Self-determined citizens? New forms of civic activism and citizenship in Armenia

This article examines the recent emergence and growth of grassroots social movements in Armenia which are locally known as ‘civic initiatives’. It considers what their emergence tells us about the development of civil society and the changing understandings and practices of citizenship in Armenia in the post-Soviet period. It analyses why civic initiatives explicitly reject and distance themselves from formal, professionalised NGOs and what new models of civic activism and citizenship they have introduced. It argues that civic initiatives embrace a more political understanding of civil society than that which was introduced by Western donors in the 1990s

Community-based welfare provision in the Caucasus and Central Asia

Dr Babajanian's post-doctoral work programme addresses the issue of the effectiveness, accountability and legitimacy of community-based actors in delivering social welfare within the political, social and institutional context of the Caucasus (Armenia) and Central Asia (Kyrgyzstan). In particular, it examines how community-based formal and informal institutions mediate access to important public infrastructure and services, resources and opportunities and draws implications for broader poverty reduction strategies. The work programme draws upon the author's doctoral research. In his doctoral fieldwork in 2002-2004, the author gathered rich qualitative data on various aspects of institutional and social organisation in rural communities in post-Soviet Armenia. In order to introduce a comparative aspect to the topic, the author carried out additional research in Kyrgyzstan. The research has two main themes: It examines the implications of decentralised governance for poverty reduction in rural Kyrgyzstan. It examines the effectiveness and relevance of the World Bank funded community-driven Village Investment Project in promoting "good governance" within the social, political and institutional context of rural Kyrgyzstan

The Homeobox Transcription Factor RHOX10 Drives Mouse Spermatogonial Stem Cell Establishment

The developmental origins of most adult stem cells are poorly understood. Here, we report the identification of a transcription factor—RHOX10—critical for the initial establishment of spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs). Conditional loss of the entire 33-gene X-linked homeobox gene cluster that includes Rhox10 causes progressive spermatogenic decline, a phenotype indistinguishable from that caused by loss of only Rhox10. We demonstrate that this phenotype results from dramatically reduced SSC generation. By using a battery of approaches, including single-cell-RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) analysis, we show that Rhox10 drives SSC generation by promoting pro-spermatogonia differentiation. Rhox10 also regulates batteries of migration genes and promotes the migration of pro-spermatogonia into the SSC niche. The identification of an X-linked homeobox gene that drives the initial generation of SSCs has implications for the evolution of X-linked gene clusters and sheds light on regulatory mechanisms influencing adult stem cell generation in general

The Homeobox Transcription Factor RHOX10 Drives Mouse Spermatogonial Stem Cell Establishment

The developmental origins of most adult stem cells are poorly understood. Here, we report the identification of a transcription factor-RHOX10-critical for the initial establishment of spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs). Conditional loss of the entire 33-gene X-linked homeobox gene cluster that includes Rhox10 causes progressive spermatogenic decline, a phenotype indistinguishable from that caused by loss of only Rhox10. We demonstrate that this phenotype results from dramatically reduced SSC generation. By using a battery of approaches, including single-cell-RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) analysis, we show that Rhox10 drives SSC generation by promoting pro-spermatogonia differentiation. Rhox10 also regulates batteries of migration genes and promotes the migration of pro-spermatogonia into the SSC niche. The identification of an X-linked homeobox gene that drives the initial generation of SSCs has implications for the evolution of X-linked gene clusters and sheds light on regulatory mechanisms influencing adult stem cell generation in general

Local Leadership: Types and Functions

From the traditional organizational perspective, leadership is to influence someone or to empower someone or who has followers. By doing so, someone can translate any vision into a reality by maximizing other efforts to achieve the goal. Local leadership is all these but in any given local context. If there is no leader in a locality, then there is no one who can speak for the local community (Sanderson and Palson 1939). Many local communities face different kinds of challenges due to changes in the economy, climate, population, government policy, etc. Some people in those communities play an essential role in navigating those challenges that erupt from time to time or influence the local people to work together for the community (Zaccaro et al. 2004; Collinson 2011; Etuk et al. 2013). Local leaders who are living within the community genuinely care about helping the..