A Free Trade Area of the Americas in 2005?

In the second presidential summit of the Americas, which took place in April 1998 in Santiago de Chile, 34 heads of states of the Americas announced that they were ready to start negotiating a Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA), to be concluded by 2005. This article briefly discusses the current trend in favour of regional preferential trade agreements, describes how the proposal for an FTAA came about, explores more than three years of negotiations that made it possible and assesses the probability of its success.     

Internationalisation of the Chinese subnational state and capital: the case of Yunnan and the Greater Mekong Subregion

This article examines the participation of China's Yunnan Province in the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) in order to understand the dynamics behind the regionalisation and internationalisation strategies adopted by a Chinese subnational state. It argues that the Yunnan case demonstrates the outflow of state capital—both national and provincially based—to have been instrumental in harnessing Beijing's and Kunming's political support for programs of subregional economic cooperation. This political support has led to a state capital alliance underpinning the economic expansion of provincial state capital into the GMS. It also argues that subregional governance arrangements, such as those featuring in the GMS, embed the competitive advantage of state capital through new forms of extra-territorial governance that ostensibly de-emphasises the political dimensions of state capital. The internationalisation of Yunnan subnational state is reflected in its political strategy of subregional governance. These changes point to complex rescaling of not just national state but also subnational states in Asia that find expression in variegated regional and subregional political projects.     

Pottery wall thinning as a consequence of increased maize processing: a case study from central New York

The histories of maize in northeastern North America are not well understood at the subregional level. The complexity of formation processes for various lines of evidence for maize use requires the application of many analytical methods and techniques to produce data on subregional maize histories. The present analysis uses bulk δ¹³C values on directly dated charred encrusted cooking residues to provide the first direct correlation of water-based maize cooking to trends in pottery wall thinning. The results add to the growing body of evidence for the history of maize use in central New York.     

A methodology to identify a network of industrial parks in the Ave valley,Portugal

In recent decades in Europe, municipalities have promoted many poorly qualified and widespread industrial parks. These policies have caused various problems such as oversupply of industrial land, obsolescence and high vacancy rates. The future of these sites is uncertain and has become a key issue in planning. Nowadays, policies are focused on upgrading these sites and on implementing regional coordinated practices. This paper describes a methodological approach to identifying a subregional network of industrial parks in the Ave valley, Portugal. The network is based on the parks’ attractiveness and has the purpose of supporting planning policies in terms of upgrading and providing new sites. The approach was based on a multi-criteria analysis whereby the parks were ranked according to their attractiveness considering their coverage in terms of infrastructures, services and accessibility. Results show that the majority of the existing and planned parks, even if upgraded, will not be very attractive and will be limited to a municipal scale due to structural problems related to their location and poor coverage. Moreover, the paper also discusses the challenges in implementing this planning approach at a subregional level. Despite the specificities of the case study, this methodology could be adopted in similar studies.     

Regional Planning Problems in the Soviet Far East

A variety of approaches are being recommended in regional plans for future settlements patterns in the Soviet Far East. In Magadan Oblast, the present scattered pattern of small populated places is to be superseded by greater concentration of urban population in a set of subregional service centers. In Khabarovsk Kray, different approaches are being recommended for the future development of the Khabarovsk and Komsomol'sk areas. Because limitation of the future growth of Khabarovsk is desirable, new industrial establishments are to be located in the future in nearby small towns and urban settlements of the Khabarovsk industrial district. In the Komsomol'sk area, satellite towns are to be significantly developed, giving rise to a grouped form of urban settlement, including the tin-mining center of Solnechnyy and the paper and chemical center of Amursk. In Amur Oblast, consideration is being given to the development of an iron and steel plant in the Svobodnyy area, giving rise to a city of up to 200,000 population.     

Reinterpreting Springwells Ceramics in the Great Lakes Region of North America

The original ceramics typology developed for Younge/Western Basin Tradition Springwells phase (ca. AD 1160–1420) assemblages included three variants known as Macomb Linear, Macomb Interrupted Linear, and Springwells Net Impressed ceramics. This discussion considers how subregional variation in Springwells decorative styles reflects participation in a larger regional social network.     

SOAPSTONE VESSEL CHRONOLOGY AND FUNCTION IN THE SOUTHERN APPALACHIANS OF EASTERN TENNESSEE: THE APPLE BARN SITE (40BT90) ASSEMBLAGE

The function and chronology of soapstone vessels in the Eastern Woodlands has been a contentious issue that deserves discussion at a more regional and subregional scale. We provide an overview of the Apple Barn site (40BT90) soapstone vessel assemblage, one of the largest Late Archaic/ Early Woodland collections in the southern Appalachians. Results from residue analysis of pollen, starch, and phytoliths on four vessel fragments reveal the processing of various plants, correlating well with the macrobotanical results from the site. The AMS dates derived from seven sooted samples span ca. 1700 cal. B.C. to ca. 800 cal. B.C., suggesting mundane soapstone vessel use persists later in the southern Appalachians relative to other areas of the Southeast. When soapstone is no longer used at the Apple Barn site, post–750 cal. B.C., there is a significant shift in feature volume and organization, suggesting a change from seasonal group aggregations to semisedentary family tended garden plots. This shift denotes a significant change in foodways where the social and functional ties to soapstone were no longer relevant.     

Bangalore Lake story: reflections on the spirit of a place

This article is based on an ethnographic case study conducted during a small project on the public-private development of lakes in Bangalore. Using conceptualizations of place and implacement as developed by scholars such as Casey and Anderson, this article unpacks the relationship between sociopolitical processes and modification of landscape during the implementation of a public–private partnership lake development project of Hebbal Lake. The disappearance of designated places along the lakeshore that are accessible to different users tends to favor a monoculture of consumer experiences, which can be seen as a hidden form of displacement of other users. I suggest that by physically modifying the “places” on the lakeshore that once supported multiple human-geographical interactions, certain people can experience displacement even if they are allowed to access the lake.     

Petrographic analysis and INAA geochemistry of prehistoric ceramics from Robinson Pueblo, New Mexico

The examination of thin sections is a successful method for discovering provenance groupings of archaeological ceramics if non-clay inclusions in pottery paste can be identified with petrographically distinctive geologic sources. When this is not the case, geochemical analysis must be employed to search for more subtle evidence of such groupings. This situation is likely to arise in studies, such as the present one, where the objective is to discern local or subregional patterns of pottery manufacture and exchange. Ninety potsherds from site LA46326 in New Mexico were subjected to both INAA and petrographic analysis. The results of this conjoint approach are assessed in relation to geochemical theory and are analysed graphically and statistically.     

Can advocacy change the views of politicians about aid? The potential and limits of a presence-based approach

Advocates of foreign aid in OECD countries navigate a unique form of politics. The beneficiaries of foreign aid spending have little voice in elite level decision-making about aid commitments from OECD countries. Thus foreign aid spending has a form of politics unlike other areas of policy where there is more direct budget accountability with citizens. Scholarly attention has increased on this unusual domestic politics of aid spending yet there remains little examination of the opportunities, challenges and tensions for aid organisations in advocating to elected officials. This article focuses on the case of Australian foreign aid, and the Australian Aid and Parliament project, an initiative of Save the Children. This initiative facilitates exposure visits to aid recipient countries for Australian parliamentarians. Most aid advocacy projects in OECD countries rely on mobilising citizens of those countries to act as a proxy, advocating on behalf of aid beneficiaries. This project reveals the potential of advocacy efforts that focus on the direct ‘presence’ of aid beneficiaries in the experience of elected officials (from donor countries). Yet it also reveals several challenges, and tensions between advocates, about how aid commitments change, and the most effective role for advocacy groups to play.     

Picture Perfect: Using Drone Technology and Photogrammetry Techniques to Map the Western Stone Forts of Ireland

The Western Stone Forts form some of the most spectacular archaeological monuments in Ireland and include well known sites such as Dún Aonghasa in Co. Galway and Cahercommaun in Co. Clare. The group comprises a number of heterogeneous forts characterized by their exceptionally thick and high stone walls and other distinctive architectural features such as terraces, steps, guard chambers, and chevaux de fries. It is clear, however, that they form a loosely defined group of monuments that have a broad chronological span ranging from the Late Bronze Age to the Early Medieval period. The aim of this project is to create a complete suite of high resolution three-dimensional models of the Western Stone Forts on the Tentative List of UNESCO World Heritage Sites, and assess the applicability of photogrammetry techniques to landscape studies and heritage management.     

THE MECHANISM OF DEVELOPMENT OF THE VOLGA DELTA AND ITS GROWTH PROSPECTS

The delta of the Volga River on the Caspian Sea is a highly dynamic form, whose growth has been affected by a combination of physical and human factors. Rapid delta growth in recent years has resulted in a deterioration of both physical and economic conditions (navigation problems, inadequate moisture supply, overgrowing of shallows with vegetation, loss of spawning grounds). Regression analysis yields a number of relationships between the inflow of water and suspended sediments, on the one hand, and delta growth, on the other hand, with a distinction between periods of a lowering of the Caspian Sea level and relative stability. The regression equations are used to project the likely future evolution of the delta. The only combination of conditions that is likely to limit further delta growth by the year 2000 is the stability of the Caspian Sea level and a period of average moisture supply. In all other cases, the delta is likely to continue its undesirable advance.     

West Papua,Indonesia and the Melanesian Spearhead Group: competing logics in regional and international politics

The idea of a shared Melanesian identity has been consolidated over the last three decades or so through the most important subregional organisation in the South-West Pacific—the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG). The solidarity of this group has been strained over various issues from time to time, but none is as fraught as the Indonesian occupation of what is commonly known as West Papua, whose indigenous Papuan people are ethnically Melanesian. In addition to recounting the Indonesian takeover of West Papua in the context of the dynamics of decolonisation, the Cold War and early regional development, the article examines the emergence of Melanesian identity and the MSG, before considering more recent developments. These focus on a recent bid by West Papuans for MSG membership, key aspects of Indonesia's role in the Melanesian subregion, and the extent to which these developments highlight competing logics in regional and international politics.     

A Method for the Evaluation of Metropolitan Planning: Application to the Context in Spain

The metropolitan urbanization shows evidence that planning at the regional, subregional and municipal levels with its wide range of territorial, urban and sectorial competences is now longer able to significantly influence territorial development. This has led to a greater demand for alternative approaches, methods and instruments. For this research study, the metropolitan area of Granada was used as a field laboratory to assess the capacity of metropolitan planning to have an impact on metropolitan processes and dynamics. For this purpose, a method for metropolitan planning evaluation, MPE methodology, was proposed, which involves two evaluation processes. This method first evaluated the coherence of plans of different competences and at different scales within the metropolitan context (trans-scalar evaluation); it then evaluated the interaction between methods and proposals in plans and metropolitan dynamics (interactive evaluation).     

The Excursus in the First Song of the Georgics and Vergil's Didactic Technique

The article discusses form and content of the excursus closing the first song in Vergil's Georgics as part of a didactic project conveying teachings about the cosmos. The poet's use of the catalogue of portents and the other elements in the passage are analysed from the perspective of the didactic genre. It is argued that Vergil develops didactic poetry by integrating everyday experiences with considerations about the relationship between religion, politics and agriculture.     

The regional division of Greece and the functional economic areas estimated from the 2011 commuting patterns

Written as the statistical institutes of the EU member-states discuss the development of a common technique for delineating functional economic areas (FEAs) after people's commuting patterns, the paper expresses concern over the imposition of qualifications that distort the economic reality on the ground, and over the use of asymmetric thresholds as they are bound to produce formations with different labor-market-related diffusion levels compared to the rest. To illustrate with in example, it algorithmically groups localities and delineates Greece's FEAs, entirely on the basis of people's travel-to-work flows at four different in- and out-commuting thresholds; and finds that unless neat shapes, equivalent sizes or other features are imposed by some assumption, they are not borne out by the situation on the ground. It also estimates the country's spatial fragmentation on the basis of the recovered formations; and compares the shapes of these formations to the regional/subregional division of Greece. To the extent the two grids diverge, there is room for better targeted policy interventions. On the whole, the paper advances our understanding regarding the diffusion of labour marker phenomena and interventions across the terrain in a crisis-hit country of the EU South, thus contributing to the analysis and formulation of relevant policies.     

The militarisation of aerial theatre: air displays and airmindedness in Britain and Australia between the world wars

ABSTRACT

Aerial theatre, the use of aviation spectacle to project images of future warfare, national power and technological prowess, was a key method for creating an airminded public in the early twentieth century. The most significant and influential form of aerial theatre in interwar Britain was the Royal Air Force Display at Hendon, in which military aircraft put on impressive flying performances before large crowds, including an elaborate set-piece acting out a battle scenario with an imaginary enemy. Hendon was emulated by other air displays in Britain and in Australia, even civilian ones. Indeed, the inability of the much smaller Royal Australian Air Force to regularly project spectacle on the scale of Hendon across a much larger nation created a gap which civilian aviation organisations then tried to fill. Hendon thus helped to propagate a militarised civilian aerial theatre, and hence airmindedness, in both Britain and Australia.     

Napoleon's France: History and heritage

In 1992 a group of activists initiated a new project of citizenship aiming to give gay and lesbian couples in France the status and rights they had been denied. This project was a form of social contract also designed for heterosexual couples, whether or not they had a sexual relationship. The final version of this contract, the Pacte civil de solidarité, is now called the PACS. This article argues that the PACS activists were unable to formulate their project outside the principles of universal citizenship inherent in French republicanism. They also came to rely on the Left in power for support. The Senate rejected the PACS bill in March 1999 and again in May 1999. A final decision on the PACS bill is to be made by the National Assembly before the end of 1999.     

Planners’ analysis and opportunism – benefit analysis in the Swedish HSR-project: a preliminary analysis

The dominating form of analysis in the transport sector is cost–benefit analysis (CBA). This study investigates the purpose and use of an alternative analysis intended to complement CBA in the Swedish high-speed rail project. According to CBA calculations, the project is heavily unprofitable. While some politicians called for project termination, the project leadership launched an alternative benefit analysis that calculated only benefits (disregarding costs). This was intended to be a basis for decision making on station localization and financing agreements, but it was quickly downplayed due to its methodological inconsistencies. However, the project leadership still used the identified benefits opportunistically as a counterweight to the negative CBA results. They also engaged local-level civil servants and politicians in making the reports. This built political momentum and made the local-level civil servants and politicians adopt the mindset of the project. This study shows how a methodologically flawed analysis is used for political manoeuvring. From a scientific CBA perspective, this is alarming, but from a political perspective it is not surprising. The findings echo earlier research showing that analysis for decision making is often used for political purposes. The results suggest that future research should consider how opportunism in alternative benefit analysis can be limited.     

Serbian Spatial Planning among Styles of Spatial Planning in Europe

The classification of spatial planning styles in Europe has been successively reviewed a few times. Most recently, it has been done in the framework of the European Spatial Planning Observatories Network (ESPON) 2.3.2 project dealing with the territorial governance. Based on national overviews for 29 European countries, this project uses the classification of spatial planning systems in four styles: comprehensive-integrated, regional-economic, land-use and urbanism. This study did not take into account the spatial planning system in Serbia since it is neither in the European Union nor a member of the ESPON similar to Norway and Switzerland. This article uses the form of national overviews elaborated for the ESPON project and puts Serbia in a comparative spatial planning perspective, classifying it between the comprehensive-integrated and land-use planning styles.