Mission Site Research Articles

La Baja California inventada: visiones sobre un territorio mexicano a mediados del siglo XX

This article examines the travels of Peter Gerhard and Ángel Bassols Batalla through the Baja California in the 1950s from a comparative perspective. From the theoretical viewpoints of the history of geography and the geographical journey as sources of information and working method in situ, the observation and empirical knowledge of the territory are established. The traveling style of both authors involves a cultural consideration, since an invented space emerges before their eyes from their own experience in the peninsula.As a traveler, Peter Gerhard journeyed the peninsula seeking the ancient missions that distinguished Baja California. That is why he organizad and integrated the information in a guide, in collaboration with Howard E. Gulick. He conceived the guide for tourists of the United States interested in this region so close to their country. Published in 1956, the guide became the most complete instrument for vacationists in general, and also for sport fishermen, hunters, explorers and campers. Although the guide was aimed for drivers, it also provided precise facts for people sailing in yachts or arriving in private planes. Due to their knowledge of the peninsular space, Gerhard and Gulick designed a series of maps by sections, and they proposed ten routes that could be followed, most of them by land, to arrive at any place through main roads, trails or paths, where travel was only possible by foot or mule. The routes, the historical and cultural aspects, as well as the practical recommendations for tourists given in the guide, prepared the way for what tourists would expect to look with their own eyes, and at the same time it facilitated mobility in a distant and isolated territory. In sum, as a traveler, Gerhard integrated a practical, pleasant and playful image for tourists of the United States that, with the speed and safety of the automobile could enjoy the sun, beaches, ranches, and embark in the adventure of the historical past at mission sites, in addition to hunting and sport-fishing.On the other hand, Bassols Batalla went deep into the territory as an explorer. He highlighted the value of his expeditions to Baja California by applying a geo-economic analysis methodology based in natural resources, he focused on productive activities (agriculture, cattle breeding, mining and hydraulic and sea undertakings), and became aware of the reality and problems of this region. For him, such perspective transformed the way of understanding the economic and social planning of Mexico. The relevant issue was the settling of the territory, the availability of water for irrigation, the study of soils and vegetation, the timber reserves in the forests, as well as the conservation and rational exploitation of fauna. Mining required more attention and a thorough examination of its reserves. Bassols Batalla expressed his opinions about the conservation of historical monuments, especially regarding the Jesuit and Dominican missions of the peninsula. Industrialization, and agriculture with its diversification in new cultivation areas, was a source of employment. For Bassols it was necessary to transform the roads and open a trans-peninsular highway to favor tourism and local development. In the eyes of this geographer, Baja California was the region of the future, but he concluded that first it was necessary to favor colonization, to consolidate the State and promote the national interest, as well as the reassertion of sovereignty.Finally, the comparison between the visions of Gerhard and Bassols show coincidences and differences that help comprehend the relevance of geographic travel as a source of information and as a working method, essential to understand the reality of an isolated region of Mexico. When Baja California was still isolated from the rest of the country, and at the same time its economic potential and its attractive landscape began to capture the public attention, the journeys of these authors, succeeded in inserting or adding the peninsula in the social imaginary of both the United States and Mexico.

CIRPLAST: Cleft Lip and Palate Missions in Peru.

The author presents a 20-year experience leading cleft lip and palate surgical volunteer missions in Peru for CIRPLAST, a nonprofit volunteer plastic surgery goodwill program that has provided free surgery for patients with cleft lip and palate deformities in remote areas of Peru. Surgical procedures were performed by the author, together with a group of experienced plastic surgeons, under the auspices of the Peruvian Plastic Surgery Society, and local health authorities. CIRPLAST missions are scheduled annually in different locations around Peru. Selected patients for surgery after adequate screening are photographed, and their cleft deformity is recorded. Scheduled patients or their parents, when they are minors, sign an informed consent form. Patients operated on in any given day are examined and photographed 1 day after surgery, before discharge. Between 30 and 35 patients are operated on at each mission site. About 2 weeks after the mission, patients are checked and photographed, and the outcome of surgery is recorded. Complications that may occur are recorded and treated by the CIRPLAST team as soon as possible. Almost all operations are performed under general endotracheal anesthesia coupled by local anesthesia containing a vasoconstrictor, to reduce bleeding and facilitate tissue dissection. All wounds of the lip and palate are closed with absorbable sutures, to avoid the need for suture removal. After cleft lip surgery, patients go to the recovery room for monitoring by nurses until they recover completely. A total of 6108 cleft lip and palate repairs, primary and secondary, were performed by CIRPLAST in 141 missions, between May 12, 1994, and October 15, 2014. The medical records of the 5162 patients (84.5%) who returned for follow-up (ranging from 12 days to 9 years) were reviewed retrospectively. Between 45% and 70% of the patients operated on a mission have returned for early follow-up and some the following year. There were 3176 males (51.9%) and 2932 females (48.1%). The incidence of isolated lip clefts was 1546 patients (25.3%); of isolated palate clefts, 2223 patients (36.4%); and combined defects, 2339 patients (38.3%). Of the 5162 patients who returned for follow-up, 377 patients (7.3%) had complications. Lip wound dehiscence was present in 58 patients (15.4). Palate fistula formation in 33 patients (8.8%): 24 (6.4%) after primary palate closure, and 9 (2.4%) after previous fistula closure. Infection occurred in 37 cleft lip patients (9.8%). Hypertrophic lip scars were seen in 56 patients (14.9%). Bleeding occurred in the recovery room after palatoplasty in 48 patients (12.7%), and in most cases, it was contained by applying pressure. No blood transfusions were used. Residual deformities of varying degree of the nose and/or lip occurred in 145 patients (38.5%). All required reoperation for correction. There were no intraoperative deaths in this series. During the past 20 years, the CIRPLAST team has offered free surgery with good outcomes and few complications, to more than 6000 cleft lip and/or palate patients in remote areas of Peru.

Cleft and Craniofacial Care During Military Pediatric Plastic Surgery Humanitarian Missions.

Military pediatric plastic surgery humanitarian missions in the Western Hemisphere have been initiated and developed since the early 1990 s using the Medical Readiness Education and Training Exercise (MEDRETE) concept. Despite its initial training mission status, the MEDRETE has developed into the most common and advanced low level medical mission platform currently in use. The objective of this study is to report cleft- and craniofacial-related patient outcomes after initiation and evolution of a standardized treatment protocol highlighting lessons learned which apply to civilian plastic surgery missions. A review of the MEDRETE database for pediatric plastic surgery/cleft and craniofacial missions to the Dominican Republic from 2005 to 2009 was performed. A multidisciplinary team including a craniofacial surgeon evaluated all patients with a cleft/craniofacial and/or pediatric plastic condition. A standardized mission time line included predeployment site survey and predeployment checklist, operational brief, and postdeployment after action report. Deployment data collection, remote patient follow-up, and coordination with larger land/amphibious military operations was used to increase patient follow-up data. Data collected included sex, age, diagnosis, date and type of procedure, surgical outcomes including speech scores, surgical morbidity, and mortality. Five hundred ninety-four patients with cleft/craniofacial abnormalities were screened by a multidisciplinary team including craniofacial surgeons over 4 years. Two hundred twenty-three patients underwent 330 surgical procedures (cleft lip, 53; cleft palate, 73; revision cleft lip/nose, 73; rhinoplasty, 15; speech surgery, 24; orthognathic/distraction, 21; general pediatric plastic surgery, 58; fistula repair, 12). Average follow-up was 30 months (range, 1-60). The complication rate was 6% (n = 13) (palate fistula, lip revision, dental/alveolar loss, revision speech surgery rate). The average pre-surgical (Pittsburgh Weighted Speech Score) speech score was 12 (range, 6-24). The average postsurgical speech score was 6 (range, 0-21). Average hospital stay was 3 days for cleft surgery. There were no major complications or mortality, 1 reoperation for bleeding or infection, and 12 patients required secondary operations for palatal fistula, unsatisfactory aesthetic result, malocclusion, or velopharygeal dysfunction. Military pediatric plastic surgery humanitarian missions can be executed with similar home institution results after the initiation and evolution of a standardized approach to humanitarian missions. The incorporation of a dedicated logistics support unit, a dedicated operational specialist (senior noncommissioned officer), a speech language pathologist, remote internet follow up, an liaison officer (host nation liaison physician participation), host nation surgical resident participation, and support from the embassy, Military Advisory Attachment Group, and United States Aid and International Development facilitated patient accurate patient evaluation and posttreatment follow-up. Movement of the mission site from a remote more austere environment to a centralized better equipped facility with host nation support to transport patients to the site facilitated improved patient safety and outcomes despite increasing the complexity of surgery performed.

Protecting people in protected places

This article addresses the previously understudied issue of protection within Christian missions, deepening the understanding of gender as a central factor in how protection has been understood in mission work. It takes four Scandinavian female missionaries, working as YWCA secretaries in Changsha, as its starting point for a discussion of perceptions of protection in times of unrest. The analysis spans the years 1917–1927, a politically turbulent period in the history of Hunan, with recurring outbursts of violence and increasing anti-foreign sentiments. During these periods of unrest, missionaries were put in positions in which they had to act not only as social and spiritual evangelists of the Christian gospel but also as security providers. This article investigates the complexity of perceptions of protection within discursive structures of gender and the ways in which the women navigated prevailing structures to provide protection for people they cared about and to attain influence over situations in which their control was endangered. The analysis focuses on the use of protective symbols, on the mission site as both protected and threatened space, and on the female missionary as both protecting guardian and in need of protection.

Missionary Bishop: Jean-Marie Odin in Galveston and New Orleans by Patrick Foley (review)

Reviewed by: Missionary Bishop: Jean-Marie Odin in Galveston and New Orleans by Patrick Foley Emilie Gagnet Leumas Missionary Bishop: Jean-Marie Odin in Galveston and New Orleans. By Patrick Foley. [Centennial Series of the Association of Former Students, No. 118.] (College Station: Texas A&M University Press. 2014. Pp. xviii, 206. $40.00. ISBN 978-1-60344-824-6.) Missionary Bishop by Patrick Foley is a sixteen-chapter, 168-page, footnoted biography of Jean-Marie Odin, first bishop of Galveston and second archbishop of New Orleans. Each chapter chronicles a different period in Odin’s life (1800–70), including his early formation in France, his time at the Barrens, and his life as a Vincentian ministering in Missouri and Arkansas. A major portion of the book is devoted to Odin’s years on the Texas frontier as missionary, vicar apostolic, and bishop. The reader is taken on a journey through Texas and parts of Mexico as Odin’s ministers to Catholics, catechizing and bringing sacraments to Victoria, San Antonio de Bexar, and other mission sites. Throughout this section of the narrative, Foley guides the reader through Texas history as he sets the stage for Odin’s two-decade-long missionary work in Texas. Amid the backdrop of the struggles in Mexican Texas, the War for Texas independence and the border conflict between the United States and Mexico, Odin works tirelessly. The author states, “Jean-Marie Odin would lay the foundation for Catholicism’s nineteenth-century renaissance in Texas and establish the base for the Catholic Church’s future development in the land for decades to come” (p. 84). The book concludes with Odin’s last years as archbishop of New Orleans and highlights his administrative efforts during the Civil War and Reconstruction periods. Foley describes Odin’s conflict and thoughts regarding slavery and, in its aftermath, his attempts for African American [End Page 391] education. It is somewhat comforting to know that after all his laboring in Texas and Louisiana, Odin died in his childhood home in France. Foley’s research into the life of Odin includes primary material from archives and collections; sources encompass manuscripts from many dioceses, universities, and the Society for the Propagation of the Faith. Noteworthy among these manuscripts are Odin’s diary and extensive correspondence. Using these key sources, the author weaves a rich historical account, allowing the reader to follow the relationships between Odin and his family (in Hauteville, Ambierle, France), the Vincentians, his coworkers in Missouri and Arkansas, his lifelong associate Antoine Blanc (first archbishop of New Orleans), his friend John Timon (first bishop of Buffalo), and many other religious men and women whom Odin recruited from Europe for the mission fields of Texas. This work is the first in-depth study of Odin, and it is a welcome and important addition to understanding the history of Catholicism in Texas and Louisiana. It leaves a major and lasting impression of the life and struggles of a missionary bishop on the Texas frontier. Emilie Gagnet Leumas Archives of the Archdiocese of New Orleans Copyright © 2015 The Catholic University of America Press

Mission sites as indigenous heritage in southern Vanuatu

Christian missions are often characterized as a physical expression of Western colonial power, institutions that were resisted by indigenous people in various ways. In Vanuatu, while there was indeed dramatic resistance to mission incursion, the success of Christianity in many places (for not everyone converted) developed from a series of complex entanglements between indigenous Melanesians and Christian missionaries. This is apparent in oral traditions and in the physical remains relating to mission encounters. Indigenous ni-Vanuatu see the archaeological remains of mission sites as an integral part of their heritage, rather than as relics of a foreign colonial past. This tendency relates to other aspects of missionary heritage as well, including museum collections and sacred texts. The historical archaeology of missions in Vanuatu and beyond can be best understood through the lens of colonial entanglement, destabilizing categorical oppositions such as colonizer–colonized, foreign–indigenous, and power–resistance.

Behaving toward language in the Mormon mission: the Czech case

AbstractThis article applies Language Management Theory/Framework to the behavior toward language observed in the missionary program of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (the Mormons) in the Czech Republic. It analyzes data directly from the mission site, focusing on specifically the combination of the highly specific character of the missionaries' acquisition of Czech and their role as native speakers of English. It explores not only the acquisition, but also the use of the mission language, highlighting the relationship between macro structures of the church's language policy, the character of the missionaries' work in general, and language use in individual interactions. The article concludes by arguing that not only the knowledge of the local language, but also the acquired orientation to the local sociolinguistic situation and communicative practices are what enable the missionaries to do their work.

Geological context of potential landing site of the Luna-Glob mission

The region planned for performing the Luna-Glob mission is located in the southern part of the swell surrounding the largest South Pole-Aitken (SPA) basin. The photogeological analysis of the surface topography of this region using the LRO-WAC (resolution of 100 Mpxl) photomaps made it possible to define the following groups of morphological units (area types): (1) related to the formation of relatively fresh impact craters; (2) associated with larger (>100 km across) degraded craters including (2a) external and (2b) inner facies; and (3) occupying intercrater spaces. The comparison of the geological map with the map illustrating the distribution of the epithermal neutron flow (Mitrofanov et al., 2012) shows no correlation between them. Consequently, one should not expect development of rock complexes, which would be characterized by elevated concentrations of water in the region chosen for the Luna-Glob mission and, thus, considered among the first-priority targets. The comparison of the neutron flow distribution with the map of circular polarization of the Mini-RF radar beam also shows no correlation. This means that high values of circular polarization reflect elevated concentrations of rock fragments rather than water accumulations. Even though ice fragments are present, their sizes should only slightly be less as compared with the radar wavelength (12.6 cm). The region planned for investigations in the scope of the Luna-Glob mission corresponds to the swell of the largest (and, likely, oldest) preserved basin and offers a potential opportunity to analyze ancient material of this planet and introduce important constraints into the spectrum of models proposed for explaining the Moon’s origin.

Longitudinal treatment of cleft lip and palate in developing countries: dentistry as part of a multidisciplinary endeavor.

Cleft lip and palate affects roughly 1 in 600 children and predisposes patients to a lifetime of functional and esthetic discrepancies. Disparities in access as well as quality of care exist worldwide, with many children in developing countries unable to receive treatment. In the late 20th century, humanitarian medical missions emerged as a means of delivering surgical expertise to patients in resource-limited settings. These early missions took on a patient-centered approach focused solely on cleft repair, with little emphasis on treating the dental abnormalities that arose after the initial surgery. However, modern cleft care is characterized by a multidisciplinary, team-based approach with significant dental involvement. Recent cleft lip and palate endeavors have shifted from a mission-based approach to a developmental approach facilitating growth of an independent care center. This strategy focuses on creating an institution with expanded access to dental services, thus facilitating the long-term treatment inherent in modern cleft care. One clinic in a developing country that has experienced successful transitioning from a mission site to an independent craniofacial clinic is Operation Smile's Cleft Comprehensive Care Clinic in Guwahati, India. This article will summarize the rationale and planning of the clinic, underscore the team-based approach required in longitudinal treatment of cleft lip and palate, and demonstrate how treatment methodology may differ in resource-limited settings by outlining the therapeutic considerations of each provider in the Guwahati Clinic.

Production and early preservation of lipid biomarkers in iron hot springs.

The bicarbonate-buffered anoxic vent waters at Chocolate Pots hot springs in Yellowstone National Park are 51-54°C, pH 5.5-6.0, and are very high in dissolved Fe(II) at 5.8-5.9 mg/L. The aqueous Fe(II) is oxidized by a combination of biotic and abiotic mechanisms and precipitated as primary siliceous nanophase iron oxyhydroxides (ferrihydrite). Four distinct prokaryotic photosynthetic microbial mat types grow on top of these iron deposits. Lipids were used to characterize the community composition of the microbial mats, link source organisms to geologically significant biomarkers, and investigate how iron mineralization degrades the lipid signature of the community. The phospholipid and glycolipid fatty acid profiles of the highest-temperature mats indicate that they are dominated by cyanobacteria and green nonsulfur filamentous anoxygenic phototrophs (FAPs). Diagnostic lipid biomarkers of the cyanobacteria include midchain branched mono- and dimethylalkanes and, most notably, 2-methylbacteriohopanepolyol. Diagnostic lipid biomarkers of the FAPs (Chloroflexus and Roseiflexus spp.) include wax esters and a long-chain tri-unsaturated alkene. Surprisingly, the lipid biomarkers resisted the earliest stages of microbial degradation and diagenesis to survive in the iron oxides beneath the mats. Understanding the potential of particular sedimentary environments to capture and preserve fossil biosignatures is of vital importance in the selection of the best landing sites for future astrobiological missions to Mars. This study explores the nature of organic degradation processes in moderately thermal Fe(II)-rich groundwater springs--environmental conditions that have been previously identified as highly relevant for Mars exploration.

Mapping Local Perspectives in the Historical Archaeology of Vanuatu Mission Landscapes

The concept of place is a powerful theoretical tool in the social sciences and humanities, which can be especially useful in archaeological work that involves community-based collaboration. Using place as a starting point, archaeologists can beneficially use their skills to answer questions that are of relevance to the local communities with which we work while also advancing knowledge about the past. For historical archaeology, this often involves engaging in dialogue across multiple lines of evidence, including material remains from the past, written documents, and local oral traditions. Recent fieldwork on the islands of Erromango and Tanna, Vanuatu, exploring early landscapes relating to Christian conversion uses this kind of approach. A major part of preliminary survey work involves mapping features in the mission sites and surrounding areas. Archaeological cartographic techniques help build a sense of place that provides engaging research for a collaborative environment with local Melanesian communities, while also producing new perspectives on colonialism in the South Pacific. This approach is not limited to the recent past, being applicable to any collaborative, community-based archaeological research that incorporates the use of oral traditions.

Enlivening the dying ruins : history and archaeology of the Jesuit Missions in Ethiopia, 1557–1632

A summary is presented of the recent archaeological research led by the University Complutense of Madrid on the residences and monuments of the Jesuit missions in Ethiopia, most of them built at the end of the Mission period, between 1621 and 1632. The paper examines the known mission sites in turn, concentrating on the most important ones located in the region of Dembya, north of lake Tana. The emphasis has been put on the contrast between the information available from historical sources, mainly from the Jesuits’ writings and letters, and that obtained in the field, concluding that the differences are limited to the natural tendency to embellishment and self-praise by the missionaries. Finally, the conclusions expose the cultural problems that still exist in Ethiopia to treat this “dark” historical period of the country.

Tourist Visitation to Ebenezer Aboriginal Mission Station, Victoria, Australia, 1859–1904: A Case Study

This article investigates the phenomenon of tourist visitation to an Aboriginal Mission Station in the Wimmera region of Victoria, Australia, during its operation from 1859 to 1904. It provides an overview of the history of tourism to Aboriginal missions in Victoria and presents the first detailed study of tourism to the Ebenezer Mission site. It shows that in contrast with other mission stations in Victoria, where tourism was encouraged, the Moravian missionaries discouraged visitation and deliberately selected a remote location in northwest Victoria to ensure their isolation. Nevertheless, a limited number of visitors were welcomed on to the station and their accounts are presented in this case study.

Disasters and Women's Health: Reflections from the 2010 Earthquake in Haiti

Increasing attention is being focused on the needs of vulnerable populations during humanitarian emergency response. Vulnerable populations are those groups with increased susceptibility to poor health outcomes rendering them disproportionately affected by the event. This discussion focuses on women's health needs during the disaster relief effort after the 2010 earthquake in Haiti. The Emergency Department (ED) of the temporary mobile encampment in L'Hôpital de l'Université d'Etat d'Haïti (HUEH) was the site of the team's disaster relief mission. In February 2010, most of the hospital was staffed by foreign physicians and nurses, with a high turnover rate. Although integration with local Haitian staff was encouraged, implementation of this practice was variable. Common presentations in the ED included infectious diseases, traumatic injuries, chronic disease exacerbations, and follow-up care of post-earthquake injuries and infections. Women-specific complaints included vaginal infections, breast pain or masses, and pregnancy-related concerns or complications. Women were also targets of gender-based violence. Recent disasters in Haiti, Pakistan, and elsewhere have challenged the international health community to provide gender-balanced health care in suboptimal environments. Much room for improvement remains. Although the assessment team was gender-balanced, improved incorporation of Haitian personnel may have enhanced patient trust, and improved cultural sensitivity and communication. Camp geography should foster both patient privacy and security during sensitive examinations. This could have been improved upon by geographically separating men's and women's treatment areas and using a barrier screen to generate a more private examination environment. Women's health supplies must include an appropriate exam table, emergency obstetrical and midwifery supplies, urine dipsticks, and sanitary and reproductive health supplies. A referral system must be established for patients requiring a higher level of care. Lastly, improved inter-organization communication and promotion of resource pooling may improve treatment access and quality for select gender-based interventions. Simple, inexpensive modifications to disaster relief health care settings can dramatically reduce barriers to care for vulnerable populations.

Electrostatic Beneficiation of Lunar Regolith: Applications in In Situ Resource Utilization

Upon returning to the moon, or further a field such as Mars, presents enormous challenges in sustaining life for extended periods of time far beyond the few days the astronauts experienced on the moon during the Apollo missions. A stay on Mars is envisioned to last several months, and it would be cost prohibitive to take all the requirements for such a stay from earth. Therefore, future exploration missions will be required to be self-sufficient and utilize the resources available at the mission site to sustain human occupation. Such an exercise is currently the focus of intense research at NASA under the In-situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) program. As well as oxygen and water necessary for human life, resources for providing building materials for habitats, radiation protection, and landing/launch pads are required. All these materials can be provided by the regolith present on the surface as it contains sufficient minerals and metals oxides to meet the requirements. However, before processing, it would be cost effective if the regolith could be enriched in the mineral(s) of interest. This can be achieved by electrostatic beneficiation in which tribocharged mineral particles are separated out and the feedstock enriched or depleted as required. The results of electrostatic beneficiation of lunar simulants and actual Apollo regolith, in lunar high vacuum are reported in which various degrees of efficient particle separation and mineral enrichment up to a few hundred percent were achieved.

First-round design of the flight scenario for Chang’e-2’s extended mission: takeoff from lunar orbit

Chang’e-2, Chinese second lunar probe, was inserted into a 100 km altitude low lunar orbit on October 9th, 2010, its purpose is to continuously photograph the lunar surface and possibly chosen landing sites for future lunar missions. The probe will still carry considerable amount of propellant after completing all prescribed tasks in about six months. After the successful launch of Chang’e-2, we began designing the probe’s subsequent flight scenario, considering a total impulse of 1 100 m/s for takeoff from low lunar orbit and a maximum 3×106 km distance for Earth-probe telecommunication. Our first-round effort proposed a preliminary flight scenario that involves consecutive arrivals at the halo orbits around the Earth-Moon L1/L2 and Sun-Earth L1/L2 points, near-Earth asteroid flyby, Earth return, and lunar impact. The designed solution of Chang’e-2’s subsequent flight scenario is a multi-segment flight trajectory that serves as a reference for making the final decision on Chang’e-2’s extended mission, which is a flight to the Sun-Earth L2 point, and a possible scheme of lunar impact via Earth flyby after remaining at the Sun-Earth L2 point was also presented. The proposed flight trajectory, which possesses acceptable solution accuracy for mission analysis, is a novel design that effectively exploits the invariant manifolds in the circular restricted three-body problem and the patched-manifold-conic method.

Identification and characterization of science-rich landing sites for lunar lander missions using integrated remote sensing observations

Despite more than 52 years of lunar exploration, a wide range of first-order scientific questions remain about the Moon’s formation, temporal evolution, and current surface and interior properties. Addressing many of these questions requires obtaining new in situ analyses or return of lunar surface or shallow subsurface samples, and hence rely on the selection of optimal landing sites. Here, we present an approach to optimize science-rich lunar landing site selection studies based on the integration of remote sensing observations. Currently available remote sensing data, as well as features of interest published in the recent literature, were integrated in a Geographic Information System. This numerical database contains geographic information about all these findings, which can be consulted and used to simultaneously display multiple features and parameters of interest. To illustrate our approach, we identified the optimal landing sites to address the two top priorities (or goals) relative to Concept 3 of the National Research Council of the National Academies (2007), namely to ‘Determine the extent and composition of the primary feldspathic crust, (ur)KREEP layer, and other products of differentiation’ and to ‘Inventory the variety, age, distribution and origin of lunar rock types’. We review site requirements and propose possible landing sites for both these goals. We identified 29 sites that best fulfill both these goals and compare them with the landing sites of planned future lunar lander missions. Finally, we detail two of these science-rich sites (Aristarchus and Theophilus craters) which are particularly accessible through their location on the nearside.

Brain Gains: a literature review of medical missions to low and middle-income countries

BackgroundHealthcare professionals’ participation in short-term medical missions to low and middle income countries (LMIC) to provide healthcare has become common over the past 50 years yet little is known about the quantity and quality of these missions. The aim of this study was to review medical mission publications over 25 years to better understand missions and their potential impact on health systems in LMICs.MethodsA literature review was conducted by searching Medline for articles published from 1985–2009 about medical missions to LMICs, revealing 2512 publications. Exclusion criteria such as receiving country and mission length were applied, leaving 230 relevant articles. A data extraction sheet was used to collect information, including sending/receiving countries and funding source.ResultsThe majority of articles were descriptive and lacked contextual or theoretical analysis. Most missions were short-term (1 day – 1 month). The most common sending countries were the U.S. and Canada. The top destination country was Honduras, while regionally Africa received the highest number of missions. Health care professionals typically responded to presenting health needs, ranging from primary care to surgical relief. Cleft lip/palate surgeries were the next most common type of care provided.ConclusionsBased on the articles reviewed, there is significant scope for improvement in mission planning, monitoring and evaluation as well as global and/or national policies regarding foreign medical missions. To promote optimum performance by mission staff, training in such areas as cross-cultural communication and contextual realities of mission sites should be provided. With the large number of missions conducted worldwide, efforts to ensure efficacy, harmonisation with existing government programming and transparency are needed.

THE UNBEARABLE LIGHTNESS OF EX-PATS: Double Binds of Humanitarian Mobility

This article addresses legacies of national origin within global forms. Focusing on tensions related to human resources, I consider the case of the humanitarian organization Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF, or Doctors Without Borders). Since 1971, MSF has grown into a large, transnational NGO sponsoring a variety of medical projects worldwide. Amid recent efforts to “decolonize” its human profile, MSF has debated the appropriate role, motivation and remuneration of both international volunteers and local support staff it hires at mission sites. Given the different degrees of ease with which situated persons can travel, the organization's conflicting impulses place it in a classic double bind: to remain mobile it must limit local attachments, while to achieve equality it must embrace them. The figure of the ex-patriate thus suggests a mundane but precise measure for the threshold of inequality.

Proactive data dissemination to mission sites

In many situations and domains it is important to deliver information to personnel as they work in the field. We consider a specialized content distribution application in wireless mesh networks. When a new mission arrives--for example, when a fire alarm sounds--data is pushed to storage nodes at the mission site where it may be retrieved locally by responding personnel (e.g., police, firefighters, paramedics, government officials, and the media). It is important that information is available at low latency, when requested or pulled by the personnel. The total latency experienced will be a combination of the push delay (if the personnel arrive at the mission site before all the data can be pushed), and the pull delay. Each delay component will in turn be a function of (1) the hop distance traveled by the data when pushed or pulled and (2) any congestion on the links. In this paper, we define algorithms and protocols that trade-off the push and pull latencies depending on the type of application. Our goal is to choose a storage node assignment minimizing the total latency-based cost. We start with a simple model in which cost is a function of distance, and then extend the model, explicitly taking congestion into account. Since the problem is NP-hard even to approximate, our focus is on developing efficient algorithms and distributed protocols that can be easily deployed in wireless mesh networks. In NS2 simulations, we find that our heuristic algorithms achieve, on average, a cost within at most 15% of the optimum.