Reverie I

Reverie I is a large-scale public art work commissioned by the Brisbane City Council for permanent installation on the Gardens Point Road Plinth adjacent to QUT Gardens Point campus in Brisbane. The work forms part of the artist's ongoing exploration of the methodology of self-portraiture and amorphous form. In this work, sculpted curls of hair have been assembled according to contours of its constituent cast panels - their capacity to nest with one another determined the final form of the work. The resulting mass of curls resembles both an oversized wig, a withered mulberry and a leaden cloud to invoke notions of movement, reflection and temporality. From the didactic panel: "The curls of Reverie I are derived from 18th century sculptural portraiture. The twisting forms of the highly styled wig known as a periwig were abstracted and inventive, while also bestowing an air of intellectual authority. Curls also evoke two aspects of this particular site: the erratic movement of water associated with the complex tidal movements of Brisbane River, and a state of mental reflection relevant to both the nearby university grounds (where intellectual work takes place) and the riverside pathway (a site for daydreaming)."

A Historical Approach to Children s Physics Education : Modelling of DC-circuit Phenomena in a Small Group

This three-phase design research describes the modelling processes for DC-circuit phenomena. The first phase presents an analysis of the development of the DC-circuit historical models in the context of constructing Volta s pile at the turn of the 18th century. The second phase involves the designing of a teaching experiment for comprehensive school third graders. Among other considerations, the design work utilises the results of the first phase and research literature of pupils mental models for DC-circuit phenomena. The third phase of the research was concerned with the realisation of the planned teaching experiment. The aim of this phase was to study the development of the external representations of DC-circuit phenomena in a small group of third graders. The aim of the study has been to search for new ways to guide pupils to learn DC-circuit phenomena while emphasing understanding at the qualitative level. Thus, electricity, which has been perceived as a difficult and abstract subject, could be learnt more comprehensively. Especially, the research of younger pupils learning of electricity concepts has not been of great interest at the international level, although DC-circuit phenomena are also taught in the lower classes of comprehensive schools. The results of this study are important, because there has tended to be more teaching of natural sciences in the lower classes of comprehensive schools, and attempts are being made to develop this trend in Finland. In the theoretical part of the research an Experimental-centred representation approach, which emphasises the role of experimentalism in the development of pupil s representations, is created. According to this approach learning at the qualitative level consists of empirical operations like experimenting, observations, perception, and prequantification of nature phenomena, and modelling operations like explaining and reasoning. Besides planning teaching, the new approach can be used as an analysis tool in describing both historical modelling and the development of pupils representations. In the first phase of the study, the research question was: How did the historical models of DC-circuit phenomena develop in Volta s time? The analysis uncovered three qualitative historical models associated with the historical concept formation process. The models include conceptions of the electric circuit as a scene in the DC-circuit phenomena, the comparative electric-current phenomenon as a cause of different observable effect phenomena, and the strength of the battery as a cause of the electric-current phenomenon. These models describe the concept formation process and its phases in Volta s time. The models are portrayed in the analysis using fragments of the models, where observation-based fragments and theoretical fragements are distinguished from each other. The results emphasise the significance of the qualitative concept formation and the meaning of language in the historical modelling of DC-circuit phenomena. For this reason these viewpoints are stressed in planning the teaching experiment in the second phase of the research. In addition, the design process utilised the experimentation behind the historical models of DC-circuit phenomena In the third phase of the study the research question is as follows: How will the small group s external representations of DC-circuit phenomena develop during the teaching experiment? The main question is divided into the following two sub questions: What kind of talk exists in the small group s learning? What kinds of external representations for DC-circuit phenomena exist in the small group discourse during the teaching experiment? The analysis revealed that the teaching experiment of the small group succeeded in its aim to activate talk in the small group. The designed connection cards proved especially successful in activating talk. The connection cards are cards that represent the components of the electric circuit. In the teaching experiment the pupils constructed different connections with the connection cards and discussed, what kinds of DC-circuit phenomena would take place in the corresponding real connections. The talk of the small group was analysed by comparing two situations, firstly, when the small group discussed using connections made with the connection cards and secondly with the same connections using real components. According to the results the talk of the small group included more higher-order thinking when using the connection cards than with similar real components. In order to answer the second sub question concerning the small group s external representations that appeared in the talk during the teaching experiment; student talk was visualised by the fragment maps which incorporate the electric circuit, the electric current and the source voltage. The fragment maps represent the gradual development of the external representations of DC-circuit phenomena in the small group during the teaching experiment. The results of the study challenge the results of previous research into the abstractness and difficulty of electricity concepts. According to this research, the external representations of DC-circuit phenomena clearly developed in the small group of third graders. Furthermore, the fragment maps uncover that although the theoretical explanations of DC-circuit phenomena, which have been obtained as results of typical mental model studies, remain undeveloped, learning at the qualitative level of understanding does take place.

Cattle Teeth in Graves : Interpretations of animal bones found in Finnish inhumation graves (ca AD 550-1700)

The nature of a burial is always ritualistic. This is often forgotten when dealing with Finnish inhumation burials containing animal bones. Only the animal bones found close to the deceased have traditionally been thought to have a ritualistic purpose. The animal bones found in the filling of the grave, which is still part of the burial, has on the other hand, often been neglected in the previous research. In this Master s thesis I will discuss the function and interpretation of animal bones in graves. The base of this study is six sites, all of different nature, from Finland. Luistari in Eura is from the western coast and is dated to Late Iron Age (and possibly Medieval period), the Medieval hamlet of Finno is situated in Espoo which is situated on the southern coast. Two town burials, Turku and Porvoo, are also included in this study. The graves from Turku are dated to Late Medieval period and Early Renaissance, whereas the cemetery in Porvoo is from the 18th century. Visulahti in Mikkeli is from the Late Iron Age and represents Eastern Finnish burial tradition, the same as Suotniemi from Käkisalmi parish, which is nowadays part of Russia. While parts of the animal bones had already been analysed before, the author also analysed animal bones for the purpose of the present Master´s thesis. The bones were compared to the burial contexts, when possible. Based on the comparisons I have made interpretations which might explain the existence of animal bones in the graves. The interpretations are among others sacrifice, commemoration meals and animal burials. The site could also have been a settlement site prior to the graves, thus the bones in the graves would belong to the settlement phase. When comparing the date of the studied sites, the town burials are later and the animal bones are probably related to previous or contemporary use of the sites as graveyards. On top of this there does not seem to be much difference in burial tradition between Eastern and Western Finland, although at least from the hamlet burials of Finno there are aspects that could be linked to Eastern burials. In making the interpretations I have taken into consideration the aspects of belief during different time periods when they could be accounted as relevant. Also the problems with bone preservation were relevant and challenging for the study. Often only the hardest substance of the skeleton, namely teeth, has been preserved. For this reason the quality of the archaeological documentation was a key issue in this study. In producing quality interpretations of the animal bones in graves, the bones, contexts and their relationship to the surrounding site should be documented with care.

The decline of malaria in Finland – the impact of the vector and social variables

Background: Malaria was prevalent in Finland in the 18th century. It declined slowly without deliberate counter-measures and the last indigenous case was reported in 1954. In the present analysis of indigenous malaria in Finland, an effort was made to construct a data set on annual malaria cases of maximum temporal length to be able to evaluate the significance of different factors assumed to affect malaria trends. Methods: To analyse the long-term trend malaria statistics were collected from 1750–2008. During that time, malaria frequency decreased from about 20,000 – 50,000 per 1,000,000 people to less than 1 per 1,000,000 people. To assess the cause of the decline, a correlation analysis was performed between malaria frequency per million people and temperature data, animal husbandry, consolidation of land by redistribution and household size. Results: Anopheles messeae and Anopheles beklemishevi exist only as larvae in June and most of July. The females seek an overwintering place in August. Those that overwinter together with humans may act as vectors. They have to stay in their overwintering place from September to May because of the cold climate. The temperatures between June and July determine the number of malaria cases during the following transmission season. This did not, however, have an impact on the longterm trend of malaria. The change in animal husbandry and reclamation of wetlands may also be excluded as a possible cause for the decline of malaria. The long-term social changes, such as land consolidation and decreasing household size, showed a strong correlation with the decline of Plasmodium. Conclusion: The indigenous malaria in Finland faded out evenly in the whole country during 200 years with limited or no counter-measures or medication. It appears that malaria in Finland was basically a social disease and that malaria trends were strongly linked to changes in human behaviour. Decreasing household size caused fewer interactions between families and accordingly decreasing recolonization possibilities for Plasmodium. The permanent drop of the household size was the precondition for a permanent eradication of malaria.

Retórica y música barroca : una posible hermenéutica

Resumen: Este trabajo considera algunos conceptos retóricos expuestos por los teóricos de la musica poetica y por otras fuentes, útiles para la formación de intérpretes dedicados a los repertorios de los siglos XVII y XVIII.

Un análisis historiográfico de la figura de Viriato desde los tiempos medievales hasta el siglo XIX

Resumen: En este artículo se analiza la perspectiva historiográfi ca del personaje durante la Edad Media, época moderna y siglo XIX. En el siglo XIV se edita un pequeño estudio sobre la fi gura de Viriato, emparentándolo con el Cid Campeador o Ben Hasan. En los siglos XVI-XVIII, se publican importantes estudios de Florián de Ocampo, Ambrosio de Morales, etc., que ofrecen innovadoras ideas sobre el personaje y su tiempo, con ayuda de cierto apoyo literario. Finalmente en el siglo XIX, se construyen las primeras naciones europeas y con ello la idea nacionalista de Viriato.

Poner el cuerpo. Mujeres y política estatal en Mari (Siglo XVIII a.c.)

Women and men are subjects defined both by their physical-natural reality and their socio-cultural environment. In this way they are reified, and many such examples can be found throughout history. We are interested in the situation of women in Ancient Mesopotamia, particularly the daughters of Zimrî-Lîm, king of the city of Mari, the archaeological site of Tell Hariri, modern Syria, during the 18th century BC. Zimrî- Lîm made marriages a policy of the state. He himself married foreign women and married their joint daughters to other important kings as well. This marital policy was another, more extended, way of dominion where women were a nexus between Mari and other states. In this paper, we will analyze the roles which were assigned and developed by royal women from a political level via a comprehensive approach. These women are presented generally as political objects, though, in extreme cases also they were taking forward actions as subjects and by it they were visualized as “the other,” the foreigner and, in some cases, the enemy.

Comment peut-on encore philosopher après la Révélation?

Résumé: Le défi vital que la Révélation pose à la philosophie légitime la question de leurs rapports possibles. La raison considère d’abord l’absence de rapport en distinguant radicalement ce qui relève de chacune. Mais l’élan fondamental orienté vers le divin qui anime cette faculté, la rend naturellement théologique. Pour éviter le scepticisme, incompatible avec son dynamisme naturel, la raison finit par dévaloriser la Révélation. Cette attitude signifie l’unicité de l’autorité théologique de la raison, alors naturellement divine. Développée à partir du XVIIIème siècle, elle culmine avec l’homme démiurgique des XIX et XXème siècles. Mais, ne pouvant justifier l’universalité de ses élaborations idéologiques, la raison hésite entre le scepticisme ou le totalitarisme, deux renoncements à l’exercice philosophique. L’acceptation du soutien lumineux de la Révélation, qui suppose l’humble reconnaissance des limites de la raison, ne nuit pas à cet exercice, mais le féconde, et, seule, en permet l’épanouissement. Eclairée par la Révélation, la philosophie contribue au bonheur suprême des hommes, qui demeure son intention fondamentale.

Astarloaren Discursos filosóficos: iturrak eta axiomak

Astarloa's Discursos filosóficos is the most extensive and detailed apology of the Basque language as the first language of mankind. The text was finished in 1805 but the first edition was published in 1883. In this paper I attempt to sketch the main linguistic and philosophic ideas that could have an influence in Astarloa's thought. Then I deal with Astarloa's characterization of the first language, and the three principles he used to verify that Basque was that first language of human beings.

Materiales vascos del legado de Wilhelm von Humboldt: la relevancia de Astarloa y el Plan de Lenguas

Este artículo es traducción del original alemán «Zum Stellenwert Astarloas und des Plan de Lenguas», publicado en B. Hurch (ed.), Die baskischen Materialien aus dem Nachlaß Wilhelm von Humboldts. Astarloa, Charpentier, Fréret, Aizpitarte und anderes. Paderborn: Schöningh, pp. 21-42. La traducción al español es obra de Oroitz Jauregi y ha sido revisada por Ricardo Gómez y Bernhard Hurch.

Guided pollards in the Basque Country (Spain) during the Early Modern Ages

Publicado en: "End of Tradition?.Part 1 : History of Commons and Commons Management (Cultural Severance and Commons Past)", edited by Ian D. Rotherham, Mauro Agnoletti and Christine Handley

Gehiago Pierre Urteren gramatikaren iturriez: Lilyren gramatika

[EN] Pierre Urte wrote Grammaire cantabrique circa 1714, when he was exiled in England. In this article we want to prove that the main source for Urte’s work was the socalled “Lily’s grammar”, which was the oficial grammar to learn Latin language in England from the 16th to the 19th century. The indentification of that source allows us to support the claim that Urte’s grammar must be included in the tradition of language teaching, as was already pointed out by Oyharçabal (1989). In this article, we first offer a brief history of Lily’s grammar. Then, we provide some clues in order to identify the exact edition used by Urte. Finally, in the main section of the article, we confront the two grammatical works; our aim is to ensure Urte’s debt to Lily’s grammar, and to show in detail the principal parts which Urte took from his source (mainly grammatical clasifications and examples).

Euskal gramatikagintza zaharraren historia laburra: XVII-XVIII. mendeak

Julio Urkixo Euskal Filologi Mintegiaren Urtekariaren Gehigarriak, LI.

[A_Armentia_SanPrudencio] Documentación geométrica de la Basílica de Armentia (Vitoria-Gasteiz, Álava)

[ES] La documentación contenida en este registro ha servido de base para el siguiente proyecto fin de carrera: