Global economic restructuring and the world of labor in Brazil: the challenges to trade unions and social movements

The crisis and challenges faced by labor, including the trade unions and social movements have proportions not yet fully understood. The repercussions, owing to globalization, also reached Third World countries, especially intermediate countries that hold important industrial estates such as Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, etc. Brazil is part of an economic, social, political and cultural context which has universal traces of global capitalism, but also possesses singularities. During the last decades, Brazilian trade unions and social movements have either followed a different path. There was a widespread and highly significant strike movement (in the 1980s) with a notable expansion of trade unions organizing salaried sector (teachers, bank workers, public sector workers, etc.); there was also the rise of the Union Congresses such as the CUT-Central Única dos Trabalhadores (Workers Central) and the advance of rural unionism and the Landless Workers' Movement (MST, Movimento dos Trabalhadores Sem Terra) and new urban social movements such as the Homeless Movement. By the end of these decades, we joined in a more significant way the challenges which were presented to the unionism and social movements. These challenges are discuss in this paper.     

Slope instability in Nicaragua triggered by Hurricane Mitch: distribution of shallow mass movements

The heavy rains associated with Hurricane Mitch triggered off a number of slope instability processes in several Central American countries. Different instability processes have been acknowledged for the various mountainous regions of Nicaragua. An enormous movement of the Casita Volcano slopes resulted in numerous deaths and some deep movements have been reactivated. On the other hand, numerous shallow mass movements and debris flows have given rise to great material loss throughout a large part of Nicaraguan mountains.Mapping the shallow mass movements in an area of Central Nicaragua clearly reveals the close ties between their distribution and some geomorphological factors. A susceptibility model has been constructed for shallow mass movements based on field mapping of the shallow mass movement distribution, the geomorphological map as well as the digital slope and accumulated flow models. A logistical regression analysis was applied. The study area has been categorized into three classes of relative landslide susceptibility. Given that phenomena of this nature occur much more frequently in the high susceptibility class, 94% of the shallow mass movements that have been used to test the model are in the high and medium susceptibility classes . The geological and geomorphological conditions of the study area are representative of a large sector of the central Nicaraguan region. Consequently, the methodology followed in this paper is deemed to constitute a useful tool, both regarding the design of new infrastructures, and as a guide to the urban development of the area.     

Impact of mass movements in the Kocaeli Province,Turkey

Recent mass movements in the Kocaeli Province, Turkey in 2010 caused damage to people, property and infrastructure, especially in Izmit and its vicinity. The causes and impact of these mass movements are outlined, so as to increase awareness of their dangerous aspects. Some of these mass movement events took place in urban areas, bringing attention to the need for better and more effective land use practices. The impact of these movements indicates the benefit there would be from geology and engineering geology in the planning of any property development and land use.     

Migration and urban survival strategies in Windhoek, Namibia

Based on recent research in Windhoek, this paper demonstrates that it is the well established and widespread social linkages that persist between rural and urban households that are central to the ability of poor urban households to survive. Whereas informal coping mechanisms that include borrowing, piecework and credit are pervasive in rural areas of Namibia, intra-urban sources of food are poorly developed, and outside of kinship circles, social networks within Windhoek are used sparingly, even in times of greatest need. In addition, urban agriculture plays a very limited role at present in urban food supply. The research demonstrates that urban households that are most vulnerable to hunger are those that have limited social connections to the rural areas, and must rely on intra-urban opportunities to get food (including borrowing, begging, piecework and crime). The most vulnerable are female- and male-headed households with no access to farm income and limited/irregular urban incomes. In contrast, those with active rural-urban linkages enjoy significant transfers of food from rural areas that offset hunger and vulnerability in the urban context. Urban-rural reciprocity is therefore not only a one-way movement of people and resources from the urban to the rural areas, but also a transfer of food from rural to urban households.     

Against ourselves – Local activists and the management of contradicting political loyalties: The case of Phiri,Johannesburg

In spite of continued mass urban protests in post-apartheid South Africa, few are the social movements or individuals which openly disengage from the dominant and former liberation party, the African National Congress. Many authors have analysed this paradox as a two-pronged strategy, ‘the brick’ and ‘the ballot’, to try and influence public policy. However, these two political positions become increasingly contradictory and difficult to hold together, as the ANC becomes more and more intolerant towards social movements. This paper, using the example of women’s contention about water commodification in Phiri (Soweto), examines how activists shape their opposition whilst still stating their affiliation to the ruling party. They manage these contradicting political loyalties through a variety of tactics exonerating the ANC from the blame of urban mismanagement: contrasting the current ANC with the ‘real’ ANC of the past – to which they remain faithful; and blaming the ‘deployees’ of the ANC at the local level for betraying the ‘real’ ANC at the national level. These tactics however may be short-lived as social movements upscale their action to the national level.     

Translocal assemblages: Space, power and social movements

In this paper, I deploy an analytic of ‘translocal assemblage’ as a means for conceptualising space and power in social movements. I offer a relational topology that is open to how actors within movements construct different spatial imaginaries and practices in their work. In using the prefix ‘translocal’, I am signifying three orientations. First, translocal assemblages are composites of place-based social movements which exchange ideas, knowledge, practices, materials and resources across sites. Second, assemblage is an attempt to emphasise that translocal social movements are more than just the connections between sites. Sites in translocal assemblages have more depth than the notion of ‘node’ or ‘point’ suggests – as connoted by network – in terms of their histories, the labour required to produce them, and their inevitable capacity to exceed the connections between other groups or places in the movement. Third, they are not simply a spatial category, output, or resultant formation, but signify doing, performance and events. I examine the potential of assemblage to offer an alternative account to that of the ‘network’, the predominant and often de facto concept used in discussions of the spatiality of social movements. I draw on examples from one particular translocal assemblage based in and beyond Mumbai which campaigns on housing within informal settlements: Slum/Shack Dwellers International.     

Moving young lives: Mobility, immobility and inter-generational tensions in urban Africa

This paper explores young people’s experiences and perceptions of mobility and mobility constraints in poorer urban areas of Ghana, Malawi and South Africa within the specific context of inter-generational relations. Drawing principally on qualitative research findings from a study involving both adult and child researchers, our aim is to chart the diversities and commonalities of urban young people’s mobility experiences in the everyday - how they use and experience the city - developing a comparative perspective across three urban study sites which links young people’s mobility with the power relations that operate to shape their movements in individual locations. In particular, we consider how positive and negative images of young people’s mobility play out in terms of the inter-generational frictions and negotiations generated by their mobility performances. We also reflect on the developmental implications, in terms of young people’s access to services and income and their participation in the social networks and peer culture which may shape their life trajectories. Three themes are explored in detail: mobility as challenge, mobility as temptation and mobility control.     

南大巴山前陆冲断带中带构造样式及变形机制

南大巴山前陆冲断带自北向南发育了根带、中带和锋带三条构造带。通过对处于中带的木瓜口-明月乡、城口-龙田乡两段剖面地质考察,结果表明该剖面叠瓦断层带经历了七期运动:三期NE-SW向的前展式逆冲运动,一期SE-NW右旋剪切运动,一期EW逆冲右旋运动,一期NE-SW向的左旋走滑运动及NE-SW向的正断运动,同时受到NW-SE的右旋剪切作用。结合前人年代学研究结果,初步探讨了剖面的变形机制,研究结果对南大巴山前陆褶断带的构造格架、矿产形成及油气分布远景研究均有一定的指导作用。     

Lanslide hydrogeological susceptibility of Maierato (Vibo Valentia, Southern Italy)

A large landslide occurred at Maierato (Vibo Valencia District), Southern Italy, on 15 February 2010, when rapid failure was produced after several days of preliminary movements. The landslide can be classified as a rotational slide with flowing of the mass. It occurred within a larger deep-seated gravitational movement area and was preconditioned for failure by the intrinsic geological weakness of the area. Actually, the in situ survey showed the presence of several ancient movement surfaces all around the urban area. The landslide-triggering factor was the increase in the groundwater flow, consequent to a period of heavy and prolonged rainfall. The aim of the paper is to explain the mechanism of occurrence of the February 2010 composite landslide, in order to assess the landslide hydrogeological susceptibility in the whole urban area of Maierato. For this reason, the present paper deals with: (1) identification of the landslide mechanism and triggering factors (2) slope stability back-analysis using a finite-difference-based shear strength reduction method, and (3) 3D groundwater flow modelling extended to the whole urban area both in pre- and post-failure conditions. The results show that the February 2010 composite landslide was triggered by a water table increase of about 15 m uphill the landslide scarp. This hydrogeological condition could be reached after the period of heavy and prolonged rainfall preceding the landslide event. Finally, based on the groundwater modelling in post-failure condition, a landslide hydrogeological susceptibility map was drawn for the all urban area of Maierato, showing the presence of extended areas exposed to hazard.     

Cultivating alternative spaces – Zagreb’s community gardens in transition: From socialist to post-socialist perspective

This paper provides an in-depth analysis of community gardens in a (post)socialist setting during a time of key changes in their perception and management. Community gardens in Zagreb emerged in two specific economic and socio-cultural contexts and a diachronous approach to the study of urban gardens offers a unique insight into differences and similarities reflecting and contrasting those periods. Semi-structured interviews and non-participatory observation were employed. Results show that community gardens in Zagreb are multilayered places which satisfy diverse needs of the urban residents, including home grown food, socializing, recreation, contact with the nature, and supplementation for low pensions. They can also be seen as examples of heterotopias or alternative spaces during both examined periods. In the socialist period they were secluded, private, pseudo-rural places in a semi-authoritarian, communal, and (supposedly) urban and industrial society. In post-socialist Zagreb, characterized by an uncontrolled and unplanned spatial context reliant on neoliberal market-oriented principles, social insensitivity and exclusion, the new gardens are depicted as beacons of communal involvement, grassroots movements, and the ability of citizens to stand together and make their voices heard.     

Method for prediction of landslide movements based on random forests

Prediction of landslide movements with practical application for landslide risk mitigation is a challenge for scientists. This study presents a methodology for prediction of landslide movements using random forests, a machine learning algorithm based on regression trees. The prediction method was established based on a time series consisting of 2 years of data on landslide movement, groundwater level, and precipitation gathered from the Kostanjek landslide monitoring system and nearby meteorological stations in Zagreb (Croatia). Because of complex relations between precipitations and groundwater levels, the process of landslide movement prediction is divided into two separate models: (1) model for prediction of groundwater levels from precipitation data and (2) model for prediction of landslide movements from groundwater level data. In a groundwater level prediction model, 75 parameters were used as predictors, calculated from precipitation and evapotranspiration data. In the landslide movement prediction model, 10 parameters calculated from groundwater level data were used as predictors. Model validation was performed through the prediction of groundwater levels and prediction of landslide movements for the periods from 10 to 90 days. The validation results show the capability of the model to predict the evolution of daily displacements, from predicted variations of groundwater levels, for the period up to 30 days. Practical contributions of the developed method include the possibility of automated predictions, updated and improved on a daily basis, which would be an important source of information for decisions related to crisis management in the case of risky landslide movements.     

The structure of urban space, movement and co-presence: The case of Atlanta

Urban areas in Atlanta are analyzed using a computer based technique known as ‘space syntax’ to reveal an underlying systematic and consistent relationship between pedestrian or vehicular movement and spatial configuration. This provides a framework for discussing how far different urban morphologies are characterized by similar regular patterns; how design choices can affect the social use of space; and how methodological and theoretical issues, such as the study of the effects of scale, can be formulated with greater clarity.     

土体水平位移对邻近既有桩基承载性状影响分析

城市建设中经常会遇到由于堆载或基坑开挖所引起的土体水平位移现象,土体水平位移的作用会使邻近建筑物的桩基础产生附加内力或变形,并可能导致邻近桩基的破坏而发生工程事故。针对此类问题,基于Winkler地基模型以及桩-土变形协调条件,建立单桩水平位移控制方程,根据内力与位移的微分关系,采用两阶段方法进行求解。结合典型的工程事故,通过参数分析,研究土体水平位移对邻近桩基承载性状的影响程度。分析表明,基坑工程围护墙体的稳定和开挖深度对邻近桩基的安全有着重要影响,并提出了近期发生在上海的某小高层楼房整体倒覆事故的一种可能原因。     

Inverse analysis techniques for parameter identification in simulation of excavation support systems

Two numerical procedures are described that quantitatively identify a set of constitutive parameters that best represents observed ground movement data associated with deep excavations in urban environments. This inverse problem is solved by minimizing an objective (or error) function of the weighted least-squares type that contains the difference between observed and calculated ground displacements. The problem is solved with two different minimization algorithms, one based on a gradient method and the other on a genetic algorithm. The objective function is shown to be smooth with a unique solution. Both methods are applied to lateral movements from synthetic and real excavations to illustrate various aspects of the implementation of the methods. The advantages and disadvantages of each method applied to excavation problems are discussed.     

Political transformation,urban policy and the state in London's Docklands

The contemporary restructuring of urban space in the United Kingdom can be understood in terms of much broader social, political, and economic changes. This paper provides an analysis of this experience in London's Docklands, as a way of highlighting the connections between these social relations. We can best understand these changes by drawing upon regulation theory, which posits a firm, but dynamic, link between economic and political processes. Through an analysis of urban policy changes, political struggles, and economic shifts in London's Docklands, I argue for a more central role for the state and social movements in the understanding of social regulation and urban change. Finally, the paper considers the establishment of an Urban Development Corporation in the area in 1981, which represents an attempt by the central government to establish a new regime of economic and political life in the area. This has produced important conflicts at a local level, which typify the conflictual nature of attempts to restructure the economic and political relations of urban locales.     

川西坳陷中段喜山期剥蚀厚度恢复

自晚三叠世以来,川西坳陷先后经历了安县运动、印支晚幕运动和喜山运动,造成工区内地层的多次抬升剥蚀,形成了多个不整合面。本次研究是通过镜质体反射率和声波时差法,恢复川西坳陷中段喜山期的剥蚀厚度。通过镜质体反射率恢复的剥蚀厚度为844 m～3 192.6 m,平均为1 642.5 m;通过声波时差法恢复的剥蚀厚度为1 015.5 m～1 676.1 m,平均为1 386.4 m。这一差值是由于工区内普遍存在的超压,对声波时差法恢复剥蚀厚度的影响造成的。剥蚀厚度恢复结果表明：川西坳陷具有从北往南剥蚀厚度减小的特征;从西往东,则表现为先变小后变大的特征。在鸭子河地区剥蚀较强、往东到马井地区剥蚀厚度变小,再往东到中江,剥蚀厚度又变大。     

塔里木盆地北部油田古应力的AE法测量

本文在阐述了声发射(简称AE-Acoustic Emission)法测量古构造应力的可行性之后,着重介绍了测量古应力与测量现今应力在方法上的不同之处。作者采用AE法测量了塔里木盆地北部油田古应力,并得出该区喜马拉雅期有2幕主要构造运动;燕山期有3幕主要构造运动;古生代有2-3幕主要构造运动的认识。喜马拉雅构造运动在该区占主导地位。      

Rethinking the nature of urban environmental politics: Security, subjectivity, and the non-human

The growing field of urban political ecology (UPE) has greatly advanced understandings of the socio-ecological transformations through which urban economies and environments are produced. However, this field has thus far failed to fully consider subjective (and subject-forming) dimensions of urban environmental struggle. I argue that this can be overcome through bringing urban political ecology into conversation with both post-structural political ecology and critical geopolitics. Bridging these literatures focuses attention on practices of socio-ecological exclusion and attachment through which environmental subjectivities are formed. This argument is drawn out through a case study of the politics of local economic development and conservation within the watershed of the Big Darby Creek near Columbus, Ohio. This struggle was driven by a preservationist movement that coalesced around a shared understanding of socio-ecological hybridity as a source of metaphysical insecurity. Hybridity appears here as a site of political and ethical struggle over social and ecological exclusions produced in the pursuit of security. This case study demonstrates a paradox of environmental politics: the non-human is at once a site of constituent possibilities for identity and subjectivity as well as forces which seek to foreclose this radical openness. Recognizing the paradoxical nature of environmental struggle allows for a more complex and nuanced account of the multifarious forces that shape the formation of environmental subjectivities.     

天水地区新构造运动特征研究

在对天水地区新构造运动进行实地调查的基础上,首先对各种新构造运动的表象进行了较为详细的研究;其次,根据新构造运动表象,分析研究了各区的新构造运动特征,结果表明:天水地区新构造运动具有差异性升降运动明显、差异性升降运动速率不均匀、新构造运动强度空间上不均匀、断裂活动性强、地震活动频繁等特征;最后简单分析了天水地区新构造运动演化过程,认为天水地区经历过3次大的夷平过程。     

黑龙江东北部汤原断陷断块体运动特征及其对油气成藏的控制作用

应用构造运动学理论,以地质、地球物理和钻井资料为基础,对汤原断陷基底和各断块体的运动特征进行研究,证实断陷内第Ⅳ块体的基底伸展量最大,第Ⅴ块体的基底伸展量最小;通过对15个块体的实例计算总结出不同构造、不同时期断块体的翘倾运动程度存在很大差异;汤原断陷构造运动控制了油气藏类型。伸展运动和压扭性挤压运动形成构造油气藏,伸展运动早、中期在向斜部位形成岩性油气藏,断块体翘倾运动和抬升剥蚀作用形成地层油气藏。