Constructing cost of living indexes : ideas and individuals, Argentina, 1918-1935

This article examines the first two estimates of the Argentine cost of living index, focusing on their producers, Alejandro Bunge and José Figuerola. The Bunge index, released in 1918, did not hold as a stable social and political artifact because it lacked legitimacy in the eyes of many sectors of society. This was a consequence of Bunge’s personal connections, and of the close relationship between the index and Bunge and between the index and his macroeconomic vision, which differed from that of the economic and political elite. The trajectory of the second estimate, released in 1935 by the National Labor Department, highlights the importance of the working class as a social actor in fostering the adoption of the cost of living index. The legitimacy of the National Labor Department’s index was enhanced by the connections between Figuerola and the International Labour Organization. The contrast between the two histories suggests that for a cost of living index to hold as a stable social and political artifact during the first half of the twentieth century, a connection between the index and industrial relations had to exist. In particular, the index should contribute toward the formation of the working class as a visible object for policy intervention

The effective oxidation pressure of indium-oxygen system

A theoretical model on oxygen transport at the surface of liquid metals has been validated by dynamic surface tension measurements performed on liquid Indium as test metal. The oxygen contamination conditions have been obtained at different oxygen partial pressures under both low total pressure (Knudsen regime) and inert atmospheric pressure (Fick regime) conditions, confirming that an oxide removal regime occurs under an oxygen partial pressure much higher than the equilibrium one (the "Effective Oxidation Pressure"). Experimental results are reported which give a further insight on the relative importance of the various processes due to the oxygen mass transport between the liquid metal and the gas phase. The critical aspects involved in surface tension measurements of liquid metals, related to the problem of liquid metal-oxygen interactions, are also underlined

Estatísticas e gestão política do primeiro ano da pandemia de COVID-19 na Argentina

The Covid-19 pandemic triggered the generation as well as the ample circulation of health statistics. This article examines the role that Covid-19 statistics acquired in the management of the Argentine health emergency. Argentina adopted lockdown measures early and initially had a strict social confinement with subsequent relaxations that became a coordination challenge in a society in crisis. This research followed a qualitative methodological strategy supported by systematic analysis of regulations, government reports, press articles, and presidential press conferences. On the one hand, the article explores the institutional structure behind the elaboration of Covid-19 statistics, focusing on statistical classifications, and underlines the tensions to which it was exposed. On the other hand, it shows how statistics were used to bestow legitimacy to the decisions of the political authority, staged in true rituals of quantification, as they were a means through which that authority was exercised. In addition to attributing meaning to a shared experience, statistical indicators became a device for coordinating action at a distance and from the center, restricting the margins of discretionary action of the subnational authorities and operating as an external and impersonal mechanism of regulation in a society disrupted by an exceptional situation.La pandemia de Covid-19 estimuló la generación y amplia circulación de estadísticas sanitarias. Este artículo examina el rol que adquirieron las estadísticas del Covid-19 en la gestión política de la emergencia sanitaria en la Argentina, un país que se caracterizó por adoptar medidas tempranas, un confinamiento social estricto inicial y posteriores flexibilizaciones que significaban todo un desafío de coordinación en una sociedad en crisis. La investigación adoptó una estrategia metodológica cualitativa apoyada en el análisis sistemático de una variedad de fuentes: normativa, informes gubernamentales, prensa y registros en video de las conferencias de prensa presidenciales. Por un lado, el artículo explora la trama institucional de elaboración de esas estadísticas, deteniéndose en algunos puntos de esa cadena como las clasificaciones estadísticas, y subraya la serie de tensiones a las que estuvo expuesta. Por otro lado, muestra cómo las estadísticas fueron utilizadas para conferir legitimidad a las decisiones de la autoridad política, escenificadas en verdaderos rituales de cuantificación, a la vez que resultaron un medio a través del cual esa autoridad fue ejercida. Además de atribuir significado a la experiencia compartida, los indicadores estadísticos formaron parte de un dispositivo de coordinación de la acción a distancia y desde el centro que restringía los márgenes de acción discrecional de las autoridades subnacionales y operaba como un mecanismo externo e impersonal de regulación en una sociedad convulsionada por una situación tan excepcional como la pandemia.A pandemia de Covid-19 estimulou a geração e ampla circulação de estatísticas de saúde. Este artigo examina o papel assumido pelas estatísticas da Covid-19 na gestão política da emergência sanitária na Argentina, país que se caracterizou por adotar medidas precoces, um confinamento social estrito inicial e subsequentes flexibilizações que significaram um desafio de coordenação em uma sociedade em crise. A pesquisa adotou uma estratégia metodológica qualitativa apoiada na análise sistemática de diversas fontes: regulamentos, relatórios governamentais, imprensa e registros em vídeo de coletivas de imprensa presidenciais. Por um lado, o artigo explora a trama institucional de elaboração dessas estatísticas, detendo-se em alguns pontos dessa cadeia como as classificações estatísticas, e destaca a série de tensões a que foi exposta. Por outro lado, mostra como as estatísticas foram usadas para conferir legitimidade às decisões da autoridade política, encenadas por meio de verdadeiros rituais de quantificação, ao mesmo tempo em que serviram de instrumento para o exercício dessa autoridade. Além de atribuir significado à experiência compartilhada, os indicadores estatísticos faziam parte de um dispositivo de coordenação da ação à distância e a partir do centro, que restringia as margens de ação discricionária das autoridades subnacionais e funcionava como um mecanismo externo e impessoal de regulação em uma sociedade convulsionada por uma situação tão excepcional quanto a pandemia

A New Estimate of the Argentine Cost of Living Index, 1912-1932

Al ser concebidas como reflejos o aproximaciones a la realidad, las estadísticas ayudan a comprender hechos porque objetivan fenómenos. Esta idea se basa en la premisa de que las herramientas estadísticas son hechos incontestables y apolíticos. Sin embargo, la cuantificación y sus resultados no son objetivos. Para determinar el fenómeno a medir y el objetivo de la cuantificación primero se necesitan definiciones. Por lo tanto, las estadísticas están sujetas a debates en torno a sus métodos, interpretación y uso. Utilizando la primera estimación del índice de costo de vida (ICV) argentino y siguiendo la metodología de de-construcción/construcción/re-construcción de estadísticas, este artículo estudia cómo se generan las mismas. En la fase de de-construcción, el trabajo analiza varios informes para determinar cómo se estimó dicho ICV, elaborado por Alejandro Bunge. La etapa de construcción analiza la metodología del índice y determina los problemas del mismo, que son consecuencia de las suposiciones y los métodos utilizados, en base a los datos disponibles en ese entonces. Por último, el ICV se re-construye corrigiendo sus principales problemas, utilizando la información disponible para Bunge, con el fin de demostrar cómo diferentes supuestos resultan en diferentes series. Por ello, se genera una nueva estimación del ICV para el período 1912-1932.Statistics contribute to the understanding of events by objectifying phenomena, as they are perceived to reflect or be an approximation of reality. This perception is based on the premise that statistical tools are straightforward, apolitical facts. However, quantification and its results are not objective. Definitions are needed beforehand to determine the phenomenon to be measured and the aim of the quantification. Thus, statistics face debates on methods, interpretation and use. Using the first estimate of the Argentine cost of living index (COLI) as a case study and following the process of de-construction/construction/re-construction of statistics, this article studies how statistics are made. In the de-construction phase, the paper analyses various reports to arrive at an understanding of how the COLI, elaborated by Alejandro Bunge, was originally estimated. The construction stage discusses the methodology that he used. The pitfalls that come from the assumptions and methods underlying the index are demonstrated using data available at that time. Lastly, the COLI is re-constructed by correcting its main pitfalls using the information available when the series were initially developed to depict how different assumptions result in different series. A new estimate of the COLI is elaborated for the period 1912-1932

Unwinding the Winding Trajectory

Using primary sources from different official agencies, this paper reconstructs the initial trajectory of Argentine national accounting and sheds light on its divergent path with regards to the state planning carried out by the Peronist administration. Based on the notions of the sociology of quantification framework, it argues that the divergence was grounded on biases, technical arguments and political support that suggest different conceptions about the Argentine economy and society. This article claims that from the mid-1930s and throughout 1940 two groups of experts were formed within the Argentine state that had responsibilities in the design and implementation of economic programmes and policies. Each group had its own vision of the national economy, based on their specific use of statistics.Retour sur deux trajectoires divergentes. Par le croisement de plusieurs fonds d’archives publiques, cet article examine les premiers pas de la comptabilité nationale en Argentine. Il met en lumière le chemin divergent emprunté par la planification mise en œuvre par l’administration péroniste. Dans une perspective de sociologie de la quantification, l’article montre que cette divergence est le produit de jugements, d’arguments d’ordre technique et d’appuis politiques qui révèlent des conceptions différentes de l’économie et de la société argentines. Il analyse ainsi l’émergence, entre le milieu des années 1930 et les années 1940, de deux groupes d’experts, en charge de la conception et la mise en œuvre des programmes et des politiques économiques, avec chacun sa propre vision de l'économie nationale, et son propre usage des statistiques

Real-Time PCR-Based Mismatch Amplification Mutation Assay for Specific Detection of CS6-Expressing Allelic Variants of Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli and Its Application in Assessing Diarrheal Cases and Asymptomatic Controls

Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) expressing the colonization factor CS6 is widespread in many developing countries, including India. The different allelic variants of CS6, caused by point mutations in its structural genes, cssA and cssB, are designated AIBI, AIIBII, AIIIBI, AIBII, and AIIIBII. A simple, reliable, and specific mismatch amplification mutation assay based on real-time quantitative PCR (MAMA-qPCR) was developed for the first time for the detection of CS6-expressing ETEC, along with the identification of allelic variations. The assay was based on mismatched nucleotide incorporation at the penultimate base at the 3' ends of the reverse primers specific for cssA and cssB and was validated using 38 CS6-expressing ETEC isolates. This strategy was effective in detecting all the alleles containing single-nucleotide polymorphisms. Using MAMA-qPCR, we also tested CS6 allelic variants in 145 ETEC isolates from children with acute diarrhea and asymptomatic infections, with the latter serving as controls. We observed that the AIBI and AIIIBI allelic variants were mostly associated with cases rather than controls, whereas the AIIBII variants were detected mostly in controls. In addition, the AIBI and AIIIBI alleles were frequently associated with ETEC harboring the heat-stable toxin gene (est) alone or with the heat-labile toxin gene (elt), whereas the AIIBII allele was predominant in ETEC isolates harboring the elt gene. This study may help in understanding the association of allelic variants in CS6-expressing ETEC with the clinical features of diarrhea, as well as in ETEC vaccine studies

Orbital-selective Mott transitions: Heavy fermions and beyond

Quantum phase transitions in metals are often accompanied by violations of Fermi liquid behavior in the quantum critical regime. Particularly fascinating are transitions beyond the Landau-Ginzburg-Wilson concept of a local order parameter. The breakdown of the Kondo effect in heavy-fermion metals constitutes a prime example of such a transition. Here, the strongly correlated f electrons become localized and disappear from the Fermi surface, implying that the transition is equivalent to an orbital-selective Mott transition, as has been discussed for multi-band transition-metal oxides. In this article, available theoretical descriptions for orbital-selective Mott transitions will be reviewed, with an emphasis on conceptual aspects like the distinction between different low-temperature phases and the structure of the global phase diagram. Selected results for quantum critical properties will be listed as well. Finally, a brief overview is given on experiments which have been interpreted in terms of orbital-selective Mott physics.Comment: 29 pages, 4 figs, mini-review prepared for a special issue of JLT

Momentum-resolved linear dichroism in bilayer MoS2

In solid state photoemission experiments it is possible to extract information about the symmetry and orbital character of the electronic wave functions via the photoemission selection rules that shape the measured intensity. This approach can be expanded in a pump-probe experiment where the intensity contains additional information about interband excitations induced by an ultrafast laser pulse with tunable polarization. Here, we find an unexpected strong linear dichroism effect (up to 42.4%) in the conduction band of bilayer MoS2, when measuring energy- A nd momentum-resolved snapshots of excited electrons by time- A nd angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy. We model the polarization-dependent photoemission intensity in the transiently populated conduction band using the semiconductor Bloch equations. Our theoretical analysis reveals a strongly anisotropic momentum dependence of the optical excitations due to intralayer single-particle hopping, which explains the observed linear dichroism