Structuring subjectivities? Using Q methodology in human geography

This paper presents a critical and reflexive account of using Q methodology in human geography. Q methodology has a long pedigree in psychological, political and sociological research, but is only recently beginning to be used by human geographers. We discuss, in particular, the parts of the process(es) of Q methodology that are often glossed over in the literature, through reflecting on our learning in using Q within a project examining the use and production of environmental science by NGOs. We conclude that Q may be a useful supplement to existing methods in human geography, as long as it is used creatively and reflexively and with full awareness of its interpretative dimensions.     

5·12汶川地震灾评工作中的几点认识

由于汶川地震是新中国成立以来破坏性最强、地震灾害最重、救灾难度最大、波及范围最广的一次地震,在其地震灾评工作中产生了不同于以往地震灾评的诸多问题。针对这些问题,首先给出了汶川地震灾评简况。其次,简单说明了作者参加灾评工作的日程安排。最后,对灾评工作中存在的问题,如烈度评定、生命线宏观损失、抗震设防目标、人员死亡分布等进行了探讨,并给出了几点想法和认识。     

发展湖南水文事业的几点思考

根据湖南的水文特性,从经济和社会发展的角度,分析湖南水文的作用以及与之不相适应的问题。结合本省实际提出发展湖南水文事业的基本思路。     

关于“国家新型城镇化规划(2014-2020)”编制大背景的几点认识

"国家新型城镇化规划(2014-2020)"标志着中国城镇化发展的重大转型,核心是强调了人的城镇化,总体要求是"稳中求进"。本文着重从发展速度和发展质量方面阐述了对这个规划产生背景的初步认识。城镇化发展水平应当与城镇产业结构转型和新增就业岗位、城镇实际吸纳农村人口的能力、以及水土资源和环境承载力等保持一致。中国大规模高速发展的城镇化,付出的环境污染代价巨大,基础设施不堪重负,自然资源的支撑力面临严重的困难。城镇化是具有明显交叉学科特性的重要前沿科学问题,是一个复杂系统。人文经济地理学的跨学科性质在城镇化研究领域具有突出优势和较为扎实的研究基础,面向国家新型城镇化的重大现实需求,还非常需要对这一重大领域进行深入的跟踪和研究。     

On Multi-Level Thinking and Scientific Understanding

Professor Duzheng YE's name has been familiar to me ever since my postdoctoral years at MIT with Professors Jule CHARNEY and Norman PHILLIPS, back in the late 1960 s. I had the enormous pleasure of meeting Professor YE personally in 1992 in Beijing. His concern to promote the very best science and to use it well, and his thinking on multi-level orderly human activities, reminds me not only of the communication skills we need as scientists but also of the multi-level nature of science itself. Here I want to say something(a) about what science is;(b) about why multi-level thinking—and taking more than one viewpoint—is so important for scientific as well as for other forms of understanding; and(c) about what is meant, at a deep level, by "scientific understanding" and trying to communicate it, not only with lay persons but also across professional disciplines. I hope that Professor YE would approve.