Geographical Focus Research Articles

Zero carbon transitions: a systematic review of the research landscape and climate mitigation potential

Academia has a crucial role to play in informing urgently needed actions on climate mitigation. It is vital to understand what is known about the potential contribution of climate mitigation options, the barriers that exist to achieving that contribution, and to quantify the research balance and geographic focus of these various approaches across the literature. This PRISMA-based systematic literature review aims to provide the reader with the following: Firstly, an overview of the post-Paris climate mitigation research landscape and secondly, an assessment of the climate mitigation potential of those options per the literature reviewed. Analysis of the research landscape demonstrated that supply-side research greatly outnumbers that on the demand-side, which totalled just half of that which focused on the supply-side. In terms of the geographic scale, the reviewed literature was dominated by national-level studies, with sub-national studies the least common, particularly those at a local government level. Given this, it can be concluded that two key areas would benefit from further research–that focusing on demand-side mitigation, and that carrying research out at more local levels. On climate mitigation potential, wind and solar energy were found to be the biggest contributors to a decarbonised energy supply, across a range of study areas. Discrepancies were identified between findings in the academic and grey literature for several options, chiefly bioenergy and nuclear power: bioenergy made significantly higher contributions in the academic literature versus grey literature, with the opposite true for nuclear. Demand-side options all demonstrated significant mitigation potential in the literature reviewed but received very limited coverage in comparison to many of their supply-side counterparts. Future research should pursue this knowledge gap to reach a better understanding of the contributions they can make and ensure that policymakers have the data necessary to chart a course to a zero-carbon future.

The Provenances and Postscripts of 1989

The books under review exemplify some of the finest recent work on the historically informed political economy of Central and Eastern Europe. While different in their conceptual frameworks and geographical foci, the titles converge in the advancement of nuanced and convincing arguments, displaying both theoretical acuity and empirical depth to great effect. Bartel, Fabry, and Pula all share a resolute dedication to illuminating the under-explored provenances of neoliberalism and/or globalization in the region, that predate the annus mirabilis of 1989. Their contributions situate the ‘Eastern bloc’ states within the contours of evolving global political economy and the existential crises engulfing capitalism and ‘actually existing socialism’ during the 1970s and beyond. The authors expound on the intricate web of global capital accumulation, geopolitical competition, and skilful diplomatic strategy, which served to dismantle the ‘Iron Curtain’. Two contributions further assess the postscripts of the 1989 revolutions.

Current and potential use of augmented reality in (geographic) citizen science projects: A survey

ABSTRACT Augmented Reality (AR) offers new opportunities for Citizen Science (CS) projects regarding data visualization, data collection, and training of participants. Since limited research on the usage of AR in CS projects exists, an online survey is conducted in this study by reaching out to CS project managers to determine the extent of its current use. The survey can identify areas where CS project managers themselves see the greatest potential for AR in their projects and reasons that exist against the use of AR. A total of 53 CS project managers participated in the survey and shared their opinions and concerns. Of all participating CS projects, only three are currently using AR. However, 27 CS projects indicated that AR could be beneficial for their project. Especially projects with a geographic focus, in which participants are involved in the process of collecting spatial data, expressed this opinion. Particularly in the areas “data visualization” and “attraction/motivation of participants” the projects identified potential for AR. Arguments against the use of AR named by 23 CS projects include remote study areas, financial considerations, and the lack of a practical use case. This study shows initial trends regarding the use of AR in CS projects and highlights specific use cases for the application of AR.

Energy justice and energy democracy: Separated twins, rival concepts or just buzzwords?

Many new concepts have emerged to better capture socio-technical change in energy systems from a normative perspective. Two of the most visible, popularized, and politically charged are Energy Justice and Energy Democracy, but it is the tension between them that has drawn recent controversy. Instead of arguing for the superiority of one over the other, this paper's aim is to demonstrate their differential contribution and areas of productive overlap using both quantitative and qualitative measures. It presents the results of the systematic review of 495 articles on Energy Democracy and Energy Justice in the Web of Science database, with attention to the geographical focus, scale, technology, and social groups dominant in both literatures. We find that both the concepts and literatures employing them are very closely related, almost like twins. The key difference is the failure of the Energy Democracy literature to engage with questions of energy poverty and distributional (in)justice. For Energy Justice, we find that despite lip service paid to, for example, the Global South, normative research in energy transitions sphere remains highly Western-centric. We highlight, too, that both terms are most often used as buzzwords and that this undermines knowledge building and the radical potential for change which is inherent in the two concepts and their applications.

Dissemination of information in event-based surveillance, a case study of Avian Influenza.

Event-Based Surveillance (EBS) tools, such as HealthMap and PADI-web, monitor online news reports and other unofficial sources, with the primary aim to provide timely information to users from health agencies on disease outbreaks occurring worldwide. In this work, we describe how outbreak-related information disseminates from a primary source, via a secondary source, to a definitive aggregator, an EBS tool, during the 2018/19 avian influenza season. We analysed 337 news items from the PADI-web and 115 news articles from HealthMap EBS tools reporting avian influenza outbreaks in birds worldwide between July 2018 and June 2019. We used the sources cited in the news to trace the path of each outbreak. We built a directed network with nodes representing the sources (characterised by type, specialisation, and geographical focus) and edges representing the flow of information. We calculated the degree as a centrality measure to determine the importance of the nodes in information dissemination. We analysed the role of the sources in early detection (detection of an event before its official notification) to the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) and late detection. A total of 23% and 43% of the avian influenza outbreaks detected by the PADI-web and HealthMap, respectively, were shared on time before their notification. For both tools, national and local veterinary authorities were the primary sources of early detection. The early detection component mainly relied on the dissemination of nationally acknowledged events by online news and press agencies, bypassing international reporting to the WAOH. WOAH was the major secondary source for late detection, occupying a central position between national authorities and disseminator sources, such as online news. PADI-web and HealthMap were highly complementary in terms of detected sources, explaining why 90% of the events were detected by only one of the tools. We show that current EBS tools can provide timely outbreak-related information and priority news sources to improve digital disease surveillance.

Trends in mosquito species distribution modeling: insights for vector surveillance and disease control

Species distribution modeling (SDM) has become an increasingly common approach to explore questions about ecology, geography, outbreak risk, and global change as they relate to infectious disease vectors. Here, we conducted a systematic review of the scientific literature, screening 563 abstracts and identifying 204 studies that used SDMs to produce distribution estimates for mosquito species. While the number of studies employing SDM methods has increased markedly over the past decade, the overwhelming majority used a single method (maximum entropy modeling; MaxEnt) and focused on human infectious disease vectors or their close relatives. The majority of regional models were developed for areas in Africa and Asia, while more localized modeling efforts were most common for North America and Europe. Findings from this study highlight gaps in taxonomic, geographic, and methodological foci of current SDM literature for mosquitoes that can guide future efforts to study the geography of mosquito-borne disease risk.Graphical

A scientometric analysis of mine closure research

Mine closure is a global challenge. To date, there has been no scientometric analysis of the mine closure literature. This paper uses a scientometric analysis to assess the literature on mine closure. We assessed 2078 papers published since 2002. There was a rapid increase in the research output, with 76% of the papers published in the last 10 years. We identify the journals and co-citation index of journals associated with mine closure research. Geography journals are prominent with 20% of papers, but there is also evidence of journals linked to mining and interdisciplinary journals. Four clusters of universities are working on mine closure (the University of Western Australia, the University of Queensland, the University of the Free State and the University of Alberta) and the co-citation index groups journals into three clusters (environmental and ecological concerns, environmental health, multidisciplinary issues). The co-citation index groups the themes into 20 clusters, which we have regrouped into five themes (health, environment, geography, society, and regulation/politics). We draw seven conclusions. Although original social science research focused on the impact of mining, (1) there is clear evidence of work focusing on mine closure and (2) this work is rapidly increasing. The geography remains important (3) but has negative effects. Despite the geographical focus, ideas and concepts are substantially integrated across the available work (4). Focusing on geographical journals might prevent work from being published in multidisciplinary journals (5). Papers linking theory and mine closure are limited (6) and the available work needs careful thought on planning closures in cities and communities (7).

Factors Influencing Impulse Buying Behavior Among Young Male Consumers in Saudi Arabia

Impulse buying is a prominent concept in the study of consumer behavior. Due to humans’ complex psychological nature, many industries focus on impulse buying and design their marketing strategies accordingly. This research investigates the personal factors that affect impulse buying behavior among young men in Saudi Arabia. This study also investigates the effect of situational variables, including family influence, time availability, money availability, and hedonic shopping, on the impulse buying behavior of men in the Saudi Arabian context, focusing on the Western region. The study specifically focuses on purchasing personal items such as perfumes, clothing, and shoes. A survey questionnaire was administered to a convenient sample of 385 males aged between 18 and 50 residing in Western Saudi Arabia. The collected response was analyzed using the statistical software SPSS. The findings of the study indicate that time availability, money availability, and hedonic buying positively influence impulse buying behavior among men living in Saudi Arabia. Notably, this study revealed that family factors had a detrimental consequence on impulsive buying behavior among Saudi men. However, this study had limitations, such as sample size and geographical focus, should be considered when interpreting results. Future research should aim to broaden scope by including a larger and more diverse sample to obtain a more inclusive understanding of impulse buying behavior in Saudi Arabia.

Pivot Toward Asia and March West Diversifying Forms of Rebalancing Conflicting Strategies

China's foreign policy community contemplates is how to counter the U.S. rebalancing to Asia. A grand strategic proposal has been made that China shift its attention from the heated competition in East Asia and rebalance its geographical focus westwards to the vast area from Central Asia to the Middle East, where the U.S. is pivoting away from. The research problem is concentrated on the question content: What kind of competition between the U.S and China among their strategies? and could it turn into a struggle or manage their relationship peacefully! The main findings of the research can be summarized that both strategies are aimed to reach a status of power balancing in both the Middle East and East Asia

Live-Streamer as Digital Labor: A Systematic Review

To grasp an overview of recent study on live streamer and to provide a reference for future direction, this study summarized the relevant literature on live streamer in past five years. This study comprehensively searched literature in major databases and obtained 35 papers that meet the inclusion criteria. Major findings include that there is a lack of global diversity in current research, thus further research need to expand the platform and geographical focus. The ambivalent and nascent nature of live streaming call for a subjective and dialectical perspective to explore the power dynamic between the stakeholders in platform economy. There is a need for more longitudinal studies to have a better understanding of the phenomenon as it evolves over time and vary from sociocultural and socioeconomic environment.

Public Health Policies and The Impact of COVID-19 on Small Business Performance: A Comparative Case Study

Although the impact of COVID-19 on small businesses has been addressed in previous studies, there has been a significant gap in terms of sectoral and geographical focus. The purpose of this study is to understand the necessity of public health policies and the sectoral and geographical impact of COVID-19 on small business performance. To this end, the study applied a comparative case study method and collected secondary longitudinal data to get insights into the disparity between the sectoral and geographical impact of COVID-19 on small business performance. The results show that the severity and timing of impacts varied, in part due to different approaches to reopening and reclosing. While improvements were seen, businesses were still operating well below the pre-pandemic levels. The long-term recovery of these sectors will depend on the ongoing management of the pandemic and further policy measures, customizing on their sensitivity and adaptivity.

Evaluating trends in private equity ownership and impacts on health outcomes, costs, and quality: systematic review

ObjectiveTo review the evidence on trends and impacts of private equity (PE) ownership of healthcare operators.DesignSystematic review.Data sourcesPubMed, Web of Science, Embase, Scopus, and SSRN.Eligibility criteria for study selectionEmpirical research...

Decision support tools for invasive alien species management should better consider principles of robust decision making

Invasive alien species (IAS) pose global threat to economies and biodiversity. With rising number of species and limited resources, IAS management must be prioritised; yet agreed tools to assist decision–making and their application are currently inadequate. There is need for simple decision support tools (DST) that guide stakeholders to optimise investment based on objective and quantifiable criteria. This paper reviews DSTs for IAS management to assess their availability and application of principles of robust decision–making. The aim is to provide guidance towards adopting the principles of robust decision–making to improve applicability and practical use of DST. A literature search conducted to identify relevant studies that report on DST in biological invasion. Results indicate an increase in availability of DST; however, available studies are largely biased in geographical, habitat and taxonomic focus. The results also show challenges in practical use of existing tools as most of them do not apply principles of robust decision–making. Application of these principles has the potential to overcome weakness of the current decision–making process and as such, enable decision–makers to efficiently allocate resources towards IAS management. A call is made for more consideration and adoption of principles of robust decision–making when developing DST for IAS invasions.

River science: an educational resource for understanding and learning to survive flooding and environmental change

ABSTRACT Integrated river science provides decision-making life-skills for individuals and communities facing environmental change; it is a variant of critical physical geography through its socio-political dimensions. As an example, the frequency and magnitude of river flooding are amplified by climate change: society needs to understand how to cope through learning, adaptative behaviour and planning. Choices should be informed by trusted science that can only be delivered by education, to avoid “knee jerk” post-hazard reactions. We examine curricula and resources in physical geography for England to judge if they make river science more pervasive and persuasive. Scales of causation and impact remain a central geographical focus. The concept of “place” is revitalized: environmental processes harnessed to improve resilience. Literacy and numeracy skills to communicate and predict need improving, to ensure that students understand problems sufficiently well to identify the best long-term, rigorously assessed options. Higher education has a hub role for empowering lay individuals, communities and professionals but the core learning principles need to be set at school. We conclude the current physical geography river science content is not fit for future needs, notably at A-Level. Weaknesses include naivety about river processes (water and sediment movement), arcane jargon, absence of a catchment-wide approach to river management, and inadequate links between disciplined fieldwork and databases. Contemporary community dimensions of social learning, argument and countering myths are also weakly developed.

Guillaume-Gabriel Nivers and the Quest for Consistency in Counter-Reformation Chant

This article examines early modern chant reform in the Premonstratensian order, with a geographical focus on the Low Countries. It seeks to document the state of Premonstratensian chants and the varying degrees of inconsistency that prompted the order’s commissioning of chant reformer Guillaume-Gabriel Nivers (ca. 1632–1714) and his Antiphonarium Praemonstratense (1680). While surviving documentary evidence attests to the Premonstratensians’ frustrations with their repertory, most of these records do not point to specific ways in which their chants fell short. This article therefore addresses the context behind Premonstratensian reform through both official dicta of the Premonstratensian administrators and Low Countries breviaries and antiphoners from the fourteenth century onward, which are themselves part of a longer history of reform. The diversity of textual and melodic interpretations in these sources paints a picture of general inconsistency before 1680. By analyzing older Premonstratensian sources that were adapted to match Nivers’s reforms, it also becomes possible to see how his new antiphoner was received and understood, and thereby to measure the qualified impact and success of his reforms. While the order commissioned the 1680 antiphoner as part of a wholesale recalibration of the Premonstratensian liturgy, later editors of older manuscript antiphoners occasionally misunderstood or ignored his contributions in the sources they were meant to update.

Enhancing Critical Thinking in Early Childhood through STEAM-Oriented Busy Board Media: A Development Study

This study explores the development and effectiveness of STEAM-based busy board media in enhancing critical thinking skills among children aged 5-6 years. Using the ADDIE model, we created a dual-sided active board integrating science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics elements. This research examines the effectiveness of STEAM-based busy board media in improving critical thinking skills in 5-6-year-old children. The study utilized the ADDIE model to create a dual-sided board incorporating science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics elements. Conducted in Sidodadi Village kindergartens, the methodology included expert validations, trials, and pretest-posttest evaluations. The initial analysis highlighted the absence of specific media to foster critical thinking in this age group. The busy board was deemed feasible, appropriate, and safe by experts. Significant enhancements in children's critical thinking were observed, with post-test results indicating considerable progress. Statistical analysis using SPSS 22 confirmed the busy board's positive impact, emphasizing STEAM's role in early childhood education. The box panel received high effectiveness ratings in expert assessments (85.3%, 76.1%, 87.1%, and 67.7%). The hypothesis test significantly affected critical call thinking development (0.000 < 0.05). Both expert and user evaluations attested to its effectiveness, with trials showing notable improvements in early childhood critical thinking. However, the study was limited by its geographical focus and lacked long-term impact assessments. These results support the inclusion of sensory tools in early education and call for further investigation into their more comprehensive and action-oriented long-term benefits.

Compact City: What Is the Extent of Our Exploration for Its Meanings? A Systematic Review

The compact city has garnered significant attention from researchers in academia, particularly in recent years, due to its relevance to various global challenges, such as climate change, COVID-19, economic crises, and urbanization. Given the vast knowledge represented in the compact city literature and its diverse perspectives, this study aims is a comprehensive literature review through bibliometric analysis. Following the PRISMA protocol, a total of 570 articles from the Scopus database published in English between 1973 and 2022 underwent screening at two main levels of bibliometric analysis: performance analysis and science mapping. The findings of this study reveal a substantial increase in scientific production related to the compact city over the years. Furthermore, the concept of the compact city encompasses multiple dimensions, with a significant emphasis on the urban dimension. Remarkably, Asian countries (regions), particularly mainland China and China-Hong Kong, demonstrate a notable interest in the compact city concept. In conclusion, this study provides valuable insights into the scientific production of compact city literature, highlighting its growth, multidimensionality, and geographic focus, which can inform future research and policymaking efforts.

A Bibliometric Analysis on the Impact of Corruption on Foreign Direct Investment Attractiveness

The purpose of this research is to investigate the asymmetric link between corruption and foreign direct investment (FDI). The article examines the literature to assess the impact of corruption on FDI attractiveness using bibliometric and content analysis based on 148 articles from Scopus database for a period of 24 years (1999–2022). The findings reveal that research on the theme has grown a lot in terms of publications. The geographical focus of the literature has been on developing economies as compared to developed economies. It has also been observed that majority of research contribution has been made by developed nations. The findings indicate that the impact of corruption on FDI differs on the basis of development level of economies. The foreign market attractiveness and corruption distance also influences the flow of foreign capital in bilateral trade. The study intends to contribute positively to the understanding of association of corruption with FDI, by analysing the existing literature, the most significant works, authors, journals and the emerging topics of concern on the theme.

Japan as a Pivot for Turkey? The Japanese Perspective on the Making of a New World Order, Transcontinental Maritime Alliances, the Ukraine Crisis, and the End of Multipolarity

The paper discusses the recent rise of the Japanese “free and open Indo-Pacific” strategy of alliances and partnerships between Asia and the West in the context of Turkey’s current debate over its membership in the Western alliance of NATO versus the new Eurasianist turn toward Russia and China. The particular geographic focus of the paper is from Istanbul “between Europe and Asia,” looking at Japan’s “free and open Indo-Pacific” strategy from a historian’s perspective by making an analogy with Japan’s prewar foreign policy and global strategy with Britain. The paper argues that the Russian aggression that erupted with the Ukrainian crisis has been quickening the visibility of this emerging grand strategy of Japan, which has been in the making for some time. But the future of the global order is still unclear in view of the ongoing war in Ukraine and Russian and Chinese challenges to the international system. The situation also negatively impacts the global relations of the United States with regional powers, relations that were formed during the Cold War. Japan has more than a century of friendly relations with Turkey, a relationship that is still carried out in an Asianist discourse of shared cultural values, mutual help in times of dire crisis, and Turkish admiration for Japan’s modernity that has retained tradition. The question is whether, in this fluid global situation, this historically friendly context can help Japan be a “pivot” for Turkey in taking steps toward a proactive free and open Indo-Pacific partnership. The prospect might have political implications for Turkey’s future in the making of a new global order by offering an incentive for staying on the Western front.

Lodgepole Pine and White Spruce Thinning in Alberta―A Review of North American and European Best Practices

A significant portion of the harvested land base in western Canada is becoming old enough or entering a phase where thinning is a legitimate forest management option. A comprehensive review of the existing knowledge of commercial thinning (CT) treatments applied to pine and spruce-dominated stands in Alberta was conducted, with particular regard to the intensity, timing of interventions, method, and impacts on crop tree growth responses. Although the geographical focus of this review is Alberta, information on this topic is more complete in other areas of North America and Europe, where there is a long history of density management. In areas of eastern North America, our review revealed that CT from below, with tree removal levels from 27 to 43% of the basal area, could increase total merchantable wood produced from 11 to 60 m3 ha−1 over a rotation, depending on stand age and intensity of thinning. For Alberta conditions, and considering the risks, we conclude that commercial thinning basal area removal should be in the range of 25 to 40%, depending on a variety of factors such as species, wind firmness, and insect or disease incidence and risk. Thinning too aggressively and/or too late will increase the blowdown risk but the literature is fairly consistent in suggesting that live crown ratios should be >40% to maximize the chance of growth response and minimize the blowdown risk. In cases where stands are also threatened by stressors such as drought, wind, and insect or disease outbreaks, CT treatments likely offer the potential at limiting the overall risk, but localized knowledge and experience are critical. It is intended that the information presented may support ongoing and future research trials and growth and yield (G&Y) model development about potential CT treatments to apply and the likely results of practical application to commercial forestry.