BUILDING A COLONIAL RESOURCE MONOPOLY: THE EXPANSION OF SULPHUR MINING IN NEW SPAIN, 1600–1820*

The discovery, extraction, and monopolistic control of key natural resources was a priority of New Spain's colonial administration. Managing the region's abundant resources, however, often proved difficult for the Spanish Crown. Human and environmental challenges impeded protoindustrial growth and development, and monopolistic control of resources often met resistance. In this article I examine these processes in the context of New Spain's little‐known monopoly on sulphur—a yellow, powdery mineral the Crown jealously guarded as its own. Sulphur was critical for gunpowder and explosives production, yet the Crown often failed to produce enough of it to meet the growing demand by its military and the silver blast‐mining industry. Colonial documents reveal administrators’ attempts to improve sulphur production through reform measures, which included advising sulphur miners on how to discover sulphur deposits and, eventually, how to develop their mines. Efforts to improve sulphur production were moderately successful, although the process was messy and inefficient.     

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Abstract

Latin America is the world's fastest growing region in population, and the consequent problems confronting Latin America are already evident in other underdeveloped regions and will become even more aggravated as demographic growth rates rise. Mortality can decline still further in some countries of Latin America and those countries will be especially hard-pressed in the near future. Implementation of fertility control will apparently be a slow process, so that the prospects are for continued very rapid growth for at least one or two decades. Population pressure on food supplies, resources, employment opportunities, and social services will continue to be formidable and further aggravate the fragile socio-economic structure and promote additional political instability. Much greater attention to population policy and program implementation is necessary to cope with population growth and the attendant problems in order to promote stability and improve living conditions in the region.     

Using Information Technologies for Interactive Learning

Abstract

Experiences in designing, offering, and evaluating joint senior undergraduate course assignments in resource and environmental management on two different occasions, which connected students in two universities in British Columbia and Ontario, are documented. The shared assignments provided students with experience in group work and consensual decision making, and allowed them to use a mix of information technologies (e-mail, chat rooms, the Web, video conferencing). The undergraduate students rated very highly the experience with information technology but found some aspects of a collaborative learning approach to be challenging. The course was less successful than had been anticipated in highlighting different regional perceptions and perspectives regarding resource and environmental problems and solutions. Clarification of objectives and expectations, more attention to allocation of time, and consideration of computer access and assistance would improve the effectiveness of the courses.     

石库门里弄和工人新村的日常生活空间比较研究

石库门里弄和工人新村分别是上海近现代以来日常生活建筑形态的典型代表,在上海城市日常生活空间的形成和演变中起着重要的作用。空间是社会生活的结构因素,本文选取石库门里弄和工人新村为研究对象,研究两者各自的日常生活空间构筑,分析基于不同空间的社会结构形成以及与构筑空间之间的联系,并且研究不同的社会空间对居住主体——人的文化性格的影响和塑造。     

Comparative policy analysis: Neoliberalising New Zealand

Comparative policy analysis involves systematically examining the long‐term formation of public policies across a number of societies. It focuses particularly on the sequence of policy regimes: liberalism – Keynesianism/social democracy – neoliberalism. Since 1980, neoliberalism has been widely adopted as the guiding ideological structure for economic policy making. But neoliberalism encounters resistances that vary with national contexts. New Zealand is a particularly interesting case because of its reputation as a social democratic, welfare state that went neoliberal with a vengeance (Rogernomics).     

基于情景模拟的天津市滨海新区2020年暴雨内涝风险评估

基于多灾种复合动态风险评估理论,依据滨海新区2020年人口规划、土地利用规划以及社会经济发展计划,根据地面沉降和海平面上升预测结果设计了最不利、适中和最理想化三种情景;在此基础上,自行开发了基于GIS的洪水淹没区计算模块,模拟计算不同重现期暴雨内涝的淹没范围、淹没深度及淹没损失。结果表明:2020年,发生1 000 a一遇、200 a一遇和50 a一遇暴雨时,在最不利的情景一下:天津市滨海新区分别将有32.73%,29.34%和26.01%的土地不同程度受淹,受淹人口分别为338万、305万和264万,淹没损失分别达220.89亿元、181.39亿元和139.12亿元。     

Dealing with drought: The challenge of using water system technologies to break dryland poverty traps

We explore strategies among farmers in semi-arid Tanzania to cope with drought, and investigate if access to a local supplemental irrigation system (the Ndiva system) can improve coping capacity. Results show high dependency on local ecosystem services when harvests fail, and indicate that farmers commonly exhaust asset holdings during droughts. Ndiva access did not have any direct effects on coping capacity, but seemed to have some indirect effects. Drawing on our findings we discuss the complexity of escaping persistent dryland poverty, and outline the circumstances under which small-scale water system technologies, such as Ndiva irrigation, may help.     

关于鱼的生长方程的研究──Ⅱ.估计参数的一种新方法

目前描述鱼的体重生长的方程主要有（１）ｗ＝ｗ∞［１－ｅ＾－ｋ（ｔ－ｔ０）］＾３，和作者对该方程推广而导出的方程（２）ｗ＝ｗ∞［１－ｅ＾－ｋ（ｔ－ｔ０）］＾ｒ，本文对基于这两个方程的４种参数估计法，指出了其不足之处，并提出了一种估计参数的新方法－搜寻逼近法。该方法比前４种方法具有更好的拟合优度，通过实例计算得到进一步的证实。此外，还外鱼的样本资料的处理作了论述。这对更好的掌握鱼的生长规律，进而合理利     

Tectonic cycles of the New England Orogen,eastern Australia: A Review

The New England Orogen (NEO), the youngest of the orogens of the Tasmanides of eastern Australia, is defined by two main cycles of compression–extension. The compression component involves thrust tectonics and advance of the arc towards the continental plate, while extension is characterised by rifting, basin formation, thermal relaxation and retreat of the arc towards the oceanic plate. A compilation of 623 records of U–Pb zircon geochronology rock ages from Geoscience Australia, the geological surveys of Queensland and New South Wales and other published research throughout the orogen, has helped to clarify its complex tectonic history. This contribution focuses on the entire NEO and is aimed at those who are unfamiliar with the details of the orogen and who could benefit from a summary of current knowledge. It aims to fill a gap in recent literature between broad-scale overviews of the orogen incorporated as part of wider research on the Tasmanides and detailed studies usually specific to either the northern or southern parts of the orogen. Within the two main cycles of compression–extension, six accepted and distinct tectonic phases are defined and reviewed. Maps of geological processes active during each phase reveal the centres of activity during each tectonic phase, and the range in U–Pb zircon ages highlights the degree of diachronicity along the length of the NEO. In addition, remnants of the early Permian offshore arc formed during extensive slab rollback, are identified by the available geochronology. Estimates of the beginning of the Hunter-Bowen phase of compression, generally thought to commence around 265?Ma are complicated by the presence of extensional-type magmatism in eastern Queensland that occurred between 270 and 260?Ma.     

一个采用多种支护技术的基坑工程

基坑支护是一种临时施工措施,目的是挡土挡水,为地下室施工创造条件,同时控制好对周边环境的影响。以一个基坑工程为例,介绍根据其不同的周边环境采用不同的支护技术及在施工过程中发生问题的解决办法,供类似基坑支护工程参考。