Journal Archives

The shadow of the “Great Earthquake” on a sustainable Bucharest. Shared responsibilities and disaster risk management

Author: , , and

Bucharest is located in Romania’s most active seismic area. In the past, the city has been significantly affected by a few earthquakes, including the 1977 one, which was one of the strongest and caused the most significant number of human victims and material damage. The concentration of population, old or high buildings means that in Bucharest, living with high seismic risks is one of the most important economic and socio-demographic vulnerabilities. The shadow of the great earthquake is constantly present here in debates and public actions, but the operationalisation of disaster risk management measures are not yet at optimum in terms of implementation actions. This research presents a critical assessment of regulatory and operational measures used to identify vulnerable seismic buildings, the responsibilities of the public and private stakeholders involved, and the way in which each of latter assumes and implements the first.

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Issue: Volume 14, Issue 1, 2020

Medical topographies: Sources for the evolutionary study of territory and landscape

Author: , and

This research delves into the comprehensive treatment of textual geohistorical sources, promoting the procedures that currently advocate the recovery, analysis and opening of scientific knowledge in a transparent and extensive way to the society. Between the middle of the 18th century and the middle of the 19th, some of this colonial spaces produced throughout Europe and in American, medical works (medical geographies or topographies), under the influence of the generalisation of hygienist theories in urban planning and society as a whole. These works, and their correct study and analysis, are enormously valuable collections of information and documentation for the knowledge of the urban and rural spaces of the time.

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Issue: Volume 14, Issue 1, 2020

Contemporary administrative division and historically shaped regional borders: a comparative analysis in Poland

Author:

The administrative division of Poland changed several times over centuries, and the last decades witnessed a few significant border shifts. Socio-economic or political criteria usually created the foundations of proposed new administrative division, while historical criteria were generally ignored. The author postulates that borders’ historical durability itself should be evaluated higher than it was to date, because it supports the creation of objective regions, provides political stability and reinforces the formation of regional identity. The basis for the analysis was the overlapping of 21 maps showing the external borders of Poland and the borders of administrative units of the first order between 990 and 2020. The map-based comparison has revealed that a surprisingly high share of present borders follows former borders. This provides strong support to the postulate of ceasing further changes in Poland’s administrative division and border changes.

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Issue: Volume 14, Issue 1, 2020

Spatial and demographic patterns of climate related diseases among hospitalized children in parts of Southwest Nigeria

Author: , , and

The health burdens of climate change are spread disproportionately, with developing countries being the most affected. These effects burden children in developing countries. This study assesses the effects of climate change on the health of children in parts of Southwest Nigeria, analyzes inter and intra-city variations in the prevalence of climate-related diseases among children, and examines the influence of demographic variables on the incidence pattern. Hospital records of 7,458 children and climatic data of three cities were employed. The results show that 58% of the cases were for female children, while 56% of the diagnosis was for malaria. Other diseases found included diarrhoea (16%), meningitis (6%) and asthma (4%). Temperature and rainfall accounted for 32.3% and 44.6% of the variations in malaria and diarrhoea cases and there were significant inter-city and intra-city variations in the disease incidence. More female children were affected irrespective of their socioeconomic background while 72.2% of children affected were aged below 5.

Issue: Volume 14, Issue 1, 2020

Role of women education for fertility reduction: a case study of Sagar district, India

Author: and

Providing equal access to education, especially to women, is a key pillar for achieving sustainable development goal. Good quality education improves the individual as well as social development through increasing occupational opportunities, women empowerment; reducing the burden of diseases, poverty, mortality as well as fertility. The present study investigates the connection between education on fertility and also analyses the changes in this dynamic relationship from 1981 to 2011 in Sagar district, India. This study included primary (field survey) as well as secondary data analysis (Census of India). Logistic regression analysis measured the likelihood of women from various socio-economic backgrounds in three different educational levels of using contraception. Decomposition analysis was done to find out the educational composition change on temporal scale fertility change. Results highlighted the role of female education on fertility and dynamics of relationship which may be used for policymakers in developing areas alike Sagar District.

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Issue: Volume 14, Issue 1, 2020

Effects of international migration and remittances on rural households in Edo State, Nigeria

Author: and

This paper focuses on the effects of international migration and received remittances on rural households in Edo State, Nigeria. The empirical results are based on a quantitative and qualitative survey of 240 household heads. The findings show that some households in the study received remittances from migrants outside the country in cash and items; the dominant channel for receiving money being Western Union money transfer. The mean amount received by households in the past 12 months was N543,000. Households who received money in the past 12 months used it for the purchase of food items, debt repayment and the education of household members. Data revealed that international migration affected households’ agricultural productive capacity in ways such as a decline in food production and farming activities. There was a significant difference in assets such as plots of land and the number of houses owned after migrants left overseas. Considering the poverty reduction effect that international remittances have, this type of remittances must be encouraged. Moreover, policies to encourage better use of remittance funds could be focused more on small household size, female-headed households and households with elderly heads as they are likely to receive more remittances.

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Issue: Volume 14, Issue 1, 2020

‘Does the community use the built environment?’ Assessing the utilization of healthy space model in bridging physical activity inequalities for the Thai population

Author: , , and

This study aims to assess the utilization of built environment under healthy space model for physical activity as a measure of inequalities in Thai communities. The mothodology included a cross-sectional survey with face-to-face interviews with a total of 2,046 community members. About 48% of the residents who lived near a sports complex have used the facility, while 22% and 31% of the locals have participated in the creative city and elderly healthy community. Compared to non-participants, sufficient MVPA was significantly higher among those who participated in the healthy space program (t=6.387***). The results suggested that healthy space model could eliminate most socioeconomic inequalities but could not eliminate age-driven physical ability and social support inequalities in accessing PA amenities. The model could serve as an example for low-middle income countries where inequalities could not be neglected. The community engagement as the key of the model therefore is crucial, not only to make sure high participation but also in maintaining the built environment for PA.

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Issue: Volume 14, Issue 1, 2020

Rural development policy and strategy in the rural autonomy era. Case study of Pandeglang Regency – Indonesia

Author: , , and

In 2014, the Indonesian government passed Law No. 6/2014 with the intention of reconstructing village financial and asset management arrangements to accelerate inclusive and sustainable rural development. Pandeglang Regency in Banten Province as one of the underdeveloped district is a very interesting study because 96% of villages are still underdeveloped. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to develop a village typology model and develop a village development strategy in Pandeglang Regency. The strategy to improve the status of the Village Development Index is to reallocate village financial management based on the status of the village typology and its supporting composite index.

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Issue: Volume 14, Issue 1, 2020

Religious tourism and pilgrimage at Prislop Monastery, Romania: motivations, faith and perceptions

Author:

Romania has a large number of churches, monasteries or places of worship as well as a great diversity of spiritual and religious destinations, thus explaining the development of forms of tourism such as religious tourism and pilgrimage. Previous researches confirm that in Romania religious tourism and pilgrimage has been on an ascending trend, Prislop Monastery being one of the most visited religious sites. A delimitation between the two types is difficult to make because of the different valences they have. This study starts from personal field observations, aiming to explore, based on qualitative methods, the motivations, perception or religious practices in the area, trying to differentiate distinct categories of visitors. The context of visits, the frequency, motivations and practices related to religious tourism or pilgrimage represented the basis of the analysis, relied on semi-structured interviews. The results showed that the motivations were mixed, starting from religious practices rigorously performed, to simple visits that were made out of curiosity and aroused by mass-media.

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Issue: Volume 14, Issue 1, 2020
About journal

Title: Human Geographies - Journal of Studies and Research in Human Geography
ISSN online: 2067-2284
ISSN print: 1843-6587
Imprint: University of Bucharest
Frequency: Biannual (May&November)
First volume: 1/2007
Current volume: 18/2024
Language: English
Indexed in: SCOPUS, ERIH PLUS, EBSCO (SocINDEX), ProQuest (Social Science Journals, SciTech Journals, Natural Science Journals), Index Copernicus, National Technical Information Service (NTiS), Bodleian Libraries, ExLibris SFX, DOAJ, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Library, Google Scholar, Ulrich
Creative Commons License


EDITORS


Prof. dr. Liliana Dumitrache
University of Bucharest, Faculty of Geography- Human and Economic Geography Department, 1 Nicolae Balcescu Av., 010041, Bucharest, Romania

Dr. Daniela Dumbrăveanu
University of Bucharest, Faculty of Geography- Human and Economic Geography Department, 1 Nicolae Balcescu Av., 010041, Bucharest, Romania

Dr. Mariana Nae
University of Bucharest, Faculty of Geography- Human and Economic Geography Department, 1 Nicolae Balcescu Av., 010041, Bucharest, Romania

Dr. Gabriel Simion
University of Bucharest, Faculty of Geography- Human and Economic Geography Department, 1 Nicolae Balcescu Av., 010041, Bucharest, Romania

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