The status of Nathusius' pipistrelle (Pipistrellus nathusii Keyserling & Blasius, 1839) in the British Isles

There are now 91 records of individual Nathusius' pipistrelle Pipistrellus nathusii examined 'in the hand' in the U.K., and bat detector records from a further 36 localities in Britain and Ireland. These records are distributed throughout all months of the year with clear peaks in spring and autumn suggesting migratory movements into and out of the British Isles in autumn and spring, respectively. Three maternity colonies have been located and the species must now also be regarded as a resident breeding species in Britain and Ireland.

Politics, Patriotism and Women in Ireland, Britain and Colonial America, c.1700-c.1780

The use of the consumer boycott as a political tool is commonly associated with pre-revolutionary colonial America and has been identified by historians as an important means through which American women were politicized. This article argues that from the late seventeenth century, Irish political discourse advocated the non-consumption of imported goods and support for home manufactures by women in ways that were strikingly similar to those used later in North America. In Ireland and, subsequently in the American colonies, the virtuous woman consumer was given an active public role by political and social commentators. Rather than being a “brilliantly original American invention,” as T. H. Breen has argued, the political exploitation of a consumer boycott and the promotion of local industry were among what Bernard Bailyn has described as the “set of ideas, already in scattered ways familiar” to the revolutionary leaders through the Irish experience. The article also argues that a shared colonial environment gave Irish and American women a public patriotic role in the period, c. 1700–1780 that they did not have in the home countries of England and Scotland.

Nathusius' pipistrelle bats (Pipistrellus nathusii, Keyserling & Blasius 1839) breeding in Ireland

We describe the most westerly known maternity colony of Nathusius' pipistrelle bats (Pipistrellus nathusii). The bats were identified by using morphometric measurements and analysis of time-expanded echolocation and social calls. The roost, containing approximately 150 individuals, was located in a mid 19th century farm stable block and store house situated in parkland in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. The roost was visited on 30 April, I May and 22 June 1997. Over this period, 11 bats were caught: one adult male, five pregnant females, four lactating females and a juvenile male. Direct observation of behaviour patterns suggests that mating groups of P. nathusii may occur in Ireland as late as May. The migratory nature of this species is discussed.

Affective disruption: Walter Benjamin and the 'history' of Ireland's industrial schools

What role do organizations play in writing history? In this paper, I address the part played by organizations in the enactment of large-scale violence, and focus on the ways in which the resulting histories come to be written. Drawing on the case of Ireland's industrial schools, I demonstrate how such accounts can act to serve the interests of those in power, effectively silencing and marginalizing weaker people. A theoretical lens that draws on ideas from Walter Benjamin and Judith Butler is helpful in understanding this; the concept of 'affective disruption' enables an exploration of how people's experiences of organizational violence can be reclaimed from the past, and protected in a continuous remembrance. Overall, this paper contributes a new perspective on the writing of organizational histories, particularly in relation to the enactment of violence. 

Genetic evidence fails to discriminate between Macroramphosus gracilis Lowe 1839 and Macroramphosus scolopax Linnaeus 1758 in Portuguese waters

Fish belonging to the genus Macroramphosus are distributed throughout the Atlantic, Indian and PaciWc oceans. Some authors consider this genus monotypic, Macroramphosus scolopax being the only valid species. Other authors consider (based on several morphological and ecological characters) that another species (Macroramphosus gracilis) exists and occurs frequently in sympatry with the Wrst one. Intermediate forms are also reported in literature. In this paper, using the mitochondrial control region and the nuclear Wrst S7 intron markers, we failed to Wnd genetic diVerences between individuals considered to belong to both species as well as the intermediate forms. Our results suggest that in the northeastern Atlantic, Macroramphosus is represented by a single species, M. scolopax, with diVerent morphotypes interbreeding in the sampling areas.

Roberto Benjamin (org.), A fala e o gesto: ensaios de folkcomunicação sobre narrativas populares, Recife, Imprensa Universitária, 1996, 152 pp.

Apresentando como título uma paráfrase da famosa obra de Leroi-Gourham, este primeiro número da colecção “Pesquisa Académica” é uma colectânea de nove artigos/comunicações resultantes da investigação levada a cabo por Roberto Benjamim e seus alunos do curso de mestrado em comunicação rural da Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco. Os estudos abrangem um vasto leque de assuntos que vão desde a preocupação das metodologias de recolha, transcrição e análise de narrativas orais, à apresentação de exemplos de cartas populares pernambucanas analisadas com essa utensilagem.