scholarly journals Men at work: Grinding stone production by the experts and others in northern Ethiopia

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Laurie Nixon-Darcus ◽  
Yemane Meresa
Keyword(s):  
Interpersonal Relationships ◽  
Design Theory ◽  
Northern Ethiopia ◽  
Social Differences ◽  
Design Decisions ◽  
The Past ◽  
Complex Process ◽  
Grinding Stones ◽  
Special Respect ◽  
Grinding Stone

It is necessary to access the oral forms of local histories often held in traditional African communities to help us understand the African past and avoid framing interpretations solely in terms of Western epistemologies. Ethnoarchaeological fieldwork was carried out in villages in the Gulo Makeda region of northeastern Tigrai, northern Ethiopia, where access to mechanical mills has only been available in the last few decades. Individuals in this area still have knowledge and memory of manufacturing, using and discarding grinding stones. Interviews were held with male advisors who shared their knowledge and expertise about the entire process of manufacturing grinding stones. To move beyond understanding just the technical aspects of grinding stone manufacturing (what and how), the theory and methods associated with the chaîne opératoire and design theory were incorporated into the research to allow discovery of intricate socio-economic interrelationships (how and why) that exist through grinding manufacture within this culture. Manufacturing offers opportunities for socialization, cooperation and community engagement. Through ethnoarchaeology it became clear that the manufacturing of grinding stones in northeastern Tigrai is a complex process requiring design decisions, skills, knowledge, and social interaction that builds interpersonal relationships. By arranging two separate manufacturing sessions, one with experts and one with non-experts, comparisons were made of technological and social differences between experts and non-experts. The individuals who are experts in manufacturing grinding stones made higher quality grinding stones than the non-experts. The experts are also afforded a special respect by others, as they are the creators of the technology “necessary for life” in a culture traditionally dependent on cereal flours for sustenance. Potentially this respect for experts could be true for the past as well. Since the grinding stone artifacts from Mezber are large stones, likely meant to produce significant amounts of flour, they would have been important to daily life. Those who manufactured these tools important for subsistence would likely have been considered important individuals in the community.

The Dialogical concept of consciousness in L.S. Vygotsky and G.H. Mead and its relevance for contemporary discussions on consciousness

2011 ◽  
Vol 42 (2) ◽  
pp. 65-70 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leszek Koczanowicz
Keyword(s):  
Activity Theory ◽  
Interpersonal Relationships ◽  
Social Relationships ◽  
Social Relations ◽  
Human Consciousness ◽  
Cultural Activity ◽  
Contemporary Philosophy ◽  
Biological Phenomena ◽  
Complex Process ◽  
The World

The Dialogical concept of consciousness in L.S. Vygotsky and G.H. Mead and its relevance for contemporary discussions on consciousness In my paper I show the relevance of cultural-activity theory for solving the puzzles of the concept of consciousness which encounter contemporary philosophy. I reconstruct the main categories of cultural-activity theory as developed by M.M. Bakhtin, L.S. Vygotsky, G.H. Mead, and J. Dewey. For the concept of consciousness the most important thing is that the phenomenon of human consciousness is consider to be an effect of intersection of language, social relations, and activity. Therefore consciousness cannot be reduced to merely sensual experience but it has to be treated as a complex process in which experience is converted into language expressions which in turn are used for establishing interpersonal relationships. Consciousness thus can be accounted for by its reference to objectivity of social relationships rather than to the world of physical or biological phenomena.

scholarly journals Cytokinin N-glucosides: Occurrence, Metabolism and Biological Activities in Plants

Biomolecules ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 24
Author(s):  
Eva Pokorná ◽  
Tomáš Hluska ◽  
Petr Galuszka ◽  
H. Tucker Hallmark ◽  
Petre I. Dobrev ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Metabolic Pathways ◽  
Growth And Development ◽  
Biological Activities ◽  
Physiological Effects ◽  
Inhibitory Effects ◽  
Plant Growth And Development ◽  
The Past ◽  
Complex Process ◽  
Considerable Impact ◽  
Physiological Impact

Cytokinins (CKs) are a class of phytohormones affecting many aspects of plant growth and development. In the complex process of CK homeostasis in plants, N-glucosylation represents one of the essential metabolic pathways. Its products, CK N7- and N9-glucosides, have been largely overlooked in the past as irreversible and inactive CK products lacking any relevant physiological impact. In this work, we report a widespread distribution of CK N-glucosides across the plant kingdom proceeding from evolutionary older to younger plants with different proportions between N7- and N9-glucosides in the total CK pool. We show dramatic changes in their profiles as well as in expression levels of the UGT76C1 and UGT76C2 genes during Arabidopsis ontogenesis. We also demonstrate specific physiological effects of CK N-glucosides in CK bioassays including their antisenescent activities, inhibitory effects on root development, and activation of the CK signaling pathway visualized by the CK-responsive YFP reporter line, TCSv2::3XVENUS. Last but not least, we present the considerable impact of CK N7- and N9-glucosides on the expression of CK-related genes in maize and their stimulatory effects on CK oxidase/dehydrogenase activity in oats. Our findings revise the apparent irreversibility and inactivity of CK N7- and N9-glucosides and indicate their involvement in CK evolution while suggesting their unique function(s) in plants.

Research in Design Theory and Methodology in West Germany

1990 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. S. Hundal
Keyword(s):  
Design Theory ◽  
Basic Research ◽  
West Germany ◽  
Federal Republic Of Germany ◽  
Thought Processes ◽  
Design Development ◽  
Cad Systems ◽  
The Past ◽  
Embodiment Design ◽  
Design Theory And Methodology

Abstract Current research in design methods in the Federal Republic of Germany is reviewed. VDI guideline 2221 is discussed. The paper looks at basic research in design theory and methodology, application of the methodology to computer-aided conceptual and embodiment design, development of intelligent CAD systems, use of expert systems in CAD, and understanding thought processes in designing. References to the publications of the past three years are given.

Unbanked in India: A qualitative analysis of 24 years of financial inclusion policies

2020 ◽  
pp. 002087281988118
Author(s):  
Gaurav R Sinha ◽  
Lissette M Piedra
Keyword(s):  
Policy Design ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Interesting Case ◽  
Financial Inclusion ◽  
The Other ◽  
Design Decisions ◽  
The Past ◽  
Policy Interventions ◽  
Complex Information

Social work has historically engaged in pioneering interventions to improve the financial well-being of people. India is an interesting case as it has the highest number of unbanked people on one side and numerous policy interventions on the other. Using systematic review and Gioia methodology, we analyzed 24 years of financial inclusion policies. Our analysis revealed that the efficacy of policies was impeded by flawed designs, as the policymakers preferred ‘quick fixes’ over long-term solutions. Our study highlights the need for learning from the past and organizing complex information in a way that helps policymakers in taking informed policy design decisions.

scholarly journals Activated Protein C in Cutaneous Wound Healing: From Bench to Bedside

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 903 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruilong Zhao ◽  
Haiyan Lin ◽  
Lara Bereza-Malcolm ◽  
Elizabeth Clarke ◽  
Christopher Jackson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Wound Healing ◽  
Clinical Studies ◽  
Protein C ◽  
Activated Protein C ◽  
Epithelial Barrier ◽  
Cutaneous Wound Healing ◽  
Cutaneous Wound ◽  
Beneficial Effects ◽  
The Past ◽  
Complex Process

Independent of its well-known anticoagulation effects, activated protein C (APC) exhibits pleiotropic cytoprotective properties. These include anti-inflammatory actions, anti-apoptosis, and endothelial and epithelial barrier stabilisation. Such beneficial effects have made APC an attractive target of research in a plethora of physiological and pathophysiological processes. Of note, the past decade or so has seen the emergence of its roles in cutaneous wound healing—a complex process involving inflammation, proliferation and remodelling. This review will highlight APC’s functions and mechanisms, and detail its pre-clinical and clinical studies on cutaneous wound healing.

Integral Design: The Reflective Morphological Overview

2007 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wim Zeiler ◽  
Perica Savanovic ◽  
Emile Quanjel
Keyword(s):  
Design Process ◽  
Information Exchange ◽  
Building Design ◽  
Design Team ◽  
Design Teams ◽  
Design Decisions ◽  
Team Members ◽  
Complex Process ◽  
Dutch Association ◽  
Building Physics

Integral Building Design is done by multi disciplinary design teams and aims at integrating all aspects from the different disciplines involved in a design for a building such as; archtitecture, construction, building physics and building services. It involves information exchange between participants within the design process in amounts not yet known before. To support this highly complex process an Integral Building Design methods is developed based on the combination of a prescriptive approach, Methodical Design, and a descriptive approach, Reflective practice. Starting from the Methodical Design approach by van den Kroonenberg, a more reflective approach is developed. The use of Integral Design within the design process results in a transparency on the taken design steps and the design decisions. Within the design process, the extended prescriptive methodology is used as a framework for reflection on design process itself. To ensure a good information exchange between different disciplines during the conceptual phase of design a functional structuring technique can be used; Morphological Overviews (MO). Morphology provides a structure to give an overview of the consider functions and their solution alternatives. By using this method it is presumed that it helps to structure the communication between the design team members and a such forms a basis for reflection on the design results by the design team members. This method is used in the education program at the Technische Universiteit Eindhoven and was tested in workshops for students and for professionals from the Royal Institute of Dutch Architects (BNA) and the Dutch Association of Consulting Engineers (ONRI). Over 250 professionals participated in these workshops.

Reflexive Qualitative Research

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wendy Luttrell
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Research ◽  
Self Awareness ◽  
Research Practice ◽  
Social Differences ◽  
The Past ◽  
Reflexive Practice ◽  
Research Relationships ◽  
Collective Ethos

Reflexivity can be regarded as part of a continuous research practice. Qualitative researchers work within and across social differences (e.g., cultural, class, race, gender, generation) and this requires them to navigate different layers of self-awareness—from unconscious to semiconscious to fully conscious. Because researchers can be aware on one level but not on others, reflexivity is facilitated by using an eclectic and expansive toolkit for examining the role of the researcher, researcher-researched relationships, power, privilege, emotions, positionalities, and different ways of seeing. Over the past fifty years, there has been a progression of reflexive practice as well as disciplinary debates about how much self-awareness and transparency are enough and how much is too much. The shift can be traced from the early practitioners of ethnography who did not reflect on their positions, power or feelings (or at least make these reflections public), to those who acknowledged that their emotions could be both revealing and distorting, to those who interrogated their multiple positionalities (mostly in terms of the blinders of Western/race/class/gender/generation), to those calling for the mixing and blurring of different genres of representation as important tools of reflexivity. Reflexivity is not a solitary process limited to critical self-awareness, but derives from a collective ethos and humanizes rather than objectifies research relationships and the knowledge that is created.

scholarly journals “Why would you want to stand?” an account of the lived experience of employees taking part in a workplace sit-stand desk intervention

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Hall ◽  
Tess Kay ◽  
Alison McConnell ◽  
Louise Mansfield
Keyword(s):  
Lived Experience ◽  
Sedentary Behaviour ◽  
Interpersonal Relationships ◽  
Design Theory ◽  
Cultural Theory ◽  
Qualitative Interviews ◽  
Employee Health ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Pilot Rct ◽  
The Uk

Abstract Background Sit-stand desk interventions have the potential to reduce workplace sedentary behaviour and improve employee health. However, the extent of sit-stand desk use varies between employees and in different organisational contexts. Framed by organisational cultural theory and product design theory, this study examined employees’ lived experience of taking part in a workplace sit-stand desk intervention, to understand the processes influencing feasibility and acceptability. Methods Participant observations and qualitative interviews were conducted with 15 employees from two office-based workplaces in the UK, as part of a process evaluation that ran alongside a pilot RCT of a workplace sit-stand desk intervention. Observational field notes and transcripts were analysed using thematic analysis. Results Three themes related to the experience of using a sit-stand desk at work were generated: employees’ relationship with their sit-stand desk; aspirations and outcomes related to employee health and productivity; and cultural norms and interpersonal relationships. The perceived usability of the desk varied depending on how employees interacted with the desk within their personal and organisational context. Employees reported that the perceived influence of the desk on their productivity levels shaped use of the desk; those who perceived that standing increased energy and alertness tended to stand more often. Sit-stand desks were voiced as being more acceptable than intervention strategies that involve leaving the desk, as productivity was conflated with being at the desk. Conclusions The findings indicate a range of organisational, social-cultural and individual-level factors that shape the feasibility and acceptability of sit-stand desk use, and suggest strategies for improving employees’ experiences of using a sit-stand desk at work, which might positively influence sedentary behaviour reduction and health. Trial registration Clinicaltrials.gov identifier NCT02172599, 22nd June 2014 (prospectively registered).

Misdiagnosis of Bipolar Affective Disorder as Personality Disorder

1993 ◽  
Vol 38 (9) ◽  
pp. 587-589 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen P. Tyrer ◽  
Andrew D. Brittlebank
Keyword(s):  
Personality Disorder ◽  
Affective Disorder ◽  
Interpersonal Relationships ◽  
Bipolar Affective Disorder ◽  
Behavioural Disturbance ◽  
The Past ◽  
Affective Symptoms ◽  
Personality Disturbance

Patients with longstanding recurrent behavioural disturbance, unstable interpersonal relationships and periodic affective symptoms are often diagnosed as having a cluster B personality disturbance using DSM-III-R criteria. Two women are described who were diagnosed as having a personality disorder on several admissions to hospital, but in whom closer inquiry revealed evidence of bipolar affective disorder. Since treatment with lithium and adjunctive mood-stabilizing drugs neither patient has required further admissions to hospital within the past five years.

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