Hashtag as hybrid forum: The case of #agchatoz

This chapter imports Michel Callon’s model of the ‘hybrid forum’ (Callon et al, 2009, p. 18) into social media research, arguing that certain kinds of hashtag publics can be mapped onto this model. It explores this idea of the hashtag as hybrid forum through the worked example of #agchatoz—a hashtag used as both ‘meetup’ organizer for Australian farmers and other stakeholders in Australian agriculture, and as a topic marker for general discussion of related issues. Applying the principles and techniques of digital methods (Rogers, 2013), we employ a standard suite of analytics to a longitudinal dataset of #agchatoz tweets. The results are used not only to describe various elements and dynamics of this hashtag, but also to experiment with the articulation of such approaches with the theoretical model of the hybrid forum, as well as exploring the ways that controversies animate and transform such forums as part of the emergence and cross-pollination of issue publics.

"America Would Lose Its Soul" : The Immigration Restriction Debate, 1920-1924

Vuosien 1830 ja 1924 välillä Yhdysvaltoihin muutti noin 35 miljoonaa eurooppalaista. Tämä niinkutsuttu "maahanmuuton vuosisata" päättyi varsin äkillisesti kun Yhdysvallat päätti rajoittaa maahanmuuttoa 1920-luvulla. Vuosina 1921 ja 1924 säädetyt lait asettivat kansallisuuteen perustuvat kiintiöt kaikille eurooppalaisille maahanmuuttajille; vuoden 1924 laki myös lopetti kokonaan japanilaisten maahanmuuton. Tämä työ tutkii näihin kiintiölakeihin johtanutta maahanmuuttajavastaisuuden kasvua sekä etenkin lakien ympärillä käytyä keskustelua. Pääpaino on kongressissa esitetyissä maahanmuuton vastaisissa argumenteissa. Nämä jakautuivat karkeasti ottaen kolmeen kategoriaan: maahanmuuton vastustajat sanoivat, että siirtolaisten vaikutus taloudelliseen tilanteeseen oli epäsuotuisa, siirtolaisten rodullinen ja kulttuurinen "laatu" oli huonontunut, ja siirtolaiset olivat radikaaleja ja bolshevismiin taipuvaisia. Erityistä huolta herätti maahanmuuttajien vaikutus Amerikan kulttuuriseen, rodulliseen ja poliittiseen yhtenäisyyteen. Huoli kansakunnan yhtenäisyydestä oli tulosta paitsi siirtolaisten määrästä myös amerikkalaisessa yhteiskunnassa tapahtuneista muutoksista. Erityisen tärkeitä olivat työväenliikkeen vaikutusvallan kasvu ja teollisuusjohtajien pyrkimys pysäyttää se. Maahanmuuttajien "bolshevismi" olikin käyttökelpoinen argumentti paitsi maahanmuuttajia myös amerikkalaisia työläisiä vastaan: teollisuusjohtajat painottivat että lakot ja työväenliike olivat tulosta siirtolaisten mukanaan tuomista "epäamerikkalaisista" ajatusmalleista, eivät yhteiskunnan epäoikeudenmukaisuudesta. Kongressin keskustelun lisäksi työssä käsitellään myös eri yhteiskunnallisten ryhmien ja vaikuttajien kantaa siirtolaisuuteen. Keskusteluun maahanmuutosta vaikuttivat etenkin eugenistit ja muut sosiaalitieteilijät, jotka väittivät itä- ja eteläeurooppalaisten olevan rodullisesti anglosakseja huonompia. Tämän väitteen vaikutusvaltaa lisäsivät yhteiskunnassa vallalla olleet ennakkoluulot, ja monet yhdistykset ja liikkeet (mm. Ku Klux Klan ja erilaiset isänmaalliset järjestöt) olivatkin tärkeitä rajoittamisen kannattajia. Keskustelu maahanmuutosta painottui ideologisiin ja tunteellisiin kysymyksiin, mutta rajoitusten taustalla oli myös konkreettisempia tekijöitä. Yhteiskunnan teollistuminen ja kaupungistuminen olivat pienentäneet siirtolaisista koituvaa taloudellista hyötyä: siirtolaisia ei enää tarvittu raivaamaan uusia viljelysmaita, kun taas tuotannon koneistuminen vähensi työvoiman tarvetta huomattavasti. Pitkän aikavälin taloudellisten tekijöiden roolin merkitys käy ilmeiseksi kun otetaan huomioon, että muut maahanmuuttomaat (esim. Kanada ja Australia) eivät juuri rajoittaneet siirtolaisuutta tänä aikana vaikka niissäkin esiintyi runsaasti rodullista ja kulttuurista maahanmuuttajavastaisuutta. Pääsyy rajoitusten vähäisyyteen näissä maissa oli juuri maahanmuuttajien tuoma taloudellinen hyöty, sekä teollisena työvoimana että maanviljelijöinä. Vaikka kiintiölakiehdotusten ympärillä käytiin kiivasta väittelyä, kongressi kuitenkin hyväksyi lait varsin suurella enemmistöllä. Siirtolaisia itseään lukuunottamatta varsin harvat näkivät lait haitallisina, kun taas useat erilaiset ryhmät katsoivat hyötyvänsä maahanmuuton rajoittamisesta. Avainsanat: siirtolaisuus, maahanmuutto, Yhdysvallat, 1920-luku, kiintiölait, maahanmuuton rajoittaminen

Author responsibilities in improving the quality of peer reviews: A rejoinder to Iivari (2016)

In this rejoinder to Iivari (2016), I discuss authors’ responsibilities in the process of ensuring quality reviews. I argue that one overlooked element in quality peer reviewing is authors’ unconstrained right to submit manuscripts in whatever form or quality they desire. As such, I suggest adding some constraints and offering more freedom to reviewers to maintain viability of the scholarly publication system. I offer three responses to Iivari’s suggestions and add two further suggestions for change.

From the Mists of Time 1924-1991

Fragments from a childhood between the wars.

Author-Illustrator

This essay investigates the concept author-illustrator by drawing on two influential essays – ‘Death of the Author’ by Roland Barthes and ‘What is an Author?’ by Michel Foucault. By engaging with the key points of debate that emerge from these positions, this essay argues that the notion of author-illustrator is part of a wider discursive field that is embedded in a complex, commodified, multimedia public sphere where the author is paradoxically reinscribed and erased. This environment is changing the nature of the text, authorship, and reader-text interaction, but until now the concept author-illustrator has been largely absent from these discussions.

Ernest W. Michel Papers, 1698, 1938-1996 (bulk 1946-1987)

This collection contains the papers of Ernest W. Michel, Holocaust Survivor Journalist and public speaker,including clippings of newspaper articles written by and about Michel, correspondence between Michel and many important Jewish and political figures and autograph files, which Michel collected. Many of these files concern Michel’s Holocaust experiences, speaking engagements, the World Gathering of Jewish Holocaust Survivors, and Michel’s work with the United Jewish Appeal.

Shanghai Collection 1924 - 1950

The collection relates to life in the ghetto and includes materials on: founding of the ghetto; relief groups such as JDC, ORT, HIAS, and SACRA (Shanghai Ashkenazic Collaborating Relief Association); political organizations such as Zionist groups, the Bund; the rabbinate; the sick and benevolent society; kitchen fund; commercial establishments; religious schools , secular schools; professional associations; art, theater and music activities; Jewish press; emigration from Shanghai after World War II. There are also manuscript histories of the Shanghai Ghetto.

Growth of Jewish Land Settlements in Crimea 1924-1934

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Growth of Jewish land setllements in Crimea 1924-1929

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Temple Israel Boston, Massachusetts collection, 1924-1996

Temple Israel was founded as Congregation Adath Israel in 1854 when a group of German Jews broke from Congregation Ohabei Shalom. The congregation was also known as the Pleasant Street Synagogue. In 1859, the congregation purchased cemetery land in Wakefield, Massachusetts. The synagogue was, and remains, a Reform congregation, and has been home to well known Rabbis, including Joshua Loth Liebman and Roland B. Gittelsohn. This collection contains flyers, newsletters, pamphlets, sermons and a yearbook.

Max Michel Collection. 1933-1986 Bulk dates: 1933-1937

The bulk of the collections consists of correspondence from the 1930s relating to Michels’s job applications in the U.S. in different academic institutions and activities of the Hilfsverein der Juden in Deutschland. Also included is a 36 p. typescript, ‘Geschichte der Familie Wertheimer’; pamphlets by Juda Magnes and Kurt Blumenfeld on the university in Jerusalem; as well as family trees.

Queensland Spanner Crab Fishery: Commercial quota setting for June 2016 – May 2018

The Queensland (QLD) fishery for spanner crabs primarily lands live crab for export overseas, with gross landings valued around A$5 million per year. Quota setting rules are used to assess and adjust total allowable harvest (quota) around an agreed target harvest of 1631 t and capped at a maximum of 2000 t. The quota varies based on catch rate indicators from the commercial fishery and a fishery independent survey. Quota management applies only to ‘Managed Area A’ which includes waters between Rockhampton and the New South Wales (NSW) border. This report has been prepared to inform Fisheries Queensland (Department of Agriculture and Fisheries) and stakeholders of catch trends and the estimated quota of spanner crabs in Managed Area A for the forthcoming annual quota periods (1 June 2016–31 May 2018). The quota calculations followed the methodology developed by the crab fishery Scientific Advisory Group (SAG) between November 2007 and March 2008. The QLD total reported spanner crab harvest was 1170 t for the 2015 calendar year. In 2015, a total of 55 vessels were active in the QLD fishery, down from 262 vessels at the fishery’s peak activity in 1994. Recent spanner crab harvests from NSW waters average about 125 t per year, but fell to 80 t in 2014–2015. The spanner crab Managed Area A commercial standardised catch rate averaged 0.818 kg per net-lift in 2015, 22.5% below the target level of 1.043. Compared to 2014, mean catch rates in 2015 were marginally improved south of Fraser Island. The NSW–QLD survey catch rate in 2015 was 20.541 crabs per ground-line, 33% above the target level of 13.972. This represented an increase in survey catch rates of about four crabs per groundline, compared to the 2014 survey. The QLD spanner crab total allowable harvest (quota) was set at 1923 t in the 2012-13 and 2013-14 fishing years, 1777 t in 2014-15 and 1631 t in 2015-16. The results from the current analysis rules indicate that the quota for the next two fishing years be retained at the base quota of 1631 t.

Queensland Spanner Crab Fishery : Commercial quota setting for June 2015 – May 2016

The Australian fishery for spanner crabs is the largest in the world, with the larger Queensland (QLD) sector’s landings primarily exported live overseas and GVP valued ~A$5 million per year. Spanner crabs are unique in that they may live up to 15 years, significantly more than blue swimmer crabs (Portunus armatus) and mud crabs (Scylla serrata), the two other important crab species caught in Queensland. Spanner crabs are caught using a flat net called a dilly, on which the crabs becoming entangled via the swimming legs. Quota setting rules are used to assess and adjust total allowable harvest (quota) around an agreed target harvest of 1631 t and capped at a maximum of 2000 t. The quota varies based on catch rate indicators from the commercial fishery and a fishery-independent survey from the previous two years, compared to target reference points. Quota management applies only to ‘Managed Area A’ which includes waters between Rockhampton and the New South Wales (NSW) border. This report has been prepared to inform Fisheries Queensland (Department of Agriculture and Fisheries) and stakeholders of catch trends and the estimated quota of spanner crabs in Managed Area A for the forthcoming quota period (1 June 2015–31 May 2016). The quota calculations followed the methodology developed by the crab fishery Scientific Advisory Group (SAG) between November 2007 and March 2008. The total reported spanner crab harvest was 917 t for the 2014 calendar year, almost all of which was taken from Managed Area A. In 2014, a total of 59 vessels were active in the QLD fishery, the lowest number since the peak in 1994 of 262 vessels. Recent spanner crab harvests from NSW waters have been about 125 t per year. The spanner crab Managed Area A commercial standardised catch rate averaged 0.739 kg per net-lift in 2014, 24% below the target level of 1.043. Mean catch rates declined in the commercial fishery in 2014, although the magnitude of the decreases was highest in the area north of Fraser Island. The NSW–QLD survey catch rate in 2014 was 16.849 crabs per ground-line, 22% above the target level of 13.972. This represented a decrease in survey catch rates of 0.366 crabs per ground-line, compared to the 2013 survey. The Queensland spanner crab total allowable harvest (quota) was set at 1923 t in 2012 and 2013. In 2014, the quota was calculated at the base level of 1631 t. However, given that the 2012 fisheryindependent survey was not undertaken for financial reasons, stakeholders proposed that the total allowable commercial catch (TACC) be decreased to 1777 t; a level that was halfway between the 2012/13 quota of 1923 t and the recommended base quota of 1631 t. The results from the current analysis indicate that the quota for the 2015-2016 financial year be decreased from 1777 t to the base quota of 1631 t.

Käytännöt ja ajattelu Michel Foucault'n filosofiassa

Practices and Thought in Michel Foucault s Philosophy The present thesis examines Michel Foucault s (1926-1984) notion of practice and argues that it is an essential concept in his philosophy, especially in his analysis of knowledge, power and ethics. The thesis reveals a previously neglected chronological and methodological unity in Foucault s work. The first chapter clarifies Foucault s philosophy by outlining it according to four central themes. First, the main philosophical goal of his historical studies is to analyse how human subjects have become objects of their own thinking. Second, this goal calls for methodological precaution to avoid all anthropological universals. Third, Foucault s studies are directed towards fields of practices. Fourth, the analysis of practices is executed along three axes: knowledge, power and ethics. The second chapter concerns the notion of practice in Foucault s archaeological method. Foucault s archaeological analysis is not directed towards objects and subjects as such, but to the way that the rules of discursive practice form them in the discourse. Many commentators have neglected Foucault s concept of practice when discussing his ideas concerning rules of discourse and limits of knowledge. I argue that Foucault s analysis concerning the limits of knowledge relates to local and contingent rules of discursive practice, not to transcendental rules of thinking in general. The third chapter deals with power relations and practices. I clarify Foucault s concept of dispositif by defining it as a functional ensemble of practices, and argue that this concept is crucial to his understanding of power relations. I stress a conceptual definition, which separates relations of power from the practices of government and show that the latter is based on the idea that power relations are integrated into practices. This conceptual clarification also helps in understanding Foucault s critique concerning modern practices of power. The fourth chapter examines Foucault s way of perceiving ethics as a practice. He separates three essential dimensions in morals: moral codes, moral behaviour and practices of self. His ethics concern practices of self and he studies how these practices have constituted different relations that subjects have to themselves, to others and to their societies. I argue that Foucault s own ethical views can be found in the ideas on the importance of practices of self in the modern world, and emphasize that these ideas should be connected to his views concerning the tradition of the Enlightenment, and to his own political action.