Off-centring empire in the Anthropocene: towards multispecies intimacies and nonhuman agents of survival

ABSTRACT

This paper examines colonial legacies in human-nonhuman relations to off-centre empire in the Anthropocene. Imperial methods of collecting, preserving and displaying nature profoundly shaped species perception, which in turn affected the scientific attention and ecological relevance a species was granted. In particular, I reflect on the category of invasibility to show how empire sanctioned the mobility of specific population groups and animal species as border-crossing. This further shows how speciesist logics served to extend, maintain and legitimize imperial power. This analysis is relevant in the Anthropocene where invasibility is mobilised to police movement in the context of increased human and nonhuman migration. Further, I discuss how invasibility is considered as one of main threats for biodiversity, which may misdirect conservation efforts. Overall, the article examines the potential in human-nonhuman encounters to challenge colonial legacies. Based on an ethnographic example of multispecies homemaking with species considered invasive in (hetero)normative modes of intimacy and domesticity, I argue that colonial legacies of racialized, gendered and speciesist hierarchies can be disturbed by human-nonhuman relations of companionship, care and interdependence. Finally, I scale-up the analysis to the landscape, by tracing the transformation of a former imperial wasteland in Vienna’s peripheral South from being perceived as economically and aesthetically worthless to a natural monument. Attending to multispecies entanglements is key here to understand the transformative process that led to the recovery of this wasteland. Here I off-centre empire by challenging anthropocentric narrations of how landscape transforms in favour of a narration that re-centres nonhuman agency. I argue that stories of wasteland recovery guided by nonhuman animals are crucial due to the increase in industrial wasteland and environmental degradation in the Anthropocene.     

Metacognitions in Problem Gambling

Problem gambling is heterogeneous in nature, ranging in severity from occasional but problematic gambling episodes, to extreme, impulsive and pervasive gambling behaviour. Problem gambling may be accompanied by a sense of impaired control and can give rise to financial, interpersonal, legal and vocational costs for the sufferer, their families and society. This study investigated the relationship among metacognitions, anxiety, depression and gambling in a sample of problem gamblers. A total of 91 individuals attending gambling treatment services completed a battery of self-report instruments that consisted of the Metacognitions Questionnaire 30 (MCQ-30), the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and the South Oaks Gambling Scale (SOGS). Correlation analyses showed that anxiety, depression and metacognitions were positively and significantly correlated with both gambling consequences and behaviour. Hierarchical regression analyses indicated that two metacognitive constructs (negative beliefs about thoughts concerning uncontrollability and danger and beliefs about the need to control thoughts) predicted gambling behaviour independently of anxiety and depression. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that metacognitions play a role in problem gambling.     

Women with fear of childbirth might benefit from having a known midwife during labour

Aim

Having a known midwife at birth is valued by women across the world, however it is unusual for women with fear of childbirth to have access to this model of care. The aim of this study was to describe the prevalence and factors related to having access to a known midwife for women referred to counseling due to childbirth fear. We also wanted to explore if women’s levels of childbirth fear changed over time.

Crawling is Associated with Mental Rotation Ability by 9‐Month‐Old Infants

The present experiment examined whether 9‐month‐old infants’ mental rotation ability was related to their crawling ability. Forty‐eight 9‐month‐old infants were tested; half of them crawled for 7.1 weeks on average. Infants were habituated to a video of a simplified Shepard–Metzler object rotating back and forth through a 240° angle around the longitudinal axis of the object. Infants were tested with videos of the same object rotating through the previously unseen 120° angle and with the mirror image of that display. The results showed that the crawlers looked significantly longer at the mirror object than at the familiar object. The results support the interpretation that crawling experience is associated with 9‐month‐old infants’ mental rotation ability.     

Physical activity in people age 80 years and older as a means of counteracting disability, balanced in relation to frailty

The aim of this study was to describe experiences of physical activity, perceived meaning, and the importance of and motives and barriers for participation in physical activity in people 80 years of age and older. A qualitative design with focus-group methodology was used. The sample consisted of 20 community-living people age 80-91 yr. Data analyses revealed 4 themes: physical activity as a part of everything else in life, joie de vivre, fear of disease and dependence, and perceptions of frailty. Our results suggest that physical activity was not seen as a separate activity but rather as a part of activities often rated as more important than the physical activity itself. Thus, when designing physical activity interventions for elderly people, health care providers should consider including time for social interaction and possibilities to be outdoors. Moreover, assessment of physical activity levels among elderly people should include the physical activity in everyday activities.     

No Evidence for Long-Term Causal Associations Between Symptoms of Premature Ejaculation and Symptoms of Anxiety,Depression, and Sexual Distress in a Large,Population-Based Longitudinal Sample

Premature ejaculation (PE) is one of the most common male sexual complaints, but its etiology is unclear. Psychological problems, such as symptoms of anxiety and depression, have traditionally been seen as causal or maintaining etiological components of PE, and previous cross-sectional studies have found weak positive associations between them. The aim of the present study was to test possible causal pathways over time between PE and symptoms of the psychological problems anxiety, depression, and sexual distress. A sample of 985 male Finnish twins and brothers of twins completed a questionnaire in 2006 and 2012. Significant bivariate correlations were found both within and across time between PE and the psychological problems. When fitting structural equation models to test hypothesized causal pathways, symptoms of anxiety and sexual distress at the first measurement time point did not predict future PE. Likewise, PE symptoms at the first measurement did not predict increments or decrements in anxiety, sexual distress, or depression later on. These null findings regarding hypothesized associations may partly be explained by the relatively long time between measurements, or that the measures possibly did not capture the aspects of anxiety that are related to PE.     

Developing competence and confidence in midwifery-focus groups with Swedish midwives

Background

Midwives have a significant impact on the clinical outcome and the birthing experience of women. However, there has been a lack of research focusing specifically on clinical midwives’ learning and development of professional competence.

Pension design and gender: Analyses of developed and developing countries

In this article the authors examine different ways of organizing and financing pension systems in China, France, Ghana, Jordan, Mexico, Poland, and Sweden. They explore the advantages and disadvantages of the combinations of different features with special reference to gender differences. Men and women have different patterns of work history, with women usually having a lower participation rate in the formal labor market, including interrupted career in response to child rearing, as well as lower wages in general. Women have a longer life expectancy than men and are more likely to become widows than men are to become widowers. These differences influence the financial resources available to women in old age, depending on how a pension system is designed.     

Diagnosing and treating testosterone deficiency in different parts of the world. Results from global market research

Aim. This study analysed variations between different regions of the world in diagnosing and treating testosterone (T) deficiency.

Methods. Physicians were interviewed in Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom, in Brazil, in Saudi Arabia and South Korea. Items in the survey: 1) reasons/motivation to use or not to use T; 2) what category of patients would not receive T on the basis of these concerns; 3) concerns about prostate pathology in the decision not to provide T treatment; 4) phosphodiesterase type 5 (PDE-5) inhibitors are efficacious, but T treatment makes a comeback.

Results. Between 5% and 10% of consulting patients suffered from T deficiency. The fear to induce prostate cancer appeared very powerful. About 68% of physicians associate the use of T more with risks than benefits, more so in Europe than elsewhere. As a result about 35% of hypogonadal men do not receive treatment. The PDE-5 inhibitors are very prominent in the treatment of erectile dysfunction. Of patients suffering from erectile dysfunction, 18% to 29% have T deficiency which is not always diagnosed and treated.

Conclusion. World-wide physicians require more education on diagnosing T deficiency, on the role of T in erectile dysfunction and the relative safety of testosterone treatment.     

A Randomized,Waiting-List-Controlled Study Shows That Brief,Mindfulness-Based Psychological Interventions Are Effective for Treatment of Women’s Low Sexual Desire

We evaluated two treatment conditions for low sexual desire in women: one where participants were administered a mindfulness-based treatment protocol and another with exercises focusing on scheduled sex and motivations for sex in addition to the aforementioned protocol. Seventy women (M_age 39.2, SD = 9.8) with complaints of low sexual desire were randomly allocated to one of these treatment conditions or a waiting-list condition. Participants attended four individual sessions and completed homework exercises. Questionnaire data were collected before and after treatment and at follow-ups three and six months later. Primary outcomes were the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI) desire subdomain and the Sexual Interest and Desire Inventory–Female (SIDI-F). Secondary outcomes were the Female Sexual Distress Scale–Revised (FSDS-R), the Revised Dyadic Adjustment Scale (RDAS), the Perceived Relationship Quality Components Inventory (PRQC), and the Brief Symptom Inventory–18 (BSI-18). Women in both treatment conditions reported significantly higher sexual desire (FSFI desire d = 0.75 to 1.06) immediately following treatment, compared to the waiting list. Improvements were sustained at follow-up, accompanied by improvements in some secondary outcomes. We found no significant differences between the treatment conditions in terms of treatment effectiveness. Our study adds to the literature suggesting that mindfulness-based treatments are suitable options for treating low sexual desire in women.