Film lessons: early cinema for historians of science

Despite much excellent work over the years, the vast history of scientific filmmaking is still largely unknown. Historians of science have long been concerned with visual culture, communication and the public sphere on the one hand, and with expertise, knowledge production and experimental practice on the other. Scientists, we know, drew pictures, took photographs and made three-dimensional models. Rather like models, films could not be printed in journals until the digital era, and this limited their usefulness as evidence. But that did not stop researchers from making movies for projection at conferences as well as in lecture halls, museums and other public venues, not to mention for breaking down into individual frames for analysis. Historians of science are more likely to be found in the library, archive or museum than the darkened screening room, and much work is still needed to demonstrate the major effects of cinema on scientific knowledge. Film may have taken as long to change science as other areas of social life, but one can begin to glimpse important ways in which 'image machines' (cameras, projectors and the like) were beginning to mediate between backstage experimental work and more public demonstration even around 1900.I thank the Wellcome Trust (106553) for support

Rubber smallholders' flexibility No windfall, no crisis

A few decades ago rubber was one of the first tree crops to be characterized by a spectacular breakthrough, the production of new, highly productive clonal material. With regard to rubber, the adoption of clonal planting materials led to a spectacular improvement in labour-productivity and revenues. It requires also different cropping patterns during immature period. An increase in return to labour costs is usually the first priority of smallholders. As this adoption of clones by smallholders only started in the 1970s in Indonesia, this is an extremely important strategy which must be stressed before we begin to analyze the impact of the krismon (a contraction of “Krisis Monetar” in Indonesian or “monetary crisis”). With regard to rubber, there is clearly a dualism of seedlings and clonal material. This dualism is more important than with other tree crops. Rubber seedlings are often grown under a complex agroforestry system and nicknamed locally ‘jungle rubber'. Clonal rubber is generally grown in monoculture sometimes with intercrops during the first three years.“Even when computing the cost of the investment and the credit that has to be repaid, the net income per hectare and per labour day from a clonal plantation is at least 50% higher (sometimes 100%) than the income from a jungle rubber plantation” (Gouyon 1999, 31). What was the situation before krismon? Due to capital and information constraints, only 15% of the smallholders already had access to highly productive clonal material rubber in 1996. This percentage was achieved, first and foremost, through official projects. Then in the late 1990s, the “copying effect” started playing its role, however rather limited. More and more farmers were able to observe the advantages of clonal material. This led to a booming network of private nurseries that helped to accelerate the adoption of this material. This means that a relatively strong dynamism was observed before krismon. It also means that most clonal plantations are still young, which is important in terms of potential response to price changes (Chapter 1). However, when krismon arrived, around 85% of traditionnal rubber farmers still relied on ageing jungle rubber with limited productivity. How may krismon influence these ‘jungle rubber' and ‘clonal' farming systems? Is it going to accelerate or reduce the investment in rubber plantings? Is it going to help to accelerate the adoption of clones? In 1998, rubber farmers did not benefit from the spectacular windfall, which affected cocoa and coffee (Chapters 5-7). Can this be explained by the different performances of farming systems or by variations of the International market? Is there a direct relationship between the decline of global prices and the interference of the Asian crisis in Indonesian rubber supply and exports (Chapter 2)? Page 2 How did the monetary crisis affect the other dramatic changes faced by Indonesian rubber smallholders? In addition to the economic crisis, as in other regions of the country, the ecological crisis also struck Sumatra and Kalimantan in 1997-98. Huge fires destroyed millions of hectares of forests, fallows and crops, including rubber. Will both crisis reduce investment in clonal plantings? Eventually, regions such as West-Kalimantan were the theatre for grave social troubles related to conflicts between autochtons and some immigrants, especially spontaneous immigrants1. A lack of confidence in the country's regime was evident well before the crisis. Last but not least, oil palm development looms in traditional rubber regions. Might it hamper the development of clonal rubber technology in Indonesia? Does the crisis encourage the adoption of oil palm at the expense of rubber? Does the crisis deepen the social imbalance between smallholders who already have access to clones and those who do not? To try to answer these questions , the paper is structured in 4 sections: 1 A brief overview of the rubber sector : the situation before krismon 2 Krismon and its impact on rubber smallholdings 3 The rubber crisis on the international market 4 A conclusion including the future for the rubber smallholder secto

Les évêques français et le concile Vatican II

Durante el Concilio Vaticano ii, el episcopado francés formó parte de la mayoría. El análisis de su organización y de sus métodos de trabajo es necesario para conocer su aportación –con frecuencia menos conocida que la de los teólogos franceses–, a la obra común. Las nuevas fuentes, surgidas de los fondos diocesanos, que deben ser confrontadas con los comentarios editados por los peritos (Congar, de Lubac), permiten una visión más global sobre el grupo de los padres conciliares obispos. Los dinamismos individuales (Liénart, Garrone, Ancel, Guerry, Elchinger) se pueden apreciar mejor desde esta perspectiva. Esta presentación conciliar no descuida la situación de la Iglesia en Francia marcada en 1964-1965 por los primeros efectos de la crisis

Quand l'agro-écologie se propose d'imiter la nature

International audienceL’agro-écologie peut être aujourd’hui définie comme une agriculture multifonctionnelle et durable, qui valorise les agro-écosystèmes, optimise la production et minimise le recours aux intrants. Elle s’inscrit dans un courant plus général visant à promouvoir une agriculture « plus économe et plus autonome », pour reprendre la formule de Jacques Poly, dans un contexte de dégradation de l’environnement, d’insécurité alimentaire planétaire, d’impasse énergétique et d’émergence de problèmes de santé liés à la qualité des produits et des pratiques agricoles. D’une part, la persistance des défis environnementaux signe l’échec de la prétention des sociétés modernes à maîtriser la nature, malgré leur développement technique et scientifique, dans un monde que l’actualité révèle de plus en plus imprévisible (Ribet, 2010). D’autre part, le modèle scientifique positiviste longtemps suivi par l’agronomie achoppe : réductionniste par essence, privilégiant l’expérimentation par rapport à l’expérience, négligeant l’histoire et la variabilité, il échappe à la réalité d’un monde complexe. « Le seul champ expérimental valable est la nature tout entière », affirme au contraire Hans Peter Rusch (1972, p. 41), l’un des pères de l’agro-écologie. Aussi cette dernière s’appuie-t-elle sur une démarche qui veut redonner à l’observation de la nature ses lettres de noblesse. Elle naît donc d’un déplacement de point de vue qui repositionne la pratique devant la théorie, le naturel devant l’artifice, mais aussi parfois la nature devant l’homme

Severe hypertension and massive proteinuria in a newborn with renal artery stenosis

Renal vein thrombosis and the congenital nephrotic syndrome have been associated with nephrotic-range proteinuria/nephrotic syndrome and hypertension in the newborn period. We describe a newborn with severe hypertension and proteinuria secondary to unilateral renal artery stenosis. Proteinuria completely disappeared with blood pressure control (with sodium nitroprusside and an angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor). Although renin was not measured, we speculate that proteinuria might have been induced by a high renin state, and was controlled by the angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibito