Threshold of tolerance model: strategy for international travel

The purpose of this research is to investigate what factors influence the management of International Business Air Travel (IBAT). The researchers interviewed 34 business travellers, travel organisers and executives involved in IBAT from ten organisations in differing industries, in Australia. It was found that there are a multitude of factors influencing IBAT management, including professionalism and job satisfaction of travellers and the achievement of organisational goals such as carrying out successful international ventures or operating effectively in international markets. From the findings a strategic model was developed called the Threshold of Tolerance Model—which illustrates the potential point where both organisational goals are most likely to be met and where IBAT is most likely to be well managed for both travellers and organisations.     

Topography and volume effects on travel distance of surface failure

The authors investigated factors affecting the travel distance of a surface failure and developed a simple model for estimating the distance based on soil properties and topographic factor. The authors conducted field surveys and various soil tests for a number of surface failures that occurred during torrential rain at the end of August 1998 in southern Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. The authors studied the effects of various factors such as landslide volume, pore-water pressure, slope inclination, and the internal friction near the slip surfaces on the travel distances. The analyses showed no clear relationship between landslide volume and equivalent coefficient of friction, which was likely attributable to the very small range of volume compared to other studies on catastrophic landslides. The effect of excess pore-water pressure was likely negligible because undrained conditions were not to be maintained at the shallow flow depths. A positive correlation was shown between slope inclination and equivalent coefficient of friction. This correlation was attributable to two factors, one was positive correlation between the internal friction on the slip surface and slope inclination, and the other was the kinetic energy dissipation of moving mass that occurred at the inclination changing point between a slope and a sedimentary flat surface. The authors then developed a predictive model for critical flow inclination of landslide by installing the factors of soil properties and slope inclination factors. The model predicted equivalent coefficient of frictions, which were very similar to the observed values, thus verifying the effectiveness of the model.     

Patterns of tourist destination-choice and travel behaviour among members of the urban and rural Arab community of Israel: A comparative study of Haifa and Ibilin

The destination-choice and travel behaviour of urban Arab-Israelis from Haifa, and rural Arab-Israelis from the village of Ibillin, are compared. The study examines the role of tradition, socio-economic background and geographical location of residence, in designing the two communities' destination-choice and travel behaviour. The results show that while socio-economic characteristics and life in a city or in a village do not differentiate between the two communities, religious affiliation does play a major role in determining the destination-choice and tourist behaviour of the two sub-communities. It was also found that the predominant factors that shape Arab-Israelis' tourist behaviour are the familiarity factors and that social rather than personal constraints play a major role in deciding which tourist destination is chosen. Policy oriented conclusions are presented in the light of these findings.     

优化处理红宝石中轻微玻璃态物质的清理实验

针对目前市场上出现的一些因优化处理而产生轻微玻璃残余物的天然红宝石,经适当浓度的氢氟酸(浓度23%)浸泡后,位于红宝石内裂隙和表面凹坑中的轻微玻璃态残余物被溶解,达到清理玻璃态残余物的目的,并利用电感耦合等离子体-原子发射光谱仪(ICP-AES)分析含玻璃材料的溶液中Si和Al的浓度分别为28.60μg/mL和2.795μg/mL,进而估算玻璃态残留物的损失量以判定热处理过程中非人为加入的玻璃态物质在红宝石中的充填程度。利用红外光谱仪对玻璃残留物清理前后的红宝石红外光谱进行对比研究得出:清理前,红外光谱显示在1 100~1 000 cm-1内有1个单峰宽谱带,谱峰为1 050 cm-1,是由νas(Si—O—Si)非对称伸缩振动引起的,表明残留物为非晶质体,750~600 cm-1之间位于744 cm-1的吸收峰为νs(Si—O—Si)对称伸缩振动引起;清理后,未检测到玻璃残余物特征的Si—O振动峰,仅具950~600 cm-1范围内的宽谱带,为刚玉Al—O基频振动谱带736、622 cm-1,体现晶质金属氧化物的特征,表明样品中玻璃态物质已被清除,实验后红宝石可被划归为经人工优化范畴。宝石显微镜下观察到清理实验后红宝石中原先被玻璃残余物所掩盖的显著内裂隙及表面凹坑。     

The definition and analysis of hallmark tourist events

Hallmark tourist events are major fairs, expositions, cultural and sporting events of international status which are held on either a regular or a one-off basis. A primary function of the hallmark event is to provide the host community with an opportunity to secure high prominence in the tourism market place. However, international or regional prominence may be gained with significant social and environmental costs.Several important features emerge from an examination of the research on hallmark events. First, there is no agreed upon definition of events. Second, major methodological weaknesses emerge in the study of hallmark events. Third, the majority of research is economic in orientation with relatively little attention being paid to the important social and physical impacts of such events.The paper concludes by noting the general neglect of hallmark tourism events by researchers and the urgent need for further theoretical and empirical studies.     

The concept of a bilayer hydrosphere: From the origins to the methodological approaches

This paper considers the results of development of the bilayer hydrosphere concept of the Earth offered by the author in 2000. The bilayering concept is logically based on the classical works in the field of geochemistry and is in the context of mid-twentieth century studies on the structure of the biosphere. The research methods based on this concept are interdisciplinary in nature and make it possible to unify and thereby to facilitate the solution of many problems in the field of oceanology, hydrology and other geographic sciences related to geochemistry.     

The creation of governments-in-waiting: The Arab Uprisings and legitimacy in the international system

During the Arab Uprisings from 2010 a series of new interim governments were formed in which processes of international brokerage played a significant role. Some governments were formed only once the old political order had been displaced, but others were established during, and partly as a means to achieve, that displacement amidst continuing armed conflict. It is this second type of case that will be examined in this paper, where the move by major powers to shift recognition to new administrations forms part of the process of delegitimising a national political system that still, at least in part, exists. This paper will look at the multi-site formation of these “governments-in-waiting”, as they seek to bridge the gap between the diaspora and the resident, between the long established parties of exile and the local military commanders. The process of formation also acts as a channel through which external authorities seek – not always successfully – to act as dispensers of legitimation, and thus arbiters of rightful inclusion within structures of government. It will explore how the act of legitimation translates into changing modes of governance in areas that came under the control of the new authorities, their role in facilitating and managing processes of civil and military defection, and, in the some cases, the consequences of prior formation for the establishment of full governments once the ancien régime has finally been overthrown.     

The spatial structure of tourist accommodation and hotel demand in Spain

Tourism in Spain has developed dramatically in recent decades but the growth of the tourist industry has not been experienced evenly throughout the country. Tourism is largely concentrated in a small number of essentially coastal and insular provinces. Analysis by principal components shows that significant regional variations occur in the demand for hotels from different national groups but, with the exception of the French, the spatial preferences of each nationality have remained remarkably constant in the period 1965–1980. However, as growth rates have differed from market to market, so the demand for hotels has developed at different rates from one province to another. Regional variations in the seasonality of demand also occur. These findings highlight the need for further geographical studies such as this to provide more spatial detail than is to be found in most national studies and at the same time to supply the synthesis which unrelated regional or local case studies lack.     

The fifth edition of the Atlas of Finland —thematic and methodological guidelines

Finland has a most extraordinary experience in the field of thematic and expecially atlas cartography. The traditions of national atlases go almost 100 years back through five extensive editions (1899, 1910, 1920, 1960 and the fifth 1977–1991). Thematically these atlases have acted as thruthful mirrors of the rather dramatic changes Finland has lived through both from the point of environment (including political boundaries), economy, settlement and cultural features. Methodologically the series of Finnish atlases show many interesting aspects of development, in many respects important new approaches have been introduced and also the fifth edition has in international reviews been described as “innovative”. Finally one can stress the purposeful geographical emphasis in the content of these atlases; they are no mechanistic interpretations of e.g. statistical data. The presently-day work in the field of national atlases faces many new demands. Automation has enhanced the cartographic processing of data, there is a much extended information base concerning all the aspects of the modern societies which must be taken into account and there is also a number of new outlets for the ready product (printed and numerical). The greater scope and diversity must not, however, restrict the scientific unbiased editorial work of analyzing and synthetizing the data for cartographic expression; a clearcut geographical philosophy must be the guideline. In the future the thematic and atlas cartography must also be dealt increasingly in problem-oriented and international frames.     

Physical geography and law: The case of international river boundaries

The delimination of international boundaries in rivers and lakes are open to some unique questions. The natural, physical qualities of those geographical phenomena, which, as a part of state territory, in contrast to the definition of territory, is not immovable but movable and is even naturally a fluid element, gives it its unique characteristics. There are geographical, cartographical, even mathematical problems which the legal world had to deal with while dealing with boundaries in rivers and lakes. The two main problems are the exact location of the line and the changeable character of every river and lake, which could change the location of the line.Part of the Iraki-Iranian border runs along the Shatt al Arab river and its history reveals problems concerning the delimination of a boundary in rivers.     

Sediment oxygen consumption and benthic nutrient fluxes on the Louisiana continental shelf: A methodological comparison

There has been considerable discussion but little experimental evidence regarding the comparability of in-situ and remote (shipboard or laboratory) incubations for the determination of sediment oxygen consumption and benthic nutrient flux rates. This paper presents the results of such a comparison, using in situ chamber and shipboard chemostatic systems, for a shallow station on the Louisiana, continental shelf during April 1992. Results indicated no methodological differences between rates of sediment oxygen consumption and nutrient flux (NH₄ ⁺, NO₅ ^?, NO₂ ^?, PO₄ ^3?, and SiO₂/Si(OH)₂) that could be attributed to the removal of cores from shelf sediments. This conclusion implies that subcoring from box cores is no more destructive of sediment structure and salient environmental characteristics than chamber emplacement. Differences between the methods occurred when ambient oxygen concentrations were low (<2 ml l^?1). These differences were caused by initial reaeration of bottom water in the shipboard system and reflect the sensitivity of heterotrophic metabolism, dissolution kinetics, and diffusive fluxes to low oxygen concentrations. The differences in exchange rates observed in this study reiterate the importance in maintaining ambient conditions in the experimental apparatus. The results of this study corroborate the small body of, data that addresses this issue and extends methodological similarities to include nutrient exchanges. Given the comparability of rates, use of remote chemostatic systems is more advantageous for work in shelf environments than in-situ batch methods due to increased statistical rigor, logistical convenience, and the ability to minimize changes in experimental conditions during incubations.     

Making spaces: The ethnic Brao people and the international border between Laos and Cambodia

On December 6, 1904 the present international border between Laos and Cambodia was unilaterally established when the French colonial government extracted Stung Treng Province from Laos and transferred it to Cambodia. The ethnic Brao people living in the border region were not well known to the French, and in any case, their views were not deemed important. But since then the Brao have utilised this state administrative boundary in ways not intended by its designers, or governments since then, to give them more power to create new spaces. When conditions in Cambodia have been deemed unfavourable, the Brao have often crossed into Laos, and similarly, when circumstances have been less advantageous in Laos they have moved to Cambodia.This paper traces the history of the Brao as it specifically relates to the international border between Laos and Cambodia. While this administrative boundary was created to help national governments keep populations confined within nation-states, Brao human agency has sometimes confounded these efforts, through transforming its significance and role. The boundary has separated Brao populations in ways that are sometimes upsetting to them, but it has also allowed the Brao to position themselves at the margins of different nation-states, in spaces where they have been able to, at least temporarily, avoid or reduce state control over them. These are not non-state spaces; they are fundamentally constituted by a state-established boundary, even if the Brao have been able to mobilise this resource to empower themselves, and sometimes to resist the state itself.     

The creation and consequences of international refugees: Politics,military and geography

Worldwide, the number and the occurrence of events that create international refugees has been increasing dramatically for at least the past fifty years. Analysis of the distribution of the causes and location of refugees has revealed that refugees more often result from military actions than natural disasters. In many instances, the creation of international refugees is a conscious political and military policy, a practice that seems to be increasing. More importantly, some geographic areas seem to be continuing core areas of such practices. Finally, regardless of their cause, refugees present specific problems to national control of population and territory. States that have been open to refugee settlement seldom are neighbor states and many now find their own populations rebelling against continued aid in the form of increased immigration. Most often, contiguous states are unwilling hosts as well as unwilling sites of refugee camps. Such circumstances can cause serious social, political as well as potential military consequences.     

旅游活动对龙宫景区不同植被层物种多样性的影响

按照旅游活动程度的强弱将景区分为活动区、缓冲区和对照区,并利用6个物种多样性指数,研究了龙宫风景区旅游活动对不同植被层物种多样性的影响.结果表明,随着游客的大量增多及龙宫风景区基础设施建设的加强,风景区物种组成越来越少,多样性与结构越来越简单.主要表现在:(1)乔木层的丰富度上,表现出缓冲区最大,活动区最小,对照区介于两者之间;在物种均匀度上,表现出活动区＞对照区＞缓冲区的趋势;在物种多样性上,活动区最小,缓冲区其次,对照区最大;从生态优势度来看,对照区最大,活动区最小,缓冲区介于其中.(2)灌木层的物种丰富度上,表现出活动区最小,对照区其次,而缓冲区为最大的趋势;在物种均匀度上,对照区最大,活动区次之,缓冲区最小;在物种多样性上,活动区最小,缓冲区其次,对照区最大;从生态优势度来看,对照区最大,活动区最小,缓冲区介于其中.(3)草本层的物种丰富度上,表现出对照区最小,活动区其次,而缓冲区为最大的趋势;在物种均匀度上,对照区最小,活动区次之,缓冲区最大;在物种多样性上,对照区最小,缓冲区最大,活动区介于其中;从生态优势度来看,呈现出缓冲区＞活动区＞对照区的趋势.     

Classifications of retail stores and shopping centres: some methodological issues

This paper reviews current methods used in classifying retail outlets and areas devoted to retailing, in the geographical and town planning literature. For retail outlets, classifications based upon types of goods sold, and types of shopping trip, are discussed. This is followed by an analysis of modern large store development which reflects property developers' and retailers' concerns. Areas devoted to retail uses are subdivided into unplanned ‘retail areas’ and planned ‘shopping centres’. Traditional classifications based upon central place theory are reviewed for both of these types, and found wanting in the light of recent changes in retail development practice and consumer behaviour. Classifications based upon physical development characteristics and type of shopping trip are recommended. Finally, classifications of urban retail location are examined. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.