Russian Physicians in Harbin (1920-32)

This study analyzes medical practitioners’ adaptation to a dynamic cultural and political scene and examines the impact of medical refugees on a local community. In the early 1920s, there was an influential Russian medical community in Harbin that established medical societies and medical schools. The organization of medical societies was a part of the active formation of a professional community and represented a thoughtful measure for countering the control of Chinese officials. The high degree of cooperation between Russian and Chinese medical personnel in the medical-sanitary department of the Chinese Eastern Railway and in Harbin municipal medical facilities was a part of Harbin physicians’ activities.     

The need for river management and stream restoration practices to integrate hydrogeomorphology

There is growing support amongst scientists worldwide about the need for a shift in river management approaches to include hydrogeomorphic processes. However, the degree to which these concepts are transferred to governmental agencies and practitioners varies widely. In Quebec, for example, many stream restoration projects are based on the (incorrect) assumption that river mobility and its inevitable consequences (bank erosion of meanders, presence of woody debris in the channel) are problematic for salmonids. This paper presents examples drawn from current guidelines on stream restoration for fish habitat in Quebec to demonstrate the need to improve the knowledge exchange among scientists and decision makers about the positive impact of river mobility and large wood dynamics on biodiversity. Our observations reveal that existing guidelines for stream restoration in Quebec need to be revised to better integrate hydrogeomorphic concepts and to no longer assume that maintaining rivers in a static state is beneficial for fish. Adopting the “freedom space for rivers” approach would likely result in improved habitat as it combines natural processes related to mobility, flooding, and riparian wetland connectivity to determine the minimal space around rivers where development should not be allowed, thus allowing river processes to be restored.