‘I want to take risks,like my mother’: Memory,affect, and Vietnamese masculinities – the legacy of gendered variations in socio-economic mobility during Ðổi mới

Young Vietnamese men who witnessed their mother's changing economic and labour market situations through the early years of Ð?i m?i (the policy of economic liberalization in Vietnam after 1986) have developed conceptions of masculinity that are ambivalent to notions of male power and authority within what is often termed the ‘traditional’ neo-Confucian family. On the basis of the life narratives of a small group of men in their early twenties, the author suggests that the value young men place on their mother's work and familial influence during Ð?i m?i contrasts with the findings of much gender scholarship on women's social and economic (im) mobility in the 1990s in Vietnam and on young men's own masculinist narratives. Most gender-sensitive research in this area has suggested that Vietnamese women remained curtailed in the early 1990s by a resurgence of male-oriented kinship systems and patriarchal structures at household level. However, the author discusses the young men as being equivocal. While invoking broad Confucian tropes, these men remember their mothers as economically dynamic relative to their fathers. This led to the informants citing their mother's histories of economic risk-taking as exemplifying free-market capability. Further, the finding suggests that Vietnamese women's social and economic mobility in the 1990s strongly affected young men's contemporary ideas and practices related to masculinity.     

COMMUTING DISTANCE AND GENDER AMONG NONMETROPOLITAN UNIVERSITY EMPLOYEES*

The applicability of metropolitan-derived explanations of gender differences in worktrip lengths is examined based on a sample of 435 university employees in the nonmetropolitan town of Blacksburg, VA. Women's worktrips are found to be longer than men's in contrast to metropolitan findings. This pattern results from the interaction of spatial structures of housing and employment with women's lower incomes, gender segregation of employment, and the tendency for married women to find jobs after their residence is established. Upward trends in female labor force participation rates and in nonmetropolitan growth require continued analysis of their joint impact on women's spatial behavior.     

A Review of “Rebuilding Urban Places After Disaster: Lessons from Hurricane Katrina”

Women's earnings, employment, and commutes have generally lagged men's. Geographers emphasize the effects of women's gender roles on their spatial entrapment as limiting their job opportunities and labor market status. This research methodologically advances spatial entrapment research by utilizing a national model of commuting with spatial fixed effects to make more accurate predictions and generalizations. Second, this research found that a control group of same-sex partners allows for more direct isolation and measurement of the gender role effect on women's commutes. This research concluded that women's gender roles are negatively affecting their commuting range and, therefore, their labor market status.     

A socio-hydrological approach for incorporating gender into biophysical models and implications for water resources research

Men and women interact with water resources and landscapes in different ways, and there are frequent criticisms that little research is undertaken across disciplines to address this issue. Biophysical scientists in particular struggle with how to integrate “gendered” water uses into models that are necessarily based on prevailing laws and equations that describe the movement of water through the hydrological cycle, independent of social constructs. We explore the challenges faced in developing interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research approaches and then present a simple yet innovative socio-hydrological approach using participatory three-dimensional maps. As a case study, we describe undertaking this process in Ethiopia where two three-dimensional maps (men's and women's) were separately generated to represent the same 20 km² landscape. Mapping results indicated important distinctions in how men and women view landscapes with regard to the number and types of ecosystem services identified. For example, only women identified holy water sites along streams, while men identified twice as many sacred trees on the landscape. There was a clear focus and detailed knowledge about soils among participants in both groups. Maps developed as part of this exercise were successfully used as the principal land use input for the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) and results indicate that this is a valid strategy that enhances scientific knowledge and understanding of overall landscapes and ultimately adds value to research for development questions.     

Back and forth with hopes and fears: Sri Lankan men's narratives on gender and mobility in transnational livelihoods

Although in the past Sri Lanka has had a higher number of women migrant workers, recent statistics show that the gap between the percentages of female and male migrants is decreasing. Since 2007, male migrants have outnumbered female migrants. The article explores how Sri Lankan men have responded to the increased economic needs of their families and lack of proper income-generating activities within the country by engaging in transnational livelihoods, as well as how their roles and identities are contested and negotiated through labour migration. The study is based on men's narratives on their reasons for migration and their experiences of transnational labour migration. The concepts of hope and life course are used to analyse the intertwined relationships of gender and mobility in transnational livelihoods. The author identifies that men's mobility is motivated by their hopes of fulfilling traditional gender norms as providers and protectors of their families in combination with their new identity as successful men. Further, the study provides evidence that men's mobility is not only gendered but also a repeated act during their life course. The study contributes to strengthen research on mobility and gender by adding men's perspectives on transnational labour migration.     

Women in agriculture: advocates for a gendered sustainable agriculture

A gendered consideration of rural geography has been barely discernible within Australian and New Zealand literature. The notable exceptions in this case have illustrated the complexity and merit of studying the gender patterns and relations of rural life. Outside geography, there is an expanding literature on rural women in Australia. These works parallel significant developments in the lives and politics of rural and agricultural women themselves. This paper reports selected findings from a study of the women in agriculture movement in Australia. As such, it illustrates the increased awareness of the gendered conditions of farming. The women in agriculture movement works to increase the recognition of women's contribution to agriculture. In doing so it affirms the legitimacy of women farmers’ voices and perspectives. There will be no sustainable rural systems while half the rural population is unseen or unheard. Women in agriculture demonstrate a social dimension of sustainability. They highlight the need to integrate gender equity and a ‘wider‐than‐economic’ conceptualisation of sustainable agriculture. Their actions can stimulate rural geographers to further consider the social and political aspects of rural sustainability beyond the conventional farm/industry and community service sites we usually consider.     

SOIL CATENAS,TROPICAL DEFORESTATION,AND ANCIENT AND CONTEMPORARY SOIL EROSION IN THE PETéN,GUATEMALA

The Petexbatún region of Guatemala's Petén tropical forest lowlands has been largely deforested since the early 1980s as landless peasants have turned even national parks into milpas. The soils of these tropical forest, karst landscapes are known mainly from small-scale maps and archaeological investigations. This paper investigates soil catenas and natural slope processes from the region's last virgin tropical forests and compares these with catenas and processes on slashed and burned slopes. Soils were sampled and analyzed for physical, fertility, and taxonomic measures. This primary forest toposequence forms a typical downward translocation catena, with the thickest soils (>200 cm) in depressions, the thinnest soils on shoulder slopes, and moderately thin soils on the crests and backslopes. Most crest and sloping soils are Lithic Rendolls and contain simple O-A-C horizon sequences, and most soils have little sign of either eluviation or illuviation. A few deeper soils on the slopes are Vertic Rendolls and have moderate slick-ensides, whereas footslopes and seasonally drained depressions are well developed Vertisols. The primary forest soil catena was compared with two slash-and-burn milpas, one with comparable slopes and one with steeper slopes. The comparably sloped milpa had soil thicknesses that were 7.9 to 13.8 cm thinner, truncated horizons, and physical evidence of erosion. The steeper milpa had soil thicknesses that were 11.1 to 18.2 cm thinner and also had truncated horizons and physical evidence of erosion. Where ancient Maya terraces (Late Classic, ca. 550 to 830 A.D.) are present in the slash-and-burn landscape, an average of 25 to 46.5 cm soil remain upslope and 9.3 to 16.1 cm remain downslope. The findings show high soil truncation rates and erosion to bedrock in a decade in one place, though ancient Maya terraces are still holding 2.7 to 3.6 times more soil than the surrounding hillslopes. Despite high modern erosion, lake sediments show surprisingly low soil losses in the Maya Late Classic during the period of the most intensive land use. In contrast, studies at Copán, Honduras and in the northern Petén, where terrace evidence is scant, show high rates of erosion during this period. [Key words: soil catenas, tropical deforestation, milpa, soil erosion, Maya Lowlands.]     

The first rural women's network in New South Wales: seventy years of the country women's association

The Country Women's Association of NSW (CWA) is the main voice of rural women in the state. It has been the biggest women's organisation in NSW until very recently. Its significant contribution to rural community development has been overlooked. After its foundation in 1922, the CWA established a widespread women's network, as well as many facilities for women and children. The necessary fund‐raising activities required the organisation of regular social activities in country towns. The CWA has always affirmed women's traditional gender roles, and it has never challenged the male hegemony typical of rural Australia. By contributing to the improvement of rural conditions, to the stability of family life and to local social activities, the CWA has helped to develop the rural economy as well as local and national identity. It has helped women put down roots in country areas. Its future role needs to be defined in the context of the difficult economic situation, and of the changes in gender roles, in rural NSW.     

Health Seeking Behavior: Q‐Structures of Rural and Urban Women in India with Sexually Transmitted Diseases and Reproductive Tract Infections

I use a gender framework to examine why women need to utilize social networks to discover and resolve problems related to reproductive tract infections (RTI) and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). In India, women's health is linked with social status and perception of their health needs. This paper provides insight on how social networks are gender‐, location‐, and context‐specific and how they are linked to STD issues. This paper examines why social networks are integral to women. The health‐seeking behavior of rural and urban casual sex workers is examined via Q‐analysis, a language of mapping relationships. Results from Q‐analysis reveal women's use of four systems—kinship, belief, traditional medical, and western medical services. Finally, I conclude with important implications for research on gender relations and social networks.     

The influence of elevation, shrub species, and biological soil crust on fertile islands in the Mojave Desert, USA

We quantified soil nutrients and biological crust cover (bryophytes and lichens) under the canopies of three species of Mojave Desert shrubs and in interspaces between shrubs at three elevations to determine the effects of shrub species, soil crust, and elevation on islands of soil fertility. Means of pH, organic matter, total Kjeldahl nitrogen, nitrogen mineralization, and gravimetric soil moisture are significantly greater in soils under Ambrosia dumosa (Gray) Payne, Larrea tridentata Cov., and Coleogyne ramosissima Torr. than soils from adjacent interspace microhabitats. Although soil moisture and soil organic matter increase by a factor of 1.5 from the low elevation to the high elevation site, the ratio of shrub to interspace concentrations, or the difference in mean soil variables between shrubs and interspaces, is effectively constant and independent of elevation. Total bryophyte and lichen cover is relatively low (24.5%), however, there are 11 species of bryophytes and two species of lichens distributed across three elevations with the highest species richness and cover at the low-elevation site. Bryophyte and lichen cover is correlated with silt but is not related, consistently, to soil nutrients. Overall, the balance of processes controlling spatial aggregation of soil nutrients under shrubs is remarkably insensitive to potential differences in organic inputs among elevations, shrub species, and soil crust surfaces.     

Isotope composition and anion chemistry of soil profiles along the Kalahari Transect

Savannas cover about 20% of the Earth's land area across a wide range of climatic conditions. As an important and distinct biome, savannas produce approximately 29% of global terrestrial net primary productivity. In these ecosystems the distribution of belowground resources remains poorly investigated and the relationship to the climatic conditions remains unclear. In the present study, vertical profiles of soil nutrients (chloride, nitrate, phosphate and sulfate) and nitrogen stable isotopes were analyzed at four sites along the Kalahari mega-transect, where a distinct rainfall gradient exists on a homogeneous soil substrate. The results show clear differences in nutrients and δ¹⁵N vertical distributions between wet and dry seasons. The results also show how the formation of “fertility islands” (i.e., the concentration of soil nutrients in the soils beneath tree canopies) is not necessarily coupled with belowground processes in that the distribution of soil nutrients at the surface does not match belowground patterns. The results also indicate that phosphorus may be a limiting nutrient in these savanna ecosystems with seasonal dynamics in its cycling.     

Gender analysis of fear and mobility in the context of ethnic conflict in Kayah State,Myanmar

Kayah State has faced prolonged conflict for the past six decades. The conflict has affected all the people of Kayah, though the nature and extent of the impact varies by age, gender and class. Caught between the ethnic armed groups and military and brutalized by both, the people of Kayah have struggled to survive. The conflict has further restricted the mobility of an already isolated people. This lack of mobility has affected every aspect of their lives including livelihood, access to education and markets, and religious and social networks. Women's mobility is more restricted than that of men, and the different levels of mobility have in turn led to different strategies to survive the conflict. While men can leave the area for work and education, women cannot. Staying in the conflict zone increases both their vulnerability and isolation. The increased isolation affects their position within the family and community, as they have less confidence, voice and decision‐making power. Women use silence and submissiveness to escape from both the military and the ethnic armed groups. However, such strategies, in the long term, continue to perpetuate women's subordinate position in society. They also reinforce women's powerlessness and maintain the current power structures and hierarchies.     

Race,Gender, and Constrained Work Trips in Buffalo,NY, 1990

This study investigates whether women's short commutes should be interpreted as constrained or convenient work trips by examining how race, gender, travel mode, occupation, residential location, workplace location, and Inc.ome affect commuting time. The analysis is restricted to a sample of European American and African American male and female workers residing in Buffalo, New York, and the surrounding county using data drawn from the Public Use Microdata Samples of the 1990 U.S. census. Given the pervasive gender wage gap, women unsurprisingly have more compromised (short commutes to low-Inc.ome jobs) work trips than do men. Multivariate analysis reveals that among those who reverse commute to suburban locations, African American women have the longest work trips.     

Effects of Pinus sylvestris var. mongolica afforestation on soil phosphorus status of the Keerqin Sandy Lands in China

Few studies have considered the effects of afforestation on soil phosphorus (P) status in semiarid regions such as the Keerqin Sandy Lands in China, though plantations have been widely established on P-deficient sandy soils to control wind-induced desertification. Phosphorus fractions and acid phosphomonoesterase (AP) activities were compared in the rhizosphere and bulk soils (0–5 and 5–20 cm) under Mongolian pine (Pinus sylvestris L. var. mongolica Litv.) plantations of different ages (15, 22, and 30 years old) and in bulk soils under grasslands to understand soil P behavior with Mongolian pine plantation development and to find out major factors controlling soil P cycling. Stand age and rhizosphere processes had similar effects on the soil P fractions. Labile inorganic P and phosphate absorbed on aluminum and iron oxides were not affected by stand age and rhizosphere processes. Rhizosphere effects of Mongolian pine accelerated the mineralization of organic P by increasing microbial and AP activities. Soil P properties in bulk and rhizosphere soils changed similarly with plantation development. In the first 15 years after afforestation, total organic P, calcium phosphate, labile organic P, microbial biomass P (MBP) concentrations, and AP activities were reduced sharply. About 73% of the reduction in total P came from mineralization of organic P and 24% came from solubilization of calcium phosphate. From 15 to 22 years onward, soil total organic P and calcium phosphate decreased gradually and labile organic P, MBP, and AP activities increased greatly, whereas total inorganic P remained constant. The results suggest that soil P pool was depleted with Mongolian pine plantation development, especially in the early stage. As the dominant form of soil P, organic P was the main source of available P and associated biological processes controlled soil P cycling under Mongolian pine plantations. To ensure sustainability of pine plantations, it is imperative that soil fertility is conserved by adding fertilizer, thinning, and protecting litterfall.     

REFLECTIONS ON INDIGENOUS WOMEN'S ORGANISATIONS IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA: A COMPARATIVE STUDY IN BRONG AHAFO REGION, GHANA

This paper explores the activities and problems of indigenous women's organisations in Ghana. The survey data that form the basis of the analysis were collected in 1998 from a sample of 66 women's organisations in the districts of Atebubu and Techiman of Brong Ahafo Region in Ghana. The results suggest that despite the debilitating impacts of patriarchy, poverty and illiteracy, the women in both districts have managed to use their grassroots organisations to improve the socioeconomic circumstances of their members in particular and their communities in general. Given the dearth of theoretical and empirical analyses on grassroots mobilisation of women in sub‐Saharan Africa, the results presented here are intended to stimulate further research and discussion on the subject.     

ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH RISKS AND GENDER IN THE KARAKORAM‐HIMALAYA,NORTHERN PAKISTAN*

ABSTRACT. Many mountain peoples face water and environmental health problems. At particular risk is the health of women and of children who live in remote and marginalized mountain areas. Environmental health concerns are often associated with the waterborne parasitic and endemic diseases responsible for much child morbidity and mortality in the Karakoram‐Himalaya of northern Pakistan. Poor environmental health and water‐quality conditions affect child survival, and challenges to viable local interventions are severe. Transformations in women's productive and reproductive work have health consequences for children, and gender and household dynamics shape and mediate women's responses to environmental health risks. Significantly, these findings draw attention to the need for improved water and health policy, especially policy that recognizes different gender and child‐care roles in mountainous regions of the developing world.     

Feminizing the University: The Mobilities,Careers, and Contributions of Early Female Academics in the University of Cambridge, 1926–1955

This article examines the role of early female academics at the University of Cambridge in the production and dissemination of knowledge between 1926 and 1955. A statistical comparison of women's use of academic leave of absence with that of their male colleagues reveals that, across disciplines, women were less integrated into (inter)national knowledge networks and thus less visible in their epistemic communities than men because women focused their academic leaves more on research, rarely attended conferences, traveled overseas less often than men, and went more frequently to destinations within Europe than the United States as the new economic hegemon. Biographical case studies of these early female academics demonstrate the importance, variously, of their upper middle-class background, academic excellence, and familial and nonfamilial patronage in developing their careers, overcoming multiple hurdles, and producing intellectual contributions of equal quality to that of their male peers. Conceptually, this article calls for the inclusion of academic travelers from disciplines other than geography into feminist histories of geographical knowledge and argues that rather than stereotyping gender differences, greater comparative research on the experiences of female and male academics is needed to understand the mechanisms of gender inequality within the university.     

Rural Women's Self-concepts and Aspirations as Members of Selected Voluntary Organisations in New Zealand, Australia and Canada

Evidence from questionnaires completed by members of five rural women's organisations in 1994 and 1995 (three traditional and two younger organisations) clarifies the motives women have, and the identities they assume, in joining these organisations. The older organisations attract women who wish to make a commitment to their community but newer organisations attract women who see themselves as farmers, or as employees and professionals in the agricultural industry. This represents a major shift in gender dimensions of rurality that has taken place during the last twenty years or so. It indicates a ‘mobilisation’ of rural and farm women who seek to participate fully - in their productive role and in the public sphere - in the attempt to maintain the viability of family farms and rural communities. The role that organisations for men and women play in constituting the meaning of gender is discussed.     

金衢盆地退化红砂土在不同利用方式下肥力逆转特征

以浙江省金衢盆地为例 ,探讨了我国南方山间盆地广泛分布的退化红砂土的特征 ,研究了退化红砂土在人为参与下土壤肥力的逆转及其与利用方式的关系 ,分析了各种利用方式下红砂土肥力性质的演变特征。     

Collapsing loess-like soil in western Saudi Arabia

Earth fissures have developed at Wadi Al-Yutamah, western Saudi Arabia. The fissues are associated with land subsidence which is considered to be due to both rapid draw down of the ground-water level and hydrocompaction of the wadi soil after flooding. This phenomenon is relatively recent in the area.The wadi soil was investigated and classified in the field, and disturbed and undisturbed samples were collected for laboratory testing and analysis. The engineering properties of the wadi soils were determined, including in situ field density, specific gravity, liquid limit, plastic limit, plasticity index, shrinkage limit, and consolidation characteristics such as total settlement and coefficient of subsidence (collapse).Four types of silty soil of different colours were identified, in addition to yellowish-brown sand (representing the dunes) which accumulated on the surface of the study area. The silty soils include yellowish-brown silty sand, yellowish-gray silt, pale brown silt and yellowish-brown clayey silt. The results of X-ray diffraction analysis indicated that the clay is mainly kaolinite and illite with minor smectite. The dominant soil type in the study area is silt of low plasticity, high void ratio and low density which decreased with depth. This soil was classified as loess-like materials.The studied soils are of a collapsing type, and settlement is greatly increased by excessive wetting under constant pressure. The calculated coefficients of subsidence (collapse) of the soils at different depths generally increased with decreasing soil density and ranged between 3·1% and 10·8%. The wadi soils are considered to pose a moderate problem when wetted.