The ‘Landscapes of Production and Punishment’ project aims to examine how convict labour from 1830–1877 affected the built and natural landscapes of the Tasman Peninsula, as well as the lives of the convicts themselves.

Memory consolidation in a discriminative bead pecking task is modulated by endogenous adenosine triphosphate (ATP) acting at purinergic receptors in the hippocampus. Consolidation, from short- to intermediate- to long-term memory during two distinct periods following training, was blocked by the non-selective P2 purinergic receptor antagonist PPADS (pyridoxal phosphate-6-azo(benzene-2,4-disulphonic acid) tetrasodium salt hydrate and the specific P2Y1 receptor antagonist MRS2179. Direct injections of the ATP agonists (ATPγS and ADPβS) potentiated memory consolidation and the effect of ADPβS was blocked by MRS2179, suggesting an important role of ATP on memory consolidation via the P2Y1 receptor in the chick hippocampus. Incubation of astrocytes with ATPγS and ADPβS resulted in the increase of intracellular calcium ([Ca2+]i), the latter being blocked by MRS2179 suggesting a specific role for P2Y1 receptors in the calcium response. This response was prevented by blocking astrocytic oxidative metabolism with fluoroacetate. We argue that the source of the ATP acting on neuronal P2Y1 receptors is most likely to be astrocytes. Thrombin selectively increases [Ca2+]i in astrocytes but not in neurones. The main findings of the present study are: (a) astrocytic [Ca2+]i plays an important role in the consolidation of short-term to long-term memory; and (b) ATP released from chick astrocytes during learning modulates neuronal activity through astrocytic P2Y1 receptors.

Despite optimistic expectations to the contrary, the post–Cold War era has generated a considerable degree of violent conflict. These conflicts have caused substantial human suffering and destabilization for the inhabitants of affected regions. The continent of Africa has been especially prone to political strife. Selected countries in other areas of the world, such as Afghanistan, Colombia, and the former Yugoslavia, have also been affected. And even relatively prosperous countries, such as the United States are not insulated from the effects of Third World instability—as the events of September 11 have dramatically demonstrated. Naturally enough, the world community has sought ways to settle these conflicts through negotiated settlements, often supervised by “impartial” external authorities like the United Nations. And there has been a growing interest among academics in these efforts at external third-party mediation.

This paper analyses peacekeeping impartiality, i.e. the extent to which peacekeepers act in the interests of international peace and security, rather than the interests of specific states or other external actors. It reevaluates the question of impartiality through an analysis of the Congo operation of July–September 1960. This case study was selected because it was by far the most important instance of peacekeeping during the Cold War. Based upon primary source materials from US, British, and UN archives, as well as memoirs and secondary sources, it finds that the Congo peacekeeping force intervened to a considerable extent in the internal politics of the Congo; in doing so, the peacekeepers collaborated with US policymakers and, to some extent, advanced their strategic objectives. A comparison between the Congo operation and recent cases of peacekeeping in post-Cold War Africa indicates that impartiality is likely to remain an elusive goal.

The Congo constituted the largest peace-keeping operation in the history of the United Nations, at least until recently, being only exceeded in scale by current actions in Yugoslavia, Cambodia, and Somalia. It included, during 1960–4, not only civilian advisers who helped run the central règime in Lèopoldiville, but also an army which, at full strength, comprised 19,000 troops. They intervened extensively in the politics of the country, thereby not conforming to the popular image of a passive ‘peace-keeping’ force.