Major Cyclical Components of the 1966–71 Canadian Interregional Population System

The eight most durable cyclical components determined by the 1966–71 structural matrix of the eight-region and ten-age-group Canadian interregional population system are identified. Each of these components is related to a unique region. Their periods distribute within a narrow range around the length of a generation, while their half lives vary substantially, mainly due to a large variation in the shapes of regional fertility schedules. The magnitudes of cyclical waves transmitted among regions tend to be positively related to interregional outmigration rates. The most durable and significant cyclical component has its greatest impact on the age profile of Ontario.     

A Historical Myth? Matthew Flinders and the Quest for a Strait

This article takes issue with a recent argument, made by the late Rupert Gerritsen, that Matthew Flinders deliberately concocted a myth about a north–south strait dividing Australia in order to gain the attention and patronage of Sir Joseph Banks to support the first circumnavigation of Terra Australis in HMS Investigator in 1801–3. This article argues that Flinders did not create a myth but based his arguments on contemporary views that such a dividing strait might exist, backed up with cartographic evidence. Flinders’ achievements in connection with the circumnavigation reflected the analytical mind that led him to search for a strait.     

Postcolonial cultural governance: a study of heritage management in post-1997 Hong Kong

This paper seeks to unpack the politics of heritage preservation in post-1997 Hong Kong. Referring to international frameworks on heritage preservation, it seeks to position Hong Kong’s cultural resource management on par with international discourses for the advancement of heritage governance. Debates surrounding heritage are indeed a part of the wider picture of Hong Kong’s cultural and identity politics and the Hong Kong-China relationship. By examining various contested cases of heritage conservation, and by linking those debates back to the government’s responses within the context of cultural governance, we suggest that heritage management has become a hot stove for cultural politics in post-colonial Hong Kong with deep repercussions in the political, social and economic spheres. The paper examines the rising social debates concerning the removal and conservation of built heritage, and the various government attempts to address these debates. It argues that the current heritage governance mechanism has failed to meet social needs and provide an articulated heritage policy. We propose that a coherent organisational structure is required to better accommodate diverse and contradictory views and discourses surrounding heritage and cultural governance and to tackle the various cultural challenges in postcolonial Hong Kong.     

Social sustainability of urban regeneration led by industrial land redevelopment in Taiwan

Abandoned industrial sites, usually contaminated by hazardous substances, create social injustice in the surrounding communities. Redevelopment of industrial land has brought prospects of sustainable development to the communities that live in and around them. This research is to identify the critical factors facilitating urban regeneration and particularly social sustainability in Kaohsiung, an industrial city of Taiwan which experienced deindustrialization in recent decades, resulting in several abandoned industrial sites and decay of the adjacent urban communities. Two different industrial land redevelopment projects were examined; (1) Jhongdou Wetland Park, which focuses on environmental sustainability, and (2) Pier-2 Art Centre, which focuses on economic sustainability. Measured by the social sustainability indicators developed by the Oxford Institute for Sustainable Development and through findings from a questionnaire survey of community members, this study found that the redevelopment project of the Pier-2 Art Centre has a higher level of social sustainability than the Jhongdou Wetland Park, performing better in six out of nine themes. Critical dimensions resulting in the better performance in social sustainability of the Pier-2 Art Centre included rental affordability, heritage conservation, community image, cultural activity, community association, public space, local organization and higher accessibility to facility.