Protracted Environmental Issues on a Proposed Titanium Minerals Development in Kenya's South Coast

This study takes cognizance of the fact that the TIOMIN (TIOMIN Resources Inc. of Canada) project has resulted in controversy over its handling of environmental issues and especially the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). The authors address many of the protracted issues that have slowed the development of the mining project in Kwale. The main emphasis is on the impacts of the mining and mineral separation processes on the environment, including the governing legislation, the role of consultation and public participation, and socioeconomic issues. In their public documents TIOMIN has specified neither the type of minerals it wants to extract from the area nor their chemical composition. It is well known, however that the titanium minerals and zircon targeted have impurities of iron, thorium and uranium. In the absence of an Environmental Management Plan, the effects of stockpiling radioactive wastes and other impurities that could possibly lead to environmental degradation in both the terrestrial and marine environments have not been publically addressed. The measures proposed to mitigate ecological damage as a result of the establishment of a minerals processing plant in the area seem inadequate. Pollution resulting from accidental spillage or breakage could have significant impact on marine life and residents living near the mining site. Other issues that have not been addressed satisfactorily pertain to the use of surface and underground water. The area already faces a huge water deficit and the calculations presented on aquifer recharge and stream flow rates do not indicate the large quantities of water that would be required in the mineral processing plant. The project, if approved in its present state, risks violation of international conventions. Furthermore, it could cause a conflict between Kenya and Tanzania in the event of an oil spill at the proposed ship loading facility at Shimoni. The proposed mining area includes the district's most fertile land, is home to many fisherfolk and is a major tourist destination. An analysis of the effects of this project on other available opportunities must be thoroughly understood to ascertain the economic and environmental benefits and costs of the mining venture. The proposed compensation rate of $1,000 per acre, for resettlement for example, appears to be grossly inadequate. Compensation should take into account family size and structure family assets and the cost of relocation.     

“深空大地测量导论”课程建设和教材编写的思考

介绍了"深空大地测量学导论"课程教材编写的背景、阐述了"深空大地测量学导论"教材编写的基本思路、总结了"深空大地测量学导论"教材的编写的特色.     

深基础护坡桩的设计与施工中的几个问题

着重介绍了间隔式钻孔灌注桩在挡土护坡技术中的应用方法，设计时的主要参考依据，计算土压力理论的应用原则以及施工中需注意的几个问题，为进行深基础挡土护坡的工程提供了部分参考依据。     

浅谈设计招投标中对注册人员的确认要求

根据国家和地方法规的有关规定,针对设计招投标活动的实际情况,分析了在设计注册人员的确认方面存在的各类问题,提出了完善招投标文件的具体建议。     

REVIEWS OF GEOGRAPHIC SOFTWARE

Geographic Software Reviewed in this article: THE DIFFUSION GAME . Christopher J. Lovelock and Charles B. Weinberg . MAPIT . Raymond J. Kalush , Jr . SIMODEL . Peter A. Williams and A. Stewart Fotheringham . WEATHER FRONTS . P. C. Moyer . WORLD DYNAMICS . Mark Lewis Baldwin     

On Methods of Teaching Geography

This study investigates the location and varying spatiality of questions in geography textbooks. The results show that study questions posed in page margins address the three components of spatial thinking—concepts of space, using tools of representation, and processes of reasoning—more than questions in other locations within the text. Three practices are particularly recommended to help students develop spatial thinking skills through answering textbook questions: (1) utilize page-margin questions; (2) select questions around spatial representations; and (3) focus on higher-level cognitive processes.     

地理信息系统专业教学实践与改革探索

本文通过对当前GIS专业就业面临的挑战以及高校地理信息系统专业教学中存在的若干问题进行了深入研究,针对课程体系设置、教学考核模式、实践教学、师资队伍建设、学术交流等方面提出了改革措施和建议,这些措施已在教学实践中尝试使用,并取得了较好效果.     

动力气象试题库微机管理系统

介绍了一个用汉字ＦＯＸＢＡＳＥ＋语开发的动力气象试题库微机管理系统，着重阐述了动力气象试题库微机管理系统的设计思想及实施方案；系统的结构和功能；系统的数据库设计；实现该系统所实施的技术及编程中的有关特点以及系统的使用。     

BOOK REVIEWS

Book Reviewed in this article: Unfairly Structured Cities . Blair Badcock Religion and Rural Revolt . Janos M. Bak and Gerhard Benecke The Industrial Geography of Canada . Anthony Blackbourn and Robert G. Putnam The Cuban-American Experience, Culture, Images, and Perspectives. Thomas D. Boswell and James R. Curtis Quaternary Paleoclimatology . R. S. Bradley Development and Crisis in Brazil, 1930–1983 . Luiz Bresser Pereiras Centres of Origin in Biogeography . John C. Briggs Analytical Urban Geography . Martin Cadwallader Geomorphology . Richard J. Chorley , Stanley A. Schumm, and David E. Sugden South Africa: The Impact of Past Geographies . A. J. Christopher The Geography of Underdevelopment. A Critical Survey . D. K. Forbes Health Care in Developing Countries . Wilbert M. Gesler Place to Grow Old: The Meaning of Environment in Old Age . Stephen M. Golant The Emerging Marine Economy of the Pacific . Chennat Gopalakrishnan An Introduction to Agricultural Geography . David B. Grigg The Soviet Union: A Geographical Study . G. Melvyn Howe Geographical Aspects of Health: Essays in Honour of Andrew Learmonth . N. D. Mc Glashan and J. R. Blunden Physical Geography: A Landscape Appreciation . Tom L. Mc Knight Mountain Experience. The Psychology and Sociology of Adventure. Richard G. Mitchell Jr . Systematic and Regional Biogeography. Stanley A. Morain The Economic Transformation of American Cities. T. J. Noyelle and T. M. Stanback , Jr . Normal Accidents: Living With High-Risk Technologies. Charles Perrow Vanishing Farmland: A Legal Solution for the States. Sarah E. Redfield Applied Methods of Regional Analysis: The Spatial Dimensions of Development Policy. Dennis A. Rondinelli Urbanization in Romania. A Geography of Social and Economic Change Since Independence. Per Ronnas Statistical Techniques in Geographical Analysis. Gareth Shaw and Dennis Wheeler The Granite Garden: Urban Nature and Human Design. Anne Whiston Spirn Political Geography: Recent Advances and Future Directions. Peter Taylor and John House Geographia y Medio Ambiente. Manuel Valenzuela -Rubío Nãgara and Commandery: Origins of the Southeast Asian Urban Traditions. Paul Wheatley The Common Fisheries Policy of the European Community. Mark Wise Geography and Gender. Women and Geography Study Group of the IBG Technological Hazards. D. J. Zeigler , J. H. Johnson , S. D. Brunn