La politique linguistique et l'avenir du Francais au Mexique:etude du cas de l'universite de Veracruz

In a linguistic context where it seems the entire world is only interested in learning English, it is worth considering the idea of whether French still has a place in Mexico. In spite of the predominance of English, there is nevertheless a feeling that French remains alive in Mexico, and indeed in certain areas has retained its strength and appeal. This hypothesis was to put to the test by exploring the current linguistic environment prevalent in the state of Veracruz. An investigation in the form of questionnaires and interviews of all those connected to the teaching of French (including students, teachers and employees and directors of language schools) shows that the desire of the Mexican government of promoting English for everyone is not necessarily consistent with the desire and expectations of the general populace. This in turn suggest the need of adopting a policy that enables us not only to take into consideration what people seem to be telling us regarding the learning of foreign learning but also of what they are not telling us. If the teaching and learning of French as a foreign language remains strong in Veracruz, it is explained much more by the long and friendly relationship that people in the state have had with French people (and their culture) than it is by any instrumental needs of learning their language. This is seen in the fact that students here consistently describe their motivation for learning French from an emotional or affective standpoint rather than from professional one. It seems that the ties between the Mexican and French people remain solid. Another interesting characteristic of students of French in Veracruz is the positive attitude they seem to have regarding languages in general, which in turn enables them to take further advantage of the benefits made available from globalization. In reality, there exists no rivalry between French and English and therefore it is unnecessary to adopt measures that would address such struggle. It is however a matter of great urgency that authorities in the arenas of politics and academia take a closer look at the policies they design regarding the study of foreign languages in general, and that they consider, specifically, a wholly alternative to the one language model of teaching and learning of foreign language – in this case English-, a model that for all intents and purposes has failed. In the midst of a globalized world, and during this current period of increased linguistic activity, the aforementioned assertions serve not only to support my initial hypothesis, but also to help shake off the dust of some out-dated belief systems and lay down the framework for a new, better informed and well thought-out policy of foreign languages planning.

Ireland:from racism without ‘race’, to ‘racism without racists’

The Irish have been relentlessly racialized in their diaspora settings, yet little historical work engages with “race” to understand Irish history on the island of Ireland. This article provides an interpretation of two key periods of Irish history—the second half of the sixteenth century and the period since 1996—through the lens of racialization. I argue that Ireland's history is exceptional in its capacity to reveal key elements of the history of the development of race as an idea and a set of practices. The English colonization of Ireland was underpinned by a form of racism reliant on linking bodies to unchanging hierarchically stacked cultures, without reference to physical differences. For example, the putative unproductiveness of the Gaelic Irish not only placed them at a lower level of civilization than the industrious English but it also authorizes increasingly draconian ways of dealing with the Irish populace. The period since 1996, during which Ireland has become a country of immigration, illustrates how racism has undergone a transformation into the object of official state policies to eliminate it. Yet it flourishes as part of a globalized set of power relations that has brought immigrants to the developing Irish economy. In response to immigration the state simultaneously exerts neoliberal controls and reduces pathways to citizenship through residence while passing antiracism legislation. Today, the indigenous nomadic Travellers and asylum seekers are the ones that are seen as pathologically unproductive. Irish history thus demonstrates that race is not only about color but also very much about culture. It also illustrates notable elements of the West's journey from racism without race to racism without racists.

The dynamics of movement: Toward a definition of a Latin American identity in contemporary fiction

Concha Meléndez opened up a venue for the discussion of a Latin American identity in works of literature when she implied that the great Latin American novel would gestate in the cities, the space where the typical Latin American would achieve an ideal state of consciousness and intellectual capabilities. ^ Her point of view mirrored nineteenth-century debate on a Latin American identity. Similar to her viewpoint, intellectuals of this period viewed the cities and their inhabitants of European extraction, as the ideal spaces and people on which an identity could be defined. However, the present state of urban and rural areas in Latin America demonstrates that there is no such clear-cut division of city and countryside or of their inhabitants. The dynamics of movement, from rural to urban areas, of people of diverse ethnic, and socioeconomic backgrounds, make it difficult to uphold descriptors of space, race, or culture, as sole descriptors of an identity. ^ A study of five twentieth-century novels from North and South America, La muerte de Artemio Cruz (1962), Hasta no verte Jesús mío (1969), Los ríos profundos (1981), La casa de los espíritus (1982), and Los años con Laura Díaz (1999) reveal that the dynamism of movement, between countryside, and cities of peoples of distinct races and social backgrounds, hamper the definition of a collective identity in specific spaces. As characters move, they are constantly reconfiguring their identities and creating tensions and conflicts that intensify social, racial and economic divisions in society. This makes it difficult to ascribe permanent identity descriptors, much less define a collective identity. ^ However, as writers of fiction address the malaise in Latin American societies, they have unearthed descriptors such as history, economy, land, and movement that advance a collective definition of self in these societies. Additionally, female characters have been granted a new identity. The overwhelming evidence in this study points to ‘land’ as the prime factor in the identity dilemma and suggests that a definition will not be possible until the vast landless populace is granted a space they can call home. Only then, perhaps, will Meléndez novel surface. ^

Domestic and foreign isolationism in an interdependent world

Since Plato's Republic and Aristotle's Politics established the basis for Western political thought almost 2500 years ago, the discipline of international relations has evolved substantially. However, most of the literature revolves around state interaction within the system, and there is little discussion of countries that opt out of the international states system and become isolationist. Given the interdependent nature of the modern international system, this study elaborates on domestic and foreign isolationism by expounding upon the reasons and consequences of states opting out of the international system. The empirical case studies utilized to explore isolationism are Albania, North Korea, and Burma. By empirically verifying the components, motivations, and consequences of isolationism in an interdependent world, this study provides insight into why and how states resist engagement with the global socioeconomic and political state system. ^ Using historical, comparative, and inductive analysis, this study explains why states choose to isolate themselves both domestically and internationally. Specifically, comparative historical analysis highlights isolationism as a concept and practice. This study maintains that extreme forms of self-imposed isolation in an interdependent international system, while perhaps serving the immediate interests of a ruling regime, harms the long-term national interests of the state and the populace. Although the leadership in an isolationist state gains a significant amount of power and control over the people within its borders, the state as a whole experiences profound negative effects. In the long term, a state loses power, stability, prestige, and suffers a decline in overall economic prosperity. ^ States that withdraw from the international system, therefore, provide insight into an unexplored area of international relations when considering notions of rationality, self-interest, power politics, cooperation, and alliances. In short, isolationism in an interdependent state system goes against the logic of the modern society/system of states, resulting in deleterious consequences to the wellbeing of the state. ^

The peopling of the Bahamas: A phylogeographical perspective

During the past 500 years, the Bahamas has been influenced by a wide array of settlers, including but not limited to, the Arawak Indians, Eleutherian Adventurers, British Loyalists, Creole slaves, liberated Africans as well as Chinese, Greek, Jewish, Lebanese, Jamaican and Haitian migrants. To date, however, only a few reports analyzing the genetic makeup and population dynamics of the Bahamas have been published, making this work pivotal in the endeavor to ascertain the genetic ancestry of these groups. As such, the current investigation was undertaken to genetically characterize six of the more densely populated islands throughout the Northwest (Grand Bahama and Abaco) and Central (Eleuthera, Exuma, Long Island and New Providence) Bahamas using different forensic marker systems. When autosomal STR markers are employed, the Bahamian collections were all found to receive differential contributions from the African, European, East Asian and Native American collections utilized in the analyses. Similar findings were also observed for two other Afro-Caribbean populations, Haiti and Jamaica, although the latter populace was found to share a greater proportion of its autosomal component with non-African sources than the former. On the contrary, analysis of the six Bahamian collections using high-resolution Y-chromosome markers identifies genetic signals emanating exclusively from Africans and Europeans, but this is likely the result of smaller sample sizes collected from each island and/or sex-biased gene flow from East Asian and Native American groups.

From the Cover: Arsenite Uncouples Mitochondrial Respiration and Induces a Warburg-like Effect in Caenorhabditis elegans.

Millions of people worldwide are chronically exposed to arsenic through contaminated drinking water. Despite decades of research studying the carcinogenic potential of arsenic, the mechanisms by which arsenic causes cancer and other diseases remain poorly understood. Mitochondria appear to be an important target of arsenic toxicity. The trivalent arsenical, arsenite, can induce mitochondrial reactive oxygen species production, inhibit enzymes involved in energy metabolism, and induce aerobic glycolysis in vitro, suggesting that metabolic dysfunction may be important in arsenic-induced disease. Here, using the model organism Caenorhabditis elegans and a novel metabolic inhibition assay, we report an in vivo induction of aerobic glycolysis following arsenite exposure. Furthermore, arsenite exposure induced severe mitochondrial dysfunction, including altered pyruvate metabolism; reduced steady-state ATP levels, ATP-linked respiration and spare respiratory capacity; and increased proton leak. We also found evidence that induction of autophagy is an important protective response to arsenite exposure. Because these results demonstrate that mitochondria are an important in vivo target of arsenite toxicity, we hypothesized that deficiencies in mitochondrial electron transport chain genes, which cause mitochondrial disease in humans, would sensitize nematodes to arsenite. In agreement with this, nematodes deficient in electron transport chain complexes I, II, and III, but not ATP synthase, were sensitive to arsenite exposure, thus identifying a novel class of gene-environment interactions that warrant further investigation in the human populace.

Zombie pedagogies: the problems with using the undead in public pedagogies for emergencies

The well-known Hollywood ‘zombie’ genre has recently begun to invade programs and training courses in disaster control and emergency prevention. The author explores the consequences of a transfer of an entertainment metaphor into real US military policies. Is it possible that this implies attuning the populace to catastrophies by means of edutainment? And does this, as Preston argues, in some ways ‘de-humanize’ one’s adversaries? The article points to a fatal dialectics and disturbing elements of a post-ethical disposition. This results not only in some sort of inevitable legitimation of the ‘war on terror’ leaving behind all tenets of civil society. It also permits, subcutaneously, to act without restrictions against certain groups as if they were ‘undeads’.