The Art of Aiming at a Moving Target: A Critique of Lechner and Frost’s Practice Theory and International Relations

How can we account for the normative dimension of international practices? Silviya Lechner and Mervyn Frost’s Practice Theory and International Relations answers this question by proposing, with a considerable degree of epistemological sophistication, what the authors call ‘normative descriptivism’, which they combine with a focus on ‘macro practices’. In this contribution, I start by examining the authors’ engagement with IR’s practice turn, and the insights this engagement may offer on the underlying objective of their approach. I then turn to Lechner and Frost’s decision to eclipse history. The contribution concludes by using the evolution of international law as a cursory illustration of the types of analyses Lechner and Frost’s approach would lead to. It thereby emphasises potential challenges inherent in the authors’ combination of internalism as rooted in individual self-consciousness and a focus on ‘macro practices’, including the possibility that it might limit the potential to critically question the standard that becomes identified as universal

A New Influence of Legal Scholars? The Use of Academic Writings at International Criminal Courts and Tribunals

What role have international legal scholars played in the development of international criminal law? Building on recent studies of the citation practices of international courts, the article provides an empirical assessment of the use and functions of citations to scholarly writings in the judgments of international criminal courts and tribunals. Using a mixed-methods approach, the article combines: a) a quantitative analysis of judgments interpreting the law of war crimes across four international and hybrid courts; with b) qualitative interviews with judges and legal officers at the International Criminal Court (ICC), the ad hoc Tribunals, and the Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL). The article argues that scholarly writings have been strikingly visible in the judgments of international criminal courts and tribunals, and especially at the ICC, which entails significant implications for the functions of academic writings and the role of international legal scholars

Education Science Students’ Statistics Anxiety: Developing and Analyzing a Scale for Measuring their Worry, Avoidance, and Emotionality Cognitions

Current instruments for assessing university students’ statistics anxiety prevailingly emphasize the affective construct component. In order to unfold the construct in a more exhaustive and differentiated manner, a scale for measuring university students’ worry, avoidance, and emotionality cognitions was developed. In two samples of education science majors the present pilot study aimed at analyzing the scale’s psychometric properties and at gaining preliminary validation results. Principal component analyses led to the formation of a unidimensional scale which appeared to be sufficiently reliable. Its relations to domain-specific self-belief and background variables turned out as theoretically expected – thus, for the time being the scale should claim criterion validity.

Powerful & Flexible Future Launchers in 2- or 3-stage Configuration

Semi RLV configurations are investigated with reusability of 1st or booster stages arranged in parallel with an expendable upper compartment. The non-symmetrical architecture consists of a winged RLV-stage and attached ELV-part comprising either one or two stages. The rocket propulsion is mostly cryogenic LOX-LH2 with the option of a storable propellant upper stage. The paper summarizes major results of the preliminary technical design process. The overall shape and aerodynamic configuration, the propulsion and feed system, the architecture and structural lay-out of the stages are described and some indicators on the configuration’s launch cost efficiency are provided

Comparative analysis of European vertical landing reusable first stage concepts

Reusable launch systems have the potential to significantly impact the space launch service market if both a high reliability and low refurbishment costs can be achieved. This study delves into the Vertical Takeoff and Vertical Landing (VTVL) methodology, as currently employed by SpaceX, and forms a segment of the ENTRAIN study by DLR. This broader study encompasses an examination of both Vertical Takeoff Horizontal Landing (VTHL) and VTVL reusable first stages, exploring their performance across high-level design parameters. This manuscript's primary objective is to assess the quantitative impact of high-level design factors on launch vehicle performance, particularly in relation to the development of a future European reusable launch system featuring a VTVL first stage. For a two-stage vehicle with a payload performance of 7.5t into GTO, the effect of varying propellant combinations, staging velocities and engine cycles are assessed. The study encompasses an iterative, multidisciplinary analysis and sizing process for ten different configurations. Each design iteration not only entails a structural design analysis but also includes optimization of the ascent and descent trajectories. Finally, the developed vehicle concepts are compared to derive quantitative insights into the trade-offs associated with key design choices

Evolution of a new testis-specific functional promoter within the highly conserved MAP2K7 gene of the mouse

Map2k7(synonymMkk7) is a conserved regulatory kinase gene and a central componentof the JNK signaling cascade with key functions during cellular differentiation. It showscomplex transcription patterns, and different transcript isoforms are known in the mouse(Mus musculus). We have previously identified a newly evolved testis-specific transcript fortheMap2k7gene in the subspeciesM. m. domesticus. Here, we identify the new promoterthat drives this transcript andfind that it codes for an open reading frame (ORF) of 50 aminoacids. The new promoter was gained in the stem lineage of closely related mouse speciesbut was secondarily lost in the subspeciesM. m. musculusandM. m. castaneus. A singlemutation can be correlated with its transcriptional activity inM. m. domesticus, and cellculture assays demonstrate the capability of this mutation to drive expression. A mouseknockout line in which the promoter region of the new transcript is deleted reveals afunctional contribution of the newly evolved promoter to sperm motility and the spermatidtranscriptome. Our data show that a new functional transcript (and possibly protein) canevolve within an otherwise highly conserved gene, supporting the notion of regulatorychanges contributing to the emergence of evolutionary novelties