We have synthesized a 582,970-base pair Mycoplasma genitalium genome. This synthetic genome, named M. genitalium JCVI-1.0, contains all the genes of wild-type M. genitalium G37 except MG408, which was disrupted by an antibiotic marker to block pathogenicity and to allow for selection. To identify the genome as synthetic, we inserted "watermarks" at intergenic sites known to tolerate transposon insertions. Overlapping "cassettes" of 5 to 7 kilobases (kb), assembled from chemically synthesized oligonucleotides, were joined by in vitro recombination to produce intermediate (...) assemblies of approximately 24 kb, 72 kb ("1/8 genome"), and 144 kb ("1/4 genome"), which were all cloned as bacterial artificial chromosomes in Escherichia coli. Most of these intermediate clones were sequenced, and clones of all four 1/4 genomes with the correct sequence were identified. The complete synthetic genome was assembled by transformation-associated recombination cloning in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, then isolated and sequenced. A clone with the correct sequence was identified. The methods described here will be generally useful for constructing large DNA molecules from chemically synthesized pieces and also from combinations of natural and synthetic DNA segments. 10.1126/science.1151721. (shrink)

This expanded edition of C L Hardin's ground-breaking work on colour features a new chapter, 'Further Thoughts: 1993', in which the author revisits the dispute ...

Most people are familiar with Justice Stewart's now classic statement that while he cannot describe pornography, he certainly knows it when he sees it. We instantly identify with Justice Stewart. Pornography is not difficult to recognize, but it does elude description. This is because traditional attempts at description are attempts that seek to explain at either an abstract or empirical level rather than at the level that accounts for experience in its totality. Justice Stewart's lament represents the need to understand (...) the subjective experience of pornography and cease trying to explain it in purely objective terms. Much feminist literature in general and Catharine MacKinnon's work in particular seeks to do just this. MacKinnon argues that pornography should not be explained in familiar First Amendment freedom-of-expression terms, but rather in terms of the actual sexual abuse it constitutes in experience. Then, and only then, are we able to select the appropriate legal remedy. This essay suggests that MacKinnon's position not only needs the support of a non-traditional philosophical approach, but has one readily available in the phenomenology of philosopher Edmund Husserl. (shrink)

One of the clear targets of Thomason’s paper is the Feyerabendian portrait of Galileo as epistemic opportunist, hastening to substitute rhetoric for reason. Thomason reveals that Feyerabend has fallen into that awkward trap all critics must fear: when we claim to detect blemishes of logic, the defect may well be in our own grasp of the argument. Yet in making this very point, Thomason is already defending one of Feyerabend’s favourite claims — the reasoning processes used by great scientists are (...) remarkably untidy and do not readily compress themselves into neat philosophic formulation. (shrink)

Many realists have maintained that the success of scientific theories can be explained only if they may be regarded as approximately true. Laurens Laudan has in turn contended that a necessary condition for a theory's being approximately true is that its central terms refer, and since many successful theories of the past have employed central terms which we now understand to be non-referential, realism cannot explain their success. The present paper argues that a realist can adopt a view of reference (...) according to which a theory might plausibly be said to be approximately true even though its central terms do not refer, or alternatively, he may construe reference in such a way as to assign reference to a range of successful older theories which includes Laudan's purported counterexamples. (shrink)

Taylor exposes the concept of 'art' as a tool of ethnocentricity and radical ideology. He challenges the history of aesthetics as a recent invention of privileged Western consumerism and questions the myth of its ancient Greek origin.

This study aimed to investigate the longitudinal trends in mathematical competencies of Grade 8 students in a public high school located in Zamboanga del Sur, Philippines. The study collected data over a period of six academic years, allowing for a comprehensive analysis of students' performance in 16 distinct mathematical competences of basic education curriculum. These topics include, but are not limited to, special products and factors, factoring, and basic concepts of probability. Using a quantitative research design, the study analyzed both (...) numerical and secondary data to identify patterns or trends in students' mathematical competencies. Trends were analyzed through regression analysis using slopes. The significance of these trends was then evaluated using t-tests for the standard error of slopes. The statistical analysis revealed significant upward trends in certain mathematical topics, indicating an improvement in the students' competencies over the six academic years. However, certain topics displayed downward or stable trends, indicating areas for improvement in the teaching methods used for these topics. The study highlights the importance of flexible and adaptable approaches to mathematics education. It emphasizes the need for constant evaluation and improvement of teaching methods to enhance student learning outcomes. The findings of this study provide valuable insights for educators and policymakers to guide evidence-based decision-making and improve the quality of mathematics education in the new normal setup. Implications and future research directions are incorporated in the study. (shrink)

In-depth study of the enduring impact of the 1970s debate between state theorists Ralph Miliband and Nicos Poulantzas. We have recently lived through the turmoil of a global financial crisis that originated in the United States and, despite the platitudes of neo-liberal ideology, nation-states were deeply involved in managing this crisis. If “the state” is again a preeminent actor in the global economy, then state theory and the problem of the state should also return to the forefront of political theory. (...) Toward a Critical Theory of States is an intensive analysis of the 1970s debate between state theorists Ralph Miliband and Nicos Poulantzas, including its wider impact on Marxist theories of the state in subsequent decades. Clyde W. Barrow makes unique arguments and contributions to this continuing discussion in state theory and lays the foundation for more theoretically informed empirical and historical research on the state in the age of globalization. He argues that by merely moving past the Poulantzas-Miliband debate, as some have recommended, scholars have abandoned much that is valuable in understanding the state, particularly the need to comprehend the contemporary transformation of the state form and the state apparatuses as part of the new conditions of globalization and transnational capital accumulation. Building upon themes of state restructuring found in Poulantzas and Miliband, Barrow establishes the outlines of an approach that integrates the thought of both to propose a synthetic understanding of the new imperialism. (shrink)

John C. Calhoun was a major actor in the political history of nineteenth-century America. His dramatic career will always be of interest. However, Calhoun is equally important as a political thinker who continues to elicit widespread interest from the most diverse points of the ideological spectrum. The Essential Calhoun is designed to present a full-fledged selection of speeches and writings taken from the entire forty-year span of his public career and from many varieties of occasions, public and private. For the (...) first time, it is possible to appreciate Calhoun fully and to seriously examine his thought within the compass of a single volume. Calhoun is known to posterity as the premier defender of the Old South and slavery and as the theorist of the concurrent majority. His contemporaries knew him as much else, including a political economist and foreign policy authority. As the range of writings shows, he was a valuable and often prophetic commentator who remains as timely as the Budget Crisis of 1990 and the Gulf War. Calhoun's thought testifies to a deep and abiding concern with moral and ethical issues that confront a government resting on the consent of the people. The fundamental question with which he wrestles in all his works is how to achieve and maintain a proper balance between power and liberty in a democratic society. By providing the most representative compendium of his thought, The Essential Calhoun invites the reader to engage in this exercise of applying the moral imagination realistically to the public business in America. Historians, American studies specialists, economists, and political scientists will find this volume indispensable. (shrink)

Chinese negotiators are known to have a negotiation emphasis that differs from their Western counterparts, especially in issues of face and conflict. These values, however, are not monolithic, and can change depending on the negotiation circumstance. This research examines how negotiation tactics changes when Chinese negotiators are faced with counterparts from near and distant cultures. An online conjoint simulation drew 351 respondents in Taiwan to test subjective perceptions of counterparts from the USA and Japan. Chinese respondents exhibited increased cultural accommodation (...) when the counterpart's culture was more distant – paying more attention to sacrificing self-interest and saving face for the other side. Integration in the negotiation was emphasized across both near and distant cultures above that observed for negotiation with Chinese counterparts. Saving face, ignoring conflict, and domination tactics were consistently valued, irrelevant of culture. Masculinity among Chinese respondents was exhibited in a preference for integration with male counterparts, especially for Chinese male negotiators. Results indicate practical considerations when preparing for negotiation with a Chinese counterpart by considering inconsistencies in preferences while also considering consistent values. (shrink)

Chinese negotiators are known to have a negotiation emphasis that differs from their Western counterparts, especially in issues of face and conflict. These values, however, are not monolithic, and can change depending on the negotiation circumstance. This research examines how negotiation tactics changes when Chinese negotiators are faced with counterparts from near and distant cultures. An online conjoint simulation drew 351 respondents in Taiwan to test subjective perceptions of counterparts from the USA and Japan. Chinese respondents exhibited increased cultural accommodation (...) when the counterpart's culture was more distant – paying more attention to sacrificing self-interest and saving face for the other side. Integration in the negotiation was emphasized across both near and distant cultures above that observed for negotiation with Chinese counterparts. Saving face, ignoring conflict, and domination tactics were consistently valued, irrelevant of culture. Masculinity among Chinese respondents was exhibited in a preference for integration with male counterparts, especially for Chinese male negotiators. Results indicate practical considerations when preparing for negotiation with a Chinese counterpart by considering inconsistencies in preferences while also considering consistent values. (shrink)

Au XVIIIe siècle, les médecins modernes tentent d’appréhender et de fixer le plaisir sexuel dans l’ordre de la Nature à une époque charnière où les bouleversements révolutionnaires entraînent dans leur sillage une forte politisation et une redéfinition du sexuel. Les savoirs médicaux qui entendent alors être un instrument essentiel du diagnostic social, participent pleinement à cette dynamique et constituent des lieux d’investigation incontournables pour comprendre les multiples façons dont s’élaborent la sexualité et les « lois de son économie libidinale ». (...) L’édition du premier dictionnaire encyclopédique de médecine, le Dictionnaire des sciences médicales traite longuement de la sexualité. Son ancrage intellectuel et professionnel ainsi que la spécificité de son traitement éditorial par articles et rubriques renouvellent les cadres des discours médicaux sur la sexualité qui sont unifiés et systématisés au fil de ses entrées, formant ainsi les premiers jalons de la sexologie du second xixe siècle. (shrink)

Through close examination of the texts, the author shows how 15th-century philosopher Nicholas of Cusa developed an understanding of uncertainty that opened the way for human intelligence, despite its inherent weaknesses, to find out more about ourselves, the world, and what lies beyond.

It is probably true that the greater number of contemporary American anthropologists feel that “theory” is a very dangerous kind of business which the careful anthropologist must be on his guard against. This statement represents, in the first instance, merely a crude induction from my experience in talking with professional anthropologists. It is, however, symptomatic that not until 1933 did a book by an American anthropologist include the word “theory” in its title. Only a single book published subsequently is explicitly (...) given over to anthropological theory, and this avowedly concentrates upon the historical development of theories rather than upon a fresh and extended analysis of the more abstract aspects of anthropological thought. But because anthropology still painfully remembers the stomach-ache it got from the too easy generalizations of many nineteenth century “arm-chair ethnologists” is insufficient reason, it seems to me, for that almost morbid avoidance of theory which tends to produce acute indigestion from sheer bulk of unordered concrete observations. Landheer has with some justice commented. (shrink)

Une « histoire des vies ordinaires » en Révolution est-elle possible? C’est le pari ambitieux relevé par les auteures de ce Roman conjugal. Elles abordent cette période charnière et tumultueuse sous l’angle du quotidien conjugal de deux couples de la grande bourgeoisie lyonnaise. Spécialistes de la période révolutionnaire dont elles ont particulièrement étudié les dynamiques de genre au fil de leurs ouvrages, elles entendent « à rebours des célébrations des grands acteurs de l’histoire… retr...

Dans un article paru en 2005, « Making society ‘legible’ : people watching in Paris after the Revolution », Denise Davidson, historienne américaine de la France du premier XIXe siècle à la Georgia State University, étudiait le phénomène de brouillage identitaire qui agitait la société parisienne postrévolutionnaire. Par le biais d’une étude de la presse et des rapports de police, elle montrait alors comment Parisiens et Parisiennes s’observaient mutuellement et se donnaient à voir afin de r...

À l’origine de ce dossier, on trouve un mot (et une notion) de l’épistémologie féministe, celui de « care » – terme que nous avons choisi de conserver en anglais tant il est impossible de restituer sa polysémie par un seul terme ou même une expression en français. Popularisé par l’ouvrage In a different voice de la psychologue féministe Carol Gilligan en 1982, le care est à la fois une grille de lecture du monde social et un terrain de recherche (...) inscrit dans les expériences ordinaires des ind... (shrink)

Fruit d’un colloque organisé par la Société internationale pour l’étude des femmes de l’Ancien Régime (SIEFAR) en novembre 2008, ce volume, sous la direction d’É. Viennot, constitue le premier volet d’un triptyque consacré à l’étude d’une controverse centrale, mais méconnue de l’histoire de l’Europe moderne et du féminisme : la « Querelle des femmes ». En effet, de la fin du Moyen Âge aux premières décennies du xxe siècle, l’Europe a été « le théâtre d’une gigantesque polémique sur la place (...) e... (shrink)