RESEARCH INTERESTS

Economic Geography, Political Geography, Regional Restructuring,  Political Economy,
Political Ecology, Transformation in Central and Eastern Europe.
 

RESEARCH GRANTS

• Environmental Change and Post-Communist Transformation in the Czech Republic. Minigrant funded by the University Committee on Research, University of Nebraska at Omaha, for summer 2002 ($1,000.00).

• 2000-2001 Individual Advanced Research Program in Eurasia/CEE. Research grant funded by the International Research & Exchanges Board (IREX), Washington, D.C. ($14,000.00)

• Czech Automotive Components Industry Restructuring. Funded by the University Committee on Research, University of Nebraska at Omaha, for summer 2000 ($2500.00).

• Regional Effects of the Czech Automobile Industry Restructuring. Minigrant funded by the University Committee on Research, University of Nebraska at Omaha, for summer 1999 ($1,000.00).

• Environment and Transition in Central and Eastern Europe. Funded by the University Committee on Research, University of Nebraska at Omaha, for summer 1998 ($6,000.00).

• Regional Implications of Foreign Direct Investment in the Czech Republic. Funded by the University Committee on Research, University of Nebraska at Omaha, for summer 1996 ($9,400.00).

RESEARCH PRESENTATIONS

INVITED PRESENTATIONS

• "Car Industry Restructuring in Central and Eastern Europe." Charles University, Department of social geography and regional development, Prague, Czech Republic, May 9, 2002.

• “Restructuring the Automobile Industry in East-Central Europe and the CIS.” The Slavic Research Center of Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan, March 22, 2002.

• "Central and East European Automobile Restructuring: Uneven Integration in the West European Car Production System through Foreign Direct Investment.” The Japan Association for Trade with Russia & Central-Eastern Europe, Tokyo, Japan, March 15, 2002.

• “Foreign Capital Driven Car Industry Restructuring in Central and Eastern Europe.” The 2002 Winter Symposium of the Slavic Research Center of Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan, February 1, 2002.

• “Theoretical and Conceptual Approaches to Post-Communist Transformations in Central and Eastern Europe.” The Institute of Economic Research, Hitotsubashi University, Tokyo, Japan, January 17, 2002.

• “Theoretical and Conceptual Approaches to Post-Communist Transformations in Central and Eastern Europe.” The Institute of Social Sciences, Chuo University, Tokyo, Japan, January 16, 2002.
   
• “Transformation of Central and East European Passenger Car Industry: Selective Peripheral Integration through Foreign Direct Investment.” The Ritsumeikan University, College of Economics, Kyoto, Japan, October 27, 2001.
   
• “Post-Communist Transformations in Central and Eastern Europe: Theoretical Approaches and Research Methodology.” The Kyoto Institute of Economic Research, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan, October 26, 2001.

• “Local Environmental Management in the Czech Republic during the Transition to Capitalism”. Paper presented at the Regional Environmental Research Center, Budapest, Hungary, June 27, 1996.

• “Environmental Implications of the Transition to Capitalism in Central and Eastern Europe.” Geography and Geology Seminar Series, University of Nebraska at Omaha, October 30, 1995.

• “Comparative Perspectives on Environment and Restructuring in Visegrad Countries of Central Europe.” Paper presented at the Spring Research Conference of Regional Research Institute, West Virginia University, Morgantown, West Virginia, April 22, 1994.

CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS

• “Environmental Change and Post-Communist Transformations in the Czech Republic and Slovakia.” Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Great Plains Rocky Mountains Division of the AAG, Colorado Springs, September 25, 1999.

• “Environmental Effects of Transformation in Central and Eastern Europe”. Paper presented at the 95th Annual Meeting of the Association of American Geographers, Honolulu, HI, March 25, 1999.

• “Foreign Direct Investment in the Czech Republic”. Paper presented at the 94th Annual Meeting of the Association of American Geographers, Boston, MA, March 29, 1998.

• “Globalization Through Inward Investment: The Uneven Regional Impacts of Foreign Direct Investment in the Czech and Slovak Republics.” With Adrian Smith. Paper presented at the Regional Studies Association and Regional Research Network conference on ‘Regional Frontiers’, Europe-Universität Viadrina, Frankfurt (Oder), September 21, 1997.

• “The Role of Foreign Direct Investment in the Czech Republic’s Transition to Capitalism.” Paper presented at the 21st Annual European Studies Conference, Omaha, Nebraska, October 4, 1996.

• “Transition Theory and the Study of Central and Eastern Europe.” Paper presented at the 92nd Annual Meeting of the Association of American Geographers, Charlotte, North Carolina, March 9-13, 1996.

• “Transition and the Environment in the Czech Republic.” Paper presented at the 91st Annual Meeting of the Association of American Geographers, Chicago, Illinois, March 17, 1995.

• “Regional Development, Economic Transformation and the Break up of Czechoslovakia.” Paper presented at the 90th Annual Meeting of the Association of American Geographers, San Francisco, California, April 1, 1994.

• “Democratization and the Local State: notes from the Czech Republic and Bulgaria.” With Caedmon Staddon. Paper presented at the 90th Annual Meeting of the Association of American Geographers, San Francisco, California, April 1, 1994.

• “Continuity and Change in 1980s Urban Geographic Research.” Paper presented at the conference “Theoretical and Conceptual Developments in Geography”, Mala Skala, Czech Republic, May 28, 1994.

• “Comparative Study of Transition in the Czech Republic and Bulgaria.” Paper presented at the conference “Theoretical and Conceptual Developments in Geography”, Mala Skala, Czech Republic, May 29, 1994.

• “Democratization, Economic Restructuring and the Environment in the Czech Republic and Bulgaria: A Comparative Perspective.” With John Pickles and Caedmon Staddon. Paper presented at the 89th Annual Meeting of the Association of American Geographers, Atlanta, Georgia, April 17, 1993.

• “A New Regional Development Policy for Post-Communist Czechoslovakia.” Paper presented at the 88th Annual Meeting of the Association of American Geographers, San Diego, California, April 20, 1992.

• “A Geographical Perspective on the 1990 Elections in Czechoslovakia.” Paper presented at the 87th Annual Meeting of the Association of American Geographers, Miami, Florida, April 15, 1991.