Gains and losses, outcomes of interregional migration in the five Nordic countries

This paper examines the outcome of interregional migration in various aspects from the migrants' perspective. It is based on a survey, including 6 000 interregional migrants in the five Nordic countries. The results indicate that interregional migration leads to a positive outcome for most migrants and few people seem to be forced to make decisions including painful tradeoffs. Motives have an effect on what aspects of outcome migrants are satisfied with. The influence of individual migrants' characteristics on migration outcome revealed few significant effects. Migrants claimed to be most satisfied with living conditions and less satisfied with the livelihood after moving. To be satisfied with social conditions turned out to be crucially important for the general outcome of migration.     

Overseas Chinese Investments in Transition: The Case of Dongguan

An economic geographer based in Hong Kong presents a study of overseas Chinese investment coming from Hong Kong and Taiwan to Dongguan, a rapidly developing manufacturing metropolis in China's Pearl River Delta, attempting to compare the transformation of these two major sources of investment during the past quarter century. Based on systematic field work and interviews at ca. 60 firms through mid-2006, the paper argues that Hong Kong and Taiwan investments have followed different transformation paths with regard to sectoral composition, investment motivations, market orientation, entry modes, and strategies in response to institutional changes. Most of the substantive differences are related to the distinctive comparative advantages of the two source regions and the specific character of their interactions with the host region. Journal of Economic Literature, Classification Numbers: F21, O16, R11. 4 figures, 4 tables, 60 references.     

The shock of the old: architectural preservation in Soviet Russia

In Soviet sources from the Brezhnev era, the history of architectural preservation after 1917 was presented as a triumph of rational state‐building and cultural organisation: with the support of Lenin, the Bolshevik government had rapidly put in place effective measures to protect historic buildings for future generations. As this article shows, the evolution of legislative and practical measures was considerably more complicated than this optimistic representation would suggest. In the early Soviet period, a highly ideologised understanding of the past meant that preservationist ambitions might (especially during the ‘Great Break’ of 1928–1932) be seen as intrinsically reactionary. The canon of historical buildings was shaped by perceptions of centrality to Soviet values, as well as historical and aesthetic importance. The article also explores the transformation of attitudes to architectural heritage as a response to destruction by the invading forces during the ‘Great Patriotic War’, after which commitment to preservation became far more whole‐hearted, although enforcement and financial support continued to be inconsistent. The Soviet case indicates not just the importance of heritage preservation to the cultural ambitions and self‐image of the modern state but the limits of commitment to preservation and the pressure placed on this by the commitment to all‐out modernisation and to the propaganda of new identities and values.     

Groundwater discharges in the Baltic Sea: survey and quantification using a schlieren technique application

Groundwater seeps are known to occur in Eckernförde Bay, Baltic Sea. Their discharge rate and dispersion were investigated with a new schlieren technique application, which is able to visualize heterogeneous water parcels with density anomalies down to Δσ_t = 0.049 on the scale of millimeters. With the use of an inverted funnel, discharged fluids can be captured and the outflow velocity can be determined. Overall, 46 stations could be categorized by three different cases: active vent sites, seep‐influenced sites, and non‐seep sites. New seep locations were discovered, even at shallow near‐shore sites, lacking prominent sediment depression, which indicate submarine springs. The detection of numerous seeps was possible and the groundwater‐influenced area was defined to be approximately 6.3 km². Flow rates of between 0.05 and 0.71 l m^?2 min^?1 were measured. A single focused fluid plume, which was not disturbed by the funnel was recorded and revealed a flux of 59.6 ± 20 ml cm^?2 min^?1 and it was calculated that this single focused plume would be strong enough to produce a flow rate through the funnel of 1.32 ± 0.44 l m^?2 min^?1. The effect of different seep‐meter funnel sizes is discussed.     

Sulfur and iron analyses of marine archaeological wood in shipwrecks from the Baltic Sea and Scandinavian waters

Analyses of marine archaeological wood from shipwrecks in the Baltic Sea area, Kronan, Riksnyckeln, Tattran, the Puck Bay Boat and the Ghost wreck, and at the Scandinavian West coast, the Göta wreck, Stora Sofia and the Viking shipwrecks of Skuldelev, show accumulation of sulfur compounds. The penetration profiles of sulfur and iron into the wood and the speciation of characteristic sulfur groups were evaluated by combining X-ray spectroscopic analyses, in particular S K-edge XANES (X-ray absorption near edge structure) and X-ray fluorescence, with ESCA and elemental analyses. The combined analyses support the hypothesis that hydrogen sulfide produced by sulfate-reducing bacteria reacts and accumulates at low iron concentration mainly as organically bound sulfur, which as in previous studies was found by X-ray spectro-microscopy to accumulate in lignin-rich parts of the wood cell walls. The presence of iron(II) ions from corroding iron promotes formation of pyrite and other iron(II) sulfides, which easily oxidise in aerobic conditions with high humidity. No significant differences in sulfur and iron accumulation were found in wood from shipwrecks in the east coast brackish water and the west coast seawater. Sediments from three wreck sites, the Göta wreck, Stora Sofia and Kronan, were analyzed to a depth of a few decimeters and showed especially at the Stora Sofia high sulfur concentrations, exceeding 3 mass%. S K-edge XANES analyses of the sediments showed mainly reduced forms of sulfur, in particular pyrite and iron(II) sulfides together with elemental sulfur.     

The Natural Environment of the Shipwreck Vrouw Maria (1771) in the Northern Baltic Sea: an assessment of her state of preservation

Vrouw Maria, a merchant vessel sailing from Amsterdam to St Petersburg in 1771, ran aground in the northern Baltic Sea. Her cargo included Dutch works of art bought by Catherine the Great. The wreck was located in 1999, 41 m deep. This study aims to understand environmental factors and physical stresses affecting the wreck, using three different approaches—studying the wreck as an artificial reef; describing the conditions inside the wreck; and measuring the physical stresses caused by currents. The methods applied were biological, archaeological, hydrological, geological and physical. The data will be a basis for further monitoring. © 2010 The Authors     

Medium-Sized Firms and the Limits to Growth: A Case Study in the Evolution of a Spin-Off Firm

This paper explores potential barriers to growth in key areas which can become increasingly problematic for some smaller to medium-sized firms (SMEs) as they grow and evolve from their early status as small scale spin-offs. These potential growth barriers can occur in: finance, competition from new firms or products and organizational integration of resources. Firms that fail to properly plan, manage and allocate resources will encounter difficulties in each area. Such firms are said to have poor 'governance systems'. While not proposing a universal theory about small firm behaviour, we argue that firms can encounter the same problems associated with poor communication, bureaucracy and loss of entrepreneurial spirit that plague large firms. We also show that the routines used to promote growth based on collaboration can sometimes create problems for firms as they ignore new challenges. We elaborate various theories on the limits to growth by examining the case of IV, a university spin-off.     

Foreign direct investment and renewal of industries: framing the reciprocity between materiality and discourse

ABSTRACT

Informed by the evolutionary literature on economic geography, this paper develops a conceptual framework for analysing the complexity between foreign direct investment (FDI) and renewal of industries. Present contributions tend to explain the impact of FDI on regional industry evolution as a static, output-oriented phenomenon, that is, informed by an instrumental rationale in which the dynamism of FDI and regional industry development is linked to polarization of stagnation/decline vs. growth/development. Opposing this, we argue for an epistemological shift in approach to the reciprocity between FDI and renewal of industries as dynamism between material outcomes and discursive processes. To accomplish this, we build on key concepts and understandings from evolutionary economic geography; review the regional effects of FDI literature and build a framework sensitive to contextual dimensions of FDI. We focus on multinational companies’ practices and material outcomes in terms of regional spillovers and the discursive processes in terms of FDI narratives. This framework is exemplified by data from the salmon farming industry and the subsea industry in Hordaland and the oil and gas industry and the mining industry in Finnmark.     

Globalizing China: The Rise of Mainland Firms in the Global Economy

Two economic geographers survey the changing trends of China's outward foreign direct investment. Based on materials derived from original field work as well as published studies, they shed light on the major mechanisms through which mainland China's leading firms have successfully ventured abroad, as evidenced by proposed or realized acquisitions of significant corporate entities in the United States, Africa, Europe, and elsewhere in Asia. The authors argue for a political-economy approach to understanding "globalizing China," a complex phenomenon whereby the Chinese state is strategically and intricately enmeshed with the corporate interests of its leading business firms. Journal of Economic Literature, Classification Numbers: F23, L21, L22, M16. 3 figures, 3 tables, 128 references.     

游客抽样调查中"拒答"现象的原因分析及应对措施——以崆峒山游客抽样调查为例

本文对游客抽样调查中的拒答现象和拒绝率进行了阐述和分析,探讨了拒答现象产生的原因和应对措施。指出：游客抽样调查中的拒答现象是值得重视又容易忽视的,是旅游流、旅游心理、旅游目的地类型和其他社会因素综合作用的结果,而非单纯地由游客心理决定。所以要降低拒绝率,需要从消除游客心理障碍和提高游客主动参与性入手,促使游客主动配合调查,减少拒绝现象,提高调查的成功率和准确率。     

秦末汉初北部边界考略

秦朝末年,中原纷扰,匈奴南下与秦界于＂故塞＂,所谓＂故塞＂,即是战国时期修筑的秦昭襄王长城、赵武灵王长城和燕长城。汉兴之后,依然与匈奴以＂故塞＂为界,虽然匈奴屡屡进犯,但由于汉军的顽强抵抗和匈奴民族习性使然,西汉仍能保持这条边界,直到汉武帝元朔二年（前127年）,此边界才开始向外拓展。辽东一地较为特殊,其地退守＂故塞＂...     

森林史研究:以菲律宾森林滥伐史研究为重点

本文主要介绍国际森林史研究的发展历程和解释菲律宾森林滥伐史的主要观点。就国际森林史研究来看, 经历了一个从重点研究温带森林史向热带森林史转变的过程。就菲律宾森林滥伐史研究来看, 提出了诸如人口增长压力说、木材生产和贸易说、林业政策鼓励说、行政不力和政治腐败说等重要解释框架。森林史研究需要超越从单因素出发进行解释的现状, 需要向综合研究转变。国别和专题的森林史研究需要从全球森林史和环境史的整体视野来关注。     

海外华资对侨乡的投资探讨--以广东侨乡为例

包括港澳台资本及东南亚等地的华人华侨资本在内的海外华资,一直是中国外资引入的主力军,对中国大陆,尤其是广东侨乡的发展起了巨大的推动作用.本文以广东侨乡为例,论述了海外华资对侨乡的投资进程,并从国际直接投资理论出发,试对这一资本流入进程进行理论阐释.而且,通过对广东侨乡的分析,探讨海外华资投资所带来的经济发展效应.     

Spatial Reach of Office Firms: Case Study in the Metropolitan CBD of Tel Aviv, Israel

This paper, using the CBD of metropolitan Tel Aviv, Israel, as a case study, discloses the spatial range of linkages of office firms, situated in newly built office towers. The linkages explored, from the results of a sample of 120 office firms, are those held by office firms with clients, suppliers of goods and services, and with other service firms as partners or as subcontractors. The magnitude of the linkages is revealed in the context of Israel's recent entry into the post-industrial age and its rapid affiliation with the global economy, accompanied by functional restructuring of the service economy. It is also visible in the built environment of Tel Aviv, with large-scale construction of over thirty Class A office tower buildings. Complex spatial interrelationships are found, extending from their immediate metropolitan environment toward the world's leading economic centres. Future avenues of research are explored.     

从腹地到边镇:明代陕西镇的形成与演变

陕西镇是明代九边之一。但目前学界普遍将固原镇等同于陕西镇,认为固原镇的历史就是陕西镇的全部历史。本文以为,固原镇只是陕西镇后一个阶段。陕西镇经历了一个形成与演变的过程。天顺初,随着河套蒙古活动加剧,陕西镇守武将重设,陕西成为军镇。此后,为更好抵御蒙古,陕西镇守总兵开始移驻固原,其职责也以专门防御蒙古为主,正德时,陕西镇成为边镇,并名列九边之中。嘉靖初期,陕西总兵专驻固原成为定制,于是渐有固原镇的称呼,二者合二为一,最终固原镇的称呼成为主流。不过这仅是因地俗称的结果,其他制度并未改变。陕西镇形成与演变的历史,反映的是明中后期北部防线内缩所造成的内地边防化的尴尬和无奈。