Tropical Geography ›› 2021, Vol. 41 ›› Issue (3): 584-595.doi: 10.13284/j.cnki.rddl.003342

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Spatial Links of the Maritime Scientific Research Cooperation Network in China

Jianke Guo1,2(), Yidan Ding1,2, Yafeng Qin3   

  1. 1.Key Research Base of Humanities and Social Sciences of the Ministry of Education, Center for Studies of Marine Economy and Sustainable Development, Dalian 116029, China
    2.Institute of Marine Sustainable Development, Liaoning Normal University, Dalian 116029, China
    3.School of Geography, Liaoning Normal University, Dalian 116029, China
  • Received:2020-08-08 Revised:2021-01-11 Online:2021-05-30 Published:2021-06-30

Abstract:

Marine science and technology are the means to develop healthy maritime productivity. In recent years, the marine economy arrived at the point of developing from high speed to high quality. China is paying more attention to how to use the sea scientifically. The development of marine science research has received more policy support. The outline of the 14th Five-Year Plan proposes to "make breakthroughs in a number of key core technologies in the fields of marine engineering, marine resources, and marine ecology." At the same time, urban network theory based on flow space is a mature and convenient way to measure inter-city scientific research cooperation. An analysis of the structure of this network will help clarify its structural characteristics and spatial differentiation, discover the technical opportunities of marine scientific research, and promote the coordinated development of academic research and the applied technology fields. With the help of the complex network analysis method, UCINET, ArcGIS, and string chart visualization software, this paper analyzes the overall structural characteristics and spatial differences of the marine research cooperation network in 2007 and 2017, respectively, to provide empirical support and a theoretical reference for the development and construction of the network. The results show that first, the marine scientific research cooperation network has obvious characteristics of a "small world" and "scale-free" network, with strong accessibility and agglomeration, and an improved openness; at the same time, it presents discrete trends and unbalanced characteristics. Second, different from the "diamond" structure of the information and innovation cooperation network, the marine scientific research cooperation network in China has formed a special "trapezoidal" structure with Beijing-Tsingtao—Shanghai-Guangzhou as the apex; the focal cooperation ties in the network have increased and gradually broadened. At the same time, three marine scientific research cooperation clusters with different functions, characteristics, and research fields have been formed in the Bohai Rim, the Yangtze River Delta, and the Pan-Pearl River Delta. Finally, the leading pattern of core cities has been consolidated, among which Qingdao plays a strong role as a "throat" and is a national marine scientific research center with a strong ability to control marine scientific resources. Some of the core nodes (such as Beijing and Wuhan) are inland, but they have a strong independent capability in marine scientific research, and an enthusiasm for engaging in scientific research cooperation; in other words, marine scientific research cooperation is characterized by significant complexity. Formation based on marine research papers in the network embodies the link between the cities. On the one hand, this reflects the influence of the research subject emphasis of the cooperation network, such as a core city taking a leading role, or being the backbone of key research institutes, etc.; on the other hand, it also reflects the network between cities that cooperate in research and the contacts that result. Exploring the marine scientific research cooperation network through marine scientific research institutions will have a positive impact on the reconstruction and network progress of national and regional marine scientific research cooperation.

Key words: maritime scientific, collaboration network, urban network, complex network

CLC Number: 

  • K901