The Virtual Placement: An Alternative to the Traditional Work Placement in the Geographical Sciences?

Work placements are a well-established part of the curricula of many geographical sciences, as are opportunities for online learning. Whilst many aspects of the learning experience for undergraduates have been given an online makeover the placement has remained a ‘real’ experience. This paper considers the potential value of an online placement and outlines pedagogical and technical aspects of the e-MapScholar Virtual Placement. Findings from evaluation of the first Virtual Placement case study are presented and issues regarding wider adoption are raised.     

Student perspectives on the teaching of geographical information systems (GIS) in geography degrees

In an era when graduate employability is a key concern, the teaching of geographical information systems (GIS) has become a subject of considerable interest. This paper reports on a study of the GIS student learning experience using student survey data from six UK geography undergraduate programmes. The findings show that although students’ satisfaction levels are generally encouraging, more could be done to capitalize on the opportunities GIS offers both for the discipline and for our students. Recommendations are made for further enhancing the profile and quality of GIS pedagogy in geography curricula.     

The Mousterian bone retouchers of Noisetier Cave: experimentation and identification of marks

Retouchers are fragments of bone used during the Paleolithic to strike stone flakes in order to transform them into retouched tools. Our experiments show that the mark produced on retouchers differs depending on whether they were used to strike flint or quartzite. Our results suggest that numerous pits, most often with an ovoid form, characterize the retouching of quartzite flakes. Most of the scores produced with this material have a sinuous morphology with rough interior faces. The areas with superposed traces have a pitted appearance. On the other hand, the retouching of flint flakes, produces pits that are most often triangular in form. Most of the scores have a rectilinear morphology with smooth interior faces and their superposition results in the formation of hatch marks. There is also a relationship between the characteristics of the mark and the relative state of freshness of the retouchers. The validity of the criteria identified was confirmed by a blind test. These diagnostic criteria were applied to archaeological retouchers from the Mousterian site of Noisetier Cave. The results obtained improve our knowledge of the technical behaviors of Neanderthals and allow us to address questions concerning their techno-economic implications.     

How to Handle a Liberated Woman

Abstract

In this article, the author presents a strategy for designing relational databases with the program FileMaker Pro (FileMaker) to study the histories of individuals and organizations. The approach facilitates efficiency in inputting data and flexibility for constructing statistical analyses from the raw data. The key feature of the strategy is to define the basic unit of observation in the database in terms of an agent, an event, and a date. Given that programs such as FileMaker can easily sort data by agent and date, once one structures the data correctly, he or she can construct well-ordered event histories for agents, even if the researcher enters the data in an unordered fashion. By using events that happened to an agent at a particular time as the basic unit of observation, one maintains maximum flexibility to do statistical analysis that aggregates basic data in different ways. This article illustrates the power of the approach by outlining ways to analyze changes in geographic distances between two events marking the life histories of chemists.     

论清末的省界观念

清末的省界观念,学界对其在多个领域中的普遍存在缺乏清晰的认识和更进一步的探究.其实,到了清末,以地缘情结为基础的省界观念无论是在地方政权体系、私营经济领域当中,还是在留学生特别是留日学生群体、资产阶级革命派当中,都广泛地存在着,并产生着极其恶劣的影响.直到21世纪的今天,省界观念依然如幽灵一般无处不在,因此,涤荡省界意识,有着重要的现实意义和价值.     

多类型微博舆情时空分布关系的差异性及其地理规则

以新浪微博转发行为作为舆情时空分布的研究对象,分别选取4·20雅安地震事件代表重大社会舆情、凤凰古城收费事件代表公众生活舆情、郭某某事件代表网络热点舆情3类案例,总结不同类型微博舆情的时空分布特征及差异性,进而透视客观存在的地理规则。研究发现：①3类舆情事件微博转发量的时间分布分别表现为：长尾型、山峰型、多个时间段上的波浪型。②与时间轴对应的空间分布呈等级结构,信息扩散节点城市等级（转发量）结构还会表现出一定的空间伸缩变形或与距离衰减形成叠加关系,3类事件分别表现为：延续传统规律的“始终金字塔”结构、在相对较长时间过程中具有范围伸缩的“始终金字塔”结构、距离衰减影响下的“始终金字塔”结构。城市规模效应主导和距离摩擦阻尼效应影响构成网络信息空间分布的基本地理规则。③微博舆情时空分布的差异性与事件类型有关,并与不同微博用户的作用有关。微博用户的不平衡区域分布和其跨区域流动对信息空间分布产生直接影响。     

博物馆中的南海知识生产与地理想象

地理想象是通过文化媒介对特定地方的地理“现实”的转录与重构,而博物馆是达成地理想象的一个代表性媒介。博物馆不只是一个展品陈列的空间载体,其中还包含着地理知识的生产。本文以南海博物馆为例,采用参与式观察、半结构式访谈、话语分析方法,探讨中国（海南）南海博物馆对“南海”的呈现。研究表明,南海博物馆对南海的地理想象不仅是话语建构,同时也是一种国家领土主权在话语层面上的实践。地名、地物、地图、地景是南海地理想象的构建基础,中国（海南）南海博物馆通过对“过去”资源的空间组织,构建了“南海”的地域想象、边界想象以及地缘想象。     

江苏省地理景观与美丽乡村建构研究

乡村审美空间蕴含着内在和深刻的人地关系理念内容,比经济效应有更深的自然情怀,是可持续发展的思想感情基础,也是现代景观规划的重要研究课题。城市化发展过程中自然地理脉络破坏对于乡村景观是致命的。探讨以多尺度层面的地理景观建构乡村审美空间:在区域大尺度范围内设计地理视域观赏空间;在镇域中尺度范围内将生态文明和社会经济发展要求安排在景观空间格局配置中;在乡村小尺度范围内造就素雅含蓄的村落景观。江苏省乡村具有四千年的历史,留下珍贵的人地关系文化遗产和审美烙印。从地理景观形态结构、格局演化进程与机理响应对照乡村审美空间景观,建构和谐安宁的画面境界;最终造就广阔地域的\"美丽乡村\"。     

中国受亚洲各区域的出口贸易溢出研究

出口导向型经济是日本制造、亚洲四小龙和中国之崛起这些亚洲经济奇迹的共同特色。中国加入世界贸易组织之后,出口贸易的带动作用更加重要。本文采用1985-2005年中国、日本和亚洲其他区域的贸易数据,以亚洲金融危机为分界点,利用模型分析中国与日本、中国与亚洲其他地区在世界出口市场中的关系,并最终得出结论:中国与亚洲各地区在出口贸易上的关系相互依赖,各方在贸易上的继续深化将会为这个国际分工体系建立一个各为有利的环境。