The Rapidly Evolving Geographies of the Eurasian Internet

A noted American geographer surveys the spatial distribution and growth (between 2000 and 2008) of Internet users in the 15 countries of the former Soviet Union, Mongolia, and Afghanistan (Eurasia). A major focus is exploration of the correlations between rapidly increasing penetration rates in the region and hypothesized drivers of Internet growth worldwide (such as income, literacy, and telephone access). The author proceeds to examine various forms of Internet censorship practiced in Eurasia, which exhibit different degrees of severity and types depending on the country in question. A third section of the paper assesses the potentially transformative role of electronic commerce and governance among the region's states, including types of applications and the obstacles that this phenomenon confronts. A concluding section includes penetrating observations on the implications of continued expansion of Internet use on commerce, information access, and civil society in the region.     

替代抑或补充:网上购物与传统购物出行的关系研究

有关网上购物与传统购物的关系问题是当前电子商务领域的研究热点之一,但研究结论还不尽一致。许多人认为网上购物将替代传统购物方式,但是也有其他的观点表明应是一种促进或者补充的关系,甚至有人觉得这种影响是很小的。本文通过对大学生购书行为的调查,采用统计方法分析了网上购物对传统购物出行的影响作用。结果表明:总体上,网上购物对消费者传统购物出行的影响并不显著,网上购物还只是作为消费者原有购物出行的一种补充方式,并不会对大多数消费者的传统出行频率和出行距离造成明显的影响。一方面,网上信息浏览和网上购物对传统日常购物出行的影响主要表现为消费者日常出行频率和距离的缩减以及多目的出行频率的上升。另一方面,网上行为可能使消费者非日常出行频率增加,单次出行距离增长。总之,网上购物与传统购物出行的关系并不是简单的替代或者补充,而是要复杂地多。     

技术、产业和地方:互联网的经济地理学

从技术与经济的角度入手,在已有的文献资料基础上,对互联网的经济地理学研究进展进行了总结和评述。互联网技术条件下,新空间的产生孕育了新地理学的浮现。文章从互联网的技术基础设施、数码空间区隔、互联网内容产业和电子商务等四个方面总结了互联网经济地理学的研究动态及主要观点。最后还重新审视了网络空间和地理空间之间的相互辨证关系,并提供了进一步研究的方向。