THE PROBLEM OF DEVELOPING RURAL SERVICES IN NOVGOROD OBLAST

Novgorod Oblast, in northwestern Russia, has been distinguished by a high rate of rural outmigration and depletion of agricultural labor resources. One key factor in slowing the flight from the land is an improvement in the quality and range of rural services. The impact of adequate services is shown by available data on the distribution of rural population by distance from service centers. The rate of decline of rural population is generally found to be lower in places near service centers than in more remote places. Since most of the rural places are too small to support service establishments, it is recommended that services be expanded in about 200 central places that show promise of future growth.     

The Rayon Seats of the USSR in the System of Services

The administrative centers of rayons (county-type civil divisions) are viewed as key elements in the provision of services in the USSR. The effectiveness of rayon seats as service centers is analyzed in terms of the category of places serving as rayon seats (small cities; urban-type settlements [towns]; rural places), mean rayon population, area and radius, and the mean transport accessibility of the rayon center. The existence of a small city with a high level of services in a small rayon, as in the Baltic region, Belorussia, Moldavia and parts of the Ukraine, is viewed as optimal. Particular problems arise in Siberia and Kazakhstan, where the large size of rayons, low mean rayon population, big rayon radius and low transport accessibility combine to produce a low level of services. In such regions, a system of local service centers is advocated, with rayon seats performing the role of major regional centers.     

江苏省城乡公共服务发展差距及其障碍因素分析

以江苏省13个省辖市为研究样本,通过构建评价教育、卫生、环境和基础设施等公共服务指标体系,运用熵值法、协调度模型和障碍度模型等方法,对江苏各省辖市的城乡公共服务发展水平进行综合评价。结果表明:①城乡公共服务发展水平区域分异明显;②不同类型公共服务发展水平城乡差距各不相同,基础教育服务城乡差距明显,医疗卫生服务乡村远落后于城市,生态环境服务城乡差距相对较小,基础设施服务城乡差距位居中等;③城乡公共服务协调发展水平可以划分为四种类型,城乡基础教育和医疗卫生等服务领域发展水平差距是影响多数省辖市城乡公共服务协调发展的最大障碍因素。     

江苏省城乡公共服务区域差异的调查分析

根据江苏省样本地市的城乡公共服务水平及居民满意度调查数据,通过构建指标体系及权重,构造重要性与满意度矩阵等方法,本文从基础教育,医疗卫生,社会福利,文体服务、公共设施和生态环境及公共服务等方面对江苏省城乡公共服务水平的差异进行了分析。结果表明:江苏省城乡公共服务水平的区域差异明显,苏北地区的城乡差异较大,苏中和苏南地区较小;居民对城市公共服务满意度总体好于农村;城市与农村各类公共服务水平差距显著,尤其表现在文体服务与公共服务设施上;多数地市城乡公共服务水平协调度偏低。针对分析结果,本文提出了促进江苏省城乡公共服务协调发展的政策建议。     

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE LOCATION OF SERVICES AND RURAL SETTLEMENT

Soviet planners are advised to consider the linkage between rural settlement patterns and the provision of services, an issue that is assuming particular significance in connection with the present development program in the Nonchernozem Zone of the RSFSR. The number of service establishments per 1,000 population is not considered a useful indicator because it tends to be high in areas with widely dispersed settlement in small inhabited places, and yet does not reflect a high level of services because of the small size of the establishments. It is desirable to cluster sets of services in central places; the presence of a single kind of service (store, school, etc.) in a small place is found tantamount to having no service whatever. Adequate provision of services is found to reduce, or even reverse, rural out-migration.     

Financial Exclusion in Rural and Remote New South Wales,Australia: a Geography of Bank Branch Rationalisation, 1981–98

The provision of financial services in rural Australia is a significant public policy issue, reflected in the high level of media and political interest in the recent spate of branch closures. There are, however, many aspects of the current debate regarding the delivery of financial services to rural communities that are, at best, less than ideal and, at worst, erroneous. Using telephone directories for New South Wales, non‐metropolitan bank branch listings for the period 1981 to 1998 were collated. A recategorisation of these data according to the Rural, Remote and Metropolitan Areas classification reveals, amidst a spatial realignment of financial service provision, that rural and remote New South Wales have been disproportionately affected by a relatively recent and concerted withdrawal of services. The research demonstrates that corporate‐level responses to increased competition within the financial system are significantly more important in deciding rural access to banking services than local and regional population trends. Indeed, two‐thirds of rural localities that have lost branches had experienced healthy population growth during the study period. In the wake of the post‐deregulation reconfiguration of the bank branch network, the socio‐economic marginalisation of rural communities is being compounded, a process of ‘financial exclusion’ recognised in other parts of the developed world.     

WHEN AND HOW DOES COMMUTING TO CITIES INFLUENCE RURAL EMPLOYMENT GROWTH?

This paper estimates the influence that rural‐to‐urban commuting has on rural employment growth, and whether the strength and spatial reach of this effect depend on commuters’ levels of education. A main finding is that rural‐to‐urban commuting has a robust positive impact on rural employment growth in services and retail. There is no significant difference in how far these effects reach into rural Sweden for commuters with different levels of education. These results suggest that a viable policy for local employment growth in rural areas with reasonable commuting times to urban centers is to improve the commuting to urban centers.     

公共服务视野下的城市空间正义问题——以山东省Q市为例

以山东省Q市为例，从公共服务满意度视角探讨城市空间正义问题及其作用路径。研究发现，近年来我国城市存在公共服务视野下明显的空间不正义问题，临近省市政府能享受更多、更好的公共服务，而区政府并不显著，且远离政府权力中心的边缘地带更加严重。不过，这种空间不正义问题更多源自省市政府权力的空间资源配置失衡，区政府没有足够话语权；主要在市辖区层面，街道尺度并不显著。受制于公共产品属性不同，不同公共服务的空间不正义问题有明显差异，弱排他性或弱竞争性的问题较小。另外，权力空间化通过公共产品配置数量和质量影响空间不正义问题，且质量层面远大于数量层面。新时代城市要从提高公共产品质量入手实现空间正义。     

ON THE INEQUALITY OF RURAL SERVICES PROVISION IN THE USSR

Results of studies of inter- and intra-regional variation of rural services provision (including retail trade, cultural-educational services, and health care) are compared. Highest levels of per capita services provision were found in the Baltic republics and RSFSR, with lower levels in the southern European USSR, Transcaucasia, and Central Asia. The differences are attributed to rural depopulation (northwestern USSR), rural development priorities in areas of severe natural conditions (Siberia), and high rates of natural population increase (Central Asia). A differential approach in services planning is recommended between areas located near oblast urban centers and those which are more remote (translated by Jay K. Mitchell; PlanEcon, Inc.; Washington, DC 20005).     

The Conception of a Unified System of Settlement and the Planned Regulation of city Growth in the USSR

A unified system of settlement, defined as an interrelated network of places that is regulated for the benefit of society, is viewed as the most effective approach to overcoming socio-economic differences between town and countryside. Such a settlement system is viewed as ultimately replacing the present settlement patterns ranging from large urban agglomerations at one extreme to small rural places without adequate services at the other extreme. The unified settlement system is expected to insure roughly equivalent living and working conditions for all people within such a system. Some of the recent changes in Soviet settlement patterns are viewed as steps in that direction: an expansion of the network of large cities in connection with the economic development of new regions; the policy of industrializing small towns bypassed by the previous development of industry; the growing practice of establishing research organizations and branch plants in small towns to foster their development; the mechanization and industrialization of animal husbandry; the improvement of rural bus lines, providing access to service centers.     

Changes in the Geography of Rural Settlement in the Old Settled Areas of the Virgin Lands

The present settlement pattern of the long-settled northern part of the virgin lands consists of relatively small population centers. On the basis of field work, the author finds that the concentration of population in larger centers at the expense of subsidiary settlements would provide better services to the rural population without interfering with the efficiency of farm operations.     

旅游公共服务体系与旅游目的地满意度的结构关系研究——以桂林国家旅游综合改革试验区为例

在整理及分析国内外相关研究文献的基础上,本文以桂林国家旅游综合改革试验区为例,运用结构方程模型(SEM)模拟游客感知的城乡旅游公共服务体系与旅游目的地满意度的结构关系。结果表明:(1)旅游接待服务感知成为影响旅游地游客满意度最为关键的因素;(2)政府主导下的旅游公共服务体系感知也被证实为影响旅游接待服务感知、游客满意度的显著因素;(3)政府主导下的旅游公共服务体系建设是桂林提升旅游竞争力的关键。最后针对研究结果提出一些建议,并指出本文的不足及今后的研究方向。     

中国乡村交通出行与地域系统

交通是乡村地域系统形成的重要内容，也是刻画乡村地域系统特征的关键指标。本文采用住建部全国小城镇调查的村镇居民调查数据，从交通出行视角对我国乡村地域系统特征进行识别和分析。结果表明，村-镇-县逐级体系仍占主导地位，村-县联系成为新趋势；农业相关活动仍以村-镇-县等级为主，但其他活动在村-县间联系比例较高，且东部地区及城市近郊更明显；不同目的出行形成20分钟生活圈；随着村民出行范围扩大，传统乡村地域等级体系将发生较大变化。研究结论对乡村空间规划和乡村基础设施布局等具有重要实践价值。     

Marginality and the New Geography of Domestic Violence Policy in Post-Communist Poland

The article explores the spatial distribution and institutional geography of domestic violence service provision in post-communist Poland. A new institutional geography providing services to victims of domestic violence is emerging in Poland as a result of NGO activism and new pro-woman policies implemented by the state. NGOs, often in partnership with local governments, are the most vital means of service provision in large and medium size cities, while in rural areas, public agencies predominate in the institutional geography of service provision. The assumption that NGOs will emerge to address the needs of victims of domestic violence is not realistic in rural areas. While urban Poland is developing an institutional geography to address domestic violence, state and NGO activists must focus on shrinking the rural margins of Poland's institutional geography.     

PROBLEMS AND PROSPECTS OF DEVELOPMENT OF RURAL NONFARM PLACES IN THE USSR

According to the 1970 census, the Soviet Union had 37,800 rural nonfarm places with a combined population of 6.1 million, or 5.8 percent of the rural population. The census data are believed to understate the number and population of nonfarm places because they assigned rural places to the nonfarm category purely on the basis of their generic designation. Many multifunctional nonfarm places and rural places that serve as administrative centers and have little relation to agriculture were not categorized as nonfarm in the census. Although many of the smaller nonfarm places are likely to be eliminated over time, others will continue to perform clearly defined functions in industry, construction, transportation, and services. The situation is illustrated with particular reference to Novosibirsk Oblast.     

跨入网络时代的酒店人力资源管理

随着酒店向全国以至世界范围的持续扩张,人力资源部门的服务模式也正在演变,技专为这种变化发展添加了动力。eHR,即电子人力资源,就是这样一种新模式。先进的软件配上高速的硬件,再与处于服务中心的专业化人员融为一体,构成了eHR的基础：一个为人力资源服务的技术网络。网络将为酒店业及其从业人员提供更高水准的服务。     

Probabilistic, Maximal Covering Location—Allocation Models forCongested Systems

When dealing with the design of service networks, such as health andemergency medical services, banking or distributed ticket-selling services, the location of servicecenters has a strong influence on the congestion at each of them, and, consequently, on thequality of service. In this paper, several probabilistic maximal coveringlocation—allocation models with constrained waiting time for queue length are presentedto consider service congestion. The first model considers the location of a given number ofsingle-server centers such that the maximum population is served within a standard distance, andnobody stands in line for longer than a given time or with more than a predetermined number ofother users. Several maximal coverage models are then formulated with one or more servers perservice center. A new heuristic is developed to solve the models and tested in a 30-node network.     

EQUALITY OF SPATIAL ACCESS TO PRIMARY HEALTH SERVICES FOR SINGAPORE'S BABY BOOMERS

The ageing baby boomers in Singapore, which account for one-third of the total population in 2006, will have a profound impact on the economy, society and environment. The greatest demand is for health care services. Even though Singapore has generally been regarded as a country where primary health services are easily available to all residents, this paper identifies significant spatial variations across the island-state. In particular, accessibility in some areas with high concentration of boomers is relatively lower compared to other residential areas. This paper concludes that understanding the spatial variation in primary health service accessibility is critical to the success of future policies, which may lead to a review of the provision of such services across the island. The methodology developed in this paper is also applicable to the study of service inequalities in other Asian countries with large rural settings.     

WAYS OF IMPROVING SETTLEMENT IN WEST SIBERIA

A paper devoted to the settlement system and the problem of rural population loss in that portion of West Siberia having a significant agricultural base takes issue with some implicit assumptions incorporated within the General Scheme of Settlement within the USSR. More specifically, policies calling for the deliberate, i.e., forced, resettlement of rural population in selected villages in order to provide economies of scale in rural services provision are criticized on two major counts: (1) that such “enlarged” settlements will still be too small to be allocated the necessary range of functions according to standard city-planning formulae, and (2) that they accelerate rural depopulation by serving as spring-boards for migration to still larger centers. (Translated by Andrew R. Bond.)     

Modeling the state of agritourism in the Malopolska region of Poland

ABSTRACT

The Malopolska region of Poland is highly representative of the current state of agritourism in Poland. The level of agritourism services in this region is very high relative to the national average, the result of environmental and cultural values being incorporated into social and economic development practices. Based on evidence from 1259 agritourism-oriented farms collected from municipal and regional government bureaus, web-published data, and survey data from 575 farm owners in the Malopolska, this paper analyzes the spatial distribution of such farms and the relationship between agritourism and ‘regular’ rural tourism. The Malopolska Voivodeship is strongly diversified in terms of agritourism development. The largest number of agritourism farms is in mountain, piedmont, and upland areas. Research has shown that agritourism is pursued by farmers who own small farms and produce food only for their own use. However, 60% of agritourism farms were found not to engage in any agricultural production. The research also identified basic tendencies of agritourism development in the region. The following basic trends were observed – a shift from agritourism to rural tourism, an increase in the number of agritourist farms offering 10 or more beds, and an expanded service offering – yielding a targeted offering for a specific customer and an increase in the quality of services. This indicates that agritourism owners engaging in this form of business are investing to create more usable space for tourists. The authors’ findings and conclusions also cover the concept of a functional model of agritourism in the Malopolska region. This model shows the relationship between environmental value and the nature of agricultural production and type of tourism in rural areas as well as the diversity of tourist offerings. The model also shows the transition from agriculture and its close relative, agritourism, to regular tourism in rural areas.