The racialised and classed constitution of English village life

This article explores ethnographically the ‘village’ as a stage for the enactment and reproduction of a racialised set of white middle-class social and moral values. To do this I draw upon interview material with middle-class whites who live in a suburban ‘village’ on the border of rural Leicestershire and urban Leicester in England. I explore the way in which my co-conversationalists reflexively and imaginatively defend their area's ‘village’ identity through a discourse that ‘others’ its wealthy Asian residents. Although these raced others have achieved economic parity with the more affluent wealthy white middle-class residents, they are imagined to lack the ‘proper’ middle-class values of respectability and decorum, which are associated with the traditional white rhythms of English village life.     

牧民对草地生态补偿政策的满意度实证研究

实施草地生态补偿政策是恢复退化草地、建设生态安全屏障、提高牧民生活水平,促进牧区社会经济发展的重要手段。研究牧民对草地生态补偿政策的满意度及其影响因素,对完善我国草地生态补偿政策,提高补偿绩效具有重要意义。选取甘肃牧区中甘南、肃南和天祝三地500户牧民作为样本数据,结合问卷调查与深度访谈,构建有序Logit模型,从牧民一般社会经济特征、对其居住与放牧地区生态环境评估,以及对生活满意度评估三方面入手研究了牧民对草地生态补偿政策实施的满意度及其影响因素。结果表明,影响牧民对补偿政策满意度的显著因素包括牧民受教育水平、牲畜养殖数量与体重变化情况、补偿金额、牧民对环境与经济重要性的评估,以及对社会福利满意度的主观评价。从政策角度看,提高牧民受教育水平,改变牧民传统放牧观念;改善贫困牧民生活水平,提高牧民社会福利;优化补偿方式,构建补偿政策监管体系,有利于草地生态补偿政策的进一步完善与有效实施。     

草原生态补助奖励政策牧民满意度及影响因素研究——基于甘肃青藏高原区与西部荒漠区的实证

草原生态补偿是我国建设生态文明的必由之路之一。牧民对草原生态补助奖励政策的满意度,一定程度上反映了补奖政策实施的绩效。甘肃省针对不同牧区特点,实施了差别化的补奖标准。选取甘肃青藏高原区和西部荒漠区两个不同草原牧区类型351户牧民为调研对象,结合入户深度访谈和调查问卷,构建满意度评价指标体系,测定了不同牧区牧民对草原生态补奖政策的满意度,借助Logistic模型分析不同牧区牧民政策满意度与影响因素。结果表明:(1)牧民对草原生态补奖政策总体满意度偏低,满意度综合指数为67.24%。(2)牧民生计多样化对政策评价具有重要影响。西部荒漠区牧民收入来源较青藏高原区多样化,畜牧业所占比重低于青藏高原区,政策实施对牧民收入影响较小,青藏高原区牧民满意度为62.43%,低于西部荒漠区的72.35%。(3)牧民对政策作用的认知、家庭规模以及对政策的了解,是影响两个区域牧民对政策满意度的共同因素,但两个区域呈现出较大差异性。因此,在后续政策实施中,实施"精准补偿"措施,多样化补偿标准和补偿方式,加强政策宣传和引导,示范引领安置牧民,延长畜牧业产业链,实现畜牧产业"三产"融合,逐步实现草原生态保护、牧业转型发展和牧民增收三方共赢。     

Opting out of the city: lifestyle migrations,alternative education,and the pursuit of happiness among Chinese middle-class families

This article responds to calls among anthropologists to attend to the aspirational qualities of life pursuits by respecting idealized life visions and acknowledging the suggestiveness of living otherwise. It follows a cohort of formerly urban middle-class Chinese families that have chosen to ‘opt out’ of their successful city lives to pursue alternative lifestyles and education for their children in China's rural southwest. Drawing on literatures about voluntary lifestyle migrations and alternative parenting and education, I show how these families construct meaningful social worlds through class histories, family ideals, and presentist temporalities that deviate from Western class formation and neoliberal constructions of self defined by individualistic identity pursuits. Through analysing a configuration of self and sociality that emphasizes the family and routes parental self-aspirations through children, the article deepens our understanding of child-centredness as a key feature of Chinese lifestyle migrations. It shows how quests for ‘the good life’ take shape through diverse sociohistorical and familial contexts with their own temporal orientations and life politics.     

Gossypium Germplasm conservation augmented by tissue culture techniques for field collecting

Conservation and utilization ofGossypium germplasm for crop improvement depend on field-collecting seed from wild and feral populations. Since the availability of viable seed cannot always be assured during botanical expeditions, a simple tissue culture method was developed to allow the collection of living vegetative material from the field. Field-testing of this culture method in western Mexico resulted in 10% overall shoot formation from six Gossypium species; seed was not available from four of these species. Rooting the cuttings was possible, but more effective rooting procedures need to be developed for general utilization by field botanists, at least with Gossypium. The methodology will probably be broadly applicable to other plant species, particularly those that easily root from cuttings.     

Black spaces,black places: Strategic assimilation and identity construction in middle-class suburbia

While white ethnics and immigrants of colour have been studied in terms of their attempts to assimilate into the American mainstream, sociologists assume that ongoing racial discrimination obviates the need for an extensive examination of the actual assimilation trajectories of middle-class blacks. Many middle-class blacks travel from the black to the white world rather than existing exclusively in one racially distinct environment. Yet, we do not fully understand how middle-class blacks conceptualize their own integration into American society. Drawing on data collected through in-depth interviews with middle-class blacks and ethnographic research in a white and a black suburb, I establish the link between an affinity for black spaces and the alternative assimilation trajectories of middle-class blacks. I find that middle-class blacks engage in a variant of segmented assimilation, privileging the black world as a site for socializing even if they live in a white suburb. This selective pattern of assimilation, what I term strategic assimilation, suggests that this population of middle-class blacks does not perceive itself as permanently constrained to the bottom rung of a racial hierarchy.     

Oil and gas projects in the Western Amazon: threats to wilderness, biodiversity, and indigenous peoples

Background

The western Amazon is the most biologically rich part of the Amazon basin and is home to a great diversity of indigenous ethnic groups, including some of the world''s last uncontacted peoples living in voluntary isolation. Unlike the eastern Brazilian Amazon, it is still a largely intact ecosystem. Underlying this landscape are large reserves of oil and gas, many yet untapped. The growing global demand is leading to unprecedented exploration and development in the region.

Methodology/Principal Findings

We synthesized information from government sources to quantify the status of oil development in the western Amazon. National governments delimit specific geographic areas or “blocks” that are zoned for hydrocarbon activities, which they may lease to state and multinational energy companies for exploration and production. About 180 oil and gas blocks now cover ∼688,000 km² of the western Amazon. These blocks overlap the most species-rich part of the Amazon. We also found that many of the blocks overlap indigenous territories, both titled lands and areas utilized by peoples in voluntary isolation. In Ecuador and Peru, oil and gas blocks now cover more than two-thirds of the Amazon. In Bolivia and western Brazil, major exploration activities are set to increase rapidly.

Conclusions/Significance

Without improved policies, the increasing scope and magnitude of planned extraction means that environmental and social impacts are likely to intensify. We review the most pressing oil- and gas-related conservation policy issues confronting the region. These include the need for regional Strategic Environmental Impact Assessments and the adoption of roadless extraction techniques. We also consider the conflicts where the blocks overlap indigenous peoples'' territories.     

Imagining the Western Husband: Thai Women's Desires for Matrimony,Status and Beauty

This article examines a group of Thai women's perceptions of western Caucasian men as ideal marriage partners and its impact on their sexual practices and relationship decisions. Based on conversations with women living in a ‘slum’ community in Bangkok, I argue that women who do not fit local ideals of light skin color, economic success and urban origins face obstacles among potential Thai suitors. Some of these women strategically prefer western suitors to local men. Through their relationship choices, these women upset local hierarchies of desire as they attempt to subvert skin color-bias and pose challenges to Thai marital traditions. At the same time, their relationship pursuits conform to gender expectations of the male breadwinner and female caretaker and may unintentionally reproduce skin color and status hierarchies. Although Thai women's sexual relationships with western men are not a new phenomena, they underscore the transnational nature of sexual desire and contemporary social change.     

Balancing stigma and status: racial and class identities among middle-class Haitian youth

This article examines the identity formation of middle-class Haitian youth. Segmented assimilation theory predicts that the Haitian second generation will integrate into the black American underclass or maintain strong ethnic group identities. The black middle class, however, is an unexplored pathway of cultural assimilation. This paper uses the literature on the racial and class experiences of the black American middle class as a departure point for understanding the boundary work of middle-class Haitian youth. Based on qualitative interviews and a focus group, we uncover the mechanisms of identity formation for this invisible population. Racial, ethnic and class boundaries compel Haitian youths to create strategies of either empowerment or distancing. They negotiate between their middle-class status and ethnoracial exclusion in a racially segregated neighbourhood, an ethnically homogenous church and a mixed-race school setting. This study's findings extend our theoretical understandings of middle-class immigrants and their identity work.     

Patient Attitudes Toward Physician's Assistants

A study was conducted in urban Los Angeles to assess patient acceptance of the use of physician''s assistants. Data collection was facilitated by the development of an attitude scale and responses were analyzed to determine differences between various socioeconomic stratifications. With a few exceptions, acceptance was highest among non-married middle-class respondents who have had some exposure to college. As to the perceived complexity of procedures a physician''s assistant might perform, 91 percent of all respondents would not object to injections administered by a physician''s assistant, but this tolerance diminishes to 34 percent in the case of first examination of a patient by a physician''s assistant if there appeared to be a serious head injury.     

C. S. Sargent’s crataegus (Rosaceae) types from western Pennsylvania

A large amount of unmounted material ofCrataegus (Rosaceae) at Carnegie Museum (CM) was studied and found to include types of species described by C. S. Sargent from western Pennsylvania. These are of interest because Sargent'sCrataegus types were previously thought to be only at the Arnold Arboretum (A). Sargent's method of choosing types (designating a living “type tree” and citing several specimens collected from it) is discussed and clarified.Crataegus types at A were compared with the material at CM. An annotated list of the western Pennsylvania types in both herbaria is presented.     

Microalgae Versus Land Crops as Feedstock for Biodiesel: Productivity,Quality, and Standard Compliance

Despite certain environmental advantages over fossil diesel, land crop-derived biodiesels may not satisfy the increasing worldwide demand for transportation fuels. As an abundant photosynthesizer, algae could be an adequate surrogate for biodiesel production. Nevertheless, high production costs, scarce selected species, and inaccurate assumptions about production yields represent industrial uncertainties. In this study, a reliable approach to analyzing algal biodiesel production has been developed based on species-to-species variations in oil productivity and quality. This approach compares biodiesels from Chlorophyta strains with land crop feedstock according to (i) potential yields, (ii) oil quality, and (iii) compliance with biodiesel quality standards. Algal yields were assessed by (i) extrapolating the strain-specific laboratory results to commercial-scale growth systems; (ii) converting volumetric to areal biomass productivity; and (iii) estimating oil yields for each strain, as the product of their projected areal biomass productivity for each growth system, and the oil percentage in biomass as determined in the laboratory. Biodiesel fuel properties were estimated by using fatty acid methyl ester profile predictive models. The Chlorophyta strains in this study provided annual oil yields that were generally higher than those of land crops by one order of magnitude. Six strains yielding more than 40 mg oil l^?1 day^?1 were identified as adequate for sustaining biodiesel production. Trebouxiophyceae algae were the most productive. Critical biodiesel parameters from both feedstock types suggest that most microalgae-derived biodiesels meet international fuel quality standards with better values than those of land crops. Because some of the highly productive feedstock does not simultaneously meet all the standards for a high quality biodiesel, optimization solutions are discussed.     

禁牧政策下宁夏盐池县农户适应策略及其影响因素

禁牧政策下农户的适应策略是农户为了应对外界干预而做出的各种适应性改变,生计变化是其中最重要的部分。通过实地调查获得研究数据,对比分析禁牧初期和禁牧10a农户生计模式、养殖及种植方面的变化,并以农户的生计资本作为自变量,运用有序多分类和二项的Logistic回归模型分析农户适应策略(农户生计多样性、养殖规模及养殖方式)变化的影响因素。研究得出:1与禁牧初期相比,当前农户的适应策略主要表现为农户生计模式具有初步非农化倾向,生计多样性增加,大部分农户养殖规模减小或不变,农户生产结构有所调整,粮食作物种植面积增加,而经济作物种植面积减小,单只羊的养殖成本增加。2农户生计资本水平对其适应策略具有重要影响,农户生计多样性变化的主要影响因素有人力资本、金融资本和社会资本;影响农户养殖规模变化的主要有自然资本、物质资本、金融资本和社会资本,而影响农户养殖模式选择的主要是物质资本和金融资本因素。     

Peaceful primates: affiliation, aggression, and the question of female dominance in a nocturnal pair-living lemur (Avahi occidentalis)

Affiliation/agonism and social dominance are central factors determining social organization in primates. The aim of our study is to investigate and describe, for the first time, the intersexual relations in a nocturnal and cohesive pair‐living prosimian primate, the western woolly lemur (Avahi occidentalis), and to determine to what extent phylogeny, activity mode, or the cohesiveness of pair partners shape the quality of social interactions. Six pairs of western woolly lemurs were radio‐collared in the dry deciduous forest of northwestern Madagascar. More than 874 hr of focal animal sampling were conducted. All occurrences of social interactions involving a focal animal were recorded. The rate of affiliation between pair partners was significantly higher than the rate of agonism. Western woolly lemur pairs' interactions were extremely peaceful. All decided agonistic conflicts (N = 15) were exclusively initiated and won by the female. No female showed spontaneous submission toward her male partner. These results are in line with those of diurnal cohesive pair‐living anthropoid primates. Findings support the hypothesis that social relations in pair‐living primates are linked to the cohesiveness of pair partners in time and space irrespective of phylogeny and activity mode. Am. J. Primatol. 73:1261–1268, 2011. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Daily dietary intake of copper,zinc, and selenium of exclusively breast-fed infants of middle-class women in Burundi,Africa

Copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), and selenium (Se) in human milk of middle-class Burundian women during the first 10 mo of lactation have been determined. Wet acid digestion, using nitric and perchloric acids, and atomic absorption spectrometric analysis have been used. Daily intakes have been calculated and proven to decrease from 0.39±0.05 (colostrum) to 0.16±0.02 (mature milk), 2.3±0.3 (colostrum), to 1.2±0.2 mg (mature milk) and 10.9±1.5 (colostrum) to 5.3±0.8 μg (mature milk) for Cu, Zn, and Se, respectively. Since values for this African country are nonexistent, intake levels are compared with literature data and found to be somewhat higher than those observed in other poorly nourished countries. The recommended safe and adequate daily intake for infants of 0–6 mo of age, as proposed by the National Research Council of the USA, is only met for Burundian infants <1 mo of age. The function of copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn) as essential trace elements has been known for quite a number of years (1). Also, selenium (Se) is a trace element essential for the activity of glutathione peroxidase (2) and type I iodothyronine 5-deiodinase (3). For all three elements, an adequate intake is necessary for satisfactory infant growth and development (4). In view of the almost total lack of relevant data on Burundi (Africa), we have determined Cu, Zn, and Se in human milk of middle-class Burundian women during the first 10 mo of lactation (5). The aim of this study is to assess infants' elemental intake for this country and compare this with literature data on trace elemental intake of exclusively breast-fed infants.     

Guidelines for reading literature reviews.

One strategy for dealing with the burgeoning medical literature is to rely on reviews of the literature. Although this strategy is efficient, readers may be misled if the review does not meet scientific standards. Therefore, guidelines that will help readers assess the scientific quality of the review are proposed. The guidelines focus on the definition of the question, the comprehensiveness of the search strategy, the methods of choosing and assessing the primary studies, and the methods of combining the results and reaching appropriate conclusions. Application of the guidelines will allow clinicians to spend their valuable reading time on high-quality material and to judge the validity of an author''s conclusions.     

Genetic population structure of Hemigrammocypris rasborella (Cyprinidae) inferred from mtDNA sequences

The genetic population structure of the small cyprinid Hemigrammocypris rasborella, distributed widely in lowlands of western Japan, was examined using partial sequence data of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA). Molecular phylogenetic analysis revealed that the populations of the western Kyushu region were markedly differentiated from all eastern populations, such that the groups would be comparable to different species; their divergence was inferred to have occurred in the Late Miocene–Pliocene. Also, a largely divergent mtDNA group (with divergence in the early Pleistocene) was found in the Sanyo and northeastern Shikoku regions, forming a secondary contact zone in the western Kinki with the eastern mtDNA group. To date, these aspects of the population structure of H. rasborella appear to be unique among lowland fishes in western Japan. Deeper understanding of the formation processes of freshwater faunas in western Japan will require further comparisons of the phylogeographic patterns and ecological traits of constituent species.     

农户生活消费对环境影响的空间差异及其原因——基于张掖市2010年调查数据

农户是农村最主要的行为主体,其生活消费对环境有重要影响,然而农户的生活消费模式等因素的差异导致对环境的影响在空间上存在差异,为了缓解农户生活消费对环境的压力,需要研究其消费对环境影响的空间差异。基于张掖市2010年调查数据和统计资料研究了农户生活消费对环境影响空间差异,并分析了原因,研究结果显示:(1)张掖市2010年人均生态足迹为1.056hm2/人,人均生态承载力为1.705hm2/人,人均生态盈余0.649hm2/人;(2)从生态足迹的构成看,当地的生活消费主要是以生物资源和化石能源消耗为主,占总生态足迹的81%,而建筑用地和水域消耗最少,占总生态足迹的1.2%。;(3)张掖市五县(区)农户生活消费对环境的影响总体差异较小,Gini系数为0.309。但是区域间的差异远远大于区域内的差异,区域间的差异为0.442,占总差异的71.1%,区域内的差异为0.18,占总差异的28.9%。其中,甘州区农户生活消费对环境影响差异最大,Theil指数为0.078;(4)农户消费模式、家庭规模和人均年收入增多,将加剧农户对环境的压力,劳动力受教育程度、社会资本存量和非农化程度提高,将在一定程度上减缓农户对环境的影响。     

Genomic signatures of rapid adaptive divergence in a tropical montane species

Mountain regions contain extraordinary biodiversity. The environmental heterogeneity and glacial cycles often accelerate speciation and adaptation of montane species, but how these processes influence the genomic differentiation of these species is largely unknown. Using a novel chromosome-level genome and population genomic comparisons, we study allopatric divergence and selection in an iconic bird living in a tropical mountain region in New Guinea, Archbold''s bowerbird (Amblyornis papuensis). Our results show that the two populations inhabiting the eastern and western Central Range became isolated ca 11 800 years ago, probably because the suitable habitats for this cold-tolerating bird decreased when the climate got warmer. Our genomic scans detect that genes in highly divergent genomic regions are over-represented in developmental processes, which is probably associated with the observed differences in body size between the populations. Overall, our results suggest that environmental differences between the eastern and western Central Range probably drive adaptive divergence between them.     

Living standards in settler South Africa, 1865–1920

We construct an anthropometric measure of living standards for White South Africans covering 55 years using five different military sources. Accounting for different selection across the forces, we find that prior to industrialisation, White South African males were amongst the tallest in the world. Rural living standards declined in response to natural disasters in the 1880s and 90s with those with the lowest living standards moving off the land and into the cities. We find a slight improvement in living standards after 1900 across all regions and occupations. During industrialisation, White males in South Africa continued to exhibit the highest living standards in the world as represented by their stature. Convergence to other nations in the early twentieth century shows, however, that while there may have been no industrialisation penalty, industrialisation did not lift living standards the way it did elsewhere.