bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Carbon and nitrogen dynamics in decaying wood: paleoenvironmental implications
Authors: Tramoy Romain , Sebilo Mathieu , Nguyen Tu Thanh Thuy , Schnyder Johann
Published: July 2016

Environmental contextCarbon and nitrogen isotopes in terrestrial organic matter are widely used for reconstructing past environments, but organic matter is exposed to degradation as soon as it is deposited during what is called early diagenesis. This study explores the effects of this process on organic carbon and nitrogen isotopes, and concludes that it homogenises an environmental signal by integrating all their components. Thus, early diagenesis may not preclude paleoenvironmental reconstructions.
AbstractThe effect of early diagenesis on carbon and, especially, nitrogen isotopes (δ13C and δ15N) of organic matter is not well understood and is of interest for accurate paleoenvironmental reconstructions. Wood samples were incubated in distilled water and river water to assess the effects of early diagenesis on carbon and nitrogen dynamics. Elemental content and isotopic composition of carbon and nitrogen as well as mass loss of wood pieces were determined. Mass loss in river water was three times greater than in distilled water. This difference was attributed to the development of two different types of fungi characterised by various degradation rates. Carbon dynamics of wood samples showed similar patterns in both type of water: (i) a sharp increase in carbon content, possibly related to carbohydrate degradation, before it slowly returned towards initial values, and (ii) no significant changes in δ13C values. In contrast, nitrogen dynamics of samples showed complex patterns: (i) N release associated with 15N depletion in distilled water, attributed to uptake of 15N-enriched pool (i.e. proteins) by fungi, and (ii) N accumulation associated with 15N enrichment in river water. The latter pattern was attributed predominantly to microbially mediated importation of 15N-enriched nitrate from river water. Although challenging, the present results suggest that early diagenesis may average an environmental signal by integrating individual signals (woods, fungi, water) and microbial processes. Considering the non-linear behaviour of early diagenesis, this integration is probably almost instantaneous on the geological time scale, which may not preclude paleoenvironmental reconstructions.
Cell size and fat content of dietary-restricted
Caenorhabditis elegans
are regulated by ATX-2, an mTOR repressor
Authors: Bar Daniel Z. , Charar Chayki , Dorfman Jehudith , Yadid Tam , Tafforeau Lionel , Lafontaine Denis L. J. , Gruenbaum Yosef
Published: July 2016

Significance

Dietary restriction is a metabolic intervention that extends the lifespan and reduces animal size and fat content. We have used
Caenorhabditis elegans
to demonstrate that the homolog of human
ATXN
2,
atx-2
, is a major regulator of the animal response to dietary restriction. Down-regulation of
atx-2
in dietary-restricted animals leads to increased animal size and fat levels, as well as accelerated development. Surprisingly, it does not affect the extended lifespan of dietary-restricted animals. These findings are relevant to mammals because Ataxin-2 knockout mice exhibit adult-onset obesity, owing to an unknown mechanism.
atx-2
negatively regulates the mechanistic target of rapamycin pathway via its interaction with a GDP dissociation inhibitor β. Forced activation of this pathway may have therapeutic potential for obesity.
Unraveling the drivers of MERS-CoV transmission
Authors: Cauchemez Simon , Nouvellet Pierre , Cori Anne , Jombart Thibaut , Garske Tini , Clapham Hannah , Moore Sean , Mills Harriet Linden , Salje Henrik , Collins Caitlin , Rodriquez-Barraquer Isabel , Riley Steven , Truelove Shaun , Algarni Homoud , Alhakeem Rafat , AlHarbi Khalid , Turkistani Abdulhafiz , Aguas Ricardo J. , Cummings Derek A. T. , Van Kerkhove Maria D. , Donnelly Christl A. , Lessler Justin , Fraser Christophe , Al-Barrak Ali , Ferguson Neil M.
Published: July 2016

Significance

Since it was discovered in 2012, Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) has infected more than 1,700 persons, one-third of whom died, essentially in the Middle East. Persons can get infected by direct or indirect contact with dromedary camels, and although human-to-human transmission is not self-sustaining in the Middle East, it can nonetheless generate large outbreaks, particular in hospital settings. Overall, we still poorly understand how infections from the animal reservoir, the different levels of mixing, and heterogeneities in transmission have contributed to the buildup of MERS-CoV epidemics. Here, we quantify the contribution of each of these factors from detailed records of MERS-CoV cases from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which has been the most affected country.
Crystal structure of a nuclear actin ternary complex
Authors: Cao Tingting , Sun Lingfei , Jiang Yuxiang , Huang Shanjin , Wang Jiawei , Chen Zhucheng
Published: July 2016

Significance

Actin is a prominent component of the cytoskeleton in the cytoplasm of eukaryotic cells. Its presence in the nucleus was once considered controversial. However, it is now widely accepted that nuclear actin (N-actin) is a constitutive subunit of several chromatin-remodeling complexes. Yet, the specific structure of N-actin and how its polymerization is regulated remain unresolved. Our study presents the first crystal structure of the N-actin complex to our knowledge and illustrates the salient features that distinguish N-actin from its cytoplasmic counterpart. These features prevent the self-polymerization of N-actin and its regulation by many known actin-binding proteins. Our findings provide a rational basis for the functions of N-actin, laying the groundwork for future studies in this field.
Controlled fire use in early humans might have triggered the evolutionary emergence of tuberculosis
Authors: Chisholm Rebecca H. , Trauer James M. , Curnoe Darren , Tanaka Mark M.
Published: July 2016

Significance

Tuberculosis is an ancient human disease that continues to affect millions of people worldwide. A crucial component of the origins of the tuberculosis bacterium remains a mystery: What were the conditions that precipitated its emergence as an obligate transmissible human pathogen? Here, we identify a connection between the emergence of tuberculosis and another major event in human prehistory, namely the discovery of controlled fire use. Our results have serious and cautionary implications for the emergence of new infectious diseases—feedback between cultural innovation and alteration of living conditions can catalyze unexpected changes with potentially devastating consequences lasting thousands of years.
Pamidronate functionalized nanoconjugates for targeted therapy of focal skeletal malignant osteolysis
Authors: Yin Qian , Tang Li , Cai Kaimin , Tong Rong , Sternberg Rachel , Yang Xujuan , Dobrucki Lawrence W. , Borst Luke B. , Kamstock Debra , Song Ziyuan , Helferich William G. , Cheng Jianjun , Fan Timothy M.
Published: July 2016

Significance

Malignant osteolysis associated with inoperable primary bone tumors and multifocal skeletal metastases remains a challenging clinical problem in cancer patients. The outgrowth of residual cancer cells within the bone microenvironment despite aggressive multimodality therapies necessitates the discovery and validation of novel strategies for treating osteotropic solid tumors. We report on pamidronate functionalized polylactide nanoparticles for the targeted treatment of focal malignant osteolysis by delivering doxorubicin specifically to the bone tumor microenvironment. Improved efficacy was demonstrated in a preclinical orthotopic mouse model of osteosarcoma. Most importantly, through the inclusion of dogs with naturally developing osteosarcoma, biocompatibility, biodistribution, and anticancer activities at clinically relevant dosages were demonstrated in a large mammalian modeling system.
PSD-95 stabilizes NMDA receptors by inducing the degradation of STEP
61
Authors: Won Sehoon , Incontro Salvatore , Nicoll Roger A. , Roche Katherine W.
Published: July 2016

Significance

NMDA receptors (NMDARs) are principal regulators of synaptic signaling in the brain. Modulation of NMDARs’ function and trafficking is important for the regulation of synaptic transmission and several forms of synaptic plasticity. Postsynaptic density protein 95 (PSD-95) acts as a scaffolding protein and stabilizes the surface and synaptic expression of NMDARs, whereas striatal-enriched protein tyrosine phosphatase (STEP), a brain-specific protein tyrosine phosphatase, dephosphorylates and destabilizes NMDARs via endocytosis. We now demonstrate that PSD-95 binds to STEP
61
and promotes its degradation via the proteasome, thereby stabilizing surface expression of NMDARs. We have revealed a dynamic role for PSD-95 in sculpting protein content at excitatory synapses that is distinct from its canonical role as a scaffolding protein.
Relevance of Angiopoietin‐2 and Soluble P‐Selectin Levels in Patients with Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension Receiving Combination Therapy with Oral Treprostinil: A FREEDOM‐C2 Biomarker Substudy
Authors: Richter Manuel J. , Schermuly Ralph , Seeger Werner , Rao Youlan , Ghofrani Hossein A. , Gall Henning
Published: July 2016

Studies have suggested roles for angiopoietin‐2 (Ang‐2) and soluble P‐selectin (sP‐selectin) as biomarkers of disease severity and treatment response in pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), but additional data are required for validation. We evaluated these biomarkers using data from FREEDOM‐C2, in which patients with PAH receiving stable monotherapy or combination therapy were randomized to receive additional treatment with oral treprostinil (up‐titrated from 0.25 mg twice daily) or placebo for 16 weeks. Biomarker analysis was optional in FREEDOM‐C2. We measured plasma Ang‐2 and sP‐selectin levels at baseline and at week 16, and we assessed their association with predefined outcomes (6‐minute walk distance [6MWD] change from baseline >40 m, 6MWD >380 m, functional class I/II, and/or N‐terminal pro‐brain natriuretic peptide [NT‐proBNP] <1,800 pg/mL at week 16) using Spearman correlation, receiver operating characteristics, and logistic regression. Biomarker data were available for 83 of 157 and 95 of 153 patients in the oral treprostinil and placebo groups, respectively. In the oral treprostinil group, baseline Ang‐2 levels correlated with week 16 NT‐proBNP levels (P < 0.0001). Baseline Ang‐2 ≥12 ng/mL was associated with a reduced likelihood of having NT‐proBNP <1,800 pg/mL at week 16 (multivariate odds ratio: 0.08; 95% confidence interval: 0.02–0.32). However, Ang‐2 showed no significant association with the other assessed outcomes, and sP‐selectin was not associated or correlated with any of the outcomes. These data suggest that Ang‐2 and sP‐selectin are not associated with response to oral treprostinil in patients already receiving stable PAH therapy. Trial registration: Clinicaltrials.gov identifier NCT00887978.
Introduction
Authors: Phillips Christopher
Published: July 2016

Between 1800 and 1915, in the “middle border,” tensions between competing nationalist ideologies were magnified as Americans became politicized over the issue of slavery, were realized as antagonisms through the war, and were at last transformed by postwar memories and understandings of that war and its outcomes. This new border was fashioned largely through a bitter and encompassing uncivil war, fought between people more than armies, ultimately overshadowed by broader, traditional narratives of the clash of arms and counternarratives as deliberate reversals of history. These narratives are resilient, relying on binary definitions, northern and southern, and obscuring a western narrative of the war and the nation. Historians have largely ignored Lincoln’s home region—the West—and its centrality to perhaps the war’s most lasting outcome. Beneath the edifice of postwar American nationalism lay an unreconciled regionalism that has proven more enduring than its sectionalized predecessor.
Netherworld of War
Authors: Phillips Christopher
Published: July 2016

The prolonged presence of military forces, federal and Confederate, in all of the middle border states from 1861 to 1862 had profound societal effects. In the region’s slave states, armies and state militia implemented military occupations to control a divided and often hostile civilian population, subverting civil liberties at the local and state levels as part of a broader strategy to maintain order, determine loyalty and disloyalty, and obtain resources to prosecute the war. In the mesh of conflicting stances and allegiances, military presence hastened communities’ realignments by loyal and disloyal constituencies. In turn, these residents divided into “communities of allegiance” of discrete loyal and dissenting networks.
Basic concepts
Authors: Soto Rodrigo
Published: July 2016

This chapter introduces the basic concepts that will be worked out in detail in the book. The ideas are presented for classical gases for which the velocity distribution function is defined. The properties of the equilibrium Maxwell—Boltzmann distribution are discussed. Considering molecular collisions, the collision frequency and mean free path are given. Finally, the mean free path theory of transport is used to derive transport laws and compute the coefficients of viscosity and thermal conductivity. Finally, the concepts are extended for the transport of classical charges and the Drude conductivity is obtained.
Plasmas and self-gravitating systems
Authors: Soto Rodrigo
Published: July 2016

When particles interact with long-range forces as in the case of charges in a plasma or self-gravitating systems in a galaxy, it is not possible to consider individual collision events. Rather, particles interact simultaneously with many and a mean field approach is justified. In this approximation, the Vlasov kinetic equation is derived and analysed in detail, describing static and dynamic charge screening. Contrary to the previous cases, the Vlasov equation is reversible. Plasmas support waves of various kinds. These are damped, a phenomenon that is shown to be compatible with the reversibility described above. Self-gravitating systems, contrary to plasmas, do not show charge screening but rather any mass excess leads to density instabilities which ultimately explain the origin of large astronomical structures. Extension of the mean field description to include fluctuations is discussed at the end of the chapter. Finally, the formalism is applied to a vortex gas.
Skilling the Unskilled
Authors: Degiuli Francesca
Published: July 2016

Chapter 6 describes the routines of both live-in and live-out workers throughout a typical day on the job. In the process the chapter reveals that home eldercare assistance while often being portrayed simply as an offshoot of domestic labor is in reality a different occupation with its own set of skills, goals, and priorities. In addition, it shows that while this job is often portrayed as unskilled in reality it requires the workers take on, during their long work day, different roles, each requiring a different set of skills: from maid to chaperone, from nurse to therapist, and from cook to spiritual counselor. Finally the chapter includes a discussion of the different dimensions of eldercare according to the women who provide it.
Categorizing Religious Organizations
Authors: Bromley David G.
Published: July 2016

The concepts of church and sect, along with the related terms of denomination and cult, have been central to religious group classification and theorizing about religious group organization by religion scholars. This classificatory system has been particularly problematic for scholars studying new religious movements. The chapter rehearses the origins and development of these concepts and then considers some of the newer and more inclusive relationally-based typologies that address the ongoing critiques of the church-sect model .
Occulture and Everyday Enchantment
Authors: Partridge Christopher
Published: July 2016

Debates around disenchantment and secularization have been central to sociological analyses of religion over the past five decades. While it has been widely argued that modernization leads to secular societies, such arguments have been challenged by empirical evidence to the contrary. The persistence of non-secular beliefs, such as those relating to the paranormal, suggests that theories of progression towards an absolutely secular condition are mistaken. Engaging these ideas, the theory of occulture, which highlights the significance of popular culture and everyday life in the construction of enchanted versions of reality, contributes to an understanding of the development and plausibility of contemporary non-secular lifeworlds.
Hagiography
Authors: Rothstein Mikael
Published: July 2016

This chapter deals with sacred biographies, hagiographies, and their function in the formation of religious leaders and ritually venerated persons. It is argued that the status of any Master, Teacher, Prophet, guru, Seer and Channel is partly based on sacred biographies, and that the narrative construction of religious authority is crucial to our understanding of leadership in new religions, sects etc. Distinctions are made between doctrinal and popular hagiographies; doctrinal narratives promote the exalted leader according to theologically well-defined standards, while popular narratives cover a wider span, as they seek to draw a picture of the perfected human in many different ways. Counter-hagiographies, finally, serve to deconstruct the ideal person and are typically employed by ex-devotees or members of counter-groups. Hagiographies are seen as very ancient social strategies (there are references to old new religions including early Christianity and the cult of Christ), but also a very lively and important mechanisms in the current make of religious leaders. Examples are derived from Catholic cults of saints, the Mormon Church, Scientology, TM and several other groups.
Modern Religious Satanism
Authors: Petersen Jesper Aagaard
Published: July 2016

Modern religious Satanism is a diverse movement of groups and individuals using Satan as a symbol for their oppositional identity. Translating Satan as “opposer” or “adversary” from the book of Job, Satanism co-opts the Satan-myth and reinterprets it as an antinomian critique of traditional mores championing radical individualism, using the language and aesthetics of magic, esotericism, and the occult. As the history of the development of the character of Satan—theologically, politically, socially, mythologically—is one of opposition and conflict, modern religious Satanism is a constant negotiation with its own marginal status and inherent tensions. Satanism’s position on the fringe is a balancing act between its contentious popular reputation, media treatments, academic portrayals, legal status, critique of social conventions, and disagreement among and between self-identified satanic persons and groups. This paper examines Satanism’s embrace of a symbol of opposition—Satan—as it negotiates the very tensions and challenges of its adopted social marginality.
Western Esotericism and New Religious Movements
Authors: Bogdan Henrik
Published: July 2016

The study of Western esotericism is a comparatively new field of research that covers a wide range of currents, notions and practices from late antiquity to the present. Esotericism is often understood as the “rejected knowledge” of Western culture, which often centers on claims of absolute knowledge or gnosis. This chapter discusses four discourses that can be found in many esoteric NRMs, namely “secrecy and unveiling”, “initiation and progress”, “the higher self”, and “Secret Masters”. In the second part of the chapter four examples of esoteric NRMs are briefly discussed, Spiritualism, Theosophy, Thelema, and Wicca.
Seekers and Subcultures
Authors: Lewis James R.
Published: July 2016

The notion of the religious life as being a quest or a journey is quite ancient. Nevertheless, traditionally the average believer has not usually experienced her or his religion in these terms. Rather, religion is typically a part of everyday life that is, for the most part, taken for granted. However, as early as the eighteenth century, a new spiritual subculture had begun to emerge in Western nations within which a number of people with interests in alternative religious ideas and practices adopted a posture of seekership, pursuing various alternative spiritual interests from Spiritualism to certain Asian religions and Asian religious practices. The present chapter proposes to survey this development.
Psychology and New Religious Movements
Authors: Saliba John A.
Published: July 2016

In “Psychology and the New Religious Movements,” John Saliba begins by contrasting psychology/psychiatry’s traditional antagonism toward religion with the newer, more positive approach reflected in the fourth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (1994). After a brief survey of relevant studies, he then explores the problems involved with psychological approaches to members of new religions through the example of studies of followers of Bhagwan Rajneesh. He concludes by outlining a series of unresolved issues regarding the psychology of NRM membership.
‘God has come Amongst us Slowly and we didn’t Realise it!’ The Transformation of Anglican Missionary Heritage in Sudan
Authors: Wheeler Andrew
Published: July 2016

This chapter examines the missionary origins, through the agency of the Church Missionary Society, of the Anglican Church in Sudan (the Episcopal Church of the Sudan) and its transformation during its 100-year history, with special reference to the last fifty years. It is a study of the cultural transformation of missionary heritage in the cauldron of war and devastation. In particular the experience of the Dinka and Azande people is reflected upon. The emergence of a truly vernacular Anglicanism is described, distinctive but also faithful to Anglican principle. The significance of Bible translation, vernacular liturgy, and hymns is assessed, and the role of this new indigenous expression of Christian faith in the emergence of a distinctive South Sudanese identity that would eventually lead to independence and the setting up of a new African state, South Sudan.
Anglicanism and Pan-Evangelicalism
Authors: McGrath Alister
Published: July 2016

This chapter considers the emergence of the complex relationship between Anglicanism and a broader evangelical movement (often known as ‘pan-evangelicalism’) which transcends denominational boundaries. The origins of this relationship goes back to the sixteenth century, but became especially important from the eighteenth century onwards as a result of the ‘evangelical revival’ in England, and its extended influence. The expansion of British colonial power was an important factor in consolidating and extending an evangelical influence within Anglicanism, especially on account of the role of entrepreneurial individuals and mission societies in propagating the Christian faith. The chapter concludes with reflections on the future of this relationship, given contemporary developments within both Anglicanism and evangelicalism.
Politics
Authors: Makgoba Thabo
Published: July 2016

For Anglicans there has never been a distinct division between public and private, political and personal, when it comes to matters of faith and their application in Christian ethics. This chapter considers Anglicanism’s engagement with politics. It looks at how Anglicans have addressed issues of justice, righteousness, and redemption from the ethics of individual choice through to national and international politics and economics. This chapter analyses the history of Anglican approaches to politics by unpicking scripture. It discusses how Anglicanism has interacted with politics by looking at churches and nations, the evolution of the Anglican Communion’s institutional life, and contemporary culture.
Canon Law
Authors: Doe Norman
Published: July 2016

The Anglican Communion has recently experienced a sea change in its understanding of and approach to canon law, hitherto a matter lacking worldwide attention amongst Anglicans. Whilst the worldwide Communion has no global system of canon law applicable to its member churches, each church (or Province) is autonomous, with its own system of law and government. These individual legal systems deal with such subjects as government, ministry, doctrine, liturgy and ritual, and church property. However, in recent years there have been key developments. The chapter describes, explains (particularly in the context of the juridical experiences of other international ecclesial communities which are ecumenical partners of Anglicans), and evaluates the process leading up to, and the terms of, the document the Principles of Canon Law Common to the Churches of the Anglican Communion, launched at the Lambeth Conference 2008, and the juridical aspects and issues which relate to the Anglican Communion Covenant.
Episcopé and Leadership
Authors: Jones Sarah Rowland
Published: July 2016

This chapter considers understandings and expressions of episcopé, the ministry of oversight, across the Anglican Communion. Drawing on reflections on the 2008 Lambeth Conference, and examples from around the Anglican world, it reviews contemporary practices of, and challenges to, church leadership not only of bishops—acting personally, collegially, and communally—but more widely in the mission and ministry of the whole people of God. This includes clergy and laity formally in synods and church structures, and in many informal ways, as well as ecumenical dimensions. How Anglicanism’s long-standing commitment to appropriate local adaptation of episcopé is exercised today, over hugely diverse contexts, is considered in the light of scripture and of historic emphases on episcopacy as the focus of unity, teaching, eucharistic presidency, and pastoring. God’s calling, guiding, equipping and empowering is stressed as foundational above all else.
Biblical Hermeneutics in the Context of Post-Anglicanism
Authors: Micah Eun-Kya Kim
Published: July 2016

This chapter searches the new identity of Post-Anglicanism beyond Anglicanism in the age of the global empires. The British Empire and Anglicanism were a two-wheeled vehicle during the colonial period. Anglicanism can be understood as justifying a ruling ideology in colonial ages just as the Pax Romana justified the Roman Empire under the slogan of the expansion of the Kingdom of God. This can be called the Pax Anglicana. How then can Post-Anglicanism frame the future of the Communion? It needs to take seriously today’s global contexts in the light of Minjung (the oppressed) in Asia, Latin America, Africa. For this we need to read the Bible against the background of the society and religion of ancient Israel and their links with ancient empires. And it has to reconstruct Anglicanism in terms of justice, peace, and religious dialogue against the global empire.
Authority, Theology, and Power
Authors: Trisk Janet
Published: July 2016

This chapter explores questions of power and authority under the headings of identity, orthodoxy and ministry. Written from a (South African) postcolonial context, and employing the method of theologies of liberation, the chapter interrogates the shifting positions of insider/ outsider identities and how these relate to who exercises power in the churches of the Anglican Communion. In turn this opens the question of who is recognized as holding the authority to define contemporary orthodoxy. Finally, in considering the relationship of leadership to authority and power, some reflections on the question of the churches’ mission to draw in those on the margins are offered.
Identities and Parties
Authors: Atherstone Andrew
Published: July 2016

Anglicanism’s multiple identities are often explained in terms of ‘church parties’, perhaps ‘high church’ and ‘low church’; ‘conservative’ and ‘radical’; or ‘evangelical’, ‘anglo-catholic’ and ‘liberal’. Such descriptions are frequently heard in accounts of the origins and contemporary character of the Anglican movement. However, there are many pitfalls in this interpretative approach, as this chapter reveals. The flourishing literature on Anglican identities is often deeply misleading. In particular, a church party framework can be guilty of imposing a model of conflict upon the historical record; of pigeon-holing Anglicans with simplistic stereotypes; and of being used as a rhetorical tool to bolster intra-Anglican polemics. This chapter cautions against the dangers, to which all students of Anglicanism must be alert.
Anglican Wisdom
Authors: Gaffin Jenny
Published: July 2016

The chapter focuses on the nature and character of Anglican wisdom, exploring this in the context of church structures, tradition, and truth. Drawing on a variety of different examples and contrasting wisdom with folly, it argues that, historically and in the present time, Anglican wisdom is rooted in its capacity, in the presence of God, to acknowledge and hold the complexity and contradictions of human life in all its fullness. Lacking the authority structures required to give a single definitive Anglican view on any given subject, wisdom in the churches of the Anglican Communion continues to emerge through an ongoing, collective, often fraught act of listening to God.
Local Water Politics
Authors: Hughes Sara , Mullin Megan
Published: July 2016

Decentralization in water management authority has shifted decision-making to the local level and expanded participation to include a wider set of actors. The result is a politics of water that is more variable than in the past, across space and over time, reflecting the diversity of local values and local water resources. Fragmentation of policy responsibility offers potential for more environmental and financial sustainability in the long term, but in the short term it requires management agencies and stakeholders to find ways to interact effectively. How we design our local institutions, and the incentives that higher levels of government provide for directing local decisions, will help determine whether the new approach produces a more sustainable and resilient water future.
Policing Before the Police in the Eighteenth Century
Authors: Barrie David G.
Published: July 2016

This essay examines developments in law enforcement before the birth of the widely heralded “new” police in the nineteenth century, focusing on mainland Britain but drawing comparisons with European experiences to ascertain how British developments fit within an international context. The essay shows that policing arrangements in eighteenth-century Britain were extremely advanced in many parts of the country, and the 1829 Metropolitan Police Act was the culmination of decades of innovation. Modern policing practices evolved from the activities of local elites, private and public watching and prosecution schemes, and a burgeoning print culture. Rather than viewing policing in Europe with suspicion, many British reformers were receptive to and embraced continental policing ideas and practices, underlining the need to acknowledge the important role that intellectual transfer and national and local emulation played in the evolution of modern policing.
Popular Dramas Between Transgression and Order
Authors: Siemens Daniel
Published: July 2016

This article examines the importance and the effects of crime news and courtroom journalism for modern societies, taking a global perspective. Mass media starting in the middle of the nineteenth century identified criminal courts as important places that allowed for popular and often-sensational stories of transgression and order. In the United States, in Europe, and in Asia, popular dramas based on criminal trials that appeared in the newspaper stimulated important societal debates, questioning the very notion of modern law and its application. However, it is argued that future research needs to pay more attention to the narratives and effects of courtroom reporting on democracy, both past and present.
Violence and Masculinity
Authors: Eibach Joachim
Published: July 2016

A consistent overrepresentation of men in recorded violent crimes and thus a certain disposition of male aggressiveness has been evident from the late Middle Ages to today. However, we can also detect several major shifts in the history of interpersonal male violence from the eighteenth century onward. From a cultural historical perspective, violent actions by men or women cannot be interpreted as contingent, individual acts, but rather must be seen as practices embedded in sociocultural contexts and accompanied by informal norms. Because one grand theory cannot account convincingly for the history of violence and masculinity, an array of approaches is more likely to shed light on the issue. Interestingly, shifts in the history of violence have often corresponded with changes to prevailing notions of masculinity. This essay delineates the relevant historical shifts from the early modern “culture of dispute” to the different paths of interpersonal violence over the twentieth century.
Interstate Arbitration and Foreign Judges
Authors: Magnetto Anna
Published: July 2016

This chapter concentrates on interstate arbitration and foreign judges. Interstate arbitration is identified by the sources as a genuine Greek tradition, attested from the Archaic period, which was employed and fostered by other powers, such as the Hellenistic Kings and Republican Rome. It allowed two parties in conflict to solve disputes by resorting to the judgment of a third party agreed by both. Its use contributed to the establishing of forms of international law, encouraging the poleis to identify a set of shared principles and rules, at least for territorial disputes, the most common kind of controversy. The use of foreign judges is another, more recent, feature of judicial relations between poleis. In the Hellenistic period, small groups of people were elected by their city to conduct trials between citizens of another polis, according to the laws of that polis, where local tribunals no longer worked on a regular basis.
Mathew D. McCubbins and Thomas Schwartz, “Congressional Oversight Overlooked: Police Patrols versus Fire Alarms”
Authors: West William
Published: July 2016

This chapter comments on “Congressional Oversight Overlooked: Police Patrols versus Fire Alarms,” in which Mathew McCubbins and Thomas Schwartz used the analogy of police patrols and fire alarms to the role of the legislature in monitoring and controlling the bureaucracy. McCubbins and Schwartz made a case for Congress’s assessment of program implementation. The chapter examines the theory of fire alarm oversight, as well as the influence of McCubbins and Schwartz’s argument on how scholars think about Congress’s relationship to the bureaucracy. In particular, it considers the use of the theory of fire alarm oversight to challenge views equating delegation and the rise of an administrative state with the decline of legislative power. It highlights some of the criticisms made, especially with respect to Congress’s heavy reliance on reactive strategies to gather information about agency performance.
David B. Truman,
Authors: Grant Wyn
Published: July 2016

This chapter examines David B. Truman’s bookThe Governmental Process(1951, 1971), which offers a classic pluralist analysis of interest groups and their relationships with political decision-makers, as well as their significance in American politics. It considers the arguments put forward by some scholars challenging Truman’s views, including Rothman, Olson, and Lindblom. It then discusses two elements of Truman’s account that he deems significant and to require special emphasis: the notion of multiple or overlapping membership and the function of unorganized interests, or potential interest groups. The chapter also evaluates Truman’s views about business groups and concludes with an assessment of the impact of social media on group politics within his framework.
Richard Rose,
Authors: Schmidt Manfred G.
Published: July 2016

This chapter comments on Richard Rose’s bookDo Parties Make a Difference?, which examines whether it makes a difference if Britain is ruled by a Conservative or a Labour government, as well as the differences that arise in terms of policy outputs and outcomes. First published in 1980, the book challenges two commonly held views on British politics: the hypothesis that political parties make a difference in public policy and the proposition that Britain’s post-war politics is primarily characterized by “adversarial politics.” The chapter discusses Rose’s claim that “what parties say is not what parties do” and his analysis of similarities and differences between the Labour Party and the Conservative Party.
E. E. Schattschneider,
Authors: Studlar Donley
Published: July 2016

E. E. Schattschneider’s short book,The Semi-Sovereign People: A Realist’s View of Democracy in America(1960), is an analysis of the functioning of US democracy, especially the struggle between “privatization” and “socialization” of issues as well as the competition for space on a crowded political agenda. Its major contribution was to develop the concept of agenda-setting, the “conflict of conflicts,” as an essential dimension of the policy process. Intended as a “defense of parties” manifesto against the then-popular group theories of politics, Schattschneider’s book was part of the elitist–pluralist debate in its time as well as leading to a variety of later, more empirical studies on various dimensions of the policy process. Schattschneider’s ideas have inspired many subsequent studies on agenda-setting, both in the US and abroad. This chapter examines the longer-term impact of these ideas as well as the book’s shortcomings, such as lack of attention to the media.
George J. Stigler, “The Theory of Economic Regulation”
Authors: Carrigan Chris , Coglianese Cary
Published: July 2016

This chapter discusses George Stigler’s “The Theory of Economic Regulation,” a stinging analysis of regulation from a political economy perspective. Published in 1971, Stigler’s paper challenged the idea that regulation is designed and operated primarily for the benefit of business, rather than solely to advance the overall public interest by correcting market failures. By offering a serious take on regulatory capture, “The Theory of Economic Regulation” changed the way economists analyze government regulation while exerting tremendous influence on a variety of disciplines such as public policy. Stigler’s chapter also sparked extensive research on business–government relations across a wide range of industries, from airlines and mining to banking and manufacturing.
What Makes a Classic?
Authors: Balla Steven J. , Lodge Martin , Page Edward C.
Published: July 2016

This chapter examines classic works that have fundamentally shaped subsequent research in public policy and administration. It first explains the approach used to identify classic academic research as a general matter, recognizing that there are many different ways of doing it, as well as the standards that such classics should meet. Three of these standards are external recognition at the highest level, the quality of the publication outlet, and the number of citations as measured via online resources such as Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar. It then describes a variant of the reputational method that was adopted as the approach in assembling a list of classics in public policy and administration, resulting in a final list that includes 46 classics,. This collection displays the shared research concerns of political science and public policy and administration.
Jack L. Walker, “The Diffusion of Innovations among the American States”
Authors: Levi-Faur David
Published: July 2016

This chapter focuses on Jack L. Walker’s 1969 paper “The Diffusion of Innovations among the American States,” which analyzes the phenomenon of diffusion as well as interdependent decision-making in a collective setting. The chapter summarizes Walker’s arguments and the reception of his work in, and its influence on, the field of political science. It then considers the research questions posed, such as why some states act as pioneers by adopting new programs more readily than others, and whether there are more or less stable patterns of diffusion of innovations. It also revisits Walker’s debate with Virginia Gray with regards to the latter’s seminal study “Innovation in the States: A Diffusion Study.” The chapter offers some suggestions on the future progress of diffusion scholarship and its potential to redefine our understanding of politics and policy.
Central Banking
Authors: Capie Forrest
Published: July 2016

Central banks date from the late nineteenth century but the great majority from the twentieth century. They are institutions whose principal purpose is to provide stable monetary and financial conditions, though their functions have varied over time. Claims made for the banks’ powers have often been greater than was merited. This chapter sets out how central banks’ responsibilities arose and how they have been fulfilled. It gives particular attention to something that was almost lost sight of in recent years that of their traditional responsibility for financial stability. Other aspects of central banking are then discussed: the role they might have in supervision/regulation; central bank co-operation has played; and the meaning and desirability of central bank independence.
Bank Regulation and Supervision
Authors: Schenk Catherine R. , Mourlon-Druol Emmanuel
Published: July 2016

Regulation has been a recurring theme in business history at industry level as well as in case studies of firms and firm dynamics. For banking and finance, the complications of information asymmetry and the systemic importance of banking systems for monetary and economic stability have led to a general consensus that there can be a positive role for regulation and supervision in the banking industry. But there are also important challenges that arise from regulatory competition, moral hazard and regulatory capture. These challenges can be magnified when raised to the regional, international, or global platform. This chapter argues that despite the apparent need for greater coordination of prudential supervision and regulation to ensure a stable global financial system, there has been only limited progress toward practical implementation of these principals at a global level.
State and Finance
Authors: Quennouëlle-Corre Laure
Published: July 2016

The relationship between state and finance has been a recurring question in financial history. From weak state intervention at the beginning of nineteenth century to increasing regulation since the middle of the twentieth century, then the 1980s’ liberalization followed by the the post-2008 crisis reinforcement of regulation, developed countries followed the same ebb and flow in state policy. Among the several shapes of state intervention in finance area, particular emphasis is placed on the role of the public debt and state financing. These topics are connected with the role of the state as a regulator, as only a broad perspective of its different roles gives a complete view of this major actor in the financial system. Beyond these classical analyses, the relationships between state and finance are seen in their reciprocal influence in political decisions and business strategies, through the approach of social networks and political studies.
Banking Crises
Authors: Grossman Richard S.
Published: July 2016

Financial crises have been a common feature of the economic landscape for more than two centuries. The chapter defines banking crises, considers the type of costs that they impose, and outlines the most common causes of banking crises during the past 200 years. The remainder of the chapter considers five distinct historical periods: the nineteenth century, when the pattern of crises following ‘boom–bust’ economic cycles became established; the inter-war period, which was punctuated by two major sets of crises (post-First World War crisis and the Great Depression); the post-Second World War financial ‘lock-down’, which was characterized by stringent banking regulation and a complete absence of banking crises; deregulation and the return of crises in the 1970s; and the subprime crisis that emerged in 2008 and the subsequent Eurozone crisis.
Capital Markets and Sovereign Defaults
Authors: Flores Zendejas Juan H.
Published: July 2016

This chapter provides a historical perspective on the relationship between capital markets and sovereign defaults. While the main body of the sovereign debt literature has rarely incorporated supply side factors, such as market distortions or conflicts of interest, we argue that the history of sovereign defaults cannot be understood without including the evolutionary structure of capital markets. The southern European debt crises and the recent controversy surrounding the role of holdouts demonstrate that certain proposals raised in previous default episodes deserve further discussion, in particular, those aiming to deal with problems of collective action, liquidity provision, and information flaws.
Currency Crises
Authors: Temin Peter
Published: July 2016

This chapter presents a narrative of currency crises for the past two centuries. It uses the Swan Diagram as a theoretical framework for this narrative and concludes that many so-called banking crises are in fact currency crises. These crises are caused by capital flows in war and peace and typically result in recessions. The Swan Diagram helps us to consider external and internal imbalances together and understand their interactions. It also reminds us that national histories often ignore the international aspect of economic crises. This chapter draws on and extends work reported in Peter Temin and David Vines, The Leaderless Economy, Why the World Economic System Fell Apart and How to Fix It.
Financial History and Economic Development
Authors: Caprio Gerard
Published: July 2016

Financial history, both recent and more distant, offers lessons that often are neglected when reforms are being considered, especially in a post-crisis rush to ‘fix the system’. This chapter offers some observations that need to be factored in to any reforms. It takes stock of research on the role of finance and what works and what does not in policies that affect it. It then examines three topics in finance that have and may again hamper financial sector development, but that are receiving less attention than they deserve: the problems of insufficient size of financial systems and their diversification; financial repression, and how to manage it; and the need for dynamism and oversight in financial regulation, to enable societies to maximize the safety of the sector while still enjoying its benefits. Current reformers would do well to take account of these factors in their plans if they hope to avoid more crisis and reform.
Commercial Banking
Authors: Westerhuis Gerarda
Published: July 2016

This chapter provides an overview of the development of commercial banking—defined as taking deposits payable on demand and originating loans to private and corporate customers—from the mid-nineteenth century to the present. Two characteristics are underlined: state regulation, primarily dictated by concerns about banks’ position as deposit takers; and banks’ role in the financing of industry and more generally in economic growth including their assigned responsibility. The changing nature of these two features has shaped the development of commercial banks since the onset of industrialization. In all countries, with the exception of England, commercial banks developed into some kind of universal bank in the course of the nineteenth century. This converging movement ended in the interwar years, when in many countries commercial banks were separated from investment banks. Universal banking became dominant again in the late twentieth century, but in the form of banking conglomerates.