Modernity, Capitalism, and War: Toward a Sociology of War in the Nineteenth Century, 1815-1914

The academic discipline of Sociology has rarely broached the subject of war and its recursive relationship with society. This paper addresses three major approaches in several disciplines that can be deemed ‘economically deterministic’: Marxist, Liberal, and Realist. These approaches can be useful for certain questions, but also leave out, or cloud other non-economic variables in understanding war – notably culture and military variables themselves. By using Karl Polanyi’s thesis regarding the “Myth of the Hundred Years’ Peace” (1815-1914) as a foil, the historical case of war in the nineteenth century is used to highlight the nature of war in European modernity and capitalism

Comparative-Historical Sociology as Professional Practice

This is the final version of the article. Available from Michigan Publishing via the DOI in this record.The once dominant comparative and historical approach in sociology has been replaced by methods which extract, collate and re-label data from the immediate present. What explains this contemporary dustbowl of historical sociology? This paper suggests: the gradual disinvestment of the discipline in professional utility and professional practice. History of the interrelationship between jurisprudence and social science in both Germany and the United States shows social scientists emerged as adjuncts of a more dominant profession of jurists who used comparative history to harmonise conflicts of laws. American scholars drew on their training in German faculties of Law to establish academic social science faculties. Subsequent academic effort to professionalise these disciplines as pure ‘science’ meant withdrawal from the original practical concerns.The author would like to thank The Marguerite and Sidney Cody Fund, Girton College, Cambridge and the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) for funding archival research in Berlin, New York and Chicago. In these cities, much gratitude is extended to librarians and archivists at the Geheimes Staatsarchiv Preußischer Kulturbesitz and Staatsbibilothek, Berlin; The Rare Books and Manuscripts Library, Columbia University, New York; Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago, Chicago. The author is currently supported by an Early Career Fellowship funded by the Leverhulme Trust

Decentralized Autonomous Organizations as Legal Persons : Evaluating the Legal Personhood of DAOs in Light of the Bundle Theory

The proliferation of blockchain and other distributed ledger technologies has led to widespread experimentation with modes of operation that are predicated on decentralization. Among these innovations are so-called Decentralized Autonomous Organizations—essentially blockchain-native organizations whose operations are predicated on a high level of automation and whose functions are managed by a human collectivity leveraging some sort of decentralized governance model. These entities are steeped in novelty, for example with regard to their technological makeup, the context in which they operate, as well as the method of forming an intention based on which to operate. As such, they constitute a very unique, decidedly digital type of entity, whose ontology is quite vague. This thesis, then, aims to examine DAOs as novel entities that engage in legally relevant behaviour, focusing specifically on the question of whether or not they can be considered legal persons. This question is approached in light of Visa Kurki’s Bundle Theory of Legal Personhood, which provides quite a nuanced framework through which to examine the concept. Indeed, his theory brings this thesis to the conclusion that DAOs can, in fact, be considered legal persons, although there is still room for more nuance in the discussion, as there remains ambiguity in a term as wide as ‘DAO’ , as well as in the whole concept of legal personhood as applied to entities that tread the vague line between traditiona

Civil War Barons: The Tycoons, Entrepreneurs, Inventors, and Visionaries Who Forged Victory and Shaped a Nation

In Civil War Barons Jeffry D. Wert weaves the stories of nineteen businessmen together into a narrative of the Union’s organizational response to the demands of the Civil War. Wert’s approach widens the scope of his analysis beyond that of a group biography to elucidate the networks that these businessmen built between government administrators, natural resources, and the men that labored and fought to preserve the Union. This broad view does not obscure the role of the individual in his account. To the contrary, the self-determination of these particular historical actors plays a central role in Wert’s explanation of the North’s, and then the Nation’s, economic development. On the surface, this study is deceptively simple: It’s clear, concise, and accessible prose, and Wert’s deliberate avoidance of jargon and theory, make it an ideal book for students and non-specialists

In vitro Effects of Two Silver Electrodes on Select Wound Pathogens

The use of electrical current to promote wound healing is well documented. However, little is understood about the effects of micro-amperage direct current (μADC) on growth of wound pathogens. The purpose of this project was to investigate the antibacterial effects of a silver wire/silver nylon electrode carrying μADC in vitro on several Gram positive and Gram negative bacteria. The current was delivered via silver wire and silver nylon electrodes at an amplitude of 100 μA for a 30-minute duration in an in vitro system. Results demonstrated that only silver wire carrying current inhibited bacterial growth around the anode. In contrast, the silver nylon electrode with or without current exhibited antibacterial activity around both the anode and cathode. The results of this study provide convincing evidence that the silver ion (AG+) is responsible for suppressing bacterial growth. Both silver electrodes were bactericidal with all Gram negative bacteria tested and bacteriostatis with most Gram positive bacteria tested, suggesting that the cell wall composition may be a determining factor in the effectiveness of the AG+

Use of Interdisciplinary Education to Foster Familiarization among Health Professionals

This paper describes a pilot interdisciplinary experience between the dental hygiene and medical technology programs at Marquette University. It was designed, in part, to familiarize dental hygiene students with the medical technology profession. Comments solicited from students on the final evaluation form indicated that this pilot project was highly successful and met the objectives. Affective, multiple-choice questions on pretests and posttests showed a positive change in attitude, but this change was not statistically significant. Possible reasons for this are discussed. Benefits of this pilot project were an improved understanding of medical technology on the part of the dental hygiene students, enhanced interdepartmental communication, and plans to develop a reciprocal interdisciplinary experience for the medical technology students. It is hoped that this pilot project will serve as a stimulus for similar experiences among other health science programs

Restoring Functional Status: A Long-Term Case Report of Severe Lung and Ventilatory Muscle Pump Dysfunction Involving Recurrent Bacterial Pneumonias

Background and Purpose: Prolonged mechanical ventilation contributes to immobility and deconditioning making efforts to safely discontinue ventilator support desirable. This case report documents how implementing physical therapy treatment interventions, based on the Guide to Physical Therapist Practice, can help to restore a person’s functional status even after multiple years of mechanical ventilation dependency. Case Description: A patient (female; aged 63 years) with severe restrictive and obstructive ventilatory impairment has survived 34 recurrent pneumonias involving 6 bacterial pathogens while being mechanically ventilated at home. A 3-year study was approved and informed consent obtained for a home exercise program of resistive extremity and inspiratory muscle training along with exercise reconditioning. Tolerable distances walked, maximal inspiratory and expiratory pressures, hours spent on versus off mechanical ventilation, activities performed within and around her home, and community excursions taken were charted. Outcomes: Daily time tolerated off the ventilator improved from less than one to 12 hours, distance walked in 6 minutes increased 33%, and maximal inspiratory and expiratory pressures improved 62% and 9.6% respectively. These improvements made out-of-home social excursions possible. Discussion and Conclusions: This patient’s functional status improved following multiple physical therapy interventions dictated by the evaluation of initial physical therapy examination findings according to the Guide to Physical Therapist Practice. Long term mechanical ventilator dependency in the home environment did not exclude this patient from achieving clinically significant gains in functional status even when having severe restrictive and obstructive ventilator impairment

A Brief Introduction to Civic Analysis

Civic Analysis (CA) is a theory and set of methods for ‘civic science’ – or civic sociology – one of two sides of the emerging, interdisciplinary ‘Civic Arts & Sciences’ or more simply called: ‘Civics’. CA involves study of three related things: - Civic Ecologies (CE) - Civic Actions (CX) - Civic Processes (CP) What makes these things ‘civic’ is that these occur in ‘places’ – accordingly, CA is ultimately a place-based theory and method

Antibacterial Effects of a Silver Electrode Carrying Microamperage Direct Current in vitro

Currently, electrical stimulation is an accepted method used clinically to promote chronic wound healing. A literature review revealed that similar therapeutic current has been shown to suppress growth of common wound pathogens in vitro and in vivo. To date, little has been reported on the factors contributing to the antibacterial effects of microamperage direct current (μADC) stimulation. The purpose of this project was to investigate the role of electric field strength, current density, pH, and type of electrode used in vitro, to gain a better understanding of how these factors contribute to inhibiting growth of select wound pathogens. μADC was applied via silver electrodes at amplitudes ranging from 26 μA to 800 μA in an in vitro system consisting of Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Results suggest that transmission of μADC by silver wire inhibits bacterial growth around the anode, and that the area of inhibition is directly proportional to the size of the electrode used. Current amplitude (as a function of electric field strength and current density) and pH did not seem to cause the antibacterial effects observed in this study