Small Machines in the Garden: Everyday technology and revolution in the Mekong Delta

2011 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-70 ◽  
Author(s):  
DAVID BIGGS
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Mekong Delta ◽  
Agricultural Landscapes ◽  
High Yield ◽  
Colonial State ◽  
Post Colonial ◽  
Salinity Levels ◽  
Silent Revolution ◽  
Water Pumps ◽  
Small Engines

AbstractTwentieth-century industrialization in the agricultural landscapes of the Mekong Delta in Vietnam took a very different form from other places, characterized less by a continuous spread of large-scale technology than by its destruction in mid-century and the subsequent spread of small technology which powered scooters, water pumps, and boats. The numbers of these portable motors, an everyday technology in 1960, rose from a few thousand units in 1963 to millions in the present day. The colonial and post-colonial state in Vietnam played a key role in the demise of large technology and, ultimately, of the water infrastructure. Its failures during wartime spurred farmers to adopt cheap, small engines to survive; however, the state's role was complex during this time. Several key factors, including the influence of American aid programmes and the contributions of Taiwanese agricultural advisers, especially those pushing high-yield rice, favoured the adoption of small engines. From an ecological viewpoint, the post-1960 explosion in the use of small motors, especially as water pumps, has brought people and states in Southeast Asia to an ecological impasse as unrestricted use has impacted on water tables, salinity levels, and the long-term sustainability of agriculture in many places. This paper examines the state's indirect role in shaping this silent revolution, and it considers the political and ideological factors underpinning its history.

decolonisation in Africa since the latter generally implied that a compromise between the colonial power and the nationalist movement(s) is worked out in a constitutional conference which not only shaped the political system of the new post-colonial state, but also worked out the economic and financial obligations and arrangements of the new state vis-a-vis its previous colonial power. Frelimo's position that the Lusaka conference could only discuss the conditions of the transfer of power and not the content of the new power was accepted in the end by the Portuguese delegation. Furthermore, no agreements were made with respect to financial and economic ties as a carry-over from the colonial period. The concrete mechanism of the transfer of power was to take place through the immediate instalment of a transitional government in which Frelimo was the majority partner with Portuguese officials as the only remaining other partner. The immediate response to the agreements was the aborted attempt on the part of section of the settler population to seize power by means of Rhodesia-type unilateral declaration of independence. The period of the transitional government (up to independence in June 1975) and roughly the first two years after independence were characterised by the massive emigration of the settler population accompanied by an intense struggle waged by the colonial bourgeoisie and petty bourgeoisie in an attempt to destabilise the economy as well as to export most of its capital (in whatever form). Hence economic sabotage in its various forms - destruction of equipment, and economic infrastructure; killing of cattle stock; large-scale dismissal of workers from productive enterprises and complete production standstills - were practised on a large scale all over the country. The export of capital also assumed enormous proportions and took various forms: the collapse of the (colonial) state apparatus and the fact that banks were privately owned meant that it was easy to arrange for acquiring foreign exchange to import goods without any imports subsequently materialising, or to export cashew, cotton, etc., without the foreign exchange ever returning to the national bank; furthermore, initially no control was organised over the export of personal belongings of returning settlers which led to massive buying in shops and depletion of stock of commodities; finally, the direct illegal exportation across the borders to South Africa and Rhodesia of trucks, tractors, equipment, cattle, etc., further depleted the available means of production in the country. With this context economic policy was dictated by the necessity to fight against the destabilisation of the economy propelled by the actions of the colonial bourgeoisie and petty bourgeoisie (as well as of skilled and admin-istrative workers). The legal weapon was a decree of February 1975 which specified that in proven cases of acts of sabotage (which included the massive dismissal of workers and deliberate production stoppages) the government could intervene by transferring the management of the enterprise to an appointed administrative council composed of workers and often members of the old management as well. The social force which concretised this policy were the dynamising groups - popular organisations of militants which were constituted at community level as well as in enterprises, public institutions and government administrations. The outcome of this intense struggle was a sharp production crisis which

2013 ◽  
pp. 191-196
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Exchange ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Social Force ◽  
Colonial Power ◽  
Colonial State ◽  
Post Colonial ◽  
Petty Bourgeoisie ◽  
The Government ◽  
Carry Over ◽  
Settler Population

A false promise? Regulating land-grabbing and the post-colonial state

2019 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 235-253 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ntina Tzouvala
Keyword(s):  
Food Systems ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Focal Point ◽  
Soft Law ◽  
Land Grabbing ◽  
Responsible Investment ◽  
Colonial State ◽  
Post Colonial ◽  
Large Scale Land ◽  
Agriculture And Food

AbstractSince 2008, a global ‘land rush’ has been unfolding and so have efforts by international, national and regional actors to position themselves as the principal authorities in the determination of appropriate usages of land. This article examines three of the most influential ‘soft law’ instruments: the Principles for Responsible Agricultural Investment; the Principles for Responsible Investment in Agriculture and Food Systems and; the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure. Despite their substantive differences, all three documents share a specific form of state-centrism. They imagine the host state of such large-scale investments as internally unitary and externally independent and entrust it with the bulk of responsibilities regarding the management of land investments. However, I argue that this particular form of state-centrism obscures the legal and administrative realities of the post-colonial state that is often legally bifurcated and subject to pervasive forms of international authority. Rather, an appreciation of the multitude of actors who claim jurisdiction over the lands of the South enables a better understanding of the legal mechanics of land-grabbing. Sierra Leone, which has been positioned as a ‘poster child’ for the implementation of such ‘soft law’ instruments, serves as the focal point of this jurisdictional approach to land-grabbing. In this context, the promise of ‘soft law’ instruments to make the post-colonial state the guarantor of universally beneficial large-scale land acquisitions is shown to be a false one.

(الإرهاب الدولي والأمن الفكري والروحي ودولة ما بعد الاستعمار: دراسة في نظام القيم في القرآن (القسم الأول (Global Terrorism, Spiritual-Intellectual Security and the Post-Colonial State: A Study on the Qur’anic Valuational System (Part: 1))

2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 74-104
Author(s):  
إبراهيم محمد زين
Keyword(s):  
Just War ◽  
Security System ◽  
Security Systems ◽  
Colonial State ◽  
Post Colonial ◽  
System Part ◽  
Global Terrorism

الملخّص يهدف هذا البحث لبيان أن السبيل الناجح لمواجهة الإرهاب الدولي المعاصر الملتبس بدعاوي الجهاد الإسلامي وإحياء دولة الخلافة الإسلامية هو التركز على معاني الأمن الفكري والروحي في الإسلام وهذا الاتجاه في المباحثة يُعيد النظر في طرائق قضايا الجهاد ويميز بين ما هو عقائدي ومرتبط بنظام الإسلام الكلي وبين ما هو من مجال حروب الفتنة والصعلكة.  الكلمات المفتاحيّة: الجهاد، حروب الصعلكة، حروب الفتنة، الأمن الروحي والفكري.              Abstract This study focuses on the most effective way of combating global terrorism that utilizes the banner of Jihad and restoration of the Khilafa system of governance. It should be emphasized that there is a dire need for a new line of investigation concerning the issue of Jihad that pays more attention to both spiritual and intellectual security systems in Islam. This requires a distinction to be made between what is universalistic in the Islamic system and what is particular. In this regard one has to differentiate between acts of just war and those of economic or sedition wars. Keywords: Jihad, economic war, sedition war, spiritual-intellectual security system.

A Simple Synthesis of the Anticancer Drug Altretamine

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (8) ◽  
pp. 628-630
Author(s):  
Vu Binh Duong ◽  
Pham Van Hien ◽  
Tran Thai Ngoc ◽  
Phan Dinh Chau ◽  
Tran Khac Vu
Keyword(s):  
Aqueous Solution ◽  
Anticancer Drug ◽  
Potassium Hydroxide ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Synthesis Method ◽  
Practical Method ◽  
Cyanuric Chloride ◽  
Simple Synthesis ◽  
High Yield ◽  
One Step

A simple and practical method for the synthesis on a large scale of altretamine (1), a wellknown antitumor drug, has been successfully developed. The synthesis method involves the conversion of cyanuric chloride (2) into altretamine (1) by dimethylamination of 2 with an aqueous solution of 40% dimethylamine and potassium hydroxide in 1, -dioxan 4in one step to give altretamine (1) in high yield.

scholarly journals Additive-Enhanced Exfoliation for High-Yield 2D Materials Production

Nanomaterials ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 601
Author(s):  
Dinh-Tuan Nguyen ◽  
Hsiang-An Ting ◽  
Yen-Hsun Su ◽  
Mario Hofmann ◽  
Ya-Ping Hsieh
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
2D Materials ◽  
Transition Metal Dichalcogenides ◽  
Spectroscopic Characterization ◽  
High Yield ◽  
Nanometer Scale ◽  
Efficient Production ◽  
Device Performance ◽  
Metal Dichalcogenides ◽  
Scale Deposition

The success of van-der-Waals electronics, which combine large-scale-deposition capabilities with high device performance, relies on the efficient production of suitable 2D materials. Shear exfoliation of 2D materials’ flakes from bulk sources can generate 2D materials with low amounts of defects, but the production yield has been limited below industry requirements. Here, we introduce additive-assisted exfoliation (AAE) as an approach to significantly increase the efficiency of shear exfoliation and produce an exfoliation yield of 30%. By introducing micrometer-sized particles that do not exfoliate, the gap between rotor and stator was dynamically reduced to increase the achievable shear rate. This enhancement was applied to WS2 and MoS2 production, which represent two of the most promising 2D transition-metal dichalcogenides. Spectroscopic characterization and cascade centrifugation reveal a consistent and significant increase in 2D material concentrations across all thickness ranges. Thus, the produced WS2 films exhibit high thickness uniformity in the nanometer-scale and can open up new routes for 2D materials production towards future applications.

scholarly journals Performance of Strawberry Varieties Developed for Perennial Matted-Row Production in Annual Plasticulture in a Cold Climate Region

Agronomy ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 1407
Author(s):  
Courtney A. Weber
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Fruit Size ◽  
Weather Conditions ◽  
Cold Climate ◽  
Annual Production ◽  
High Yield ◽  
Production Cycle ◽  
Late Season ◽  
Berry Weight ◽  
High Yields

Annual plasticulture production of strawberries promises superior weed control, fruit quality and yields. However, strawberry varieties adapted for perennial, matted-row production and local markets in cold climate regions have not been widely tested for adaptation to an annual production cycle. Productivity of seven short-day varieties developed for matted-row and/or annual production was examined in an annual plasticulture system in two consecutive trials in central NY (lat. 42.87° N, long. 76.99° W) harvested in 2013 and 2014. ‘Flavorfest’ demonstrated good performance in Trial 1 with high yield (390 g/plant) and large fruit size (13.9 g mean berry weight). ‘Jewel’ was shown to be well adapted to the annual plasticulture system with consistently high yields (330 and 390 g/plant) that equaled or surpassed other varieties and had moderate fruit size. ‘Chandler’ performed similarly to previous trials conducted in warmer regions with yield (340 g/plant) and fruit size (9.8 g mean berry weight) similar to ‘Jewel’. ‘Clancy’ yielded less but was consistent from year to year. The late season varieties Seneca and Ovation showed marked variability between years, possibly due to drastically different temperatures during flowering and fruit development in Trial 1 compared to Trial 2. High temperatures in Trial 1 likely caused higher early fruit yield, a compressed season and a precipitous decline in fruit size in the later season, thus reducing yield in the late season. Survival after a second dormant period was poor resulting in a small second harvest and reduced fruit size. Overall, the system demonstrated many of the expected benefits but may be more sensitive to weather conditions in the region. While many varieties developed for matted-row production may work well in an annual plasticulture system, not all varieties are equally adapted. Performance of each variety should be determined independently before large scale adoption by growers.

scholarly journals Transcriptomic resources for prairie grass (Bromus catharticus): expressed transcripts, tissue-specific genes, and identification and validation of EST-SSR markers

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ming Sun ◽  
Zhixiao Dong ◽  
Jian Yang ◽  
Wendan Wu ◽  
Chenglin Zhang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Diversity ◽  
Ssr Markers ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Genetic Research ◽  
High Yield ◽  
Yield Strain ◽  
Tissue Samples ◽  
Prairie Grass ◽  
The Future ◽  
Genomic Resource

Abstract Background Prairie grass (Bromus catharticus) is a typical cool-season forage crop with high biomass production and fast growth rate during winter and spring. However, its genetic research and breeding has remained stagnant due to limited available genomic resources. The aim of this study was to generate large-scale genomic data using high-throughput transcriptome sequencing, and perform a preliminary validation of EST-SSR markers of B. catharticus. Results Eleven tissue samples including seeds, leaves, and stems were collected from a new high-yield strain of prairie grass BCS1103. A total of 257,773 unigenes were obtained, of which 193,082 (74.90%) were annotated. Comparison analysis between tissues identified 1803, 3030, and 1570 genes specifically and highly expressed in seed, leaf, and stem, respectively. A total of 37,288 EST-SSRs were identified from unigene sequences, and more than 80,000 primer pairs were designed. We synthesized 420 primer pairs and selected 52 ones with high polymorphisms to estimate genetic diversity and population structure in 24 B. catharticus accessions worldwide. Despite low diversity indicated by an average genetic distance of 0.364, the accessions from South America and Asia and wild accessions showed higher genetic diversity. Moreover, South American accessions showed a pure ancestry, while Asian accessions demonstrated mixed internal relationships, which indicated a different probability of gene flow. Phylogenetic analysis clustered the studied accessions into four clades, being consistent with phenotypic clustering results. Finally, Mantel analysis suggested the total phenotypic variation was mostly contributed by genetic component. Stem diameter, plant height, leaf width, and biomass yield were significantly correlated with genetic data (r > 0.6, P < 0.001), and might be used in the future selection and breeding. Conclusion A genomic resource was generated that could benefit genetic and taxonomic studies, as well as molecular breeding for B. catharticus and its relatives in the future.

scholarly journals A Novel and Efficient High-Yield Method for Preparing Bacterial Ghosts

Toxins ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 420
Author(s):  
Yi Ma ◽  
Liu Cui ◽  
Meng Wang ◽  
Qiuli Sun ◽  
Kaisheng Liu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Expression System ◽  
High Yield ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
High Quality ◽  
Efficient Protection ◽  
Bacterial Ghosts ◽  
Cell Envelopes ◽  
Extracellular Structures ◽  
First Time

Bacterial ghosts (BGs) are empty cell envelopes possessing native extracellular structures without a cytoplasm and genetic materials. BGs are proposed to have significant prospects in biomedical research as vaccines or delivery carriers. The applications of BGs are often limited by inefficient bacterial lysis and a low yield. To solve these problems, we compared the lysis efficiency of the wild-type protein E (EW) from phage ΦX174 and the screened mutant protein E (EM) in the Escherichia coli BL21(DE3) strain. The results show that the lysis efficiency mediated by protein EM was improved. The implementation of the pLysS plasmid allowed nearly 100% lysis efficiency, with a high initial cell density as high as OD600 = 2.0, which was higher compared to the commonly used BG preparation method. The results of Western blot analysis and immunofluorescence indicate that the expression level of protein EM was significantly higher than that of the non-pLysS plasmid. High-quality BGs were observed by SEM and TEM. To verify the applicability of this method in other bacteria, the T7 RNA polymerase expression system was successfully constructed in Salmonella enterica (S. Enterica, SE). A pET vector containing EM and pLysS were introduced to obtain high-quality SE ghosts which could provide efficient protection for humans and animals. This paper describes a novel and commonly used method to produce high-quality BGs on a large scale for the first time.

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