Das Archiv des Internationalen Strafgerichtshofs für das ehemalige Jugoslawien. Wie weiter bei der Ausgestaltung des Zugangs und der Zugänglichkeit?

Transitionsphasen zwischen Krieg und Frieden können von Forderungen begleitet werden, die begangenen Verbrechen und Menschenrechtsverletzungen aufzuklären. Dem Zugang zu Archiven kommt in solchen Prozessen eine zentrale Bedeutung zu. Neben staatlichen Archiven sind es auch die Transitionsmechanismen selbst, welche essentielle Unterlagen für die Vergangenheitsarbeit produzieren und sammeln. In meiner Arbeit widme ich mich dem Archiv des Internationalen Strafgerichtshof für das ehemalige Jugoslawien (ICTY). Im Jahr 2017 wird der ICTY voraussichtlich seine Tore schliessen. Der ICTY hinterlässt eine enorme Menge an Unterlagen über begangene Menschenrechtsverletzungen auf dem Gebiet des ehemaligen Jugoslawien, die über das Mandat des ICTY hinaus für die Vergangenheitsarbeit verwendet werden können. Die Arbeit geht der Frage nach, welche archivpolitischen Herausforderungen sich dem UN Sicherheitsrat anlässlich der Komplettierung des ICTY stellen und analysiert die Weichenstellungen und Lösungsoptionen hinsichtlich des Zugangs und der Zugänglichkeit der Unterlagen aus archivischer Sicht. Im Rahmen der Masterarbeit analysiere ich die verschiedenen Kernaspekte, die in Zusammenhang mit der Ausgestaltung des Zugangs und der Zugänglichkeit des Archivs diskutiert werden. Ein zentraler Aspekt sind die potentiellen Nutzergruppen des Archivs. Die Nutzer aufgrund des Primärwerts der Unterlagen finden sich in der Nachfolgeinstitution des ICTY sowie in den Rechtsinstanzen des ehemaligen Jugoslawiens. Diese Primärnutzer werden einerseits für die Gewährleistung der Rechts-ansprüche als auch die Verfolgung der Kriegsverbrechen vor nationalen Gerichten noch lange Jahre nach dem Ende des ICTY Zugang zu den Unterlagen brauchen. Der Schutz und die Sicherheit der teils hochsensiblen Unterlagen einerseits, und die effiziente Ausgestaltung des Zugangs für Primärnutzer andererseits, stellen grosse Herausforderungen an die zukünftige Verwaltung der Unterlagen. Die Nutzer aufgrund des Sekundärwerts der Unterlagen sind vielseitig. Die Auswertung der öffentlichen Debatten zeigt, dass dem Archiv gerade von regionalen Akteuren auf dem Gebiet des ehemaligen Jugoslawien eine zentrale Funktion zugesprochen wird, das rechtliche, institutionelle und normative Erbe des Tribunals zu überliefern. Sie verweisen auf die elementare Bedeutung der Unterlagen für die Versöhnungs- und Vergangenheitsarbeit in den Ländern des ehemaligen Jugoslawien. Den regionalen Bedürfnissen muss bei der Ausgestaltung des langfristigen Zugangs und Zugänglichkeit besondere Beachtung geschenkt werden. Neben den Nutzergruppen wird die Frage der geografischen Platzierung des Archivs diskutiert. Mit der Anbindung des Archivs an die Nachfolgeinstitution des ICTY in Den Haag ist eine Übergangslösung gefunden, die eine gute Voraussetzung für die Verwaltung des Archivs und die Gewährleistung des Zugangs und der Zugänglichkeit bildet. Der Entscheid, wo und wie das Archiv langfristig aufbewahrt und zugänglich gemacht wird, steht aber noch aus. Eine Option, die auf breite Zustimmung stösst, bildet die Schaffung von Informationszentren in welchen öffentliche Unterlagen einfach und effizient zugänglich gemacht würden. Die geografische Verteilung und institutionelle Anbindung der Zentren gilt es im Hinblick auf den langfristigen Zugang zu den Unterlagen sehr sorgfältig abzuwägen

ESPRESSO at VLT. On-sky performance and first results

Context. ESPRESSO is the new high-resolution spectrograph of ESO's Very Large Telescope (VLT). It was designed for ultra-high radial-velocity (RV) precision and extreme spectral fidelity with the aim of performing exoplanet research and fundamental astrophysical experiments with unprecedented precision and accuracy. It is able to observe with any of the four Unit Telescopes (UTs) of the VLT at a spectral resolving power of 140 000 or 190 000 over the 378.2 to 788.7 nm wavelength range; it can also observe with all four UTs together, turning the VLT into a 16 m diameter equivalent telescope in terms of collecting area while still providing a resolving power of 70 000. Aims: We provide a general description of the ESPRESSO instrument, report on its on-sky performance, and present our Guaranteed Time Observation (GTO) program along with its first results. Methods: ESPRESSO was installed on the Paranal Observatory in fall 2017. Commissioning (on-sky testing) was conducted between December 2017 and September 2018. The instrument saw its official start of operations on October 1, 2018, but improvements to the instrument and recommissioning runs were conducted until July 2019. Results: The measured overall optical throughput of ESPRESSO at 550 nm and a seeing of 0.65″ exceeds the 10% mark under nominal astroclimatic conditions. We demonstrate an RV precision of better than 25 cm s-1 during a single night and 50 cm s-1 over several months. These values being limited by photon noise and stellar jitter shows that the performance is compatible with an instrumental precision of 10 cm s-1. No difference has been measured across the UTs, neither in throughput nor RV precision. Conclusions: The combination of the large collecting telescope area with the efficiency and the exquisite spectral fidelity of ESPRESSO opens a new parameter space in RV measurements, the study of planetary atmospheres, fundamental constants, stellar characterization, and many other fields. Based on GTOs collected at the European Southern Observatory under ESO program(s) 1102.C-0744, 1102.C-0958 and 1104.C-0350 by the ESPRESSO Consortium

New Sites, New Challenges? Ethical and Methodological Questions in the Context of Research on Migration Exclusion

The challenges of research ethics and methodologies have been reflected on extensively, but – aside from the context of feminist methodologies – less so in relation to research on particular migration sites such as in transit, detention centres, at the borders or within migration administration. First attempts in this direction have been made (Düvell et al. 2010, Fresia et al. 2005, Riedner 2014, van Liempt/Bilger2009), however, more reflection and theorization is needed, considering the contested nature of these temporal and volatile sites. In this workshop, we thus aim at examining methodological as well as ethical questions that arise during field work: We attempt to reflect the power relations involved in the research process, the ethics of research design, the dissemination of research results, the question of gaining access to and – whenever necessary – staying in contact with our research subjects. How can we negotiate informed consent with subjects whose life is currently marked by transit and insecurity concerning their own future, and who are in an uncertain situation in which substantial information (legal, social, cultural etc.) is likely to be missing? How do we deal with the dilemma of possibly contributing to knowledge production that might facilitate removals and deportations in the future, considering that the reception of the results is not in the hands of the researchers? How do we deal with the anticipated as well as unexpected impacts of our research on social and political practice? Regarding fieldwork in state institutions, how do we negotiate the multiple loyalties we often find ourselves faced with as social researchers, both with the excluded migrants and with the authorities implementing the exclusions – two groupings considered to be opposite to each other (Lavanchy 2013)? Which different roles do researchers need to take on? The aim of our workshop is first and foremost to exchange experiences on fieldwork with others doing qualitative research on related topics and to consider its possible implications – including affective dimensions – for all participants involved in the research process: the migrants, the security staff of detention centres, its social workers, border police and bureaucrats and, last but not least, the researchers themselves. Furthermore, we generally wish to reflect upon the question of how best to conduct research in this contested field, applying an interdisciplinary perspective

A new perspective on the evolution of the interaction between the Vg/VGLL1-3 proteins and the TEAD transcription factors

The most downstream elements of the Hippo pathway, the TEAD transcription factors, are regulated by several cofactors, such as Vg/VGLL1-3. Earlier findings on human VGLL1 and here on human VGLL3 show that these proteins interact with TEAD via a conserved amino acid motif called the TONDU domain. Surprisingly, our studies reveal that the TEAD-binding domain of Drosophila Vg and of human VGLL2 is more complex and contains an additional structural element, an Ω-loop, that contributes to TEAD binding and in vivo function. To explain this unexpected structural difference between proteins from the same family, we propose that, after the genome-wide duplications at the origin of vertebrates, the Ω-loop present in an ancestral VGLL gene has been lost in some VGLL variants. These findings illustrate how structural and functional constraints can guide the evolution of transcriptional cofactors to preserve their ability to compete with other cofactors for binding to transcription factors

Constraints for precise and accurate fluid inclusion stable isotope analysis using water-vapour saturated CRDS techniques

Hydrogen (δ 2 H) and oxygen (δ 18 O) isotopes of water extracted from speleothem fluid inclusions are important proxies used for paleoclimate reconstruction. In our study we use a cavity ring-down laser spectroscopy system for analysis and modified the approach of Affolter et al. (2014) for sample extraction. The method is based on crushing of small sub-gram speleothem samples in a heated and continuously water-vapour purged extraction line. The following points were identified: Injection of reference water shows a precision (1σ) of 0.4-0.5 ‰ for δ 18 O values and 1.1-1.9 ‰ for δ 2 H values for water amounts of 0.1-0.5 μl, which improves with increasing water amount to 0.1-0.3 ‰ and 0.2-0.7 ‰, respectively, above 1 μl. The accuracy of measurements of water injections and water-filled glass capillaries crushed in the system is better than 0.08 ‰ for δ 18 O and 0.3 ‰ for δ 2 H values. The reproducibility (1σ) based on replicate analysis of speleothem fluid inclusion samples with water amounts >0.2 μl is 0.5 ‰ for δ 18 O and 1.2 ‰ for δ 2 H values, respectively. Isotopic differences between the water vapour background of the extraction system and the fluid inclusions have no significant impact on the measured fluid inclusion isotope values if they are within 10 ‰ for δ 18 O and 50 ‰ for δ 2 H values of the background. Tests of potential adsorption effects with inclusion free spar calcite confirm that the isotope values are unaffected by adsorption for water contents of about 1 μl (fluid inclusion) water per g of carbonate or above. Fluid inclusion analysis on three different modern to late Holocene speleothems from caves in northwest Germany resulted in δ 18 O and δ 2 H values that follow the relationship as defined by the meteoric water line and that correspond to the local drip water. Yet, due to potential isotope exchange reactions for oxygen atoms, hydrogen isotope measurements are preferentially to be used for temperature reconstructions. We demonstrate this in a case study with a Romanian stalagmite, for which we reconstruct the 20th century warming with an amplitude of approximately 1 °C, with a precision for each data point of better than ±0.5 °C