Disciplined Mobility and the Emotional Subject in Royal Dutch Lloyd's Early Twentieth Century Passenger Shipping Network

This paper examines the disciplined mobility and emotional geographies of “between‐deck” passengers in Royal Dutch Lloyd's early Twentieth Century passenger shipping network. Specifically, it is concerned with the ways in which the network was established and with the efforts made to maintain it. It is found that such a disciplinary network furthers the firm's goal of shipping healthy and productive bodies for corporate profits and that transhipment facility Lloyd Hotel in Amsterdam was integral to the performance and maintenance of such a transnational disciplinary network. The key consequence of such disciplined mobility was the creation of an emotional passenger‐migrant subject shaped in relation to the power of corporate, cultural and other authorities in maritime travel and migration. In identifying this historic network of disciplined mobility and its emotional subject, this paper seeks to reveal the emotional geographies relating to mobile subjectivities and the power relations associated with their historically significant travels.     

In situ decarboxylation of acetic and formic acids in aqueous inclusions as a possible way to produce excess CH4

Accurate reconstruction of diagenetic P‐T conditions in petroleum reservoirs from fluid inclusion data relies on valid measurements of methane concentration in aqueous inclusions. Techniques have been developed (Raman spectrometry) to provide sufficiently accurate data, assuming measured methane concentration has not been modified after aqueous inclusion entrapment. This study investigates the likelihood that organic acids derived from petroleum fluids and dissolved in formation water might suffer decarboxylation upon postentrapment heating within the fluid inclusion chamber, thereby generating excess CH₄ in the inclusions. Four different experiments were conducted in fused silica capillary capsules (FSCCs), mimicking fluid inclusions. The capsules were loaded with acetic (CH₃COOH) or formic (HCOOH) acid solution and were heated to 250°C for short durations (<72 h) in closed‐system conditions, with or without applying a fixed P_H2. Reaction products were characterized by Raman and FT‐IR spectrometry. Results indicate that decarboxylation reactions did take place, at variable degrees of progress, and that measurable excess CH₄ was produced in one experiment using acetic acid. This suggests that methane may be produced from dissolved organic acids in natural aqueous inclusions in specific situations, possibly inducing errors in the thermodynamic interpretation.     

The Langkawi Global Geopark: local community’s perspectives on public education

The study reported in this paper represents one of the first attempts at exploring the perspectives of the local communities on the designation of Langkawi Island in Malaysia as a UNESCO Global Geopark. It is premised on the widely acknowledged assertion that the local communities constitute an important group of stakeholders in the planning and implementation of development activities. Hence, the communities living in the geopark areas in Langkawi are considered important stakeholders who play a crucial role in the development of heritage tourism in Langkawi Global Geopark. This paper examines their views on their appreciation of the geopark as heritage, the interpretation of their shared values, the benefits and opportunities afforded by the geopark, and the extent of their involvement in the implementation of geopark activities. The findings point to the need for more support for public education programmes, and awareness initiatives aimed not only at ensuring community engagement with the development of Langkawi Geopark but also at generating stewardship actions from the community.     

Is domestic work a worst form of child labour? The findings of a six-country study of the psychosocial effects of child domestic work

In this paper, we report on a study of the psychosocial effects of child domestic work (CDW) in six countries and the relevance of our findings to international legislation. Our results suggest that CDW is highly heterogeneous. While some young child domestic workers work long hours, suffer physical punishment and are at risk of psychosocial harm, others are able to attend school and benefit from good relationships with their employers and networks of support. Child domestic workers in India and Togo were most at risk of psychosocial harm. We conclude that classification of this employment as hazardous would not be appropriate and could be counterproductive and instead propose that legislation focuses on protective factors such as a social and community support.     

Simulacra and simulation: double simulation at a North Song Dynasty theme park

ABSTRACT

This paper examines an unusual type of ‘cultural theme park’, one that is not based on simulating existing cultural diversity or historical places, but based in some senses on a ‘double simulation’. The theme park is based on an historical painting assumed to represent the North Song Dynasty period in Kaifeng, China; however, it is a representation that historians argue may never have existed. Utilising on-site interviews and participant observation, this paper traces the connections between the classic painting (清明上河图) and the actual historical landscape of Bianjing (the first simulation), and in so doing, unravels the links between the painting and the theme park (the second simulation) and the simulacra that are envisioned to form within the spaces of the theme park as a result of the interplay of simulations during theme park visits. The simulations and intended simulacra are ‘consumed’ to various degrees, suggesting that the representations of Kaifeng's historical past and culture have been impactful and (in)authenticity has not been an issue. Moreover, the theme park has served to entertain and, in some cases, inspire through playful appropriations of Kaifeng's past and culture. The resultant simulacra and its double simulations (in simulating both the real Bianjing and the neo-real landscape painting) contrast and simultaneously connect with rampant replications of the Occident in contemporary Chinese residential landscapes, townships and themed spaces.     

Theming Asia: culture,nature and heritage in a transforming environment

ABSTRACT

This paper introduces a special issue on Theme Parks in Asia with reflections on how the various theoretical ideas on theming and theme parks that are found in the social science literature can help us to understand the proliferation of theming and theme parks in contemporary Asia. How does theming create a specific spatial and social form that has meaning in a transforming Asia? We trace here the rising importance of theming in places of consumption, education, entertainment and everyday life and argue that further attention is needed to understand the transformation of ideas of culture, nature and heritage within the context of theme park development in Asia. We look at arguments that suggest that theming is part of human cognitive processes, that it creates a frame that gives the content a particular order and meaning; we also consider theming within the context of theories of Disneyization and the ‘experience economy’ in leisure and tourism to explore how ‘new’ experience-based consumerism, and the designing of coherent ‘imagineered’ spaces, plays a role in ordering our social worlds. We also examine how debates over the authenticity or superficiality of theme parks, and more generally in cultural display and preservation, can take on new twists in Asia. We do this by drawing on a review of postmodernist perspectives on themed parks to show how theme parks in Asia can be better understood through nuanced inquiries into the ways cultural, natural and heritage images and icons are cited, referenced and projected, departing from a simple ‘copy’ versus ‘original’ dichotomy. Finally, we position and introduce the papers included in this special issue and suggest further possible research into such a fertile research field.     

Agroforestry on an Active Volcanic Small Island in Indonesia: Prospering with Adversity

This paper draws on the literature on agroforestry, disaster risk reduction, and livelihoods of people on small islands as it applies to a community prospering in conditions of adversity in Kinali village on Siau Island, Indonesia. Siau Island produces between one‐third and one‐half of all nutmeg and mace exported from Indonesia. The Kinali community has adopted strategies that enable it to prosper in spite of the risks of living on a small island with an active volcano. The paper charts the sociocultural dynamics of the village and examines how local coping mechanisms based on an agroforestry economy have assisted villagers in dealing with the multiple hazards and constraints arising from the biophysical characteristics of their island. The paper thus contributes to more informed responses to managing volcanic risk.     

‘Cuteifying’ spaces and staging marine animals for Chinese middle-class consumption

ABSTRACT

In this paper, Chimelong Ocean Kingdom in Zhuhai is considered an aestheticised space for the growing Chinese middle class. Located within the booming and fast-urbanising Pearl River Delta, the theme park is a sizeable project consisting of rides, marine mammal enclosures and a well-equipped state-of-the-art circus. Utilising ethnography, including visitor interviews, and discourse analysis of websites, mobile apps and promotional materials, the theme park is found to deploy animal motifs in three key ways: as spectacular backdrops for amusement rides, as objects of biodiversity-based edutainment and as highly personified agents in visitor relations. Building on existing literature on decontextualised animal display – where emphasis on the provision of a natural habitat is replaced by simulated and actual proximity of animals to the visitors – I argue that the ‘out-of-situ’, cuteified and hyperreal stagings of Chimelong's animals have been shaped by two further China-specific processes. The first is the engagement with the theme park space as a sanitised and safe environment for a then one-child policy inspired child-centred visitation. The second refers to the retail-oriented consumerist experiences demonstrated by the new Chinese middle class. Both processes have brought about an aestheticising endeavour in line with the idealisation of other (Chinese) middle-class spaces, and have positioned Chinese theme parks as key nodes in our understanding of leisure and tourism spaces and of middle-class landscapes in contemporary China. Such an examination is made at a juncture where and when abuse of marine mammals is allegedly on the rise, and sheds light on the social processes shaping the popularity of such experiences in contemporary China.     

Military dominance in Pakistan and China–Pakistan relations

ABSTRACT

The China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) has been touted as the centrepiece of China’s Belt and Road Initiative and the key to its strategic partnership with Pakistan. Notwithstanding claims about the CPEC’s economic potential, however, Islamabad’s economy continues to be dire. This article attempts to better understand the ramifications of Pakistan’s economic viability and its consequences for China. It does so by examining China–Pakistan relations from the lens of Pakistan’s civil–military relations, paying attention in particular to what the Pakistan Armed Forces (PMA)’s domestic dominance means for China’s interests, including economic interests, in Pakistan. We suggest that PMA preponderance and its attendant influence on the country’s economic performance bring another dimension to interpreting Sino-Pakistani relations. As Beijing’s most trusted political partner in Pakistan, the PMA’s local dominance has considerable benefits for China, particularly in the security and political aspects of its interests. However, this dominance also entails a number of complications for Chinese economic interests, a factor that has implications for the future of China’s CPEC investments and their financial sustainability.