Contextualizing Conceptions of Corruption: Challenges for the International Anti-corruption Campaign

While in an initial legal and academic anti-corruption wave corruption itself was at the center of analysis, research is now increasingly focused on anti-corruption discourse and praxis. The latter analyses have generated numerous criticisms of anti-corruption activities and anti-corruption research, and these are presented in this literature review. These criticisms range from the anti-corruption norm’s legitimacy deficit, to the difficulty of defining and measuring corruption, to the discourse’s depoliticization through its technicalization. The anti-corruption movement faces particular difficulties with respect to the tension between the universality of the anti-corruption norm and its simultaneous contextualization for specific and local application. This tension is especially important because it touches upon the central issues of the respective political communities, such as the division of the private from the public, which differ from one cultural context to another. The contextualization of anti-corruption concepts has to be enabled in various areas: first, with respect to the culturally shaped conception of the division between the public and the private; second, with respect to local understandings of corruption, that is, what is actually meant when talking about “corruption”; and third, with respect to the low socioeconomic development levels in some countries, which do not permit the absence of corruption (evading a zero-tolerance rhetoric).corruption, anti-corruption, global governance, norms, cultural specificity, local implementation

Growth in reading and how children spend their time outside of school

Running title: Growth in readingIncludes bibliographical references (leaves 36-38)Performed pursuant to contract no. 400-81-0030 of the National Institute of Educatio

Development and Validation Test of a Mule Deer Habitat Rule

A mathematical description of Rocky Mountain mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus hemionus) habitat was developed and subjected to validation testing using correlation and multiple regression statistical techniques. Data were collected on a central Utah study area, which was divided into mountain and desert regions. Data on deer utilization and several habitat components from 86 study plots visited in 1976 were used to develop a habitat rule. Data from 46 study plots visited in 1977 were used to test the accuracy of the rule. Deer utilization was determined from pellet group counts on 20 0.001 ha pellet plots at each study plot. The regression model accounted for 53 and 43 percent of the respective variation in pellet group density in mountain and desert habitats observed in 1976. However, the same model explained only 8 and 0.02 percent, respectively, of the observed variation in the 1977 validation test data. Reliability and applicability of statistical habitat models and importance of validation of results are discussed

Rituale der Ritualbeobachtung : von Émile Durkheims "effervescence" über Marcel Mauss' "fait total" zu Pierre Bourdieus "acte d'institution"

Dass sich auch die soziologische Erkenntnisbewegung als ein 'Ritual' begreifen lässt, das u.a. auf Rituale anwendbar ist, wird nicht zufällig am Beispiel Emile Durkheims demonstriert, dessen Objektivitätsanspruch in einem großen 'Wahrheitsritual' kulminiert: 'Definierende' d.h. ausschließende Objektbestimmung, 'Reinigung' des von Vorbegriffen kontaminierten Denkens, 'Objektfixierung' und das 'Kontrollritual' der Scheidung des Normalen und des Pathologischen verweisen, religionssoziologisch, auf eine Ritualgemeinschaft der Ritualbeobachter, deren Vitalisierung die rituelle Praxis selbst dient. Diese Linie setzt sich in der Methodologie von Marcel Mauss fort, die schon bei Durkheim als eine 'branche' der Soziologie angelegt war und im Identitätsritual Bourdieus wiederauflebt. An zwei scheinbar heterogenen Beispielen, dem Strafverfahren als 'Wahrheitsritual' und Akt der Institutionalisierung eines ewigen Geltungsanspruchs auf der einen und dem Moderitual als Akt der Institutionalisierung eines temporären Geltungsanspruchs auf der anderen Seite soll die Fruchtbarkeit der hier praktizierten, reflexiven Ritualanalyse erwiesen werden

Isolation of antimicrobial-producing bacteria from artisanal cheeses and characterization of potentially novel antimicrobial agents produced

First Place, Denman Undergraduate Research Forum and CFAES Undergraduate Research ForumSynthetic preservatives are traditionally used in food processing to enhance the safety and quality of a product. Recently, consumers have been demanding natural alternatives to these synthetic preservatives. Few bacteria produce antimicrobial peptides that can be used as food preservatives. This study aimed to isolate beneficial antimicrobial-producing bacteria from artisanal cheeses, with the long-term goal of characterizing promising antimicrobial agents produced by these bacteria. Screening for antimicrobial activity was done using a bioassay via a cellulose grid; this was followed by a quantitative bioassay using a microdilution approach. Isolates identities were determined using 16S rRNA sequencing and whole genome sequencing was used to evaluate genomes for biosynthetic gene clusters associated with antimicrobial production. Eight isolates were found to have strong antimicrobial activity on the bioassays, and biosynthetic gene clusters associated with antimicrobial production were found within their genomes. These clusters could be encoding for potentially novel antimicrobial peptides. These strains should continue to be studied to confirm novelty and determine structure and use of their peptides in food.FoodS.U.R.E.No embargoAcademic Major: Food Science and Technolog