The Dictionary of Human Geography

Its importance in the evolution of spatial pat-
terns was enshrined in Tobler’s (1970) famous
‘first law of geography’: ‘everything is related
to everything else but near things are more
related than distant things’. Distance-decay
relationships underpin much of the work on
spatial structuresundertaken withinspa-
tial analysisandspatial science, because
the costs ofspatial interactionare related
to the distance travelled (cf.gravity model).
Empirical studies have identified a range of
distance-decay relationships in which the
degree of attenuation with distance is much
greater in some situations than others (see
figure), in part because of the characteristics
of the geometric configurations of thespatial
structureswithin which they are set (Cliff,
Martin and Ord, 1975–6). rj

Suggested reading
Sheppard (1984); Taylor (1971).

districting algorithm A computer procedure
for defining theboundariesof electoral con-
stituencies. Such procedures became widely
used in the USA after the outlawing ofmalap-
portionmentin Congressional Districts and
other constituencies in the 1960s: they are
deployed to explore the number of ways in

which constituencies can be defined which

meet ‘equal population’ and other criteria

(cf.gerrymandering;redistricting). rj

Suggested reading

Altman, MacDonald and McDonald (2005).

division of labour The separation of tasks

within thelabour processand their allocation

to different groups of workers. Two forms

are commonly identified:

(1) Social division of labour– the division of

workers between product sectors (e.g.

‘car workers’ or ‘textile workers’).

(2) Technical division of labour– the division

of the production process into tasks, and

the specialization of workers in one or a

small number of these (e.g. managers,

supervisors and assembly workers).

The division of labour tends to be greater in

more complex and industrialized societies and

is a central component of the production sys-

tems offordism. On the other hand, the puta-

tive emergence of post-fordism has been

associated with more flexible forms of work

organization and the limited re-integration of

previously separated tasks (cf. flexible

accumulation).

distance decay Distance-decay curves and transformations(Taylor, 1971)

Gregory / The Dictionary of Human Geography 9781405132879_4_D Final Proof page 169 1.4.2009 3:15pm

DIVISION OF LABOUR