Human–animal relations and the celebration of place‐identity: A case study of the Scone Racing Carnival,New South Wales

Festivals and carnivals are social‐cultural assemblages of human and non‐human entities. This paper investigates interactions between humans and animals by focusing on the Scone Racing Carnival, a key event in the Scone and Upper Hunter Horse Festival. This paper contributes to existing studies of non‐metropolitan festivals and animal–human relations by questioning how and why non‐humans are enrolled in these cultural events, and the impact this has on place identity. The central argument is that the relationship between humans and thoroughbred horses, in particular, has played a significant role in the creation of a distinctive landscape, a regional identity for the Upper Hunter region of New South Wales, and a local identity for Scone. In turn, the carnival has assisted in maintaining an ‘eque‐cultural’ identity through the marketing and annual public celebration of human–horse relationships.     

‘Slowing down the going-away process’ — Tom Stoppard and Soviet Dissent

Tom Stoppard is a playwright most noted for his ferocious wordplay and playful approach to reality. In the 1970s and 1980s, his concern for like-minded prisoners of conscience in the Soviet bloc informed his activism on their behalf, utilising his public profile in an attempt to reposition their plight in the West. Stoppard’s activism was largely informed by his involvement with a number of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) working to publicise human rights violations in the Soviet Union, who provided him with the most up to date information on these abuses, and gave him access to dissidents. This article explores Stoppard’s activism on behalf of Soviet prisoners of conscience, highlighting the impact that these organisations had on his activism. Through an assessment of Stoppard’s efforts, it highlights the important role that NGOs and celebrity politics played during the cold war.     

Embodied bicycle commuters in a car world

As an initiative to increase cycling, bike to work (BTW) events emphasize a pragmatic approach in which people learn through sensory experience. Pragmatism contends that the lived experience of the commuter within fluid geographies of social and physical conditions informs commuting knowledge and behavior. I researched how bicyclists participate in the 2012 BTW event in Lake Tahoe (USA) and how these experiences facilitate the process of becoming bicycle commuters. My study included participant observations, interviews, video observations, and route mapping. I analyzed this data with thematic and narrative analyses. I find that the BTW event illuminates bicycling, a normally invisible practice in a car world, and creates temporary bicycle-friendly spaces that provide the embodied experience and knowledge of bicycle commuting within context. Through this lived experience, participants can break free from unconscious car-based patterns and become embodied bicycle commuters who engage in active renegotiations of their commuting practices.     

Student geographies and homemaking: personal belonging(s) and identities

Studies of the ‘geographies of students’ have become increasingly prevalent across the social sciences and are particularly concerned with the predilection for young UK University undergraduates to be mobile in their institutional choice. A more recent focus within this work has been upon student identities, with attention given to how the spaces to which students move and in which they settle can have both positive and negative consequences for the evolution of the student identity, and how such identities are often framed within the context of social activities; learning environments; friendship networks; or other sociocultural factors. This paper contributes to these discussions by considering the role of student accommodation – a site which often remains on the periphery of discussions of student identities – in offering students opportunities to construct, adapt and manage their student identities. This adds to the important contemporary geographies of student accommodation, which are currently debating, among others, purpose-built student accommodation and the broad housing ‘careers’ and strategies of students. In contrast, this paper explores the micro-geographies of student accommodation (and more specifically, the bedroom) to highlight its value in providing young, mobile students with an anchor within which they can draw together their learner, social and domestic dispositions into one geographical location.     

Development of a systems model to visualise the complexity of children's independent mobility

Substantial changes to the built environment, urbanisation patterns, and societal norms have contributed to limiting children's opportunities for being independently mobile. Several linear causal pathway models have been developed to understand the influences on children's independent mobility; however feedback loops between and within the various levels of influence cannot be modelled using such an approach. The purpose of this paper is to refine the interrelationships of factors related to children's independent mobility, taking into account earlier models, broader contextual factors, recent children's geographies literature, and feedback loops. Systems model components were informed by attributes known to influence children's independent mobility, related qualitative findings, and the development of a framework that could lend itself to multilevel modelling approaches. This systems model may provide a useful structure for identifying how best to develop and monitor interventions to halt the declining rates of children's independent mobility.     

邓小平绿色发展思想的历史考察

邓小平在人与自然关系的主体方面,主张控制人口,主要涉及绿色发展的人口与资源协调发展观;在人与自然关系的客体要素方面,倡行植树造林,内含了绿色发展的生态安全观、群众主体观和持续绿化观;在协调人与自然关系的支撑条件方面,强调科教对经济建设和环境建设的先导作用,突出立法建制对环保事业发展的保障作用,蕴含有绿色发展的科技观、教育观和法制观。总结和研究邓小平绿色发展思想,对于深入把握当代中国马克思主义绿色发展观的历史与理论逻辑,贯彻落实党的十八大以来关于生态文明建设的新认识、新设计、新规范,实现美丽中国梦具有重要意义。     

展望中国人文地理学的发展

中国自改革开放以来,人文地理学得到了复兴,在理论、方法和研究内容方面都有了新的发展,其中尤以经济地理学、城市地理学和旅游地理学的进展较快,原先被视为禁区的政治地理学、文化地理学和社会地理学,也开始出现了一批可喜的成果。目前在中国经济体制转轨的新形势下,中国人文地理学正处于一个重要的转折时期,即面临着严重的挑战,又出现了前所未有的发展机遇。
在迈入21世纪时,作者建议中国人文地理学着重研究以下各课题:
(1)为充实中国人文地理学的基础理论,研究人地关系地域系统;
(2)为配合(中国21世纪议程)的实施,研究全国和各地区社会经济的持续发展;
(3)以土地利用为中心来研究全球变化和人类活动的关系;
(4)从节约利用和保护资源出发,研究地区自然资源系统;
(5)为发扬中国地理学的传统,更认真地为农业服务,研究促进农业和农村的持续发展问题;
(6)从理论和方法上提高区域地理研究的水平、并配合国家任务,开展区域综合发展的研究,包括国家和各省经济建设的重点区、海域、生态脆弱区等。     

新常态下中国人文地理学空间探究的时代宿命

本文从社会发展与区域科学承担的使命关系出发,论述人文地理学创新侧当代供给的使命,称为新人文地理学。在论述发达国家后现代人文地理学使命的基础上,依据"民本"性的新人本主义公正思想,首次系统论述主流新人文地理学研究空间公正结构的价值思想、理念与理论指向及其内容;其次,借鉴发达国家建构新人文地理学与社会及其区域学科的融合机理,具体地论证该学科具有对空间建构的最终人本判识学理性及其指向;中国已进入社会公平与空间公正建构的时代,本文争鸣性倡导国内人文地理学的研究必须从物质空间结构的景观功能研究转入到以提高人本价值生活质量的社会空间结构、行为空间结构与文化空间尊严结构的建构探讨方面。该方向不但是中国时代要求的使然,也是该学科对当代社会知识供给的宿命,同样也是与区域科学共同构建区域统筹发展与空间全面公正构建的学科融合宿命。在此基础上本文还首次提出社会与空间价值统一的"新区域经营理念"、"区域同步发展观"及其对应"空间体系价值统一规划"研究的新朝向。     

人地关系理论新探——区域政治、经济、社会系统观

人地关系理论是人文地理学的核心理论。由于人类和自然地理系统间的关系处于不断的变化之中,因而人地关系理论也处于不断变化与发展、完善之中。从而使无数学者为之不断探究。本文在人文地理学基本理论基础上,提出人地之间的"平台系统"观点,以此作为笔者对人地关系探究活动的一次参与。     

西方城市居住行为研究进展及其对中国的启示

改革开放40年以来,住房市场化转型使中国拥有了一个相对独特的住房制度环境,对城市空间结构、居民居住状况和民生福祉等各方面都产生了深远影响。中央政府明确强调需加快研究建立符合国情、适应市场规律的房地产基础性制度和长效机制,而这需要对城市居民微观居住行为进行深入研究。居住行为作为城市地理学的重要议题,近年来,相关研究虽不断涌现,但尚缺乏系统的理论梳理和实证研究总结。本文利用知识图谱可视化刻画了居住行为研究热点的演化,从居住迁移、住房产权获得、住房生涯三方面对西方相关研究进展和前沿进行评述,并进一步梳理了居住行为与城市空间的关系,以深化对城市居住空间分异机制的理解;在总结中西方差异的基础上,对中国现有实证研究进行了回顾;立足于中国国情和现有住房政策,分别从理论、内容、数据和方法三个方面对未来中国居住行为研究方向进行展望,旨在引起学术界对居住行为的关注,为推动中国居住行为研究理论构建、理解社会空间重构机制提供参考。