7696 research outputs found
Sort by
The Managerial Apparatus: Administration, Social Sciences, and Scientific Organization in Kosygin\u27s Soviet State
No full textThis project analyzes the development of ideologies of scientific management in the Soviet Union. I argue that scientific management developed within and was transmitted by social science academic institutions into policy during the post-Stalin period
Isometric Embeddings of Black Holes: Numerical Horizons in Euclidean Space
No full textIsometric embeddings consist in describing surfaces in a desired space such that infinitesimal distances from a given geometry are preserved. The isometric embedding of black hole apparent horizons in flat geometry is useful both for visualizing the horizon structure and for computing quasilocal quantities such as mass, energy, and angular momentum. However, finding these embeddings requires solving a system of nonlinear partial differential equations for which there is no generally established algorithm. In this context, we have developed two novel, robust numerical methods for finding isometric embeddings. Both of them were developed in the Spectral Einstein Code (SpEC), where they were tested and applied to binary black hole merger simulations. From the embedding results, we gained insight into the intrinsic shape of such horizons and how their embeddability possibly behaves
From Capitalism to African Socialism in Tanzania and the DRC: The Future of Postcolonial Political Economy and Development.
No full textAlthough both Tanzania and the Democratic Republic of Congo gained independence in the 1960s, the two countries’ histories and political economies are vastly different. It is evident that environmental responsibility, as well as state provision of education, water, food, housing, and healthcare, are far more critical for mental and physical well-being and societal fortitude than measures like Gross Domestic Product. Nothing short of a near-complete transformation of economic and social planning will suffice- both the decades-long violence in Congo and the disastrous consequences of current capitalist practices on the climate are striking reminders of this. Realism requires us to ask, however, how the current structures can be used as building blocks for the future, and which elements must be dismantled in full. This research applies the lessons learned from each country’s history to a dialogue between postcolonial political and economic theory. This dialogue exposes some perhaps difficult, yet unignorable truths: some of the effects of colonialism can not be undone, but can be transformed into true global positives- but the key to doing so has never lied in European or North American strategies. A balance must be struck between ensuring self-reliance and the ability to survive in the global market. In Tanzania, Julius Nyerere employed a socialist approach to development. He nationalized the country’s biggest industries, and sought to solve social problems by emphasizing the importance of education and collectivist principles. His strategies created the foundation for one of the most stable African governments today- yet, left the country vulnerable to interference from the International Monetary Fund the moment he stepped down from the presidency. Increasingly, Tanzania has focused on GDP growth over humanitarian goals. The dictator of the DRC, Joseph Mobutu, focused far less on the development of his country than he did on consolidating his power and staying in the good graces of the United States. To this day, Congo remains politically unstable and even the site of ongoing genocide. By looking at these two leaders’ economic policies, I determine which strategies are effective in creating stability and growth while inviting as little foreign attention as possible- all while forgoing GDP, and instead emphasizing measures closer aligned with the Human Development Index
The experience of participating in a local climate vulnerability assessment changes efficacy and motivation to act
No full textCan exposure to hyper-local predictions of climate change impacts motivate mitigation and adaptation behavior? This research explored reactions to a climate vulnerability assessment conducted in the City of Oberlin Ohio as a collaboration between Oberlin College faculty, students, city government, and community stakeholders as part of an ICLEI (Local Governments for Sustainability) process. Community stakeholders were selected for their expertise or leadership in various community systems (e.g. water, energy, emergency services, culture, public health, etc), but had no particular expertise in climate change impacts. Participants were presented with hyper-local predictions on the impacts of climate change derived from a combination of government reports and online modeling tools such as Climate Explorer. The resulting co-authored City of Oberlin Climate Vulnerability Report has spurred planning and action across the community. Anecdotal evidence suggested that participants found the process concurrently sobering and empowering. We conducted 26 interviews to document the range of psychological impacts of participating in the process. In general, participation increased the sense of both threat and efficacy. Additionally, more than half of the participants reported having negative feelings – twice as often as they reported having positive feelings. Participants experienced discomfort in the face of the reality of climate change. However when we asked about the overall experience, participants overwhelmingly reported that it was positive; not a single participant described it as negative. This suggests that the vulnerability assessment planning process caused negative feelings and discomfort, but in a context that was ultimately experienced as empowering and constructive
Martyrdom and the Myth of the Russian Writer: How Dissidence Turns Into Obedience
No full textThe adoration Russia displays for their canonized writers is quite apparent. Many of these authors, such as Pushkin, Lermontov, Dostoevsky, and Chernyshevsky, spent time in exile or prison. Their sufferings and conflicts with the state endowed them with the aura of martyrs in later narratives about their lives, granting them love from the state that once punished them. My study traces Russia’s ardor for martyrdom and how the state has used the rhetoric of martyrdom to sanctify both dissidence and obedience. Using both primary and secondary sources (Dostoevsky’ Pushkin speech, poems by Lermontov and Tsvetaeva, Jonathan Brooks Platt’s Greetings, Pushkin!, Soviet biographies, Lenin’s writings on Chernyshevsky), I show how Pushkin has been transformed into a staple of national identity through the romanticization of his martyrdom, while Chernyshevsky’s role as enemy of the state in the late 19th century secured him the status of a deity in the Soviet Union. Accordingly, the secondary school curriculum in Russia has used the myths of both writers to cultivate patriotism in schoolchildren. My study demonstrates that the state ultimately appropriates narratives of dissidence as martyrdom to foster obedience, which helps us better understand the work of propaganda in contemporary Russia. The rhetoric of martyrdom is currently being used by the Russian state to justify war in Ukraine (for example, Putin’s statement that in the case of nuclear attack “we [Russia] will end up in paradise, and they [the West] will simply perish because… we will be martyrs”) and foster an obedience in its citizens
Surface activity of burrowing crayfishes in northern Ohio
No full textThe crayfish Creaserinus fodiens is a primary burrower found in wooded wetlands and old fields widely distributed north-south from Canada down to the Gulf coast and east-west from the Atlantic coast to the midwest. Primary burrowing crayfish are cryptic animals, spending much of their time in underground burrows, often distant from surface waters (rivers, streams, ponds) but located in seasonally mesic habitats. As detritivores, these animals are integral to nutrient turnover, increasing nutrient availability and aerating the soil. Burrows may provide a source of reliable moisture, safety, and food or food storage. Like surface-water crayfishes, burrowing crayfishes use gills, requiring available water; thus, when the surface conditions are dry, such as in summer, these animals spend their time belowground, presumably below the water table. However, in their preferred habitats the surface is seasonally flooded and it is during these wet periods that the crayfish emerge. To study the behavior of the burrowing crayfish Creaserinus fodiens at the surface in 2022-23, we placed trail cameras up to once per week to record surface activity around burrows for a 24-hour span, recording a still image every 2-30 seconds. We surveyed each time-lapse video to observe crayfish emergence and categorize any activity (e.g., foraging, perching, excavating) as well as the time at which it occurred. We find that crayfish are most active and for longer periods after dark, with activity levels peaking after 8pm. Additionally, crayfish activity and duration of activity peaks in April-May, with Sep-Oct representing a second period of high activity. Perching, peeking, and retreating are most commonly observed while hunting and capping are relatively uncommon
Chlorpyrifos induces neurodegeneration in a Huntington’s disease cell model via a mitochondria-dependent pathway
No full textAccess to the full-text of this abstract is available to Oberlin College users only
Hidden in plain sight: (Mis)readings of the Spanish far right
No full textThe relatively late emergence of an electorally successful far-right party in Spain (Vox) confounded observers who had long assumed that the country’s recent experience with dictatorship had rendered it immune to the temptations of right-wing populism. Yet a closer analysis of the nature and evolution of the Spanish Right reveals that the absence of a far-right party should not have been read as an absence of far-right sentiments. For these, the Partido Popular, which identifies itself as centre right but has never identified as anti-fascist, long provided a welcome home. The fact that it continues to do so to this day shapes its relationship to Vox and sets it apart from most of its counterparts in Western Europe.
La emergencia relativamente tardía en España de un partido político de extrema derecha electoralmente exitoso (Vox) ha mistificado a numerosos observadores que asumieron por mucho tiempo que la experiencia dictatorial que tuvo el país en la segunda mitad del siglo XX le había conferido cierta inmunidad ante las tentaciones del populismo de derechas. Sin embargo, un análisis más cuidadoso de la naturaleza y la evolución de las derechas en España revela que la ausencia de un partido de extrema derecha no debería haberse leído necesariamente como indicadora de una ausencia de sentimientos de extrema derecha. La verdad es que durante mucho tiempo, estos sentimientos han encontrado cobijo en el Partido Popular, que se autoidentifica como centroderecha pero nunca se ha identificado como antifascista. El hecho de que el PP siga dando ese cobijo hoy es un factor determinante para comprender la relación entre el PP y Vox y distingue al PP de sus homólogos en Europa occidental
A Black Cartographer of the Long Eighteenth Century: Anastácio de Sant\u27Anna\u27s \u3ci\u3eGuia de Caminhantes\u3c/i\u3e
No full textFrom 1816 to 1817, Anastacio de Sant\u27Anna, a pardo (mixed-race) artist and cartographer active in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil, produced the Guia de Caminhantes, a manuscript atlas of Brazil and the Americas. Sant\u27Anna\u27s Guia is one of the few extant cartographic works produced by a Black artist during the slavery era. Discussing the Guia in English for the first time, this essay positions Sant\u27Anna\u27s work inside of the emergent subfield of Black Geographies. It argues that Sant\u27Anna used the Guia to advocate for the place of Black and Indigenous histories in Brazil\u27s nascent, post-colonial national identity, while also interrogating the history of cartography and landscape painting in colonial Brazil
The orthodox eccentricity of Daniel Sada: literary field, reception and the anxieties of criticism, 1979-1989 = La ortodoxa excentricidad de Daniel Sada: campo literario, recepción y las ansiedades de la crítica, 1979–1989
No full textThis article offers a critical analysis of how Daniel Sada (1953-2011) positioned himself in the Mexican literary field and how he navigated its pressures during what could be called his emergent period (1979-89). Through a study of literary criticism produced during that time, the reception of Sada\u27s work, contemporary periodicals, and the publishing history of his early books, this essay provides a narrative and reconstruction of the literary field of the 1980s, and explores the contingencies and transformations of Mexican literature at the end of the twentieth century.
Este artículo ofrece un análisis crítico de la manera en la que Daniel Sada (1953–2011) se posicionó en el campo literario mexicano y cómo navegó sus presiones durante lo que podría llamarse su periodo emergente (1979–89). Mediante un estudio de la crítica literaria producida en la época, la recepción de la obra de Sada, la hemerografía del momento y la historia editorial de sus primeros libros, el ensayo ofrece una narración y reconstrucción del campo literario de los años ochenta, y explora las contingencias y transformaciones de la literatura mexicana de fin del siglo XX