THE CHANGING RESIDENTIAL STRUCTURE OF MONTREAL 1971–81

This paper attempts to analyse the changing residential composition of the Montreal metropolitan region over time. More specifically, it examines the principal dimensions of Montreal's residential structure in 1971 and 1981, by conducting two separate factorial analyses based on census data; this part of the study is completed by a direct analysis of change, through factor analysing indices established by combining 1971 and 1981 variables The cross-sectional comparisons underline the regularities between the two residential configurations. The analysis of relative changes uncovers the principal modifications in Montreal's residential space through the period, showing in particular that some neighbourhoods registered major shifts in the composition of their population, due to ethno-linguistic movements or to social mobility. Cet article analyse le portrait changeant dans le temps de la structure résidentielle de la région métropolitaine de Montréal. Basée sur deux analyses factorielles con-duites séparément à partir des données de recensement, la première partie s'attache à décrire les dimensions maîtresses qui structurent l'espace résidentiel de Montréal en 1971 et 7981; cette analyse est ensuite complétée par une étude plus directe du changement qui repose sur une analyse factorielle d'indicateurs établis en combinant les variables de 1971 et 1981. La compa-raison des analyses factorielles transversales souligne la régularité de la structure résidentielle de Montréal dans le tpmps, alors que l'analyse des variables de changement relatiffait ressortir les modifications majeures qui ont transformé l'espace métropolitain au cours des années soixante-dix. Elle montre, par exemple, que plu-sieurs quartiers ont enregistré des changements impor-tants dans la composition de leur population, suite à un processus de gentrification ou de mobilité ethno-Iinguistique.     

Hunger in the land of plenty: The complex humanitarian crisis in Venezuela

Oil-rich Venezuela is being hit by the largest crisis in living memory. Now, more than 4.8 million Venezuelans have fled the country in search of food and safety. News about migration and humanitarian aid dominate. Yet, many Venezuelans stay and seek alternative strategies to cope with scarcity and insecurity. Ad hoc solutions mainly depend on alternative economies in the borderlands that do not always fit within frameworks of human rights and rule of law, but do provide relief and produce opportunities along with new inequalities that (un)willingly sustain the crisis. Amid collapsing state infrastructures, these transborder economies tie into the global trade of basic supplies, narcotics, drugs, natural resources and human trafficking that operate in the interface of the legal and the illegal. The complex humanitarian crisis in Venezuela is as much about poverty and scarcity as it is about wealth and abundance benefiting only a very few. An ‘anthropology of abundance’ allows us to grasp these underlying socio-economic dynamics that turn crisis management into crisis maintenance.     

DARK AND SHINY: THE DISCOVERY OF CHROMITE IN BRONZE AGE FAIENCE*

The Late Bronze Age (1550–1200 bc ) in the Near East was a period of cultural development, international trade and technological innovation, notably in metallurgy and silicate technology. As a spin‐off of the new glass technology, new colorants were also applied to faience glazes presumably to increase their aesthetic value. Here, we report on the presence of chromite minerals in the glaze of a faience vessel from Deir ‘Alla, Jordan, 1200 years earlier than reported so far. Importantly, chromite was not only used as a greyish pigment, but also as a nucleating agent for spherulitic crystallization of augite in the amorphous glaze. These synthetic augite formations give a unique, sparkly appearance to the faience vessel, apparently imitating a metallic look. The making of such an intricate glaze and its contemporary significance reflect not only the high level but also the appreciation of innovation in that region at that time.     

Erosion and Nutrient Loss on Sloping Land under Intense Cultivation in Southern Vietnam

To help improve the well‐being of the local people, a joint Vietnamese‐UK team set out to establish a way of estimating soil and nutrient losses under different land management scenarios, using field data extrapolated through remote sensing and GIS, to obtain catchment‐wide estimates of the impact of land cover change. Immigration from remote provinces to the Dong Phu District of Binh Phuóc Province, about 120 km north of Ho Chi Minh City, has led to disruption of soil surface stability on easily eroded clayey sandstones, creating rapid nutrient depletion that affects crop yields and siltation in the channel of the Rach Rat river downstream. The poor farmers of the areas see crop yields drop dramatically after two or three years of cultivation due to the fertility decline. Soil loss varies dramatically between wet season and dry season and with ground cover. Erosion bridge measurements showed a mean loss of 85.2 t ha^?1 y^?1 under cassava saplings with cashew nuts, 43.3 t ha^?1 y^?1 on uncultivated land and 41.7 t ha^?1 y^?1 under mature cassava. The rates of erosion were higher than those reported in many other parts of Vietnam, reflecting the high erodibility of the friable sandy soils on the steep side‐slopes of the Rach Rat catchment. However, although the actual measurements provide better soil loss data than estimates based on the parameters of soil loss equations, a large number of measurement sites is needed to provide adequate coverage of the crop and slope combinations in this dissected terrain for good prediction using GIS and remote sensing.