Geographers and 'globalization': (yet) another missed boat?

Over the years, geographers have developed a disturbing – even dysfunctional – habit of missing out on important intellectual and politically significant debates, even those in which geographers would seem to have a major role to play. The syndrome of processes currently bundled together within the term 'globalization' is intrinsically geographical, as are the outcomes of such processes. Yet, once again, it seems, we are not, as a discipline, centrally involved in what are clearly very 'big issues' indeed. The purpose of this paper is to explore, in the context of ongoing globalization debates, the bases of this undesirable situation and to consider what might be done to redress it in ways that could both enhance intra- and interdisciplinarity and also make a contribution towards building a better world.     

上海陆家嘴金融集聚动因的实证研究

本文利用陆家嘴金融创新问卷调查和面对面访谈等实地调研资料,对上海陆家嘴的金融集聚动因进行了较为深入的探讨。研究发现,邻近金融中心市场、共享知名品牌、金融友善型政府、良好的政策法规是促进其金融集聚的主要动因;而我国金融政策环境开放度不高、金融产业水平较低、市场规模不大、中介服务机构不足则正成为影响陆家嘴金融集聚的主要不利因素。     

Re-emerging China and Consequences for Economic Geography

A noted specialist on the spatial dimensions of China's economy surveys questions and opportunities for economic geography raised by the re-emergence of China. He explores the ways in which the rise of China may alter economic geography's object of study (the organization of the world economy), force re-conceptualization of some fundamental concepts and theories, and affect the way the discipline conducts its work. The paper argues that cooperation of Western and Chinese scholars in forging a new economic geography is contingent on a redirected focus away from concerns relevant only to the West and the discarding of research frameworks that bracket China off from experiences in the West.     

全球化背景下的城市怀旧现象及地理学研究视角

现代化、全球化和城市化催生了当代的怀旧现象,城市怀旧已成为一种极其普遍的社会文化景观,并成为国内外学界关注的重要话题。通过对国内外文献的分析,总结了国内外城市怀旧现象的研究状况,以及文化地理学视角的研究进展。研究表明,城市怀旧研究已经渗透至诸多学科领域,国外文化地理学者从多个角度开展了城市怀旧的研究,但该研究在国内还十分鲜见。文章指出可以结合文化地理学及相关理论,从人地关系角度,分析城市怀旧文化的形成发展及其与城市文化生态环境的互动作用,探讨城市怀旧空间的生成、类型、特征、时空演变及其动力机制,解读城市怀旧文化景观对于城市怀旧空间的诠释以及地方认同的影响,以揭示在城市怀旧空间形成和演变过程中,城市记忆、地理想象、地方认同和建构的互动作用机理。认为城市怀旧的地理学研究将拓展我国城市文化地理学的研究视野,并对城市更新、历史街区的保护和复兴提供重要的理论支撑和决策依据。     

The geography of venture capital investments in the UK

The role of venture capital in economic development increasingly is recognized as central to the development of an entrepreneurial economy. However, the supply of venture capital is not distributed evenly across the space economy. In the UK, evidence for the 1980s demonstrated that venture capital investments were highly concentrated in Greater London and the South East, reinforcing the existing patterns of regional concentration of economic activity. This paper reviews the regional distribution of venture capital investments in the UK in the 1990s, a period of massive growth in venture capital investment activity. It concludes that the regional concentration of venture capital investment has been considerably reduced since the 1980s. However, more detailed analysis of the data demonstrates that this shift towards a less unequal regional distribution has been driven by so–called 'merchant' venture capital – investments in large–scale management buy–outs and buy–ins which facilitate corporate restructuring through ownership change and often have adverse consequences for employment. 'Classic' venture capital – investments in young entrepreneurial companies with high growth potential – remains highly concentrated in London and the South East, and also in Scotland. This reflects both supply– and demand–side factors. The Government's new regional venture capital funds are unlikely to be effective in closing this regional finance gap. An alternative approach to intervention, in the context of the increasing globalization of venture capital investments, is to seek to attract venture capital money and expertise from elsewhere.     

Honoring Susan Hanson's 45 years in geography

The essays in this themed section honor Susan Hanson's 45 years in geography. They are written by senior academic geographers who participated in a series of panels at the Annual meeting of the Association of the American Geographers in Boston in 2008 that celebrated Susan's scholarship and her impact on the discipline of geography.     

试论经济地理学的研究创新

本文受相关学科的研究启发,并根据作者从事经济地理学的学习和研究体会,提出关于经济地理学研究创新的六点建议:建好基础数据,创新研究方法,激励思维创新,营造创新环境,培养扎实的学风,选择特殊的研究对象。     

Reassessing Human Geography in the Wake of China's Rise

A prominent human geographer, introducing a series of papers in a Eurasian Geography and Economics mini-symposium devoted to China's emergence, surveys the myriad global impacts of that country's rapid recent rise. The topics covered include the economic (i.e., rapid growth in the size of China's economy, preeminence as an exporter of manufactured goods, and role as a major natural resource consumer, overseas investor, and purchaser of U.S. debt obligations), the geopolitical (increasing involvement in international organizations, rising assertiveness in defense of territorial claims), and the environmental (e.g., carbon footprint, accelerated urbanization, dam building), as well as the implications of China's rise for the study of geography and development. He argues that assessment of the consequences of the country's emergence should not be based on simple extrapolation of present trends, but must take into account a number of looming questions relating to the competitiveness of China's manufacturing labor force (vis-à-vis other developing countries), capacity to innovate (as well as imitate), and transformative societal impacts of modernization and development.     

The Arizona community data set: a long‐term project for education and research in economic geography

Abstract

The teaching of economic geography has received considerable attention in the literature over the last three years. This paper contributes to the debate by illustrating and analyzing a project based at the University of Arizona, the Arizona Community Data Set (ACDS). The ACDS is a long‐term field‐project that has given students the opportunity to go in the field to collect and analyze regional economic data and to apply theory and techniques learned in the classroom. This unique data set has yielded additional benefits in the area of basic research. It is argued that projects such as the ACDS complement some of the theoretical and analytical curriculum developed and recently published by other instructors in economic geography. Furthermore, it is demonstrated that some of the limitations commonly associated with field projects, especially the cost, can partly be overcome through sponsorship by community agencies.     

中国城市地理研究的若干问题:海外学者的观点

海外学者是中国城市地理研究的一支重要力量,取得了许多重要的研究成果,提高了中国城市地理在国际学术界的地位。本文就海外学者对中国城市地理研究的主要问题:经济发展与城市化、全球化与城市发展、体制改革与城市转型及城市地理的理论与方法等方面进行归纳总结,期望加强了解,取长补短,相互学习,共同促进中国地理学的发展。     

Some problems of varying overlap between secondary and higher education

Abstract

This paper identifies some of the problems created by the varying school geography backgrounds of students entering higher education. They are illustrated by examining students’ varying knowledge of the models of von Thunen, Christaller and Weber and some possible solutions to the problems are suggested.     

The silver screen

Abstract

Based in educational theory and with an interdisciplinary backdrop, this paper applies to economic geography thoughts and contributions pioneered in agricultural science by Professor Richard Bawden. Commonly held educational objectives are interpreted alongside three major teaching traditions. From this analysis, the potential relevance of experiential learning is examined in the light of paradigmatic shifts in economic geography and practical developments in tertiary milieu. The conclusion is that praxis‐based teaching deserves more attention than it has previously received.     

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。