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Having formed at the end of the 20th century, the concept of spatial development retains its relevance today. Yet, it is associated with a range of problems with its practical implementation and theoretical vindication, especially at a regional level. Attaining sustainable regional development, understood as a steady progress balanced across the economy, social industries and environmental protection, has been deemed impossible without identifying and considering regional development factors, such as geographical and economic-geographical position, environmental conditions and their geographical diversity, natural resource and their location, spatial features of the economy and the settlement structure. Coastal regions are affected by sundry other factors, such as the presence of a seacoast, viewed as a special resource, access to maritime transport and the availability of marine resources, including renewable ones, which are essential for sustainable development. The geopolitical situation of a region and the components of this situation are considered as geopolitical factors. Other limitations include extreme natural processes and events (large waves, tsunamis, typhoons etc.) The article aims to show that an integral geographical system or a combination thereof covering a region should be considered as the most appropriate object for assessment, planning and management of sustainable development, which is based on regional nature management including water and land resources. It is proposed that sustainable development criteria include economic, social and environmental metrics of regional development. Strategic marine and spatial planning and the monitoring of regional environmental management and development are identified as principal tools for attaining and maintaining sustainable development.

Ziel des vorliegenden Beitrages ist es, verschiedene Formen digitaler Ungleichheit im Rahmen von Kollaborationsprozessen online zu untersuchen. Konkret analysieren wir digitale Ungleichheiten hinsichtlich der geografischen Herkunft von Editor*innen der Wikipedia. Der aktuelle Forschungsstand zeigt, dass Teilnehmer*innen aus Industrieländern hier besonders stark vertreten sind, während in anderen Regionen (insbesondere in sogenannten Entwicklungsländern) kaum Menschen teilnehmen. Die vorliegende Studie untersucht, wie sich die Autor*innengeographie in der Bearbeitung (Partizipation, Einfluss und Erfolg) von Artikeln zu den Unabhängigkeitsprozessen ehemaliger Kolonien in Afrika widerspiegelt. Die Analyse basiert auf insgesamt 354 Wikipedia-Artikeln. Anhand der Geolokalisierung von 75% der beteiligten Editor*innen (N = 23.408) zeigen wir, dass die meisten Bearbeitungen von Editor*innen aus Frankreich vorgenommen werden. Dieses Ungleichgewicht zeigt sich auch gemessen am gesamten Textanteil im Laufe der Zeit. Auf der Ebene der einzelnen Nutzer*innen lässt sich jedoch feststellen, dass Editor*innen aus Frankreich nur geringfügig erfolgreicher sind als jene aus den afrikanischen Nachfolgestaaten, wenn es um die längerfristige Sichtbarkeit ihrer Beiträge geht., The aim of the present paper is to examine different forms of digital divides that may occur during online collaboration. Specifically, we analyse digital inequalities regarding the geographical origin of editors active on Wikipedia. Existing evidence suggests a strong geographic bias among Wikipedia editors, as industrialized countries are strongly represented while others (especially developing countries) are virtually absent. The present study examines how editor geography is reflected in the editing of articles (participation, impact and success) about the independence of former French colonies in Africa. The analysis is based on 354 Wikipedia articles; by geolocating 75% of the editors (N = 23,408), we show that the majority of edits are made by users located in France. This imbalance is also reflected in the overall share of text they contribute over time. However, when looking at the individual user level, we find that editors from France are only slightly more successful in maintaining their contributions visible to the reader, than editors from African successor states.

The economic disadvantage of landlocked countries is well established in the literature(Faye et al, 2004). This paper investigates theeconomicimpact of landlockedness on convergence. The econometric analysis is carried out for three income groups and the time before and after the global financial crisis (GFC) of 2007/9. The quality of institutions, investment rate, landlockedness, international trading costsand trade openness are used as conditional variables. The time period under investigation is 1996 to 2016.This paper contributes to the debate between geography (Sachs, 2003) and institutions (Rodrik et al, 2004) as main obstacles for higher economic growth in landlocked countries.

Ecological deprivation indices at the level of spatial units are often used to measure and monitor inequalities in health despite the possibility of ecological fallacy. For the purpose of this study, the European Deprivation Index (EDI) was used, which is based on Townsend theorization of relative deprivation. The Slovenian version of EDI (SI-EDI) at the aggregated level (SI-EDI-A) was calculated to the level of the national assembly polling stations. The SI-EDI was also calculated at the individual level (SI-EDI-I) by the method that represents a methodological innovation. The degree of ecological fallacy was estimated with the Receiver Operating Characteristics (ROC) curves. By calculating the area under the ROC curve, the ecological fallacy was evaluated numerically. Agreement between measuring deprivation with SI-EDI-A and SI-EDI-I was analysed by graphical methods and formal testing. The association of the socio-economic status and the cancer risk was analysed in all first cancer cases diagnosed in Slovenia at age 16 and older in the period 2011-2013. Analysis was done for each level separately, for SI-EDI-I and for SI-EDI-A. The Poisson regression model was implemented in both settings but adapted specifically for aggregated and individual data. The study clearly shows that ecological fallacy is unavoidable. However, although the association of cancer incidence and socio-economic deprivation at individual and aggregated levels was not the same for all cancer sites, the results were very similar for the majority of investigated cancer sites and especially for cancers associated with unhealthy lifestyles. The results confirm the assumptions from authors' previous research that using the level of the national assembly polling stations would be the acceptable way to aggregate data when explaining inequalities in health in Slovenia in ecological studies.

Within the survey context, a geofence can be defined as a geographical area that triggers a survey invitation when an individual enters the area, dwells in the area for a defined amount of time or exits the area. Geofences may be used to administer context-specific surveys, such as an evaluation survey of a shopping experience at a specific retail location. While geofencing is already used in other contexts (e.g., marketing and retail), this technology seems so far to be underutilized in survey research. We implemented a geofence survey in a smartphone data collection project and geofenced 410 job centers with the Google Geofence API. Overall, the app sent 230 geofence-triggered survey invitations to 107 participants and received 224 responses from 104 participants. This article provides an overview of our geofence survey, including our experiences analyzing the data. We highlight the limitations in our design and examine how those shortcomings affect the number of falsely triggered surveys. Subsequently, we formulate the lessons learned that will help researchers improve their own geofence studies.

As survey costs increase and response rates decrease, researchers are looking for alternative methods to collect data from study subjects. Passively collected data may offer a way to reduce the burden on research subjects while also collecting high-quality data needed for social science research. Examples of passive data collection tools are applications installed on mobile devices and sensors in subjects’ homes or worn on the body. In this study, we focus on always-on location data collected from subjects’ iPhones. To explore the promise of passively collected data to augment and improve survey data, we conducted a 2-week pilot study with 24 subjects. We discuss the utility of always-on location data and the challenges researchers may encounter when they incorporate location data in their analyses.

Coastal regions are territorial social systems whose socio-economic and innovative development is strongly influenced by the factor of coastalisation. The effect of movement to the sea determines the dynamics of settlement systems as well as their economic and infrastructure development. This holds for transport, logistics, information and communications, industrial, and other infrastructure. Coastal regions are so diverse that it is impossible to construct a development model that will fit all of them. One can speak only of general trends. This study focuses on identifying differences between the innovation systems of northern and southern coastal regions within the same country. The geographical scope of the study is four Russian coastal territories: Murmansk and Arkhangelsk in the Baltic Sea region and Rostov and Krasnodar in the Azov-Black Sea region. Methodologically, this study carries out a comparative assessment of heterogeneity of innovative development at municipal and interregional levels, using four groups of indicators: human capital, economic growth and clustering, innovation and digitalisation, and quality and standards of living. All these components are vital for regional innovative development. A statistical assessment is supplemented by a qualitative analysis of spatial patterns of innovation capital accumulation; the agglomeration factor is taken into account. It is shown that northern and southern coastal regions perform very differently on innovative development, the latter doing better than the former. Three main models of innovation generation, implementation, and accumulation of coastal regions are described. Each is associated with a different way to benefit from proximity to the sea. These are maritime activities, maritime transport, and the economic use of recreational, natural and climatic resources.

Interviewers occupy a key position in face-to-face interviews. Their behavior decisively contributes to the quality of surveys. However, monitoring interviewers in face-to-face surveys is much more challenging than in telephone surveys. It is often up to the interviewer when they conduct the interviews and which addresses they work on first. Nevertheless, homogeneous fieldwork, i.e. that which has a geographically similar processing status, is particularly essential for time- and eventdependent studies such as election studies. Irregular fieldwork combined with geographical differences can have substantial impacts on data quality. Using the example of the German Longitudinal Election Study (GLES), we propose and present a visual strategy by plotting key indicators of fieldwork onto a geographical map to monitor and optimize the fieldwork in face-toface interviews. The geographic visualization of fieldwork can be an additional tool not only for election studies, but also other studies.

In this article, we present documentation of the georeferenced social science survey data that are spatially linked to geospatial data attributes. We introduce the challenges of documentation, as different metadata standards are used for both data sources: social science survey data and geospatial data. In particular, we analyze the extent to which the social sciences metadata standard DDI Lifecycle is capable of incorporating the geosciences metadata standard ISO 19115. We find that the most challenging attributes to describe are those concerning the geographic structure of the geospatial data, especially if they stem from different sources. To navigate these issues, we developed and evaluated four workaround approaches which we demonstrate in a case study on the georeferenced German General Social Survey. Because not all of the approaches apply equally to every research project and institution, we provide a scheme to assist in making informed and weighted decisions.

With a population of more than 120 million people, most Mexican cities suffer from socioeconomic inequalities and these are worsened by spatial inequalities resulting from their urban form and structure. A number of studies have been published looking at limited public services and how this may affect those on lower incomes in Mexico. However, very few studies have used spatial accessibility as a means of explaining urban inequalities and informing city planning. Spatial accessibility is defined as the measurable geographical access from residential locations to destinations for services and public goods. This paper investigates the potential of a spatial accessibility index to provide evidence for making location/planning decisions that benefit the largest number of residents. To achieve this aim, we combine three geographical secondary data sets with geospatial analysis. First, two important urban public services, i.e. health and education, are located, and catchment areas are then generated according to their respective sizes. For the second set, the integration values of each city at metropolitan and district scales are calculated using Space Syntax to observe how its configuration may influence the distribution of activities and the way the inhabitants live and move. The third set is demographic data from the 2010 national census of Population and Housing, analysed at the residential block level. This paper focuses on the results of combining two accessibility indices (cumulative opportunities and Space Syntax’s integration value) that examine the degree to which the lack of a basic public service could be associated with the spatial segregation of an area to provide evidence (comprehensible by decision-makers) for making location and planning decisions that benefit the largest number of residents.

The trade conflict between the United States and China is a severe threat to the world economy. While the debate over the effectiveness of tariffs is at a steady boil in the United States, the EU is opposed to tariffs as a means for dealing with China. Although serious issues with China must be addressed - such as dumping and subsidization - tariffs will make the United States neither more competitive nor secure. Instead of forging a go-it-alone approach, there is a lot the United States and the EU could do together.

This article discusses how climate change causes an intensification of Western North Pacific typhoons and how the effects of such amplified typhoons upon the Philippines exemplify the concept of climate injustice. Using a political ecology approach, the article begins with an examination of the concepts of climate change, climate injustice, background injustice, and compound injustice. This is followed by an examination of the causes of typhoons, the vulnerability of the Philippines to typhoons, and how climate change may generate stronger typhoons. These stronger typhoons that may be produced by climate change, and the risks that they pose to the Philippines, are an example of climate injustice, while the legacy of colonial exploitation in the Philippines is an example of background injustice. The struggles faced by the Philippines in coping with climate change augmented typhoons are an example of compound injustice. The article concludes with a discussion of the reluctance of developed countries, such as Australia, Canada, and the United States, to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions notwithstanding the consequences these emissions have on countries such as the Philippines.

Gleiche und geheime Wahlen sind konstitutiv für eine Demokratie. Der eigentliche Wahlakt gehört - mit Verweis auf das Wahlgeheimnis und die Manipulationssicherheit des Verfahrens - zur analogen Welt, die Wahlvorbereitung und die Durchführung der Wahl ist - mit Ausnahme der versandten Wahlbenachrichtigungen und Briefwahlunterlagen - digitalisiert. Die bei Wahlen entstehenden Daten über die Ergebnisse in den Wahllokalen und Auszählbezirken sowie der Zuschnitt dieser Wahllokalbezirke - die Geometrien - können für raumbezogene Wahlanalysen verwendet werden. Zwar weisen diese Daten wegen des Wahlgeheimnisses keine Individualinformationen auf, dafür können sie flächendeckend untersucht und eingeordnet werden. Wo liegen die räumlichen Schwerpunkte der Parteien, ihre "Hot Spots"? Gibt es stadtgeschichtliche und soziodemografische Determinanten? Dieser Beitrag über die Abgeordnetenhauswahl 2016 versteht sich als explorativ und datengetrieben. Die AfD, über die vergleichsweise wenig bekannt ist, wird einen Fokus bilden. Kritisch betrachtet wird auch die thematische Kartierung von Wahlergebnissen.

In this article, I consider individual aspects of the economic security of Saint Petersburg and the Leningrad Region amid the geo-economic uncertainty observed since 2014. The object of the study is the economic and technological sustainability of Saint Petersburg and the Leningrad Region given geo-economic risks and growing challenges to economic security. To evaluate the economic security of Saint Petersburg and the Leningrad Region, I employ some of the parameters proposed in the Strategy for the Economic Security of the Russian Federation until 2030. I also use other parameters pertinent to the evaluation of the state of an economy amid geoeconomic uncertainty, in this case, in the conditions of the crisis of 2014-2016, brought about by both external and internal factors. I employ the concept of the triad of regional economic competitiveness, regional economic security, and sustainable regional socio-economic development. I believe that this triad does not only demonstrate the logic of the current and prospective development of a Russian region but also highlights weaknesses and opportunities for future development. The competitiveness of Saint Petersburg and the Leningrad region amid geo-economic uncertainty is considered through the performance of the regions' key enterprises and emerging technology companies. I analyse the revenue profiles of the regions' leading industrial enterprises in 2014-2015 and emphasise the role of key industrial exporters. This article is a preliminary study without any claim to completeness. Further research will seek to present the findings obtained in more detail.

Heterogeneity of local conditions and spatial dependencies are typical aspects of sociological phenomena. However, large-scale empirical data is often rather limited with regard to the spatial references that are (publicly) available to researchers. We describe several aspects of the problem and assess possibilities and potential errors associated with limited information. Our examples are returns to education and gender-based and migration-related wage gaps as popular research topics. We base our analyses upon widely used survey data from Germany, the GSOEP, which contains geographical information on various levels of aggregation. Our particular interest is in the decisions that have to be made with regard to problems of space and place in standard surveys, available options and consequences. We conclude with a number of practical suggestions for data users.

Die hier vorliegende Studie stellt einen neuen Stadtstrukturklassifikationsansatz vor. Hierzu werden Informationen zu Landbedeckung und Gebäudehöhe genutzt. Ziel der Studie ist es, eine internationale Vergleichbarkeit von Analysen der Beziehung zwischen Stadtstruktur und ökologischer Funktion zu erreichen und ein Bezugssystem zu entwickeln, was es ermöglicht, ökologische Prozesse und Muster als Resultat urbaner Landbedeckungsmuster zu analysieren. Wir haben die Klassifikation an zwei sehr unterschiedlichen Schauplätzen getestet: Im kontinentalen Berlin und in der Küstenstadt New York City. Als ökologischer Referenz-Indikator wurden Landsat- Oberflächentemperaturaufnahmen verwendet und für beide Städte verglichen, welcher Zusammenhang zwischen Stadtstruktur(-komposit) und Temperatur besteht. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass beide Städte viele Strukturklassen teilen und diese ähnliche Trends im Hinblick auf die Oberflächentemperatur beschreiben, trotz der erheblichen Unterschiede in Klima und Struktur von Berlin und New York. Es zeigt sich, dass etwa 68 % Berlins und 79 % von New York City von denselben 15 urbanen Strukturklassen beschrieben werden können. Die Ergebnisse zeigen auch, dass gemeinsame Strukturklassen ähnliche Temperaturmuster aufweisen und sich unser neues Bezugssystem der Stadtstrukturklassifikation auf sehr verschiedene Stadttypen anwenden lässt. Die Ergebnisse der neuen Klassifikation zeigen außerdem, den großen Einfluss von Gewässern auf die Temperaturregulation in Städten. Strukturklassen, welche Wasser beinhalten, weisen die niedrigsten Oberflächentemperaturen auf, was auf einen positiven Ausgleichseffekt von Wasseroberflächen zu hohen Lufttemperaturen hinweist und daher für Stadtplanung und Landmanagement äußerst wichtig ist, gerade in Zeiten zunehmender Hitzewellen und Sommertrockenheit.

This paper provides an overview of different approaches to forecasting the future of the three Baltic States. The author's theoretical approach to studying Baltic elites is used to forecast changes in the action models of the Baltic elites. The article stresses the scarcity of internal political processes in the Baltics. However, a significant number of scenarios focusing on military aspects in the Baltics have recently been published. The author distinguishes between inertia, confrontation, and cooperation scenarios and examines their prerequisites and possible consequences. The scenarios are developed based on an analysis of geographic, economic, and political factors. The decisive factor is a state-controlled foreign policy, which is affected by the international situation as well as relations between the state and the external resources exploited by political elites. The paper contributes to the general debate about the factors of political development and the role of political elites in it. The author pr ovides additional material for analysing possible developments in the domestic policies of the Baltic States in view of external factors.

The South of the old Russia, especially the Ukraine, has for generations been known as a granary. This statement is based on one hand on reports about the earth’s fertility, and on the other hand on formerly important exports of cereals; what is mostly neglected in corresponding discussions is the cereal economy’s dependence on the natural conditions and their changeability. Despite unfavourable economic circumstances as a whole, Russia still exported 10.6 million tons of cereals in 1904, for example. Since then, economic conditions have changed several times and there has been a clear increase in population. During the past decades, the cereal production of the Ukraine was sometimes nota in a position to meet the existing need. Owing to the natural geography of the Ukraine, the largest part of the agriculturally useful areas are situated within the natural vegetation zones of the forested steppe and of the prairie as well as in the region of continental and warmtemperate climate. This means that black earths and forest soils exist in large parts of the country, but at the same time, two thirds of the country surface receives too little precipitation and too much heat. Owing to the associated winter and summer conditions, several million hectares of winter wheat are year by year threatened both by freezing and by drought. Winter wheat has for a long time been the most cultivated crop plant. Its share is especially high in the Oblast Odessa district and in the north-south strip extending from Kharkov to the mouth of the Dnieper river and to the Azov Sea. In respect of area share, winter wheat is followed by spring barley, maïze, pulses and oats; their regional distribution is shown in table 2. The economic repurcussions following the seperation of the Ukraine from the Soviet Union in 1990/91 have remained moderate for cereal production. More important are the consequences resulting from inappropriate agricultural development over the preceding 20 years. Since in 1995

Unter den neuen (süd-)osteuropäischen Mitgliedstaaten der EU verzeichnet Slowenien die positivste Entwicklung, gemessen etwa am Wirtschaftswachstum oder am Prokopfeinkommen. Sowohl der wirtschaftspolitische als auch der wirtschaftsstrukturelle Transformationsprozess ist in Slowenien verglichen mit den anderen EU-Erweiterungsstaaten am günstigsten verlaufen. Die Gründe hierfür sind vielschichtig. Von maßgeblicher Bedeutung ist jedoch ein Bündel aus drei ursächlichen Komplexen. So bedingten freilich zunächst historische bzw. pfadabhängige Aspekte den erfolgreichen Umwandlungsprozess, wie etwa der relativ wirtschaftslibarale Sozialismus unter Tito oder die geringen Kampfhandlungen während der Unabhängigkeitskrieges. An zweiter Stelle ist die politische Stringenz der konsequenten Reform- und Entwicklungspolitik seit der Unabhängigkeit für die rasche Transformation verantwortlich. Drittens trugen schließlich aber auch die günstigen regionalökonomischen Ausgangsbedingungen, wie etwa die vielfältigen teilräumlichen Entwicklungspotentiale, zum Erfolg des slowenischen Transformationsprozesses bei. (Autorenreferat), Slovenia is witnessing the most positive development of the new (South-) Eastern European member states of the European Union measured in terms of its economic growth or per-capita income. In comparison to the other European Union extension states, Slovenia also underwent both the best process of transformation in economic policy and economic structures. There is a variety of different reasons for that. However, a combination of three causative complexes was of definitive significance. First of all, it was aspects of the history or path that brought about an effective process of transformation such as the relatively liberal economic socialism under Tito or the small number of clashes that took place during the war for independence. Second of all, the political stringency of the thorough reform and development policy since independence that has brought about the quick transformation. Third of all, the positive initial regional economic conditions (such as the wide variety of local potentials for development) play a major part in bringing about the success of the Slovenian process of transformation. (author's abstract)

Ungarn ist seit Mai 2004 Mitglied der Europäischen Union und zugleich das östliche Tor -mit strategischer Wichtigkeit- des 25 Mitgliedsländer vereinigenden Staatenbundes. Der Tourismus Ungarns ist durch zwei Merkmale gekennzeichnet: einerseits dominieren Touristen aus Deutschland, andererseits kommen Tagesbesucher aus den Nachbarländern. Während das Ziel der Deutschen die Sehenswürdigkeiten Ungarns sind, verbringt die Mehrheit der Besucher aus den Nachbarstaaten ihre Zeit mit Einkauf, Besuch der Verwandten, oder sie sind auf der Durchreise. Vor allem Bürger der Nicht-EU-Staaten nutzen Ungarn, um ihren Lebensunterhalt zu sichern. Die Aktivitäten während ihres Ungarn-Aufenthaltes führen daher zu einer Verstärkung der informalen Wirtschaft und zu einem Anwachsen der Kriminalität. Dies wirkt sich natürlich negativ auf den Tourismus insgesamt aus, und das Landesimage hat unter den Straftaten, die gegen ausländische Touristen begangen werden, sehr zu leiden. Vorliegender Beitrag möchte einige Er gebnisse zur wissenschaftlichen Erklärung des komplizierten Zusammenhangs zwischen Tourismus und Kriminalität darlegen. Dabei spielt die geographische Lage Ungarns eine große Rolle (das Land umfasst ein besonders kleines Gebiet und grenzt an 7 souveräne Staaten). Grundlage für die Untersuchung waren die Daten, die ein Jahr vor dem EU-Beitritt Ungarns veröffentlicht wurden. Die Forschungsergebnisse können auch gleichzeitig die Basis für weitere, tiefgründige Untersuchungen des Problems bilden bzw. für die wissenschaftliche Beobachtung von Veränderungen des dargelegten Zusammenhangs. (Autorenreferat), Hungary has been a member of the Europ ean Union since May of 2004, making it the strategically important eastern gate to the 25 member countries. Hungary's tourism has two features. Tourists from Germany tend to dominate while other tourists just take a day trip from the neighbouring countries. Germans come to see Hungary's sights while the majority of visitors from Hungary's neighbouring countries spend their time shopping, visiting relatives or just passing through. People from non-European Union states are those who mainly utilise Hungary to protect their living standard, mean ing that their activities in Hungary boost the informal economy and crime. Needless to say, this has a negative impact on tourism as a whole and Hungary's image suffers extensively from the crimes perpetrated against foreign tourists. This article would like to describe some analyses as a contribution to a scientific explanation of the intricate interactions be tween tourism and crime. Hungary's geographic location figures prominently here (it encompasses a particularly small area while bordering on 7 sovereign states). The data published one year be fore Hungary joined the European Union form the basis for this study. The results of this research could also be applied to other more fundamental studies on this problem or scientifically observing changes in the interactions described here. (author's abstract)