The allegorical Middle Dutch text, Een gheestelijc casteel [A Spiritual Castle], encourages readers to mentally construct a precious castle in which they will be able to receive Christ. The... Show moreThe allegorical Middle Dutch text, Een gheestelijc casteel [A Spiritual Castle], encourages readers to mentally construct a precious castle in which they will be able to receive Christ. The description of the castle provides a mnemonic image that readers could use during prayer and meditation. Although the author makes no direct reference to Luke 10:38, the allegory is authorized by the exegesis of this Biblical passage: Mary is the castle in which Jesus has entered and she keeps the active and spiritual life, symbolized by Martha and Mary Magdalene, in perfect balance. The Middle Dutch text likely originated around 1460 in the Brussels convent of Jericho (Regular Canonesses). In the last decade of the fifteenth century, the text, now adapted for a lay audience, was printed in Antwerp by Govaert Bac. He was an important member of the Antwerp guild of St Luke, the professional association of painters and printers that also included Antwerp’s principal chamber of rhetoric. The attractive architectural allegory and exercise presented in Bac’s booklet finds parallels in contemporary paintings of Mary and the Christ Child, who are often either portrayed in a landscape with a castle-like architectural structure clearly visible in the background or within a castle-like building. In the former compositions the castle can be viewed as a reflection or ‘echo’ of Mary as a castle (the painting thus portrays two castles) while at the same time functioning as a reminder to those familiar with the meditative image of the spiritual castle to pursue their spiritual skopos. The latter images could be seen as portraying a castle (Mary) within a castle (building), similar to Mary (or the womb) within a room, or even Jan van Eyck’s Madonna in the Church. Show less
This study aims to better understand how international cultural funding shapes opportunities for organizations to grow as generators of creativity able to provide transformative experiences for... Show moreThis study aims to better understand how international cultural funding shapes opportunities for organizations to grow as generators of creativity able to provide transformative experiences for local audiences. It analyzes the experiences of four cases located in the Middle East and North Africa region, namely L’Atelier de l’Observatoire (Morocco), Clown Me In (Lebanon), Bantmag (Turkey), and Volunteer Palestine (West Bank). Although the Prince Claus Fund, Hivos, and European Cultural Foundation (ECF) have sought alternatives to the neoliberal instrumentalization of their funding measured according to the rubrics of impact, our research shows that organizations still struggle with the need to appeal to international funding bodies while also focusing on their work as embedded in local conditions. Show less
The second-century bce Libyco-Berber inscriptions from Dougga (present-day Tunisia) have seven different signs for sibilants. In this article the sibilant system of these inscriptions and of the... Show moreThe second-century bce Libyco-Berber inscriptions from Dougga (present-day Tunisia) have seven different signs for sibilants. In this article the sibilant system of these inscriptions and of the language they represent is studied in detail. It is shown that the different signs are not just graphemic variants but represent different pronunciations. It is also shown that there is a possibility that the seven signs in fact represent three or four articulations with a length contrast, even though the evidence is very weak. As Proto-Berber has been reconstructed with only three sibilants (+ length opposition), the choice of how to analyze the seven Libyco-Berber sibilant signs has important implications as to how the relationship between Libyco-Berber and Proto-Berber is to be assessed. Show less
This study compared the pedagogical effects of educational robot development and the block based programming perspectives, which are used in programming education, on middle school students. Its... Show moreThis study compared the pedagogical effects of educational robot development and the block based programming perspectives, which are used in programming education, on middle school students. Its participants were 78 sixth graders. Considering the students' preferences, 38 students were assigned to the experimental group, which studied with robotics (Lego EV3) sets, and 40 students were assigned to the control group, which studied with block-based programming environment (Scratch). All the topics of the programming unit, which are shown in the methods section, were taught to both groups for 10 weeks using the two different approaches. The change created by the implementation between the groups was tested for academic achievement, computational thinking skill efficacy perceptions, and conceptual knowledge levels. The results indicate that educational robotics develop middle school students' academic achievement and computational thinking skill efficacy perceptions more effectively than block-based programming environments. The connections between the concepts of the students who did robotics were also found to be more solid than those who worked with block-based software. Show less
Aarten, P.; Buiskool, B-J.; Hudepohl, M.; Lakerveld, J. van; Matthys, J. 2020
The genus Phyllanthus is paraphyletic as currently circumscribed, with the genera Breynia, Glochidion and Synostemon nested within it. A phylogeny based on nuclear (ITS, PHYC) and chloroplast (matK, .Show moreThe genus Phyllanthus is paraphyletic as currently circumscribed, with the genera Breynia, Glochidion and Synostemon nested within it. A phylogeny based on nuclear (ITS, PHYC) and chloroplast (matK, accD-psaI, trnS-trnG) markers is presented, including 18/18 subgenera and 53/70 sections. Differences in habit, branching type, floral and fruit characters are discussed, and we find indications for shifts in pollination and dispersal strategies possibly underlying the convergent evolution of these characters in multiple clades. Several taxonomic issues were found in the subgeneric classification of Phyllanthus that will require new transfers and rank changes. Phyllanthus subg. Anesonemoides, subg. Conami, subg. Emblica, subg. Gomphidium, subg. Kirganelia and subg. Phyllanthus are polyphyletic, and several sections appear to be paraphyletic (e.g., P. sect. Anisonema, sect. Emblicastrum, sect. Pseudoactephila, sect. Swartziani, and sect. Xylophylla); P. subg. Phyllanthodendron is furthermore paraphyletic with the genus Glochidion nested within. To create a classification of tribe Phyllantheae that comprises exclusively monophyletic taxa, it is necessary to treat several clades at the same taxonomic rank as the genera Breynia, Glochidion and Synostemon. Since combining all genera would lead to one giant heterogeneous genus that is difficult to define, we recommend dividing Phyllanthus into several monophyletic genera, which have previously been recognized and often possess diagnostic (combinations of) morphological characters. This new classification is forthcoming. Show less
