Wielokulturowe estetyki w dyskursie publicznym w Polsce. Próba postkolonialnej interpretacji

The aim of my paper is to present the concept of postcolonial aesthetics, as well as to analyse the phenomena of multicultural aesthetics in public discourse in Poland. In my work the sociological perspective is accompanied with pedagogical one. I point out that aesthetics may be considered as space for identity formation. While analysing multicultural aesthetics in Polish public discourse, I focus on several phenomena. First, I describe invisibility of multicultural aesthetics in art discourse, as well as in educational discourse, and analyse the representations of multicultural aesthetics. I reconstruct the discourse of superiority of The Global North civilisation, and a parallel discourse of primitivism of the Global South. Next, I describe the proces ses of commercialisation and folklorization of multicultural aesthetics occurring in public sphere, especially in mass culture. Finally I reconstruct types of identities formed in the analysed material. The papers concludes with reference to Edward Said's demand for a constant critical reading o f culture

PMAS: The Potsdam Multi Aperture Spectrophotometer. II. The Wide Integral Field Unit PPak

PPak is a new fiber-based Integral Field Unit (IFU), developed at the Astrophysical Institute Potsdam, implemented as a module into the existing PMAS spectrograph. The purpose of PPak is to provide both an extended field-of-view with a large light collecting power for each spatial element, as well as an adequate spectral resolution. The PPak system consists of a fiber bundle with 331 object, 36 sky and 15 calibration fibers. The object and sky fibers collect the light from the focal plane behind a focal reducer lens. The object fibers of PPak, each 2.7 arcseconds in diameter, provide a contiguous hexagonal field-of-view of 74 times 64 arcseconds on the sky, with a filling factor of 60%. The operational wavelength range is from 400 to 900nm. The PPak-IFU, together with the PMAS spectrograph, are intended for the study of extended, low surface brightness objects, offering an optimization of total light-collecting power and spectral resolution. This paper describes the instrument design, the assembly, integration and tests, the commissioning and operational procedures, and presents the measured performance at the telescope.Comment: 14 pages, 21 figures, accepted at PAS

Effect of overexpression of β- and γ-actin isoforms on actin cytoskeleton organization and migration of human colon cancer cells

Actins are eukaryotic proteins, which are involved in diverse cellular functions including muscle contraction, cell motility, adhesion and maintenance of cell shape. Cytoplasmic actin isoforms β and γ are ubiquitously expressed and essential for cell functioning. However, their unique contributions are not very well understood. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of β- and γ-actin overexpression on the migration capacity and actin cytoskeleton organization of human colon adenocarcinoma BE cells. In cells overexpressing β- or γ-actin, distinct cytoskeletal actin rearrangements were observed under the laser scanning confocal microscope. Overexpressed actins localized at the submembranous region of the cell body, especially near to the leading edge and on the tips of pseudopodia. The cells transfected with plasmids containing cDNA for β- or γ-actin were characterized by increased migration and invasion capacities. However, the migration velocity was statistically significantly higher only in the case of γ-actin overexpressing cells. In conclusion, the increased level of β- or γ-actin leads to actin cytoskeletal remodeling followed by an increase in migration and invasion capacities of human colon BE cells. These data suggest that expression of both actin isoforms has an impact on cancer cell motility, with the subtle predominance of γ-actin, and may influence invasiveness of human colon cancer

The GREGOR Fabry-P\'erot Interferometer

The GREGOR Fabry-P\'erot Interferometer (GFPI) is one of three first-light instruments of the German 1.5-meter GREGOR solar telescope at the Observatorio del Teide, Tenerife, Spain. The GFPI uses two tunable etalons in collimated mounting. Thanks to its large-format, high-cadence CCD detectors with sophisticated computer hard- and software it is capable of scanning spectral lines with a cadence that is sufficient to capture the dynamic evolution of the solar atmosphere. The field-of-view (FOV) of 50" x 38" is well suited for quiet Sun and sunspot observations. However, in the vector spectropolarimetric mode the FOV reduces to 25" x 38". The spectral coverage in the spectroscopic mode extends from 530-860 nm with a theoretical spectral resolution R of about 250,000, whereas in the vector spectropolarimetric mode the wavelength range is at present limited to 580-660 nm. The combination of fast narrow-band imaging and post-factum image restoration has the potential for discovery science concerning the dynamic Sun and its magnetic field at spatial scales down to about 50 km on the solar surface.Comment: 14 pages, 17 figures, 4 tables; pre-print of AN 333, p.880-893, 2012 (AN special issue to GREGOR

A retrospective of the GREGOR solar telescope in scientific literature

In this review, we look back upon the literature, which had the GREGOR solar telescope project as its subject including science cases, telescope subsystems, and post-focus instruments. The articles date back to the year 2000, when the initial concepts for a new solar telescope on Tenerife were first presented at scientific meetings. This comprehensive bibliography contains literature until the year 2012, i.e., the final stages of commissioning and science verification. Taking stock of the various publications in peer-reviewed journals and conference proceedings also provides the "historical" context for the reference articles in this special issue of Astronomische Nachrichten/Astronomical Notes.Comment: 6 pages, 2 color figures, this is the pre-peer reviewed version of Denker et al. 2012, Astron. Nachr. 333, 81

Examining the Dispositions of Music Educators: A Perceptual Psychology Theory

ABSTRACT This study examines the disposition characteristics of twelve music educators with varying demographic and discipline backgrounds. The primary purpose of the study is to extract the dispositions of music educators and to make connections among dispositions, identity, and behaviors, all from the music educators’ perspectives. The theoretical framework of perceptual psychology (Combs and Snygg, 1959) informs the data collection and analysis portions of this study. Detailed interviews were conducted with the study’s twelve participants, using questions structured around four dimensions that previous perceptual psychology studies had found to be useful in distinguishing different educator dispositions (Perception of Self, Perception of Others, Perception of Purpose, and General Frame of Reference) as well as other open-ended questions designed to elicit other perspectives. I analyzed these interviews using both quantitative and qualitative approaches (Barrett and Stauffer, 2009; Clandinin, 2006; Clandinin and Connelly, 1995; Creswell and Clark, 2007; Creswell, Clark, and Gutmann, 2003; Tashakkori and Creswell, 2007), providing a resonant narrative foundation for music educator dispositions. Previous studies of dispositions using the perceptual psychology framework only distilled participant narratives into a numerical score, leaving readers with a limited understanding of the concepts being represented. This study uses a mixed method approach, consisting of the narrative scores generated by two trained raters as well as a narrative inquiry approach, to generate a rich understanding of the dispositions studied, from the perspective of and in the words of the music educators themselves. I conducted extended interviews with subjects about their experiences, and then had two independent raters rate them on various perceptual psychology dimensions. I then further analyzed these interviews to identify stories or characterizations to illustrate these dimensions and to identify other themes. Using the quantitative method of inference ranking, I conclude that the twelve music educators fall into two distinct groups, distinguished by differences in each of the four original categories. Closer analysis of participant narratives provides support for the inference rankings, support for the four categories, and yields additional themes such as identity, behaviors, and various approaches to teaching. Music educators’ connections to their personal and professional identities fall within the Perceptions of Self dimension. While the study itself does not address the question of how particular teacher dispositions may affect students’ learning, its focus on the relationship between values, attitudes, and beliefs and teacher behaviors toward students lays the foundation for future studies to address that question. Keywords: dispositions, music educator dispositions, professional identity, perceptual psycholog