Oxford University Press's Blog, page 908

Cops and Robbers Redux

By Michael Weiner

The activity has many names: “rough and tumble,” “boy,” “physical,” “aggressive.” We see it everywhere, on playgrounds, in homes, at schools. With early childhood education literature rife with new research, we recognize that this type of play activity is developmentally essential for children. It aids in motor development, empathy building, healthy social interaction, enhancing self-esteem and more. So why are so many of us uncomfortable with it? If so many children are doing it, could it be improper and inappropriate?

In the teacher development workshops I run, the topic of “aggressive play” on the playground comes up. Preschool teachers bring anecdotes, we examine them, and we try to understand what is happening and develop strategies for addressing the difficulties. Teachers (and their administrators) raise logical concerns about injuries, liability and negative parental reaction.

The word aggressive has a negative connotation, especially when applied to children: belligerent, hostile, and implying some level of intent to do harm. The use of a word like aggressive to describe developmentally sound physical play indicates that these teachers have a predisposition to see these interactions as something to be avoided.

“What types of play do you see as aggressive?”: swords, super heroes, guns, pushing, ninjas, wrestling, and so on. Many teachers see this play as inevitably dangerous. The pace, physicality and fluidity of playground play create the perception that they lack control over the environment. The teachers run around acting like police officers: “Stop.” “Don’t do that.” “Hand to yourselves.” “Get off.” “Timeout.” They are exhausted. “What should we do?” they ask, “How can we stop it?”

My solution is… “Don’t.”

An educational arrangement for the playground can be established; it just needs to be defined differently. The current structure of monitoring and policing is neither effective nor grounded in any sort of developmental perspective and repeatedly telling kids to stop rough-housing is simply fruitless. Many schools have resorted to penalty or consequence system. Sadly, some schools have even taken to just barring any type of physical play altogether. What could happen if they allow rough and tumble on the playground?

Rose Coffield decided to take me up on my suggestion and allows the physical play to take place unencumbered one day. There were some scrapes, a few bruises, and a couple of curious parents. She asks the class about the difference between yesterday and today and the injuries. The students answer, “Today it was rough!” “How did you feel about it?” she follows up. Smiles. “We liked it.” And an idea is born.

Ms. Rose and I begin to develop a strategy for working with physical play. We call it The Empowered Playground. We capture play situations on camera, show the videos to the preschool students, and then engage them in multi-layered discussions including play planning, rule creation, behavior modification, increasing self-awareness, and empathy building. Ms. Rose talks to the students and asks them questions: How did that feel? Did you like that? Why was your facial expression different from your actions? Were you following the rules that the class set up?

One situation we examined involves three children playing “rough” (the student’s chosen label for physical play). David and Steven are wrestling with Beth, holding her down on the ground. She struggles in their arms until she breaks free. They back away and she charges after them. Ms. Rose pauses the video.

Steven (excitedly): We were battling her. She was bad.


Ms. Rose: (to Beth) How were you feeling when you were being battled?


Beth: Not so good. I felt I was being rough-handed.


David: But Beth said she wanted to play rough!


Ms. Rose: Well, maybe she felt it got too rough…Beth, did you tell David and Steven that you did not like what they were doing?


Beth: No.


Ms. Rose: In the future, if things get too rough, what can you say to them?


Beth: I can say stop.


The Class (speaking over Beth): She can say stop!!


Ms. Rose: Yes. David and Steven, how would you know by looking at Beth’s face in the video that Beth might feel that she is being rough-handed?


David: She looks sad. I forgot she looked sad.

In the classroom, away from the noise and tumult of the playground, Ms. Rose uses teaching to manage “aggressive” play. The video creates an emotional separation from the actual incident that allows these four-year-olds to learn from honest and non-defensive discussions about their behaviors and their feelings. It also creates a time capsule impervious to distortions of memory. The children are reminded of what happened and Ms. Rose does not have to catch every incident. One event provides the instructive experience to everyone, not just to those involved.

The Empowered Playground demonstrates the growth possibilities for young children asked to challenge their role in physical and emotional human exchanges. We shape the experience by focusing on the relational aspects of physical play: mutuality, self-awareness, self-advocacy and empathy. Let’s not underestimate them. We know that children integrate new information efficiently at an early age. So why not help them develop the skills to take charge of these interactions as early as possible?

There will be bumps, bruises, anger, tension, consternation, and frustration. You may ask, because they are so young, is it not our responsibility to shield children from these possible hazards? I say why squander our resources. Allow educators to educate. Include of all types of play, especially ones that involve navigating power differences. Encourage the opportunity for students to take ownership over the structure of playground time and their behavior on the playground. Utilize technology to generate a learning experience. For Ms. Rose, it has worked to dramatically alter her students’ behavior on the playground. They learn from each other; they listen to each other; they understand each other; and they feel responsible for each other. And they are only four. Think about the possibilities.

Michael Weiner, LCSW is a psychotherapist with a private practice in New York City. His specialty is work with traumatized children, adolescents and their parents. He is an adjunct professor at LaGuardia Community College in the Human Services program. He also is an early childhood education consultant providing teacher development workshops focused on increasing knowledge of the psychological theories at work in the classroom. He recently participated in the “Oxford Talk with Social Workers” video series, created in conjunction with NASW Press and Oxford University Press’s upcoming release of the Encyclopedia of Social Work and has a possible forthcoming title about the child psychotherapy process under review at OUP.

The Encyclopedia of Social Work is the first continuously updated online collaboration between the National Association of Social Workers (NASW Press) and Oxford University Press (OUP). Building off the classic reference work, a valuable tool for social workers for over 85 years, the online resource of the same name offers the reliability of print with the accessibility of a digital platform. Over 400 overview articles, on key topics ranging from international issues to ethical standards, offer students, scholars, and practitioners a trusted foundation for a lifetime of work and research, with new articles and revisions to existing articles added regularly.

Subscribe to the OUPblog via email or RSS.


Subscribe to only social work articles on the OUPblog via email or RSS.


Image credit: Image via shutterstock.

The post Cops and Robbers Redux appeared first on OUPblog.

                Related StoriesCelebrating Women’s Equality DaySophie Elisabeth, not an anachronismPreparing for APSA 2013 

How can a human being ‘disappear’?

On the 30th of August the United Nations observes the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances. Emmanuel Decaux (President of the UN Committee on Enforced Disappearances) and Olivier de Frouville (Chair and Rapporteur of the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances (WGEID)) have taken the time to consider a few questions with us in recognition of this important observance day, which was established by the UNGA (resolution 65/209, para. 4).

Installation on the Disappeared on the day of the celebration of the 8th anniversary of the Peruvian Truth and Reconciliation Commission, Plaza San Martin, August 26th, 2011. Photo by Catherine Binet. Creative Commons License via The Advocacy Project Flickr.

How can a human being ‘disappear’? What does this term represent?

Emmanuel Decaux: There is a big difference between a “missing person” and an enforced disappearance, with a secret detention of a person and a denial of his whereabouts. The legal definition of enforced disappearance implies an imputability to the State, which can act directly by its agents (such as the police or armed forces), but also indirectly, by giving its authorization, support, or acquiescence to non-State actors (such as paramilitary groups or clandestine forces). When private actors are responsible and the State is not involved, neither directly nor indirectly, its duty is to find the disappeared person and to prosecute the perpetrators. However, in this case we are referring to a crime of “droit commun” (common law) and not a crime of the State. The Convention of 2006 takes a step further in calling on States to investigate acts committed by persons or groups of persons acting without its authorization, support, or acquiescence and to bring those responsible to justice. But the main responsibility is the responsibility of States, by action or by omission.

Olivier de Frouville: Enforced disappearance is a technique of terror. Victims of disappearances do not disappear willingly or by accident. They are the victims of a crime, consisting in the deprivation of their liberty, and the subsequent denial of that deprivation of liberty or the refusal to provide any information about the fate or the whereabouts of the disappeared person, thus placing this person outside the protection of the law. Enforced disappearances are part of counter-subversive strategies used by some intelligence services and security personnel, together with torture and summary executions. Typically, a number of persons are arrested, in an effort to obtain information and dismantle illegal groups or simply to terrorize the civilian population and obtain obedience.

Many people associate the term ‘disappeared’ (Desaparecidos) with the crimes carried out by Pinochet’s regime. Is this the origin of the term?

Emmanuel Decaux: The phenomenon was not new but its systematic use was a characteristic of military regimes in Latin America. They established between them a secret transborder cooperation with the Condor plan. It explains the concern of Latin American countries, with both a regional instrument and also a leading role in the UN system. But we have to say that every country ought to be concerned by enforced disappearance, not only due to military dictatorships or civil wars, but also in democracies, as we’ve seen in the reports of the APCE on the network of secret detentions of the CIA and the case law of the European Court on Human Rights. The legal nature of the Convention could be a motivation for all States to take preventive measures, looking to the future rather than only at the past, and to fully cooperate with others States in an international framework.

Olivier de Frouville: If you read the Nacht und Nebel Decree signed by Keitel in 1941, you will find an exact description of what enforced disappearances are. This is a codification of the practice, condemned as a crime against humanity and a crime of war by the International Military Tribunal in Nuremberg:

“The territories occupied by Germany were administered in violation of the laws of war. The evidence is quite overwhelming of a systematic rule of violence, brutality and terror. On 7 December 1941 Hitler issued the directive since known as the ‘Nacht und Nebel Erlass’ (Night and Fog Decree), under which persons who committed offenses against the Reich or the German forces in occupied territories, except where the death sentence was certain, were to be taken secretly to Germany and handed over to the SIPO and SD for trial or punishment in Germany. This decree was signed by the Defendant Keitel. After these civilians arrived in Germany, no word of them was permitted to reach the country from which they came, or their relatives; even in cases where they died awaiting trial, the families were not informed, the purpose being to create anxiety in the minds of the family of the arrested person.”

Hitler’s purpose in issuing this decree was stated by the Defendant Keitel in a covering letter, dated 12 December 1941:

“Efficient and enduring intimidation can only be achieved either by capital punishment or by measures by which the relatives of the criminal and the population do not know the fate of the criminal. The aim is achieved when the criminal is transferred to Germany.” (Nuremberg Judgement, IMT Serie, vol. I, 232-233)

Other interesting analysis of the NN Decree is included in the Justice Case (4 December 1947, TWC, vol. III, 1057-1058). The practice seems to have been revived during the colonial wars in an effort to find new techniques to dismantle illegal armed groups and their cells. It was then exported to Latin America, and then used extensively in the context of the Condor plan. Afterwards, it spread all over the world.

How can international law make a difference?

Emmanuel Decaux: The elements of the crime of enforced disappearance are already violations of international human rights law, as a breach of such basic rights as to the right to life, the prohibition of torture, the “right to recognition everywhere as a person before the law,” the due process of justice, etc. There is a strong case law of the Human Rights Committee and of regional Courts, such as the European Court of Human Rights or the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, in this field. But the “complex phenomenon” of enforced disappearance was not dealt as such in its systematic nature.

The new trend of international law is to stick to the core element and to create a new human right, the right to not being subjected to enforced disappearance and to organise the international cooperation in matters of prevention, protection, prosecution, and reparation. The first step was the creation of the WGEID in 1980 and the adoption of the Declaration on the protection of all persons from enforced disappearance by the GA in 1992. Another important step was the qualification of enforced disappearance as a crime against humanity by the Rome Statute. The latest development was the adoption in 2006 of a new treaty, the Convention on the protection of all persons from enforced disappearance, which entered into effect on 23 December 2010, after the twentieth ratification. As of today, there are 40 State Parties and the Committee on enforced disappearances (members were elected in May 2011) is fully functioning with 10 independent experts from all regions of the world.

The Convention is at the crossroads of international human rights law and of criminal law. As other treaty-bodies, its main functions are to examine the reports submitted by States parties on the implementation of the Convention and to consider individual communications. But it can also receive and consider urgent actions, undertake country visits, and bring reports of widespread or systematic practise of enforced disappearance to the attention of the UN General Assembly. The Convention qualifies enforced disappearance as a crime and requires States parties to adapt their domestic legislation in order to incriminate enforced disappearance as such, as an autonomous crime. Furthermore it underlines that the widespread or systematic practice of enforced disappearance qualifies as a “crime against humanity” according to the rules of international law. The Convention is also very important to prevent enforced disappearance, with legislative and administrative measures strengthening the rule of law, in order to forbid secret detention and to create accountability. Its last field is the rights of victims, taking into account vulnerable groups, such as children. All these legal obligations taken together constitute a strong framework to fight against impunity and to promote justice.

The Convention created an important momentum and the first goal is to trigger universal ratification and effective implementation. The Committee is the watchdog of the Convention but its broad mandate is to cooperate with other international bodies, such as the Human Rights Committee or the WGEID, and with the International Red Cross Committee (IRCC) and NGOs. The Committee has close links with the WGEID and the International Day is a special occasion for us to pay tribute to the victims and to the struggle of civil society across the world.

Olivier de Frouville: At the time when the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo in Argentina were challenging the military dictatorship and calling the international community to help them in their quest for truth and justice, enforced disappearances were not well identified as such. Identifying the phenomenon and giving it a legal definition, as well as defining the legal obligations of States, was really the first essential and necessary step towards an effective action against this scourge. The WGEID played a major role to this regard, as it analysed the phenomenon on the basis of the communications and cases it received, and tried both to come up with a legal definition and with a satisfactory legal regime, dealing with all aspects of the problem.

Enforced disappearance is a complex crime and almost all fields of law are affected. It is important to create an autonomous crime of enforced disappearance in the penal code, to submit this crime to universal jurisdiction, but also to provide for integral reparation to the victims, as well as with a strong national mechanism aiming at clarifying the fate or the whereabouts of the victims. Civil status issues are also at stake, as the disappearance of persons leaves pending a whole range of matters, like marriage, inheritance, or guardianship. The disappearance and appropriation of children also create difficult problems. Identification of stolen children can lead to the restitution of their true identity, sometimes against their own will. In many cases, international cooperation is needed, due to the transnational nature of the practice. For instance, in the framework of Condor, citizens from Uruguay or Chile were abducted in Argentina through joint operations undertaken by the intelligence services of both countries, and then taken to Montevideo to be tortured and executed. Unfortunately, this pattern was used again in the context of post 9/11 “war on terror”: the “extraordinary renditions” program is strikingly similar to what happened in Latin America in the past.

What issues is the United Nations Working Group on Enforced and Involuntary Disappearances focused on currently?

Olivier de Frouville: The WGEID did a fantastic job in its first years. If you read the first reports, all the main issues are well-identified. During its 30 years of existence, the WGEID explored those issues on the basis of the communications, allegations, and testimonies it received from families of victims, NGOs, and States. It drafted a number of studies but also, from 1993, “general comments” aiming at interpreting the 1992 Declaration for the Protection of All Persons Against Enforced Disappearances. These general comments can be found on the WGEID’s website.

What we are doing now is revisiting a number of issues in the light of new facts and situations, but also in the light of the evolution of international law. For instance, the idea that there is a right to the truth of the families of the disappeared was asserted in the very first report of the WGEID in 1981. But now it has become an emerging right in international law and it applies not only to enforced disappearances but also to other serious human rights violations. There has been major developments in this field, which led us to adopt a General comment on this issue. Now, there are many new challenges arising and touching upon a broad range of issues. We have recently adopted two new General comments, one on Women facing enforced disappearances (as disappeared persons, as family members, and as being often at the forefront of the fight against enforced disappearances), and another on children (as disappeared and appropriated children, but also as family members). We dedicated our last annual report to new trends in the field of reparation. And we are currently starting a study on the consequences of enforced disappearances on economic, social and cultural rights. Other issues we would like to look at in the coming years are the use of forensic analysis (particularly DNA tests in the search of the disappeared), the prevention of enforced disappearances (particularly the role of habeas corpus), and enforced disappearances during armed conflicts. Strangely, international criminal law recognizes enforced disappearance as a crime against humanity, but not as a crime of war. Of course, we also continue to try to improve our methods of work. Our main task is to provide assistance to the families of the disappeared: we aim at being as efficient as possible in fulfilling this task.

What issues is the Committee on Enforced Disappearances (CED) focused on currently?

Emmanuel Decaux: The CED began its work two years ago with a broad mandate. First it had to adopt the rules of procedure and a lot of legal niceties (guidelines on submission of reports, individual communications, and urgent actions), with translation in an user-friendly manner, in order to liaise with civil society and other stakeholders.

Since its fourth session, the CED started to carry out constructive dialogues with State parties in the context of the consideration of their reports. The first reports to be considered were those of Uruguay and France. Argentina and Spain will follow in November. The remaining reports will be considered by the CED as they are submitted by the other States parties. Germany, the Netherlands, and Belgium have already submitted their reports and they are scheduled to be considered in 2014. The common methodology of consideration of reports includes the preparation of a list of issues followed by an interactive dialogue with the State party concerned and the issuance of concluding observations, containing recommendations on how to meet the obligations stemming from the Convention. This process is carried out with great openness and transparency, including by the acceptance of alternative reports from civil society actors. The examination of reports by the CED is public and webcasted. There is a lot to do in order to timely consider the reports of the 40 States Parties, but it is essential to have this sort of “check-up” within two years after the ratification by any state.

Our second task is to be ready to answer to the communications or information from NGOs dealing with specific issues, such as urgent actions and allegations of serious violations which could lead to a country visit. We have already dealt with some cases related to Mexico, for example, as indicated in our report to the GA. However, it is important to highlight that before conducting a country visit, the Committee endeavors to engage with the State party concerned. We need a greater awareness and on-ground advocacy from the civil society to trigger the mechanisms of the Convention.

The CED is eager to cooperate with States to obtain a full respect of their legal duties and to apply a convention which is victim-oriented. But the first step is accountability, with compliance by States parties with their conventional responsibility of submitting a report on the measures taken to give effect to their obligations under the Convention. We hope that the first steps taken by the CED in a very professional and dedicated manner, will encourage all UN Members States to ratify the Convention as soon as possible as a preventive tool, a sort of “life assurance”.

What do you hope to see in terms of truth, justice, and reparation to victims of enforced disappearances in the coming years?

Olivier de Frouville: Enforced disappearances are not a fatality. This is a technique of terror, which is being taught to intelligence and security officers and allowed to be used by governments in “exceptional circumstances” in a number of situations across the world. We need to make those people understand that, as the Declaration says, no circumstances whatsoever may justify enforced disappearances. Enforced disappearance is torture. It is now widely accepted that there is an absolute jus cogens prohibition of enforced disappearances and a correlative absolute right not to be subjected to enforced disappearances.

The consequence is that enforced disappearance is a serious crime in international law, with all the consequences flowing from it in terms of international responsibility of the State, but also in terms of international responsibility of individual perpetrators. States and individuals must be held accountable. This is the reason why we continue to insist that investigations are undertaken and that perpetrators are punished, but also that the State should take measures to provide for reparations to victims, not only through compensation, but also through rehabilitation and satisfaction. Acknowledgement of the responsibility of the State, rehabilitation of the memory of the disappeared is particularly important.

Huge challenges also remain ahead as far as the right to the truth is concerned. Finding the truth about the fate of disappeared persons implies exhumation and identification of sometimes thousands of victims. This is a very complicated long-term and costly task, especially for developing countries. We need to think more of how to help countries in transition and who are willing to undertake this task but who do not have financial means and technical capacities. What was done by the international community in Bosnia-Herzegovina may serve as example. Even though we are still far from the end of the road in this country, great progresses have been made and a methodology has been defined that could be replicated in other countries.

Finally, we are very much concerned by the situation of those who fight against enforced disappearances on the field: families of victims, sometimes very simple people, human rights defenders, NGOs. Almost every week we receive calls for urgent actions because these peoples are subjected to threats, intimidation, or reprisals. They work in difficult conditions; they are often accused of defending “criminals”. It is hard for a mother who asks for the truth about her son, who has been abducted by the police or the military in front of many witnesses, to be answered: “Your son is a criminal, he fled and is now fighting with the guerrillas.” The fact is that the criminals are those who abducted her son. Another problem we see, especially due to the current times of financial crisis, is that those courageous peoples who are mobilizing themselves against enforced disappearances in their countries are lacking funds. It is more and more difficult to find financial support for what is often perceived by donors as a “politicized” issue, whereas other issues may seem less problematic. This is an absolute shame. There is a responsibility of all donors to strongly support those courageous people who are only asking for justice, truth, and reparation and who are taking all the risks on behalf of all of us.

Emmanuel Decaux is professor of public international law at the University Paris II as well as director of the Center for Human rights and humanitarian law (CRDH). He published extensively on Human Rights International Law. Since 2002, he was member of the Sub-Commision on Human Rights and, subsequently, member of the HRC Advisory Committee. He was elected member of the Committee on enforced disappearances in 2011 and is currently serving as chairperson. Olivier de Frouville is a Professor of Public Law at the University of Paris 2 (Panthéon-Assas), ad interim Director of the Thucydide Center and Deputy Director the Center of Research on Human Rights and Humanitarian Law (CRDH). He is also a member of the Institut Universitaire de France (IUF).

Subscribe to the OUPblog via email or RSS.


Subscribe to only law articles on the OUPblog via email or RSS.

The post How can a human being ‘disappear’? appeared first on OUPblog.

                Related StoriesUnconventional monetary policyCrawling leaves: photosynthesis in sacoglossan sea slugsThe two-state solution and the Obama administration: elusive or illusive? 

The two-state solution and the Obama administration: elusive or illusive?

By Martin Bunton

The likelihood of a peace settlement between Israelis and Palestinians has always been negligible in the absence of a determined outside mediator. Indeed, the recent resumption of direct negotiations that have been suspended for almost three years is due solely to the determined efforts of the US Secretary of State, John Kerry. So, why has the Obama administration chosen to dig in now? And so what?

The most hopeful reason for American intervention is that Obama and Kerry recognize that this seemingly intractable problem is actually quite close to being solved. Thanks to a series of initiatives elaborated upon over the last dozen years (beginning in 2001 with negotiations over parameters put forth by President Clinton), the four basic contours of a two-states solution have now been clearly drawn. First, the recognition of two secure states with viable and contiguous boundaries, based on the 1967 ‘Green Line’ but allowing Israel to keep some heavily populated Jewish settlements located near that border. Second, the sharing of Jerusalem as the capital of both Israel and Palestine, with guaranteed access to all holy sites. Third, a mutually acceptable negotiation of the Palestinian refugee problem, based practically on both financial compensation and a ‘return’ to the new state of Palestine. And, fourth, the imposition of some limits on Palestinian military defenses, particularly in the Jordan valley. This basic outline is backed by an overwhelming regional and international consensus. Polls show that a majority of Israelis and Palestinians support a two-states solution. In many ways, it must seem to Obama and Kerry that peace is so near.

Secretary Kerry Greets Prime Minister Netanyahu in May 2013

And yet they know it is also so far. However well known and well rehearsed the contours of a two-states solution may be, what has long been missing are the will and capacity on the part of the Israeli and Palestinian leaderships to bring it about. Presumably, the American administration now sees a window of opportunity to bang heads together, though just how hard American mediators will lean on recalcitrant parties remains to be seen. On the Palestinian side, the government of Mahmoud Abbas is already desperately dependent on American aid packages and has few political alternatives. One may question whether Abbas has enough legitimacy or credibility to sign off on a final agreement. But at least for the moment he doesn’t confront much of an obstructionist threat from the Hamas opposition, severely weakened by the escalating turmoil in Egypt and Syria. As for Israelis, they are quite clearly shaken by the European Union’s firmer opposition to funding projects in the West Bank settlements. Many certainly fear the potential for further global isolation. In the circumstances, the US has multiple forms of leverage (financial, military or diplomatic) with which it can push Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to break with the pro-settlement policies of his right wing coalition and embrace his own 2009 Bar Ilan speech expressing support for the establishment of a Palestinian state.

Click here to view the embedded video.

On the American side, it is certainly important to note that the Obama administration now enjoys the relative freedom of a second-term presidency (unconcerned about the prospects of re-election) and so can choose to spend the necessary political capital to tackle the thorniest and most sensitive issues. Moreover, the temptation must be there – as it was for both Clinton and Bush – to try to redeem a weak presidential record and bolster one’s legacy with a high profile foreign policy achievement.

For what its worth, Obama has spoken eloquently of the widespread damage that the status quo inflicts. And he knows that time is running out on a two-states solution. As is evident to all observers, further entrenchment of Jewish settler infrastructure in the West Bank is killing the opportunity to construct a viable and contiguous Palestinian state. Meanwhile, changing demographics in the territory between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River carry the danger of Israel, America’s closest ally in a strategic and troubled region, being seen by all as an apartheid-like state.

Whatever the underlying reasons that account for this recent resumption of talks, there are of course many more reasons to be skeptical about them leading to a just peace. So much will depend on how tenaciously the Americans push for what Obama himself has described as a matter of US national interest. We either find out soon that the Obama administration is indeed up to the challenge of bringing about the two-states solution to the 120 year old conflict. Or we likely later learn that Obama was the last re-elected American president to have had such an opportunity.

Professor Martin Bunton is Assistant Professor at the University of Victoria, Canada. His teaching and research focuses on the field of modern Middle Eastern history and history of the region in its global context. He is the author of several books, including The Palestinian-Israeli Conflict: A Very Short Introduction.

The Very Short Introductions (VSI) series combines a small format with authoritative analysis and big ideas for hundreds of topic areas. Written by our expert authors, these books can change the way you think about the things that interest you and are the perfect introduction to subjects you previously knew nothing about. Grow your knowledge with OUPblog and the VSI series every Friday and like Very Short Introductions on Facebook.

Subscribe to OUPblog only Subscribe to the OUPblog via email or RSS


Subscribe to on Very Short Introductions articles on the OUPblog via email or RSS.


Image credit: Secretary Kerry Greets Prime Minister Netanyahu. By the U.S. Department of State [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

The post The two-state solution and the Obama administration: elusive or illusive? appeared first on OUPblog.

                Related StoriesNelson Mandela: a precursor to Barack ObamaQuickcast – ISRAELQuickcast – ISRAEL - Enclosure 

Eight years later

By Karl Seidman

At the eighth anniversary of when Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans and triggered the series of infrastructure failures that flooded the city, there are many signs of New Orleans’ progress in rebuilding and remaking itself. First and foremost is repopulation. Although still well below its pre-Katrina total of 455,863, New Orleans’ population continues to grow. It reached 360,250 in 2012, a 7.4% increase from the 2010 Census—putting it on the list of the ten fastest growing US cities in 2011.

New Orleans’ economy is performing fairly well in the post-recession period. Unlike the United States, which is still below its pre-recession employment level, New Orleans’ average employment in 2012 surpassed its 2008 peak by 1.8%. But with a smaller population, the city has three-quarters of its pre-Katrina jobs. The infusion of rebuilding aid clearly provided a stimulus, but New Orleans’ economy is diversifying and there is more appreciation and attention for new economic drivers, including its cultural and creative assets and entrepreneurs. One very promising aspect of the post-Katrina economy is a surge in entrepreneurship. New Orleans’ metro area generated 501 business startups per 100,000 adults from 2010 through 2012, a rate that was 56% above the national average. This reflects a shift from the pre-Katrina emphasis on the tourism and port as economic engines to new civic investments in a network of entrepreneurial support organizations: Idea Village, Good Work Network, NewCorp, and others.

Grass roots efforts, a key factor in the city’s early recovery, continue to spur improvements in specific neighborhoods and citywide. Broadmoor Development Corporation, which emerged from a resident-led recovery plan, has spearheaded blight reduction and housing restoration in a poor and heavily flooded section on their neighborhood. It has newly constructed or renovated 38 homes and partnered with Green Coast Enterprises to revitalize a key commercial intersection. Broad Community Connections, formed by several neighborhood groups after a planning project with MIT in 2007, is making great progress to revitalize the Broad Street corridor. It began construction of the Broad Refresh project in April to reuse of an abandoned supermarket into a new Whole Foods store, commercial and teaching kitchens, and new retail and office space. Despite their many accomplishments, New Orleans’ community development system is fragile, lacking strong local polices and financial support and declining interest among national foundations.

Post-Katrina grass roots activism also led government reforms and new leadership. The dysfunctional systems of elected property assessors and multiple levee boards have been eliminated and, as mandated by a voter referendum, the city adopted a new master plan and is revising its outdated zoning laws. Several grass roots leaders of recovery efforts, notably LaToya Cantrell and Kristin Gisleson Palmer, are now elected city councilors.

Despite this progress, New Orleans’ recovery is uneven and impaired by longstanding challenges. The rebuilding of rental housing and small commercial properties has lagged the recovery of owner-occupied homes. Recovery in heavily flooded and poorer neighborhoods and those with large public housing projects has occurred as a slower pace with many original residents unable to return. Moreover, widespread poverty remains (estimated at 29% in 2011) marked by racial disparity is education and income. The share of African-American men earning a bachelor degree has been stagnant since 2000, at only 11%, and median income for African-American households in the New Orleans metro area was 50% of that for white households in recent years. Overcoming these challenges requires more intentional and far-reaching investments and initiatives to advance economic inclusion. As the demands of recovery wane, the opportunity exists for New Orleans’ grass roots, civic, business, and government leaders to focus on how to link the benefits of an improving regional economy to reducing poverty and expanding access to economic opportunity and wealth, especially for the city’s African-American and Hispanic residents.

Karl F. Seidman is Senior Lecturer in Department of Urban Studies and Planning at MIT and author of Coming Home to New Orleans: Neighborhood Rebuilding After Katrina.

Subscribe to the OUPblog via email or RSS.


Subscribe to only business and economics articles on the OUPblog via email or RSS.


Image credit: Image via iStockphoto.

The post Eight years later appeared first on OUPblog.

                Related StoriesZeroing in on zero-hours workSpain’s unemployment conundrumUnconventional monetary policy 

Harriet Cohen: alluring woman, great pianist devoted to Bach

By Simon Wright

Harriet Cohen (1895-1967) was one of the leading British pianists of her age, but her unusually small hands (“I cannot normally cover more than eight notes with each hand”) led her naturally to specialize in intimate classical and pre-classical works, rather than in any thundering octaves of nineteenth-century piano music. She was peerless in Mozart and Bach.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Cohen as a person was alluring both on- and offstage, and legion were those who fell under her spell — musicians and others alike. To Edward Elgar she was “Harrietinachen,” and for William Walton “my dear, sweet, neglected Harriet.” Ralph Vaughan Williams claimed multiple kisses as rewards for the music he wrote for her, and H.E. Bates was “devoted to her music.” Harriet was on familiar terms with both Einsteins Albert and Alfred, and to Albert she was “Der lieben Klavierhexen.” Prime Minister J. Ramsay Macdonald, although equally bewitched, was merely showing necessary discretion when he wrote to the pianist as “your indebted servant” (another Downing Street letter expressed hope for the chance, on his way to Upper Frognal to sleep, of “knocking at your door”). But, above all, it was her friend and lover the composer Arnold Bax whom Harriet Cohen held in thrall for his whole life through.

Cohen’s devotion to Bach resulted in 12 of the composers who most admired her (or her playing) to collaborate on an album of new piano transcriptions, collectively dedicated to her, and which Oxford University Press in 1932 published as A Bach Book for Harriet Cohen. The contributors included Arthur Bliss, Herbert Howells, John Ireland, and Constant Lambert, as well as Bax and Vaughan Williams. The pieces range from piano versions of Bach chorale preludes to the Andante from Brandenburg Concerto No. 2. What Harriet’s small hands made of the huge spreads and chord’s in Vaughan Williams’s contribution is not known: she never recorded this, or any of the other items. For a performance by Harriet of the collection at Queen’s Hall, London in October 1932 “one of the contributors” wrote a note for the programme booklet, explaining the collaborators’ remarkable gift to the pianist. “She has always been an intense enthusiast for the music of Bach … and her composer friends considered that a collection such as this would furnish an opportunity of providing her with accessible piano versions of certain fine things originally composed for the organ, voice, or some orchestral combination.”

While many of the Bach transcriptions made by celebrated twentieth-century piano virtuosi were designed to showcase their own spectacular talent, there was also a vogue, in the 1920s and 30s for arrangements which mined the same “accessible piano version” vein of Harriet’s Bach Book. Many music publishers capitalized on this: J & W Chester, for example, published dozens of transcriptions by Walter Rummel. Oxford University Press numbered amongst its own arrangers Dame Myra Hess, Leonard Borwick (a Clara Schumann pupil), the Bach scholar William Gillies Whittaker, and Harriet Cohen herself. While most of the transcriptions were issued as solo piano items, some were versioned as well for two pianos, or piano duet, both methods naturally resulting in richer sonorities.

Of the dozens of Bach piano transcriptions issued, a few became well-loved, even iconic. Hess’s version of Jesu, joy of man’s desiring has never been out of print. Harriet Cohen related that her recording of her own transcription of Beloved Jesu, we are here was played “at five minutes to six every morning to the troops under Field-Marshal Montgomery’s command.” These transcriptions were published during the short window of time in which musical scholarship and imaginative re-creation of a baroque composer’s works were able happily to merge, unnoticed and un-criticized. In short order the “authenticity” rear-guard action was to advance and, by the end of the second war, such transcriptions had fallen out of favour, and thus mostly out of print. Whittaker was one of the most eminent British Bach scholars of his day, yet in his re-working of items “found singly in old MSS” containing “no indications of strength, speed or phrasing,” he did not hesitate to pepper the editions with tempo instructions, dynamics, and phrasing, and shifts of register and octave doublings, creating almost new but certainly eminently pianistic works from Bach’s originals.

The Bach Book and almost all of the individual transcriptions were long out of print, but the recent resurgence of interest in piano transcriptions as works of art in their own right resulted in, among other things, a fine new recording of Harriet’s collection by Jonathan Plowright and the reissue of her work. “So deeply has the spirit of the master entered her,” wrote one critic of Harriet, “that she has few, if any, equals as a Bach player.”

Simon Wright is Head of Rights & Contracts, Music at Oxford University Press. Oxford University Press has reissued A Bach Book for Harriet Cohen in a new edition with an introduction by David Owen Norris, together with a matching collection selected from OUP’s other Bach transcriptions, including two by Cohen herself. Both books are decorated with a piano motif taken from the original 1930s cover designs. Read Simon Wright’s previous blog posts: “Sinfonia Antartica: ‘Good, great and joyous, beautiful and free’” and “The old shall be made new.”

Subscribe to the OUPblog via email or RSS.


Subscribe to only music articles on the OUPblog via email or RSS.


Oxford Sheet Music is distributed in the USA by Peters Edition.

The post Harriet Cohen: alluring woman, great pianist devoted to Bach appeared first on OUPblog.

                Related StoriesCelebrating Women’s Equality DayPreparing for APSA 2013The Beatles and “She Loves You”: 23 August 1963 

Unconventional monetary policy

By Christopher Bowdler and Amar Radia

Central banks in advanced economies typically conduct monetary policy by varying short-term interest rates in order to influence the level of spending and inflation in the economy. One limitation of this conventional approach to monetary policy is the so called lower bound problem. If the central bank were to try to set short-term interest rates much below zero, then households and companies would choose to hold money in the form of currency instead of depositing it in banks. Following the sharp and synchronised downturn in the global economy that began in 2007, central bank policy rates in a number of countries began to approach zero. Faced with the prospect of the zero bound biting, a number of central banks turned to a range of unconventional monetary policies. Foremost amongst these is what is known as Quantitative Easing (QE), whereby the central bank attempts to stimulate the economy by increasing the supply of money and purchasing assets from the private sector. The Federal Reserve in the United States, the Bank of England, and the Bank of Japan have all undertaken QE of some form. In this article we pose a number of questions concerning these unconventional measures and address these questions based on our own observations and the contributions of leading academics.

We start with a key question: what are the mechanisms through which quantitative easing may encourage private sector economic activity and so substitute for the role of conventional monetary policy at the lower bound? One such mechanism is portfolio rebalancing. When the central bank creates money to purchase assets from the private sector, for example by buying government bonds from pension funds, those investors are left ‘out of equilibrium’ in that they hold large amounts of cash that offer very low returns. This creates an incentive for them to ‘rebalance’ their portfolios buy buying riskier, higher yielding assets, such as corporate bonds. Through this process of portfolio rebalancing, asset prices should increase, and the cost of borrowing should fall. For example, companies who can now issue corporate bonds more cheaply can invest and create jobs.

Another mechanism through which QE can boost the economy is the so-called signalling channel whereby the central bank’s decision to undertake asset purchases reveals to financial markets and the private sector more generally that it intends to keep the short-term interest rates that form the core of conventional monetary policy low for a substantial period of time. This allows households and companies to borrow at reduced interest rates for a longer period of time. We explain these and other channels of transmission in detail.

The exact transmission mechanism of QE is a subject of much debate, with different schools of thought offering a wide range of views. For example, on one hand, a monetarist perspective emphasises that QE works primarily by increasing the quantity of deposits held by agents in the economy or ‘broad money’. On the other hand, under certain assumptions, central bank asset purchases do not affect private sector spending in a class of New Keynesian models. Central banks around the world have also undertaken a range of measures beyond QE. These include forward guidance about monetary policy, large scale liquidity operations, and credit easing policies designed to stimulate bank lending.

Dr Christopher Bowdler is a University Lecturer in Economics and a Fellow and Tutor in Economics at Oriel College, University of Oxford. He is an editor of the Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics and the Oxford Review of Economic Policy. Amar Radia is an economist in the Monetary Analysis directorate at the Bank of England. They are the authors of the paper ‘Unconventional monetary policy: an assessment’, which recently published in the Oxford Review of Economic Policy journal.

Each issue of the Oxford Review of Economic Policy concentrates on a current theme in economic policy, with a balance between macro- and microeconomics, giving a valuable appraisal of economic policies worldwide. While the analysis is challenging and at the forefront of current thinking, articles are presented in non-technical language to make them readily accessible to all readers (such as government, business and policy-makers, academics, and students). It is required reading for those who need to know where research is leading.

Any views expressed are solely those of the authors and so cannot be taken to represent those of the Bank of England or to state Bank of England policy. This paper should therefore not be reported as representing the views of the Bank of England or members of the Monetary Policy Committee or Financial Policy Committee.

Subscribe to the OUPblog via email or RSS.


Subscribe to only business and economics articles on the OUPblog via email or RSS.


Image credit: Printing US dollar banknotes. By matthiashaas, via iStockphoto

The post Unconventional monetary policy appeared first on OUPblog.

                Related StoriesThe good, the bad, the missed opportunities: UK governmentFive things you should know about the FedCrawling leaves: photosynthesis in sacoglossan sea slugs 

Celebrating the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington

The 28th of August 2013 marks the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington, one of the largest political rallies in US History for African American civil rights. Between 200,000 and 300,000 participants marched from the Washington Monument to the Lincoln Memorial demanding meaningful civil and economic rights. At the Lincoln Memorial, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., gave his historic “I Have a Dream” speech urging for the end of racial discord. This March played a significant role in encouraging the passing the Civil Rights Act (1964) and the Voting Rights Act (1965). We’ve compiled reflections on the March from several Oxford authors to mark the occasion.

Photo by Leffler, Warren K., photographer [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons.

“The long experience of slavery in America left its mark on the posterity of both slave and master and influenced relations between them more than a century after the end of the old regime. Slavery was only one of several ways in which the white man has sought to define the Negro’s status, his ‘place,’ and assure his subordination. Exploitation of the Negro by the white man goes back to the beginning of relations between the races in modern times, and so do the injustices and brutalities that accompany exploitation. Along with these practices and in justification and defense of them, were developed the old assumptions of Anglo-Saxon superiority and innate African inferiority, white supremacy and Negro subordination.”


–C. Vann Woodward, author of The Strange Career of Jim Crow, praised by Martin Luther King, Jr. “The historical Bible of the Civil Rights Movement.”

Photo by New York World-Telegram and the Sun staff photographer: Fernandez, Orlando, photographer.


[Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons.

“[A. Philip] Randolph penned an article entitled, ‘Let the Negro Masses Speak’ for the March 1941 issue of Black Worker, the [Board of Sleeping Car Porters]’s official organ. In a stirring conclusion, Randolph again commanded 10,000 black Americans to march on Washington. ‘Let them swarm from every hamlet, village and town,’ he declared, using words similar to those Martin Luther King, Jr. intoned from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial over twenty years later. ‘From the highways and byways, out of the churches, lodges, homes, schools, mills, mines, factories and fields. Let them come in automobiles, buses, trains, trucks and on feet. Let them come though the winds blow and the rains beat against them.’”


–David Welky, author of Marching Across the Color Line: A. Philip Randolph and Civil Rights in the World War II Era

Photo by Unnamed organizers of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom [Public domain]

“[John Lewis, newly elected chairman of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee] charged: ‘We march today for jobs and freedom, but we have nothing to be proud of. For hundreds and thousands of our brothers are not here.’ Lewis continued, ‘They have no money for their transportation, for they are receiving starvation wages…or no wages at all…. While we stand here, there are students in jail on trumped up charges. We come here today with a great sense of misgiving” His address ended with a call to “get in this great social revolution sweeping our nation. Get in and stay in the streets of every city, every village and every hamlet of this nation…until the unfinished revolution of 1776 is complete.’”


–Tomiko Brown-Nagin, author of The Courage to Dissent: Atlanta and the Long History of the Civil Rights Movement

Civil Rights March on Washington, D.C., Leaders marching from the Washington Monument to the Lincoln Memorial, August 28, 1963. In the front row, from left are: Whitney M. Young, Jr., Executive Director of the National Urban League; Roy Wilkins, Executive Secretary of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People; A. Philip Randolph, Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, American Federation of Labor (AFL), and a former vice president of the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO); Walter P. Reuther, President, United Auto Workers Union; and Arnold Aronson, Secretary of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights. Photo by Rowland Scherman for USIA [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons.

Photo by Trikosko, Marion S., photographer [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons.

“The outpouring on August 28 of a quarter-million protesters of all races now seems evidence that King’s nonviolent strategy was bearing fruit. But, at the time, President Kennedy and his advisers feared the March on Washington would bring riot and bloodshed to the streets of the capital city. The worried administration assembled what may have been ‘the biggest peacetime military buildup in American history,’ Held in readiness was a force close to 20,000 troops and 30 helicopters and, to discourage looting, a policeman or National Guardsman at each corner near the Mall. But the marchers stayed peaceful, and not one of them got arrested.”


–Maurice Isserman and Michael Kazin, authors of America Divided: The Civil War of the 1960s, 4th Edition

Photo by Warren K. Leffler. Source: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.


U.S. News & World Report Magazine Collection. Public domain, per http://www.loc.gov/.

“Court decisions do matter, though often in unpredictable ways. But they cannot fundamentally transform a nation. The justices are too much products of their time and place to launch social revolutions. And, even if they had the inclination to do so, their capacity to coerce change is too heavily constrained. The justices were not tempted to invalidate school segregation until a time when half the nation supported such a ruling. They declined to aggressively enforce the Brown decision until a civil rights movement had made northern whites as keen to eliminate Jim Crow as southern whites were to preserve it. And while Brown did play a role in shaping both the civil rights movement and the violent response it received from southern whites, deep background forces ensured that the United States would experience a racial reform movement regardless of what the Supreme Court did or did not do.”


–Michael Klarman, author of From Jim Crow to Civil Rights: The Supreme Court and the Struggle for Racial Equality

Photo courtesy of Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA.

“While the barriers of racism remained formidable the struggle against these barriers had acquired new sources of strength and energy. Most obviously, the various organizations that made up the movement had a precedent of working together, building a coalition that crossed regional, racial, and ideological lines.”


–Ray Arsenault, author of Freedom Riders: 1961 and the Struggle for Racial Justice

[image error]

Photo courtesy of National Archives and Records Administration.

“Martin Luther King, Jr. was the last to speak at the Lincoln Memorial. In 1963 America was still a segregated society. When he arose in that moment, he assumed the role of a biblical and American prophet and, like the Seers of old, imagined a new future for the nation.”


–Richard Lischer, author of The Preacher King: Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Word that Moved America

Photo by Yoichi R. Okamoto [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons.

“Lyndon took a lot of satisfaction in [the civil rights legislation], and so do I. And he thought, if you get the vote, it can go a long ways towards [African Americans] solving their own problems. If they have equal opportunities in education and jobs, that would go a long way. He was a person of vision. There are certain areas in the world that if he looked at them right now, he would take even more satisfaction in having gotten our civil rights laws and, indeed, a good deal of our customs in place and changed in the ‘60s.”


–Lady Bird Johnson from Michael Gillette’s Lady Bird Johnson: An Oral History

Photo by Cecil Stoughton, White House Press Office (WHPO) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons.

“’We believe all men are entitled to the blessings of liberty,” Johnson said. ‘Yet millions are being deprived of those blessings — not because of their own failures, but because of the color of their skin. The reasons are deeply imbedded in history and tradition and the nature of man. We can understand–without rancor or hatred–how this happened, but it cannot continue…. Our constitution, the foundation of our Republic, forbids it. The principles of our freedom forbid it. Morality forbids it. And the law I sign tonight forbids it.’”


–Robert Dallek, author of Flawed Giant: Lyndon Johnson and His Times 1961-1973

All quotes from the respective books.

Subscribe to the OUPblog via email or RSS.


Subscribe to only American history articles on the OUPblog via email or RSS.

The post Celebrating the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington appeared first on OUPblog.

                Related StoriesContemporary victims of creative sufferingSocial injustice and public health in AmericaPreparing for APSA 2013 

Monthly etymology gleanings for August 2013, part 1

By Anatoly Liberman

I have received many comments on the posts published in August and many questions. Rather than making these gleanings inordinately long, I have broken them into two parts. Today I’ll begin by asking rather than answering questions, because to some queries I am unable to give quotable (or any) answers. If someone can be of help, their assistance will be greatly appreciated.

Buck rabbit.


The question was not of the predictable type, that is, “why rabbit if the dish is made of bread, cheese, and a few other ingredients, rabbit meat not being one of them?” “Why Welsh?” or “Is it rabbit or rarebit?” (Rabbit, rabbit, not rarebit.) The puzzling word is buck: Why (or whence) buck? I have a sizable database on Welsh rabbit but not a single mention of buck. Does anyone know how buck appeared in it? Or is the solution embarrassingly simple? (In so far as we are dealing with an imaginary rabbit, let it be a strong and active “buck” (male) rabbit: one piece of nonsense fortifying another.)

My mother (brother, friend) and I.


When and under what circumstances were people taught to put I in the second place? I wonder whether it is a product of courtly manners and sham modesty or whether the smallness of the letter i helped to drive it from the head position in sentences that began with enumeration. Or did English borrow this rule from French, in which and I is et mois and has to follow the word that precedes it because the “dictionary pronoun” is je? Somewhere in the books on English historical syntax one can surely find reference to the period when this usage was imposed on English, and an explanation. The French hypothesis seems not unreasonable to me (if it is correct, the usage probably goes back to late Middle English).

Capsize, its origin.


Many relatively recent nautical terms are obscure. I have dealt with galoot, painter “rope,” awning, and tarpaulin, and it has always surprised me that the origin of the words often coined in the full light of history, as the saying goes, remains unknown. I had some luck with galoot, but I stumbled into its etymology by chance (and wrote a triumphant post on my discovery). Capsize, a late eighteenth-century verb, has been dismissed by most dictionaries as impenetrable or with a brief noncommittal reference to Skeat (“perhaps from Spanish capuzar, to sink (a ship) by the head; apparently a derivative of Latin caput, the head”). Before Skeat (1882), Mahn’s etymology (in Webster-Mahn) had some currency: “from cap ‘top, head’ and seize, because it is properly to move a hogshead or other vessel forward by turning it alternately in the heads.” But how do we get size from seize?

The only attempt to improve on Skeat’s derivation came from Ernest Weekley, who pointed to the original form capacise. The first element, he suggested, probably means “head”, but French capoter and Spanish capuzar suggest some connection with cape “hood.” In a special article (1910) he said more than in his dictionary:

“The regular nautical word up to the nineteenth century seems to have been ‘overset’. I should guess that the word will be found to belong to the south coast of France. Provençal is particularly rich in compounds of cap, with an adjective or past participle, e.g. capcaudat [and many more examples], but these are all metrical terms…. Is there a Provençal phrase cap-assis, ‘topsy-turvy’? As the first part of this ‘low word’ means head, I am inclined to guess that the second part has some connexion with the head’s antipodes….”

The origin of capoter is not entirely clear either: perhaps from capot “trick” (in cards), used during the Thirty Years’ War in the phrase faire capot “kill” (supposedly, a grim joke). German kaputt is from French capot. Whether capot has anything to do with the cape that lepers were made to wear, to warn people of their approach, or with capoter is unclear. I can only add that capacize looks like many words with a in the middle (bric-a-brac, cap-a-pied, and others of this type, including cock-a-doodle-doo); then cap-a-size.

From the south coast of France we should move to Brittany. Mr. Dominic King has written me the following:

“Cornouailles in Finistères (the extreme western peninsula of Brittany) has a rocky coastline and very treacherous waters, with unpredictable tides and storms. The most dangerous area for shipping has historically been around the lighthouse-strewn Pointe du Raz and the Pointe du Van, between which lies the infamous Baie de Trépassés, a name which refers to the wreckers who drew ships to their doom, and the bodies washed up along the shore. The entire cape is known as Cap Sizun…. The coincidence of letters seems too exact to ignore. I can well imagine survivors of a ghastly wreck returning to the English Cornwall and mentioning “Capsizin’” in connection with their experience. I can find no trace of this possible explanation, and wonder what you and your readers might think of my suggestion.”

I would very much like to join Mr. King and ask this question of our readers. What is known about the Breton origin of the place name Cap Sizun? Can capsizing be connected with this name?

Kastell ar Roc’h. Réserve du cap Sizun, Finistère, France. Photo by Jymm. Public domain via Wikimedia Commons.

Now, for a change, I am turning to something I know.

Hobo.


Mr. David Loiterstein attached to his letter an article from the newspaper The Oregonian for 14 September 1888 and asked whether it might shed new light on the history of hobo. In the article titled “Origin of the Term Hobo,” a reporter asks the police captain: “What is new today?” and gets the answer: “A couple of hobos have just been brought in.” The captain adds: “I see by your puzzled look you do not understand what a hobo is.” He then explains that hobo is a word, or rather a secret password, used by tramps when they want to find out whether the person they have met on the road belongs to their Independent Order. The romantic story about the “order” is probably fiction, but the etymology referring hobo to ho beau (variant: ho bo’), an exclamation allegedly used by tramps while addressing one another, has been repeated many times. Although it cannot be refuted, the evidence for it is slim, and in general, the principle of onus probandi (the burden of proof) requires that the party who alleges the affirmative of any proposition produce the necessary evidence rather than that the defender disprove it. I once devoted a post to this word. In it I listed numerous conjectures on the derivation of hobo, most of them silly. The interesting part of the newspaper publication is that in 1888, in Oregon, a reporter, a person who must have been well versed in local slang, had not yet heard the word, though it arose around that time and in exactly that part of the United States. By contrast, the police officer knew not only the word but also a legend of its origin, which he believed. Beware of folk etymology!

Gauntlet.


The etymon of this word is Old French guantelet “glove,” which is of Germanic origin. Gloves, or rather mittens, became surprisingly prominent in Old Germanic days. Grendel, the monster of Beowulf, collected his dead victims in a “glove” (glof; some sort of pouch?). One of the Icelandic legendary heroes was called Vöttr “glove” (whatever the reason for the soubriquet; vöttr, from the protoform wantur). This is the gauntlet one throws when challenging an opponent. Gauntlet, as in run the gauntlet, was confused with gauntlet “glove,” to which it has no relation, and goes back to Swedish, not French. Here the etymon is gatlopp, from gata “lane, street” (Engl. gate is a borrowing from Scandinavian) and lopp “course” (compare German laufen “run” and Engl. leap; also interloper: -loper is from Dutch). The name of the punishment returns us to the Thirty Year’s War. English soldiers picked up many words between 1618 and 1648. Those interested in another acquisition from that period may read my post on Old Nick.

To be continued.

Anatoly Liberman is the author of Word Origins…And How We Know Them as well as An Analytic Dictionary of English Etymology: An Introduction. His column on word origins, The Oxford Etymologist, appears on the OUPblog each Wednesday. Send your etymology question to him care of blog@oup.com; he’ll do his best to avoid responding with “origin unknown.”

Subscribe to Anatoly Liberman’s weekly etymology posts via email or RSS.


Subscribe to the OUPblog via email or RSS.

The post Monthly etymology gleanings for August 2013, part 1 appeared first on OUPblog.

                Related StoriesLooking “askance”Three recent theories of “kibosh”Alphabet soup, part 2: H and Y 

Preparing for APSA 2013

By Cathy J. Cohen, Karen Mossberger, and Cherie Hackelberg

The 2013 American Political Science Association Annual Meeting is taking place in Chicago this year from 29 August – 1 September 2013. The theme of this year’s meeting is “Power and Persuasion,” looking at the politics of persuasion and power and how they intersect in context and scale. You can follow the conference happenings on Twitter at #APSA2013 and follow APSA on Twitter at ‏@APSAtweets.

Of course, we hope to see you at Oxford University Press booths 411-417. We’ll be offering the chance to:

Browse and buy our new and bestselling titles on display at a 20% conference discount
Get free trial access to our suite of online products for a month
Pick up sample copies of our latest political science journals

Looking for things to do in the conference downtime? We’ve polled some of our Chicago-native authors to give us the insider scoop on their top ten favorite Chicago activities:

Head over to the 35th annual Chicago Jazz Festival. The major concerts this year will be held in Millennium Park, near Randolph Drive and Michigan Avenue. The festival is free and brings nationally and internationally acclaimed jazz performers to the Chicago lakefront. The crowd is always warm, generous and fun! Pick up some food and drink to share with friends as you picnic during the concert, and watch the surrounding skyscrapers light up at nightfall, sparkling against the green open spaces of the park.

While at the park, be sure to stroll around to see the video fountains, the “bean” and other treasures!

Another great festival the weekend of the APSA meeting is the 24th annual Chicago African Festival of the Arts. This event features food, music, dance and family activities. Brandy, Oliver Mtukudzi, and Otis Clay are the entertainment headliners this year. The event takes place in Washington Park on Chicago’s South Side, located 5100 S. Cottage Grove, near the University of Chicago.



Take an architectural boat tour and see Chicago’s iconic buildings from the river. The Chicago Architecture Foundation is a nonprofit that has particularly knowledgeable guides.

Spend some quiet time at the Chicago Cultural Center at Washington and Michigan. This beautiful building has free concerts, art exhibits, films, a tourist office with a gift shop, a Tiffany glass dome, and striking views of Millennium Park. Check the August schedule of events.

Located downtown and just one block from Lake Michigan, The Art Institute, founded in 1879, has approximately 300,000 works of art in its permanent collection, including one of the country’s most impressive collection of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist art. They also host 30 special exhibitions each year and offer daily activities and events.

The Lincoln Park Zoo is a great family-friendly option. It is located just minutes north of Chicago, free to the public, and open every day of the year.  New arrivals to the zoo include five trumpeter swan cygnets and a colorful baby Francois’ langur. The zoo’s gardens are among Chicago’s most visited and they offer daily programs and events.

Get a birds-eye view of the city by taking a trip to the top of the Willis (Sears) Tower. Located in the downtown Loop, this 110-story tower is one of the tallest buildings in the world. Head up to the Skydeck on the 103rd floor for incredible views of Lake Michigan and the city skyline. For a shorter wait, try the John Hancock Center and Observatory, the 3rd tallest building in the city and located along the Magnificent Mile.

If you are looking for good food from restaurants relatively close to downtown—a short cab ride from the APSA meetings—try the following restaurants: Embeya, Sepia, MK’s, Blackbird and The Gage. Reserve early!

Looking for a more casual food experience? Try one of Chicago’s famed hot dog joints. Hot Doug’s, a local’s favorite, is frequently featured in local and national media for both its classic Chicago-style dog as well as its eclectic variations. Be prepared for a long wait. For other local favorites, visit The Chicagoist.

Hope to see you at the conference!

Cathy J. Cohen, author of Democracy Remixed: Black Youth and the Future of American Politics, is the David and Mary Winton Green Professor of Political Science and the College at the University of Chicago. She is also the author of The Boundaries of Blackness: AIDS and the Breakdown of Black Politics. Karen Mossberger is co-author of Digital Cities: The Internet and the Geography of Opportunity  and co-editor of The Oxford Handbook of Urban Politics. Formerly Professor of Public Administration at the University of Illinois-Chicago, she is now Professor and Director of the School of Public Affairs at Arizona State University. Cherie Hackelberg joined Oxford University Press in September 2011. She is the marketing manager for Oxford’s Politics and International Relations list.

Subscribe to the OUPblog via email or RSS.


Subscribe to only politics and political science articles on the OUPblog via email or RSS.

The post Preparing for APSA 2013 appeared first on OUPblog.

                Related StoriesSocial injustice and public health in AmericaWhy is the relationship between the US and Mexico strained?Cross-border suspicions and law enforcement at US-Mexico border 

Crawling leaves: photosynthesis in sacoglossan sea slugs

By Sónia Cruz

“Crawling leaves” or “solar-powered sea slugs” are common terms used to name some species of sacoglossan sea slugs capable of performing photosynthesis, a process usually associated with plants. These sea slugs ingest macroalgal tissue and retain undigested functional chloroplasts in special cells of their gut (kleptoplasty). The “stolen” chloroplasts (kleptoplasts) continue to photosynthesize, in some cases up to one year.

While kleptoplasty has been known about for over a century, the mechanisms of interaction between the kleptoplasts and its host animal cell are just now starting to be unravelled. Particularly puzzling is the maintenance of photosynthetic activity in the absence of an algal nucleus, considering the fact that the chloroplast genome is expected to encode only a small fraction of the proteins considered necessary for photosynthesis.

Our study, published in the Journal of Experimental Botany, reviews the following affairs regarding sacoglossan sea slugs:

The use of light energy sources to make the complex organic molecules that we call food, from inorganic substances (photosynthesis as an autotrophic nutritional source);
Animal responses to light in relation to what is going on in the kleptoplasts (photobiology);
Advantages and drawbacks of using a non-invasive technique which indirectly addresses photosynthesis, termed pulse amplitude modulated (PAM) fluorometry, in the study of in vivo photobiology in these organisms.

 

Elysia viridis feeding on Codium tomentosum. Lateral body flaps (parapodia) are present in both E. timida and E. viridis.

Several studies have shown the importance of photosynthesis on the nutrition of photosynthetic sea slugs kept in the laboratory and deprived of exogenous food sources. Much fewer studies have unequivocally demonstrated the importance of autotrophy on the nutritional state of natural populations of photosynthetic sea slugs.

In the study of sacoglossan sea slugs as photosynthetic systems, it is important to understand their relationship with light. On one hand, these organisms seem to move towards light, possibly to increase light harvesting at the kleptoplast level. On the other hand, sacoglossan sea slugs seem to avoid high light intensities, possibly as a strategy to avoid the damage that excessive light can cause to the kleptoplasts (photoinhibition) and, in this way, prevent premature loss of kleptoplast photosynthetic function.

We have previously shown that the longevity of kleptoplasts in the sea slug Elysia viridis present in the Atlantic coast of mainland Portugal depends greatly on the light intensity to which animals are exposed, with premature loss of photosynthetic activity occurring under higher light intensities. This is one of the many factors that can lead to data misinterpretation, including in the attempt to rank longevity of kleptoplast retention. In our review, we revisit the strategies developed by plants and algae to avoid excessive light, with emphasis on the physiological and behavioural mechanisms suggested to be involved in the protection of kleptoplasts from high light intensities.

A particularly specialized behaviour in response to light has been proposed for the sea slug Elysia timida: this species may use the lateral body flaps (parapodia) to control exposure of kleptoplasts to light, opening their parapodia wide (‘fully spread posture resembling a flattened leaf’) under lower light intensities and closing them (‘contracted or arrow-like form’) at higher intensities. This ‘behavioural photoprotection’ strategy is yet to be demonstrated for other photosynthetic sea slug species with parapodia.

We gave a special focus to the advantages and drawbacks of using PAM fluorometry in the study of in vivo photosynthesis in sacoglossan sea slugs. This non-intrusive technique was developed for research in plant physiology and the problems associated with motile animals are often disregarded. Finally, the review briefly discusses the importance of culturing these organisms in the laboratory in order to control certain key factors such as age, fitness, previous food habits, and acclimation to different light intensities in specimens used for experimental trials.

Sónia Cruz was awarded a PhD from the University of Sheffield and has worked in four different labs across Europe: Horton Lab in Sheffield, Wilhelm Lab at Leipzig University, Smith Lab at Cambridge University, and finally, at her home country, Serôdio Lab at Aveiro University in Portugal. Having worked on algae physiology for the last 8 years, she recently became interested in the fascinating symbiosis between a mollusk and algae chloroplasts. In 2012, Sónia was awarded a Marie Curie Career Integration Grant. She is the co-author of the paper ‘Crawling leaves: photosynthesis in sacoglossan sea slugs‘, which is published in the Journal of Experimental Botany.

The aim of the Journal of Experimental Botany is to publish the highest quality manuscripts that address questions of broad interest in plant biology.

Subscribe to the OUPblog via email or RSS.


Subscribe to only earth and life sciences articles on the OUPblog via email or RSS.


Image credit: The picture first appeared online in the article ‘Crawling leaves: photosynthesis in sacoglossan sea slugs‘, published in the Journal of Experimental Botany. © Oxford University Press, 2013. Do not use without permission.

The post Crawling leaves: photosynthesis in sacoglossan sea slugs appeared first on OUPblog.

                Related StoriesIdeal pregnancy length: an unsolved mysteryA lost opportunity for sustainable ocean managementShakespeare’s hand in the additional passages to Kyd’s Spanish Tragedy