Economic Structure and Regional Performance in Germany, 2002–2007

This paper explores the impact of industrial clusters on regional growth at the German labour market region level using a regional convergence model. Based on the results of an exploratory study of the geography of German industrial clusters, we are able to differentiate the impact of industrial clustering from a horizontal and a vertical perspective while taking regional convergence into consideration. The results indicate that in addition to an all-German process of convergence, a specific East German one can be identified. The different types of industrial clusters show mixed effects within this framework. While vertically isolated industrial clusters have a negative impact on regional growth in this period, positive growth effects can be identified when industrial clusters show an intra-regional vertical interconnectedness.     

Flipping and still learning: experiences of a flipped classroom approach for a third-year undergraduate human geography course

The flipped classroom approach, a form of blended learning, is currently popular in education praxis. Initial reports on the flipped classroom include that it offers opportunities to increase student engagement and build meaningful learning and teaching experiences. In this article, we analyse teacher and student experiences of a trial flipped classroom application in a third year undergraduate human geography course that challenges conventional thinking and practice in resource management, including an explicit focus on the marginalization of Indigenous knowledges in that context. The flipped classroom trial included empirical research with teachers and students to gauge the strengths and weaknesses of this mode of learning. Interviews, focus groups, surveys, reflections and participant-observation activities were conducted before, during and after the course. The research shows that this particular implementation of the flipped classroom approach generated multiple experiences for teachers and students, some constructive, others less so. Overall, space, time and flexibility matters not only to the kinds of pedagogical tools we employed to tailor learning to students’ differing needs, but also to the kinds of learning spaces – online and offline, individually and in groups – in which learning happens.     

Reviews

CHANGING PERSPECTIVES IN BRITISH FOREIGN POLICY. Kenneth Younger. Chatham House Essays: 7. London, Oxford University Press, 1964. Pp. 139. 15/9.

BRITISH EMIGRATION TO AUSTRALIA. R. T. Appleyard. Australian National University, Canberra, 1964. Pp. xiii + 255. £2/17/6.

BRITAIN AND THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY 1955–1963. Miriam Camps. London, Oxford University Press, 1964. Pp. x + 547. £A4.14.6.

INTERNAL WAR. Harry Eckstein (ed.). Glencoe, The Free Press, 1964. Pp. 339. $6.50.

MODERN GUERRILLA WARFARE. Franklin Mark Osanka (ed.). Glencoe, The Free Press, 1962. Pp. xxii + 519, bibliog.

MALAYSIA. K. G. Tregonning. Cheshire for the Australian Institute of International Affairs, 1964. Pp. 98. 13/6.

MALAYSIA; A SURVEY. Wang Gungwu (ed.). Melbourne, F. W. Cheshire, 1964. Pp. 466. £5.

SINGAPORE AND MALAYSIA. Milton E. Osborne. Data Paper: Number 53, Southeast Asia Program, Cornell University, 1964. Pp. 115. $2.50.

SOUTHEAST ASIAN UNIVERSITY. A COMPARATIVE ACCOUNT OF SOME DEVELOPMENT PROBLEMS. T. H. Silcock. Durham, North Carolina, Duke University Press, 1964. Pp. xiii + 194. $6.

CHINA. K. S. Latourette. New Jersey, Prentice‐Hall, 1964. Pp. viii + 152. $1.95.

MODERN CHINA. Edited by A. Feuerwerker. New Jersey, Prentice‐Hall, 1964. Pp. vi + 186. $1.95.

CEYLON. S. Arasaratnam. New Jersey, Prentice‐Hall, 1964. Pp. vi + 182. $1.95.

TRADITIONAL INDIA. Edited by O. L. Chavarria‐Aguilar. New Jersey, Prentice‐Hall, 1964. Pp. vi + 153. $1.95.

DEFIANCE IN MANCHURIA: THE MAKING OF JAPANESE FOREIGN POLICY, 1931–1932. Ogata Sadako. Berkeley and Los Angeles, Calif., 1964. Pp. xvi + 259, bibliog. $5, Aust. 65/6.

THE MILITARY AND SOCIETY IN LATIN AMERICA. John J. Johnson. Stanford University Press, California, 1964. x + 308 pp. $7.00.     

REVIEW

Pre-capitalism and Cosmology. By Jelle Miedema Dordrect: Foris Publications. 1986. Verhandelingen van het KIVTLV 120. Pp. viii + 44. Price: Fl20.