Early Books Research Articles

The Geocultural Image of the Vygovsky Region in the Mikhail Prishvin’s Works: Specifics and Factors of Change

In the article the authors analyze the geocultural image of the Vygovsky region, its transformation in the works by Mikhail M. Prishvin in his early books “In the Land of Fearless Birds”, “Behind the Magic Bun” and in the final novel “Tsar’s Road”. In the first works, the idea of the unique geocultural space in the region is presented through acquaintance with the life style, cultural traditions, values and worldview of people who were born and live in this region all their lives. In the fairy tale novel “Tsar’s Road”, in contrast to the earlier works, deep philosophical reflections on the meaning of Russian history are added to Prishvin’s impression of the special natural and human “content” in the region, so the deciphering of an autonomous geocultural image, a unique complex subculture becomes the context for the writer to comprehend the multi-layered cultural, historical and socio-political space of the Russian North and Russia as a whole. The traditional contradiction of “necessity” and “freedom”, as a result of collision between state power and the original Russian people, according to the writer, on the territory of the Russian North has its own features and gives rise to other forms of compromise. The authors of the article explore these attributes of the transformation of cultural space in specific historical circumstances, its connection with geographical, political and socio-economic conditions, in the way Prishvin saw it, with the aim of further extrapolating conclusions to the historical and modern realities of Russian peoples. Views of Prishvin, which were not objectively assessed during the writer’s lifetime, today again attract the attention of the thinking part of humanity, since they raise to a very high level the problems of preserving the uniquenessof not only the natural-cultural system of the Russian North, but also of any ethnocultural subject.

Early American Literature Book Prize for 2023

Early American Literature Book Prize for 2023

20세기 전반기 문법서의 자음 관련 음운현상에 대한 고찰 - ‘닿소리의 잇어 바꿈’과 ‘말의 익음 소리’를 중심으로 -

20세기 전반기 문법서의 자음 관련 음운현상에 대한 고찰 - ‘닿소리의 잇어 바꿈’과 ‘말의 익음 소리’를 중심으로 -

Register im älteren Baltischen: Die Postillen des Altlitauischen und Altlettischen

If register is an essential part of language description, as has been stressed in past decades, it cannot be left out of consideration in the historic stages of a language, even though we have no direct grasp of its situational-functional contexts there. Although time-consuming and methodologically challenging, this is a necessary undertaking. The paper takes up the challenge, using the examples of Old Lithuanian and Old Latvian, where the beginning of written transmission roughly coincides with the spread of the Reformation and its counter- movements. Our text material is taken from the seven earliest Baltic postils: the Old Lithuanian Wolfenbüttel Postil, Bretkūnas’s, Daukša’s, and Morkūnas’s postils, the first part of Sirvydas’s Punktai Sakymų, and the third part of Knyga Nobažnystės (the Summa), and Mancelius’s Old Latvian postil. Postils, which nowadays are virtually unknown, were a very early, widespread and long-lived book type, so they were perfectly placed within written transmission to influence both the development and change of register. Combining two text types, differing in communication intent and addressees, namely gospel readings and the homilies that explain them, they can be shown to offer an excellent starting point for investigating historical registers, and for possible methods of exploring them.

Empowerment of Elderly Medical Emergency Response

Abstract. Old age or degenerative diseases are included in the category of non-communicable diseases that often require prompt treatment before being taken to the nearest health facility. Currently the number is increasing and is a frequent cause of death and disability throughout the world. Cardiovascular diseases such as stroke, cancer, chronic lung disease, and diabetes mellitus are the most common types of degenerative diseases. If degenerative diseases are treated as early as possible, then the disease can be prevented and does not worsen. This community service method was in the form of counseling on early detection, training, and practice of handling medical emergencies for degenerative diseases that require immediate assistance before being taken to a health facility. This community service was attended by 18 members of the elderly group assisted by PKU Kotagede Yogyakarta Hospital, which is located in Kotagede. The elderly group consisted of 8 women and 10 men, aged over 60 years. Prior to counselling and training, a pre-test was conducted to explore initial knowledge and a post-test to monitor the development of knowledge was given after the counselling and training. The results of the average pre-test score demonstrated a value of 7 while the results of the post-test indicated an average value of 9. The output of the service was in the form of an early recognition pocket book and handling medical emergencies in the elderly. Training on early detection and emergency degenerative diseases in the elderly can increase the knowledge and insight of the elderly to be more aware of worsening disease and provide first aid before being taken to the hospital.

Early books in the library of the parish of St John the Baptist in Bychawa

Although the parish of St John the Baptist in Bychawa is one of the oldest in the Lublin diocese, because its origins date back at least to the beginning of the 14th century, its library in the Old Polish period was very modest. This was caused by the following unfavourable historical conditions: the takeover of the church by Calvinists in the 16th century, difficulties with the restoration of the seized property, Cossack invasions, etc. For these reasons, until the end of the 17th century, the parish owned only necessary liturgical books, with the possible exception of those that had been donated by the parish priest Sebastian Piatkowski to his nephew as payment for his care in the 1930s; however, we have no detailed information about them. It was not until the 18th century that the book collection was enriched with non-liturgical books. These mainly included collections of sermons by Polish or foreign authors, maxims and prayer books, all serving pastoral work. Many of these books cannot be identified due to the general descriptions left by parish inspectors or damage to the codices. Most of the early printed books preserved to this day were possessed by private individuals, and a large number of them came from the libraries of monasteries liquidated after 1863. There are 29 of them, all basically in need of conservation.

The The Influence Of Early Children's Dental Health Monitoring Books On Parents' Knowledge In Az-Zahra Islamic Kindergarten, Jambi City

Background: The results of the 2018 Basic Health Research (Riskesdas) show that the prevalence of caries in the 3-4 year age group is 81.5% and the caries prevalence in the 5-9 year age group is 92.6%. The average def-t for the age group 3-4 years was 6.2 and the average def-t for the 5-year age group was 8.1. Research conducted on all kindergarten students in Malalayang District showed that the prevalence of primary tooth caries was 90% with an average index def-t = 6.99.Method: The design in this study used a pre-experimental one group pre-test posttest. There were 30 samples in the study that met the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Results: The statistical test output shows that the p-value of knowledge is 0.000. Because the value 0.000 < 0.05, the hypothesis is accepted, which means there is a difference between the dental health knowledge scores for the pre-test and post-test.Conclusion: Monitoring books can increase parents' knowledge in Az-Zahra Islamic Kindergarten, Jambi City

Material properties and durability of 19th–20th century Tibetan manuscripts

Most currently available research into Tibetan paper focuses on the earliest books from an archaeological perspective. On the other hand, scientific studies of the 19th−20th century Tibetan paper are largely missing, specifically with respect to material properties and paper permanence. To explore these, both conventional and modified methods were applied using reference historic material collection. Material properties such as fibre morphology, paper pH, degree of polymerisation (DP), water and ash contents were investigated. The measurement methods for starch and protein content were explored—and we report on a quantification method for the determination of starch content in paper. The degradation behaviour of Tibetan paper was studied using accelerated degradation experiments at two sets of conditions (80 ˚C, 65% RH and 60 ˚C, 80% RH) for up to 84 days in order to explore the applicability of existing dose-response functions. The results demonstrate that examined 19th−20th century papers used in Tibetan books, were prepared using diverse fibres, similar to traditional Chinese paper. Most of paper sheets presented laminated structures, where starch was used as the predominant glue. The layers within one paper sheet are identical, as evidenced by similar pH and DP values among layers in one sheet. The studied collection of papers tends to have similar properties to modern Chinese paper since most of both types of papers present pH 6.5–8 and DP 1000–2000. The accelerated degradation experiment shows that papers used as writing support in Tibetan books follows the same principle of degradation as western paper has demonstrated, i.e., the rate constants of degradation depend on paper pH, temperature, and relative humidity of the environment. This research expands our understanding of this collection and inform preventive conservation of modern Tibetan manuscripts.

Developing a classification model for graphic devices in early printed books

This article examines visual modes of information transmission in early modern English books. Images, tables, diagrams, and other graphic devices may be used to support or illustrate the text and to communicate information difficult or even impossible to convey via words alone. Previously established models of graphic representation generally focus either on individual devices or device types, or aim to construct taxonomies of present-day materials; little has been done to combine these approaches to create historical taxonomies of visual communication. This article presents a model for classifying graphic devices in early English print, 1473-1700, based on a cross-disciplinary review of previous scholarly work on graphic and visual devices, and discusses the methodology of constructing a taxonomy of devices suitable for historical, diachronic research.

Lydgate, Chaucer, and Lady Margaret Beaufort

ABSTRACT In an early book on Lydgate, Derek Pearsall was dismissive of Lydgate’s verse legend of Saint Margaret of Antioch. While perhaps of limited literary interest, the poem merits some claim to attention in its occurrence in the Devonshire Chaucer (New Haven, Yale Beinecke Library MS Takamiya 24). There it is paired with the Canterbury Tales in a context that has led to the suggestion that the manuscript might be the Canterbury Tales bequeathed by Lady Margaret Beaufort (1443–1509), Countess of Richmond and Derby, and mother of Henry VII, to her nephew of the half-blood, John St. John. This article refines the argument and offers an explanation for its early provenance in the Knyvett family. It explores the circumstances of the commissioning of Lydgate’s poem, and the context in which it might have circulated singly and been selected for adding to a manuscript of the Canterbury Tales, a context that reveals a network of family connections—Staffords, Hollands, Beauchamps, Beauforts, Knyvetts, and Bourchiers.

In search of founding era registers: automatic modeling of registers from the corpus of Founding Era American English

Abstract Registers are situationally defined text varieties, such as letters, essays, or news articles, that are considered to be one of the most important predictors of linguistic variation. Often historical databases of language lack register information, which could greatly enhance their usability (e.g. Early English Books Online). This article examines register variation in Late Modern English and automatic register identification in historical corpora. We model register variation in the corpus of Founding Era American English (COFEA) and develop machine-learning methods for automatic register identification in COFEA. We also extract and analyze the most significant grammatical characteristics estimated by the classifier for the best-predicted registers and found that letters and journals in the 1700s were characterized by informational density. The chosen method enables us to learn more about registers in the Founding Era. We show that some registers can be reliably identified from COFEA, the best overall performance achieved by the deep learning model Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers with an F1-score of 97 per cent. This suggests that deep learning models could be utilized in other studies concerned with historical language and its automatic classification.

Magic and Spells in <em>Buffy the Vampire Slayer</em> (1997-2003)

Magic and Spells in <em>Buffy the Vampire Slayer</em> (1997-2003)

“To Make Books Is to Multiply”: Artists' Books and Feminist Expression in Mexico

Abstract In the late 1970s and early 80s, artist's books exploded in Mexico City. The impetus for this explosion has often been located in the artistic practice of the experimental artist Felipe Ehrenberg and the bookmaking workshops he offered beginning in 1976. While Ehrenberg was undoubtedly influential, this essay reexamines the history of this period—a so-called Golden Epoch of independent publishing in Mexico––in order to recuperate the significant role that feminist-aligned artists played in advancing the medium of the artist's book. In particular, I examine early editions produced by the artists Magali Lara and Yani Pecanins. Both prolific producers and staunch advocates for the artist's book medium, Lara and Pecanins wielded the book form's unique qualities in order to interrogate and validate aspects of women's experience that were often elided from both Mexican popular culture and the contemporaneous experimental art scene. Their early artist's books were conduits for feminist expression that pushed the limits of formal experimentation and forged new circuits of communication.

Unpaid Debts to London Booksellers: John Harrison the Elder’s Lawsuit against Two Chapmen in 1585

Abstract This article presents a transcript of a recently discovered booklist from a 1585 lawsuit at the Court of Common Pleas. This list describes a large book sale made on 3 May 1584 to two chapmen named John Herne and Thomas Jackson. It throws light on the Elizabethan book trade and the litigation practices of London booksellers, and it contains rare evidence on the trade prices of early modern books. It also records the earliest known purchase of Edmund Spenser’s celebrated Shepheardes calender (first published in 1579).

R. K. Narayan’s Memoir: “My Days” - A Critical Study

“My Days” is an autobiography which tells the story of R. K. Narayan’s brought up commences with his childhood days he spent in his grandmother’s home in Chennai and his initial college years at Mysore followed by a brief stint as college teacher and in vivid details describes his journey as an author. Narayan was a leading author of early Indian literature in English. It’s his mentor Graham Greene, an English novelist-cum-journalist, who discovered potentialities in Narayan as an innate writer and he is instrumental in getting publishers for Narayan’s early books which made him a celebrated writer. He was the winner of Central Sahithya Academy award for “The Guide” which was adapted for the film (winning a Film fare Award for Best Film) and for Broadway. He chooses characters of everyday life and highlights the social context while portraying realistic presentation of contemporary society and thus standing as towering personality among Indian writers in English.

„Ein unbegreiflich zahlreiches Sternenheer“ – Eine Kupfertafel, ergänzend zu Kants Maupertuis-Rezeption in der NTH (1755)

Abstract In his Treatise on the Figure of the Stars (1732), Maupertuis described bright and elliptic phenomena in the night sky. Based on Maupertuis’s account of these astronomical observations, Kant developed an explanation of his own in his early book on the Universal Natural History and Theory of the Heavens (1755). For him, these figures were seemingly stars, suns and even whole galaxies, subsystems orbiting a central body or a central sun, held by Kant to be the middle of the universe and a whole, an immense and immeasurable system of many uncountable solar systems. Since Kant did not read Maupertuis’s treatise, he derived his knowledge from a review of the Collected Essays of Maupertuis, in which the Treatise was published (1744). This review appeared in the Nova Acta Eruditorum in April 1745. Alongside this known source, another possible and complementary source on Maupertuis’s theory may have influenced Kant in his thinking: Gottsched’s philosophical textbook First Elements of all Philosophical Disciplines (5th edition, Theoretical part, Vol. I, 1748). The plate beneath the front matter of this book shows a picture of many solar systems. It depicts in detail, and according to Maupertuis’s account, comets signifying the center of different solar systems by the alignment of their tails, pointing in the opposite direction of the center. Gottsched’s book was known to Kant, who mentioned it in at least three lectures on logic. In addition, it was widely read in Königsberg’s intellectual and academic circles, since Gottsched was born not far from Königsberg and was a friend of Knutzen, Flottwell, Scheffner, the Imperial Countess of Keyserlingk, and others.

Application of Mianzhu New Year Painting Art Style in Childrens Picture Books

This paper analyzes the attraction of children's language learning and literacy through the collation of Chinese Mianzhu New Year's Paintings art style, analyzes the attraction of children's language learning and literacy through the reading of early children's New Year's Paintings art style picture books, summarizes the use of pre-school children's favorite picture book survey reports and data, and analyzes the case of the excellent picture book design that has won awards for integrating the Chinese traditional art style, and the result shows that Mianzhu New Year's Paintings art style has great potential to be explored in the field of picture books. The results show that Mianzhu Nianhua art style in the field of picture books has great potential to be explored, and its artistic characteristics have strong extensibility and integration, and the use of saturated, bright colors combined with children's favorite picture book themes will be more attractive to children to read picture books. This study provides a new design reference for the integration of traditional Chinese art styles with children's picture books, which can enhance children's language learning and literacy skills while promoting the traditional Chinese art of Mianzhu New Year's Paintings.

Devastating Environmental Degradation and Genetic Engineering in Margaret Atwood’s the Year of the Flood

Margaret Atwood’s The Year of the Flood (2009) is a novel about extremism and confrontation in America more clearly than any of her earlier books. The scope of Oryx and Crake (2003) has been dramatically expanded by The Year of the Flood, which takes place in the same dismal future. The Year of the Flood, a “simultaneous” that builds on Oryx and Crake’s tale and offers a more comprehensive range of critical viewpoints on capitalism and collapse, develops the story by telling it from several points of view. This paper explores a dystopian world marked by rampant genetic engineering and devastating environmental degradation, portraying the consequences of humanity’s manipulation of nature.

Skin Deep: Cosmetics, Body Care, and Practical Kabbalah in Early Modern Jewish Books of Secrets

Abstract: Contribution to the essay forum "The Jewish Recipe."

Advertising grammars and dictionaries in the Venetian printing market: A linguistic analysis of title pages

AbstractTitle‐pages represent an interesting and under‐researched type of paratextual material in the context of the Italian early modern book market. Drawing on pragma‐linguistic approaches not yet applied in the Italian context, this paper offers an analysis of title‐pages of vernacular grammars and lexicographic works that were printed in Venice in the sixteenth and early seventeenth century (31 works).In Venice, which was the hub of vernacular codification, this new genre saw increasing attempts at popularization as more and more readers demanded straightforward tools that would help them learn literary Tuscan. My analysis focuses on the marketing strategies employed by publishers, printers, and authors – viewed together as a community of practice – on the title‐pages of these works. Focus is placed on the genre labels employed in primary titles, the presentation of the author's credentials, intended readership, printer and publisher, and dedication, as well as on the modifications applied by Venetian publishers when it came to re‐print and popularize non‐Venetian works. By exploring strategies used to guide and attract target audiences, this article aims to show that linguistic approaches are useful in the study of Italian paratexts and confirms the importance of including paratextual features in studies of historical sociolinguistics.