Good Companions Research Articles

Can Large Language Models Be Good Companions?

Developing chatbots as personal companions has long been a goal of artificial intelligence researchers. Recent advances in Large Language Models (LLMs) have delivered a practical solution for endowing chatbots with anthropomorphic language capabilities. However, it takes more than LLMs to enable chatbots that can act as companions. Humans use their understanding of individual personalities to drive conversations. Chatbots also require this capability to enable human-like companionship. They should act based on personalized, real-time, and time-evolving knowledge of their users. We define such essential knowledge as the common ground between chatbots and their users, and we propose to build a common-ground-aware dialogue system from an LLM-based module, named OS-1, to enable chatbot companionship. Hosted by eyewear, OS-1 can sense the visual and audio signals the user receives and extract real-time contextual semantics. Those semantics are categorized and recorded to formulate historical contexts from which the user's profile is distilled and evolves over time, i.e., OS-1 gradually learns about its user. OS-1 combines knowledge from real-time semantics, historical contexts, and user-specific profiles to produce a common-ground-aware prompt input into the LLM module. The LLM's output is converted to audio, spoken to the wearer when appropriate. We conduct laboratory and in-field studies to assess OS-1's ability to build common ground between the chatbot and its user. The technical feasibility and capabilities of the system are also evaluated. Our results show that by utilizing personal context, OS-1 progressively develops a better understanding of its users. This enhances user satisfaction and potentially leads to various personal service scenarios, such as emotional support and assistance.

Najah Al-Qari Sharh Sahih Al-Bukhari by Youssef Effendi Zadeh (1167 AH) from the Topic of Surrendering a Few people over a Lot, to the chapter on the Disclosure of Peace (study and investigation)


 
 
 
 ABSTRACT
 
 Praise be to God, Lord of the worlds, and prayers and peace be upon our Prophet and his good family and companions.
 As for after:
 They begin to work, read, and detail, which is the outline of the Noble Qur’an, and its principle and detailed for its year, and I have taken care of this ummah by the Chosen One’s hadith - - careful attention to memorization, writing, explanation and deduction, thanks to those whom God Almighty has appointed for this matter, so he rewarded them with Islam and its people.
 It is known that the two Sahihs are greatest books of Islamic legislation, after the Holy Qur’an, and the specialists have intended them to narrate, explain and explain their chain of narrators and their contents, including Sheikh Yusuf Zadeh in his commentary Najah al-Qari’s explanation of Sahih al-Bukhari, and the last of our claim is that praise be to God, Lord of the worlds, and prayers and peace be upon the master Messengers and his good and pure family and companions, and those who followed them with kindness until the Day of Judgment.
 
 
 

Former laboratory dogs' psychological and behavioural characteristics

It is becoming increasingly common for laboratories to allow the rehoming of dogs when they are no longer needed. There is no research, however, comparing the characteristics of dogs from laboratories to dogs acquired from more traditional sources for pets. This study used the Canine Behavioral Assessment and Research Questionnaire (C-BARQ) to compare emotional and behavioural characteristics of 100 former laboratory Beagles who were rehomed to a convenience sample of 244 pet Beagles with no known history of laboratory use. Our results revealed that the former laboratory Beagles exhibited increased fearfulness, attention and attachment behaviours, and more abnormal behaviours than the convenience sample, yet were significantly less aggressive, and likely to chase other animals or escape. Importantly, we also found no significant differences in a majority of the everyday behaviours assessed. Our findings demonstrate dogs rehomed from laboratories form strong bonds with their caregivers, and make equally good companions as their non-laboratory counterparts. Our findings may be helpful in designing appropriate rehabilitation programmes, educating laboratory workers and potential adopters, and support the ongoing efforts to offer these dogs for adoption.

Development of dialogue system architecture toward co-creating social intelligence when talking with a partner robot.

Social robots have grown increasingly integrated into our daily lives in recent years. Robots can be good social agents who engage with people, such as assistants and counselors, and good partners and companions with whom people can form good relationships. Furthermore, unlike devices such as smart speakers or virtual agents on a screen, robots have physicality, which allows them to observe the actual environment using sensors and respond behaviorally with full-body motions. In order to engage people in dialogue and create good relationships with robots as close partners, real-time interaction is important. In this article, we present a dialogue system platform developed with the aim of providing robots with social skills. We also built a system architecture for the robot to respond with speech and gestures within the dialogue system platform, which attempts to enable natural engagement with the robot and takes advantage of its physicality. In addition, we think the process called "co-creation" is important to build a good human-robot interaction system. Engineers must bridge the gap between users and robots in order for them to interact more effectively and naturally, not only by building systems unilaterally but also from a range of views based on the opinions of real users. We reported two experiments using the developed dialogue interaction system with a robot. One is an experiment with elderly people as the initial phase in this co-creation process. The second experiment was conducted with a wide range of ages, from children to adults. Through these experiments, we can obtain a lot of useful insights for improving the system. We think that repeating this co-creation process is a useful approach toward our goal that humans and robots can communicate in a natural way as good partners such as family and friends.

Fatwa Controls on Social Networking Sites

Praise be to God, Lord of the Worlds, and prayers and peace be upon our Prophet Muhammad, his pure family, his good companions, and those who followed them in goodness until the Day of Judgment and after:It is well known that the Prophet, may God’s prayers and peace be upon him, reached what was revealed to him from his Lord, so he used to teach the noble Companions, may God be pleased with them, the rulings, and the Companions sometimes asked him about the ruling on an issue and he gave them fatwas. .

Good Companions: The role of creative practice in re-establishing a creative partnership during and beyond a global pandemic

Good Companions: The role of creative practice in re-establishing a creative partnership during and beyond a global pandemic

Productivity and competitive ability of rabi maize and legumes intercropping system

The intercropping system involves two or more crops coexist for some period of their cycles and ensure multifaceted benefits. As maize is a widely spaced crop, it offers enough scope for adoption of intercropping and legumes are known as good companions in intercropping. Considering the facts, an experiment was carried out at Bagusala Farm of Centurion University of Technology and Management on intercropping maize (Zea mays L.) with legumes, namely, groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) and green gram (Vigna radiata L.). Paired row maize was sown during first week of January 2020 and in between two pairs of maize rows, one, two and three rows of groundnut and green gram seeds were sown. The results revealed that the grain and straw yields of maize were not influenced significantly by intercropping system. However, total biomass yield was differed among the treatments and maize + groundnut (2: 3) produced maximum biomass yield and it was closely followed by maize + groundnut (2: 2) and maize + green gram (2: 3). The land equivalent ratio (LER) clearly showed advantages of intercropping and maximum LER was obtained with maize + groundnut (2: 1) and it was followed by maize + green gram (2: 3). But maximum area time equivalent ratio (ATER) was noted with maize + groundnut (2: 3). Aggressivity values indicated that maize was more aggressive compared to legumes. Maize equivalent yield (MEY) was maximum with maize + groundnut (2: 3) and it was followed by maize + groundnut (2: 2). The results suggest that intercropping of maize + groundnut either in 2: 2 or 2: 3 proportions can be adopted under south Odisha conditions for greater productivity than pure stand of maize.

The strut-and-tie model and the finite element - good design companions

The strut-and-tie method (STM) can serve as a tool for a safe design of concrete structures or members. It aids to trace the flow of forces, appropriately lay-out the reinforcement, and safely predict the structure capacity. On the other hand, the linear elastic finite element can be utilized as an alternative in the development of the strut-and-tie models besides the load path method. In addition, the nonlinear finite element analysis assists in the optimization of the design results obtained from the STM. Hence, the two methods work well as companions in structural design. In order to demonstrate such understanding, different examples which include a deep beam with large opening and recess, continuous deep beams with and without openings, and beam ledges, have been utilized. In the STM solutions, the ACI 318-14 failure criteria have been adopted. In the nonlinear finite element analysis, material nonlinearity has been accounted for. The obtained solutions from the two methods, along with the experimental data of the selected examples of this study, revealed the reliability of the STM in obtaining a safe solution. Besides, the nonlinear finite element proved to be an efficient tool in obtaining an economic design.

The experiences of the Good Companions Response Team during the COVID-19 pandemic in Wuhan, China: a multi-professional team led by social workers

ABSTRACT The COVID-19 pandemic has been a worldwide crisis. During the pandemic, social workers have proactively participated in providing support. The Good Companions Response Team is a volunteer team started by social workers in Wuhan, China and serving people living in China and Chinese communities around the world. This paper introduces the experiences of the team in the makeshift hospitals in Wuhan and the ‘4 + 1 Online-Offline Remote Support Model’ developed by the team. Our goal is to inspire social workers and other professionals in the Asian Pacific regions to work collaboratively during a similar public health emergency in the future.

Umami synergy as the scientific principle behind taste-pairing champagne and oysters

Food and flavour pairing are commonly used as an empirically based phenomenology by chefs and food innovators for creating delicious dishes. However, there is little if any science behind the pairing systems used, and it appears that pairing is determined by food culture and tradition rather than by chemical food composition. In contrast, the pairing implied by the synergy in the umami taste, elicited by free glutamate and free nucleotides, is scientifically founded on an allosteric action at the umami receptor, rendering eggs-bacon and cheese-ham delicious companions. Based on measurement of umami compounds in champagnes and oysters we suggest that a reason why champagne and oysters are considered good companions may be the presence of free glutamate in champagne, and free glutamate and 5′-nucleotides in oysters. By calculations of the effective umami potential we reveal which combinations of oysters and champagnes lead to the strongest umami taste. We also show that glutamate levels and total amount of free amino acids are higher in aged champagnes with long yeast contact, and that the European oyster (Ostrea edulis) has higher free glutamate and nucleotide content than the Pacific oyster (Crassostrea gigas) and is thus a better candidate to elicit synergistic umami taste.

When the Bond Breaks: Variables Associated with Grief Following Companion Animal Loss

ABSTRACT This research used an online quantitative survey to investigate variables related to grief following pet loss. These included type of relationship, animal species, amount of time since death, cause of death, attachment, and social support. We also examined emotions hypothesized to be associated with pet loss: grief, guilt, and loneliness. Female and male participants over the age of 18 years (n = 85) who had lost a companion animal within the previous six months completed the survey. We divided the cohort into three groups rep- resenting high, middle, and low levels of grief. Individuals in the high grief group experienced the highest level of guilt and loneliness when compared with those with low and medium levels of grief. Grief was also related to the way in which participants described their pets. Those who classified their pet as their “child” or “best friend” reported significantly higher levels of grief in comparison with those who considered their pets to be “good companions.” Furthermore, a high level of pet attachment was associated with higher grief. Other variables related to level of grief included age, which was inversely related to grief, guilt, and loneliness, and the presence of supportive others ameliorated guilt and loneliness. Species of animal was related to guilt and grief, with rabbit owners exhibiting significantly less guilt and grief than dog and cat owners. The type of death was not associated with grief, guilt, or loneliness scores. The major- ity of respondents felt supported following their loss, although some did not feel understood and expressed a lack of social recognition for their loss.

نقض مزاعم جولدتسيهر على إمام التفسير الصحابي الجليل عبد الله بن عباس رضي الله عنهما

فهذه نبذة مختصرة عن أهم ما اشتمل عليه هذا البحث الموجز، الذي هو بعنوان: نقض مزاعم جولدتسيهر على إمام التفسير الصحابي الجليل عبد الله بن عباس رضي الله وقد اشتمل هذا البحث على: مقدمة، وفصلين، وخاتمة. أما المقدمة: فقد تحدثت فيها عن أهمية الموضوع، وأسباب اختياره، والدراسات السابقة، وخطة البحث، والمنهج المتبع في کتابة البحث، وأما الفصل الأول التمهيدي فقد اشتمل على خمسة مباحث رئيسة: المبحث الأول: تعريف التفسير لغة واصطلاحا، المبحث الثاني: نشأة علم التفسير ومدارسه وأئمته في القرون الهجرية الأولى، المبحث الثالث: التعريف بإمام التفسير عبد الله بن عباس رضي الله عنهما، المبحث الرابع: مدخل إلى الاستشراق: تعريفه، وأهدافه، ونشأته، المبحث الخامس: التعريف بالمستشرق اليهودي جولدتسيهر وموقفه من الإسلام، وأما الفصل الثاني فقد اشتمل على جزء الدراسة وهو: تفنيد المزاعم الباطلة التي ادعاها المستشرق جولدتسيهر على الصحابي الجليل عبدالله بن عباس رضي الله عنهما، وأجملتها في سبعة مباحث: المبحث الأول: الزعم أن ابن عباس رضي الله عنهما تلقى بنفسه في اتصاله الوثيق بالرسول صلى الله عليه وسلم وجوه التفسير التي يوثق بها وحدها، وتفنيد ذلک والرد عليه، المبحث الثاني: الزعم بتوسعه رضي الله عنه في الأخذ عن أهل الکتاب، وتفنيد ذلک والرد عليه، المبحث الثالث: الزعم برجوعه رضي الله عنه إلى الشعراء القدامى الذين کان يرى الاعتداد باستعمالهم اللغوي في التفسير، وتفنيد ذلک والرد عليه، المبحث الرابع: الزعم بکتمانه رضي الله عنه کثيرا من العلوم، وتفنيد ذلک والرد عليه، المبحث الخامس: الزعم بعرضه رضي الله عنه الأخبار الإسلامية أحيانا في مظهر مسرحي زاخر بالحياة، وتفنيد ذلک والرد عليه، المبحث السادس: الزعم بظهوره رضي الله عنه کمنبيء بأخبار الغيب، وأحيانا کأنه مظهر إلهي، وتفنيد ذلک والرد عليه، المبحث السابع: الزعم بکون أسانيد التفسير المنسوبة إليه رضي الله عنه مطعونا فيها، وتفنيد ذلک والرد عليه. ثم ختمت البحث بالنتائج التي توصلت إليها، ثم المصادر والمراجع التي اعتمدت عليها. أسأل الله تعالى التوفيق والسداد، والقبول والرشاد، إنه بکل جميل کفيل، وهو حسبنا ونعم الوکيل، وأن يجعل عملنا في ميزان الحسنات، ورفيع الدرجات، حامدة لله رب العالمين، ومصلية على المصطفى الأمين، وعلى آله وصحبه الطيبين الطاهرين. Summary: This is a brief summary of the most important aspects of this brief research, entitled: Refuting Goldziher's claims against the imam of the venerable Sahaba interpretation Abdullah bin Abbas, god bless them,this research included: an introduction, two chapters, and a conclusion. The introduction included five main investigations: the first: the definition of interpretation in language and terminology, the second topic: the genesis of the science of interpretation, its schools and its imams in the first Hijri centuries, the third topic: the definition of imam of interpretation Abdullah bin Abbas, god bless them, the fourth topic: an introduction to orientalism. Definition, objectives, and origins, The Fifth Topic: Introducing the Jewish Orientalist Goldtsher and his position on Islam, and the second chapter included the part of the study: refuting the false claims made by the Orientalist Goldtsihr on the venerable Sahabi Abdullah bin Abbas, may God bless them, and i have outlined them in seven investigations: the first: the claim that Ibn Abbas, may God bless them, received himself in his close contact with the Prophet( peace be upon him) and the faces of interpretation that he documents alone, and refutes that and responds to it, the second topic The third is the claim that he returned to the old poets, who saw the recidivism of their linguistic use in interpretation, and refuted that and responded to it, the fourth: claiming to be content with god's satisfaction with many sciences, refuting that and responding to it, the fifth subject: claiming to be accepted by God, sometimes in a theatrical appearance full of life, and refuting that and responding to it, the sixth, the sixth. The claim that he appeared as a prophet of the news of the unseen, sometimes as if it were a divine manifestation, and refuted that and responded to it, the seventh question: the claim that the saines of the interpretation attributed to him are challenged, and that is refuted and answered. The research was then concluded with its findings, and then the sources and references on which it was based. I ask God to reconcile and repay, acceptance and guidance, that he is beautifully a sponsor, and he is our destiny and the best of the agent, and to make our work in the balance of goodness, high grades, as a prayer to God the Lord of the Worlds, and a prayer to the faithful Mustafa, and to his good and pure family and companions. Keywords: rebuttal, allegations, orientalist, goldiesher, interpretation, companions.

نماذج من بیان المجمل فی القرآن الکریم من خلال سورة النور

ملخص - أن المجمل هو: ما لم تتضح دلالته , وهو واقع في القرآن الکريم. - أن للإجمال في القرآن الکريم أسباب کثيرة ومتنوعة, ومن أبرزها الاشتراک في الاسم والفعل والحرف, والإبهام في اسم الجنس واسم الجمع وصلة الموصول ومعنى الحرف, والاحتمال في عود الضمير. - أن بيان المجمل في القرآن بالقرآن يأتي متصلا ومنفصلا. - أن بيان المجمل في القرآن قد يکون بالقرآن أو السنة أو المأثور عن الصحابة رضوان الله عليهم والتابعين أو لغة العرب. - أن تطبيقات المجمل والمبين في القرآن الکريم قليلة, وهو علم يحتاج إلى مزيد من البحث, والدراسة. وصل الله على نبينا محمد وعلى آله وصحبه الأخيار ، وسلم تسليما کثيرا. Abstract - The total is: unless it is clear its significance, which is the reality in the Koran. - The total in the Quran many reasons and variety, the most prominent participation in the name and deed and character, and thumb in the name of sex and the name of the combination and the link and the meaning of the letter, and the possibility of the return of conscience. - that the statement of the totality in the Koran by the Koran comes in a separate and connected. - The statement of the totality in the Koran may be the Koran or Sunnah or the adage of the Companions, may Allah be pleased with them and the followers or the language of the Arabs. - that the applications outlined and described in the Koran few, a science needs further research, and study. God has reached our Prophet Muhammad and his family and his good companions, and delivered a great deal of recognition.

Development of a Serious Game to Enhance Assistive Rehabilitation

The aim of this study is to investigate novel assistive technologies based on serious gaming for the assessment of postural control and motor rehabilitation. Previous research already demonstrated that rehabilitation and physical activities can improve the quality of life of patients, and virtual reality applications may act as good additional companions during the therapeutic sessions. Indeed, workout routines supported by serious gaming encourage patients to train harder, bringing the therapy towards a pleasant game into a virtual environment. During the game, sensors track the movements of the players and transfer the data to software components that record a database from which patients' progress can be determined. The acquired measures are interpreted in the form of new biomarkers, which enable the assessment of postural control. Such biomarkers are based on a probabilistic approach and show the capability to discriminate between well-performed exercises and incorrect movements. A long-term experimentation on a specific exercise is proposed, showing a considerable improvement, ranging from 5% to 30%, in the performance of patients.

Development of a serious game to enhance assistive rehabilitation

The aim of this study is to investigate novel assistive technologies based on serious gaming for the assessment of postural control and motor rehabilitation. Previous research already demonstrated that rehabilitation and physical activities can improve the quality of life of patients, and virtual reality applications may act as good additional companions during the therapeutic sessions. Indeed, workout routines supported by serious gaming encourage patients to train harder, bringing the therapy towards a pleasant game into a virtual environment. During the game, sensors track the movements of the players and transfer the data to software components that record a database from which patients' progress can be determined. The acquired measures are interpreted in the form of new biomarkers, which enable the assessment of postural control. Such biomarkers are based on a probabilistic approach and show the capability to discriminate between well-performed exercises and incorrect movements. A long-term experimentation on a specific exercise is proposed, showing a considerable improvement, ranging from 5% to 30%, in the performance of patients.

Significance of phonology in Al-Raienee: دلالة علم الصوت عند الرعيني

In the name of God, the most gracious the most merciful, and peace be upon his noble messenger, his good family, companions and followers to the Day of Judgment. This research highlights the personality of the great scholar Imam Al Rucayni, who was sailing in a world of the worlds of language by identifying us his personality. The problem for this study lies in the absence of many researchers capable of differentiating between the letters ḍād and ẓā’, and also between other confusing letters, and in the explanation of confusion of many researchers of Arabic in that respect. The objective of this study of the manuscript departs from the separation between the letters ẓa and ḍād because the beauty of speech rests in its eloquence. Through the publication and recension of the book it is possible to know the methodology of Rucayni as a respectable linguistic personality. The author is not only restricted to phonetic aspect and the points of the two letters but he also mentioned several linguistic aspects in grammar, morphology and linguistic. As for the evidence, he takes Qur’anic verses and Hadith to show his religious tendency, and by relying on the opinions of linguists and some examples of poetry to support his proposition of different topics on linguistics. At the end of the manuscript he mentioned general rules in differentiating between the letters ẓa and ḍād. This study assumes descriptive methodology that relies on linguistic and historical recension for the author’s writing where this author of the manuscript introduced words containing the letter ẓa in poetry so as to help the audience understand the words and memorise the poetic verses. This study arrives at some conclusions the most important of which are Arabic language is distinguished with the letter ḍād, and also with the number of the words containing the letters ẓa and ḍād, and the words with both letters. This study points to the need for researchers interested in Arabic to know the difference between the two letters and to do a constant exercise to know the difference between the two letters and to memorise the related words.

Semantic and cultural equivalence of the Intergenerational Exchanges Attitude Scale (IEAS)

Abstract Introduction: Understanding the multidimensionality of attitudes originating from exchanges between different generations is fundamental for the establishment of intergenerational cooperation and the reduction of stereotypes and prejudices. Objective: To obtain the semantic and cultural equivalence of the Intergenerational Exchanges Attitude Scale (IEAS). Method: Two translators translated the scale from English into Portuguese. A third translator synthesized these two translations. The synthesized version was back-translated into English. From the observations of the initial and back translations, a semantic version of the scale was consolidated, which was applied to 32 professionals who developed intergenerational activities (elderly/children) and activities directed at elderly persons only. Following application, a version of the scale that was culturally adapted for the Portuguese language was obtained. Results: The scale was alterered due to cultural refinement, with differences in the following items: 4) around and near; 6) overprotective and highly protective; 8) be around and to want to get close to; 11) earn and obtain; 13) have warm relationships and to relate affectionately; 17) affection and fondness; 18) form a good team and are good companions; 20) feel sick and get irritated. The responses used are evaluative statements of positive or negative attitudes about the exchanges that take place between children and the elderly, based on a Likert scale of just five points. Conclusion: The Intergenerational Exchanges Attitude Scale (IEAS) has been adapted and validated for the Brazilian population and is known as the "Escala de Atitudes em relação a Trocas Intergeracionais" (Scale of Attitudes in Relation to Intergenerational Exchanges) (EATI). It can be a useful tool for programs featuring activities involving children and the elderly, as well as for professionals working and developing strategies in this field.

Jessie Matthews’ Construction of a Star Persona on her Post-war Australian Tours

Jessie Matthews’ post-war tours to Australia were part of a sequence of commercially successful imported productions then heralded as a great boom era in Australian theatre. However, Matthews’ waning popularity in Britain since the 1940s meant that she was no longer recognizable as the screen darling of the 1930s. Indeed, the Australian press had to remind its readers of ‘evergreen Jessie’s’ succession of British film hits such as The Good Companions (1933) and Evergreen (1934). This article examines the critical and public reception of Matthews’ tours with a focus on the strategic management of her star persona, both on and off stage, including her public criticism of Australian theatre management and employment opportunities for Australian theatre performers. Martina Lipton is an Honorary Associate Lecturer at the University of Queensland and was recently the Research Fellow (Australia) on the Leverhulme Research Project ‘British-Australian Cultural Exchange: Live Performance 1880–1960’. Her publications include the chapter ‘Localism and British Modern Pantomime’ in A World of Popular Entertainments (Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2012) and articles for Australasian Drama Studies, Contemporary Theatre Review, New Theatre Quarterly, and Popular Entertainment Studies.

Good companions or usual suspects?

Ben Fine and Alfredo Saad-Filho (eds.) The Elgar Companion to Marxist Economics, Edward Elgar: Cheltenham, 2012; xiii + 419 pp: 9781848445376, 135 [pound sterling] (hbk) In a variation on an old cliche, it might be argued that every epoch gets the Marxist dictionary - written by Marxists, about Marxism, for actual/potential Marxists - that it deserves. Those published during the 1930s and 1940s (Burns 1936, 1939; Gould 1947; Selsam 1949) emphasised claims to be a science, backed up by numerous quotations from Stalin. Trotskyism was either ignored or described (Gould 1947: 96), laughably, as 'a counter-revolutionary organization named after Leon Trotsky, who was connected with the Russian Labour Movement for many years'. By the 1980s, even Marxist dictionaries published in the USSR (Frolov 1984) no longer featured the authority of Stalin, and claims to scientificity gave way to critiques of social science discourse in capitalist nations. Sensing, perhaps, the ideological struggles ahead, Marxist dictionaries appearing at that conjuncture in Western capitalism seemed to embrace glasnost. Entries in Gorman (1985-6) included not just Giddens - neither a Marxist nor a neo-Marxist - but also Mihailo Markovic, a prominent member of the Yugoslav Praxis group who later became an exponent of Serbian nationalism. The latter is also among the contributors to the volume by Bottomore (1983). In many ways, this trajectory accompanied the shift of Marxism from the street into the university, a transition evident in the most recent volumes. Earlier dictionaries (Burns, Gould, Selsam) were clearly aimed at a wide audience: that by Burns was subtitled 'a very simple exposition, that anyone can understand without previous knowledge'. Entries covered the basic theoretical issues, definitions were concise, and the texts themselves were usually around a hundred pages. Later volumes (Frolov, Bottomore, Gorman) were equally clearly aimed at a much narrower, largely academic, audience, a fact embodied in the increased length and the extended debate. The short dictionaries by Russell (1981) and Brewer (1984) are an exception in this regard. If Marxist dictionaries of the 1930s/40s and 1980s reflected the confidence and subsequent defensiveness of their respective epochs, then the volume reviewed here bears the marks of defeat. Former versions displayed varying degrees of combativeness towards the enemies of Marxism; the current one, by contrast, exhibits at times an overly conciliatory tone towards them (under the slippery ideological rubric of 'diversity'). Edited by Ben Fine and Alfredo Saad-Filho, The Elgar Companion to Marxist Economics consists of around sixty entries and authors. The selection of contributors is parochial, many having had--or having still--an institutional base at London University, especially SOAS, creating the impression of a (friends-of-friends) network. Not only has the number of entries proliferated, but the earlier approach which treated Marxism as an overarching theory now fragments along academic lines ('Marxism and sociology', 'Marxism and anthropology', etc.). The result is both exclusionary and inclusionary: on the one hand, important Marxist voices (for example, James Petras) are not heard, while on the other, palpably non-Marxist views are smuggled in and endorsingly cross-referenced. Unsurprisingly, therefore, problematic or discredited interpretations, some of which are not just non-Marxist but anti-Marxist, tend to be presented unchallenged. As the following examples demonstrate, an equally predictable outcome is that crucial aspects of Marxism are diluted, misrepresented or simply missing. The 'new' agrarian question--broadly speaking, what happens to the peasantry in a developing economy, and why--is reduced by Terry Bytes (pp. 10-15) to a debate between himself and Henry Bernstein, an agrarian populist, thereby ignoring the presence of other, more rigorously Marxist interpretations. …

Beauty and the Beast: Animals in the Visual and Material Culture of the Toilette

Beauty and the Beast: Animals in the Visual and Material Culture of the Toilette Kimberly Chrisman-Campbell (bio) In the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries, the toilette evolved from a single object, the petit toile that covered the dressing table, to a set of objects, and from a set of objects to a daily ritual, synonymous with the morning hours.1 The highly codified rites of the toilette were re-enacted over and over again in eighteenth-century art, not only by beautiful women, but also by monkeys and butterflies.2 Indeed, animals played a central role in the visual and material culture of the toilette. Both exotic and domestic creatures were depicted as frequent witnesses to—and sometimes anthropomorphic participants in—the toilette. Animals lurk in corners and chairs and under tables in so many toilette scenes that they cannot be dismissed as mere props or accessories; the symbiotic connection between beauty and the beast demands further investigation. Although ostensibly private, the toilette was, in practice, extremely public. Louis XIV and his mother, Anne of Austria, had instituted the custom of dressing—or, rather, being dressed—in front of privileged courtiers.3 This royal ritual was imitated by women (and men) of the nobility and haute bourgeoisie, who transformed it from an exercise in political power and proximity into a domestic celebration of taste and sociability, one frequently depicted in genre scenes and portraits. Not only the carefully choreographed event itself, but its elegant accoutrements, were calculated to impress and entice. [End Page 147] Just as the toilette transitioned from a royal to a bourgeois pastime, so did keeping pets. As Glynis Ridley has observed, “the eighteenth century was a time not only of rapid expansion of the natural world but also of rapidly changing relationships between human and non-human animals.”4 New species were being discovered and classified at an unprecedented rate; once-exotic animals were becoming familiar sights in Europe. It has been well documented—notably by Louise E. Robbins—that pets of all kinds grew more common in homes at all levels of French society during the eighteenth century: dogs, cats, monkeys, parrots, cockatoos, canaries, finches, and, occasionally, small rodents.5 Although there were a number of male pet owners, in art and literature pets were associated with women and girls almost exclusively. Robbins attributes this to “the romantic and erotic connotations aroused by the close physical and emotional bonds between owner and animal,” and argues that at a time when wealth was beginning to replace birth in determining social status, pets—and especially exotic pets—were a desirable form of conspicuous consumption.6 The same can be said of the toilette. Although men and women alike held toilettes attended by friends, family members, clergymen, servants, and tradesmen, it was the female toilette that became a recurring theme in French art and print culture. Like female pet ownership, the female toilette carried connotations both erotic and economic. The taste for toilette scenes spanned history painting, genre scenes, and portraits, combining the ancient vanitas tradition with the ultramodern tableau de mode. Pets lent these scenes credibility and visual interest, but they also functioned as convenient symbols, whether of status, sexuality, exoticism, or human foibles. Indeed, artists were attracted to their human characteristics as much as their distinctively bestial colors and textures. Birds—especially parrots—flock to toilette scenes. Parrots were not only rare, beautiful, and expensive, but they could mimic human speech, which made them good companions as well as handy human surrogates in art. The parrot’s splendid plumage came at a price; the gaudier the parrot, the more expensive it was.7 However, like mirrors and burning candles, parrots were traditional emblems of mortality in addition to being a standard components of toilette tables, providing a reminder of the fleeting nature of beauty and the futility of attempting to mask the ravages of time. Equally exotic if less colorful and loquacious, the cockatoo is distinguished by its crest of curled feathers, which can be raised or lowered at will. In François Boucher’s painting Le Matin: La Dame à sa Toilette (now lost, it survives as an engraving by Gilles-Edmé Petit), the...