The Weddell centenary and the problems of Antarctica

Most of the new industries established in Northern Ireland since 1945 have followed the traditional pattern of concentrating in the Belfast region. This has created serious problems in the remote rural fringes of the Province. To stimulate local initiative in these areas a Local Enterprise Development Unit (LEDU) was set up in 1971 aimed particularly at encouraging small manufacturing firms. Grants, loans, small factories and advice are made available to help small enterprises at all stages of growth and development. The scheme has had some notable successes but the level of local initiative has been disappointing and since 1974 the unstable political situation has reduced the amount of aid distributed and the number of jobs created.     

西方农业起源理论评述

自从柴尔德提出"新石器革命"的论断以来,农业起源成为世界考古学战略性研究的一项重要课题。各学科学者运用多种理论从各个角度探讨这一革命性进程,试图回答农业是何时、何地、为何和怎样起源的。西方学者为此作了不懈努力,取得了丰硕成果。本文简要回顾了西方农业起源的研究历程,然后从环境、社会和人类文化、认知力三个方面对西方有关农业起源的理论或假说进行总结和评述,旨在进一步促进国内外研究者对农业起源进行深入的研究。     

Gender-informed archaeology: The priority of definition, the use of analogy, and the multivariate approach

Despite recent efforts to construct gender theory in archaeology, I assert that no methodological or theoretical breakthroughs have occurred. This lack of progress is due to several factors. First, fundamental terms such as “theory,” “gender,” and “sex” have been used inconsistently; I suggest some working definitions for these terms. Second, researchers have resorted to the use of analogical arguments that implicitly deny the role of gender in the organization of human relations. Third, feminist political agendas have been conflated with research questions. In order to address some of these issues, I suggest that the application of a multivariate approach to the study of gender can avoid the problems inherent in any one line of evidence. Finally, I argue that a consideration of the scale of gender questions is essential to the application of existing theoretical frameworks to gender archaeologically.     

基于煤炭调运途径优化的江苏省煤炭物流基地建设

江苏省煤炭资源供需呈生产量小、消费量大,对外依存度不断加大的态势,并且在煤炭调运中省内"北煤南运"运量大、运距长,省外煤炭供应基地较远,大多数铁路线运力已饱和,运输方式、流向单一等一系列问题突出。通过对江苏省煤炭供需和调运中存在问题的分析,提出其煤炭调运途径优化的总体思路是,充分利用国家北煤南运的"海上通道"减轻铁路运输压力,发挥江苏临海沿江的港口优势降低运输成本,建设煤炭物流基地优化调运格局,论文最后论述了建设四大煤炭物流基地的构想:1、以连云港、徐州港为中心的北部煤炭物流基地;2、以盐城港为中心的沿海煤炭物流基地;3、以南通港为中心的"海进江"煤炭物流基地;4、以南京港为中心的沿江煤炭物流基地。     

国外旅游的社会文化影响研究进展

旅游的社会文化影响研究在西方开始于20世纪60年代,几十年来积累了大量的研究案例,理论、方法也日臻完善。文章根据国外学者在研究思路、使用方法等方面的不同,把四十年来的研究分为60、70年代的定性描述、片面评价阶段;80年代的细分、量化研究阶段;90年代后的跨学科、多方法相结合阶段,分别介绍了各时期的主要观点、研究方法、重要论著,并进行了简要的分析评价。认为把旅游现象放在大的社会背景中,注重旅游业的特点进行跨学科、综合的研究是今后旅游的社会文化影响研究应该努力的方向。     

Constructing Social Capital: Self‐Help Groups and Rural Women's Development in India

The success of the group approach in rural micro‐finance among women has inspired the tendency to look at all networking as essentially good and desirable in rural community development, without acknowledging the entrenched caste, class, ethnic and religious hierarchies that lead to diversities among women. Government schemes designed for poverty alleviation among rural women tend to be influenced by concepts and models that have been successful elsewhere, but do not take into account the diversities of situations at the local level. Internationally popular catchwords are used indiscriminately without questioning how these concepts can work effectively in the specific local context. This paper examines why some ‘self‐help groups’ fail by using the Development of Women and Children in Rural Areas (DWCRA) experience in India. The empirical survey was done over a period of two years in Burdwan, a relatively rich agricultural tract located in eastern India. We argue that whilst the ‘group’ has inherent benefits, it must never be allowed to become the paradigm in developmental policies for women.     

Comparing expeditious procedures for the seismic vulnerability assessment on the European territorial context: reliability,feasibility, cost,and time consumption

ABSTRACT

The definition of strategies for the preservation and protection of cultural heritage is a topical issue, especially in view of the increasing relevance of the theme of seismic risk mitigation and reduction.

The prediction of the impact an earthquake could have on existing buildings requires the knowledge of their dynamic behaviour. The procedure to be adopted for this purpose is quite complex and onerous in terms of costs, time, and implementation, especially when the study concerns territorial areas rather than single buildings. The definition of methodologies aimed at respecting the principles of economic sustainability and preserving human life and architectural heritage is of paramount importance to assess seismic vulnerability using available resources. Rapid methods for the seismic vulnerability assessment, aimed at defining buildings vulnerability and intervention priority lists, must be implemented to guarantee the preservation of historical centers.

This article describes the application to some case studies of different methods aimed at creating fragility curves for the vulnerability assessment on the European territorial context. The comparison between a deterministic approach and a new probabilistic one is performed for all case studies, to define the most suitable methodology in terms of reliability and savings in cost and time.     

Production of the Roman Cement in Italy: characterization of a raw material used in Tuscany between 19th and 20th century and its comparison with a commercialized French stone material

An experimental approach in order to investigate the possibility that some Italian limestones were used for the production of Roman Cement is proposed. Three types of Pietra Alberese, a marly limestone used since Roman times for the production of “lime” in Tuscany (Italy), were selected. By burning of these stones, specimens of binders were realized. The characteristics of these binders were compared with the binder obtained by burning a French marly limestone commercially used for the production of Roman Cement.

All samples of carbonate stones were preliminarily characterized from the chemical, mineralogical, and petrographic point of view. The colorimetric coordinates were measured on both rock samples and hardened binder samples. The analysis carried out shows that Pietra Alberese with an high content of clay minerals develops a similar microstructure with respect to that developed by the French marly limestone used for the production of Roman Cement.     

Asset-based community development as applied to tourism in Tibet

This article is one of the first tourism studies to adopt the asset-based community development (ABCD) approach. It explores the potential of the ABCD approach to tourism development as a poverty alleviation strategy. The study was undertaken in Lhasa, Tibet. Photo-elicitation interviews, focus group interviews, and a questionnaire-based survey were used. It was found that the Tibetan young hosts had a good knowledge of local assets. They identified five categories of local assets as having the most potential to be developed as tourism attractions in the near future. The identified tourism assets were world heritage sites, religious sites, traditional Tibetan yards, daily life and customs, and Tibetan medicines – the last four assets were undeveloped ones. Clear perceptions on the value of the assets, as well as the difficulty and desirability of their development in the future were also mapped, using repeated measures one-way analysis of variance. Through the process of assessing the tourism assets, this study identified in a preliminary way that adopting the ABCD approach to poverty alleviation through tourism is feasible. By mapping other assets in the community (e.g. human, social, financial, and physical), a further and more complete test of the approach can be undertaken. Examining these assets may also reveal more ideas for the community's common future. Theoretically, this work adds to the conceptual approaches for community-based tourism development work. Methodologically, this study illustrates research techniques for obtaining emic voices in a marginal and politically charged environment. The extensive use of the participants’ images as a basis for discussion was of particular note. Practically, this research offers both general and detailed suggestions for the Lhasa Government and its community work, especially ways to approach and access community perspectives.     

Inter- and Transdisciplinary Research for Planning Climate Change Adaptation Responses: The Example of Santiago de Chile

Abstract

This article gives insights into an inter- and transdisciplinary research approach designed to enhance the planning of climate change adaptation responses at urban-regional level. What makes interdisciplinary approaches to adaptation action unique is its ability to unravel the complexity of climate change and the interwoven processes it entails. It is the planning aspect here that makes stakeholder involvement crucial. Hence in contemporary climate change research the science-policy interface takes centre stage, generating response capacity and exchanging ‘usable’ information with decision-makers within the framework of a transdisciplinary approach. Climate action plans and climate adaptation strategies, for example, have the potential to unite sectors and levels of decision-making around an integrated planning approach. This article discusses the challenges and constraints of the inter- and transdisciplinary research approach developed for a Metropolitan Region of Santiago de Chile (MRS).