Devolution, the governance of regional development and the Trade Union Congress in the North East region of England

The devolution and regionalisation of political and administrative structures following the election of New Labour in 1997 have changed the nature of the state and territorial development and governance in the UK. A regional and sub-national tier has opened up within the existing multi-layered governance system operating at the supra-national, national and local scales. This ‘new institutional space’ is increasingly open to the participation of social institutions--including trade unions--in economic and social governance. Drawing upon empirical analysis of the experience of the Northern Trade Union Congress (NTUC) in the North East region of England, the paper argues that the NTUC--in contrast to its national organisation--is beginning to engage with the emergent institutional structures but its role is inhibited by the centralised strategy and structure of the TUC nationally, its own need for upgrading, capacity building and greater financial resources and the interaction between the North East’s particular legacy of tripartite corporatism and the more pluralist modes of regional development governance emerging in the English regions. Unless such issues are addressed regional trade union centres--such as the NTUC--risk remaining relatively junior partners in the emergent regional governance structures.     

江西省武山铜矿岩溶发育规律及影响因素研究

武山铜矿SN矿带均以碳酸盐岩类岩层为主要充水岩层,岩溶水文地质条件复杂,钻孔揭露见有溶洞、溶蚀裂隙、溶孔、溶蚀破碎带。各地段岩溶发育程度具不均一性,其含水层渗透性差别也很大。因此,深入分析岩溶发育规律对于矿坑涌水量计算中参数选择至关重要。论文在充分收集矿区勘探资料、生产矿井资料的基础上,通过对矿区钻孔揭露的溶洞数量、线溶洞率与地层岩性、矿床周边形态、构造、高程之间关系的研究,总结了区内岩溶在垂向上和平面上的发育规律。并从区内岩石的物质基础、构造条件、水化学特征、水的循环交替作用等方面阐述了区内岩溶发育的影响因素。为矿床深部疏干条件下涌水量预测评价的水文地质参数分区及选取提供了有力依据。     

The Basin of Mexico aquifer system: regional groundwater level dynamics and database development

The aquifer system of the Basin of Mexico is the main source of water supply to the Mexico City Metropolitan Zone. Management of the Basin’s water resources requires improved understanding of regional groundwater flow patterns, for which large amounts of data are required. The current study analyses the regional dynamics of the potentiometric groundwater level using a new database called the Basin of Mexico Hydrogeological Database (BMHDB). To foster the development of a regional view of the aquifer system, data on climatological, borehole and runoff variables are part of the BMHDB. The structure and development of the BMHDB are briefly explained and then the database is used to analyze the consequences of groundwater extraction on the aquifer’s confinement conditions using lithology data. The regional analysis shows that the largest drawdown rates are located north of Mexico City, in Ecatepec (a region that has not yet received attention in hydrogeological studies), due to wells that were drilled as a temporary solution to Mexico City’s water-supply problem. It is evident that the aquifer has changed from a confined to an unconfined condition in some areas, a factor that is responsible for the large subsidence rates (40 cm/year) in some regions.     

Resource-based development in the Russian Far East: Problems and prospects

The paper examines the prospects for resource-based development in the Russian Far East. It adopts a critical perspective on the potential for resource-based development by examining problems with Far East resource industries, specifically by looking at the experience of the other resource economies more generally. In particular, it highlights the new geo-economic context for resource development in the Far East of Russia as the world economy approaches the much touted, and now questioned, ‘Pacific Century’.     

History and regional development. A controversy over the ‘right’ interpretation of the role of history in the development of the Polish regions

There is currently a lively discussion on the role of historic memories and the re-visiting of historic legacies in post-communist countries. Using the example of Poland and its legacy of the tripartite division of the 19th century, this paper aims to illustrate how symbolic conflicts over identity politics and the interpretation of history may critically influence discourses on the debates on, and portrayals of, variations in regional development. The paper thus discusses the post-war history of Poland in the context of the so-called left-right political cleavage, and the varying related debates on the ‘quality’ of regional development as part of Poland’s post-communist restructuring. These discussions include varying projections of the nature and role of social capital and its relative ‘usefulness’ for a successful development Poland’s after communism. And there are clear political overtones to these contrasting portrayals of Poland’s history and its regionally varying legacy. Drawing on different definitions of the notion of social capital, the paper then discusses how different legacies, such as an introspective and extrovert outlook of population and institutions, and the degree of cohesion among them, circumscribes a region’s economic development prospects.     

Moving workers with the work: State selection, key workers and spatial development policy in post-war Britain

Spatial and planning policies in Britain have increasingly become focused on regional inequalities and the creation of mixed, sustainable and balanced communities. Within these new policy paradigms the category of the key workers has emerged as an essential element in the socio-economic sustainability of any bounded area programmes have been introduced to support their needs. Yet, defining key workers is an inherently political process as it necessitates the selection of essential and non-essential workers. Theoretical approaches that highlight state selectivity and the ways in which key policy subjects and objects are identified and mobilised have become increasingly popular across the social sciences and key worker support programmes provide a clear example of these processes in action. This paper draws on archival research to explore the formation of the category ‘key’ worker as an object of government in spatial development policies of the post-war period. It examines how key worker programmes were established to tackle the economic problems of Development Areas. It argues that definitions of key workers were forged in and through particular social, political, and economic contexts and that their emergence as an object of government presupposed and reinforced the existence of different classes of workers and different types of citizens. The paper highlights the significance of such historical work in assessments of contemporary policy and academic debates concerning the changing character of sustainable communities and citizenship, regional development, and changing modes of state regulation.     

壶口瀑布地质遗迹资源及其保护性开发策略

位于晋陕两省交界处的黄河壶口瀑布是国家级地质公园,围绕着瀑布的形成和发展,遗留下许多重要的地质遗迹景观。在论述以瀑布为主体的地质遗迹资源特征和瀑布的成因与变化过程的基础上,提出了对瀑布景区进行水土保持、进行黄河流域统一的水量调度和管理体制创新等综合地保护性开发策略,以实现该地质遗迹资源的可持续利用和发展。     

Economic development and the geography of crime: an empirical analysis

The paper examines criminality as one of the second order consequences of development which the society has been struggling off for so long. In the study area, Kwara State of Nigeria, positive associations between development and criminality have begun to manifest themselves. The highest positive associations are between criminality and urbanization, telephone and motor vehicles respectively, while the lowest associations are with industrialization, electricity and education. In order to reduce criminality without holding down development in the state, various suggestions have been made. Central measures include more equitable distribution of criminality, strengthening of the police force and free mobilization of policemen from high crime areas to low crime areas. Long term measures include improving the socio-economic wellbeing of the general populace with special reference to the provision of modern industries, education, electricity, water and roads to rural dwellers and thereby curbing the wave of rural-urban migration and its attendant social ills. This should be accompanied by unqualified deep-rooted revolution in the monstrously unjust socio-economic system we currently operate, for afterall, as Peet (1975) rightly observed crime is a surface expression of discontents which lie deeply embedded in the social system.     

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.     

王坡煤矿陷落柱发育特征及其对煤层气开发的影响

陷落柱是影响煤矿区煤炭与煤层气开发的主要制约因素之一。研究煤矿区陷落柱成因及分布特征,有助于降低煤炭开采与煤层气开发的风险。通过对陷落柱控制因素和发育特征的分析,结合王坡煤矿已发现陷落柱的分布情况,探讨了陷落柱对王坡煤矿煤层气分布及其开发的影响机制。分析认为：陷落柱周围3号煤的气含量有所降低;在煤层气开发过程中,陷落柱可能会贯通奥陶系灰岩层与煤系地层,从而对煤层气的钻井、压裂以及排采工程产生不利影响。     

Fifty years of organisational change in container shipping: regional shift and the role of family firms

Spectacular growth has marked the industry initiated by Malcolm McLean with the sailing of the Ideal-X in 1956. While the growth of container shipping has been typically seen in terms of technological advances, increasing vessel capacity, traffic growth, financial performance and competitiveness, it has been shaped also by organisational transformations. This paper provides an overview of the major companies that make up the container shipping industry, tracing the rapid adoption of containerisation by American carriers to its diffusion to Europe and then Asia. While several carriers belong to business conglomerates, the most dynamic in recent years have been those that are those that possess a family structure. About 12 of the present top 20 carriers are largely family controlled, including 4 out of the top 5. Unlike other capital intensive industries, where the power has shifted towards corporate governance, the container shipping industry retains a strong individualistic entrepreneurial character. At a time when North American ownership in container shipping is no more, the spirit of innovation began 50 years ago by an American visionary is still evident in the entrepreneurial dynamism of many of the industry leaders.     

Sustainable development in regional planning: The search for new tools and renewed legitimacy

This paper focuses on sustainability appraisal as a key technique for pursuing the political goal of ‘sustainable development’ within English planning. We conclude that unlike many planning tools of the past which have sought to depoliticise decision making by using more ‘scientific’ techniques, the early experience of sustainability appraisal has instead repoliticised them, by highlighting where tensions exist but without providing solutions.     

21世纪初中国国土开发整治与地区经济发展对地质工作的需求

中国地质工作自20世纪50年代以后一直以地质-找矿为中心。20世纪末到21世纪初,地质工作调查研究的对象逐步扩大,地质学发展为地球系统科学,地质工作的服务领域也扩大到满足资源、环境和人民生活的多种需求,提出了大地质工作概念。这种与时俱进的观念更新,符合国际地质工作的现代潮流,也是中国经济和社会发展的客观需要。下面从国土开发整治与地区经济发展角度,对地质工作谈3点看法。     

Characterization of regional land subsidence in Yangtze Delta, China: the example of Su-Xi-Chang area and the city of Shanghai

Su-Xi-Chang area and the city of Shanghai, located in the south of Yangtze Delta, China, has subsided due to groundwater overpumping. Because of the regional scale of the groundwater exploitation, cone of depression and land subsidence at present, Su-Xi-Chang area and Shanghai are treated as a single area for a land subsidence study, which could more clearly elaborate the relationships between the deformation features of hydrostratigraphic units and the different sites of the cone of depression. All hydrostratigraphic units in the study area were discussed throughout. Based on the field data, including data on compression of individual strata from groups of extensometers and groundwater levels from observation wells, the relationship between the deformation and the groundwater level was analyzed. The results indicate that the deformation features of the hydrogeologic units are greatly related to hydrogeologic properties and groundwater-level variations. An identical hydrogeologic unit may exhibit different deformation features in different locations such as along the periphery and in the center of the cone of depression. In addition, in the same location, a hydrogeologic unit also exhibits different features in different periods because of different groundwater level variations. The delay phenomenon of the sandy aquifer is not specific but occurs widely.     

An empirical model for the development and equilibrium morphology of current ripples in fine sand

A flume study on the development and equilibrium morphology of current ripples in fine sand (D₅₀ = 0·238 mm) was performed to extend an empirical model for current ripple stability in 0·095 mm sand to larger grain sizes. The results of the flume experiments agree with the very fine sand model that current ripple development from a flat bed is largely independent of flow velocity. At all flow velocities, ripples evolve from incipient, through straight, sinuous and non-equilibrium linguoid, to equilibrium linguoid plan morphology. The time needed to achieve an equilibrium linguoid plan form is related to an inverse power of flow velocity and ranges from several minutes to more than hundreds of hours. Average equilibrium height and length are 17·0 mm and 141·1 mm respectively. These values are about 20% larger than in very fine sand. Equilibrium ripple height and length are proportional to flow velocity near the stability field of dunes. In the same velocity range, a characteristic grouping of ripples with smaller ripples migrating on the upstream face of larger ripples was observed. Bed-form development shows a conspicuous two-phase behaviour at flow velocities < 0·49 m s^?1. In the first phase of development, ripple height and length increase along an exponential path, similar to that at higher flow velocities, thus reaching intermediate equilibrium values of 14·8 mm and 124·5 mm respectively. After some time, however, a second phase commences, that involves a rapid increase in bed-form size to the typical equilibrium values for 0·238 mm sand. A comparison with literature data shows that the results obtained for 0·238 mm sand agree reasonably well with other flume studies at similar grain size. Yet considerable variability in the relationships between ripple dimensions and flow strength ensues from, among others, underestimation of equilibrium time, shallow flow depths and differences in sediment texture.     

Potential influence of land development patterns on regional climate: a summer case study in the Central Florida

Two land development scenarios based on the Central Florida Regional Growth Vision projection for 2050 were used to explore the developments?? potential influence on regional climate. One scenario is a widespread suburban land development plan, and the other is a higher density urban development plan, both for the same location in central Florida. A series of simulation experiments were conducted using a regional climate model upgraded for this study to include an urban scheme. Noticeable differences in simulated regional climate patterns were found between the land development scenarios, which could potentially influence population requirements for energy and water. In our simulations, the aggregated effect of land cover changes over large suburban areas produced a more intense heat island effect than that produced by high-density urban areas.     

Local economic development: Theory, evidence, and implications for policy in Brazil

Local economic development policies have surged in Brazil over the past decade—a major shift in this regionally diverse country of 27 states, over 5000 municipalities, and the largest economy in Latin America. We review the stylized facts, expected patterns and policy recommendations from the foundational studies in regional and urban economics. We then provide a summary of a more recent stream of scholarship focused on local economic development (LED) studies in developed and developing countries that have surged in the last 20 years. Based on this review, we then systemize the findings emerging from studies focused on analyzing local economic development policies in Brazil recognizing the distinctive contributions emerging from both the empirical and the case studies literatures. We identify key lessons for (and from) the Brazilian experience and conclude that Brazil and Latin American countries need a new generation of studies that undertake more rigorous evaluations of these policy experiments. Finally, we recommend steps to advance such research.     

基于GIS的区域集水指数分析——以潮田河流域为例

为研究岩溶发育区域的流域集水情况,采取遥感（RS）和地理信息系统（GIS）技术对潮田河流域进行分析,以区域环境指标地形指数、地表指数和植被指数为主要参数,构建基于栅格的综合集水指数评估模型。结果表明：潮田河流域集水综合指数平均值为2.91,区域的汇水权重为地形（0.423 52>）植被（0.296 91） >地表（0.219 55）,地形状态指数对流域集水影响最大,地表状态指数和植被状态指数影响较小,岩溶发育强烈和水系密度偏差区域分布在集水综合等级低于III级的区域。     

Proximity and power within investment relationships: The case of the UK private equity industry

The role of power in economic activity has been researched across the social sciences but there has been little engagement with the spatialities of power relations. This paper thus draws on a recent reinvigorated interest in power within economic geography to develop an approach for understanding how the spatiality of power relations in economic practices are constituted through different forms of proximity. It argues that proximity needs to be conceptualised as multi-dimensional including physical, cultural, virtual and organizational proximity between firms and actors. It further contends that the development of different forms of proximity shape the agency of empowered actors in industry clusters and regional economies. This general proposition is explored by presenting research into a case study: the UK-based private equity industry. The research focuses on the nature, role and development of different forms of proximity between private equity firms and the investee firms that are the subject of investments.