To Arrange or Not: Marriage Trends in the South Asian American Community

The idea of the arranged marriage has always seemed exotic yet has fascinated the American public. Recent media coverage of arranged marriages is evident in popular periodicals such as the New York Times Online (August 17, 2000) and Newsweek (March 15, 1999). Foner highlights that the arranged marriage is an example of the continued impact of premigration cultural beliefs and social practices that South Asian immigrants have transported to the United States (Foner 1997, 964). She offers an interpretive synthesis by showing that [n]ew immigrant family patterns are shaped by cultural meanings and social practices that immigrants bring with them from their home countries as well as by social, economic, and cultural forces in the United States (Foner 2005, 157)

When He Is “Tied”: Power, Vulnerability, And Embodied Masculinity In Egypt

This paper looks at the notion of rabt [tying], the inability of the groom to engage in penetrative intercourse on the wedding night, to explore the relationship between masculinity, embodiment, and sexual performance. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork in Egypt between 1993 and 2015, this paper explores the notion of groom rabt, how it is socially defined and managed. After presenting my conceptual framework for the study of sexuality and embodiment, the paper moves to discuss the meaning of the wedding night; the social clues people draw on when they identify rabt; how these clues relate different events to the (in)abilities of the groom; and how women, particularly mothers, work to protect and heal their male relatives from this affliction. To understand moments when individuals are unable, or “fail,” to produce desirable physical and social effects, it is important that we do not exclusively consider the individual sexed body – the body that is clearly defined, bounded, and invested with unique desires and feelings. We must also consider the broader configurations that connect different bodies, endow them with certain meanings, and produce their materiality. My discussion shows that our understanding of sexuality and reproductive health will continue to be limited if we consider only men or women as separate individuals or as autonomous couples. Exploring moments of biological-social vulnerability, such as rabt, and how they relate to broader projects of gendering helps us understand issues linked to reproductive health and sexual rights in a deeper sense

Overview and Operation of U.S. Financial Sanctions, Including the Example of Iran

Financial sanctions are increasingly being used in the mix of international economic sanctions being employed by the United Nations, regional entities, and individual countries, including the United States. These financial sanctions have become more focused and effective as the tools and techniques have improved significantly for tracing and identifying the financial transactions of terrorists, weapons proliferators, human rights violators, drug cartels, and others. These sanctions can not only freeze financial assets and prohibit or limit financial transactions, but they also impede trade by making it difficult to pay for the export or import of goods and services. In spite of this growing impact of financial sanctions, these sanctions are not well understood outside of a small group of experts. This article provides an introduction to the mechanics and operation of U.S. financial sanctions, and it illustrates their use against Iran

Fabrication of chitosan based nanofibers by electrospinning and their characterisation

Electrospinning is used to produce fibers in the nanometer range by stretching a polymeric jet using electric field of high magnitude. Electrospinning leads to the formation of continuous fibers ranging from 0.01 to 10 ìm . The ultra-fine fibers produced by electro spinning are expected to have two main properties, a very high surface to volume ratio, and a relatively defect free structure at the molecular level . The development of nanofibers by electrospinning process has led to potential applications in filtration, military protective clothing, and biological applications such as tissue engineering scaffolds, drug delivery devices , artificial organ components etc. The present study is an attempt to fabricate composite nanofibers that can be used as tissue engineering scaffolds. The approach involves the blending of two different polymers both being biocompatible and biodegradable but one is natural and other is synthetic along with a surfactant. Composites in the form of nanofibers were formed via electrospinning technique. Different ratios of Chitosan:PEO(Polyethylene glycol:DATB(Dodecyltrimethylammonium bromide) blends were prepared and successfully electrospunned so that the nanofibers obtained could mimic the natural ECM(Extra Cellular Matrix). It was found that usage of DTAB in the blend yielded fibers in the range of 50-250 nm which could be suitable for tissue engineering.. The prepared composite scaffolds were characterised using several techniques such as SEM(Scanning Electron Microscopy), FTIR(Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy, XRD(X-ray Diffraction) . Also solubility and biodegradability tests were carried out for the prepared scaffolds. It was found that at feed rate 0.5ml/hr and voltage 25kV ,Chitosan:PEO ratios of 70/30 and 80/20 with DTAB concentration of 15mM yielded better nanofibers as compared to higher DTAB concentrations