Labouring geography: Negotiating scales, strategies and future directions

In our editorial introduction to this themed issue on labour geography, we outline some important on-going debates in the relatively young field of labour geography and suggest future directions for research. First, there is the key question of labour as an active agent in the production of economic landscapes. The agency of labour will likely remain a defining feature of labour geography, but perhaps it is not as important to construct theoretical analytical boundaries as it is to define labour geography as a political project. Second, debates continue surrounding the production of scale and the multiscalarity of organized labour. Third, labour geographers have yet to engage in any sustained fashion with unpacking the complex identities of workers and the way in which those identities simultaneously are shaped by and shape the economic and cultural landscape. Fourth, there is some debate on the costs and benefits of a ‘normative’ labour geography which emphasizes what workers and their organizations ‘could’ or even ‘should’ do. Lastly, we challenge the assumption that labour geographers have not yet asserted themselves as activists in their own right. We conclude the editorial by introducing the articles included in the issue. While these articles may not address every gap in the literature, they do contribute in significant ways to move the labour geography project forward.     

Gender, geography and policy: the conundrums of engagement

This paper contemplates the relationship between the discipline of geography, and the making of public policy. It is particularly concerned with the compatibilities and incompatibilities of the nature of academic knowledge production and public policy development. As such, we contribute to an ongoing debate among geographers regarding whether and how they should engage with policy, and utilize examples from our involvement in the Metropolis Project, a Canadian initiative based on interdisciplinary research networks linked to government and public service agencies involved in immigrant settlement. We argue ultimately that geographers do need to engage politically with policymaking, but that the manner in which to do this is never straightforward, but rather takes place across institutional, ideological, and political landscapes that are perpetually shifting. Finally we suggest some helpful tools from feminist methodologies with which to approach policy-related issues.     

Two different geomentalities,two different gardens: the French and the Japanese cases

The French Renaissance gardens and Japanese hill gardens have constrasting garden landscapes. Japanese gardens are naturalistic and intend to give illusions that they are the beautiful spots of unspoilt nature. In contrast, the appearances of French gardens are not an imitation of nature but boldly reorganised landscapes in geometric forms. These two contrasting types of garden landscapes represent two different sets of geomentalities (frames of mind regarding geographical environment).An earlier draft of this paper was presented at the Ninth New Zealand International Conference on Asian Studies, Hamilton, 23–26 August 1991. Its abridged version is published in D. Bing and K. Henshell (ed.)Japanese Perceptions of Nature and the Natural Order (Hamilton, NZ 1992), pp. 1–11. The present paper was developed from the first half of the conference paper, and was completed during my three month's tenure in 1993 as a Japan Foundation fellow. I am grateful to the Japan Foundation for their generous support of my research on the Japanese geomentality.     

Round sky and square earth (Tian Yuan Di Fang): ancient Chinese geographical thought and its influence

Round sky and square earth is a basic concept in the tradition of ancient Chinese geography. It appeared at least two thousand years ago and has influenced Chinese geography significantly — both for good and for ill. As an academic subject in China, the history of geographical thought is new. It has become the center of geographical history (Yang 1989, p. 7; Wang 1982, p. 4). This transformation began in the 1980s. Earlier studies of the history of ancient Chinese geography paid more attention to the history of exploration, cartography, and geographers themselves. It neglected serious study of the concept and influence of the idea of round sky and square earth. This paper discusses this concept, its influence on ancient Chinese cartography, and its significance in early geographical literature, specifically the Geographical Society Yu Gong (Tribute of Yu).     

Social theory and prospects in social geography

There is little doubt that a phenomenological approach in the Husserlian mould is valuable in curbing the excessive positivism and naivety that have characterised much of the social geography undertaken in Britain during the past twenty years. However, the operational value of phenomenology in social geography is more controversial. Ley's formulation of a phenomenologically based social geography focussing on the concept of place suffers from certain methodological and theoretical problems that stem, in part, from his adoption of Schutz's conceptualisation of the social world. A phenomenologically inspired but modified approach, involving the concepts of structuration and power and drawing heavily on the work of Giddens, is suggested as superior. This conceptualisation, which connects human action with structural explanation, permits a valuable reformulation of the geography of mental illness and may have similarly worthwhile applications in other areas of interest to social geographers.     

Physical geography in Estonia: Bridging western and eastern schools of landscape synthesis

This paper is an overview of principal investigations in the complex physical geography of Estonia. The focus is on landscape and regional studies, rather than geomorphology or hydrology.Academic geography in Estonia developed in the context of geographic exploration. In the 19th century a leading role among Russian explorers was played by the Baltic Germans Krusenstern, Bellingshausen, Middendorff, Wrangel, and others. After Estonia gained independence in 1919, well-known geographers from Northern (Granö) and Central (Haltenberger) Europe helped to develop landscape studies, which, led by Tammekann, Markus, and Kant, reached a considerable level of excellence by the 1930s. Due to the mass flight of intellectuals to the West during the 1940s, geography in particular sustained heavy losses. A network of state institutes was established when Estonia became an SSR. Even though geography was not among them, some of the institutes did deal with such spatial issues as natural resources and nature protection. During the seventies there was a broadening of research frontiers in physical geography. Various directions were developed in landscape morphology, geochemistry, geophysics, and ecology, parallel to similar developments in the USSR. Today activities are dominated by international cooperation among specialists from the Baltic Sea countries. Investigations have strong interdisciplinary character.     

The Influence of American geography on Korean geography

Korean modern geography emerged from the dark age of unfortunate Japanese colonial rule after liberation in 1945, and has grown rapidly since the 1960s. Modern geographical theories and methodologies were introduced to Korea by the Korean geographers who received PhD degrees in the United States and returned home to teach at universities in Korea, especially in the 1970s and early 1980s. American geography has influenced the progress of the modern geography in Korea in various ways — education systems, curricula for college students, training graduate students — and research methodologies in Korean geography during the last half-century have been directly and indirectly influenced by American geography. The influence has had, however, both positive and negative effects in the development of Korean geography. There is a tendency in recent years to reinterpret Western theories and concepts in the Korean context, considering distinctive regional and cultural characteristics.     

Beyond geography: The geography of the beyond in ancient Japan

This paper is a review of the literature on the world-view of the ancient cosmography of Japan. It explores the structure of cosmographical space as it was conceived, through archaeological evidence, historical written records and comparative study of primitive religion. It then goes on to examine in some detail the landscape of that world-view, which reflected the actual physiography of Japan, only in mirror-image. It is argued that several aspects of the ancient world-view continue to influence not only some Japanese customs, but also play an underestimated role in determining some important aspects of land use in modern Japan, particularly that associated with mountains and Shint shrines.     

Maada’oonidiwag gete-dibaajimowen (“sharing old stories”): reflections on a place-based reparatory research partnership in Nbisiing Anishinaabeg Territory

In this paper, we reflect on an emerging community-based partnership rooted in place-based reparative research. Braiding knowledges (Atalay, 2012) from Nbisiing Anishinaabeg communities, northern Ontario universities, and multi-scalar museums, the partnership focuses on repatriation, reparative environmental histories, and action-based research in the context of settler colonialism and climate change. We reflect on ongoing projects that attempt to put Anishinaabe gikendaasowin (knowledge) into action alongside historical geographical research. We discuss how the partnership resonates with community geography values of relationship, collaboration, equity, and reciprocity, and urge non-Indigenous geographers to acknowledge how Indigenous knowledges and approaches have shaped these ideas long before geography became a discipline. We contend that historical geographers have a deeper role to play in community geography scholarship, citing examples of two projects related to (1) repatriation of Anishinaabeg cultural heritage and (2) storymapping through historical Geographic Information Systems (HGIS). However, we argue, geographers must continue to acknowledge their own positionality in a discipline that was built through settler colonial violence and knowledge production. Finally, we reflect on the role of academic institutions in facilitating First Nation-university-museum partnerships through access to funding, space, and databases, while addressing the challenges of relying on institutional support for reparatory and decolonizing projects.

     

A test of Sporormiella representation as a predictor of megaherbivore presence and abundance

Spores of the dung fungus Sporormiella have been suggested to indicate the presence, perhaps also the abundance of past megaherbivore populations. Nonetheless, basic studies demonstrating a correlation between Sporormiella concentration in lacustrine sediments and modern herbivore abundance are lacking. This study of Sporormiella representation in grazed and ungrazed landscapes provides supporting evidence for the application of Sporormiella as an indicator of megaherbivore presence and abundance in ancient landscapes. However, Sporormiella representation is spatially sensitive to the distance from the dung source. In lakes where Sporomiella are abundant in shoreline sediments, they decline sharply with increasing distance from the lake edge. Although this study provides supporting evidence for the application of Sporormiella as a proxy for herbivore presence and abundance, independent proxies should be applied in conjunction with Sporormiella to control for changes in lake size.     

Holocene environmental change on the Atlantic coast of NW Iberia as inferred from the Ponzos wetland sequence

The intertidal environment of the Ponzos beach (NW Iberian Peninsula) hosts a sedimentary sequence (including large wood fragments) deposited during the first half of the Holocene in a hygrophilous continental wetland. Pollen and macrofossil data alongside radiocarbon dating allow reconstruction of the changes that occurred during the Early and Middle Holocene in the landscape of the NW Iberia coastal lowlands, as well as the local wetland plant communities, in response to the climate variations and the eustatic sea-level oscillations. The sequence represents the evolution of a coastal wetland from its initial phases as a hygrophilous wetland towards the subsequent installation of a freshwater lagoon. Pollen data show the dominant role of Atlantic (mainly deciduous) woody taxa, the scarcity of conifers and the lack of Mediterranean elements in the coastal landscapes around the Ponzos site. The presence and abundance of some taxa such as deciduous Quercus, Castanea, Fagus, Tilia and Ulmus during the Early Holocene provides further support for the occurrence of glacial refuges in the Cantabrian-Atlantic area during the Last Glaciation. The diverse vegetation that characterizes the modern landscapes in this territory established later, spreading from these glacial reservoirs of biodiversity. In this sense, the notable and early presence of Fagus at the beginning of the Holocene, a tree also previously recorded during several phases of the Last Glacial Cycle on the NW Iberia coasts, is noteworthy. In addition, during the Early and Middle Holocene are recorded other trees that are currently extirpated as natural taxa in the area, such as Pinus, Tilia and Carpinus.     

The changing iconography of Japanese political geography

Our world is very fluid, very complex, constantly moving, made up of a great number of interdependent components. Therefore, the locus and the orbit of a particular area play an important role in geography and in politics. The purpose of this study is to examine the iconography of orbit and freedom of movement through an analysis of the transformation of the international politico-economic structure and its impact on Japan and to make clear the footsteps of Jean Gottmann on political geography. Due to its locus being on the crossroad of international power struggles, Japan had accepted different iconographies of orbits every time she faced great mutation in her history. This, in turn, accelerated the synchronism, synergism and synthesis of different iconographies that came to converge at the crossroad. The integration of imported cultures with the Japanese traditional culture promoted the transformation of Japanese society and community to emphasize the freedom of movements. The flexibility of Japanese society and the unifying iconography of Japanese community have enabled Japan to adapt and readapt to changing politico-economic phases. Interested in the relationship between freedom of movement and iconography, Jean Gottmann spent a considerable portion of his academic life inquiring into the changing dynamics of Japanese iconography on the global scene. After a quarter-century pursuit, he contributed to the establishment of political geography in Japan.     

The changing iconography of Japanese political geography

Our world is very fluid, very complex, constantly moving, made up of a great number of interdependent components. Therefore, the locus and the orbit of a particular area play an important role in geography and in politics. The purpose of this study is to examine the iconography of orbit and freedom of movement through an analysis of the transformation of the international politico-economic structure and its impact on Japan and to make clear the footsteps of Jean Gottmann on political geography. Due to its locus being on the crossroad of international power struggles, Japan had accepted different iconographies of orbits every time she faced great mutation in her history. This, in turn, accelerated the synchronism, synergism and synthesis of different iconographies that came to converge at the crossroad. The integration of imported cultures with the Japanese traditional culture promoted the transformation of Japanese society and community to emphasize the freedom of movements. The flexibility of Japanese society and the unifying iconography of Japanese community have enabled Japan to adapt and readapt to changing politico-economic phases. Interested in the relationship between freedom of movement and iconography, Jean Gottmann spent a considerable portion of his academic life inquiring into the changing dynamics of Japanese iconography on the global scene. After a quarter-century pursuit, he contributed to the establishment of political geography in Japan.     

It's a long way to the other geographers and geographic knowledges

Geographic knowledge is usually understood as the knowledge produced by geographers. Yet, it is also produced by people outside of the academia. But as Western science claimed for its exclusive self the status of ‘knowledge’, others have long been denied the production and possession of a true knowledge, and recognised merely the mastering of practical skills. The binary opposition between scientific and other forms of knowledge has been central to the construction of academic geography until the late 1980s, when postmodern thought cast some doubt on the universality of scientific knowledge. This led to critical analyses of academic geography, revealing its situatedness, as well as to a new interest for the geographies of the ‘Others’. Examining how geographers have dealt with other knowledge sets so far, and how they have labelled them, this paper argues that other geographies should be given more attention. This means focusing on the knowledges themselves, and considering implementing a true dialogue between these and academic geography. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

The landscape as a geosystem

The main object of study of geography is the landscape sphere that includes the surface of our planet. The landscape sphere differs from the other geospheres by displaying unusual complexity and consists of structured sets of components which exhibit discernible relationships with one another and operate as a system. The functioning of the landscape sphere is conditioned by the interrelationships of components, as well as by the transfer of mass and energy from one part of the landscape sphere to another in the form of streams of mobile elements. The author is using the name geosystem for determination of this system of planetary dimensions. The landscape sphere may be further divided into subsystems exhibiting characteristic features which facilitate their identification and delimitation.Territorial differentiation of the landscape sphere, on the basis of the law of zonality, produces horizontal, latitudinal and vertical zones called by author geoms. These geoms may be further subdivided into geosystems of smaller dimensions called geochoras. The basic geochora is the landscape. In most landscapes the key elements in these geosystems are controlled by Man and so-called cultural landscapes are developed. The cultural landscapes are parts of the landscape sphere within which natural and socioeconomic geosystems co-exist. The author further distinguishes cultured, disturbed and devastated landscapes. The study of cultural landscape is amongst the most difficult fields of investigation, but such studies are of great significance in terms of predicting future environmental developments.     

当代地理学特征：发展趋势及中国地理学研究进展

地理学是一门研究地球表层自然要素与人文要素相互作用及其时空变化规律的科学，它广泛运用现代科学技术手段，具有跨越自然科学与社会科学的性质。面对当前全球变化和可持续发展的世界性科学问题，地理学家根据学科特点和领域优势，抓住机遇、迎接挑战。目前主要研究地球表层系统各界面间的物理、化学、生物及人文过程，探讨多种过程的相互作用机理，探求人类活动与资源环境间相互协调、可持续发展的规律。地理学以“格局—结构—过程—机理”的研究思路贯穿始终。随着新技术、新方法的使用以及观测资料的不断积累，实验测试数据质量的提高和数据量的增加，当今地理学的研究在空间尺度上同时向微观、宏观两个方向扩展，模型研究不断科学化，已具备现代科学的主要特征。总体上，表现为部门地理研究深化，区域综合研究加强。长期以来，中国地理学在自然地理的综合研究、地表自然过程研究、城市与区域发展研究，以及面向社会现实的应用基础研究等方面取得了较好进展。     

地理学研究进展与前沿领域

现代地理学涵盖自然地理学、人文地理学和地理信息科学，其发展趋势是：相邻学科的交叉、渗透与融合，加强地理学内部的综合研究，地理过程的微观研究进一步深化，结合实践拓宽应用研究领域，实验与研究手段的现代化，理论思维模式的转变。地理学应在陆地表层过程与格局、全球环境变化及其区域响应、自然资源保障与生态环境建设、区域可持续发展及人地系统的机理与调控、地理信息科学和数字地球战略等前沿领域开拓创新，为促进地球系统科学的发展、协调人地关系等做出积极的贡献。     

Population geography with GIS in Japan

Japanese geography studies are now being greatly affected by the rapid development of geographical information systems (GIS). Unfortunately, there has been little response from Japanese population geographers to this movement. Is GIS a welcome or an unwelcome guest? After discussing the significance of employing GIS, this article introduces some recent papers that used GIS in the field of population geography on such issues as mortality mapping, migration analysis, and household studies. Then, the two promising population-related topics of married one-person households and fertility are discussed. The ability of GIS to greatly facilitate analysis, which previously needed much time and energy, can be an encouraging stimulus of innovation in studies of current population geography. Therefore, GIS is clearly a welcome guest, although it is too wishful to think that its use would lead directly to a revitalization of contemporary population geography studies.     

Political ecology, territoriality and scale

This essay serves as an introduction to this theme issue of GeoJournal and provides a framework for the contributed papers. Territoriality and scale, the essay argues, offer key analytics in approaching the spatiality of the ecological existence of human and non-human beings in their common `house' (oikos), thus of culture-nature relations generally. Such a focus, it bears emphasis, need not reproduce a naturalization of the modern culture-nature binary, but could, as is argued, remind `we moderns' that there is not only one nature (as little as there is only one culture), but a plurality of natures, which can serve the most varied of purposes. However, these spatialities do usually not and can very often not correspond to the spatialities of human activities, particularly to the territorialities and their orders/structures of scale in politico-administrative activities. The scalar literature within political geography, however, has for the most part seen its role as addressing human social relations in its analysis of contestations over power, space, and territory. A political ecology of scale, by contrast, will of necessity need to broaden the terrain of that discussion to include a variety of actors, human and non-human, involved in this broader network. Environmental conservation offers an important illustration of this problematic. A territorial, scalar, and non-modern understanding of ecological regimes is neccesary, argues this essay and the bundle of case studies that follow, because there is no `conservation' outside of a particular politics and geography of ecology.     

Geography in general education in Nigeria

This paper traces the development of geographic education in Nigeria and examines the views of geographers, other academics, students and the public at large about the importance of geography. Geography's value is immense despite the non-professional nature of the discipline. Nevertheless, there is a need to define geography's status and ensure career prospects for students. The Nigerian Geographical Association (from classroom teaachers to top geographers) must promote geography, improve its status in schools and universities, and continuously restructure its content and methods to address pertinent social needs.