Rethinking the homonormative? Lesbian and Hispanic Pride events and the uneven geographies of commoditized identities

Scant academic attention has been paid to intersectional LGBT events. Miami Beach is home to a women’s circuit party called Aqua Girl and a Hispanic LGBT Pride called Celebrate Orgullo. This behind-the-scenes study on their planning challenges the invisibility of intersectional LGBTs as consumers and demonstrates that they can be targeted as a profitable niche market. I utilize the homonormativity critique as a framing. It describes the commercialization and mainstreaming of LGBT populations as potentially oppressive and normative. However, I challenge the a-spatial essentialisms that characterize the literature. For example, the naming of gay white men and gentrified gayborhoods as the homonormative subject/spaces/places ignores how others can make use of homonormativity elsewhere. For instance, the entrepreneurial, tourism-centered government of Miami Beach targeted both lesbians and Hispanic LGBTs for these events. The success and sponsorship of these events is due not only to the popularity of Miami Beach with tourists, and the large local Hispanic population, but also the scarcity of similar events elsewhere. These events have homonormative aspects but defy reductive labeling or accusation. Therefore, it is important to consider the relationality of local manifestations of homonormativity while avoiding the essentialism or dismissals of de facto ‘homonormative subjects, spaces, or events’.     

The ship Riksäpplet and the introduction of English naval architecture in Sweden in the 17th century

SUMMARY: The 84-gun ship Riksäpplet was one of the first ships in Sweden built under supervision of the newly recruited English master. In 1676, the ship came adrift, struck a rock and sank. In 2015 a minor field survey of the wreck was undertaken. An inventory of finds recovered from the wreck in various museum collections and in private hands has been compiled and the preserved correspondence from the construction of the ship has been re-examined. This material has provided new insights regarding the peculiarities and special architecture of Riksäpplet.     

‘A Hazardous Task’: Britain and the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations

In 2014, the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations celebrated its fiftieth anniversary since its coming into force in 1964. Setting out the privileges and immunities accorded to diplomats and diplomatic missions, the negotiations of this convention were part of the United Nations' plan to strengthen the international rule of law. This article analyses the role of Britain, one of the major actors in the negotiation process. It explores how Britain's negotiation position was shaped by diplomatic realities of the 1950s, and the strategies used to ensure Britain's interests being reflected in the final convention. The focus will be on the overall political pressure that underlined Britain's negotiation position, in order to reveal the general UK position on the codification of diplomatic privileges and immunities. Despite the remarkably friendly atmosphere at the 1961 Vienna conference, Britain could not press through all its amendments which, through the concluding legislation process, protracted Britain's ratification process. The article shows while London was supporting the codification of international law, codification by convention was not its ultimate choice. Therefore, the subsequent legislation process was marked by an inter-departmental dispute between the Foreign Office and Treasury, inter alia, on the exemption of Scotch whisky from excise duties.     

Localized mobility clusters: impacts of labour market externalities on firm performance

This article analyses the impact of labour market-induced externalitieson firm performance by using a unique database that connectsattributes of individuals to workplaces for the entire Swedisheconomy. Based on the analysis of 256,985 workplaces, our resultsshow that firms belonging to networks of local job mobility(i.e. ‘localized mobility clusters’) significantlyoutperform other similar firms within the local labour market.The results also indicate that concentrations of similar andrelated firms do not explain any considerable part of the variationsin firm competitiveness. Labour market externalities derivedvia local job mobility produce significantly more powerful effectsfor the involved firms as compared to the degree of co-location,diversity and scale.     

大汶口文化居民枕部变形研究

枕部变形主要表现为头骨后部的不自然扁平化,自顶骨顶孔区开始向后下转折一直延续到枕外隆突处,使两侧顶骨后部和枕骨上部形成一个几与法兰克福平面相垂直的平坦面。古代遗址中以大汶口文化居民最为流行枕部变形,俨然成为其重要的风俗习惯,此变形方式应为刻意保持婴儿仰睡在硬质枕具上,从而形成枕部扁平,应为有意识的行为,不过其最开始的起源也许并不是有意识的,可能是偶然形成,因其符合大汶口文化居民的审美从而得以流传下来。满族的睡扁头亦是针对枕部的变形,与大汶口文化居民的情况相似,不过因时代断层以及枕部变形方式较简单等因素,两者应是各自起源,并无直接传承关系。     

旅游线路设计与优化中的运筹学问题

旅游线路设计问题是旅游规划研究中一个重要的问题,本文把运筹学的方法引入旅游研究,探讨旅游线路的优化设计问题。基于定量分析与定性分析相结合的认识,本文重点是展示运筹学方法、图论方法的应用潜力,而没有着力于具体的技术细节。