Un alegato a favor de lo compartido: historia de la discapacidad, discursos de rehabilitación, y el individuo

Since the late twentieth century, disability history has grown out of its infancy. Scholars from a variety of backgrounds have increasingly become convinced of the value of looking at the past through the lens of disability. Many studies have focused on the constructed nature of disability and thus deliberately tried to deconstruct contemporary distinctions between able-bodied and disabled individuals. By positively revaluing the particular position of the individual with disabilities on the basis of historical narratives, an attempt was made to counter ongoing tendencies of discrimination and oppression. In this article, we would like to remind the reader of another approach which sometimes runs the danger of being snowed under, namely a historical venture that seeks to uncover commonalities: places where the distinctions between persons with and without disabilities are temporarily forgotten and/ or erased, moments when the boundaries between the self and the other are being reconfigured. In order to do so, we will draw on an influential discourse from the history of disability itself: the discourse of rehabilitation. Going back to the early twentieth century, we will present the work of French scientist Jules Mardochée Amar and two Belgian disabled soldiers from the First World War. Amar’s ideas on rehabilitation would prove influential for the actual practices of rehabilitation during and after the war. The two Belgian disabled soldiers were retrained in a professional institute for rehabilitation established by the Belgian government in the north of France. By juxtaposing Amar’s discourse with the experiences of the two Belgian soldiers, we will demonstrate how, besides the discursive individual of rehabilitation, one also can find moments when that individual is absorbed by a real and tangible commonality. As a consequence, everybody —whether able-bodied citizen or mutilated soldier— becomes part of a community of equals.Desde finales del siglo XX la historia de la discapacidad ha madurado. Investigadores de muy diversa formación se han convencido cada vez más del valor de mirar al pasado a través de la lente de la discapacidad. Numerosos trabajos se han centrado en el análisis de la naturaleza construida de la discapacidad y, en consecuencia, han intentado de manera deliberada deconstruir las distinciones actuales entre las personas sin discapacidades y las personas discapacitadas. Reevaluando positivamente la particular posición del individuo con discapacidades sobre la base de narrativas históricas, este artículo intenta mostrar las tendencias presentes de discriminación y opresión. Con este trabajo nos gustaría además recordar al lector otro tipo de aproximación que, en ocasiones, corre el peligro de quedar oculta, concretamente la tarea histórica que intenta desvelar lo que se comparte: lugares donde las distinciones entre las personas con o sin discapacidades son temporalmente olvidadas y / o borradas; momentos en los que las fronteras entre el yo y el otro son reconfiguradas. Para llevar esto a cabo, vamos a utilizar un discurso de gran influencia dentro de la historia de la discapacidad: el discurso de la rehabilitación. Retrocediendo hasta el comienzo del siglo XX, presentaremos el trabajo del científico francés Jules Mardochée Amar y de dos soldados belgas con discapacidad de la Primera Guerra Mundial. Las ideas de Amar sobre la rehabilitación influyeron en las prácticas de rehabilitación desarrolladas durante y después de la guerra. Los dos soldados belgas discapacitados fueron rehabilitados en un instituto para la rehabilitación profesional establecido por el gobierno Belga en el norte de Francia. Al yuxtaponer el discurso de Amar con las experiencias de los dos soldados belgas, demostraremos cómo, junto al discurso individual de rehabilitación, pueden encontrarse también momentos en los que el individuo es absorbido por una “commonality” -un conjunto de características comunes- real y tangible. Como consecuencia de esto, todo el mundo – ya sean ciudadanos físicamente capaces o soldados mutilados – pasa a formar parte de una comunidad de iguales

South Africa as an aspirant 'developmental state' : lessons from the steel industry.

Masters in Development Studies. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Howard College 2013.The South African government is eager that it be branded as a developmental state. However, most analysts are sceptical about the appropriateness of South Africa being classified this way. In addition to lacking many of the features that developmental states have traditionally possessed (such as dynamic bureaucracies, supportive and reciprocal relations between the state and the private sector, and astute utilisation of industrial policy), post-apartheid South Africa has not experienced particularly impressive industrialisation or social upliftment successes. Accordingly, this study is of the view that South Africa is currently an aspirant developmental state. The study – which was a case study of the government’s industrial policy towards the steel industry, and in particular of the government’s endeavours to actualise a developmental flat steel price in the domestic market – adopted a critical social science approach, and thus sought to garner understanding and insight; not necessarily to corroborate or negate specific hypotheses. In broad terms, the study sought to understand what factors are impeding South Africa from attaining legitimate developmental state status, and what sorts of measures might the government consider adopting if it is to realise its stated objective of being a bona fide developmental state. The study has used the government’s handling of the steel industry as a platform from which to derive insights to the mentioned concerns. Subsequent to the privatisation of Iscor (the Iron and Steel Corporation of South Africa) the South African steel market came to be dominated by ArcelorMittal South Africa (AMSA) – a subsidiary of the world’s largest steel company. AMSA’s dominance in the domestic market has enabled it to utilise import parity pricing in the domestic market; to the detriment of steel using industries. In spite of the significance of steel to the rest of the economy the government has to date not managed to bring a developmental steel price to pass. In December of 2012 the government announced a handful of measures it intended to invoke; these measures are yet to be enacted though. That the government has to date not managed to realise a developmental steel price provides confirmation that South Africa is currently not a veritable developmental state. If South Africa is to become a bona fide developmental state then the capacity of the state needs to be increased, as do the degrees of both inter and intra departmental coherence. Additionally, the government – whom have to date been inclined to adhere with economic orthodoxy – needs a change in mind-set, and to be more open to the heterodox perspectives that underpin successful industrial policy. At a theoretical level this study sheds light on the fact that – while lessons can still be extracted from the experiences of the East Asian developmental states – contemporary developers are faced with different opportunities and challenges to those which the East Asian development states were, and thus that the concept of the developmental state needs to evolve, so as to be more pertinent to, and utilisable in, contemporary developing countries

The roles of growth regulation and appendage patterning genes in the morphogenesis of treehopper pronota.

Treehoppers of the insect family Membracidae have evolved enlarged and elaborate pronotal structures, which is hypothesized to involve co-opted expression of genes that are shared with the wings. Here, we investigate the similarity between the pronotum and wings in relation to growth. Our study reveals that the ontogenetic allometry of the pronotum is similar to that of wings in Membracidae, but not the outgroup. Using transcriptomics, we identify genes related to translation and protein synthesis, which are mutually upregulated. These genes are implicated in the eIF2, eIF4/p70S6K and mTOR pathways, and have known roles in regulating cell growth and proliferation. We find that species-specific differential growth patterning of the pronotum begins as early as the third instar, which suggests that expression of appendage patterning genes occurs long before the metamorphic molt. We propose that a network related to growth and size determination is the more likely mechanism shared with wings. However, regulators upstream of the shared genes in pronotum and wings need to be elucidated to substantiate whether co-option has occurred. Finally, we believe it will be helpful to distinguish the mechanisms leading to pronotal size from those regulating pronotal shape as we make sense of this spectacular evolutionary innovation.UCR::Vicerrectoría de Docencia::Ciencias Básicas::Facultad de Ciencias::Escuela de Biologí

Klaslokalen Binnenstebuiten: Leerkrachten over de veranderende onderwijsleeromgeving doorheen hun carrière (1960-2015)

Welke scholen hebben we nodig voor de 21ste eeuw? Hoe moeten die toekomstige schoolgebouwen eruitzien? Misschien wel als één grote open werkruimte – met zithoeken, labo’s, vergaderlokalen voor groepswerk, een immer toegankelijke media- en bibliotheek, enzovoort – waarin leerkrachten en leerlingen vrij kunnen bewegen naar gelang de activiteiten en noden. Zullen de ‘traditionele’ klaslokalen hun bestaansredenen verliezen in deze nieuwe onderwijsleeromgevingen? Het vraagstuk naar innovatieve scholenbouw is verre van nieuw. Inderdaad, eb en vloed kenmerken onze onderwijsgeschiedenis.klaslokalen hun bestaansredenen verliezen in deze nieuwe onderwijsleeromgevingen? Het vraagstuk naar innovatieve scholenbouw is verre van nieuw. Inderdaad, eb en vloed kenmerken onze onderwijsgeschiedenis

Correlation analysis of the transcriptome of growing leaves with mature leaf parameters in a maize RIL population

Background: To sustain the global requirements for food and renewable resources, unraveling the molecular networks underlying plant growth is becoming pivotal. Although several approaches to identify genes and networks involved in final organ size have been proven successful, our understanding remains fragmentary. Results: Here, we assessed variation in 103 lines of the Zea mays B73xH99 RIL population for a set of final leaf size and whole shoot traits at the seedling stage, complemented with measurements capturing growth dynamics, and cellular measurements. Most traits correlated well with the size of the division zone, implying that the molecular basis of final leaf size is already defined in dividing cells of growing leaves. Therefore, we searched for association between the transcriptional variation in dividing cells of the growing leaf and final leaf size and seedling biomass, allowing us to identify genes and processes correlated with the specific traits. A number of these genes have a known function in leaf development. Additionally, we illustrated that two independent mechanisms contribute to final leaf size, maximal growth rate and the duration of growth. Conclusions: Untangling complex traits such as leaf size by applying in-depth phenotyping allows us to define the relative contributions of the components and their mutual associations, facilitating dissection of the biological processes and regulatory networks underneath