In a recent essay Michael Hardt gives voice to a widespread discontent with the left-academic project of critique, stemming from its failure to deliver on its emancipatory promises. Scholarship, in ...geography and many other social science disciplines is dominated by a pre-occupation with charting the intricate connections between neoliberal governance and an expansive capitalism. As Hardt and many others have observed, the process of critical exposure fails to incite a political response from broader publics. As an alternative to the failed politics of critique, Hardt — inspired by Foucault's engagement with the cynics—argues for a practice of militant biopolitics—an autonomous mode of reflecting, thinking and acting together that eschews expert knowledge. In this paper I argue that the pioneering work of Gibson-Graham and scholars inspired by their work can be seen as a form of militant biopolitics. Collaborative and participatory forms of research and working with others, become the basis for engaging with and transforming economies and human interactions with ecologies. Beyond generating critical awareness, this scholarship aims at producing a post-capitalist politics. Keywords: Gibson-Graham, diverse economies, biopolitics, critique, post-capitalism
Abstract Objective One important factor in adolescents' development of problem alcohol use is their family environment. Yet, the mechanisms that relate parenting to youth alcohol use are not well ...characterized. This study employed a naturalistic laboratory-based approach to observe parenting behaviors (support, structure, criticism) and adolescents' physiological and emotional responses to parent–adolescent interactions to examine associations with adolescent alcohol use. Method Fifty eight 10–16 year olds and their parents completed a 10 minute Parent Adolescent Interaction Task (PAIT) in which they discussed a mutually highly-rated conflict topic. Parental support, structure, and criticism were coded from the interaction. Adolescents' heart rate (HR), blood pressure (BP), reported emotions, and salivary cortisol were assessed before, during, and after the interaction. Results Findings indicated that lower parental structure and support were associated with youth's greater diastolic BP and anger arousal in response to the PAIT. Furthermore, higher HR, systolic BP, and cortisol responses to the interaction were associated with youth's alcohol use. Conclusions Findings suggest that heightened emotional and physiological responses to parent–adolescent conflict interactions in youth may be one pathway by which parenting is associated with adolescent alcohol use and risk for abuse.
Predation risk for animal migrants can be impacted by physical condition. Although size- or condition-based selection is often observed, observing infection-based predation is rare due to the ...difficulties in assessing infectious agents in predated samples. We examined predation of outmigrating sockeye salmon (
) smolts by bull trout (
) in south-central British Columbia, Canada. We used a high-throughput quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) platform to screen for the presence of 17 infectious agents found in salmon and assess 14 host genes associated with viral responses. In one (2014) of the two years assessed (2014 and 2015), the presence of infectious haematopoietic necrosis virus (IHNv) resulted in 15-26 times greater chance of predation; in 2015 IHNv was absent among all samples, predated or not. Thus, we provide further evidence that infection can impact predation risk in migrants. Some smolts with high IHNv loads also exhibited gene expression profiles consistent with a virus-induced disease state. Nine other infectious agents were observed between the two years, none of which were associated with increased selection by bull trout. In 2014, richness of infectious agents was also associated with greater predation risk. This is a rare demonstration of predator consumption resulting in selection for prey that carry infectious agents. The mechanism by which this selection occurs is not yet determined. By culling infectious agents from migrant populations, fish predators could provide an ecological benefit to prey.
The syntheses of two squaramide–naphthalimide conjugates (SN1 and SN2) are reported; the structures of SN1 and SN2 differ by the attachment of a squaramide—either at the ‘head’ or the ‘tail’ of the ...naphthalimide fluorophore. Both compounds displayed weak fluorescence due to the inclusion of a nitro-aromatic squaramide which efficiently quenches the emission of the naphthalimide. Both compounds were also shown to undergo self-aggregation as studied by 1H NMR and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Furthermore, SN1 and SN2 gave rise to stark colourimetric changes in response to basic anions such as AcO−, SO42− HPO42−, and F−. The observed colour changes are thought to be due to deprotonation of a squaramide NH. The same basic anions also result in a further quenching of the naphthalimide emission. No colour change or emission modulations were observed in the presence of Cl−; however, 1H NMR studies suggest that moderate H-bonding occurs between this anion and both SN1 and SN2.
Knowledge continues to emerge on how maternally derived egg hormones influence progeny behaviour in oviparous taxa. Of particular interest is how glucocorticoids (GCs) in eggs, as a signal of ...maternal stress, affect offspring behavioural traits. To date, research has focused on effects of egg GCs on offspring behaviours within a single experimental context. Little is known regarding how egg GCs affect relationships among behaviours and across ecological contexts (i.e. behavioural syndromes). We explored how exogenously increased egg cortisol shapes behavioural syndromes of juvenile coho salmon, Oncorhynchus kisutch. Social dominance during a territory intrusion and boldness following a simulated predator attack were recorded for juvenile coho salmon reared from cortisol-treated and untreated eggs. When exposed to a conspecific intruder, coho salmon treated with cortisol in ovo increased dominance behaviours, whereas coho salmon reared from untreated eggs reduced these behaviours. Following exposure to a simulated predator attack, coho salmon reared from cortisol-treated eggs increased boldness (i.e. increased activity and feeding; reduced shelter use), whereas coho salmon reared from untreated eggs reduced boldness. A dominance–boldness relationship was observed for coho salmon reared from cortisol-treated, but not untreated, eggs; dominance during the territory intrusion positively correlated with boldness under threat of predation. Our results highlight the complex influence of egg GCs on offspring behaviour and behavioural syndromes. Continued investigation into the outcomes of egg GCs on offspring will broaden our understanding of intergenerational components of the hormone–behaviour nexus.
•Salmon eggs were treated with cortisol and progeny were assessed for dominance and boldness.•Progeny response to an intruder and predation threat varied between egg treatments.•Egg cortisol treatment generated a dominance–boldness behavioural syndrome.
For anadromous Pacific salmonid (Oncorhynchus spp.) smolts, the physiological state of individuals can influence migration fate. This critical life stage is typically associated with poor survival ...and influences population productivity, highlighting the need to identify intrinsic factors associated with outmigration fate. To better understand and identify such factors, we combined acoustic telemetry with nonlethal gill biopsies and used high-throughput real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction to assess how infectious agents and host gene expression profiles influence migration fate for hatchery steelhead smolts (Oncorhynchus mykiss). Redundancy analyses of gene expression, infectious agent loads, and body condition highlighted gene expression profiles indicative of migratory fate. Smolts never detected after release in the river had significantly elevated expression of the immune genes Il-17D and RPL6, and lower expression of the osmoregulatory gene NKA 1b relative to other individuals. Flavobacterium psychrophilum and "Candidatus Branchiomonas cysticola" were detected in gill samples, but neither influenced survival. We demonstrate rare evidence of gene expression profiles relating to migration fate in juvenile salmonids and highlight potential mechanisms influencing fate for hatchery steelhead smolts.
This article identifies a form of corporeally enacted affective bio-politics more intimately engrained than that identified in recent work emphasising the affective qualities of activism and labour. ...While these latter reinforce and bolster existing analyses through highlighting affective concerns, the affective bio-politics identified here suggests that neoliberalism is significantly maintained through, what have generally been, unrecognised affective means. While this affective regulation can only ever be partial and imprecise, its unrecognised, and thus implicitly concealed, character lends it a particular strength and cogency. Illuminating the mechanisms through which such affective regulatory modulation is achieved thus has a powerful potential to clarify further opportunities to disrupt and counter neoliberalism. This account juxtaposes an analysis of affective bio-politics with existing analyses of the affective, and performative, dimensions to activist politics, in order to facilitate the identification of specific opportunities for further affective contestationary strategies.
In fishes, elevated levels of cortisol in eggs can have carry-over effects on phenotypic and performance traits early in life. How responses to elevations in egg cortisol differ among species remains ...poorly understood. Using wild populations of chum salmon (
Oncorhynchus keta
) and sockeye salmon (
O. nerka
), we investigated whether experimentally-elevated concentrations of cortisol in newly fertilized eggs had effects on offspring morphology and/or burst swimming capacity. Immediately following fertilization, eggs were incubated for 2 h with water dosed with 0 ng/mL or 1000 ng/mL of cortisol. Embryos were reared to the fry life stage (complete yolk sac absorption). Morphology and burst swimming performance of fry were then assessed. Sockeye salmon fry reared from cortisol-treated eggs were smaller overall (i.e., smaller body, fins and eyes) compared to conspecifics reared from untreated eggs. In contrast, the morphology of chum salmon fry was not affected by the experimental elevation of egg cortisol. In both species, burst swimming duration was unaffected by egg cortisol treatment, while offspring reared from the cortisol-treated eggs initiated fewer bouts of burst swimming. Our results demonstrate that closely-related species can respond differently to elevations in egg cortisol, and not all offspring traits may be affected by these elevations in cortisol. Further efforts to establish links among offspring quality, maternal stress, and egg composition need to consider the potential for divergent responses among species and examine multiple measures of phenotype and performance throughout development.
Shopping is predominantly characterised as an activity realized by purposive subjects in which emotion is sometimes identified as a contributory factor. This article argues that contemporary retail ...environments also promote shopping through affective forces that facilitate the subdual of intentional subjectivity. It is shown how, in addition to stimulating purposive subjects, the affective atmosphere of these spaces may regulate the auto-affective attention of potential shoppers exposing them to further, relatively unfocused inducements to shop. This quality of the affective atmosphere of these spaces is explored through a focus upon the ambient ‘platform’ air conditioning provides for this achievement. The discussion explores the implications for the affective, subjective and bio-political dimensions of the socio-material assemblages constituting contemporary consumption more generally.
With Sustainable Development Goal 7, the United Nations has declared its ambition to ensure access to modern energy for all by 2030. Aside from broad appeals to differentiated responsibilities and ...'greener' technologies, however, the goal leaves significant procedural questions unaddressed. This paper argues that the basic orientation of this approach is problematic, undermining possibilities for progress toward energy justice and equitable development. First, in framing the issue of global energy distribution in broad techno-managerial terms it obscures how particular geographies of energy poverty have been shaped by critical political economic influences. Second, in privileging modern forms of energy and focusing on an end state of universal adoption, over a broader goal of eliminating energy poverty, the approach of SDG7 presents tangible hazards to many of those it seeks to benefit. Using a case study of Sierra Leonean rural cooking energy policy, we demonstrate how the underlying mentality of SDG7 feeds into existing discourses that marginalise producers and users of 'traditional' energy sources, threatening important livelihoods. With such evidence, we argue that for justice in energy policy to be realised holistically, there is a need to question how our knowledge of energy ‘problems’ have emerged to avoid epistemologically autarchic policy positions.
•Examination of the justice issues within the text of Sustainable Development Goal 7.•Investigates how fuelwood is entangled with energy justice issues in Sierra Leone.•Argues energy solutions need to shift away from simple technological fixes.•Energy policy needs to be built on a range of energy knowledges and experiences.
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