Life history

What exactly keeps women ‘in’ inequitable care relationships, and how do we get ‘out’? This dissertation offers a timely response to a pressing societal problem – that of how to understand and organize care. Feminist scholarship and debates focus on the redistribution of care, considering how to shift care responsibilities from women to men or from individuals to the state. My research expands this work by critically reflecting on (shifting) relationships between women and the care economy with a focus on the moral dimensions of care work and on the narrative, intrasubjective work that women do.

The research mobilizes sociological theories of care work, gender and moral worth, and uses feminist life history and arts-based, auto-ethnographic methods to contribute to a conceptual reimagining of “care.” Taking an interpretive, narrative, feminist approach, I draw on 20 in-depth life history interviews with 12 participants, as well as on my own autoethnographic experiences as a live-in care worker at L’Arche. I analyze how women narrate renegotiating care responsibilities or expectations across our lives and in different paid and unpaid care contexts in Ontario, Canada. Making links to class, gender and conditions in the caring economy, the project contextualizes women’s narratives of orienting to projects of care, negotiating moral dilemmas at the limits of care, and stepping back from or renegotiating care responsibilities.

The study enriches feminist theories of care by developing a theorized account of the “relational care economy” that makes intrasubjective conditions, and the contradictions that people negotiate, central. I also contribute to a conceptual reimagining of “care” both by raising questions about whether “care as an ethic” should apply at the level of individual women’s lives, as well as by calling for a conception of care that makes limits central. Aiming to foster solidarity amongst carers in different roles, I ask tough questions about what we expect of ourselves and others, how we can stop setting women up for such intimate losses, and how our lives can be otherwise.

Technology is a concept rife with confusion. Here, I argue that technologies can be distinguished as a combination of type of producer and an idealized artefact life history. Using this definition, a number of technologies are identified. The first technology historically, in the Protostomes, was the production of individual or family dwellings. Next came objects such as spider webs for trapping prey. Stigmergy followed, with the social insects, as a collective endeavour to construct a mega-structure using simple rules of accretion. Some birds and primates began to make tools, or simple technological objects whose function is closely related to their form. Humans are distinguished by their ability to make machines. Traditional technology took place once people voluntarily organised into groups with specialised knowledge to produce more complex objects and structures. Monumental objects like ceremonial pyramids came with the command economies of the early agrarian societies, which also resulted in a new category of artefact, the network. Finally, with modern civilizations came ad hoc accretion, or population-level adding-on, to make truly complex technological systems. Developing a theoretical framework within which artefacts, production processes and ways of interacting with them are identified should help the study of technology to become more scientific.

Growth rates and longevities were estimated for five major fishery species of parrotfishes (“uhu”) at Oahu, Hawai’i. All species grew rapidly with von Bertalanffy growth formula k values ≥0.4·year−1. Longevities were found to range broadly among the three small species, 4 years in Calotomus carolinus and 6 and 11 years in Scarus psittacus and Chlorurus spilurus, and to 15–20 years in Scarus rubroviolaceus and Chlorurus perspicillatus for the two large species. Age reading and growth curves for the latter two large species were validated using bomb radiocarbon dating. Median ages at sexual maturity as females (AM50) and at sex change (from female to terminal phase male, AΔ50) were estimated using logistic models. Sexual maturation occurred at 1–2 years for the small species and at 3–3.5 years in the large species. AΔ50 estimates ranged from 2 to 4 years in the small species and were about 5 and 7 years in S. rubroviolaceus and C. perspicillatus, respectively. Estimated milestones poo...

This study examined the morphology, growth and life history of dwarf minke whales to identify and confirm any differences from other minke whale species and subspecies. The study was based on biological samples and data obtained from 16 whales (3 males and 13 females) collected through the 1987/88 to 1992/93 austral summer seasons by the Japanese Whale Research Program under Special Permit in the Antarctic (JARPA). The whales were collected between latitudes 58°23′S and 65°04′S in the Antarctic area between 90°E and 180°. Mean body length at physical maturity was estimated to be 7.16 m for females, approximately 1.5 m to 2.0 m smaller than equivalent values of Antarctic minke whales and North Pacific common minke whales. The characteristic feature of a white shoulder/flipper patch was confirmed and some variations in the overall color pattern was found. Skeletal observations confirmed the previously reported characteristic features on the vertex of the skull. In addition, this study found a longer rostrum, deeply curved mandible, and narrower nasal bone in dwarf minke whales in comparison with other minke whales. All pregnant females had conceived in mid-austral winter (middle of June to early August). Females are likely to attain sexual maturation at 6-6.5 m and at around 7-10 years of age. Stomach contents indicated that dwarf minke whales mainly fed on lantern fishes around the Antarctic Convergence in summer. Analyses by ANCOV revealed significant differences in both external body and skull morphology among different species and subspecies. Furthermore, cluster analyses on the skull morphology revealed differentiation between dwarf minke whales and other common minke whales but they are more closely related to North Atlantic common minke whales. These analyses concurred with previous genetic analyses results. The results of this study provided support for the proposed subspecific status of dwarf minke whales.

Estudo transversal em 1.026 trabalhadores em distrito de perfuração de petróleo do Nordeste brasileiro mostrou prevalência global de doença do disco intervertebral lombar de 5%, variando de 1,8% (atividades sem manuseio de carga), 4,5% (manuseio ocasional) até 7,2% (manuseio habitual). Tal prevalência foi de 11,4% em operadores de sonda de perfuração de petróleo com mais de 40 anos de idade e de 10,5% naqueles com mais de 15 anos de empresa. A razão de prevalência (R.P.) à associação entre trabalho em operação de sonda e doença do disco foi 2,3 (I.C. 95%: 1,3, 4,0). Para minimizar o efeito sobrevivência do trabalhador sadio foram usadas informações retrospectivas acerca da exposição. A informação referente à ocupação atual em lugar do histórico ocupacional resultaria em RP subestimada de 1,1 (I.C. 95%: 0,6, 1,9). A regressão logística ratificou os achados da análise tabular. Não houve confundimento nem interação. O incremento da indústria de petróleo no país e as alterações na gestã...

To assist risk assessors at the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site (SRS), a Geographic Information System (GIS) application was developed to provide relevant information about specific receptor species of resident wildlife that can be used for ecological risk assessment. Information was obtained from an extensive literature review of publications and reports on vertebrate- and contaminant- related research since 1954

Geonoma orbignyana is a common understory palm, whose leaves are used as foliage in Colombia. This palm has been used for more than 30 years; but there is no information about its life history or conservation status. Our objective was to characterize the life history of this palm and population dynamics of a natural population as a first step to assess the effect of leaf harvesting. More than 1600 palms were monitored from June 1999 to March 2000; we measured growth, mortality, and reproductive success. Population dynamics were evaluated using a Lefkovitch matrix model, and elasticity analysis. Results indicate that G. orbignyana grows at a rate of 1.98 ± 0.047 leaves/year, the palm has a long lifespan, and growth and reproduction are related to light conditions in the forest. The density of this palm is high (108–311 palms/100 m2), which is explained in part by its capacity to continue growing after damage, and to respond to the frequent gap formation in the forest. The population is growing (λ = 1.074, CI = [1.046–1.099]). Survival transitions account for 77% of population growth, a value that is higher compared to other understory plants. Because of the high density, the recovery capacity of these palms, and the correlations found between individual and population performances with forest dynamics, we hypothesize that G. orbignyana behaves as an opportunistic species taking advantage of forest gaps. This palm is a promising non-timber forest product (NTFP) with a high profile for further exploitation, although we recommend that harvesting regimens should consider time of recovery and forest dynamics. Without these considerations mortality could increase in all classes, which will compromise population persistence. Further studies should accurately estimate the recovery time after defoliation as well as to characterize forest dynamics identifying its most important features for population growth.

Everybody is born into a family. Each has its own history, therefore, 'our history' is not made by us, but by previous generations. The rise of International migration and the crumbling of family structures, however, only make it harder for descendants to learn about their family history. Inhibited by language and geographical barriers as well as lost connections to the bearers of knowledge, many offspring of migrant families year for answers to questions such as 'Where do I come from?' or 'How did I get here?' Answering these requires re-establishing lost connections and meeting family one previously did not know. This paper illustrates how the juxtaposition of two generations of Chinese Australian migrants' narrative (a 'pioneer migrant' and an 'overseas born Chinese' are vital to piecing together a segment of family history.