Intimacy on Display: Movie Stars,Images and Everyday Life in South India

Because of the close links between the Tamil movie industry and politics, and the position of fans in this, everyday engagements of fans with their actors are generally overlooked. This article focuses on how fandom unfolds in the familial space in Tamil Nadu state, South India. Brothers fight over images, newlywed couples insert movie stars in their wedding photography, and fathers take a son to their favorite star to get him back on the right track. I argue that fandom is inflected in familial relationships as well as being informed by them. Further, I argue that personalized images of movie stars play a crucial role herein.     

Shades of Empire: Police Photography in German South-West Africa

This article looks at a photographic album produced by the German police in colonial Namibia just before World War I. Late 19th- and early 20th-century police photography has often been interpreted as a form of visual production that epitomized power and regimes of surveillance imposed by the state apparatuses on the poor, the criminal and the Other. On the other hand police and prison institutions became favored sites where photography could be put at the service of the emergent sciences of the human body—physiognomy, anthropometry and anthropology. While the conjuncture of institutionalized colonial state power and the production of scientific knowledge remain important for this Namibian case study, the article explores a slightly different set of questions. Echoing recent scholarship on visuality and materiality the photographic album is treated as an archival object and visual narrative that was at the same time constituted by and constitutive of material and discursive practices within early 20th-century police and prison institutions in the German colony. By shifting attention away from image content and visual codification alone toward the question of visual practice the article traces the ways in which the photo album, with its ambivalent, unstable and uncontained narrative, became historically active and meaningful. Therein the photographs were less informed by an abstract theory of anthropological and racial classification but rather entrenched with historically contingent processes of colonial state constitution, socioeconomic and racial stratification, and the institutional integration of photography as a medium and a technology into colonial policing. The photo album provides a textured sense of how fragmented and contested these processes remained throughout the German colonial period, but also how photography could offer a means of transcending the limits and frailties brought by the realities on the ground.     

Estimating HIV Incidence Based on Combined Prevalence Testing

Summary .  Knowledge of incidence rates of HIV and other infectious diseases is important in evaluating the state of an epidemic as well as for designing interventional studies. Estimation of disease incidence from longitudinal studies can be expensive and time consuming. Alternatively, Janssen et al. (1998,  Journal of the American Medical Association   280, 42–48) proposed the estimation of HIV incidence at a single point in time based on the combined use of a standard and "detuned" antibody assay. This article frames the problem from a longitudinal perspective, from which the maximum likelihood estimator of incidence is determined and compared with the Janssen estimator. The formulation also allows estimation for general situations, including different batteries of tests among subjects, inclusion of covariates, and a comparative evaluation of different test batteries to help guide study design. The methods are illustrated with data from an HIV interventional trial and a seroprevalence survey recently conducted in Botswana.     

Children through the Looking Glass

In recent decades social scientists have taken a renewed interest in Western conceptions of the child, revealing often contradictory notions of children as either lacking or capable, innocent or knowing, vulnerable or dangerous. The fine-art photograph offers visual anthropology a way to explore these contradictions and shifts in attitude. This essay addresses the question through the changing representations of children in 19th- and 20th-century art photography. Reaching back to the work of Julia Margaret Cameron, it examines images of children by Lewis Hine, Edward Weston, Helen Levitt, Sally Mann, Anthony Goicolea, and the Russian collective, AES?+?F, arguing that in these photographs the child has increasingly been perceived as mysterious and threatening to adult ideas of sexual and social order. The essay concludes with the case of Jacques-Henri Lartigue, who among all the noted photographers of children was the only one who brought a child’s perspective to the portrayal of childhood experience. If contemporary photographers have persisted in conveying disturbing and idealized notions of childhood, it may require another Lartigue to restore the balance.     

Reviews

Book reviewed in this article: Hendriks-Jansen , H. 1996: Catching ourselves in the act. Jules B. 1995 Dialogues on perception. Baron, G., Stephan, H. & Frahm , H. D. (eds) 1996: Comparative neurobiology in Chiroptera. Wesson, R. 1993: Die unberechenbare Ordnung.     

Study of die back disease incidence of neem in Karnataka,India and PCR based identification of the isolates

A disease survey of die back of neem was done in different agroclimatic regions of Karnataka, India using Global Positioning System (GARMIN 12). Twigs of Azadirachta indica (Neem) infected with die back were collected from different regions of Karnataka, India and they were further analysed to determine the pathogen. Phomopsis azadirachtae the causal organism was isolated on malt extract agar from die back infected neem twigs. They were identified by conventional and molecular methods. Phomopsis genus specific primers (5.8S r-DNA) were then used for the detection of P. azadirachtae, the causative agent of die back of neem by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Studies revealed the amplification of expected 141 bp DNA in P. azadirachtae isolated from the diseased trees of different regions of Karnataka indicating the causal organism of die back disease on neem. Studies revealed a very high incidence of die back in most of the places of Karnataka. This is the first report on disease incidence of die back of neem. Hand held GPS was used in the study which helps in continuous monitoring of the diseased trees.     

印度生物遗传资源和相关传统知识获取制度发展动态研究

印度是世界上生物多样性最丰富的国家之一,主张遗传资源主权归国家所有并实现遗传资源惠益公平分享。印度政府于2003年颁布了《生物多样性法》,2004年又补充颁布了《生物多样性条例》,明确规定国家对其生物资源及相关传统知识的主权、保护原则、主管部门和管理体系、获取和惠益分享等问题。2014年又制订发布了《生物资源及相关传统知识获取规则指南》,对生物考察和利用、商业开发的惠益形式与比例、成果转化程序与惠益分享方式、知识产权获取程序与惠益分享形式、第三方转让为研究或商业利用、豁免审批情况等都作出了详细明确的规定。从印度遗传资源获取与惠益分享制度体系发展动态来看,印度的制度构建过程是循序渐进,不断更新,逐步趋于完善、细化。印度的遗传资源制度体系建设紧跟国际发展形势,从原则性的规定发展到具体措施。印度与中国生物遗传资源及相关传统知识国情相似,国际谈判立场一致,印度的遗传资源获取与惠益分享管理制度体系构建思路值得中国在国内遗传资源获取与惠益分享国家制度体系构建借鉴。     

Biochemical studies on the antidiarrhoeal effects of Cauvery-100, an ayurvedic formulation, in rats.

Diarrhoea is a common gastrointestinal disorder which is a state of fluid and ion loss from the gut. Cauvery-100, an Ayurvedic formulation has been used in this study for the treatment of diarrhoea. Diarrhoea was induced in experimental rats by oral administration of castor oil. The increased gastrointestinal motility in diarrhoea was brought back to near normal levels on the treatment of Cauvery-100. The activities of the enzymes alkaline phosphatase, total ATPase and Na+,K(+)-ATPase were decreased in the diarrhoeal group and was brought back to near normal levels in the treated group. The serum levels of sodium and potassium were decreased in the diarrhoeal group and brought back to normal levels in the treated group. Prior treatment of the drug Cauvery-100 did not induce diarrhoea on administration of castor oil, suggesting the protective influence of the drug on the gastrointestinal tract.     

Factors influencing food-load sizes brought in by Shags Phalacrocorax aristotelis during chick rearing

Weights of food loads brought back to the colony by 26 Shags Phalacrocorax aristotelis rearing chicks were determined using the water-offloading procedure. Loads consisted almost entirely of lesser sandeels Ammodytes marinus. Load size was extremely variable, ranging from 8 to 208 g with a mean load weight of 106 g. Data on foraging behaviour collected concurrently demonstrated that Shags brought back heavier loads when they were feeding farther away from the colony and when brood biomass was larger. These two variables together explained 70.3% of the variation in load size. We postulate that adults had already digested their own food requirements by the time they arrived back at the nest, and the contents of the loads were therefore primarily for the young. On 67% of trips, Shags caught, on average, more than one fish per dive. This estimate ignores the food requirements of the adult, and therefore true prey-capture rates must have been higher.     

Themes in Early South Indian Commercial Photography

While prior to the development of a commercial market for photography, portraiture had been the primary focus, it was demand from the market that led to various new themes that can be identified in the work of the commercial photographers in South India during the second half of the 19th century. The primary market was no longer made up of local residents but visitors who sought mementos of their visit, to remind them of places they had seen, views of the landscape through which they had passed, and the local people, so different in appearance and habit from citizens of their own countries. Photography also served to record events, such as the terrible famine in South India in 1876–77. The doyen of photographers in India was Samuel Bourne (1834–1912). He set a standard and style for all to follow, but paid just one visit to the south. Capt. Edmund Lyon (1825–91), on extended leave from the army, made an extensive photographic record of the historic buildings and sites of South India for the government. The leading commercial photographers of South India were the Nicholas Brothers with studios in Madras (now Chennai) and Ootacamund. They were joined by A.T.W. Penn (1849–1924) who ran their Ootacamund branch from 1865 to 1875 but then acquired it from them and started up under his own name.     

Religion,ethnicity and politics: Hindu and Muslim Indian immigrants in the United States

This article focuses on the political struggles between Hindu and Muslim Indian immigrant groups in the United States over the definition of "Indianness". Hindu Indian American organizations define India as a Hindu society and are strong supporters of the Hindu nationalist movement in India. Muslim Indian American organizations, on the other hand, view India as a multi-religious and multicultural society. They are striving to safeguard India's secularism and towards this end, have entered into coalitional relationships with lower caste groups. Both types of organizations are working to influence American and Indian politics in line with their respective interests, leading to an exacerbation of the conflict between the two immigrant groups. This article examines the reasons for this development and its implications, both for the development of an Indian American community in the United States and for religion and politics in India.     

Robert Koch

This article traces the origins of bacteriological research, with particular attention to the role of Robert Koch, and his postulates, on infectious agents. By chronologically following Koch's work on anthrax, germ photography and tuberculosis, it shows how the visual representation of germs transformed laboratory research in medical science.     

Digital photography for rhinoplasty

Standardized, high-quality, preoperative photographs of the nose are critical for preoperative rhinoplasty planning, comparative postoperative assessment, and demonstration of surgical results. To produce these high-quality, reproducible photographs, it is essential to standardize lighting, to properly position the patient in standard views, to avoid lens distortion, and to maintain consistent camera-to-subject distances. Traditional photographic standards have been well documented in the literature; however, most do not address digital photography, and none address digital photography for rhinoplasty. Certain variables in digital photography that are not present in 35-mm photography can be critical to the appearance of the final image. Variables such as image color and contrast (which usually vary between digital cameras), focal length differences between 35-mm and most digital cameras, the effect of resolution and compression on image quality, and the effect of the printing method used can affect the appearance of the external anatomy of the nose in the final print or image. Lack of detail in the external nasal anatomy becomes an issue if the surgeon uses the photograph intraoperatively for reference, as the authors do. Initially, the authors experienced difficulties with observing subtleties in the tip-defining points and tip anatomy using digital photography when compared with our traditional methods of 35-mm photography. The lack of detail in the external anatomy was most prevalent in the frontal and basal views. Thus, the authors have since tailored their photographic methods to document the rhinoplasty patient to maximize the visual information of the external nasal anatomy in the photographic and the printed image. This article is intended to review the photographic principles for standardized rhinoplasty photography, address the additional considerations necessary when using digital photography, discuss the printing variables that can affect overall quality of the printed image, and discuss the authors' new method of photographing the rhinoplasty patient.     

Partial Stories: Repeat Photography,Narratives and Environmental Change in Tanzania

Repeat photography has emerged as a popular tool for visualizing climate change yet has been employed relatively little by visual and environmental anthropologists. Based on research in Tanzania’s South Pare Mountains, this article shows how repeat photography can be a powerful method for environmental anthropologists both practically and epistemologically: repeat photography as a practice integrates well with ethnography, while the contradictions emerging through multimodal research help us reflect on the narratives about environmental change that we encounter and write ourselves. At the same time, detailed ethnography is crucial for understanding the lived experience and wider politico-economic dimensions of landscape change that are not visible through repeat photography alone.     

Jewish children under the camera: An ethnographic study of Jewish children in Britain

This article seeks to explore the use of photography as a tool for ethnographic research, having regard to the nature of participant observation as the primary method involved. A study of Jewish children in the center of England highlights a range of creative possibilities for the use of photography. An examination of the Jewish tradition reinforces the need for depth of understanding if one is to forge a truly empathetic relationship that links subject and object in photographic exploration.     

Evocative Encounters: An Exploration of Artistic Practice as a Visual Research Method

The main objective of this article is to discuss a rethinking of knowledge production that involves the incorporation of artistic practice as one aspect of its methodology. The point of departure is still photography as one such practice, and the fact that it is almost entirely banished from mainstream social anthropological methodology and analysis. To acquire a new position for photography within social science research practice, a repositioning of both the researcher and the role of the image itself is sought. It is suggested that a visual methodology based on still photography must move beyond the interpretational boundary of the realist representational paradigm and approach the expressive aspect of the photographic medium. The empirical foundation for this article is the author's experience as an art photographer as well as a photographing social anthropologist in the northern province of Ethiopia, Tigray (Tigre).     

The anthropologist as photographer: The visual construction of ethnographic authority

“The Anthropologist as Author"—Clifford Geertz's formulation is emblematic of a theme of anthropology in the 1980s, ethnographic writing. Ethnographic photography, however, was barely a subject of consideration. Reviewing Evans‐Pritchard's The Nuer, a book widely re‐read in the writing culture debate, this article investigates not only the author's visual construction of ethnographic authority. It also reveals ethnographic photography as a medium, which can undermine this authority in a subtle yet compelling manner. Thus concentrating on the medium itself this paper investigates the uneasy relationship between photography and anthropology, and proposes an approach to ethnographic photography that goes beyond the questions of representation.¹     

Detection of Prunus necrotic ring spot virus in plum,cherry and almond by serological and molecular techniques from India

Stone fruits are cultivated in the temperate and sub-temperate regions of India. During surveys in stone fruit growing areas, viral symptoms were observed in almond, cherry and plum. These samples were brought to the laboratory for further detection at serological and molecular levels to check the presence of virus. In the present study, incidence of PNRSV is reported on plum (Prunus domestica), almond (Prunus dulcis) and cherry (Prunus avium) using serological and molecular techniques. Coat protein gene of PNRSV was amplified from almond, cherry and plum. This is the first molecular evidence of PNRSV on these stone fruits reported from India.     

Meeting report: a symposium on the evolution of common molecular pathways underlying innate immunity

The University of California, Davis hosted a symposium on innate immunity in January 2012. Professors Bruce Beutler, Jules Hoffmann, Luke O'Neill and Pamela Ronald discussed their research on mechanisms that multicellular organisms use to recognize microbes.