Perceptions of public security in post-reform urban China: a routine activity analysis

This paper investigates the personal and environmental determinants of public security perceptions across 32 Chinese cities within the risk/opportunity framework of Cohen and Felson's (American Sociological Review 44:588-608, 1979) routine activity theory. Structural path analysis reveals that public security perceptions in China are informed by similar personal and environment characteristics to those reported as important in extant research within Western contexts. However, the frequently reported influence of gender on public security perceptions in the West does not appear to extend to post-reform urban China. The results provide support for the routine activity theory in terms of extending our understanding of the factors that influence perceptions of public security to a non-Western context. © 2009 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.

Home range, habitat use and movements by the little raven (Corvus mellori) in a coastal peri-urban landscape

Context In peri-urban environments, high availability of anthropogenic resources may result in relatively high abundances of some species, with potentially negative implications for other native biota. Effective management of such impacts requires understanding of the spatial ecology of problem species. However, home range and habitat use have not been described for the little raven (Corvus mellori), a superabundant native predator that occurs in urban and natural habitats, including those where threatened shorebirds breed. Aims The aim of this study was to provide basic information on little raven home range, habitat use and movements in a coastal peri-urban landscape. Methods Between October 2011 and January 2012 we radio-tracked 20 little ravens captured in a coastal wetland (near Melbourne, Australia). Key results Little ravens were highly mobile, moving up to 9.9km in an hour (median≤2km), and had large ranges: Minimum Convex Polygons were 1664-9989ha (median≤3362ha). Although most birds used both anthropogenic and natural habitats, some birds strongly selected for coastal wetland habitat. Birds used multiple roosts during the study period, most of which occurred in grassland (58.7%) or urban (22.3%) areas. Movement of up to 8.3km (median≤2.2km) between roosts during the night was also detected. Conclusions Ravens were highly mobile and used large home ranges and a variety of habitats, with habitat preferences varying between birds. Implications Considering the large home ranges and inter-individual variation in habitat preferences of little raven populations, localised management to reduce their impacts on breeding shorebirds is unlikely to be successful. Journal compilation

Child learning and development: concerns and perceptions of Chinese urban mothers

Child development is deservedly dominant in the discourses on education. In populated communities such as China’s, awareness of the prevalent ideas about child development within families is particularly important. Drawing on a series of conversations between parents and teachers through synchronous online text chat, this paper investigated the perceptions and concerns of Chinese urban parents on child development. The participants were mothers of three to six year old children from Changchun, China. Results were presented in terms of the nature of the questions the mothers raised and what they talked about when discussing their questions. Analyses of the mothers’ texts revealed their concerns on those elements of child development which challenged their roles in parenting, such as inappropriate social behaviours or regulated emotions. Data from the study provided insights into key characteristics of contemporary Chinese preschool children’s learning and development within families that might identify issues and trends of early childhood education on a larger contextual scope.

‘On the move’? Maritime heritage and urban redevelopment in Melbourne

This paper explores issues surrounding the conservation and management of Polly Woodside, one of Victoria’s most significant maritime heritage objects. Sold to the National Trust of Australia (Victoria) for restoration in 1968, the ship has been berthed in the historic Duke’s Dock since 1978. Through various incarnations, the ship and associated museum have been a key feature of the Melbourne ‘riverscape’, and a major tourist attraction, ever since. The paper briefly explores the history of the Polly Woodside and museum, before focusing on the debates about the future use and location of the vessel brought about by the continuing redevelopment of Melbourne’s South Wharf from the mid-1990s until today. It examines how these contentious and often heated debates were shaped by different understandings of the ship's cultural significance, as well as ideas of community, ownership and sustainability, which have wider implications for the management of maritime cultural heritage within a context of urban redevelopment and place promotion.

The geo-historical legacies of urban security governance and the Vancouver 2010 Olympics

In 2004, the discourse of ‘legacy’ was woven into the constitutional fabric of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Bidding for Olympic events is now premised on procuring post-event legacies that will resonate through local communities and host countries long after the flame is extinguished. Given vast expenditures in security, policing, and emergency management operations at major sporting events, it is notable that the IOC and its official partners have disproportionately under-represented security and policing legacies. This paper addresses research into security and policing legacies of major events by turning much needed empirical attention towards institutional level geographies of security and policing – particularly on legacies of policing and militarisation in Olympic host cities. Accordingly, the paper traces the institutional trajectory of the Military Liaison Unit (MLU) in the Vancouver Police Department who were heavily involved in coordinating the joint civilian–military effort throughout the lifecycle of the Vancouver 2010 inter Games. Theoretically, the paper furthers Stephen Graham’s (2010) New Military Urbanism that considers the circulation of military expertise between neo-colonial frontiers of military intervention with Western urban spaces. In doing so, this paper unpacks an empirically guided temporal approach that discerns key drivers of militarisation as localised, empirical-based ‘trajectories’ of development of security and policing institutions, which are linked to, and circumscribed by, critical juncture episodes in the context of mega event security. The paper traces processes of the MLU to explain how conditions underpinning the civil–military divide in urban policing, as a series of jurisdictional, institutional, and by extension, geographical configurations have continued, changed or been abandoned in the context of the Vancouver 2010 Olympics. As such, this paper contributes to much needed debate on the controversies and opportunities inherent in security legacies and major events, which implicate the wider securitisation and militarisation of Western cities.

Social and physical environmental factors influencing adolescents' physical activity in urban public open spaces: a qualitative study using walk-along interviews

Most previous studies examining physical activity in Public Open Spaces (POS) focused solely on the physical environment. However, according to socio-ecological models the social environment is important as well. The aim of this study was to determine which social and physical environmental factors affect adolescents' visitation and physical activity in POS in low-income neighbourhoods. Since current knowledge on this topic is limited, especially in Europe, qualitative walk-along interviews were used to obtain detailed and context-specific information. Participants (n = 30, aged 12-16 years, 64% boys) were recruited in POS in low-income neighbourhoods in Brussels, Ghent and Antwerp (Belgium). Participants were interviewed while walking in the POS with the interviewer. Using this method, the interviewer could observe and ask questions while the participant was actually experiencing the environment. All audio-recorded interviews were transcribed and analysed using Nvivo 10 software and thematic analysis was used to derive categories and subcategories using a grounded theory approach. The most important subcategories that were supportive of visiting POS and performing physical activity in POS were; accessibility by foot/bicycle/public transport, located close to home/school, presence of (active) friends and family, cleanliness of the POS and features, availability of sport and play facilities, large open spaces and beautiful sceneries. The most important subcategories that were unsupportive of visiting POS and physical activity in POS were; presence of undesirable users (drug users, gangs and homeless people), the behaviour of other users and the cleanliness of the POS and features. Social factors appeared often more influential than physical factors, however, it was the combination of social and physical factors that affected adolescents' behaviour in POS. Easily accessible POS with high quality features in the proximity of adolescents' home or school may stimulate physical activity, if adolescents also experience a safe and familiar social environment.

Middle-class school choice in urban spaces: the economics of public schooling and globalized education reform

Middle-class School Choice in Urban Spaces examines government-funded public schools from a range of perspectives and scholarship in order to examine the historical, political and economic conditions of public schooling within a globalized, post-welfare context. In this book, Rowe argues that post-welfare policy conditions are detrimental to government-funded public schools, as they engender consistent pressure in rearticulating the public school in alignment with the market, produce tensions in serving the more historical conceptualizations of public schooling, and are preoccupied by contemporary profit-driven concerns.Chapters focus on public schooling from different global perspectives, with examples from Chile and the US, to examine how various social movements encapsulate ideologies around public schooling. Rowe also draws upon a rich, five-year ethnographic study of campaigns lobbying the Victorian State Government in Australia for a brand-new, local-specific public school. Critical attention is paid to the public school as a means to achieve empowerment and overcome discrimination, and both a local and global lens are used to identify how parents choose the public school, the values they attach to it, and the strategies they use to obtain it. Also considered, however, are how quality gaps, distances and differences between public schools threaten to undermine the democracy of education as a means for individuals to be socially mobile and escape poverty.This book makes an important contribution to our understanding of global social movements and activism around public education. As such, it will be of key interest to researchers, academics and postgraduate students in the field of education, specifically those working on school choice, class and identity, as well as educational geography.

Three dimensional printing as a way to create an engaging and meaningful context for learning

Three-dimensional (3D) printers are now commonplace in both primary and secondary schools within Australia. As with most new technologies they present a range of challenges to users in terms of technical problems and support, and how to integrate their use into the curriculum in a meaningful way. This research reports on data from a small number of Victorian primary schools from urban and regional areas. A case study methodology has been used to examine how each setting has approached the use of these printers and includes a review of the literature concerning the uptake of new technologies by non-experts. Data include interview transcripts from teachers, principals and technicians and photographic artefacts of 3D printed objects. Teachers reflected on their reasoning behind lesson plans and their aspirations for future use of 3D printers in the classroom. Some of the issues identified were teacher confidence, time to ‘play’ with and become familiar with 3D printers; and technical challenges that arose such as the time taken to print an object and clogging of printer extruders (heads). Recommendations are made concerning possible ways forward.