bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Effect of Helicobacter pylori infection on the first-line treatment outcomes in patients with immune thrombocytopenic purpura
Authors: Dogan Ali , Ekinci Omer , Ebinc Senar
Published: May 2021

Background: Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) eradication therapy is known
to increase the platelet count, but in immune thrombocytopenic purpura
(ITP), the effect of H. pylori infection on the response to treatment is
not clear. This study aims to determine whether the response to the
first–line treatment is affected by the states of H. pylori–positivity
and –negativity in ITP patients. Methods: Adult newly diagnosed or
chronic ITP patients who had not received eradication therapy for H.
pylori infection were included. Characteristics of the patients,
presence and severity of bleeding, initial platelet count, administered
treatments, and treatment response rates were inspected. Results: Of 119
total patients, 32 (26.9%) were H. pylori–positive, 87 (73.1%) were
H. pylori–negative. The most common treatment was standard–dose
steroid in both groups (62.5% vs 68.9%, p=0.524). Rates of complete
response, partial response, no response were comparable for the two
groups (respectively, 75% vs 73.6%, and 18.8% vs 19.5%, and 6.2% vs
6.9%), and there was no significant difference between the groups
(p=0.283). Conclusion: It can be stated according to the present study
that; in ITP patients in whom treatment is indicated, the response to
the first–line treatment without the administration of H. pylori
eradication therapy is comparable between H. pylori–positive and H.
pylori–negative patients. Keywords: Helicobacter pylori, immune
thrombocytopenic purpura, first-line treatment
Interplay between genotoxic factors formaldehyde and UV-B exacerbates genome instability in Arabidopsis
Authors: Wang Yu , WANG Jinzheng , Lv Qiang , He Yi-Kun
Published: May 2021

Maintenance of genome stability is quintessential feature for all living
organisms. The simplest aldehyde formaldehyde and UV-B radiation, two
environmental toxic factors, cause DNA damage, affect genome stability,
subsequently growth and development across kingdoms. However, the
interrelationship of genotoxicity caused by formaldehyde and UV-B
remains fragmented in plants. Here, we show that mutants lacking one
aldehyde detoxifying enzyme, alcohol dehydrogenase 2 (ADH2, also named
GSNOR/FALDH), are hypersensitive to low dosage UV-B radiation or UV-B
radiation-mimetic chemical in seedling and root growth. The defects are
not caused by the alteration of UV-B sensing, secondary metabolites
flavonoid accumulation, or ROS accumulation, rather are UV-B-induced
genotoxicity. Increased DNA damage response genes and comet assay tail,
cell cycle arrest upon exposure to UV-B provide direct evidence for DNA
damage in gsnor mutant. Pharmacological analyses show that the
susceptibility to genotoxic stresses is caused by the increased DNA
crosslink which results from the enhanced endogenous formaldehyde in
gsnor while UV-B promotes the production of formaldehyde. This implies
formaldehyde clearance through GSNOR plays a critical role in response
to environmental genotoxic stress and interplay between formaldehyde and
UV-B exacerbates genome instability.
Advances and highlights in biomarkers of allergic diseases
Authors: Ogulur Ismail , Pat Yağız , Ardicli Ozge , Barletta Elena , Cevhertas Lacin , Fernandez-Santamaria Ruben , Huang Mengting , Imam Manal Bel , Koch Jana , Ma Siyuan , maurer debbie , mitamura yasutaka , Peng Yaqi , Radzikowska Urszula , Rinaldi Arturo , Rodriguez-Coira Juan , Satitsuksanoa Pattraporn , Schneider Stenhan , Wallimann Alexandra , Zhakparov Damir , Ziadlou Reihane , Brüeggen Marie-Charlotte , Veen Willem van de , Sokolowska Milena , Baerenfaller Katja , Zhang Luo , Akdis Mubeccel , Akdis Cezmi
Published: May 2021

Allergic diseases include asthma, atopic-dermatitis, allergic-rhinitis,
drug hypersensitivity and food-allergy. During the past years, there has
been a global outbreak of allergic diseases, presenting a considerable
medical and socioeconomical-burden. A large fraction of allergic
diseases is characterized by a type-2 immune response involving Th2
cells, type-2 innate lymphoid cells, eosinophils, mast cells, and M2
macrophages. Biomarkers are valuable parameters for precision medicine
as they provide information on the disease endotypes, clusters,
precision diagnoses, identification of therapeutic targets, and
monitoring of treatment efficacies. The availability of powerful omics
technologies, together with integrated data analysis and network-based
approaches can help the identification of clinically useful biomarkers.
These biomarkers need to be accurately quantified using robust and
reproducible methods, such as reliable and point-of-care systems.
Ideally, samples should be collected using quick, cost-efficient and
non-invasive methods. In recent years, a plethora of research has been
directed towards finding novel biomarkers of allergic diseases.
Promising biomarkers of type-2 allergic diseases include sputum
eosinophils, serum periostin and exhaled nitric-oxide. Several other
biomarkers, such as pro-inflammatory mediators, miRNAs, eicosanoid
molecules, epithelial barrier integrity, and microbiota changes are
useful for diagnosis and monitoring of allergic diseases and can be
quantified in serum, body-fluids and exhaled-air. Herein, we review
recent studies on biomarkers for the diagnosis and treatment of asthma,
chronic-urticaria, atopic-dermatitis, allergic-rhinitis,
chronic-rhinosinusitis, food-allergies, anaphylaxis, drug
hypersensitivity and allergen-immunotherapy. In addition, we discuss
COVID-19 and allergic diseases within the perspective of biomarkers and
recommendations on the management of allergic and asthmatic patients
during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Medical devices that should be prescribed to patients with cataplexy to reduce their risk of injury
Authors: Diamandis Dr. Carolina , Tudor Adrian
Published: May 2021

People who suffer from cataplexy have a significant risk of injury. This
paper discusses (manufacturer-independent) medical devices that should
be prescribed to any patient with moderate to severe cataplexy.
Peningkatan Aktivitas dan Hasil Belajar Materi Perkembangbiakan Makhluk Hidup Melalui Model Pembelajaran Problem Based Instruction dengan Media Visual pada Siswa Kelas VI SD
Authors: Sulistiyo Sulistiyo
Published: May 2021

Penelitian bertujuan untuk meningkatkan aktivitas dan hasil belajar IPA materi perkembangbiakan makhluk hidup melalui model pembelajaran Problem Based Instruction dengan Media Visual pada siswa kelas VI SD 1 Undaan Tengah semester I tahun pelajaran  2018/2019. Prosedur pelaksanaan dan implementasi di lokasi penelitian terbagi dalam dua siklus. Siklus I dilakukan dua kali pertemuan dan begitu juga siklus II dilakukan dua kali pertemuan. Hasil penelitian ini menunjukkan bahwa aktivitas siswa pada siklus I memperoleh rata-rata skor 20,59 atau sebesar 73,56% (sedang), siklus II meningkat menjadi 25,19 atau sebesar 89,97% (sangat tinggi). Pada akhir tindakan siklus I nilai rata-rata yang diperoleh 72,62 atau sebesar 71,43% mengalami peningkatan 23,81% dari kondisi awal. Pada siklus II diperoleh nilai rata-rata 79,76 atau sebesar 85,71% sehingga mengalami peningkatan sebesar 14,28% dari siklus I. disimpulkan bahwa penerapan model pembelajaran problem based instruction dengan media visual dapat meningkatkan aktivitas dan hasil belajar perkembangbiakan makhluk hidup pada siswa kelas VI SD 1 Undaan Tengah Kudus.
PENINGKATAN KOMPETENSI PEDAGOGIK GURU DI DALAM MENYUSUN RPP MELALUI WORKSHOP PENYUSUNAN RPP D MASA PANDEMI COVID 19 PADA SEKOLAH BINAAN MANAJERIAL SMA KABUPATEN BULELENG DENGAN METODA DARING DAN LURING TAHUN PELAJARAN 2020/2021
Authors: Widawati Ketut
Published: May 2021

Penelitian ini dilatar belakangi oleh (1) Masih lemahnya pemahaman guru dalam menyusun RPP  dimasa pandemi covid 19 (b) menyikapi regulasi covid 19 pembelajaran dari rumah (BDR). Dengan tujuan untuk mengetahui (a) melalui workshop penyusunan RPP dimasa pandemi covid 19   dalam meningkatkan kompetensi pedagogik guru pada sekolah binaan managerial SMA  dalam menyusun RPP, dan (b)  Untuk meningkatkan pemahaman guru dalam menyikapi regulasi covid 19 pembelajaran dari rumah (BDR) melalui penyusunan RPP dimasa pandemi covid 19 , digunakan metode penelitian tindakan sekolah (PTS) dengan dua siklus yang masing-masing siklusnya terdiri dari tahap (1) perencanaan, (2) pelaksanaan tindakan perbaikan, (3) observasi, dan (4) refleksi. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa (a) terjadi peningkatan kompetensi pedagogik guru  dalam menyusun RPP melalui workshop penyusunan RPP dimasa pandemi covid 19  pada sekolah binaan manajerial SMA Kabupaten Buleleng. Penilaian melalui Rubrik Penilaian Rencana Pelaksanaan Pembelajaran (RPP) pada siklus 1 yang mencapai nilai 24, berada pada katagori baik, dan hasil penilaian pada siklus 2 yang mencapai nilai 31, berada pada katagori sangat baik, dan (b) Pemahaman  guru dalam menyikapi regulasi belajar dari rumah mengikuti melalui workshop penyusunan RPP dimasa pandemi covid 19 pada siklus 2 lebih baik daripada pada saat siklus 1. Penilaian melalui Rubrik Penilaian Aktivitas Guru dalam Menyusun Rencana Pelaksanaan Pembelajaran (RPP) selama Kegiatan MGMP pada siklus 1 yang mencapai nilai 30 atau tergolong baik, dan pada siklus 2 mencapai nilai 35, yang berarti tergolong sangat baik. Berdasarkan hasil penelitian ini penulis merekomendasikan kepada guru yang ada di sekolah  binaan manajerial SMA Kabupaten Buleleng agar mengoptimalkan perannya sebagai perencana, pengorganisir, dan penilai pembelajaran, kepada kepala sekolah agar memfasilitasi guru untuk meningkatkan kompetensi pedagogiknya sehingga berimbas pada peningkatan mutu pendidikan di sekolah, kepada Dinas Pendidikan Kabupaten Buleleng, Dinas Pendidikan Kepemudaan dan Olahraga Provinsi Bali dan Depdiknas agar  memfasilitasi peningkatan kompetensi guru  dengan mengikutsertakannya dalam berbagai diklat sehingga dapat meningkatkan mutu pendidikan di Kabupaten Buleleng maupun Bali khususnya dan di Indonesia pada umumnya.
Justification of traffic signaling modes at intersections considering the priority of public transport
Authors:   Lviv State University of Life Safety, Pasnak Ivan , Renkas Artur ,   Lviv State University of Life Safety
Published: May 2021

With the growth of the road transport fleet and increase of urban agglomerations, the availability of private transport on the streets of cities with a population over 500 thousand inhabitants is quite noticeable. The previously developed general plans of such settlements, in modern realities, are impossible to implement both from a financial point of view and in terms of the urban space organization. Given the impossibility of meeting the needs of private car users, public transport comes first in the priorities of urban mobility. Problematic areas of the road network in many western Ukrainian cities are those that are densely populated. In such cases, it is not always possible to redesign elements of street sections or intersections, so the traffic management improvement is limited to organizational measures. Among them, the most popular and least expensive are the change the modes of light control at intersections. Considering modern opportunities, technical means and scientific achievements, the capacity of signalized intersections is high. The same applies to the principles of giving priority to public transport over time (at signalized intersections). At present, a significant number of methods and algorithms for detecting and heading the movement of public transport at traffic lights have been developed, however, the criteria for the application of each of them are not fully understood. As a result of the conducted research, the change of queues in front of stop-lines at intersections depending on types of signalization is defined. The results showed that the existing type of control creates significant traffic delays on secondary streets. As a result, it is proposed to use adaptive control, which provides for the adjustment of the traffic light cycle in the presence of tram traffic. Using traffic simulation tools, it became possible to choose different modes of traffic lights control at intersections, which can provide public transport priority, while minimizing the negative impact on the adjacent elements of the road network.
The influence of degree of loading and load placing on steerability of vehicles
Authors:   Lviv Polytechnic National University, Kuzio Igor , Sokil Mariia ,   Lviv Polytechnic National University
Published: May 2021

The methodology of research of the influence of the degree of loading, kinematic parameters of movement, and nonlinear power characteristics of elastic elements and shock-absorbers of the suspension system on their steerability on curved sections of the road is developed. The research is based on the equation of kinetostatics of the system of sprung-unsprung part and differential equations that relate the motion of the sprung part of vehicles. Concerning the last, they take into account both loading of a vehicle and nonlinear-elastic characteristics of shock-absorbers. For the case when elastic characteristics of shock-absorbers are described by degree or close to it dependence, the fluctuation of sprung part is described analytically. Their peculiarity is that the frequency and therefore dynamic force of wheels pressure on the bearing surface (road) depends on the amplitude. It is the last value and characteristics of the road surface that determine the main parameters of steerability and stability of the movement of wheeled vehicles along curved sections of the road. Taken together, the mentioned above allowed to obtain the dependence of the critical value of the dynamic angle of rotation of the steered wheels, as a function of the amplitude of longitudinal-angular oscillations, kinematic motion parameters, and the level of loading of a vehicle. It is established: - fluctuation of the sprung part significantly reduce the value of the limiting angle of rotation of the steered wheels along the curved sections of the road; - for the period of acceleration of the vehicle and the closer location of the center of gravity of the cargo transported to the tailgate, the limit value of the dynamic angle of rotation of the steered wheels is less; - the suspension system with the progressive law of change of regenerative force of elastic shock-absorbers in a wider range of change fluctuations amplitude of the suspended part satisfies ergonomic conditions of transportation. The obtained calculated dependencies can simultaneously be basic during the modernization of existing or the creation of new suspension systems in order to improve the main operation characteristics of wheeled vehicles
Emotion and Virtue
Authors: Sreenivasan Gopal
Published: May 2021

What must a person be like to possess a virtue in full measure? What sort of psychological constitution does one need to be an exemplar of compassion, say, or of courage? Focusing on these two examples, this book ingeniously argues that certain emotion traits play an indispensable role in virtue. With exemplars of compassion, for instance, this role is played by a modified sympathy trait, which is central to enabling these exemplars to be reliably correct judges of the compassionate thing to do in various practical situations. Indeed, according to the book, the virtue of compassion is, in a sense, a modified sympathy trait, just as courage is a modified fear trait. While the book upholds the traditional definition of virtue as a species of character trait, it discards other traditional precepts. For example, the book rejects the unity of the virtues and raises new questions about when virtue should be taught. Unlike orthodox virtue ethics, moreover, this account does not aspire to rival consequentialism and deontology. Instead the book repudiates the ambitions of virtue imperialism, and makes significant contributions to moral psychology and the theory of virtue alike.
Agents versus Acts
Authors: Sreenivasan Gopal
Published: May 2021

This chapter mentions philosophers who take it as criterial of virtue to be theoretically distinctive that the definition of virtue somehow assign priority to the agent. It discusses a coherent intermediate position called the modest agent-centred view, which holds that some non paradigmatic acts of kindness can only be identified as kind acts by exploiting the fact that they are the characteristic act expressions of a kindness. It also highlights how the modest agent-centred view survives certain objections that are damaging to the extreme agent-centred view. The chapter describes the modest agent-centred view and the extreme act view as true contenders in the epistemological priority debate. It confirms whether the act is required by compassion in the sense that the value to which compassion corresponds gives the agent good reason to perform the act.
Against the Priority of Principle
Authors: Sreenivasan Gopal
Published: May 2021

This chapter shows how and why the modest assignment of priority to agents is theoretically consequential. It talks about philosophers who extol the importance of virtue and are inclined to some form of anti-theoretical stance in ethics or to some form of particularism. It also argues significant restrictions on the role that moral principles can play in moral justification. The chapter examines the structure of moral justification, elaborating how one is justified in arriving at moral conclusions about specific cases. It addresses questions about the acquisition of moral knowledge, rather than practical questions about how to deliberate in particular cases or metaphysical questions about what makes a given action morally correct.
The Evolution of an Idea
Authors: Johnson Dominic D. P.
Published: May 2021

This chapter considers how and why international relations might benefit from an evolutionary approach. It explains the evolutionary biology's long history of misunderstanding and resistance in the social sciences since the “sociobiology” debate of the 1970s. It also reviews how the natural and social sciences have both moved on since the 1970s, including the promise for a future of mutual collaboration on strategic instincts. The chapter focuses on evolutionary biology to understand the origins and functions of cognitive biases and comprehend the selective pressures that shaped the brain in the first place. It addresses the question of whether psychological phenomena originate from nature or nurture.
Introduction
Authors: Peralta Dan-el Padilla
Published: May 2021

This introductory chapter provides an overview of the role of religion as a major driver of the Roman Republic's state formation. It was in the course of the fourth and third centuries that Rome developed the institutions and practices that would lend it coherence as a res publica — an entity held in common. This development was fostered by, and to a large degree dependent on, the adoption of public and high-visibility forms of religious experience. The aggregative effect of the sacred commitments under scrutiny in this book was the creation of two representations of statehood, each tightly welded to the evolving identity of the res publica during the period under study. The first was prolific investment in monumental cult to the gods. The second was the city of Rome's evolution into an enticing place to visit in order to offer cult to the gods. The chapter then outlines the trends in Republican and specifically mid-Republican historiography before offering some comment on recent developments in the study of Roman religion.
Introduction
Authors: Link Stefan J.
Published: May 2021

This introductory chapter provides an overview of Fordism. Fordism, in its most common usage, was a term that first originated in the 1970s and then boomed in the 1980s, when social scientists sought ways to theorize the structural crises of the industrialized West. Henry Ford in fact never used the term — his global admirers created it. Fordism enjoys a second popular usage: as a shorthand for a distinctively American modernity that is said to have spread across the world in the twentieth century, in a process that historians of Europe have called “Americanization.” Finally, Fordism is used in a third way that focuses more narrowly on what goes on inside firms and on shop floors. To labor historians, Fordism means the shop regime associated with mass production: a focus on unskilled laborers working monotonous tasks on assembly lines. The chapter then details how the spread of Fordism during the interwar years arose from an antagonistic development competition that was initially triggered by the rise of the United States and then accelerated by the Great Depression. It looks at how Detroit became the destination of engineering delegations bent on wholesale technology transfer.
War of the Factories
Authors: Link Stefan J.
Published: May 2021

This chapter evaluates how both regimes of the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany put Fordism to use during World War II. William Werner's ascent to the commanding heights of Nazi Germany's wartime industrial complex illustrates how the state-led pursuit of mass production that began in the 1930s intensified under the conditions of total war. With greater force than before, the Nazi regime sought to bind industry to the war economy. The bureaucracy of the armaments began telling firms what to produce, how to produce, and whom to hire. Werner's career, then, sheds light on a crucial but little-explored realm of the Nazi war economy: the institutional interface that bridged the ministries and the shop floors. Like the Nazi war machine, the Soviet armaments industry had to find ways to achieve, in the words of William Werner, “higher output with fewer skilled workers.” How this worked can be illustrated by looking, once more, at Gaz.
Introduction
Authors: Landemore Hélène
Published: May 2021

This introductory chapter provides an overview of open democracy. Openness is an umbrella concept for general accessibility of power to ordinary citizens. Whereas representation, especially of the electoral kind, always creates the risk of robbing the people of the right to participate in law-making, an open system guarantees that citizens can make their voices generally heard at any point in time and initiate laws when they are not satisfied with the agenda set by representative authorities. Openness prevents the closure and entrenchment of the divide between the represented and representatives that inevitably accompany representation. It means that power flows through the body politic, as opposed to stagnates with a few people. Indeed, open democracy shares common features with what is commonly known as “participatory democracy” and can be considered a variety of it.
Legitimacy and Representation beyond Elections (Part One)
Authors: Landemore Hélène
Published: May 2021

This chapter describes a non-electoral form of democracy that is both representative and deliberative. It first questions the tight identification between democratic, legitimate, and electoral representation, briefly exploring the historical and conceptual reasons behind this intuitive identification. The eighteenth-century electoral theory of consent is, despite its intuitive appeal, confused and sufficiently unsatisfactory to justify trying to move past it conceptually. The chapter then defends its use of a new concept of “democraticity” as distinct from legitimacy. It also looks at a form of democratic representation that is the most promising alternative to electoral representation, namely “lottocratic representation.” Finally, it considers another alternative — self-selected representation — whose democratic credentials come from its spatial openness to all, which renders it all-inclusive by default, and from the (formal) equality of opportunity to participate that characterizes it.
Conclusion: Open Democracy in a Global World
Authors: Landemore Hélène
Published: May 2021

This concluding chapter highlights the need to expand the boundaries of the demos outward, beyond the nation-state and toward something like a global democracy, perhaps one rendered possible by digital technologies. At the same time, the need to decentralize decision-making to the level of relevantly affected interests suggests that the nation-state level should only retain historic and pragmatic as opposed to logical privilege. Something like a subsidiary principle should apply across the board, to diffuse and decentralize popular rule as needed as well. The chapter then tentatively puts forward two additional principles, which cannot be fully argued for but pave the way for more research, namely “dynamic inclusiveness” and “substantive equality.” These principles point in the direction of cosmopolitan democracy and workplace democracy, respectively. The chapter also considers the need to disseminate democratic principles to the local level while also creating the tools for running dematerialized, non-territorial democratic communities.
Facings
Authors: Ballakrishnen Swethaa S.
Published: May 2021

This chapter discusses the ways in which relationships between female professionals and their clients, peers, and mentors help create and reinforce interactional hierarchies in these spaces. Certainly, professionals in these firms have been socialized to be comfortable in mixed-gender settings. But although supportive peer interactions are necessary to create an environment of gender parity, women in elite law firms also are especially backed by an important external audience that does not actively discriminate on the basis of gender — their clients. Elite law firms in India, unlike their traditional counterparts, retain a “sophisticated” client base of international and high-end domestic clients. This setup affords a comparatively advantageous position — especially for women lawyers — for a range of reasons. First, many clients are comfortable with women in their workplace and as allies in transactions. Second, the nature of the legal work handled by these firms does not prime gender frames in lawyer–client interactions. Third, the closed market for legal services offers another interactional advantage — retained and repeating clients.
Neoliberal Resilience
Authors: Madariaga Aldo
Published: May 2021

Since the 1980s, neoliberalism has withstood repeated economic shocks and financial crises to become the hegemonic economic policy worldwide. Why has neoliberalism remained so resilient? What is the relationship between this resiliency and the backsliding of Western democracy? Can democracy survive an increasingly authoritarian neoliberal capitalism? This book answers these questions by bringing the developing world's recent history to the forefront of our thinking about democratic capitalism's future. Looking at four decades of change in four countries once considered to be leading examples of effective neoliberal policy in Latin America and Eastern Europe — Argentina, Chile, Estonia, and Poland — the book examines the domestic actors and institutions responsible for defending neoliberalism. Delving into neoliberalism's political power, the book demonstrates that it is strongest in countries where traditional democratic principles have been slowly and purposefully weakened. It identifies three mechanisms through which coalitions of political, institutional, and financial forces have propagated neoliberalism's success: the privatization of state companies to create a supporting business class, the use of political institutions to block the representation of alternatives in congress, and the constitutionalization of key economic policies to shield them from partisan influence. The book reflects on today's most pressing issues, including the influence of increasing austerity measures and the rise of populism. As a comparative exploration of political economics at the peripheries of global capitalism, the book investigates the tensions between neoliberalism's longevity and democracy's gradual decline.
Explaining the Resilience of Neoliberalism
Authors: Madariaga Aldo
Published: May 2021

This chapter presents the theoretical framework that focuses on the policy and polity parts of neoliberalism and highlights the connection between neoliberalism and democracy. It conceptualizes how the mechanisms of opposition blockade, support creation, and constitutionalization help produce neoliberal resilience. It also looks at works devoted to understanding the interests and ideas behind the diverse institutionalization of neoliberal policies across the world. The chapter cites examples of how neoliberalism has translated into different organizations of the polity, the subjects that interact in it, and the institutions that define which political action is possible in a capitalist society. It cites the Chicago School, where neoliberal policy emerged, and the Virginia School, which developed ideas on modifying the constitution of the polity in order for it to protect neoliberal principles.
Creating Support
Authors: Madariaga Aldo
Published: May 2021

This chapter focuses on support creation, emphasizing the increase of power resources through privatization for those business actors that are expected to defend the survival of neoliberal policies. It describes privatization as one of the most important and controversial aspects of market reforms. It also discusses new democracies from the 1980s to the 1990s in Latin America and Eastern Europe that tended to see the need for massive processes of ownership change and proper regulatory and institutional frameworks. The chapter elaborates how privatization had long-term and systemic effects beyond support for specific reforms during the transition period. It points out how privatization altered economic and political institutions by transforming the power of business interests.
The Post-Communist Middle Classes, the State, and Democratization
Authors: Rosenfeld Bryn
Published: May 2021

This chapter constructs individual-level measures of class, career trajectories, and democracy support, using a large cross-national survey dataset. It provides detailed evidence on individual employment histories from twenty-seven post-communist countries selected for their common history of state employment and communism. It also shows that state-sector careers weaken support for democratic institutions under autocracy, especially among the middle-class. The chapter covers multiple regime types, which reveal that the state under authoritarianism has a distinctive impact on the middle-classes' political orientations. It demonstrates that state employment has meaningful, independent effects on regime preferences by exploiting natural variation across state-sector professions and individuals that move into and out of the public-sector.
Men’s and Women’s Time
Authors: Gribetz Sarit Kattan
Published: May 2021

This chapter discusses the construction of a gendered temporality by examining a set of daily rituals mandated in rabbinic sources, some of which applied to men and others that were only required of women. It begins with the first ritual discussed in rabbinic sources, the recitation of the Shema prayer. Timing became an essential component of the Shema's recitation, and thus the tractate includes numerous debates about ritual time. One's time, it is suggested, ought to be marked first and foremost by this regularized declaration of devotion to God each morning and evening. Another feature of the rabbinic Shema is that only men became obligated in its recitation. While women are excluded from positive time-bound commandments, an entire set of rituals related to the laws of menstrual purity applies only to women and constructs a woman's time in ways that were markedly different from the time of men. The chapter then traces the development of the laws of bodily purity from biblical texts to rabbinic texts, which focus far greater attention on laws related to the menstruant woman.
Human and Divine Time
Authors: Gribetz Sarit Kattan
Published: May 2021

This chapter studies the day and its hourly subdivisions as rabbinic sources imagine God and humans to operate within the same units of time. It concentrates on rabbinic sources that wonder whether God keeps time, and if so, whether God keeps the same time as humans and how God's time is used in service of them. In texts from across the rabbinic corpus, God's divinity is contingent, in part, on time. The chapter demonstrates how the unit of the hour became especially associated with God's time. God keeps to an hourly schedule during the day, has an active nightlife, and engages in tasks that sustain earthly life. Often, in these texts, God spends time performing activities in which humans engage as well, for example studying Torah, wearing phylacteries, and matchmaking, but God also performs tasks that are exclusively divine, such as judging the world's creatures and worshipping with the angels. These aspects of God's temporality thus simultaneously differentiate God in the heavenly sphere from those in the earthly realm and draw similarities between the time of those in heaven and on earth.
Temporal Legacies: What Difference Does Time Make?
Authors: Gribetz Sarit Kattan
Published: May 2021

This concluding chapter outlines how select groups of later Jews adopted and adapted the rabbinic concerns about time to their present circumstances, and the lasting legacy of these time frames and the differences they constructed on the history of Judaism and Jewish life. Among the legacies of rabbinic texts are the rhythms of time they dictated, which persisted (and persist): the annual calendar and its festivals, the week and its Sabbath, the day and its ritual schedule, the hour and its symbolism. Another legacy of rabbinic texts are the various configurations of difference — ethnic, communal, gendered, and theological — that their laws, rituals, and narratives constructed and cultivated. The central claim of this book has been that conceptions of time and practices of time-keeping can (and often do) function as mechanisms for constructing as well as challenging difference, even as, with the passage of time, such constructions of time and difference are reimagined. The examples and analyses presented in the previous chapters sought to demonstrate the various ways in which specific rabbinic times and differences were intertwined and mutually constitutive as well as to highlight the complexity of multiple times and the consequences of conflicting modes of time-keeping.
Grace and Law
Authors: McIvor Méadhbh
Published: May 2021

This chapter discusses two of the Christian Legal Centre's (CLC) cases to examine the ways in which theological categories are recognised (or misrecognised) in law. These cases involved a nurse and a schoolgirl seeking exemptions from uniform policies that prevented their wearing a cross necklace and a purity ring respectively. For those at the CLC, these cases functioned as proof of the legal system's discrimination against Christians. By virtue of Reformed Christianity's antinomian approach to religious dress — that is, because Protestants do not usually see religious dress as a requirement — the courts felt justified in denying these claimants the 'right' to wear religious jewellery. The CLC interpreted this as anti-Christian bias. For the members of Christ Church, however, the cases were problematic precisely because they seemed to imply that one needed to wear a cross to be a Christian, thereby conflating grace and law and misrepresenting the faith to outsiders. The chapter uses this theo-legal dispute to explore the ways in which English law constructs material religion as optional and inessential, such that cases aiming to protect the right to wear religious jewellery end up confirming the ease with which restrictions can be placed on it.
Broken Cisterns
Authors: McIvor Méadhbh
Published: May 2021

This chapter focuses on one aspect of Britain's contemporary legal culture: the rise of rights-based discourse. It argues that by framing their cases as conflicts of rights, the Christian Legal Centre (CLC) aims to undermine the universalism of human rights language. By constructing themselves as a marginalised counterpublic whose rights are frequently 'trumped', they hope to convince their fellow Britons that a society built upon the logic of competing rights cannot hope to deliver human flourishing. By contrast, only a society based on the foundational Truths of the Bible can achieve the utopian vision sought after by rights proponents. The chapter concludes that although the CLC has been successful in highlighting the inconsistency of human rights idealism, the use of rights-based claims to undermine a rights-based legal framework leaves them open to the charge that they are reinforcing the very system they hope to challenge.
Perturbative weak KAM theory
Authors: Vadim Kaloshin , Ke Zhang
Published: May 2021

This chapter explores perturbation aspects of the weak Kolmogorov-Arnold-Moser (KAM) theory. By perturbative weak KAM theory, we mean two things. How do the weak KAM solutions and the Mather, Aubry, and Mañé sets respond to limits of the Hamiltonian? How do the weak KAM solutions change when we perturb a system, in particular, what happens when we perturb (1) completely integrable systems, and (2) autonomous systems by a time-periodic perturbation? The chapter states and proves results in both aspects, as a technical tool for proving forcing equivalence. It derives a special Lipshitz estimate of weak KAM solutions for perturbations of autonomous systems. The proof relies on semi-concavity of weak KAM solution.
A Theory of Polarization in Authoritarian Regimes
Authors: Nugent Elizabeth R.
Published: May 2021

This chapter presents the book's argument in detail. It begins by reviewing existing work on three central concepts: polarization, preference formation, and repression. The chapter also highlights insights from social psychology on shared trauma, identity formation, and the causes and consequences of group identification, which are fundamental to understanding where and how the argument builds on existing approaches to polarization. It then outlines the argument that the repressive conditions within an authoritarian regime can help predict polarization levels during a transition period. The nature of the regime's political repression affects how opposition groups come to identify themselves, which in turn shapes differences in affect and preferences among the opposition groups. In this way, the nature of repression in authoritarian systems shapes the levels of political polarization observed during transitions.
Repression and Polarization in Egypt, 1981–2011
Authors: Nugent Elizabeth R.
Published: May 2021

This chapter describes how targeted repression in Egypt increased polarization within the opposition between 1981 and 2011. It begins by documenting the effects of a targeted repressive environment on the Egyptian opposition through psychological, social, and organizational mechanisms. Psychologically, a targeted repressive environment revealed to Muslim Brotherhood members that they were being uniquely victimized by the state, and that other groups were at best tacitly — and at worst explicitly — in support of this harsh treatment. In addition, targeted repression altered the social environment for opposition members; Islamists were imprisoned together, away from the few secular activists who were also detained, and thus discussed political ideas among themselves rather than with other groups that had different ideas about reform. Finally, targeted repression altered the Brotherhood's organizational structure by creating an increasingly secretive, exclusive, and isolated organization as it sought to survive regime repression. The targeted nature of repression against the Brotherhood primed in-group identification, as the group was uniquely treated in a brutal way and identified as the regime's main victim. As a result, the identity of the larger opposition became increasingly fractured between opposition groups that were co-opted, tolerated, or targeted by the regime. Consequently, negative perceptions of the out-group permeated the political system and levels of affective polarization increased.
By Myself and with Others
Authors: Boyarin Jonathan
Published: May 2021

This chapter presents the author's own routine of studying at Mesivtha Tifereth Jerusalem (MTJ). Almost anyone with extensive experience studying at other yeshivas would find the patterns at MTJ less structured and more ad hoc than most. Thus, the pattern of a day of study depends greatly on the individuals involved. The chapter recounts the author's request in studying the sixteenth-century halachic code known as the Arba turim — his first experience studying legal digests rather than Talmud per se. It also elaborates the volume in Yoreh deʿah, in which the author found the time to review over the course of the week: the Mishnah in Avodah Zarah, the Gemara, the Tur, the Shulchan aruch and Aruch hashulchan. The chapter mentions the author's study partners, Rabbi Karp and Nasanel, and his experience in studying with them. With Rabbi Karp, they chose to go over with a piece of Gemara in the tractate Bechoros, which covers the laws governing the obligation to donate or redeem the firstborn of cattle and humans to the Temple. In Nasanel, they began by studying the Mishnah of Kilaim, which deals with forbidden and permitted combinations of various species planted in the same field.
Rebbi
Authors: Boyarin Jonathan
Published: May 2021

This chapter explains why the leader of the shiur is almost never addressed as “you,” but rather referred to either as “the Rosh Yeshiva” or as “Rebbi,” a term broadly used in Ashkenazic Jewish culture to refer to any teacher of Torah, from one who instructs small children to the most advanced lecturers. It argues that their Rebbi's authority is, if anything, anticharismatic and reserved, unlike the paradigmatic hasidic leader, similarly addressed and referred to as “the Rebbe.” The chapter also discusses the custom in the beis medresh whenever the Rebbi enters and stand upon his entry. It presents a discussion which turned on the fundamental principle of rabbinic biblical interpretation that nothing is superfluous in the Torah — and that therefore, every seeming superfluity is available to teach us something not explicitly stated in the text. Ultimately, the chapter illustrates the Rosh Yeshiva's dedication to making sense of the text on his own as far as possible. It assumes that the Rosh Yeshiva is willing to accept a certain degree of necessary misapprehension of the rabbinic texts because of his conviction that the halacha for us is what we do.
The Professor
Authors: Boyarin Jonathan
Published: May 2021

This chapter recounts the life of the author as a junior associate at a major New York corporate law firm, an anthropologist, and his early kollel year at Mesivtha Tifereth Jerusalem (MTJ). It details the months he spent studying the Mishnah with Petrushka's Yiddish commentary with Nasanel. The chapter also focuses on the tractate Kilaim, a rarely studied text that deals with the rules about forbidden mixtures of planted crops. It tackles the beginning of the entire mishnaic corpus and study Petrushka on the tractate Berachos (blessings), with the goal of eventually studying together all of the Mishnah. The chapter acknowledges the encouragement the author received from his fellows at MTJ and recalls a brief conversation he had with Rabbi Weiss, after spending some time with him and Rabbi Karp studying Mishnah berurah. Ultimately, it discusses the author's field notes from the beginning of this “project,” which give the lie to his claim that he doesn't think of the yeshiva as a separate “world.”
What Are Political Institutions For?
Authors: Cordelli Chiara
Published: May 2021

This chapter rejects the widespread idea that political institutions and private modes of action are ultimately interchangeable means for the pursuit of the independently defined goal of justice. It defends the view that political institutions, including a democratic system of law, are constitutive of justice, rather than merely instrumental to it. It also discusses how claims of justice can be defined and enforced through political institutions in a way that respects both the fundamental status of persons as equal normative authorities and their independence. The chapter opens the possibility that justice is fully compatible with a highly privatized system of governance against the background of a political authority that retains functions of lawmaking and adjudication. It emphasizes the privatization of governance that compromise the very reasons why support authoritative political institutions should be brought about even in the presence of an established public authority.
Legitimizing Administrative Discretion
Authors: Cordelli Chiara
Published: May 2021

This chapter argues that the rationale for a democratic state is to curb a form of subjection to the merely unilateral and legislative will of others. It describes bureaucratic unilateralism, which is the just and effective administration of the modern state risks that reproduce the problem within the state itself by demanding the delegation of a form of quasi-legislative discretion to administrators. It also shows how bureaucratic unilateralism in the privatized state is unavoidably transferred to private actors. The chapter argues the solution or mitigation of bureaucratic unilateralism through the direct application of certain standards of legitimation directly to the exercise of quasi-legislative, administrative discretion. It discusses the requirements of standards, which imply that the delegation of relevant discretion be validly authorized by a democratic and indicate a neat separation between contract and office in order to support officeholders' commitment to implement the law.
The Problem of Authorization
Authors: Cordelli Chiara
Published: May 2021

This chapter addresses the question of authorization on whether there are limits to what a democratic government can validly authorize private actors to do on its behalf. It contends that there should be aggregative limits to what private actors can be validly authorized to do and decide on behalf of a democratic government. It also clarifies the claim that privatization, beyond a certain threshold, should be regarded as an abdication of the collective right to democratic self-rule. The chapter explains how a democratic people lack the moral power to abdicate their own self-rule, while a government lacks the moral power to validly engage in the systematic privatization of public functions. It discusses delegations that should be regarded as lacking the authorizing normative power that the government purport to have in societies where privatization is already pervasive.
The Duties of Private Donors
Authors: Cordelli Chiara
Published: May 2021

This chapter focuses on the philanthropist as one kind of private actor. It argues that the philanthropist's duty to give should be understood neither as an imperfect duty of beneficence nor as a conclusive duty of justice, but rather as a transitional and provisional duty of reparative justice in contemporary societies. It also explains a duty that is “transitional,” as it should eventually be taken over by public institutions, or “provisional,” for in the absence of just institutions its fulfilment is simultaneously demanded by individual independence. The chapter explains why the duty is “reparative” as it is grounded on the wealthy's liability for wrongful harm to the poor. It discusses the funding of justice through private philanthropy and the provision of justice through private organizations.
Rebuilding the Public
Authors: Cordelli Chiara
Published: May 2021

The chapter sketches a way out of the privatized state, by defending certain constitutional limits on privatization. It articulates, in broad terms, some policy proposals for rebuilding a more democratic and representative system of public administration, such as an educational program for the civil service. It also emphasizes how the education of the civil service should share many of the features of the civic education of citizens. The chapter discusses proposal concerns the introduction of democratic practices within the administrative state through arrangements like codetermination. It examines the purpose of arrangements that strengthen the democratic legitimacy of the administrative state and the citizens' trust in it without compromising its independence from undue political pressures.