On Curation: A Hermeneutical Approach

Starting point of this paper is the philosophical field of hermeneutics. Hermeneutics was established to account for different conditions of understanding and how they shape our interpretative processes. As different times constitute different conditions, the goal of the discipline essentially is to bridge the temporal gap between the creation of a work and its perception at a given point in time. Whereas traditionally, understanding was a matter of analyzing the historical tradition of author/artist and reader/viewer, nowadays, the perception and interpretation of art is shaped by another instance, the curator. Under the premise that selection and arrangement, i.e. curating, cannot be neutral, the author analyzes different contexts in which curating takes place and how different contexts account for different effects on our perception of art. After outlining the development of the curatorial practice—from institutional to independent curation—, a case study of Swiss curator Harald Szeemann serves as opportunity to examine specific phenomena and exhibitions in a detailed manner. A cultural and methodological cesura is proposed after which curators were able to execute the power and influence they have today: independent curation and the ahistorical exhibition. Ahistorical exhibitions disregard chronological display and enable curators to create individual narratives and themes by gathering artworks in a cross-temporal and geographical manner. Throughout the paper, it is assessed if and to what degree the application of hermeneutics onto the field of independent curation is fruitful. This theoretical analysis is followed by a market overview, in which various functions the curator fulfills in different institutions, e.g. museums, galleries, auction houses, are outlined and compared. Optimally, the consideration of cultural and commercial factors enables viewers to approach and see (curated) art in a differentiated way

Soil and Phyllosphere Microorganisms of the Rapeseed (Brassica napus L.) Holobiont Involved in Chloromethane Emissions

Brassica napus, or rapeseed, is one major oilseed crop in Europe and Germany and is used for food, feed, and Biodiesel production. Chloromethane (CH3Cl) is the most abundant halogenated organic compound in the atmosphere and triggers the chlorine-mediated destruction of the ozone layer. Anthropogenic sources became negligible because of taken measures according to the Montreal Protocol (1987) and therefore natural sources such as plants became more relevant for the global chloromethane budget. The actual global budget is imbalanced through missing sinks, which may be activities of soil and phyllosphere microbiomes which together with the plant is considered as the holobiont. The amount of CH3Cl from crops has not been addressed and might even increase under stresses such as elevated soil salinization and temperature. We proved that B. napus (rapeseed) plants emit CH3Cl. Certain methylotrophs (microorganisms that utilize one-carbon compounds) degrade CH3Cl and can gain a selective advantage while colonizing plants. Moreover, methylotrophs thrive in the rhizosphere of grassland plants. The rapeseed associated microbiome likely harbours methylotrophs that degrade CH3Cl. Therefore, we addressed in this study the rapeseed holobiont to resolve its response to stressors such as salt and temperature in regard to CH3Cl emission. We addressed in our project the following objectives: (i) To measure CH3Cl emission rates from single B. napus holobionts under different NaCl and temperature stress levels in pot experiments, (ii) to assess the B. napus microbiome and its CH3Cl degradation ability through amplicon sequencing of bacterial 16S rRNA genes and functional gene markers. The summer cultivar MAKRO was used as a model organism. We identified methylotrophs that responded to salt and temperature stress conditions in the phyllo- and rhizosphere of rapeseed and correlated those to the observed net emission rates

Gehandicaptenzorg inclusie en organiseren

This research is about people with a learning disability and their quality of life. It is generally accepted that the quality of life of people with a disability can be improved if social inclusion is put into practise successfully. Chapter 1 describes how the Netherlands has poor accessibility for people with disabilities and that inclusion is far away from reality. On the basis of research and current insights partly based on this, a movement has started which argues for replacing ‘the institute model’ by ‘the support model’. However, in practice there appears to be resistance to this process. The present - segregating - care system impedes this. Guffens (1985) distinguishes three strategies for change which are closely connected to each other: (1) a strategy whereby there is an active role for people with a disability (bottom-up), (2) a strategy which is mainly aimed at politics, laws and legislation (top-down) and (3) a strategy whereby the care institutions play an important role in realizing the preconditions for social inclusion. This research, from a organisational perspective, is aimed at contributing to the insights into improving the quality of life for people with a learning disability, especially in the area of social inclusion. It considers the following: – Providing insight into the components (success and failure factors) which play a role in giving form to social inclusion, from the perspective of care organizations; – Reaching recommendations for administrators of care organizations in order to be able to give a better form to social inclusion of people with a learning disability; – Contributing to theory forming with regard to success and failure factors. The main research question The main research question is: Care organizations are also trying to contribute to social inclusion of people with a learning disability. From the point of view of care organizations, which success and failure factors play a role in this and which administrative tasks do they lead to