Studies on principal components and antioxidant activity of different Radix Astragali samples using high-performance liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization multiple-stage tandem mass spectrometry

The principal components, isoflavonoids and astragalosides, in the extract of Radix Astragali were detected by a high-performance liquid chromatography Couple to electrospray ionization ion trap multiple-stage tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-ESI-IT-MSn) method. By comparing the retention time (t(R)) of HPLC, the ESI-MSn data and the structures of analyzed Compounds with the data of reference compounds and in the literature, 17 isoflavonoids and 12 astragalosides have been identified or tentatively deduced. By Virtue of the extracted ion chromatogram (EIC) mode, simultaneous determination of isoflavonoids and astragalosides could be achieved when the different components formed overlapped peaks. And this method has been utilized to analyze the constituents in extracts of Radix Astragali from Helong City and of different growth years. Then the antioxidant activity of different samples has been Successfully investigated by HPLC-ESI-MS method in multiple selected ion monitoring(MIM) mode, applying the spin trapping technology, and the Ferric Reducing Antioxidant Power (FRAP) assay was applied to support the result.

人口空间数据误差分析研究

Spatial population data, obtained through the pixeling method, makes many related researches more convenient. However, the limited methods of precision analysis prevent the spread of spatial distribution methods and cumber the application of the spatial population data. This paper systematically analyzes the different aspects of the spatial population data precision, and re-calculates them with the reformed method, which makes breakthrough for the spread of the pixeling method and provides support and reference for the application of spatial population data. The paper consists of the following parts: (2) characters of the error; (2) origins of the error; (3) advancement on the calculating methods of the spatial population data. In the first place, based on the analysis of the error trait, two aspects of the spatial population data precision are characterized and analyzed: numerical character and spatial distributing character. The later one, placed greater emphasis on in this paper, is depicted in two spatial scales: county and town. It is always essential and meaningful to the research in this paper that spatial distribution is as important as numerical value in analyzing error of the spatial distributed data. The result illustrates that the spatial population data error appears spatially in group, although it is random in the aspect of data statistics, all of that shows there lies spatial systematic error. Secondly, this paper comes to conclude and validate the lineal correlation between the residential land area (from 1:50000 map and taken as real area) and population. Meanwhile, it makes particular analysis on the relationship between the residential land area, which is obtained from the land use map and the population in three different spatial scales: village, town and county, and makes quantitative description of the residential density variation in different topological environment. After that, it analyzes the residential distributing traits and precision. With the consideration of the above researches, it reaches the conclusion that the error of the spatial distributed population is caused by a series of factors, such as the compactness of the residents, loss of the residential land, the population density of the city. Eventually, the paper ameliorates the method of pixeling the population data with the help of the analysis on error characters and causes. It tests 2-class regionalization based on the 1-class regionalization of China, and resorts the residential data from the land use map. In aid of GIS and the comprehensive analysis of various data source, it constructs models in each 2-class district to calculate spatial population data. After all, LinYi Region is selected as the study area. In this area, spatial distributing population is calculated and the precision is analyzed. All it illustrates is that new spatial distributing population has been improved much. The research is fundamental work. It adopts large amounts of data in different types and contains many figures to make convincing and detailed conclusions.

中国西南地区大气降水中低分子有机酸研究（以贵阳市和尚重镇为例）

近几年随全球变暖和大气污染的加剧，有机气溶胶对气候和环境的影响引起了广泛的关注。其中低分子有机酸由于易溶于水，易挥发等特性可以改变大气颗粒物吸湿性、粒径分布以及形成云凝结核活性，进而改变全球的水循环和辐射平衡，而日益成为大气化学研究的重要内容。低分子有机酸极强的水溶性使雨水成为研究大气有机酸的理想载体。有机酸进入降水后是降雨的酸度重要贡献者，尤其是边远地区有机酸对降水酸度贡献高达65%。传统的大气降水研究主要侧重无机离子，认为硫酸和硝酸是降水酸度的主要贡献者，而忽略对降水中有机组分的研究。以贵阳和重庆等为代表的西南地区是我国酸雨污染的重灾区，该地区是典型喀斯特地形地貌区，生态环境具有极端的脆弱性和破坏后难以恢复性，在该地区研究酸雨形成和影响因素具有特殊的重要意义。本研究选取典型酸雨区(贵阳市)和人为污染较少黔东南州黎平县尚重镇为研究对象，2006-4～2007-4期间，收集大气降水样品221个，测定了大气降水中7种有机酸和主要阴、阳离子。对有机酸对酸雨的贡献及大气降水中无机离子和有机酸的浓度分布、变化规律、主要来源和沉降通量进行研究。主要得到了以下几点认识： 1、建立了离子色谱同时测定雨水中有机酸和无机酸分析条件。以戴安AS11-HC为分离柱、AG11-HC为保护柱，RFC-30淋洗液发生器在线产生KOH淋洗液，主要梯度条件为1mmol ( 0～6min) 、1mmol～30mmol (6～31min)。淋洗液流速1.5ml/min，柱温39℃。此条件下主要有机酸线性相关系数0.9992~0.9999，RSD%≤5%，精密度RSD%≤5%(丙酮酸RSD%=13.8%)，样品的加标回收率在80~120%之间，满足分析测试要求。 2、 贵阳市降水样品pH值的分布范围为2.49～6.92，年均值为3.28。雨水酸化率为73.8%，其中pH值小于4.0雨水占样品总数42%。尚重镇降水样品pH值的分布范围为5.01～6.50，年均值为5.83，降水的酸雨率为18.4%。贵阳市酸雨污染仍十分严重，重酸雨尤为突出(pH<4.0)，尚重镇酸雨污染较轻。 贵阳市降水样品电导率在10～1028μS/cm之间，平均值为248μS/cm，降水电导率高反映了贵阳市大气污染显著。尚重镇降水样品电导率在2.2～52.8μS/cm之间，平均值为18.1μS/cm，降水电导率低反映大气污染较轻。 3、贵阳市大气降水主要无机离子是SO42-、NO3-、H+、Ca2+、NH4+，雨量加权平均浓度分别为154.1μmol/L、33.9μmol/L、520.7μmol/L、226.4μmol/L和158.3μmol/L。采样期间，贵阳市H+年沉降通量为496.9mmol/m2/yr，夏季H+沉降占全年沉降总量的78%，贵阳市SO42-年沉降通量达到151.5mmol/m2/yr，有195.3mmol/m2/yr的Ca2+沉降。NH4+、Mg2+、Na+、K+、NO3-、Cl-的沉降通量分别为138.7mmol/m2/yr、50.9mmol/m2/yr、26.8mmol/m2/yr、11.4mmol/m2/yr、32.3mmol/m2/yr和12.6mmol/m2/yr。 尚重镇贵阳市大气降水主要无机离子是SO42-、NO3-、Ca2+、NH4+，其雨量加权平均浓度分别为43.1μmol/L、19.3μmol/L、33.0μmol/L和49.5μmol/L。采样期间，尚重镇[H+]年沉降通量为0.5mmol/m2/yr。SO42-、Ca2+和NH4+是发生沉降主要离子，分别为13.9mmol/m2/yr、10.6mmol/m2/yr和15.9mmol/m2/yr。Mg2+、Na+、K+、NO3-、Cl-的沉降通量分别为2.1mmol/m2/yr、5.9mmol/m2/yr、3.0mmol/m2/yr、6.2mmol/m2/yr和3.2mmol/m2/yr。 4、在贵阳市、尚重镇大气降水中共检测出7种低分子有机酸，分别是甲酸、乙酸、草酸、丙酮酸、丙酸、甲烷磺酸和乳酸。其中甲酸、乙酸和草酸是三种主要的有机酸。贵阳市甲酸、乙酸和草酸年平均浓度分别为14.24μmol/L、9.35μmol/L和2.79μmol/L，而在尚重镇它们浓度分别为4.95μmol/L、1.35μmol/L和2.31μmol/L。根据酸平衡常数计算法，贵阳市有机酸对自由酸贡献分别为：甲酸-7.9%，乙酸-4.7%，草酸-6.1%，三种主要有机酸贡献了18.7%的自由酸；尚重镇有机酸对自由酸贡献分别为：甲酸-25.1%，乙酸-7.5%，草酸-25.5%，有机酸对自由酸贡献率为58.1%。贵阳市有机酸占阴离子比值1.7～19.2%，平均值为6.6%。尚重镇有机酸对阴离子的贡献为0.5～92.2%，平均值为13.2%。有机酸对酸雨形成和大气降水化学起不可忽视的重要作用。 采样期间，贵阳市甲酸、乙酸和草酸的湿沉降通量分别为13.5mmol/m2/year 、8.9mmol/m2/year和2.6mmol/m2/year，甲酸和乙酸干沉降通量分别为26.7mmol/m2/year 和14.5mmol/m2/year，干沉降和湿沉降是贵阳市有机酸的主要沉降形式。尚重镇甲酸、乙酸和草酸的湿沉降通量分别为1.59mmol/m2/year 、0.43mmol/m2/year和0.04mmol/m2/year，甲酸和乙酸干沉降通量分别为0.1mmol/m2/year 和0.17mmol/m2/year，湿沉降是尚重镇有机酸的主要沉降形式。 5、尚重镇大气降水有机酸生长季节浓度高于非生长季节浓度，说明生长植物或土壤的释放可能是尚重镇大气有机酸的主要来源。贵阳市大气降水中有机酸非生长季节浓度高于生长季节浓度，主要原因是贵阳市降雨主要发生在夏季，降雨量的增加加大了对大气中微量气体的淋滤作用，降低了大气中有机酸浓度，同时夏季降雨pH值较低也不利于雨水对大气有机酸的溶解吸收。气象条件是影响有机酸浓度的重要因素。贵阳市大气有机酸主要在降雨初期进入降水并被清除的，降雨初期(1～2h)对大气有机酸清除占总清除的50～80%。随降雨的进行雨水中有机酸浓度逐渐降低，降雨后期略有升高，大降雨量对雨水中有机酸浓度起稀释的作用。尚重镇降雨量对有机酸浓度影响作用不明显，说明有机酸浓度不受雨量稀释作用控制，在降雨过程可能存在有机酸的液相来源。不同来源气团对贵阳市雨水中有机酸浓度影响不同，其中以北面方向气团降水中有机酸最高，与我国内陆大气污染较重有关。而源于海洋方向的东南气团雨水中有机酸浓度最低。 6、利用统计分析方法(相关性分析、主成分分析和聚类分析)和有机酸来源判别方法结合不同的来源释放有机酸通量得出：尚重镇大气中有机酸主要来源植物或者土壤直接或间接释放，而贵阳市有机酸来源相对复杂，其中植物的直接释放和机动车辆尾气排放不是大气有机酸的主要来源，生物质燃烧直接释放以及植物和人类活动向大气排放大量的不饱和有机物大气氧化可能是大气有机酸的重要来源。 7、从大气降水的电导率和pH值对比来看，贵阳市大气污染严重，雨水酸化率高，尚重镇大气污染较轻，雨水酸化率低。贵阳市大气降水中水溶性离子浓度是尚重镇的2～5倍左右，尚重镇地区酸沉降只有贵阳市0.1%，酸沉降对尚重镇不会造成太大影响。有机酸占贵阳市大气降水自由酸的19%，而尚重镇有超过1/2的自由酸是来源于低分子有机酸，是边远地区大气降水酸度的主要贡献者。来源分析表明尚重镇有机酸主要为生物源，贵阳市有机酸为人为源和生物源并重。 8、 传统的大气降水化学研究主要侧重于无机离子的研究，而忽略了对大气降水中有机组分的研究。本文第一次较全面、系统的研究了西南典型酸雨污染区大气降水化学组成以及降水酸度的来源，指出有机酸组分是西南地区大气降水化学的重要组成部分，对酸雨形成有不可忽视的影响。

Taxi! Urban economies and the social and transport Impacts of the taxicab.

The taxicab provides a significant contribution to the accessibility of a city and provides a wide range of services across many social groups. Considering the role of the taxi this books examines the impacts that the mode currently has, and how it may continue to develop in the provision of access within the city.

A new world a new American foreign policy: the Carter administration, Nicaragua, and the legacy of the Vietnam War, 1977-1981

The impact of the Vietnam War conditioned the Carter administration’s response to the Nicaraguan revolution in ways that reduced US engagement with both sides of the conflict. It made the countries of Latin America counter the US approach and find their own solution to the crisis, and allowed Cuba to play a greater role in guiding the overthrow of Nicaraguan dictator Anastasio Somoza Debayle. This thesis re-evaluates Carter’s policy through the legacy of the Vietnam War, because US executive anxieties about military intervention, Congress’s increasing influence, and US public concerns about the nation’s global responsibilities, shaped the Carter approach to Nicaragua. Following a background chapter, the Carter administration’s policy towards Nicaragua is evaluated, before and after the fall of Somoza in July 1979. The extent of the Vietnam influence on US-Nicaraguan relations is developed by researching government documents on the formation of US policy, including material from the Jimmy Carter Library, the Library of Congress, the National Security Archive, the National Archives and Records Administration, and other government and media sources from the United Nations Archives, New York University, the New York Public Library, the Hoover Institution Archives, Tulane University and the Organization of American States. The thesis establishes that the Vietnam legacy played a key role in the Carter administration’s approach to Nicaragua. Before the overthrow of Somoza, the Carter administration limited their influence in Nicaragua because they felt there was no immediate threat from communism. The US feared that an active role in Nicaragua, without an established threat from Cuba or the Soviet Union, could jeopardise congressional support for other foreign policy goals deemed more important. The Carter administration, as a result, pursued a policy of non-intervention towards the Central American country. After the fall of Somoza, and the establishment of a new government with a left wing element represented by the Sandinistas, the Carter administration emphasised non-intervention in a military sense, but actively engaged with the new Nicaraguan leadership to contain the potential communist influence that could spread across Central America in the wake of the Nicaraguan revolution.

Exploring alternatives for milk quality improvement and more efficient dairy production in a smallholder farming context – case study: Mantaro Valley (Peru)

Consumer demand is revolutionizing the way products are being produced, distributed and marketed. In relation to the dairy sector in developing countries, aspects of milk quality are receiving more attention from both society and the government. However, milk quality management needs to be better addressed in dairy production systems to guarantee the access of stakeholders, mainly small-holders, into dairy markets. The present study is focused on an analysis of the interaction of the upstream part of the dairy supply chain (farmers and dairies) in the Mantaro Valley (Peruvian central Andes), in order to understand possible constraints both stakeholders face implementing milk quality controls and practices; and evaluate “ex-ante” how different strategies suggested to improve milk quality could affect farmers and processors’ profits. The analysis is based on three complementary field studies conducted between 2012 and 2013. Our work has shown that the presence of a dual supply chain combining both formal and informal markets has a direct impact on dairy production at the technical and organizational levels, affecting small formal dairy processors’ possibilities to implement contracts, including agreements on milk quality standards. The analysis of milk quality management from farms to dairy plants highlighted the poor hygiene in the study area, even when average values of milk composition were usually high. Some husbandry practices evaluated at farm level demonstrated cost effectiveness and a big impact on hygienic quality; however, regular application of these practices was limited, since small-scale farmers do not receive a bonus for producing hygienic milk. On the basis of these two results, we co-designed with formal small-scale dairy processors a simulation tool to show prospective scenarios, in which they could select their best product portfolio but also design milk payment systems to reward farmers’ with high milk quality performances. This type of approach allowed dairy processors to realize the importance of including milk quality management in their collection and manufacturing processes, especially in a context of high competition for milk supply. We concluded that the improvement of milk quality in a smallholder farming context requires a more coordinated effort among stakeholders. Successful implementation of strategies will depend on the willingness of small-scale dairy processors to reward farmers producing high milk quality; but also on the support from the State to provide incentives to the stakeholders in the formal sector.

Mergers and Acquisitions in Vietnam’s Emerging Market Economy, 1990-2009

This paper is the first major and thorough study on the M&A activities in Vietnam’s emerging market economy, covering almost entirely the M&A history after the launch of Doi Moi. The surge in these activities since mid-2000s by no means incidentally coincides with the jump in FDI and FPI inflows into the nation. M&A industry in Vietnam has its socio-cultural traits that could help explain economic happenings, with anomalies and transitional characteristics, far better than even the most complete set of empirical data. Proceeds from sales of existing assets and firms have mainly flowed into the highly speculative industries of securities, banking, non-bank financials, portfolio investments and real estates. The impacts of M&A on Vietnam’s long-term prosperity are, thus, highly questionable. An observable high degree of volatility in the M&A processes would likely blow outthe high ex ante expectations by many speculators, when ex post realizations finally arrive. The effect of the past M&A evolution in Vietnam has been indecisively positive or negative, with significant presence of rent-seeking and likelihood of causing destructive entrepreneurship. From a socio-economic and cultural view, the degree of positive impacts it may result in for domestic entrepreneurship will perhaps be the single most important indicator.

Continuity and Change on an Urban Houselot: Archaeological Excavation at the 22 West Street Backlot (18AP51) of the Annapolis National Historic District, Anne Arundel County, Maryland

Intensive archaeological investigation was undertaken on an urban backlot in Annapolis, Maryland. Fieldwork was conducted on behalf of Historic Annapolis Foundation for the property's owners, King and Cornwall, Inc. Supplemental documentary research, an evaluation of existing conditions on the property, and below-ground excavation of a 35 X 70 ft. urban backlot were conducted. While the project was not a Section 106 compliance effort, the field methods and rationale for the site's investigation are comparable to those of standard Phase II site evaluations. Historical documentation attested to the fact that the 22 West Street Backlot, located along the western most edge of the Historic District of Annapolis, Maryland, had seen development and occupation since the first quarter of the eighteenth century. A substantial brick structure was known to have occupied the property in a series of altered forms for much of that period. This structure served a variety of purposes over time: a private residence in the eighteenth century, a boarding house in the nineteenth century (known as the National Hotel), a duplex in the early twentieth century, half of which remained in use until the structure was entirely razed in the 1970s after destruction by fire. Recovery and analysis of site formation processes (i.e., both cultural and natural transformations of the buried remains) indicated that sections of the site were disturbed to a depth of six feet. In contrast to what initially seemed a poor prognosis for site integrity, other areas of the backlot revealed numerous intact historical features and deposits. Structural remains from the dwelling and its associated outbuildings, additions, and attendant trash deposits were recovered. What was initiated as a program of limited testing evolved into a larger-scale undertaking that made use of largely hand-excavated units in conjunction with machine-assisted stripping of areas demonstrated to contain from four to six-foot deep sterile layers of fill. The current investigations provided a window into a portion of the city and period in its history not documented archaeologically. Moreover, this project provided valuable insight into the archaeology of the homelot within a lightly industrialized, urban context. Evidence was recovered of shifts in the layout and arrangement of the houselot as well as changing relations between individuals and the workplace--all within an urban context--an issue defined elsewhere in the archaeological literature as a significant one. No further investigations are recommended for the site, however, further analysis and interpretation of materials recovered are ongoing. In the event that the site were to undergo development, monitoring of any construction activity is recommended.

Sustainable Olympic design and urban development

With appropriate planning and design, Olympic urban development has the potential to leave positive environmental legacies to the host city and contribute to environmental sustainability. This book explains how a modern Olympic games can successfully develop a more sustainable design approach by learning from the lessons of the past and by taking account of the latest developments. It offers an assessment tool that can be tailored to individual circumstances – a tool which emerges from the analysis of previous summer games host cities and from techniques in environmental analysis and assessment.

The African National Congress and its Critics: 'Predatory Liberalism', Black Empowerment and Intra-Alliance Tensions in Post-Apartheid South Africa

Post-apartheid South Africa is characterized by centralized, neo-liberal policymaking that perpetuates, and in some cases exaggerates, socio-economic inequalities inherited from the apartheid era. The African National Congress (ANC) leadership’s alignment with powerful international and domestic market actors produces tensions within the Tripartite Alliance and between government and civil society. Consequently, several characteristics of ‘predatory liberalism’ are evident in contemporary South Africa: neo-liberal restructuring of the economy is combined with an increasing willingness by government to assert its authority, to marginalize and delegitimize those critical of its abandonment of inclusive governance. A new form of oligarch power, combining entrenched economic interests with those of a new ‘black bourgeoisie’ promoted by narrowly implemented Black Economic Empowerment policies, diminishes prospects for broad-based socio-economic transformation. Because the new policy environment is failing to resolve tensions between global market demands for increasing market liberalization and domestic popular demands for poverty-alleviation and socio-economic transformation, the ANC leadership is forced increasingly to confront ‘ultra-leftists’ who are challenging its credentials as defender of the National Democratic Revolution which was the cornerstone in the anti-apartheid struggle.

Cities of God? Medieval urban forms and their Christian Symbolism

Situated in the context of recent geographical engagements with 'landscape', this paper combines 'morphological' and 'iconographic' landscape interpretations to examine how urban forms were perceived in late medieval Europe. To date, morphological studies have mapped the medieval city either by classifying urban layouts according to particular types, or by analysing plan forms of particular towns and cities to reveal their spatial evolution. This paper outlines a third way, an 'iconographic' approach, which shows how urban forms in the Middle Ages conveyed Christian symbolism. Three such 'mappings' explore this thesis: the first uses textual and visual representations which show that the city was understood as a scaled-down world â?? a microcosm â?? linking city and cosmos in the medieval mind; the second 'mapping' develops this theme further and suggests that urban landscapes were inscribed with symbolic form through their layout on the ground; while the third looks at how Christian symbolism of urban forms was performed through the urban landscape in perennial religious processions. Each of these 'mappings' points to the symbolic, mystical significance urban form had in the Middle Ages, based on religious faith, and they thus offer a deepened appreciation of how urban landscapes were represented, constructed and experienced at the time.

Mapping cosmopolis: moral topographies of the medieval city

Cosmopolis is a concept that has a long history in many cultures around the globe. It is a mirroring of the 'social' and 'natural' worlds, such that in one is seen the order and the structures of the other -- a mutual 'mapping'. In this paper I examine how the presence of cosmopolis -- a Christianised cosmopolis of the European Middle Ages -- was made evident in the representation and formation of cities at that time. I reveal a dualism between the social and spatial ordering of both city and cosmos which defined and reinforced social and spatial boundaries in urban landscapes, evident for example in the 11th and 12th centuries. Recently, Toulmin (1992) has taken the idea of cosmopolis to argue that it has been a persistent presence in Western - Enlightenment science, philosophy, and religion -- a 'hidden agenda of modernity'. I contend that, as an idea, cosmopolis has a much earlier circulation in European thinking, not least in the Middle Ages. Locating cosmopolis in the medieval and the modern periods then begs a question of what is it that really makes the two distinct and separate? All too often human geographers have emphasised discontinuities between the 'medieval' and 'modern' age, locating the 'rise of modernity' some time in the Enlightenment period. However, what 'mapping' cosmopolis reveals are continuities, binding time and space together, which when looked at begin to help query the modernity concept itself.

Inscribir el declive en el tiempo. Detroit: Auge y crisis de la ciudad industrial

A comienzos del siglo XX, Detroit era una ciudad dinámica en pleno desarrollo. Pronto se convirtió en la cuarta ciudad de Estados Unidos, la capital de la naciente industria automovilística. El crecimiento se prolongó hasta finales de los años 50, cuando, a pesar del auge económico de Estados Unidos y de su área metropolitana, Detroit comenzó a mostrar los primeros signos de estancamiento. La crisis se ha prolongado hasta hoy, cuando Detroit constituye el paradigma de la ciudad industrial en declive. Estas dos imágenes contrapuestas, el auge y la crisis, no parecen explicar por sí mismas las causas de la intensidad y persistencia del declive de Detroit. Analizar las interacciones entre crecimiento económico, políticas públicas locales y desarrollo urbano a lo largo del tiempo permitirá subrayar las continuidades y comprender en qué medida el declive de Detroit ancla sus raíces en el modelo planteado durante la etapa de auge.

Discourses and Strategic Visions: The U.S. Research University as an Institutional Manifestation of Neoliberalism in a Global Era

It is argued widely that the academy today is in the process of significant change—in the institutional assumptions of what constitutes the university and the construction of knowledge and in its relations with the city and the world. This article addresses the evolution of the modern university in the context of the discourses of contemporary globalizing institutions. Further, it empirically assesses the organizational priorities of U.S. research universities in light of the application of these discourses to their objectives and practices, finding that they are playing a key role in the formal representation of the institutional direction, goals, and values of American higher education.

The construction of images of people and place: Labelling Liverpool and stereotyping Scousers.

On 28th August 1207, King John created the Borough of Liverpool by granting its first charter. During the ensuing 800 years Liverpool has experienced a complex and changing social, economic and political history resulting in powerful images of the city and its people. This paper examines the labelling of Liverpool and stereotypes of Scousers. It explains how historical and contemporary events, and their coverage in various arms of the media, construct social and spatial imaginations of the city. This involves a more systematic contribution to the how and why dimensions of negative place imagery and social stereotypes, and enhances our understanding of the processes and issues affecting our interpretations of people and place. The analysis is both historical and contemporaneous in teasing out how previous and current events shape the perceptions of insiders and outsiders. This paper reveals that despite concerted efforts to re-brand Liverpool the city continues to face difficult challenges with ongoing bad publicity and negative place imagery.