Conservation,integration and foreign dependency: Prelude to a new economic security strategy

With dramatic changes in the international environment, and the resulting substantial defense budget reductions, defense planners are being forced to grabble with old problems in new ways. The intractability of efforts to foster industrial conversion, and the cumulative record of acquisition reform, are leading toward a consensus about relying more heavily on the commercial sectors of the economy to meet defense requirements. Carrying through with a policy of civil-military integration (CMI) will require a concept of economic security that is more internationally oriented than is traditional for the Department of Defense (DOD) and, at the same time, accommodates very real concerns about foreign dependency. New analatical approaches will be required to help focus attention on high-risk foreign dependencies. One such approach —the Foreign Vulnerability Index (FVI) — is developed here. Its strengths and weaknesses are discussed.     

American geographers and the geography of East Central Europe

In the context of American geography's distinguished record in area studies around the world, East Central Europe stands out as a region that has attracted particular scrutiny over the time-span of activity by the Association of American Geographers. While the work done prior to 1918 was inevitably cast in an imperial framework with some hints of environmental determinism, the subsequent emergence of a new Europe — along with more explicitly humanistic perspectives in a discipline that was continuing to grow rapidly — led to a surge in field activity which was maintained through the communist years despite the formidable restrictions of the early post-war years. While there is a great diversity in the contributions made it is evident that there has been a continuing preoccupation with political power and the region's geopolitical significance evaluated in the context of changing great power relations. Also the big questions of economic and social geography — resources, culture and planning systems — have been examined; while a number of geographers have dedicated significant proportions of their total career activity to in-depth primary research on their chosen specialisms.     

Geophysics of the Quebec Appalachians

This paper deals with a synthesis of the geophysics of the Quebec Appalachians. An emphasis is given to the regional geophysical surveys for the final geological interpretation. Regional, residual and downward continued aeromagnetic (AM) data yield information on the tectonic history of the region. The main features are pattern recognition of folded and particularly faulted structures and the boundaries of the tectonic domains. Three main fault systems have been identified and classified using AM information. In addition, depths to the crystallise basement and to the Cambro-Ordovician magnetic layers were obtained for sectors of the Gulf of St. Lawrence-Gaspé region. Nine main geological features are extracted from the processed AM data. Detailed geological modelling of some of the identified structures (e.g. nappes) are presented.Five main geological features are recognized from the gravity data. These features are correlated with the ones obtained from AM data whenever possible. Geological models based on information from surface geology, rock density contrasts and occasional contraints from regional seismic reflection data are presented. The boomerang shape of the Sutton-Bennett anticlinorium and the planar or curved slab-like shape of the obducted ophiolite bodies (upper mantle proto-oceanic floor) may be considered as the significant features.Regional reflection seismic data give a clear geological picture of three (out of four) distinguishable zones of the Quebec Appalachians, that is: autochthonous, parautochthonous, and transition zone: parautochthonous-allochthonous(corresponding approximately to the external domain). The pattern recognition of the allochthonous (approximate internal domain) is somewhat more difficult to decipher from the reflection seismic data. Intraplate seismicity and seismotectonics indicate the presence of four zones of high seismicity in southern Quebec. In almost all zones, the seismotectonic history goes back to Late Precambrian (Hadrynian) times.The scarce and scattered paleomagnetic data of geological formations located on the platform and the external domain of the Quebec Appalachians and in the internal domain are compared with those belonging to the stable North American plate. The paleomagnetic results indicate that the angular difference between the poles from the platform and external domain is large at Cambrian times (40°) and small at Devonian times (5°-10°). This suggests a fast rate of motion and accretion of the internal domain relative to the North American Plate in the Cambrian—Lower Devonian time span (550→-385 Ma).     

The US army in operations other than War: A time to revive military geography

This paper revisits and interrelates the scope of military geography and the changing role of the military, two themes previously addressed in the 1993 and 1994 special editions ofGeoJournal. I begin by tracing the evolution of military geography in the US from World War I through the end of the Gulf War to reveal the demise of the subfield within American academic geography. Within the context of the post-Cold War era, I describe the military's reorientation and emphasize the need and opportunity to broaden the scope of military geography accordingly. The military's current operating environment is best characterized by operations other than war, undertaken on an unprecedented scale. Military geographers and regional, systematic, and technical experts throughout the discipline now have an unparalleled opportunity to contribute to the success of peacekeeping, humanitarian, and disaster assistance missions with which the military is currently preoccupied. Initiatives by academic geographers would not only enhance mission accomplishment from the military and federal government's perspective, but might also help to revive military geography as a legitimate subfield by demonstrating that military geographic endeavors can be both socially responsible and politically correct, particularly within operations other than war.     

Changes in the location of the United States Defence industrial base: Analyses of causative factors

During the last few decades international diffusion of the industrial activities among the established and the newly industrialized countries has occurred. Concurrently, the United States (US) has lost some of its status as the dominant industrial power in the World's markets. These changes have forced the US Department of Defence to surrender, at least partly, one of its principal strategic tenets, that of placing the reliance for its defence goods and services almost exclusively on the supplying entities located within the boundaries of the US.To a significant extent, these developments have come about as the result of the US policies not to intervene in the nation's and world's markets, and a deliberate and comprehensive intervention via policies, laws, and regulations in such markets by the governments of the other countries, including the US allies. The significant reduction of the military threat from the former Soviet Union may already have altered the conduct of the economic policies and defence strategies by the US, by its allies and by other nations.It is reasonable to assume that the US will see the continuation of international collaboration in the development, design and production of the future weapons systems. The former US allies and the other industrial nations, on the other hand, are in quest for further expansion of these industrial bases, and show limited interest in the further collaborative effect in the development of the future weapons systems.Unless appropriate co-operative economic and strategic policies are implemented, the emerging conflicts among the US, its allied and other industrial nations, presently in their infancy, may develop into a more intense confrontation among the world's industrialized nations. If this takes place, the US will be forced to abandon its laissez-faire policies, limit access to its markets and curtail the international diffusion of its industrial entities. The ultimate result of these developments may be geoeconomic conflicts among the industrial nations.This article is adopted from chapter in a forthcoming volume,Political and Geo-economic Issues Confronting the United States, the European Community, and Japan by Ewan W. Anderson and Ivars Gutmanis.     

Planning for Delhi

This paper reviews the planning and city building processes in Delhi in three periods — the imperial Mughal, the imperial British and the post-Independence. In the two earlier periods, the plans followed the ideals and tastes of the ruling elites and the cities were built to meet their needs. But the cities were well adapted to the technologies of the times and patterns of social interactions among the residents. Consequently, they provided to most of their residents a living environment which was efficient, healthy and satisfying. One reason for this was that Delhi was a relatively small city and increase in population was slow.The half century since 1941 has witnessed an unprecedented increase in population which has gone up from less than 700,000 in 1941 to 8.4 million in 1991. The increase has been due partly in response to expansion of employment in public administration, trade, finance and manufacturing industries, and partly to large in-migration of displaced persons from Pakistan during 1947–48, and from other states of India throughout the period.The efforts of the public agencies — the Central Government and the Delhi Development Authority — to expand housing have been matched by those of individuals and cooperative societies. But the efforts have been focussed on providing housing to people of medium and high income groups; the housing needs of the poor have been met by rapid growth of slums and unauthorised colonies. Expansion of physical and social infrastructure has also proved inadequate to meet the demands on it. The reliance in the absence of a mass transit facility, on a miscellany of motor vehicles for movement within the city, has resulted in very high levels of air and noise pollution.The hopeful beginning with long-term planning, made with successful implementation of the first master plan 1961–81, has suffered a set back as a result of the failure of the Central Government to approve the second master plan 1981–2001. The Regional Plan 2001 for the National Capital Region, approved in 1988 by all the governments concerned, is also not being implemented. In the resulting, impasse there is unplanned growth of a giant conurbation adding to its various problems. The paper recommends revival of metropolitan and regional planning for direction of growth of the conurbation to 2010.     

Quaternary faulting along the Caribbean-North American plate boundary in Central America

Recent detailed mapping along the Motagua fault zone and reconnaissance along the Chixoy—Polochic and Jocotán—Chamelecón fault zones provide new information regarding the nature of Quaternary deformation along the Caribbean—North American plate boundary in Central America.The southern boundary of the Motagua fault zone is defined by a major active left-slip fault that ruptured during the February 4, 1976 Guatemala earthquake. The recurrent nature of slip along the fault is dramatically demonstrated where stream terraces of the Río El Tambor show progressive left-slip and vertical (up-to-the-north) slip. Left-slip increases from 23.7 m (youngest mappable terrace) to 58.3 m (oldest mappable terrace) and vertical slip increases from 0.6 m to 2.5 m. The oldest mappable terrace crossed by the fault appears to be younger than 40,000 years and older than 10,000 years.Reconnaissance along the Chixoy—Polochic fault zone between Chiantla and Lago de Izabal has located the traces of a previously unmapped major active left-slip fault. Geomorphic features along this fault are similar to those observed along the active trace of the Motagua fault zone. Consistent and significant features suggestive of left-slip have so far not been observed along the Guatemala section of the Jocotán—Chamelecón fault zone.In Central America, the active Caribbean—North American plate boundary is comprised of the Motagua, Chixoy—Polochic, and probably the Jocotán—Chamelecón fault zones, with each accommodating part of the slip produced at the mid-Cayman spreading center. Similarities in geomorphic expression, apparent amount of left-slip, and frequency and magnitude of historical and instrumentally recorded earthquakes between the active traces of the Motagua and Chixoy—Polochic fault zones suggest a comparable degree of activity during Quaternary time; the sense and amount of Quaternary slip on the Jocotán—Chamelecón fault zone remain uncertain, although it appears to be an active earthquake source. Uplift of major mountain ranges on the north side of each fault zone reflects the small but consistent up-to-the-north vertical component (up to 5% of the lateral component) of slip along the plate boundary. Preliminary findings, based on offset stream terraces, indicate a late Quaternary slip rate along the Caribbean—North American plate boundary of between 0.45 and 1.8 cm/yr. Age dating of offset Quaternary terraces in Guatemala will allow refinement of this rate.     

Geopolitics and the cold war environment: The case of chromium

Strategic resources are critical to the well-being of any state; states can, and do go to war to protect access to such resources; indeed securing and maintaining an adequate supply of strategic resources will constitute a central concern of any state's foreign policy. Under such circumstances, a well-informed policy making process, guided by objective analysis becomes of paramount importance. This paper examines the role of mineral dependence in United States (US)/South Africa relations, specifically in the context of the sanctions issue of the 1980s. Using chromium as a case study, it highlights how inaccurate and irrelevant information concerning the importance of South African chromium to the US, and especially the US military was used to define dimensions of the issue, producing policy that was anything but well-informed and objective.     

Competition policies for water environment technology imports in China

This paper analyzes the current state of water environment protections in China and explores the need for technology imports in this field. Few studies have discussed the import of water environment technologies in China. In particular, there is a lack of research on the competition policies of technology-importing countries. Based on the retrieval and analysis of technology patents in the water environment field, as well as the research on relevant competition policies, this paper indicates that China shall import and learn about related technologies from developed countries, such as the US and the EU. In addition, China ought to pay more attention to relevant EU competition policies. The relationship between water environment protections and EU market competition policies could serve as a reference for green exemption practices in Chinese anti-trust law. Lastly, this paper analyzes China’s relevant competition policy. It is also helpful for potential foreign investors to understand the transparent institutional framework.     

A critique of development and conservation policies in environmentally sensitive regions in Brazil

More than a strategy for environmental conservation, protected area paradigm has represented a specific conception of nature–society relationship. Originated in a context of capitalist consolidation, rapid urbanisation and frontier development in the US, this paradigm has given rise to a ‘politically viable rationale' in which utilitarian use of natural resources by tourism development would ensure nature preservation. This political rationality has deeply influenced environmental policies in developing countries, fostering a paradoxical model in the history of nature preservation. It also has brought into play diverse interests that have shifted patterns of local nature–society interaction, configuring a complex politicised environment. Established in ‘isolated' regions, protected areas have been implemented often by top–down approaches, disrupting resident peoples' livelihoods strategies through conflicts over the control of natural resources. Understanding the implications of development and conservation policies on resident peoples' livelihoods may represent a starting point for an integrated developmental conservation policy towards the promotion of sustainable livelihoods in environmentally sensitive regions in developing countries. These issues are analysed in the region of the Lençois Maranhenses National Park in Brazil. This paper argues that the context facing the region reveals a standardised conservationist paradigm marked by the absence of wider ecological criteria informing nature protection and a disregard for the strengthening of sustainability in existent socio-economic dynamics. The regional development and conservation policies have not only promoted tensions between resident peoples' livelihoods and the protected area paradigm, but also reinforced the legitimisation of social exclusion and environmental disruption under the prevalent rhetoric of nature protection and tourism development.     

国外军事地质学热点问题

近年来以美国为代表的西方军事强国在军事地质学领域已取得了很大进展,尤其在应对未来战争方面作了许多准备。通过系统搜集国际军事地球科学会议(ICMG)和美国地质学会(GSA)有关军事地质学的最新专题研讨会论文与其他公开出版资料,梳理了当前国外军事地质学研究的热点问题并阐述了其新进展,其中作战领域包括地形情报研究、军事基地选址、潜在特殊战场环境调查、地下重要设施评价、非常规作战环境调查;非作战领域则包括抢险救灾、生态环境保护和环境安全评价等。最后分析了当前军事地质学研究存在的问题,并指出了其未来发展趋势。     

The distribution of snow in Israel

The area researched is characterized by changes in the weather according to fluctuations in the world pressure belts throughout the year. The temperature climate in this region is typified in winter by changes in the pressure system from cyclonic to anti-cyclonic conditions in spells of about 5 days.When Israel is under the influence of a low pressure system, and the 500 mb surfaces are approximately 250 m lower than average, the temperatures along the vertical cross-sections are 6° – 8° C lower than average on rainy days, then snow may be expected in various sections of the country.This paper investigated the 35 years period from 1938/9 to 1971/2, concentrating on two mountain stations — Jerusalem in the centre of the country and Mt. Kena'an in the north —because of the high snow incidence and its greater regularity than other stations.The conclusions are as follows: The maximum number of days of snow (between 2/3 and 3/4 of the annual total) is noted at all stations during January and February, although there are also years in which there was snow but not during those months. Regional devision of the snowy days indicates that the number increases with altitude, and decreases from north to south.Snowfall in regions which have lower incidence is less stable and given to greater fluctuations. There was no indication of periodity of the number of days of snow per season, nor did it appear that a very snowy year followed a dry one.Investigation of the lenght of the snowy and the number of days of snowfall does not indicate any connection between them, and there may well be a long season with few days of snow, or a short one with relatively many snowy days.Comparison between the shorter period of readings — from 1938/9 till 1971/2 — and the longer one — from 1860/1 till 1971/2 (111 years) — at the Jerusalem station shows the same trends, which reinforce the conclusions presented above.     

Trans-South Atlantic air link in World War II

German-Italian military successes and the fame of General Rommel's Afrika Korps in 1941 spelled disaster for the British war effort in Libya-Egypt. American military assistance was requested and freely given; this was several months before the United States entered the war! Pan American World Airways was the chosen instrument for building a series of airfields in Africa capable of receiving the planes ferried across the ocean from Recife, Brazil.Besides its reputation as the world's leading airline, Pan Am already had a major aircraft servicing facility at Recife. Liberia, because of its proximity to South America, became the first major West African bridgehead for this South Atlantic ferry route. A few existing and numerous newly constructed airfields between Liberia and Khartoum served as the emergency landing, refueling, maintenance and housing sites. The Nile was followed downstream from Khartoum; American-supplied warplanes played an important role in the pivotal Egyptian battle of El-Alemain in October, 1942. Once the threat to Egypt had subsided, the Brazil — West Africa air link was expanded to include a route through Central Africa, primarily to tap a supply of uranium from what was then the Belgian Congo (now Zaire). Khartoum served a new air ferry route to British India via Aden and Karachi. Transport aircraft used in the China-Burma-India theatre of operations were supplied over this ever-expanding air link. A spur to Basra (Iraq) and Tehran provided a secret diplomatic connection to the Soviet Union before the epic struggle at Stalingrad began in earnest. General Doolittle's surviving Tokyo raiders returned to the United States over segments of this long air route. Most of the airfields lost their locational significance after the war. A few, however, were to become their countries' international airports.More correctly, the Trans-South Atlantic Transport and Ferry Service. The author appreciates the fact that except for a secondary route through Central Africa, this wartime air connection was to the North of the Equator and technically, in the North Atlantic. Use of terminology then as now is to differentiate this particular route from the important Newfoundland to Prestwick (Scotland) air bridge.     

The bio-politics of bodies politic: nature and intertextuality in classic US geopolitical discourse

This paper is a discourse analysis of classic US geopolitical texts which appropriate metaphors of the body to describe the state and its defense. While critical political geographers have demonstrated the role of naturalist epistemologies in classic geopolitics, I contribute to critical geopolitics literature by further examining the discursive economy of naturalism within which US geopolitical discourse is embedded. More specifically, I employ the concept of intertextuality, as theorized by Julia Kristeva and Roland Barthes in the 1960s, as a key analytical tool. In doing so, I argue that invocations of the ‘body politic’ in 20th century geopolitical texts are a version of bio-politics informed by a proliferating bio-medical discourse over a similar time period. I furthermore argue that such metaphors serve to naturalize territorialized national identities and create a spatial abstraction of a nationalized self in opposition to foreign ‘others,’ a discursive strategy used frequently to justify militaristic state policies. This paper, then, also adds to literature on militarism and the environment by further analyzing the discursive construction of the state in relation to an essentialized, abstracted nature.

The view from out West: embeddedness, inter-personal relations and the development of an indigenous film industry in Vancouver

This paper considers the development of a particular cultural industry, the indigenous film and television production sector, in a specific locality, Vancouver (British Columbia, Canada). Vancouver’s film and television industry exhibits a high level of dependency on the location shooting of US funded productions, a relatively mobile form of foreign investment capital. As such, the development of locally developed and funded projects is crucial to the long-term sustainability of the industry. The key facilitators of growth in the indigenous sector are a small group of independent producers that are attempting to develop their own projects within a whole series of constraints apparently operating at the local, national and international levels. At the international level, they are situated within a North American cultural industry where the funding, production, distribution and exhibition of projects is dominated by US multinationals. At the national level, both government funding schemes and broadcaster purchasing patterns favour the larger production companies of central Canada. At the local level, producers have to compete with the demands of US productions for crew, locations and equipment. I frame my analysis within notions of the embeddedness or embodiment of social and economic relations, and suggest that the material realities of processes operating at the three inter-linked scales, are effectively embodied in a small group of individual producers and their inter-personal networks.     

Secretinite—reflectance and chemical data from two high volatile bituminous coals (Upper Carboniferous) of North America

Secretinite—a maceral of the inertinite group as recognized by the ICCP in 1996—is a noncellular maceral of seed fern origin. New reflectance data indicate that this maceral has primary anisotropy with bireflectances of 0.4% to 0.9% in high-volatile B bituminous (Ro=0.6%) Carboniferous coal of North America. The highest reflectance is in cross-section as opposed to longitudinal section. Characteristic feature of secretinite is the virtual absence of Si and Al, unlike that in associated vitrinite. This indicates the absence of submicron aluminosilicates in secretinite and their presence in vitrinites. Secretinite is highly aromatic as indicated by low O/C ratios and high contribution of aromatic hydrogen bands detected by FTIR analysis.     

The Influence of American geography on Korean geography

Korean modern geography emerged from the dark age of unfortunate Japanese colonial rule after liberation in 1945, and has grown rapidly since the 1960s. Modern geographical theories and methodologies were introduced to Korea by the Korean geographers who received PhD degrees in the United States and returned home to teach at universities in Korea, especially in the 1970s and early 1980s. American geography has influenced the progress of the modern geography in Korea in various ways — education systems, curricula for college students, training graduate students — and research methodologies in Korean geography during the last half-century have been directly and indirectly influenced by American geography. The influence has had, however, both positive and negative effects in the development of Korean geography. There is a tendency in recent years to reinterpret Western theories and concepts in the Korean context, considering distinctive regional and cultural characteristics.     

国外军事地质工作现状与发展趋势

军事地质伴随着军事活动而生,并伴随军事活动和地质科学的发展而发展。通过对国外军事地质的发展历史和现状进行系统的研究,将国外军事地质分为早期孕育期、快速发展期和稳定发展期3个阶段,介绍了国外在军事工程地质、军事水文地质、军事矿产地质、军事海洋地质、军事地球物理和军事遥感地质六大研究方向取得的进展,总结了国外军事地质工作的3个特点,分别为军民共同推进军事地质工作、地质工作与国防建设统筹部署,及军民联合攻关技术成果双向转化应用。提出了未来军事地质的三大趋势,大数据和云计算将成为军事地质工作的重要支撑技术、军事地质将由资源保障走向空间拓展、现代军事地质的保障工作由国内(局部)扩展到全球(全时域),为中国国内军事地质工作发展提供借鉴和参考。     

Globalisation, information technology and the emergence of niche transnational cities: the growth of the call centre sector in Dublin

The development of information and communications technologies (ICT) has facilitated the emergence of a complex global urban system in which many formerly lower-order cities have been carving out “niche” specialist functions serving urban fields of transnational dimension. This is illustrated in the case of Dublin, which in recent years has been transcending its traditional role as Ireland’s national metropolis through the development of a range of functions servicing mainly European markets. One such function comprises pan-European telephone call centre operations. The development and characteristics of this newly-emerging sector are described. It is argued that the growth of the sector confirms Dublin’s — and Ireland’s — dependent position in the international division of labour, and that its long-term sustainability is open to question.     

Digging into Google Earth: An analysis of “Crisis in Darfur”

Google publicists have suggested the Crisis in Darfur is an example of the Google Earth software’s “success at tangibly impacting what is happening on the ground.” Yet whether or not Google Earth’s interface, along with a medley of other media representations of the conflict, have impacted events on the ground or led to coherent policies of humanitarian intervention remains open to debate. This article draws upon critical approaches from media studies—namely discourse analysis—to analyze several aspects of the Google Earth/USHMM Crisis in Darfur project. While this project was no doubt developed with the noble intention of generating international awareness about widespread violence that has recently occurred in the Darfur region, it is important to evaluate how representations of global conflicts are changing with uses of new information technologies and whether such representations can actually achieve their desired impacts or effects. The article begins with a discussion of the Crisis in Darfur project’s history, proceeds to analyze some of the press coverage of the project and then moves to a critique of the layer using four categories of analysis: (1) the shifting role of satellite image; (2) the temporality of the interface; (3) the practice of conflict branding; and (4) the practice of “information intervention.” Throughout the article, I explore how the presentation of Darfur-related materials through Google Earth reproduces problematic Western tropes of African tragedy and misses an opportunity to generate public literacy around satellite images. I also consider how humanitarianism is intertwined with digital and disaster capitalism, and suggest that this instance of “information intervention” makes patently clear that high visual capital alone cannot resolve global conflicts.