Struggling over procedures and other interventions: a comment on David Graeber’s “Anthropology and the rise of the professional-managerial class"

Special section meditation on David Graeber's Anthropology and the rise of the professional-managerial clas

Cultura y derechos después de Culture and Rights

A partir del enfoque teórico y crítico descrito en Culture and Rights: Anthropological Perspectives (Cowan et al. 2001a), planteo los procesos relacionados con los derechos como algo complejo y contradictorio: debido a su doble vertiente habilitadora y coactiva, producen nuevas subjetividades y relaciones sociales y conllevan consecuencias involuntarias. A fi n de estimular el compromiso interdisciplinario sobre estos asuntos, analizo una selección de textos que abordan la relación entre cultura y derechos y que se pueden clasificar en dos tipos: (1) debates entre filósofos políticos acerca de cultura, derechos y reconocimiento en el contexto del multiculturalismo y (2) una serie de trabajos emergentes realizados por antropólogos, feministas, académicos de la teoría crítica del derecho y profesionales afines que analizan casos empíricos. Si bien los filósofos políticos aclaran implicaciones éticas y clarifican proyectos políticos, sus debates se han visto obstaculizados por todo un anticuado arsenal de conceptos teóricos de “cultura”, “sociedad” y “el individuo”. Cuando las explicaciones tienen tanto un sólido fundamento teórico como una base empírica, las contradicciones, las ambigüedades y los bloqueos de la temática sobre la cultura y los derechos se exploran más en su totalidad y se abren nuevos interrogantes sobre el modelo liberal de los derechos y el multiculturalismo.Building on a critical, theoretical approach outlined in Culture and Rights: Anthropological Perspectives (Cowan et al. 2001a), I posit rights processes as complex and contradictory: Both enabling and constraining, they produce new subjectivities and social relations and entail unintended consequences. To encourage interdisciplinary engagement on these themes, I explore selected texts that consider the relationship between culture and rights, addressing two literatures: (1) debates on culture, rights, and recognition in the context of multiculturalism among political philosophers and (2) an emerging literature by anthropologists, feminists, critical legal scholars, and engaged practitioners analyzing empirical cases. Although political philosophers elucidate ethical implications and clarify political projects, an outmoded arsenal of theoretical concepts of “culture,” “society,” and “the individual” has hampered their debates. When accounts are both theoretically informed and empirically grounded, contradictions, ambiguities, and impasses of culture and rights are more fully explored and the liberal model of rights and multiculturalism is more open to interrogation

Basic calculation proficiency and mathematics achievement in elementary school children

The relation between skill in simple addition and subtraction and more general math achievement in elementary school is well established but not understood. Both the intrinsic importance of skill in simple calculation for math and the influence of conceptual knowledge and cognitive factors (working memory, processing speed, oral language) on simple calculation and math are plausible. The authors investigated the development of basic calculation fluency and its relations to math achievement and other factors by tracking a group of 259 United Kingdom English children from second to third grade. In both grades the group did not retrieve the solutions to most problems, but their math achievement was typical. Improvement in basic calculation proficiency was partially predicted by conceptual knowledge and cognitive factors. These factors only partially mediated the relation between basic calculation and math achievement. The relation between reading and math was wholly mediated by number measures and cognitive factors

Exploring Viral Diversity in a Unique South African Soil Habitat

Abstract The Kogelberg Biosphere Reserve in the Cape Floral Kingdom in South Africa is known for its unique plant biodiversity. The potential presence of unique microbial and viral biodiversity associated with this unique plant biodiversity led us to explore the fynbos soil using metaviromic techniques. In this study, metaviromes of a soil community from the Kogelberg Biosphere Reserve has been characterised in detail for the first time. Metaviromic DNA was recovered from soil and sequenced by Next Generation Sequencing. The MetaVir, MG-RAST and VIROME bioinformatics pipelines were used to analyse taxonomic composition, phylogenetic and functional assessments of the sequences. Taxonomic composition revealed members of the order Caudovirales, in particular the family Siphoviridae, as prevalent in the soil samples and other compared viromes. Functional analysis and other metaviromes showed a relatively high frequency of phage-related and structural proteins. Phylogenetic analysis of PolB, PolB2, terL and T7gp17 genes indicated that many viral sequences are closely related to the order Caudovirales, while the remainder were distinct from known isolates. The use of single virome which only includes double stranded DNA viruses limits this study. Novel phage sequences were detected, presenting an opportunity for future studies aimed at targeting novel genetic resources for applied biotechnology

Between learning and schooling: the politics of human rights monitoring at the Universal Periodic Review

This paper explores the politics of monitoring at the Universal Periodic Review (UPR), a new United Nations human rights monitoring mechanism which aims to promote a universal approach and equal treatment when reviewing each country’s human rights situation. To what extent are these laudable aims realised, and realisable, given entrenched representations of the West and the Rest as well as geopolitical and economic inequalities both historically and in the present? Based on ethnographic fieldwork at the UN in 2010–11, the final year of the UPR’s first cycle, we explore how these aims were both pursued and subverted, paying attention to two distinct ways of talking about the UPR: first, as a learning culture in which UN member states ‘share best practice’ and engage in constructive criticism; and second, as an exam which UN member states face as students with vastly differing attitudes and competences. Accounts and experiences of diplomats from states that are not placed in the ‘good students’ category offer valuable insights into the inherent contradictions of de-historicised and de-contextualised approaches to human rights

THE AUSTRALIA-CHINA FREE TRADE AGREEMENT: IMPLICATIONS FOR INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LAW

Intellectual property is not usually the first thing that people think of when they talk about the Australia-China Free Trade Agreement1 (FTA) – an FTA is about ‘trade’: market access for agricultural products and manufactured goods, banking and educational services, easier access for Chinese investors and workers into Australia – the significance of intellectual property to trade is not foremost in most peoples’ minds. But when you ask Australian business people what they think about doing business in China, a great number in many fields are concerned about whether their innovative work will be protected – this is true for architects, manufacturers and educational software designers. And for innovative Chinese companies, whether they are domestically or internationally focussed, intellectual property is an increasingly important issue. Perhaps the first thing to say about this topic is that we don’t know what the actual implications of the FTA on intellectual property regulation will be. The FTA negotiations are concluded as a single undertaking – one whole agreement – and a key principle of that, is that nothing is agreed until everything is agreed. Therefore in this regard it can be confidently said at this point, that nothing has yet been agreed, and that certainly applies to the intellectual property component of the negotiations. The following chapter will examine the implications of the proposed Australia-China FTA on intellectual property law. In particular, the chapter will consider key issues, such as why Australia believes it is important to include a separate chapter on intellectual property in the Australia-China FTA. Finally, the chapter will conclude by drawing some conclusions on what implications the Australia-China FTA might have on intellectual property regulation

THE AUSTRALIA-CHINA FREE TRADE AGREEMENT: IMPLICATIONS FOR INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LAW

Intellectual property is not usually the first thing that people think of when they talk about the Australia-China Free Trade Agreement1 (FTA) – an FTA is about ‘trade’: market access for agricultural products and manufactured goods, banking and educational services, easier access for Chinese investors and workers into Australia – the significance of intellectual property to trade is not foremost in most peoples’ minds. But when you ask Australian business people what they think about doing business in China, a great number in many fields are concerned about whether their innovative work will be protected – this is true for architects, manufacturers and educational software designers. And for innovative Chinese companies, whether they are domestically or internationally focussed, intellectual property is an increasingly important issue. Perhaps the first thing to say about this topic is that we don’t know what the actual implications of the FTA on intellectual property regulation will be. The FTA negotiations are concluded as a single undertaking – one whole agreement – and a key principle of that, is that nothing is agreed until everything is agreed. Therefore in this regard it can be confidently said at this point, that nothing has yet been agreed, and that certainly applies to the intellectual property component of the negotiations. The following chapter will examine the implications of the proposed Australia-China FTA on intellectual property law. In particular, the chapter will consider key issues, such as why Australia believes it is important to include a separate chapter on intellectual property in the Australia-China FTA. Finally, the chapter will conclude by drawing some conclusions on what implications the Australia-China FTA might have on intellectual property regulation

Couple relationships in families with dependent children after a diagnosis of maternal breast cancer in the United Kingdom: Perspectives from mothers and fathers

This article examines the facilitators and the barriers to couple relationships in families in the UK with dependent children after a diagnosis of maternal breast cancer. Qualitative data were collected through in-depth semi-structured interviews with 23 participants, including 10 couples and three women whose partners did not take part. Recorded interviews were analysed using a thematic approach identifying themes and patterns in the interview transcripts and categorizing them using a framework. Key individual and contextual factors perceived as barriers or facilitators to couple relationships included: being a “young” family with young children, frustration and resentment from male partners, women’s reactions to the illness, individual communication styles, differing needs for “personal space,” body image concerns, and social support. Findings indicated the need for strengthening “family focus” in services with adequate support for male partners. Health and family services should consider variability in the experiences of couples with dependent children and be sensitive to the needs of partners alongside the women