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CONTENT
GR international 2/2006
With China rising it is of a particular interest to look into regional disparities of economic well-being and poverty. The People’s Republic has learned some lessons in mitigating poverty and bridging the gap between rich and poor provinces. On a smaller scale this also valid for the state of Assam in North East India. Applying various statistical ... more
Gerhard K. Heilig, Ming Zhang, Hualou Long
Poverty Alleviation in China
China is undergoing an epochal transition from an agricultural to an industrial and service-oriented society. As in all such transitions, a gap can open up between the development of traditional and modern economic sectors. While those sectors are growing rapidly, traditional sectors, such as agriculture and forestry, might be lagging behind. That gap was even wider before the economic reforms of 1978/89. In comparison with other developing countries, China has therefore been successful in increasing rural income and lifting millions of peasants out of poverty.
Download 2.50 € Semim Wara Begum, Bimal Kumar Kar
Regional Disparity of Development in Assam
The state of Assam is one of the least developed states of India in almost all fronts. Within Assam also there is significant variation in the development level from one area to another. An attempt is made in this paper to find out spatial pattern of the levels of socio-economic development in the state based on twenty-one indicators. Necessary data for the study have been taken at district level from the Census of India and other relevant government publications mostly for the year 1991 and 2001. The data so gathered are processed and analyzed with the help of suitable quantitative techniques. The techniques adopted here are the Composite Z-Score and weighted composite score based on Principal Component Analysis for determination of socio-economic development level.
Download 2.50 € Thomas Hennig
Changing Tanks
Water harvesting techniques are one of the important and oldest sources of irrigation in India. Tank irrigation is a typical example and has been over the centuries a trademark of an entire agrarian civilization in south India. This article focuses on the evolution of this tank system in one of the most drought-prone regions of India. Special focus is given to the Vijayanagar empire which paid special attention to tank construction and maintenance.
Download 2.50 € Christoph Schemionek
Urban Sprawl in the United States
After years of lavish consumption of land, authorities and developers in the United States are now starting to take action against uncontrolled urban expansion. In metropolitan Atlanta these first steps can be seen and examined.
Download 2.50 € Thomas Ott
The City in Disguise
Pressed by declining profits and ballooning expenses at home, Hollywood has shifted production abroad, particularly the production of low-budget movies made for television. Most were made in Canada, where a weak currency, financial incentives and proximity to the United States make production relatively inexpensive and convenient. Especially Vancouver, British Columbia, has developed into a major location for movie production; the city has become known in the industry as „Hollywood North“.
Download 2.50 € Heinz Fassmann, Michael Leitner
New Orleans after "Katrina"
During the 2005 hurricane season, Louisiana was hit by two major hurricanes within one month, "Katrina" and "Rita". When Hurricane "Katrina" devastated New Orleans not only did it damage large swaths of the city and cost at least about 800 lives but it also destroyed an image. "Katrina" changed New Orleans twice: once in reality and once in our consciousness.
Download 1.50 € Henrike Brecht
Losing Ground
Hurricanes are a major threat to Louisiana. These violent storms convert the sun energy of the tropical ocean and atmosphere into wind and waves. The resulting forces regularly cause major damage to Louisiana's infrastructure and demand high death tolls. This article describes what hurricanes are, how they originate, and what impacts they have.
Download 2.50 € A Failure of Initiative
The Select Committee identified failures at all levels of government that significantly undermined and detracted from the heroic efforts of first responders, private individuals and organizations, faith-based groups, and others.
kostenloser Download Katrin Bürger, Jochen Speidel, Paul Dostal, Florian Imbery
Historic Flood as a Basis for Flood Risk Management in River Valleys
The Elbe flood in 2002 showed that changes in the frequency and characteristics of floods may reflect climatic transitions. This led to an initiative by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) for a “Risk Management of Extreme Flood Events” (RIMAX) to mitigate or limit the adverse impact of river flooding in Germany. The research project integrates the information of historical data to identify and quantify extreme flood events of the past 500 years as a basis for flood risk management as well as for the calculation of maximum regional precipitation.
Download 1.50 € 
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