bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Labor-Market Imperfections and the Agglomeration of Firms: Evidence from the Emergent Period of the US Semiconductor Industry
Authors: Appold S J
Published: October 2006

The regional literature suggests that local labor markets offer significant operating advantages to firms in knowledge-intensive industries and thus influence the development of contemporary industrial location patterns. Utilizing two data sets containing information on the employment changes of US semiconductor engineers during the critical formative period (1950–75), the author tests the pooling and anchoring hypotheses of urban economic theory while extending the theory to incorporate the effects of labor and firm specialization. Findings include: (1) moderate evidence of locality-centered labor pooling in this occupation during this early time period; (2) no evidence of anchoring by nonmarket actors, such as universities and government laboratories or by early labor markets; and (3) evidence that agglomerations of firms develop as a result of imperfect skill-opportunity matches. The results discount frequently offered explanations for the emergence of industrial agglomerations and suggest that agglomerations are not the outcome of firms' searches for operating efficiencies but may be a product of entrepreneurship induced by particular ‘permanently failing’ firms.
Some Tests for the Rent Gap Theory
Authors: Yung C-F , King R J
Published: October 2006

The ambiguity of the title is intended. Smith's rent gap theory is difficult to operationalize, and the authors propose tests for three of its aspects: to observe the presence or otherwise of a ‘rent valley’, to observe the coincidence of a rent gap with a period of gentrification, and to observe capital switching to inner-city alterations and additions. However, when the tests are applied to 1967–91 Melbourne data, they are somewhat testing for the theory itself: there are certainly rent gaps, but they are unevenly distributed over space and time, not consistently associated with periods of gentrification but rather with more complex shifts at the level of demand, and to be viewed as just a minor phenomenon of the broader processes of continual spatial restructuring.
(Non)Participation in the Labour Market: Alternative Indicators and Estimates of Labour Reserve in United Kingdom Regions
Authors: Green A E , Hasluck C
Published: October 2006

In the context of the continuance of mass high unemployment in the United Kingdom and considerable debate concerning the ‘real level’ of unemployment, the authors of this paper go beyond the official unemployment rate by focusing on the development of alternative indicators of labour reserve in the regions of the United Kingdom. They show how, on a step-by-step basis, successively ‘broader’ indicators of labour reserve (more specifically, those on government training schemes, various categories of those conventionally defined as economically inactive who would like a job, and those in part-time work because they could not find full-time employment) may be derived by means of data from the Labour Force Survey. They then go on to outline the key features of regional variations in the scope for additional labour-force participation. As labour supply is a dynamic concept, and the utilisation of the labour reserve implies transitions from unemployment and non-employment to employment, selected information on transitions between labour-market states and on the previous economic circumstances of the unemployed is presented. Some key features of the broad regional geography of those categorised as in employment, but ‘on the margins’ of the labour reserve, are highlighted also. Finally, the implications for policy of substantial labour reserves in many regions in the United Kingdom are explored.
What Future for the Right to Buy?
Authors: Munro M , Littlewood A
Published: October 2006

In this paper evidence from the 1991 Scottish House Condition Survey is used to analyse the extent to which, after over fifteen years of continuing sales under the right to buy, there still remains further scope for sales under this policy. The authors confirm that there are continuing cohorts of people who express a desire to buy in the near future. Multivariate analysis indicates that the motivation to buy is chiefly created by the households' economic circumstances, but family characteristics, the type and perceived quality of the house, and rent levels also exert an independent influence. Analysis also suggests that the responses to the relatively hypothetical questions about future intentions appear to be consistent both with aggregate outturns and with the expected characteristics of possible purchasers.
An Analysis of New-Tech Agglomeration in Beijing: A New Industrial District in the Making?
Authors: Wang Jici , Wang Jixian
Published: October 2006

Industrial districts are usually referred to as spatially concentrated networks of small and medium-sized firms. These have been seen in Europe and North America, but, so far, have been almost undiscovered in developing countries. Based on the assumption of the strong embedding of the stable and ‘pure’ district model, in this paper we examine a new-tech agglomeration in Beijing, as a variant of such districts in the making, and explain it with the use of concepts adopted from the industrial districts school. The Beijing case represents an experiment in the conscious public creation of new industrial spaces founded on the spontaneous action of key individuals. Initially it progressed as an embryonic industrial district that, in its early development, appeared to contain all three elements of entrepreneurship: small firms, new firm formation, and innovativeness. However, it has eventually been stranded by a unique combination of weaknesses. These include strong hierarchical restraints from the state-owned institutions or firms on local networking, and direct global linkages with the multinationals, which expose local economies to volatile world competition. We pinpoint the necessity for a developing country to rest its development of industrial districts on self-sustained innovativeness, and highlights the difficulties encountered in such a process.
An Econometric Analysis of Fuelwood Consumption in Sub-Saharan Africa
Authors: Cuthbert A L , Dufournaud C M
Published: October 2006

Four models are estimated to examine the consumption of fuelwood in selected countries of Sub-Saharan Africa from 1970 to 1990. Using a two-stage least squares estimation technique, we use the models to analyze the effects of income and price on fuelwood demand. Variables included in the models are income, price, and precipitation with a dummy variable based on level of development. The best model yields an income elasticity of 0.39 and a price elasticity of −0.28, indicating that fuelwood is a superior, normal good. Attending to the mounting concerns about fuelwood depletion in Sub-Saharan Africa, we feel the results provide insights for the formulation of effective energy policies. Specifically, policy measures that simultaneously address household income and fuel price are required. Increasing household income, directly with income supplements or indirectly with the provision of energy-efficient cookstoves, has the potential to decrease fuelwood consumption. Similarly, price reforms that force the price of energy to reflect its real economic cost encourage more efficient consumption.
The Peculiar Epidemic, Part I: Social Response to AIDS in Alameda County
Authors: Garcia-Soto M , Fullilove R E , Fullilove M T , Haynes-Sanstad K
Published: October 2006

The morbidity and mortality caused by epidemics threaten social functioning of complex societies. Societies mount a social response to epidemics in order to contain the potential damage from uncontrolled disease. Despite the threat posed by epidemics, social and contextual ‘vulnerabilities’ often impede efforts to contain epidemics. The AIDS epidemic provides an example of a ‘peculiar’ epidemic, in which threat to social welfare failed to provoke adequate social efforts at containment. In order to examine the miscarriage of epidemic response, we interviewed 31 AIDS providers in Alameda County, California, about the development of their AIDS-related services. According to the people interviewed, epidemic response in the County was marred by stigma associated with AIDS, lack of adequate funding, difficulties in building collaborative effort in a fragmented care system, and other political and social problems. In spite of these obstacles, social mobilization enabled directors of a wide variety of health care agencies to incorporate care and prevention into their services. The findings support the concept that ‘vulnerabilities’ can derail epidemic response, making widespread social mobilization an essential tool for epidemic control. The discussion centers on the implication of these findings for the theoretical understanding of social response to epidemics.
Use of the Census Samples of Anonymised Records (SARs) and Survey Data in Combination to Obtain Estimates at Local Authority Level
Authors: Charlton J
Published: October 2006

Synthetic estimation techniques are methods for obtaining improved local estimates by combining data that are available for local areas with other data that are not. The Samples of Anonymised Records (SARs) provide large representative samples of 278 small areas of Britain and are thus of great value to planners. This paper describes an approach which takes advantage of the fact that the SARs comprise individual records. Estimates of the proportions of local authority populations suffering serious illness were produced by use of data from the 4th National General Practitioner Morbidity survey and the 2% anonymised sample of individual 1991 Census records. These estimates were compared with external validation criterion, all-cause mortality. The correlation was high, providing some evidence of the validity of the approach. The method could be adapted to produce a variety of different estimates.
Making Performance Plants from Branch Plants? In Situ Restructuring in the Automobile Industry in the United Kingdom
Authors: Pike A
Published: October 2006

In this paper a critical examination is made of the alleged change in the branch-plant economy. It is claimed that a new type of branch plant is emerging, with more progressive implications for local economic development. This argument is reviewed with reference to in situ restructuring in existing brownfield plants in the automobile industry. Empirical evidence is examined from ‘Motor Co.’ and ‘Car Co.’ (pseudonyms) in Riverside, across several dimensions of change: role and autonomy; labour process; labour-management relations; labour-market strategies; supplier linkages; and local economic development implications. It is argued that changes in branch plants and their implications for local economies can be understood by addressing the interrelations between structure, agency, and contingency. Evidence of change from Motor Co. and Car Co. in Riverside suggest some heightening of plant responsibility, the limited upgrading of functions, and the introduction of new techniques. The changes are partial, revealing the overlap of new and old practices, and the benefits for local economic development appear limited.
Activity Pattern Analysis by Means of Sequence-Alignment Methods
Authors: Wilson W C
Published: October 2006

The author describes a method of comparing sequences of characters, called sequence alignment or string matching, and illustrates its use in the analysis of daily activity patterns derived from time-use diaries. It allows definition of measures of similarity or distance between complete sequences, called global alignment, or the evaluation of the best fit of short sequences within long sequences, called local alignment. Alignments may be done pairwise to develop similarity or distance matrices that describe the relatedness of individuals in the set of sequences being examined. Pairwise alignment methods may be extended to many individuals by using multiple alignment analysis. A number of elementary hand-worked examples are provided. The basic concepts are discussed in terms of the problems of time-use research and the method is illustrated by examining diary data from a survey conducted in Reading, England. The CLUSTAL software used for the alignments was written for molecular biological research. The method offers a powerful technique for analyzing the full richness of diary data without discarding the details of episode ordering, duration, or transition. It is also possible to extend the analysis to include the context of activities, such as the presence of other persons or the location, but such extensions would require software designed for social science rather than biochemical problems. The method also offers a challenge to researchers to begin to develop theories about the determinants of daily behavior as a whole, rather than about participation in single activities or about time-budget totals.
Wild Flowers in the Wrong Field are Weeds! Examining Farmers' Constructions of Conservation
Authors: McHenry H
Published: October 2006

As conservation and looking after the environment are increasingly seen as important elements of farmers' activities, understanding what these concepts mean to farmers themselves is valuable. This paper is based on a qualitative study of farmers in southern Scotland. In-depth interviews were used to gain access to farmers' perceptions of the environment and conservation issues. As farmers are inevitably working closely with and using nature, their views of nature were found to be connected to this exploitative relationship with nature. Farmers' constructions of conservation are also related to this, they viewed conservation in a very instrumental way, often believing that conservation should have direct economic benefits for them, and following that, for the rest of society. It was found that conservationists influenced what farmers understand by conservation, both directly and also as they represent a competing group in the countryside. Furthermore, conservationists were seen as having the power to designate Sites of Special Scientific Interest on the farmers' land, a power which clearly affected their relationship. The meanings given by farmers to conservation and associated concepts are an essential part of how they negotiate the growing significance of conservation issues in the farming world.
Polycentric Urban Development and Land-Use Change in a Transitional Economy: The Case of Guangzhou
Authors: Wu F
Published: October 2006

Since economic reform in 1979 China has witnessed dramatic changes. In particular, the adoption of the new land leasing system in 1987 has led to the transformation of the urban internal structure of this country. Perhaps because of the lack of data, empirical studies lag far behind the rapid urban development and land-use changes currently taking place in China. In this paper the author attempts to examine empirically land-use changes in a fast growing city—Guangzhou—by analyzing data obtained from aerial photographs. The author suggests that some new characteristics have emerged in the distribution of land-use change since the introduction of land reform. Polycentric urban development, a phenomenon that has been attracting wide research attention in Western contexts, has also appeared in the transitional economy. The author demonstrates that besides population density, housing and land value, and firm location, land-use change can be used as a prompt and reliable indicator of polycentric urban development. A range of policy implications are briefly outlined.
Classification of Development Towns in Israel by Using Multicriteria Decision Aid Techniques
Authors: Lipshitz G , Massam B H
Published: October 2006

In research on regional development little attention is devoted to socioeconomic distinctions within peripheral and core regions, rather than disparities between regions. This approach is evidently shared by policymakers, who tend to formulate regional development policies without taking account of existing socioeconomic differences within the regions. Development policy for Israel's national peripheries is a salient example of a homogeneous development policy. The findings of the present study point to the need to reconsider regional development by placing the main emphasis on the fashioning of a differential regional development policy, together with or in preference to a homogeneous or uniform policy. The findings are obtained through application of a relatively new method of multivariate analysis: ‘multicriteria decision aid’ (MCDA). The study suggests theoretical and methodological considerations in the larger context of regional development.
Long-Term System Adjustment to Traffic Restrictions: The Example of Milan
Authors: Cheshire P C , Evans A W , Gorla G
Published: October 2006

In order to reduce congestion and improve the environment in Milan, a policy of restricting the entry of private vehicles to the historic centre of the city was initiated in 1985. The evidence on the effects of this policy is reviewed. There appears to have been increased use of taxis and commercial vehicles, as a substitute for cars. In addition, in the early years of the policy, when the restrictions only operated in the morning, there was a transfer of some car trips to the afternoon. The speed of traffic crossing the centre increased because there was less congestion. Survey evidence indicated that the closure was viewed favourably by residents, particularly those living in the centre (who were allowed to use their cars in the closed area); this was confirmed by the fact that properties in the centre appeared to have increased in value relative to those outside the centre. In 1996 the policy was changed to one of preventing private motor vehicles crossing the centre although entry to the centre was allowed. However, a policy of closure of the centre is still operated in several other Italian cities.
‘Struggling with Sustainability’: Weak and Strong Interpretations of Sustainable Development within Local Authority Policy
Authors: Gibbs D C , Longhurst J , Braithwaite C
Published: October 2006

In recent years there has been a growing interest in sustainable development as a guiding principle to allow the integration of economic development and the environment within policy and strategy. At all levels of policymaking a major emphasis has been placed upon the local scale as the most appropriate for the delivery of such policies and initiatives, with a particular stress upon local authorities as the major delivery mechanism. Though it is often assumed that this integration is relatively unproblematic, this paper indicates that this is not the case. The paper draws upon research with urban local authorities in England and Wales, which reveals that there are varying interpretations of the environment within local authorities, reflecting environmental and economic development perspectives. In each case, however, these are effectively interpretations which tend towards the ‘weak’ end of a sustainability spectrum and it is suggested that such divergent interpretations of sustainability are hindering integrative activity and the potential for introducing ‘strong’ sustainability measures.
Surf, Sea, Sand…and Sewage: Implementing European Bathing Water Policy in the United Kingdom and France
Authors: Jordan A , Ward N , Buller H
Published: October 2006

Scholarly study of the European Community (EC) has concentrated on the macrolevel process of regional integration to the neglect of its ‘internal’ policy processes. A newly emerging literature on EC public policy is beginning to address this imbalance, but it is largely focused on the development of policy outputs culminating in the adoption of policies by the Council of Ministers, rather than the long-term outcomes of policy at the national and subnational levels. This paper develops a multitheoretical framework and applies it to a case study of the implementation of the Directive on bathing water in the United Kingdom and France to reveal the sort of intriguing questions and puzzles which emerge in the ‘postdecisional’ phase of the EC policy process. The study draws comparisons between implementation in the two countries, showing that policy ‘making’ and retuning continued long after the formal point of adoption. As in national systems, policy implementation and the interpretation and evaluation of policy outcomes in the EC are just as much part of the political process as agenda setting and policy framing.
Modelling Use, Investment, and Development in the British Office Market
Authors: Tsolacos S , Keogh G , McGough T
Published: October 2006

The authors provide an empirical investigation of office market dynamics and model the user, investment, and development elements of this market. They recognise explicitly that the user and investment markets in office property influence trends in development and that development activity in turn affects office use and investment. This theoretical premise suggests that an analysis of these separate components of the market can make a significant contribution to a fuller understanding of office market dynamics, including swings in development activity. In the European context, there is a lack of research on modelling the functional elements of the office market individually, although such modelling is more common in US studies. Furthermore, most quantitative empirical work lacks an examination of the investment market for property and its intertemporal effects on development activity. In this paper, the authors estimate econometric models for rents, capital values, and development activity in the national office market in Great Britain. The results establish the significant influence of demand-side economic forces in the user market and the importance of use and investment market signals in the determination of office building output. However, the findings also strongly suggest that the investment market needs to be explored in more detail in order to identify and document the nature of the forces which interact in this sector of the office market.
Functional Form and Spatial Interaction Models
Authors: Fik T J , Mulligan G F
Published: October 2006

This paper is an examination of functional form and functional misspecification in regression-based spatial interaction models. Box–Cox transformations are used to model US state-to-state labor migration. Attention is given to the production-constrained gravity model, the competing and intervening destinations (CID) model, and an extension of the CID model which uses dummy variables and an iterative transformation procedure. Statistical evidence supports the argument that the use of highly restrictive log-linear specifications may be inappropriate and problematic. Implications for spatial interaction modeling using general nonrestrictive functional forms are discussed.
Regional Systems of Innovation: An Evolutionary Perspective
Authors: Cooke P , Uranga M G , Etxebarria G
Published: October 2006

The authors develop the concept of regional systems of innovation and relate it to preexisting research on national systems of innovation. They argue that work conducted in the ‘new regional science’ field is complementary to systems of innovation approaches. They seek to link new regional work to evolutionary economics, and argue for the development of evolutionary regional science. Common elements of interest to evolutionary innovation research and new regional science are important in understanding processes of agglomeration, trust building, innovation, institutions, and learning in regional systems. The authors develop analytical frameworks for designating regional systems of innovation in terms of distinction between institutions and organisations, hard and soft infrastructures, and the cultural superstructure. They conclude that an evolutionary approach assists understanding of regional potential for developing systemic innovation.
What Do You Want from the 2001 Census? Results of an ESRC/JISC Survey of User Views
Authors: Rees P H
Published: October 2006

The author describes the results of a survey of user views about the next Census of Population in the United Kingdom, to be held in 2001. Some 140 respondents reported their views, which included strong support for a question on income, endorsement of the new one number census methodology and support for postcode-based outputs. The author sets these views in the context of the Census Development Programme being carried out by the UK Census Offices and the proposals for outputs which are being discussed with the main census user sectors of central and local government, business, the Health Service, and the academic community.
Explaining the Recent Migration Trends of the Tokyo Metropolitan Area
Authors: Ishikawa Y , Fielding A J
Published: October 2006

The year 1994 was a very significant year for the Japanese urban system. In that year the Tokyo metropolitan area (TMA), which had enjoyed a net inflow of interregional migrants since the 1950s, recorded a net outflow for the first time. What factors gave rise to such a remarkable migration change for the area? The results from a set of time-series analyses lead the authors to conclude that, as far as the study period (1979–92) as a whole is concerned, the changing migration pattern of the TMA arose from factors closely related to Tokyo's transformation into a world city (specifically in terms of industrial restructuring and changes in residential land prices) and from cycles of economic boom and bust. However, it was found that the change to world city was more important than the economic cycle. Such findings suggest that the Japanese migration system experienced structural change during the 1980s and entered a new phase in the 1990s.
High-Performance Computing and Geography: Developments, Issues, and Case Studies
Authors: Turton I , Openshaw S
Published: October 2006

In this paper we outline some of the results that were obtained by the application of a Cray T3D parallel supercomputer to human geography problems. We emphasise the fundamental importance of high-performance computing (HPC) as a future relevant paradigm for doing geography. We offer an introduction to recent developments and illustrate how new computational intelligence technologies can start to be used to make use of opportunities created by data riches from geographic information systems, artificial intelligence tools, and HPC in geography.
Neural Network, Genetic, and Fuzzy Logic Models of Spatial Interaction
Authors: Openshaw S
Published: October 2006

The author investigates the extent to which smart computational methods can be used to create new and better performing types of spatial interaction model. He briefly describes the application of three different computationally intensive modelling technologies and compares the performance of the resulting models on a benchmark data set. It would appear that performance improvements of up to a factor of two can be obtained at the cost of a few orders of magnitude increase in compute times.
Computational Neural Networks: A New Paradigm for Spatial Analysis
Authors: Fischer M M
Published: October 2006

In this paper a systematic introduction to computational neural network models is given in order to help spatial analysts learn about this exciting new field. The power of computational neural networks viz-à-viz conventional modelling is illustrated for an application field with noisy data of limited record length: spatial interaction modelling of telecommunication data in Austria. The computational appeal of neural networks for solving some fundamental spatial analysis problems is summarized and a definition of computational neural network models in mathematical terms is given. Three definitional components of a computational neural network—properties of the processing elements, network topology and learning—are discussed and a taxonomy of computational neural networks is presented, breaking neural networks down according to the topology and type of interconnections and the learning paradigm adopted. The attractiveness of computational neural network models compared with the conventional modelling approach of the gravity type for spatial interaction modelling is illustrated before some conclusions and an outlook are given.
Building New Spatial Interaction Models by Using Genetic Programming and a Supercomputer
Authors: Diplock G
Published: October 2006

An application of a parallel genetic programming approach to discovering new spatial interaction models is described. It is noted that geographic information systems have resulted in the creation of extremely data-rich environments but it is proving very difficult to exploit this situation because of the lack of suitable models and the difficulties of model creation by more traditional hypothetico-deductive routes. The author describes how to develop new models via a machine-based inductive approach. A Cray T3D parallel supercomputer with 512 processors is used to investigate the potential of this approach to building computer models. Results are described which allude to the potential power of the method for applications where there is a considerable amount of data but no suitable existing models and no good theoretical framework on which to base their development.
Unmixing Aggregate Data: Estimating the Social Composition of Enumeration Districts
Authors: Mitchell R , Martin D , Foody G M
Published: October 2006

In this paper the authors address the problem of interpreting and classifying aggregate data sources and draw parallels between tasks commonly encountered in image processing and census analysis. Both of these fields already have a range of standard classification tools which are applied in such situations, but these are hindered by the aggregate nature of the input data. An approach to ‘unmixing’ aggregate data, and thus to revealing the nature of the subunit variation masked by aggregation, is introduced. This approach has already shown considerable success in Earth Observation applications, and in this paper the authors present the adaptation and application of the approach to Census small area statistics data for Southampton, Hants, revealing something of the social composition of Southampton's enumeration districts. The unmixing technique utilises an artificial neural network.
Hunting the Gene-Hunters: The Role of Hybrid Networks, Status, and Chance in Conceptualising and Accessing ‘Corporate Elites’
Authors: Parry B
Published: October 2006

The globalisation of the world's economy and the creation of new flexible regimes of accumulation are necessarily generating new forms of corporate organisation. Increasingly, new economies and trade in mutable resources such as information, global finance, and genetic material are controlled not by conventional corporate elites but rather by constellations of disparate but highly influential actors linked together across an equally mutable regulatory landscape. With the aid of my recent research into the elite which controls global trade in genetic material as a case study, I begin to deconstruct conventional notions of what constitutes a corporate elite, positing in its place an alternative construction in which they are understood not as formally constituted, institutionally based entities, but rather as increasingly informal, hybridised, and invisible ‘elite networks’. I then consider some of the methodological issues which confront researchers investigating the constitution and behaviour of these elite networks. In so doing I reflect upon the role which processes such as luck, chance, and intuition play in determining the direction and outcome of research projects. I conclude with a discussion of some of the ethical tensions which surround issues of disclosure, textual representation, and attribution of sources.
Becoming a Memsahib: Working with the Indian Administrative Service
Authors: Shurmer-Smith P
Published: October 2006

Studying elites may seem to be one way of avoiding the guilt associated with the betrayals inherent in participant observation. However, work with members of the Indian Administrative Service showed them to be vulnerable in conditions of structural readjustment. The author examines the ways in which recognition of the multiple positionings of an ethnographer and those being studied can create a space for new collaborative relationships between researcher and researched. In this study the ethnographer found that the research relationship necessitated her acceptance of an imperialist past and a privileged status which she normally preferred to deny.
Testing for Sample-Selection Bias Due to Location Effects in Work-History Data Collected Retrospectively from a Geographically Based Sample
Authors: Crouchley R
Published: October 2006

A three-state competing-risk labour-market model with a submodel for the state on entry into the labour market and a control for individual-level heterogeneity is constructed. A test for sample-selection bias due to location effects in the labour-market model is formulated and applied to the retrospective work-history data from the Social Class and Economic Life Initiative (SCELI). The test suggests that location and labour-market behaviour are interdependent outcomes. As the SCELI has sampled data from a very restricted subset of all possible locations in Britain the model loses external validity, that is, the results cannot be generalised to individuals who live outside the selected areas at the sample date. The model also loses internal validity, because selection on location will have induced a correlation between the random components and many of the covariates in the model, implying that the estimated parameters are misleading indicators of the true covariate effects. These conclusions must therefore raise questions about the validity of any substantive research related to labour-market outcomes which uses the SCELI data.
The Effects of Spatial and Locational Cueing on the Analysis of Aggregate Cognitive Mapping Data
Authors: Kitchin R M , Fotheringham A S
Published: October 2006

The authors explore the effects of spatial and locational cueing upon the aggregated results of cognitive mapping data. Using four experimental data sets they demonstrate that locational cueing introduces random error into the analysis and that spatial cueing increases the relative and absolute accuracy of spatial products (external representations of spatial knowledge). These effects are consistent regardless of whether individual or place cognition is assessed. As such, location and spatial cueing compromise both construct and convergent validity, and the integrity of the conclusions from previous studies on cognitive mapping are brought into question. It is suggested that a multidata collection, multidata analysis approach should be adopted to highlight and compensate for these methodological weaknesses.
Geography, Community, and Morality
Authors: Smith D M
Published: October 2006

Recognition of a moral turn in geography leads to the suggestion that looking at ‘community’ through a moral lens reveals some important issues at the interface of geography and moral philosophy. The notion of community is usually associated with social ties and interaction within a locality, but it also has a normative interpretation. Communitarianism as an expression of the good of community is experiencing a revival: the author reviews the content of communitarianism, observing similarities with the ethic of care which has featured in some feminist critiques of mainstream moral philosophy. However, the ideal of community and the partiality of care are open to critique, which requires a rethinking of community in the context of the changing nature of personal relationships and of localities. This has implications for moral learning and development, or how behavioural norms are transmitted and possibly transformed.
Reimagining the Nation: Community, Difference, and National Identities among Indigenous and Mestizo Provincials in Ecuador
Authors: Radcliffe S A
Published: October 2006

During the late 1980s and 1990s, Andean Ecuador experienced the reconfiguration of national ‘imagined community’, thereby making a new civil society. With the aid of research in rural and urban Cotopaxi province—which comprises self-identified indigenous and mestizo populations—I examine how varied notions of community are expressed at the present time. Evidence from Cotopaxi suggests that senses of community are considerably more ambivalent and uncertain than either social movements or nation-centred analysts recognise. Provincial inhabitants of the Ecuadorian Andes have constituted a number of different ‘routes to community’, utilising the various resources, institutions, and cultural practices available to them, and forging an identity and political agenda from within wider circuits of power, capital, and flows. The recommunalisation of Andean society taking place at ‘local’ spatial scales and in diverse arenas—such as religion, civil associations, consumption, land distribution—has profound implications for the projects of nation building by the state, and the mobilisation around an ethnic politics of CONAIE (the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador). Serrano populations formulated a critical political interpretation of the (national) community they comprise, whereas the community of indigenous nationalities offered by CONAIE appears more attractive.
Contradictions of Community: Questions of Identity for Young British Muslim Women
Authors: Dwyer C
Published: October 2006

The author addresses contradictions of community through a case study which explores how young British Muslim women construct and contest their identities. Drawing upon the work of Hall, and others, in their theorisation of ‘new ethnicities’ or ‘hybrid identities’, she examines the possibilities for reworking the idea of community as a dynamic process which has a discursive and political effectivity. Through an examination of the constructions of community negotiated and deployed by young British Muslim women she highlights the ways in which different imaginations of community can be both empowering and constraining.
Towards a Supply-Chain Community? Insights from Governance Processes in the Food Industry
Authors: Doel C
Published: October 2006

In the context of the proliferation of own-label subcontract relations across the food industry, there has been some speculation about the emergence of trust-based buyer—supplier relations. Instead of an old-established adversarial system, the food industry has allegedly witnessed the development of trust-based partnerships along the supply chain. These have been nurtured by sophisticated retailers apparently in order to secure reliable sources of supply. The author examines the nature, extent, and consequences of this transformation. She argues that, although there is a tendency for buyers to favour ‘known’ suppliers, the role and importance of ‘weak ties’ is subsumed beneath straightforward competitive processes. To the extent that a community of supply-chain partners has been created, its role in terms of filière dynamics is simply one of facilitating and lubricating buyer—supplier relations which retain an underlying rationale: competition between individual actors over the distribution of value added.
Deindustrialization, Inner-City Decay, and the Hierarchical Diffusion of AIDS in the USA: How Neoliberal and Cold War Policies Magnified the Ecological Niche for Emerging Infections and Created a National Security Crisis
Authors: Wallace R , Wallace D , Ullmann J E , Andrews H
Published: October 2006

AIDS is well known to have diffused hierarchically among US metropolitan regions, from the larger to the smaller, along national travel routes. Here we relate that diffusion to economic and social policy, by using approaches from population and community ecology and quantitative geography. We find that patterns of deindustrialization driven by cold war policies have interacted synergistically with the ‘planned shrinkage’ hollowing-out of poor minority inner-city communities, and with the canonical national travel pattern dominated by the largest cities, to create conditions for the rapid spread of emerging infections. Application of this model to AIDS explains over 92% of the variance in observed case numbers through June 1995 for the 25 largest US metropolitan regions containing 113 million people. ‘Resilience’ analysis of the empirical AIDS model reveals that emerging infections, social disintegration, and national travel patterns constitute a sensitive ‘resonant eigensystem’ which greatly amplifies the impact of such perturbations as recent draconian welfare ‘reforms’. We conclude that ‘neoliberal’ and cold war policies have eroded the foundations of public health in the USA to the extent that emerging infections, including multiple-drug-resistant tuberculosis, now constitute a serious security threat. Remedies must include significant progressive reforms, which we discuss at some length, to correct a long-term policy imbalance whose consequences have placed at increasing risk a large and growing fraction of the country's population.
Tailoring is a Profession, Seamstressing is Work! Resiting Work and Reworking Gender Identities among Artisanal Garment Workers in Quito
Authors: Lawson V
Published: October 2006

Geographers have paid relatively little attention to the processes by which occupations and sites of work become gendered. This case study of Ecuador provides a template for examining how gender identities are constituted in the physical and discursive sites of paid work. Neoliberal restructuring in Ecuador has wrought dramatic changes on work and daily life in Quito. Specifically, economic restructuring is producing new spaces of work in garment production and this presents a moment for examining how existing gender divisions of garment work are being maintained or reworked. This study sets the context for an analysis of the social construction of occupational segmentation by examining how the political-economy of neoliberalism is producing new sites of work. Within this context, I examine how gendered discourses of skill are reproduced or transformed with changing demand for workers, and I examine how workers narrate their gender identities as revealed through in-depth discussions of their jobs and their households.
Free Markets and the Marriage Market: Structural Adjustment, Gender Relations, and Working Conditions among Dominican Women Workers
Authors: Safa H I
Published: October 2006

I argue that the neoliberal reforms brought on by structural adjustment appear to have contributed to a deterioration of the job market and a greater prevalence of female-headed households in the Dominican Republic. On the basis of data collected in 1994 among women working in a free trade zone, I show that structural adjustment increases the need for women to work, because of cuts in government programs, declining real wages, growing inflation, and a deterioration in male employment, which weakens the man's role as principal breadwinner and increases the importance and visibility of women's contribution to the household economy. This change in the gender composition of the labor force has encouraged some women to resist marriage and/or remarriage because the ‘marriage market’ of eligible men willing and able to support a family has been reduced, contributing to greater marital instability.
The Gender Institute, London School of Economics, Houghton Street, London WC2A 2AE, England
Authors: Tiano S , Ladino C
Published: October 2006

We explore the construction of feminine identities among women maquila workers in Juárez, Mexico. The findings suggest that women workers' identities are fluid processes in permanent negotiation. Women's changing employment practices, gender roles and relations, and personal experiences have created spaces for new interpretations of courtship and motherhood. As Mexican women increasingly face controversial messages, they reconcile emerging and conventional feminine discourses by recreating images of Mexican womanhood.
Entrepreneurial Spaces, Hegemony, and State Strategy: The Political Shaping of Privatism in Lowland Scotland
Authors: MacLeod G
Published: October 2006

Throughout the mid-1990s, considerable misgivings have emerged about the value of regulation theory for concrete research. Whilst acknowledging much of this critique, I seek to operationalize some recent interpretations of the ‘geography of regulation’ and regulation-theoretic state theory towards an analysis of the governance of economic development in Lowland Scotland. I argue that, when suitably contextualized, these approaches help to foreground some complex issues of scale, particularly the interactions between national, regional, and local levels, as well as to highlight the integral politics which surround the governance of urban and regional spaces. In substantive terms, this paper focuses on the decision to replace the Scottish Development Agency with the Scottish Enterprise Network. The latter was heralded by the Conservative government as a new private-sector-led hegemon within Lowland Scotland's emerging form of ‘entrepreneurial’ governance. However, the discussion below demonstrates two key factors. First, that the formation of such ‘local enterprise’ was a highly politicized endeavour; one which needs to be understood within the context of the broader dynamics of a (then) centralizing British state. And, second, a key net effect of the new structure is that the informal networks and partnerships which characterized the mode of governance in the 1980s under the hegemony of the Scottish Development Agency have been jeopardized in and through the ‘turf wars’ which have accompanied the post-1991 institutional milieu. This political shaping of privatism within one of the United Kingdom's more institutionally endowed and relatively autonomous spaces thereby provides some lessons for a New Labour government committed towards reconfiguring the contours of regional economic development in the regions and nations of the United Kingdom.
Developing Canada's Arctic Oil Reserves: An Assessment of the Interregional Economic Impacts
Authors: DiFrancesco R J , Anderson W P
Published: October 2006

In this paper we assess the economic impacts of two scenarios of offshore oil development in Canada's Arctic: one based on pipeline transportation and the other based on tanker transportation. A dynamic multiregional input—output model is specified in order to take account of substantial regional spillover effects and capacity expansion effects within the Northwest Territories. The results indicate that in both scenarios a large share of the economic benefits accrue to other regions, but that the pipeline scenario yields greater benefits for the Northwest Territories. Differences between the two scenario results are explained in terms of the spatial and sectoral patterns of input requirements and differences in capacity expansion effects.
Unemployment Flow Regimes and Regional Unemployment Disparities
Authors: Martin R , Sunley P
Published: October 2006

Almost all studies of regional and local unemployment are concerned with unemployment stock rates. In this paper, attention is focused on the unemployment flows behind these stocks. By using data for the British regions over the 1980s and 1990s, we show that regional unemployment-rate disparities are a direct reflection of different underlying regional unemployment ‘flow regimes’; that is, different patterns of inflows into, and outflows from, unemployment. In the 1980s these differences in regional flow regime were marked, but since the beginning of the 1990s they have narrowed. In addition, there appear to have been distinct ‘switches’ in regime in particular regions. These trends and shifts are considered alongside the debates surrounding the end of the ‘north—south’ unemployment divide in Britain; the claim that the British labour market is moving towards a US-style flexible, high-unemployment-turnover model; and the effects of various changes to the unemployment benefit system designed to restrict the numbers of claimants on that system.