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This article studies the appropriation of Anglican choral evensong, and more specifically, dress at choral evensong, in the Netherlands outside the context of the Anglican Church to gain more insight into religiosity in the Netherlands. The authors explore the dress worn at choral evensong in the Netherlands and the meanings participants attribute to it. The concepts of denotational and connotational meanings are used as an analytical tool. In analysing their interviews, the authors came across three categories of meaning and function participants attribute to dress at choral evensong. The first category was the reference to ‘England as a model’. By wearing Anglican dress, choirs indicate they belong to the high-quality sound group of English cathedral choirs. At the same time, by changing the Anglican ‘dress code’, choirs emphasise their unicity and individuality, independent of church traditions. The second category was the marking of identity: choirs copy the dress from the English tradition, but add some elements to mark their own identity. Besides this marking of identity, aspects of unicity, uniformity, group identity, and gender-marking also play a part. The third category was metamorphosis and transcendence. Choir members refer to unarticulated transcendental experiences by wearing ritual liturgical dress. On the one hand the authors noted a ‘cathedralisation’ or ‘ceremonialisation’ of the singers’ dress, and on the other a de-institutionalisation, for example, in the dress of the minister, if present. The article’s main conclusion is that the fieldwork data reveal that dress at choral evensong in the Netherlands points to changing religiosity at two different levels. First, the authors observe a transformation in the way religion is expressed or ritualised in Reformed Protestant churches in the Netherlands. The popularity of evensong suggests a longing for other forms of worship, with a focus on ceremonies and Anglican-like vesture for the singers. Second, they observe a mix of concert practices and Anglican-like rituals, which the interviewees in our research refer to as a new form of religiosity. In both practices the traditional dress of the Anglican Church is used, whether copied exactly or adapted. A new phenomenon may be observed: choirs wear Anglican-like vesture decoupled from the Anglican Church as they are longing for transcendental experiences which they find in the musical-ritual form and high musical quality of choral evensong.

En este artículo se exploran las formas en que la sociedad holandesa ha afrontado la muerte desde la llegada de la pandemia COVID-19. A partir de un dossier con artículos de prensa, tuits, posts de Facebook, libros, historias en línea y entrevistas, se trazan los patrones culturales o las llamadas mentalidades en torno a la muerte. El marco teórico se basa tanto en las propuestas de Philippe Ariès como en las de Michael H. Jacobsen sobre las diferentes formas de enfrentarse a la muerte. Estos patrones culturales se refieren tanto a las ideas como a las prácticas. Una conclusión provisional es que, por un lado, existe una negación de la muerte; por otro, los cambios rituales indican una protesta contra la muerte causada por el coronavirus.

Plastic particles are ubiquitous pollutants in the living environment and food chain but no study to date has reported on the internal exposure of plastic particles in human blood. This study’s goal was to develop a robust and sensitive sampling and analytical method with double shot pyrolysis - gas chromatography/mass spectrometry and apply it to measure plastic particles ≥700 nm in human whole blood from 22 healthy volunteers. Four high production volume polymers applied in plastic were identified and quantified for the first time in blood. Polyethylene terephthalate, polyethylene and polymers of styrene (a sum parameter of polystyrene, expanded polystyrene, acetonitrile butadiene styrene etc.) were the most widely encountered, followed by poly(methyl methacrylate). Polypropylene was analysed but values were under the limits of quantification. In this study of a small set of donors, the mean of the sum quantifiable concentration of plastic particles in blood was 1.6 µg/ml, showing a first measurement of the mass concentration of the polymeric component of plastic in human blood. This pioneering human biomonitoring study demonstrated that plastic particles are bioavailable for uptake into the human bloodstream. An understanding of the exposure of these substances in humans and the associated hazard of such exposure is needed to determine whether or not plastic particle exposure is a public health risk.

Over the last century, Europe and the world have witnessed two world wars, civil wars, terrorist attacks, and abuse of power both by dictatorial regimes and in various institutional settings, all leading to serious violations of human rights. Today we continue to see the effects of such violations affecting large numbers of people. This special issue of Oñati Socio-Legal Series is about commemorative practices and their role in post-conflict societies regarding processes of social reconstruction and transitional justice. It also considers current alternatives and complementary systems of justice, like restorative justice and transformative justice to face mass-victimisation. Through practices of memorialization victimhood is defined, constructed, acknowledged or neglected. Their materialisation is often a result of negotiated outcomes involving a number of actors, legislation and institutions. By presenting case studies, the authors hope to enhance practices of memorialization and to critically contribute to the transitional or transformative justice agenda.

In this article I explore the way people have dealt with death during the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on a file with newspaper articles, tweets, Facebook posts, books, online stories and interviews I trace cultural patterns or so-called death mentalities, with a focus on the situation in the Netherlands. The theoretical framework is based on both Ariès’ and Jacobsen’s characteristics of different ways of dealing with death. These cultural patterns concern both ideas and practices. A tentative conclusion is that on the one hand there is denial of death, on the other hand the ritual changes indicate a protest against death by corona.

In February 2017, an exhibition was opened in Srebrenica (Bosnia and Herzegovina) telling the story of the Bosnian war (1992-1995) and the Srebrenica genocide (1995). In this article we describe how the exhibition was designed and we reflect on the impact of the exhibition on the processes of restorative justice and social reconstruction. Leading question is: Does the exhibition successfully construct a shared sense of truth about the Srebrenica genocide? This evaluative question demands insight in the concept of truth and, more specific, in the debate about plural truths and multiple narratives.