Spatial Distribution Of Activity Research Articles

A climate-driven, altitudinal transition in rock glacier dynamics detected through integration of geomorphological mapping and synthetic aperture radar interferometry (InSAR)-based kinematics

Abstract. In dry southwestern South Tyrol, Italy, rock glaciers are dominant landforms of the high-mountain cryosphere. Their spatial distribution and degree of activity hold critical information on the current state of discontinuous permafrost and consequently on the response potential to climate warming. Traditional geomorphologic mapping, however, owing to the qualitative expert-based nature, typically displays a high degree of uncertainty and variability among operators with respect to the dynamic classification of intact (permafrost-bearing) and relict (permafrost-devoid) rock glaciers. This limits the reliability of geomorphologic rock glacier inventories for basic and applied purposes. To address this limitation, (i) we conduct a systematic evaluation of the improvements that synthetic aperture radar interferometry (InSAR) can afford to the detection and dynamic classification of rock glaciers and (ii) build an integrated inventory that combines the strengths of geomorphologic- and InSAR-based approaches. To exploit fully InSAR-based information towards a better understanding of the topo-climatic conditions that sustain creeping permafrost, we further explore how velocity and the spatial distribution of moving areas (MAs) within rock glaciers may vary as a function of simple topographic variables known to exert first-order controls on incoming solar radiation, such as elevation and aspect. Starting from a geomorphologic inventory (n=789), we characterize the kinematics of InSAR-based MAs and the relevant hosting rock glaciers on 36 Sentinel-1 interferograms in the 2018–2019 period. With respect to the original inventory, InSAR analysis allowed us to identify 14 previously undetected rock glaciers. Further, it confirmed that 246 (76 %) landforms, originally interpreted as intact, do exhibit detectable movement (i.e., ≥1 cm yr−1) and that 270 (60 %) of the relict labeled counterparts do not, whereas 144 (18 %) were kinematically undefined due to decorrelation. Most importantly, InSAR proved critical for reclassifying 121 (15 %) rock glaciers, clarifying that 41 (13 %) of those interpreted as being intact do not exhibit detectable movement and that 80 (17 %) of the original relict ones do move. Reclassification (i) allowed us to identify a cluster of intact rock glaciers below 2000 m a.s.l. associated with positive mean annual air temperature (MAAT), and (ii) by increasing the altitudinal overlap between intact and relict rock glaciers, it depicts a broad transition belt in the aspect–elevation space, which varies from 50 m on west-facing slopes to 500 m on easterly ones. This finding deteriorates the significance of elevation and aspect as topographic proxies for modeling permafrost occurrence and highlights the importance of using InSAR to inform such models. From a process-oriented standpoint, InSAR information proves fundamental for imaging how this altitudinal transition manifests through changing rates and styles of rock glacier surface deformation. Specifically, we find that, as rock glaciers move faster, an increasingly larger proportion of their surface becomes kinematically involved (i.e., percent MA cover) and that this proportion increases with elevation up to 2600–2800 m, beyond which an inflection occurs and consistent average values are attained. Considering that the inflection falls between the −1 and −2 °C MAAT – the lower boundary for discontinuous permafrost – and is independent of slope gradient, we conclude that this altitudinal pattern represents a geomorphic signature: the dynamic expression of increasing permafrost distribution, from sporadic to discontinuous.

Inferring position of motor units from high-density surface EMG

The spatial distribution of muscle fibre activity is of interest in guiding therapy and assessing recovery of motor function following injuries of the peripheral or central nervous system. This paper presents a new method for stable estimation of motor unit territory centres from high-density surface electromyography (HDsEMG). This completely automatic process applies principal component compression and a rotatable Gaussian surface fit to motor unit action potential (MUAP) distributions to map the spatial distribution of motor unit activity. Each estimated position corresponds to the signal centre of the motor unit territory. Two subjects were used to test the method on forearm muscles, using two different approaches. With the first dataset, motor units were identified by decomposition of intramuscular EMG and the centre position of each motor unit territory was estimated from synchronized HDsEMG data. These positions were compared to the positions of the intramuscular fine wire electrodes with depth measured using ultrasound. With the second dataset, decomposition and motor unit localization was done directly on HDsEMG data, during specific muscle contractions. From the first dataset, the mean estimated depth of the motor unit centres were 8.7, 11.6, and 9.1 mm, with standard deviations 0.5, 0.1, and 1.3 mm, and the respective depths of the fine wire electrodes were 8.4, 15.8, and 9.1 mm. The second dataset generated distinct spatial distributions of motor unit activity which were used to identify the regions of different muscles of the forearm, in a 3-dimensional and projected 2-dimensional view. In conclusion, a method is presented which estimates motor unit centre positions from HDsEMG. The study demonstrates the shifting spatial distribution of muscle fibre activity between different efforts, which could be used to assess individual muscles on a motor unit level.

Quantity and spatial distribution of earth-air activity in Cave 108 of the Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes

Monitoring of earth-air humidity in soil has revealed extensive rising/falling activity on the land. Alternation of dry and wet air is the main root cause deterioration in cave wall paintings. However, the quantity and spatial distribution of earth-air activity in caves remain unclear. This study used air flowmeters to monitor the earth-air outflow at 136 points on the west, south, and north walls of Cave 108 in the Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes, and to determine its spatial distribution. Results showed that under the influence of atmospheric fluctuation, there is frequent air exchange between the atmosphere and the earth-air, and that the daily outflow of earth-air from Cave 108 is 50.893 m3/d. Earth-air flux is negatively correlated with atmospheric pressure, and the fluctuation of atmospheric pressure is the main driving force of earth-air activity. The average outflow of earth-air from the ground of Cave 108 is 0.109 L/(min·m2). Apart from that, the overall spatial distribution of earth-air quantity showed the following pattern: ground > west wall > north wall > south wall. What's more, the outflow of earth-air is inversely proportional to the wall height, while proportional to the depth of the cave embedded in the cliff. In such case, sealing the cave floor with concrete will heighten earth-air flow on the walls, thereby quickening the deterioration process of wall paintings. This study unveiled the deterioration mechanism of wall paintings in the context of earth-air conditions, thus establishing a foundation for the scientific protection of wall paintings.

Optimizing groundwater radium end-members in submarine groundwater discharge estimation by incorporating groundwater flow information

Submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) can be as important as river discharge for marine ecosystems. Radium (Ra) isotopes are excellent tracers of SGD estimation, and the selection of groundwater radium end-members is the most critical step in using the radium mass balance model to evaluate SGD. However, where and when to collect groundwater Ra end-members and their relationship with groundwater flow were not fully considered in previous studies. Based on field investigations and numerical simulations, this study systematically analyzed the influence of groundwater flow on the spatial distribution of 224Ra activity, and a new method was proposed to determine groundwater Ra end-members by incorporating groundwater flow information in a sandy beach at Xiaojing Bay, China. The results show that the groundwater radium activity collected near the low tide mark at low tides may be the most suitable groundwater Ra end-member. Compared with the newly-proposed method, we found that the traditional methods for determining groundwater Ra end-members such as the mean value and quartile methods may overestimate the SGD rates. Our study provides new insights into the determination of groundwater Ra end-members in a tidal beach and highlights that the groundwater Ra end-members should be determined based on groundwater flow information in SGD estimations by radium mass balance model.

Combining agglomeration economies and endogenous growth without scale effects

ABSTRACT Increasing returns to scale is essential to both spatial economics and macroeconomic growth. Spatial externalities imply external local increasing returns that generate an uneven spatial distribution of economic activity. While non-rival knowledge also implies increasing returns – in order to endogenise growth – this is not a spatial micro-foundation. Spatial theories of growth must be carefully specified to avoid unintended conclusions about the spatial economy and scale effects. This is demonstrated with a spatial endogenous growth model without scale effects that includes a spatial mechanism that facilitates agglomeration economies for innovation. In this class of models that combine spatial mechanisms with endogenous growth without scale effects, local increasing returns to scale imply that productivity, growth and interest rates are functions of the economy’s spatial distribution, but not its scale.

Spatio-temporal variability of fishing habitat suitability to tuna purse seine fleet in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean

Understanding the spatial distribution of fishing activity is important for ecosystem-based fisheries management.The dynamic vessel trajectory information provided by Automatic Identification System (AIS) together with local remote ocean environment data, provide an opportunity for new technologies to enable improvements in fisheries management.The spatio-temporal and variability to tuna purse seine fleet suitable fishing were evaluated based on fishing effort from AIS by constructing an integrated habitat suitability index (HSI), which weight of variables were determined with boosted regression trees (BRT) model. The results show that the fishing activity tuna purse-seine fleet and catch data from the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) have the same spatial distribution.The tuna purse seine fleet operation concentrate in EEZ area of the Pacifc Island countries and has seasonal environmental preferences. The fishing habitat suitability can be characterized by a few environmental factors. The HSI model had good capacity to predict habitat suitability to tuna purse seine fleet for mostly catch and fishing effort located in the suitable area. The suitable fishing areas showed significant seasonal changes and low utilization of the available environmentally suitable fishing habitat in each month. The most stable suitable area located in the New Guinea Offshore latitudinal region, may be experiencing high tuna purse-seine fishing pressure throughout the year. The research could help to improve the scientific and effective management of distant water fisheries under limited regulatory capacity.

Mapping cultural ecosystem services in mountain forests using mobile phone data

The aim of the work was to determine the spatial distribution of activity in the forest on the area of the Forest Promotional Complex “Sudety Zachodnie” using mobile phone data. The study identified the sites with the highest (hot spot) and lowest (cold spot) use. Habitat, stand, demographic, topographic and spatial factors affecting the distribution of activity were also analyzed. Two approaches were applied in our research: global and local Moran’s coefficients, and a machine learning technique, Boosted Regression Trees. The results show that 11,503,320 visits to forest areas were recorded in the “Sudety Zachodnie” in 2019. The most popular season for activities was winter, and the least popular was spring. Using global and local Moran’s I coefficients, three small hot clusters of activity and one large cold cluster were identified. Locations with high values with similar neighbours (hot-spots) were most often visited forest areas, averaging almost 200,000 visits over 2019. Significantly fewer visits were recorded in cold-spots, the average number of visits to these areas was about 4,500. The value of global Moran’s I was equal to 0.54 and proved significant positive spatial autocorrelation. Results of Boosted Regression Trees modeling of visits in forest, using tree stand habitat and spatial factors accurately explained 76% of randomly selected input data. The variables that had the greatest effect on the distribution of activities were the density of hiking and biking trails and diversity of topography. The methodology presented in this article allows delineation of Cultural Ecosystem Services hot spots in forest areas based on mobile phone data. It also allows the identification of factors that may influence the distribution of visits in forests. Such data are important for managing forest areas and adapting forest management to the needs of society while maintaining ecosystem stability.

Geological significance of the spatial clustering and alignment of vents in zones of distributed volcanism: A critical review

The spatial distribution of volcanic activity has been the subject of scientific enquiry for more than 350 years. Nevertheless, it has been only until recently that modern techniques of analysis started to be used to characterize such distribution. As a result, in the past 40 years many methods were devised, or adopted from other fields of study, aiming to achieve that purpose. Ironically, the plethora of now available methodologies has made problematic the selection of one method of study to characterize the spatial distribution of volcanic vents. In addition, given the diversity of methods, and their underlying assumptions, there are issues concerning the form in which the results of any specific method should be interpreted in a volcanic context. In this work I make emphasis on the relationship between the embedded assumptions of several common methods of study with the concept of a “natural partition”. Throughout this work it is remarked that 1) it is extremely important to gain conscience about the several assumptions implicit on each method of analysis, 2) never loose sight that not all volcanic systems are equal, and 3) that it is a myth that any quantitative method can provide reliable information about any system. The convenience of assessing more than one conceptual model to explain the formation of a cluster-subcluster structure is also mentioned. Overall, it is shown that the complexity of volcanic phenomena cannot be encapsulated by using a single method of study, or an automatized selection of parameters. Thus, given the complexity and diversity of volcanic phenomena, there is no particular method, nor set of methods, that can be recommended to be used on every situation of interest. Yet, as a golden rule, it is suggested that more than one method of analysis is used at every location of study, looking for congruency of results within a range of spatial scales.

Fatigue task-dependent effect on spatial distribution of lumbar muscles activity

This study aims to identify how spatial distribution of lumbar muscle activity is modulated by different fatigue tasks. Twenty healthy adults performed two different isometric trunk extension endurance tasks (the modified Sorensen test and the inverted modified Sorensen test) until exhaustion. During these tasks, bilateral superficial lumbar muscle activity was recorded using high-density electromyography. The spatial distribution of activation within these muscles was obtained using the centroid coordinates in the medio-lateral and cranio-caudal directions. The effects of task and endurance time (left and right sides) were investigated using repeated measures ANOVA. Results revealed a significant lateral shift of the centroid throughout the fatigue tasks on both sides and no difference between tasks. Significant task × time interaction effects were found for the cranio-caudal direction on both sides showing a significantly more caudal location of the centroid in the modified Sorensen test compared to the inverted test at the beginning of the tasks. Our findings suggest that spatial distribution of lumbar muscle activity is task-dependent in a pre-fatigue stage while an alternative but similar muscle recruitment strategy is used in both tasks to maintain performance in the later stages of muscle fatigue.

High-density surface electromyography allows to identify risk conditions and people with and without low back pain during fatiguing frequency-dependent lifting activities

Low back pain (LBP) is a leading cause of disability in the workplace, often caused by manually lifting of heavy loads. Instrumental-based assessment tools are used to quantitatively assess the biomechanical risk of lifting activities. This study aims to verify that, during the execution of fatiguing frequency-dependent lifting, high-density surface electromyography (HDsEMG) allows the discrimination of healthy controls (HC) versus people with LBP and biomechanical risk levels. Fifteen HC and eight people with LBP performed three lifting tasks with a progressively increasing lifting index, each lasting 15 min. Erector spinae (ES) activity was recorded using HDsEMG and amplitude parameters were calculated to characterize the spatial distribution of muscle activity. LBP group showed a less ES activity than HC (lower root mean square across the grid and of the activation region) and an involvement of the same muscular area across the task (lower coefficient of variation of the center of gravity of muscle activity). The results indicate the usefulness of HDsEMG parameters to classify risk levels for both HC and LBP groups and to determine differences between them. The findings suggest that the use of HDsEMG could expand the capabilities of existing instrumental-based tools for biomechanical risk classification during lifting activities.

Quantifying the Effect of Acoustic Parameters on Temporal and Spatial Cavitation Activity: Gauging Cavitation Dose.

Cavitation-enhanced delivery of therapeutic agents is under development for the treatment of cancer and neurodegenerative and cardiovascular diseases, including sonothrombolysis for deep vein thrombosis. The objective of this study was to quantify the spatial and temporal distribution of cavitation activity nucleated by Definity infused through the EKOS catheter over a range of acoustic parameters controlled by the EKOS endovascular system. Three insonation protocols were compared in an in vitro phantom mimicking venous flow to measure the effect of peak rarefactional pressure, pulse duration and pulse repetition frequency on cavitation activity energy, location and duration. Inertial and stable cavitation activity was quantified using passive cavitation imaging, and a metric of cavitation dose based on energy density was defined. For all three insonation protocols, cavitation was sustained for the entire 30min Definity infusion. The evolution of cavitation energy during each pulse duration was similar for all three protocols. For insonation protocols with higher peak rarefactional acoustic pressures, inertial and stable cavitation doses also increased. A complex relationship between the temporal behavior of cavitation energy within each pulse and the pulse repetition frequency affected the cavitation dose for the three insonation protocols. The relative predominance of stable or inertial cavitation dose varied according to insonation schemes. Passive cavitation images revealed the spatial distribution of cavitation activity. Our cavitation dose metric based on energy density enabled the impact of different acoustic parameters on cavitation activity to be measured. Depending on the type of cavitation to be promoted or suppressed, particular pulsing schemes could be employed in future studies, for example, to correlate cavitation dose with sonothrombolytic efficacy.

In Situ Mapping of Activity Distribution of V(II)/V(III) and Onset Potential Distribution of Hydrogen Evolution Side Reaction in Vanadium Flow Batteries.

Vanadium flow batteries (VFBs) face a challenge with the low reaction rates of the V(II)/V(III) redox couple, which limits the performance of VFBs. Additionally, the negative electrode in VFBs is often accompanied by the persistent hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), which is difficult to eliminate. Therefore, understanding the spatial distribution of activity on the negative electrode and the HER side reaction on the electrode surface is of critical importance. This study proposes a weak measurement imaging method to characterize the spatial distribution of surface activity and HER onset potential on the negative electrode in VFBs). This method enables the visualization and in situ detection of key parameters such as the absolute values of |ipa |, |ipc |, |∆E|, |ipc /ipa |, and the HER onset potential. By comparing three different types of graphite felts with varying activity levels, it validates the feasibility of this method. Furthermore, electrochemical stability tests are conducted to study the electrodes repeatability, uniformity, and durability. This method holds promise in guiding the design of electrodes with enhanced activity, good reversibility, minimized HER side reactions, and uniform distribution.

Evaluating Suitability of Fishing Areas for Squid-Jigging Vessels in the Northwest Pacific Ocean Derived from AIS Data

Understanding the spatial distribution of fishing activity and suitable fishing areas is important for improving sustainable fisheries management and protecting vulnerable fish stocks. To identify climate-related habitat changes and variations in the distribution of fishing activity for squid-jigging vessels in the Northwest Pacific Ocean, two types (weighted arithmetic mean method, weighted-AMM; weighted geometric mean method, weighted-GMM) of habitat suitability index (HSI) models were developed in this study with marine environmental data at different depths. The boosted regression tree (BRT) model was adopted to access the monthly important environmental variables and the relative influence of the corresponding variables. The results showed that the weighted-AMM has better prediction performance than the weighted-GMM. The suitable fishing areas showed significant seasonal changes in both spatial location and coverage area. The hotspot map showed that the suitable fishing area for squid-jigging vessels was located in the scope of 42∘ N∼44∘ N, 155∘ E∼170∘ E throughout the year during 2012∼2019, which suggests that high squid-jigging fishing pressure should be given more attention in fishery management. The HSI model also had good prediction performance for the fishery data of Chinese companies, except for June and July. Additionally, fishing efforts could be used as alternative data for fishery research. The study has also suggested that fishery data are restricted by spatial and temporal distribution and fishing experience, which probably biases the results of the research.

Floating Population: Migration With(Out) Family and the Spatial Distribution of Economic Activity

This paper argues that migrants’ decision to bring their dependent family members shapes their consumption behavior, their choice of destination, and their sensitivity to migration barriers. We document that in China: (i) rural migrants disproportionately move to expensive cities; (ii) in these cities they live without their family and in poorer housing conditions; and (iii) they remit more, especially when living without their family. We then develop a quantitative general equilibrium spatial model in which migrant households choose whether, how (with or without their family), and where to migrate. We estimate the model using plausibly exogenous variation in wages, housing prices, and exposure to family migration costs. We use the model to estimate migration costs and relate them to migration policy. We find that hukou policies protect workers in large, expensive, and high income cities at the expense of rural households, who use remittances to overcome some of these costs.

Spatial distribution of hand-grasp motor task activity in spinal cord functional magnetic resonance imaging.

Upper extremity motor paradigms during spinal cord functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) can provide insight into the functional organization of the cord. Hand-grasping is an important daily function with clinical significance, but previous studies of similar squeezing movements have not reported consistent areas of activity and are limited by sample size and simplistic analysis methods. Here, we study spinal cord fMRI activation using a unimanual isometric hand-grasping task that is calibrated to participant maximum voluntary contraction (MVC). Two task modeling methods were considered: (1) a task regressor derived from an idealized block design (Ideal) and (2) a task regressor based on the recorded force trace normalized to individual MVC (%MVC). Across these two methods, group motor activity was highly lateralized to the hemicord ipsilateral to the side of the task. Activation spanned C5-C8 and was primarily localized to the C7 spinal cord segment. Specific differences in spatial distribution are also observed, such as an increase in C8 and dorsal cord activity when using the %MVC regressor. Furthermore, we explored the impact of data quantity and spatial smoothing on sensitivity to hand-grasp motor task activation. This analysis shows a large increase in number of active voxels associated with the number of fMRI runs, sample size, and spatial smoothing, demonstrating the impact of experimental design choices on motor activation.

Detecting Air Pollution Clusters in Japan: A Spatial Analysis Approach

Abstract We rely on satellite data to study the spatial distribution of air pollutants and economic activity for 1,650 municipalities of all four main islands of Japan: Honshu, Kyushu, Hokkaido, and Shikoku. Specifically, we analyze atmospheric particulate matter and ozone concentrations, as well as population density, accessibility to cities, and night lights for the above islands. We then make use of principal component analysis, spatial dependence analysis, and methods of regionalization to endogenously classify the municipalities based on their similarity in attributes and geographic location. The spatial dependence analysis provides results which show us the specific sites where the high-value clusters (hot spots) and low-value clusters (cold spots) are located. These show a high positive correlation between economic activity and air pollution. Additionally, we perform a regionalization analysis of the variables under consideration, which specifies how the four main islands can be regionalized into six to nine geographical regions or structures, each. The regionalization takes into consideration both pollution levels and economic activity. We then conclude by discussing how these different analyses can complement each other, and how they contribute in finding the locations where policies related to air quality can help in improving the quality of life of the population.

Quantitative Urban Models: From Theory to Data

Economic activity is highly unevenly distributed within cities, as reflected in the concentration of economic functions in specific locations, such as finance in the Square Mile in London. The extent to which this concentration reflects natural advantages versus agglomeration forces is central to a range of public policy issues, including the impact of local taxation and transport infrastructure improvements. This paper reviews recent quantitative urban models, which incorporate both differences in natural advantages and agglomeration forces, and can be taken directly to observed data on cities. We show that these models can be used to estimate the strength of agglomeration forces and evaluate the impact of transportation infrastructure improvements on welfare and the spatial distribution of economic activity.

Economic Activity across Space: A Supply and Demand Approach

What do recent advances in economic geography teach us about the spatial distribution of economic activity? We show that the equilibrium distribution of economic activity can be determined simply by the intersection of labor supply and demand curves. We discuss how to estimate these curves and highlight the importance of global geography—the connections between locations through the trading network—in determining how various policy relevant changes to geography shape the spatial economy.

Rodent activity in municipal waste collection premises in Singapore: an analysis of risk factors using mixed-effects modelling

Refuse storage and collection systems are potential sources of food and harbourage areas for rodents which transmit pathogens. We examined the factors associated with rodent activity in public housing municipal waste collection premises in a highly urbanized city-state. We analysed data from April 2019 to March 2020 in mixed-effects logistic regression models to examine the independent factors associated with rodent activity in central refuse chute rooms (CRCs), individual refuse chute (IRC) bin chambers and bin centres. We accounted for within-year patterns, repeated measures and nested effects. We observed a heterogeneous spatial distribution of rodent activity. Rodent droppings were strongly associated with rodent activity in CRCs (aOR: 6.20, 95% CI: 4.20–9.15), bin centres (aOR: 3.61, 95% CI: 1.70–7.64) and IRC bin chambers (aOR: 90.84, 95% CI: 70.13–117.67). Gnaw marks were positively associated with rodent activity in CRCs (aOR: 5.61, 95% CI: 3.55–8.97) and IRC bin chambers (aOR: 2.05, 95% CI: 1.43–2.95), as were rub marks in CRCs (aOR: 5.04, 95% CI: 3.44–7.37) and IRC bin chambers (aOR: 3.07, 95% CI: 1.74–5.42). Each burrow increased the odds of rodent sightings in bin centres (aOR: 1.03, 95% CI: 1.00–1.06). The odds of rodent sightings in an IRC bin chamber increased with every additional bin chute chamber within the same block (aOR: 1.04, 95% CI: 1.01–1.07). We identified several factors that well predicted rodent activity in waste collection premises. Municipal estate managers with limited resources can adopt a risk-based approach in tailoring the focus of their rodent control interventions.

Regional inequalities and the West–East divide in Turkey since 1913

AbstractThis paper examines the evolution of regional disparities within the present‐day borders of Turkey since 1913. Based on our estimates for 58 provinces, we findβ‐convergence, an inverse U, and more recently, the beginnings of an N‐shaped pattern for value added per capita. We also find that regional disparities in Turkey exhibit a number of special features that do not easily fit the well‐studied pattern of the early industrializers. First, while per capita value added in other regions moved towards country averages, the differences between the East and the rest of the country persisted and even increased until recently. Second, spatial distribution of economic activity became more concentrated over time due to continued migration to the megacity of Istanbul. Third, we find that regional disparities in per capita value added in Turkey and other developing countries have been higher than those experienced by the early industrializers. These findings raise questions about the extent to which the regional disparities experiences of Turkey and other developing countries have been different than those of the early industrializers.