Offshore Territories Research Articles

Fractional State Space Analysis of Economic Systems

This paper examines modern economic growth according to the multidimensional scaling (MDS) method and state space portrait (SSP) analysis. Electing GDP per capita as the main indicator for economic growth and prosperity, the long-run perspective from 1870 to 2010 identifies the main similarities among 34 world partners’ modern economic growth and exemplifies the historical waving mechanics of the largest world economy, the USA. MDS reveals two main clusters among the European countries and their old offshore territories, and SSP identifies the Great Depression as a mild challenge to the American global performance, when compared to the Second World War and the 2008 crisis.

The Growing Threat of Maritime Conflict

What makes these disputes so dangerous … is the apparent willingness of many claimants to employ military means in demarking their offshore territories and demonstrating their resolve to keep them.

New species of Hoho, Mallacoota and Parelasmopus (Maeridae: Amphipoda) from Australian waters

Fourteen new species of Maeridae amphipods from tropical and temperate Australian waters, including the offshore territories of Norfolk Island, Tasman Sea; Cocos (Keeling) and Christmas Islands, Indian Ocean are described. Six new species of Hoho Lowry & Fenwick, 1983, seven new species of Mallacoota J.L. Barnard, 1972 and one new species of Parelasmopus Stebbing, 1888 are included: Hoho fenwicki sp. nov., H. kalbarri sp. nov., H. kangarooensis sp. nov., H. lowryi sp. nov., H. tricarinata sp. nov., H. wittecarra sp. nov., Mallacoota barnardi sp. nov., M. bulowara sp. nov., M. kunmunyah sp. nov., M. maridwinae sp. nov., M. penelope sp. nov., M. sirius sp. nov., M. worimi sp. nov. and Parelasmopus aumogo sp. nov., are described herein. New distributions records are provided for 14 known species including Parelasmopus dancaui Ortiz & Lalana, 1997 and Mallacoota insignis (Chevreux, 1901) which have not been recorded from Australia before.

The genus Elasmopus (Crustacea: Amphipoda: Maeridae) in Australian waters

Eight new species and one new record of Elasmopus Costa, 1853 are described from Australian waters including the extended offshore territories of Cocos (Keeling) Islands (Indian Ocean), Christmas Island (Indian Ocean), Ashmore Reef (Timor Sea), Norfolk Island (Tasman Sea) and Lord Howe Island (Tasman Sea). Range extensions are reported for seven described Australian species. Twenty-three species are now known from Australian waters. Elasmopus arafura sp. nov., E. carteri sp. nov., E. hyperopia sp. nov., E. leveque sp. nov., E. mcluerensis sp. nov., E. otus sp. nov., E. shepherdi sp. nov. and E. woodjonesi sp. nov. are described herein.

A taxonomic revision of the marine green algal genera Caulerpa and Caulerpella (Chlorophyta, Caulerpaceae) in northern (tropical and subtropical) Australia

A detailed taxonomic revision of the siphonous marine green algal genus Caulerpa J.V.Lamour. (1809a) in northern (tropical and subtropical) Australia, covering mainland shores, continental islands, coral reefs and offshore territories, is presented. Sixteen species and 10 varieties of Caulerpa are described and illustrated. One variety, C. cupressoides var. urvilleana (Mont.) I.R.Price is a new combination. A lectotype is proposed for C. racemosa (Forssk.) J.Agardh var. macrodisca (Decne) Weber Bosse. One species of Caulerpaceae long included in Caulerpa, but more recently placed in a separate genus, Caulerpella, as C. ambigua (Okamura) Prud’homme & Lokhorst, is also treated for completeness. The present publication will complement Womersley’s (1984) account of southern Australian taxa of Caulerpa.

Are restrictions on foreign ownership counter-productive? Evidence from Dubai, United Arab Emirates

The purpose of this paper is to estimate productivity gaps between firms with different shares of foreign equity in the presence of government restrictions on foreign ownership. Dubai, having such restrictions, and having multiple ownership structures within co-existing onshore and off-shore territories, provides a rich setting for examining the effect of alternative Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) regimes on productivity. What we find is that firms subjected to the 51/49 rule of ownership lag in productivity mostly in one sector of the economy. An implication of our results is that any move to reform the 51/49 rule should probably be sector-specific rather than across-the-board.

Australian palms: biogeography, ecology and systematics

Australian Palms offers an updated and thorough systematic and taxonomic treatment of the Australian palm flora, covering 60 species in 21 genera. Of these, 54 species occur in continental Australia and six species on the off-shore territories of Lord Howe Island, Norfolk Island and Christmas Island. Incorporating recent advances in biogeographic and phylogenetic research, Australian Palms provides a comprehensive introduction to the palm family Arecaceae, with reviews of botanical history, biogeography, phylogeny, ecology and conservation. Thorough descriptions of genera and species include notes on ecology and typification, and keys and distribution maps assist with field recognition. Colour photographs of habit, leaf, flowers, fruit and unique diagnostic characters also feature for each species. This work is the culmination of over 20 years of research into Australian palms, including extensive field-work and examination of herbarium specimens in Australia, South-East Asia, Europe and the USA.

Crustal thickness in Australia: where, how and what for?

Geoscience Australia regularly undertakes crustal thickness measurements and it is the only National Agency that maintains a database of such measurements in Australia and its offshore territories, including the Australian Antarctic Territory. The most reliable estimates of crustal thickness come from refraction and wide-angle reflection seismic experiments, as well as from receiver function analyses. As of September 2007, there are only 474 crustal thickness measurements stored in Geoscience Australia?s database derived from such experiments. Crustal thickness data are essential for development of crustal scale tectonic models, assessment of geohazards, constraining of potential field inversions, estimation of crustal stretching rate in sedimentary basin modelling. Estimates of relative significance of depth of subsidence, basement heat production, and thickness of the crust for positioning of hydrocarbon maturation windows show that effects of crustal thickness can outweigh those of basement heat production.

The Insular Cases and the emergence of American empire

When the United States took control of Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Philippines, and Guam following the Spanish-American War, it was unclear to what degree these islands were actually part of the U.S. and, in particular, whether the Constitution applied fully, or even in part, to their citizens. By looking closely at what became known as the Insular Cases, Bartholomew Sparrow reveals how America resolved to govern these territories. Sparrow follows the Insular Cases from the controversial Downes v. Bidwell in 1901, which concerned tariffs on oranges shipped to New York from Puerto Rico and which introduced the distinction between incorporated and unincorporated territories, to Balzac v. Puerto Rico in 1922, in which the Court decided that Puerto Ricans, although officially U.S. citizens, could be denied trial by jury because Puerto Rico was unincorporated. There were 35 Insular Cases in all, cases stretching across two decades, cases in which the Court ruled on matters as diverse as tariffs, double jeopardy, and the very meaning of U.S. citizenship as it applied to the inhabitants of the offshore territories. Providing a new look at the history and politics of U.S. expansion at the turn of the twentieth century, Sparrow's book also examines the effect the Court's decisions had on the creation of an American empire. It highlights crucial features surrounding the cases - the influence of racism on the justices, the need for naval stations to protect new international trade, and dramatic changes in tariff policy. It also tells how the Court sanctioned the emergence of two kinds of American empire: formal territories whose inhabitants could be U.S. citizens but still be denied full political rights, and an informal empire based on trade, cooperative foreign governments, and U.S. military bases rather than on territorial acquisitions. The Insular Cases and the Emergence of American Empire reveals how the United States handled its first major episode of globalization and how the Supreme Court, in these cases, crucially redirected the course of American history.

Health Information Management in Remote Tropical Islands

Providing good quality health services and reporting of health related activities in remote island communities presents unique challenges, some of which are not apparent without personal experience in these regions. This article discusses the author's recent experiences in the Federated States of Micronesia in the Pacific Ocean, as well as in Christmas and Cocos (Keeling) Islands, two offshore Australian Territories situated in the Indian Ocean.

Comparison of depositional sequences and tectonic styles among the West African deepwater frontiers of western Ivory Coast, southern Equatorial Guinea, and northern Namibia

The recent success of Tertiary plays in the deepwater offshore central West Africa has generated exploration interest in underexplored Upper to Middle Cretaceous plays along the margin. Three areas are examined in this article, including: the upper slopes of western Ivory Coast, southern Equatorial Guinea, and northern Namibia. Depositional sequences in the three areas have similar development but differ in depositional character and form. Initial identification of sequences is based on unconformity bound units seen on 3D seismic data. There are 6–7 major seismic sequences identified in each area. Each seismic sequence is correlated to well control for age and approximate lithologic calibration using 2D seismic data sets. The central West African margin includes offshore territories from the transform-bounded Gulf of Guinea to the north, down to a southern limit just north of Walvis Ridge (Figure 1). The areas considered in this study include the offshore areas of western Ivory Coast, southern Equatorial Guinea, and northern Namibia. The Ivorian margin is bound by two transform zones—the St. Paul to the north and the Romanche to the south. The Ivory Coast data consist of a 1200-km2 3D seismic survey offshore the westernmost edge of the country. The data were acquired and processed in 2000. The area is approximately 150–200 km west of, and along trend, with the discoveries in a present-day shelf to upper slope position. The second, centrally located study area overlies the Ascension Transform Zone in southernmost Equatorial Guinea. A 3120-km2 3D seismic survey forms the basis of the interpretation in this area. A prestack time migration was applied to the data, which were acquired and processed in 2001. The data are 20–30 km south of the Rio Muni Basin discoveries and extend to the northern edge of the Gabonese salt basin. The third, most southerly study …

The Australian regional GPS network

The Australian Regional GPS Network (ARGN) consists of fifteen permanent, geodetic quality GPS receivers, on geologically stable marks, in Australia and its offshore Territories. It serves two major purposes - it provides the fundamental framework for spatial data in Australia and it provides data for Australia's contribution to global geodesy programs and the study of earth processes such as crustal dynamics and sea level monitoring.This paper briefly describes the development of the ARGN, including site selection and monumentation and follows with a detailed description of its current operation, including site equipment, communications, data flow and data quality. An overview of future developments in the areas of high rate and rapid data products as well as other projects, including contributions to IGEX and IGLOS is given.

The Offshore Interface. Tax Havens in the Global Economy

This book opens up the secret world of tax havens and offshore finance centres (OFCs), a vast offshore business valued at over one trillion US dollars. It is a timely and original analysis of the role of OFCs in the emerging global economy. The book discusses who uses OFCs, how OFCs work and what drives their development. Extensive use of case study material from Jersey illustrates the growth of a successful OFC and its impact upon a small island. Contents: How Tax Havens and Offshore Finance Centres Operate: Taxation and Secrecy - Offshore Finance in London, Regulation and Eurocurrencies - The Relationship between the Onshore State and Offshore Territories - Area Study: Caribbean Island OFCs and Onshore States - Location, Technology and the Development of OFCs - Jersey Case Study: Part 1 - Jersey Case Study: Part 2 - The Outlook for OFCs - Notes - Appendices - Bibliography - Glossary