On the geographical value of geomancy and its position in the ancient Chinese geography

Geomancy has long been neglected in the geographical circle in China because it was simply treated as superstition and its geographical value was not recognized correctly So, from the angle of geography (both physical and human geography), this treatise analyses the geographical thoughts and value of geomancy, expounds the relationship between it and the ancient Chinese geography and makes the former position in the latter clear It is pointed out that: (1) There were two levels of geographytheoretical geography and applied geography, and three main cluesofficial geography, scholar's geography and folk geography in the development of ancient Chinese geography (2) However, although usually interacted, the above three main clues of the ancient Chinese geography had their own specific features respectively and had never become a synthetic geography (3) As to geomancy, it existed among all these kinds of ancient Chinese geography, but mainly belonged to the level of applied geography and was embodied in the folk geography essentially (4) There were plenty of geographical thoughts in geomancy, especially in the respect of practice It had special, unreplacable effect on the transformation of the natural landscape and creation of the human landscape in China

Spatio-Temporal Trend and Geographic Disparity of Infertility Prevalence in Burkina Faso, 2011 to 2020

Background: Infertility affected 10% to 25% of couples globally, and about half of the infertility cases were reported in sub-Saharan Africa. Infertility poses significant social, cultural, and health challenges, particularly for women who often face stigmatization. However, comprehensive and nationally representative data, including prevalence, temporal trends, and risk factors, are lacking, prompting a study in Burkina Faso to address the need for informed policies and programs in infertility care and management. Objectives: This study aims to better understand the spatiotemporal trend of infertility prevalence in Burkina Faso. Methodology: This is a retrospective population-based study of women infertility from healthcare facilities in Burkina Faso, during January 2011 to December 2020. We calculated the prevalence rates of infertility and two disparity measures, and examined the spatiotemporal trend of infertility. Results: Over the 10-year period (2011 to 2020), 143,421 infertility cases were recorded in Burkina Faso healthcare facilities, resulting of a mean prevalence rate of 3.61‰ among childbearing age women and 17.87‰ among women who consulted healthcare facilities for reproductive issues (except contraception). The findings revealed a significant increase of infertility, with the prevalence rate varied from 2.75‰ in 2011 to 4.62‰ in 2020 among childbearing age women and from 13.38‰ in 2011 to 26.28‰ in 2020 among women who consulted healthcare facilities for reproductive issues, corresponding to an estimate annual percentage change of 8.31% and 9.80% respectively. There were significant temporal and geographic variations in the prevalence of infertility. While relative geographic disparity decreased, absolute geographic disparity showed an increasing trend over time. Conclusion: The study highlights an increasing trend of infertility prevalence and significant geographic variation in Burkina Faso, underscoring the urgent necessity for etiologic research on risk factors, psychosocial implications, and economic consequences to inform effective interventions and mitigate the socioeconomic impact of infertility.

Hepatocellular carcinoma national burden across different geographical regions in the United States between 2001 and 2020

BACKGROUND While prior data showed an increasing incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC)in the United States,there are limited comprehensive and comparative data on the geographical variations of HCC trends in different demographicspecific populations.AIM To evaluate sex and age-specific incidence rates and time trends in different geographical regions in the United States.METHODS Age-adjusted HCC incidence rates were collected from the United States Cancer Statistics(USCS)database which covers approximately 98%of the population in the United States.HCC rates were stratified by sex,age,and geographical region.annual percentage change(APC)and average APC(AAPC)were estimated using Joinpoint Regression.A pairwise comparison was conducted between sex-specific trends.RESULTS There were 467344 patients diagnosed with HCC in the United States in the USCS database between 2001 and 2020.The rates and trends varied by geographical region.When looking at the West region(115336 patients),incidence rates of HCC were overall increasing and also increasing in older adults.However,when evaluating younger adults,HCC incidence rates decreased in men but not in women with a sex-specific absolute AAPC-difference of 2.15(P=0.005).When evaluating the Midwest region(84612 patients),similar results were seen.While incidence rates were increasing in the overall population and in older adults as well,they were decreasing in younger men but not in women with a sex-specific absolute AAPC-difference of 1.61(P<0.001).For the Northeast region(87259 patients),the analysis showed similar results with decreasing HCC incidence rates in younger men but not counterpart women(Sex-specific AAPC-difference=3.26,P<0.001).Lastly,when evaluating the south(180137 patients),the results were also decreasing in younger men but not in women(Sex-specific AAPC-difference=2.55,P<0.001).CONCLUSION Nationwide analysis covering around 98%of the United States population shows an increasing incidence of HCC across all geographical regions,most notably in the South.While younger men experienced decreasing HCC incidence,younger women had a stable trend and this was noted across all regions as well.Our study offers insight into the epidemiology of HCC in different demographic groups across various United States geographical regions.While the reasons contributing to our findings are unclear,they can be related to sex and regional disparities in healthcare access and utilization.Future research is warranted to characterize the temporal change in HCC risk factors across different United States regions.

Geographies of Chemical Warfare in Vietnam: The Merry Band of Retirees

This review explores the recent development of research on rainbow herbicides as chemical weapons and the geographies of chemical warfare in what is now the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. While the use and impacts of Agent Orange have previously been well documented, the production and extensive application of five other rainbow agents by the United States military has only recently been investigated in detail. What is exceptional about this research of chemical warfare landscapes is that the 23 refereed journal publications in this review were designed, implemented, and published in a unique collective research project by Ken Olson and a Merry Band of Military Retirees. Their groundbreaking research portfolio includes many geographical dimensions and the political ecology of chemical warfare. This includes the extensive exposure of civilians in Vietnam to these chemical agents, exposure of US military personnel in Southeast Asia and Panama, exposure of civilians near the private industrial sites that produced these rainbow agents in North America and the hazardous soil contamination that perseveres at these sites in Vietnam and the US. Given this impressive research depth and global scope, this review explores the unique way this research portfolio was developed by a Merry Band of Retirees through an interview with its leader, Ken Olson. It examines the goals and ethical orientation of these military veterans, the political ecology involved, the creative strategies they utilized to produce this innovative research, and how they changed the way Veterans exposed to chemical warfare agents are treated by the US government.

A Deep Learning-Based Teaching Design for High School Geography Units:Taking the Example of Landforms of the Humanistic Education Edition

The traditional teaching methods of one-way cultivation of students can no longer meet the requirements of talent cultivation at this stage.The issue of how to promote students from passive acceptance to the independent cognitive understanding stage(i.e.deep learning)has become the focus of geography teaching.Therefore,under the guidance of deep learning theory,this paper takes the“landforms”knowledge unit of the Humanistic Education Edition as an example,improves the classroom teaching means through the unit teaching mode,reconstructs the“landforms”teaching unit,and explores the specific teaching of high school geography unit based on deep learning.This study provides a good example and guidelines for high school geography teaching and learning.

西方文化地理研究的研究取向、资料搜集与展示方式——基于《Social& Cultural Geography》刊载论文的内容分析

采用内容分析的方法,对2008、2009年《Social & Cultural Geography》所刊载论文的资料搜集方法、分析方法、佐证材料类型进行了统计。研究发现:西方文化地理研究更倾向于定性研究的取向,强调研究者本身挖掘社会素材的能力和诠释材料的智慧和客观性。在资料搜集与展示方面,西方学者更加倾向于进行实地研究,多采用参与式观察、访谈等多种方式获取大量的资料,善用文字资料、照片等多种证据来证明研究的信度和效度。本研究希望通过西方经典文化地理文献的梳理,引起国内研究人员对定性研究取向的重视,以及对文本资料、照片等证据作为学术研究成果表达方式的重视。

近10年国际社会与文化地理研究的发展及启示——基于《Social and Cultural Geography》论文的统计分析

世纪交替之际"批判"社会地理学和新文化地理学不断得到发展和壮大。在这样的背景下,2000年《Social and Cultural Geography》杂志应运而生。经过10多年的发展,目前该杂志已成为展示国际社会和文化地理学术研究成果的重要窗口之一。本文对《Social and Cultural Geography》2000—2010年刊发的516篇论文进行统计分析,从载文量变化、研究案例地分布和研究领域的关注度等方面分析其特征,在此基础上,对期刊设立的22个研究议题进行了内容分析,以期为国内社会和文化地理学者把握国际最新研究趋势,提升自身研究水平、拓展研究新领域,以及加强与国际研究的融合和促进自身发展等提供借鉴。

英国高中地理教材栏目设置的特点及启示——以Geography B Evolving Planet为例

以英国中学地理教材Geography B Evolving Planet中的教材栏目为研究对象,结合其在教材中实际发挥的功能,将八种主要的教材栏目划分为问题思考类、技能训练类、信息提示类和考试导向类四大类。这四大类教材栏目体现出了不同的特点。问题思考类栏目指向不同教学目标,技能训练类栏目凸显实用性和应用性的学科特色,信息提示类栏目关注学生心理特点,考试导向类栏目提高应试答题技巧。受此启发,未来我国中学地理教材栏目设置应有所侧重,即教材栏目在内容设置上要注重针对性,在形式设置上要增加多样性,在外观设置上要注重醒目性。

How antibiotic resistances could change Helicobacter pylori treatment:A matter of geography?

Therapeutic management of Helicobacter pylori(H.pylori)remains an unsolved issue.Indeed,no therapeutic regimen is able to cure the infection in all treated patients,and in many the infection persists despite the administration of several consecutive standard therapies.Although antibiotic resistance reports describe alarming results,the outcome of therapeutic regimens does not seem to parallel this scenario in most cases,since a successful performance is often reached in more than 80%of cases.However,the phenomenon of increasing antibiotic resistance is being closely studied,and the results show controversial aspects even in the same geographic area.For the continents of Europe,America,Asia,Africa,and Oceania,minimal and maximal values of resistance to the main antibiotics(clarithromycin,amoxicillin,metronidazole,and levofloxacin)feature wide ranges in different countries.The real enigma is therefore linked to the several different therapeutic regimens,which show results that often do not parallel the in vitro findings even in the same areas.A first aspect to be emphasized is that some regimens are limited by their use in very small geographic districts.Moreover,not all therapeutic trials have considered bacterial and host factors affecting the therapeutic outcome.The additional use of probiotics may help to reduce adverse events,but their therapeutic impact is doubtful.In conclusion,the"ideal therapy",paradoxically,appears to be a"utopia",despite the unprecedented volume of studies in the field and the real breakthrough in medical practice made by the discovery and treatment of H.pylori.The ample discrepancies observed in the different areas do not encourage the development of therapeutic guidelines that could be valid worldwide.On these bases,one of the main challenges for the future might be identifying a successful solution to overcome antibiotic resistances.In this context,geography must be considered a relevant matter.

Progress of regional economic geography in China: a comparative study

Domestic and international literatures in economic geography in recent years showthat the disciplinary status of regional economic geography remains steay. Domesticliteratures prefer regional comprehensive development than that of international in theapplication fields. The process of establishing theoretical system with Chinese characteristocscontinues and has made some progress. The economic regions element theory, developmenttheory and management theory have been added to the already existed theory system. Theconstruction of comprehensive and integrated methodology system has initiated.

Analysis on Genetic Similarity of Japonica Rice Variety from Different Origins of Geography in the World

The genetic similarity and genetic difference among improved japonica rice varieties from different countries （or regions and organizations） were detected. The aim is to provide genetic basis to the breeding of japonica rice varieties. The genetic similarity and cluster of 313 improved japonica varieties from 20 countries （or regions and organizations） were analyzed using the SSR marker. With 34 SSR primers which were polymorphic and uniformly distributed in rice genome, totally 198 alleles were detected among these improved varieties with the average number of alleles per pair of primers of 5.8235. RM320, RM531, RM1, RM21, and RM336 located more alleles, which were 16, 13, 12, 10, and 10 respectively. RM320, RM336, RM286, RM531, and RM21 showed higher genetic diversity indexes, which were 2.3668, 2.0041, 1.9684, 1.9508, and 1.7203, respectively. The genetic similarity for improved japonica varieties among different countries （or regions and organizations） were ranged from 0.279 to 0.918, and the mean value was 0.653. The rice varieties from countries whose latitude and geography position were all nearer were clustered together with higher genetic similarity indexes. The rice varieties from countries who had more different latitude and far geography position were clustered separately with lower genetic similarity indexes. The results indicated the genetic similarity indexes among improved japonica varieties had a close relationship with the geographical position, especially with the latitude.

Advances in applied studies of fractal theory in geography in China

The fractal theory put forward by American mathematician B B Mandelbrot (1967) supplies an effective approach to solve complex problems. The complex problems in geography have become the main positive study field of fractal theory. Based on the works of China's geographers and the summarization of contents of fractal theory, the authors comment on the present situation of its applications to almost every branch of geography and discuss the related problems and the prospects of fractal study in geography.

Geography in the Anthropocene:Transforming our world for sustainable development

The world is changing at an accelerating pace due to increased human exploitation of the earth’s resources and the consequent climate change and biodiversity loss crises.As a transdisciplinary discipline studying the coupled human and nature systems and their interactions,Geography has natural advantages to promote sustainable development.With the aim of stimulating sustainable development in the Anthropocene,the International Geography and Sustainability Workshop 2021 was held virtually during 23-24 November 2021.This editorial briefly reviews the development history of Geography,summarizes the presentations of keynote speakers,outlines the overall research framework,and discusses the future directions by which the discipline of Geography can be harnessed to advance sustainable development.The key outcomes are as follows:(1)The research paradigms of Geography are shifting from basic knowledge acquisition to understanding of coupling patterns and processes,and to the simulation and prediction of complex human-earth systems;(2)Landscape sustainability science and the metacoupling concept are emerging as new comprehensive research perspectives,and the framework of“Pattern—Process—Service—Sustainability”can be used as a basis to underpin Geography’s role in sustainability;(3)Geography can support sustainable development in many ways,such as in agricultural development,disaster and risk monitoring and early warning,global climate change mitigation,and in helping to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs).Future research directions include:integrated geographical research on climate change and sustainable resource utilization;integrated geographical research on social and economic sustainable development;sustainable cascades of ecosystem structure,functions,services,and human well-being;metacoupling for sustainability;safe and justice space boundaries;the classification-coordination-collaboration approach;and geographical education for sustainable development.

Urban China in Transformation:Hybrid Economy,Juxtaposed Space,and New Testing Ground for Geographical Enquiries

History has brought us into a significant moment when the majority of the human kind has taken up resi-dence in urban settlements. The focus of global urbanization has shifted to the developing world and the center of manufacturing is no longer confined to the Global North. This paper provides a periodical assessment of the current status of China's urban transformation in the global context of a shifting emphasis of industrialization and urbaniza-tion. China's phenomenal urban transformation deserves a special attention not only because of its unparalleled scale and speed but also because of its distinct trajectory of growth that does not conform to normal theoretical ex-pectations. The results of assessment revealed an urban economy with remarkable hybridity, a society that is in-creasingly stratified, polarized, and segregated, and a juxtaposed urban space undergoing restless and pervasive transformation. A decentering world should entail a decentering knowledge production. A critical reflection upon the Chinese patterns and processes of urban transformation has identified 4 main issues with great potentials for inno-vative knowledge production, namely: 1) privatization and economic development; 2) state, society, and space; 3) urbanization of capital, labor, and land; and 4) the environment and Chinese political ecology. The paper closes with the remark that a rapidly transforming urban China has presented itself as a fertile and resourceful testing ground for critical and innovative geographic enquiries.

RECENT ADVANCE OF CULTURAL GEOGRAPHY IN CHINA

This paper presents a review on the advance of cultural geography in China since the open policy and reforms were carried out. Following a brief review on the theoretical system and general works, this paper focuses on the development of the principal fields of Chinese cultural geography, including cultural landscape, cultural ecology, cultural diffusion, cultural integration and cultural area. As to the prospect of this subject, first of all, the authors point out that cultural geography in China is comparatively under developed. Yet much work can be done and should be done to improve the situation. Basically, cultural geography should be developed theoretically and methodologically. Besides, more applied research should be carried out to guide the planning of social, economic and regional development. It is believed that only by doing so, can we embrace the revitalization of cultural geography in China.

Development Geography for exploring solutions to promote regional development

Development Geography is a branch of geography which studies the socioeconomic development of different countries and regions worldwide.Its related research provides informative ideas for promoting regionally co-ordinated development.This study introduces the basic connotation and theory of Development Geography re-search,and clarifies its primary indicators and core approaches to provide solutions for regional development.Finally,the application in regional development research under globalization is proposed.It is considered that the systematically integrated geography paradigm highlights the advantages of Development Geography in re-gional development research.As a result of its“differentiation characteristics-diffusion state-convergence mode”,an important theoretical basis and methodological paradigm are provided to explore the features of regional de-velopment.Since the development gaps among regions exist long throughout the world,Development Geography research ought to focus on new characteristics and challenges of regional development,to provide a theoretical basis for synergy management of sustainable development goals and international cooperation.This contributes to high-quality regional development.

The code of targeted poverty alleviation in China:A geography perspective

Geography is suitable for the study of sustainability from a transdisciplinary perspective,which takes the human-land relationship as the core research.As a key obstacle to rural sustainability,poverty is an external manifestation of the coupling maladjustment of elements in human-land territorial systems.As the world’s largest developing country,China eradicated extreme poverty in 2020 and made significant contributions to global poverty reduc-tion.Especially over the last eight years,China has implemented a targeted poverty alleviation(TPA)strategy and has continuously promoted theoretical,organizational and institutional innovations for poverty reduction.From the perspective of geography,this paper extracts the experiences of China’s TPA strategy,represented by the"5W2H"mode.The research concludes that:(1)Precise identification,as the foundation of TPA,aims to in-troduce a registration system to obtain records of all poor households and then answer the"5W"(what,where,why,who,when)issues of the geography of poverty.(2)Precise assistance is the key of TPA,which aims to solve the issue of"how to offer help and support".The barriers to escaping poverty can be accomplished through poli-cies and measures that focus on the diverse causes of poverty and considering different situations.(3)Accurate assessments are an essential means of TPA,relevant to solve"how to measure the end of poverty alleviation",and third-party evaluations play an important role in improving the accuracy of poverty alleviation.(4)The TPA mechanism lies in reconstructing the human-land-industry structures in the impoverished areal system.It is urgent to introduce China’s successful experience and typical modes of TPA for global human-earth system coordination and sustainable development and contribute to building a community of human destiny.

Environmental economic geography:Recent advances and innovative development

Modern environmental problems are the result of human-environment interaction in the process of industrial-ization.The relationship between economic development and environmental quality is an important aspect of understanding human-environment interaction and has been widely concerned by multidisciplinary researchers.Economic geography(EG)is a discipline that mainly focuses on the location and connections of economic activi-ties.EG has developed to environmental economic geography(EEG)by incorporating environmental factors into its research framework,considering the operational mechanism of the co-evolution of economy and environment,and the dynamic process of green transition of techno-economic paradigms.Studying the resource and environ-mental effects of R&D,production,trade,and other aspects of the economic cycle is beneficial to realizing the“greening”economy.This paper traces the background and theoretical development path of EEG and elaborates on the interaction between EEG and other research paradigms on environmental problems.In recent years,the focuses of EEG are as follows:(1)the“location-environment”relationship of production from the perspective of local actors;(2)the“GVC/GPN-environment”relationship of multinational enterprises and space of flows from the perspective of the global network;(3)the“trade/circulation-environment”relationship from the perspective of national linkages;and(4)the co-evolution of the economic system and environment from the perspective of synergistic evolution,with a focus on innovation and institutional forces.The future development trend of EEG is combined with the endogenous growth theory and the sustainable development theory,mainly from the aspects of endogenous,system integration and multi-scale,to explain the differences in environmental issues of differ-ent regional economic activities,and to promote the development of EEG theory and interdisciplinary research,strengthening the construction of global and regional sustainable development system.