气候调节、水源涵养和废物处理功能的生态系统服务的总价值远远大于粮食生产和原材料供应功能的总价值。因而对区域的水土资源实行合理与有效的利用是实现焉耆盆地生态系统服务功能维持和可持续发展的关键。     

中国人文地理学概论教材评价与建设献议

笔者选取国内流行的几本人文地理学概论教材,对教材的内容、组织结构、表现形式、地图使用等方面进行较详细的评述,指出了存在的不足,在此基础上结合以往的研究及美国人文地理学概论教材的长处,提出新世纪中国此类教材建设的总体构想和若干具体编写建议。     

Urban encounters and sexual health among gay and bisexual immigrant men: perspectives from the settlement and aids service sectors

Gay men's health researchers in North America have recently attended to sexual and mental health issues affecting ethnic minority men, many of whom are also immigrants. Most of this work is grounded in epidemiological models that focus on relationships between individual HIV risk and sexual behaviors. Consequently, they the frame the sexual health of gay and bisexual immigrants as the product of cultural issues (for example, family and religious homophobia, lack of health education) or gay community issues (prevalence of drug use and casual sex) that lead to self‐devaluation, depression, and unprotected sex with multiple partners. Few studies, however, examine these phenomena through the lens of migration and resettlement. Using the narratives from twelve in‐depth interviews with settlement and AIDS Service Organization (ASO) workers in Toronto, Ottawa, and London, Ontario, Canada, this article examines four types of post‐migration urban encounters that influence sexual health: negotiations of resettlement‐related stress, encounters with the urban gay community, encounters with the online gay community, and encounters with sexual health promotion itself. The findings suggest that these encounters are important intervening events that mediate the relationship between the attributes of the immigrant and his sexual health behaviors and outcomes.     

The Effects of Spatial Scale and Aggregation on Food Access Assessment: A Case Study of Tucson,Arizona

Adequate access to healthy food has become a social issue due to the recent Great Recession and heightened levels of unemployment. Geographers have focused their attention on how to accurately evaluate food access and how to identify and delineate food deserts; that is, low-income neighborhoods where affordable and healthy food is lacking or limited. Findings of recent food access studies are, however, dramatically inconsistent. We argue that spatial scale and the level of aggregation used in constructing food access measures could account for a major portion of the varying results. We draw on an empirical study in the Tucson, Arizona, metropolitan area, to examine how varying geographic scales and aggregation methods affect food access assessment. We also provide an analysis to show how spatial scale and aggregation practices lead to inconsistent conclusions about food access and designation of food deserts.