Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Long distance trade'

If as argued the Mediterranean consisted in Antiquity of a unity determined by similar environmental factors and crises which were mitigated through established networks of trade and exchange, the border regions of the Roman Mediterranean, particularly to the South and East, were characterised by a radically different environment. This thesis focuses on the development of three of the arid regions bordering the ancient Mediterranean, namely the Fazzan oases in the Libyan Sahara, the Eastern Desert of Egypt and the region of Palmyra in Syria. These arid regions have received considerable archaeological attention in recent years, and a review of them will highlight the factors which enabled these regions to interact with the Roman Empire through trading dynamics, but also through the development of local resources. Central questions within this thesis concern the extent to which the environment would have tailored the potential of these regions, and if the existence of trade routes and social networks both affected and were affected by settlement and exploitation patterns in the region. Trade was created by geographically much broader social requirements for foreign or exotic goods, yet was restricted by the possibility to pass through these regions. Developments were conditioned by the constant need for balance between the state as a power enforcing and representing peace and security and local entities, and what the local social organisation had to offer in term of rent and stability to the state as an institution. After an introduction (Chapter 1) delineating the aims of the thesis, Chapter 2 defines influential theories and models that will be considered for this thesis, namely environmental factors, social networks and institutional economics. The archaeological evidence is then discussed in each relevant chapter: Chapter 3: The Libyan Sahara; Chapter 4: The Eastern Desert of Egypt; Chapter 5: Palmyra. Chapter 6 discusses major factors that may work as explanations for the development of agriculture, the exploitation mineral resources, and trade in these regions. The choice of regions both inside and outside the Roman Empire also allows a discussion on the rise of economic activities linked to the imperial economy. As such, the thesis moves away from a romano-centric perspective and proposes to look instead for internal factors, such as the development of complex societies with organisational frameworks and social networks which enable them to overcome the challenges of their geo-climatic settings. This study concludes that the developments identified in each chapter were not a factor of environmental changes but human agency. The state, or private individuals or communities successfully organised the resources necessary to integrate the regions into wider networks of intense trade in the imperial period. These concerned both physical infrastructure, and the development of far-reaching social networks.

This dissertation is a quantitative study of the spatial business strategies of 130 late medieval and 16th-century European commercial and banking firms, the business networks of which have been put together for a structural analysis of the European city network between ca. 1300 and ca. 1600. Concretely this investigation has been carried out through the application of an interlocking network model – specifically developed for the study of the present-day global city network produced by the office networks of business service firms – to this historical case study, in order to challenge predominantly hierarchical conceptualisations of city networks which are often influenced by central place theory. After a methodological section, in which solutions are designed for reconciling the geographical model with the particularities of historical research, a first part of the analysis focuses on agency within the network, identifying and reconstructing the multiple spatial strategies used by the different agents. In a second part the overall structure and dynamics in the network are investigated, revealing the operation of Christaller's traffic principle, as well as a cyclical variation in emphasis on continental and maritime nodes within the European city network. More generally, this study demonstrates that the functioning of dynamic transnational networks based upon complementarity and cooperation rather than competition is not limited to our contemporary globalised world, but can also be found in particular historical societies.

This thesis examines the effect that mid 19th century steamship development had on long distance trade and communication between Britain and Australia. It takes a holistic approach, drawing together a number of diverse but related themes and using much previously unseen material to challenge many former assumptions. This thesis examines in detail the role of one particular steamship, the S.S Great Britain, as pivotal to the development of Australian trade over many years, rather than ts brief period on the trans-Atlantic run, which previous commentators have focused on.

Este é um estudo sobre os grupos de carregadores das caravanas do comércio de longa distância na Lunda, em fins do século XIX e início do XX. O objetivo principal é argumentar que esses trabalhadores foram responsáveis pela movimentação da engrenagem do comércio regional no espaço que atualmente compreende o nordeste do território de Angola. Sua importância decorreu do conhecimento especializado que detinham, sem o qual não seria possível a circulação de mercadorias e informações por vastas regiões. O estudo levou em conta os elementos organizadores das caravanas de comércio: diferentes grupos de carregadores, papéis sociais e hierarquias, produtos transportados e itinerários percorridos. O exame destes aspectos possibilitou observar o dinamismo do comércio de longa distância, com o qual se conectavam os negócios internacionais. Em um contexto finissecular, marcado pela pressão da era dos impérios, porque sabiam fazer, os carregadores foram um elemento essencial do comércio de longa distância, muito importante para a vitalidade das sociedades da Lunda.
This study is about long distance porters and the trade in Lunda between 1870 and 1920. I argue that porters played a very important role in the operation of regional trade, being responsible for moving goods and informations in very distance areas. My analysis covers several elements: how porters articulated trade caravans, how they organized themselves in different groups permeated by different social hierarchies, the variety of transported goods and trade routes. These elements reveal the dynamism of long-distance trade - extremely important to the vitality of Lunda societies.

The diploma paper, Evaluation of aplicability of Leading Quality Trails - Best of Europe criteria on a long-distance hiking trail in the Czech Republic, deals with the process of certification of long-distance hiking trails in accordance with the norm called Leading Quality Trails - Best of Europe. The norm is based on German norms for certificating long-distance hiking trails which brought remarkable success. So far, there are no such trails in the Czech Republic. The main purpose of this thesis is to provide answers to questions concerning the aplicability of European norms on Czech hiking trails. Specifically, it will focus on the aplication of the norms on the long-distance hiking trail Stezka podel Luznice and its evaluation.

Past focus in the panel gravity literature has been on multidimensional fixed effects specifications in an effort to accommodate heterogeneity. After introducing conventional multidimensional fixed effects, we find evidence of cross-sectional dependence in flows. We propose a simultaneous dependence gravity model that allows for network dependence in flows, along with computationally efficient Markov Chain Monte Carlo estimation methods that produce a Monte Carlo integration estimate of log-marginal likelihood useful for model comparison. Application of the model to a panel of trade flows points to network spillover effects, suggesting the presence of network dependence and biased estimates from conventional trade flow specifications. The most important sources of network dependence were found to be membership in trade organizations, historical colonial ties, common currency and spatial proximity of countries.
Series: Working Papers in Regional Science

L’étude de la pollution troposphérique inclut l’étude des gaz traces provenant de sources anthropiquesdiverses, dont l’impact varie de l’échelle locale à globale. Pour caractériser cette pollution, il est nécessairede mesurer avec précision les concentrations en polluants. Dans le cadre de projets européens, troiscampagnes aéroportées ont été conduites, dans le bassin méditerranéen, en Afrique de l’ouest et enMalaisie, pour mesurer différents types de polluants grâce, entre autres, à un spectromètre à lasersinfrarouges, SPIRIT, capable de mesurer rapidement en ligne de faibles variations de NO2 et CO. Les jeuxde données de ces gaz traces (et d’autres) ont été combinés avec un modèle lagrangien de dispersion departicules, FLEXPART, pour identifier différentes sources de pollution locales et régionales de l’air. Cettethèse présente ainsi les mesures et le travail de modélisation entrepris afin de définir les sources depollution de chaque région. Il a été montré que le bassin méditerranéen a été impacté, de la moyenne à lahaute troposphère pendant l’été, par des émissions de feux de biomasse venant de Sibérie et du continentnord-américain. Les régions ouest-africaine et malaisienne sont aussi impactées par des émissions de feuxde biomasse transportées depuis l’Afrique centrale dans le premier cas, et de feux locaux dans le second.En outre, ces régions sont influencées par des émissions provenant de l’exploitation du pétrole et du traficmaritime. FLEXPART a été utilisé afin d’identifier l’origine des pics de pollution mesurés au cours descampagnes. Nous avons ainsi montré que les conditions atmosphériques, qui définissent la hauteurd’injection du panache de la plateforme pétrolière, ainsi que le flux d’émission sont des paramètres clésdans la caractérisation des mesures par le modèle
The study of tropospheric pollution includes the study of trace gases coming from various anthropogenicsources that can impact scales ranging from local to global. To characterise this pollution, it is necessary tobe able to measure with precision pollutant concentrations. Within the frame of European projects, threeairborne campaigns in the Mediterranean Basin, in West Africa and in Malaysia were conducted to measuredifferent types of pollutants thanks to, among others, an infrared laser spectrometer, SPIRIT, able to rapidlymeasure on-line small variations in NO2 and CO. The data sets of these trace gases (and others) have beencombined with a Lagrangian model of particle dispersion, FLEXPART, to fingerprint different sources of localand regional air pollution. Thus, this thesis presents the measurements and the modelling work undertakenin order to define the sources of pollution of each region. It has been shown that the Mediterranean Basinwas impacted, in the mid to upper troposphere during summer, by biomass burning emissions coming fromSiberia and the Northern American continent. West African and Malaysian regions are also impacted bybiomass burning emissions transported from central Africa in the first case, and from local fires in thesecond. In addition, those regions are influenced by emissions coming from oil exploitation and maritimetraffic. FLEXPART was used in order to identify the origin of the pollution peaks measured during thecampaigns. It has been shown that atmospheric conditions, which define the injection height of the oilplatform plume, and also the emission flux are key parameters in the characterisation of the measurementsby the model

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1989.
Typescript. Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 375-386).

Climate is changing at a faster pace than some species can adjust to and the situation can become more complicated in the arctic and sub-arctic, where temperatures are warming more rapidly than at lower latitudes. This can be particularly problematic for long-distance migrants using multiple climatic zones during the annual cycle. In fact, several long-distance migrants are in decline globally and in order to unravel population level responses it is essential to first understand how processes operating at the individual level can influence fitness. Icelandic whimbrels Numenius phaeopus islandicus provide a suitable system in which to investigate these questions. I investigated (1) differences in seasonal migration duration, speed and ground speed, and mapped migration routes, wintering and stopover; (2) examined range wide energetic trade-offs and associated carry-over effects of wintering area conditions into the breeding season; (3) explored seasonal and sex-specific variation in consistency of individual timing during the annual cycle; (4) using full annual cycle individual level data, I investigated correlations between annual stages and duration of stationary periods, and assessed their fitness consequences; and (5) explored how wind conditions, temperature and departure date influence spring migratory strategy of Icelandic whimbrels. Contrary to most seasonal migrants, Icelandic whimbrels tended to migrate faster in autumn than in spring, and during the latter migration period a stopover strategy was prevalent. I found a trade-off between migration distance and wintering site quality but spending the winter at higher quality sites had no apparent influence on breeding phenology or breeding investment. Hence, after establishing that fledging success decreases with laying date, fitness consequences did not seem to emerge from winter site use. I also show that individuals have consistent schedules during the annual cycle, particularly at spring migration departure. Yet, schedule adjustments seem to occur during stationary periods (e.g. stopover, wintering), which likely allow whimbrels to avoid or alleviate negative fitness consequences between breeding seasons, by compensating for delays and breed on time; however, compensation between consecutive stages within the annual cycle is insufficient. The migratory strategy used in spring had no clear influence on laying date (hence unlikely to influence fledging success) and did not seem to be driven by wind conditions. Instead, individuals departing later tended to fly directly to Iceland and arrive earlier than those that stopover. As in other systems, timing is crucial for Icelandic whimbrels, particularly laying date, which links to breeding success. I only found a significant effect of spring arrival date on laying date (although spring arrival can be influenced by other factors). Variables such as food supply and weather conditions in the breeding area and pair bond were not investigated, but I discuss how these might influence laying date. Additionally, I suggest that the decline in fledging success with laying date is likely caused by predation pressure on whimbrel broods. Since individuals are consistent in phenology and timing is crucial, it is important to acquire knowledge (i) on food resource dynamics at the breeding areas, to comprehend in detail how these may become limiting under a scenario of environmental change; and (ii) on the ontogeny of migration and associated timing, as this allow to understand how migratory schedules are defined and forecast population-level responses.
Para muitas espécies as alterações climáticas ocorrem mais rápido do que a sua capacidade de resposta e a situação pode tornar-se mais complicada no árctico e sub-árctico, onde as temperaturas têm aumentado de forma mais célere do que a latitudes inferiores. Isto é particularmente problemático para migradores que usam várias regiões climáticas durante o seu ciclo anual. De facto, vários migradores de longa distância estão em declínio global e para perceber a sua capacidade de resposta a nível populacional, é primeiro necessário compreender como os processos que ocorrem ao nível dos indivíduos podem influenciar o seu fitness. Os maçaricos-galegos da subespécie islandesa Numenius phaeopus islandicus proporcionam um bom sistema de estudo para investigar estas questões. Nesta tese investiguei (1) as diferenças sazonais na duração da migração, velocidade de migração e velocidade do voo em relação ao solo, e mapeei as rotas de migração, zonas de invernada e de paragem migratória desta população; (2) examinei trade-offs energéticos à escala da distribuição da população e os potenciais efeitos de carry-over das condições de invernada no período de reprodução; (3) determinei a variação sazonal e sexual na consistência do timing individual ao longo do ciclo anual; (4) usando dados a nível individual para todo o ciclo anual, investiguei correlações entre estádios anuais e a duração de períodos estacionários, e avaliei as suas consequências no fitness individual; e (5) explorei como as condições de vento, temperatura e data de saída durante a migração influenciam a estratégia migratória primaveril. Ao contrário da maioria dos migradores sazonais, os maçaricos-galegos islandeses tendem a migrar mais rápido no outono do que na primavera, e durante a migração primaveril a estratégia de stopover é mais comum. Descrevi trade-offs entre a distância de migração e a qualidade do local de invernada, mas invernar num local de maior qualidade aparentemente não tem influência na fenologia de reprodução ou investimento reprodutor. Assim, depois de estabelecer que o sucesso reprodutor decresce com a data de postura, o local de invernada não parece ter consequências no fitness individual. Demonstrei que os indivíduos são consistentes no calendário anual, principalmente na data de saída na migração primaveril. Ainda assim, ocorrem ajustes ao calendário durante períodos estacionários (e.g. stopover, invernada), o que permite evitar ou atenuar implicações negativas entre épocas reprodutoras, ao compensar atrasos e nidificar a tempo. Contudo, entre estádios consecutivos do ciclo anual a compensação parece insuficiente. A estratégia usada na migração primaveral não teve uma influência clara na data de postura (portanto é improvável que afecte o fitness individual) e não parece depender das condições de vento. Indivíduos que partem mais tarde, tendem a fazer um voo directo para a Islândia e chegar antes daqueles que fazem uma paragem migratória. Como em outras espécies, o timing é crucial para os maçaricos-galegos islandeses, particularmente a data de postura, que influencia o sucesso reprodutor. Apenas encontrei um efeito significativo da data de chegada na migração primaveril na data de postura (no entanto, a data de chegada pode ser influenciada por outros factores). Os efeitos da disponibilidade alimentar e condições atmosféricas nos locais de reprodução, e a relação entre os membros do casal não foram investigados, mas é discutido como podem influenciar a data de postura. Adicionalmente, sugiro que o declínio no sucesso reprodutor com a data de postura é provavelmente causado por pressão de predação nas famílias de maçaricos-galegos. Uma vez que os indivíduos são consistentes no calendário e o timing é crucial, é importante adquirir conhecimento (i) sobre a dinâmica de recursos alimentares nas áreas de reprodução, para compreender em detalhe como esse factor pode vir a tornar-se limitante, dado o cenário actual de alterações ambientais; e (ii) sobre a ontogenia de migração e timing associado, uma vez que permitirá entender como o timing de migração é estabelecido e prever respostas populacionais.
Programa Doutoral em Biologia

: The theses deals with long-distance contacts in Bylany culture in the Early Iron Age (Ha C1-Ha D1). The research is based on detailed typological and chronological analysis of exogenous material artefacts and their comparation with other analogical european finds. The invisible evidence of long-distance contacts (technology, art, burial practices, life style) is also included.

Résumé. Le mémoire s’intéresse à l’émergence historique de la coopération économique régionale comme forme non-hégémonique de coopération. Nous y proposons une approche alternative au problème de l’origine de la coopération systémique, par rapport à la conception d’origine hégémonique de la coopération systémique, propre aux théories néolibérale et néoréaliste. Plutôt que par le biais des théories du marché, l’origine de la coopération est approchée par le biais des processus caractérisant l’anarchie-même tel le processus de construction anarchique des formes de guerre. Et plus spécifiquement, des formes de guerre dont l’usage soumet la structure anarchique à des contraintes extrêmes, mettant celle-ci en crise, exemplifiée par la chute de la puissance hégémonique, la fin d’un système hégémonique et le début de coopération systémique non-hégémonique, de nature plus régionale et économique. En privilégiant l’approche historique, nous insistons notamment sur l’impact critique du commerce au loin et du crédit international dans la construction par la structure anarchique des formes de guerre que la puissance hégémonique ne peut plus supporter.
Historical origins of regional economic cooperation as a non-hegemonic form of cooperation. Abstract. This thesis examines the emergence of the regional economic cooperation as a non-hegemonic form of cooperation. We propose an alternative to the prevailing conception of hegemonic origin of systemic cooperation, proposed by the neorealist and neoliberal theories. Rather than relying on theories of the market, we focus instead on some critical processes of the anarchical structure itself, such as creation of forms of war by anarchy. More specifically, we focus on the forms of war that put the anarchical structure under maximal strain, bringing it to an overwhelming systemic crisis, the fall of a hegemonic power, the end of a hegemonic system, and the onset of a non-hegemonic systemic cooperation of more regional and economic nature. Prioritizing the historical approach we stress especially the role of long-distance trade and international credit in the construction, by the anarchical structure itself, of forms of war impossible for the hegemonic power to withstand.