Burst of the property bubble and Hong Kong’s changing land and housing policies post-1997

Momentous events have characterized the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region since its founding in 1997. Among these were drastic and repeated changes in housing and policies, shifting from one emphasizing the role of the state to one purportedly relying primarily on market forces, and then back to a more proactive stance of the state. Associated with these changes were roller-coaster movements in residential prices and housing completions. These developments took place in the context of phenomenal upheavals within and beyond Hong Kong: the Asian financial crisis and the burst of Hong Kong’s property bubble; the contestation of Hong Kong’s autonomy under “one country, two systems”; and the flooding of “hot money” consequent upon repeated rounds of quantitative easing by the Federal Reserve of the United States to counteract the global financial crisis of 2007–2008 and the Great Recession that followed.     

Housekeeper,correspondent and confidante: the under-told story of Mrs Hayes of Charlecote Park, 1744–73

All too often, servants are accorded limited space in country house studies: rarely allowed to venture beyond the kitchen and service rooms, either in academic studies or interpretations for visitors. They are defined by their work not their lives and are seen as serving the physical rather than social or emotional needs of the owner. This paper challenges this viewpoint by exploring the relationship between George Lucy, owner of Charlecote Park in Warwickshire and his housekeeper, Mrs Phillipa Hayes. Drawing on their mutual correspondence, on other letters to and from Mrs Hayes, and on her Household Book, I construct a richer and more nuanced picture of the multiple roles that could be played by a senior servant. She was a housekeeper, but also a correspondent, confidante and hostess, who offered comfort and pleasure to her employer as well as sound economic and social management of his household. Although in some ways unusual, this case study illustrates the importance of placing senior servants more centrally when exploring the country house.     

Hierarchical tendencies and functional patterns among Mainland China’s megaregions

This paper presents an empirical analysis of hierarchical tendencies and functional patterns in the development of Mainland China’s space-economy by operationalizing the concept of “megaregions.” Drawing on the burgeoning literature on megaregions, we first argue that under conditions of economic globalization the megaregion concept does indeed present an effective tool to study the spatial agglomeration of the key components of China’s economic development. Second, we analyze the development status and the key functional characteristics of 16 prospective Chinese megaregions by constructing an index system consisting of 5 functions and 36 indicators. Third, we calculate an entropy index to rank megaregions according to their overall development status and reveal functional differences by applying cluster analysis. We find that the Yangtze River Delta, Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei Metropolitan Area, and the Pearl River Delta stand out, identify different varieties of megaregions according to their dominant functional characteristics, and explore the main policy dimensions of the persistent west–east divides observed. The paper is concluded with a discussion of potential avenues for future research.     

人类空间选择行为与环境关系个案研究——以清代陕南秦巴山地为例

本文运用经济社会学界提出的"有限理性人"理论,从文化、风俗、政策等方面,分析了清代陕南流民在空间选择、垦殖活动以及环境变迁条件下,流民行为的基本取向。结果表明,人类空间选择行为遵循风俗相近原则,而不是地理环境最优原则。追求单位时间上效果最大化是流民行为选择的普遍趋势。在此基础上,考察了清代陕南山地与平原、河流上游与下游流民不同行为之间的关联与互动,对备受非议的流民刀耕火种与清代陕南环境变化之间的关系给予重新认识。     

明清侨寓徽商子弟教育的特色

明清时期,徽商在经商之地侨寓的现象相当普遍,为子弟成名计,徽商及其子弟在侨寓地展开了一系列教育活动,并形成了自己鲜明的特色：教育成效卓著,教育与科举发展存在县份分布上的不平衡;徽商取代士而成为明清侨寓徽商子弟教育机构创办的真正主体;教育理念开放变通等。这既体现了明清的时代特色,也与商人教育的特点相契合。