GEOGRAPHICAL SCIENCES
Online ISSN : 2432-096X
Print ISSN : 0286-4886
ISSN-L : 0286-4886
Volume 71, Issue 4
Displaying 1-4 of 4 articles from this issue
Article
  • Ifeoluwa Bolanle ADEWUMI, Carolin FUNCK
    Article type: Article
    2017 Volume 71 Issue 4 Pages 185-205
    Published: February 28, 2017
    Released on J-STAGE: March 28, 2018
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS

    The branding of Yakushima as an ecotourism destination and its designation as a World Heritage Site has not only attracted tourists but also new residents who moved to the island to work in the tourism industry. This paper examined how people in tourism business in Yakushima perceive ecotourism, and the differences in their perception of various ecotourism impacts by their nativity, the year they started living on the island, communities where the business are located, type of business, and when the business started. A questionnaire was used to collect data from the entrepreneurs (n=97). The study revealed that half of the respondents came from outside Yakushima; this percentage was higher among the businesses started after 2003 and lower in the accommodation sector, which requires ownership of land or buildings. The respondents had positive perceptions towards ecotourism by reason of its economic impacts and positive impacts on their community. Environmental problems such as resource overuse, garbage problem and destruction of mountain trails were some of the negative impacts of ecotourism. There were significant differences in the respondents' perceptions of the impacts of ecotourism by their nativity, the type of business and when the business started. However, the community where their businesses are located and their length of residency had no influence on their perceptions.

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Research Note
  • Yasuhisa ABE, Xia HUA
    Article type: Research Note
    2017 Volume 71 Issue 4 Pages 206-222
    Published: February 28, 2017
    Released on J-STAGE: March 28, 2018
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS

    In this study, we targeted white-collar workers employed in private enterprises in the city of Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, and examined the characteristics of their residential patterns and population movements, with a focus on attributes such as birthplace and gender and whether they lived together with their parents. We conducted a questionnaire survey and follow up interviews based on it. Company offices were selected for the survey, and needed to satisfy 3 criteria: 1) They were located in central Hanzhou; 2) They were private companies; 3) They were head offices of the companies and the ratio of management positions in the companies was high. We distributed the questionnaire form to these head offices and conducted interviews with five human resources personnel who served as the liaison for this survey in each company. Results of the survey were as follows.

    Concerning the academic background of the survey respondents, 87.2% graduated from specialized colleges or above standard. This is a high rate considering China's college enrollment rate was 23% in 2007. Concerning commuting distance and time, women tended to travel for shorter distances and time than men overall. One reason was that, a high percentage of men used their own cars to commute. Also, for women, it can be considered that they had to choose workplaces near their residences when finding employment. Moreover, there were those who chose areas close to their workplace when moving.

    Another survey question asked respondents who had moved their reasons for doing so. As for the birthplace of the survey respondents, most male and female respondents were born in Hangzhou. The results revealed that few respondents had left the city for college or employment. Also notable was the living pattern in which parents lived with the respondent or close to them. Among the results was the finding that relatively fewer men than women were born in regions other than Hangzhou. In contemporary Chinese cities, men tend to bear a heavy economic burden after marriage, as a result of purchasing a home and automobile, for example. This was also the case in Hangzhou. According to interviews, the reason that fewer men than women had moved from other regions was that when single men were employed in Hangzhou, they often returned to their birthplace when they became marriage-minded. In contrast, because the economic load as described above for women is light when they marry, they remain in the same city. There are many cases of women continuing to live and work in Hangzhou after marrying a Hanzhou man.

    Also, while it was assumed that the survey respondents had positions that allowed them to earn relatively high incomes in their companies, because housing expenses took up a large part of household expenditure, regardless of whether or not the respondent was born in Hangzhou, many of them lived with their parents even after marriage. The living pattern that many of them desired was "living close to their parents." However, in actuality, nearly half of the respondents said that they had no choice but to live with their parents.

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