Social mapping and environmental education: dialogues from participatory mapping in the Pantanal,Mato Grosso,Brazil

Abstract

This article illustrates the steps taken to enact a new methodology for participatory social mapping by the Environmental Education, Communications and the Arts (GPEA) Research Group of the Federal University of Mato Grosso (UFMT). The aim of Social Mapping is to record the identities, territories and socio-environmental conflicts experienced by social groups, based on their own namings and narratives, rather than relying on those more typically generated or provided by researchers or theorists. As such, it offers an important dialogical pathway for environmental education practices, in that it highlights the intrinsic relationship between culture and nature, and reinforces the understanding that the loss of one implies the disappearance of the other.     

人生教我的20个功课

为了庆祝变得更老（下个月我这把老骨头就90岁了）：我写下人生教我的一些功课。这是我写过的最叫座的专栏。1．人生是不公平的,但还是好得很。2．怀疑的时候,为未来踏出一小步。3．人生太短,短到来不及浪费时间去恨任何一个人。4．生病的时候,你的工作不会照顾你,你的朋友和父母才会和你保持联络。5．每个月付清你的账单。6．你不需要每一次都吵赢,同意你原本不同意的。7．找人一起哭,这要比独自啜泣更能治疗伤痛。8．对上帝生气没有关系,他受得了。     

Digital preservation of Brazilian indigenous artworks: Generating high quality textures for 3D models

Three-dimensional (3D) digital preservation aims at generating 3D models of objects that have cultural or scientific value. It allows realistic visualization of objects through virtual museums or scientific applications, and the restoration of the preserved object in case of natural wear or accidents. This work contributes to this research area by presenting a method to improve color texture quality of 3D models obtained from color and depth images of a laser scanner. Although this device offers precise depth information, the resulting color information is still poor and limits the generation of realistic textures. Our approach is to capture photographs of the object with a high-resolution digital camera and use them to generate a new color texture for the 3D model. Our work proposes a practical technique, easy to replicate, to generate high quality textures for 3D models from photographs. The method is composed by three main steps: (1) calibration of the image acquisition devices; (2) data acquisition; and (3) texture generation. In this paper, we detail our color texture generation method and apply it on the digital preservation of many artworks made by native Brazilians (indians) from the Wauja and Karaja communities. These indigenous communities are acknowledged as great ceramic artists, each bearing their own main themes, using a very rich symbolism in their paintings. Their artworks represent important aspects of the native South American culture and their digital preservation is motivated by three main reasons: (1) their fragility; (2) the paintings loose their original appearance with time; and (3) the possibility of extinction of these communities. We present several results of preserved artworks with enhanced quality realistic texture maps. Also, we present a methodology to analyze the quality and accuracy of texture maps. The resulting 3D models can be visualized through a tool we developed to support the virtual exhibit of 3D preserved heritage.     

3D preserving xviii century barroque masterpiece: Challenges and results on the digital preservation of Aleijadinho's sculpture of the Prophet Joel

We present our recent efforts in the digital preservation of a set of baroque sculptures made by Antônio Francisco Lisboa, known as O. Aleijadinho, which is an important American baroque artist. The set was made in the beginning of the xix century and is composed of 12 near real sized sculptures, hand-carved in soapstone. These sculptures represent 12 of the 16 prophets from the Holy Bible and are part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Our group has been collaborating with UNESCO in a project that aims to preserve all these statues. We hereby present our initial efforts, consisting of the 3D digital preservation of the Prophet Joel sculpture. We developed a complete 3D digital preservation pipeline composed of four main stages: data acquisition, 3D reconstruction, texture generation and 3D model visualization. By evaluating our results in this first sculpture, we discuss the improvements we conceived before applying our pipeline in the remaining ones. Finally, we present the 3D model of the Prophet which registers the sculpture's current state and will be used in restoration, research and educational activities. We believe this contribution may be useful to guide further research on similar scenarios, showing how to avoid some practical mistakes and achieve good results.     

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder-Symptoms,Social Media Use Intensity,and Social Media Use Problems in Adolescents: Investigating Directionality

Cross-sectional research shows that adolescents’ social media use (SMU) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)-symptoms are related, but it is unclear whether this relation is explained by SMU intensity or by addiction-like SMU problems. Also, due to the lack of longitudinal studies, the direction of this relation remains unknown. This study aims to disentangle which type of SMU is related to ADHD-symptoms, and in which direction, using a three-wave longitudinal study among Dutch adolescents aged 11–15 years (n = 543). Findings suggest a unidirectional relation: SMU problems increased ADHD-symptoms over time, SMU intensity did not. This implies that problematic use, rather than the intensity of use harmfully affects adolescents’ ADHD-symptoms.     

Intellectual Property Rights in Computer Education: Legal,Societal, and Ethical Issues

Intellectual property rights related to computer usage in academia require precise definition. The Office of Technological Assessment has made great strides in this direction. States, universities, and professional organizations have dealt with the inherent complexities of the problem. Legal cases have tested current laws. Attorneys have made clear distinctions between copyrights and patents related to intellectual property rights. Both EDU‐COM and ADAPSO have addressed societal and ethical issues in written documents. Business, industry, and professional organizations have been concerned, but society and especially educators must also address intellectual property rights. Copyright laws related to electronic media must be honored. Computer ethics and computer law should be included in current computer science courses. Academia has the responsibility to educate all those on campus as to appropriate ethical and legal behavior with respect to these issues. Academia cannot hide or ignore these problems.     

The Bibliophile Andrei Avinoff: Additional Information Regarding Soviet Book Sales of the Interwar Period (1917–1937)

This article concludes work started for a presentation on bibliophile Andrei Avinoff made at a symposium on Russian art and Russian studies in America in 2008 and for the 2009 book Treasures into Tractors. A member of the pre-Revolutionary Russian aristocracy, Andrei Avinoff, emigrated to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and managed to collect imperial association books and books on Russian art from some of the same dealers—Simeon Bolan and Israel Perlstein—who were supplying large research institutions such as the New York Public Library, the Library of Congress, and Harvard University Library with the same material.     

Pageant of the Tsars: The Romanov Coronation Albums

This essay and checklist document the exhibition Pageant of the Tsars: The Romanov Coronation Albums, held at Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens February 16–June 8, 2013. The exhibition focused on the history of the Romanovs through the lens of the coronation albums of the tsars. Based on the collection of five of the seven coronation albums held in the Hillwood library, the exhibition was supplemented with objects from the museum and library collections, loans from other institutions, and electronic versions of the albums available on iPads in the exhibition and via the iBooks store. The show marked the 400th anniversary of the founding of the Romanov dynasty in 1613.