The 'Culture' of Exclusion: Representations of Indigenous Women Street Vendors in Tijuana, Mexico

Representations of indigenous women vendors are contrasted with the ways indigenous women see themselves. Some images are openly hostile, whereas others discriminate against these women through a form of paternalistic love. For example, the understanding of indigenous women as outsiders from different social spaces and deviants from middle-class gender norms suggests that they are 'undeserving poor' whose interests should not be considered. On the other hand, the concept of indigenous 'culture,' as defined and shaped by some non-Indian academics, has further marginalized Tijuana's indigenous migrants. While defending the right of indigenous migrants to use public spaces, academics have characterized manifestations of poverty as the traditions of this ethnic group.     

Extractive Relations: Natural Resource Use,Indigenous Peoples and Environmental Protection in Peru

Through ethnography of Ashaninka communities' involvement in timber extraction in Peruvian Amazonia and an engagement with recent discussions around Buen Vivir the article interrogates the common association between indigenous notions of ‘living well’ and environmental protection. A key insight is that Ashaninka individuals emphasise everyday well-being and equality over the preservation of their surroundings. Older critiques of extractivism are used to show the recent advent of environmentalist discourses and highlight issues connected with emphasising ontological difference. The article concludes that Buen Vivir would be better framed as a desire, and right, to self-determination rather than being associated with specific behaviours.     

河北太行山红色文化资源治理整合与旅游开发研究

红色文化资源是中国共产党领导中国人民进行革命、建设、改革所形成的物质财富和精神财富的综合体。河北太行山作为中国共产党的重要革命圣地,拥有丰富的红色文化资源。但在其开发利用过程中存在区域化突出、管理不规范、吸引力不足等方面的问题。因此,河北太行山地区应从制度体系构建、区域间整合、经济效益与社会效益结合等方面着手,进一步挖掘和利用好该地区的红色文化资源。     

Local plant use and traditional conservation practices in Nhema communal area,Zimbabwe

Abstract

This article is based on a study that was carried out in Nhema communal area in Midlands Province, Zimbabwe, with the main objective of documenting local plant use and traditional conservation practices. Data collected through household semi-structured and open interviews showed that 46 plant species in 40 genera and 24 families were mainly used for firewood, construction wood, food and traditional medicine. Other minor uses included using plant species for making mats, rope and shading. Firewood and construction wood ranked as the most important tree products used. The preferred plant species included: Julbernardia globiflora (Mutondo); Brachystegia spiciformis (Musasa); Terminalia sericea (Mususu); Brachystegia boehmii (Mupfuti); Combretum imberbe (Mutsviri); Combretum molle (Mubondo) and Burkea africana (Mukarati). Some of the highly preferred species, considered to be declining in the local environment, included Adenium obesum (Chisvosve); Azanza garckeana (Mutohwe); Brachystegia boehmii (Mupfuti); Brachystegia spiciformis (Musasa); Burkea africana (Mukarati); Combretum imberbe (Mutsviri); Combretum molle (Mubondo); Dalbergia melanoxylon (Mukonashanhu); Diospyros mespiliformis (Musuma); Elephantorrhiza goetzei (Ntorani); Julbernardia globiflora (Mutondo); Phragmites australis (Shanga; Poulzozia hypoleuca (Munanzwa); Pterocarpus angolensis (Mubvamaropa); Terminalia sericea (Mususu) and Uapaca kirkiana (Muzhanje). Highly preferred and declining species were characteristically large trees and shrubs. Local people are aware of the need to conserve plant resources in order to protect the environment and avoid the extinction of these rare species.Traditional conservation practices have substantially contributed to the conservation of plant species in Nhema communal area. The protection of indigenous timber, fruit trees, trees with social and cultural significance, the use of deadwood for firewood, the use of eucalyptus trees as construction wood and the occurrence of sacred woodland areas represented some of the traditional conservation techniques employed in Nhema communal area. These local practices demonstrate the dynamism and significance of African indigenous knowledge systems.     

Explaining the Politics of Recognition of Ethnic Diversity and Indigenous Peoples' Rights in Oaxaca, Mexico

A 'politics of recognition'– a process of political reform intended to recognise formally cultural diversity and indigenous peoples' rights – has developed in Mexico, both at the federal and at the state levels, since the early 1990s. The case of the state of Oaxaca stands out in this respect – the local constitution and nearly a dozen secondary laws were reformed during the 1990s, resulting in the conformation of the most comprehensive multicultural framework in Mexico. In this article, I attempt to explain the emergence and the particular development of Oaxaca's unique politics of recognition. Following an explanatory framework proposed by Donna Lee Van Cott, I conclude that the recognition agenda emerged in Oaxaca as legitimacy and governability was put under strain. In addition, I conclude that the (by Mexican standards) rapid and broad fashion in which it developed can be explained on the bases of the severity of the threats to governability and of the capacity of indigenous actors to influence the decision‐making process and form alliances with key political actors – i.e. the state governors.     

Analysis of the relevance of traditional leaders and the evolution of traditional leadership in Zimbabwe: A case study of amaNdebele

Abstract

This article analyses the Ndebele institution of traditional leadership in contemporary Zimbabwe. It traces the pre-colonial Ndebele traditional leadership in order to establish the changes that have occurred as well as their causes. The article highlights the importance of indigenous knowledge systems (IKS), especially in leadership which is highly controversial in Africa. Traditional leadership is the indigenous way of leadership which can, in a good way, influence contemporary governance for the benefit of the people. The article takes an Afrocentric approach with a clear understanding of the dynamism in culture. It then proceeds to reveal the problems (and their causes) within the traditional leadership institution in contemporary Zimbabwe. Finally, the article recommends solutions to the problems.     

The Role of Protestant Missionaires in Mexico’s Indigenous Awakening

Protestantism has grown rapidly among Latin America’s indigenous population since the 1980s. Despite Protestantism’s attractiveness to indigenous people, the literature has historically regarded it as incompatible with indigenous culture. Recent scholarship has moved beyond this assertion, focusing instead on the complexities of conversion and the paradoxes associated with it. Most scholars now argue that Protestantism can be compatible with indigenous culture. It is unclear, however, how Protestant institutions came to have a compatible relationship with indigenous culture. Indeed, Protestant churches/clergy continue to eschew many of the practices associated with indigenous culture. In this paper I address this question by examining the work of Protestant missionaries. I choose missionaries as my point of analysis because they were crucial in establishing Protestantism in the region, and thus the base point from which it is defined, practiced, and altered. As a case study I examine mission work in Oaxaca, Mexico. I argue that missionaries have changed both their conversion strategies and tactics for dealing with indigenous traditions. These changes make it easier for indigenous people to convert to Protestantism without rejecting key parts of their culture, and in a few cases by even embracing it. I examine two conversion strategies—group targeting and church planting. I also analyze three tactics missionaries use to negotiate indigenous customs considered ‘pagan.’ I choose tequio, village fiestas, and language politics because they have historically been sources of conflict between converts and their Catholic neighbours.     

日本家庭牧场农牧业纵横一体化规模经营启示

目前家庭养殖业面临成本高、风险大、产品质量要求高,以及污染物处理难等问题。所以,需要创新养殖业规模化经营模式。文章通过对日本北海道家庭牧场经营模式的调查分析,得出结论为:农牧业纵横一体化是家庭牧场经营的一种有效而理想的模式,该模式横向一体化是指以饲料饲草和肥料为纽带的种养业结合经营,纵向一体化是家庭牧场与加工企业、服务组织等联结的模式。并提出对策建议:引导农牧业经营主体采用横向一体化经营模式;鼓励农牧业经营主体采用纵向一体化经营模式;完善农牧业纵横一体化经营机制。     

From bandit colonialism to the modern triage society: Towards a moral and cognitive reconstruction of knowledge and citizenship

Abstract

This article argues that the transition from bandit colonialism through the intricate systems of the modern triage society that is wired for Western cultural compliance requires more than just critique, or a prayer for the meek to inherit the earth. It requires a decisive consensus that the meek do not inherit the earth by their meekness alone – they need defences of the mind and conceptual categories around which they can organise their thoughts and actions. Turning the previously colonised into participants in a new moral and cognitive venture against oppression requires more than just periodic elections – significant though electoral processes are. Addressing the atrophy of human capabilities that has characterised human development in the context of both bandit colonialism and the modern triage society demands the development of a plurality of insights, of critical traditions, and a deepening of the tools for diagnosis and hence the quality of prognosis. It may, in certain instances, demand a cognitive indifference to the Western model and a robust engagement with the methods of science and in particular their impact on sustainable livelihood when acting in consort with economics. But most of all it calls for a vigorous engagement with conceptual categories and the theoretical and cultural underpinnings from which they have descended, with the clear intention of their dismantling.     

Marching for Progress: Rituals of Citizenship, State and Belonging in a High Andes District

This article explores processes of citizenship and state formation in the Central Peruvian Andes in the wake of the armed conflict through the lens of a public ritual, the celebration of a district anniversary. The celebration is a reservoir of practices from past forms of state formation and may be read as a claim for recognition as full‐blown members of the nation‐state. While practices of citizenship as rights are emerging, the celebration is permeated by the association between citizenship and civilization, with discipline playing a major role as an instrument of modernisation and progress.     

An analysis of responses to climate change by local government in South Africa: The case of Capricorn District Municipality

Abstract

Climate change poses challenges to the socio-economic life globally, though in varying degrees. Southern Africa is one of the regions that has shown signs of changes in climate. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) (2007), temperatures in the region have risen by 0.5 degrees Celsius over the past hundred years. In addition, climate change has resulted in fifteen incidents of drought in Southern Africa between 1988 and 1992. This has consequently had a negative impact on the socio economic life of the inhabitants of the region. While climate change is an issue that requires attention from all spheres of government, it is posited in this article that the local sphere of government needs to be the focal point for redress as it is the sphere closest to the people. Mutanga, Pophiwa and Simelane (2013: 165) note that insufficient human and financial resources, inability to adapt technologically and politically driven climate change related programmes are some of the challenges faced by municipalities in tackling climate change. Capricorn District in Limpopo Province, South Africa has agriculture as one of its critical economic activities; thus climate change is a serious concern in the area. The article seeks to investigate how local government is responding to the climate change phenomenon. The Capricorn District Municipality is used as a case study. It must be noted that, although this municipality is not a typical representation of how the other local authorities in the country are responding to climate change, it however sheds significant light on how this phenomenon is viewed at this sphere of government. The guiding questions are: to what extent is climate change viewed as a challenge by local authorities? Secondly, what measures are local authorities taking to address both the causes and effects of climate change? It is postulated that local government in South Africa is not effectively proactive and innovative in dealing with climate change. There is a need for policies and mechanisms in municipalities that address challenges that are posed by climate change. This is only possible if both elected and appointed officials treat the issue as a priority. Interviews were conducted with key informants and official documents were consulted in order to gather data that would either support or refute the suggested hypothesis.     

‘A Natural and Voluntary Dependence’: The Royal Academy of San Carlos and the Cultural Politics of Art Education in Mexico City, 1786–1797

In this article, I explore the controversies that characterised the foundational years of the Royal Academy of San Carlos of Painting, Sculpture, and Architecture in Mexico City (1786–1797). They provide provocative insights into questions of competing agendas and ambitions among the artists and bureaucrats of the royal academy. They also illuminate contemporary understandings about the hierarchical relationships between a metropolitan power, Spain, and its American colonies and their visual culture and artistic production, which mirror broader political hierarchies and relationships of power and subordination.     

The Fiji Election of 2014: Rights,Representation and Legitimacy in Fiji Politics

Abstract

Fiji’s 2014 election was its first in eight years, first under the 2013 constitution, and first using a common roll of electors with proportional representation. In the new parliament of 50 seats, the coup leader of 2006, Frank Bainimarama, emerged triumphant. His FijiFirst Party won 32 seats, with the Social Democratic Liberal Party, a successor party to earlier indigenous Fijian parties, winning 15 and the National Federation Party three. The election of the new parliament marked the end of Fiji’s longest period under a military government since independence. How should the significance of these elections be judged in the context of Fiji’s history? Do they represent the breakthrough to democratic stability that so many Fiji citizens have wanted for so long? Or are they just another phase of Fiji’s turbulent politics, a democratic pause before another lurch into authoritarian government?     

The need to improve the living conditions of women in Nuba Mountains,Southern Kordofan

ABSTRACT

The Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) not only ended Africa's longest civil war, it aimed to transform Sudanese society. A critical element of this transformation is uplifting the status of women. This article surveys the conditions faced by women in two villages in Nuba Mountains/Southern Kordofan, principally their ability to access land for farming, credit facilities and barriers to education and health services, and whether the implementation of the CPA has resulted in any concrete changes.     

Where the whole city meets: youth,gender and consumerism in the social space of the MEGA shopping mall in Aktobe,western Kazakhstan

ABSTRACT

The shopping mall entered Central Asia's commercial sector as a result of the economic transformation of post-Soviet space. Constructed near the centre of the city, the shopping mall overwrites the urban landscape, dominating it as a symbol of modernity. It functions as a gateway of global consumerist culture to the Eurasian steppe. Using the MEGA shopping mall in Aktobe, in western Kazakhstan, as an example, this article shows that the building acts as a stage for the construction of a new social and cultural space. This study focuses on the ways in which young women interact with the mall's spaces. The mall turns out to be a playground not only for children, but also for the whole younger generation, who come to this unique place to see and be seen. The mall became a hot spot of youth culture in the post-socialist worker's city by offering more than a mere shelter from dust and snow storms on the steppe. The available amenities made it a favourite place for meeting, consuming and dreaming. Young women especially are attracted to MEGA to experience the newest fashions and build social relationships.