Showing papers in "Asian geographer in 2015"

Is China's interest for the Arctic driven by Arctic shipping potential?

Abstract: Interest from the Chinese government has been on the rise since about 2005, and the media have widely reported on these Chinese projects. China is often described as being very interested in both Arctic mineral resources and the opening of Arctic shipping routes, but in this characterization there is a hint of a perceived threat, as commentators are often stressing out that China's appetite may lead Beijing into considering the Northwest Passage an international strait and resources as open up for grabs. However, the motives for this Chinese interest boils down to three points: diplomacy, access to natural resources, and access to Arctic sea routes. To what extent are Chinese shipping firms really interested in developing active service along these polar waterways?

"Green" building in India: a comparative and spatial analysis of the LEED-India and GRIHA rating systems

Abstract: With an urban population exceeding that of the entire USA, India has two systems for encouraging environmentally sustainable growth for its rapidly growing urban population. Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)-India is associated with the internationally known LEED program, which is administered in India by the Indian Green Business Council. Meanwhile, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy and The Energy and Resource Institute (TERI) developed GRIHA (the Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment). This indigenous green building standard is similar to the LEED system in recognizing development that meets certain environmental and sustainable development practices. This paper seeks to provide an overview of the LEED-India and GRIHA programs and examine the spatial dynamics of projects developed under LEED-India and GRIHA requirements. In the end, this analysis will provide important insight into these two competing urban sustainability programs in India and begin a discussion of the...

Evaluating the effectiveness of agricultural adaptation to climate change in preindustrial society

Abstract: The effectiveness of agricultural adaptation determines the vulnerability of this sector to climate change, particularly during the preindustrial era. However, this effectiveness has rarely been quantitatively evaluated, specifically at a large spatial and long-term scale. The present study covers this case of preindustrial society in AD 1500–1800. Given the absence of technological innovations in this time frame, agricultural production was chiefly augmented by cultivating more land (land input) and increasing labor input per land unit (labor input). Accordingly, these two methods are quantitatively examined. Statistical results show that within the study scale, land input is a more effective approach of mitigating climatic impact than labor input. Nonetheless, these observations collectively improve Boserup's theory from the perspective of a large spatial and long-term scale.

Golden sun, green economy: market security and the US/EU-China ‘solar trade war’

Abstract: China's solar manufacturing and R&D industry has developed rapidly since 2000: by 2010, 40% of the world's solar panels were manufactured in China. This has occurred as a result of strategic government economic planning, which has included concerns about energy security, energy diversity, and about the stimulation of a renewables-based green economy. The growth of China's solar industry has been marked since 2011 by what has come to be termed a “Solar Trade War” between the EU, the USA and China. The paper analyzes the heterogeneous framing of China's solar energy industry by corporate, nongovernmental and government actors in the USA and European Union. In so doing, the paper aims to critically investigate the production of specific market knowledge(s) that are not only instrumental and rational, but based on often-contradictory discursive constructions of an apparently merely technological and economic phenomenon such as the production of solar modules.

“Logalization”: local–global processes and the Shiling leather industrial district in Guangzhou, China

Abstract: Much of the research on industrialization in less developed countries like China focus on top-down globalization processes associated with foreign direct investment from transnational corporations. This paper attempts to augment that literature with greater attention for bottom-up processes, which are also important in China. This case study of the Shiling leather industrial district was chosen because of the importance of bottom-up initiated local processes that began independently of global forces, yet evolved to become tied into larger processes of globalization: a process we term “logalization”. Our conceptual framework is illustrated using our general model of how this kind of industrial district links into the world market; it includes the importance of “regional structure” comprising not just the industrial district itself but also wholesale markets as well as trade fairs that connect industrial production into the global economy. We examine how the Shiling industrial district was initiated by loca...

The role of geographical proximity in the establishment and development of science parks –evidence from Nanjing, China

Abstract: The emergence of science parks is a relatively new phenomenon in China. Apart from the widely debated topics of university–industry linkages, collaboration among firms and spontaneous/policy-driven science parks, the development of science parks in China also has several distinguishing characteristics, such as their ambiguous linkage with urban expansion and their hierarchical structuring pattern. This paper attempts to discuss the motivation and efficiency of spatial proximity in science park development and to explore the role of universities in science parks, the function of science parks as a government project and a case study of location choice by on-site firms. The qualitative analysis, based on in-depth interviews with tenant firm managers and district-level government officers in Jiangning, Nanjing, is used as a basis for discussion.

The K-Strategy: strategic social capital for urban competitiveness

Abstract: Social capital is a key factor of knowledge-based processes, contributing in particular to urban competitiveness, which globalization has put in focus. In spite of this, such fundamental aspects of social capital as norms and values have largely escaped the focus of strategic management. This paper aims to show that the K-Strategy framework encapsulates social norms and personal values strategically engineered by South Korea in order to industrialize successfully. We draw on the existing literature on the engineering of norms and values in South Korea and their contribution to that country's economic success. We find that the Speed, Diligence, and Goal-orientation sub-dimensions of K-Strategy capture important components of South Korean social capital. Particularly, Diligence was the object of strategic implementation by the South Korean government and directly contributed to South Korea's economic success. Our findings do not cover all the dimensions of the K-Strategy, are limited to a single country, an...

Understanding needs and Ascribed Quality of life – through maternal factors – infant mortality dialectic

Abstract: In this paper Needs theory is being redefined as the foundation block of the Quality of life (Qol) structure and as a starting point in the lexicon of Qol philosophies. It is argued that the elementary and the most important characteristic to define Qol is always the needs-based approach – through its merging with the means-end dialectic. Keeping this epistemology intact, Ascribed Qol (aQol) is defined as that Qol which transfuses from mother to her child by meeting the needs of a mother and through that meeting the needs of her child. Also, the disjuncture between global and local estimations is highlighted, reflecting on its implications for policy prescriptions. Referring to Mosley–Chen's framework for child survival, empirical study has been made for eight socially and demographically backward states (EAG (Empowered Action Group) states) of India to justify the idea of aQol. The OLS technique and geographically weighted regression, using the data from the Annual Health Survey, 2010–2011, were used for...