Transnationalism,Transgovernmentalism and Canada–US Relations in the Twenty-first Century

This article assesses the contemporary dynamics of transnationalism in Canada–US relations as the interaction of three key factors: market-driven or “bottom-up” economic integration, sectoral differentiation embedded in transgovernmental relations, and societal (or cultural) transnationalism. It also notes the disruptive and potentially transformative effects of transnational and transgovernmental forces beyond North America which are becoming increasingly central to the calculations of policymakers and major interest groups in both countries. It concludes that transnationalism is a multidimensional phenomenon that appears more likely to facilitate mutual accommodation between the US and its North American neighbors embedded within broader national and international policy streams than to build a broad North American consensus on policy harmonization for the foreseeable future.     

Patronage revisited: The dynamics of information and reputation

Recent revelations of corruption in Italy have encouraged speculation about its social foundations. This article addresses the specific issue of the relations between patronage and corruption, drawing attention to their common basis in control over the circulation of information. Examination of patronage from this perspective suggests some weaknesses in the conventional accounts of its distribution, organization and consequences. Since bureaucracies are the principal modern agencies for the collection and storage of information, changes in the relations between and within bureaucracies, political and administrative, can be expected to provoke changes in the structure and stability of patronage networks. That dynamic of patronage, shifting its basis from status to contract, is illustrated in the context of Italian politics in the 1980s.     

Canada in a global economy

This paper questions the neoliberal understanding of globalization as a coherent and progressive force representing the apotheosis of late capitalism. Here, globalization is seen as a contested and sometimes even chaotic process, which needs to be interpreted in the context of the local geographies and histories in which it is embedded. Viewed as a socio-economic process, globalization is characterized by a recurring interplay between local and global interests, implying that Canada's relations with the global economy have been socially constructed in diverse ways, at different times, in different places. Five distinct relations are examined here, each one being linked to a well known historical figure, as follows: the ecological depletion of resources (John Cabot); technological dependence (Alexander Graham Bell); continental integration (C.D. Howe); cultural deterritorialization (Walt Disney); and the new geometries of power (Conrad Black). Each of these five relations has found distinctive local expression.     

Modernization, welfare and 'third way' politics: limits to theorizing in 'thirds'?

The current period of welfare reform in British politics is taking place within a discourse of modernization described in terms of a 'third way'. The ideas which constitute this discourse resonate with recent developments within human geography, namely a movement to theorizing 'in-between' spaces, a turn to culture and to issues of globalization. This paper suggests that welfare reform is a restructuring project which allows the nature of thinking and acting 'in thirds' to be questioned. It problematizes the 'third way' approach to cultural modernization and economic globalization as a de-politicized discourse, and argues for the cultural politics and political economics which underpin welfare reform to be foregrounded. As a form of political discourse analysis, it points to the developing need for a welfare geography that is attuned to the languages and practices through which dominant systems of social and economic distribution are constituted.     

从信息网络到城市群区内数码城市的建立

人类进入21世纪后,全球经济一体化的新形势下,工业化、城市化推动了全社会信息产业的迅速发展,尤其是大城市之间的信息高速公路、因特网等计算机技术和遥感技术发展更快。本文着重探讨了三个问题:①城市空间的信息网络世界;②信息行业对城市发展的潜在作用(协作效应、替代效应、衍生效应等)以及对城市空间扩展的影响;③城市群区内数码城市的建立,促进了城市现代化。     

新时期我国地理信息资源开发利用途径

文章阐述了我国地理信息资源开发利用的现状及存在的问题,并进行分析探讨。指出:传统的地理信息利用方式存在着信息不能共享,传输速度慢,工作量大,收藏成本高,信息利用率低等严重问题。认为,新时期地理信息资源的开发内容主要是开发大众化地理信息产品的建设,即广度上对地理信息资源进行电子化和有序化建设,改善地理信息资源的可获得性和共享性;地理信息精品的建设,即从深度上对地理信息资源进行开发建设,提高地理信息产品的附加值和建立完善的基于网络环境下的地理信息数据库联机检索服务体系。在此基础上,还要重点开发地理信息的智力性资源、预测性资源和提高对地理信息资源的利用能力,以及提高地理信息资源的创新机理,加快地理信息资源的数字化进程。重点提出了新时期我国地理信息资源深层开发和利用的途径。①加强对信息资源的宏观调控;②尽快建立地理信息网,加强地理科学数据库建设;③实现文献载体的多样化,增强文献的时效性;④加强信息人才培养,转变服务职能;⑤重视基础研究和应用研究。     

变动中的家与地方:一个关联性的研究综述

家与地方的关系是地方性研究中的关键性命题。人本主义地理学认为地方根植是家的根本属性,批判地理学则从社会建构的角度阐释家与地方的动态关联。在全球化和灾害影响下,家与地方的联结方式不断变动,呈现出异常丰富的多样性。本文从理论脉络入手,对全球化进程中因绅士化引起的家的置换,无家可归与家在他乡,以及离散者的漂移之家等现象进行了分析;并从灾民自我调适行为和灾后重建计划的实施方面,讨论了灾害影响下家的重构与认同问题。相关学科和国际研究在这一领域的快速发展,将为国内社会文化地理学对家的探索创造良好的机遇。     

中国城市信息服务业发展影响因素研究——基于中国191个城市的空间横截面数据分析

采用空间统计和空间计量经济学原理和方法对2005-2010年间中国191个城市信息服务业发展的影响因素进行了实证研究。结果表明:城市信息化水平和人力资本对信息服务业的发展具有显著的正向作用;对外开放水平对信息服务业的发展影响不明显;城市间的产业关联对信息服务业发展没有通过显著性水平检验,这表明城市间物质层面的相互交换并没有对信息服务业的发展产生应有的正效应,而相反城市间的信息流动和知识溢出对信息服务业的发展具有显著的促进作用。     

澳大利亚旅游网站信息流对旅游人流的导引:过程、强度和机理问题

这篇文章以澳大利亚旅游网站为对象,研究旅游网站信息流导引旅游人流的若干问题,旨在证实虚拟流动对现实流动的作用性。文章首先分析了旅游信息流因素的变化;而后透视了基于旅游网站功能性与服务性的信息流对旅游人流导引的过程;再后给出了旅游网站信息流对不同类型旅游人流导引的强度,最后从旅游网站使用比和旅游网站信息比两个方面揭示了旅游网站对旅游人流导引的机理。