Jenseits des Realitätsprinzips. Zum Tod des Philosophen Jean Baudrillard

Wie einst Nietzsche, erblickt auch Baudrillard im Nihilismus die treffendste Formel der Gegenwart. Nur so kann er in den Selbstmordattentaten vom 11. September eine groteske Faszination entdecken, ohne die Schreckenstaten der Terroristen deshalb bereits gut zu heißen. Sie haben, so Baudrillard, die Logik des Systems gegen das System selbst gewandt, haben es durch die Gabe des Todes selbst in den Tod gestürzt und so seinen Niedergang beschleunigt. Das System muss sich gegen die Bedrohung wehren. Aber da die Bedrohung nicht von außen kommt wie im klassischen Krieg, sondern dezentral ist und sich jedem Zugriff entzieht, bleiben letztlich alle Versuche, die Terroristen zu besiegen, zwecklos

Aktuelle Soziologie der Gabe

Besprechung der Titel: IRIS DÄRMANN, Theorien der Gabe zur Einführung. Hamburg: Junius 2010. HOLGER SCHWAIGER, Schenken. Entwurf einer sozialen Morphologie aus Perspektive der Kommunikationstheorie. Konstanz: UVK 2011

Characterization of a Novel Mitochondrial Plasmid in Brassica

Possessing some of the largest and most complex genomes of any eukaryotic organelles, plant mitochondria are notorious for their rapidly rearranging genetic framework. In addition to containing a large and complex mitochondrial genome, the mitochondria of several plants in the genus Brassica have also been shown to contain an independent, self-replicating linear plasmid. Interestingly, the plasmid appears to be able to move independently between the cytoplasm and the mitochondria, and it can be paternally inherited, unlike the rest of the mitochondrial genome. The plasmid also has features similar to those of adenoviruses, including terminal inverted repeats and covalently bound proteins at the 5’ termini. This has led us to hypothesize that the plasmid was originally acquired as a virus by a subspecies of Brassica and has since become an integrated component of the mitochondrial machinery in these plants. The goal of our research is to analyze the coding regions and terminal proteins of the plasmid in order to better understand the mechanisms by which it is transported into and replicated within plant mitochondria. If we can determine how the Brassica plasmid moves between the cytoplasm and mitochondria, it has the potential to be used as a vehicle to shuttle foreign DNA into plant mitochondria and allow for the synthesis of exogenous RNA and proteins. A mitochondrial-targeting plasmid such as this would not only allow for a better understanding of the molecular composition of plant mitochondria, but it may also lead to an enhanced ability to alter their genetic and biochemical environment, which could have effects on the traits and life history of the plant

Forces of Secularity in the Modern World

Stephen Strehle is a leading scholar of church/state issues. In this volume, he focuses his rigorous historical analysis and philosophical acumen upon a topic of great interest today and source of cultural wars around the globe—the process of secularization. The book starts with a discussion of early capitalism and how it saw the real world functioning well-enough on its own principles of individual struggle and self-interest, without needing religious or moral principles to meddle in its affairs and eventually dispelling the need for any intelligent design or providential orchestration of life through the work of Darwin. The book then discusses the growth of the secular point of view: how historians dismissed the impact of religion in developing modern culture, how scientists conceived of the universe running on self-sufficient or mechanistic principles, and how people no longer looked to the providential hand of God to explain their suffering. The book ends with a discussion of how the Deist concept of human autonomy became a political policy in America through Jefferson’s concept of a wall of separation between church and state and how the US Supreme Court proceeded to dismiss the importance of religion in shaping or justifying the values of the nation and its laws. The book is accessible to most upper-level and graduate students in a wide-variety of disciplines, keeping technical and foreign words to a minimum and leaving scholarly details or debates to its extensive notes

A vitamin K prophylaxis survey among breastfeeding mothers

A survey was distributed among new breastfeeding mothers in northern England to gain insight into their experiences with different forms of neonatal vitamin K prophylaxis. Two-thirds of mothers were knowledgeable about the reasons for giving vitamin K and a quarter felt that they had not received adequate information on the subject. The importance of neonatal vitamin K prophylaxis must be fully explained by healthcare workers to all expectant parents

An Assessment of Environmental Sustainability Guidelines at Community and Junior College Campuses in Mississippi

The purpose of this study was to review the established sustainability guidelines in place at each of the 15 public community and junior colleges in Mississippi and to illuminate the ways in which these community colleges interacted with environmental sustainability during the 2013-2014 academic year. Dimensions studied within the established guidelines included curriculum, research and scholarship, operations, faculty and staff development, outreach and service, student opportunities, and administration, mission, and planning. This research study was qualitative in nature and utilized a multiple case holistic design. Sustainability guideline documents, informant commentary, college policy documents, and college course catalogs were gathered from 6 of the 15 community colleges in Mississippi and used to prepare a descriptive analysis of the results. The results of this studied showed the following: a) only a portion of the reporting community colleges discuss sustainability topics in courses on campus, b) none of the colleges reported having sustainability guidelines related to research and scholarship, c) all colleges reported having sustainability guidelines and efforts in the area of operations, d) a small number of the reporting colleges noted having faculty and staff development concerning sustainability guidelines on campus, e) half of the reporting colleges noted that sustainability guidelines are incorporated into outreach and service, f) a small number of reporting colleges stated that sustainability guidelines and efforts are incorporated into student opportunities, g) half of all reporting colleges noted that sustainability guidelines are utilized in the area of administration, mission, and planning. Recommendations for further research are discussed