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2018, Descendants of von Farne, Farni, Fahrni
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This book from 1998 uses a selction of 58 objects to provide a reperesentative cross-section of Swiss ciltural history. Each object rpresents en integral part oft he whole.
2015, Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine
Discussions surrounding ethnobiological classification have been broad and diverse. One of the recurring questions is whether classification is mainly based on the "inherent structure of biological reality" or on cultural, especially utilitarian needs. So far, studies about ethnobotanical classification have mainly been done in indigenous societies. Comparable data from industrialized countries are scarce. In this paper, folkbotanical classification data from the Napf region in central Switzerland is analysed and cross-culturally compared. Structured and semi-structured interviews were conducted with 60 adults and children chosen by random sampling. Descriptive statistics, t-tests and cultural domain analysis were used to analyze the data. Close to 500 folk taxa have been documented during field work. As life-form taxa appeared tree, bush, grass, herb, flower, and mushroom. Intermediate taxa mentioned regularly were sub-categories of the life form tree and bush, i.e. conifer, deciduous tree, fruit tree, stone fruits, pomaceous fruits, and berry bush. The rank of the folk generic was by far the largest with 316 taxa (85.4% monotypical). The specific rank contained 145 taxa, the varietal 14 taxa. The 475 generic, specific and varietal folk taxa could be assigned to 298 wild growing plant species, which make up 28.13% of the local flora, and to 213 cultivated plant species, subspecies and cultivars. Morphology, mainly life-form, fruits, leaves, and flowers, was the most important criterion for classifying plants. Other important criteria were their use (mainly edibility) and habitat (mainly meadow, forest and garden). The three criteria emerged spontaneously out of open questioning. The classification system of the Napf region is comparable to classification systems of indigenous societies, both in its shallow hierarchical structure and in the amount of recognized taxa. The classification of plants was mainly guided by morphology, habitat and use. The three aspects seem to be mutually linked for certain plant groups, which results in always the same groups, independent from the different sorting criteria. Sensory perception allows for a broader explanation of the known coincidence of morphology and use groups.
Travel passport is one of the most important and unique bearers of citizen's identity. Its key distinction from its domestic ID equivalent is the multidimensional character of the projected country image. Created image is projected onto the bearer, reminding him of basic key features of national identity. Simultaneously these preselected features are targeting foreigners, normally unfamiliar with the cultural space and history of the bearer's country. Recently questions of cultural identity, creation of an effective and positive image of countries and territories are gaining ever increasing attention at different levels of administration. Particularly, previously common symbolical attributes of the subjects of Russian Federation – coat of arms, flag – fall by the wayside, superseded by creation of brand-logotype, modeled after examples from the business world. All this prompts paying extra attention to design of the travel document and its semiotic contents. The purpose of this study is consideration of travel passport and symbolism associated with it as a source contributing to country's image. Here also will be reviewed such accompanying image elements as visas and entry stamps. These two image creators mostly target foreigners. Visa's small size offer special requirements to fantasy and selection of symbols/imagery, representing the country. Nonetheless, in spite of these spatial constraints several states found rather creative solutions to present themselves favorably. Stamps that are printed in passport upon border crossing also can relate travelers certain interesting details. Therefore all significant elements populating modern travel document prove valuable in study of country's image creation.