title: The Trap of Incrementalism in the Political Inclusion of Children.

authors: Munn, Nicholas

abstract: Thirty years on from the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the international norm for the age of political majority remains set at 18 years of age. With few exceptions, those under 18 are denied access to the single most important component of formal political participation – the right to vote in elections (whether local or national). Practical efforts have primarily been focused on the incremental inclusion of older children into the franchise, via attempts to lower the voting age to sixteen. Theoretical arguments, by contrast, have defended a much more expansive position on the inclusion of children, whether lowering the age to 14, 12, or even eliminating age limits entirely. In this paper, I explore the gap between practice and theory. I argue that proponents of children’s enfranchisement should commit to arguing, at the practical level, for drastic changes to our democratic systems, so as, if successful, to enfranchise all those children who have a strong claim to political inclusion, rather than merely those closest to 18 years of age. Such a commitment to the theoretically more defensible (although politically less likely) positions could work to the advantage of children, by making moves such as the lowering of the voting age into the reasonable compromise position, rather than an extreme to be opposed.

text: The Trap of Incrementalism in the Political Inclusion of Children. Thirty years on from the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the international norm for the age of political majority remains set at 18 years of age. With few exceptions, those under 18 are denied access to the single most important component of formal political participation – the right to vote in elections (whether local or national). Practical efforts have primarily been focused on the incremental inclusion of older children into the franchise, via attempts to lower the voting age to sixteen. Theoretical arguments, by contrast, have defended a much more expansive position on the inclusion of children, whether lowering the age to 14, 12, or even eliminating age limits entirely. In this paper, I explore the gap between practice and theory. I argue that proponents of children’s enfranchisement should commit to arguing, at the practical level, for drastic changes to our democratic systems, so as, if successful, to enfranchise all those children who have a strong claim to political inclusion, rather than merely those closest to 18 years of age. Such a commitment to the theoretically more defensible (although politically less likely) positions could work to the advantage of children, by making moves such as the lowering of the voting age into the reasonable compromise position, rather than an extreme to be opposed.

year: 2019

title: Hantupeptins B and C, cytotoxic cyclodepsipeptides from the marine cyanobacterium Lyngbya majuscula

authors: Tripathi, Ashootosh

subjects: Lyngbya majuscule

abstract: Hantupeptins B (2) and C (3) were isolated, along with the previously reported hantupeptin A (1), from the marine cyanobacterium, Lyngbya majuscula, collected from Pulau Hantu Besar, Singapore. Their structures were elucidated by interpretation of extensive 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopic data. Compounds 2 and 3 are cyclic depsipeptides consisting of five α-amino/hydroxy acid residues, including phenyllactic acid, proline, N-methyl-valine, valine, N-methyl-isoleucine, and a β-hydroxy acid unit with different degrees of unsaturation at the terminal end of each molecule. The absolute configurations of the common amino acids and phenyllactic acid were determined by the advanced Marfey’s and chiral HPLC analyses, respectively. The complete stereochemistry of 3-hydroxy-2-methyl-7-octynoic acid moiety in hantupeptin A was elucidated by a combination of homonuclear J-resolved 2D NMR experiments and by Mosher’s method. Hantupeptins B and C showed moderate in vitro cytotoxicity when tested against MOLT-4 (leukemic) and MCF-7 (breast cancer) cell lines.

text: Hantupeptins B and C, cytotoxic cyclodepsipeptides from the marine cyanobacterium Lyngbya majuscula Hantupeptins B (2) and C (3) were isolated, along with the previously reported hantupeptin A (1), from the marine cyanobacterium, Lyngbya majuscula, collected from Pulau Hantu Besar, Singapore. Their structures were elucidated by interpretation of extensive 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopic data. Compounds 2 and 3 are cyclic depsipeptides consisting of five α-amino/hydroxy acid residues, including phenyllactic acid, proline, N-methyl-valine, valine, N-methyl-isoleucine, and a β-hydroxy acid unit with different degrees of unsaturation at the terminal end of each molecule. The absolute configurations of the common amino acids and phenyllactic acid were determined by the advanced Marfey’s and chiral HPLC analyses, respectively. The complete stereochemistry of 3-hydroxy-2-methyl-7-octynoic acid moiety in hantupeptin A was elucidated by a combination of homonuclear J-resolved 2D NMR experiments and by Mosher’s method. Hantupeptins B and C showed moderate in vitro cytotoxicity when tested against MOLT-4 (leukemic) and MCF-7 (breast cancer) cell lines.

year: 2010-02

title: The use of Māori words in National Science Challenge online discourse

authors: Calude, Andreea S.

subjects: Maori loanwords

abstract: New Zealand English is well-known for its heavy borrowing of words from Māori. This lexical component, unique to New Zealand English alone has been studied intensely over the last 50 years, particularly in newspaper media. Current research suggests the use is still increasing today, primarily in Māori-related contexts. Here, we analyse a surprising and unexpected use of Māori loanwords in science digital discourse (neither genre being previously investigated), where we discover a strong presence of Māori borrowings in National Science Challenge website and Twitter content. Using corpus linguistics methods, we argue that the use of Māori loanwords in this genre functions as a national identity building tool, used by various authors to signal that the ‘challenges’ the country faces are uniquely New Zealand’s ‘challenges’.

text: The use of Māori words in National Science Challenge online discourse New Zealand English is well-known for its heavy borrowing of words from Māori. This lexical component, unique to New Zealand English alone has been studied intensely over the last 50 years, particularly in newspaper media. Current research suggests the use is still increasing today, primarily in Māori-related contexts. Here, we analyse a surprising and unexpected use of Māori loanwords in science digital discourse (neither genre being previously investigated), where we discover a strong presence of Māori borrowings in National Science Challenge website and Twitter content. Using corpus linguistics methods, we argue that the use of Māori loanwords in this genre functions as a national identity building tool, used by various authors to signal that the ‘challenges’ the country faces are uniquely New Zealand’s ‘challenges’.

year: 2019