Diasporic dwelling: the poetics of domestic space

This article explores the politics of diasporic dwelling in domestic spaces. Heidegger's concept of ‘dwelling’ is popular in studies of diasporic life as it articulates a sense of belonging in mobility without the problematic connotations of rootedness conjured up by ‘home’. However, the way Heidegger's ‘dwelling’ functions in diasporic contexts is rarely considered, an absence this article seeks to address by exploring the concept in more detail, focusing in particular on ‘the fourfold’ and preservation. This discussion is grounded in the domestic spaces of two Palestinian women living in Britain. Drawing on in-depth interviews, the article explores how these women's houses, and particular spaces within them, enable and constrain their dwelling. I argue for greater attention to be paid to the expansive and integrative capacities of domestic space and demonstrate the need to address houses in their social context and as internally heterogeneous. This article also contributes to ongoing debates about material and symbolic dwelling and diasporic identities that include but also exceed territorialised belonging.     

Sow One Seed, Gain One More Life

The meadow on the highland is as broad as an ocean, yet it is also as quiet as a painting, without the limitation of a frame. It seems more natural and lively than a painting. It is as simple as the clear eyes of a Tibetan sheep, reflecting the rippling green grass and the scent of the soil as carried by the breeze. This scent followed me all the way as I followed spring＇s progress across the highland and as we drove deeper into the wide prairie in the County of Hongyuan. A Tunnel Enclosure in Camouflaged Clothing On average, Hongyuan is more than 3600 meters above sea level and is mainly involved in animal husbandry. It is the only county largely inhabited by Tibetans in the Prefecture of Aba. There is a vast area （777,200 ha.） of lush native grassland, 91.8 percent of the whole county. ＂Tashi Delek, welcome my reporter＂ said Tsepudan, Chairman of the Karlama Village Committee in the Township Village of Achok in the County of Hongyuan. He greeted me with smiles. He looked tall and strong in his traditional Tibetan robe, with a large-screen cell phone at his waist. ＂What＇s the fence for＂ I asked in curiosity. Before me was a huge fenced paddock. ＂A tunnel enclosure, they helped us build it,＂ said Tsepudan, pointing towards our companions （Professor Li Jian, and Professor Tang Cheng from the Southwest University for Nationalities, as well as Mr. Liu Gang from the Sichuan Prairie Institute）. Made of steel, the tunnel enclosure is shaped in a hexagon, 10 meters long. At first sight, it seems to be without any technical content. Actually, it contains a certain delicacy in its awkwardness. It saves a lot of labor and time when it is used to give an injection or medicine, or shear sheep, weighs something, or transport yaks and sheep. The Southwest University for Nationalities, the Sichuan Prairie Institute and local herdsmen produced it together, including its design, site selection and construction. Eight national     

Establishment of a Time-Varying Modified Kanai-Tajimi Non Stationary Stochastic Model of Seismic Records Based on the S-transform

This article investigates the time-varying characteristics of seismic records. Time-varying amplitude and energy spectrums are defined to reflect the time-frequency dependence, and a general formulation of the S-transform is introduced. The S-transform is tested with various window functions to analyse the Kobe seismic records. The results indicate that using a complex window function with properly adjusted parameters gives favorable outcomes. Analyses of three soil sites show that sites with hard soil feature seismic records with shorter stationary durations, higher frequency centers, and broader frequency bands than other soil sites. The average time-varying spectrums of the seismic records are simulated using a uniform non stationary stochastic model and a time-varying modified non stationary Kanai-Tajimi stochastic model. Empirical formulas are established for the time-varying spectrums of the earthquake records from these sites by nonlinearly fitting stochastic models to the record data. The values of the time-varying spectrum factors for different earthquake intensities and sites agreeing with the Chinese Seismic Code are obtained. Based on these analyses and observations, we propose using the solutions to the stochastic models to simulate non stationary ground motions.     

中国中东部新石器中晚期玉文化遗址分布的时空特征

新石器中晚期(8000～3000a B.P.)玉器从石器中分出形成相对独立的玉文化.玉文化遗址是玉文化保留至今的载体,本文通过田野考古资料结合陆地卫星遥感图像分析技术探讨我国中东部各流域玉文化遗址的时空分布特征,得出如下结论:(1)玉文化扩散包括扩展扩散和迁移扩散两种形式;(2)玉文化扩散具有纬度扩散性、经度扩散性和垂...     

A study of the Roman iron bars of Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer (Bouches-du-Rhône,France). A proposal for a comprehensive metallographic approach

The aim of this paper is to contribute to the understanding of the organisation of the manufacture and circulation of iron bars and the possible bar standardisation of a given set of artefacts in order to throw more light on commercial patterns during Antiquity. A set of 48 iron based metal bars originating from the Roman shipwrecks at Les Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer (France) has been studied using comprehensive metallographic observations, ranging from macroscopic to microscopic scales and slag inclusion (SI) analyses. A comparison of the results allows one to distinguish different metal qualities (inclusions, pores, welding, carbon content) that may be linked to morphological types, which shows the possible standardisation of this set of artefacts. Moreover, SI analyses allow distinguishing various origins for the Primary Pieces of Metal, thereby throwing light on a specific organisation of the iron bar production line during the late Roman period.     

Historical Development of Asian Anchors,as Evidenced by Two Wooden Anchors Found in Northern Vietnam

This article presents the result of research on two large wooden anchors recently identified in Hanoi, Vietnam. Some features of the anchors show similarities with anchors originating from East Asian regions, but the research demonstrates that they are probably from ships locally constructed in the 18th and 19th centuries. In the attempt to clarify the origin of these anchors, it was discovered that there has been little discussion on the historical development of anchors in East and Southeast Asia. Therefore, this article will also assess the significance of the two anchors in the regional evolvement of anchors. © 2010 The Authors