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Abstract Health diplomacy has played a vital role worldwide during the coronavirus outbreak. One crucial mechanism in this regard has been “vaccine diplomacy,” which describes country efforts to share COVID-19 vaccines. China and India are ahead of other countries in bilateral vaccine donations due to their South-South Cooperation policies. Looking forward, how and why are these two countries employing their vaccine diplomacy strategies? We compare the engagement of both in this field using a Comparative Foreign Policy Analysis framework. Our results suggest that neither is acting only for altruistic reasons, because economic and political interests are the main drivers behind their strategies.

Abstract Following the discovery of vast oil reserves in the Persian Gulf region, the Middle East became the main hub for the expansion and development of western pipeline technology. Contrary to the borderless world described in some accounts of globalization, what is observed after 1956 is the establishment of hard political borders, directly under the oversight of national governments, for pipeline deployment with minimal boundary crossings. In the Middle East, this minimal permeability of frontiers entailed fewer risks compared with the uncertainties arising from having to cross several countries: the sovereign state thus seemed the best container for oil transportation. The conclusion puts forward the concept of re-territorialization to explain the multi-level changes that took place, entailing shifts in geography, in business structures and in international relations.

In 1817, in the preface to his Rein analytischer Beweis, Bernard Bolzano revealed that he had decided to postpone the publication of any subsequent instalment of his Beyträge zu einer begründeteren Darstellung der Mathematik because of the few and ‘superficial’ reviews of its first instalment, published in 1810. Bolzano’s transcriptions of the only two known reviews of this book are conserved at the Literární archiv Památníku národního písemnictví / Muzea literatury, in Prague, together with another manuscript on his Beyträge, the provenance of which was unknown to Bolzano’s scholars until recently. In this paper it is shown that this latter manuscript is a draft of an announcement that was published at the time and that was indeed written at least to some extent by Bolzano himself. This hitherto unknown announcement of Bolzano’s Beyträge not only solves the mystery surrounding that manuscript, but also helps to date the publication of this book more precisely and provides an unusual insight into what we must take Bolzano himself to have considered most noteworthy about his work, namely his study on logic. The paper includes a transcription of the manuscript and an English translation of the announcement.

This article is a study of mourning among Shi'a Muslims during the COVID-19 pandemic through a call-in talk show called #IAMHUSSEINI. By analyzing the discourses of callers and presenters and locating them within a visual context of the television studio, this article shows how the viewership of #IAMHUSSEINI constitutes a televisual majlis (Arabic: ‘assembly') composed of more than passive asynchronous consumption and resembling what Patrick Eisenlohr refers to as ‘atmospheres'. This article argues that the COVID-19 pandemic drove #IAMHUSSEINI to recalibrate to expectations of a spatially proximate ritual, rather than sustaining a ‘natively digital' aesthetic, repurposing Richard Rogers' approach to digital methods. This change brought about a tacit understanding of the televisual majlis among #IAMHUSSEINI's viewers. This article therefore posits a difference between ‘spatial intercorporeality', in which bodies are mediated by spatial proximity, and ‘functional intercorporeality’, in which they are mediated by the material preconditions of a shared activity.

ABSTRACT In this article we propose a discussion about the use by the historian of a kind of document very little studied until now: the theater programs. Our study is based on the analysis of about 200 programs of performances that took place in the Municipal Theater of São Paulo between 1911 and 1922, an iconic theater and a monument of an era marked by a great economic development of the city and a fast urban growing. By the analysis of the physical and visual aspects of the programs, and their contents also, we propose an interpretation of the meaning of the theater in this new modernity that reaches this city where the vestiges of the colonial past are disappearing quickly.

ABSTRACT As memorial institutions, museums play a big role in identity construction, with representations of the past and the cultural heritage being essential to developing national/regional identities. Transforming old representative facilities of immigrants - such as Ellis Island in New York - into “memory sites” shows a certain transformation in attitudes towards immigration, which has changed the status of “diaspora” and evidenced cultural identities. Due to the recognition of the heritage value of the memories, new discourses about immigration and identity were created: the memories, often forgotten - many times voluntarily -, find their place in museums and allow the construction of narratives about immigration from personal accounts. However, exhibiting immigration history continues to be a challenge within international museum spaces, raising various questions: What is immigration heritage? How to exhibit immigration? Do attempts at representing immigrants in these spaces mirror a national paradigm? Immigration museums represent a variant of the society museum by the participatory approach and the initiative to create a link with communities of immigrant origin. By constituting a local heritage on immigration, the museum has developed an approach with immigrant communities, highlighting its memorial and inclusive character. It is an interdisciplinary approach, which is favored by the best museums and suitable for new spaces intending on approaching the theme. In this article, we aim to consider the constitutive characteristics of immigration museums and the importance of oral history (personal accounts of immigrants), memorabilia, and contemporary art in developing exhibitions that plan to create a certain form of empathy in the visitor.

Abstract In a knowledge-based economy, initiatives based on the Creative Economy framework are supposed to promote regional economic diversification in developing countries. In Brazil, policy initiatives have focused on those activities with a view to design public policies oriented to reducing socio-economic and regional inequalities, as well as spreading those activities throughout the territory, especially towards less favored regions. Based on the Brazilian experience, this article discusses whether the pre-existing regional distribution of various types of creative activities favors or hinders the reduction of regional inequalities as a result of a policy focused on promoting creative activities and what actions could be adopted to achieve this result. Specifically, the paper discusses whether this expansion can promote an effective reduction of regional inequalities in terms of the number and quality of jobs and wage levels associated with those activities. The analysis suggests that the regional decentralization of creative activities towards less developed regions has been relatively limited in Brazil, as the more developed regions have remained more specialized in trades with higher digital and technological content, while the less developed regions have remained relatively more specialized in activities related to the cultural heritage. To reduce this imbalance, the support of local institutions and S&T infrastructure related to creative activities appears to be very important, which points out to the relevance of comprehensive policies well-adapted to very diverse local realities. This effort should have the impact of new digital-based technologies converge with the strengthening of economic potential of local and regional cultural heritage, by enhancing professional qualification of workers devoted to those activities.

Abstract Through primary sources, coming mainly from CPDOC (FGV) and the Public Archive of São Paulo, this article seeks to analyze the policies of book promotion during the Estado Novo (“New State”, 1937-1945), a period in which the State invested in the creation of the category of “books of the Nation”, founding the National Book Institute. The three sections of the Institute (the Encyclopedia and Dictionary Section, the Libraries Section, and the Publications Section) will be analyzed in order to understand if the instruments developed during the period to promote reading were coherent with its objectives and if they were strictly related to the ideology of the regime. We also seek to understand its successes, failures and inconsistencies. By this means, the article intends to comprehend the policy of promoting books and reading, identifying, especially, the role of intellectuals in public policies.

Abstract The political and institutional crisis in Brazil from 2015, fueled largely by corruption probes and lawfare, had severe repercussions within the Brazilian construction and energy sectors. While many international investors withdrew from Brazil in this period, Chinese investment surged. This article accounts for the particular characteristics of Chinese investments, such as sectorial complementarities, risk assessment, market size attraction, and state-drivenness, which may explain this development.

Abstract Introduction The Burch procedure (1961) was considered the gold standard treatment for stress urinary incontinence (SUI) before the midurethral slings (MUSs) were introduced, in 2001. Objective This historical perspective of the Burch’s timeline can encourage urogynecological surgeons to master the Burch technique as one of the options for surgical treatment of SUI. Search Strategy and Selection Criteria A bibliographic search was performed in the PubMed and National Library of Medicine (NIH) databases with the terms Burch colposuspension AND history AND stress urinary incontinence in the last 20 years. The original article by Burch (1961) was included. The references were read by three authors. The exclusion criterion was studies in non-English languages. Biomedical Library Special Collections were included as historical relevant search. Data Collection, Analysis and Main Results Some modifications of the technique have been made since the Burch procedure was first described. The interest in this technique has been increasing due to the negative publicity associated with vaginal synthetic mesh products. Twenty-nine relevant articles were included in the present review article, and numerous trials have compared Burch colposuspension with MUS. Conclusion This historical perspective enables the scientific community to review a standardized technique for SUI. Burch colposuspension should be considered an appropriate surgical treatment for women with SUI, and an option in urogynecological training programs worldwide.