The spaces in between

In recent years, the Latin American left has achieved important electoral and social successes. Meanwhile, far-right movements across the continent have also come back from the brink, transformed from fringe political phenomena to powerful political vehicles capable of dictating political discourse and policies.  In his article Harnessing the Storm: Constitutive moments and taypi in Latin America, Angus McNelly (2022) proposes to search for and to create openings for different futures and political alternatives out of the contradictions of capitalism on a regional scale with a focus on transformative movements. Connecting to McNelly’s reading of Rivera and Zavaleta, I put forward the concept of taypi by Silvia Rivera Cusicanqui. Taypi is the centre of a woven pattern, which she uses as a metaphor for a site of friction in between ch’ixi spaces and societies. Taypi allows us to interrogate both the creative as well as destructive potential that results from lo abigarrado and ch’ixi formations in Latin America – including authoritarian and far-right tendencies as part of the constitutive moments. I argue that focussing on taypi—regardless of the scope we seek to analyse—draws attention to the organisation that takes place on the ground in both its productive and destructive potential. I conclude that seeking constitutive moments, ch’ixi spaces and taypi across Latin America makes for a fruitful research agenda

Democratic research: Setting up a research commons for a qualitative, comparative, longitudinal interview study during the COVID-19 pandemic

The sudden and dramatic advent of the COVID-19 pandemic led to urgent demands for timely, relevant, yet rigorous research. This paper discusses the origin, design, and execution of the SolPan research commons, a large-scale, international, comparative, qualitative research project that sought to respond to the need for knowledge among researchers and policymakers in times of crisis. The form of organization as a research commons is characterized by an underlying solidaristic attitude of its members and its intrinsic organizational features in which research data and knowledge in the study is shared and jointly owned. As such, the project is peer-governed, rooted in (idealist) social values of academia, and aims at providing tools and benefits for its members. In this paper, we discuss challenges and solutions for qualitative studies that seek to operate as research commons

Zur Rolle der Wissenschaft in Pandemien: Für eine interdisziplinäre, transregionale und solidarische Forschung

Kein Thema hat die Wissenschaft im letzten Jahr so beschäftigt wie COVID-19. In diesem Essay befassen wir uns mit drei Schlüsselrollen der Wissenschaft während der Pandemie: Grundlagenforschung, Politikberatung und Wissenschaftskommunikation. Wir stützen uns auf Erkenntnisse aus zwei Forschungsprojekten zum Thema „Solidarität in Zeiten einer Pandemie“ in Europa (SolPan) und Lateinamerika (SolPan+). In beiden Projekten wurden die Erfahrungen, Reaktionen auf politische Maßnahmen, soziale Risiken und Bewältigungsstrategien untersucht. Die Ergebnisse der Projekte, aber auch die Umstände, unter denen sie durchgeführt werden, spiegeln globale Ungleichheiten wider und verdeutlichen die Bedeutung kontextsensitiver Forschungsfragen und -ziele. Wir ziehen Bilanz, was die Wissenschaft während der Pandemie bereits erreicht hat, und verweisen auf virulente Herausforderungen, die es zu bewältigen gilt. Wir schließen mit einem Aufruf zu solidarischer Wissenschaft

sj-docx-2-ene-10.1177_25148486231221017 - Supplemental material for Don’t waste the crisis: The COVID-19 Anthropause as an experiment for rethinking human–environment relations

Supplemental material, sj-docx-2-ene-10.1177_25148486231221017 for Don’t waste the crisis: The COVID-19 Anthropause as an experiment for rethinking human–environment relations by Amelia Fiske, Isabella M Radhuber, Consuelo Fernández Salvador, Emilia Rodrigues Araújo, Marie Jasser, Gertrude Saxinger, Bettina M Zimmermann and Barbara Prainsack in Environment and Planning E: Nature and Space</p

sj-docx-1-ene-10.1177_25148486231221017 - Supplemental material for Don’t waste the crisis: The COVID-19 Anthropause as an experiment for rethinking human–environment relations

Supplemental material, sj-docx-1-ene-10.1177_25148486231221017 for Don’t waste the crisis: The COVID-19 Anthropause as an experiment for rethinking human–environment relations by Amelia Fiske, Isabella M Radhuber, Consuelo Fernández Salvador, Emilia Rodrigues Araújo, Marie Jasser, Gertrude Saxinger, Bettina M Zimmermann and Barbara Prainsack in Environment and Planning E: Nature and Space</p

Democratic research: Setting up a research commons for a qualitative, comparative, longitudinal interview study during the COVID-19 pandemic

The sudden and dramatic advent of the COVID-19 pandemic led to urgent demands for timely, relevant, yet rigorous research. This paper discusses the origin, design, and execution of the SolPan research commons, a large- scale, international, comparative, qualitative research project that sought to respond to the need for knowledge among researchers and policymakers in times of crisis. The form of organization as a research commons is characterized by an underlying solidaristic attitude of its members and its intrinsic organizational features in which research data and knowledge in the study is shared and jointly owned. As such, the project is peer-governed, rooted in (idealist) social values of academia, and aims at providing tools and benefits for its members. In this paper, we discuss challenges and solutions for qualitative studies that seek to operate as research commons

SOP 4.2. Polyphasic approach on cyanobacterial strains

A rapid taxonomic identification is important for estimating potential risks to animal and human health caused by cyanobacteria in waters used for recreation, drinking and irrigation. Light microscopy provides a rapid means for preliminary identification and quantitative estimation of potentially toxic cyanobacteria based on their morphology (morphotypes). However, the final species assignment should rely on a polyphasic characterization of cultured strains (or population isolates) consisting of several different molecular methods, and (whenever possible) the determination of ultrastructural, physiological, biochemical, and ecological characteristics. In this chapter, we describe the major steps essential for cyanobacterial taxa identification. These include examination by light microscopy, genetic characterization by single or multiple loci sequence analyses, and by molecular typing. The value of taxonomic and molecular databases is explained. Finally, the usefulness of a polyphasic approach is highlighted by examples. Although analyses of genes known to be involved in toxin synthesis can be helpful for the identification of potentially toxic strains (or population isolates), reliable health risk assessments require confirmation by analytical measurement of the respective cyanotoxin