Rajesh Rai

Abstract: To glue the graphene oxide (GO) nanosheets more firmly and to fabricate more stable GO membranes for long-term applications, three types of graphene oxide framework (GOF) membranes have been molecularly constructed via the aldehyde-functionalization of GO and a pressure assisted ultrafiltration method. The resultant GOF membranes not only possess GO/aldehyde covalent bonds but also display adjustable microstructural properties, confirmed by FTIR, XPS, XRD and positron annihilation spectroscopy (PAS). All aldehyde modified GOF membranes exhibited much improved separation performance for ethanol dehydration via pervaporation, as compared with the pristine GO membrane. The GOF membranes were also tested for the dehydration of ethanol, isopropanol, and n -butanol at different feed temperatures. Excellent separation performance at 60 °C for n -butanol dehydration was obtained with a high flux of 2593 g m −2 h −1 and the water concentration in permeate of 99.7 wt%. Importantly, the pervaporation stability of GOF membranes at a relatively high temperature was investigated for the first time. The membranes performed well for the dehydration of alcohols at 60 °C within a long period of 160–200 h.

Abstract: Introduction Rajesh Rai and Peter Reeves Part 1: Transnational Networks 1 Ethnicity, locality and circulation in two diasporic merchant networks from South Asia Claude Markovits 2 The social world of Gujarati merchants and their Indian Ocean networks in the seventeenth century Murari Kumar Jha 3 Subaltern networks in a colonial diaspora: a study of Indian migrants and Mauritius Marina Carter 4 An entrepreneurial diaspora? Transnational space and India's international economic expansion Peter Reeves Part 2: Socio-economic Identities & Change 5 Indians in Southeast Asia: migrant labour, knowledge workers and the new India Amarjit Kaur 6 Indo-Fijians: roots and routes Brij V Lal 7 From Bharat to Sri Ram Desh: the emigration of Indian indentured labourers to Suriname Chan ES Choenni 8 Sociological reflections on the diasporic Bangladeshis in Singapore and USA Habibul Haque Khondker Part 3: Culture & Changing Diasporic Identities 9 The attrition and survival of minor South Asian languages in Singapore Rajesh Rai 10 Forging kinship with food: the experience of South Indians in Malaysia Theresa W Devasahayam 11 Bhai Maharaj Singh and the making of a 'model minority': Sikhs in Singapore Tan Li Jen 12 'The familiar temporariness': Naipaul, diaspora and the literary imagination: a personal narrative Vijay Mishra

Abstract: This paper examines how local and transnational developments converged in 1857 to transform European attitudes towards Indian inhabitants in Singapore. Recognized in preceding years as useful to the security and the development of the colony, by late 1857, Indians in Singapore had come to be viewed by Europeans as a ‘menace’. That change in disposition was largely the product of factors extraneous to the actions of the local Indian inhabitants themselves. Besieged by news of multiple challenges to the British Empire, European nerves were rattled by perceived threats emanating from sections of the Asian populace in Singapore. In early 1857, a dispute between Tamil-Muslims and Europeans brought to the fore the latter's anxieties and prejudices. That episode was followed, in May, by news of the massive rebellion of native troops in India. The emerging distrust for Indians was exacerbated by public rumours and fanned by editorials and reports published in the local press. Perceptions of immediate danger from the colony of transported convicts, and the fear of an Indian conspiracy during Muharram, sparked a panic that would have ramifications on the position of Indians in Singapore and leave an imprint on the long term political development of the Straits Settlements.1

Abstract: In the expansive manner in which ‘diaspora’ has come to be employed, the centrality of religion in the ‘classical’ understanding of the concept has been subsumed under categories such as ‘ethnicity’ and ‘culture’. Yet even as religious practices and beliefs undergo transformation in the diaspora, studies of South Asian emigrant groups show that religion remains a key marker of community identity – its pivotal role invigorated by the contemporary precipitation in global connections. By scrutinising the specific experiences, practices and contentions of a wide‐array of diasporic communities, the articles in this Special Issue reveal the renewed power of religion in the South Asian diaspora.

Abstract: The emergence of global history has been one of the more notable features of academic history over the past three decades. Although historians of disease were among the pioneers of one of its earlier incarnations—world history—the recent “global turn” has made relatively little impact on histories of health, disease, and medicine. Most continue to be framed by familiar entities such as the colony or nation-state or are confined to particular medical “traditions.” This article aims to show what can be gained from taking a broader perspective. Its purpose is not to replace other ways of seeing or to write a new “grand narrative” but to show how transnational and transimperial approaches are vital to understanding some of the key issues with which historians of health, disease, and medicine are concerned. Moving on from an analysis of earlier periods of integration, the article offers some reflections on our own era of globalization and on the emerging field of global health.

Abstract: Increasing water consumption and diminishing fresh water resources have created the need for new water treatment technologies to supply safe water for domestic and industrial needs. The development of polymeric nanofiltration (NF) membrane technology led to water treatment at lower operating pressures than that of reverse osmosis. NF membranes reject particles and multivalent ions, however, monovalent ions pass through them along with water molecules. Factors such as selectivity and permeability, and fouling also limit their application. Incorporating suitable nanomaterials with polymer membranes has solved major problems, such as biofouling, scaling, low flux rate, selectivity, and degradation. Recent studies reveal that nanoporous single layer graphene and stacked graphene oxide (GO) membranes with desired spacing between layers are capable of rejecting monovalent ions, and are promising materials for future nanofiltration-based desalination. GO has antifouling properties that are highly advantageous for improving membrane properties. The basic understanding of the mechanism of graphene-based nanofiltration have been reported mainly based on computational studies. Hence, a great deal of experimental research is essential to develop efficient graphene membrane-based desalination methods for practical use. In this review, we highlight various properties of graphene and its derivatives that are essential for improving salt rejection, flux, and antifouling.

Abstract: Resolution of the global fresh-water crisis requires advanced separation systems and hence the search for perfect separation materials is being undertaken vigorously. The ideal membrane material should be capable of being easily fabricated and modified to obtain a controllable performance. Graphene oxide (GO) is a graphene-based material with oxygen-containing functional groups. In recent years, GO-based separation membranes have received a lot of attention in the field of separation technology. In this review, we discuss the methods to fabricate or modify multilayered GO membranes. GO membranes and conventional separation membranes are compared and discussed. Further, we compared the molecular dynamics simulation results and the applications of GO membranes. Finally, we summarize the challenges and point out possible future research directions. This review is expected to help researchers obtain a quick idea of multilayered GO membranes and aid in future research for designing and fabricating multilayered GO membranes.

Abstract: Muslims and the State in Britain, France, and Germany. By Joel S. Fetzer and J. Christopher Soper. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2005. 224p. $60.00 cloth, $14.99 paper. The central question of Joel Fetzer and J. Christopher Soper's well-written and highly accessible book—how to explain the disparate political responses to the religious concerns of Muslims in Britain, France, and Germany—is clearly important. Indeed, while the question was pertinent before the tragedy of September 11 in 2001 and the American invasion and occupation of Iraq in 2003, it has become exponentially more urgent since. Although the difficulties of incorporating Muslim populations into the countries receiving them were neither a cause of nor directly connected to the aforementioned events, the negative chain reaction they subsequently precipitated within and outside of the diverse Muslim community within Western Europe nevertheless exposed serious tensions between many of the community's religious practices and the dominant cultural, social, and political mores of the host societies. In short, the answer to the book's organizing question very much matters for Western Europe's political, religious, and social tranquility.

Abstract: The India Migration Bibliography covers over 3,000 books, research articles and reports written on the subject of internal migration, international migration and diaspora, related to India. The bibliography is inter-disciplinary and provides sections with selected publications by themes, regions, cities, overseas destinations and sample surveys. It will be of considerable interest to academics and non-academics working on migration related issues.