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Dendrochronological report

Dendrochronological research project

The year in which the research stored in https://dataverse.nl/dataverse/stichtingring took place, from 1985 onwards can be found in the report number, with for example ‘P:1997001’ implying that this particular study took place in 1997. Interpretations of the most likely wood provenance and estimations of the number of missing sapwood rings, if included in the original research report, are based on the knowledge at the time and may be subject to later refinement. Dendrochronological research project. The measurement series on which the results are based at present are unavailable.

In visual narratives like comics, not only do comprehenders need to track shifts in characters, space, and time, but they do so across a spatial layout. While many scholars and comic artists have speculated about connections between meaning and layout in comics, few empirical studies have examined this relationship. We investigated whether situational changes between time, characters, or space interacted with page layouts, by looking at across-page, across-constituent, and within-constituent transitions in a corpus of 134 annotated comics from North America, Europe, and Asia. Panels shifting within constituents (e.g., while moving within a row) changed the situation the least, while those across pages and across constituents (like in a row break) had more situational changes. The boundary of a page especially aligned with changes in spatial location of the scene. In addition, discontinuous changes primarily aligned with across-page transitions. Cross-cultural analyses indicated that Asian comics convey meaning across panels in ways that are relatively less constrained by layouts, while American and European comics use the page as a unit to group and segment spatial information. Such results indicate a partial correspondence between layout and meaning, but with different cultural constraints.

Prominent theories of the evolution of human musicality have argued for the importance of collective, synchronous music-making, e.g., in social bonding or in advertising coalition strength to other groups (e.g., Savage et al., in press, Mehr et al., in press, Behavioral and Brain Sciences.) Yet these theories have not addressed the fact that there are traditional cultures (including hunter-gatherer groups) where this type of musical behavior is rare or absent, and in which music-making is primarily a solo behavior. Why is collective, synchronous music prominent in some cultures but largely absent in others? We recently offered three hypotheses to account for this variation (Patel & Von Reuden, in press, Behavioral & Brain Sciences): 1) Music-making is less likely to be collective where there is less collective action in general; 2) Music-making is less likely to be collective where it is a principal means of conveying expert knowledge or individual accomplishment; 3) The adoption of certain musical styles (e.g., timbre-based music) can constrain subsequent adoption of collective music-making. We have begun gathering information on cultures that emphasize solo music-making in order to test these hypotheses. This presentation will focus on methodological issues which need to be addressed in coding these data, including the challenge of categorizing different types of collectivity in music-making, as there are numerous types of coordination between individuals during musical activities across traditional cultures.

Gene drive is an emerging biotechnology with applications in global health, conservation and agriculture. Scientists are preparing for field trials, triggering debate about when and how to release gene-drive organisms. These decisions depend on public understandings of gene drive, which are shaped by language. While some studies on gene drive communication assume the need to persuade publics of expert definitions of gene drive, we highlight the importance of meaning-making in communication and engagement. We conducted focus groups with humanities and science teachers in the United Kingdom and United States to explore how different media framings stimulated discussions of gene drive. We found diversity in the value of these framings for public debate. Interestingly, the definition favoured by gene drive scientists was the least popular among participants. Rather than carefully curating language, we need opportunities for publics to make sense and negotiate the meanings of a technology on their own terms.

Bij werkzaamheden langs de voormalige Zuiderzeedijken (thans Markermeerdijken) zijn resten van beschoeiingen en een sluis aangetroffen. De beschoeiingen bestaat uit zware, naast elkaar geplaatste naaldhouten palen. Hierbij gaat het overwegend om grove den (Pinus sylvestris L.) sporadisch om fijnspar (Picea abies Karst.) en een enkele maal eik (Quercus sp.). Voor de sluis zijn de gebruikelijke bouwhoutsoorten gebruikt, namelijk eik en grove den. Ongebruikelijker is het gebruik van beuken (Fagus sylvatica L.) planken in de vloer van de sluis. De oudst delen van de dijkbeschoeiingen stammen uit het begin van de 17e eeuw, rond 1625. Tot 1635 wordt een groot aantal palen geplaatst. In de jaren ’40 van de 17e eeuw wordt op bescheiden schaal aan de dijken gewerkt. Dit is ook te zien tussen het eind van de 17e eeuw en het eerste kwart van de 18e eeuw. Tenslotte lijkt er in het interval tussen c. 1736 en 1742 weer intensiever aan de dijken gewerkt te zijn. De dateringen van de sluis vallen in de 16e en 17e eeuw, maar lijken allemaal bij de kapintervallen in de herfst of winter van 1666/67 te horen.

Dendrochronological research project

The present study focuses on memory work in school textbook illustrations of the Finnish Civil War (1918). A thematic narrative analysis shows how the content and meanings conveyed through visual narratives have developed in the past century. Besides changes in specific narrative, the interpretation of the functions of themes shows a gradual change in the schematic narrative template: the hegemonic, victor’s narrative has been gradually replaced with alternative accounts since the 1950s. The defeated side has been represented in school textbooks since the 1950s, and since the 1990s, the narrative has evolved from pointing out the similarities between the two sides to arousing emotions of sympathy for the victims of the War. Since the 2000s, visual images have been used to highlight multi-perspectivity in history. This study shows how the cultural trauma and reconciliation process has been conveyed in educational material and how the narrative templates may dynamically change.

Dendrochronological report