Nineteenth-century survey sciences: enterprises, expeditions and exhibitions: introduction

No abstract available

Ceremonies of Measurement: Rethinking the World History of Science

Abstract The practices of measurement have long been taken as authoritative technologies that travel unusually well and easily across cultural boundaries, and as a sign and cause of the apparent dominance of Western modes of science. Attention to the rituals of measurement and to the emergence of the forms of knowledge that accompanied measurement, notably the sciences of metrology, helps challenge these assumptions. Stories of the silent trade, often located in western Africa, and of the ritual origins of measurement, developed within anthropology and conjectural history, can be used to explore how measurement practices traveled and changed. In particular, the work of Marc Bloch as the preeminent historian of ceremony and power can help illuminate the relation between the historical geography of metrology and the scope of the sciences. His brilliant analysis of the royal ritual of “cramp rings” and its fate provides an important example and precedent for comparably ceremonial and culturally significant episodes in the long history of the science of measurement.</jats:p

IHS Book Roundtable: Enlightenment and Geopolitics of Knowledge

Histor

La sociologia del coneixement científic, amb Simon Schaffer

Simon Schaffer, de la Universitat de Cambridge, és un dels artífexs dels canvis profunds que la història de la ciència ha experimentat en els últims 30 anys. Els seus estudis han contribuït a entendre els processos pels quals es genera el consens en el coneixement científic i a demostrar que involucren aspectes que van més enllà del cercles estrictament científics. El llibre que va escriure juntament amb Steven Shapin, "Leviathan and the Air-Pump: Hobbes, Boyle, and the Experimental Life", li atorgà visibilitat internacional i va difondre el seu nou plantejament en la manera de fer història de la ciència: des de la sociologia del coneixement científic. El professor Schaffer ens visità amb motiu de la presentació de dos seminaris organitzats pel CEHIC (Centre d'Història de la Ciència de la UAB) i, des de UABDivulga vam tenir l'oportunitat d'entrevistar-lo perquè ens expliqués, de primera mà, aquest nou enfocament que ha renovat la història de la ciència en profunditat, així com també la manera d'entendre la ciència.Simon Schaffer, de la Universidad de Cambridge, es uno de los artífices de los cambios profundos que la historia de la ciencia ha experimentado en los últimos 30 años. Sus estudios han contribuido a entender los procesos por los que se genera el consenso en el conocimiento científico y a demostrar que involucran aspectos que van más allá del círculos estrictamente científicos. El libro que escribió junto con Steven Shapin, "Leviathan and the Air-Pump: Hobbes, Boyle, and the Experimental Life", le otorgó visibilidad internacional y difundió su nuevo planteamiento respecto a la forma de hacer historia de la ciencia: desde la sociología del conocimiento científico. El profesor Schaffer nos visitó con motivo de la presentación de dos seminarios organizados por el CEHIC (Centro de Historia de la Ciencia de la UAB) y, desde UABDivulga tuvimos la oportunidad de entrevistarlo para que nos explicara, de primera mano, este nuevo enfoque que ha renovado la historia de la ciencia en profundidad, así como también la manera de entender la ciencia.Simon Schaffer, University of Cambridge, is one of the architects of the profound changes the history of science has undergone in the past 30 years. His studies have contributed to understanding the processes by which consensus in scientific knowledge is reached and to prove that they involve aspects that go beyond strictly scientific circles. The book he wrote along with Steven Shapin, "Leviathan and the Air-Pump: Hobbes, Boyle and the Experimental Life" gave him international exposure and spread his new approach in the way of doing history of science, from the viewpoint of the Sociology of Scientific Knowledge. Professor Schaffer visited us on the occasion of the presentation of two seminars organised by CEHIC (Center for History of Science at UAB). UABDivulga took the opportunity to interview him and ask about this new approach that has renewed in depth the history of science as well as the understanding of scientific knowledge

State Power and Economic Inefficiency : Explaining Political Failture in Africa

SUMMARY The problem of agricultural crisis in Africa has forced a review of the highly centralised and bureaucratised structures used to provide services to farmers since independence, and has resulted in a return to favour of decentralised market mechanisms. This article traces the historical evolution of the present system in the colonial period, and sets out the theoretical and political assumptions which lay behind its retention in the post?colonial period. It then attempts to account for current failures by examining the theoretical inconsistencies and actual conflicts of interest involved in the attempt to use these structures in the political, economic and social conditions prevailing in post?colonial Africa. It concludes by recommending a more flexible approach based upon the use of decentralised private and cooperative structures directly accountable to the farmers who use them. SOMMAIRE Le problème de la crise agricole en Afrique a forcé une révision des structures bureaucratìques et hautement centralisées, utilisées pour procurer des services aux fermiers depuis l'indépendance, ceci a eu pour résultat de plaider en faveur des mécanismes de marché décentralisées. Cet article trace révolution historique du système actuel dans la période coloniale, et présente les assomptions qui sont derrière son maintien dans la période post?coloniale. On tente ensuite d'expliquer les échecs récents en analysant les contradictions théoriques et les conflits d'intérêt actuels impliqués dans les tentatives d'utiliser ces structures sous des conditions politiques, économiques et sociales prévalant dans l'Afrique post?coloniale. L'article conclut en recommandant une approche plus flexible, basée sur l'utilisation de structures privées décentralisées et des structures coopératives imputables aux fermiers utilisateurs. RESUMEN El problema de la crisis agrícola en Africa ha forzado a una revisión de las estructuras altamente centralizadas y burocráticas utilizadas para proporcionar servicios a los agricultores, resultando en un retorno en favor de los mecanismos descentralizados del mercado. Este artículo describe la evolución histórica del sistema actual en el periodo colonial y establece las hipótesis teóricas y políticas que yacen por detrás de su persistencia en el periodo post?colonial. A continuación intenta explicar los fracasos actuales mediante el examen de las incoherencias teóricas y los conflictos de intereses involucrados en el propósito de utilizar estas estructuras en las condiciones políticas, sociales y económicas prevalecientes en Africa post?colonial. Concluye recomendando un enfoque más flexible basado en el uso de estructuras descentralizadas, tanto privadas como cooperativas, directamente responsables ante los granjeros que las utilizan

A rational roadmap for SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19 pharmacotherapeutic research and development: IUPHAR Review 29.

In this review, we identify opportunities for drug discovery in the treatment of COVID-19 and, in so doing, provide a rational roadmap whereby pharmacology and pharmacologists can mitigate against the global pandemic. We assess the scope for targeting key host and viral targets in the mid-term, by first screening these targets against drugs already licensed, an agenda for drug repurposing, which should allow rapid translation to clinical trials. A simultaneous, multi-pronged approach using conventional drug discovery methods aimed at discovering novel chemical and biological means of targeting a short list of host and viral entities which should extend the arsenal of anti-SARS-CoV-2 agents. This longer term strategy would provide a deeper pool of drug choices for future-proofing against acquired drug resistance. Second, there will be further viral threats, which will inevitably evade existing vaccines. This will require a coherent therapeutic strategy which pharmacology and pharmacologists are best placed to provide. LINKED ARTICLES: This article is part of a themed issue on The Pharmacology of COVID-19. To view the other articles in this section visit http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/bph.v177.21/issuetoc.Welcome Trust 107715/Z/15/