Qadhat—a comparative study of ancient and new lime mortar from the Marib province/Yemen

Qadhat is the name for a lime mortar in Southern Arabia. Its usage has a long tradition. This work describes physical and mineralogical properties of ancient, historical and new samples, which seem to have been produced the same way. XRD, thin sections and SEM analyses show the similarity of the material. It consists of aggregates of volcanic material that are rich in volcanic glass and lime as binder. The production process includes several hours of crushing the material, which produces fine-grained splinters of aggregates in the binder matrix and gives the mortar a high stability. A weathering test with sodium sulphate on different samples confirms that the stability of this mortar is the result of the production process.     

我国人文地理学研究、教学与出版关系论——以出版为中心的探讨

地理学界关于教学与研究的关系有些研究,关于研究与出版、教学与出版的关系几乎没有研究,但人文地理学界对这两种关系没有什么研究。研究表明,教学与研究相互依赖,研究是教学的基础,教学是研究成果得以普及和传承的途径之一,还可能促进研究的深入。教学和研究的质量和水平与出版有相当的关系。教材建设需要引进足够的重视并根据成果写出,研究的理念需要拓展,需要培养问题意识、学术史意识、与同行对话的意识和理论意识,还应注意著述的学术规范。学术出版要坚持高标准,以品质为导向,兼顾经济效益和社会效益。     

Exploring Spatial Relationships between Material Culture and Language in the Upper Sepik and Central New Guinea

ABSTRACT New Guinea is the most linguistically diverse region in the world. Over 1,000 languages are found there. Unsurprisingly, controversy exists concerning the degree to which this diversity has been shaped by migration or interaction. At the centre of this controversy is the putative origin and migration path of Austronesian speakers. The advent of Lapita ceramic ware in Melanesia around 3,000 years ago is seen by some as important evidence for their arrival; nevertheless the validity of using Lapita as a marker for Austronesian populations remains in question. The Upper Sepik is one of New Guinea's most linguistically heterogeneous regions. Because it is not marked by far‐reaching exchange systems the region's language and material culture distributions provide potential for exploring such issues. This paper discusses these in the context of an analysis of important ethnographic collections from the region. It is shown that when material culture is assessed technologically and stylistically it is easier to determine an effect for important variables such as language and distance. Additionally, it is demonstrated that as men and women often have different levels of mobility and sociality, classes of material culture belonging to each may differentially reflect important socio‐historical processes.     

Material Culture and the Magical Power of Dance Objects

ABSTRACT This paper takes up the call by scholars such as Alfred Gell to consider objects of material culture as objects, by examining them in the context of production, circulation and reception. Because they are unadorned and without visual interest, langarol, the hand‐held artefacts used in some New Ireland dance performances, do not lend themselves to modes of analysis that see cultural objects as surrogate texts, the hidden meanings of which can be ‘read’. This very ‘lack’ enables us more readily to discern their significance, which lies in their magical potency and in the performance of their creator, the shaman, in attracting, wielding and revealing his awesome power. The power sought is less power over others and more power to — the ability to realise projects that can elicit effects. If consciousness and body are one, such achievements are to be understood as embodiments of intentionality and agency. It is through the production and wielding of such objects that people make themselves.     

Raw material quality and Oldowan hominin toolstone preferences: evidence from Kanjera South,Kenya

The role of raw material quality in Oldowan technology has not been fully explored. There are numerous studies suggesting Oldowan hominins preferred certain types of stone for artifact manufacture. Previous studies of the artifact assemblage from the early Pliocene Oldowan locality of Kanjera South (South Rachuonyo District, Kenya) show that raw material selection and transport was an important aspect of Late Pliocene hominin adaptations. Yet the exact properties of stones that hominins were selecting remain enigmatic. Two potentially important features of artifact raw material are durability and fracture predictability. We investigate fracture predictability through mechanical tests of stone and investigations of the affect of stone properties on fracture patterns in archaeological collections. We investigate stone durability with actualistic studies of edge attrition combined with further mechanical tests of various lithologies. Oldowan hominins at Kanjera appear to have selected raw materials based on their durability. The ability for a stone to fracture consistently does not appear to be as important in hominin toolstone preference as previously assumed. Hominins that produced the assemblages at Kanjera South appear to have incorporated an extensive understanding of various attributes of raw material in the transport and production of stone artifacts. When combined with previous research on the transport patterns at Kanjera, the results of this study provide evidence for a more complex raw material acquisition strategy than has previously been suggested for Late Pliocene Oldowan hominins.     

浅谈小学语文教学改革的创新

我国小学语文教育,是最基础的教育,它不仅仅要培养学生们,正确地运用文字以及掌握文字,而且还要通过文字这个工具,为后续的学习与各项门科打下竖实的基础。     

让学生在阅读中感受文本的美

《语文课程标准》在关于阅读教学的建议中指出”：阅读是搜集处理信息、认识世界、发展思维、获得审美体验的重要途径。”文质兼美的语文教材为我们展现了一个璀璨夺目的美的世界。我们应积极引导学生通过文本阅读感受语文之美。语文教学是真善美的统一,是以求真为基础向善的迈进;而美则是向着善的目标迈进的最佳途径。因此我认为,语文课堂教学既是一门科学,又是一门艺术。而阅读是学生应该掌握的一项基本技能。让学生在阅读中提升写作技能、开拓视界、放飞心灵,进而在享受中去阅读,这是做为一个语文教师应该做到的。合理运用阅读能够逐步培养学生探究性学习和创造性学习的能力,教师要引导学生在读中体会情感,在读中获取信患,在读中得到精神的享受。     

“读”与“写”有机地结合

语文教学包括讲读教学和作文教学两大内容。一般的语文教学方法是将讲读课与作文课完全分开来进行教学,认为两者联系并不十分密切,而且也很难将两者有机地结合起来进行教学,于是在讲读课上只进行范文教学,不搞作文教学,关于作文教学的内容或存在的问题则放到作文课上去教授、解决。其结果,无形中留给学生一个错觉,似乎讲读课文与写作文之间没有必然的联系;有的学生甚至更错误地认为不上语文课照样能写好作文。     

机械教学之我见

针对机械专业课的特点,从教材内容出发,就如何抓住教学重点,正确处理重点、难点,新课的导入,教学方法的选择及课堂辅导进行论述。明确了课堂教学的步骤和方法。     

如何提高信息技术课的课堂效率

随着信忠社会的到来,中学计算机教育正在蓬勃发展,不断加快教育改革步伐,不断探索有效的教学方法,利用现代化的教学手段,提高学生的计算机知识水平和实践动手能力,以提高未来建设者的科学文化素质、能力和科技意识,是中学信息技术教育的根本任务。如何在本课程的课堂教学中挖掘学生的学习动力、提商课堂教学效率,是我们教师应该不断探索的课题。