Identifying food provenience using Sr/Ca ratio in human enamel

The strontium (Sr) concentration in bioapatite of human bone and teeth reflects the Sr concentration in food that is differentiated by two major factors: an abundance of Sr in local soils and the biopurification effect along the trophic levels. Eastern Syria is an area with a relatively high concentration of Sr within the Euphrates valley and a low concentration of Sr beyond the valley. For this reason, the strontium/calcium (Sr/Ca) ratio in human enamel retrieved from skeletons buried in cemeteries within the Euphrates valley may be used as a proxy for food provenience in a local population. A sample of human teeth (N = 72) from Tell Ashara and Tell Masaikh was divided into seven temporal subsets covering periods between c.2200 bce and the early 20th century ce . A significant difference in Sr/Ca values between temporal subsets is observed. The Sr/Ca values in later subsets are negatively correlated with δ¹³C values, indicating the wider exploitation of steppe areas outside the valley with more wild C4 grasses and a low Sr concentration. For periods with lower Sr/Ca values (c.2200–1900 bce and 19th–20th centuries ce ) there is additional textual and isotopic evidence for food transportation from outside the river valley, supporting the interpretation of Sr/Ca values as a proxy for food provenience in this specific area.     

Apparent and actual disease landscapes. Some reflections on the geographical definition of health and disease

Like geographical analysis in general, medical geography is based on the assumption that location is the first clue to causal analysis. Against a background of two empirical studies, one dealing with a group of ALS cases and the other with a group of leukaemia cases, this paper argues that it is insufficient to define disease occurrence in spatial terms, referring to patients' places of residence at the time of onset. Since exposure and effect are related to both time and place, geographical studies of ill health in modern society are complicated by high mobility, long periods of latency and environmental change which might cause a distortion between cause and effect. Therefore a different approach is required.     

Cruisers in the City of Helsinki: staging the mobility of cruise passengers

Abstract

International cruise passengers moving in urban destinations have particular time limitation that can make enabling and disabling elements of mobility meaningful on the quality of their visit. Identifying these elements is essential to improve their independent movement. Based on a staging mobilities framework that considers the dimensions of physical settings, material spaces, design (PMD), social interactions (SI) and embodied performances (EP) in situ, the research has analysed location-specific information in Helsinki, a popular port of call in the Baltic Sea. The study has used go-along observations and mobile application in data collection. The produced dataset was analysed by combining GIS-methods and content analyses. As a result, five categories were identified under the dimension of PMD: wayfinding tools, unexpected situations, lack of rest spots and walkability. Categories identified under the dimension of SI were local people, service providers and travel companions, and other tourists. Categories identified under the dimension of EP were traffic behaviour, occasioned activities, sense of direction, planning, and time-related anxiety. Urban destinations such as Helsinki can apply these results in practice, to make the movement of independently moving cruise passengers as effortless as possible, contributing to a better experience of the city space for both tourists and other city users. The proposed methodology could also be used to analyse other mobility-related phenomena.     

Negotiating belonging and perceptions of citizenship in a transnational world: Singapore,a cosmopolis?

The complex mappings of inflows and outflows of people, capital, images and ideas in global city spaces create particular challenges for nation-states that are deeply embedded in the international circuit of capital. Through an empirical study of Singapore, an aspiring global city-state, I offer an analysis of how the state-sponsored cosmopolitan project is contested by Singapore citizens. I also present evidence to highlight the contradictions of belonging and citizenship in a transnational world, with particular reference to the postcolonial racial and nationality dynamics that inflect these discourses.

Négocier l'appartenance et les perceptions de la citoyenneté dans un monde transnational: Singapour comme ville cosmopolite?

Les mappages complexes des mouvements des personnes, du capital, des images et des idées à travers les espaces urbains mondiaux posent un défi particulier aux états-nations qui sont très fortement intégrés dans le circuit international du capital. Singapour, ville-état mondiale en croissance, est le sujet d'une étude empirique dans laquelle je présente une analyse du projet cosmopolite soutenu par l'état et comment ce projet est contesté par les citoyens de Singapour. Je présente également des éléments de preuve pour faire ressortir les contradictions entre l'appartenance et la citoyenneté dans un monde transnational, en précisant entre autres les dynamiques qui touchent aux identités raciales et nationales postcoloniales qui pèsent sur ces discours.

Mots-clefs: appartenance, citoyenneté, mobilité transnationale, cosmopolitanisme, Singapour.

La negociación de pertenencia e ideas de ciudadanía en un mundo transnacional: Singapur, ¿un cosmópolis?

Los complejos mapeos de la entrada y salida de personas, capital, imágenes e ideas en los espacios de ciudades globales crean desafíos particulares para naciones-Estados, los cuales están estrechamente vinculados al circuito internacional de capital. Por un estudio empírico de Singapur, que aspira a ser reconocido como ciudad-estado global, ofrezco un análisis de cómo los ciudadanos de Singapur contestan este proyecto cosmopólito patrocinado por el Estado. También presento pruebas para destacar las contradicciones inherentes en las nociones de pertenencia y ciudadanía en un mundo transnacional, con referencia particular a la dinámica racial y de la dinámica de nacionalidad poscolonial que salpican estos discursos.

Palabras claves: pertenencia, ciudadanía, movilidad transnacional, cosmopolitanismo, Singapur.     

Constellations of (in-)convenience: disentangling the assemblages of Canada's west coast island mobilities

Drawing from fieldwork conducted to examine the roles played by ferry mobilities in the lives of residents of ferry-dependent islands and coastal communities of British Columbia, Canada, this paper focuses on three elements of spatial mobility assemblages: motives, costs, and frictions. In doing so, this paper contributes to the growing literature on the politics of mobility constellations. Data shed light on the transformative, but contested, power of spatial mobilities. To analyze these dynamics the analysis builds upon Ingold's ideas on wayfaring to highlight how practices, representations, and experiences of ferry mobility exercise their transformative power.     

The mobilities of forced displacement: commemorating Karelian evacuation in Finland

In this article I discuss the mobilities of forced displacement. I analyse the politics of mobility by connecting the multiple scales of experienced mobility with the representational and non-representational strategies of sense of place. The aim of this article is twofold: to illustrate the different collective cultural narratives of displacement, and the ontological bodily memories. Three narratives of Karelian displacement are discussed. To capture the bodily memories, I also apply the philosopher Jacques Derrida's (1995) ideas on khora. Khora originates in Plato's Timaeus. Derrida's one interpretation of khora is a half-way-place, which is midway between space and time. I argue that khora as a non-topological concept deepens the understanding of existential place relations and also provides a fresh conceptual basis for the analysis of non-representational aspects of experiential place. Empirically, I focus on the commemoration of Karelian evacuation in Finland. I argue that the festivity called the Trail of the Displaced consists of several culturally representational and embodied non-representational mobilities which explain the complexities of spatial belonging among displaced communities.     

International student mobility: the role of social networks

Building upon recent work on higher education mobility, this paper contends that social networks of friendship and kinship are critical determinants for students deciding to study overseas, not just, as has hitherto been suggested, a complementary factor. It uses original data collected through interviews and focus groups with thirty-eight higher education international students studying at three UK universities and argues that students who choose to study overseas do not operate within a vacuum but rather draw upon extended networks of individuals who have chosen to do so themselves or advocate studying abroad. While this encouragement may be of an explicit and unequivocal nature – telling students that they ought to study overseas – for the majority it is rather more implicit. The students interviewed invariably related that higher education overseas or mobility more generally was an accepted practice among their peers, thereby leading to a normalisation of the mobility process. The paper concludes that international students come to accept mobility as a taken for granted stage within the life course, and, whether intentionally or not, this is often the driving force behind their decision to study overseas.     

International mobility of women in science and technology careers: shaping plans for personal and professional purposes

International mobility has become a key requirement in science and technology (S&T) professional career progression. On the one hand, the increasing mobility of women suggests that this may be a way for them to avoid or get away from women-unfriendly working environments. On the other hand, international mobility can present problems for women as they, particularly, have to plan their lives around their professional goals and personal lives. This article addresses the international mobility strategies of women regarding their personal and professional choices. We analyse their motivations to move, the way they manage their lives abroad and the effects of mobility on their lives. The analysis is based on 24 in-depth interviews of highly skilled women working in Spanish S&T sectors. Our main findings show that mobility is a new challenge which may improve women's family lives and professional careers. However, they have to plan carefully their lives on a long-term as well as a daily basis. In this sense, they need strong personal determination and the ability to balance their professional and personal goals. Moreover, their personal decisions depend not only on them as individuals, but also on their partners and families, on wider social values, on the institutional support they enjoy, and on the general public policies which they are affected by.     

Planning urban growth in Scotland: The new settlement option

The question of how and where to accommodate the increasing number of households in Scotland represents a major challenge for policy makers and planners at the beginning of the 21st century. The present research ascertains the projected level and geographical incidence of household growth and housing demand in Scotland, identifies the principal alternative options for urban development and, with reference to a case study of urban growth in the Stirling region, assesses the potential contribution of a new settlement strategy to meet the challenge of urban development in contemporary Scotland.     

Rethinking conceptualisations of adult-imposed restriction and children's experiences of autonomy in outdoor space

This paper calls for more sensitive understandings of children's experiences of autonomy and restriction in outdoor space. The study with children and adults living in a suburban area of Cape Town, South Africa, suggests that the imposition of adult structure and surveillance on childhood should not be automatically perceived as negative. The children's experiences were more nuanced and must be contextualised with reference to the predominant concern with (in)security in these suburban geographies. The notion of accompanied mobility is then considered to suggest how children's outdoor mobility might be framed as a collective or community responsibility, as opposed to an individualistic concern of parents.