Bruce W. Smith

Cluster Regions A Social Network Perspective

One ongoing debate in the cluster literature concerns methods of delineating the spatial footprint of industrial clusters. Some cluster regions correspond to political boundaries. Researchers have also used qualitative methods and various quantitative techniques including location quotients and spatial statistics to demarcate clusters. A common weakness of most approaches is that researchers do not incorporate collaboration among cluster participants. In this article, the use of social network analysis (SNA) is illustrated. SNA is not proposed as an alternative to other methods of cluster mapping. Instead, the authors suggest that it complements other methods. Because SNA focuses on networks of social or interpersonal relationships, it provides a dimension that techniques focusing on economic relationships do not capture. One advantage of SNA is that it enables the identification of critical nonindustry actors, such as politicians, economic development practitioners, and academic researchers.

Intraurban Residential Location Of The Elderly

Abstract Many socio-economic analyses of senior citizens presume the aged to be concentrated in the central cities of American metropolitan centers. This presumption was examined by studying the intraurban residential location patterns of the aged in Toledo, Ohio from 1940 to 1970. The residential location patterns of the elderly in each census period were mapped and discussed. Also, their residential location pattern was compared with the distributions of the non-elderly population and the black population. Although a slight concentration of aged in the central city was noted, their distribution was closely related to the distribution of the non-elderly population. Furthermore, they are much less segregated than the black population.

THE UTILIZATION OF SOCIAL AND RECREATIONAL SERVICES BY THE ELDERLY: A CASE STUDY OF NORTHWESTERN OHIO

This research is a study of the utilization of social and recreational services by a sample or urban, small town, and rural elderly in northwestern Ohio. The purpose of the research is to identify those specific socioeconomic characteristics which distinguish social service users from non-users. The logistic regression procedure is used to analyze the data. The elderly who are most likely to use the services are those persons who are 75 to 84 years of age, drive, have an income below

GIS and Economic Development

4000 or above

Who are the Elderly Users of Public Transportation? A Case Study in Toledo, Ohio

10,000, are female, and are in good health. The general applicability of Andersons model is demonstrated and the importance of enabling and predisposing factors in the prediction of service use is significant. However, location is not a key variable in explaining service use.

Cooperative education versus internships: a challenge for an applied geography programme

Geographic information systems (GIS) are used by a wide variety of practitioners to help them solve a broad range of spatially-based problems. In this chapter, we focus on the ways in which GIS can be of utility to economic development practitioners who are charged with the task of developing local economies. We begin by defining local economic development (LED). We then report on the extent to which GIS is used by economic development professionals. This is followed by examples of the application of GIS in economic development work. Specifically, we examine the use of GIS in five areas – economic impact analysis, spatial policymaking, identifying potential cluster regions, identifying critical social relationships, and web-based GIS. We conclude the chapter with a few summary statements.

Cooperative Education and Applied Geography

The lack of suitable transportation is a major problem of the elderly. Our purpose is to identify socioeconomic characteristics that differentiate between riders and nonriders of public and agency transportation in Toledo. A 1982 sample of 150 noninstitutionalized elderly provides the data base. Results of logistic regression analysis of the data indicate that the probability of ridingpublic transportation was highest for nondrivers, particularly those who live alone.

A Review of “Creative Cities, Cultural Clusters, and Local Economic Development”

Abstract A recent debate among academic geographers has focused on the role of applied geography in the discipline. In it, internships are often viewed as one cornerstone of courses in applied geography. This paper discusses the advantages and weaknesses of cooperative education compared with internships. In many respects cooperative education represents a refinement of the internship concept. The chief advantage in its approach lies in the closer relationship which it helps to develop between course objectives and the recruiting and training needs of organisations. Students benefit through better educational experiences and enhanced employment opportunities.

Location quotients versus spatial autocorrelation in identifying potential cluster regions

Applied geography has generated much discussion within the discipline over the past decade. Among academic geographers, deleterious trends within higher education, including declining enrollments, departmental reductions and closures, and erosion of traditional labor markets, have stimulated that discussion. In some people’s minds, applied geography is a solution for these inimical developments (Foster and Jones 1977; Frazier 1982).

Impacts of Increased Student Career Orientation on American College Geography Programmes.

control the flow of resources vertically along the supply chain is also a powerful motivator to group formation and extension. The fifth chapter draws once again on econometric regression analysis to evaluate the joint role of spatial agglomeration and technology as determinants of firm strategy. Business group diversification is best accomplished when the group can mobilize existing technological capabilities to exploit opportunities in new fields, a situation that favors science-based industries in contrast to traditional sectors, where diversification occurs within the sector. Vertical integration is positively associated with a group’s location in an industrial district. Sectors favoring economies of scale are shown to be more prone to forward integration as a means of gaining a captive market. Meanwhile science-based sectors are most likely to integrate backward to gain access to new technologies. The concluding chapter reviews the volume’s findings that point to the advantages of an evolutionary business group-centered analysis for improving theories of the firm. This book is written by and for scholars predisposed to a style of analysis that privileges neat statistical verifications of phenomena in the space economy; that is to say it is more likely to be appreciated by economists than economic geographers. Yet the book’s epistemological disposition and its accompanying unadorned prose yield important proofs. As a result, the authors’ findings would complement more qualitative methods such as case studies that derive their insights from close dialogue with decision makers. At many points in the text this reviewer wished to know more about how the extensively observed phenomena might disaggregate into the behavior of particular groups. Although the appendices provide several brief examples of group morphologies, these sketches beg more questions than they answer. Moreover, the absence of maps and overt elision of how the contingencies of place might shape these patterns could prove frustrating to readers trained in the geographical tradition. Ultimately, Cainelli and Iacobucci offer a compelling reappraisal of the inner workings of Italian industrial districts and how the emergence of the business group represents a shift in this region’s response to the evolving competitive landscape of capitalism. Researchers wishing to revise their understanding of the paradigmatic Third Italy region would do well to familiarize themselves with the recent organizational shifts presented in this volume.