Knowledge and Proximity

Over the years knowledge has come to be seen as crucial for economic progress, and proximity as conducive to knowledge exchange. As a result, knowledge-related processes are often considered as possible explanation of the spatial agglomeration of economic activities. However, knowledge and proximity are general concepts that have to be detailed before it is possible to specify the concrete mechanisms at work. Building on recent work that focuses on proximity, this paper develops a perspective in which proximity features as an enabling element, but no more than that, in ongoing processes of knowledge creation, transfer, absorption, and change. We argue that knowledge is to be viewed as activity and process, rather than object or commodity. Concentrating on “knowledge agents”—those engaged in knowledge-related processes, individuals and collectives—will be more productive than persisting to rely on the distinction between tacit and codified knowledge to explain spatial aspects of the economy. Finally, we argue that regions are different when it comes to the extent, and the way, they facilitate creation, transfer, and other knowledge processes. Contributions to local or regional economic development, whether through research or policy, have to take existing repertoires—patterns in collective knowledge—into account.     

Toward Achieving Dimensional Homogeneity in Hydrologic Analysis

Dimensional analysis, through the application of Buckingham's π-theorem, has been employed to formulate a functional relationship among a set of dimensionless products into an indeterminate homogeneous equation. In showing how dimensional homogeneity can be achieved for a given set of hydrologic variables involving the fundamental dimensions of mass, length, and time, the basic concepts and principles of dimensional theory are first presented; Buckingham's π-theorem is next stated and then applied to the set of hydrologic variables. A great many ways of arranging dimensionless groups were revealed in the course of deciding the most meaningful combination of dimensionless terms for the final equation.     

Proximity,trust and morality in networks

Network interaction is embedded in social settings, which allows for the development of trust. Trust is supposed to be an efficient functional equivalent of contracts, guarantees, insurances, safeguards, etc. Trust between actors reduces transaction costs. However, trust cannot be introduced and enforced within interaction relationships. It is argued that trust is more likely to occur and to be prevalent when actors have the spatial capability for personal, direct interaction. Thus, proximity and trust are supposed to be positively related to each other. Proximity is strongly interrelated with embeddedness. In the discussion about morality in organisations, there is an assumption we referred to as the 'moral spill-over effect': it is impossible, it is said, to restrict moral competencies and moral behaviour to one particular situation, environment, or topic. However, we argue that, even though trust is a term that is described in moral theory, trust and morality are not necessarily positively correlated. This means that even if embeddedness and proximity in a network lead to an increase of trust between network partners, it does not necessarily produce moral spill-over effects. Thus, proximity and morality do not necessarily have to be positively correlated with each other. The influence of proximity on morality can be positive or negative, depending on the social surrounding in which network collaboration is embedded.     

Assessing the Use of Real-time DataStreme Weather Data in an Introductory Physical Geography Course

The online data from the American Meteorological Society's DataStreme course have been used successfully in a traditional undergraduate college weather and climate class. DataStreme was designed to train K-12 teachers to transform weather data into exciting learning experiences. Adaptation of these materials so that some of this excitement could be infused in a traditional college setting was the goal of this pedagogical experiment. These data and associated learning materials have been adapted specifically for use in undergraduate weather and climate courses and are now being made available by AMS as Online Weather Studies. This paper describes and assesses the use of online data. The assessment involved a comparison of student self-reports of factual knowledge mastery, skills acquisition and satisfaction with the methods used in two sections of the same course, one offered with the real-time weather data and one without.     

Proximity and the trust formation process

Trust is a key mechanism for explaining the ease and frequency of knowledge spillovers within regions. While the importance of trust is virtually uncontested, there have been few attempts to rigorously disentangle the way in which trust formation is related to space and proximity. The aim of this paper is to advance the understanding of trust formation in terms of its main antecedents within the context of regional studies. This is done by reviewing the rich literature on trust formation from psychology, sociology, and organization studies and connecting it conceptually to different types of proximity. In doing so, the paper maps out a number of avenues for future research on trust and geography.     

Late-Occurring Handaxes in Korea: Their Homogeneity and Variability

Bifacially worked tools, which are formally categorized as handaxes, are increasingly found in Korea (present-day South Korea). By reviewing recently updated literature, this paper argues that Korean handaxes are unlikely to be true Acheulean handaxes from west of the Movius Line (ML), only partly sharing morphological affinities. A growing body of archaeological data in Korea provides an opportunity for a close examination of the enduring questions, although it does not offer straightforward answers. Korean handaxes show juxtaposed features; variables do not consistently match the pro and cons of affinity of the handaxes from west of the ML. The partial overlap of shapes with the specimens from the neighboring region and from west of the ML is not evidence for cultural transmission of tradition; therefore, the historical lineage across time and space ought to be reconsidered.     

Assessing Spatial Dependence in Count Data: Winsorized and Spatial Filter Specification Alternatives to the Auto-Poisson Model

The auto-Poisson probability model furnishes an obvious tool for modeling counts of geographically distributed rare events. Unfortunately, its original specification can accommodate only negative spatial autocorrelation, which itself is a rare event. More recent alternative reformulations, namely, the Winsorized and spatial filter specifications, circumvent this drawback. A comparison of their performances presented in this article reveals some of their relative advantages and disadvantages.     

Spatial Proximity and Intercompany Communication: Myths and Realities

Abstract

Spatial proximity is credited with numerous virtues in the economic literature. In particular, for a company to be located near other companies is seen as conducive to the development of business relations. Spatial proximity is also considered to contribute to the quality and efficiency of these relations by facilitating face-to-face meetings that foster the exchange of complex knowledge and, in particular, the emergence of innovation. This article explores the notion of spatial proximity in intercompany relations, its capacity to facilitate exchange, as well as the link with the methods of communication employed (information and communication technologies and face-to-face). It is based on a distinction between real proximity (the spatial distance between firms), perceived proximity (the spatial distance as evaluated by the firm itself) and active proximity (spatial proximity that facilitates the exchanges). The data come from a survey conducted in 2008 with more than 2000 firms located in the Brittany region (France). The findings emphasize the relative nature of the notion of spatial proximity and the distinction in some cases between real and active proximities, and show that the positive perception of the role of spatial proximity is sustained by the increased face-to-face contact it entails.     

Composition,Similarity, and the Measurement of Economic Homogeneity*

Abstract. The concept of economic homogeneity in regional science is based on two very different notions: composition and similarity. In the case of the states of the US, measures of homogeneity based on these different notions are negatively correlated with each other, suggesting that the results of studies that use measures of economic homogeneity are likely to be sensitive to the conceptual basis of the specific measure. In order to overcome this problem, a portfolio‐theoretic measure of economic homogeneity with some attractive properties is presented. It is naturally decomposable into two components reflecting each of these notions and easy to construct using widely available data. Using this measure, patterns of homogeneity for the states of the US are illustrated and discussed, and hypotheses about the relationship between homogeneity and economic instability are tested.     

Resituating Proximity and Knowledge Cross-fertilization in Clusters by Means of International Trade Fairs

This paper elaborates a proximity framework and provides empirical evidence of how knowledge cross-fertilization is instigated at international trade fairs (ITFs) and continued in a cluster network. This paper applies a case study method relying on social network analysis to explore the knowledge cross-fertilization initiated at ITFs and furthered at a Swedish cluster. The findings suggest that firms participating at ITFs translate and re-articulate the acquired external knowledge through their interactions in the cluster network. Creating awareness of the ITFs' influence on innovation is significant for policy-makers and scholars.     

Moments of Proximity: Former Political Prisoners,Postmemory and Justice in Indonesia

This article builds upon recent anthropological engagements with postconflict transitional justice processes, suggesting that ethnography can illuminate the ways in which these processes involve the negotiation of both physical and symbolic space, and intergenerational, postmemorial identities and relationships. This is demonstrated through my fieldwork observations of a 2005 class action lawsuit filed by eks-tapol (former political prisoners) in Indonesia against current and former heads of state. Tracing the symbolic resonances and the sometimes confrontational relationships brought into play around the court case, the article examines how a significant aspect of the ways in which victims of state violence situate themselves after the violence has ceased involves locating themselves, other citizens and state actors in intergenerational relationships.     

Assessing Reagan's Legacy

Abstract

I have argued in other research that modern presidents have been facilitators rather than directors of change. They are highly dependent on their environments and can do little to increase their resources of influence. This article probes such a theory of presidential leadership further by examining the congressional leadership of George Washington.

Perhaps the most revered political leader in American history, Washington entered office with tremendous prestige, a Congress dominated by men he viewed as political allies, and, because he was the first president, the fewest constraining precedents of policy or process. Thus, Washington enjoyed the greatest potential to serve as a “director” and move the country in new directions through his leadership.

Yet the study reveals that Washington was mainly a facilitator, not a director of change—much like George Bush two centuries later. Systemic factors such as political culture and the structure of the constitutional system determined that Washington had to be a facilitator, dependent on the opportunities the electorate handed him rather than a director, creating opportunities for change through his own leadership. Similar features characterize the leadership of the current administration.     

Innovation Processes and Proximity: The Case of IDEON Firms in Lund,Sweden

Increasing pressure on innovativeness and collaboration is supposed to strengthen the importance of geographical proximity in innovation systems. But simultaneously there are 'globalization forces' and information and communication technology (ICT) developments that stress wider contexts and different dependencies to place and distance. With case studies of innovative firms at IDEON Science Park in Lund, the article presents analyses of the importance of proximity, related to the kind of knowledge and collaborative arrangements involved in innovation processes. Scope for 'untraded interdependencies' is discussed as well as the possible ICT impact of these collaborative relations. Argument for a three tier innovation system is put forward and its implications for regional innovation strategies are, concludingly, discussed.     

Beyond Distribution and Proximity: Exploring the Multiple Spatialities of Environmental Justice

Abstract:  Over the last decade the scope of the socio-environmental concerns included within an environmental justice framing has broadened and theoretical understandings of what defines and constitutes environmental injustice have diversified. This paper argues that this substantive and theoretical pluralism has implications for geographical inquiry and analysis, meaning that multiple forms of spatiality are entering our understanding of what it is that substantiates claims of environmental injustice in different contexts. In this light the simple geographies and spatial forms evident in much "first-generation" environmental justice research are proving insufficient. Instead a richer, multidimensional understanding of the different ways in which environmental justice and space are co-constituted is needed. This argument is developed by analysing a diversity of examples of socio-environmental concerns within a framework of three different notions of justice—as distribution, recognition and procedure. Implications for the strategies of environmental justice activism for the globalisation of the environmental justice frame and for future geographical research are considered.     

Assessing Presidential Communications in Civil Rights Policymaking

This chapter compares the public communications of modern presidents across target groups and issue areas of civil rights. We find that attention, support, and symbolism on civil rights vary considerably across individual presidents and political party. Not surprisingly, in their public messages Democratic presidents are more attentive and supportive of civil rights than are Republican presidents. Some results were expected, while others were surprising. Lyndon B. Johnson was attentive and supportive; but, unexpectedly, George H. W. Bush was highly attentive to and quite nonsupportive of civil rights. Also surprisingly, on most indicators, Bush's policy statements were less symbolic and less equivocal than were Ronald W. Reagan's. Most attention is given to blacks as a target group (although this is declining) and to the employment issue area. Overall, the findings reveal the considerable flexibility and discretion in presidents' public communications in the civil rights realm.     

An Operator of Smoothing and Measures of Homogeneity of Linearly Ordered Geographical Structures

Geographical structures consisting of a sequence of ratios are examined from the point of view of homogeneity. Several measures of homogeneity are introduced. It is shown that any two such structures are not necessarily comparable in terms of homogeneity and their measures of homogeneity do not necessarily agree. One way of achieving agreement among homogeneity measures is to link the homogeneity of structures to the operation of smoothing, based on one of the properties stated by C. E. Shannon for entropy in information theory.