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Zeitgeist and Ortgeist : time and place in institutional creation
Get PDFFunding: Scottish Parliament Academic Fellowship.How are institutions created is one of the most interesting questions in institutional theory. Some strands of literature favour heroic explanations: mythologizing individuals with vision, tenacity and drive and putting these individuals on the pedestal of the institution. Institutional work literature advocates a more diffuse model whereby the collective effort of institutional actors over time contributes to institutional creation. Drawing on our ethnographic study of the Scottish Parliament, we examined the roles of different institutional actors through the theoretical lens of materiality. We focused on the material base for the institution, the building that houses the Parliament. We asked two questions: How do institutional actors interact with the material nature of the building in institutional creation? And how do these institutional actors, individually and collectively, create the spirit of the place in a new building? We identified some mechanisms in which institutional actors interact with the material nature of the building: mythologizing the institution, searching for discursive legitimacy, accentuating differentiation from other institutions and making incremental changes in the fabric of the building. While acknowledging the importance of the heroic narratives in institutional creation, we draw analytic attention to the collective effort by institutional actors who create the institution and its building over time.Peer reviewe
Postcards, translators and Esperanto pioneers : an alternative history of international communication
No full textFunding: The authors would like to thank the Leverhulme Trust for funding Bernhard and Guilherme’s joint project ‘Sharing Knowledge in Esperanto: From Expert to Participatory Cultures, 1900/2000’, which allowed them to work on this book.The early twentieth century was a time when steamships, international postal services and the telephone were setting the pace of an early wave of globalisation in Europe. In this increasingly international scenario, what role did language play? To address the geopolitical problem of cross-border linguistic (mis)understanding, international auxiliary languages like Esperanto were created. But what happened to a constructed language when it travelled to different places? This book tackles these questions by exploring the letters, postcards and activities of John Beveridge (1857–1943) and his family. This Scottish clergyman was a proficient Esperanto speaker, translator and co-founder of several Esperanto organisations. His long-standing engagement with the language left a unique archive that reveals how many Esperanto speakers exchanged letters across borders, produced literature for an international readership, organised congresses and used this language as an entry point into modernity and globalisation from their ‘marginal’ positions in the world. By tracing this language-based form of grassroots internationalism, the book uncovers wide-reaching networks connecting a corner of Scotland with rural settings and villages in Finland, Bulgaria and Brazil. Ultimately, it asks: what do we learn about international communication and globalisation through the lens of Esperanto and postcards? Focusing on a constructed language and communication technologies that preceded the dominance of global English and social media, this book offers an alternative vantage point on the history of international communication
Expansion dynamics of strongly correlated lattice bosons : a self-consistent density-matrix approach
Get PDFFunding: This work was funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) under Germany's Excellence Strategy-Cluster of Excellence Matter and Light for Quantum Computing, ML4Q (No. 390534769) and through the DFG Collaborative Research Center CRC 185 OSCAR (No. 277625399).We study the spatiotemporal dynamics of interacting bosons on a two-dimensional Hubbard lattice in the strongly interacting regime, taking into account the dynamics of condensate amplitude as well as the direct transport of noncondensed fluctuations. To that end we develop a self-consistent density-matrix approach which goes beyond the standard Gutzwiller mean-field theory. Starting from the Liouville-von-Neumann equation we derive a quantum master equation for the time evolution of the system's local density matrix at each lattice site, with a dynamical bath that represents the rest of the system. We apply this method to the expansion dynamics of an initially prepared cloud of interacting bosons in an optical lattice. We observe a ballistic expansion of the condensate, as expected, followed by slow, diffusive transport of the normal bosons. We discuss, in particular, the robustness of the Mott insulator phase as well as its melting due to incoherent transport. The method should be applicable to various models of lattice bosons in the strongly correlated regime.Peer reviewe
Environmental hazards from pollution of antibiotics and resistance-driving chemicals in an urban river network from Malawi
Get PDFFunding: The funding for this work was provided by the Medical Research Council, NIHR, Wellcome Trust, Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic, and the Czech Science Foundation. We thank the local communities for their acceptance of this study and would also like to thank the wider DRUM consortium for their advice, guidance, and support.African communities have a high prevalence of antimicrobial-resistant bacterial carriage, alongside high levels of antibiotic usage and environmental pollution. Limited access to water, sanitation and hygiene infrastructure and wastewater treatment facilities enables the dissemination of resistant bacteria, antimicrobials and antibiotic resistance-driving chemicals (ARDCs) into local rivers. Few data exist quantifying the chemical drivers of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in urban aquatic environments from African settings. In this longitudinal surveillance study, we investigated an urban river network in Blantyre, Malawi over a continuous 12-month period, identifying a broad-range of chemical pollutants, including antibiotics, common pharmaceuticals, agricultural and industrial chemicals and heavy metals. Antimicrobial concentrations were found at levels selective for AMR and ARDCs exhibited seasonal variations, indicating that deficient sanitation infrastructure and anthropogenic factors result in high antibiotic and ARDC levels entering the river systems, which serve as an important ecological niche for the acquisition, maintenance and transmission of AMR.Peer reviewe
Overcoming polyatomic interferences in sulfur isotope analysis using MC-ICP-MS
No full textFunding: This work was supported by the UK Research and Innovation (NE/Y001028/1, NE/Y001710/1 and EP/Z000645/1, awarded to A.B.).Accurate and precise sulfur isotope (32S, 33S and 34S) measurement using multi-collector inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (MC-ICP-MS) is often challenged by the formation of polyatomic ions, leading to isobaric interferences that overlap with sulfur isotopes of interest. Traditionally, high-resolution mode is required to resolve sulfur isotopes from these interferences, but achieving high resolving power typically comes with a substantial reduction in analyte sensitivity. In this study, we address the challenge of spectral interferences by adjusting plasma operating conditions (quantified using the Normalised Argon Index, NAI), thereby significantly mitigating the formation of polyatomic ions. As a result, δ34S and δ33S can be accurately measured at the peak centre in low-resolution mode. The use of low-resolution mode leads to an approximately threefold increase in sensitivity compared with conventional high-resolution measurement. This sensitivity improvement is particularly advantageous for analysing samples with low sulfur mass fractions, or where sample material is limited such as ice cores. In addition, the optimised plasma condition provides a predictable pattern of instrumental mass fractionation, which is essential for accurate mass bias correction using the standard-sample bracketing technique. Overall, our new approach simplifies the analytical workflow and minimises instrument wear, offering a sensitive, user-friendly, and high-throughput method for sulfur isotope measurement with MC-ICP-MS.Peer reviewe
Awareness, facilitators, barriers, and behaviours surrounding brain health : a large-scale cross-sectional survey of adults across UK and Ireland
Get PDFFunding: R.F.T. was a Ph.D. student at Queen’s University Belfast, funded by the Department for the Economy (DfE), Northern Ireland. Study recruitment was aided by funding from the MRC (MRC UK Nutrition Research Partnership (NRP) Collaboration Award NuBrain (MR/T001852/1).Background Almost half of all dementia cases could theoretically be delayed or prevented by addressing risk factors at the population level. However, dementia risk reduction requires awareness of, and action on, modifiable risk factors. This study aimed to explore public awareness of brain health, and the facilitators for, and barriers to, engaging in preventative action to reduce dementia risk, across the UK and Ireland. Methods The Brain Health and Lifestyle Survey (BHLS) was a co-developed and evidence-informed online survey, underpinned by behaviour change frameworks. The BHLS was distributed via convenience sampling to individuals aged ≥ 40 years living in the UK and Ireland. It comprised 31 main questions on awareness, beliefs and behaviour change surrounding brain health and took approximately 20–25 min to complete. Ethical approval was obtained from Queen’s University Belfast [Ref: MHLS20_162]. Results A total of 6816 respondents (75% UK; 25% Ireland) completed the BHLS between February and June 2021. Most respondents were aged 50–74 years (78%), female (79%), white (99%), overweight (59%) and highly educated (64%). The majority of respondents rated their brain health as good (79%) and there was high awareness of protective factors, including cognitively stimulating activities (91%) and physical exercise (88%). However, awareness of risk factors such as hypertension (62%), midlife obesity (61%), air pollution (50%) and hearing loss (35%) was lower. Awareness differed according to demographic factors, with lower awareness among respondents aged 40–49 years, and those with lower educational attainment. The identified barriers to adopting a brain-healthy lifestyle were implementing changes which were not enjoyable (44%), lack of self-motivation (33%), and a lack of trusted information (27%). Facilitators for adopting a brain-healthy lifestyle included: noticing problems with brain health (70%) and receiving personalised advice (51%). Conclusion Understanding of brain health and dementia risk reduction was variable in this large sample of UK and Irish citizens. There were identified gaps in awareness of risk factors relating to cardiometabolic health, hearing loss, and air pollution. These findings highlight the need for credible sources of accessible and relevant information to improve awareness and behaviours surrounding brain health.Peer reviewe
A method for identifying local adaptation in structured populations
Get PDFFunding: This study was funded by the Swiss Science National Foundation grant 31003A_179358, 310030_215709 to JG.Species occupy diverse, heterogeneous environments, which expose populations to spatially varied selective pressures. Populations in different environments can diverge due to local adaptation. However, neutral evolution can also drive population divergence. Thus, testing for local adaptation requires a neutral baseline for population differentiation. The classical QST-FST comparison was developed for this purpose. Yet, QST-FST frequently fails to account for the complexities of population structure because the theory underlying this comparison assumes that all subpopulations are equally related, resulting in inflated false positive rates in metapopulations that deviate from the island model. To address this limitation we use estimates of between- and within-population relatedness to model population structure. Using those relatedness matrices, we infer the between- and within-population ancestral additive genetic variances under a mixed-effects model. Under neutrality, these inferred variances are expected to be equal. We propose here a test to detect selection based on the comparison of these two estimates of the ancestral variance and we compare its performance with earlier solutions. We find our method is well calibrated across various population structures and has high power to detect adaptive divergence.Peer reviewe
Kin selection as a modulator of human handedness : sex- specific, parental genetic and parent-of-origin effects
No full textThe frequency of left-handedness in humans is ~10% worldwide and slightly higher in males than females. Twin and family studies estimate the heritability of handedness at ~25%. The low but substantial frequency of left-handedness has been suggested to imply negative-frequency-dependent selection, e.g. owing to a ‘surprise’ advantage of left-handers in combat. Because such game-theoretic hypotheses involve social interaction, here I perform an analysis of the evolution of handedness based on kinselection, which is understood to play a major role in the evolution of social behaviour. First, I assume the genes affecting left-handedness are located on autosomes, and show: (1) relatedness modulates the frequency of left-handedness, according to whether left-handedness is marginally selfish or altruistic; (2) sex differences in relatedness may drive sex differences in handedness; (3) differential relatedness may generate parent–offspring conflict and sexual conflict leading to maternal and paternal genetic effects on handedness; (4) differential relatedness of maternal-origin versus paternal-origin genes may generate intragenomic conflict leading to parent-of-origin-specific gene effects—e.g. ‘genomic imprinting’—and associated maladaptation. Then I assume the genes are located at X, Y chromosomes or mitochondria, and show: (1) relatedness modulates the evolution of left-handedness, which qualitatively mirrors the case of autosomal inheritance; (2) sex differences in relatedness may drive sex differences in handedness; such sex difference in handedness can occur under sex-biased dispersal; while only for Y chromosomes and mitochondria, sex differences in handedness can occur under equal dispersal between sexes. Lastly, I explore whether rare coding variants of tubulin genes are associated with left-handedness with exome sequencing data from 121 twin pairs recruited for developmental language disorders, as tubulin genes have been suggested to influence left-handedness. No association has been found. This suggests a larger sample is required to detect the possible effect of rare coding variants of tubulin genes on lefthandedness
Constitutional courts : reconciling the law, politics, and 'spirit' after transition
No full textThis thesis investigates judicial constitutional interpretation and decision-making following transitions from non-democratic minority rule to majority-led liberal democracies in two former white-settler colonial states. The research responds to the uneven engagement with constitutionalism in Africa. In particular, the limited attention paid to the impact of post-colonial legacies on emergent constitutional courts in post-colonial Africa. Focusing on Zimbabwe and South Africa, the central research question asks: To what extent does the ‘spirit’ of national liberation movements manifest in early constitutional adjudication? In doing so, the thesis aims to: first, foreground post-colonial Southern Africa in a comparative constitutional study exercise; second, challenge the privileging of the South African post-apartheid constitutional development in legal and political scholarship; and third, recognising the comparative paucity of focused study on it, offer new data on Zimbabwe’s post-transitional constitutional development.
Adopting a methodological approach that synthesises perspectives from history, politics, and comparative constitutional law, I examine eight cases to investigate the manifestation of the ‘spirit’ of the national liberation movements in the Supreme Court of Zimbabwe between 1980 and 1995, and in the Constitutional Court of South Africa between 1995 and 2000. Highlighting the nature of the preceding peace settlement processes, orientation of the liberation constitutions, and post-transition political dynamics, this thesis rationalises the restrained, legalistic approach of the Supreme Court against the more deliberative, empowered, and transformative arc of the Constitutional Court of South Africa. The findings of this study demonstrate that a historically grounded analysis of post-transitional constitutional adjudication in African courts, which recognises and considers the specificities of preceding national liberation struggles, helps better account for the ideological, temporal, and moral dimensions of constitutional decision-making in their formative years
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