Gender and Migration Policies in Southeast and East Asia: Legal Protection and Sociocultural Empowerment of Unskilled Migrant Women

This paper is concerned with how existing migration policies affect individual migrant women's choices, in particular, with the advancement, or consolidation, of a migrants' rights perspective. The focus is thereby on those migrants classified as unskilled, who constitute the largest and most vulnerable category among migrants. The analysis of migration policies has conventionally been approached from a state/government‐centred viewpoint that sees states as the key actors. This paper, however, emphasises a larger number of actors ‐ governmental and non‐governmental ‐ as well as the power relations among them to argue that protection through “legal regulation” in the absence of actual implementation is an incomplete solution to alleviate unfair labour conditions that migrants in general, and migrant women specifically, experience. Measures designed to “protect” migrants must be accompanied by measures that empower them, a role that has largely been taken on by existing migrant worker non‐governmental organisations (NGOs). Focussing on intra‐Asian migration flows in which Southeast Asia is the main labour sender and East Asia the receiver of Southeast Asian migrants, the paper explores the nexus between law and civic activism in the specific subject area of international labour migration and its gender implications.     

EXPRESSING “LOCAL CULTURE” IN HAWAI'I*

ABSTRACT. Detached from the mainland and with a distinct historical ethnic geography, the conquered kingdom of Hawai'i, now the fiftieth state, is the only U.S. state with an Asian and Pacific Islander majority as well as the highest percentage of racial and ethnic intermarriage. Hawai'i's population reflects the tensions between the culturally pluralistic “spirit of aloha” and the ethnic‐cum‐social stratification that has evolved from its historical economic geographies. In this article I focus on one of these strata—what is referred to as “local” culture—discussing its ethnogenesis and contemporary manifestations, and I apply Jonathan Okamura's 1981 model of situational ethnicity to examine how locals and new immigrants negotiate the ethnic dynamics and social expectations of their daily lives. I also discuss various ways in which “localness” is represented on O'ahu's economic landscape, with an analysis of the Aloha Stadium Swap Meet, as a holistic expression of local culture.     

休闲涉入与地方依恋对农民工留城意愿的影响 ——基于广州市的调研数据

在"认知-情感-行为意向"范式下,基于中国农民工流入地典型代表广州市的抽样调查数据,采用差异显著性检验和结构方程模型分析方法,探讨农民工留城意愿和地方依恋特征,并实证检验休闲涉入、地方依恋对农民工留城意愿影响的理论模型.结果表明:1)广州市农民工的留城意愿和地方依恋倾向较为强烈;2)不同个体特征的农民工群体在留城意愿和...     

CONTESTING PISCO: CHILE,PERU, AND THE POLITICS OF TRADE*

This article examines the geography of pisco, a South American brandy claimed as the national drink of both Peru and Chile. The historic tension between these two nations—based notably on the nineteenth‐century War of the Pacific—is used as a backdrop to understanding the cultural and political contestation over the “ownership” of this beverage. Although both countries see exportation of pisco as a means of agricultural development, much of the animosity of this trade dispute is couched in cultural and historical terms. International trade policies, including the use of geographical indications (labels of geographical origin) for the purposes of trademarking, and the physical geography that makes pisco production possible are discussed.     

Reconstruction of the Cenozoic deformation of the Bohai Bay Basin,North China

A well‐constrained plate deformation model may lead to an improved understanding of sedimentary basin formation and the connection between subduction history and over‐riding plate deformation. Building quantitative models of basin kinematics and deformation remains challenging often due to the lack of comprehensive constraints. The Bohai Bay Basin (BBB) is an important manifestation of the destruction of the North China Craton, and records the plate kinematic history of East Asia during the Cenozoic. Although a number of interpretations of the formation of the BBB have been proposed, few quantitative basin reconstruction models have been built to test and refine previous ideas. Here, we developed a quantitative deformation reconstruction of the BBB constrained with balanced cross‐sections and structural, stratigraphic and depositional age data. Our reconstruction suggests that the basin formation process was composed of three main stages: Paleocene‐early Eocene (65–42 Ma) extension initiation, middle Eocene‐early Oligocene (42–32.8 Ma) extension climax and post‐Oligocene (32.8–0 Ma) post‐extensional subsidence. The deformation of the BBB is spatially heterogeneous, and its velocity directions rotated clockwise during the basin formation process. The reconstruction supports the interpretation that the BBB formed via strike‐slip faulting and orthogonal extension and that the basin is classified as a composite extensional‐transtensional basin. We argue that the clockwise rotation of the basin velocity field was driven by the counter‐clockwise rotation in the direction of Pacific Plate subduction. The kinematics of the BBB imply that the Pacific Plate may have been sufficiently coupled to the over‐riding East Asian Plate during the critical period of Pacific Plate reorganization. The new reconstruction provides a quantitative basis for studies of deformation processes not only in the vicinity of the BBB, but also more broadly throughout East Asia.     

Governing through mobilities and the expansion of spatial capability of Vietnamese marriage migrant activist women in South Korea

This paper revisits the debate on marriage migration by highlighting the role of governing power and individual response in the process of migration decision‐making and post‐settlement of Vietnamese marriage migrant activist women in South Korea. It contributes to current marriage migration debates by employing the lens of ‘governmobility’ and ‘spatial capability’. The research looks at how female migrant activists maneuver coercion, resistance, and activism, both governed by nation‐state politics, but also actively deciding their fate amidst pressures of the global marriage market. Based on in‐depth interviews with 21 Vietnamese marriage migrant women who have worked in mentoring, counselling and translating for other Vietnamese migrants, our findings demonstrate that marriage migrants are positioned in between two nation‐states whose perspectival focus is on relieving the tensions of their own domestic job and marital markets. At the same time, these women have broken free from the inertia of socio‐familial status quo and state intervention to become self‐governing agents of mobility in various stages of their migration and adaptation. Fueled on by their position as activists, the marriage migrants then expand their spatial capability to place‐making—shifting the notion of freedom from simply taking part in mobility to reshaping their locale.     

Migration of Entrepreneurs from Hong Kong: Background, Trendsand Impacts

This paper critically examines the movement of entrepreneurs from Hong Kong within the context of whether Chinese culture predisposes them to become entrepreneurs: that the type of business relations and networks that the Chinese employ is in some way distinct from those of other groups because of Confucianism and unique ‘Asian values’. This interpretation is found severely wanting. Entrepreneurs are seen to be but one type of migrant from China and Hong Kong, and there are significant differences within Chinese migrant groups. We need to move away from vague cultural explanations to consider the context in which migrant groups find themselves before a satisfactory analytical framework for ethnic entrepreneurship can be constructed. The case of entrepreneurs moving to Canada is taken to illustrate recent policy changes and the impact of entrepreneurs on destination economies.     

Refugees in the IT Sector: Young Syrians’ Economic Subjectivities and Familial Lives in Jordan

This article explores refugee economic subjectivity in the context of restrictive asylum policies and disrupted transnational family lives. Drawing on fieldwork with young Syrian refugees pursuing IT training in Jordan, I focus on the “coding boot camp,” an emerging educational format in the field of refugee professional training. I thus explore how Syrian youths approach humanitarian policies in which, in the absence of full social and economic rights for refugees, the question of livelihoods is addressed through the paradigms of self‐reliance, creativity, and innovation. Reframing the refugee from a “protected” to a “productive” subject, and offering individual solutions to a structural economic impasse, these policies produce tensions between individual responsibilities and more‐than‐individual relations and identifications—with families, religious identities, and national communities—that remain unresolved. The findings contribute to geographical scholarship on economic subjectivity, familial relations, and the migrant and refugee condition, while shedding light on some of the effects of the encounter between technology‐centred, neoliberal approaches to humanitarianism and restrictive migration regimes in responses to the Syrian displacement.     

“Finding their way”: the negotiation of the city by low-skilled service sector migrant workers in Dublin

The city has become the context for a dialectical relationship not only between the global and the local but also between migrants and the host society. Whilst there is considerable work on migrant integration, integration is rarely examined from the perspective of the workplace, or from a geographic perspective, which problematizes the spatiality of migrant workers’ experiences. This article studies migrant workers in low-skilled jobs, with a focus on Temporary Service Sector Providers in catering, cleaning, and security, in order to understand how they negotiate their position in the city and are active agents of this negotiation. The study, based upon a survey of 60 migrants complemented by 20 in-depth interviews, questions how integration should be understood: in particular it suggests that—in some respects—integration may be difficult for all low-wage precarious workers, whether migrants or not. The study also highlights how migrant workers retain agency—the capacity to act, to make decisions, and appropriate certain places—even in challenging circumstances.     

Decadal variability in climate and glacier fluctuations on Mt Baker, Washington, USA

Climate variability in the Pacific basin has been attributed to large‐scale oceanic‐atmospheric modulations (e.g. the El Niño‐Southern Oscillation (ENSO)) that dominate the weather of adjacent land areas. The Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) and north Pacific index are thought to be indicators of modulations and events in the northeast Pacific. In this study we find that variations in the PDO are reflected in the terminus position of glaciers on Mt Baker, in the northern Cascade Range, Washington. The initiation of retreat and advance phases of six glaciers persisted for 20–30 years, which relate to PDO regime shifts. The result of this study agrees with previous studies that link glacier mass balance changes to local precipitation anomalies and processes in the Pacific. However, the use of mass balance changes and glacier terminus variation for identification of regime shifts in climate indices is complicated by the lack of standardized measuring techniques, differing response times of individual glaciers to changes in climate, geographic and morphometric factors, and the use of assorted climate indices with different domains and time‐scales in the Pacific for comparison.     

After the exodus: Exploring migrant attitudes to documentation,brokerage and employment following the 2014 mass withdrawal of Cambodian workers from Thailand

This paper uses the exodus of Cambodian migrant workers from Thailand in June 2014 as a focal point around which to explore Cambodian migrant attitudes towards the systems of documentation and brokerage that influence their movement. From the perspective of Cambodian returnees and their families, it builds on recent work exploring narratives of brokerage by demonstrating how documentation itself — and by extension the legality of migration — is viewed through a contextual lens. Specifically, it argues that documentation is not only viewed according to the formal regulatory framework governing migration between the two countries, but forms part of a more complex structure of influences in which norms of employment and brokerage are equally prominent. From this position, the paper suggests that migrants did not only respond directly to threats of a crackdown by authorities following the 2014 coup, but were additionally influenced by the actions of employers and brokers, whose guarantees of protection — or otherwise — were seen as vitally important in their migration decisions.     

亚太地区经济区域化及其地理研究

本文针对亚太地区经济区域化发展趋势，阐明了该地区经济合作形式的主要特征，同时，对其进行地理研究的可行性及其意义提出自己的见解。     

AUSTRALIAN BACKYARD GARDENS AND THE JOURNEY OF MIGRATION*

ABSTRACT. Gardens have been an important site of environmental engagement in Australia since the British colonization. They are places where immigrant people and plants have carried on traditions from their homelands and have worked out an accommodation with new social and biophysical environments. We examined the backyard gardens of three contemporary migrant groups—Macedonian, Vietnamese, and British born—in suburban Australia and a group of first‐generation Australians with both parents born overseas. In Macedonian backyards, emphasis was strong on the production of vegetables; in Vietnamese backyards, on herbs and fruit. British backyards were more diverse, some focusing on non‐native ornamental flowers and others favoring native plants. The cohesiveness of the respective groups was partly an artifact of our sampling strategy. The Macedonian and Vietnamese migrants shared an affinity for productive, humanized landscapes that reflected their rural, subsistence backgrounds and crossed over into their attitudes toward the broader environment and national parks. The rural and village backgrounds help explain why intensive backyard food production has broken down among the next generation in (sub)urban Australia, becoming part of heritage rather than everyday practice.     

Emerging Asias: Transnational Forces,Developmental States,and “Asian Values”

Discussions of East Asian developmental states and Asian values discourse have been deformed by national-territorial frameworks that limit scholars' ability to highlight transnational phenomena. Such limits can be overcome by adopting a “Pacificist” perspective, one that highlights the transnational collaborative efforts of Pacific ruling class members, from both Asia and the United States. Such a Pacificist approach has the virtue of highlighting phenomena of transnational class formation that help account for the emergence of both developmental states in East Asia and Asian values discourse, and it also suggested the importance of attending to other kinds of emerging actors in Asian development politics, such as labor and democracy movements.     

基于全国第六次人口普查数据的广州新移民居住分异研究

运用第六次全国人口普查数据,分析当前广州新移民的居住空间分异问题,探讨中国大城市新移民居住空间的整体格局、分异程度及其分异机制,并以此实证中国城市社会空间理论。研究表明：广州新移民的空间分布总体上表现出近郊集中和远郊分散的特征,其中省内新移民较多集中在中心区外围,省外新移民集中分散在远郊。广州新移民与本地常住人口的差异指数为0.48,分异指数为0.46,隔离指数为0.56,超过美国亚裔移民分异的平均水平。此外,各区的分异度水平存在较大差异。机制分析表明,历经30多年的市场化进程,制度因素对新移民聚居区的影响减弱,单位因素对新移民聚居无明显影响,市场因素的作用增强。与西方情况类似,人口和家庭因素对新移民聚居有一定影响,其中年龄因素和婚姻状况是影响新移民聚居的重要因素。总体上,市场化下中国城市新移民的社会隔离正不断转化为明显的空间分异问题。为推进社会融合,应尽快采取社会空间重构措施(如社会规划和社区规划)予以应对。     

东亚夏季风的变化特征及其对甘肃夏季暴雨日数的影响

采用NCEP/NCAR再分析资料,计算了1974—2013年乔云亭等定义的东亚季风指数,研究了东亚夏季风的变化特征,利用甘肃省80个站逐日降水资料,分析了东亚夏季风对夏季甘肃暴雨日数的影响。结果表明：（1）夏季,西南季风、东南季风和偏北季风存在明显的年际变化且有所差异。（2）夏季,西南季风、东南季风对甘肃省暴雨日数的影响存在很大差异：当西南季风盛行时,西太平洋副热带高压位置偏西,东亚大槽位于贝加尔湖至中国西北部,冷空气与西太平洋副热带高压输送的暖湿气流在陇东南一带交汇,贝加尔湖至张掖为西南暖湿和西北干冷气流,孟加拉湾水汽输送在陇东南地区辐合,造成河东陇南南部、天水东部、平凉、庆阳西部一带和河西张掖地区暴雨日数偏多;当东南季风盛行时,西太平洋副热带高压西伸北抬,冷暖空气主要交汇于甘肃中西部,孟加拉湾西南水汽输送在河东西南部辐合,造成甘南高原、甘肃中部、河西武威一带和酒泉地区暴雨日数偏多。     

Impact of the variation of westerly jets over East Asia on precipitation of eastern China in July

The impact of the northward jump and westward movement of the East Asian westerly jet core from the western Pacific Ocean to the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau on precipitation distribution of eastern China is studied. It is concluded that on the one hand, the northward jump of the jet causes the precipitation belt to move northward from the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River valley and withdraw during the Mei-yu season; on the other hand, the westward movement of the jet core has no correspondence with withdrawal of the Mei-yu season. However, the earlier or later occurrence of the westward movement of the jet has an influence on the process of the rain belt moving northward than the northward jump of the jet: the rain belt moves northward from the middle-lower Yangtze River valley to the Huaihe River and then to an area between the Yellow River and Huaihe River during years when the time of the westward movement of the jet core is later than that of the northward jump of the jet and from the middle-lower Yangtze River valley to an area between the Yellow River and Huaihe River in other years. Further analysis shows that: (1) The northward jump of the jet and the westward movement of the East Asian westerly jet core causes significant variation of the general atmospheric circulation in middle latitudes and water vapor transport from the western Pacific, but not from the Bay of Bengal. (2) Impact of the northward jump and the westward movement of the East Asian westerly jet core on circulation are different, therefore, water vapor transport from the western Pacific and its impact on the rain belt are different. The earlier or later occurrence of the westward movement of the jet core than the northward jump of the jet causes the process of circulation and water vapor transport to be different which produces a different process of the rain belt moving northward.     

西北东部气候异常特征及其对冬季高原感热的响应

利用1960—2000年西北东部100个测站,经过面积权重区域平均的降水、气温资料,对该区域气候异常进行分析。结果表明：①对异常旱涝年,亚洲西风带环流及西太平洋副热带高压的位置最为关键。异常涝年,亚洲地区经向环流占优势,东亚大槽偏东,西太平洋副热带高压偏北;异常旱年,亚洲地区纬向环流占优势,东亚大槽偏西,西太平洋副热带高压偏南。②对异常冷暖年,极涡、西风带环流以及西太平洋副热带高压的状况最为关键。气温异常偏高年,北半球极涡强度及亚洲极涡强度均偏弱,欧亚地区盛行纬向环流,西太平洋副热带高压面积偏大,强度明显偏强,西伸脊点明显偏西,位置偏北;气温异常偏低年,北半球极涡强度及亚洲极涡强度均偏强,欧亚地区盛行经向环流,西太平洋副热带高压面积偏小,强度明显偏弱,西伸脊点明显偏东,位置偏南。③冬季高原感热与滞后一个季度的夏季降水、气温的相关较春季的相关更好。     

Temporal and Spatial Patterns of Seasonal Precipitation Variability in China, 1951-1999

Rainfall variability in China for the period from 1951 to 1999 was investigated. Monthly rainfall data for 160 stations were obtained from the Chinese Academy of Meteorological Sciences. Mean seasonal rainfall amounts were grouped into four distinct precipitation regions by cluster analysis. These regions differed in size and extent in each season and were related to the rainfall-generating mechanism operating at that time of year. The Asian monsoon played a major role in shaping the precipitation regime. Local topography also helped in casting the seasonal variability patterns within regions. To understand the impact of large scale circulation on rainfall variability, areally averaged anomaly percentages were correlated with major atmospheric teleconnection features. It was discovered that the Polar-Eurasia (POL) and Arctic Oscillation (AO) index were positively associated with winter precipitation, indicating the significance of the winter monsoon in producing the rainfall pattern. Negligible effects of the Southern Oscillation Index (SOI), West Pacific (WP), and North Pacific (NP) patterns on precipitation were observed.     

MAPS AND METAPHORS OF THE “SMALL EASTERN SEA” IN TOKUGAWA JAPAN (1603–1868)*

ABSTRACT. This article examines the ways in which oceans were depicted in Japanese geographical writings and maps from the Tokugawa period. It uses these texts to understand how early modern Japanese visions of the Pacific and of maritime Asian waters constructed epistemological frameworks through which the Japanese saw their place in an increasingly complex web of regional and global connections. In the absence of actual adventure on the “high seas,” Japanese writers, artists, and mapmakers used the inventive power of the imagination to fill in the cognitive blank of ocean space. I argue that the definition of early modern oceanic space was profoundly ambiguous, a legacy that, it can be argued, left its mark on Japan's modern relationship with the Asian Pacific region.