Innovation-support organizations in the marine science and technology industry: The case of Quebec's coastal region in Canada

This study examines the roles of innovation-support organizations in their acquisition and diffusion of technological ideas, solutions, and know-how throughout the marine science and technology innovation system. The research is based on a set of case studies that involved semi-structured interviews with directors and managers in three innovation-support organizations: Maritime Innovation (MI), the Interdisciplinary Centre for the Development of Ocean Mapping (ICDOM), and the Marine Biotechnology Research Centre (MBRC). Each of these organizations contributes not only to the development of the marine science and technology industry, but also to research and technology transfer in some of the key areas boasting the highest potential for technological commercialization and applications in the coastal region of Quebec. Central to this analysis is to show how these organizations operate and co-ordinate their activities, and how they formulate their technological and other standard services for the support of business development.     

CBO Performance in the Shelter Sector: A Study of La Piña and Lebrón,Santo Domingo,Dominican Republic

The current global housing policy, the enabling approach, emphasizes the need for governments to encourage community participation in the shelter sector. This research examines the role of the government and community-based organizations (CBOs) in the housing sector and analyzes how they interact. To determine whether governments and CBOs are participating in the shelter sector as advocated under the approach, this study examines the role of two CBOs engaged in upgrading shelter for the poor in Santo Domingo, the Dominican Republic. This research demonstrates that the enabling approach can be effective if the government is supportive and CBOs are engaged in the planning, decision-making, and implementation of the housing project. This study finds that cooperation between the implementing NGO, CBOs, and households is crucial for the success of the housing project. The study also demonstrates how the enabling policies employed in Santo Domingo, including low-cost labor and use of low-cost building materials, help overcome obstacles encountered under previous housing policies such as displacement and affordability issues.     

Allocation of fishing possibilities,incentives and outcomes: Insights from Basque fishermen's organisations in Spain

There is a need for effective mechanisms to be in place in order to allocate fishing possibilities. This seems crucial so that distributional concerns regarding this issue are properly addressed. This paper aims at providing insights into the allocation of fishing possibilities from Basque fisheries. We put forward this case in terms of its outcomes to the incentives deployed by the allocation system. The institutional substratum plays a key role in the outcomes of the system. In fact, the fishermen's traditional collective approach predominates even though the management system tends towards individual rights allocation and promotion of rights transferability. This is particularly notable in the case of inshore Basque fisheries.     

The scientific basis of marine pollution control

The author examines the scientific basis of the work of the Joint Group of Experts on the Scientific Aspects of Marine Pollution (GESAMP). Problems of definition and methodology are discussed, and the work of GESAMP working groups on, among others, Marine Waste Disposal, Coastal Water Quality Criteria and the Impact of Oil on the Marine Environment are reported. The author concludes that marine pollution control at the international level has not been able to make much practical headway because political expectations have outstripped scientific and administrative possibilities.     

基于Visual C++的MapObjects功能扩展的探讨

本文从组件的内部结构、MapObjects基本功能的组合、MO与其它组件的结合展开讨论,提出了Visual C++6.0编程环境下的MO功能扩展的三种方式,并对其基本原理和具体程序进行了介绍,包括图层渲染类型识别、图层搜索、MO空间数据集合管理与组织,从而为更好地使用MO组件提供一种思路。     

Religious tourism in southern Mexico: Regional scopes of the festival of the Immaculate Conception

In Mexico, pilgrimages to Catholic sanctuaries are a common cultural practice. Considering the relevance of Izamal sanctuary for the regional context of the Yucatan peninsula, this paper explores the territorial scopes of its celebration of the Virgin of the Immaculate Conception. The aims were: to analyze the origin and historical evolution of the cult to Our Lady of Izamal; to understand the regional scopes and dynamics of the celebration; and to identify the profile and motivations of visitors to the sanctuary. Quantitative techniques (structured interviews of 91 visitors in December 2015; Principal Components Analysis [PCA]), as well as qualitative ones (participant observation, a photographic record, unstructured conversations with pilgrims) investigated the regional influence of the celebration and of the devotional aspects. The results reveal that the celebration, therefore the influence of the sanctuary, has a local scope restricted to the peninsula area due to a historical process associated with Maya culture. Believers who travel to Izamal on this date are moved by the conviction that Our Lady of Izamal is the protector of the peninsular Maya territory. Both regional scopes and motivations of visitors are revealed in the PCA. The fact that individuals choose to displace to a certain location, even if only for a few hours, motivated by their faith, is an example of tourism as a manifestation of human motilities.     

The certified Maine North Woods, where money grows from trees

Beginning in the 1990s, private ownership in Maine forestland shifted from a number of corporate owners to a patchwork of timber investment management organizations (TIMOs) and real estate investment trusts (REITs). This transformation reflected restructuring trends in the paper and pulp industry. During this same period, forest certification increased to levels that today make Maine one of the most certified states in the United States with nearly 8 million acres certified by one of a number of certifying entities. This paper examines the contradictory tensions of these trends. Specifically, the conservation goals of certification are undercut by increased investment in timber resources characterized by new financial instruments focused on return on investments. The increased use of first-party, industry-based certification suggests that the antagonisms between capital and conservation are being resolved in ways that undermine the purported conservation goals of forest certification standards.     

Nonprofit Foundations and Grassroots Organizing: Reshaping Urban Governance*

Collaborative urban governance has increased the role of community organizations in local decision‐making processes. These organizations need financial resources in order to participate in urban governance. In this article, I examine the impact of foundation grants on the relationships and agendas of four community organizations in one neighborhood in St. Paul, Minnesota. Drawing on interviews, observations of organizations, and archival research, I demonstrate that in the 1990s, nonprofit foundations had a significant impact on the formation of new organizations and on their agendas in the neighborhood. Foundations are, therefore, an important player in urban governance, shaping a “neighborhood policy regime.”