The Dictionary of Human Geography (65 page)

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Authors: Michael Watts

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African context, according to the Comaroffs (1991, p. 313), European coloniza tion ?was often less a directly coercive conquest than a persuasive attempt to colonize con sciousness, to remake people by redefining the taken for granted surfaces of their everyday worlds?. Yet here too the temptation towards ?monolithizing? the encounter must be resisted: the moral significance of African environments became a source of endless debate about the effects of a tropical cLimate on white constitu tion and the connections between black racial character, biological make up and physicaL geography (Livingstone, 1991). In South America, it was Humboldt?s ?interweaving of visual and emotive language? that contributed so powerfully towards what Pratt (1992) calls the ?ideological reinvention? of ?America? a re imagining so vivid and so vital that Humboldt?s writings provided founding visions for both the older elites of northern Europe and the newer independent elites of Spanish America. (NEW PARAGRAPH) If these machinations, however tangled their genealogies, satisfied a European sense of superiority through constituting the periph eral regions of the globe in its own terms, those self same arenas were soon to become pivotal laboratories for scrutiny into human prehistory. In this way, the threat that resided in ?alien? human natures could be rendered benign if those races turned out to be the persistent remnants of earlier phases in the story of human evolution. Just as earlier Scottish and French enLightenment thinkers, such as Smith, Ferguson and Buffon, regularly crafted their image of the bestial or noble savage into evolutionary schemes depicting a transition from barbarism to civilization, so early twentieth century students of human archaeology used ?the peoples defined as living at the uttermost ends of the imperial world as examples of living prehistory? (Gamble, 1992, p. 713: see also primitivism). Thereby their identities remained engulfed within the imperatives of Western scientific scrutiny. They also remained subordinated in the cartographic representations that invariably accompanied the exploratory process. Whether in their use as military tools, in their advocacy of colonial promotion, in their marginal decorations, in their systems of hierarchical classification or in their imposition of a regulative geometry that bore little reference to indigenous peoples, maps became the conductors of imperial power and Western ideology (see cartography, history of). (NEW PARAGRAPH) Imperial readings of exploration, however, can serve to obscure as much as they reveal when presented with monolithic tenacity. Treating ethnicity as simply the invention of missionary activity, colonial officialdom or early anthropology, for example, is insuffi ciently flexible to take the measure of explor ation encounters. Such scenarios are not sufficiently subtle to discern the complex role of the missionary movement to take one activity too easily typecast as the servant of cultural imperialism in emerging senses of nationhood. Thus we are only beginning to appreciate how, in the African context, a missionary passion to render indigenous lan guages into written form (for the purpose of Bible translation) provided mother tongue cultures with a vernacular literacy that in turn cultivated nascent senses of nationhood. Through translation, written languages were created and a vocabulary for national self consciousness fostered (see Sanneh, 1990; Hastings, 1997). (NEW PARAGRAPH) The history and geography of ?exploration?, then, turns out to be far from antiquarian chronology. Rather, it focuses centrally on the identity of people, the wielding of power and the construction of knowledge; and it is precisely because these are entangled in such complex and intricate ways that their elucida tion is of crucial importance to the future course of human history. dnL (NEW PARAGRAPH) Suggested reading (NEW PARAGRAPH) Ballantyne (2004); Burnett (2000); Driver (2001a); Fernandez Armesto (2006). (NEW PARAGRAPH)
exploratorydata analysis (EDA)
An attitude to quantitative methods that encourages and licences a ?trial and error? approach. The term was popularized by the statistician John Tukey, who recognized two approaches to data analysis. Exploratory approaches uncover patterns and anomalies in the data he likened this to numerical detective work whereby evidence is gathered. confirmatory data analysis, in contrast, equates to signifi cance testing and probabilistic inference, as in a trial where evidence is put in a formal manner and a judicial decision made ?beyond reasonable doubt?. The exploratory approach is based on the notion that ?better a good answer to a vague question than a precise answer to the wrong one? and that ?by assum ing less you learn more?. It has encouraged the use and development of smoothing proced ures that reveal patterns in data, of diagnostic, often graphical, tools for exposing where assumptions are not met, and of procedures that are robust/resistant to anomalies (out liers) in data. Johnston (1986a, ch. 6) argues that such data analysis should be an integral part of a non positivist, realist approach to doing geography. Exploratory spatial data analysis (ESDA) extends EDA to detect spatial properties of data. kj (NEW PARAGRAPH) Suggested reading (NEW PARAGRAPH) Cox and Jones (1981); Haining, Wise and Ma (NEW PARAGRAPH) (1998). (NEW PARAGRAPH)
export processing zone (EPZ)
A geograph ically delimited territory providing special facilities for foreign branch plants, using imported inputs to manufacture commodities for export. Plants locating within the territory are subsidized with some combination of infrastructure, tax advantages, relaxed labour regulations, and eased imports and exports. EPZs provide incentives to attract foreign investment to low wage countries, but also high wage countries (there are 300 in the USA). EPZs typically locate near the periph ery of countries, reinforcing external orienta tion. Workers are predominantly women in non skilled jobs, often under draconian labour relations. Since the first EPZ in Ireland in 1956, there has been an explosion since the mid 1970s to over 5,000 zones, with employ ment exceeding 40 million, in more than 100 countries. es (NEW PARAGRAPH)
extensive research
Research strategies directed towards discovering common proper ties and empirical regularities and making gen eralizations about them. Sayer (1992 [1984]) argued that extensive research is typically con ducted under the signs of empiricism or posi tivism and relies on quantitative methods, including descriptive and inferential statistics and numerical analysis, and on question naires and formal interviews. As such, it is concerned with ?representative? studies or samples and privileges a logic of replication: Can the results of the study be repeated? Sayer regarded extensive research as weaker than intensive research, which is typically con ducted under the sign of realism, because it elucidates formal relations of similarity or correlation rather than causal or structural relations. dg (NEW PARAGRAPH)
external economies
Closely related to the concept of externalities, external economies are economic benefits that derive from sources outside an organization, such as a firm. These benefits, which can include the contributions of specialist suppliers, subcontractors or skilled workers hired from the local labour market, accrue to individual companies even though they are generated elsewhere. In cases where they are not available, companies must bear the costs of producing them internally. (NEW PARAGRAPH) The benefits of external economies are often captured locally, declining with distance. An early formulation of this argument came in the shape of the growth pole theory developed by the French economist Francois Perroux in the late 1940s (see Darwent, 1969), which was influential in regional policy debates in the 1960s and 1970s. Growth poles were geo graphical concentrations of economic activity, often dominated by a single industry or a closely related group of industries, in which local firms yielded the economic benefits (or positive externalities) of co location with other firms. In this context, the growth of individual firms might stimulate business amongst sup pliers (through so called backward linkages) and/or amongst users of outputs or services (through forward linkages). Driven by propul sive industries, successful growth poles are characterized by mutually beneficial, cumula tive economic growth. These arguments recall Alfred Marshall?s account of ?industrial dis tricts? in nineteenth century England: in Sheffield?s cutlery quarter, for example, firms clustered together to capture benefits of shared access to critical factors of production such as skilled labour and technical knowledge that circulated, Marshall observed, as if ?in the air? (see Krugman, 1991). (NEW PARAGRAPH) These arguments have been vigorously rejoined in recent years in discussions of indus trial cLusters, aggLomeratioN economies, and FLEXibLE accumulation. Allen Scott (1988b), for example, has argued that the ten dency towards vertical disintegration in which firms increasingly turn to the market to supply key inputs and services, rather than organizing these internally is a defining characteristic of the contemporary form of post Fordist capit alism. As firms become increasingly reliant on external inputs, the competitive imperative of minimizing traNsactioN costs induces geo graphical clustering, which in turn accounts for the continuing significance of localized centres of production such as Hollywood and the City of London, even in highly globalized industries such as movie production and finance. Likewise, Storper and Walker (1989) contend that the process of capitalist iNDustri aLizatioN is increasingly driven by external ecoNomies oF scaLe and ecoNomies oF scope which in the contemporary phase of growth accrue to entire industries rather than just indi vidual firms. In this analysis, technological iNNovatioN (such as the development of inte grated circuits or the iNterNet) assumes the character of a shared resource, with spillover benefits for the economy as a whole. In contem porary iNdustriAL districts, such as the Emilia Romagna region of Italy, it is also argued that even rival firms reap external economies from a climate of trust and reciprocity, resulting in collaborative initiatives in areas such as training, design, marketing and research. These are what Michael Storper (1997b) calls ?untraded inter dependencies?, which are increasingly salient in the contemporary era of vertically disintegrated, flexible capitaLism. jpe (NEW PARAGRAPH) Suggested reading (NEW PARAGRAPH) Scott and Storper (2003). (NEW PARAGRAPH)
externalities
Costs or benefits borne by an individual not directly involved in the activity; or, in broader terms, the social or environmen tal consequences of private choices. Positive externalities (sometimes known as eXterNaL ecoNomies) represent benefits accruing to third parties; for example, those arising from a bee keeper located next to an apple orchard, or a group of residents living near to high quality local schools. Negative externalities (which are also known as external diseco nomies) refer to the downstream costs of choices or activities for third parties, the classic illustration of which is pollution. This is a key concept in eNviroNmeNtaL ecoNomics, expos ing some of the limits of purely market based systems of coordination, since negative external ities are costs that fall on actors other than those directly involved in the activity. A tragedy of the commons may result, in which individu ally motivated actors ?free ride? on collective or shared resources, capturing individual benefits, but with a net detriment for society as a whole, as shared resources are depleted or degraded (see Hardin, 1968). Responses to these dilemmas can include governmental regulation such as ?green taxes?, or market mimicking strategies such as pollution pricing. (NEW PARAGRAPH) In economic geograpHy, an example of negative externalities is the common problem of firms under investing in skills training: these costly and risky investments can be evaded by individual firms if they poach skilled workers from other firms, or otherwise plunder the resources of urban Labour markets. The aggregate outcome is an under investment in skills across the urban labour market, as even scrupulous employers are deterred from train ing their own workers for fear of poaching (see Peck, 1996). Meanwhile, examples of positive externalities include those ?agglomeration economies? captured by firms locating near to suppliers and customers. Scott (1988c) reveals how many so called ?flexible firms? are narrowly redefining the boundaries of their organizations, focusing on core competences while buying in an increasingly broad array of goods and services from other firms (e.g. contract catering, management consultancy, temporary agency labour). In order to minim ize the traNsactioN costs associated with such activities, flexible firms are induced to cluster together in space, generating the dense net works of inter firm relations that characterize ?new industrial spaces? such as Silicon Valley. (NEW PARAGRAPH) Take the example of Wal Mart, the world?s largest retailer and the USA?s biggest employer (see Wrigley, 2002; Brunn, 2006). The long running debate around the local community impacts Wal Mart centres on externalities. Critics of the company allege that its practice of paying low wages is a form of free riding on public welfare systems, since many of Wal Mart?s employees qualify for government programmes designed for the poor, such as food stamps, subsidized housing and publicly funded healthcare. Other negative external ities follow from Wal Mart?s ability to hold down prices (due to its market power), which often drives smaller, neighbourhood retailers out of business. On the other hand, defenders of the company counter that most of the exter nalities are positive ones: Wal Mart contrib utes to local social welfare by generating employment (particularly by locating in low income neighbourhoods that have been largely abandoned by large employers) and by (NEW PARAGRAPH) reducing prices for customers, many of whom also tend to be poor. A major store can also generate additional sales for a range of local companies such as restaurants and gas stations, another form of positive externality. Jpe
factor analysis
A statistical procedure for transforming a (variables by observations) data matrix into a new matrix whose variables are uncorrelated. Unlike principaL compo nents analysis, the number of variables in the new matrix is less than in the original as the unique variance associated with each ori ginal variable is excluded. The new variables termed factors are composites of the original variables: the factor loadings (interpreted in the same way as correLation coefficients) indicate the relative strength of the relation ship between the original and new variables; the factor scores provide a measure for each observation on the new variables (weighted according to the factor loadings). The matri ces of factor loadings may be rotated in order to enhance interpretation of the new variables. Most rotations aim to maximize the relation ship of the original variables to just one factor; they may be either orthogonal retaining the uncorrelated nature of the factors or oblique allowing intercorrelations among factors. (NEW PARAGRAPH) Factor analysis may be used either induct ively, to identify groups of interrelated variables (cf. exploratory data analysis), or deductively, to test hypotheses about inter relationships. Factor analysis and the associ ated principal components analysis (the two are often treated although wrongly as the same procedure) have been extensively used within geography since its quantitative revo Lution, in two ways: as a means of identifying socio spatial order in large data sets (not least in the automated treatment of the raw data in remote sensing); and to produce composite variables that could be used to represent and map general concepts such as economic development. It is still widely used in eco logical studies (cf. factoriM ecology). rj (NEW PARAGRAPH) Suggested reading (NEW PARAGRAPH) Johnston (1978). (NEW PARAGRAPH)

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