Use of hierarchical cluster analysis to assess the representativeness of a baseline groundwater quality monitoring network: comparison of New Zealand’s national and regional groundwater monitoring programs

Baseline monitoring of groundwater quality aims to characterize the ambient condition of the resource and identify spatial or temporal trends. Sites comprising any baseline monitoring network must be selected to provide a representative perspective of groundwater quality across the aquifer(s) of interest. Hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) has been used as a means of assessing the representativeness of a groundwater quality monitoring network, using example datasets from New Zealand. HCA allows New Zealand??s national and regional monitoring networks to be compared in terms of the number of water-quality categories identified in each network, the hydrochemistry at the centroids of these water-quality categories, the proportions of monitoring sites assigned to each water-quality category, and the range of concentrations for each analyte within each water-quality category. Through the HCA approach, the National Groundwater Monitoring Programme (117 sites) is shown to provide a highly representative perspective of groundwater quality across New Zealand, relative to the amalgamated regional monitoring networks operated by 15 different regional authorities (680 sites have sufficient data for inclusion in HCA). This methodology can be applied to evaluate the representativeness of any subset of monitoring sites taken from a larger network.     

Nationalising local sustainability: Lessons from the British wartime Utility furniture scheme

Analyses of sustainable design and commodity networks often make a priori assumptions about the capacity of markets to provide solutions to environmental problems; and have a tendency to celebrate local scales of action. This paper offers a contrasting account, in which the national state sought to carefully manage scarce natural resources and to ensure equitable consumption at a time of deep crisis. We utilise the historical example of the British wartime Utility furniture scheme in order to draw out three lessons for sustainable and equitable environmental practice. First, we argue that national states do not simply provide an institutional backdrop to sustainable production but rather can act as important organising agents. Second, the paper emphasises that sustainability is best achieved through interventions across a commodity network, beyond simply modifications to a single node such as design. Finally, we underscore the value of ‘pragmatic centralism’ in environmental decision-making, calling attention to the collaborative practices that underpinned the scheme. The example of Utility’s adaptive responses—borne out of crisis, scarcity and shortage during wartime—offers much that is of intrinsic interest to current concerns about resource consumption and the drivers of sustainability in commodity networks.     

中国生态系统研究网络（CERN）：概况、成就和展望

在中国科学院的支持下，中国生态系统研究网络（CERN）于1988年建立，现由代表不同生态系统的36个生态站、5个分中心和1个综合中心组成。经过10多年的努力，CERN各站和中心已按照规定的监测指标体系和操作规范，系统地开展了生态监测以及有关的研究和生态系统优化管理模式示范等方面的工作，且已取得了一系列重大成果。CERN目前已经成为我国生态学研究和人才培养的重要基地及国际生态监测与研究网络的重要组成部分。随着中国科学院知识创新工程第三期计划的启动，CERN又将进入到一个重要的发展阶段。可以预期，CERN在促进科学发展和服务社会方面都将取得更重大的成就。     

Assessment of the availability of near-real time open weather data provided by networks of surface stations in Spain

The aims of this research are: (i) to check availability of weather observations from automated stations in Spain, (ii) to qualitatively and quantitatively describe the networks identified, (iii) to analyze availability of the observations gathered for 3 different networks [two government (GOV): AEMET with national coverage and CASTILLA Y LEÓN on a regional level; and METEOCLIMATIC, a network of volunteer weather observation (VWO) stations on a national level], and (iv) to undertake a spatial redundancy and lacunarity analysis of them. The results reveal: the existence of heterogeneous VWO networks complementing the GOV, differences within and among networks as far as data acquisition frequency, varying delays in their publication, and semantic differences in the observations made. An inventory was made of 24 networks (16 GOV and 8 VWO) with 3,908 stations deployed in Spain. An analysis of observations from 3 networks reveals that 88 % of the stations in the volunteer network record more than two observations per hour. 56 % of the AEMET stations report more than 48 observations every day, 31 % report between 25 and 48 observations a day. Conversely, the CASTILLA Y LEÓN network records data every half hour. The redundancy analysis reveals a 3,429-drop in the number of unduplicated stations. Following the lacunarity analysis of spatial distribution, it is possible to conclude that 60.72 % of the cells do not contain any stations.     

Network configurations and R&D activities of the ICT industry in Suzhou municipality, China

This paper analyzes the network structure and R&D activities of the information and communication technology (ICT) industry in Suzhou municipality, known previously for its local state-directed Sunan model of development. Suzhou, however, has been undergoing dramatic restructuring to remake itself into a globalizing production center. We highlight the significance of the Chinese state and local/regional assets in shaping the trajectories of globalization and regional development, and the increasing importance of domestic markets and regional clusters/agglomeration for foreign ventures. We have found that Suzhou’s development path, heavily dependent on external forces, has made Suzhou a TNC (transnational corporation) satellite district. We also find that the ICT industry in Suzhou has a dual-structure, segmented between foreign-invested enterprises (FIEs) and domestic firms. TNCs tend to network among themselves and their interfirm networks are increasingly domestic and regionally embedded in the Yangtze River Delta, while the linkages between TNCs and local firms are weak. We argue that there is a series of technological, structural, spatial, and institutional “mismatches” that limits the establishment of “global pipelines” of knowledge exchange. We hold that the nature of global-local networks is contingent upon regional endogenous capacities and the specific ways in which global capital interacts with local institutions. Therefore, perspectives on TNCs’ local embeddedness must be positioned in their regional/external networks. We also analyze the constraints placed on Suzhou’s development into an innovative city and promote the integration of global and local/regional assets through development of indigenous capacities.     

太湖平原圩区河网演变模式探析

以汾湖镇为研究区,采用GIS和RS方法分析了全镇及典型圩区近15年来河网结构的变化特征。结果表明:等级最低的圩内河道的河网结构变化显著,而村级以上的骨干河网结构基本没有变化,河网结构趋于稳定;不同圩区河网结构变化存在明显的时空差异。快速城镇化过程中,经过及时规划和治理的圩区河网结构得到了一定的改善,反之,河网结构受到了较大破坏;根据河网结构演变特征及原因,快速城镇化圩区河网结构演变的主要原因是对水系的保护、整治和破坏等人类活动的影响,据此识别圩区河网演变的几种主要模式为:主动引导型、被动改造型、修复完善型和保护优先型。     

Understanding uncertainty and reducing vulnerability: lessons from resilience thinking

Vulnerability is registered not by exposure to hazards alone; it also resides in the resilience of the system experiencing the hazard. Resilience (the capacity of a system to absorb recurrent disturbances, such as natural disasters, so as to retain essential structures, processes and feedbacks) is important for the discussion of vulnerability for three reasons: (1) it helps evaluate hazards holistically in coupled human–environment systems, (2) it puts the emphasis on the ability of a system to deal with a hazard, absorbing the disturbance or adapting to it, and (3) it is forward-looking and helps explore policy options for dealing with uncertainty and future change. Building resilience into human–environment systems is an effective way to cope with change characterized by surprises and unknowable risks. There seem to be four clusters of factors relevant to building resilience: (1) learning to live with change and uncertainty, (2) nurturing various types of ecological, social and political diversity for increasing options and reducing risks, (3) increasing the range of knowledge for learning and problem-solving, and (4) creating opportunities for␣self-organization, including strengthening of local institutions and building cross-scale linkages and problem-solving networks.     

Putting principles of linguistic rights into practice: Geographical perspectives on a contemporary European problem

The political salience of demands from minority and regional groups for greater language rights increases across Europe. To draw more geographical attention to a particular aspect of these developments, this article identifies the main generic problems of converting demands for ‘linguistic rights’ into applied language policies. It does this by first outlining how the historic process of nation-state building in Europe reduced linguistic diversity, but has not eliminated language demands emanating from regional minorities. It then analyses how the concept of ‘linguistic rights’, as a part of human rights in general, has been developing within the United Nations and bodies including the Council of Europe and the European Union. Having outlined the political-legal frameworks within which minority language rights are pursued, the article then discusses the major difficulties of putting them into practice in particular places and spaces. They can be summarised as: the weakness of relevant international agreements; the dominance of state sovereignty in determining language policies; the limited public support for minority language rights; the difficulties of defining minority languages and delimiting the geographical spaces they occupy; the challenges posed by the growing geographical mobility of populations; and the problem of balancing collective and individual rights. Two fundamental issues linking these different problems are identified. First, there are problems of definition: what constitutes a ‘minority’ or ‘regional’ language and within what geographical space(s) is such a language spoken? This spatial dimension underlies a second fundamental problem, namely that of resolving conflicts between individual personality rights and collective territorial rights in increasing hybrid geolinguistic situations created by the growing geographical mobility of populations. Sociolinguists study these issues, but usually treat these essential spatial dimensions in a superficial fashion. Thus, there is an opportunity for geographers to develop more sophisticated geolinguistic analyses as a contribution to this interdisciplinary field.     

Power and influence tactics in the promotion of regional development: An empirical analysis of the work of Finnish regional development officers

Increased complexity and rapid pace of change demand more from people responsible for regional development at various levels of activity. This paper has its roots in a belief that the more complex situations are, the more regional development is dependent on the leadership and network management capacity of key individuals. Studying more deeply the roles that various individuals, and the coalitions formed by them, have in institutionalisation, deinstitutionalisation and reinstitutionalisation processes might provide us with additional analytical leverage in regional development studies. This paper focuses on diffuse networks of dispersed powers from a Finnish regional development officer’s point of view. Regional development officers are those people whose job it is to boost the economic development of their respective regions in Finland.The research questions discussed here are: (a) What kind of power is exercised by Finnish regional development officers; and (b) how do regional development officers aim to gain influence for their efforts to promote regional development? The empirical research is based on data gathered (a) through 41 interviews with Finnish actors responsible for the promotion of economic development in city governments, technology centres, regional development agencies, and ministries and other national bodies, and (b) through internet survey of development officers at local, regional and national levels (531 respondents, response rate 51.8%). The survey was designed to solicit information about power and influence tactics in the context of regional development. The empirical analysis shows, for example, how interpretive power and network power are more important for regional development officers than institutional and resource power, and how indirect influence tactics surpass direct tactics.     

人类活动影响下的青海湖流域生态系统服务空间格局

人类活动改变生态格局和变化,进而影响生态系统服务。因此,探讨人类活动影响下的生态系统服务空间格局,对于区域生态安全、可持续发展和人类福祉等至关重要。以青海湖流域为研究区,基于InVEST模型计算了流域2018年产水量、水质净化、生境质量、土壤保持和碳储量五种生态系统服务,并分析了不同生态系统服务的空间自相关性、相互关系以及人类活动影响下的空间格局。结果表明：流域生境质量整体较好,土壤流失整体较小。碳储量受植被覆盖的影响存在明显空间差异。农业生态系统和城镇生态系统氮、磷负荷较高。产水量环湖区和山区差异明显;产水量、碳储量和生境质量的Moran's I分别为0.786、0.742和0.705,空间聚集性最强,氮负荷最弱;协同关系主要表现在氮负荷与磷负荷、碳储量与生境质量、产水量与土壤流失之间。权衡关系主要是生境质量与产水量和氮负荷,碳储量与产水量和土壤流失之间;碳储量、生境质量和土壤流失随人类活动的增强呈现递减趋势。氮、磷负荷随人类活动的增强呈现递增趋势。人类活动通过改变不透水表面进而影响产水量。通过高分辨率遥感影像精细化定量描述人类活动以及详细探讨人类活动影响下各生态系统服务空间格局、聚集程度,可为流域科学评价生态系统服务、生态环境保护及可持续发展提供依据。     

Networking,context and firm-level innovation: Cooperation through the regional filter in Norway

The paper assesses the role for innovation of one aspect which has been generally overlooked by evolutionary economic geography: context. It analyses how context shapes the impact of collaboration on firm-level innovation for 1604 firms located in the five largest city regions of Norway. Specifically, the analysis shows how the benefits to firms of collaborating within regional, national, and international innovation networks are affected by the knowledge endowments of the region within which the firm is located. Using a logit regression analysis, we find, first, that only national and international networking have a significant positive impact on the likelihood of innovation (the former only for process innovation), whereas the regional knowledge endowments have no direct effect. Second, regional cooperation is particularly effective in regions with high investments in R&D, whereas international cooperation is important in regions with an educated workforce – and regional and national collaboration may be ineffective in such cases. We conclude that, in the case of Norway, context is essential in determining the capacity of firms to set up networks and innovate. Regions with an educated workforce can use the resulting absorptive capacity to successfully assimilate knowledge being diffused through global pipelines from faraway places. However, this absorptive capacity is likely to be heavily filtered if regional firms mainly rely on internal connections within Norway.     

Spaces of sustainable development in the Lower Hunter Regional Strategy: An application of the ‘cultural sociology of space’

Sustainable development was introduced as an approach to overcoming growing concerns about consumption and the limitations of the natural resource base upon which society depends. It advocates a system in which economic growth can still occur, but within natural resource limits and such as not to disadvantage either current or future generations. However the implementation of sustainable development has proven problematic due to definitional problems, institutional constraints and unresponsive socio-political systems. This paper examines the mechanisms through which an aspatial policy such as the Australian Government’s National Strategy for Ecological Sustainable Development is reinterpreted through the recent spatial planning processes of Lower Hunter Regional Strategy. This paper applies the cultural sociology of space theoretical framework which considers the dialectical relationship between material practices and the symbolic meanings that people attach to their environment. The framework provides insights into how within this spatial planning process, through a combination of language and representation, spatial practices and power rationalities produce discourses and spaces. Applying the framework also shows how a desired “sustainable future” is achieved through the predominance of land development rationality.     

The ideology behind the technology - Chilean microentrepreneurs and public ICT policies

Digital divides are differences in access to information and communication technologies (ICTs) which tend to reflect the social and regional inequalities between and within countries. This paper presents a case study from Chile, which is among the leaders in Latin America both in levels of e-readiness and in social and regional inequality. The Chilean state’s ICT policies are situated within the “Third Way” approach of the centre-left government, reflecting the tensions between a pro-active and positive view of neoliberal globalisation, and state social programmes to support poorer sectors of society.The paper presents a multi-level analysis of two elements of Chilean ICT policy: Chilecompra, an online public e-procurement system aimed at creating transparent and competitive transactions in line with neoliberal economic theory, and Red Comunitaria, a network of Community Information Centres which offer free internet access and training to individuals, including microentrepreneurs. Interviews were conducted at the national, regional and local level. Findings were that the Community Information Centres (telecentros) had indeed furthered digital inclusion while in the meantime the shift to e-procurement had excluded many microentrepreneurs who had not registered with the system of Chilecompra. The larger of the local enterprises had registered but were having difficulties competing online with bigger companies located in the regional and national capitals.The paper argues that while both state policies see themselves as successes, the political objectives underlying the technology mirror the Chilean government’s struggle to simultaneously embrace neoliberal globalisation while working towards greater social and regional cohesion. At the local level there is evidence of the failure to reconcile the two approaches which may be indicative of a more general tension between these goals.     

Legitimization through patronage? Strategies for political control beyond ethno-regional claims in Darjeeling,India

This paper asks how contending political leaders legitimize their authority in a competitive authoritarian regime. It contends that ‘legitimization through patronage’ is an important means of convincing the public of the rightfulness of a leader’s authority when ‘ideology-based normative legitimacy’ is declining and the formal electoral route is not available. Drawing on an understanding of legitimacy that accounts for leaders’ strategies and public receptions, the paper seeks to explore the moral norms and values on the basis of which followers evaluate leaders’ performance. Drawing on anthropological studies of patronage in South Asia not only helps to transcend an exclusively instrumental understanding of patronage by stressing its moral dimension but also complements comparative politics’ focus on the national level by studying the everyday processes through which political leaders’ legitimacy is locally constructed and contested in patronage relations. Evidence from Darjeeling in northern West Bengal/India (where the State’s preferential treatment of a regional party claiming leadership of a movement for regional autonomy has contributed to the establishment of a dominant party regime) highlights patronage’s potential as a legitimating strategy – but it also reveals its practical limits. While the establishment of resource monopolies over developmental funding helped leaders of the ruling party to “feed” their support networks and foster reputations as selfless “social workers”, differing bases for the evaluation of leaders, the growing expectations of followers, and dependence on external patronage resources limited the long-term success of patronage as a legitimating strategy. This, in turn, enabled the State to curtail demands for autonomy by controlling regional elite construction.     

Strategic globalizing centers and sub-network geometries: A social network analysis of multi-scalar energy networks

Over the past three decades, a multitude of studies have examined the relational properties of corporate networks as a proxy for analyzing interurban hierarchies and structures. While this has been important in illuminating the nature of global connectivity, a significant conceptual lacuna exists in understanding how a multi-scalar analysis of interurban networks informs a more complete understanding of the geographies of globalization, and how cities within these networks act as regional globalizing centers. Building upon the theoretical and methodological foundations of ‘world city network’ (WCN) research, this paper investigates the corporate networks of the energy industry as a historic driver of globalization using social network analysis from an Australia geographical perspective. Globally and nationally scaled energy networks derived from the Platts and Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) corporate lists are used to explore the convergence of nationally and globally articulated networks, and identify cities instrumental in the globalization of the national industry sub-networks. These are strategic ‘globalizing centers’ which, in contradistinction to ‘global cities’ or ‘world cities’ as broad classifications, play nuanced roles in anointing industry-specific circuits of capital and information. The analysis of two complementary yet distinct networks provides theoretical insight into how scale plays an integral role in defining/articulating interurban relations.     

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.     

数字地质调查系统空间数据库建设

在现代信息技术和空间技术高速发展的今天,区域地质调查工作过程的数字化已经成为一种必然趋势,它能更好地实现信息共享和数据更新,为地质工作服务.区域地质图空间数据库的建设为基础地质调查规划部署、地方资金找矿勘探提供了重要的数据支撑,是地质调查成果数字化、信息化及国土资源部数字化工程的重要组成部分.通过对数字地质图空间数据库的组织模型、空间存储及属性继承、辅助建库工具、质量监控的阐述,为建库提供了技术保障,保证了数据的精度,有效提高了建库效率.     

Spatial variations in broadband and air passenger service provision in the United States

With the resurgence of regions as key nodes in the global economy, there is a growing interest in better defining their competitive advantages, particularly those accrued through infrastructure provision. Two important components of this competitive landscape are information and communication technologies (ICTs) and commercial air passenger service. While the development of these two networks is frequently cited as being a critical factor in regional economic competitiveness, few empirical studies address the statistical relationship(s) between these infrastructures or the complexities associated with their spatial distribution. The purpose of this paper is to determine if an association exists between the provision of broadband telecommunication service and air passenger service in the United States. In addition, basic spatial statistical approaches are utilized to identify a suite of important social and economic determinants that play a central role in spurring infrastructure provision.     

Adaptation policy and adaptation realities: local social organization and cross-scale networks for climate adaptation on Mount Kilimanjaro

Least developed countries have prepared national adaptation programs of action (NAPAs) to coordinate international adaptation funding to reduce social vulnerability to climate change. The adaptation programs have been written for consistency with existing sectoral policies and development agendas—policies which have thus far led to inequitable and incomplete decentralization of responsibility to organize and manage adaptation at the local level. The capacity of local social organization and of cross-scale networks and flows of knowledge and resources from higher levels of government is insufficient to facilitate socially equitable and sustainable adaptation to climate change. Tanzania’s NAPA, poverty reduction strategy paper, and sectoral policies for forest, water, and agriculture/livestock illustrate the coordination of adaptation plans with existing policies. National and regional statistics and a survey of households on Mount Kilimanjaro—a regional priority for climate adaptation in Tanzania—demonstrate significant gaps in local social organization and cross-scale networks for adaptation. Challenging existing structural causes of vulnerability will be difficult under adaptation plans written for complementarity with the very policies that have produced social inequality. Outside of a few development projects of limited geographic extent, there is limited evidence for socially equitable and sustainable adaptation outcomes. Sustainable adaptation will require substantial new commitments to developing local capacity and cross-scale networks.     

Groundwater status and associated issues in the Mekong-Lancang River Basin: International collaborations to achieve sustainable groundwater resources

Groundwater is an important and readily available source of fresh water in the Mekong-Lancang River Basin. With a rapid population growth and increasing human activities, an increasing number of countries in the Mekong-Lancang River Basin are experiencing depleted and degraded groundwater supplies. In transboundary river basins, such as the Mekong-Lancang River, prioritizing the use of the shared aquifer by one riparian government may affect the opportunities of other riparian governments and lead to potential water conflicts between neighboring countries. To promote the sharing of strategies and information for the sustainable and equitable use of water resources of the shared basin, international collaborative workshops on groundwater resources have been organized for all Mekong-Lancang River countries. These workshops provide an opportunity to communicate and discuss nationally sensitive issues on groundwater by the associated countries, with topics covering multiple aspects of groundwater, such as the groundwater status in the basin, quality issues, water use conflicts, hydrological information gaps, management policies and capacity building for successful water resource management. Consensus has been reached by all countries on the importance of catchment-based groundwater management and the need for close communication among the countries. Strategies for managing transboundary aquifer issues must foster international collaboration based on the regional network, influence national networks and enhance the capacity to building maps and monitoring systems based on associated databases. The sustainability of water resources cannot be achieved without the integrated involvement and contributions by multiple countries and various stakeholders. Therefore, collaborative workshops provide a great opportunity to further our understanding of the hydrologic processes of the Mekong River Basin, share the benefits of the aquifer and provide a strategy and vision for sustainable water resource management in the Mekong-Lancang River countries.