GENDER DIFFERENCES IN COMMUTING DISTANCE,RESIDENCE, AND EMPLOYMENT LOCATION: METROPOLITAN HAIFA 1972 AND 1983*

This paper highlights three major aspects of gender differences in employment in Haifa, Israel (1972 and 1983): commuting distance, place of residence, and employment location. In 1972 working womenaposs residences were more central-city-oriented, whereas in 1983 they were more suburbanized. Commuting distances increased between 1972 and 1983 for both sexes, but more for men than for women. This shorter “female'’distance is related to the location of employment and its occupational segregation. The lower commuting values in Haifa compared to other places relate to the size, housing patterns, and structure of the study area, and to its levels of suburbanization and automobile ownership.     

The effect of mining and related activities on the sediment–trace element geochemistry of Lake Coeur d'Alene,Idaho, USA. Part III. Downstream effects: the Spokane River Basin

During 1998/1999, surface and subsurface sediment samples were collected along the entire length of the Spokane River from its outlet at the northern end of Lake Coeur d'Alene (CDA), Idaho, to Lake Roosevelt on the Columbia River, Washington. The study was conducted to determine if the trace element enrichments observed in Lake CDA and on the floodplain and in the CDA River extend through the Spokane River Basin (SRB). As in Lake CDA, surface sediments in the SRB are enriched in Pb, Zn, As, Cd, Sb and Hg relative to local background levels. Pb, Cd and Zn are the most elevated, with maximum enrichment occurring in the upper Spokane River in close proximity to Lake CDA. On average, enrichment decreases downstream, apparently reflecting both increased distance from the inferred source (the CDA River Basin), as well as increased dilution by locally derived but unenriched materials. Only Cd and Zn display marked enrichment throughout the SRB. Pb, Zn and Cd seem to be associated mainly with an operationally defined iron oxide phase, whereas the majority of the As and Sb seem to be matrix‐held. Subsurface sediments also are enriched in Pb, Zn, As, Cd, Sb and Hg relative to background levels. Based on ¹³⁷Cs and excess ²¹⁰Pb dating, trace element enrichment began in the middle part of the SRB (Long Lake) between 1900 and 1920. This is contemporaneous with similar enrichments observed in Lake CDA, as well as the completion of Long Lake Dam (1913). In the most downstream part of the basin (Spokane River Arm of Lake Roosevelt), enrichment began substantially later, between 1930 and 1940. The temporal difference in enrichment between Long Lake and the River Arm may reflect the latter's greater distance from the presumed source of the enrichment (the CDA River Basin); however, the difference is more likely the result of the completion of Grand Coulee Dam (1934–1941), which formed Lake Roosevelt, backed up the Spokane River, and increased water levels in the River Arm by about 30 m.     

Macroseismic evidence and site effects for the Lunigiana (Italy) 1995 Earthquake

On October 10, 1995, an M_L= 4.8 (ING) earthquake occurred in the region of Lunigiana (northwestern Italy). The shock was felt over a large area and produced significant damage. We performed a macroseismic survey and damage zonation and assessed a maximum intensity VII MCS in the epicentral area. The damage pattern, that we investigated in detail for some of the villages in the most heavily damaged area, emphasises the role of surface geology in amplifying the effects. Topographic effects and near-surface geology are largely responsible for broadening the damage area. Given the moderate size of the earthquake, many of the macroseismic observations, including rotations of objects and the propagation of visible waves in the ground, are suggestive of amplification phenomena.     

Village renewal and rural development in the former German Democratic Republic

This paper analyses the ‘Dorferneuerung’ or village renewal scheme - a key policy for rural development in the new ‘Länder’ of Germany which has been transferred from the old Länder. The contribution that Dorferneuerung can make to rural development is considered, with particular reference to the experience of participating villages in Sachsen-Anhalt. It concludes that Dorferneuerung has contributed much to improving the built environment but little to new job creation. It is indicative of the advantages and disadvantages of reunification for rural development in the new Länder.     

Molecular stable carbon isotope compositions of alkylphenanthrenes in coals and marine shales related to source and maturity

Phenanthrene (PHE) and methylphenanthrenes (MPs) extracted from coaly shale and coal samples containing terrestrial organic matter are compared with the same compounds from marine shales in terms of yields and δ¹³C values at marginally to fully mature stages of thermal evolution. The shales derived from four boreholes in the Hils Half-Graben area, northwestern Germany, were shown to be representative of a greater number of samples from the same sites. The δ¹³C values of extractable PHE and MPs are less negative in the terrestrial (−24.3 to −26.0‰) than in the marine (−28.8 to −30.5‰) samples. Since these values are unrelated to mean vitrinite reflectance (R_r) values in the range of 0.5–0.9%, it appears that the stable carbon isotope composition of PHE and MPs is controlled by organic matter type rather than maturity.     

The analysis of compositional effects as exemplified by the study of elections

Some people are influenced by other people who live near them. They vote for the same political party as their neighbours and they go to church on Sunday because that is what most other people in the area do. This phenomenon is known as the compositional effect of the environment. This article offers a survey of the history of the analysis of such effects, of the explanations that can be given for them and of the research methods that can be used to establish them. The most important conclusions regarding political preference are given, and a direction in which research into compositional effects should develop is also indicated.     

Socio-geographical transition in the rural areas of the Carpathian Euroregion

Cross-border cooperation is starting to overcome the isolation of frontier regions where interaction under the socialist system was minimal. Change has been particularly apparent in areas where trans-frontier organisations on the ‘Euroregion’ model have emerged. The Carpathian Euroregion is the first exclusively East European example of this approach and it has already made a positive impact in overcoming backwardness in an area where four East European countries were in contact with the Former Soviet Union. The paper outlines the challenge facing the Euroregion – and the national and local governments in the five countries concerned – in providing non-agricultural employment for a large rural population augmented by return-migration from the towns since 1989. Many small farming businesses have been started as a survival strategy but they cannot be economically viable in a market situation. Although most people are satisified with their rural lifestyle, the inevitability of radical consolidation in a future EU context could be politically destabilising if more jobs are not generated in manufacturing and in an expanding tertiary sector. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

The declining importance of agricultural employment in East Germany

Agriculture has ceased to be the major employer in the rural areas of East Germany. Far-reaching structural change has resulted in a sharp decrease in employment and the mono-structural character of villages has been lost. Unemployment is now a major problem and women are worst affected. New jobs have been created in construction and elsewhere in the tertiary sector but most people who have found new jobs have to commute to the towns or migrate permanently to the urban areas. A north-south contrast has developed because the more developed network of towns in the latter, combined with a relatively good infrastructure, has enabled many villages to survive as viable communities. An example is Fuchshain near Leipzig where employment with the farming company (the former cooperative with 4200 ha of land) has declined but the population has grown through new housing built for commuters. In the north there has been much depopulation and many houses are used as second homes. Either way there is more conflict occurring now within rural communities because of tensions between the employed and the unemployed and between old and new residents. It is therefore important that land use planning should take into account the changed economic and social profiles and measures should be adopted to ensure that the countryside remains visually attractive and socially cohesive. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.