But is It Hermeneutic Enough?: Reading for Methodological Salience in a Scoping Review of Hermeneutics and Implementation Science

Hermeneutic methods have been widely used in health research. Through conducting a scoping review of hermeneutic studies related to implementation in healthcare, we identified various approaches and common strengths across studies. The review was part of a larger study exploring how hermeneutics could contribute fresh perspectives to implementation science. We looked at a large number of studies that reported some use of hermeneutics with a focus on what they had to say about processes of implementation in health care environments. While meeting our primary goal of identifying what was salient to implementation, we came up against the question of what made for a strong hermeneutic study. Through an extensive process of evaluation and discussion, several common elements emerged across studies that used hermeneutics: participatory conversations, reflective spaces, attention to alterity, and close-up granular detail. In this article, we outline the review process, then focus on six articles that met our criteria for relevance to implementation and hermeneutic strength. We discuss how some or all the common elements appeared in the articles, despite wide variations in topic and in how hermeneutics was applied. We argue that strength in hermeneutic research stems from a dialectic between applied principles and outcomes.

Comparative LM, SEM and EDAX study of chalk glands on leaf and stem of two species of Plumbago Linn.

Stem and leaves of two species of PlumbagoLinn.viz. P. zeylanica Linn.andP. auriculata Lam. were investigated for the structure and chemical composition of chalk glands. Light Microscopy (LM) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) revealed the presence of chalk glands on both lower as well as upper surface of leaf and stem of both species. Chalk glands are abundant on lower surface and sparse on upper surface of leaf. Chalk glands are approximately hemispherical glands with oval or almost circular outline. It is composed of 8 cells arranged in two circles – central circle of 4 secretory cells and outer circle of 4 adjoining cells. Each secretory cell has depression which corresponds to pore. Each gland is surrounded by 4 subsidiary cells. No significant difference in the structure of chalk glands in both species was noticed. Chalk glands occupy three different positions with regard to epidermal cells –at the same level of the epidermis, slightly sunken in the epidermis and slightly raised above the epidermis. Common elements found in EDAX analysis of all chalk glands are carbon, oxygen, magnesium, sulphur, potassium and calcium. Differences in the presence of elements silicon, chlorine, aluminium, sodium, phosphorus were observed. The presence of significant amount of calcium in chalk glands and their dried deposits and absence of sodium and chlorine from dried deposits and even in some chalk glands appealed to use the term ‘Chalk gland’ instead of ‘Salt gland’ in Plumbago.

An Attempt to Estimate the Noises in Homeopathic Pathogenetic Trials by Employing the Jaccard Similarity Index and Noise Index

Background The critical task of researchers conducting double-blinded, randomized, placebo-controlled homeopathic pathogenetic trials is to segregate the signals from the noises. The noises are signs and symptoms due to factors other than the trial drug; signals are signs and symptoms due to the trial drug. Unfortunately, the existing tools (criteria for a causal association of symptoms only with the tested medicine, qualitative pathogenetic index, quantitative pathogenetic index, pathogenic index) have limitations in analyzing the symptoms of the placebo group as a comparator, resulting in inadequate segregation of the noises. Hence, the Jaccard similarity index and the Noise index are proposed for analyzing the symptoms of the placebo group as a comparator. Methods The Jaccard similarity index is the ratio of the number of common elements among the placebo and intervention groups to the aggregated number of elements in these groups. The Noise index is the ratio of common elements among the placebo and intervention group to the total elements of the intervention group. Homeopathic pathogenetic trials of Plumbum metallicum, Piper methysticum and Hepatitis C nosode were selected for experimenting with the computation of the Jaccard similarity index and the Noise index. Results Jaccard similarity index calculations show that 8% of Plumbum metallicum's elements, 10.7% of Piper methysticum's elements, and 19.3% of Hepatitis C nosode's elements were similar to the placebo group when elements of both the groups (intervention and placebo) were aggregated. Noise index calculations show that 10.7% of Plumbum metallicum's elements, 13.9% of Piper methysticum's elements and 25.7% of Hepatitis C nosode's elements were similar to those of the placebo group. Conclusion The Jaccard similarity index and the Noise index might be considered an additional approach for analyzing the symptoms of the placebo group as a comparator, resulting in better noise segregation in homeopathic pathogenetic trials.

O traço em Ana Hatherly – a letra do desenho, o desenho da letra / The trace in Ana Hatherly – the letter of the drawing, the drawing of the letter

Resumo: Neste artigo, investigam-se o pensamento do gesto e a presença do traço como elementos comuns às obras visuais e aos poemas de Ana Hatherly. A reflexão se fundamenta em textos teóricos da autora, em um ensaio de Gonçalo Tavares a respeito da presença do traço nas palavras e nas imagens, no conceito de “escritura”, extraído de O império dos signos, de Roland Barthes, e no conceito de “anacrusa”, tal como formulado por Maurice Blanchot. Por fim, demonstra-se a indissociabilidade entre palavras e imagens nas anotações de sonhos presentes no livro Anacrusa, de Ana Hatherly, além de se delimitar os efeitos da reinvenção da leitura formulada pela autora ao longo de sua obra.Palavras-chave: Traço; Letra; Imagem; Leitura.Abstract: In this paper, the gesture thinking and the presence of the trace are investigated as common elements to Ana Hatherly’s visual works and poems. The reflection is based on the author’s theoretical texts, in an essay by Gonçalo Tavares about the presence of the trace in words and images, in the concept of “writing”, extracted from Roland Barthes The Empire of the Signs, and in the concept of “anacrusa”, as formulated by Maurice Blanchot. Finally, it demonstrates the inseparability between words and images in the dream notes present in the book Anacrusa, by Ana Hatherly, in addition to delimiting the effects of the reinvention of reading formulated by the author throughout her work.Keywords: Trace; Letter; Image; Reading.

Female festive costume of the Khanty and Mansi in the late 20th — early 21st century: dynamics and functions

In order to determine dynamics and causes of transformation of everyday dress into a festive costume, specifics and functions of the women’s costume of the Khanty and Mansi have been studied. Towards this, the comparative-typological method was employed to study the costume composition, its local features, and differences with respect to the traditional everyday dresses, and the functions of the costume were determined. The study is based upon the materials of ethnographic expeditions carried out in the 1990s–2010s in the regions occupied by the Ob Ugric population (North-West Siberia and Northern Trans-Urals). It has been ascertained that the festive costume commonly comprised a dress, a breast decoration, and a shawl, and in its local variants it was complemeted by other items. The costume was all-season and had common and local elements. The common elements include multi-completeness (it consists of several items), variability according to weather conditions, use of silk and woolen fabrics and beads. The local specifics are manifetsed in the costume composition, silhouette variability, and techniques of decoration. In the end of the 20th — beginning of the 21st century, traditional clothing of the Khanty and Mansi changed in the appearance due to the use of modern synthetic materials (it changed the colour, sillhuette, means and techniques of decoration) and became merely festive. To the large extent those changes were caused by the industrial development on the territory occupied by the Ob Ugric population in the last quarter of the 20th century, and later by the cultural, social, and economic transformations in Russia. The range of use of the traditional clothing shrank due to the spread of factory-made clothing. The growing interest to the ethnic culture stimulated demand for the national costume. It has become made from import synthetic fabrics, because the home-produced cotton fabrics disappeared from the shops. New fabrics changed the appearance of the clothing and its function, as it became merely festive.

The Wars of the 1860s and the Atlantic (Americas and Europe)

During the 1860s, widespread warfare beset the Americas and Europe. Fighting resulted from challenges to existing political accommodations, and evolved into civil wars or interstate violence. Concurrently, economic and technological transformations through the 1860s aided long-distance communications, such as the coming of the telegraph and a much faster spread of steam power that helped to disseminate news and share experiences. All over the Atlantic, the triumph of national unification was the most visible result of the bloodbath, expanding state capacities and reinforcing the role of national symbols as common elements of a shared identity. Political and administrative centralization affected the exercise of local power in different ways, mainly in its capacity to recruit members of communities for war; appealing to national values and identities gradually became central in the demands for cooperation and sacrifice. After the end of combat, national authorities established regimes founded either on new constitutions or on amendments added to existing documents, the goal of which was reordering society according to rules capable of regulating and institutionalizing regional conflicts, simultaneously incorporating demands for representation and liberalization. These same groups demonstrated less efficiency when dealing with ethnic and social conflicts, sources of deeper divisions in societies that pretended to be consistent, progressive, and unified.

Analysing the Contributions and Longevity of Community Archaeology in the Context of Maritime Cultural Heritage Projects

Scholars readily agree community archaeology offers a way to engage non-professional archaeologists in the archaeological process. However, few analyse whether community archaeology projects achieve their goals and contribute positively to involved stakeholders. This article proposes a framework for analysing the contributions and longevity of community archaeology in maritime environments. The framework consists of three sections: the influencing factors, intended and actual contributions, and longevity. The influencing factors highlight the most common elements that impact the contributions of a project. The intended and actual contributions compare the project’s goals with their results. The longevity section proposes a number of prompting questions to assess the longevity of the outcomes. Three case studies provide a closer look at each project’s influencing factors, contributions and longevity. Synthesizing the case study’s results reveals several overall conclusions and areas for improvement within community archaeology.

Representation of the Space of Germany in “Journey” by W.K. Küchelbecker

The paper deals with the spatial images of Germany presented in the Russian literature traditions at the turn of the 18th – 19th centuries in the "Journey" by W.K. Küchelbecker. The common elements between these traditions of the depiction of territories of Germany and W.K. Küchelbecker’s text are the liminality of Baltics and Alsace, the motif of the monotonous travel through Prussia, representation of Saxony as the idyllic land whereas Prussia is antiidyllic, as well as labeling Germany as a land of European prominent cultural figures. Moreover, at the same time, unlike to sentimentalism discourse the romanticist W.K. Küchelbecker is more prone to depicting of contrasts in the image of Germany in his works. His picture of Königsberg is remarkably unusual combining traditional German (medieval-Gothic) and non-German typical features. The characteristic romanticism elements connected with the landscapes of Germany in the “Journey” are the rejection of the mechanistic civilization and worship of nature. In addition, W.K. Küchelbecker represents Germany as the battlefield for freedom of Europe.

Testamentary Inheritance in Comparative Law. A comparative View of Testamentary Practices and Legal Frameworks in Italy and Latin America

The practice of making wills is as diverse as it is old. While the legislation in some cultures favors certain principles, others emphasize distinct precepts, all of which are guided in the background by the different cultural views about family and the importance attributed to the surviving spouse. Since the practice of testamentary inheritance is based on the desire to provide care to those left behind by the testator, and not in a few cases, in the absence of a constant income that he used to provide, it is important to identify the logic after which each legislator decides who are vulnerable people and which part of the successoral mass should be attributed to them. In the context of societal change in which the family no longer has the same definitions, the present study conducts a comparative analysis of testamentary practices and legal frameworks in Italy and Latin America in an effort to identify both the common elements that define these two Latin geographical areas, as well as their particularities. This analysis is relevant to the established literature in the field of inheritances by capturing the characteristics of two legal systems that have not received the necessary academic attention.