Patterns of painting in satin bowerbirds Ptilonorhynchus violaceus and males' responses to changes in their paint

Satin bowerbirds Ptilonorhynchus violaceus have an elaborate multi-component sexual display, some components of which have been extensively studied. We describe a relatively unstudied component of this display, bower painting, and birds' responses to manipulations of their paint. Males of this species focus their display around a stick bower constructed on the forest floor which they decorate with a variety of objects and paint. Painting involves a male masticating plant material and wiping the plant-saliva mixture onto the inside walls of the bower; during courtship visits to bowers, females nibble at this paint. We found that 93% of 53 males painted their bowers at our study site and the time males spent painting their bowers accounted for 24% of their time at the bower. We experimentally removed and added paint to bowers to test whether males respond to these changes in their paint. Males gave more advertisement calls and spent less time manipulating sticks at the bower when we added fresh wet paint to their bowers compared to older dried paint or a control treatment. They did not respond to the removal of paint from their bowers, perhaps because it was primarily older dried paint that was removed. We also found that males painted more frequently when there was measurable wind in their bowers, which could have degraded the quality of the signal. Our findings indicate that fresh wet paint is more important to males than older dried paint and, together with previous work at this site, suggest that paint may act as a signal to females. Given that females nibble bower sticks during courtship, we suggest that bower paint may function as a chemical sexual signal rather than a visual signal.

Regional renaissance? New forms of governance in nonmetropolitan Australia

Since the Second World War, Australian governments have adopted various approaches to governing nonmetropolitan Australia. The authors profile three distinct approaches to governance characterised as (1) state-centred regionalism; (2) new localism; and (3) new forms of multifaceted regionalism. Although recent policy initiatives have been justified by the argument that the region is the most suitable scale for planning and development in nonmetropolitan Australia, in practice the institutional landscape is a hybrid of overlapping local, regional, and national scales of action. The authors compare this new, multifaceted, regionalism with the so-called 'new regionalism currently being promoted in Western Europe and North America. It is argued that new regionalism differs in quite important ways from the regionalism currently being fostered in Australia. In Australia, the centrality of sustainability principles, and the attempt to foster interdependence amongst stakeholders from the state, market, and civil society, have produced a layer of networked governance that is different from that overseas. It is argued that there is a triple bottom-line 'promise' in the Australian approach which differs from the Western Europe/North American model, and which has the potential to deliver enhanced economic, social, and environmental outcomes.

Zwei Wege zur 'Aufhellung der Finsternisse in der Welt'. Zum untergründigen Wechselverhältnis von Literatur & Malerei bei Thomas Bernhard & Francis Bacon:for subterranean exchange relationship between literature and painting in Thomas Bernhard & Francis Bacon

This chapter undertakes the first examination of the role the fine arts play in Thomas Bernhard’s prose works. Though not as prominent as the role of music, painting and the fine arts play a crucial role in Frost and Alte Meister; these two novels coincidentally also happen to be the first and last novels written by Bernhard. This chapter takes its cue from the positive role awarded to Francis Bacon in the novel Das Kalkwerk. Comparing and contrasting the relation and influence between the art of Bacon and the literature of Bernhard, I am able to demonstrate a number of surprising analogies. Following a brief biographical synopsis, I focus on four aesthetic operations that are crucial to both artists. Using the key terms of ‘middle way’, ‘variation’, ‘vibration’ and ‘mediation’, I am able to uncover surprising similarities between the novels and the paintings. These hidden connections are further confirmed by looking at the two artists’ shared major motifs, namely the slaughterhouse, the scream, the relation between animals and humans, and pain. This bleak outlook on the state of human civilisation that these two major artists of the end of the 20th century share, embodies both a warning and a prophesy for the 21st century.

Powder painting of aluminium

The mechanisms involved in the production of chromate-phosphate conversion coatings on aluminium have been investigated. A sequence of coating nucleation and growth has been outlined and the principle roles of the constituent ingredients of the chromate-phosphate solution have been shown. The effect of dissolved aluminium has been studied and its role in producing sound conversion coatings has been shown. Metallic contamination has been found to have a dramatic influence on chromate-phosphate coatings when particular levels have been exceeded. Coating formation was seen to be affected in proportion to the level of contaminaton; no evidence of sudden failure was noted. The influence of substrate and the effect of an acidic cleaner prior to conversion coating have been studied and explained. It was found that the cleaner ages rapidly and that this must .be allowed for when attempting to reproduce industrial conditions in the laboratory. A study was carried out on the flowing characteristics of polyester powders of various size distributions as they melt using the hot-stage microscopy techniques developed at Aston. It was found that the condition of the substrate (ie extent of pretreatment), had a significant effect on particle flow. This was explained by considering the topography of the substrate surface. A number of 'low-bake' polyester powders were developed and tested for mechanical, physical and chemical resistance. The best formulation had overall properties which were as good as the standard polyester in many respects. However chemical resistance was found to be slightly lower. The charging characteristics of powder paints during application by means of electrostatic spraying was studied by measuring the charge per unit mass and relating this to the surface area. A high degree of correlation was found between charge carried and surface area, and the charge retained was related to the powder's formulation.

Analysis of the Distributions of Color Characteristics in Art Painting Images

In this paper we study some of the characteristics of the art painting image color semantics. We analyze the color features of differ- ent artists and art movements. The analysis includes exploration of hue, saturation and luminance. We also use quartile’s analysis to obtain the dis- tribution of the dispersion of defined groups of paintings and measure the degree of purity for these groups. A special software system “Art Paint- ing Image Color Semantics” (APICSS) for image analysis and retrieval was created. The obtained result can be used for automatic classification of art paintings in image retrieval systems, where the indexing is based on color characteristics.

A mozgókép reneszánsza: nagytotál a videográfia módszertanáról = The renaissance of the motion pictures: wide shot of the videography

A posztmodern fogyasztó hiperreális környezetébe csöppenő pozitivista kutató gyakran megtántorodik attól a forgószélszerű pörgéstől és vizuális dinamikától, amelyet a posztmodern világ ont rá. A szupersztrádán teknős módjára kullogó kutató ezért inkább visszahúzódik páncélja mögé, és előhúz valamit a szokásos módszerek közül, függetlenül attól, hogy azok relevánsak-e a probléma vizsgálatára vagy sem. A mozgóképek újjászületése a megváltozott fogyasztói látásmódhoz kapcsolható. Dziga Vertov mechanisztikus szemével egyre inkább a fogyasztók kacsintgatnak, és a curlingben látható módon csúsztatják tovább a magáról megfeledkező és kőnek látszó teknőst. A videográfia a videó és az etnográfia szavak összekapcsolásából keletkezett, vagyis etnográfiai kutatás a mozgókép segítségével. Egyre több nyugati cég arra kéri fel a kutatókat, hogy a fogyasztói magatartásról csupán videó prezentációt készítsenek, mindenféle szöveges magyarázat nélkül. A cikk nagytotálból mutatja be a Belk és Kozinets (2005, 2006) által életre keltett módszertan sajátosságait. / === / The positivist researcher in the middle of the hyperreal context seems to lurch due to the tornado-like whirl and a visual dynamism caused by the postmodern world. This researcher is just like a paddling tortoise on the superhighway draws back in the tortoiseshell and shows one of the classic research methods, no matter the type of the research problem. The rebirth of the motion pictures is linked to the altered consumer perspective. Dziga Vertov’s mechanical eye is used more and more by the consumers, and the tortoise-like researcher is considered to be a curling stone. The consumer researchers tend to ignore the lived visual and auditory aspects of the consumer culture and the appropriate research methods of this field. The aim of this article is to present the types and the main features of the videography vivified by Belk and Kozinets (2005, 2006).

The effects of Chinese painting appreciation education on the artistic achievement of junior high school students in Taiwan

For the Chinese, fine art is one of the most important items in human life. The goals of fine arts education enhance the student so that s/he can make reasonable judgments about work, gain knowledge of color and understand the process of designing environmental layouts. Related technique and creativity training are offered students in accordance with individual differences and social expectations.^ Traditionally, Taiwan's junior high school fine art program teaches mainly painting technique. The Ministry of Education in Taiwan determines the curriculum of junior high school fine art education. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of teaching Chinese painting appreciation on the artistic achievements of junior high school students in Taiwan. The subjects were seventh grade students who had never learned Chinese painting before. Two classes were randomly chosen from each target school and were designated as the experimental or control group. Instruction in all groups was delivered by the researcher himself. At the end of the study, data about subjects' related knowledge, creative technique, and feeling toward Chinese painting were systematically collected and analyzed.^ The result of the study was that students in the experimental group were more motivated to learn Chinese painting than were the students in the control group. Students in the experimental group made better progress in the development of creative skill, had better critical ability, and demonstrated better performance in Chinese painting form, set up, stroke and color of related knowledge than did students in the control group. It was therefore concluded that Chinese painting appreciation education can promote better artistic achievement and that this approach should be used in other areas of art education. ^

How has the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam changed the legal, political, economic and scientific dynamics within the Nile Basin? : Editors’ Introduction

Peer reviewed

The Gentleman-Scholar at Home: Domesticity, Masculinity, and Civility in Dutch Seventeenth-Century Genre Painting

This dissertation examines the gentleman-scholar depicted at home in Dutch seventeenth-century genre paintings, focusing primarily on art created in the Northern Netherlands from the 1630s through the 1670s. The methodological approach is art historical but also pertains to history of architecture, history of dress, and gender studies. Employing the framework of the 'Ages of Man', this thesis investigates three related pictorial themes: the student, the scholar in his prime, and the aged scholar. Variations of male scholarly figures and the accoutrements of the study have a long history in Europe. Prototypical sources include religious history paintings of learned hermit-saints; artistic interest in the allegorical Saturnine persona; portraits of famous scholars; and the iconography of scholarly melancholy implied through vanitas allusions in portraiture and genre paintings. While the majority of Dutch genre paintings pertain to themes of women, male domestic routines form a small but important subset of this imagery and have not been studied. By the 1640s, this subject is readily identified by his setting, clothing, and actions. The ubiquity of scholarly attributes, such as books and globes, paired with the wearing of scholarly robes suggest the merits of intellectual curiosity and the privileges of studying as a pastime and designating a room as a study (studeerkamer). Distinct themes in genre also imply the challenges and rewards of scholarly activity pursued in concert with masculine civic and familial duty. Central to the development of this pictorial theme were: the innovative treatment of learned men by Rembrandt and his circle; the fijnschilder subjects of Dou; and the practice of amateur study by elite men, as suggested by the art of Vermeer. As this dissertation reveals, this convention did not grow to be consistent across the Northern Netherlands, nor was artistic interest limited to university towns. Rather, the larger relevance of scholars in Dutch society is evident in visual and literary sources. The domesticity of this figure in genre painting suggests that scholars mediated between an active and a contemplative life. Societal respect was garnered for scholars through their balance of familial and social duties with the honorable pastime of scholarly leisure.

"Per aurem intrat Christus in Mariam". Aproximación iconográfica a la "conceptio per aurem" en la pintura italiana del Trecento desde fuentes patrísticas y teológicas

La tesis mariológica de la conceptio per aurem, según la cual la Virgen María habría concebido a Jesucristo por el oído en el momento de escuchar del ángel el mensaje celestial anunciándole que, sin perder su virginidad, sería madre del Hijo de Dios encarnado, ha merecido hasta ahora muy pocos estudios académicos rigurosamente fundados en fuentes primarias. De hecho, en la literatura especializada son muy escasas las referencias a tal teoría y, cuando algún estudioso la evoca, casi siempre se contenta con aludir a ella, sin aportar pruebas documentales. Sin embargo, tal como lo revelan las nueve pinturas italianas aquí analizadas, esa teoría fue ilustrada mediante sutiles metáforas visuales en muchas obras pictóricas medievales, las cuales se inspiraron en una sólida tradición literaria. Además una pléyade de Padres de la Iglesia y teólogos medievales testimonia, mediante afirmaciones explícitas, que semejante teoría gozó de notable aceptación entre los maestros del pensamiento cristiano. Basándose en numerosos textos patrísticos y teológicos, este artículo intenta dos objetivos esenciales: exponer, ante todo, las distintas formulaciones teóricas propuestas por esos pensadores; y además, tratar de poner en luz los significados dogmáticos que subyacen bajo esa sorprendente tesis.

Renaissance Humanism and Ethnicity before Race:The Irish and the English in the Seventeenth Century

Inspired both by debates about the origins of the modern ideology of race and also by controversy over the place of Ireland and the Irish in theories of empire in the early modern Atlantic world, Renaissance Humanism and Ethnicity before Race argues that ethnic discourse among the elite in early modern Ireland was grounded firmly in the Renaissance Humanism and Aristotelianism which dominated all the European universities before the Enlightenment. Irish and English, Catholic and Protestant, all employed theories of human society based on Aristotle’s Politics and the natural law of the medieval universities to construct or dismantle the categories of civility and barbarism. The elites operating in Ireland also shared common resources, taught in the universities, for arguing about the human body and its ability to transmit hereditary characteristics. Both in Ireland and elsewhere in Europe, these theories of human society and the human body underwent violent changes in the late seventeenth century under the impact of the early Enlightenment. These changes were vital to the development of race as we know it.