Kutù’và yu tu’ún va’á. Estoy aprendiendo la palabra de bienestar. Iniciación etnodramática

Is it possible from some one out side of Ñuu Saví (Mixtec) culture to learn how to do an ethnodrama? A healer and rain maker from Mixteca land is teaching me how to ask for rain and cure diseases. “Kutù’và yu Tu’ún Va’á”, is the name of my thesis and means “I am learning the wellness word”. This work is an “ethnodramatic initiation” to their sacred language. I don’t attempt to read Don Marcelino’s mind but to create a mental scenario that would help us to contemplate the internal spectacle he and his community watch during the ethnodrama of rain and healing. Finally I will represent my learning process during my initiation to body-mental technics. The subject of the thesis travels around several concepts interrelated: feast, ritual, celebration, healing, rain, knowledge, magical thinking, learning, performance… It’s related to an analogic language, oral culture, holistic perception and ethnodramaturgy. I will apply some of the concepts of Weisz’s ethnodramatic performance theory to a place located in Mexico, state of Oaxaca, Juxtlahuaca district, belonging to the municipality of Coicoyán de las Flores, El Jicaral. A wiseman from Nuun Tiaxin, Ñuu Saví, is teaching me how to speak with Rain and Sicknesses. Ethnodrama is a word used by Weisz to make the difference between theatre, and an ethnic paratheatrical performance. The ethnic drama is a mythological text, that it is seen inside the mind of the community members. Weisz conceives the concept as part of a greater project called, Anthropology of Knowledge, that studies the imaginary solutions to explain the formation of the world, the universe and the inscribed rituals in all great antique cultures Weisz [1994b:29]. Curanderismo, quackery, belongs to a illegitimate literature, it is something no serious. An art that goes beyond the canons of a written text and does not match with the categories of our cultures. It threatens the monolithic solidity of our academic reality and then it’s excluded. Weisz proposes to study shamanic text from a marginal position in front of a central culture that only recognizes as valid certain texts. The ethnotexto is uncomfortable, it intimidates the unity of the group of the dominant culture. Curanderismo places itself then in a position that questions a conceptual colonization, that “behavior and ideology that nourish themselves from a totalizing strategy”. A colonization that transcends Europe, related to power and to the dominant position. This is how Literature field is created Weisz [2005: 102-103]...

Dietro le quinte della satira. Rapporti tra cittadini e contadini nel basso Medioevo italiano

Questa tesi indaga la relazione tra la letteratura anticontadina, fiorente in Italia a partire dalla metà del Trecento, e la realtà dei rapporti tra cittadini e contadini nel basso Medioevo italiano, con un’attenzione particolare all’area padana. Al centro dell’analisi vi sono due stereotipi satirici: il rustico ladro nei campi, che attirava su di sé l’odio feroce della classe padronale, e il villano rozzo, che mangiava alimenti poveri e del tutto estranei alla raffinata cultura alimentare cittadina. L’esame delle fonti giudiziarie, soprattutto bolognesi, conferma che l’immagine del rustico ladro aveva un saldo appiglio nella realtà, ma lo avevano anche i lamenti letterari dei contadini, riguardanti la disonestà dei padroni: vi sono infatti processi in cui i rustici riuscirono a dimostrarsi innocenti da accuse rivelatesi infondate o addirittura false. Inoltre, alcuni processi per ingiurie contro i campagnoli, insieme a episodici riferimenti in epistolari governativi e fonti normative, mostrano come il disprezzo per i villani fosse ben radicato a tutti i livelli della società cittadina. Per quanto riguarda la seconda figura – il rustico rozzo – l’esame dei libri di cucina italiani, unitamente alle descrizioni dei grandi banchetti, mostra chiaramente che non solo i prodotti, ma anche intere ricette associate in letteratura al mondo contadino rientravano nell’alimentazione delle élites: non vi era pertanto una rigida separazione tra l’ambito alimentare cittadino e quello campagnolo. La satira aveva dunque un profondo legame con la realtà, in quanto partiva sempre da un dato reale ed esprimeva un sentimento provato da una larga fascia della cittadinanza. Se ne discostava, tuttavia, quando esasperava la subalternità sociale e culturale dei contadini, negando gli evidenti aspetti di complementarità e integrazione di quel rapporto città-campagna che vedeva la prima in posizione dominante, ma la seconda tutt’altro che passiva o inerme.

La Bukowina e la "letteratura etnografica" di lingua tedesca

La Bukowina è una regione dell’impero asburgico ricordata come “eccezionale” per la compresenza e la tolleranza fra etnie, nonché per l’accoglienza unica della lingua tedesca. Questa narrazione proviene e dai nostalgici ricordi delle ultime generazioni di abitanti del luogo, che in seguito hanno vissuto la fine del “mondo di ieri”; e da un discorso propagandistico della Corona. La presente ricerca si propone di illustrare il paesaggio culturale della Bukowina nonché le reali modalità con cui la cultura dell’imperatore si insinuò nella regione. Nel decodificare il rapporto di superiorità con cui il tedesco si affacciava agli altri popoli – investigato con l’ausilio dei postcolonial studies –, il progetto propone come materia di studio un fenomeno letterario in voga a cavallo tra XIX e XX secolo, la “letteratura etnografica”, ispirato dall’affascinante molteplicità della Bukowina, nonché da una disciplina accademica che in quegli anni attirava molti studiosi e curiosi: l’etnografia. Questo tipo di letteratura si esprime attraverso diversi generi letterari, che spesso condividono il tratto della frammentarietà. Tra queste opere, la presente analisi si sofferma su tre esempi che mostrano un progressivo allontanamento dal metodo “scientifico” della disciplina etnografica, illustrando l’ampiezza dell’insieme “letteratura etnografica”: "Die Völkergruppen der Bukowina" (1884) di Ludwig Adolf Staufe Simiginowicz; "Aus Halb-Asien" (1876-1888) di Karl Emil Franzos; "Maghrebinische Geschichten" (1953), di Gregor von Rezzori.

Respiratory health effects of cannabis: Position statement of the Thoracic Society of Australia and New Zealand

Both the gaseous and the particulate phases of tobacco and cannabis smoke contain a similar range of harmful chemicals. However, differing patterns of inhalation mean that smoking a 'joint' of cannabis results in exposure to significantly greater amounts of combusted material than with a tobacco cigarette. The histopathological effects of cannabis smoke exposure include changes consistent with acute and chronic bronchitis. Cellular dysplasia has also been observed, suggesting that, like tobacco smoke, cannabis exposure has the potential to cause malignancy. These features are consistent with the clinical presentation. Symptoms of cough and early morning sputum production are common (20-25%) even in young individuals who smoke cannabis alone. Almost all studies indicate that the effects of cannabis and tobacco smoking are additive and independent. Public health education should dispel the myth that cannabis smoking is relatively safe by highlighting that the adverse respiratory effects of smoking cannabis are similar to those of smoking tobacco, even although it remains to be confirmed that smoking cannabis alone leads to the development of chronic lung disease.

Familial amyloid polyneuropathy (FAP): clinical features, pathophysiology and treatment

In the literature, concepts of “polyneuropathy”, “peripheral neuropathy” and “neuropathy” are often mistakenly used as synonyms. Polyneuropathy is a specific term that refers to a relatively homogenous process that affects multiple peripheral nerves. Most of these tend to present as symmetric polyneuropathies that first manifest in the distal portions of the affected nerves. Many of these distal symmetric polyneuropathies are due to toxic-metabolic causes such as alcohol abuse and diabetes mellitus. Other distal symmetric polyneuropathies may result from an overproduction of substances that result in nerve pathology such as is observed in anti-MAG neuropathy and monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance. Other “overproduction” disorders are hereditary such as noted in the Portuguese type of familial amyloid polyneuropathy (FAP). FAP is a manifestation of a group of hereditary amyloidoses; an autosomal dominant, multisystemic disorder wherein the mutant amyloid precursor, transthyretin, is produced in excess primarily by the liver. The liver accounts for approximately 98% of all transthyretin production. FAP is confirmed by detecting a transthyretin variant with a methionine for valine substitution at position 30 [TTR (Met30)]. Familial Amyloidotic Polyneuropathy (FAP) – Portuguese type was first described by a Portuguese neurologist, Corino de Andrade in 1939 and published in 1951. Most persons with this disorder are descended from Portuguese sailors who sired offspring in various locations, primarily in Sweden, Japan and Mallorca. Their descendants emigrated worldwide such that this disorder has been reported in other countries as well. More than 2000 symptomatic cases have been reported in Portugal. FAP progresses rapidly with an average time course from symptom onset to multi-organ involvement and death between ten and twenty years. Treatments directed at removing this aberrant protein such as plasmapheresis and immunoadsorption proved to be unsuccessful. Liver transplantation has been the only effective solution as evidenced by almost 2000 liver transplants performed worldwide. A therapy for FAP with a novel agent, “Tafamidis” has shown some promise in ongoing phase III clinical trials. It is well recognized that regular physical activity of moderate intensity has a positive effect on physical fitness as gauged by body composition, aerobic capacity, muscular strength and endurance and flexibility. Physical fitness has been reported to result in the reduction of symptoms and lesser impairment when performing activities of daily living. Exercise has been advocated as part of a comprehensive approach to the treatment of chronic diseases. Therefore, this chapter concludes with a discussion of the role of exercise training on FAP.

Autosomal-dominant distal myopathy associated with a recurrent missense mutation in the gene encoding the nuclear matrix protein, matrin 3.

Distal myopathies represent a heterogeneous group of inherited skeletal muscle disorders. One type of adult-onset, progressive autosomal-dominant distal myopathy, frequently associated with dysphagia and dysphonia (vocal cord and pharyngeal weakness with distal myopathy [VCPDM]), has been mapped to chromosome 5q31 in a North American pedigree. Here, we report the identification of a second large VCPDM family of Bulgarian descent and fine mapping of the critical interval. Sequencing of positional candidate genes revealed precisely the same nonconservative S85C missense mutation affecting an interspecies conserved residue in the MATR3 gene in both families. MATR3 is expressed in skeletal muscle and encodes matrin 3, a component of the nuclear matrix, which is a proteinaceous network that extends throughout the nucleus. Different disease related haplotype signatures in the two families provided evidence that two independent mutational events at the same position in MATR3 cause VCPDM. Our data establish proof of principle that the nuclear matrix is crucial for normal skeletal muscle structure and function and put VCPDM on the growing list of monogenic disorders associated with the nuclear proteome.

Sähköverkkoliiketoimintojen valvontamallit eräissä Euroopan maissa

Sähkömarkkinauudistukset ovat tuoneet kilpailun sähkön tuotantoon ja myyntiin, mutta samalla vahvistaneet tarvetta valvoa sähkönsiirtoa ja -jakelua, jotka ovat ns. luonnollisia monopolitoimintoja. Monopoleja valvotaan, jotta ne eivät väärinkäytä määräävää markkina-asemaansa. Tässä diplomityössä tarkastellaan sähkönjakeluverkkoliiketoiminnan sääntelyyn yleisesti käytettyjä valvontamalleja sekä niiden soveltamisessa huomioon otettavia seikkoja. Tarkasteltuja valvontamalleja on neljä, joista yleisimpiä ovat hintakattosääntely ja liikevaihdon sääntely. Tuoton sääntely on monesti ollut ensimmäinen keino säännellä alaa. Mittatikkusääntelyllä pyritään selvittämään tarkasteltavien yhtiöiden tehokkuutta. Sitä käytetään yleensä muiden mallien lisänä kannustamaan toiminnan tehostamiseen. Yhä useammin valvotaan myös sähköntoimituksen laatua. Jokainen maa valitsee omaan erityistilanteeseensa parhaiten sopivan valvontamallin. Valvontamallit kehittyvät jatkuvasti, jotta asiakkaiden etujen turvaamiseksi on olemassa toimivat regulatiiviset työkalut ja toisaalta sähkönjakeluyhtiöiden toimintaolosuhteet ovat vakaat ja realistiset. Kansallisen regulaattorin on luotava valvontamallin avulla oikeanlaiset kannustimet yhtiöiden toiminnalle, jotta niiden tekemät investointi- ja toimintapäätökset ovat järkeviä ja takaavat sähkönjakelun jatkuvuuden.

Keyword Competition and Determinants of Ad Position in Sponsored Search Advertising

Given the significant growth of the Internet in recent years, marketers have been striving for new techniques and strategies to prosper in the online world. Statistically, search engines have been the most dominant channels of Internet marketing in recent years. However, the mechanics of advertising in such a market place has created a challenging environment for marketers to position their ads among their competitors. This study uses a unique cross-sectional dataset of the top 500 Internet retailers in North America and hierarchical multiple regression analysis to empirically investigate the effect of keyword competition on the relationship between ad position and its determinants in the sponsored search market. To this end, the study utilizes the literature in consumer search behavior, keyword auction mechanism design, and search advertising performance as the theoretical foundation. This study is the first of its kind to examine the sponsored search market characteristics in a cross-sectional setting where the level of keyword competition is explicitly captured in terms of the number of Internet retailers competing for similar keywords. Internet retailing provides an appropriate setting for this study given the high-stake battle for market share and intense competition for keywords in the sponsored search market place. The findings of this study indicate that bid values and ad relevancy metrics as well as their interaction affect the position of ads on the search engine result pages (SERPs). These results confirm some of the findings from previous studies that examined sponsored search advertising performance at a keyword level. Furthermore, the study finds that the position of ads for web-only retailers is dependent on bid values and ad relevancy metrics, whereas, multi-channel retailers are more reliant on their bid values. This difference between web-only and multi-channel retailers is also observed in the moderating effect of keyword competition on the relationships between ad position and its key determinants. Specifically, this study finds that keyword competition has significant moderating effects only for multi-channel retailers.

Les obligations du franchiseur : étude du droit civil et du guide d'Unidroit sur les accords internationaux de franchise principale

"Mémoire présenté à la Faculté des études supérieures en vue de l'obtention du grade de Maîtrise en droit (LL.M.)". Ce mémoire a été accepté à l'unanimité et classé parmi les 15% des mémoires de la discipline.

Un estudio etnográfico sobre usuarios/as de heroína. Conocimiento psicosocial y práctica reflexiva

Presentación El siguiente trabajo es un ejercicio reflexivo sobre una experiencia própia: Un estudio etnográfico sobre usuarios/as de heroína realizado en un barrio de Barcelona entre los años 1993-1995. Todo empezó dos años después de escribir la etnografía, al decidir regresar al barrio para explicar a los participantes el trabajo que había escrito sobre aquella experiencia. En esos momentos tomé la decisión de realizar un estudio sobre el papel que yo había desarrollado durante todo el trabajo de campo con esas personas, cómo me había influido, como les había influido, por qué había relatado aquellas cosas sobre sus vidas, qué efectos provocaba lo escrito a posibles lectores, etc. Y así surgió el tema de esta tesis. Objetivos En este trabajo me propongo ponerme al lado de los datos que en otro momento recogí y comenzar a analizarlos a la luz de potentes teorías y presupuestos -principalmente de la psicología social-. He tratado de "hacer" un ejercicio reflexivo sobre un caso, una experiencia científica en la qué "yo" he estado implicada. El objetivo fundamental es mostrar en qué consiste una práctica reflexiva, entendida como una forma de hacer "objetivable" el conocimiento (aspecto que correspondería a una dimensión racional- epistemológica), y también entendida como una forma de encontrar resistencias a discursos dominantes en el conocimiento psicosocial (aspecto que correspondería a una dimensión ético-política). Como objetivos específicos me propongo: -señalar un procedimiento que permita conectar al auditorio o lectores con la experiencia particular de la investigadora -cuestionar mi propia práctica de producción de conocimiento psicosocial -explorar los "yoes" o subjetividades en el proceso investigador Marco teórico y metodología He definido un tipo de práctica reflexiva tomando una perspectiva construccionista crítica localizada en la posición del observador/a, donde el valor de la reflexividad, más que instrumento de comprensión o validación, es un instrumento de cambio. Procederé a través del análisis del discurso de mi práctica social o experiencia de conocimiento científico, junto con conceptos provenientes de la etnometodología, interaccionismo simbólico y fenomenología. Los métodos han sido la etnografía de laboratorio (basada en Latour y Woolgar), la descripción etnometodológica (de Potter) y el análisis discursivo (los repertorios interpretativos de Potter y Wheterell, y las formaciones discursivas basadas en Foucault). Mis datos han sido 44 entrevistas en profundidad, a modo de conversaciones con los usuarios y no usuarios significativos en aquel contexto de observación. Casi todas transcritas. Y 5 libretas con notas de campo tomadas durante la observación participante en las que constaban multitud de comentarios personales, interpretaciones sobre el tema y situaciones compartidas entre ellos y "yo". Resultados y discusión Como resultado del análisis del discurso he encontrado la confrontación entre formaciones discursivas "naturalizadoras" y "sociologizadoras", acentuando mucho más en mis datos la formación "sociologizadora" (cuestiones legales, relacionales, culturales, etc.), que "naturalizadora" (cuestiones sensoriales, farmacológicas, psicológicas, fisiológicas, etc.). Este dialogismo entre unas y otras formaciones permite tomar consciencia de formas de acción que no son demasiado relevantes en un contexto sociohistórico dado, pero si se activan o "actúan" en contextos específicos de acción donde las personas tienen capacidad agéntica. La observación participante ha sido fundamental para contextualizar los datos, construidos en su "contexto cotidiano de acción", además, ha dado sentido a las conversaciones y a las entrevistas en profundidad. El procedimiento empleado, conforma un tipo de modelo que pone en relación di versos constructos: contexto discursivo (o interactivo), posición discursiva y formaciones discursivas, y que se articulan alrededor de un espacio intersubjetivo "yo-alter" que es lo que constituye la unidad básica donde opera la reflexividad. Se construyen distintos "yoes" en cada momento y trayectoria de la experiencia relatada. Al introducir el "yo" en el trabajo de campo (tanto el mío como el de alter), provoco una problematización de los datos y a la vez, me obliga a reconceptualizar ese "yo" o "yoes" y resignificar esos datos. Se me plantea mi condición de liminalidad (o de otra manera, decir que no estoy ni dentro ni fuera de la cultura que estudio), donde los contornos de mi identidad se subvierten y donde la condición de ser, es que ninguna subjetividad es permanente. Mi aproximación a "alter" supone una continuidad entre "yo-alter" y en ocasiones resulta amenazante, en la medida en que se confunden los límites y se difuminan con el fin de conseguir una "experiencia empática". Pero no se trataría tanto de una fusión "yo-alter", de manera que sería una dilución de ambos, sino de una permeabilidad de los límites, originando así, un espacio potencial para crear, para conectar y donde se resuelva la tendencia a controlar o contener un "yo" al otro. Conclusiones La posibilidad de la práctica reflexiva está en el espacio intersubjetivo "yo-alter". Mi intento de conexión con "alter" me constituye temporalmente en mediadora: "estar en medio de". Esto significa: l-socavar los cimientos y el orden construido, a través de buscar fisuras, inconsistencias y contradicciones en los discursos manejados, a partir de las cuales hay potenciales trayectos que no se han producido, 2-incorporar diferentes voces o dialogismo en la historia que cuento y no un monólogo de la autora, sino una participación de alternativas posibles y espacios de enunciación, junto con las subjetividades emergentes. Para ello, dos condiciones son ineludibles: -la agentividad para subvertir lo establecido, las identidades -el recuperar contextos que sean potencialmente relevantes para actuar discursos. Considerar las subjetividades también es la manera de tener a "alter" presente. "Alter" se comprende en "mi" a través de un trayecto en el que se marcan las afinidades mutuas y no tanto las identidades, en el que "representar" a "alter" es trazar un trayecto de conocimiento local y situado (como apunta Haraway), pues sólo así es posible generar una praxis transformadora fiel a la parcialidad.

Disparity with respect to a local reference plane as a dominant cue for stereoscopic depth relief

Earlier studies showed that the disparity with respect to other visible points could not explain stereoacuity performance, nor could various spatial derivatives of disparity [Glennerster, A., McKee, S. P., & Birch, M. D. (2002). Evidence of surface-based processing of binocular disparity. Current Biology, 12:825-828; Petrov, Y., & Glennerster, A. (2004). The role of the local reference in stereoscopic detection of depth relief. Vision Research, 44:367-376.] Two possible cues remain: (i) local changes in disparity gradient or (ii) disparity with respect to an interpolated line drawn through the reference points. Here, we aimed to distinguish between these two cues. Subjects judged.. in a two AFC paradigm, whether a target dot was in front of a plane defined by three reference dots or, in other experiments, in front of a line defined by two reference dots. We tested different slants of the reference line or plane and different locations of the target relative to the reference points. For slanted reference lines or plane, stereoacuity changed little as the target position was varied. For judgments relative to a frontoparallel reference line, stereoacuity did vary with target position, but less than would be predicted by disparity gradient change. This provides evidence that disparity with respect to the reference plane is an important cue. We discuss the potential advantages of this measure in generating a representation of surface relief that is invariant to viewpoint transformations. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The implications of service-dominant logic and integrated solutions on the sales function

This study explores the implications of an organization moving toward service-dominant logic (S-D logic) on the sales function. Driven by its customers’ needs, a service orientation by its nature requires personal interaction and sales personnel are in an ideal position to develop offerings with the customer. However, the development of S-D logic may require sales staff to develop additional skills. Employing a single case study, the study identified that sales personnel are quick to appreciate the advantages of S-D logic for customer satisfaction and six specific skills were highlighted and explored. Further, three propositions were identified: in an organization adopting S-D logic, the sales process needs to elicit needs at both embedded-value and value-in-use levels. In addition, the sales process needs to coproduce not just goods and service attributes but also attributes of the customer’s usage processes. Further, the sales process needs to coproduce not just goods and service attributes but also attributes of the customer’s usage processes.

Poverty as an Abuse of Human Rights in Ghana. : A grass roots perspective on poverty and human rights.

The study aimed at getting a grass root opinion on poverty and why Ghana is still poor after 50 years of independence in spite of her richness in natural resources, second largest producer of cocoa in the word and appreciable stable political environment. The opinions of the ordinary people in the Bia district and their observed living conditions was analysed in line with theoretical basis of the study and previous studies to justify the stance that poverty should be considered as an abuse of human rights. It was concluded based on position of informants and previous data available that though many factors have been raised by previous scholars as the cause of poverty, the actions and inactions of both internal and external power-holders is the main source of poverty in Ghana. It was proposed that for poverty to be reduced in a sustainable way there should be strong civil society groups and active citizens through civic education to hold power-holders accountable. Until the actions and inactions of power-holders which have subjected many Ghanaians into intergenerational poverty are seen as human rights abuse, the rights of many Ghanaians would be constantly abused. This will eventually defeat the promotion of human rights culture in Ghana.

Growth hormone (GH)-releasing hormone increases the expression of the dominant-negative GH isoform in cases of isolated GH deficiency due to GH splice-site mutations

An autosomal dominant form of isolated GH deficiency (IGHD II) can result from heterozygous splice site mutations that weaken recognition of exon 3 leading to aberrant splicing of GH-1 transcripts and production of a dominant-negative 17.5-kDa GH isoform. Previous studies suggested that the extent of missplicing varies with different mutations and the level of GH expression and/or secretion. To study this, wt-hGH and/or different hGH-splice site mutants (GH-IVS+2, GH-IVS+6, GH-ISE+28) were transfected in rat pituitary cells expressing human GHRH receptor (GC-GHRHR). Upon GHRH stimulation, GC-GHRHR cells coexpressing wt-hGH and each of the mutants displayed reduced hGH secretion and intracellular GH content when compared with cells expressing only wt-hGH, confirming the dominant-negative effect of 17.5-kDa isoform on the secretion of 22-kDa GH. Furthermore, increased amount of 17.5-kDa isoform produced after GHRH stimulation in cells expressing GH-splice site mutants reduced production of endogenous rat GH, which was not observed after GHRH-induced increase in wt-hGH. In conclusion, our results support the hypothesis that after GHRH stimulation, the severity of IGHD II depends on the position of splice site mutation leading to the production of increasing amounts of 17.5-kDa protein, which reduces the storage and secretion of wt-GH in the most severely affected cases. Due to the absence of GH and IGF-I-negative feedback in IGHD II, a chronic up-regulation of GHRH would lead to an increased stimulatory drive to somatotrophs to produce more 17.5-kDa GH from the severest mutant alleles, thereby accelerating autodestruction of somatotrophs in a vicious cycle.

The Position of Russian Provinical Officialdom in the Middle of the 19th Century: Law and Life

The study considered the discrepancy between the official status and real position of Russian provincial officialdom in the middle of the 19th century. The law was not entirely coherent in all aspects of the officials' life and activity, with ordinary deviations from the law being adopted in practice and accepted, albeit not openly, by the public and sometimes even by the authorities. The main law determining the rights and duties of governors was never followed to the letter and in reality governors' activities were determined by the common (unwritten) law existing in the governmental sphere. The volume and nature of the governors' rights depended on a range of factors, with specific regional features and the governor's personal qualities having a particular significance. The standard of living of government clerks was much higher than their official salary would permit and Matkhanova studied the most widespread cases of abuse, identifying those positions in the administration which offered the most opportunities for such abuses. At the start of the period and on the eve of the reforms public opinion towards the bribery of officials underwent a change. From the late 1850s onwards, there appeared among provincial officials a group of young well-educated clerks with liberal ideas and a new system of moral values which did not allow them to accept bribes or infringe the law in any way. There was also a non-official hierarchy side by side with the legally existing one. A significant role in governing the region, and one which has been underestimated by historians, was played by the head of the governor's office, but the reforms of the 1860s contributed to changing this state of affairs.