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Human Geography - Science topic
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Questions related to Human Geography
Thank you in advance for your reply.
Will the earth be full of humans both aged and infants? What would have happened to the planet earth if there was no death?
First I would like to apologize for my limitations writing in English.
I am developing a doctoral thesis in geography whose theme led me to read about the BODY. So, I would like to know the opinion of colleagues regarding two questions:
- Is it possible to think of the body as a geographical analysis scale as legitimate as the others commonly used?
- In this context, what are the limits and potential of thinking of the body as space and object of study in geography?
** I accept indications of references on this topic. Thanks in advance.
I’m practically convinced that ‘landesque capital’ and ‘infrastructure’ are the same thing. Am I wrong?
I’ve searched for literature that explores the distinction and relationship between these two concepts, but found very little. Can anyone point me to scholars or published works that discuss the relationship between these two terms?
Some background:
In their editors’ introduction to their book, Landesque Capital: The Historical Ecology of Enduring Landscape Modifications, Thomas Håkansson and Mats Widgren use the word ‘infrastructure’ only once, in this passage, where they distinguish infrastructure from landesque capital. They write:
“Where, between the intake and the final distribution of water on the field through furrows, sprinklers, or drip irrigation plastic tubes, does the canal change from being infrastructure to becoming landesque capital? It is perhaps because of this difficult distinction that concepts such as landesque capital have seldom been used for the most capital-intensive landscapes of the world, such as the human-controlled deltas in the Netherlands or China. Needless to say, the engineered landscapes of these large, human-controlled deltas represent huge investments in fixed and immovable capital in the built environment, but can hardly be reduced to landesque capital alone.”
To which, I want to ask: Why not? Håkansson and Widgren write (‘needless to say’) as if the distinction between landesque capital and infrastructure is self-evident, yet this passage also poses a question that’s very difficult to answer: where does the boundary lie within a continuous structure (and flow) that supposedly is clearly ‘infrastructure’ at one end (the canal), but, equally clearly, ‘landesque capital’ at the other end (the furrows of an agricultural field)?
Håkansson and Widgren’s book applies a working definition of landesque capital as ‘enduring landscape modifications’, but I want to understand why one should accept that a container port, a hydro-electric dam or a nuclear power station are not ‘enduring modifications of landscape’ in the same way that an irrigation canal or agricultural terrace are accepted to be.
In the papers I’ve explored so far, the two terms (infrastructure and landesque capital) are quite often used side-by-side when discussing anthropogenic landscapes. It’s sometimes possible to discern an unspoken, implicit logic behind the reason for using one term rather than another in a given sentence—but this reasoning is not explained, and I think we ought to examine it.
It seems to me that landesque capital and infrastructure function the same way: they both serve to enhance the utility, productivity and value of land; they invest current flows of labour (and other inputs) and ‘bank’ them, so as to make future work easier, more efficient, and more productive; they both serve to underpin social systems and the production and consumption of essential goods and services; they are products of collective work and are intimately connected to societal institutions.
Hence this post to the ResearchGate hive mind. Am I right or wrong? What am I missing? If I’m right, what are the implications?
I’m interested in your thoughts about infrastructure, landesque capital, enduring landscape modifications, and anthropogenic landscapes. And I’d like to be referred to works in which these terms are discussed and defined, and distinguished or used interchangeably.
I’m looking forward to reading your replies!
Kind regards,
Dominic.
I am interested in relationships between photovoice or auto-photography as research methods and social-spatial difference, either as captured in the photographs, or as embodied or lived by the participants. I would particularly appreciate suggestions of literature from the past 10 years.
Recommendations of reading on participant-photography and social-spatial difference would also be relevant in this case.
I am particularly interested in conceptual literature and pieces of research that aim at advancing the human geographic debate on (local) climate governance. Thank you very much!
Dear all,
Do you know food, human geography or rural development journals that accept short papers (below 4,000 words)? Thank you, Best!
I have been asked to compose a writeup of identity as it pertains in human geography, to identify the key theories, thinkers, and current directions. Suggestions of key literature would be very much welcome.
My impression is that the theory behind urban policy mobilities is very well grounded and when reading a paper contributing to this literature stream the theoretical part usually appears to be very strong and important for the paper. Then again, I sometimes I feel that for scholars working on urban policy mobilities the methodology and the empirical research are less important than the theory. Does this observation make sense?
The most popular research methods seem to be expert interviews and document analysis but what I couldn’t find yet was some sort of guidelines on how to empirically study urban policy mobilities. It would be even better if there was an assessment framework for the analysis analysis of (urban) policy mobilities? I would be most grateful if somebody could recommend some specific literature on that.
Do any researcher know or have tried any method to map intangible heritage?
Christian Nold (2009) in his book of essay Emotional Cartography aims to
explore the political, social and cultural implications of visualising intimate biometric data and emotional experiences using technology.
In my research (http://www.pocitovemapy.cz/index-en.html) I work with term emotional mapping, but I have been told by some other researchers, readers and reviewers, that emotional mapping is not the correct term, as emotions is not what is being mapped.
I usually ask people to identify places on the map, where they feel afraid (mapping of safety), where they "like it" (spatial preferences), but also places where they spend free time, or places where it is dirty (environment pollution, etc.).
Which term, would you suggest for this kind of subjective mapping - would it be emotional maps or maps of perceptions? And what do you think is the main difference?
Thank you!
I am a PhD candidate in Human Geography at Durham University, UK. My research topic is urban child labour issues. To this end, I aim to be in Dhaka, Bangladesh to conduct a long-term ethnographic research. For the purposes of ethical considerations, I wonder if I need an ethical clearance from the Government of Bangaldesh.
Future urbanization - urban growth - seems to always be presented from a positivist standpoint as a neutral fact. However, from a critical perspective, it seems obvious that urbanization as well as economic and material growth are tightly intertwined and mutually feeding phenomena. Urbanization is embedded in a system of policies, economic incentives, cultural norms, etc. Urbanization is rooted in a political economy. It is not neutral. It is at the same the condition of and the requirement for economic growth through the availability of workforce for industry and services, accumulation of capital, etc.
Do you know of any academic work that has articulated a proper critique of the premise that urbanization would be an inescapable future or necessity? In other words, a critique of the fact that urbanization projections may well be performative? I am particularly interested in a critique from a socio-ecological point of view.
It seems to me that the whole sustainability discussion is entirely accepting current business-as-usual urbanization projections not only as an inescapable phenomenon, but a desirable one. And because it is accepted as the only scenario and goes unchallenged it will inevitably be self-fulfilling. In other words this business-as-usual urbanization projection is performative.
But, I see a few points where this premise can be challenged and I would expect that scholars have already done it. Still I have hard time finding it. Any hints?
I would anticipate critique from neo-marxist theorists of urbanization like David Harvey or from academic communities as #degrowth, #postgrowth, #DiverseEconomies, #FeministEconomics, etc.
Hello everyone!
I am doing my PhD in Human Geography at the University of Reading and was previously involved with citizen science at the Open University.
I am now exploring the citizen science literature and projects in the global south.
Any papers or links to projects would be very welcome!
The languages I can read are English, French, Spanish or Portuguese. Thank you very much in advance!
In my book "Public Participation as a Tool for Integration Local Knowledge into Spatial Planning" (Springer, 2017) I claim that Local Knowledge in urban and regional planning refers to the knowledge of people who could be affected by plans, and that it is "a large, complex epistemological system related to a broad conceptual scope that includes perceptions, desires, grievances, opinions, ideas, beliefs, thoughts, speculations, preferences, common sense, feelings and sensations; it also addresses needs, cultural codes, spatial conducts, social relations, societal norms, and everyday life scenarios and practices, all of which are rooted in the locals' everyday reality".
In my book "Public Participation as a Tool for Integrating Local Knowledge into Spatial Planning" (Springer, 2017) I compare between the respective capabilities of different participatory practices - top-down as well as bottom-up - to capture residents' local knowledge (e.g., needs, perceptions, perspectives, opinions) and incorporate it into planning and plans. The comparison is conducted according to dozens parameters such as 'the motivators for participatory processes', 'procedures and tools employed in the participatory processes', 'the interaction between stakeholders', 'exposure of local knowledge', 'characteristics of local knowledge exposed', etc.
In my book, titled "Public Participation as a Tool for Integrating Local Knowledge into Spatial Planning" (Springer 2017) I claim that the initial practical goals of public participation in planning are "the exposure of residents' local knowledge and the incorporation of that knowledge into the planning and decision-making processes".
I am studying these enterprises as an attempt to understand how theoretically, these enterprises, conceptualised as occuring in developing society, differ from those occuring in western/developed ones. First, I want to contribute to the growing immigrant entrepreneural literature, and also interrogate it. On the flip side of it, the study is also a contribution to south-south migration which is often difficult to find in the migration literature.
One key objective is to examine Nigerian migrants' propensity to self employment, but also I want to explore how their activities serve as continuity, or discontinuity/break to those pursued by thei forebearers in Accra. Of course issues about operational strategies and profiling will also be explored.
I will be interested in suggestions that point to appropriate methodological strategies including sampling, data collection instruments and analyses.
Human geography in particular acknowledges the relativist, constructed view of space in that ‘activities and objects... define spatial fields of influence’ (Harvey, 1969, p. 208). On the other hand, energy geographies (which itself draws heavily on multiple sub-disciplines within geography and outside), in so far its contemporary resurgence is concerned(Calvert, 2015), still views space as contextual, absolute; affected by and affecting changes within the energy domain. There is, as such, a need to introduce a constructed, relativist view of space, in the conduct of energy geography sub-discipline.
Do you think this insight makes sense?
Harvey, D. (1969) Explanation in geography. Edward Arnold, London.
Calvert (2015), From energy geography to energy geographies: Perspectives on a fertile academic borderland
Hello,
I need a map and the relative precise datas about Tokyo ku-areas daytime/nighttime population, does anybody know where it's available?
I've found some datas, but they are from 2000 and I'd rather find some that are updated.
Thank you
Do suggest some references related to this topic. THANKS
Hi everyone,
first of all I'm trying to figure out if dispositive analysis is a useful perspective for geographical research. Furthermore I think about doing further research on creative cities using this perspective. Why are there just a few geographers using the dispositive, introduced by Michel Foucault, although it allows for adressing material and immaterial aspects of ("creative") urbanism for instance? Are there disciplinary, theoretical reasons, path dependencies in geographical thinking with Foucault? I'm looking forward to your critical input!
Best,
Moritz
I have used satellite images from NOAA (DMSP-OLS) to monitor and compare the distribution of luminosity of areas over time, e.g. urbanisation, peri-urban zones, borders etc. For me it is still the experimantal phase. For that purpose I have found the software ImageJ quite useful, particularly image correlation and - for urban development - analysis with concentric circles where one can also import the pixel data of the different circles into stata for further statistical analysis, e.g. Moran-I analysis. I would just like to learn and exchange. To my knowledge analysis of night satellite images have been so far only used to proxy missing income or population data in developing countries. Thanks in advance!
I want to calculate population density for Bolivia's municipalities. I have census data, but it doesn't have area (superficie) and I'm having trouble finding it. Help? I want to run some simple multivariate models to see what factors affect the 2015 municipal elections, but I want to control for population density. Thanks.
It can be on any dependent variable and the sample can be of any age group.
Hi all, I am working on the topic which is focused on Protected Landscape Areas in the Czech Republic. I would like to aim to verify claims which were raised as arguments against PLA. I would like to ask you, is there any publication which follows up PLA and their impact on regional development? Is there some publication which is focused on factors of regional development in protected areas? Is PLA problem for regional development or is it an advantage? Do you know some examples? Because one of the claim (the mayors of the affected municipalities told) was that the declaration of new PLA will mean "only limitation", restriction of movement in PLA, restriction of regional development, restriction of state administration, slowing the development of municipalities etc.
Thank you so much for your answers.
Have a nice day.
There is likely to be high level of disturbance towards lowlands as a result of proximity to populated areas and even across the elevational gradient there can be disturbance associated with grazing, roads, firewood collections, shifting cultivation etc. So, how to take all these anthropogenic factors into considerations while looking at spatial patterns of richness?
I am planning to conduct a study in tropical logged-over forest catchment. What the best method can be used for the measurement?
My study area includes a number of residential areas (rural) with different population size that are distributed unequally from the grouse sites. Do you think that we can generate fuzzy map with population size (I feel population size variable is a discrete data) across region? if so, how?
I'm doing my MS on the evaluation of tourism-oriented villages based on the economy of space. I appreciate your comments.
I am searching for up to date information on the migration trajectories of Subsaharian Migrants and their living and working conditions in North Africa (Morocco, Algeria, Tunesia, Libya, Egypt) as well as human rights violations by state and non-state actors against them. I am grateful for your advice on recent articles, books and reports.
It seems that there are few papers recently using this concept, I wonder why.
In terms of adaptation to climate change.
An agronomist colleague and I are looking for known sites to test a field reconnaissance methodology for rapid verification, so we are looking for sites for which local "dark earths" have been verified as being anthropogenic in origin.
We are discussing if the growing of urbanized areas can be recovered by natural areas and in what proportion?
Indian institutions (e.g. the MoEF & IFS) are highly bureaucratic and the govt. has traditionally exercised an exclusionary approach to conservation. Historically, there has been disregard for human rights settlement in PAs. Additionally, there are numerous actors in the wildlife tourism scenario who are all competing for the same resource-the rights to exploit the limited natural resources of Indian PAs (protected areas). Is there a solution?
I have found literature from the UK and organizations advancing feminist geography in Europe.
I just want to know that how the socioeconomic transition can effect the society in mountainous areas.
In social sciences many kinds of rates are estimated but they rarely permit a true international comparison due to the effect of time, space, etc. For example, for internal migration only instantaneous rates of changes of residence are comparable. It will be useful to see in other domains which are the rates that permit an international comparison.
How can it be explained? What are the factors that could have this kind of impact??
I'm actually working on landscape representation and I am in a dead end definition with the term "institution".
I'm trying to shed ligth on a geographical approach of the relation between insitutional actors' representation of lanscape and other type of actors' representation of landscape. But what's fit in "institution" groups and what is outside this classification?
I think "Institution" is not appropriate but to be shure I have to define this term deeply.
