Regional Difference in Social Capital and Its Impact on Regional Economic Growth in China

Social capital has played an increasingly important role in regional development.China is a country with high stocks of social capital.Using several different indicators of social capital,this study tries to research the regional disparities in social capital and the influence of social capital on economic growth of China in 1978-2004.Measuring social capital with indicators of associations,charities and blood donation rates,this study finds significant regional disparities in social capital at provincial level in China.Those indicators for social capital are highly correlated with regional economic performance.Statistical analysis shows that social capital has a significant and positive effect on a long-term provincial economic growth.This relationship exists after controlling policy,macro location factors,and per capita GDP in the initial year.The empirical findings indicate that institutions,culture and social relations are critical for regional development in China.Therefore,the creation and support of social capital should be paid more attention to when making regional policy.

Residents′Activity-travel Behavior Variation by Communities in Beijing,China

China's transition from a planned economy to a market economy has resulted in many changes in its urban structure and society and provided an opportunity for a quasi-longitudinal case study on the relationship between the built environment and activity-travel behavior.This paper draws upon data from an activity diary survey conducted in Beijing in 2007.The survey sample comprised 652 residents living in Danwei(work unit),commodity housing,and affordable housing neighborhoods.On the basis of the three-dimensional geo-visualization analysis of the space-time path and statistical multivariate regression models of daily travel and leisure time,it was found that both residential spatial factors and socio-demographics influence residents' daily behaviors.The findings show that Danwei residents have less daily travel time than those who live in commodity housing,but people living in affordable housing endure the longest travel time.Daily leisure time is associated more with individual attributes.We argue that although China's transition is currently gradual,the Danwei system may continue to play significant roles in daily life,and it might provide a valuable model for neighborhood spatial planning.

Foreign Direct Investment with Chinese Characteristics:A Middle Path Between Ownership-Location-Internalization Model and Linkage-Leverage-Learning Model

The majority of multinational enterprises （MNEs） traditionally originate from developed countries. In the last ten years, however, there has been dramatic growth in foreign direct investment （FDI） from China. It is a comparatively new phenomenon that challenges the classic FDI theories. In this paper, we review the pros and cons of two important theories, known as the Owner- ship-Location-Internalization （0LI） model and Linkage-Leverage-Learning （LLL） model, and use the statistical data and company case studies from China to test the plausibility of these two models. We believe that neither of them suits totally： the OLI model is quite use- fill for understanding FDI from China to developing economies, while the LLL model is more powerful for explaining the FDI to de- veloped economies. We argue that the companies from China attain a very advantageous position as intermediates in the global economy They may catch up with the first movers if they integrate OLI-led and LLL-led FDI within one firm. This combination can bring to- gether the most advanced knowledge acquired in developed economies with the knowledge about adaptation needs and the needs for cost reduction in production as expressed in developing economies. It may also accelerate the knowledge transfer globally. We thus fill a gap in research into the geographical pattern of Chinese FDI and offer a deeper understanding of the internationalization of Chinese MNEs and revolving knowledge transfer.

Remote Sensing Applications: Beyond Land-Use and Land-Cover Change

Remotely sensed (RS) imagery is increasingly being adopted in investigations and applications outside of traditional land-use land-cover change (LUCC) studies. This is due to the increased awareness by governments, NGOs and Industry that earth observation data provide important and useful spatial and temporal information that can be used to make better decisions, design policies and address problems that range in scale from local to global. Additionally, citizens are increasingly adopting spatial analysis into their work as they utilize a suite of readily available geospatial tools. This paper examines some of the ways remotely sensed images and derived maps are being extended beyond LUCC to areas such as fire modeling, coastal and marine applications, infrastructure and urbanization, archeology, and to ecological, or infrastructure footprint analysis. Given the interdisciplinary approach of such work, this paper organizes selected studies into broad categories identified above. Findings demonstrate that RS data and technologies are being widely used in many fields, ranging from fishing to war fighting. As technology improves, costs go down, quality increases and data become increasingly available, greater numbers of organizations and local citizens will be using RS in important everyday applications.

An Estimate of the Shadow Price of Water in the Southern Ogallala Aquifer

In this paper, we attempt to quantify the shadow price of an additional inch of groundwater resource left in situ for the Southern Ogallala Aquifer. Previous authors have shown the degree to which the optimal resource extraction path may diverge from the competitive extraction path based upon varying assumptions. We utilize high-quality data over an unconfined groundwater resource to evaluate the validity of these results. We find that the size of the existing groundwater resource is sufficiently small to result in a divergence between the competitive and socially optimal solutions. We are also able to confirm that the model responds to changes in the parameters in a manner consistent with previous research. Finally, we arrive at a marginal user cost for an additional acre-inch of water which is relatively low, but reasonable given uncertainty about future technological improvements.

Risk Assessment and Management of Hazardous Hydrological and Geological Processes in Ukraine

Due to long and irrational land-utilization, Ukraine deals with one of the most strained ecological situations in Europe. This work is devoted to the study of land resources transformation that was caused by human activity. The subject of study is to assess and forecast physical land and soil degradation, associated with the technical intensification of hazardous exogenous processes. The research is based on the use of methods of ecologic-geomorphological analysis, mathematical-statistical modeling and forecasting. This project gives characteristics to the main anthropogenic factors of threats and risks to land and soil, which take place in the territory of Ukraine. The estimation was conducted relatively dangerous hydrological and geological processes that are key factors of physical degradation of resources. These processes include erosion, flooding, secondary waterlogging, landslides and other collapsed phenomena. Graphic models reflect specific factors and environmental consequences of the most dangerous exogenous processes. Predicted is the development of dangerous hydrological and geological processes, influenced by technogenic factors. Different scenarios of physical land degradation are developed by the example of a specific technonatural geosystem. A measurement system of the sustainable usage and management of soil condition in Ukraine is improved.

Problems of Integrated Assessment of Geo-ecosystems of Steppe Zone of Ural River Basin

Methodological approaches to the assessment of natural geo-ecological systems are researched. Analysis of the interaction of natural and anthropogenic components of the geo-ecological systems and their management is based on the consideration of natural-resource potential in the changing spatial and temporal connection. The principles of identifying and mapping of geo-ecological systems of various rank. Structural changes resulting from anthropogenic transformation allow establish the quality of geo-ecosystems and rank according to the degree of self-realization and sustainability.

A Geospatial Approach to Measuring Surface Disturbance Related to Oil and Gas Activities in West Florida, USA

Oil and gas exploration and production activities (OGEPA) can produce surface disturbances created by the construction of roads, well pads, oil wells, pipelines, production facilities and storage pits. These alterations can range from landscape conversion to transformation depending on location, regulations and enforcement, environmental best practices and state vs. multinational management. Though not known as a major oil and gas state, Florida is ranked 23rd in gas and 24th in oil production nationally. Jay oilfield, located in West Florida’s panhandle region, is the largest and top producer in the state. Though production peaked in 1979, a nationwide upsurge is taking place that could affect Florida. The accounting from above approach proposed here is well suited to understand the role that the infrastructure surface footprint has on West Florida’s landscape and how to monitor potential changes underway. It involves remote sensing, GIS techniques and landscape ecology metrics to quantify surface disturbance in Santa Rosa County’s six oilfields and then ranks each field based on environmental performance (sustainability). Findings suggest that agricultural conversion is the leading driver of land-use and land-cover (LULC) change, while OGEPA have created small-scale surface alterations. This paper’s approach can help oil companies, land managers and local government authorities understand the spatial extent of OGEPA onshore alterations and plan future scenarios, particularly as drilling and production increase in the current shale revolution occurring throughout the US, as well as expanded drilling planned for Florida.

Rice planting acceleration of the activation and loss of soil iron in the red soil region of southern China

Rice planting decreased total iron but increased active iron.Iron activation varied greatly among different paddy soils but not in woodland soils.Paddy soil iron was mainly affected by pH,SOC and particle composition.The decrease of soil Fe was mainly in the form of Fec and was closely related to SOC.

The socio-spatial dimension of behavior analysis:Frontiers and progress in Chinese behavioral geography

The interaction between urban space and individual behavior has led to essential social, economic and environmental consequences. Behavioral geography provides a new effective theoretical and methodological framework to investigate behavior patterns in cities. In recent years, behavior approach has become an influential analytical paradigm in Chinese urban geography. This paper provides an overview of behavioral geography research in China, by introducing the theoretical and empirical progress in behavior analysis. It is argued that behavioral approach offers a new perspective to understanding China＇s urban sociospatial reconstruction and addressing social and environmental issues at micro scale. Although theoretical development still lags behind developed countries, Chinese scholars have made much progress in empirical investigations of classical socio-spatial behavior theories. This paper also provides an overview of new trends in Chinese behavioral geography that has started to apply the behavioral approach to urban social, economic and environmental issues. This paper suggests that social dimensions of behavior should be addressed more comprehensively and rigorously by using interdisciplinary theoretical and methodological frameworks, to better understand the complexity of Chinese cities and research the critical social and environmental issues in cities.

Characteristics and Causes of the Spatial Evolution of Urban Villages:A Case Study of Shenzhen Special Economic Zone

Studies on the renovation and governance of urban villages have become the interest of human geography since the 1990s.However up to now,there is little literature focusing on the development patterns and dynamic mechanism of the spatial evolution of urban villages based on the theoretical system of urban spatial structure,and there are few scholars doing analyses on the relationship between urban villages and general urban areas in terms of spatial development.In this paper,Shenzhen,the most representative city of China in terms of urban village development,is taken as a case for exploring the characteristics and modes of the spatial evolution of urban villages.With census data of urban village construction in 1999 and 2004 in terms of built-up area,floor area,and construction intensity,the spatial and temporal evolution of the 91 administrative urban villages in the original Shenzhen Special Economic Zone have been analyzed in comparison with that of Shenzhen's general urban areas.It is indicated that the spatial evolution of urban villages matches with the general rules of the spatial development of general urban areas in three aspects.First,land expansion is the most remarkable mode of spatial evolution in the early stage of development;second,in the period of rapid development,there is the obvious tendency of "distance-decay" in terms of construction intensity accompanied by some anomalous fluctuations at certain points;third,renewal and redevelopment are carried out gradually in the mature stage of development.However,because of historical and institutional restrictions,the spatial evolution of urban villages shows its unique characteristics in the aspects of original spatial distribution and spatial expansion mode in the period of rapid development,etc.The outcomes of this study would help not only enrich the theoretical study on the evolution mode of urban spatial structure,but also strengthen the administration over urban villages,in particular with the suggestions that the spatial evolution of urban villages as a type of urban space should not be the same as that of general urban areas and its unique characteristics should not be ignored;specific rules should be set up to guide the rational spatial evolution of urban villages according to the economic development of the city,as well as the housing demands of various kinds of residents.

Scenario analysis on the global carbon emissions reduction goal proposed in the declaration of the 2009 G8 Summit

A goal of a 50% reduction in global greenhouse gases emissions by 2050, with an 80% reduction by developed countries (hereafter referred to as the G8 Goal), was proposed at the G8 Summit held in L’Aquila, Italy, in July 2009. Here we analyze the scientific and political implications of the G8 Goal and its equity and feasibility by examining four greenhouse gas emissions scenarios. Our results show that (1) the goal to keep atmospheric CO2 concentration of 【450 ppmv, stated by G8 nations, can only be achieved under the scenario of a steady, linear emissions reduction by all countries and simultaneously meeting the G8 Goal during the period 2005-2050; (2) under the G8 Goal, the carbon emissions quota for developing countries would not meet their carbon emission demands even if very strict reduction regimes are followed, with a gap of up to 】1/3 of emissions demand in the next 45 years; and (3) under the G8 Goal, the cumulative per capita emissions during the period of 2006-2050 for developed and developing countries will be 81 t C and 40-47 t C, respectively, with the former doubling that of the latter, implying that the historical disparity of carbon emissions between developed and developing countries would be widened. Historically, the cumulative per capita emissions from developed countries are 12 times of those from developing countries. We therefore conclude that (1) the G8 Goal seeks to impose binding reduction targets on developing countries that will impede their industrialization process and cause conflicts among developing countries in the allocation of carbon emission rights; (2) the G8 Goal will not only widen the existing disparities of historical carbon emissions between developed and developing countries, but also generate new inequalities in the rights of carbon emissions; and (3) the 450 ppmv threshold of atmospheric CO2 concentration control, which is the basis for the G8 Goal, is impractical and impossible, and should not be accepted as the foundation for international climate negotiation on carbon emission reduction. In summary, the G8 Goal is clearly against the principle of 'common but differentiated responsibilities' and thus is unacceptable for developing countries.

Smart Travel Based on Space-Time Behavior Study

In view of the significant demands and development trends of urbanization during the 12 th Five-Year Plan period, "smart city" has attracted wide attention as an advanced city development concept in China. Under the circumstance of rapid urbanization, traffic congestion and accessibility defi ciency become major challenges to many Chinese cities, as transportation and travel are closely related to the effi ciency of a city's operation and the quality of people's life. As essential part of smart city planning and management, smart travel offers an effective behavior planning countermeasure to reduce the amount of urban traffi c and optimize the space-time distribution of travels and provides an effective technology to enrich the theories and methodologies of urban and transportation planning. Orienting at the practical demand of citizens and focusing on their travel behavior, this paper carries out a discussion on the smart travel framework based on space-time behavior study and analyzes smart travel planning and its policy route from multiple perspectives, including a prediction on travel demand, transportation planning, public policy-making, and urban planning. What's more, the paper suggests travel services for citizens based on space-time behavior analysis, such as providing personalized information, smart decision-making support, and individual behavior planning.

Comparison of Regional Innovation System of High and New Technology Enterprise Cluster Between Beijing and Shanghai

China’s economy has achieved remarkable progress since its reform and opening-up to the outside world in the 1980s. The in-vestment in technology in areas along the eastern coast has increased greatly. It has noticeably enlarged the gap between the eastern coastal area and the western in-

Route Choice by the VLCCS from Middle East Gulf to North Atlantic

Three alternatives for round voyages between the Middle East Gulf and North Atlantic,Cape/Cape,Suez/Cape and Suez/Suez(laden/ballast),are compared from actor perspective.Ship owners benefit from long routes when rates are not rising steeply.Refineries minimize logistics costs by selecting short routes.Traders also should opt for them,provided that their investment horizontal equals the laden leg.In the real world,Northwest Europe selects 10 pet Suez and the US Gulf 10 pet Cape.East Coast Canada is route neutral.Cargos from West Africa tilt this equation in favor of the Cape/Cape alternative.