The development of the flour-milling industry in Spain: analysis of its historical evolution and architectural legacy

The second half of the 19th century, along with the first three decades of the 20th, saw the building of hundreds of flour mills in Spain, all based on new milling and sieving machinery developed after the industrial revolution. Unfortunately, very few of these early mills are now in use: most have disappeared, and many of those that are left have been abandoned. The present work examines the growth of the flour-milling industry in Spain from the mid-19th century, and discusses the typology, design and constructional features of its associated buildings. The information presented is the result of the study of a representative sample of these mills in central Spain, and could serve as a basis for the conservation, rehabilitation and reuse of this important agroindustrial heritage.     

Avorio d'ogni ragione: the supply of elephant ivory to northern Europe in the Gothic era

This article accounts for the hitherto unexplained increase in the availability of ivory in mid-thirteenth-century France through an alteration in the medieval trade routes that brought elephant tusks from Africa to northern Europe. A newly-opened passage through the Straits of Gibraltar allowed a small amount of luxury goods to be shipped together with bulk materials necessary to the flourishing textile industries of northern Europe.     

Labour Relations and the Transfer of Knowledge in Industrial Clusters: Why do Skilled Workers Share Knowledge with Colleagues in Other Firms?

Industrial clusters are held to offer competitive advantages to firms that accrue from the transfer of tacit knowledge between skilled workers co-located in spatially bound regions. This paper argues that informal knowledge transfers between skilled employees working in spatially bounded industrial clusters might have an association with the labour relationship between employers and employees. In the literature on industrial clusters general knowledge is readily traded through codified texts and collegial networks but high value, tacit knowledge transfers occur less frequently but are critical to the success of firms located in clusters. Tacit knowledge transfers are held to occur when workers move to other firms because of firm death or poaching but less frequently through contacts between colleagues from other firms. Industrial clusters are said to offer labour market advantages for skilled workers in the form of ample job opportunities and rising wages, which engender firm loyalty and discourage the transfer of tacit knowledge of competitive value to other firms. However, the limited empirical evidence available on actual working conditions for skilled workers in regional industrial clusters indicates that this argument is contestable. Some evidence suggests that there are limited wage premiums accruing to the industrial districts, a limited role for geographic proximity, and weak localised returns on seniority and education. We argue that in such circumstances high value knowledge between workers in different firms might be traded as an act of epistemic solidarity or sociability that disregards the interests of employer organisations. Such actions might vary by region and country in relation to the prevailing system of labour relations. Australian labour relations are offered as a case in point.     

Path dependence,policy learning and Australian manufacturing since the 1970s

The impending demise of passenger motor vehicle manufacturing in Australia provides a good opportunity to view the trajectory of industry policy since the Whitlam government commenced the process of tariff cuts in 1973. It is argued that industry policy over this period demonstrates the effects of path dependence and a lack of policy learning. In the industry policy context, the path dependence perspective suggests three key factors in explaining policy effects: the importance of initial conditions; the role of cumulative causation in the interaction between policy settings, actors and firms; and the shaping role of networks. While political or electoral factors could, on occasion, generate support for threatened industries, overall, neo-liberal policy ideas guided decision-making. An examination of Australian defence industry, and a comparison of the Australian and New Zealand dairy and milk processing industries reinforces the importance of institutionally shaped path dependency.     

环保产业在国民经济中的地位和作用

正确认识环保产业在我国国民经济发展中的作用和地位,有利于促进环保产业的健康可持续发展。本文从环保产业在国民经济发展中的功能定位出发,认为环保产业是重要的基础性产业,我国环保产业的发展有着广阔的市场需求,环保产业是我国经济发展中的新增长点。     

论旅游产业核心竞争力

竞争力是反映一个产业的素质和发展潜能的重要标志。旅游产业是旅游业的重要经济特征,旅游产业的竞争力表现在产业内部的旅游产品、旅游企业、旅游服务等以及产业外部的旅游功能。本文运用波特的竞争力理论并结合旅游产业的自身特点,提出以旅游资源为内核所形成的旅游吸引物是旅游产业竞争力的核心,它和旅游设施、旅游服务等共同构成旅游产业,旅游设施和旅游服务是围绕旅游吸引物这一核心而展开的。     

旅游产业部门结构合理性的SSM分析-以陕西省为例

为了寻求省域旅游产业发展的合理部门结构,利用偏离-份额分析法,以旅游统计年鉴提供的数据为基础,对陕西省旅游创汇部门的产业结构进行实证分析。研究表明陕西省各旅游创汇产业部门中,原有基础好,竞争力较强、具有部门优势的增长部门包括商品销售、邮电通讯和市政交通等部门;原有基础差但发展快,竞争力较好,具备一定部门优势的增长部门包括住宿、餐饮业等;基础较好,但竞争力较差的部门则包括长途交通运输业、观光游览、娱乐业等。论文针对各部门实际发展状况分别进行了分析,指出各自发展方向和策略。最后评价了偏离-份额分析法在旅游创汇部门产业结构分析中的应用效果,认为该方法具有较强的综合性和动态性,能够有效揭示旅游创汇各部门产业结构变化的原因和发展机制,是确定未来旅游业创汇部门发展主导方向的有效方法之一。     

近代朝鲜华侨制造业研究——以铸造业为中心

以朝鲜殖民地时期华侨制造业中最具代表性的铸造业作为研究对象,对华侨铸造工厂诞生的背景、同乡网络及其生产体制进行了阐述;分析了华侨制造业在朝鲜烧锅制造领域里取得垄断性地位的原因,一是华侨铸造工厂里中国劳动者较低的工资及技术开发的进行;二是全国的华侨铸造工厂形成了以河北省交河县为中心的同乡网络并进行协力合作。中日战争爆发后,日本政府谋求战时经济的强化,朝鲜总督府也加强了战时统治经济,生铁原料的配给发生困难,华侨铸造工厂因而纷纷倒闭,走向衰退。     

遭遇与机遇:19世纪末中国农村手工业的曲折经历--以直鲁农村手工纺织业为例

19世纪末,直鲁农村手工纺织业在外国棉制品的冲击下经历了一个严重衰落的低谷,也迎来与国内发达地区并驾齐驱、与机器棉制品比肩竞争的发展转机,这一曲折经历包含着极为复杂交错的层面。一些学者关于洋布、洋货未能打入华北内地、甚至纠缠于“帝国主义是现实还是神话”的看法值得商榷;“封建、落后”的农村经济在突来的冲击面前所表现出的强韧性和对抗能力,在机遇面前所显示出的与时俱进的品质以及对新技术和新生产方式的持续容纳能力也同样值得关注。     

关于会展业的发展条件及其动力体系的初步探讨

会展业是一个前期投入高,周期长的新兴产业,近年来,我国会展业也迅速发展,会展业的研究受到人们普遍关注。本首先分析发展会展业应该具备的基本条件,并根据这些条件与会展业的关联性提出了会展业发展的动力体系模式,章结尾运用这一模式对我国会展业进行分析,并提出我国发展会展业的一些对策。