Fish gut microecosystem: a model for detecting spatial pattern of microorganisms

The spatial distribution pattern of organisms is a basic issue in understanding the mechanisms of community assembly. Although the spatial distributions of animals and plants have been well studied, those of microorganisms are still being debated. In this study, we used a fish gut microecosystem to detect the spatial pattern of microbes, because it can provide a relatively unified and stable environment. Results suggest that the turnover of intestinal bacterial assemblages showed a weak but highly significant negative correlation between similarity and distances in the microbial community, in respect of both grass carp intestinal loci distances and the geographical distance between fish sampling sites. Our results also suggest that intestinal bacterial assemblages responded to differences within the external environment and within different parts of the fish themselves. These results show that some, or possibly all, microbes are restricted in their distribution and that environmental factors are also important influences on the structure of intestinal bacterial assemblages. The fish gut microecosystem is useful in promoting study of the spatial distribution patterns of microorganisms.     

Postcolonialising Geography: Tactics and Pitfalls

The moves within postcolonial theory to "provincialise Europe" encourage an acknowledgement of the parochial nature of much of what still passes for universal theory in the western academy. Within geography, postcolonialism has generated a strong interest in colonial histories and contemporary postcolonial politics, but this has not displaced the dominant parochial forms of theorising in the discipline. The paper argues for a more cosmopolitan theoretical project within geography, one whose routes through a range of intellectual traditions and contexts might encourage a broader scope to conversations about space and nature, and produce more lively and creative insights into some of the urgent political issues facing the world today. A geography whose intellectual vision is limited to the concerns and perspectives of the richest countries in the world has little hope of effectively participating in the debates that will matter in the twenty-first century. Within the frame of this long-term intellectual project, this paper will suggest some initial practical steps which researchers, writers, teachers and students in geography might take to start to decentre the predominant Euro-Americanism of the discipline. The specific sources of inspiration for this argument are drawn from comparative urbanism and Southern African geography.     

Changing Perspectives in High School World Geography: 1950–2005

Abstract

This study set out to better understand the changing links between geography and citizenship. Content analysis was conducted on eighteen high school world geography textbooks and state/national standards. Interviews were conducted with teachers and textbook authors. Five significant changes were noted: decline of national orientation and a greater focus on non-Western cultures; greater emphasis upon consumption over production; the accentuation of values clarification; increasing coverage of basic or prevocational skills; and standardization of format and content in textbooks. Many of these changes point towards a new cosmopolitan citizenship model, although some teachers and state social studies standards still see geography from a national perspective.     

城市遥感技术在特大型城市政府决策中的重要作用--以上海市为例

对现代城市遥感技术在我国特大型城市的城市调查、城市规划、城市减灾防灾等方面的应用进行了分析,对政府决策的三个重要方面包括调查(如城市建成区范围、城市土地利用结构、建筑密度与建筑容积率、城区棚户简屋、城市绿化、城市交通等)、提供辅助决策依据(如大量基础性数据资料、遥感信息GIS库、专家系统等)和检查实施情况(如进行动态研究与实时监测检查决策执行情况)的应用内容、方法及成效结合上海市几轮遥感调查的实例进行了探讨、分析和总结。指出现代城市遥感技术是特大型城市各级政府进行决策的重要辅助工具。