Towards an Ideal Education for Arts and Crafts : k.k. Österreichisches Museum für Kunst und Industrie and Kunstgewerbeschule in Vienna before 1900

Focusing on the reform of k.k. Österreichisches Museum für Kunst und Industrie (the Imperial Royal Austrian Museum of Art and Industry) and the school attached to it, Kunstgewerbeschule (the School of Arts and Crafts), this study attempts to shed new light on the modernization processes within two institutions, which were preconditions for the reform of the Kunstgewerbeschule by Wiener Secession (Vienna Secession, est. 1897) artists in the 1900s in Vienna. After Secessionist artist Felician von Myrbach assumed the post of Director in 1899, he started a programme of school reform with his Secessionist colleagues Josef Hoffmann, Koloman Moser and Alfred Roller. The programme was heavily influenced by the artistic ideals of the Moderne. However, the statutes and curricula of the Kunstgewerbeschule were gradually revised after the 1870s in order to make them better suited to industrial needs. The first revision of the school curriculum in 1872 aimed at expanding the Preparatory Department. The aims of the second revision in 1877 were the additional development of the Preparatory Department and the reinforcement of art education at the Professional Department. The statute was revised in 1888. The departments were reorganised and atelier courses introduced in the Professional Department. The modernization of the Museum was also essential. In 1897, Arthur von Scala became its Director. Scala enthusiastically introduced English handicrafts, which he highly valued, into the Museum. Despite the conflict between Scala and the Wiener Kunstgewerbeverein (Vienna Arts and Crafts Association, est. 1884), the conservative faction within the Museum, control of the Museum moved to Scala and the Ministry of Culture and Education. The statute of the Museum was revised in 1899 to promote the creativity of individual craftsmen. In the late 19th century, the Ministry of Culture and Education itself was undergoing liberal modernization. Architect Otto Wagner, who was appointed by the Minister as both a member of the Board of Trustees of the Museum and the Kunstrat (Art Council), presented suggestions on the personnel and reorganization of the Kunstgewerbschule. It was clear that Wagner’s proposal to appoint artists in positions of professors was referring to the Secession artists. Scala was against his idea, because he believed that Secession artists might lead the school into dogmatism. Eventually, however, Myrbach, Hoffmann, Moser and Roller received appointments at the school between 1899 and 1900.Theme I : Design Education before the Bauhau

Design and Gender during Wartime : the Vienna Workshops in World War I

Focusing on the women designers of the Vienna Workshops (1903-1932) during World War I, this study aims to examine the issue of design and gender. From the early period of the Vienna Workshops women designers participated in its activities. The percentage of female members increased during World War I. The expansion of women’s employment due to the shortage of adult males in the workforce was a social phenomenon of the time. Among various occupations, the Workshops was an elite workplace with many graduates of the Imperial Royal School of Arts and Crafts in Vienna. Female members produced mainly fashion products during wartime. The fact that those products became the mainstay of the company reflects not only gender factors, but also the material conditions and patriotic climate of the time. Compared to metals, the shortages of fabrics were not so acute. Further, the Workshops was a driving force behind the move to break away from the influence of Parisian fashion. The reputation of its shows in Germany and neutral countries was praised in domestic media. The progress of women designers in the Vienna Workshops was influenced not only by traditionally formed gender perspectives, but also by the social conditions of the period. In addition, as in the case of the Workshops, the substantial commercial success of women strengthened their status as designers.Session II : Modernizing Craft and Fashio

Relations between Positive and Negative Attributional Styles and Sales Performance as Moderated by Length of Insurance Sales Experience among Japanese Life Insurance Sales Agents

Past studies have shown that a sales agent's attributional style for positive and negative events is related to sales performance. The aim of the present study was to examine an agent's length of sales experience as a moderator of the relation between sales performance and attributional style for positive/negative events. 360 Japanese life insurance sales agents were assessed with attributional styles for positive and negative events (would be referred to as positive attributional style and negative attributional style, respectively), sales performance and their lengths of sales experience. It was found that relationship between sales performance and the two types of attributional styles was largely different depending upon length of an agent's insurance sales experience. Among "novices" (n = 183) whose lengths of insurance sales experience were less than three years, sales performance was related significantly to negative attributional style, whereas it was not related to positive attributional style. By contrast, among "veterans" (n = 177) whose lengths of insurance sales experience were three years or more, sales performance was related significantly to positive attributional style, whereas it was not related to negative attributional style. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed

The evolution of selective analyses of HDL and LDL cholesterol in clinical and point of care testing

Cardiovascular disease is a leading cause of death worldwide and is caused by the build up of atherosclerotic plaques in the vasculature. It is now well established that the formation of these plaques is closely related to levels of both high density lipoprotein (HDL) and low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol. Thus, the importance of the effective measurement of these is critical for the improved diagnosis and management of atherosclerosis. This review discusses the emergence of methodologies for the selective determination of both LDL and HDL cholesterol. It begins with an explanation of the first methodologies based on ultracentrifugation and precipitation techniques, the development of reference methods, through to the emergence of methodologies suitable for routine laboratory use, followed by the development of professional use, point of care technologies. Finally, the current status of selective tests for cholesterol based on biosensor methodologies is reviewed and the potential for application in consumer diagnostics is discussed. © 2013 The Royal Society of Chemistry

COL25A1 triggers and promotes Alzheimer’s disease-like pathology in vivo

Collagen XXV alpha 1 (COL25A1) is a collagenous type II transmembrane protein purified from senile plaques of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) brains. COL25A1 alleles have been associated with increased risk for AD in a Swedish population. COL25A1 is specifically expressed in neurons and binds to aggregated Aβ in vitro. However, its contribution to the pathogenesis of AD and in vivo function are unknown. Here, we report that over-expression of COL25A1 in transgenic mice increases p35/p25 and β-site APP-cleaving enzyme 1 (BACE1) levels, facilitates intracellular aggregation and extracellular matrix deposits of Aβ, and causes synaptophysin loss and astrocyte activation. COL25A1 mice displayed reduced anxiety-like behavior in elevated plus maze and open field tests and significantly slower swimming speed in Morris water maze. In stable cell lines, motifs in noncollagenous domains of COL25A1 were important for the induction of BACE1 expression. These findings demonstrate that COL25A1 leads to AD-like pathology in vivo. Modulation of COL25A1 function may represent an alternative therapeutic intervention for AD

Nanostructured Si–Ge thermoelectric material for 1200 V/W highly sensitive infrared thermopile sensor device

In this paper, we report the characteristics of a thermopile infrared sensor in which a nanostructured Si–Ge thermoelectric material is used. Although the thermopile infrared sensor is capable of being operated without power consumption, a challenge has been improving its sensitivity. With the aim of improving its sensitivity, we have realized a nanostructured Si–Ge thermoelectric material with low thermal conductivity (0.8 W/m K or less) by forming nanocrystals through heat treatment of amorphous Si–Ge. The thermopile infrared sensor composed of this material exhibited a high sensitivity of 1200 V/W at a pressure of 1.0 × 10−1 Pa or less

Carbocationoids: a concept for controlling highly reactive cationic species

Carbocations, which are positively charged highly electrophilic intermediates, are efficacious for the direct alkylation of low-reactive nucleophiles. The utilization of carbocations in SN1 reactions relies on the activation of their precursors in the presence of a nucleophile. However, undesirable interactions between the nucleophile and the leaving group activator limit the scope of acceptable nucleophiles. Here we report a strategy to conduct SN1 reactions involving unstable carbocations in an alternative stepwise procedure, which was demonstrated by the benzylation of various neutral nucleophiles. In the first step, carbocations were accumulated in a nucleophile-free solution in the form of carbocationoids utilizing the coordinative stabilization of triazinediones. Subsequently, the addition of these solutions in the second step enabled room temperature alkylation without the need for acidic additives. This methodology overcomes the inherent challenges of carbocations in SN1 reactions