Search

This paper focuses on the spatial imaginings of a pacifist, developmentalist humanitarian, and poly-activist who was engaged from the Second World War onwards with refugees, immigrants in the 1960s, development projects in the 1960s and 1970s, pacifism during the Vietnam war, and antinuclear campaigns of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament. Elizabeth Wilson presented the peculiarity of being immersed in developing a spiritual notion of care. Through her engagement with Buddhism, Zen, and Hinduism, as well as her pursuit of psychoanalytical collective unconscious based on the work of Carl Jung, Elizabeth Wilson offers an original perspective of what it meant to be a humanitarian at a crucial juncture in the 1960s. This paper will attempt to reconcile the specificity of her activism with the wider narrative of internationalism in the 1960s and 1970s by paying attention to how she related her often fragile sense of self with her role as a carer connected to broader and deeper networks of inspirational (female) figures. While she denied being a feminist and preferred to describe herself as a human being (also highlighting a maternalist identity by repeatedly mentioning she was a 'mother of four'), Elizabeth Wilson built friendships and 'actionist' (their word) networks of care that helped her 'sustain' her idealism and pursue her 'journey'. Elizabeth Wilson undertook internationalist causes as a spiritual quest and a personal self-construction, and her writings, diaries, photographs, and rich personal archives enable us to approach the concept of care in the after-war as a central concern in the development of a new humanitarian consciousness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After the First World War, the demographic decline of the African colonies became a significant concern for France and its empire. The colonizers feared that the workforce needed to develop colonized territories would not be sufficiently renewed in the future due to the influence of "social diseases" such as venereal diseases and alcoholism. To combat these threats, colonial health services invested in maternal and child health. Pregnant women, newborn babies, and young children became the prime targets of a health policy designed to promote population growth and secure the future of the colonial empire. As former German colonies occupied by France and Great Britain during the conflict, Togo and Cameroon were particular colonial contexts redrawn by the history of the First World War. They were part of the territories entrusted under mandate to the victors by the League of Nations in 1922. In this context, the promotion of maternal and child protection initiatives was central to French propaganda during the inter-war period. In this article, I trace the history of two twin charity associations: the OEuvre du Berceau Indigène in Togo (created in 1924) and Cameroon (1932). The aim is to study the highly unusual birth of these associations and to place them in the context of the general development of maternal and child health care in these territories. I argue that these associations played a crucial role in promoting French inter-war colonialism but were also a means of personal advancement for Auguste Bonnecarrère, successively Governor of Togo (1924-1931) and Cameroon (1932-1934). This paper shows how these associations became central to the communication of French colonial action in the mandated territories and examines the very nature of the OEuvre du Berceau, which were presented as women's associations but lay under the control of Mr and Mrs Bonnecarrère. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the late-nineteenth century the regulation of food quality and safety experienced a clear turning point with the establishment of new sites for food controls, the emergence of new experts and the passing of food laws. One of the main changes in the regulation came with a reconceptualization of quality based on composition; a change which was in accordance with the standardizing trends then applied in each and every area of knowledge. In Spain, the Royal Academy of Medicine was one of the main authorities quoted in the search for official definitions of edible foodstuffs and for standardized compositions. The paper will focus on the assessment activity fulfilled by the Royal Academy between 1877 and 1902. Taking into account four relevant controversies on food regulation (those dealing with foodstuffs such as oil, wine, saccharin and paprika) it shall address its contribution to the establishment of food quality standards. The paper shows that this task was carried out very poorly and discusses the different factors which can explain this type of contribution. In order to fulfil this latter discussion, the training as well as the social and political activities of the main academicians involved in food quality assessments (such as Gabriel de la Puerta, Ángel Pulido, Juan Ramón Gómez Pamo, and Ángel Fernández-Caro) deserves special attention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to describe the early stages of Mexican nuclearization that took place in contact with radioisotopes. This history requires a multilayered narrative with an emphasis in North-South asymmetric relations, and in the value of education and training in the creation of international asymmetrical networks. Radioisotopes were involved in exchanges with the United States since the late 1940s, but also with Canada. We also describe the context of implementation of Eisenhower's Atoms for Peace initiative in Mexico that opened the door to training programs at both the Comisión Nacional de Energía Nuclear and the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. Radioisotopes became the best example of the peaceful applications of atomic energy, and as such they fitted the Mexican nuclearization process that was and still is defined by its commitment to pacifism. In 1955 Mexico became one of the 16 members of the atomic fallout network established by the United Nations. As part of this network, the first generation of Mexican (women) radio-chemists was trained. By the end of the 1960s, radioisotopes and biological markers were being produced in a research reactor, prepared and distributed by the CNEN within Mexico. We end up this paper with a brief reflection on North-South nuclear exchanges and the particularities of the Mexican case. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The child prodigy phenomenon expanded during and after the mid-19th century, nurtured by a growing entertainment industry in Europe. Prodigies were particularly popular in two domains --classical music and mental calculation. Many spent their early childhoods on tour and living abroad. This paper analyzes the problem of the general education of the child prodigy, and the parents' and impresarios' role in financially exploiting the child's talent. I focus on virtuosos and arithmetic wonders who performed in France in the 19th century. These children rarely received regular schooling and many only learned to read and write once their years of glory as a prodigy passed, or when their lack of education became problematic. The consequences of neglecting the prodigy's elementary studies were greater than parents and impresarios had anticipated. Illiteracy and a meager knowledge of the wider culture affected talent development. In the end, a lack of general education contributed to the deterioration of the child's giftedness, accelerating the transition from prodigy to ordinary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores how discourses of giftedness informed attitudes towards parenting in the United States from 1920 to 1960. Using psychologists' studies of giftedness, media coverage of the topic, and guidebooks for parents of gifted children, I argue that giftedness emerged in the 1910s, and by the 1920s addressed a newly limited definition of intelligence and problems in urban public education, coinciding with the popularity of the culture and personality school. Scholarly debates about giftedness traveled from the academy to the wider public through the media and guidebooks for parents. Media coverage brought awareness of the problem of the neglected gifted student, and guidebooks offered parents practical suggestions about how to raise gifted children. I show that the discourse contributed to racial segregation in American schools and classrooms by using merit to determine access to educational opportunity. Experts' advice about giftedness also altered expectations about childrearing and encouraged parents to become more involved in their child's educational development. This argument puts the history of psychology in conversation with histories of parenting, and it evidences how the discourse on giftedness impacted institutional inequality both through merit-based gifted and talented programs and by impacting ideologies of parenting. Thus, I provide a more comprehensive account of how and why giftedness profoundly shaped both the school and the home. This article considers the cultural work the discourse accomplished; it gave the public the impression that disparities in educational achievement between individuals and groups could be explained by the parenting a child received, putting significant pressure on all parents to make educational achievement a top priority for their child. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After the Second World War, many Western countries implemented mental health care reforms that included legislative changes, measures to modernise psychiatric hospitals, and policies to deinstitutionalise mental health care, shifting its locus from residential hospitals to community services. In Greece, psychiatric reform began in the late 1970s and was linked to the fall of the military dictatorship in 1974, the general reorganisation of health care, accession to the European Economic Community and international outcry at the inhuman treatment of the Leros psychiatric hospital inmates. The 1950s, 1960s and most of the 1970s had been an ambivalent period in relation to psychiatric reform. On the one hand, a dynamic group of experts, some long established and some newly emergent, including psychiatrists, hygienists, psychologists and social workers, strove to introduce institutional and legislative changes. On the other hand, the state, while officially inviting expert opinion on mental health care more than once, did not initiate any substantial reform until the late 1970s and the early 1980s. Within this framework, we ask whether the story of psychiatric modernisation in Greece before the late 1970s could be summarised as a futile encounter between progressive scientists and indifferent state authorities. By assessing the early attempts to restructure mental health care in Greece, examining both the expert proposals and the state policies between the end of the civil war in 1949 and the fall of the dictatorship in 1974, this paper proposes a more nuanced view, which brings out the tensions between state and expert discourses as well as the discrepancies between the discourses and the implemented programmes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses the discourses that addressed healthcare reform projects discussed in Spain during the 1970s, before the death of the dictator General Franco, and up to the declaration of healthcare as a right in the Spanish Constitution of 1978. The Spanish health system, which developed from the Compulsory Sickness Insurance launched in 1944, focused only on disease and made no provision for preventive activities. This shortcoming was one of the main aspects that required reform in the 1970s. We analyse the characteristics of the proposals to replace a treatment-centred health system with a new one based on a more holistic view and the defence of health. To contextualise these proposals, we review the development of the Francoist health system and regulations and plans that attempted to reform it before the death of Franco. The most interesting Spanish health system reform projects were written at the end of Francoism and the beginning of the Democratic Transition and were mainly drafted by medical doctors committed to the illegal left-wing parties. All shared the aim of universal healthcare financed by the State and the goal of placing the protection of health at the core of the health system by integrating preventive medicine and healthcare. Some proposals encouraged the study of social determinants of health and disease and emphasised the role of health education. Others were more concerned with the re-organisation of healthcare through planning and decentralisation, retaining the hospital for the treatment of diseases as the main goal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Italian health system has changed its welfare model three times over the course of its 160-year existence. From a form of «residual welfare» during the liberal period (1861-1921), it became «meritocratic welfare» during the fascist period (1922-1943) and in the years of the first republic (1945-1977). Finally, in 1978, the «universalistic institutional» model of health protection was approved. For a long time, therefore, the main responsibility for citi- zens' well-being was attributed to families, to the Catholic Church and its welfare networks, to entrepreneurial paternalism, and to the different health insurance institutions associated with employment sectors. Only with Law 833, which established the National Health Service (NHS), did the State recognise full and direct responsibility for citizens' health. This paper describes the complex path that led to the establishment of the Italian NHS, highlighting the diversity of the actors involved, the multiplicity of their social and health claims, the configuration of the public health service designed in the 1960s, and the political and social conditions that led to the effective enactment of Law 833. On the whole, it was a long, non-linear path with various barriers, where the conditions of implementation were determined by the particularity of the Italian political, economic, and social events that characterised the 1970s. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article is a case study of the scientific discussions on the birth of a zoological species that eventually came to be known as Arctocephalus philippii (Peters, 1866). It also examines the movement of the remains of a sea lion specimen from Chile to Germany and the discussions that arose in regard to its taxonomic definition. The paper argues that the material properties of this mobilized specimen, the circumstances of how it was hunted, transported and stored at the different museums, as well as the material aspects that later allowed it to be compared and analyzed, influenced the international debates on its classification between naturalists in England, Germany, Chile and Argentina. The first part reconstructs the context of sea lion's capture, transportation and transformation, while the second examines the discussion around this particular specimen -- a controversy hinged partly upon the issue of the conditions in which it was graphically reproduced and preserved at the museum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reviews a 2012 special of the periodical "Studies in History and Philosophy of Science," entitled "Psychology, a Science in Crisis? A Century of Reflections and Debates" edited by Annette Mülberger and Thomas Sturm.

The article reports on science and technology during the Cold War. Topics discussed include several historical research studies on science during the Cold War period; the social history of this period; the role of international and bi-national agencies created in this period; and how these transnational agencies of patronage played a crucial role in the internationalization and standardization of science. It is suggested that transnational history could reconfigure the history of science by highlighting places and actors that remained invisible in national and Western-centered narratives.

Julia Lahaye (1886-1978), a Belgian nurse who worked for the Barcelona Red Cross during the Spanish Civil War, was considered by peers and patients as one of the most outstanding figures of local society for her sense of sacrifice, her spirit of organization, and her humanitarian work. But that is only one part of her life story. In 1921, Lahaye had been convicted in absentia of spying for the German Reich during World War I and fled to Spain. Her story illustrates the complexity of human character and makes us ponder the question of whether humanitarian action can be motivated by repentance and the desire to atone for the crimes of the past. It also helps to deconstruct gender stereotypes of women nurses who have been traditionally depicted as "angels of mercy" and to rethink how the experiences of care receivers can shape the identity of caregivers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Dynamis is the property of Dynamis - Facultad de Medicina de la Universidad de Granada and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

An introduction to the journal is presented in which the editor discusses various reports within the issue on topics including the health reform process in Italy that led to Law 833, new approaches to mental health care, and resistance to change in the health insurance systems.

Copyright of Dynamis is the property of Dynamis - Facultad de Medicina de la Universidad de Granada and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Dynamis is the property of Dynamis - Facultad de Medicina de la Universidad de Granada and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Dynamis is the property of Dynamis - Facultad de Medicina de la Universidad de Granada and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Dynamis is the property of Dynamis - Facultad de Medicina de la Universidad de Granada and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The article focuses on the study of medieval and early modern cosmetic and health practices, utilizing untapped handwritten documentation like recipe books or "books of secrets." These documents offer insights into body care techniques that, through Experimental Archaeology, are practically examined for their efficacy. The research explores the significance of these manuscripts for understanding scientific history, especially concerning technical knowledge transmitted through vernacularization and its dissemination across medieval Europe, emphasizing their relevance for investigating various scientific or technical aspects. Furthermore, it highlights the scarcity of historical studies dedicated to the contents of these manuscripts, which encompass a considerable number of recipes.

This article examines the history of the policy concerning a class of diseases called intractable diseases in Japan with a particular focus on the roles of patient support groups in firstly legitimizing the grouping of such diseases and then shaping the nature of the support that the Japanese Ministry of Health and Welfare provided to the patients and their families affected by them. The Ministry started its policy on intractable diseases in 1972, predating the enactment of the 1983 Orphan Drug Act in the United States, which is known to be one of the most important events for the international rare diseases community. This policy decision was triggered by the emergence of subacute myelo-optic neuropathy (SMON) as a social problem in the country in the late 1960s. The Ministry first made its support available to patients with this particular disease and, as a result of a series of actions from patient support groups and their medical and political supporters, the same support was made available to those considered to be in similarly difficult circumstances. The way in which the support was arranged, however, turned out to be structurally divisive, inviting the patient groups to negotiate with the national and local governments separately depending on subject matters, and for about three decades since the start of the policy, they struggled to present their unified voice in the country. The governmental support for intractable diseases was finally revised in the mid-2000s, but as this article demonstrates, that became possible only after the patient groups came to realize the need of presenting a unified voice in their effort to improve the lives of those affected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents the discussion on 20th century being witnessed the popularisation of "rare diseases." Topics include advertising with the leading role of popular figures and members of the royal families, who act as ambassadors of solidarity; and reviving debates on health system models and the sustainability of the welfare state.

The article presents a case study of the treatment of evolutionary theory in the Catalan newspaper "La Vanguardia Español" during the regime of Spanish dictator Francisco Franco. Particular focus is given to the efforts of Spanish paleontologists to distance themselves from Darwinism and to the introduction of genetics and Modern Synthesis into Spanish scientific discourse. Other topics include propaganda, appropriation, and the Spanish press.

Copyright of Dynamis is the property of Dynamis - Facultad de Medicina de la Universidad de Granada and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This article focuses on how boundaries were created between modern physicians and traditional healers when the modern medical profession was established in the 19th century Ottoman Empire, based on documents from the Ottoman Archives of the Prime Minister's Office. In the Tanzimat period (1839-1876), the Ottoman elites focused on modifying the education system with the aim of modernizing the institutions of the Empire, and medical education was one of their priorities. The Imperial School of Medicine was inaugurated in 1839, and a series of regulations simultaneously established that only graduates from the modern schools had the right to practice medicine. These regulations detailed the content of the education, the stages to be completed in order to graduate, and the regulation of professional praxis postgraduation. These regulations drew a boundary between the professional and the layman. Their aim was to achieve the domination of certified professionals over the health field, expelling non-professionals once enough staff became available. The article examines the rivalry between modern and traditional physicians and the diverse strategies employed to distinguish between modern and lay practitioners and to deny legitimacy for some medical practices. The panorama was further complicated by the ethnicity factor in the context of unrest in the Empire at that time. Other questions addressed in this text include: What discourses and legal regulations played a role in forming the boundaries between customary and modern educational processes? How did the Ottoman elites seek to control the population through medicine and health policies? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on historical evolution of hospitals focused, depending on of time and place, in an amalgam of charities, predominant before the 19th century. It mentions private charities financed by alms and taxes, insurance mutual created by civil associations or companies, private health insurance companies and limited public coverage and compulsory social insurance programs. It also mentions liberal democracies that influenced the creation of National Health Systems. It discusses fighting contagious diseases or focused their investment in primary care.

Copyright of Dynamis is the property of Dynamis - Facultad de Medicina de la Universidad de Granada and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This article discusses the early postwar history of international engagement with the strengthening of health services by the World Health Organisation (WHO). Standard narratives emphasise that the WHO prioritised vertical programmes against specific diseases rather than local capacity-building, at least until the Alma Ata Declaration of 1978 launched a policy focus on primary health care. There was, however, a longer lineage of advisory work with member states, and our aim is to examine this intellectual and policy history of health services planning and administration. We begin by surveying the relevant secondary literature, noting that this theme appears only briefly in the institution's first official histories, with minimal contextualisation and analysis. We then proceed chronologically, identifying an early phase in the 1950s when, despite its marginalisation at the WHO, the interwar European social medicine tradition kept alive its ideals in work on health planning. However, the sensitivities of the USA and of the colonial powers meant that consideration of social security, health rights and universal coverage was absent from this discussion. Instead it was initially concerned with propounding Western models of organisation and administration, before switching to a focus on planning techniques as an aspect of statecraft. In the 1960s such practices became incorporated into economic development plans, aligning health needs with infrastructure and labour force requirements. However, these efforts were entangled with Western soft power, and proved unsuccessful in the field because they neglected issues of financing and capacity. In the 1970s the earlier planning efforts gave rise to a systems analysis approach. Though in some respects novel, this too provided a neutral, apolitical terrain in which health policy could be discussed, void of issues of rights and redistribution. Yet it too foundered in real-world settings for which its technocratic models could not account. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Dynamis is the property of Dynamis - Facultad de Medicina de la Universidad de Granada and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Dynamis is the property of Dynamis - Facultad de Medicina de la Universidad de Granada and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Dynamis is the property of Dynamis - Facultad de Medicina de la Universidad de Granada and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This article provides the basis for further considerations on the overlap between different expressions of science, in particular psychotechnics, biotypology and eugenics, in Iberia. It sets the reception of and interest in these scientific undertakings within the specific context pertaining in both Iberian dictatorships and considers the importance of the culture of the scientific community, the role of religion and the presence of positivism within each. While the actual traffic of knowledge between the two countries was limited, the contrasts and differences in the uptake of these specialisms within the two countries and their proximity or otherwise to other fascist and authoritarian regimes of the 1930s and 1940s are explored. The article concludes that in the Spanish case, although there were greater proximities to certain forms of fascist and Nazi eugenics, it was the commitment to Catholicism and nationalist regeneration that allowed for concessions to environmental improvements. A more Germanic strain was present in Portugal but this was dislodged by a consistent commitment to social hygiene rather than racial hygiene, again within the constraints provided by overarching Catholicism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mutation breeders in the 1960s seemed poised to use atomic energy to speed up mutation rates in plants in order to develop new crop varieties, for the benefit of all people. Although skepticism had slowed this work in the United States, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) nurtured the scientific field, its community of experts, and an imagined version of the future that put humans in control of their destiny. The IAEA acted as a center of dissemination and support for experts and ideas even when they had fallen from favor elsewhere. Through the lens of the IAEA, plant breeding bore the appearance of a socially progressive, ultra-modern science destined to alleviate population pressures. Administrators at the IAEA also were desperate for success stories, hoping to highlight mutation plant breeding as a potential solution to the world's ills. The community of mutation plant breeders gained a lifeline from the consistent clarion call from the Vienna-based agency to use atomic energy to understand the natural world and quicken its pulse with radioisotopes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This essay draws attention to the role of the WHO in shaping research agendas in the biomedical sciences in the postwar era. It considers in particular the genetic studies of human populations that were pursued under the aegis of the WHO from the late 1950s to 1970s. The study provides insights into how human and medical genetics entered the agenda of the WHO. At the same time, the population studies become a focus for tracking changing notions of international relations, cooperation, and development and their impact on research in biology and medicine in the post-World War II era. After a brief discussion of the early history of the WHO and its position in Cold War politics, the essay considers the WHO program in radiation protection and heredity and how the genetic study of "vanishing" human populations and a world-wide genetic study of newborns fitted this broader agenda. It then considers in more detail the kind of support offered by the WHO for these projects. The essay highlights the role of single individuals in taking advantage of WHO support for pushing their research agendas while establishing a trend towards cooperative international projects in biology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The transnational approach of the science and technology studies (S&TS) abandons the nation as a unit of analysis in order to understand the development of science history. It also abandons Euro-US-centred narratives in order to explain the role of international collaborative networks and the circulation of knowledge, people, artefacts and scientific practices. It is precisely under this perspective that the development of genetics and radiobiology in Mexico shall be analyzed, together with the pioneering work of the Mexican physician-turned-geneticist Alfonso León de Garay who spent two years in the Galton Laboratory in London under the supervision of Lionel Penrose. Upon his return de Garay funded the Genetics and Radiobiology Program of the National Commission of Nuclear Energy based on local needs and the aim of working beyond geographical limitations to thus facilitate the circulation of knowledge, practices and people. The three main lines of research conducted in the years after its foundation that were in line with international projects while responding to the national context were, first, cytogenetic studies of certain abnormalities, and the cytogenetics and anthropological studies of the Olympic Games held in Mexico in 1968; second, the study of the effects of radiation on hereditary material; and third, the study of population genetics in Drosophila and in Mexican indigenous groups. The program played a key role in reshaping the scientific careers of Mexican geneticists, and in transferring locally sourced research into broader networks. This case shows the importance of international collaborative networks and circulation in the constitution of national scientific elites, and also shows the national and transnational concerns that shaped local practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the Cold War, the super powers advanced nuclear literacy and access to nuclear resources and technology to a first-class power factor. Both national governments and international organizations developed nuclear programs in a variety of areas and promoted the development of nuclear applications in new environments. Research into the use of isotopes and radiation in agriculture, food production, and storage gained major importance as governments tried to promote the possibility of a peaceful use of atomic energy. This study is situated in divided Germany as the intersection of the competing socio-political systems and focuses on the period of the late 1940s and 1950s. It is argued that political interests and international power relations decisively shaped the development of "nuclear agriculture". The aim is to explore whether and how politicians in both parts of the divided country fostered the new field and exerted authority over the scientists. Finally, it examines the ways in which researchers adapted to the altered political conditions and expectations within the two political structures, by now fundamentally different. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An obituary for John Victor Pickstone, a British historian of science, is presented.

An obituary for John Victor Pickstone, a British historian of science, is presented.

Penicillin's trajectory towards becoming an effective antibacterial chemotherapeutic agent took place during World War II. Its strategic military value was immediately recognised by the Allies, and mass production was undertaken with the prime objective of meeting the needs of the armed forces. News of its development came to be widely reported on in the media and is examined here. These reports frequently combined accounts of penicillin's prodigious clinical effectiveness with the fact that it was to remain unavailable to the civilian population essentially until the war had ended. More penicillin was to be made available to the civilian population in the United States than in Britain, but the sense that it was severely rationed remained as high. It was in response to this that the idea of "homemade penicillin" was hatched. News of this was also widely promulgated by both the British and American media. Although the numbers treated with penicillin produced in this way was never to be significant, knowledge of the existence of such endeavours may have served to assuage in some measure the feelings of frustration felt by the civilian population at penicillin's non-availability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditionally, infants abandoned at foundling hospitals were identified as "bastards" and "children of vice" whose health, to all intents and purposes, reflected the moral sins of their parents and thus, led to unavoidable mortality. By late 19th century, several changes challenged that consideration: a growing emphasis on the importance of fighting infant mortality, the appearance of a new, medicalized, ideal of motherhood, the spread of new medical theories, the appearance of disciplines like Child Health, the construction of pediatric wards, and maternity hospitals. The consequences of these changes had their greatest impact at La Inclusa due to its location in the capital city, close to the decision-making centres and as focus of the interest of the national media. This article examines the role of the press and the medical profession in successively denouncing La Inclusa's excess mortality during the period 1890-1935. By looking at daily press and medical publications, it sheds light on the uneven consequences of the press scandals denouncing foundlings' extreme mortality in the period. The first scandal (1899-1900) faded without acknowledging any excess foundling mortality; the second (1918) was initiated by the doctors in charge but only produced some changes. The third scandal (1927) was instrumental in bringing about the changes that would turn a century-old institution in a state-of-the art medicalized centre and the change from debris of society to healthy children of foundlings. The effects of the press coverage were not restricted locally to foundlings in Madrid, and had a wider impact: by making the public aware of the dire situation of foundlings, they contributed to the development of legislation related to the fight against infant mortality and the control of mercenary breastfeeding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Dynamis is the property of Dynamis - Facultad de Medicina de la Universidad de Granada and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The article looks at archaeologist Eudald Carbonell, with a particular focus on the different scientific, social, and political roles he has played during his career. The author discusses Carbonell's self-identification as a member of a peripheral scientific community. It is suggested that Carbonell's career illustrates the medialization and commodification of science and scientists. Details on his role as the co-director of the Atapuerca hominid site in Northern Spain are presented. Other topics include scientific colonialism, communism, and Carbonell's views on Spanish politics.

This article discusses the role of 20th century Catalan scientist and paleontologist Miquel Crusafont in the development and advancement in paleontology and paleoanthropology. The author comments on the influence of Crusafont both nationally and internationally in these fields and describes his emphasis on the defense and management of paleontological collections. The ideologies and concepts known as finalism and neo-Darwinism that were espoused at the time of Crusafont's work are also explored.