The Aral Sea Crisis and Its Future: An Assessment in 2006

An American geographer and noted international authority on water management problems in Russia and Central Asia presents an account of an expedition, in late 2005 (under the sponsorship of the National Geographic Society) to Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, focused on the Aral Sea. The steadily drying inland sea, with a surface area of 67,500 km² in 1960, had split into two parts and shrunk to 17,380 km2 in 2006. The paper provides an up-to-date overview of the crisis and presents an optimistic scenario of the sea's future, noting development of economic activities (particularly fisheries) in its surrounding settlements. Journal of Economic Literature, Classification Numbers: O13, Q15, Q25. 6 figures, 1 table, 55 references.     

The Aral Sea Basin Crisis: Transition and Environment in Former Soviet Central Asia

The haunting picture of a disappearing Aral Sea is just part of an overall environmental crisis in the Aral Sea Basin, where millions of people are dependent on agricultural production around the flows of two main rivers, the Amu Darya and Syr Darya. Forced cotton cultivation in the former Soviet Union, in the context of inefficient agricultural organization and production, caused water mismanagement, salinization, water and soil contamination, erosion and the desiccation of the Aral Sea. In the post-Soviet era of ‘transition’, the governments of the Central Asian states and international donors have tried to mitigate the impact of the crisis and contain its scope. Resource-based tensions in the region reflect national (and sometimes ethnic) interests vested in the crucial agricultural sectors that provide foreign exchange and food. Although the Central Asian governments are gradually formulating regional water, land and salt management strategies, the room for manoeuvre that exists to implement policies which would immediately improve the environment, such as efficient water management and sustainable land use, is not being sufficiently utilized.     

近百年来甘肃汉唐方志整理研究综述

甘肃汉唐之际纂修的方志大多散佚,虽然仅有部分为传世文献引存,但却具有极其珍贵的史料价值和学术价值。近百年国内外有关甘肃汉唐散佚方志的研究取得了丰硕成果,主要表现在存目稽考、佚志辑校、综合研究等方面。遗憾的是,每方面都有不足之处：存目稽考仅为考订题名、撰者、卷帙存佚及成书年代之作,并非辑佚校释之著述;佚志辑校方面均有失考之处,且有的未进行校勘整理;综合研究方面比较欠缺,成果很少。因此,甘肃汉唐方志的整理研究亟待进一步加强。     

日本外务省与1933年中的华北危局 --以应对黄郛北上为中心

在塘沽协定缔结之前,日本外务省内部对于中日关系应如何发展出现了意见分歧。这些意见,随着黄郛奉国民政府之命北上处理时局而具体显现出来。在与此事务相关的驻华外交官中,有吉明公使主张应透过支持黄郛,来达成与国民政府的和解并进而与其合作。然而一等书记官中山详一等人则大致接受关东军的主张,认为应在华北成立一个实质上脱离国民政府控制的政权。初采模糊立场的内田康哉外相,其立场大致倾向于中山等人。他最终否决了有吉的构想,并试图与国民政府签订一个政治协定。此一过程具体显现了当时外务省内部在对华外交构想上存在着分歧,以及其对华强硬派常占上风的历史事实。     

Early Socialism in Canada: International and Regional Impulses

International and regional impulses have shaped Canadian socialism from the movement’s origins in the nineteenth century to the present. Many of Canada’s early socialists arrived as ready-made socialists from abroad. From the British Isles, continental Europe, and the United States, these idealists and dissidents imported radical political ideals, which they subsequently adapted to meet the emerging conditions of an industrializing, urbanizing Canada. Directed at a broad cross-section of society, the early Canadian socialist rainbow featured many colours: Chartists, Christian socialists, cooperators, and, by the nineteenth century’s end—communists, anarchists, and other adherents of European radical movements. This process of importation, adaptation, and change took different forms in the distinctive regional contexts of Canada’s multi-ethnic federal state. Building on an interdisciplinary literature, the authors illuminate the ways in which international and regional impulses shaped Canada’s socialist tradition, helping to explain persistent tensions and forces within contemporary Canadian politics.     

Slave Ships and Maritime Archaeology: An Overview

This contribution collates information about wrecked slaving vessels discovered or sought by maritime archaeologists since 1972. To date, only a handful of firmly identified, active slave ships have been subject to excavation, but additional work has been carried out on wrecks of former slaver ships and possible slavers. The impending 200th anniversaries of the abolition of the British and US slave trades (2007 and 2008, respectively) appear to have stimulated a new wave of interest in slaver wrecks, and these new initiatives are also discussed.     

国际金融危机对世界国际旅游业发展的影响研究

国际金融危机对世界国际旅游业影响的传导机制是什么？对其影响进行科学分析与预测的指标是什么？其影响的状况与特点是什么？其影响的趋势及我国的对策又是什么？本文运用国际经济学与旅游经济学原理,收集分析世界经济与世界国际旅游业发展的统计资料,对具有代表性的旅行社、旅游饭店与旅游景区点进行调查研究,同时对我国国际化程度最高的世界著名旅游城市香港进行比较研究,从而回答上述问题。本文的主要内容包括：（1）国际金融危机对世界国际旅游业发展影响的传导机制与分析预测指标的构建与验证;（2）国际金融危机对世界国际旅游业发展影响的现状、特征与趋势,以及我国的对策研究。