The Bandung imaginary

Every notion of the ‘international’, ‘global’, or ‘world’ has a certain social imaginary built into it, which determines or delimits the questions that can be posed of that object, what practical/political problems are seen to be most pressing, and what possibilities there might be for action and change. This chapter traces the transformation whereby an ‘imperial’ imaginary of the international was challenged and replaced by an alternative conception of the international—the Bandung imaginary. Central to this imaginary was its to challenge the global colour line in an effort to reorder the world. This chapter is about Bandung and its global imaginary, but also about its subsequent eclipse

Maternal developmental history alters transfer of circadian clock genes to offspring in Japanese quail (<i>Coturnix japonica</i>)

Maternal signals shape embryonic development, and in turn post-natal phenotypes. RNA deposition is one such method of maternal signalling and circadian rhythms are one trait thought to be maternally inherited, through this mechanism. These maternal circadian gene transcripts aid development of a functioning circadian system. There is increasing evidence that maternal signals can be modified, depending on prevailing environmental conditions to optimise offspring fitness. However, currently, it is unknown if maternal circadian gene transcripts, and consequently early embryonic gene transcription, are altered by maternal developmental conditions. Here, using avian mothers who experienced either pre-natal corticosterone exposure, and/or post-natal stress as juveniles we were able to determine the effects of the timing of stress on downstream circadian RNA deposition in offspring. We demonstrated that maternal developmental history does indeed affect transfer of offspring circadian genes, but the timing of stress was important. Avian mothers who experienced stress during the first 2 weeks of post-natal life increased maternally deposited transcript levels of two core circadian clock genes, BMAL1 and PER2. These differences in transcript levels were transient and disappeared at the point of embryonic genome transcription. Pre-natal maternal stress alone was found to elicit delayed changes in circadian gene expression. After activation of the embryonic genome, both BMAL1 and PER2 expression were significantly decreased. If both pre-natal and post-natal stress occurred, then initial maternal transcript levels of BMAL1 were significantly increased. Taken together, these results suggest that developmental stress differentially produces persistent transgenerational effects on offspring circadian genes

Forward-looking responsibility and political corporate social responsibility

This paper contributes to the literature on political corporate social responsibility (PCSR) by considering the forward-looking, political responsibilities of corporations in relation to structural injustice, based on a critical engagement with Iris Marion Young's Social Connection Model (SCM) of responsibility. Although Young's SCM serves as a key reference point in the PCSR literature, engagement with her work tends to be superficial and lacks critical engagement. By offering a more developed engagement with Young's SCM, this paper addresses several themes that have been highlighted as being insufficiently developed in the PCSR literature. In particular, this paper considers (i) the grounds for corporate political responsibility in relation to structural injustice rather than globalization; (ii) the scope of corporate political responsibilities vis-à-vis other actors; and (iii) the role of power in relation to deliberative processes and in relation to scope

Tourmaline chemical and boron isotopic constraints on the magmatic-hydrothermal transition and rare-metal mineralization in alkali granitic systems

The magmatic-hydrothermal transition in granite-related, rare-metal metallogenic systems has received great attention as economic rare metal (including rare earth) minerals reach saturation and trigger mineralization at this stage. However, deciphering the details of the melt-fluid evolution process and the distribution behavior of rare metals remains difficult. Here, we applied tourmaline chemistry and B isotopes to unravel processes at the magmatic-hydrothermal transition that are responsible for rare-metal partitioning in the Huoshibulake (HS) and Tamu (TM) REE-Nb-mineralized intrusions in Southern Tianshan, SW Central Asian Orogenic Belt. Three types of tourmaline are identified in the plutons: (1) disseminated tourmaline in the granite, with a brown-yellow core (HS-DB) and blue-green rim (HS-DG); (2) orbicular tourmaline, with a brown-yellow core (HS-OB and TM-OB) and blue-green rim (HS-OG and TM-OG); and (3) vein tourmaline (HS-V and TM-V). Compositionally, all these tourmalines exhibit extremely low Ca and Mg contents and are classified as schorl. The substitution processes of major-element variations are dominantly caused by (Al,□)(Fe,Na)−1 exchange vectors. Four generations of tourmaline crystallization are established based on the petrographic, compositional, and B isotopes evolution of the tourmaline. First, the HS-DB crystals crystallized from the highly evolved residual melt, and then HS-OB and TM-OB precipitated from immiscible B-rich aqueous melts during the magmatic-hydrothermal transition. Subsequently, the blue-green overgrowths (HS-DG, HS-OG, and TM-OG) crystallized from exsolved hydrothermal fluids. Finally, the formation of HS-V and TM-V resulted from another melt pulse from a deeper magma chamber. The magmatic tourmaline exhibits a narrow range of δ11B values between −12.6 to −10.0‰, while the hydrothermal tourmaline shows significantly heavier and variable δ11B values ranging from −10.2 to −4.9‰. The fractionation of B isotopes is reproduced by Rayleigh fractionation modeling. Lower Nb and Sn contents in the orbicular tourmaline relative to those precipitated from the residual melt, along with the lack of rare-metal minerals in the orbicules, indicate that B-rich melt/fluid exsolution does not necessarily contribute to the rare-metal mineralization. In comparison, the veins contain abundant rare-metal and REE minerals in close paragenesis with fluorite, and the vein tourmaline shows high-Nb and -Sn contents. These observations suggest that saturation of fluorite triggered the precipitation of rare metals, and fluorine played a critical role in rare metal concentration and mineralization. This study highlights the potential of tourmaline to trace the magmatic-hydrothermal transition and provide insights into rare-metal mineralization in the granitic systems

Waste and discard in Italy and the Mediterranean:theories, practices, literature and film

Whether hidden or exposed, waste demands to be explored and understood vis-à-vis the wider social, economic, political, cultural, and material systems that shape everyday life. This volume engages with the ambivalence embedded in and materialized by waste, its ambiguous ownership and temporalities. It interrogates popular and normative notions of waste and discard and offers insight into forms of ecology built around waste – in particular, with reference to the Italian and, more broadly, the Mediterranean area. The contributions to the volume analyze questions of submerged/emerging «wasted lives», waste management and mismanagement in urban and suburban areas, and landscape conservation and erasure. Chapters also consider literary depictions of trash and filth as markers of class or otherness and filmic narratives of the wasteocene. The aim is to explore the locality of Italy and the Mediterranean within the wider, planetary system of relations that hinges on production and discard, accumulation, and waste

Breaking down barriers: creating a community of learning development at the University of St Andrews

This presentation outlined a collaboration that delivered an integrated in-sessional academic and learning development provision for students at the University of St Andrews. Staff from the student learning development team in the Centre for Educational Enhancement and Development, and the Academic English Service, situated in the International Education Institute, partnered to bring previously segregated provisions together for academic year 2023/24.Historically both units have provided separate in-sessional one-to-one tutorials dictated by students’ first language or stage of study, but with overlap in some skills areas such as writing development. Each service had different parameters in terms of who could access the tutorials and how often they could do so. Due to the restrictions of each provision, and the siloed nature of the services, we identified that students were often not accessing the most appropriate form of tutorial, and that some tutorials were not being used to best effect.The provision has been reimagined to proffer a new Academic Development Community with the aim of creating a more effective and inclusive resource. This presentation unpicks motivations for pursuing a unified service and reflects on the changes made. The session shared the results of qualitative and quantitative student feedback on the newly aligned provision, and the perceptions of focus group participants on the unified service and relationship with contributing units. Combining the feedback collected thus far with our own professional reflections we explored the outcomes of these changes, as well as the challenges encountered in our collaborative approach. We concluded by sharing the future directions of this collaboration.<br/

Return from exile:mythology and heritage in <i>American born Chinese</i> and its Disney adaptation

Though American Born Chinese has received a significant degree of scholarly study, the prevalence of cultural exile in the text has not received sufficient attention. Said's theorization on exile provides a guide to examining the mindset of Jin, who willfully accepts exile from his Chinese-American heritage because of how he feels neither truly Chinese nor truly American. Only through a visceral encounter with Chinese mythology does he return from exile and embrace that heritage. The Disney adaptation, though significant from a “representation” standpoint, removes that threat of exile, diluting the narrative into a reassuring, palatable formula

David J. Kendall, <i>The Music of the Spheres in the Western Imagination</i>

Book reviewo of David J. Kendall, The Music of Spheres in the Western Imagination, Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2022. ISBN 9781793650351