In the Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Napoleon, Marx remarks that history repeats itself, so to spe... more In the Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Napoleon, Marx remarks that history repeats itself, so to speak, twice: the first time as tragedy, the second as farce. The events in Fiji of May-July 2000 would tend to exemplify this dictum. One coup is bad enough, but three in thirteen years staggers the imagination. This collection is not an academic analysis of these events, their origins, processes and impacts. Rather, the contributors to this volume simply reflect, often in the heat of the moment, on what the coup meant to them. The contributors are Fijians of all stripes as well as others who take an interest in the country. They express themselves in statements, speeches, essays and laments. Many overseas people familiar with Fiji are dismayed and disillusioned with the events in that country. Many contribute pieces to newspapers or the internet. The majority are critical, praying for an early resolution of the crisis. They are moving in their sincerity, eloquent and anguished in their tone. This volume of essays contains a sample, but only a small sample, of these responses. They were written when the Fiji crisis was in full swing. The hostages were still in the parliamentary complex, and George Speight was a regular sight on our television screens. Since then, academic analyses have appeared, focusing on the larger political and electoral issues that underpinned the crisis. More will assuredly come as the dust settles and people attempt to make sense of the madness that so dramatically engulfed their lives. Editors inspect what they get, not get what they expect, a colleague reminded us as we grappled with the balance of perspective reflected in this collection. As it happens, the overwhelming bulk of the published commentary on the Fijian crisis was critical of the events. Our effort ix x to solicit contrary perspectives was not as fruitful as we would have liked. This is regrettable, but that is the way things are. There is enough here to give the reader a fair sense of the issues on all sides of the political divide. The strength of this collection lies in its contemporaneity, catching unprocessed voices as the events were unfolding in Fiji. Many pieces are straight from the heart, expressing bewilderment, frustration, anger and anguish. They are partial, in both senses of the word. As they have to be. Nonetheless, they will form an indispensable building block of a future interpretative edifice. The collection is offered to the readers in that spirit.
Within the past few decades the number of programmes that provide small-scale finance to the poor... more Within the past few decades the number of programmes that provide small-scale finance to the poor has increased dramatically and these programmes have been acclaimed as contributing to poverty reduction. Microfinance has almost exclusively been provided in the form of loans; very few programmes have used grants. Yet many small businesses established in developed countries rely on some form of equity capital to fund business startups. The success of start-up grants and equity financing in developed countries suggests that this method of microenterprise finance might also be applicable in developing countries. In some situations grants may be superior to credit programmes. Micro-grants are comparable to venture capital in that the decision making process about whom to fund is similar in both cases. Both venture capitalists in the developed world and grantgiving agencies in developing countries aim to target their support to entrepreneurs who are likely to succeed in business. Unlike venture capital in which the financier receives a share of the enterprise’s profits grants provide capital to potential entrepreneurs in developing countries without any expectation of a share in the ownership or profits of the business. Instead grant agencies seek to increase the social equity of the local community and its sustainability and independence from continued overseas aid. The advantages of grants include reduced risk to the borrower (because no repayment is required) and reduced transaction costs to the donor. Given these factors grant-based finance is often able to reach the poorest members of the population. (excerpt)
Abstract Following the closure of the Black Angel lead-zinc mine in Greenland and as a result of ... more Abstract Following the closure of the Black Angel lead-zinc mine in Greenland and as a result of problems in the fishing industry, the possibility of developing the assumed mineral wealth of the country has gained renewed interest. This interest has been expressed through the efforts made to create an attractive regulatory framework for exploration and mining investment. A new mining act for Greenland and new tax legislation applicable only to mineral projects was enacted in spring 1991. The next step is exploration, primarily by foreign investors, followed by development and mining of new discoveries. Assuming that discoveries of mineable deposits are made and developed, mineral revenues will accrue to Greenland. The paper examines options for managing mineral revenues in light of general economic conditions in Greenland and of experiences in Alaska and Canada.
The developmental scholar André Gunder Frank has constructed a model to explain regional underdev... more The developmental scholar André Gunder Frank has constructed a model to explain regional underdevelopment within developed nations. Underdevelopment is defined as the inability to control the rents from local resources and limited input into political decision making. The model is based on the concepts of metropolis and satellite, the satellite being a region that is politically, socially, and economically dependent on the metropolis. Frank applies this concept to the Brazilian Amazon as a satellite of southeastern Brazil and concludes that the Amazon region has underdeveloped due to the abrupt entry and withdrawal of capitalist investment. This article applies the Frank model to the Canadian North as a satellite of southern Canada and, using the historical examples of the fur trade, the Klondike gold rush, and the whaling and petroleum booms, concludes by noting that the entry and collapse of capitalist investment in the Canadian Arctic has led to a similar form of underdevelopment or dependency in that region. Underdevelopment and dependency in both regions are seen as a result of the collapse of economic, and primarily resource extraction, booms. Key words: northern development, underdevelopment, dependency, Andrd Gunder Frank, colonialism, fur trade, Klondike gold rush, natural resources, politics RÉSUMÉ. Andrt Gunder Frank, le spécialiste en dtveloppement, a construit un modble qui explique le sous-dtveloppement régional àl'intérieur des pays dtveloppés. Par sous-développement, on entend l'incapacité de contdler la location des ressources de l'endroit et le manque d'influence dans la prise de dtcisions au niveau politique. A la base du modble se trouvent les concepts de métropole et de satellite, ce dernier étant une région qui, au plan politique, social et Cconomique, est dépendante de la mttropole. Frank applique ce concept P l'Amazone bdsilienne en faisant de cette zone un satellite du sud-est du Brésil, et il en conclut que la kgion amazonienne est restte sous-dtveloppée Pcause de l'arrivée et du retrait brutaux des investissements de capitaux. Cet article applique le modble de Frank au Grand Nord canadien, faisant de cette zone le satellite du Canada mtridional. Exemples historiques à l'appui (commerce des foumtres, rute vers l'or du Klondike, apogée de la @Che àla baleine et boom du pétrole), il conclut en soulignant que l'arrivée et l'effondrement des investissements de capitaux dans l'Arctique canadien, y ont provoqut une forme semblable de sous-développement ou de dépendance. Dans les deux dgions, on peut voir le sous-développement et la dtpendance comme le rtsultat de l'effondrement de booms tconomiques, surtout celui de l'extraction des ressources. Mots clts: déveloomment du Grand Nord. sous-déveloomment. déwndance, A n & Gunder Frank, colonialisme, commerce des fourrures, ruée vers .. l'or du Klondike,'iessources naturelles, phitiques , .
The Resource Management in Asia-Pacific Working Paper series seeks to provide readers with access... more The Resource Management in Asia-Pacific Working Paper series seeks to provide readers with access to current research on environmental and resource issues in the Asia-Pacific. Working Papers produced by the Program aim to facilitate discussion and debate on critical resource management issues in the area, and to link scholars working in different disciplines and regions. Publication as a 'Working Paper' does not preclude subsequent publication in scholarly journals or books, indeed it may facilitate publication by providing feedback from readers to authors. Unless otherwise stated, publications of the Resource Management in Asia-Pacific Program are presented without endorsement as contributions to the public record debate. Authors are responsible for their own analysis and conclusions.
This paper analyses changes in corporate environmental reporting practices among large Finnish fi... more This paper analyses changes in corporate environmental reporting practices among large Finnish firms in the past five years. Using content analysis of annual reports, we analyzed the willingness of firms to disclose environmental information in the years 1987 and 1992. Our sample consisted of 75 Finnish corporations drawn from the largest firms in the most environmentally sensitive industries. Our results indicate marked changes in environmental reporting practices between 1987 and 1992. In 1987, slightly over one quarter of the firms analysed disclosed environmental information in their annual reports, while in 1992 this number had risen to nearly one half of firms. Most of this disclosure was in qualitative, rather than in quantitative or financial, form. The results arc consistent with earlier studies, which indicated that enviromnental reporting was a feature of firms in certain industrial Sectors. We conclude by noting the influence of environmentalism on Finnish corporate environmental reporting, policy and accounting practice. Corporate social and environmental reporting are not new phenomena. The willingness of corporations to report social impacts has been addressed in a number of studies (
welcomes you to the 75 th annual meeting of the Southeastern Division of the American Association... more welcomes you to the 75 th annual meeting of the Southeastern Division of the American Association of Geographers (SEDAAG)! The conference will take place from November 22-23, 2020 1 at the Marriott Shoals Hotel and Spa (which you can see, with its distinctive Renaissance Tower, on the left of the cover photo), and will be hosted by the Department of Geography at the University of North Alabama. Florence is located on the Tennessee River in the far northwest corner of Alabama, and together with the three neighboring cities of Tuscumbia, Sheffield, and Muscle Shoals, it comprises the Shoals Region, also known as the Muscle Shoals Region or the Quad Cities. The combined population of these four cities is about 80,000. Muscle Shoals has a small airport with commercial propeller plane service from Atlanta, but most locals fly in and out of Huntsville, which is about one hour away. Nashville and Birmingham airports are both about two hours away. Evidence of Native American inhabitation of the region goes back to at least 500 BCE, when the Florence Indian Mound, also known as Wawamanona, was constructed (Steen n.d.). The mound is still standing and can be visited along with the Florence Indian Mound Museum. Chickasaw, Cherokee, and Yuchi were among the Indigenous Peoples of the region. Many were removed to Oklahoma during the Trail of Tears from 1830-50, but many remained, and some have returned. The Wall, built by Tom Hendrix as a memorial to his Yuchi great-great grandmother, Te-lah-ney, commemorates her harrowing and arduous return home from exile. A hand-built rock wall, it is the largest monument to a Native American woman, and can be visited on a short trip outside Florence. The city of Florence was founded in 1818 and served as the transshipment point for traffic between the upper and lower parts of the Tennessee River. The Muscle Shoals were an obstacle to river traffic, a problem ultimately solved in the early twentieth century by the construction of Wilson Dam (1918-24), which raised the water level and replaced an earlier, less successful canal detour (Davidson 1946). Wilson Dam (which you can see on the right of the cover photo), the first of the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) dams, also provides hydropower and attracted the aluminum processing industry to the area. Today Lauderdale County, where Florence is located, and neighboring Colbert County, have both an agricultural (corn, cotton, soybeans, chickens) base as well as an industrial one. During and preceding the Civil War, Florence was a temporary home to Dred Scott, Nathan Bedford Forrest, John Bell Hood, and William T. Sherman, who used the current Geography building, Wesleyan Hall (built in 1855, Figure 1), as his headquarters, and his journals written there contain the famous phrase "War is hell" (McDonald 1991).
and the Arctic Centre I am delighted to welcome you, distinguished delegates from 15 countries, t... more and the Arctic Centre I am delighted to welcome you, distinguished delegates from 15 countries, to Lapland, to Rovaniemi, and to the 13th Polar Libraries Colloquy. We are happy that so many of you have responded to our invitation. We have done our best to make this week comfortable and successful for you. The first Colloquy was exploratory-was it a good idea? Would these librarians have anything in common to discuss?-and was planned by a committee under the chairmanship of Mr. R.S. Jamieson, the Assistant Director of BINS. Invitations were sent to representative librarians enclosing a questionnaire to be completed regarding their library's resources. These completed questionnaires formed the basis for the Northern Libraries Directory , the first edition of which was later compiled by Nora Corley Murchison. Responses indicated that the idea was viable, and twenty-three librarians (16 from Canada, 3 from Alaska, 3 from the Lower 48, and 1 from England) attended. Notable among the attendees were Marie Tremaine, founder of the Arctic Bibliography, Harry Ki ng from the Scott Polar Research Institute (SPRI), and Willie Makiuk , an Inuk who was in charge of the library at Canadian Armed Forces Northern Region Headquarters in Yellowknife. As the two days of sessions were very fruitful, it was decided to continue the meetings annually and to begin a newsletter. Phyllis N~ttingham (now DeMuth), then with the Alaska State Library 1n Juneau, volunteered to be responsible for the newsletter (Northern Libraries Bulletin) and remained editor and coordinator until 1987 when she retired. The second meeting was held the following June at the u.s. Army Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL) facility in Hanover , New Hampshire. The date was chosen to allow participants the opportunity to continue on to the SLA conference which was held in Boston that year. This time there were 37 participants, but again the only non-North American was Harry King from SPRI. However, the third meeting (June, 1973) saw much more European involvement as it was held at SPRI in Cambridge, England. In all there were 49
Maritime dependency and economic prosperity: Why access to oceanic trade matters
Marine Policy, Nov 1, 2020
Abstract Maritime trade and access to deep-water territory are important when determining a count... more Abstract Maritime trade and access to deep-water territory are important when determining a country's economic success. Today, as much as 75% of international trade takes place over water due to the fuel efficiency of seaborne freight and worldwide dependency on water as a means of transportation. Issues in economic geography such as being landlocked and maritime trade are directly related to global development patterns. A country's ability to participate in international trade and transport goods overseas is integral in the modern global economy. Maritime dependency is the ability of a country to participate in maritime trade as determined by their geographic access to international waters and trade dependency. Access to maritime shipping and global participation in maritime trade is key to attracting global capital. This study explores the relationship between five major factors in maritime dependency and economic prosperity. Findings suggest a significant relationship between maritime dependency and gross domestic product (GDP) per capita. Results from this analysis were indexed and an Index of Maritime Dependency was created and mapped to display the geographical distribution of maritime dependency.
The meaning of marginality: Interpretations and perceptions in social science
Social Science Journal, Jun 1, 2000
... Ferguson, R. (1990). Introduction: Invisible Center. In R. Ferguson, M. Gever, TT Minh-ha, an... more ... Ferguson, R. (1990). Introduction: Invisible Center. In R. Ferguson, M. Gever, TT Minh-ha, and C. West (Eds.), Out There: Marginalization and Contemporary Cultures (pp. 9–14). New York: The New Museum of Modern Art. Gade, O., Editor, , 1992. ...
... par Benedict Anderson: ce sont des lieux qui présentent les caractéristiques déterminantes d&... more ... par Benedict Anderson: ce sont des lieux qui présentent les caractéristiques déterminantes d'un nationalité et ... Mount Rushmore acts as a national icon. ... For example, Thomas Jefferson saw dinosaurs as patriotic representations of America and its scientific superiority to Europe. ...
Many northern regions of North America have come to rely heavily on extraction of non-renewable r... more Many northern regions of North America have come to rely heavily on extraction of non-renewable resources for their income, at the expense of traditional land-based economies. Such extraction leads to boom and bust income, destructive to long-term planning for sustainable development. Natural resource trust funds, as exemplified in Alberta, Alaska, Montana, Wyoming and New Mexico, would help to provide the stability that is currently lacking in Yukon and the Northwest Territories. Maintained by setting aside part of the current income from non-renewable resources, they yield capital and income that can be used to encourage the mixed, self-sustaining local communities appropriate for the North. Contents Introduction Evolution of sustainable development Natural resource trust funds Using NRTFs in the North Conclusion References
Underdeveloping the Arctic: Dependency, Development, and Environmental Control
The Canadian Arctic is an underdeveloped region within a developed nation. In many respects — eco... more The Canadian Arctic is an underdeveloped region within a developed nation. In many respects — economic dependence, a resource-based economy, limited political power, and ecological damage, among others — the Arctic shares common characteristics with other underdeveloped, often ‘Third World’, regions. The causes of arctic underdevelopment are complex, but have traditionally been analysed solely in economic or political terms. This paper considers this underdevelopment in economic, political and ecological terms, aspects which have been combined in the emerging theoretical framework of ‘sustainable development’.
RENEWING THE WEALTH OF NATIONS This thesis explores how capital flows are linked to economic deve... more RENEWING THE WEALTH OF NATIONS This thesis explores how capital flows are linked to economic development and proposes an alternative pathway to enhancing livelihoods in the marginal spaces of the global economy, drawing on examples from North America and the Pacific. Mainstream theories of development are largely based on European and North American examples, and argue for a progression of developmental stages from agriculture to industry to services, based on a flow of capital from core to periphery. Such theories are not place-specific, and do not reflect the particular conditions of remote and marginal places. In the peripheral spaces of the global economy, investment opportunities may be limited. An alternative practice is to invest outside the region of capital generation, through the mechanism of a trust fund. I argue that local development can be achieved through investing in global financial markets, in core countries, rather than at the site of capital generation. In this way, local development is not limited to the marginal place where the benefits are to be felt; peripheral capital instead flows into the core to seek out the best investment opportunities. The local development process becomes differently spatialized by engaging global financial markets. Capital generated in the periphery often comes in temporary streams, or windfalls, and benefits decline when the resource is depleted. Such non-renewable resources can be transformed into renewable fiscal ones when capital generated i Table of Contents ABSTRACT i TABLE OF CONTENTS iii LIST OF TABLES, MAPS, AND FIGURES v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS vi MAP ix CHAPTER 1 RETHINKING DEVELOPMENT 1 Introduction 1 Global development 5 Local development 16 Reversing the flow and renewing the wealth 29 Outline of the thesis 32 CHAPTER 2 TRUST FUNDS AND WINDFALL REVENUES 34 Introduction 34 Direct use of windfall revenues 37 Indirect use of windfall revenues 40 Trusts 44 Trust funds 51 Distributing benefits 63 Conclusion 66 CHAPTER 3 COMPARING SIX CASES: A NOTE ON METHOD 68 Introduction 68 Research techniques and constraints 75 Evaluating the cases 84 iii iv CHAPTER 4 ALBERTA 87 Introduction 87 Alberta political economy 91 Province-building as a development strategy 97 The consequences of province-building 100 Origins and objectives of the Alberta Heritage Savings Trust Fund 106 Fund operations, management, and investment 109 Conclusion 132 CHAPTER 5 ALASKA 135 Introduction 135 Alaska political economy 139 Origins and objectives of the Alaska Permanent Fund 145 Fund operations, management, and investment 154 Conclusion 182 CHAPTER 6 OCEANIA: KIRIBATI, NAURU, TONGA, AND TUVALU 185 Many people helped in the writing of this thesis. Undoubtedly I have forgotten to mention several of those who helped: my apologies to those people! First and foremost, I thank my four supervisors-Katherine Gibson, Bryant Allen, Ronald Duncan, and Gerard Ward-without whom I could never have completed this thesis. Their constant good advice and motivation pushed me towards completion. I hope their guidance is evident here (but any errors in it are of course my own). I thank those who helped by allowing themselves to be interviewed, and who provided much useful information. In Alberta: Roger Gibbins, the late Hon.
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