Central Place Research Articles

Critical Appraisal on Central Place Theory of Christaller in the Context of Nepal

Critical Appraisal on Central Place Theory of Christaller in the Context of Nepal

Die Behandlung von Zentralen Orten im kommunalen Finanzausgleich unter besonderer Berücksichtigung von Funktionsteilungen am Beispiel des möglichen Oberzentrums Harz

This research paper addresses the role of central places in communal fiscal equalisation and, in particular, the question of whether and, if so, how the additional burden associated with the provision of central place functions for the inhabitants of third municipalities is. For this purpose, the fiscal equalisation laws of the federal states are evaluated comparatively. While the role of central places in communal fiscal compensation is widely discussed in the spatial and financial literature, this does not apply to the specific question of the distribution of the additional burden on the municipalities involved in a function-sharing central place. The paper discusses this using the example of the proposed function-sharing upper centre consisting of the City of Halberstadt, World Heritage City Quedlinburg and the City of Wernigerode in the Harz planning region, Germany. This region has so far lacked an upper centre that is reasonably accessible and could help to ensure equal living conditions. It is argued that the distribution of the additional burden equalisation should not only consider the fiscal capacity of the municipalities involved but also their contribution to the joint fulfilment of functions, based on the respective upper-central supply function.

IFSSH Scientific Committee on Congenital Hand Conditions.

The Oberg, Manske and Tonkin (OMT) Classification of Congenital Hand and Upper Limb Anomalies was adopted as the official IFSSH classification in 2014 with recommendations for 3-yearly reviews and updates. This report examined the evidence and feedback from the scientific community to see whether changes to the 2020 OMT should be made. The Committee concluded that no current changes are required, but highlighted a number of areas where further research and discussions are needed. These areas include the conditions of symbrachydactyly vs transverse arrest, the ongoing challenge with classifying syndactyly, and the nomenclature of arthrogrypotic conditions. The OMT Classification continues to enjoy high inter- and intra-rater reliability, thus establishing its central place as a robust classification system in various registries around the world.

Breakthrough Advances in Beta-Lactamase Inhibitors: New Synthesized Compounds and Mechanisms of Action Against Drug-Resistant Bacteria

Beta-lactam drugs hold a central place in the antibacterial arsenal, and the production of beta-lactamases by drug-resistant bacteria has severely compromised the effectiveness of nearly all available beta-lactams. Therefore, in the face of the increasing threat of drug resistance, the combined use of beta-lactamase inhibitors (BLIs) with beta-lactam antibiotics is crucial for treating infections caused by drug-resistant bacteria. Hence, the development of BLIs has always been a hot topic in the field of medicinal chemistry. In recent years, significant progress has been made in screening active drugs by enhancing the affinity of inhibitors for enzymes and the stability of their complexes, based on the design concept of competitive inhibitors. Here, we review the effects and mechanisms of newly synthesized beta-lactamase inhibitors on various BLIs in recent years, to provide ideas for the development of subsequent beta-lactamase inhibitors.

“Little Mecca” in China: Religious central places of the Hui Muslims

ABSTRACT There is only one Mecca in Islam. However, in the history of Islam in China, there has occurred a phenomenon wherein Chinese Muslims have bestowed the title of “Little Mecca” upon local centers of Islam in various regions, such as Linxia (formerly Hezhou) in Gansu, Xining in Qinghai, and Shadian in Yunnan. Why were these places named by Chinese Muslims, particularly, the Hui Muslims, as Little Mecca? The paper draws on historical materials and data from fieldwork investigation to trace the origins of Little Mecca, and how this construction was used by Chinese Muslims in order to organize a wide Islamic network of solidarity in the competition with their Han Chinese surroundings.

Spatial and temporal predictability drive foraging movements of coastal birds

BackgroundTemporal and spatial predictability of food resources are critical to the foraging efficiency of central place foragers. While site fidelity is often assessed in this context, route fidelity, or the repeated use of the same path while traveling, and temporal aspects of habitat predictability have received less attention. We examined how the use of urban, coastal, and offshore habitats influenced spatiotemporal predictability in the foraging patterns of herring gulls (Larus argentatus) and great black-backed gulls (L. marinus). Since gulls show higher site fidelity when foraging in urban habitats, we predicted that these trips would also show higher route fidelity. Similarly, we predicted that gulls foraging in coastal habitats would adapt the timing of foraging trips relative to tides.MethodsWe analyzed GPS tracks of herring gulls (n = 79) and great black-backed gulls (n = 37)—between 2016–2022 from four nesting colonies whose surrounding areas varied in their degree of urbanization. Fréchet distance, which is defined as the repeated use of the same path while traveling, was used to assess route fidelity, within colonies and between habitat types. We also compared the consistency of foraging trip timing relative to tidal stage and day of week, respectively, across habitat types.ResultsNeither herring nor great black-backed gulls showed higher route fidelity in urban habitats. Herring gulls showed direct travel between urban foraging sites but revisited sites in different orders, suggesting that a mosaic map may be used to navigate between known urban foraging sites. Herring and great black-backed gulls that foraged at coastal sites exhibited patterns in trip timing in relation to the tidal cycle, with foraging primarily occurring at or around low tide. Herring gulls in urban environments foraged more on Fridays and weekends, possibly due to increased or altered human activities on these days.ConclusionsOur results demonstrate the importance of spatial memory and spatiotemporal predictability of gull foraging habitats and highlight the extent to which gulls adjust their movements based on their foraging habitats.

Outer membrane lipoproteins: late to the party, but the center of attention.

An outer membrane (OM) is the hallmark feature that is often used to distinguish "Gram-negative" bacteria. Our understanding of how the OM is built rests largely on studies of Escherichia coli. In that organism-and seemingly in all species of the Proteobacterial phyla-the essential pathways that assemble the OM each rely on one or more lipoproteins that have been trafficked to the OM. Hence, the lipoprotein trafficking pathway appeared to be foundational for the ability of these bacteria to build their OM. However, such a notion now appears to be misguided. New phylogenetic analyses now show us that lipoprotein trafficking was likely the very last of the essential OM assembly systems to have evolved. The emergence of lipoprotein trafficking must have been a powerful innovation for the ancestors of Proteobacteria, given how it assumed such a central place in OM biogenesis. In this minireview, we broadly discuss the biosynthesis and trafficking of lipoproteins and ponder why the newest OM assembly system (lipoprotein trafficking) has become so key to building the Proteobacterial OM. We examine the diversity among lipoprotein trafficking systems, noting uniting commonalities and highlighting key differences. Current novel antibiotic development is targeted against a small subset of Proteobacterial species that cause severe human diseases; several inhibitors of lipoprotein biosynthesis and OM trafficking have been recently reported that may become new antibiotics. Understanding the diversity in lipoprotein trafficking may yield selective new antibiotics that preferentially kill important human pathogens while sparing species of normal healthy flora.

The Emergence of Quantum Mechanics from General Relativity Electromagnetism and Charge Quantization

Based on the concept of the Big Bang of the universe being governed by the principles of Minimization of Action and Minimization of rate of Entropy production in a the Very Early Universe, where the expansion of Spacetime was superluminal, both QM (Quantum Mechanics) and electrodynamics can be seen to be emergent rather than foundational with both being a consequence of electric charge quantization and electromagnetism in an expanding spacetime. Postulating the appearance of the “Electrically Entangled” electron charge quanta, which are identified as 5th dimensional vectors in a Kaluza-Klein mathematical framework, both plus and minus, at very Early times in the Big Bang, plus the existence of electromagnetic fields around those charges, the superluminal expansion of spacetime prevents electrodynamics and thus EM radiation. This epoch is postulated to end with the formation of the proton in the Hadron Epoch, with its three quarks forming, with the electron, a Minkowski four vector, and the highly entropic dynamics of the quarks within the proton giving rise to entropy in the EM field under cosmic isothermal conditions with a temperature defined by Electrodynamics of the quarks interior to the proton rather than electrodynamic scattering between widely separated subatomic particles. The appearance of a larger unit of action h, thus mirrors the appearance of a larger unit of stable rest mass, the proton. This correlation is confirmed by the central place of the proton/electron mass ratio in the highly accurate formula derived for α. The emergent character of the quanta of action is suggested to explain the unfeasibility of quantization of GR (General Relativity) to higher orders and with GR and EM with charge quantization being the foundation on which QM is built.

The role of Ikeda Daisaku in the activities of the Buddhist neo-religious society Soka Gakkai

Soka Gakkai is one of the largest neo-religious organizations in Japan and is based on the ideology of Nichirenism. It was created in 1930 but became widespread and gained popularity after the Second World War. Today, it has millions of members both in Japan and abroad, it also has educational institutions from kindergartens to universities, its own media outlets, a representative office at the UN, and significant influence on the country’s domestic politics. In its modern form, the organization owes much to the efforts of Ikeda Daisaku, the third president and spiritual leader, as well as the founder of the political party Komeito. He had a colossal influence on the development of Soka Gakkai, creating a powerful bureaucratic structure in it, and brought its activities to the international arena. Gradually, D. Ikeda moved away from formal management of affairs, but, as the honorary president of the organization, he continued to direct the activities and ideology of the society. At the same time, many processes in the organization turned out to be focused on exploiting the image of D. Ikeda, who occupied a central place in all religious and secular affairs. In the official publications of Soka Gakkai, D. Ikeda appears as a writer, pacifist, intellectual, and educator. Numerous diplomatic, educational, and peacekeeping activities, the opening of schools, museums, and universities, and the writing and publication of a multi-volume collection of works are attributed to his personal initiative. The rise of D. Ikeda can be explained by the orientation of Nichirenism toward the continuity of teachings through charismatic leadership. After his death in 2023, there was no other authoritative leader in Soka Gakkai, and there was a threat of destabilization and disintegration of the organization and the loss of its political influence. At the same time, the refusal to transfer charismatic leadership to a successor, apparently, was a conscious decision made by the bureaucratic apparatus of the organization. The article examines the evolution of the personality and image of Ikeda Daisaku and his role in the activities of the Soka Gakkai at the present stage.

To the question regarding the solution of problem aspects of legal regulation of waste management in the context of the adaptation of environmental legislation of Ukraine to the EU

The article analyzes the current state of legal regulation of waste management in Ukraine in comparison with the legislation of the European Union. It is also noted that only through cooperation between states can the problems associated with the accumulation of waste be solved, since if measures are not implemented to combat this phenomenon, a significant deterioration in the quality of the environment and a threat to the life and health of the population should be expected. The work deeply analyzes the concept of «waste» both at the scientific-theoretical and legislative levels. A thorough comparison of the definitions of this term contained in various normative legal acts of Ukraine is carried out. Based on the generalization of scientific approaches, the authors propose his own, more comprehensive interpretation of the concept of «waste». The central place in the study is occupied by a detailed comparative analysis of the legislation of Ukraine and the EU in the field of waste management. In particular, the approaches to regulating the status of by-products, the introduction of extended producer responsibility, the management of hazardous waste, as well as the principle of the waste management hierarchy are analyzed. Both common features and significant differences in the legal regulation of these key aspects are revealed. In addition, the study also analyzes the issues of waste management planning, in particular approaches to territorial planning and the establishment of terms and procedures for reviewing plans. The articles propose a number of practical recommendations for ways to improve the legal regulation of waste management in Ukraine. Among them are conducting active educational work among the population, expanding the infrastructure for waste management, wider application of the first four elements of the waste management hierarchy, involvement of local governments in the development of local strategies, implementation of best practices of EU countries, as well as creating favorable conditions for investments in environmental technologies. The authors conclude that despite the significant convergence of Ukrainian legislation with European standards, it still has certain national features and problematic aspects that require further resolution.

Title: Optimizing Recruitment Practices for the Quality Assurance Department of Daewoo Bus Service

Transportation sector taking a central place inside the national economic growth cannot be overemphasized. The transportation sector of Pakistan is sophisticated and diverse, but still its development is kind of at its premature stage. Several people ride daily on public and private transport to come to their final destination either within the city or outside city's border. Use of roads by people has been largest in Pakistan among many transport modes. Subsequently when it comes to buses, the current ones make no claim to be in a good condition and are not air- conditioned. The individuals are suffering as a result of bad busses, conductors and passengers who show hatred that end up frustrating the directions even more by overloading and delaying the buses and non-availability of transport. The country of Pakistan has over170million inhabitants, but the state of transportation in general is not a good one. Nevertheless, one cannot say that the situation is much better compared to last year, i.e. before the crisis came. The Daewoo bus still remain the only travel option specially during the times of economic crisis when other transportation modes such as airplanes and trains are expensive beyond people's budget. Even though Daehost service enjoys monopolistic conditions in the market, the given theoretical concept ‘Marketing Mix’ and its implementation are crucial. According to the findings provided, the marketers should take on all the marketing mix concepts issue fully and practice reliably in order to add value to the service, which in turn increases the company's market share.

Vermont's Universal School Meals Program: Challenging the Neoliberal Education Paradigm.

This article examines the recent implementation of Universal School Meals (USM) programs in several US states in the context of the increasing influence of neoliberalism in the public schooling system. By subverting a neoliberal paradigm, USM programs disrupt prevailing narratives of poverty and work to reclaim education's central place in the public sphere. A systems-thinking analysis of this issue reveals USM programs to be a powerful leverage point for change. Examining Vermont as a case study, this analysis explores how USM programs present an opportunity to reimagine the purpose of public schooling beyond the boundaries of a neoliberal paradigm.

Covering for uncertainty; family as the complex adaptive system in times of polycrisis

ABSTRACT Development of a modern healthcare system largely utilising the limited relations model of the west needs an urgent revision . The strength of the Indian and other eastern civilizations has been the central place that family has always occupied in obtaining healthcare. In the emerging era of health polycrisis, nothing offers a more resilient counter to uncertainty than “family”.

Chartism

The Chartist movement continues to occupy a central place in the history and historiography of modern Britain. As the first mass working-class movement for democracy in Britain, Chartism remains a controversial episode for historians trying to understand and explain it. Was it a movement with revolutionary aims and violent strategies and tactics? How socially inclusive were the Chartists? Was the movement little more than irrational hunger politics, whipped up by unprincipled upper-class demagogues? In what ways did Chartism fail, and why? This essay begins by providing an overview of the movement, including definitions and the key debates among historians, before moving on to focus on the cultural dimensions of Chartism by looking at what it meant to be a Chartist. It will also explore the movement within the context of nineteenth century Britain (England, Scotland and Wales) and the wider world – the far-flung corners of which many Chartists found themselves banished as transported prisoners and immigrants. The essay concludes by examining some of the ways in which Chartism failed, and the reasons for this, as well as pointing to some of the successes achieved by the movement.

Migrating from Keimoes to Karlien Park: Stories from “Coloured” South Africa

During the 1970s and 1980s, many “Coloured” people migrated from Keimoes in the now Northern Cape Province to Rustenburg, which is situated in what is now the North West Province. Rustenburg was the nearest large “city” to Keimoes and the distance these people travelled is about 800 kilometres. They did not migrate en masse, but as individuals or families, or individuals later joined by their families. Initially, they resided amongst Blacks in what is now Phokeng. Through the assistance of the then deputy mayor of Rustenburg, Mr Johan Beukes, a white man who had established a Werkskring (Working Circle) for doing missionary work among “Coloureds,” they obtained land to build a church near the “white dorp” of Rustenburg. They built the church as a congregation of the then Dutch Reformed Mission Church, with their own hands, without spending money on contractors. The church was inaugurated in 1976. Around the church, the “township” of Karlien Park developed in what was set aside for “Coloured” inhabitation by the amendments to the Group Areas Act 41, which had already been proclaimed in 1950. Questions raised are: Why did the people migrate to Rustenburg? What was the impact of this migration on their mental health? Do they regret migrating? Do they want to go back? This article shares the findings of a study conducted to address those questions. Information was gathered through interviews with people who shared their stories of migrating from Keimoes to Karlien Park and still live in Karlien Park. The themes emanating from the information gathered are as follows: Families were torn apart by migration; those who migrated were skilled labourers; in Karlien Park, the migrants retained a strong “Coloured” identity; the relationship with non-migrants in Keimoes is complicated; and the Church took a central place in the migrated community.

Modeling Cultural Ecosystem Services Using Social Media Photos: The case of Denizli, Türkiye

Cultural ecosystem services, a complex interplay between humans and landscapes, significantly influence identity, well-being, and social connections. These services, provided through natural and cultural landscapes, can be better understood through spatial data. Using geotagged photos from Flickr, this study delves into user behavior and preferences in Denizli, Türkiye. The aim is to enrich sustainable landscape management by mapping temporal and spatial changes in visitor patterns. The spatial distribution patterns revealed that user activities are predominantly scattered around the city center, historical sites, cultural hubs, and facilities-equipped recreational places. The findings unveiled a concentration in the northwest region in terms of cultural heritage, aesthetic, and recreational values. The period when visitors shared the most photos was between July and October. The study's originality lies in its unique approach to mapping visitor-preferred hotspots and landscape values at the provincial scale, identifying previously unmentioned locations such as Maymun Mountain and the Dodurgalar district. The research underscores the importance of integrating natural and cultural landscape values into urban management and ensuring coordinated efforts to maintain the uniqueness of cities. The practical implications of this study are significant, as they provide valuable insights for urban planners and policymakers interested in sustainable landscape management. Despite the methodological constraints of geotagged social media data, it remains a more time and cost-effective tool. It provides abundant and up-to-date information on user preferences and movements, enabling analysis of spatial and temporal patterns.

Une étude de modélisation et simulation (M&S) du trafic urbain de la ville Bamako s’appuyant sur l’approche de modélisation multi-perspective et simulation holistique (MPM&HS)

Urban traffic occupies a central place in our daily life of a city and gains complexity due to its increasing interdependence with other socio-economic dimensions (such as climate, demography and environmental policies, to name a few). This work presents a modeling and simulation study based on the Multi-Perspective Modeling and Holistic Simulation (MPM&HS) framework that can address such complexity. It is based on the holistic integration of models that have been independently constructed from the respective perspectives of diverse but interdependent dimensions. The resulting model can answer questions that any of the perspective-specific models cannot answer in isolation. We use a traffic modeling and simulation case study to illustrate the effectiveness of the MPM&HS approach. Keywords: Modeling and Simulation (M&S), Multi-Perspective Modeling and Holistic Simulation (MPM&HS), High-Level Language for System Specification (HiLLS), Transportation system, Urban traffic, Anylogic.

Project and Systemic Activities in Combating Violence against Women and Family Violence – a Critical Perspective of Social Work

The article focuses on the social phenomenon of violence against women and family violence, which marks the everyday life of society in different spheres. Critical social work through its theoretical frameworks and critical reflection has been contributing for decades to raising awareness regarding human rights issues and social phenomena, such as violence against women and domestic violence, but also of the challenges faced by individuals, social workers, and social structures that essentially occupy the central place of critical social work theories. This paper presents research results into systems solutions and project activities in the Republic of Srpska through the prism of theoretical approaches and perspectives of critical social work. The results showed that the system’s response to violence against women and family violence is framed by the normative (international and national) framework in the Republic of Srpska, where the Istanbul Convention and the The Law on Protection from Violence in the Family of RS are crucial normative, as well as that significant steps have been taken to criminalize violence as a criminal offence in the The Law on Protection from Violence in the Family of RS. The results show that in the past few years, a series of project activities have been carried out that have contributed to implementation of laws, policies and programs in the area of protection from domestic violence and violence against women. The theoretical framework offers an understanding of structural and post-modern approaches to critical social work in the analysis of the social phenomenon of violence against women and domestic violence. Also, the perspectives of critical social work have been used in the discussion on the results of this research concerning the project activities and systemic solutions in combating violence against women and family violence.

INGLIZ VA O‘ZBEK TILLARIDA “MA’NAVIYAT” TUSHUNCHASI VA UNING TARJIMA JARAYONIDA O‘ZIGA XOSLIKLARINI ANIQLASH

The concepts of spirituality and the spiritual world occupy a central place for many cultures and religions of the world. These concepts are often expressed through language, and the linguistic expression of these concepts can vary significantly from one language to another. This article explores spirituality and the linguistic expression of the spiritual world in English and Uzbek. This article is based on a combination of linguistic and cultural analysis to study the linguistic expression of spirituality and the spiritual world in English and Uzbek.

(Не)забытая Кавказская война: некоторые аспекты конструирования исторической памяти

The article endeavors to examine certain factors involved in the construction of historical memory among Chechens regarding the events of the Caucasian War. For the first time, the author conducts a sociological analysis based on empirical data to explore the perception of Chechens concerning the tragedy of the Caucasian War and its demographic, material-economic, sociocultural, and other consequences, thereby affirming the scientific novelty of the research. Using both theoretical and empirical materials, the study substantiates the thesis that the genocide of Chechens during the Caucasian War occupies a central place in the structure of their historical memory. Furthermore, emphasis is placed on the significance of commemorative practices in shaping the historical memory of Chechens and the necessity of expanding the commemorative field. The research also highlights the problem of the emotional perception of historical events related to forced migrations by the respondents. This investigation contributes to a deeper understanding of how historical narratives are constructed and the role they play in the collective memory of affected communities.