The ephemeral aesthetic of spontaneous design on the streets of São Paulo, Brazil

There are few opportunities when the poor and prosperous can be spoken about with respect to the same, shared cultural experience. And yet, visual culture, and the design process that contributes to its materialisation in specific contexts, offers an opportunity to recognise a socially inclusive activity that reveals similarity rather than difference. This paper celebrates an ephemeral aesthetic that is appreciated by people at different ends of the economic, political and social spectrum. A mutual appreciation for the medium of collage differs only in terms of the environment within which the recycled object is eventually revealed. This paper explores some of these different contexts, and those who recognise and practise this phenomenon in a South American and European context. The conclusion of this speculative and exploratory study is that there is potential to develop this unique medium as an accessible and inclusive visual language, giving voice to those who often do not have the opportunity or the means to speak and be heard. Collage is recognised as a channel that mediates between social exclusion and inclusion when political and economic means have been exhausted. The resulting ephemeral aesthetic is proven to have visual appeal, satisfying low- and high-order human needs. Keywords: Bricolage; Ephemeral Aesthetic; Urban Poor; Human Need; Graphic Design</p

Oltre la milizia. Fisco e civilitas per i Goti di Teoderico

L’arrivo dei Goti di Teoderico in Italia (i cosiddetti Ostrogoti) e la vicenda sessantennale (dal 493 al 553) del loro regno presenta caratteristiche specifiche assai interessanti se paragonato agli altri regna che sorsero più o meno contemporaneamente in Occidente. I Goti, per cominciare, non in Italia arrivarono con atteggiamento ostile nei confronti dell’impero, ma a seguito di un preciso accordo che Teoderico aveva preso con l’imperatore d’Oriente Zenone (all’epoca l’unico imperatore esistente). Si trattava di porre fine all’esperienza ‘eversiva’ di cui s’era reso protagonista Odoacre: un’esperienza assolutamente inedita in Italia e che aveva sancito formalmente la fine dell’impero romano d’Occidente. Molta ambiguità circondava il profilo costituzionale del potere di Teoderico che appariva diverso a seconda che lo si considerasse dall’ottica dei nuovi arrivati Goti o invece da quella dei Romani già residenti. Come si configurava, rispetto all’imperatore, il governo di Teoderico? Gli studiosi hanno proposto risposte differenti: si è parlato di una ‘reggenza’, di un ‘vicariato’ e – più di recente – di una sorta di ‘protettorato’. In ogni caso, ancorché formalmente subordinato a Costantinopoli, il re goto godette di una completa autonomia in politica interna così come in politica estera. Al di là però della reale configurazione costituzionale del ruolo di Teoderico, interessa di più capire quale soluzione il suo regno rappresentasse in relazione al problema di carattere sostanziale che il re goto intendeva risolvere: unire due popoli sotto un unico governo. Teoderico intendeva il suo regno come un edificio complesso in cui si sovrapponevano due realtà distinte (la gota e la romana), destinate ad assolvere funzioni diverse (la difesa militare dello stato l’una, il controllo dell’amministrazione l’altra). Tali realtà sovrapposte avrebbero dovuto convivere e collaborare in armonia, trovando proprio nel sovrano il primo e principale elemento di connessione. Un siffatto dualismo, però, nelle intenzioni del sovrano, era destinato a perdurare o piuttosto caratterizzava le sole basi di partenza di una convivenza che invece doveva, prima o poi, sfociare in una sostanziale e proficua integrazione? Anche sulla risposta da dare a questo interrogativo gli studiosi si sono divisi. A chi ha sostenuto che l’obiettivo di Toderico fosse quello di «accostare e fondere Romani e Barbari», altri si sono opposti cercando di dimostrare che mai Teodorico abbandonò la politica ‘separatista’. Il rapido tramonto del regno goto dopo appena cinquant’anni di vita sarebbe appunto dovuto all’ovvia debolezza derivante dalla ‘scommessa impossibile’ di tenere assieme senza fonderle due comunità distinte. In realtà, studi recenti lasciano intendere come l’integrazione tra Romani e Barbari, civili e militari, cattolici e ariani debba aver proceduto ben più di quanto si sarebbe disposti ad ammettere. Né, a conti fatti, l’esperienza teodericiana sembrerebbe così inevitabilmente e ineluttabilmente condannata al fallimento. Sotto questo profilo, elementi significativi sui quali ragionare provengono dalle ricerche archeologiche e, soprattutto, dallo studio della politica fiscale del sovrano goto

Storia del prete che si innamorò e perse tutto. Uso e abuso della giustizia ecclesiastica nella toscana carolingia

Grazie a due chartae toscane risalenti all’età carolingia possiamo ancora oggi conoscere la lunga, complessa e sfortunata vicenda giudiziaria di cui fu protagonista il prete Alpulo. Da una semplice liason tra un prete e una monaca nacque infatti una controversia che finì per coinvolgere un re, un conte, un missus imperiale, cinque vescovi e una lunga schiera di persone tra laici ed ecclesiastici. Dietro tanto dispendio di attività processuali, non è difficile riconoscere il disegno dell’episcopato lucchese teso ad accrescere il proprio patrimonio immobiliare nel territorio della Diocesi. Rileggere oggi i due documenti significa però soprattutto poter osservare più da vicino il funzionamento della giustizia carolingia. È noto come la monarchia franca avesse promesso una giustizia che fosse più vicina ai debiliores (o pauperes): maggiormente accessibile e capace, all’occorrenza, anche di proteggerli delle angherie dei potenti. Il caso qui analizzato par confermare i dubbi che la storiografia più recente ha avanzato circa l’effettivo mantenimento di tale promessa. A richiamare l’interesse dello storico giurista sul lungo iter giudiziario vi sono peraltro taluni passaggi che denotano, nel personale coinvolto, una certa attenzione per il rispetto di una disciplina processuale nient’affatto elementare.A dossier from the Carolingian Tuscany allows us to know the long and complex judicial case of the priest Alpulo. Born from a simple affair between a priest and a nun, the trial then disturbed a king, a count, an imperial messenger, five bishops and a large number of of people including lay people and clergymen. The reasons for such an expenditure of judicial energies can be recognised in the design of the Lucca episcopate to increase its land endowment in the area. Reading the dossier, however, we can get a more precise idea of the real functioning of Carolingian justice. It seems that the intentions declared by the Carolingian rulers – ensuring a greater protection of people’s rights and pomoting a justice less exposed to the arrogance of the powerful – must be understood with more scepticism than we usually do. Moreover, the interest of legal historians for the long judicial process is also recalled by certain passages which show compliance with a procedural discipline that is not at all elementary

Homespun Homerics in the kingdom of Aeolus : Ninu Murina in Stromboli

The existing literature of the Aeolian Islands had been for centuries mainly oral, consisting of epics, legends, folklore, tales, proverbs, stornelli (satirical songs), and song lyrics. No doubt the tardiness of the Italian government in organizing a system of public education throughout these islands allowed the oral tradition to endure there longer, as well as a greater emphasis on transmitted memory of significant local events from one generation to the next.Not

Lyme Disease Education: Prevention and Response to Tick Bites

Lyme disease is a major public health concern in Vermont, and is only becoming more prevalent. There were nearly 800 probable cases of Lyme disease in 2016, compared to 100 cases in 2006. Untreated Lyme disease has significant effects on overall health including cardiac disease. Lyme disease also has severe impacts on public health costs, and is responsible for roughly $1 billion annually. A Lyme disease handout for patients at a primary care outpatient center in Vermont was designed to help educate the public on disease prevention and progression.https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/fmclerk/1368/thumbnail.jp

The Brazilian experience in design for health: Interdisciplinary and Bioethics

Health design in Brazil has been characterized historically by replacing imported products with others that are locally manufactured on a small scale. The formation of interdisciplinary groups has never been submitted to specific norms, particularly at universities. In January 2007 the Health Design Group was created at the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development, a partnership between people from the design group at the authors’ Institutions: Architecture and Urbanism School and School of Medicine. Aiming at documenting some important experiences on the Brazilian scene to provide historical and methodological subsidies for research done by this group, a survey was conducted to find the pioneer experiences that, using the technology available at the time they were developed, paved the way for the current research. We selected some experiments that began at the end of the 1950s lasting until the 90s, along with their researchers; among them are the Brazilian Foundation for the Development of Science Teaching (FUNBEC), the department of bioengineering of the Heart Institute (InCor) of the University of Sao Paulo (USP) Medical School, the medical equipment at Rede Sarah, and some experiences in the field of Ophthalmology. Besides the historical documentation, the results of the Health Design Group specifically include the development of two products, a high-optical-quality magnifying glass and the innovative reading stand associated with a magnifying glass that has already been successfully tested in accordance with ethical standards by low vision patients at authors’ Institution. Thus, the creation of the Health Design Group fosters cross-disciplinary integration of subjects such as medicine and design. Based on the previously cited experiences and looking forward to implementing new research methods at authors’ Institutions, this group is getting the first results, such as the inclusion of interdisciplinary work and the implementation of bioethics in research on the design of medical equipment. Keywords: health design; ethics; cross-disciplinary integration; bioengineering; ophthalmology; low vision; medical equipment.</p

Effects of Maternal Care and Estrogen Treatment on Dopamine Receptor D2 Expression in the Ventral Hippocampus of Male and Female Long Evans Rats

Expression of the dopamine receptor D2 (D2R) has been extensively studied in connection with alcoholism. Experimentally increasing D2R expression reduces ethanol consumption and the inverse result has been found when D2R expression is decreased. Ethanol consumption is also affected by maternal care. Previous studies in our lab found that animals which received lower maternal licking/grooming (LG) displayed a higher ethanol preference and drank more ethanol g/kg than High LG animals. These effects were particularly driven by females. Animals of both phenotypes decreased ethanol consumption following an acute estrogen treatment. Downregulation of D2R was found in the ventral tegmental area (VTA), but not the nucleus accumbens or dorsal striatum, of Low LG rats, with no differences due to sex. Hippocampal D2R expression is implicated in several neurological functions, and the hippocampus experiences neuronal loss following binge alcohol exposure. The current study aimed to expand our knowledge by using western blotting to examine D2R expression in the ventral hippocampus (vHPC) of control and estrogen-treated High and Low LG male and female rats. We expect to report results similar to those found previously in the VTA and find lower levels of D2R expression in Low LG rats with no significant sex difference.https://orb.binghamton.edu/research_days_posters_spring2020/1046/thumbnail.jp

La Didascalia Apostolorum e la giustizia del vescovo prima di Costantino

Scholars are long used to consider the episcopal justice beginning from the Constantine’s constitutions on the ‘episcopalis audientia’ (a.D. 318 and 333). After at least two centuries, an articulated and participated discussion is still alive concerning the nature of the episcopal courts and other aspects of its structure and its functioning (a real judicial activity or a simple arbitration; competence limited to private disputes or extended to criminal cases; relationship with imperial jurisdiction; procedural models …). Many questions remain opened and no position seems to prevail in the debate. To come out from such an empasse, it could be useful to pay attention to what happened in the ancient (pre-constantinian) Christian communities in case of a dispute between two ‘brothers’. The Gospel’s ‘paradoxical’ indications often clashed with practical difficulties. Some more ‘concrete’ suggestions came certainly from the Epistles of Paul. Much more useful must have however been for the bishops the anonymous text of the Doctrina duodecim Apostolorum better known as Didascalia Apostolorum

El papel del jurista hoy, y la necesitad de repensar su formacion

Dopo un rapido esame dell'attuale tendenza dei giovani a diertare gli studi giuridici, il saggio analizza le cause della crisi del ruolo del giurista sul pinao sociale e istituzionale e propone quale soluzione un recupero della dimensione culturale (e non solo tecnica) nella formazione dei futuri giuristi. Particolare raccomandazione è fatta ai docenti di materie giuridiche nel senso di privileggiare modalità di insegnamento che mostrino la sostanziale unitarietà del sapere giuridico e la vocazione sociale di questo genere di studio