‘In the best interests of the child’: juggling the geography of children's gardens (between adult agendas and children's needs)

This review paper presents literature, particularly in children's geographies, in support of the proposition that the rationales for the current children's garden movement flourishing particularly in the United States, albeit well-intentioned, continue to be dominated by adult discourses acting ‘in the best interests of the child’. The paper concludes that broadening the debate on ‘children and gardens’ through inclusion of research that focuses on children's competence and empowerment offers a different perspective of what children might want from these spaces. This highlights new directions for research on children's gardens which would focus this garden typology more on children's needs than adult agendas, and therefore contribute positively to development of these gardens as sustainable environments for children's learning and enjoyment of nature.     

Two New Location Covering Problems: The Partial P-Center Problem and the Partial Set Covering Problem

Two new covering problems are introduced. The partial covering P-center problem minimizes a coverage distance in such a way that a given fraction of the population is covered. The partial set covering problem seeks the minimum number of facilities needed to cover an exogenously specified fraction of the population within a given coverage distance. The problems are formulated as integer linear programming problems. Bisection search algorithms are outlined for the two problems. The search algorithm repeatedly solves a Lagrangian relaxation of the maximal covering problem. Computational results for the Lagrangian relaxation of the maximal covering problem and for the bisection search algorithms are presented on problems with up to 150 nodes.     

Two New Location Covering Problems: The Partial P-Center Problem and the Partial Set Covering Problem

Two new covering problems are introduced. The partial covering P-center problem minimizes a coverage distance in such a way that a given fraction of the population is covered. The partial set covering problem seeks the minimum number of facilities needed to cover an exogenously specified fraction of the population within a given coverage distance. The problems are formulated as integer linear programming problems. Bisection search algorithms are outlined for the two problems. The search algorithm repeatedly solves a Lagrangian relaxation of the maximal covering problem. Computational results for the Lagrangian relaxation of the maximal covering problem and for the bisection search algorithms are presented on problems with up to 150 nodes.     

Embodying Place: Pathologizing Chinese and Chinatown in Nineteenth-Century San Francisco

This paper argues for uniting disease with body theories in investigations of power relations and the construction of race. It examines this alliance through the case studies of smallpox and syphilis in nineteenth century San Francisco. In locating epidemics inside the Chinese community and by reproducing Chinese bodies as intrinsically diseased, medical theories explaining smallpox and syphilis succeeded in shifting dominant constructions of race from different to pathological. But the process of body production and the role of disease in it cannot be divorced from a simultaneous analysis of the production of place. The configuration of Chinatown's streets and alleyways, perceptions of filth and crowding, and the bodies resident within Chinatown were simultaneously pathologized in a process that exemplifies the need for a better integration of body theories with theories of the social production of place.     

The Impact of Proportional Representation on Turnout: Evidence from New Zealand

Theories of voter turnout assume that institutional arrangements can alter incentives for participation. Countries with proportional representation (PR) are assumed to increase the incentives to participate because they reduce the proportion of votes that are wasted, giving voters a stronger incentive to participate and parties a stronger incentive to mobilise voters. This paper departs from previous cross-national studies by employing individual-level data during a transition between electoral systems in one country. We used survey data collected before and after electoral reform in New Zealand to examine patterns of participation among political minorities. As a direct test of individual change, the analysis was supplemented with survey data from the last election held under first past the post (FPP) merged with validated participation data from the following election held under PR. We found that the adoption of PR in New Zealand has succeeded initially in fostering more positive attitudes about the efficacy of voting. In New Zealand's first election held under PR, voters who were on the extreme left were significantly more likely to participate than previously, leading to an overall increase in turnout.