In 1951,the Organization of American States established the Centro Interamericano de Vivienda y Planeamiento(CINVA)to provide specialized training to tackle the housing problem.Based on archival documentation examined...In 1951,the Organization of American States established the Centro Interamericano de Vivienda y Planeamiento(CINVA)to provide specialized training to tackle the housing problem.Based on archival documentation examined at the Rockefeller Archive Center and the Central and Historical Archive of the National University of Colombia,this article explores two significant episodes in which the story of one of the Center’s most successful outputs connects to the history of the ColdWar.It thus contributes to the literature investigating the architecture and related technologies of development aid in the historical context of the Cold War with a precise focus on the role of non-governmental actors.After detailing the history of the CINVA-Rammachine,the pressingmachine to producerammed-earth blocks developed at theCenter andlater exportedtoAmerica,Europe,Africa,and Asia,the article explores its deployment in two different fronts of the Cold War:Ghana and South Vietnam.As highlighted in the conclusions,the significance of CINVA-Ram use in these contexts is manyfold.Firstly,its diffusion,although appearing as a successful case of south-to-south cooperation,was in fact possible because of the Rockefeller family-controlled IBEC’s involvement.Secondly,it shows the global outreach of the intertwined action of governmental agencies,private companies,and NGOs,when fighting poverty and housing shortage via aided self-help initiatives were complementary strategies to the armed containment of Communism.Finally,it discusses the role played by US governmental and non-governmental actors in advancing US interests through technoscience,highlighting how the battle against poverty in the so-called“ThirdWorld”was in this case fought with one of the oldest andsimplest construction techniques in the ideological framework of self-help.展开更多
Due to orographic blockage, a weak wind wake occurs in summer off northeast Vietnam in the South China Sea. Under the wind wake, warm water is observed from both high-resolution satellite data and hydrographic observa...Due to orographic blockage, a weak wind wake occurs in summer off northeast Vietnam in the South China Sea. Under the wind wake, warm water is observed from both high-resolution satellite data and hydrographic observations. The wake of warm water forms in June, continues to mature in July and August, starts to decay in September, and disappears in October. The warm water wake also shows robust diurnal variation – it intensifies during the day and weakens in the night. Warm water wakes can be generated through wind-induced mixing and thermal（latent heat flux） processes. In this paper, a mixed layer model is used to evaluate the relative importance of the two processes on seasonal and diurnal timescales, respectively. The results demonstrate that thermal processes make a greater contribution to the wake than wind-induced mixing processes on a seasonal timescale, while the warm water wake is dominated by wind-induced mixing processes on a diurnal timescale.展开更多
The advances in understanding the South China Sea （SCS） western boundary current （SCSwbc） have been reviewed since the works of Dale （1956） and Wyrtki （1961） in the middle of the 20th century. The features of ...The advances in understanding the South China Sea （SCS） western boundary current （SCSwbc） have been reviewed since the works of Dale （1956） and Wyrtki （1961） in the middle of the 20th century. The features of the pattern of SCSwbc and the oceanic phenomena associated with it are focused on. The current is driven mainly by monsoon over the SCS and partially by winds over the tropical Pacific governed by the island rule. The SCSwbc exhibits strong seasonal variation in its direction and patterns. In winter, the current is strong and flows southwestward along the South China shelf and slope from the east of Dongsha Islands to the northern central Vietnamese coast, then turns to the south along the central and southern Vietnamese coast, and finally partially exits the SCS through the Karimata Strait. In summer and early fall, the SCSwbc can be divided into three segments based on their characteristics. The southern segment is stable, flowing northward from the Karimata Strait up to about 11 N, where it separates from the coast forming an eastward offshore current. The separation of the current from Vietnamese coast induces some striking features, such as upwelling and cold sea-surface temperature. The middle segment off the central Vietnamese coast may have a bimodal behavior： northward coastal current and meandering current in early summer （June–July）, and cyclonic gyre in later summer and early fall （August–September）. The northern segment is featured by the summer SCS Warm Current on the South China shelf and a southwestward subsurface current along the continental slope.展开更多
The legacy of the human misery caused by the application of the herbicides including Agent Purple and Agent Orange contaminated with unknown amounts of dioxin TCDD and Agent Blue, the arsenic-based herbicide, sprayed ...The legacy of the human misery caused by the application of the herbicides including Agent Purple and Agent Orange contaminated with unknown amounts of dioxin TCDD and Agent Blue, the arsenic-based herbicide, sprayed over the jungles, rice fields, and hamlets of Vietnam is still haunting us today. Why did this happen? Could it have been prevented? Was it necessary United States military strategy? Was it an intentional decision to inflict this blight on the enemy soldiers and the Vietnamese, Cambodian, and Laotian civilians, to poison their land and cause generations of harm? Alternatively, was it an unpreventable accident in the march of military history? What patterns in the U.S. government’s thought process could be identified as the cause, which led to the decision to use these herbicides as tactical chemical weapons? If the introduction of herbicide (chemical) weapons had not been made, would the outcome of the Vietnam War and the Secret Wars in Laos and Cambodia have been any different? The objective of this treatise is to outline the role of world events and backgrounds and the role of the leaders, U.S. military, CIA, USDA, U.S. State Department, the U.S. President appointed Ambassadors to Vietnam and Laos, chemical companies, and President Diệm’s Republic of Vietnam (RVN) government and military. Their collective advice led to the decision to use herbicides as military and environmental chemical weapons in the Second Indochina War. Were the National interests achieved by U.S. military strategy in the RVN using herbicide weapons worth the long-term environmental and human health consequences in Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos? Did it impact the outcome of the Second Indochina War?展开更多
文摘In 1951,the Organization of American States established the Centro Interamericano de Vivienda y Planeamiento(CINVA)to provide specialized training to tackle the housing problem.Based on archival documentation examined at the Rockefeller Archive Center and the Central and Historical Archive of the National University of Colombia,this article explores two significant episodes in which the story of one of the Center’s most successful outputs connects to the history of the ColdWar.It thus contributes to the literature investigating the architecture and related technologies of development aid in the historical context of the Cold War with a precise focus on the role of non-governmental actors.After detailing the history of the CINVA-Rammachine,the pressingmachine to producerammed-earth blocks developed at theCenter andlater exportedtoAmerica,Europe,Africa,and Asia,the article explores its deployment in two different fronts of the Cold War:Ghana and South Vietnam.As highlighted in the conclusions,the significance of CINVA-Ram use in these contexts is manyfold.Firstly,its diffusion,although appearing as a successful case of south-to-south cooperation,was in fact possible because of the Rockefeller family-controlled IBEC’s involvement.Secondly,it shows the global outreach of the intertwined action of governmental agencies,private companies,and NGOs,when fighting poverty and housing shortage via aided self-help initiatives were complementary strategies to the armed containment of Communism.Finally,it discusses the role played by US governmental and non-governmental actors in advancing US interests through technoscience,highlighting how the battle against poverty in the so-called“ThirdWorld”was in this case fought with one of the oldest andsimplest construction techniques in the ideological framework of self-help.
基金The National Science Fund of China for Distinguished Young Scholars(NSFDYS)under contract No.41125019the National Basic Research Program of China under contract Nos 2012CB955601 and 2013CB430301the Basic Research Program of Second Institute of Oceanography,State Oceanic Administration of China under contract No.JT1301
文摘Due to orographic blockage, a weak wind wake occurs in summer off northeast Vietnam in the South China Sea. Under the wind wake, warm water is observed from both high-resolution satellite data and hydrographic observations. The wake of warm water forms in June, continues to mature in July and August, starts to decay in September, and disappears in October. The warm water wake also shows robust diurnal variation – it intensifies during the day and weakens in the night. Warm water wakes can be generated through wind-induced mixing and thermal（latent heat flux） processes. In this paper, a mixed layer model is used to evaluate the relative importance of the two processes on seasonal and diurnal timescales, respectively. The results demonstrate that thermal processes make a greater contribution to the wake than wind-induced mixing processes on a seasonal timescale, while the warm water wake is dominated by wind-induced mixing processes on a diurnal timescale.
基金The National Basic Research Program ("973" Program) of China under contract Nos 2011CB403500 and 2012CB957803the National Natural Science Foundation of China under contract Nos 41006018 and 40730842the National High Technology Research and Development Program ("863" Program) of China under contract No. 2008AA09A402
文摘The advances in understanding the South China Sea （SCS） western boundary current （SCSwbc） have been reviewed since the works of Dale （1956） and Wyrtki （1961） in the middle of the 20th century. The features of the pattern of SCSwbc and the oceanic phenomena associated with it are focused on. The current is driven mainly by monsoon over the SCS and partially by winds over the tropical Pacific governed by the island rule. The SCSwbc exhibits strong seasonal variation in its direction and patterns. In winter, the current is strong and flows southwestward along the South China shelf and slope from the east of Dongsha Islands to the northern central Vietnamese coast, then turns to the south along the central and southern Vietnamese coast, and finally partially exits the SCS through the Karimata Strait. In summer and early fall, the SCSwbc can be divided into three segments based on their characteristics. The southern segment is stable, flowing northward from the Karimata Strait up to about 11 N, where it separates from the coast forming an eastward offshore current. The separation of the current from Vietnamese coast induces some striking features, such as upwelling and cold sea-surface temperature. The middle segment off the central Vietnamese coast may have a bimodal behavior： northward coastal current and meandering current in early summer （June–July）, and cyclonic gyre in later summer and early fall （August–September）. The northern segment is featured by the summer SCS Warm Current on the South China shelf and a southwestward subsurface current along the continental slope.
文摘The legacy of the human misery caused by the application of the herbicides including Agent Purple and Agent Orange contaminated with unknown amounts of dioxin TCDD and Agent Blue, the arsenic-based herbicide, sprayed over the jungles, rice fields, and hamlets of Vietnam is still haunting us today. Why did this happen? Could it have been prevented? Was it necessary United States military strategy? Was it an intentional decision to inflict this blight on the enemy soldiers and the Vietnamese, Cambodian, and Laotian civilians, to poison their land and cause generations of harm? Alternatively, was it an unpreventable accident in the march of military history? What patterns in the U.S. government’s thought process could be identified as the cause, which led to the decision to use these herbicides as tactical chemical weapons? If the introduction of herbicide (chemical) weapons had not been made, would the outcome of the Vietnam War and the Secret Wars in Laos and Cambodia have been any different? The objective of this treatise is to outline the role of world events and backgrounds and the role of the leaders, U.S. military, CIA, USDA, U.S. State Department, the U.S. President appointed Ambassadors to Vietnam and Laos, chemical companies, and President Diệm’s Republic of Vietnam (RVN) government and military. Their collective advice led to the decision to use herbicides as military and environmental chemical weapons in the Second Indochina War. Were the National interests achieved by U.S. military strategy in the RVN using herbicide weapons worth the long-term environmental and human health consequences in Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos? Did it impact the outcome of the Second Indochina War?
