Individual Passages Research Articles

Latin Poets and Italian Gods by Elaine Fantham (review)

Reviewed by: Latin Poets and Italian Gods by Elaine Fantham Luke Roman Elaine Fantham. Latin Poets and Italian Gods. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. 2009. Pp. xii + 229. CDN $55. ISBN 9781442640597. The Olympian gods have received their fair share of attention in classical scholarship. Elaine Fantham, in her recent book based on the Robson lectures delivered at the University of Toronto, Latin Poets and Italian Gods, chooses instead to focus on lesser known divinities associated with specific places in Rome and the Italian countryside. The book maintains hints of its original oral format: Professor Fantham offers up witty conversational asides, and approaches her subject with an engaging open-endedness, as if she were not so much presenting iron-clad conclusions as opening and passing around a box full of interesting objects for others to contemplate. The book’s prose style is free of the paratheoretical jargon that continues to weigh down much contemporary scholarly writing. In Chapter 1, “Rustica Numina: The Country Gods of Italy and their Reception in Roman poetry,” Fantham states her aim of reconstructing “the natural and supernatural world of the Italian smallholder” (5). She begins with a survey, in Roman authors from Ennius to Ovid, of rural gods, both native Italian and transplanted: Faunus, Silvanus, Pan, the Camenae, Pales, Priapus, the nymph Juturna. She attempts in this opening chapter to assess the prominence of the various deities and their importance in Roman cult. Chapter 2, “Virgil’s Gods of the Land,” explores the representation of rural divinities and sacred spaces in the Eclogues, Georgics, and Aeneid. Roman rustic divinities are anti-intuitively scarce in the Eclogues, which Fantham explains by suggesting that Virgil’s poetry is more Greek and literary at this stage than truly Roman. The Georgics mark a transition to a more recognizably Italian world of agriculture and work, while Books 7–12 of the Aeneid afford Virgil an opportunity to imagine the sacred landscape of early Italy. In Chapter 3, “Ovid’s Fasti and the Local Gods of the City,” Fantham searches for references to authentic religious rites and attitudes in an author known for being a playful and sometimes devious manipulator of fictions. Whereas Ovid is more often viewed as a poet of the city than of the countryside, the [End Page 256] city of the Fasti, as Fantham shows, is replete with sacred groves and the divinities that inhabit them. In the end, Fantham is tantalized by the elusive hints of a “poet who can oscillate between the authenticity of antiquarian research and the imaginative delight of sheer invention,” lamenting that “it is our loss that we cannot always distinguish between them” (89). The difficulty of extricating authentic religious material from literary invention influenced by Greek literary tradition perhaps explains the subtitle of Part II: “Counter-Examples, and the Triumph of Artistry over Fading Devotion.” The peculiar wording of this title helpfully recognizes the sometimes conspicuous distance of Roman literary divinities from quotidian rural piety, yet also brings up several questions: whose devotion faded? The smallholders of the Italian countryside, or only cynical urban poets like Ovid? If the latter, should we assume that, in earlier poets, devotion was uncompromised by irony, fiction, and artistry? Fantham, however, is bracingly terse when it comes to methodology and interpretive macro-narrative, preferring to follow the sometimes crooked path of individual passages and puzzles. In the book’s final three chapters, Fantham traces the representation of divinities both Greek and Roman through a selection of passages in Ovid’s Metamorphoses, Priapean poetry by various authors, and Statius’ Silvae and Thebaid. Chapter 4, “Ovidian variations: From Friendly Flora to Lewd Salmacis and Angry Acheloüs,” takes as its premise the reverence shown to Italian gods on the one hand, and stories of the more “violent and undisciplined” (95) gods of Greece and Asia Minor on the other. Fantham contrasts the wild behavior of some mythical rivers of the Greek East with Ovid’s positive focus on the Italian figure Flora, although, as Fantham herself argues, Ovid may have had his own reasons for favoring a goddess associated with moral license and erotic display (98–100). In Chapter 5, “Gods in a Man-made Landscape...

Recognizing Persius (review)

Reviewed by: Recognizing Persius Paul Allen Miller Kenneth J. Reckford . Recognizing Persius. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 2009. x + 240 pp. Cloth, $45. Reckford has produced a very serviceable introduction to a very difficult poet. Written with genuine verve and passion, this personal look at what many view as a crabbed and uncongenial writer is a welcome addition to an all too small English bibliography on Rome's third great satirist, after Lucilius and [End Page 706] Horace. Beginning its life as the Martin lectures delivered at Oberlin a decade ago, this generous, often nostalgic look at the work of a young Stoic under the reign of Nero will surely help him find a wider audience among today's ambitious undergraduates and beginning graduate students. To get a feel for both the texture and the nature of Reckford's project, I would like to begin with a longish quote from the final pages of its actual treatment of Persius (there is a supplemental chapter on Juvenal at the end of the book): "What I have come to admire in Persius, through his Satires, is not anything like completion of the Stoic journey toward sainthood, but rather a clear vision of what that journey entails: unblinking awareness of the human condition, one's own especially, and the will to keep striving in the face of innumberable obstacles, both without and within. It is the cumulative sense of this awareness and this striving that helps us see Persius as more than the satiric persona 'Persius,' and as more than the sum of the different voices in the Satires. We see that he knows his, and our, limitations better than most, but that he is resolved, all the same to become a real person, a genuine human being" (160). This passage demonstrates well the warm, soft-focus humanism that illuminates much of this book. There is a kind of confessional tone to much of it as the reading of Persius becomes the occasion for recollections of undergraduate days at Harvard, travels in Italy, favorite passages from D. H. Lawrence and Shakespeare, and reflections on the inevitability of death. Persius becomes a means of the author's (and presumably our own) self-construction and self-recognition, even as we come to recognize Persius in his struggle to recognize himself. This essay in mutual recognition will strike some readers as dated. Nonetheless, it must be acknowledged that the absolutely unselfconscious use of terms like "the human condition" is of a piece with the effort to conjure from these crabbed little poems—often riddled with obscenity (e.g,. orgasmic eyes, depilated anuses), strange images (e.g., wild fig trees bursting from livers), and some of the most difficult Latin produced in the classical era—"a real person, a genuine human being." This is a book that strives to commune with the author behind the text and is resolute in its belief in each of us having the desire and the ability to do so. Indeed, it predicates our ability to recognize and fashion ourselves on our ability to recognize others in their own similar travails. Given the nature of this project, then, there is little time spent on close readings of individual passages. Ambivalences, ambiguities, and interpretive cruces are passed over quickly in favor of getting the right impression and painting the big picture. In place of detailed philological exegeses or extended meditations on method, we are frequently reminded that Persius would have read and perhaps even performed his poems aloud, and, thus, much that seems obscure to us now would have been made clear through tone of voice, dramatic gesture, and facial expression. Indeed, the claim is made more than once that if only we would read the Latin aloud, many of our interpretive aporias would be conjured away. Typical is the following passage: "I want to argue that, despite all those famous 'difficulties,' if we will just read Persius's Satires aloud as they were meant to be [End Page 707] read . . . then we shall recover more than we might expect of the pleasure of the performance, the delight that balances out pain" (13). In such passages, the nostalgia for a simpler hermeneutics...

Listening to the Voice of the Storyteller in Mark's Gospel

Mark was a gifted storyteller, and recent scholarly studies on the narrative aspects of Mark's Gospel have the potential to help us listen more carefully to the voice of Mark the storyteller. This article draws on recent research into Mark's narrative in order to set out basic principles for interpreting a narrative like the one found in Mark. The first principle highlights the importance of interpreting Mark as a realistic narrative. The story on the surface level is what Mark's Gospel is about, and interpreters should resist any attempt to shift the meaning of Mark away from the story that it tells about Jesus. The second principle emphasizes the necessity of interpreting individual passages within the context of Mark's narrative as a whole. Since Mark's Gospel presents a unified narrative, each individual episode takes on meaning and significance through its place within the overall story. The third principle points out the need to interpret Mark's Gospel with a focus on Jesus. Since Jesus is the central figure in the story, any interpretation of Mark's narrative should emphasize what it communicates about Jesus and about what it means to follow him. These basic principles make it possible to avoid some of the more common pitfalls in Gospel interpretation: Allegorizing, over-harmonizing, and moralizing.

Fast molecular tracking maps nanoscale dynamics of plasma membrane lipids

We describe an optical method capable of tracking a single fluorescent molecule with a flexible choice of high spatial accuracy (approximately 10-20 nm standard deviation or approximately 20-40 nm full-width-at-half-maximum) and temporal resolution (< 1 ms). The fluorescence signal during individual passages of fluorescent molecules through a spot of excitation light allows the sequential localization and thus spatio-temporal tracking of the molecule if its fluorescence is collected on at least three separate point detectors arranged in close proximity. We show two-dimensional trajectories of individual, small organic dye labeled lipids diffusing in the plasma membrane of living cells and directly observe transient events of trapping on < 20 nm spatial scales. The trapping is cholesterol-assisted and much more pronounced for a sphingo- than for a phosphoglycero-lipid, with average trapping times of approximately 15 ms and < 4 ms, respectively. The results support previous STED nanoscopy measurements and suggest that, at least for nontreated cells, the transient interaction of a single lipid is confined to macromolecular dimensions. Our experimental approach demonstrates that fast molecular movements can be tracked with minimal invasion, which can reveal new important details of cellular nano-organization.

Experimental Analysis of a Waveguide Pressure Measuring System

An infinite-line probe is commonly used to measure unsteady pressure in high-temperature environments while protecting the pressure transducer. In this study, an existing theoretical model is used to derive the response of a waveguide pressure measuring system. An ambient temperature centrifugal compressor rig acts as an experimental source of fluctuating pressure. The compressor is operated at different discrete rotational speeds, and the blade-passing frequencies are used to obtain frequency response data. In the experiments, pressure waves attenuated at a rate faster than that predicted by the theoretical model for a 0.322 m (12 in.) sensor offset. Furthermore, the decay in the magnitude of the pressure oscillations accelerated at blade-passing frequencies above 9 kHz. A unique contribution of this study is to show that whereas the experimentally observed overall attenuation is broadly consistent with the theoretical predictions, pressure oscillations corresponding to individual blade passages may be disproportionally attenuated.

Risk‐taking behaviour variation over time in sea bassDicentrarchus labrax: effects of day–night alternation, fish phenotypic characteristics and selection for growth

Differences in bold and shy personality on sea bass Dicentrarchus labrax were investigated between a population (wild) produced from wild-brood fish and a population (selected) produced from selected-brood fish. During the experiment (112 days), fish were reared under self-feeding condition to characterize the feeding behaviour of each individual fish. Three risk-taking tests (T1, T2 and T3 of 24 h with day-night alternation) were carried out at >1 month intervals on 180 fish of each strain in order to monitor D. labrax behaviour over time and in relation to the light:dark period. A risk-taking score was evaluated via a preference choice between a safe zone (without food) and a risky zone (potentially with food) by recording the number and the duration of individual passages through an opening in an opaque divider. Results showed that fish performed passages preferentially during the night period and that wild fish were generally bolder than selected fish during T1 and T2 but showed a decrease in risk taking during T3, contrary to selected fish which showed a constant increase in their risk-taking behaviour. The phenotypic characteristics of the bold fish were different in the two strains: wild bold fish were the smallest within the wild strain and selected bold fish presented the higher growth rate within the selected strain. For both strains, these bold fish were also generally characterized by a high feed-demand activity. Fish hunger state thus seemed to be the highest motivation for risk-taking behaviour under the present conditions. Furthermore, behavioural variations over tests such as higher risk taking (number of passages) and faster exploratory responses (higher score emergence) could be interpreted as relevant indicators of the learning process and habituation. According to the results, however, no real difference in coping strategy between strains could be observed at this first stage of domestication and selection.

Rhesusrevisited: the case for a fourth-century Macedonian context

Abstract:A number of individual passages inRhesus, a tragedy whose attribution to Euripides has repeatedly been questioned, evince extensive familiarity with institutions and mentalities prevalent in fourth-century Macedonia. The paper argues thatRhesuswas composed and produced for a Macedonian performance context, probably between the late 350s and the late 330s BC, by an author who, while familiar with Athenian tragedy and conceivably of Athenian origin, may have lived in the court of Philip II or Alexander III.

Comments on “The Science and Applications of Acoustics” [Springer-Verlag (2000, 2006)

Raichel's "The Science and Applications of Acoustics" (Springer-Verlag, Berlin, 2000) has extensive material that appears to have been extracted from four other texts without proper attribution. The material so used extends to figures, detailed structure of entire sections and developments, and phrasing of individual passages. While in some instances like material between the texts has been paraphrased to some extent, in others it appears almost unaltered.

From the Editor-in-Chief’s Desk: Job Loss as Status Passage for Workers During Recession—Advocating a “Compassionate Turn”

As the recession deepens around the globe, we hear not merely dire predictions of doom in the future, but the prospect of job loss increasing for potentially thousands of people. The headlines shout: thousand of jobs to go; unemployment rates rise; the economy is contracting. Individual businesses and entire industries are in trouble. In light of this, I would like to talk a little bit about the status passage that inevitably accompanies a person losing their job, and how people and organizations might helpfully respond to that. With the recession deepening, the chance that you, or someone you know, will be faced with the life transition of the passage from work, or of giving another the news of this transition, is increasing every day. It is something that both employees and employers should be concerned about. Life transitions are a passage from one life experience to another, and embrace a process consisting of changes in experience, perceptions, meanings, a passage of time, and associated outcomes of the transition (Rasmussen et al. 2007). Transitions, such as the passage from work, commence with a turning point. In this case, the turning point is likely to be knowledge of an impending layoff or redundancy. The status passage that follows (Glaser and Strauss 1971) is the transition from an old life (life with a job) to a new life (life without a job). Status passages are characterized by important changes in the behaviors and consequences for the person involved. Constituent properties of status passages relevant for those losing their job might include whether the passage is experienced as collective, aggregate, or solo; whether the passage is an individual or multiple passage; the temporal aspects of the social mobility associated with it; the potential (un)desirability of the passage; the potential (ir)reversibility of the passage; the potential (un)controllability of the passage; and the shape of the passage (i.e., how quickly life changes might be felt) (Glaser and Strauss 1971). Turning points or life events are triggers of significant life changes, and require those affected retrospectively to identify and reflect upon the upheaval they experience and, especially, the ways in which this upheaval may affect their lives (Ronka et al. 2003; Liddle et al. 2004; George 2001). Losing one’s job has been recognized as a turning point or life Employ Respons Rights J (2009) 21:165–169 DOI 10.1007/s10672-009-9115-5

Passage detection using text classification

AbstractPassages can be hidden within a text to circumvent their disallowed transfer. Such release of compartmentalized information is of concern to all corporate and governmental organizations. Passage retrieval is well studied; we posit, however, that passage detection is not. Passage retrieval is the determination of the degree of relevance of blocks of text, namely passages, comprising a document. Rather than determining the relevance of a document in its entirety, passage retrieval determines the relevance of the individual passages. As such, modified traditional information‐retrieval techniques compare terms found in user queries with the individual passages to determine a similarity score for passages of interest. In passage detection, passages are classified into predetermined categories. More often than not, passage detection techniques are deployed to detect hidden paragraphs in documents. That is, to hide information, documents are injected with hidden text into passages. Rather than matching query terms against passages to determine their relevance, using text‐mining techniques, the passages are classified. Those documents with hidden passages are defined as infected. Thus, simply stated, passage retrieval is the search for passages relevant to a user query, while passage detection is the classification of passages. That is, in passage detection, passages are labeled with one or more categories from a set of predetermined categories. We present a keyword‐based dynamic passage approach (KDP) and demonstrate that KDP outperforms statistically significantly (99% confidence) the other document‐splitting approaches by 12% to 18% in the passage detection and passage category‐prediction tasks. Furthermore, we evaluate the effects of the feature selection, passage length, ambiguous passages, and finally training‐data category distribution on passage‐detection accuracy.

Political Prisoners' Memoirs in Zimbabwe

ABSTRACTPrison narratives are a key genre of African nationalist writing. They offer a unique window onto the relationships between the personal and political, the self and nation. This article focuses on the memoirs of three Zimbabwean political prisoners in order to explore claims to agency in prison, constructions of gender and race, and the complexities of individual passages within the collective narrative of nationalism. The memoirs are revealing of a formative period in Zimbabwean nationalism, and of the individuals and ideas that shaped independent Zimbabwe.

Why we are wasting time in the operating theatre?

To determine reasons for delay during elective operating lists and suggest solutions. Prospective observational study. A large under-graduate teaching hospital. Fifty-five consecutive women undergoing elective gynaecological surgery under general anaesthesia. Every time point of individual patient's passage through the operating theatre (patients sent for, arrival in the anaesthetic room, general anaesthetic commenced, transfer to the operating theatre, surgery started, surgery completed, anaesthetic reversed, patient taken to recovery area) was documented. Time intervals between the various time points with particular reference to wait by the anaesthetist and surgeon between cases. We monitored 55 operations carried out during 22 operating lists. Apart from the surgery itself (median 81 min per procedure), the longest interval was the time taken to get patients into the anaesthetic room from the ward (median 20 min). Although patients waited a median of 10 min before the start of anaesthesia, if the first procedure on the list was excluded, the anaesthetist was waiting for the patient to arrive in the anaesthetic room in 13/30 (43%) cases, wasting a median of 7 min per case. The surgeon had to wait a median of 22.5 min between operations. Considerable operating theatre time is wasted while patients are transferred to and from the operating theatre resulting in both anaesthetists and surgeons having to wait between patients in a high proportion of cases, averaging 1 h during a 4 h operating list. Surgery could be made more time efficient by ensuring that patients arrive in the operating theatre complex early enough (to reduce time wasted for anaesthetists and surgeons), and by having two anaesthetists available at the end of surgery, one to reverse the anaesthetic while the other starts the next induction (to reduce time waste for the surgeon), coupled to adequate recovery area capacity.

On the Indonesian Throughflow in the OCCAM 1/4 degree ocean model

Abstract. The Indonesian Throughflow is analysed in two runs of the OCCAM 1/4 degree global ocean model, one using monthly climatological winds and one using ECMWF analysed six-hourly winds for the period 1993 to 1998. The long-term model throughflow agrees with observations and the value predicted by Godfrey's Island Rule. The Island Rule has some skill in predicting the annual signal each year but is poor at predicting year to year and shorter term variations in the total flow, especially in El Niño years. The spectra of transports in individual passages show significant differences between those connecting the region to the Pacific Ocean and those connecting with the Indian Ocean. On investigation we found that changes in the northern transports were strongly correlated with changes in the position of currents in the Celebes Sea and off Halmahera. Vertical profiles of transport are in reasonable agreement with observations but the model overestimates the near surface transport through the Lombok Strait and the dense overflow from the Pacific through the Lifamatola Strait into the deep Banda Sea. In both cases the crude representation of the passages by the model appears responsible. In the north the model shows, as expected, that the largest transport is via the Makassar Strait. However this is less than expected and instead there is significant flow via the Halmahera Sea. If Godfrey's Island Rule is correct and the throughflow is forced by the northward flow between Australia and South America, then the Halmahers Sea route should be important. It is the most southerly route around New Guinea to the Indian Ocean and there is no apparent reason why the flow should go further north in order to pass through the Makassar Strait. The model result thus raises the question of why in reality the Makassar Strait route appears to dominate the throughflow.

Cave Sediments from Postojnska–Planinska Cave System (Slovenia): Evidence of Multi-Phase Evolution in Epiphreatic Zone

The Postojnska jama–Planinska jama cave system and number of smaller adjacent caves are developed in the Postojnski kras. These caves are located between two dextral strike-slip fault zones oriented in the Dinaric direction. The caves contain lith­ologically diversified cave fill, ranging from speleothems to allo­genic fluvial sediments. The allogenic clastic material is derived from a single source, Eocene siliciclastics of the Pivka Basin. Small differences in mineral/petrologic composition between the sediments can be attributed to different degrees of weather­ing in the catchment area and homogenization of source sedi­ments. Thick sequences of fine-grained laminated sediments, deposited from suspension are common. The depositional en­vironment was mostly calm, but not completely stagnant. Sucha sedimentary environment can be described as cave lacustrine, withdeposition from pulsed flow. The homogeneity of the pa­laeomagnetic data suggests rapid deposition by a number of short-lived single-flood events over a few thousand years. This depositional style was favourable for recording of short-lived excursions in the palaeomagnetic field. The sediments were originally not expected to be older than Middle Quaternary in age (i.e. about 0.4 Ma). Later numerical dating (Th/U and ESR) indicated ages older than 0.53 ka. New palaeomagnetic data from selected sedimentary profiles within the cave system detected normal polarization in muchof the profiles studied. Reverse polarized magnetozones, interpreted mostly as short-lived excursions of magnetic field, were detected in only a few places. Therefore, we interpreted most of the sediments as be­ing younger than 0.78 Ma, belonging to different depositional phases within the Brunhes chron. Palaeomagnetic properties of two profiles in caves intersected by the artificial tunnel be­tween Postojnska jama and Črna jama had reverse polarized magnetozones and of sediments in Zguba jama, may indicate an age muchgreater than 0.78 Ma. The cave system has evolved over a long period of time, governed by the functioning of Pla­ninsko polje in the relation to the evolution of the resurgence area in Ljubljana Moor further to the east. General stabilization of the hydrological system withlow hydraulic head led to the evolution of caves in epiphreatic and paragenetic conditions over a long time-span. Individual cave segments or passages were completely filled and exhumed several times during the evolution of the cave. Alternation of depositional and erosional phases may be connected withchanging conditions within the cave system, the functioning of the resurgence area, collapse, climatic change, tectonic movement and the intrinsic mecha­nisms of contact karst.

Partition lattices in Milton Babbitt's Woodwind Quartet (1953)

This article explores how lattices arising from the interaction of pitch-class partitions can provide insight into small-scale and large-scale analytical relationships in an early 12-tone work by Milton Babbitt. We begin with a review of the partition-lattice analytical model, as formulated by Richard Kurth. Individual passages from Milton Babbitt's Woodwind Quartet (1953) are then explored by first identifying the pitch-class partitions that govern the pitch structure of each section, and then constructing lattices from partition interactions. Lattice interactions of the trichordal array partitions used in the Quartet reveal how recurring hexachords and hexachordal partitions govern the distribution of pitch materials. In addition, one hexachordal partition that is not readily apparent from the arrays emerges from partition lattice interactions as a background unifying structure.

Improving the upstream passage of two galaxiid fish species through a pipe culvert

Abstract Movement between habitats in river fish assemblages is often restricted by instream structures such as culverts. The ability of diadromous common jollytail, Galaxias maculatus (Jenyns), and spotted galaxias, Galaxias truttaceus (Val.), to pass upstream through an in situ pipe culvert modified through the installation of baffles was assessed. Spoiler baffles (100 × 70 × 28 or 56 mm) were installed in three spatial arrangements along a 5.5‐m section of the pipe, and individual fish passage assessed at three flow velocities (0.35, 0.70 and 1.0 m s−1). Common jollytails (43–169 mm fork length, FL) were 10 times more successful in passing when baffles were present than under control conditions (baffles absent). Baffle size did not influence success, which increased with the spatial complexity of the baffle arrangement. Across all velocities, common jollytails (46–132 mm FL) and spotted galaxias (55–190 mm FL) were, respectively, 86 and 73 times more successful with the most complex baffle arrangement (overall 80% success) compared with control conditions (overall 13.5% success). Success for both species decreased at higher velocities under control conditions; however, when baffles were present, this trend persisted only for common jollytails. Installing small spoiler baffles may provide a simple, cost‐effective solution to passage problems at culverts.

The effect of spiral arm passages on the evolution of stellar clusters

We study the effect of spiral arm passages on the evolution of star clusters on planar and circular orbits around the centres of galaxies. Individual passages with different relative velocity (V_drift) and arm width are studied using N-body simulations. When the ratio of the time it takes the cluster to cross the density wave to the crossing time of stars in the cluster is much smaller than one, the energy gain of stars can be predicted accurately in the impulsive approximation. When this ratio is much larger than one, the cluster is heated adiabatically and the net effect of heating is largely damped. For a given duration of the perturbation, this ratio is smaller for stars in the outer parts of the cluster compared to stars in the inner part. The cluster energy gain due to perturbations of various duration as obtained from our N-body simulations is in good agreement with theoretical predictions taking into account the effect of adiabatic damping. Perturbations by the broad stellar component of the spiral arms on a cluster are in the adiabatic regime and, therefore, hardly contribute to the energy gain and mass loss of the cluster. We consider the effect of crossings through the high density shocked gas in the spiral arms, which result in a more impulsive compression of the cluster. The time scale of disruption is shortest at ~0.8-0.9 R_CR since there V_drift is low. This location can be applicable to the solar neighbourhood. In addition, the four-armed spiral pattern of the Milky Way makes spiral arms contribute more to the disruption of clusters than in a similar but two-armed galaxy. Still, the disruption time due to spiral arm perturbations there is about an order of magnitude higher than what is observed for the solar neighbourhood.[ABRIDGED]

Ancient Glass in a Philological Context

AbstractThis contribution aims to reach linguists and lexicographers as well as generalists and scholars concerned with editing, commenting on, and translating Greek and Latin texts mentioning glass. The article takes the form of eleven stand-alone numbered sections, each addressing individual passages in ancient authors, in the order described below, followed by discussions of the Greek words for glass (kuanos, lithos (khutê), hualos). In particular, it proposes solutions to passages that have baffled editors of ancient texts (Hdt. 3.24; POxy. 3536); it alerts the reader to passages that have been reinterpreted in the light of advances in our understanding of ancient production techniques (Petr. Sat. 51; Plin. Nat. 36.193; Str. 16.2.25) or are placed in a novel context by recent archaeological research (Ar. Ach. 72-3; Ar. Nu. 768; Ath. 5.199f; Diocletian's Price Edict 16.1-9). In order to facilitate consultation and avoid unnecessary repetition, each section addresses one single issue while providing comprehensive background for that issue. An index of citations and Greek and Latin words guides the reader to all sections in which they are discussed; a second index lists subjects relating to ancient glass and (modern) glass terminology.

Natural classification of knots

The principal objective of the knot theory is to provide a simple way of classifying and ordering all the knot types. Here, we propose a natural classification of knots based on their intrinsic position in the knot space that is defined by the set of knots to which a given knot can be converted by individual intersegmental passages. In addition, we characterize various knots using a set of simple quantum numbers that can be determined upon inspection of minimal crossing diagram of a knot. These numbers include: crossing number; average three-dimensional writhe; number of topological domains; and the average relaxation value.

The Forest and the Trees: Teaching the Aeneid in High School

The Forest and the Trees:Teaching the Aeneid in High School Donald E. Connor When I was asked to join this panel (and after I foolishly accepted), I looked back over the years that I have taught the Aeneid. I realize now that when I started teaching this great epic on the AP level, which then covered all 3,166 lines of books 1, 2, 4, and 6, I did so with only two weeks' notice; I have been teaching it ever since and have gradually come to understand just how great a genius Vergil was and on how many different levels the work can be interpreted. In high school I had read the same material and in a graduate seminar I had studied the second half of the Aeneid. Now I have read the entire work through a dozen times or so and have taught the AP syllabus (and more) over thirty times; I try to keep up with the secondary literature in various books and journals, and I have discussed countless issues with colleagues and students over the years. I am both proud and dismayed to confess that I still have not made up my mind about the Aeneid; I do not know whether Aeneas treats Dido well in book 4 or if Aeneas is justified in killing Turnus at the end of book 12. What the gates of Sleep represent at the conclusion of book 6, I will not even try to guess. My students, however, all have opinions and are delighted to argue with me every day that we translate and discuss the work. I find myself functioning as an advocatus diaboli, taking whatever position will force them to think through their ideas and support them with evidence from the text. I defend and attack Dido, often in the same class. This year we staged a trial in which the students brought charges against Aeneas on Dido's behalf. Witnesses were called and the judges decided that Aeneas was innocent of all charges, except for contributing to the destruction of Dido's reputation. What was most interesting about the trial was that both sides were in general agreement after the passion of competition had abated. Some of their comments: (Aeneas' lawyer) "I thought Dido's lawyers made very good arguments, but a lot of what they said wasn't in the text or (in my belief) they misconstrued many things." Dido's lawyers: "It got me looking at individual passages and examining characters more closely than I ever would have on my own.... I completely understand the judges' verdict. I would have voted the same way." Another lawyer for Dido wrote: "After examining Dido's case from her point of view, I have come to realize that external forces played a huge role in Dido's misfortune, and Aeneas is responsible for many of his actions.... I felt Dido had a lot of interesting and valid points, but none of them could be legally proven—it seems they are just a matter of morals and ethics. I found this very aggravating.... I felt that Aeneas' lawyers brought up valid and original points that I hadn't considered before." On a daily basis, high school teachers of Vergil face many problems that have no easy resolution. We can all count on students asking certain questions. Why, they wonder, do all the names of the characters have to begin with A (Aeneas, Achates, Aeolus, Antenor, Anchises, Acestes, Abas, Anna, and a few others, who, like Abas, are minor characters, which fact the students do not yet appreciate). Also, they complain that the figures of speech all begin with weird letters like a (again) or z, or they are Greek words and they are studying Latin. Since we start the Aeneid at the end of ninth grade at Trinity School, we are also dealing with students who have not yet fully developed their analytical abilities and who approach literature with a high degree of literalness. [End Page 170] "If Jupiter is omnipotens" or "if this is Aeneas' fate," then "what's the big deal?" they demand to know. This problem usually clears up, except for the occasional student who...