Author: alphabex

Pacific Science, vol. 71, no. 2 (2017)

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Adult specimens of Eriocheir ogasawaraensis, endemic to the Ogasawara Islands, collected in March, 2004, in Chichi-jima, Ogasawara, Japan, in dorsal view: female, 82 mm in carapace width (upper), male, 81 mm in carapace width (lower). Kobayashi and Satake in this issue compare the morphology of this endemic crab to that of its ontinental congener, the Japanese mitten crab, Eriocheir japonica, finding differences in sexual dimorphism. Photo: Satoshi Kobayashi.

This quarterly issue of Pacific Science explores new research about Pacific crabs, fish, plankton, birds, grass, frogs, and eels.

The opening article examines fish in the aftermath of the 2011 Tohoku 9.0 magnitude earthquake and tsunami at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. From the abstract:

Thirteen commonly consumed types of fish caught in the North Pacific and locally available in Hawai‘i were analyzed using gamma spectroscopy to measure Fukushima-derived and historic 134Cs and 137Cs isotopes. All fish samples had detectable 137Cs above 95% confidence intervals. Three out of the thirteen samples had 134Cs, an isotope indicative of Fukushima releases, detected above 95% confidence intervals. The highest 134Cs and 137Cs concentration in the examined species was in ‘ahi tuna, carrying 0.10 ± 0.04 Bq/ kg and 0.62 ± 0.05 Bq/ kg, respectively. Other samples with 134Cs activities found above their 2-sigma uncertainty were albacore tuna and swordfish. Historic and Fukushima-derived contributions were evaluated, and in several samples the Fukushima-derived radiocesium dominated the total radiocesium inventory with up to 61% contribution. All activities were below derived intervention limits of 1,200 Bq/ kg, and the doses to humans from consuming the fish attributable to radiocesium were 0.02 – 0.2 μ Sv, in comparison to 6 – 20 μ Sv contributed by the natural 40K present in the same fish.

Scholarly articles in this issue:

Continue reading “Pacific Science, vol. 71, no. 2 (2017)”

Philosophy East and West, vol. 64, no. 2 (2014)

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ARTICLES

Patience and Perspective
Nicolas Bommarito, 269

In much of Western philosophy, patience tends to be either overlooked or described as being non-moral and valuable only instrumentally. This is in stark contrast with its central role in Buddhist ethics. Offered here is a Buddhist-inspired account of how patience can be a moral virtue. It is argued that virtuous patience involves having a perspective on the place of our own desires and values among others and a sense of their relative importance.
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Update: Manoa, vol. 26, no. 1, Starry Island: New Writing from Singapore NY Launch Recap

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It was a wet night, but the drizzle did not keep the crowd away from St. Mark’s Bookshop, now in hip new digs in the East Village. Organized by the team behind Singapore Literature Festival, the event was the New York launch of Starry Island: New Writing from Singapore. The launch, held under the auspices of Manhattan Lit Crawl, attracted many crawlers. … There was standing room only in the stylish space.

The anthology Starry Island features poetry, fiction and essays by 30 Singaporean writers and translators. It is edited by Frank Stewart and Fiona Sze-Lorrain, and published by the University of Hawai’i Press as part of Manoa’s series of international literature. Contributors include such bright lights as Philip Jeyaretnam, Ng Yi-sheng, Wena Poon, Alfian Sa’at, O Thiam Chin, Cyril Wong, Toh Hsien Min and Boey Kim Cheng. Wena Poon and Cyril Wong are also featured authors at the upcoming Singapore Literature Festival.

Pacific Science, vol. 68, no. 2 (2014)

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PS 68-2 coverBiology and Impacts of Pacific Island Invasive Species. 11. Rattus rattus, the Black Rat (Rodentia: Muridae)
Aaron B. Shiels, William C. Pitt, Robert T. Sugihara, and Gary W. Witmer, 145

Abstract: The black rat, roof rat, or ship rat (Rattus rattus L.) is among the most widespread invasive vertebrates on islands and continents, and it is nearly ubiquitous on Pacific islands from the equatorial tropics to approximately 55 degrees latitude north and south. Continue reading “Pacific Science, vol. 68, no. 2 (2014)”

A Starry Island Evening: Readings from Manoa, vol. 26, no. 1: New Writing from Singapore

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Come join us for the New York launch of Starry Island: New Writing from Singapore. Published by the University of Hawai‘i Press, as part of the Manoa series of international literature, Starry Island features poetry, fiction and essays by 30 Singaporean writers and translators. Come hear an evening of dazzling work, featuring Jeremy Tiang, Amanda Lee Koe and Jee Leong Koh. The reading will be followed by a Q&A moderated by Paul Rozario-Falcone.

Details:

Saturday, September 13, 8:15–9:00 pm
St. Mark’s Bookshop, 136 E 3rd Street (between Ave 1 and A)

Language Documentation & Conservation, vol. 8 (2014)

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Contributions to LD&C are now published upon acceptance. Below are all the contributions accepted for volume 8 (January–December 2014).

ARTICLES

Using TEI for an Endangered Language Lexical Resource: The Nxaʔamxcín Database-Dictionary Project
Ewa Czaykowska-Higgins, Martin D. Holmes, and Sarah M. Kell, pp. 1–37

This paper describes the evolution of a lexical resource project for Nxaʔamxcín, an endangered Salish language, from the project’s inception in the 1990s, based on legacy materials recorded in the 1960s and 1970s, to its current form as an online database that is transformable into various print and web-based formats for varying uses. We illustrate how we are using TEI P5 for data-encoding and archiving and show that TEI is a mature, reliable, flexible standard which is a valuable tool for lexical and morphological markup and for the production of lexical resources. Lexical resource creation, as is the case with language documentation and description more generally, benefits from portability and thus from conformance to standards (Bird and Simons 2003, Thieberger 2011). This paper therefore also discusses standards harmonization, focusing on our attempt to achieve interoperability in format and terminology between our database and standards proposed for LMF, RELISH and GOLD. We show that, while it is possible to achieve interoperability, ultimately it is difficult to do so convincingly, thus raising questions about what conformance to standards means in practice.
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Korean Studies, vol. 37 (2013): Urban Cultural Landscapes of Colonial Korea, 1920s–1930s

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SPECIAL ISSUE: URBAN CULTURAL LANDSCAPES OF COLONIAL KOREA, 1920s–1930s

Guest Editor: Yung-Hee Kim

Guest Editor’s Introduction
Yung-Hee Kim, 1

This special issue of Korean Studies includes selected articles originally presented as papers at the ‘‘Tapestry of Modernity: Urban Cultural Landscapes of Colonial Korea, 1920s–1930s: An International Interdisciplinary Conference’’ held at the Center for Korean Studies, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, February 16–17, 2012. The conference was part of the Center’s project to commemorate its fortieth anniversary.
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Asian Theatre Journal, vol. 31, no. 1 (2014)

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The character of Tokio, the son in Yakiniku Dragon, acts as narrator.
The character of Tokio, the son in Yakiniku Dragon, acts as narrator. (Photo: Courtesy the Japan National Theatre)

From the Editor, v

Color Insert follows page 152

IN MEMORIAM

Beate Sirota Gordon: Producing Performance at the Asia Society
Kathy Foley, 1

Beate Sirota Gordon (1923–2012) of the Asia Society became a major producer, promoting Japanese and Asian performance in New York and across the United States from the 1950s through the 1990s. Her work contributed to education about Asia in the United States, garnered support for Asian artists both in their home country and in global venues, contributed to intercultural explorations in avant garde circles, and was a contributor to cultural diplomacy through performance in the Cold War era.
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Cross-Currents: East Asian History and Culture Review, vol. 3, no. 1 (2014)

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ARTICLES

The Globalization of K-pop: Local and Transnational Articulations of South Korean Popular Music

Editor’s Introduction
Guest Editor John Lie (University of California, Berkeley), 1

The global pop-music sensation of 2012 was Psy’s “Gangnam Style.” I am not sure if imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but the sheer proliferation of downloads and impersonations, copycat videos and parodic performances—the very constitution of virality—established K-pop (South Korean popular music) as a global pop culture phenomenon. … It is one thing to acknowledge the immense popularity of “Gangnam Style,” but would it be wise to see this as a harbinger of a larger phenomenon—namely, the globalization of South Korean popular culture?
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Coming Summer 2014: Manoa, vol. 26, no. 1, Starry Island: New Writing from Singapore

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MA 26-1 cover art_for blogThe summer 2014 issue of Manoa, Starry Island: New Writing from Singapore, features work by over two dozen writers and translators. Images in the issue come from several sources: the British Library, National Archives of Singapore, National Gallery of Australia, National Library of Singapore, and contemporary photographers Nina Papiorek, Salvador Manaois III, Peter Marlow, and Stuart Franklin. Fiona Sze-Lorrain serves as guest editor.

The Contemporary Pacific, vol. 26, no. 1 (2014)

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TCP 26-1 coverAbout the Artist: Visesio Poasi Siasau, vii

The Pacific Islands, viii

ARTICLES

Climate-Change Migration in the Pacific
John R Campbell, 1

Abstract: Despite considerable debate about whether or not climate change will cause large numbers of people to migrate, there has been little consideration of how such displacement might be caused. Three effects of climate change are identified as possible drivers of migration: loss of or reduction in land security, livelihood security, and habitat security. Where these are destroyed by climate change, migration will be forced and would require the abandonment of some locations. Such community relocation is likely to be a disruptive form of climate-change migration, and past experience indicates that there are numerous social, cultural, emotional, and economic costs associated with such moves, even at relatively small distances. Where the loss of security is partial, voluntary or induced migration may be a practical adaptive response, reducing pressure on declining local life-support systems and providing remittances to supplement declining livelihoods. Most attention has been focused on atoll communities, but most Pacific communities (with the exception of Papua New Guinea) are coastal, and the security of some inland areas may be threatened by increasing magnitude and frequency of droughts. Destinations for climate-change migrants may range from locations within customary lands to foreign countries within and beyond the region. A key issue is the essential link between Pacific Islands people and their land, which poses major problems not only for those forced to leave but also for communities within the region that may be required to give up land for relocatees.
Keywords: climate change, migration, relocation, land security, livelihood security, habitat security
Continue reading “The Contemporary Pacific, vol. 26, no. 1 (2014)”

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