Invisible Languages in Eden Robinson’s Monkey Beach

Language in Monkey Beach is vital in delineating roles of “insider” and “outsider” within the text. Lisamarie Hill’s inability to speak the Haisla language as fluently as her grandmother, Ma-ma-oo, always endorsed, isolates her from being able to fully understand her Haisla roots. As Ma-ma-oo says: “… to really understand the old stories, you had to speak Haisla" (211). Yet, it is also through the matrilineal line that Lisa inherits the role that secures her a position as a Haisla “insider”. Lisa inherits her grandmother’s and mother’s gift of foresight, and an ability to speak to spirits and the dead. She inherits the language of the old stories, those that by Ma-ma-oo’s logic are unutterable in English. The language of the dead is an invisible language because it is inviolate by colonial forces and it functions outside of Western epistemology, but also because the text itself is written in English. Thus the mainstream reader becomes the “outsider”, denied access to the language of the spirit world, receiving instead an inadequate English translation. The narrative emphasizes the impotence of English translation earlier in the text, noting that: “Haisla has many sounds that don’t exist in English, so it is not possible to spell the words using English conventions” (193). Translational failure becomes manifest in the spelling of Haisla words using transliteration, which become physically fragmented by apostrophes and point to the problems of translation, and to ultimately undermine the task of translating Haisla culture into the “Western” medium of the novel.

Teaching Art Music in Nigerian Schools: The Academic, Technical and Social Implications

Art music in the Nigerian context is the composition of Nigerians who have formal music training and have composed using Western medium to express traditional Nigerian music. This paper sets out to illuminate the technicalities involved in this form of musical composition and proposes a model of art music instruction for Nigerian schools. The author posits that the teaching and performing of art music in Nigerian schools will bring music closer to the people. He argues that whereas art music is an aberration from Nigerian traditional music, yet with concerted efforts and skill, the practice of art music will help in preserving Nigerian culture on paper and facilitate the promotion of its local music to the global level. The paper concludes that traditional music elements that are entrenched in art music composition can constitute a model and parameter for identifying and appreciating Nigerian music. The teaching of art music therefore must be encouraged by Nigerian music curricular planners.Art music in Nigerian context is the composition of Nigerians who have formal music training and have composed usingWestern medium to express traditional Nigerian music. This paper sets out to illuminate the technicalities involved in this form of musical composition and proposes a model of art music instruction for Nigerian schools. The author posits that the teaching and performing of art music in our schools will bring music closer to the people. The author equally argues that whereas art music is an aberration from our traditional music, yet with concerted efforts and skill, the practice of art music will help in preserving our culture on paper and facilitate the promotion of our local music to the global level. The paper concludes that traditional music elements that are entrenched in art music composition can constitute a model and parameter for identifying and appreciating Nigerian music. The teaching of art music, therefore, must be encouraged by Nigerian music curricular planners.

E-Government Applications in Promoting Agricultural Productions

The rapid development of the e-government has dramatically changed how citizens and business interact with their government. There are many benefits for the e-government applications in terms of the administrative costs reduction and service integration. E-government websites can reflect the actual development of the regional e-government level. However, from the observation, there are many challenges and issues in the e-government application for the local governments. This paper is an attempt to compare the current development of the e-government in terms of improving the local agriculture productions between the eastern and western medium-sized cities in China. According to the results of this paper, there are many issues of the e-government application in terms of introducing and promoting the local agriculture productions in China. The suggestions for the local governments to improve their e-government application are given in last section.

Species composition and community structure of fruit flies (Diptera: Tephritidae) across major mango-growing regions in Uganda

The species diversity of tephritid fruit flies in major mango-growing regions in Uganda was monitored over a 2-year period (2010–2012) using fruit bait and lure traps. A total of 368,332 specimens belonging to 10 species in four genera (Bactrocera,Ceratitis,TrirhithrumandDacus) were collected. Of these, 98.9% belonged toBactrocera invadens, while the second and third most common species wereDacus bivittatus(0.4%) andCeratitis anonae(0.3%), respectively. Significant differences in the evenness and diversity of fruit fly species were noted across the regions. Fruit fly community structure was significantly different across the three regions. The Lake Victoria Crescent and Mbale Farmlands harboured significantly moreD. ciliatus,T. coffeae,D. bivittatusandB. cucurbitaein contrast to the Northern Moist Farmlands and the Western Medium High Farmlands.Ceratitis rosacontributed the highest difference in regional structure, followed byC. fasciventrisandC. cosyra. Rank abundance curves depicted a geometric series distribution of the species composition in the three regions, confirming a scenario of competitive displacement of native fruit fly species byB. invadens. A comprehensive and sustainable response strategy toB. invadensand other fruit flies needs to be urgently devised to protect the horticulture industry in Uganda.