Estimating policy positions from political texts

The analysis of policy-based party;;competition will not make serious progress beyond the constraints of (a) the unitary actor assumption and (b) a static approach to analyzing party competition between elections until a method is available for deriving; reliable and valid time-series estimates of the policy positions of large numbers of political actors. Retrospective estimation of these positions;In past party systems will require a method for estimating policy positions from political texts.

Previous hand-coding content analysis schemes deal with policy emphasis rather than policy positions. We propose a new hand-coding scheme for policy positions, together with a new English language computer,coding scheme that is compatible with this. We apply both schemes; to party manifestos from Britain and Ireland in 1992 and 1997 and cross validate the resulting estimates with :those derived from quite independent expert surveys and with previous,manifesto analyses.

There is a high degree of cross validation between coding methods. including computer coding. This implies that it is indeed possible to use computer-coded content analysis to derive reliable and valid estimates of policy positions from political texts. This will allow vast Volumes of text to be coded, including texts generated by individuals and other internal party actors, allowing the empirical elaboration of dynamic rather than static models of party competition that move beyond the unitary actor assumption.

Phylogeny and ancient DNA of Sus provides insights into neolithic expansion in Island Southeast Asia and Oceania

Human settlement of Oceania marked the culmination of a global colonization process that began when humans first left Africa at least 90,000 years ago. The precise origins and dispersal routes of the Austronesian peoples and the associated Lapita culture remain contentious, and numerous disparate models of dispersal (based primarily on linguistic, genetic, and archeological data) have been proposed. Here, through the use of mtDNA from 781 modern and ancient Sus specimens, we provide evidence for an early human-mediated translocation of the Sulawesi warty pig (Sus celebensis) to Flores and Timor and two later separate human-mediated dispersals of domestic pig (Sus scrofa) through Island Southeast Asia into Oceania. Of the later dispersal routes, one is unequivocally associated with the Neolithic (Lapita) and later Polynesian migrations and links modern and archeological Javan, Sumatran, Wallacean, and Oceanic pigs with mainland Southeast Asian S. scrofa. Archeological and genetic evidence shows these pigs were certainly introduced to islands east of the Wallace Line, including New Guinea, and that so-called "wild" pigs within this region are most likely feral descendants of domestic pigs introduced by early agriculturalists. The other later pig dispersal links mainland East Asian pigs to western Micronesia, Taiwan, and the Philippines. These results provide important data with which to test current models for human dispersal in the region. © 2007 by The National Academy of Sciences of the USA.

Genome analysis of a simultaneously predatory and prey-independent, novel Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus from the River Tiber, supports in silico predictions of both ancient and recent lateral gene transfer from diverse bacteria

BACKGROUND: Evolution equipped Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus predatory bacteria to invade other bacteria, digesting and replicating, sealed within them thus preventing nutrient-sharing with organisms in the surrounding environment. Bdellovibrio were previously described as "obligate predators" because only by mutations, often in gene bd0108, are 1 in ~1x10(7) of predatory lab strains of Bdellovibrio converted to prey-independent growth. A previous genomic analysis of B. bacteriovorus strain HD100 suggested that predatory consumption of prey DNA by lytic enzymes made Bdellovibrio less likely than other bacteria to acquire DNA by lateral gene transfer (LGT). However the Doolittle and Pan groups predicted, in silico, both ancient and recent lateral gene transfer into the B. bacteriovorus HD100 genome.

RESULTS: To test these predictions, we isolated a predatory bacterium from the River Tiber- a good potential source of LGT as it is rich in diverse bacteria and organic pollutants- by enrichment culturing with E. coli prey cells. The isolate was identified as B. bacteriovorus and named as strain Tiberius. Unusually, this Tiberius strain showed simultaneous prey-independent growth on organic nutrients and predatory growth on live prey. Despite the prey-independent growth, the homolog of bd0108 did not have typical prey-independent-type mutations. The dual growth mode may reflect the high carbon content of the river, and gives B. bacteriovorus Tiberius extended non-predatory contact with the other bacteria present. The HD100 and Tiberius genomes were extensively syntenic despite their different cultured-terrestrial/freshly-isolated aquatic histories; but there were significant differences in gene content indicative of genomic flux and LGT. Gene content comparisons support previously published in silico predictions for LGT in strain HD100 with substantial conservation of genes predicted to have ancient LGT origins but little conservation of AT-rich genes predicted to be recently acquired.

CONCLUSIONS: The natural niche and dual predatory, and prey-independent growth of the B. bacteriovorus Tiberius strain afforded it extensive non-predatory contact with other marine and freshwater bacteria from which LGT is evident in its genome. Thus despite their arsenal of DNA-lytic enzymes; Bdellovibrio are not always predatory in natural niches and their genomes are shaped by acquiring whole genes from other bacteria.

EU Cross-Border Cooperation and Conflict Transformation in the Basque and Irish Border Regions

Comparative research on violent conflict in the Basque Country and Ireland has yielded a sizable body of published academic work. Less well explored is the relationship between conflict transformation and cross-border cooperation in that specific comparative context. This paper provides a comparative examination of Third (not for profit) sector cross-border cooperation as conflict transformation in the Basque (France/Spain) and Irish (UK/Ireland) border regions. To what extent does cross-border cooperation contribute to peacebuilding in the two last violent ethnonationalist conflicts in Western Europe? The comparison is based on the premise that the EU played a different role in both cases. In the Irish case, the EU contributed to the institutionalization of a peace process that included cross-border cooperation between third sector organizations among the policy instruments contributing to conflict transformation. In the Basque case, the unilateral renunciation of violence by ETA (Euskadi eta Askatasuna) in 2010 did not generate the consistent involvement of the EU in a comparable institutional peace process. However, some third sector organizations used EU instruments for cross-border economic, social and cultural cooperation between France and Spain in order to reinforce their cross-border networks, which indirectly impacted on conflict transformation. The effectiveness of this cross-border cooperation for conflict transformation is assessed comparatively. To what extent does this increase in cross-border cooperation “from below” connect to wider institutional and social processes of conflict transformation in Ireland and the Basque Country? Crucially, does the strengthening of cross-border relations on shared issues mollify or sharpen existing identity cleavages? Also considered is the sustainability of such cooperation in these regions in light of the less favourable post-2004 EU funding environment, and the post-2008 economic and political turmoil affecting the relevant EU member states, especially Ireland and Spain.

Polybius’ ‘previous landslide’: Proof that Hannibal’s invasion route crossed the col de la traversette

Both Polybius and Livy described a landslide/landslip that blocked the Punic Army’s exfiltration from a high col on the water divide in the Western Alps. The landslide, more aptly termed rockfall, has been a source of contention amongst classicists for centuries despite the fact that only two cols—Clapier and Traversette—exhibit rockfall debris on the lee side of the Alps. While the Clapier rockfall is too small and too young to have provided blockage, the Traversette debris is nearly as Polybius described it when he retraced the invasion route some 60 years after the event. His ‘two-tier’ description of the deposit, a doublet of younger and older rock rubble, including measurements of width and volume are close to modern measurements and prove that he knew, in advance, the route Hannibal had followed. It would take a practiced eye to correctly identify the stratigraphic complexity inherent in the Traversette Rockfall. Here we present weathering ratios, soil stratigraphic, mineral, chemical and microbiological evidence in support of Polybius’ observations as a considerable background database for future geoarchaeological exploration.

Organophosphonates revealed: new insights into the microbial metabolism of ancient molecules.

Organophosphonates are ancient molecules that contain the chemically stable C–P bond, which is considered a relic of the reducing atmosphere on primitive earth. Synthetic phosphonates now have a wide range of applications in the agricultural, chemical and pharmaceutical industries. However, the existence of C–P compounds as contemporary biogenic molecules was not discovered until 1959, with the identification of 2-aminoethylphosphonic acid in rumen protozoa. Here, we review advances in our understanding of the biochemistry and genetics of microbial phosphonate metabolism, and discuss the role of these compounds and of the organisms engaged in their turnover within the P cycle.

Rui Morais, Miguel Bandeira, Eliana Manuel Pinho, “Itineraria Sacra. Bracara Augusta Fidelis et Ancient

Recensão do livro "Itineraria Sacra. Bracara Augusta Fidelis et Ancient

Examining how post-secondary L2 readers make use of background knowledge when reading literary texts an exploratory study

Literary texts offer rich opportunities for language learning. However, can second language (L2) learners fully understand L2 literary texts? According to Bernhardt (2001):"the act of reading in a second language is extremely tricky -- is even trickier with literary texts that are inherently ambiguous, full of metaphor and intertextual relations to texts to which the readers have no access" (p.198). In other words, L2 readers are often poorly equipped grammatically, linguistically and culturally to cope with literary texts in which it might be difficult to recognize figurative language, to comprehend metaphors, to identify underlying cultural assumptions and above all to think critically while navigating those complexities. Therefore, during the reading process, L2 readers encounter gaps in the text which necessarily compel them to use whatever background knowledge they possess in order to create meaning. The purpose of this research is to see exactly how post-secondary L2 readers use their existing background knowledge to understand literary texts and what they do when confronted with text passages for which they lack such knowledge.

Spectroscopic techniques for characterizing portuguese glazed ceramics:a contribution to the study of ancient faiences of Coimbra

Tese de doutoramento, Física, Universidade de Lisboa, Faculdade de Ciências, 2013

A luz na pintura de representação : mito, representação e luz na prática pictórica : (1550-1650)

Tese de doutoramento, Belas-Artes (Pintura), Universidade de Lisboa, Faculdade de Belas-Artes, 2014

Tartessos: a construção de identidades através do registo escrito e da documentação arqueológica : um estudo comparativo

Tese de doutoramento, História (Arqueologia), Universidade de Lisboa, Faculdade de Letras, 2014

What is poetic attention

Tese de doutoramento, Estudos de Literatura e de Cultura (Teoria da Literatura), Universidade de Lisboa, Faculdade de Letras, 2014

Twentieth Century Modern Architecture and the Countryside: Ludwig Mies van der Rohe's design for a country gold clubhouse for the Krefeld Golf Club Association

This paper investigates relationships between modernity and monumentality in the architecture of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. In his Modern Architecture, the critic and historian Kenneth Frampton separated Mies’ work into two historical periods, 1921-1933 and 1933-1967; the first he entitled ‘Mies van der Rohe and the significance of fact,’ the second ‘Mies van der Rohe and the monumentalisation of technique.’ The two historical periods correspond to two different geopolitical phases of Mies’ career, the first in Weimar Germany the second in the United States. By looking at a number of designs and texts made by Mies in the 1930’s and 1940’s, this essay questions the validity of separating Mies’ architecture into such clear-cut categories, where each one can enjoy a seeming independence from the other. The fulcrum for the discussion is Mies’ design of 1930 for a country golf clubhouse for the industrial town of Krefeld in north-western Germany. Our attention to the golf clubhouse design was prompted by the recent installation (2013), in which a 1-1 model of the design, made primarily from plywood, was erected in a field close the the site of Mies' original proposal.