Late 1980s Research Articles

The epistemological genealogy of Islamic urban discourse: between staticism and dynamism

ABSTRACT Since the emergence of Edward Said’s seminal book “Orientalism,” numerous studies have been conducted on various aspects of Orientalism, including those in the field of Islamic urban studies. A wave of critical review of orientalist’s widely accepted discourse on Islamic cities transpired. Most recent scholarship on Orientalism and its perception of Islamic cities tackled the issue from a physical or ideological standpoint. The epistemological and ontological essentials underpinning the Orientalist discourse of these built environments were hardly addressed. This paper attempts to examine the epistemological genealogy of the discourse of Islamic architecture and urbanism. It argues that contemporary discourse is dominated by two primary approaches, the Orientalist static approach, and the dynamic approach. The Orientalist approach embodied the key characteristics of Orientalism as a style of thought, as defined by Said. Influenced by the new human sciences developed in the West at the end of the19thcentury, Orientalists in their studies of Islamic cities adopted these Western epistemologies and methodologies. Since the late 1970s, a new paradigm has evolved, led by local scholars who examined Islamic architecture and cities through the lens of their own culture. Using textual and comparative analysis, the paper looks into the epistemic roots of both approaches

The ground beneath our feet: A critical reflection on 135 years of landscape evolution models for southern Africa

In his 1925 paper describing the Taung Child fossil, Dart makes various assertions about the landscape around Taung, inferring past climate dynamics, and the role these factors play in the evolution of our early prehuman relatives. He argues that this region of southern Africa is dry today and has been for much of the Cenozoic. This notion of long-term aridity and stability has dominated perspectives on southern African landscape evolution. Here, we present a review of this field, starting with the foundational studies from the late 1890s, which underpin Dart’s hypothesis. We examine the work of 20th-century researchers who developed models of landscape evolution; however, almost all of these models have been qualitative. With technological advancements, new quantitative techniques have emerged to provide evidence of landscape evolution events and to test previous models, and we present a brief overview of these methods. We call for reflection on the framing and languaging of many of these landscape models, specifically the ‘African land surface’ model. While the evidence of a homogeneous and stable landscape is continually being challenged through scientific advancement, this terminology is rooted in outdated colonial thinking. We also note that the key narratives that have driven research on landscape evolution have been largely shaped by selected prominent Western-based scientists. As we mark the centenary of the Taung discovery, we look toward a new era of landscape evolution research: one characterised by technological advancements and more diverse, local teams that will produce more quantitative, nuanced models for southern Africa and create richer, more dynamic backdrops for our own human evolution.

‘Those truthful in all else have said’: tales of the supernatural in an Icelandic valley

ABSTRACT This paper is the final paper in a series of four concerning the beliefs and practice primarily within a family whose memories covered the period from the 1890s onwards. It concerns rural life in northern Iceland as observed in the late 1970s and early 1980s, with some work also undertaken subsequently. The paper narrates folk belief and tales concerning ghosts, both those that are traditional and those more European in aspect, as well as the ‘hidden people’ (huldufólk, ‘fairies’). It covers one rural area with its changes in social, farming, educational, technological and national life, with a view to providing a ‘snapshot’ of the stories told at the end of this period. With its three companion pieces, previously published in Folk Life, it makes up a detailed ethnography, showcasing one rural region during a period of considerable transformation brought about especially by the encroachment of modernity.

Trinidad's Role in the Development of Nonviolent Strategies: Focus on C. L. R. James

ABSTRACTThis paper will focus on the often‐neglected peace and nonviolence contributions of Afro‐Trinidadian radicals C.L.R. James and George Padmore. Regularly not included in accounts of the development of nonviolent strategies because of their Marxist and Trotskyist approaches, I will argue that they play a key role in the development of nonviolent strategies, both in their native Trinidad and in the greater Pan‐African world. James and Padmore each explicitly mention ways in which the cross‐racial alliances and workers' movements in Trinidad inspired them. They insist, along with Gandhi, that disciplined strikes and boycotts are part of the tactics of nonviolence. The article focuses on James, as he recounts his first encounters with Gandhian nonviolent tactics as he learned them from C.F. Andrews who visited Trinidad in 1929, giving talks and writing news articles. James along with Padmore debated the use of nonviolence in their publications in the late 1930s. Through the influence of W.E.B. DuBois and Kwame Nkrumah (and with James' concurrence), the 1945 Pan‐African Congress in Manchester, England decided to fully defend a project of nonviolent action based on boycotts and strikes, in order to win Africa's liberation from European colonization.

Prenatal Care, Son Preference, and the Sex Ratio at Birth.

The sex ratio at birth (SRB) in Spain jumped abruptly in the late 1970s and temporarily reached values of more than 109 boys per 100 girls in the early 1980s. This article shows that health care system expansion increased the likelihood of male births in Spain between 1975 and 1995. By facilitating the delivery of preterm and dystocic babies and improving overall maternal conditions, these developments increased the survival chances of male fetuses, who are biologically weaker than females. However, biological factors alone cannot explain the biased SRB. Our analysis shows that the availability of prenatal sex determination technologies and a strong son preference nurtured by the Francoist dictatorship fostered gender-biased behaviors that resulted in an excessively high SRB. The lack of evidence on sex-specific abortions suggests that women took better care of themselves when carrying a son. The spread of gender-egalitarian values brought about by the end of the dictatorship and the transition to democracy undermined son preference and returned the SRB to normal levels.

Climate Change Impact on the Populations of Goldcrest Regulus regulus and Firecrest Regulus ignicapilla Migrating Through the Southern Baltic Coast

Climate change has a great impact on wildlife, which needs to be considered when designing conservation and management practices in habitats rich in biodiversity, such as wetlands and forests. Varied responses to climate change of species with different environmental preferences can be used to monitor different aspects of the environment. Since 2000, we have observed contrasting changes in the numbers of two related forest bird species, Goldcrest and Firecrest, monitored during autumn migration (14 August–1 November) over 1976–2024 by mist netting at 2 bird ringing stations on the Polish coast of the Baltic Sea. At both stations of the Operation Baltic project (Bukowo-Kopań and Mierzeja Wiślana), located ca 200 km apart, we observed a long-term decline in the number of Goldcrest since the 1980s but an increase in the number of Firecrest since the year 2000. These two species with ranges overlapping in Europe slightly differ in their preferences for breeding habitat and migration strategies. We found that in both species, the changes in migrating bird abundance in autumn at both stations were correlated with the Pan-European breeding population trends from the Pan-European Common Bird Monitoring Scheme (PECBMS) over 1982–2022. These correlations suggest that some Europe-wide factors underly these changes. Thus, we analyzed the effects of seven climate factors: the European Temperature Anomaly and the North Atlantic Oscillation Index in spring (March–April), summer (May–July) and autumn (October), and the Eurasian Snow Cover in October, on bird abundance indexes during breeding and autumn migration, using multiple regression models. Both species were more abundant during breeding and migration after warm springs, which conduce their early breeding and two broods per season, thus improving their breeding success. But with warm summers, Goldcrest were less abundant during breeding in Europe and on migration at Bukowo-Kopań. We attribute that pattern to Goldcrest’s tendency to overwinter in Scandinavia after warm summers. We suggest that this strategy became an ecological trap, as the climate change in Europe involves the increase of summer temperatures by 2 °C over the last 42 years but also earlier snow in October, which impedes Goldcrest’s feeding. These factors, combined with the decreasing proportion of coniferous forests in Scandinavia, which are Goldcrest’s main breeding habitat, assumably caused the species’ decline, which we expect to continue. Firecrest showed a weaker response to snow in October, but their autumn migration at both stations shifted earlier since the late 1980s, alleviating any effect of early winters. Warm spring and summers favor Firecrest abundance during breeding and migration. Firecrest also benefit from more broadleaf trees in Fennoscandia, thus we expect this species to expand its breeding range farther northeast and to continue the population increase. The change in forest management policy in Scandinavia by planting more broadleaf trees aims at increasing biodiversity and might considerably influence the forest environment. Thus, it is imperative to identify the methods suited for early detection of such changes. We showed that monitoring the numbers of migrating birds provides good indicators of the effects of short- and long-term environmental changes on bird populations.

When Rentier Patronage Breaks Down: The Politics of Citizen Outsiders on Gulf Oil States’ Labour Markets

Abstract In oil-rich Gulf monarchies, fiscal constraints and demographic growth are leading to the exclusion of young citizens from the established social contract as government jobs—the dominant channel of patronage in the region—are becoming unavailable to them. We show that such outsider citizens constitute a new, politically consequential social class that is exposed to a much less attractive private labour market where they compete with low-cost migrant workers. The dualization of labour markets for citizens provides a new lens for understanding regional political unrest since the late 2000s and new group interests emerging around labour and migration policy, in which labour organizations representing outsiders have started to display solidarity with migrant workers. The new insider–outsider cleavages require a revision of rentier state theory’s claims about (the absence of) class formation and the role of inequality in rentier politics. They help us expand and refine Eurocentric theories of labour market dualism.

Reaction Coordinates Are Optimal Channels of Energy Flow.

Reaction coordinates (RCs) are the few essential coordinates of a protein that control its functional processes, such as allostery, enzymatic reaction, and conformational change. They are critical for understanding protein function and provide optimal enhanced sampling of protein conformational changes and states. Since the pioneering work in the late 1990s, identifying the correct and objectively provable RCs has been a central topic in molecular biophysics and chemical physics. This review summarizes the major advances in identifying RCs over the past 25 years, focusing on methods aimed at finding RCs that meet the rigorous committor criterion, widely accepted as the true RCs. Importantly, the newly developed physics-based energy flow theory and generalized work functional method provide a general and rigorous approach for identifying true RCs, revealing their physical nature as the optimal channels of energy flow in biomolecules.

Did You Miss the Ride? Housing Boom and Household Wealth in China

ABSTRACTIn the two decades following housing privatization, housing quickly dominated Chinese urban household wealth growth and inequality. We test hypotheses derived from a housing investment production function in China's unique context against multiyear microdata. During 2011–2019, housing wealth of different birth cohorts followed disparate paths, with clear spatial, socioeconomic and social identity‐based polarization. The biggest winners in China's housing boom were the well‐educated in superstar cities. 5%–10% of the young homeowners born since the late 1970s, especially those born since mid‐1980s, seem most vulnerable in a housing bust or when facing a negative income shock.

Environmental migration during the Great American Drought

Abstract From 1930 to 1939, a devastating drought affected the USA. To study environmentally induced migration, I develop datasets of environmental conditions (drought, heat, and precipitation) and census data between 1930 and 1940. My analysis shows that people moved from drought during the early and late 1930s. County-level environmental-related depopulation resulted from increased out-migration and decreased in-migration. At the individual level, all occupational categories (farm labor, farmers, general labor, skilled labor, and white collar) moved from severe environmental conditions, though the response varied depending on rural status. Individuals near cities, but not in the cities themselves, were typically the most mobile in response to shocks. While severe conditions impacted migration across much of the Western USA, the Great Plains states witnessed the most dramatic population declines. My findings provide a detailed view of the environmental forces driving 1930s migration, demonstrate responsiveness across labor sectors, and highlight where people left due to environmental conditions.

ETA strategies

Euskadi Ta Askatasuna (ETA), a clandestine organisation formed in the late 1950s, dissolved after sixty years of existence. To date, all the statistical studies concerning it have been produced on the basis of a census of its victims. We have built up an original database of its actions from which it is possible to highlight the limits of certain methodological choices and to propose a refined analysis of the group’s strategic options over its entire existence. The present study thus contributes to reconsidering the phases of its military action, i.e. its strategy, as well as the evolution of its targets. Analysis of this evolution makes it possible to clarify ETA’s strategic turning points from a broader perspective than that of the victims alone.

The National Democratic Front of the Philippines’ Draft Comprehensive Agreement on Social and Economic Reforms: Issues and Prospects

This article critically interrogates the development agenda articulated in the draft Comprehensive Agreement on Social and Economic Reforms (CASER) of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP). The NDFP represented communist insurgents who, in 2017, were negotiating the Philippine government a framework for implementing socioeconomic reforms in the context of peace talks between two sides engaged in an armed conflict for the last five decades. The document pushed for a state-led agrarian reform and sovereign industrialization and offered an alternative development pathway to delinking, favoring working peoples’ rights over monopoly capitalist profits. CASER also represented significant adjustments in articulating the insurgents’ “national democratic” program to address recent issues and developments. The document, however, has the drawback of being silent on some significant challenges of delinking. CASER also needs to account for qualitatively changed conditions and shifting terrains of class struggle brought on by capitalism’s neoliberal phase since the late 1970s.

Historical Perspective on Antinuclear Antibody Testing.

Serum factors binding to cell nuclei were first described in the 1940s and the antibodies responsible for the binding to self (autoantibodies) discovered in the late 1950s. Routine standardized testing using a cell line (HEp-2) started in the 1980s and continues to evolve. In addition to the classic immunofluorescence assay (IFA), various immunochemical techniques have been developed for the measurement of antinuclear antibodies (ANAs). The complexity of ANA IFA pattern reading and the varying sensitivities, specificities, and overall clinical performance of the alternative methods often generated controversies and sometimes even confusion among healthcare providers and laboratorians. A better understanding of the historical roots of ANA testing can aid in understanding these controversies and assist with selecting the best performing methods. In this review, we present historic and contemporary ANA testing methods, highlighting the pros and cons of each. We also overview the current practice of ANA testing based on several recent large laboratory surveys. Optimal patient care critically requires that clinicians and laboratorians using ANA testing understand the performance and limitations of the methods used by their institutions, as well as the meaning of the test results. Recently published surveys and standardization efforts initiated by several stakeholder scientific organizations will likely lead to new ANA diagnostic guidelines, to be followed by an improvement in testing practices, management, and outcomes for patients with autoimmune disorders.

Genomic Biosurveillance of the Kiwifruit Pathogen Pseudomonas syringae pv. actinidiae Biovar 3 Reveals Adaptation to Selective Pressures in New Zealand Orchards.

In the late 2000s, a pandemic of Pseudomonas syringae pv. actinidiae biovar 3 (Psa3) devastated kiwifruit orchards growing susceptible, yellow-fleshed cultivars. New Zealand's kiwifruit industry has since recovered, following the deployment of the tolerant cultivar 'Zesy002'. However, little is known about the extent to which the Psa population is evolving since its arrival. Over 500 Psa3 isolates from New Zealand kiwifruit orchards were sequenced between 2010 and 2022, from commercial monocultures and diverse germplasm collections. While effector loss was previously observed on Psa-resistant germplasm vines, effector loss appears to be rare in commercial orchards, where the dominant cultivars lack Psa resistance. However, a new Psa3 variant, which has lost the effector hopF1c, has arisen. The loss of hopF1c appears to have been mediated by the movement of integrative conjugative elements introducing copper resistance into this population. Following this variant's identification, in-planta pathogenicity and competitive fitness assays were performed to better understand the risk and likelihood of its spread. While hopF1c loss variants had similar in-planta growth to wild-type Psa3, a lab-generated ∆hopF1c strain could outcompete the wild type on select hosts. Further surveillance was conducted in commercial orchards where these variants were originally isolated, with 6.6% of surveyed isolates identified as hopF1c loss variants. These findings suggest that the spread of these variants is currently limited, and they are unlikely to cause more severe symptoms than the current population. Ongoing genome biosurveillance of New Zealand's Psa3 population is recommended to enable early detection and management of variants of interest.

Patient passports and vulnerability: Disjunctures in health policy instruments for people with rare diseases.

Rare diseases have had a special status within European Union (EU) health policy since the late 1990s. According to key EU legal documents, rare disease patients are entitled to the same good quality care as others. These individuals are particularly vulnerable due to the "low prevalence" and "uniqueness" of their disease. To ensure that patients with rare disorders in Europe can access high-quality care in their respective countries, the Council of the European Union (2009) recommended that member states adopt plans or strategies for rare diseases. Poland adopted its first Plan for Rare Diseases in 2021. This article draws from bioethical and social science scholarship on vulnerability as well as ethnographic research that I conducted among people with rare metabolic diseases, their families, health professionals, and patient advocacy groups in Poland between 2016 and 2023. I examine instruments developed within healthcare policies that are tailored to rare diseases, notably the patient passport, which is a site of disjuncture (Appadurai, 1990) embedded in healthcare policies and practices tailored to people with rare diseases. I argue that although such instruments are meant to benefit patients, they almost exclusively focus on the patient's sick body and the needs of health professionals, who are unfamiliar with a given rare disease. Thus, these instruments may engender paternalistic practices and they may contribute to discrimination and stigmatization as well as to the datafication of health vulnerabilities. Furthermore, the focus on inherent vulnerability obscures its other "layers" (Luna, 2009, 2019) or "degrees" (Traianou and Hammersley, 2023).

Disparities in incidence and mortality of colorectal cancer in Appalachian Kentucky.

33 Background: Since the late 1990s, both the incidence and mortality of invasive colorectal cancer (CRC) have decreased across the United States, including in Kentucky. Despite this, CRC incidence and mortality are above national average in Kentucky. Over the last two decades, a disparity in CRC incidence and mortality has emerged between Appalachian Kentucky (AK), a distinct eastern region, and Non-Appalachian Kentucky (NAK). This disparity is attributed to differences in social and structural determinants of health (SSDH) between these populations. Methods: Age-adjusted CRC incidence and mortality rates (2016-2020) for both Kentucky and the U.S. were obtained from the National Cancer Institute’s public database. Data from the Kentucky Cancer Registry were used to compare CRC incidence and mortality rates in AK and NAK counties from 1994-2021. Incidence rate ratio analyses across discrete time periods demonstrated statistical differences between these regions. Results: Compared to national data (2016-2020), Kentucky's CRC age-adjusted incidence and mortality rates were significantly higher: 45.9 vs. 36.5/100,000, 25.8%, for incidence, and 16.2 vs. 13.1/100,000, 23.7%, for mortality (both p<0.0001). From 1995-2003 incidence and 1994-2003 mortality of CRC, were higher in NAK, these rates eventually decreased and equalized between NAK and AK. By 2010-2015 both incidence and mortality rates were higher in AK, 55.8 vs 48/100,000, 16.3%, (p=<0.0001) and 20.1 vs 15.8/100,000, 27.2%, (p=<0.0001) respectively. The most recent data (2016-2021) shows that these significant disparities persist, with AK’s incidence and mortality 51.8 vs 44.1/100,000, 17.5% (p=<0.0001) and mortality 19.0 vs 15.1/100,000, 25.8% (p=<0.0001) higher, respectively. Conclusions: While CRC rates have decreased nationwide and in Kentucky, a pronounced gap in both incidence and mortality has developed between Appalachian and Non-Appalachian Kentucky. Appalachian counties—which are more rural and impoverished—face greater barriers to accessing preventive healthcare, contributing to this disparity. Additionally, AK has higher rates of obesity, poverty, smoking, and lower educational attainment and screening rates . Recent public health efforts, such as promoting stool-based screening and increasing preventive care discussions, aim to reduce these disparities. However, delays in CRC screenings during the COVID-19 pandemic— resulting in approximately 1.7 million missed colonoscopies nationally— may have skewed the most recent data, necessitating further analysis in the coming years.

Microplastic pollution in salt marsh and urban tributary sediment cores of the River Thames estuary, UK: Spatial and temporal accumulation trends

Microplastics in sediment cores from urban tidal tributaries, Barking and Bow Creek-London and salt marshes Swanscombe, Kent, and Rainham, Essex, Thames estuary (UK), were quantified by density separation and ATR-FTIR spectroscopy. All eight tributary cores were dominated by low-density microplastics, polypropylene, polyethylene, and polystyrene with the greatest abundance (mean 360.0±12.0 particles 100g-1 dwt (0-10cm depth) observed furthest from the confluence with the Thames due to storm tank combined-sewer-overflow input. Salt marsh core microplastics were highest at Swanscombe (mean 267.1±10.2 particles 100g-1 dwt at 0-10cm depth) in the high-marsh vegetation zone. Marsh sediment radionuclide dating (Pb210, Cs137) suggested a presence of microplastics in the sediment since at least the late 1950s, with increasing abundance towards surface sediments. Tidal tributaries and salt marshes of the Thames act as natural filters, with salt marshes accumulating microplastics over time and tributaries acting as both stores and sources depending on individual site conditions and hydrodynamic variability.

Friedreich Ataxia: An (Almost) 30-Year History After Gene Discovery.

In the late 1800s, Nikolaus Friedreich first described "degenerative atrophy of the posterior columns of the spinal cord," noting its connection to progressive ataxia, sensory loss, and muscle weakness, now recognized as Friedreich ataxia (FRDA). Renewed interest in the disease in the 1970s and 80s by the Quebec Cooperative Group and by Anita Harding led to the development of clinical diagnostic criteria and insights into associated biochemical abnormalities, although the primary defect remained unknown. In 1988, Susan Chamberlain mapped FRDA's location on chromosome 9. In the early 90s, collaborative research, including work by the author's team, identified a gene, later named FXN, containing an expanded GAA repeat-confirming it as the FRDA mutation. This discovery established a diagnostic foundation for FRDA, advancing genetic testing and opening new research avenues. These new areas of study included the characteristics, origin, and pathogenicity of the GAA repeat expansion; the characterization of frataxin, the encoded protein, including its subcellular localization, structure, and function; the identification of cellular pathways disrupted by frataxin deficiency; and the redefinition of FRDA phenotypes based on genetic testing, along with the study of FRDA's natural history. In addition, efforts focused on the search for biomarkers to reflect diagnosis, disease severity, and progression and, most importantly, the identification and development of therapeutic approaches in both preclinical and clinical settings. The creation of cellular and animal models was crucial to this progress, as was the formation of consortia to collaboratively drive basic and clinical research forward. Now, 28 years after the gene discovery, although much remains to be understood about the disease's mechanisms and the development of effective therapies, the progress is undeniable. A thriving community has emerged, uniting researchers, health care providers, industry professionals, individuals with FRDA, their families, and dedicated volunteers. With this collective effort, a cure is within reach.

Object, Room, Dwelling: Material Culture and the Indigenous City in the Colonial Andes

This article analyzes objects and abodes to further the understanding of lived experience in colonial Andean cities. It builds on existing scholarship on women's dress by analyzing household objects and even domestic structures themselves. Seeking to elaborate on Indigenous and mestiza women's experiences of the colonial city, the article draws primarily on notarial and judicial records for Arequipa, La Plata (today Sucre, Bolivia), and Potosí between the late 1500s and the mid-1600s. The essay opens with a discussion of the topu (Indigenous dress pin), moves to study the entirety of inventories held by specific city dwellers, and, finally, considers the significance of the domestic structure in terms of Indigenous urban experience. Through evidence of material culture and built environment, the article argues, we can gain a deeper understanding of the Indigenous cultural, social, and architectural identity of colonial cities in the face of Spanish presence.

The Sea Lamprey (Petromyzon marinus) Invasion: The Construction of an Invasive Animal Threatening a "Healthy" Great Lakes Ecosystem.

During the late 1930s, Great Lakes fishermen became concerned because of the new occurrence of the sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus). Originally an Atlantic coastal fish, it was allowed to migrate throughout the Great Lakes due to various canal extensions. By drawing from literature on the sociology of environmental problems and animal invasions, this article traces how the sea lamprey became problematized as a threatening invader between the late 1930s and early 1970s. Throughout this period, a broad coalition of fishery biologists, fishermen, politicians, and journalists were involved in framing the problem. Although sea lamprey research, localized control practices, and environmental discourses considerably changed, the sea lamprey continued to be regarded as an invasive fish that was not allowed to exist in the Great Lakes. The case shows how these shifting ways of understanding the problem in fact led to the continuation of past management directions.