Towards a proper interpretation of the declining significance of race thesis

This essay takes a step towards establishing a more informed dialogue about race/class dynamics in structuring the life chances of blacks in contemporary America by revisiting William Wilson's declining significance of race thesis, the most important sociological theory that addresses this issue. Specifically, it explicates the thesis and critiques labour market analyses that purport to examine it. Too often mis-specifications of the parameters of the thesis and the absence of seriously engaging its historical and structural-level subtleties have produced erroneous interpretations including, most conspicuously, that Wilson denies any role to prejudice/discrimination in structuring life chances of blacks. I maintain that better capturing the parameters of Wilson's argument and engaging its subtleties is critical to moving forward in establishing an informed and more consensually held understanding of race/class dynamics.     

Dividing and defending Ogden: the intersection of race making and space making in a diverse community

While researchers frequently link the construction of racial meanings with the construction of spatial meanings, studies of race have paid little attention to how other forms of space making affect racial divisions. This study, based on interviews collected while residents of Ogden, Utah travelled around their city, explores how collective attachments to place intersect with racialized divisions of it. Residents saw their community as divided into good (white) and bad (people of colour) areas. Yet, they also united as residents to defend the city against negative assessments. These multiple and shifting understandings, simultaneously dividing and uniting the city, suggest that other forms of spatial meaning making can challenge racialized definitions of space.     

The United States of the United Races: a rejoinder

I respond to a review by C. Matthew Snipp, revisiting how my book connects abolitionist leanings to acceptance of racial mixing in the Early Republic. I reiterate that, contrary to the reviewer's claims, the book does not suggest that the defence of interracial marriage has been a thriving social movement. I correct his reading of my chapter on the Civil War era, referring to both the variety of voices present, and the claims of reformers' opponents, who were the only ones who claimed racial mixing was an aim of the abolitionist movement. Lastly, I defend The United States of the United Races against Professor Snipp's characterization of it as a work anticipating a ‘post-racial’ ideal, embodied by racially mixed people, who would be the end point of the obsolescence of race as a relevant analytic tool.     

Complicating the triangle of race,class and state: the insights of black feminists

This article complicates Wacquant's three-sided schema of race, class and state by adding a focus on gender, the experiences of black women, and a black feminist intersectional analysis. Welfare retrenchment in the USA relied on stereotypes of black women, especially the ‘Welfare Queen’, that were at once sexist and racist and implemented policies targeted specifically at them as the vilified beneficiaries of state largess. Attributing social inequality to black women's childbearing furthers race, gender and class oppression in the context of neo-liberalism by legitimizing intensified deprivation and surveillance. A focus on the regulation of black mothers brings to the fore the child welfare system as a critical institution of social supervision, on a par with workfare and prisonfare. A black feminist analysis of the intersection of welfare, prison and foster care in the systemic punishment of black mothers and of strategies for resistance illuminates how racism and neo-liberalism operate together in the USA.     

Racialization: a defense of the concept

This paper defends the concept of racialization against its critics. As the concept has become increasingly popular, questions about its meaning and value have been raised, and a backlash against its use has occurred. I argue that when “racialization” is properly understood, criticisms of the concept are unsuccessful. I defend a definition of racialization and identify its companion concept, “racialized group.” Racialization is often used as a synonym for “racial formation.” I argue that this is a mistake. Racial formation theory is committed to racial ontology, but racialization is best understood as the process through which racialized – rather than racial – groups are formed. “Racialization” plays a unique role in the conceptual landscape, and it is a key concept for race eliminativists and anti-realists about race.     

Global versus Chinese perspectives on the phylogeny of the N-fixing clade

There has been increasing interest in integrating a regional tree of life with community assembly rules in the ecological research. This raises questions regarding the impacts of taxon sampling strategies at the regional versus global scales on the topology. To address this concern, we constructed two trees for the nitrogen-fixing clade: (i) a genus-level global tree including 1023 genera; and (ii) a regional tree comprising 303 genera, with taxon sampling limited to China. We used the supermatrix approach and performed maximum likelihood analyses on combined matK, rbcL, and trnL-F plastid sequences. We found that the topology of the global and the regional tree of the N-fixing clade were generally congruent. However, whereas relationships among the four orders obtained with the global tree agreed with the accepted topology obtained in focused analyses with more genes, the regional topology obtained different relationships, albeit weakly supported. At a finer scale, the phylogenetic position of the family Myricaceae was found to be sensitive to sampling density. We expect that internal support throughout the phylogeny could be improved with denser taxon sampling. The taxon sampling approach (global vs. regional) did not have a major impact on fine-level branching patterns of the N-fixing clade. Thus, a well-resolved phylogeny with relatively dense taxon sampling strategy at the regional scale appears, in this case, to be a good representation of the overall phylogenetic pattern and could be used in ecological research. Otherwise, the regional tree should be adjusted according to the correspondingly reliable global tree.     

Used for ill; used for good: a century of collecting data on race in South Africa

Abstract

Data on race have been collected in South African censuses for a century. We examine the role played by the census in solidifying race as a social statistic and show that, in contrast to the majority of situations, operational and legislative factors rendered the census largely unimportant as a vehicle for doing this. Since 1994, race has been entirely self-reported and not subject to state reinterpretation. We examine the implications of this for future data collection exercises and caution against reifying race as a predictor of social outcomes in post-apartheid South Africa, and argue for its gradual phasing out.     

The Declining Significance of Race in the twenty-first century: a retrospective assessment in the context of rising class inequality

No other book in modern sociology is so well known but yet so roundly dismissed as William J. Wilson's The Declining Significance of Race. Its major thesis is supported, however, by a great deal of credible and systematic evidence. Its historical analysis is notably informative and prescient in predicting rising class inequality. The Declining Significance of Race remains vitally important reading for enhancing our understanding of inequality in contemporary America.     

pH值对香蕉枯萎病菌4号生理小种生长的影响

【背景】香蕉枯萎病菌4号生理小种(镰刀菌)是香蕉产业的致命威胁。已有研究表明土壤pH值越高,香蕉枯萎病发病率越低,但是现有pH值对镰刀菌影响的研究大都是用强酸强碱调节pH值,pH值没有缓冲体系保护,而且尚未检测试验终点时介质的pH值。此外,关于pH值对香蕉枯萎病菌4号生理小种(Foc4)影响的研究尚不系统,难以用于指导生产实践。【目的】为系统地了解土壤酸碱度对Foc4生长的影响。【方法】在pH 3.0-11.0之间设定9个pH值梯度,模拟酸性到碱性土壤pH值条件,于室内培养条件下系统研究pH值对Foc4生长、产孢、孢子萌发的影响及其生长过程对环境pH值的影响。【结果】弱酸性至中性环境(pH 5.0-7.0)最适宜于香蕉枯萎病菌的生长、产孢和孢子萌发。弱碱性处理(pH8.0和pH9.0)孢子平均萌发率较弱酸性环境处理(pH5.0和pH6.0)下降了73.1%。与pH 6.0酸性处理相比,pH 8.0和pH 9.0处理的产孢量分别下降了52.3%和68.1%。【结论】香蕉枯萎病菌Foc4生长和萌发过程会产酸,但是在缓冲体系液体培养基中,除了pH 9.0和pH10.0处理终点培养液pH值分别下降了0.34和0.27个单位外,其它处理起始和终点的pH值无差异。说明在缓冲体系液体培养基中的研究结果可以反映环境pH值对Foc4生长和萌发的影响。在作物可以生长的pH值范围内(pH5.0-9.0),碱性和微碱性条件(pH8.0-9.0)能明显抑制Foc4生长、产孢和孢子萌发。     

一类新内含子的研究状况

在真核细胞基因组中发现一类新内含子——AT-AC内含子, 除结构特征与普遍存在的核mRNA前体内含子有明显不同外,剪接机制上也存在一定差异.文章介绍了该内含子的分布,结构特征及剪接机理,并与主内含子作了相应比较.     

Nutrition as a facilitator of host‐race formation: the shift of a stem‐boring beetle to a gall host

1. The importance of host‐race formation to herbivorous insect diversity depends on the likelihood that successful populations can be established on a new plant host. A previously unexplored ecological aid to success on a novel host is better nutritional quality. The role of nutrition was examined in the shift of the stem‐boring beetle Mordellistena convicta to fly‐induced galls on goldenrod and the establishment there of a genetically distinct gall host race. 2. First, larvae of the host race inhabiting stems of Solidago gigantea were transplanted into stems and galls of greenhouse‐grown S. gigantea plants. At the end of larval development, the mean mass of larvae transplanted to galls was significantly greater than the mass of larvae transplanted to stems, indicating a likely nutritional benefit during the shift. This advantage was slightly but significantly diminished when the gall‐inducing fly feeding at the centre of the gall died early in the season. Additionally, there was a suggestion of a trade‐off in the increased mortality of smaller beetle larvae transplanted into galls. 3. In a companion experiment, S. gigantea gall‐race beetle larvae were likewise transplanted to S. gigantea stems and galls. Besides the expected greater mass in galls, the larvae also exhibited adaptations to the gall nutritional environment: larger inherent size, altered tunnelling behaviour, and no diminution of mass pursuant to gall‐inducer mortality. 4. In a third line of inquiry, chemical analyses of field‐collected S. gigantea plants revealed higher levels of mineral elements important to insect nutrition in galls as compared with stems.     

What kind of mixed race/ethnicity data is needed for the 2020/21 global population census round: the cases of the UK,USA, and Canada

In western countries the mixed race/ethnicity population is experiencing a rapid increase in numbers and growing diversity, raising challenges for its capture in censuses and surveys. Methods include exact combinations of interest, multi-ticking, and open response, as exemplified by the censuses of England and Wales, the USA and Canada, and Scotland and Northern Ireland, respectively. However, investigations of question face validity, reproducibility of findings, and efficacy of capture reveal quality problems with all three approaches. The low reporting reliability of this population urgently requires research and testing to identify optimal strategies. While there is clearly no one gold standard method of capture and current approaches have developed within national contexts, it is timely to review these methods across the three countries and to make recommendations for the upcoming 2020/21 censuses.     

世界樟科植物系统学研究进展

就上世纪90年代以来世界樟科植物系统学研究进展,从形态学、孢粉学、胚胎学、叶角质层研究、分子系统学以及生物地理学等6方面进行了综述性的回顾和展望。     

中甸鸢尾的分类位置及其一新变型

中甸鸢尾 (IrissubdichotomaY .T .Zhao)最初被置于野鸢尾亚属 (Subgen Pardanthopsis(Hance)Baker)中 ,这是基于中甸鸢尾 (IrissubdichotomaY .T .Zhao)的植株形态与该亚属的野鸢尾 (I dichotomaPall.)相似。此后 ,由于在外花被上发现了鸡冠状附属物 ,1999年董晓东等将其移至鸡冠状附属物亚属 (Subgen CrossirisSpach)中。但是我们根据中甸鸢尾的植株基部具有毛发状老叶残留纤维 ,根状茎极短 ,花茎自叶丛旁侧抽出 ,开花习性 ,以及花粉外壁纹饰等特征与尼泊尔鸢尾亚属 (Subgen Nepalensis (Dykes)Lawr.)极其相近 ,认为将其置于尼泊尔鸢尾亚属中更为妥当。此外 ,还发现了一个中甸鸢尾的白花变型。     

Possibility,legitimacy, and the new ontologies of choice: a comment on Brubaker

In Trans, Rogers Brubaker makes a major argument about the contentious politics of the contemporary self. In this commentary, I first lay out what is think is the solidity of the book’s contrasting tableau of the functioning of race and gender in American society and beyond. I then point to Brubaker’s bundling together of issues of legitimacy and issues of ontology and begin to imagine what alternative analyses can come out of their unbundling – suggesting that race and gender are perhaps more analogous social formations than Trans argues. Finally, I bring attention to the role of ontological hierarchy in the formulation and policing of identity claims and conclude that the return of biology and the new empire of choice may not be two parallel, independent developments but one and the same process. Theoretically, I amplify one of the book’s epistemological contributions by calling for a reflexive turn in social-constructionist thought.     

Paradoxes of ‘public diplomacy’: Ethnographic perspectives on the European Union delegations in the antipodes

‘Public diplomacy’ is a term increasingly used among policy makers and academics, yet its meaning is ambiguous and contested. Advocates proclaim it as a new approach to statecraft entailing a participatory approach of shared meaning‐making between politicians and the public markedly different from the elitist, Machiavellian inter‐governmental practices of traditional (‘Westphalian’) diplomacy. The European Union (EU) has embraced these ideals, proclaiming public diplomacy a cornerstone of European external relations policy. We examine these claims in the context of the EU's delegations to Australia and New Zealand. Using three ethnographic case studies, we highlight discrepancies between official discourses on public diplomacy and its practice. The participatory ideals of EU public diplomacy, we argue, are undermined by the EU's preoccupation with image and branding, public relations and marketing techniques, and continuing reliance on traditional ‘backstage’ methods of diplomacy. We conclude by outlining the implications of these paradoxes for both anthropological research and EU external relations.     

Mitochondrial DNA phylogeny of North American field crickets: perspectives on the evolution of life cycles,songs, and habitat associations

North American field crickets (genus Gryllus) exhibit a diversity of life cycles, habitat associations, and calling songs. However, patterns of evolution for these ecological and behavioral traits remain uncertain in the absence of a robust phylogenetic framework. Analyses of morphological variation have provided few clues about species relationships in the genus Gryllus. Here we use comparisons of mitochondrial DNA restriction site maps for 29 individuals representing 11 species (including potential outgroups) to examine relationships among eastern North American field crickets. Initially chosen as likely outgroup taxa, the two European species of Gryllus do not obviously fall outside of an exclusively North American clade and (based on amount of sequence divergence) appear to have diverged from North American lineages at about the same time that major North American lineages diverged from each other. The egg-overwintering crickets comprise a strongly supported monophyletic group, but relationships among these three closely related species cannot be resolved. The mtDNA data are consistent with a single origin of egg diapause and do not support a model of recent life cycle divergence and allochronic speciation for Gryllus pennsylvanicus and G. veletis. The two crickets are not sister species, despite remarkable similarity in morphology, habitat, and calling song. This conclusion is consistent with published data on allozyme variation in North American field crickets. The habitat associations of eastern North American field crickets have been labile, but calling songs sometimes have remained virtually unchanged across multiple speciation events.     

New insights on the phylogeny of Tectaria (Tectariaceae), with special reference to Polydictyum as a distinct lineage

The fern genus Tectaria (Tectariaceae) Cav. is morphologically diverse and difficult in terms of recognizing species and species groups. To infer the systematic positions of some species and identity-unknown collections with special morphological characters, we undertook phylogenetic analyses based on sequences of five plastid regions (atpB, ndhF + ndhF-trnL, rbcL, rps16-matK + matK, and trnL-F). Three analysis methods (maximum parsimony, maximum likelihood, and Bayesian inference) were used to reconstruct the phylogeny of Tectaria. The most surprising result is that T. menyanthidis (C. Presl) Copel., T. ternata (Baker) Copel., and T. variabilis Tardieu & Ching are revealed to represent a distinct lineage from Tectaria, which should be called Polydictyum C. Presl, and is supported as sister to Pteridrys C. Chr. & Ching. Other accessions of Tectaria are well resolved into four major clades, which is consistent with the results of previous studies. Of the four clades, Clade II (T. subtriphylla (Hook. & Arn.) Copel. group) is unpredictable, with morphologically very diverse species clustered there, and is supposed to be a minor evolutionary line within Tectaria in the Old World. In addition, the position of the climbing genus Arthropteris J. Sm. and the utility of molecular data in recognizing species of Tectaria are briefly discussed. As a conclusion, we formally reinstate the genus Polydictyum by providing diagnostic characters, key to species, nomenclature, and information of detailed distribution and habitat for the currently known three species.     

Yolk sac development in lizards (Lacertilia: Scincidae): New perspectives on the egg of amniotes

Embryos of oviparous reptiles develop on the surface of a large mass of yolk, which they metabolize to become relatively large hatchlings. Access to the yolk is provided by tissues growing outward from the embryo to cover the surface of the yolk. A key feature of yolk sac development is a dedicated blood vascular system to communicate with the embryo. The best known model for yolk sac development and function of oviparous amniotes is based on numerous studies of birds, primarily domestic chickens. In this model, the vascular yolk sac forms the perimeter of the large yolk mass and is lined by a specialized epithelium, which takes up, processes and transports yolk nutrients to the yolk sac blood vessels. Studies of lizard yolk sac development, dating to more than 100 years ago, report characteristics inconsistent with this model. We compared development of the yolk sac from oviposition to near hatching in embryonic series of three species of oviparous scincid lizards to consider congruence with the pattern described for birds. Our findings reinforce results of prior studies indicating that squamate reptiles mobilize and metabolize the large yolk reserves in their eggs through a process unknown in other amniotes. Development of the yolk sac of lizards differs from birds in four primary characteristics, migration of mesoderm, proliferation of endoderm, vascular development and cellular diversity within the yolk sac cavity. Notably, all of the yolk is incorporated into cells relatively early in development and endodermal cells within the yolk sac cavity align along blood vessels which course throughout the yolk sac cavity. The pattern of uptake of yolk by endodermal cells indicates that the mechanism of yolk metabolism differs between lizards and birds and that the evolution of a fundamental characteristic of embryonic nutrition diverged in these two lineages. Attributes of the yolk sac of squamates reveal the existence of phylogenetic diversity among amniote lineages and raise new questions concerning the evolution of the amniotic egg. J. Morphol. 278:574–591, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.