‘The greatest loss was a loss of our history’: natural disasters,marginalised identities and sites of memory

This paper examines intersections between space, materiality, memory and identity in relation to lesbian and gay experiences of recent disasters in Australia. Drawing on interviews with lesbians and gay men in two disaster sites, the paper argues that disaster impacts may include the loss of sites of memory that inform and underpin the formation and maintenance of marginalised identities. We explore the ways in which social marginality is experienced by sexual minorities during disasters as a result of threats to sites of lesbian and gay memory. The paper contributes to scholarship in geographies of memory by investigating the impacts of disasters on how memory is spatially located and experienced.     

Application of X-ray fluorescence imaging to ceramics from the American Southwest

We have used synchrotron-based X-ray fluorescence imaging (XRFI) to examine sherds of painted ceramics from prehistoric cultures of the American Southwest. These sherds are very well suited to XRFI analysis. Paints can generally be detected and distinguished by the fluorescence intensities of their constituent elements. Spatial maps of element distributions yield the spatial distribution of pigments. Pigments can be distinguished that are (or have become) visually similar; layers that have been obscured by overpainting can be examined; and pigment residues can be distinguished from surface contaminants deposited after painting and firing. As a result, XRFI allows the painted motifs to be clarified and hidden features to be revealed. Furthermore, the very rapid scanning and high sensitivity elemental detection possible with synchrotron-based XRFI facilitate measurements on large collections of sherds, allowing an integrative rather than anecdotal analysis.     

Edmonton's Wholesale Relationships With Northwest Canada

The paper addresses conceptual propositions by Burghardt on gateway cities and by Vance on wholesaling. Two objectives were sought: to measure the gateway role of Edmonton using wholesaler linkages; and to ascertain if Edmonton is still the unravelling point for distribution to northern markets. Evidence from a 1975 survey of the structure and linkages of the wholesaling industry in Edmonton and in northern communities proved that the city remains the main gateway to the north-west despite a challenge from Vancouver. It is also the main unravelling point despite minor northern competitors.
Cet exposé présente des propositions conceptuelles émises par Burghardt sur les villes servant de portes et par Vance sur la vente en gros. On a recherché deux objectifs: mesurer le rôle de porte joué par Edmonton en utilisant les liens de la vente en gros et vérifier si Edmonton est encore un unravelling point pour la distribution vers les marchés du nord. Une etude fut faite en 1975 sur la structure et les liens de l'industrie de la vente en gros à Edmonton et dans les communautks au nord. L'Cvidence obtenue par cette Ctude a démontré que la ville d'Edmonton reste la principale porte vers le nord ouest malgré le défi representé par Vancouver; l'ktude a aussi dkmontrt qu'Edmonton est le principal unravelling point malgré les compétiteurs moins importants situés au nord.     

Quantifying the Effects of Mask Metadata Disclosure and Multiple Releases on the Confidentiality of Geographically Masked Health Data

The availability of individual-level health data presents opportunities for monitoring the distribution and spread of emergent, acute, and chronic conditions, as well as challenges with respect to maintaining the anonymity of persons with health conditions. Particularly when such data are mapped as point locations, concerns arise regarding the ease with which individual identities may be determined by linking geographic coordinates to digital street networks, then determining residential addresses and, finally, names of occupants at specific addresses. The utility of such data sets must therefore be balanced against the requirements of protecting the confidentiality of individuals whose identities might be revealed through the availability of precise and accurate locational data. Recent literature has pointed toward geographic masking as a means for striking an appropriate balance between data utility and confidentiality. However, questions remain as to whether certain characteristics of the mask (mask metadata) should be disclosed to data users and whether two or more distinct masked versions of the data can be released without breaching confidentiality. In this article, we address these questions by quantifying the extent to which the disclosure of mask metadata and the release of multiple masked versions may affect confidentiality, with a view toward providing guidance to custodians of health data sets. The masks considered include perturbation, areal aggregation, and their combination. Confidentiality is measured by the areas of confidence regions for individuals' locations, which are derived under the probability models governing the masks, conditioned on the disclosed mask metadata.