BIVALVE MOLLUSCS (BIVALVIA: UNIONIDAE, DREISSENIDAE, SPHAERIIDAE) OF UDMURTIA

The results of the studies of fauna of bivalve molluscs of Udmurt Republic are summarized. The annotated check-list of species of bivalve molluscs of the waterbodies of Udmurtiya is presented. After examination of own collections and critical assessment of published data, 26 species of bivalves from 74 localities (14 rivers, 2 reservoirs, 8 pounds and 2 oxbow lakes) have been included into the final list. In studied region 11 species of bivalves are recorded for the first time. From the zoogeographical point of view most species belong to the European-Siberian faunistic group (46 %), also a considerable part of fauna are European species (26,9% of overall species composition), which are located in the region at the Eastern border of the range.

The Tent in the Context of the Byzantine Power Symbolism in the 10th–12th Centuries

ntroduction. The tent (σκηνή, τέντα) was a simple and everyday object of Byzantine life. Diplomats, merchants, pilgrims, soldiers, travelers, and simply wanderers spent a considerable part of their lives in a tent. It was a natural element of the Byzantine landscape, and geographical mobility was an important part of the lifestyle of the Byzantine elite and its psychology. But this simple, everyday thing in a certain context took on an extremely important meaning and turned into an important religious and social symbol. A simple object could indicate complicated social and ideological constructions of the 10th–12th centuries. The task of the study is to reveal the implicit power context which in certain cases endowed simple everyday objects (like a tent) with an extremely important meaning. Methods. The article is written in the general context of structuralist methodologies. We regarded the tent as a simple sign indicating the complex representations that lie behind its content. Structuralist methods allow for a correct reconstruction of Byzantine everyday representations in different strata of society. Analysis and Results. The rich tent in Byzantine society of the 10th–12th centuries was not just a part of the daily military life of the aristocracy, but also an important element of power relations. Tents defined the social status of their owners, emphasized their power and importance. Aristocratic tents of that time were a space where power decisions were made and court life took place. The tent as a power symbol relied on a broad religious context. The Tabernacle of Moses, which was the model for every tent in the Byzantine Empire, was also created by the Lord’s will, with Moses himself acting as “royal scribe”. The folkloric tent of Charos in the Acritic songs turns out to be the center of the “lower” world in which Charos ruthlessly reigns. Behind each reading of the symbolic meaning of the tent lie different social practices of different groups of Byzantine society, but they are all filled with their own understanding of the essence of power.

Review of the Monograph: Likhacheva O.S. Weaponry and warfare of the population of the Forest-Steppe Altai in the Early Iron Age (8th–1st centuries B.C.). Barnaul: Publ. IP I. A. Kolmogorov, 2020. 320 p. ISBN 978-5-91556-710-7

The paper presents a review on a monograph by O.S. Likhacheva, concerned with the analysis of different types of weapons and reconstruction of some aspects of the warfare of the tribes of the Forest-Steppe Altai in the 8th–1st centuries B.C., which contains a representative album of illustrations, including photographs and drawings of artifacts, artistic interpretations of weapons and images of warriors, made by the author. O.S. Likhacheva carried out a meticulous analysis of numerous categories of weapons and their fragments. However, in the opinion of the author of this review, for a considerable part of the presented inventory there is a lack of context description of the finds in the ceremonial burial complexes. This leads to the description of the votive weapons as combative, ceremonially broken items as intact, and fragmentary separate armor-clad plates as a complete armor suit. Certain selectivity of the author in writing the historiography section narrows the attention of the researcher on only one region under consideration, thus ignoring the trans-cultural nature of some types of the weapons of short-range and long-range combat among the nomads of the Central Asia in the 8th–1st centuries B.C., as well as the body of the material from the monuments of the Novosibirsk Ob region which fit in the topic area of the research. The author recommends the book of O.S. Likhacheva to all interested in the history and archaeology of Altai Krai and Upper Ob region.

Design Model As a Means of Thinking in Architectural Practice and Theory of Renaissance

Состояние проблемы. Реконструкция исторической эволюции архитектурного проектирования сегодня становится актуальной необходимостью. Причины, условия, процессы формирования базовых представлений и методов, легших в основу проектного типа мышления и действия, до сих пор довольно мало изучены, особенно в критическом аспекте. Между тем немалая часть сегодняшних проблем и затруднений, как становится понятно, берет начало в эпохе зарождения профессионального проектного метода, в событиях Нового времени. Центром этого метода стало моделирование, вопросы эволюции которого рассмотрены в настоящей работе. Результаты. Рассмотрен этап становления проектирования в архитектурной деятельности в Ренессансе, прежде всего методологический вклад Л. Б. Альберти. Показана трансформация традиционного модельного способа зодческой работы в Раннем Возрождении, связанная с обособлением креативных действий, персонализацией замысла, изменениями в цеховых коммуникациях. Ремесленный способ работы зодчего вступает в профессиональную эру, что ведет к кардинальному изменению характера и места архитектурных моделей. Выводы. Требуется переосмысление, даже переоценка значения моделирования в эволюции проектирования: на место привычной картины безоблачного прогресса должна прийти критическая и проблематизирующая теория, дающая основания для инструментального отношения к моделированию как одному из методов, не лишенному недостатков. Statement of the problem. Reconstruction of the historical evolution of architectural designing is becoming an urgent need today. The reasons, conditions, processes for the formation of basic ideas and methods that formed the basis of the designing type of thinking and action are still quite poorly understood, especially in a critical aspect. Meanwhile, a considerable part of today's problems and difficulties, as it becomes clear, originates in the era of the emergence of the professional method of designing, in the events of the Modernity. The center of this method is modeling, the evolution of which is considered in this work. Result. The stage of development of design in architectural activity in the Renaissance is considered, most importantly, the methodological contribution of L. B. Alberti. The transformation of the traditional model method of architectural work in the Early Renaissance is shown associated with the isolation of creative actions, personalization of the concept, changes in craft's communications. The craftsman's way of working enters the professional era, which results in a radical change in the nature and place of architectural models. Conclusions. Rethinking, even a reassessment of the importance of modeling in the evolution of designing is required instead of the usual picture of cloudless progress, a critical and problematizing theory should come providing foundations for an instrumental attitude to modeling as one of the methods that is not devoid of shortcomings.

Bridging LGBT+ Content Gaps Across Wikipedia Language Editions

In the past several years, the Wikimedia Movement has become more aware of the lack of representation of specific communities, that is, content gaps. Next to geographical and gender-related initiatives, the LGBT+ Wikimedia community has organized to create LGBT+ content encompassing (among other topics) biographies, events, and culture. In this paper, we present a computational approach to collecting and analyzing LGBT+ articles. We selected 14 Wikipedia language editions to study the coverage of LGBT+ content in general, its visibility in the list of Featured Articles, and its overlap with the local content of the Wikipedia language editions. Results show that a considerable part of potentially LGBT+ related content exists across Wikipedia language editions; however, this relation is not evident in each language edition. In this sense, closing the LGBT+ content gap is about creating articles and making connection to the topic visible in already existing articles. We also analyze the frequency of biographies of persons with non-heterosexual sexual orientations. We find that even though they represent only a small share of all biographies, they are a bit more frequent among the Featured Articles. When taking into account all the LGBT+ biographies of the different languages, English context celebrities are the most visible. While part of the LGBT+ content is related to each language edition's local context, it tends to be less contextualized than the entire language editions. This indicates the possibility of growing LGBT+ content in each Wikipedia language edition by representing its most immediate LGBT+ local context. We propose a dashboard tool to find relevant LGBT+ articles across language editions and start bridging the gaps. Finally, we conclude this study by presenting recommendations for the next steps amongst the Wikipedia communities to fill some of these gaps.

The influence of toxic metals As, Cd, Ni and Pb on nutrients accumulation in Mentha piperita

Medicinal plants are, for a considerable part of the population, an important source of treatment for certain diseases. They contain essential nutrients for the human body such as magnesium, iron , and zinc. The present study shows the influence of the addition of As, Cd, Ni, Pb on mineral nutrients in different organs of Mentha piperita. The experiments were carried out in the laboratory for a period of three months (May-July). Mentha piperita plants were AsCd and AsCdNiPb exposed up to final concentrations corresponding to the soil intervention threshold according to Romanian Order no.756/1997 (25 mg/kg As, 5 mg/kg Cd, 150 mg/kg Ni and 100 mg/ kg Pb). Simultaneously with these experiments, a control experiment (M) was performed. To evaluate the effect of the addition of AsCd and AsCdNiPb on the accumulation and transfer of Ca, Cr, Cu, Mn, Mo, Fe and Zn, the transfer coefficient (TC), the translocation factor (TF), and the enrichment factor (EF) were calculated. A higher concentration of Ca, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Mo, and Zn was observed especially in the mint root in the experiments in which AsCdNiPb was added compared to those in which only AsCd was added. The AsCdNiPb addition did not influence the translocation of micro and macronutrients from the root to the aerial (edible) parts of the plant. In the case of the AsCd, addition, the translocation of zinc from the root to the aerial parts (leaves and stem) of the plant was increased.

Social Protest in Russian America

This article analyzes social protest in the Russian colonies in Alaska and Northern California. The main reasons for protests were the actions of the colonial administration or abuse by its representatives, along with dissatisfaction with the financial situation, rules, conditions, and remuneration for labor, as well as shortages of commodities and food for a considerable part of the population of the Russian colonies. Protest activity in Russian America was relatively insignificant, and its primary forms were complaints, minor economic sabotage, and desertion. Most protest acts took place during the 1790s–1800s, when the colonial system was formed, and exploitation of dependent natives and Russian promyshlenniki (hired hunters of fur-bearing animals) reached its peak. The representatives of the Russian-American Company who managed Alaska from 1799 on tried to block protest activity and not allow open displays of dissatisfaction, since the result could hinder trade, business, and finally, profits and its image in the eyes of the tsar’s authorities.

Reducing sea cliffs hazards in pocket beaches through beach nourishment on the Barlavento Coast (Algarve, Portugal)

Tourism based on “sun and beach” is the main economic activity in the Algarve region. A considerable part of the beaches of the Barlavento coast corresponds to embedded sand accumulated along the irregular lacework-like coastline of rocky cliffs cut into Miocene calcarenites. The pattern of touristic occupation in the Algarve and the geodynamics of the rocky sea cliffs, characterized by discontinuous and intermittent occurrence of slope mass movements, result in a high level of risk to beach users along pocket beaches. In order to mitigate the risk associated with the cliff geodynamics, artificial beach nourishment was performed in Castelo and Coelha pocket beaches on the Barlavento Coast, in 2014, increasing the beach area by 3.5 times. The effects of the beach nourishment on the occupation patterns of those beaches along the 2006-2016 decade, before and after the beach nourishment, are herein presented and discussed. Occupancy data were obtained covering different seasons along the year, by counting the number of beach users, regardless of age, using periodic and systematic photographs taken at strategic points that provide full coverage of the beach areas. Before the beach nourishments the area of dry sand outside high and moderate hazard zones, measured at half-tide under average summer wave conditions was 500 m2 at Coelha beach and 800 m2 at Castelo beach. After beach nourishment the same area increased to 6700 m2 at Coelha beach and 7100 m2 at Castelo beach. Results show that, following the beach fill, beach occupation by recreational users naturally shifted seaward, moving out from the cliff hazard areas. After the intervention, the occupation of high and moderate hazard areas reduced significantly, from 37 % to 11 % in Castelo beach and from 59 % to 27 % in Coelha beach. Keywords: beach nourishment; hazard; rocky cliffs; Algarve; Portugal.

Territorial identity and attitude to their town of the russian provincial youth

The article is based on materials from a study carried out by employees of the Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology of the Russian Academy of Sciences in 2017–2019. The study was conducted among young people living in two small towns in Central Russia – Belev, Tula region and Staritsa, Tver region. The issues of local-territorial identity of young residents of the Russian province, their attitude to their native city and the local environment are analyzed. An analysis of the sociological survey data made it possible to conclude that at present, territorial identity and love for their city were characteristic of a considerable part of the provincial youth, but these indicators varied markedly. The prevalence of young people’s orientations towards their city decreased in more developed, urbanized, open cities, with a rolling stock of the local population, wider contacts with the ”outside world”, a higher level of education, etc. In less urbanized cities, local-territorial identity and love for their city were more frequent. At the same time, local residents experienced less satisfaction with living conditions and showed more pronounced migration activity.

Exploration, Religion and Empire in the Sixteenth-century Ibero-Atlantic World

The Iberian conquest of the Atlantic at the beginning of the sixteenth century had a notable impact on the formation of the new world order in which Christian Europe claimed control over most a considerable part of the planet. This was possible thanks to the confluence of different and inseparable factors: the development of new technical capacities and favorable geographical conditions in which to navigate the great oceans; the Christian mandate to extend the faith; the need for new trade routes; and an imperial organization aspiring to global dominance. The author explores new methods for approaching old historiographical problems of the Renaissance — such as the discovery and conquest of America, the birth of modern science, and the problem of Eurocentrism — now in reference to actors and regions scarcely visible in the complex history of modern Europe: the ships, the wind, the navigators, their instruments, their gods, saints, and demons.