Myth-science-colloquium

Group exhibition curated by Plastique Fantastique. Contributors include Plastique Fantastique, Tai Shani, Benedict Drew, Oreet Ashery, Tom Clarke, Mark Jackson, and AAS.

世論という神話―望むのは「死刑」ですか？’ (Public opinion myth: is ‘death’ what we really want?)

This paper summarises Mai Sato's recent report on public attitudes to the death penalty in Japan.

Myth and Society: Functions, Uses, and Abuses of Myth in Society

In this work, I will discuss the integral role that myth has in society and then, after presenting several examples of this thesis, I will examine how the integral nature of myth lends itself to certain societal abuses. These abuses often result in unjust social constructs that eventually become attributed to the myth. I would like to proceed in defense of myth; that is, that these constructs are not to be attributed to the myths themselves, rather, society has taken myth and applied it to suit its purposes, ignoring the context in which the myths originated. Hopefully this will raise society's current attitudes toward myth to a level of respect, and will also help to clear myth of its reputation as the origin of injustice and domination.

The urban female labour market in Latin America: the myth and the reality

Includes bibliography

Privatization in Latin America: from myth to reality

Includes bibliography

The Myth of the Rational Market: Nudging Each Other Away from Fool’s Gold

A flurry of media commentary and several new books are focused on the recent financial crisis and near economic collapse. A Newsweek article by Zakaria (2009), “Greed is Good (To a Point),” suggests reconsidering the role of greed in capitalism. This is also the theme in Fools Gold (Tett, 2009), a story about the way derivatives markets have evolved: showing greed at its worst. In many ways this is the core source of the current set of problems. In some sense, these perspectives are integrated in The Myth of the Rational Market by Fox (2009), who traces the thinking on the efficient market hypothesis, now understood for what it is: a myth. Both books are based in large part on interviews with major players in the crisis. There are also books drawing mainly on science, but still quite accessible to general readers, as represented in Nudge by Thaler and Sunstein (2008). Both have done extensive research on human foibles in economic choice. There is also Animal Spirits (Akerlof and Schiller, 2009), a book about what Keynesian economics is really about, a look at human forces at work. Akerlof is a Nobel prize winner in economics, who before this has pointed to the problems with presuming rationality in real markets. Schiller is one of the few economists who predicted these events.

Dispelling the Mascot Myth: The Misuse of Indigenous Peoples as Mascots in American Schools

This workshop details the deculturalization process that takes place when Indigenous Peoples are used as mascots in school-related activities; examines the arguments(s) and defensive tactics used by sports fans and school officials to maintain these hegemonic images; and offers successful strategies for developing policy toward the elimination of Indigenous Peoples as mascots.

Food-Retail Development and the Myth of Everyday Low Prices: The Case of Brazil

This article analyses the changes in Brazilian food retailing by investigating the co-existence of, and the pricing variation across, large supermarket chains and small independent supermarkets. It uses cointegration tests to show that, despite the widespread belief that small supermarkets are inefficient and charge higher prices, they in fact charge lower prices. Accordingly, in contrast to the prevailing literature on food-retail development, competition in food retail is complex and cannot be described as a simple Darwinian process of market concentration. The article explores the survival of small retail and its consequences for the current discussion on modern food retail in developing countries.

Plant immunostimulants-Scientific paradigm or myth?

In traditional medicine, numerous plant preparations are used to treat inflammation both topically and systemically. Several anti-inflammatory plant extracts and a few natural product-based monosubstances have even found their way into the clinic. Unfortunately, a number of plant secondary metabolites have been shown to trigger detrimental pro-allergic immune reactions and are therefore considered to be toxic. In the phytotherapy research literature, numerous plants are also claimed to exert immunostimulatory effects. However, while the concepts of plant-derived anti-inflammatory agents and allergens are well established, the widespread notion of immunostimulatory plant natural products and their potential therapeutic use is rather obscure, often with the idea that the product is some sort of "tonic" for the immune system without actually specifying the mechanisms. In this commentary it is argued that the paradigm of oral plant immunostimulants lacks clinical evidence and may therefore be a myth, which has originated primarily from in vitro studies with plant extracts. The fact that no conclusive data on orally administered immunostimulants can be found in the scientific literature inevitably prompts us to challenge this paradigm.