A Salvage Linguistic Anthropological Study of the Endangered Māṅgtā Language of West Bengal, India

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sumahan Bandyopadhyay ◽  
◽  
Doyel Chatterjee ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Linguistic Anthropology ◽  
Field Work ◽  
Sustainable Livelihood ◽  
Tribal Community ◽  
Anthropological Study ◽  
Present Generation ◽  
The Status ◽  
Native Speech ◽  
Almost All ◽  
Ethnographic Field Work

The present paper is a salvage Linguistic Anthropology, in which attempt has been made to document a nearly-extinct language known as māṅgtā bhāsā, and to suggest appropriate measures for saving it from complete extinction. The word māṅgtā is said to have been derived from māṅā, which means ‘to ask for’ or ‘to beg’. The language is spoken by a few groups of the Bedia, which is a Scheduled Tribe (ST) in India with a population of 88,772 as per Census of India, 2011(Risley [1891]1981; Bandyopadhyay 2012, 2016, 2017). Bedia is a generic name for a number of vagrant gypsy like groups which Risley has divided into seven types. They live by a number of professions such as snake-charming, selling of medicinal herbs, showing chameleon art or multi-forming. Almost all of them have become speakers of more than one language for interacting with speakers of different languages in the neighbourhood for the sake of their survival. Even the present generation has almost forgotten their native speech, and their unawareness of the language becoming extinct is of concern to us. Elders still remember it and use it sometimes in conversations with the fellow members of their community. The ability to speak this language is construed with regard to the origin of this particular group of Bedia. In fact, the language had given them the identity of a separate tribal community while they demanded the status of ST in the recent past. Thus, socio-historically, the māṅgtā language has a special significance. In spite of being a distinct speech, there has been almost no study conducted on this language. This is one of the major motives for taking up the present endeavour. This project conducts morphological, phonological, syntactical and semantic studies on the māṅgtā language. Sociolinguistic aspects of this language have also been considered. The language has its roots in the Indo-European language family with affinity to the Austro-Asiatic family. The paper interrogates whether māṅgtā can be called language or speech. The study required ethnographic field work, audio-visual archiving, and revitalization, along with sustainable livelihood protection of speakers of the language.

scholarly journals Antropološko proučavanje turizma

2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 219
Author(s):  
Ivan Kovačević ◽  
Ana Banić-Grubišić
Keyword(s):  
Field Work ◽  
Research Interest ◽  
Cultural Dimension ◽  
History Of Development ◽  
Anthropological Study ◽  
The Social ◽  
Anthropological Research ◽  
History Of ◽  
The 1960S ◽  
Ethnographic Field Work

In this paper, the authors follow the history of development of anthropology of tourism from the 1960s to the present. In addition to the distinct methodology (ethnographic field work), the essential aspect of anthropological study of tourism is an emphasis on the socio-cultural dimension of tourism. Within the anthropological research of tourism, the research interest is focused on understanding the social and cultural nature of tourism.

scholarly journals The Anthropological Study of Tourism

2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 219-233
Author(s):  
Ivan Kovačević ◽  
Ana Banić Grubišić
Keyword(s):  
Field Work ◽  
Research Interest ◽  
Cultural Dimension ◽  
History Of Development ◽  
Anthropological Study ◽  
The Social ◽  
Anthropological Research ◽  
History Of ◽  
The 1960S ◽  
Ethnographic Field Work

In this paper, the authors follow the history of development of anthropology of tourism from the 1960s to the present. In addition to the distinct methodology (ethnographic field work), the essential aspect of anthropological study of tourism is an emphasis on the socio-cultural dimension of tourism. Within the anthropological research of tourism, the research interest is focused on understanding the social and cultural nature of tourism.

Contemporary Qur'anic Studies in Iran and its Relationship with Qur'anic Studies in the West

2012 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-72
Author(s):  
Morteza Karimi-Nia
Keyword(s):  
Islamic Law ◽  
Human Sciences ◽  
The West ◽  
Communications Technologies ◽  
Religious Learning ◽  
The Status ◽  
Islamic Republic Of Iran ◽  
Almost All ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship

The status of tafsīr and Qur'anic studies in the Islamic Republic of Iran has changed significantly during recent decades. The essay provides an overview of the state of Qur'anic studies in Iran today, aiming to examine the extent of the impact of studies by Western scholars on Iranian academic circles during the last three decades and the relationship between them. As in most Islamic countries, the major bulk of academic activity in Iran in this field used to be undertaken by the traditional ʿulamāʾ; however, since the beginning of the twentieth century and the establishment of universities and other academic institutions in the Islamic world, there has been increasing diversity and development. After the Islamic Revolution, many gradual changes in the structure and approach of centres of religious learning and universities have occurred. Contemporary advancements in modern sciences and communications technologies have gradually brought the institutions engaged in the study of human sciences to confront the new context. As a result, the traditional Shīʿī centres of learning, which until 50 years ago devoted themselves exclusively to the study of Islamic law and jurisprudence, today pay attention to the teaching of foreign languages, Qur'anic sciences and exegesis, including Western studies about the Qur'an, to a certain extent, and recognise the importance of almost all of the human sciences of the West.

scholarly journals “Let’s Go, Baby Forklift!”: Fandom Governance and the Political Power of Cuteness in China

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 205630512110249
Author(s):  
Jamie Wong ◽  
Crystal Lee ◽  
Vesper Keyi Long ◽  
Di Wu ◽  
Graham M. Jones
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Linguistic Anthropology ◽  
The State ◽  
Internet Users ◽  
Voluntary Response ◽  
New Development ◽  
The Status ◽  
History Of ◽  
Hospital Construction ◽  
Novel Strategy

This article describes how the Chinese state borrows from the culture of celebrity fandom to implement a novel strategy of governing that we term “fandom governance.” We illustrate how state-run social media employed fandom governance early in the COVID-19 pandemic when the country was convulsed with anxiety. As the state faced a crisis of confidence, state social media responded with a propagandistic display of state efficacy, broadcasting a round-the-clock livestream of a massive emergency hospital construction project. Chinese internet users playfully embellished imagery from the livestream. They unexpectedly transformed the construction vehicles into cute personified memes, with Baby Forklift and Baby Mud Barfer (a cement mixer) among the most popular. In turn, state social media strategically channeled this playful engagement in politically productive directions by resignifying the personified vehicles as celebrity idols. Combining social media studies with cultural and linguistic anthropology, we offer a processual account of the semiotic mediations involved in turning vehicles into memes, memes into idols, and citizens into fans. We show how, by embedding cute memes within modules of fandom management such as celebrity ranking lists, state social media rendered them artificially vulnerable to a fall in status. Fans, in turn, rallied around to “protect” these cute idols with small but significant acts of digital devotion and care, organizing themselves into fan circles and exhorting each other to vote. In elevating the memes to the status of celebrity idols, state social media thereby created a disposable pantheon of virtual avatars for the state, and consolidated state power by exploiting citizens’ voluntary response to vulnerability. We analyze fandom governance as a new development in the Chinese state’s long history of governing citizens through the management of emotion.

Answers and Questions: Evans-Pritchard On Nuer Religion

1983 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 167-186 ◽  
Author(s):  
John W. Burton
Keyword(s):  
Catholic Church ◽  
Logical Consistency ◽  
Anthropological Study ◽  
The Status ◽  
The Many ◽  
The Catholic Church

AbstractIf my discernment of the thought that underlies his study of Nuer religion is not entirely misconstrued, then one can assert a logical consistency between Collingwood's methodology for history and Evans-Pritchard's for ethnography. It is worthwhile, in that light, to consider the fact that "at one time Evans-Pritchard contemplated writing Collingwood's biography" (Beidelman 1974:559). One commentator, (Kuper 1980:118) typifies this methodology as "postwar idealism" and suggests that the major works he published in the later decades of his presence at Oxford demonstrate the "sterility" of his methodology and theory. Still others have hinted that his entry into the Catholic Church was later reflected in his depiction of Nuer religous life. These are remarkable assertions, when one takes the time to reflect on the many ways in which his own approach and writings have so profoundly influenced the direction of anthropological enquiry in his own country and abroad. The fact is, one can no longer write ethnography in lieu of a solid understanding of the historical circumstances which have resulted in the contemporary 'ethnographic present'. At the same time, practitioners of the discipline have addressed from almost every angle the proposition that all ethnography is indeed a good part confession-that we write what we are able to see. That is precisely the quality of the work that will guarantee the status of Nuer religion as a classic. The methods of history and anthropology can only become more similar. Anyone who holds an absence of definition or presumed repugnance toward theory as criticisms of his contributions, has truly lost the forest for the trees. It is all the more remarkable that his methodological and theoretical advances in the anthropological study of religion are to be found not in his answers, but in the questions he raised.10

scholarly journals Roe Deer, Fallow and Sika

Oryx ◽  
1954 ◽  
Vol 2 (6) ◽  
pp. 388-391
Author(s):  
P. H. Carne
Keyword(s):  
Roe Deer ◽  
Capreolus Capreolus ◽  
Human Control ◽  
The Status ◽  
Almost All

Although roe deer, Capreolus capreolus, are at present fairly widely distributed in Britain, and in many areas are undoubtedly increasing and extending their range, their numbers and numerical trends vary greatly in different localities. It is, moreover, apparent that the status of the species, in given habitats, is conditioned by factors other than human control and the availability of adequate cover and keep. Relevant comparison may be made between the respective success and failure of attempts to reintroduce roe to Dorset and to Epping Forest. The increase of roe after their release near Milton Abbas, in Dorset, about the year 1800, was remarkably rapid and within a few decades they had become common in almost all suitable localities in the county. During the two world wars, particularly the 1939–1945 war, they suffered heavy casualties at the hand of farmers and others, yet in the opinion of many observers roe actually increased in Dorset during these periods.

scholarly journals “Despite the Odds”: Unpacking the Politics of Black Resilience Neoliberalism

2018 ◽  
Vol 56 (1) ◽  
pp. 75-110 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin L. Clay
Keyword(s):  
Social Change ◽  
Action Research ◽  
Identity Development ◽  
Political Identity ◽  
Black Youth ◽  
Field Work ◽  
Participatory Action ◽  
Early Stages ◽  
Ethnographic Field Work ◽  
Policy Discourses

Through sustained ethnographic field work that inquired into youth participatory action researchers’ political identity development, I identified a politicized discourse engaged by youth during their early stages of action research that I have termed Black resilience neoliberalism (BRN). This study explicates BRN theory, tracing its connection to policy discourses related to Black youth and schools and exploring the ways its tenets are revealed in Black youth action researchers’ reflections on race/racism, inequality, and social change. I argue that BRN is both a conspicuous and an inconspicuous thread of neoliberal discourse and logic, which hides in plain sight as empowerment; however, it is entangled with the project of hegemony. To that end, destabilizing the legitimization of BRN is crucial to reconstituting empowerment.

scholarly journals Ethical issues on artificial intelligence in radiology: how is it reported in research articles? The current state and future directions

2021 ◽  
Vol 90 (2) ◽  
pp. e513
Author(s):  
Tomasz Piotrowski ◽  
Joanna Kazmierska ◽  
Mirosława Mocydlarz-Adamcewicz ◽  
Adam Ryczkowski
Keyword(s):  
Artificial Intelligence ◽  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Exclusion Criteria ◽  
Future Directions ◽  
Current State ◽  
Ethical Status ◽  
The Status ◽  
Clinical Questions ◽  
Almost All

Background. This paper evaluates the status of reporting information related to the usage and ethical issues of artificial intelligence (AI) procedures in clinical trial (CT) papers focussed on radiology issues as well as other (non-trial) original radiology articles (OA). Material and Methods. The evaluation was performed by three independent observers who were, respectively physicist, physician and computer scientist. The analysis was performed for two groups of publications, i.e., for CT and OA. Each group included 30 papers published from 2018 to 2020, published before guidelines proposed by Liu et al. (Nat Med. 2020; 26:1364-1374). The set of items used to catalogue and to verify the ethical status of the AI reporting was developed using the above-mentioned guidelines. Results. Most of the reviewed studies, clearly stated their use of AI methods and more importantly, almost all tried to address relevant clinical questions. Although in most of the studies, patient inclusion and exclusion criteria were presented, the widespread lack of rigorous descriptions of the study design apart from a detailed explanation of the AI approach itself is noticeable. Few of the chosen studies provided information about anonymization of data and the process of secure data sharing. Only a few studies explore the patterns of incorrect predictions by the proposed AI tools and their possible reasons. Conclusion. Results of review support idea of implementation of uniform guidelines for designing and reporting studies with use of AI tools. Such guidelines help to design robust, transparent and reproducible tools for use in real life.

scholarly journals The Phenomenon of Digital Labour Platforms

2020 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. 217-229
Author(s):  
Andrzej Marian Świątkowski
Keyword(s):  
Trade Unions ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Legal Regulation ◽  
Fundamental Rights ◽  
Equal Treatment ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Eu Member States ◽  
The Status ◽  
The Right ◽  
Almost All

In all EU Member States the status of people employed on job platforms is not fully legally regulated. It is necessary to consider the sources of the contemporary phenomenon of electronic employment, which is not amenable to legal regulation in the Union constituting an “area of freedom, security and justice with respect for fundamental rights” (Art. 67 (1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union). The right to work in decent conditions, with adequate remuneration, belongs to this category of rights. In the discussion on employment platforms state authorities are more inclined to consider issues related to new technologies, processes and changes caused by the development and application of modern digital technologies (digitization) in almost all areas. The headquarters of trade unions mainly discuss the legal position of employees and the role of employment platforms in employment relations in the post-industrial era. Entrepreneurs and their organizations, including private institutions and employment platforms, are interested in equal treatment by national legislators in local labour markets. They are afraid of the breach of the balance favorable to their own economic interests, caused by the public interest in the possibility of using employment in atypical forms of employment. Services consisting in employment provided under employment platforms are incomparably cheaper than identical work performed by employees employed under employment contracts.

scholarly journals Detection of Non-native Speaker Status from Backwards and Vocoded Contentmasked Speech

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 87-105
Author(s):  
Arkadiusz Rojczyk ◽  
Andrzej Porzuczek
Keyword(s):  
White Noise ◽  
Native Speaker ◽  
Temporal Organization ◽  
Speech Rhythm ◽  
Accented Speech ◽  
Significant Contributor ◽  
Suprasegmental Features ◽  
The Status ◽  
Native Speech ◽  
Vocoded Speech

This paper addresses the issue of speech rhythm as a cue to non-native pronunciation. In natural recordings, it is impossible to disentangle rhythm from segmental, subphonemic or suprasegmental features that may influence nativeness ratings. However, two methods of speech manipulation, that is, backwards content-masked speech and vocoded speech, allow the identification of native and non-native speech in which segmental properties are masked and become inaccessible to the listeners. In the current study, we use these two methods to compare the perception of content-masked native English speech and Polish-accented speech. Both native English and Polish-accented recordings were manipulated using backwards masked speech and 4-band white-noise vocoded speech. Fourteen listeners classified the stimuli as produced by native or Polish speakers of English. Polish and English differ in their temporal organization, so, if rhythm is a significant contributor to the status of non-native accentedness, we expected an above-chance rate of recognition of native and non-native English speech. Moreover, backwards content-masked speech was predicted to yield better results than vocoded speech, because it retains some of the indexical properties of speakers. The resultsshow that listeners are unable to detect non-native accent in Polish learners of English from backwards and vocoded speech samples.

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