Hermatypic Coral Growth Banding as Environmental Recorder

Study of incremental banding in coral skeletons was initiated by Ma and later extended by Wells and others. More recently, discrete annual banding in the skeletons of certain hermatypic corals has been described. Here we present an analysis of annual band width measurements from Bermuda corals which relates, through regression techniques, coral band time series to air temperature and air pressure variations. Our results indicate that coral bands record important aspects of their environment and therefore become useful where reconstruction of palaeoclimatic variables is of interest. Specifically the coral time series may be used as a palaeotemperature indicator or, when coupled with relatively well established palaeotemperatures, for palaeobarometric pressure determinations. Derived series of otherwise unobtainable palaeovariables are important not only for work on coral physiology, but also for construction and testing of climatic models; in this later instance information on palaeopressure is particularly desirable

Population model based on cells with internal dynamics

A model of a population is constructed by bringing together individual model organisms (cells) which have explicit internal dynamics. An attempt is made to preserve analyzability of the relatively complex model by describing the nonlinear dynamics of each cell by a set of piece-wise linear equations. In the simplest case of three linear pieces, a population with inherent oscillations in the number of cells as a function of time is obtained. A proposal is made to approximate realistic internal dynamics of selected biological features by introducing the appropriate number of linear patches, and to simulate realistic populations in this way. Another extension of the model, the description of interactions between cells through released metabolites, is used to represent the situation of a chemostat.&nbsp

Qualitative longitudinal research on Lithuanian student migration

Emigration of first-rate students is a very significant form of “brain drain” on the national level, with serious long-term consequences for cultural, economic and educational sectors of the nation. Fifty students, some of whom have emigrated for studies in Great Britain and others who have stayed in Lithuania, have been followed by our team by employing repeated in-depth interviews and detailed questionnaires for almost five years. We have seen significant changes with time in the values and importance of variables characterizing the students, finding a greater than anticipated influence of peers and personal contacts on the behavior of the respondents. In contrast, economic considerations seem to have been of less significance than anticipated in modulating the behavior of both kinds of students. The presence of both short term and long term response variables increases social policy possibilitiesKultūros tyrimų centrasKultūrų studijų katedraVytauto Didžiojo universiteta

Lessons from a Hippie Paradise Glimpsed Through a Keyhole (2)

Straipsnyje parodoma, kaip galima taikyti matematinės dinaminės sistemų teorijos prieigą socialinio reiškinio – subkultūrinės grupės – analizei. Pateikiamas 7-ojo dešimtmečio hipių grupės tyrimo fragmentas, kuriuo parodoma, kaip struktūruojant etnografinę informaciją į būsenos, saviraiškos / išraiškos kintamuosius ir poveikio kintamuosius bei suradus šių kintamųjų sąveikas (kai grupės nariai daro poveikį vieni kitiems, bendraudami tarpusavyje ir kurdami grupės identitetą) galima nustatyti grupės fenomeno esmęBecause there is a close relationship between observations and theory, in this paper we presented examples of ethnographic information viewed within a dynamical systems approach as applied to study the behavior of a small hippy community in Lithuania during the Soviet era. This approach invites organization of the domain of observation into systems, environments and interactions as a way to deal with complex systems in a manageable way and yet maintain consistency between incomplete descriptions, the usual situation in field work. The first section concentrates on the description of individuals as systems, pointing out the information needed to describe their states and responses to interactions coming from their environments. The second section emphasizes the definition of interactions among the subsystems, particularly the influences that individuals exert on their environments. As this is a preliminary report, neither analysis is yet complete: the work has yet to include all the individuals making up the group and the number of variables needs to be increased. Nevertheless we feel that even the incomplete examples are sufficient to indicate that the introduction of systems concepts, which then structure the ethnographic information into states, expression variables, and influence variables, has considerable utility. While it is yet to be convincingly demonstrated, it appears that it may be possible to relate the essentials of group phenomena to the interplay of self-expression variables and influence variables between the group members in the course of forging a group identity. By providing a common informational structure for describing groups such a systems oriented approach should provide a natural framework for making comparisons between different subcultural groups, not only for the Lithuanian ‘hippie’ subculture of the late 1960s and early 1970s as discussed hereHumanitarinių mokslų fakultetasKultūrų studijų katedraVytauto Didžiojo universiteta

Pagan group as an active unit of Lithuanian society

Straipsnyje pateikiamas lietuvių pagonių grupės tyrimas, kuriuo siekiama atskleisti šios grupės narių tarpusavio bendravimo ir bendravimo su aplinka procesus (1). Tyrimas organizuotas ir konceptualizuotas naudojant dinaminių sistemų teorijos prieigą. Tyrimo rezultatai rodo grupėje vykstančius tapatybės formavimo bei jos išsaugojimo priešiškoje socialinėje aplinkoje procesus. Aptariami procesai yra susiję su grupės vidaus organizacija ir grupės narių poreikiu pateisinti ir įprasminti savo vertybes bei elgesį, „valdyti“ neigiamą aplinkos poveikį. Tyrinėti mikroprocesai išvadose konceptualizuojami makrolygmeniu siejant juos su bendruomenės ir visuomenės veiklos efektyvumu (2)This article reports an analysis of the interactions that occur in a small Lithuanian pagan group, both within the group and between the group and its environment. A dynamical systems approach is used to highlight the process of group identity formation, revealing the importance of negative interactions with the group environment in this process. The micro-processes at the individual level are related to the macro-processes at the group level, the former providing a lens through which the latter may be viewed for greater clarityKultūros tyrimų centrasKultūrų studijų katedraVytauto Didžiojo universiteta

Įvadas

Straipsnis taip pat išverstas lietuvių kKultūros tyrimų centrasVytauto Didžiojo universiteta