Maquiladora Myths: Locational and Structural Change in Mexico's Export Manufacturing Industry

Trends in location, labor force, and procurement practices in maquiladoras are examined using recent data sources. A growing proportion of maquiladoras are selecting interior locations, south of the borderlands. Once dominated by young women, the labor force is rapidly approaching gender parity. While far below prevailing rates in the United States, maquiladora wages are comparable with equivalent manufacturing sectors in Mexico. Majority ownership of maquiladoras is split almost evenly between Mexico and the U.S., however, maquiladoras have failed to develop domestic sources of materials and parts and remain dependent on imported material inputs. As the North American Free Trade Agreement is phased in, the regulatory environment of maquiladoras will change but their role as low cost assembly specialists will persist.     

“THE END OF MODERN HISTORY”?*

ABSTRACT. The first half of the twentieth century marked both an end to confidence in human control of the earth and a prelude to the contemporary era of intense environmental concern after 1950. This conspectus of the environmental history/historical geography of the transitional years between 1900 and 1950 focuses on rising concerns over resource supplies and exploitation, particularly land settlement, timber supplies, soil erosion, and river-basin control. Conservation and the pervasiveness of ecological thinking and analogy form a strong underlying theme.     

地段地理学及其实践意义

地段地理学是以微观尺度的地段研究为对象的现代应用地理学的工程化方向为其基本内涵,通过运用案例对其进一步分析说明,充分表明了地段地理学的实践意义。     

Geopolitics in the nineties: one flag, many meanings

This article provides an overview of recent publications on geopolitics. The diversity is overwhelming. Publications are therefore divided into four schools: neo-classical geopolitics, subversive geopolitics, non-geopolitics and critical geopolitics. These four schools are distinguished on two dimensions. The first is the distance to the object under study (practical/applied versus academic/reflective). The second refers to the position towards the state system (states as the principal geopolitical actors versus attention for other political actors and interests). Despite their differences, the four types of studies share a growing interest in geoeconomics.     

SOCIAL THEORY AND THE FUTURE OF URBAN GEOGRAPHY*

Three themes that seem likely to be influential in the near future have recently characterized the work of geographers using social theories as the basis of their explanations of urban phenomena. They are (1) the debates about structure and human agency. (2) the claims of feminists about the analytical significance of the social construction of gender roles, and (3) the demand that we now use our social theories more actively to explain experienced reality. In continuing our use of social theory in urban geography, we must prevent its marginalization as one specific substantive topic; the alternative epistemologies of this type of work can guide new interpretations of every substantive issue in urban geography.     

交通大数据在人文与经济地理学的应用及学科影响

交通大数据能够反映人类社会经济活动产生的位移与时空轨迹,不仅能够满足学者们在微观尺度更深入、更精细的研究粒度要求,而且能够为宏观尺度的研究提供广范围、多视角的连续性观测,其研究与发展为人文与经济地理学带来了新思路和新技术。本文以交通大数据的研究前沿为基础,梳理了区位论、时空行为、复杂网络、流空间等理论研究的发展方向,勾勒了“大数据时代”背景下人文与经济地理学的研究框架体系,探讨了新旧技术方法融合的可能性,并讨论了对各个分支学科相关研究的影响。接着,本文总结了交通大数据在人文与经济地理学的主要应用方向与趋势,主要包括出行即服务的交通规划理论与方法,“人工智能+大数据”的城市管理科学,大尺度交通流迁移的模拟,以及“流空间”与“场所空间”的多维度研究等。最后,本文指出了交通大数据应用在获取难度和数据有偏性等方面值得注意的问题并进行了展望。     

车辆路径问题:从时间地理学的视角

车辆路径问题具有典型的时空分布特征,受到众多时空约束条件的制约。在车辆路径规划中,综合考虑时间和空间因素是非常必要的。本文从时间地理学这一全新的视角来研究车辆路径问题,提出一套完整的时间地理学分析框架,阐述了时间地理学的基本概念,提出了车辆路径问题中的时空约束、时空路径、时空棱柱、时空可达性、时空距离等概念,并给出了图示或定量化的度量方法。论文提出的时空距离度量方法综合考虑了顾客在空间位置和时间窗口2个方面的特征,可更科学地判定顾客之间的"邻近性"。论文通过设计一种求解大规模软时间窗车辆路径问题的算法,证明了时空距离的价值,并展望了时间地理学在求解动态车辆路径规划问题、移动设施路径规划问题等方面的应用。本文的贡献在于,通过时间地理学所提供的一系列概念和方法,实现了在统一的框架下同时考虑车辆路径问题(VRP)的时间和空间特征的构想,挖掘了传统时间地理学理论在车辆路径领域中的应用潜力,这将有利于更快或者更好地求解VRP问题。     

‘Born to Run’: Remembering C.P. Pow

C.P. Pow was my confidant, colleague and (occasional) collaborator for more than 20 years. He had fought a valiant and dignified battle with an aggressive cancer but ultimately succumbed to it in July 2021. I will reminisce a few of the little known traits of Pow which had shaped him to become the conscientious, obliging and humble academic that he was known for.