The organisational context of retail locational planning

Retailers have a large number of techniques at their disposal to assist them in their locational planning, but the use made of them is varied, regardless of their intrinsic merits. The reasons for this lie very much in the organisational context in which the techniques are applied. This paper discusses the nature of locational planning and decision making, and puts forward a framework which links locational planning and the organisational settings in which it takes place. The preliminary results of a survey of the use of techniques by U.K. retailers are presented, which show that while most companies use more than ‘Rules of Thumb’, it is the simplest techniques which are the most widely used. The application of the more advanced knowledge based methods is still relatively uncommon. The explanation for the variations lies in the attributes of the techniques themselves, the types of locational planning undertaken, and the structural and cultural characteristics of the companies. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Structural and locational evolution of industry in Southern Europe

S European Industry is characterized by the importance of certain branches and by plant size. Traditional branches of consumer goods are dominated by the national bourgeoisie, intermediate goods by oligopolistic (state) enterprises, modern consumer and capital goods by multinational corporations. Industrialization was retarded for various social and physical reasons. For the locational pattern some factors had specific importance (diffusion, shipping traffic for supplies, deficient infrastructure, urbanisation economies, social structure). Economic nationalism and interventionism from the thirties to the late fifties had structural and locational effects. Subsequent opening led to important foreign investment with diverse locational consequences: the large majority of the market-orientated companies concentrated on big cities and induced industrial suburbanisation. Export-orientated plants, relatively often in Portugal, also decided for rural areas and provincial towns. Regional industrial policy which began weakly with fiscal allowances in the fifties and soon adopted the growth pole idea led to results remaining only far beyond expectations. International economic crisis has heavily stroken the countries which turned out to be very dependant.     

Corporate strategy, business strategy and activity location

Analysis of locational patterns and change within an industry may be assisted by division of industry participants into groups based on corporate and business strategies. These strategies reflect the assets of the companies and the characteristics of the industry. They affect the locational needs, behavior and impact of the companies. Hypothesized effects of strategy are explored in a brief study of U.S. semiconductor manufacturers. Of the possible strategic considerations, corporate diversification and integration, and business scale and cost/price position seem to be the most relevant for this industry.     

陆生植被对河流沉积作用的影响：生物沉积作用研究的一个重要主题*

河流是大陆景观最为动态化的地貌构成单元,地质学家经过长期的研究,得出了一个引人注目的假说,即古生代中期曲流河的显著发育与陆生植被的繁盛存在紧密的联系,从而导致了在陆生植被对河流沉积作用影响方面的深入研究。尽管还存在一些不同的认识和争论,陆生植被对河流沉积作用的影响,得到了越来越多的地质事实的支持。立足于前人的研究成果,从陆生植被阶段的划分以及植物在古生代早中期关键的演变事件入手,介绍植被的起源和演化与河流沉积作用尤其是河流样式演变之间的耦合关系。厘清上述科学理念的变化和进步,将有助于河流相沉积的正确解释,从而为现代和古代河流过程的进一步研究提供重要的思考线索和研究途径。更为重要的是,在地球历史长河之中,有胚植物（陆生植物）在陆生大陆景观上的古生代繁殖是最为壮观的变化之一,由此而造成的全球变化包括：（1）由于岩石风化作用和碳储存的增强,将造成的大气圈二氧化碳含量的降低;（2）晚古生代冰川作用;（3）陆生营养物径流量的增加与海洋生物的灭绝事件之间的联系等。所以,陆生植被的起源与演化对河流沉积作用的影响,就成为生物沉积作用研究的一个重要主题。     

Retail geography and social well-being: A note on the changing distribution of pharmacies in Scotland

Dispensing Chemists represent an important component in the organization of primary medical care in the United Kingdom, as well as providing a basic retail service. Over the past 30 years, the number of dispensing chemists' shops in Scotland has fallen by 40%, a withdrawal of services which has important spatial welfare implications. In this paper the locational dynamics of pharmaceutical retailing are examined, and the pattern of change between 1950 and 1980 is described. It is shown that the major trend, at both regional and intra-urban levels, is centralization. This trend is only weakly related to patterns in population change. Rather, it is the product of a general restructuring of retailing, reinforced by changes in the structure of the health care delivery system.     

Regional and structural effects of North Sea oil in Norway

The discovery of oil in the North Sea has had an important impact on Norway. The article presents the development of the oil policy. Of particular interest is the heavy involvement in Norway in products as mobile rigs, supply ships and concrete platforms. The distribution of the oil activities in Norway as related to locational factors is discribed, with examples of the local impacts of oil activities. Of particular concern are the regional effects. Norway will be a high cost country and low-wage industries (e.g. textiles, furniture) may be squeezed. Industrial decay areas like in Britain and Europe are feared. Also some main problems and decisions such as the landing of Statfjord oil by pipeline are considered. The original version received valuable criticism from Prof. J. Chr. Hansen, Bergen, and Dr. W. Tietze, Wolfsburg, Germany. The author would be grateful for further comments from the readers.     

Decision support method for GHG emission management in industries

Keeping temperature rise well below 2 °C is Paris Climate Agreement’s main commitment and corporate-level participation will be crucial to achieve national mitigation targets. Hence, companies should adopt measures that allow them to adapt to upcoming scenarios where low-carbon production is expected to become mandatory and a great competitive advantage. However, mitigation strategies cannot be evaluated without consideration of subjective environmental criteria. Consequently, lack of decision support methodologies for climate change evaluation in industries is a barrier for innovation. Aiming at consideration of non-monetary aspects, we develop a support method that incorporates costs, benefits, opportunities and risks related to climate change in manufacturing industries. First, we compared the most relevant multi-criteria decision analysis methodologies and identified an Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) as the most suitable for ranking corporate climate change strategies. Then, we collected global analysis criteria from the most important socially responsible investment indices, and climate change scientific studies. To adapt these criteria to the AHP method, each criterion was sorted into benefits, opportunities, costs or risks hierarchies. Proposed method was efficient for assessing long-term subjective criteria and ranking alternatives for GHG emission management in two large manufacturing companies. A sensitivity analysis of the outcome revealed its consistency and flexibility for ranking alternatives and weighting criteria. Finally, the method is not limited to a particular type of industry and it can be adapted to other areas, such as service companies, sanitation or public sector.     

Spatial growth and spatial rationalization in multi-plant enterprises

This paper analyses the spatial growth and rationalization behaviour, over a six year period, of a representative sample of 64 multi-plant enterprises in the United Kingdom textile and clothing industries, and illustrates the findings with case studies. The companies which expanded outside their home region for the first time, did so as frequently by long distance growth as by short distance, and by opening branch plants as well as by acquiring firms. By far the most common spatial rationalization policy was plant closure combined with concentration of production on an existing site. A new concept of activity locations is proposed as a useful tool for designing and assessing spatial rationalization policies.     

Foreign Joint Ventures in the People's Republic of China, 1979 to 1985

The motivation of alluring foreign investment is an important landmark of post Mao's economic policies, and has made a great contribution to China's current economic growth. One of the major types of foreign investments in the People's Republic of China has been Foreign Joint Ventures (FJVs). Analysis of FJVs helps us understand the impacts of China's economic reforms. This paper thoroughly scrutinizes the statistics of Foreign Joint Ventures during the period of 1979 to 1985. It concludes that the spatial distribution of foreign joint venture investment indicates three locational considerations: (i) the locational advantages of the eastern coastal region where over 90% of joint venture investment has occurred; (ii) the presence of a well-established industrial and commercial infrastructure, as China's largest industrial and commercial centers have also been the largest receivers of foreign investment; and (iii) historical Sino-foreign economic and cultural relations before 1949, as post 1979 foreign investments have often been concentrated in the foreign countries' former spheres of influence. It has also been found that differences exist in the type and location of investment among the major Western investors.     

Regional and structural effects of North Sea oil in Norway

The discovery of oil in the North Sea has had an important impact on Norway. The article presents the development of the oil policy. Of particular interest is the heavy involvement in Norway in products as mobile rigs, supply ships and concrete platforms. The distribution of the oil activities in Norway as related to locational factors is discribed, with examples of the local impacts of oil activities. Of particular concern are the regional effects. Norway will be a high cost country and low-wage industries (e.g. textiles, furniture) may be squeezed. Industrial decay areas like in Britain and Europe are feared. Also some main problems and decisions such as the landing of Statfjord oil by pipeline are considered.     

Effect on physico-chemical and structural properties of soil amended with distillery effluent and ameliorated by cropping two cereal plant spp.

Molasses-based distilleries are one of the most polluting industries generating large volume of wastewater. Distillery effluent (DE) on its discharge alters the physical and chemical properties of the soil. This study has been conducted to assess the distribution of heavy metals and its effect on physiochemical and structural changes of soil which has been treated with diluted and undiluted effluents. The soil has been assayed both before and after crop plantation. Out of the crop plants studied, Cicer arietinum was least effected and more effective than Pisum sativum in diminishing the heavy metals from soil. However, only at higher concentration DE has some adverse impact on the nutrient contents of the soil. Fourier transform infrared spectrum (FTIR) study of the soil indicated the presence of –OH, –NH, –COOH groups. It was also noted that the soil amended with different concentration of DE and on which Cicer and Pisum were grown has varied IR spectrum. These variations show the presence of different functional groups of soil before and after plants were grown. The presence of inorganic carbonate was found in soil planted with Cicer from 10 to 50% of DE, whereas aliphatic primary amides were observed up to 25 and 100% concentrations of DE in soil planted with Pisum. The appearance of inorganic nitrates, carbonates, aliphatic hydrocarbons and aliphatic primary amides at various concentrations of DE showed a change in functional groups probably because of the differential breakdown of parent component present in the effluent. Besides our main finding that Cicer is a very useful crop species in remediating the soil which has inflicted with even undiluted DE, it is also validated through FTIR spectra that IR technique is an efficient tool in studying the structural changes of soil and with some degree of caution may be summed up that FTIR may be used to correlate the relative efficacy of plants to transform organic contaminants.     

Pollen assemblages and their environmental implications in the Qaidam Basin,NW China

The Qaidam Basin is one of the most sensitive areas to climate change in China, owing to its unique geographical position and ecological condition. In this study, 32 surface‐soil pollen samples were collected to reveal the relationship between modern pollen assemblages, vegetation and precipitation in the eastern region of the Qaidam Basin. The results show that Chenopodiaceae (3.8–87%, average 48%), Artemisia (1.7–64.2%, average 17.5%) and Ephedra (0–90%, average 16.3%) are the dominant pollen types in all samples, and that different pollen assemblages correspond to different vegetation types. DCA and CCA of major pollen types demonstrate that precipitation is an important factor in the control of the distribution of vegetation in the study area. The content and concentration of the three major pollen types (Artemisia, Chenopodiaceae and Ephedra) change with the mean annual precipitation, and the optimum mean annual precipitation for Ephedra, Chenopodiaceae and Artemisia is <80, 80–200 and >160 mm, respectively. Correlation analysis between the variation in grain size of the three major pollen types and the main environmental variables shows that the grain size of the three pollen types is positively correlated with precipitation in the Qaidam Basin. The results confirm that precipitation is the most important environmental factor in the Qaidam Basin, and that it has an important effect on pollen grain size in the study area.     

Role of environmental changes in the spread of malaria in Europe during the Holocene

This article proposes the hypothesis that environmental changes altering mosquito breeding sites in coastal wetlands had a substantial influence on the history of malaria in many parts of Europe during the Holocene. The effects of both climatic and landscape changes on malaria itself and its vector mosquitoes are considered. It is argued that the forms of the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum that occurred in southern Europe in the past actually evolved in North Africa and the Near East and that its most important vectors in southern Europe in the past (Anopheles labranchiae and A. sacharovi) also came from North Africa and the Near East. It is suggested that the establishment of these mosquitoes in many parts of southern Europe was facilitated by substantial landscape changes which coincided with the spread of the disease as documented by written sources. The relationship of malaria to environmental change in northern Europe is also reviewed briefly.     

Industrial restructuring: an international problem

The transition from growth to stagnation in the international economy has made industrial restructuring more essential, yet harder to achieve. Competition between the industrialized countries is changing the pattern of their comparative advantages, shifting industrial location within the North, a trend supported by the activities of multinational enterprises. This is more important than competition from less-developed countries in many industries. While current trends indicate greater specialization of industrialized countries in high-skill, and capital- and knowledge-intensive industries and of newly industrializing and developing countries on labour-intensive and raw-material-intensive industries, this trend is not necessarily inevitable or desirable.     

Temporal hierarchy of the corporate space

Corporate space is formed by locational decisions. Some decisions result from decisions on product lines. All decisions are made within the framework of financial and personnel resources. The frequency of variation in the framework and in the decisions (highest to lowest) is: Profitability, location, product line/presidential office, core area. This array or temporal hierarchy is derived from three industrial corporations, large by Scandinavian standards.     

Changes of land cover in the Yarlung Tsangpo River basin from 1985 to 2005

Land cover is closely related to environmental changes and socioeconomic development. Land-cover change in the Tibetan Plateau (TP) is different from that in the lowlands; however, a detailed land-cover change in areas such as the Yarlung Tsangpo River (YTR) basin in the TP has not been reported. To fill this gap, the current study explores the land-cover change between 1985 and 2005 in the YTR basin. The results show that only 1 % of the land cover in the YTR basin changed during this time period. The most significant land-cover changes included increases in forest and built-up areas as well as decreases in grassland, water and wetland areas. By percentage, the most rapid land-cover change occurred for built-up areas with an annual variation of 2.07 %. There was an obvious vertical distribution pattern for land-cover types in the YTR basin; from low to high, the average altitudes were forest, farmland, built-up, grassland, water and wetland, and bare land. The average altitude and slope for most land-cover types did not vary over the past 20 years. However, the average altitude and slope of built-up significantly decreased, especially in the zone between 3,500 and 4,000 m. The water and wetland area in altitudes above 4,500 m increased; however, they decreased in the zone between 3,500 and 4,000 m. Natural factors cause most land-cover changes, whereas the increasing intensity of human activities cause some changes to built-up and farmland. Additional attention should be paid to the study of the mechanism of land-cover change in the TP.     

纳米比亚矿产开发现状及投资前景分析

纳米比亚矿产资源丰富，储量巨大，有“战略金属储备库”之称。铀矿储量居世界第五位、金刚石储量居世界第六位，铜、铅、锌、金等资源也较为丰富，在全球矿业投资市场极具吸引力。中纳两国外交关系良好，经贸往来频繁，为我国在非第二大投资国。矿业是纳米比亚经济的三大支柱产业之一，目前约有60余家企业在纳米比亚进行矿业勘查开发活动，包括B2黄金公司等国际矿业公司和中国广核集团有限公司、中国核工业集团有限公司等中资企业，纳米比亚对于中国海外矿业发展布局至关重要。本文系统梳理了纳米比亚主要矿产资源分布、矿床类型、储量等概况及勘查开发现状，从矿业法律法规、税收、外资管理政策及基础设施、人力资源条件等方面对纳米比亚的矿业投资环境进行了系统分析，认为纳米比亚具有丰富的矿产资源以及相对良好的投资环境，但需谨慎评估开发成本、环保政策及汇率变动、土地所有权方面等因素。     

气候变化谈判的共识与分歧初析

国际社会在应对气候变化领域经过多年磋商和谈判取得了一些重要进展,系统总结和分析了气候变化谈判领域已取得的共识,包括气候变化谈判的科学基础、人类社会对气候变化的重要性认识、策略转变、综合措施、不同经济发展阶段国家应对气候变化的角色认同等方面,综合比较和分析了国际气候谈判领域不同利益集团针对焦点问题存在的差异性认识,包括各国应对气候变化问题的基本思路、派别性立场、温室气体减排目标以及减排活动的范围等内容。     

金刚石焊接机理的实验研究

分析了目前国内金刚石制品中金刚石在胎体中的存在形式，金刚石的焊接机机理和改善金刚石表面性质的方法，研究了采用金属添加剂使金刚石表面形成金属碳化物界面层的工艺方法。通过生产工艺试验，实现了在常规制造工艺条件焉，金刚石与胎体金属的焊接，从而提高了制品的性能，生产效率，使用寿命，降低了产品成本。     

Influence from Hydrological Modification on Energy and Nutrient Transference in a Deltaic Food Web

Alterations of hydrology are known to trigger changes in coastal ecosystems, such as the composition and abundances of local flora and fauna. It is less well known how these alterations lead to changes in nutrient and energy transfers in these systems. We used comparisons of stable isotope signatures (δ ¹³C, δ ¹⁵N, and δ ³⁴S) in the tissues of conspecific plants and animals collected on each side of the Mobile Bay Causeway to determine the extent to which the causeway may have altered energy and nutrient exchange between the Mobile–Tensaw Delta and upper Mobile Bay. While the δ ¹³C signatures of most plants and animals varied irrespective of their location relative with causeway location, their δ ¹⁵N and δ ³⁴S signatures were almost always more enriched south of the causeway, indicating significant alterations of trophic linkages within this estuarine food web. Dual isotope plots and mixing model analyses indicated that while terrestrial and floating plants were trophically important to consumers north of the causeway, submerged aquatic vegetation was more important to consumers south of the causeway. Although limited in spatial and temporal scale, our results preliminarily show that there are noteworthy differences in stable isotope signatures most likely due to the Mobile Bay Causeway altering energy and nutrient transference.