ABORIGINALITY AT LARGE: VARIETIES OF RESISTANCE IN MALISEET LANGUAGE INSTRUCTION

Maliseet is one of many Canadian aboriginal languages that are projected to become extinct within the next twenty years. This article examines the events surrounding Maliseet language instruction that contributed to enactments of resistive strategies that corresponded to varieties of power relations—a process I call aboriginality. The local acts of resistance are situated in the Canadian nation-state ideology of “two founding cultures.” I argue the local acts of resistance challenge local asymmetrical power relations while also addressing nation-state ideologies of dominance and coercion. Initially, the focus of resistance was confined to local domains, but over a period of three years, resistive strategies changed to confront global dominance and coercion. I argue the implications of such shifts in strategies and scales of resistance reflect an “aboriginal social imaginary,” which holds promise for the survival of aboriginal languages as well as meaningful participation in the “modern social imaginary” called modernity.     

Power,identity, and history in central Botswana

This analysis offers an examination of two larger theoretical questions. The first is the question of theorizing local‐global relations; the second concerns the value of the concept of resistance. The essay describes the emergence of a new village community at the rural periphery of eastern Botswana. In exploring in great detail the complex struggles that have constituted the local politics in this rural periphery and the engagement of such local struggles with national and transnational forces, I wish to examine the way collective identities, social space, and social relations have shifted in the course of the past decade or more in Botswana.     

Hypogonadotrophic hypogonadism in type 2 diabetes

Recent work shows a high prevalence of low testosterone and inappropriately low luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) concentrations in type 2 diabetes. This syndrome of hypogonadotrophic hypogonadism (HH) is associated with obesity in patients with type 2 diabetes. However, the duration of diabetes or HbA1c are not related to HH. Furthermore, recent data show that HH is not associated with type 1 diabetes. C-reactive protein concentrations have been shown to be elevated in patients with HH and are inversely related to plasma testosterone concentrations. This inverse relationship between plasma free testosterone and C- reactive protein concentrations in patients with type 2 diabetes suggests that inflammation may play an important role in the pathogenesis of this syndrome. This is of interest since inflammatory mechanisms may have a cardinal role in the pathogenesis of insulin resistance. It is also relevant that in the mouse, deletion of the insulin receptor in neurons leads to HH in addition to a state of systemic insulin resistance. It has also been shown that insulin facilitates the secretion of gonadotrophin releasing hormone (GnRH) from neuronal cell cultures. Thus, HH may be the result of insulin resistance at the level of the GnRH secreting neuron. Low testosterone concentrations are also related to an increase in total and regional adiposity. This review discusses these issues and attempts to make the syndrome relevant as a clinical entity. Clinical trials are required to determine whether testosterone replacement alleviates insulin resistance and inflammation. In addition, low testosterone levels are associated with an increase in cardiovascular events. Testosterone therapy may therefore, reduce cardiovascular risk. This important aspect requires further investigation.     

Rethinking resistance under authoritarianism: civil society and non-contentious forms of contestation in post-uprisings Egypt

ABSTRACT

In 2018 President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi secured a second presidential term in a constrained political environment exacerbated by his control over the media, prosecution of journalists and activists, and his crackdown on civil society. As a result of such resilient authoritarianism, the optimism that once defined the Egyptian uprisings has turned into cynicism. This article contributes to the literature surrounding civil society and resistance in authoritarian contexts by offering an examination of the interplay between authoritarian tendencies and their resistance in post-uprisings Egypt. I argue that we should view al-Sisi’s regime as representing an authoritarian system that is not absolute, despite its soft and hard repressive methods, but one that still offers limited space for civil society organizations (CSOs) to function. This limited space importantly comprises covert resistance methods which can offer Egyptian CSOs opportunities to resist the state’s legal and extra-legal restrictions. The resistance methods considered in this article need to be understood in Gramscian terms as they encompass the limited means available by which CSOs can negotiate the terrain of hegemonic contestation under the existing authoritarian context. Given al-Sisi’s re-election and the sustained crackdown on Egyptian civil society, the need to analyse such forms of resistance is pertinent.     

‘The performative surprise’: parody,documentary and critique

Can parody help us to ‘re‐imagine’ the organizations and institutions we live with (Du Gay 2007 Du Gay, Paul. 2007. Organizing identity: Persons and organizations after theory, London: Sage.  [Google Scholar], 13)? Or, like many forms of critique, does parody risk being incorporated: becoming part of the power it aims to make fun of? In this paper, drawing on Judith Butler’s work, I argue that certain circumstances enable parody to destabilize hegemonic, taken‐for‐granted institutions (Butler 1990 Butler, Judith. 1990. Gender trouble: Feminism and the subversion of identity, London: Routledge.  [Google Scholar]). I explore these ideas through a reading of the Yes Men documentary (Tartan Video 2005 Yes Men. 2005. “Directed by Chris Smith, Dan Ollman and Sarah Price”. Tartan Video.  [Google Scholar]). This film features a series of humorous representations of the World Trade Organization (WTO). I show how these act to denaturalize and effectively critique this dominant force in global trade. This paper discusses the value of parody for helping us to re‐think and re‐make particular institutions and organizations. In doing so, I point to the importance of creating a spectacle in which parody can travel beyond its immediate location, so that it can reach ever newer audiences with its ‘performative surprise’ (Butler 1990 Butler, Judith. 1990. Gender trouble: Feminism and the subversion of identity, London: Routledge.  [Google Scholar], xxvi). I suggest that the rise of the Internet and inexpensive documentary techniques offer interesting new ways for achieving this.     

以舆抗争：农民维权方式的新变化

进入新世纪以来,由土地开发、征地纠纷等引发的农民维权现象较为普遍,有些甚至升级为重大群体性事件,给人民生命财产造成了重大损失。面对这些冲突,农民维权方式先后经历了＂日常抵抗＂、＂依法抗争＂和＂以法抗争＂三种行为模式的演变。作为转型期农民维权的新方式,＂以舆抗争＂有其自己独特的产生原因和维权步骤,也有自身其正、负两方面的社会效应,需要全面把握。＂以舆抗争＂的出现并不会完全取代传统维权方式,而是会在特定的维权情境中以最优的效果和其他维权方式进行组合,成为今后一段时期内越来越常见的维权方式,更加有力地表达农民的权利诉求,实现权利的维护。     

Body Composition and Physical Self-Concept in Older Women

ABSTRACT

We sought to determine the performance and anthropometric correlates of physical self-concept and self-esteem and to observe whether long-term resistance training would alter these variables in postmenopausal women. Forty-four nonsmoking, community-dwelling, Caucasian women aged 50–75 years participated in the study. Half of the subjects participated in a 9-month regimen of weight-bearing exercises performed 3 times per week which emphasized lower body muscle strength and power development. At baseline, total body fat was negatively associated with physical self-concept and perception of physical appearance but not with self-esteem. Perception of physical appearance improved in both exercisers and controls after the 9-month trial but was most noticeable in exercisers who had low self-esteem at baseline. The only predictor of improvement in perception of physical appearance was a decrease in lower body fat mass. Minimal or nonsignificant change in psychological measures associated with the training may be due to high initial values.     

Mother needs a bigger “helper”: A critique of “wine mom” discourse as conformity to hegemonic intensive motherhood

“Wine mom” discourse encourages American women to self-deprecatingly bond over the stressors of parenting and touts alcohol use as necessary means for coping and escapism. Before the added stress of the COVID-19 pandemic, whereby alcohol sales and consumption increased in the United States, rates of heavy drinking and alcohol-related illnesses among US women have been steadily increasing. Exceeding the clinical markers of responsible alcohol use, “wine mom” discourse normalizes an inextricable link between alcohol misuse and expectations of (White, middle-class) motherhood. Online communities and businesses emphasize “wine mom” discourse for self-acceptance and bonding in response to the impossible demands of hegemonic motherhood. In this critique of “wine mom” discourse, we argue that although alcohol consumption is commonly touted as self-care, this messaging operates in toxic ways that harms women and reinforces patriarchy. Applying Merton's strain theory, we argue that “wine mom” trends and related discourse encompass a harmful form of conformity, if not false resistance, to the strain of flawed cultural goals and lacking institutionalized supports for American mothers. We call for true rebellion, emphasizing positive discourse as well as structural changes and policy reforms to dismantle patriarchal barriers and hegemonic motherhood constraints to better support American families.