Due to the advent of the 1994 democratic constitution particularly sections 32 and 33 which provide for every person＇s right to freedom of conscience, religion, belief and thought, and also to academic freedom Malawi...Due to the advent of the 1994 democratic constitution particularly sections 32 and 33 which provide for every person＇s right to freedom of conscience, religion, belief and thought, and also to academic freedom Malawi has significantly witnessed mushroom development of tribal organizations, aiming at preserving and protecting local religious beliefs and cultural practices. The Chewa Heritage Foundation （CHEFO） and the Muhlako wa Alhomwe （MWA） are among the well-known numerous ethnic organizations through which the traditional beliefs, cultural and religious practices enjoy significant respect from Chewa and Lhomwe people. Although the new Constitution has cleared a road for the establishment of these ethnic organizations, it seems activities of all ethnic associations are significantly promoting tribalism and nepotism, in addition to being used as campaign tools by political parties. This article intends to critically assess and evaluate the role and the impact of the Chewa Heritage Foundation and Muhlako wa Alhomwe on rule of law, govemance and culture in Malawi. The following question will guide the discussion： Why are the Chewa Heritage Foundation and Mulhako wa Alhomwe cultural associations while exercising their constitutional rights promoting tribalism, regionalism and nepotism and used as campaign machinery by both opposition and ruling political parties？ Its hypothesis is, in spite of preserving protecting cultural practices as guaranteed in constitution, tribal organizations need to be watchful so that they should not promote tribalism, nepotism and being used as campaign tools by crooked and opportunist politicians.展开更多
It has been documented that social isolation imparts deleterious effects on gregarious rodents species, but caging in group imparts such effects on solitary rodents. This study was attempted at examining how kinship t...It has been documented that social isolation imparts deleterious effects on gregarious rodents species, but caging in group imparts such effects on solitary rodents. This study was attempted at examining how kinship to affect body weight, behavioral interaction, mate choice and fitness when we caged male and female rat-like hamsters Tscheskia triton in pair, a solitary species. We found that females paired with nonsibling males became heavier than the females paired with sibling males, but both agonistic and amicable behavior between paired males and females did not differ between sibling and nonsibling groups. This indicated that kinship might reduce females＇ obesity in response to forced cohabitation, and dissociation might exist between physiological and behavioral responses. Furthermore, binary choice tests revealed that social familiarity between either siblings or nonsiblings decreased their investigating time spent in opposite sex conspeeifie of cage mates and/or their scents as compared with those of nonmates, suggesting effects of social association on mate and kin selection of the hamsters. On the other side, both females and males caged in pair with siblings show a preference between unfamiliar siblings or their scents and the counterparts of nonsiblings after two month separation, indicating that the kin recognition of the hamsters might also rely on phenotype matching. In addition, cohabitation （or permanent presence of fathers） elicited a lower survival of pups in nonsibling pairs than sibling pairs, but did not affect litter size, suggesting that kinship affects fitness when housing male and female ratlike hamsters together. Therefore, inbreeding might be adapted for rare and endangered animals.展开更多
文摘Due to the advent of the 1994 democratic constitution particularly sections 32 and 33 which provide for every person＇s right to freedom of conscience, religion, belief and thought, and also to academic freedom Malawi has significantly witnessed mushroom development of tribal organizations, aiming at preserving and protecting local religious beliefs and cultural practices. The Chewa Heritage Foundation （CHEFO） and the Muhlako wa Alhomwe （MWA） are among the well-known numerous ethnic organizations through which the traditional beliefs, cultural and religious practices enjoy significant respect from Chewa and Lhomwe people. Although the new Constitution has cleared a road for the establishment of these ethnic organizations, it seems activities of all ethnic associations are significantly promoting tribalism and nepotism, in addition to being used as campaign tools by political parties. This article intends to critically assess and evaluate the role and the impact of the Chewa Heritage Foundation and Muhlako wa Alhomwe on rule of law, govemance and culture in Malawi. The following question will guide the discussion： Why are the Chewa Heritage Foundation and Mulhako wa Alhomwe cultural associations while exercising their constitutional rights promoting tribalism, regionalism and nepotism and used as campaign machinery by both opposition and ruling political parties？ Its hypothesis is, in spite of preserving protecting cultural practices as guaranteed in constitution, tribal organizations need to be watchful so that they should not promote tribalism, nepotism and being used as campaign tools by crooked and opportunist politicians.
基金supported by the grants from International Partnership Project of CAS Innovative Researches(CXTDS2005-4)Ministry of Science and Technology(2005BA529A05)Chinese NSF(30670268)
文摘It has been documented that social isolation imparts deleterious effects on gregarious rodents species, but caging in group imparts such effects on solitary rodents. This study was attempted at examining how kinship to affect body weight, behavioral interaction, mate choice and fitness when we caged male and female rat-like hamsters Tscheskia triton in pair, a solitary species. We found that females paired with nonsibling males became heavier than the females paired with sibling males, but both agonistic and amicable behavior between paired males and females did not differ between sibling and nonsibling groups. This indicated that kinship might reduce females＇ obesity in response to forced cohabitation, and dissociation might exist between physiological and behavioral responses. Furthermore, binary choice tests revealed that social familiarity between either siblings or nonsiblings decreased their investigating time spent in opposite sex conspeeifie of cage mates and/or their scents as compared with those of nonmates, suggesting effects of social association on mate and kin selection of the hamsters. On the other side, both females and males caged in pair with siblings show a preference between unfamiliar siblings or their scents and the counterparts of nonsiblings after two month separation, indicating that the kin recognition of the hamsters might also rely on phenotype matching. In addition, cohabitation （or permanent presence of fathers） elicited a lower survival of pups in nonsibling pairs than sibling pairs, but did not affect litter size, suggesting that kinship affects fitness when housing male and female ratlike hamsters together. Therefore, inbreeding might be adapted for rare and endangered animals.
