Geographies of Displacement: The Karenni and The Shan Across The Myanmar-Thailand Border

First, central to our analysis is the argument that human movement within and across borders fundamentally challenges the view of geopolitics based upon fixed territorial states, inter-state relations, national identities and citizenship; indeed the whole idea of "national geographic". Using the examples of the Karen and Shan peoples, we explore the processes and patterns of forced relocation, displacement and migration in the border regions of Myanmar and Thailand. Our main concern is with forced displacement as a result of political and ethnic conflict; specifically, how the Burmese military regime's desire for "national unity" within Myanmar's "national space" has influenced the militarily inspired displacements of hundreds of thousands of villagers and civilians within the border zones inhabited mostly by so-called "national minorities". We examine the particular problems of the so-called "internally displaced persons" within "national" boundaries compared with the "refugees" and "undocumented migrants" who make it across "international" space into Thailand. We illustrate the ways displaced people are represented by state agencies and the media as "threats" and "transgressors". We consider some of the "long term" aspects of the displacement problem along the Myanmar-Thai border and the vital contribution geographers can make to the study of displacement.     

MENTAL MAPS AND RESIDENTIAL DESIRABILITY. A SINGAPORE STUDY

This paper examines the perceptual images and residential desirability of public and private housing residents in Clementi housing estate in Singapore. Residents’ mental maps are established in terms of their levels of knowledgeability of activity nodes tied to various aspects of their lives, namely, workplaces, recreational and sports centres, shops and residential areas. The way the mental maps shape residents’ perceptions of what are desirable and non-desirable places to live in are also discussed. The paper highlights the significance of socio-economic differences, length of residence, physical proximity, levels of interaction and cultural leanings in influencing the mental maps and residential preferences of urban residents in Singapore     

An Improved Method for Calculating Paleoheat Flow from Vitrinite Reflectance Profiles

lNTRODUCTIONIt is wel1 established that the vitrinite reflectance (R<, ) de-pends on the temperature history that a basin has undergone.In general, Ro is a function of maximum paleotemperature andeffective heating time. Thus, the paleotemperature of sedi-ments and the value of vitrinite ref1ectance are controlled by theflow of heat Q(t) into the basin and by the thermal parametersof the sediments. Therefore, in principle, it is possible to cal-culate the thermal vitrinite reflectance of …     

Scattering of surface waves by submerged cylinders

A train of surface waves is normally incident upon a cylinder that is totally submerged in a body of deep water. Details are given for the cases of circular or elliptic cross-sections, with estimates for the transmission and reflection constants when the cylinder is many wavelengths below the surface. Corresponding results are suggested for arbitrary smooth cylinders.     

The oxidation states of copper and iron in mineral sulfides, and the oxides formed on initial exposure of chalcopyrite and bornite to air

Metal L_2,3, sulfur K and oxygen K near-edge X-ray absorption fine structure (NEXAFS) spectra for chalcopyrite, bornite, chalcocite, covellite, pyrrhotite and pyrite have been determined from single-piece natural mineral specimens in order to assess claims that chalcopyrite should be regarded as Cu^IIFe^IIS₂ rather than Cu^IFe^IIIS₂, and that copper oxide species are the principal initial oxidation products on chalcopyrite and bornite exposed to air. Spectra were obtained using both fluorescence and electron yields to obtain information representative of the bulk as well as the surface. Where appropriate, NEXAFS spectra have been interpreted by comparison with the densities of unfilled states and simulated spectra derived from ab initio calculations using primarily the FEFF8 code and to a lesser extent WIEN2k. Metal 2p and S 2p photoelectron spectra excited by monochromatised Al K_α X-rays were determined for each of the surfaces characterised by NEXAFS spectroscopy. The X-ray excited Cu LMM Auger spectrum was also determined for each copper-containing sulfide. FEFF8 calculations were able to simulate the experimental NEXAFS spectra quite well in most cases. For covellite and chalcocite, it was found that FEFF8 did not provide a good simulation of the Cu L₃-edge spectra, but WIEN2k simulations were in close agreement with the experimental spectra. Largely on the basis of these simulations, it was concluded that there was no convincing evidence for chalcopyrite to be represented as Cu^IIFe^IIS₂, and no strong argument for some of the Cu in either bornite or covellite to be regarded as Cu(II). The ab initio calculations for chalcopyrite and bornite indicated that the density of Cu d-states immediately above the Fermi level was sufficient to account for the Cu L₃-edge absorption spectrum, however these incompletely filled Cu d-states should not be interpreted as indicating some Cu(II) in the sulfide structure. It was also concluded that the X-ray absorption spectra were quite consistent with the initial oxidation products on chalcopyrite and bornite surfaces being iron oxide species, and inconsistent with the concomitant formation of copper-oxygen species.     

Interaction of cuprite with dialkyl dithiophosphates

The interaction of freshly abraded surfaces of cuprite, Cu₂O, with neutral or mildly alkaline aqueous solutions of diethyl or di-n-butyl dithiophosphate (DTP) has been investigated by means of conventional and synchrotron X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and near-edge X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy. It was confirmed that DTP adsorbs readily on Cu atoms in the surface layer of the mineral treated with solutions of the collector at pH values near 7 and 9 in the presence of air, and renders the surface hydrophobic. When cuprite is treated with relatively high concentrations of DTP for sufficiently long periods, collector can also be adsorbed as CuDTP, but the coverage does not exceed a thin layer of CuDTP on the adsorbed DTP monolayer, unlike the situation with Cu metal or chalcocite where a thick multilayer can be formed.     

An X-ray photoelectron and absorption spectroscopic investigation of the electronic structure of cubanite, CuFe2S3

X-ray photoelectron and absorption spectra have been obtained for natural specimens of cubanite and compared with the corresponding spectra for chalcopyrite. Synchrotron X-ray photoelectron spectra of surfaces prepared by fracture under ultra-high vacuum revealed some clear differences for the two minerals, most notably those reflecting their different structures. In particular, the concentration of the low binding energy S species formed at cubanite fracture surfaces was approximately double that produced at chalcopyrite surfaces. However, the core electron binding energies for the two S environments in cubanite were not significantly different, and were similar to the corresponding values for the single environment in chalcopyrite. High binding energy features in the S 2p and Cu 2p spectra were not related to surface species produced either by the fracture or by oxidation, and most probably arose from energy loss due to inter-band excitation. Differences relating to the Fe electronic environments were detectable, but were smaller than expected from some of the observed physical properties and Mössbauer spectroscopic parameters for the two minerals. X-ray absorption and photoelectron spectra together with the calculated densities of states for cubanite confirmed an oxidation state of Cu^I in the mineral. It was concluded that the best formal oxidation state representation for cubanite is Cu^I(Fe₂)^VS ₃ ^?II .     

Extraction of agar from Eucheuma cottonii and Gelidium amansii seaweeds with sonication pretreatment using autoclaving method

The effect of sonication pretreatment condition on Eucheuma cottonii and Gelidium amansii seaweed towards agar extraction wae studied.Four parameters were changed during sonication to investigate the effects on agar yield and quality.These parameters include the time interval,concentration ratio,frequency,and intensity.The highest amount of agar extracted from Eucheuma cottonii species could be obtained from the time interval of 30min,seaweed weight to solvent volume ratio of 1:20,the frequency of 35Hz,and the sonication power intensity of 30%.For Gelidium amansii species,the best agar yield also could be obtained from the time interval of 30 min,1:20 of seaweed weight to water volume ratio,the frequency of 35Hz,and power intensity of 30%.From the experiment,sonication pretreatment signifi cantly influenced the yield and properties of extracted agar.The sonication with autoclaved seaweed produced agar containing less sulfate content,which is an excellent chemical property for gel electrophoresis applications.The gelstrength of sonication with autoclaving for both seaweeds,Eucheuma and Gelidium species was the highest among those by sonication with direct heating,which proved that sonication pretreatment with autoclaving could enhance the physical properties of the agar.