The mental maps of Italian entrepreneurs: a quali-quantitative approach

ABSTRACT

Geographers interested in how entrepreneurs perceive locational environments have studied their mental maps in several European countries, within the theoretical framework provided by behavioral approach. Such studies have typically employed quantitative techniques, but qualitative studies are relatively new to this line of research. In this article, I examine the mental maps of entrepreneurs in Italy by using a mixture of qualitative and quantitative methods. I present and discuss the qualitative outcomes of this research, focusing in particular on the explanatory location factors and the key influences on the mental maps of entrepreneurs. What emerges is the realization that entrepreneurs are far from being fully rational economic actors, who exploit optimally all information and who are driven only by objective considerations. Rather, their views are also affected by subjective factors, individual’s own insights, commonplaces, stereotypes, and prejudices, particularly with reference to the southern regions of Italy (Mezzogiorno), and of other peripheral areas.     

An analysis of spatial patterns of toponyms in Guangdong,China

The unique geographical environment and the historical waves of immigration of the northern Han Chinese to the Lingnan region have contributed to the development of a complex and unique culture in Guangdong Province. Four ancient ethnic groups, the Zhuang, Cantonese, Hoklo and Hakka, have resided in this area for centuries. As an important part of local culture, toponyms often survive changes in history and can reveal the temporal differences between the past and present in landforms and the spatial differences in the distribution of different ethnic group populations. In this study, two goals were sought: (1) the adoption of spatial smoothing and interpolation methods to reveal the spatial patterns of the Zhuang, Cantonese, Hoklo and Hakka toponyms based on comparisons among the proportions of those who speak various languages and (2) the investigation of the differences among toponymic layers under regional environmental conditions and the influences of geographic factors using an independent samples t-test and a binary logistic regression.     

Biomechanics of coaching maximal instep soccer kick for practitioners

Kicking in soccer has been the subject of scientific research for more than 40 years yet review articles summarizing the biomechanical fundamentals of kick optimization as a guide to coaching are scarcely to be found. The current review article aims to bridge the gap between scientific research into the maximal instep kick (including studies employing 3D motion capture and full-body biomechanical modelling) and the application of such research in coaching. It does so by supplying a scientifically founded, coaching-friendly article explaining identifiable characteristics and motor control sequencing that define this skill. Relevant biomechanical factors are identified in a way that should help coaches better develop training programmes and, at the same time, foster better understanding of the skill among athletes. Such information will contribute to both accelerated skill acquisition and, by concomitant gains in skill efficiency, the development of programmes that minimize risk of injury to athletes during training.     

中国城市群空间结构演化的影响因素分析——基于铁路客运的功能联系视角

以中国13个城市群为研究对象,采用铁路客运班次构造多中心指数来表征基于功能联系的城市群空间结构,在分析城市群空间结构演变基础上重点分析其影响因素。研究发现,基于功能联系视角的城市群空间结构总体呈单中心化趋势,但地区差异化明显,珠三角、山东半岛和闽东南城市群已表现出多中心化特征;城市群空间结构的多中心程度随经济发展水平的提高表现为先单中心后多中心的演变过程;城市群规模的增大和城市间联系加强促进了城市群向多中心方向演化;而面积小、三产比重高的城市群更有利于形成单中心的结构;政府干预作用对城市群空间结构影响并不显著。鉴于不同城市群空间结构演化趋势不同,未来政策取向应该遵从各个城市群自身规律。     

Modern humans in Sarawak,Malaysian Borneo,during Oxygen Isotope Stage 3: palaeoenvironmental evidence from the Great Cave of Niah

During recent reinvestigations in the Great Cave of Niah in Borneo, the ‘Hell Trench’ sedimentary sequence seen by earlier excavators was re-exposed. Early excavations here yielded the earliest anatomically-modern human remains in island Southeast Asia. Calibrated radiocarbon dates, pollen, algal microfossils, palynofacies, granulometry and geochemistry of the ‘Hell Trench’ sequence provide information about environmental and vegetational changes, elements of geomorphic history and information about human activity. The ‘Hell’ sediments were laid down episodically in an ephemeral stream or pool. The pollen suggests cyclically changing vegetation with forest habitats alternating with more open environments; indicating that phases with both temperatures and precipitation reduced compared with the present. These events can be correlated with global climate change sequences to produce a provisional dating framework. During some forest phases, high counts of Justicia, a plant which today colonises recently burnt forest areas, point to fire in the landscape. This may be evidence for biomass burning by humans, presumably to maintain forest-edge habitats. There is evidence from palynofacies for fire on the cave floor in the ‘Hell’ area. Since the area sampled is beyond the limit of plant growth, this is evidence for human activity. The first such evidence is during an episode with significant grassland indicators, suggesting that people may have reached the site during a climatic phase characterised by relatively open habitats ∼50 ka. Thereafter, people were able to maintain a relatively consistent presence at Niah. The human use of the ‘Hell’ area seems to have intensified through time, probably because changes in the local hydrological regime made the area dryer and more suitable for human use.     

历史上永定河筑堤的环境效应初探

金、元以后永定河水害急剧增多,由北京的母亲河变成了常常威胁京城安全的害河。金代以来各朝都十分重视对永定河的治理,元明清三朝更是把修筑永定河的堤防作为京畿事务中的重大问题。历史上永定河的大规模筑堤为京城减少了洪水之虞,但同时也带来了包括北京水环境在内的一系列地理环境的变化。本文追溯永定河筑堤后北京地区水环境变迁以及下游地貌改变的重要史实,阐述筑堤工程对于流域整体环境的深远影响,以期引起人们对历史上一些重大水利工程的环境效应的反思。     

唐代扳指杯渊源考

在中国唐代金银器、陶瓷器中,扳指杯是引人注目的一类器物。本文在分析唐代扳指杯形制特征的基础上,结合国外资料,提出扳指杯源于罗马造型意匠,萨珊波斯、粟特等的扳指杯,在吸收罗马造型的基础上,形成了自身的一些特征;而中国扳指杯在造型上的细部差别,可能一方面反映了罗马意匠的扳指杯传入中国的不同途径和方式,另一方面反映着外来文化因素与中国传统造型艺术的和谐融合。     

二十世纪二三十年代“上海模式”对重庆的冲击

民国重庆城市现代化起步于刘湘“军人干政”时期。而川江航运的繁荣,城市精英的觉醒以及刘湘政权的若干举措,为“上海模式”输入重庆提供了重要条件。作为后发外生型条约体系城市,重庆的现代化不仅依靠西方现代性要素的刺激,而且更直接地受到“上海模式”的辐射和拉动。“军人干政”的负面效应致使以“上海模式”为蓝本的重庆城市现代化呈现畸变态势。在“上海模式”的冲击下,在本社会还缺少现代性因素积累的情况下,重庆城市现代化于20年代末期启动。     

古代铁器腐蚀产物的结构特征

运用X射线衍射、扫描电子显微镜和穆斯堡尔谱分析方法,对河南渑池出土的T_1H_1∶250汉代铁斧表面腐蚀物进行了研究。提出了铁器文物抗腐蚀的原因在于表面氧化膜具有结构上的连续性、改密而不破损。铁器文物最理想的保存环境应该是碱性、干燥无水、无硫、氯等有害元素。     

Towards Culture 3.0 – performative space in the public library

The aim of this article is to analyse and discuss the development of performative spaces in public libraries from a cultural policy perspective. First, a framework of three concepts of culture, 1.0–3.0, is used as a tool to analyse the overall development of public libraries. Against this background, we introduce the notion of performative spaces in public libraries by highlighting Nordic examples. The tendency can also be seen on a broader level in European and North American libraries, where a ‘performative turn’ can be seen as the relationship between the library and its users, especially the younger ‘digital natives’. The rationales behind the emergence of performative spaces in public libraries are analysed and discussed: democratisation, empowerment and economic impact. This article concludes that the performative spaces are legitimized by multiple rationales in the same way as cultural policies and cultural institutions are legitimised today.