Fire research in scandinavia—A long-term program

The author contends a great imbalance exists between two fundamental concepts in designing buildings. On the one hand, considerable care and thought go into designing for static and dynamic loads; but design for fire resistance is dealt with in an extremely conventional and stereotyped way. He feels it is essential—in Scandinavian and in other countries—that long-term experimental and theoretical research programs be undertaken so that design for fire resistance can be carried out in conformity with fundamental principles conventionally used in static design of load-bearing structures. Note: This article is based on Proceeding No. 129 (1964), “General Programme for Scandinavian Long-term Research,” of the National Swedish Institute for Materials Testing, (Statens Provningsanstalt), Stockholm, Sweden.     

Housing management matters: Citizenship and managerialism in the new welfare market

This paper addresses three neglected issues in the restructuring of housing policy and provision in the UK in the 1980s and 1990s: first, the relationship between welfare restructuring and management regimes; second, the nature of local variations in the impact of welfare restructuring; and third, the significance of human agency interpretations of change. The paper starts by summarizing the main features of welfare state restructuring and then considers recent manifestations of citizenship and managerialism in housing. Three competing conceptions of citizenship rights are used to examine changing notions of welfare: “market efficiency”, “institutionalized rights” and the “radical challenge” provided by social movements. A four-part typology of the main concepts and themes in the “new public management”—“efficiency”, “downsizing and decentralization”, “excellence” and “public service”—is used to present the main components of change in management regimes. The paper draws on literatures on housing management, citizenship and “the new public management” and on recent research into tenant participation, housing rights and housing advice services. Conclusions are drawn about how tensions between different conceptions of citizenship and public management are implicated with national and global influences at the local level to create particular welfare outcomes.     

Spatial dependence and the representation of space in empirical models

A well-formed spatial model should most likely not produce spatial autocorrelation at all. From this perspective spatial autocorrelation is not (pure) statistical nuisance but a sign of that a model lacks a representation of an important economic phenomenon. In a Knowledge Production Function (KPF) context, this paper shows that a representation of space reflecting the potential of physical interaction between localities by means of accessibility variables on the “right-hand-side”—a simple alternative to spatial lag and spatial error which can be estimated by OLS—captures substantive spatial dependence. Results are verified with Monte Carlo simulations based on Anselin’s (Int Reg Sci Rev 26(2):153–166, 2003) taxonomy of modelled and unmodelled effects. The analysis demonstrates that an accessibility representation of explanatory variables depict the network nature of spatial interaction, such that spatial dependence is actually modelled.     

A study on the building of a new “output–output model” and its usefulness: based on a comparative analysis of the input–output model

This paper describes the building of a new open static “output–output” (O–O) model in comparison to the open static input–ouput (I–O) model developed by Leontief (Rev Econ Stat 18:105–125, 1936). While the I–O model can be characterized as a system that relates final demand to gross output, the O–O model relates gross output for final demand (endogenous or exogenous) to gross output for output (endogenous). We perform a comparative analysis between the two models in structure and characteristics and illustrate the usefulness of the O–O model, for example, by formulating I–O multipliers that can accept output as an initial change. The comprehensive analysis conducted in this paper, including a numerical illustration with an example, shows that the two models form a mutually supplementary relationship and could give rise to a fundamental framework for the analyses of various regional and national economic activities.     

Performing the Primitive in the Postcolony: Nyoni’s Kraal in Cape Town

The production of particular spaces for tourist consumption of the “exotic” other involves the performance of particular conceptualizations of people and places that recreates theatrical versions of the primitive. Through analysis of one such space—Nyoni’s Kraal in Cape Town—we contend that both hosts and visitors are complicit in the construction of these spaces and imaginaries. To this end, practices of social and spatial policing as well as performativity and representations of cultural constructs of an “authentic Africa” are deployed in the projection of a specific form of constructed, “benign” multiculturalism. We contend that such practices reproduce a mythical idyll of Africa for consumption that recreates—rather than questions—colonial power structures, and therefore remain imbued with the inequitable and uncertain outcomes of modernity.

Comparative analysis of drinking water quality of different origin based on the results of integrated bioassay

The quality of water from public drinking water supply system, from artesian wells in Kiev and bottled non-carbonated drinking water produced by various companies was investigated using a set of animal and plant test organisms. The integral index—a total toxicity index which allowed researchers to classify water into different categories from “safe” to “highly hazardous” served as a water quality evaluation criterion.     

The first fifty years of the Western Regional Science Association: the making of the WRSA brand

In 1954 the Regional Science Association held its first conference in Detroit, Michigan. Seven years later, in 1961, the Western Regional Science Association was founded as one of the four United States-based sections (the Northeastern, the Southern, the Mid-Continent, and the Western). In the 50 years since its founding, the WRSA has met its obligation to promote regional science in Western North America and has gone beyond that initial mandate to promote regional science internationally and to become an association that truly delivers on the somewhat whimsical motto: “The way academic life should be.” In this paper, coauthored by the Association’s three long-term Executive Secretaries, W. W. Rostow’s model of the stages for economic advancement is employed, by analogy, to interpret the historical development of the Western Regional Science Association—and of its distinctive “brand”—over its first half century.     

"Composition" and regularisation of architectural production in contemporary China

The purpose of this paper is to explore how the “Beaux-Arts” “composition” sustained the constitution of design principles for architectural production in China in the last two decades of the twentieth century. “Composition”, a key technique of the “Beaux-Arts” system, is not a simple act of “putting elements together” into a unified whole, but also relates to an array of different “constructions” of architectural knowledge which regulate and sustain the act of design. Through analysing the structure of three “textbooks” published in the early 1980s, this paper examines three aspects of the “constructions”: the setting up of the principles for governing architectural forms, regularisation of design methods and approaches for architectural practice, and the construction of a “tradition” for the expression of “Chineseness”.     

Spatial structure in an open city with a subcenter

A comparative static analysis is performed in the setting of an open city with a subcenter. Transportation system in a duo-centric city is assumed to consist of not only “spoke-roads” but “circle streets”. Under the assumptions of no land input into production and the exogenous wage rate, most comparative statics results, including the effects of changing the location of a subcenter, can be determined unambiguously. Received: March 1997/Accepted: October 1998     

A spatial efficiency index proposal: an empirical application to SMEs productivity

Our study introduces a Spatial Efficiency Index. Its definition is based on the traditional concepts of “technology set” and “distance function”, as well as on spatial econometric methods. This index measures productive efficiency in each productive unit in relation to its close environment, instead of comparing each unit with all others. This way both local efficiency patterns and the highest local efficiency inequalities can be identified. An empirical application was developed so as to analyse data from Small and Medium sized Spanish Industrial Enterprises, using nonparametric Data Envelopment Analysis techniques. Our proposal is a contribution to the development of indexes that explicitly include proximity relations—a field with countless research possibilities.     

Passage,Profit, Protection,and the Challenge of Participation: Building and Belonging in African Cities

Accepting that successful “development” is premised on a population's participation in a collective undertaking, we must understand urban residents' interactions and ambitions. In African cities being transformed by geographic and social mobility, it is unclear what forms of inclusion, solidarity, or mutual recognition are desired or possible among those who live there. This paper argues that the pursuit of three objectives—profit, protection, and passage—is shaping these cities' social formations in ways that limit the ability of official and non-official institutions to interweave popular aspirations—however temporarily—to promote a common and mutually beneficial future. The paper starts from the premise that the novelty of the emerging social forms within Africa's cities requires a willingness to induce: to build a conceptual vocabulary of belonging reflecting practices of those living in and moving through Africa's cities. Only after doing this will we have the building blocks for further debate. With this in mind, the paper works towards a pair of interrelated tasks. The first is to challenge three premises often informing discussions of mobility and urban politics: (1) the presence of a dominant host community or political order; (2) that cities are destinations and not points of transit; and (3) that state institutions are the primary source of exclusion and the most potent tool for fostering inclusion in a collective endeavor. Second, it considers one form of membership and inclusion that can emerge where the presumptions outlined above do not hold. In doing so, it points to a kind of “tactical cosmopolitanism”, a set of discourses and practices that can subvert ethnic or national chauvinism and restrictive migration or anti-urbanization policies and practices. Drawing primarily on examples from Johannesburg, it shows how migrants negotiate partial inclusion in transforming societies without becoming bounded by them. The paper ends by reflecting briefly on the challenges such tactics pose for generating a collective urban project.     

Foreign street traders working in inner city Durban: Local government policy challenges

“Xenophobia coupled with drunken criminals affects our business. Heavy rain forces us to close. South Africans sometimes threaten to kick us out”—Hair-cutter from the DRC     

Simulation of a building and its HVAC system with an equation solver: Application to benchmarking

The today-availability of powerful engineering equation solvers is opening very new possibilities in technical component modelling and in system simulation. The simulation models, the “user guide” and the “reference guide” are all included in a same file. Reliable “reference” and “simplified” models are currently available for the building zone and for most (heating, ventilation and air-conditioning) HVAC components. Focus is given here on “simplified” models and on a simulation tool, called “Benchmark”. This tool should help an auditor to make the best use of the limited information usually available about actual fuel and electricity consumptions and to get a very first evaluation of the actual performances of a given HVAC system. An example of such use is presented. Another simulation tools and more information about the modelling of HVAC components will be presented in a further paper.     

Use of gestalt in wayfinding design and analysis of wayfinding process

The authors brought forward the definition of “Gestalt space” and indicated this kind of space can be easily cognized. Three experiments showed that “classification” and “grouping” are the human strategies to solve wayfinding problems. “Similarity” and “Legibility” of the space are advantageous to help people to complete wayfinding tasks. The designer should provide the essential “Legibility” in Gestalt space, by using some techniques such as “break” and “accession” to settle the wayfinding problem. __________ Translated from Architectural Journal, 2007, (5): 89–91 [译自: 建筑学报]     

Eastern reforms,trade, and spatial change in the EU

Economic reforms in Eastern Europe and Eastern Europe's integration into the world economy are supposed to induce fundamental changes into European trade patterns. This will affect regions in the EU differently, depending on location and specialization. The article quantifies the impact of changing trade flows on EU regional manufacturing. Estimates are based on comparative static simulations, using an empirically calibrated computable partial equilibrium model of interregional trade. The spatial EU output pattern under status-quo conditions is compared with an optimistic “successful reform scenario”. The article explains the model structure and its calibration, and presents results for 13 manufacturing industries.     

Where do foreign firms locate in transition countries? An empirical investigation

Firm-level data sets on foreign manufacturing plants in four Central and Eastern European Countries are used in this paper, to trace their location and estimate the determinants of their choice processes. A nested logit model as developed by McFadden (1974) is used in the analysis. A central focus of the analysis is foreign direct investment (FDI) which is a good indicator of where location of foreign investments is made. Several reasons explain the need for mapping the location of FDI. First of all, it facilitates understanding the real competitiveness of regions and countries in providing location advantages able to complement multi-national enterprises’ (MNE) specific advantages. Secondly, it directly shows the distribution of the benefits usually associated with FDI. Finally, an understanding of FDI location decisions is important for policy makers who believe that MNEs may offer a positive contribution to the economic development of disadvantaged areas and thus correct potential regional imbalances. The main results show that sector specific factors affect the choice of the final location. These unobserved characteristics influence both the determinants and the structure of MNEs location choice process. This paper has been written as a part of the Research Network on “The Impact of the European Integration and Enlargement on Regional Structural Change and Cohesion”, financed by the European Commission through the 5th Framework Programme. The authors are grateful to the other members of the Research Consortium and the participants at the international workshop “Modelling the Entrepreneurial and Innovative Space-Economy” organized by the Tinbergen Institute on 22–23 August 2005 for very helpful comments and suggestions provided on an earlier version of this work.     

Stay or Go? Human Behavior and Decision Making in Bushfires and Other Emergencies

The policy of “leave early or stay and defend”, often shortened to the “stay or go” policy, has been the subject of critical review in the Royal Commission that followed the recent disastrous bushfires in Victoria, Australia. The need for people to evacuate or stay and defend their property and protect themselves is a critical life safety decision for many people on days of high bushfire activity. Some limited research has been undertaken into this individual decision making in bushfires. Other fields of emergency management also require people to make similar decisions as to whether to evacuate or stay in a “defend in place” situation. This paper examines research into “stay or go” strategies and decision making performance for high rise buildings, looking for common factors that may inform the bushfire situation and potential reforms for policy. Similarly, research into Hurricane Katrina and the failures to evacuate when mandated provide further insight into factors which can affect or postpone decision making. A number of common improvements related to emergency preparedness, situation awareness and trusted communication systems emerge in all these fields. However, this paper also suggests that this decision making in bushfires is more complex that just two simple options of “stay or go”. A greater understanding of group behavior and socio-cultural factors and their impact on personal decision making is required if more effective emergency management is to occur in the bushfire domain.     

Installation of underground structures by the method of underpinning with sectional tubing

Practical experience gained with work production on the installation of underground structures by the underpinning of previously installed structures with sectional tubing during reconstruction is discussed. Alternate schemes are cited for the mechanization of work involving the underpinning of a support structure constructed in the open by the “sunken shaft” and “wall-in-the-ground” methods. Translated from Osnovaniya, Fundamenty i Mekhanika Gruntov, No. 3, pp. 27–29, May–June, 1998.