This is the first in a series of articles titled “‘The Chakri Reformation’ of Siam.“ The aim of the series is to analyze the inherent logic of the political modernization of Siam, which was initiated and pursued under the royal leadership of the Chakri dynasty in response to Western impact from the mid-nineteenth century.
 This first article aims to clarify the crucial role played by King Rama IV, who was enthroned in 1851 and, by his decision to enter into Bowring Treaty with the Great Britain in 1855, opened up Siam for a new era of modernization. The point of argument here is that Rama IV did not so much contribute to the modernization of Siamese society, as is often said, but rather tended to meet the threat of Western impact by applying traditional patterns of royal leadership and elements of his own culture. Therefore, under Rama IV, a systematic framework of policies for modernization was hardly formed.
 The primary sources here employed are the royal decrees, proclamations and the like issued by King Rama IV during his reign (1851-1868), which are all collected in Prachum kotmaai pracham-sok (collection of Siamese Laws on an annual basis). King Rama IV promulgated a total of 372 legal documents, mostly royal decrees. This article seeks to verify the king's essentially conservative orientation through extensive analysis of all the 372 decrees.

抄録全体を表示

The purpose of the present paper is to examine how the financial system of the Philippines has become vulnerable in the process of interaction with such macroeconomic policies as monetary and fiscal and exchange rate policies during the crisis in the 1980s, and then to search for the key aspects to be tackled in order to rebuild the system into a sounder and more robust one.
 We ensure that a vicious circle has operated through the past two decades. Government intervention in the financial system repressed its function with various forms of regulations. When the resulting cumulative distortions in the system led to financial crises, the intervention took the form of “relief,” which generated more serious moral hazard, imposed heavier costs on government finance and then led to macroeconomic instability, i.e. domestic as well as external imbalances. This instability has made the financial system more and more vulnerable.
 Then we argue that, in order for the Philippines' financial system to work out its essential function, it is indispensable to establish fiscal discipline not to “socialize” commercial risks. to promote private financial intermediation through improved protection of depositors and strengthened surveillance of financial institutions, and, finally and most importantly, to maintain the macroeconomic stability.

抄録全体を表示

Asian cultivated rice (Oryza sativa L.) is believed to have been born in the hills of sub-tropical Asia, in an area stretching from Bhutan to southwest China called the “Oriental fertile crescent.” This hypothesis was originally proposed by workers in such fields as agronomy, ecology, ethnology and ethnobotany. It is supported by a number of genetic studies showing the center of genetic diversity to lie in this area.
 This hypothesis assumes that cultivated rice has monophyletic origin: the two subspecies of cultivated rice, indica and japonica, evolved simultaneously a common ancestor in the Oriental fertile crescent.
 A diphyletic theory has also been proposed by several researchers since 1940s. Zhou claimed that japonica was born in China. Recent molecular genetic studies have shown that indica and japonica might have derived from different ancestors. Archaeological data also contradict the monophyletic hypothesis. Wang showed that the oldest rice cultivation was established in the Taifu area in the lower basin of the Yangtze river, not in the southwest area. From these data, it can be assumed that cultivated rice probably evolved from different ancestors at plural sites, and that some varieties of japonica were born in east China.
 It is necessary to accumulate more evidence to discuss origin and dissemination of cultivated rice precisely. Bio-archaeological approaches are now being applied to plant remains excavated from archaeological sites.

抄録全体を表示

The reclamation of potential acid sulfate soils for agriculture involves the danger that pyritic minerals present in the soil will be oxidized and produce unfavorable conditions for plant growth. Pyritic minerals are oxidized when swamp is reclaimed by forest cutting, canal excavation, and destruction of the covering peat layer.
 In South Kalimantan, Banjarese people use an “adaptive” agricultural technique to cultivate rice and perennial crops on potential acid sulfate soils. Its characteristic features are as follows.
(1) Drainage is kept to the minimum needed for the reclamation, so as to depress the oxidation of pyritic sediments.
(2) The traditional method of swamp-land rice cultivation is employed.
(3) The secondary Melaleuca forest is conserved by the shifting cultivation of rice cultivation with long-term planting and long-term fallowing periods.
 This paper presents details of the adaptive rice culture techniques and the cycle of land use in South Kalimantan. The chemical and geomorphic characters of the sediments will be presented in forthcoming papers.

抄録全体を表示