University of Konstanz
KOPS - The Institutional Repository of the University of KonstanzNot a member yet
31050 research outputs found
Sort by
Community as a category of empire : 'The work of community' among Burmese Indians in Myanmar
No full textIn this article I argue that ‘community' is a category that is inextricably bound up with the historical development of the British empire. It was in this context that modern social theory took root, including, eventually, publications on community in anthropology and sociology that profoundly influenced nineteenth- and twentieth-century thought and that continue to shape everyday understandings of the category within and beyond academia. I first elaborate what type of work the category ‘community' was intended to do in the British empire. I then introduce two key figures who were responsible for designing, distributing and implementing two contrasting imperial theories of community. Subsequently, I sketch the migratory history of the category following the ancestors of today's so-called ‘Burmese Indians' across the Bay of Bengal from India to Burma. The final part of the article presents the repercussions ‘community' has in contemporary Myanmar, drawing on recent legislation around ‘race and religion’ as well as my own ethnographic data from religious processions of ethno-religious minorities who find themselves in a subaltern position vis-à-vis the Buddhist majority population and an ethnonationalist state.publishe
Stabilization to trajectories of nonisothermal Cahn–Hilliard equations
No full textIn this work, it is proven the semiglobal exponential stabilization to time-dependent trajectories of the nonisothermal Cahn–Hilliard equations. In the model, the input controls are given by explicit feedback operators that involve appropriate oblique projections. The actuators are given by a finite number of indicator functions. The results also hold for the isothermal Cahn–Hilliard system. Numerical simulations are shown that illustrate the stabilizing performance of the proposed input feedback operators.publishe
Wissenschaft und die Optimierung von Schule und Unterricht? Mehrperspektivische und domänenspezifische Betrachtungen eines Spannungsverhältnisses
No full textpublishe
How to upgrade stolen organelles into permanent plastids : A comparative transcriptomic perspective
No full textTertiary plastids derived from diatoms in “dinotom” dinoflagellates offer a rare view of organellogenesis in action, while the genomic and metabolic processes underlying their conversion remain poorly understood. Here, we present a comparative transcriptomic analysis of two dinotoms at different plastidial levels: Durinskia capensis at the kleptoplastidy state, alongside its kleptoplastid-source diatom Nitzschia captiva, and its close relative Durinskia kwazulunatalensis at an early permanent state. We show that in both dinotoms, the diatom nucleus retains high transcriptional autonomy, but its expression profile is plastid biased, signaling early host influence. In contrast, only D. kwazulunatalensis exhibits striking signs of genomic reconfiguration in the diatom nucleus: intron insertions, increased guanine (G) and cytosine (C) content, and growing nucleotide similarity to host transcripts. These shifts suggest an incipient nucleomorph-like transformation. Metabolically, only D. kwazulunatalensis expresses a complete hexose phosphate export pathway, suggesting deeper metabolic integration, while both species retain simpler carbohydrate transport routes. Additionally, we propose that diatom karyokinesis might be controlled by a dual mechanism via suppression of key transcription factors at the G1-S checkpoint and nitrate availability. Together, our findings reveal a continuum of plastid integration degrees, from temporary organelle theft to genomic accommodation and metabolic codependence. Dinotoms thus serve not only as evolutionary artifacts but as living laboratories, illuminating how kleptoplastids inch toward permanence.publishe
Emmanuelle Charpentier, Didier Lett (dir.), Le village à l’épreuve du genre dans l’Occident médiéval et moderne. Actes des XLIes journées internationales d’histoire de Flaran, 11 et 12 octobre 2019
No full textpublishe
Decentralised construction of a global coordinate system in a large swarm of minimalistic robots
No full textCollective intelligence and autonomy of robot swarms can be improved by enabling individual robots to become aware that they are the constituent parts of a larger whole and to identify their role within the swarm. In this study, we present an algorithm to enable positional self-awareness in a swarm of minimalistic, error-prone, stationary robots which can only locally broadcast messages and estimate the distance from their neighbours. Despite being unable to measure the bearing of incoming messages, the robots running our algorithm can calculate their position within a swarm deployed in a regular formation. We show through experiments with up to 200 Kilobot robots that such positional self-awareness can be employed by the robots to create a shared coordinate system and dynamically self-assign location-dependent tasks. Our solution has fewer requirements than state-of-the-art algorithms and includes collective noise-filtering mechanisms. Therefore, it has an extended range of robotic platforms on which it can run. All robots are interchangeable, run the same code, and do not need any prior knowledge. Through our algorithm, robots reach collective synchronisation and autonomously become aware of the swarm’s spatial configuration and their position within it.publishe
Tunable colloidal swarmalators with hydrodynamic coupling
No full textSwarmalators - entities that combine swarming with synchronization - offer a powerful framework for understanding systems where spatial organization and internal degrees of freedom are bidirectionally coupled. Such interplay arises in diverse natural and engineered systems, from Japanese tree frogs and magnetic domain walls to robotic swarms. In contrast to an established theoretical framework, experimental realizations with tunable coupling between motion and phase remain elusive. Here, we present a controllable swarmalator system based on feedback-controlled self-propelling colloidal particles orbiting around reference points and interacting via hydrodynamic flows. We show that synchronization and spatial dynamics co-evolve, giving rise to collective states including synchronized clusters, rotating aggregates, and dispersive phases using a single control parameter. A rapid change of this parameter between regimes of attractive and repulsive phase-mediated interactions yields dynamic regimes inaccessible to systems with static interactions. Simulations incorporating squirmer and lubrication forces support our findings. We also find a new interaction channel through synchronization-dependent forces perpendicular to the connection axis between swarmalators. In general, our platform provides a versatile testbed for probing swarmalator physics but also offers novel strategies for the design of self-organizing active matter.publishe
Siblings and nonparental adults provide alternative pathways to cultural inheritance in juvenile great tits
No full textIn many animal species, the juvenile period is under strong selection, leading to a concentration of social learning during this stage as an efficient strategy for young individuals to acquire skills essential for survival. However, as social learning is not always adaptive, juveniles need to be strategic in when, who, and what to copy. In species with extended parental care, parents are often preferred sources of information, leading to stable intergenerational transmission of knowledge. However, little is known about transmission pathways in species with limited periods of parental care, and their implication for cultural inheritance. Here, we investigate social learning strategies during development in a model species with a dependence period of a few weeks, the great tit (Parus major). Using fully automated two-option foraging puzzles, we diffused knowledge about the puzzle through breeding populations and then constrained parental individuals’ choices such that parents either (1) both had knowledge of the same option, (2) had conflicting knowledge of the two options, or (3) had no knowledge of how to solve the puzzle. We then tracked solving behavior of 229 newly fledged juveniles over 10 weeks. Parental solving frequency during dependence strongly predicted knowledge acquisition by offspring, suggesting intergenerational cultural inheritance. However, detailed investigation of learning pathways revealed siblings as the most important role models for social learning, followed by nonparental adults and parents. Furthermore, offsprings’ option choices were not predicted by parental choices, but instead influenced by the broader social environment, with evidence for a conformist learning bias. Overall, by using large-scale experimental manipulation of parental behavior, our study offers new insights into social learning pathways and mechanisms of cultural inheritance in r-selected species with limited parental care and multiple offspring. Our findings provide a stark contrast to most previously studied systems exhibiting multigenerational cultures, where cultural transmission overwhelmingly occurs from parents to offspring, and give insights into the more variable transmission routes that might occur across socially learning species.publishe
Dyadic Coping and Communication as Predictors of 10-Year Relationship Satisfaction Subgroup Trajectories in Stable Romantic Couples
No full textGiven the importance of relationship satisfaction and the detrimental effects of its decline in romantic couples, it is crucial to understand how relationship satisfaction develops over time in long-term stable relationships and to identify predictors that explain such long-term changes. Building upon previously identified subgroups with distinct trajectories of relationship satisfaction, our objective was to examine whether two types of relationship skills—dyadic coping and communication—predict subgroup trajectories. We followed 300 mixed-gender couples over 10 years in annual assessments and applied Dyadic Latent Class Growth models with predictors. Our results suggest that subgroups of relationship satisfaction trajectories can be differentiated by both baseline levels and changes in relationship skills. Couples with high and relatively stable satisfaction were distinguished from those with declining satisfaction primarily by baseline negative communication (women’s report) and a deterioration in dyadic coping. Couples with the lowest initial satisfaction exhibited the least beneficial relationship skills but increased their satisfaction over time, likely due to observed improvements in their skills. These findings have important public health implications, as modifiable relationship skills can be targeted in prevention, counseling, or therapy to help couples develop and sustain improvements in their relationship skills to protect their relational well-being in the long term.publishe
