41 research outputs found
Time and replacement among the Qâeqchiâ Maya
Among speakers of Qâeqchiâ Maya, replacement (âeeqaj) refers to activities as disparate as house-building, civil-religious elections, vengeance, loans, illness cures, adultery, and namesakes. Such practices involve the substitution of one entity for another entity, insofar as these entities have shared properties, and insofar as they hold a role in an obligatory position. For example, one man may substitute his labor for another manâs labor insofar as men have similar degrees of strength and skill, and insofar as a position in a labor-pool must be filled. In this paper, I explore the relation between replacement, as an idea and institution, and âlived timeâ. To do this, I offer five different ways of framing temporality (as repetition, irreversibility, roots and fruits, reckoning, and worldview); and I show how replacement may be figured through each of these frames. Along the way, I show how entities caught up in replacement are different from other items of value, such as singularities and commodities; and I offer an entity-centered, as opposed to event-centered, framing of time.Entre los hablantes de maya qâeqchiâ, la nociĂłn de remplazo (âeeqaj) se refiere a actividades tan diversas como la fabricaciĂłn de una casa, la elecciĂłn de cargos civiles o religiosos, la venganza, los prĂ©stamos, las curaciones, el adulterio, o los tocayos. Dichas prĂĄcticas implican la sustituciĂłn de una entidad por otra, en la medida en que estas entidades comparten propiedades comunes, y que cumplen un papel en una posiciĂłn obligatoria. Por ejemplo, un hombre puede substituirse a otro en un trabajo en la medida en que los dos hombres comparten grados similares de fuerza y habilidad, y que una posiciĂłn en un equipo de trabajo tenga que ser ocupada. En este artĂculo, exploro la relaciĂłn entre el remplazo, entendido como idea e instituciĂłn, y el âtiempo vividoâ. Para ello, propongo cinco modos distintos de abarcar la temporalidad (como repeticiĂłn, irreversibilidad, raĂces y frutos, cĂĄlculo y visiĂłn del mundo); y muestro cĂłmo el remplazo puede concebirse en cada uno de estos marcos. En ese proceso, muestro tambiĂ©n cĂłmo las entidades implicadas en la operaciĂłn de remplazo son diferentes de otros artĂculos de valor, tales como las singularidades y las mercancĂas, y propongo una aprehensiĂłn del tiempo centrada en las entidades, mas que en los eventos.Pour les locuteurs du maya qâeqchiâ, la notion de remplacement (âeeqaj) rĂ©fĂšre Ă des activitĂ©s aussi diverses que la construction dâune maison, les Ă©lections civiles et religieuses, la vengeance, les prĂȘts, les cures mĂ©dicinales, lâadultĂšre ou encore les personnes homonymes. De telles pratiques impliquent la substitution dâune entitĂ© par une autre, sous la condition que ces entitĂ©s partagent des propriĂ©tĂ©s et remplissent un rĂŽle Ă une position obligatoire. Ainsi, le travail dâun homme peut-il ĂȘtre substituĂ© par celui dâun autre, dans la mesure oĂč les deux hommes ont des degrĂ©s similaires de force et dâhabiletĂ©, et oĂč une position au sein dâune Ă©quipe de travail doit ĂȘtre occupĂ©e. Dans cet article, jâexplore la relation entre le remplacement, en tant quâidĂ©e et institution, et le « temps vĂ©cu ». Pour ce faire, je propose cinq modes distincts de concevoir la temporalitĂ© (comme rĂ©pĂ©tition, irrĂ©versibilitĂ©, racines et fruits, mesure et vision du monde), et je montre comment le remplacement peut sâinscrire au sein de chacun de ces modes. Ce faisant, je mets au jour la façon dont les entitĂ©s prises dans des opĂ©rations de remplacement diffĂšrent dâitems de valeur, tels que les singularitĂ©s et les marchandises, et je propose dâapprĂ©hender le temps Ă partir des entitĂ©s plutĂŽt que des Ă©vĂšnements
A multivariate Poisson-lognormal regression model for prediction of crash counts by severity, using Bayesian methods
The continuous cross-nested logit model: Formulation and application for departure time choice
Grading, gradients, degradation, gracePart 1: Intensity and causality
This article has two overarching and intertwined themes. The first is the social and semiotic mediation of âcomparative groundsââin particular, the way people come to understand, and alter, the relative intensity of entities and events. The second is the social and semiotic mediation of âcausal groundsââin particular, the way people come to understand, and alter, the sequencing of events, or the channeling of forces. Focusing on the multiple processes that mediate peopleâs understandings of landslides in a Mayan village in highland Guatemala, it shows the ways causal and comparative grounds relate to physical forces and phenomenological experience, as much as to communicative practices and social conventions. More generally, though less explicitly, this article is about four topics that underlie the Anthropocene: âgradientsâ (the way qualities vary in their intensity over space and time, and the ways such variations relate to causal processes), âgradingâ (the ways agents assess and alter such intensities, and experience and intervene in causal processes), âdegradationâ (the ways highly valuable variations in qualitative intensities are lowered or lost), and âgraceâ (the way agents work to maintain gradients, care for those whose lives have been degraded, and value those agents who work and care in such ways)
Grading, gradients, degradation, grace
This article has two overarching and intertwined themes. The first is the social and semiotic mediation of âcomparative groundsââin particular, the way people come to understand, and alter, the relative intensity of entities and events. The second is the social and semiotic mediation of âcausal groundsââin particular, the way people come to understand, and alter, the sequencing of events, or the channeling of forces. Focusing on the multiple processes that mediate peopleâs understandings of landslides in a Mayan village in highland Guatemala, it shows the ways causal and comparative grounds relate to physical forces and phenomenological experience, as much as to communicative practices and social conventions. More generally, though less explicitly, this article is about four topics that underlie the Anthropocene: âgradientsâ (the way qualities vary in their intensity over space and time, and the ways such variations relate to causal processes), âgradingâ (the ways agents assess and alter such intensities, and experience and intervene in causal processes), âdegradationâ (the ways highly valuable variations in qualitative intensities are lowered or lost), and âgraceâ (the way agents work to maintain gradients, care for those whose lives have been degraded, and value those agents who work and care in such ways)
The anthropology of an equation. Sieves, spam filters, agentive algorithms, and ontologies of transformation
This article undertakes the anthropology of an equation that constitutes the essence of an algorithm that underlies a variety of computational technologiesâmost notably spam filters, but also data-mining tools, diagnostic tests, predictive parsers, risk assessment techniques, and Bayesian reasoning more generally. The article foregrounds the ways ontologies are both embodied in and transformed by such algorithms. And it shows the stakes such ontological transformations have for one particularly widespread and powerful metaphor and deviceâthe sieve. In so doing, this inquiry shows some of the complex processes that must be considered if we are to understand some of the key relations linking semiosis and statistics. Reflexively, these processes perturb some core ontological assumptions in anthropology, science and technology studies, and critical theory.
Grading, gradients, degradation, grace Part 2: Phenomenology, materiality, and cosmology
Part 1 of this article, which appeared in the last edition of this journal, focused on intensity and causality through the lens of social conventions and communicative practices. This part focuses on related themes from the standpoint of phenomenology, cosmology, and materiality. The central ethnographic object is still landslides in Highland Guatemala, and the ways speakers of Qâeqchiâ (Maya), from a small village in the cloud forest, relate to such events. And so we will continue to analyze the aftermath of one such landslide, taking up precisely where part 1 left off. More generally, though less explicitly, this article continues our articulation of four key terms for the Anthropocene (and, as should now be clear, for almost Everycene): âgradientsâ (the way qualities vary in their intensity over space and time, and the ways such variations relate to causal processes), âgradingâ (the ways agents assess and alter such intensities, and experience and intervene in causal processes), âdegradationâ (the ways highly valuable variations in qualitative intensities are lowered or lost), and âgraceâ (the way agents work to maintain gradients, care for those whose lives have been degraded, and value those agents who work and care in such ways).
Language culture and mind : natural constructions and social kinds
This book focuses on a variety of grammatical structures and discursive practices through which mental states are encoded and social relations are expressed : inalienable possessions, such as body parts and kinship terms ; interjections, such as, 'ouch' and yuck' : complement-taking predicates, such as 'beleive and desire' ; and grammatical categories, such as mood, status, and evidentiality