Empty Territory Research Articles

Capture: American Pursuits and the Making of a New Animal Condition

Capture: American Pursuits and the Making of a New Animal Condition

Geographic expeditions through the Brazilian Sertão (1941–1948): Origins of another epistemological style of geography

AbstractThis paper seeks to validate the hypothesis that in Brazil, between 1941 and 1948, when the first geographical expeditions to the sertão (backcountry) of Brazil took place, there was a transition in the epistemological style practiced by geographers between the historicist and ecological approach and a positivistic planning approach. Added to both is the need to restructure the colonial legacy of the country's territory, a perspective marked by social geography with a Marxist bias. This transition process is, simultaneously, the construction of another hybrid geographical style and an epistemological point of view of its own. This form of epistemology reflects the configuration of space, i.e., the continuity of the economic and political life of the coast without major modifications. However, the projected planning perspectives for the future occupation of the sertão, seen by the actors of the time as an empty territory, with resources and in which its occupation could gradually reverse Brazil's colonial legacy. Brazilian scientific space is observed as a circulation of knowledge, which is subject to tensions. Conceptual developments occurred in discussions in National Council of Geography (CNG) and Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) institutional settings and were called ‘geographical talks/gatherings’, which were published in the Boletim Geográfico and the Revista Brasileira de Geografia. Based on these discussions and controversies, it was possible to differentiate the styles of geography mobilised by actors, as well as to create a general interpretation based on the material analysed. Development geography and a geographical reason are understood as the result of this construction, based on two main factors: the influences of foreign geographies and the nature of the country. The methodology adopted was a geo‐history of knowledge, associated with aspects of Bruno Latour's actor‐network theory. Finally, the paper seeks to contribute to the validation of the epistemological and heuristic virtues typical of the southern hemisphere.

На краю государства: политическое оформление периферии власти

The article is devoted to the analysis of a special political form that arises in the “empty space” on the “edge of the state”, where actors of power exist remotely, beyond the boundaries of the “emptiness”, but they can be materialized in it. The authors use the term “periphery of power” to describe this political form. The article shows that “empty space” is not a vacuum, but it does not contain what the observer (in this case, the authorities) expects to see, what he can read and comprehend as some kind of entity. It is the absence of the expected objects, actors and practices that makes the space “empty”. The paper verifies the hypothesis that, being “empty” for an observer, such space is populated and has authorities. Empirically, the study is based on the results of two field works to the upper Lena River. The territory has neither settlement structure nor legal economic activity, and the number of registered residents is minimal. The nearest authorities (police, environmental protection, municipal authorities, etc.) are located on the borders of the territory, and the distance to the nearest large city (Irkutsk) is 500—700 km. Nevertheless, the field work there revealed a fairly large community with its own hierarchy, stable forms of communication, legalization and mobilization of remote authorities. For members of this community, staying in the “empty territory” makes no sense from the economic point of view. They are registered in other places (district centers or other regional cities, including capitals) and represent relatively successful citizens. However, the city remains for them nothing else but a source of resources (material, financial, etc.). They live exactly in the “empty space”. Social networks are formed in it, statuses and communication are built, which can be turned into the space of power. The insights that the authors obtained give ground to assume that this process is not an outlier, but rather represented a more general process of separating a place to earn money and a place to live. According to their conclusion, while maintaining the current trends, the “exit space” documented by them will expand, forming more and more new forms of “emptiness”

African Kings and Black Slaves: Sovereignty and Dispossession in the Early Modern Atlantic

African Kings and Black Slaves: Sovereignty and Dispossession in the Early Modern Atlantic

The Myth of the Empty Territory: The Tragedy of the Chagos Islanders

In this article we outline the tragedy of the Chagos Islanders forcibly evicted from their homeland to make way for an American military base. A new colony was invented, the British Indian Ocean Territory, which would be declared a marine reserve in 2010. The British have refused to allow the Chagossians the right to return to their homelands not to protect the environment, but rather to safeguard the political agreement based on economic and military imperialism. Therefore this community has been condemned to historical erasure as their stories are imbricated in the official narration of an empty territory. To prevent the plight of the Chagossians from falling into oblivion, we organized a creative writing workshop with members of the community in order to grant visibility to the Chagossian fight for identity and recognition.

Invasion entire solutions for two-species diffusive monostable competitive systems

We study the existence of entire solutions of two-species diffusive monostable Lotka–Volterra competitive systems. Our results cover both cases of monostable with stable coexistence equilibrium and monostable with competition–extinction equilibria. We prove the existence of entire solutions describing different types of invasion scenarios of an empty territory by two competitors as the time variable t→−∞. Depending on the mobile species, these invasion phenomena can occur either from one side or both sides of the x-axis, leading to the existence of different types of entire solutions. In particular, the existence of entire solution characterizing the invasion of an empty habitat from one side by a weaker competitor and from both sides of the same territory by a stronger competitor as the time variable t→−∞ are established. We construct delicate super–sub solutions and employ the comparison principle to prove our main results.

Cartografia, dinâmica territorial e patrimônio material

Este artigo, a partir da base empírica do espaço colonial do Oeste baiano, faz análises à luz da Geografia Histórica, num espaço parcamente ocupado e usado pelos colonizadores ao longo dos Setecentos. Por todo o século XVIII a ocupação da região era dispersa e havia apenas uma vila elevada – São Francisco das Chagas da Barra do Rio Grande. Os ditos “sertões”, porém, em nada eram território vazio. Na verdade eram ocupados por grupos hostis aos interesses da empresa colonial portuguesa, ou simplesmente endogenamente desconhecidos por esta. As análises feitas em variadas escalas mostram uma complexa dinâmica territorial que produziu, ao longo do tempo histórico e diferentes temporalidades técnicas, o patrimônio material e imaterial que atualmente “representa” a região do Além-São Francisco.

EmT: Locating empty territories of homology group generators in a dataset

Persistent homology is a tool within topological data analysis to detect different dimensional holes in a dataset. The boundaries of the empty territories (i.e., holes) are not well-defined and each has multiple representations. The proposed method, Empty Territory (EmT), provides representations of different dimensional holes with a specified level of complexity of the territory boundary. EmT is designed for the setting where persistent homology uses a Vietoris-Rips complex filtration, and works as a post-analysis to refine the hole representation of the persistent homology algorithm. In particular, EmT uses alpha shapes to obtain a special class of representations that captures the empty territories with a complexity determined by the size of the alpha balls. With a fixed complexity, EmT returns the representation that contains the most points within the special class of representations. This method is limited to finding 1D holes in 2D data and 2D holes in 3D data, and is illustrated on simulation datasets of a homogeneous Poisson point process in 2D and a uniform sampling in 3D. Furthermore, the method is applied to a 2D cell tower location geography dataset and 3D Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) galaxy dataset, where it works well in capturing the empty territories.

Competition for space during bacterial colonization of a surface.

Competition for space is ubiquitous in the ecology of both microorganisms and macro-organisms. We introduce a bacterial model system in which the factors influencing competition for space during colonization of an initially empty habitat can be tracked directly. Using fluorescence microscopy, we follow the fate of individual Escherichia coli bacterial cell lineages as they undergo expansion competition (the race to be the first to colonize a previously empty territory), and as they later compete at boundaries between clonal territories. Our experiments are complemented by computer simulations of a lattice-based model. We find that both expansion competition, manifested as differences in individual cell lag times, and boundary competition, manifested as effects of neighbour cell geometry, can play a role in colonization success, particularly when lineages expand exponentially. This work provides a baseline for investigating how ecological interactions affect colonization of space by bacterial populations, and highlights the potential of bacterial model systems for the testing and development of ecological theory.

High winter site fidelity in a long-distance migrant: implications for wintering ecology and survival estimates

The decision for a migratory animal to be site faithful in its non-breeding season has profound implications for migratory connectivity, resilience to winter habitat loss and population dynamics through carry-over effects on future breeding success and fitness. Knowledge of the temporal and spatial scale of site fidelity and dispersal is also central to accurate survival estimates. We established the observed spatial and temporal scale of site fidelity and the ability to detect small-scale dispersal within and between years for a wintering long-distance Palearctic migrant, the Whinchat Saxicola rubetra, by comparing predicted and observed detection rates within the study site. Across 2 years, 54 % of birds returned to the study site and all returning birds reoccupied the territories they used in the previous winter. Observed dispersal was very low despite the high probability of detecting any local dispersal, suggesting that return rates are indicative of true between-winter survival rates for this population. In any winter, 50 % of returning individuals had a previously occupied but now empty territory that was less than one territory-span away from the centre of their current territory; high site fidelity was therefore very unlikely to be because of limited territory availability. Over-winter residency time (defined by departure month) differed significantly across sites and with age, but did not determine the probability of whether a bird returned in the following year. This suggests the use of more than one wintering site for some individuals, rather than reduced over-winter survival. This study is one of the first to comprehensively document site fidelity at the territory scale in a Palearctic system, although less comprehensive studies or anecdotal evidence suggests that high winter site fidelity may be relatively common. Here we provide evidence for the serial residency hypothesis, where selection acts for individual migrants to have generalist habitat requirements, allowing them to survive in and remain site faithful to even relatively low-quality, but sufficient and familiar sites. Lower dispersal and higher site fidelity compared to that during breeding suggest that annual survival estimates are more accurate when measured on the wintering grounds. This study supports previous findings that wintering conditions do not limit Whinchat populations.

Результаты мониторинга популяции балобана в Алтае-Саянском регионе в 2014 году; Россия

Based on author’s research in 2014 the paper contains information on distribution, numbers and breeding biology of the Saker Falcon ( Falco cherrug ) in the Altai-Sayan region. A total of 112 breeding territories of the Saker Falcon (28.9% of the territories already known in the Altai-Sayan region) located in the Krasnoyarsk Kray, Khakassia, Tyva and Altai Republics were visited in 2014: 94 territories were occupied and 44 territories were successful. Six new territories were discovered in 2014, 7 – recovered within borders of an old empty territory and 11 – were noted as abandoned in 2014. A total of 25 breeding territories of the Saker Falcon located in the Altai Kray were visited in 2014: 4 territories were occupied and 3 territories were successful. Considering the expert estimation a total of 1237–1473 pairs (averaging 1355 pairs) breed in the Altai-Sayan region in 2014, and 618–736 pairs (averaging 677 pairs) are successful. The population trend was noted as negative and was -26% per past 12 years of the census conducted. The positive population trend for the Saker Falcon has been recorded for the last 3 years due to the growth of its population in Tuva – 2% for the region. Estimation a total of 34–45 pairs (averaging 39 pairs) breed in the Altai Kray in 2014, and 17–22 pairs (averaging 19 pairs) are successful. The population trend was noted as negative and was -67% per past 12 years of the census conducted (Saker Falcon population in the pine forests has virtually been extinct).

At the Crossroads of Media, Media Critique, and the Critique of Media critics – An Interview with Serge Halimi, Editor-in-Chief of Le Monde Diplomatique

In “Media Studies: A French Blind Spot,” Francois Cusset observed that, contrary to American tradition, no comprehensive interdisciplinary approach to media studies has so far penetrated French universities, thus leaving an ‘empty territory’ between the professional training of journalists and an activist critique arising from non-academic circles. Since the 1990s, French monthly Le Monde Diplomatique has thus consistently stood out for its “non-academic activism against media power and bia...

Kazah–magyar régészeti kutatások a Zsetiszu vidékén

A kazah–magyar együttműködés 2005-ben megszületett ötlete 2007-től valósult meg. Az együttműködés célja a korai türk régészeti örökség kutatása. Ebből a magyar fél (ELTE BTK Régészettudományi Intézet) a Zsetiszu vidéke kora középkori településeinek kutatását vállalta fel. Így kezdetben négy helyszín (Merke, Aszpara, Dzsájszán 27–Terekti 1 és Tölebi) felmérését végeztünk el, 2008-ban pedig megkezdtük a Tölebi határában található 9–10. századi vár régészeti kutatását. A tanulmány célja az eddigi eredmények rövid bemutatása.

Parental defence of an empty nest after catastrophic brood loss

We studied parental care behaviour in a field population of convict cichlids, Amatitlania siquia , a fish with biparental care of its free-swimming young (fry). We simulated catastrophic brood loss by removing all of the young from 26 broods of various ages. We recorded parental defence behaviour for 5 min preremoval and three consecutive 5 min postremoval intervals. We then returned all of the young and recorded 5 min of parent–offspring reunion behaviour. Following brood loss, both parents defended the empty territory and searched for missing young. Females spent more time in the empty territory and performed more attacks in defence of the empty territory than did males. Females searched and defended a significantly larger area than males did. During the 15 min fry-absent period, males increasingly spent more time away, whereas females maintained a constant level of investment in searching the brood area. Four of 26 males (15%) engaged in courtship with a new female within 15 min of brood loss. Attacks to repel potential predators from the brood area declined in frequency over the 15 min fry-absent period in both sexes. Standard length (age) of young was positively correlated with parental investment for females but not males. Number of young was positively correlated with parental investment for males but not for females. We conclude that post-brood-loss behaviours are search and recovery tactics that contribute to parental inclusive fitness in the event of incomplete brood predation.

The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict as a Metaphor in Recent Israeli Fiction

It was only the new contrasting version that drew attention to the precise content of the old one and Naomi Shemer was attacked repeatedly in intellectual circles for her chauvinistic view of the marketplace and the road to the Dead Sea as empty territories prior to the Israeli Occupation. But Naomi Shemer's text is not typical of Hebrew literature. The question of whether the Founders of Zionism related to Palestine as empty territory may be open to argument, but there can be no doubt that, in Hebrew literature of the last eighty years, awareness of an Arab presence in the area has played an important role.

Introduction of a Male Sterile Allele (Tw2) Into a Population of House Mice Housed in a Large Outdoor Enclosure.

The male sterile gene, tw2, has been suggested as a possible means for controlling population size of feral mice because of its detrimental effects on fertility in homozygous males and because of its effects on transmission ratios in heterozygous males . This suggestion was tested by releasing mice carrying the tw2 gene into a population of mice, known to be free of t alleles, housed in a large outdoor enclosure. Attempts to establish +/tw2 males were unsuccessful, but +/tw2 and tw2/tw2 females bred successfully when introduced into an empty territory at the beginning of the breeding season. Following successful introduction of the gene, the size of the enclosure population increased fairly steadily for 18 mth, and a sample of males removed from the enclosure 2 yr after the successful release was found to be tw2-free. It was concluded that, under the conditions used in this experiment, the gene had little or no effect on population size and that it probably disappeared fairly rapidly from the population.

МИГРАЦИОНА КРЕТАЊА СРПСКОГ НАРОДА У БОСНИ У ВРЕМЕ ВЕЛИКОГ БЕЧКОГ РАТА

У време Великог бечког рата дошло је до великих миграционих кретања на Балканском полуострву, поготово из Босне у Хрватску и Славонију. Претежно се радило о Србима који су масовно прелазили с турске на аустријску територију, али су забележени и католици из Босне. Насељени су ратом опустели делови Лике, Крбаве, као и централни делови Славоније, који су се сви нашли под влашћу Аустрије. У овом периоду од 1683. до 1699. више десетина хиљада православних и католика је избегло из Босне, на просторе Хабзбуршке монархије што је знанто ојачало већ постојећи српски корпус у Монархији.