Old ‘counter-revolution’, new ‘terrorism’ : historicizing the framing of violence in Xinjiang by the Chinese state

China has declared a war on terrorism in Xinjiang, identifying violence in the region as a top security threat. However, what nowadays is officially constructed as ‘terrorism’ was framed as ‘counter-revolution’ in the past. Informed by the concept of macrosecuritization and the agenda of critical terrorism studies, this article examines the changing nature of Chinese state framing of violence in Xinjiang. Through a comparative analysis of the discursive construction of the Baren (1990) and Maralbeshi (2013) violent incidents, I find that the terror lexicon has replaced old narratives of counter-revolution to legitimize a sustained crackdown under a novel geopolitical context. The construction of violence in Xinjiang as terrorism, I argue, is contingent, limited and unstable. It marginalizes factors other than an extremist or separatist agency in the incubation of the violence, in particular the frictions created by the crackdown with which the Chinese government is trying to placate the unrest

Making sense of terrorism : a narrative approach to the study of violent events

How does violence become understood as terrorism? In this article, we show how a narrative approach to the study of violent events offers a conceptually productive way to understand the process of “seeing” an event as a terrorist act, one that explicitly integrates the phenomenology of violence. While the collective practice of defining terrorism in academia and the policy arena has struggled to produce a universal definition, we identify a set of “common sense” characteristics. We argue that if the framing of violent events prominently features these characteristics as discursive anchors, this primes processes of sensemaking toward interpreting violence as terrorism. While terrorism markers are often articulated as being pragmatic and apolitical indicators of terrorist acts, we show that they are indeed at the core of political contests over historical and physical facts about violent events. The narrative approach we develop in this article underscores that intuitive leanings toward interpreting violence as terrorism are a sign of political agency precisely because they are produced through the stories political agents tell

Impaired, "easy prey" saved by the she-empowering state : official narratives of "Xinjiang women" in China's "People's War on Terror"

This work was supported by the British Academy [Grant Number PF20_100052].Feminist approaches to international security have revealed persistent gendered stereotypes in the construction of women in contexts of political violence and terrorism, including the Global War on Terror. Acknowledging the parallelism with the United States-led enterprise in its endeavor to “save” a female population and re-posing one of the most significant questions in gender-informed security studies, this article asks “Where are the women in China’s ‘People’s War on Terror’ (PWoT)?” It takes the idea of agency as pivotal in answering this question and investigates how the Chinese state has (im)mobilized, through concealment or deployment, the idea of and potential for agency when positioning Uyghur and other Turkic Muslim women in Xinjiang as specific subjects in the context of the PWoT. The article reveals the establishment of a gendered hierarchy of power in the Chinese counterterrorism playbook, one that fixes “Xinjiang women” as securitized and passive victims in need of rescuing by a state that continues to suppress their agency, despite official claims to the contrary.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

The terroristization of Xinjiang : violence, discourse and politics in China’s Uyghur region (1978-2018)

This thesis investigates how and with what consequences violent conflict in Xinjiang, as well as the Uyghur identity, religion, and the region more broadly, have become constituted as a terrorism problem for the Chinese state. To this aim, the thesis develops the concept of terroristization as an original analytical framework for the study of discursive construction of terrorism in non-Western historical contexts. Specifically, this approach integrates dominant scholarly definitions of terrorism as a materiality-informed discursive structure of knowledge that provides a background to, and influences, this process. The study explores the historical phenomenology of Xinjiang-related violence (1978-2018), the discursive patterns of the Chinese state representation of the conflict during this period, and the state security practices implemented in response to the tensions. The thesis shows how the Chinese state framing of violent conflict in Xinjiang gradually changed between the early years of the ‘reform and opening up’ era and the post-9/11 period, when narratives evolved from representing conflict in the region as the inevitable result of structural factors to portraying Xinjiang and the Uyghurs as a security threat and a terrorism problem. This narrative shift was accompanied by a government policy change from a moderate approach to a far-reaching anti-terrorism campaign in Xinjiang, which has recently led to a large number of extrajudicial detentions of members of the ethnic Uyghur minority in re-education camps. Through its in-depth historical-analytical empirical investigation, the study reveals that the discursive change towards the systematic use of the terrorist jargon after 9/11 to represent violence in Xinjiang by the Chinese state is linked less to the materiality of violent events and more to broader socio-political developments, thereby calling into question the rationale behind China’s ‘war on terror’. Overall, the research increases our understanding of how security narratives are interwined with, but not determinated by, the phenomenology of violent events, and it illustrates how pre-existing structures of signification can foster terroristization processes. I argue, in summary, that if political agents employ a terrorism repertoire to represent violent events, this is a sign of agency and choice that holds meaning and matter together through terrorism discourse rather than being dictated by the material features of violence

Tau Protein is Associated with Longitudinal Memory Decline in Cognitively Healthy Subjects with Normal Alzheimer's Disease Cerebrospinal Fluid Biomarker Levels

Background: We investigated a sample of cognitively healthy subjects with normal Alzheimer's disease (AD) cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarker levels to identify the earliest variables related to longitudinal memory changes. Objective: Employing a new highly demanding learning and memory test (the Ancient Farming Equipment Test; AFE-T), we aimed to investigate whether a biomarker related to neurodegeneration (i.e., CSF tau) was associated with longitudinal memory decline. Methods: Thirty-two cognitively and biologically normal (CBN) subjects underwent MRI, neuropsychological assessment, and the AFE-T at baseline and 18 months later. To explore the relationship between cognitive performance and relevant factors, a linear model was set up. For a secondary analysis that further explore the effect of tau, the subjects were divided into CBN-Tau↓ (tau  228.64 pg/ml; n = 16). We also performed voxel-based morphometry (VBM) to identify regions of grey matter volume that would predict both baseline and longitudinal cognitive performance. Results: Our main finding was an association between CSF tau and longitudinal memory decline measured with AFE-T (B = -0.17, p < 0.05; r = -0.414; p < 0.01), and further analyses showed different evolvement between subgroups, with an accelerated decline in individuals with higher tau (F(1,31) = 8.37; p < 0.01). VBM results suggested that AFE-T performance is related to grey matter volume in a medial temporal, middle frontal, and posterior cerebellar network at baseline, and that there are strategic brain areas driving the longitudinal cognitive changes. Conclusions: The present findings provide evidence for structural and biological markers linked to cognitive aging by highlighting the role of tau, a marker of neurodegeneration, which can be related with the earliest memory changes in healthy subjects

Black list and Alert list of the Aquatic Invasive Alien Species in the Iberian Peninsula: an action of the LIFE INVASAQUA

Resumen del trabajo presentado en VI Congreso Nacional sobre Especies Exóticas Invasoras y I Congreso Ibérico sobre EEI (EEI 2022) celebrado en Navarra del 20 al 23 de abril de 2022.One of the objectives of LIFE INVASQUA project is to develop tools that will be more efficient the Early Warning and Rapid Response (EWRR) framework for Invasive Alien Species in the Iberian Peninsula. Horizon scanning for high-risk IAS is basic in implementing measures to reduce new invasions, developing Alert lists, and to focus effort in the species already established, for instance making a Black list. We developed a trans national horizon scanning exercise focused on inland waters of Spain and Portugal in order to provide a prioritized lists (Black list and Alert list) of aquatic IAS that may pose a threat to aquatic ecosystems and socio economic sectors in the future. We followed a step approach of existing information about IAS (Plants, Freshwater Invertebrates, Estuarine Invertebrates and Vertebrates; 127 established taxa in Black list; 90 non established taxa in Alert list) combining with an expert scoring of prioritized taxa. IAS established in the Iberian aquatic system consistently highlighted as the worst included vertebrates (e.g. Cyprinus carpio, Gambusia holbrooki, Silurus glanis), freshwater and estuarine invertebrates (e.g. Procambarus clarkii, Dreissena polymorpha, Pacifastacus leniusculus, Ficopomatus enigmaticus, Callinectes sapidus, Corbicula fluminea) and plants (e.g. Eichhornia crassipes, Azolla filiculoides, Ludwigia grandiflora). Amongst taxa not yet established (Alert list), expert pointed to Perna viridis, Hydroides dirampha, Dreissena bugensis, Procambarus fallax f. virginallis, Perccottus glenii with higher risk of invasion, ecological and socioeconomic impacts. Over 20.6% of the taxa in the preliminary black list received no votes (no prioritization) by experts, 17.8% in the innitial alert list. Our horizon scanning approach is inclusive of all-taxa, prioritizes both established and emerging biological threats across trans-national scales, and considers not only the ecological impact, but also potential direct economic consequences as well as the manageability of invasive species.This work received funds from the LIFE Programme (LIFE17 GIE/ES/000515)

Corrigendum to ‘a horizon scan exercise for aquatic invasive alien species in Iberian inland waters’

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Relationship between self-reported dietary intake and physical activity levels among adolescents: The HELENA study

Background Evidence suggests possible synergetic effects of multiple lifestyle behaviors on health risks like obesity and other health outcomes. Therefore it is important to investigate associations between dietary and physical activity behavior, the two most important lifestyle behaviors influencing our energy balance and body composition. The objective of the present study is to describe the relationship between energy, nutrient and food intake and the physical activity level among a large group of European adolescents. Methods The study comprised a total of 2176 adolescents (46.2% male) from ten European cities participating in the HELENA (Healthy Lifestyle in Europe by Nutrition in Adolescence) study. Dietary intake and physical activity were assessed using validated 24-h dietary recalls and self-reported questionnaires respectively. Analyses of covariance (ANCOVA) were used to compare the energy and nutrient intake and the food consumption between groups of adolescents with different physical activity levels (1st to 3rd tertile). Results In both sexes no differences were found in energy intake between the levels of physical activity. The most active males showed a higher intake of polysaccharides, protein, water and vitamin C and a lower intake of saccharides compared to less active males. Females with the highest physical activity level consumed more polysaccharides compared to their least active peers. Male and female adolescents with the highest physical activity levels, consumed more fruit and milk products and less cheese compared to the least active adolescents. The most active males showed higher intakes of vegetables and meat, fish, eggs, meat substitutes and vegetarian products compared to the least active ones. The least active males reported the highest consumption of grain products and potatoes. Within the female group, significantly lower intakes of bread and cereal products and spreads were found for those reporting to spend most time in moderate to vigorous physical activity. The consumption of foods from the remaining food groups, did not differ between the physical activity levels in both sexes. Conclusion It can be concluded that dietary habits diverge between adolescents with different self-reported physical activity levels. For some food groups a difference in intake could be found, which were reflected in differences in some nutrient intakes. It can also be concluded that physically active adolescents are not always inclined to eat healthier diets than their less active peers.The HELENA study took place with the financial support of the European Community Sixth RTD Framework Programme (Contract FOOD-CT: 2005-007034). This work was also partially supported by the European Union, in the framework of the Public Health Programme (ALPHA project, Ref: 2006120), the Swedish Council for Working Life and Social Research (FAS), the Spanish Ministry of Education (EX-2007-1124, and EX-2008-0641), and the Spanish Ministry of Health, Maternal, Child Health and Development Network (number RD08/0072) (JPRL, LAM)

Shells and humans: molluscs and other coastal resources from the earliest human occupations at the Mesolithic shell midden of El Mazo (Asturias, Northern Spain)

Human populations exploited coastal areas with intensity during the Mesolithic in Atlantic Europe, resulting in the accumulation of large shell middens. Northern Spain is one of the most prolific regions, and especially the so-called Asturian area. Large accumulations of shellfish led some scholars to propose the existence of intensification in the exploitation of coastal resources in the region during the Mesolithic. In this paper, shell remains (molluscs, crustaceans and echinoderms) from stratigraphic units 114 and 115 (dated to the early Mesolithic c. 9 kys cal BP) at El Mazo cave (Asturias, northern Spain) were studied in order to establish resource exploitation patterns and environmental conditions. Species representation showed that limpets, top shells and sea urchins were preferentially exploited. One-millimetre mesh screens were crucial in establishing an accurate minimum number of individuals for sea urchins and to determine their importance in exploitation patterns. Environmental conditions deduced from shell assemblages indicated that temperate conditions prevailed at the time of the occupation and the morphology of the coastline was similar to today (rocky exposed shores). Information recovered relating to species representation, collection areas and shell biometry reflected some evidence of intensification (reduced shell size, collection in lower areas of exposed shores, no size selection in some units and species) in the exploitation of coastal resources through time. However, the results suggested the existence of changes in collection strategies and resource management, and periods of intense shell collection may have alternated with times of shell stock recovery throughout the Mesolithic.This research was performed as part of the project “The human response to the global climatic change in a littoral zone: the case of the transition to the Holocene in the Cantabrian coast (10,000–5000 cal BC) (HAR2010-22115-C02-01)” funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness. AGE was funded by the University of Cantabria through a predoctoral grant and IGZ was funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness through a Juan de la Cierva grant. We also would like to thank the University of Cantabria and the IIIPC for providing support, David Cuenca-Solana, Alejandro García Moreno and Lucia Agudo Pérez for their help. We also thank Jennifer Jones for correcting the English. Comments from two anonymous reviewers helped to improve the paper