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.     

A MIXTURE MODEL OF ANNUAL PRECIPITATION IN PERU*

A two component mixed log-normal distribution effectively models annual precipitation totals at two stations in Peru characterized by widely differing interannual patterns of precipitation. Physical evidence supports the division of station records into two subsamples. Years with ENSO events and years without ENSO events identify the components of a mixed probability model. The mixed model produces a superior fit to the two parameter log-normal distribution. Model application provides a reliable means of precipitation prediction and also quantitatively describes the highly variable temporal and spatial pattern of annual precipitation in western Peru.     

THE DECLINE OF FIELDWORK IN HUMAN GEOGRAPHY*

Fieldwork has been an important component of human geography. A multi-decade analysis of articles in three major journals shows that human geographers since the mid-1970s have produced less fieldwork-based research than ever before in this century. The impetus for this unprecedented decline and other similar disciplinary trends are traced to several causes: demographic change, technological change, institutional pressures, and the resurgence of applied geography. Such fundamental change places disturbing questions before geographers.     

GEOGRAPHY AS MELODY IN MUTTUSVAMI DIKSHITA'sINDIAN MUSICAL WORKS*

ABSTRACT. The life and works of Muttusvami Dikshita (1775–1834), a luminary of South Indian Karnatak classical music, abound in spatiocultural symbolisms of integration and harmony. Dikshita'speregrinations symbolize a cultural circuit of Hindu pilgrimage. His studies of North Indian Hindustani music at Varanasi (formerly Benares), and his transplantation of them throughout South India, make him an active agent of cultural diffusion, harmonizing cultural traditions through spatiosymbolic anchors. The religious expression of his musical genius, his songs, and his melodies contributed to linking linguistically and politically disparate regions of eighteenth‐ and nineteenth‐century India. The works of Dikshita affirm India'scultural continuity and underscore its enduring cultural empathies and similarities.     

HOME GARDENS IN AMAZONIAN PERU: DIVERSITY AND EXCHANGE OF PLANTING MATERIAL*

ABSTRACT. This article examines how peasant farmers build and maintain agrobiodiversity in home gardens found in two traditional peasant communities along the Marañón River in the Peruvian Amazon. Data were gathered through household and garden surveys as well as in‐depth interviews with garden tenders in an upland mixed agricultural village and a lowland fishing village. Substantial variations in cultivated plant diversity were encountered in gardens between and within the villages, which are found to be related to differential exchange of seeds, cuttings, suckers, and other planting material as well as to specific garden and household characteristics. Planting material flows along multiple pathways—from gift giving and purchase to inheritance and scavenging—to the gardens, reflecting a complex and often extensive network of exchange that enables the establishment and maintenance of home garden plant diversity in seemingly isolated and small communities. Further research is needed to identify broader geographical and sociocultural patterns of agrobiodiversity in Amazonia.     

MARKET TRADE IN DECENTRALIZED DEVELOPMENT: THE CASE OF CAJAMARCA,PERU *

Decentralized development views market trade and market towns as part of a comprehensive strategy to divert economic development away from major metropolitan areas. Seventy-one traders were surveyed in the central market of Cajamarca, Peru in 1981. Most are women earning minimal incomes, primarily because of price controls and expensive credit. Stimulating market trade as it is currently organized seems unlikely to assist migrants in secondary towns or to stimulate agricultural development in their hinterlands.     

A FELT GEOGRAPHY*

In this article I revisit a literary‐audio work I created in collaboration with a Vancouver composer for Intersections, a new music series organized by the Western Front in Vancouver, Canada. We spliced together recorded interview material with composed music to craft a site‐specific acoustic landscape. This work is presented as a site in which to explore creative, experimental ways of restaging memory and of bringing experiential landscapes more fully to life, immersing public audiences in the felt histories of the city.     

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.     

THE CORPORATE INTERVIEW AS A RESEARCH METHOD IN ECONOMIC GEOGRAPHY*

The open-ended corporate interview as a qualitative research method is proposed as a valuable component of an evidentiary strategy in economic geography. It is argued to be more sensitive than other survey methods to historical, institutional, and strategic complexity. The corporate interview method is particularly appropriate in periods of economic and social change that challenge traditional analytical categories and theoretical principles. Some problems inherent to the method, and strategies for minimizing their impact on the research project, are described.     

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.