The integration of China's port system into global container shipping

There are many controversial issues concerning the relationships between container shipping lines, international port operators and the evolution of China's port system. We first present the factors linked with the transformation of the Pacific Rim transport environment resulting from increase container trade. This is followed by an analysis of China's port system. We argue that China is characterized by a ‘divided’ maritime transport system composed of three regions. The Chinese port system is marked by four interrelated transformations: port privatization, port expansion, modification of transactional networks and the emergence of a new business environment. The paper concludes on the need to upgrade China's port development policies. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Across the pond: container shipping on the North Atlantic in the era of globalisation

This paper describes the development of containerisation in one of the most important theatres of maritime trade, the North Atlantic. As the original hearth of containerisation, it has been an area of experimentation and evolution for a technology that has burst around the world. Although over the last decade the Atlantic has been superceded by the Pacific Ocean as the major market focus for containers, it still is an important market arena. The emergence of global shipping networks is tending to favour the Atlantic once again. The paper provides an analysis of these recent developments. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Marketing strategies: a container foreland study of the port of Miami

The marketing of port forelands will become increasingly more important in an era of load center development resulting from container technologies. In this paper, we have provided a mechanism for identifying overseas port marketing areas where trade development and port promotion should be exercised. The Port of Miami's trade relationships were the foci of this study. Location quotients served to highlight the competitive aspect of port facilities.     

Impact of droughts on child mortality: a case study in Southern African countries

Natural Hazards - Natural hazards like floods and droughts affect many aspects of life. The study in particular examined the impacts of droughts on under-five mortality rate in Southern Africa,...     

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.     

Urban renewal in East African port cities: Mombasa's Old Town waterfront

The urban waterfront redevelopment diaspora, formerly confined to advanced countries, is starting to impact upon coastal settlements in former colonial territories. In diverse contexts ranging from postcolonialism and globalization to cultural revival and tourism development, developing countries are seeking to revive their historic port cities. This paper reports on the experience of Mombasa, Kenya, where waterfront redevelopment is a problematic element in the conservation of the historic urban core, and relates local issues to wider policies, relevant literature and experience elsewhere.     

Solid sedimentation rates history of the Southern African continental margins: Implications for the uplift history of the South African Plateau

The Cretaceous and Cenozoic fill of the continental margins of southern Africa (South‐East Atlantic and Agulhas Margins) contains a continuous record of sediment supplied from the South African Plateau (SAP) for the past 134 million years. Estimates of solid sediment volumes deposited offshore were calculated from isopach maps and extrapolated vertical cross‐sections derived from a large amount of industrial geophysical data. Solid phase volumes and accumulation rates were calculated for six epochs: Lower Cretaceous (134–113 Ma), Mid Cretaceous (113–93.5 Ma), Upper Cretaceous (93.5–81 and 81–66 Ma), Palaeogene (66–25 Ma), Neogene (25–0 Ma). Our new compilation demonstrates the existence of two periods of elevated flux. The most important one occurs in the late Cretaceous (93.5–66 Ma) and was synchronous with an acceleration of onshore denudation as shown by thermochronometric data. After a period of extremely low accumulation rate, the second phase of elevated flux started in the Oligocene (~30–25 Ma) until present‐day. From these observations we suggest that the main phase of uplift of the SAP took place during the Upper Cretaceous. Two mechanisms, namely uplift caused by lithospheric delamination or by dynamic topography caused by the continent moving over the African Superplume, are viable explanations for our observations. The more recent and lower amplitude episode of enhanced accumulation rates is likely to correspond to a second period of uplift, potentially associated with the onset of uplift and extension along the East African Rift System.     

A spatio-temporal analysis of fires in the Southern African Development Community region

Wildfires are considered one of the most common disasters in southern Africa resulting in a high number of human fatalities and financial loss on an annual basis. It is believed that increased population growth, as well as more concentrated settlement planning, is likely to result in increased fire disasters and increased human fatalities as a direct result of wildfires. To better understand the spatial and temporal variations and characteristics of wildfires in the Southern African Development Community (SADC), an 11-year dataset of satellite-derived Active Fire Hotspots was analysed using an open source geographic information system. Results indicate that annual fire frequency for most SADC countries is highly variable. Increasing trends in annual fire frequency were observed in five out of 13 SADC countries with a decrease in annual fire frequency observed in four countries. An additional four countries displayed a somewhat stable trend in fire frequency. Temporally, fires have been observed in all months for the SADC region although distinct fire seasons were observed, largely driven by uni-modal rainfall seasons. The timing, location and strength of rainfall seasons have a marked influence on fire activity depending on the seasonal wet and dry (growing and desiccation) periods. Fire activity in vegetation eco-regions can be attributed to both natural and anthropogenic sources of ignition. However, increased anthropogenic agroforestry activities have resulted in increased fire activity in numerous SADC eco-regions with woodlands, savannahs and montane grassland eco-regions being most prone to wildfires.     

赣南断褶山地对流型地热系统特征及成因——以石城县楂山里地热系统为例

赣南地区构造运动强烈,形成较多的地热水,是我国地热资源开发利用的重点地区之一.文章以赣南石城县楂山里地热系统为例,探讨了赣南断褶山地对流型地热系统的特征及成因,对寻找地热资源及开发利用清洁能源具有实际意义.石城县楂山里地热系统为典型的赣南断褶山地对流型地热系统,以NNE向断裂提供的大地热流为热源,以受迫对流为机制,大气降雨通过断裂带裂隙入渗并深循环,汲取围岩热量和深部岩浆岩放射性热量后形成地热水,在地形高差和水压力差作用下形成环流,沿导水裂隙在地势低洼地带出露后形成温泉.     

Perspectives for Hamburg as a port city in the context of a changing global environment

During recent decades, most European river-port cities and also many seaport cities have undergone a major transition towards a service-centred, rather than industrially-based metropolis, offering a high quality urban environment with a revitalised waterfront. Hamburg is one of the few river-port cities that have chosen the course of port expansion instead. This paper discusses the consequences of current global technological, organisational and economic developments for the port. Changing requirements imply rising monetary and land-use costs and environmental and social impacts, and also entail the risk that the port may not be able to fulfil new requirements and could thus lose market shares to coastal competitors. More importantly, the world-wide economic shift towards the service sector has affected port-dependent jobs in two ways: Directly port-dependent jobs have been reduced to a fraction, while many indirectly port-dependent jobs no longer require physical proximity of the port. Those benefits that continue to arise tend to spread over a much larger geographical region, while the port’s costs remain locally concentrated. Given the increasing competition between world-wide metropolitan regions that seek to establish themselves in new sectors and attract a qualified workforce, it is particularly relevant for Hamburg to account for these changes and to incorporate an assessment of the port’s changing costs and benefits into planning processes. To date, this task has received little attention from the city.     

Dimensions of drought: South African case studies

The recent drought in southern Africa has underscored the need for detailed analysis of the phenomenon. While geographers have researched the causes and impacts of drought in many African contexts, South Africa and in particular its Bantustans have not received sufficient similar attention. This paper outlines firstly the dimensions of drought in South Africa, including the biophysical and socio-economic factors. Issues such as land-use management, drought planning and relief are interrogated in the South African context. The final section of the paper highlights these debates with specific reference to case studies of past and present drought initiatives in South Africa.     

A tale of Asia’s world ports: The spatial evolution in global hub port cities

Globalization and transport revolutions, logistics integration, and the consequent expansion of port area and hinterland in the maritime industry have redefined the functional role of ports in supply chains and have generated a new pattern of freight distribution. This phenomenon again requires a new approach towards port development and related urban planning. Such changes have inevitably influenced the spatial structure of hub port cities. As existing models on spatial and functional evolution of ports and cities are mainly derived from European and American cases, this paper attempts to introduce evidence from an Asian perspective, focusing on the particular case of global hub port cities such as Hong Kong and Singapore.     

Landslide risk perception: a case study in Southern Italy

Perceptions of risk are a key issue when seeking to develop systems, practices and policies to protect local populations. This is particularly evident when risk mitigation strategies involve non-structural measures such as relocation and warning systems which presuppose the active involvement of the communities in question. This study adopts an interdisciplinary approach to studying the perceptions, knowledge and opinions on landslide risk amongst residents in Sarno, a small town in Southern Italy which was hit by disastrous landslides on 5–6 May 1998. The paper presents the results of a survey conducted in the months of March, April and May 2013 using a purpose-designed questionnaire. The survey was conducted using face-to-face interviews with 100 residents, 60 of whom live inside the so-called “red zone”, a territory declared at high residual risk soon after the events of 1998. The questionnaire included questions relating to perceived risk exposure, trust in institutions responsible for risk management, evaluations of risk mitigation measures and the early-warning strategy. The results of the study clearly emerges, amongst other issues, that the organisms which are responsible for risk management in Sarno need to develop more effective communication strategies in order to transmit knowledge about the actions implemented to reduce landslide risk in the area.     

Southern African topography and erosion history: plumes or plate tectonics?

The physiography of southern Africa comprises a narrow coastal plain, separated from an inland plateau by a horseshoe-shaped escarpment. The interior of the inland plateau is a sedimentary basin. The drainage network of southern Africa is characterized by three river divides, broadly parallel to the coastline. These features contrast strongly with the broad dome and radial drainage patterns predicted by models which ascribe the physiography of southern Africa to uplift over a deep mantle plume. The drainage divides are interpreted as axes of epeirogenic uplift. The ages of these axes, which young from the margin to the interior, correlate closely with major reorganizations of spreading regimes in the oceanic ridges surrounding southern Africa, suggesting an origin from stresses related to plate motion. Successive epeirogenic uplifts of southern Africa on the axes, forming the major river divides, initiated cyclic episodes of denudation, which are coeval with erosion surfaces recognized elsewhere across Africa.     

Trans-scalar embeddedness and governance deficits in global production networks: Crisis in South African fruit

The governance of labour in global production networks (GPNs) has become a critical area of concern amongst academics and policymakers alike. To date, GPN research has focused on the role of private company codes and multi-stakeholder ethical initiatives primarily driven by lead-firms. Other GPN studies highlight the critical role of civil society organisations (CSOs) in challenging lead-firm purchasing practices and shaping regulatory outcomes at local production sites. However, GPN research has not sufficiently incorporated the role of nation states in regulating work through legislative frameworks and enforcement regimes, often referred to in the literature as ‘state’ or ‘public’ governance. This is despite a ‘regulatory renaissance’ taking place across certain developing countries, seeking to strengthen their national regulatory labour institutions (Piore and Schrank, 2008:1).The GPN framework provides an analytical lens through which to conceptualise cross-cutting strands of trans-scalar governance regimes, involving complex networks of state, private and civil society actors operating at multiple scales. Notions of territorial and societal embeddedness are used to elucidate how global ethical standards derived from particular country contexts become enmeshed in national regulatory frameworks and local societal relations, shaping governance outcomes for precarious workers incorporated into GPNs. The paper draws attention to the ‘trans-scalar embeddedness’ of labour governance regimes which interact across geographical scales and, in the case of South African fruit, reflect a ‘trans-scalar governance deficit’ for precarious workers. It is argued that the influence of national regulatory regimes should be more fully incorporated into analytical frameworks for understanding governance outcomes in GPNs.