Dominant ethnicity: from minority to majority

ABSTRACT. This article argues that the world is in the midst of a long‐term transition from dominant minority to dominant majority ethnicity. Whereas minority domination was common in premodern societies, modernity (with its accent on democracy and popular sovereignty) has engendered a shift to dominant majority ethnicity. The article begins with conceptual clarifications. The second section provides a broad overview of the general patterns of ethnic dominance that derive from the logic of modern nationalism and democratisation. The third section discusses remnants of dominant minorities in the modern era and suggests that their survival hinges on peculiar historical and social circumstances coupled with resistance to democratisation. The fourth section shifts the focus to dominant majorities in the modern era and their relationship to national identities. The article ends with a discussion of the fortunes of dominant ethnicity in the West.     

The Role of Location and Regional Networks for Biotechnology Firms in Israel

This article presents results of a study of the Israeli biotechnology sector. The findings of the study show that despite the small geographical size of the country, the Israeli biotechnology industry tends to a great extent to cluster around leading research institutes. Based on a survey of 109 high-tech projects, the study suggests that the relatively weak business background of the entrepreneurs, the fact that most of them have worked at research institutes and that most new biotechnology firms were originated from ideas that came out of universities or research institutes, can provide possible explanations for this geographical concentration. The research emphasizes the relative importance biotechnology entrepreneurs ascribe to networking, both in very early stages as well as in advanced stages of the firm development process. It is argued that although the focus of the network changes over time, both geographically and in content, its links to local research partners are maintained. It is suggested that earmarked regional support policies are crucial to the development of networks required by new biotechnology firms.     

Progress in Canadian Geomorphology and Hydrology 1996–2000

Since 1996, a broad range of publications has been produced by Canadian geomorphologists and hydrolo‐gists. These publications have been distributed in journals with national and international circulations. Although there remains a major focus on the study of observable processes in fluvial, aeolian, coastal and slope environments there is also a strong, historical component to explanations oflandforms, landform assemblages and sedimentary sequences. Some of these histories have incorporated the effects of high‐magnitude (catastrophic) events, some of which may have no modern analogues. Perspectives on the interactions among microclimatic variables, including changes induced by human actions, continue to evolve. Forest clearance and its effects on evaporation rates, water‐table levels and timing ofsnowmelt, the human use of wetlands and release of methane and carbon dioxide, will continue to demand the attention of scholars interested in explaining future climatic scenarios. Depuis 1996, un large éventail de publications a été produit par les géomorphologues et hydrologues du Canada. Ces travaux ont été diffusés dans des revues nationales et internationales. Bien qu'il y ait encore une attention privilégiée portée à l'étude des processus observables dans des environnements fluviaux, éoliens, côtiers et de pente, il existe aussi une importante composante historique dans l'explication des formes du paysage et de leurs assemblages ainsi que des séquences sédimentaires. Certaines de ces reconstitutions historiques ont incorporé les effets d'événements de haute magnitude (catastrophique), dont certains n'ont peut‐être pas d'analogues modernes. Les points de vue sur les interactions entre les variables microclimatiques, et notamment les changements d'origine anthropique, continuent d'évoluer. Le recul des forêts et ses effets sur les taux d'évaporation, le niveau des nappes phreatiques et le calendrier de la fonte des neiges, l'utilisation humaine des zones humides et l'émission de méthane et de gaz carbonique, continueront d'exiger l'attention des spécialistes qui se penchent sur l'explication des scénarios climatiques futurs.     

Constructing Water Shortages on a Huge River: The Case of Shanghai

Shanghai is located on the world's third largest river (by volume). Yet it faces the risk of shortages of drinking water. Many decisions and environmental characteristics have contributed to this threat. First, Shanghai has become dependent on water brought into the municipality by rivers. Second, it has become increasingly reliant on water from the Changjiang (Yangzi River), principally in order to control the levels of pollution in the water that enters its treatment plants. Third, for reasons associated with inter‐provincial administrative arrangements, the city's water intakes are located within the municipality, within the estuary zone and subject to tidal intrusions of salt water. Fourth, at high tide and when the Changjiang's discharge is low, salt intrudes far into the estuary, beyond the current water intakes. If sea levels rise, these intrusions will become more pronounced. Fifth, large‐scale central government infrastructure projects (such as dams and the South‐North Transfer) are altering the hydrological characteristics of the river. Such projects raise the probability of salt water intrusions into the water intake zone. The Shanghai and central governments have thus made a series of decisions that, taken together, have led the municipality to rely on a source of drinking water that is increasingly unreliable and subject to the risk of shortages due to salt water intrusions. Why these decisions have been made – independently – is an important problem for those who would understand the provision of water for cities and the practical efficacy of Chinese governance systems.     

THE CHANGING COMMERCIAL STRUCTURE OF NON-METROPOLITAN URBAN CENTRES AND VACANCY RATES

Utilizing data from 100 percent store-by-store surveys of five local communities undertaken by student interns during July in 1995 and 1997, the commercial structures of five non-metropolitan centres in Ontario – Sturgeon Falls, Port Hope, Collingwood, Cobourg, and Sault Ste. Marie — are established and compared. The surveys include information related to store type, space, specific location, and employment. Trends in vacancy rates for the major components of the commercial structure (downtowns, shopping centres/plazas, arterial strips, and freestanding locations) in each community are established and discussed in the context of changes in: (1) demand, that is, market size as reflected by population and gross income; and, (2) supply, that is, competition generated internally from new commercial elements established locally, or externally from the more attractive commercial facilities in larger metropolitan centres. While vacancy rates indicate a degree of over-storing they vary considerably. In general, the downtowns in these communities are not dead, and it is shopping centres/plazas that are suffering the most from internal and external competitive supply-side pressures. On a établi et comparé la structure commerciale de cinq centres non métropolitains de l'Ontario – Sturgeon Falls, Port Hope, Collingwood, Cobourg et Sault-Sainte-Marie – et ce à partir de donnees tirees de sondages effectués auprès de tous les magasins des cinq villes par des étudiants en juillet 1995 et 1997. L'information ainsi recueillie portait sur le genre de magasin, l'espace, l'emplacement et la main-d'oeuvre. On a indentifié les tendances dans les taux d'inoccupation des composantes majeures de la structure commerciale (centres-villes, centres commerciaux, voies à grande circulation, emplacements autonomes), dans le contexte de modifications dans: (1) la demande, soit la taille du marché selon sa population et le revenu brut, et (2) l'offre, soit la concurrence produite à l'interne par de nouveaux éléments établis localement, ou encore a l'externe par les installations commerciales plus attrayantes des grands centres métropolitains. Si les taux d'inoccupation reflètent un certain excédent dans le nombre de magasins, ils varient considérablement. En général, les centres-villes de ces communautés ne sont pas inertes, et ce sont les centres commerciaux qui souffrent le plus des pressions concurrentielles internes et externes provenant de l'offre.