The role of local leaders in regional development funding: Evidence from an elite survey

Many postsocialist countries are run by an elite with links to the socialist legacy and often share similar challenges and issues. We investigate formal and informal factors shaping the role of mayors in accessing regional development funds in Albania, a postsocialist country. With data from one of the largest elite (mayors) survey, we analyze both channels of influence of the mayors: the number of applications and the success rate. We find that mayors bring their communities more funds using formal leadership qualities that intensify the number of submissions. On the other hand, informal leadership remains important in explaining the success rate, as by using networking channels leaders enhance the probability to get financed. Political power is also decisive in the process.     

试论新疆与中亚国家的经济合作

本文分析了新疆与中亚国家经济合作的基础、现状和前景,并阐明了新疆应采取的措施。     

Pre-industrial headstones across the continental North Sea plain

This paper examines the spatial and temporal distribution of grave headstones in the relatively homogeneous North Sea plain and adjacent regions during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, as well as the various lithological, cultural, religious and transportation factors influencing this distribution. Findings from close inspection of cemeteries across the study area were complemented with data from existing surveys. The larger part of the production of headstones was for local consumption. High densities of cruciform (Catholic) headstones in the Boulonnais and in most of the Ardennes–Rhenish massif are illustrated with the cases of the Berwinne and Vesdre headstone production workshops. Beyond concentrations along the Meuse and Rhine rivers, there is a large area stretching from northern France to north-west Germany in which no headstones can be found (with the notable exception of a few Jewish cemeteries). Beyond this area devoid of headstones, the Marsh Islands and adjacent continental areas again have high densities (more than 1 headstone per km²), occurring in two well-differentiated clusters. One cluster contains simple poles in Belgian Palaeozoic limestone in North-Holland and the West-Frisian islands, and the other cluster, on the German and Danish Marsh Islands, holds richly decorated tablets made in sandstone from the Weserbergland. The headstones on the Marsh Islands, a unifying cultural element in this UNESCO world heritage area, bear witness to the significance of a lucrative whaling activity and the intense trade that developed despite political, religious and linguistic differences across the region.     

国外贝丘遗址研究略论

贝丘遗址广泛分部在世界各大洋、河流和湖泊的沿岸。国外贝丘遗址大量出现于全新世,新石器时代尤为常见,在一些太平洋岛屿上,直至近年仍在持续堆积。国外贝丘遗址研究史,以20世纪60年代中期和20世纪90年代为界,大体上可以分为三个阶段,即早期阶段、发展阶段和繁荣阶段,各阶段的研究内容和研究方法各有侧重。     

Under the Danish Cross: flagging Danishness in the years around World War II

This article explores the significance of the Danish flag in the formation of national identities during World War II and the immediate post-war period. During this dark and tumultuous period of Danish history, the flag was claimed by different groups with very different agendas, which in turn engendered differing conceptions of Denmark and Danishness. Three different themes are investigated in the article. The first regards the flag as a symbol of national continuity and endurance. From this angle, the flag functioned as a living, corporeal piece of history, which signalled that old Denmark would prevail, in spite of the crisis at hand. The second theme investigates the coupling of the flag with democracy during the 1943 elections. This event was hailed by the government as a major national celebration, with nationwide flagging for the democratic values of Denmark. At the same time, the elections were criticized as ‘un-national’, both by home-grown Nazis and the resistance movement. The third section dwells on the notion of martyrdom for the flag. This form of Danishness was not connected to peace-loving democracy, but woven into a martial discourse of sacrifice, honour and masculine heroism. Public worship of martyrdom was particularly intense in the early post-war era, when the flag was used to link ordinary Danes to the fallen heroes of the resistance movement. Thus, it was not the democratic spirit of 1943 that was celebrated after Liberation, but the martyrdom of fallen male resistance fighters, whose blood was evoked as the foundation of the re-born nation. The national memory of post-war Denmark, thereby, was based on the notion of a united people, who had stood firm and even been willing to die for the honour of their ancient flag.     

Can Russia Compete in the Global Economy?

A noted British economist and analyst of current developments in Russia investigates that country's competitiveness in global merchandise export markets by seeking to determine its trade specialization and comparative advantage in a global context. In search of consistent trends, the author compares Russia's scores in 2000 on the Balassa Index of Revealed Comparative Advantage with those of 2004, and also for that year with a selected list of international competitors (Brazil, India, China, Turkey, and the United States) as well. He then discusses recent (through June 2006) government efforts to stimulate export growth in sectors currently underrepresented in Russia's trade profile and assesses prospects for improvement in the balance of Russia's export profile. Journal of Economic Literature, Classification Numbers: E20, F14, F40. 7 tables, 20 references, 1 appendix.     

有关"社会主义转型国家"城市社会空间的研究述评

1990年代西方学者对于“社会主义转型国家”城市社会空间进行了大量研究。尽管中东欧社会主义转型国家与中国城市社会空间演进有某些共同点,如郊区化、内城区衰落、居住隔离等,但两者的分异机制迥然不同,前者为“社会主义向资本主义的彻底的急速转型”,后者为“社会主义前提”的渐进转型。这对中国城市社会空间的深入研究具有较大的指导意义。     

Urban Food Systems and the Poor in Developing Countries

In many cities in developing countries, hunger and malnutrition are common amongst the poor, even when food is relatively abundant. Over the past two decades, a considerable literature has accumulated on the problems associated with rapid urbanization in developing countries – a literature that for the most part has neglected the important dimension of urban food systems and how these link production and consumption networks at local, regional and global levels. Similarly, whilst there is a newly burgeoning literature on global food systems, the contextual role of the urbanization process is rarely addressed. This paper attempts to fuse these two major areas of geographical investigation to highlight the issues that need to be addressed in future research programmes so that improved diets become accessible to all urban dwellers.     

Doing Fieldwork in Development Geography: Research Culture and Research Spaces in Vietnam

Rapid socioeconomic and institutional changes in Vietnam since the early 1990s have opened up new geographical spaces for field research. Reflecting on the experiences of three doctoral student researchers engaged in distinct development geography fieldwork projects in Vietnam, this paper profiles some of the conditions and procedures for carrying out fieldwork in order to serve as a basis for comparison of changing ‘fieldwork possibilities’ in Vietnam and other developing and transitional socialist countries.     

西方社会空间视角下的郊区化研究及其启示

作为一种分散型城市化,郊区化始于20世纪20年代,盛于二战后的发达国家。西方早期的郊区化研究主要集中在郊区化的发展浪潮,郊区化的界定方法、发展机制、后果和政府调控等方面,90年代所提出的"新郊区化"概念将郊区化与边缘城市、郊区次级就业中心的发展联系在一起。21世纪以来,社会空间成为西方郊区化研究者最关注的话题。本文基于近年西方学者关于郊区化研究的最新文献,从郊区化与居住空间重构、郊区化与住房选择和分异、郊区化与居民通勤行为、郊区化与居民生活空间、郊区化的社会影响等方面总结了西方学者在社会空间视角下的郊区化研究方面所取得的研究成果。然后,分析了西方研究议题转变和研究方法创新对中国郊区化研究所带来的启示。最后,从研究视角拓展、定性方法应用、微观机理探讨、多重互动模式建构等方面对未来中国郊区化的研究进行展望。