Search results for "Economic Geography"
showing 10 items of 682 documents
A Biologically Inspired Representation of the Intelligence of a University Campus
2016
Abstract Intelligence or smartness in an urban environment implies several factors directed to improve quality of life and efficiency. It is important to note that in this context the inclusion of citizens and their devices is a key factor for reaching smartness. Data from mobile devices are increasingly used in everyday activities and have to be considered a useful means for handling and analyzing knowledge and communications. This paper shows how to represent important data when dealing with smartness by creating an analogy between the representation of human brain areas, activated when specific tasks are performed, and groups of students when behaviors or needs arise. The brain traffic c…
Transport infrastructures, spillover effects and regional growth: evidence of the Spanish case
2005
The impact of transport infrastructures on the economic growth of both regions and sectors, distinguishing among modes of transport, is analysed. An attempt is also made to capture the spillover effects associated with transport infrastructures. Two different methodologies are used: the first adopts an accounting approach based on a regression on indices of total factor productivity; the second uses econometric estimates of the production function. Very similar elasticities are obtained with both methodologies for the private sector of the economy, both for the aggregate capital stock of transport infrastructures and for the various types of infrastructure. However, the disaggregated result…
The resilience of Finnish farms: Exploring the interplay between agency and structure
2020
Resilience implies, in its essence, the capacity of a system to tolerate disturbances while retaining its essential functions. In the context of agriculture, resilience thinking calls for considering the ability of farms to thrive in turbulent times along with the ability of the ecological system – in which the agricultural production is embedded – to retain its function and integrity. Resilience is a relevant conceptual tool to analyse the contradictory management demands that farms are facing within the current neoliberal market regime: being economically viable and environmentally sustainable. In this study, the resilience of farms was operationalised through farmers' perceptions concern…
The Community Structure of the Global Corporate Network
2013
We investigate the community structure of the global ownership network of transnational corporations. We find a pronounced organization in communities that cannot be explained by randomness. Despite the global character of this network, communities reflect first of all the geographical location of firms, while the industrial sector plays only a marginal role. We also analyze the network in which the nodes are the communities and the links are obtained by aggregating the links among firms belonging to pairs of communities. We analyze the network centrality of the top 50 communities and we provide the first quantitative assessment of the financial sector role in connecting the global economy.
Cartes et élections : la construction des circonscriptions électorales aux Etats-Unis, entre égalité et équité
2003
Maps and Elections : The Construction of Electoral Districts in the USA. Decennal census-led redistricting in the United States is the occasion for court actions focused nowadays on the political representation of ethnic minorities. Computer tools make possible the building of districts specifically tailored for Blacks or Hispanics, but blatant racial gerrymandering is now rejected by the US Supreme Court. This paper examines the most relevant judicial decisions and describes several local cases.
Civil Society in Making: <i>Challenges of the Somali Diaspora Organizations</i>
2013
This article contributes to the discussion on migrants and civil society by directing attention towards the importance of transnational processes. Somali organizations in Finland will be addressed against the state-failure and conflict in Somalia. Among the Somalis, an NGO largely remains an alien and donor-driven concept, whereas clan, religious affiliations and associational structures may be blurred in complex ways. There is a need to rethink the concept of ‘civil society’ and how it could be analytically used in understanding transnational civic participation. The data comprises interviews with INGOs as well as observations and discussions with Somali associations.
International development aid and young people's participation in societal development of the global south
2018
International development aid has in recent years sought to strengthen youths’ societal participation by cooperation between international non-governmental organisations (INGOs) and local youth associations. In this paper, we address and conceptualise some of the underlying causes that may enable and/or limit such efforts to support youth participation in the global south. We seek to contribute to the growing literature exploring the multiple scales of young people's political agency. A core argument proposed is that notions of generational relationality, as seen in the case of international development aid targeting youth, must include conceptions of power as a topological relation across …
Conversion as Negotiation. Converts as Actors of Civil Society
2020
This article focuses on the religious movement of the Ahmadiyya and its civil society organization, Humanity First, in West-Africa and in Europe. Particular attention is paid to the place of converts within these two institutions. Conversions to an Islamic minority and the actions of this minority are studied through the prism of social commitment. I examine the intersections between religious values, the ideas of solidarity in the societies under scrutiny and, the kaleidoscopic range of Muslim charities. The paper investigates conversion as negotiation in regard to gender, social mobility, and power. Conversion is approached here as a matter of social relations and not personal belief. I a…
Refugee Social Work Positioned Between Transnationalization, State Services and Volunteering: A Review from the German Context
2018
Social work has always been basically organized at the local and national levels. Nevertheless, in the face of globalization, social work has to be reconsidered far beyond national boundaries, because its clients’ social life worlds extend beyond local and state borders. This chapter analyzes the state of the art in the field of volunteering, refuge and social work and argues that due to its double mandate, social work could act as a bridge between state services and initiatives of the civil society and offer an insight into the ambiguities of cooperation between volunteering activities and professional social work using selected examples.
Cluster development and regional industrial restructuring: agency and asset modification
2021
The paper presents a novel theoretical framework to analyse the emergence and growth of industrial clusters. The framework focuses on the role of change agency for the modification of assets that i...