Geographic limits to global labor market flexibility: The human resources paradox of the cruise industry

The cruise industry enjoys arguably the most flexible and globalized of all labor markets. Yet, in an apparent paradox, cruise lines face a potential labor shortage, despite the fact that the bulk of their labor is sourced from the Global South where a large labor surplus would seemingly make recruitment a simple process. This paper examines this paradox in greater detail with a focus on the tension that exists between the industry’s demand for a flexible labor force, and the need for workers who maintain the skills required of a cruise ship job. It is argued that the contemporary geography of global labor recruitment is constrained by the particular political, economic and cultural circumstances of individual source countries that make certain cohorts less attractive or available as a workforce. In practice the need for skill and flexibility are not always reconcilable and cruise lines have found that there is a geographic limit to labor market flexibility. The article is based on interviews with various stakeholders involved in either working on cruise ships or in recruiting workers. Special emphasis is placed on Filipino cruise ship workers and labor recruiters as a means to discuss labor recruitment for the entire industry.     

The consumption of space: Land, capital and place in the New Zealand wine industry

Geographers have developed a keen interest in the social production of space - in the way meanings and values are ascribed to places as a result of changing social, cultural and political processes. There is a need to explore this approach further, seeing how social and economic values of places are inter-related and how these values are constructed in often deliberate and concerted ways. There is also a need to explore how such values are consumed: how the values in place are traded, appropriated and redistributed, both through the products of places and in land markets. This paper examines the New Zealand wine industry where certain wine regions have been identified and developed in ways which attempt to emphasise their distinctiveness in terms of wine quality and thus enhance the value of the wine produced. Different strategies have been employed in this process of place construction and this reflects the differential role of capital, striving on the one hand to increase the price and marketability of the products of distinctive places but, on the other, careful not to over-inflate land values and thus restrict further expansion. The paper suggests that the issue of consumption of space, involving a complex relationship amongst land, capital and place, is worthy of further exploration.     

Local music policies within a global music industry: cultural quarters in Manchester and Sheffield

This paper will explore the relationship between the local and the global in the music industry through the lens of place-based cultural policies.The first part of the paper will outline current debates around the complex interaction of the local and the global in culture in general and the popular music industry in particular. Alongside the continuous expansion of globalisation has been a reassertion of ‘place', of ‘locality'. Whilst this has been investigated to some extent at the level of local music scenes it has never been fully addressed in terms of music industry policy as part of an economic development strategy. Yet it is here that the particular values of ‘place' are asserted in the face of some ‘global' music industry with a view to developing (or at least retaining some of the benefits of) a local music industry.Whilst situating itself within these debates about the relationship of local and global musical production and consumption, the paper explores the different strategies of two northern English cities and their attempts to promote culture, and music, within each cities ‘cultural quarter': Sheffield's Cultural Industries Quarter and Manchester's Northern Quarter. The paper analyses the role and appropriateness of local authority policy intervention, the importance of ‘soft' networks within local music scenes and the different ways in which authorities in each example have tried to overcome dichotomies of art and industry, cultural and economy.     

Geomoney: An option on frost, going long on clouds

The paper adopts a cultural economy approach to explore the emergence of a market in so-called weather derivatives, referred to in the paper as a form of ‘geomoney’. These are specially designed financial products that allow firms to protect their profits against the impact of changing weather conditions. The paper approaches the emergence of this market, and the issues its growth raises, in three interlinked stages. Weather derivatives are located amongst the hybrid collective that is contemporary finance and are analysed through the conceptual apparatus afforded by a cultural economy approach to finance. The paper employs this analytical line to examine the assumptions and models that enable the weather to be turned into a risk and then be transported and traded within capital markets. Through specific examples of weather products together with a discussion of the International Finance Corporation’s recent involvement in this market, the paper suggests something of the ‘world making’ capabilities of finance theory and the politics of finance often hidden beneath the mathematical models. The paper concludes by highlighting not only the usefulness of a cultural economy of finance to geographers but, in light of the examples discussed, the need for cultural economy to recognise and to engage critically in its analysis the politics that such a conceptual approach to the making of financial markets exposes.     

The `global city' misconceived: the myth of `global management' in transnational service firms

The `global city hypothesis' proposed by Saskia Sassen - and subsequently developed by Manuel Castells and others in the theory of a globalized urban network - has in recent years formed the basis for the argument that power and control in transnational firms (TNCs) is primarily situated in global head-offices. Such offices are located in key urban centres such as London, New York or Tokyo where global managerial power is ultimately wielded and where senior managers make strategic decisions about transnational business activity. This paper takes issue with this theoretical legacy, arguing that the idea of strong centralised managerial power and control in contemporary TNCs is far more complex than this literature suggests. It explores how managerial control in some of the supposedly most globalized of business service industries - investment banking and management consultancy - cannot be understood as being centralised in global headquarter offices, and nor does it purely reside with a few senior managers at the top of the transnational organisation. Rather, it argues that managerial control in TNCs is diffused throughout a transnational network of management-level employees, and that strategic power in transnational firms resides with a larger and more dispersed group of actors than has been previously suggested. These arguments are developed through analysis of qualitative research into the managerial strategies and practices of senior business practitioners in the transnational investment banking and management consultancy industries. In presenting qualitative data from interviews with senior management in transnational corporate head offices, the paper thus examines the decision-making process of global management practice and unpacks the complex context in which transnational corporate strategy develops in such firms.     

Restructuring on a vertiginous plateau: The evolutionary trajectories of British Columbia’s forest industries 1980–2010

The volatility of British Columbia’s (BC’s) forest industries over the last three decades has not only reflected the immediate impacts of demand fluctuations arising from the broader vicissitudes of capitalist economies but the evolutionary implications of industrial and resource dynamics. The 1980s recession in particular marked a turning point in the evolutionary trajectory of BC’s forest industries, associated with global paradigmatic changes driven by flexibility imperatives, the maturation of the forestry resource cycle to the plateau or fall-down stage, and conflicts caused by environmental, social and trade protectionist opposition to vested industry interests. This paper focuses on the broad contours of the restructuring of BC’s forest industries since 1980. Conceptually, the paper elaborates a resource industry life-cycle model (RILCM) that integrates industry and resource cycle dynamics and the implications of economic crisis. Empirically, the analysis uses longitudinal output and employment data, summaries of the policy re-regulation of the BC forest economy since 1980, and comparative static plant-level data, 1980–2008. The analysis reveals the 1980s recession as a turning point in the transformation of BC’s forest industries, characterized by high levels of volatility and long-term decline in the main commodities. Industrial restructuring has also witnessed a fragmentation of production, the emergence of small firm dominated value-added activities, and broad changes to the coreperiphery structure of the forest industries within BC. It is argued that evolutionary approaches to economic geography need to incorporate resource peripheries and crisis and acknowledge the role of crisis and non-economic factors in shaping regional transformation.     

The future of oil: Hypothesis and conclusions

There is currently a generally accepted view that world oil resources are so limited that they are unable to sustain the growth of the industry beyond the next decade or so. This pessimistic forecast is contrasted with the somewhat earlier optimism of the oil industry concerning its future.Based on a wide range of values for each variable the contemporary accepted view on the future of oil is shown to be one of the least likely. It is also shown that the current view has a dangerous feedback effect on energy policy making. More likely futures for oil are considered and it is concluded that there is a 90 % probability of growth until the year 2009; a 50 % probability for growth until 2037 and a 10 % chance that the industry need not reach its peak until 2077. Over the remainder of the industry's growth period the worldwide use of oil could increase to at least twice and up to 3.5 times its present size.     

Regional planning's last hurrah: the political economy of the Tumen River regional development plan

This paper describes a regional development plan in North East Asia, in the context of regional planning theory and various geo-political changes which have occurred in the region. Known as the Tumen Regional Development Project, the area encompasses parts of North Korea, China, and Russia. On the one hand, the geography, the presence of raw material, and social factors suggest that there may be unique opportunities to develop the region. At the same time, there is increased competition for capital and resources from other regions in the world. Regionalism, therefore, needs to be seen in a global context. After critiquing the plan from the perspective of contemporary regional planning theory, a call for a ‘new paradigm’ of development is issued, one that considers, for example non-traditional industries such as tourism and emphasizes the management of growth as well as its promotion. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Place-making and environmental change in a Hindu pilgrimage site in India

Many Hindu pilgrimage sites in India experience heavy influxes of pilgrims and are subject to considerable environmental impact. Existing literature on the study of the environment in pilgrimage sites, however, appears to follow two divergent directions: one emphasizes degradation of the physical environment while the other highlights the sacred character of the place and how that is compromised by contemporary visitor flows. The aim of this paper is to move beyond this divergence and to demonstrate how contemporary environmental problems are outcomes related to a historical process of environmental change that accompanies the making of a sacred place. This paper is based on a case study of Vrindavan, a Hindu pilgrimage site associated with Krishna worship in northern India. More than 6 million visitors visit Vrindavan annually. Using a historical geography approach and socio-spatial dialectic conceptual framework, the paper explains how this pilgrimage landscape was established in the 15th century, and how since then it has evolved into a religious-urban place comprising more than 5500 temples. Its development is categorized into three periods: pre-colonial, colonial and post-colonial. In each period, the socio-spatial fabric showed significant transformations that resulted from the interaction of three critical factors: the influence of local and global socio-economic processes on the cultural economy of pilgrimage, the relationship of this economy to spatial change, and institutional controls that regulated the other two factors. It is argued that the environment of pilgrimage is simultaneously social, economic, cultural and religious and shaped by the need to maintain the place as sacred. This insight is useful for a better understanding of contemporary environmental problems so that they may be addressed effectively.     

Government regulation in the Australian popular music industry: The rhetoric of cultural protection, the reality of economic production

In the 1990s the artistic autonomy of the territorial subsidiaries of the major record companies increased. Local scale “cultural freedom” did not mitigate the role of national regulation, with the music industry remaining bound by regulation imposed by agencies representing nation-states. National-scale policy rhetoric highlighting the need for “cultural protection” focused attention away from an interest in the economics of popular music, a balance evident in policies of Australian federal governments. In seeking to increase the export potential of locally produced music, Australian governments have come to hold an important place in the political economy of contemporary Australian music.     

当代玉雕创新浅窥

时代在变,人们的审美观念也在变.传统的中国艺术门类——玉雕,在新时代语境之下必然要做出改变以适应当代人变化了的生活方式与审美观念.作为当代玉雕行业中的一员,结合个人多年的创作经验与创作实践来分析探讨当代玉雕的创新问题.本文主要从玉雕创作的题材,艺术形式,创作与经营模式等几个方面进行论述,梳理当代玉雕创作的新变化,以期对当代玉雕从业人员在创新方向与方法上有所启发.     

Keeping the high-tech region open and dynamic: the organizational networks of Taiwan's integrated circuit industry

This paper aims to bridge the literatures of industrial districts and organizational networks by studying the development of organizational relationships in Taiwan's integrated circuit (IC) industry. Firms of the IC industry in Taiwan are highly concentrated in the Hsinchu Science-based Industrial Park (HSIP). They not only have contributed the most to the combined sales for the HSIP compared to other industries for half a decade, but also have made Taiwan the country with the fourth-largest IC industry in the world today. Along with the creation and maintenance of global competitiveness in this industry, the means of developing organizational relationships and geographical linkages are examined in this paper. The empirical findings are based on analysis of data regarding the organizational connections for Taiwan's IC industry during 1976 to 1996, collected at the individual firm level. It is found that a concurrent process of intensifying the internal as well as external linkages has occurred in the HSIP, a young high-tech region. It indicates that not only is the ``regional advantage' sufficiently sustained, but also the global industrial networks are continuously expanded to maintain the openness and dynamics of the region.     

The early Holocene sea level rise

The causes, anatomy and consequences of the early Holocene sea level rise (EHSLR) are reviewed. The rise, of ca 60m, took place over most of the Earth as the volume of the oceans increased during deglaciation and is dated at 11,650–7000 cal. BP. The EHSLR was largely driven by meltwater release from decaying ice masses and the break up of coastal ice streams. The patterns of ice sheet decay and the evidence for meltwater pulses are reviewed, and it is argued that the EHSLR was a factor in the ca 8470 BP flood from Lake Agassiz-Ojibway. Patterns of relative sea level changes are examined and it is argued that in addition to regional variations, temporal changes are indicated. The impact of the EHSLR on climate is reviewed and it is maintained that the event was a factor in the 8200 BP cooling event, as well as in changes in ocean current patterns and their resultant effects. The EHSLR may also have enhanced volcanic activity, but no clear evidence of a causal link with submarine sliding on continental slopes and shelves can yet be demonstrated. The rise probably influenced rates and patterns of human migrations and cultural changes. It is concluded that the EHSLR was a major event of global significance, knowledge of which is relevant to an understanding of the impacts of global climate change in the future.     

煤炭资源型城市关闭煤矿产业绿色转型路径研究

随着我国能源供给侧结构性改革以及煤炭去产能政策的实施,我国关闭煤矿数量逐年增加,煤矿关闭后产业如何转型成为迫切需要解决的问题.而关闭煤矿大都集中在煤炭资源型城市,关闭煤矿的发展与煤炭资源型城市发展密不可分,其优势产业的选择应与所在城市产业转型方向相一致,才能使关闭煤矿资源得到有效利用,促进当地经济高质量发展.依据新结构...     

The role of rural industries in the arid and semi-arid areas of the Sudan

The aim of the study is to evaluate the socio-economic contribution made by traditional industries in the arid and semiarid areas of the Sudan, and to assess their environmental impact. Two study areas, known for their diversified rural industries, have been chosen: the Mahmiya-Damar area as an example of riverine settlements, an non-riverine example of the Butana area (mainly El Subbagh region) in E Sudan.Rural industries in both areas were surveyed through direct interviews. A complete survey was made of the independent small industrial units, which are usually located in the markets, whilst a random-sample house survey was also carried out in both areas. In both areas the industries found have been grouped into seven classes.The survey, limited as it was in the residential areas, nonetheless revealed certain important characteristics of the production, distribution, and labour structure of the industries. It also revealed certain problems and difficulties which may lead in the end to a reduction of their role in these regions.     

The East African sugar industry

The paper introduces the sugar industry as one of the important agricultural raw material-based industries, and compares it, operative-wise, with ten other East African manufacturing and service industries. Location of the East African sugar industry is then examined territorially, provincially or regionally and district-wise mainly quantitatively. The factors of location are next introduced and briefly discussed. Considerable details are provided regarding sugarcane hectarages, sugar production, consumption, exports and imports. These are followed by future forecasts relating to sugar output, especially in Kenya and Tanzania. A brief discussion touching on the significance of, at least, three by-products of the sugar industry, particularly as they relate to possible future establishment of important ancillary industries in or peripheral to the sugar belts, is incorporated. Moreover, the sugar processing complexes together with their possible ancillary industries and linkages are briefly examined as potential development points in future regional, especially rural, development planning. With nine tables and two comprehensive East African maps (one qualitative and the other quantitative), the paper is appropriately illustrated.     

Risk and trust in the cultural industries

Preliminary claims have been made that working practices within cultural industries such as fashion, music, design and the night time economy may differ from Fordist or modernist arrangements. Cultural firms are often imagined to be more innovative, information-rich, dynamic, flexible, non-hierarchical and dependent on local clusters and networks than their Fordist counterparts (Lash and Urry, 1994). As their impact and significance increase, understanding how creative and cultural industries actually work is of high priority. This paper presents preliminary findings from an on-going ESRC funded study of cultural Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs) within Manchester, England. Drawing on one element of the project, this paper considers the significance of risk and the importance of social trust for the cultural entrepreneur. Following a discussion of Beck’s development of risk as an analytical concept, and its intersection with Giddens’ notion of ‘active trust’, the paper examines how risk and trust are defined, experienced and negotiated by entrepreneurs in Manchester’s cultural industries. It is suggested that senses of risk are constitutive and often pivotal to the whole economic and social basis of cultural entrepreneurship – risk being central to choices made not only in business but in the lifeworld more generally. The paper then investigates the importance of trust for facilitating as well as countering or offsetting risk. Empirical evidence is presented to show how risk and trust co-relate and interact as constitutive elements within a wider set of shifting relationships between work, leisure and lifestyle in the ‘creative city’.     

翡翠文化与翡翠市场探释

中国人几千年来对翡翠有着特殊爱好,其融人了自古以来的玉石文化,它对中华民族的精神、意志、道德、哲理产生着巨大的影响。翡翠的探释是一门高雅的艺术,不但要从文化的层面来认识翡翠,而且还要多了解一些翡翠的专业知识和翡翠市场的发展现状。本文详细地介绍了目前国内几大翡翠市场和各市场的特点以及中国翡翠市场的发展史。