bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Reproductive biology of Triportheus trifurcatus (Castelnau, 1855) (Characiformes: Characidae) in the middle rio Araguaia, MT, Brazil
Authors: Martins-Queiroz Mirian F. , Mateus Lúcia A. de F. , Garutti Valdener , Venere Paulo C.
Published: July 2008

The study of the reproductive biology of Triportheus trifurcatus of the middle rio Araguaia was carried out using 275 specimens obtained in seven collections conducted in the period between November 2003 and January 2005. Females prevailed among the classes of intermediate length, as well as in the total number of samples. On the other hand, males prevailed in the smaller classes. The average length of females was larger than that of males. Four stages of gonadal maturation were macro- and microscopically identified: B - maturation, C - mature, D - spent and E - resting. Stage A (immature) was not found in the habitats sampled. The smallest-length male was 110 mm in standard length, and the smallest female, 119 mm. The spawning period occurred from November to January, with reproductive peak in December/January, coinciding with the highest water levels. The absolute fecundity is considered low, and there is a positive correlation between fecundity and gonad weight, body weight and standard length. Food ingestion during the reproductive period did not suffer any interference, and it is suggested complete spawning for this species.
Diet of Bryconops alburnoides and B. caudomaculatus (Osteichthyes: Characiformes) in the region affected by Balbina Hydroelectric Dam (Amazon drainage, Brazil)
Authors: Silva Cylene C. da , Ferreira Efrem J. G. , Deus Cláudia P. de
Published: July 2008

The study of fish diet and its interaction with the environment provides important data on ecology and behavior, as fish face varying environmental and food availability conditions. The aim of the present study was to determine the diet of Bryconops caudomaculatus and Bryconops alburnoides, as well as to assess its seasonal variation, within the area influenced by Balbina Hydroelectric Dam (BHD), in the Uatumã River (Amazon Basin, Brazil). Collections were carried out every two months from April 2005 to February 2007, using gill nets with mesh sizes ranging from 12 to 60 mm between opposite knots. Two methods were used for determining diet: frequency of occurrence and relative volume, which were used to calculate the alimentary index (IAi). Diet similarity between species was analyzed by applying the Morisita index. Bryconops alburnoides ingested 12 items and B. caudomaculatus 10, with a 59% similarity between ingested items. Terrestrial insects for B. alburnoides and immature insects for B. caudomaculatus were the main items in their diets, and therefore, they were considered insectivorous. The seasonal composition of the diet of B. alburnoides was influenced by environmental factors, and in spite of the dominance of immature insects, it had a significant number of terrestrial insects during the heavy rainfall periods.
Reproductive behavior in the annual fish Austrolebias reicherti Loureiro & García 2004 (Cyprinodontiformes: Rivulidae)
Authors: García Daniel , Loureiro Marcelo , Tassino Bettina
Published: July 2008

Annual fishes inhabit temporary ponds that dry out seasonally and the adaptations to survive this extreme condition include high metabolic rates and an elaborate courtship behavior which ends in the deposition of drought-resistant eggs, capable of going through diapause stages in the substrate. The pronounced sexual dimorphism that these fishes show suggests that sexual selection could play a key role in the differentiation, speciation and evolution of this diverse group of fishes. However, there is scarce information about their reproductive isolation mechanisms, including detailed analysis of courtship signals. Herein, we analyzed, qualitatively and quantitatively, the reproductive behavior of Austrolebias reicherti. The behavioral units recognized in this study correspond with the previous analysis of other species of annual fishes. The most frequent unit in males was the lateral display where specific morphological and coloration patterns are displayed to the female. The female's high relative frequency and time of quietness suggest that this unit may have an evaluation role during courtship. In addition to visual displays during courtship, males perform vibrations of the dorsal and anal fins as well as body undulations; these indicate that mechanical signals may be important for attracting females. Our results support the hypothesis of multimodal signals. The conservation of behavioral patterns in courtship displays within Austrolebias suggests that species-level recognition and the barrier to hybridization may not occur at this stage, unless quantitative differences can be identified.
Fish assemblage structure is consistent through an annual hydrological cycle in habitats of a floodplain-lake in the Colombian Amazon
Authors: Correa Sandra Bibiana
Published: July 2008

I investigated changes in abundance and spatial distribution of medium- and large-sized fishes (>100 mm) in an oxbow lake of the lower Apaporis River, Colombian Amazon, across three seasons (falling, low, and rising water). Fifty-three species in 13 families were collected from six habitats: lagoon channels, stream, flooded forests, isolated shrub patches, muddy beaches, and rocks. Abundance, biomass, and species richness were higher during the rising-water season and lower during falling-water season. Correspondence analysis (CA) showed that fish assemblages were associated to two basic habitat types. One assemblage of fishes was associated with densely vegetated and structurally complex habitats (flooded forest, lagoon channels, stream, and isolated shrub patches), and a second assemblage of fishes was associated with muddy beaches. These assemblages persisted despite seasonal fluctuations in water level. Species in the structurally complex habitats assemblage were mostly omnivores, whereas the beach habitat assemblage included mainly piscivores and detritivores. Results from this study suggest that overall abundance of fishes in habitats within and surrounding Taraira Lake is highly variable among seasons, but species habitat affinity is maintained through seasons.
Comparison of HER-2 and Hormone Receptor Expression in Primary Breast Cancers and Asynchronous Paired Metastases: Impact on Patient Management
Authors: Guarneri Valentina , Giovannelli Simona , Ficarra Guido , Bettelli Stefania , Maiorana Antonino , Piacentini Federico , Barbieri Elena , Dieci Maria Vittoria , D'Amico Roberto , Jovic Gordana , Conte PierFranco
Published: July 2008

Introduction.

The assessment of hormone receptors (HRs) and human epidermal growth factor receptor (HER)-2 is necessary to select patients who are candidates for hormonal and anti–HER-2 therapy. The evaluation of these parameters is generally carried out in primary tumors and it is not clear if reassessment in metastatic lesions might have an impact on patient management. The primary aim of this analysis was to compare HER-2 and HR status in primary tumors versus metastatic sites in breast cancer patients.

Patients and Methods.

Seventy-five patients with available samples from primary tumors and paired metastases were included. HER-2 status was evaluated by immunohistochemistry (IHC) and/or fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH); HR status was assessed by IHC.

Results.

Nineteen percent of primary tumors were HER-2 positive; 77% were HR positive. Sites of biopsied or resected metastases were: locoregional soft tissues (n = 30), liver (n = 20), central nervous system (n = 5), bone (n = 5), pleura (n = 4), distant soft tissues (n = 3), abdomen (stomach, colon, peritoneum) (n = 3), bronchus (n = 3), and bone marrow (n = 2). For paired metastases, the HER-2 status was unchanged in 84% of cases; two patients changed from positive to negative, while 10 patients converted from negative to positive (agreement, 84%; κ = 0.5681). A change in HR status was observed in 16 cases (21%): nine cases from positive to negative and seven cases from negative to positive (agreement, 78.7%; κ = 0.4158).

Conclusions.

Further studies are necessary to better define the level of discordance in HER-2 or HR status between primary tumors and paired metastases. However, a biopsy of metastatic disease can be recommended, if feasible with minimal invasiveness, because treatment options might change for a significant proportion of patients.
The Transtheoretical Model in Intimate Partner Violence Victimization: Stage Changes Over Time
Authors: Burkitt Kelly H. , Larkin Gregory L.
Published: July 2008

The transtheoretical model of behavior change (TTM) has been extended to describe the process of change in victims of intimate partner violence (IPV); however, it has not been validated over time or in a population of women experiencing IPV who are not currently in shelter. This article examines the process of change in IPV victims longitudinally and identifies factors that may relate to staging and stage progression. Fifty-three women were enrolled on presentation to an emergency department for health care treatment and completed follow-up at 3 to 4 months. Measures of TTM staging, use of community resources, ongoing abuse, mental health, and social support were collected. Cluster analyses were conducted, and descriptive summaries of clusters and significant demographic, abuse, and outcome variables related to cluster membership are presented. A five-cluster solution was selected on the basis of parsimony, theory, and overall coherence with the data. Forward progression through the stages over time was related to both the use of community resources and ending the IPV relationship.
Acceptability of a Stage-Matched Expert System Intervention for Domestic Violence Offenders
Authors: Levesque Deborah A. , Driskell Mary-Margaret , Prochaska Janice M. , Prochaska James O.
Published: July 2008

Most interventions for men who batter are standardized and “one-size-fits-all,” neglecting individual differences in readiness to change. A multimedia expert system intervention based on the transtheoretical model (the “stage model”) was developed as an adjunct to traditional court-mandated programs. The expert system assesses stage of change, decisional balance, self-efficacy, and processes of change and provides immediate individualized stage-matched feedback designed to increase readiness to end the violence. Fifty-eight male batterer intervention program clients were invited by agency staff to complete an expert system session and an evaluation of the program; 33 men were recruited at program intake and the remainder from ongoing groups. Responses to the intervention were very positive. For example, 87% of participants reported that they found the program to be easy to use, and 98% said it could probably or definitely help them change their attitudes or behaviors. Findings provide encouraging evidence of the acceptability of this stage-matched approach to intervention for domestic violence offenders.
Stages of Change in Batterers and Their Response to Treatment
Authors: Alexander Pamela C. , Morris Eugene
Published: July 2008

One important dimension of individual differences among batterers is their readiness to change. According to the transtheoretical model (Prochaska & DiClemente, 1984), all individuals go through precontemplation, contemplation, preparation, action, and maintenance before a change in behavior is accomplished. The applicability of this model to intimate partner violence was assessed by administering the University of Rhode Island Change Assessment (URICA) scales (with reference to their domestic violent behavior) to 210 court-ordered male batterers. Their responses were clustered, and two clusters were derived and then compared on other measures. As hypothesized, cluster 2 individuals (characterized by a profile of URICA scale scores suggesting an earlier stage of change) self-reported less initial distress (depression, anxiety, and alcohol abuse), less violence, and fewer problems with anger than cluster 1 individuals (characterized by URICA scale sores suggesting a later stage of change), although partners reported no difference in violence perpetrated by the two clusters. Cluster 1 individuals evidenced greater improvement in self-reported depression, anxiety, and anger control. Strategies to engage the more resistant cluster 2 individuals as well as suggestions for future research are considered.
Treatment Attitude and Therapy Outcome in Patients With Borderline Personality Disorder
Authors: Wenzel Amy , Jeglic Elizabeth L. , Levy-Mack Hollie J. , Beck Aaron T. , Brown Gregory K.
Published: July 2008

This study investigated the degree to which two ways of defining attitude toward treatment (i.e., attitude toward talking with a therapist about problems, expectation for improvement) predicted therapy outcome. The sample consisted of 28 patients who participated in an open clinical trial evaluating the efficacy of cognitive therapy for borderline personality disorder and who completed assessments at baseline and 12-month follow-up (Brown, Newman, Charlesworth, Crits-Cristoph, & Beck, 2004). When attitude toward treatment was defined as attitude toward talking with a therapist, this variable predicted suicide ideation and scores on two measures of depression at the 12-month assessment. When attitude toward treatment was defined as expectation for improvement, this variable predicted scores on one measure of depression and number of borderline personality disorder criteria met at the 12-month assessment. These results provide preliminary evidence that positive attitudes toward treatment are associated with more clinical improvement, although future research should replicate this finding with a better developed measure of treatment attitudes.
Plasma YKL-40
Authors: Nielsen Anders R. , Erikstrup Christian , Johansen Julia S. , Fischer Christian P. , Plomgaard Peter , Krogh-Madsen Rikke , Taudorf Sarah , Lindegaard Birgitte , Pedersen Bente K.
Published: July 2008

OBJECTIVE—YKL-40 is produced by macrophages, and plasma YKL-40 is elevated in patients with diseases characterized by inflammation. In the present study, YKL-40 was examined in relation to obesity, inflammation, and type 2 diabetes.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS—Plasma YKL-40 and adipose tissue YKL-40 mRNA levels were investigated in 199 subjects who were divided into four groups depending on the presence or absence of type 2 diabetes and obesity. In addition, plasma YKL-40 was examined in healthy subjects during a hyperglycemic clamp, in which the plasma glucose level was kept at 15 mmol/l for 3 h, and during a hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic clamp.

RESULTS—Patients with type 2 diabetes had higher plasma YKL-40 (76.7 vs. 45.1 ng/ml, P = 0.0001) but not higher expression in adipose tissue YKL-40 mRNA (1.20 vs. 0.98, P = 0.2) compared with subjects with a normal glucose tolerance. Within the groups with normal glucose tolerance and type 2 diabetes, obesity subgroups showed no difference with respect to either plasma YKL-40 or adipose tissue YKL-40 mRNA levels. Multivariate regression analysis showed that plasma YKL-40 was associated with fasting plasma glucose (β = 0.5, P = 0.0014) and plasma interleukin (IL)-6 (β = 0.2, P = 0.0303). Plasma YKL-40 was not related to parameters of obesity. There were no changes in plasma YKL-40 in healthy subjects during either hyperglycemic or hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic clamps.

CONCLUSIONS—Plasma YKL-40 was identified as an obesity-independent marker of type 2 diabetes related to fasting plasma glucose and plasma IL-6 levels.
Lymphocytes of Type 2 Diabetic Women Carry a High Load of Stable Chromosomal Aberrations
Authors: Boehm Bernhard O. , Möller Peter , Högel Josef , Winkelmann Bernhard R. , Renner Wilfried , Rosinger Silke , Seelhorst Ursula , Wellnitz Britta , März Winfried , Melzner Julia , Brüderlein Silke
Published: July 2008

OBJECTIVE—Diabetes is associated with an increased risk of death in women. Oxidative stress due to chronic hyperglycemia leads to the generation of reactive oxygen species and loss of chromosomal integrity. To clarify whether diabetes is a premature aging syndrome, we determined telomere erosion dynamics and occurrence of structural chromosomal aberrations in women of the Ludwigshafen Risk and Cardiovascular Health (LURIC) Study.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS—Telomere lengths and karyotypes were examined in peripheral blood mononuclear cells. Regarding these parameters, surviving and deceased type 2 diabetic women of the LURIC study were compared with nondiabetic LURIC women with or without coronary heart disease and with healthy female control subjects.

RESULTS—Significantly enhanced telomere attrition was seen in all LURIC subjects compared with healthy control subjects. Although the average telomere-length loss is equivalent to well >10 years of healthy aging, telomere erosion was not associated with outcome within the LURIC cohort. However, strikingly high numbers of stable chromosomal aberrations were found in type 2 diabetic women but not in LURIC disease control subjects or in healthy individuals. Furthermore, within the younger age- groups, deceased type 2 diabetes patients had significantly more marker chromosomes than the surviving type 2 diabetic patients.

CONCLUSIONS—All women at high risk for cardiovascular death have accelerated telomere erosion, not caused by type 2 diabetes per se but likely linked to other risk factors, including dyslipidemia. By contrast, the occurrence of marker chromosomes is associated with type 2 diabetes and is a novel risk factor for type 2 diabetes–related early death.
Lessons From the First Comprehensive Molecular Characterization of Cell Cycle Control in Rodent Insulinoma Cell Lines
Authors: Cozar-Castellano Irene , Harb George , Selk Karen , Takane Karen , Vasavada Rupangi , Sicari Brian , Law Brian , Zhang Pili , Scott Donald K. , Fiaschi-Taesch Nathalie , Stewart Andrew F.
Published: July 2008

OBJECTIVE—Rodent insulinoma cell lines may serve as a model for designing continuously replicating human β-cell lines and provide clues as to the central cell cycle regulatory molecules in the β-cell.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS—We performed a comprehensive G1/S proteome analysis on the four most widely studied rodent insulinoma cell lines and defined their flow cytometric profiles and growth characteristics.

RESULTS— 1) Despite their common T-antigen–derived origins, MIN6 and BTC3 cells display markedly different G1/S expression profiles; 2) despite their common radiation origins, RINm5F and INS1 cells display striking differences in cell cycle protein profiles; 3) phosphorylation of pRb is absent in INS1 and RINm5F cells; 4) cyclin D2 is absent in RINm5F and BTC3 cells and therefore apparently dispensable for their proliferation; 5) every cell cycle inhibitor is upregulated, presumably in a futile attempt to halt proliferation; 6) among the G1/S proteome members, seven are pro-proliferation molecules: cyclin-dependent kinase-1, -2, -4, and -6 and cyclins A, E, and D3; and 7) overexpression of the combination of these seven converts arrested proliferation rates in primary rat β-cells to those in insulinoma cells. Unfortunately, this therapeutic overexpression appears to mildly attenuate β-cell differentiation and function.

CONCLUSIONS—These studies underscore the importance of characterizing the cell cycle at the protein level in rodent insulinoma cell lines. They also emphasize the hazards of interpreting data from rodent insulinoma cell lines as modeling normal cell cycle progression. Most importantly, they provide seven candidate targets for inducing proliferation in human β-cells.
Antecedent Hyperglycemia Is Associated With an Increased Risk of Neutropenic Infections During Bone Marrow Transplantation
Authors: Derr Rachel L. , Hsiao Victoria C. , Saudek Christopher D.
Published: July 2008

OBJECTIVE—To use bone marrow transplantation (BMT) as a model for testing the association between hyperglycemia and infection.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS—This cohort study included 382 adults (6.5% with diabetes) who had no evidence of infection before neutropenia during BMT. Mean glucose was calculated from central laboratory and bedside measurements taken before neutropenia; the primary outcome was neutropenic infections.

RESULTS—Eighty-four patients (22%) developed at least one neutropenic infection, including 51 patients (13%) with bloodstream infections. In patients who did not receive glucocorticoids during neutropenia, each 10 mg/dl increase in mean preneutropenia glucose was associated with an odds ratio of 1.08 (95% CI 0.98–1.19) (P = 0.14) for any infection and 1.15 (1.03–1.28) (P = 0.01) for bloodstream infections, after adjusting for age, sex, race, year, cancer diagnosis, transplant type, and total glucocorticoid dose before neutropenia. In those who received glucocorticoids during neutropenia (n = 71), the adjusted odds ratio associated with a 10 mg/dl increase in mean glucose was 1.21 (1.09–1.34) (P < 0.0001) for any infection and 1.24 (1.11–1.38) (P < 0.0001) for bloodstream infections. There was no association between mean glycemia and long length of hospital stay, critical status designation, or mortality.

CONCLUSIONS—In a BMT population highly susceptible to infection, there was a continuous positive association between mean antecedent glycemia and later infection risk, particularly in patients who received glucocorticoids while neutropenic. Tight glycemic control during BMT and glucocorticoid treatment may reduce infections.
Microswitch-Based Programs for Persons with Multiple Disabilities: An Overview of Some Recent Developments
Authors: Lancioni Giulio E. , O'Reilly Mark F. , Singh Nirbhay N. , Sigafoos Jeff , Oliva Doretta , Antonucci Massimo , Tota Alessia , Basili Gabriella
Published: July 2008

Persons with multiple disabilities are often unable to interact with their environment due to their limited response repertoire. Microswitch programs are designed to help them control environmental events, generally preferred stimulation, through simple (feasible) responses. To make microswitch programs a more widely usable and relevant resource for intervention with these persons, a number of new developments were pursued in recent years. This paper examines three of those developments as specifically addressed in our research activity, namely, (a) assessment of new, nontypical responses and matching microswitches, (b) fostering of multiple responses and exercise of choice, and (c) targeting of habilitative and clinical (therapeutic) objectives. The encouraging outcomes of these developments are reviewed in relation to their potentially wide implications for daily practice and the need of additional developments in the area.
Effect of Physical Fatigue on Motor Control at Different Skill Levels
Authors: Aune T. K. , Ingvaldsen R. P. , Ettema G. J. C.
Published: July 2008

The purpose of this experiment was to explore the effect of fatigue on motor coordination, and of prospective adjustment strategies to compensate for fatigue in a multijoint movement. Two male groups ( N = 8) participated in the experiment: Highly skilled table tennis players ( M age = 27 yr., SD = 2.3, n = 4) and Recreational table tennis players ( M age = 25.9 yr., SD = 0.04, n = 4). The task was an attacking forehand drive towards a scaled target on the opposite side of the net. The Highly skilled players adjusted their movement patterns and preserved the task requirements in terms of spatial accuracy under the condition of fatigue by using opportunistic movement coordination. The Recreational players did not adjust their forehand drive, and spatial accuracy deteriorated. The current results support the notion that expertise enhances potential to adjust motor coordination strategies as a reaction to induced physical fatigue.
Spatial Cognition and Motor Development: A Study of Children with Spina Bifida
Authors: Jansen-Osmann Petra , Wiedenbauer Gunnar , Heil Martin
Published: July 2008

The purpose of this study was to examine the relation between motor development and spatial cognition. The sample was 20 children with Spina bifida ( M age: 11.4 yr., SD = 1.7) and 20 healthy children as controls ( M age: 11.8, SD = 1.8 yr.). An experimental assessment of motor development in spatial cognition in a simulated virtual maze by school-age children is lacking. In this study children with Spina bifida, who were impaired in walking since birth, completed four visuospatial tasks in a small-scale space (Mental Rotation, Water-Level Task, Embedded Figures Test, Visual Short-term Memory Test), and a spatial behaviour and knowledge task in a virtual maze. These children showed poorer performance than children in the control group on most measures. The results are discussed with respect to theoretical implications and further research.
Stereotyping and Victim Blaming of Individuals with a Laryngectomy
Authors: Hughes Stephanie , Gabel Rodney M.
Published: July 2008

This study examined whether individuals with a laryngectomy are at risk for stereotyping and victim blaming. Undergraduate students (3 men and 41 women) volunteered to listen to a recording of a man who used tracheoesophageal speech or a man who was a typical adult speaker. A written vignette was provided prior to the listening activity to assess whether knowing that the speaker did or did not have a history of smoking affected the listeners' judgments of the speaker. Semantic differential data and qualitative responses indicated that participants did not report victim blaming; however, they did report that users of tracheoesophageal speech were less highly employable than typical adult speakers. Participants also indicated they relied on the vocal characteristics of speakers and used empathy- or experienced-based reactions to make judgments about users of such speech.
Consequences of Negative Information on Perceptions of Facial Attractiveness
Authors: Magda Lori A. , Goodwin Kerri A.
Published: July 2008

The present study assessed the effect of negative information on perception of attractiveness of smiling and nonsmiling targets by undergraduate men and women. Analysis indicated that smiling faces were rated more attractive than nonsmiling faces, consistent with previous research. There was a significant interaction of participants' sex and target description, in which women rated smiling faces less attractive after exposure to negative information about the target, but men rated smiling faces more attractive after exposure to negative information. Results are discussed in terms of an affective model of perception of people.
Methods of Punishment Used by Turkish Mothers of Preschoolers
Authors: Kan Ümit Deniz
Published: July 2008

The goal of this study was to describe the punishments that Turkish mothers use with their preschool-aged children. 129 mothers with children between 3 and 6 years old were included in the study. Mothers completed a data collection form prepared by the researcher. Punishments mothers applied and mothers' age and education and children's age and sex were examined by chi-squared analysis. Mothers used various punishments with children. Some punishments were used with high frequency. Mothers' age and education and children's age and sex were not related to types of punishment used.
Cross-National Social Ecology of Intelligence and Suicide Prevalence: Integration, Refinement, and Update of Studies
Authors: Voracek Martin
Published: July 2008

This study integrates, refines, and updates previous findings pertaining to positive ecologic (population-level) associations between intelligence and suicide prevalence across nations by using corrected and revised national IQ estimates and, further, a quality-of-human-conditions index, both recently published by Lynn and Vanhanen. Across a global 85-nation sample of sex-specific total suicide rates and a Eurasian 48-nation sample of sex-specific elderly suicide rates, these were positively associated with updated national IQ estimates. The associations were stronger for the general population than for elderly persons, independent of the quality of human conditions, and notedly stronger in exponential fitting of suicide rates with national IQ than in linear fitting, thereby indicating that shifts or differences in national IQ correspond to proportional, not absolute, changes in suicide rates. Implications of these findings and the question of generalizability of such associations to the individual level are discussed.
Dominant Paradigms in Motor Behavior Research: The Motor-Action Controversy Revisited
Authors: Aune Tore Kristian , Pedersen Arve Vorland , Ingvaldsen Rolf P.
Published: July 2008

In 1992, Abernethy and Sparrow published an evaluation of the historical development of the field of motor behavior research as published from 1977 up to 1988 in the Journal of Motor Behavior. The present study extends their evaluation from 1988 through 2005 using content analyses of articles on motor control and learning in this journal. Papers were categorized into the two dominant and contrasting paradigms, the motor systems approach and the action systems approach. Analysis suggests that the field of motor behavior research has changed considerably over the last three decades. The action systems approach is now the leading approach, but the motor systems approach has, however, not perished. In a Kuhnian perspective, the results might be consistent with a more long-lasting crisis, and from the available data it is not possible to predict a future outcome of the dispute between the two approaches.
The ‘Discovery’ of the Himba: The Politics of Ethnographic Film Making
Authors: Wärnlöf Christofer
Published: July 2008

This article is concerned with the way an African ethnic group is represented in the medium of television. It is argued, first, that, in the broad spectrum of programmes, ethnographic films will never be in the top rank. Nevertheless, as part of a general range appealing to an intellectual and academic audience, ethnographic films will be competing in this market. One solution is to let ethnographic films become more attractive through a closer resemblance to fictional films. But it creates a dilemma for an ethnographic film screened on television, as it must legitimise its position by differentiating itself from fiction through establishing a certain realism while at the same time employing fictional devices to dramatise ethnographic ‘stories’. This leads to distorted and sometimes racist undertones. The second issue concerns the ambitions of the film team. Their temporary role in the locality becomes political when, as inevitably happens, they favour, and are favoured by, one section of the local community in order to fulfil their mission of producing an ethnographic film. A split in the community is caused by such external forces and justified by the fact that we are all ‘living in a global village’.
Sungusungu: State-Sponsored Village Vigilante Groups Among the Kuria of Tanzania
Authors: Fleisher Michael L.
Published: July 2008

In the mid-1990s the village vigilantism known as sungusungu emerged, for the first time, in Tarime District, in northern Tanzania, in response to high levels of cattle theft and related violence—not in the form of independently organised but co-operating village vigilante groups, as it had first manifested itself a decade and a half earlier, in west central Tanzania, among the Sukuma and Nyamwezi peoples, but under state sponsorship. This article describes the organisation and operation of this form of state-sponsored vigilantism as it unfolded in a village of the agro-pastoral Kuria people, and argues that, while it offers a number of significant benefits both to the state and to local people, it nonetheless suffers from some of the same weaknesses that plague the official law enforcement system.
Zulu Ritual Immunisation in Perspective
Authors: Jolles Frank , Jolles Stephen
Published: July 2008

This article arose out of an attempt to quantify the risk of transmitting blood-borne diseases, in particular Hepatitis B and HIV, through the practice of making incisions (umgcabo) and punctures (ukutshobha) in the skin for the purpose of introducing medication (muthi) into the human body. The intention was to examine means of containing the risk. It soon became apparent that the practice of these therapies was inextricably bound up with legal and economic issues arising out of the impact of colonialism on Zulu medicine. Any endeavour to contain them would first have to address these fundamental issues. The article takes a step in that direction by (1) examining in detail some of the practices of diviners and herbalists in their historical context and (2) showing how colonial and post-colonial legislation has affected traditional healers and their clients in rural KwaZulu/Natal.
‘Catch the Cockerel Before Dawn’: Pentecostalism and Politics in Post-Colonial Zimbabwe
Authors: Maxwell David
Published: July 2008

The article examines relations between pentecostalism and politics in post-colonial Zimbabwe through a case study of one of Africa’s largest pentecostal movements, Zimbabwe Assemblies of God, Africa (ZAOGA). The Church’s relations with the state change considerably from the colonial to the post-colonial era. The movement began as a sectarian township-based organisation which eschewed politics but used white Rhodesian and American contacts to gain resources and modernise. In the first decade of independence the leadership embraced the dominant discourses of cultural nationalism and development but fell foul of the ruling party, ZANU/PF, because of its ‘seeming’ connections with the rebel politician Ndabiningi Sithole and the American religious right. By the 1990s ZAOGA and ZANU/PF had embraced, each drawing legitimacy from the other. However, this reciprocal assimilation of elites and the authoritarianism of ZAOGA’s leadership are in tension with the democratic egalitarian culture found in local assemblies, where the excesses of leaders are challenged. These alternative pentecostal practices are in symbiosis with radical township politics and progressive sources in civil society. Thus, while pentecostalism may renew the process of politics in Zimbabwe, it may itself be renewed by the outside forces of wider Zimbabwean society.
Ingessana and the Legacy of the Funj Sultanate: The Consequences of Turkish Conquest on the Blue Nile
Authors: Jędrej M. C.
Published: July 2008

From a perspective based in ethnographic research this article reviews the historical evidence relating to the social organisation of the southern Funj in the Sudan during the nineteenth century. It goes beyond a characterisation of the region as one of pagan ‘tribes’ more or less successful in resisting subordination by a sophisticated Islamic state to discern a complexity of varied political relations radiating from an elite in a few regional centres and traversing all the communities of the region. The appearance of distinct ethnic groups under the colonial regime of the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan was preceded by a transitional geo-political division of the population into defiant highlanders and variously servile lowlanders under the Turco-Egyptian government which succeeded the Funj sultanate in the region.
State Policies, Local Prejudices and Cattle Rustling Along the Ghana-Burkina Faso Border
Authors: Tonah Steve
Published: July 2008

This article briefly discusses the various factors that gave rise to tension in northern Ghana between Fulbe pastoralists coming in from Burkina Faso and the local Kassena farmers (who have livestock of their own). The Ghanaian government's decision in 1988–89 to expel the Fulbe resulted in more problems, not least the dilemma of how to patrol effectively the permeable borderland and the gradual introduction there of modern firearms. In consequence some argue that it is not the policies of conservation that are being called into question but the government's sovereignty.
Contents and Contexts the Rhetoric of Oral Traditions in the ɔman of Sefwi Wiawso, Ghana
Authors: Boni Stefano
Published: July 2008

This article examines political oral traditions in the Sefwi (Akan) area of Ghana. Two types of narrative are studied: negotiations over the political status of stools within the kingdom and the claims to succession of matrilineal branches within stools. Narratives are analysed in relation to their claims to historicity, to the political conflicts in which they are generated and to their correspondence to legal criteria of attribution of ‘traditional’ political offices. It shows that pre‐colonial dynamic norms concerning stool status and succession turned into a fixed legal corpus in the twentieth century. Contenders’ histories have been used as evidence to judge ‘traditional’ stool disputes. Narrators have thus constructed narratives presenting ideal pasts considered worthy of legal attribution of ‘traditional’ political office. Narratives have consequently legalised narrators’ claims with reference to ancient history. The study of the context of the emergence of oral traditions—hostility between particular stool holders, national politics’ influence or conflicts over the sharing of stool revenue—shows that narratives and political conflicts have a history of their own which is carefully omitted from the narration.
Meret Shehena, ‘Brothers' Land’ S. F. Nadel's Land Tenure on the Eritrean Plateau Revisited
Authors: Tronvoll Kjetil
Published: July 2008

This article revisits S.F. Nadel's study on land tenure in highland Eritrea from the mid‐1940s, and presents the current framework of the communal land tenure system of meret shehena. Under the meret shehena system, all land under the domain of the village is perceived as the common property of the village inhabitants. To restrict outsiders access to land, habitation rights (tisha) to the villages is guided by agnatic descent, and individuals obtain usufruct rights to land through residence in the village. The article proves that since Nadel's study almost sixty years ago, descent rules defining habitation rights have been changed, in order to restrict distant descendants returning to the village and claiming their land rights. Nevertheless, the overall workings of the system that redistributes all shehena land every seventh year to the village inhabitants, shows a remarkable resemblance to the observations made by Nadel. It appears that the customary operational guidelines of the system are virtually unaffected by wars and political turbulence during the last fifty years, following the core principle that each male adult individual with habitation rights (tisha) who marries and establishes a separate household, will be entitled to an equal share (gibri) of the village land, in order to secure the livelihood of all household members.
The Persistence of Subsistence and the Limits to Development Studies: The Challenge of Tanzania
Authors: Waters Tony
Published: July 2008

There are two general approaches to assessing what is known as ‘development’. First, there are classical accounts focusing on Europe's development during the industrial revolution. They describe how urban areas expanded at the expense of the social and economic resources of the rural areas, disrupting an independent subsistence peasantry. A major consequence is that today all Europeans are dependent socially, politically, and economically on the modern capitalist system. The second (more common) approach to development focuses on the modern Third World. This approach assumes that, as with Europe, the entire Third World is dependent on the modern capitalist system. Development studies focus on the assessment of how Third World countries can most effectively engage world capitalism. Discussion is typically reduced to comparisons between world systems theory and neoclassical economics. The Tanzanian government has used standard policies grounded in neoclassical and world‐system assumptions since independence. But both policies failed to produce the predicted economic growth. This article argues that both policies failed because the Tanzanian peasantry, like the early modern European peasantry, is not dependent on the operation of world capitalism for basic subsistence. In fact, as studies have shown, rural Tanzania is only weakly incorporated into the capitalist world system, and in consequence has not been an easy target for what world‐system theorists call ‘peripheral integration’. What makes Tanzania different is the fact that the rural peasantry do not use market mechanisms in the distribution of the ‘means of production’, especially arable land for swidden agriculture, or, for that matter, labour or cattle.
Rethinking Ancestors and Colonial Power in Madagascar
Authors: Cole Jennifer , Middleton Karen
Published: July 2008

This article reconsiders the relationship between ancestors and colonial power through a comparative analysis of the mortuary rituals of two Malagasy peoples, the Betsimisaraka of the east coast and the Karembola of the deep south. In contrast to analyses which emphasise an opposition between ancestors and colonial power, it argues that mortuary rituals construct striking analogies between the two. These analogies rest on similar conceptualisations of power as both enabling and enslaving, and are enacted in contemporary mortuary ritual through the incorporation of colonial goods and labour practices. By playing on similarities and differences between ancestral and colonial power, Betsimisaraka and Karembola mortuary rituals parody and critique mimetically appropriate colonial power, even as their appropriation of colonial symbols endows ritual practices around ancestors with the power to pull against the centralising power of the national sphere. Bakhtin's conception of heteroglossic language provides a useful way of conceptualising the multiple dimensions of ritual practices around ancestors.
Wayward Pastoral Ghosts and Regional Xenophobia in a Northern Madagascar Town
Authors: Sharp Lesley A.
Published: July 2008

In the plantation region of the Sambirano Valley in north-west Madagascar the spirits of wandering foreign dead haunt the region's forests. They are the displaced ghosts of migratory Antandroy, drawn here in search of employment. As pastoralists from the island's distant, arid south, Antandroy as an ethnic category are juxtaposed to self-perceptions voiced by indigenous Sakalava, whose kingdom coincides with this Valley. Tandroy difference is defined in reference to local constructions of savageness and strangeness: as pastoralists they are obsessed with herds; they migrate; they willingly participate in wage labour. In life, they are tolerated ‘guests’ of the region but in death they frustrate Sakalava with their persistent presence. Unlike any other migrant group, deceased Antandroy may continue to haunt the region, begging and stealing what is not rightfully theirs: food, wives, work, and fortune. Close analysis of these perplexing spirits reveals a localised ambivalence that characterises migrant identity and the meaning of work in an urban community shaped by the forces of multiculturalism and capitalism. By virtue of their persistent presence within the social and sacred geography of the Valley, the Tandroy dead threaten the integrity of Sakalava identity in a community (and nation) where indigenousness is defined by rootedness to the land. Central to the arguments presented here is the potency of the spiritual stranger, a social category that extends the anthropological analysis of religious appropriation beyond the boundaries of possession and embodiment. Further, the decipherment of complex meanings associated with alien spirits emerges ultimately as key to more general understandings of the symbolics of difference.
Secrets of Success: Uncertainty, Profits and Prosperity in the Gari Economy of Ibadan, 1992–94
Authors: Wan Mimi Y.
Published: July 2008

Competition, success and secrecy are fundamental characteristics of the local food economy of Ibadan, Nigeria. With the growth of the processed cassava, or gari, trade throughout this area, these characteristics are revealed in a number of contexts in the food trade. Traders and shopkeepers circulate their wealth and plough profits back into a range of trading items to obscure their exact economic status from other traders and their families. Success in this context entails secrecy in a number of respects. In relation to buyers in the gari trade, secrecy entails the obfuscation of whether the trader deals retail or wholesale, what she is worth in terms of food stocks and her personal wealth. Successful traders also invest their earnings in social celebrations, in their children's education and in personal homes that all work to foster and enhance their social status and validate their wealth.
‘Beer Used to Belong to Older Men’: Drink and Authority Among the Nyakyusa of Tanzania
Authors: Willis Justin
Published: July 2008

The Nyakyusa were the subject of a classic series of ethnographies. This article suggests that these works took insufficient account of struggles over authority in the colonial period. Consequently they overstated the formalisation of chiefly power and understated the complex relationship between generational tensions and political authority in the pre-colonial period. Following discursive and practical changes in the use of alcohol, the article identifies a shift in the nature of power among the Nyakyusa over the twentieth century and develops the idea that drinking talk, and drinking practice, are central fields for the creation and recreation of the assumptions of power which underpin authority.
Degradation Debates and Data Deficiencies: The Mkomazi Game Reserve, Tanzania
Authors: Brockington Dan , Homewood Katherine
Published: July 2008

The Mkomazi Game Reserve is contested by people who wish to use its resources and by conservationists who have argued that the reserve should be set aside for wildlife. Underpinning the conservationist case is the argument that people are harmful to the reserve's environment. Former residents of the reserve, notably pastoralists, argue that human use of the reserve did not cause its degradation. The debate is characterised by a lack of data extraordinary in view of the assertions made. An earlier paper set out the contrasting views and defined the data that would be needed to test them. This paper assesses what data there are, and whether it is possible to evaluate the extent to which people caused environmental change at Mkomazi. Using physical data and comments about the environment made by observers it is argued that no firm conclusions can be drawn about small-scale change but that there are indications of large-scale resilience. As a result of this uncertainty the article goes on to consider the extent to which there can ever be clarity about environmental change at Mkomazi as a philosophical contention or as a researchable issue.
There are Many Kongo Worlds: Particularities of Magico-Religious Beliefs Among the Vili and Yombe of Congo-Brazzaville
Authors: Hersak Dunja
Published: July 2008

The article analyses the distinctiveness of magico-religious practices in the north-western sector of the vast Kongo cultural complex, namely among the peoples who refer to themselves as Vili and Yombe. On the basis of fieldwork and a critical examination of the sources, the article points out that such widely distributed terms of proto-Bantu origin asnkisicannot be covered by a single or even a multi-stranded definition; the variants, ranging from spirit to object, express local and time-specific beliefs. An approach that seeks a single Kongo universe is an ethnographic, historical and linguistic misreading that obscures existing regional concepts while possibly overlooking the importance of other notions. The article focuses on sorting out the basic ethnographic data relating to the beliefs current in the region and reveals not only long-standing aspects, some of them common to the wider Kongo world, but also those that have developed more recently in this particular coastal zone where different peoples trade and interact.