Organic Public Geographies: “Making the Connection”

Abstract: A new field of “public geographies” is taking shape ( Fuller 2008 ) in geography's mainstream journals. While much is “traditional”, with intellectuals disseminating academic research via non‐ academic outlets ( Castree 2006 ; Mitchell 2008 ; Oslender 2007 ), less visible is the “organic” work and its “more involved intellectualizing, pursued through working with area‐based or single‐interest groups, in which the process itself may be the outcome” ( Ward 2006 :499; see Fuller and Askins 2010 ). A number of well‐known projects exist where research has been “done not merely for the people we write about but with them” ( Gregory 2005 :188; see also Cahill 2004 ; Johnston and Pratt 2010 ). However, collaborative writing of academic publications which gives research participants authorial credit is unusual ( mrs kinpainsby 2008 ; although see Sangtin Writers and Nagar 2006 ). This paper is about an organic public geographies project called “Making the connection”. It is written by a diverse collection of (non‐)academic participants who contributed to the project before it had started, as it was undertaken, and/or after it had finished. This is a “messy”, process‐oriented text ( Cook et al. 2007 ) working through the threads (partially) connecting the activities of its main collaborators, including a referee who helped get the paper to publication.     

A dendrochronological analysis of Pinus pinea L. on the Italian mid-Tyrrhenian coast

In order to assess the response of the radial growth of Pinus pinea L. to climatic variability in Central Italy, dendrochronological and dendroclimatological analyses were carried out on five different populations scattered along the Tyrrhenian coasts of the peninsula. The aim of this study is to contribute to the understanding of the ecological demands of this species, particularly in the study area. For each site total ring, early-, and late-wood width chronologies were developed. Multidimensional analyses were performed for the three tree-ring datasets in order to analyze the relations between sites chronologies. Both Principal Component Analyses and hierarchical classifications highlighted an important difference of one site in respect to the other, probably due to site characteristics. Correlation functions were performed to infer the main climatic factors controlling the radial growth of the species. For a comparative study, we limited our attention to the common interval 1926–2003 (78 years) in which the response of the tree-ring chronologies to climate at both local and regional scale was investigated. Positive moisture balance in the late spring-summer period of the year of growth is the climatic driver of P. pinea radial growth in the study area. Moreover, this study shows how low summer temperatures strongly favor the radial growth of the species.     

牛郎织女神话传说及其演变

牛郎织女神话是我国民间四大神话传说之首,可谓家喻户晓。本文将结合天文星相知识及对牛郎织女神话中出现的老牛、乌鹊进行简要考证、同时探讨二人相会的佳期定在七月七日的缘由。通过探讨这样几个问题来阐释牛郎织女神话传说及其演变的历程。     

Local and territorial determinants in the realization of public–private–partnerships: an empirical analysis for Italian provinces

ABSTRACT

Relational networks and intangible factors are crucial elements for the competitiveness of a territory. Public–Private–Partnerships (PPPs), in particular, allow for the provision of goods and services that favour the exploitation of complementarities between public and private resources. They aim at promoting an increase in the overall efficiency of investment projects through a complex mechanism that distributes risk and revenues among stakeholders. This paper examines the local and territorial determinants of PPPs through an econometric analysis based upon Italian municipal data, grouped at the provincial level. Using a tobit model, we analyse the relationship between the realization of successful PPP initiatives and different sets of factors, including less analysed local and territorial determinants. We stress the role of the local management of infrastructure assets, the administrative efficiency of local authorities and the diffusion of previous local development initiatives. Local management and territorial context factors explain most of the occurrence of successful PPP initiatives in the pre-crisis period while usual determinants (infrastructure endowment and financial distress) display a weaker effect.     

US attitudes towards China before and after the Washington Conference based on US mainstream media reports

ABSTRACT

The problems China faced in the world order after World War I and the position and measures China took in the tussling between Western countries needs to be analyzed not only using historical records in Chinese and from the perspective of China itself; researchers should also consult foreign documents to determine the attitudes and ways of thinking of other countries, so as to reflect on the choices China needed to make and the roles that Western countries played at that time. Only in so doing can we fully understand how much space and strength China then had to strive for its rights in the international arena. This article examines the social basis of the attitude and policies of the United States (US) towards China in the period between the May Fourth Movement (1919) and the Washington Conference (1921–1922) by focusing on reports on China in the US mainstream media, including the New York Times, the Christian Science Monitor, the Washington Post, and the Los Angeles Times. The US government’s attitude towards China was determined by the interests of the United States, the Far East, and the other countries of the world. However, the US mainstream media’s reports on China also reflected the values of American society and popular sympathy for China’s destiny. When discussing how to support China, the US media distinguished between support for the Chinese government and support for the Chinese people on the way to democracy and governance by law. In this case, the media reflected different views on how to assist China.     

What is the Alternative? Youth,Entrepreneurship and the Developmental State in Urban Ethiopia

This article investigates the implementation of small‐scale entrepreneurship programmes in inner‐city Addis Ababa. Drawing on eighteen months of ethnographic fieldwork, it discusses the failure of these programmes to open up opportunities for social improvement for young people. It also analyses how young people confronted with this failure suggest ways of conceptualizing ‘alternatives’ to established development concepts of poverty reduction, such as microfinance and small‐scale entrepreneurship. In doing this, the author does not pretend either to offer a grand solution or to invent a brand new developmental concept. Rather, the aim is to provide a critical commentary on the reasons why some of the current academic debate on alternatives to neoliberalism have, de facto, amounted to an endorsement Ethiopia's political authoritarianism.     

略论傅作霖在华之工作

本文研究葡萄牙传教士傅作霖入华进京的背景、在华期间的活动情况和科学工作,特别指出傅作霖长期参与和主持钦天监的日常工作,参与天文仪器制作,乾隆时期还参与了大地测量工作,对中西科学交流做出了贡献。     

莫高窟第76窟八塔变相关问题再探

莫高窟第76窟内的八塔变图像出现于宋初时期,其粉本应是中印佛教交流过程中由印度僧人传至敦煌的。而这一题材绘入洞窟时正处在敦煌末法思潮盛行的背景之下,作为正法象征的八塔变壁画蕴含了信众渴求佛法不灭的心愿。同时,莫高窟第76窟作为大族营建的家窟,具有举办佛事活动的功能,八塔变与窟内其他题材的相互联系能够更好地服务于信众的信仰实践活动。     

大都市中心区生产性服务业集群的空间溢出——以广州市天河区为例

空间溢出对产业集群形成发展具有重要意义。但空间溢出对生产性服务业集群的影响机制并不清楚。本文基于1 km×1 km网格和2013年广州市中心区--天河区的企业经济普查数据，采用空间数据分析技术，识别生产性服务业集群，分析集群特征，探测集群溢出类型。结果发现：①生产性服务业集群区位指向大城市中心区的核心地域，具有五种集群类型分异，空间呈不完全耦合。②生产性服务业集群空间规模受Jocobs型和MAR型两种溢出调控，在MAR型溢出作用下的集群空间规模相对较小。③信息服务业集群的溢出为负效应说明溢出作为一种潜在利益，在转化为集群优势的过程中存在过滤效应。