Poststructuralist discourse theory as an independent paradigm for studying institutions : towards a new definition of ‘discursive construction’ in institutional analysis

Poststructuralist discourse theory (DT) is enjoying increasing recognition for its potential to contribute to the study of institutional change and continuity. Yet the most fruitful approach to realizing this potential has hitherto not been found. The main proposition so far has been to operationalize DT's insights and concepts by adopting them into the framework of discursive institutionalism (DI). However, an ongoing debate about the compatibility of the ontologies underlying DT and DI has cast doubts over whether such a combination is theoretically feasible. The critical literature review in the first part of this article indeed finds insurmountable ontological differences between the discourse-theoretical and the discursive-institutionalist traditions, as their clashing notions of what is understood as a 'discourse' result in diverging views on power, agency, and subjectivity. Instead of merging DT into DI, I suggest to empower the former as a self-sufficient paradigm for institutional analysis. To achieve this, the second part of this article re-articulates the 'logics framework' proposed by Jason Glynos and David Howarth (2007) into a middle-range theory for the study of institutionalization and politicization in a discourse-theoretical fashion. The purpose of this re-articulation is to dispel various arguments against the viability of an autonomous poststructuralist approach to institutions

The Language Diplomats Speak: A Discourse-theoretical Approach to the Negotiations in the EURONEST Parliamentary Assembly. EU Diplomacy Paper 05/2016

Although it is widely accepted that the study of diplomatic negotiations ought to be a multi-disciplinary enterprise, the field’s state of the art does not reflect this need for diversity. Game-theoretical and socio-psychological analyses make up the lion’s share of the research. In contrast, interactions between negotiators, perhaps the most elementary building blocks of negotiations, have received relatively little scholarly attention. This paper inquires how matters of language, communication and discourse can be brought to the front in the study of diplomatic negotiations. It will address this question on a theoretical level, by asking what theoretical preconditions to a discursive and language-based approach to diplomatic negotiations exist, and on an empirical level, by developing a relevant case study demonstrating the potential of this approach. With regards to the first question, it will be argued that Discourse Theory is well-suited to overcome the obstacles that have prevented a focus on communication from taking root so far. The case study will be drawn from the European Neighbourhood Policy and look at the discursive conceptualization of institutional relations, bureaucratic infrastructure and socialization efforts in the EURONEST Parliamentary Assembly

Interaction between zeolites and cluster compounds. Part 2.—Thermal decomposition of iron pentacarbonyl on zeolites

Thermal decomposition in a thermobalance of Fe(CO)5 adsorbed on alkali-metal, hydrogen-Y, dealuminated Y, L and omega zeolites proceeds stepwise via slow decarbonylation at low and high temperatures, separated by a fast endothermic reaction. Average CO/Fe ratios have been determined after each step. From i.r. results the former intermediates are assigned to species bearing bridging CO, whereas reaction products with CO/Fe < 1 are associated with highly unsaturated carbonyl clusters in strong interaction with the zeolite.The thermal stability of zeolite/Fe(CO)5 adducts as well as of the intermediates increases with the electron-donor properties of the matrix and can be rationalized using the Sanderson electronegativity concept. Iron loadings ranging from 2.4 wt % in zeolite L up to 10 wt % with NaY and HY are obtained by decomposition in inert atmosphere. Under vacuum conditions loss of metal up to 50% is observed. Metallic iron clusters are the final decomposition products in alkali-metal zeolites, as probed by NO adsorption. In HY part of the metallic iron is oxidized to FeII ions, which are located at cation positions

Nanoscale Voltage Enhancement at Cathode Interfaces in Li-ion Batteries

Interfaces are ubiquitous in Li-ion battery electrodes, occurring across compositional gradients, regions of multiphase intergrowths, and between electrodes and solid electrolyte interphases or protective coatings. However, the impact of these interfaces on Li energetics remains largely unknown. In this work, we calculated Li intercalation-site energetics across cathode interfaces and demonstrated the physics governing these energetics on both sides of the interface. We studied the olivine/olivine-structured LixFePO4/LixMPO4 (x=0 and 1, M=Co, Ti, Mn) and layered/layered-structured LiNiO2/TiO2 interfaces to explore different material structures and transition metal elements. We found that across an interface from a high- to low-voltage material the Li voltage remains constant in the high-voltage material and decays approximately linearly in the low-voltage region, approaching the Li voltage of the low-voltage material. This effect ranges from 0.5-9nm depending on the interfacial dipole screening. This effect provides a mechanism for a high-voltage material at an interface to significantly enhance the Li intercalation voltage in a low-voltage material over nanometer scale. We showed that this voltage enhancement is governed by a combination of electron transfer (from low- to high-voltage regions), strain and interfacial dipole screening. We explored the implications of this voltage enhancement for a novel heterostructured-cathode design and redox pseudocapacitors

Interaction between zeolites and cluster compounds. Part 1.—Adsorption of iron pentacarbonyl on zeolites

The adsorption isotherms of Fe(CO)5 on NaY, HY and Linde L zeolites obtained in McBain balances show micropore adsorption, whereas additional capillary condensation is found with zeolite omega and Na-mordenite. The pores and/or cages of the zeolites studied are completely filled with the complex upon saturation, with the exception of Na-mordenite. Their behaviour is explained, respectively, by pore blocking and the occurrence of channel openings that are too narrow. The silicalite channel system also is too narrow to accept Fe(CO)5 molecules.Infrared results show that an increasing interaction of the complex with faujasites exists in the sequence: dealuminated Y < CsY < HY < NaY. This is derived from the increasing band half-width of the adsorbed complex in the CO stretching region and from the increasing intensity of the v1 vibration, which upon adsorption becomes i.r. active. The interaction is assumed to be influenced mainly by electrostatic fields in the cages or pores, which can lead to a very restricted mobility for the encaged complex. The complex seems to remain intact upon adsorption at 293 K in all the zeolites studied

Targeted genome modifications in soybean with CRISPR/Cas9

Background: The ability to selectively alter genomic DNA sequences in vivo is a powerful tool for basic and applied research. The CRISPR/Cas9 system precisely mutates DNA sequences in a number of organisms. Here, the CRISPR/Cas9 system is shown to be effective in soybean by knocking-out a green fluorescent protein (GFP) transgene and modifying nine endogenous loci. Results: Targeted DNA mutations were detected in 95% of 88 hairy-root transgenic events analyzed. Bi-allelic mutations were detected in events transformed with eight of the nine targeting vectors. Small deletions were the most common type of mutation produced, although SNPs and short insertions were also observed. Homoeologous genes were successfully targeted singly and together, demonstrating that CRISPR/Cas9 can both selectively, and generally, target members of gene families. Somatic embryo cultures were also modified to enable the production of plants with heritable mutations, with the frequency of DNA modifications increasing with culture time. A novel cloning strategy and vector system based on In-Fusion (R) cloning was developed to simplify the production of CRISPR/Cas9 targeting vectors, which should be applicable for targeting any gene in any organism. Conclusions: The CRISPR/Cas9 is a simple, efficient, and highly specific genome editing tool in soybean. Although some vectors are more efficient than others, it is possible to edit duplicated genes relatively easily. The vectors and methods developed here will be useful for the application of CRISPR/Cas9 to soybean and other plant species

Agglomeration mechanism during the preparation of nickel(0) and iron(0) zeolites

Magnetization measurements have been used to study the reduction process of Ni - zeolites and the thermal decomposition of iron pentacarbonyl adsorbed on NaY zeolites . The Ni(0) particle size distribution in H2»reduced NiNaA, Ni NaX, Ni NaY and NiNaM is bidisperse. The amount and the volume of particles exceeding the cage dimensions increases in the sequence Μ,Υ,Χ,Α zeolites. Particle fusion is found to be the rate determining step. With decomposition of Fe(C0)5/NaY adducts, up to 97 wt.% of the iron particles produced are smaller than 1.3 nm. Fluidized sample bed, inert gas atmosphere and fast heating up to 440 Κ are essential to reach mononodal dispersion