The World under the Stars: Astrological Geography and the Bologna 1477 Edition of Ptolemy’s Cosmographia

ABSTRACT

This article is a re-examination of the first complete printed edition of Ptolemy’s Cosmographia (Bologna, de Lapis, 1477), hitherto considered flawed and defective. An investigation of the status and priorities of the team of court astrologers responsible for this edition, and an examination of the alterations they made to Ptolemy’s maps, suggests that their aim was a redaction intentionally different from existing versions of the Geography. It is suggested that the editors sought to adjust the arrangement of provinces from that recommended in Ptolemy’s Geography (book VIII) to the astrological arrangement detailed in his Tetrabiblos (book II) and that they modified the content of the key regional maps accordingly. In this light, the Bologna 1477 edition underlines the importance of assessing the reception of Ptolemy’s geographical work against a cultural background in which astrology prevailed as an integrated system of knowledge, practices and beliefs.     

Morphological changes in domestic cattle in Gaul,from the second century BC to the fifth century AD: diversity of herds in the Seine valley (France) and northern Gaul

In Western Europe the transition from the Iron Age to the Roman period is the scene of a rapid economic and agro-pastoral evolution characterized in particular by a modification in the shape of the cattle. Understanding this phenomenon, its implementation mechanisms and development dynamics represents a major challenge in archaeozoology. In our study a local and regional approach of the evolution in cattle morphology is carried out first on the scale of the middle Seine valley, then of the northern Gaul. Its purpose is to observe and compare the evolution rates in domestic cattle between Middle La Tène and the fifth century AD, and with the help of a tight chronological and geographical grid, to estimate to what extent the shape of the cattle has been influenced by the indigenous cultures, the Roman economic pattern or even the environment. This osteometrical study is based on the Log Size Index method and on a measurement corpus of 12,969 bones collected on sites located on 117 communes in France (for most of them), Belgium, the Netherlands and Switzerland. The results we obtained show local specificities in terms of breeding methods and animal morphologies, observed on a very fine scale and taking place long before the Conquest. Moreover the growth patterns of the various herds happen to be different and to evolve under the impetus of the developing Roman economic pattern. This work thus points out an essential aspect of the agro-pastoral turmoil that took place in Gaul at the turning point of our era. The Roman pattern is not the cause of the morphological changes of the cattle, nor of the diversity in cattle shapes in Gaul, but it provokes a reshaping of the agricultural systems and a redefining of the breeding strategies which boost and completely change the cattle growth patterns.     

Australia and the challenges of order-building in the Indian Ocean region

This article considers the regional order-building challenges that Australia presently confronts in the Indian Ocean region (IOR). The author argues that while regional stability within the IOR constitutes an increasingly important Australian security interest, policy makers will struggle to translate the order-building strategies they have previously pursued in East Asia into an Indian Ocean context. In East Asia, Australia has historically pursued a ‘dual track’ order-building strategy centred on its participation in a US-dominated ‘hub and spokes’ alliance system alongside multilateral regional engagement. The absence of an equivalent alliance system or an established tradition of multilateral security diplomacy conversely precludes an extension of this strategy into the IOR. Growing tensions between the USA and China and between China and India, meanwhile, further complicate IOR security dynamics, while underscoring the urgent need for a more coherent approach to regional order-building. With these challenges in mind, the author concludes by proposing a range of bilateral, minilateral and multilateral initiatives that Australia should pursue to stimulate the emergence of a more cooperative IOR security environment.     

Coastal heritage in touristic regional identity narratives: a comparison between the Norwegian region Sørlandet and the Dutch Wadden Sea area

ABSTRACT

Heritage plays a central role in narratives of coastal regions that promote them as places of leisure. This paper compares this role of heritage in Sørlandet (Norway) and the Dutch Wadden Sea area. Both regions have rich and related cultural histories, but at the same time exhibit striking differences in the role of cultural heritage and other aspects of heritage in regional identity narratives that are aimed at attracting tourists. We conclude that while the narratives of Sørlandet affirm a romantic, picturesque image of pre-industrial, societies, those in the Dutch Wadden Sea area frame this region as a pristine and timeless wilderness, in which human history has no place.     

制度厚实、制度空间与区域发展

1990年代以来,经济地理学愈来愈多地开始倾向于用制度和社会文化因素来解释区域经济发展。本文回顾了西方制度取向经济地理学的理论背景及其主要研究内容,并在探讨制度厚实和制度空间的理念及其与区域发展关系的基础上,探讨了西方制度经济地理学的研究发现及其不足。本文认为,对于制度转型时期的大国-中国而言,倘能将包涵尺度特征与制度套叠变化的制度空间理念纳入到大规模制度变迁与中国区域经济发展的理论框架中,将有助于深化对中国区域空间差异的解释能力。     

100年来东北地区经济地域格局的演变

东北地区经济地域格局的形成与发展受区域环境与经济成本的双重约束。基于100年来东北地区交通网络化过程分析,通过统计分析与现代GIS空间分析方法相结合,作者探讨不同时间序列东北地区的主要经济、社会发展特征,重点分析了37个城市区域的人口、经济等的空间集聚与边缘化特征以及土地利用变化、城市空间扩展等,揭示东北地区不同时期经济地域格局的演化机制,并预测其基本走向。     

广州大都市外围地区二元发展的矛盾及治理

结合广州案例选择界定研究范围,从空间形态、产业发展、土地利用、规划管理多方面分析大都市外围地区二元发展矛盾与特征,认为该地区承担了主城"自上而下"的空间外拓和外围撤市(县)设区后"自下而上"式的城镇蔓延。进而运用区域治理理论分析,指出其根源在于双轨城市化路径依赖下,现有规划编制与实施体系难以协调当前城乡二元土地管理制度下不同团体的利益冲突,认为广州应当从传统集权管理转向治理理念的协作方式,由此提出建立"发展需求管理、土地开发共同决策、发展利益分享"三个机制的对策研究。     

经济一体化背景下的区域溢出分析

从溢出的角度研究区域间的互动关系是一个全新的视角。本文利用协方差统计模型对广东省与其他省区的溢出关系进行分析。结论是:在航空距离影响下,广东对所有省区都具有强度不同的正溢出效果,发挥了区域带动作用。在接受溢出方面,除了四川,甘肃,宁夏和黑龙江以外,其它省区对广东的溢出均表现出强度不同的正效应。对比分析广东对外溢出和获得溢出,可以看出经济水平邻近的长江三角洲地区、地理邻近省区均与广东表现出较强的相互正溢出效应。在区域间信息化缺口的影响下,广东与各区域之间溢出强度下降。     

Canadian foreign direct investment in the United States by type: mergers and acquisitions, greenfield, real estate, joint ventures and investment increases

This paper provides an overview of Canadian foreign direct investment (FDI) in the United States by type. Mergers and acquisitions (M&As), greenfield investments, joint ventures, real estate purchases and increases to existing investments are compared spatially, through time (using a data set that consists of transactions from 1977 to 1994) and by industrial classification. Over this study's time-frame, direct investors from Canada were most likely to perform a real estate or M&A transaction in the United States (and least likely to be involved in a joint venture). The most consequential years for real estate purchases were the 1970s and early 1980s; whereas M&A and greenfield transactions have gained in proportionate importance through time. M&As, greenfield and investment increases were most often enumerated as manufacturing transactions, but mining and consumer and business services were also very common. A series of bivariate regression models established that growing state economies significantly increased M&A, real estate, greenfield and investment increase activity from Canada. Relative regional specializations (as given by location quotients) provided additional spatial information. M&As formed a pattern of specialization that emphasized the Great Lakes region and also the central portion of the US (roughly following the Mississippi River). Greenfield and investment increase transactions favoured states along the east coast and those adjacent to the Canada-US border. Real estate investors were most attracted to the US south and extreme west.     

从区位功能和投资环境看南京的发展走向

南京不仅是江苏省的政治、经济、文化中心,也是长江下游仅次于上海的第二大经济中心,并成为长江流域四大区域经济的中心之一,其超越省际的区域经济中心的位势正逐步得到加强。本文着重从空间区位和功能作用的角度分析南京的投资环境,进而对南京大都市的重点投资产业和空间发展前景作一些探讨。