Politics of scale: Colossal containerships and the crisis in global shipping

This article addresses overcapacity and crisis in global shipping through the case of the HMM Algeciras, the world's largest containership inaugurated in 2020. When she left the South Korean shipyard where she was built, the HMM Algeciras (with a size of two soccer fields) could carry 24,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) across the world's oceans. By following the mega-containership's links to two South Korean shipping companies, Hyundai Merchant Marine and Hanjin Shipping, and her connections to a southern European port, the authors unpack some of the current flip sides of global maritime shipping. In this article, the authors argue that the promise of profit and endless growth, which has led to overcapacity in global maritime shipping, is spurred on by what they call ‘false economies of scale’. Claims of the future profitability of colossal containerships are, they argue, state-driven political performances of scale.     

Estimation of Anisotropic,Time-Varying Spatial Spillovers of Fine Particulate Matter Due to Wind Direction

This paper investigates the effect of daily wind direction and speed on the spatio-temporal distribution of particulate matter, . Interdependencies between the values of different monitoring sites are characterized by incorporating time-varying anisotropic spatial weighting matrices. These weights are parameterized with respect to wind direction, speed and a range that marks the bandwidth of admissible deviations between wind direction and bearing. The empirical analysis is based on daily values recorded by monitoring sites located across the eastern United States in 2015 as well as several meteorological regressors. More precisely, we propose a space-time dynamic panel data model with different spatial autoregressive, temporal and exogenous dependencies. All model parameters are estimated by the quasi-maximum likelihood approach. The estimation procedure, including the identification of the range and spatial parameters, is verified by Monte Carlo simulations. We show that part of the spatial dependency of values is explained by wind direction.     

Anthropogenic Causes, Mechanisms and Effects of Upper Pliocene and Quaternary Extinctinctions of Large Vertebrates

Successive waves of extinction of large vertebrates have swept the globe since the Pliocene. In contrast to such episodes in earlier geological epochs, many of the species of large herbivores and carnivores, flightless birds, and giant tortoises which became extinct during this period were not replaced in these niches by other species. Relying on data from the fossil and archaeological records as well as on ethological and palaeo-ecological arguments, the authors explain why hominids are to be held responsible for this ecological genocide. Possible ecological and climatic consequences of the extinctions are discussed. These considerations cast doubt upon the notion of early hominids as scavengers.     

Ödemiş-Dereuzunyer: Architectural Features of a Rural Settlement to Be Submerged by Dam Waters

ABSTRACT

The village of Dereuzunyer located in the Rahmanlar Valley of the Küçük Menderes Basin is a settlement that is a natural extension of a topography shaped by a joint contribution of culture and nature. It has preserved the authenticity and integrity of its traditional rural fabric and gives detailed information about the architectural approach, building technology, construction techniques, landscape features and traditional craftsmanship of past rural life. While some of the cultural assets in the settlement containing detailed information about the rural lifestyle of the past have survived to date despite the harsh natural conditions, the remainder have been neglected, become dilapidated, and fallen into ruin over time due to lack of maintenance by the local people because of rumors about the possible dam project and expropriations in progress. After completion of the Rahmanlar Dam in 2019, the cultural landscape values of Dereuzunyer will be lost irretrievably. This article aims to make a contribution to creating awareness about avoiding such losses, not only by introducing the non-renewable values of Dereuzunyer, by documentation of its historical development, its traditional architecture, its traditional building types, its construction techniques, and its plan and façade features, but also by promoting and interpreting its lost cultural heritage.