Non-cooperative games on hyperfinite Loeb spaces

We present a particular class of measure spaces, hyperfinite Loeb spaces, as a model of situations where individual players are strategically negligible, as in large non-anonymous games, or where information is diffused, as in games with imperfect information. We present results on the existence of Nash equilibria in both kinds of games. Our results cover the case when the action sets are taken to be the unit interval, results now known to be false when they are based on more familiar measure spaces such as the Lebesgue unit interval. We also emphasize three criteria for the modelling of such game-theoretic situations—asymptotic implementability, homogeneity and measurability—and argue for games on hyperfinite Loeb spaces on the basis of these criteria. In particular, we show through explicit examples that a sequence of finite games with an increasing number of players or sample points cannot always be represented by a limit game on a Lebesgue space, and even when it can be so represented, the limit of an existing approximate equilibrium may disappear in the limit game. Thus, games on hyperfinite Loeb spaces constitute the ‘right' model even if one is primarily interested in capturing the asymptotic nature of large but finite game-theoretic phenomena.     

Sovereignty Beyond the State: Exception and Informality in a Western European City

Bridging debates on urban sovereignty and urban informality, this paper argues that relationships between sovereignty and informality may not reside exclusively in the way the sovereign state decides to allow or forbid informality, but also in the way sovereignty is distributed among a range of state and non‐state actors. Drawing upon fieldwork on the early‐2010s management of displaced Romanian Romani families in two emergency camps in the city of Montreuil (France), the paper shows how the NGO responsible for managing one camp acted as sovereign power, allowing a number of informal activities to thrive within its confines. By contrast, inside the other camp, managed by another NGO that resolutely implemented state directives, only formal activities took place. Building on Dean's (2010) concept of ‘disaggregated sovereignty’, the paper mobilizes this disjuncture as a case for critically examining how the ‘state of exception’ takes shape beyond the state's grip. A subtext running throughout is the parallel between the very first camps for civilians in nineteenth‐century colonized territories and these twenty‐first‐century camps for Roma in Europe—both elicited a state of exception partially predicated on camp dwellers’ perceived ethnic/racial homogeneity.     

Reading Bauman and Retrotopia

The work of Zygmunt Bauman, insofar as it addressed the organizational world, saw it initially as a total institution, one in which the organization, as a specific entity defined by those activities it envelops, was focused on the central task of liquidation (Bauman, 1989). du Gay (2002) critically interrogated the bureaucratic character of this total institution in an influential thesis that ‘praised’ bureaucracy as a normative ideal of modernity. It is not, however, this debate with the ghost of Max Weber that has been of most concern to contemporary management and organization studies. Rather, it a later image of organization as decomposing, fragmenting, opening, reforming and deforming. In a word, organization is becoming more ‘liquid’, such that boundaries, choices and control are shifting in the direction of increasing fluidity and plurality. Key themes that are identified are those of liquid society, composing liquid ethics, liquid dynamics, liquid selves and liquid spaces and aesthetics. There are, however, outer limits to liquid modernity as they are enacted in terms of myths that Bauman refers to as leading to Retrotopia: a sickly nostalgia for an imagined past as a source of inspiration, a mythical utopia, where things were better managed and organized. Thus, the outer limit of a liquid society becomes a retrospective and backward looking utopia: Retrotopia, a myth whose contours are outlined and whose implications for management and organization studies are expounded.     

聊城商业区位演变研究

撤地设市以来,聊城市商业发展迅速,商业网点的数量迅速增加。在政府的宏观调控及市场规律的共同作用下,聊城的商业区位级别及商业设施更加完善。通过对聊城市城区商业网点区位的深入调查,研究聊城市商业区位的发展演变过程,分析聊城市商业区位演变的机制,提出聊城市商业网点区位的扩展方向。     

The production of spaces of the ‘good life’ – the case of lifestyle migrants in Spain

In search for the ‘good life’, the current generation of European retirees is striving to materialise a self-determined way of life by moving to locations that provide a higher quality of life, such as the Mediterranean coast. Migrants’ leisure practises and distinct spatial features, e.g. leisure infrastructures, hereby frame a production of desirable spaces.

The contribution is theoretically informed by Henri Lefebvre’s theory of the production of space that suggests space to be a social product emerging from congruities and contradictions in a triad of practices, representations and localities. It is discussed how everyday leisure practices reproduce collectively or individually imagined representations of spaces of the ‘good life’ and how such spaces are contested.

The presented case study is mainly based on qualitative interviews depicting narratives associated with the realm of leisure. Empirical data were collected among German retirees, who relocated to a small municipality at the Costa del Sol (Southern Spain).

The analysis of empirical data reveals mostly consistencies within the realms representations, practices and localities, but depicts contestations of spaces of the ‘good life’ with regard to ongoing ageing processes. Lifestyle migrants ascribe meaning to practices of leisure in order to fulfil the desire for consuming tourist; sights that frequently represent highly symbolic places. Constructing notions of sociability with friends and acquaintances through leisure, the migrants hold meaningful social ties, which provide security through reliable networks. Nevertheless, this article points out that spaces of the ‘good life’ are deconstructed through age-related mobility constraints.     

Turning ideas into products: subjective well-being in co-creation

New services, like fabrication spaces, 3D printer rentals and virtual marketplaces, have made it easier for empowered consumers to co-create innovative products without almost any involvement of traditional companies. Adopting a consumer-grounded view, this work takes a step forward from the existing service literature by investigating the link between psychological motives and happiness in co-creation. Specifically, the study measures how community affiliation, personal growth and utilitarian motives are predictors of subjective well-being (SWB). The results illustrate that community affiliation and personal growth motives predict high scores of SWB, while utilitarian motives do not. In addition, empowered consumers who co-create with others are happier than consumers who create alone. This indicates that direct interactions are not only a powerful platform for service co-creation, but are also predictors of SWB. We discuss the implications for traditional companies and for decision makers regarding the benefits offered by digital fabrication services.     

Older women’s identity reconstruction in leisure spaces: a case of Guangzhou,China

ABSTRACT

This article analyzes the social interactions and social relations generated by older women in the urban public leisure spaces of Guangzhou, China. The intent is to explore the identity of older women in daily leisure spaces. Data were collected through in-depth interviews and non-participatory observation and then were analysed to explore the relation among identification, leisure spaces, and interaction. The study shows the older women’s need for self-fulfilment and social interaction, as well as the need to fill emptiness are generally unfulfilled because of the alienation of urban life – the citizens share a common sense of loneliness and senselessness. Nevertheless, the inclusiveness, openness, and group honour of urban public spaces offers a good complement to the sense of isolation. In the specific socio-cultural background of Guangzhou, older women reshape or strengthen their identities through multiple factors to achieve a strong sense of belonging in daily leisure spaces.     

Understanding the term green infrastructure: origins,rationales, semantic content and purposes as well as its relevance for application in spatial planning

Recently the term green infrastructure has come to shape professional and scientific debate, political strategies and practical approaches concerning green space development, particularly in urban areas. Actors from all fields of spatial development and planning are referencing this as an emergent approach, which is expected to have a considerable environmental and socio-economic impact. The wide and ubiquitous use of the term in planning debates fosters an impression of agreement in its definition and meaning. Yet several theoretical studies and manifold practical observations confirm a variety of definitions and meanings of this “new” approach in the scientific, political and practical arenas, ranging from simply a buzzword to a mature approach. Clearly, this confusion in meaning has a practical relevance for planning. It seems wise, therefore, to raise awareness and deepen our understanding of the different conceptions of the term green infrastructure. This paper aims to systematically analyse and clarify the contextual, geographical and temporal origins of green infrastructure, as well as its impact on rationales, semantic content and main purposes for spatial planning. To this end, a content analysis of relevant literature has been conducted to reveal the strands which influence the current debate as well as the application of green infrastructure in planning practice. These results are used to derive key statements as a foundation for further critical reflection and conscious application of the term green infrastructure within spatial planning.     

Valuing ecosystem services of urban forests and open spaces: application of the SEEA framework in Australia*

Around two‐thirds of the global population will live in cities by 2050 requiring large urban infrastructure development. Decision‐makers and planners usually rely on standard economic accounting methods for urban planning and investments on infrastructure assets. However, standard methods fail to account for the ecosystem services benefits that living infrastructure (e.g. urban forests, open spaces) provides to city dwellers. This could generate socially inefficient configurations of urban spaces and compromise the achievement of long‐term urban sustainability targets. In this analysis, we applied a stochastic whole‐of‐life benefit–cost analysis following the System of Environmental‐Economic Accounting (SEEA) framework to compare alternative long‐term management strategies for living infrastructure in Canberra, Australia. Spatially explicit data, i‐Tree Eco and benefit transfer methods were used to estimate the stocks and flows ecosystem services benefits of urban forests and irrigated open spaces from 2018 to 2070. Our analysis suggests that a ’30 per cent canopy cover expansion’ scenario has the highest benefit–cost ratio, while the business as usual scenario, where a net loss of 400 trees is expected per year, offers the lowest benefit–cost ratio. Scenarios of expanding versus not expanding irrigated open spaces in the future both result in a benefit–cost ratio of approximately two.