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Based on the connotation and process of innovation-driven development, we have developed a comprehensive evaluation system containing 20 indicators in five aspects, including innovation factors, innovation subjects, innovation environments, innovation outputs, and development performance, to measure the levels of innovation-driven development in Sichuan province. Selecting 21 cities and prefectures in Sichuan province as research objects, we evaluated and measured the innovation-driven development levels of each city and prefecture using the entropy weight method (EWM). According to the evaluation results, the 21 cities and prefectures were divided into four categories depending on their levels of innovation-driven development: advanced-level, high-level, medium-level, and low-level. The results show that there are obvious spatial differences in terms of innovation-driven development levels among cities and prefectures in Sichuan province. Specifically, Chengdu, Mianyang, Panzhihua, and Deyang cities rank among the top four cities because of their advanced and high levels of innovation-driven development, while other cities and prefectures are at the medium and low levels. We also analyzed the innovation-driven development policies and practices of cities and prefectures in Sichuan province, to provide guidance for implementing innovation-driven development strategies in the cities and prefectures in the future.

The largest concern on the cesium-137 (137Cs) deposition and its soil contamination due to the emission from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) showed up after a massive quake on March 11, 2011. Cesium-137 (137Cs) with a half-life of 30.1 y causes the largest concerns because of its deleterious effect on agriculture and stock farming, and, thus, human life for decades. Removal of 137Cs contaminated soils or land use limitations in areas where removal is not possible is, therefore, an urgent issue. A challenge lies in the fact that estimates of 137Cs emissions from the Fukushima NPP are extremely uncertain, therefore, the distribution of 137Cs in the environment is poorly constrained. Here, we estimate total 137Cs deposition by integrating daily observations of 137Cs deposition in each prefecture in Japan with relative deposition distribution patterns from a Lagrangian particle dispersion model, FLEXPART. We show that 137Cs strongly contaminated the soils in large areas of eastern and northeastern Japan, whereas western Japan was sheltered by mountain ranges. The soils around Fukushima NPP and neighboring prefectures have been extensively contaminated with depositions of more than 100,000 and 10,000 MBq km-2, respectively. Total 137Cs depositions over two domains: (i) the Japan Islands and the surrounding ocean (130–150 °E and 30–46 °N) and, (ii) the Japan Islands, were estimated to be more than 5.6 and 1.0 PBq, respectively. We hope our 137Cs deposition maps will help to coordinate decontamination efforts and plan regulatory measures in Japan.

Context/objective: The border conflict between Peru and Ecuador (1910) over the definition of their frontiers fueled the Peruvian nationalism that emerged in the nineteenth century. The trigger was a series of clashes at the Consulate and the Legate’s Office of Peru in Ecuador between March and May 1910. In the following pages, we will analyze the role of local and regional political bodies (prefectura and subprefecturas of the Andean region of Ayacucho) in the exaltation of nationalism used to collect resources and the “blood contingent” for the war. Methodology: We use discourse and documentary analysis of telegrams and memos sent from and to the prefectura and subprefecturas of Ayacucho. Originality: The role played by local authorities in constructing Peruvian nationalism has not been sufficiently addressed; however, it is of great importance since it allows us to understand the homogenizing effort of the nascent State and its multiple contradictions. Conclusions: We will note how the nationalism imposed by regional and local governments was accepted in theory. However, it was pretty diminished among citizens of all social sectors when it was needed to swell the troops.   Contexto/objetivo: El conflicto limítrofe entre Perú y Ecuador (1910) por la definición de sus fronteras avivó el emergente nacionalismo decimonónico peruano. Su detonante fue una serie de altercados ocurridos en el Consulado y la Legación de Perú en Ecuador entre los meses de marzo y mayo de 1910. En las siguientes páginas, analizaremos el papel de los organismos de política local y regional (la prefectura y las subprefecturas de la región serrana de Ayacucho) en la exaltación del nacionalismo utilizado en la recaudación de recursos y del “contingente de sangre” para la guerra. Metodología: Nos valdremos del análisis del discurso y del análisis documental de telegramas y circulares enviados desde y hacia la prefectura y las subprefecturas ayacuchanas. Originalidad: El papel desempeñado por las autoridades locales en la construcción del nacionalismo peruano no ha sido suficientemente abordado; sin embargo, reviste gran importancia ya que permite comprender el esfuerzo homogeneizador del incipiente Estado y sus múltiples contradicciones. Conclusiones: Constataremos cómo el nacionalismo impuesto por los gobiernos regionales y locales era aceptado de manera teórica, aunque se veía bastante menguado en los ciudadanos de todos los sectores sociales cuando había de servir para engrosar las tropas. Contexto/objetivo: o conflito fronteiriço entre o Peru e o Equador (1910) sobre a definição de suas fronteiras alimentou o surgimento do nacionalismo peruano do século 19. Ela foi desencadeada por uma série de altercações que ocorreram no Consulado e na Legação do Peru no Equador entre março e maio de 1910. Nas páginas a seguir, analisamos o papel dos órgãos políticos locais e regionais (a prefeitura e as subprefeituras da região montanhosa de Ayacucho) na exaltação do nacionalismo usado para angariar recursos e o “contingente de sangue” para a guerra. Metodologia: usamos análise de discurso e análise documental de telegramas e circulares enviados de e para a prefeitura e para as subprefeituras de Ayacucho. Originalidade: o papel desempenhado pelas autoridades locais na construção do nacionalismo peruano não foi suficientemente abordado; no entanto, ele é de grande importância, pois nos permite entender o esforço de homogeneização do Estado incipiente e suas múltiplas contradições. Conclusões: o nacionalismo imposto pelos governos regionais e locais foi aceito em teoria, embora tenha sido bastante enfraquecido nos cidadãos de todos os setores sociais quando teve de ser usado para aumentar as tropas.

A tremendous amount of radioactivity was discharged because of the damage to cooling systems of nuclear reactors in the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant in March 2011. Fukushima and its adjacent prefectures were contaminated with fission products from the accident. Here, we show a geographical distribution of radioactive iodine, tellurium, and cesium in the surface soils of central-east Japan as determined by gamma-ray spectrometry. Especially in Fukushima prefecture, contaminated area spreads around Iitate and Naka-Dori for all the radionuclides we measured. Distributions of the radionuclides were affected by the physical state of each nuclide as well as geographical features. Considering meteorological conditions, it is concluded that the radioactive material transported on March 15 was the major contributor to contamination in Fukushima prefecture, whereas the radioactive material transported on March 21 was the major source in Ibaraki, Tochigi, Saitama, and Chiba prefectures and in Tokyo.

This paper investigates the long-run development of China's treaty ports from the mid-eighteenth century until today. Focusing on a sample of prefectures on the coast or on the Yangtze River, I document the dynamic development paths of treaty ports and their neighbors in alternate phases of closedness and openness. I also provide suggestive evidence on migration and sector-wise growth to understand the advantage of treaty ports in the long run.

We argue that interjurisdiction competition in authoritarian regimes engenders a specific logic for taxation. Promotion-seeking local officials are incentivized to signal loyalty and competence to their principals through tangible fiscal revenues. The greater the number of officials accountable to the same principal, the more intense political competition is, resulting in higher taxation; however, too many officials accountable to the same principal leads to lower taxation due to shirking by uncompetitive officials and the fear of political instability. Using a panel dataset of all Chinese county-level jurisdictions from 1999–2006, we find strong evidence for an inverse U-shaped relationship between the number of county-level jurisdictions within a prefecture—our proxy for the intensity of political competition—and fiscal revenues in most provinces but not so in politically unstable ethnic minority regions. The results are robust to various alternative specifications, including models that account for heterogeneous county characteristics and spatial interdependence.

US and UK data show that much of the variation in use of healthcare is accounted for by the willingness and ability of doctors to offer treatment rather than differences in illness or patient preference. Identifying and reducing such variation should be a priority for health providers, says John Wennberg

In 2019, Japan introduced a national forest-environment-transfer tax (FETT). Prefectural and municipal governments receive tax revenue. Currently, 37 prefectures in Japan have prefectural forest taxes, and the prefectures need to demarcate how their own taxes and the national tax are being used. This study analyzed the overall use trends of national tax, which is for supporting municipal forest management, and review the status of prefectural forest environmental taxes. National tax was primarily applied to organizing the information of forests and their owners. The main components of support by prefectures to municipalities were support to questionnaires for private forest owners, other technical supports, securing successors, and training successors. Regarding the prefectural taxes, forest types and policies, which were implemented by the taxes, were reviewed in 18 prefectures. The differentiation of the tax uses of prefectural tax and FETT as a national tax was implemented based on the types of forest and supporting activities, and the spatial scales of forest management. The formation of FETT does not necessarily accompany the flexible assignment of jurisdictions and functions of multi-level governance, with potentially limiting impacts so far. This study could concretely conclude with the demand for participatory social learning toward sustainable forest policymaking and implementations of payment for ecosystem services in forests at the multi-levels of the national government, prefectures, and municipalities.

As an important production base for livestock and a unique ecological zone in China, the northeast Tibetan Plateau has experienced dramatic land use/land cover (LULC) changes with increasing human activities and continuous climate change. However, extensive cloud cover limits the ability of optical remote sensing satellites to monitor accurately LULC changes in this area. To overcome this problem in LULC mapping in the Ganan Prefecture, 2000–2018, we used the dense time stacking of multi-temporal Landsat images and random forest algorithm based on the Google Earth Engine (GEE) platform. The dynamic trends of LULC changes were analyzed, and geographical detectors quantitatively evaluated the key driving factors of these changes. The results showed that (1) the overall classification accuracy varied between 89.14% and 91.41%, and the kappa values were greater than 86.55%, indicating that the classification results were reliably accurate. (2) The major LULC types in the study area were grassland and forest, and their area accounted for 50% and 25%, respectively. During the study period, the grassland area decreased, while the area of forest land and construction land increased to varying degrees. The land-use intensity presents multi-level intensity, and it was higher in the northeast than that in the southwest. (3) Elevation and population density were the major driving factors of LULC changes, and economic development has also significantly affected LULC. These findings revealed the main factors driving LULC changes in Gannan Prefecture and provided a reference for assisting in the development of sustainable land management and ecological protection policy decisions.

I use data covering 267 prefectures over four centuries to investigate two questions about historical China. To what extent did weather shocks cause civil conflict? And to what extent did the historical introduction of (drought resistant) sweet potatoes mitigate these effects? I find that before the introduction of sweet potatoes, exceptional droughts increased the probability of peasant revolts by around 0.7 percentage points, which translates into a revolt probability in drought years that is more than twice the average revolt probability. After the introduction of sweet potatoes, exceptional droughts only increased the probability of peasant revolts by around 0.2 percentage points.