Critical Edition Research Articles

The music theory booklet Balliol 173A, fols. 74r–81v: scribal organisation of an early medieval theory miscellany

AbstractUsing evidence of the quality of vellum, fascicle structure, scribal hands and illustrations, this article argues that the first fascicle of the music portion of Oxford, Balliol College, 173A (fols. 74–81) is a self-standing booklet, perhaps created to teach a scribe the basics of music theory and how to arrange text while leaving space for illustrations or examples. A new fascicle structure of the gathering is proposed that accounts for a previously unrecognised missing folio. An analysis of the contents of the gathering demonstrates that the theory booklet is a compilatio, with portions of the Musica disciplina (or it sources) acting as a frame to start and end the booklet, with other works (Pseudo-Jerome, Isidore of Seville and Cassiodorus) inserted in between. The final folios are completed with a number of small tractatuli, including the brief dialogue Diapason quid est? The contents of both the booklet and the entire music codex are closely paralleled in one of the smaller manuscripts collected into Oxford, St John's College 188 and also Cambridge, Trinity College R.15.22. While it will be ever easier to study digital images of manuscripts and to create critical editions of well-defined texts, this article argues for the continuing importance of codicological study of manuscripts in situ to coordinate the placements of texts within the structure of codices.

A Neural Decision Signal during Internal Sampling from Working Memory in Humans.

How humans transform sensory information into decisions that steer purposeful behavior is a central question in psychology and neuroscience that is traditionally investigated during the sampling of external environmental signals. The decision-making framework of gradual information sampling toward a decision has also been proposed to apply when sampling internal sensory evidence from working memory. However, neural evidence for this proposal remains scarce. Here we show (using scalp EEG in male and female human volunteers) that sampling internal visual representations from working memory elicits a scalp EEG potential associated with gradual evidence accumulation-the central parietal positivity. Consistent with an evolving decision process, we show how this signal (1) scales with the time participants require to reach a decision about the cued memory content and (2) is amplified when having to decide among multiple contents in working memory. These results bring the electrophysiology of decision-making into the domain of working memory and suggest that variability in memory-guided behavior may be driven (at least in part) by variations in the sampling of our inner mental contents.

Talking about Oneself to Talk about Christ: The Autobiographical Text of Philippians 3:1–4.1 in Light of Ancient Rhetorical Heritage

In this contribution, we will proceed in three steps. First of all, we will investigate the rhetorical approach for studying the Pauline letters, considering different methodological options. In this context, we will propose the approach of the literary rhetoric as the most valid. Secondly, we will analyse the autobiographical text of Philippians 3:1–4:1, starting from its delimitation, textual criticism, and its arrangement, according to oral and discursive models. Then, we will proceed with genre and literary origins; here, we will discover the periautologia as the point of reference of the Pauline autobiography. This eulogy of self is a genre, well known in the rhetorical tradition, to which Plutarch dedicated the treatise On praising oneself. This discovery determines the following exegetical analysis of the text. Thirdly, we will conclude with a reflection about Paul’s way of speaking about himself in this passage. In light of ancient rhetorical heritage, he does not use his autobiography to praise himself but to praise Christ, who completely changed his life. Ultimately, Paul’s talk about himself is a way of talking about Christ for the benefit of the addressees who should creatively imitate the Apostle and his Christian life.

Edition of the Saptaguṇavarṇanā parikathā Based on a Newly Identified Sanskrit Manuscript with Special Reference to Its Tangut Translation

This paper focuses on a newly identified Sanskrit manuscript of the Saptaguṇavarṇanā parikathā (The Sermon Describing the Seven Qualities), which is currently preserved at the Drepung Monastery in Tibet. It presents the Sanskrit version of the text for the first time, provides a critical edition and translation, and offers a comparative analysis of the Tibetan translation and the Tangut manuscript, known as Инв. № 804. The paper addresses mistakes and omissions in the Sanskrit manuscript, Tibetan and Tangut translations, as well as related misreadings in the scholarship, thus advancing understanding of non-sūtra texts in Tangut Buddhism.

Design and validation of initial diagnostic tests for preservice teachers as a tool for teacher education effectiveness

ABSTRACT Teacher education quality and effectiveness have been at the centre of policy discussions in the last decades. As part of efforts to improve teacher preparation, law 20.903 requires Chilean universities to design and apply diagnostic tests assessing the construct of their choice to all first-year preservice teachers. Based on these results, universities must design strategies to support their students. However, universities are facing challenges in implementing these tests, primarily due to the complexity, time and cost associated with developing high-quality tests. In collaboration with three universities, we developed three diagnostic tests: Social Thinking Test, Attitudes Towards Diversity Questionnaire, and Mathematics test for Teaching in Primary Education. Unlike many of the tests currently used by universities, these instruments were specifically designed to measure core teaching skills and attitudes defined by the national standards for Chilean teachers. To collect validity and reliability evidence, the tests were piloted with over 850 Chilean preservice teachers. Reliability was analysed using Cronbach’s alpha, with results ranging between 0.67 and 0.92. Validity was examined based on content and internal structure evidence. The analysis of content evidence indicated good coverage of the target domains as defined by the assessment frameworks, and internal structure results point towards the presence of multidimensionality in two of the three tests. This paper discusses the results of these pilot studies and how diagnostic tests that are constructed and analysed from the perspective of the standards (American Educational Research Association, American Psychological Association y National Council on Measurement in Education, 2014) can provide valuable information to improve the effectiveness of teaching education.

„Mag es zweideutig klingen“ – zur Bedeutung eines bislang unpublizierten Briefes Andrej Tarkovskijs und dessen Stellung innerhalb der Entstehungs-geschichte von Zapečatlennoe vremja

Summary Andrej Tarkovskij’s autograph manuscripts and annotated typescripts are archives of change. On the basis of an exemplary passage in a recently surfaced letter by Tarkovskij to Kitty Hunter Blair this article provides a text-critical introduction into the complex history of the creation and relation between the written records of ‘Zapečatlennoe vremja’ – Tarkovskij’s only book on film, which has remained a fragment. The textual witnesses – annotated Typescripts and manuscripts – scattered today among various (private) archives, raise the question of the possibility and form of representation within a reliable critical edition in the original language. This article argues that only scrupulous transcription and the precise exegesis of Tarkovskij’s overwritings, deletions, additions and rearrangements within the textual witnesses will allow an adequate interpretation. A term-historical article appears within the article for hermeneutical reasons: The Stalinist definition of ‘naturalism’ and how it was repressively used against Soviet artists is explained along with its ties to terror. The ‘naturalism’ critique as an accusation in the arts was put forward well beyond the dictator’s death and negatively affected also Tarkovskij’s work for decades. The passage from the letter discussed here, shows how Tarkovskij reflected and reacted to the conditions of Soviet (self-)censorship related to ‘naturalism’ critique. The interpretation this article gives of the passage in Tarkovskij’s letter relies on the analysis of differing textual witnesses of ‘Zapečatlennoe vremja’.

Middle English fobbere and the Critical Editing of Piers Plowman

ABSTRACT This essay examines a line in William Langland's Piers Plowman that caused the scribes considerable trouble and which involves the synonymous Middle English hapax legomena fob and fobbere. The word in question appears to differ across the three versions of the poem, “A,” “B,” and “C.” The particular textual crux opens onto a general dilemma that faces Langland's modern editors. Editors of Piers Plowman have constantly to decide whether, and to what extent, to admit into evidence the testimony of parallel versions when editing any one version. Against the drift of a tendency toward parallel editing in the poem's twentieth-century reception, it is argued that the critical editing of Piers Plowman sometimes must involve holding at arm’s length the apparently relevant testimony of parallel versions.

„Światłocienie krytyki”. Estetyka subtelności Karola Irzykowskiego

This article is to attempt to explain the concept of subtlety, recommended by Karol Irzykowski, one of Poland’s great minds of the early 20th century, to his fellow literary critics as a supreme guide in their work, including the sorting out of a work's historical and cultural contexts. Irzykowskis ‘subtlety’ is a highly complex concept as it reaches out to the cognitive mechanisms of the brain to throw light on and account for the dynamic relationship of consciousness and unconsciousness in the creative process. Conse-quently, subtlety in that sense is not just another analytical tool of literary criticism. It is more like a sophisticated sensor tracing the interfaces of psychology and aesthetics (the ‘chiaroscuro of criticism’). In criticism, when used to its fullest capacity, subtlety would not only take into account the recipient but also the impact (creative impulse) of the critical text.

A REVIEW ON TEXTUAL CRITICISM IN AYURVEDA

The improvisation of a text happens only through its text criticism. Every new edition of a text tries to rectify any mistakes in the previous edition. As the number of editions increases, the clarity and quality of the content advances. In the case of ancient manuscripts composed of an author and reproduced the same matter by scribes of different specialisations or disciplines, some scribes even copied without knowing any idea of the subject dealt with merely for payment. Hence, analysing the variants produced through copying should be considered with attention and should be critically edited to reach nearer to the original work. Their justification of the author can be done, and the proper knowledge of the book can be assured for the scholars and readers. Textual criticism is the only way to find the originality of a book written years ago.

Language and religion in Tudor Cornwall: the testimony of Sacrament an Alter

This article is centred around a detailed review of D.H. Frost’s new (2023) critical edition and translation of the Cornish and Latin text Sacrament an Alter, in both its theological/historical and its philological/linguistic aspects. First, Dr Frost’s exposition of his text’s remarkable background is placed against the constantly changing character of official Tudor ideology, and the ecclesiological lens through which he views his material discussed. Points from his linguistic analysis (including revivalist reconstructions) are then examined and, prompted by Frost’s portrayal of the state of Cornish-language literacy in the last quarter of the sixteenth century, similarities are adduced with the known situation of near-contemporary Manx Gaelic. Traditional Cornish went into ultimately terminal decline, but Manx went on to receive both the Prayer Book and the Bible in translation; Cornwall’s disadvantage in not constituting a diocese in its own right is suggested as a significant factor in the contrasting fates of the two small Celtic languages in question. Finally, attention is drawn to the potentially striking efficacy of small networks of dedicated scholars, whatever their time and place.

The Jewish Reception of the Ars Notoria: Preliminary Insights into a Recent Discovery

Recent advancements in studying the Ars Notoria, notably through Julian Véronèse’s critical edition, have provided insights into its manuscripts and various interpretations. This progress sets the stage for exploring a less examined area: the Jewish reception of the Ars Notoria, a topic ripe for investigation in the current scholarly landscape. This article explores the Jewish engagement with this Christian text, particularly through its Hebrew translation Melekhet Muskelet, as well as a notable discovery that links the Ars Notoria’s notae to the Kabbalistic ten sefirot. This connection suggests an early Jewish interest in this Christian magical text. The study, using textual and visual analysis, offers insights into the interplay between medieval Jewish Kabbalah and Christian magical texts, underscoring the need to reevaluate their mutual influences during the 13th and 14th centuries.

Textual Criticism in the Gaps

Abstract This article concerns the likelihoods of competing textual reconstructions in the Chester Beatty Papyrus 𝔓⁴⁶ based on the available space in its lacunose lines. To quantify these relative probabilities, the author uses statistical models of line lengths in 𝔓⁴⁶ and a recently described technique for calculating the likelihood of a reconstructed lacunose text. He first demonstrates the power and versatility of this approach with examples in Gal 4:17 and 3:1. He then revisits two more contested textual reconstructions proposed for 𝔓⁴⁶: the absence of τῷ θεῷ in Heb 11:4, suggested by G.D. Kilpatrick in 1941, and the absence of σὺν ἐπισκόποις καὶ διακόνοις in Phil 1:1, suggested by T.C. Skeat in 1995. He shows that Kilpatrick’s proposed shorter reading in 𝔓⁴⁶ is six times more likely than the longer reading in Heb 11:4, while the evidence is not decisive between the readings in Phil 1:1.

Self-Assessment Survey: Evaluation of a Revised Measure Assessing Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Self-Assessment Survey (SAS) 4.0, an updated measure assessing implementation fidelity of positive behavioral interventions and supports (PBIS). A total of 627 school personnel from 33 schools in six U.S. states completed the SAS 4.0 during the 2021–2022 school year. We evaluated data demonstrating the measure’s reliability (internal consistency, interrater reliability between PBIS team and non-team members), internal structure, and convergent validity for assessing implementation of Tier 1, 2, and 3 systems. We found strong internal consistency (overall and across subscales) and evidence regarding the internal structure as a four-factor measure. In addition, we found the SAS 4.0 (overall score and subscales) to be statistically significantly correlated with another widely used and empirically evaluated PBIS fidelity measure, the Tiered Fidelity Inventory (TFI). We found a statistically significant correlation between the SAS 4.0 and the SAS 3.0 for the Schoolwide Systems subscale but not other subscales. We discuss limitations given the current sample and describe implications for how PBIS teams can use the measure for school improvement and decision making.

Narratological implications of the differences between the Masoretic Text and the Septuagint: 1 Samuel 10.5 and 13.1–4 as a case study

This article illustrates the importance of considering the narratological implications of textual variations in the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible. While these differences have traditionally concerned textual critics, this study argues for their importance in the field of narrative analysis as well. Using the divergent readings in 1 Samuel 10.5 and 1 Sam. 13.1–4 as a case study, the article analyzes the potential meaning and implications of these textual variants by showing how the different readings can offer new perspectives and uncharted avenues of interpretation, expanding our understanding of the Greek text as a distinct literary work. By bridging textual criticism and narrative analysis, this article aims to contribute to a deeper appreciation of the narratological dimensions inherent in the Septuagint and highlight its significance in the broader field of biblical narratology.

Twilight of the Wagnerian God: Reexamining Huysmans's and Mallarmé's Poetic Critique of Wagner

Abstract: This article offers a comparative study of Huysmans's poetic paraphrase "L'Ouverture de Tannhæuser" (1885) and Mallarmé's sonnet "Hommage" (1886). The texts were commissioned by the editor of the Revue wagnérienne , Édouard Dujardin, following a concert of Wagnerian excerpts the three attended. However, despite that original connection, these two Wagnerian poems have never been analyzed side by side. This essay is the first to juxtapose them in order to uncover commonalities in their attitude toward Wagner and music, a subject in which neither author was formally trained. Ultimately, I argue that the poems as creative and critical texts helped define French Wagnerism as a movement split between its reverence and irreverence of Wagner. They did so by poking fun at the "God Richard Wagner" and his cult-like following, an iconoclastic gesture that paved the way for the questioning of poetic norms among the French avant-garde of the mid–1880s.

1096. Eupatorium japonicum Thunb.: Compositae

SummaryEupatorium japonicum Thunb. (Compositae: Eupatorieae: Eupatoriinae) is described and illustrated. The current synonymy is provided, together with type citations for each of the names and statements of the located type material, together with appropriate notes and comments on this material, including lectotypifications if present in the literature. A selection of verified illustrations of the species in the literature is provided. Statements of the species' distribution, habitat and ecological preferences, phenology, conservation status, and the etymology of both generic and specific epithets are given, along with an impressive array of vernacular names, reflecting its relatively wide distribution and long cultivation. Cultivation, propagation, and availability notes are provided. The probability of this plant having been ‘exported’ to China many centuries ago both for its scent and festival significance almost mirrors that of the Chrysanthemum, that came in the opposite direction a few centuries earlier. The author citation for this well‐known Japanese endemic is discussed, as is the long‐standing confusion between E. chinense L., E. japonicum and the separation of E. fortunei Turcz. in many references. Comments on Robert Fortune's Chinese collections relevant to the type material of Eupatorium fortunei are also provided. Included within the synonymy of E. fortunei is E. stoechadosmum Hance, published in a short paper, Manipulus …, in the Annales des Sciences Naturelles, the Monitum, is dated ‘7 kal. Februar. 1863’, suggesting publication of Cahier 4 post that date when it was published. Hance's novelties (some collected as late as November 1862), and those of Triana & Planchon in their Prodromus florae Novo‐Granatensis … (from Cahier 5) are listed in major databases as having been published in 1862; there is no other internal evidence in the relevant papers to suggest, or confirm, this is true. Any suggestion that Hance's Manipulis was published in early 1862 is similarly incorrect. Hance's plant supports other records, including the publication of E. fortunei Turcz., that E. japonicum had been long in cultivation in China, but never known to grow in the wild. Eupatorium japonicum, now with E. fortunei (fujibakama) in synonymy, is one of the seven plants, from the Festival of Seven Flowers or Herbs (nanakusa no sekku) that takes place in the autumn – the Autumn's Seven Flowers or Herbs (aki no nanakusa). The autumn tradition, dating back over a millennium, mirrors the spring festival (haru no nanakusa) – when a seven‐herb rice porridge is eaten – but in autumn the simplicity of the flowers is just for visual enjoyment, not eating. The herbal and medicinal uses of this species also have a long history, are wide‐ranging, and clearly have great potential in a number of fields, not least in preventing insect predation, as an insecticide, or as an ovicide, together with antifungal and antimicrobial activity, as well as showing good anti‐inflammatory and cytotoxic activity. The plant's Lavender‐like smell is akin to that produced in sakuramochi (Prunus speciosa (Koidz.) Ingram, of cherry blossom fame), but is based on coumarin and its derivatives, not linalool and related volatiles in Lavandula.

“I Think It Would Take Not 3,000, But 300,000 Visas!!”: New Questions and Perspectives on the Holy See’s Brazilian Visa Project Arising from the Opening of the Vatican Archives for the Pontificate of Pius XII

Abstract: Not 3,000, but 300,000 visas were required to comply with all requests for emigration, Angelo Dell’Acqua, a member of the Roman Curia, said summarizing the so-called Brazilian Visa Project in 1940. Many people persecuted as Jews sought refuge in South America; thousands of them asked the pope and the Roman Curia for help with their emigration. The Brazilian government granted 3,000 visas on a singular basis. The new sources made accessible by the opening of the archival holdings pertaining to the pontificate of Pius XII allow us to reconstruct these cases in a detailed manner. Based on thousands of petitions written by Jewish people (which shall be published in a critical online edition at http://www.askingthepopeforhelp.de) as well as internal regulations, here analyzed for the first time, the inner-curial decision-making process is documented as a hermeneutic process reconstructing the fate of individuals, on the one hand, and providing answers to overarching questions on the other. The influence of antisemitic stereotypes about Jews and the behavior of the pope and the Curia during the Shoah are discussed. The focus of this article is on Catholics of Jewish origin, and on the question of their belonging to the Church, a subject that has been entirely underrepresented in research until today.

Virtual Reality and Serious Videogame-Based Instruments for Assessing Spatial Navigation in Alzheimer's Disease: A Systematic Review of Psychometric Properties.

Over the past decade, research using virtual reality and serious game-based instruments for assessing spatial navigation and spatial memory in at-risk and AD populations has risen. We systematically reviewed the literature since 2012 to identify and evaluate the methodological quality and risk of bias in the analyses of the psychometric properties of VRSG-based instruments. The search was conducted primarily in July-December 2022 and updated in November 2023 in eight major databases. The quality of instrument development and study design were analyzed in all studies. Measurement properties were defined and analyzed according to COSMIN guidelines. A total of 1078 unique records were screened, and following selection criteria, thirty-seven studies were analyzed. From these studies, 30 instruments were identified. Construct and criterion validity were the most reported measurement properties, while structural validity and internal consistency evidence were the least reported. Nineteen studies were deemed very good in construct validity, whereas 11 studies reporting diagnostic accuracy were deemed very good in quality. Limitations regarding theoretical framework and research design requirements were found in most of the studies. VRSG-based instruments are valuable additions to the current diagnostic toolkit for AD. Further research is required to establish the psychometric performance and clinical utility of VRSG-based instruments, particularly the instrument development, content validity, and diagnostic accuracy for preclinical AD screening scenarios. This review provides a straightforward synthesis of the state of the art of VRSG-based instruments and suggests future directions for research.

Immunomodulator Drugs in Unani Medicine: Evidence from Preclinical and Clinical Research

Abstract:: The immune system is one of our most intricate biological systems, maintaining bodily homeostasis. Substances that modulate the immune responses are called immunomodulators. In Unani system of medicine (USM), immunity is referred to as Quwate-Mudafia, which is part of Quwa and is maintained by Tabiyat. In Unani literature, many single drugs and formulations have been used for their immunomodulatory effect, apart from other therapeutic properties. Single Unani drugs with established immunomodulatory activity are Gilo (Tinospora cordifolia), Sibr (Aloe vera), Asgandh (Withania somnifera), Aamla (Emblica officinalis) etc. Compound formulations are Jawarish Amla sada, Iksir-e-badan, etc. We are living in the age of evermutating influenza viruses giving challenges to mankind (such as the recently prevailed SARSCoV- 2 pandemic); many Unani medicinal plants are still unexplored and need to be evaluated for their immunomodulatory property, which can act as substitutes for conventional drugs. To compile Unani immunomodulatory drugs under one heading, important critical texts of traditional Unani medicine, indexed peer-reviewed journals, and authentic literature from online sources were reviewed along with their reported in vivo/in vitro activities and clinical trials. Unani drugs explored in this review are time-tested remedies and can be utilized in these rapidly changing immunological challenges.

Tattva, vrata, caryā: On the Relationship of View and Practice in the First Chapter of Padmavajra’s Guhyasiddhi

The religious worldview of the mantranaya (esoteric Mahāyāna or Vajrayāna) can arguably be seen as rooted in the perspective that reality (tattva) is to be self-experienced (svasamvedya) through contemplative practices, serving as both their means (upāya) and expression (caryā). The tantric path-model of Padmavajra’s Guhyasiddhi, an exegetical text in the Guhyasamāja tradition, supposedly enables individuals to rapidly realize reality, a state also referred to as mahāmudrā or other, within a single lifetime. This path-model describes a transformation leading to the revelation of ultimate realization leaving behind conventional means. These two levels correspond to two stages, the stage of arising (utpattikrama), serving as the foundation for the stage of the arisen (utpannakrama). While the first stage is like a supporting framework giving rise to the correct view, in the second stage, the practitioner cultivates the view that has arisen. The practices of the latter stage eventually become inseparable from the view itself, meaning they are practical expressions of the view exemplified in doctrines like unmattavrata and other forms of observances integral to the mahāmudrā doctrine. Thus, contemplative practices and the established worldview mutually inform each other in a reciprocal relationship. Simultaneously, this system of practice and view continues to influence and shape religious practices and rituals as they are transmitted, e.g., through teacher–disciple lineages (guruparaṃparā). In this paper, I will explore this relationship through the critical edition and annotated translation of Guhyasiddhi’s first chapter by Padmavajra (ca. late 8th and early 9th century), in which a clear exposition of the relationship in question is presented. My analysis of it, thus connecting the work to more general Buddhist concepts, follows a two-level framework, that is, the well-known two-fold system of conventional/implicit (a) and definitive/explicit (b), which can be seen as equivalent to utpatti- (a) and utpannakrama (b). The efficiency of promoted practices accords with the practitioner’s correct assessment of tattva which, following Padmavajra, is the basis for engagement in tantric practices per se. The first part provides the analysis, given in 1.1–1.5, of Padmavajra‘s system and is based on the second part, the annotated translation (2.1) and critical edition (2.2) of Padma-vajra’s Guhyasiddhi chapter one.