Ambiguous State Research Articles

State of Ambiguity: Civic Life and Culture in Cuba’s First Republic ed. by Steven Palmer, José Antonio Piqueras, and Amparo Sánchez Cobos (review)

Steven Palmer, Jose Antonio Piqueras, and Amparo Sanchez Cobos, eds. State of Ambiguity: Civic Life and Culture in Cuba's First Republic. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2014. 376 pp.Cuba's first republic has been largely understudied, typically understood in relation to the revolutions that preceded and followed it as the betrayal of the promise of the independence struggle or a period of laying the groundwork to the true revolution of 1959. With essays diverse topics from the social life of the USS Maine to provincial Rotary clubs, this edited volume makes significant strides toward redressing the weaknesses of the historiography. The contributions are united in their commitment to taking the early republican era seriously, as a significant and authentic period in Cuban history. In this vein, the authors seek to revisit the republican era on its own (19), without the distorting lenses of failure or teleology that have so often been applied to the period. In the introduction, the editors make a strong case that Cuban exceptionalism has prevented scholars from noting the similarities between the Cuban Republic and the institutions and processes at work in other Latin American nations during the Liberal era (1870-1930), many of which were less and representative than the Cuban system, despite its shortcomings. From this vantage point, the contributors approach the era as a period of continuity in terms of liberal state- and nation-building processes, with an eye toward the participation of Cubans at all levels in defining emerging notions of democratic (7).This volume offers an impressively broad look at republican Cuba, with chapters that extend beyond Havana and cover a wide variety of topics. A number of themes run throughout, with labor history and the history of science particularly well represented. Defying a simplistic chronology, several chapters point to links between the colonial and republican eras, as a result of economic continuities, the influx of Spanish immigration, and the goals of modernity and order pursued by the creole elite. Jose Antonio Piqueras's study of Havana's architecture reveals modernity to be the elusive aim of construction and urban design from 1835, with aesthetic forms often associated with the U.S. occupation actually rooted in the last quarter of the nineteenth century, as the island's elites increasingly looked toward the United States as a model of progress and modernity. Steven Palmer reveals the central role of science at the heart of creole politics in both the colonial and republican eras, as well as the continuities in Cuban scientific leadership, which remained largely unchanged from the 1870s through the 1920s. …

An estimation of diel metabolic rates of eight limnological archetypes from Estonia using high-frequency measurements

We employed a Bayesian model to assess the metabolic state of 8 Estonian lakes representing the 8 lake types according to the European Union Water Framework Directive. We hypothesized that long-term averages of light-related variables would be better predictors of lake metabolism than nutrient-related variables. Model input parameters were in situ high-frequency measurements of dissolved oxygen, temperature, and irradiance. Model simulations were conducted for several (5–12) diel cycles for each lake during the summer season. Accounting for uncertainty, the results from the Bayesian model revealed that 2 lakes were autotrophic for the duration of the experiment, 1 was heterotrophic, and 5 were balanced or had an ambiguous metabolic state. Cross-comparison with a traditional bookkeeping model showed that the majority of lakes were in metabolic balance. A strong coupling between primary production and respiration was observed, with the share of autochthonous primary production respired by consumers increasing with light extinction and nutrient-related variables. Unlike gross primary production, community respiration was strongly related to light extinction, dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and total phosphorus. These findings suggest that a drastic decrease in light-limited primary production along the DOC gradient counter-balanced nutrient supply in the darker lakes and thus blurred the relationship between primary production and nutrients. Thus, contrary to our hypothesis, both light and nutrient-related variables seemed to be good predictors of lake respiration and its coupling to lake primary production.

Un diálogo entre naturaleza y libertad en el horizonte del ser. Kant y Heidegger

Kant intentó resolver la cuestión del ser: ésta no puede constituirse como un predicado real. La importancia de la intuición (sensibilidad), que circunda la primera crítica kantiana, parece dejar la cuestión en un estado de ambigüedad. Por eso, bajo un horizonte que se ha preocupado por aunar naturaleza y libertad, hemos intentado promover una interpretación fenomenológica para recuperar la noción del ser mismo, a fin de perseguir: a) una comprensión radical de la finitud de la subjetividad humana; b) la interpretación de la naturaleza en tanto facticidad de la misma vida, en una relación con la tarea fenomenológica heideggeriana; c) la noción de libertad no como espontaneidad absoluta, sino como actividad que permite llevar a término lo que se da, el ser.

Groping through the black box of variability: An integrative taxonomic and nomenclatural re-evaluation of Zospeum isselianum Pollonera, 1887 and allied species using new imaging technology (Nano-CT, SEM), conchological, histological and molecular data (Ellobioidea, Carychiidae)

The minute troglobitic species, Zospeum isselianum Pollonera, 1887 (Eupulmonata: Ellobioidea, Carychiidae) is widely distributed within its Southern Alpine-Dinaric range. Its broad distribution and highly variable shell has caused this species to be historically lumped into its current taxonomic state of ambiguity. In an integrative taxonomic approach, phenotypic and genotypic data are synthesized to assess the intraspecific variability recently inferred for this taxon. We collected 16 Zospeum specimens in the Slovenian Alpine Arc encompassing the type locality for Z. isselianum. The material comprises five morphologically recognized (sub)species. The species are re-evaluated using SEM, X-ray nanotomography (nano-CT), conchological, histological and molecular data. Four well-defined lineages are present, which can be attributed to i) Z. isselianum s.str. from its new type locality (Turjeva jama), ii) a highly morphologically variable lineage that so far cannot be attributed to a single morphospecies, iii) Z. kupitzense A. Stummer, 1984 (raised to species rank) and iv) a lineage comprising the two subspecies Z. alpestre alpestre (Freyer, 1855) and Z. alpestre bolei Slapnik, 1991 plus Z. isselianum individuals. The latter is treated as a single taxon Z. alpestre. After considering the severely degraded syntype material of Zospeum isselianum, we provide a taxonomic re-description and propose a neotype for this species. Furthermore, new diagnostic information is revealed regarding the columella of Zospeum isselianum and allied species. Detailed anatomical study reveals new structural aspects of Zospeum morphology and provides groundwork for future investigations.

The State of the Orbitofrontal Cortex

State representation is fundamental to behavior. However, identifying the true state of the world is challenging when explicit cues are ambiguous. Here, Bradfield and colleagues show that the medial OFC is critical for using associative information to discriminate ambiguous states.

The Base Articulations of the Liminality Concept

This study aims to clarify the meanings and the semantic articulations of the concept of liminality. The method used in the study is meta-analytic. a) There is first achieved a historical reconstruction of the concept. The semantic nucleus of the concept is represented by the action of spiritual configuration of events by which individuals are introduced in a transition state from separation to incorporation. This existential event is theoretically approached by Arnold Van Gennep through the syntagm “rites of passage”. Subsequently, Victor Turner subsumes the meanings of the spiritual event of passage to a single-word concept “liminality” and talks about “liminoid” events. b) Afterwards, there is carried out a logical-semantic reconstruction of the concept and there is concluded that the practical articulations of liminality consist in going over three stages of the process of liminality: the ambiguous state, the adaptation to new norms, rules and values and the pre-integration. As illustration of liminal transition, there is presented the current mass media case in which there is mobilized the idea of persuading the consumers of media messages to adopt a behavior which represents a passage from lack of involvement to social, economic and political involvement/engagement. The conclusion is that a) the world and people in general, are in a constant process of passage, of change, b) that liminality constitutes an important factor of individual and social development, c) and that society is marked by liminality.

Sextic potential for -rigid prolate nuclei

The equation of the Bohr–Mottelson Hamiltonian with a sextic oscillator potential is solved for -rigid prolate nuclei. The associated shape phase space is reduced to three variables which are exactly separated. The angular equation has the spherical harmonic functions as solutions, while the equation is converted to the quasi-exactly solvable case of the sextic oscillator potential with a centrifugal barrier. The energies and the corresponding wave functions are given in closed form and depend, up to a scaling factor, on a single parameter. The and states are exactly determined, having an important role in the assignment of some ambiguous states for the experimental bands. Due to the special properties of the sextic potential, the model can simulate, by varying the free parameter, a shape phase transition from a harmonic to an anharmonic prolate -soft rotor crossing through a critical point. Numerical applications are performed for 39 nuclei: Ru, Mo, Xe, Ce, Nd, Sm, Gd, Dy, 172Os, Pt, 190Hg and 222Ra. The best candidates for the critical point are found to be 104Ru and Xe, followed closely by 128Xe, 172Os, 196Pt and 148Nd.

In-betweenness: being mother, academic and artist

ABSTRACTIn-betweenness is related to liminality, is intermediary, interstitial, transitional and hybrid and has been theorised in anthropology as a culturally recognised liminal state that occurs during rites of passage or transition. In this paper, the focus on liminal states facilitates an understanding of transversal movements between being mothers, academics and artists and recognizes the in-betweenness of family and professional life and their influences upon one another. Whilst privileging the in-between makes for a rich and creative life for women, this life comes at a cost within the hierarchical structures of our public and educational institutions. This paper explores ways to develop collegial and personal connections that are particularly empowering for female academics. It uncovers how together we can inhabit ambiguous, disruptive and playful states and then reintegrate into established socio-political structures with a renewed and compelling sense of purpose.

The Timing of Infant Food Introduction in Families With a History of Atopy.

To describe the timing of introduction and type of food introduced to infants with a family history of atopy. We conducted a secondary analysis of foods introduced each month to an interventional birth cohort of 149 infants at risk for atopy. Seven percent of infants received solid food prior to 4 months of age; 13% after 6 months of age. Hyperallergenic foods were introduced on average in the following order: wheat (8.7 months); eggs (11.2 months); soy (13.0 months); fish (13.4 months); peanut (20.2 months); tree nuts (21.8 months); and other seafood (21.8 months). Asian race (odds ratio 3.94; 95% CI 1.14-13.58) and maternal history of food allergy (odds ratio 3.86; 95% CI 1.29-11.56) were associated with late food introduction. Variation in timing of food introduction may reflect cultural preferences and/or previous experience with food allergy, as well as the ambiguous state of current recommendations.

Corporate Social Responsibility is No Responsibility

On the web, in the media, amongst the academia everywhere CSR is either wrongly defined or incompletely represented or misnamed. From selfless owner’s personal charity to corporate marketing strategy all are claimed as CSR. In this state of ambiguity, in guise of CSR, corporations may be harming the society in most irresponsible way. This paper made a humble effort to propose working definitions of CSR issues to clear the ambiguities. Because of the failure of various sophisticated approaches of analysis to get consensus an all new approach of semantics is taken in this paper to trigger more debates to crystallize all nuances of CSR.

State of Ambiguity: Civic Life and Culture in Cuba’s First Republic. Edited by Steven Palmer, José Antonio Piqueras, and Amparo Sánchez Cobos (Durham, Duke University Press, 2014) 365 pp. $94.95 cloth $26.95 paper

<i>State of Ambiguity: Civic Life and Culture in Cuba’s First Republic</i>. Edited by Steven Palmer, José Antonio Piqueras, and Amparo Sánchez Cobos (Durham, Duke University Press, 2014) 365 pp. $94.95 cloth $26.95 paper

“Late Photography” in South Korea: Heungsoon Im, Onejoon Che, Suyeon Yun

This article examines the recent development of documentary photographs in South Korea in light of David Campany's concept of “late photography.” Natural landscapes by Heungsoon Im, defunct bunkers and military facilities near the metropolitan area by Onejoon Che, and portraits of North Korean expatriates by Suyeon Yun offer intriguing approaches to late photography, which prioritize traces and remnants of tragedies over explicitly shocking images of violence. At the same time, this article underscores the underlying ideological significance of late photography, contrary to Campany's reservation that late photography may offer a less effective way of provoking and engaging viewers with social criticism. Instead, I will argue that Im, Che, and Yun's suggestive ways of alluding to the history of the Korean War (1950–53), military dictatorship, and ideological conflicts might be suitable for representing the ambiguous state of ideological confrontation in the Korean Peninsula.

Clashing over drones: the legal and normative gap between the United States and the human rights community

The use of lethal drones by the United States (US) marks a paradox insofar as the US government claims that these strikes respect human rights, while the human rights community – including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International – raise serious concerns that challenge this claim. Would reconciling these seemingly mutually exclusive human rights narratives regarding drone use lead to the formation of a more robust regime that would provide greater respect for human rights than in the current state of legal and moral ambiguity? In order to explore this question, we examine the evolution of these conflicting discourses through three key frames of legitimation – strategic, legal and normative. We argue that the US government has moved from a strategic-legal framework characterised by a focus on strategic objectives and a permissive view of international humanitarian law to a legal-normative discourse that, by incorporating the principles of just war theory, has restrained the strategic scope of the drone programme while reinforcing the legitimacy of international humanitarian law as the paradigm of choice. Comparatively, we assert that the human rights community has pursued a human rights-centric approach that rejects the more permissive standards of an international humanitarian law-centric legal paradigm, while pushing a normative agenda that seeks to enhance respect for human rights under both international humanitarian law and international human rights law. This includes rejecting the US interpretation of just war principles and appealing to a broader understanding of the right to life norm. Taking these ‘right to life’ considerations seriously raises concerns about whether drones can ever satisfy human rights. In the conclusion, we explore how combining certain elements of these narratives may contribute to an emerging norm on drone use.

Advances in hepatic stem/progenitor cell biology.

The liver is famous for its strong regenerative capacity, employing different modes of regeneration according to type and extent of injury. Mature liver cells are able to proliferate in order to replace the damaged tissue allowing the recovery of the parenchymal function. In more severe scenarios hepatocytes are believed to arise also from a facultative liver progenitor cell compartment. In human, severe acute liver failure and liver cirrhosis are also both important clinical targets in which regeneration is impaired, where the role of this stem cell compartment seems more convincing. In animal models, the current state of ambiguity regarding the identity and role of liver progenitor cells in liver physiology dampens the enthusiasm for the potential use of these cells in regenerative medicine. The aim of this review is to give the basics of liver progenitor cell biology and discuss recent results vis-à-vis their identity and contribution to liver regeneration.

“The natives are clever enough”: contagious bovine pleuropneumonia and the politics of ambiguity in north-west Namibia

In Kaoko, north-west Namibia, contagious bovine pleuropneumonia was the background to the local experience of colonialism and South African rule, a period that is locally remembered for the smell of putrefaction spread by animals bearing the disease. This article investigates what this smell tells us about the particular modalities of colonial rule in this remote borderland. By means of two case studies, it argues that in this particular context creating and sustaining a “state of ambiguity” was a social and political strategy engaged in by coloniser and colonised alike.

Color pattern evolution in Vanessa butterflies (Nymphalidae: Nymphalini): non-eyespot characters.

A phylogenetic approach was used to study color pattern evolution in Vanessa butterflies. Twenty-four color pattern elements from the Nymphalid ground plan were identified on the dorsal and ventral surfaces of the fore- and hind wings. Eyespot characters were excluded and will be examined elsewhere. The evolution of each character was traced over a Bayesian phylogeny of Vanessa reconstructed from 7750 DNA base pairs from 10 genes. Generally, the correspondence between character states on the same surface of the two wings is stronger on the ventral side compared to the dorsal side. The evolution of character states on both sides of a wing correspond with each other in most extant species, but the correspondence between dorsal and ventral character states is much stronger in the forewing than in the hindwing. The dorsal hindwing of many species of Vanessa is covered with an extended Basal Symmetry System and the Discalis I pattern element is highly variable between species, making this wing surface dissimilar to the other wing surfaces. The Basal Symmetry System and Discalis I may contribute to behavioral thermoregulation in Vanessa. Overall, interspecific directional character state evolution of non-eyespot color patterns is relatively rare in Vanessa, with a majority of color pattern elements showing non-variable, non-directional, or ambiguous character state evolution. The ease with which the development of color patterns can be modified, including character state reversals, has likely made important contributions to the production of color pattern diversity in Vanessa and other butterfly groups.

Steven Palmer, José Antonio Piqueras, and Amparo Sánchez Cobos, editors. State of Ambiguity: Civic Life and Culture in Cuba's First Republic.

Journal Article Steven Palmer, José Antonio Piqueras, and Amparo Sánchez Cobos, editors. State of Ambiguity: Civic Life and Culture in Cuba's First Republic. Get access Steven Palmer, José Antonio Piqueras, and Amparo Sánchez Cobos, editors. State of Ambiguity: Civic Life and Culture in Cuba's First Republic.Durham, N.C.: Duke University Press, 2014. Pp. 365. Cloth $94.95, paper $26.95. The American Historical Review, Volume 119, Issue 5, December 2014, Page 1834, https://doi.org/10.1093/ahr/119.5.1834 Published: 01 December 2014

Ambiguous States: Confucius Institutes and Chinese Soft Power in the U.S. Classroom

This article offers an ethnographic examination of representations and perceptions of the Chinese state as manifest through Confucius Institutes in the United States. Confucius Institutes are Chinese language and culture programs that are funded and staffed by the Chinese government. Confucius Institutes are a constituent part of China's soft power policy efforts to communicate to the world that its cultural tradition stresses harmony and that its rise to power will be a peaceful and globally responsible process. Through analyzing parent and student perceptions of “the state” through their experiences with Confucius Institute teachers and pedagogical materials, it is possible to contextualize and problematize the means through which Cold War rhetoric is recast and recirculated in the contemporary “post‐Cold War” historical moment, thus interrogating assumptions about essentialized Chinese difference. This research reveals how understandings of a newly empowered China cast the nation as a threat to U.S. economic and political power in a manner that negates China's soft power efforts, dislocating policy intention and effect. At the same time, this research suggests that as Confucius Institute teachers distance themselves from perceptions of an authoritarian state, parents and students begin to disaggregate perceptions of a monolithic Chinese state in a manner that reinforces the state's soft power goals.

Expand the applicability and acceptability of CBT approaches in mood disorders.

Thase et al (1) succinctly describe the benefits of cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) in both unipolar and bipolar mood disorder. Concerning the former, it should be noticed that the STAR*D study had an enriched design, open only to patients still depressed after three-month treatment with citalopram (2). Less than a third of the eligible patients agreed to participate. Those who received CBT as an adjunct to citalopram had outcomes similar to those receiving pharmacotherapy alone. A second study showed clear advantages for the CBT group, but the benefitting group constituted less than half of the sample (3). The complexity of the design of the third study reviewed (4) contributes to the ambiguous state of the evidence. The bipolar depressed patient studies are of particular interest, since some clinically significant risk of illness course worsening is associated with treatment employing the most commonly prescribed antidepressants, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (5). Some indications of benefit were seen with each of the six CBT studies summarized by Thase et al. The large study in STEP-BD showed benefits sustained for a one-year follow-up period (6). Importantly, outcomes were similar for CBT and two quite different other forms of psychotherapy: family focused therapy with first-degree relatives participating, and interpersonal-social rhythms therapy. Three studies reviewed yielded generally negative results, but one (7) indicated significant adjunctive benefit among patients with fewer lifetime bipolar episodes, whereas patients with more episodes actually underperformed bipolar medications alone. Thase comments on the importance of determining which patients should not receive CBT. There may also be merit in addressing ways that CBT can be adapted to the complex psychopathology of bipolar disorders. Most bipolar patients will have sleep disorders and anxiety disorders (or, equally relevant as a focus of treatment, anxiety symptomatology) that are not benefitted by primary bipolar drugs. Medications commonly used for anxiety and sleep disturbances, i.e., benzodiazepines and drugs such as zolpidem, often impair memory and judgment. Anxiety is the most consistent predictor of poor treatment response in bipolar studies and is highly associated with suicidality, poor function and greater health services utilization (8). No drug is approved for treatment of anxiety in bipolar disorder. CBT for bipolar disorder could include a focus on such domains as anxiety and sleep/circadian disturbances, and outcome measures to assess changes in such domains. Some variants of CBT are presented as adjunctive group psychotherapy (9). These have been reported as superior to unstructured support groups in reducing relapse into syndromal bipolar states. Some evidence indicates that benefits may be greater for manic relapses. Whereas most studies have been technique driven, there are several features that are common. These include attention to medication compliance, identifying early signs of episodes, improving coping skills, involvement of significant others, and provision of information about the features, course and treatment of bipolar disorder. An underlying assumption of these approaches is that identifying situations that could precipitate relapse coupled with teaching about cognitive and behavioral skills to reduce such risks could benefit long-term wellness. However, these approaches tend to place little emphasis on individual needs, values and issues contributing to poor function. Mindfulness training has in recent years increasingly complemented relapse prevention techniques to better deal with a variety of medical disorders, including depression. Mindfulness aids patients staying in contact with diverse emotional states, both desirable and undesirable, recognizing reasons for associated maladaptive behaviors. A usual component of mindfulness is developing skills in stress recognition and stress reduction. Both emotional and cognitive experiences are utilized to deal more effectively with individual specific issues in achieving and maintaining a state of wellness. Mindfulness as a component of CBT could strengthen self-instituted steps to monitor emotional and thought characteristics, thereby contributing to reduce or limit problematic behaviors or emotional states (10).

High-frequency data within a modeling framework: On the benefit of assessing uncertainties of lake metabolism

We used a Bayesian metabolic model for assessing the gross primary production (GPP), ecosystem respiration (ER) and their uncertainties in lake Võrtsjärv, a large eutrophic lake in Estonia (North-eastern Europe). Diel cycle modeling was based on high-frequency (10-min) measurements of irradiance, water temperature and dissolved oxygen during most of the growing season (from May to August 2011). Posterior distribution of production and respiration was successfully simulated with the model and displayed with highly credible intervals (2.5 and 97.5 percentiles). Considering the mean GPP and ER values, the lake was autotrophic from May to June, at equilibrium in July, and heterotrophic in August. However, adding the uncertainty to metabolism estimates revealed that an ambiguous metabolic state (no clear monthly predominance of auto- or hetero-trophy) represented between 12 and 32% of the period. It is thus incautious to conclude about lake metabolic state in these conditions. A comparison with the existing classical model based on dissolved oxygen measurements showed that metabolic dynamics differed between the two approaches. Though the classical model recorded highest ecosystem productivity in midsummer, the Bayesian model predicted that productivity peaked earlier in the season and gradually declined as the irradiance dropped and the water temperature rose. Coupling between GPP and ER during the whole study period was very variable, resulting that, depending on the month, 50–100% of primary production was consumed in the lake. This coupling variability was caused by extensive diel fluctuation of irradiance-dependent production compared to relatively stable water temperature and respiration. The background respiration was high in spring and declined progressively in summer, reflecting lower inputs of allochthonous organic matter to the lake. With a wider use of high-frequency techniques for measuring lake ecological parameters, this kind of performant models that are able to assess lake productivity within small time steps and take into account the uncertainty, will be increasingly needed in the future.