scholarly journals Einstein, von Frisch and the honeybee: a historical letter comes to light

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adrian G. Dyer ◽  
Andrew D. Greentree ◽  
Jair E. Garcia ◽  
Elinya L. Dyer ◽  
Scarlett R. Howard ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Migratory Birds ◽  
Historical Context ◽  
Thought Experiments ◽  
Albert Einstein ◽  
Nobel Laureate ◽  
Princeton University ◽  
Dance Communication ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Animal Perception ◽  
Karl Von Frisch

AbstractThe work of the Nobel Laureate Karl von Frisch, the founder of this journal, was seminal in many ways. He established the honeybee as a key animal model for experimental behavioural studies on sensory perception, learning and memory, and first correctly interpreted its famous dance communication. Here, we report on a previously unknown letter by the Physicist and Nobel Laureate Albert Einstein that was written in October 1949. It briefly addresses the work of von Frisch and also queries how understanding animal perception and navigation may lead to innovations in physics. We discuss records proving that Einstein and von Frisch met in April 1949 when von Frisch visited the USA to present a lecture on bees at Princeton University. In the historical context of Einstein’s theories and thought experiments, we discuss some more recent discoveries of animal sensory capabilities alien to us humans and potentially valuable for bio-inspired design improvements. We also address the orientation of animals like migratory birds mentioned by Einstein 70 years ago, which pushes the boundaries of our understanding nature, both its biology and physics.

What Should We Know About the Origins of International Investment Law?

2020 ◽  
Vol 48 (3) ◽  
pp. 122-131
Author(s):  
Sarah M. Alshahrani
Keyword(s):  
Ottoman Empire ◽  
Historical Context ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
International Investment ◽  
Arab Countries ◽  
International Investment Law ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Investment Law ◽  
Investment Treaties ◽  
The Impact

AbstractInternational investment law, particularly the global backlash against investment treaties, has evolved recently. This article aims to clarify how international investment law evolved over history, from the early Arab traders in the 7th century to the Ottoman Empire, to understand its hidden aims. It investigates the practice of signing investment treaties, which appear first during the Fatimid Caliphate2 and Mamluk Sultanate3 periods. It then explains when control over foreign investment started to diminish during the Ottoman Empire period.4 Further, it explains the links between the USA Friendship, Commerce and Navigation treaties (FCNs), and current investment treaties, explaining the impact of colonization and imperialism on drafting treaty provisions. Within this historical context, this article illustrates the need to understand the roots of international investment law in order to urge Arab countries to terminate or renegotiate current bilateral investment treaties (BITs) as a number of developing and developed countries have done.

scholarly journals Using Bioacoustics to Examine Vocal Phenology of Neotropical Migratory Birds on a Wild and Scenic River in Arizona

Birds ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 261-274
Author(s):  
Heather L. Bateman ◽  
Sidney B. Riddle ◽  
Erin S. Cubley
Keyword(s):  
Sonoran Desert ◽  
Migratory Birds ◽  
Riparian Forest ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Migratory Bird ◽  
Bird Diversity ◽  
Yellow Warbler ◽  
Habitat Features ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Vocal Activity

Passive acoustic recorders have been used successfully as automated survey tools to detect terrestrial wildlife. However, few studies have monitored Neotropical migratory bird use of riparian forest habitat using this technology. Within dryland ecosystems, the forests along rivers support high bird diversity. Many bird species of conservation concern require these floodplain forest habitats for foraging, migration stop-overs, and breeding. Few studies have explored the use of acoustic records in riverine systems designated for conservation for their natural resource value via the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act in the USA. Using acoustic recorders, we document vocal activity of four riparian-obligate species (Bell’s Vireo, Vireo bellii; Summer Tanager, Piranga rubra; Yellow Warbler, Setophaga petechial; and Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Coccyzus americanus) to determine species occurrence along a Wild and Scenic River. We established three study reaches along the perennial Lower Verde River, in the Sonoran Desert of central Arizona, USA. Nine acoustic recorders were used over the period of 80–120 days during the summer of 2018. We measured vegetation composition and structure in 100 m2 plots paired with acoustic recorders. Visualizing vocal activity showed that three species were calling and singing at each reach; whereas, one species, the cuckoo, had fewer recordings and occurred later in the summer. We demonstrate the utility of acoustic monitoring even when applied to rare birds in complex riparian habitats. This information is important for land management and conservation efforts concerning these species of interest and identifying important habitat features in Southwestern US riparian woodlands.

scholarly journals Image of Hugo Chavez Created by US Mass Media in Context of Venezuela 1998 Presidential Elections

2021 ◽  
pp. 66-70
Author(s):  
N.S. Pivovarova
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Los Angeles ◽  
Mass Media ◽  
Political Development ◽  
Presidential Elections ◽  
Historical Context ◽  
New York Times ◽  
Political Activity ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Hugo Chavez

This paper investigates the features of the US mass media approaches in creating the image of Hugo Chavez on the eve of the Venezuela 1998 Presidential Elections. The paper studies the historical context, which influenced the creation of Chavez's image. The socio-economic and political development of Venezuela in those days is analyzed. The key traits of Chavez’s image highlighted during the period under study, as well as the emotional background of the publications, are analyzed. Although both the domestic and foreign historiography has paid a most sufficient attention to the history of Venezuela, the biography and political activity of Hugo Chavez, his image as a presidential candidate in the 1998 Venezuela elections remains unexplored. This work aims to fill this gap. The paper systematically examines the materials of the three major US newspapers, namely, the “New York Times”, the “Wall Street Journal”, and the “Los Angeles Times”, published from July to December, 1998. The established methodologies of document analysis and quantitative content analysis are applied. The study leads to the conclusion that the USA mass media created a negative image of Hugo Chavez during the pre-election period, implementing understatements and a negative emotional background in their publications.

scholarly journals Resituating Erving Goffman: From Stigma Power to Black Power

2018 ◽  
Vol 66 (4) ◽  
pp. 744-765 ◽  
Author(s):  
Imogen Tyler
Keyword(s):  
Jim Crow ◽  
Historical Context ◽  
Political Movements ◽  
Erving Goffman ◽  
The North ◽  
The Social ◽  
Black Freedom ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Interaction Order ◽  
The Relationship

This article offers a critical re-reading of the understanding of stigma forged by the North American sociologist Erving Goffman in his influential Stigma: Notes on the Management of Spoiled Identity (1963). One of the most widely read and cited sociologists in history, Goffman was already famous when Stigma was published in 1963. His previous books were best-sellers and Stigma alone has sold an astonishing 800,000 copies in the 50 years since its publication. Given its considerable influence, it is surprising how little sustained engagement there has been with the historicity of Goffman’s account. This article resituates Goffman’s conceptualisation of stigma within the historical context of Jim Crow and the Black freedom struggles that were shaking ‘the social interaction order’ to its foundations at the very moment he crafted his account. It is the contention of this article that these explosive political movements against the ‘humiliations of racial discrimination’ invite revision of Goffman’s decidedly apolitical account of stigma. This historical revision of Goffman’s stigma concept builds on an existing body of critical work on the relationship between race, segregation and the epistemology of sociology within the USA. Throughout, it reads Goffman’s Stigma through the lens of ‘Black Sociology’, a field of knowledge that here designates not only formal sociological scholarship, but political manifestos, journalism, creative writing, oral histories and memoirs. It is the argument of this article that placing Goffman’s concept of stigma into critical dialogue with Black epistemologies of stigma allows for a timely reconceptualisation of stigma as governmental technologies of dehumanisation that have long been collectively resisted from below.

Meditation in Prison

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katherine M. Auty
Keyword(s):  
Substance Misuse ◽  
Research Evidence ◽  
Historical Context ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Psychological Wellbeing ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Key Concepts ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Vipassana Meditation ◽  
Prison Studies

In recent years interest in the use of meditation programs in prison has grown considerably, yet empirical research evidence for their effectiveness has been slower to accumulate. This chapter explores the application of meditation programs that take place within prison walls and evaluates their effectiveness in three key areas: (i) mental health and psychological wellbeing; (ii) substance misuse; (iii) and reoffending behavior. Evidence from prison studies, most of them conducted in the USA, is reviewed with a focus on their effectiveness. The philosophical and historical context of meditation is taken into account, and key concepts and definitions are critiqued. The chapter explores the meditation practices that are most often found in prison, such as Transcendental Meditation, mindfulness, and Vipassana meditation. It examines meditation’s role as an adjunct therapy in the treatment of substance misuse disorders and more general applications that aim to enhance well-being. The limitations of current studies together with directions for future research are also discussed.

Berberova, Nina Nikolaevna (БЕРБЕРОВА, НИНА НИКОЛАЕВНА) (1901–1993)

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Isobel Palmer
Keyword(s):  
Short Stories ◽  
Journal Editor ◽  
Silver Age ◽  
European Cities ◽  
Princeton University ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Vladislav Khodasevich ◽  
Aleksandr Blok

Nina Nikolaevna Berberova (1901–1993) was a prominent Russian émigré writer, journal editor, and memoirist. She was born to an Armenian father and Russian mother in St. Petersburg, and died in Philadelphia. Berberova left Russia in 1922 with her then-lover, Vladislav Khodasevich. The couple lived in various European cities during the 1920s as part of Maxim Gorky’s household, before settling in Paris in 1925. Berberova emigrated alone to the USA in 1950. There she held various jobs before joining the Slavic department at Yale in 1958. From 1963 until 1971 she taught at Princeton University, where she was prized as one of the last living links to Russian Silver Age culture. The incisive, understated style of Berberova’s short stories about émigré life in Paris has been compared to that of Turgenev and Chekhov. Many of these stories were published in émigré publications, for which she also wrote reviews and critical articles. In 1947, she helped found the émigré weekly Russian Thought [RusskaiaMysl’]. Berberova is also the author of several biographies, including one of the poet Aleksandr Blok and one about Tchaikovsky — notable for its frank discussion of the composer’s homosexuality. She is perhaps best known for her memoirs The Italics Are Mine (1969; first published in Russian as Kursivmoi in Munich in 1971). A source of controversy in the émigré community due to their candour, and accused of fabrication, the memoirs provide a vivid record of her generation, its leading figures, and their post-revolutionary fate.

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