Center for Southeast Asian Studies

This book presents a technical review of ecological and life history information on a range of Bornean wildlife species, aimed at identifying what makes these species sensitive to timber harvesting practices and associated impacts. It addresses three audiences: 1) those involved in assessing and regulating timber harvesting activities in Southeast Asia, 2) those involved in trying to achieve conservation goals in the region, and 3) those undertaking research to improve multipurpose forest management. This book shows that forest management can be improved in many simple ways to allow timber extraction and wildlife conservation to be more compatible than under current practices. The recommendations can also be valuable to the many governmental and non-governmental organisations promoting sustainable forest management and eco-labelling. Finally, it identifies a number of shortcomings and gaps in knowledge, which the hope can interest the scientific community and promote further research. This review is, an important scientific step toward understanding and improving sustainable forestry practices for long-term biodiversity conservation. Even in the short term, however, significant improvements can be made to improve both conservation and the efficiency of forest management, and there is no need to delay action due to a perceived lack of information. In the longer term it is expected that the recommendations from this review will be implemented, and that further research will continue to help foster an acceptable balance among the choices needed to maintain healthy wildlife populations and biodiversity in a productive forest estate.

Although thermostable direct hemolysin (TDH)-producing Vibrio parahaemolyticus has caused many infections in Asian countries, the United States, and other countries, it has been difficult to detect the same pathogen in seafoods and other environmental samples. In this study, we detected and enumerated tdh gene-positive V. parahaemolyticus in Japanese seafoods with a tdh-specific PCR method, a chromogenic agar medium, and a most-probable-number method. The tdh gene was detected in 33 of 329 seafood samples (10.0%). The number of tdh-positive V. parahaemolyticus ranged from <3 to 93/10 g. The incidence of tdh-positive V. parahaemolyticus tended to be high in samples contaminated with relatively high levels of total V. parahaemolyticus. TDH-producing strains of V. parahaemolyticus were isolated from 11 of 33 tdh-positive samples (short-necked clam, hen clam, and rock oyster). TDH-producing strains of V. parahaemolyticus were also isolated from the sediments of rivers near the coast in Japan. Representative strains of the seafood and sediment isolates were examined for the O:K serovar and by the PCR method specific to the pandemic clone and arbitrarily primed PCR and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis techniques. The results indicated that most O3:K6 tdh-positive strains belonged to the pandemic O3:K6 clone and suggested that serovariation took place in the Japanese environment.

This article examines the production of two classes of goods, textiles and ceramics, in the medieval South Indian empire of Vijayanagara. A general model for the organization of specialized craft production is presented in which productive organization is linked to political/administrative regulation of product manufacture, distribution, and use. Three modes of productive organization are defined: administered production, centralized production, and noncentralized production. Historic documentation is used to examine Vijayanagara textile production, and a centralized productive organization is proposed. Vijayanagara ceramic manufacture is assessed through archeological and ethnographic data, and a noncentralized production system is proposed.

Since assuming the presidency, Rodrigo R. Duterte has “stuck to his guns” in carrying out his campaign pledge to launch a violent anti-drug campaign. Duterte's presidency was preceded by six years of political stability and high growth under the relatively liberal and supposedly reformist administration of President Benigno “Noynoy” S. Aquino, III. What did voters find so appealing about Duterte given that drugs and criminality were not a major national concern until he launched his candidacy? Unlike previous populist politicians in the post-Marcos Philippines, Duterte's strongest support did not come from the poorest voters but rather from the elite and the middle class who most feared for their personal security. Although Aquino was widely perceived to be personally honest, his administration had become “systemically disjunctive” and vulnerable to replacement by violent illiberalism because its narrative of “good governance” had been undermined, its strategic allies were weakened, and liberal institutions discredited. Duterte is an illiberal populist who changed the prevailing political order into an illiberal one through a new law-and-order governing script, new key strategic groups (the communist left and the police), and the quick removal of remaining liberal constraints (particularly in Congress and the Supreme Court). Duterte constructed a strongman political model at the local level before “nationalising” it after his election as president.

The genomes of the O3:K6 strains of Vibrio parahaemolyticus which abruptly emerged in Calcutta, India, in February 1996 and which demonstrated an unusual potential to spread and an enhanced propensity to cause infections were examined by different molecular techniques to determine clonality. No restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) in the gene encoding the thermostable direct hemolysin was observed among the O3:K6 isolates of V. parahaemolyticus. Clonal diversity among the O3:K6 strains became evident by examining the RFLPs of the rrn operons and by the use of pulsed-field gel electrophoresis. Five ribotypes were distinguished among the O3:K6 strains examined, with ribotype R4 constituting the major type. Strains of O3:K6 isolated between June and August 1996 showed different pulsotypes compared to the pulsotypes of strains isolated before and after this period, indicating genetic reassortment among these strains, but those isolated between August 1996 and March 1998 showed identical or nearly similar pulsotypes. It is clear that there is a certain degree of genomic reassortment among the O3:K6 clones but that these strains are predominantly one clone.

The cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) has been described as a species with low levels of genetic variation. This has been suggested to be the consequence of a demographic bottleneck 10 000-12 000 years ago (ya) and also led to the assumption that only small genetic differences exist between the described subspecies. However, analysing mitochondrial DNA and microsatellites in cheetah samples from most of the historic range of the species we found relatively deep phylogeographic breaks between some of the investigated populations, and most of the methods assessed divergence time estimates predating the postulated bottleneck. Mitochondrial DNA monophyly and overall levels of genetic differentiation support the distinctiveness of Northern-East African cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus soemmeringii). Moreover, combining archaeozoological and contemporary samples, we show that Asiatic cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus venaticus) are unambiguously separated from African subspecies. Divergence time estimates from mitochondrial and nuclear data place the split between Asiatic and Southern African cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus jubatus) at 32 000-67 000 ya using an average mammalian microsatellite mutation rate and at 4700-44 000 ya employing human microsatellite mutation rates. Cheetahs are vulnerable to extinction globally and critically endangered in their Asiatic range, where the last 70-110 individuals survive only in Iran. We demonstrate that these extant Iranian cheetahs are an autochthonous monophyletic population and the last representatives of the Asiatic subspecies A. j. venaticus. We advocate that conservation strategies should consider the uncovered independent evolutionary histories of Asiatic and African cheetahs, as well as among some African subspecies. This would facilitate the dual conservation priorities of maintaining locally adapted ecotypes and genetic diversity.

This paper first shows that shares of foreign multinational corporations (MNCs) in the manufacturing sectors of five Asian host economies (Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan) were generally large in terms of exports, small in terms of employment and moderate in terms of production. Correspondingly, the average product of labour and export propensities were often significantly higher in foreign MNCs than in local firms. In addition, foreign MNCs tended to be relatively large and to have relatively high average capital productivity, capital intensity, skilled‐labour intensity, R&D intensity, profit rates and import propensities, but relatively low shares of labour compensation in value added, and these differences were also statistically significant in many cases. Differences between wholly‐ or heavily‐foreign plants and foreign plants with lower foreign ownership shares were also significant in many cases and generally in the same direction as the differences between MNCs and local plants noted above. Differences among MNCs by foreign source were generally small and insignificant in Hong Kong. In Singapore, European and US firms tended to be larger and characterized by relatively high average labour productivity, capital intensity, profitability and export propensities, but relatively low shares of labour compensation in value added compared to Japanese and other Asian firms.

The social learning theory of policy decisionmaking provides clear expectations for the temporal diffusion of policy through the American states (Gray, 1973; Rogers, 1995; Walker, 1969). But the diffusion of morality policy, with its technical simplicity, potential for high salience, and debate over basic moral values, may be driven by nonroutine decisionmaking. We hypothesize that morality policy will diffuse in patterns that depend on the purity of the morality debate surrounding it and the distribution of citizen values regarding it. We identify three distinctive temporal diffusion patterns for state death penalty policies that vary on these characteristics. We conclude that political decisionmaking driving some morality policy diffusion involves less policy learning, and more concern about majority public opinion, than does nonmorality policy.

This paper describes two nautical discoveries buried c.2000 years ago in the Red River alluvial plain, northern Vietnam. One is part of a logboat with a series of empty mortise and locking-peg holes for plank attachment using loose rectangular tenons. The other, from an infant mortuary house, is a series of re-used 4-m-long timbers with exactly the same locked mortise-and-tenon technology. Both finds are interpreted as having belonged to river-boats like those shown on the sides of Heger 1 (Dong Son) bronze drums. Potentially-related technologies from the Mediterranean and China are also discussed. © 2006 The Authors

One extremely young volcano (0.05–1 Ma) and other young volcanoes (1.8, 4.2, 6.0, and 8.5 Ma) composed of strongly alkaline magma were recently discovered on the abyssal plain of the Early Cretaceous (135 Ma) Pacific Plate. These volcanoes were dubbed “petit-spots”. The petit-spot volcanic province represents more than 8 Myr of activity over a large area (~600 km along the direction of plate motion), but with a relatively small volume of magma production, thus indicating a small supply of heat inconsistent with a hotspot. The low-flux petit-spot volcanoes may be related to the occurrence of a tensional field of lithosphere caused by plate flexure, with the ascending melt derived from a mantle source susceptible to partial melting. Rock samples from the young volcanoes are highly vesicular (up to 60%) despite high hydrostatic pressures at 6000 m water depth, indicating volatile-rich magmas. The depleted heavy rare earth elements and high radiometric isotopic ratios of noble gases indicate the magma was derived from upper mantle. Nevertheless, the low 143Nd/144Nd, high 87Sr/86Sr, low 206Pb/204Pb, and low 207Pb/204Pb ratios are similar to enriched or fertile compositions such as oceanic island basalts. These apparently conflicting data are explained by the extremely small degree of partial melting of recycled materials in the degassing mantle of the asthenosphere, probably with carbonate in the source. The petit-spot volcanoes, therefore, provide a unique window into the nature of the oceanic plate and underlying asthenosphere prior to subduction.

International audience

Aging is associated with a decrease in growth hormone (GH) secretion, appetite and energy intake. As ghrelin stimulates both GH secretion and appetite, reductions in ghrelin levels may be involved in the reductions in GH secretion and appetite observed in the elderly. However, only preliminary studies have been performed on the role of ghrelin in elderly subjects. In this study, we sought to clarify the physiologic implications of the age-related alterations in ghrelin secretion by determining plasma ghrelin levels and other clinical parameters in healthy elderly subjects. Subjects were > or = 65 years old, corresponding to the SENIEUR protocol, had not had a resection of the upper gastrointestinal tract and had not been treated with hormones. One hundred and five volunteers (49 men and 56 women) were admitted to this study (73.4 +/- 6.3 years old). Plasma levels of acylated ghrelin in elderly female subjects positively correlated with serum IGF-I levels and bowel movement frequency and negatively with systolic blood pressure. In elderly men, desacyl ghrelin levels correlated only weakly with bowel movement frequency. These findings suggest that the plasma levels of the acylated form of ghrelin may influence the age-related alterations in GH/IGF-I regulation, blood pressure and bowel motility. These observational associations warrant further experimental studies to clarify the physiologic significance of these effects.

In this article, I describe how I became interested in tourism and how I went about studying it, before expounding where the study of tourism in Bali led me. Tourism neither `polluted' Balinese culture (as some of its critics would have it) nor entailed its `renaissance' (as the proponents of `cultural tourism' are prone to claim). What happened is that the focus on `cultural' tourism convinced the Balinese people that they have a `culture', something precious and perishable that they perceive as a capital to be exploited and as a heritage to be protected. As it was being manipulated and appropriated by the tourism industry, their culture became not only a source of profit and pride, but also a cause of anxiety for the Balinese, who started wondering whether they were still authentically Balinese. Thus it is that tourism provoked an overriding concern about identity amongst the Balinese — about what they call their `Balineseness'.

Above ground tree biomass was estimated in Bruguiera parviflora, B. sexangula, and Rhizophora apiculata communities of a mangrove forest in Talidendang Besar, East Sumatra, Indonesia. The research was carried out from December 1990 to January 1991, and allometric relation method was used to estimate the above ground biomass of tree species having a diameter of 10 cm and over. The above ground biomass in this forest ranged from 42.94 to 89.68 t d.wt/ha in a B. parviflora community; 75.99 to 279.03 t d.wt/ha in a B. sexangula community; and 40.70 t d.wt/ha in a R. apiculata community.

BACKGROUND: Hepatitis B-linked liver cancer disproportionately affects Hmong Americans. With an incidence rate of 18.9 per 100,000, Hmong Americans experience liver cancer at a rate that is 6 to 7 times more than that of non-Hispanic Whites. Serologic testing for the hepatitis B virus (HBV) is a principal means to prevent liver cancer-related deaths through earlier identification of those at risk. METHODS: Academic researchers and Hmong leaders collaborated in the design, conduct, and evaluation of a 5-year randomized controlled trial testing a lay health worker (LHW) intervention to promote HBV testing among 260 Hmong adults through in-home education and patient navigation. RESULTS: Intervention group participants were more likely to report receiving serologic testing for HBV (24% vs. 10%, P = 0.0056) and showed a greater mean increase in knowledge score (1.3 vs. 0.3 points, P = 0.0003) than control group participants. Multivariable modeling indicated that self-reported test receipt was associated with intervention group assignment [OR 3.5; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.3-9.2], improvement in knowledge score (OR 1.3 per point; 95% CI 1.02-1.7), female gender (OR 5.3; 95% CI 1.7-16.6), and having seen a doctor in the past year at baseline (OR 4.8; 95% CI 1.3-17.6). The most often cited reason for testing was a doctor's recommendation. CONCLUSIONS: LHWs were effective in bringing about HBV screening. Doctor visits and adherence to doctors' recommendations were pivotal. Participation of health care providers is essential to increase HBV testing. IMPACT: LHWs can significantly increase HBV screening rates for Hmong but their doctors' recommendation is highly influential and should be pursued.

This article contrasts the ways in which the memories of the Khmer Rouge genocide have been constructed at different levels and at different periods since the 1980s. Various actors have been involved in this construction, such as the ruling Cambodian People's Party, the Khmer Rouge Court sponsored by the United Nations since 2007, and Cambodian villagers. This has led to numerous misunderstandings and discrepancies regarding the trial of the former Khmer Rouge leaders. The current research is based on ethnographic fieldwork undertaken in a village in the province of Pursat. It shows how the villagers have taken care of the human remains from the state-sponsored memorials and of the mass graves (that is to say, of the unknown bodies). The article shows how the Khmer popular religious system is instrumental in forging a memory of the dead of the Pol Pot regime and in healing social suffering.

MOTIVATION: Protein sequence comparison has become a major tool for biologists. Various methods have been designed in order to reveal even remote homologies among proteins. Sequence analyses are powerful, but the lower the identity score, the more skill and time are required to perform them accurately. While necessary to confirm the sequence comparison through the potential of mean force, sequence alignment and molecular modelling are still tedious and time-consuming tasks. RESULTS: In order to help sequence threading onto known three-dimensional (3D) structures, we have developed a new program, named TITO (Tool for Incremental Threading Optimization), which uses a multiple alignment to validate and help the refinement of a sequence/structure comparison. It measures the compatibility of a family of related sequences with a known 3D structure. The coordinates of the common core are extracted, allowing further molecular modelling and 3D survey. AVAILABILITY: TITO is available by anonymous ftp at: ftp://lmcp.jussieu. fr/pub/tito CONTACT: labesse@lmcp.jussieu.fr SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: http://www.lmcp.jussieu.fr/ approximately labesse/TITO/TITO.html

In this article we will report the results of a study that measured the degree to which cynicism and alienation, together with some related dimensions, were found among American women. The results of this study strongly suggest that, if cynicism and alienation are taken into account, many marketers may be positioning their offerings to reach only a minority of American women, perhaps as few as one‐third. We will also, therefore, discuss the larger marketing ramifications of these findings.

The article examines the recent developments of Rohingya refugee crisis, especially in the aftermath of August 2017 violence which led to the exodus of hundreds of thousands of people across the border to Bangladesh. It analyzes the three-stage-plan proposed by China and the repatriation agreement between Myanmar and Bangladesh and argues that ethnic identity and citizenship issues are fundamental to the Rohingya conundrum. Without addressing these core issues, which thus far have been paid little or no serious consideration, there is a danger of recurrence of violence. While the Myanmar authorities are ready to address some of the immediate concerns, such as providing accommodation and food, evidences suggest that the government does not have the political will, at least at the moment, to address the core issues of ethnic identity and citizenship, as well as the related security concerns.

One of the most spectacular scientific breakthroughs in past decades was using measurements of the fluctuations in the cosmic microwave background (CMB) to test precisely our understanding of the history and composition of the Universe. This report presents a roadmap for leading CMB research to its logical next step, using precision polarization measurements to learn about ultra-high-energy physics and the Big Bang itself.