Social and Ecological Constraints on Decision Making by Transhumant Pastoralists: A Case Study from the Moroccan Atlas Mountains

Transhumant pastoralism is an important activity in southern Morocco. Migration pattern of transhumant pastoralists can be affected by physical factors (e.g. droughts and diseases) or socioeconomic factors (e.g. schooling options for children and migration costs). We studied the spatio-temporal rangeland usage of the three tribes Ait Mgoun, Ait Zekri, and Ait Toumert in the south-central Atlas region with a two-fold approach. First, we tracked the migration movements of one representative transhumant herd using the Advanced Research and Global Observation Satellite (ARGOS) collars, which record coordinates from satellite signals. Second, we interviewed herders to obtain information about general grazing practices of the respective tribe and to gain more direct information on motivations underlying decisions. For each tribe we observed small-, medium- and large-scale movements. We found that the most important drivers of migration decisions were seasonal fodder availability and weather conditions in combination with herd-specific risk and cost assessment, as well as personal factors. In conclusion, general migration patterns vary in time, both between and within the tribes, but according to a regulatory framework. Moreover, it appears that both the customary rules and its flexible adaptation to physical constraints are generally beneficial in terms of conservation of the arid and semiarid rangeland resources.

Balancing Between the New Family Law and Religious Practices and Its Impact on Moroccan Women＇s Lives

The present paper seeks to shed light on the main factors lying behind the non-implementation of Article 20 of the New Moroccan Family Law reformed in 2004 which is concerned with legal minimum age of marriage for both sexes, 18 years old for both. This study aims at investigating why the number of marriages of young girls continue to increase despite the establishment of the Law. The author takes the region of Fez as a case in point to explore this social behavior in Moroccan society. A qualitative approach has been adopted by interviewing 10 persons including Family Affairs Judges, lawyers and University Professors of Islamic studies at the University of Fez. Added to this, the technique of observation has equally been utilized to have everyday life concrete experiences of young girls ＂marriages＂. It has been argued that a unilateral approach to this social phenomenon cannot succeed to understand the complex nature of this bad social habit that is still predominant among rural areas and marginalized urban districts. A rather global approach taking into account the economic, socio-cultural, and legal dimension of the issue under investigation proves to be much more adequate to explore the intricate nature of this problems in which a number of diverse variables interact. The paper ends up with a conclusion and a number of recommendations on how to reduce this social act.

Architectural and Urban Communication in Social Identity： The Case Study of Agadir Morocco： From Colonial Preponderance to Renaissance Which Social Identity？

This paper proposes the architectural communication as a socio-spatial identification, and a channel for the politico-patrimonial dialogue in a determined territory which is in this case the south Moroccan city of Agadir. By analyzing Agadir＇s urbanistic and architectural content thorough ages, we find ourselves involved in an enthralling and passionate debate concerning two important aspects. The first is the historical temporality of the city＇s architectural and urbanistic changes. In other words, it is the different architectural transformation related to the political transmutations that Agadir has witnessed since the Portugal settlement until the after earthquake of 1960. While the second is about the perception toward the architectural oeuvre deeply settled in the territory and the memory of the city＇s designers. This aspect is linked to the society＇s perception toward the architectural-urban transformations in their territory. In our paper, we are going to focus on two major architectural and urbanistic ages in the history of Agadir. The first period we are going to approach is the architectural and urbanistic features of Agadir during French settlement. The second period is Agadir＇s architectural renaissance after 1960s earthquakes. Since the core of our study is the architectural acts, it is definitely a matter of interpretation related to the philosophical, mental and ideological representation of the city＇s architecture and urbanism either by those who artistically invented Agadir during colonialism or those who reinvented Agadir after 1960s earthquakes. Do urbanism and architecture represent for Agadir, a power, a doctrine or a savoir-faire？ Can we affirm that Agadir＇s architecture is truly reflecting the image of its society？ Is this society in itself immersed sufficiently in its architecture？ Several hypotheses are possible in this research. Nevertheless, the fact that in this paper we use communication as a vehicle to establish a dialogue between arts, politics and socio-ideologic and territorial governance makes us recognize the different bridging relationships between the architectural action, the political and urbanistic content represented in the architectural expression. It also helps us to discover and analyze the ideologies that lead the architects during their conception. Finally, is this architecture which normally must represent the society in tempo-spatial territory admitted by the local citizens？ All these are lines of research we are going to shed light on in this paper.

论早期契丹与唐朝的关系——以新见《李范墓志》为中心

李范墓志出土于西安东郊纺织城,志文关涉早期契丹与唐关系,价值极高。李范为唐初契丹八部君长摩会之子,摩会氏族应出自屡经混合后融入契丹的古乌丸遗部。北齐、隋、唐三朝,摩会祖孙三代世袭契丹八部联盟首领。武德元年和贞观三年,唐朝两度册封摩会,极力笼络契丹八部以期挟制突厥。李范入质显然系契丹邀取唐朝信任之举。贞观七年,摩会去世,李范作为政治弃子被唐朝淹留长安,直至客死。与此同时,唐朝支持逐渐壮大的窟哥掌控契丹,以稳定松漠,经略高句丽。贞观二十二年,唐设松漠都督府并以窟哥为都督,标志着唐与契丹的君臣关系得以巩固。

北方民族政权融入统一国家的基本路径探析——以《唐故左屯卫郎将李公墓志铭》为中心的研究

近年刊布的《唐故左屯卫郎将李公墓志铭》是唐初契丹质子李范的墓志。李范为契丹首领摩会之子,墓志对摩会附唐时间的记载与传世文献不同,应是对李渊起兵之初求援突厥的曲折反映。摩会所统契丹八部在隋唐之际曾臣属突厥,在突厥可汗的安排下协助李渊起兵。虽然摩会在武德元年(618)曾接受李唐封号,但契丹八部联盟却并未因此臣属唐朝,直到贞观二年(628)才真正叛离突厥、归附唐朝。将墓志中李范生前身后情形的描述与传世文献对照,可发现《旧唐书》《辽史》等文献将摩会与窟哥皆归为大贺氏的证据不足,窟哥很可能是在贞观后期发迹的契丹新兴势力,其崛起或与唐征高句丽有关。墓志称李范为“契丹乌丸人”,并不意味着唐人将契丹族源视为乌桓。唐人曾以“乌丸”“鲜卑”“林胡”代指契丹,且有时将契丹与古族名称直接连用,这种记载应属以古喻今的表述手法。据《李范墓志》记载,李范家族缬、毕、摩会三代连续出任契丹八部大蕃长且先后接受北齐、隋、唐的册封,表现出契丹对中原政权较明显的依附性。墓志将契丹八部联盟存在的时间上限提至北齐时期,则有助于从更长时段认识契丹与中原政权的关系。

Clinical observation on moxibustion at Baihui(GV20)plus Tuina for children with postnasal drip syndrome

Objective:To observe the clinical efficacy of moxibustion at Baihui(GV20)plus Tuina(Chinese therapeutic massage)for children with postnasal drip syndrome(PNDS).Methods:A total of 60 cases were divided into an observation group and a control group according to the random number table method,with 30 cases in each group.Cases in the control group received mometasone furoate nasal spray and nasal irrigation with 0.9%normal saline.Cases in the observation group received additional moxibustion at Baihui(GV20)plus Tuina at the head and face.All the cases were treated for four consecutive weeks.The clinical efficacy and traditional Chinese medicine(TCM)symptoms score were compared between the two groups.Results:The total effective rate of the observation group was 93.3%while that of the control group was 70.0%.The difference between the two groups was statistically significant(P<0.05).After treatment,the TCM symptom scores in both groups declined significantly,showing a statistical difference from that before treatment(P<0.05),and the score of the observation group was notably lower than that of the control group(P<0.05).Conclusion:The clinical efficacy of moxibustion at Baihui(GV20)plus Tuina at the head and face on the basis of nasal spray with Western medicine is more significant than that of Western medicine alone for PNDS in children.

Dangerous Frictions： The Condition of Modernity and Its Possible Repair

Whether from a liberal or a radical perspective, the transition to modernity has been hailed not only as a great achievement but as providing the cultural and institutional foundations for a good society. Yet, modernity has been driven by terrible social stsains, immense conflicts, searing social stigmas, and radical exclusion. A satisfactory social theory must conceptualize the dark side of modernity as well as the ligt. This essay identifies nine dangerous frictions inherent in modernity and also defines mechanisms for their possible repair. Critics of modernity have ignored the fact that it does provide self-correcting capacities, though these capacities are never fully developed and never adequately applied.