66 research outputs found
And Through Flows the River : Archaeology and the Pasts of Lao Pako
No full textThis is a story about Lao Pako. Lao Pako is located on a small hill on the southern bank of the river Nam Ngum in central Laos. Four seasons of archaeological fieldwork have yielded considerable amounts of pottery, metallurgical remains, glass beads, stone artefacts, spindle whorls as well as other material and structural information that have created a foundation for interpretation. The archaeological interpretation presents Lao Pako as a place where people came to perform rituals c. 1500 years ago. In these rituals, sophisticated combinations of pottery depositions, infant burials and iron production produced a narrative about what it means to be in the world. Things in and on the ground created, and continue to create, non-verbal sentences about life and death, fertility, decay and worldly reproduction. The archaeological interpretation is, however, not the only valid story about Lao Pako. This is a place where spirits are; it is also a tourist resort and a national treasure. These other stories all work to create Lao Pako as a place of interest and are used in this thesis to define the archaeological story, and to visualize the aims and agendas inherent in the production of archaeological knowledge. Using the conceptual apparatus of postcolonial and other critical theory, the thesis aims to critically deconstruct the archaeology performed by the author and others. It entails an explicit critique of the deterministic temporal unilinearity that is inherent in the archaeological narrative of the evolution of humankind, as well as against essentialist notions of culture and the dissociation of the past as exotic otherness. Thus, the stories about Lao Pako demonstrate the need to critically revise the role of archaeology in a postcolonial world, and create archaeological stories by which we are touched, moved and disturbed, without resorting to imperialist notions of time and progress
PaKo – Der mobile Patientenkoffer
No full textDurch den Einsatz von Informations- und Kommunikationstechnologie im Gesundheitsbereich (speziell im Segment Mobile Health Care) eröffnen sich Möglichkeiten der Steigerung der Lebensqualität der betroffenen Patienten, einer effizienteren Behandlung sowie einer gleichzeitigen Kosteneinsparung. Eine Vielzahl von Projekten und Publikationen zu diesem Themenkreis finden sich in der einschlägigen Literatur, jedoch nur wenige werden über unterschiedliche Entwicklungsphasen mit breiterem Praxiseinsatz fortgeführt. Der vorliegende Beitrag stellt die Ergebnisse des Projektes „PaKo“ (mobiler Patientenkoffer) vor. Es handelt sich um die Fortschreibung eines Forschungsprojektes, in dem ein mobiles Monitoring-System entwickelt wurde. Das vorangehende Projekt betrachtete das Monitoring von Parkison-Patienten im heimischen Umfeld während der Einstellung auf eine dem aktuellen Krankheitsbild angepasste Medikation. In der nunmehr präsentierten 2. Entwicklungsphase wird von diesem spezifischen Anwendungskontext abstrahiert und generell die Diagnose und Behandlung von Krankheiten bei Einsatz aktueller Mobilfunktechnologie betrachtet. Weiterhin wird der Patientenkoffer im Umfeld des Patienten (heimischer Bereich, Altenheimstation etc.) aufgestellt, so dass im Ziel langwierige Krankenhausaufenthalte entfallen und der Patient in seinem persönlichen Umfeld verbleiben kann. Es wird davon ausgegangen, dass in solchen Fällen, für die dieses Szenario patientenseitig gewünscht und geeignet erscheint, eine schnellere und erfolgreichere Therapie bzw. Betreuung erreichbar ist. Der aktuelle Prototyp ermöglicht neben der Monitoringfunktionalität eine multimodale Interaktion mit dem Patienten. Dieser Beitrag beschreibt die grundlegende Neukonzeption. Basierend auf der technologisch überarbeiteten Plattform werden zudem die erweiterten Einsatzmöglichkeiten behandelt. Darüber hinaus wird auf das Potential, das sich zunehmend durch die Entwicklung und den Einsatz von breitbandigen Mobiltechnologien eröffnet, eingegangen
Neobythites pako Uiblein & Nielsen 2023, n. sp.
No full text<i>Neobythites pako</i> n. sp. <p>urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act: B3E4CA7D-F0FD-41EF-A884-451331786136</p> <p>Figures 3, 6, 7; Tables 1, 5, 6</p> <p> <b>Holotype.</b> MNHN 2006-0337, 165 mm SL, Solomon Sea, 8°6′25.2″S, 157°23′2.4″E, Salomon 2 cruise, R / V <i>Alis</i>, st. CP 2286, 248– 253 m depth, 6 Nov. 2004.</p> <p> <b>Diagnosis.</b> Hind margin of preopercle with very short spine; dorsal-fin rays 92; anal-fin rays 77; pectoral-fin rays 28; precaudal vertebrae 13; total vertebrae 56; pseudobranchial filaments 2; long rakers on anterior gill arch 10; head length 22% SL; pelvic-fin length 14% SL, fins not reaching anus; orbit length 4.5% SL and 21% HL; longest gill filament 1.9% SL and 8.8% HL; dorsal fin with central ocellus placed well behind vertical line through anus, spot distance 46% SL and spot covers 7 dorsal-fin rays, not extending ventrally onto body; ocellus spot dark brown; posterior two-thirds of anal fin black; no vertical bars on body; otolith length 4.8% SL, sulcus length 3.8% SL, and ostium height 17% sulcus length and 25% ostium length.</p> <p> <b>Description.</b> The principal meristic and morphometric characters are shown in Table 5. Elongate fish with complete lateral line; head and body covered by deciduous, cycloid scales; origin of dorsal fin above middle of pectoral fin; origin of anal fin slightly in front of midpoint of fish; snout blunt and equal in length to diameter of eye window; very short spine on hind margin of preopercle; opercular spine short and pointed; anterior gill arch on both sides with 4 short and 2 long rakers on upper branch, one long raker at angle, and 7 long and 6–8 short rakers on lower branch; longest filaments on anterior gill arch 8.8% HL and longest raker on anterior gill arch 10% HL.</p> <p>+ tail broken, only data for anterior body part and measurements not related to Sl available for larger specimen.</p> <p> <i>Sagittal otolith</i> (Fig. 3E). Otolith peanut-shaped, ventrally rounded, dorsally and anteriorly flattened, posteriorly blunt, its depth 1.7 times in its length; sulcus large, 1.3 times in otolith length; ostium 1.5 times in sulcus length; ostium depth 5.4 times in sulcus length and 3.6 times in ostium length.</p> <p> <i>Dentition.</i> Premaxillaries, palatines, and dentaries with many small, pointed, close-set teeth in irregular rows; vomer boomerang-shaped with many, pointed teeth; two median basibranchial tooth patches, anterior one long and narrow and posterior one small and circular.</p> <p> <i>Axial skeleton</i>. Precaudal vertebrae 13, all with pointed tip; anterior neural spine almost half length of second spine; neural spines on vertebrae 1–9 somewhat depressed, parapophyses present on vertebrae 8–13, pleural ribs on vertebrae 3–13 and epipleural ribs indistinct; basis of neural spines 4–13 enlarged.</p> <p> <i>Colour.</i> Preserved fish (Fig. 6A). Body and head of preserved HT rather uniformly pale brown, slightly darker dorsally and in snout region, gill cover anteriorly gray brown, posteriorly pale, lateral line indistinct, abdomen pale gray anterior of anus; single ocellus placed well behind vertical line through anus at body midpoint, central-ocellus spot dark brown, slightly larger than orbit diameter, covering 7 dorsal-fin rays, not extending onto body below dorsal fin, ocellus ring pale, rather indistinct on folded fin, becoming more distinct when fin is raised; dorsal fin anterior and behind ocellus pale gray brownish, pigmentation becoming somewhat more intense on posterior third towards caudal fin; anal fin almost entirely covered with continuous dark brown stripe behind vertical line through posterior ocellus spot edge; pelvic and pectoral fins hyaline.</p> <p> <b>Etymology.</b> The new species name “ <i>pako</i> ” is used as a noun in apposition and honours the son of the first author, Francisco “Pako” Uiblein.</p> <p> <b>Distribution and size.</b> Only known from the HT (165 mm SL), caught in bottom trawl in eastern Solomon Sea at 248–253 m depth.</p>Published as part of <i>Uiblein, Franz & Nielsen, Jørgen G., 2023, Five new ocellus-bearing species of the cusk-eel genus Neobythites (Ophidiidae, Ophidiiformes) from the West Pacific, with establishment of three new species groups, pp. 179-205 in Zootaxa 5336 (2)</i> on pages 197-201, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5336.2.2, <a href="http://zenodo.org/record/8272417">http://zenodo.org/record/8272417</a>
Camus eta Sartreren eragina zenbait euskal idazlerengan
No full textTogether with Unamuno, both A. Camus and J-P. Sartre had a lot of influence from the 50s of the last century on Basque reduced intelligentsia, that is, on the Franciscans (first, on Bastarrika) and on Txillardegi, Juan San Martín, E. López Adán and Joxe Azurmendi, among others. This influence was crucial to move from the traditional Basque culture based on the Catholic faith to a more secular Basque culture. At first, Camus was the most influential; Sartre came later. This work starts by exploring the personal and intellectual relationship between Camus and Sartre; then I present the main themes of their impact dealing with existentialism, religion and morals. And along with it, I follow the debate about the legitimacy of violence that took place in Paris after World War II. The context was communists’s revolutionary goals: If it succeeded in Russia why would it not succeed in France? In 1946, PCF (the French Communist Party) had 800,000 members, and its influence was enormous. After presenting López Adán’s view, the paper ends by gathering some ideas by Joxe Azurmendi on the topic of violence. Sartre and Camus were not religiously dogmatic like Gandhi. The morals needed with respect to violence needs to be built; and it will always be because there are no tablets of the ten commandments, and the answer corresponds to to each society in its own time.; Unamunorekin batean, A. Camusek eta J-P. Sartrek ere eragin handia izan zuten 50eko hamarkadatik aurrera gure intelligentsia ttipian, hots, frantziskotarrengan (lehenik, Bastarrikarengan) eta, halaber, Txillardegi, Juan San Martin, E. Lopez Adan eta Joxe Azurmendirengan-eta; eta eragin hori giltzarri izan zen fede katolikoan oinarrituriko euskal kultura tradizionaletik euskal kultura moderno laikoagora igarotzeko. Hasieran Camus izan zen eragile handiena, eta geroago Sartre. Lan honetan Camus eta Sartreren arteko harreman pertsonal-intelektuala arakatzetik abiatzen naiz, eta ondotik haien eraginaren nondik norako nagusiak azaltzera egiten dugu, existentzialismoa, erlijioa eta morala direla ardatz. Eta, horrekin batean, biolentziaren bidezkotasunaz Parisen II. Mundu Gerraren ondotik egindako hausnarketa jarraitzen dugu. Testuingurua, orduan, komunistek Iraultza egiteko zuten xedea zen. Errusian arrakasta izandakoak zergatik ez zuen arrakasta izan behar Frantzian? PCF alderdi komunista frantsesak 800.000 afiliatu zituen 1946an, eta eragin gaitza. Lopez Adanen iritzia jaso ondotik, axola handikoak iruditzen zaizkigun Joxe Azurmendiren ideia hauekin amaitzen dugu idatzia: gai horretan, Sartre eta Camus soluzio baten bila haztamuka ibili dira. Ez dira erlijiosoki dogmatikoak izan Ghandiren erara. Bortxarekiko behar dugun morala egiteko dago, eta egiteko egongo da beti, horrentzat ez daudelako hamar mandamenduak betiko zizelkatuak harrizko taulan: erantzuna gizarte bakoitzak eta aro bakoitzak beretzat erabaki —hautatu— beharrekoa baita
Essays in long memory: evidence from African stock markets
No full textThis thesis explores various aspects of long memory behaviour in African stock markets (ASMs). First, we examine long memory in both equity returns and volatility using the weak-form version of the efficient market hypothesis (EMH) as a criterion. The results show that these markets (largely) display a predictable component in returns; while evidence of long memory in volatility is mixed. In general, these findings contradict the precepts of the EMH and a variety of remedial policies are suggested. Next, we re-examine evidence of volatility persistence and long memory in light of the potential existence of neglected breaks in the stock return volatility data. Our results indicate that a failure to account for time-variation in the unconditional mean variance can lead to spurious conclusions. Furthermore, a modification of the GARCH model to allow for mean variation is introduced, which, generates improved volatility forecasts for a selection of ASMs. To further evaluate the quality of volatility forecasts we compare the performance of a number of long memory models against a variety of alternatives. The results generally suggest that over short horizons simple statistical models and the short memory GARCH models provide superior forecasts of volatility; while, at longer horizons, we find some evidence in favour of long memory models. However, the various model rankings are shown to be sensitive to the choice of error statistic used to assess the accuracy of the forecasts. Finally, a wide range of volatility forecasting models are evaluated in order to ascertain which method delivers the most accurate value-at-risk (VaR) estimates in the context of Basle risk framework. The results show that both asymmetric and long memory attributes are important considerations in delivering accurate VaR measures
Mineral Composition Of Selected Tree Species Used For Chewing Stick In Southwestern Nigeria
No full textThe mineral analysis of some trees commonly used as chewing sticks in the Southern part of Nigeria were analyzed to determine their chemical contents and their suitability for human consumption. The species are Prosopis africanai (Yoruba: Orin-ayan), Massularia accuminata (Yoruba: Pako-Ijebu) Anogeissus leiocapa (Yoruba: Orin-ayin) Terminalia glaucescens (Yoruba: Idi) and Zanthoxylum zanthoxyloides (Yoruba: Orin-ata). The mineral analysis revealed that the percentage composition of Sodium ion, Potassium ion, Calcium ion, and Zinc ion, in Massularia accumiinata (Pako-Ijebu) is higher than the others. Hence, it is most commonly used in the society. It was also found that chewing sticks contain little or no amount of lead, which is a heavy metal that causes lead-poisoning. The little amount (about 0.001 pmm) found in Terminalia glaucescens (Orin Idi) is very minute and does not have any serious consequences in the user’s body. There should be conservation of these resources, which is one of the major sources of income to the rural populace
Metaphysical personhood and traditional South Fore mortuary rites
No full text© Tous droits réserv's. Ethnographic studies on Melanesian concepts of the human body and religion have expanded our understandings of the concept of personhood. Melanesian ethnographers have used a number of descriptive words to describe the metaphysical components of the person, including: soul, spirit, life force, ghost, and vital and spiritual essence. By investigating the traditional mortuary rites of the South Fore people in Papua New Guinea, which included the practice of endocannibalism, investigators were able to distinguish the 5 souls of the composite metaphysical person and their relationship to the humors of the body. An understanding of the South Fore cosmology and its relationship to its human inhabitants was required to understand these deeply embedded concepts. The South Fore person was found to be composed of 5 souls and bodily humors which together formed a composite individual, yet partible through division. We elucidated the concepts of the 5 souls of the Fore person, which revealed a strong correlation between the landscape with its overlying cosmology and the cultural bodily humors, and demonstrated their relationship to the power of the land
Pointwise Weyl law for graphs from quantized interval maps
No full textWe prove an analogue of the pointwise Weyl law for families of unitary
matrices obtained from quantization of one-dimensional interval maps. This
quantization for interval maps was introduced by Pako\'nski et al. [J. Phys. A:
Math. Gen. 34 9303-9317 (2001)] as a model for quantum chaos on graphs. Since
we allow shrinking spectral windows in the pointwise Weyl law, as a consequence
we obtain for these models a strengthening of the quantum ergodic theorem from
Berkolaiko et al. [Commun. Math. Phys. 273 137-159 (2007)], and show in the
semiclassical limit that a family of randomly perturbed quantizations has
approximately Gaussian eigenvectors. We also examine further the specific case
where the interval map is the doubling map.Comment: final versio
Cultural factors that affected the spatial and temporal epidemiology of kuru
No full textKuru is a prion disease which became epidemic among the Fore and surrounding linguistic groups in Papua New Guinea, peaking in the late 1950s. It was transmitted during the transumption (endocannibalism) of dead family members at mortuary feasts. In this study, we aimed to explain the historical spread and the changing epidemiological patterns of kuru by analysing factors that affected its transmission. We also examined what cultural group principally determined a family's behaviour during mortuary rituals. Our investigations showed that differences in mortuary practices were responsible for the initial pattern of the spread of kuru and the ultimate shape of the epidemic, and for subsequent spatio-temporal differences in the epidemiology of kuru. Before transumption stopped altogether, the South Fore continued to eat the bodies of those who had died of kuru, whereas other linguistic groups, sooner or later, stopped doing so. The linguistic group was the primary cultural group that determined behaviour but at linguistic boundaries the neighbouring group's cultural practices were often adopted. The epidemiological changes were not explained by genetic differences, but genetic studies led to an understanding of genetic susceptibility to kuru and the selection pressure imposed by kuru, and provided new insights into human history and evolution
Fieldwork in the kuru-affected region of Papua New Guinea from 1996 to 2012: A model for neurological investigations in developing communities
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