‘Man can’t give birth,woman can't fish’: gender dynamics in the small-scale fisheries of Bangladesh

Going beyond the myths prevalent in the socio-cultural embeddedness of rural Bangladesh, this article examines the diverse visible and invisible roles of fisherwomen in small-scale fisheries. This research considered two ethnic groups situated in two different ecosystems: the floodplain freshwater ecosystem is represented by new-entrant Muslim fishers ‘Maimal’ and the coastal ecosystem is represented by caste-based Hindu fishers ‘Jaladas’. From the basic ontological worldview of human dignity, moral individualism, and the social recognition of women’s rights, we argue that fisherwomen’s roles need to be recognized, focused, and valued to develop a horizontal understanding that is a prerequisite to the process of democratization, and the proper functioning of a just society. In the rural societies, a host of attributes, such as the deep-rooted socio-cultural constructions of the motherly myth, extreme tolerance, family teaching, religious antagonism, poverty, lack of education, internalization of a subordinate position, lack of supportive institutions, and fear of loss of societal patronage, profoundly undermine the capacity of women to aspire and raise their voice. Fisherwomen are accrued an inferior social position although they perform unique roles in the areas of childcare, household upkeep, livelihoods, and psycho-social support for the seafaring fishers. Conducive to the ecotone of marine fisheries, this article also portrays how a rigid patriarchal form of society is seasonally transformed to matrifocality when fishermen are away for fishing for half the year.     

Anomalous fading and crystalline structure: Studies on individual chondrules from the same parent body

Plagioclase feldspar is the major luminescent mineral in meteorites. Thermoluminescence (TL) characteristics, peak temperature (T_m), full width at half maximum (FWHM), ratio of high (HT) to low temperature (LT) peak, and TL sensitivity (TL/dose/mass) to an extent reflect degree of crystallinity of the mineral. The present study explores and establishes a correlation between quantum mechanical anomalous (athermal) fading and structural state by examining TL of individual chondrules. Chondrules were separated using freeze-thaw technique from a single fragment of Dhajala meteorite. The results show large variation in T_m (155?230°C), FWHM (80?210°C) and HT/LT (0.07–0.47) and seem to be positively correlated. TL sensitivity (ranging from 14 to 554 counts/s/Gy/mg) decreases with increasing T_m and FWHM. Large variations in TL parameters (Tm, FWHM, HT/LT, and Sensitivty) suggest that individual chondrules had different degree of crystallization. Thermal annealing experiments suggest that comparatively ordered form of feldspar can be converted to a disordered form by annealing the sample at high temperatures (1000°C) for long time (10 hr) in vacuum (1 mbar pressure) condition and rapidly cooling it. Measured anomalous fading suggest that fading rate increases as the crystal form changes from an ordered state to a disordered state. However, the fading rate becomes nearly negligible for the most disordered feldspars.     

Generating Alternative Land‐use Allocation for Mixed Use Areas: Multi‐Objective Optimization Approach

Current research is carried out with an intention to present an optimization approach for the urban land‐use allocation problem by generating Pareto optimum solutions considering two objectives—maximizing compatibility among adjacent space uses of a study area without compromising the area’s total land price and maximizing the price of plot of each individual owner. Considering the non‐linear characteristics of the objective functions, a multi‐objective evolutionary algorithm approach called Non‐Dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm‐II (NSGA‐II) is applied to obtain Pareto optimal land‐use allocation subject to different set of constraints. The objective functions are tested over a case study area of Dhaka, Bangladesh. The resulting NSGA‐II model produces 24 Pareto optimal solutions of land‐use allocation, allowing tradeoff between maximizing compatibility and land price from one solution to other. This research also expresses the potential of the model to aid the policymakers and city planners of development authorities by providing alternative land‐use plans, and thereby predicting the consequences of any plan before practical application.     

MUNICIPAL WASTE RECYCLING IN BRANDON, MANITOBA: DETERMINANTS OF PARTICIPATORY BEHAVIOUR

The municipal waste disposal crisis has received considerable public attention in recent years, particularly as it has become increasingly difficult, both financially and politically, to dispose of the steadily growing volume of waste. With municipalities under pressure to find acceptable alternatives to the traditional forms of refuse disposal - landfilling and incineration - the recycling of household waste has been advocated by policy makers and some environmentalists as a possible solution. The purpose of this study is to examine the factors influencing the collection and disposal of household recyclables, as well as the effectiveness of institutional strategies to induce residents' participation in such a program. The study area is the city of Brandon, Manitoba, a settlement of some 40 000 people, 210 kilometres west of Winnipeg. To obtain a representative overview of the recycling behaviour of the population, three groups totalling a sample of 490 respondents, were investigated. Two of these groups were made up of people who actively recycle, and the third constituted a control group made up of those who do not engage in recycling activities. An overview of the municipal initiatives in Brandon, and an analysis of the data collected in the study, as well as statistics available on recycling programs from other sources, indicate that the recently introduced services and facilities have contributed to make significant qualitative changes but with limited success in dealing with the real magnitude of the solid waste problem. It is suggested that the goals of the various strategies have been established, but there is currently little incentive -apart from personal satisfaction - for residents to participate. This would seem to explain the limited success, in quantitative terms, of the programs to date