Archaeology of disaster in Indonesia: where are we now?

Natural disasters are a phenomenon that shaped the Indonesian Archipelago. Earthquakes and volcanic activities have become periodic experiences in the lives of people in this region. The geographical characteristics of Indonesia which are located at the confluence of active plates and part of the global volcanic chain are natural factors that make these islands vulnerable to disasters. Cultural historical studies have recorded various phenomena of past natural disasters in the archipelago. Some have had minimal impact, but others have resulted in the loss of civilization. Although the issue has become the important part of the civilization and profile of Indonesia, the archaeological study of disasters has not well developed. The existing studies so far are still very partial with the fragmentary results. Characterized with this complex character, the study of archaeological disaster requires a multidisciplinary approach. This paper attempts to discuss the archaeology of disasters in Indonesia including the background, current conditions and the prospects of future development. Particularly in discussing the role of local wisdoms in dealing with disasters as part of the civilization of the archipelago.

Typological diversity and ecological-geographical characteristics of the forest cover of southern part of the Evenki region

The article presents the results of preliminary comprehensive ecological and geographical studies of the forest cover of the middle taiga subzone of Central Siberia. The higher syntaxa of forests were identified using the ecological-floristic classification of vegetation (Braun-Blanquet approach). All forest communities in the region are classified as Vaccinio – Piceetea Br.-Bl. in Br.-Bl. et al. 1939 and are represented by the following orders: Ledo palustris – Laricetalia gmelinii Ermakov in Ermakov et Alsynbayev 2004 – coniferous (mainly larch) forests of Northern Eurasia on permafrost soils characterized by stagnant moisture and low heat supply; Piceo obovatae – Pinetalia sibiricae Ermakov 2013 – typical Siberian dark coniferous forests; Lathyro humilis – Laricetalia gmelinii Ermakov et al. 2002 – boreal forests with the participation of xeromesophilic moderately thermophilic species, widespread in the ultracontinental climate of East, South Siberia and Mongolia. The features of their ecology and geographic regularities and the participation of order communities in the formation of forest cover in different parts of the studied region were considered.

Three Sarmatian Daggers from the Foot of Toratau Mount

Three Sarmatian daggers found during plowing a field at the foot of Toratau Mount in the Southern Urals are published. Their detailed description is given. It is stated that two daggers bear the signs of the early Sarmatian type of bladed weapons. They date back to the 3rd–2nd centuries BC, their discovery confirms the fact of active resettlement by the Sarmatians of the right bank of the Belaya River at this time. The third dagger bears a number of archaic features, has close analogies among random finds in the Prokhorov cemetery and on the left bank of the Belaya River. It dates back to the 4th–3rd centuries BC. It is noted that the left bank of the Belaya River is the main territory of settlement of early nomads in the Southern Urals. The description of the topography of the daggers found in the site is given. It is shown that according to its physical and geographical characteristics, this territory is a closed valley, bounded on all sides by the river, the Turatau and Kushtau Mountains, and gentle ridges running along the Belaya River. It is concluded that in this case, the “valley” version of the settlement of early nomads was implemented, as well as that the settlement of the right bank of the Belaya River occurred, apparently, from its left bank. This territory was a natural periphery of the settlement of nomads in the Southern Urals in the second half-end of the 1st millennium BC.

Movers and stayers in STEM enrollment in Italy: who performs better?

Recently, the mobility behavior of Italian university students has garnered increasing interest from both social scientists and politicians. The very particular geographical characteristics of the country, together with the recognized persistence of a significant economic gap between the southern and northern regions, drive a large number of students to move from the first macro-region to the latter. As this phenomenon has several economic and social implications for policy-makers—at both central and local levels—it has led to various theories and prejudices. The present article will study the differences between the performance of STEM students who have decided to move from the south to the north and those who have decided to stay close to their hometowns. We devised multilevel modelling techniques to analyze this issue using administrative microdata from the Italian Ministry for Universities and Research (MUR), including eight cohorts of students from AY 2008–2009 to AY 2015–16, who enrolled in STEM fields after earning their high school diploma. One of the main findings is that individuals who moved from the south show lower levels of performance than their stayer counterparts who are enrolled in northern or central universities.

Utilization of Big Data Analysis Through Public Video, Virus Data Cooperation, and Social Media as the Surveillance to COVID-19 in Indonesia

This article discusses Big Data's use as a surveillance tool for the spread of Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), both in Indonesia and the world. In Indonesia, the range of COVID-19 is increasingly sporadic, causing mass panic and Indonesia's geographical characteristics, which will be difficult when this spread could not control quickly. Researchers are conducting several studies to overcome this pandemic, including supervision, features, handling, mobility, patient interaction, treatment evaluation, and the biological structure. These studies become data and lead to Big Data. This article explores how to use Big Data analysis to monitor the spread of COVID-19 as a communication process that reflects mediated communication as a form of mobility and spatial relationships in communication practices. The method used in this article is a literature review and uses meta-synthesis techniques as its analysis. The literature sources used are articles in highly reputable international journals. Based on the reports, various ways to monitor the virus's spread, through public video data, GPS, and social media tracking, trace the patient's movement. Big Data can also provide data collaboration for viruses and pathogens for further research as digital mediated communication is anchored by the diversity of places and the mobility of people, data, and objects.

Generic Relationships between Field Uses and Their Geographical Characteristics in Mountain-Area Dairy Cattle Farms

In mountain farms, challenges posed by the degree of land slope, altitude and harsh climate further compound multiple other possible constraints, particularly in relation to the distance of the farm from the farmstead. This study focused on how mountain-area dairy farmers factor the geographical characteristics of their fields into their field-use decisions. To that end, we surveyed 72 farmers who farm the traditional Salers breed of cattle and 28 specialised dairy system farmers in the central Massif region, France. Information was collected on the uses and geographical characteristics of all grassland fields (n = 2341) throughout the entire outdoor grazing season, without identifying farmers’ rationales for their field-use decisions. Field-use classes were constructed for the traditional Salers system per group of fields (grazed-only, cut-only, grazed-and-cut) and then used to classify fields in the specialized dairy system. The geographical characteristics, which were associated afterwards, were significantly different between the field groups and between field-use classes. Grazed-only fields were found to be more sloping and cut-only fields were smaller and further from the farmstead. Distance/area combinations were different according to field use (animal category, earliness of first cut, grazing and cutting sequence) and were decisive for all field-use classes. This study allowed the identification of generic relationships between field uses and their geographical characteristics in mountain-area dairy cattle farms.

A comprehensive survey of bat sarbecoviruses across China for the origin tracing of SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) and SARS-CoV-2 have been thought to originate from bat, but whether the cross-species transmission occurred directly from bat to human or through an intermediate host remains elusive. In this study, we performed CoV screening of 102 samples collected from animal-selling stalls of Wuhan Huanan Market (WHM) and pharyngeal and anal swabs from13,064 bats collected at 703 locations across China, covering almost all known southern hotspots for sarbecovirus, between 2016 and 2021. This is the first systematic survey of bat CoV in China during the outbreak of Corona Virus Disease 2019. We found four non-sarbeco CoVs in samples of WHM, and 142 SARS-CoV related CoVs (SARSr-CoV) and 4 recombinant CoVs in bats, of which YN2020B-G share the highest sequence identity with SARS-CoV among all known bat CoVs, suggesting endemic SARSr-CoVs in bats in China. However, we did not find any SARS-CoV-2 related CoVs (SC2r-CoV) in any samples, including specimens collected from the only two domestic places where RaTG13 and RmYN02 were previously reported (the Tongguan caves and the karst caves around the Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden), indicating that SC2r-CoVs might not actively circulate among bats in China. Phylogenetic analysis showed that there are three different lineages of sarbecoviruses, L1 (SARSr-CoV), L2 (SC2r-CoV), and L-R (a novel CoV lineage from L1 and L2 recombination), in China. Of note, L-R CoVs are only found in R. pusillus. Further macroscopical analysis of the genetic diversity, host specificity for colonization and accidental infection, and geographical characteristics of available CoVs in database revealed the presence of a general geographical distribution pattern for bat sarbecoviruses, with the highest genetic diversity and sequence homology to SARS-CoV or SARS-CoV-2 along the southwest border of China, the least in the northwest of China. Considering the receptor binding motifs for spike gene of sarbecoviruses in Indochina Peninsula show the greatest diversity, our data provide the rationale that extensive surveys in further south and southwest to or of China might be needed for finding closer ancestors of SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2.