Field Of Geography Research Articles

What is the place of abandonment in planetary rural geographies?

Millions of hectares of farmland have been abandoned over the past decades globally. Yet abandonment remains a neglected ‘outside’ of both the planetary urbanization debate and the emerging field of planetary rural geographies. Engaging with abandonment can benefit both these debates and help overcome persistent and new binaries between the rural and the urban.

Critical critical posthumanism in human geography

Abstract. In this brief contribution, I reflect on some of the newest tendencies and fashions in social theoretic thinking in the field of human geography and beyond. Human geography attracts its scholars, thinkers and audiences with its engagement to contribute to a better environment and a better world. As such human geography as a discipline is a political project, with high societal relevance. In this human engagement with the world around us, the relationship between the human and the spatial environment is of central importance, and thorough scientific conceptual reflections are crucial in a discipline that is not just political but also scientific. Geographers traditionally excel in sophisticated conceptualisations of our physical and social environment but have rather neglected the conceptualisation of the other end of this relationship, the human being and becoming. In the current debate on the various versions of posthumanism, we observe that one easily resorts to rather simplistic categorisations and qualifications of what we envision as posthuman utopias or dystopias, with sometimes also dangerous ethical consequences. In this contribution, I try to argue that, if we dig a bit deeper, with the help of the philosophical anthropology of Helmuth Plessner we gain a more nuanced and sustainable as well as ethically responsible view of the role of the posthuman self in the geography of today's world.

Konsep Islamisasi Sains Matematika dalam Pemikiran Al-Khawarizmi: Sebuah Kajian Teoritis

The progress of Western civilization's hegemony cannot be separated from the role of Muslim scientists in developing knowledge and science. But on the other hand, when Western scholars develop and apply the theories of Muslim scientists, they reject the Islamic values ​​contained therein. Therefore, this research aims to examine the concept of Islamization developed by al-Khwarizmi, a Muslim scientist who played an important role in the development of modern mathematics. The Islamic values ​​developed by Al-Khwarizmi can be seen in his discoveries, especially in the fields of algebra, arithmetic, algorithms, geography and others. This research uses library research by collecting data through books and journals, using descriptive methods and a systematic approach. The results of the research found that the Islamization values ​​developed by Al-Khwarizmi were the result of his tadabbur and tafakkur on the verses of the Koran. an which talks about roseits, determining days and months, and understanding the Qudsi hadith which talks about nothingness and contributed to determining the latitude and longitude of areas conquered by Islam during the Abbasid era under the Al-Makmun caliphate.

Witches in Space: Introduction

The introduction to this Issues in Review entitled ‘Witches in Space’ sets out the critical history that forms the background work on the literary geographies of early modern witchcraft. The introduction first establishes the need for such work through an illustrative case study and then attends to the foundation of scholarship in the fields of literary and cultural geography as well as witchcraft studies on which this collection of essays builds.

Immersive imaginaries: Digital spaces as post place care

With the spread of digitalization, the spaces and imaginaries of healthcare are fundamentally changing, due, in part, to an increasing uptake of immersive technologies. Building on previous ethnographic work on the nature of placed care (Ivanova, 2020a; Simonsen, 2020) this paper explores two cases of immersive technology advances in the Netherlands and Denmark to better understand contemporary developments in digital healthcare, the virtual environments they afford, and the immersive experiences they seek to evoke. First, we offer ‘immersive imaginaries’ as a heuristic for exploring how ideas of immersion, placeless-ness, and futurity intersect as key stakeholders in the healthcare innovation industry articulate socio-technical solutions to healthcare problems, and to what effects. Second, and in drawing inspiration from feminist STS on care, we build on Ivanova's (2020b) conceptual work on ‘post place care’ to analyse the relations between place, technology, and care in experiences of immersion. These two points form the contribution of the paper and its ambition to engage with ongoing discussions in the field of digital geography about how to analyse and theorise digital spaces of care.

What’s the matter with the unconscious?

Anna Secor’s ‘Spacetimeunconscious’ offers a groundbreaking intervention into the fields of material and psychoanalytic geographies. Following Karen Barad and Jacques Lacan, she develops a concept of the unconscious that takes place within matter itself. In this commentary, I add some questions, loose ends, and fragments to the theory-building patchwork of Secor's paper.

From news deserts to news resilience: Analysis of media in depopulated areas

This article delves into the established concept of news deserts within the broader field of Communication Geography, aiming to propose a comprehensive methodological framework for exploring the absence of local media. This approach considers crucial variables including geography, demography, public services, and infrastructure, all contributing to the configuration of the media landscape. By focusing on the depopulated region of Castile-La Mancha in Spain, we examine the relationship between the presence (or lack) of media outlets and factors such as population density, average per capita income, business activity, public service availability, accessibility, and other pertinent elements. Our analysis reveals that the media structure mirrors demographic and concentration patterns, primarily favoring central areas while leaving peripheral areas virtually isolated. This is despite the fact that the majority of the region has public services such as libraries, health centers, and telecommunications infrastructure. Income and business activity do not seem to correlate with a greater media presence. These findings underscore the necessity for sub-national studies with a specific focus on rural environments, accounting for territorial diversity, in order to better understand what occurs happens in areas considered to be news deserts.

Students' Ability To Interpret Pattern Imagessocial Cultural Spatial Of The Google Maps Application

Spatial pattern material in learning requires strong visualization so that students can understand complex concepts. However, the use of conventional media that does not support interactive visualization can make it difficult for students to understand the material and develop interpretation skills. This research aims to overcome this problem by using the Google Maps application in interpreting images of socio-cultural spatial patterns for students at SMA Negeri 1 Kalianda.The research was conducted in class The research results showed that 33 students or 94.29% could use the Google Maps application very well, 29 students or 82.86% were able to interpret the spatial patterns around their respective students' residences, 28 students or 80% were able to interpret socio-cultural spatial characteristics , and 30 students or 85.71% were able to conclude the spatial pattern of their area.Thus, the use of the Google Maps application in interpreting images of socio-cultural spatial patterns has the potential to improve students' ability to interpret spatial patterns that are spread out, clustered and elongated, but further efforts are still needed to increase the number of students who achieve adequate interpreting criteria. This research has implications that learning approaches involving interactive applications such as Google Maps can be an effective alternative in developing students' interpreting skills in the field of geography.

Far-right localism as an environmental strategy in France

This paper discusses the promotion of localism as an environmental strategy by actors on the French far right. Far-right localism constitutes an example of mutating far-right ecological discourses on the denialism-ecofascism spectrum that further promotes far-right ideology under a ‘green’ banner. In this commentary I use empirical examples from the far right in France to show how this localism, which advocates a nativist rootedness in an exclusionary local, is upheld as a prerequisite for effective environmentalism. Such a strategy mobilises a reactionary conceptualisation of place that defends an exclusionary attachment to the local environment. Far-right localism feeds and revolves around an identitarian, naturalist and organicist conception of ecology typical of far-right ecologies, as well as the wish to supplant the left/right divide with a global/local one. This paper brings into conversation the fields of human geography and the political ecologies of the far right to contribute to a better understanding of constructed meanings of place by far-right actors in the context of climate change and ecological degradation. It furthermore encourages scholars across fields to keep investigating and disentangling complex affinities between ideologies of nature, identity (re-)production, belonging and resistance in conceptualisations and meanings of place.

The ontological and epistemological foundations of tourism geography: Chosen aspects of its empirical field of research

The article addresses a noteworthy gap in the consideration of philosophical dimensions within the methodological discourse of geography. Specifically, the domain of tourism geography, as a “young” sub-discipline, requires a more profound analysis of its subject matter, particularly the empirical field. Consequently, the primary objective of this study is to explore ontological and epistemic questions concerning the nature ofthe empirical field in tourism geography and the status of knowledge generated within it. Employing ananalytic philosophy approach and leveraging J. Searle’s new-realist social ontology, the investigation seeks toshed light on the vital interplay between philosophy and geography. By illuminating the unexplored philosophical aspects, this research contributes to the broader understanding of geographical methodologies, making it an essential step toward advancing the theoretical field of tourism geography.

Addressing inclusion, innovation, and sustainability challenges through the lens of economic geography: Introducing the hierarchical regional innovation system

The world is facing dramatic challenges related to environmental sustainability at an accelerating pace. In this context, the field of economic geography (EG) has been playing an important role in understanding both the socioeconomic and technological dimensions of these challenges, as it deals with a variety of complementary notions and perspectives. Departing from this lens, our aim is to explore a conceptual framework that can help us to understand environmental changes relating to multi-dimensional territorial development, notably in economic contexts where inequality is high, and stratification based on hierarchies regulate social and economic life. Based on the territory concept, we propose the original notion of a hierarchical regional innovation system (HRIS) that emphasises the pervasive role of hierarchies (powers) in regional innovation systems and illustrate its value with evidence and case studies from extant literature on sustainability transitions. The HRIS can help us understand and promote development paths considering the contribution of inclusive eco-innovations (another original conceptual amalgam). Through some empirical cases from other studies in low-carbon transitions, we show the application of the HRIS (and inclusive eco-innovation) framework. In conclusion, we provide incentives to explore new regional innovation systems, alongside the HRIS, adapted to different regions worldwide and centred on the inclusiveness of people and places.

Scale transformation of place brands: a visual study of Xinhepu, Guangzhou

Place branding has become a popular strategy to promote place visibility and place image communication and gains attention in the field of city planning, geography, and place management. The contribution of geographical knowledge has been emphasized and discussed in recent place branding studies, including the role of geographical scale in branding strategies and management. However, current research mainly places the issues of scale from the top-down perspective of branding governance, and the bottom-up processes based on local culture and embodied experiences are overlooked. Drawing on participatory-based visual methodology, in the article, a combination of self‐directed photography, photo evaluation, eye-tracking experiment, and interview are employed to the scale transformation performance of place brands from the perspective of embodied experience. Taking Xinhepu in Guangzhou, China as a case study, the results show that both residents and nonresidents do not limit their perception of the Xinhepu brand to a microscale space but point to the city of Guangzhou. Specifically, the process of scale transformation of place brands is characterized by the interaction of temporal and spatial factors that provide possibilities for scale transformation. The physical landscape in space plays a role in place branding, while in time scale, Xinhepu connects Guangzhou’s past and present and is a microcosm of the city’s image and historical development; thus, in people’s embodied perception, Xinhepu can be transformed into a city brand through place culture creation. The article can provide a new explanation for the construction of place branding at multiple geographical scales and explore how the body’s unconscious, nonrepresentational rhythms play a role in place brand scale transformation.

Toward People’s Budgets: Public Economic Geography for Movement Building

In this article, we respond to Narayan and Rosenman’s call for a more public economic geography by considering the ways in which economic geographers could contribute to social movements. We do this in two ways. First, we reflect on our initial encounters with economics in the fields of geography and urban planning to consider how our disciplinary groundings shape and perhaps limit our imaginaries of the economy. Second, we consider how activist calls for “people’s budgets” present an opportunity for researchers to develop a more public economic geography as part of movement building. We see this as one way in which economic geographers might help forge alternative, life-sustaining economies.

Geospatial technologies in hazard research and response – a case study of Paper2GIS in an international field course

ABSTRACT Geospatial technologies have revolutionised the field of hazard research as well as geography field-courses, providing powerful tools to analyse and visualise geospatial data for decision-making purposes. This paper presents a case study of Paper2GIS, an application for field data collection tested during an international field course in Seyðisfjörður, East Iceland. The field course was designed to expose students to the practical application of interdisciplinary geospatial technologies in hazard research. Students experienced geological/physical geography field mapping as well as data collection using Paper2GIS. The results demonstrate the effectiveness of Paper2GIS in facilitating hazard research with a participatory component, as well as the simplification of data collection during geography field courses. Paper2GIS proved to be an effective tool for enhancing collaboration, data visualisation, and decision-making. The findings provide valuable insights for researchers, practitioners, and educators looking to incorporate low-tech geospatial technologies into their work.

Debate on regulation and professionalisation in the short-term rental housing market

Professionalisation in accommodation platforms is changing the short-term rental market worldwide. During the past decade, till today, Airbnb has been the leader in this economic sector, its spread has been a central issue in urban dynamics related to the several discomforts it has caused in cities. Recently, the professionalisation of its users has popped up as an additional issue to be dealt with. The professionalisation process has changed the internal structure of Airbnb from a peer-to-peer platform to a business-to-consumer one. Despite the growing attention to this trend, regulatory frameworks across cities still do not have policies to deal with this specific issue. This article proposes a data-driven methodology to identify the different economic approaches of professional hosts for contributing to the debate on professionalisation in short-term rental studies and provide new insights into the regulation debate. The proposed methodology consists of a cluster analysis applied to 2019 Airbnb data (from the AirDNA dataset) in eight Southern European cities: Lisbon, Porto, Madrid, Seville, Rome, Naples, Athens and Thessaloniki. The results highlight four clusters that describe different economic approaches of Airbnb hosts recognisable in each city. The findings offer a novel and clear entry point to understand the professional hosts' economic strategies, which can inform policies to regulate their market, as well as advancing knowledge in the field of critical geographies of housing.

Justice in energy transformations as a spatial phenomenon: A framework for analyzing multi-dimensional justice claims

Energy transformations not only evoke multi-dimensional claims for just distribution, recognition, and procedures, but also reveal how these claims depend on and shape the spatial context that they address. The aim of this contribution is to provide a framework that connects spatial and multi-dimensional aspects of justice in energy transition research. It builds on literature in the fields of just transition studies and energy justice. While the relevance of considering space and scale in socio-technical transitions is widely acknowledged, a conceptual framework can help to connect justice and spatiality in transitions and support scrutiny of their interconnections. The present work seeks to address this gap by incorporating contributions from the fields of political geography and political theory. Accordingly, it discusses central intersections in the moral–spatial tension field. Spatial justice claims are conceptualized as referring at the same time to moral (substance-related) and spatial dimensions of (in)justice and relating both to each other. The paper conceptualizes how justice claims refer to multiple scales, center-periphery relations, interterritorial and infrastructure-related concerns as well as to place-based attachments. It discusses the positioning of actors in this moral-spatial field as well as the reference to directional patterns of responsibility and effect. Attention to spatial justice claims further discloses processes of boundary construction, perpetuation, and contestation as well as the regional entrenchment of widely shared justice claims. Transformation-related political institutions and processes in affected regions reveal how various spatial justice claims are publicly related to each other.

Money matters: The role of money as a regional and corporate financial resource for circular economy transition at firm-level

This study addresses the role of different financial resources in driving circular economy activities at the firm level, which are a particular form of innovation. While the impact of financial resources on innovation activities has been widely researched, their relationship with the circular economy has not been adequately studied. Previous studies have focused primarily on corporate financial resources and investments by banks and investors. By using unique survey data from Swiss firms, we break new ground by examining the importance of regional financial resources, including regional household income and public procurement volumes. In doing so, we make a valuable contribution to the fields of (eco-)innovation and economic geography. We also examine the timing of financial resource deployment, looking at both early adopters and pioneers of the circular economy. Our results, derived from a comprehensive multivariate regression analysis that includes a representative sample of over 1000 observations, confirm that regional household income and public procurement volumes play a central role in the successful implementation of the circular economy – that is, money matters. Additionally, our research reveals distinct and independent impacts of corporate and regional financial resources, advocating for their combined influence. Importantly, we find that financial resources are crucial for both beginners and leaders in the circular economy, emphasizing the profound policy implications and central role in driving and supporting the circular economy.

Activițățile practice - element esențialîn formarea competențelor specifice geografiei

In this era where almost everything is developing rapidly, when experience is demanded insistently in all fields, there is also a need to improve the educational system and to train skills through practical activities. The study aims to emphasize the beneficial effect of practical activities carried out by high school students in acquiring and consolidating knowledge in the field of Geography. By approaching the concept of competence/s, the complete and definitive treatment of the concept was not pursued, but an attempt was made to argue for the formation of geography-specific competences progressively through practical activities. Lessons that include practical activities in the educational process are obvious, because they acquire essential psycho-pedagogical characteristics, generating interest in knowledge compared to lessons where geographical contents are directly transmitted and recommended for learning.

Analysis of the Dong bao Ye as sacred landscape and its Putative therapeutic mechanisms.

Humans have innately established close and profound ties with the, and through these relationships shaped many kinds of landscapes. Among these are sacred landscapes, which have drawn the attention of researchers due to their cultural significance. In the field of health geography, large-sized sacred regional landscapes are now the focus of studies for their therapeutic properties. However, few scholars have focused on small sacred landscape systems at the community level (constructed by local communities) or the physical and psycological health benefits that these landscapes offer to the local residents. These small-sized and widespread, but often hidden, sacred landscapes are closely tied to people's daily lives and work. They have evolved and grown over millennia to become critical sociocultural phenomena. This study takes the sacred bao ye landscape of the Dong people of China as the research subject. By adopting the case study approach, field research, semi-structured interviews, and textual analysis, it summarizes the types, geographical distribution, rituals and processes of bao ye as a sacred landscape of the Huanggang village in Guizhou Province, and concludes with an analysis of motivation and health benefits to the bao ye worship. In this paper we argue that bao ye is a sacred landscape system focusing on the healthy development of children, and constitutes a local belief developed in an isolated environment lacking medical resources, which remains in practice. The sacred landscape of bao ye offers a therapeutic environment, providing children with increased opportunities to engage with and build deep connections to nature. Thruogh this process children may develop a bond with nature that inspires them to protect nature on their own accord. We argue that bao ye offers an important case study for understanding the landscape-people-healing interactivity at the community level.

청주시 거주 러시아어권 이주민 현황과 과제

This paper specifically examines the residency status of Russian-speaking immigrants, including the ethnic Korean diaspora, living in Cheongju City. Throughout this study, it addresses several challenges related to immigrant settlement and social integration. Among foreign nationals of ethnic descent, there has been a noticeable shift in the last five years. The proportion of Chinese and American nationals among foreign compatriots has declined, while there is an increasing trend in the number of diaspora from Central Asian countries, particularly ethnic Koreans from Russia. If the foreigner-to-total population ratio exceeds 5%, it is commonly acknowledged that the country has transitioned into a multicultural society. By this standard, our society could also be described as multicultural. As of March 2023, the number of registered Russian-speaking immigrants residing in Cheongju City was recorded at 6,435. Considering the fact that around 20% of domestic foreigners are unregistered, it is estimated that there are approximately 7,700 residents with Russian-speaking backgrounds, including ethnic Koreans, in Cheongju City.
 The attraction of foreign immigrant populations in the era of low birth rates and an aging society has become an inevitable reality, leading to active discussions even about the establishment of an immigration agency. For the rapidly increasing Russian-speaking immigrant community in Cheongju City, individually tailored support measures have now reached a stage of review and reevaluation. Urgent efforts are needed to establish a Task Force (TF) consisting of relevant government and private organizations, including Cheongju City Hall, Chungbuk Provincial Office, Immigration Office, Education Office, universities, and the Small and Medium Business Association. Comprehensive information gathering and extensive network-building for Russian-speaking immigrants residing in Cheongju City should also be pursued, based on collaborative research in the fields of sociology, geography, and humanities. It is essential for the culture of Cheongju City, South Korea, to mature into a harmonious and mutually beneficial coexistence with the cultures of Russian-speaking immigrants, and this requires the collective attention and endeavors of all of us.