Kinship Relations Research Articles

"And that main artery's name is life": Ecosocial injury and resurgent care in Deanuleahki, Sápmi.

Based on 28 months of ethnographic research in Deanuleahki-a river valley in Sápmi, the transborder Indigenous Sámi homeland-this article traces my interlocutors' striving to reclaim and repair ecological and kin relations through the everyday praxis of care. I trace this striving through the unmaking and remaking of local relations of care amidst encroachment by post-Second World War Nordic welfare states and regimes of environmental stewardship. I propose a dual conceptualization of ecosocial injury and resurgent care to account for, on the one hand, care's alienation from its social and ecological contexts; and, on the other, the intimate everyday labor of revivifying relations of kinship and belonging, and conditions of material livability, within local ecologies. This defiant and desirous politics of care carves out an opening to attend ethnographically and theoretically to both dislocation and repair in spaces of Indigenous resurgence. In conceptualizing such a politics of care, the article brings into conversation key literatures in medical anthropology and in the interdisciplinary scholarship on care and Indigenous resurgence.

‘Abyroy’ from status to contract: social honour in Kazakh culture

ABSTRACT It is accepted that rules regulating and controlling social behaviour exist in all societies. Accordingly, honour and shame constitute the two poles of social evaluation of individuals and their actions. In Kazakhstan, the concept of abyroy (honour), which is one of the two main determinants of social status along with the concept of uyat (shame), is remarkably visible as a regulator and determinant of social action both in the public sphere and within the framework of family or kinship relations. Of course, no matter how strong the authority of abyroy, it cannot escape being a part of social change. In this study, the meaning and function of abyroy in Kazakhstan, the way it is perceived and the contradictions it causes in the process of social change are analysed with the help of concrete observations and interviews in the field. For this purpose, firstly, the outlines of social honour and shame in terms of the structure of constructed and idealized types of society – traditional (status-based) society and modern (contract-based) society – are pointed out. Then, the concept of abyroy in traditional Kazakh society, where nomadic animal husbandry culture was the main determining factor, is discussed. In the last section, the function, meaning and consequences of abyroy depending on the changing sociocultural and economic environment are analysed in terms of social action. Based on this, it is concluded that the emergence and maintenance of two types of practices, in every field in the region due to historical and economic processes has caused a conflict between the codes of the status society and the codes of the contract society: while honour (abyroy) continues to preserve its traditional character to a large extent, its world of meaning has been expanded with modern codes, but since it has lost its traditional ground, it can survive with the concessions it has received from modernity.

Work, affection, and moral economy among Albanian domestic workers in Greece

AbstractThe moral economy framework sheds light on how economic activities and workplace practices are influenced and structured by moral sentiments, norms, and social relations. The concept of the moral economy is particularly applicable to domestic laboring spheres, where employee‐employer exchanges and relations are not merely contractual, but are embedded in moral and cultural values. This article builds on moral economy theory to analyze informal relations and workplace practices among 19 Albanian domestic workers in Greece and their employers. The study reveals how social and economic relations are constructed and shaped through the emotional and intimate nature of domestic work, as well as through moral/ethical sentiments, norms, and behaviors. The everyday working practices and emotional attachments between the employers and the employees seemed to reproduce, construct, and rebuild home‐like settings, kin relations, and feelings. While such emotional affection impacted some women positively, other women considered it a burden because of their inability to claim their rights.

Decentralization and diaspora capture: transnationalism, autocracy, and hybrid power in federal Ethiopia

ABSTRACT This article analyzes how transnational actors navigate the tensions between federal policy, more localized power structures, and informal forms of authority in Ethiopia’s Somali Regional State (SRS). The concept of ‘diaspora capture’ foregrounds the efforts of state officials and transnational elites to take control of processes through which diaspora identities and patterns of coordination are formed and negotiated within webs of kinship and economic relations. Somali social structure has often been described as essentially ‘stateless’ or democratic to the point of anarchy, and Somali transnationalism is marked by webs of kinship-based reciprocity and informal economic practice. Nevertheless, we show that in eastern Ethiopia, post-conflict diaspora engagement since 2010 is characterized by persistent efforts of government elites and diaspora actors to gain influence over each other, reshaping the transnational terrain. We argue for more attention in transnational studies to how the conflicts and tensions between national or federal policy environments and subnational authority structures can create new fields of transnational interaction and unexpected collaborations between local governments (including autocratic ones) and diaspora constituents.

Community Typology and Voting Behavior in Elections: A Political Sociology Perspective

Regional head elections (Pilkada) are a democratic process that reflects the social dynamics of society in choosing leaders in regional elections, using a sociological approach to understand the social facts of society. This research aims to analyze typologies that influence voter preferences. This research uses qualitative methods with a case study approach in several regions that hold regional elections. Data was obtained through in-depth interviews, observation and documentation studies. The research results show that society can be classified into several typologies, such as pragmatic voters, ideological voters, and traditional voters. Pragmatic voters tend to vote based on personal interests or direct benefits, while ideological voters place more emphasis on the candidate's vision, mission and work program. Meanwhile, traditional voters are influenced by cultural factors, kinship, or personal relationships with candidates. Social factors such as campaign intensity, influence of public figures, and access to information also play an important role in shaping voter preferences. These findings show that voting behavior patterns are not only determined by rational aspects, but also by social and cultural values ​​inherent in society. This research makes an important contribution in understanding voter behavior from a sociological perspective, which can be a reference for stakeholders in designing political strategies that are more inclusive and responsive to community needs. Apart from that, the results of this research can also enrich the study of political sociology, especially in the context of local democracy in Indonesia.

The Politics of Scheduling: Vaccination as Infrastructure, Spectacle, and Market in West Africa, 1960s–1980s

Vaccination schedules negotiate the timing of interactions among bodies, vaccines, and pathogens. Yet they do more: they orchestrate the movement of vaccines through factories, business plans, injecting devices, fridges, vehicles, healthcare labour, kinship relations, policy models, government budgets, and so on. This article approaches vaccine schedules as standards that synchronise the varying entities – and interests animating these – that make up vaccination infrastructures broadly defined. What unfolds is an examination of the politics of schedule-setting and implementation, set-out in three debates concerning vaccination in West Africa during a time of fitful, contested expansion in both the delivery of immunizing technologies and the development of basic healthcare infrastructure. The first debate concerns rhythms of vaccination during the US-led and funded West African Smallpox Eradication and Measles Control Program (SEMCP) in the latter 1960s, revealing tensions among this programme’s technopolitical priorities. Two later debates, about the optimal age for measles vaccination, and the minimum total doses/visits required for full immunization, reflect broader contests, from the late 1970s to the late 1980s, over the ultimate goals of the ‘Expanded Programme on Immunization’ (EPI). These three debates provide insight into how multiple actors vied for control over how routine childhood vaccination was to be enacted and imagined in West Africa.

Making kin with more-than-human heritage: entangled care ethics in sourdough breadmaking

ABSTRACT This paper examines the concept of care and its complicated relationship with the field of heritage, especially when transposed to encompass a more-than-human world. Using the practice of contemporary sourdough breadmaking during COVID-19 as a starting point, I think through the ethical issues implicated in interspecies relationships of care in the backdrop of large-scale anthropogenic trends, where change, decay, and loss have become synonymous with progress. Sourdough is a highly mutable non-human entity, which holds many valuable lessons in creating resilience and generative interspecies relationships. A close reading of the nuanced ethics in kinship relationships built between sourdough microbes and the human body reveals that the lesson of sourdough inserted into conversations of care lies in its situated relationships rather than in its ontologies. Thinking of care with this in mind opens up a space to critically reexamine what it means to care for heritage that is changing, as well as questions how the field of heritage could carve out a more substantial space of interaction for interspecies- and non-human interactions moving forward.

Roots and Routes: Funeral Practices and Land-based Identities in the Yunnan-Tibetan Borderlands

This article analyses Pumi (Premi) funeral practices and naming customs of social groupings to interpret their idiom of ru, an indigenous notion of ‘bone’ common among Tibeto-Burman groups. I argue that the Pumi ru name marks a land-based identity constituted by the deposition of bones collected from cremation remains and the soul-guiding ritual along the ancestral migration route at funerals. On the one hand, the notion of ru refers to a conception of kinship relations that emphasises a continual connection to the same places fulfilled from birth to death, in addition to the shared bodily substance of bone. On the other hand, this connection to the land articulates both experiences of settlement and movement. Although the local translation of ru is ‘root’ in Mandarin, this form of identity is not ‘rooted’ at the current settlement but embedded in a sense of landscape constituted by past migrations and repetitive ritual journeys of souls.

The Speech Act Associated with the Fundamental Kinship Relation in Karo Society

This research is intended to analyze about the speech act associated with the fundamental kinship relation in Karo society. The fundamental kinship relation in Karo society is concerned with the Metenget “alertful or paying great attention”, Metami “loving, giving soft words, flattery” and Mehamat “loyal, respectful, honour”. All of these three words must be expressed through words or speech. The method of research is done by using library research or by taking some references from the articles and books. The analysis of this research is found that the speech act which are divided into three, such as locutionary act, illocutionary act and perlocutionary act are utilized in the three fundamental kinship relations. It is not only in the party, but also every where while they are meeting together between anak beru “sisters or her husband”, senina “brothers or the same clan” and kalimbubu “mother’s brother and his wife”. The conclusion is that the types of the speech acts, such as locutionary act, illocutionary act and perlocutionary act are very important in the implementation of the three fundamental kinship relations like metenget, metami and mehamat.

Linkage Disequilibrium Decay in Selected Cattle Breeds.

Linkage disequilibrium (LD) maps are fundamental tools for exploring the genetic basis of traits of interest in any species. Quantifying LD patterns in cattle breeds has been made possible due to the availability of huge quantities of SNPs through modern sequencing technology. The present research aims to determine and compare linkage disequilibrium levels at different distances on the genome of Sistani domestic cattle and subspecies of Bos taurus and Bos indicus based on genome SNP data. A total of 60 Bos indicus Sahiwal (dairy) and Nellore (beef), Bos taurus Hereford (beef) and Holstein (dairy), and Sistani cattle were sampled and genotyped using Illumina Bovine HD 770 k chip. To ensure the caliber of the sequencing, 10 samples (genetically sequenced cattle) were randomly chosen among all breeds represented. LD was evaluated at distances of 1-50 Kb, 50-100 Kb, 100-500 Kb, and 0.5-1 Mb, and average r2 values for all autosomes were calculated within distance classes. For all breeds, the average r2 was over 0.2 at distances less than 100 Kb, while for Sistani, Nellore, and Sahiwal, the average r2 was above 0.2 between 100 and 500 Kb. Furthermore, for all breeds, the average r2 exceeding 0.3 was noted at distances smaller than 50 Kb, while this amount for Holstein and Hereford was observed at distances between 50 and 100 Kb. In various breeds, greater changes in LD levels were observed (at <10 Kb distance). In this study, the Sistani breed showed LD decay patterns similar to indicine cattle (Nellore and Sahiwal), which may be due to the geographic proximity of the Sistan and Baluchestan province to Pakistan, the origin of indicine breeds (they may have had genetic or kinship relationships over a long historical period), or due to ascertainment bias in the SNP chips used.

Durable despite tension: Adult sibling relationships within family figurations

This article analyses adults’ experiences of sibling relationships in the context of the network of family and kin relations – namely, family figurations. In sociological research, there has been growing interest in qualitatively investigating siblings, a theme that was long overshadowed by the interest in intergenerational ties. This study contributes to the discussion on adult sibling relationships as significant and interconnected with other family relationships in individuals’ lives. Drawing upon Elias’ concept of figuration and Smart’s concept of the embeddedness of family relationships, I examine how sibling relationships are experienced in the life stage of family formation. Analysing 32 research interviews with women and men from 16 couples, the article shows three distinct dynamics of how sibling relationships are connected to family figuration. The study contributes to our understanding of how sibling relationships are experienced and lived as embedded within other family relationships. Furthermore, it demonstrates how figuration and embeddedness, two central concepts in family sociology, can be brought together to understand personal relationships in contemporary society.

Neighbourly Networks:

This paper argues that currently operative approaches to the protection of Indigenous rights and capabilities cannot help but fall short of accommodating relational, co-creative dynamics of Indigenous being in the world due to insufficient engagement with the participationalist, networked understandings of Indigenous paradigms. Discussions during the preparation of the United Nations’ Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), in a necessary first step, focused on responses to shared histories of subjugation by colonial powers,(1) and on safeguarding Indigenous rights and capabilities in relation to the powers exercised by what have since become encapsulating nation states. While the respect implied in the safeguarding of such rights and capabilities constitutes a crucial first step towards fruitful forms of coexistence, its conception from within a predominantly representationalist, Newtonian, post-Enlightenment Western paradigm necessarily falls short – at least as yet – of allowing space for Indigenous forms of networked, often acausal relationships of inter-species kinship to thrive. As a corollary, it also entails limitations remaining operative with regards to any potential networking between networks: to the extent that an Indigenous network’s own ability to thrive is impeded, so is the ability of its neighbouring networks to fruitfully interact with its contribution to inter-network co-creative activity and thriving. Understandings on their own terms are going to be needed of Indigenous conceptions of agency residing in inter-species relationship, so that space can be opened up for Indigenous societies not only to exercise rights and capabilities at bounded individual or group level, but also to practise participationalist ways of dynamically centering the co-creative agency of relationships.

Sensory Dislocation and Transnational Ties: Exploring the Forced Immobility of Older Russian Speakers in Finland Amidst COVID‐19 Restrictions

ABSTRACTThe COVID‐19 travel restrictions were especially distressing for migrants, whose transnational lifestyles and networks often rely on travelling, even in older age. Drawing on 20 interviews, this study analyses the effect of COVID restrictions on the transnational lives of older Russian migrants in Finland. The study highlights the importance of physical co‐presence in transnational relationships, showing that older migrants suffered from ‘sensory disconnection’ caused by forced immobility. In Finland, participants typically maintained narrow social circles dominated by kin relations. Amidst the pandemic, they sought comfort through nature and gardening, sensory‐rich practices akin to Soviet‐era dacha practices. Yet, the inability to reconnect physically with their country of origin, particularly for practices such as visits to cemeteries, emerged as a substantial source of emotional distress. Connection with deceased kin was an integral part of their transnational network. The findings suggest that maintaining transnational visits is key to the well‐being of many older migrants.

The unappreciated centrality of ethnoracially mixed Americans to the nation’s demographic future

The ethnoracial future of the United States has been framed as a demographic binary: Whites vs. people of color. The argument here is that this binary distorts by failing to take into adequate account the rapidly growing group of Americans who have been raised in mixed minority and White families, the great majority of the total mixed population. The members of this group generally have distinctive social characteristics: socioeconomic advantages compared to minorities and social integration into milieus with many Whites, as revealed by relatively high rates of marriage to them. However, their identities often encompass their minority heritage. Accordingly, they straddle the society’s major ethnoracial fracture line, creating an in-between social space and connecting, through kinship and other close social relations, both of its sides. However, their numbers are distorted in public national population data, such as census data and population projections; and they are typically counted as part of the non-White population. The recently announced revision of the race/ethnic data standards for the census offers an opportunity to refashion public data in a way that illuminates the important role this mixed group is likely to play in the nation’s demographic future.

Evaluating the effects of silent genes on pairwise kinship testing

Short tandem repeat (STR) loci are frequently utilized in kinship testing, and mutations of a single base occurring in the primer-binding region of the STR locus can result in the failure of allelic amplification and the emergence of silent genes. Silent genes are not observable and, therefore, are excluded from the genotypes assessed. Pedigree likelihood ratios (LRs) are often employed in kinship testing to determine the likelihood of different kinship scenarios. LR values are derived from various types of genotypes. LRexact values are based on the exact or actual genotypes, which may include silent genes. Conversely, LRobserve values are based on observed genotypes that exclude silent genes, while LRadjust values incorporate all potential genotypes, including both observed and those with silent genes. Initially, the formulae for LRs in 1st degree, 2nd degree, and 3rd degree kinship testing are presented according to different genotype forms of pairwise individuals. The correctness of these formulae is then verified using the Familias software, and the results are compared with those from the GeneVisa software (www.genevisa.net). Lastly, the simulation modules of GeneVisa are used to assess the impact of silent genes on pairwise kinship testing. The findings indicate that the overall impact of silent genes is minimal, although in some cases, the effects can be relatively significant. The influence of silent genes generally decreases as the kinship relationship becomes more distant. In specific kinship tests, the effect of silent genes is reduced when the individuals are unrelated compared to when there is a kinship relationship. Utilizing the LRadjust value for 1st degree and 2nd degree kinship testing can substantially mitigate the effects of silent genes.

Islamic Family Law Perspective on Marrying Pregnant Women

Background. Sexual intercourse between a man and a woman without a valid marriage contract is called zina. Zina does not differentiate between a girl, a man, a husband or a widow, a wife or a widower. Islamic law strictly forbids zina, never even approaching zina. One of the consequences of zina is pregnancy outside of marriage.. Aims. This article examines pregnant marriage from the perspective of Islamic law in the four imams of the school of thought, and the Compilation of Islamic Law. Method. The study uses a normative legal approach. Results. Pregnant marriage is a marriage with a woman who is pregnant outside of marriage, either married to the man who impregnated her or to the man who did not impregnate her. The Marriage Law only implicitly regulates the marriage of pregnant women, namely in Article 2 paragraph (1). The Compilation of Islamic Law regulates the marriage of pregnant women in Article 53. The differences of opinion among scholars regarding the marriage of pregnant women due to adultery do not bring blessings to the community. The Compilation of Islamic Law states that children resulting from adultery legally do not have a kinship relationship with their father, even though the father formally acknowledges and legitimizes that the child is his own child. They do not have the intended relationship, be it family relationships, guardianship in marriage or inheritance issues. The child only has a bloodline relationship with his mother.

Estimating Demographic Parameters for Bearded Seals, Erignathus barbatus, in Alaska Using Close-Kin Mark-Recapture Methods.

Reliable estimates of population abundance and demographics are essential for managing harvested species. Ice-associated phocids, "ice seals," are a vital resource for subsistence-dependent coastal Native communities in western and northern Alaska, USA. In 2012, the Beringia distinct population segment of the bearded seal, Erignathus barbatus nauticus, was listed as "threatened" under the US Endangered Species Act requiring greater scrutiny for management assessments. We sought to estimate requisite population parameters from harvested seals by using close-kin mark-recapture (CKMR) methods, the first such application for marine mammals. Samples from 1758 bearded seals harvested by Bering, Chukchi, and Beaufort Sea communities during 1998-2020 were genotyped, genetically sexed, and aged by tooth annuli. After rigorous quality control, kin relationships were established for 1484 seals including two parent-offspring pairs (POPs) and 25 potential second-order kin pairs. Most of the second-order kin were half-sibling pairs (HSPs), but four were potential grandparent-grandchild pairs (GGPs). There were no full sibling pairs, suggesting a lack of mate fidelity. Mitochondrial DNA analysis identified 17 potential HSPs as paternally related, providing substantial evidence of persistent heterogeneity in reproductive success among adult males. The statistical CKMR model incorporates probabilities associated with POPs, HSPs, and GGPs and assumes known ages and a stable population. Our top model accommodates heterogeneity in adult male breeding success and yields an abundance estimate of ~409,000 with a coefficient of variation (CV) = 0.35, which is substantially greater than the "non-heterogeneity" model estimate of ~232,000 (CV = 0.21), an important difference for managing a harvested species. Using CKMR methods with harvested species provides estimates of abundance with the added opportunity to acquire information about adult survival, fecundity, and breeding success that could be applied to other species of concern, marine and terrestrial.

The legal conditions giving rise to the maintenance obligation among family members in the case of the debtor

The family is the fundamental element of society that has always been the basis of the formation of the state and law. The family is characterized by the existence of kinship or similar relationships that give rise to various rights and obligations. As a result, family members owe each other mutual support and help in order to live in harmony and understanding, and the legal obligation of maintenance aims to ensure the conditions and the minimum standard of living owed by the debtor, the creditor - less favored family member. Therefore, in this article, we will thoroughly examine all the conditions to be met by the debtor of the maintenance obligation towards the creditor and respectively the conditions that exempt the debtor from paying the maintenance obligation.

Evaluation of the variability yield component characters and kinship relationships of several introduced local gogo rice cultivars

Abstract Rice is a food crop that produces rice and acts as a source of energy for people in Indonesia. Increasing the genetic diversity of rice plants is important for further development in the field of rice plant breeding. The purpose of this study was to find out information about the diversity of yield component characters and kinship relationships of several local gogo rice cultivars introduced from Padang Lawas Regency. This study was conducted using an experimental method without a design. Then continued with the identification of quantitative characters of gogo rice plants. The genetic material used was 19 local upland rice cultivars introduced from Padang Lawas Regency. The study was conducted at the Screen House, Faculty of Agriculture, Universitas Sumatera Utara. The results of the study showed that all observed yield component characters had diversity because they had different results in each cultivar. The results of the UPGMA phylogenetics showed that the Sibahopotali cultivar had the furthest similarity coefficient value, namely 0.70. Close similarities were found in the Sibahopo Pinang cultivar with Siperak with a coefficient value of 0.90.

Allotropes and Speculative Obligation: SF in Southern Africa

ABSTRACT: This article focuses on speculative fiction written by authors from Southern Africa to examine the nature and effect of genre in fiction from a non-European context. In particular, I claim that Yvette Lisa Ndlovu (Zimbabwe), Namwali Serpell (Zambia), Tlotlo Tsamaase (Botswana), and Nick Wood (Zambia) turn to alternate history to move beyond the stasis of a utopia/dystopia binary. Thus, by creating new settings for both social and intimate interactions within what I call allotropic temporality, a term developed in the article, these authors reestablish a temporal arc: futural possibilities that ensure aesthetic and ethical alternatives by offering nurturing kinship relations and flourishing communities.