Biological Exchanges in World History

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. R. McNeill
Keyword(s):  
World History ◽  
Human History ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
Domesticated Animals ◽  
Historical Significance ◽  
Long Run ◽  
Biological History

One important way in which people have altered environments, and thereby altered their own ecological contexts and their own history, is through biological exchange. Biological exchange can refer to any number of things. In this article, it means above all else the long-distance transfers of crops, domesticated animals, and disease-causing microbes, or pathogens. This choice is intended to emphasize biological exchanges that carried the greatest and most direct historical significance. The article aims to explore the role of the most important biological exchanges for human history. Biological exchange was sometimes carried out intentionally and sometimes accidentally. Faster and more frequent transport and travel continue to promote biological exchange. The long-term process of biological globalization continues, and will inevitably continue. In biological history, four or five centuries is the merest flash. In the long run, strange and unforeseen things will happen.

scholarly journals Shades between Black and Green Investment: Balance or Imbalance?

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (9) ◽  
pp. 5024
Author(s):  
 Vítor Manuel de Sousa Gabriel ◽  
María Mar Miralles-Quirós ◽  
José Luis Miralles-Quirós
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factor ◽  
Oil Prices ◽  
Oil Price ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Environmental Indices ◽  
Long Run ◽  
Green Investment ◽  
Bounds Test

This paper analyses the links established between environmental indices and the oil price adopting a double perspective, long-term and short-term relationships. For that purpose, we employ the Bounds Test and bivariate conditional heteroscedasticity models. In the long run, the pattern of behaviour of environmental indices clearly differed from that of the oil prices, and it was not possible to identify cointegrating vectors. In the short-term, it was possible to conclude that, in contemporaneous terms, the variables studied tended to follow similar paths. When the lag of the oil price variable was considered, the impacts produced on the stock market sectors were partially of a negative nature, which allows us to suppose that this variable plays the role of a risk factor for environmental investment.

scholarly journals Between communism and capitalism: long-term inequality in Poland, 1892–2015

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paweł Bukowski ◽  
Filip Novokmet
Keyword(s):  
Household Survey ◽  
National Accounts ◽  
Capital Income ◽  
Sharp Rise ◽  
Long Run ◽  
History Of ◽  
Low Levels ◽  
Distribution Of Income

AbstractWe construct the first consistent series on the long-term distribution of income in Poland by combining tax, household survey and national accounts data. We document a U-shaped evolution of inequalities from the end of the nineteenth century until today: (1) inequality was high before WWII; (2) abruptly fell after the introduction of communism in 1947 and stagnated at low levels during the whole communist period; (3) experienced a sharp rise with the return to capitalism in 1989. We find that official survey-based measures strongly under-estimate the rise in inequality since 1989. Our results highlight the prominent role of capital income in driving the U-shaped evolution of top income shares. The unique inequality history of Poland speaks to the central role of institutions and policies in shaping inequality in the long run.

Neuroprotective Role of Nutritional Supplementation in Athletes

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Supriya Mishra ◽  
Vikram Jeet Singh ◽  
Pooja A Chawla ◽  
Viney Chawla
Keyword(s):  
Neurodegenerative Disorders ◽  
Brain Injuries ◽  
Recovery Process ◽  
Traumatic Brain Injuries ◽  
Omega 3 ◽  
Long Run ◽  
Pathological Mechanism ◽  
Injury Recovery

Background: Neurodegenerative disorders belong to different classes of progressive/chronic conditions that affect the peripheral/central nervous system. It has been shown through studies that athletes who play sports involving repeated head trauma and sub-concussive impacts are more likely to experience neurological impairments and neurodegenerative disorders in the long run. Aims: The aim of the current narrative review article is to provide a summary of various nutraceuticals that offer promise in the prevention or management of sports-related injuries, especially concussions and mild traumatic brain injuries. Methods: This article reviews the various potential nutraceutical agents and their possible mechanisms in providing a beneficial effect in the injury recovery process. A thorough survey of the literature was carried out in the relevant databases to identify studies published in recent years. In the present article, we have also highlighted the major neurological disorders along with the associated nutraceutical(s) therapy in the management of disorders. Results: The exact pathological mechanism behind neurodegenerative conditions is complex as well as idiopathic. However, mitochondrial dysfunction, oxidative stress as well as intracellular calcium overload are some common reasons responsible for the progression of these neurodegenerative disorders. Owing to the multifaceted effects of nutraceuticals (complementary medicine), these supplements have gained importance as neuroprotective. These diet-based approaches inhibit different pathways in a physiological manner without eliciting adverse effects. Food habits and lifestyle of an individual also affect neurodegeneration. Conclusion: Studies have shown nutraceuticals (such as resveratrol, omega-3-fatty acids) to be efficacious in terms of their neuroprotection against several neurodegenerative disorders and to be used as supplements in the management of traumatic brain injuries. Protection prior to injuries is needed since concussions or sub-concussive impacts may trigger several pathophysiological responses or cascades that can lead to long-term complications associated with CNS. Thus, the use of nutraceuticals as prophylactic treatment for neurological interventions has been proposed.

Africa in World History: The Long, Long View

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher Ehret
Keyword(s):  
West Africa ◽  
Food Production ◽  
World History ◽  
Human History ◽  
Horn Of Africa ◽  
Informal Governance ◽  
Great Transition ◽  
The World ◽  
Political Units

This article describes the origins of Africa; the ‘First Great Transition’ of human history from foraging to food production; the era of agricultural elaboration; the ‘Second Great Transition’, from villages and tiny local political units to towns and states; early towns and states in West Africa and the Horn of Africa; the era of empires, and Africa in the Atlantic Age. To view Africa over the very long term is to discover that the notable developments of Africa's past followed similar pathways and proceeded at similar paces as comparable changes elsewhere in the world. Two great transitions of human history in the Holocene — from foraging to farming and, several thousand years later, from villages and informal governance to towns and states — shows that Africa was a continent of primary invention in those times.

Does slum formalisation without title provision stimulate housing improvement? A case of slum declaration in Pune, India

Urban Studies ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 54 (7) ◽  
pp. 1715-1735 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shohei Nakamura
Keyword(s):  
Land Tenure ◽  
Informal Settlements ◽  
Household Survey ◽  
Tenure Security ◽  
Long Run ◽  
Slum Upgrading ◽  
Housing Materials ◽  
Housing Investments

Though previous studies have examined how formalising land tenure affects housing improvements in informal settlements, the role of tenure security and its long-term influence remain unclear. In response, this paper quantitatively examines the extent to which formalising land tenure by way of slum declaration has stimulated housing improvements during the last three decades in the slums of Pune, India. Since slum declaration guarantees residents occupancy but not full property rights, this study focuses on how tenure security contributes to housing outcomes, such as materials, size, the number of floors and the amount of money spent for the improvements. Using original household survey data, analysis involving propensity score matching and difference-in-differences methods reveals that slum declaration has tripled a household’s likelihood of having added a second floor and, albeit less clear, increased the average amount of money spent on housing improvements. At the same time, slum declaration has not induced any improvement in housing materials, largely since many residents of non-formalised slums have also replaced materials. These results indicate that slum declaration, even in the long run, has continued to influence housing investments in Pune’s slums, in terms of both type and amount spent, though residents of non-formalised slums have also come to enjoy certain de facto tenure security. Among other implications for policy, these findings underscore that governments should at least provide legal assurance of occupancy rights in informal settlements, even if active interventions such as slum upgrading and titling are currently difficult.

How Should We Approach the Economy of ‘Early Modern India’?

2015 ◽  
Vol 49 (5) ◽  
pp. 1606-1656 ◽  
Author(s):  
SHAMI GHOSH
Keyword(s):  
Early Modern ◽  
Economic History ◽  
Indian Subcontinent ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
Endogenous Factors ◽  
Long Run ◽  
Specific Manner ◽  
History Of ◽  
Other World

AbstractTirthankar Roy's recent synthesis on the economic history of early modern India claims to provide a new, overarching narrative placing this period within the broader sweep of the history of what Roy defines as ‘capitalism’ in India in the very long term. This article provides a detailed critique of Roy's monograph, suggesting that it suffers from some serious methodological deficits, arising not least from a future-oriented paradigm that imposes anachronistic concepts on this period, including the very notion of ‘India’. Furthermore, Roy's view of the economy as being fundamentally driven forward by the rise of a coastal polity, expanding inwards from Bombay, Madras, and Calcutta, sits awkwardly with his repeated claim that colonialism was of little significance for Indian economic history. Finally, this article suggests that this period might be more fruitfully approached not only by abandoning thetelosof what we know of India's future, but also by adopting both regionally focused and comparative approaches, turning away from long-distance trade as the primary lens through which to view the economy, and instead examining endogenous factors in the economies of individual regions and enriching our understanding of them by reference to studies of other world regions with comparable patterns of development in the same period. More nuanced ways of approaching economic change in the very long run, including the importance of developments in modes of consumption and market- and profit-oriented economic behaviour, are suggested as a better means of understanding both the economies of the late pre-colonial centuries in the Indian subcontinent and the development of capitalism, which should also be understood in a more specific manner than Roy allows.

scholarly journals Artificial Intelligence as a Resilient Tool for Fighting Inequalities in the COVID-19 Crisis

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 29
Author(s):  
Luís Capucha ◽  
Nuno Nunes ◽  
Alexandre Calado
Keyword(s):  
Artificial Intelligence ◽  
Welfare State ◽  
Public Policies ◽  
Human Enhancement ◽  
Welfare States ◽  
Vulnerable Groups ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
Term Change

Can artificial intelligence (AI) be a sustainable way to help solving the Covid-19 global problem? What does the way how welfare states, charity organizations and labour markets are dealing with the pandemic crisis tells us about the AI capacity for reducing exposition of underprivileged groups to the desease? It is becoming more and more visible how the new coronavirus pandemic is affecting specifically the most deprived and vulnerable groups, and also the big difference that welfare states and their policies make. What did the pandemic show about the relations between social inequality, welfare state provision and AI? This presentation will discuss the role of AI as a tool for public policies fighting inequalities that were amplified during the Covid-19 crisis. It will be analysed how the welfare state, the labour market and social communities are already incorporating AI tools and how this can eventually produce more resilient paths. Accelareted and amplified by the Covid-19, several processes of AI penetration in health, education, healthcare, social security, public administrations, labour and surveillance of citizens, became a subject of public discussion. Artificial intelligence is currently a process of long-term change in health and biotechnologies, long-distance education, teleworking, automation, robotization, consumption behaviours, surveillance and human enhancement. An in-deep analysis of the Portuguese case will support the lessons that can be learnt from AI and its use in public policies in a context of pandemic crisis, leading to a set of political recommendations, to promote its application as a resilient tool to fight inequalities.

scholarly journals Pre-Colonial Warfare and Long-Run Development in India

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Dincecco ◽  
James Fenske ◽  
Anil Menon ◽  
Shivaji Mukherjee
Keyword(s):  
Political Violence ◽  
Local Economic Development ◽  
Indian Subcontinent ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
Colonial History ◽  
Development Patterns ◽  
Long Run ◽  
Colonial Warfare

Abstract Does pre-colonial history – and in particular the role of interstate warfare – help explain long-run development patterns across India? To address this question, we construct a new geocoded database of historical conflicts on the Indian subcontinent. We document a robust positive relationship between pre-colonial conflict exposure and local economic development today. Drawing on archival and secondary data, we show that districts that were more exposed to pre-colonial conflict experienced greater early state-making, followed by lower political violence and higher investments in physical and human capital in the long term.

THE ECONOMICS OF MITIGATING CLIMATE CHANGE: WHAT CAN WE KNOW?

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard A.Rosen ◽  
Edeltraud Guenther
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Costs And Benefits ◽  
Technical Problems ◽  
The Public ◽  
High Profile ◽  
Long Run ◽  
Climate Change Mitigation Policy ◽  
The Many

The long-term economics of mitigating climate change over the long run has played a high profile role in the most important analyses of climate change in the last decade, namely the Stern Report and the IPCC’s Fourth Assessment. However, the various kinds of uncertainties that affect these economic results raise serious questions about whether or not the net costs and benefits of mitigating climate change over periods as long as 50 to 100 years can be known to such a level of accuracy that they should be reported to policymakers and the public. This paper provides a detailed analysis of the derivation of these estimates of the long-term economic costs and benefits of mitigation. It particularly focuses on the role of technological change, especially for energy efficiency technologies, in making the net economic results of mitigating climate change unknowable over the long run. Because of these serious technical problems, policymakers should not base climate change mitigation policy on the estimated net economic impacts computed by integrated assessment models. Rather, mitigation policies must be forcefully implemented anyway given the actual physical climate change crisis, in spite of the many uncertainties involved in trying to predict the net economics of doing so.

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