A systematic review of climate change education: giving children and young people a ‘voice’ and a ‘hand’ in redressing climate change

ABSTRACT

The reality of anthropogenic climate change has been established ‘beyond reasonable doubt’ by leading scientists worldwide. Applying a systematic literature review process, we analysed existing literature from 1993 to 2014 regarding climate change education for children and young people, with the aim of identifying key areas for further research. While a number of studies have indicated that young people’s understandings of climate change are generally limited, erroneous and highly influenced by mass media, other studies suggest that didactic approaches to climate change education have been largely ineffectual in affecting students’ attitudes and behaviour. The review identifies the need for participatory, interdisciplinary, creative, and affect-driven approaches to climate change education, which to date have been largely missing from the literature. In conclusion, we call for the development of new forms of climate change education that directly involve young people in responding to the scientific, social, ethical, and political complexities of climate change.     

Institutional Arrangements and the Morphology of Residential Development in the Netherlands,Flanders and North Rhine-Westphalia

Abstract

This article aims to highlight the mechanisms through which institutional arrangements influence the morphology of residential development. By comparing the Netherlands, Flanders and North Rhine-Westphalia, which have quite similar socio-economic and landscape characteristics, it investigates how differences in national institutional environments have contributed to differences in the urban morphology of residential areas. This article fits within a broader institutional “turn” in planning research. While most of these studies focus on how institutions affect the behaviour of actors in the process of planning and development, this article focuses on the physical outcomes of these processes. The institutional analysis of physical outcomes suggests that urban morphology is not only linked to planning systems—the subject of this special issue—but also to housing cultures and property regimes.     

Rethinking on Sustainable Rural Development

Abstract

In many countries, rural areas have shown a new spatial-economic dynamics that have meant a contrast with the traditional urban-rural dichotomy. In particular, the need to use economic-ecological sustainability as a guiding principle for new rural development is a prominent feature. But how will rural areas, sometimes suffering from lack of economic development, peripheral positions and relatively low social well-being be able to face new challenges? Can they be attractive, innovative and developed (“hot spots”) while maintaining their sustainability and continuity? This question was the background in conducting our research. Hence, this study aims to answer this question in three steps, namely (i) offering a contemporary overview, (ii) identifying the critical factors for and (iii) developing a set of sustainable development scenarios. In order to reach our aims, we applied the so-called pentagon model and used multi-criteria analysis, namely regime analysis. The data and information deployed in this study were obtained from field surveys conducted in 60 European and 17 Turkish rural areas. The results show that future choices are different among rural users and between European and Turkish villages. European users seem more consistent about their future and their will while the will of Turkish villages are still more concentrated on economic development rather than sustainable development itself.     

International geography field courses: practices and challenges

Abstract

This paper introduces a special issue of the Journal of Geography in Higher Education on the practices and challenges associated with taking undergraduate geography students abroad on field courses. I argue that geography is positioned to benefit from both the internationalization of higher education and the demand by students for global experiences. The papers in this special issue focus on three aspects of international field courses: curriculum design and international partnerships, student engagement during short-duration field courses, and how encounters with place can be aided through reflection and play. I conclude with suggestions for future research on international field courses.     

Fieldwork@40: fieldwork in geography higher education

ABSTRACT

Fieldwork is the most powerful learning invitation in the toolkit of Geographical Education. This review of papers in The Journal of Geography in Higher Education (JGHE) suggests seven modes in the development of fieldwork. These are arrayed as a kind of historical, perhaps evolutionary, sequence but most remain current in Geography fieldwork practice. At the far end (1960s) of the sequence are didactic modes that are teacher centred and use the field as an adjunct to the classroom, in the middle (1990s) are modes that involve active learning and focus on the development of students as investigators and at the near end (2010s) are those that centred on the field study area and its qualities, that involve concern about the ethics of student engagement and that employ blended learning technologies. The review charts the JGHE’s gradual shift away from its original, almost exclusively, UK-focus toward something rather more international and inclusive. Fieldwork is where Geographers learn “from doing” Geography to “do” Geography. Its special attributes include providing experiential, sometimes transformative, learning through the immersion of the learner in the field experience. In 40 years, JGHE has helped Geography Fieldwork move from the margins of the curriculum to its current place at its core.     

The Perception of Music

Abstract

The author recently described elsewhere a computer program which would transcribe classical melodies played on an organ console into the equivalent of standard musical notation. This program was the fruit of a prolonged effort to understand how Western musicians succeed in making sense of music, in discerning rhythm and the tonal relation hip between notes. The interest of the problem arise from the fact that no two performance of the same piece of music are ever identical so that the listener has to discriminate between those variation of timing and pitch which are structurally significant and those which are merely expressive. In order to under land the ability of some musician to reproduce the cores of music that they hear it is necessary to develop a formally precise theory of rhythm and tonality – a theory which is couched in terms reminiscent of Chomskyan linguistics. But it is also necessary to consider how the listener builds in his mind a representation of the rhythm and tonality of performed music, and succeed in assigning to each note an appropriate place in the developing structure. In this review the relevant areas of musical theory are reviewed, and where necessary extended; and it is suggested that computational models of the kind described can be of great value as vehicle for the expression of precise ideas about our cognitive and perceptual processes.     

Settlement Patterns and Development of Social Complexity in the Yiluo Region,North China

Abstract

This international, collaborative, and interdisciplinary archaeological program examines changes in settlement patterns from the early Neolithic to the full development of states (ca. 6500–200 B.C.) in the Yiluo region of central north China. Full-coverage regional surveys are integrated with geoarchaeological investigations, ethnobotanical studies, and lithic analyses. The data are used to assess changes in population, environment, land use, agricultural production, and craft production, and to test theoretical propositions regarding the emergence and development of social complexity. Research results suggest a significant sociopolitical transformation taking place in the Yiluo basin during the Erlitou period, including the development of the first four-tiered settlement hierarchy, marked population nucleation, and economic integration between urban center and rural areas. These changes indicate the emergence of the earliest state in China.     

The development of geographical differences in education levels within the Swedish tourism industry

ABSTRACT

The nexus of workforce and destination development is a largely uncharted area within tourism research. The local human capital has above all been in focus when underlining tourism's potential to create employment even for the inexperienced and less educated. However, a discordant strand of theory holds the low levels of qualified knowledge within the industry responsible for absent destination development in areas struggling to develop competitive advantages. Additionally, the in-migration of a skilled workforce may be hampered by a lack of amenities attracting permanent residents. In order to explore whether the tourism sector is characterized by a less educated share of the workforce, a study was performed using micro-level data on the full working population of Sweden during the years 2000–2010. The workforce in tourism was compared to the total and two other low-skill sectors, and the results show that the educational aspects within tourism are more related to geography than economic sectors. Contrary to general presumptions, the workforce within the tourism sector has a higher level of formal education than the other selected sectors in regions with generally low educational levels. The implication is thus that strategies aimed at creating employment for the least educated in rural areas need to be reconsidered, and not unconditionally target the tourism sector. Above all, tourism development needs to be based on assessments of local preconditions rather than a generalized image.     

Planning strategies and practices in non-core regions: a critical response

ABSTRACT

The development of non-core regions has attracted growing interest within the current debates of economic geography, regional studies and spatial planning. The divergence between economically successful core regions and less privileged non-core regions continues despite policy interventions aimed at tackling spatial disparities and income inequalities. While traditional growth-oriented policies raise concerns over their effectiveness and relevance beyond large cities and metropolitan regions, there is growing interest in exploring new research paths and policy options that are better able to address development challenges in non-core regions. Contributors to this special issue engage with these debates by reflecting on planning policies and practices in five European countries, paying special attention to identifying planning strategies for non-core regions. This paper argues that alternatives to growth-oriented models require additional conceptualization and analysis to translate values into policies and institutions.     

Revolutions in music and physics, 1900–30

Abstract

The period 1900 to 1930 saw fundamental changes in the basic laws of physics. The discoveries of the special and general theories of relativity and those of quanta and quantum mechanics transformed profoundly physicists' understanding of the nature of space and time, as well as the fundamentals of physics at the atomic level, which have no counterpart in classical physics. Almost coincidentally, major changes took place in the processes of musical composition – that same period seeing the development of atonality, the liberation of rhythm, and twelve-tone music. This essay reviews in non-technical terms the profound changes in the thinking of physicists and compares the intellectual struggles involved with the extraordinary parallel changes in the approaches of composers to musical composition. No causal connection is suggested, but the common theme of the processes of innovation and creativity within very strict sets of rules in both physics and music is emphasised.     

Culturally sustainable development: theoretical concept or practical policy instrument?

Abstract

This paper outlines the concepts of sustainability and sustainable development, and considers the evolution of efforts to integrate culture into sustainable development policy and practice over recent years. The specific concept of culturally sustainable development (CSD), first promulgated more than 20 years ago, is re-assessed in the light of contemporary circumstances as a theoretically plausible proposition and as a basis for application to cultural policy formation. The paper proposes a set of principles by which consistency of a cultural policy or cultural development strategy with CSD can be judged. The application of each of the principles is discussed, drawing illustrations from particular policy areas in both developed and developing countries. The paper argues that CSD is a concept that has both theoretical substance and potential for practical policy application.     

Wine tourism development in South Africa: a geographical analysis

ABSTRACT

Wine tourism, which is growing and developing on a global scale, is widely considered a driver of economic and social development in rural areas. Limited job opportunities and unemployment are prevalent in most rural areas, particularly in South Africa. In 2015, the South African wine industry generated close to 300,000 direct and indirect employment opportunities. A geographical analysis of the development and current state of wine tourism in the region can assist in the country's efforts to develop a new strategy to enhance and preserve wine tourism in the future. Wine tourism development is analysed from a nodes, network and winescape perspective using the results from a national questionnaire survey. This mostly quantitative approach explains the wine tourism development over more than 40 years from a supply-side perspective including its wine tourism product portfolio and in terms of its physical footprint. Wine tourism development commenced from only three pioneer open cellar doors in 1971, to network formation of 21 wine routes and today boasting well-established wine tourism destinations. The Stellenbosch-Franschhoek-Paarl nexus emerges as South Africa's premier winescape, as being a well-established destination in its mature life cycle phase. Strong evidence of hierarchical differentiation between the wineries of the more established wine tourism regions has emerged. The impact of the wine tourism resorts on the smaller wineries has yet to be determined in the context of the resilience of the whole region. The development of wine tourism is also responsible for the transformation of rural landscapes and especially in the regions that have the most developed wine routes. These regions need higher-level protection (especially the cultural and natural resource bases) in the form of an ‘agricultural reserve’ or the declaration of a ‘national heritage site’.     

Feminist epistemology after postmodernism: critiquing science,technology and globalisation

Abstract

This article provides a reasoned overview of contemporary developments within feminist theories of the subject after the decline of postmodernist thought. It stresses the foundational importance of feminist situated epistemology, and hence of a brand of materialism that stresses embodiment and embedded perspectives. The article explores neo-materialist feminist theories in a number of areas, with special emphasis on science and technology studies and critiques of globalisation. It argues that the neo-materialist trend results in a new call for an ethics attuned to the complexity of our era.     

The European Union Structural Funds and Regional Development. The Perspective of Small and Medium Enterprises in Eastern Poland

Abstract

The article concentrates on the role of European Union (EU) structural funds in the development of small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The analysis presented in this paper is based on the results of computer-assisted telephone interviews conducted with 394 representatives of enterprises localized in three Polish Voivodships: the Podkarpackie, the Lubelskie and the Podlaskie. The entire EU structural funds are based on the assumption that by additionally financing the development of SMEs, they influence regional development indirectly. Even though EU structural funds are not the only factor influencing economic growth and the creation of Gross Domestic Product, they affect the development potential of enterprises indirectly. However, from the perspective of the representatives of researched SMEs, EU structural funds are not so significant for commitment to investment. Actually, for SMEs in Eastern Poland, they have no effect on future investment plans. This bottom-up perspective researched in one of the poorest areas of the EU puts the assumption of the positive relation between the EU structural funds and regional development into doubt.     

Early Concrete Structures: Patented Systems and Construction Features

ABSTRACT

Reinforced concrete structures came to Spain in the late-19th century, somewhat after the development of this new construction material elsewhere in Europe. Their introduction was pioneered in industrialized areas, especially Northern Spain, under systems first patented in other European countries. Local constructors built structures under patents with little or no explanations to account for calculation, design, and construction technique. Some of these buildings from the recent past are now listed buildings. This study centres on three construction projects under patented systems: Our Lady of “La Antigua”, Orduña (Monier system), “La Ceres” flour mill, Bilbao (Hennebique system), and Alhóndiga, Bilbao (Blanc system). Preliminary structural studies analyzed morphology, reinforcements, concrete strength and pathological processes in each structure. Their results are compared with information taken from the patent systems in use at the time. This useful information on the structures, which may be expanded in future research, clearly describes the relationship between patent specifications and reality.     

经济地理学中的农户研究

中国目前约有2/3的人口生活在农村,农村地区的发展成为中国区域发展中令人关注的大问题。然而,经济地理学在农区发展的研究中,存在一个明显的缺陷,既大多数研究均忽视了农区经济中最基本的单位-农户。文章分析了忽视农户对地理学研究的局限,论述了农户与农区的关系,评述了国内外的相关研究成果,提出在经济地理学的农户研究中,应加强农户发展环境研究、基于农户的农区发展模型研究、农户与地理环境相互作用研究、基于农户的农区发展战略研究。     

A New Approach to Analyzing Historical Urban Growth of Ottoman Cities: Manisa Case Study

Abstract

The physical growth of cities is usually used to define the main direction of a city's development. This definition is key to understanding the city's current state and to plan for the future. Many urban planners agree that master plans should include historical urban growth and aim to specify the effective factors driving urban growth. However, defining urban boundaries and historical urban areas is a difficult task. The lack of satellite images, air photos, and real maps to use as base maps for historical urban studies is a problem that a researcher may face when determining patterns of urban development or conducting other analyses. In this article, the authors examine historical changes of the urban boundaries of the Ottoman city of Manisa. They analyze the physical growth of this large city by using the historical buildings (mosques, masjids, madrasas, baths, caravansary, and others) as markers.     

A cultural justice approach to popular music heritage in deindustrialising cities

ABSTRACT

Deindustrialisation contributes to significant transformations for local communities, including rising unemployment, poverty and urban decay. Following the ‘creative city’ phenomenon in cultural policy, deindustrialising cities across the globe have increasingly turned to arts, culture and heritage as strategies for economic diversification and urban renewal. This article considers the potential role that popular music heritage might play in revitalising cities grappling with industrial decline. Specifically, we outline how a ‘cultural justice approach’ can be used within critical heritage studies to assess the benefits and drawbacks of such heritage initiatives. Reflecting on examples from three deindustrialising cities – Wollongong, Australia; Detroit, USA; and Birmingham, UK – we analyse how popular music heritage can produce cultural justice outcomes in three key ways: practices of collection, preservation and archiving; curation, storytelling and heritage interpretation; and mobilising communities for collective action.     

Cultural rights and their contribution to sustainable development: implications for cultural policy

Abstract

This article aims to analyse the meaning and implications of cultural rights for cultural policies concerned with sustainable development. Although references to both cultural rights and sustainable development have become widespread within cultural policy documents in recent decades, the actual conceptual and operational implications often remain vague, as an ambitious discourse that may conceal a poverty of resources and capacities. As a result, the ideal horizon suggested by cultural rights and sustainable development may not always be achieved in practice, nor are the mechanisms to achieve it always well known. In this respect, the article aims to dissect the actual requirements posed by cultural rights and sustainable development, including their different notions and areas of synergy and intersections, in order to shed light on relevant cultural policy approaches. To this end, a range of examples taken from a variety of contexts will also be examined as areas of expressed needs or areas of possible solutions.     

Gender and feminist studies in Albania – a brief state of the art

Abstract

The aim of this contribution is to identify how gender and feminist studies have positioned themselves within the higher education system in post-socialist Albania. In Albania, the post-socialist context was featured by a negative connotation of the left-wing perspective hindering the development of critical and feminist thinking in academia. There is a lack of feminist debate, and hostile prejudices against feminists stick well, particularly in the absence of a thorough debate about feminism. Gender and women’s studies are present mainly in the public university system in association with the Social Sciences Faculty. The only complete program on gender studies is situated within the Department of Social Work and Social Policy, as a Master program in Gender and Development. Gender or feminist studies are mostly taught as “optional” courses often just for the sake of having them present in the program. In this contribution, we aim at briefly presenting some of the main developments, gaps and challenges regarding gender and feminist studies in the Albanian higher education.