scholarly journals Digital Humanities and Social Change: an Interview with Alex Gil

2020 ◽  
Vol 19 (33) ◽  
pp. 27-47
Author(s):  
Alex Gil ◽  
Marcela Santos Brigida ◽  
Gabriela Ribeiro Nunes
Keyword(s):  
Social Change ◽  
Digital Humanities ◽  
The United States ◽  
Global Scale ◽  
Columbia University ◽  
Literature Teaching ◽  
Digital Scholarship ◽  
Produce Change ◽  
The Many ◽  
Novel Coronavirus

While it is not yet possible to gauge the long-term impacts of the shifts brought on by the experiences of 2020, it seems safe to assume this year will be remembered by the many critical events that precipitated change in the ways humans relate to each other and to our environment. The most far-reaching of those is, of course, the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the Black Lives Matter marches, popular demonstrations against totalitarian governments throughout the world, as well as deeply concerning tipping-points regarding climate change are all part of a collective conversation we feel the urge to engage with. Nearly six months into our own experience with the pandemic in Brazil, after the loss of more than one hundred thousand lives to COVID-19, we at Palimpsesto aim at publishing pieces that not only acknowledge the circumstances under which they were written, but that also engage and produce critical thinking about them. It was within this spirit, and not only considering this issue's theme – “Literature Teaching in Digital Contexts: Dialogues and Connections” – that we approached Dr. Alex Gil and asked him for an interview.Alex Gil is a well-known scholar in the field of Digital Humanities not only for his work as a Digital Scholarship Librarian at Columbia University Libraries or as a developer of ingenious projects, but also for the fact that he often directs his abilities to produce tools that help promote social change. Dr. Gil has developed and collaborated in several of such efforts, as we discuss throughout our interview. Bearing Witness, one of his most recent initiatives, has been jointly announced by him and Prof. Samuel Roberts (Columbia University) and appears as “an effort to document and interpret the events associated with the novel coronavirus epidemic in the United States as it pertains to racialized minorities”. We strongly recommend that you read more about the Mobilized Humanities interventions in the links available at the end of this piece.It has been truly delightful to discuss Alex Gil’s projects and to consider how each of us – as students, researchers, and teachers – can work in the humanities to acquire new skills to produce change. The discussion around the place of the university amid this crisis, as an institution, is also one that deeply interests us. Finally, Gil is a prominent Aimé Césaire scholar. Discussing the work produced by this writer and thinker – at a moment when Discourse on Colonialism has just been released in a new Brazilian edition – also seems to be a crucial exercise to try to make sense of our questions – in a local and in a global scale – with a critical eye. We are thankful to Dr. Alex Gil for taking the time to talk to us amid the 2020 chaos as well as for the thought-provoking insights he has brought to us, which we now proudly share with Palimpsesto's readers.

scholarly journals Evolutionary Frequency of the Available Human Coronavirus Genomes

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ashfaq Ahmad ◽  
Sidra Majaz ◽  
Faisal Nouroz
Keyword(s):  
Evolutionary Process ◽  
The United States ◽  
Spatial Diversity ◽  
Global Scale ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Human Coronavirus ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Severity Of The Disease ◽  
Novel Coronavirus ◽  
Insight Into

Abstract Background. A novel, human-infecting coronavirus causing CoVID-19 was first identified in Wuhan, China in late December, 2019. Within a short span of time more the virus has recorded more than 1 million deaths world-wide. This study is designed to address the overall evolutionary process of the novel Coronavirus complete genomes. Addressing the complexity and huge population size, network-based approaches are used in mapping samples to their reported locations. Results. Total of 473 complete human-coronavirus genomes representing 20 different countries are studied including 17 states from the United States and samples collected from the Cruise-diamond princess. The phylodynamic network of global-scale is classified into five clusters contained two clusters U1 and U2 of the USA samples. Cluster B is a shared cluster of China and the USA while A and C are of diverse nature. We found that Chinese samples aggregated in cluster A and B which aided in retaining the homogeneous viral genomic pool. In contrast, samples from the USA and Spain were split into distinct clusters indicating multiple port entries and a possibility in implying a delay in quarantine measures. Among the samples from the USA, we found that sequences reported from Washington and Virginia are scattered indicating evolutionary diversity.Conclusion. This report provides insight into the transmission pattern of CoV2 which is complicated to evaluate exclusively through conventional surveillance means. Our data not only identify the transmission network but also suggest that the severity of the disease is linked to the spatial diversity of infection.

scholarly journals Repurposing the Natural Compound for Antiviral During an Epidemic -a Case Study on the Drug Repurpose of Natural Compounds to Treat COVID-19

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhihao Wang ◽  
Chi Xu ◽  
Bing Liu ◽  
Nan Qiao
Keyword(s):  
Molecular Docking ◽  
In Silico ◽  
Natural Compound ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Drug Repurposing ◽  
The United States ◽  
Natural Compounds ◽  
Global Scale ◽  
Novel Coronavirus ◽  
Approved Drugs

<p>The pandemic caused by the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 is rapidly spreading and infecting the population on the global scale, it is a global health threat due to its high infection rate, high mortality and the lack of clinically approved drugs and vaccines for treating the disease (COVID-19). Utilising the published structures and homologue remodelling for proteins from SARS-CoV-2, an <i>in silico</i> molecular docking based screening was conducted and deposited in the Shennong project database. The results from the screening could be used to explain the clinical observation of repurposing the Ritonavir and Lopinavir to treat patients in the early stage of COVID-19 infection, and the prescription of Remdisivir in the United States as the therapy. Additionally, this molecular docking identified natural compound candidates for drug repurposing. This <i>in silico </i>molecular docking screen may be used for the initatial evaluation and rationalisation for drug repurposing of other potential candidates, especially other natural compounds from traditional Chinese medicines.</p>

scholarly journals The Values in Numbers: Reading Japanese Literature in a Global Information Age – Hyot Long

2021 ◽  
pp. 343-346
Author(s):  
Vicky Young
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Computational Methods ◽  
Digital Humanities ◽  
English Language ◽  
Information Age ◽  
Japanese Literature ◽  
The United States ◽  
Global Information ◽  
Columbia University

The Values in Numbers: Reading Japanese Literature in a Global Information Age by Hoyt Long (Columbia University Press, 2021) sets out with two aims: to ask what computational methods might bring to the acts of reading and studying Japanese literature; and to open up the Digital Humanities, which in the United States have been dominated by the English language, to alternative insights, challenges, and solutions that arise when the objects of analysis are Japanese texts. The book’s opening sets [...]

Globalization of Quantitative Policing: Between Management and Statactivism

2018 ◽  
Vol 44 (1) ◽  
pp. 515-534 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emmanuel Didier
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
The United States ◽  
Global Scale ◽  
Public Security ◽  
The World ◽  
Homogeneous Set ◽  
The Many

Information policing seems to be pervading public security police all around the world. This review asks whether this appellation describes a homogeneous set of phenomena. Compstat was the first program to massively computerize policing. The literature reviewed here follows its fate in the United States and, on a global scale, in France, where the program was imported. The review successively discusses the perspective of managers who were favorable to the program and that of “statactivists,” activists who use statistics, who were opposed to it. Despite the many differences intervened during the importation process, especially in the balance of expertise and publicity, some points seem to be common to both contexts, such as the building of a computer infrastructure, a specific use of the data, and the constructive tensions between the police institution and its critics.

scholarly journals Timeline of COVID-19 and its therapeutics in the United States

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 01-04
Author(s):  
Pankaj Bansal
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome ◽  
Vaccine Development ◽  
The United States ◽  
Global Scale ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Therapeutic Trials ◽  
Rapid Spread ◽  
Novel Coronavirus ◽  
Poor Efficacy

The novel coronavirus was first discovered and reported in December 2019. Later termed the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARS-COv-2) virus, rapid spread was detected in China. Overtime, SARS-COv-2 spread to various other countries requiring swift intervention on a global scale. As infection spread, several therapeutics have been investigated for Coronavirus Disease- 2019 (COVID-19), including remdesivir, lopinavir/ritonavir, hydroxychloroquine, dexamethasone, etc. Furthermore, rapid investigation and construction of several potential vaccines have begun, some of which are in late stage testing. We present a concise timeline representing the evolution of COVID-19, therapeutic trials, and vaccine development. Ultimately, evident by the overall poor efficacy of several medications investigated so far, vaccination success remains the most likely effective step to combat COVID-19.

scholarly journals Repurposing the Natural Compound for Antiviral During an Epidemic -a Case Study on the Drug Repurpose of Natural Compounds to Treat COVID-19

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhihao Wang ◽  
Chi Xu ◽  
Bing Liu ◽  
Nan Qiao
Keyword(s):  
Molecular Docking ◽  
In Silico ◽  
Natural Compound ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Drug Repurposing ◽  
The United States ◽  
Natural Compounds ◽  
Global Scale ◽  
Novel Coronavirus ◽  
Approved Drugs

<p>The pandemic caused by the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 is rapidly spreading and infecting the population on the global scale, it is a global health threat due to its high infection rate, high mortality and the lack of clinically approved drugs and vaccines for treating the disease (COVID-19). Utilising the published structures and homologue remodelling for proteins from SARS-CoV-2, an <i>in silico</i> molecular docking based screening was conducted and deposited in the Shennong project database. The results from the screening could be used to explain the clinical observation of repurposing the Ritonavir and Lopinavir to treat patients in the early stage of COVID-19 infection, and the prescription of Remdisivir in the United States as the therapy. Additionally, this molecular docking identified natural compound candidates for drug repurposing. This <i>in silico </i>molecular docking screen may be used for the initatial evaluation and rationalisation for drug repurposing of other potential candidates, especially other natural compounds from traditional Chinese medicines.</p>

scholarly journals Digital Humanities in European Research Libraries

2021 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-23
Author(s):  
Lotte Wilms
Keyword(s):  
Digital Humanities ◽  
The United States ◽  
Digital Collections ◽  
Diverse Range ◽  
Research Libraries ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Digital Scholarship ◽  
The Us ◽  
And Storage

Libraries are increasingly becoming involved in digital humanities research beyond the offering of digital collections. This article examines how libraries in Europe deal with this shift in activities and how they compare with libraries in other parts of the world. This article builds on the results of surveys conducted in Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, the United States and the United Kingdom, and compares them with a survey conducted in Europe. We found that European libraries are mostly active in research supporting activities, such as digitisation and storage, while US libraries often include analysis in their activities. Funding comes from the library’s main budget and non-structural funding in a variety of forms. Staff working in DH roles has a diverse range of titles, with various forms of librarians being the most used. Analytical staff such as GIS specialists are only found in the US survey. All surveyed libraries agree that the biggest skill gap amongst their staff is in technical skills. When looking towards the future, European libraries see the role of digital humanities (or digital scholarship) within the library grow and are making plans to facilitate this change within their organisation by positioning themselves as an attractive research partner, by opening and increasing their digital collections and by improving the internal workings of the library.

scholarly journals Developing Optimal Policies to Fight Pandemics and COVID-19 Combat in the United States

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 369-389
Author(s):  
Eyüp Çetin ◽  
Serap Kiremitci ◽  
Barış Kiremitci
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Social Impact ◽  
Health Care Policy ◽  
Optimal Allocation ◽  
The United States ◽  
Global Scale ◽  
Personal Protection ◽  
Real World Data ◽  
Novel Coronavirus ◽  
High Level

The world has faced many outbreaks and pandemics with hundreds of millions of deaths throughout its history. Those epidemics are global health concerns and as well as serious economic issues. There is certain need to allocate scarce sources efficiently to fight such epidemics in both personal and global dimensions. Here we develop and propose two optimization models to maximize the total protection from any epidemic, pandemic or bioterror attacks; the first one is personal protection model or protocol and the other one is mass protection model that is inspired by the well-known weapon-target assignment problem of operations research. These efforts are optimal allocation of scarce medical and economic resources to save millions of lives- gift of life. We implement our general mathematical programming models with real-world data to fight the coronavirus pandemic for a person and the United States. Our personal protection protocol provides 99.99% protection from COVID-19 for an American through personal strategies when the mass protection model supplies 96.961% protection on average from coronavirus pandemic for the United States through across country policies. The mass protection model which recommends general policy frame for health care policy makers could be applied for any epidemic at any level from county to city, to state and country as well as in global scale. The mathematical relation between the personal protection protocol and the mass protection model also highlights the fact of unus pro omnibus, omnes pro uno (one for all, all for one) for fighting epidemics- particularly the moving enemy, novel coronavirus which is double invisible due to its viral nature and the availability of the high level of asymptomatic cases. Recognize the enemy, as protecting yourself means protecting people, love life, follow the rules and stay at home. That is the greatest ever social impact.

Applying the Devil's Works in a Holy Cause: Working-Class Popular Culture and the Salvation Army in the United States, 1879-1900

1997 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 195-223
Author(s):  
Lillian Taiz
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
New York ◽  
New York City ◽  
Popular Culture ◽  
York City ◽  
The United States ◽  
Salvation Army ◽  
Public Meeting ◽  
The Many ◽  
Sunday Evening

Forty-eight hours after they landed in New York City in 1880, a small contingent of the Salvation Army held their first public meeting at the infamous Harry Hill's Variety Theater. The enterprising Hill, alerted to the group's arrival from Britain by newspaper reports, contacted their leader, Commissioner George Scott Railton, and offered to pay the group to “do a turn” for “an hour or two on … Sunday evening.” In nineteenth-century New York City, Harry Hill's was one of the best known concert saloons, and reformers considered him “among the disreputable classes” of that city. His saloon, they said, was “nothing more than one of the many gates to hell.”

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