Showing papers in "Geographical Research in 2009"
TL;DR: For a review of spaces of global capitalism, see as mentioned in this paper, where the authors present a survey of spaces and their relationship with global capitalism in terms of uneven, uneven, and combined development.
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338 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors assessed ski tourists' attitudes towards climate change in the largest ski resort in Australia in 2007, repeating a survey conducted in 1996 and found that 93% of skiers in Australia would ski less often in Australian resorts if the next five years had low natural snow, up from 75% of ski tourists surveyed in 1996: 69% would visit less often, 5% would give up and 16% would ski at the same levels but overseas.
Abstract: Climate change will affect tourism destinations that are dependent on natural resources, such as snow Currently there is limited research into attitudes, intentions and actual visitation patterns of skiers in response to reduced snow cover Therefore the awareness of, and attitudes towards, climate change of 351 ski tourists were assessed in the largest ski resort in Australia in 2007, repeating a survey conducted in 1996 Ninety percent of skiers in 2007 would ski less often in Australian resorts if the next five years had low natural snow, up from 75% of skiers surveyed in 1996: 69% would ski less often, 5% would give up and 16% would ski at the same levels but overseas Nearly all skiers thought that climate change would affect the ski industry (87% compared with 78% in 1996), and that this would occur sooner than in the 1996 survey Visitation in a poor snow year (2006, +085°C average annual temperature, 54% less natural snow) was −136% of the long-term average, indicating poor natural snow resulted in decreased visitation, despite extensive use of snow making The implications of changes in climate conditions and tourist attitudes for Australian ski resorts are assessed including for snow making and summer tourism
77 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors explore the dynamics of labour shortages in the minerals sector of the Western Australian Goldfields and demonstrate close linkages between commodity price, labour supply and demand, and resource output.
Abstract: Labour shortages have become an increasingly significant barrier to economic development in regional Australia. Many firms and government agencies are operating below capacity as a result of their inability to fill jobs. In the mineral resources sector, this has been compounded by rapidly rising demand for commodities and the very remote locations of many mine sites. This paper explores the dynamics of labour shortages in the minerals sector of the Western Australian Goldfields. It demonstrates close linkages between commodity price, labour supply and demand, and resource output. Against the background of a state-wide ‘resources boom’, the paper also points to an increase in intra- and inter- regional competition for labour.
71 citations
TL;DR: The authors examined the extent to which economic diversity affects the socio-economic performance of local areas in the Western Australian grain belt and found that employment diversity across industry sectors is associated with population growth, labour force expansion, labor force participation, and rising median incomes.
Abstract: One of the truisms ingrained in much regional development policy and practice is the claimed importance of economic diversity in contributing to socio-economic stability and well-being. There is, however, very little recent research examining this contention in the context of rural Australia. This paper examines the extent to which economic diversity affects the socio-economic performance of local areas in the Western Australian grain belt. The results indicate that employment diversity across industry sectors is clearly associated with population growth, labour force expansion, labour force participation, and rising median incomes. However, the paper also argues that economic diversity is not necessarily the cause of these changes, but simply one, albeit important, component of the dynamics of regional change.
66 citations
58 citations
TL;DR: The Wildfire Management Overlay (WMO) was developed with the aim of mitigating wildfire risk through the identification of high risk areas and ensuring that minimum fire protection measures are implemented as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: In a world where climate change is a `given', the concepts of vulnerability, resilience and risk are now pivotal in public policy debates in many countries Within this context, planning controls are designed to facilitate safe, sustainable and prosperous communities In line with March's (2007, 11) observation that `one important ?reason to plan? is the reduction of risk', Victoria's Wildfire Management Overlay (WMO) was developed with the aim of mitigating wildfire risk through the identification of high risk areas and ensuring that minimum fire protection measures are implemented The need for such an Overlay is becoming increasingly apparent as climate change contributes to the growing frequency and intensity of bushfires in Australia Empirical research has found that, by following WMO prescriptions, the risk of a dwelling igniting from direct flame or radiant heat generated in a one in 50-year fire event can be greatly minimised Yet not all local Councils in Victoria have built the WMO into their land use planning processes and schemes Barriers to adoption include: lack of political will, a distrust of `over-regulation', lack of training and mentoring of planning staff, and potential conflicts with vegetation conservation objectives
56 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors explored the long-term effects of repeated forest fires on eco-geomorphic processes and found that forest fires lead to a significant increase in runoff and sediment yields during the first two years following the disturbance, up to five orders of magnitude higher than from the adjacent unburnt control plots.
Abstract: The Mediterranean ecosystem of Mt. Carmel, Israel, is subjected to an increasing number of forest fires of various extents and severities. The impacts of forest fires on runoff and erosion are widely documented and include increased peak flows and soil loss until the return of a vegetation cover. Most studies, however, treat fire as a single event, whereas the present study is aimed at exploring the long-term effects of repeated forest fires on eco-geomorphic processes. The study integrates the results of plot-based, detailed analysis of post-fire runoff and erosion with vegetation recovery analysis, at a temporal-spatial scale which includes the effect of reburning. Our results indicate that forest fires lead to a significant increase in runoff and sediment yields, particularly during the first two years following the disturbance, up to five orders of magnitude higher than from the adjacent unburnt control plots.
50 citations
48 citations
TL;DR: In Australia, the direction, complexity and pace of rural change in Australia can be conceptualised as a multifunctional transition in which a variable mix of consumption and protection values has emerged, contesting the former dominance of production values, and leading to greater complexity and heterogeneity in rural occupance at all scales.
Abstract: As elsewhere in affluent, western nations, the direction, complexity and pace of rural change in Australia can be conceptualised as a multifunctional transition in which a variable mix of consumption and protection values has emerged, contesting the former dominance of production values, and leading to greater complexity and heterogeneity in rural occupance at all scales. This transition has been explored in accessible, high-amenity landscapes driven by enhanced consumption values. Less attention has been directed to remote, marginal lands where a flimsy mode of productivist occupance can, in part, be displaced by alternative modes with the transitions being facilitated by low transfer costs. Such is the case in Australia's northern tropical savannas where an extensive mode of pastoral occupance is selectively displaced by alternative consumption, protection and Indigenous values. This transition towards multifunctional occupance is most readily documented by mapping changes in land tenure and ownership over the last three decades. Tenure changes have been accompanied by new regimes of property rights and land ownership, including: native titles derived from common law; non-transferable, common-property Aboriginal freehold tenures; transfers of pastoral leases to Indigenous and conservation interests; expansion of conservation lands under public tenures; and revisions of the rights and duties of pastoral lessees. Future occupance scenarios remain unclear, given the sensitivity of this frontier zone to national and global driving forces. © 2009 The Author. Journal compilation © 2009 Institute of Australian Geographers.
47 citations
TL;DR: The improved theory and method of spatial autocorrelation based on the Moran's I is applied to the systems of towns in Hebi Prefecture of Henan Province,China and shows how to make use of spatial Autocor correlation theory in human geographical analysis easily and simply.
Abstract: This paper is devoted to developing the theory and methods of spatial autocorrelation analysis based on the Moran statistics.Firstly,the mathematical process of the Moran's index is reconstructed with the theory of linear algebra.Two kinds of generalized spatial weighting matrix(GSWM) are defined as follows: one is the ideal spatial weighting matrix(ISWM),and the other is the real spatial weighting matrix(RSWM).The Moran's I can be redefined by both ISWM and RSWM.Secondly,the theoretical essence of Moran's I is brought to light by using the ideas from symmetry and invariance of mathematical transform.The Moran's I is in fact the eigenvalue of ISWM and RSWM,and the corresponding eigenvector is just the vector consisting of the standardized data for spatial autocorrelation analysis.Thirdly,the Moran scatterplot is revised.Based on ISWM and RSWM,the Moran scatterplot for local analysis of spatial association is improved and the result is more satisfying than the original form.In the improved scatterplot,ISWM presents a straight line,and RSWM shows itself as a random distribution of data points. Three approaches to estimating the Moran's I are advanced as follows:(1) The method of formula.Three-step computation process is summed up by means of matrix theory.(2) The method of matrix.The scaling relation is employed to estimate the Moran's I by calculating the eigenvalue of ISWM or RSWM.(3) The method of regression analysis.This approach is based on the correlation between the standardized vector and ISWM or RSWM.The key step of making analysis of spatial autocorrelation is to construct the contiguity matrix.The spatial weighting matrix(SWM) is divided into four types:(1) locality correlation,(2) quasi-locality correlation,(3) quasi-long-distance correlation,and(4) long distance correlation associated with action at a distance.Different types of SWM are suitable for different cases of geographical analysis. The improved theory and method of spatial autocorrelation based on the Moran's I is applied to the systems of towns in Hebi Prefecture of Henan Province,China.Based on the measure of total population of towns,a symmetrical pattern of spatial autocorrelation,which looks like a butterfly,is revealed and illustrated.This example shows how to make use of spatial autocorrelation theory in human geographical analysis easily and simply.
40 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors developed an index of the vulnerability of land to drought and desertification (LVI) for Italy, which takes into account changes in climate, land use, vegetation cover, soil properties, and population during the period 1990-2000.
Abstract: This paper develops an index of the vulnerability of land to drought and desertification (LVI) for Italy. The index takes into account changes in climate, land use, vegetation cover, soil properties, and population during the period 1990–2000. The LVI was built up through a multivariate approach aimed at assessing the importance of the various indicators included in the synthetic index. Increasing land vulnerability was observed during this time, especially in dry areas of the southern regions. This is interpreted as a consequence of land management practices, agricultural intensification, population pressure, and bio-physical degradation. The LVI can be used in an integrated, decision-support system to evaluate the impact of mitigation policies in rural environments.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors identified and examined factors that enhance community resilience in the informal settlement of Imizamo Yethu, particularly in response and recovery to fire events, and found that social networks, some formal community institutions that foster community participation and the resourcefulness of individuals were the most important factors underpinning resilience.
Abstract: Imizamo Yethu, in Cape Town, is one of the many informal settlements in South Africa's post-Apartheid urban landscape. Residents live in abject poverty and are potentially vulnerable to a range of environmental hazards, of which fire hazard is one of the most common. A major fire, on the 8 February 2004, caused significant damage to housing and infrastructure, resulting in widespread homelessness and loss of personal possessions. Despite this, there was minimal loss of life and few major injuries. The community re-grouped after the fire and Imizamo Yethu has remained viable as a community to the present day. Contemporary geographical research on hazards emphasises aspects of community vulnerability and resilience. The present paper identifies and examines factors that enhance community resilience in the informal settlement of Imizamo Yethu, particularly in response and recovery to fire events. A survey completed in the aftermath of the 2004 fire found that social networks, some formal community institutions that foster community participation and the resourcefulness of individuals were the most important factors underpinning resilience.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors compared the conceptualisation of leadership within rural development policies and leadership training programs with the nature of local leadership as it exists in on-ground community building projects, and found that local leadership could result in improved adaptive capacity if the leadership is similar in nature to Burn's (1978) transformational model of leadership.
Abstract: Current approaches to rural community development in Australia provide for limited government intervention. Such intervention is usually housed within programmes that seek to build the internal capacity of communities to achieve long term socio-economic sustainability. A fundamental implementation strategy for capacity building has been developing local leadership. The underlying assumption of this approach is that good leadership will result in existing resources being mobilised for a more sustainable function and new resources attracted. What though is good leadership in terms of building the capacity of rural communities to develop sustainable socio-economic futures? This paper compares the conceptualisation of leadership within rural development policies and leadership training programmes with the nature of local leadership as it exists in on-ground community building projects. From an in-depth review of the role and nature of local leadership within six Australian rural communities it was found that local leadership could result in improved adaptive capacity if the leadership is similar in nature to Burn's (1978) transformational model of leadership. Within policy, local leadership was most often conceptualised as being similar to this transformational model. However, rural leadership training programmes tended to conceptualise leadership as a top-down process, similar to Burn's (1978) transactional model. While this study of leadership within rural communities revealed that transactional skills, as taught in leadership training programmes, were important for successful project management, such skills did not necessarily result in improved community adaptive capacity. It is suggested that, while transactional leadership can have an important role in influencing the development of rural communities, greater attention needs to be given to developing strategies to support transformational leadership.
TL;DR: A suite of images from NASA's MODIS sensor was used to calculate the Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) during the 2000-2006 North American growing seasons as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: Vegetation stress or mortality can be the result of many factors including drought-induced water deficit, insect infestations and failures of, or fluctuations in, precipitation sources typical to an area. Reduction of cover and reduced health are identifiable in remotely-sensed multispectral satellite images. A suite of images from NASA's MODIS sensor was used to calculate the Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) during the 2000–2006 North American growing seasons. Fluctuations in NDVI over this period show a significant decline in vegetative health in the region with specific areas showing changes linked to moisture sources, prevailing wind patterns, slope aspect and solar radiation receipt. Ground-truthing of these areas has confirmed the extent and magnitude of the dieoff signal. Historically, dieoff has been reversed through regeneration as climate conditions return to a normal regime. However, quantification of recent vegetative change in western North America suggests that the degree of change may be too severe for regrowth to occur and may have far-reaching impacts on a scale unseen in modern times. The loss of vegetative habitat and native species in semi-arid regions and lack of regeneration in these marginal ecosystems due to prolonged drought are growing global problems. Similar drought stress impacts on marginal ecotypes have also been observed in semi-arid regions of Australia, South America, Asia and Africa. Observations of the spatial pattern of temperate forest vegetation globally can be used to develop a precise picture of vegetative health in these regions and how they are reacting to global climate change.
TL;DR: The Lapita people of the Bismarck Archipelago (Papua New Guinea) undertook voyages eastward that led to their colonization of the eastern outer Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, Fiji, Tonga and Samoa as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: From 3200 to 2850cal BP (1250-900 BCE), the Lapita people of the Bismarck Archipelago (Papua New Guinea) undertook voyages eastward that led to their colonization of the eastern outer Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, Fiji, Tonga and Samoa. The earliest (Lapita) settlements in Fiji were along the Rove Peninsula in southwest Viti Levu Island. At the time of colonization, sea level was 1.5 m higher than today. The Rove Peninsula was then a smaller island off the coast of larger Viti Levu, with a broad, fringing reef along its windward coasts, which was probably the main attraction for Lapita colonizers. As elsewhere during Lapita times in the western tropical Pacific Islands, settlement choice for the initial colonizers of the Fiji Islands was at one level driven by site access, at another by the presence of broad, fringing coral reefs suitable for marine foraging. The earliest settlement along the Rove Peninsula was at Bourewa, occupied first in 3050 cal BP (1100 BCE), where people lived in houses on stilt platforms built along the axis of a subtidal sand barrier; on one side was a broad coral reef, on the other a partly-enclosed tidal inlet. There is no evidence that the Bourewa settlers practised horticulture or agriculture at this time, their subsistence being predominantly marine foraging. After some 300 years of following this subsistence strategy, the inhabitants of Bourewa responded to sea-level fall and the arrival of cultivars (of taro and yam) by including horticulture. As sea level fell further, a total of 550 mm during the Lapita era, the tidal inlet dried up and marine-food resources diminished to a point where the natural environment of the Rove Peninsula could no longer sustain its Lapita inhabitants. All Lapita sites in the area were abandoned about 2500 cal BP (550 BCE), at the same time as the Lapita culture, marked by the end of dentate-pottery manufacture, came to an end in Fiji. © Journal compilation © 2009 Institute of Australian Geographers.; ;
TL;DR: In this article, a number of interconnected, but uncoordinated drivers of change combine to shape the landscape and its future, and their changes make it hard to anticipate future requirements and opportunities, as well as to implement policies, whether by local stakeholders or at the national level.
Abstract: The semi-arid zone of Southwest Asia, known as the Fertile Crescent, is under unprecedented stress because of agricultural development. Where rain-fed agriculture and transhumant herding had prevailed over ten millennia, today intensive cultivation with irrigation threatens future sustainability. A number of interconnected, but uncoordinated drivers of change combine to shape the landscape and its future, and their changes make it hard to anticipate future requirements and opportunities, as well as to implement policies, whether by local stakeholders or at the national level. Among the factors that comprise the socio-natural systems are (1) climate, (2) water and soil resources, (3) history of land use, (4) social, economic and political factors, (5) infrastructural developments (6) interstate impacts, and (7) legacies of the past. The example of the Khabur River drainage in northeastern Syria shows the dynamic interplay among these factors over the past 70 years, with implications for the way future policies and practices are developed.
TL;DR: Based on the analysis of major-element compositions of detrital sediments from the Taklamakan Desert of northwestern China, the authors aims to study chemical weathering in a hyper-arid desert environment.
Abstract: Based on the analysis of major-element compositions of detrital sediments from the Taklamakan Desert of northwestern China, this paper aims to study chemical weathering in a hyper-arid desert environment. The major-element compositions are basically similar to the Upper Continental Crust but show a clear enrichment of CaO and depletion of Na2O and K2O, indicating the enrichment of carbonates and the decomposition of sodium and potassium silicates. The indexes of chemical alteration are relatively low and correlate negatively with the content of Na2O, implying that the degree of chemical weathering is weak and mainly controlled by the weathering of sodium feldspars. An A-CN-K model demonstrates that the detrital sediments from the Taklamakan Desert have a high homogeneity in the trend of chemical weathering. They are weathered less than sands and soil in many other Chinese deserts, and also less than similar detrital sediments in many other countries. This evidence suggests a low degree of mineralogical maturity in the Taklamakan Desert. The aeolian sediments of different ages have similar indexes of chemical weathering, suggesting that the degree of chemical weathering was consistent in the Taklamakan Desert throughout the period of aeolian deposition. The low degree of chemical weathering is caused principally by extreme aridity, rapid rejuvenation of detrital sediments associated with strong aeolian processes, and an intensive input of fluvial deposits, as well as a lack of vegetation. Due to the high concentration of erodible minerals, the desert is quite vulnerable to soil erosion and land degradation.
TL;DR: The term karst derives from the Kras plateau, which is in the northwestern part of the area now known as the Dinaric Karst as mentioned in this paper, and the landscape consists mostly of Mesozoic carbonate rocks and stretches along the Adriatic Sea coast.
Abstract: The term karst derives from the Kras plateau, which is in the northwestern part of the area now known as the Dinaric Karst. The landscape consists mostly of Mesozoic carbonate rocks and stretches along the Adriatic Sea coast for a distance of 600 km. Although the region lies parallel to the sea, the Mediterranean temperature influence is limited to a narrow coastal belt, except for the amount of precipitation, which can reach 5000 mm yr−1. Forests belonging to the Mediterranean and Euro-Siberian – North American region, covered the primary Dinaric Karst. Human deforestation of the Karst began during the Neolithic period, 6500–6000 BC. Throughout history there have been two main reasons for deforestation; economic (the requirements of new land, pastures, timber use and trade), and social (local increases in population, mass migration, wars, raids). Mankind's perception of forest protection and preservation can be traced through documents going back to the 12th century. Reforestation is mentioned in some of them, but successful reforestation did not begin until the 1850s. Nowadays dense natural forests, extensive forest plantations, dry karst shrublands and also completely barren karst areas can all be found on the Dinaric Karst.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors present qualitative research findings regarding local experiences and perceptions of Indigenous spatiality in Yamatji country, Western Australia, and draw out some of the common spatial, temporal and demographic characteristics, or dimensions, of statistically uncaptured Indigenous mobility processes.
Abstract: Although much is known about broad trends in Australian Indigenous geographies, particular aspects of Indigenous spatiality continue to be rendered invisible by standard statistical measures. The national census, for example, only registers moves at one and five year intervals. Any mobilities enacted within these timeframes are not measured. Yet these statistically ‘un-captured’ mobility processes are often integral to Indigenous lived experiences and have a significant dialectical relationship to government service delivery processes. Understanding these population dynamics is therefore a critical, though underdeveloped, consideration within geographic enquiry and contemporary debates about State and Federal Indigenous policy directions and initiatives. This paper presents qualitative research findings regarding local experiences and perceptions of Indigenous spatiality in Yamatji country, Western Australia. Within this grounded framework, the paper builds on existing literature by drawing out some of the common spatial, temporal and demographic characteristics, or dimensions, of statistically un-captured Indigenous mobility processes. With this discursive, albeit generalised and malleable, typology established, the analysis turns to a reflection on some of the methodological and conceptual complexities of measurement, interpretation, and translation of these mobility processes across the policy-research nexus.
Journal Article•
TL;DR: In this paper, a physically-based distributed hydrological model is applied to the Kuye River basin, one of typical watersheds with plentiful and coarse sand in the middle reaches of the Yellow River.
Abstract: The SWAT is a physically-based distributed hydrological modelIts runoff generation mechanism is more practicalThe methods adopted in the process of runoff including surface runoff,interflow and groundwater flow are applicable to various conditions of climate and underlying surfaceIn this study,the SWAT(Version 2005) is applied to the Kuye River basin,one of typical watersheds with plentiful and coarse sand in the middle reaches of the Yellow River with arid and semi-arid climateWhen the model in the Kuye River basin was developed,automatic calibration method within the SWAT Version 2005 was used to calibrate the modelAccording to the stream flow hydrograph at Wenjiachuan station,the mouth of the river,the parameters were further adjustedThen,daily and monthly discharges from 1980 to 1985 have been simulated in the study area,and observed data series of three hydrological stations(Wenjiachuan,Xinmiao and Wangdaohengta) are used to evaluate the simulated discharge series of SWATThe effects of physical mechanism for streamflow generation processes have been analyzed and discussedThe result shows that the relative error of water budget is about 10%-20%,while the Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency coefficient(Ens) is relatively low,with Ens of daily series being about 02 and monthly Ens around 06Preliminary analysis of simulation results showed that the SWAT is not effective to simulate the discharge of interflow,baseflow and spring flood in the Kuye River basinIn addition,it is proposed that the SWAT runoff generation mechanism in arid and semi-arid regions need to be further investigated
TL;DR: In this article, the authors consider whether the failure of municipal amalgamation processes to produce significant economic benefits necessarily implies that structural reform programs that invoke consolidation have no place in Australian local government policy.
Abstract: Municipal amalgamation has been the main policy instrument of local government structural reform programmes in Australia for well over a century. However, council consolidation programs have not achieved the intended cost savings or improved service provision promised by advocates of this means of structural reorganisation. This paper considers whether the failure of municipal amalgamation processes to produce significant economic benefits necessarily implies that structural reform programs that invoke consolidation have no place in Australian local government policy. It is argued that ‘top-down’ state government structural reform policy initiatives carrying the threat of amalgamation constitute an efficient mechanism for evoking optimal ‘bottom-up’ structural change models.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors linked the current water crisis with a return to a drought-dominated flow regime in eastern New South Wales, which is associated with a shift from flood to drought domination that occurs every 20 to 50 years.
Abstract: Sydney's water crisis has been attributed to long-term drought, a population growing at >50 000 a year, the early impacts of global warming and the demands of a 4.2 million population leading a water-thirsty lifestyle. In this paper the drought is linked with a return to a drought-dominated flow regime in eastern New South Wales. This began in 1991 and is associated with a shift from flood to drought domination that occurs every 20 to 50 years. Its impacts will be further exaggerated by global warming. The reduction of runoff into Sydney's reservoirs is due primarily to regime shift, resulting in the diminution of inflows to about 25% of their levels in the 42 years before 1991. Possible ways of managing these dwindling water resources include building more reservoirs, exploiting largely unknown sources of groundwater, constructing a desalination plant, harvesting rainwater in the city, recycling used urban water and reducing individual water use. Despite arguments against the first three of these options, a desalination plant is currently under construction and investigations of deep groundwater proceed (shelved 18th June, 2008). Given that sources of water are distant and located in areas where rainfall reductions have been significant, greater efforts should be made to use water already in the city (rainfall and recycled water). Water restrictions and better domestic management of water are also areas where great savings can be and have been made.
TL;DR: This article explored the extent to which a reciprocal relationship exists between contemporary theorisation about farmers' markets in geography and the rapidly expanding public discourse surrounding these sites of exchange in New Zealand and found that the theorised alterity of the farmers' market, either in terms of production methods or motivations for consumption, is not reflected strongly in media reports, and this raises questions about over-theorisation in the academic literature.
Abstract: In this paper we explore the extent to which a reciprocal relationship exists between contemporary theorisation about farmers’ markets in geography and the rapidly expanding public discourse surrounding these sites of exchange in New Zealand. Activities branded as farmers’ markets are seen widely as local phenomena of systemic significance for the understanding of evolving geographies of production, consumption and exchange. As something ‘new’ on the landscape, farmers’ markets also attract attention in the media. An electronic database of significant print media contributions over the period 1995 to 2007 provides the empirical basis for an assessment of the extent to which theorisation and the public discourse address common themes. Our analysis indicates that, while the economic and social constructions in both the research literature and the media database share common themes, strong contrasts in ways of ‘seeing’ farmers’ markets are apparent. We note the predilection in the print media to present the nature and purpose of farmers’ markets through the personal experiences and ‘stories’ of participants. There is a tendency to focus on the appeal of markets to the consumers who form the readership base. The theorised alterity of the farmers’ market, either in terms of production methods or motivations for consumption, is not reflected strongly in media reports, and this raises questions about ‘over-theorisation’ in the academic literature. Our aim is to promote reflection in both the editorial offices of the media and in the academy by documenting the nature of these contrasting views.
TL;DR: The authors explored the differences between areas dominated by public housing and those characterised by private market housing in terms of their scores on each of these individual dimensions of exclusion and found that it is the experience of households with multiple dimensions, especially locational and economic disadvantage, that differentiate areas of public housing from private housing locations.
Abstract: Over the past decade social exclusion has increasingly been positioned at the forefront of political, academic and lay discourse as the cause of disadvantage. While the definition, measurement and solutions to social exclusion remain open to debate, housing has progressively been positioned as a central variable creating neighbourhoods of exclusion. Much of this debate has positioned areas of public housing as being the most disadvantaged and socially excluded neighbourhoods. However, the multidimensionality of social exclusion brings into question the simple identification of areas of public housing as being the most excluded. By exploring six dimensions of exclusion (neighbourhood, social and civic engagement, access, crime and security, community identity and economic disadvantage) we explore the differences between areas dominated by public housing and those characterised by private market housing in terms of their scores on each of these individual dimensions of exclusion. We find that it is the experience of households with multiple dimensions of exclusion, especially locational and economic disadvantage, that differentiate areas of public housing from private housing locations.
TL;DR: In this article, geomorphology, geochronology and palynology are used to assess the development and stability of two channelled swamps on the Barrington Tops plateau.
Abstract: Geomorphology, geochronology and palynology are used to assess the development and stability of two channelled swamps on the Barrington Tops plateau. While both swamps commenced peat accumulation prior to about 4000 cal BP, new stratigraphic data indicate incision between 700 and 1000 cal BP, in response to regional climate change. Two broad stratigraphic units are identified in each swamp: the upper floodplain, comprised entirely of peat, and the inset floodplain, underlain by interbedded peat and fluvial sediments. Following incision, rapid vertical growth of the inset floodplain occurred on the Barrington River between 690 and 620 cal BP, and palynological data indicate a change from more saturated pre-incision swamp flora to less saturated post-incision swamp flora. Bankfull stage-height, achieved many times in a year, is remarkably consistent along the length of each swamp channel. Its elevation controls the overall elevation of the swamps by controlling the height of the water-table and hence the growth of swamp vegetation and formation of peat. In particular, contemporary channel dimensions control the growth and height of the inset floodplain, a process that results in the formation of an organic floodplain not previously described in the geomorphic literature.
TL;DR: The Australian Government is currently developing a national geography curriculum for Australian schools as discussed by the authors, which is defined as the study of places and its distinctiveness is identified by the main questions that geographers use to gain new knowledge and understanding.
Abstract: The Australian Government is currently developing a national geography curriculum for Australian schools. The paper discusses the question of how to describe the nature of geography as a school subject, and the implications of this description for the curriculum. Geography is defined as the study of places, and its distinctiveness is identified by the main questions that geographers use to gain new knowledge and understanding. These questions are inclusive of the human-environment interactions and spatial analysis traditions of the discipline that are often proposed as alternative ways of defining the subject, and also of the different philosophical approaches adopted by geographers to the gaining of knowledge. The discipline is further defined and described through its concepts and skills. Based on recent research on student learning, a national geography curriculum should have a balance of substantive knowledge (facts, principles and explanations) and procedural knowledge (concepts, methods, skills and ways of gaining new knowledge), and enable students to learn geography by doing it and by applying their knowledge. The content could be chosen by combining professional judgements on what topics are important for students to study, and an assessment of what topics are likely to be seen as interesting to young Australians and relevant to the adult world they are about to enter. The resulting curriculum would be integrative and eclectic, focused on the study of places and the variety of ways they can be understood, and would produce students better able to analyse and understand a range of current and future local and global issues. Such a curriculum would require adjustments in university topics, especially in first year.
TL;DR: The shift of behavioural geography from a cutting edge sub-discipline to a branch of enquiry that is now much less prominent in mainstream human geography, especially in Australia, was discussed in this paper.
Abstract: As part of the Institute of Australian Geographers' Millennium Project, this article examines the shift of behavioural geography from a cutting edge sub-discipline to a branch of enquiry that is now much less prominent in mainstream human geography, especially in Australia. Through an exploration of the rationale for behavioural geography, a brief outline of the nature of the work that was done, and a consideration of the critiques of behavioural geography, the paper argues that behavioural geography enriched the discipline in several ways: it was instrumental in encouraging geographers to consider the epistemological foundations of the discipline; it fostered consideration of a variety of philosophical and methodological positions; and it highlighted the need to consider interrelationships between individuals, groups, society and environment thereby bringing into prominence the ways in which shared environmental meanings are contested and negotiated. Behavioural geography might be a term that is used much less than it once was and behaviourally-orientated research might increasingly find expression in interdisciplinary outlets rather than in mainstream geography journals but contemporary geography is heir to the endeavours of behavioural geography.
Journal Article•
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors studied land use/land cover change (LUCC) of the Chaohu Lake Basin based on multi-year TM image data, and the theory of ecosystem services values.
Abstract: Land use/land cover change(LUCC) has a significant impact on the eco-environment.This article studied LUCC of the Chaohu Lake Basin based on multi-year TM image data,and the theory of ecosystem services values.The economic values of ecosystem services of the Chaohu Lake Basin in 1979,1988,1995,2000,2005 and 2008 were estimated,and changes caused by LUCC in the past 30 years were analyzed.According to the spatial distribution of ecosystems and land types of the heterogeneity of the natural and economic characteristics,the ecosystem services values of different regions have great difference.Based on the geographical classification of grassland of Xie Gaodi and others,and combined with the local actual status,the article amended the ecosystem service value of unit area.As the Chaohu Lake Basin is mainly composed of paddy fields,the ecological services value is relatively high.Considering that paddy fields are featured by two crops a year in the region,the ecological services value of farmland is twice as much as the value of the national average.The ecosystem services value of grassland and forests is equal to 1.45 times of the national average value.The results showed that the ecosystem services value in the study area has decreased by 831.68 × 106 Yuan in the past 30 years,or 27.7 × 106 Yuan every year.The changing speed is increasing with the time.In addition,the loss of the ecosystem services value is also very uneven in space,for example,the loss of the ecosystem services value of unit area in Hefei is 5 times more than the average in the Chaohu Basin each year.This shows that the expansion of large cities in the Chaohu Lake Basin has a significant influence on the gains and losses of ecosystem service value.