Search Results (36)

The Luhua chicken is an outstanding local breed in China that has been placed under conservation due to the impact of specialized breeding and the widespread adoption of commercial varieties. As such, this study analyzed reproductive traits across three consecutive generations and utilized whole-genome resequencing data from 60 Luhua chickens to assess conservation efficacy through genetic diversity, run of homozygosity (ROH) distribution, kinship, and population structure so as to better conserve the breed. The results show that, across generations, the body weight at first egg increased, the age at first egg was delayed, and the egg weight at first laying increased. No significant variations were found in the body weight at 300 d or the total egg number. The key genetic parameters of the polymorphism information content (PIC), expected heterozygosity (HE), observed heterozygosity (HO), and mean identical-by-state (IBS) distance were 0.234, 0.351, 0.277, and 0.782, respectively. The majority of ROHs ranged from 0.5 to 1 Mb, and the inbreeding coefficient based on ROHs was calculated at 0.021. The findings reveal that these traits remained unchanged across the three generations. Our research suggests that optimizing the mating plan of Luhua chickens is essential to minimize inbreeding risk. Furthermore, the methodology applied in this study provides a valuable reference for the conservation monitoring of other indigenous chicken breeds. Full article

Interactions between First Nations and non-Indigenous Australians have long been shaped by notions of Western authority and First Nations inferiority, both culturally and biologically. From invasion to the present day, forced removals and intergenerational trauma have deeply affected First Nations Australians, particularly through the operations of interacting colonial systems, including child removals and placements. Throughout the 20th century, systematic child removals led to the Stolen Generations, a tragic example of power imbalances, paternalism, and Western ideals, perpetuating trauma across generations. This article examines the context of First Nations removals by the state under the lies of benevolence, exposing the evolution of the colonial system and the systematic dislocation of culture and identity. It highlights the social, legal, and political factors that enabled removal practices and their enduring consequences, including the legacy of forced child separations and cultural erasure. This article argues that policies of absorption and assimilation served to further isolate children from their families, communities, and kinship networks. In doing so, it contends that the systematic disruption of First Nations communities is part of an ongoing process of subjugation, continuing the colonial agenda of cultural and familial disintegration. Full article

This article introduces the Third Space of Indian child welfare to theorize how Indigenous nations simultaneously engage and disrupt settler legal systems while building sovereign, care-based alternatives. Drawing from legal analysis, Indigenous political thought, and sociohistorical synthesis, I trace the historical continuity from boarding schools to today’s foster care removals, showing how child welfare operates as a colonial apparatus of family separation. In response, Native nations enact governance through three interrelated strategies: strategic legal engagement, kinship-based care, and tribally controlled family collectives. Building on Bruyneel’s theory of third space sovereignty, Simpson’s nested sovereignty, and Lightfoot’s global Indigenous rights framework, I conceptualize the Third Space as a dynamic field of Indigenous governance that transcends binary settler logics. These practices constitute sovereign abolitionist praxis. They reclaim kinship, resist carceral systems, and build collective futures beyond settler rule. Thus, rather than treating the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) as a federal safeguard, I argue that tribes have repurposed ICWA as a legal and political vehicle for relational governance. This reframing challenges dominant crisis-based narratives and positions Indigenous child welfare as the center of a “global Indigenous politics of care” with implications for theories of sovereignty, family, and abolitionist futures across disciplines, geographies, and social groups. The article concludes by reflecting on the broader implications of the Third Space for other Indigenous and minoritized communities navigating state control and asserting self-determined care. Full article

Background/Objectives: Kinship inference is commonly adopted in various forensic applications, but previous studies have often lacked precision. Methods: In this study, a new method for the nomenclature of kinship types, i.e., kinship chain (KC), was proposed, and then, six types of identity by state (IBS) scores were calculated for simulated and real families using four types of markers. Finally, several Bayesian network (BN)-based classifiers were constructed to investigate the efficiency of the kinship inference. Results: A total of 7, 22, 58, and 3 KCs were obtained for common first-, second-, and third-degree relatives and unrelated pairs, respectively. High accuracies could be achieved in distinguishing between related and unrelated pairs after combining the four types of genetic markers, with an accuracy of >99.99% for all 7 KCs of first-degree relationships and ~99% for 14 out of 22 KCs of second-degree relatives. When comparing relationships of the same degree, the accuracies were 99.28%, 42.31%, and 15.82% for first-, second-, and third-degree relationships, respectively. When it came to differentiating unspecific relationships, the overall accuracy was over 80%. All the results were validated on real family data. Conclusions: With the new nomenclature method of kinship types and the combination of autosomal and non-autosomal genetic markers, kinship inference can be realized with high accuracy and precision, which will be helpful in complex forensic cases, such as the identification of mass disaster victims. Full article

The COVID-19 pandemic and associated lockdowns in sub-Saharan Africa led to significant social, economic, and health shocks, raising the need for social protection. While the adaptation of formal systems of social protection in response to these shocks has been investigated, gaps remain in understanding how informal social protection (ISP) systems were reconfigured. Taking the ISP systems of older adults as an entry point, and through the lens of ubuntu, an African moral philosophy that underpins ISP systems, this paper synthesises evidence on the ISP systems of older adults prior to and during the COVID-19 pandemic (2019–2024). It highlights shifts that were experienced within these systems amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Evidence reveals pre-existing barriers for older adults to engage in ISP networks prior to the pandemic. The pandemic context enabled older adults to re-integrate and participate in reciprocal exchanges within kinship and community networks. However, the unique pandemic circumstances revealed the additional vulnerabilities of ISP systems, highlighting the need to strengthen state-led interventions to reduce reliance on ISP systems. Opportunities and social policy considerations to reimagine care for older adults in a post-COVID-19 world are discussed. Full article

This study analyzes the award-winning documentary film Searching for Rodakis, directed by Kerem Soyyilmaz, produced in 2023. The aim of this study is the historic comprehension and analysis of this filmic narrative in the field of social–semiotic literacy and its utilization in historical studies for approaching issues of conflict in modern history, otherness, collective experience and trauma, and collective memory. The research material is the documentary Searching for Rodakis (produced by Denmark, Turkey 2023; screenplay/director, Kerem Soyyilmaz; duration, 57’), which received the following awards: Adana Golden Boll FF 2023 Turkey | Best Documentary, Thessaloniki International Doc. Festival 2023 Greece, Greek Film Festival Los Angeles 2023 USA, and Istanbul Documentary Days 2023 Turkey. As regards the historic context, the year of production, 2023, coincides with the 100th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Lausanne, where Turkey’s current borders were set and the “population exchange” legally sealed, i.e., the violent expulsion of 400,000 Muslims, citizens of Greece, many of whom spoke only Greek, and 200,000 Orthodox citizens of Turkey, who in the majority spoke Turkish. At the same time, the Treaty of Lausanne ratified and finalized the expulsion of approximately one million Orthodox who were forced to leave the Ottoman Empire, as well as 120,000 Muslims who had fled Greece since the beginning of the Balkan Wars (1912–1913). About two million people were deported and lost their citizenship and property, in the context of “national homogeneity” (which connotes an ethnic cleansing), with the official states ignoring the criticisms of lawyers and academics who spoke of violations of constitutional rights. Mohammedan Greeks, estimated at around 190,000 as early as 1914, based on ecclesiastical statistics in the Pontus region, did not receive attention from the provisions of the Treaty of Lausanne, even though linguistically and culturally (origin, customs, culture and traditions) they did not differ in any way from the Orthodox Greeks. In Turkey, there was general indifference to the thousands of desperate people who arrived, with the exception of a few academics and the Lausanne Exchange Foundation. The filmic scenario is as follows: as a Greek tombstone of unknown origin is discovered underneath the floorboards in an old village house in Turkey, an almost forgotten story from the country’s creation unravels—the forced population exchange between Greece and Turkey in 1923. The engraved Greek letters tell of a woman, Chrysoula Rodaki, who died in 1887. Thus the search for her descendants begins. It leads director Kerem Soyyilmaz to local archives, where his own family’s role in history is laid bare; to abandoned ghost towns, and through the memories of older villagers—all while Soyyilmaz meets massive support for his quest from Greeks on the other side of the border. The stone becomes a portal to the past—and for a while, the trauma becomes redeemed when the previous owners of the village house return. Searching for Rodakis is a movie that reconnects people, culture, and the stories that were discarded in order to build a strong, nationalist state—told through the director’s personal experiences. The research questions, as they arise from the cinematographic material itself, are as follows: How is the historical memory of traumatic events of the previous century, such as the exchange of populations according the Treaty of Lausanne, recorded in the cinematographic narrative? What are the historical sources? To what extent did the origin, ethnicity, and geographical location of the narrators as participants influence the preservation of historical memory and the historical research? What are the criteria of the approach of the creator, and what are the criteria of the participants? Methodologically, we apply historic and socio-semiotic analyses in the field of public and digital history. The results: The types of historical sources found in filmic public discourse include the oral narration of testimonies, of experiences and of memories, as well as the director’s historical research in state archives, the material cultural objects, and the director’s digital research. Thus, historic thematic categories occur, such as the specific persons and actions in Turkey/Greece, actions on-site and in online research, and the types of historical sources, such as oral testimonies, research in archives, and objects of material culture. Sub-themes such as childhood, localities and kinship also emerge. These cinematic recordings of biographical oral narratives as historical and sociological material help us understand the political ideologies of the specific period, between the years 1919 and 1923. The multimodal film material is analyzed to provide testimonies of oral and digital history; it is utilized to approach the historical reality of “otherness”, seeking dialogue in cross-border history in order to identify differences, but above all the historic and cultural similarities against sterile stereotypes. The historic era and the historic geography of the Greek and Turkish national histories concern us for research and teaching purposes a hundred years after the Treaty of Lausanne which set the official borders of the countries. Full article

Multi-hop reasoning provides a means for inferring indirect relationships and missing information from knowledge graphs (KGs). Reinforcement learning (RL) was recently employed for multi-hop reasoning. Although RL-based methods provide explainability, they face challenges such as sparse rewards, spurious paths, large action spaces, and long training and running times. In this study, we present a novel approach that combines KG embeddings and RL strategies for multi-hop reasoning called path-based multi-hop reasoning (PMHR). We address the issues of sparse rewards and spurious paths by incorporating a well-designed reward function that combines soft rewards with rule-based rewards. The rewards are adjusted based on the target entity and the path to it. Furthermore, we perform action filtering and utilize the vectors of entities and relations acquired through KG embeddings to initialize the environment, thereby significantly reducing the runtime. Experiments involving a comprehensive performance evaluation, efficiency analysis, ablation studies, and a case study were performed. The experimental results on benchmark datasets demonstrate the effectiveness of PMHR in improving KG reasoning accuracy while preserving interpretability. Compared to existing state-of-the-art models, PMHR achieved Hit@1 improvements of 0.63%, 2.02%, and 3.17% on the UMLS, Kinship, and NELL-995 datasets, respectively. PMHR provides not only improved reasoning accuracy and explainability but also optimized computational efficiency, thereby offering a robust solution for multi-hop reasoning. Full article

Background: Caring for dependent people is an intense task that leads family caregivers to suffer physical or mental pathologies. Resilience is a protective factor that makes an individual more resistant to adverse events. Some characteristics of the caregiver or the care provided predispose the caregiver to be less resilient. Knowing these characteristics will allow us to detect vulnerable caregivers. Aim: The aim of this study was to explore the factors associated with caregiver resilience and establish a predictive model, including the relationship between preparedness, burden, resilience, and anxiety. Materials and Methods: The study design was descriptive, observational, and cross-sectional, with purposive sampling. The sample included 172 family caregivers of care-dependent patients in Spain. Questionnaires were administered to assess caregiver resilience, anxiety, burden, and the preparedness of care-dependent patients. Correlation, univariate, and multiple linear regression analyses were performed to identify the factors associated with resilience. Results: We found that there is a correlation between resilience, preparation, and burden. Factors related to resilience include age, the caregiver’s health status, kinship, childcare, and state aid granted. Caregiver preparedness is the factor that most predicts caregiver resilience in our model. Caregivers with high levels of resilience also demonstrated high levels of preparedness and experienced less burden than those with low levels of resilience. Conclusions: These findings emphasize the relevance of improving the preparation of family caregivers to increase their resilience and, at the same time, the quality of care provided. Full article

This article explores the recent rise in the use of self-identification as a key element of legitimacy in contemporary claims to Indigeneity. Emphasizing self-identification as a central dynamic of all identity-making in contemporary nation-states, the article argues nonetheless that this element of identity is insufficient for making ethical claims to Indigeneity. Emphasizing instead the importance of ongoing Indigenous relationality (i.e., kinship), it argues that genealogical databases potentially exacerbate the potential to engage in non-relational forms of belonging that undermine Indigenous communities’ and nations’ autonomy in defining the boundaries and contours of their citizenship. I undertake this argument in three broad parts. Part one undertakes a selective discussion of sociologist Stuart Hall’s conceptualization of identity, highlighting what I regard as two relevant elements key to his identity-making framework. Part two then undertakes a brief discussion of Geonpul scholar Aileen Moreton-Robinson’s discussion of white possessiveness as a useful lens for framing the growing self-Indigenization/Pretendianism literature as variegated examples of analyzing its practice; and finally, part three explores the potential of genealogical databases to encourage possessive/non-relational forms of identity-making, what I term here “inert kinship”. The article then concludes with a brief discussion regarding how genealogical databases might be used ethically with respect to claiming Indigenous belonging, and why this is key to the upholding of Indigenous sovereignty. Full article

In the global public health discourse, involving men in maternal and neonatal health is regarded as crucial for positive outcomes in both health and development. In South Africa, health interventions designed to promote male partner involvement among low-income indigenous populations have been framed within social constructivist notions of masculinities and have produced mixed outcomes. This has necessitated calls to explore alternative approaches, including the need to decolonise men and masculinities studies in Africa. As part of one phase of formative research for a mixed-method project aimed at adapting a male involvement intervention for the context of Sesotho-speaking men and women in the Free State, we applied a multi-site case study research design and collected qualitative data using focus group discussions and key informant interviews. Verbatim-recorded transcripts were translated, transcribed, and thematically analysed with NVIVO 14. The results indicate that customary practices in pregnancy, delivery, and newborn care are not static and vary between families based on belief systems, socioeconomic status, geographical setting (peri-urban/rural), and kinship networks of care. Therefore, these practices and beliefs should be understood, affirmed, and contested within the complex African-centred material and immaterial worldviews on personhood in which they were generated, transmitted, rejected, or adopted. It is recommended that a decolonised approach to male partner involvement in this context must be cognisant of the intersections of racial and gendered power relations, contestations in beliefs and practices, the resilient effect of colonialism on indigenous gender systems, as well as contemporary global entanglements that inform North–South power relations on the best practices in maternal and newborn health in the public health sector in South Africa. Full article

While kinship care is prevalent and preferred over out-of-family care, there are relatively few measurement tools validated for use with this audience. The Title IV-E Clearinghouse, used to rate Families First Prevention Services such as Kinship Navigator Programs, requires valid tools. Such families face a myriad of needs in supporting children in their care. Previous research has established the significant challenges faced by rural families. Accurate assessment of these needs, particularly for rural families, is an essential component of kinship navigation services. In this study, we examined the face validity of the Family Needs Scale for use with kinship caregivers in rural programs. Methods: The evaluation teams with each respective kinship program conducted four virtual focus groups comprising kinship caregivers (n = 18) in three rural states. Participants were recruited from outside an ongoing Kinship Navigator Program Evaluation sample but had previously received program support as kinship caregivers. All states received IRB approval from their respective universities. Verbal consent was obtained at the time of the focus group. Focus groups lasted approximately 60–90 min and participants received a gift card incentive. Data were transcribed and qualitatively coded by question set and individual questions to identify phenomenological trends. Findings: Across four focus groups, we found four themes: (1) Broad agreement regarding the face validity of most assessment items; (2) Lack of clarity and shared understanding of several terms used within the tool, (3) Responses change with Ages and Stages of kinship family, and (4) Perspective considerations varying when completing the assessment. Discussion: Findings indicate that most assessment items had strong face validity, where there are a few opportunities to clarify key concepts relevant to rural kinship families and assess additional needs to understand the situational scope of the kinship experience. Overall, the needs assessment tool appears to have validity in assessing current kinship needs and outcomes within Kinship Navigator program evaluation. Full article

Northwest Yunnan is nested in the border areas of Tibet, Myanmar, and Southwest China. The religiously and ethnically diverse region has astonishingly seen a lack of “conflict”, as is often assumed in regions of ethnic and religious differences. This paper argues that there is an organic form of pluralism through frequent inter-ethnic and inter-religious marriages, multi-lingual daily interactions, and strategic ethnicity registrations. Ethnic and religious boundaries are made permanently or temporarily permeable through the celebration of boundary-crossing rituals such as weddings and funerals and other shared experiences such as collective labor and migrant work. Despite an increasingly strong push to be integrated into the state power through various top-down developmental projects, minority peoples here still use kinship, collective rituals, and other shared experiences to foster group formation that is fluid, porous, and malleable, instilling empathy and obligation as the basis of this pluralistic borderland society. This organic form of pluralism presents an alternative to the nation as the standard modern form of community. This paper ultimately argues that this specific type of plurality requires us to think beyond the normative liberal notions of religious tolerance and diversity that are still promoted within the frame of the exclusivist nation-state. Full article

Informal kinship care, an arrangement that is made without the involvement of a child welfare agency or a court, makes up the majority of kinship arrangements in the United States. However, the current literature on informal kinship care is very limited. In response, this study explored informal kinship caregivers’ parenting experiences, comparing those of grandparents and other relatives. Anonymous survey responses from 146 informal kinship caregivers (114 grandparents and 32 other relatives) were analyzed. This study found similarities and differences between grandparents and other relatives. Compared to other relatives, grandparents were significantly older and less likely to be married. Over 60% of the caregivers, both grandparents and other relatives, had an annual household income of USD 50,000 or less but did not receive any governmental benefits. Furthermore, other relatives accessed and utilized community resources at significantly lower rates. This study observed significant challenges of informal kinship families, including financial difficulties and child mental health/behavioral issues. At the same time, it noted their strengths and resilience, with most participants reporting a positive perception of their caregiving experience. Programs and services for informal kinship families should reflect their unique experiences, building upon their strengths and resilience. Full article

Ancient Chinese wedding ceremonies served as the solemn rituals for witnessing and establishing marriage, primarily aimed at forging kinship ties between two families and fulfilling the obligations of ancestral worship and lineage continuation. Within the Confucian tradition, the family and the state have always been interconnected, and ancient Chinese weddings, dating back to the Zhou dynasty, have maintained the fundamental order of both the family and society. This article primarily explores the influence of Confucianism on ancient Chinese wedding rituals and customs, as well as the historical evolution of wedding ceremonies throughout different dynasties. According to Confucian principles, the main procedures of the wedding ceremony included six rituals: “Nacai” (proposal ceremony), “Wenming” (name inquiry), “Naji” (betrothal gift ceremony), “Nazheng” (gifts for the selection of the auspicious day), “Qingqi” (asking for a wedding date), and “Qinying” (wedding procession). These six rituals were collectively known as the “Six Rites”. This study found that, during the Qin and Han dynasties and the Tang and Song dynasties, there were two important stages of reform of wedding ceremonies under the influence of Confucianism. The “Six Rites” were streamlined and merged into the “Three Rites”, gradually becoming more secular. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, the interaction between Confucianism and the wedding ceremony weakened until the Republic of China period, when traditional constraints were broken. It is evident that the “Six Rites” have continued to serve as the template of traditional Chinese weddings and have been the important basis for subsequent wedding customs. Full article

Rates of suicidality amongst Indigenous Peoples are linked to historical and ongoing settler-colonialism including land seizures, spiritual oppression, cultural disconnection, forced enculturation, and societal alienation. Consistent with decolonial practices, Indigenous voices and perspectives must be centered in the development and evaluation of suicide prevention programs for Indigenous Peoples in the United States to ensure efficacy. The current study is a meta-synthesis of qualitative research on suicide prevention among Indigenous populations in the United States. Findings reveal little evidence for the centering of participant voices within existing suicide prevention programs. Applied thematic analysis of synthesis memos developed for each article in the final sample surfaced four primary themes: (1) support preferences; (2) challenges to suicide prevention; (3) integration of culture as prevention; and (4) grounding relationships in prevention. The need for culturally centered programming and the inadequacy of ‘pan-Indian’ approaches are highlighted. Sub-themes with respect to resiliency, kinship connection, and safe spaces to share cultural knowledge also emerge. Implications of this work to further the decolonization of suicide prevention and aid in the promotion of culturally grounded prevention science strategies are discussed. Full article