Cajal's views on the Nobel Prize for physiology and medicine (October 1904)

In this report we present and discuss an unpublished letter written by Santiago Ramon y Cajal in October 1904 in relation to his possible nomination for the Nobel Prize for Physiology and Medicine. This letter shows that Cajal was aware of his previous nominations for the Prize. He was convinced that these nominations had not been successful because neither anatomy nor histology were among the sciences included in the Nobel Statutes' definition of Physiology or Medicine. He gives a list of the merits he thought might be used for a new nomination, which included only works concluded during the previous five years.     

The Ordre Des Medecins and the Jews in Vichy France, 1940-1944

This paper examines the way in which the Jewish question washandled by the Ordre des Médecins, a representative institutionfor the medical profession created by the Vichy government.It discusses the historiography of Vichy anti-Semitism generallyand goes on to analyze the background of anti-Semitism in theFrench medical profession in the 1930s, comparing it with anti-Semitismin other professions such as Law. The paper then discusses thereactions of the Ordre des Médecins and its governingbody, the Conseil Supérieur, to the Vichy anti-Semiticlegislation which affected the profession and compares its brandof anti-Semitism with the official Vichy policy. It focuseson the unequal battle between the Conseil Supérieur,whose members were typically traditional nationalistic and protectionistanti-Semites, and the Vichy government, where quasi-racial anti-Semitismwas official policy. It explains the inevitable defeat of theConseil Supérieur.     

Ivane Beritashvili: founder of physiology and neuroscience in Georgia

This paper is dedicated to one of the outstanding scientists of the twentieth century--Ivane Beritashvili. He was a Georgian physiologist who graduated from St. Petersburg University and worked under the supervision of N. Wedensky. He founded the Department of Physiology and the Institute of Physiology at the University of Tbilisi, Georgia. Among his numerous contributions was the discovery of the rhythmical course of reciprocal inhibition in spinal reflexes, the first demonstration of the excitatory and inhibitory reactions in the brain stem neuropil. But Beritashvili's most significant contribution was the discovery of the mediation of animal psychoneural behavior by image-driven memory.     

Poppies for medicine in Afghanistan: lessons from India and Turkey

This study examines India and Turkey as case studies relevant to the Senlis Council’s ‘poppies for medicine’ proposal. The proposal is that Afghan farmers are licensed to produce opium for medical and scientific purposes. Here it is posited that the Senlis proposal neglects at least three key lessons from the Turkish and Indian experiences. First, not enough weight has been given to diversion from licit markets, as experienced in India. Second, both India and Turkey had significantly more efficient state institutions with authority over the licensed growing areas. Third, the proposal appears to overlook the fact that Turkey’s successful transition was largely due to the use of the poppy straw method of opium production. It is concluded that, while innovative and creative policy proposals such as that of the Senlis proposal are required if Afghanistan is to move beyond its present problems, ‘poppies for medicine’ does not withstand evidence-based scrutiny.     

Covering the Building of a Kingdom: The Saudi Arabian Authority in The London Times and The New York Times, 1901–1932

The orientalist literature subjected the Middle East in an exotic way — mostly as an “Arabian Nights” society ruled by traditional sultans and/or tribal chiefs — rather than modern governance structure's “bureaucracy.” The presumption within postcolonial scholarship has been that this perception influenced the policy landscape in the United States and Europe, especially the media depictions of the oriental leaders and leadership. The paper empirically tests this hypothesis through content analysis using Weber's categorization of leadership of two newspapers of record — The New York Times in the United States and The London Times in the United Kingdom — during the period of state building in Saudi Arabia (1901–1932). I find that rather than depicting the Saudi leadership as “backward,” these newspapers in particular, tend to overstate the development of the Saudi state during this period. As Weber is best known for his three types of authority, it benefits the discipline to see how the interpretive communities of Western journalists operationalized “authority” in terms of politics and religion of Saudi Arabia as this monarchy emerged.     

The anthropologist in medicine: Critical perspectives on cancer and street addicts

Waterston, Alisse. Street Addicts in the Political Economy. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1993. xix + 280 pp. including chapter references, appendix, and index. $34.95 cloth

Balshem, Martha. Cancer in the Community: Class and Medical Authority. Washington DC: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1993, xviii + 174 pp. including chapter references, appendix, and index. $50.50 cloth, $19.25 paper     

蒋介石"首脑外交"之运用:与苏绝交和复交

1927年南京国民敢府声称共产党与苏联极有关系,宣布与苏绝交.1928年底,张学良东北易帜,借机收回中东路权"完成前人大业",蒋介石则为转移国内矛盾、维护中央、地方统一考虑,支持张学良收回中东路权,坚持对苏强硬立场,引起苏方强烈反弹,致使中苏关系严重恶化.在美、英反应冷淡,对日和谈失败,国内反蒋势力活跃、恐遭腹背受敌情况下,蒋才被迫做出艰难选择,默许张学良与苏方接触,进而把"中苏复交"提上日程,几经波折终于在日内瓦达成中苏恢复外交关系.在整个与苏绝交、复交过程中,蒋介石"首脑外交"主导作用十分明显.