Extraction and the Ocean “Frontier”: Dispossession,Exclusion, and Resistance in Namibia

The perceived neglect of the ocean to state and industry actors has seen frontier rhetoric emerge as it is rendered visible under the Blue Economy agenda. By framing the marine scape as underutilised, capitalist expansion is being legitimised. Drawing on the case of Namibia, I argue that the afterlives of colonialism and apartheid are being repurposed to present the ocean as a Blue Economy opportunity. The physical disconnection of citizens from the marine scape, and the dominance of fishing and mining industries, has been used by state and development actors to present it as empty of socio-cultural relations. However, to declare Namibia’s coasts and ocean as forgotten unless articulated through capital is to conceal that they have been labelled “no-go” zones. I argue that, by considering exclusions and looking beyond proximity in discussions of equity and representation, the marine scape is articulated by civil society, to elucidate forms of resistance.     

The culture history of Madagascar

Madagascar's culture is a unique fusion of elements drawn from the western, northern, and eastern shores of the Indian Ocean, and its past has fascinated many scholars, yet systematic archaeological research is relatively recent on the island. The oldest traces of visitors are from the first century AD. Coastal settlements, with clear evidence of ties to the western Indian Ocean trading network, were established in several places over the next millennium. Important environmental changes of both plant and animal communities are documented over this period, including the extinctions of almost all large animal species. Urban life in Madagascar began with the establishment of the entrepôt of Mahilaka on the northwest coast of the island in the twelfth century. At about the same time, communities with ties to the trade network were established around the island's coasts. From the fourteenth to the sixteenth century, social hierarchies developed in several regions of the island. During the succeeding two centuries, Madagascar saw the development of state polities.     

Re‐sewing the Sewn: An Ethnographic Record of Repair and Reuse of Sewn‐plank River Boats in Goa,India

The tradition of fastening planked boats using sewing is characteristic of the Indian Ocean region. Despite known disadvantages of sewn boats, including that perishable materials need regular maintenance and repair, operators of boats used in the sand‐mining industry of Goa still see potential in discarded sewn boats. The problems, raw materials used, technology, and process of re‐sewing and repairing these boats to give them a second life are reported and discussed here.     

目的地制度性行为对目的地品牌资产的作用路径研究——来自西北五省旅游业的市场证据

在旅游消费升级驱动下,目的地品牌化日益成为国内外旅游业竞争的焦点。本文基于制度理论,从游客的全新视角探究在现有的制度环境中目的地的相关制度性行为如何影响目的地品牌资产。数据显示,旅游目的地不但可以通过制度性行为正向影响目的地品牌资产,还会通过品牌合理性的中介作用间接影响品牌资产;研究还进一步发现,不同于一般的精细加工可能性模型适用机制,目的地制度性行为效应的大小独立于目的地熟悉度的高低,目的地熟悉度并不是目的地制度性行为发挥效应的外部条件。本文的研究结论不仅展现了制度效力对目的地品牌建设的重要作用,还能进一步丰富目的地品牌资产研究的路径和方法,并为目的地营销实践提供有价值的参考。     

Australia's decision to initiate Whaling in the Antarctic: winning the case versus resolving the dispute

On May 31, 2010, Australia instituted proceedings before the International Court of Justice in the case of Whaling in the Antarctic (Australia v. Japan). Although Australian politicians had for some time threatened such a course of action, the decision to proceed with international litigation took many observers by surprise, most basically because Japan appeared to be in a strong legal position and the risks associated with the case appeared greater than Australia's prospects for success. This article examines the background to the whaling dispute and suggests two ways in which litigation in the World Court may contribute to resolution of the dispute no matter the legal outcome of the case.     

Africa's earliest bananas?

The recent discovery of banana phytoliths dating to the first millennium BC in Cameroon has ignited debate about the timing of the introduction of this important food crop to Africa. This paper presents new phytolith evidence obtained from one of three sediment cores from a swamp at Munsa, Uganda, that appears to indicate the presence of bananas (Musa) at this site during the fourth millennium BC. This discovery is evaluated in the light of existing knowledge of phytolith taphonomy, the history of Musa, ancient Indian Ocean trade and African prehistory.     

Fluid flow and stability of the US continental slope offshore New Jersey from the Pleistocene to the present

We predict that portions of the New Jersey continental slope were unstable approximately 0.5 million years ago. This instability was caused by rapid sediment loading during a Pleistocene sea‐level lowstand and by flow focusing in underlying, permeable Miocene strata. The simulated instability is consistent with soft‐sediment deformation and small slumps in Pleistocene strata of the Hudson Apron. Stability of the New Jersey margin has increased since 0.3 Ma because sedimentation rate has decreased. Today, the modelled factor of safety (FS) for the upper slope is approximately 1.5 whereas in the lower slope it exceeds 3. We predict that sedimentation rate is a dominant factor on slope stability. When rapid and asymmetric loading of a highly permeable sedimentary layer occurs, the location of instability can shift seaward to regions where sedimentation rates are low. Stability calculations use pressures and effective stresses predicted by a coupled sedimentation‐fluid flow model. This hydrodynamic analysis demonstrates how the interplay of sedimentation and fluid migration affects the distribution, timing, and size of sedimentary failures.     

城市化进程中交通公平的研究进展

在系统分析城市化进程中交通公平内涵的基础上,从弱势群体与社会排斥、交通公平评估与改善策略等方面,梳理交通公平的相关研究成果。结果表明,当前城市交通公平性研究还需从以下几个方面进行完善:交通公平内涵应更加注重改善快速城市化地区居民群体的出行环境;系统分析快速城市化进程中交通公平的演化模式,改善交通公平的基本测度方法;构建交通公平评估的空间分析方法,从经济成本可达性角度剖析交通公平性;关注快速城市化地区交通公平的改善策略,提出可操作性的交通公平优化方法。     

洪保生平事迹及坟寺初考

洪保墓出土的寿藏铭是对其生平事迹及郑和下西洋史料的重要补充。据寿藏铭及相关文献记载,从永乐元年到宣德八年的30年内,洪保曾经一次奉使西域、七次奉使西洋,与郑和、王景弘同列为宣德六年下西洋之正使太监。此外,据记载下西洋船队中确有五千料宝船,至正统六年洪保依然活跃在政坛。洪保墓地所在坟寺即宁海寺。     

Australia and the challenges of order-building in the Indian Ocean region

This article considers the regional order-building challenges that Australia presently confronts in the Indian Ocean region (IOR). The author argues that while regional stability within the IOR constitutes an increasingly important Australian security interest, policy makers will struggle to translate the order-building strategies they have previously pursued in East Asia into an Indian Ocean context. In East Asia, Australia has historically pursued a ‘dual track’ order-building strategy centred on its participation in a US-dominated ‘hub and spokes’ alliance system alongside multilateral regional engagement. The absence of an equivalent alliance system or an established tradition of multilateral security diplomacy conversely precludes an extension of this strategy into the IOR. Growing tensions between the USA and China and between China and India, meanwhile, further complicate IOR security dynamics, while underscoring the urgent need for a more coherent approach to regional order-building. With these challenges in mind, the author concludes by proposing a range of bilateral, minilateral and multilateral initiatives that Australia should pursue to stimulate the emergence of a more cooperative IOR security environment.