Economic activity in the South-Asian population in Britain: the impact of ethnicity,religion, and class

This paper expands the existing literature on ethnicity and economic activity in Britain by studying the impact of religion and class. It argues that while the class location of the different South-Asian groups is important in determining their labour market outcomes, it does not operate independently from ethnicity; rather it is highly influenced by ethnicity in the process of determining the labour market participation of these groups. We use data obtained from the 2001 UK Census on Indian, Pakistani, and Bangladeshi men and women aged between twenty and twenty nine. Our findings confirm that class structure of the South-Asian groups is highly ethnicized, in that the ethno-religious background and class are interwoven to the extent that the separation between them is not easy, if not impossible.     

The politics of immigration locally: alliances between political parties and immigrant organizations

Alliances are a political opportunity that reinforce the claims made by different players in the political sphere. However, the literature on the political participation of immigrants pays little attention to the formation of alliances and their effects on the interaction between immigrants and institutional actors, especially under circumstances of politicization. This article aims to explain the emergence of alliances between political parties and immigrant organizations when immigration is politicized locally. I argue that the need to legitimize the political parties’ position on the politicization guide their alliances with immigrants. Using qualitative methods, I analyse the emergence of alliances in the anti-Romanian-Roma campaign in Badalona and the burka ban in Lleida, both in Catalonia, Spain. The findings portray these relationships as the outcome of strategic interactions that respond to the balance of power between institutional and non-institutional actors.     

Racialized political shock: Arab American racial formation and the impact of political events

This article explores significant factors influencing the process of Arab American racial formation. I bring into conversation theories of racial formation and ‘political shock’ in social movement scholarship to develop the notion of ‘racialized political shock’ as an important factor in how racial and ethnic groups mobilize and organize. Many moments of political shock are highly racialized and have the potential to reorder the racial and ethnic landscape in ways that can open opportunities or introduce constraints to mobilizations around racial formation. Drawing on existing studies of Arab Americans, this paper highlights how Arab American racial formation has been galvanized during moments of racialized political shock. In the Arab American case, these moments have led to a call for recognition outside the category of white. I conclude by outlining ways forward in the study of Arab Americans, who have been overlooked in studies of race and ethnicity in the US.     

Variation in body mass index among Polish adults: effects of sex, age, birth cohort, and social class

Remains of 15 hominids were recovered within a Mousterian archaeological context in the cave of Qafzeh, Israel. Dated to ca. 95 kyr BP, this skeletal material has been crucial for understanding biological, chronological, and cultural aspects of anatomically modern ancient Homo sapiens. The high proportion of children (N = 8) in Qafzeh Cave is unique among Middle Palaeolithic sites and encourages the search for skeletal evidence of disease and trauma. We report on the case of one child, Qafzeh 12, ca. 3 years old (according to modern human reference standards), who manifests some outstanding skeletal abnormalities that indicate hydrocephalus.     

Bootlegging on a desert mountain: The political ecology of Agave (Agave spp.) demographic change in the Sonora river valley,Sonora, Mexico

Recent studies suggest that wild agave (Agavespp.) plants in Sonora, Mexico, are being over-harvested by mescal makers on communal lands. Using the conceptual framework of regional political ecology (Blaikie and Brookfield, 1987), I discuss the ecological processes of agave depletion, and investigate the social, economic, and political contexts in which unsustainable harvest practices arise. Whereas all the mescal makers have knowledge of sustainable harvest methods, population growth, expansion of agriculture onto ecologically marginal lands, and increasing dependence on wild harvested products from communal lands created the socioeconomic context for increased demand for mescal income. The ideology of household autonomy, and the belief that the village has no right to internally regulate use of the commons, created the political context for rapid, unsustainable harvesting—a tragedy of the commons. However, recent cultural changes have caused a reversal of this trend, and some wild agave populations may be recovering.     

The impact of environmental and social factors on learning abilities: a meta-analysis

Since the 1950s, researchers have examined how differences in the social and asocial environment affect learning in rats, mice, and, more recently, a variety of other species. Despite this large body of research, little has been done to synthesize these findings and to examine if social and asocial environmental factors have consistent effects on cognitive abilities, and if so, what aspects of these factors have greater or lesser impact. Here, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis examining how different external environmental features, including the social environment, impact learning (both speed of acquisition and performance). Using 531 mean-differences from 176 published articles across 27 species (with studies on rats and mice being most prominent) we conducted phylogenetically corrected mixed-effects models that reveal: (i) an average absolute effect size |d| = 0.55 and directional effect size d = 0.34; (ii) interventions manipulating the asocial environment result in larger effects than social interventions alone; and (iii) the length of the intervention is a significant predictor of effect size, with longer interventions resulting in larger effects. Additionally, much of the variation in effect size remained unexplained, possibly suggesting that species differ widely in how they are affected by environmental interventions due to varying ecological and evolutionary histories. Overall our results suggest that social and asocial environmental factors do significantly affect learning, but these effects are highly variable and perhaps not always as predicted. Most notably, the type (social or asocial) and length of interventions are important in determining the strength of the effect.     

Selectivity in social and asocial learning: investigating the prevalence,effect and development of young children's learning preferences

Culture evolution requires both modification and faithful replication of behaviour, thus it is essential to understand how individuals choose between social and asocial learning. In a quasi-experimental design, 3- and 5-year-olds (176), and adults (52) were presented individually with two novel artificial fruits, and told of the apparatus'' relative difficulty (easy versus hard). Participants were asked if they wanted to attempt the task themselves or watch an experimenter attempt it first; and then had their preference either met or violated. A significant proportion of children and adults (74%) chose to learn socially. For children, this request was efficient, as observing a demonstration made them significantly quicker at the task than learning asocially. However, for 5-year-olds, children who selected asocial learning were also found to be highly efficient at the task, showing that by 5 years children are selective in choosing a learning strategy that is effective for them. Adults further evidenced this trend, and also showed selectivity based on task difficulty. This is the first study to examine the rates, performance outcomes and developmental trajectory of preferences in asocial and social learning, ultimately informing our understanding of innovation.     

The impact of chronic environmental stressors on growing pigs, Sus scrofa (Part 2): social behaviour

The effects of common and concurrent environmental stressors on the social behaviour of farm animals are poorly understood. Here, we report the results of a multifactorial experiment designed specifically to examine the individual, additive or interactive effects of elevated ammonia, noise and low light (LL) levels on the social behaviour of growing pigs. Social behaviour was measured in terms of the nature, frequency and duration of both initiated and response behaviours for 4 weeks following mixing of the groups. General activity patterns, group cohesion and social discrimination were also examined as a function of the environmental treatments. Elevated concentrations of atmospheric ammonia (～20 v. <5 ppm) and LL intensity (～40 v. 200 lux) had the most pronounced effects, particularly on the nature of social interactions, with pigs under these conditions showing more aggression in the early stages of the experiment. In addition, pigs exposed to a high level of mechanical noise representative of artificial ventilation (～80 v. 40 dB [A]) were less submissive to aggressive acts, while pigs in ～20 ppm ammonia showed more reciprocated aggression when in coincident LL (<40 lux). The results indicate that atmospheric ammonia at commonly experienced concentrations may undermine social stability, particularly in the presence of low lighting, though the mechanisms are currently unknown. These findings have implications for the welfare of growing pigs and hence policy makers and farmers alike, with respect to the improvement of welfare in intensive pig farming.     

The social determinants of mental health and disorder: evidence,prevention and recommendations

People exposed to more unfavourable social circumstances are more vulnerable to poor mental health over their life course, in ways that are often determined by structural factors which generate and perpetuate intergenerational cycles of disadvantage and poor health. Addressing these challenges is an imperative matter of social justice. In this paper we provide a roadmap to address the social determinants that cause mental ill health. Relying as far as possible on high-quality evidence, we first map out the literature that supports a causal link between social determinants and later mental health outcomes. Given the breadth of this topic, we focus on the most pervasive social determinants across the life course, and those that are common across major mental disorders. We draw primarily on the available evidence from the Global North, acknowledging that other global contexts will face both similar and unique sets of social determinants that will require equitable attention. Much of our evidence focuses on mental health in groups who are marginalized, and thus often exposed to a multitude of intersecting social risk factors. These groups include refugees, asylum seekers and displaced persons, as well as ethnoracial minoritized groups; lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ+) groups; and those living in poverty. We then introduce a preventive framework for conceptualizing the link between social determinants and mental health and disorder, which can guide much needed primary prevention strategies capable of reducing inequalities and improving population mental health. Following this, we provide a review of the evidence concerning candidate preventive strategies to intervene on social determinants of mental health. These interventions fall broadly within the scope of universal, selected and indicated primary prevention strategies, but we also briefly review important secondary and tertiary strategies to promote recovery in those with existing mental disorders. Finally, we provide seven key recommendations, framed around social justice, which constitute a roadmap for action in research, policy and public health. Adoption of these recommendations would provide an opportunity to advance efforts to intervene on modifiable social determinants that affect population mental health.     

The building-up of social relationships: behavioural types, social networks and cooperative breeding in a cichlid

Consistent individual differences in behavioural types may not only cause variation in life-history decisions, but may also affect the choice of social partners and sociality in general. Here, we tested whether and how behavioural type influences the establishment of social ties using the cooperatively breeding cichlid, Neolamprologus pulcher. In a habitat saturation experiment with individuals pre-tested for behavioural type, we first analysed whether behavioural type affected the likelihood of settlement (i.e. social status), group sizes, and the types of dominant and subordinate individuals accepted as group members. Corrected for effects of body size and sex, the behavioural type did not affect settlement. However, bold dominant males only accepted smaller females, and grouped with bold subordinates, while shy dominant males accepted larger females than themselves, and grouped with shy subordinates. Second, we analysed the relationships between behavioural type and the aggressiveness or affiliation social network. Behavioural type significantly affected the number and quality of connections within the two networks. We show that behavioural types affect group composition, social networks and status achieved, in interaction with body size. Thus, the interactions within groups may depend not only on age, size and sex, but also on the behavioural type of the individuals involved.     

Nationalism,development, and social policy: The politics of nation-building in sub-Saharan Africa

This article examines the relationship between nation-building and social policy in post-independence sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). It argues that post-independence nationalist leaders used health, housing, and education programmes to foster a sense of national unity that would transcend the existing ethnic divisions created by the arbitrary drawing of state boundaries during colonization. Yet, in SSA, the neo-liberal turn of the 1980s favoured the decline of state-level integration and solidarity, which helped trigger territorial mobilization and fragmentation. As a consequence, the politics of welfare retrenchment in SSA does more than simply reduce benefits and increase inequalities; it also potentially weakens national unity.     

Gender-related factors affecting primate social behavior: Grooming,rank, age,and kinship in heterosexual and all-male groups of stumptail macaques

The structure of grooming relations was studied in three captive groups of stumptail macaques, two heterosexual (consisting mainly of females) and one all male. Compared to the heterosexual groups, social hierarchy in the all-male group was less linear, and agonistic and peaceful activity of low-ranking individuals toward high-ranking ones was higher. In addition, in the all-male group received grooming was more variable than performed grooming and showed stronger dependence on age. No effect of maternal kinship was found in the all-male group, and individual preferences were also less marked in this group than in heterosexual groups. These differences tend to be related to dominance style and dispersal patterns. © 1996 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

The social, moral, ethical, legal and political implications of today's biological technologies: an Indian point of view

The last 50 years have seen an increasing emphasis on ethical, moral, social, legal, political and economic implications of science for reasons that are discussed in this article. Biotechnology has been no exception to this trend. Areas of biotechnology where the above implications have been important, are briefly described. Ethical and related issues in today's biology-based technologies are discussed with special reference to India. Examples of technological exploitation within a country, or of one country by another, using modern biology-based technologies are given. The possible implications of one new and emerging biology-based technology are discussed. It is concluded that a well-informed and knowledgeable society is the only assured insurance against possible misuse of biology-based technologies of today and tomorrow, including their use for the exploitation of people. The recent decision of the Prime Minister of India to set up a National Knowledge Commission is mentioned in this context.     

A class I ligase ribozyme with reduced Mg2+ dependence: Selection,sequence analysis,and identification of functional tertiary interactions

The class I ligase was among the first ribozymes to have been isolated from random sequences and represents the catalytic core of several RNA-directed RNA polymerase ribozymes. The ligase is also notable for its catalytic efficiency and structural complexity. Here, we report an improved version of this ribozyme, arising from selection that targeted the kinetics of the chemical step. Compared with the parent ribozyme, the improved ligase achieves a modest increase in rate enhancement under the selective conditions and shows a sharp reduction in [Mg²⁺] dependence. Analysis of the sequences and kinetics of successful clones suggests which mutations play the greatest part in these improvements. Moreover, backbone and nucleobase interference maps of the parent and improved ligase ribozymes complement the newly solved crystal structure of the improved ligase to identify the functionally significant interactions underlying the catalytic ability and structural complexity of the ligase ribozyme.     

The impact of an exotic social wasp (Vespula germanica) on the native arthropod community of north-west Patagonia, Argentina: an experimental study

Abstract 1. Biological invasions are usually thought to have a negative impact on native communities. However, data supporting this idea are often based on comparative studies between invaded and non‐invaded areas, and are spatially and temporally limited. 2. The present study experimentally assessed the impact of an exotic wasp, Vespula germanica, on the native arthropod community of north‐west Patagonia during 3 years in an area of 80 ha. Vespula germanica is an exotic social vespid that invaded north‐west Patagonia 20 years ago. It has been suggested that its populations affect native arthropods because of its broad diet and also because Patagonia lacks natural enemies and potential competitors for these wasps. 3. Using wasp‐specific toxic baits, V. germanica abundance was reduced in five sites of native woodlands during 3 consecutive years. The abundance, species richness, and composition of arthropods between non‐poisoned (control) and poisoned sites was then compared, both before and after the wasps were poisoned. 4. Wasp abundance represented 6% of the total arthropod catches in non‐poisoned sites and was reduced, on average, by 50% in the treated areas. The abundance, species richness, and composition of the arthropod community (305 species, 24 600 individuals) did not differ between control areas and areas where the abundance of V. germanica was reduced. Significant differences in response variables were found only before wasp poisoning had begun and were related to variations among sites. 5. These results suggest that V. germanica is not affecting the local arthropod assemblages, contradicting past work in other regions. The low relative abundance of wasps in Patagonia, when compared with other invaded regions, might explain the findings. 6. The present study provides further evidence for the importance of large‐scale experimental work with before/after comparisons to fully understand the impact of invaders on natural communities.     

The intersection of social determinants of health,the microbiome,and health outcomes in immigrants: A scoping review

In the present scoping review, we explore whether existing evidence supports the premise that social determinants of health (SDoH) affect immigrant health outcomes through their effects on the microbiome. We adapt the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities' research framework to propose a conceptual model that considers the intersection of SDoH, the microbiome, and health outcomes in immigrants. We use this conceptual model as a lens through which to explore recent research about SDoH, biological factors associated with changes to immigrants' microbiomes, and long-term health outcomes. In the 17 articles reviewed, dietary acculturation, physical activity, ethnicity, birthplace, age at migration and length of time in the host country, socioeconomic status, and social/linguistic acculturation were important determinants of postmigration microbiome-related transformations. These factors are associated with progressive shifts in microbiome profile with time in host country, increasing the risks for cardiometabolic, mental, immune, and inflammatory disorders and antibiotic resistance. The evidence thus supports the premise that SDoH influence immigrants' health postmigration, at least in part, through their effects on the microbiome. Omission of important postmigration social-ecological variables (e.g., stress, racism, social/family relationships, and environment), limited research among minoritized subgroups of immigrants, complexity and inter- and intra-individual differences in the microbiome, and limited interdisciplinary and biosocial collaboration restrict our understanding of this area of study. To identify potential microbiome-based interventions and promote immigrants' well-being, more research is necessary to understand the intersections of immigrant health with factors from the biological, behavioral/psychosocial, physical/built environment, and sociocultural environment domains at all social-ecological levels.