Contemporary Social Change as the Context for Geographical Enquiry: Towards a Reinvigoration of the Concept of Place

Abstract

The nature of contemporary social change is explored by posing questions about the implications of neoliberalism, the character of leisure, the perils of materialism, and the shift from consumption to consumerism. Momentum is a powerful force in human affairs. Investigating its nature illustrates how the concept of equilibrium has been given undue emphasis in models of human behaviour. Momentum encourages ‘more of the same’ and is implicated in the way people fail to use leisure fully or effectively and in the way they subscribe to an emphasis on materialism and consumption as a path to happiness. Geography needs to engage with popular social scientific writing if it is to have a place in public intellectual debate. In many ways contemporary social change promises a reinvigoration of the concept of place and therefore challenges to both the substance and nature of geographical inquiry.

Legal geography, geography, and the research‐policy nexus

“…However, we need also to distinguish between relevance and uptake and adoption. There remains opportunity for greater impact beyond the academy (Klein et al ., ; Walmsley, and see also Landry et al ., ; Gale, ). As Ward (, 697) has said, whatever caveats we may wish to impose around what ‘relevance’ means (and what constitutes evidence) and with whom and when academics should engage, there:

… should be at the very least an acknowledgement that geographers could do more to construct a policy audience for their work.

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Australian Inflections

“…The first was the tremendous 50th anniversary edition. This featured excellent papers from Australian geographers and reflected the strength, depth, and diversity of the discipline through outstanding work on topics as diverse as the concept of place (Walmsley, ); landscape resilience (Turton, ); justice and injustice in the city (Fincher and Iveson, ); and Australian contributions to GIS (Lees, ). The second was the innovative and very successful multimedia extravaganza that surrounded the special issue (vol.…”

Moçambique Geodiverso: Por Uma Geografia Inclusiva No Ensino E Na Pesquisa

“…A complexidade é uma propriedade inerente aos objetos enquanto a diversidade enfatiza a diferença entre objetos individualizáveis, podendo ser regiões, comunidades ou indivíduos. O paradigma da diversidade visa enfatizar a variabilidade quase ilimitada de possibilidades dos resultados das interações dos homens entre si e com o meio, incluindo as do meio para com o meio (Wamsley, 2012). Os aspectos a considerar na interação de entidades em escalas diferentes dependem das perguntas que os investigadores colocam.…”

“…Os aspectos a considerar na interação de entidades em escalas diferentes dependem das perguntas que os investigadores colocam. Quanto maior for o interesse da consideração desta diversidade maior será a probabilidade de encontrar respostas mais adequadas para a solução dos problemas (Wamsley, 2012).…”