Apologies for cross-posting...
Association of American Geographers (AAG) Annual Meeting, Seattle
April 12-16, 2011
 
Call for papers
 
Weather, Geographical Contexts and Spatial Behaviour
 
Organised by Martin Dijst and Lars Böcker (Utrecht University), and Mei-Po Kwan (Ohio State University)
 
 
For most of us, weather is more than a trivial concern in our daily life. Consider how often we watch the weather forecast and since when we did not discuss pertinent weather elements (e.g., the rain, the snow, the wind, or the hot temperatures). Weather seems to have considerable influence on many aspects of our everyday life, including the way we dress, our decisions whether to go out or not, our destination choice, our use of different transport modes, and even our mood and temper.  While the influence of weather on our daily life is pervasive, there has been little debate on how weather may shape our everyday life through geographical perspectives to date. This relative silence is disconcerting in the light of recent dramatic climate changes that may alter the micro climate in cities and other geographical contexts, as well as their behavioural outcomes - even if we consider manifestations of certain climatic extremes, such as hurricanes, tornados and urban heat islands, as exceptions to this observation. We thus seek to organize a session (or sessions) that address(es) the theme of weather, geographical contexts and spatial behaviour. We invite papers that explore the impact of exposure to (changing) local weather on people’s attitudes, emotions and spatial behaviours in a diverse range of geographical and cultural contexts. We welcome submissions that examine topics including but not limited to:

·       Theoretical, conceptual and methodological issues in studies on weather
·       Cognitive and affective aspects of weather
·       Geographical contexts and weather conditions
·       Differences in meanings of forecast and experienced weather
·       Embodied practices of weather
·       The meaning of work place, home and garden under various weather conditions
·       Changes in the use of public places related to different weather conditions
·       Social interactions in time and space over the seasons
·       Tourism and leisure activities over the year
·       Impact of precipitation and temperature on shopping behaviour
·       Relationships between changing weather and changing transport modes  
·       Cultural and ethnic differences in the meanings of weather
·       Gender and weather
·       Policies related to weather
 
Please submit a title and a 250-word abstract to Martin Dijst ([log in to unmask]) or Mei-Po Kwan ([log in to unmask]) by Friday October 8, 2010. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Martin or Mei-Po.