New Proposal to Iran: Will It Be Enough to Defuse the Nuclear Crisis?

This BASIC Note assesses the progress of transatlantic diplomacy toward Iran on nuclear issues. On June 6, Iran was presented with a revised package of incentives to persuade it to curb its uranium enrichment program. The authors argued previously that the earlier E3/EU proposal was vague on incentives and heavy on demands. (See BASIC Note, August 11, 2005 at http://www.basicint.org/pubs/Notes/BN050811-IranEU.htm). In this article, the authors suggest that if the June 6 proposal had been offered a year ago (or better still two years ago), much of the recent damage to diplomatic relations between Iran and the West could have been avoided

Spanning the Institutional Abyss: The Intergovernmental Network and the Governance of Foreign Direct Investment

Global economic transactions such as foreign direct investment must extend over an institutional abyss between the jurisdiction, and therefore protection, of the states involved. Intergovernmental organizations (IGOs), whose members are states, represent an important attempt to span this abyss. IGOs are mandated variously to smooth economic transactions, facilitate global cooperation, and promote cultural contact and awareness. We use a network approach to demonstrate that the connections between two countries through joint-membership in the same IGOs are associated with a large positive influence on the foreign direct investment that flows between them. Moreover, we show that this effect occurs not only in the case of IGOs that focus on economic issues, but also on those with social and cultural mandates. This demonstrates that relational governance is important and feasible in the global context, and for the most risky transactions. Finally we examine the interdependence between the IGO network and the domestic institutions of states. The interdependence between these global and domestic institutional forms is complex, with target-country democracy being a substitute for economic IGOs, but a complement for social and cultural IGOs.

Adorno, dada and the philistine: the immanent negation of the institution of art

This thesis uses the figure of the philistine to stage a critical encounter between the aesthetic theory of Theodor Adorno and the anti-art of Dada. The introduction prepares for this argument by tracing the development of the concept of the philistine over time. In the first chapter, Adorno’s aesthetic theory is delineated negatively, reconstructed on the basis of a wide-ranging survey of the references to the philistine in his work. His dialectical conception of this figure is pushed further, and brought to bear critically on his own blindnesses, aporias and exclusions. The second chapter explores how these limitations are manifested in his flawed interpretation of Dada, advancing an alternative reading of the movement, with recourse to counterexamples of its creative practice. The third chapter deepens this interpretation through a series of case studies, in which the philistine acts as the symbolic representation of different versions of anti-art. These analyses extend the theorization of the philistine to complete the critique of Adorno. However, Dada is also critically evaluated according to the model of the philistine derived from him, conceptualized as the immanent negation of art, now amended slightly to the immanent negation of the institution of art. The conclusion reflects on the methodological implications of this argument, and considers the wider applicability of the revised aesthetic theory which has emerged from it. In this critical encounter, Adorno’s and Dada’s shared negativity is the point of convergence in which the opposed notions of aesthetic autonomy and the institutionality of art are mediated as extremes

Adorno, dada and the philistine: the immanent negation of the institution of art

This thesis uses the figure of the philistine to stage a critical encounter between the aesthetic theory of Theodor Adorno and the anti-art of Dada. The introduction prepares for this argument by tracing the development of the concept of the philistine over time. In the first chapter, Adorno’s aesthetic theory is delineated negatively, reconstructed on the basis of a wide-ranging survey of the references to the philistine in his work. His dialectical conception of this figure is pushed further, and brought to bear critically on his own blindnesses, aporias and exclusions. The second chapter explores how these limitations are manifested in his flawed interpretation of Dada, advancing an alternative reading of the movement, with recourse to counterexamples of its creative practice. The third chapter deepens this interpretation through a series of case studies, in which the philistine acts as the symbolic representation of different versions of anti-art. These analyses extend the theorization of the philistine to complete the critique of Adorno. However, Dada is also critically evaluated according to the model of the philistine derived from him, conceptualized as the immanent negation of art, now amended slightly to the immanent negation of the institution of art. The conclusion reflects on the methodological implications of this argument, and considers the wider applicability of the revised aesthetic theory which has emerged from it. In this critical encounter, Adorno’s and Dada’s shared negativity is the point of convergence in which the opposed notions of aesthetic autonomy and the institutionality of art are mediated as extremes

Experiences of problem solving in whole class interactions

Problem solving is often considered to be an essential part of learning mathematics. In this paper we examine the whole class interactions around problems and problem solving as they naturally occur in mathematics classrooms. Thus, we are examining students’ ordinary experiences of problem solving in their everyday mathematics lessons. Our analysis shows how students’ participate in a very narrow range of problem solving actions and that the actions that they do participate in are controlled by the teacher. This raises implications for what students perceive and interpret problem solving to be in mathematics

TCA Microsatellite Repeats in the 5’UTR of the Sat5 Gene of Wild and Cultivated Accessions of Pisum and of Four Closely Related Genera

PsSat5, a cDNA clone from Pisum sativum cv. Alaska, contained a microsatellite consisting of 15 TCA repeats within the 59UTR. This SSR microsatellite was immediately upstream of the presumptive ATG start codon. PCR amplification of genomic DNA from cv. Alaska yielded an identical sequence. This repeat region was analyzed from 10 additional wild and cultivated accessions of Pisum and from four closely related genera (Cicer, Lathyrus, Lens, and Vicia). All of the sequences were generally quite similar, with the exception of the number of TCA repeats (region 3) and a short domain immediately upstream of the repeats (region 2). Pisum humile-northern and Lathyrus each contained four TCA repeats (the fewest number observed). Similar to P. sativum-Alaska and other cultivated peas, Lens contained 15 repeats, the largest number observed. The number of TCA repeats does not appear to correspond to the established phylogeny of these accessions, so the cellular events that generated variable numbers of repeats probably have occurred repeatedly and have involved both expansions and contractions in the number of repeats. The mRNA corresponding to PsSat5 was found in all tissues of P. sativum-Alaska that were examined, but its abundance in leaves and sepals was low. The level of expression was similar in growing and nongrowing stems, roots, and axillary buds. Northern blot analysis of stems and leaves of all 15 accessions showed similar levels of expression. Therefore, there is not a clear correlation between the number of TCA repeats in the 59UTR and the level of Sat5 expression

Molecular basis for resistance of acanthamoeba tubulins to all major classes of antitubulin compounds

Tubulin is essential to eukaryotic cells and is targeted by several antineoplastics, herbicides, and antimicrobials. We demonstrate that Acanthamoeba spp. are resistant to five antimicrotubule compounds, unlike any other eukaryote studied so far. Resistance correlates with critical amino acid differences within the inhibitor binding sites of the tubulin heterodimers

COMPETITIVE GRANTS AND THE FUNDING OF AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH IN THE U.S.

To increase the efficiency of the public agricultural R&D system, expanded use of competitive grants to fund state institutions has been advocated. This paper characterizes different funding instruments and empirically assesses the effects of changes in mechanism use. Factors associated with greater levels of competitive grants are modeled.Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies,