Actor network analysis to leverage improvements in conservation and development outcomes in Cambodia

Network analysis has emerged as a useful practice for characterizing governance relationships and providing insights to the power relations that affect landscapes. We applied actor network analysis in two rural Cambodian landscapes to examine decision-making structures that affect conservation and development systems. Using questionnaire data, we analyze structural features of networks of cooperation and exchange to identify patterns of action and processes of change. We supplement our analysis with qualitative information gathered on power and social ecological components of landscapes to enrich our understanding of natural resource systems. We find that power in Cambodia is concentrated in a central hierarchy, and external actors aiming to influence decision making would benefit from operating at multiple scales; there is no single leverage point for interventions. Cooperation between conservation and development actors is lacking; we observe that actors tend to cluster within similar groups. Cross-sectoral collaboration may be enhanced by knowledge brokers, but current actors lack resources to fulfil this role and require external support. Our study highlights the importance of nongovernment actors as conveners and facilitators to shape natural resource governance in the context of weak institutions. We advocate more institutionalized use of diagnostics, such as actor network analysis, for enhanced natural resource governance

Photoluminescence properties of midinfrared dilute nitride InAsN epilayers with/without Sb flux during molecular beam epitaxial growth.

We report on the comparative studies of photoluminescence (PL) properties of molecular beam epitaxy grown dilute InAsN epilayers with and without antimony (Sb) flux during the growth. Both samples exhibit strong midinfrared (MIR) emission at room temperature, while the sample with Sb flux has much higher intensity. At low temperatures, these samples exhibit totally different PL features in terms of line width, peak position, intensity, and their dependences on temperature and excitation density. Our results clearly indicate that part of Sb atoms serve as a surfactant that effectively improves the optical quality of MIR dilute nitrides

Melioidosis in patients with suspected tuberculosis in Cambodia: a single-center cross-sectional study

Melioidosis-Burkholderia pseudomallei infection-is increasingly recognized in Cambodia, a country with a high incidence of tuberculosis (TB). Melioidosis and TB can be clinically indistinguishable. Objective: To quantify the proportion of patients with clinically suspected TB who had melioidosis by testing sputum for B. pseudomallei

Internal Migration in Cambodia

peer reviewedWith a population of 16 million, Cambodia experienced political and social upheaval during the twentieth century, which impacted the intensity and pattern of internal migration. Internal migration data have been collected systematically since 1998 through decennial censuses, with questions on lifetime migration, last move, duration of residence and reasons for move. Census data show that Cambodian mobility is close to the Asian average, with an ACMI approaching 16.1% in 2008, down from 18.4% in 1998. Data on duration of residence suggest that migration intensity has varied over time in response to conflict, political events and economic reforms. Cambodians display early migration profiles, with intensities peaking at age 22 for inter-provincial migrants and age 23 for intra-provincial migrants, with employment a significant driver. High levels of migration effectiveness, coupled with moderate intensities underpin substantial population redistribution, with 3.8% of Cambodians redistributed between districts in the five years to 2008. While flows to Phnom Penh are significant, there are large flows to less populated rural upland regions. Indeed, flows to rural areas are a dominant feature of migration in Cambodia, underscoring the limitations of the urban transition as the sole lens for migration analysis in Asia