Beatrice Potter e la signora Webb. La politica come amministrazione del carattere

La tesi affronta la vita e la riflessione politica di Beatrice Potter collocandola all’interno del pensiero politico britannico ed europeo della fine dell’Ottocento e dei primi decenni del Novecento. Rispetto alla maggior parte della bibliografia disponibile, risulta un’autonomia e un’originalità anche rispetto alla riflessione del marito Sidney Webb. La riflessione politica di Potter è caratterizzata in primo luogo dalla ricerca del significato immediatamente politico di quella scienza sociale, che si sta affermando come approccio scientifico dominante nell’intero panorama europeo. Il lavoro è diviso in tre ampi capitoli così suddivisi: il primo ricostruisce l’eredità intellettuale di Potter, con particolare attenzione al rapporto con la filosofia evoluzionista di Herbert Spencer, suo mentore e amico. In questo capitolo vengono anche discussi i contributi di John Stuart Mill, Joseph Chamberlain, Alfred Marshall e Karl Marx e la loro influenza sull’opera di Potter. Il secondo capitolo prende in esame la sua opera prima dell’incontro con il marito e mostra come lo studio della povertà, del lavoro, della metropoli, della cooperazione e delle condizioni delle donne getti le basi di tutta la produzione successiva della partnership. Lo studio politico della povertà, cioè la messa a punto di una scienza amministrativa del carattere sociale del lavoro, rappresenta uno degli elementi principali di quella che viene qui definita un’epistemologia della democrazia. Il terzo capitolo riprende il tema cruciale della democrazia nella sua accezione «industriale» e indaga il ruolo funzionale dello Stato, anche in relazione alla teoria pluralista di Harold Laski, al socialismo guildista di George D. H. Cole e all’idealismo di Bernard Bosanquet. Centrale in questo confronto del pensiero di Potter con il più ampio dibattito degli anni venti e trenta sulla sovranità è la concezione della decadenza della civiltà capitalista e dell’emergere di una new civilisation, dopo la conversione al comunismo sovietico.

Spatial distribution of orofacial cleft birth defects and uranium-radium concentrations in tap water in Atascosa, Bee, Brooks, Calhoun, Duval, Goliad, Hidalgo, Jim Hogg, Jim Wells, Karnes, Kleberg, Live Oak, McMullen, Nueces, San Patricio, Refugio, Starr, Victoria, Webb, and Zavala Counties, Texas

Background Past and recent evidence shows that radionuclides in drinking water may be a public health concern. Developmental thresholds for birth defects with respect to chronic low level domestic radiation exposures, such as through drinking water, have not been definitely recognized, and there is a strong need to address this deficiency in information. In this study we examined the geographic distribution of orofacial cleft birth defects in and around uranium mining district Counties in South Texas (Atascosa, Bee, Brooks, Calhoun, Duval, Goliad, Hidalgo, Jim Hogg, Jim Wells, Karnes, Kleberg, Live Oak, McMullen, Nueces, San Patricio, Refugio, Starr, Victoria, Webb, and Zavala), from 1999 to 2007. The probable association of cleft birth defect rates by ZIP codes classified according to uranium and radium concentrations in drinking water supplies was evaluated. Similar associations between orofacial cleft birth defects and radium/radon in drinking water were reported earlier by Cech and co-investigators in another of the Gulf Coast region (Harris County, Texas).50, 55 Since substantial uranium mining activity existed and still exists in South Texas, contamination of drinking water sources with radiation and its relation to birth defects is a ground for concern. ^ Methods Residential addresses of orofacial cleft birth defect cases, as well as live births within the twenty Counties during 1999-2007 were geocoded and mapped. Prevalence rates were calculated by ZIP codes and were mapped accordingly. Locations of drinking water supplies were also geocoded and mapped. ZIP codes were stratified as having high combined uranium (≥30μg/L) vs. low combined uranium (<30μg/L). Likewise, ZIP codes having the uranium isotope, Ra-226 in drinking water, were also stratified as having elevated radium (≥3 pCi/L) vs. low radium (<3 pCi/L). A linear regression was performed using STATA® generalized linear model (GLM) program to evaluate the probable association between cleft birth defect rates by ZIP codes and concentration of uranium and radium via domestic water supply. These rates were further adjusted for potentially confounding variables such as maternal age, education, occupation, and ethnicity. ^ Results This study showed higher rates of cleft births in ZIP codes classified as having high combined uranium versus ZIP codes having low combined uranium. The model was further improved by adding radium stratified as explained above. Adjustment for maternal age and ethnicity did not substantially affect the statistical significance of uranium or radium concentrations in household water supplies. ^ Conclusion Although this study lacks individual exposure levels, the findings suggest a significant association between elevated uranium and radium concentrations in tap water and high orofacial birth defect rates by ZIP codes. Future case-control studies that can measure individual exposure levels and adjust for contending risk factors could result in a better understanding of the exposure-disease association.^

Letter from William Croswell to Benjamin Webb, 1820 January 3

Draft of a one-page letter with information on Croswell's activities.

Letter from William Croswell to Benjamin Webb, 1822 September 4

Draft of a one-page letter primarily concerning Croswell's Mercator maps.

Payment order for Benjamin Webb on behalf of his son, 1725 December 27

Handwritten order to Penn Townsend to pay scholarship funds to Benjamin Webb on behalf of his son Nathan Webb (Harvard AB 1725), signed by Thomas Foxcroft, John Marion, Samuel Marshall, and Jonathan Williams.

UM Women's Track Team, 1994

Front Row: Heather Grigg, Abbie Schaefer, Molly McClimon, Jennifer Barber, Christie Wilson, Amy Parker, Theresa Hall, Carrie Stewart, Mara Guillemette

Second Row: Laura Jerman, Holly Logue, Monika Black, Denise James, Katy Hollbacher, Kelly Chard, Courtney Babcock, Jackie Concaugh, Tearza Johnson, Emily Shively, Sharmila Prasad, Kim Skryd

Third Row: Kathryn Huffman, Annie Erlewine, Beth Gould, Richelle Webb, Michelle Spannagel, Kristie Wink, Chris Szabo, Karen Harvey, Jessica Kluge, Kristine Westerby, Ebony McClain, Colette Savage, Tonya Broad, Lisa Adams

Fourth Row: Ingrid Sharphorn, Elizabeth VanderVelde, Molly Lori, Jen Peterson, Ronda Meyers, Linda Stuck, Deb Mans, Jayna Greiner, Kathy Tomko, Laura Molnar

UM Women's Track Team, 1994

Front Row: Katy Hollbacher, Kristine Westerby, Chris Szabo, Courtney Babcock, Laura Jerman, Jessica Kluge, Richelle, Webb, Karen Harvey, Molly McClimon

Second Row: Ronda Meyers, Carrie Stewart, Theresa Hall, Tearza Johnson, Colette Savage, Annie Erlewine, Sharmila Prasad, Tanya Clay, Kim Skryd, Monika Black

Third Row: Emily Shively, Linda Stuck, Jen Peterson, Kathy Tomko, Tonya Broad, Julie Copley, Abbie Schaefer, Beth Gould, Mayrie Richards

Back Row: Jackie Concaugh, Mara Guillemette, Laura Molnar, Christie Wilson, Amy Parker, Jayna Greiner, Michelle Spannagel, Heather Grigg, Deb Mans

Mercantile Trust Company vs. the Portland & Ogdensburg Railroad Company et als. : hearing on bill; answers and proofs : abstract and points in behalf of Nathan Webb, Samuel E. Spring and Weston F. Milliken, trustees /

At head of title: Circuit Court of the United States. District of New Hampshire.

Some social notes addressed to Samuel Blachley Webb, 1776-1791;

One of 450 copies printed.

Elogio di Filippo Barker Webb /

Mode of access: Internet.

An account of the plants Halesia and Gardenia in a letter from John Ellis ... to Philip Carteret Webb ...

Detached from: Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. 1760. 51: 929-935, pl. 22-23.

Railroad engineering; instruction paper prepared by Walter Loring Webb.

Mode of access: Internet.