In the previous century and millennium, I have been working on a good deal of facsimiles of Bon Manuscripts from Dolanji (mostly from the PL480 publications), together with several bonpo Geshes and... Show moreIn the previous century and millennium, I have been working on a good deal of facsimiles of Bon Manuscripts from Dolanji (mostly from the PL480 publications), together with several bonpo Geshes and monks. Many of the publications were reproductions of manuscripts from the library bSam gling Monastery in Dol po, Nepal, on loan in Dolanji (some made it back to Nepal, some apparently didn{\textquoteright}t). The exact possible earlier migratory routes and provenance of the original manuscripts is yet to be established clearly and comprehensively.While working on these manuscripts, I couldn{\textquoteright}t help but notice, in my peripheral vision, that there seemed to be system and regularity to the ubiquitous idiosyncrasies in orthography and to the system of abbreviation used in these manuscripts. Occasionally, I also started recognising writing styles and even personal hands. Many of these particularities seemed to relate to local conventions, as I was also advised by some of my erudite informants.* While I took note of some of the major characteristics, I felt that these apparent orthographic peculiarities deserved to be looked into more systematically: this workshop may be a good opportunity to do so.This paper is thus intended as a first and indeed very modest contribution toward a definition of local orthographic styles of Bon manuscripts, based on the digitized files available in my research archive (and on reproductions of the originals). I shall to report on discernible patterns and regularities.* I have discussed some of these typical orthographical features and hands with one of my informants, Lopon Trinley Nyima Rinpoche. He appeared able to identify some of the hands and the couleur locale, in fact with some measure of confidence. Show less
The question of the balance of power between languages during periods of geopolitical transformation is important when individuals in situations of migration are asked to tell their story. We offer... Show moreThe question of the balance of power between languages during periods of geopolitical transformation is important when individuals in situations of migration are asked to tell their story. We offer a sociolinguistic, postcolonial analysis of interviews conducted in the Netherlands between French-speaking newcomers and a Dutch interviewer. This reveals the unnoticed role that multilingual and translational strategies play in mediating identities through French. By interweaving historical and contemporary points of view, we see how the translinguistic space created in this context enables encounters, changes in relationships of domination, and the rehabilitation of identity. More generally, we question the role of the target language as a privileged means for achieving social inclusion. We argue that institutions should acknowledge language biographies and take them into account. Show less
Ancient starch research illuminates aspects of human ecology and economic botany that drove human evolution and cultural complexity over time, with a special emphasis on past technology, diet,... Show moreAncient starch research illuminates aspects of human ecology and economic botany that drove human evolution and cultural complexity over time, with a special emphasis on past technology, diet, health, and adaptation to changing environments and socio-economic systems. However, lapses in prevailing starch research demonstrate the exaggerated expectations for the field that have been generated over the last few decades. This includes an absence of explanation for the millennial-scale survivability of a biochemically degradable polymer, and difficulties in establishing authenticity and taxonomic identification. This paper outlines new taphonomic and authenticity criteria to guide future work toward designing research programs that fully exploit the potential of ancient starch while considering growing demands from readers, editors, and reviewers that look for objective compositional identification of putatively ancient starch granules. Show less
The most common cause of vitamin D deficiency is inadequate dermal exposure to sunlight. Residual rickets is nonadult vitamin D deficiency still evident in an adult individual, whereas osteomalacia... Show moreThe most common cause of vitamin D deficiency is inadequate dermal exposure to sunlight. Residual rickets is nonadult vitamin D deficiency still evident in an adult individual, whereas osteomalacia occurs in adulthood. Previous research on the Beemster population, a 19th century rural community in the Netherlands, identified rickets in 30.4% of the nonadults between the ages of two and four years (n =7/23). Because the sex of these nonadults was not known it was not possible to determine if there were differences between boys and girls. To overcome this gap in our knowledge, the aim of this paper is to determine if there are gender related differences in vitamin D deficiency in the Beemster skeletal collection, based on adults with residual rickets and osteomalacia. Out of 200 adults (100 females; 100 males) no cases of osteomalacia were detected. However, there were 29 cases of residual rickets (14.5%), with 21 of those cases in females (21.0%; 21/100). A complex interplay of multiple factors is proposed to have affected vitamin D levels in nonadults, including sociocultural variables such as gender-based labour norms. This research highlights the importance of continuing to explore gender-based health differences in past populations. Show less
his article empirically assesses the applicability of structural-level hypotheses for involvement in terrorism within the context of European homegrown jihadism. It uses these hypotheses to study... Show morehis article empirically assesses the applicability of structural-level hypotheses for involvement in terrorism within the context of European homegrown jihadism. It uses these hypotheses to study how structural factors influenced involvement in the Dutch “Hofstadgroup.” Structural factors enabled the group’s emergence and its participants’ adoption of extremist views. They also motivated involvement in political violence and a shift in some participants’ focus from joining Islamist insurgents overseas to committing terrorism in the Netherlands. Finally, structural factors precipitated an actual terrorist attack. No support is found for the frequently encountered argument that discrimination and exclusion drive involvement in European homegrown jihadism. Instead, geopolitical grievances were prime drivers of this process. Show less
Schuurman, B.W.; Bakker, E.; Gill, P.; Bouhana, N. 2018
This article provides an in-depth assessment of lone actor terrorists’ attack planning and preparation. A codebook of 198 variables related to different aspects of pre-attack behavior is applied to... Show moreThis article provides an in-depth assessment of lone actor terrorists’ attack planning and preparation. A codebook of 198 variables related to different aspects of pre-attack behavior is applied to a sample of 55 lone actor terrorists. Data were drawn from open-source materials and complemented where possible with primary sources. Most lone actors are not highly lethal or surreptitious attackers. They are generally poor at maintaining operational security, leak their motivations and capabilities in numerous ways, and generally do so months and even years before an attack. Moreover, the “loneness” thought to define this type of terrorism is generally absent; most lone actors uphold social ties that are crucial to their adoption and maintenance of the motivation and capability to commit terrorist violence. The results offer concrete input for those working to detect and prevent this form of terrorism and argue for a re-evaluation of the “lone actor” concept. Show less
Kortselius, J.; Kamp, J. van der; Kruijer, J.D. 2018
In a Bryonet discussion about Fissidens fontanus (Octodiceras) in May 2016, Jim Dickson asked whether anyone could throw light on Dixon’s (1924) statement that it is not unusual for the capsule to... Show moreIn a Bryonet discussion about Fissidens fontanus (Octodiceras) in May 2016, Jim Dickson asked whether anyone could throw light on Dixon’s (1924) statement that it is not unusual for the capsule to fall off and new plants to spring from the margins of the calyptra. A possible source for this statement could have been an illustration showing a shoot arising from the inner part of the calyptra of Octodiceras published by Britton in 1902. In the Bryonet discussion that followed, several participants suggested this might be a once-only observation. We decided to repeat and extend the culture experiments that van der Kamp conducted in 2009, in which plants of F. fontanus successfully produced sporophytes (van der Kamp 2018). For this study, we collected F. fontanus from a submerged population on the brick stone wall in a canal in the city of Utrecht (River Kromme Rijn) in February 2017. The plants we collected were very eroded and damaged by grazing invertebrates. To prevent the plants from being overgrown by other organisms, e.g. algae, the plants were transferred into clean bottles and new water fortnightly. The detritus, which in the earlier experiments was thrown away, was in the new experiment accurately inspected on the presence of detached sporophytes. Many sporophytes were found, not only in the detritus at the bottom of the tank, but also floating at the water surface close to the rim of the glass. During the months of April, May, and June, in total c. 175 released sporophytes have been collected, but after this period no new sporophytes were found. The detached sporophytes were placed into small bottles in order to follow their development. After a few months the majority of the calyptrae on these sporophytes developed juvenile plants. All juvenile plants originated at the calyptra base at the inner face. We have come to the conclusion that the production of juvenile plants from the calyptrae of F. fontanus is not just a once-only event but reflects a regular strategy for vegetative reproduction and dispersal. Show less
