The Recession and the New Economy of the West: The Familiar Boom and Bust Cycle?

The U.S. West has gone through many periods of economic boom and bust, most of which were associated with rapid rises and declines in commodity markets. The recent structural shift toward a primarily service‐based economy begs the question of whether the driving forces behind the cycles of boom and bust also may be shifting away from commodities toward people and their resources. This paper explores several factors that contributed to growth in the 1990s and 2000s: asking whether these factors created any advantages or disadvantages during the most recent recession and whether the shift away from commodity production to a knowledge‐ and human capital‐intensive economy has implications for how local areas experience the boom–bust cycle.     

Biological Character and Nutritional Value of The New Breed of Pannisetum Pureum

The new breed of pennisetum pureum tropical forage grass has been cultured which is accustomed to the sub tropic climate condition via introduction and choosing of hybridization. The new breed is not only excellent in growing property and mass production, which is about one time higher than the same kind of tropical forage grass, but also has a strong adaptability. It has a good anti adversity fastness and can live through the winter in the sub tropic region of China. It has a strong ability of keeping the soil and water on the earth. It is indicated from the analysis of nutritional ingredient that the content of protein and dry substance is much higher than the same kind of tropical forage grass. It is a new kind of high quality forage grass which has very high exploitable value when we consider the production, nutrition, ingredients, fastness of pennistetum pureum.     

Measuring development through public policy evaluation? The case of the North Province in New Caledonia

Policies designed for sustainable development are becoming ever more complex and ambiguous. Assessments should thus incorporate development representations and values, rather than only relying on economic and financial normative indicators. This paper proposes a conceptual framework that acknowledges the plurality of the various stakeholders' viewpoints. We suggest that evaluation of grassroots development policies could provide an innovative and more integrative way to measure development by broadening the scope to encompass both livelihood and welfare dimensions. Based on the assessment of a development scheme in New Caledonia, we argue that this cognitive and shared approach could be used to obtain a contextualised measurement of development. Two conditions further strengthen this approach: combining the use of different types of measurement tools, and adopting a rigorous quantitative measurement approach, in line with the collective representations. This promising approach may be applied to gain insight into the ability of implemented policies to address local development choices.     

A New Pricing Contract of EPC General Contract： The Application of Target Contract

Due to very large scale of general contract projects, the scope of projects is always uncertain when the contractor bids and the difference between the planned and actual volumes of projects is very large. If a lump sum contract is used to establish the price, contractors thus must take high risks. The contract price is always high, and both owners and contractors show unwillingness to optimize technology under lump sum contract conditions. Owners are inclined to extend the norm and scope of projects. Such situations may result in additional costs. As a new pricing contract, a target contract fits the situation when project scope is not fully defined or the forecasting risks are high. Such a contract can bring both sides enthusiasm for technology optimization and substantially reduces project cost. Therefore, a target contract is suitable for EPC general contract pricing.     

Towards post‐neoliberalism? The comparative politico‐economic transition of New Zealand and Chile

Abstract: This paper compares the evolution of the dominant politico‐economic paradigm over the past 80 years in two ‘resource periphery’ nation states that have become ‘models’ of economic reform, New Zealand and Chile. Analysing the forces that have driven change, it traces the shared transition from a neoclassical model, through structuralist/Keynesian principles, and on to neoliberalism. The paper discusses whether the contemporary convergence around neostructural policy represents a paradigm shift or an adaptation of the neoliberal model designed to sustain free‐market principles in a form that is acceptable to electorates. The paper concludes that the broad commonalities in the transitions are remarkable and come about as a result of shared external shocks as well as similar historical insertions into the global political economy. Notwithstanding the parallels, the comparative approach reminds us of the contingent unfolding of economic paradigms across space, a point that counters arguments that assert that neoliberalism, and the globalisation to which it gives rise, create a homogenous global political economy. This comparative study is timely, as the two countries have recently signed a bilateral strategic trade partnership. This agreement indicates continued pursuit of neoliberal agendas in both countries rather than, as respective governments have heralded it, a move to foster South–South cooperation.     

I,River?: New materialism,riparian non‐human agency and the scale of democratic reform

This article is a discussion of the “discourse on the unthinkable” surrounding potential future democratic engagements with rivers as non‐human persons or natural objects. In the context of the Asia–Pacific region, this article suggests that the developments in material philosophy entitled “new materialism” are essential tools in the reconceptualisation of rivers as democratic entities but that local socio‐historical conditions must also be taken into the account. In order to make its case, the article not only surveys the context for considering rivers as non‐human persons in a juridical context but also discusses the new material context that assists modern democracies in the renegotiation of the demos that forms the body politic of democracy – often in the face of neoliberal exploitation and a legacy of extremes in instrumentalism. The article argues that the incorporation of water in the democratic project of enfranchisement is an essential exercise born of many Western beliefs and ideals but articulated uniquely at a regional and national level.     

Location Determinants of New Firms: Does Skill Level of Human Capital Really Matter?

This paper is about the role played by the stock of human capital on location decisions of new manufacturing plants. I analyse the effect of several skill levels (from basic school to PhD) on decisions about the location of plants in various industries and, therefore, of different technological levels. I also test whether spatial aggregation level biases the results and determines the most appropriate areas to be considered in the analyses of these phenomena. My main statistical source is the Register of Manufacturing Establishments of Catalonia, which has plant‐level microdata on the locations of new manufacturing plants.     

Creativity and Inequality: The Dual Path of China's Urban Economy?

Utilizing Chinese data for the years of 1998, 2000, 2005, and 2008, this research traces the growth of the creative economy and the enlarging income inequality in China's urban economy. While the creative sector now makes up close to 30 percent of China's urban private employment, industry‐based earnings disparity has also increased substantively. Provinces with larger creative economy also tend to have higher level of wage inequality among workers of the creative sector, the working sector, and the service sector. Several other factors, especially internal migration flow, size of manufacturing, and ownership structure in local economy, are found to be significantly linked to inequality as well.     

Something New or More of the Same in the Bidding Wars for Big Business?

The economic downturn that began in 2007–2008 was blamed by some commentators on neoliberalism and pro‐business policies. So we might expect U.S. state and local governments to have responded with policy changes affecting their neoliberal economic development strategies. Based on this assumption, this paper is a theoretically informed examination of recent high‐profile bidding wars in Wisconsin. The highest profile example was in 2009 when General Motors chose a plant in Michigan over Wisconsin and Tennessee for a new small car line. Wisconsin's Commerce Secretary characterized Michigan's $1.2 billion incentive offer as “absolutely crazy” (compared with his state's $409 million offer!). My main research question is how have Wisconsin state and local governments adjusted their neoliberal economic development efforts in these bidding wars given the recent economic downturn and weak economy? This paper uses the largest incentive offers in Wisconsin during the tenure of the current and previous state governors within the context of ten themes drawn from the literature to problematize the neoliberal policy of bidding for big business. It concludes by considering the implications for economic development policies.     

YADE, a New Method for PCR Walking of Genomic DNA and cDNA in Cotton

The isolation of flanking sequences is a crucialstep in the study of gene cloning and expression.On the basis of Y-shaped adaptor(Prashar andWeissman,1996),we designed a new methodwhich could be used to amplify the flankingregion from both genomic DNA and cDNA.Thismethod was designated as Y-shaped adaptordependent extesion(YADE).The schematic ofthis method is showed in fig.1.     

The Harmony of Cap- tassels Graph M(2m+ 1,t,G)

This paper propored a concept of cap- tassels graph and illustrated that M(2m+ 1,t,G) is harmonious when n=2m+ 1 and G is strong harmonious.     

How do timing,duration, and intensity of drought stress affect the agronomic performance of winter rye?

Winter rye (Secale cereale L.) will be especially affected by drought induced yield losses in Central and Eastern Europe in the future because it is predominantly cultivated on low-fertile soils with a poor water-holding capacity. In order to examine the performance of winter rye under different drought conditions, field experiments were carried out during the years 2011, 2012, and 2013 near Braunschweig, Germany. Two sets of genotypes were tested under severe, mild, pre-anthesis, and post-anthesis drought stress in rain-out shelters as well as under rainfed and well-watered conditions. The grain, straw, and total above ground biomass yields, harvest index, grain yield components, leaf area index (LAI), and phenological characteristics were examined, as well as phenotypic correlations between grain yield and further characteristics. Drought induced grain yield reduction ranged from 14 to 57%, while straw yield and harvest index were lesser affected by drought than the grain yield. Under drought conditions, fully ripe was reached up to twelve days earlier than under non water-limited conditions. Pre-anthesis drought mainly reduced spikes m⁻² and kernels spike⁻¹ while drought during grain filling reduced the 1000-kernel weight (TKW) only. The grain yield was positively associated with straw yield, spikes m⁻², and kernels spike⁻¹ under water limited conditions while the TWK was only positively associated with grain yield under drought during grain filling. Consequently, high pre-anthesis biomass as well as high numbers of spikes m⁻² and kernels spike⁻¹ are especially important for obtaining high grain yields under water-limited conditions. Focusing on these traits is, therefore, recommendable for developing drought tolerant rye genotypes.     

Does Shale Energy Development Mean More Crime? The Case of the Bakken Oil Boom

The rise and fall of shale oil production in recent years have led to tremendous economic growth and challenges to shale communities in the U.S. In this study, we attempt to address the inconsistent results in previous studies and shed light on the relationship between rural crimes and shale oil development at the Bakken using county‐level data for Montana and North Dakota from 2000 through 2014. Our results indicated statistically significant evidence of increased aggravated assaults, burglaries, larcenies, and motor vehicle thefts in shale‐oil producing counties during the boom. However, the regression results suggest that the rise in certain violent crime, such as murder, rape, and robbery, is not statistically attributable to the shale oil boom or oil activity, but to increased population in the two states. The crime effect of the boom also grew larger especially after 2008. The results point to some evidence of social disruption in rural communities undergoing rapid shale oil development. More importantly, the Bakken's crime experience also suggests a number of critical needs for shale energy regions nationwide.     

Does virtual discussion of a retail space affect the economic outcomes of the retail stores? The dynamics among retail environment,economic performances,and the perceived characteristics of the traditional retail markets by bloggers in Seoul

Using texts from online blogs, this study aimed to analyze the effect of perceived characteristics of a place in the virtual space and their influence on its economic performance. Specifically, this study analyzed old retail space (traditional markets) in Seoul by empirically examining the relationship among the perceived characteristics, economic performances, and the physical and operative conditions of the markets’ facilities. The perceived characteristics by the bloggers were analyzed by the text-mining of the blog posts. Next, the associations among the multiple factors including the perceived characteristics, economic measures, were analyzed by PLS-SEM. Three types of characteristics were found from the texts: (a) value shopping, (b) novelty & food, and (c) affective sentiments. Among them, novelty & food have significant positive effects on annual sales growth and the vacancy reduction rates of the markets. The improved physical condition also had a positive direct effect on annual sales growth, which can be partially explained by its positive mediating effects on Novelty & Food. The operating condition had no significant relationship with the perceived characteristics but had significant effects on the four economic measures. The results imply that renovation projects could diminish certain characteristics of the space (i.e., affective sentiments), but it enhanced other place characteristics (i.e., food and novelty) following economic gains.     

The Extraction,Isolation and the Composition of Polysaccharides From Ganoderma Apparatus and Poria Cocos

This paper reports that the crude polysaccharides were extracted with hot water and precipitated with alcohol from the fruitbody of mushroom Ganoderma apparatus and Poria cocos. The free proteins were removed from crude polysaccharides by sevag method, and then the polysaccharides were isolated and purified by Sephadex G-15 gel column chromatography. Each three pure polysaccharides (Ga-1,Ga-2,Ga-3 and Pc-1,Pc-2,Pc-3) were obtained by precipitating with different concentration alcohol. By using the method of TLC, we proved that three fractions of Ganoderma apparatus polysaccharides are composed of glucose (Glu), arabinose (Ara), mannose (Man), fructose(Fru),et al. and the three fractions of Poria cocos polysaccharides are composed of glucose (Glu), mannose (Man) and ribose (Rib),et al.     

What matters for lagging regions? The role of self-employment and industrial diversity in distressed areas

Previous research suggests that having more self-employed or entrepreneurs can contribute to higher levels of economic growth in distressed areas. Additionally, self-employment in certain industries may be more beneficial to growth. Other research has linked industrial diversity to entrepreneurship and regional growth, especially in urban areas. However, the relationship between industrial diversity, self-employment, and growth in lagging or distressed regions is less clear. To examine these linkages in distressed areas, we first identify a group of distressed counties based on historic data. Then, using detailed industry-level self-employment data, we appraise whether having more self-employed from certain industries is associated with regional growth. We also analyze the relationship between industrial diversity and overall growth and the propensity to be self-employed. The results suggest that having more self-employment overall and in some key industries is associated with more employment growth in distressed counties. We also find that the relationship between economic diversity and self-employment varies by industry and region.     

The development of females of the potato root eelworm, (Heterodera rostochiensis Woll.) on ‘tuber-pieces’ of susceptible and resistant potatoes

A method is described for determining the degree of resistance shown by potatoes to a non-aggressive biotype of the potato root eelworm, Heterodera rostochiensis Woll., using tuber slices inoculated with H. rostochiensis larvae. The degree of resistance assessed by this method was found to agree well with the results obtained by root screening. The tuber piece method of testing for resistance could be used when root screening is impracticable or in conjunction with it.     

The Impact of Migration on Social Capital: Do Migrants Take Their Bowling Balls with Them?

Questions surrounding the impact of population migration on social capital is the focus of this study. Putnam observed that “for people as for plants, frequent repotting disrupts root systems. It takes time for a mobile individual to put down new roots.” However, because of a trending decrease in mobility over time, Putnam rules out migration as an explanation for the long‐term decline in social capital that was the subject of his widely read 1995 book Bowling Alone: America's Declining Social Capital. This study undertakes an empirical examination of the impact of migration on county‐level social capital, which in tribute to Putnam one might view as an attempt to answer the question—do migrants take their bowling balls with them when they move? The potential for county‐level migration of population to impact social capital levels at particular locations in space arises from the conventional argument that social capital promotes trust and cooperation among agents. This trust increases socially efficient collective action but requires investment in relationships and commitment of scarce resources to build social capital. It seems plausible that migration of population might have a negative impact on the stock of social capital by interfering with trust and cooperation among agents. However, it is also possible that migrants may take their social capital with them to new places of residence. In other words, the propensity to join social and civic organizations might reflect inherent traits of individuals who are willing to make commitments of their resources to building social capital in any community where they reside.