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This paper compares the status of young naturalist after-school programs in three post-Soviet republics: Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan. In the past, the region's environmental teachers, leaders and activists have emerged from such youth programs. Thus, the health of these programs is a leading indicator for the long-term viability of broader environmental efforts across the former Soviet Union. However, it is unclear whether the existing international, national or local structures of the post-Soviet republics are adequate for nurturing a new generation of politically active and environmentally aware youth. Although all three countries have many thriving programs with talented staff and good curriculum, one of our main findings is that there is not enough support from existing state structures or from private sector efforts to ensure the long-term sustainability of such programs. In addition, we find that many of these programs would benefit from better communication and coordination with one another. However, we also find that there are some new, encouraging organizational models being tried on a limited basis in selected regions. We conclude with a recommendation for further study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is widespread concern among people living in some parts of Altai territory in Siberia about potential health effects from fallout from rockets launched from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Extensive research has so far failed to provide evidence to support these concerns. As a consequence, the problem has been labelled by Russian scientists as 'collective psychosocial distress' or 'raketophobia'. The aim of this paper is to provide an understanding of the factors underlying popular concerns about rockets. The paper is based on data collected in 2006 using multiple methods (individual semi-structured interviews, natural group discussions, round tables and participant observation). Concerns related to the impact of the rocket launches among the local population were explored. The analytical framework is informed by discourse analysis and discursive psychology. The findings are that the processes of collective social construction amplify risks perceived to be associated with rocket launches. In the Altai context, this social amplification builds on a societal vulnerability triggered by the collapse of the Soviet ideology. The environmental concern provides opportunities for repressed debates to be expressed that emerge from culturally embedded frustrations and fears that would otherwise be ignored by the political agenda. Moreover, the signals that shape the perception of risk are intrinsic components of local information flows, so that the communication process between experts and policy-makers and the local population itself contributes to the amplification of perceived risks. Concern about the health effects of rockets can be traced to the conditions that existed when the USSR ceased to exist. An effective response must address these deep-seated issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The design and pricing of weather-based insurance instruments is strongly based on an implicit assumption that the dependence structure between crop yields and weather variables remains unchanged over time. The purpose of this paper is to verify this critical assumption by employing historical time series of weather and farm yields from a semi-arid region. Design/methodology/approach – The analysis employs two different approaches to measure dependence in multivariate distributions – the regression analysis and copula approach. The estimations are done by employing Bayesian hierarchical model. Findings – The paper reveals statistically significant temporal changes in the joint distribution of weather variables and wheat yields for grain-producing farms in Kazakhstan over the period from 1961 to 2003. Research limitations/implications – By questioning its basic assumption the paper draws attention to serious limitations in the current methodology of the weather-based insurance design. Practical implications – The empirical results obtained indicate that the relationship between weather and crop yields is not fixed and can change over time. Accordingly, greater effort is required to capture potential temporal changes in the weather-yield-relationship and to consider them while developing and rating weather-based insurance instruments. Originality/value – The estimation of selected copula and regression models has been done by employing Bayesian hierarchical models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper describes the occurrence and distribution of U within groundwater of the Ili basin in Xinjiang, China. Dissolved major ions, dissolved gases, pH, Eh and salinity in groundwater were employed to distinguish different hydrogeochemical environments and associated processes affecting U transport within the aquifer. The results show that dissolution and deposition of U by groundwater are closely related to reactions with organic C and minerals such as sulfides, carbonates and silicates along groundwater flow paths. Different chemical reactions predominate and account for changes in the occurrence of U in the rock and water of the oxidized zone, the redox transition zone, and the reduced zone. Knowledge of these associations between U and hydrogeochemical environments could enhance the understanding of relationships of groundwater circulation and U mineralization and could have implications for prospecting for sandstone-type U deposits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Kazakhstan, a country with relatively strong economic growth, significant natural resources and low population density, shares borders with countries of low economic growth, high poverty and unemployment. The lack of a coherent strategy for labour migration and a large informal sector have contributed towards a situation where large numbers of low-skilled migrants are working in breach of Kazakhstan's minimum labour standards. There is also evidence of significant incidences of unfree-or forced-labour. This paper considers the living and working conditions of Central Asian migrants in Kazakhstan and the applicability of the trafficking framework to their situation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores a strange paradox. After the fall of the Soviet system, Kazakhstan became strongly incorporated in a world that highly values sustainable agriculture and ecologically-friendly pest control. In this incorporation process, however, the country abandoned a well-established integrated pest management (IPM) system and shifted to an exclusive reliance on pesticides. This study analyses the development of IPM/ecology-based pest-control approaches in the 1970s and 1980s in the USSR, providing some detailed case studies in the Republic of Kazakhstan. It examines how these sustainable approaches to pest control were replaced by an indiscriminate pesticide use in farming practices after independence in 1991. The focus of plant protection research also shifted from IPM/ecology-based studies to pesticide testing. The paper reveals that the nature of institutional support from the state shapes the rise and fall of IPM, particularly since it is crucial for addressing the knowledge-intensive character of IPM and governing situations in which concerted action is needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A call for papers for the European Association of Geoscientists and Engineer's (EAGE's) Caspian Workshop to be held at the Renaissance hotel in Atyrau, Kazakhstan from September 19-21, 2011 is presented.

Abstract: The paper presents results of morphoscopic studies of quartz grains recovered from sands underlying surficial peat over the West Siberian Plain. The field materials were collected in the course of the Russian–American expedition in 1999–2001. The data obtained proved the existence of a vast area in West Siberia similar to cold deserts in appearance at the late glacial time (and probably even as early as the Last Glacial Maximum – 18–20 ka BP). The desert was confined to the arctic and temperate belts, the southernmost part of the plain being an area of loess accumulation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This essay examines the nature of Islam in Kazakhstan and its role in contemporary Kazakh society and politics. It highlights the unique place of Islam in the social and individual experiences of Kazakhs who see Islamic religion as a 'way of life', and illuminates several interrelated qualities of the Kazakh religion, such as a strong association of religious identity with ethnic identity of Kazakhs, interpenetration of religious canons with indigenous traditions and a growing tendency toward 'individualization' and 'intimization' of Islam. Another goal of the paper is to shed light on the worrisome process of the securitization of Islam. The latter phenomenon refers to a discursive practice of presenting Islam as a threat to Kazakhstan despite the prevalence of 'moderate' and apolitical manifestations of Islam in the republic. The study documents political interests surrounding securitization of Islam and the context which made the invocation of security in relation to Islam possible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reviews the characteristics of the agricultural credit policy in Kazakhstan with a particular focus on emerging rural financial institutions. It is not easy to evaluate the real effect of credit policies due to the limited funds directed at agricultural production. Kazakhstani experience shows that commercial banks are used almost exclusively to provide agricultural producers with credit, while the new specialized credit institutions emerging in the agricultural sector only cater to a very small fraction of the total demand for credit. Presently, there are discussions in Kazakhstan concerning the creation of a specialized agricultural bank; however, this idea has some shortcomings that should be taken into consideration. Lack of credit is one of the main reasons for insufficient investment in agriculture. The underdeveloped land market in Kazakhstan makes formal credit institutions very cautious about accepting agricultural land as collateral. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the cooperation after independence on four Central Asian transboundary rivers. The paper shows that, even though the Central Asian states agreed in 1992 to continue with the basic water-sharing principles, new agreements had to be made. New agreements were only made in basins with large-scale water-control infrastructure, which have transboundary significance or are transboundary themselves. The inequitable water allocation between the riparian states has continued and has not triggered new agreements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Corporate bankruptcy is a subject of extensive research, and since 1960's a number of models were developed to predict failures in the real world. The most prominent research was done by Dr. Edward Altman, who developed Z-score model in 1968 for the US companies, which has been extensively used by practitioners. In this model a set of financial ratios specific to a company are analyzed in order to give a judgment on the company's likelihood to go bankrupt. The goal of this paper is to see the efficiency of Altman's bankruptcy prediction model to Kazakhstan market. The model is built based on financial variables which are derived from financial statements of companies listed on Kazakhstan Stock Exchange (KASE). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Inefficient irrigation and the excessive use of water on agricultural land in the Aral Sea Basin over several decades have led to saline soils. The main objective of this paper is to identify the environmental predictors to model the spatial distribution of soil salinity in a highly irrigated landscape. Soil salinity at farm scale was measured in the topsoil (Total Dissolved Solids, TDS) and down to a depth of 1.5m by electromagnetic conductivity meter (CMv) over a regular grid covering an area of approximately 15km2 in Khorezm Province, Uzbekistan. Six nested samplings within selected grids were conducted to reveal short-distance variation. Apart from widely-used terrain indices and those acquired from remote sensing, data on distance to drainage channels and long-term average groundwater observations were used to account for local parameters possibly influencing soil salinity. Topsoil salinity (TDS) was seen to be highly variable even at short distances (40m) compared to average bulk soil salinity (CMv). CMv readings were better correlated with factors obtained from remote sensing and distance to drains than TDS. This might be attributable to the fact that topsoil salts are dynamic in nature, and land management practices (e.g. leaching, cultivation, and irrigation) might have contributed considerably to spatial variation. The CMv shows the average amount of salt within a larger soil volume and to greater depth and is less affected by land management than topsoil salinity, which is reflected in the TDS. Most terrain indices showed a low correlation with topsoil and bulk salinity. There was a strong indication that the effects of water management are dominant and tend to outweigh the effects of environmental factors. The very low R2 for relationship of TDS with environmental factors is evidence that taking TDS samples close to the soil surface is not a good way to assess salinity trends in irrigated land. These findings have important implications for salinity survey methods on flat irrigated terrain: CMv seems to be a more reliable predictor than environmental proxy factors, even if the latter are easier to determine. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In this paper the authors explore alternative discursive constructions by Kazakhs in Mongolia and Kazakhstan of a ‘Kazakh homeland’, one which is markedly not coterminous with the borders of any state. As the use of nomadic pasture lands cut through and across state borders in the last centuries, so do contemporary Kazakhs describe and justify a variety of other cultural practices, from visiting shrines to obtaining illegal passports, in terms of a shared ‘Kazakh’ cultural history of movement. The stories people evoke and tell about the connection and ‘Kazakhness’ (Kazakhshylykh) evidence the simultaneous idealization of both ancestral rootedness and mobility as fundamental to a sense of ‘belonging’ to the land. This ancestral world also reveals the fundamentally arbitrary nature of borders in a world where belonging is made by moving: moving through space, moving through time. From such discursive temporal and spatial practices of passing and dwelling emerges a cultural–historical position that ultimately transcends the region's colonial history and its current nationalizing states. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Abstract: Kazakhstan is a major producer of non-ferrous metals. The production of heavy metals is generally based on pyrometallurgical processes resulting in the generation of by-products which contain rare metals, in particular rhenium. The base mineral raw materials for recovery of rhenium are solid and liquid by-products of copper, lead and uranium production. In pyrometallurgical processing of sulfide copper concentrates containing rhenium, this metal is concentrated in metallurgical gases. During the purification of the gas phase, rhenium is distributed between dusts, slime and wash sulfuric acid. Dusts are sent to lead smelters, and rhenium is recovered from wash sulfuric acid of copper production. Solutions obtained during underground leaching of uranium ore could be a new source for commercial production of rhenium despite low concentration. In the paper presented technological flowcharts for recovery of rhenium from by-products of copper, lead and uranium production with application of leaching, ion exchange, solvent extraction and electrodialysis. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

While economic explanations for the 'resource curse' are well established, the political factors explaining why governments fail to take corrective action remain poorly understood. Research demonstrates that if governments save oil profits abroad and slowly re-introduce the oil-generated revenue into the domestic economy once the rate of return on investment is greater at home than abroad and the quality of project implementation developed, many of the economic problems that plague oil-rich countries can be avoided. Political time horizons shape the incentives of governments to pursue this strategy. Unstable leaders rely on oil revenue to maintain positions of power. They also have less incentive to save oil windfalls abroad as they fear they will not be in office long enough to benefit from such decisions. This paper uses both quantitative data and case study analysis of Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan to demonstrate that leaders with longer time horizons save a greater proportion of oil windfalls abroad than their less stable counterparts, helping avoid the economic pitfalls of oil abundance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper describes the outline and the five years'' on-orbit results of the small scientific satellite REIMEI for aurora observations and demonstrations of advanced small satellite technologies. REIMEI is a small satellite with 72kg mass, and is provided with three-axis attitude control capabilities for aurora observations. REIMEI was launched into a nearly sun synchronous polar orbit on Aug. 23rd, 2005, from Baikonur, Kazakhstan, by Dnepr rocket. REIMEI satellite has been satisfactorily working on the orbit for five years at present as of January, 2011. Three-axis control is achieved with accuracy of 0.1° (3σ). Multi-spectrum images of aurora are taken with 8Hz rate and 2km spatial resolution to investigate the aurora physics. REIMEI is performing the simultaneous observation of aurora images and particle measurements. REIMEI indicates that even a small satellite launched as a piggy-back can successfully perform unique scientific mission purposes. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper analyses Estonia, Latvia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan as nationalizing states, focusing on four domains: ethnopolitical demography, language repertoires and practices, the polity and the economy. Nationalizing discourse has figured centrally in these and other ‘post-multinational’ contexts. But nationalizing projects and processes have differed substantially across cases. Where ethnonational boundaries have been strong, quasi-racial and intergenerationally persistent, as in Kazakhstan, nationalization (notwithstanding inclusive official rhetoric) has served primarily to strengthen and empower the core nation. Where ethnonational and linguistic boundaries have been blurred and permeable, as in Ukraine, nationalization has worked primarily to reshape cultural practices, loyalties and identities, thereby in effect redefining and enlarging the core nation. Where boundaries have been strong, yet show signs of being intergenerationally permeable, as in Estonia and Latvia, nationalization was initially oriented towards protecting, strengthening, and empowering the core nation as a sharply bounded collectivity, but has subsequently become more assimilationist and culturalist. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper presents an analysis of a newly developed draft agreement on the allocation of water and energy resources of the Syr Darya basin considering transboundary cooperation and benefits sharing. The method uses a river basin model and game theoretic concepts to assess the potential benefits to the four riparian countries, under various arrangements of cooperation, ranging from independent action to full cooperation as envisioned in the draft agreement. The analysis shows increased benefits to all countries in the basin if they follow the four-country cooperative arrangements outlined in the draft agreement. Different methods for allocating the benefits of cooperation are considered. The Shapely allocation provides each country with increased economic benefits and is stable in relation to each country's likelihood of treaty compliance. Other methods to allocate of the gains are considered, such as proportional shares, equal shares, the Nucleolus, and Nash-Harsayni, which all result in allocations that are more likely to be violated and are less stable than the Shapley allocation. The analysis indicates the upstream country of Kyrgyzstan can be encouraged to participate in and comply with the agreement through additional compensatory payments; however, if their conditions are not right, they may be prone to noncompliance and disruption of the treaty. The concepts illustrated in this paper can be used as the basis for analyzing benefits sharing and cooperation in other transboundary basins. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT The topic of abortion has been extensively researched, and the research has produced a large number of arguments and discussions. Missing in the literature, however, are discussions of practices in some areas of the Developing or Third World. In this paper, we examine the morality of sex selection abortions in Kazakhstan's Kazakh culture, and argue that such abortions can be ethically justified based, in part, on the unique perspectives of Kazakh culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective to implement the new public planning model has been put to attain in modern Kazakhstan in order to achieve distinct interrelations in strategic, economic and budget planning. The essence of current public strategic planning is presented in this paper. The objective need for public planning in the sphere of market economy is considered here. Key processes and priorities of strategic planning are determined as well. Theoretical aspect of strategic planning is studied. Foreign experience in the sphere of public planning and some recommendations are proposed for improving Public Strategic Planning System in the Republic of Kazakhstan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents abundances of major and trace elements of apatites in granitic rocks associated with different types of ore deposits in Central Kazakhstan on the basis of electron probe microanalysis and laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Our results demonstrate that the concentrations and ratios of elements in apatites from different granitoid rocks show distinct features, and are sensitive to magma evolution, petrogenetic and metallogenetic processes. Apatites in the rocks associated with Mo-W deposits have high content of F and MnO, low content of Cl, which may be indicative of sedimentary sources, while apatites from a Pb-Zn deposit show relatively high content of Cl and low F content, which possibly suggest a high water content. In these apatites, Sr contents decrease, while Mn and Y contents increase with magma evolution. This relationship reflects that these elements in apatites are related with the degree of magmatic differentiation. Four types of REE patterns in apatites are identified. Type 1 character of highest (La/Yb)N in apatites of Aktogai porphyry Cu-Mo deposit, Sayak-I skarn Cu deposit and Akzhal skarn Pb-Zn depposit is likely produced by the crystallization of heavy REE-enriched minerals. Type 2 character of upward-convex light REE in apatite of Aktogai porphyries likely results from La-enriched mineral crystallization. Type 3 feature of Nd depletion in apatites of East Kounrad and Zhanet deposits both from Mo-W deposits primarily inherits the character of host-rock. Type 4 apatites of Aktogai deposit and Akshatau W-Mo deposit with wide range of REE contents may suggest that apatites crystallize under a wide temperature range. Three types of apatite with distinct redox states are identified based on Eu anomaly. The Aktogai apatite with slight negative Eu anomaly displays the most oxidized state of the magma, and the apatites of other samples at Aktogai, East Kounrad and Akzhal with moderate negative Eu anomaly show moderate oxidizing condition of these rocks, while the remaining apatites with strong En anomaly indicate a moderate reductive state of these rocks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the question of whether critical thinking can eventually become part of the cultural fabric in Kazakhstan, a country whose Soviet educational system not only trained teachers to memorise, lecture and intimidate students but also created a culture in educational institutions fraught with many fear-based behaviours engendering competitiveness, intolerance and other hostile behaviours antithetical to critical thinking and an open, democratic society. While educational reform can have profound effects on a nation, education is but one system in a complex network of governmental and cultural systems, and change must be borne by many. This paper reviews literature and presents qualitative data gathered through interviews with Soviet-trained teachers. The authors recommend that teachers should embrace student-centred techniques and critical thinking methodologies, as well as shift from a fear-based, authoritarian, top-down system of relating to students and colleagues to one of cooperation, openness and fairness. Such a reform will take repetitive, intensive and experiential training as well as regular assessments of progress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new political development that emerged after the disintegration of the Soviet Union was the adoption of ‘homeland stances’ by the newly independent states. Through the construction of the homeland image, the states of the region claimed responsibility not only for their own citizens, but also for a diaspora community of co-ethnics. Kazakhstan became one of these states and its leadership portrayed Kazakhstan as the homeland of the Kazakh diaspora. Furthermore, Kazakhstan's leadership developed far more active homeland rhetoric and initiated an ethnic return-migration policy as early as 1992. This paper will explore the discourse of Kazakhstan's leadership on the repatriation of its co-ethnics as well as the legal and political context that it created to achieve their smooth absorption into domestic society. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper investigates the state and structure of professional norms in the context of undergraduate teaching in a university in Kazakhstan. The purpose is to understand the belief system held by academics with regards to their professional duties in the context of teaching. Evidence of such normative structure would suggest that the Kazakhstani academic profession holds potential for effective and ethical self-regulation; its absence would raise a red flag for university administrators and policy-makers. In order to place our findings in the meaningful context, we compare the normative structure in Kazakhstan to that of the US academic profession previously studied by Braxton and Bayer. We find that academics in Kazakhstan adhere to a normative structure which is quite similar to, although somewhat more relaxed than, that of US professors. We discuss the implications of these findings and empirical evidence for academic corruption in the context of decentralization reforms, authority devolution and formation of accountability mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Successful environmental management is partly contingent on the effective recognition and communication of environmental health risks to the public. Yet risk perceptions are known to differ between experts and laypeople; laypeople often exhibit higher perceptions of risk in comparison to experts, particularly when these risks are associated with radiation, nuclear power, or nuclear waste. This paper consequently explores stakeholder risk perceptions associated with a mercury-contaminated chloralkali production facility in Kazakhstan. Using field observations and in-depth interviews conducted in the vicinity of the Pavlodar Chemical Plant, this work assesses the relevance of the substantial on-site mercury contamination to the health and livelihoods of the local population with the goal of informing remediation activity through a combination of quantitative and qualitative risk assessments. The findings of this research study cannot be broadly generalized to all the primary stakeholders of the site due to the small sample size; however, the indifference of the local population towards both the possibility of mercury-related health risks and the need for mitigation activity could pose a substantial barrier to successful site remediation and also suggests that a qualitative understanding of stakeholder risk perceptions could play an important role in striving towards sustainable, long-term environmental risk management. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In recent years, Kazakhstan has become an important destination for primarily undocumented seasonal workers from Uzbekistan. In a context of high tuberculosis (TB) incidence, TB treatment is provided free for all residents in Kazakhstan, but migrants rarely access these services. This paper reports findings from a qualitative study conducted with migrants, TB patients and health care workers between July and September 2008 to understand the mechanisms that impede migrants’ access to care. Findings describe three structural contexts – the employment, legal and health care contexts – which act in concert to render migrants vulnerable to exploitative work conditions and cause a series of barriers to health care. These conditions contribute to increased exposure to TB, heightened risk of reactivation due to weakened immunity, treatment-seeking delays, and increased severity of disease. Seasonal migration patterns also contribute to treatment interruption, which constitutes a risk for the creation of drug resistance. Using the theory of structural violence coupled with the concept of cumulative vulnerability, this paper analyzes how illegality interacts with exploitation and social marginalization to produce vulnerability to TB and restrict access to treatment. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The paper presents the first data on geochemistry (major and trace elements, isotopes) of the Late Devonian–Early Carboniferous basalts of the Char suture-shear zone in East Kazakhstan, and includes detailed analysis of their geological relations and petrogenesis (fractional crystallization/melting modeling). Three groups of oceanic basalts coexist in the Char zone. Group 1 basalts are associated with oceanic siliceous sediments and have medium TiO2, relatively flat REE patterns (La/Sm n =0.7, Gd/Yb n =1.3), Zr/Nbav. =42 and εNdav. =6.3. They formed at high degrees of melting of a depleted mantle source and were erupted in a mid-oceanic ridge setting. Group 2 basalts are associated with both chert and carbonate and have higher TiO2, Hf, Y, Zr and P2O5 than the rocks of Group 1. They are similarly characterized by low Nb (Nb/Lapm <1) and flat REE patterns (La/Sm n =0.6, Gd/Yb n =1.1), εNdav. =8.3, and Zr/Nb=44. Group 2 basalts originated under lower degrees of melting than Group 1 basalts from a depleted mantle source, and possibly formed in a subducting oceanic plateau setting. Group 3 basalts are enriched in incompatible elements, i.e. have high LREE (La/Sm n =1.8), differentiated HREE (Gd/Yb n =2.3), Nb positive anomalies in the multi-element diagrams (Nb/Thpm =1.5, Nb/Lapm =1.1), low Zr/Nb ratio (∼9) and lower εNdav. =4.6. They formed at lower degrees of melting, compared to Groups 1 and 2, from a heterogeneous mantle source in the spinel (Gd/Yb n <2) and garnet (Gd/Yb n >2) stability fields. They possibly represent fragments of oceanic islands/seamounts formed in relation to mantle plume. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper examines the political implications of the practice of framing mega urban development projects with the language of 'utopia' or 'Disney'. Through a case study of Kazakhstan's new capital, Astana, I argue that the stigmatizing language of 'utopia' is a highly political bordering practice, defi ning the 'imaginary' and the 'real.' Coupled with ethnographic data from fi eldwork in Kazakhstan between 2009 and 2011, I perform a textual analysis of English and German language press coverage of Astana, and demonstrate how narratives of 'false modernity' and 'utopia' have become the dominant way of reading and writing about the city. Although often critical of the project as a sign of the President Nursultan Nazarbayev's 'megalomania,' this coverage obscures more complex geographies of power and state-society relations in the independent state. Symptomatic of liberal (ie, top-down, one-dimensional) understandings of power, the hegemonic discourse simultaneously reinscribes the state's 'coherence' and erases the lived realities and agencies of ordinary citizens, while obscuring the more complicated political- economic relations that condition and give rise to 'spectacular' urban development projects [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: After the discovery of metamorphic coesite in crustal rocks from the Western Alps (Italy) and the Western gneiss region (Norway) in the mid 1980s of the last century, metamorphic diamond was observed only a few years later “in situ” in the Kokchetav Massif (Kazakhstan). Findings of such coesite- and diamond-bearing ultrahigh pressure metamorphic (UHP) rocks with protoliths formed or embedded in crustal levels and subsequently experienced PT-conditions within or even higher than the coesite stability field have dramatically changed our geodynamic view of orogenetic processes. These occurrences provide evidence that crustal rocks were subducted into mantle depths and exhumed to the surface. Recent studies even suggest continental subduction to depths exceeding 300km. These rocks have been extensively studied and many new and important observations have been made. Thus far, more than 350 papers have been published on various aspects of Kokchetav UHP rocks. The Kokchetav Massif of northern Kazakhstan is part of one of the largest suture zones in Central Asia and contains slices of HP and UHP metamorphic rocks. Classical UHP rocks mainly occur in the Kumdy Kol, Barchi Kol and Kulet areas, and include a large variety of lithologies such as calcsilicate rocks, eclogite, gneisses, schists, marbles of various compositions, garnet–pyroxene–quartz rocks, and garnet peridotite. Most of them contain microdiamonds; some of which reach a grain size of 200μm. Most diamond grains show cuboid shapes but in rare cases, diamonds within clinozoisite gneiss from Barchi Kol occur as octahhedral form. Microdiamonds contain highly potassic fluid inclusions, as well as solid inclusions like carbonates, silicates and metal sulfides, which favour the idea of diamond formation from a C–O–H bearing fluid. Nitrogen isotope data and negative δ13C values of Kokchetav diamonds indicate a metasedimentary origin. PT-estimates of Kokchetav UHP rocks yield peak metamorphic conditions of at least 43 kbar at temperatures of about 950–1000°C. Some zircon separates show inherited Proterozoic cores and 537–530Ma UHP metamorphic mantle zones. Several Ar–Ar-ages on micas scatter around 529–528 and 521–517Ma and reflect different stages of the exhumation history. Migmatization occurred during exhumation at about 526–520Ma. Isotopic studies on calcsilicate rocks confirm a metasedimentary origin: δ18O values of garnet and clinopyroxene of a layered calcsilicate rock rule out the possibility having a primitive mantle protolith. Similar studies on eclogites indicate their basaltic protolith having experienced water–rock interaction prior to UHP metamorphism. A number of unique mineralogical findings have been made on Kokchetav UHP rocks. K-feldspar exsolutions in clinopyroxene demonstrate that potassium can be incorporated into the cpx-structure under upper mantle pressures. Other significant observations are coesite exsolutions in titanite, quartz-rods in cpx, the discovery of K-tourmaline as well as new minerals like kokchetavite, a hexagonal polymorph of K-feldspar and kumdykolite, an orthorhombic polymorph of albite. The Kokchetav UHP rocks represent a unique and challenging stomping ground for geoscientists of various disciplines. From crystallography, petrology and geochemistry to geophysics and geodynamics/geotectonics – it concerns all who are interested in the diverse metamorphic processes under upper mantle conditions. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Carbon stocks and carbon accumulation in the earth''s drylands have gained increasing attention. The winter-cold deserts of Middle Asia, i.e. in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan, cover an area of 2.5 million km2. Within these deserts, the two Saxaul species White Saxaul (Haloxylon persicum Bunge ex Boiss. & Buhse) and Black Saxaul (Haloxylon aphyllum (Minkw.) Iljin) are dominant woody species with a potential distribution area of about 500,000 km2. From the 1950s until today, the Saxaul vegetation has been degraded through logging and over-grazing. In this paper, we estimate the current and potential living above ground and below ground biomass of the Saxaul vegetation and its carbon stock. The living above ground biomass ranges between 1.5 t/ha and 3 t/ha. The potential carbon stocks above ground and below ground amount to 29.4–52.1 million t and 22–81.4 million t, respectively. Today, only 11%–28% of the potential biomass and carbon stock have remained. The carbon stock of the Saxaul vegetation is low compared to other ecosystems of the earth, but restoration and conservation of Saxaul vegetation is one way to sequester carbon through vegetation for Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, which do not have much other woody vegetation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper examines the state-building project in Kazakhstan since independence in 1991. It argues that both civic and ethno-nationalistic tendencies in state-building can be identified but that it is not any particular trajectory of nationalism in Kazakhstan that is of significance so much as the tensions between two very different trajectories. We argue that, at least to date, the government has succeeded in managing these tensions quite effectively both at the policy level and in its relations with different ethnic groups and neighbouring states. Whether Kazakhstan can continue to manage these tensions in the post-Nazarbayev era is one of the most significant questions facing the country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The landscape of the middle course of the Syrdarya is scattered with numerous oases that prospered between the first and the eighteenth centuries ad. Some of them, like those of the Turkestan oasis (Yasi-Turkestan and Sauran) are characterized by complex and autochthonous water supply systems that relied on the use of groundwater and the digging of karez (wells). Others, like the ones of Otrar on the Arys delta, and Baltakol and Chiili on the Syrdarya branches, are based on the implementation of large irrigation canals fed by flood and active waters. Today most of the ancient landscape has been reduced to a semi-desert, the medieval towns are in ruins, and the ancient irrigation systems are out of use. The aim of this paper is to underline the wide issues related to the management of such large sites, and to report about the smaller-scale conservation activities carried out in that perspective as part of the UNESCO/Japan Trust Fund project for the Preservation and Restoration of the Ancient City of Otrar (2001-04). Detailed description is given on the conservation of a fired brick mosque of the fourteenth to fifteenth century ad and on the problematic interventions carried out before perestroika. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the disconnections between anti-trafficking discourse and the local experience of responding to human trafficking as indicated in ethnographic data from Bosnia and Kazakhstan. Using the concept of 'uptake,' I examine how anti-trafficking discourse operates as a master narrative, drawing on techniques of emotion and logic, as well as a specific type of victim story. I also consider how, despite an emerging counter discourse that questions the data and challenges current policy, human trafficking discourse continues to be retold in media and reproduced in popular culture, often in ways that actually diverge from the current version of the grand narrative. In contrast to these uncritical representations, ethnographic data from Bosnia suggest that the master narrative is selective in how it represents the history of the problem and that it does not 'take up' important details about the context that fosters sexual exploitation, despite Bosnia's compliance with US policy. Conversely, Kazakhstan suffers a liminal status regardless of local efforts to prevent the problem from happening within its borders as well as evidence that the crime is not widespread. While perhaps not mythical, I suggest that the master narrative contains the stuff of legend as it occupies the critical spaces of policy, activism and development, leaving open the question of how to address the nuances and needs of responding to victims of gender violence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In December 1997, the Republic of Kazakhstan officially proclaimed that the city of Astana would be its new capital. The decision to transfer the seat of government from the city of Almaty in the south to the more centrally located Astana was connected to the process of nation building in a multi-ethnic society where the titular nation represents little more than half of the population. Efforts to transform the rather remote regional center, Akmola (later renamed Astana) into a modern capital city have been underway since the late 1990s. One important component of this transformation is the idea of building a “metabolic” and sustainable “Eurasian” city. As the symbolic center of the whole country, this new capital would function as a showpiece of Kazakh culture and identity. The city would also become a symbol of economic prosperity and the regime's geopolitical vision. While the government's intensions are expressed rather openly, it remains unclear to what extent these politically verbalized leitmotivs are actually being realized through contemporary architecture and structure. This article offers a critical assessment of what has been achieved to date and argues that the production of the new Kazakhstani capital has often failed to translate rhetoric into reality. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Abstract: West Junggar (NW China) and East Kazakhstan are situated in the southwest of the Central Asian orogenic belt (CAOB). Tectonic entities in the two areas share the same tectonic evolution history and make up the famous horseshoe-shaped orocline in Central Asia. This paper presents a newly compiled cross-border tectonic sketch map of West Junggar and East Kazakhstan and proposes the extension of the Chingiz–Tarbagatai belt and the North Balkhash-West Junggar belt. The Chingiz–Tarbagatai Belt in East Kazakhstan consists mainly of Middle-Late Ordovician differentiated volcanic rocks, pyroclastic sediments and flysch; while in the Tarbagatai Mountain in China, Tarbagatai (Kujibai) ophiolite is newly found with zircon (gabbro) age of 478±3Ma and the Ordovician flysch metamorphosed to a greenschist facies is distinguished from Devonian–Carboniferous rock associations. Therefore, the Early Paleozoic Chingiz–Tarbagatai belt of East Kazakhstan evidently extends to the northern part of West Junggar along the Tarbagatai orogenic belt. The North Balkhash-West Junggar belt lying south to the Chingiz–Tarbagatai belt is separated by the EW-trending Baiyanghe–Heshituoluogai depression in West Junggar. Early Ordovician–Early Silurian ophiolitic fragments and related pyroclastic sediments are widely exposed in Tekturmas, North Balkhash and Agadyr of East Kazashtan. Similarly, Early Paleozoic ophiolites have also been verified in Tangbale, Mayile, Baerluke, Darbut and Karamay of West Junggar in recent years. Therefore, nearly all ophiolites in West Junggar and East Kazakhstan are proved to have formed in Early Paleozoic, which suggests that the evolution of the paleo-ocean in the two areas reached its peak in the Early Paleozoic. Based on the ages of the Tangbale, Karamay and Hongguleleng ophiolites, an Early Paleozoic continental accretionary belt extending from Tangbale to Hongguleleng is determined at the NW margin of the Junggar basin for the first time. According to spatiotemporal comparison, ophiolites exposed in West Junggar and East Kazakhstan might originate from the same paleo-ocean tectonic region, and then the North Balkhash in East Kazakhstan and the West Junggar were offset for a long distance with respect to each other by the major Junggar dextral fault. Because of the large-scale accretion of continental crust before Silurian, the Late Paleozoic ocean in West Junggar and East Kazakhstan became smaller with residual nature, and extensive arc-basin-trench systems might be absent during the closure of this residual ocean. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Purpose – The purposes of the study are to compare the investment behavior of farmers in Kazakhstan as a transforming country and in Germany as a Western industrialized country as well as to analyze whether the investment behavior of farmers is consistent with the normative benchmarks of the net present value approach or the real options (RO) approach. Design/methodology/approach – The paper conducted an experiment with 100 Kazakhstani and 106 German farmers. The first part of the experiment describes an investment opportunity in an agricultural and in a non-agricultural treatment. The second part refers to a Holt and Laury lottery to determine farmers' risk attitude that could influence the investment behavior. Findings – The results show that both approaches do not provide an exact prediction of the investment behavior of farmers. However, German farmers invest later than Kazakhstani farmers meaning that the investment behavior of German farmers is closer to the RO approach. This might imply that German farmers are more likely to take into account the value of flexibility when making investment decisions than Kazakhstani farmers. Research limitations/implications – Since investment behavior is country-specific, it is worth investigating whether farmers from other transforming countries would show different investment behavior compared to farmers from other Western industrialized countries. Furthermore, decision-making behavior related to investments could be different from that related to disinvestments. Therefore, it may be interesting to analyze the disinvestment decisions of farmers in transforming and Western industrialized countries. Practical implications – The results show that it is not acceptable to apply the results of experiments investigating the investment behavior of entrepreneurs in a transforming country to entrepreneurs in a Western industrialized country and vice versa. Furthermore, training for farmers is needed because there is still room for improvement in order to achieve the RO benchmark. Finally, taking into account RO effects could improve the results of policy impact analysis. Originality/value – This is the first experimental study comparing the investment behavior of farmers from a transforming country and from a Western industrialized country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although much attention has been paid to national construction in Soviet and post- Soviet Central Asia, the field of literary and cultural analysis of the origins of current national symbols and texts in this region is yet not fully acknowledged and discovered. This article tries to shed light onto the literary construction of an ethnic identity and its historical background in Soviet Kazakhstan and its influence on the post-Soviet ideology in this multicultural country. In doing so it investigates the ways and the time when most of the important historical epics were "re-written," brought back by the Kazakh writers and intellectuals in the mid-twentieth century. The importance of investigating this period and this phenomenon is twofold. First, it provides further contribution to the Soviet creation of binary approaches to the formation of ethnic identities and the continuous attack on local nationalisms. Following the arguments of some scholars in the field (e.g. [Adams, Laura. 1999. "Invention, Institutionalization and Renewal in Uzbekistan's National Culture." European Journal of Cultural Studies 2; Dave, Bhavna. 2007. Kazakhstan: Ethnicity and Power. London: Routledge]) this asserts that the local cultural elites found ways of bargaining and re-structuring such identity contributing to its "localization" through the usage of pre-Soviet and pre-Russian historical symbols. In a way, they were able to construct their own "imagined community" and resistance to the past and existing (according to them) colonialism within the given framework of Kazakh- Soviet literature. Secondly, the historicity that became a leitmotif of most important literary works and later on a main focus of national ideology in post-Soviet Kazakhstan must be viewed not just as an instrument of legitimation in this post- colonial state but also as a strong continuity of cultural and ethnic identity lines. The very fact that a detailed and continued genealogy of Kazakh medieval tribes and rulers was the main focus of major works by such famous Kazakh writers as Mukhtar Auezov or Ilyas Yessenberlin demonstrates the importance of the "continuity" and kinship and family lines for Kazakhs. The paper raises the questions of how national and elitist these movements were before the independence and how the further post-independent projects of using and re-establishing these links and continuity formed more questions than answers for the nation-builders in independent Kazakhstan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

this paper aims at analyzing of the possible ways of harmonization of the EU legal norms and norms of the newly created Customs Union of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan as one of the outcomes of the process of Eurasian integration. First, the author examined the process of adoption of the legal basis for functioning of the Customs Union, then, these legal norms were analyzed in the light of the EU law, and finally, the author sets some ways for harmonization between two legal orders, particularly through the procedure of transit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]