Open Access Books

Comment écrire l’histoire animale, c’est-à-dire du côté des animaux ? Cette interrogation en amène aussitôt une seconde : cette histoire animale, avec quels documents la bâtir ? L’expérience montre que la question des sources et de leur traitement est l’obstacle premier à une approche animale, l’aspect qui, avec le croisement disciplinaire, intimide le plus les chercheurs volontaires. Cette affaire forme déjà barrage pour les disciplines aux documents imposés, contraints, restreints comme l’archéozoologie, la génétique historique, l’histoire, la littérature qui, souvent, sont obligées d’adapter leur démarche à ce qui reste. Mais, même les disciplines comme l’ethnologie ou la sociologie, qui construisent d’abord leur problématique, leur épistémologie pour choisir ensuite leurs sources parmi les multiples possibles, butent sur l’« avec quoi ? » et le « comment faire ? » parce qu’elles n’en ont pas l’habitude. Que le lecteur soit rassuré : ce livre n’est pas un fastidieux répertoire de sources, mais un traité pratique des méthodes à employer, de façon à réfléchir à l’« avec quoi ? », à montrer et à suggérer des pistes et des manières de faire, à encourager les initiatives, tout en donnant l’occasion de penser concrètement les programmes, les problématiques, les épistémologies. Parce que l’histoire animale est entendue non comme une discipline mais comme un dynamisme dans le temps et l’espace, d’hier et d’aujourd’hui, ce livre s’adresse aux archéologues et aux historiens, tout autant qu’aux géographes, aux littéraires, aux ethnologues, aux sociologues, aux philosophes, ou encore aux paléogénéticiens, aux éthologues et aux vétérinaires. Et aux passionnés d’animaux.

"Officiersvorming in klare taal" is not the first and certainly not the last publication on officer formation. The importance of officer formation has always been endorsed over time and continues to have plenty of attention today. Each period requires a contemporary answer to the question of exactly what officer formation is and how it takes place. This book is not only about what officer formation is but also contains practical tools and tips on how officer formation can take shape in practice. In the first part of the book, science comes into play. In recent years, virtue ethics, in addition to the ethics of duty and the ethics of consequences, have increasingly found their way into thinking about officer education. Besides a clear exposition of the possibilities of a virtue ethics approach, its limits are also discussed. The first part concludes with a contribution on the relationship between formation and social safety, two concepts that cannot be separated. The second part in this book starts with a historical consideration of officer formation through the years, particularly at the KIM and at the KMA. The perspective is then broadened by also looking at formation of civilian executives at Nyenrode Business University. Foreign perspectives are also covered in essays on officer formation in the United Kingdom and Germany. The third section focuses on stories. In addition to a contribution on the formative value and possibilities of stories in games and films, first-hand experiences of today's officers and trainers are featured. In gripping interviews, they recount the formative events in their lives. It makes clear that formation is not limited to training, but is present always and everywhere. Finally, the fourth part describes the NLDA's current perspective on officer formation. It focuses on the importance of camaraderie and character formation and shows how it is woven into all training. The book concludes with a current look at officer formation as currently developed by the Defense Staff.

Les sens, mais aussi le mouvement, le système vestibulaire ou encore la mémoire spatiale, recouvrent des fonctions à la fois perceptives et cognitives, qui sollicitent et révèlent toute la complexité du cerveau. Ils jouent un rôle essentiel dans la construction de soi et dans l’interaction avec autrui et le monde. Fruits d’un dialogue interdisciplinaire cher à Alain Berthoz, ces découvertes ont renouvelé notre conception de la perception et de l’action, comme du cerveau et des neurosciences. Dans sa leçon de clôture, le neurophysiologiste revient sur les projets qui ont nourri ses réflexions et lui ont permis, grâce à des dispositifs technologiques inédits, de mettre au jour l’incidence de la perception non seulement sur le développement de certaines maladies, mais aussi sur des problématiques sociétales et culturelles. Ces travaux trouvent aujourd’hui des applications en psychiatrie de l’enfant, et inspirent la robotique, les mondes virtuels et la pédagogie.

DNA is the most important biomolecule ever discovered. Indeed, this molecule bears genetic information from one generation to another. In this regard, DNA bases have a key role in transferring genetic information and data safely. However, there are cellular, genetic, and environmental factors that may damage the different parts of DNA molecules. These damages may result in mutations and cell death. As such, several DNA repair mechanisms have evolved. Over three sections, this book examines many of these mechanisms.

A worldwide struggle between democracy and authoritarianism set against a backdrop of global surveillance capitalism is unmistakable. Examples range from Myanmar, China, and the Philippines to Hungary, Turkey, Russia, and the United States. Fascism, Vulnerability, and the Escape from Freedom offers a multidisciplinary analysis drawing on psychology and literature to provide readers with a deeper understanding of the mechanisms that drive people to abandon democracy in favor of vertically organized authoritarianism and even fascism. In a comparative study of texts selected for their insights and occasional blind spots regarding fascist experiments of the past 100 years, Delogu examines fascism’s exploitation of fear (of change, loss, and death), disruption, and extreme inequality. The book offers an accessible and persuasive argument linking fascist authoritarianism, also called “right-wing populism,” to certain underlying conditions, such as a rise in us-versus-them thinking; distrust or simple apathy regarding democratic institutions, norms, and results; the vulnerabilities that result from extreme inequality (economic, social, racial); and addictions and codependency. Stressful events, such as a pandemic, an environmental disaster, or deep recession aggravate these harmful factors and make the fascist temptation, including the use of violence, almost irresistible. Delogu’s distinctive examination of texts that plumb the unconscious reveal linkages between actions and unavowable motives that purely historical and theoretical studies of fascism leave out. Erich Fromm’s neglected 1941 classic Escape from Freedom serves as a key reference in Delogu’s study, as does Robert Paxton’s authoritative history, The Anatomy of Fascism (2004). After underscoring the argument and urgent context around these two studies (Hitler’s Germany and George W. Bush’s post-9/11 America), Delogu examines novels, a diary, memoirs, and manifestos to show how vulnerability forces individuals to choose between exclusionary fascist authoritarianism and inclusive, collaborative democracy.

In the past years, genome projects for numerous human parasites have been completed and now allow first in depth comparisons and evolutionary conclusions. The genomes of parasites reflect the coevolution with their host, metabolic capacities depending on their respective habitat in the host. Gut parasites usually have an anaerobic metabolism, while blood parasites have an aerobic metabolism, intracellular parasites escape the immune system, while extracellular parasites evade the immune system, usually by antigenic variation. Comprehensive genome data now being available allow us to address profound scientific questions, such as which traits enable the parasite to survive in the human host, which to cause disease and which can be used as drug targets. This book intends to give an overview of the state of knowledge on “the molecules” of protozoan parasites – on their genomes, proteomes, glycomes and lipidomes.

Cereal foods comprise a large variety of products that make up the main part of the diet of the world population. Despite decades of research to improve cereals and cereal food quality, worldwide research coordination is now required due to market needs, processing, and climate change. Cereals and cereal foods are an important source of energy (carbohydrates, proteins, and fat), and offer a range of non-nutrient bioactive components (i.e., vitamins, minerals, dietary fiber, and phytochemicals) that provide different grades of health benefits. The main challenges for the near future include the exploration, valorization, and improvement of genetic variation for nutrients and bioactive food components; the use and implementation of biotechnological, preprocessing, and processing strategies to improve content; and the evaluation of health properties for health claims.

The genus Salmonella comprises an important number of bacterial species able to colonize and infect numerous animal species and humans. Although more than a hundred years passed since its discovery, Salmonella still represents a redoubtable and successful microorganism, difficult to deal with. Whether we discuss about typhoid fever or food poisoning, the public health and financial consequences are practically incalculable. The costs attributable to Salmonella contamination of meat, eggs, and vegetables are also very high worldwide. Antimicrobial resistance in Salmonella isolates is an emerging threat not only in humans, and special measures should be addressed to this global problem. The book Current Topics in Salmonella and Salmonellosis contains a series of reviews about all-important issues concerning these subjects. It comprises 14 chapters grouped in 4 sections emphasizing new insights into pathogenesis, bacterial detection and antibiotic resistance, infections in animals, risk factors, and control strategies. The new genomic data and the exhaustive presentation of molecular pathogenesis bring novelty to the book and can help to improve our knowledge about Salmonella-induced diseases.

Water deficit affects various regions of the world. Effective approach can be based on ecohydrological solutions and the design of blue–green infrastructure. In our scientific book, we focused on papers that consider water management and adaptation of urban and rural development areas to the progressive climate change. The Special Issue includes a drought-prone place (valleys in Mexico City), reflections on the state and water resources in Lithuania, and engineering and technical articles from China and Poland. In addition, one chapter is dedicated to grassland protection in mountainous areas.

“The Curriculum of Everything advances as the eternal future in which artificial intelligence surpasses the human capacity to do but not that of understanding and feeling.” Now even the “father” of Artificial Intelligence worries even those bedrocks of being – understanding and feeling - may be at risk. Pacheco reminds us that “curriculum study is a normative question,” now necessarily “with its technological dimension.” Then in a stunningly synoptic sentence that students could usefully study all semester, he summarizes: “the curriculum as a socially, culturally, ideologically, politically and economically constructed practice, is a formal and informal dispositive of interwoven relationships between knowledge, power, and technology.” (…) Penetrated, we become impregnated with the structures of software, as Pacheco appreciates: “Technological devices are powerful instruments of subjectivity production, moving the subject into predefined ways of knowing (…) Old-fashioned rhetoric alright, but insightfully implying we need to return to the past, when were still – sort of – human, before we were seduced by supranational “citizenship” in the software state, before we became submerged in the “curriculum of everything.” Step back from the brink. Pacheco has. Let us join him” (William F. Pinar, Preface).

Uchwycona przez Landmanna „luka antropiczna” jest tym, co wyróżnia człowieka, który w odróżnieniu od innych żywych istot jest zarazem twórcą kultury oraz jej beneficjentem. Ta szczególna sytuacja człowieka stanowi konsekwencję jego ontycznego niedoposażenia, na które składa się niewyspecjalizowanie narządów oraz radykalne zredukowanie instynktu. Trzeba jednak od razu uściślić sens omawianego tu terminu, wskazać na jego względność. O ile bowiem określenie „luka” sugeruje jakiś niedostatek, to jest on orzekany w sposób obiektywny jedynie przy założeniu, że kryterium waloryzacji zakorzenione jest w horyzoncie świata animalnego. W przypadku, gdy rozpatrywanie owej „luki” przebiega z uwzględnieniem specyfiki bytu ludzkiego, jej sens ulega modyfikacji – luka przestaje być brakiem, a okazuje się okolicznością umożliwiającą urzeczywistnianie się nowych jakości, nieznanych światu animalnemu. Człowiek bowiem, będąc z jednej strony istotą kreatywną, tworzącą kulturę, a z drugiej, podlegając modelowaniu przez zastane dziedzictwo kulturowych artefaktów, podlega dwóm odrębnym i przeciwnym sobie siłom – nie tylko zresztą im podlega, ale także je generuje.

Cerebral palsy is a common pediatric problem and is the leading cause of childhood disability. It occurs at a rate of 3.6 cases per 1000 children, and represents a major social and psychological impact on both family and society. It is a group of disorders with movement difficulties being common for all affected patients. Its severity and extent are variable from one patient to another. Additionally, the impacts of cerebral palsy on daily activities, communications, and requirements are also variable. Recent advances in clinical research increase our knowledge and understanding of causal pathways, possible preventive measures, specific intervention strategies, and the value of new treatment modalities such as botulinum toxin and intrathecal baclofen in the management of cerebral palsy.

International lecturers and academics address issues centred on the fundamental role played by the urban centres and port poles of Adriatic Puglia and the Tyrrhenian Sea in ancient and modern history for the development of Mediterranean civilization. The common denominator of the themes tackled is therefore the urban historical landscape, outlined through the gaze of the most varied disciplines - from the history of art, architecture and the city to urban historical iconography and cartography, from archaeology to economic history, to that of building materials and their technological and chromatic use - drawing on many, and in more than one case unpublished, documentary and iconographic sources. A contribution of ideas in the common objective of knowledge and enhancement of the landscape, urban and architectural environment of those historic centers within the current debate on the fate of cultural heritage in Italy. For the territory of Gallipoli and Salento, a valuable tool for the identification of the most appropriate strategies for the exploitation of its recognized beauty, not separated from traditional hospitality.

The Cancellieri vendetta, a conflict between members of the Cancellieri clan, took place in the 13th century, perhaps in the year 1300. In terms of narrative sources, we can identify two distinct groups of records: the Florentine tradition and the Pistoia chronicle. The vendetta determined the history of both Pistoia and the Tuscan region, as the antagonisms among the Pistoiain elite caused similar factional strife in Florence as well when the leaders of the two Cancellieri factions moved to the nearby city. The so-called ‘White’ Cancellieri were linked with the Florentine White Guelphs; the other party were linked with the Florentine Black Guelphs. The leaders of the Florentine factions – the Donati (Blacks) and the Cerchi (Whites) – were opponents in everyday politics. The impulse of the Cancellieri clan members had a huge effect on the situation leading to violent factional wars in Florence that ended in 1308. In my study, I analyse the narrative sources of this period, both from Pistoia and from Florence, and examine the tools used in the fights: the ‘tangible’ weapons that were mentioned by the anonymous writer from Pistoia and the ‘narrative’ tools of the Florentine tradition.

Longtemps méconnue, la photographie soviétique reste encore prisonnière de préjugés tenaces. Pour beaucoup, elle s’inscrit dans deux pôles bien identifiés : la photographie dite de propagande supposée dénuée d’intérêt, et l’avant-garde des années 1920 incarnée par Rodtchenko. Ces considérations abruptes doivent être largement nuancées. Bien que fortement contrôlée, la photographie soviétique qui a été préservée dans les archives et dans la presse illustrée offre une diversité comparable à celle des autres pays. Une observation attentive, une étude des différents thèmes abordés ainsi qu’une analyse des nombreux débats qu’elle a suscités permettent une compréhension plus fine des réalités de l’URSS et un regard nouveau sur l’histoire de la photographie. Saisir les évolutions et mettre les événements en perspective, tel est le sens de cette recherche menée sur une longue période allant de 1917 à 1945.