Social Tension (social + tension)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Ideology, Elitism and Social Commitment: Alternative Images of Science in Two fin de siècle Barcelona Newspapers

CENTAURUS, Issue 2 2009
Matiana González-Silva
Abstract This paper analyses the image of science fostered by two leading, though ideologically opposed, Barcelona newspapers at the turn of the 19th century: Conservative La Vanguardia and left-wing El Diluvio. Social tensions in the city and the leading role the press played in this context are critical to uncovering both newspapers' differing models of science popularisation, which depicted science either as a neutral, isolated endeavour or as a socially committed liberating force. El Diluvio's utilitarian approach to science is in keeping with its objective of improving the living conditions of the working classes. Conversely, elitism might explain La Vanguardia's top-down approach to science and its isolation in columns devoted to popularising science for its own sake. This case study reveals the existence of alternative popularisation efforts in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, beyond the broadly accepted link between science popularisation and the consolidation of scientists' professional prestige. [source]


Violence in the Atacama Desert during the Tiwanaku period: social tension?

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF OSTEOARCHAEOLOGY, Issue 5 2004
A. Lessa
Abstract Tiwanaku influence significantly affected the lifestyle of the prehistoric peoples of the Atacama Desert as it represented an important period of social and economic change. Such intense changes as social stratification and new religious and ideological influences have always been characterized as peaceful ones. Palaeopathological studies based on the violence-induced traumatic lesions of 64 well-preserved human skeletons from an excavated funerary site named Solcor-3 have facilitated a comparison between Pre-Tiwanaku and Tiwanaku periods. Results show an increase in violence between males represented by low-intensity skull traumas, arrow wounds and a high mortality rate between 20 and 30 years of age during the Tiwanaku period. The interpretation of this data is contrary to the model of peaceful acceptance of the changes that followed the Tiwanaku influence into the Atacama. At least for Solcor-3, economic and political factors should be re-considered in order to explain the emergence of social tension during the Tiwanaku period. In the future, more detailed studies will probably help to clarify if conflicts had also extended to other sites in San Pedro de Atacama under Tiwanaku influence. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


The relationship between socio-sexual behavior and salivary cortisol in bonobos: tests of the tension regulation hypothesis

AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PRIMATOLOGY, Issue 3 2009
Gottfried Hohmann
Abstract Bonobos are known for their pacifistic behavior and their large repertoire of behaviors that are thought to serve conflict resolution. One is an unusual form of ventro-ventral mounting that facilitates genital contacts (GC). Various hypotheses have been proposed to explain its function. In this study we tested predictions of the tension regulation hypothesis using salivary cortisol as a marker for social stress. The results indicate a temporal relationship between GC and cortisol levels. Compared with baseline data and matched samples of unrestricted food access, rates of GC increased when access to food sources was restricted. Cortisol levels were highest when access to food was constrained. However, because the behavioral and hormonal responses occurred when viewing the stimulus at a distance and preceded the physical presence of the stimulus, we conclude that the anticipation of a competitive situation was sufficient to induce social stress. Contrary to our prediction, targets of aggression did not have higher rates of GC nor did they solicit GC more often than others. Furthermore, higher GC rates did not correlate with a more pronounced decrease in cortisol levels. Not all results obtained in this study supported the predictions concerning the regulatory function of GC on social tension and further research is needed to explore this question. However, the results indicate that the anticipation of competition may be sufficient to induce a costly physiological response, and that high levels of resource competition may have lasting effects on physical stress and stress management. Am. J. Primatol. 71:223,232, 2009. © 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]


A Dual-track Strategy for Managing Mauritania's Projected Oil Rent

DEVELOPMENT POLICY REVIEW, Issue 1 2008
Richard Auty
High rent creates contests for its capture that, unless skilfully managed, degrade political institutions and distort the economy, leading to a collapse of growth if unreformed. Mauritania's projected oil stream risks such an outcome because past rent-driven growth has left a legacy of Dutch disease effects, rent-seeking and dependent social capital. This article proposes a dual-track strategy for deploying the oil rent as a politically practical means of managing social tensions and improving the economic outcome. Track one promotes a dynamic market economy in the hitherto neglected rural areas, while track two gradually reforms the rent-driven urban sector, thus postponing confrontation with established rent-seekers while the dynamic sector drives competitive diversification of the economy and builds a pro-reform political constituency. [source]


Intra-community coalitionary lethal attack of an adult male southern muriqui (Brachyteles arachnoides)

AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PRIMATOLOGY, Issue 10 2009
M.G. Talebi
Abstract We report on the first evidence of intra-community coalitionary lethal aggression in muriquis (Brachyteles). The event occurred in southern muriquis (Brachyteles arachnoides) during a long-term study (>15 years) of two social groups inhabiting mostly pristine Atlantic forest habitat in the Parque Estadual Carlos Botelho, southern São Paulo State, Brazil. The attack took place deep in the core area of the Group Caetê home range. Tense agonistic behaviors and vocalizations preceded the lethal coalitionary attack, and the tension increased over a 36,48,hr period. One adult female and two unidentified individuals also took part in a coalition led by six adult males. The members of the coalition collectively approached, embraced, immobilized and repeatedly bit the entire body of an adult male, resulting in severe bleeding injuries and the victim's death in less than 1,hr after the attack commenced. Combined ecological, behavioral and spatial data related to the event indicate that this was an intra-community attack and suggest social tensions related to mating competition as the proximate trigger of the coalitionary killing. The attack resembled those reported for chimpanzees, with clear numeric superiority and a low risk of injury to aggressors, resulting in the death of a lone conspecific victim. This observation (n=1) is suggestive of a capacity for escalated aggression in muriquis and reinforces arguments for the potential adaptive significance of intra-community aggression in male philopatric societies, as reported for spider monkeys and chimpanzees. These characteristics challenge the view of the muriquis as a peaceful primate and support the general hypothesis that imbalances of power contribute to intra-specific killing in primates, such as chimpanzees and humans. Am. J. Primatol. 71:860,867, 2009. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]