Revising the ethnodevelopment model: addressing Karen self-determination within the context of the failed ethnocratic state of military-ruled Burma

My paper examines the Karen ethnic nationality and their fifty-eight-year self-determination struggle against ethnic cleansing resulting from the ethnocratic and military governments of Burma. I frame Karen self-determination as a development issue by employing Rodolfo Stavenhagen's ethnodevelopment model. Ethnodevelopment argues that, if asymmetrical development occurs within a multi-ethnic state, state-oriented ethnic minority development strategies are needed to neutralize the asymmetry. However, Stavenhagen's ethnodevelopment does not question the premise of an authoritarian state or the systemic crisis experienced by ethnic minorities under authoritarian rule. Thus, I revise ethnodevelopment from its top-to-bottom trajectory where ethnic minority development is dependent upon the centralized state, to a bottom-to-top trajectory I designate as liberation ethnodevelopment. I argue that Karen liberation ethnodevelopment is also a development process, but one that develops and shields the Karen from ethnic cleansing.     

The terms of the debate: Untangling language about ethnicity and ethnic movements

Theoretical debates on ethnicity suffer from a general confusion about the divergent meanings which academics ascribe to key terms. ‘Primordialist’ approaches include biological, psychological and cultural explanations, whose conflation tends to confuse proponents and critics alike. ‘Instrumentalist’ approaches conflate all ethnic movements within a profile of political opportunism, failing to recognize the varying degrees to which underlying social‐institutional incompatibilities may contribute to ethnic conflict. ‘Constructivist’ approaches vacillate between a focus on the influence of intellectual ethnic discourse and an understanding of ethnic identity as developing out of wider bodies of social experience. Greater attention to the varying contribution of ‘deep’ culture to ethnic conflict can clarify why these subschools find such differences among ethnic movements, which can indeed be understood to vary along a spectrum of political functions: at one pole, ethnic movements seek to inflate ethnic sentiment for political purposes; at the other, they seek rather to reconstruct the existing political position of a distinct cultural formation. This distinction can permit more appropriate policy‐making towards the resolution of ethnic conflict, yet raises new challenges to the biases of the researcher.     

Genetic admixture studies on four <Emphasis Type="Italic">in situ</Emphasis> evolved,two migrant and twenty-one ethnic populations of Tamil Nadu,south India

We analysed the genetic structure of ~1000 samples representing 27 ethnic groups settled in Tamil Nadu, south India, derived from two linguistic families (Dravidians and Indo–Europeans) representing four religious groups (Hinduism, Islam, Christianity and Jainism) using 11 mtDNA markers. Out of 27 ethnic groups, four are in situ populations (Anglo-Indian, Labbai Muslim, Nadar Christian and south Indian Jain) and two are migrants (Gypsy and north Indian Jain) from north India to Tamil Nadu, and 21 are native ethnic groups. Six of the markers we used were monomorphic (HaeIII663, HpaI3592, AluI5176, AluI7025, AluI13262, 9-bp deletion) and five markers were polymorphic (DdeI10394, AluI10397, HinfI12308, HincII13259 and HaeIII16517). Haplogroup frequencies, genetic affinities and admixture analysis are based on the genotype data of polymorphic markers observed in these populations. Haplogroup frequencies indicate that various ethnic groups entered Tamil Nadu during different time periods. Genetic affinities and admixture estimates revealed that the ethnic groups possessing advanced knowledge of farming cluster in a branch (C), and could be the late arrived settlers as agriculture, was introduced to this region at about 5 to 3 thousand years ago. In situ ethnic groups appear to have arisen at various times as a result of the prevailing dominant socio-cultural forces. Hierarchical Hindu caste system created many ethnic groups in the history of its existence; some of them became isolated for considerable period of time. Over all, among Tamil ethnic groups, in spite of caste systems’ rigidity, built in flexibility in the system in the form of hypergamy and hypogamy had allowed maternal gene flow between them.     

Saving face: the emotional costs of the Asian immigrant family myth

Access to resources through ethnic group membership is often presumed to affect the intensity of ethnic identification. We examine this premise using survey data on three ethnic groups in Mauritius: Creoles, Hindus, and Muslims. Two key findings emerge from our research. First, access to material resources explains only a modest proportion of total variation in ethnic identification within each group. Second, the resources that affect ethnic identification differ significantly across groups. Access to political goods through group membership affects Hindu identification but is unrelated to ethnic identification among Creoles or Muslims. Conversely, access to economic goods affects Creole and Muslim identification but has no effect on Hindu identification. Explaining these group differences leads us beyond a basic means–ends instrumentalist model to identify conditions that likely mediate the relationship between individual interests and collective identification including the divisibility of economic goods relative to political goods in Mauritius.     

Polymorphism of Glutathione S-Transferases M1 and T1 in Several Populations of Russia

Frequencies of the wild-type and null genotypes of the GSTM1 and GSTT1 genes were established in healthy donors from several Russian populations (ethnic Russians from the towns of Oshevensk and Kholmogory, Arkhangel'sk oblast; ethnic Khants; ethnic Kalmyks; and ethnic Buryats) in order to identify the ethnic group with the maximal frequency of the null genotype. The highest frequency of individuals with the null genotype of both genes was observed in the Kalmyk and Buryat populations. The results may be used to study the effect of climatic and ecological conditions on multifactorial disease incidence in populations.     

The prevalence of obesity in ethnic admixture adults

Objective: To determine whether the prevalence of obesity in ethnic admixture adults varies systematically from the average of the prevalence estimates for the ethnic groups with whom they share a common ethnicity. Methods and Procedures: The sample included 215,000 adults who reported one or more ethnicities, height, weight, and other characteristics through a mailed survey. Results: The highest age‐adjusted prevalence of overweight (BMI ≥ 25) was in Hawaiian/Latino men (88%; n = 41) and black/Latina women (74.5%; n = 79), and highest obesity (BMI ≥ 30) rates were in Hawaiian/Latino men (53.7%; n = 41) and Hawaiian women (39.2%, n = 1,247). The prevalence estimates for most admixed groups were similar to or higher than the average of the prevalences for the ethnic groups with whom they shared common ethnicities. For instance, the prevalence of overweight/obesity in five ethnic admixtures—Asian/white, Hawaiian/white, Hawaiian/Asian, Latina/white, and Hawaiian/Asian/white ethnic admixtures—was significantly higher (P < 0.0001) than the average of the prevalence estimates for their component ethnic groups. Discussion: The identification of individuals who have a high‐risk ethnic admixture is important not only to the personal health and well‐being of such individuals, but could also be important to future efforts in order to control the epidemic of obesity in the United States.     

基于多位点序列分型对新疆伊宁学龄儿童肠道两歧双歧杆菌(Bifidobacterium bifidum)群体遗传差异解析

【背景】两歧双歧杆菌(Bifidobacterium bifidum)是专性代谢人体母乳寡糖(human milk oligosaccharides, HMOs)和宿主肠道黏膜上皮黏蛋白聚糖的肠道共栖益生菌,对生命早期健康和发育至关重要,目前对其不同人群来源的群体遗传报道较少。【目的】探究在有限地域内遗传、饮食相近人群来源的B. bifidum菌株集的遗传结构是否具有族群特异的规律性,为开发个性化的益生菌株提供理论基础。【方法】对来自新疆伊宁两个族群(维吾尔族和哈萨克族)学龄儿童队列的肠道两歧双歧杆菌进行分离和鉴定,共获得115个菌株,对基于细菌基因组重复序列PCR (repetitive sequence-PCR, rep-PCR)方法筛选的53株代表菌株采用多位点序列分型(multilocus sequence typing, MLST)进行群体遗传差异分析。【结果】53株代表菌株共分为37个序列型(sequence type, ST),具有很高的遗传多样性;其中26株源自维吾尔族儿童的菌株有17个ST,而20个ST来自27株哈萨克族儿童的菌株,两个族群来源的菌株之间检测到较少的同源基因重组事件。goeBURST分析显示,来自同一族群的B. bifidum分离株比来自另一族群的菌株更有可能被归入特定的系统发育分支或克隆复合体(clonal complexes, CC)。【结论】不同族群来源的B. bifidum分离株显示出较高的遗传多样性,群体遗传结构一定程度上呈现出民族族群来源的特异性,需要更大规模的取样证实。这为进一步开展体内外实验并筛选针对区域族群的特色优良益生菌株提供了理论基础。     

Chosen peoples: Why ethnic groups survive*

The persistence of ethnic communities is a neglected area of research. The study of ethnies over long time‐spans requires comparison of different patterns of ethnic survival, in terms of symbols and myths of ethnic election. Such myths can be found in the ancient Near East, in Judea, Greece, Armenia, Persia, as well as Byzantium, Russia and Western Europe, mobilizing and inspiring ethnic survival. Four main patterns of ethnic survival are outlined: imperial‐dynastic, communal‐demotic, emigrant‐colonist and diaspora‐restoration. In each case, modern nationalism reinforces and politicizes the old myths of ethnic election and its forms and intensity can be explained in terms of these patterns of ethnic survival.     

Strategic ethnic performance and the construction of authenticity in urban Japan

This paper introduces the concept of strategic ethnic performance (SEP), when members of one ethnic group present themselves as members of a phenotypically similar ethnic group for economic gain. I use ethnographic and interview data focused on Sub-Saharan African merchants involved in the Hip Hop fashion boutique business in urban Japan to show how SEP develops from four interconnected areas: the opportunity structure for ethnic entrepreneurs, the physical presentation of sellers, the arrangement of the selling venue, and feedback loops between the seller and the consumer. By utilizing SEP, ethnic entrepreneurs enhance the perceived authenticity of their goods and themselves. A thorough analysis of this process illuminates the interactional nature of ethnic authenticity as it is understood by consumers within urban areas.     

Excavating Culture: Summary of Results

This is a companion paper to the seven articles also published in this special issue of Applied Developmental Science. This paper summarizes and discusses the results from common analyses that were conducted on different datasets. The common analyses were designed to disentangle contextual and ethnic influences on parenting. Initial ethnic group differences were found in many of the datasets with multiple ethnic groups. Although certain ethnic group differences were explained by contextual influences, some ethnic group differences remained after contextual influences were controlled. Follow-up analyses with datasets containing cultural variables revealed within group differences in the degree to which ethnic differences in parenting may be accounted for by contextual factors versus culturally-specific processes. Methodological and theoretical implications are discussed and future directions are offered.     

Analysis of Marital Migrations in Two Ouluses of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia)

The marital migration structure of two ouluses (administrative districts) of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) that have long been populated by three ethnic groups were studied on the basis of marriage records. Population genetic characteristics were calculated for each ethnic group. The ethnic assortativeness values were 30.9 in Evens, 1.36 and 4.46 in Russians, and 1.03 and 4.51 in Yakuts. The endogamy indices for the oulus and republican ethnic populations, respectively, were 0.83 and 1.0 in Evens, 0.41 and 0.99 in Yakuts, and 0.08 and 0.14 in Russians. The parameters of isolation by distance were the following: a = 0.0013 and b = 0.0020 in the Gornyi oulus; a= 0.0048 and b = 0.0014 in the Krest-Khaldzhai rural municipality;a = 0.0086 and b = 0.0095 in the Topolinoe rural municipality; anda= 0.0106 and b= 0.0013 in the Megino-Aldan rural municipality.     

Study of human SP-A,SP-B and SP-D loci: allele frequencies,linkage disequilibrium and heterozygosity in different races and ethnic groups

Background  

SP-A, SP-B, and SP-D are pulmonary surfactant proteins. Several linkage and association studies have been done using these genes as markers to locate pulmonary disease susceptibility genes, but few have studied the markers systematically in different ethnic groups. Here we studied eight markers in SP-A, SP-B, and SP-D genes in seven ethnic groups from three races (Caucasian, Black and Hispanic). We measured the similarity of the marker distribution among the ethnic groups in order to see whether people in different ethnic groups or races could be mixed together for linkage and association studies. To evaluate the usefulness of these markers, we estimated the informativeness of each marker loci in the seven ethnic groups by assessing their heterozygosity and PIC values. We also conducted linkage disequilibrium (LD) analysis to identify associated marker loci and to estimate the haplotype frequencies in each of the seven ethnic groups in an attempt to find valuable haplotypes so that the level of polymorphism of the "markers" could be increased.     

Becoming Italian,becoming American: ethnic affinity as a strategy of boundary making

Based on the case study of Albanian immigrant incorporation in a Little Italy in the Bronx, this paper develops the concept of ethnic affinity. It argues that boundary-work between ethnic Italians and Albanian immigrants resulted in intergroup relations that coupled Albanian occupational incorporation with the (re)construction of respective group identities as culturally similar – and distinct from Latino and African-American groups in the neighbourhood. Engaging recent literature on ethnic boundary making, I argue that ethnic affinity constitutes a new strategy of boundary reinforcing, in addition to established strategies of boundary crossing, blurring, and shifting (Zolberg and Woon 1999; Wimmer 2008). Developed in the context of shifting ethno-racial neighbourhood makeup, this affinity between ethnic Italians and Albanian immigrants relied on American constructions of shared European whiteness, overturning contemporary divides between Italians and Albanians in Europe. Ethnic affinity provides a conceptual framework that goes beyond notions of ethnic succession, passing, or assimilation.     

牡丹组植物的药用民族植物学研究与考证

牡丹干燥根皮自古以来就有入药的传统,尤其在中药和民族药中被广泛使用.为阐明牡丹组植物在古籍中的记载情况和民族药中的利用现状,该文对中国八部经典医学古籍、37部地方志和民族药传统知识进行整理,采用民族植物学编目方法,对牡丹组植物在古籍和民族药中的入药种类、地理分布、入药部位、炮制方法和功效等相关传统知识进行考证和分析研究...     

Sibling and environmental correlates of adolescents’ perceptions of family environments: Ethnic group differences

Abstract

Hierarchical regression analyses and response surfaces were used in an investigation of relationships between sibling variables and adolescents’ perceptions of their family environments, after the impact on the perceptions of earlier family measures was taken into account. The analyses involved Australian adolescents and included 260 Anglo‐Australian, 120 Greek, and 90 Southern Italian families. Regression models included terms to test for possible linear, interaction, and curvilinear associations between the sibling and family environment variables. The analysis suggested the propositions that: (a) parents from different ethnic groups create different learning environments for their children and that there are ethnic‐group variations in how children perceive their family environments, (b) there are ethnic‐group variations in relationships between sibling variables and adolescents’ perceptions of their parents’ support for learning, and (c) within ethnic groups the relationships between sibling variables and perceived parental support for learning differ, depending on whether the support of fathers or mothers is being considered.     

Reconsidering primordialism: an alternative approach to the study of ethnicity

This theoretical article first clarifies the exclusive assumptions of primordialism and constructivism. Subsequently, it demonstrates that primordialism has substantial power to explain ethnic phenomena, since (a) ethnic identities persist even in the hardest cases, such as sub-Saharan Africa and the United States, and (b) the attributed significance of assumed kinship has psychological and sociological bases. Finally, this article formulates hypotheses based on the core primordialist assumptions and develops ethnic distance as an explanatory variable on the level of integration of immigrants. It defines ethnic distance as the degree to which two ethnic identities have been solidified as opposed to each other by their dyadic violent conflicts and religious and/or nationalistic education and hypothesizes that the higher the ethnic distance between immigrants and the host society the lower the level of integration.     

Disentangling Ethnic and Contextual Influences Among Parents Raising Youth in High-Risk Communities

This article reports on analyses examining contextual influences on parenting with an ethnically and geographically diverse sample of parents (predominantly mothers) raising 387 children (49% ethnic minority; 51% male) in high-risk communities. Parents and children were followed longitudinally from first through tenth grades. Contextual influences included geographical location, neighborhood risk, SES, and family stress. The cultural variable was racial socialization. Parenting constructs created through the consensus decision-making of the Parenting Subgroup of the Study Group on Race, Culture, and Ethnicity (see Le et al., 2008) included Monitoring, Communication, Warmth, Behavioral Control and Parenting Efficacy. Hierarchical regressions on each parenting construct were conducted for each grade for which data were available. Analyses tested for initial ethnic differences and then for remaining ethnic differences once contextual influences were controlled. For each construct, some ethnic differences did remain (Monitoring, ninth grade; Warmth, third grade; Communication, kindergarten; Behavioral Control, eighth grade; and Parenting Efficacy, kindergarten through fifth grade). Ethnic differences were explained by contextual differences in the remaining years. Analyses examining the impact of cultural influences revealed a negative relation between racial socialization messages and Communication or Monitoring.     

Polymorphism of the HFE Gene Associated with Hereditary Hemochromatosis in Populations of Russia

The incidence of hereditary hemochromatosis as well as the predisposition to the iron overload syndrome and sporadic porphyria cutanea tarda are currently believed to be associated with the inheritance of certain allelic variants of the HFE gene. Allele frequencies of the C282Y (845A) and H63D(187G) mutations in theHFE gene in human populations of different races are remarkably different, and the prevalence of the S65C (193T) mutation is still poorly studied. In the present study we estimated allele frequencies ofHFE mutations in Russians and in a number of Siberian ethnic indigenous populations. In Russians, the allele frequencies of the C282Y, H63D andS65C mutations were 3.7, 13.3 and 1.7%, respectively. These values were similar to those observed in populations of Europe. The C282Y mutation was not detected in the population samples of Siberian ethnic groups, including Mansis, Khantys (Finno-Ugric group), Altaians, and Nivkhs (Asians), suggesting that the frequency of this allele in the populations examined was lower than 1%. The frequency of the C282Y allele in the Tuvinian and Chukchi samples (Asians) constituted 0.45 and 0.8%, respectively. Furthermore, pedigree analysis of both identified Chukchi carriers discovered showed that some of their ancestors were from other ethnic groups. Low frequencies of this allelic variant were typical of many Eastern Asian populations, which were also characterized by rather low frequencies of the H63D variant. In contrast, in some ethnic groups of Western Siberia, the allelic frequency of the H63D mutation was rather high, constituting 8.5% in Altaians, 15.5% in Mansis, and 11.3% in Khantys. The frequency of this allele in Tuvinians, Nivkhs, and Chukchis constituted 5.0, 4.7, and 0.8%, respectively. These findings made it possible to estimate the proportion of individuals predisposed to the iron overload syndrome in different Russian ethnic groups. TheHFE allele frequency distribution patterns observed in the populations examined pointed to pre-Celtic appearance of the C282Y allele. It also provides an explanation of the evolutionary genetic relationships between Siberian ethnic groups and the contemporary populations of Eastern and Western Europe.     

Genetic variation and population structure of interleukin genes among seven ethnic populations from Karnataka,India

The extent of genetic variation and the degree of genetic differentiation among seven ethnic populations from Karnataka, India (Bunt, Havyak, Iyengar, Lingayath, Smartha, Vaishya, Vokkaliga), was investigated using four single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs: IL-1A 4845, IL-1B 3954, IL-1B 511 and IL-1RA 2018) of the interleukin gene cluster. Allele frequencies varied by threefold among these populations, which also differed for gene diversity and heterozygosity levels. The average degree of population subdivision among these castes was low (F _ST = 0.02). However, pair-wise interpopulation differentiation ranged from 0–7%, indicating no detectable differentiation to moderate differentiation between specific populations. The results of phylogenetic analysis based on genetic distances between populations agreed with known social and cultural data on these ethnic groups. Variation in the allele frequencies, as well as differentiation, may be attributed to differential selection and demographic factors including consanguinity among the ethnic groups. Information on the distribution of functionally relevant polymorphisms among ethnic populations may be important towards developing community medicine and public health policies.