Genetics and the Environment: Understanding Geographical Variations in the Incidence of Childhood Diabetes

Abstract. Interest in the geography of childhood diabetes has flourished worldwide as a result of the recognition that the place where a child lives is one of the most important determinants of risk. Childhood diabetes is thought to result from exposure to environmental factors which trigger a pathogenic response in genetically susceptible children. The paper reviews evidence of marked spatial and temporal variation in the incidence of childhood diabetes around the world, and examines the potential role of environmental and immunogenetic risk factors which may give rise to these patterns.     

Youth transitions and going to university: the perceptions of students attending a geography summer school access programme

This paper contributes to understandings of youth transitions in childhood and youth geographies through the use of a participatory diagramming exercise with students studying geography in a summer school access programme at a Scottish university. In particular, the paper explores young people's perceptions about adult/child binaries and their hopes and fears in applying to university. The discussion highlights the extended nature of youth transitions: the usefulness of participatory diagramming as a research method and teaching technique for this group; and the consequences that the increasing interest in childhood and youth geographies might have on teaching and learning in human geography.     

On‐line Dangers?: Geographies of Parents’ Fears for Children's Safety in Cyberspace

Children are considered particularly important in debates about the possibilities and dangers of information and communication technologies (ICT). Discourses on ICT contain paradoxical representations of childhood. On the one hand, unlike most other understandings of child/adult relations, these discourses assume children to be equally, if not more, technologically competent than adults. On the other hand, children's very competence at using ICT is alleged to be putting them “at risk” of abuse or corruption. This paper addresses these moral panics about children and ICT by exploring to what extent and why parents are concerned about their children's safety in on‐line space. In doing so the paper reflects on the extent to which anxieties about children in cyberspace replicate concerns about public outdoor space and the way networked computers emerge as different tools in different households.     

Foreign Direct Investment in the Czech Republic

Children are considered particularly important in debates about the possibilities and dangers of information and communication technologies (ICT). Discourses on ICT contain paradoxical representations of childhood. On the one hand, unlike most other understandings of child/adult relations, these discourses assume children to be equally, if not more, technologically competent than adults. On the other hand, children’s very competence at using ICT is alleged to be putting them “at risk” of abuse or corruption. This paper addresses these moral panics about children and ICT by exploring to what extent and why parents are concerned about their children’s safety in on-line space. In doing so the paper reflects on the extent to which anxieties about children in cyberspace replicate concerns about public outdoor space and the way networked computers emerge as different tools in different households.     

国外儿童地理学研究进展与启示

20世纪70至80年代,在地理学“空间转向”的背景下,国外儿童地理学研究兴起。2003年Children’s Geographies诞生,成为儿童地理学的旗帜性刊物,标志着儿童地理学的发展进入新阶段。借助可视化工具,系统梳理国外儿童地理学研究的核心主题、研究热点以及研究方法。研究发现：（1）国外儿童地理学的科研人员、科研机构以及研究所属区域都呈现高度集中性,欧美国家占据主导地位;（2）核心研究主题包括移民与流动身份、伦理与地区差异、教育与青年志向、童年与多元空间以及游戏与情感体验等;（3）亚洲儿童地理研究成为近期研究热点,聚焦于“跨国儿童移民”以及“亚洲青年教育及就业问题”两部分;（4）研究方法历经探索期、发展期、繁盛期以及信息技术广泛应用时期的演进,技术手段随时代发展不断更新。     

LOCATIONAL PROBLEMS AND PREFERENCES IN PRESCHOOL CHILD CARE*

With the increased use of formal child care, the number of child care alternatives has grown. The locational problems and preferences of University of Connecticut employees who use formal child care for children under age 6 are examined because an on-site program is available as one option. Difficulty finding care at a convenient location is related to residential location. Preference for worksite care decreases with increasing commuting distance. Variations in reported locational preferences by commuting zone are consistent with the notion of locating services within the activity spaces of the users. As commuting distance increases, worksite day care represents a greater displacement from the activity spaces of the child and possibly of other family members.     

A Review of “Business Site Selection,Location Analysis and GIS”

This study seeks to examine the relationship between childhood exposure to air pollution and long-term respiratory health and to identify significant predictors of respiratory health in adulthood. Logistic regression modeling was undertaken using health and exposure data for 395 participants who resided during childhood in four distinct neighborhoods in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Significant predictors include exposure to SO₂ in childhood, location of residence in childhood, sex, residential and occupational histories, stressful life events, and respiratory health in childhood. This study suggests that the health impacts of childhood exposure to air pollution are located beyond the short-term period that most research addresses.     

新世纪以来中外儿童贩运研究热点与趋势

以“Web of Science^TM核心合集”和CNKI期刊文献为数据源,运用CiteSpace软件进行文献计量分析,梳理总结了2000年以来国内外儿童贩运的研究热点与趋势。结果发现：1）中外儿童贩运研究的发文量整体呈波动增长态势,美国的发文量位居世界首位,国外研究集中在社会学、心理学、儿科医学、家庭研究与犯罪学等5大领域。国内研究进程相对缓慢,早期研究集中在法学、犯罪学与社会学3大领域,近年来地理学领域快速兴起。2）由于区域环境与国情存在差异,国外儿童贩运包含在人口贩运研究中,更关注以剥削为目的跨国贩运,包括直接剥削与间接剥削2种方式,涉及商业性贩运、童工贩运、人体器官贩运和童婚贩运等多种贩运类型,商业性贩运与性剥削是儿童贩运的主要研究热点;国内拐卖儿童犯罪通常与拐卖妇女合并讨论,聚焦于以收养为目的的省域拐卖,诱骗养子型和家庭操控型是最常见的2种类型,拐卖儿童犯罪的法律政策与社会原因是热点关注话题。3）随着多学科交叉融合的发展,国外儿童贩运的研究主题从贩运类型向儿童被解救后的自杀风险与福祉评估、康复回归与重返社会、儿童保护与贩运防控对策持续拓展;国内拐卖儿童犯罪的研究主题从法律政策与社会原因向时空格局、影响因素、安置回归与社会融入延伸。未来如何将儿童贩运的相关主体（犯罪人、受害人或监护人与其他社会人）与时空环境（社会环境、建成环境及周围人流环境）进行综合贯穿,从犯罪地理学视角探究儿童贩运的地理环境因素与时空活动轨迹的演变,深入解析“时-空-人”三维视角下儿童贩运的发生机制至关重要,以及在实践中如何充分利用现代科技手段追踪和打击儿童贩运,为中外儿童贩运防治与管理贡献力量。     

Cultural and Geographical Influences on Underweight Prevalence among Preschoolers in Ghana

Underweight prevalence among preschool children in Africa has been studied, but the effects of culture and geography remain unclear. This study used the 2008 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey data for 2244 children aged 0‐59 months and generalized linear mixed models to analyze these data. The results showed that culture and geography remained significantly associated with preschool underweight prevalence after controlling for demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of children, mothers, and households. Additionally, the gender of a child, size at birth, fever status, mother's BMI, insurance coverage and number of children <5 years in the household were significantly associated with underweight prevalence in Ghana. The study concluded that in addition to specific characteristics of children, mothers, and households, culturally motivated childhood dietary restrictions among the Ga/Dangme and Ewe could be reduced through appropriately targeted nutritional messages. Additionally, decreasing North‐South disparities in socioeconomic development, and improving nutritional outcomes among disadvantaged households in southern Ghana should be the focus of policies and strategies directed at reducing preschool underweight prevalence in Ghana.     

Improving map generalisation with new pruning heuristics

Many automated generalisation methods are based on local search optimisation techniques: Starting from an initial state of the data, one or several new child states are produced using some transformation algorithms. These child states are then evaluated according to the final data requirements, and possibly used as new candidate state to transform. According to this approach, the generalisation process can be seen as a walk in a tree, each node representing a state of the data, and each link a transformation. In such an approach, the tree exploration heuristic has a great impact on the final result: Depending on which parts of the tree are either explored or pruned, the final result is different, and the process more or less computationally prohibitive. This article investigates the importance of exploration heuristic choice in automated generalisation. Different pruning criteria are proposed and tested on real generalisation cases. Recommendations on how to choose the pruning criterion depending on the need are provided.     

Micro-level analysis of childhood obesity, diet, physical activity, residential socioeconomic and social capital variables: where are the obesogenic environments in Leeds?

This paper describes global (whole of Leeds) and local (super output area) analyses of the relationship between childhood obesity and many 'obesogenic environment' variables, such as deprivation, urbanisation, access to local amenities, and perceived local safety, as well as dietary and physical activity behaviours. The analyses identify the covariates with the strongest relationships with obesity, and highlight variation in these relationships across Leeds, thus identifying 'at-risk' populations. This paper seeks to demonstrate the importance of analysis at the micro-level in order to provide health planners with additional information with which to tailor interventions and health policies to prevent childhood obesity.     

贵州省拐卖儿童犯罪的多维时空格局及影响因素研究

拐卖儿童犯罪作为一种影响恶劣的社会现象,已引起公众和学界的广泛关注。基于犯罪地理学视角的相关研究起步较晚且侧重宏观分析,当前亟须聚焦犯罪热区作精细解析。本文以中国拐卖犯罪主要源区贵州省为研究区,采用文本分析、数理统计、空间计量等方法,揭示被拐儿童的社会人口学特征及拐卖儿童犯罪的多维时空格局与影响因素。结果表明：① 1~6岁男童为核心受害对象,拐卖导致的儿童迁移以城乡间交叉流动为主。② 犯罪在1944—2018年间呈“中段高发、首尾低发”态势,空间上集中于贵州西北半壁,尤以贵阳为最,微观地点上高发于人员流动频繁的开放型空间。③ 犯罪路径以“黔入东部”和“川滇入黔”为主,以省内跨市流动为辅。④ 犯罪主要受人口自然变动、生育政策、流动人口和经济发展水平等的影响。     

ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH RISKS AND GENDER IN THE KARAKORAM‐HIMALAYA,NORTHERN PAKISTAN*

ABSTRACT. Many mountain peoples face water and environmental health problems. At particular risk is the health of women and of children who live in remote and marginalized mountain areas. Environmental health concerns are often associated with the waterborne parasitic and endemic diseases responsible for much child morbidity and mortality in the Karakoram‐Himalaya of northern Pakistan. Poor environmental health and water‐quality conditions affect child survival, and challenges to viable local interventions are severe. Transformations in women's productive and reproductive work have health consequences for children, and gender and household dynamics shape and mediate women's responses to environmental health risks. Significantly, these findings draw attention to the need for improved water and health policy, especially policy that recognizes different gender and child‐care roles in mountainous regions of the developing world.     

Seeing how it was?: childhood geographies and memories in home movies

Home movies provided valuable insights into childhood experiences during much of the twentieth century. Contrasting footage of children in rural and urban setting in Northern England between c.1937 and 1970, viewed through the cinematic gaze of two male amateur film-makers underpins this discussion of childhood geographies in the past. Issues explored in the paper include the social construction of childhood, power relations and visual representation of children, and the role of home movie-making in shaping memories and constituting ideas and ideologies about family and children.     

The Social Geography of Childhood Mortality,Toronto, 1901

Urban geographers and historians have long recognized the relationship between cities and poor health, though few have documented this relationship for cities in the past. While trends, and national or regional variations, of mortality rates are well documented for Britain and Europe, the picture is less complete for North America. Through the use of household data aggregated to the neighborhood scale, this paper explores the spatial variation of childhood mortality (deaths under the age of five) in relation to the social geography of Toronto, Canada, in 1901. Examination of individual records illustrate that the traditional dichotomous relationship between suburban and inner-city areas, in terms of health status (mortality), did not exist in turn of the 20th century Toronto. Rather, inner-city slums and suburban fringe areas were found to be equally likely to have high levels of childhood mortality. Furthermore, the neighborhood spatial patterns of childhood mortality were more affected by the residential segregation of religious groups (e.g., Catholics and Jews) than the distribution of households by social class or the housing conditions in which the people lived.     

Reconsidering the concept of therapeutic landscapes in J D Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye

Researchers usually examine therapeutic landscapes, spaces that have or are felt to have healing properties, in positive terms. We reconsider the therapeutic landscape notion by applying it to J. D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye . The main character, Holden Caulfield, is sickened by his transition between childhood and adulthood, and he relies on therapeutic landscapes as an imaginary escape. Yet his therapeutic landscapes are oversimplified and unrealistic. Through examples from Holden's experiences, we explore therapeutic landscapes as ambivalent, nuanced spaces. We argue that therapeutic landscapes should be considered beyond exceptional cases, in everyday experience.     

Using Photography to Visualize Children's Culture of Play: A Socio‐Spatial Perspective

Visual methodologies have great potential to offer insight into children's culture and how it shapes childhood. We explore children's culture of play in an urban, low‐income neighborhood using photographs as a means of encouraging participatory research with elementary school students. Focus group interviews were conducted to validate children's perspectives on play, and all data were analyzed inductively using open coding to develop categories and emergent themes. Findings suggest that adults often define the physical boundaries of play, but children were largely able to determine the nature of their activities. Children's culture of play in this study highlighted issues of power and privilege, while concurrently emphasizing the socio‐spatial nature of childhood.     

Changing home, changing school: towards a research agenda on child migration

Summary The purpose of this contribution is to draw attention to a particular sub-group of the population whose migration behaviour has been largely neglected by population geographers but whose activities are of sufficient extent and consequence to require closer investigation. The paper outlines some evidence of the magnitude and geography of internal and international child migration in Britain in the 1990s and argues that research might usefully focus on the relationship between child migration and the school system, and the implications of this interdependence for public policy.     

Discursive Constraints on Pregnant Women's Participation in Sport

I discuss the discursive constraints on the participation in sport of 22 Hamilton women who are pregnant for the first time. Most women tended to withdraw from sport especially as they became more visibly pregnant. Their withdrawal can be partly explained using Julia Kristeva's notion of abjection. Pregnant bodies are often considered to be fragile, fearful and ‘inactive’-they are containers for unborn children and are best confined to places and activities where protection for the unborn child can, supposedly, be maximised.     

A Geography of Children's Vulnerability: Gender,Household Resources,and Water‐Related Disease Hazard in Northern Pakistan*

Water‐related diseases continue to pose major threats to children's survival and well‐being in many places in the developing world. This article develops a theoretical perspective on the ways in which children's vulnerability to water‐related disease hazard is produced within the everyday circumstances of livelihood and child care. Central to this analysis is the role that household resources play in mediating or shaping particular microenvironments of health risk. Further, the effects of local geographies of gender on how household resources are accessed and on how child care is structured are examined. Children's vulnerability is evaluated in a community in the District of Gilgit in northern Pakistan, a region presently undergoing tremendous social and economic transformation. The case study highlights household‐level response and adaptation to child health risks associated with diarrheal disease transmission and infection in this mountain environment. The case study draws from ethnographic fieldwork involving qualitative household microstudies and interviewing to elicit mothers' resource and risk‐response strategies in the context of changes in livelihood systems and household dynamics.