bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Homeric masculinity: ἠνορέη and ἀγηνορίη
Authors: Graziosi Barbara , Haubold Johannes
Published: February 2008

This article investigates concepts of masculinity in the Homeric poems by focusing on two words: ὴνοαέη and ἀγηνορίη. We argue that whereas ήνορέη is a positive quality best understood as ‘manliness’, άγηνορίη denotes ‘excessive manliness’ in a pejorative sense. By comparing the use of these two terms we claim that it is possible to explore what constitutes proper, as opposed to excessive, masculinity in the Homeric poems.

Our analysis of ἠνορέη and άγηνορίη suggests that some current views of Homeric masculinity need to be reconsidered. Whereas much recent scholarship has emphasized the individualism of ‘the Homeric hero’, we suggest that individualistic behaviour on the part of men is presented as a serious problem in the Homeric poems. As well as the use of the terms ἠνορέη and άγηνορίη, the frequent injunctions to ‘be men’ found in the poems confirm that solidarity with other men is an important aspect of Homeric masculinity.

Our analysis also shows that the language of masculinity is employed very differently in theIliadand theOdyssey.In theIliad, excessive manliness is typically displayed by an individual who fails to show solidarity with other men on the battlefield. In theOdyssey, the suitors are standardly designated as ‘excessively manly’ for coveting another man's wife. In both poems, normative definitions of masculinity seek to regulate proper relationships among men.
Estimating the number of classes in multiple populations: A geometric analysis
Authors: Mao Chang Xuan , Lindsay Bruce G.
Published: February 2008

The authors study estimation of the total number of classes present in multiple overlapping populations. They show that the number of classes is identifiable in a nonparametric mixture model of multivariate Poisson densities. Unusual phenomena occur in both point estimation and confidence inference for the parameter defined as the odds of a class being unidentified in the data. Consequently only one‐sided confidence intervals are available for the number of classes.
Asymptotic normality of the posterior given a statistic
Authors: Yuan Ao , Clarke Bertrand
Published: February 2008

The authors establish the asymptotic normality and determine the limiting variance of the posterior density for a multivariate parameter, given the value of a consistent and asymptotically Gaussian statistic satisfying a uniform local central limit theorem. Their proof is given in the continuous case but generalizes to lattice‐valued random variables. It hinges on a uniform Edgeworth expansion used to control the behaviour of the conditioning statistic. They provide examples and show how their result can help in identifying reference priors.
Model diagnostics for smoothing spline ANOVA models
Authors: Gu Chong
Published: February 2008

The author proposes some simple diagnostics for assessing the necessity of selected terms in smoothing spline ANOVA models. The elimination of practically insignificant terms generally enhances the interpretability of the estimates and sometimes may also have inferential implications. The diagnostics are derived from Kullback‐Leibler geometry and are illustrated in the settings of regression, probability density estimation, and hazard rate estimation.
Bayesian randomized clinical trials: A decision‐theoretic sequential design
Authors: Christen J.Andres , MÜLLER Peter , Wathen Kyle , Wolf Judith
Published: February 2008

The authors propose a Bayesian decision‐theoretic framework justifying randomization in clinical trials. Noting that the decision maker is often unable or unwilling to specify a unique utility function, they develop a sequential myopic design that includes randomization justified by the consideration of a set of utility functions. Randomization is introduced over all nondominated treatments, allowing for interim removal of treatments and early stopping. The authors illustrate their approach in the context of a study to find the optimal dose of pegylated interferon for platinum resistant ovarian cancer. They also develop an algorithm to implement their methodology in a phase II clinical trial comparing several competing experimental treatments.
Executive Decree Authority in Brazil: How Reactive Legislators Influence Policy
Authors: REICH GARY
Published: February 2008

Abstract At first glance, wide‐ranging presidential decree authority suggests executive branch domination of legislatures. However, decree power may also be a rational delegation of authority by legislators, in accord with their political objectives. Seen in this light, the key issue for legislators is not halting decree authority but reducing the agency losses that result from delegation. This paper shows how decree authority, as practiced in Brazil, constitutes an example of rational delegation by a legislature in which seniority and policy specialization are relatively undervalued. Brazilian legislators prefer to endow presidents with broad decree power and then monitor presidents on an issue‐by‐issue basis by amending executive decrees. This method of “oversight after delegation” lowers the transaction costs of delegation and speaks to the influence of Brazilian legislators over what is typically seen as an important source of presidential power.
Midterm Elections and Economic Fluctuations: The Response of Voters Over Time
Authors: LYNCH G. PATRICK
Published: February 2008

Abstract: Recent empirical work (Alesina and Rosenthal 1995; Erikson 1990) has shown that economic conditions may not have influenced House midterm elections since 1915. I argue that economic conditions may have influenced House midterms in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, when Congress dominated economic policy‐making, parties offered starker positions on economic issues, and national issues dominated House elections. As the 20th century progressed, congressional power over the economy declined, the parties converged over certain economic policies, and district‐level forces grew more important in elections. I test the stability of the relationship between the economy and House midterms over time, using F‐tests to show how the impact of macroeconomic conditions has changed in House midterm elections from 1872 to 1994. The results indicate that the gross national product (GNP) influenced House races before 1913 but, as the 20th century continued, the importance of the economy on House midterms declined.
Electoral Influences on Legislative Behavior in Mixed‐Member Systems: Evidence from Ukraine's Verkhovna Rada
Authors: HERRON ERIK S.
Published: February 2008

Abstract: This article addresses how mixed‐member systems that combine proportional representation (PR) and single‐member districts (SMD) into a single election can influence legislators' voting behavior. Scholars have generally extended standard expectations of behavior to mixed‐member systems by assuming that legislators occupying PR seats in mixed‐member parliaments should be more cohesive than those occupying SMD seats. I argue that controlling for seat type alone does not take into account the interaction between PR and SMD in mixed‐member systems. Using voting data from Ukraine's Verkhovna Rada, I show that controlling for dual candidacy and the “safety” of the deputy's district or list position increases our understanding of the factors motivating legislative cohesion.
Partisan Turnout Bias in Midterm Legislative Elections
Authors: WATTENBERG MARTIN P. , BRIANS CRAIG LEONARD
Published: February 2008

Abstract: Lower salience elections present greater opportunities for representational bias at the polls than do elections with higher levels of political interest. We hypothesize that turnout bias is most likely to occur during midterm congressional elections in which there are clear short‐term forces that exploit the low turnout setting. The effects of these forces are more likely to be observable among registered nonvoters than citizens who are not registered to vote because registrants have access to the polls and are likely to have voted in previous presidential contests. Using midterm National Election Study data from 1978 to 1998, we find that registered nonvoters are frequently more Democratic than midterm election voters, particularly in 1994 and 1998. The historic 1994 congressional election seat losses for Democrats may be partially explained by the finding that voters going to the polls were clearly more conservative than registered nonvoters.
Public Support for Term Limits: Another Look at Conventional Thinking
Authors: STEIN ROBERT M. , JOHNSON MARTIN , POST STEPHANIE SHIRLEY
Published: February 2008

Abstract: Americans are enamored with term limits for elected officials at all levels of government. Explanations of public support for term limits focus on partisanship, group underrepresentation, voter dissatisfaction with specific political institutions, political cynicism, and ideology. We qualify the conventional wisdom that term limits are mostly a Republican issue: Support for term limits is more a function of the incongruence between an individual's expressed partisanship and the party of their representative than of the individual's party affiliation. Further, the effect of unsatisfactory representation is strongly related to a voter's engagement with politics and willingness to monitor political affairs actively.
Fermat’s little theorem – proofs that Fermat might have used
Authors: Burn R. P.
Published: February 2008

Fermat (1601-1665) is well-known for offering mathematical results without stating their proofs. In Mahoney’s fine mathematical biography, suggestions are made giving possible lines of reasoning which Fermat may have used, suggestions which are easily recognised by those familiar with number theory. This article offers some conjectured reconstructions of Fermat’s reasoning which may be more accessible to a beginner since they are linked to pattern recognition, and capitalise on the special cases with which Fermat illustrated his ideas. Generic examples played an essential part in Fermat’s exposition and may well have played a larger part in his proofs than would be respectable in a textbook nowadays.
Octagrammum mysticum and the golden cross-ratio
Authors: Evans Lawrence S. , Rigby John F.
Published: February 2008

When the authors met at a geometry conference at Easter 1999, they found that each had discovered and investigated an elegant result (Theorem 2.1) about an octagon inscribed in a conic, Larry Evans algebraically and John Rigby synmetically. This turned out to be a rediscovery, as the result had been discussed by E. H. Lockwood in the Gazette in 1967, in an article that complements the present article. Also, almost a century earlier in 1872, the result had been posed somewhat imprecisely by T. T. Wilkinson as a problem in the Educational Times. There is a surprising connection between a special case of the octagon theorem and the golden cross-ratio.
In search of the lost icosahedra
Authors: Inchbald Guy
Published: February 2008

Just over sixty years ago Coxeter, Du Val, Flather and Petrie wrote The fifty-nine icosahedra. A new edition, with redrawn illustrations and useful additional material, has recently been published, making this a convenient moment to see if there is anything new to say. Coxeter once described the work as reflecting a certain ‘youthful exuberance’, so do not be too surprised at what we find.
The agony and the ecstasy – the development of logarithms by Henry Briggs
Authors: Bruce Ian
Published: February 2008

Two recent papers published elsewhere set out the original development of logarithms by John Napier: in spreadsheets are used, and the computation of these logarithms is well within the grasp of a student looking for an unusual PC based project. It is an interesting exercise to continue the computer aided investigation of the subsequent development of tables of logarithms in the early 17th century by that other major participant, Henry Briggs (1560–1631): only now can previously unknown flaws in Briggs’ extensive numerical work be found, without the trauma of spending years of arithmetical drudgery. This work is also suitable for a student project using a PC maths package, making use of variable place arithmetic. The story that unfolds is remarkable: some parts, though well-documented, are possibly not so well-known as they deserve - e.g. D. T. Whiteside has shown that Briggs discovered the binomial series expansion for (1 + α)1/2 for small α, while devising a finite difference algorithm for extracting square roots. Florian Cajori pieced together the analytical aspects of the development of logarithms in the early years of the 20th century, but largely ignored the numerical aspects of the work, especially that of Briggs (and Mercator). The aspects of Briggs’ work investigated here is guided by his usually good intuition, while of course there are pitfalls into which he occasionally stumbles, as one might expect from someone engaging in numerical work ab initio: with the analytical methods of the calculus still being largely over the mathematical horizon, Briggs presents his methods without formal proof, but uses numerical examples instead.
Repetition Effects Depend on Duration and Are Enhanced by Continuation of Interrupted Music
Authors: Coppock Harold
Published: February 2008

An experiment with 108 young adults showed that (a) repetition produced habituation or enhancement of liking, galvanic skin response (GSR) and respiration amplitude only if music selections continued longer than an initial five seconds and (b) when five seconds of either selection is, on the posttest, continued for 15 seconds, there is relatively more liking, more GSR, and less amplitude of respiration. These results are consistent with reports of the repetition effect of increased liking if one assumes that continuing interrupted music sequences elicits attention to- and liking of the repeated elements of the first five seconds. The origin of following behaviors, and extrapolations from them, are discussed as instances of Pavlovian processes in intellectual development.
Morality and the Market in China: Some Contemporary Views
Authors: Hanafin John J.
Published: February 2008

A significant effect of China’s rejection of a planned economy for a free market is the stimulus this has given to discussion of the relationship between morality and the market. Some Chinese believe that the introduction of a market economy has had a negative effect on public morality. Others disagree and maintain that it has had only a positive effect. Besides this particular debate there are two others. In the first of these debates, it is maintained on the one side that conduct in the market is amoral and essentially contractual or transactional in nature: a boundary must be drawn between economic conduct and conduct in other spheres of social life. Against this it is argued that ethical norms apply equally to all aspects of social life including the economy. In the second debate one side holds that the market engenders its own “ethical” norms. In opposition it is argued that the moral categories articulated in moral philosophy are applicable to behaviour in the market.
Why be Moral in Business? A Rawlsian Approach to Moral Motivation
Authors: Toenjes Richard H.
Published: February 2008

This article puts forth the thesis that the contractualist account of moral justification affords a powerful reply in business contexts to the question why a business person should put ethics above immediate business interests. A brief survey of traditional theories of business ethics and their approaches to moral motivation is presented. These approaches are criticized. A contractualist conception of ethics in the business world is developed, based on the work of John Rawls and Thomas Scanlon. The desire to justify our choices in terms that others can be reasonably expected to accept, or at least in terms that others cannot reasonably reject, is identified and differentiated from other accounts of motivation. It is this desire that constitutes the core motive to be moral in business on the contractualist conception. Implications of this contractualist conception for the theory and practice of business ethics are then discussed.
Alternative Approaches to Applied Ethics: A Response to Carson’s Critique
Authors: Holley David M.
Published: February 2008

Tom Carson’s recent paper on “Deception and Withholding Information in Sales” contains a critique of my contribution to sales ethics. In this response I outline the approach I develop in two earlier papers and address the four criticisms Carson makes. These criticisms are largely based on a misunderstanding of my position. I suggest that our fundamentally different approaches to applied ethics may lie at the root of Carson’s misunderstanding. Carson uses what I call a theory-application model in which the search for justification in terms of fundamental rules is central, while I attempt to contextualize ethical judgments and consider alternative ways of structuring social roles. In contrasting these approaches I raise the question of which way of doing applied ethics is likely to be more fruitful.
Business Ethics and Stakeholder Theory
Authors: Cragg Wesley
Published: February 2008

Stakeholder theorists have typically offered both a business case and an ethics case for business ethics. I evaluate arguments for both approaches and find them wanting. I then shift the focus from ethics to law and ask: “Why should corporations obey the law?” Contrary to what shareholder theories typically imply, neoclassical or profit maximization theories of the firm can offer answers based only on instrumental justifications. Instrumental justifications for obeying the law, however, are pragmatically and normatively incoherent. This is because the modern corporation is a legal artifact. It exists because communities create the legal framework necessary for its existence. Individual corporations can therefore be said to owe their existence to a partnership (what might be called a social contract) between shareholders and governments, a partnership that is itself built on the shared though often implicit understanding that corporations have an unconditional (categorical) obligation both to obey the law and to treat their stakeholders ethically while generating wealth for their shareholders.
Global Corporate Citizenship: Principles to Live and Work By
Authors: Post James E.
Published: February 2008

This paper discusses global corporate citizenship in the twenty-first century. The primary focus is on the responsibility of management educators to foster among students an understanding of the causes and consequences of business activitiy that creates organizational wealth, including the role of stakeholders. The modern corporation is a stakeholder enterprise: stakeholders enable the business to create wealth and require that it distribute wealth appropriately. The stakeholder enterprise model, which has been so economically successful, also implies corporate citizenship responsibilities. The Clarkson Principles are discussed as a means through which educators and managers can better understand and address the challenges of corporate citizenship in the modern world.
Ethics and Incentives: An Evaluation and Development of Stakeholder Theory in the Health Care Industry
Authors: Elms Heather , Berman Shawn , Wicks Andrew C.
Published: February 2008

This paper utilizes a qualitative case study of the health care industry and a recent legal case to demonstrate that stakeholder theory’s focus on ethics, without recognition of the effects of incentives, severely limits the theory’s ability to provide managerial direction and explain managerial behavior. While ethics provide a basis for stakeholder prioritization, incentives influence whether managerial action is consistent with that prioritization. Our health care examples highlight this and other limitations of stakeholder theory and demonstrate the explanatory and directive power added by the inclusion of the interactive effects of ethics and incentives in stakeholder ordering.
How Casuistry and Virtue Ethics Might Break the Ideological Stalemate Troubling Agricultural Biotechnology
Authors: Calkins Martin
Published: February 2008

This article begins by showing how recent controversies over the widespread promotion of artificially gene-altered foods are rooted in opposing ethical and ideological worldviews. It then explains how these contrasting worldviews have led to a practical, ethical, and ideological standoff and, finally, suggests the combined use of casuistry and virtue ethics as a way for both sides to move ahead on this pressing issue.
Effect of Acquisition Rates on Off-Task Behavior with Children Identified as Having Learning Disabilities
Authors: Burns Matthew K. , Dean Vincent J.
Published: February 2008

Research has consistently demonstrated the importance of providing an appropriate level of challenge, called the instructional level, within curricular material. Although the instructional level is a generally well-defined and researched construct, much less data exist on the acquisition rate (AR) component of an appropriate level of challenge. The current study used curriculum-based assessment to assess the AR of five fourth-grade students diagnosed with a reading disability and taught each 20 words from the Esperanto International Language over two sessions (10 each session). Students were observed during instruction, and the number of demonstrated off-task behaviors was converted to a mean rate of off-task behaviors/minute. Comparison of pre- and post-AR data showed that each student demonstrated an increase in off-task behaviors while rehearsing the word that immediately exceeded his or her AR. Implications for practice and suggestions for future research are discussed.
Corporate Learning and Traffic Management at the Bell System, 1900–1929: Probability Theory and the Evolution of Organizational Capabilities
Authors: Miranti Paul J.
Published: February 2008

This study analyzes the evolution of organizational capabilities for assessing market growth and capital budgeting in the traffic management operations of the Bell System from 1900 to 1929. The initial impetus for developing the complex procedures that were integrated into this process was the need to enhance firm competitiveness, particularly in response to the threats to its survival during the financial panic of 1907. The resultant new organizational capabilities, however, also eventually proved vital in successfully guiding the firm's planning for system automation and in demonstrating compliance with regulatory mandates for efficient and economical service. Moreover, this study explains how probability theory became a key element in this managerial transition, thus, providing the Bell System with a powerful analytical tool useful for confronting uncertainty in budgeting and business planning.
Visions of Transportation: The EVC and the Transition from Service- to Product-Based Mobility
Authors: Kirsch David A. , Mom Gijs P. A.
Published: February 2008

The Electric Vehicle Company (EVC) and its affiliated operating entities (1897–1912), along with similar electric taxicab ventures in London and Paris, figured prominently in the early history of the automobile industry. Long dismissed as a quintessential instance of business failure resulting from the choice of inferior technology, the picture of EVC that emerges from new archival evidence suggests a different view. Seen within the continuing electrification of urban transit, traditional centralized approaches to transportation management, and genuine uncertainty about future automotive technology, EVC constituted a significant, if incremental, extension of traditional, service-based concepts of transportation. The goal of the owners of EVC was to offer an integrated, all-electric urban transportation service that included road- and rail-based components. The failure of EVC represented not simply the victory of internal combustion over electric propulsion but also the triumph of a decentralized, product-centered view of mobility, in which individuals owned and operated their own vehicles.
Control, Performance, and Knowledge Transfers in Large Multinationals: Unilever in the United States, 1945–1980
Authors: Jones Geoffrey
Published: February 2008

This article considers key issues relating to the organization and performance of large multinational firms in the post-Second World War period. Although foreign direct investment is defined by ownership and control, in practice the nature of that “control” is far from straightforward. The issue of control is examined, as is the related question of the “stickiness” of knowledge within large international firms. The discussion draws on a case study of the Anglo-Dutch consumer goods manufacturer Unilever, which has been one of the largest direct investors in the United States in the twentieth century. After 1945 Unilever's once successful business in the United States began to decline, yet the parent company maintained an arms-length relationship with its U.S. affiliates, refusing to intervene in their management. Although Unilever “owned” large U.S. businesses, the question of whether it “controlled” them was more debatable.
The Institution of Residential Investment in Seventeenth-Century London
Authors: Baer William C.
Published: February 2008

Little has been written about urban property investment in seventeenth-century London. Market norms for investors were developed in a relatively unregulated environment, and in response to surging urban growth. “Pattern books” (manuals of design, measuring, and building) provided information to investors, helping them to evaluate an assorted set of properties. While the methods of investment described in these books were initially rudimentary, there is evidence of increased sophistication in the latter part of the century. The gradual institutionalizing of real estate practices helped to attract the necessary capital to finance London's remarkable physical growth.
Shaping Sacred Space in the Sixteenth Century: Design Criteria for the Collegio Borromeo's Chapel
Authors: Alexander John
Published: February 2008

In this article, I present a newly discovered, late-sixteenth-century design drawing for the chapel of the Collegio Borromeo, in Pavia, Italy, and investigate it in the context of contemporary Catholic ecclesiastical architecture. Historiographically, the period is dominated by the church of the Gesù, in Rome, interpreted as a typological paradigm characterized by austere architecture and restrained decoration. This view is called into question by the Collegio's chapel. The initial design (represented by the drawing) drew from ancient sources in order to achieve spatial complexity. The realized chapel is spatially simpler, but ornately ornamented and decorated. The chapel differs from what is considered the norm, but is the chapel an anomaly, or are traditional understandings of the Gesù invalid? On investigation, it becomes evident that patrons may have established a number of criteria for their churches, but architects had a degree of freedom in designing them. In few if any contemporary cases, however, was architectural severity a goal for Catholic churches. With the example of the Collegio's chapel, these findings take on greater significance: the patron, Carlo Borromeo (1538-1584), was one of the most important in the history of ecclesiastical architecture. The chapel's architect, Pellegrino Tibaldi (1527-1596), restored, renovated, and built numerous sacred spaces for Borromeo. What they achieved demonstrates that Catholic reformers of the latter half of the sixteenth century sought architectural magnificence for buildings dedicated to the worship of God.
Leon Battista Alberti and the Homogeneity of Space
Authors: Mitrović Branko
Published: February 2008

In his "Perspective as Symbolic Form," Erwin Panofsky argued that the concept of homogenous space developed shortly before, and enabled, the discovery of the geometrical construction of perspective. Subsequent scholarship has suggested that this understanding arose much later. However, without the concept of space as homogenous, it is very difficult to conceive of such fundamental elements of architectural theory as dimension, proportion, shape, or the multiplication of shapes. Consequently, the question as to whether Renaissance theorists operated with the concept of homogenous space is of great importance not only for the history of perspective, but for the history of architectural theory as well. In this article, I explore Leon Battista Alberti's views on the subject.
Steatite Vessel Age and Occurrence in Temperate Eastern North America
Authors: Truncer James
Published: February 2008

Despite a general interest in studying technological change, archaeologists have only rarely attempted to explain the rise and fall of steatite vessel manufacture. Explaining steatite vessel manufacture requires that all information on age and spatial distribution be extensively sampled and accounted for. Documenting spatial distribution shows that steatite vessels are not restricted to a single environmental or depositional context, nor were they manufactured at all steatite outcrops. A correlation between vessel distribution and mast forest, however, was identified. Analyzing steatite vessel age reveals that the technology was present at low levels for lengthy periods of time, but the absence of a trend in age across space fails to support migration/diffusion models of spread. As a durable and portable boiling technology, steatite vessels would have offset the relatively high processing costs of mast by reducing processing time and replacement costs among mobile populations.
Privatization, Small-Seed Intensification, and the Origins of Pottery in the Western Great Basin
Authors: Eerkens Jelmer W.
Published: February 2008

“Brownware” pottery technologies became widely used in the Great Basin around 600 years ago. A significant increase in the use of small seeds within the subsistence economy took place about the same time. I suggest that these two events are linked, that people consciously chose to focus on seeds because they could be privatized, that is, they could be individually owned and were not subject to unrestricted sharing. Pots were an integral component of this process because they could be individually made and owned and could be used within domiciles, placing food preparation and storage out of view from others in the community. Privatization of a staple food resource may have been a response to increased population size and, hence, the number of freeloaders, new village kinship organizations, and a desire to create surplus on the part of aggrandizers.
Reevaluating Late Prehistoric Coastal Subsistence and Settlement Strategies: New Data from Grove's Creek Site, Skidaway Island, Georgia
Authors: Keene Deborah A.
Published: February 2008

This paper tests existing models of coastal subsistence strategies and settlement patterns of the late prehistoric inhabitants of the Southeastern U.S. Atlantic coastal plain. Excavations at Grove's Creek Site (09CH71), Skidaway Island, Georgia were conducted to determine the season of occupation of the site. Paleoethnobotanical and zooarchaeological data were used to determine the subsistence strategies of the inhabitants. Stable isotope analysis of oyster shells is combined with the faunal and botanical data to determine the seasons of occupation of the site. The most notable discovery was the diversity of agricultural plants. Paleoethnobotanical data indicate a spring through autumn occupation, and the stable isotope data indicate winter through summer. Faunal data suggest occupation from spring through early winter. Therefore, the site was occupied year-round. This information, coupled with other data from the Southeastern U.S. Atlantic Coast, suggests a revision to existing subsistence and settlement pattern models. Coastal peoples lived in permanent villages and relied on a mix of agriculture, hunting, fishing, and gathering. Short trips were likely made to procure some resources, but there was not an extensive seasonal round.
"I Think I Wrote a Folksong": Popularity and Regional Vernacular Anthems
Authors: Narváez Peter
Published: February 2008

The popularity of vernacular song cannot be measured by market research alone. As this article illustrates, such data must be augmented through a knowledge of the emotional investments that regional groups make in appropriating particular songs and performances as their own. In the mid-seventies, Newfoundland songwriter Ron Hynes composed and began publicly performing "Sonny’s Dream." Since then, the song has attained a degree of international popularity, as well as a regional "anthemic" dimension in Atlantic Canada. Anthems are sacrosanct signifiers that express regional social consciousness; they identify common experience through powerful performance and lyrical codes that prompt collective awe. In turn, participants reap rewards of mutual support, assertiveness, and empowerment. A close examination of the lyrics of "Sonny’s Dream" reveals some of the ways that the song’s verbal sentiments have accurately reflected the social concerns and aspirations of Atlantic Canadians.
Readers in the Underworld: Lucretius,De Rerum Natura3.912–1075
Authors: Reinhardt Tobias
Published: February 2008

Readers have always acknowledged the comparatively clear macrostructure ofDe rerum natura3. It begins with aprooemiumin which is described the terrifying impact which the fear of death has on human lives, as well as the fact that Epicurus has provided a cure against this fear, namely his physical doctrines (1–93). Particular attention is paid to fears of an afterlife in which we have to suffer pain and grief in the underworld; cf., for instance, the programmatic lines 3.37–40 (translation by Ferguson Smith, which will be used throughout):

Thisprooemiumis followed by a long passage (94–829) in which Lucretius explains the basics of Epicurean psychology and tries to show that the soul is (like the body) material and hence mortal; this last point is driven home with particular force in II. 417–829 where Lucretius lists twenty-five proofs for the mortality of the soul.
Phylogeny and systematics of Achillea (Asteraceae­Anthemideae) inferred from nrITS and plastid trnL­F DNA sequences
Authors: Guo Yan-Ping , Ehrendorfer Friedrich , Samuel Rosabelle
Published: February 2008

The N Hemisphere genus Achillea includes about 130 perennial and allogamous species, is centered in SE Europe/SW Asia, and exhibits a complex phyletic structure due to excessive hybridization and polyploidy. About half of the species and five of the six traditional sections together with several outgroup genera were studied using nrITS and plastid trnL­F DNA sequences. In spite of some discordance, these markers were shown by Maximum Parsimony and Bayesian Inference to be suitable for revealing relationships with generic allies and for distinguishing the main lineages within Achillea. With the inclusion of Otanthus (and possibly Leucocyclus) Achillea s. l. becomes monophyletic and appears as sister to Anacyclus. A basal clade is formed by the xerophytes of Achillea sections Babounya and Santolinoideae in SW Asia together with the Mediterranean coastal Otanthus. Achillea sect. Ptarmica s. l. has to be divided into the meso­ to hygrophytic herbs of A. sect. Ptarmica s. s. in the N Hemisphere and the mountain species of A. sect. Anthemoideae. The latter differentiated in the mountains from NW Anatolia to the Pyrenees, possibly originating from ancestors related to the extant A. ligustica. Finally, taxa of sect. Achillea s. l. (to be merged with A. sect. Filipendulinae) radiated from a center in SE Europe, occupied very different open habitats, and reached an extensive distribution with the very polymorphic polyploid and reticulate complex A. millefolium agg. Here and in other groups of Achillea, various instances of conflicting evidence from nrITS, plastid trnL­F, and morphology point to hybridization and lineage sorting. This means that reticulate evolution is not only involved in recent radiations but must have been active already in the early diversification of the genus.
Molecular phylogenetic analyses and systematics of the genus Saussurea and related genera (Asteraceae, Cardueae)
Authors: Kita Yoko , Fujikawa Kazumi , Ito Motomi , Ohba Hideaki , Kato Masahiro
Published: February 2008

The phylogenetic relationships of the genus Saussurea DC. and Hemistepta lyrata Bunge were analyzed using the nuclear ribosomal ITS and chloroplast matK gene. Phylogenetic analyses revealed that Saussurea ceratocarpa Decne. of subg. Jurinocera (Baill.) Lipsch. and the species assigned to sect. ,Elatae Hook. f. of subg. Saussurea were separated from all other members of the genus Saussurea. The species of subgen. Jurinocera and subgen. Saussurea sect. Elatae form a monophyletic unit along with a group including genus Jurinea Cass. The species of subg. Jurinocera and sect. Elatae share 4–5­gonal cypselas and apical pericarpal crowns bearing sharp horns or sharp teeth. The Saussurea s.s. group is comprised of representatives of six sections of the subg. Saussurea and morphologically distinctive subgenera [Amphilaena (Stschegl.) Lipsch., Eriocoryne (DC.) Hook. f., and Theodorea (Cass.) Lipsch.]. Two frigid­adapted forms, the “snowball plants” of subg. Eriocoryne and the “glasshouse plants” of subg. Amphilaena, were confirmed as members of Saussurea s.s. Hemistepta lyrata and Saussurea s.s. show a close sister relationship, which is supported by the pappus dimorphism involving free, short, scabrid outer bristles or tiny outer scales and basally connate in a ring, with much longer, plumose inner bristles.
Classification
Authors: Ebach Malte C. , Williams David M.
Published: February 2008

Cladograms are classification schemes that test for monophyly. Recent discussions have argued that cladograms ignore species histories or genealogies in the classification of taxonomic groups. The conclusion drawn from these discussions is that are two “ways of seeing” classification ­ synchrony and diachrony.
Subtribal division of Ceropegieae (Apocynaceae­Asclepiadoideae)
Authors: Meve Ulrich , Liede Sigrid
Published: February 2008

Monophyly and sister group relationship of Ceropegieae and Marsdenieae, the two Asclepiadoideae tribes possessing erect pollinia, are confirmed by molecular investigation of non­coding cpDNA markers (trnT­L and trnL­F spacers, and the trnL intron). In Ceropegieae, the analyzed taxa fall in four subclades. The Heterostemma subclade is sister to other three subclades, of which the Conomitra­Leptadenia­Orthanthera subclade is sister to the Anisotoma­Neoschumannia­Riocreuxia­Sisyranthus subclade and to the large subclade comprising the stem­succulent stapeliads, Brachystelma and Ceropegia. Following these results, subdivision of Ceropegieae into four subtribes, Anisotominae, Heterostemminae, Leptadeniinae and Stapeliinae, is proposed.
Lessons learned from the SABONET Project while building capacity to document the botanical diversity of southern Africa
Authors: Siebert Stefan J. , Smith Gideon F.
Published: February 2008

The Southern African Botanical Diversity Network (SABONET) is a donor­funded capacity­building project supported by the GEF­UNDP and USAID/IUCN ROSA. The ten southern African countries that make up the network are Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Participating institutions in these countries are involved in the compilation of national plant checklists, production of botanical inventories for centres of plant diversity, regional and national plant collecting expeditions, computerisation of herbarium specimens, support of postgraduate studies in systematics, biodiversity research projects, regional and national training courses and workshops, implementation of threatened plants programmes in botanical gardens and the compilation of Plant Red Data Lists. Since the inception of the Project in 1996, these efforts have contributed positively towards networking and capacity­building among botanists and providing baseline information for the in situ and ex situ conservation of the flora of the southern African region. This paper discusses the lessons learned during the implementation of the project up to December 2002 and outlines the contribution SABONET has made towards building the capacity of focal institutions in southern Africa. It also highlights the main strengths of the project and provides a 20­point plan for a successful regional network. Other issues that pertain to the SABONET Project are discussed under challenges and opportunities, constraints to improvement and complementing other networks. It is hoped that this paper will provide some insight into the experience of southern Africa in documenting biodiversity. By evaluating our successes and failures we hope the findings presented in this paper will serve as guidelines for other projects to accomplish even more than we had.
Alien plants in checklists and floras: towards better communication between taxonomists and ecologists
Authors: Pyšek Petr , Richardson David M. , Rejmánek Marcel , Webster Grady L. , Williamson Mark , Kirschner Jan
Published: February 2008

The number of studies dealing with plant invasions is increasing rapidly, but the accumulating body of knowledge has unfortunately also spawned increasing confusion about terminology. Invasions are a global phenomenon and comparison of geographically distant regions and their introduced biota is a crucially important methodological approach for elucidation of the determinants of invasiveness and invasibility. Comparative studies of alien floras provide substantial new insights to our understanding of general patterns of plant invasions. Such studies, using information in previously published floras and checklists, are fundamentally dependent on the quality of the assessment of particular species with respect to their taxonomic identity, time of immigration and invasion status. Three crucial decisions should be made when defining the status of a plant species in a given region: (1) whether the taxon is native or alien to that region (origin status); (2) what is its position in the invasion process, i.e., when was it introduced (residence status); and (3) what is the degree of its naturalization and possible invasion (invasion status). Standard floras differ hugely in their treatment of non­native species and those with appropriate categorization of alien species according to their status are rather rare. The present paper suggests definitions of terms associated with plant invasions and places these into the context of floras. Recommendations are outlined on how to deal with the issue of plant invasions in standard floras with the aim of contributing to a better understanding between taxonomists and ecologists and allowing more detailed comparative analyses of alien floras of various regions of the world.
Neotypification of Actaea pachypoda Elliott (Ranunculaceae)
Authors: Compton James A. , Culham Alastair
Published: February 2008

Typification elements within the protologue of Actaea pachypoda Elliott are fully discussed. The absence of cited original material has led to our choice here of a suitable neotype in order to preserve current usage of the name.
Linnaean names in Callitriche L. (Callitrichaceae) and their typification
Authors: Lansdown Richard , Jarvis Charlie
Published: February 2008

The names described by Linnaeus in the genus Callitriche are discussed and most are newly typified. Callitriche palustris L. is recognised, with C. verna L. as a heterotypic synonym, and the current usage of C. hermaphroditica L. is maintained.
Recognition of Martellidendron, a new genus of Pandanaceae, and its biogeographic implications
Authors: Callmander Martin W. , Chassot Philippe , Küpfer Philippe , Lowry II Porter P.
Published: February 2008

Pandanaceae are an ancient family of dioecious monocots dating from the early to mid‐Cretaceous, and comprising three extant genera Sararanga, Freycinetia and Pandanus. We present a cladistic analysis of Pandanaceae based on DNA sequences of four cpDNA fragments (the trnL intron and three intergenic spacers, trnL‐F, trnS‐ycf9 and atpB‐rbcL) in order to elucidate intergeneric relationships within the family. The results show that Pandanus, as currently circumscribed, is biphyletic, with members of the Indian Ocean subg. Martellidendron sister to the Indo‐Malesian genus Freycinetia in a clade that also includes the Malesian genus Sararanga, and that the remaining members of Pandanus form a separate well supported clade. Martellidendron is thus recognized as a distinct genus, thereby circumscribing a monophyletic Pandanus. Martellidendron comprises seven species (for which new combinations are proposed). The high level of morphological differentiation between the genera of Pandanaceae suggests rapid early radiation as seen in other monocot groups. The molecular data also indicate that the distinct lineages of Pandanaceae in the Indian Ocean basin are likely the result of both vicariance (Martellidendron) and more recent step‐wise long‐distance dispersal from Asia across the Indian Ocean (e.g., monocarpellate spiniform species in lowland eastern Madagascar).
Biosystematic studies on the genus Heloniopsis (Melanthiaceae) II. Two new species from Korea based on morphological and molecular evidence
Authors: Fuse Shizuka , Sook Lee Nam N. , Tamura Minoru N.
Published: February 2008

Two new species of Heloniopsis (Melanthiaceae) endemic to Korea are described: H. tubiflora and H. koreana . Heloniopsis tubiflora is similar to H. orientalis, but the former has flowers at anthesis arranged obliquely downward (to pendulous) and has a basally tubular perianth, usually recurved apically (rarely straight) and bluish­purple to purple (but usually whitish near the apex when mature). Heloniopsis koreana differs from H. orientalis in having leaves that are usually spathulate, rarely oblanceolate, with minutely undulate margin, and with tepals slightly saccate to non­saccate at the base. Through comparison of herbarium specimens, we conclude that all plants in Korea comprise these two new endemic species. Based on the molecular phylogeny resulting from combined analyses of trnK 5’ intron and matK DNA sequence data, Heloniopsis comprises three lineages: (1) five species in Japan and Taiwan; (2) H. koreana; and (3) H. tubiflora.
Composition of the Lecointea clade (Leguminosae, Papilionoideae, Swartzieae), a re­evaluation based on combined evidence from morphology and molecular data
Authors: de Freitas Mansano Vidal , Bittrich Volker , de Azevedo Tozzi Ana Maria G. , de Souza Anete Pereira
Published: February 2008

We investigated morphological and DNA sequence data for studying the composition and phylogenetic relationships of the Lecointea clade sensu Herendeen and for testing its monophyly. Twenty nine representing 14 genera were analyzed, including all members of the Lecointea clade and some species of the genera Acosmium, Luetzelburgia, Sweetia, Vatairea and Vataireopsis. Ateleia herbert­smithii, Bocoa mollis, and Myrocarpus frondosus were included as outgroup. Matrices were analyzed using maximum parsimony. Analyses of morphological data, chloroplast DNA trnL sequence data, and combined datasets resulted in similar tree topologies. The Lecointea clade sensu Herendeen, with the additional inclusion of Uribea, is monophyletic in all analyses. Exostyles and Harleyodendron belong to the Lecointea clade and not to the Vatairea clade as recently proposed by Pennington & al.