An analysis of technological potential and regional development processes in Rhône — Alpes

A region's technology potential can be developed in three ways: public finding; private investment (by business); and an intermediate area which ensures coherence between the public and private sectors, and which is mainly to be seen in interface structures between universities and business. After presenting these ways for Rhône‐Alpes, the paper introduces the regional policy to promote science and technology. According to French centralized political structure, the regional government acts as a lever. The region's innovation‐oriented policy, which should not be confused with a research‐oriented policy, has the impact of aiming all action at improving the technological environment of business, and at facilitating their economic development by integrating new technologies. Similarities between Rhône‐Alpes and Baden‐Würtemberg have led these two regions to cooperate increasingly in the fields of science and technology. The ‘four motor‐regions for Europe’ (with Lombardia and Catalonia) experiment in the field of new‐material investment cooperation could be useful if we think of the process aimed at strengthening integration in the European Community.     

Positivism as cultural policy: art and social change in the works of Comte and Saint-Simon

When discussing positivism today, it almost systematically falls into the realm of epistemological discourse. This discursive turn is primarily the by-product of the social sciences’ now-traditional approach to positivism—a turn which has been seen as largely dismissive of positivism for its antiquated and reductionist approaches to research. Without trying to make an apologetic account of positivism, this article reframes it in its broader social and historical dimensions. In particular, this article aims to illustrate how positivism—as a social and political movement—conveyed a cultural policy. In other words, this article attempts to re-engage with the intellectual legacy of positivism to resituate its significance in cultural and artistic terms in French culture, society and beyond. By drawing on the notion of implicit cultural policy, this article retraces the steps of positivism and specifically builds a case for its influence on French cultural policy in the Third Republic.     

“Now let me share this with you”: Exploring Poetry as a Method for Postcolonial Geography Research

Abstract: In this article we attempt to “seize back the creative initiative” to uncover whether poetry might be a useful postcolonial research method. In exploring the possibilities and limitations of poetry as a means of re‐representing and interpreting data collected through in‐depth qualitative interviews, our conclusions are ambivalent: we are attracted to poetry but troubled by it too. For instance, poetry does hold promise through its ability to imaginatively project thoughts and ideas, opening up space so new perspectives can emerge. However, as academics we are always complicit in the knowledge creation process (albeit to varying degrees), and so the representative qualities of poetry are never unproblematic or straightforward. Thus although poetry does have potential as a method for postcolonial geography research, we are making a cautious and careful appeal for its use. We use the case of ecotourism research conducted in Boabeng‐Fiema Monkey Sanctuary in Ghana to explore these ideas.