Mobile objects: the space of shells in eighteenth-century France

The frequent distinction made between scientific and purely amateur collections misrepresents the specificity of the field of eighteenth-century natural history. This paper argues that the extent and the boundaries of a scientific field can be determined only within the framework of concrete historical constellations of institutions, protagonists, practices and objects. By tracing the circulation of shells in eighteenth-century France, Paris in particular, between about 1735 and 1780, it becomes evident which individuals or groups actually came into contact with these shells ; in what practices of collecting, describing and classification they were involved; and in what spaces they were displayed. Thus the contours of a constellation emerge which differ considerably from those drawn hitherto

McCrory v. Harris: Constitutional Prohibitions on Racial Classifications and the Requirements of the Voting Rights Act in Redistricting

In McCrory v. Harris, the Supreme Court is faced with yet another redistricting case: Are the first and twelfth Congressional Districts in North Carolina the result of impermissible racial gerrymandering? The parties\u27 dispute centers around two questions: In what circumstances is race the predominant factor in a state legislature\u27s redistricting plan? And in what circumstances is the use of race as a predominant factor in redistricting plans an impermissible racial gerrymander? This Commentary will provide a summary and analysis of the arguments presented for the Court\u27s review, and argue that both North Carolina Congressional Districts should be struck down as the product of impermissible racial gerrymanders

Migration, Remittances and the Current Economic Crisis: Implications for Central and Eastern Europe

In recent years labour migration from Central and Eastern Europe has increased, resulting in a comparatively stable and high inflow of remittances into these countries. This briefing explores how the current economic crisis impacts on the development of migration and remittance flows into EU-10 and CIS countries. There is evidence for a reduction of migration movements in the short run and a likely decrease of remittance flows into this region

Chance Estimations for Detecting Gravitational Waves with LIGO/Virgo Associated with Gamma Ray Bursts

Short Gamma Ray Bursts (SGRB) are believed to originate from the merger of two compact objects. If this scenario is correct, SGRB will be accompanied by the emission of strong gravitational waves, detectable by current or planned GW detectors, such as LIGO and Virgo. No detection of a gravitational wave has been made up to date. In this paper I will use a set of SGRB with observed redshifts to fit a model describing the cumulative number of SGRB as a function of redshift, to determine the rate of such merger events in the nearby universe. These estimations will be used to make probability statements about detecting a gravitational wave associated with a short gamma ray burst during the latest science run of LIGO/Virgo. Chance estimations for the enhanced and advanced detectors will also be made, and a comparison between the rates deduced from this work will be compared to the existing literature.Comment: 17 pages, 8 figure

Contextualizing Native Resistance: Precedents for the Movement Against the Dakota Access Pipeline

In 2016, news of the Standing Rock resistance against the Dakota Access Pipeline swept through the social media sphere. Although many young people had never seen anything like it, this article shows that the “water protectors” are part of a long tradition of Indigenous resistance on the North American plains

Politics of pesticides

In regard to pesticides, today we have lost the benefit perspective. We no longer have a balance in the mind’s eye of the media, nor in the mind’s eye of the public as a whole. We talk, instead, about the risk to man, the risk to the environment, and the risk to wildlife that is wrought by the very use of the modern tools that have brought up production and health protection miracles. And, until that perspective is re-asserted in a balance, we’re going to lose the very tools that we depend on today to produce quality food, economical fiber, and to protect the good health of this nation. It’s amazing to me that we can ban the use of ethylene dibromide (EDB) and restrict its contamination in ready-to-eat products to 30 ppb, when at the same time we allow aflatoxin, which is a mold in peanut butter, to be present at 15 ppb knowing full well that it has 1,000 times the carcinogenic potential of EDB. That is the consistency and logic of our federal government. We need to re-align perception with fact, because unless we do and until we do, the politics of pesticides are going to win