Cities on and off the map: A bibliometric assessment of urban globalisation research

Growing out of writings on Global (North) cities, urban globalisation research (UGR) has expanded its canon to engage with an increasing diversity of cities and locations. Yet, this broadening has been uneven and controversial in its theoretical horizons and empirical universe. Focusing on the latter, this paper combines bibliometric, demographic, economic and georeferenced data to assess how UGR maps onto internationally documented cities ( n : 1692). Our study analyses city-themed publications by city location, demographic size and home-country income (2000–2014). Drawing on social science publications indexed in English (Scopus database), our results provide grounds for cautious optimism: recent publications offer broader, though still uneven coverage. The moving spatial average of publication counts also implies that the topical centre of published research gravity is shifting away from Euro-America. Yet, UGR lags in its coverage of the urban geographical universe, failing to keep pace with the economic/demographic trends that are resulting in southward/eastward shifts in worldwide urbanisation. Furthermore, while smaller cities and those in lower-income countries are still sidelined, cities in upper-middle income countries exhibit the largest gaps between observed and expected publication values. In our conclusion, we contend that urban bibliometrics could be further mobilised to identify publication foci and lacunae. Applied to cities on and off the map and a broader universe of urban knowledges, bibliometrics could help move contentious debates forward, identifying newer paradigms that may be engaging the world of cities beyond the globalisation umbrella and charting out multiple and complex topical relations across variegated worlds of urbanism

Mammal abundance varies with geochemical specialisation in the underlying rock formations.

There has been little research on how the composition of underlying rock formation affects animal species’ distribution and abundance. The subject is worthy of consideration as, for example, it has been shown that ultrabasic and serpentine rocks in particular can give rise to plant biodiversity hotspots with a high level of endemism. Corresponding studies of fauna are lacking. We aim to test the hypothesis that rock type affects mammal abundance and biodiversity. Here we present a comparative analysis of the abundance of mammals and its relationship with geological composition in the area of Gorny Altai, a mountainous region in Russia. We used GIS approaches to map the influence of rock types on mammal abundance, while holding other factors such as soil type, relief, etc. constant. The study reveals significant correlations between underlying geology and variation in mammal distribution even when other factors such as soil type, climate and vegetation are held constant. Intrusive rocks were found to have the greatest impact on variation in mammal distribution whereas sedimentary and metamorphic rocks have almost no effect. A characteristic feature of magmatic formations is their clear geochemical specialization, i.e. certain geochemical anomalies (Fe, Cu, Au, Hg, Ag, etc.) are confined to intrusions. We suggest that geophysical fields (magnetic and electric fields) and geochemical anomalies associated with intrusive rocks may have an impact on the distribution and species composition of mammals, as well as geodynamic processes such as fault activity. This finding has implications for further research into the phenomenon of animals’ anticipatory responses to earthquakes

Opportunities With Decay-At-Rest Neutrinos From Decay-In-Flight Neutrino Beams

Neutrino beam facilities, like spallation neutron facilities, produce copious quantities of neutrinos from the decay at rest of mesons and muons. The viability of decay-in-flight neutrino beams as sites for decay-at-rest neutrino studies has been investigated by calculating expected low-energy neutrino fluxes from the existing Fermilab NuMI beam facility. Decay-at-rest neutrino production in NuMI is found to be roughly equivalent per megawatt to that of spallation facilities, and is concentrated in the facility's target hall and beam stop regions. Interaction rates in 5 and 60 ton liquid argon detectors at a variety of existing and hypothetical locations along the beamline are found to be comparable to the largest existing decay-at-rest datasets for some channels. The physics implications and experimental challenges of such a measurement are discussed, along with prospects for measurements at targeted facilities along a future Fermilab long-baseline neutrino beam.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figure

AN ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF PRODUCTIVE EFFICIENCY IN ALBERTA DAIRY PRODUCTION

The World Trade Organization is currently formulating an agenda for a new round of global trade negotiations. Therefore, the likelihood of increased competition within Canada's supply managed dairy industry is probable. Consequently, there is agreater need for producers to be concerned with efficiency and with their competitiveness in the international marketplace. This study assessed the cost efficiency and competitiveness of Alberta dairy producers by estimating the economic costs associated with milk production, and deriving the physical and economic efficiency of producers. Results support the presence of economies of size and economies of yield within Alberta milk production. A link between increased herd size, labour productivity, and lower total labour costs was identified in the analysis.Productivity Analysis,