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Isaac Beeckman on matter and motion : mechanical philosophy in the making
Explore the work of a founding father of the mechanical philosophy of nature, Isaac Beeckman (1588–1637).
The contribution of the Dutch craftsman and scholar Isaac Beeckman to early modern scientific thought has never been properly acknowledged. Surprisingly free from the constraints of traditional natural philosophy, he developed a view of the world in which everything, from the motion of the heavens to musical harmonies, is explained by reducing it to matter in motion. His ideas deeply influenced Descartes and Gassendi. Klaas van Berkel has succeeded in unearthing and explicating Beeckman's scientific notebooks, allowing us to follow how he developed his new philosophy, almost day by day.
Beeckman was almost forgotten until the discovery of his notebooks in the early twentieth century. Isaac Beeckman on Matter and Motion is the first full-length study of the ideas and motives of this remarkable figure. Van Berkel's important study first relates Beeckman's life, placing him in the religious, intellectual, educational, and social context of the Dutch Republic in its golden age. Van Berkel then analyzes the notebooks themselves and the nature and development of Beeckman's \"mechanical philosophy.\" He demonstrates how Beeckman's artisanal background and religious convictions shaped his natural philosophy, even as the decisive influence stems from the educational philosophy of the sixteenth-century French philosopher Peter Ramus.
Historians of science and the philosophy of science will find the substance of Beeckman's thought and the unraveling of its growth and development highly interesting. Van Berkel's account provides a new and comprehensive interpretation of the origins of the mechanical philosophy of nature, the philosophy that culminated in the work of Isaac Newton.
eBook
Kurt Baschwitz : pioneer of communication studies and social psychology
In this study of a forgotten but noteworthy figure, the author tells the story of the life of Kurt Baschwitz (1886-1968), a scholar who fled from the Nazis. He wrote six books, never translated into English, on four related themes: the press, propaganda, politics, and persecution. Baschwitz independently developed concepts that are now seen as key to communication science and social psychology, and the author places Baschwitz's ideas in the wider context of his dramatic life and times.
Book
Hugo Grotius in international thought
Drawing on the development of 'Grotian' scholarship in international legal and political thought, this book seeks to ascertain precisely what the term has meant, both historically and as it is employed in contemporary scholarship.
eBook
Interdependence and cooperation in daily life
Philosophers and scientists have long debated the nature of human social interactions and the prevalence of mutual dependence, conflict of interests, and power asymmetry in social situations. Yet, there is surprisingly little empirical work documenting the patterns of interdependence that people experience in daily life. We use experience sampling to study how people think about 3 dimensions of interdependence in daily life and how these dimensions relate to cooperation. In Study 1, 139 romantic couples (n = 278) reported on situations experienced with their partner (k = 6,766); in Study 2, individuals (n = 284) reported on situations experienced with any other person (k = 7,248), over the course of 1 week. Across both samples, we found that most social interactions were perceived as containing moderate mutual dependence, equal power, and corresponding interests. When couples reported on the same situation (Study 1), they largely agreed on their experienced interdependence and cooperation, suggesting that their reports reflect an underlying shared reality. In daily interactions across both samples, higher mutual dependence and lower conflict of interests were associated with more cooperation, whereas relative power was not directly related to cooperation. These associations replicated in laboratory experiments (Study 2). In daily life, high mutual dependence and high relative power exacerbated the negative relation between conflict of interests and cooperation. Finally, prevalent patterns of interdependence and the experience of specific interdependent situations affected multiple relationship outcomes. Our findings stress the importance of studying a diverse array of interdependent situations—and especially situations with corresponding interests—to better understand cooperation in daily life.
Paper
Spatial inference of Culex pipiens abundance and biting activity distribution in the Netherlands using citizen science
BackgroundThe expanding geographical spread of mosquito-borne diseases (MBDs) has intensified the need for effective mosquito surveillance. Additional surveillance, particularly of species such as Culex pipiens, is essential as this species is a key vector of West Nile and Usutu viruses. Citizen science offers an innovative approach to monitoring Cx. pipiens populations.MethodsOur study utilized data from the Mosquito Alert mobile app to model the spatial distribution and abundance of Cx. pipiens and mosquito bites during the summer of 2021 in the Netherlands. Using generalized linear mixed models, climatic and non-climatic factors were analyzed to create two distribution models of adult Cx. pipiens and mosquito bites as outcomes.ResultsPopulation density, income, and agricultural areas (P ≤ 0.007) were identified as key determinants for both models. Blackbird population density, precipitation, and the interaction between artificial surfaces and temperature were also covariates for the Culex model, whereas sand and tree coverage were determinants for the bite model. The study controlled for biases in sampling effort to ensure robust predictions, revealing higher Cx. pipiens abundance in the central eastern areas of the country and widespread mosquito biting activity across the Netherlands.ConclusionsThese findings underscore the importance of sociodemographic and environmental factors in mosquito distribution and biting dynamics, with citizen science emerging as a valuable tool for enhancing traditional surveillance. Future research integrating longer temporal datasets and human behavioral factors will further improve predictive accuracy and support more effective MBD prevention efforts.
Journal Article
Dissemination or participation? Exploring scientists’ definitions and science communication goals in the Netherlands
The field of science communication has grown considerably over the past decade, and so have the number of scientific writings on what science communication is and how it should be practiced. The multitude of theoretisations and models has led to a lack of clarity in defining science communication, and to a highly popularised—and theorised—rhetorical shift from deficit to dialogue and participation. With this study, we aim to remediate the absence of research into what science communication is, for scientists themselves. We also investigate whether the transition towards dialogue and participation is reflected in the goals scientists identify as important to their science communication efforts, both in a general and a social media context. For this, we analyse survey data collected from scientists in the Netherlands using thematic qualitative analysis and statistical analysis. Our results reveal six main dimensions of science communication as defined by our respondents. The 584 definitions we analyse demonstrate a focus on a one-way process of transmission and translation of scientific results and their impacts towards a lay audience, via mostly traditional media channels, with the goals of making science more accessible, of educating audiences, and of raising awareness about science. In terms of the goals identified as most important by scientists in the Netherlands, we find goals aligned with the deficit and dialogue models of science communication to be the most important. Overall, our findings suggest we should be cautious in the face of recent claims that we live in a new era of dialogue, transparency, and participation in the realm of science communication.
Journal Article
Microbial drinking water quality deterioration during distribution and household usage, determined together with citizen scientists
During transport and storage of drinking water the microbial water quality might deteriorate. Here, we studied the vulnerability of non-chlorinated drinking water produced by two treatment plants to deterioration, by involving citizen scientists. Citizen scientists in Amsterdam sampled their drinking water directly from their kitchen tap after overnight stagnation, after flushing and after storage in containers like reusable plastic bottles. Subsequently, prokaryotic cell counts, ATP concentrations and the prokaryotic community composition were determined in the laboratory. The results showed that citizen scientists were able to reliably sample drinking water. The microbiological parameters measured remained stable during drinking water transport in the distribution system, whereas overnight stagnation in the premises plumbing system could result in fluctuations in the microbial biomass parameters and slightly altered the prokaryotic composition. Drinking water storage in containers resulted in a substantially increase in microbial biomass, a decrease in bacterial diversity and a shift in bacterial community composition. Furthermore, sampled drinking water from the distribution system had a specific community composition related to either plant A or B, which could be used to determine the origin of drinking water sampled from mixed zones in the distribution system. Overall, we conclude that stored drinking water is highly susceptible to microbial deterioration. In addition, ATP and flow cytometry cell counts are poor indicators for microbial regrowth in the distribution system and citizen scientists seem able to reliably sample drinking water for microbial analyses.
Journal Article
Emergence of Drift Variants That May Affect COVID-19 Vaccine Development and Antibody Treatment
New coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) treatments and vaccines are under development to combat COVID-19. Several approaches are being used by scientists for investigation, including (1) various small molecule approaches targeting RNA polymerase, 3C-like protease, and RNA endonuclease; and (2) exploration of antibodies obtained from convalescent plasma from patients who have recovered from COVID-19. The coronavirus genome is highly prone to mutations that lead to genetic drift and escape from immune recognition; thus, it is imperative that sub-strains with different mutations are also accounted for during vaccine development. As the disease has grown to become a pandemic, B-cell and T-cell epitopes predicted from SARS coronavirus have been reported. Using the epitope information along with variants of the virus, we have found several variants which might cause drifts. Among such variants, 23403A>G variant (p.D614G) in spike protein B-cell epitope is observed frequently in European countries, such as the Netherlands, Switzerland, and France, but seldom observed in China.
Journal Article