POPULATION ANALYSIS ON THE MICROCOMPUTER: A SYSTEM OF SOFTWARE PACKAGES

This paper describes a system of versatile software packages that has been developed by the author for population analysis on IBM-compatible microcomputers using PC or MS DOS. The series includes programs for the production of life tables, the analysis of spatial patterns and temporal trends in mortality, population projections, stationary-state population simulations and demographic planning, cohort survival estimates of net migration, and the analysis of migration matrices. Each of the programs in the series is discussed in terms of its principal analytical features, associated conceptual and methodological issues, and potential applications. The programs are intended for use both as basic research and planning tools and as instructional aids in university-level courses. The programs and related documentation are available on a set of four 360K diskettes.     

JEWISH AND MORMON AGRICULTURAL SETTLEMENT IN WESTERN CANADA: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS

Mormons and Jews established agricultural settlements in western Canada around the turn of the century. Mormon colonization was generally successful, characterized by its great stability. Abandonment of the land by Mormon communities was rare. In contrast, almost all the Jewish settlements failed. Settlers abandoned their land and retreated to the urban centres of the West. A comparative analysis of the two groups suggests that this difference in agricultural stability may not have been a reflection of prior experience, nor was it necessarily attributable to vagaries of the physical environment. Social structures, religious demands, and institutional backing, along with the geographical concentration and inter connectivity of settlements were critical elements in determining success or failure in agriculture colonization.
C'est au début du siècle que les Mormons et les juifs etablirent dans l'Ouest canadien leurs colonies agricoles. La colonisation des Mormons, caractérisée par sa grande stabilite, réussit dans l'ensemble; rares furent les colonies qu'ils abandonnèrent. Par contre, presque toutes les colonies juives echouerent; abandonnant leurs terres, les colons se retirerent dans les centres urbains de l'Ouest. Une analyse comparative des deux groupes permet de conchre que leur stabilite agricole relative ne fut pas necessairement fonction de leur experience prealable en agriculture; elle ne fut pas non plus attribuable aux seules contraintes géographiques et clirnatiques.
Les structures sociales, les exigences religieuses, l'appui de leurs établissements en plus de la proximité d'autres colonies et leurs interrelations, tous ces facteurs s'avérèrent cruciaux pour déterminer la reussite ou l'échec de la colonisation agricole.     

我们说什么?我们对谁去说?——在美国地理学家协会1987年年会上的讲话

地理学家的演讲与他们运用文字、图象所作的交流同样值得重视.美国的地理学可以通过下述途径得到加强,即围绕地点、地区和全球联系发展实质性演讲,促进自然地理的发展,恢复地理生态的传统.地理信息系统(geographic information systems)对于完成上述任务,对于改进地理学科以满足不断出现的需要,将是一个非常有用的工具.如果我们能够避免自己拆自己的台,避免不现实的空想,避免玩弄语言技巧,而是坚持在大学里进行高质量的教学,并在教师和从事地理实践工作的人员之间开展学术交流,那么地理学将会变得更加有效.我们有一个前所未有的机会来帮助改进美国的中小学地理教育.