Market Forces and Indigenous Resistance Paradigms

The pervasive force in the relationship between the nation-state and Australian Indigenous peoples during the 1990s and 2000s was, and is, neoliberalism. Free market ideals became the dominant political philosophy and Indigenous people were coerced into a political ‘experimental’ cutting of a neoliberal template into the fabric of Indigenous life. The pairing of market ideology with concerted efforts to de-power Indigenous groups and people align, at least thematically, the Indigenous experience of neoliberalism with that of a social movement. This article details the entwined story of explicit Indigenous resistance and activism and the how and what of the infiltration of market forces into Aboriginal territory. Empirically, it demonstrates the neoliberal infrastructure and ideological rationale for the explicit undermining of Indigenous rights and presence within Australian society and the Indigenous parameters of resistance that emerged to confront and defy the re-confining and redefining pressures of neoliberalism: an Indigenous resistance paradigm. Theoretically, these facets are analysed through the frame of the ‘domain of Aboriginality’ to articulate the broader contours of the reach of neoliberalism into Indigenous lives and the resistance to the developing hegemony

Lives of diversity: Indigenous Australia

The national picture is one of difference between the lives of Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians across nearly all the Census dimensions. The Indigenous population is significantly younger and growing at a faster rate; the economic items reveal broad-scale division; cultural differences are apparent around language and family life and there are discernible disconnections across the spatial dimensions of Indigenous and non-Indigenous lives. But this aggregate perspective does not tell the full diversity story. An Australian Indigenous population analytical base, with its national patterns and trends, obscures the broader diversity of Indigenous lives. Standard disaggregation to state and territory level elicits the same limitations. While Indigenous lives are obviously lived within national and state and territory boundaries, it is their locations in specific places and spaces that most influence their shape, context and circumstances. Geographical place, at the level of the town, the region, the sector of the city or the community, is central to the conditions and milieus in which those lives are lived. For most Indigenous Australians, such locations are urban. While media and public understandings are firmly directed towards discrete Indigenous communities, with an emphasis on the remote, most reside outside such places. Sydney is the place with the largest Indigenous population and the primary sites of current population increase are the cities of Brisbane, Broome and Coffs Harbour, not remote communities in the Northern Territory or Western Australia. Yes, Indigenous people remain significantly more likely to live in remote areas than other Australians, but nearly a third live in metropolitan areas, nearly half reside in regional areas and only a little over one quarter live their lives in remote sites. Indigenous individuals, families and communities have been urban residents since early colonial times and overall population trends indicate an ongoing Indigenous drift to the larger urban centres. This is the second in a series of essays based on data from the 2006 Census, produced in cooperation with the Australian Bureau of Statistics

Recognition and indigenizing official statistics: Reflections from Aotearoa New Zealand and Australia

In First World colonised nations such as Aotearoa New Zealand and Australia, population statistics form the evidentiary base for how Indigenous peoples are known and `managed' through state policy approaches. Yet, population statistics are not a neutral counting. Decisions of what and how to count reflect particular assumptions about Indigenous identity, ways of life and wellbeing. More often than not, the requirements and priorities of government take precedence over the informational needs and priorities of Indigenous communities. Whereas National Statistics Offices (NSOs) once rendered Indigenous peoples invisible in official statistics through non-recognition, the more pressing problem in the 21st century is that of misrecognition. In seeking to move beyond statistical misrecognition, we propose a set of guiding principles for bringing government reporting frameworks and Indigenous concepts of identity and wellbeing into closer proximity. We argue that a principled approach to collecting, disseminating and analysing Indigenous data not only avoids misrecognising Indigenous peoples but enhances the functionality of official statistics for Indigenous peoples and NSOs alike

The urban and regional segregation of indigenous Australians: Out of sight, out of mind?

Contrary to popular belief, the majority of Indigenous Australians live in cities and towns rather than remote areas of the country, yet remain segregated and \u27invisible\u27 from the daily lives of non-Indigenous Australians. In 2006, the Australian Indigenous population surpassed half a million. Yet while public and political discourse invariably concentrate on remote Australia, geographically, more than 75% of the Indigenous population is regional or urban and some 31% of Indigenous Australians live in the major cities

Treatment for inclusion body myositis

Background Inclusion body myositis (IBM) is a late-onset inflammatory muscle disease (myopathy) associated with progressive proximal and distal limb muscle atrophy and weakness. Treatment options have attempted to target inflammatory and atrophic features of this condition (for example with immunosuppressive and immunomodulating drugs, anabolic steroids, and antioxidant treatments), although as yet there is no known effective treatment for reversing or minimising the progression of inclusion body myositis. In this review we have considered the benefits, adverse effects, and costs of treatment in targeting cardinal effects of the condition, namely muscle atrophy, weakness, and functional impairment. Objectives To assess the effects of treatment for IBM. Search methods On 7 October 2014 we search ed the Cochrane Neuromuscular Disease Group Specialized Register, the Cochrane Central Register for Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), MEDLINE, and EMBASE. Additionally in November 2014 we searched clinical trials registries for ongoing or completed but unpublished trials. Selection criteria We considered randomised or quasi-randomised trials, including cross-over trials, of treatment for IBM in adults compared to placebo or any other treatment for inclusion in the review. We specifically excluded people with familial IBM and hereditary inclusion body myopathy, but we included people who had connective tissue and autoimmune diseases associated with IBM, which may or may not be identified in trials. We did not include studies of exercise therapy or dysphagia management, which are topics of other Cochrane systematic reviews. Data collection and analysis We used standard Cochrane methodological procedures. Main results The review included 10 trials (249 participants) using different treatment regimens. Seven of the 10 trials assessed single agents, and 3 assessed combined agents. Many of the studies did not present adequate data for the reporting of the primary outcome of the review, which was the percentage change in muscle strength score at six months. Pooled data from two trials of interferon beta-1a (n = 58) identified no important difference in normalised manual muscle strength sum scores from baseline to six months (mean difference (MD) -0.06, 95% CI -0.15 to 0.03) between IFN beta-1a and placebo (moderate-quality evidence). A single trial of methotrexate (MTX) (n = 44) provided moderate-quality evidence that MTX did not arrest or slow disease progression, based on reported percentage change in manual muscle strength sum scores at 12 months. None of the fully published trials were adequately powered to detect a treatment effect. We assessed six of the nine fully published trials as providing very low-quality evidence in relation to the primary outcome measure. Three trials (n = 78) compared intravenous immunoglobulin (combined in one trial with prednisone) to a placebo, but we were unable to perform meta-analysis because of variations in study analysis and presentation of trial data, with no access to the primary data for re-analysis. Other comparisons were also reported in single trials. An open trial of anti-T lymphocyte immunoglobulin (ATG) combined with MTX versus MTX provided very low-quality evidence in favour of the combined therapy, based on percentage change in quantitative muscle strength sum scores at 12 months (MD 12.50%, 95% CI 2.43 to 22.57). Data from trials of oxandrolone versus placebo, azathioprine (AZA) combined with MTX versus MTX, and arimoclomol versus placebo did not allow us to report either normalised or percentage change in muscle strength sum scores. A complete analysis of the effects of arimoclomol is pending data publication. Studies of simvastatin and bimagrumab (BYM338) are ongoing. All analysed trials reported adverse events. Only 1 of the 10 trials interpreted these for statistical significance. None of the trials included prespecified criteria for significant adverse events. Authors\u27 conclusions Trials of interferon beta-1a and MTX provided moderate-quality evidence of having no effect on the progression of IBM. Overall trial design limitations including risk of bias, low numbers of participants, and short duration make it difficult to say whether or not any of the drug treatments included in this review were effective. An open trial of ATG combined with MTX versus MTX provided very low-quality evidence in favour of the combined therapy based on the percentage change data given. We were unable to draw conclusions from trials of IVIg, oxandrolone, and AZA plus MTX versus MTX. We need more randomised controlled trials that are larger, of longer duration, and that use fully validated, standardised, and responsive outcome measures

Lower Limb Radiology of Distal Myopathy due to the S60F Myotilin Mutation

Distal myopathies are a clinically and genetically heterogenous group of disorders in which the distal limb musculature is selectively or disproportionately affected. Precisely defining specific categories is a challenge because of overlapping clinical phenotypes, making it difficult to decide which of the many known causative genes to screen in individual cases. In this study we define the distinguishing magnetic resonance imaging findings in myotilin myopathy by studying 8 genealogically unrelated cases due to the same point mutation in TTID. Proximally, the vastii, biceps femoris and semimembranosus were involved with sparing of gracilis and sartorius. Distally, soleus, gastrocnemius, tibialis anterior, extensor hallicus and extensor digitorum were involved. This pattern contrasts with other distal myopathies and provides further support for the role of imaging in the clinical investigation of muscle disease. Copyright (C) 2009 S. Karger AG, Base

miR-411 is up-regulated in FSHD myoblasts and suppresses myogenic factors

Background Facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD) is an autosomal dominant muscle disorder, which is linked to the contraction of the D4Z4 array at chromosome 4q35. Recent studies suggest that this shortening of the D4Z4 array leads to aberrant expression of double homeobox protein 4 (DUX4) and causes FSHD. In addition, misregulation of microRNAs (miRNAs) has been reported in muscular dystrophies including FSHD. In this study, we identified a miRNA that is differentially expressed in FSHD myoblasts and investigated its function. Methods To identify misregulated miRNAs and their potential targets in FSHD myoblasts, we performed expression profiling of both miRNA and mRNA using TaqMan Human MicroRNA Arrays and Affymetrix Human Genome U133A plus 2.0 microarrays, respectively. In addition, we over-expressed miR-411 in C2C12 cells to determine the effect of miR-411 on myogenic markers. Results Using miRNA and mRNA expression profiling, we identified 8 miRNAs and 1,502 transcripts that were differentially expressed in FSHD myoblasts during cell proliferation. One of the 8 differentially expressed miRNAs, miR-411, was validated by quantitative RT-PCR in both primary (2.1 fold, p\u3c0.01) and immortalized (2.7 fold, p\u3c0.01) myoblasts. In situ hybridization showed cytoplasmic localization of miR-411 in FSHD myoblasts. By analyzing both miRNA and mRNA data using Partek Genomics Suite, we identified 4 mRNAs potentially regulated by miR-411 including YY1 associated factor 2 (YAF2). The down-regulation of YAF2 in immortalized myoblasts was validated by immunoblotting (−3.7 fold, p\u3c0.01). C2C12 cells were transfected with miR-411 to determine whether miR-411 affects YAF2 expression in myoblasts. The results showed that over-expression of miR-411 reduced YAF2 mRNA expression. In addition, expression of myogenic markers including Myod, myogenin, and myosin heavy chain 1 (Myh1) were suppressed by miR-411. Conclusions The study demonstrated that miR-411 was differentially expressed in FSHD myoblasts and may play a role in regulating myogenesis

L\u2019esperienza dell\u2019immagine: il Denkraum der Besonnenheit di Aby Warburg

Il lavoro si fonda sull\u2019idea che il periodo del ricovero (1921-1924) di Aby Warburg nella clinica di Bellevue (Kreuzlingen), allora diretta da Ludwig Binswanger, debba essere considerato centrale per lo sviluppo teorico dello studioso amburghese. Piuttosto che liquidare come lungo momento di buio gli anni della malattia, si \ue8 ritenuto utile riflettere sulle connessioni tra l\u2019esperienza e l\u2019attitudine esistenziale di Warburg e gli sviluppi della sua ricerca. Prendendo in esame la celebre conferenza sul rituale del serpente (A lecture on Serpent Ritual) che lo storico dell\u2019arte tedesco tenne nel 1923 a Kreuzlingen, con il consenso di Binswanger, per attestare la sua guarigione davanti a un pubblico di medici e pazienti, ci si imbatte infatti in un concetto che diviene centrale per attraversare la produzione frammentaria e asistematica warburghiana. Se infatti il tema del Denkraum der Besonnenheit, compare per la prima volta nel 1920 (Divinazione antica pagana in testi ed immagini dell\u2019et\ue0 di Lutero), soltanto nella conferenza sul serpente prender\ue0 le sembianze di un processo dialettico - al contempo metodologico, scientifico e terapeutico - che tiene insieme e rielabora costantemente le polarit\ue0 costitutive dell\u2019essere umano. Il primo capitolo presenta l\u2019autore all\u2019interno della sua cornice storico-teorica, mettendo in evidenza le nefaste ricadute che ebbe lo scoppio della Prima Guerra Mondiale sulle certezze scientifiche e metodologiche di Warburg, sul suo rapporto privilegiato con l\u2019Italia e l\u2019arte rinascimentale e sulla sua passione per la migrazione storica, geografica e simbolica del sapere. In quello che si lascia definire come percorso di autoguarigione, Ludwig Binswanger ebbe senza dubbio un ruolo determinante, introducendo il suo paziente, da sempre ossessionato dalla distanza conoscitiva tra soggetto e oggetto, al metodo fenomenologico in occasione della conferenza del 1922 (Sulla fenomenologia; cber Ph\ue4nomenologie) alla quale Warburg fu invitato ad assistere. Il secondo capitolo \ue8 una disamina accurata delle ricorrenze del Denkraum der Besonnenheit negli scritti dello studioso amburghese per seguire le mutazioni sostanziali che la locuzione sub\uec dopo la permanenza a Kreuzlingen. Analizzando l\u2019etimologia greca di Besonnenheit, sophrosyne, si coglie l\u2019essenza della proposta warburghiana che, in linea con la prospettiva herderiana, riprende il significato della parola greca al momento della sua nascita, quando mostra un legame intrinseco tra corpo e intelletto che subito perder\ue0 fino a simboleggiare l\u2019esatto opposto, la volont\ue0 umana di dominare le passioni con la forza della ragione. Il terzo capitolo \ue8 dedicato alla dimensione temporale della dialettica del Denkraum all\u2019interno dell\u2019ultima, incompiuta opera di Warburg, l\u2019atlante Mnemosyne, che nasce proprio dall\u2019esigenza di tematizzare un paradigma evolutivo delle forme simboliche (storiche/artistiche/antropologiche) alternativo a una concezione di progresso lineare e unidirezionale. Lo sviluppo spazio-temporale delle forme simboliche \ue8 caratterizzato da uno sviluppo discontinuo soggetto alla regressione, la dimensione in cui l\u2019acquisizione di nuove funzioni vitali pu\uf2 avvenire soltanto tramite la scomparsa di elementi preesistenti. I pannelli introduttivi A (orientamento), B (microcosmo/macrocosmo) e C (progresso tecnico) risultano emblematici sia nel convogliare la costellazione concettuale presa in esame nel corso della trattazione, sia nell\u2019illustrare il funzionamento del modello di \u201cevoluzione regressiva\u201d, una dialettica tesa tra il guadagno e la perdita che non ha esclusivamente matrici umanistiche ma si inserisce nel vivo confronto tra biologia e scienze dello spirito, grazie al quale Warburg si confronter\ue0 proficuamente con le teorie di Darwin ed Haeckel