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Assistive technologies (AT) perform an important social role, interacting with cultural systems to produce or hinder accessibility to biosocial environments. This interaction profoundly shapes not only how an individual body can be experienced by users but also produce and hinder accessibility to biosocial environments. AT users have historically been viewed through a medical model, which deems them disabled by their impairments and by dominant ableist narratives. Therefore, this paper serves to provide an insight into the importance of ageing with and into AT. This paper aims to investigate polio survivors' and diabetic amputees' experiences of assistive technologies in order to better understand impacts upon narrative and identity. By applying an anthropological and sociological lens, a holistic view of the experiences of polio survivor and amputee AT users is developed. This paper draws on 16 in-depth interviews with polio survivors and diabetic amputees in the United States (US) and Australia, which were analysed using an experience-centered narrative approach. Both projects were approved by ethics boards. All participants provided written consent. Five themes were identified: a) disruption to biographies, which reflected AT impact on how narratives become altered; b) impacts to autonomy, which reflected the importance of regaining previous daily activities; c) re-engaging with community life, which highlighted how AT supported participation in valued activities; d) self-perceptions of assistive technologies, which act in opposition to external perspectives and challenge ableist narratives; and e) an intergenerational comparison of new and older AT users highlights the importance of temporalities. This paper offers new perspectives on ageing with assistive technologies, with a focus on identity and narrative. The importance of this paper is to contribute to the existing literature that demonstrates the cultural implications that arise through embodiment and assistive technologies. The use of assistive technology can help individuals regain function, but the individual circumstances require consideration The use of assistive technology is a complex entanglement of bodies, environments, biographies, and imagined futures. The use of assistive technology can provide participants autonomy over their narratives and assist with maintaining their identities [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diplomat, Egyptologist, writer and historian, Eduard Toda is remembered as the man who rescued the Algherese dialect of Catalan from oblivion and who helped rebuild the monastery libraries of Escornalbou and Poblet. On the occasion of the seventy-fifth anniversary of his death, this paper reviews Toda’s book collecting activities, his general love of books and his outstanding work as a benefactor of libraries, which together contributed to enriching our country’s book heritage. The paper then turns to Toda’s relationship with the school for librarians the Escola de Bibliotecàries, which was founded thanks to his donation of a number of book collections to the Library of Catalonia. As recorded in the archives of the old Escola, this relationship was based on a number of different activities: Toda’s trips to Escornalbou, which also provided an opportunity for cultural study; his organization of periods of residence for student librarians at Poblet to help rebuild the monastery’s library; his creation of classes in book restoration in degree courses in librarianship; and the creation of a workshop for restoring library materials, which for many decades helped to link the Escola and the Library of Catalonia. Finally, as the article shows, Toda’s ties with the Escola de Bibliotecàries were reinforced by the mutual affection existing between him and the school as well as by the activities he organized with its students, which gave the school its singular nature as a place of study during the 1930s. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the early modern period, Persian scholars deliberated on the complexities in the Islamic doctrines in distinct ways. Several Sufis and scholars engaged in intellectual debates regarding ideal Muslim conduct. This paper focuses on 'Abd al-Haqq Muhaddis Dehlawi (1551–1642)—a polymath with specialised training in the Ḥadīs̤ and Sufism—to situate his ideas within the larger intellectual discourse about Islam in South Asia. On account of his training and scholastic approach, an a priori label of orthodoxy and revivalism is associated with 'Abd al-Haqq. However, his letters to Mughal courtiers and his Sufi taz̠kirāt showcase his complex pedagogy as a scholar of Islamic praxis and Sufism. This paper delineates his lucid approach in underlining Islamic tenets and the history of the Sufis in South Asia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Political elite studies so far have often dealt with career paths before entering a particular political position, focusing mostly on individual states of a career. However, they have consistently neglected what comes after a political office and the temporal–sequential character of biographies. This paper addresses these two issues. Using sequence analysis techniques, it examines the post-cabinet careers of ministers from the German states in the period 1945–2014 using a newly created, original dataset containing 1400 trajectories and over 12,000 coded person years. The descriptive analysis shows partly significant differences in post-cabinet careers by gender, state, decade, and last ministerial portfolio, but less so by party membership. Three of the five clusters found represent comparatively homogeneous post-cabinet career structures. Whereas in the early years of the republic most politicians did not have a subsequent (long) professional career after leaving office, switching to the private business sector and, above all, remaining in politics at the state level, represent the two most prominent career paths. A springboard career in federal politics, on the other hand, is rare, but certainly possible. From a methodological point of view, this study shows the potential, but also the problems of sequence analysis for research on political elites and offers ideas on how to continue with this approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on coexistence and urban diversity (notably in the United Kingdom, Australia, Malaysia and Singapore) has demonstrated the ways individuals of diverse backgrounds routinely manage differences and interact meaningfully in multicultural societies, drawing on shared cultural knowledge and habits. This paper argues for a deeper exploration of societies where intercultural know-how is more limited and the capacity to negotiate difference has not been inculcated. This description fits several Southeast Asian societies wherein the politics of majority-minority is a dominant feature. This article investigates the possibilities of familiarity and friendship in a multiethnic town in southern Laos where the predominant ideology towards cultural diversity has been one of assimilation. In doing so, the paper reveals ways of creating a sense of belonging and community other than the practices of cultural accommodation. These processes draw on competences and dispositions which individuals have acquired through their mobility, producing a sense of togetherness, albeit contingent and fragmented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a model for a dynamic and constructivist perspective on generations. To study synchronous, contemporary interrelations between technology, media and generations, many different methodologies are available. Yet many historical, diachronic studies are marred by flaws and ambiguities in their use of 'generation' as a concept. To counter those problems, this paper argues for a process-oriented approach of generations – one which is modelled after Bolter and Grusin's remediation. By distinguishing three mechanisms – immediate generation, immediate regeneration and hypermediate regeneration – the model of regeneration is linked to three theoretical concerns: the long-standing dilemmas in the sociological study of generations, the controversy around technological determinism in technology studies and contemporary challenges in research of ageing and youth cultures. The feasibility of the regeneration approach is elucidated by applying it to toys, especially educational toys. This paper also provides a methodology for the historical study of generations interacting with media and technology by recommending the combined use of three types of biographies as source materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present paper is a review of Pasión por la historia antigua. De Gibbon a nuestros días, a collective book edited by A. Duplá, Ch. Núñez y G. Reimond. I present each chapter of it, dedicated to a distinguished figure in the historiography of ancient history from the eighteenth century to the present days. I propose a series of reflections for each one of them and for the book as a hole. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For many Muslim South African antiapartheid activists, a renewed understanding of religion in the form of Islamist ideology provided purpose, perseverance, and direction. Becoming part of a collective shaped and informed their public engagement with religion. This paper shows how they used religious discourse to navigate the complexities and ambiguities within their private domains while embarking on an Islamist journey. By suggesting that South African Islamism can best be viewed as the sum of a multitude of journeys of everyday political Islam, this paper argues for an approach that examines a long-term narrative, takes heed of perfectionist ideals, and remains cognizant of everyday realities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a short biography and brief review of contributions of professor Mirjana Vukićević-Karabin to the development of astrophysics education at the University of Belgrade and to the research in physics of the Earth ionosphere and the Sun. The bibliography of her papers is given as well. We hope that the review of the two aspects of her work will elucidate her important role in the development of astrophysics in our country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given that the expectation of the British Educational Research Association Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy Special Interest Group Scholar Lecture is to position yourself throughout the paper, I will start with sharing my academic/career biography, acknowledging that our biographies are inextricably linked to our work and life practices. I will then briefly consider sport pedagogy (SP) as an entity and what we mean by SP, before exploring apprenticeship, academia and administration. It is my intention to provide an honest expression of (i) how I have grown and continue to grow in different phases, (ii) the purpose of each phase in my development and (iii) the related implications that arise for me as a SP scholar and colleague. My focus is on the power we, as individuals and as a community, have to (i) entice and encourage individuals into the area of SP, (ii) to mentor them as they develop as scholars, (iii) to learn from and with them and (iv) to prepare them to become confident, informed and caring individuals with a continued passion for the field. In turn, those individuals who have experienced such a pathway then take on the mantle of starting the process again by enticing and encouraging new individuals into SP. This is very much a thread throughout the paper as I draw on personal experiences from my career as a researcher, teacher educator/academic and administrator, aligned with the concepts of apprenticeship, academia and administration. I draw predominantly on my time as a physical education teacher educator for the past 13 years in the same Irish university setting. My aim throughout the paper is to prompt you to consider your own academic/career development, what ‘phase(s)’ you have/are experiencing and the academic/learning groups you are connected to. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

We aim to investigate the counting response variations of positron emission tomography (PET) scanners with different detector configurations in the presence of solitary pulmonary nodule (SPN). Using experimentally validated Monte Carlo simulations, the counting performance of four different scanner models with varying tumor activity, location, and patient obesity is represented using a noise equivalent count rate (NECR). NECR is a well-established quantitative metric which has positive correlation with clinically perceived image quality. The combined effect of tumor displacement and increased activity shows a linear ascending trend for NECR with slope ranges of (12.5–18.2)*10−3 (kBq/cm3)−1 for three-ring (3R) scanners and (15.3–21.5)*10−3 (kBq/cm3)−1 for four-ring (4R). The trend for the combined effect of tumor displacement and patient obesity is exponential decay with 3R configurations weakly dependent on the patient obesity if the tumor is located at the center of the field of view with exponent’s range of (6.6–33.8)*10−2cm−1. The dependence is stronger for 4R scanners (9.6–38.5)*10−2cm−1. The analysis indicates that quantitative PET data from the same SPN patient possibly examined in different time points (e.g., during staging or for the evaluation of treatment response) are affected by the different detector configurations and need to be normalized with patient weight, activity, and tumor location to reduce unwanted bias of the diagnosis. This paper provides also with a proof of concept for the ability of properly tuned simulations to provide additional insights into the counting response variability especially in tumor types where often borderline decisions have to be made regarding their characterization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

State and international entities can have profound effects on the development of a country's nursing profession. Through a global health governance lens, this paper explores the development of nursing in Brazil during the early twentieth century, and its intersections with national and international interests. Accordingly, we will show how state policies established an environment that fostered the institutionalization of nursing as a profession in Brazil and supported it as a means to increase the presence of females in nation building processes. The State focused on recruiting elite women for nursing, in part due to the Rockefeller Foundation's involvement in the country. Nurses who worked for Rockefeller came from well-educated classes within US society with specific ideas about who should be a nurse and the roles of nurses in a healthcare system. These women served as the primary vehicles for interacting with Brazilian health authorities responsible for health system development. Their early efforts did not, however, ensure a system capable of producing nursing human resources at a rate that, in present day Brazil, could meet the health needs of the country. Findings from this paper offer new avenues for historians to explore the early roots of professional nursing through a global health governance lens, improve the understanding of the intersection between international politics and professionalization, and highlight how these factors may impact nursing human resources production in the long term. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A lack of esteem for teachers and the teaching profession is a central tenet underpinning policy reforms put forward by the 2010 UK Government White Paper ‘The Importance of Teaching’. This article argues that the policy problem and solutions presented in the White Paper lack awareness of the historical and social positioning of teaching. Drawing on in-depth interviews with 32 London-based secondary teacher training students from various social class and ethnic backgrounds, this paper asks how the profession is perceived and what sort of choice it is for the trainees. It employs a Bourdieusian lens and concepts of social and cultural capital to examine the interplay of gendered, classed and ‘raced’ biographies in relation to individuals’ decisions to become teachers. Understanding the social world as ‘accumulated history’, as Bourdieu does, stresses that experiences and outcomes are rooted and collected in a series of historical structures and functionings. The paper argues that the ambiguous status of the profession is both a function and an effect of its conceptualisation as feminised. It also asks whether the weak professional standing of teaching has further destabilising consequences in the present political moment where a string of neoliberal and neoconservative policy reforms reshape the profession. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The background of this paper is the biographical relationship between the Menga dolmen and La Peña de los Enamorados mountain (a conspicuous and highly-recognisable natural formation), both part of the Antequera megalithic landscape. Our main aim is to provide a high-resolution characterisation of the Matacabras rock art shelter, located on the northern side of La Peña de los Enamorados. This is achieved through a photogrammetric topographic survey, a detailed assessment of the graphic motifs identified through the use of digital image processing and various types of physical and chemical analysis, a geo-chemical characterisation of pottery found on its surface, and a comparative stylistic analysis of its motifs. Our study suggests that Matacabras (and the site of Piedras Blancas I, located just below it), played an important role in the genesis of Menga, which perhaps makes it the most important rock art location of Spanish Late Prehistory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is aimed, firstly, at suggesting the need for in-training Primary Education Teachers to build up general knowledge about science structuring contents as well as history of science from a gender perspective. This training in science should help students to analyse the relationships between science-technology and gendersociety throughout history and at present. Secondly, a qualitative research carried out about a proposal developed by Science Didactics students of the Degree in Primary Education in the University of Granada about biographies of female scientists is described. Finally, the results of the research are presented, all leading to some key ideas on how to introduce the gender approach in the teaching of science. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The following paper is a result of a dialogue initiated between the course Anthropology of the Uterus and the literary work "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" written by the journalist Rebecca Skloot. In the midst of the corporeal and metaphorical discussions about uteruses and the wider topic of health, we explore several discussions about race, body, morality and science. As a means of presenting such immersion, I relied on the book which tells the story of Henrietta Lacks and her family's journey, searching for truths about the cells removed from Henrietta's uterus. The cells extracted, without her consent, were kept alive and became protagonists in the revolution of medical technologies of the XXth century. Hence, HeLa cells were born, propelling a multibillion-dollar biomedical industry. But the history of the Lacks family, intensely shaped by the tragedy of the loosing their mother, was silenced and caught at the service of an inhuman, racist and market driven medical ethics. I seek to present analysis an that articulates the ethical path of the cells, recounting the context in which they were extracted and the trajectory of the Lacks family, in search of clarifications and recognition for their contributions to medical science. The narrative aims to open up new horizons that converse with the pulsating universe of the uterus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the centrality of teacher professional learning in efforts to raise student attainment, little is known about how learning is experienced by individual teachers. This paper uses narrative approaches to explore the professional life history of a mathematics teacher who began teaching in England in the late 1990s. The significance of context is revealed, the inspection regime emerging as a powerful force, shaping professional identity and restricting opportunities for collaboration. Such professional life narratives are a rich resource for biographical work, offering a means to better understand the broader socio-political processes affecting teachers’ lives, a crucial step in increasing autonomy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we use clothes as a tool for exploring the life stories and narratives of people with dementia, eliciting memories through the sensory and material dimensions of dress. The article draws on an Economic and Social Research Council-funded study, ‘Dementia and Dress’, which explored everyday experiences of clothing for carers, care workers and people with dementia, using qualitative and ethnographic methods including: ‘wardrobe interviews’, observations, and visual and sensory approaches. In our analysis, we use three dimensions of dress as a device for exploring the experiences of people with dementia: kept clothes, as a way of retaining connections to memories and identity; discarded clothes, and their implications for understanding change and loss in relation to the ‘dementia journey’; and absent clothes, invoked through the sensory imagination, recalling images of former selves, and carrying identity forward into the context of care. The article contributes to understandings of narrative, identity and dementia, drawing attention to the potential of material objects for evoking narratives, and maintaining biographical continuity for both men and women. The paper has larger implications for understandings of ageing and care practice; as well as contributing to the wider Material Turn in gerontology, showing how cultural analyses can be applied even to frail older groups who are often excluded from such approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The paper features short presentations of personalities such as botanist August Kanitz, bishop and historian Friedrich Teutsch, historian Viktor Roth, philologist Gustav Oswald Kisch, entomologist Wilhelm Karl W. Knechtel, composer and musicologist Wilhelm Georg Berger, scientist Hermann Oberth, historian and architect Paul Niedermaier, etc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In , the biography for Maryam Eilchi should have read as follows: Maryam Eilchi received the Ph.D. degree in laser physics from the Amirkabir University of Technology, Tehran, Iran. In 2015, she joined the Nuclear Science And Technology Research Institute, as an Assistant Professor. She has been working on fiber lasers and amplifiers, laser fusion, and laser accelerators. She has authored and co-authored several papers in refereed journals and international conferences, and holds two chapters in the book FiberLaser (InTechOpen). Her current research focuses on quantum optics and quantum information. She is currently a Juror of Elsevier journals and the Journal of Optoelectronical Nanostructures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prolific, yet neglected inventor Andrew Vasily Haeff (1905-1990) made numerous contributions to vacuum tube art, including the traveling wave tube, the inductive-output tube, the electron-wave tube (or "double-stream" amplifier), the resistive wall tube, and many others. Haeff's contributions to computing history include his pioneering computer monitor technology, his high-speed electrostatic computer memory tube, and his early work in the display and storage of text and graphics. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]