Among the artefacts recovered from Warwick, an English ship wrecked in Bermuda at the end of November 1619, was a small wooden navigational device. Discovered during the 2010 archaeological field season, the object was cleaned, analysed, and later conserved. It has been identified as an analogue navigational tool known as a plain scale. A novel instrument at the time, the device showed real-world applications of complex mathematical formulas for charting a course on a map. Its presence on Warwick is striking; it is believed to be the earliest known example of a plain scale in use on board an English ship sailing to the colonies. The goal of this paper is to present the artefact, provide its historical and archaeological background, and discuss the current body of research related to its purpose in resolving navigational problems.

The Cladonia cervicornis group comprises lichen-forming fungi characterized by having scyphi with central proliferations. It includes c. 20 species globally. The taxonomy of this group is poorly resolved, with many species not thoroughly disentangled. The focus of this study is the European species in the C. cervicornis group. In order to estimate the phylogenetic relationships of these species, six loci were used: ITS rDNA, IGS rDNA, RPB1, RPB2, ef1α and cox1. Species delimitation methods (ASAP, PTP and GMYC) were used to infer the species boundaries based on four loci, ITS rDNA, IGS rDNA, cox1 and RPB2. A morphological analysis based on multivariate methods was performed to assess the importance of phenotypic differences among the lineages. The phylogenetic reconstructions placed the species of this group in the subclade Cladonia. Five lineages were recovered, corresponding to C. cervicornis, C. macrophyllodes, C. pulvinata, C. verticillata and a new lineage that we describe here, C. teuvoana. Our analyses revealed that Cladonia cineracea, C. stricta and C. trassii are polyphyletic.

This article by Paul Magrath, Head of Product Development and Online Content at ICLR (incorporated Council of Law Reporting), provides a survey of 10 key technological developments that, over time, have contributed towards or affected our understanding of the administration of justice. Developments involving digitisation, the internet, and artificial intelligence (AI) are dealt with in greater depth, with a particular focus on recent AI developments at ICLR.

We compared study characteristics of randomized controlled trials funded by industry (N=697) to those not funded by industry (N=835). RCTs published in high-impact journals are more likely to be blinded, more likely to include a placebo, and more likely to post trial results on ClinicalTrials.gov. Our findings emphasize the importance of evaluating the quality of an RCT based on its methodological rigor, not its funder type.

I am so grateful to have been able to think with these authors while reading their books, for both have challenged me to think differently about my previous work and my upbringing in the “Golden State.” Those of us who study religion in the American West know it is still relatively marginalized in our guild, but I see such great hope in these sorts of studies. Not only do these books reveal a great deal about California both as a site of religious coercion and resistance, but they bring to our attention methods, sources, and ways of thinking about the interpenetration of traditionally “religious” ideas and material objects with labor, capital, foodways, photography, office spaces, and domestic interiors.

John Paget (c. 1574–1638), head pastor of the English Reformed Church of Amsterdam from 1607–1637, helped to shape the future of Presbyterianism. Exiled from England for nonconformity, Paget embraced the cosmopolitanism and religious toleration of his new city, studying Hebrew and Arabic in a multicultural circle of scholars. When the plague struck Amsterdam, he preached sermons on death and visited members in infected homes. When it came to Protestant English exiles, his own tolerance ran short. His strict interpretation of Presbyterian governance met with challenges from Separatists and Puritans advocating for independent congregations (Thomas Hooker and John Davenport), and some of his own congregants who wished for more democracy in church matters. The controversy in Holland, especially via polemical publications, influenced England and America. His last years of ministry were marred by a group known as “The Complainants,” who attempted to unseat him. He relied on his relationship with the Dutch Reformed Church and the city magistrates to maintain his own position and turn away opponents. While his contentiousness dampened his influence and diminished his reputation, nevertheless, Paget was a key agent in the survival of Presbyterianism when it could not flourish in early 17th-century England.

The pale yellowish tint of usnic acid in a lichen thallus itself is a commonly used character in identification keys, particularly in the genus Cladonia. Furthermore, the presence of usnic acid is phylogenetically significant in numerous groups of lichens. While the distinctive colour of usnic acid is readily visible when present in high concentrations, it is commonly problematic to discern when in low to moderate concentrations. We explored the use of an anisaldehyde reagent for visualizing usnic acid. Using both usnic acid-containing Cladonia samples and pure usnic acid, this reaction quickly yields a bright magenta colour on HPTLC and TLC plates after heating and directly with crude acetone extracts on glass slides heated with a lighter. The same magenta product was observed whether or not the usnic acid was accompanied by barbatic, fumarprotocetraric, psoromic, squamatic or thamnolic acids, each of which alone did not produce any colour with anisaldehyde reagent. However, the merochlorophaeic acids in C. albonigra also produced a red reaction. Analysis by high resolution LC-MS of the reaction mixture between anisaldehyde and usnic acid revealed several ions at m/z 477.1586 ([M+H]+, C27H25O8) and 463.1385 ([M+H]+, C26H23O8), respectively, consistent with aldol condensation of usnic acid and p-anisaldehyde.

Othering marks perceived differences so as to establish a divide between ‘us’ and ‘them’, which is materialised in and by built space. Our study expands prevailing understandings of this materialisation by highlighting how architectural design can counter othering.

To this end, we introduce Danielle Koplitz, an American young woman who was born deaf and, at the time of the study, was studying architecture. The design approach of an architecture student who is deaf represents a unique combination of (deaf) experiences and (architectural) knowledge. Based on interviews with Danielle and design documents, we analyse how and what she designed during her architecture studies.

Our analysis highlights how Danielle seeks to design-out othering while designing in difference without negative connotation. We show how personal experiences with othering motivate her to design spaces that avoid environmental barriers and convey positive messages to make people thrive and accept their identity. It is in this way that she believes architectural design can promote equity, diversity, and inclusion. Moreover, on top of designing out othering, she designs in others, by involving different people’s input as a resource in her designs.

Danielle’s approach and designs are inspiring in several ways: from their spatial qualities to her capacity to build on and go beyond DeafSpace in architectural terms, already from her twenties. As such, her lived experiences and the way she captures and expresses her own connection with her sociospatial context are profoundly significant in pedagogical terms. At the same time, her trajectory, like that of other architects with disability experience, points to another process of othering: the cycle that architectural education fosters towards able-bodied and privileged mindsets. It is high time that educators not only teach students about the importance of designing in others, but also start learning from their students how to do so.