1,721,010 research outputs found
After Smilla : Contemporary Danish Literature on Greenland, a Canon in the Making?
No full textAs a result of its significant international circulation, "Frøken Smillas fornemmelse for sne" (1992) by Peter Høeg figures among the most memorable works belonging to contemporary Danish literature on Greenland, and its canonization has been promoted by an enduring scholarly consideration. A similar favor – both on a commercial and an academic level – is now being experienced by postcolonial novels that problematize the notions of Danish and Greenlandic identity; in this regard, Kim Leine and Iben Mondrup are two voices that stand out as ‘high-brow’. The matter is different in the case of another recent trend concerning Grønlandslitteratur, namely ‘Greenlandic’ crime fiction: the genre, which has been flourishing from the 2010’s, is often dismissed as popular, and hardly occurs in academic contexts. In my paper, I will address this opposition between ‘canonized’ and ‘non-canonized’ within contemporary Danish literature on Greenland, focusing on the former. In doing so, I will take into consideration two novels by Leine, "Kalak" (2007) and "Profeterne i Evighedsfjorden" (2012), and one by Mondrup, "Tabita" (2020). The three novels have never been studied comparatively, to my best knowledge, and not in the light of canonization dynamics: I will try to fill this gap with the use of Rakefet Sheffy’s standpoints on the concept of canonicity in Polysystem theory. In particular, I will consider the reasons behind the process of canonization, trying to understand what features tend to be privileged in contemporary Danish literature concerning Greenland and Greenlandic people, and whether these trends can be read through the lens of the current relationships between Denmark and Greenland
Ricostruzione e reinvenzione dei boligblokke di Nuuk in due esempi contemporanei di dansk grønlandslitteratur
No full textIl paesaggio naturale groenlandese è una componente fondamentale della dansk grønlandslitteratur, la letteratura danese sulla Groenlandia, poiché l’osservatore danese è sovente messo a confronto con la sua maestosità, che elicita confronti con il paese d’origine. Ciò nonostante, negli ultimi anni la città di Nuuk è diventata un’ambientazione sempre più ricorrente all’interno di questo tipo di letteratura: Thisted cita Kalak di Kim Leine come uno dei primi esempi di «Nuuk-roman» (2011: 285), a cui ne sono seguiti numerosi altri. L’ambientazione a Nuuk accomuna anche Sultekunstnerinde, di Lotte Inuk, e Pigen uden hud (2017), di Mads Peder Nordbo; i due testi, oggetto precipuo del presente contributo, sono rispettivamente un ungdomsroman dall’evidente componente autofinzionale e un noir ‘artico’. Attraverso un close reading di passi significativi dei due romanzi, ci si concentrerà sull’architettura di Nuuk, con particolare attenzione per uno specifico tipo di edificio che caratterizza il paesaggio urbano della città, nonché la sua estetica: i boligblokke di cemento costruiti durante gli anni della cosiddetta modernizzazione, simbolo della politica di accentramento favorita da parte danese dopo che la Groenlandia perse lo status di colonia, nel 1953. In Sultekunstnerinde, questi edifici vengono presentati al lettore come luoghi d’infanzia, mentre un’ambientazione ricorrente in Pigen uden hud è il controverso «Blok P», all’interno del quale, nella finzione del romanzo, vengono compiuti efferati omicidi a danno dei suoi abitanti. Il focus sulla spazialità e sull’architettura, vista la portata simbolica di tali fabbricati, sarà unito a una lettura postcoloniale, inevitabile se si prendono in considerazione fiction danesi sull’ex colonia artica
Oltre le categorie ‘danesità’ e ‘groenlandesità’: due vincitori del Nordisk Råds Litteraturpris a confronto
No full textL’assegnazione del prestigioso Nordisk Råds Litteraturpris al dano-norvegese Kim Leine e alla groenlandese Niviaq Korneliussen, rispettivamente nel 2013 e nel 2021, sembra suggellare l’interesse che la Groenlandia suscita da 10-15 anni a questa parte – come oggetto letterario, ma anche come tangibile osservatorio dell’effetto dei cambiamenti climatici e come scenario di complessi interessi geopolitici. La Groenlandia, inoltre, pur godendo formalmente di uno status pari a quello della Danimarca all’interno del Rigsfællesskab, il commonwealth danese, risulta ancora assoggettata a dinamiche criptocoloniali. Questa precipua condizione desta interrogativi sul rapporto fra ‘danesità’ e ‘groenlandesità’, ponendo la questione identitaria al centro del dibattito pubblico dano- groenlandese. Gli stessi Leine e Korneliussen hanno riflettuto, all’interno della propria produzione letteraria, sulla possibilità di superare l’opposizione binaria “noi/loro” e sulla necessità di ridefinire la propria identità nazionale in un contesto postcoloniale. Attraverso un close reading dei romanzi "Profeterne i Evighedsfjorden" (2012) di Leine e "Blomsterdalen" (2020) di Korneliussen, si tenterà di comprendere, da un lato, quali siano le implicazioni dell’accettazione del proprio passato di potenza coloniale e, dall’altro, quali strategie possano essere adottate al fine di allontanare un’identità etnico- culturale ‘minoritaria’ dallo sguardo esterno dell’oppressore. A tal proposito ci si rifarà a concetti attinti dagli studi postcoloniali, con particolare riferimento a contributi incentrati sul rapporto tra Danimarca e Groenlandia. Il quadro teorico menzionato costituisce certamente la modalità privilegiata di approcciarsi ai romanzi sopracitati; tuttavia, da quanto mi risulta, questi non sono mai stati accostati in un’ottica comparativa, che permetta di confrontare allo stesso tempo istanze danesi e groenlandesi. Tramite gli esempi costituiti da "Profeterne i Evighedsfjorden" e "Blomsterdalen" ci si concentrerà, dunque, su un duplice processo di costruzione dell’identità, inevitabilmente caratterizzato da una componente relazionale – vero fulcro dei testi di Leine e Korneliussen, che, pur con strategie diverse, mirano allo scardinamento di tendenze (anche) letterarie ormai avvertite come inattuali
Oltre le categorie ‘danesità’ e ‘groenlandesità’: due vincitori del Nordisk Råds Litteraturpris a confronto
No full textDEVELOPING THE USE OF EPIDIDYMAL SEMEN FOR FARM ANIMAL CRYOBANKS AND SOME FIELD APPLICATIONS
Full text linkThe aim of this thesis was to increase our knowledge in the use of epididymal semen for the creation of cryobanks for farm animal genetic resources, and more generally to contribute to the area of conservation and sustainable use of farm animal genetic resources (AnGR).Three experiments were conducted in cattle and goat species.
In cattle the effects of two epididymal sperm extraction methods, the float-up and the retrograde flushing technique were compared in terms of quality of epididymal sperm recovered. Results suggest that in this species retrograde flushing technique is the method of choice to obtain viable sperm from the epididymis (Turri et al., 2011. Reprod Dom Anim, doi: 10.1111/j.1439-0531.2011.01948.x, in press).
In the second experiment, the relationship between body weight, secondary sexual traits and epididymal semen quality in Camosciata della Alpi bucks was evaluated. It was concluded that epididymal semen quality in goat species is influenced by body weight, scrotal circumference, horn diameter and length, and testicular and epididymal weight.
In the third experiment, the effects of time elapsed between animal’s death and sperm recovery (0, 24, 48, 72 hours) from the epididymis and the effect of testicles storage temperature (environmental temperature or 5°C) on quality and freezability of epididymal buck spermatozoa were investigated. Sperm recovery was performed by using the retrograde flushing technique. It was concluded that goat epididymal spermatozoa extracted by testicles stored at 5°C until 48 hours post-mortem are able to maintain their quality in terms of total motility, viability and sperm morphologies, also after cryopreservation.
A field application was carried out within the creation of the Lombardia Farm Animal Genetic Resources Cryobank (LABank), when epididymal spermatozoa of the Brianzola sheep were collected instead of conventional semen collection. At present in the LABank genetic material of Varzese cattle, Brianzola sheep and Frisa, Orobica and Verzaschese goats breeds is stored. Information of donors animals and material stored are managed through the software CryoWEB (http://cryoweb.vete_vsa.unimi.it/). A coordination system of Italian collections was also developed, through the creation of the “Network of the Italian cryobanks of farm animal genetic resources” CRIONET-IT (http://www.genrescryonet.unimi.it/).
Finally, farmers’ motives and values in keeping local cattle breed were investigated trough 371 interviews of farmers of 15 local cattle breeds, in 8 European countries. The work was part of EC EURECA project (Towards self-sustainable EUropean REgional CAttle breeds) aimed to define guidelines for the management of in situ and ex situ regional conservation programmes, with reference to the cattle species (Gandini et al., 2010. Animal Genetic Resources, 47, 45–58)
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Effect of testicle postmortem storage on goat frozen-thawed epididymal sperm quality as a tool to improve genebanking in local breeds
No full textThe interest to develop assisted reproductive technologies and cryobanking for farm animal genetic resource conservation has recently increased. However, cryopreservation for ex-situ management of genetic diversity sometimes is not routinely feasible, owing to the lack of facilities (AI centres, laboratories) and expertise near the local breed farming area. In these cases, epididymal sperm obtained from slaughtered or castrated animals, associated with the possibility of managing rather long periods between animal death, sperm recovery and freezing, would increase the opportunities to create semen storages. This investigation addresses the pre-freeze/post-thaw quality of goat epididymal sperm as a function of testicle storage temperature (environment or +5°C) and time elapsed between animal's death and sperm recovery (0, 24, 48, 72 h) to establish the optimal protocols for the recovery and cryopreservation of epididymal sperm in this species. Testicles of 50 mature bucks collected at the abattoir were divided in two groups: half of the testicles (n=50) were transported to the laboratory at environment temperature (E), whereas the remaining half (n=50) at a refrigeration temperature (R) of +5°C. In the two groups (E) and (R), one testicle from each pair was processed after slaughter forming the time 0 groups (0E and 0R). The contralateral testicle was processed after 24, 48 or 72 h of storage, at the corresponding temperature. Sperm motility and kinetic parameters, viability and morphology were assessed in pre-freeze and post-thaw samples. Until 48 h postmortem, both E and R temperatures are able to maintain good pre-freeze epididymal sperm quality. After 48 h postmortem, R temperature is fundamental to reduce epididymal sperm quality decay in pre-freeze samples. Moreover, testicle refrigeration also has a positive impact on post-thaw samples, allowing a lower decline through time considering total motility, kinetics parameters, sperm viability and sperm abnormalities. Therefore, when sperm cryopreservation is not immediately practicable, goat testicles should be transported and stored at 5°C up to a maximum of 48 h postmortem to ensure an acceptable sperm quality
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Full text linkWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
- …
