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On Ramps for Data Science: Visualizing Voting for Trump
No full textThis hands on interactive workshop using R, a common statistical programming language, demonstrates one way to introduce students to data science. Participants will use visualizations of voting patterns in the United States to learn the power of data science as well as some tools to implement data science skills. Discussions include tips for guiding students through programming for the first time, interpreting data, and understanding how data literacy can improve their understanding of the world
Magic, Greek
Get PDFGreek magic is the discourse of magic within the ancient Greek world. Greek magic includes a range of practices, from malevolent curses to benevolent protections, from divinatory practices to alchemical procedures, but what is labelled magic depends on who is doing the labelling and the circumstances in which the label is applied. The discourse of magic pertains to non-normative ritualized activity, in which the deviation from the norm is most often marked in terms of the perceived efficacy of the act, the familiarity of the performance within the cultural tradition, the ends for which the act is performed, or the social location of the performer. Magic is thus a construct of subjective labelling, rather than an objectively existing category. Rituals whose efficacy is perceived as extraordinary (in either a positive or negative sense) or that are performed in unfamiliar ways, for questionable ends, or by performers whose status is out of the ordinary might be labelled (by others or by oneself) as magic in antiquity
Underworld
Get PDFDepictions of the underworld, in ancient Greek and Roman textual and visual sources, differ significantly from source to source, but they all draw on a common pool of traditional mythic motifs. These motifs, such as the realm of Hades and its denizens, the rivers of the underworld, the paradise of the blessed dead, and the places of punishment for the wicked, are developed and transformed through all their uses throughout the ages, depending upon the aims of the author or artist depicting the underworld. Some sources explore the relation of the world of the living to that of the dead through descriptions of the location of the underworld and the difficulties of entering it. By contrast, discussions of the regions within the underworld and existence therein often relate to ideas of afterlife as a continuation of or compensation for life in the world above. All of these depictions made use of the same basic set of elements, adapting them in their own ways to describe the location of, the entering into, and the regions within the underworld
Brace Yourself for the New Normal: One Year into the U.S. -China Trade Dispute
No full textA year has passed since the beginning of the tit-for-tat trade war between China and the United States that has shaken up the global economy. In search of a trade deal, U.S. and Chinese negotiators have had eleven rounds of trade talks in 2019 alone. But negotiations collapsed in May, with each side blaming the other for the impasse. President Donald Trump and President Xi Jinping’s truce on the sidelines of the Group of 20 Summit in Osaka on June 28 was welcome news that has paved the way for the resumption of talks. But we saw a similar presidential handshake for a trade war cease-fire at the previous G20 meeting in Buenos Aires last December, and that cease-fire did not last. The world’s two great economic powers on either side of the Pacific still remain as far apart as they were one year ago
Green Politics, Expertise, and Democratic Discourse in the Two Germanies, 1989-2019
Get PDFEnvironmental movements became a major vehicle for promoting citizen participation in both East and West Germany during the 1980s. Their critiques of industrial society, however, reflected the different constellations of power in their respective countries. Movements in both East and West formed green parties, but their disparate understandings of power, expertise, and democracy complicated the parties’ efforts to coalesce during the unification process and to play a major role in German politics after unification. I propose that the persistence of this East-West divide helps explain the continuing discrepancy in the appeal of Alliance 90/The Greens in the old and new German federal states. Nevertheless, I also suggest that the Greens have accomplished their goal of opening technical issue areas—particularly energy—to political debate. This is currently working to enhance their image throughout Germany as champions of technological innovation and democratic openness in the face of climate inaction and right-wing populism
Conspiracy theorizing as political practice in Guinea
Get PDFThis article examines conspiracy theory as an integral part of political practice. In 2010, following a tumultuous year that included a military takeover and a junta-led massacre of civilians, the Republic of Guinea held what was widely considered to be the country\u27s first democratic presidential election since independence in 1958. During this time, many Guineans regularly exchanged information about secret intrigues at the highest levels of politics. These popular reports of powerful figures conspiring to fix the election influenced people\u27s talk and actions, contributing to an environment in which abstract suspicions crystallized in real, and sometimes violent, events. These events in turn heightened suspicions of high-level conspiracy and, among people who identified as ethnic Fulɓe, reinforced the widespread conviction that they were being targeted. Focusing ethnographically on two episodes in which theories of conspiracy influenced how Guineans perceived and shaped the course of the 2010 elections, this article explores conspiracy theorizing as an emergent mode of politics that may have profound effects
Orexin signaling during social defeat stress influences subsequent social interaction behaviour and recognition memory
Get PDFOrexins are neuropeptides synthesized in the lateral hypothalamus that influence arousal, feeding, reward pathways, and the response to stress. However, the role of orexins in repeated stress is not fully characterized. Here, we examined how orexins and their receptors contribute to the coping response during repeated social defeat and subsequent anxiety-like and memory-related behaviors. Specifically, we used Designer Receptors Exclusively Activated by Designer Drugs (DREADDs) to stimulate orexins prior to each of five consecutive days of social defeat stress in adult male rats. Additionally, we determined the role of the orexin 2 receptor in these behaviors by using a selective orexin 2 receptor antagonist (MK-1064) administered prior to each social defeat. Following the 5 day social defeat conditioning period, rats were evaluated in social interaction and novel object recognition paradigms to assess anxiety-like behavior and recognition memory, respectively. Activation of orexin neurons by DREADDs prior to each social defeat decreased the average latency to become defeated across 5 days, indicative of a passive coping strategy that we have previously linked to a stress vulnerable phenotype. Moreover, stimulation of orexin signaling during defeat conditioning decreased subsequent social interaction and performance in the novel object recognition test indicating increased subsequent anxiety-like behavior and reduced working memory. Blocking the orexin 2 receptor during repeated defeat did not alter these effects. Together, our results suggest that orexin neuron activation produces a passive coping phenotype during social defeat leading to subsequent anxiety-like behaviors and memory deficits
Toward theories of partnership praxis: an analysis of interpretive framing in literature on students as partners in teaching and learning
Get PDFA body of literature on students as partners (SaP) in higher education has emerged over the last decade that documents, shares, and evaluates SaP approaches. As is typical in emerging fields of inquiry, scholars differ regarding how they see the relationship between the developments in SaP practices and the theoretical explanations that guide, illuminate, and situate such practices. In this article we explore the relationship between theory and practice in SaP work through an analysis of interpretive framing employed in scholarship of SaP in teaching and learning in higher education. Through a conceptual review of selected publications, we describe three ways of framing partnership that represent distinct but related analytical approaches: building on concepts; drawing on constructs; and imagining through metaphors. We both affirm the expansive and creative theorising in scholarship of SaP in university teaching and learning and encourage further deliberate use and thoughtful development of interpretive framings that take seriously the disruptive ethos and messy human relational processes of partnership. We argue that these developmental processes move us toward formulating theories of partnership praxis
