A students' oppinion on the importance of natural history collections and taxonomy in Brazil

Natural history collections (NHCs) contain valuable information that can be used in different fields of knowledge, and aid in the development of society, science, and technology. The role of curators and taxonomists in maintaining and improving biological collections is essential, as these are fundamental for the understanding of biodiversity. However, the role of taxonomists and the importance of NHCs to society have been undervalued in recent years. We, while attending a graduate program on collections at PUCRS, noted a gap in knowledge about scientific collections. Was this gap, which continued from our undergraduate to graduate years, a mere coincidence or widespread in biological science programs in Brazil? We queried 126 Brazilian institutions of higher education to assess the presence of courses related to natural-history collections and taxonomy. A total of 25 private and 37 public universities from 126 institutions searched, have a program of study in biological sciences in the curriculum on their websites. About 16% offer some course related to NHCs or taxonomy, and all of them are public institutions. Despite the budget cutting made by the Brazilian government that make it even more difficult to recognize NHCs and related areas, we believe that there should be more links among researchers from different areas and especially between the levels of basic and higher education, so that students are exposed to this subject early in their education. We, as Brazilian students, believe that more information on NHC-related issues and taxonomic subjects is urgently needed in biological science programs.(AU)

Evolución de las ideas en medicina: I parte / Evolution of ideas in medicine: part I

Introducción. En los sucesivos períodos históricos el hombre ha tratado de explicarse la realidad y los acontecimientos que en ella tienen lugar; la vida, la enfermedad y la muerte. Objetivo. Mostrar como evolucionaron las ideas médicas con el pasar del tiempo. Diseño. Retrospectivo. Lugar de aplicación. Bibliotecas, Internet, Google, Pub Med. Métodos. Investigación bibliográfica. Resultados. Visión de las dificultades que tuvieron las ideas médicas para modificarse, perfeccionarse e imponerse. Conclusiones. Se observa cómo el hombre ha hecho progresar la medicina usando su inteligencia.

Introduction. Since ever mankind tried to find an answer for vital events like life in itself, illness and death. Objective. To show evolution of medical ideas as time goes by. Location. libraries, internet, Google, Pub Med. Design. retrospective. Methods. Bibliographic investigation. Results. Become conscious of the difficulties medical ideas had to go through to change, impose and improve. Conclusions. It is shown how mankind reached medical progress using intelligence.

[Three views from overseas: the museum as a setting for educational outreach in the sciences]. / Três olhares de além-mar: o museu como espaço de divulgação da ciência.

During their first visit to Brazil, in 2001, Michel Van Praet, Jean Davallon, and Daniel Jacobi - French researchers in the field of museology - discussed the complex nature of the museum experience. Professor Van Praet underscores the unique character of natural history museums and offers an evaluation of his work as head of the restoration project at Paris's Grande Gallery of Evolution, inaugurated in 1994. Professor Davallon discusses the contribution of semiotics and reception theory in analyzing how an exhibit communicates and how meaning is constructed within it. Dr. Jacobi defines some characteristics of the dissemination of science at museums and points to problems encountered in achieving this end.

[The sciences and education in museums at the close of the nineteenth century]. / Ciências e educação em museus no final do século XIX.

In the closing decades of the nineteenth century, natural history museums established solid communication networks, and their different audiences formed what became known as the 'museum movement'. It was within this context of exchange that William H. Flower made his 1889 speech on the roles natural history museums should play. The article analyzes his influence on Argentina's Museo da La Plata, a member of this then-expanding circuit of museums.

[Collectors of historical, archeological, and natural science objects at municipal museums in Buenos Aires province, Argentina, during the 1950s]. / Coleccionistas de objetos históricos, arqueológicos y de ciencias naturales en museos municipales de la provincia de Buenos Aires en la década de 1950.

Through reference to the creation and expansion of municipal museums in the province of Buenos Aires during the 1950s, the article explores some aspects of how archeological collections are compiled. The collections under study came from private hands, having been gathered by collectors who relinquished them so these museums could be formed. At the same time that these collections became public, the collectors themselves became responsible for them in the role of directors of the new institutes. Within this context, the collectors established institutional relations that allowed them to devise common strategies concerning the receipt, selection, and exhibition of archeological collections. The result was the shaping of a network of solidarity in the southern part of Buenos Aires province.

[The passing eye: museums, public education, and the visualization of scientific evidence]. / La mirada que pasa: museos, educación pública y visualización de la evidencia científica.

In this examination of certain issues related to the history of museums. An emphasis on the functions and missions entrusted to museums does not necessarily reflect the power museums have to create habits or shape meanings. To the contrary, this may reflect the actual fragility of museums and their need to resort to rhetoric to attract governmental favors and funds. Therefore, concentrating on the monumental, representative, or metaphorical aspects of museums obscures the history of these institutions and of their consolidated practices, there by naturalizing the separation between research space and public space and leaving the historian to play the role of an uninitiated observer of the 'cathedrals of science'.

Ciências e educação em museus no final do século XIX / The sciences and education in museums at the close of the nineteenth century

Nas últimas décadas do século XIX, os museus de história natural estabeleceram sólidas redes de comunicação entre si, com seus diferentes públicos conformando o processo internacional caracterizado como o 'movimento dos museus'. Nesse contexto de intercâmbios apresenta-se o discurso que pronunciou William H. Flower, em 1889, sobre os papéis que cabiam aos museus de história natural. Neste trabalho analisa-se a sua influência no recém-inaugurado Museo de La Plata, Argentina, integrante desse circuito de museus que se ampliava no período.

In the closing decades of the nineteenth century, natural history museums established solid communication networks, and their different audiences formed what became known as the 'museum movement'. It was within this context of exchange that William H. Flower made his 1889 speech on the roles natural history museums should play. The article analyzes his influence on Argentina's Museo de La Plata, a member of this then-expanding circuit of museums.

Coleccionistas de objetos históricos, arqueológicos y de ciencias naturales en museos municipales de la provincia de Buenos Aires en la década de 1950 / Collectors of historical, archeological, and natural science objects at municipal museums in Buenos Aires province, Argentina, during the 1950s

En este trabajo se explorarán algunos aspectos ligados al proceso de formación de las colecciones arqueológicas en el contexto de creación y expansión de los museos municipales en la provincia de Buenos Aires en la década de 1950. Las colecciones analizadas surgieron en el ámbito privado, recolectadas por coleccionistas que las cedieron para dar origen a estos museos. Al mismo tiempo que las colecciones se hacían públicas, los coleccionistas se convirtieron en sus responsables en el rol de directores de las nuevas instituciones. En el contexto de estos museos, los coleccionistas establecieron relaciones institucionales que sirvieron para elaborar estrategias comunes para el ingreso, selección y exhibición de las colecciones arqueológicas, conformando redes solidarias, como la descripta aquí, para el sur de la provincia de Buenos Aires.

Through reference to the creation and expansion of municipal museums in the province of Buenos Aires during the 1950s, the article explores some aspects of how archeological collections are compiled. The collections under study came from private hands, having been gathered by collectors who relinquished them so these museums could be formed. At the same time that these collections became public, the collectors themselves became responsible for them in the role of directors of the new institutes. Within this context, the collectors established institutional relations that allowed them to devise common strategies concerning the receipt, selection, and exhibition of archeological collections. The result was the shaping of a network of solidarity in the southern part of Buenos Aires province.

La mirada que pasa: museos, educación pública y visualización de la evidencia científica / The passing eye: museums, public education, and the visualization of scientific evidence

En este artículo se presentan algunos problemas ligados a la historia de los museos. El énfasis en las capacidades y misiones a cumplir por los museos no necesariamente habla del poder de los museos para crear hábitos o imponer significados, pueden remitir a la debilidad de los mismos y a la necesidad de apelar a dicha retórica para atraer la atención de los favores y los presupuestos gubernamentales. Por ello, quedarse en el aspecto monumental, representativo o metafórico de los museos oscurece la historia de estas instituciones y de las prácticas allí consolidadas, naturalizando la separación entre espacio de investigación y espacios para el público y dejando para el historiador el papel de profano observador de las 'catedrales de la ciencia'.

In this examination of certain issues related to the history of museums. An emphasis on the functions and missions entrusted to museums does not necessarily reflect the power museums have to create habits or shape meanings. To the contrary, this may reflect the actual fragility of museums and their need to resort to rhetoric to attract governmental favors and funds. Therefore, concentrating on the monumental, representative, or metaphorical aspects of museums obscures the history of these institutions and of their consolidated practices, there by naturalizing the separation between research space and public space and leaving the historian to play the role of an uninitiated observer of the 'cathedrals of science'.

Três olhares de além-mar: o museu como espaço de divulgação da ciência / Three views from overseas: the museum as a setting for educational outreach in the sciences

Em sua primeira visita ao Brasil, em 2001, os professores Michel Van Praet, Jean Davallon e Daniel Jacobi, pesquisadores e profissionais do campo museal francês, discutiram a natureza complexa da experiência museal. Michel Van Praet salienta a particularidade dos museus de história natural e avalia o trabalho que realisou à frente do projeto de renovação da Grande Galeria da Evolução do Museu Nacional de História Natural, inaugurada, em 1994, em Paris. Jean Davallon discute a contribuição da semiótica e da teoria da recepção para analisar como a exposição comunica e como se dá a construção de sentido em seu interior. Daniel Jacobi define algumas características da divulgação das ciências nos museus e aponta dificuldades para a sua realização.

During their first visit to Brazil, in 2001, Michel Van Praet, Jean Davallon, and Daniel Jacobi – French researchers in the field of museology – discussed the complex nature of the museum experience. Professor Van Praet underscores the unique character of natural history museums and offers an evaluation of his work as head of the restoration project at Paris's Grande Gallery of Evolution, inaugurated in 1994. Professor Davallon discusses the contribution of semiotics and reception theory in analyzing how an exhibit communicates and how meaning is constructed within it. Dr. Jacobi defines some characteristics of the dissemination of science at museums and points to problems encountered in achieving this end.

[Natural history and eighteenth-century ideas regarding generation and heredity: Buffon and Bonnet]. / História natural e as idéias de geração e herança no século XVIII: Buffon e Bonnet.

The intellectual course of natural history reveals three conceptual approaches. The first was the taxonomic point of view, where naturalists worked to name and classify the living beings created by God. The second approach was provided by the eighteenth century's philosophical doctrine of mechanism, which lent natural history its method of endeavoring to comprehend the workings of organisms, inasmuch as the world "ran". Calling into question the adequacy of prior message, the third approach argued that living things display characteristics quite distinct from those of non-living matter, making it necessary to understand processes rather than simply decompose phenomena to then analyze them. This inadequacy became apparent at the moment when ideas of generation and heredity ascribed a reproductive history to living things, a history where the act of one fellow creature being formed by another plays an important role in coming to understand the workings of life. The paper analyzes these conceptual approaches from the perspective of Buffon's and Bonnet's ideas on reproduction and heredity, which represented opposite schools of thought: epigenesis and preformation.