Remnants of the past, history and the present.

The article interprets that it is hardly surprising then that philosophers of history point to the slender relationship between the raw facts of the past and understanding the past. The latter is an act of interpreting fragments from the past and not infrequently these support several points of view. This question has particular significance at a time when historians are increasingly thinking about historical materials and evidence in radically new ways that are fundamentally changing the nature of history as an academic discipline. In the light of these changes, the first part of the article sketches three different sets of epistemological assumptions that operate in contemporary history; the second applies these assumptions to a more detailed analysis of four pieces of historical material. Reflecting on the analysis in part two, the conclusion discusses the complex relations between the present and the past

Hydroelectric Dams and the Decline of Chinook Salmon in the Columbia River Basin

The decline of chinook salmon runs into the mouth of the Columbia River in recent decades is thought to be partly attributable to the construction of hydroelectric dams. The purpose of this article is to estimate the magnitude of losses in chinook salmon runs caused by hydroelectric dams, using regression analysis. Such estimates are not only of historical interest but also can potentially affect the extent of efforts to mitigate salmon losses from hydropower operations. Congress has mandated the Northwest Power Planning Council to consider the magnitude of run losses caused by hydroelectric operations in determining the extent of mitigation efforts.habitat, Northwest Power Planning Council, hydroelectric dams, Chinook salmon, smolt production., Environmental Economics and Policy, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Risk Based Urban Watershed Management Under Conflicting Objectives

Ecological impairment and flooding caused by urbanization can be expressed numerically by calculating the risks throughout the watershed (floodplain) and along the main stems of the streams. The risks can be evaluated in terms of the present and/or future. This article describes the methodologies for ascertaining the risks in the Geographical Information Systems (GIS) environment. The objectives of urban flood controls and ecological preservation/restoration of urban waters are often conflicting and, in the past, the sole emphasis on flood control led to destruction of habitat and deterioration of water quality. An optimal solution to these two problems may be achieved by linking the risks to the concepts of risk communication, risk perception, and public willingness to pay for projects leading to ecological restoration and ecologically sustainable flood control. This method is appropriate because, in each case, public funds are used and the projects require approval and backing of policy makers and stakeholders. This article briefly describes a research project that attempts to resolve the conflict between the flood protection and stream ecological preservation and restoration and suggests alternative ways of expressing benefits of urban stream flood control and restoration projects

Mortality in intensive care: The impact of bacteremia and the utility of systemic inflammatory response syndrome

Background: The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of bacteremia on intensive care unit (ICU) mortality and to develop a bacteremia prediction tool using systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) criteria. Methods: Patients included those aged >18 years who had blood cultures taken in the ICU from January 1, 2011-December 31, 2013. Eligible patients were identified from microbiology records of the Glasgow Royal Infirmary, Scotland. Clinical and outcome data were gathered from ICU records. Patients with clinically significant bacteremia were matched to controls using propensity scores. SIRS criteria were gathered and used to create decision rules to predict the absence of bacteremia. The main outcome was mortality at ICU discharge. The utility of the decision tools was measured using sensitivity and specificity. Results: One hundred patients had a clinically significant positive blood culture and were matched to 100 controls. Patients with bacteremia had higher ICU mortality (odds ratio [OR], 2.35; P = .001) and longer ICU stay (OR, 17.0 vs 7.8 days; P ≤ .001). Of 1,548 blood culture episodes, 1,274 met ≥2 SIRS criteria (106 significant positive cultures and 1,168 negative cultures). There was no association between SIRS criteria and positive blood cultures (P = .11). A decision rule using 3 SIRS criteria had optimal predictive performance (sensitivity, 56%; specificity, 50%) but low accuracy. Conclusions: ICU patients with bacteremia have increased mortality and length of ICU stay. SIRS criteria cannot be used to identify patients at low risk of bacteremia

Post-materialism as a basis for achieving environmental sustainability

A recent article in this journal, 'Achieving a Post-Growth Green Economy', argued that a turn to post-material values by younger generations may be setting the stage for a more environmentally friendly, post-growth green global economy. To expand the foundations for the possible emergence of such an economy, the current article offers empirical evidence from the World Values Survey for the propositions that individual post-material values and experiences leads to (1) a reduction in consumption-oriented activities, (2) a shift to more environmentally friendly forms of life that include living at higher, more energy efficient urban densities, (3) having families with fewer children, and (4) greater political support for environmental improvement. Such behavioral shifts provide a foundation for a no-growth, or even a negative-growth, economy among the affluent nations of the world leading to declining rates of energy and materials throughput to the benefit of a healthier global biosphere

HISTÓRIA, CULTURA E SURFE: EXPLORANDO RELAÇÕES HISTORIOGRÁFICAS

Neste artigo composto por três partes, examino a relação entre esporte e cultura popular por meio do conceito de afeto. Em particular, estou interessado nas implicações historiográficas desta relação. Na primeira parte, argumento que os adeptos da história social do esporte tipicamente consideram os corpos esportivos como construções sociais, com a exclusão das experiências afetivas corporalizadas que coloco no centro da cultura popular. Na segunda parte, discuto a recente virada afetiva nas ciências humanas e sociais e o que isto está começando a significar, e pode significar no futuro, para os historiadores do esporte com uma inclinação social. Na terceira parte, toco a ética, um tema implícito na história social do esporte. A cultura popular apresenta contextos alternativos para se examinar a ética e, para o historiador, levanta questões em torno da representação narrativa. Ao longo do artigo, lanço mão de exemplos oriundos do surfe, um passatempo popular, um esporte estabelecido com circuitos mundiais profissionais, e uma experiência afetiva.Palavras-chave: afetos; ética; representação narrativa; cultura popular; história social. Abstract: In this three-part article I examine the relationship between sport and popular culture through the concept of affect. In particular, I am interested in the historiographical implications of this relationship. In the first part, I argue that social historians of sport typically consider sporting bodies as social constructions to the exclusion of (embodied) affective experiences that I place at the core of popular culture. In the second part, I discuss the recent affective turn in the social sciences and humanities and what this is beginning to mean, and could mean in the future, for historians of sport with a social bent. In the third part, I touch on ethics, an implicit theme in the social history of sport. Popular culture presents alternative contexts for examining ethics and, for the historian, raises additional issues around narrative representation. Throughout the article I draw on examples from surfing, a popular pastime, an established sport with professional world tours, and an affective experience.Keywords: affects, ethics, narrative representation, popular culture, social history.         

REVIEW OF “FROM SEA-BATHING TO BEACH GOING: A SOCIAL HISTORY OF THE BEACH IN RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL”

Abstract: Review of the book From Sea-Bathing to Beach-Going: A Social History of the Beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. By Bert J. Barickman, edited by Hendrik Kraay and Bryan McCann.Keywords: Beach; Brazilian History; Social History.  Resenha de “From Sea-Bathing to Beach Going: A Social History of the Beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil” Resumo: Resenha do livro From Sea-Bathing to Beach-Going: A Social History of the Beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, de Bert J. Barickman, organizado por Hendrik Kraay and Bryan McCann.Palavras-chave: Praia; História do Brasil; História Social