Ova collection in Japan – making visible women's experience in male spaces

The role of women is essential in embryo creation and donation, as they undergo in vitro fertilisation (IVF) treatment for ova collection. Yet, it has often been pointed out that in the process of embryo donation women's role is largely neglected, as if embryos come from nowhere. The procedure of embryo donation in Japan is a case in point. During field research in Japan, we found that women were of the view that the procedures of embryo donation are inhuman, cold and harsh, while specialists said that no value is attached to embryos in Japan and that women have no scruples about donating them. This article explores the cause of the gap in the perception of experiences of ova collection between women and IVF specialists. Our primary source of data was interview narratives with women undergoing IVF, IVF specialists, nurses, counsellors and policy makers. Field research was conducted in 2006–2008. We analysed the process and the ways in which women's experiences of ova collection become invisible in Japanese socio-cultural contexts, including marriage, households and motherhood values in Japan. Our analysis critically draws on Marxist feminist theories, which enabled us to discuss the link among the production of embryos and ova, reproduction, ownership and gender. This theoretical framework also enabled us to view the case of Japan, paying particular attention to historical perspectives and specific cultural forms.     

Excavations in Chinese Turkestan: A review

Concern about the quantity and quality of its labour force has been one of the major factors in bringing about a reversal of Singapore's population policy from anti‐natal to pro‐natal. In addition, the new policy has sought to enhance the quality of the workforce by offering incentives to encourage larger families amongst the more educated Singaporeans. After five years, responses have been muted, partly because of a growing sense of resentment amongst the younger adults towards interference in what are regarded as family decisions.     

Geography, Spatial Data Analysis, and Geostatistics: An Overview

Geostatistics is a distinctive methodology within the field of spatial statistics. In the past, it has been linked to particular problems (e.g., spatial interpolation by kriging) and types of spatial data (attributes defined on continuous space). It has been used more by physical than human geographers because of the nature of their types of data. The approach taken by geostatisticians has several features that distinguish it from the methods typically used by human geographers for analyzing spatial variation associated with regional data, and we discuss these. Geostatisticians attach much importance to estimating and modeling the variogram to explore and analyze spatial variation because of the insight it provides. This article identifies the benefits of geostatistics, reviews its uses, and examines some of the recent developments that make it valuable for the analysis of data on areal supports across a wide range of problems.     

Charcoal reflectance measurements: implications for structural characterization and assessment of diagenetic alteration

Charcoal is a valuable source of archaeological and palaeoenvironmental proxy data. However growing evidence suggests that production conditions can strongly influence post-depositional alteration of charcoal. Consequently, both reconstruction of production temperature and understanding of the potential for diagenetic alteration are of great interest. Here, we use mean random reflectance (Ro_mean) in conjunction with other chemical characterization methods to address these questions. Ro_mean was obtained for a suite of modern analogue charcoal, produced under controlled conditions, and for a series of natural charcoal samples, obtained from archaeological and palaeoenvironmental deposits. Ro_mean proves to be a robust measure to assess formation temperature for samples produced at 400 °C and above, even after exposure to highly oxidizing conditions. Ro_mean is also useful for samples formed between 300 °C and 400 °C. However, if an assemblage of charcoals has been exposed to oxidizing conditions, lower temperature charcoals may be preferentially lost. It is apparent that charcoal produced at lower temperatures is more highly susceptible to chemical oxidation, and that there is a continuum in charcoal degradation potential, dependant upon fuel material and production conditions.     

Urban Community Gardens as Spaces of Citizenship

A growing body of literature conceptualizes urban agriculture and community gardens as spaces of democratic citizenship and radical political practice. Urban community gardens are lauded as spaces through which residents can alleviate food insecurity and claim rights to the city. However, discussions of citizenship practice more broadly challenge the notion that citizen participation is inherently transformative or empowering, particularly in the context of neoliberal economic restructuring. This paper investigates urban community gardens as spaces of citizenship through a case study of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It examines the impacts of community gardens on citizenship practice and the effects of volunteerism on the development of community gardens. It explores how grassroots community gardens simultaneously contest and reinforce local neoliberal policies. This research contributes empirically and theoretically to scholarship on urban food movements, neoliberal urbanization, collaborative governance, and citizenship practice.