Remote Border Regions Research Articles

Transmission of Han Pictorial Motifs into the Western Periphery: Fuxi and Nüwa in the Wei-Jin Mural Tombs in the Hexi Corridor

This paper examines the ways in which Fuxi and Nüwa were depicted inside the mural tombs of the Wei-Jin dynasties along the Hexi Corridor as compared to their Han counterparts from the Central Plains. Pursuing typological, stylistic, and iconographic approaches, it investigates how the western periphery inherited the knowledge of the divine pair and further discusses the transition of the iconographic and stylistic design of both deities from the Han (206 BCE–220 CE) to the Wei and Western Jin dynasties (220–316). Furthermore, examining the origins of the migrants on the basis of historical records, it also attempts to discuss the possible regional connections and migration from different parts of the Chinese central territory to the western periphery. On the basis of these approaches, it reveals that the depiction of Fuxi and Nüwa in Gansu area was modelled on the Shandong regional pattern and further evolved into a unique pattern formed by an iconographic conglomeration of all attributes and other physical characteristics. Accordingly, the Shandong region style not only spread to surrounding areas in the central Chinese territory but even to the more remote border regions, where it became the model for funerary art motifs.
 Based on both approaches, it reveals that the depiction of Fuxi and Nüwa in Gansu area was modelled on the Shandong regional pattern and further evolved into a unique pattern of an iconographic conglomeration of all attributes and other physical characteristics. Accordingly, the Shandong region style not only spread to surrounding areas in the central Chinese territory but even to the more remote border regions, where it became the model for funerary art motifs.

Gambling on the Future: Casino Enclaves, Development, and Poverty Alleviation in Laos

Following the extraordinary wealth generation of casinos in Macau and Singapore, governments and non-state actors across Southeast Asia have developed gambling establishments as a means to fast-track economic growth and stimulate national development. Yet, here and elsewhere, casinos have been heavily criticized for their association with immoral behaviour, problem gambling, corruption and organized crime. In this article I focus on two casinos in northern Laos to address two research questions. First, I consider how casinos have come to exist within the remote border regions of one of Asia’s least developed countries. Here, I discuss vice economies within the Golden Triangle region, multi-actor aspirations to boost transnational connectivity within continental Southeast Asia, strengthening political-economic relationships between Laos and China, and Government of Laos efforts to use foreign investment as a mechanism for increasing governance capacities in borderlands. Following this, I critically analyse how, in what ways, and for whom, casinos have brought development to Laos. Here, I focus specifically on the multifarious effects of casinos on the lives and livelihoods of local communities to argue that casino development has been informed by logics of expulsion and the establishment of new predatory formations. To make this argument, the article draws on four fieldwork visits to each of the casino sites between 2011 and 2015, desk-based research, and interviews with local residents, casino staff and members of the Government of Laos.

Chapter 22 Remote sensing and GIS studies of alteration and predictive mineral exploration in the Central Volcanic Arc, Myanmar

The objective of this study is to identify alteration associated with ore deposits for predictive mineral exploration in the Central Volcanic Arc Belt (CVAB) of Myanmar (Figs 22.1 & 22.2). Modern techniques such as remote sensing (RS) and geographical information systems (GIS) were used to delineate structural lineaments and the hydrothermal alteration of the ore deposits. Landsat TM imagery and Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) are now used more routinely for mineral exploration and shortwave infrared (SWIR) channels can be applied to detect associated altered mineral assemblages. Landsat and ASTER data are also applied to map iron oxides, structure and alteration minerals, and predict zones of mineralization potential as well as recognize different lithologies. This method is applicable to other mineralized areas in Myanmar where the potential is currently unknown. Fig. 22.1. Map showing regional tectonic setting of Central Volcanic Arc Belt (CVAB), Myanmar. Fig. 22.2. Map showing detailed mineral occurrences in the Monywa and Kawlin–Wuntho areas along the CVAB, Myanmar. The Department of Geological Survey and Mineral Exploration (DGSE), Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation, Myanmar is carrying out geological mapping and mineral prospecting in remote areas of Myanmar where it is not possible to cover large areas in a short period of time. Geological mapping and mineral exploration are required in mountainous terrains in the remote border regions of Myanmar. The use of modern techniques such as RS and GIS for geological survey is necessary in order to complete geological mapping of the whole country. Analysing and processing satellite imagery provide fast and effective methods for achieving this goal. Exploration geologists are engaged not only in the search for new mineral deposits, but also in the reassessment of existing deposits in order to identify the extent of ore bodies and mineralized zones. In its broadest sense, hydrothermal activity …

River blindness elimination in Columbia

In 1996, Columbia began a mass drug administration programme to eliminate onchocerciasis (river blindness). By 2007, transmission of onchocerciasis had ceased in the last remaining focus of infection, Lopex de Micay, an isolated community in the southwest of the country, and drug distribution was discontinued. On July 29, 2013, WHO announced that it had verifi ed the elimination of onchocerciasis from Columbia—the fi rst country to eliminate the disease. Other countries in South America are not far behind. Transmission of the infection has either been interrupted or eliminated in 11 of the region’s 13 foci. Ecuador—long-thought to have one of the most intractable onchocerciasis epidemics among South America’s six nations with endemic disease—hopes to attain elimination status some time next year, subject to a WHO review. Guatemala and Mexico should follow soon after, which just leaves Brazil and Venezuela, where the disease persists in a nomadic tribe in the remote border regions among the Amazon rainforest. WHO’s announcement is testament to South America’s sustained effort, spearheaded by the Carter Center, to tackle onchocerciasis. In 1991, the Pan American Health Organization issued a resolution calling for its elimination in South America. The population requiring mass drug administration is now little more than 20 000, down from more than 500 000, and the last new case of blindness attributable to

HIV risk behaviors but absence of infection among drug users in detoxification centers outside Yunnan province, China, 1993.

To date, HIV spread in China has occurred principally among injecting drug users (IDU) in remote border regions of Yunnan province. We therefore sought to better understand the risks for and prevalence of HIV infection among drug users in parts of China outside Yunnan province. A behavioral survey of drug use and AIDS-related knowledge was conducted among all consenting drug users who entered treatment from 1 November to 31 December 1993 in seven provincial drug detoxification centers outside Yunnan province. After giving verbal informed consent, all drug users were tested for HIV. Of the 1293 study participants, 207 (16%) reported injecting drugs. The proportion of IDU among all drug users varied widely by region, from 1% in Sha'anxi and Gansu provinces in the northwest region to 58% in Guangxi province in the south. IDU were more likely than non-IDU to be single and unemployed or self-employed, but did not differ in other demographic aspects. Among all drug users, 2% reported sharing needles without cleaning equipment, while 5% shared with some cleaning. Although 1060 (82%) drug users had heard of AIDS and most knew about its sexual (79%), parenteral (77%), and perinatal (60%) modes of transmission, many had misconceptions about its spread by casual contact. Of the 207 IDU tested for HIV, none were HIV-positive (95% confidence interval, 0--1.4). The absence of HIV infections detected in this study suggests that the prevalence of HIV is currently low among IDU in China outside the Yunnan province. However, the behavior of these IDU puts them at high risk for HIV infection. Prevention efforts are needed to prevent the spread of HIV among IDU throughout China and to avoid the experience of neighboring countries in Asia.