The contemporary militaries have an increasingly high number of women than in the previous years. This is a positive development that resonates with the democratic dispensations. Despite of some resistance from certai...The contemporary militaries have an increasingly high number of women than in the previous years. This is a positive development that resonates with the democratic dispensations. Despite of some resistance from certain quarters of the society, overall women＇s presence is becoming acknowledged. This increase has a potential to make a positive impact on peacekeeping missions. Their utility is enhanced by their characteristics that are lamented for their incongruence to combat operations. The constructive and reconciliatory nature of peacekeeping mission makes them an important asset. However, their optimal productivity is threatened by the incessant rape that they experience from both their adversaries and the own force. This creates a stressor that compromises their performance. The situation is aggravated by the lack of support after their ordeal. The organisational culture and leadership are not making women＇s presence in operations tenable. Their experience post-rape is characterised by rejection and lack of support from the salient others. This situation requires to be changed urgently to provide a sense of security and care for women. Policies and practices need to be modified to allow optimal performance from the most productive group in the military force.展开更多
This paper aims to reflect upon the approximations between literature and history in Pat Barker＇s novel Regeneration （1991）. The novel fictionalizes the conversations held by three war veterans who wrote and fought...This paper aims to reflect upon the approximations between literature and history in Pat Barker＇s novel Regeneration （1991）. The novel fictionalizes the conversations held by three war veterans who wrote and fought in the First World War （Wilfred Owen, Siegfried Sassoon, and Robert Graves） during their stay at Craiglockart＇s Hospital--a war hospital for the treatment of shell-shocked officers, in Scotland. The paper addresses more emphatically how traditional male and female roles are renegotiated in Barker＇s metafiction. Finally, it provides some considerations on British women war writing of the First World War, a tradition in which Regeneration is rooted and emerges as a remarkable contemporary example.展开更多
During the 11th Five-year Plan （2006-2010）, the total fertility rate of the mainland of China was 1.481 and was stable with a slight decline, exhibiting a spatial pattern of moderately low fertility in the central a...During the 11th Five-year Plan （2006-2010）, the total fertility rate of the mainland of China was 1.481 and was stable with a slight decline, exhibiting a spatial pattern of moderately low fertility in the central and western regions, very low fertility in the east and extremely low fertility in the northeast. Except for a rebound in a few provinces and regions with extremely low fertility rates, the ratio of actual fertility rates to policy fertility rates is still falling. The reduced fertility rate is mainly driven by development, notably the proportion of the total population represented by the exuberantly fertile women of child-bearing age and their greater urbanization, growing level of non-agricultural employment and outflow from rural areas, as well as the assimilative effect of urban production, lifestyles and culturalconcepts upon the agricultural population. Development has catalyzed an irreversible trend of declining fertility; existing fertility policy has proven insufficient to keep fertility rates stable at reasonably low levels. Policy-based rebounds may emerge in urban areas and the east and northeast, where family planning policy has been better implemented; on the other hand, a non-policy-based rebound may have been released. In the central and western rural areas, multiple births occur on average among only 4.12 percent of the younger generation of women. As fertility policy is adjusted and improved, fertility rebounds in transitional fertility policy adjustment can be effectively regulated through a gradual strategy which will not provoke a sharp rebound. The time is ripe for China to conduct a nationally unified adjustment of the existing fertility policy.展开更多
While our understanding of male reproductive strategies is informed by extensive investigations into endocrine mechanisms, the proximate mechanisms by which females compete for mates and adjust reproduction to social ...While our understanding of male reproductive strategies is informed by extensive investigations into endocrine mechanisms, the proximate mechanisms by which females compete for mates and adjust reproduction to social environment remains enigmatic. We set out to uncover endocrine correlates of mate choice, social environment, and reproductive investment in female red-backed fairy-wrens Malurus melanocephalus. In this socially monogamous, yet highly sexually promiscuous species, females experience discrete variation in the phenotype of their mates, which vary in both plumage signals and level of paternal care, and in the composition of their breeding groups, which consist of either the pair alone or with an additional cooperative auxiliary; fe- male investment varies according to these social parameters. We found that androgen, estrogen, and glucorticoid levels varied with reproductive stage, with highest androgen and estrogen concentrations during nest construction and highest corticosterone concentrations during the pre-breeding stage. These stage-dependent patterns did not vary with male phenotype or auxiliary presence, though androgen levels during pre-breeding mate selection were lower in females obtaining red/black mates than those obtaining brown mates. We found no evidence that androgen, estrogen, or corticosterone levels during the fertile period were re- lated to extra-pair young （EPY） frequency. This study demonstrates clear changes in steroid levels with reproductive stage, though it found little support for variation with social environment. We suggest hormonal responsiveness to social factors may be physiologically constrained in ways that are bypassed through exogenous hormone manipulations.展开更多
文摘The contemporary militaries have an increasingly high number of women than in the previous years. This is a positive development that resonates with the democratic dispensations. Despite of some resistance from certain quarters of the society, overall women＇s presence is becoming acknowledged. This increase has a potential to make a positive impact on peacekeeping missions. Their utility is enhanced by their characteristics that are lamented for their incongruence to combat operations. The constructive and reconciliatory nature of peacekeeping mission makes them an important asset. However, their optimal productivity is threatened by the incessant rape that they experience from both their adversaries and the own force. This creates a stressor that compromises their performance. The situation is aggravated by the lack of support after their ordeal. The organisational culture and leadership are not making women＇s presence in operations tenable. Their experience post-rape is characterised by rejection and lack of support from the salient others. This situation requires to be changed urgently to provide a sense of security and care for women. Policies and practices need to be modified to allow optimal performance from the most productive group in the military force.
文摘This paper aims to reflect upon the approximations between literature and history in Pat Barker＇s novel Regeneration （1991）. The novel fictionalizes the conversations held by three war veterans who wrote and fought in the First World War （Wilfred Owen, Siegfried Sassoon, and Robert Graves） during their stay at Craiglockart＇s Hospital--a war hospital for the treatment of shell-shocked officers, in Scotland. The paper addresses more emphatically how traditional male and female roles are renegotiated in Barker＇s metafiction. Finally, it provides some considerations on British women war writing of the First World War, a tradition in which Regeneration is rooted and emerges as a remarkable contemporary example.
基金the partial result of the National Social Science Fund of China titled"Population Development Simulation and Alternative Fertility Policy"(No.08BRK009)
文摘During the 11th Five-year Plan （2006-2010）, the total fertility rate of the mainland of China was 1.481 and was stable with a slight decline, exhibiting a spatial pattern of moderately low fertility in the central and western regions, very low fertility in the east and extremely low fertility in the northeast. Except for a rebound in a few provinces and regions with extremely low fertility rates, the ratio of actual fertility rates to policy fertility rates is still falling. The reduced fertility rate is mainly driven by development, notably the proportion of the total population represented by the exuberantly fertile women of child-bearing age and their greater urbanization, growing level of non-agricultural employment and outflow from rural areas, as well as the assimilative effect of urban production, lifestyles and culturalconcepts upon the agricultural population. Development has catalyzed an irreversible trend of declining fertility; existing fertility policy has proven insufficient to keep fertility rates stable at reasonably low levels. Policy-based rebounds may emerge in urban areas and the east and northeast, where family planning policy has been better implemented; on the other hand, a non-policy-based rebound may have been released. In the central and western rural areas, multiple births occur on average among only 4.12 percent of the younger generation of women. As fertility policy is adjusted and improved, fertility rebounds in transitional fertility policy adjustment can be effectively regulated through a gradual strategy which will not provoke a sharp rebound. The time is ripe for China to conduct a nationally unified adjustment of the existing fertility policy.
基金Acknowledgement We sincerely appreciate the commendable field efforts of a large number of field technicians who assisted with data collection during the course of this study, as well as logistical support provided by B. Congdon, T. Daniel, J. Lindsay and D. Westcott. We also thank members of the Schwabl and Webster labs for their valuable input throughout. Thanks also to Becca Sail＇an and Maren Vitousek for the invitation to contribute to this volume. This research was conducted with appropriate permits and permissions from the governments of Queensland and Australia, and material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation （USA） through grants to MSW and HS and a graduate traineeship to DGB.
文摘While our understanding of male reproductive strategies is informed by extensive investigations into endocrine mechanisms, the proximate mechanisms by which females compete for mates and adjust reproduction to social environment remains enigmatic. We set out to uncover endocrine correlates of mate choice, social environment, and reproductive investment in female red-backed fairy-wrens Malurus melanocephalus. In this socially monogamous, yet highly sexually promiscuous species, females experience discrete variation in the phenotype of their mates, which vary in both plumage signals and level of paternal care, and in the composition of their breeding groups, which consist of either the pair alone or with an additional cooperative auxiliary; fe- male investment varies according to these social parameters. We found that androgen, estrogen, and glucorticoid levels varied with reproductive stage, with highest androgen and estrogen concentrations during nest construction and highest corticosterone concentrations during the pre-breeding stage. These stage-dependent patterns did not vary with male phenotype or auxiliary presence, though androgen levels during pre-breeding mate selection were lower in females obtaining red/black mates than those obtaining brown mates. We found no evidence that androgen, estrogen, or corticosterone levels during the fertile period were re- lated to extra-pair young （EPY） frequency. This study demonstrates clear changes in steroid levels with reproductive stage, though it found little support for variation with social environment. We suggest hormonal responsiveness to social factors may be physiologically constrained in ways that are bypassed through exogenous hormone manipulations.
