Western Origin Research Articles

Immigrants’ participation in non-formal job-related training

ABSTRACTParticipation in job-related training among immigrants is becoming more important in Europe in view of large immigration inflows. This paper considers differences in training participation rates by immigrant background including by whether they are from Western or non-Western origins. Also considered is whether differences by immigrant background depend on whether the training was supported by employers. The analyses are based on individual-level data from the PIAAC database. Four countries are included in the analysis: Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands and Norway, countries that feature a highly educated labour force and social policies designed to support and incentivise skill development over the life span including disadvantaged groups. The analyses reveal that the differences in participation rate according to immigrant backgrounds are relatively small, in all countries except Finland. Still, the immigrants receive less employer-sponsored training than non-immigrants. The results indicate a high demand for training among immigrants.

Examining the interglacial high-elevation refugia scenario in East Asian subtropical mountain systems with the frog species Leptobrachium liui.

The effects of Quaternary climatic oscillations on the distributions of organisms in different parts of the world are not equally well understood, limiting the ability to understand the determinants of biodiversity. Compared with the mountain regions in southern Europe and southwestern North America, such effects on high‐elevation species in the East Asian subtropical mountain systems located in southern and southeastern China have seldom been addressed. In this study, using Leptobrachium liui (Megophryidae), we made one of the earliest attempts to examine the interglacial high‐elevation refugia scenario in these Asian mountains. Based on our current understanding of the study system, we formulated a hypothesis that these frogs of western origin were distributed more widely and continuously during glacial phases, allowing eastward dispersal, and that they are currently isolated in interglacial refugia at higher elevations. Microsatellite data and mitochondrial and nuclear sequence data were obtained with extensive sampling followed by the synthesis of phylogeographic and population genetic analyses and modeling of the species distribution. The analyses revealed a sequential eastward divergence of microsatellite clusters and gene lineages accompanied by a decline in genetic diversity. Molecular dating estimates revealed divergence events in the Pleistocene, and a reduction in local populations was inferred to have occurred at a time comparable to the end of the last glacial. Strong genetic isolation by distance reflecting a more continuous historical distribution was detected. Furthermore, environmental niche models inferred a wide planar distribution during the last glacial maximum, providing further support for the hypothesis.

Global Variations and Challenges With Tubercular Uveitis in the Collaborative Ocular Tuberculosis Study.

The aim of this study was to examine regional variation management practices and outcomes for tubercular uveitis (TBU). In this retrospective multinational cohort study, patients from 25 international eye care centers diagnosed with TBU with a minimum follow-up of 1 year were included. The geographic variation in treatment outcomes on survival analysis in patients with TBU were analyzed. Treatment failure is defined as a persistence or recurrence of inflammation within 6 months of completing antitubercular therapy, the inability to taper oral corticosteroids to less than 10 mg/d or topical corticosteroid drops to less than 2 drops daily, and/or recalcitrant inflammation necessitating corticosteroid-sparing immunosuppressive therapy. Records of 945 patients (1485 eyes) with TBU were analyzed. The mean age was 41.3 ± 15.0 years (range, 4-90 years), with more males (52.9%, n = 500/945) and predominant Asian ethnicity (74.4%, n = 690/927). Most patients had no symptoms (92.0%, n = 655/712) or history (76.7%, n = 604/787) suggestive of pulmonary tuberculosis (TB). Some patients had evidence of inactive pulmonary TB on chest X-rays (26.9%, n = 189/702) or chest computed tomography (68.6%, n = 109/159). Patients with western geographic origin (log-rank = 6.47, P = 0.010), African or Hispanic ethnicity (log-rank = 19.9, P < 0.001), and positive immigrant status (log-rank = 4.89, P = 0.027) had poorer survival outcomes. This is a first-ever multinational analysis of TBU that highlights regional differences in treatment outcomes for this elusive form of extrapulmonary TB. Our findings will help in the design of future collaborative studies together with internists to develop best practice guidelines for this early opportunity to address TB infection and strategies to target at-risk groups such as immigrants.

Globalisation, Human Rights and Islam: Competing Narratives and Discursive Practices in The Muslim World

Globalisation the growing interpenetration of ideas, states, and markets across borders has not only fostered the very blurring of distances but also growing avenues of appeal for citizens suppressed by their own states. There is no doubt that, in contemporary times, international norms and institutions for the protection of human rights are more developed than at any previous point in history. However, assaults on basic human rights continue, and the emergence of a global human rights regime may also be engendering new sources of human rights abuse. This paper examines how these developments have transformed the complex and mutable relationship between human rights and Islam and how this relationship is readjusting in response to the changing global situation. Focusing on the dramatic expansion of human rights discourse in the Muslim world, the paper argues that, for critics of Islam, the position on the incompatibility of Islam and human rights, which assumes two settled entities in an unstable relationship, is becoming hard to sustain as is the position on the Western origin of human rights. The main implication of this study is that human rights principles can be a binding international norm in a globalised world and that many normative conventions can play a pioneering role in promoting these rights and contribute to the emergence of a multicultural society.

O drama da doença: Tragédia e Medicina na Construção das Dramatis Personae platônicas.

A doença é um evento transcultural, pelo fato que ela interfere nos rumos da cultura, bem como na política, nas artes e na moral de um povo. Ela também foi, desde as origens do pensamento ocidental, um ponto de contato entre Tragédia, Medicina e Filosofia. Este artigo pretende acompanhar de perto as estratégias pelas quais Platão se apropriou de elementos da medicina e do teatro para construir suas dramatis personae enfermas, para em seguida procurar compreender um dos motivos de seu distanciamento da tragédia na República.

Results of Ukrainian Architecture Study of Hetman Period

The article is devoted to the results of the study of Architecture in Ukraine of XVII–XVIІI centuries, conducted over the last century. The relevance of the study is conditioned by the necessity of forming the history of the national architecture and monumentology on modern methodological principles, according to which all phenomena and processes of the corresponding age within the current territory of the state are studied, regardless of the ethnic, confessional or state origin of those or other phenomena and artifacts. The main objective of the study is to synthesize the results of the study of the historical and architectural process during the Hetmanate period, including clarifying the stages of the development of architecture; identification of regional peculiarities; the establishment of the role and place of the architectural heritage of the Hetmanate period in the further development of Ukrainian architecture and urbanism and its place in the context of the development of European architecture. The methodology of the research is to apply the methods of theoretical research, namely, the historical method in the systematic approach, when the object of study is the architecture of a certain period is considered in the occurrence and development. The system approach consists in complex studying of the object as a certain unity of the multi element system, for studying which methods of structural-genetic analysis and synthesis with decomposition of the system on the subsystems, which are studied autonomously, with their subsequent coordination, are applied. The scientific novelty consists in revealing the regularities of the formation and development of Ukraine's architecture of Hetmanate period, determining the nature and basic features of these processes, more thoroughly clarifying regional differences, defining the European and Eurasian context of the development of architecture in that time in Ukraine. The findings and conclusions of the study allow us to consider the architecture of Ukraine as an independent phenomenon, and not as a derivative of the architecture of the Moscow kingdom, the Russian Empire or the marginal phenomenon of theCentral European architectural process. The high level of self-sufficiency of Ukrainian architecture is proved on the basis of the development and transformation of autochthonous traditions and selective learning of the experience of other cultures. Examined in science are incorrect ideas about defining the dominant style of architecture as a baroque. The simultaneous existence of two stylistic currents, namely Baroque, Western origin, and Renaissance-Baroque synthesis, which became the result of the development of autochthonous architectural traditions, was proved.

A biogeographical profile of the sand cockroach Arenivaga floridensis and its bearing on origin hypotheses for Florida scrub biota.

Florida scrub is a xeric ecosystem associated with the peninsula's sand ridges, whose intermittent Pliocene–Pleistocene isolation is considered key to scrub endemism. One scrub origin hypothesis posits endemics were sourced by the Pliocene dispersal of arid‐adapted taxa from southwestern North America; a second invokes Pleistocene migration within eastern North America. Only one study to date has explicitly tested these competing hypotheses, supporting an eastern origin for certain scrub angiosperms. For further perspective, we conducted a genetic analysis of an endemic arthropod, the Florida sand cockroach (Arenivaga floridensis), with two aims: (1) to reconstruct the peninsular colonization and residence history of A. floridensis and (2) determine whether its biogeographic profile favors either origin hypothesis. We sequenced the cox2 mitochondrial gene for 237 specimens (65 populations) as well as additional loci (cox1, nuclear H3) for a subset of Florida roaches and congeners. Using Network and Bayesian inference methods, we identified three major lineages whose genetic differentiation and phylogeographical structure correspond with late Pliocene peninsula insularization, indicating Arenivaga was present and broadly distributed in Florida at that time. Stem and crown divergence estimates (6.36 Ma; 2.78 Ma) between A. floridensis and western sister taxa span a period of extensive dispersal by western biota along an arid Gulf Coast corridor. These phylogeographical and phylogenetic results yield a biogeographic profile consistent with the western origin hypothesis. Moreover, age estimates for the roach's peninsular residence complement those of several other endemics, favoring a Pliocene (or earlier) inception of the scrub ecosystem. We argue that eastern versus western hypotheses are not mutually exclusive; rather, a composite history of colonization involving disparate biotas better explains the diverse endemism of Florida scrub.

Freedom of Worship as warranted in Islam - in light of Manuscripts and Documents (Historical and Archaeological Study)

AbstractRecently, extremists entitled “ISIS” have been committing unusual behaviors, including persecution, severe punishment, killing, slanting, and burning people alive in the name of Islam. These aggressions are committed against non-Muslims, e.g. Christians and Yazidis, for no reason but believing in other creeds. Furthermore, they act as the exponent of Sunnah, persecuting Muslims of different sects as well. Thus, an inquiry emerges as follows: is the term Rights in general, and freedom of worship in particular, as principles, confined to mankind of Western origin, or is it rooted in Islam as a first handler? Proceeding on this paper; it is become clear that “Human Rights” is not an outcome of western civilization, but it is deeply rooted from the Holy faiths and particularly among the fundamentals of the Islamic Faith about twelve centuries earlier than the West addressed the issue. Returning to Islamic faith; Holy Qur’ān and the Prophetic Sunnah are full of several evidences which reject any illegal persecution to Muslims/non-Muslims alike. On the contrary, there are clear evidences ensuring Islamic faith’s tolerance and forgiveness with dissidents and the disbelievers. Typically, freedom of worship is a fundamental right for mankind in Islam.This research aims at:- Ensuring that Islam reflects the origin of “Human Rights”, especially the freedom of worship. - Highlighting Islam's innocence of aggressive behaviors of the extremists- Spreading the concepts of orthodox true Islamic faith.- Facilitating the erection of truth bridges between Islam and the West.keywords: Extremists, Human rights, Freedom of worship, ISIS, ISIL, Islamic Faith, Prophetic traditions.الملخص العربيفي الآونة الأخيرة، ارتکب المتطرفين الذين يسمون أنفسهم داعش اعمال متطرفة ما بين تعذيب، قتل، ذبح وحرق الناس أحياء تحت شعار نصرة الإسلام. هذه الاعمال والاعتداءات ترتکب ضد الغير مسلمين کالمسيحيين والايزيديون، وذلک لأنهم لا يدينون بالإسلام. بالإضافة إلى ذلک؛ تلک الجماعات المتطرفة يعتبرون أنفسهم ممثلي السنة، فهم أيضا يضطهدون المسلمين من غير المذهب السني. وهنا يتبادر إلى الذهن سؤال: هل مفهوم بمفهومه العام، والحق في حرية الاعتقاد بصفة خاصة غربي النشأة؟ أم انه من جذور إسلامية بحتة؟ من خلال تتبع هذا البحث، سيتضح جليا أن حقوق الإنسان لم تکن وليدة الحضارة الغربية، لکنها عميقة الجذور في الديانات السماوية المقدسة، بل هي من ضمن الموضوعات الأساسية التي دعا اليها الدين الإسلامي الحنيف منذ أکثر من اثنا عشر قرن قبل ان يتطرق الغرب لمثل هذه الامور. وبالرجوع إلى الدين الإسلامي الحنيف؛ نجد ان القرآن الکريم والسنة النبوية الشريفة – وهما المصدرين الأساسيين للدين الإسلامي- يحتويان على العديد من الأدلة التي ترفض أي اضطهاد او تعذيب ضد المسلمين وغير المسلمين على حد سواء. بل على العکس من ذلک، هناک العديد من الأدلة التي تؤکد على التسامح مع معتنقي الديانات الاخر. اجمالا، يمکن القول ان حرية العقيدة هي حق أساسي يکفله الإسلام لجميع البشر. يهدف البحث إلى:- التأکيد على أن الإسلام يعکس أصل الإنسان، وبالأخص حرية الاعتقاد.- إلقاء الضوء على براءة الإسلام من الاعمال العدائية التي ترتکبها الجماعات الدينية المتطرفة.- محاولة نشر مفاهيم الإسلام الصحيح.- العمل على بناء جسور من الثقة بين الإسلام والغرب

American culture: A sociological perspectives

The culture of the United States of America is primarily of Western origin but is influenced by a multicultural ethos that includes African, Native American, Asian, Pacific Island, and Latin American people and their cultures. American culture encompasses the customs and traditions of the United States. The United States is sometimes described as a "melting pot" in which different cultures have contributed their own distinct "flavors" to American culture. The United States of America is a North American nation that is the world's most dominant economic and military power. Likewise, its cultural imprint spans the world, led in large part by its popular culture expressed in music, movies and television. The culture of the United States of America is primarily of Western culture (European) origin and form but is influenced by a multicultural ethos that includes African, Native American, Asian, Polynesian, and Latin American people and their cultures. The American way of life or simply the American way is the unique lifestyle of the people of the United States of America. It refers to a nationalist ethos that adheres to the principle of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

Studies on chemical quality of ginger (Zingiber officinale L.) milk shake

India is the largest milk producing country in the world with 155.5 million tones milk production (2015-16). Milk shake, a product of Western origin, is obtained by freezing a mix very similar to soft serve ice-cream mix and speed mixing the frozen product in a mixture to make it pourable and generate foam in it. It has lower fat and sugar contents and higher milk SNF content than ice-cream. Ginger is a popular home remedy in India today. The medicinal properties of ginger in preventing cough and cold are well documented taking into account the medicinal properties of ginger, the present research “Studies on Chemical Quality of Zingiberofficinate L. milk shake by addition of Ginger juice control, 2.5 per cent, 5 per cent,7.5 per cent, 10 per cent of milk (V/V). The different chemical properties and sensory quality are determined. It was concluded that increase in level of ginger juice significantly decreased in total solid, fat, protein and increased in acidity per cent of milk shake. most accepted Treatment i.e. addition of ginger juice 5 per cent was contained 6.67, 26.71, 0.162 and 5.58 per cent fat, total solid, acidity and protein respectively.

Gender and Modernity

In contemporary renderings of modernity, it is patented to the West and assumed to include gender equality; a commitment to gender equality then risks becoming overlaid with hierarchies of country and culture. One way of contesting this, associated with alternative modernities, takes issue with the presumed Western origins of modernity. Another, associated with feminism, subjects the claim the modern societies deliver gender equality to more critical scrutiny. But the first is vulnerable to the charge of describing different routes to the same ideals, and the second to the response that evidence of shortcomings only shows that modernity has not yet fully arrived. The contribution of the West to the birth of modernity is not, in my argument, the important issue. The problem, rather, is the mistaken attribution of a “logic” to modernity, as if it contains nested within it egalitarian principles that will eventually unfold. Something did indeed happen at a particular moment in history that provided new ways of imagining equality, but the conditions of its birth were associated from the start with the spread of colonial despotisms and the naturalisation of both gender and racial difference. There was no logic driving this towards more radical versions. It is in the politics of equality that new social imaginaries are forged, not in the unfolding of an inherently “modern” ideal.

Epidemiology of Huntington disease in Cyprus: A 20-year retrospective study.

Huntington disease (HD) is most prevalent among populations of western European descent and isolated populations where founder effects may operate. The aim of this study was to examine the epidemiology of HD in Cyprus, an island in southern Europe with extensive western European colonization in the past. All registered HD patients in the Cyprus, since 1994, were included. Detailed pedigrees and clinical information were recorded and maps, showing the geographic distribution of HD, were constructed. Requests for genetic testing were also examined. The project identified 58 clinically manifested cases of HD belonging to 19 families. The 16 families of Cypriot origin were concentrated in a confined geographical cluster in southeast Cyprus. In 2015, prevalence of symptomatic HD was 4.64/100 000 population, while incidence was 0.12/100 000 person-years. Prevalence displayed a marked increase during the past 20 years. Disease characteristics of HD patients were similar to those reported in western European populations. Lastly, the uptake of predictive and/or prenatal testing was limited. HD disease characteristics, incidence and prevalence in Cyprus were comparable to western European populations. Together with the geographical clustering observed, these results support the possibility for a relatively recent founder effect of HD in Cyprus, potentially of western European origin.

DOP033 Trends in epidemiology of inflammatory bowel disease among Jewish Israeli adolescents: a population-based study

Several studies have demonstrated an increasing prevalence of paediatric Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). However, relatively little is known about paediatric IBD epidemiology in Israel. We aimed to investigate the prevalence and sociodemographic factors associated with diagnosis of IBD among Jewish Israeli adolescents. A total of 1144213 Jewish Israeli adolescents who underwent a general health examination from 2002 to 2016, at a median age of 17.1, were included. Cases were classified into Crohn’s disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC). Covariate data included date of birth, country of birth, parental country of birth, age at diagnosis and socioeconomic status (SES). Overall, 2372 cases of IBD were identified (0.2%). CD accounted for 68% of cases. Total IBD point prevalence increased from 58 per 100000 persons per year to 373 per 100000 persons over the study period. This increase was observed for both CD (from 42 to 245 per 100000 persons per year) and UC (from 16 to 128 per 100000 persons per year, as demonstrated in Figure 1. IBD point prevalence among Jewish Israeli teenagers, 2002–2016. The mean age of IBD diagnosis decreased from 14.97 years of age during the years 2002–2008 to 14.32 during 2009–2016 (p < 0.0001). Significance was maintained for both diseases. Compared with Israeli origin, both CD and UC diagnosis were significantly less prevalent in subjects whose one of their parents was born in Asia, Africa and Ethiopia. Western origin of either parents was associated with increased risk only for CD. Lower SES was also significantly associated with lower prevalence (OR 0.25 for low SES for both diseases). The prevalence of both CD and UC significantly increased during the study period. Average age at diagnosis decreased during our study period for both diseases. Higher SES is a significant independent risk factor for both UC and CD.

Prevelance of prostate cancer among Turkish men with prostate-specific antigen level of ≤100 ng/ml.

Prostate cancer (PCa) is one of the most common cancers among men and has become a significant health problem in developing and developed countries. Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) is a useful marker for screening and monitoring the patients. In this study, the author aimed to detect the prevalence of PCa among Turkish patients who underwent prostate biopsy with PSA level of <100 ng/ml. The patients who underwent prostate biopsy between January 2008 and January 2015 were reviewed retrospectively. The clinical data that include age, PSA level, and biopsy results were recorded. The patients were divided into five groups according to the PSA levels; ≤4, 4.01-10, 10.01-20, 20.01-50, and 50.01-100 ng/ml. There were 1609 patients in this study. Of these patients; 181, 914, 345, 129, and 40 patients had a PSA level of ≤4, 4.01-10, 10.01-20, 20.01-50, and 50.01-100 ng/ml, respectively. The patients' ages and PSA levels were between 40 and 89 years with a median of 62 ± 8.32 years and between 0.3 and 100 ng/ml with a median of 7.40 ± 12.97 ng/ml. PCa prevalence increased from 13.25% to 82.5% in the patients with a PSA level of ≤4 and 50.01-100 ng/ml. Western populations have more common PCa than Asian men. The studies showed the PCa prevalence for Turkish men was higher than Asian and less than Western origins. Prevalence of PCa was increased with PSA level rising, and this prevalence is between Western and Asian origin similar in the literature.

“La poesia dopo la fine della poesia”: Visionary Realism and the Ethics of Playful Care in Aldo Nove's Twenty-First Century Poetry

This article examines the experimental realism that Aldo Nove has adopted in two recent poetry collections, A schemi di costellazioni (2010) and Addio mio Novecento (2014).These works similarly feature a time in which personal memories intertwine with geological elements. In doing so, they seemingly mark a break with Nove’s previous poetry and prose, concerned with a disturbing representation of late-capitalist lifestyle. I argue, though, that Nove’s cosmological poetry ushers in a new stage of the author’s material and visionary realism. His recent poetry represents the “material complexity” of the Anthropocene, while suggesting playful ethics of non-hierarchical coexistence with nonhuman agents. Nove retraces these perspectives of co-survival to the oft-forgotten origin of western thought, which—beginning with the Milesian School—is surprisingly rooted in the recognition of nature as the generative principle of life and meaning.At a metaliterary level, Nove’s twenty-first century realism marks a farewell to the twentieth-century tradition, while foreseeing new stylistic and thematic possibilities for Italian poetry. The author repurposes the polemic materialism of the avant-gardes and the anti-realist poetics of the “parola innamorata” into a thought-provoking reflection on the meaning of playful care in the troubled epoch of the Anthropocene.

American culture: A sociological perspectives

The culture of the United States of America is primarily of Western origin but is influenced by a multicultural ethos that includes African, Native American, Asian, Pacific Island, and Latin American people and their cultures. American culture encompasses the customs and traditions of the United States. The United States is sometimes described as a melting pot in which different cultures have contributed their own distinct flavors to American culture. The United States of America is a North American nation that is the world's most dominant economic and military power. Likewise, its cultural imprint spans the world, led in large part by its popular culture expressed in music, movies and television. The culture of the United States of America is primarily of Western culture (European) origin and form but is influenced by a multicultural ethos that includes African, Native American, Asian, Polynesian, and Latin American people and their cultures. The American way of life or simply the American way is the unique lifestyle of the people of the United States of America. It refers to a nationalist ethos that adheres to the principle of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

Studies on sensory characteristics of ginger (Zingiber officinale L.) milk shake

India is the largest milk producing country in the world with 114.4 million tones milk production and per capital availability 268g/day (Kalalselvi and Somasundaram, 2011). Milk shake, a product of Western origin, is obtained by freezing a mix very similar to soft serve ice-cream mix and speed mixing the frozen product in a mixture to make it pourable and generate foam in it. It has lower fat and sugar contents and higher milk SNF content than ice-cream. Ginger is a popular home remedy in India today. The medicinal properties of ginger in preventing cough and cold are well documented taking into account the medicinal properties of ginger, the present research on studies on sensory characteristics ginger ( Zingiber officinale L.) milk shake by addition of ginger juice control, 2.5 per cent, 5 per cent, 7.5 per cent, 10 per cent of milk (V/V) . Different sensory characteristics are done i.e. general apperance, flavaur, concestancy and overall aceptability. Most aceepted treatment found i.e. ginger juice 5 per cent of of milk (v/v).

Palabras persas en el mitraísmo: la construcción de una imagen oriental del culto mitraico = Persian Words in Mithraism: The Construction of an Oriental Image of Mithraic Cult

La cuestión de la procedencia oriental del culto mitraico se ha sostenido tradicionalmente en el propio origen persa del dios Mitra y por la presencia de otros testimonios en el culto vinculados con este territorio. El análisis en profundidad de las evidencias epigráficas en torno a la palabra “nama” nos permiten establecer la hipótesis de un empleo tardío de este término y por tanto permiten señalar un uso interesado para fomentar una representación oriental del culto mitraico romano.The question of the western origin of the Mithraic cult has been supported traditionally by the own Persian origin of the god Mithra and by the presence of other testimonies in the worship linked by this territory. The analysis of the epigraphic evidence concerning the word "nama" allow us to establish the hypothesis of a late incorporation of this expression and therefore they allow to indicate a use interested to promote an oriental representation of the Roman Mithraic cult.

Revisitando o secular: secularidades múltiplas e trajetórias para a modernidade

Os debates acadêmicos sobre a secularização e o secularismo atingiram um impasse infecundo. Os teóricos ortodoxos ou neo-ortodoxos da secularização insistem na universalidade epistemológica e na aplicabilidade universal de conceitos mais ou menos uniformes de secularização. Por contraste, as críticas pós-coloniais procuraram provincianizar a noção de secular, enfatizando sua origem ocidental e sua coimplicação com o Estado-nação, a violência e o colonialismo. Neste artigo, ocupamo-nos criticamente dessas abordagens e sugerimos, como perspectiva alternativa, o conceito de “secularidades múltiplas”. Se, por um lado, as abordagens universalista e pós-colonial tendem a dar forma e essência ao secular, nós pretendemos, por outro lado, historicizar e culturalizar a secularidade. Fazemo-lo argumentando que a secularidade se sustenta cultural e simbolicamente em formas de distinção entre as esferas e as práticas sociais religiosas e não religiosas e que as institucionalizações dessas distinções serviram como modo de lidar com diferentes problemas. Não obstante reconheça as historicidades particulares da secularidade, nossa conceptualização liberta-a, de forma significativa, de suas associações singulares ao Ocidente e à modernidade.

Provenance experiment with spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst. and Picea obovata (Ledeb.)) in the North of Russia (Arkhangelsk region)

Abstract This research presents the variability in the survival and growth for 27 provenances of spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst. and Picea obovata (Ledeb.)). All the tests were carried out in Russia, Arkhangelsk region, 62º 54’ N, 40º 24’ E, in the northernmost site of the State Geographic Network, established in 1977. For the research on the spruce provenances, standard methods for studying the geographic variation of the main forest-forming species were used. Growth rates of provenances were correlated with their geographical coordinates and climatic characteristics. Data was expressed in standard deviation units to select the best in growth provenances. Despite the significant differences in the location of the original stands (up to 12º N and 37º E), variability in survival, height and diameter is low (coefficient of variation is 12.2–19. 0%). Obtained data indicated that provenances’ growth is correlated on longitude of the location rather than on the latitude. Diameter and average height of provenances significantly depend on annual rainfall. The height of provenance is mostly dependent on the location of the initial habitats and their climatic characteristics. It is also related to the length of the growing season and the air temperature (annual average and in January). Groups of the provenances of the best and the worst growth were distinguished. The group of the best ones on the integral indicator (volume stand) includes provenances of the western origin represented by P. abies and its immediate hybrids – Karelia (3), Vologda (24), Leningrad (5), Pskov (7) and Moscow (29) Regions – and provenances of the eastern one represented by P. obovata – Komi (26) and Perm (38) Region. High plasticity of spruce (P. abies (L.) Karst. × P. obovata (Ledeb.)), growing within the Russian Plain, in sufficiently favourable conditions of middle taiga subzone (Arkhangelsk Region, Russia) was proved.