The non-agricultural economy in post-socialist rural Romania: The insights and perceptions of national, regional and local institutions

This study evaluates some aspects of the socio-economic transformation of rural Romania with reference to the views of representative organisations (at national, regional and local levels) and other experts. Interviews conducted in ten communes of nine Romanian counties (‘judete’) focus attention on the advantages and disadvantages of system change experienced since 1989; the most important problems and constraints for future socio-economic change; and appropriate policies and perspectives for development in the immediate future. Wherever appropriate the claims of interviewees are substantiated through reference to statistics, drawn in many cases from Chambers of Commerce & Industry (CCI). Local level representatives presented much more negative views on recent change than their national and regional level counterparts, but all agreed on the crucial problem of capital shortage. Thus while specific programmes to assist rural areas are justified, they cannot fully succeed until the national economy is able to grow more rapidly and attract greater foreign investment. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

The precautionary principle and its approach to risk analysis and quarantine related to the trade of marine ornamental fishes in Brazil

The objective of this study was to employ the precautionary principle in import risk analysis (IRA) and quarantine in the trade of marine ornamental fishes (MOF). The analysis focused on the example of Brazil, as it imports and exports these fishes, in amounts that are globally significant. These processes, since their collection in nature, may expose the fish to stress, which may lead to the development of diseases. The legislation that regulates IRA and quarantine is derived from the Ministries of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply and Fisheries and Aquaculture. The quarantine of MOF in Brazil is not undertaken by government agencies, but by commercial establishments that are registered with the Ministries, and is way too short. According to the data obtained, the precautionary approach is not applied at all in this trade, as scientific information is not contemplated by the legislation, and law is not enforced.     

三维数字城市管理平台的系统设计与实现

随着“数字城市”建设的推进,地理信息系统建设进入全面发展阶段,加快基础空间数据更新频率的需求日趋强烈。如何有效的使用基础空间数据,为城市建设增砖加瓦成为政府部门关注的问题。该文主要阐述某个城市的系统方案设计、体系架构、网络架构与实现功能,为其他三维数字城市管理平台的建设提供一定的参考依据。     

枣庄市国土资源局山亭分局扎实开展民主评议政风行风工作

民主评议政风行风是促进单位部门转变职能、提高效率、优化服务的重要举措。山亭国土资源分局以民主评议政风行风为契机,通过＂五个结合＂,实现了服务质量和工作效率的＂三个转变＂,得到了社会各界的好评。     

Empirical Analysis of City Contact in Zhujiang （Pearl） River Delta,China

In traditional urban geography, city contact research is a classic study element in city research. In general, researchers use the traditional gravity model to characterize the contacts that exist between two cities. The traditional gravity model assumes ideal condi- tions, but these preconditions and their results often do not exist in realistic conditions. Thus, we used a modified gravity model to char- acterize the city contacts within a specific region. This model considers factors such as intercity complementarities, government inter- vention, and the diversity of the transportation infrastructure which is characterized as the transportation distance instead of the tradi- tional Euclidean distance. We applied this model to an empirical study of city contact in the Zhujiang （Pearl） River Delta （PRD） of China. The regression results indicated that the modified gravity model could measure city contact more accurately and comprehen- sively than the traditional gravity model, i.e., it yielded a higher adjusted R2 value （0.379） than the traditional gravity model result （0.259）. Our study also suggests that, in addition to urban-regional and metropolitan development, the complementarities of the basic functions of cities at the administrative and market levels, as well as the corporeal and immaterial levels, play very significant roles in the characterization of city contact. Given the complexity of city contact, it will be necessary to consider more relevant influential fac- tors in the modified gravity model to characterize the features of city contact in the future.     

《甘肃政务专用图集》的设计与编制

《甘肃政务专用图集》是一本为政务应用提供地图保障服务的综合性地图集。本文主要介绍了该图集的设计思路、规格、编制内容、编制的技术流程以及编绘方法等,并总结了图集编制的特点和意义。     

政府规划约束下的城市空间增长多智能体模拟模型

构建政府规划约束下的包含多种类型智能体和环境因素的城市空间增长多智能体模拟模型,通过居民、开发商和政府三类智能体之间以及智能体与环境之间的相互作用模拟了城市空间增长情况。模型将城市建设用地规划区纳入政府的土地利用政策,探讨了政府规划因素对城市建设用地增长的影响,并根据土地集约利用的原则对模拟结果进行了优化。在Repast和ArcGIS的实验环境下,以南京市中心城区(长江以南)为研究区设置了四组土地利用情景,模拟了2001-2007年研究区的城市建设用地增长情况,对比不同情景下模型的模拟精度,说明正确合理的政府规划引导对城市空间增长的重要作用以及对模拟结果进行优化的必要性。该模型有助于揭示城市空间增长机制,为政府宏观调控政策和规划制定提供参考。     

BOOK REVIEWS

Books reviewed in this article: Aerial Photography and Remote Sensing Aerial photography and image interpretation for Resource Management . DAVID P. PAINE . Analytical Models and Techniques Spatial Processes Models and Applications A. D. CLIFF AND J. K. ORD Quantitative and Statistical Approaches to Geography: A Practical Manual JOHN A. MATTHEWS . Cartography and Maps Map Data Processing . HERBERT FREEMAN AND GOFFREDO G. PIERONI , eds. Computer-assisted Cartography: Principles and Prospects, 1982 . MARK S. MONMONIER . Cultural Navajo Architecture: Forms, History, Distributions . STEPHEN C. JETT AND VIRGINIA E . SPENCER . Rational Landscapes and Humanistic Geography . EDWARD RELPH . Economic The Structure and Control of a State Economy . W. L. L'ESPERANCE . Economic Geography . JAMES O. WHEELER AND PETER O. MULLER . The Myth of the Family Farm: Agribusiness Dominance of U.S. Agriculture . INGOLF VOCELER . Libya: The Experience of Oil . J. A. ALLEN . Geography of Public Finance, Welfare Under Fiscal Federalism and local Government Finance . ROBERT BENNETT . Environmental Management, Resources, and Systems Mountains and Man . LARRY W. PRICE . Environmental Geology . DONALD R. COATES . An Introduction to Environmental Systems . G. H. DURY . The Environment: Chinese and American Views . Edited by LAURENCE J. C. MA AND ALLEN G. NOBLE . Land Use in America . RICHARD H. JACKSON . Medical Conceptual and Methodological Issues in Medical Geography . MELINDA S. MEADE (ed.). Philosophy and Geographic Thought Birds in Egg/Eggs in Bird . GUNNAR OLSSON . PhysicaI Climatology: Selected Applications . J. E. OLIVER . Geomorphological Techniques . ANDREW GOUDIE (ed.). Political Politics, Geography and Behaviour . RICHARD MUIR AND RONAN PADDISON . The State of the World Atlas . MICHAEL KIDRON AND RONALD SECAL . Population The Population of the South . DUDLEY L. POSTON , JR . AND ROBERT H. WELLER , eds. Regional Latin America: Economic Development and Regional Differentiation . ARTHUR MORRIS . Developing the Amazon . EMILIO F. MORAN . Western Europe: A Systematic Human Geography . BRIAN W. ILBERY . Settlement Systems in Sparsely Settled Regions: The United States and Australia . RICHARD E. LONSDALEAND JOHN H. HOLMES , eds. African Perspectives: The Economic Geography of Nine African States . HARM DE BUJ AND ESMOND MARTIN , eds. Rural Nonmetropolitan America in Transition . AMOS H. HAWLEY AND SARA MILLS MAZIE , eds. Social Crime and Environment . R. NORMAN DAVIDSON . The Ghetto: Readings with Interpretations . JOE T. DARDEN , ed. Urban Urban Problems and Planning in the Developed World . MICHAEL PACIONE (ed.) Problems and Planning in Third World Cities . Edited by MICHAEL PACIONE . The City in West Europe . D. BURTENSHAW , M. BATEMAN , AND C. J. ASHWORTH .     

INDUSTRY-GOVERNMENT-ACADEMIC COOPERATION: POSSIBLE BENEFITS FOR GEOGRAPHY

Some current developments outside of academe and their relationship to geography are presented; comments are based on experience from a three year National Science Foundation Faculty Fellowship. Suggestions for improving our educational efforts are discussed, including new roles for the AAG, changes in teaching methods, establishment of advisory boards, and closer ties with industry and government.