It is well known that genetic factors account for up to 70% of variability in cognition from childhood to adulthood. However, less is known about the first year of life. This study investigated the etiological factors influencing individual variability in different domains of emerging cognitive and motor abilities in early infancy, and to what extent genetic and environmental influences are unique or shared across different domains. We compared multivariate twin models built on scores from the five scales of the Mullen Scales of Early Learning (MSEL) in a community sample of monozygotic and dizygotic twins at 5 months of age (n=567). The results indicated a hierarchical etiological structure whereby a general genetic latent factor accounted for 54% of variance underlying the different domains of emerging cognitive and motor abilities (A=0.54, confidence interval CI=[0; 0.82]). We also found additional genetic influences that were specific to early motor and language development. Unlike previous findings on older children, we did not find significant influences of shared environment on the shared factor (C=0, CI=[0, 0.57]), or any specific scale. Furthermore, influences of unique environment, which include measurement error, were moderate and statistically significant (E=0.46, CI=0.18; 0.81]). This study provides strong evidence for a unitary hierarchical structure across different domains of emerging cognition. Evidence that a single common etiological factor, which we term infant g, contributes to a range of different abilities supports the view that in young infants, intrinsic and general neurodevelopmental processes are key drivers of observable behavioural differences in specific domains.

Ernst-Wolfgang Bockenforde (b. 1930) is one of Europe’s foremost legal scholars and political thinkers. As a scholar of constitutional law and a judge on Germany’s Federal Constitutional Court (December 1983 - May 1996), Bockenforde has been a major contributor to contemporary debates in legal and political theory, to the conceptual framework of the modern state and its presuppositions, and to contested political issues such as the rights of the enemies of the state, the constitutional status of the state of emergency, citizenship rights, and challenges of European integration. His writings have shaped not only academic but also wider public debates from the 1950s to the present, to an extent that few European scholars can match. As a federal constitutional judge and thus holder of one the most important and most trusted public offices, Bockenforde has influenced the way in which academics and citizens think about law and politics. During his tenure as a member of the Second Senate of the Federal Constitutional Court, several path-breaking decisions for the Federal Republic of Germany were handed down, including decisions pertaining to the deployment of missiles, the law on political parties, the regulation of abortion, and the process of European integration. In the first representative edition in English of Bockenforde’s writings, this volume brings together his essays on constitutional and political theory. The volume is organized in four sections, focusing respectively on (I) the political theory of the state; (II) constitutional theory; (III) constitutional norms and fundamental rights; and (IV) the relation between state, citizenship, and political autonomy. Each of these four cornerstones of Bockenforde’s legal and political thinking features introductions to the articles as well as a running editorial commentary to the work. A second volume will follow this collection, focusing on the relation between religion, law, and democracy

This is the first representative edition in English of Ernst-Wolfgang Böckenförde’s writings on religion, law, and democracy. As a historian, legal scholar, and former judge on Germany’s Federal Constitutional Court, Böckenförde (1930–2019) has shaped legal and political discourse in twentieth-century Germany like few others. Doing so, he combined three normative orientations writings as a political liberal, as a social democrat, and as a Catholic. The included articles discuss the place of religion in modern democracy, the role of the Catholic Church in the Nazi seizure of power in 1933, the Copernican revolution of Vatican II in embracing religious freedom and accepting the modern secular state, the history of the concept of freedom of conscience, the relation of religion and state in Hegel’s writings, democratic models of secularism, theological reflections on the character of secular law, models of political theology, the need for canon law reform, and bioethical issues, such as the regulation of abortion, genetic screening, and in vitro fertilization in light of the constitutional principle of human dignity. This is the second of two volumes, of which the first, published in 2017, brought together articles in constitutional and political theory. Beside fifteen articles, the volume contains excerpts of the biographical interview that historian and legal scholar Dieter Gosewinkel conducted with Böckenförde in 2009/2010. Introductions and annotations by the editors accompany the text throughout, providing background explanations on the context of German and European politics and history. A comprehensive list of Ernst-Wolfgang Böckenförde’s publications is included in an appendix.

Health-related conditions often differ qualitatively or quantitatively between individuals of different birth-assigned sexes and gender identities, and/or with different gendered experiences, requiring tailored care. Studying the moderating and mediating effects of sex-related and gender-related factors on impairment, disability, wellbeing and health is of paramount importance especially for neurodivergent individuals, who are diagnosed with neurodevelopmental conditions with uneven sex/gender distributions. Researchers have become aware of the myriad influences that sex-related and gender-related variables have on the manifestations of neurodevelopmental conditions, and contemporary work has begun to investigate the mechanisms through which these effects are mediated. Here we describe topical concepts of sex and gender science, summarize current knowledge, and discuss research and clinical challenges related to autism, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and other neurodevelopmental conditions. We consider sex and gender in the context of epidemiology, behavioural phenotypes, neurobiology, genetics, endocrinology and neighbouring disciplines. The available evidence supports the view that sex and gender are important contributors to the biological and behavioural variability in neurodevelopmental conditions. Methodological caveats such as frequent conflation of sex and gender constructs, inappropriate measurement of these constructs and under-representation of specific demographic groups (for example, female and gender minority individuals and people with intellectual disabilities) limit the translational potential of research so far. Future research and clinical implementation should integrate sex and gender into next-generation diagnostics, mechanistic investigations and support practices.

Linked to major volcanic eruptions around 536 and 540 CE, the onset of the Late Antique Little Ice Age has been described as the coldest period of the past two millennia. The exact timing and spatial extent of this exceptional cold phase are, however, still under debate because of the limited resolution and geographical distribution of the available proxy archives. Here, we use 106 wood anatomical thin sections from 23 forest sites and 20 tree species in both hemispheres to search for cell-level fingerprints of ephemeral summer cooling between 530 and 550 CE. After cross-dating and double-staining, we identified 89 Blue Rings (lack of cell wall lignification), nine Frost Rings (cell deformation and collapse), and 93 Light Rings (reduced cell wall thickening) in the Northern Hemisphere. Our network reveals evidence for the strongest temperature depression between mid-July and early-August 536 CE across North America and Eurasia, whereas more localised cold spells occurred in the summers of 532, 540–43, and 548 CE. The lack of anatomical signatures in the austral trees suggests limited incursion of stratospheric volcanic aerosol into the Southern Hemisphere extra-tropics, that any forcing was mitigated by atmosphere-ocean dynamical responses and/or concentrated outside the growing season, or a combination of factors. Our findings demonstrate the advantage of wood anatomical investigations over traditional dendrochronological measurements, provide a benchmark for Earth system models, support cross-disciplinary studies into the entanglements of climate and history, and question the relevance of global climate averages.

Méditerranées Cet ouvrage propose de réfléchir au large éventail des mobilités méditerranéennes de la fin du XVe au milieu du XVIIIe siècle, depuis les expulsions massives des populations juives et musulmanes de la péninsule Ibérique jusqu'aux déplacements des marchands et des marins habitués à fréquenter les ports, les villes et les escales pour les besoins du commerce. A travers une série d'histoires situées, il éclaire la vaste gamme des dispositifs institués pour réguler la mosaïque complexe des communautés politiques et religieuses dans les pays chrétiens et d'islam.Il offre ainsi une synthèse de l'histoire récente des migrations, des diasporas et de la condition des étrangers dans le monde méditerranéen de l'époque moderne. Guillaume Calafat Maître de conférences en histoire moderne à l'université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (IHMC), il est spécialiste des relations entre l'Europe occidentale et l'Afrique du Nord. Mathieu Grenet Maître de conférences en histoire moderne à l'INU Champollion d'Albi (FRAMESPA), il est spécialiste des migrations en Méditerranée.

Abstract Traditional interpretations of Aristotle’s theory of perception mainly focus on uncovering the underlying mechanisms that are at stake when perceivers are affected by sensible qualities. Investigating the nature of sense perception is one of Aristotle’s main worries and one that he explicitly relates to the question of its causes (e. g. Sens . 436a16–17, 436b9) and its ends (e. g. de An . 434a30 ff.). Therefore I suggest that, in order to fully explain Aristotle’s view of perceptual phenomena, the possibilities, the constraints, and the goals defined by the embodied and situated engagement of perceivers with the external world must be taken into account. Accordingly, in this paper, I provide an affective reading of Aristotle’s theory of perception. I shall ask what, in addition to functioning sense organs and appropriate response mechanisms, the perceiver contributes to perceptual content. Specifically, I propose to shed light on the significance of perceptual experience for the perceiver and I aim to show that, according to Aristotle, one’s biological and personal qualities are perceptually relevant, meaning that they underpin perception, rather than coming into play after perception has occurred and its objects have been discerned. The paper is divided into two parts, respectively dealing with sensory affections and more complex affective phenomena. As regards the domain of primal sense perception, I will focus on smell as a representative example: since Aristotle identifies it as the least developed of human sensory faculties, it will serve as a revealing illustration of how sense perception is informed and qualified by what, drawing on contemporary philosophical terminology, I will call ‘perceptual interests’, viz. the affective sense of what is at stake in the living being’s interaction with the environment. I will then proceed to consider the way more complex affective phenomena underpin perception by examining the case of emotions and that of virtues of character. By showing how perception is affectively inflected and how emotion is rooted in perception’s bodily nature, I aim to sketch out the general lines along which I believe that the Aristotelian theory of perception should be approached.

Dictionaries of national biography are a long-established and significant genre of biographical and historical writing, existing in many forms across the globe. This book brings together practitioners from around the English‑speaking world to reflect on national biographical dictionary projects’ recent cultural journeys, and the challenges presented to them by such developments as the transition to a digital environment, a new alertness to the need to represent diversity, and the rise of transnationalism. Exploring their paths forward, the chapters of this book collectively make a powerful argument for the continued value and importance of large‑scale collaborative biographical dictionary research.

What can a house tell us about the person who lives there? Do we shape the buildings we live in, or are we formed by the places we call home? And why are we especially fascinated by the houses of the famous and often long-dead? In Lives of Houses, notable biographers, historians, critics, and poets explores these questions and more through fascinating essays on the houses of great writers, artists, composers, and politicians of the past.

Editors Kate Kennedy and Hermione Lee are joined by wide-ranging contributors, including Simon Armitage, Julian Barnes, David Cannadine, Roy Foster, Alexandra Harris, Daisy Hay, Margaret MacMillan, Alexander Masters, and Jenny Uglow. We encounter W. H. Auden, living in joyful squalor in New York’s St. Mark’s Place, and W. B. Yeats in his flood-prone tower in the windswept West of Ireland. We meet Benjamin Disraeli, struggling to keep up appearances, and track the lost houses of Virginia Woolf and Elizabeth Bowen. We visit Benjamin Britten in Aldeburgh, England, and Jean Sibelius at Ainola, Finland. But Lives of Houses also considers those who are unhoused, unwilling or unable to establish a home—from the bewildered poet John Clare wandering the byways of England to the exiled Zimbabwean writer Dambudzo Marechera living on the streets of London.

When Winston Churchill suffered most severely from his ’black dog’ he took to painting in order to express the inexpressible. Throughout his life he would withdraw to paint. His paintings throw fascinating light upon his character and its vicissitudes and thus are key to understanding his personality as a great statesman. As fellow artist Sir Oswald Birley said of him: ’If Churchill had given the time to art that he has given to politics, he would have been by all odds the world’s greatest painter’. This book consists of a substantial introduction of great critical and historic importance by Professor David Cannadine but also Churchill’s own writings about painting. Apart from his celebrated essay ‘Painting as a Pastime’ this also contains Churchill’s art reviews (never reprinted) and the text of his address to the Royal Academy of Art when he was elected a Fellow. This has never been printed before. The book concludes with two more or less forgotten essays about Churchill’s paintings - one by Augustus John and the other by Sir John Rothenstein.

The Collection of the National Portrait Gallery, London, embraces over 500 years of British history, more than 60,000 sitters and explores ideas of social change, power and influence. Arguably as powerful and influential as any individual are the heads of state and empire, whose portraits are among the most popular in the Gallery’s Collection.

For the exhibition that accompanies this book, the portraits of kings, queens, statesmen and stateswomen featured will go on tour for the first time, providing international audiences with the opportunity to encounter these famous historical and contemporary personalities face to face. The publication traces major events in British history and examines the ways in which royal portraiture has reflected individual sitters’ personalities and wider social, cultural and historical change. Works are arranged chronologically in sections, each of which is prefaced by an introductory text and timeline providing context to the period in question. Particularly significant portraits from each period are accompanied by extended captions that provide key information on the sitter and the artist. Tudors to Windsors also considers how each dynasty has been perceived and interpreted subsequently, with reference to popular culture and contemporary sources.

A number of features on topics such as Royal Favourites, Royal Weddings, Satire, Royals at War, and Royal Fashion and Jewellery provide insights into particular aspects of royal portraiture and trends within the genre.

The publication includes a foreword by the Gallery’s Director, a fully illustrated introductory essay discussing royal patronage and key artists in royal portraiture, and an essay by David Cannadine on the historical role of the monarchy in Britain.

To flourish, museums need at least one of these:an absolute ruler, government patronage, a societyin which encouraging public institutions is a publicobligation or means of social advancement,or an exceptionally driven individual.In eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Britainthe first agent was lacking, the second and thirdonly intermittently effective, the fourth rare.For the many foreign visitors who published theirviews on Britain, the administration of the artsand the limitations of state provision were sources of constant puzzlement.

From The Crown to Downton Abbey, the country house speaks to our fantasies of rustic splendor, style, and escape. Featuring three hundred photos from the National Trust, this lavish book draws back the curtain on the finest and most important historic homes in England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland, revealing these great houses’ intriguing pasts, grand interiors, and vibrant reinventions for the enjoyment of modern-day visitors, residents, and armchair travelers. Locations include Knole, Cragside, Castle Howard, Chatsworth, Polesden Lacey, Petworth, Castle Bodiam, Blenheim, Longleat, and dozens more. Illuminating essays by country house expert Jeremy Musson, legendary British author and historian David Cannadine, and contributing writers and scholars provide unique insight into centuries of life in a historic home. This is a rich visual resource for lovers of sumptuous interiors on a human scale, as well as grand exterior architecture and gorgeous landscapes. For Anglophiles, royals watchers, and lovers of the country house lifestyle, architecture, and interior design, this is a magnificent new look at landmark British country houses, the treasures they contain, and how they speak to our fantasies of rustic splendor and escape today

Vann McGee has proposed a counterexample to the Ramsey Test. In the counterexample, a seemingly trustworthy source has testified that p and that if not-p, then q. If one subsequently learns not- p (and so learns that the source is wrong about p), then one has reason to doubt the trustworthiness of the source (perhaps even the identity of the source) and so, the argument goes, one has reason to doubt the conditional asserted by the source. Since what one learns is that the antecedent of the conditional holds, these doubts are contrary to the Ramsey Test. We argue that the counterexample fails. It rests on a principle of testimonial dependence that is not applicable when a source hedges his or her claims.

Animal sacrifice fundamentally informed how the ancient Greeks defined themselves, their relation to the divine, and the structure of their society. Adopting an explicitly cross-disciplinary perspective, the present volume explores the practical execution and complex meaning of animal sacrifice within ancient Greek religion (c. 1000 BC–AD 200).

The objective is twofold. First, to clarify in detail the use and meaning of body parts of the animal within sacrificial ritual. This involves a comprehensive study of ancient Greek terminology in texts and inscriptions, representations on pottery and reliefs, and animal bones found in sanctuaries. Second, to encourage the use and integration of the full spectrum of ancient evidence in the exploration of Greek sacrificial rituals, which is a prerequisite for understanding the complex use and meaning of Greek animal sacrifice.

Twelve contributions by experts on the literary, epigraphical, iconographical, archaeological and zooarchaeological evidence for Greek animal sacrifice explore the treatment of legs, including feet and hoofs, tails, horns; heads, including tongues, brains, ears and snouts; internal organs; blood; as well as the handling of the entire body by burning it whole. Three further contributions address Hittite, Israelite and Etruscan animal sacrifice respectively, providing important contextualization for Greek ritual practices.

The analysis presented here departs from the conventional conceptualization of foreign policy change in terms of input-output modes of analysis, here represented by two of its most recent and acknowledged practitioners. It is argued that approaches of this kind tend to fail on at least three counts: their account of the function of human agency in such change, which is not given the central role which this factor arguably deserves; their negligence of the agency-structure issue and its implications for analysing the dynamic interaction between decision-makers and social structures; and their inability to incorporate 'learning' as an endogenous characteristic of foreign policy systems. An alternative mode of analysis is then presented which rejects the input-output imagery while specifically addressing the problems highlighted above. Although it defines the explanandum of foreign policy wholly in terms of agential behaviour, it includes structural factors as a crucial explanans and outlines a conceptualization of the dynamic nature of foreign policy which explicitly incorporates the reciprocal causal links between agents and structures, particularly in the form of the interplay — both adaptive and innovative — between institutions and discursive practices in foreign policy behaviour. 

Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity are finalizing a new Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) to more effectively guide efforts by the world’s nations to address global loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services. Each party is required to mainstream the new framework and its component targets into national conservation strategies. To date, such strategies have been criticized as largely aspirational and lacking clear linkages to national policy mechanisms, which has contributed to the world’s general failure to meet the Convention’s previous targets. We use the United States and European Union as examples to compare and contrast opportunities and barriers for mainstreaming the GBF more effectively into policy. The European Union and United States have unique relationships to the Convention, the former being the only supranational party and the latter, having signed but never ratified the treaty, adopting Convention targets on an ad hoc basis. The contrasting conservation policy frameworks of these two polities illustrate several conceptual issues central to biodiversity conservation and demonstrate how insights from the GBF can strengthen biodiversity policy even in atypical contexts. We focus on three characteristics of the GBF which are essential if policy is to effectively motivate and guide efforts to halt and reverse biodiversity loss: comprehensiveness, coherence, and ambition. Statutes in both the United States and European Union provide a strong foundation for mainstreaming the GBF’s comprehensiveness, coherence, and ambition, but policy development and implementation falls short. We identify six common themes among the reforms needed to successfully achieve targets for reversing biodiversity loss: broadening conservation focus to all levels of biodiversity, better coordinating conservation strategies that protect sites and landscapes with those focused on biodiversity elements (e.g., species), coordinating biodiversity conservation with efforts to safeguard ecosystem services including ecosystem-based climate mitigation and adaptation, more coherent scaling of targets from global to local extents, adoption of a more ambitious vision for recovery of biodiversity, and development of effective tracking and accountability mechanisms.