Restructuring the kiosk trade in St. Petersburg: A new retail trade model for the post-Soviet period

This study explores the commercial kiosk phenomenon as a reflection of the socio-spatial reordering of St. Petersburg following the introduction of market forces. In this article we interpret empirical evidence on the restructuring of commercial opportunity in post-Soviet St. Petersburg as a result of the emergence of the kiosk phenomenon. Kiosk trade and processes that contribute to it have emerged as tools for mass socioeconomic and psychological adaptation, following the dismantling of the communist regime. In our opinion, the emergence and continuing mutation of St. Petersburg kiosks constitutes the backbone of a process of middle-class formation. An extensive field research of 1989, 1994 and 1995 made it possible to study the dynamics of spatial structures of kiosk phenomenon. It is our final conclusion that kiosks will remain an important feature of St. Petersburgs commercial geography in the foreseeable future.     

The suburbanization of retail trade: a U.S. nationwide view

The Censuses of Business 1958, 1963 and 1967 and the Censuses of Retail Trade 1972 and 1977 provide data on retail sales in CBDs and major retail centers (MRCs) of SMSAs. Through this period sales in MRCs increased while CBDs lost, reflecting the decline in the population and income of central cities. However, MRCs grew faster until 1963 compared to the late sixties and seventies, due to the rapid diffusion of MRCs all over the country in the early sixties. Retail sales in CBDs continued to decline through the seventies. The trends of increase in MRC retail sales reflect several stages of suburbanization of population, and an increase in the ‘doughnut effect’.     

The Lower-Kotlin aquifer as a source of mineral therapeutic waters for St. Petersburg

The layer of water-bearing sandstone (PR₂ V kt₁) named Lower-Kotlin aquifer is widespread in the northwestern part of the Russian platform, within the Moscow Artesian Basin. It is mostly confined. The aquifer lies directly on the surface of the crystalline basement throughout the basin. The water mineralization rises from north to south together with the depth of the aquifer. The mineralization growth is mainly caused by the increase of sodium and chloride contents. Three consequent vertical zones can be marked out: fresh-water zones (<1 g/dm³), brackish-water zone (1–35 g/dm³) and brine zone (>35 g/dm³). Each of these zones has specific regularities of variation of chemical composition. The role of each component is different for waters of each zone. The aquifer is actively exploited—for public water supply and bottling in the north and for mineral water treatment in the south. Within St. Petersburg, this water is used for technical purposes of industry. There are some health resorts and spas in St. Petersburg Region, such as Sestroretsk, Peterhof, Luga, which use the mineral water of the Lower-Kotlin aquifer. A number of bottling plants produce bottled mineral water. Wide regional location and peculiarities of chemical composition of the Lower-Kotlin aquifer cause the possibility of the organization of many other spas and health resorts near St. Petersburg.     

Seismodeformations in Late Holocene estuary deposits in the central part of St. Petersburg

Deformations in a section of layered Late Holocene estuary-flood-plain deposits, found for the first time in the central part of St. Petersburg, are discussed. The discussed reason why this section could have been deformed inside the undeformed stratum is a horizontally directed dynamical shock. The probable causes of deformation are considered, with the most real one being a relatively distant earthquake. An attempt is made to estimate the intensity of this quake for the territory of the city.     

Integrated geological risk mapping: a qualitative methodology applied in St. Petersburg, Russia

The current active development of the city of St. Petersburg in Russia has led to high growth rates in both industrial and housing areas, causing an increased load on geological media. Taking into account the rather unfavourable geological conditions of the city area, such a development can entail to an intensification of environmental risks. Sustainable and cost-effective land-use planning requires information on geological conditions. Stakeholders need general geological information on the area of St. Petersburg, hydrogeological information on groundwater and information on geological risks. Geological risk maps help to identify whether an area under consideration requires special measures for geological risk management. This paper describes a first attempt to analyze potential geological risks in the city of St. Petersburg, Russia. The approach is to introduce a methodology for multi-risk assessment to be used in land-use planning. The core of the methodology is a matrix that assigns a certain level of geological risk depending on the combination of land use stipulated by the master plan of St. Petersburg and geological characteristics. Based on the matrix, a map presenting potential integrated geological risk can be created. At the same time, the combination of the integrated geological risk map, single geological risk maps and the matrix allows the retracement of which geological characteristics and which land use types contribute to the resulting risk. Users of the methodology in St. Petersburg were trained and an end-user manual was prepared by the authors. The methodology was introduced to professionals who utilize geological information and assess potential risks related to geology.     

Moscow and St. Petersburg, a sequence of capitals, a tale of two cities

From early modern times until the present, Russia (temporarily extended to the USSR) had two capital cities: Moscow and Petersburg. Moscow was the original capital, it was succeeded by Petersburg from the beginning of the 18th century. From the early 20th century onward Moscow again became the capital, but it became a different kind of capital at the end of the 20th century. The paper describes the evolution of the representation of the state function in the appearance of the capital cities by way of the state buildings, the monuments, the street names. In addition it analyses the fate of the former capitals (first Moscow, then Petersburg) in terms of their symbolic functions. Petersburg originated as a capital turned to the outside emphasizing Russia's European vocation, while Moscow was at first the inward looking capital city representing the distinctive spiritual values of Russia. Changes had to do with the changes in the nature of the successive political regimes and with the changing roles of the two cities within those regimes.     

U.S. Nationwide trends in metropolitan retail trade: A perspective of the mid 1980s

The 1982 U.S. summary data for retail sales (Census of Retail Trade) are analyzed in light of trends since 1958. The metropolitan economy consists of four sectors, namely CBDs, major retail centres (MRCs), non-CBD/MRC retailing and direct marketing. Total U.S. retail sales declined by some 1.6% during 1977–1982. Metropolitan retail sales increased, however, more than metropolitan population growth. This is related to the construction of outer-ring superregional centres which serve also exurban customers. Within metropolitan areas CBDs continued their absolute and relative decline, while MRCs grew, keeping their share in the metropolitan economy. Non-CBD/MRC retailing is the largest and increasingly growing sector. It represents demographic and economic changes that lead to an increased emphasis on speciality strip and small-town retailing. Direct marketing, while constantly growing, has not yet become a real threat to conventional store retailing.     

Globalizing retail and the ‘new e-conomy’: The organizational challenge of e-commerce for the retail TNCs

This paper examines the organizational challenge of e-commerce for emerging retail transnational corporations (TNCs). The paper begins by scoping and conceptualizing the retail TNCs and in the process, draws attention to the high level of territorial embeddedness of these firms. This provides the framework for the remainder of the paper, where the organizational challenge of a ‘multi-channel’ paradigm (blending online and offline forms of retail distribution) is evaluated. Specifically, the paper argues that place, space and embeddedness continue to matter in the ‘new e-conomy’ of multi-channel distribution.     

The spatial organization of services in new land settlement: experiences and trends

Conclusion Despite its uniqueness, the vitality inherent in the rural structure of Israel is of particular interest to other developing regions with a predominant rural-agricultural population. Latin American countries, for example, are investing considerable resources in the development of new lands through construction of penetration roads and other infrastructure. Several countries have created regional development authorities; some have policies designed to attract private investments into virgin areas.¹³⁾ The general emphasis tends increasingly toward state-initiated and planned settlement, often in conjuction with agrarian reform programs — an approach dictated both by economic efficiency and welfare criteria.Past experience has shown that the rural population has to be organized in viable communities in order to become amenable to economic and cultural integration. Communities must likewise be spatially organized in an optimal way that will make it possible to provide them with amenities and so direct their production for the purpose of achieving economic status. At the same time, maximum flexibility must be preserved to fit varying developmental stages, since physical plans once carried into effect are extremely difficult to modify.In order to reduce the social and economic pull of existing urban centers it may be advisable to develop new settlement areas as self-sufficient enclaves, independent to some extent from the facilities existing in the region. The settlements would share the national infrastructure of communications and public services, but would gear their production to regional as well as extra-regional demand, bypassing the traditional local market place. Then, as the new communities consolidate as social and economic entities, the options for collaboration or competition with existing central places can be laid open on a more equitable basis.Admittedly such sheltered development may affect the role of the local intermediary and lessen the commercial activities of the urban sector, but it would also stimulate the development of an independent framework of handling, marketing, and an increasing degree of processing the settlements' produce. These complementary activities would help to retain part of the added value of the production and generate new sources of employment for successive village generations. The delay in the growth for the region's total output may well be worthwhile for achieving that social and economic transformation which in turn may lead to a more balance and sustained development of the entire region.¹⁴⁾     

祁连山地区生态系统服务间权衡的社会-生态环境响应机制研究

生态系统服务间权衡和协同关系存在显著的空间异质性,现有研究较少从社会-生态环境的角度进行分析,难以对将生态系统服务纳入实际政策制定过程中.以祁连山地区为研究区,利用InVEST模型和CASA模型对2019年五项调节服务(碳固定、碳储存、产水量、土壤保持和水质净化)和一项支持服务(生境质量)进行计算,结合多元回归树分析法...     

The distribution of U and Pu in the St. Severin chondrite

A detailed study of the U distribution of the St. Severin chondrite has been made by fission track radiography in order to clarify the interpretation of fission Xe thermal release data in terms of the mineralogical location of the fission Xe within the meteorite. This is of importance because the ${}^{244}\text{Pu}{}^{238}\text{U}$ ratio for St. Severin has been widely adopted as the average solar system value. The U contents of the constituent minerals cannot account for the total rock U which, instead, appears to be primarily localized on grain boundaries. The greatest localizations of U are in olivine-poor, orthopyroxene-rich ‘clasts’. Our data coupled with those of Podosek (1970a) show that ²⁴⁴Pu in St. Severin was also located on grain boundaries and that the bulk of Pu and U are unfractionated within this meteorite. Due to recoil, the ²⁴⁴Pu fission Xe is found in 10 micron surface layers on major phases. Assuming that the grain boundaries (on which the Pu was located) was formed during metamorphism, the ${}^{244}\text{Pu}{}^{238}\text{U}$ ratio for St. Severin applies to a time subsequent to the textural recrystallization of the meteorite. Our data support the interpretation of Podosek and our best estimate of the solar system ${}^{244}\text{Pu}{}^{238}\text{U}$ is 0.015.     

Late Quaternary glaciation and environmental change on St. Kilda, Scotland, and their palaeoclimatic significance

On Hirta, the largest island of the St. Kilda archipelago near the western edge of the Scottish continental shelf, evidence has been found for four cold periods and one intervening mild period. During the most recent cold period (the Loch Lomond Stadial), two protalus ramparts were formed. Prior to this there occurred two periods of valley glaciation separated by a mild interval during which the local vegetation was dominated by grasses and sedges. For the most recent valley glaciation (= Late Devensian glacial maximum) a mean July temperature of 4°C is inferred. At this time intensive periglacial processes were operative down to present sea level. At some earlier, pre-Dcvensian, time St. Kilda was invaded by the Scottish ice sheet.     

The conventions of agri-environmental practice in New Zealand: farmers, retail driven audit schemes and a new spirit of farming

Audit schemes dictating the parameters of environmentally and socially acceptable management practice have emerged as a pervasive feature of global agri-food production. While the impacts of such schemes on the global movement of food and fibre and the evolving terrains of power in agri-food relations are well documented, the associated reconstruction of farming identities in the localities where audits are implemented has received less attention. The emerging responses to audit schemes in the New Zealand kiwifruit and dairy sectors are key examples of the contentious nature through which auditing is incorporated within farming practice. Analysis of these responses reveals the potential for audits to alter the spirit of farming in New Zealand, initiating new conventions of interaction between producers and industries. Within a convention theory framework, the incorporation of auditing within standard management practice involves a negotiated process in which the farmers employ strategic justifications of their capability (and value) relative to the quality designations established by the audit. Rather than evaluate the relative merits of a farm, its product and its owner through the craft and skill of the independent land manager, successful farming is increasingly associated with the individual’s ability to conform to an audit’s structures. The global trend toward audit schemes suggests that similar challenges to the spirit of farming may be replicated in other contexts.     

Mineralogy and phase chemistry of Mount St. Helens tephra sets W and Y as keys to their identification

Voluminous and widespread tephras were produced frequently during the last 36,000 yr of volcanic activity at Mount St. Helens. Numerous tephra sets have been defined by D. R. Mullineaux, J. H. Hyde, and M. Rubin (1975, U.S. Geological Survey Journal of Research, 3, 329–335) on the basis of field relations, FeMg phenocryst assemblage, and ¹⁴C chronology and are valuable marker beds for regional stratigraphic studies. In this study modal abundances and mineral compositions were determined (via petrographic and electron microprobe techniques) for numerous samples of individual layers within tephra sets W and Y to evaluate the degree of compositional variability within and between tephra layers and criteria by which to distinguish among Mount St. Helens and other Pacific Northwest tephras. Although individual layers within a set (e.g., We, Wn) cannot be distinguished from each other on the basis of mineralogic characteristics examined, mineral compositions allow distinction among layers W and Y and other Pacific Northwest tephras (e.g., Mazama, Glacier Peak). FeTi oxide compositions and T-f_O2 estimates derived using coexisting magnetite-ilmenite are especially useful due to the compositional homogeneity of these minerals both within and between samples of a given unit over a wide geographic area. The silicates show more compositional variability than the oxides, but $\text{iO}{}_2\text{Al}{}_2\text{O}{}_3$ contents in hornblende and Fe/Mg ratios in hypersthene aid in distinguishing among Pacific Northwest tephras.     

The politics of imaginaries and bioenergy sub-niches in the emerging Northeast U.S. bioenergy economy

As part of a transition to lower carbon energy systems, bioenergy development is often assumed to follow a uniform pathway. Yet the design, organization, and politics of bioenergy production in specific regional contexts may be contested. This study examines contestation within an emerging perennial crop bioenergy sector in the U.S. Northeast. Synthesizing conceptual contributions from the multi-level perspective on the significance of niches and sub-niches in sustainability transitions and from science and technology studies on the material and moral implications of sociotechnical imaginaries and object conflicts, this paper analyzes the politics of bioenergy sub-niche imaginaries. It identifies two main bioenergy sub-niches centered on (1) regional production and (2) community energy. Examining proposed and current production of perennial energy crops on marginal land, the study draws on 42 semi-structured interviews with bioenergy actors (e.g., scientists, industry representatives, policymakers, farmers/landowners) and secondary documents. The two bioenergy sub-niche imaginaries revealed political contestations around scale of operations, control and beneficiaries, and about definitions and uses of marginal land relative to livelihoods and community. This study highlights the potency of rival imaginaries within a developing sociotechnical niche and implications for sustainability transitions. Tracing the contours and emphases of, as well as conflicts between, bioenergy sub-niche imaginaries can clarify which pathways for transition to a lower carbon energy future could garner political and public support. The paper concludes by considering how disagreements between sub-niche actors could lead to productive mutual learning and the possibility of forging solutions contributing to more robust and equitable sustainability transitions.     

The locational policies and geographical expansion of multiple retail companies: A case study of M.F.I.

M.F.I. has emerged as the major retailer of self-assembly furniture in the United Kingdom and their trading philosophy has led to a search for suburban retail sites. This paper outlines M.F.I.'s locational policies and traces the company's geographical expansion.     

The Confirmation of a New Type of Chondrites and Their Cosmochemical Significance

The data available show that some Antarctic carbonaceous chondrites are similar to Cl meteorites.Tehy contain a lot of phyllosilicate aggregates and the oxygen isotopic composition of the whole-rock samples is approximate to that of C1 chondrites,so they are named after quasi-C1(Q-C1)chondrites Unlike Cl metcorites,the Q-Cl chondites possess chondrule structrue,and the compositions of hih temperature condensates(chondrule fragments,mineral grains or aggregates)show that the oxygen fugacity varied within a wide range in the surroundings where they were formed,similar to the variation range from E.H.L,LL to C group chondrites.It is inferred that the Q-C1 chondrites could be formed at the edges far from the equator in the whole asteroid region of the solar nebular disk.where the nebula was lower in density and the condensates were lower in accretion velocity,so that the hydration of chon drules and matrix occurred during the late stage of nebular condensation.The discovery of the Q-Cl chondrites and the fact that the earth and other terrestrial planets contain water indicate that at the edges far from the equator in the terrestrial reigion of the solar nebular disk,a large amount of water was incorporated into the lattice of minerals in the condensates as a result of hydration during nebular condensation,and then found its way into the interior parts of the Earth and other terrestrial planets due to accretion.     

西安市农业生态系统服务间关系及空间分异

农业生态系统是一种人工-自然复合生态系统,人类行为和管理决策干扰生态系统服务的供给和需求,生态系统服务之间的关系也随之发生变化.以西安市农业生态系统为研究对象,测算了农产品供给、固碳、水源涵养、净化环境及文化娱乐5项生态系统服务价值,分析农业生态系统服务总价值的空间差异,并根据景观特点和农业生态系统服务价值将研究区划分为3个区,探索不同分区生态系统服务功能之间的相互关系,并提出了西安市的生态系统管理对策.结果表明：研究区提供的农业生态系统服务总价值为590×10⁸元.从生态系统服务大分类来看,调节服务 > 供给服务 > 文化服务.各区县农业生态系统服务功能价值差别较大.1999-2013年,西安市供给服务上升,调节服务和支持服务下降.西安市农业生态系统服务功能价值大致呈现由市中心向边缘区逐渐加强的趋势.在不同的农业区域生态系统中,生态系统服务内部各功能之间的相关性差异较大.在耕区、园区、林区生态系统中,农产品提供与固碳、水源涵养、净化环境、文化休闲服务之间的相关性差异大,而调节服务与文化服务以及调节服务各功能之间的相关关系均呈现显著正相关.为了维护城市生态系统的稳定,应该调整城市绿地景观格局,构建“绿色斑块、绿色廊道、湿地、农田”镶嵌共存的绿地生态系统;在发展农区、园区生态产业过程中,应当调整农业产业结构,选择经济效益与生态效益兼顾的作物品种和植被类型.