Learning from the RSPT mistakes: is reform still possible?

The political ramifications of the failed Resources Super Profit Tax have been widely documented, yet the causes of this political failure are more contested. Many accounts highlight the discursive power of business and the effectiveness of their campaign against the mining tax. Effective business activism certainly played its part, but this article argues that strategic failings on the part of government also influenced the outcome. This article highlights how the Labor government's failure to consult, to understand the political implications of federalism and above all its impact on the industry in the hope that future policymakers will learn from the mistakes of the mining tax debacle.     

Unwritten Factors Affecting Structural Funds: The Influence of Regional Political Behaviours on the Implementation of EU Cohesion Policy

While EU regional policy has the ambitious objective of supporting lagging regions and promoting inter-regional convergence, its impact is dependent on the ability of regional policymakers to secure and use EU funding to meet the region's needs. This paper aims to show under which conditions politics has a defining influence on the distribution, allocation and utilization of structural funds (SF), specifically in Objective 1 regions. The empirical analysis focuses on the 2000–2006 programming cycle in France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK. The results show that regions politically aligned with national governing coalitions tend to perform better in terms of received SF support and enjoy more flexibility in implementing SF. However, the influence of regional political behaviours on economic performances is very limited. The findings confirm the importance of politics in influencing SF implementation, but its limited influence on economic outcomes.     

Urbanization and mortality decline

We investigate the relationship between mortality decline and urbanization, which has hitherto been proposed by demographers but has yet to be tested rigorously in a global context. Using cross‐national panel data, we find evidence of a robust negative correlation between crude death rates and urbanization. The use of instrumental variables suggest that this relationship is causal, while historical data from the early 20th century suggest that this relationship holds in earlier periods as well. Finally, we find robust evidence that mortality decline is correlated with urbanization through the creation of new cities rather than promoting urban growth in already‐extant cities.     

Seismic Vulnerability Assessment of the Urban Building Environment in Nablus,Palestine

ABSTRACT

This article describes a specifically developed framework to produce a seismic physical vulnerability model of residential buildings in Nablus (Palestine) within the European project SASPARM2.0. Based on the structural taxonomy of the territory, two different forms were defined to collect geometrical and structural data of buildings by different stakeholders (citizens and practitioners). This data was then employed to produce fragility curves using the mechanics-based procedure SP-BELA. To estimate seismic risk, the developed fragility model was combined with a hazard curve for the corresponding location. The described procedure is implemented in a WebGIS platform that allows to georeference and assess the surveyed buildings and define retrofitting strategies. Finally, the article carries out a comparison between the fragility curves of buildings in Nablus and the ones calculated for similar building typologies within a UNDP Jordan project aiming at the integrated risk assessment in Wadi Musa and surroundings.     

Tree-rings and archaeology: some problems explained

Some uncertainty amongst archaeologists about dendrochronology has prompted an explanation of some of the points which cause most concern. These include the probability of obtaining a date for a wood sample and the reliability and accuracy of that date. Uses of tree-ring analysis, other than for dating, are also mentioned.     

基于消费者行为分析的区域旅游市场规划方法研究

本文尝试从旅游者消费需求分析角度入手,探讨区域旅游市场规划的方法论创新。本论文引入了动机--行为投射模型,通过对建立在专题旅游市场调查基础上的消费行为数据库的深度剖析,论文揭示了旅游目标市场群体常见的三类消费心理趋向模式(补偿型需求、均衡型需求、超越型需求)以及相对应的旅游产品选择偏好规律。在此基础上提出了区域旅游目标市场群体的心理定位策略,以及相对应的从结构性旅游功能规划到旅游产品、旅游服务供给链连续递进的规划流程体系。即"行为分析(Behavior)-定位(Postioning)-旅游供给(Supple)",简称旅游市场规划的BPS方案。     

甘肃出土糟朽木器的形态与结构分析

甘肃出土木器依据形态与结构划分,属于典型的糟朽木器类型,材质外观特征与特性明显。制作材质鉴定表明,基本类型有①松科云杉;②松科冷杉;③柏科圆柏。通过对糟朽木器形态类型、结构属性、影响因素及发生改变原因剖析,指出了糟朽木器材质在经历了第一阶段的转折性根本改变后（含水率远低于纤维饱和点）,即将面临第二阶段的转折性根本变化（含水率略高或接近于平衡含水率）,而这一阶段的改变结果对器物将是毁灭性的;为了避免出土器物在短期内形态发生剧变,运用生物切片、扫描电镜分析技术对木质纤维显微结构进行了观察和研究,研究结果与结构病害腐变结果相吻合。选取与糟朽器物同期考古出土的糟朽棺板木作为分析对象,分别对其化学成分、容积重、含水率以及力学性能进行了实验测试,测得糟朽木器降解损失超过50%,含水率约为10.5%,力学强度指标与正常材质相比,均有明显的下降,且相对差异较大,最大约为正常木材强度的60%。对比分析结果,得出了结论：①糟朽木器的形态与结构状况与实验生物切片分析、电镜显微结构观察和研究结果相吻合,同时材质成分、容积重与力学性能测定结果为上述分析结果提供了有力的数据支撑;②致使糟朽木器形态和结构发生改变的主要因素是胎木含水率,其值是非恒定的并随外部环境而改变,因此含水率可用于反映糟朽木器的材质特性;③纤维饱和点与平衡含水率是影响、衡量和评估糟朽木器形态与结构的两个重要的物理参数;④鉴于糟朽木器的材质特性,后期保存应尽量避免与水分的直接接触,需要严格控制其胎木的含水率,且维持恒定、稳定的保存环境,这点对后期糟朽木器的保存是非常重要的     

The potential of hyperspectral and multi-spectral imagery to enhance archaeological cropmark detection: a comparative study

Aerial photography has made the single most important contribution to our improved appreciation of the density, diversity and distribution of archaeological sites in Britain since World War Two. This is particularly the case for areas of intensive lowland agriculture where ploughed-out sites are known mainly from marks in the crops growing above them. However, reconnaissance for such cropmarks is not equally effective throughout the lowlands, because of the particular conditions of drier weather, well-drained soils and arable agriculture required before they become visible, and is highly unpredictable.     

Freedom Isn't Free: Free Will in La vida es sueño Revisited

This article analyzes the structural composition of the chicana/o novel …y no se lo tragó la tierra, by Tomás Rivera, a book that has become a collective point of reference for chicana/o culture and community. Its structure will be explained, including the importance of personal and collective memory as elements that evolve every chapter as a fragmentary part of a whole. The classical concept of "art of memory" joined to the rhetoric of discourse opens a new perspective to analyze this fragmentation and helps the reader to understand the connection of its elements. Finally, the idea of "theater of memory" may be applied to the novel's chicana/o universe as a dramatic device for structuring the narrator's personal memories, achieving a final literary composition similar to a memorable, collective altarpiece full of impressive images from this community's daily struggle in the 1960s.