Directions in Population GeographyAuthor(s): Ray HallSource: Area, Vol. 22, No. 1 (Mar., 1990), pp. 86-87Published by: The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers)Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/20002801 .

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86 Conference reports

Directions in population geography

Report of the annual conference of the Population Geography Study Group, University of Newcastle, 11-13 September 1989

Recent research and future priorities in population geography was the theme of the conference which brought together about 30 population geographers to listen to and discuss papers on a wide variety of topics well reflecting the breadth of interests and current vitality of the subject. The opening sessions focused on what is still the major preoccupation of population geographers migration in the United Kingdom. The major theme of social and economic change and its relationship with mobility was explored by Tony Fielding (Sussex) using longitudinal study data; John Salt (UC) examined the migration of the elite via the work permit system which contrasted with the migration behaviour of the low skilled and unemployed (Robert Kitching, UC), a study based on surveys in Liverpool and Reading; the potential of Family Practitioner data as a source to monitor continuously migration into and out of a local area was demonstrated by Paul Boyle (Lancaster).

The migration theme was continued with sessions examining various aspects of immigrants, considering both problems of researching such groups using qualitative methods, the focus of Alison Kaye's (QMW) paper on Bangladeshi women in London, as well as the value of data yielded from such methods (Deborah Sporton, Sheffield) who used semi-structured interviews as one part of her research on the differential fertility of immigrants in Paris. Studies of particular

migrant groups included Irish women in London (Bronwen Walter, Anglia HE C) and the secondary migration of the Vietnamese in Britain (Samantha Hale, Swansea). Elizabeth

Thomas-Hope (Liverpool) concluded the session by examining return migration to the Caribbean, for which she argued there was a 35-year cycle and stressing that the Caribbean is less a donor and more a recipient society, with the gains outweighing the losses from migration.

The session on historical population studies looked first at the potential of nominal record linkage for the study of rural populations in nineteenth century England and Wales (Andrew

Hinde, Southampton) in order to answer questions concerning the dynamics of population change. John Landers (UCL, Anthropology) Secretary of the British Society for Population Studies and guest of the PGSG, then spoke on the problems of explaining high mortality in eighteenth century London compared with that of rural areas, a differential that had closed by the middle of the nineteenth century. He argued that random exogenous variables need not be used to explain the decline, and rather that social, economic or political factors may have altered

mortality levels by affecting the degree to which members of the population were exposed to infective agents. Developments in multi-state modelling over the past two decades were synthe sised clearly by Phil Rees (Leeds). The challenge to incorporate different migration concepts and external migration has resulted in improvements in model specification. New challenges now face users of multistate models, notably the AIDS pandemic and GIS.

The third world was represented by papers on the decline of fertility in Mauritius (Huw Jones, Dundee), which has experienced dramatic declines in fertility since 1962. The success of a family planning programme can be attributed to the small island factor together with the monetised economy. John Jowett (Glasgow) examined the demographic responses to the famine in China between 1958 and 1961 when there were between 25 and 30 million excess deaths and 30 and 35

million fewer births. He emphasised that this demographic disaster is better explained as the result of collectivisation policy rather than weather.

The final session on the elderly looked at residential mobility decisions of this group particu larly with respect to sheltered housing based on a questionnaire survey of 200 households in Scotland (Bill Edgar, Dundee). Tony Warnes (Sussex) then gave a wide-ranging review of recent research on the elderly, a rapidly growing field of research. Such research, he emphasised, can be used or misused in the development of policy.

A very lively evening discussion on the current state of research in population geography followed papers by Elspeth Gray (St Andrews) and Allan Findlay (Glasgow) examining

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Conference reports 87

changing directions and the current role of population geography in the discipline. Elspeth Gray argued that the philosophical debates within geography during the 1980s have had little impact on population geography which remains peripheral to the wider discipline. Allan Findlay extended the discussion by arguing that contemporary human geography tends to ignore population geography. Population geography has to confront its research agenda paying more attention to contemporary social issues. The ensuing discussion led by Bob Woods and Paul Compton showed considerable disagreement with what was said: there seemed little evidence of isolation in the work being done by population geographers although there was no room for complacency. It was suggested that there was a need for more theory in population geography, but theoretical issues occupied populationists less because of the abundance of data. Such abundance was evident in the panel discussion of the following evening on data sources, which also indirectly addressed the research agenda for population geography. There was particular emphasis on data requirements from the 1991 census although only minor changes are now possible. There was also considerable discussion of the longitudinal study, which with notable exceptions is still relatively untapped.

The wide range of papers, employing different theoretical approaches, data sources and methods, in fact gave the lie to the debate which saw population geography as somewhat removed from recent conceptual advances in geography. Indeed, the vigour of research in population geography was amply demonstrated.

Ray Hall Queen Mary and Westfield College

Research initiatives in rural geography

Report of the First Colloquium of French and British Rural Geographers held at the University of Caen, 18-21 September 1989

This colloquium, convened jointly by Ian Bowler (Leicester) and Pierre Brunet (Caen), provided a welcome opportunity for British and French participants to demonstrate, comparatively, the breadth and variety of research initiatives in rural geography. The proceedings were organised in five thematic sessions, jointly chaired by a British and French delegate.

The first session focused on recent developments in food processing industries and their impact on agricultural systems. Ian Bowler opened the discussion with a consideration of corporatism in the food chain, illustrated by a study of poultry production in Canada. J P Diry's (Clermont-Ferrand) comparative study of agribusiness activities in Brittany and the Auvergne and reports by D Hays (Bordeaux) and J P Peyon (Nantes) on the localised development of French agricultural co-operatives extended this presentation.

Regional contrasts in property ownership and the size of farm holdings constituted the central theme of the second session which was clearly illustrated by case studies from Northern Portugal (R Black, King's College, London), the Irish Republic (D Gillmor, Trinity College) and Loire

Atlantique (N Croix, Nantes). In addition, there were detailed presentations on rural develop ment and landscape change as illustrated from the Yorkshire Dales (P Gaskell, Gloucestershire College of Arts and Technology) and North Pennines (D Wilson, Durham) and macro-level French studies of the relationship between age-structures, financial indebtedness and farm size (R Calmes, Caen), and the regional dynamics of agricultural land values since 1980 (V Rey, Paris).

Tourism and recreation in the rural economy provided a focus for papers presented in the third session. These were diverse in content and theme, and addressed the issues of farm-based tourism and the restructuring of British agriculture (N Evans, Coventry Polytechnic); the staged impact of tourism on French rural economies (D Clary, Angers; P Flatres, Paris); and the

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