Property Rights of Ancient DNA: The Impact of Cultural Importance on the Ownership of Genetic Information

2009 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 103-129 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa M. Elliott

AbstractThis article examines the way property rights can be applied to DNA from ancient sources. In particular, it examines the ways in which the legal classification of a source as a “cultural artifact” can influence the assignment of property rights over genetic information. I explore the discrepancy between the legal ability to own ancient dead bodies but not nonancient dead bodies, illustrating how dead bodies with a perceived cultural value are legally distinct from those which are not considered to have cultural value. Second, I address the way such cultural preservation laws fail to influence ownership rights over genetic information. Finally, I propose a model for the best way to deal with genetic information from ancient sources, based on the policies of the International Ancient Egyptian Mummy Tissue Bank.

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 295-318
Author(s):  
Reine-Marie Bérard ◽  
Dominique Castex

The high number of dead bodies to deal with in time of mortality crises (events marked by an unusually high number of dead in a limited amount of time) often leads to modifications in the traditional funerary practices of a society. This contribution questions the way Ancient Greeks, from the 8th till the 3rd century BC, handled such mortality crises, focusing on mass burials. In a first methodological part, we discuss the means to identify funerary sites related to mortality crises, using the methods of archaeothanatology. By confronting archaeological features (taphonomic processes, position of the remains, grave type, offerings, etc.) and bioanthropological data (number of dead, sex, age, pathologies, etc.), we will first define the main characteristics of mass burials. We will then question how to discriminate between mass burials linked to war, epidemics, massacres and famine, underlining the major importance of historical sources in this process. The second part is dedicated to the study of various cases from Athens, Paros, Chaeronea, Tanagra and Greek Sicily and their interpretation. We will argue that epidemic mass burials are the most difficult to identify, since they may present innumerable variations in terms of osteoprofiles and archaeological features. Finally, we will question our abilities, as archaeoanthropologists, to evaluate the impact of epidemics on the funerary treatment of the dead in the Ancient world.


1999 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-25 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. H. Johns

Job (Ayyūb) is a byword for patience in the Islamic tradition, notwithstanding only six Qur'anic verses are devoted to him, four in Ṣād (vv.41-4), and two in al-Anbiyā' (vv.83-4), and he is mentioned on only two other occasions, in al-Ancām (v.84) and al-Nisā' (v.163). In relation to the space devoted to him, he could be accounted a ‘lesser’ prophet, nevertheless his significance in the Qur'an is unambiguous. The impact he makes is achieved in a number of ways. One is through the elaborate intertext transmitted from the Companions and Followers, and recorded in the exegetic tradition. Another is the way in which his role and charisma are highlighted by the prophets in whose company he is presented, and the shifting emphases of each of the sūras in which he appears. Yet another is the wider context created by these sūras in which key words and phrases actualize a complex network of echoes and resonances that elicit internal and transsūra associations focusing attention on him from various perspectives. The effectiveness of this presentation of him derives from the linguistic genius of the Qur'an which by this means triggers a vivid encounter with aspects of the rhythm of divine revelation no less direct than that of visual iconography in the Western Tradition.


Author(s):  
John J. Collins
Keyword(s):  

Judaism is often understood as the way of life defined by the Torah of Moses, but it was not always so. This book identifies key moments in the rise of the Torah, beginning with the formation of Deuteronomy, advancing through the reform of Ezra, the impact of the suppression of the Torah by Antiochus Epiphanes and the consequent Maccabean revolt, and the rise of Jewish sectarianism. It also discusses variant forms of Judaism, some of which are not Torah-centered and others which construe the Torah through the lenses of Hellenistic culture or through higher, apocalyptic, revelation. It concludes with the critique of the Torah in the writings of Paul.


2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 27
Author(s):  
Nyoman Wijana ◽  
I Gusti Agung Nyoman Setiawan ◽  
Sanusi Mulyadiharja ◽  
I Gede Astra Wesnawa ◽  
Putu Indah Rahmawati

This research aimed to know the implementation of environmental conservation in terms of cultural value orientation, including humanistic nature orientation, man-nature orientation, time orientation, activity orientation, and relational orientation. The population of this research was the entire community in traditional village Tenganan Pegringsingan, Karangasem, Bali. This research sample amounted to 25 people, consisting of the conventional village apparatus, community leaders, and the general public. Methods of data collection were the method of observation, interview, questionnaire, and checklist. The collected data were analyzed descriptively. This research indicated that the orientation of cultural values of humanistic nature orientation and man-nature orientation had an excellent quality. The time orientation, activity orientation, and relational orientation parameters had good quality. Culture in the study community generally showed a positive thing, so the impact of culture on the quality of the environment, in general, was excellent. The results of observations in the field revealed that there were all community activities at Tenganan Pegringsingan that could not cause environmental pollution. Therefore, the role of traditional regulation or awig-awig to regulate environmental and social-culture.


2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (11) ◽  
pp. 2161-2179
Author(s):  
A.B. Lanchakov ◽  
S.A. Filin ◽  
A.Zh. Yakushev ◽  
E.E. Zhusipova

Subject. In this article we analyze how machinery, science and technologies influence the sociocultural environment that engenders the teacher's paradigm of values and views of life. Objectives. We herein outline guidance to predict the way teachers' views of life might evolve in corresponding sociocultural periods more precisely. The article analyzes making more precise forecasts of oncoming economic crises, which will cause some changes in teachers' mindset. Methods. The study involves learning methodologies, methods of prediction and forecasting, including foresight. Results. We propose and analyze the theory holding that the human civilization passes cycles during its sociocultural development in terms of a new set of values in contemporary teachers' views of life. The article sets forth our recommendations on innovation-driven views of life, mindset and thinking and, consequently, the development of intellectual qualities, knowledge, skills, cognitive activity, positive motivation to the professional activity of a teacher and alumni during more elevated periods, which requires to more precisely predict the way teachers’ mindset may change in certain sociocultural periods. Conclusions and Relevance. As the human civilization enters the innovation-driven sociocultural period, teachers and social relationships should demonstrate more innovative and environmentally-friendly attitudes and views of life.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-44
Author(s):  
Vladislav Ilin

Technology in education is a global phenomenon affecting learners of all ages. The breadth and variety of available tools make it difficult to implement a standardized method for assessing the impact of technology on learning. The lack of a consensus on good and bad practices results in inconsistent application and mixed learning results.   This article takes a look at the adaptation of technology to education and examines the various tools used to enhance learning. We discuss the advantages and disadvantages of using technology, as well as review methodologies for evaluating the impact.   The essay concludes by identifying several problems with the way technology is evaluated and offers suggestions for further research to address those problems.


2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-33
Author(s):  
Mouhcine El-Hajjami ◽  
Souad Slaoui

The present paper aims at examining the extent to which Moroccan cinema could establish a diasporic visual discourse that cements national identity and contests the impact of westernization on migrants. Moreover, through the analysis the way in which independent identities are constructed in the host land, the article tries to incorporate a feminist discourse to highlight the role of the female subject in retrieving its own agency by challenging patriarchal oppression. Therefore, we argue that Mohammed Ismail’s feature-length film Ici et là (Here and There) has partially succeeded in creating a space for its diasporic subjects to build up their own independent identities beyond the scope of westernization and patriarchy.


Author(s):  
Martin Iddon ◽  
Philip Thomas

The book is a comprehensive examination of John Cage’s seminal Concert for Piano and Orchestra. It places the piece into its many contexts, examining its relationship with Cage’s compositional practice of indeterminacy more generally, the importance of Cage’s teacher, Arnold Schoenberg, on the development of his structural thought, and the impact of Cage’s (mis)understanding of jazz. It discusses, on the basis of Cage’s sketches and manuscripts, the compositional process at play in the piece. It details the circumstances of the piece’s early performances—often described as catastrophes—its recording and promotion, and the part it played in Cage’s (successful) hunt for a publisher. It examines in detail the various ways in which Cage’s pianist of choice, David Tudor, approached the piece, differing according to whether it was to be performed with an orchestra, alongside Cage delivering the lecture, ‘Indeterminacy’, or as a piano solo to accompany Merce Cunningham’s choreography Antic Meet. It demonstrates the ways in which, despite indeterminacy, the instrumental parts of the piece are amenable to analytical interpretation, especially through a method which exposes the way in which those parts form a sort of network of statistical commonality and difference, analysing, too, the pianist’s part, the Solo for Piano, on a similar basis, discussing throughout the practical consequences of Cage’s notations for a performer. It shows the way in which the piece played a central role, first, in the construction of who Cage was and what sort of composer he was within the new musical world but, second, how it came to be an important example for professional philosophers in discussing what the limits of the musical work are.


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