The Embodiment of Folklore Traditions in Art as the Antithesis of Postmodern Aesthetics

The aim of the research is to comprehend the folklore traditions embodied in art as an antithesis to the aesthetics of the postmodern era. The author puts forward a hypothesis according to which, against the background of a change in the socio-cultural paradigm from modernity to postmodernism, folklorism acted as a tool for returning to genuine values ​​based on centuries-old authentic traditions. Folklorism is considered in the article as a phenomenon in which the potential of the collective memory of the people is laid, allowing a person to recognize himself as part of a single nation with deep historical roots and centuries-old cultural traditions. Research methods – the comprehension of folklorism as an antithesis in relation to the dominant sociocultural paradigms was carried out using the scientific principle of historicism, as well as the methods of synchronous and diachronous analysis. The results of the research – another surge of interest in authenticity against the background of the approval of postmodern ideas is presented as one of the examples of a cyclical return to true values ​​in art. It is concluded that the analyzed bright and self-sufficient artistic phenomenon, over more than two centuries of its existence, has repeatedly acted as a mechanism to smooth out the existing contradictions in the sociocultural model of the development of society, thereby creating stable axiological foundations in art.

Measurements of middle ear functioning- traditional (acoustic impedance and acoustic admittance) and modern (middle ear reflectance and middle ear absorbance): a review

<p class="abstract"><span lang="EN-US">Estimation of the middle ear functioning is necessary for the assessment and management of the middle ear disorders. It is also crucial for deciding upon the management of hearing loss. Though very important for audiologists and otologist clinically, there are many misconceptions behind the scientific principle/rationale and confusions related to the terminologies and units used for the measurements of middle ear functioning such as acoustic impedance, acoustic admittance, middle ear reflectance and middle ear absorbance. Literature included in this review was searched from book chapters, instrument manuals, journal articles, monographs, scientific guidelines and standard specifications on the related topics. This review work threw light and eases understanding on the principles used by different instruments to estimate various measures of middle ear functioning. It will enhance understanding of the measurements and also of the relation between different measurements of middle ear functioning. Clinically, it will help professionals in analyzing results better considering the measurements variables (if present) and bring continuity in reporting the results of middle ear functioning.</span></p><strong></strong>

Getting science priorities straight: how to increase the reliability of specimen identification?

‘We advise the authors to find a native English speaker to proofread the manuscript’. This is a standard feedback journals give to non-native English speakers. Journals are justifiably concerned with grammar but do not show the same rigour about another step crucial to biological research: specimen identification. Surveying the author guidelines of 100 journals, we found that only 6% of them request explicitly citation of the literature used in specimen identification. Authors hamper readers from contesting specimen identification whenever vouchers, identification methods, and taxon concepts are not provided. However, unclear taxonomic procedures violate the basic scientific principle of reproducibility. The scientific community must continuously look for practical alternatives to improve taxonomic identification and taxonomic verification. We argue that voucher pictures are an accessible, cheap and time-effective alternative to mitigate (not abolish) bad taxonomy by exposing preventable misidentifications. Voucher pictures allow scientists to judge specimen identification actively, based on available data. The popularization of high-quality image devices, photo-identification technologies and computer vision algorithms yield accurate scientific photo-documentation, improving taxonomic procedures. Taxonomy is timeless, transversal and essential to most scientific disciplines in biological sciences. It is time to demand rigour in taxonomic identifications.

THE POLICY OF SEPTIMIUS SEVERUS IN AFRICA

Summary. The purpose of the study is to analyze and explain the policy of Septimius Severus in Africa. The research methodology is based on the principle of objectivity as well as on a scientific principle. The research is based on general scientific methods (analysis and synthesis, induction-deduction) and special historical methods. The scientific novelty is that for the first time in the Ukrainian historiography the article supports and substantiates the thesis about the expedition of 203 AD, the topic, which is not very popular in classical studies. The conclusions are as follows. During his reign Roman advancement in Africa became extensive. The main regions of Roman expansion were Numidia, Mauritania and Tripolitania. Septimius Severus personally did not take part in African campaigns. The African campaign was led by the legate of the Legio III Augusta – Quintus Anicius Faustus. The Romans carried out large-scale frontier fortification works. Frontier policy in the region was similar to that in Arabia. These measures helped Rome to control trade and emigration in the region. Roman possessions in Africa reached their maximum during the time of Septimius Severus. An analysis of the sources pointing to a possible expedition of Septimius Severus to Africa in 203 AD suggests that there is no direct indication to this event. Therefore, it is likely that the Roman emperor was only preparing for a trip that was later canceled for unknown reasons.

The Effect of Mind Mapping-Assisted Problem-Based Learning (PBL) Model on Science Process Skills of Fifth Graders

Science learning model directs students to learn concept understanding and scientific principle. Scientific principle in science learning relate to investigation or experiment to drill science process skills that can develop critical thinking and problem-solving abilities. Process skills are students' abilities to manage what has been gained in teaching and learning activities. The purpose of this study was to analyze the effect of using the Mind Mapping, Problem Based Learning (PBL) model, and Problem Based Learning model assisted by Mind Mapping on students' science process skills. The research method used quantitative research in the form of quasi experimental design. The sample of this study were students of 5th grade with 30 students as experimental class, 24 students as control-1 class, and 28 students as control-2 class. The data collection techniques used in this study were written test, observation, and documentation. The results of the analysis showed that simultaneously a learning model affected students' science process skills by 13%. This study had also showed that of the three models that had been used, problem-based learning assisted by mind mapping model was the most effective model for improving students' science process skills compared to problem-based learning model or mind mapping model

Contested medical knowledge and regional self-fashioning

Chapter 4 analyses Juan de Cárdenas’s Problemas y secretos maravillosos de las Indias in the context of the negative critiques it offered of two contemporaries who had written about New World medicine without leaving Spain: Nicolás Monardes and Oliva Sabuco. Cárdenas found fault with both Monardes's Historia medicinal (1565) and Sabuco's Nveva filosofia de la naturaleza del hombre (1587) identifying flaws in the cause-and-effect reasoning espoused by each source and providing examples that arrived at different results. But Cárdenas’s medical challenge, articulated on scientific principle, belied a growing unease about the marginal status conferred to locally published scholarly efforts in the larger global stage of scientific enquiry; Monardes was keenly interested in New World bezoars especially whereas Sabuco’s ideas on digestion rested on her observations of the quick effects of ingesting coca leaves from Peru. By adopting an oppositional model of refutation that anchored itself on a geographically and culturally determined group identity, Cárdenas’s writing began mounting a challenge to the unequal distribution of epistemological authority in transatlantic colonial hierarchies.

Umami synergy as the scientific principle behind taste-pairing champagne and oysters

Food and flavour pairing are commonly used as an empirically based phenomenology by chefs and food innovators for creating delicious dishes. However, there is little if any science behind the pairing systems used, and it appears that pairing is determined by food culture and tradition rather than by chemical food composition. In contrast, the pairing implied by the synergy in the umami taste, elicited by free glutamate and free nucleotides, is scientifically founded on an allosteric action at the umami receptor, rendering eggs-bacon and cheese-ham delicious companions. Based on measurement of umami compounds in champagnes and oysters we suggest that a reason why champagne and oysters are considered good companions may be the presence of free glutamate in champagne, and free glutamate and 5′-nucleotides in oysters. By calculations of the effective umami potential we reveal which combinations of oysters and champagnes lead to the strongest umami taste. We also show that glutamate levels and total amount of free amino acids are higher in aged champagnes with long yeast contact, and that the European oyster (Ostrea edulis) has higher free glutamate and nucleotide content than the Pacific oyster (Crassostrea gigas) and is thus a better candidate to elicit synergistic umami taste.

“Description of Kiev-Pechersk Lavra” by Metropolitan Yevhenii (Bolkhovitinov) as an Attempt to Continue “Mohylian Tradition” in Describing the History of Kiev

The purpose of this paper is to determine the main elements of the writings of his­ tory of Kiev by the Metropolitan of Kiev Petro (Mohyla) (1597–1647) and other theologians under his scientific supervision; consideration of the reception of these elements in the work of Metropolitan of Kiev Yevhenii (Bolkhovitinov) (1767–1837) under the title “Description of the Kiev­Pechersk Lavra”, as well as finding the elements that are strictly characteristic of Metropolitan Yevhenii’s work. The methodological basis of this article is the general scientific principle of historicism, objectivity, complexity and system, the implementation of which is car­ ried out through the use of basic methods of historical research (analysis and synthesis, induction and deduction). The main conclusion is that Metropolitan of Kiev Yevhenii (Bolkhovitinov) was the successor of the tradition of writing history of the Church which was created by Metropolitan Petro (Mohyla) and other famous Kievan theologians of the time, among whom Bishop Sylvestr (Cossov) stands out.

Review of New American Studies on the Civil War (1861–1865) and Reconstruction in the USA (1865–1877) for 2019

Introduction. Studies of American historians on the Civil War and Reconstruction continue to be central issues in the 21st century. There is an increased public demand for these studies. The author of the analytical review of American publications tries to answer the question of what this interest is related to. Methods. The author of the review uses the methodological tools such as the scientific principle of objectivity, the special historicalcomparative method and the systematic approach to answer this question. Analysis. The author points out the main areas of studying new aspects marked by American historians of the mid-19th century. These areas include the issues and interpretations on military, political, everyday, anthropological, social and cultural, and economic history. Besides, new approaches in peer-reviewed monographs for the comprehensive coverage of the study material of this issue are highlighted. Results. The interest of academicians and the American public to studying the historical period of the Civil War and Reconstruction, on the one hand, tells about carrying the deep psycho-civilizational trauma by all subsequent generations of both white and black Americans at this time, and on the other hand, this war debunks the myth of God’s chosen destiny of the American nation to build a “City on a Hill”. Constant refinements, additions, revisions, and reinterpretations of the events and consequences of the Civil War and Reconstruction in contemporary American historiography only confirm this conclusion. The publications selected by the reviewer on this issue for 2019 not only introduce new American historical works to Russian Americanists, but also provide an opportunity to expand their own research on this issue.

Polemic notes to the article by R. M. Kachalov “Risk phenomenon as an artificial economic science object”

In order to increase the efficiency of socio-economic systems managing, R. Kachalov proposed introducing the fictitious concept of the “risk phenomenon”. This article shows that, this proposal, firstly, contradicts the scientific principle of Occam’s razor, and secondly, it is a methodological error. In addition, the interpretation by R. Kachalov of the relationship between the concepts of “uncertainty” and “economic risk” is debatable.