Towards a global sense of place : the practical adequacy of recent theorisation in economic geography to interpret restructuring and change in a Tasmanian locality

This thesis has two inter-related themes: the effects of restructuring on individuals' labour market experience and household coping strategies in a Tasmanian locality; and the practical adequacy of current and emerging theoretical perspectives in economic geography to interpret rapid change. The two are integrated by a realist approach. The case study is set in the theoretical context of four major areas of literature - uneven development, labour market, informal activities and rural sociology - and in the historical context of the Tasmanian space economy through discussion of the Long Boom (1945 to 1973), an analysis of labour markets 1971-1986 and a detailed review of the restructuring processes operating since 1986. A model of formal and informal economic activities is put forward in order to make sense of conflicting terminology. The case study provides information on changing conditions of work and attitudes to work which vary within a labour market segmented into the major employer, local small businesses and the state, as well as by gender. It also raises issues of the construction of knowledge by the use of out-dated dualisms and taxonomies. A more complete and relevant model of the social relations of employment is suggested, together with a view of small business which conceptually integrates farming enterprises with other rural businesses through the concept of the pluriactive household. The role of these businesses and households in the local construction of place is examined through the links integrating them differentially into the global economy. Concluding reflections relate the experience of writing the thesis to more abstract issues. The gendered experience of place; the accommodations between production and consumption made by different groups with different aspirations; the consequent tensions between those in favour of development and those favouring conservation in the context of the structure/agency debate are each related to emerging theorisation. The author concludes that new strands of theory, notably the powerful perceptions of pluriactivity as a link between capital and households, household decisions exerting influences of global proportions environmentally as well as economically, a new view of producer/consumer relations, and of a global wage relation spanning formal and informal activities, together offer a new way of conceptualising local social situations. A grasp of the processes by which these situations are integrated into, and reflexively influenced by, global capital and regulatory frameworks, and the resolution of the problem of sustainable development require a fresh perspective which has been potentially provided by the emancipatory insights of a global sense of place.