The Production of Tradition and Culture in the Japanese Wedding Enterprise

In this article I examine the production of culture in the contemporary commercial Japanese wedding. This is analyzed in relation to the theoretical discourse of ‘the invention of tradition’. However, while this ‘invention’ is usually related to political motivations, I discuss the invention of tradition and of culture for economic motivations. I offer a broader perspective of tradition and culture and show how flexible these two may be as they are manufactured, played with or imagined. The contemporary wedding consists of both ‘traditional-Japanese’ and ‘Western’ inventions. These are regarded here as cultural constructs which both play a significant role in the construction of contemporary Japanese cultural identity.     

The Problem Realm and the World of Inner Experiences of Upper-Grade Students

In her chapter, the author understands ‘problems’ not as problems of solving learning tasks, but life situations which a young person has to solve. Such situations are often negative experiences. The author claims that problem situations can only be evaluated on the basis of ‘perezhivanie’ associated with them. This aspect is seldom present in psychological-pedagogical research. Most research starting from the 1920’s uses personal diaries or observations as the methods of studying life problems. But they are not able to reveal objectively relations between life problems and their ‘perezhivanie.’ The author introduces two new survey methods called “the world of perezhivanie” and “panorama of problems,” with which primary material is collected for further elaboration of the relation between problem domains and ‘perezhivanie.’ The chapter presents new methods of collecting data. Empirical results are published in other journals and books.     

The Imagined Child: Ambiguity and Agency in Australian Intercountry Adoption

The adoption by Australian couples of children from ‘overseas’ involves claborate processes of bureaucratic assessment, approval and ‘parent education’. This paper explores adults' notions of ‘child’(ren) from ‘overseas’, which help shape and constitute such social processes, not only with couples seeking to adopt, but also with those cultural brokers who assess, regulate and ‘educate’ couples pursuing adoption, such as social workers and psychologists. The ways in which the adoptive ‘child’ is imagined and anticipated by counsellors and would‐be parents alike are explored through ethnographic data from South Australia. However, the proclivities of prospective adoptive parents to imagine their child‐to‐be are attenuated by certain social knowledge in relation to countries of origin. This leads to an exploration of ambiguities and tensions between the intercountry adoptive child as a tabula rasa and as a culturally and historically constituted person. The significance of ambiguities and contradictions for the child's agency and identities is highlighted, within the context of certain social policies around adoption. The chronological age of the child at the time of ‘allocation’ to its adoptive parents is considered as constituting a cultural fulcrum, upon which the identity and situational significance of the ‘origins’ of the child are deemed to subsequently turn.     

Communication between neurones: Current concepts

Neurotransmitters are chemicals which have the specific function of transferring information from one neurone to another at specific sites called synapses. This concept is discussed in relation to the experimental evidence which suggests that neurotransmitters may be released non synaptically and that certain neurones may utilise more than one transmitter substance. The term ‘modulator’ is also discussed and compared with what is understood to be a ‘neurotransmitter’.     

The effect of dusk and dawn on the locomotor activity rhythm of Talitrus saltator (Montagu) (Crustacea: Amphipoda)

Entrainment of the nocturnal, endogenous locomotor activity rhythm of Talitrus saltator (Montagu) by the natural light-dark cycle is non-parametric, the phase of the rhythm shifting only in response to changes in the time of an experimentally simulated ‘dawn’ transition. The difference in response to light at ‘dusk’ and ‘dawn’ illustrates a phase-dependent responsiveness common to endogenous rhythms. Activity begins after complete darkness, with cessation always occurring during the ‘dawn’ transition and never continuing past the onset of total experimental illumination. The point of activity cessation is taken to be the position of a synchronizing cue controlling entrainment. The ‘dawn’ cue appears to be an absolute irradiance level of approximately 1.5 × 10^?4 W/m² (1.5 lux). The implications of such a cue are discussed in relation to field behaviour.     

Biological aspects of Bemisia tabaci biotype B and the chemical causes of resistance in soybean genotypes

In Brazil, the silverleaf whitefly (SLW), Bemisia tabaci biotype B, is a serious soybean pest. SLW management is difficult and new control strategies, such as host–plant resistance, are required. Herein, we aimed to evaluate the biology of SLW, from eggs to adults, on seven soybean cultivars. The emergence of adult insects was monitored daily. Defense-related compounds were identified and quantified from the V3 to the V8 stages in SLW-infested and non-infested plants. The rates of emergence of SLW adults were lower in cultivars ‘IAC 17,’ ‘IAC 19’, and ‘IAC 24’ compared with the susceptible cultivar ‘IAC Holambra Stwart’. Rutin, genistin, genistein, and salicylic acid were identified and quantified in plant extracts. The rutin, genistin, and genistein levels decreased after SLW infestation. Rutin concentrations increased in infested plants of ‘IAC 17’ (V6) and ‘IAC 19’ (from V5 to V8). ‘Barreiras’ showed the highest genistein content in non-infested plants; from V5 growth stage, it was not detected in cultivars Doko (infested), Vencedora, ‘IAC 17’, and ‘IAC 24’ (non-infested). High levels of salicylic acid were observed in ‘IAC ‘19’-infested plants (at V3 and V5). The results suggest that rutin can be related to SLW adults’ emergence only when the feeding source was ‘IAC 19’. Consequently, further studies are needed to access the associated gene expressions and the effect of other secondary metabolites, mainly volatile compounds from SA pathway, including its consequences on feeding preference and mostly in relation to IAC cultivars.     

Anthropology in conversation with an Islamic tradition: Emmanuel Levinas and the practice of critique

As an alternative to approaching Islam as an object for anthropological analysis, this article develops the idea of an anthropologist participating in conversations going on within an Islamic tradition. The idea of a conversation is developed through the ethical philosophy of Emmanuel Levinas and his ideal of knowing as an ethical relation with an infinite other. Levinas opposes a sterile and oppressive relation of ‘totality’, where the knowing self encompasses the other within concepts and thought that originate in the self, with a critical and creative relation of ‘infinity’, in which the alterity of the other is maintained and invites conversation that brings the self into question. In the article, recent disciplinary discussions of how anthropology should engage with alterity, which have been framed in terms of ontology and post‐secular anthropology, are examined in the light of Levinas's ideal of knowing as ethical and critical practice.     

Correlation between the different therapeutic properties of Chinese medicinal herbs and delayed luminescence

In the practice and principle of Chinese medicine, herbal materials are classified according to their therapeutic properties. ‘Cold’ and ‘heat’ are the most important classes of Chinese medicinal herbs according to the theory of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). In this work, delayed luminescence (DL) was measured for different samples of Chinese medicinal herbs using a sensitive photon multiplier detection system. A comparison of DL parameters, including mean intensity and statistic entropy, was undertaken to discriminate between the ‘cold’ and ‘heat’ properties of Chinese medicinal herbs. The results suggest that there are significant differences in mean intensity and statistic entropy and using this method combined with statistical analysis may provide novel parameters for the characterization of Chinese medicinal herbs in relation to their energetic properties. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Bazar,Big Kites and Other Boys' Things: Distinctions of Gender and Tradition in Balinese Youth Culture

Balinese society is undergoing rapid change, but remains discursively situated in a ‘timeless’ ethos of cultural tradition. This tension can be observed in relation to the cultural activities of the island's young people, particularly the young men. The staging of bazar (neighbourhood fundraising parties), the making of ogoh‐ogoh (giant papier‐mâché effigies to mark Nyepi, the Balinese New Year) and the competitive flying of oversize kites are–despite their sometimes contentious reception from older generations—popularly dubbed as ‘traditional’ expressions of Balinese youth culture. This recourse to tradition must be viewed in relation to two pervasive discourses: that of adat (customary law) and ajeg (a new protectionist ethos in the discourse on Balinese cultural identity). This paper argues that in contemporary urban Bali, male youth culture finds its most visible expressions in relation to the abiding standards of established public ritual and the equally abiding gender divisions that serve to guarantee the reproduction of ‘traditional’ social life. Rather than fighting aggressively against the grown‐up norm, these expressions replicate the public culture of the adult world—while drawing on global and national youth styles—and strive towards the expression of a specifically ‘Balinese’ youth culture.     

Introduction to the special section: "the effects of bonds between human and nonhuman primates on primatological research and practice"

This commentary introduces this special section on ‘‘the Effects of Bonds Between Human and Nonhuman Primates on Primatological Research and Practice.’’ The aim is to explore the different causes and consequences of bonding experiences between observers and observed in different primatological contexts. In the first contribution, Vitale asks what are the possible consequences of such bonding in behavioral primatology. Examples of beneficial consequences of this kind of relationship come fromstudies on cognitive abilities of great apes. Furthermore, an empathic attitude with the experimental animals leads to better care and attention toward individual welfare needs. Coleman discusses the particular case of nonhuman primates housed in research laboratories. Care-giving practices arediscussed in relation to scientific, ethical and emotional issues. Morimura et al. present the case of the first Japanese sanctuary for retiring chimpanzees from research where, in order to facilitate the social living of re-located chimpanzees, face-to-face interactions between caregivers and chimpanzees areessential. Asquith discusses the role of an thropomorphism, and proposes that this attitude can help to better understand the lives of primates, in more contextualized scenarios. In relation to this view, sheemphasizes how the term ‘‘primate culture’’ accords with some definition of the term ‘‘human culture.’’Fuentes, in his article asks whether national, class and ethnic characteristics can influence bonding between human and nonhuman primates, and calls for focused quantitative studies. Finally, Rose calls for the application of the concept of biosynergy, explained as promoting the formation of healthy and sustainable bonding relationships among living creatures. One of the most important aspects emerging from these papers is the need to better understand whether the issue of bonding in primatological studiescan be generalized to other areas of research such as conservation, behavior, captive care, or whether each of these disciplines needs to develop their own understanding of the effects of bonding in ‘‘producing science.’’     

Insect-oriented locomotor responses by unmated females of Ephestia cautella (Walker) (Lepidoptera: Phycitidae)

Unmated E. cautella of both sexes were caged together and the ensuing behaviours of females were recorded, with particular attention to orientations to other insects. Calling females engaged in ‘turning-to-face’ and ‘walking up to’ orientations directed almost exclusively at wing-beating males (flying, or sexually excited and ambulatory). Non-calling, locomoting females engaged in ‘flying at’, ‘landing near’ and ‘walking into’ orientations directed predominantly at wing-beating or resting males, and occasionally at mating pairs or at calling females. The activities of the orienting female led to changes in the behaviour of some target insects, and 4% of all females mated directly after approaching males. Results are discussed in relation to sexual receptivity, locomotory excitation, and the pheromonal control of this species.     

Times of debt: heterochrony and bank loans in rural Mongolia

Recent scholarship in economic anthropology examines how the intersection of multiple forms of temporality shapes the time of debt relations. This article builds on and refines these approaches by analysing debt as a social relation that ‘folds’ the time of other relations within itself. It does so through deploying the concept of the ‘fold’ drawn from continental philosophy and anthropological literature on personhood. This approach provides a novel way of illuminating and reflecting upon a temporal tension at the heart of debt relations, in which the timely performance of debtor-creditor relations is contingent on the harnessing of temporalities formally outside their scope. This argument is made in relation to an ethnographic study of malchny zeel (the ‘herder's loan’) issued by commercial banks in a pastoral region of Mongolia.     

The making and representation of Muslim identity in Britain: conversations with British Muslim ‘elites’

The common nomenclature of ethnicity, race and colour has been found wanting in theorizing and dealing with the Muslim presence in Britain. This study of 24 prominent British Muslims – including political, policy and academic/intellectual ‘elite’ – explores the making and representation of Muslim identity in Britain. We explore this through three considerations: Muslimness as a ‘master status’; leadership and representation in relation to British Muslims; and the public performance of Muslimness during ‘key moments’.     

Leaving the Magic Out: Knowledge and Effect in Different Places

In 2010, Porer Nombo and I launched a book about indigenous Papua New Guinean plant knowledge to a large audience at a university near to his village on the north coast of that country. Members of the audience commented that the book made a record of important practices. But they asked if those practices were dependent on secret magic to be effective? What gave us the right to include such secrets? Or, if there was in fact something fundamental missing from the book (magical formulae to activate the processes described), then what was the use of publishing the book? Thinking through their questions suggested the need to analyse what ‘knowledge’ is in different places, and why plants might be effective in some, but not others. In this paper I attempt an explanation that does not rely on a ‘social’ explanation of magic but instead suggest that what we call ‘magic’ are mechanisms whereby a gardener (or healer, or hunter) positions an action, or a thing in relation to other things. I liken the way myth works in these systems to the way intellectual property law provides a comparable ‘mythic’ structure that locates effect in the places that have developed ‘knowledge economies’ and I conclude by asking; if places embody their history and politics, and generate different understandings of effect, then what are the implications of calling Porer's practices with regard to plants, ‘knowledge’?     

Determining the ‘health’ of estuaries: Priorities for ecological research

‘Ecosystem health’ is a relatively new concept for environmental science and management. Although at least two international journals use the term in their titles, there have been few applications of it for estuaries and soft-sediment habitats around the world. In this paper I: (i) introduce the ideas behind ecosystem health, and assess their relation with other usage such as ‘integrity’ or ‘quality’; (ii) sketch the sorts of multidisciplinary studies that could contribute to an assessment of health of an estuary and how these must be approached in developing useful indicators; and (iii) make a case for including measurements of the rates of ecological processes in such an assessment. These rate measurements, termed ‘ecoassays’, focus on important processes such as decomposition, recruitment, predator–prey interactions, and the like. A case study is introduced wherein these processes were assessed in mangrove stands of estuaries around Sydney, New South Wales, by explicitly comparing the rates of herbivory and decomposition of mangrove leaves, attack of fallen wood by shipworms, and colonization of pneumatophores by algae, as well as with more traditional estimates of ‘standing stocks’. Not surprisingly, the different measures retrieved various patterns and the challenge now is to integrate these into a scheme that indicates something of value. The potential utility of such measures is discussed in relation to the various scientific and managerial requirements of environmental monitoring.     

Measurement of leaf biomechanical properties in studies of herbivory: Opportunities,problems and procedures

Leaf biomechanical properties have the potential to act as antiherbivore defences. However, compared with studies on chemical defences, there are few studies that have demonstrated that the physical or biomechanical structure of plants can prevent or influence herbivory. This difference in focus by ecologists may relate to the dominant paradigm of plant chemical defences in ecological research and the perceived difficulties that ecologists have with the engineering principles embedded in biomechanics. The advantage of using materials engineering concepts is that each property is precisely defined and quantifiable, although the latter may be difficult in leaves because of their composite and anisotropic nature. Most herbivory studies have used simple penetrometers to measure leaf properties, often termed ‘toughness’. As defined in materials engineering, the measured properties are ‘force to fracture’ and ‘strength’, not toughness. Measurement of strength, the resistance to crack initiation, is relevant to understanding herbivory. Measurement of ‘toughness’ as defined by materials engineering is also relevant. Toughness is the resistance to crack propagation and is a measure of the energy required to fracture the leaf. This requires more sophisticated equipment than simple penetrometers because it requires a simultaneous measure of the punch displacement. In addition, purists would argue that a punch cannot be used to measure true toughness because the crack is not controlled and plastic deformation is also involved. However, it may be the only method that allows detection of fine‐scale pattern in mechanical properties across a leaf surface at a scale that is relevant to herbivory. There is very little work on the scale at which these properties vary, particularly with regard to different sized herbivores. In addition, few studies have investigated a broad range of relevant biomechanical properties in relation to herbivory. Therefore, it is not possible yet to be definitive about the relative merits of the various types of tests. A single test might show a pattern in relation to herbivore damage at a gross level. However, to really understand the functional and ecological significance of leaf texture in relation to herbivory, a more reductionist approach is needed. Only then can we move on to the larger scales of pattern that many ecologists are seeking.     

Ethnonationalism,ethnic nationalism,and mini‐nationalism: A comparison of Connor,Smith and Snyder

Some terms have been coined to highlight the important relation between nationalism and ethnicity. However, there has been much confusion as to the meaning of such concepts as ‘ethnonationalism’, ‘ethnic nationalism’ and ‘mini‐nationalism’. This article compares the three terms, as used respectively in the works of Walker Connor, Anthony Smith and Louis Snyder. These scholars are selected not only because of their well‐respected position in the study of nationalism but also because their works are representative of each of the three concepts. The comparison finds that since both Connor and Smith emphasized the ethnic dimension of nationalism, their ideas can be presented in one analytical framework. In fact, Connor's ‘ethnonationalism’ and Smith's ‘ethnic nationalism’ overlap with each other. However, Smith's theory of nationalism is comprehensive enough to take care of the fact that the nationalisms of many new states of today's world have no ethnic base at all, whereas Connor's analysis makes no mention of this. In this respect, Smith's model is preferred to that of Connor. Finally, Snyder's ‘mini‐nationalism’ is seen as the least useful concept, since the use of size rather than ethnicity to classify nationalisms does not increase our understanding of the concept.     

Some remarks on disturbance and its relations to diversity and stability

Abstract. The concept of disturbance is related to the concepts of stability and diversity. Some definitions of disturbance are reviewed and three dimensions of disturbance are recommended to be included in any treatment of disturbance: spatial extent, time involved, and magnitude. The distinction between patch disturbance and community disturbance is emphasised and it is recommended that the study of regeneration after disturbance be studied through patch dynamics. The small-scale turnover of species is discussed and the concept of species turnaround time introduced by means of the carousel model. As an answer to a possible multiple choice question on the relation between the three concepts, ‘Disturbance for Stability’ and ‘Disturbance for Diversity’ are suggested.