Southeast Asia

Researchers at the Asian Institute of Technology in Thailand undertook a study to evaluate caging densities and pond loading rates for tilapia that were caged and fed within semi-intensive ponds with small tilapia at large. Such a system could be an effective means to produce large tilapia efficiently. Caged tilapia were stocked at five densities, and held in ponds loaded at two rates for 90 days of culture. Growth rates of the caged tilapia were similar regardless of stocking density; however, survival rates differed significantly with cage density, with fish at higher densities exhibiting very high mortality rates. Growth and mortality rates of the uncaged tilapia were similar to rates found using other culture systems, even though the only source of nutrients was the unused feed and excretory products of the caged fish. Water quality did not deteriorate within the ponds at either loading rate. Cage stocking densities of 64 fish per m resulted in good survival and significant growth.


II. The Lesson
A. Introduction -Day 1 Goal: to grab their attention...and keep it!!!!! 1. Put unlabeled maps of five different geographic regions on the board. Have students pick out which one they think is Southeast Asia.
Example maps: Middle East, China, Latin America, Russia, Southeast Asia, Europe 2. Put a large map of Southeast Asia on the board (one that can be written on) and call a student to come up and outline and label each country with a brightly colored marker. Afterwards, the instructor should give a short background and one interesting cultural feature of that country. Repeat for all eleven countries.

example: Thailand
Centrally located in continental Southeast Asia, but has access to sea trade off of the Gulf of Thailand and the Andaman Sea. One interesting feature is that it is the only Southeast Asian country that was not formally colonized by a European country.

example: Burma (Myanmar)
Located on the western edge of continental Southeast Asia, but has access to sea trade off the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea. Its borders cross with the People's Republic of China (including Tibet), Laos, Thailand, Bangladesh, and India. One interesting feature is that the country has vast amounts of forested land, in contrast to most Southeast Asian countries where timber reserves are fast becoming depleted.

example: Philippines
Located off to the east of continental Southeast Asia, and composed of 7,000 islands, the Philippines had limited contact with Hinduism or Indian trade, and no documented trade or exposure to Buddhist countries. Its location made it heavily involved in trade with present-day Indonesia and China. The Spanish conquest of the country in the 1500s brought Roman Catholicism, and one interesting feature is that the Philippines is the only predominantly Christian country in all of Asia today.

example: Indonesia
Located in the southernmost area of Southeast Asia, and north of Australia, Indonesia is the fourth largest country (in terms of population) in the world. It is composed of 13,000 islands, the largest of which are Borneo (Kalimantan), Sumatra, and Java. The eastern part of the Indonesian archipelago is famous historically for its spices, which made it a major trading entrepot and exporter to India, China, and later the Middle East and eventually Europe. Indonesia is also the world's largest Islamic country in the world (in terms of population) today.

example: Brunei
Located on the northwest side of the large island of Borneo, the ancient but currently small state of Brunei was once a sultanate in charge of the entire island of Borneo and the Sulu islands of the southern Philippines. One interesting fact is that the standard of living in the current Sultanate of Brunei is among the highest in all of Southeast Asia because of the rich oil deposits; nearly 3/4 of the country's population are employed in the oil industry.

example: Singapore
Located on the southern tip of the Malaysian peninsula, Singapore is a city-state that is only about 3/4 of a mile wide. It is one of the most important ports and high-technology, banking areas of Southeast Asia. It also has the highest standard of living in the region, owing to the fact that it is entirely urban. One interesting fact is that this is the only country of Southeast Asia where the Chinese population is dominant numerically.

example: Laos
Located inland between the People's Republic of China, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand and Burma, Laos is the only landlocked country (with access to the sea) in Southeast Asia. A very mountainous country, the Laotian population numbers less than 5 million. One interesting (but tragic) fact is that Laos is historically the most bombed country in modern history, owing to the Indochina wars of the 1970s.

example: Vietnam
Vietnam lies of the eastern edge of continental Southeast Asia. It was a country influenced as much by China as by India, and a country where both France (as a colonial ruler) and the United States (as an anti-communist defender of democratic South Vietnam) fought bitter wars. One interesting fact is that Vietnam is perhaps the only country where the U.S. lost a major war.

example: Cambodia
A relatively small country surrounding the important lake of Tonle Sap, where the Khmer civilization built a great and early empire owing to the well-watered delta of the Mekong River. Devastated by war and genocide in more recent decades, Cambodia is the ancestral home of one of the largest religious structures ever built -the temples of the empire of Angkor.

example: Malaysia
Located south of Thailand and north of Singapore, the country of Malaysia is one of the most ethnically plural in all of Southeast Asia. Slightly more than half of the country is ethnically Malay; the rest are Chinese and Indian populations descended from the years of British colonial rule, when large numbers of immigrants were brought in to work the tin mines, rubber plantations, and other industries. One interesting fact is that Malaysia has made many great strides as a country in reaching "developed country" economic status--more than any other agriculturally-based country in Southeast Asia.

B. The Colonial History -Day 2-4
Goal: for the students to understand how colonization shaped what Southeast Asia is today.
1. This lesson must be broken up over a period of 3 days or else each country will "run together" in the minds of the students. However, an in-depth analysis of each country is not necessary for the purpose of this introductory lesson.
Materials: study guide/ worksheet for students to fill in as they go along (see worksheet at end of this module) East Timor (Portugal) 2. As you brief the students in a lecture/ discussion format, they should be following along, filling in their study guides. Prompt students to ask questions!!! Read the chapter entitled "The European Advance and Challenge" in the book by Milton Osborne, Southeast Asia: An Introductory History, in order to review the features of colonialism for each country in Southeast Asia.

C. Geography -Day 5-6
Goal: for the students to be able to pick out the main geographical features and see how geography affects each country.

Materials: Unlabeled map of Southeast Asia for each student
Large scale maps to hang on all walls of classroom 1. Assign each student a country and have them pick out as many geographical features as they can in their country by walking around and looking at the different maps on the walls (each map should be different: topographical, demographical, etc.) 2. Regroup in ten minutes and share answers with students filling in the most important features on their study guides. As the class goes through each country, explain how geography affects each one: economically, linguistically, socially, etc.

example: Philippines
The student explains that it is located in insular Southeast Asia, that it seems to be comprised of three main sections (Luzon island, central Visayan islands, and the southern region of Mindanao, Palawan and the Sulu archipelago). There are also a few mountain ranges in the northern part of Luzon, known as the Gran Cordillera, and there are a lot of volcanoes.
The instructor explains the significant way in which the Philippines differs from other countries in Southeast Asia, e.g., because of its seaward location, it lay outside the spice trade of eastern Indonesia and outside the lucrative trade between the Middle East, India and China. As a result, it was never really affected by Hinduism and Buddhism. There are also significant differences between highland and lowland cultures in the Philippines.

D. Southeast Asia Today -Day 7(wrap up)
Goal: for students to be aware of the current situation in Southeast Asia and to make this information relevant to their lives.
1. Assignment: (to be assigned during the previous class period) Two paragraphs on the current state of his/her assigned country.
Directions: Research on-line (or by other means) a current happening or event in a country of Southeast Asia and complete a two paragraph write-up that will be presented in front of the class.
2. Group the students up into their previously assigned countries and have them report their findings to the class. For example, the Myanmar students go first, then the Philippines students, etc. The instructor then explains in more detail the current geo-political, economic, etc. situation of each country after the students have shared their current events.

example: Cambodia
Student reports on the continuing problem of landmines in the Cambodian countryside as a result of their war-ravaged past. Teacher reports, in agreement, that it is one of the world's most heavily land mined countries with an estimated four to six million UXOs still in the ground, waiting to be detonated. Also, despite the decline in political tensions, violence and street crime are still serious problems owing to poverty in the country.