Faith in China: religious belief and national narratives amongst young,urban Chinese Protestants

This paper investigates the national narratives of young, urban Protestants in contemporary China. Based on 100 interviews conducted in Beijing and Shenzhen, it argues that in constructing their national narratives, Chinese Protestants display critical selectivity in adopting the values of official party‐state nationalism. They display affection towards China, a sense of responsibility for improving the country and a concern for society's morality, all of which echo official nationalist priorities. However, they are critical of China's political arrangements, dispute the primacy of economic growth and are less hawkish on international and territorial issues. They see no contradiction between their Protestant and Chinese identities, but generally prioritise the former. This selectivity is explained by the fact that Protestantism generally attracts those less satisfied by the social and political status quo, and because of, in Carlson's terms, the ‘boundary‐spanning’ nature of the Protestant identity and morality to which these converts then subscribe.     

The Rock Art of the Matobo Hills World Heritage Area,Zimbabwe: Management and Use,c 1800 to 2016

The Matobo Hills World Heritage Area in southern Zimbabwe is an acknowledged treasure trove of rock art sites. Despite a century of research and management, there remains much to be done to conserve these sites for future generations. Following a chronological approach, this paper reviews a century of research and conservation efforts, detailing various strategies and achievements by individuals, government agencies, and affiliated organisations. Zimbabwe’s recent economic collapse and ‘land reform’ programme had fundamental impacts on the appreciation and protection of the rock art sites by tourists, local communities, international organisations and government agencies, all of which are explored. The article ends with brief suggestions on how to potentially improve and expand the management of rock art in the Matobo Hills area.     

Student experiences of multidisciplinarity in the undergraduate geography curriculum

This paper explores the student experience of multidisciplinarity within the undergraduate Geography curriculum. It considers the drivers that have underpinned this development before considering the findings of research into student experiences in two universities in the south of England. The results suggest that most students view this development positively and recognize a number of advantages that it brings, citing expanded opportunities for learning, working with people from other disciplines, expansion of perspectives and perceived benefits to employability. However, for a minority this development is more problematic. The research points here to issues with specialist knowledge and disciplinary pedagogies, social issues within the classroom and class organization and some reservations regarding groupwork. The paper concludes with a series of recommendations.     

Discovery of colon contents in a skeletonized burial: Soil sampling for dietary remains

Recovering dietary and parasitological data from skeletonized burials is often overlooked or attempted without sufficient consideration of preservation possibilities, quality sampling areas or the confounding influences of post-interment processes. A case study of a skeletonized Anasazi burial is presented to demonstrate three important points. First, that macrobotanical remains can be preserved in addition to the more durable pollen and parasite eggs. Second, that the sacrum can act as a structural container for the contents of the lower digestive tract upon decomposition of the body, thereby providing a productive sampling area. Finally, that reliable interpretation of any biological remains from skeletonized burials depends upon the analysis of several control samples. Since awareness of probable data sources plays a central role in what is actually collected and analysed, it is important to alert archaeologists to the possibilities of colon content analysis from skeletonized burials.     

Sexing the Self: Geographies of engagement and encounter

Geographic research on the construction of sexual identity takes inspiration from two main sources. The first is the post-structural literature that suggests sexual subjects are sutured to identities created in the realms of discourse. The second is a psychoanalytical tradition concerned with the desires and disgusts experienced by sexual subjects as they seek to reconcile their inner selves with the outside world. In this paper an attempt is made to combine these contrasting perspectives by exploring the way sexualities are negotiated by individuals as they encounter a world that is both real and imagined. The utility of this approach is illustrated with reference to the author's research on sex work, which demonstrates that the making of sexual identities involves a dynamic relation between Self and Other--a relation that is subsequently encoded in representations of space. The paper concludes that the making of sexual identities can only be understood by examining the ways that representation and experience entwine in specific places to create sexual identities that are fractured, contested and always becoming.     

Sensory indiscipline and affect: a study of commuter cycling

The senses act as the interface between self and environment, but in a western context powerful multisensory stimulation is increasingly constructed as marginal, deviant or in need of management/commodification. This paper brings together work on the sensory with ideas around affective intensity to explore the regulation of the individual through the senses. The notion of sensory discipline is developed through an examination of everyday commuter cycling. Based on innovative, mobile audio diaries, the intensities of sensory stimulation for the cycling body are explored. The paper concludes that commuter cycling enacts a minor resistance towards efforts to reduce the intensities of everyday affective landscapes. In turn, this resistance suggests just how pervasive sensory discipline has now become.     

Phytolith assaying using a micron-scale electrokinetic sorting ring

A particularly useful indicator of past vegetation are phytoliths, glassy products of plant metabolism which have distinctive size and morphology based on the plant taxa which produced them; however, their analysis is a time-consuming task. Building on investigations into mobilizing and sorting of synthetic polystyrene microspheres using a closed loop rectangular microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) electrokinetic array, we investigate these devices’ utility for sorting natural microparticles. Using phytolith samples extracted from archaeological sediment, we show that closed loop MEMS can separate the glassy bodies from both mineral contaminants and each other. Also, small differences in polarization between the phytoliths cause lateral segregation between particles of different sizes and shapes. This process facilitates manual analysis by providing a motive force to the phytoliths that translates and rotates them, showing different configurations as they are propelled by the MEMS array. The organization of the phytoliths into streams also opens the door to automated analysis using image processing. Phytolith assaying is therefore feasible using a MEMS electrokinetic ring and merits additional research to explore the potential of this innovative approach.