Fungal biodeterioration of colour cinematographic films of the cultural heritage of Cuba

Until recently, cinematographic film was largely cellulose-triacetate-based. However, this material is highly susceptible to biodeterioration, thus placing historic film collections, an important part of the cultural heritage of many countries, at risk. In the present study, samples taken from several biodeteriorated color cinematographic films belonging to the collection of the Cuban Institute for Cinematographic Industry and Arts (ICAIC) were investigated. Infrared spectroscopy showed that all films were of the same composition, i.e., a gelatin emulsion coating one side of a cellulose-triacetate-based film support. The films were analyzed by environmental scanning electron microscopy and scanning electron microscopy to determine the degree of biodeterioration and the type of colonizing microorganisms. Significant fungal colonization was found on both sides of the films in all samples, with a higher concentration of fungi on the gelatin emulsion side. Epifluorescence microscopy of fluorochrome-dyed films demonstrated that some of the fungi were still active, indicating that the films under study, and probably others at the ICAIC, are at risk of further deterioration. Fungi were identified by molecular biology techniques. The fungi mainly responsible for the observed biodeterioration were those belonging to the genera Aspergillus and Cladosporium, although other genera, such as Microascus and Penicillium, were identified as well. In accordance with the findings described herein, the existing guidelines for the prevention and control of film biodeterioration are discussed.

Recovering Valuable Artifacts of the Cultural Heritage through Modern Technology and Equipment

This paper presents the digital reconstruction of the carving of the iconostasis of the Assumption church in the town of Bansko in its original form, a research project of the Department of Mathematical Linguistics of the Institute of Mathematics and Informatics, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences.

The social construction of PETE in higher education: Toward a research agenda

The focus of this paper is the social construction of physical education teacher education (PETE) and its fate within the broader process of curriculum change in the physical activity field. Our task is to map the dimensions of a research program centered on the social construction of the physical activity field and PETE in higher education. Debates in the pages of Quest and elsewhere over the past two decades have highlighted not only the contentious nature of PETE practices and structures but also that PETE is changing. This paper offers one way of making sense of the ongoing process of contestation and struggle through the presentation of a theoretical framework. This framework, primarily drawing upon the work of Lave and Wenger (1991) and Bernstein (1990, 1996), is described before it is used to study the social construction of PETE in Australia. We assess the progress that has been made in developing this research program, and the questions already evident for further developments of a program of study of the physical activity field in higher education.

Muscularity, the habitus and the social construction of gender: Towards a gender-relevant physical education

This paper begins to develop the concept of gender-relevant physical education, combining the work of Pierre Bourdieu and his notion of the habitus and feminist philosopher Iris Marion Young's analysis of feminine motility. It draws on data generated from a study of young people's articulation of the relationships between muscularity, physicality and gender. The social construction of the body has been of central importance to the construction of femininities and masculinities, and has formed an enduring meta-theme through much of the research on physical education and gender. We build on the young people's insights to argue that Bourdieu's notions of the habitus and the exchange of physical capital provide a useful means of conceptualizing issues of embodiment and gender in school physical education and sport. We conclude by sketching an outline of gender-relevant physical education as a process of interrupting the habitus.

Construyendo legado cultural

Construyendo Legado Cultural es un modelo de gestión cultural sostenible aplicado al patrimonio cultural de Suesca Cundinamarca, que involucra a la comunidad en la gestión de proyectos culturales relacionados con el patrimonio, a través de la aplicación de un instrumento de acción participativa que le permite a la comunidad, con la mediación del gestor cultural, ser autogestora junto con el sector público y privado, de sus procesos culturales fortaleciendo su identidad cultural y fomentando el desarrollo del municipio.

Cultural Heritage and Mobile Robotics Technologies

This paper reviews current research works at the authors’ Institutions to illustrate how mobile robotics and related technologies can be used to enhance economical fruition, control, protection and social impact of the cultural heritage. Robots allow experiencing on-line, from remote locations, tours at museums, archaeological areas and monuments. These solutions avoid travelling costs, increase beyond actual limits the number of simultaneous visitors, and prevent possible damages that can arise by over-exploitation of fragile environments. The same tools can be used for exploration and monitoring of cultural artifacts located in difficult to reach or dangerous areas. Examples are provided by the use of underwater robots in the exploration of deeply submerged archaeological areas. Besides, technologies commonly employed in robotics can be used to help exploring, monitoring and preserving cultural artifacts. Examples are provided by the development of procedures for data acquisition and mapping and by object recognition and monitoring algorithms.

Social - Oriented Applications of the Folklore Heritage for the Needs of the Non-formal Learning and Cultural Tourisms

The report presents a description of the most popular digital folklore archives in the world. Specifications for designing and developing web-based social-oriented applications in the field of education and cultural tourism are formulated on the basis of comparative analysis. A project for structuring and categorizing the content is presented. A website for accessing the digital folklore archive is designed and implemented.

The Cultural Construction of the Maine Sporting Camps

Maine sporting camps were a cultural and social phenomenon of the urban upper and middle class. They originated in Maine in the late 1870s and early 1880s and reached their zenith around the turn of the century with over 160 in operation in eight of the sixteen counties in Maine in 1906. The period from 1880 until World War I can be considered the 'golden era' of the Maine sporting camps. After the war, with technological advancements such as the outboard motor, the proliferation of the automobile, and the introduction of a road system into rural Maine, the camps underwent significant change that warrants an entirely different cultural analysis. A number of elements came together to produce a cultural atmosphere permissive of sporting camp creation in Maine. These include changing national views upon nature, health, sport and the leisure time in which to pursue them. In the late nineteenth century, with the rise of large industrially based cities, overcrowding fostered crime and disease. An upper and middle class emerged that desired escape and separation from the lower classes. Maine was chosen for such an escape because it offered, through sporting camps, a chance to "get back to nature," by pursuing the healthful activities of hunting and fishing. At the same time these urban sportsmen and sportswomen distinguished themselves on the social Hierarchical scale from the rural inhabitants. What happened in rural Maine during the period between 1880 and World War I was the introduction of a new cultural order on the landscape. Coming primarily from urban centers on the East Coast of the United States were men, women and children who looked to Maine for vacations. These vacations were designed to put them in touch with nature by pursuing healthful activities, especially those of fishing and hunting. Coming from an environment that emphasized social standing, they ensured that these trips would perpetuate this hierarchy. They experienced nature through the Maine sporting camps, which provided them with the services and skills necessary to experience it while enjoying a degree of luxury that they were accustomed to in the urban world. The Maine sporting camps were a cultural manifestation of the urban upper and middle class, the groups that the camps were established to serve. Despite this the camps did not represent a structural duplication of urban society. Instead, the camps represented a cultural construction that was produced by interaction between members of two different conceptual and physical worlds, the blending of which, on a social level, was determined by urban mentality and rural knowledge. In the production of a cultural world meaningful to the clients, the rural world of the Maine woods was altered to meet their needs. It was not a one-sided process, however, as the clients were forced to acknowledge the importance of the rural inhabitants on the basis of their value to the clients.