304 research outputs found
Critical discourse analysis, description, explanation, causes: Foucault's inspiration versus Weber's perspiration
No full textThe FOUCAULTian governmentality approach, in relying on a teleology - the ultimate purpose of human endeavour is the quest for ever-growing human reason, a reason that is the universal basis of moral judgements, especially moral judgements about political and legal actions - leads not to description, explanation and the possible identification of causes, but to critique, to the inappropriate conflation of, on the one hand, description, explanation and the identification of causes with, on the other, political criticisms sourced in the teleology. Drawing on some of WEBER's methodological insights, an argument is developed that critical discourse analysis, in taking on the FOUCAULTian approach, gives up the best traditions of description, explanation and the identification of causes in favour of the expression, in many different forms, of the teleology
Conclusioni
No full textThe paper represents the conclusions of an important conference, centered on Italy in the period 888-962 AD (corresponding to the formation of the Italic kingdom), edited by the author together with Chris Wickham. Both urban and rural data, on a national basis, are taken into account. The work is based primarily on the results of excavations and is complemented by an extensive thematic bibliographic note at the end of the text. It faces mainly themes such as the forms of power and the settlement networks in large sample areas, where archaeology shows a strengthening of trends already in place in the two previous centuries. The proposed models are to be read as stages of the transformation process towards an urban-led economy, where towns are not anymore just commercial terminals but start to play a leading role in their relationship with the countryside. This process happens in the context of an always strongly ruralized society, where landed property still represents the basis for the creation of wealth and economies. The many examples, from northern to southern Italy, converge in showing economic choices that imply a heavy transformations of settlements and productive centers, adapting them to the new entrepreneurial needs
Species data of littoral macroinvertebrate communities of alpine lakes along an elevational gradient (Hohe Tauern National Park, Austria) in July/August 2018
No full textAlpine lakes support unique communities which may respond with great sensitivity to climate change. To understand the drivers of benthic macroinvertebrate community structure, samples were collected in the littoral of 28 lakes within Hohe Tauern National Park, Austria. Sampling took place from early July to early August 2018 between altitudes of 2,000 and 2,700 m a.s.l. The extent of habitat types in the lake littoral was estimated. Habitat types were classified into sediment (maximum grain size of 2 mm), small rocks (up to 20 cm x 15 cm x 5 cm), and large boulders/sheer rock faces. The extent of rocky habitats was calculated as the sum of areas covered by small rocks and boulders/sheer rock faces. A total area of 1 m² was sampled in each lake, using a hand net with a sharp frame (25 cm in width) and 500 µm mesh-size. Mixed samples were taken, covering each habitat type proportional to its extent in the lake (100% corresponding to 1 m²). For habitats covering up to 10% of the lake, a standardized area of 0.1 m² was sampled. In sediment, the uppermost 5 cm of the ground were scooped into the net by sweeping it swiftly through the sediment. When sampling large boulders or rock faces, a metal spatula was used to scrape macroinvertebrates off the surface and collect them in the net. Macroinvertebrates were brushed off small rocks using a toothbrush over water-filled trays. The dimensions of those small rocks were measured, and total surface area was calculated, assuming a suitable geometric form (ellipsoid or cuboid). Samples were presorted in the field and preserved in 4% formalin. After 3-4 weeks, all samples were rinsed in tap water and transferred to 70% ethanol for further storage. Identification was performed using a stereomicroscope (OLYMPUS SZX16, 11.2x-184x) to the lowest taxon possible
Littoral macroinvertebrate communities and environmental parameters of alpine lakes along an elevational gradient (Hohe Tauern National Park, Austria) in July/August 2018
No full textAlpine lakes support unique communities which may respond with great sensitivity to climate change. To understand the drivers of benthic macroinvertebrate community structure, samples were collected in the littoral of 28 lakes within Hohe Tauern National Park, Austria. Sampling took place from early July to early August 2018 between altitudes of 2,000 and 2,700 m a.s.l. The extent of habitat types in the lake littoral was estimated. Habitat types were classified into sediment (maximum grain size of 2 mm), small rocks (up to 20 cm x 15 cm x 5 cm), and large boulders/sheer rock faces. The extent of rocky habitats was calculated as the sum of areas covered by small rocks and boulders/sheer rock faces. A total area of 1 m² was sampled in each lake, using a hand net with a sharp frame (25 cm in width) and 500 µm mesh-size. Mixed samples were taken, covering each habitat type proportional to its extent in the lake (100% corresponding to 1 m²). For habitats covering up to 10% of the lake, a standardized area of 0.1 m² was sampled. In sediment, the uppermost 5 cm of the ground were scooped into the net by sweeping it swiftly through the sediment. When sampling large boulders or rock faces, a metal spatula was used to scrape macroinvertebrates off the surface and collect them in the net. Macroinvertebrates were brushed off small rocks using a toothbrush over water-filled trays. The dimensions of those small rocks were measured, and total surface area was calculated, assuming a suitable geometric form (ellipsoid or cuboid). Samples were presorted in the field and preserved in 4% formalin. After 3-4 weeks, all samples were rinsed in tap water and transferred to 70% ethanol for further storage. Identification was performed using a stereomicroscope (OLYMPUS SZX16, 11.2x-184x) to the lowest taxon possible. Lake size was determined by aerial photograph in Google Earth Pro. To do so, the outlines of the lakes were traced, and the area of the polygon then calculated. Physical and chemical water parameters were measured with a multi-parameter sonde (EXO2 YSI) (for lakes 1-18 from a boat, otherwise from a rock or by wading into the lake): water temperature (°C), dissolved oxygen (% saturation), conductivity (µS/m), pH, nitrate (mg/l), turbidity (FNU), blue-green algae phycocyanin (µg/l) and chlorophyll-a (µg/l). Maximum depth (m) was measured with a sonar by rowing up to 10 transects across lakes. Maximum depth was not measured for lakes 19-28. Two data loggers had been planted per lake in lakes 1-18 in the previous year and were recovered in 2018. Data loggers measured water temperature at about half a meter depth in six-hour intervals over an entire year. Ice-free days were deduced from available logger data, assuming an ice-cover at water temperatures below 2 °C (daily maximum temperature). Additionally, zoo- and phytoplankton samples were taken from the first 18 lakes. Zooplankton was sampled with vertical tows from the hypolimnion to the surface in deeper lakes, and with oblique tows in shallow lakes using a 29 cm diameter net with a 30 µm mesh size. Samples were then fixed in sucrose-formalin and counted under an Olympus SZX16 stereomicroscope equipped with a 0.7 – 11.5 zoom objective. Phytoplankton samples from lakes 1-18 were taken with a 1.2 L water sampler from the middle of the epilimnion, and when one was present, also from the deep chlorophyll maximum. Samples were fixed with Lugol's iodine and counted in sampling chambers with a Nikon TE2000 inverted microscope using a 20x objective
Fly on the wall : odd scenes from seemingly normal people.
No full textWatching individuals react to each other and communicate is fascinating and usually humorous to some extent. Fly on the Wall: Odd Scenes from Seemingly Normal People showcases those little scenes, those reactionary moments of confusion, frustration, fear, love, and annoyance. This is the heart of comedy
PLOS ONE / Littoral macroinvertebrate communities of alpine lakes along an elevational gradient (Hohe Tauern National Park, Austria)
No full textAlpine lakes support unique communities which may respond with great sensitivity to climate change. Thus, an understanding of the drivers of the structure of communities inhabiting alpine lakes is important to predict potential changes in the future. To this end, we sampled benthic macroinvertebrate communities and measured environmental variables (water temperature, dissolved oxygen, conductivity, pH, nitrate, turbidity, blue-green algal phycocyanin, chlorophyll-a) as well as structural parameters (habitat type, lake size, maximum depth) in 28 lakes within Hohe Tauern National Park, Austria, between altitudes of 2,000 and 2,700 m a.s.l. The most abundant macroinvertebrate taxa that we found were Chironomidae and Oligochaeta. Individuals of Coleoptera, Diptera, Hemiptera, Plecoptera, Trichoptera, Tricladida, Trombidiformes, Veneroida were found across the lakes and determined to family level. Oligochaeta were not determined further. Generalized linear modeling and permanova were used to identify the impact of measured parameters on macroinvertebrate communities. We found that where rocky habitats dominated the lake littoral, total macroinvertebrate abundance and family richness were lower while the ratio of Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera and Trichoptera (EPT) was higher. Zoo- and phytoplankton densities were measured in a subset of lakes but were not closely associated with macroinvertebrate abundance or family richness. With increasing elevation, macroinvertebrate abundances in small and medium-sized lakes increased while they decreased in large lakes, with a clear shift in community composition (based on families). Our results show that habitat parameters (lake size, habitat type) have a major influence on benthic macroinvertebrate community structure whereas elevation itself did not show any significant effects on communities. However, even habitat parameters are likely to change under climate change scenarios (e.g. via increased erosion) and this may affect alpine lake macroinvertebrates.Anne BartelsI, Ulrike G. Berninger, Florian Hohenberger, Stephen Wickham, Jana S. Peterman
Analytical aspects of the debt problems of heavily indebted poor countries
No full textA group of heavily indebted low-income countries (HIPCs), most in Sub-Saharan Africa, has continued to experience external debt problems. Because the HIPCs'economic characteristics and external imbalances are very different from those of middle-income countries, the analysis of debt problems and debt-reduction must be modified and complemented in important ways. Therefore, the authors revisit the methodological issues underlying debt sustainability analysis, as well as theory and empirical evidence on how large debts affect economic performance. Their main question is: Should consideration be given to more upfront debt reduction for HIPCs, over and above that provided under current mechanisms, or should debts continue to be refinanced, subject to conditionality? Ongoing refinancing with conditionality reduces moral hazard and gives countries an incentive to maintain good policies. However, this approach entails transition costs, can create uncertainty, may lack credibility, and can impede local ownership of reform programs. Upfront debt reduction can create moral hazard problems and may weaken the incentives for maintaining sound policy. There are theoretical arguments about why a high level of debt can impede investment and policy reform. Although empirical evidence concerning the hypothesis that HIPCs suffer significant adverse effects from their large debt overhang is inconclusive, evidence from middle-income countries suggests that debt reduction can benefit an economy if the policy environment is right. Whether there should be further debt reduction for specific heavily indebted low-income countries depends on the facts for each case and requires quantitative analysis of data about different forces at play in the countries involved.Strategic Debt Management,Economic Theory&Research,Environmental Economics&Policies,Payment Systems&Infrastructure,Banks&Banking Reform,Strategic Debt Management,Economic Theory&Research,Environmental Economics&Policies,Banks&Banking Reform,Public Sector Economics&Finance
The Peculiar Political Logic of Max Weber
No full textThis thesis argues that Max Weber‟s peculiar political logic consists of three modes of thought: a civil philosophy of politics and nationalism; a reduction of politics to sovereign power; and a control of society‟s role in politics. To demonstrate these modes of thought, the thesis compares Weber with the civil philosopher Christian Thomasius and finds strong similarities in their respective uses of political and civil ethics. It compares Weber with the legal philosopher Carl Schmitt and argues that both thinkers based their politics on a sovereign power that is at once exceptional, extra-legal, extra-moral and extra-sociological. The thesis appeals to contemporary context by summarising and dividing the Weber scholarship into three categories. In doing so, it avoids the trend in secondary literature of conflating Weber‟s political logic with his social theory and sociological methodology, and instead argues that his political logic must be assessed in terms of its own merits as well as the ideas of other political thinkers. The thesis encourages more assessment of Weber‟s political logic along these lines by summarising Weber‟s various responses to the 'social question'. Ultimately, the thesis provides a new understanding of Weber‟s analysis of the social and its role in politics
Cyclops predation on ciliates: species-specific differences and functional responses
No full textExperiments were conducted to measure to what extent cyclopoid copepods ingest ciliated protists. Five freshwater ciliate species, ranging in size from 22 to 120 mu m diameter, were tested with two species of cyclopoids: Cyclops abyssorum and Cyclops kolensis. Ingestion rates were measured by radiolabeling ciliates with C-14, and from these, functional response curves (the change in ingestion rate with changing cell densities) were constructed. Cyclopoids ingest ciliates with very high estimated maximal rates of >200 cells cyclopoid(-1) h(-1). However, there are large differences in ingestion rates that are not predictable by the size of predator or prey. One ciliate species of intermediate size, Coleps hirtus, is nearly immune from cyclopoid predation at all measured ciliate densities. Three other small ciliate species that move in rapid jumps elicit Holling type 3 functional responses, with very little change in ingestion rates at low ciliate densities. Thus, while cyclopoids are capable of having a very considerable impact on ciliate populations, some ciliate species appear to have behavioral, morphological or chemical defenses to reduce their vulnerability. This calls into question the practice of considering ciliates a homogeneous group when constructing food web model
Trophic relations between cyclopoid copepods and ciliated protists: complex interactions link the microbial and classic food webs
No full textTwo field experiments examined the effects of cyclopoid copepods on ciliates. The presence or absence of Cyclops abyssorum, Cyclops kolensis, and zooplankton >64 mu m was manipulated to determine the relative importance of direct cyclopoid predation on protists vs. indirect effects mediated through cyclopoid predation on other metazooplankton. In the second experiment, presence or absence of C. abyssorum was cross-classified with five concentrations of the metazooplankton community. Cyclopoid effects on ciliates were dependent on predator and prey species and on the abundance of alternate prey for cyclopoids. A trophic cascade was also observed, but only for two small ciliates, and only with the larger C. abyssorum. C. abyssorum had a stronger predation effect on oligotrich ciliates when metazooplankton had been removed, and this effect appeared at a lower metazooplankton concentration with a larger ciliate, compared to a smaller species of the same genus. These results suggest that for cyclopoid-ciliate interactions, switching behavior in the predator may be at least as important as a trophic cascad
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