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During the last decades, Nigerian migrant women in the European sex market, described as victims of trafficking, have generated consistent concern and outrage. This article analyzes data from an ethnographic study of more than 800 Nigerian sex workers in southern Spain, describing the networks used by these women to carry out their migration projects and the relationships they establish with their agents. Thus, it contributes to refuting the hegemonic narrative about trafficking and its victims by contrasting it with data collected and systematized over almost a decade of participant observation and informal conversation. This paper argues that the stereotypical image of the Nigerian migrant women as victims of abuse and violence by transnational trafficking networks functions to justify strict migration-control policies and the denial of labor rights to sex workers. As an antidote to the dominance of narratives based on stereotypes and pseudoscientific claims, this paper underscores the urgent need for ethnographic research and its focus on emic (participant) perspectives. The goal is to develop tailored and effective policies and practices for the prevention of and intervention in migrant women's experience of exploitation, abuse, and violence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper shows a methodological proposal carried on in a PhD research, entitled "La población inmigrante extranjera y la construcción de la diferencia. Discursos de alteridad en el sistema educativo andaluz" (Olmos Alcaraz 2009). In the text is analized the convination of Critical Discourse Analysis and Ethno-graphy, to approach the study of the 'construction of the difference' toward foreign migrant students in Spain. To do that in the paper are described the procceses of production and analysis of the data and the results obtained in the research on the methodological sphere, to claim an inter, multi and trans-disciplinary approach in Social Science. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most students of Mexican history would be surprised to know that an extensive Black population, which will be referred to as Afro-Mexicans, existed during the colonial period. Though only a small percentage of Blacks went to Mexico in comparison to other parts of the Americas, Afro-Mexicans, both enslaved and free, at one time outnumbered the current dominant so-called mestizo population in Mexico. In addition, scholars have neglected studying Afro-Mexicans despite the fact that they made a great deal of contributions to the birth, growth, and development of Mexico. Thus, they should be examined for the important roles they played in Mexican history. Mexico had an extensive Black population which eventually assimilated into the dominant so-called mestizo majority by the late eighteenth century. Although the Afro-Mexicans were a large population during the colonial period, by the late eighteenth century, they became a negligible group supplanted by Indians, Whites, and mixed groups known as castas, later called mestizos. What accounted for the Afro-Mexican demographic decline by late colonial Mexican society? Certainly, many reasons accounted for the demise of Blacks in Mexico. For example, many died from wars, diseases, captivity, bondage, abuses, shocks, malnutrition, as well as other causes. However, this paper will concentrate on two salient factors that caused the decline of the Afro-Mexican population in Mexico from the sixteenth to the eighteenth centuries: the prevalent miscegenation ethos and pernicious racism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to investigate the tonal structure of narrow focus signaled by accentual means in English and in Catalan. In particular, it analyses the status of the F0 valley in the H(igh)-L(ow) movement observed after the focal constituent. In both languages, the H is interpreted as an H* pitch accent given its alignment within the accented syllable of the focal word. However, the nature of L is unclear since it can be analyzed as the trailing tone of a bitonal accent (H*+L) or a phrase accent (H*L-). The status of L is investigated in words with different stress distributions (oxytones, paroxytones, and proparoxytones) in subject and verb focal positions. An examination of the timing of L with respect to the accented syllable demonstrates that in Catalan the L corresponds to a phrase accent since it is anchored at the end of the word irrespective of the number of post-accented syllables. In English, on the other hand, the L is better interpreted as the trailing tone of H*+L, due to its fixed distance with respect to the accented syllable. These results confirm the assignment of focus at phrase final position in Romance languages as opposed to Germanic languages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines an obscure custom found in Iberian ethnography: that of having one's eldest children serve as godparents for their own youngest siblings, starting with the seventh. The paper's main working hypothesis is that this custom is to be understood in the context of underlying conceptions that fairytales convey in a symbolical guise. The argument highlights the relationship of examined notions with the "Dragon Slayer" theme, to bring out stable themata concerning ontological complexity and metamorphosis, in the light of which the Iberian custom is interpreted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes the role of Catholic religious organizations and worker groups in their commitment to achieve the promotion of decent working conditions. Methodologically, critical discourse analysis (CDA) and the valuation of social anthropology applied to social and political regulations are used. The results show that defending decent work means putting people at the heart of matters and considering work a fundamental right for the dignity of human life. Conclusions show that actions such as guaranteeing workers' rights, extending social protections, and promoting social dialogue are seen as essential in achieving the aim of decent work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]