Away with linguists! Normativity, inequality and metascientific reflexivity in sociolinguistic fieldwork

This paper addresses the fact that in spite of the descriptive and well-intentioned ambitions of much sociolinguistic-ethnographic research, members of studied groups often continue to interpret such research as a largely vertically organized socio-political activity that communicates a prescriptive social and linguistic normativity the researcher is inevitably taken to embody. We argue that while many researchers agree that sociolinguistic fieldwork is inherently political, actual descriptions of informants' awareness of this are still rather scarce. In the process, we demonstrate how members' metascientific reflexivity can be particularly active precisely in and during fieldwork encounters and in the entire research event, complicating the idea of a pure and disinterested description and understanding

Regulating nanotechnologies: risk, uncertainty and the global governance gap

This article builds on research for a two-year project on nanotechnology regulation in the US and Europe (2008–09), which was funded by the European Commission. We are grateful to our collaborators in this project, at the London School of Economics, Chatham House, Environmental Law Institute and Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies, and especially Linda Breggin, Jay Pendergrass and Read Porter. We also received helpful suggestions from three anonymous reviewers and would like to thank them for their advice. Any remaining errors are our own. Nanosciences and nanotechnologies are set to transform the global industrial landscape, but the debate on how to regulate environmental, health and safety risks is lagging behind technological innovation. Current regulatory efforts are primarily focused on the national and regional level, while the international dimensions of nanotechnology governance are still poorly understood and rarely feature on the international agenda. However, with the ongoing globalization of nanosciences and the rapid expansion of international trade in nanomaterials, demand for international coordination and harmonization of regulatory approaches is set to increase. Yet, uncertainty about nanotechnology risk poses a profound dilemma for regulators and policy-makers. Uncertainty both creates demand for and stands in the way of greater international cooperation and harmonization of regulatory approaches. This article reviews the emerging debate on nanotechnology risk and regulatory approaches, investigates the current state of international cooperation and outlines the critical contribution that a global governance approach can make to the safe development of nanotechnologie

Der Aufstieg der Jesuiten: Bürokratie als Schlüssel zur Macht : Markus Friedrich mit dem wichtigsten deutschen Preis für Nachwuchswissenschaftler ausgezeichnet

Der Neuzeit-Historiker Markus Friedrich erhielt im Mai den Heinz Maier-Leibnitz-Preis, den wichtigsten deutschen Wissenschaftspreis für Nachwuchswissenschaftler. Der 36-Jährige, der 2010 seine Habilitation abgeschlossen hat und seit 2005 am Historischen Seminar der Universität Frankfurt forscht und lehrt, vertritt zurzeit eine Professur für Neuere Geschichte und Frühe Neuzeit an der Rostocker Universität. Mit Friedrich bekamen fünf weitere junge Wissenschaftler den jeweils mit 16.000 Euro dotierten Preis, für den insgesamt 145 Kandidaten aus allen Fachgebieten vorgeschlagen worden waren

"Nie aufgegeben" : Jiri Kosta und die Geschichte einer dreifachen Verfolgung

Rezension zu: Jiri Kosta. "Nie aufgegeben" - Ein Leben zwischen Bangen und Hoffen, Verlag Philo, Berlin 2001, ISBN 3-83257-0242-1, 180 S., 32,50 D

Ecology of gelatious plankton:With emphasis on feeding interactions, distribution pattern and reproduction biology of Mnemiopsis leidyi in the Baltic Sea

Comb jellies were a relatively obscure group of zooplankton, until Mnemiopsis leidyi invaded the Black Sea in the 1980’s with cascading effects on several ecosystem levels including commercial fisheries. This native to the east coasts of America triggered large public and scientific attention as a result of this invasion and its ecological and economic impacts. In 2005, when M. leidyi was sighted in Northern Europe for the first time, similar consequences were feared. The aim of my PhD project was to understand the potential impact of M. leidyi on the Baltic Sea ecosystem and constrains on its dispersal. Specifically, the project investigated (i) direct and indirect effects of M. leidyi on the Baltic cod population in its most important spawning ground, (ii) factors governing the spatial and temporal distribution of M. leidyi eggs, larvae and adults in the Baltic and, (iii) M. leidyi reproduction and its effect on population development. The approach involved 13 monthly monitoring cruises from high saline Skagerrak to low saline northern Baltic regions, in situ and laboratory controlled reproduction and feeding experiments, molecular analysis for species verification, and statistical modeling. The low feeding rates and passive negative selection of cod eggs in experiments demonstrate that M. leidyi does not pose a direct threat to the Baltic cod population at the environmental conditions characteristic for its spawning ground. Furthermore, the drastically reduced reproduction rates observed under low salinities suggest M. leidyi is not likely to compete with cod recruits prey. Spatial and temporal surveys show highest abundances during October, with a consistent absence of adult and larval M. leidyi in the northern Baltic. Abundances in the Kattegat were 60 times higher than in the central Baltic, suggesting that the M. leidyi population in the central Baltic is dependent on advection from high saline areas. This interpretation is consistent with the low reproduction rates measured and a low fraction of up-growing animals in the central Baltic. While adults were not observed from April to June in high saline areas, M. leidyi larvae were present throughout the year. It remains unclear where M. leidyi overwinters but high saline areas appear to be important in the annual establishment of the population. Laboratory and in situ reproduction experiments confirmed that fecundity is a major contributor to M. leidyi’s invasion success, although salinity is regulating, and possibly restricting, its range expansion in Northern Europe. Maximum reproduction rates are shown to be attained at low food concentrations, helping reconcile the high population densities observed in localized areas despite low food concentrations. An unexpected discovery was that the arctic relict ctenophore Mertensia ovum, thought to be restricted to the northern Baltic, also occurs in the high saline Kattegat/Skagerrak during winter and spring. Interestingly, in the northern Baltic the M. ovum population consists exclusively of larval-sized animals that are actively reproducing and maintaining a self-sustained population. Natural selection can favor early maturation at small size when mortality rates are high, and our results are consistent with this hypothesis. Currently, M. leidyi has established itself permanently in high and intermediate saline areas in Northern Europe. While the ecological impact of M. leidyi in the central Baltic appears to be limited concern, the environment in other European waters should be more favourable to their populations. In these areas, it is suggested that M. leidyi constitutes a potential threat to fisheries through resource competition with fishe

Managing Cartels: how Cartel Participants Create Stability in the Absence of law

Firms enter cartels (e.g. price-fixing; bid-rigging) in order to control market uncertainties and gain collusive profits, but face challenges in controlling the cartel itself. A challenge for business cartels is how to organise collective illegal activities without the use of formal control, such as binding legal contracts or arbitration. While one might expect that a lack of formal legal control leads to mutual conflicts and opportunistic behaviour resulting in short-lived cartels, firms often manage to continue their illegal conduct for years. This raises questions as to how firms organise their cartels in the absence of legal means. This article addresses how informal coordinating mechanisms enable cartel stability outside the scope of formal legal control. Based on an in depth study of 14 Dutch cartels, this article shows the importance of informal social mechanisms to coordinate, monitor, enforce, and compensate for the longevity of business cartels. Furthermore, the results emphasise that in order to explain cartel stability, social mechanisms that induce trust need to be considered

2. Wochenbericht AL499

Cruise AL499 Work Program Report – Week

Goethe verbindet : Hochstift und Universität wollen stärker kooperieren – Anne Bohnenkamp-Renken jetzt auch Professorin im Fachbereich Neuere Philologien

Das Freie Deutsche Hochstift und die Goethe-Universität rücken in der Geburtsstadt des großen Dichters näher zusammen. Im Oktober wurde gefeiert, was schon seit einiger Zeit erfolgreich praktiziert wird: die Vernetzung der beiden Institutionen, die mit der Berufung der Direktorin des Hochstifts, Prof. Anne Bohnenkamp-Renken, an den Fachbereich Neuere Philologien weiter intensiviert wird