On the life and work of Korbinian Brodmann (1868–1918)

This study describes the life and work of early-twentieth-century German scientist Korbinian Brodmann (1868–1918). His medical training at universities in Munich, Würzburg, Berlin, and Freiburg and his further education are illustrated. His early Leipzig career and cooperation with brain researchers Oskar and Cécile Vogt in Berlin are portrayed, as are his contributions to a localization theory of the cerebral cortex—namely, Brodmann’s cytoarchitectonic approach—and the invention of a cortex area nomenclature, further developed until the beginning of World War I. His Tübingen professorship and being nominated to manage a major department of Emil Kraepelin’s Munich research unit represent further aspects of this study, a promising career ahead, harshly interrupted by an early and unexpected death.     

Geographic accessibility to primary care providers: Comparing rural and urban areas in Southwestern Ontario

This research examines geographical accessibility to primary care providers (PCPs) across urban and rural areas of Southwestern Ontario and examines variations in the distribution of PCPs in relation to the senior population (aged 65 years and older). Information about PCP practices was provided by the HealthForceOntario Marketing and Recruitment Agency. Population data were obtained from the 2016 Census of Canada. To calculate scores for accessibility to PCPs (i.e., PCPs/10,000 population), we applied the enhanced 2-step floating catchment area method with distance decay effect within a global service catchment of 30-minute drive time. A geospatial mapping approach revealed disparities in the distribution of PCPs with a pattern of higher spatial accessibility in or around major urban areas in Southwestern Ontario. Comparative analyses were performed in association with the seniors’ population to identify how accessibility scores were mismatched with the population needs. The outcome of this study will assist researchers and health service planners to better understand the distribution of existing PCPs to address inequalities, particularly in rural areas.     

What drives the spatial wage premium in formal and informal labor markets? The case of Ecuador

This article investigates the incidence of agglomeration externalities in Ecuador, a small-sized, middle-income developing country. In particular, we analyze the role of the informal sector within these relations, since informal employment accounts for a significant part of total employment in the developing countries. Using individual level data and instrumental variable techniques, we investigate the impact of spatial externalities, in terms of population density, local specialization and urban size, on the wages of workers in Ecuadorian cities. The results show that spatial externalities matter also for a small developing country. Moreover, analysis of the interaction between spatial externalities and informality shows that, on average, workers employed in the informal sector do not enjoy significant benefits from agglomeration externalities. Finally, by investigating the possible channels behind spatial agglomeration gains we show that the advantages from agglomeration for formal sector workers may well be accounted for by better job-quality matches and, to a lesser extent, by learning externalities. For informal sector workers, our findings also suggest possible gains from job changes, which offset a penalty for remaining employed in the same occupation.     

Pourquoi seules les villes sont-elles qualifiées d'intelligentes? Un vocabulaire du biais urbain

Since 2010, the term “smart city” has become a buzzword, used in a vague way to denote the increasing integration of information technology into city management processes and to describe the social and community processes they enable. The adjective “smart” is, however, only applied to cities: by implication non-cities (i.e., rural and peripheral regions) are not smart. In this paper we describe how the term “smart city” is used, and show that processes similar to those that make cities smart also occur outside cities. Reserving the term “smart” for cities therefore reflects a bias, similar to the bias that associates creativity and innovation with cities. As geographers we have become aware of our colonial and sexist biases: in this paper we argue that our urban bias is alive and well, and call attention to it.     

一件清代髹漆贴金木雕观音菩萨坐像的保护研究和修复

髹漆贴金木雕属岭南地区代表性的传统木雕工艺,此类文物藏品也因此而独具特色。由于一件清代髹漆贴金木雕观音菩萨坐像存在糟朽、开裂、漆皮起翘、脱落等病害,需采取相应的修复措施。为此,在采集漆层、木胎等样品进行X射线荧光能谱、拉曼、红外光谱、切片观察等分析检测的基础上,依据分析检测结果和木雕保存现状制定实施了表面清理、菌虫防治、裂缝和残缺部位修复补全、脱落漆皮回软回贴、髹漆贴金仿卉处理等技术措施。保护处理后的木雕文物器形完整,色泽协调,形态和性质稳定,达到了预期的效果。上述分析检测手段和保护修复技术对同类文物的保护工作有借鉴作用。     

Protected Areas,Country and Value: The Nature–Culture Tyranny of the IUCN's Protected Area Guidelines for Indigenous Australians

“Protected areas” is the formal definition for the global network of conservation places, including marine and terrestrial reserves, which are overseen by the IUCN through instruments such as the Guidelines for Applying Protected Area Management Categories (Guidelines). In the long‐term conservation of nature, the Guidelines embed a nature–culture dualism, upon which the values of each are ascribed and weighted. This binary does not recognise relational values of Indigenous peoples to land or encompass worldviews beyond the restricted choice of the dualism. Through two Australian Aboriginal case studies, I reveal tensions in classifying cultural values for protected areas under the limited Guidelines offerings and provide an alternative engagement, through reassessing the means and scope by which values are assigned, for greater equity to Indigenous peoples.     

The Senzai Maru's visit to Shanghai and its understanding of China

ABSTRACT

The significance of the Senzai Maru’s 1862 journey to Shanghai was great. From this opportunity, Japan not only learned from its neighbor the danger of closing off one’s borders and refusing to change, but also the importance of expanding its horizons and “learning from the world.” From these lessons, Japan transitioned from “expelling barbarians” toward “enlightenment,” from conservative to “reformist.” After successfully overthrowing the Tokugawa shogunate, Japan’s Meiji reforms thrived.     

Traditional undeveloped municipalities in Serbia as a result of regional inequality

This paper examines the issue of traditionally underdeveloped areas of Serbia, with special emphasis on development trends of the south, south-east and south-west areas of Central Serbia. The observed area is represented through a continuous time and space zone which includes rural, hilly-mountainous, border areas and the contact zone with the AP Kosovo and Metohija, including 22 municipalities, the majority of which belong to the so-called traditionally underdeveloped municipalities, that is, those that have had this status for a few decades. For the purpose of monitoring development trends, the indicators of the settlement structure, demographic and socio-economic characteristics and the level of development of the observed municipalities were used. Then, an evaluation and comparison to the national average were carried out. The presented results show a deviation and significant lagging behind of almost all parameters for the analysed municipalities in the period since 2002 until the present day, which indicates that the several-decade-long gap is still being intensified. A cluster analysis was performed for the typology of observed municipalities in order to determine the level of undevelopment and socio-economic marginalization.     

南方地区唐宋元时期滴水研究

长江流域以及广东地区等南方地区的衙署、寺庙、居址、城址、墓上建筑等遗址中出土了一定数量的唐宋元时期滴水,其中以峡江地区及长江下游地区分布较密集。出土滴水整体呈长条弧形和弧边三角形两种形状,大致可分为唐-五代时期和宋-元时期两个阶段。唐-五代时期主要流行长条形滴水,饰几何形图案;宋-元时期沿用长条形滴水的同时,主要流行弧边三角形滴水,纹饰图案较为丰富。对比宋金西夏时期北方地区的滴水,可知其时南北地区滴水呈现出鲜明的地方特色,尤其是纹饰相差较大;元代后趋于一致,历明清沿用至今。     

New spaces for the local welfare state? The case of General Relief in Los Angeles County

The current 'hollowing out' and devolution of the national welfare state produces new spaces for the local welfare state, theoretically allowing more leeway to dismantle, privatize, further devolve, or even experiment with new local bureaucratic structures. At the same time, national devolution places greater burdens on local resources. Over the past twenty years, a series of theoretical frameworks have been proposed to understand local welfare strategies under these concomitant opportunities and pressures, including street-level bureaucracy, shadow and workfare states. Despite the usefulness of these frameworks, they have rarely been applied to the long-term evolution of specific local programmes. A particularly glaring omission is General Assistance (GA), which constitutes a major component of many local welfare states. To address this gap, we examine the past twenty years of General Relief (GR) policies in Los Angeles County. GR is a locally funded mandatory programme that provides aid of last resort for indigent individuals. In the face of exploding demand and rising expenditures, and unable to directly eliminate the programme, the County employed a variety of strategies designed to ration services and depress demand. In the 1980s, these strategies were articulated through low-level and indirect bureaucratic disentitlements, including quality control and spatial consolidation. By the 1990s, the County took a more direct route, cutting benefits in 1993 and imposing time-limits and workfare in 1997. Despite severe constraints, the evolution of GR strategies in Los Angeles County does suggest the emergence of genuinely new regulatory spaces, including a diminution of outlays, counter-balanced by the increasing micro-management of clients and the materialization of a workfare and even shadow state. At present, the local welfare state in Los Angeles County combines the convolution of Franz Kafka with the misery of Charles Dickens. While our review goes some way in redressing the critical lack of local case studies, there remains a need to investigate instances of new local regulatory spaces, to understand in depth the engagement of various strategies, mechanisms and even resistance. Le démantèlement courant de l'Etat-providence à l'échelle nationale cède la place à de nouveaux services sociaux à l'échelle locale, ouvrant en théorie la voie à la privatisation, la réorganisation et l'expérmentation de nouvelles structures bureaucratiques. Toutefois, le démantèlement du système national impute un plus grand fardeau aux ressources locales. Au cours des vingt dernières années, plusieurs cadres théoriques ont été proposés afin de comprendre les stratégies locales de distribution de services sociaux face à ces pressions et opportunités, incluant les concepts de bureaucracie de rue et 'workfare state.' Malgré que ces cadres d'analyse soient utiles, ils ont rarement servi à étudier l'évolution à long terme de programmes locaux spécifiques. Ce manque est particulièrement flagrant en ce qui a trait à l'Assistance Générale ('General Assistance', GA) qui constitue un élément majeur de beaucoup de services sociaux locaux. Afin de corriger cette lacune, nous analysons les vingt dernières années de politiques économiques et sociales reliées au Secours Général ('General Relief', GR) dans le comté de Los Angeles. GR est un programme obligatoire distribuant une aide de dernier recours aux personnes sans resource. Face à une demande et des coûts grandissants et pourtant incapable d'éliminer directement le programme, le comté mit en pratique une série de tactiques dans le but de rationner les services et faire baisser la demande. Dans les années 1980, ces tactiques furent déployées par le biais de droits bureaucratiques, incluant contrôle de la qualité et consolidation spatiale. Dès les années 1990 le comté adopta des moyens plus directs, coupant les allocations en 1993 et imposant des échéances et programmes de support à l'emploi (workfare) en 1997. Malgré ces sévères contraintes, l'évolution des stratégies de secours général dans le comté de Los Angeles indique l'émergence de nouveaux espaces régulatoires - incluant la diminution des dépenses - dont le contrepoids est la présence grandissante de 'micro-gérance' des clients et la matérialisation de l'aide à l'emploi et de l'ombre étatique. Au moment présent, l'Etat-providence local dans le comté de Los Angeles est à mi-chemin entre les circonvolutions de Franz Kafka et la misère de Charles Dickens. Si notre survol cherche à corriger le manque critique d'études locales, le besoin demeure présent d'investiguer les exemples de nouveaux espaces régulatoires afin de comprendre à fond le chevauchement des différentes stratégies, mécanismes et résistances. La 'excavación' y la delegación actuales del estado de bienestar nacional producen nuevos espacios para el estado de bienestar local, lo cual, en teoría, permite el desmontaje, la privatización y más delegación de la burocracia local o hasta la oportunidad de experimentar con nuevas estructuras de burocracia local. Al mismo tiempo, delegación nacional consume limitados recursos existentes en el ámbito local. En los últimos veinte años han sido propuestos una serie de marcos teoréticos para mejor entender las estratégicas de bienestar local implementadas bajo estas oportunidades y presiones concomitantes, incluso la burocracia al nivel de la calle, y los 'workfare states'. A pesar de la utilidad de estos marcos, raras veces han sido aplicados a la evolución a largo plazo de específicas programas locales. Una omisión destacable es General Assistance (Asistencia General), lo cual constituye un componente importante de muchos estados de bienestar locales. Con el fin de cerrar esta brecha, examinamos las políticas de General Relief (GR) (Ayuda General) de los últimos veinte años en Los Angeles County. GR es un programa mandatario, elaborado con fondos locales y que proporciona ayuda en último caso a individuos indigentes. En vista de la aumentando demanda y los gastos incrementados, y sin la autoridad de eliminar el programa de forma directa, el County empleó varias estratégicas con el fin de racionar sus servicios y hacer bajar la demanda. En los años 80, estas estratégicas fueron articuladas por desautorizaciones burocráticas, a bajo nivel e indirectas, y que incluían control de calidad y consolidacio´n espacial. En los años 90, el County tomó una ruta más directa; redujo subsidios en 1993 e impuso límites-temporales y 'workfare' en 1997. A pesar de las severas restricciones, la evolución de las estratégicas de GR en Los Angeles County sugiere la aparición de espacios reguladores verdaderamente nuevos, incluso una disminución de desembolsos, contrapesada con un aumento en el micro-manejo de clientes y la materialización de un 'workfare' o hasta 'shadow state'. Actualmente, el estado de bienestar en Los Angeles County combina la circunvolución de Franz Kafka con la miseria de Charles Dickens. Mientras que nuestra crítica compensa, hasta cierto punto, la carencia tan grave de estudios de casos locales, todavía hace falta una investigación de ejemplos de nuevos espacios reguladores locales, para profundizar nuestro conocimiento del empleo de varias estratégicas, mecanismos y hasta resistencia.