The domestic divide: Access to the Internet in New Zealand

We use unit records of the 2006 census to show that access to the Internet in the home varies geographically in New Zealand primarily as a result of demographic and socio‐economic differences among individuals. Of particular significance is the much lower rates of domestic access experienced by Māori and Pacific Island individuals even after controlling for differences in their age, gender, education, income, occupation and settlement type. While differences in Internet access by ethnicity has been noted before, it is the magnitude and persistence of this difference in New Zealand after controlling for correlated factors that renders this study unique. Our results have important implications in an education environment increasingly reliant on Web access, but they also raise questions about the extent of access to the Internet outside the home.     

Semi-monthly mean sea-level pressure maps for the Mediterranean area

Summary Semi-monthly mean sea-level pressure maps for the Mediterranean and adjacent areas are presented. Isobars have been drawn at 1-millibar intervals. The most significant features on the maps and the advantages of the mode of presentation are discussed briefly.

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Zusammenfassung Es werden auf das Meeresniveau bezogene halbmonatliche mittlere Luftdruckkarten für das Mittelmeergebiet und die anstoßenden Länder vorgelegt. Die Isobaren wurden für Millibarabstände gezeichnet. Die wichtigsten Resultate der Karten und die Vorzüge der Darstellungsweise werden kurz besprochen.

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Résumé Présentation de cartes de la pression moyenne semi-mensuelle, réduite au niveau de la mer, de la région méditerranéenne et des contrées voisines. Les isobares sont tracées de millibar en millibar. Brève discussion des traits principaux des cartes et des avantages de la méthode de représentation.

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With 25 Figures.

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The work reported in this paper has been supported by the Geophysics Research Division of the Air Force Cambridge Research Center, under Contract AF 19 (122)-466.     

Modeling and Fitting of Three-Dimensional Mineral Microstructures by Multinary Random Fields

Mathematical Geosciences - Modeling a mineral microstructure accurately in three dimensions can render realistic mineralogical patterns which can be used for three-dimensional processing...     

Residential Mobility and Urban Restructuring under Market Transition: A Study of Guangzhou,China

Residential mobility can be conceptualized as an outcome of a choice process exercised under complex institutional and personal constraints. China's rather unique pattern of housing market segmentation under market transition impinges directly on residential location and relocation. Drawing upon data from a sample survey, this paper analyzes the pattern of residential moves resulting from commodity housing construction in a major Chinese city, Guangzhou. Most moves are of short distance, although the general direction is towards the urban periphery. Danweis and the municipal housing bureau, rather than the market per se, are the primary driving forces behind suburbanization in China today.     

Food Deserts in the Prairies? Supermarket Accessibility and Neighborhood Need in Edmonton,Canada*

The U.S. and U.K. literatures have discussed “food deserts,” reflecting populated, typically urban, low‐income areas with limited access to full‐service supermarkets. Less is known about supermarket accessibility within Canadian cities. This article uses the minimum distance and coverage methods to determine supermarket accessibility within the city of Edmonton, Canada, with a focus on high‐need and inner‐city neighborhoods. The results show that for 1999 both of these areas generally had higher accessibility than the remainder of the city, but six high‐need neighborhoods had poor supermarket accessibility. We conclude by examining potential reasons for differences in supermarket accessibility between Canadian, U.S., and U.K. cities.     

Study on effects of damping in laminated rubber bearings on seismic responses for a ⅛ scale isolated test structure

The effects of damping in various laminated rubber bearings (LRB) on the seismic response of a ?‐scale isolated test structure are investigated by shaking table tests and seismic response analyses. A series of shaking table tests of the structure were performed for a fixed base design and for a base isolation design. Two different types of LRB were used: natural rubber bearings (NRB) and lead rubber bearings (LLRB). Three different designs for the LLRB were tested; each design had a different diameter of lead plug, and thus, different damping values. Artificial time histories of peak ground acceleration 0.4g were used in both the tests and the analyses. In both shaking table tests and analyses, as expected, the acceleration responses of the seismically isolated test structure were considerably reduced. However, the shear displacement at the isolators was increased. To reduce the shear displacement in the isolators, the diameter of the lead plug in the LLRB had to be enlarged to increase isolator damping by more than 24%. This caused the isolator stiffness to increase, and resulted in amplifying the floor acceleration response spectra of the isolated test structure in the higher frequency ranges with a monotonic reduction of isolator shear displacement. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Plant Species Richness Increased Belowground Plant Biomass and Substrate Nitrogen Removal in a Constructed Wetland

The effects of plant species richness on both above‐ and belowground plant biomass, plant nitrogen (N) pool size, and substrate N concentrations were studied in a full‐scale subsurface vertical‐flow constructed wetland (CW). Results showed that (i) plant species richness increased belowground plant biomass and its N pool size but had no effect on aboveground plant biomass and its N pool size; (ii) plant species richness increased substrate N removal, especially ammonium N removal; and (iii) plant species richness had no effect on plant N use efficiency, suggesting that the N pool size increased with increasing plant species richness. More N accumulation could be removed through harvesting plant biomass. We concluded that the N removal performance of the CW improved by plant species richness through increasing belowground biomass and relevant N pool size.     

Evolution and Morphodynamics of a Prograded Beach‐Ridge Foreland,Northern Baffin Island,Canadian Arctic Archipelago

Landward retreat (marine transgression) is a common response of coastal systems to rising relative sea level. However, given sufficient sediment supply, the coast may advance seaward. The latter response of gravel barriers has been recorded in parts of southeastern and northwestern Canada, where seaward‐rising sets of beach ridges are observed in areas of Holocene RSL rise. Cape Charles Yorke, northern Baffin Island, is a 5 km long gravel foreland characterized by seaward‐rising beach‐ridge crest elevations. The prograded morphology of the Cape Charles Yorke foreland is a prime example of coastal response to a combination of rising RSL and abundant sediment supply, an unusual and little‐documented pattern in the Canadian Arctic. The main gravel supply to Cape Charles Yorke is likely from eroding bedrock and raised marine deposits southwest of the foreland. Although not the dominant sediment source, the Cape Charles Yorke delta contributed to the formation of the foreland by sheltering it from easterly storm waves and providing an anchor point for the prograding ridges. The truncation of relict ridges by the modern shoreline suggests a recent regime shift from continuous deposition to predominant erosion. The cause and timing of this shift are unknown but could result from a recent dwindling in sediment supply, increased accommodation space, increased wave energy, and/or an accelerated rise of relative sea level.