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Geography Research (geography + research)
Selected AbstractsFluctuating Rounds of Inward Investment in Peripheral Regions: Semiconductors in the North East of EnglandECONOMIC GEOGRAPHY, Issue 1 2007Stuart Dawley Abstract: This article extends economic geography research on foreign direct investment episodes by developing a historically grounded understanding of the socio-institutional relations that shape and constrain different rounds of (dis)investment by multinational enterprises (MNEs) within a host region. Sensitive to the roles of contextuality, path dependency, and contingency, it argues that the temporal and spatial dynamics of volatile MNE (dis)investment are best tackled using a conceptual framework that accords a full and active role to the agency of the firm and its interrelations with the geographically variable socioinstitutional contexts that produce, regulate, and mediate investment decisions. The framework is used to interpret the brief but fluctuating history of the semiconductor fabrication industry in North Tyneside in the old industrial region of North East England. Within each investment episode, the empirical findings reveal the pivotal power and agency of the corporation in shaping and connecting processes across a variety of scales, places, and times. Contrasting corporate strategies illustrate the dynamic and contingent ways in which home and host national institutional contexts matter in mediating and regulating MNE investment decisions. [source] Historical Geography in New Zealand, 1987,2007HISTORY COMPASS (ELECTRONIC), Issue 4 2008Michael Roche This article reviews historical geography in New Zealand over the period 1987 to 2007. It indicates that research in the 1980s and 1990s has filled some of the gaps identified by earlier reviewers while more recent research has used new approaches to pose new questions such as those surrounding post colonialism. A feature of historical geography research over the last 15 years has been a number of collaborative projects, most notably a national historical atlas. The future for historical geography in New Zealand arguably calls for a stronger re-engagement with human geography. [source] Incorporating geographies of health into public policy debates: The GeoHealth LaboratoryNEW ZEALAND GEOGRAPHER, Issue 2 2007Jamie Pearce Abstract:, The restricted influence of geographers in the policy arena has been the source of some angst. This paper reports on a new initiative at the University of Canterbury, which aims to strengthen geography's contribution to health policy debates in New Zealand. The GeoHealth Laboratory is a joint initiative between the Department of Geography and Public Health Intelligence group at the Ministry of Health that seeks to provide a pathway for the integration of health geography research into policy development. This new facility aligns the expertise in health geography, GIS and other spatial analytical methods with policy-relevant research priorities. An overview of the strategic aims of the GeoHealth Laboratory is provided along with some examples of recent research activities that are contributing to understandings of the health landscape in New Zealand. It is argued that such partnerships provide important opportunities for geographers to engage with policy-relevant issues. [source] The methodological potential of focus groups in population geographyPOPULATION, SPACE AND PLACE (PREVIOUSLY:-INT JOURNAL OF POPULATION GEOGRAPHY), Issue 2 2006Emily Skop Abstract Within population geography, the last decade has seen an explosion in qualitative work in terms of the types of work, the topics addressed, and the potential theoretical consequences. Yet focus groups have received less attention as an alternative method. This paper highlights the particular promises, challenges, and practicality of doing focus group research in population geography. I begin by addressing how this research method answers ongoing pleas within the subdiscipline for non-essentialist ways of thinking about taken-for-granted social categories and labels. I then outline two other promising outcomes of this method, including the potential for unique and spontaneous group interactions, and the potential for the empowerment of participants. I use the rest of the paper to provide a review of some of the methodological details of focus group research, with the idea of encouraging more population geographers to engage with this method. Throughout, I contend that focus groups have the capability to further our understanding of population processes, and to connect population geography research to ongoing debates within the broader discipline. Observations stem from an extensive review of existing focus group research, along with my own focus group research conducted with residents living in multiracial suburban communities. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Tales from the archive: methodological and ethical issues in historical geography researchAREA, Issue 3 2010Francesca P L Moore This paper is an exploration of methodological and ethical issues in historical geography research. Drawing on the experience of researching the historical geographies of abortion in late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Lancashire, the paper discusses some of the ethical and methodological questions that historical research on sensitive topics raises. This paper investigates the politics of the archive and the forms of censorship researchers may encounter. It also explores the possibility of a conflict of interest between researcher and participant, including the dilemmas researchers face when research participants are dead, but remain important figures in the community. Moreover, the paper argues that the recent burgeoning interest in family and local history makes questions of method and ethics far more urgent for the geographer. In conclusion, the paper calls for more dialogue within geography about researching sensitive subjects, and also between geography and other disciplines. [source] |