Social policy at work? Equality and equity in women's paid employment in Canada

Under mounting pressure from women, Canada introduced employment policies to address the gender wage gap and women's access to a wider range of jobs. The policies were generally introduced between the late 1970s and early 1990s. Over time these policies have shifted from focusing on equality to emphasising equity. Two pivotal policies are pay equity and employment equity. In the end, the impact of these policies is difficult to assess. Keeping the European situation in mind we argue that they be considered as a component of broader changes rather than as specific causes of improving the situation of women in the Canadian labour market. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Magnitude–frequency relations in debris flow

Debris flow occurs frequently in mountainous regions in China. Because of the difficulties involved in predicting and catching live debris flows, an assessment of the potential for debris flow is crucial in hazard mitigation. Magnitude–frequency (MF) relations are of special significance in such assessments. In previous studies, MF relations have been inferred by analyzing environmental factors and historical records and using empirical relations. This paper is concerned with the derivation of MF relations at regional and valley scales, using a large database of statistics. At the regional scale, it is represented by the distribution of the valley area, because the area is often taken to indicate the potential magnitude of debris flow. Statistics from over 5,000 debris flow valleys in various provinces in China show that a power law holds for the distribution, i.e., p(A) ∼ A ⁻ⁿ , where p(A) is the percentage of valleys with area A and n varies with region and thus describes regional differences. At the valley scale, a case study focusing on Jiangjia Gully (JJG) was conducted, and the MF relations derived from it were expressed by the distributions of discharge and runoff (i.e., the total volume) of living debris flows observed over the last 40 years. The distributions can be expressed as exponential functions where the exponents vary with the events. These MF relations provide not only a potential quantitative reference for practical purposes but also hint at the intrinsic properties of the debris flow.     

Low-cost airlines in Europe: Reconciling liberalization and sustainability

This paper addresses the contradictions inherent in the interconnections between air transport liberalization and the economic and environmental dimensions to sustainability from the particular perspective of the dynamic expansion of European low-cost carriers and their networks. The argument considers the incompatibility of environmental sustainability with a business model that promotes rapid growth in air travel without meeting its external costs, but, simultaneously, claims to be socially and geographically inclusive. Moreover, that growth is perceived to be advantageous to strategies promoting national and regional economic growth and, consequently, the provision of low-cost airline services is being promoted by an array of national and local government agencies throughout the European Union. The paper concludes that the low-cost model does not account for its externalities despite air transport being the most environmentally damaging form of transport per passenger-kilometer but is clearly important to economic development at a variety of scales.     

A conceptual model to integrate the regional context in landscape policy,management and contribution to rural development: Literature review and European case study evidence

Agri-environmental policies and planning influence agricultural landscape management, and thus the capacity to deliver landscape services and to contribute to rural viability. Numerous models and frameworks have been developed to improve comprehension of the mechanisms and interrelationships between policies, landscape and socio-economic values and benefits. As social-ecological systems, landscapes are closely depending from the socio-institutional and territorial context of the specific rural locality. The paper proposes an enhanced framework for assessing these mechanisms by acknowledging the critical role of the regional macro-environment. A literature review and the revisiting of evidence from eight European case studies are applied to establish a comprehensive understanding and exemplification of the links between the policies, landscape, ecosystem services and value flows. Results highlight the need for integrative, inter- and transdisciplinary research approaches. Efficient landscape policies require enhanced regional embeddedness and targeting, acknowledgement of user demands and the capability of regional community and governance structures for policy implementation and natural capital valorisation.     

The spatiality of multifunctional agriculture: A human geography perspective

Based on reconceptualisations of multifunctional agriculture as a normative spectrum of decision-making (strong to weak multifunctionality) bounded by productivist and non-productivist action and thought [Hollander, G.M., 2004. Agricultural trade liberalization, multifunctionality, and sugar in the south Florida landscape. Geoforum 35, 299-312; Holmes, J., 2006. Impulses towards a multifunctional transition in rural Australia: gaps in the research agenda. Journal of Rural Studies 22, 142-160; Wilson, G.A., 2007. Multifunctional Agriculture: A Transition Theory Perspective. CAB International, Wallingford], this paper argues that there is currently insufficient research into the geography of multifunctionality. Building on current human geography debates about issues of scale, the paper suggests that we should conceive of multifunctionality as a spatially complex nested hierarchy comprising different interlinked ’layers’ of multifunctional decision-making ranging from the farm level to the national and global levels. It suggests that the notion of multifunctional agriculture only makes sense if it is applied at the farm level as the most important spatial scale for the implementation of multifunctional action ‘on the ground’. Multifunctionality can be interpreted as having ’direct’ expression only at the ’lower’ geographical scales (i.e. farm, community and regional levels in particular) while the regional, national and global levels show ’indirect’ expressions of multifunctionality that are mediated by local level actors in order to find tangible expression on the ground. The notion of global-level multifunctionality is the most challenging, as this level lacks political and ideological coherence about the required directions necessary for implementation of strong multifunctionality pathways. The paper concludes by arguing that much work still awaits those investigating the spatiality of multifunctionality, in particular with regard to the question whether global-level strong multifunctionality is possible, or whether strong multifunctionality in one territory is predicated on weak multifunctionality in others.     

Investigation of the climate-driven periodicity of shallow groundwater level fluctuations in a Central-Eastern European agricultural region

The distribution and amount of groundwater, a crucial source of Earth’s drinking and irrigation water, is changing due to climate-change effects. Therefore, it is important to understand groundwater behavior in extreme scenarios, e.g. drought. Shallow groundwater (SGW) level fluctuation under natural conditions displays periodic behavior, i.e. seasonal variation. Thus, the study aims to investigate (1) the periodic behavior of the SGW level time series of an agriculturally important and drought-sensitive region in Central-Eastern Europe – the Carpathian Basin, in the north-eastern part of the Great Hungarian Plain, and (2) its relationship to the European atmospheric pressure action centers. Data from 216 SGW wells were studied using wavelet spectrum analysis and wavelet coherence analyses for 1961–2010. Locally, a clear relationship exists between the absence of annual periodic behavior in the SGW level and the periodicity of droughts, as indicated by the self-calibrating Palmer Drought Severity Index and the Aridity Index. During the non-periodic intervals, significant drops in groundwater levels (average 0.5 m) were recorded in 89% of the wells. This result links the meteorological variables to the periodic behavior of SGW, and consequently, drought. On a regional scale, Mediterranean cyclones from the Gulf of Genoa (northwest Italy) were found to be a driving factor in the 8-yr periodic behavior of the SGW wells. The research documents an important link between SGW levels and local/regional climate variables or indices, thereby facilitating the necessary adaptation strategies on national and/or regional scales, as these must take into account the predictions of drought-related climatic conditions.     

区域土壤侵蚀定量研究的国内外进展

由于水土保持宏观决策的需要、土壤侵蚀学科自身的进步和全球变化研究的促进,过去的10多年来,国内外研究者对区域尺度土壤侵蚀研究给予了高度重视。已经开展的主要研究包括:全球和区域（包括国家尺度）土壤侵蚀调查、区域土壤侵蚀过程和尺度效应、区域土壤侵蚀因子和区域土壤侵蚀模型等。将区域土壤侵蚀作为现代陆地地表过程的一部分,充分考虑全球变化的影响,集成土壤侵蚀研究成果与遥感和GIS技术,开发分布式区域土壤侵蚀模型,成为区域土壤侵蚀定量评价研究的基本趋势。在对国内外区域土壤侵蚀定量评价研究评述的基础上,提出我国近期在区域土壤侵蚀方面研究的重点问题为：区域土壤侵蚀过程及其尺度效应的量化描述、区域土壤侵蚀模型开发、区域土壤侵蚀动态模拟与趋势预测、区域土壤侵蚀与全球变化关系研究和区域土壤侵蚀数据处理与管理方法。     

Quantitative Analysis of Porosity Heterogeneity: Application of Geostatistics to Borehole Images

High levels of heterogeneity in many carbonate reservoirs have raised concerns about the validity and relevance of small-scale measurements from core plugs and high-resolution logs. While the measurements themselves may be accurate, they may not be representative of the average formation properties. A related question is one of reconciling the measurements made in small volume of investigation data (e.g., core plugs), with the measurements from relatively large volume of investigation data (e.g., wireline logs). This paper presents a technique to quantitatively describe the porosity heterogeneity in a borehole at the scale of several tenths of an inch. The method involves treating high-resolution borehole imagery as a 2D sample from a 3D data volume, and applying geostatistical analysis to these data. We compute the experimental semi-variogram and upscale its range and sill to larger (several inches) scales of measurement to predict the impact of heterogeneity on conventional core plug and logging tool porosity measurements. The resulting dispersion variance between the different measurement scales support the interpretation, application and comparison of these porosity measurements. This technique was applied to an Early Cretaceous carbonate reservoir in Abu Dhabi. We found that the scale of the heterogeneity is typically less than 1– 2in., so that while significant heterogeneity is observed at the core plug and smaller scales of measurement, the larger-volume logging tool measurements smooth out the heterogeneity and show considerably less variability. The differences between porosity measured in core plugs can be completely accounted for by this upscaling effect.     

Euro-politics of scale: competing visions of the region in eastern Germany

As John Agnew (Political geography: a reader, 1997) has argued, political and economic change often occasions competing visions of the scales that are appropriate for organizing particular political and economic activities. Nowhere is this more evident than in the European Union, and eastern Germany offers compelling evidence of the contested nature of contemporary scalar politics. Yet a recent debate in human geography (see, e.g. Marston et al., Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers 30:416–432, 2005) calls into question the very concept of scale and rejects its hierarchical conceptualization. In light of this debate, it is appropriate to draw on real-world case studies to examine the ways in which geography figures into policy. Drawing on field work in Saxony, evidence is offered in the form of competing visions of regionalism in the EU context. The evidence presented complicates both hierarchical and flat notions of scale. The current process of querying space to identify those scales that are best-suited for the globalized economy offers insights into both the socially constructed nature of scale as well as the ways in which scalar lenses help to illuminate the geographical aspects (and consequences) of strategies for coping with structural changes.     

The role of economic sectoral structure as a policy mechanism towards more resilient peripheral regions: the case of South Africa

The role of economic sectoral structure in regional growth and development is widely acknowledged. However, there has been scarce reflection on its role as a policy instrument, particularly for peripheral regions. In reaction, this paper investigates the role of economic sectoral structure as a policy instrument towards more resilient peripheral regions. Through a multiple country policy analysis, the paper determines to what degree economic sectoral structure is reflected in regional development policies of 18 countries with predominantly rural characteristics and lagging regions. Moreover, the role of economic sectoral structure towards more resilient regions is quantified and measured for a specific peripheral region case in South Africa as developing country exhibiting poor economic resilience. The paper highlights related variety as a key ingredient for a region to reach a state of dynamic stability between adaptation and adaptability towards enhanced long-term resilience capacity of the peripheral region. The research concludes that policy focus should support the maintenance of the sectors and industries of comparative advantage on the regional scale, but strongly focus on sectoral comparative advantage within the national scale (if present) to establish a more robust region. This will establish and strengthen the identified peripheral growth centres as centres of national competitiveness and specialisation. Primary policy actions as emanated from the literature and the multiple country policy analysis will promote more efficient sectoral composition as key towards more resilient peripheral regions. It is acknowledged that these policy actions must be informed by a detailed regional economic analysis for different peripheral regions to determine inherent and latent economic potential and link with interdependent industries. This paper will highlight that regional policy should become more explicit by exploiting the role of economic and natural resources as growth engines for the peripheral regional economy in a more effective way through a multi-centred territorial structure.

     

Regional anomalies of hydrocarbon fluid saturation as a new source of data on promising oil and gas deposits in the Caspian shelf

This paper analyzes the ratio of local and regional anomalies of fluid saturation identified in the southern margins of the Eastern European Platform by remote fluid indexation. A characteristic feature of this area is the very low background values in the initial field, i.e., local anomalies reflecting the deposits. Regional anomalies are mainly related to oil and gas accumulation zones. In the Middle Caspian areas studied, the regional field of the fluid saturation index is the background for local anomalies. We made an attempt to justify the hydrocarbon migration and generation zones as anomaly-forming zones of the regional anomalies. The correlation of oil and gas accumulation zones with the regional field anomalies was noted.     

Dimensions of environmental justice in anti-gold mining movements in Latin America

The present article examines two Latin American gold mining conflicts, one in the city of Esquel (Patagonia in Argentina) and the other in Pascua–Lama (Chilean border with Argentina). We identify the emergence of three dimensions of environmental justice (distribution, recognition, participation) in the anti-mining movements of these two cases. The study finds that some dimensions of justice appear first (participation and recognition), while distribution emerges later, as movements jump scales engaging with national and international networks that provide a systemic perspective of the conflicts. The findings are consistent with other studies that refer to environmental justice as multi-scalar and context related. We also point to the relevance of studying decision-making procedures and jumping scales to understand how environmental justice claims are framed in resource extraction conflicts.     

Disconnected policies and actors and the missing role of spatial planning throughout the risk management cycle

The present work addresses the problem of lack of coordination between policies and actors with joint competence for risk management, i.e., civil protection, spatial planning, and sectoral planning (e.g., forest policy in the case of forest fire risk). Spatial planning in particular is assigned a minor or no role at all though it might perfectly operate as the coordinating policy platform; the reason is that spatially relevant analysis and policy guidance is an omnipresent component of the risk management cycle. However, disconnected risk relevant policies turning a blind eye to spatial planning might cause several adverse repercussions: Breaks in the response-preparedness-prevention-remediation chain (which should function as a continuum), minimal attention to prevention, risk expansion and growth instead of mitigation, lack of synergies between involved actors as well as duplicated or even diverging measures and funding. The authors bear witness to the above suggestions by examining three cases of European (regional and local) risk management systems faced with failures when confronting natural hazards (floods and forest fires). These three systems are embedded in different types of political-administrative structures, namely those of the city of Dortmund (Germany) facing floods, Eastern Attica region (Greece), and Lazio Region (Italy) facing forest fires.     

Regional policies and regional consciousness in Europe's multinational societies

This paper is concerned with the political significance of the spatial economic activities of states. Regional problems are often the result of social differences which frequently are expressed in regional consciousness and loyalties and in turn they often create potential political and social cleavages and thus affect the cohesion and viability of the state. Various aspects of regional development policies in both western and eastern European multinational states which involve the spatial distribution of economic activities are examined. Planning the economic and social life emphasizes the regional allocation of resources, the coordination of national plans with regional objectives and increased consideration of the problem of lagging regions. Most regional movements are a protest against neglect and demand more local control and autonomy, therefore regional policies must be geared to the modification of long standing grievances resulting from past policies. In countries where increased participation by its inhabitants in the economic and social policies of their respective countries has been a matter of national policy, regional grievances generally have been kept under control.     

Gender and voluntary work in late adulthood in rural communities in the Netherlands

This article discusses the involvement of older women and men in voluntary work in rural communities in the Netherlands. Gender, ageing and civil society form the core concepts in the article. Politicians and policy makers in the Netherlands are worried about the perceived decline of civil society and about the consequences of this decline for specific categories of older women in terms of well-being and social exclusion. The paper presents the results of two surveys of involvement of older women and men in civic organisations, voluntary work and local actions. The surveys indicate high levels of involvement of both women and men. No gender differences are found in activity level. However, the data demonstrate the gendered nature of civil society. Women are more engaged in informal voluntary work and informal local actions, while men are more active in formal organisations and functions. This gender segmentation is not absolute, however. Many older women and men transgress the traditional feminine–masculine boundaries. The surveys highlight the involvement of women and men in rural communities, but indicate lower activity levels in urban areas.     

Applicability of Newmark method at regional, sub-regional and site scales: seismically induced Bullas and La Paca rock-slide cases (Murcia, SE Spain)

In this paper, the applicability of the Newmark method at regional, sub-regional and site scales has been investigated in the Lorca Basin (Murcia). This basin is located in one of the most seismically active regions of Spain. The area is very interesting for studying earthquake-induced slope instabilities as there are well-known cases associated with specific earthquakes. For the regional and sub-regional scales, a geographic information system has been used to develop an implementation of Newmark sliding rigid block method. Soil and topographic amplification effects have been particularly considered. Subsequently, ‘Newmark displacement’ maps for deterministic seismic scenarios have been produced. Some specific studies have also been performed using limit equilibrium methods to estimate the safety factor and the critical acceleration of certain slope instabilities at a site scale. These instabilities were the rock slides related to recent seismic series at the Lorca Basin: 2002 Bullas (M _w = 5.0) and 2005 La Paca (M _w = 4.8). Finally, the safety factor, critical acceleration and Newmark displacement values estimated at different scales have been compared to determine which scale is most suitable for the Newmark method.     

Climate-Caused Abrupt Shifts in a European Macrotidal Estuary

Although many consequences of climate change on marine and terrestrial ecosystems are well documented, the characterisation of estuarine ecosystems specific responses and the drivers of the changes are less understood. In this study, we considered the biggest Southwestern European estuary, the Gironde, as a model of a macrotidal estuary to assess the effects of both large- (i.e., North Atlantic basin-scale) and regional-scale climate changes. Using a unique set of data on climatic, physical, chemical and biological parameters for the period 1978–2009, we examined relations between changes in both the physical and chemical environments and pelagic communities (plankton and fish) via an end-to-end approach. Our results show that the estuary experienced two abrupt shifts (～1987 and ～2000) over the last three decades, which altered the whole system. The timing of these abrupt shifts are in accordance with abrupt shifts reported in both marine (e.g., in the North Sea, the Mediterranean Sea and along the Atlantic) and terrestrial (e.g., in European lakes) realms. Although this work does not allow a full understanding of the dynamical processes through which climate effects propagate along the different compartments of the ecosystem, it provides evidence that the dynamics of the largest estuary of Southwest Europe is strongly modulated by climate change at both regional and global scales.     

New Europe; a political geography of fragmented unity

The Europe of the European Union has an ever more important set of policy arenas at the European level, still strong states, and a series of strong regions that put their demands on the table. The EU is deeply involved in its immediate surroundings and it acts in conjunction with member states in global policy forums. Europe is an unprecedented example of multi-level, multi-sector governance. Europe has been politically re-ordered on a number of occasions and this is one of them. In the current debate abundant use is made of historical examples. The new Europe is in need of institutional re-structuring. Following the traditions of European cooperation this is very slow in coming. Geographers should particularly be concerned with the consequences of terrioriality at several scales simultaneously.     

Lithogeochemical data from the East Amisk area of the Flin Flon—Snow Lake volcanic belt: Implications for mineral exploration

An existing lithogeochemical data file of more than 800 samples covering about 250 km² of the east Amisk area was searched for potential pathfinder elements and rock types related to the known mineralization of the area (early Proterozoic Cu deposits of massive sulfide type). The data were studied in the form of summary statistics and chemically defined subfiles. Enhancement and depletion haloes and spatial relationships of rock types to known ore deposits were sought. Regional pathfinder haloes common to other studies or surveys of massive sulfide deposits (e.g., Na depletion) are not evident; however, the presence of depletion haloes of the immobile elements (i.e., Ti, Nb, Sr, Y, Zr) on a regional scale is demonstrated. It is concluded that the east Amisk area lithogeochemical data are different because of (a) the scale of the initial survey and (b) the environment of formation (and possibly age) of the volcanic host rocks.     

Modelling the occurrence of gullies at two spatial scales in the Olteţ Drainage Basin (Romania)

Gully erosion is both a significant natural hazard and an important sediment source. The design of proper prevention measures relies firstly on the prediction of the future locations of gullies. But, as recent progress has shown, methods and results in any environmental modelling greatly depend upon scale, the selection of which should be based on management needs. This research deals with predicting the spatial potential for gullying at two different scales grouped in a top-down framework, i.e. starting with a preliminary, regional scale analysis (1:100,000–1:200,000) to develop a simplified model, and performing a more detailed, intermediate level analysis at a medium scale (1:25,000–1:50,000) for the basin sector revealed as the most threatened by the process. At the same time, the study searches for relationships among: scale of analysis, area of investigation, precision and accuracy of input data, and the quality of expected results and their applicability. The study area is the Olteţ Drainage Basin (2439 km²) in southern Romania, which extends over four landform types: mountains, hills, a plateau (piedmont) and a plain. Aiming to investigate the scale effect, the same statistical method is selected for both analyses, namely Classification and Regression Trees (CART). Scale-adapted procedures and resolutions are applied for defining the dependent variable, deriving the environmental attributes and deciding the sampling strategy needed to provide information for the statistical analyses. In order to detect the degree of gullying at the regional scale, the statistical method is used over the entire basin, and gully density is selected as the target variable. For the analysis of gully susceptibility at the medium scale, within the most affected area of the Olteţ Basin identified as the piedmont sector, the single gully and the intensely gullied spot are defined as the target variables. The best validated maps obtained at the two scales are compared. The results reveal that both individual maps are characterized by statistical accuracy (a NRMSE value of 0.05–0.08 and an AUC of 0.86 for the regional scale and the medium scale models, respectively). Yet, the regional scale map is affected by high uncertainties when compared to the medium scale one. The scale dependency of results and hence the relative nature of their accuracy and reliability are highlighted in the context of both fundamental and applied research.