Myth of the Triad? The Geography of Trade and Investment 'Blocs'

The notion that the world is increasingly divided into a triad of economic regions based on North America, the European Union and Japan has become a form of conventional wisdom across a range of disciplines. However, despite the near ubiquitous use of the idea of a triadized world, it remains a somewhat normative assertion, the empirical existence of which has yet to be demonstrated. By using the intramax method to analyze the intensity of international trade and foreign direct investment flows during 1985 and 1995, we examine the changing shape of trade and investment 'blocs' globally. We find that while international trade is increasingly organized around fewer world regions, the presumed outcome of a triad-based world economy remains questionable. We further show that investment intensity patterns do not currently conform to any bloc-like formation, but exhibit instead, globally diffused network regions.     

Geography,political economy and the ‘personality of Britain’

SUMMARY: This paper engages with the historical archaeology of the British Isles (With one or two exceptions, I follow the usage of Kearney 2006 in preferring the term ‘British Isles’ to ‘Atlantic archipelago’, preferring the more ideologically loaded, but familiar, term over the arguably more neutral but obscure term.) as a whole. It advocates an approach that foregrounds geography and political economy, via quite simple and traditional ways of mapping variation, for example the work of Cyril Fox. It seeks to play to archaeology’s strengths: rather than seeking abstract origins, it examines how practices later labelled as ‘colonial’ emerged from an intersection of concrete material practices.     

Some Results of the new Discussion about a “Unified” Geography

The president of the Soviet Geographical Society reviews the controversy that surrounded publication of V. A. Anuchin's book on theoretical problems in geography in 1960. Kalesnik finds that the supporters of the idea of a “unified” geography have given ground on a number of points, but are adamant on others. The key issues continue to revolve around the inclusion of society in the concept of the geographic environment, the “mixing” of natural and social laws, and the integration of the geographic sciences into a single science.     

On the Subject of the “Unified” Geography (Landscape and Ethnos,VI)

A theory of ethnogenesis is advanced, associating stability of ethnic communities with homogeneous landscapes and ethnic change leading to the formation of new communities with heterogeneous landscapes. The ethnic aspect of population, unlike the social and political aspects, is found to be a function of geographical factors. The study of the interplay between ethnic man and the environment does not require an integration of the geographic disciplines but can be investigated within the framework of a special discipline, say, ethnology within geography.     

Editorial: Geography and the ‘European Year of Citizenship through Education’

The paper introduces a library of video podcasts (vodcasts) used to support the learning and teaching of geographical methods and techniques relating to physical geography and GIScience in particular. While the notion of video learning is not new, the accessibility of the multimedia snippets via lightweight mp4 players in a field context allows a geographical freedom to learning that goes beyond previous classroom-based work. Evaluation, conducted through the use of reflective diaries and focus groups, identified that all students thought the podcast reference library was a valuable learning resource, of particular appeal to students with a visual approach to learning.     

“Academic War” over Geography? Death of Human Geography at the Australian National University

This article analyses how neoliberal economic policies decide what particular aspects of knowledge are valuable and what are not, and who might be the true holder of that knowledge within the tertiary education system. This assessment leads to some disciplines being seen as less valuable to the system. It argues that the more recent “academic wars” in geography are over the very concept of the university and its role in the contemporary society, what comprises useful knowledge, and who comprises the authoritative figure in the production and distribution of that knowledge. Gender of the geographer therefore becomes a crucial element that determines “authority” in the production of geographical knowledge. To substantiate this argument, the paper takes up the important task of analysing the complex career trajectory of geography within the Australian National University (ANU), the department that was gradually reduced leading eventually to its unfortunate closure in 2009.     

Why Women of Colour in Geography?

The dismally low number of women of colour in the discipline of geography in dominantly English-speaking countries can be explained by a number of systemic features of the discipline. Evidence suggests that a culture of whiteness in academic hiring has overtaken more overt forms of racial and sexist discrimination to limit the number of women of colour hired. More fundamentally, a lack of mentoring discourages women of colour from entering the discipline from undergraduate studies onward. We now face the ironic situation that as more and more studies of racism and other forms of discrimination appear in the geographical literature, the number of women of colour doing those studies remains static.

¿Por qué mujeres de color en geografía?

Las cifras deplorablemente bajas de mujeres de color en la disciplina de geografía anglo-americana pueden ser explicado por varios característicos sistemático de la disciplina. La evidencia sugiere que una cultura de blancura en la contratación académica ha alcanzado formas más explícito de discriminación racial y sexual que limita el número de mujeres en la disciplina. Más fundamental, la falta de dar consejo disuade mujeres de color de abrazar la disciplina desde los estudios universitario no graduado hacia adelante. Nos enfrentamos con la situación irónica que mientras se publican más y más estudios de racismo y otras formas de discriminación en las revistas geográficas, el número de mujeres de color que produce estos estudios queda estático.     

The World under the Stars: Astrological Geography and the Bologna 1477 Edition of Ptolemy’s Cosmographia

ABSTRACT

This article is a re-examination of the first complete printed edition of Ptolemy’s Cosmographia (Bologna, de Lapis, 1477), hitherto considered flawed and defective. An investigation of the status and priorities of the team of court astrologers responsible for this edition, and an examination of the alterations they made to Ptolemy’s maps, suggests that their aim was a redaction intentionally different from existing versions of the Geography. It is suggested that the editors sought to adjust the arrangement of provinces from that recommended in Ptolemy’s Geography (book VIII) to the astrological arrangement detailed in his Tetrabiblos (book II) and that they modified the content of the key regional maps accordingly. In this light, the Bologna 1477 edition underlines the importance of assessing the reception of Ptolemy’s geographical work against a cultural background in which astrology prevailed as an integrated system of knowledge, practices and beliefs.     

Geography: a different sort of discipline?

Debate continues about the inter-relationships between human and physical geography and their different research and publication practices. Relatively little data about these are available, however. Using an analysis of all publications submitted by UK geographers to the 2001 Research Assessment Exercise, this paper identifies a substantial difference between human and physical geographers in their publication strategies. Most physical geographers place their research papers in specialized inter-disciplinary journals and make relatively little use of geography outlets: most human geographers, on the other hand, publish in geography journals. Comparisons with other disciplines – in the earth and environmental and social sciences respectively – also identify differences between geographers and their peers. The overall conclusion is that, with regard to research and publication at least, UK geography cannot be presented as a single academic community with strong internal ties, but rather as a conglomerate of separate communities writing for different audiences.     

The Economic Geography of the Meso-global Spaces: Integrating Multinationals and Clusters at the Local–Global Level

The local–global phenomenon literature is fragmented between the fields of international business and economic geography (EG). In the case of the latter, the literature, produced within the global production networks (GPNs) and global value chain frameworks, does not address the central role of firms, especially multinationals which co-locate and connect territories along GPNs. This paper develops a cross-field conceptual integration in order to enrich the EG perspective, using qualitative research methodology to test the framework. The results have important implications for scholars and policymakers.     

Destroying the Joint and Dying of Shame? A Geography of Revitalised Feminism in Social Media and Beyond

Has feminist geography really lost all relevance? This paper examines what the revitalisation of interest in feminist thought and practice, especially in Australia, means for geography. We illuminate the trajectory of the feminist revitalisation in new media and beyond through developing a spatial analysis influenced by Rose and Fincher. Notions of paradoxical space and issue publics inform this reading of two pivotal moments in the feminist revitalisation: first, the creation of Destroy the Joint, a campaign launched and maintained in Facebook and Twitter spaces; and second, the Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard's speech against sexism and misogyny in Parliament in October 2012. Both these moments, coming from political and public spaces, received worldwide interest, and we critically examine the context and ramifications of these instances while situating the institutional processes surrounding them within the growing feminist revitalisation. In so doing, we argue that these Australian‐based cases indicate a growing feminist movement that is open and multiply focused, connecting personal politics to public campaigning, and achieving material impacts. We conclude that developing a feminist geography of new media is a challenging task, as these spaces circumvent and renegotiate traditional spatial dimensions – including scale and place – through their dynamic networks. It is, nevertheless, a task worth doing.     

Knowledge Transfer at the Research–Policy Interface: The Geography Postgraduates' Experiences of Collaborative Studentships

The need for effective knowledge transfer has been well documented; however, few narratives reflect on postgraduates as brokers of knowledge when participating in collaborative studentships. This paper reports on the authors' experiences of undertaking Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and Scottish Government (SG) collaborative PhD studentships in geography, a new studentship which trains doctoral students to be employable in both academe and government. Particular focus is given to the experiences related to an annual month-long SG placement, which increases opportunities for knowledge transfer by engendering a deeper awareness of the needs of all partners. It concludes by considering what the experiences offer to the PhD process, authors' future prospects, and the issue of knowledge transfer more broadly.     

Against the Odds: Does Geography make a difference?

In this article, the author examines her experiences in one geography department, as a black scholar and mother from a working class background, to ponder whether geography has helped or hurt her odds of success in academia. The odds against the author are briefly reviewed through a consideration of work relevant to the success of mothers and women of color graduate students and faculty members. The retelling of the author's experiences reveals a general lack of sensitivity to and acceptance of difference on the part of some geographers attributable to issues of visibility and cultural goodness of fit. Though geography has not made a difference in assisting her in beating the odds of success in academia, the author concludes that doing so is achievable and begins with a sense of respect for difference, making the discipline relevant to a broader cross-section of the population, and improving relationships within and between disaffected groups, such as women of color scholars, inside and outside the discipline.

¿Contra las probabilidades: Hace un diferencia la geografía?

En este artículo el autor, como erudita negra y madre de la clase obrera, examina sus experiencias en un departamento de geografía y reflexiona si la geografía las ayudó o las dañó a sus oportunidades de éxito in la academia. Las posibilidades contra el autor se revistan a través de una consideración de trabajo relevante al éxito de madres y de mujeres de color como estudiantes graduados y miembros de la facultad. El re-contando de las experiencias del autor revela una falta generalmente de sensitividad y aceptación de la diferencia de la parte de algunos geógrafos y que se atribulan de cuestiones de visibilidad y “bondad de apropiado” cultural. Aunque geografía no ha hecho una diferencia en ayudando el autor para superar a las probabilidades de éxito en academia, el autor concluyó que la posibilidad de superarlas existe y se empieza con un sentido de respeto de la diferencia, haciéndose la disciplina relevante para una porción más extenso de la población, y mejorando las relaciones dentro y entre grupos desafecto como las eruditas que son mujeres de color, adentro y afuera de la disciplina.     

Mapping the Geography of R&D: What Can We Learn for Regional Innovation Policy in the Czech Republic and Beyond?

Administrative regions do not necessarily correspond to areas that are homogenous in terms of innovation intensity. Although this has been recognized in the literature, quantitative evidence that explicitly considers this problem is rare. Using spatial exploratory analysis on detailed regional data derived from a census of R&D performers in the Czech Republic, we identify local spatial clusters of R&D activities and assess the extent of their (mis)match with administrative borders. Overall, the results support the arguments for regionalization of innovation policy. However, the existing policy units do not appear well suited for this purpose. On one hand, there is a need for policy coordination between multiple administrative regions. On the other hand, however, there are diverse patterns within them. Similar problems are likely to haunt the regionalization process in many other countries, which is alarming, as the regional accent of innovation policies becomes ever more vehement over time.     

Looking Out,Looking In: The ‘Other' in the Journal of Geography in Higher Education

The Journal of Geography in Higher Education has a vision of being inclusive. This paper examines what the journal, throughout its history, has published on teaching and learning in relation to people and places referred to in contemporary scholarship as the 'Other'. It addresses themes of gender, race/ethnicity, sexuality, and the 'Third World', noting especially the surprising paucity of material on the latter. In particular, the article explores ways in which teaching addresses aspects of students' values and attitudes, and the importance of linking knowledge, emotion, experiential learning and action.