The island and the world: kinship, friendship and living together in selected writings of Sam Selvon

This article argues that the ethical force of Trinidadian Sam Selvon’s creative writings comes from the particular configuration of living together that he is interested in, both in his Trinidadian novels and his London ones. It reads examples of this living together alongside and in difference that emerges through his focus on the relations between neighbours, friends and lovers, rather than the kinship relations of family. It argues that his works thereby map horizontal zones of attachment and possible solidarities across groupings that reconfigure vertically inscribed genealogical paradigms of belonging to place and each other based on models of historical continuity and inheritance.

Trouble on the Friendship Express?

The Maitreyi (Friendship) Express, the rail service between India and Bangladesh that was restarted recently evoked nostalgia and hopes for stronger ties between the two nations. However, it will take more than a rail link to deal with fears of infiltration by Bangladeshi Muslims that is being used in aggressive political rhetoric.

The experience of friendship, victimization and bullying in children with an autism spectrum disorder: associations with child characteristics and school placement

Children with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may be vulnerable to social isolation and bullying. We measured the friendship, fighting/bullying and victimization experiences of 10–12-year-old children with an ASD (N = 100) using parent, teacher and child self-report. Parent and teacher reports were compared to an IQ-matched group of children with special educational needs (SEN) without ASD (N = 80) and UK population data. Parents and teachers reported a lower prevalence of friendships compared to population norms and to children with SEN without an ASD. Parents but not teachers reported higher levels of victimization than the SEN group. Half of the children with an ASD reported having friendships that involved mutuality. By teacher report children with an ASD who were less socially impaired in mainstream school experienced higher levels of victimization than more socially impaired children; whereas for more socially impaired children victimization did not vary by school placement. Strategies are required to support and improve the social interaction skills of children with an ASD, to enable them to develop and maintain meaningful peer friendships and avoid victimization.

Diet and herding strategies in a changing environment: stable isotope analysis of Bronze Age and Late Antique skeletal remains from Ya'amūn, Jordan

Carbon and nitrogen stable isotope ratios of 45 human and 23 faunal bone collagen samples were measured to study human diet and the management of domestic herbivores in past Jordan, contrasting skeletal remains from the Middle and Late Bronze Age and the Late Roman and Byzantine periods from the site of Ya'amūn near Irbid. The isotope data demonstrate that the management of the sheep and goats changed over time, with the earlier animals consuming more plants from semi-arid habitats, possibly because of transhumant herding strategies. The isotope data for fish presented here are the first from archaeological contexts from the Southern Levant. Although fish of diverse provenance was available at the site, human diet was predominately based on terrestrial resources and there was little dietary variability within each time-period. Isotopic variation between humans from different time-periods can mostly be explained by ‘baseline shifts’ in the available food sources; however, it is suggested that legumes may have played a more significant role in Middle and Late Bronze Age diet than later on.

Unraveling an antique subduction process from metamorphic basement around Medellin city, Central Cordillera of Colombian Andes

In the surroundings of Caldas and El Retiro cities (Colombia) metamorphic rocks derived from basic and pelitic protoliths comprise the Caldas amphibole schist and the Ancon schist respectively. Subordinated metamorphosed granite bodies (La Miel gneiss) are associated to these units, and The El Retiro amphibolites, migmatites and granulites crops out eastwards of these units, separated by shear zones. The Caldas amphibole schist and the Ancon schist protoliths could have been formed in a distal marine reduced environment and amalgamated to the South American continent in an apparent Triassic subduction event. The El Retiro rocks are akin to a continental basement and possible include impure metasediments of continental margin, whose metamorphism originated granulite facies rocks and migmatites as a result of the anatexis of quartz-feldspathic rocks. The metamorphism was accompanied by intense deformation, which has juxtaposed both migmatites and granulite blocks. Afterward, heat and fluid circulation associated with the emplacement of minor igneous intrusions resulted in intense fluid-rock interaction, variations in the grain size of the minerals and, especially, intense retrograde metamorphic re-equilibrium. Thermobarometric estimations for the Caldas amphibole schist indicate metamorphism in the Barrovian amphibolite fades. The metamorphic path is counter-clockwise, but retrograde evolution could not be precisely defined. The pressures of the metamorphism in these rocks range from 6.3 to 13.5 kbar, with narrow temperature ranging from 550 to 630 degrees C. For the Ancon schist metapelites the P-T path is also counter-clockwise, with a temperature increase evidenced by the occurrence of sillimanite and the cooling by later kyanite. The progressive metamorphism event occurred at pressures of 7.6-7.2 kbar and temperatures of 645-635 degrees C for one sample and temperature between 500 and 600 degrees C under constant pressure of 6 kbar. The temperature estimated for these rocks varies between 400 and 555 degrees C at pressures of 5-6 kbar in the retrograde metamorphic path. The El Retiro rocks evidence strong decompression with narrow variation in temperature, showing pressure values between 8.7 and 2.7 kbar at temperatures of 740-633 degrees C. These metamorphic fragments of the basement in the Central Cordillera of the Colombian Andes could represent a close relationship with an antique subduction zone. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Friendship as a relationship infiltration tactic during human mate poaching.

Previous research has characterized human mate poaching as a prevalent alternative mating strategy that entails risks and costs typically not present during general romantic courtship and attraction. This study is the first to experimentally investigate friendship between a poacher and his/her target as a risk mitigation tactic. Participants (N = 382) read a vignette that differed by whether the poacher was male/female and whether the poacher and poached were friends/acquaintances. Participants assessed the likelihood of the poacher being successful and incurring costs. They also rated the poacher and poached on several personality and mate characteristics. Results revealed that friendship increased the perceived likelihood of success of a mate poaching attempt and decreased the perceived likelihood of several risks typically associated with mate poaching. However, friend-poachers were rated less favorably than acquaintance-poachers across measures of warmth, nurturance, and friendliness. These findings are interpreted using an evolutionary perspective. This study complements and builds upon previous findings and is the first experimental investigation of tactics poachers may use to mitigate risks inherent in mate poaching.

Friendship as a Relationship Infiltration Tactic during Human Mate Poaching

Previous research has characterized human mate poaching as a prevalent alternative mating strategy that entails risks and costs typically not present during general romantic courtship and attraction. This study is the first to experimentally investigate friendship between a poacher and his/her target as a risk mitigation tactic. Participants (N = 382) read a vignette that differed by whether the poacher was male/female and whether the poacher and poached were friends/acquaintances. Participants assessed the likelihood of the poacher being successful and incurring costs. They also rated the poacher and poached on several personality and mate characteristics. Results revealed that friendship increased the perceived likelihood of success of a mate poaching attempt and decreased the perceived likelihood of several risks typically associated with mate poaching. However, friend-poachers were rated less favorably than acquaintance-poachers across measures of warmth, nurturance, and friendliness. These findings are interpreted using an evolutionary perspective. This study complements and builds upon previous findings and is the first experimental investigation of tactics poachers may use to mitigate risks inherent in mate poaching.