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Seasonal awareness a traditional way of life

By Guest PostFebruary 8, 2014Cultureannual cycle, Britain, candlemas eve, church, ecology, english rural traditions, februus, latin februa, pagan god, professor nick groom, seasonal awareness, traditional, underworld, university of exeter, way of life

A celebration of the traditional connections between human lives, the seasons and the natural world form the basis of a new book by University of Exeter academic, Professor Nick Groom.

The book, called ‘The Seasons: An Elegy for the Passing of the Year’, is an urgent plea for English rural traditions not to be forgotten, and investigates not only how society is becoming cut off from the rhythms of the natural world, but also the ways in which the annual cycle has been celebrated for centuries. (more…)

Study finds link between discrimination and suicide attempts among transgender people

By Guest PostJanuary 30, 2014Culture, Generalann haas, anti transgender discrimination, attempting suicide, between, discrimination, hiv-positive, jody herman, link, peter j cooper, philip rodgers, risk, suicide attempts, ted eytan, transgender equality, transgender people, transgender research, victimization, violence

An analysis conducted by UCLA’s Jody Herman and collaborators at the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention has found that transgender people who experienced rejection by family and friends, discrimination, victimization, or violence have a higher risk for attempting suicide.

Examining data from the National Transgender Discrimination Survey, the researchers found that 78 percent of respondents who suffered physical or sexual violence at school reported suicide attempts, as did 65 percent of respondents who experienced violence at work. (more…)

Cohabitation Plays ‘Major Role’ in Number of Long-Term Relationships

By Guest PostJanuary 28, 2014Culture, Science18 year old, audrey light, cohabitation, forming a relationship, jeff grabmeier, long term relationships, major role, marriage, ohio state university, potential means, woman, yoshiaki omori

Large numbers of cohabiters leave their mark, study finds

COLUMBUS, Ohio – A new national study provides surprising evidence of how cohabitation contributes to the number of long-term relationships lasting eight years or longer.

It is well-known that couples who live together are much more likely to end their relationships within a short-term period than are married couples. (more…)

Scandalous bodies and our relationship with food

By Guest PostJanuary 21, 2014Culture, Healthalcohol consumption, attitude, body shape, corinna wagner, extravagant lifestyle, georgian period, goddesses of health, government, honest british, king george, late georgian england, medicine, mid victorian period, model, modern day phenomenon, monarchy, mulligatawny soup, obesity, over indulgence, pathological bodies, persian delicacies, physical perfection, political culture, self control, self discipline, the english malady, thomas king chambers, university of exeter, victorian, vitriolic public condemnation

Attitudes toward over-indulgence, obesity and body shape were being hotly debated and used for political purposes as early as the 19^th century, a new book claims. ‘Pathological Bodies’, by Dr Corinna Wagner from the University of Exeter, shows that body consciousness is not just a modern-day phenomenon.

Instead, medical warning about excessive eating and drinking, and public attitudes about self-control and discipline emerged more than 250 years ago, when the perceived decadence of the Georgian period gave way to the more moderate and austere approach adopted by the Victorians. (more…)

Facebook memes can evolve like genes

By Guest PostJanuary 18, 2014Culture, Technologybehavior, biological genes, data science team, evolution, evolutionary biologist, evolve like genes, eytan adar, facebook meme, genetic information, idea, jabba the hutt, lada adamic, meme reproduction, mutation, petri dish, richard dawkins, self described liberals, share button, social network, star wars, thousands of variations, university of michigan, villain, viral internet content

ANN ARBOR — What started as a politically liberal Facebook meme in support of health care reform morphed as it spread across the social network into hundreds of thousands of variations—some just a few words from the original, but others centered on taxes, beer, or Star Wars’ villain Jabba the Hutt.

The twists on the original text over time in many ways mirrored the evolution of biological genes, researchers from the University of Michigan and Facebook have found. (more…)

Klimt-Sonderführungen an der Universität Wien

By Guest PostJanuary 16, 2014Culturedas bild, fakultaetsbilder, festsaal, franz matsch, gustav klimt, schloss immendorf, symbolistisches hauptwerk, theologie, universitaet wien

Die Universität Wien bietet im Februar wieder Führungen zu Historie und Diskurs rund um die so genannten “Fakultätsbilder” von Gustav Klimt an. Klimt hatte in den 1890er Jahren gemeinsam mit Franz Matsch den Auftrag erhalten, den Großen Festsaal der Universität Wien mit Deckengemälden auszustatten. Diese Gemälde riefen einen Sturm der Entrüstung hervor und wurden durch den Künstler letztlich zurückgekauft. 1945 verbrannten sie in Schloss Immendorf.

Inhalt der Führungen sind die Entstehungsgeschichte der “Fakultätsbilder” sowie die vielschichtigen Diskussionen, die rund um diese Gemälde stattfanden. Den BesucherInnen werden die im Jahr 2005 an der Decke angebrachten Reproduktionen im Festsaal gezeigt und sie erhalten einen Reader mit zeitgenössischen Texten. (more…)

Northerners have upper crust in UK language divide

By Guest PostJanuary 6, 2014Culture, Generalbrummies, dunlop athletic plimsolls, geographical barriers, george bailey, jessica fox, laurel mackenzie, linguist, mancunian, moray in scotland, my northern roots, north of manchester, north south divide, northerners, political, residents of merseyside, rhyme, south of england, southerners, uk language divide, upper crust

Whereas ‘pants’-wearing Northerners enjoy a ‘bap’, ‘bun’ or ‘barm’ for their ’tea’, Southerners in ‘trousers’ are more likely to tuck into a ‘roll’ for their ‘dinner’, find language researchers at The University of Manchester.

A survey of 1400 English speakers by linguist Dr Laurel MacKenzie and her students reveals a North-South divide on how we describe everyday items such as bread, trousers, footwear and evening meals.

They also show how Northerners and Southerners can pronounce the same words in completely different ways. (more…)

Osher presentation

By Guest PostDecember 31, 2013Culturealexandra styron, american authors, cowboys, hunter college, indians, lifelong learning program, literature class, new york city, osher presentation, reading my father, sanford robbins, skype, tappan wilder, university of delaware, william styron

Skype session with author Alexandra Styron illuminates father’s work

A literature class at the University of Delaware’s Osher Lifelong Learning program in Lewes recently participated in an unexpected one-on-one conversation with Alexandra Styron about the life and work of her father, celebrated author William Styron, famous for novels like The Confessions of Nat Turner and Sophie’s Choice.

A novelist in her own right, Alexandra Styron recounts her experiences growing up in a household often full of drama and turmoil in her memoir Reading My Father. (more…)

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