Legitimation problems of participatory processes in technology assessment and technology policy

Since James Carroll (1971) made a strong case for “participatory technology”, scientists, engineers, policy-makers and the public at large have seen quite a number of different approaches to design and implement participatory processes in technology assessment and technology policy. As these participatory experiments and practices spread over the last two decades, one could easily get the impression that participation turned from a theoretical normative claim to a working practice that goes without saying. Looking beyond the well-known forerunners and considering the ambivalent experiences that have been made under different conditions in various places, however, the “if” and “how” of participation are still contested issues when questions of technology are on the agenda. Legitimation problems indicate that attempts to justify participation in a given case have not been entirely successful in the eyes of relevant groups among the sponsors, participants, organizers or observers. Legitimation problems of participatory processes in technology assessment and technology policy vary considerably, and they do so not only with the two domains and the ways of their interrelation or the specific features of the participatory processes. If we ask whether or not participation is seen as problematic in technology assessment and technology policy-making and in what sense it is being evaluated as problematic, then we find that the answer depends also on the approaches and criteria that have been used to legitimize or delegitimize the call for a specific design of participation

Taking animals seriously: interpreting and institutionalizing human-animal relations in modern democracies

Zoopolis by Sue Donaldson and Will Kymlicka (2011) is a very important contribution in the process of rethinking our relationship with animals. But is their proposal to conceptualize animals as co-citizens (in the case of domesticated animals) or as sovereign communities (in the case of wild animals) appropriate and persuasive with regard to the task of restructuring the theoretical foundations and the practical perspectives for transforming human-animal relations in modern democracies? In the face of the epistemological and methodological problems of interpreting animals and their behavior, this contribution argues that we are not on the right track if we try to take animals seriously by interpreting the relationship between them and us without realizing that it will not be possible to communicate with them on a level that can capture the political dimensions of that relationship. While expanding our moral imagination to see animals in new ways may induce new commitments and yield new allies for the animal advocacy movement, the next step required would be to proceed from an extended moral imaginary towards a political theory of human-animal relations which includes perspectives on institutionalization that can come to terms with the problems of moral advocacy in a democracy

Demokratie und Technikfolgenabschätzung : Praktische Herausforderungen und konzeptionelle Konsequenzen

Technikfolgenabschätzung (TA) ist vor über 50 Jahren zur Unterstützung demokratischer Meinungsbildung und Entscheidungsfindung entstanden. Sie hat sich seitdem in demokratischen Gesellschaften westlichen Typs weiterentwickelt und diversifiziert. Dieses Modell ist seit einigen Jahren mit Herausforderungen konfrontiert, darunter: (1) In fast allen westlichen Ländern wird anlässlich des Erstarkens populistischer Strömungen von einer Krise der Demokratie gesprochen. (2) Die Digitalisierung ermöglicht neue Kommunikations- und Mobilisierungsmuster weitab von den klassischen Formen demokratischer Meinungs- und Willensbildung. (3) Basisdemokratische und partizipative Verhandlungen werden für die Ausgestaltung und Akzeptanz von neuen Technologien immer relevanter. In dieser Einführung entfalten wir diese Herausforderungen und geben einen Überblick über die Beiträge des TATuP-Themas.Technology assessment (TA) was established more than 50 years ago to support democratic opinion forming and decision making. Since then, it has developed and diversified in Western democratic societies. This model has faced a number of challenges in recent years, including: (1) In almost all Western countries, the rise of populist movements has led to talk of a crisis of democracy. (2) The ongoing digitalization enables new patterns of communication and mobilization far beyond traditional forms of democratic opinion forming and decision making. (3) Grassroots and participatory negotiations are becoming more and more relevant for the development and acceptance of new technology. This introduction unfolds these challenges and provides an overview of the contributions to the TATuP special topic

DNA damage in telomeres and mitochondria during cellular senescence: is there a connection?

Cellular senescence is the ultimate and irreversible loss of replicative capacity occurring in primary somatic cell culture. It is triggered as a stereotypic response to unrepaired nuclear DNA damage or to uncapped telomeres. In addition to a direct role of nuclear DNA double-strand breaks as inducer of a DNA damage response, two more subtle types of DNA damage induced by physiological levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) can have a significant impact on cellular senescence: Firstly, it has been established that telomere shortening, which is the major contributor to telomere uncapping, is stress dependent and largely caused by a telomere-specific DNA single-strand break repair inefficiency. Secondly, mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) damage is closely interrelated with mitochondrial ROS production, and this might also play a causal role for cellular senescence. Improvement of mitochondrial function results in less telomeric damage and slower telomere shortening, while telomere-dependent growth arrest is associated with increased mitochondrial dysfunction. Moreover, telomerase, the enzyme complex that is known to re-elongate shortened telomeres, also appears to have functions independent of telomeres that protect against oxidative stress. Together, these data suggest a self-amplifying cycle between mitochondrial and telomeric DNA damage during cellular senescence

Heimerziehung damals und heute - Eine Studie zu Veränderungen und Auswirkungen der Heimerziehung über die letzten 40 Jahre!

Heimerziehung bedeutet, dass Kinder und Jugendliche mit einer defizitären Sozialisation an einem anderen Ort als in der Ursprungsfamilie erzogen werden. Diese Erziehung geschieht aus organisatorischen und pädagogischen Gründen meist in einem professionellen Kontext. In der folgenden Studie geht es um diesen professionellen Kontext, nämlich um Heimerziehung. Im Focus stehen dabei zwei ausgewählte Einrichtungen der Kinder- und Jugendhilfe. Einmal das Rheinische Landesjugendheim Viersen-Süchteln, das 1972 auf die Forderungen der Heimkampagne reagierte und die politisch und pädagogisch überfälligen Veränderungen durch eine Umstrukturierung im demokratischen Sinne vollzog. Und zum anderen das Heilpädagogisch-Psychotherapeutische Zentrum Die Gute Hand in Kürten-Biesfeld. Diese Einrichtung wirde vorgestellt um aufzuzeigen, mit welchen Themen eine Einrichtung der Kinder- und Jugendhilfe heute konfrontiert wird. Die leitende Frage bei den Betrachtungen beiden Einrichtungen lautet: Welche Auswirkungen sind im mikrokosmischen Bereich aufgrund der verschiedenen Einflüsse des Makro- und Mesokosmos zu beobachten, und wie hat sie die inhaltliche und organisatorische Struktur eines Kinderheims heute im Vergleich zu damals verändert? Dafür wird zunächst ein Blick auf den gesellschaftspolitischen Kontext der 60er Jahre und auf den der Gegenwart geworfen. Anschließend werden die Einflüsse einer mesokosmischen Ebene verdeutlicht: einerseits die Heimkampagne mit ihren Forderungen in den 60er Jahren und andererseits das Kinder- und Jugendhilfegesetzes (KJHG) als juristische Grundlage und Voraussetzung für eine gelingende Heimerziehung in den 90er Jahren. Danach werden die beiden Einrichtungen selbst vorgestellt, bevor die Innovationen am Ende der jeweiligen Kapitel wiederum in einem größeren Zusammenhang reflektiert werden, so dass ein Überblick über die Themen der Kinder- und Jugendhilfe in den Jahren 1969 bis 2007 (also knapp 40 Jahre Fremdunterbringung) während und nach der Heimkampagne wie auch der Gegenwart deutlich wird. Im Fazit veranschauliche ich die Konsequenzen der Entwicklungen damals und heute für das zukünftige Szenario der Kinder- und Jugendhilfe und leite aus den vorangegenagenen Ebenen Empfehlungen für eine Weiterentwicklung ab

O palácio das ilusões da tradução austeniana : “Orgulho e preconceito” no sistema literário

Nas décadas de 1930 e 1940, o mercado editorial brasileiro passou por sérias crises e mudanças, as quais acabaram contribuindo para o crescimento da tradução no país, transformando essas décadas na Era de Ouro da tradução. Esta pesquisa, vinculada ao projeto “Tradução e sistema literário – história da tradução no Brasil: a tradução dos clássicos e os escritores/tradutores”, objetiva investigar esse período e sua importância para a história da tradução no Brasil, juntamente com o lugar ocupado pela Editora José Olympio nesse contexto com relação aos clássicos literários estrangeiros traduzidos por autores brasileiros. Em um segundo momento, analisaremos as traduções de duas das obras de Jane Austen publicadas pela José Olympio na Coleção Fogos Cruzados, Orgulho e preconceito, traduzida por Lúcio Cardoso, em 1941, e Mansfield Park, traduzida por Rachel de Queiroz, em 1942. Será feito um estudo comparativo das obras com suas traduções mais recentes, a de Orgulho e preconceito por Alexandre Barbosa de Souza (Penguin Companhia, 2011), e a de Mansfield Park de Mariana Menezes Neumann (BestBolso, 2011). Com isso, pretendemos analisar a apresentação da obra traduzida em relação à sua economia estética e aos paratextos editoriais.During the 1930’s and 1940’s, the Brazilian publishing industry experienced many crisis and changes that, surprisingly as it may be, contributed to the development of the translation practice in Brazil, making of these decades the Golden Age of translation. This research project is part of a major project, “Translation and literary system – the history of translation in Brazil: translation of canons and the writers/translators”, and aimed to investigate this period of time and its importance to the Brazilian translation history. It also studied the role of the Editora José Olympio in this context, regarding the translations of literary classics by Brazilian writers. After that, we analyzed the translations of two of Jane Austen’s titles that have been published by the Editora José Olympio in the Fogos Cruzados Collection, Pride and Prejudice, translated by Lúcio Cardoso, 1941, and Mansfield Park, translated by Rachel de Queiroz, 1942. We conducted a comparative study between these titles and their most recent translations: Pride and Prejudice, translated by Alexandre Barbosa de Souza (Penguin Companhia, 2011), and Mansfield Park, translated by Mariana Menezes Neumann (BestBolso, 2011). By doing this, we aimed to analyze the way these texts were presented to public, regarding its aesthetics and paratexts

Mitochondrial Dysfunction Accounts for the Stochastic Heterogeneity in Telomere-Dependent Senescence

Aging is an inherently stochastic process, and its hallmark is heterogeneity between organisms, cell types, and clonal populations, even in identical environments. The replicative lifespan of primary human cells is telomere dependent; however, its heterogeneity is not understood. We show that mitochondrial superoxide production increases with replicative age in human fibroblasts despite an adaptive UCP-2–dependent mitochondrial uncoupling. This mitochondrial dysfunction is accompanied by compromised [Ca(2+)](i) homeostasis and other indicators of a retrograde response in senescent cells. Replicative senescence of human fibroblasts is delayed by mild mitochondrial uncoupling. Uncoupling reduces mitochondrial superoxide generation, slows down telomere shortening, and delays formation of telomeric γ-H2A.X foci. This indicates mitochondrial production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) as one of the causes of replicative senescence. By sorting early senescent (SES) cells from young proliferating fibroblast cultures, we show that SES cells have higher ROS levels, dysfunctional mitochondria, shorter telomeres, and telomeric γ-H2A.X foci. We propose that mitochondrial ROS is a major determinant of telomere-dependent senescence at the single-cell level that is responsible for cell-to-cell variation in replicative lifespan

Senescence and Inflammatory Markers for Predicting Clinical Progression in Parkinson's Disease: The ICICLE-PD Study.

BACKGROUND: Cognitive decline is a frequent complication of Parkinson's disease (PD) and the identification of predictive biomarkers for it would help in its management. OBJECTIVE: Our aim was to analyse whether senescence markers (telomere length, p16 and p21) or their change over time could help to better predict cognitive and motor progression of newly diagnosed PD patients. We also compared these senescence markers to previously analysed markers of inflammation for the same purpose. METHODS: This study examined the association of blood-derived markers of cell senescence and inflammation with motor and cognitive function over time in an incident PD cohort (the ICICLE-PD study). Participants (154 newly diagnosed PD patients and 99 controls) underwent physical and cognitive assessments over 36 months of follow up. Mean leukocyte telomere length and the expression of senescence markers p21 and p16 were measured at two time points (baseline and 18 months). Additionally, we selected five inflammatory markers from existing baseline data. RESULTS: We found that PD patients had shorter telomeres at baseline and 18 months compared to age-matched healthy controls which also correlated to dementia at 36 months. Baseline p16 levels were associated with faster rates of motor and cognitive decline over 36 months in PD cases, while a simple inflammatory summary score at baseline best predicted cognitive score over this same time period in PD patients. CONCLUSION: Our study suggests that both inflammatory and senescence markers (p16) are valuable predictors of clinical progression in PD patients.This study was supported by a Newcastle upon Tyne Hospital Trust (Brain Research Unit PD0612) grant to GS. ICICLE-PD is funded by Parkinson’s UK (grant no J-0802, G-1301) and supported by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Newcastle Biomedical Research Centre in Ageing and Chronic Disease and the Biomedical Research Unit in Lewy Body Dementia based at Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Newcastle University (CM-R) and the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre (146281). This work was also supported by grants from the Academy of Medical Sciences, UK, the Rosetrees Trust, and the Stevenage Biosciences Catalyst. CHWG is supported by a RCUK/UKRI Research Innovation Fellowship awarded by the Medical Research Council (MR/R007446/1). RAB is an NIHR Senior Investigator (NF-SI-0616-10011) and is supported by the WT/MRC Stem Cell Institute (203151/Z/16/Z

Feedback between p21 and reactive oxygen production is necessary for cell senescence

The sustained activation of CDKN1A (p21/Waf1/Cip1) by a DNA damage response induces mitochondrial dysfunction and reactive oxygen species (ROS) production via signalling through CDKN1A-GADD45A-MAPK14- GRB2-TGFBR2-TGFbeta in senescing primary human and mouse cells in vitro and in vivo.Enhanced ROS production in senescing cells generates additional DNA damage. Although this damage is repairable and transient, it elevates the average levels of DNA damage response permanently, thus forming a positive feedback loop.This loop is necessary and sufficient to maintain the stability of growth arrest until a ‘point of no return' is reached during establishment of senescence