scholarly journals "Supplying the Public with a Comprehensive Telegraph System": Switzerland and Telegraphic Communication, 1860-1915

Author(s):  
Roland Wenzlhuemer

Historical research has recently discovered its interest in the study of transregional and global networks of communication and their significance for the so-called “shrinking of the world”. In this context, the emergence and the role of a global telegraph network since the middle of the nineteenth century has started to attract scholarly attention. The foundations of this network have mostly been laid by actors from the United Kingdom, the United States, and other important colonial powers. The role of smaller European or non-European states and their position in the emerging global network has rarely been examined. Switzerland usually only enters this discussion as the host of the International Telegraph Union (ITU), which played a decisive role in the development of international telegraphic standards. However, Switzerland’s role within the network and the ways Swiss actors made use of telegraphic communication during the nineteenth century have not been studied so far. This study seeks to fill this gap by examining the development of telegraphy in Switzerland as well as the position of the country within a wider European and global communication network. It looks at a number of markers regarding telegraphic development in Switzerland, both from a structural and from a use perspective. The overall goal is to test how well-developed the Swiss telegraph network was during the period of observation and how the country compares to other European (and some non-European) countries. It aims to shed light on how Switzerland was structurally integrated into a wider European and global network, and on how intensively the existing infrastructure was put to use. Furthermore, the study aims to reveal what other countries across the globe the Swiss chose to communicate with telegraphically.

2013 ◽  
Vol 107 (4) ◽  
pp. 849-865 ◽  
Author(s):  
MICHAEL R. TOMZ ◽  
JESSICA L. P. WEEKS

One of the most striking findings in political science is the democratic peace: the absence of war between democracies. Some authors attempt to explain this phenomenon by highlighting the role of public opinion. They observe that democratic leaders are beholden to voters and argue that voters oppose war because of its human and financial costs. This logic predicts that democracies should behave peacefully in general, but history shows that democracies avoid war primarily in their relations with other democracies. In this article we investigate not whether democratic publics are averse to war in general, but whether they are especially reluctant to fight other democracies. We embedded experiments in public opinion polls in the United States and the United Kingdom and found that individuals are substantially less supportive of military strikes against democracies than against otherwise identical autocracies. Moreover, our experiments suggest that shared democracy pacifies the public primarily by changing perceptions of threat and morality, not by raising expectations of costs or failure. These findings shed light on a debate of enduring importance to scholars and policy makers.


Author(s):  
Kathleen Jeffs

This chapter asks the questions: ‘what is the Spanish Golden Age and why should we stage its plays now?’ The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) Spanish season of 2004–5 came at a particularly ripe time for Golden Age plays to enter the public consciousness. This chapter introduces the Golden Age period and authors whose works were chosen for the season, and the performance traditions from the corrales of Spain to festivals in the United States. The chapter then treats the decision taken by the RSC to initiate a Golden Age season, delves into the play-selection process, and discusses the role of the literal translator in this first step towards a season. Then the chapter looks at ‘the ones that got away’, the plays that almost made the cut for production, and other worthy scripts from this period that deserve consideration for future productions.


2019 ◽  
Vol 28 (7) ◽  
pp. 797-811 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brianne Suldovsky ◽  
Asheley Landrum ◽  
Natalie Jomini Stroud

In an era where expertise is increasingly critiqued, this study draws from the research on expertise and scientist stereotyping to explore who the public considers to be a scientist in the context of media coverage about climate change and genetically modified organisms. Using survey data from the United States, we find that political ideology and science knowledge affect who the US public believes is a scientist in these domains. Our results suggest important differences in the role of science media attention and science media selection in the publics “scientist” labeling. In addition, we replicate previous work and find that compared to other people who work in science, those with PhDs in Biology and Chemistry are most commonly seen as scientists.


2021 ◽  
pp. 089443932110115
Author(s):  
Benoît Dupont ◽  
Thomas Holt

This volume highlights the central role of the human factor in cybercrime and the need to develop a more interdisciplinary research agenda to understand better the constant evolution of online harms and craft more effective responses. The term “human factor” is understood very broadly and encompasses individual, institutional, and societal dimensions. It covers individual human behaviors and the social structures that enable collective action by groups and communities of various sizes, as well as the different types of institutional assemblages that shape societal responses. This volume is organized around three general themes whose complementary perspectives allow us to map the complex interplay between offenders, machines, and victims, moving beyond static typologies to offer a more dynamic analysis of the cybercrime ecology and its underlying behaviors. The contributions use quantitative and qualitative methodologies and bring together researchers from the United States, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Denmark, Australia, and Canada.


Author(s):  
Pete Minard

Species acclimatization--the organized introduction of organisms to a new region--is much maligned in the present day. However, colonization depended on moving people, plants, and animals from place to place, and in centuries past, scientists, landowners, and philanthropists formed acclimatization societies to study local species and conditions, form networks of supporters, and exchange supposedly useful local and exotic organisms across the globe. Pete Minard tells the story of this movement, arguing that the colonies, not the imperial centers, led the movement for species acclimatization. Far from attempting to re-create London or Paris, settlers sought to combine plants and animals to correct earlier environmental damage and to populate forests, farms, and streams to make them healthier and more productive. By focusing particularly on the Australian colony of Victoria, Minard reveals a global network of would-be acclimatizers, from Britain and France to Russia and the United States. Although the movement was short-lived, the long reach of nineteenth-century acclimatization societies continues to be felt today, from choked waterways to the uncontrollable expansion of European pests in former colonies.


2018 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 74-102
Author(s):  
Nicole Karapanagiotis

This article is a theoretical and ethnographic investigation of the role of marketing and branding within the contemporary ISKCON movement in the United States. In it, I examine the digital marketing enterprises of two prominent ISKCON temples: ISKCON of New Jersey and ISKCON of D.C. I argue that by attending to the vastly different ways in which these temples present and portray ISKCON online—including the markedly different media imagery by which they aim to draw the attention of the public—we can learn about an ideological divide concerning marketing within American ISKCON. This divide, I argue, highlights different ideas regarding how potential newcomers become attracted to ISKCON. It also illuminates an unexplored facet of the heterogeneity of American ISKCON, principally in terms of the movement’s public face.


2014 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 106-117
Author(s):  
REMINA SIMA

Abstract The aim of this paper is to illustrate the public and private spheres. The former represents the area in which each of us carries out their daily activities, while the latter is mirrored by the home. Kate Chopin and Charlotte Perkins Gilman are two salient nineteenth-century writers who shape the everyday life of the historical period they lived in, within their literary works that shed light on the areas under discussion.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 (1) ◽  
pp. 7-45
Author(s):  
Serhii KORABLIN ◽  

For almost 30 years of independence, Ukraine has experienced a number of deep economic, financial, banking, debt, currency and inflation crises. In some cases, they were extraordinary. As a result, the current real GDP of the country remains a third less than in 1990. One of the reasons for this was the unstable nature of economic recovery and currency price stabilization at the beginning of the zero years and in 2010-2013. After all, during the crises of 2008-2009 and 2014-2015, Ukraine set world anti-records due to falling its GDP up to 14.8 % and 15.8%, respectively. This was accompanied by the deep devaluation crises and the recurrence of uncontrolled inflation. In principle, the systemic relationship between the fragility of production, exchange rate and price dynamics appeared in Ukraine in the 1990s when its real GDP fell by 59%. The scale of that crisis was twice the scale of the Great Depression in the United States, accompanied by devastating devaluation and inflationary shocks. The article is devoted to the study of methodological and practical approaches to the definition of monetary security. The experience of their implementation in Ukraine is considered. The criteria of successful monetary policy applied within the neoliberal discourse are analyzed. The logic and reasons for their gradual transformation over the last 30 years are shown. The decisive role of the global crisis of 2008-2009 in the theoretical and practical changes observed in the world’s leading economies in terms of defining the goals, objectives and instruments of their monetary policy is reflected. An analysis of some outcomes of the implementation of domestic monetary strategy is given. The problematic nature of determining its priority goal is shown. The ambiguity of methods and consequences of targeted reduction of inflation in Ukraine is noted. The impossibility of maintaining its low and stable level under the conditions of free floating exchange rate of hryvnia is substantiated.


Novum Jus ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 69-89
Author(s):  
Julián Rodríguez ◽  
Andrew M. Clark

This research uses in-depth interviews with three data journalists from the Houston Chronicle and the New York Times in the United States to describe the role of data journalists, and to illustrate how and why they use big data in their stories. Data journalists possess a unique set of skills including being able to find data, gather data, and use that data to tell a compelling story in a written and visually coherent way. Results show that as newspapers move to a digital format the role of a data journalist is becoming more essential as is the importance of laws such as the Freedom of Information Act to enable journalists to request and use data to continue to inform the public and hold those in power accountable. 


2018 ◽  
Vol 44 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 309-327 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jordan Paradise

Perpetual debate regarding the delicate balance between access and innovation and the protection of the public health and safety dominate discussions of the United States Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”). Established chiefly as a command and control federal administrative agency, iterative changes in legislation have shaped the FDA's activity in drug, biologic, and medical device regulation over the course of the last one hundred plus years. The most recent fundamental reframing of the agency's authority and directive presented itself in the 21st Century Cures Act, reflecting an important role for patient perspectives in the regulatory process. This Article explores recent developments in patient-focused product development efforts at the FDA and offers modest insights on the increasing role of patients, and patient advocacy groups, in agency decision-making. The Article terms this era “21st century citizen pharma.”


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