The ‘SONY NIGHTCLUB’: Rural Brothels,Gender Violence,and Development in Coastal Ecuador

ABSTRACT

In the Ecuadorian public imaginary, Manabí province is constructed as a lawless frontier. Manaba men are characterized for their aggressive masculinity, robust and primitive sexuality, and their proclivity towards resolving conflict with violence. This paper examines community debates about brothels and healthy sexuality in a rural coastal region where the state is expanding its reach into domestic life via the regulation of sexual intimacies and family violence. Local debates about healthy sexuality embody the historically contested and currently changing nature of state–community relationships in this previously marginalized region. While certain community factions invoke modernizing discourses of women's rights in their struggle to shut down brothels and mitigate family violence, others argue for unregulated sexuality as a way to diminish violence. Drawing from over 10 years of ethnographic research on gender, violence, and human rights in Ecuador, this paper reveals the co-construction of rural intimacies and the boundaries of state intervention.     

Gendering ethnic conflicts: minority women in divided societies – the case of Muslim women in India

ABSTRACT

This article explores the practical and theoretical significance and long-term consequences of the failure to incorporate women’s interests in post-conflict negotiations by examining the case of Muslim women in India. Analyses of deeply divided societies must recognize that political competition and political violence do not affect all citizens equally. Also, the “larger picture” depicted by inter-community conflicts should not overshadow the effects of intra-community conflicts, which are no less important. Evident within each community conflict are the winners and the losers of the political accommodation process, in which the marginalized and weaker sections of each “side” of the conflict may be the real “losers”. Gendered analysis of ethnic conflicts and ethnic conflict resolution demands a reorientation of the concepts of conflict and security – Whose conflict is being solved and who is being secured?     

Emplacing Christ: An Indigenous Australian Ethics of Placemaking Across Borders

ABSTRACT

Travelling from my old heimat, Germany, I joined in September 2015 a group of Anangu Pitjantjatjara Bible translators on a two-week long pilgrimage to the Holy Land. This journey offered further probing into Anangu attachments to place that, until then, I had only known through ethnographic research in their desert homelands in northern South Australia. In the present article, I explore how and why the Anangu Christians forged links with biblically inscribed places to which they had no ancestral ties. What they did bring is a deep-seated sense of emotional connection with Jesus abiding in heaven, and here the pilgrimage was a chance to anchor this relationship in his land – to emplace Christ. Notable in this process of shifting the presence of Jesus from heaven to earth was the pilgrims’ moral concern to keep separate the emplaced stories of their ancestral lands on one hand, and the grounded narratives of the Christian Scriptures on the other. In Jonathan Mair and Nicholas Evans’ terms, their approach was one of ‘incommensuration’, a strategy to avoid moral conflict by refusing to make comparisons between religious traditions. My article may thus be read as an ethnographic contribution towards the understanding of an Australian Indigenous ethics of placemaking across borders.     

Children’s book series and associated curricula support elementary education and outreach in water resources

Background: Water resources are of fundamental importance to society, and are better managed by stakeholders who understand resource issues. Gaining such knowledge is a lifelong process best begun at an early age and best supported by educational approaches integrating across science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). Research scientists can bring resource education to young audiences through children’s books and curricula that emphasise and integrate across STEM principals.

Aims: To encourage empathy for the environment in younger students, researchers at the Niwot Ridge Long Term Ecological Research site have developed a children’s book series and methods for training teachers in water science education.

Methods: Children’s books in the My Water series are paired with curricula, hands-on learning kits, teacher development training and dissemination of materials through school districts to further water science education.

Results: Thousands of children and educators have received training through the My Water book series, and a more broadly focused, federally funded Schoolyard Children’s Book Series has grown out of these efforts towards water resource education.

Conclusions: Children’s books and curricula that integrate STEM principals can play a key role in the development of environmental empathy and lifelong learning to support resource management.     

Scales of Environmental Engagement in an Industrial Town: Glocal Perspectives from Gladstone,Queensland

ABSTRACT

Gladstone, Queensland, is one of Australia’s largest coal ports and the site of many industries. Few of the 65,000 residents of the region are socially and economically independent of the fossil fuel industry. Environmental engagement is fragmented. The city epitomises, in a striking way, the double bind of growth and sustainability. The Australian environmental movement is generally seen as distant and irrelevant to local concerns. The article analyses conditions for, forms of and implications of environmental engagement in a city where coal, gas and industry are taken for granted as necessary conditions for prosperity and economic security. To what extent are ecological relevant to the residents; and how can they be dealt with within the parameters that define their lifeworlds? What can the Gladstone experience teach us about possible solutions to the double bind of growth and sustainability?     

A review of Australian classical biological control of weeds programs and research activities over the past 12 years

Considerable progress has been made towards the successful classical biological control of many of Australia’s exotic weeds over the past decade. Some 43 new arthropod or pathogen agents were released in 19 projects. Effective biological control was achieved in several projects with the outstanding successes being the control of rubber vine, Cryptostegia grandiflora, and bridal creeper, Asparagus asparagoides. Significant developments also occurred in target prioritization, procedures for target and agent approval, funding, infrastructure and cooperation between agencies. Scientific developments included greater emphasis on climate matching, plant and agent phylogeny, molecular diagnostics, agent prioritization and agent evaluation.     

Human Organs in Oil Tank Trucks: An Extractology

ABSTRACT

Since the 1980s the northern part of Shaanbei (northern Shaanxi Province) and neighbouring areas of Inner Mongolia have been experiencing a huge economic boom, thanks to the discovery and successful extraction of coal, oil, and natural gas. While conducting fieldwork on the revival of popular religion in this region in the mid- and late 1990s, I came across various stories relating to suspicions of human organs being transported in large oil tank trucks going out of Shaanbei. Could there have been a link between what is invisible that lies underneath the surface of the earth (coal and oil) and those that lie within human bodies but then allegedly taken out and transported in oil tank trucks (human organs)? This article proposes an ‘extractological’ approach that brings together yet diverges from the methodological and theoretical concerns in anthropological studies on extractive industries and the commercialisation of human organ transplants. In analysing the image of ‘human organs in oil tank trucks’ in juxtaposition with various other pertinent extractological scenarios, an analytical tack emerges, crucially drawing upon Carlo Severi’s work on images and pictography, that goes beyond (or by-passes?) the anti-extraction politics of indignation and points towards an anthropology of conceptual interfacing and articulation (through investigating various kinds of ‘conceptual clutches’).     

Old‐growth forests,carbon and climate change: Functions and management for tall open‐forests in two hotspots of temperate Australia

Abstract

The prognosis and utility under climate change are presented for two old‐growth, temperate forests in Australia, from ecological and carbon accounting perspectives. The tall open‐forests (TOFs) of south‐western Australia (SWA) are within Australia’s global biodiversity hotspot. The forest management and timber usage from the carbon‐dense old‐growth TOFs of Tasmania (TAS) have a high carbon efflux, rendering it a carbon hotspot. Under climate change the warmer, dryer climate in both areas will decrease carbon stocks directly; and indirectly through changes towards dryer forest types and through positive feedback. Near 2100, climate change will decrease soil organic carbon (SOC) significantly, e.g. by ～30% for SWA and at least 2% for TAS. The emissions from the next 20 years of logging old‐growth TOF in TAS, and conversion to harvesting cycles, will conservatively reach 66(±33) Mt‐CO₂‐equivalents in the long‐term – bolstering greenhouse gas emissions. Similar emissions will arise from rainforest SOC in TAS due to climate change. Careful management of old‐growth TOFs in these two hotspots, to help reduce carbon emissions and change in biodiversity, entails adopting approaches to forest, wood product and fire management which conserve old‐growth characteristics in forest stands. Plantation forestry on long‐cleared land and well‐targeted prescribed burning supplement effective carbon management.

Abbreviations: C, carbon; CBS, clearfell, burn and sow; CO₂‐e, CO₂ equivalents; CWD, coarse woody debris; DOC, dissolved organic carbon; GHG, greenhouse gas; Mt, megatonnes; SOC, soil organic carbon; SWA, south‐western Australia; SWAFR, Southwest Australian Floristic Region; TAS, Tasmania; TOF, tall open‐forest; t‐C ha^?1 yr^?1, tonnes of carbon per hectare per year     

Evangelism,Ethnography and Linguistics: Carl Strehlow and J. R. B. Love

ABSTRACT

This article considers the intersection of evangelism, ethnography and linguistics in the work of two missionaries living among Aboriginal communities in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Carl Strehlow was one of several German missionaries working in central Australia in the 1890s and into the twentieth century. J. R. B. Love met Strehlow briefly in 1913, but did not become a fully committed missionary himself until the 1920s. This paper first considers Strehlow’s evangelical, linguistic and ethnographic interests in relation to some of his German contemporaries, before comparing his approach to that of the younger, Presbyterian, Love to elucidate the inter-relationships between evangelism, linguistics and ethnography in the 1890s and early twentieth century in Australia.     

政府补偿与监管机制改革对公立医疗卫生机构科教与学科建设的影响分析

目的 分析政府补偿与监管机制改革对公立医疗卫生机构教学、科研以及学科建设的影响。方法 通过对上海市闵行区的机构调查,收集并分析2008—2012年3所公立综合性医院和12家社区卫生服务中心的医学教育、科研项目、论文发表及重点学科建设状况的相关数据。结果 闵行区公立综合性医院和社区卫生服务中心的医学教育和科研能力有所提升,重点学科建设也有所加强;但仍然存在教学能力薄弱,科研水平层次偏低,缺乏高质量的重点学科等问题。结论 政府补偿与监管机制改革在一定程度上强化了公立医疗机构的医学教育、科研能力和学科建设,但未来需进一步加大对科教和学科建设的鼓励和支持力度。     

How marginality leads to inclusion: insights from mobilizations of Chinese female migrants in Paris

ABSTRACT

This article examines the collective actions undertaken by two groups of Chinese female migrants in Paris: sex workers who opposed a new law on prostitution, and manicurists who joined trade unions and went on strike. These women share similar geographical origins and migration projects; many came to France alone, and thus have much weaker social capital than other Chinese migrants in Paris, which pushed them to choose professional sectors viewed as marginal or even stigmatized. Despite their precarious situation, their marginal position has created conditions for collective action, enabling them to develop strong sense of collective belonging and receive support from organizations outside the community. These findings show how a marginal position in an ethnic community can be a triggering factor for migrants’ inclusion and political engagement in the host society.     

Cyclone Winston and Community-Based Marine Conservation in Fiji

ABSTRACT

The establishment and use of community-based natural resource management (CBNRM) groups is now the established route towards conservation in large parts of the Pacific, especially in Fiji. One of the main strengths of CBNRM that is often mentioned is its adaptability to different contexts and to changing objectives among stakeholders, an aspect thoroughly tested by events such as ‘natural’ disasters. This paper is based on 10 months of fieldwork in Kubulau district in Fiji before, during and after Cyclone Winston. It provides an ethnographic account of how this ‘natural’ disaster affected a community and the local CBNRM group. It looks at how this event was experienced and managed by the group, and how the group’s involvement in disaster assistance shifted its role both within and outside of the community, as well as changing its future agenda during the months that followed. We can see in the aftermath of disaster a shift within the group away from the original primary focus on conservation and towards development. The paper provides an account of how the disaster seemingly strengthened the group and the ‘community’ in terms of organisation, knowledge and motivation, but also how it challenged previous norms and exposed weaknesses that are arguably inherent within CBNRM itself.     

Giving the silent majority a stronger voice? Initiatives to empower Muslim women as part of the UK's ‘War on Terror’

Abstract

This article provides a gendered analysis of the ‘War on Terror’ in the UK context. Specifically it looks at initiatives to empower Muslim women, which were part of New Labour's Preventing Violent Extremism (PVE) agenda, the impetus for which stemmed from the idea that, as ‘the silent majority’, women need to be given a ‘stronger voice’. Based on analysis of qualitative interviews, this article situates these initiatives within a broader policy landscape of debates on multiculturalism, community cohesion and Britishness. It explores interviewees' understandings of Muslim women's silence in relation to those suggested by policy discourse, considering the ways in which the state's attempt to ‘give voice’ worked in practice. I argue that the operation of such initiatives continued to constrain Muslim women's voices, restricting ‘voice’ to a narrow range of speakers speaking about a narrow range of issues.     

Troubles under the water: Sino‐japanese conflict of sovereignty on the continental shelf in the East China sea

Abstract

The discovery and production of offshore hydrocarbon resources are significant for both China (PRC) and Japan in meeting energy requirements for higher economic development. Because the claims of both countries to the continental shelf in the East China Sea overlap, there is a maritime conflict which hinders cooperation in the Asian region. The paper briefly describes the geographical characteristics of the East China Sea. It then dwells on the development of the legal criteria for delimiting continental shelf boundaries by examining major cases of international adjudication and both the 1958 Geneva Convention on the Continental Shelf and the 1982 Convention on the Law of the Sea. After presenting both countries’ positions the author attempts to review and analyze certain options which can be employed in resolving the sovereignty conflict.     

Shifting Egalitarianisms and Contemporary Racism in Rural Victorian Football: The Rumbalara Experience

This article builds on our understanding of racism towards Aboriginal people in Australia through an examination of discriminatory belief structures pervasive in the mainstream community as evidenced through the important social field of country football in regional Victoria. It analyses the power and pervasiveness of the racial stereotyping that exists in some segments of the community by using Langton's (1997) notion of ‘iconic images' as well as discussing the importance of particular ideological motivations around values such as ‘egalitarianism’. This is achieved through analysing the views of players, supporters and officials of mainstream clubs towards the Aboriginal Rumbalara Football Netball Club. This analysis is structurally situated within a broader understanding of Australian national identity, in particular looking at the intersection of the powerful cultural domains of sport and evolving expressions of whiteness and egalitarianism.     

An Update on the Louisiana and Texas Rigs-to-Reefs Programs in the Gulf of Mexico

Abstract

The Louisiana and Texas Rigs-to-Reefs programs enjoy widespread public, industry, and government support and have become models for similar programs around the world. Louisiana’s Rigs-to-Reefs program is the largest in the world, and since its inception in 1986 about 363 oil and gas platforms have been donated, or on average about 12 structures per year. Texas’s Rigs-to-Reefs program started in 1990, and since this time about 154 structures have been donated, or about six structures per year. A summary update of the Louisiana and Texas reef programs is provided, along with recent changes in legislative activity. Donation trends and statistics are reviewed. The Rigs-to-Reefs programs are unlikely to see donation activity above historic levels, and both programs should start planning for a future where the income generated from future projects diminishes.     

Bonding or bridging? Professional network organizations of second-generation Turks in the Netherlands and France

ABSTRACT

This article analyses network organizations founded by descendants of Turkish migrants in the Netherlands and France. By surveying members of two such organizations and interviewing several of their board members, we learn how these organizations function, their success in building and extending social networks, and their efficacy at improving labour market prospects for young second-generation professionals of Turkish descent. Our findings reveal a hybrid structure, whereby the organizations gear many of their activities towards mainstream society. In comparison to traditional immigrant organizations, their attitude is more open to other social groups, yet they still have a clear stronghold in the ethnic immigrant community. We conclude that ethnicity is not the main element in the successful second generation’s organizing process. Factors such as educational trajectories, professional ambitions, feelings of responsibility for other members and newly acquired socioeconomic status are the main reasons for this group to organize.     

Learning biology and geology through a participative teaching approach: the effect on student attitudes towards science and academic performance

ABSTRACT

The investigation has demonstrated that the science teaching strategy employed moderates the interest of students in learning the subject, along with academic achievement. In this article we used a mixed method design in a sample of secondary education students (n = 57) to examine the effect of the participative teaching approach in attitudes towards science and student academic performance in the Biology and Geology subject. We also analysed the influence of student learning styles in their academic performance. The statistical results show that the participative methodology has a positive effect on attitude towards student attitudes towards science and academic performance; this finding has been triangulated with class observations and the vision of the teacher participating in the experience. Furthermore, we identified different significances between boys and girls in pre-test academic performance, which disappeared post-test. Despite this, in both measurements the boys showed greater interest in and enjoyment of science learning than the girls. Finally, we are able to conclude that academic performance is positively related to attitude towards science and with reflexive and theoretical learning styles.     

Ponies Out of Place? Wild Animals,Wilderness and Environmental Governance

Powerful institutions in Australia regularly depict the continent as overrun with fauna variously described as ‘feral’, ‘vermin’, ‘alien’ and ‘invasive’. This paper addresses the issue of ‘animal matter out of place’ through the ethnographic analysis of a long-running conflict over ‘feral’ ponies in Coffin Bay National Park, South Australia. As the Department of Environment and Heritage manoeuvred to eliminate this ‘alien’ presence from the ‘pristine’ landscape of the Coffin Bay Peninsula, local residents argued that the herd was a product of this ecological niche and should remain in its ‘natural’ home. The trajectory of the conflict suggests that the expansion of environmental governance from centre to periphery is by no means as predictable and inevitable as is often anticipated.1     

Trait dynamics of Mediterranean xerophytic shrub communities growing on stabilised inland dunes respond to nutrient and aridity gradients

Background: Understanding the processes that determine community assembly and their dynamics is a central issue in ecology. The analysis of functional diversity can improve our understanding of these dynamics by identifying community assembly processes.

Aims: We studied the effect of environment–community covariations on both functional diversity and functional structure of xerophytic shrub communities for inferring the community assembly processes shaping this vegetation type.

Methods: Functional diversity was quantified using (1) community-weighted mean of the studied traits, (2) functional groups, defined using Ward’s hierarchical agglomerative clustering method and (3) Rao’s quadratic entropy. Relationships between functional diversity and environmental gradients were identified by Spearman correlations and modelled using generalised additive models.

Results: Variations in community composition and functional diversity correlated with soil nutrient availability and aridity. Increasing nutrient availability resulted in both greater average plant height and higher abundance of plants with green photosynthetic organ colour, whereas the abundance of nanophanerophytes increases with aridity.

Conclusions: The species composition and trait structure of the studied Mediterranean xerophytic shrub communities varies along nutrient and aridity gradients. This supports the importance of environmental filters for the local assembly and dynamics of these inland dune communities.