Acteurs des transferts culturels en Méditerranée médiévale

Der Mittelmeerraum wies während des Mittelalters einen großen Reichtum an Transfer- und Austauschprozessen auf. Waren entsprechende Bedingungen (geographische Mobilität, eine kulturell grenzüberschreitende Lebenssituation oder ein entsprechendes Aktivitätsfeld etc.) gegeben, konnten Menschen zu Vermittlern von Kulturgütern werden, darunter Gesandte, Pilger, Seeleute, Händler, Schmuggler, Kriegsgefangene, Geiseln, Missionare, Ärzte, Gelehrte, Übersetzer, Dolmetscher, Bauleute, Söldner und viele andere mehr. Der Band bietet einen Überblick über verschiedene Milieus, Gruppen und Individuen, die auf jeweils unterschiedlich Art die Mobilität von Kulturgütern im mittelalterlichen Mediterraneum beförderten

Effect of PGPR and mixed cropping on mycorrhizal status, soil fertility, and date palm productivity under organic farming system

A field study was carried out for two years at an organic farm under arid climate in Morocco to investigate the effect of an integrated biofertilization approach on Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungal (AMF) abundance and infectivity, soil fertility, yield, and fruit quality of date palm. The biofertilization approach included three management practices namely application of compost, inoculation with a consortium of native PGPR strains originally isolated from date palms of Drâa-Tafilalet region (Pseudomonas koreensis, Serratia nematodiphila, S. marcescens, and Klebsiella sp.) and using mixed-cropping with sorghum. Accordingly, four treatments were established in this study: 1) mixed-cropping with sorghum, 2) PGPR inoculation, 3) sorghum + PGPR, and 4) control (without sorghum or PGPR). All treatments received compost as organic amendment. Results revealed that mixed-cropping with sorghum significantly increased AMF colonization intensity and spore density by more than 50% and 29%, respectively. Sorghum association also resulted in a significant increase in organic matter concentrations of up to 2.95% against 2.45% in monocropping soils. The integrated biofertilization approach resulted in the highest yield with an increase rate of 10.6% and 12.1% in the first and the second year, respectively compared to date palms receiving compost alone. Similarly, the mineral composition and quality characteristics of date fruits were significantly improved. The enhancement of soil fertility and date palm productivity under harsh environmental conditions represents a first step towards the adoption of sustainable practices in the region and in similar areas

Multi-ancestry genome-wide association analyses improve resolution of genes and pathways influencing lung function and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease risk

Lung-function impairment underlies chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and predicts mortality. In the largest multi-ancestry genome-wide association meta-analysis of lung function to date, comprising 580,869 participants, we identified 1,020 independent association signals implicating 559 genes supported by ≥2 criteria from a systematic variant-to-gene mapping framework. These genes were enriched in 29 pathways. Individual variants showed heterogeneity across ancestries, age and smoking groups, and collectively as a genetic risk score showed strong association with COPD across ancestry groups. We undertook phenome-wide association studies for selected associated variants as well as trait and pathway-specific genetic risk scores to infer possible consequences of intervening in pathways underlying lung function. We highlight new putative causal variants, genes, proteins and pathways, including those targeted by existing drugs. These findings bring us closer to understanding the mechanisms underlying lung function and COPD, and should inform functional genomics experiments and potentially future COPD therapies

Factors influencing teacher leadership: voices of public school teachers in Qatar

This quantitative study used Teacher Leadership Inventory (TLI)  to survey the views and perceptions of public (government-funded) school teachers on factors that influence teacher leadership in Qatar. The survey sample was 2,969 participants in public (government) schools in Qatar. The results revealed significant differences for TLI in four factors (sharing expertise, sharing leadership, supra-practitioner, and principal selection). Thus, whereas teachers’ qualification and nationality emerged as significant for sharing expertise, the leadership position and nationality were significant for sharing leadership. The results further revealed the significance of years of experience, gender, degree level, and nationality for supra-practitioner and leadership position, nationality, and years of experience for principal selection. The paper concludes with relevant recommendations for policy makers and educators and suggestions for further research to explore salient aspects of teacher leadership in further detail.Open Access funding provided by the Qatar National Library. This study is a modified version of the findings from the quantitative part of the first author’s doctoral dissertation submitted to the University of Warwick in 2019. Her deepest appreciation to her supervisor, Dr. Justine Mercer, and to the examiners, Prof. Tony Bush and Sue Johnston-Wilder, for their valuable feedback and support, and our appreciation to Prof. Pamela Angelle for her continuous support and allowing us to use Teacher leadership Inventory tool

Korn Lorenz, Ayyubidische Architektur in Ägypten und Syrien. Bautätigkeit im Kontext von Politik und Gesellschaft 564-658/ 1169– 1260. Heidelberg, Heidelberger Orientverlag (Abhandlungen des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts in Kairo, Islamische Reihe Bd. 10), 2004

Abdellatif Rania, Van Staëvel Jean-Pierre. Korn Lorenz, Ayyubidische Architektur in Ägypten und Syrien. Bautätigkeit im Kontext von Politik und Gesellschaft 564-658/ 1169– 1260. Heidelberg, Heidelberger Orientverlag (Abhandlungen des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts in Kairo, Islamische Reihe Bd. 10), 2004. In: Bulletin critique des annales islamologiques, n°26, 2011. pp. 51-54

Construire la Méditerranée, penser les transferts culturels. Approches historiographiques et perspectives de recherche

Als Objekt der Forschung spielt der Mittelmeerraum in der französischen Geschichtswissenschaft schon sehr lange eine wichtige Rolle. Die deutschsprachige historische Forschung hingegen hat sich erst jüngst dem Mittelmeerraum im Spiegel seiner kulturellen Verflechtungen zugewandt. Dabei stellt sich die Frage, ob das Mittelmeer als Kulturraum der Austauschprozesse und Grenzen nicht ebenso ein historisches Konstrukt ist wie das Mittelmeer der Brüche zwischen Antike und Mittelalter sowie zwischen christlicher und islamischer Welt. Der vorliegende Band vereint Beiträge, die verschiedene Aspekte der historiographischen Konstruktion des Mittelmeerraums beleuchten

Exploring perceptions of pracademics in an Arab context

Purpose: This study explored the perceptions of Arab professionals toward pracademia and the ways they position themselves as professionals in this field. Design/methodology/approach: Narrative data were elicited through semi-structured interviews with a total of eighteen pracademics identified for their work in teacher education. Participants included ten professional development (PD) specialists, three university supervisors and five specialists working at the Ministry of Education in Qatar. Findings: Narrative analysis of the interviews revealed variations in their identity renegotiations, with one group experiencing an emerging pracademic identity and the other group “holding on” to their previous practitioner identities. The narratives further provided insight into Arab pracademics relating to three themes: (1) definitions and roles, (2) knowledge and skills and (3) relationships with others, all of which pertain to pracademic identity construction. Originality/value: The study contributes to understanding the identity renegotiation of pracademics working in multiple contexts in an Arab setting. Several recommendations are offered to support pracademics' identity renegotiation as a social activity