Geography in a restructuring world?

In those parts of their discipline which can be categorised as spatial analysis, geographers have focused attention on distance as a key variable, and have paid little attention to bounded spaces and territoriality strategies. In a rapidly restructuring world, in which distance is becoming increasingly irrelevant as an influence on many forms of behaviour, territoriality remains an important aspect of the manipulation of space for economic, social, political and cultural purposes: in the terminology of Hagerstrands classic model, while the coupling and capability constraints on interaction are weakening, the authority constraint remains strong.     

Book Reviews

Books Reviewed Colbert C. Held, Middle East Patterns: Places, People, and Politics Barbara A. Weightman, Dragons and Tigers: A Geography of South, East, and Southeast Asia Henry J. Bruman, Alcohol in Ancient Mexico Brian W. Blouet, Geopolitics and Globalization in the Twentieth Century M. A. B. Siddique (ed.), International Migration into the 21st Century: Essays in Honour of Reginald Appleyard Michael R. Haines and Richard H. Steckel (eds.), A Population History of North America Emilio Moran, Human Adaptability: An Introduction to Ecological Anthropology Jeremy Leggett, The Carbon War: Global Warming and the End of the Oil Era Susan B. Marriott and Jan Alexander (eds.), Floodplains: Interdisciplinary Approaches William S.Logan, Hanoi: Biography of a City Alex Krieger and David Cobb (eds.) with Amy Turner, Mapping Boston Eric Sandweiss, St. Louis: The Evolution of an American Urban Landscape Carl Abbott, Greater Portland: Urban Life and Landscape in the Pacific Northwest Arthur D. Murphy, Colleen Blanchard and Jennifer A. Hill (eds.), Latino Workers in the Contemporary South Yanek Mieczkowski, The Routledge Historical Atlas of Presidential Elections     

(Re)surveying the uses of Geographical Information Systems in Health Authorities 1991–2001

This paper provides a comparative analysis of two separate national surveys of the uptake and use of Geographical Information Systems (GIS) by Health Authorities (HAs) in England and Wales. The surveys were undertaken at two different time points (1991 and 2001), and the intervening period has been characterized by major (and continuing) health sector restructuring. The substantial number of HA mergers between 1991 and 2001 provide a methodological challenge in attempting to make comparisons. A pragmatic approach is adopted and the presentation of results has to be restricted solely to English and Welsh HA data. Our findings show that there has been a considerable increase in the use of GIS since the early 1990s, and there is some evidence of more sophisticated uses for a wider range of policy-related and application tasks. However, we conclude that there is still considerable scope for the wider uptake and use of GIS within the NHS. In addition, our findings provide a baseline with which to monitor the impacts of future organizational restructuring on the uses of GIS within the NHS. We suggest that this is important given the replacement of 95 English HAs with 28 new Strategic HAs (StHAs) from April 2002, and the repercussions of the anticipated shift in GIS responsibility to Primary Care Trusts.     

Sectoral Shifts and Occupational Migration in the United States

This research is grounded in notions of differential economic restructuring across employment sectors and geographic space, as well as migration selectivity by occupation. A series of unconstrained competing‐destinations models were employed to analyze the response by workers in thirteen occupational categories to sectoral employment change, average wages, and distance. As was hypothesized, workers in occupations that require high levels of education and skills are more responsive, in terms of migration, to economic opportunities in alternative labor‐market areas. However, the results do not support the hypothesis that highly educated and skilled workers migrate longer distances. Further investigation suggests that opportunities for highly educated and skilled workers may be clustering in relatively few areas that are in relatively close proximity.     

中国汽车工业──改革开放后的重整与国际化

大规模的重整和广泛的国际化是改革开放后中国汽车工业发展的两个主要特征。作者首先从企业组织结构、生产能力与品种结构、规模经济和空间分布等四个方面分析了近二十年来中国汽车工业重整的效果及所形成的行业特征;其次根据利用的外资和技术的来源以及涉及的技术形态分析了其国际化的程度及在世界汽车工业中的位置;最后总结了中国汽车工业面临的若干问题,并提出在散乱的格局和跨国公司竞争的双重压力下,中国汽车工业正处于成长的关键时期。     

Researching the South African tourism and development nexus

Under apartheid, tourism was essentially anti-developmental in focus and tourism research largely centred on the recreation of white South Africans. Since the 1994 democratic transition tourism has become recognised as an increasingly important sector for South Africa's economy and for achieving the government's goals for reconstruction and development. In this paper a review and critical analysis is presented of the changing directions and foci of tourism scholarship in South Africa. It is shown that South African scholars are beginning to respond to the challenges posed by tourism as a developmental focus. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

The causes and environmental effects of land use conversion during agricultural restructuring in Northeast China

During the last decade of the 20th century, extensive conversion in agricultural land use took place in Northeast China. The goal of this study is to ascertain its spatial distribution and regional differentiation, determine its causes, and analyze its environmental impact. Especially we attempt to elucidate how institutional constraints have facilitated the change at a time of agrarian restructuring when newly emerging free market was hybridized with the former planned economy. Information on six categories of land use was mapped from interpretation of Landsat TM images recorded in 1990, 1995 and 2000. Most of land use changes took place during the first half of the decade, coinciding with abrupt and chaotic changes in government directives. Farmland was changed mainly to woodland, water body and built-up areas while woodland and grassland were converted chiefly to farmland. Spatially, the change from farmland to woodland was restricted to the west of the study area. The change from grassland to farmland took place in the grazing and farming interlocked west. These chaotic and occasionally conflicting changes were largely caused by lack of stability and consistency in agricultural land use policies promulgated. They have exerted adverse impacts on the local environment, including land degradation, increased flooding, and modified climate regime.     

Place‐based action in Wollongong: the role of union–community alliances in constructing labour geographies of steel

Place‐based action (PBA) features prominently in labour geographies, particularly in restructuring politics, and is consistently employed as an enduring union tactic, yet it remains relatively undervalued in steel restructuring accounts, with common approaches emphasising the class instability and limitations of such action. In contrast, and to redress the apparent imbalance, this paper argues the merit of recognising PBA as a distinct movement‐based politic with specific forms of representation and empowerment. Such an approach should lead to greater recognition and appreciation of the impact that PBA has had historically. To illustrate this, a case study is presented of how local groups used place‐based action in Wollongong to shape steel restructuring politics and industry policy during the 1980s. Although powerful, the influence of PBA diminished at the policy writing stage. Rather than devaluing all benefits from PBA due to such limitations, it is suggested that the constraints on PBA at this point suggests the need for other forms of intervention. It is concluded that the approach suggested here highlights when other tactics are required, strengthening real‐world tactical analysis.     

乡村空间重构的理论研究进展与理论框架构建

在新时代城乡融合发展、乡村地域人地关系日益复杂的背景下,乡村空间重构成为乡村地理学研究的重要课题。西方“后生产主义”语境下,乡村空间研究开始出现消费转向、社会-文化转向和后现代转向,多功能、全球化乡村转型与空间重构研究成为西方乡村空间研究的热点;国内研究主要基于乡村地理学人地关系地域系统理论展开乡村空间重构过程—机理—调控研究以及微观视角下农户经济空间行为研究;当前,中国乡村空间重构呈现自上而下的政治经济学转型特征,具有中国特色的农村集体组织与政府、企业、个人等其他主体之间的空间-权力关系成为乡村空间重构的重要视角。政治经济地理学及“社会-空间”二元辩证法为乡村空间重构研究提供了很好的研究范式与研究方法,乡村空间重构研究应系统整合空间生产、主体能动性、土地资本化、社会关系网络、人地关系地域系统和农户地理等政治经济学、地理学理论,强化自然、经济、社会和文化等多要素相互作用及其空间响应机制研究,重点开展多要素多维度的乡村空间格局形成及演变规律研究、乡村社会空间再生产研究、能动性视角下乡村劳动力空间生产研究、政府政策制度与城乡空间治理体系创新研究。     

农村土地制度改革与乡村振兴

乡村发展现实困境与乡村振兴战略目标之间存在巨大鸿沟。论文总结了1949年以来农村土地制度改革与乡村发展的演进态势与时代特征,基于农村土地制度改革的功能体系,剖析了二者的互动机制,探讨了农村土地制度改革助推乡村振兴的发展路径与典型模式,并进行了研究展望。结论如下：① 农村土地制度改革是破解当前乡村发展困境、推进乡村振兴的突破口,本质是新时期为适应城乡生产力发展的生产关系再调整,二者均具迫切性、交融性与攻坚性的时代特征。1949年以来农村土地制度与乡村发展总体耦合联动、互促互馈。② 新时期,农村土地制度改革具有多功能价值,通过补短板促进乡村重构与乡村多功能发展,发挥制度联动、城乡融合与经济转型的乘数效应,助推乡村振兴,并带动城乡地域系统功能优化。③ 农村土地制度改革沿整合要素、重组结构、优化功能的路径,因地制宜、分类推进乡村地域功能演变与乡村振兴。④ 未来需发挥农村土地制度改革的制度联动作用,同时重视改革的政策性摩擦,深化乡村振兴对农村土地制度改革的正反馈,并权衡农村土地制度改革举措与乡村发展的适应性问题。