“Flower of Aristolochia gigas var. sturtevantii used as a hat by a native of British Guiana” – a photograph from Everard im Thurn at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, holds a small but valuable and unstudied collection of photographs by Everard im Thurn (1852–1932) who contributed to botany, with specimens and publications, and to anthropology, publishing works that highlight his interest in photography.FCT (SFRH/BD/45965/2008, Portugal) e AHRC (Arts and Humanities Research Council, U

"Among the Indians of Guiana”: Objects, Exchanges and Entangled Stories in Everard im Thurn’s Time (1852-1932)

This paper turns to specific objects, setting them in historical and contemporary context, using both archival sources and information gathered at a trip to Guyana (2010), discussing aspects of Everard im Thurn’s (explorer, botanist, and photographer) collecting practices, and seeking to restore the ‘cross-cultural histories’. I will expose some examples in which it is possible to see the histories beneath the objects. Here, particular cases will show how Europeans absorbed elements of Indigenous knowledge as well as how Amerindians absorbed European elements. Through the objects, this paper aims to understand Everard im Thurn’s interest in certain items and comprehend why and how they were obtained.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) Post-Doc Researcher (SFRH/BPD/108236/2015

Objects, Histories and Encounters

Balata or bullet tree of Guiana was known as one of the finest forest trees of British Guiana. This paper is based on reports from the 19th and 20th centuries (mainly from George Jenman and Everard im Thurn), publications, newspapers, and correspondence on British Guiana’s balata, a rubber-like material. These references were cross-referenced with objects related to balata that are now preserved at the collection of Economic Botany, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, as well as with contemporary reports from Guyanese Amerindian. By doing this, a more precise image of this less known rubber material from Guyana came forth, as well as the issues and histories behind it, namely the cross-cultural encounters, the objects significance and their context, and how the colony was managed. Despite the fact that balata was seen, during the last years of the 19th century, as an alternative commodity and a possible answer to the sugar crisis, not much was done to improve its trade.A árvore da balata foi conhecida como sendo uma das melhores árvores florestais da Guiana Britânica. Este artigo baseia-se em relatos dos séculos XIX e XX, publicações, jornais e correspondência sobre a balata da Guiana Britânica, um material semelhante à borracha. Estas referências foram cruzadas com objectos relacionados com a balata que se encontram na colecção de Botânica Económica, nos Jardins de Kew, e relatórios contemporâneos de ameríndios guianenses. Ao se cruzar estas informações, surgiu uma imagem mais clara da balata, bem como das histórias por detrás desta matéria-prima, nomeadamente: os encontros interculturais, o significado dos objectos e seu contexto, e como a colónia estava a ser gerida na época. Também se chegou à conclusão de que, apesar de a balata ter sido vista, durante os últimos anos do século XIX, como uma comodidade alternativa e uma possível resposta à crise do açúcar, não houve grande investimento para melhorar o seu comércio

on the Austrian expedition to Brazil (1817-1835)

UIDB/04209/2020 UIDP/04209/2020publishersversionpublishe

Objects, Histories and Encounters: British Guiana Seen Through Balata

Balata or bullet tree of Guiana was known as one of the finest forest trees of British Guiana. This paper is based on reports from the 19th and 20th centuries (mainly from George Jenman and Everard im Thurn), publications, newspapers, and correspondence on British Guiana’s balata, a rubber-like material. These references were cross-referenced with objects related to balata that are now preserved at the collection of Economic Botany, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, as well as with contemporary reports from Guyanese Amerindian. By doing this, a more precise image of this less known rubber material from Guyana came forth, as well as the issues and histories behind it, namely the cross-cultural encounters, the objects significance and their context, and how the colony was managed. Despite the fact that balata was seen, during the last years of the 19th century, as an alternative commodity and a possible answer to the sugar crisis, not much was done to improve its trade.The present article was financed by FCT (Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, ref. ref. SFRH / BPD / 108236 / 2015 and SFRH/BD/45965/2008, Portugal) and by the AHRC (Arts and Humanities Research Council, UK)

Adherencia a la actividad física en personas con diabetes tipo 2

Objectives: To determine the adherence to physical activity among people with type 2 diabetes Methods: Quantitative, cross-sectional, nonexperimental, descriptive, and correlational study, with a sample of 102 people suffering from type 2 diabetes whose age ranged between 40 and 85 years. Most of the participants were male (51.96%). The evaluation protocol included a sociodemographic and clinical questionnaire, Diabetes Self-Care Scale(1) and the Diabetes Knowledge Questionnaire(2). The HbA1c clinical parameter was used to directly assess adherence. Results: The self-care activity in which respondents showed higher level of involvement was glucose monitoring that had an average participation of 5.73 days per week. Inversely, participants did not seem interested in physical activity. In this sort of activity participation amounted to 1 mere day per week on average. The study also showed that people with type 2 diabetes show minimal knowledge of areas related to the identity of the illness, its causes, complications, and treatment. 53.9% of the respondents did not recognise the role played by physical exercise in the treatment of their condition. Conclusion: Reducing the incidence of this disease is an imperative and preventive measure must be implemented to prevent the appearance of the problem, especially for people at higher risk. Among all the possible measures to be implemented, special focus will have to be placed on physical activity and weight loss. Physical activity has a direct impact on the control of the disease through the reduction of HbA1c levels, but its influence is also evident in other parameters, like weight loss, prevention of risk factors for cardiovascular diseases and it also plays a crucial role in increasing quality of life.Objetivos: Determinar la adherencia a la actividad física en personas con diabetes tipo 2 Métodos: Estudio cuantitativo, transversal, no experimental, descriptivo y correlacional, con una muestra de 102 personas con diabetes tipo 2 cuya edad osciló entre 40 y 85 años. La mayoría de los participantes eran hombres (51,96%). El protocolo de evaluación incluyó un cuestionario sociodemográfico y clínico, la Escala de Autocuidado de la Diabetes(1) y el Cuestionario de Conocimiento de la Diabetes(2). El parámetro clínico HbA1c se utilizó para evaluar directamente la adherencia. Resultados: La actividad de autocuidado en la que los encuestados mostraron mayor grado de implicación fue la monitorización de la glucosa que tuvo una participación media de 5,73 días a la semana. A la inversa, los participantes no parecían interesados en la actividad física. En este tipo de actividad, la participación ascendía a un mero día a la semana en promedio. El estudio también mostró que las personas con diabetes tipo 2 muestran un conocimiento mínimo de las áreas relacionadas con la identidad de la enfermedad, sus causas, complicaciones y tratamiento. El 53,9% de los encuestados no reconoció el papel que juega el ejercicio físico en el tratamiento de su condición. Conclusión: Reducir la incidencia de esta enfermedad es un imperativo y se debe implementar una medida preventiva para evitar la aparición del problema, especialmente para las personas de mayor riesgo. Entre todas las posibles medidas a implementar, habrá que poner especial énfasis en la actividad física y la pérdida de peso. La actividad física tiene un impacto directo en el control de la enfermedad a través de la reducción de los niveles de HbA1c, pero su influencia también es evidente en otros parámetros, como la pérdida de peso, la prevención de factores de riesgo de enfermedades cardiovasculares y también juega un papel crucial en el aumento de la calidad de vida

Ladies on the map: The case of a manuscript of the 19th century.

The manuscript referred to here is the 'Map of Travellers in Africa' produced by Friedrich Welwitsch (1806–1872), an Austrian botanist in the service of the Portuguese government. The National Museum of Natural History and Science, Lisbon, Portugal (MUHNAC) holds this document, which contains several travellers' names who worked in different parts of the African continent. Information that stands out from the map refers to six ladies' names: Barber, Elliott, Holland, Saunders, Tinné, and Turner. These ladies were colonial wives, companions, colleagues, invisible co-workers, but rarely assumed the protagonists' role, Tinné being the exception (Gartrell 1984). This paper aims to discuss women's involvement in knowledge production during the 19th century, especially the African Flora. Usually, women dedicated to natural history investigations did much of the time-consuming work, as sketching landscapes and structures, fossil-hunting, preparing botanical and zoological samples, and even contacting local experts (Kölbl-Ebert 2007). However, they obtained little academic credit because their work was habitually integrated into the publications of the men for whom they worked (Jackson and Jones 2007). Comparing with the other ladies, Miss Turner (fl.1820s) seems to be the most 'invisible' explorer among the other women. It is known that she collected plants in Sierra Leone around the 1820s, and part of the collection remains at Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (UK). On the other hand, Alexandrine Petronella Francina Tinné (1835-1869) is known for being the first European woman to attempt to cross the Sahara desert. Although these are two different cases of visibility, both contributed to knowledge production and the other ladies on the map. In bringing together their histories, this paper may reveal a network of support of women and men, of individuals and institutions, whether in Africa or in Europe, that allowed the investigation to be done.FC

University teachers' digital competence: a case study from Portugal

Abstract It has become increasingly important to train for an educational culture that makes use of digital technology to enhance its practices. Frameworks such as DigCompEdu enable identification of weaknesses and areas which require more training. This paper presents the results of a case study with 249 participants from a Portuguese University examining differences in the digital competence of teachers according to gender, age, faculty and experience. Based on the data obtained, it was found that there were no significant differences and that it was, therefore, more important to consider training for digital empowerment according to the different areas of the DigCompEdu framework and to address weaknesses found in each of these areas

Posttraumatic Growth in Bereaved Parents: A Multidimensional Model of Associated Factors

Objective: Although the death of a child is a devastating event, recent evidence shows that personal growth is a relevant outcome of parents' grief. This study aimed to examine the factors associated with posttraumatic growth (PTG) and to propose a multidimensional model consisting of sociodemographic, situational, and intrapersonal and interpersonal factors. Methods: A sample (N = 197; 89.8% female; mean age = 39.44 years) of bereaved parents completed the Post-Traumatic Growth Inventory-Short Form, the 14-Item Resilience Scale, the Continuing Bonds Scale and the Dyadic Coping Inventory. Results: The final model consisted of sociodemographic, situational, intrapersonal and interpersonal factors of PTG, which accounted for 36.7% of the variance. Higher levels of PTG were generally associated with female sex, younger age of the child, higher levels of resilience, higher levels of internalized continuing bonds (i.e., internal representation of the child, maintaining psychological proximity), and higher levels of stress communication by the partner (communicating the stress experience and requesting emotional or practical support). Conclusions: In clinical practice, health professionals assisting bereaved parents should pay attention to men and parents of older children, who might be at higher risk of difficulties in developing PTG. Additionally, promoting a more internalized bond with the child, resilience and dyadic coping, especially stress communication, can constitute important therapeutic goals