Tiny Island Research Articles

The Terror

The Terror William Wenthe (bio) Alas poor things! how well do I remember the pain it gave me, to be thus obliged to pass and execute sentence upon them. John James Audubon A tiny island off Labrador, throngedwith nesting seabirds. The scrapeof boots, hobbed with heavy nails for gripon the slick sea rocks. Gunfire and alarms,a tempest of wings and cries: Audubonand his team are collecting specimens.Out of the riot one Arctic Tern divestoward a stunned young man, William Ingalls,young medic, who normally remainsaboard ship; and the tern lands, cringingin the instep of his boot. Audubon noticesthree things at once: the tern; the involuntarygesture Ingalls makes—bending forward,hands half-reached, as if to help the bird; and—flushed in a burst from his memory—himself, eight years old, his younger sister,father and stepmother in prison in Nantes,1793. Stone walls and floor, iron hinges.He hears outside the barked command,the synchronized report of muskets, and knowsfrom having seen it, what happens next:smoke from the muzzles, and the body slumpsagainst the wall. Now he is lookingfrom the eyes of the tern looking at him,to the eyes of Ingalls, looking at him.Audubon recoils, steels himself, reloads.Later he'll describe the day's shootingin his Ornithological Biography.Later he'll tell Ingalls there was nothingthe young man could do to help. [End Page 135] William Wenthe William Wenthe has published four books of poems, including God's Foolishness (2016) and Words Before Dawn (2012). He has received poetry fellowships from the NEA and the Texas Commission on the Arts. Originally from northern New Jersey, he teaches at Texas Tech University. Copyright © 2019 University of Hawaiʿi Press

THE BLACK GOLD THAT CAME FROM THE SEA. A REVIEW OF OBSIDIAN STUDIES AT THE ISLAND OF USTICA

Volcanism has produced a natural glass called obsidian that during prehistoric times, from Neolithic to the Metal Ages, was considered a valuable raw material in order to produce efficient cutting tools. Ustica, a small and solitary island in the southwestern Tyrrhenian Sea, despite being volcanic, did not generate any obsidian. Yet the island's soils return large quantities of obsidian fragments, residues of prehistoric use. Where did this material, defined by some archaeologists as the Black Gold of prehistory, come from? This article reviews the archaeometric studies on Ustica’s obsidians, carried out since the middle o f the 1990s, to answer this question. The obsidians of Ustica have become a tracer of commercial and cultural exchanges in the heart of the Mediterranean Sea. The geochemical fingerprint of Ustica obsidians is revealing a network of relations and exchanges not only with neighboring Lipari but also with the most distant Pantelleria and Palmarola islands. A fact that, for a tiny island that was completely devoid of spring water resources, appears surprising, in relation to the prehistoric context.

Growth Arrest-Specific 2 Promotes the Growth of T-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia Cells Via Its Regulation of CXCR4

Growth arrest-specific 2 (GAS2) has multiple functions including the regulation of cell morphology, cell cycle, apoptosis and calpain activity.GAS2 has a dual function in cancer cells, however its expression and underlying mechanism in human T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) remain unclear.In the present study, qRT-PCR analysis showed that GAS2 has significantly higher expression (155.5-fold, P=0.0048) in CD3+ cells from T-ALL patients (n=25) than healthy donors (n=13). GAS2 was present in Jurkat cells, while absent in MOLT-4 or HPB-ALL cells. A tiny CpG island of GAS2 was almost fully methylated in both MOLT-4 (100%) and HPB-ALL cells (80%), while 40% methylation in Jurkat cells; suggesting that DNA methylation played a subtle role in regulating GAS2 expression.Two independent shRNA sequences were delivered into Jurkat cells with lentiviral vector. GAS2 silencing inhibited the growth and colony-forming cell (CFC) production significantly. Conversely, GAS2 overexpression enhanced the growth and CFC production of both MOLT-4 and HPB-ALL cells. In addition, GAS2 overexpression promoted HPB-ALL cell induced leukemia in a xenoengraftment model (5 mice in each control group). In GAS2 expressed group, the disease latency was shortened, the splenomegaly was more severe than control group (0.35±0.04g vs. 0.27±0.05g), and more leukemic cells were present in bone marrow (85±3% vs. 45±7%).To obtain the molecular insights of how GAS2 acts, RNA-seq data comparing GAS2 silenced Jurkat cells with control cells were generated. Several Notch signaling molecules were inhibited, including NOTCH1, HES1 and HES4. Despite the differential expression of these transcripts was validated in Jurkat cells, GAS2 overexpression did not elevated the expression of these transcripts in MOLT-4 or HPB-ALL cells, suggesting GAS2 did not have a consistent impact on Notch signaling. However, we found that GAS2 silencing reduced CXCR4 protein expression in Jurkat cells and GAS2 overexpression enhanced CXCR4 protein expression in MOLT-4 cells, while CXCR4 transcript was not altered upon GAS2 manipulation. Consequently, GAS2 silencing significantly reduced migration ability of Jurkat cells and GAS2 overexpression enhanced migration ability of MOLT-4 cells. Overexpression of CXCR4 “rescued” the inhibited CFC production and migration upon GAS2 silencing. A truncated GAS2 (Δ171-313) coined as GAS2DN (dominant negative form of GAS2) has been known to inhibit normal function of GAS2. Herein, we showed that GAS2DN inhibited the growth of Jurkat cells and the expression of CXCR4. To delineate the role of calpain1 and calpain2 in GAS2 function, shRNA sequences against calpain1 and calpain2 was delivered into GAS2DN expressed Jurkat cells respectively, the results showed that calpain2 but not calpain1 silencing was able to enhance the cell growth and CXCR4 expression.Taken together, the present study has demonstrated that GAS2 is aberrantly expressed in human T-ALL cells, which promotes the growth of T-ALL cells partially via its post-transcriptional regulation of CXCR4 depending on calpain2 activity. These data provide new insights of the pathogenesis of T-ALL and possibly new clues to improve the management of the disease. DisclosuresNo relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

A place called home: Encounters with libraries

Libraries exist the world over across diverse cultures and have been in existence since the dawn of civilisation. Libraries can be seen as a collection of marks, often representing sounds, made upon some kind of support, such as stone, papyrus, paper or magnetic discs, which require deciphering and interpretation to have significance. Whether tiny island libraries or huge national libraries, each offers resources that help define identity at a global, national, community and personal level. The library has many roles to play, one that cannot be measured by statistics alone; it embodies freedom of speech and the principles of democracy but can and has been a means of social control; it is often a spontaneous expression of community and conviviality, sharing viewpoints and knowledge or it can be an engineered, assertive national statement; it is often a mixture of all these. The library is more than the sum of its parts and is an expression of the relationship between the human and the mysterious universe we live in.

GHOSTS OF AN EMPIRE: BRITISH LEGACIES IN ASIA

One hundred years ago, the British Empire controlled a quarter of the world’s area and population. Today only a dozen tiny islands remain of this once great empire. However, the British left a huge and permanent legacy behind in terms of the English language, a rule of law, banking, Protestantism, team sports, and parliamentary institutions. While some historians, notably Niall Ferguson, hold that the British legacy was a positive one, most historians believe the legacy was a negative one. Instead of being liberal and democratic, the British Empire was anti-democratic. Instead of fostering free trade, the Empire was protectionist toward the outside world. Notions of class and hierarchy were crucial. This article examines the British legacy in two former colonies in Asia--one huge and one tiny: India and Hong Kong. While in Hong Kong, Britain’s legacy has been fairly positive, in India it is quite negative. The British Empire was not a prelude to a modern 21st century Western world of democracy, multiculturalism, and liberal economics. The British Empire was something different– snobbery, hierarchy, and individualism, and must be understood on its own terms.

Mucoepidermoid Carcinoma of the Skin in the Periorbital Region: A Case Report

Background: Mucoepidermoid carcinoma of the skin is a rare subtype of sweat gland tumour that predominates in the face, head, and neck, which affects middle aged and older individuals. It is described as being slow and gradual but can be progressive, insidious and relentless over time. This tumour is a common neoplasm in some locations such as the salivary glands, upper respiratory tract and nasal cavity. Objective: This paper reports a case of mucoepidermoid carcinoma of the skin of a 41-year old Malay man who presented with a subcutaneous nodule associated with a chronic ulcer over the medial aspect of the left eyebrow. Results: Microscopic tissue section showed features of skin with subcutaneous tissue and the underlying skeletal muscle bundles infiltrated by a tumour arranged in the form of small ducts, glands and tiny islands. The tumour cells were mainly composed of squamoid cells and mucin secreting cells. Excision biopsy of the chronic ulcer showed features suggestive of mucoepidermoid carcinoma. Conclusion: The skin of the periorbital region is a rare site of the presentation. Due to its rarity, data with regard to the prevalence, local recurrence and distant metastasis are sparse. By documenting and recording scientific observations, this report serves as a valuable educational tool and a research source for the future.

Rubbish City and the Utopia of the Residual: In the Country of Last Things by Paul Auster

In his novel In the Country of Last Things, Paul Auster paints the picture of a rubbish city situated on the margins of the world of production. It is the wretched dwelling of outcasts, where garbage is the unsuspected and virtual repository of the fragments of collective desire. Yet, from the margins of this dystopian world rises a remnant of hope, which becomes an ontological principle – in other words, a new Utopia of marginality. In a kind of new ars combinatoria of the residual, the rubbles of the existent, i.e. the tiny intact islands of reality, can, in fact, be united with other similar ones “to create new archipelagoes of matter”. Thus, the “remnant of that which was” becomes a part of a constant strategy of delay, the last remnant of salvation, which procrastinates indefinitely the finis mundi.

Why the post‐Brexit UK market research industry needs to consolidate

The UK may be a tiny island in the North Atlantic, but it has become one of the chief concerns for business leaders everywhere.

S. Jayakumar and Tommy Koh, Pedra Branca: The Road to the World Court

1. This is a very interesting account of the Singapore side of the story of how the case with Malaysia concerning the sovereignty over Pedra Branca, a tiny island strategically located near the entrance to the Straits of Malacca, went to the International Court of Justice (ICJ). The account was given by none other than Singapore’s Agent, Tommy Koh and another most important member of the team, S. Jayakumar, Deputy Prime Minister and Co-ordinating Minister for National Security and Minister for Law. The account takes us from the very beginning, how it all started, to the issues, the political and diplomatic phase, negotiating the special agreement, preparing for the ICJ hearings, the written pleadings, international counsel and consultants; to preparing for the oral pleadings, the oral proceedings, Malaysia’s first round, the second round; and finally to the judgment and the reflections. While the authors do not consider their victory a complete one, the story must have been an extra sweet one.

Superconducting joints using Bi-added PbSn solders

Superconducting joints between NbTi and Bi2Sr2Ca2Cu3O10 superconducting wires were successfully fabricated using Bi-added PbSn solders with an in situ sheath-dissolution technique without a removal process for the sheath materials. A backscattered electron image and an energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy analysis of the cross-sectional plane of the joints revealed that the joints using Bi-added PbSn solder had a homogeneous morphology with tiny non-superconducting islands. The superconducting joints exhibited high critical currents above 200 A in self-field and 50 A under an applied magnetic field of 5 kOe.

Michael D. Barr. 『The Ruling Elite of Singapore: Networks of Power and Influence』 London and New York: I. B. Tauris, 2014, 200p.

The Ruling Elite of Singapore: Networks of Power and Influence Michael D. Barr London and New York: I.B. Tauris, 2014, 200p.Michael Barr's research on the recent political history of Singapore has not generally been wellreceived by academics, to say the least. This is not surprising: Barr roundly dispatches meritocracy and multiculturalism, two basic building blocks of the psyche, and finds instead elitism and Chinese dominance, which he traces to the work of one man, former longserving prime minister Lee Kuan Yew. Independent-minded scholars tend to avoid attributing all things on the tiny island to one individual and to find nuances in their study of postcolonial Singapore (Hong 2002).In his latest book, Barr sets out to map the networks of power in Singapore from the 1960s to the present. In his idea of networks, political leaders are less actors unto themselves, whose personal ambition and command of power may change the course of history, than hirelings of Lee who fulfilled his vision for piloting the city-state's course. The networks of elitism and Chinese dominance produce a stable authoritarianism. In this sense, the book expands on Barr's first book (2000) on Lee's psychological make-up and the second (co-authored, 2008) on the making of Singapore as Lee envisaged. In the beginning of The Ruling Elite of Singapore, Barr cites from Lee's memorable speech in 1966 that Singapore's survival depended on 150 people (p. 1).The book is mainly descriptive. The first two chapters introduce the approach and argument before substantive discussions are made in the next three chapters. In Chapter 3, Barr charts the creation of an English-educated elite from the 1950s to the 1970s by a select group of People's Action Party (PAP) leaders, among whom Lee was only the first among equals. While rival groups were crushed or co-opted in the process, Chapter 4 highlights a turning point in the 1980s when Lee attained sole power and could dictate the type of ruling elite to be recruited. Chapter 5 lays out the key aspects of Lee's policy: the increasing emphasis on Chinese elites and elite schools, with adverse consequences for social mobility, and on male military scholarship-holders. The classic product of this process was Lee's son, current prime minister Lee Hsien Loong, also a retired brigadier-general and the uber Singaporean (p. 91).The last three chapters of the book are generally weaker and less interesting. Chapter 6 discusses the impact of the 2011 elections on the elites: a few lost their titles but this was hardly the bloodbath that Barr suggested (p. 103). The last chapter predicts that even without the elder Lee, Lee Hsien Loong's position is likely to be secure in the near future. At least Chapter 7 in between is useful in pointing out some of the failings of elite rule in Singapore and the need for a transparent government.The weaknesses of the book are apparent. As Barr himself admits, it is difficult for scholars to penetrate the walls of secrecy that enclose Singapore's elite makers and gatekeepers (such as the work of the little-known Directorship and Consultancy Appointments Council). Barr relies mainly on official speeches and statements and on interviews with people who were part of the system. The sample of interviews, many of which are understandably anonymous, is small; what they say is important, but probably more in unraveling the claustrophobic worlds of elites (and critics) than in depicting networks of power. …

Rigorous KAM results around arbitrary periodic orbits for Hamiltonian systems

We set up a methodology for computer assisted proofs of the existence and the KAM stability of an arbitrary periodic orbit for Hamiltonian systems. We give two examples of application for systems with two and three degrees of freedom. The first example verifies the existence of tiny elliptic islands inside large chaotic domains for a quartic potential. In the 3-body problem we prove the KAM stability of the well-known figure eight orbit and two selected orbits of the so called family of rotating eights. Some additional theoretical and numerical information is also given for the dynamics of both examples.

Photoemission Electron Microscopy as a Tool for Studying Steel Grains

Key properties of steel like stability, weldability, or ability for absorbing deformation energy are defined by their grain structure. The knowledge about their micrometer and submicrometer structure is of particular interest for tailor-cut macroscopic steel properties. We report on photoemission electron microscopy studies which in principle yield a higher magnification than comparable optical techniques. A flat surface without any topographic features was obtained by applying a non-etching preparation procedure. PEEM images showed very tiny phase islands embedded within a steel phase matrix. Furthermore, we developed an analysis procedure for PEEM images for dual-phase steels. As a result, it is possible to identify the individual work functions of different steel phases at the surface.

Lampedusa and the migrant crisis: Ethics, representation and history

The tiny Italian island of Lampedusa in the Mediterranean has become notorious in the early twenty-first century through a series of migrant disasters which, until the events of 2015, came to typify the scale and horror of forced migration on a scale not witnessed since the Second World War. This article outlines the background to this story and why Lampedusa became so important in the ‘borderization’ of Europe. It then explores issues of representation, especially within Lampedusa itself, from sources varying from the island’s cemetery to official and alternative sites of heritage (especially the Porto M museum) through to the films, documentaries and plays that have been recently made. Ethical issues are raised including the archaeology of hate speech towards migrants, especially in relation to British Mandate Palestine, and whether there are limits to what can be shown of the horror. Finally, it asks what space there is for the migrant voice to be heard in cultural and political responses to this global crisis.

Ideological Tension and Formal Experimentation in Vic Reid's <em>New Day</em>

Ideological Tension and Formal Experimentation in Vic Reid's New Day Jana Gohrisch (bio) In 1949 the ghost of Haiti needed to be laid to rest again. Ever since the enslaved of Saint Domingue overthrew colonial rule, abolished slavery and the established property and power relations in the 1790s, and gained independence in 1804, the specter of revolution had haunted the Caribbean and Europe. For conservative writers such as James Anthony Froude, Haiti symbolized the ultimate threat to white domination. In his travelogue The English in the West Indies or the Bow of Ulysses, he repeatedly invokes the danger of black rule to warn his readers about the concomitant "massacre of the French inhabitants" (1888: 7)1 to later conclude as follows: "political changes which prove successful do not begin in that way" (162). Apparently, the ghost still frightened the Caribbean in the late 1940s when Victor Reid wrote New Day and Jamaica fought for self-government and national independence. A revolution that "move[s] along too fast" (Reid 1949/1973: [End Page 71] 62)2 will turn over like a wagon, light-skinned Lucille Dubois tells the equally light-skinned narrator of Reid's novel, Johnny Campbell. Then eight years old, he is on his way to carry a message to Paul Bogle, the leader of the Morant Bay Rebellion of 1865. Lucille continues: My grandparents were with Toussaint L'Ouverture and took part in the fight for freedom. My parents used to tell me of it, and what is happening here seem [sic] to be the beginning of another Haiti. . . . I am on your side, but I don't want our side to move along too fast. . . . If the revolution had come slowly, it might have come without bloodshed. I am a friend of Deacon Bogle, but I am afraid he might move along too fast. 1973: 62, (my emphasis) The significant change in the personal pronoun from "your" to "our" gives rise to the questions that interest me in this essay: Who exactly is this group of people for whom Lucille speaks? Whose interests does she share? Who exactly is afraid of the revolution she sees coming? What kind of revolution—that is, a radical overthrow of a social order—would move slowly and thus avoid violence? Whose ideologies are at work here with regard to class, gender, race, and ethnicity? And, more generally, how do narrative and ideology relate to each other? Focusing on narrative techniques and structures, I will argue that New Days ideological tension and formal experimentation are grounded in the conflicting political projects it intertwines across various temporal settings using a particular type of narrator. Regarding duration, order, and frequency, the narrated time spans eighty years of Jamaican history, but the sheer length of the novel's first part accords singular importance to its respective topic: the most powerful act of organized black resistance against the injustices of post-emancipation Jamaica, the Morant Bay Rebellion of 1865. The retaliation on the part of the established order proved beyond doubt its dread of the Haitian ghost walking the region again. The novel continues with a short second part set on a tiny island to be concluded by a longish third part, which compresses the turbulent history of the 1930s and early 1940s into an ameliorative model of change. The overall aim of this essay is to examine the kind of cultural work [End Page 72] narrative can perform at a particular historical moment for a particular readership. To answer the question of how and for whom narrative does this it will be necessary to combine narratological and stylistic approaches with postcolonial and sociological ones. Entangled Histories In 1949, Victor Stafford Reid (1913–87), a Jamaican journalist and writer, published New Day, which met with the expectations of readers and reviewers, who (with few exceptions) praised the novel for its linguistic innovation and its nationalist politics. The Sunday Gleaner (March 20, 1949) hailed it as "a book that should put pride, fire and music into the soul of the inheritors of this island" (Barovier 1949). With a little less exuberance, The New Statesman and Nation (April 1, 1950) approved of the novel for both its...

Perspectives on the Grenada Revolution, 1979–1983 ed. by Nicole Phillip-Dowe and John Angus Martin

Reviewed by: Perspectives on the Grenada Revolution, 1979–1983 ed. by Nicole Phillip-Dowe and John Angus Martin Robert Sierakowski (bio) Perspectives on the Grenada Revolution, 1979–1983 Nicole Phillip-Dowe and John Angus Martin (ed.), Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2017. 189 pp. In the space of several days in October 1983, the Grenada Revolution, the first socialist revolution in the English-speaking Caribbean, came to its truly shocking conclusion. Prime Minister Maurice Bishop, the charismatic and internationally renowned leader of the New Jewel Movement (NJM), was treacherously assassinated along with several associates as part of an internal power struggle with other members of the revolutionary movement. Six days later, the United States administration of Ronald Reagan – which had long antagonized and threatened the People's Revolutionary Government– dispatched American military forces in a full-scale invasion of the tiny island nation (with the complicity of regional governments). The revolution's inspiring promise of a popular transformation that would provide health, education, and employment for the masses had not only been crushed by foreign intervention, but also discredited by the fratricidal violence within the NJM itself. This new edited volume by Nicole Phillip-Dowe and John Angus Martin returns to the dramatic events of the early 1980s and "captures the Grenada Revolution from a Grenada perspective" (xi). Aside from one essay, all of the papers were written by Grenadian authors from various personal perspectives and academic disciplines. The 12 chapters were selected from 16 papers presented at a 2016 University of the West Indies Open Campus conference held in Grenada. Given the more than three decades that have passed since the revolution's tragic denouement, the writers seek to foster a more nuanced and complex interpretation, transcending Manichean visions of "saints and devils, martyrs and traitors", as Shalini Puri puts it (176). Indeed, some of the early chapters prove rather polemical and controversial revisions of received wisdom. Lawrence A. Joseph, for example, looks back on the March 1979 uprising that toppled the regime of Eric Gairy, arguing that in strictly juridical [End Page 203] terms "the revolution" amounted to a mere coup d'état by "usurpers" (17), given the NJM's inability to impose a new institutional order through democratic elections. Joseph Ewart Layne, on the other hand, writes from the first-hand perspective of a revolutionary leader who spent 26 years behind bars following the American invasion for his role in the events of 1983. While he offers something of a mea culpa for NJM errors and abuses, he insists that it was the leadership's "missteps in strategy formation and implementation" that led to the disastrous outcome, rather than "ideological conflict and personal ambition for power" (29–30). Many of the chapters in volume's middle section look back on the revolution's four-and-a-half years of social transformation in areas such as women's rights, youth engagement, and church–state relations. In many of these spheres, the papers aim to document both the hope, creativity, and promise of these idealistic revolutionary projects, while acknowledging the far messier historical realities. Nicole Phillip-Dowe's chapter on the National Women's Organization (NWO) established during the revolution demonstrates the many successes of this group in educational and social projects directed at children, as well as its leading role in community development, such as improving roads and cleaning up neighbourhoods. At the same time, she shows how the NWO functioned as a subsidiary of the NJM and, despite successful reforms (such as the Maternity Leave and Equal Pay Laws), it remained very difficult for prominent women to balance party work and family obligations. In her chapter, Claudette Joseph describes her experiences as a part of the revolution's Young Pioneers movement as a child, recalling the early 1980s as a period with "a deep sense of community, national pride and patriotism" (79). Her memories of childhood in the revolutionary era are extremely positive, as she reflects on the various initiatives that she personally experienced during that heady period of social transformation. As with Phillip-Dowe's discussion of the NWO, however, Joseph also details the darker aspects of the years of New Jewel rule, such as...

REVIEW: Decimation of a Tongan island by slaver’s trickery

The Stolen Island: Searching for 'Ata, by Scott Hamilton. Wellington: Bridget Williams Books, 2016. 112pp. ISBN 978-0-947518-11-0.LOCATED even further south than temperate Noumea, Tonga’s tiny island of ‘Ata might have become the jewel of the kingdom’s burgeoning tourist industry. Imagine a Tongan resort that would not only be mild in winter, but pleasant in summer.

Staving off extinction

“Extinction is the rule. Survival is the exception.” Carl Sagan's premonitory words are vindicated by the oft-heard statistic that over 99% of all species that ever lived are now extinct. But while his message is clear, it might be said to contain a tiny technical flaw, since no species ever became extinct that did not first survive. The true exception is not survival, but continued survival, something that requires a species to show ongoing pluck while enjoying continual and timely good luck. Any Bramble Cay melomys (Melomys rubicola; WebFigure 1) or Lord Howe Island stick insect (Dryococelus australis) – two species that until recently were found only on one small oceanic island each – could tell you that. Bramble Cay is a flat, Australian island in the Torres Strait, some 227 km north of Queensland's Cape York Peninsula. It's tiny: just over 300 m long by 100 m wide, less than half of it (an area the size of a soccer field) with any vegetation, all low-lying. Yet this speck of land, where the only fresh water is what falls as rain, has been home to generations of its eponymous melomys. In fact, the population of these 100-g rodents is estimated to have run, at times, into the hundreds (Aust Mammal 1983; 6: 77–79). How the species appeared on the island is a mystery, but that it survived and prospered is all but a miracle. If ever there was a mammal with uncommon pluck (read adaptability and tenacity) and incredible luck (while it lasted), surely it was this. A miniscule island, however, is no place to be when your luck runs out. Though Bramble Cay is among the first places in the world to welcome the New Year, there will be no 2017 for its melomys. A June 2016 report to the Queensland Government's Department of Environment and Heritage Protection (http://bit.ly/2f0AHgJ) records not a single specimen captured during a 2014 survey. The report's authors suggest the species to be the first mammalian taxon lost primarily to human-caused climate change, a victim of rising sea levels and more aggressive weather salt-lashing the vegetation on which it depended. Maybe. But were it not for luck, anything from genetic drift during lean times to a few extra days of drought or high ocean swell (the island's maximum elevation is just 3 m) could have wiped it out well before now. The authors recommended the species’ status be changed from “endangered” to “extinct” in Australia, but only suggested that “possibly extinct” be added to its “critically endangered” rating on the IUCN Red List – and the Lord Howe Island stick insect knows why. Back in the 1920s, these hand-long arthropods were extirpated from their home on Lord Howe Island, off Australia's eastern coast, by, ironically, an invasion of the Bramble Cay melomys’ cousin, the black rat (Rattus rattus). Descendants of animals that jumped ship from the British steamer SS Makambo, which ran aground on the island in 1918, the intruders set to work, decimating the stick insects which they found an appealing, crunchy snack. This stroke of rotten luck, it was believed, had driven the species to extinction. But 20 km away, on another tiny island (1100 m × 300 m), luck of a different kind was holding. Ball's Pyramid (WebFigure 2), an almost bare volcanic stack reaching over 560 m into the air, could not be more different from Bramble Cay. Nor could the fate of the few stick insects that somehow got there differ more greatly from that of the Bramble Cay melomys. In 1964, climbers tantalizingly found dead specimens on the island. Then, in February 2001, on a rock terrace 65 m above the waves, researchers discovered two adults and a nymph clinging to life under a small shrub (Melaleuca howeana) (Biodivers Conserv 2003; 12: 1391–403). Plant debris at the base of the shrub retained water from a seep, and provided their refuge. A year later, others were found: 24 in all. Like the melomys, no one knows how they reached the island. Like the melomys, they lived in precarious isolation. Like the melomys, their survival depended on being plucky. But unlike the melomys, they had not stopped being lucky. And their luck has since burgeoned; a program run by the Melbourne Zoo has bred thousands of them from a single pair, aptly named Adam and Eve (www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eg3dcYJ2oI4). It is even hoped that one day Lord Howe Island may be successfully repopulated. No such luck for the Bramble Cay melomys. Lord Howe Island stick insect (Dryococelus australis). Granitehighs; license: CC BY-SA 3.0 Please note: The publisher is not responsible for the content or functionality of any supporting information supplied by the authors. Any queries (other than missing content) should be directed to the corresponding author for the article.

Sustainability Lesson from Southeast Asia: Singapore Experience

<div class="page" title="Page 1"><div class="layoutArea"><div class="column"><p><span>To inaugurate the birth of International Journal on Livable Space (LivaS) it is proper to remind ourselves that livability requires holistic approach, strong vision, sustainable practice, and resilience. This keynote article will outline a story of Singapore, a tiny island nation without natural resources, in its continuous struggle for survival from the past to the present and towards the future. It will discuss various examples on different scale levels (city planning, architecture, design ideas, conservation projects, environmental practices, etc.), and focusing on how our planning and design disciplines can contribute to tangible efforts to achieve environmental, cultural, and economic sustainability in holistic way. </span></p></div></div></div>

Life and death on a tiny island: Health impacts and adaptation in small communities

Rabi Island is a powerful example of how intersecting conditions produce heightened vulnerability to climate change. This remote Fiji island is home to 5000 Banaba Islanders originally from Kiribati who retain Banaba culture and language. Rabi is largely typical of Pacific island vulnerability to climate change – underlying poor health, poverty and exposure to extreme events such as cyclones – but with the added complexity of comprising an ethnic minority isolated from the rest of the country. Income is very low and houses are crowded. Health is characterised by communicable diseases such as tuberculosis, diarrhoeal and vector-borne disease, and by non-communicable, diet-related disease such as diabetes. While there is growing evidence regarding health impacts at country level, little is known about their precise shape – and how best to manage them – in distinct communities such as Rabi. We conducted a 156-item household questionnaire investigating the specific health vulnerabilities to climate change. We collected detailed information on local environment, health, behaviour, attitudes, sociodemography, and livelihoods. We found food security and communicable disease to be areas of particular vulnerability. With the exception of rice, nearly all food is locally sourced, mostly fish and root crops. Warming seas and increasing ocean acidity will affect the abundance of local fish and increase the risk of ciguatera. Lengthening annual dry seasons are reducing agricultural output and changing farming practices. Increasing water scarcity is associated with diarrhoea, putting children at particular risk. Lower rainfall and warmer temperatures increase dengue transmission. Without urgent adaptation, climate change will worsen already poor health on the island, through its effects on food, water and disease vectors. Improving water security, sanitation and waste management, and ensuring adaptive fishing and agricultural practices, will reduce the adverse health impacts.