Early Citizen Science Action in Ethnobotany: The Case of the Folk Medicine Collection of Dr. Mihkel Ostrov in the Territory of Present-Day Estonia, 1891–1893

Presently, collecting data through citizen science (CS) is increasingly being used in botanical, zoological and other studies. However, until now, ethnobotanical studies have underused CS data collection methods. This study analyses the results of the appeal organized by the physician Dr. Mihkel Ostrov (1863–1940), which can be considered the first-ever internationally known systematic example of ethnopharmacological data collection involving citizens. We aim to understand what factors enhanced or diminished the success of the collaboration between Ostrov and the citizens of that time. The reliability of Ostrov’s collection was enhanced by the herbarium specimens (now missing) used in the identification of vernacular names. The collection describes the use of 65 species from 27 genera. The timing of its collection coincided with not only a national awakening and recently obtained high level of literacy but also the activation of civil society, people’s awareness of the need to collect folklore, the voluntary willingness of newspapers to provide publishing space and later to collect data, and the use of a survey method focusing on a narrow topic. While Ostrov’s only means of communication with the public was through newspapers, today, with electronic options, social media can also be used

Codified Tranquility : Ritual and Communitas in the Japanese Way of Tea

This thesis is an ethnographic study of chadō, the Japanese way of Tea, with particular focus on the social and communal aspects present in a formal Tea event, a chaji. Perhaps as a result of the closed nature of the Japanese way of Tea (an invitation from the host is required in order to take part in a chaji) previous studies of the subject in English have confined themselves primarily to the aesthetic or artistic nature of chadō. In contrast, this study emphasizes the ritual and symbolic aspects of a chaji, examining Tea (the term used to describe chadō within the study), as a transition ritual, the ultimate goal of which is enlightenment or tranquillity. Through a comprehensive analysis of Tea and its practice, the findings of this study suggest that a special social-sphere is created during a chaji, a sphere which in turn fosters a sense of shared community between the participants. As a result of the ritual practice and the manifestation of symbolic communication within a chaji, shared values of respect and harmony are affirmed and renewed among the community. The initial fieldwork for this study was conducted over a period of three months in Kyōto Japan, based on participant observation at the Urasenke school of Tea as well as through conducting interviews with some of the school’s students. This first-hand observation and research was then filtered through the lens of transition rituals as defined by the classic study Rite de passage of Van Gennep and Victor Turner’s conceptualization of society and rituals. In linking the data to these theoretical frameworks, the findings show that in participating in a chaji, Tea practitioners are able to leave the mundane world behind them, moving through a phase of symbolic cleansing, and into the sacred or spiritual realm of Tea. This transition occurs in three distinct phases which Van Gennep defines as separation, transition, and incorporation. The study argues that it is possible to view a sense of shared community among chaji practitioners as taking place not within the realm of structured society, but rather in its margins. As such, the individual participant of a chaji is no longer defined by his or her status or role in society at large; when participating in a chaji, the Tea practitioner is sharing in a 'once in a lifetime' experience of shared communal harmony. The findings also suggest that through its focus on traditional Japanese art forms (ceramics, calligraphy, flower arrangement), Tea operates as a mechanism to create a communal experience with a shared value system. Although chadō is defined by its adherents as being quintessentially Japanese, this study makes comparisons to other consumption rituals in which a communal feeling is achieved among the participants

Premotor cortex in observing erroneous action: An fMRI study

The lateral premotor cortex (PMC) is involved during action observation in monkeys and humans, reflecting a matching process between observed actions and their corresponding motor schemata. In the present study, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to investigate if paying attention to the two observable action components, objects and movements, modulates premotor activation during the observation of actions. Participants were asked to classify presented movies as showing correct actions, erroneous actions, or senseless movements. Erroneous actions were incorrect either with regard to employed objects, or to performed movements. The experiment yielded two major results: (1) The ventrolateral premotor cortex (vPMC) and the anterior part of the intraparietal sulcus (aIPS) are strongly activated during the observation of actions in humans. Premotor activation was dominantly located within Brodmann Area (BA) 6, and sometimes extended into BA 44. (2) The presentation of object errors and movements errors allowed to disentangle brain activations corresponding to the analysis of movements and objects in observed actions. Left premotor areas were more involved in the analysis of objects, whereas right premotor areas were dominant in the analysis of movements. It is suggested that the analysis of categorical information, like objects, and that of coordinate information, like movements, are pronounced in different hemispheres

The Wellesley News (12-02-1937)

https://repository.wellesley.edu/news/2143/thumbnail.jp

The European Digital Kitchen Project

This article reports on the European Digital Kitchen, an EU-funded language learning project which promotes learning of languages, cultures and cuisines in digital interactive kitchens. The project involves taking a normal kitchen and specifically adapting it for language learning using the next generation of digital technology, namely activity recognition and sensor technology. We intend that learners will be able to learn aspects of the language whilst performing a meaningful real-world task and will simultaneously experience the cultural aspect of learning to cook a foreign dish. The article starts by outlining the project background, including rationale, motivation and aims. We then explain in detail how the technology works (using photographs) and outline our design methodology, which blends Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT) and Human-Computer Interaction (HCI). We then present 3 extracts of Digital Kitchen interaction to illustrate the type of learning which takes place.Cet article rend compte de la 'European Digital Kitchen', un projet d'apprentissage de la langue financé par l'UE qui favorise l'apprentissage des langues, des cultures et des cuisines dans les cuisines interactifs digitales. Le projet consiste à prendre une cuisine normale et l'adapter spécifiquement pour l'apprentissage des langues à l'aide de la prochaine génération de la technologie digitale, à savoir la reconnaissance de l'activité et de la technologie de capteur. Nous avons l'intention que les apprenants seront en mesure d'apprendre les aspects de la langue tout en effectuant une tâche utile dans le monde réel et auront simultanément l'expérience de l'aspect culturel d'apprendre à cuisiner un plat étrangère.Dieser Artikel berichtet über die 'European Digital Kitchen', ein EU-geförderten Sprachlernprojekt , das Lernen von Sprachen, Kulturen und Küchen in digitalen interaktiven Küchen fördert . Das Projekt modifiziert eine normale Küche speziell für Sprachlern mit der nächsten Generation der digitalen Technologie, nämlich Aktivitätserkennung und Sensortechnik. Wir wollen , dass die Lernenden in der Lage sind , Aspekte der Sprache lernen, während der Durchführung eine sinnvolle reale Aufgabe und gleichzeitig erleben sie den kulturellen Aspekt des Lernens, indem sie eine ausländische Gericht kochen

Early Citizen Science Action in Ethnobotany: The Case of the Folk Medicine Collection of Dr. Mihkel Ostrov in the Territory of Present-Day Estonia, 1891–1893

Presently, collecting data through citizen science (CS) is increasingly being used in botanical, zoological and other studies. However, until now, ethnobotanical studies have underused CS data collection methods. This study analyses the results of the appeal organized by the physician Dr. Mihkel Ostrov (1863–1940), which can be considered the first-ever internationally known systematic example of ethnopharmacological data collection involving citizens. We aim to understand what factors enhanced or diminished the success of the collaboration between Ostrov and the citizens of that time. The reliability of Ostrov’s collection was enhanced by the herbarium specimens (now missing) used in the identification of vernacular names. The collection describes the use of 65 species from 27 genera. The timing of its collection coincided with not only a national awakening and recently obtained high level of literacy but also the activation of civil society, people’s awareness of the need to collect folklore, the voluntary willingness of newspapers to provide publishing space and later to collect data, and the use of a survey method focusing on a narrow topic. While Ostrov’s only means of communication with the public was through newspapers, today, with electronic options, social media can also be used

Daily Eastern News: November 02, 1937

https://thekeep.eiu.edu/den_1937_nov/1000/thumbnail.jp

Daily Eastern News: November 02, 1937

https://thekeep.eiu.edu/den_1937_nov/1000/thumbnail.jp