Global warming, rising sea level, and growing risk of cholera incidence: a review of the literature and evidence

The survival of Vibrio cholerae -the pathogen agent of cholera- in aquatic environments is linked to both abiotic and biotic ecological factors, which are likely to be influenced by global climate changes and the resulting rise in sea level. Yet little attention has been paid to the possible impacts of these predicted global environmental changes on water-borne diseases such as cholera. The probable ecological mechanisms to explain why cholera may increase if predicted global warming and sea level rise do occur have, as yet, not been addressed. The objective of this paper is to argue the hypothesis that the survival of Vibrio cholerae in aquatic environments may be favoured by global warming and flooding of low-lying coastal areas due to rising sea level. Those changes may enhance primary and secondary transmission of cholera in developing nations, particularly among populations settled in low-lying coastal areas of tropical regions. Primary transmission is also likely to increase in developed nations, mainly among populations living in low-lying coastal areas of subtropical and temperate regions, where new foci of hypoendemic cholera may appear. Nevertheless, if current high levels of hygienic standards in developed nations are relaxed, secondary transmission of cholera may also increase. The prediction and assessment of the potential impact of global climate change on cholera epidemic and endemic potential and its geographical distribution should consider the role of the aquatic reservoirs of Vibrio cholerae in the transmission and endemicity of cholera. The geographical distribution of cholera depends not only on social and cultural factors, but also on ecological variables. On the other hand, global climate changes may cause different impacts in different ecosystems and geographical landscapes. Hence it would be useful to calculate and map future cholera incidence rates for areas defined by natural boundaries, such as ecosystems and geographical landscapes, in search of space-time associations between cholera incidence rates and environmental changes. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

CHIEF TRENDS IN RESEARCH ON COAL PETROGRAPHY IN THE U.S.S.R. AND ABROAD

Soviet scientists have achieved considerable success in the application of petrography to the study of coal, despite lack of coordination among various specialists studying coal genesis, metamorphism, and structure and the inadquate application of modern methods of investigation. An appraisal of coal petrography in the Soviet Union and in other nations shows that the scope of problems which interest coal petrographers is universal, but the presentation of problems, development of details, and purpose of study are very different. --G. E. Denegar.     

Changes in the location of the United States Defence industrial base: Analyses of causative factors

During the last few decades international diffusion of the industrial activities among the established and the newly industrialized countries has occurred. Concurrently, the United States (US) has lost some of its status as the dominant industrial power in the World's markets. These changes have forced the US Department of Defence to surrender, at least partly, one of its principal strategic tenets, that of placing the reliance for its defence goods and services almost exclusively on the supplying entities located within the boundaries of the US.To a significant extent, these developments have come about as the result of the US policies not to intervene in the nation's and world's markets, and a deliberate and comprehensive intervention via policies, laws, and regulations in such markets by the governments of the other countries, including the US allies. The significant reduction of the military threat from the former Soviet Union may already have altered the conduct of the economic policies and defence strategies by the US, by its allies and by other nations.It is reasonable to assume that the US will see the continuation of international collaboration in the development, design and production of the future weapons systems. The former US allies and the other industrial nations, on the other hand, are in quest for further expansion of these industrial bases, and show limited interest in the further collaborative effect in the development of the future weapons systems.Unless appropriate co-operative economic and strategic policies are implemented, the emerging conflicts among the US, its allied and other industrial nations, presently in their infancy, may develop into a more intense confrontation among the world's industrialized nations. If this takes place, the US will be forced to abandon its laissez-faire policies, limit access to its markets and curtail the international diffusion of its industrial entities. The ultimate result of these developments may be geoeconomic conflicts among the industrial nations.This article is adopted from chapter in a forthcoming volume,Political and Geo-economic Issues Confronting the United States, the European Community, and Japan by Ewan W. Anderson and Ivars Gutmanis.     

Territorial settlements and settlements in territories:

Conclusions What is it then that a participant reflects upon as he returns to the less heady realm of his own professional and scholarly activities? First of all, there is conflict. Once the threat of nuclear was rested chiefly in bipolar competition between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. We are now in a multipolar world: infinitely more unpredictable and dangerous, where a lunatic individual could cause as much terror as a whole nation. Institutional arrangements are essential permitting the ebb and flow of conflict. Political geography shows that modern nations are a composite of earlier tribalisms and regional loyalties. Perhaps the same process of increasing consciousness can be expanded to shared responsibility from megalopolitan to global scales. Directly related to this is the issue of population. Anthropos is increasing at the rate of 200,000 more births than deaths a day. Many answers are given by experts, but the main item of consensus appears to be that population will decrease when the lowest-income groups are lifted out of absolute proverty, the darkness of malnutrition, ignorance, and disease.     

National idea, state-building and boundaries in the post-Soviet space (the case of Georgia)

The emergence of the Newly Independent States at the end of 1991, although due to the coincidence of historical events, was a logical outcome of the political crisis within the USSR. The nations had been actively formed during the Soviet period and they considered their homeland the territory which bore the name of a definite nationality. Since all the Union republics were multi-ethnic entities it is rather hard for them to form the nation-states up to present. Citizenship is just being formed and in many areas the state-idea is still to emerge. Georgia, a NIS in the Transcaucasus, bears most of the common features of the post-Soviet political space. But it has distinct peculiarities in state-building due to its location and historical legacy. The national self-identity of the Georgians was formed quite a long time ago, but some geopolitical problems may temporarily hinder the formation of stable boundaries of this NIS.     

Groundwater resources use and management in the Amu Darya River Basin (Central Asia)

This paper analyses groundwater resources use and management in the socio-economic context of the Amu Darya River Basin which covers a part of the following landlocked Central Asian countries: Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. These agrarian nations for sustaining their vital agricultural productions started to use groundwater during the recent drought years (1998–2001) because of its relatively good quality and quantity and as an alternative to highly mineralized surface waters. Present extent of groundwater resources use is discussed with consideration to their reserves, quality, and institutional management and transboundary aspects within the basin. After the collapse of the centralized water resources management system and infrastructure of the former Soviet Union, new underdeveloped systems are being practiced over the whole Amu Darya River Basin. The critical situation of groundwater management in Afghanistan is also discussed. This work attempts to document the management and use of groundwater in the Amu Darya Basin and present time management realities, with fragmented and weak national and regional regulation on groundwater. Special attention is given to groundwater resources in irrigated agriculture, which increased use in all countries of the basin is due to quick access to underground resources and relatively good quality and quantity.     

Neoliberalism and privatisation in South Africa

Perhaps the defining characteristic of development as a global discourse is its neoliberal character. Even recently liberated nations such as South Africa have not escaped its reach. In South Africa, there has been a movement from a development policy with a socialist resonance – the Reconstruction and Development Program (RDP) – to one decidedly neoliberal in form and substance – the Growth Employment and Redistribution (GEAR) policy. The articulation of neoliberalism through development policy is being facilitated through a series of measures among which are fiscal austerity, export oriented production and the privatisation of public sector services. While the GEAR policy, as a macroeconomic framework, is being contested by labour unions it is privatisation which is facing widespread opposition among communities. My intention is twofold, firstly, to investigate how neoliberalism as a global hegemonic discourse has succeeded in capturing, colonising and repackaging the development imaginary of the African National Congress (ANC). Secondly, I wish to examine how privatisation as a sub-discourse of neoliberalism is being articulated in the historically black township of Chatsworth, in Durban. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

浅谈城市水资源管理

水作为一种资源,是无可替代的宝贵的最基础的自然资源,也是维持自然界生态平衡和社会发展和谐的一项基本的物质基础。因此,在某种意义上水是人类生存生息的决定困素和具有突出的战略地位,是城市社会安全、经济持续发展的重要制约因素。因此,水资源安全问题成为世界各国空前关注的问题。     

Women as individuals and members of minority groups: how to reconcile human rights and the values of cultural pluralism

The paper represents an attempt to understand how, in a democratic and pluralistic state, it is possible to reconcile the values of individual freedom with those granted to minority groups. In this perspective, the paper argues that, without questioning the importance of differentiated cultural rights that allow cultural minorities to be on an equal footing with the mainstream society, women’s rights cannot be ignored. Instead, rights for women are not exclusive of any particular culture or society, being indeed one of the human rights common to all groups of people, those rights which attest to the existence of a bond among individuals as members of the human community.     

Recent floods in Bangladesh: Possible causes and solutions

In recent years the frequency of abnormal floods in Bangladesh has increased substantially, causing serious damage to lives and property. The most crucial questions that need to be addressed are: what really causes the havoc-creating floods and is there any solution to the problem? The heavy monsoon downpour and synchronization of flood-peaks of the major rivers are generally considered to be the main causes of the floods. Some underlying factors also deserve serious consideration as possible contributors to the recent floods: change in the base level of the rivers due to local sea level rise and subsidence, inadequate sediment accumulation on flood plains, a possible increase in the watershed area due to seismic and neotectonic activities in the region, river bed aggradation due to siltation and damming of rivers, soil erosion due to unwise tilling practices, deforestation in the upstream region, and excessive development and population growth. Without regional cooperation among the co-riparian nations any major interbasin flood control activity is considered to be almost impossible. However, among other proposals in this paper, extensive annual dredging of the rivers, channels and creeks, and reoccupation of the abandoned channels in Bangladesh through re-excavations could still increase the water carrying capacity of the rivers. Land elevations could be increased if the dredged or excavated materials are dispersed on the flood plains, which would in turn reduce the severity of floods.     

Coastal flooding in the Maldives: an assessment of historic events and their implications

With many inhabited islands only at about 1 m above mean sea level, the Maldives is among the nations most threatened by coastal flooding and sea level rise. However, the understanding of recent coastal flood events in the Maldives is limited and is important to understanding future flood threats. This paper assesses (1) the sea level and wave climate of the Maldives, (2) the sea level and wave conditions during recent coastal flood events, and (3) the implications for flood management and future research. The analysis uses observed still water levels (1987–2015) and hindcast wave conditions (1979–2015). Two significant flood events on 10–13 April 1987 and 15–17 May 2007 are examined in detail. This shows that coastal flooding in the Maldives occurs due to multiple interacting sources. These include long-period (up to 20 s) energetic waves generated in the Southern Ocean combined with spring tides. Wave run-up (mainly wave set-up) appears an essential mechanism for a flood, but is currently poorly quantified. However, as sea levels continue to rise the conditions that produce a flood will occur more frequently, suggesting that flooding will become common in the Maldives. This analysis is a starting point for future research and highlights the need to continue research on flood sources, pathways and receptors, and plan adaptation measures. Priorities include monitoring of waves, sea levels and flood events, and a better understanding of set-up (and other shallow water processes over reefs).     

Preliminary soil micromorphology studies of landscape and occupation history at Tabon Cave,Palawan, Philippines

Preliminary soil micromorphology study of cultural sediments at Tabon Cave, Philippines, supports interpretations of sporadic occupation in the Paleolithic. The presence in some deposits of authigenic minerals potentially related to altered cultural materials, such as ash, needs further investigation. Later in the sequence there is a marked change in local depositional processes, with the onset of significant quartz sand deposition in layers dating from the Middle to Late Holocene. This could relate to beach development in the area. Future sedimentological study and dating would confirm this interpretation, which suggests that in appropriate settings, stratified cave sediments could be useful for the study of regional sea level rise. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Social-geographical problems of a metropolitan region within a Soviet Republic (a case study of the Tbilisi metropolitan region, Georgia, U.S.S.R.)

While the capital city and its surrounding territory often forms the most important nodal region in any country, this very nodality may give rise to social problems. In the case of the Tbilisi metropolitan region, Georgia, U.S.S.R., social development has been conditioned by such factors as the Soviet centralized economic management system, administrative control of population in-migration, state ownership of land, and the tendency towards hyperurbanization. For most Georgians Tbilisi is the republic's most attractive city, and it is in actual fact the leading city in terms of material welfare. Nevertheless, the metropolitan region suffers from a number of concrete social problems whose significance is analysed by means of an opinion poll of metropolitan region inhabitants and a comparative poll conducted in a rural area. While some problems such as retail trade deficiency and the low quality of consumer goods appear to cause universal concern, others such as housing provision and design, ecological problems and social pathology (crime, alcoholism, drug abuse, prostitution) cause greater anxiety among metropolitan residents. It is hoped that recent policies of decentralization and economic reform will help solve some of these difficulties.     

Marine geology at the World Court

Huge areas of the world's seafloor are being carved up among the nations, ignoring scientific knowledge of the geology, geophysics and geomorphology of the seabed.     

Tectonic and Topographic Framework of Political Division

Boundaries between the various topographic, geologic, and socio-political entities that span the Earths continental surfaces are determined by a myriad of complexly interrelated natural and/or cultural factors. Areas of large river basins, of lithologic units on geologic maps, and of nations exhibit size frequency distributions that are closely approximated by density functions in which diameters of individual areas are distributed exponentially. As such, size distributions of each type of surface unit are closely modeled as randomly delimited areas. In other words, if one were to walk in a straight line across any particular continent, each step along that transect would embody some random continuous probability of passing out of a major drainage basin, or out of an area of more or less homogeneous rock type, or from one country to another. Moreover, this simple truism gives rise to area frequency distributions for large river basin or outcrop or nation area that are primarily dependent on the number of basins or outcrops or countries that exist across that particular landmass. As a consequence, the size frequencies of these areal units can be closely predicted knowing only the total area under consideration and the number of drainage basins, outcrop areas, or nations that exist within the area. The similarity between area frequencies of large river basins and rock types and nations suggests a nontrivial component of geologic influence on the partitioning of continental surfaces into major political divisions, and implies that cultural and economic factors, which serve to divide and unite political entities, do so within a geological framework.     

Soviet cities: Progress in urbanization in the seventies

While the rise in the proportion of urban dwellers in the Soviet population as a whole has somewhat slowed down, urbanisation has been rapidly continuing in the seventies; it has, however, acquired a certain new character through processes of intensification of urban life. The following of these processes are examined in the paper: concentration of the population in the larger cities, the development of agglomerations and whole systems of urban settlement, the geographical expansion of the large cities' contours. Factors leading to the rise of cities are also undergoing a partial change: their connexion with the growth of material production is becoming more flexible and more mediative; many republican and oblast' capital cities, those centres of administrative, economic-organizational and scientific research functions supported by a highly developed infrastructure are growing more rapidly than other cities.     

三峡库区浮托减重型滑坡对库水升降的响应规律

三峡大坝自2003年蓄水以来,库区形成大量涉水滑坡。长江三峡库区的浮托减重型滑坡随库水位升降,变形非协调性增加,此类滑坡变形与库水位关系的不明确性,为其监测预警预报工作带来困惑。以木鱼包滑坡为研究对象,通过全自动GPS变形监测系统获取的滑坡监测资料,结合多次的野外考察、15年专业监测和库水位升降等资料进行分析,运用有限元软件Geo-studio进行数值模拟,模拟库水位以不同速率在175~145m间升降下对滑坡稳定性的影响。研究表明:(1)库水位由145m升至175m的过程中,滑坡的稳定系数变化为先减后增再减,库水上升速率越大,前期稳定系数减小的时间段越小,随后稳定系数增加的速率也越快;(2)在库水位由175m下降到145m的过程中,整个稳定系数变化趋势为先减小后增大,呈“V”字形,存在一个最危险水面,不同的库水下降速率对应的最危险水面高度也不一样,库水位以0.4,0.6,0.8,1.0,1.6m/d的速率下降时对应的最危险水位分别在169.8,167.8,162.6,162.0,162.2m左右;(3)木鱼包滑坡作为三峡库区典型的浮托减重性滑坡,在库水位大幅度及周期性升降的影响下,一直保持着蠕滑状态,平均日位移量为0.4mm/d,目前处于基本稳定状态。所得结论对三峡库区浮托减重型滑坡预警预报工作有一定的参考与借鉴意义。     

The roads of the Sayan Mountains: Theorizing remoteness in eastern Siberia

The Sayan crossroads is a distinct cultural and economic region in the mountains of eastern Siberia. It spans three federal units in the Russian Federation: the national republics of Tyva (Todzha kozhuun) and Buryatia (Okinskii raion), as well as Irkutsk oblast (Tofalarskoe municipality). Attempts at integration by the state during the Soviet period and afterwards have privileged the construction of roads in a variety of forms to connect these areas economically with regional centers and, in turn, the rest of the country. Yet this process has been uneven and led to divergences in the economic regimes in each of the three regions that make up the crossroads. The evolution of subsistence economies, exploitation by extractive industries, and the development of tourism as an alternative source of income all differ across the three federal subunits. In turn, these divergences within the crossroads as a region point to variation in the condition of remoteness. Remoteness is an instance of relative immobility, determined by physical geography, environment, and ethnicity. And remoteness influences the function that roads play in integrating state spaces both economically and politically. In turn, this article argues for the foregrounding of the remote in the literature on mobilities in human geography, considering what the condition of remoteness allows for and forecloses in the articulation of state power and the integration of hard-to-reach areas.     

A second review of the international status of engineering geology — encompassing hydrogeology, environmental geology and the applied geosciences

Engineering geology, in 1996, worldwide, was experiencing considerable turmoil due to the uncertain nature of national economies and the general situation of inadequate funds to meet the demands of failing of the national infrastructures that serve citizens. Aside from the previously war-damaged cities of Western Europe, new public service systems of transportation and utilities elsewhere often lagged well behind growth.

It will be some time before international aid and civil engineering contracts are initiated for anything other than humanitarian and basic emergency aid work in these areas.

Many countries in the western hemisphere, eastern Europe, the former Soviet Union and developing nations in particular are still in need of basic water and sewage services as well as repair and replacement of old existing systems. Continued partisan warfare in the Balkan states of Albania, Bosnia, Croatia and Serbia forecast the eventual need for redevelopment. Rumblings of broad-scale economic problems in Far-Eastern economies did little to make overseas contract opportunities in these areas very attractive.

Large consulting firms were challenged by an increasing number of individual and small practices who are prepared to operate on 1970's rates and prices for services and government and industry was taking advantage of that situation. More and more individuals were offering services in engineering geology and associated engineering fields and there was a sense of not having enough work to go around. Hence, price competition was again being promoted. Consequently in both Europe and the Americas, the variability of competence was enlarging and a significant amount of so-called ‘professional ’ work was lacking in overall quality. This was especially evident in ‘Environmental’ areas of work.

This begs the question: ‘Is not engineering geology, or any other aspect of applied geosciences, not environmental in nature and essence, fundamentally and in entirety?’

Environmental restoration demands were still being made by governments, but the pressure to complete such work was being relaxed on account of economics. Our clients were asking for more service at lower fees. Clients were still largely unwilling to openly acknowledge that less money spent on competent engineering geologic consultation means that more risk should be accepted by the owner or operator of projects.     

‘Some people expect women should always be dependent’: Indian women’s experiences as highly skilled migrants

The intersections of migration and gender have been well established in the literature. This article seeks to look beyond the notion of women as tied movers and to highlight women’s central position in the high-skilled migration process and complement it with the perspectives of male migrants. Our findings are based on 47 qualitative life course interviews with high-skilled Indian migrants in the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, and illustrated in detail through the life stories of four female participants. We found that for highly skilled Indian women, migration can represent an opportunity to diverge from normative paths and escape from patriarchal norms, but that they still seek a compromise between these cultural constraints and their personal aspirations. Whereas in the Western context traditions and modernity are generally seen as being in opposition to each other, we show that in the Indian context women may continue to adhere to the normative age at marriage, while also pursuing a professional career and combining family and employment. We conclude that migration can thus both facilitate and limit the professional development of women, particularly those from traditional cultural backgrounds who are redefining the role of women in their society.