scholarly journals “Remember... Whose girl you are”: Dynamics of domination in Sarah Waters’s Affinity (1999)

2013 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 149 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lea Heiberg Madsen

<p>This paper discusses, from a psychoanalytic perspective, Sarah Waters’s novel <em>Affinity</em> (1999)<em> </em>which has played a crucial role in the consolidation of the neo-Victorian genre and, indeed, has become a touchstone for contemporary feminist fiction. Through Jessica Benjamin’s intersubjective theory it analyses Waters’s extraordinary re-presentation of women’s same-sex relationships, with particular focus on the dynamics of domination and submission which characterises the female couples in the novel. Benjamin's approach to the problem of domination gives valuable insight into the psychological structures of erotic hierarchy and, in turn, opens up for new ways to understand erotic desire and power dynamics between men and women, or between people of the same sex.  In addition, an exploration of <em>Affinity</em> from an intersubjective perspective casts light onto how the novel transgresses both Victorian boundaries and those that persist in contemporary culture.</p>

Author(s):  
Pallavi Thakur ◽  

Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner is a powerful narrative on ‘Bacha Bazi’, “same-sex pedophilia restricted to adult men and adolescent boys” (Powell, 2018, p.1), prevalent in Afghanistan. When marginalisation of Afghan women became the nucleus of major studies , especially during the Taliban regime in Afghanistan, Hosseini unveiled in The Kite Runner, the gruesome Afghan culture of ‘Bacha Bazi’ that disintegrates a boy’s social and sexual identity. ‘Bacha Bazi’ is not consensual rather coercion hence is equivalent to rape and reflects the grotesque violation of Afghan male children’s human rights. While the world viewed Afghanistan as a land of incessant wars, tribal conflicts, violence and female exploitation, Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner provided a startling insight into ‘Bacha Bazi’ and its implications on Afghan boys. The novel reveals the socio-culture domain of Afghanistan and ethnic rivalry playing an instrumental role in the existence of Bacha Bazi. In the light of the above discussions, the present paper examines the deleterious effects of Bacha Bazi on Afghan male children. It elucidates the psychological trauma of adolescent Afghan boys that evolves out of the sexual abuse and new androgynous identity imposed on them.


Crystals ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 195 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shigeyuki Yamada ◽  
Kazuya Miyano ◽  
Tomohiro Agou ◽  
Toshio Kubota ◽  
Tsutomu Konno

In this study, we designed and synthesized novel pentafluorinated bistolane derivatives with 2-chloropentyl or 2-chlorohexyl flexible units as novel light-emitting liquid crystals (LELCs). By measuring the phase-transition behaviors, all derivatives were found to display liquid-crystalline (LC) phases during both heating and cooling processes. Among the novel bistolanes, the S- and R-configured derivatives exhibited a chiral nematic (N*) phase with a typical Grandjean optical texture. Interestingly, the chiral derivatives also exhibited a blue phase with a typical platelet texture in a narrow temperature range (2–4 °C). Photophysical measurements revealed that the 2-chloroalkoxy-substituted pentafluorinated bistolanes exhibited intense photoluminescence (PL) both in solution and in crystalline phases. The PL characteristics, especially the maximum PL wavelength, were found to switch sensitively during the heating and cooling cycles depending on the molecular aggregates through the crystal (Cr) ⇄ N* phase transition. The 2-chloroalkoxy flexible units induced dynamic changes in the LC and PL properties, providing valuable insight into the potential of various LELCs as PL sensing materials.


Pteridines ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 117-120 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kiyoung Kim ◽  
Jeongbin Yim

AbstractGlutathione S-transferase omega (GSTO) genes in eukaryotic organisms encode proteins that are important for cell defense. However, the physiological roles of GSTOs have not been fully elucidated yet. Recently, genetic and molecular studies with Drosophila demonstrated that CG6781 is the structural gene of the eye color mutant sepia and that CG6673 is a novel genetic suppressor of the parkin mutant. These results provide valuable insight into the diverse functions of GSTOs in vivo. In this review, we briefly introduce recent studies and summarize the novel biological functions of GSTOs in Drosophila.


Author(s):  
Francis T. McAndrew

Gossip is the weapon of choice in the indirect relationship aggression that occurs among women. However, gossip can also be a positive force in the life of groups. In this chapter, I maintain that gossip is an evolutionary adaptation that enabled our prehistoric ancestors to be socially successful and explore the complicated roles gossip plays in human social life. I argue that an interest in the affairs of same-sex others is especially strong among females and that this is not always benign. I review the evidence that women are more likely than men to use gossip in an aggressive, competitive manner and maintain that understanding the dynamics of competitive gossip may also give us insight into related social phenomena such as how people use social media such as Facebook and why men and women often have such different tastes in movies and television.


Author(s):  
D. R. Liu ◽  
S. S. Shinozaki ◽  
J. S. Park ◽  
B. N. Juterbock

The electric and thermal properties of the resistor material in an automotive spark plug should be stable during its service lifetime. Containing many elements and many phases, this material has a very complex microstructure. Elemental mapping with an electron microprobe can reveal the distribution of all relevant elements throughout the sample. In this work, it is demonstrated that the charge-up effect, which would distort an electron image and, therefore, is normally to be avoided in an electron imaging work, could be used to advantage to reveal conductive and resistive zones in a sample. Its combination with elemental mapping can provide valuable insight into the underlying conductivity mechanism of the resistor.This work was performed in a CAMECA SX-50 microprobe. The spark plug used in the present report was a commercial product taken from the shelf. It was sectioned to expose the cross section of the resistor. The resistor was known not to contain the precious metal Au as checked on the carbon coated sample. The sample was then stripped of carbon coating and re-coated with Au.


Imbizo ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Adetunji Kazeem Adebiyi-Adelabu

Sello Duiker’s The Quiet Violence of Dreams offers an extensive treatment of homosexuality, a preoccupation which, until recently, is rare in black African fiction. On this account, as well as its depth and openness, the work has attracted some critical attention. It has been read from a masculinity perspective, as a coming-out novel, as a national allegory, as a work that challenges the notion of fixed sexuality, as a work that normalises same-sex sexuality, and so forth. Unlike these studies, this article examines the representation and disquisition around same-sex preference in the novel, with a view to demonstrating how some myths about homosexuality are exploded in the groundbreaking work, and showing that the narrative could also be apprehended as intellectual advocacy for the right to same-sex orientation.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qi Li ◽  
Adam J. Zaczek ◽  
Timothy M. Korter ◽  
J. Axel Zeitler ◽  
Michael T. Ruggiero

<div>Understanding the nature of the interatomic interactions present within the pores of metal-organic frameworks</div><div>is critical in order to design and utilize advanced materials</div><div>with desirable applications. In ZIF-8 and its cobalt analogue</div><div>ZIF-67, the imidazolate methyl-groups, which point directly</div><div>into the void space, have been shown to freely rotate - even</div><div>down to cryogenic temperatures. Using a combination of ex-</div><div>perimental terahertz time-domain spectroscopy, low-frequency</div><div>Raman spectroscopy, and state-of-the-art ab initio simulations,</div><div>the methyl-rotor dynamics in ZIF-8 and ZIF-67 are fully charac-</div><div>terized within the context of a quantum-mechanical hindered-</div><div>rotor model. The results lend insight into the fundamental</div><div>origins of the experimentally observed methyl-rotor dynamics,</div><div>and provide valuable insight into the nature of the weak inter-</div><div>actions present within this important class of materials.</div>


2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 150-158
Author(s):  
A. V. Zhuchkova

The article deals with A. Bushkovsky’s novel Rymba that goes beyond the topics typical of Russian North prose. Rather than limiting himself to admiring nature and Russian character, the author portrays the northern Russian village of Rymba in the larger context of the country’s mentality, history, mythology, and gender politics. In the novel, myth clashes with reality, history with the present day, and an individual with the state. The critic draws a comparison between the novel and the traditions of village prose and Russian North prose. In particular, Bushkovsky’s Rymba is discussed alongside V. Rasputin’s Farewell to Matyora [ Proshchanie s Matyoroy ] and R. Senchin’s The Flood Zone [ Zona zatopleniya ]. The novel’s central question is: what keeps the Russian world afloat? Depicting the Christian faith as such a bulwark, Bushkovsky links atheism with the social and spiritual roles played by contemporary men and women. The critic argues, however, that the reliance on Christianity in the novel verges on an affectation. The book’s main symbol is a drowning hawk: it perishes despite people’s efforts to save it.


2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (5) ◽  
pp. 557-567
Author(s):  
Aparoop Das ◽  
Anshul Shakya ◽  
Surajit Kumar Ghosh ◽  
Udaya P. Singh ◽  
Hans R. Bhat

Background: Plants of the genus Inula are perennial herbs of the family Asteraceae. This genus includes more than 100 species, widely distributed throughout Europe, Africa and Asia including India. Many of them are indicated in traditional medicine, e.g., in Ayurveda. This review explores chemical constituents, medicinal uses and pharmacological actions of Inula species. Methods: Major databases and research and review articles retrieved through Scopus, Web of Science, and Medline were consulted to obtain information on the pharmacological activities of the genus Inula published from 1994 to 2017. Results: Inula species are used either alone or as an important ingredient of various formulations to cure dysfunctions of the cardiovascular system, respiratory system, urinary system, central nervous system and digestive system, and for the treatment of asthma, diabetes, cancers, skin disorders, hepatic disease, fungal and bacterial infections. A range of phytochemicals including alkaloids, essential and volatile oils, flavonoids, terpenes, and lactones has been isolated from herbs of the genus Inula, which might possibly explain traditional uses of these plants. Conclusion: The present review is focused on chemical constituents, medicinal uses and pharmacological actions of Inula species and provides valuable insight into its medicinal potential.


2017 ◽  
Vol 45 (6) ◽  
pp. 1029-1042 ◽  
Author(s):  
Na Zhang ◽  
Jian Zhang ◽  
Jing Wang

To expand the business ethics research field, and to increase society's understanding of Chinese insurance agents' business ethics, we investigated how gender differences are related to agents' business ethical sensitivity and whether or not these relationships are moderated by empathy. Through a regression analysis of the factors associated with the business ethical sensitivity of 417 Chinese insurance agents, we found that gender played an important role in affecting business ethical sensitivity, and empathy significantly affected business ethical sensitivity. Furthermore, empathy had a moderating effect on the relationship between gender and business ethical sensitivity. Both men and women with strong empathy scored high on business ethical sensitivity; however, men with strong empathy had higher levels of business ethical sensitivity than did women with little empathy. The findings add to the literature by providing insight into the mechanisms responsible for the benefits of empathy in increasing business ethical sensitivity.


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