Growth of rural population in Punjab, 1971-81

Except for the decade 1941-1951, in which Punjab's population declined because of a huge exchange of population between India and Pakistan and a large loss of life, the decade 1971-1981 was the 1st decade since 1911 to experience a deceleration in the growth rate of the rural population of Punjab, India. The deceleration was due to out-migration to urban areas. The scheduled caste population increased 28.37% between 1971 and 1981, while the nonscheduled caste population increased by only 13.32%, which was considerably below the rate of natural increase. Nonscheduled castes had experienced substantial out-migration because of 1) improved transport and communication facilities which enabled them to move to urban centers; 2) mechanization of main farming operations and easy availability of migrant laborers which lessened the need for family labor; 3) the rise of a relatively mobile younger generation with a high literacy rate; 4) rapidly decreasing land holdings which strengthened the push factor in the countryside; and 5) rising aspirations, especially among the younger generation. In 1981, Sikhs constituted 71.3% of the rural population in Punjab, followed by Hindus (26.51%), Christians (1.25%), and Muslims (.89%). From 1971-1981, Muslims experienced the greatest increase (49.29%). Sikhs grew by 20.74% and Hindus by 9.02%. The Sikhs high growth rate was due to 1) a new technique for counting religious affiliation in which all members of a household are considered the same religion as the head of household and 2) conversion of Hindus to Sikhism. Hindus had a low growth rate because 1) the new method of counting religious affiliation and 2) rural-urban migration. The area with the lowest population increase resulted from industrialists and other nonagriculturists buying farmland, causing the agriculturists to move away to less desirable land. Conclusions are 1) the sharp rural-urban division along religious lines should be lessened, 2) Sikhs' lag in urbanization and upward mobility should be decreased, and 3) nonagriculturalists should be prevented from buying farm land from peasants along main roads and around urban centers.     

Assessment of toxicological status of a SW Mediterranean segment population of striped dolphin (Stenella coeruleoalba) using skin biopsy

Various studies have revealed high concentrations of contaminants such as organochlorines (OCs) and heavy metals in Mediterranean cetaceans. A geographical trend of contamination (PCBs and DDTs) has been found for striped dolphin (Stenella coeruleoalba). In this study we used a non-lethal approach (skin biopsy) to investigate bioaccumulation of OCs, including polychlorobiphenyls (PCBs), DDTs, polychlorodibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs), polychlorodibenzofurans (PCDFs), trace elements (Hg, Cd, Pb) and CYP1A activity (BPMO) in nine striped dolphins sampled in the Aeolian area (Sicily - Italy) in summer 2002. The arithmetic mean value of BPMO activity in this group was 43.46 AUF/g tissue/h. This value is approximately 3 times and 5 times lower, respectively, than the value found in the Ionian and in the Ligurian groups. Skin biopsies of striped dolphins emerged as a suitable material for assessing the toxicological status of the various Mediterranean groups.     

Book reviews

THE CAPITALIST SPACE ECONOMY: Geographical Analysis after Ricardo, Marx and Sraffa by E. Sheppard and T. J. Barnes. 15 × 22 cm, xviii and 328 pages. Unwin Hyman: London 1990 (ISBN 004 330401 X) £40.00 hard; (ISBN 004 330402 8) £14.95 (soft).

THE INTERNATIONAL STEEL INDUSTRY: Restructuring, State Policies and Localities by R. Hudson and D. Sadler. 14 × 22 cm, xii and 163 pages. Routledge: London 1989 (ISBN 0 415 02186 3) $A89.95 (hard).

INDUSTRIAL TRANSFORMATION AND CHALLENGE IN AUSTRALIA AND CANADA (Carleton Library No. 164) edited by R. Hayter and P. D. White. 15 × 23 cm, x and 340 pages. Carleton University Press: Ottawa 1990 (ISBN 0 88629 129 1) $A34.95 (hard); (ISBN 0 88629 128 3) $A 19.95 (soft).

LABOUR MIGRATION. The Internal Geographical Mobility of Labour in the Developed World edited by J. H. Johnson and J. Salt. 15 × 24 cm, viii and 215 pages. David Fulton: London 1990 (ISBN 1 85346 120 2) £30.00 (hard).

CITIES IN SPACE: CITY AS PLACE by D. Herbert and C. Thomas. 15 × 23 cm, xi and 340 pages. David Fulton: London 1990 (ISBN 1 85346 138 5) £35.00 (hard); (ISBN 1 85346 109 1) £14.95 (soft).

THE NEW URBAN FRONTIER. Urbanisation and City Building in Australasia and the American West by L. Frost. 15 × 23 cm, xvii and 226 pages. New South Wales University Press: Sydney (ISBN 0 86840 268 0) $A24.95 (soft).

SYDNEY: A Social Atlas by R. Horvath, G. E. Harrison and R. M. Dowling. 19 × 28 cm, 110 pages. Sydney University Press: Sydney 1989 (ISBN 0 424 00144 6) $A19.95 (soft).

CHANGE AND ADJUSTMENT IN NORTHERN NEW SOUTH WALES edited by D. J. Walmsley. 17 × 23 cm. 118 pages. Department of Geography and Planning, University of New England: Armidale 1990 (ISBN 0 85834 887 X) $A10.00 (soft).

ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY OF URANIUM IN AUSTRALIA (Cover Title: URANIUM IN AUSTRALIA 1970–1987: An Annotated Bibliography) by C. O'Faircheallaigh, A. Webb and D. Wade‐Marshall. 18 × 25 cm, xi and 306 pages. North Australia Research Unit, Australian National University: Darwin 1989 (ISBN 07315 05433).     

Book reviews

GRIFFITH TAYLOR: Antarctic scientist and pioneer geographer (Carleton Library Series No. 145) by M. Sanderson. 15 x 23 cm, xi and 218 pages. Carleton University Press: Ottawa 1988 (ISBN 0 88629 068 6) $C24.95 (hard); (ISBN 0 88629 068 X) $C14.95 (soft) plus postage.

LAND, WATER AND PEOPLE: Geographical essays in Australian resource management edited by R. L. Heathcote and J. A. Mabbutt. 14 x 21 cm, xiii and 266 pages. Allen & Unwin: Sydney 1988 (ISBN 0 04 303008 4) $A24.95 (soft).

ENVIRONMENTAL GEOGRAPHY: Book One by J. Paine, H. McLean and G. Mayhew. 19 x 25 cm, 389 pages. Macmillan: Melbourne 1988 (ISBN 0 333 43073 5) $A28.95 (soft).

Climate Impact Assessment Program (1975) Impacts of climate change on the biosphere, Monograph No. 5, US Department of Transportation, Washington DC.

SMALL‐SCALE AGRICULTURE edited by J. Hirst, J. Overton, B. Allen and Y. Byron. 18 x 25 cm, xii and 210 pages. Commonwealth Geographical Bureau and Department of Human Geography, Australian National University: Canberra 1988 (ISBN 0 7316 3609 0) $A 10.00 (soft).

THE BRITTLE RIM: Finance, Business and the Pacific Region by M. T. Daly and M. I. Logan. 15 × 23 cm, 263 pages, Penguin Books: Ring‐wood 1989 (ISBN 0 14 012095 5) $A24.99 (soft)

THE END OF ORGANISED CAPITALISM by S. Lash and J. Urry. 15 x 23cm, 383 pages. Polity Press: Cambridge 1987 (ISBN 07456 00697) $A34.95 (soft).

THE POLITICS OF DEVELOPMENT: An Introduction to Global Issues by J. L. Seitz. 15 x 23 cm, xiii and 194 pages. Basil Blackwell: New York 1988 (ISBN 0 631 15801 4) $A27.95 (soft).

DEVELOPING WITH FOREIGN INVESTMENT edited by V. Cable and B. Persaud. 16 x 24 cm, viii and 327 pages. Croom Helm: London 1987 (ISBN 0 7099 4825 5) $A87.95 (hard).

PLANNING SYDNEY'S FUTURE by P. Spearritt and C. DeMarco, 21 x 27 cm, and 150 pages. Allen & Unwin: Sydney 1988 (ISBN 0 04 324014 3) $A17.95 (soft).

THE RICHEST LODE: Broken Hill 1888–1988 by R. J. Solomon. 22 x 28 cm, 424 pages. Hale & Iremonger: Sydney 1988 (ISBN 0 86806 333 9).

CONTEMPORARY ISSUES IN DEVELOPMENT (North Australia: Progress and Prospects, Volume 1) edited by D. Wade‐Marshall and P. Loveday. xiii and 310 pages. North Australia Research Unit, Australian National University: Darwin 1988 (ISBN 07315 0335 X).

NEW CALEDONIA OR KANAKY? The Political History of a French Colony (Pacific Research Monograph No. 16) by J. Connell. National Centre for Development Studies, Australian National University: Canberra 1987 (ISBN 0 7315 05123).

DISEASE ECOLOGY by Andrew Learmonth. 15 x 23 cm, 456 pages. Basil Blackwell: Oxford 1988 (ISBN 0 631 15799 9) $A46.00 (soft).

QUALITATIVE METHODS IN HUMAN GEOGRAPHY edited by J. Eyles and D. M. Smith. 15 x 23 cm, xiii and 272 pages. Polity Press: Cambridge 1988 (ISBN 0 7456 0371 8) $A34.95 (soft).

GEOGRAPHICAL SYSTEMS AND SYSTEMS OF GEOGRAPHY: Essays in Honour of William Warntz edited by W. J. Coffey. 14 x 21 cm, 211 pages. Department of Geography, University of Western Ontario: London, Ontario 1988 (ISBN 0 7714 09747) $C30.00 (soft).     

Evaluation of soil physical properties as influenced by various green manuring legumes and phosphorus fertilization under rain fed conditions

A field experiment was conducted under rainfed environment of Pothowar region of Pakistan to assess physical properties of soil as influenced by various green manure legumes (sesbania, cluster bean and rice bean) and different P levels (0, 30, 60, 90 kg P2O5/ha). Highest fresh biomass was observed in sesbania (23 t/ha) followed by cluster bean (19 t/ha) and lowest in rice bean (17 t/ha). Maximum crude protein content was found in sesbania (17%) followed by rice bean (10%) and cluster bean (8%). Green manuring crops, on average reduced soil bulk density (5%), enhanced total porosity (8%), and macropores and large mesopores (28%). Maximum reduction (7%) in soil bulk density, and an increase (11%) in total soil porosity and available water (17%) was observed in plots where sesbania was incorporated as green manuring crop. The order of effectiveness in improving bulk density, macro and mesopores was sesbania > cluster bean > rice bean. Sesbania produced greater number of macro and large mesopores about 41% increase over control followed by cluster bean (29%) and rice bean (16%). Phosphorus application showed meager positive impact on various soil physical properties but did not significantly increased porosity or reduced bulk density. Significant differences in volume fraction in pore space suggest that pore space on a volume basis was much higher in sesbania-amended soil than in other treatments.