Microscopic Analysis of Wall Painting Techniques: Laboratory Replicas and Romanesque Case Studies in Southern Switzerland

The identification of painting techniques is an important aspect of any research related to historical, artistic, and conservation issues in the field of wall paintings conservation. There are a variety of different methodological approaches that can be used to identify wall painting techniques. In this study, the application of optical (PLM) and electron (SEM-EDX) microscopy was explored as they are complementary analytical techniques commonly used for micro-stratigraphic analysis of painted surfaces. Five replicas were prepared according to the technical procedures reported in medieval historical treatises, and the pigment was applied at different time intervals in order to monitor the modifications at the interface between the ground and pictorial layer. The comparison of data from the replicas with samples from Romanesque wall paintings in churches in Southern Switzerland and Northern Lombardy (Italy) allowed for an evaluation of the reliability of the proposed methodology and for the interpretation of the painting techniques.     

Mothering matters: Maternal style predicts puppies’ future performance

Bray et al. (2017, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 113(32), 9128–9133) recently showed that maternal interactions between service dog mothers and their puppies were predictive of puppies’ future success as a candidate service dog. These findings prompt questions into the role of genetics and early experiences and may provide useful selection tools for working dog breeding programs.     

Discussing education by means of metaphors

Abstract

Metaphors help us understand a concept by resorting to the imaginary because it is sometimes difficult to do so through the use of words alone. Thinkers have made use of metaphors to not only describe ‘falling in love’, ‘the pain of losing someone dear to us’, but also to describe particular concepts both in arts and sciences. In fact, the use of metaphors in some disciplines, particularly the sciences, is now regarded as something essential for the development of the field. We note that influential philosophers of education, such as Martin Buber, Paulo Freire, Michael Apple, Gert Biesta and Ilan Gur-Ze’ev have also made use of metaphors to discuss education and specific issues in educational contexts. In this article, we do two things: (i) we discuss the methodological importance of metaphors in helping us make better sense of concepts and particular problems; (ii) building on this methodological discussion, we critically discuss the problems posed by the current processes of ‘marketisation’ and ‘learnification’ in education. We conclude by arguing that metaphors do not provide us with ultimate answers to the problems we face; rather, they help us unveil a diversity of novel perspectives and a world of new possibilities.     

Cognitive and metacognitive aspects in conceptual change by analogy

This study is a qualitative investigation on the teaching-learning by analogy of complex curriculum concepts in natural and relevant environments, such as classrooms, to improve the ecological validity of the research itself. It aimed at exploring whether students' successful use of analogy in learning science was related a) to the level of their understanding of a specific analogy and b) to their metacognitive awareness of how the analogy was to be used and of the changes produced in their own conceptual structures. During the implementation of a biological curriculum unit, sixty 5th graders were engaged in understanding the ways in which the new concepts (concerning the human circulatory system) were similar to a familiar source (the mail delivery system) by detecting all the relations between the two systems and mapping the relevant information from the source to the target. Learners' preexisting mental models have been taken into account in order to examine their conceptual growth and change via the analogy. Qualitative data are presented for the analysis of elicited and spontaneous analogical inferences, based on structural and semantic similarities, as well as of the identification of where the analogy breaks down. Moreover, qualitative data also concern children's metacognitive awareness of the meaning and the purpose of the analogy, and their personal use of the analogy in changing initial conceptions. As hypothesized, results showed a high correlation between level of conceptual understanding of the new science topic, level of understanding of the analogy itself, and the effective use of the analogy in integrating the new information into the pre-existing conceptual structures. Some implications on the use of analogy for conceptual change are considered from an educational standpoint.     

Waxworks and the performance of anatomy in mid-18th-century Italy

Anatomical waxworks lay at the centre of a composite world of social interaction in mid-18th-century Bologna. Sponsored by Pope Benedict XIV and included among Grand Tour attractions, they earned fame and authority for wax-modellers such as Anna Morandi, Giovanni Manzolini and Ercole Lelli. By dissecting bodies, making waxwork models of them and demonstrating their anatomical collections, these artificers became protagonists of the world of anatomy. Offering representations of the inner body some thought more faithful than the real thing, their collections gave expression to a new set of relations between the role of artefacts in the production and communication of knowledge, the emergence of new apparatuses for viewing and investigating the human body, the legacy of codified visual conventions and the authenticating power of natural spectacle.     

Exploration of the Relative Contributions of Domain Knowledge and Search Expertise for Conducting Internet Searches

The relative contributions of expertise in search skills and domain knowledge were examined when using the Internet to find information. Four conditions were compared: expert searchers/high domain knowledge; expert searchers/low domain knowledge; novice searchers/high domain knowledge; and novice searchers/low domain knowledge. Search outcomes and verbal protocols were analyzed. The combination of search expertise and high domain knowledge yielded the most efficient searches. Higher search expertise yielded access to sites rated more accurate and credible. High domain knowledge yielded sites rated more thorough. Verbal protocols depicted searching as a complex decision process. Findings have implications for instructional support.     

Chinese feminist epistemology： Studies of Chinese mothers＇ experiences in immigration and education

This paper examines theoretical frameworks with which to study newly-immigrated mothers from China and calls for the need to make Chinese mothers become knowers and agents of knowledge. Although there are black and Chicana feminist epistemologies, currently there is no comparable discourse in the study of Chinese feminist epistemology, particularly on newly-immigrated Chinese mothers in the USA. By examining Chinese mothers＇ experiences immigrating to the United States and educating their children in the transnational context, the paper agrees that both endarkened feminist epistemology and transnational feminism cannot fully interpret and address newly-immigrated Chinese mothers＇ experiences. Drawing the research data directly from Chinese mothers, the paper describes different challenges Chinese mothers faced in immigrating and their children＇s education due to various factors, such as language, historical and cultural roots, to highlight Chinese mothers＇ various experiences in immigration and their children＇s education in the transnational context.     

Epistemic metacognition in context: evaluating and learning online information

This study examined epistemic metacognition as a reflective activity about knowledge and knowing in the context of online information searching on the Web, and whether it was related to prior knowledge on the topic, study approach, and domain-specific beliefs about science. In addition, we investigated whether Internet-based learning was influenced by epistemic metacognition and the individual differences examined. Seventy 8th grade students were interviewed retrospectively after searching for online information about the scientifically controversial topic of dinosaur extinction. Both qualitative and quantitative analyses were performed. Findings showed that participants expressed reflections about the simplicity/complexity, certainty/uncertainty, source, and justification of knowledge at different levels of sophistication, according to three patterns of epistemic metacognition. Prior knowledge was not related to epistemic metacognition in the search context, while study approach and epistemic beliefs about science were associated significantly, although modestly, with aspects of online knowledge evaluation. Moreover, findings revealed that Internet-based learning was influenced by overall science-related epistemic beliefs. Learning from Internet sources was also affected by study approach and epistemic reflections about the justification of online knowledge, as well as by the interaction between beliefs about the justification of scientific knowledge and beliefs about the justification of the knowledge accessed concerning the topic.     

旅行的意义

2010年1月1日在柬埔寨暹粒享受鱼足疗 来自澳大利亚布里斯本的22岁餐厅服务生莉齐·波特和她19岁的弟弟迈克尔。“我一直住在伦敦。回澳途中,我坐火车沿跨蒙古铁路途经了俄罗斯、蒙古和中国。我和弟弟在胡志明市碰头,然后从那里去了柬埔寨。在暹粒的主要旅游街道上有一些各不相同的小鱼疗温泉。