Materials and techniques: Early Buddhist wall paintings and sculptures at Sumda Chun,Ladakh

An assemblage of Buddhist wall paintings and sculptures dating to the twelfth/early thirteenth century are found distributed over the interiors of the temple complex at Sumda Chun, Ladakh. Detailed investigations carried out as part of a conservation project shed light on their antiquity and production technology. The sculptures are constructed with fine mud mortar applied over a wooden armature and affixed to the walls without any support from the ground. In both the sculptures and wall paintings, the paint layer is applied over a thin gypsum ground that functions as a white colourant where unpainted. For the paint layer, azurite, vermilion, and orpiment are the dominant mineral pigments utilized. Minium (red lead) has been used for preparatory drawings and as paint. Highlighting of special areas was achieved using a laminate of tin–lead alloy and gold on relief. Overall the material and techniques employed in the execution of the wall paintings and sculptures are consistent with those reported for other early sites in the region.     

恋恋布达佩斯

匈牙利首都布达佩斯是全国政治、经济和文化中心,也是欧洲著名的古城。它风光秀丽、景色如画,被人们誉为“多瑙河畔的明珠”,它是大诗人裴多菲、音乐家李斯特以及翻云覆雨的金融巨鳄索罗斯的故乡,还是茜茜公主爱恋的土地。那么,今天就让我们一起随着作者来感受这座曼妙的城市吧。     

Gender and socioeconomic status differences in university students’ perception of social support

Perceived social support has been shown to be one of the most important protective factors for emerging adult students during their transition to university. However, the relationships between perceived social support and dimensions of gender and family background, which have been shown to affect adjustment to college life, remain unexplored. The current study analyzes the effect of gender, parents’ education, and family income level on social support perceived by Spanish university students. The sample consisted of 575 women and 280 men, of average age 18.02 years (SD?=?0.52) enrolled in the first year of degree courses at the University of Santiago de Compostela (Spain). Three measures were used to assess various facets of perceived social support, namely perceived acceptance, social provisions, and support availability and satisfaction. Gender differences were identified for several perceived social support dimensions; women reported a wider social network, which should cover more diverse needs of social support. In addition, differences related to mother’s education and family income level emerged for the availability of support and perceived acceptance. The results highlight the different role of gender and family background in several dimensions of perceived social support during the transition to emerging adulthood.