Geographical Spheres Research Articles

Reality bytes. Hybrid inter-faces, hybrid selves

Kyoto UniversityOver the past 20 years, computer games have become a very integral part of consumptive practices, acting as a guide to mediate multiple selves. This sets the context for this paper, a philosophical inquiry into the creation and mediation of ‘selves’ through the consumption of Japanese computer games, taking a detailed look at some of the symbolic and semiotic structures that permeate game structures. Games placed in the realm of human creativity and normative freedoms are as argued in this paper, a subtle form of the Deleuzian concept of assemblage.This paper argues that the ‘self’ as seen through computer games manifest multiple ‘selves’ that highlight the fluidity of identities which are being fabricated, disseminated and transmitted from Japan. Through an analysis of a number of Japanese games popular in Japan and actively consumed abroad, this paper examines an underlying grammar that transcribes the self and how social relations are reworked through technological enquiry. This paper further highlights how computer-dominated social practices that have heavily flowed from Japan have introduced very specific ontological ways of seeing the world to a whole generation of games players residing in other geographical spheres.

Possibility of mapping physiographic zones by thermal survey from space

Physiographic zones of the Earth are “major units of the geographic (landscape) sphere, which give way to each other in a regular and definite order depending mainly on the ratio of heat and moisture” [1]. The rise in the Earth’s annual mean temperature recorded for the instrumental observation period [2] may provoke variations in the global distribution of the heat/moisture ratio and, as a consequence, in displacement of the position and configuration of physiographic zones. The variations may be accompanied by negative socioeconomic impacts. To minimize the negative consequences, it is expedient to carry out a timely forecasting based on data of the space monitoring of physiographic zones. Such monitoring requires analysis of a giant body of data. Therefore, it is necessary to elaborate automatic methods for the mapping of these zones by using satellite-borne survey. Currently, several quantitative criteria (indices) have been suggested to identify physiographic zones, e.g., Budyko’s radiational aridity index [3], which characterizes the ratio between the annual radiation balance and annual precipitation. The space version of this method is limited by the need for obtaining continuous yearlong series of observations over elements of the radiation balance of the day surface and atmospheric precipitation. Cloudiness prevents the recording of such continuous series. Therefore, we have studied the possibility of applying another method for monitoring the position of physiographic zones, namely mapping of the thermal inertia of the Earth’s surface based on a satellite-borne thermal survey data [4‐11]. 1 1 Thermal inertia p is the resistance of a surface to heating (or cooling) under the influence of a periodic heat source. p = ( λ · c · ρ ) 1/2 , J/(m 2 · s 1/2 · K) = 1 TIU, where λ is the thermal conductivity factor, W/(m · K); c is specific heat, J/(kg · K), and ρ is density, kg/m 3 . The method we applied for the remote mapping of thermal inertia (TI); daily mean evaporation rate (ER) from the Earth’s surface, mm/day; and heat flux (HF), W/m 2 involved the mathematical model of the daily variation of the Earth’s surface temperature (ESTs) [10], which took into account basic factors affecting the EST formation. The model has the following assumptions: the metrological conditions and concentration of optically active gases in the atmosphere within the whole area under study are identical; emittance, albedo of the Earth, and TI do not vary during the whole period of the satellite-borne thermal survey. To determine TI and ER, we carried out the thermal multispectral space survey for 3‐10 days under stable meteorological conditions in the absence of rainfall in order to characterize the daily EST dynamics more completely. Moreover, mapping of TI and ER was based on the following parameters of routine expedited meteorological observations over parameters involved in the mathematical EST model: total solar radiation; air temperature, moisture, and wind velocity at a height of 2 m above the surface; atmospheric pressure; and cloudiness. To solve the inverse problem, we performed mathematical EST modeling for all possible combinations of TI, ER, HF, and albedo, i.e., the “library” of ideal ESTs. Then, the measured EST values were compared to ideal values. The TI and ER values sought were deduced from the assigned fitting criterion of measured and ideal EST values. Algorithm errors of solving the inverse problem are given in the table.

Knowledge and innovation in the interface between the steel and automotive industries: The case of Dofasco

Warrian, P. and Mulhern, C. (2005) Knowledge and innovation in the interface between the steel and automotive industries: the case of Dofasco, Regional Studies 39 , 161–170. The key motivation behind innovation in the steel industry has been the revolution in vehicle manufacturing, as automotive steel represents the largest source of revenue for integrated mills. The paper examines in a comparative context the innovative practices of North America's most profitable integrated automotive steel producer, Dofasco Inc. It seeks to elucidate conclusions from previous work on knowledge derived from participation in global learning networks. The authors claim that Dofasco is a commercialization‐stage innovator. It adds value to a product or process as it meets the market, but does not significantly contribute to fundamental and applied scientific research in automotive steel production. The geographic sphere in which most of Dofasco's customer‐oriented innovation occurs is in a regional system of innovation, specifically the automotive parts and assembly hub of south‐western Ontario and Michigan.

Dairy Processing in Tibet

Pastoralism or stock farming is a livelihood difficult to explore in terms of its past practices and situations since ruins and relics seldom remain due to the rare use of tools and facilities. Therefore, pastoralism in the past has been investigated especially by geographers and anthropologists based on present techniques. They have tended to use a small number of case studies of pastoralism as representative characteristics of an entire area and to discuss the distribution and spread of pastoralism.This study aims to pose questions regarding the conventional methods of investigating the past situation based on present pastoralism techniques, and of establishing, a priori, the cultural geographic spheres based on only a small number of case studies-that is, whether current pastoralism techniques are static and remain unchanged, and whether the conventional categorization of cultural geographic spheres of pastoralism is relevant.A field survey was conducted in the southeastern part of Tibet, Yunnan and Sichuan provinces, for 15 months, from 2000 to 2002, to examine the distribution and transformation of the dairy processing technique, a crucial technique of pastoralism, since it is believed to make this livelihood long-standing and stable.Regarding the dairy processing technique, Tibet is categorized into the Indo-and West Asia cultural geographic sphere, where the churning process is practiced after lactic acid fermentation. On the contrary, in Shanggelila county, where the field survey was intensively conducted, the distinctive feature of milk processing is that the churning process is carried out without lactic acid fermentation. The omission of the fermentation process is found to be practiced all over Tibet. This fact suggests that the milk processing technique that originated in South or West Asia, has been gradually transformed into a process adapted to the cool and arid environment of Tibet. Three milk processing techniques employed in Tibet, which had not been cited in previous works, could be identified.Thus, it is necessary to consider the transformation of techniques while investigating the distribution and spread of pastoralism. Accumulating case studies is also required for a thorough examination. The regional differences among pastoralism techniques need to be closely examined before arriving at an agreement on the a priori categorization of geographic spheres.

U.S. Hegemony Today

American hegemony since 1945has been structurally different in its degree and type of dominance from that of any other power in the history of capitalism. Instead of simply being the biggest power with the biggest capitalism among a number of great powers, the United States was able to exercise political dominance over the entire capitalist core. Before 1945 different capitalist centers had geographically different zones of political and economic dominance. The United States ended that arrangement, making the whole capitalist world its geographical sphere of political dominance. On this basis it shaped and reshaped the conditions and forms of international capital accumulation throughout the capitalist world.This article can also be found at the Monthly Review website, where most recent articles are published in full.Click here to purchase a PDF version of this article at the Monthly Review website.

The Human Proteome Organization: a mission to advance proteome knowledge.

With the completion of the genome project, it has been viewed that the proteome is the next major challenge. With heightened expectations comes the need for organizing public effort. The Human Proteome Organization (HUPO) was founded to regroup scientists in the public and private sectors engaged worldwide in various aspects of proteomics. Over the past year, HUPO has strived to develop a mission for itself and to begin the process of organizing its activities. The mission of HUPO as it is currently defined is to: 1) consolidate national and regional proteome organizations into a worldwide organization; 2) engage in scientific and educational activities to encourage the spread of proteomics technologies and disseminate knowledge pertaining to the human proteome and that of model organisms; and 3) assist in the coordination of public proteome initiatives. HUPO consists of three major geographic spheres that include Europe, Asia/ Oceania, and the Americas. In addition to current national proteome organizations affiliated with HUPO, plans are underway to assist in the formation of additional national proteome organizations and to expand affiliations with HUPO of other organizations that have a significant proteomics component such as biochemistry and cell biology societies.

Security Challenges and Options in Northeast Asia

Abstract The discussion starts by making the point that history is not a reliable guide to the future of Northeast Asia. The unique geo-strategic and military balance circumstances of East Asia during the first half of the 20th century are not in evidence today. The current environment is so fundamentally different than 75 years ago that historically based arguments used to buttress or fashion strategic options and power relations are largely irrelevant. Today the region is militarily stable because of a de facto condominium of power that exists between the United States and China. Each country has in effect a geographic sphere of military influence. China's sphere is the continent of Asia. The United States preserves its military sphere of influence through an alliance system on the rimland of Asia, and forward deployed forces. Any attempt by either China or the United States to undermine this essentially stable status quo is fraught with danger as it could unhinge the stability that has been so essential to the economic development of Asia. Reconciling these different views will be essential if the US and China are to sustain a long-term normal relationship. The concept of regional stability as spoken and written about today is at once general in conception and vague in scope. Once the need to deter conflict in Korea is no longer a requirement it will be the job of American military planners to translate the conception into more precise terms that recognize the realities of power and geography in East Asia. Whether that will include US forces in Korea depends upon how the process of peace and eventually reunification unfolds.

The creators of England's inter-war suburbs

Despite the transformation of English cities by the growth of suburbs in the inter-war years, there is a dearth of reliable information about the processes, and especially the firms, that brought these suburbs into existence. Contrary to accepted wisdom – and paradoxically, in view of the scorn heaped upon suburbs by the architectural literati – architects are shown to have been heavily involved in the preparation of building applications for the construction of suburban houses. In spite of the unprecedented amount of house building in the inter-war period, the geographical spheres of influence of both builders and architects were highly localized. However, unlike in the nineteenth century, there is little evidence of speculative building having been undertaken by people whose livelihood was not primarily derived from house building or house selling.

Revisiting gunboat diplomacy: An instrument of threat or use of limited naval force

The operational flexibility of navy combined with its ‘reach’ makes it an ideal exponent of gunboat diplomacy in which the threat or use of limited naval force is instrumental in attainment of national political objectives. A concept that is erroneously treated as archaic by some analysts despite, its increased and frequent use in the post‐Cold War scenario with same prominent examples such as the Chinese PLAN exercises off Taiwan during 1996, use of Indian Navy during Kargil conflict and the US, Naval firings on Al Shija and Khost in 1998, an incident which greatly enhanced its geographical sphere of influence. The increased use has been mainly because, in their attainment of national objectives, governments are anxious to avoid an overt war with its accompanying implications. Occupying the last two steps of escalation control within the purview of the War Paradigm, gunboat diplomacy has eased itself into the relatively unused niche of overt warfighting thus ensuring its increasing currency this century, for achieving national objectives without the disadvantages of a full scale armed conflict.

On the Application of Inductive Machine Learning Tools to Geographical Analysis

Inductive machine learning tools, such as neural networks and decision trees, offer alternative methods for classification, clustering, and pattern recognition that can, in theory, extend to the complex or “deep” data sets that pervade geography. By contrast, traditional statistical approaches may fail, due to issues of scalability and flexibility. This paper discusses the role of inductive machine learning as it relates to geographical analysis. The discussion presented is not based on comparative results or on mathematical description, but instead focuses on the often subtle ways in which the various inductive learning approaches differ operationally, describing (1) the manner in which the feature space is partitioned or clustered, (2) the search mechanisms employed to identify good solutions, and (3) the different biases that each technique imposes. The consequences arising from these issues, when considering complex geographic feature spaces, are then described in detail. The overall aim is to provide a foundation upon which reliable inductive analysis methods can be constructed, instead of depending on piecemeal or haphazard experimentation with the various operational criteria that inductive learning tools call for. Often, it would appear that these criteria are not well understood by practitioners in the geographic sphere, which can lead to difficulties in configuration and operation, and ultimately to poor performance.

‘Fragments of Cultural History’? Recent work on south-east European cultural history

In his review of Jean-Baptiste Duroselle’s ‘Europe. A History of Its Peoples’, Paschalis Kitromilides lamented that in most general accounts, Europe has been reduced to a history of Visigothic Europe. In these two volumes reflecting his oeuvre until 1994 — one a valuable monograph on a crucial figure of the Balkan Enlightenment, the other an updated collection of essays written in the course of fifteen years and covering some of the central processes of the past two centuries — Kitromilides is rectifying this short-sighted view of Europe. What he shows is a Europe as a common playground of ideas where elements from the core regions are transmitted and transformed to other, adjacent and peripheral territories. His focus is on the Balkans (or Southeastern Europe in his preferred nomenclature). What he also shows admirably is the reverse relationship of core and periphery in scholarship. Even good scholars of the core are parochial in their exclusive confinement to the centre. Conversely, good scholars of the Balkan region are, as a rule, deeply knowledgeable and conversant with ideas and trends outside their immediate geographic sphere of expertise (immensely complex in itself). Paschalis Kitromilides happens to be not simply among the good scholars of and from Southeastern Europe; he is one of the best.

Some Considerations about the Reception of the "Tao-te ching" in Germany and China

It is common knowledge that the book Tao-te ching, or the Lao-tzu, is well received in Germany. It is estimated as a document of Taoist thought or philosophy, and even ranks as a piece of literature''.l There is a long history of translating and interpreting this text in Germany and China alike.2 The Tao-te ching obviously is a constant source for inspiration and orientation. This observation can be made in many parts of the world which do not belong to the geographic sphere of Chinese culture. How can we explain this phenomenon? It surely is not feasible to suggest that any comprehensive answer could be formulated. However, we can describe basic tendencies of the reception of the Tao-te ching, which reveal the very nature of intellectual and literary approaches to that famous book in Germany and China. We assume that the intellectual and historic conditions in Germany and China are essentially different. Naturally the question arises why the Tao-te ching was so interesting for German scholars, eliciting a steady production of books which profess to reveal the wisdom of the East or some undebatable truth. It is tempting to be content with the statement that some universal and unsurpassable truth is hidden in the Tao-te ching, and for this reason the text was so well received and accepted. Such an explanation, however, quickly turns out to be a misleading shortcut. How misleading this shortcut is becomes evident when we study the greatly diverging interpretations of the Tao-te ching in Germany and China. In fact, they give an oscillating appearance to that often postulated unsurpassable truth of the text.3 In the aftermath of the French revolution and Enlightenment the European intellectual world continously searched for alternatives for the Christian Weltanschauung with all its moral and practical implications. Eastern thought seemed to offer such alternatives (ex oriente lux). Especially Confucian concepts of state and society were accepted as superior. As far as Taoism was

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In studying the genesis of 'Generalplan Ost' one can elucidate the alliance of academic research and military expansion in Nazi Germany in a unique way. By 'Generalplan Ost' we understand the total German planning effort in transforming the territories of Poland, the Baltic republics and Soviet Union, which were occupied since the beginning of World War II. In this scientists were not only provided with ample opportunities for research by the National Socialist government, but the Nazi policy of occupation created the preconditions necessary for putting theoretical models into practice. this was done in complete disregard of pre-existing structures in population, settlement, society, economy, and patterns of traffic. The principal aim consisted in the total transformation of the envisaged Eastern European sphere and the implantation of a new National Socialist social order style in Eastern Europe. Scientific planning not only implied a declaration of war against the very people living in the geographic sphere covered by the plan, but presupposed the existence of war in order to put the plan into practice. In a rare mixture of social science, geography and biology, instruments of science made possible and provoked the social selection and deportation of human beings as well as attempts at 'Germanization' and 'Umvolkung'. It is a well known fact, that deportation and extermination became a brutal reality as an intrinsic ingredient of these planning efforts.

The Social Regulation of Uneven Development: ‘Regulatory Deficit’, England's South East, and the Collapse of Thatcherism

The evolving methodology of regulation theory is explored, with particular reference to the problematic of uneven development. With a concentration on the subnational scale, the notion of localised modes of regulation is critically examined. With a view to operationalising some of these regulationist concepts, an analysis of the geographical contradictions of Thatcherism is presented. Thatcherism, it is suggested, should be interpreted as a failed or failing regulatory experiment, the contradictions of which are manifest in a variety of ways, including in the geographical sphere—in the collapse of the economy of the South East of England (Thatcherism's ‘heartland’ region) and in Britain's continuing crisis of uneven development. There is scope, it is argued, further to spatialise regulation theory through methodological refinement, and through analyses of regional restructuring and crisis.

The future development of sea use management in Europe

Sea use management originated largely in Europe, initially along the lines of individual use groups. Before the middle of the present century these included navigation, strategic uses, fisheries and marine science. Subsequently the major uses expanded and diversified. The organisations involved and their geographical spheres of influence may be classified into local and national, regional and global categories. Management organisations share basic objectives including safety, allocation, environmental control, research and regional development. Technical management functions are concerned with interactions between activities and the environment and include technological, environmental, social and information management groups. General management includes co-ordination of technical management, organisational aspects and regional considerations including policy aspects.

The Effects of Natural and Anthropogenic Changes on Heat and Water Budgets in the Central Caucasus, USSR

Comparison of maps that show the location of equilibrium lines of glaciers during this century and the latter half of the nineteenth century indicate the magnitude of the recession of glaciers and the associated changes of climatic parameters. A mathematical model was used to assess the corresponding changes in the elements of the heat budget by vertical belts. In addition, the transformation of the water budget as a result of changes of the climatic parameters was studied in relation to specific landscape types in the region. Areas of high mountains are greatly influenced by natural trends of climate and by landscape structure, and areas of low mountains by anthropogenic factors. Positive feedbacks in the geographical sphere are identified: climatic warming has caused a reduction of the area covered by permanent ice and snow and changes in vegetation at lower altitudes.

Un contexto geográfico para la investigación demográfica de la frontera norte

Before commencing a demographic study of the northern border zone of Mexico, it is essential to define the geographical sphere that will be the object of measurement and analysis. In this article, the authors propose that the geographical context of the border be defined by taking the Mexican municipalities contiguous to the US as the unit of analysis. In order to substantiate this proposal, they discuss the comparative advantages of favoring municipalities over states as the units for analysis; they point out the heterogeneity of the levels of development observable in the border zone; and they delve deeply into an examination of demographic phenomena.

近世大坂大工宮屋とその営業形態

In this research, a characteristic builder's shop in recent Osaka (the largest trade city in this times) is excavated. The shop's name was MIYAYA, which had been run by the family, surname Torii (means structure of the entrance of shrine), for four generations from 1670 s to 1730s. This shop' s works had been restricted to build shrine (Sinto temple) and often did these works by using the way of "Prefabrication". The geographical sphere of its activities was much wider than common and country builders. The extent came up to the some areas areas of western Japan, especially concentrating in Ohmi (now, Shiga Prefecture). MIYAYA must be marked as the forerunner who might have the potenciality to become modernistic contractor.

A Spatial Typology of Israel on the Basis of Partial‐Order Analysis

In the present study, a relatively new analytical technique—“Partial Order Scalogram Analysis with Base Coordinates” (POSAC)—is used to integrate subjective and objective measurements in the same way that other clustering techniques can be used to reduce a large number of observations to a limited number of major groups. The technique is applied to a geographical problem, involving 34 regions in the State of Israel, the economic welfare of which is characterized by means of ten objective socioeconomic variables and five subjective variables. The 34 regions are reduced to 5 manageable geographical spheres.

Patterns of Urban Dominance: The U.S. in 1890

The major thesis of this paper is that macroanalyses of urban social organization have unduly exaggerated the importance of trade and commerce as the foundations of a division of labor among cities. This division of labor and the capacity of cities to influence each other differentially are examined as resting upon a convergence among fiscal-commercial activities, plus intellectual, cultural and organizational activities, and transportation and communication. This multifaceted conception of urban dominance stresses how different kinds of activities are associated with different geographical spheres of influence, resulting in three distinct types or dimensions of dominance: national-international, regional and local. Examination of U.S. cities in 1890 indicates two different functional and geographical distributions of regional and national dominance. They are associated with different patterns of regional integration and with variations in the economic development of regions. The types of dominance are also seen to exhibit substantial historical continuity between 1890 and 1970, with the multifaceted measure providing much better predictions than the financial measure.