Offshore Mineral Development in the Russian Barents Sea

Two Norwegian researchers examine the forces alternatively driving and hindering offshore hydrocarbon development in the Russian sector of the Barents Sea. The paper describes exploration activities beginning during the Soviet period and extending to the present, the status of the major development projects financed in part with foreign capital, and conflicting regional and central government interests involved in such development. Coverage includes the emergence of Rosshelf, an oil/gas conglomerate formed to facilitate defense conversion activities of major naval shipyards. Critical to analysis of the projects' potential is assessment of alternative gas supplies and energy development strategies. Journal of Economic Literature, Classification Numbers: O13, Q40, R10. 3 figures, 1 table, 63 references.     

Studies in the Holocene vegetation development on Hardangervidda,southern Norway. I. The occurrence and origin of pollen of plants Favoured by Man's Activity

Higher values in pollen diagrams from Hardangervidda of, e. g. Plantago lanceolata and Artemisia, above their altitudinal limits are caused by endo‐and epizoochory of pollen and seeds. The continuous traffic across the northern part of the mountain plateau is dated back to A.D. 550.     

Development of Damage Patterns and Fragility Curves in Brick-nogging Buildings from the Thabeikkyin Earthquake,Myanmar, 2012

The Thabeikkyin earthquake (moment magnitude scale of 6.8) occurred on November 11, 2012; its epicenter was located 25 km from Thabeikkyin Township, Mandalay Region, Myanmar. Many buildings were damaged severely during the earthquake. In this study, damage patterns of brick-nogging buildings were firstly developed, and damage grades were characterized to allow for easy classification of the damaged buildings. The damaged data of all building types in the surveyed areas were collected by classifying the four damage levels as no damage, slight damage, moderate damage, and heavy damage. To develop the damage patterns of brick-nogging buildings, damage categories were arranged into three damage grades (slight, moderate, and heavy damage). Secondly, a questionnaire survey was conducted to calculate the seismic intensities of the affected areas. Medvedev–Sponheuer–Karnik (MSK) seismic intensities for the surveyed areas were estimated by analyzing the questionnaire survey responses. Finally, fragility curves for brick-nogging buildings were constructed using the estimated seismic intensities from the survey responses combined with the damage levels. These fragility curves may be useful to assess damage to brick-nogging buildings and to predict the number of damaged buildings in future earthquakes.     

PROSPECTS FOR SOVIET GAS EXPORTS: OPPORTUNITIES AND CONSTRAINTS

This paper assesses the prospects for Soviet gas exports to Western Europe, analyzing both supply (domestic) factors, such as gas production, consumption, and transportation, and demand (foreign) factors such as gas demand and market share. This is done using a network allocation model of the Soviet gas pipeline network (for 1985, 1990, and 1995) and a country-by-country analysis of the gas market in Western Europe. In general, the outlook for increased gas exports to Western Europe, at least to the turn of the century, is rather bleak. This is mainly due to a relatively slower rate of growth of gas demand in Western Europe than projected earlier, coupled with overcontracting of gas supplies, because the USSR has enormous gas reserves, ample production, and no major pipeline bottlenecks restricting export volumes. Its huge pipeline construction program allows both domestic consumption and exports to be comfortably accommodated     

Defining public service beyond broadcasting: the legitimacy of different approaches

The development of public broadcasters’ Internet services has compelled practitioners and researchers alike to ponder public service beyond broadcasting. Yet, for public service as a key cultural policy tool, rethinking is also needed on the level of regulatory definitions. Are we witnessing a policy transformation into a media‐neutral public service concept? If so, what are the implications for the legitimacy of public service beyond broadcasting? Relating the current situation to a wider policy context, this article scrutinizes different regulatory approaches, tentatively characterized by (1) extending broadcasting, (2) adding to broadcasting and (3) demoting broadcasting. The approaches are illustrated with three cases: Norway, Germany and the UK. Assessing the different approaches, I discuss advantages and pitfalls, and the implications for the legitimacy of public service freed from broadcasting rationales. As policy actors strive to create stable conditions in an unstable situation, I argue, they should keep in mind both the risks of succumbing to details or pursuing exhaustive lists in basic definitions, and the linguistic and cultural characteristics of each polity.     

Book Review

Hallvard Hagelia, Numbering the Stars: A Phraseological Analysis of Genesis 15. Stockholm: Almqvist &; Wiksell International 1994, 252 pp. [Coniectanea Bublica: Old Testament Series 39] ISBN 91–22–01591–4.