‘Whatever it takes’: Polanyian perspectives on the eurozone crisis and the gold standard

Abstract

The parallels between the monetary politics of the gold standard and that of the eurozone crisis are striking and have informed contemporary debate about the future of European integration. The eurozone crisis has been widely interpreted as the result of a mismatch between international monetary integration and a concomitant lack of fiscal integration, or more broadly as the result of a European Union which is economically integrated, yet politically fragmented. The prospect of a 1930s-style descent into division and nationalism has formed the backdrop against which moves towards extensive integration at the supranational level have been made. Polanyi diagnosed the political effects of monetary integration through his analysis of the gold standard system in The great transformation, making it important that we unpack his analysis and consider carefully how a Polanyian perspective might apply to the eurozone today. I argue that Polanyi encourages us to look beyond ‘monetary vs. fiscal’ and ‘economic vs. political’ characterizations of European integration, and instead to examine how such oppositions are formed in the first place and how they constrain political debate, particularly in terms of how ‘sound money’ is established as the highest policy concern. Through a re-reading of Polanyi's distinction between ‘all-purpose’ and ‘special-purpose’ money, I highlight how, despite the huge efforts undertaken to preserve the identity of the euro as an all-purpose currency, the eurozone crisis has rendered visible a series of latent conflicts between the different functions of money. This analysis moves us away from the ‘monetary vs. fiscal’ integration view of the eurozone crisis and towards a more open study of how the various possible purposes of money are being articulated and challenged, offering some limited hope for alternatives to the current eurozone policy agenda.     

Mining with a ‘Vuvuzela’: reconfiguring artisanal mining in Southern Zimbabwe and its implications to rural livelihoods

The rural landscape of Zimbabwe has dramatically changed in the last decade. Zimbabwe inherited a racially biased land ownership pattern at independence in 1980 and 20 years on efforts by the state to address the colonial land imbalances have been largely unsuccessful. In 2000 the Zimbabwe government embarked on a controversial rapid land redistribution exercise that saw vast tracts of land previously owned by white commercial farmers taken over and distributed to mostly black Zimbabweans. Some authors have argued that there is no single story of the Fast Track Land Reform and Resettlement programme because of the myths and realities spread by the media. It is important to note that what happened in one province might not be similar to the other. Rural dwellers in the countryside had for years depended on agrarian livelihoods and the fact that more land had been availed by the state meant better livelihoods. However, this article argues that in spite of a widened horizon to pursue agrarian activities many people have actually drifted away from on-farm to off-farm livelihoods. This is true in the case of southern Zimbabwe where a large number of rural dwellers have chosen artisanal gold mining as a pathway in realising a livelihood. This article therefore focuses on the expansion of artisanal gold mining in southern Zimbabwe; particularly in southern Matabeleland. Using fieldwork as a method of data gathering, the article unravels the development of artisanal mining in this region and how it has been reconfigured after the hosting of the Soccer World Cup in South Africa 2010. In particular it shows how the metal detector technology (the Vuvuzela) availed by the hosting of the Soccer World Cup has found its way to the region and changed the gold panning process. Conclusions drawn from a detailed PhD study revealed that a significant number of southern Zimbabwe gold panners have adopted the metal detector technology as a way of expanding their trade.     

宁夏沿黄城市群的同城化构想——解读宁夏打造“黄河金岸”发展战略

同城化是城市现代化发展的新趋势，是城市群、城市圈发展过程中的一种特殊形式。同城化是当前城市在发展中迫切需要研究的一个重大课题，既具有理论意义又有指导价值。同城化构想的规划，将进一步加快宁夏区域经济社会一体化发展的进程．     

奶牛乳房炎四种致病菌PCR核酸免疫层析试纸条快速检测方法的建立及应用

为了开发检测导致奶牛乳房炎的无乳链球菌、金黄色葡萄球菌、大肠杆菌和停乳链球菌这四种重要致病菌的PCR核酸免疫层析试纸条方法,本研究采用柠檬酸还原法制备10 nm的胶体金溶液,选用优化的10μL 1 mol/L碳酸钾溶液调节pH和5μL异硫氰酸荧光素抗体偶联金颗粒,并使用优化的封闭液(10%BSA、0.25%PEG2000、0.05%吐温-20、0.05%Triton-X100)进行封闭,将地高辛抗体和山羊抗鼠二抗分别喷涂在检测线和质控线上,烘干并组装成试纸条,进行细菌的纯培养物和鲜牛奶加样检测。结果显示,所制备的PCR核酸免疫层析试纸条和凝胶电泳均具有较好的特异性,最低检测限要比凝胶电泳高10倍,在模拟污染牛奶样品测试中,试纸条仍然具有很好的特异性且灵敏度比凝胶电泳的高。上述结果表明,本研究建立的PCR核酸免疫层析试纸条检测方法具有良好的临床应用潜力。     

Distinguishing Between Legally and Illegally Produced Gold in South Africa

The identification of gold‐bearing material is essential for combating the theft of gold in South Africa. Material seized in police operations is generally a mixture of gold from different mines, and as such cannot be traced back to a single location. ICP‐OES analysis of material dissolved by acid dissolution provided a database of gold compositions comprising gold from South African mines, illegal gold stolen from the mines, and commercial gold alloys and jewelery. Discrimination between legal and illegal gold was possible due to the presence of Pb, As, Sb, Sn, Se, and Te in the stolen material, elements which are not present in legally produced gold. The presence of these elements is a quick and simple way to distinguish between gold alloys based on refined gold, such as in commercially manufactured jewelery, and gold alloys containing a proportion of unrefined and therefore illegally obtained gold.     

Fatal bilateral pneumothoraces after electroacupuncture treatment: A case report and literature review

Acupuncture is practiced as a complementary medicine worldwide. Although it is considered a safe practice, pneumothorax is one of its most common serious complications. However, there have been few reports of deaths due to pneumothorax after acupuncture treatment, especially focused on electroacupuncture. We report an autopsy case of a man in his 60s who went into cardiopulmonary arrest and died immediately after receiving electroacupuncture. Postmortem computed tomography (PMCT) showed bilateral pneumothoraces, as well as the presence of numerous gold threads embedded subcutaneously. An autopsy revealed two ecchymoses in the right thoracic cavity and a pinhole injury on the lower lobe of the right lung, suggesting that the needles had penetrated the lung. There were marked emphysematous changes in the lung, suggesting that rupture of bullae might also have contributed to bilateral pneumothoraces and fatal outcome. The acupuncture needles may have been drawn deeper into the body than at the time of insertion due to electrical pulses and muscle contraction, indicating the need for careful determination of treatment indications and technical safety measures, such as fail-safe mechanisms. This is the first case report of fatal bilateral pneumothoraces after electroacupuncture reported in the English literature. This case sheds light on the safety of electroacupuncture and the need for special care when administering it to patients with pulmonary disease who may be at a higher risk of pneumothorax. This is also the first report of three-dimensional reconstructed PMCT images showing the whole-body distribution of embedded gold acupuncture threads, which is unusual.     

The Analysis of a World War I U.S. Service Member's Dental Remains Recovered in France

In October 2009, the grave of an unknown World War I (WWI) U.S. service member was exhumed in Rembercourt‐Sur‐Mad Village, in the Lorraine Region of France. The skeletal remains and material evidence were accessioned into the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command's (JPAC) Central Identification Laboratory (CIL). The personnel records for the associated casualty were requested, received, and reviewed. A dental profile was present among the service member's personal information. There were multiple points of concordance between the dental records of the associated casualty, and the recovered dental remains to include eight restored teeth, 15 unrestored teeth, and three antemortem missing teeth. Distinctive restorations which compared favorably included a porcelain crown and multiple gold foil fillings. All lines of evidence (historical, material evidence/personal effects, anthropological, and dental) and the circumstances of loss compared positively with the associated casualty. On April 1, 2010, the previously unaccounted‐for U.S. service member was positively identified and on June 23, 2010, was buried with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery.     

胶体金快速诊断方法对鸡减蛋综合征病毒的检测

选择15 nm的胶体金颗粒作为标记物,制备了鸡减蛋综合征病毒(EDSV)胶体金试纸条。该试纸条能检出浓度约为1.35μg/mL的纯化EDSV,用该试纸条检测135份临床样本,并与HA方法相比较,结果显示,二者的阳性符合率为89.8%。特异性试验结果显示,与鸡新城疫病毒(NDV)、鸡传染性腔上囊病病毒(IBDV)、鸡传染性支气管炎病毒(IBV)无交叉反应。表明,该试纸条用于检测EDSV具有快速、操作简便、特异性强等优点,可用于大批量抗原样本的检测。     

检测丁丙诺啡的胶体金标记单克隆抗体免疫试剂盒研制

目的采用免疫竞争法原理,建立一种简便快速检测丁丙诺啡的方法。方法将20nm胶体金颗粒标记的抗丁丙诺啡单克隆抗体,均匀浸在吸水玻璃纤维上,将丁丙诺啡-BSA和纯化后的羊抗鼠IgG多克隆抗体在硝酸纤维薄膜分别划1mm宽的检测线(T线)和质控线(C线),制成丁丙诺啡胶体金标记单克隆抗体免疫层析检测条,并组装成检测板。结果以GC/MS为标准对照,100例样品检测结果显示,本检测板的准确率为99.0%。丁丙诺啡胶体金标记单克隆抗体免疫层析检测板在对45种药(毒)物的测试中,仅识别丁丙诺啡及其主要代谢产物。结论丁丙诺啡胶体金标记单克隆抗体免疫层析检测板在5min内可检出样品中的丁丙诺啡及其代谢物,检测丁丙诺啡的阈值为100ng/mL。     

公安高校思政课线上线下混合式“金课”途径探析

公安高校思政课线上线下混合式"金课"建设是当前公安高校思政课教学改革的重要内容。总体而言,当前公安高校思政课线上线下混合式教学效果距"金课"还有很大的距离。只有以教育部提出的高阶性、创新性、挑战度为标准,以供给侧和需求侧的同频共振,即通过坚持问题意识,整合教学内容,用紧贴实际的专题设计激活学生;加强理论学习,坚持集体研讨,用教师深厚的政治理论功底赢得学生;线上线下有机融合,课内课外有效衔接,用丰富多样的教学形式吸引学生;转对象为主体,变被动为主动,用灵活多样的实践教学感染学生等途径才能更好地打造公安高校思政课线上线下混合式"金课"。