Freezing and melting behaviors of H2O‐NaCl‐CaCl2 solutions in fused silica capillaries and glass‐sandwiched films: implications for fluid inclusion studies

Fluid inclusions of the H₂O‐NaCl‐CaCl₂ system are notorious for their metastable behavior during cooling and heating processes, which can render microthermometric measurement impossible or difficult and interpretation of the results ambiguous. This study addresses these problems through detailed microscopic examination of synthetic solutions during cooling and warming runs, development of methods to enhance nucleation of hydrates, and comparison of microthermometric results with different degrees of metastability with values predicted for stable conditions. Synthetic H₂O‐NaCl‐CaCl₂ solutions with different NaCl/(NaCl + CaCl₂) ratios were prepared and loaded in fused silica capillaries and glass‐sandwiched films for microthermometric studies; pure solutions were used with the capillaries to simulate fluid inclusions, whereas alumina powder was added in the solutions to facilitate ice and hydrate crystallization in the sandwiched samples. The phase changes observed and the microthermometric data obtained in this study have led to the following conclusions that have important implications for fluid inclusion studies: (i) most H₂O‐NaCl‐CaCl₂ inclusions that appear to be completely frozen in the first cooling run to ?185°C actually contain large amounts of residual solution, as also reported in some previous studies; (ii) inability of H₂O‐NaCl‐CaCl₂ inclusions to freeze completely may be related to their composition (low NaCl/(NaCl + CaCl₂) ratios) and lack of solid particles; (iii) crystallization of hydrates, which is important for cryogenic Raman spectroscopic studies of fluid inclusion composition, can be greatly enhanced by finding an optimum combination of cooling and warming rates and temperatures; and (iv) even if an inclusion is not completely frozen, the melting temperatures of hydrohalite and ice are still valid for estimating the fluid composition.     

天然和尚塔墓访寻记

一、天然和尚和他的塔墓 天然和尚法名函罡,是清初岭南著名的高僧,他道行高藐、识鉴精博,所著经解语录有《楞伽心印》、《首楞严直指》、《般若心经论》、《天然罡禅师语录》等皆入载嘉兴续藏本;天然和尚先后主法海云、华首台、光孝、芥庵、别传、栖贤诸刹,徒众数千,且多士绅文人,素质颇高,天然一脉的祖庭番禺海云寺曾选编《海云禅藻集》出版,影响深远,     

Projections of China's normative soft power

Fuelled by unparalleled recent development, China has by necessity been reaching outward in search of foreign resources and international recognition. The three books reviewed in this essay all speak to China's spectacular global ascendency of the past two decades—and to the political consequences and international reactions that have followed. What unites these three volumes—Tongdong Bai's China: The Political Philosophy of the Middle Kingdom (2012), Peter Nolan's Is China Buying the World? (2012) and William Callahan and Elena Barabantseva's edited volume, China Orders the World: Normative Soft Power and Foreign Policy (2011)—is their focus on the uniquely Chinese norms that now underpin China's soft power in the twenty-first century. How will China go about ordering the world and will it succeed? The answers to these questions, as these authors demonstrate, may have less to do with China's present than with its ancient past.     

Map Resolution and Spatial Autocorrelation

Moran's I, a measure of spatial autocorrelation, is affected by map resolution and map scale. This study uses a geographic information system (GIS) to examine the resolution effects. Empirical distribution of wildland fires in Idyllwild, California, and hypothetical distributions of ordered patterns are analyzed. The results indicate that Moran's I increases systematically with the resolution level. The resolution effects can be summarized by a log-linear function relating the I coefficients to resolution levels. Empirical tests that compare the distribution of fire activity in a vegetation map and in a topographic map confirm the resolution effects observed.     

Defining “Talent”: Insights from Management and Migration Literatures for Policy Design

Taking the case of defining “talent,” a term that has been widely used but its definitions differ by discipline, organization, policy sector, as well as over time, we demonstrate how the basic definition of a policy subject may affect policy design and the assessment of policy outcomes. We review how “talent” is defined in two sets of literature, talent management and migration studies, and find that definitions fall under one of two categories: binary (“talent” as qualities) or composite (“talent” as a relational concept). The implications of our findings are epistemological and ontological; the findings point to diverse epistemological effects of definitions through developments of indicators, as expected, and they also reveal the policy designers’ ontological starting points. Ontological perspectives are significant because they ultimately determine whether the policy assessments carried out differ in degrees or in kind. In the case of defining “talent,” this means determining which objectives the designers would set (e.g., recruiting vs. cultivating vs. introducing competition), the policy instrumentation for achieving the goals (migration measures vs. education vs. lifelong learning vs. human resource policy), and the type of assessment for measuring policy outcomes (single vs. multiple indicators, qualitative vs. quantitative).     

Democracy's not for me: The Lowy Institute polls on Gen Y and democracy

For two consecutive years, the Lowy Institute Poll has revealed just how little Australians seem to value democracy. This has particularly been the case for Australia's so-called Generation Y. Understandably, these findings have aroused dismay among media, policy and academic commentators, with many automatically assuming the troubling nature of these findings. Despite this, little consideration has been given to what the results actually denote, and what they were not telling us about the rationale and justification behind the Gen Y responses. This critical commentary offers some preliminary thoughts and findings on what the Lowy Polls are not telling us; as well as on what they are telling us.

连续两年,罗伊民调所发现澳大利亚人对民主评价极低。澳大利亚所谓的“Y一代”尤其如此。可以想见,这样的发现让媒体以及政策和学术评论者失望不已,许多人会马上想到这些发现会造成的麻烦。其实,很少有人思考这类发现的真实所指,思考关于Y一代反应所没有讲出的东西。这篇批评性文章提供了一些初步的想法和发见：罗伊民调除了讲了什么,它还没讲什么？