TEMPORAL and SPATIAL VARIABILITY OF CANADIAN INVENTIVE COMPANIES and THEIR INVENTIONS: AN ISSUE OF OWNERSHIP

Inventing is an important prerequisite for industrial economies to remain technologically competitive. Yet it is not well known how inventive companies of domestic or foreign ownership can affect a nation's technological base and, ultimately, its spatial-economic system. The present study examines this relationship in Canada by investigating the performance of its indigenous and foreign-owned inventive companies at the national, subnational, and urban levels. The results indicate that: (1) Canada's indigenous inventive companies are distinct from their foreign-owned counterparts in that they are generally smaller, are more apt to have teams of inventors, are more likely to develop product inventions, have come to manage a greater share of this nation's inventions, and are increasing their role in key Canadian industries; and (2) geographically, Canada's two largest cities and its core region were adversely affected by the declining inventiveness of American-controlled companies during the 1980s. L'esprit ?invention est une nécessité pour que les économies industrielles restent en conditions de concurrence technologique. Cependant, on connaît très peu de la manière que les entreprises inventives de propriété domestique ou étrangère affectent la base technologique ?un pays et, enfin, affectent son système spatio-écono-mique. La présente étude considère ces rapports au Canada au niveau national, sous-national et local, en exminant les performances des entreprises inventives indigènes et étrangères. Les résultats indiquent (1) qu'au Canada les entreprises indigènes et inventives diffèrent de leurs analogues étrangers: en général elles sont plus petites, ont plus tendance à consister en équipes ?inven-teurs, sont plus susceptibles de développer les inventions produites, produisent une plus grande part des inventions canadiennes, et sont en train ?augmenter leur rôle dans les industries canadiennes; et (2) que le déclin de ?esprit ?invention dans les entreprises dirigées par les américains a affecté défavorablement les deux villes les plus grandes au Canada, ainsi que la partie centrale du pays, pendant les années 1980. Mots-clés: invention, Canada, propriétéétrangère, technologie, produit     

The Riddle of Ishtar's Shoes: The Religious Significance of the Footprints at ‘Ain Dara from a Comparative Perspective

This essay analyzes the carved footprints in the Iron Age temple at ‘Ain Dara, Syria from a broadly comparative perspective. This methodology is necessitated by the fact that footprint iconography is very rare in ancient Near Eastern art. The diverse examples utilized in this paper to help explicate the footprints at ‘Ain Dara range from the Footprints of the Buddha (Buddhapadas) to the sullied feet of Jesus. Through analysis of footprint iconography in other religious contexts, I have drawn conclusions concerning the form and function of the temple footprints at ‘Ain Dara that have escaped other scholars of the ancient Near East.     

Australian Geographers and Geographical Information Science

Geographical Information Science (GIScience) has become an important sub‐discipline for North American geographers but in Australia few geographers are engaged in this ‘research in GIS’ area. Australian geographers seem more concerned with ‘research using GIS’ which has become absorbed into the geographical tradition of thinking and communicating with diagrams, images, and maps. The breakdown of disciplinary boundaries in Australia makes it difficult to be sure, but most of those engaged in GIScience in Australia seem to identify with disciplines other than geography.     

A tale of two scenes: civic capital and retaining musical talent in Toronto and Halifax

Un conte de deux scènes: le capital civique et le maintien des talents musicaux à Toronto et à Halifax Même si depuis plusieurs décennies Toronto trône au sommet de l’industrie canadienne de la musique, des entretiens récents font apparaître le poids de la restructuration de cette industrie sur les décisions des musiciens quant à l’endroit où vivre et travailler. En cette époque de production indépendante de musique contemporaine, certaines régions urbaines de taille réduite comme Halifax en Nouvelle‐Écosse recèlent un potentiel pour attirer des musiciens. La principale question abordée dans cet article est de savoir dans quelle mesure les dynamiques économique et sociale des régions urbaines ont une incidence sur les choix de localisation des musiciens. Ces derniers sont bien conscients des possibilités économiques qu’une ville de la taille de Toronto peut leur offrir, mais les artisans de la scène musicale la dépeignent comme un milieu de travail extrêmement compétitif et ardu. En revanche, du côté d’Halifax, les répondants évoquent la solidarité et le soutien apportés par la collectivité dans l’accueil des nouveaux arrivants, l’appui à l’organisation de spectacles, et la promotion de la créativité. Dans un tel contexte contemporain, les musiciens indépendants déploient de nouvelles stratégies de valorisation de leur métier et les collectivités qui sont dotées d’un capital civique supérieur sont plus en mesure d’attirer et de retenir les personnes talentueuses.     

The Naming of Waterfalls

As features of the landscape, waterfalls have been studied extensively by geographers, but the names given to these landforms have received relatively little scholarly attention. This paper examines the naming of waterfalls and addresses the question of classifying these hydronyms. The subject is considered in a global historical context, focusing on place names in the anglophone world. Until the 18th and 19th centuries, relatively few waterfalls were named. With the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, water power rose in economic importance, and at the same time, there was a growing scientific and aesthetic engagement with the landscape. These developments are suggested as reasons for the increased interest in waterfalls which were then being recorded in topographical literature and on maps, individual names being given to increasing numbers of falls. European exploration added to the knowledge of the world's waterfalls, many of which were given names by their ‘discoverers’. This naming process accelerated with the growth of domestic and overseas tourism which exploited scenic resources such as waterfalls. Until now, research on the names of waterfalls has been fragmentary, and the classification of these hydronyms has been neglected. This paper demonstrates that waterfall names can be classified in accordance with a recognised toponymic typology. Using examples drawn from waterfall guidebooks, databases, maps, and other sources, the following discussion supports George Stewart's claim that his toponymic classification is valid for place names of all kinds.     

Intermodal freight terminals: locality and industrial linkages

The areas around eight Canadian intermodal freight terminals form the focus of this study. Two basic research questions are addressed: What is the character of the zones adjacent to the terminals and what is the functional tie between industries located in these zones and the terminals themselves? There are three seaports (Halifax, Montreal and Vancouver), three airports (Dorval‐Montreal, Pearson‐Toronto and Vancouver) and two rail yards (both in the Toronto region) in the study. In total, 196 manufacturing and wholesaling firms were part of the study. Transportation land use is areally most extensive in six of the eight terminal zones. Industrial land use, while significant in area, is not the most dominant land use surrounding any of the terminals. No one socio‐economic characteristic defines the areas around the terminals. Businesses in close proximity to the terminals make rather modest use of the terminals. Less the 30 percent of the interviewed firms used the nearby terminal for their freight shipments; only 3 percent of the firms indicated that proximity to the terminal was a primary locational consideration. The relationship between industrial location and the terminals is more indirect, than direct, based on the high level of accessibility found in the terminal zones.