Search Results

Hong Kong

C. K. Law and Paul S. F. Yip

in Suicide in Asia: Causes and Prevention

This chapter examines changes in the profiles of completed suicides in Hong Kong and explores the association of suicide rates with changes in the socio-economic environment over the period ... More

This chapter examines changes in the profiles of completed suicides in Hong Kong and explores the association of suicide rates with changes in the socio-economic environment over the period 1993–2003. It also discusses the impact of the rising popularity of charcoal burning on the overall risk for suicide. Finally, it compares suicide and other leading causes of death, highlighting the significance of suicide prevention to population health improvements in the Hong Kong community.Less

Snags and Coarse Woody Debris: An Important Legacy of Forests in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem

Daniel B. Tinker and Dennis H. Knight

in After the Fires: The Ecology of Change in Yellowstone National Park

This chapter describes the snags and coarse woody debris (CWD) in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. Severe forest fires, such as those that occurred in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem of 1988, ... More

This chapter describes the snags and coarse woody debris (CWD) in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. Severe forest fires, such as those that occurred in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem of 1988, create ephemeral forests of dead trees. For many people the trees are both an eyesore and a waste of salvageable wood. Harvesting the wood of burned trees is an option in many areas, but ecological processes in national parks are allowed to proceed whenever possible with minimal human intervention. The standing dead trees, commonly known as snags, have been falling to the ground and decomposing for millennia in most forest ecosystems. The approach to estimating the conversion of downed CWD to charcoal is based on the volume of a tapered cylinder.Less

Linear Systems

Rolf G. Kuehni and Andreas Schwarz

in Color Ordered: A Survey of Color Order Systems from Antiquity to the Present

The Cro-Magnon (the earliest direct ancestors of the Europeans) brought cognitive consciousness of forms and colors (and a primitive language) on their way out of Africa. Evidence for this can be ... More

The Cro-Magnon (the earliest direct ancestors of the Europeans) brought cognitive consciousness of forms and colors (and a primitive language) on their way out of Africa. Evidence for this can be seen from the Chauvet cave discovered in 1994 in southern France, with an example of 32,000-year-old artwork. The most widely used colorants were charcoal and ochre. Starting around 7,000–8,000 years ago, use of multiple colorants to achieve given colors is well-known from wall paintings in Catal Höyük, Turkey, and some 5,000 years ago from Egyptian statues and paintings from Dynasty IV. Writing is said to have started soon after, as shown by Egyptian hieroglyphs and clay tablets in Mesopotamia. Some 200 years later, Aristotle expanded the number of basic colour categories from four to seven by adding blue, green, and purple.Less

Field Studies: Bringing Historical Records Down to Earth

Emily W. B. Russell Southgate

in People and the Land through Time: Linking Ecology and History, Second Edition

There are many field techniques that take research beyond what can be found in written documents. Clues to the past are hidden in such subtle (and not so subtle) features as topographic ... More

There are many field techniques that take research beyond what can be found in written documents. Clues to the past are hidden in such subtle (and not so subtle) features as topographic modifications, soils, and tree trunks. Field studies search for evidence of conditions and for their resultant effects through a variety of techniques. Features may be evident from a ground survey, located precisely through GPS. Remote imaging, using a variety of techniques from simple aerial photography to lidar, reveal hidden patterns, that may then be studied on the ground. Archeological study relates the patterns found on the ground to human activities, as they have changed over time. Dendroecology interprets records left in tree rings. Some studies look at stands of different ages to study change over time, and long-term studies trace change in individual stands. In these field studies that look at the past, soil characteristics and materials hidden in the soil, such as DNA, stable isotopes and charcoal, can reveal details of past processes and species. These methods are illustrated with examples from a wide range of biomes.Less

Outsiders and the woods II: charcoal and tanbark

T. C. Smout, Alan R. MacDonald, and Fiona Watson

in A History of the Native Woodlands of Scotland, 1500-1920

This chapter examines the degree of impact by the outsider and the external market on the Scottish woods. The native species of broadleaf trees, as a group, have always been far more numerous and ... More

This chapter examines the degree of impact by the outsider and the external market on the Scottish woods. The native species of broadleaf trees, as a group, have always been far more numerous and widely distributed than the conifers, despite the attention given to Scots pine as quintessentially the Scottish tree and undisputed queen of the mythical Caledonian forest. However, whereas the attraction of Scots pine to the outside world was as building timber, broadleaf trees were mainly influenced through external markets by the demand for charcoal for smelting iron, and the demand for bark for tanning leather and hides. Oak was the preferred species for charcoaling and tanning, but a wide range of other species could be used if supplies of local oak were insufficient or unavailable. The chapter looks first at iron smelting with reference to the outside partnerships and firms involved in charcoal-fired blast furnaces from 1610 onwards, but considers tanbarking mainly in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries when external market forces were most evident.Less

A Burning Question: Can Long-term Data Inform Fire Management in the Twenty-first Century?

Lindsey Gillson

in Biodiversity Conservation and Environmental Change: Using palaeoecology to manage dynamic landscapes in the Anthropocene

Many ecosystems and societies have co-evolved with fire. Fire suppression in fire adapted ecosystems is usually futile, and can lead to fuel accumulation and catastrophic wildfires. In contrast, ... More

Many ecosystems and societies have co-evolved with fire. Fire suppression in fire adapted ecosystems is usually futile, and can lead to fuel accumulation and catastrophic wildfires. In contrast, skilful fire management can help to conserve biodiversity and maintain heterogeneous landscapes that provide a range of ecosystem services. Palaeoecological records can indicate how fire and vegetation interacted in past warm climates, providing opportunities for modelling and predicting future change and the effects of different fire management strategies. Palaeoecological records can help to distinguish ancient, fire adapted systems from modern degraded ones, providing a context for understanding the landscapes that we see today. Palaeoecology and other long-term data, as well as the study of traditionally managed areas can inform adaptive approaches to fire management that take into account environmental and historical variability, socioecological complexity, the needs of different user groups, and the range of future scenarios.Less

The Coastal Environment of Southeast Asia

P. P. Wong

in The Physical Geography of Southeast Asia

Several physical features combine to make Southeast Asia one of the most distinct and unique coastal regions in the world. The mainland or continental part of Southeast Asia consists of a number of ... More

Several physical features combine to make Southeast Asia one of the most distinct and unique coastal regions in the world. The mainland or continental part of Southeast Asia consists of a number of peninsulas extending south and southeast from the Asian continent and separated by gulfs and bays. The world’s two largest archipelagos form the islands of Southeast Asia. During much of the Pleistocene, a large part of the South China Sea was dry land, and the islands of Sumatra, Java, and Borneo were linked to the mainland by the exposed shallow Sunda Shelf. Southeast Asia comes under the influence of the monsoons, or seasonal winds, which have an important impact on its coasts. The region is also a high biodiversity zone, characterized by its rich coral reefs and mangroves. This chapter examines the coastal environments of Southeast Asia in three stages. First, the major elements that make the coastal environments of Southeast Asia distinctive are discussed. The focus is on the coastal processes, as the geological framework and Quaternary have been covered in earlier chapters. Secondly, the various coastal environments in the region (excluding estuaries and deltas discussed in Chapter 13) are described next in terms of their extent, characteristics, and significance, with sufficient examples given to show their variability. Finally, the chapter ends with an assessment of the major environmental problems facing the region’s coastal environments—coastal erosion and rising sea level associated with climate change. Overall, this chapter provides the physical basis for a better appreciation of coastal development in Southeast Asia. The coastal environments of Southeast Asia bear the impact of significant geological and climatic factors. Geologically, the core of the region is an extension of the Eurasian Plate meeting the Indo-Australian and the Pacific Plates and two lesser ones (Philippines and Molucca Sea) with mountain chains trending in a general north–south direction. The island of New Guinea is part of the Indo-Australia Plate. Island arcs have developed along the convergent margins, and many are volcanically active and also associated with shallow to deep earthquakes. Less

The Mekong River Basin

Ian Douglas and Ian Douglas

in The Physical Geography of Southeast Asia

The 4800 km Mekong (known as the Lan Tsan Chiang or Lancang in its upper reaches in Yunnan Province, China) rises at 5100 m elevation on the eastern edge of the Tibetan (Xizang) Plateau where the ... More

The 4800 km Mekong (known as the Lan Tsan Chiang or Lancang in its upper reaches in Yunnan Province, China) rises at 5100 m elevation on the eastern edge of the Tibetan (Xizang) Plateau where the Yangtze (Chang Jiang) and Salween also rise. With a drainage basin covering 795 000 km2, the river ranks as the ninth largest and twelfth longest in the world and discharges some 475 billion m3 of water to the South China Sea annually. The mean annual flow at Kratié in Cambodia (where the catchment area upstream is 646 000 km2) is 14 700 m3 s−1 with a maximum of 67 000 m3 s−1 and a minimum of 1250 m3 s−1 (Committee for Coordination of Investigations of the Lower Mekong Basin 1966; Volker 1983). The river flows from the Tibetan Himalayas southward through China receiving tributaries from a small part of Myanmar. The drainage basin also encompasses nearly all of Lao PDR, northeast Thailand, most of Cambodia, and part of the Central Highland and the delta of south Viet Nam. In the heart of Cambodia, where the river is joined by the Tonlé Sap or Great Lake River, it rises from 1 or 2 m above sea level in May to 8 or 10 m above sea level in August. The Mekong Basin embraces some of the most diverse scenery in the world, with landforms ranging from deep gorges, to spectacular karst features, great lakes, and a huge delta. These varied landscapes support one of the most biologically diverse river systems in the world, surpassed only by the Amazon and possibly the Nile. The high biodiversity varies greatly across the following distinct landform and biogeographic provinces: 1. the eastern edge of the Tibetan Plateau (here termed the Chinese upper reaches); 2. the highlands of Myanmar, northern Thailand, and the northern Lao PDR; 3. the Annamite Mountains of eastern Lao PDR and western Viet Nam; 4. the plains around the central Mekong in Lao PDR, Thailand, and Cambodia; 5. the Tonlé Sap Basin; 6. the Mekong Delta and coastal mangroves (MacKinnon and MacKinnon 1986). Less

Coastal Zone Development in Southeast Asia

P. P. Wong

in The Physical Geography of Southeast Asia

Coastal environments of Southeast Asia have been discussed in Chapter 11. This chapter focuses on the utilization of the region’s coastal resources, reflecting not only its varied physical ... More

Coastal environments of Southeast Asia have been discussed in Chapter 11. This chapter focuses on the utilization of the region’s coastal resources, reflecting not only its varied physical characteristics but also the traditional practices and more modern economic influences that have developed along the coastal regions. Historically, the region serves as an important link between trading routes to Western and Eastern Asia. Many sea battles were fought here between local potentates and foreign powers to win control of the spice trade. A number of the coastal villages developed into important coastal cities, e.g. Cebu, Malacca, Singapore, or in recent years, into coastal tourist resorts, e.g. Pattaya, Kuta. Within the region, there are still strong cultural traditions in the use of coast, although these are being eroded or replaced by more modern or economic practices. For example, the beach forms the traditional recreational area for farmers after the harvest season in Lombok and the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia. Traditionally, the Balinese attach a low economic value to the coast, but this has been replaced in modern times by new and high economic values for tourism, residence, and other uses. The demands for the coastal areas for different uses have various impacts, many of which are detrimental to the coastal environment and may lead to conflicts between users. This chapter relates people with the coastal environment in terms of living and non-living marine resources. Specifically, it discusses several major coastal uses, and their impacts and attempted solutions, to development-related problems. A holistic approach in coastal zone management to solve the problems is advocated, and the implementation and success of this approach assessed. This is also considered within the future and wide-ranging context of climate change and attendant sea-level rise. The definition of a ‘coastal zone’ in Southeast Asia is variable and difficult, as not all states have coastal zone management acts or legislation to define the coastal zone. For the purposes of this chapter, the coastal zone is taken as a variable area defined by not only biogeomorphological characteristics but also the major types of use. Less

Fire Trends in the Alaskan Boreal Forest

Eric S. Kasischke and David L. Verbyla

in Alaska's Changing Boreal Forest

Fire is ubiquitous throughout the global boreal forest (Wein 1983, Payette 1992, Goldammer and Furyaev 1996, Kasischke and Stocks 2000). The inter- and intra-annual patterns of fire in this biome ... More

Fire is ubiquitous throughout the global boreal forest (Wein 1983, Payette 1992, Goldammer and Furyaev 1996, Kasischke and Stocks 2000). The inter- and intra-annual patterns of fire in this biome depend on several interrelated factors, including the quantity and quality of fuel, fuel moisture, and sources of ignition. Fire cycles in different boreal forest types vary between 25 and >200 years (Heinselman 1981, Yarie 1981, Payette 1992, Conard and Ivanova 1998). Although the increased presence of humans in some regions of boreal forest has undoubtedly changed the fire regime (DeWilde 2003), natural fire is still a dominant factor in ecosystem processes throughout this biome. Boreal forest fires are similar to those of other forests in that they vary between surface and crown fires, depending on forest type and climatic factors. Surface fires kill and consume most of the understory vegetation, as well as portions of the litter or duff lying on the forest floor, resulting in varying degrees of mortality of canopy and subcanopy trees. Crown fires consume large amounts of the smaller plant parts (or fuels) present as leaves, needles, twigs, and small branches and kill all trees. These fires are important in initiating secondary succession (Lutz 1956, Heinselman 1981, Van Cleve and Viereck 1981, Van Cleve et al. 1986, Viereck 1983, Viereck et al. 1986). Unlike fires in other forest types, smoldering ground fires in the boreal forest can combust a significant fraction of the deep organic (fibric and humic) soils in forests overlying permafrost (Dyrness and Norum 1983, Landhauesser and Wein 1993, Kasischke et al. 2000a, Miyanishi and Johnson 2003). During periods of drought, when water tables are low, or prior to spring thaw, organic soils in peatlands can become dry enough to burn, as well (Zoltai et al. 1998, Turetsky and Wieder 2001, Turetsky et al. 2002). Less

Graphite Valley: IT in the Eighteenth-Century Lake District

Lars Öhrström

in The Last Alchemist in Paris: And other curious tales from chemistry

Lake Windermere in the north-west of England perhaps makes you think of poets, or of adolescent adventures less concerned with wizards and vampires and more with Swallows and Amazons if you have ... More

Lake Windermere in the north-west of England perhaps makes you think of poets, or of adolescent adventures less concerned with wizards and vampires and more with Swallows and Amazons if you have grown up with English children’s books. Anyhow, people who lived by their pencil. Or should that perhaps be the pen? We don’t see the serious author in her study hard at work with a pencil. Pencils are generally considered to be mostly for children doing their homework, or others who frequently need to erase their mistakes. There has never been a lack of ink, traditionally a mixture of iron salts, water, and tannins—the bitter tasting compounds in tea and red wine. Always plenty of the black stuff to write poems and sign death sentences with. But the pencil, that is a different story. Far from being just for children, it was, and is, an essential tool for artists, engineers, carpenters, and architects. At engineering school in the late 1980s we still made (some of us did anyway) beautifully crafted pencil drawings of double-mantled stainless steel reactors. And in the army, close to the polar circle four years earlier, did we write out orders and decipher incoming radio messages with ballpoint pens? We certainly did not—in fact, this was forbidden because the ink in a pen may easily freeze. The ‘lead’ in the pencil (which is obviously not lead as in the element 82, but something else) brings us to these green valleys of the Lake District and Cumbria, England—as unlikely a place for an information technology hub as the orange orchards around Palo Alto. The different is that in California in the 1970s it was the dedicated people that mattered, not any local silicon mines. In Borrowdale in the late sixteenth century, it was the inside of the mountain itself that made the difference, for there you find the stuff from which to make pencil lead. Not that the people were unimportant. Entrepreneurship thrived in different forms. ‘Black Sal’, for example, working out of the small town of Keswick close to Borrowdale, was allegedly running a pencil-lead smuggling network in the early eighteenth century. Less

Atmospheric O₂ over Phanerozoic Time

Robert A. Berner

in The Phanerozoic Carbon Cycle: CO2 and O2

The chemical reactions that affect atmospheric O2 on a multimillion-year time scale involve the most abundant elements in the earth’s crust that undergo oxidation and reduction. This includes ... More

The chemical reactions that affect atmospheric O2 on a multimillion-year time scale involve the most abundant elements in the earth’s crust that undergo oxidation and reduction. This includes carbon, sulfur, and iron. (Other redox elements, such as manganese, are not abundant enough to have an appreciable effect on O2.) Iron is the most abundant of the three, but it plays only a minor role in O2 control (Holland, 1978). This is because during oxidation the change between Fe+2 and Fe+3 involves the uptake of only one-quarter of an O2 molecule, whereas the oxidation of sulfide to sulfate involves two O2 molecules, and the oxidation of reduced carbon, including organic matter and methane, involves between one and two O2 molecules. The same stoichiometry applies to reduction of the three elements. Because iron is not sufficiently abundant enough to counterbalance its low relative O2 consumption/release, the iron cycle is omitted in most discussions of controls on atmospheric oxygen. In contrast, the sulfur cycle, although subsidiary to the carbon cycle as to its effect on atmospheric O2, is nevertheless non-negligible and must be included in any discussion of the evolution of atmospheric O2. In this chapter the methods and results of modeling the long-term carbon and sulfur cycles are presented in terms of calculations of past levels of atmospheric oxygen. The modeling results are then compared with independent, indirect evidence of changes in O2 based on paleobiological observations and experimental studies that simulate the response of forest fires to changes in the levels of O2. Because the sulfur cycle is not discussed anywhere else in this book, it is briefly presented first. The long-term sulfur cycle is depicted as a panorama in figure 6.1. Sulfate is added to the oceans, via rivers, originating from the oxidative weathering of pyrite (FeS2) and the dissolution of calcium sulfate minerals (gypsum and anhydrite) on the continents. Volcanic, metamorphic/hydrothermal, and diagenetic reactions add reduced sulfur to the oceans and atmosphere where it is oxidized to sulfate. Sulfur is removed from the oceans mainly via formation of sedimentary pyrite and calcium sulfate. Less

Wildfires

Francisco Lloret and Josep Piñol

in The Physical Geography of the Mediterranean

Fire is currently recognized as one of the major natural hazards of the Mediterranean basin. In an average year the total burnt area in the whole basin is around 600,000 hectares, the product of ... More

Fire is currently recognized as one of the major natural hazards of the Mediterranean basin. In an average year the total burnt area in the whole basin is around 600,000 hectares, the product of approximately 50,000 fires. The estimated annual cost is around 775 million Euros (FAO 2001). Official data on casualties due to fires are often not available, but, for example, seventy-nine people have been killed directly by fire in Portugal since 1966 and fifty in Catalonia (northeast Spain) since 1970. Fire is commonly considered to be a key component of the dynamics of Mediterranean ecosystems (Chapters 7 and 23). Long dry periods, usually in summer, and vegetation assemblages that produce large amounts of standing branches and debris, are the main factors promoting the propagation of fires. These characteristics are common to other regions of the world with a similar climate and vegetation structure including California, central Chile, South Africa, and south-western Australia. Fire is a common occurrence and a significant natural hazard in all these regions. Although initially a natural phenomenon, during the course of the Holocene human activity has become an increasingly powerful driver of fires (Chapter 9). Prevention of wildfires is now one of the top priorities of the forestry and environmental agencies across the Mediterranean region because of the huge extent of the burned surface area, the high expenditure on both fire prevention and fire fighting, and the impacts in terms of both human life and property. The development of models to investigate the relative roles of extreme weather conditions and fire suppression policies in the generation of large fires is a key area of research (Piñol et al. 2007). The pattern of fire occurrence is not uniform across the Mediterranean basin and orders of magnitude differences appear. When standardized to the forested area of each country, the average burnt area exceeds 103 ha per 103 km2 per year in Greece, Israel, Italy, Algeria, Portugal, and Spain. This means that, on average, more than 1 per cent of the forested area is burnt in these countries each year. Less

Analgesia, anaesthesia, and sedation

Nicholas Longridge, Pete Clarke, Raheel Aftab, and Tariq Ali

Katharine Boursicot and David Sales (eds)

in Oxford Assess and Progress: Clinical Dentistry

The ability to practise dentistry and provide invasive treatments to pa­tients is based on the ability to make such procedures comfortable and acceptable for patients to tolerate, as well as manage ... More

The ability to practise dentistry and provide invasive treatments to pa­tients is based on the ability to make such procedures comfortable and acceptable for patients to tolerate, as well as manage post- operative pain. A good working knowledge of the different treatment modalities available, and analgesic agents that can be prescribed, is key to effective management of patients. This must include the indications and limita­tions of each modality. The pharmacology of most drugs used in modern- day dentistry has changed very little since their introduction, some as far back as 100 years ago. However, it is important to understand the processes regarding their method of action, their effect on the human body, and their indica­tions and contraindications. All of these factors must be considered to maximize the clinical benefit to the patient. Several guidelines regarding the use of conscious sedation in dentistry have recently been introduced, and it is important that those wishing to provide conscious sedation and refer patients appropriately familiarize themselves with these guidelines. Key topics include: ● Principles of analgesia, anaesthesia, and conscious sedation ● Pharmacology and pharmacodynamics of commonly used pharmaco­logical agents ● Indications and contraindications of commonly used pharmacological agents ● Conscious sedation with nitrous oxide ● Conscious sedation with midazolam ● General anaesthesia ● Treatment planning for conscious sedation and general anaesthesia ● Managing complications and adverse reactions Less

Burning Somalia’s Future: The Illegal Charcoal Trade Between the Horn of Africa and the Gulf

Ilya Gridneff

in Environmental Politics in the Middle East

This chapter argues that the charcoal trade exposes Somalia’s political economy as a driver of persistent conflict fueled by competing local, regional, and international interests. Of particular note ... More

This chapter argues that the charcoal trade exposes Somalia’s political economy as a driver of persistent conflict fueled by competing local, regional, and international interests. Of particular note is the tendency of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states to buy Somalia’s charcoal, whether licit or illicit, for domestic use: such commercial activity contributes to the country’s regressive imbalances. At the same time, GCC states jockeying for geopolitical influence across the Horn of Africa increases the uneven spread of resources and access to finance for Somalia’s leaders. This process has fed the political elite’s insatiable appetite for personal patronage and has produced a nexus of competing rivalries that further destabilizes Somalia and the broader Red Sea region. This chapter studies the use of one natural resource, charcoal, and its trans-boundary trade as a vehicle to illustrate how Somalia’s ties to the GCC states—and the broader Islamic or Arab world—are being strengthened. The chapter concludes that this growing proximity is both offering beneficial forms of assistance and support, as well as proving to be a factor for destabilization at a time when Somalia is becoming of increasing strategic concern for Western and emerging powers.Less