Not Just a Jesuit Atlas of China: Qing Imperial Cartography and Its European Connections

In the literature, the ‘Overview Maps of Imperial Territories’ or Huangyu quanlan tu 皇輿全覽圖, is mostly referred to as ‘the Jesuit atlas of China’. The reason is that this early eighteenth-century atlas of all Qing China’s territories plus Korea and Tibet is assumed to have resulted from European missionaries importing European cartographic practices. In this essay, I argue that this view is outdated and can no longer be sustained. By revisiting the background of the missionaries’ involvement in cartographic exchanges between Asia and Europe, the techniques used for surveying Qing territories and the production of the resulting atlases, I show that the mapping project behind the ‘Overview Maps of Imperial Territories’ is best understood as a creative answer to the unique needs of Qing frontier management and imperial control, made possible by the integration, in mensurational and in representational terms, of European and East Asian cartographic practices.     

The social dynamics of attracting talent in Halifax

The paper reports a case study of factors attracting and retaining talented and creative workers in Halifax, Nova Scotia. All categories of workers interviewed mentioned quality of place and amenities in discussing their location preferences, but that could not fully explain their choices. For some occupations (like health research), talented people followed jobs; in other sectors (like music), talented workers migrated to a sympathetic locale with the right conditions for creative engagement; creative workers in some occupations (like those in architectural, engineering or planning consulting) were more rooted in place. The social dynamics—that is, positive and collaborative social networks within key sectors and a wider community perceived as welcoming and interesting—make this mid‐sized city attractive to talented workers. Local universities and a vibrant music scene generate a mutually reinforcing context that attracted mobile talented and creative workers to the city. Respondents noted Halifax's limited cultural diversity but did not report a perceived lack of tolerance as affecting their choices. In smaller cities, the social dynamics of place and workplace and the quality of life available may play more significant roles than tolerance in attracting and retaining talented workers, challenging a basic assumption of creative cities discourse.     

也说师■鼎铭的“困(韋東)伯太师武”

师■鼎铭"困伯太师武"一句的"困(韋東)"二字,原文写法非常奇怪。裘锡圭先生释为"東(韋東)",读为"范围",认为是遵循、效法之意。本文同意把后一字释为"(韋東)",但把前一字改释为"困"。"困(韋東)"也是遵循、效法的意思。     

Revamping community‐based conservation through participatory research

Community‐based conservation is experiencing a crisis of identity and purpose as a result of a disappointing track record and unresolved deficiencies. The latter include over‐simplified assumptions and misconceptions of “community,” the imposition of externally designed and driven projects at the community level, a focus on conservation outcomes at the expense of community empowerment and social justice, and limited attention to participatory processes. New approaches are urgently needed to address these weaknesses and to counter a rising trend towards environmental protectionism and a preference for conservation approaches at an eco‐regional scale that threaten the interests of local and Indigenous communities. We propose that three core principles of community‐based participatory research (CBPR)—(1) community‐defined research agenda; (2) collaborative research process; and (3) meaningful research outcomes—hold much promise. Drawing on the experience of a research partnership involving the James Bay Cree community of Wemindji, northern Quebec, and academic researchers from four Canadian universities, we document the process of applying these principles to a community‐based conservation project that uses protected areas as a political strategy to redefine relations with governments in terms of a shared responsibility to care for land and sea. We suggest that basic assumptions of CBPR, including collaborative, equitable partnerships in all phases of the research, promotion of co‐learning and capacity building among all partners, emphasis on local relevance, and commitment to long‐term engagement, can provide the basis for a revamped phase of community‐based conservation that supports environmental protection while strengthening local institutions, building capacity, and contributing to cultural survival.     

Detrended fluctuation analysis of daily atmospheric surface temperature records in Atlantic Canada

The presence and properties of long‐range correlations in temperature data reflect interactions among climate components; therefore, the quantitative characterization of scaling aspects of temperature patterns is important to climate research and can serve as an effective constituent of tests for climate models. The article presents the results of a study using multiscale characterization of daily atmospheric surface temperature patterns in Atlantic Canada. Important influences in this region are exerted from the west (the Pacific Ocean), the south (the Gulf of Mexico) and the north (the Arctic), while a significant easterly impact is due to the Atlantic Ocean; the corresponding processes involve a wide range of spatial and temporal scales. The objective of the present study of long‐term temperature recordings was to evaluate the scaling properties produced in this geographical context. The data consist of homogenized daily atmospheric temperature time series recorded in stations from Atlantic Canada over a time interval of more than 100 years. Detrended fluctuation analysis (DFA) was applied both to maximum and minimum temperature records. The atmospheric temperature pattern produced by the interplay of factors of different strengths and dominating various time‐space scales was found to be characterized by consistent scaling properties, expressed over time intervals ranging from months to decades. Higher values of DFA scaling exponents were obtained for minimum temperature compared to maximum temperature records. Site‐specific properties include stronger pattern persistence—higher DFA exponents—for oceanic than for coastal locations; persistence tends to decrease with increasing distance from the coast for distances up to 10 kilometres. Scaling exponents tend to increase with decreasing difference between average minimum and maximum temperature, which may be relevant for the assessment of future changes in pattern variability if climate change involves modified contrasts between minimum and maximum temperature values.     

Historical Development of the Dopamine Hypothesis of Schizophrenia

This review examines the history of discoveries that contributed to development of the dopamine hypothesis of schizophrenia. The origin of the hypothesis is traced to the recognition that neuroleptic drugs interfere with brain dopamine function. This insight was derived from two distinct lines of research. The first line originated from the discovery in 1956 that reserpine depletes brain serotonin. This finding resulted in a sequence of studies that led to the discovery that brain dopamine is involved in neuroleptic-induced extrapyramidal motor disturbances. The second line of research was aimed at determining the mechanism of action of psychomotor stimulants. This research produced evidence that stimulants directly or indirectly activate brain dopamine receptors. Because nonreserpine neuroleptics such as chlorpromazine block stimulant-induced movement, these findings suggested that neuroleptics were dopamine antagonists. Most previous accounts of the development of the dopamine hypothesis of schizophrenia emphasize the first line of research and ignore the second.     

生态旅游及其景观生态学透视

在简单介绍生态旅游的产生及其与可持续旅游关系,以及简要总结生态旅游定义的基础上,本文尝试从旅游供给方、旅游需求方即旅游者和综合层次三个方面对生态旅游进行定义,可以概括为旅游者的旅游活动形式、生态旅游产品及其组合与可持续旅游思想在生态旅游目的地的综合和空间实现。在现代地理学与生态学结合下产生的景观生态学,既强调空间地域研究,又考虑生态学的思想和原则,为理解生态旅游的概念内涵提供了理论切入点。     

Safe place or ‘catastrophic society’? Perspectives on hazards and disasters in Canada

The essay introduces public risk and destructive events in Canada, their conceptual and policy implications. The discussion is developed in four main steps. First, some widely held, if contradictory, perceptions of public security are identified. A relatively high level of personal safety for most Canadians is attributed to large government and private investments. But these have not prevented recurring disasters, nor singular vulnerability for certain groups and parts of the country. Meanwhile, some novel dangers of modern living compromise the safety of all Canadians. The second section examines evidence of losses from a broad range of hazards, and related, risk‐averting investments. The national geography of dangers is shown to have been transformed and reorganized by post‐World War II developments. Losses, even from natural hazards, are identified with common, nationwide behaviours and infrastructure, especially motorised mobility and consumer products. A fourth section looks at some appropriate conceptual frameworks. Charles Perrow's idea of ‘organizational society’ is considered, and Ulrich Beck's of ‘risk society’, including his view that late modern societies shift towards a ‘catastrophic’ condition. In general, the Canadian scene and these ideas support a human ecological view of modernity, but challenge an agent‐specific and extreme event approach that had prevailed in hazards geography. ‘Manufactured’ vulnerability is a neglected but decisive element. The social space of risks is shown to be recast around changing priorities for, and social justice in, public security and emerging crises of personal safety. Risk aversion turns upon questions of the acceptability of risks, acceptance for and by whom, and how it is achieved. For academic work, this suggests a reexamination of risk knowledge and its ‘social construction’. La dissertation aborde le sujet des évènements destructifs et du risque public au Canada, leurs implications conceptuels et de principe. La discussion est développée en quatre étapes principales. Premièrement, certaines perceptions de la sécurité publique tenues par beaucoup, non sans être contradictoires, sont identifiées. Un niveau relativement élevé de sécurité personnelle pour la plupart des canadiens est attribuéà un gouvernement de grande taille et aux investissements privés mais ceux‐ci n'ont pas empêché des désastres de se reproduire, ni une vulnérabilité singulière pour certains groupes et certains endroits du pays. Entretemps, de nouveaux dangers de la vie moderne compromettent la sécurité de tous les canadiens. La deuxième section examine la preuve d'une perte à partir d'une gamme étendue de risques et d'investissement risqués et apparentés. II est montré que la géographie nationale des dangers a été transformée et réorganisée par des développements de l'après seconde guerre mondiale. Les pertes, même provenant de risques naturels, sont identifiées avec des comportements et infrastructures en commun et dans tout le pays, spécialement la mobilité motorisée et les produits de consommation. Une quatrième section examine les supports de travail conceptuels appropriés. L'idée de Charles Perrow d'une ‘société structurelle’ est prise en considération, et celle d'Ulrich Beck d'une ‘sociétéà risque’ comprenant sa vue que les dernières sociétés modernes s'accélèrent vers une condition ‘catastrophique’. En général, le monde canadien et ces idées soutiennent une vue humaine et écologique de la modernité, mais défie un agent spécifique et une approche extrême des évènements qui avait prévalu dans la géographie des risques. La vulnérabilité‘fabriquée’ est un élément négligé mais décisif. II est démontré que le rôle de l'espace de risques social est redistribué selon des priorités qui changent pour, et la justice sociale dans, la sécurité publique et les crises qui émergent dans la sécurité personnelle. L'aversion des risques révolve autour des questions d'acceptabilité des risques, risques acceptés pour et par qui, et la façon dont cela est accompli. En ce qui concerne un travail théorique, cela suggère une réexamination de la connaissance des risques et de sa ‘construction sociale’.