What conditions supply chain strategies of ports? The case of Dubai

Recent academic debates about port competition have centered on the strategic responses of port authorities, operators, managers and owners to the emergence of global supply chains. The competitive performance of a port authority or operator, given the rise of the integrated logistics sector, depends increasingly on its strategic relationship to these supply chains and rather less on traditional port competition factors such as hinterland size and physical infrastructure. However, there are few empirical studies investigating the degree to which particular port actors are capable of inserting themselves into global supply chains. In this article we ask what factors condition the supply chain strategies of port actors. We hypothesize that the strategic supply chain choices of a port authority or operator are conditioned by the territorialized institutional framework in which the dominant actors in a port operate. We apply these insights through a case study of the transformation of Dubai Port Authority, and the rise of Dubai Ports World (DPW).

China’s container-related dynamics, 1990–2005

This study seeks to gauge how far China’s container-related dynamics between 1990 and 2005 fit into the wider perspective about transport and development within developing countries. In particular, attention is focussed on the role of specific modes to determine the extent of the penetration of containers within China. Before addressing these key issues extant models relating to an understanding of port and transport evolution in less-developed countries are recalled, synthesized and used as a base upon which an appropriate review of China’s case can be conducted. Applying them to China’s northern, central and southern port ranges not only helps assess the efficacy of these models but also highlights the contribution of individual modes.

Empty marine container logistics: facts,issues and management strategies

With the global container population exceeding 25 million TEU (Twenty-foot Equivalent Unit) and the annual production of new boxes exceeding 3 million TEU it is estimated that around 1.5 million TEU of empty containers are sitting in yards and depots around the world waiting for use. Although utilization rates have improved since 2004, container utilization depends on the very dynamic nature of container transportation, and the container building and leasing industries. Owing primarily to the chronic trend of increasing trade imbalances across the oceans, and despite recent trends along some trade routes, the empty container management problem has become a major issue for the container shipping industry during the last decade. This paper examines and analyzes empty container logistics at a global, interregional, regional and local level. Special consideration is given to key factors affecting the empty container logistics management and strategies implemented by ocean carriers and other stakeholders to better manage empty containers.

Mapping flood pressure points: assessing vulnerability of the UK Fire Service to flooding

A vulnerability index for the Fire Service in the UK has been designed to identify vulnerable locations during episodes of severe floods. Taking recent case studies with the UK Fire Service, the patterns of vulnerability, in terms of demand on time and resources, can be explained by investigating the environmental causes and their interaction with the adaptive capacity of the response agencies.

Spatial and temporal knowledge representation

Knowledge Representation (KR) originated as a discipline within Artificial Intelligence, and is concerned with the representation of knowledge in symbolic form so that it can be stored and manipulated on a computer. This article surveys that part of KR that is concerned with the representation of space and time, with particular reference to the use of such representations in geographical information science.

Use of reaction path modeling to predict the chemistry of stream water and groundwater: a case study from the Fiume Grande valley (Calabria,Italy)

The irreversible water–rock mass exchanges leading to the production of the Fiume Grande valley (Calabria, Italy) stream waters and groundwaters, starting from local rainwaters, were simulated through reaction path modeling in reaction progress (stoichiometric) mode. The simulations assumed bulk dissolution of a phyllitic rock and calcite and precipitation of gibbsite, kaolinite, amorphous silica, illite, a smectite solid mixture, a hydroxide solid mixture, and a trigonal carbonate solid mixture. The analytical contents of major and trace elements in stream waters and groundwaters were satisfactorily reproduced. However, further investigations are necessary to clarify the fate of As in this natural systems.

Space Physics Interactive Data Resource—SPIDR

SPIDR (Space Physics Interactive Data Resource) is a standard data source for solar-terrestrial physics, functioning within the framework of the ICSU World Data Centers. It is a distributed database and application server network, built to select, visualize and model historical space weather data distributed across the Internet. SPIDR can work as a fully-functional web-application (portal) or as a grid of web-services, providing functions for other applications to access its data holdings.

Melt inclusion formation mechanisms and compositional effects in high-An feldspar and high-Fo olivine in anhydrous mafic silicate liquids

Important aspects of melt inclusion formation and potential compositions effects have been addressed through a series of experiments using anorthite/fosterite saturated anhydrous mafic liquids. Experimental charges were cooled from 1,300 to 1,230 and 1,210°C at rates of 1–10°/min followed by 0–24 h isothermal periods. Hopper and skeletal crystal morphologies with variable degrees of completeness developed during the cooling period. Planar overgrowth of these textures during isothermal periods led to the formation of inclusions, the majority of which formed after 6 h of isothermal run time. We suggest that the change in morphologies is related to a decrease in growth rates and changes in dominant growth mechanisms. In general, inclusion compositions were uniform and similar to the host glass, indicating that with the isothermal times required for most inclusions to form, a boundary layer was not entrapped that could be detected within the limits of our analyses.

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Airline data for global city network research: reviewing and refining existing approaches

Information on air passenger flows is potentially a prime data source for assessing spatial patterns in the global city network, but previous analyses have been hampered by inadequate and/or partial data. The ensuing analytical deficiencies have reduced the overall value of these analyses, and this paper examines how some of these deficiencies may be rectified. First, we review the rationale for using airline data to analyse the global city network. Second, we assess the data problems encountered in previous research. Third, we elaborate on the construction of datasets that may circumvent some of these problems. The proposed refinements include the omission of the hub function of major airports and ways to extract relevant business flows from the data.

Assessment of suffosion-related hazards in karst areas using GIS technology

This paper describes an application of the geographic information system (GIS) technology to a ground stability assessment in the karst area of Dzerzhinsk, Russia. In the stability analysis, the groundwater level changes in the karst aquifer could cause suffosion sinkholes when the gravitational force was greater than the soil strength. The GIS technology was used to combine various data and to delineate the zones of potential gravitational collapse and suffosion collapse in the area.

The role of economic analysis in groundwater management in semi-arid regions: the case of Nigeria

The aim of this paper is to use an economic framework to derive decision making rules for river basin management with a focus on groundwater resources. Using an example from northern Nigeria, the paper provides an example of how decision making for sustainable water resources management may be facilitated by comparing net benefits and costs across a river basin. It is argued that economic tools can be used to assess the value of water resources in different uses, identify and analyze management scenarios, and provide decision rules for the sustainable use and management of surface and ground water resources in the region.

Predicting environmental conditions to minimise salt damage at the Tower of London: a comparison of two approaches

The paper compares the results of two studies of salt damage at the Wakefield Tower, Tower of London. The first, in 1993, was based on semi-quantitative salt analysis and hygroscopicity measurements. The second was based on quantitative analysis and a thermodynamic model, ECOS. Both studies aimed to predict environmental conditions that would minimise salt damage to the interior stonework. Their predictions are markedly different, and this paper examines the reasons for the differences. It is shown that hygroscopicity alone is not a reliable indicator of crystallisation from mixed salt solutions.

Government and urban management in the 20th century: policies,contradictions, and weaknesses of the New Right

Throughout the 20th century, government in the U.S. has gone through significant changes; initially responding to the disorder of early capitalism, and later, to the economic crisis of the 1970s. This article will explore the changes in the U.S. political landscape over the last century, as well as the recent rise of neo-liberalism. In addition, with the analysis of the model laissez-faire municipal government, the City of Houston, the article will illustrate how the basic weaknesses of neoliberalism at the national level are also evident at the local scale of government.

Alternative technologies for rural areas–what about the ‘alternative’ dimension of Wi-Fi?

Summary  The question of alternative technologies for high-speed Internet access lies at the heart of rural development problems. In this paper, we focus on one of those technologies, the system combining satellite technologies and Wi-Fi. Based on an empirical study carried out in three rural areas, we analyze the dynamics of the use and appropriation of that technology by the companies and organizations participating in the experiment. Considered both from a technical and social standpoint, the technology ‘in use’ appears here in its structuring dimensions.

Sex offenders,housing and spatial restriction zones

Sex offenders are currently a major focus of crime control policies at the local, regional, state and federal levels throughout the United States. In part, the perceived threat of offender recidivism has motivated legislators to launch stringent community notification programs and to establish spatial restriction zones (SRZs) around schools, daycare facilities and public parks. The purpose of these restriction zones is to help protect children and minimize their exposure to convicted sex offenders living in the community. In addition to the concern that the implementation of SRZs dramatically reduces viable housing options for registered sex offenders, there are concerns that offenders will be forced to reside in socially disorganized areas that may encourage recidivism. The purpose of this paper is to explore the demographic and socioeconomic differences between areas inside and outside SRZs. Implications of these results for sex offender policies are discussed.

Visual methodologies through a feminist lens: South African soap operas and the post-apartheid nation

Using a discussion of South African soap operas, I will place the idea of visuality in a discourse analysis that incorporates a feminist epistemological lens, or an epistemology that integrates reflexivity and an acknowledgment of the dialogic nature of visual media. Through this discussion, I will examine the possibilities that dialogism provides for unpacking and exploring the politics of imperfect translation between the visual and the textual. These methodological interventions, I argue, will help enrich discussions of the visual’s role in the contested realm of geographic imaginations and move beyond the distanced position of the masculine gaze.

A commented translation of the paper by C.W. Correns and W. Steinborn on crystallization pressure

Crystallization of salts is recognized to be a major factor of the degradation of porous materials such as stone and concrete. On the theoretical side, there is now general acceptance about the thermodynamic origin of this phenomenon. However, on the experimental side, there are only scarce quantitative data. In this respect, the reference work par excellence is that of Correns (Discuss Faraday Soc 5:267–271, 1949) who shows a good correlation between calculated and measured crystallization pressures. However, concerns about both the thermodynamic derivation and the experimental conditions raise the question about why Correns could have obtained such a good correlation. This issue is discussed extensively in this paper which is organized as a commented translation of a former paper by Correns, co-authored by Steinborn, and that is much richer in experimental details.

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Bishops, dioceses and cathedrals: the changing territorial organisation of the Church of England

The pattern of Church of England dioceses has evolved over a period of 1,400 years. It reflects the practical response of the Church to the changing political and demographic patterns of the country. No ideal size and form of diocese was ever devised and few systematic attempts were made to achieve a degree of equity between them. The constitutional link between state and church has inhibited change for the last 80 years, although society has changed significantly. Nevertheless, rapid constitutional reforms, especially in the House of Lords, may be reflected in ecclesiastical reorganisation of the dioceses.

Logics of change for military-to-wildlife conversions in the United States

Since 1988, more than 20 US military bases have been redesignated as national wildlife refuges. In order to understand the processes of these military-to-wildlife (M2W) conversions and their implications, I examine three logics that help to produce these particular changes: Biodiversity, Brownfields, and Serendipity. These logics contribute to a broader discourse of ecological militarization that frames military practices as compatible with and contributing to environmental protection. I focus on the case of the Rocky Mountain Arsenal, Colorado, USA, to examine how these logics of conversion are mobilized into practice, and what such changes mean as they bring militarism and environmental conservation together in reconfigured spaces.

The regionalization of urban natural disasters in China

An integrated urbanization level (CL) index and an integrated natural disaster intensity (QC) index were developed on the basis of Disaster System Theory and China Natural Disaster Database for integrated urban disaster risk assessment. Integrated quantitative assessments of the urban socio-economic system and the intensity of hazards in China were carried out by the Model-Tupu (map series) and inter-feedback process using digital map technology. On the basis of this assessment, China can be regionalized into three regions, namely, coastal urban disaster region, eastern urban disaster region and western urban disaster region, 15 sub-regions and 22 units. These results can provide a scientific basis for determining a city’s disaster risk management and natural disaster relief regionalization in China.