bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Using ResponsiveDesign as a Shared Approach to Address the Challenge of Composing with Digital Tools
Authors: Córdova Ralph A. , Taylor Ann , Hudson Jeff , Sellers Jason , Pilgreen Jessica , Goetz Donna , Jung Dawn
Published: June 2014

In this chapter, a team of two university and four school teacher-researchers, members of a Liquid Networked Innovating Community (LiqNIC) called the Cultural Landscapes Community (CoLab), draw on an interactional ethnographic perspective to examine the theoretical roots of the CoLab, how it emerged as a LiqNIC, and its impact on their professional learning. By constructing four telling cases, the team investigates how they drew on the CoLab's shared theory of action, ResponsiveDesign, to innovate their practices teaching writing to incorporate new media and digital tools (Twitter, Googledocs, Weebly, Edmodo, Prezi, Storify). Analyses reveal the local ways each teacher drew on ResponsiveDesign's iterative cycles of exploring, envisioning and enacting as habits of action. In and through the local ways they harnessed ResponsiveDesign to integrate digital tools into their writing instruction, the teacher-researchers developed habits of mind as prototypers and innovators of teaching practices. Analyses also reveal how ResponsiveDesign's core theoretical traditions were lived out in the habits of action and habits of mind that the teachers developed.
Composing Texts and Identities in an Alternative High School English Class
Authors: Hines Mary Beth , Kersulov Michael L. , Rowland Leslie , Rupert Rebecca
Published: June 2014

This chapter is drawn from a qualitative case study of one alternative high school English class, tracing students' engagement and resistance with digital media and school-based literacy practices, exploring how each student's use of literacy and digital media led to the formation of particular identities in the social sphere of the classroom. In this chapter the authors focus on two students, Callie--loud and socially dominant-- and Nina, quiet, reserved, outside the social circle. The authors trace the students' respective discursive practices in two composition units-- a multimodal children's book unit and a Theater of the Oppressed unit. The chapter argues that both young women have strong literacy skills and are strategic in using them, thereby creating particular identities as they produced texts.
What Now? Shifting Our Colleagues' Perceptions of Digital Writing
Authors: Hicks Troy
Published: June 2014

Though many teachers, including the authors in this collection, are incorporating digital writing tools and making significant changes in their instruction, too many other teachers are not. Based on the results of a Pew Internet and National Writing Project survey, this chapter explores six skills that a majority of writing teachers describe as “essential” or “important.” Building on the premise that all teachers want their students to learn these skills, this chapter describes strategies for how digital writing tools could be used in that capacity. With examples such as alternative search engines, creating a personal learning network, modeling the digital writing process, and understanding the dimensions of fair use, copyright, and citation, the chapter provides entry points for all teachers - even those unsure about why or how to use particular technologies - to begin teaching digital writing.
National Innovation System Dynamics in East Central Europe, the Baltic Countries, and Russia
Authors: Makkonen Teemu
Published: June 2014

In this chapter, the structure and dynamics of national innovation systems are explored to produce a comprehensive picture of the current, as well as the past, performance of the countries of East Central Europe, the Baltic countries, and Russia vis-à-vis their competiveness and innovative capabilities. The results highlight the importance of political and economic freedom, science, and education for promoting innovation. According to the principal component analyses, the best performing countries of the East Central Europe and the Baltic countries, in terms of their national innovation systems, have developed rapidly after the disintegration of the Soviet bloc and compare well in global rankings of innovative capabilities and competitiveness with standings above the countries of Latin America and South-East Asia. The countries under closer examination here that are members of the EU seem to be in a better position compared to the non-EU member countries. Thus, most of the countries in East Central Europe and the Baltic countries have been able to catch up with the global leaders during the analysed time period (1992–2008). However, this kind of development is yet to manifest in Russia.
Business Risk from Governmental Corruption in East Central Europe, the Baltic Countries, and Russia
Authors: Windsor Duane
Published: June 2014

This chapter places in a comparative, cross-country framework analysis of selected secondary information about business risk from governmental corruption in the region comprised of East Central Europe (including the Balkans), the Baltic Countries, and Russia. The region is an important setting for understanding corruption and anticorruption reform. What defines this geographic region is that all the countries are transitioning from monopoly-party rule and typically Soviet economic and political domination. Globalization is drawing the region into world economic integration through increasing Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). Key information from several sources provides an analytically consistent picture. Corruption increases business risk for multinational and domestic enterprises. Corruption deters inward FDI, undermines corporate integrity, and reduces country and regional competitiveness. The chapter provides information and examples about corruption in 21 political entities. These entities range from reasonably clean to endemic corruption, with varying patterns of corruption and anticorruption reform effectiveness. The chapter discusses possible solutions and recommendations and proposes future research directions.
Competitive Strategies of Successful Local Firms in Central and Eastern Europe
Authors: Schuh Arnold
Published: June 2014

Local companies in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) have to find the right competitive positioning to survive against Western competitors with superior resources and capabilities. In this explorative study, the authors study competitive strategies of successful firms from CEE. Sixteen firms from Czech Republic, Poland, Romania, and Russia are analyzed. The findings show that there exists a variety in strategic positionings among those firms. However, strategies based on a good quality at a lower price (“good-value-for-money”) are most common and effective. While internationalization is important, a high share of foreign sales is not automatically a profit driver. Industry has a major influence on financial performance: Firms active in the commodities, pharmaceutical, and software sector are outperforming the ones in consumer and industrial markets. Still existing negative country-of-origin effects, low government support of R&D and internationalization efforts, and weak enforcement of laws and international standards are restraining a faster development of these firms.
Social Media in Political Public Relations
Authors: Sebastião Sónia Pedro , Trindade Alice Donat
Published: June 2014

This chapter demonstrates how Web social media can be used in different ways to create more personalized or more impersonal messages in political public relations campaigns. When everyone is awakening to the potential of these social media for political communication campaigns, it is necessary to find alternative strategies to spread our word and distinguish ourselves from our competition. At this point, it is important to define the targets of persuasion and public relations; in addition, the manner in which a public relations campaign can be helpful is yet to be established, as well as the most adequate social media to be used.
Using Presidential Popularity for Understanding the Relationship between President Bush and Congressional Republicans' Online Campaigning
Authors: Latimer Christopher
Published: June 2014

This chapter is an assessment of the growing use of the Internet by congressional campaigns in the United States to determine whether candidates' Websites are affected by presidential popularity. There is previous research linking low public opinion of a sitting president with a negative impact on members of his political party running for election, particularly during the midterm, but very little analysis examines this phenomenon online. The chapter examines the 2002, 2004, 2006, and 2008 House Republican campaign Websites to see if there is a relationship between presidential popularity and congressional online campaign behavior. An examination of Republican campaign Websites was coded based on whether President Bush was present in picture form. The authors demonstrate that there is a correlation between President Bush's popularity and his presence on these Republican congressional Websites in general and more prevalent in different regions of the country.
The New Interdisciplinary Fields of Political Engineering and Computational Politics
Authors: Solo Ashu M. G.
Published: June 2014

This chapter describes two new interdisciplinary fields defined by Ashu M. G. Solo called “political engineering” and “computational politics.” Political engineering is the application of engineering, computer science, mathematics, or natural science to solving problems in politics. Computational politics is the application of computer science or mathematics to solving problems in politics. Political engineering and computational politics include, but are not limited to, principles and methods for political decision making, analysis, modeling, optimization, forecasting, simulation, and expression. The definition of these two new fields will greatly increase the pace of research and development in these important fields.
Interval Type-Two Fuzzy Logic for Quantitatively Defining Imprecise Linguistic Terms in Politics and Public Policy
Authors: Solo Ashu M. G.
Published: June 2014

The previous chapter describes the use of type-one fuzzy logic for quantitatively defining imprecise linguistic terms in politics and public policy. This chapter shows the use of interval type-two fuzzy logic for this purpose and the advantages and disadvantages of using interval type-two fuzzy logic instead of type-one fuzzy logic for this purpose. Interval type-two fuzzy sets can be used to properly ask and answer queries about quantitatively defining imprecise linguistic terms in politics and public policy like “rich,” “middle class,” “poor,” “low inflation,” “medium inflation,” and “high inflation.” Imprecise terms like these in natural languages should be considered to have “qualitative definitions,” “quantitative definitions,” “crisp quantitative definitions,” “fuzzy quantitative definitions,” “type-one fuzzy quantitative definitions,” and “interval type-two fuzzy quantitative definitions.”
Using Graph Theory Software for Political Discourse Analysis
Authors: Pătruţ Bogdan , Pătruţ Monica , Cmeciu Camelia
Published: June 2014

In this chapter, the authors show how, using graph theory, one can make a content analysis of political discourse. The premises of this analysis are: we have a corpus of speech of each party or candidate, as empirical data; speeches convey economic, political, and socio-cultural values, these taking the form of words or word families; there are interdependences between the values of a political discourse; they are given by the co-occurrence of two values, as words in the text, within a well-defined fragment or they are determined by the internal logic of political discourse; established links between values in a political speech have associated positive numbers indicating the “power” of those links; these “powers” are defined according to both the number of co-occurrences of values and the internal logic of the discourse where they occur. In this context, the authors highlight the following: a) the dominant values in a political speech; b) groups of values that have ties between them and have no connection with the rest; c) the order in which political values should be set in order to obtain an equivalent but more concise speech compared to the already given one; d) the links between the values that form the “core” political speech; and e) one can get from one value to another by using as few words as possible from the discourse to be analyzed.
Hungarian MPs' Response Propensity to Emails
Authors: Merkovity Norbert
Published: June 2014

Within the framework of empirical research, the authors sent an email to every member of the Hungarian Parliament. They wanted to know how many representatives would answer their letter within a one-week period. As a next step, they listed the answerers, the composition of parliamentary groups, gender, age, and the way the representatives got into the National Assembly in the election (from single-member districts or from party list). On the basis of this, they outline the profile of the responding representative. The typical answers came from women, who are members of the opposition and who are between the ages of 30–39. The least responses came from the members of the governing coalition. As a final point, the authors conclude in this chapter that Hungarian representatives do not differ significantly from their colleagues in the Western countries.
PET reconstruction artifact can be minimized by using sinogram correction and filtered back-projection technique
Authors: Jha Ashish Kumar , Purandare Nilendu C , Shah Sneha , Agrawal Archi , Puranik Ameya D , Rangarajan Venkatesh
Published: June 2014

Filtered Back-Projection (FBP) has become an outdated image reconstruction technique in new-generation positron emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography (CT) scanners. Iterative reconstruction used in all new-generation PET scanners is a much improved reconstruction technique. Though a well-calibrated PET system can only be used for clinical imaging in few situations like ours, when compromised PET scanner with one PET module bypassed was used for PET acquisition, FBP with sinogram correction proved to be a better reconstruction technique to minimize streak artifact present in the image reconstructed by the iterative technique.
Simultaneous PET/MRI: Impact on cancer management-A comprehensive review of cases
Authors: Jena Amarnath , Taneja Sangeeta , Jha Abhishek
Published: June 2014

The metabolic mapping of malignancy in whole body in a single examination by PET/CT has gained widespread acceptance where the CT provides an anatomical correlate for the PET. MRI offers advantage over CT in providing better anatomical information owing to its high soft tissue resolution especially in brain, liver, neck, pelvis and bone marrow. Simultaneous PET/MRI is a new multimodal imaging modality that is expected to improve the diagnostic performance of imaging wherein better anatomical and metabolic information can be acquired at the same time and space during a single examination time. Also, MR attributes like diffusion, perfusion and spectroscopy may further add to its diagnostic potential. In this article, we present our initial experience in illustrated cases done with simultaneous PET/MRI and outline its potential for several clinical applications in oncology.
An indigenous model for learning ultrasound-guided interventions
Authors: Khera Pushpinder S , Keshava Shyamkumar N
Published: June 2014

Ultrasound-guided interventions require good hand-eye coordination with respect to probe control and needle orientation. We describe a method of making an ultrasound phantom for practice purpose using an edible jelly mixture. The phantom is easy to make, reproducible, cheap, and simulates in vivo target.
Intercostal artery pseudoaneurysm complicating corrosive acid poisoning: Diagnosis with CT and treatment with transarterial embolisation
Authors: Chalapathi Rao MV Chalapathi , Rathi Abhishek A , Reddy Sharath P , Sahu Sambit
Published: June 2014

Pseudoaneurysms of intercostal artery are very rare. All the published cases have been caused by trauma, either iatrogenic or otherwise. They can cause hemothorax, retroperitoneal hemorrhage or can present as pulsatile chest mass. Doppler ultrasound, contrast-enhanced CT and conventional angiogram can accurately diagnose this condition. All the reported cases have been treated by embolisation, stenting or surgery. We report an unusual case of intercostal artery pseudoaneurysm arising as a complication of corrosive poisoning presenting with hematemesis and treated by glue embolisation. The authors believe this to be the first case of intercostal artery pseudoaneurysm that is non-traumatic, complicating corrosive poisoning and presenting with hematemesis.
Imaging and intervention in prostate cancer: Current perspectives and future trends
Authors: Sharma Sanjay
Published: June 2014

Prostate cancer is the commonest malignancy in men that causes significant morbidity and mortality worldwide. Screening by digital rectal examination (DRE) and serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA) is used despite its limitations. Gray-scale transrectal ultrasound (TRUS), used to guide multiple random prostatic biopsies, misses up to 20% cancers and frequently underestimates the grade of malignancy. Increasing the number of biopsy cores marginally increases the yield. Evolving techniques of real-time ultrasound elastography (RTE) and contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) are being investigated to better detect and improve the yield by allowing "targeted" biopsies. Last decade has witnessed rapid developments in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for improved management of prostate cancer. In addition to the anatomical information, it is capable of providing functional information through diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI), magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS), and dynamic contrast-enhanced (DCE) MRI. Multi-parametric MRI has the potential to exclude a significant cancer in majority of cases. Inclusion of MRI before prostatic biopsy can reduce the invasiveness of the procedure by limiting the number of cores needed to make a diagnosis and support watchful waiting in others. It is made possible by targeted biopsies as opposed to random. With the availability of minimally invasive therapeutic modalities like high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) and interstitial laser therapy, detecting early cancer is even more relevant today. [18F]--fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography ( 18 FDG PET/CT) has no role in the initial evaluation of prostate cancer. Choline PET has been recently found to be more useful. Fluoride-PET has a higher sensitivity and resolution than a conventional radionuclide bone scan in detecting skeletal metastases.
MR in complete dorsal pancreatic agenesis: Case report and review of literature
Authors: Thakur Shruti , Jhobta Anupam , Sharma Dinesh , Thakur Charu S
Published: June 2014

The morphogenesis of the pancreas is a complex process having a very low frequency of anatomic variation. The congenital anomalies are rare. Complete pancreatic and ventral pancreatic agenesis are incompatible with life. Dorsal pancreatic agenesis is exceedingly rare with less than 100 cases reported in the world literature. Patients with this anomaly may be asymptomatic or may present with abdominal pain, hyperglycemia, diabetes mellitus, and acute or chronic pancreatitis. Such anomalies are rarely reported; therefore, clinical awareness of agenesis of the dorsal pancreas as a cause of these symptoms can expand the differential diagnosis and improve patient management.
Imaging diagnosis of accessory and cavitated uterine mass, a rare mullerian anomaly
Authors: Jain Nishchint , Verma Ritu
Published: June 2014

Accessory and Cavitated Uterine Mass (ACUM) is a rare form of developmental Mullerian anomaly seen in young females, which presents as chronic recurrent pelvic pain and severe dysmenorrhea. It is an accessory cavity lying within an otherwise normal uterus. It is lined by functional endometrium and surrounded by myometrium-like smooth muscle cells; hence, it bears striking macroscopic and microscopic resemblance to the uterus. Hysterosalpingography (HSG), Ultrasonography (USG), and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) form the mainstay of diagnostic imaging. The entity is often under diagnosed; therefore, a high index of suspicion combined with HSG and MRI imaging can help in making an accurate diagnosis.
Cysts and cystic-appearing lesions of the knee: A pictorial essay
Authors: Telischak Nicholas A , Wu Jim S , Eisenberg Ronald L
Published: June 2014

Cysts and cystic-appearing lesions around the knee are common and can be divided into true cysts (synovial cysts, bursae, ganglia, and meniscal cysts) and lesions that mimic cysts (hematomas, seromas, abscesses, vascular lesions, and neoplasms). The specific anatomic location of the cystic lesion often permits the correct diagnosis. In difficult cases, identifying a cystic mass in an atypical location and/or visualizing internal solid contrast enhancement on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) should raise concern for a neoplasm and the need for further evaluation and intervention.
Melorheostosis: Two atypical cases
Authors: Sureka Binit , Mittal Mahesh Kumar , Udhaya KK , Sinha Mukul , Mittal Aliza , Thukral Brij Bhushan
Published: June 2014

Melorheostosis is an uncommon mesenchymal dysplasia that rarely affects the axial skeleton.We describe two atypical cases of melorheostosis with classical imaging findings - the first one involving the cervico-dorsal spine with encroachment of left vertebral artery canal causing attenuation of the left vertebral artery and the second one of mixed sclerosing bony dysplasia (monomelic involvement coexisting with osteopoikilosis).
Microcystic variant malignant mesothelioma presenting as a localized paraspinal mass
Authors: Ko Hyang Mi , Kamil Zaid Saeed , Geddie William R.
Published: June 2014

A 58-year-old man presented with productive cough and fever. Computed tomography (CT) scan of the chest showed an upper right paraspinal mass. CT-guided fine-needle aspiration biopsy showed lobules of vacuolated cells against a background of myxoid material. The cells demonstrated moderate to severe nuclear atypia and occasional mitoses. Immunohistochemistry revealed tumor cells to be immunoreactive for calretinin, WT-1, D2-40, cytokeratin (CK) 7, AE1/AE3, high molecular weight keratin, vimentin and epithelial membrane antigen, and negative for thyroid transcription factor-1, Ber-EP4, carcinoembryonic antigen, S100 protein, CK20, and CDX2. The combined morphologic and immunohistochemical findings confirmed the diagnosis of microcystic variant of localized malignant mesothelioma. The subsequent lung resection showed a pleural-based mass in the right upper lobe and confirmed the diagnosis. Awareness of the existence of unusual morphologic variants and localized forms of mesothelioma are necessary to avoid misdiagnosis of fine needle biopsy samples. Recognition of characteristic cytomorphologic features along with optimal use of panel of immunohistochemistry studies is crucial for making a specific diagnosis.
Similarity/Dissimilarity Analysis of Protein Sequences Based on a New Spectrum-Like Graphical Representation
Authors: Yao Yuhua , Yan Shoujiang , Xu Huimin , Han Jianning , Nan Xuying , He Ping-an , Dai Qi
Published: June 2014

Sequence comparison is one of the foundations in bioinformatics, which can be used to study evolutionary relations among the sequences. In this study, a 2D spectrum-like graphical representation of protein sequences is presented based on the hydrophobicity scale of amino acids. The frequencies of amplitudes of 4-subsequences are adopted to characterize a spectrum-like graph, and a 17D vector is used as the descriptor of protein sequence. The Ç 2 value of compatibility test is performed. New similarity analysis approach is illustrated on the all protein sequences, which are encoded by the mitochondrion genome of 20 different species. Finally, comparison with the ClustalW method shows the utility of our method.
The Neolithic transition in Europe: archaeological models and genetic evidence
Authors: Richards Martin
Published: June 2014

The major pattern in the European gene pool is a southeast-northwest frequency gradient of classic genetic markers such as blood groups, which population geneticists initially attributed to the demographic impact of Neolithic farmers dispersing from the Near East. Molecular genetics has enriched this picture, with analyses of mitochondrial DNA and the Y chromosome allowing a more detailed exploration of alternative models for the spread of the Neolithic into Europe. This paper considers a range of possible models in the light of the detailed information now emerging from genetic studies.
Migration, acculturation and culture change in western temperate Eurasia,
Authors: Gronenborn Detlef
Published: June 2014

After the introduction of the pottery tradition of La Hoguette and contemporaneous research on Earliest LBK about 10 to 15 years ago, research onthe spread of farming in Central Europe had somewhat stagnated; there were hardly any major advances in factual knowledge, nor could theoretical models be refined. In the last few years, however, an abundance of new data has appeared, partly deriving from botanical and anthropological analyses. Furthermore, newly available results from excavations in European Russia widenour understanding of the manifold and complex changes occurring during the latter 7th and 6th millennium cal BC.
An alternate (and old-fashioned) view of Neolithisation in Greece
Authors: Perles Catherine
Published: June 2014

Despite the recent renewal of indigenous models for the Neolithisation of Greece, this paper will go back to more old-fashioned models, and argue in favour of colonisation processes by small, maritime, pioneer groups that later interacted with local populations. This argumentation rests first on an analysis of the presently available data on the Mesolithic, which shows that none of the prerequisites of a local process is met. Second, it rests on the consideration of often-neglected aspects, such as the theoretical and practical knowledge implied by the adoption of agriculture together with the adoption of new crafts and architectural techniques. Third, it rests in the need to explain the random, but strong parallels between the Near-Eastern and Greek Neolithic.
Are land snail a signature for the Mesolithic-Neolithic transition
Authors: Lubell David
Published: June 2014

Edible land snails, representing food remains, are frequently very abundant in late Pleistocene and early-middle Holocene archaeological sites throughout the circum-Mediterranean region. As such, they appear to represent a signature for a broad spectrum subsistence base as first conceived by Flannery in 1969, and therefore must be in some way related to the transition from foraging to food production. This paper investigates the implications that can be drawn from the presence of these snails through information on their ecology, biology, behaviour and nutritional value as well as the behaviour of the prehistoric human groups who collected and consumed them.
Farming and feasting in the Neolithic of Greece: the ecological context of fighting with food
Authors: Halstead Paul
Published: June 2014

Fine Neolithic ceramics from Greece are widely interpreted in terms of ceremonial eating and drinking, while the spatial organisation of settlement suggests that such commensality played a significant role in shaping social relationships. Faunal evidence implies consumption of many domestic animals inlarge-scale commensality and supports the view that this promoted competition as well as solidarity. This paper explores the ecological context of such 'fighting with food'. Feasting, and ceremonial consumption of livestock, was enabled by and helped to reinforce domestic strategies of surplus production and labour mobilisation that were driven as much by 'economic' as 'political' imperatives.
Usewear analysis of Mesolithic and Neolithic stone tools from Mala Triglavca, Trhlovca and Pupičina peć
Authors: Petru Simona
Published: June 2014

In this paper the results of the usewear analysis of Mesolithic and Neolithic stone tools from three cave sites - Mala Triglavca and Trhlovca in the Slovenian Karst and Pupicina pec in Croatian Istra will be presented. Stone tools were examined under the light microscope at 50 - 200 x magnifications, and some additional physical and chemical analyses were undertaken. Various uses of the tools were determined and conclusions regarding the economies at those sites were drawn.
Modelling the Neolithic dispersal in northern Eurasia
Authors: Dolukhanov Pavel , Shrukov Anvar
Published: June 2014

Comprehensieve lists of radiocarbon dates from key Early Neolithic sites in Central Europe belonging to the Linear pottery Ceramic Culture (LBK) and early pottery-bearing cultures in the East European Plain were analysed with the use of the x2 test. The dates from the LBK sites form a statistically homogeneous set, with a probability distribution similar to a single-date Gaussian curve. This implies the rate of expansion of the LBK in Central Europe being in excess of 4 km/yr. Early potter-bearing sites on the East European Plain exhibit a much broader probability distribution of dates, with a spatio-temporal trend directed from the south-east to the north-west. The rate of spread of pottery-making is in the order of 1 km/yr, i.e., comparable to the average expansion rate of the Neolithic in Western and Central Europe.
Building a method for the study of the Mesolithic Neolithic transition in Portugal
Authors: Jackes Mary , Meiklejohn Christopher
Published: June 2014

This paper focuses on the agricultural transition in Portugal and on demography across this transition, concentrating on two key skeletal samples, the Mesolithic shell midden of Cabeco da Arruda and the Neolithic burial cave of Casa da Moura. It extends our previous work on the demography of the transition and the methodology surrounding its determination. We explain our method for determination of the number of individuals in samples where whole skeletons cannot be used. We then concentrate on the estimation of fertility, placing it within limits of biological feasibility, sample inadequacies, and vagaries of age assessment. From our analysis, which includes an examination of historical issues with the sites, we argue for regional population continuity between 8000 and 6000 cal BP, and suggest that Neolithic life-ways slowly intensified, founded on important elements deriving from the late Mesolithic, with changes that included increased fertility through shortening of the birth interval
Small anthropomorphic figurines in clay at Ģipka Neolithic settlements
Authors: Biruta Loze Ilze
Published: June 2014

Miniature Neolithic figurines in clay are a special topic of research. This especially concerns areas where their representation has so far been poor. While carrying out archaeological excavations in Northern Kurzeme, the north-west coastal dune zone of Rīga Bay, a ritual-like complex was recovered at Ģipka A site belonging to the local Culture of Pit Ceramics. It consists of several large and smaller fireplaces and pits, with the finds of fragmentary clay figurines recovered under the palisade that surrounded the settlement. The head and body of the miniature anthropomorphic figurines in clay have original modelling. It is possible to single out two types of figurine: with rather broad cheekbones, and oval modelling of face. The large amount of ochre found in the settlement and the purposeful breaking of figurines are evidence of their role during a rite. Clay figurines have a symbolic meaning, and the signs depicted on them, incised walking stick-shape and other motifs, are the symbols of early farmers.
Ambiguous symbols: why there were no figurines in Neolithic Britain
Authors: Thomas Julian
Published: June 2014

In this paper I discuss the scarcity of representational art, and particularly of representations of the human body, in Neolithic Britain, in contrast with the Neolithic of south-east Europe. My suggestion is that this contrast can be linked with differing notions of personal identity and bodily integrity. In later Neolithic Britain, a complex mode of non-representational decoration developed, which elaborated the practice of making reference to absent persons and things by using deliberately ambiguous motifs, which connected past and present as well as remote locations.
Pigeon-Raven and sperm whale, magical objects and domestic horned. The division of the world during the early neo-Neolithic in Western France
Authors: Cassen Serge
Published: June 2014

We are going to demonstrate that it is possible to invest an Armorican stele of the 5th millennium with an order of meanings in the same way as a language or a kinship system; in other words, a set of operations destined to ensure, between individuals and groups, a certain type of communication. But such demands necessitate modifying established patterns, because none agree on the idea that we have conceived of a peaceful passage to agriculture and animal husbandry on the Atlantic façade of Europe. Each fundamental sign on these standing stones will here be reconsidered, and their ‘syntax’ analysed. However, we have no innocence about the subject: as soon as we display the strange desire to question these engravings, we ‘participate’ in an analogical spell attributed to a distant image, we fall as well into those exegetic attempts which pretend to obey to a cultural project wherein it appears they interpret the symbolism but that, finally, tend to renew it, because any key to symbols is part of their symbolism. And even in an oneiric or fairy world, power does not derive from gratuitousness, but from coherence.
New archaeological data refering to Tărtăria tablets
Authors: Lazarovici Gheorghe , Merlini Marco
Published: June 2014

We analyze and present new points of view regarding the ‘Danube’ script based on recent investigations of the old Tărtăria discoveries: archaeological context, anthropological expertise, absolute dating and the meaning of the renowned tablets.
The process of Neolithisation in South-eastern Europe: from ceramic female figurines and cereal grains to entoptics and human nuclear DNA polymorphic markers
Authors: Budja Mihael
Published: June 2014

Paper discusses concepts of ‘neolithic package’, ‘demic diffusion’ and ‘revolution of symbols’ in relation to the process of Neolithisation in South-eastern Europe and the phylogeography of Y chromosome haplogroups I1b*, J and E. It is suggested that ‘demic diffusion’ is not a realistic scenario, and that there were two Neolithisation trajectories and two related, archaeologically and genetically readable, regional palimpsests in South-eastern Europe.
The language of symbols in prehistoric Anatolia
Authors: Yakar Jak
Published: June 2014

The conceptual and ritual background of symbolism in the prehistoric art of Anatolia should be investigated within the socio-economic background of the pertinent Neolithic and Chalcolithic societies. Since the adoption of farming did not totally replace the more traditional modes of subsistence, it is doubtful that the supernatural world-order envisaged by earlier hunter-gatherers would have been entirely altered by new spiritual concepts.
Symbolic behaviour at places of social activity beyond the domestic area in the Ionian Neolithic
Authors: Stratouli Georgia
Published: June 2014

This paper suggests a reassessment of the role of caves during the Neolithic in Greece. Some of these cavities could have hosted performative and ritual events, or other kinds of social and/or symbolic activities and, therefore, could be treated as forms of monuments. These issues are discussed on the basis of Drakaina Cave, located in the Poros Gorge on Kephalonia Island in the Ionian Sea. The archaeological evidence of the cave (e.g. the construction of lime plastered floors, the deliberate deposition of associated artefacts) is traced on three main scales: symbolism, monumentality, and the significance of the cave’s landscape for Neolithic society. Moving away from the site, it is argued that the gorge of Poros itself was a powerful topographic feature, constituting a symbolic resource in the landscape and, thus, a valued site which contributed to the formation of the biography, identity and politics of the Neolithic community in the region.
The spread of farming in the Eastern Adriatic
Authors: Forenbaher Stašo , Miracle Preston T.
Published: June 2014

The beginning of farming in the Adriatic is a topic ripe for a new discussion and synthesis. Several lines of evidence suggest that immigration played a major role in the process. It involved, however, both the actual movement of people and the active participation of the local population, and probably unfolded somewhat differently in different parts of the region. There is provocative evidence that the transition to farming occurred in a two-stage process. There was an initial stage of very rapid dispersal, perhaps by exploratory parties along the coast in the southern Adriatic. During the second stage, the eastern Adriatic littoral was probably colonized by farming communities, while the hinterland remained an agricultural frontier zone.
Early Neolithic jar burials in southeast Europe: a comparative approach
Authors: Bacvarov Krum
Published: June 2014

A typical product of early farming symbolism, jar burial, appeared in the beginning of southeast European Neolithization. Early jar burial development in south-east Europe displays two distinct chronological levels: an early Neolithic core area in the Struma and Vardar valleys and the western Rhodope, and later, late/final Neolithic and/or early Chalcolithic – depending on local terminology – manifestations ‘scattered’ in various places in the study area. It is the early chronological level of jar burial distribution that will be considered here in relation to the first expressions of these mortuary practices in Central Anatolia, in order to throw some light on the specifics of their origins and variability.
Further notes on Mesolithic-Neolithic contacts in the Iron Gates Region and the Central Balkans
Authors: Radovanović Ivana
Published: June 2014

Hunter-gatherer/farmer contact in the Iron Gates region is re-examined in view of recent archaeological research, and the social dynamics, population movements and interactions of small scale societies. Full, non-hostile interaction between hunter-gatherers and farmers in the Iron Gates region is proposed for the mid- 7th millennium calBC, followed by hunter-gatherer encapsulation at the end 7th millennium calBC. The lack of archaeological records on the Central Balkan Postglacial and Early Holocene hunter-gatherers is highlighted as a major obstacle to fully understanding cultural transformations, including the Neolithic transition, in this region.
Violence in the Mesolithic
Authors: Roksandic Mirjana
Published: June 2014

The Mesolithic populations of the Danube’s Iron Gates Gorge (Serbia/Romania) spanned over 1500 years (from before 7000 BC to around 5500 BC) in one of the more favourable foraging environments of Europe. Over most of this period, the dominant economy was foraging, but farming was practiced by communities in the region from around 6500 BC. This research examines individuals from four sites on the Danube (Lepenski Vir, Vlasac, Padina, and Hajdučka Vodenica) whose traumatic lesions can be most plausibly interpreted as resulting from violent interactions. Given the number of individuals buried at these sites (MNI = 418), the episodes of violent interactions were few and without evidence of a specific temporal pattern. They probably represent sporadic episodes of interpersonal conflict that do not support the notion of endemic warfare deemed typical of the Mesolithic, or elevated levels of interpersonal/intertribal conflict at the time of contact with farming communities. The difference in the pattern of violence between the Mesolithic sites on the right bank of the Danube and a coeval site of Schela Cladovei on the left bank is explained in terms of differences in archaeological context, geographic location and possibly specific local histories.
The transition to farming and the ceramic trajectories in Western Eurasia. From ceramic figurines to vessels
Authors: Budja Mihael
Published: June 2014

In Eurasia the invention of ceramic technology and production of fired-clay vessels has not necessarily been related to the dynamics of the transition to farming. The invention of ceramic technology in Europe was associated with female and animal figurine making in Gravettian technocomplex. The fired-clay vessels occurred first in hunter-gatherer contexts in Eastern Eurasia a millennia before the agriculture. The adoption of pottery making in Levant seems to correlate with the collapse of the ‘ritual economy’, social decentralisation and community fragmentation in the Levantine Pre-Pottery Neolithic. In South-eastern Europe the adoption of pottery making was closely associated with social, symbolic and ritual hunter-gatherers’ practices.
Shamanic and\or cognitive evolution
Authors: Hoppál Mihály
Published: June 2014

Many misconceptions have been associated with shamanism. Recent studies, however, show a way to reinterpret basic concepts concerning shamanism. New field data from ethnology/anthropology, and studies on cognitive evolution have provided new results to enable a reconstruction of some mechanisms which contributed to early developments in the social life and intellectual history of prehistoric people. Shamanic healing methods, simple rhythmic and motor patterns and visual/symbolic representations are the focus of this analytical paper.
Spondylus and Glycymeris bracelets: trade reflections at Neolithic Vinča-Belo Brdo
Authors: Dimitrijević Vesna , Tripković Boban
Published: June 2014

In the provision, production and exchange of prestigious items and materials in prehistoric Europe, marine shell ornaments play important role. The marine shell collection at the Vinča-Belo Brdo site is the largest in the central and northern Balkans. More than 300 ornament items manufactured from marine shells have been collected since the first excavations in 1908 up until the most recent campaign. The majority of ornaments were made using recent shells that were obtained through trade with contemporaneous Neolithic communities; few ornaments were made of fossil bivalve shells. Bracelets were the most common type. Two bivalve genera, Spondylus and Glycymeris, were used in their production. These are easily recognizable when complete valves are compared, but difficult to distinguish in highly modified items where shell morphology is obscured. The defining characteristics for shell identification are presented, particularly to differentiate ornaments manufactured from the Spondylus and Glycymeris genera, as well as those made of recent and fossil shells. The possible exchange routes for these are discussed, as well as their diachronic distribution at the Vinča site.
Complex settlement and the landscape dynamic of the Iščica floodplain (Ljubljana Marshes, Slovenia)
Authors: Mlekuž Dimitrij , Budja Mihael , Ogrinc Nives
Published: June 2014

This paper addresses the complex interactions between settlement patterns and landscape dynamics in the Iščica floodplain (the Ljubljana Marshes, Slovenia) during the early and middle Holocene. This complex interaction can be observed on many nested spatial and temporal levels. The paper examines landscape and settlement dynamics on the micro-regional scale by exploring settlement patterns and LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) imagery, and on the settlement scale by analysis and radiocarbon dating of stratigraphic sequences from the Maharski prekop site.
Y-Chromosome haplogroup I prehistoric gene flow in Europe
Authors: Rootsi Siiri
Published: June 2014

To investigate which aspects of contemporary human Y-chromosome variation in Europe are characteristic of primary colonization, late-glacial expansions from refuge areas, Neolithic dispersals or more recent events in gene flow haplogroup I was analyzed. The analysis of Hg I Y chromosomes revealed several sub-clades with distinct geographic distributions. Sub-clade I1a accounts for most of Hg I in Scandinavia, with a rapidly decreasing frequency towards the East European Plain and the Atlantic fringe; but microsatellite diversity reveals that the Iberian Peninsula/Southern France refugial area could be the source region of the early spread of both I1a and the less common I1c. I1b* extends from the eastern Adriatic to Eastern Europe, and declines noticeably towards the southern Balkans, and abruptly towards North Italy. This clade probably diffused after the Last Glacial Maximum from a homeland in the Balkans or Eastern Europe. In contrast, I1b2 most probably arose in southern France/Iberia, underwent a post-glacial expansion, and marked the human colonization of Sardinia about 9000 years ago.
Most recent investigation of peopling of Bosnia and Herzegovina: DNA approach
Authors: Marjanović Damir , Pojskić Naris , Kalamujić Belma , Bakal Narcisa , Haverić Sanin , Haverić Anja , Durmić Adaleta , Kovačević Lejla , Drobnić Katja , Hadziselimović Rifat , Primorac Dragan
Published: June 2014

Many historical episodes marked Bosnia and Herzegovina as a significant ethnic crossroads, which makes it a very interesting site for various population studies. The first stages of these complex investigations were based on observations of numerous phenotype markers. The following phase, which was relatively brief, was dominated by the use of different cytogenetic markers. Finally, at the beginning of this century, the molecular-genetic diversity of the BiH population became the focus of modern research. Autosomal and Y-STR markers, together with mitochondrial haplogroup (Hg) diversity were initially used in the examination of isolated groups, as well as the whole population of modern Bosnia and Herzegovina. The most recent study describes the distribution of Y-chromosome haplogroups in the three main ethnic groups in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and suggests a preliminary hypothesis for the process of peopling this area.
Neolithisation in southwest Asia – the path to modernity
Authors: Watkins Trevor
Published: June 2014

Two questions are discussed that turn out to be related. The first was posed originally by Robert Braidwood more than fifty years ago, and concerns why farming was adopted in southwest Asia early in the Neolithic, and not earlier. The second concerns the usually opposed processualist and post-processualist approaches to the Neolithic. The paper seeks to model the processes at work through the Epi-palaeolithic and early Neolithic, showing how the trend towards sedentism and storage of food resources coincided with the emergence of fully symbolic cognitive and cultural faculties. The former fed more mouths, and led to the adoption of farming practices that further intensified food productivity. The latter made possible and desirable the symbolic construction of large, permanently co-resident communities. The spread of farming may then be understood as the expansion of a complex way of life that involved communities living together in larger groups, with denser, richer cultural environments, controlling not only the built environment of their own settlements, but also the productivity of the agricultural environments that surrounded them.