bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Lennart Rydén (†), The life of St. Philaretos the Merciful, written by his grandson Niketas. A critical edition with introduction, translation, notes, and indices
Authors: Longo Augusta Acconcia
Published: February 2008

La Vita di Filareto il Misericordioso, un testo agiografico di grande interesse storico e letterario, oggetto di riscritture e traduzioni, fu edita per la prima volta nel 1900 da Vasiliev, dal Paris. gr. 1510 (V). Nonostante la maggiore antichità del codice (X secolo), quella di V risultò in seguito una versione secondaria rispetto alla versione edita nel 1934 da Fourmy e Leroy, tratta dai codici Genuensis Urbanus 34 (G) dell'XI secolo e Paris. gr. 1608 (P) del XIV secolo, e riedita ora da Lennart Rydén, recentemente scomparso. Le altre versioni dell'opera sono oggetto di uno studio, di cui è annunciata la pubblicazione, da parte di Jan Olof Rosenqvist.
Johannes Bernhard Uphus, Der Horos des Zweiten Konzils von Nizäa 787. Interpretation und Kommentar auf der Grundlage der Konzilsakten mit besonderer Berücksichtigung der Bilderfrage
Authors: Winkelmann Friedhelm
Published: February 2008

Die Qualität dieser Bonner katholisch-theologischen Dissertation des Jahres 2002, die für die Drucklegung noch erweitert und auf den neuesten Stand gebracht wurde, wird schon daraus ersichtlich, daß sie von Walter Brandmüller in die von ihm herausgegebene Konziliengeschichte aufgenommen wurde. Das Ziel der Studie ist ein primär theologisches, das den Horos des VII. Ökumenischen Konzils „als das zur Entscheidung in der Ikonenfrage vorgelegte amtliche Dokument … ernstnehmen“ will. „Dies bedeutet einerseits, den Horos in seiner Binnenstruktur zu erschließen und ihn andererseits auf philologisch-hermeneutischem Weg im Licht gattungsverwandter Texte früherer Konzilien und der Akten des Zweiten Konzils von Nizäa als Ergebnis eines Meinungsbildungsprozesses zu interpretieren“ (S. XVIII). Leider schließt der Verf. bei seinem an erster Stelle genannten Anliegen alle politischen und kirchenpolitischen Aspekte, zum Beispiel die Zielstellungen der Kaiserin Eirene und die bedeutsame Rolle des Patriarchen Tarasios, um nur einiges zu nennen, bei der Interpretation aus und verschließt sich so notwendigen Ansätzen für ein tieferdringendes und umfassenderes Verständnis. Denn beider Bemühen um den Erhalt der Einheit der Kirche bestimmten Planung, Verlauf und Ergebnisse des Konzils in entscheidender Weise. Das kommt in dieser Studie nicht zum Ausdruck, worunter dann natürlich auch die Interpretation der einzelnen behandelten Texte leidet. Immer noch lesens- und bedenkenswert sind zu diesem Problemkreis die Ausführungen von P. Speck, Kaiser Konstantin VI., München 1978, 135–179. Es ist eben nicht mehr ausreichend, wenn der Verf. für diese Zusammenhänge auf die in dieser Hinsicht unzureichende Darstellung von G. Dumeige, Nizäa II, Mainz 1985, verweist (S. XIX Anm. 9), die ja aus heutiger Sicht auf fragwürdigem Textfundament errichtet ist. Das betrifft dann auch einen Teil des zweiten Anliegens des Verf., nämlich die Beurteilung der Überlieferung der Akten des VII.Ökumenischen Konzils. Paul Specks Frontalangriff auf die Zuverlässigkeit der Akten, der ja „in der Tat an die Grundlagen“ der Ausführungen von Uphus rührt, pariert dieser völlig unzureichend, wenn er ohne eine rechte Begründung nur von erheblichen Zweifeln an den Hypothesen Specks spricht (S. 38 Anm. 1, etwas ausführlicher S. 331f.). Noch gewichtiger ist die neuerdings von Erich Lamberz, der eine kritische Edition der Akten des Konzils vorbereitet, geäußerte Warnung: „Eine Darstellung des Konzils, die den überlieferten Text der Akten – und das gilt erst recht für den bei Mansi abgedruckten Text – als selbstverständliche Grundlage der Forschung nimmt, sollte in Zukunft wohl nicht mehr möglich sein.“ (E. Lamberz, Die Bischofslisten des VII. Ökumenischen Konzils [Nicaenum II], München 2004, 37).
Jan Louis von Dieten (trad., annot.), Nikephoros Gregoras, Rhomäische Geschichte. Historia Rhomaïke. Fünfter Teil (Kap. XXIV,3–XXIX)
Authors: Tinnefeld Franz
Published: February 2008

Nach den Teilen I (1973), II (1979), III (1988) und IV (1994) liegt hiermit der vorletzte Band des wohl umfangreichsten Übersetzungs- und Kommentieriungswerkes vor, das jemals einem byzantinischen Geschichtsschreiber gewidmet wurde. Leider war es aber dem unermüdlichen Bearbeiter nicht beschieden, sein großes Unternehmen noch mit dem sechsten Teil abzuschließen. Van Dieten ist am 26. 12. 2003 kurz vor seinem 80. Geburtstag gestorben.
The Sixth-Century plague, its repeated appearance until 746 ad and the explosion of the Rabaul Volcano
Authors: Antoniou Ioannis , Sinakos Anastasios K.
Published: February 2008

The plague of 541–542 ad started in Pelusium, a town in Egypt, and reached Constantinople in 542 ad.

The following series summarizes the event and its repeated appearance until 746 ad.
Jacek BONAREK, Romajowie i obcy w kronice Jana Skylitzesa. Identyfikacja etniczna Bizantyńczyków i ich stosunek do obcych w świetle kroniki Jana Skylitzesa (Romaioi et les étrangers dans la chronique de Jean Skylitzes. Identification ethnique des Byzantins et leur relation envers les étrangers en perspective de la chronique de Jean Skylitzes)
Authors: Dąbrowska Małgorzata
Published: February 2008

Qui est étranger pour un Byzantin du XIe siècle? Pour répondre à cette question, Jacek BONAREK (B.) a analysé la chronique de Jean Skylitzes dans le désir de définir ceux qui sont pour le chroniqueur Romaioi, c'est-à-dire «les nôtres» et ceux qu'il considère comme les étrangers, bien que la notion xenos n'apparaisse pas dans le texte. B. fait souvent référence aux divergences sémantiques des mots. Xenos en est l'un des exemples. Ce mot signifie un visiteur, voire un allié, mais aussi un nouveau venu, un mercenaire. Cette différence se réflète dans la typologie de B. qui distingue les étrangers dans les limites de l'Empire et en dehors de celui-ci. Cette problématique est traîtée dans le dernier chapître de l'ouvrage, le plus intéressant, paraît-il (111–171). Avant d'expliquer qui est étranger pour Skylitzes, ce qui est une tâche difficile, il essaie de définir à qui pense le chroniqueur en utilisant le mot «Romaioi» et il le fait dans le troisième chapître de son livre (50–110).
The Assizes of the Lusignan Kingdom of Cyprus. Text and Studies in the History of Cyprus 42
Authors: Nielen Marie-Adélaïde
Published: February 2008

Cet ouvrage prend place dans la collection publiée par le Cyprus Research Centre, qui a déjà mis à la disposition des chercheurs, depuis 1965, de nombreux textes relatifs à l'histoire de l'île, tant à l'époque médiévale qu'aux époques moderne ou contemporaine. L'on est heureux de saluer ici la parution du volume XLII, qui trouve tout à fait sa place dans la belle suite d'ouvrages déjà publiés.
Angeliki DELIKARI, Άγιος Γϱηγόϱιος ο Σιναΐτης. Н δϱάση ϰαι η συμβολή του στη διάδοση του ησυχασμού στα Вαλϰάνια. Н σλαβιϰή μετάφϱαση του Вίου του ϰατά το αϱχαιότεϱο χειϱόγϱαφο. Eλληνισμός ϰαι ϰόσμος των Σλάβων 6
Authors: Pavlikianov Kyrill
Published: February 2008

The recent book of Angeliki DELIKARI (D.) devoted to the life and the religious activity of St. Gregory the Sinaite is a fine example of a profound knowledge of the problems that such kind of study always implies. It is also a good illustration of what a perfect command of both mediaeval Greek and Slavonic can render as a scholarly result. One should acknowledge that, except for the works of A.-E. TACHIAOS, D. GONIS and K. PAVLIKIANOV, such Greek-Slavic philological studies, which also combine features of historical and archaeological analysis, were extremely rare until now.
Ivan JORDANOV, Corpus of Byzantine seals from Bulgaria. Vol. I: Byzantine seals with geographical names
Authors: Seibt Werner
Published: February 2008

Vor allem in den letzten Jahrzehnten wuchs der Bestand an byzantinischen Siegeln, die im heutigen Bulgarien gefunden wurden, massiv an, so dass heute schon über 2500 Exemplare bekannt sind – die vielen, die unkontrolliert ins Ausland gelangen, gar nicht mitgezählt. Da Bullen, deren Fundort ungefähr bestimmt werden kann, auch für die Geschichte der betreffenden Region von Bedeutung sein können, war die Idee, zumindest die historisch bedeutsameren Stücke corpusartig zu edieren, sehr zu begrüßen. Zwar ist ein erheblicher Prozentsatz des Materials bereits früher publiziert worden, aber oft nur auf Bulgarisch, das vielen Interessierten zu wenig geläufig ist, und bisweilen auch in recht entlegenen Organen. Einerseits eröffnet die Wahl des Englischen (noch dazu eines wenig anspruchsvollen) neuen Lesern den Zugang zu diesem Material, andererseits bot die Wiederveröffentlichung die Möglichkeit, sich mit Korrekturvorschlägen kritisch auseinanderzusetzen, was auch mehrfach geschah.
Andreas KÜLZER, Disputationes Graecae contra Iudaeos. Untersuchungen zur byzantinischen antijüdischen Dialogliteratur und ihrem Judenbild. Byzantinisches Archiv 18
Authors: Niehoff-Panagiotidis Johannes
Published: February 2008

Ziel dieser Kölner Habilitationsschrift ist es (S. 10), „einen Beitrag zur wissenschaftlichen Aufarbeitung der byzantinischen Adversus-Judaeos-Literatur zu leisten, wir wollen dabei das gesamte byzantinische Jahrtausend berücksichtigen …“ – „Als wichtigster Vertreter antijüdischen Gedankenguts in der byzantinischen Welt“ wurde „zwangsläufig“ (S. 11) der Dialog gewählt.
Siegfried G. RICHTER, Studien zur Christianisierung Nubiens. Sprachen und Kulturen des christlichen Orients 11
Authors: Hägg Tomas
Published: February 2008

The three Nubian kingdoms that eventually emerged after the disintegration of Meroe, Noubadia, Makuria and Alodia (Alwa), first enter Byzantine historiography with the dramatic story of their conversion into Christianity told by John of Ephesus in the third part of his Church History, composed about AD 578–588 in Syriac. To be more exact, what John tells us is that, through the initiative of Empress Theodora, the Noubades and Alodians were converted into the Monophysite or (more specifically) Miaphysite creed, while the Makurians remained hostile to the missionaries (later, apparently, to emerge as Dyophysites). RICHTER (R.) takes John's account as his point of departure, devoting half the book to a translation of the relevant chapters (IV.6–10 and 49–53) and a thorough discussion of their historical contents. It is the particular merit of his book, however, that he also comes to grips with the archaeological, especially architectural and epigraphic evidence on the Christianization process that surveys and excavations brought forth in the last century. The other half of the book brings together and systematizes such material from a great variety of secondary sources. The intense archaeological activities prompted by the flooding of vital parts of Lower Nubia have tended to give material remains precedence over literary witnesses in the current rewriting of Nubian history; R. endeavours to redress the balance, with regard to the sixth and seventh centuries, by juxtaposing the textual and archaeological sources.
Una syntaxis Mantica Pitagorica
Authors: Costanza Salvatore
Published: February 2008

Una significativa acquisizione, nella cornice della letteratura palmomantica, perviene dal ms. Laur. Plut. XXVIII, 14, che tramanda pure un trattato πεϱι αλλομένων μελων, cap. υξβ′, 462°, ff. 306r-v, vagheggiato da G. Vitelli nell'edizione di P. Flor. III 391 e pubblicato, quindi, da E. Rostagno, che si rivela un gemello del testimone vindobonese, H, censito da H. Diels e presentato quale un ramo della sua tradizione tripartita. Il testo del Laur. permette inoltre di migliorare notevolmente il dettato e la coerenza linguistica della versione H, emendandone i segnali di incipiente collasso casuale. Il Laur. XXVIII, 14 rappresenta del resto un esemplare tipico di codice collettaneo astrologico, vergato negli ultimi decenni del XIV sec., una miscellanea apotelesmatica di epigrafi, pseudepigrafi e adespoti.
„Cui Iustinus Imperator Venienti ita Occurrit ac si Beato Petro“. Das Ritual beim ersten Papst-Kaiser-Treffen in Konstantinopel: Eine Römische Auslegung?
Authors: Vitiello Massimiliano
Published: February 2008

Im Verlauf des 6. Jahrhunderts fanden unter den ostgotischen Königen die ersten päpstlich-kaiserlichen Treffen in Konstantinopel statt, die die religiösen Auseinandersetzungen und die politischen und diplomatischen Beziehungen zwischen Ostgoten und Byzanz klären sollten. Der erste Papst, der auf Befehl Theoderichs als Leiter einer Gesandtschaft in die östliche Hauptstadt reiste (Ende 525 oder Anfang 526), war Johannes I.; er sollte sich dort für die arianische Kirche einsetzen. Der ‚Anonymus Valesianus‘ berichtet, daß der Kaiser Justinos I. dem ankommenden Papst Johannes als Anführer einer Delegation von Senatoren ita occurrit ac si beato Petro. Mit einem ähnlichen Ausdruck hatte der Anonymus auch die Beschreibung des adventus Theoderichs in Rom (Jahr 500) eingeführt: Der ostgotische König occurrit beato Petro devotissimus ac si catholicus. Im Falle von Justinos sind mit dieser Formulierung wahrscheinlich sämtliche Ehren gemeint, welche dem Papst erwiesen wurden. Diese werden in dem wesentlich detaillierteren Bericht des ‚Liber Pontificalis‘ geschildert:

… occurrerunt beato Iohanni a miliario XV [XII] omnes civitas cum cereos et cruces in honore beatorum apostolorum Petri et Pauli. Qui veteres Grecorum hoc testificabantur dicentes a tempore Constantini Augusti a beato Silvestro episcopo sedis apostolicae, Iustini Augusti temporibus meruisse parte Greciarum beati Petri apostoli vicarium suscepisse cum gloria. Tunc Iustinus Augustus, dans honorem Deo, humiliavit se pronus et adoravit beatissimum Iohannem papam.
Architektonische Anforderungen der Ambient Intelligence (Architectural Requirements of Ambient Intelligence)
Authors: Wichert Reiner , Tazari Mohammad-Reza , Hellenschmidt Michael
Published: February 2008

Ambient Intelligence leitet einen Paradigmenwechsel sowohl in der Herangehensweise bei der Entwicklung von Geräten und Applikationen und darauf aufbauenden Umgebungen als auch in der Anforderung zugrunde liegender Technologien und Architekturen ein. Nach einer Analyse bestehender Lösungen für intelligente Umgebungen und deren Bewertung werden in diesem Artikel die sich aus Ambient Intelligence ergebenden Paradigmenwechsel beschrieben und die daraus resultierenden Forschungsschwerpunkte identifiziert. Diese sind Motivation für Arbeiten im EU-IST-Projekt PERSONA. Hier werden auf Basis von Anwendungsfällen die Anforderungen an die technische Basis von intelligenten Umgebungen identifiziert und Kriterien für deren Bewertung definiert. Zuletzt wird in diesem Artikel ein Vorschlag für eine funktionale Architektur gegeben, die eine Basis für die Umsetzung der PERSONA-Szenarios bilden wird.
Stability of the Mg65Y10Cu15Ag10metallic glass in neutral and weakly acidic media
Authors: Rao R. V. Subba , Wolff U. , Baunack S. , Eckert J. , Gebert A.
Published: February 2008

The corrosion behavior of the bulk glass-forming Mg65Y10Cu15Ag10alloy was studied in neutral and weakly acidic media. Potentiodynamic polarization studies in cyclic and linear modes were carried out in electrolytes with a pH = 7, containing different anions. The alloy corroded freely in electrolytes with sulfate and pthalate ions, whereas passivity was observed in the electrolyte with borate ions. Further tests were performed in boric-acid-added borate buffer solution with pH = 7, 6, and 5. From Tafel characteristics, corrosion potentials and corrosion current densities were estimated. The data were compared with those of the ternary Mg65Y10Cu15metallic glass. Potentiostatic anodic polarization tests were conducted on the Mg65Y10Cu15Ag10alloy in boric-acid-added borate buffer solution with pH = 7 at two different potentials, 800 and 300 mV, saturated calomel electrode, which revealed different current transient characteristics. Auger electron spectroscopy was employed to characterize the anodically generated passive layers. The depth distributions of the elements as well as their chemical states were detected to be different for layers formed in electrolytes (i) with different pH values (8.4 and 7) of the same anion, (ii) with the same pH value but containing different anions (borate, sulfate, and pthalate), and (iii) with the same pH value and anion (borate) but at two different anodic potentials.
Structure and strong ultraviolet emission characteristics of amorphous ZnO films grown by electrophoretic deposition
Authors: Wang Zhijian , Zhang Haiming , Wang Zhijun , Zhang Ligong , Yuan Jinshan , Yan Shenggang , Wang Chunyan
Published: February 2008

Structure and ultraviolet emission characteristics of amorphous ZnO films grown on indium tin oxide coated glass substrates by electrophoretic deposition were investigated using Raman spectra and photoluminescence. The Raman spectrum shows a unique resonant multiphonon process within amorphous ZnO films. The photoluminescence spectrum of amorphous ZnO films shows a strong ultraviolet emission while the visible emission is nearly fully quenched. The transmission electron microscopy, x-ray diffraction, x-ray photoelectron spectrum, and infrared spectrum are used to detect the structure of amorphous ZnO powder. The complex water plays an important role in the photoluminescence intensity emission.
Electroless polyol deposition of FeNi-based powders and films
Authors: Yin H. , Chow G. M.
Published: February 2008

Iron-nickel-based powders and thin films were synthesized by an electroless polyol method. The growth process as a function of deposition time was studied. The Fe concentration of deposited films and precipitated powders were similar and independent of deposition time. The metalorganic intermediates were present in powders and their amount decreased with time. The morphological investigations suggested that 60 min was the optimum deposition time to deposit dense films with particles of narrow size distribution. In addition, the films deposited at 60 min also possessed the highest saturation magnetization due to a more ordered atomic environment of nickel. The as-deposited Fe was apparently oxidized in the films.
CFD modelling of meandering channel during floods
Authors: Shukla D. R. , Shiono K.
Published: February 2008

The three-dimensional Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) and continuity equations are solved using a standard computational fluid dynamics (CFD) solver to predict flow in a compound meandering channel. High-quality experimental data from the UK Flood Channel Facility (FCF) are used to validate the computational results. The flow velocities, free-surface elevation, bed shear stress and turbulent kinetic energy are predicted reasonably well. The measured and predicted flows are analysed qualitatively and quantitatively to improve further understanding of mean flow, turbulence and secondary flow structures in a compound meandering channel. The streamwise component of the mean vorticity equation is used to quantify the behaviour of secondary flow circulations in terms of their generation, development and decay along the meandering channel. The turbulent kinetic energy equation is used to understand energy expenditure mechanisms of secondary flow circulations. The numerical results show that one of the shear stresses significantly contributes towards the generation of the streamwise vortex and the production rate of turbulent kinetic energy.
Benchmarking 2D hydraulic models for urban flooding
Authors: Hunter N. M. , Bates P. D. , Neelz S. , Pender G. , Villanueva I. , Wright N. G. , Liang D. , Falconer R. A. , Lin B. , Waller S. , Crossley A. J. , Mason D. C.
Published: February 2008

This paper describes benchmark testing of six two-dimensional (2D) hydraulic models (DIVAST, DIVASTTVD, TUFLOW, JFLOW, TRENT and LISFLOOD-FP) in terms of their ability to simulate surface flows in a densely urbanised area. The models are applied to a 1·0 km × 0·4 km urban catchment within the city of Glasgow, Scotland, UK, and are used to simulate a flood event that occurred at this site on 30 July 2002. An identical numerical grid describing the underlying topography is constructed for each model, using a combination of airborne laser altimetry (LiDAR) fused with digital map data, and used to run a benchmark simulation. Two numerical experiments were then conducted to test the response of each model to topographic error and uncertainty over friction parameterisation. While all the models tested produce plausible results, subtle differences between particular groups of codes give considerable insight into both the practice and science of urban hydraulic modelling. In particular, the results show that the terrain data available from modern LiDAR systems are sufficiently accurate and resolved for simulating urban flows, but such data need to be fused with digital map data of building topology and land use to gain maximum benefit from the information contained therein. When such terrain data are available, uncertainty in friction parameters becomes a more dominant factor than topographic error for typical problems. The simulations also show that flows in urban environments are characterised by numerous transitions to supercritical flow and numerical shocks. However, the effects of these are localised and they do not appear to affect overall wave propagation. In contrast, inertia terms are shown to be important in this particular case, but the specific characteristics of the test site may mean that this does not hold more generally.
Self-Appraisal and Pedagogical Practice: Performance-Based Assessment Approaches
Authors: Alter Judith B.
Published: February 2008

In the United States, educators of most school subjects, including arts and dance, are developing alternative measures to evaluate student learning at all educational levels. These measures can substitute for or supplement the short answer, multiple-choice, often standardized tests in common use. To differentiate this form of assessment of student learning from “tests,” innovators identify it by interchangeable names: authentic, performance, or performance-based assessment. In this essay I use these terms interchangeably. The innovators of authentic assessment focus on what students actually understand about the subjects they learn and if they can demonstrate their learning/understanding in two ways: in performance (doing) and with comprehension (explaining). In the study of dance, students more often demonstrate their learning by doing/dancing than they do by explaining. With both graduate and undergraduate dance students, I have experienced how performance-based assessment can facilitate the interaction of doing/dancing and explaining.
Going Forward: How the Field of Learning Disabilities has and will Contribute to Education
Authors: Lloyd John Wills , Hallahan Daniel P.
Published: February 2008

The field of learning disabilities has a past that it will never escape, but it has a future that, if it is predicated on the better parts of its past, will allow the field to continue to contribute to education, including education of students who do not have learning disabilities. Research generated under the auspices of learning disabilities has permitted the field to reject faulty instructional practices and identify critical elements for teaching effectively.
Some perspectives on statistical computing
Authors: Gentleman Robert
Published: February 2008

The author argues for an increased emphasis on computing in the training of statisticians and in their professional practice. He describes some of the current technological challenges and demonstrates the importance for statisticians of becoming more active in computational aspects of their work and specifically in producing software for carrying out statistical procedures. Such a reorientation will require substantial changes in thinking, pedagogy and infrastructure; the author mentions some of the conditions required to achieve these goals.
Improvement over bayes prediction in small samples in the presence of model uncertainty
Authors: Wong Hubert , Clarke Bertrand
Published: February 2008

In an online prediction context, the authors introduce a new class of mongrel criteria that allow for the weighing of candidate models and the combination of their predictions based both on model‐based and empirical measures of their performance. They present simulation results which show that model averaging using the mongrel‐derived weights leads, in small samples, to predictions that are more accurate than that obtained by Bayesian weight updating, provided that none of the candidate models is too distant from the data generator.
Approximate multivariate conditional inference using the adjusted profile likelihood
Authors: Kolassa John E.
Published: February 2008

The author proposes saddlepoint approximation methods that are adapted to multivariate conditional inference in canonical exponential familles. Several approaches to approximating conditional discrete distributions involve dividing an approximation to the full joint mass function, summed over tail regions of interest, by an approximate marginal density. The author first approximates this conditional likelihood by the adjusted profile likelihood, and then applies a multivariate saddlepoint approximation. He also presents formulas to aid in performing simultaneously the profiling and maximizing steps.
Combining information from multiple surveys through the empirical likelihood method
Authors: Wu Changbao
Published: February 2008

It is often desirable to combine information collected in compatible multiple surveys in order to improve estimation and meet consistency requirements. Zieschang (1990) and Renssen & Nieuwenbroek (1997) suggested to this end the use of the generalized regression estimator with enlarged number of auxiliary variables. Unfortunately, adjusted weights associated with their approach can be negative. The author uses the notion of pseudo empirical likelihood to construct new estimators that are consistent, efficient and possess other attractive properties. The proposed approach is asymptotically equivalent to the earlier one, but it has clear maximum likelihood interpretations and its adjusted weights are always positive. The author also provides efficient algorithms for computing his estimators.
Consistent maximum likelihood estimation of a unimodal density using shape restrictions
Authors: Meyer Mary C. , Woodroofe Michael
Published: February 2008

It is well known that the unimodal maximum likelihood estimator of a density is consistent everywhere but at the mode. The authors review various ways to solve this problem and propose a new estimator that is concave over an interval containing the mode; this interval may be chosen by the user or through an algorithm. The authors show how to implement their solution and compare it to other approaches through simulations. They show that the new estimator is consistent everywhere and determine its rate of convergence in the Hellinger metric.
Block external bootstrap in partially linear models with nonstationary strong mixing error terms
Authors: You Jinhong , Chen Gemai
Published: February 2008

The authors extend the block external bootstrap to partially linear regression models with strongly mixing, nonstationary error terms. In addition to providing an approximate distribution for the semiparametric least square estimator of the parametric component, they propose a consistent estimator of the co‐variance matrix of this estimator.
Explaining the Role of Restrictive Rules in the Postreform House
Authors: MARSHALL BRYAN W.
Published: February 2008

Abstract Four competing explanations have emerged regarding restrictive rules in Congress. Informational theory claims that rules reduce information costs and facilitate committee specialization. The distributional perspective suggests that rules enforce legislative bargains and help members achieve gains‐from‐trade. Another claim is that rules increase the Rules Committee's independent influence over policy. Lastly, partisan theory asserts that rules are used to increase the majority party's influence over policy.

Abstract This analysis tests these claims during the 97th, 98th, 104th, and 105th Congresses. The findings demonstrate that theoretical constructs developed in earlier analyses of special rules are not robust over time and across legislative contexts. The results refute majoritarian assertions that rules are used as informational devices. Similarly, little evidence supports the claim that Rules Committee preferences independently affect rule assignment. Instead, a partisan principal‐agent framework emerges as the most useful construct to explain procedural choice in the postreform House.
Congressional Leadership 1965–96: A New Look at the Extremism versus Centrality Debate
Authors: GROFMAN BERNARD , KOETZLE WILLIAM , MCGANN ANTHONY J.
Published: February 2008

Abstract An examination of the differences between the ideological positions of leaders and other members in the U.S. House of Representatives (1965–96) demonstrates that Republican leaders tend to be significantly to the right of the median Republican member and Democratic leaders tend to be significantly to the left of the median Democratic member. Furthermore, leaders from both parties tend to be ideologically located near the mode of their party's ideological distribution. These empirical results have implications for issues such as party polarization, conditional party government, and the possibility of separating out party and ideology.
The Emergence of Career Politicians in Post‐Communist Democracies: Poland and the Czech Republic
Authors: SHABAD GOLDIE , SLOMCZYNSKI KAZIMIERZ M.
Published: February 2008

Abstract: Despite party system fluidity and high rates of electoral volatility in the first decade after the transition to democracy in Poland and the Czech Republic, career politicians are emerging. Using data on all parliamentary candidates in the last election before the fall of communism and in all elections since then, we show that, in both countries, parliamentary carryover rates have risen substantially, a growing number of incumbents are seeking reelection, and an increasing proportion of candidates for legislative office have competed in previous parliamentary elections. Moreover, we demonstrate that prior political experience has a persistent and positive effect on winning office. We argue that the rise of career politicians facilitates the consolidation and effectiveness of these new democracies.
Gaining Legislative Control Through Strategic District Nomination: The Case of the Russian Left in 1995
Authors: SHVETSOVA OLGA
Published: February 2008

AbstractThe greater the importance of the legislative goals for a party, the more it will concern itself in the electoral campaign with the parliament's ultimate composition, rather than simply its own seat gains. While unquestionably the dominant force in the political left, the Communist Party in Russia was also uniquely positioned in the 1995 election to take advantage of the combination of electoral and parliamentary institutions and to devise a nomination strategy that made the rest of the parliament's left wing fully dependent on the Communists, thus giving the Communists effective control over the legislature despite their minority status.
Constitutional‐Electoral Reforms and Politics in Singapore
Authors: MUTALIB HUSSIN
Published: February 2008

Abstract The existence of a dominant one‐party system in Singapore makes legislative passage of constitutional and electoral system reforms easy. Such a system has enabled the ruling People's Action Party (PAP) government to formulate and implement sweeping reforms with little difficulty, however controversial they are. Since 1980, the Singapore government has instituted nonconstituency MPs, nominated MPs, group representation constituencies, and an elected presidency. Although not necessarily intended, one consequence of these reforms has been the consolidation of the government's power.
Writing a rational number in Egyptian form
Authors: Bönning Astrid , Hilton Peter , Pedersen Jean
Published: February 2008

A rational number is said to be expressed in Egyptian form (or Egyptian presentation) if it is written as a sum of fractions where each fraction has the numerator 1 and all of the denominators are distinct. The individual terms of die sum are often referred to as unit fractions. The problem of finding such expressions, and many related questions, has a long history, apparently beginning with Ahmes in the Rhind Papyrus. It is for this reason that we talk of ‘Egyptian’ form.
Priceless Goods: How Should Life-Saving Drugs be Priced?
Authors: Maitland Ian
Published: February 2008

This article examines the ethical issues raised by the pricing of priceless goods. Priceless goods are defined as ones that are widely held to have some special non-market value that makes them unsuited for buying and selling. One subset of priceless goods is prescription drugs—particularly life-saving and life-enhancing ones. Drug makers are under pressure to price their medicines responsibly, which means to restrain their prices (and profits). However, this article argues that it is precisely because life-saving and life-enhancing medicines are priceless that it is especially urgent to leave companies free to charge market prices for them.
Regulating Transportation of Hazardous Substances: Railroads and Reform, 1883–1930
Authors: Aldrich Mark
Published: February 2008

The increase in volume of explosives and other hazardous materials transported by rail during the nineteenth century resulted in a growing number of accidents. In response, the Pennsylvania Railroad developed some of the first regulations governing the transport of such materials. In the twentieth century, a combination of enforcement difficulties and competitive pressures led the company, working through the American Railway Association, to press for industry-wide rules and enforcement, which resulted in the Association's, Bureau of Explosives. Similar motives impelled the carriers to seek federal regulation, which began in 1908. The Interstate Commerce Commission provided the legal authority in this public–private partnership, whilethe bureau took the lead in inspecting shipments, encouraging improvements in shipping techniques, and developing rules that formed the basis of all modern regulations of hazardous shipments.
The Architecture of Jewish Identity: The Neo-Islamic Central Synagogue of New York
Authors: Bush Olga
Published: February 2008

In this essay, I study the neo-Islamic Central Synagogue in New York (1872) as the expression of a complex web of cultural identification and differentiation on the part of the Jewish community for which it was constructed. I examine the shift uptown away from immigrant origins, poverty, and Orthodoxy in relation to ambivalence toward Reform Judaism, which had embraced the neo-Islamic architectural style in both the United States and Europe. The tensions inherent in situating the congregation within the larger Jewish world were complicated by the position of the community with respect to its Christian neighbors. The contradiction between the community's initial calls for architectural modesty and the ostentation of the building designed by Henry Fernbach manifest, in the vocabulary of the cultural analysis of W. E. B. DuBois, a "double-consciousness." I have used two interwoven methods in interpreting this material: archival research and comparative study establish the impact of patronage and the originality of the architect; a culturalstudies approach investigates intentions and reception through analysis of journalistic coverage of the late nineteenth century, related to the history of the congregation and the wider Jewish community during this period.
Ottoman Expressions of Early Modernity and the "Inevitable" Question of Westernization
Authors: Hamadeh Shirine
Published: February 2008

Architectural transformations in the eighteenth-century Ottoman capital Istanbul are usually interpreted as expressions of an overarching process of cultural westernization that began in the wake of Ottoman military defeats against European powers in the late seventeenth century. In this article, I reevaluate the extent and significance of Ottoman westernization against visual and architectural evidence, and against two diverging discourses that emerged among contemporary Ottoman and European observers of architectural change. I argue that the architectural idiom of the eighteenth century was far more hybrid and culturally uncommitted than the notion of westernization implies. Based on a close reading of Ottoman poetry and narratives and European travelers' accounts, I show that although the rhetoric of westernization was dominant in the latter's descriptions of the built environment, Ottoman perceptions centered instead on notions of innovation and originality of expression, reflecting a new attitude toward change, novelty, and the canons of a long-established architectural tradition.
“Fishing Down the Food Web”: A Case Study from St. Augustine, Florida, USA
Authors: Reitz Elizabeth J.
Published: February 2008

Comparing zooarchaeological data for Native American, Spanish, and British occupations with modern fisheries data from St. Johns County, Florida (USA) shows differences in the use of marine resources from 1450 B.C. through A.D. 2000. Changes in biomass contribution, diversity, types of fishes used, and trophic levels of sharks, rays, and bony fishes suggest that the pattern described as “fishing down marine food webs” (Pauly et al. 1998) may have been present in the St. Johns County area as early as the eighteenth century. A change in the size and growth habits of Atlantic croaker (Sciaenidae: Micropogonias undulatus) occurred early in this sequence, indicating an impact on this specific fish. However, overharvesting of fishes is not the only explanation for these observations. Climate and cultural changes are additional explanations for the patterns observed that should receive closer attention. Exploring these alternative explanations is made possible by a zooarchaeological record that permits us to study fishing habits and fish behavior before large-scale industrial fishing began.
Identifying Necessity and Sufficiency Relationships in Skeletal-Part Representation Using Fuzzy-Set Theory
Authors: Beaver Joseph E.
Published: February 2008

Traditional approaches to the analysis of skeletal representation in faunal assemblages that employ correlation analyses work well when there is a linear or curvilinear relationship or no relationship at all between the variables under investigation. However, in taphonomic applications in zooarchaeology, these approaches can mask meaningful variation in certain cases where the relationship between the causal variable and skeletal-part representation is one of limitation rather than absolute determination. Such relationships are typified by triangular distributions of points in scatter plots. Using fuzzy-set theory, these relationships can be interpreted more comprehensively by distinguishing necessity and sufficiency relationships between the causal variable and skeletal part representation. Graphs in which data points are distributed in a triangle in the lower-right part of the scatter plot are consistent with an interpretation of necessity, while graphs where data points are distributed in an upper-left triangle are consistent with an interpretation of sufficiency. Such interpretations parallel transport strategies inferred from graphs of utility and representation, and can be applied profitably to graphs of density and representation. In some cases, this leads not only to refinement of the interpretation of density effects, but also to retrieval of economic evidence that might otherwise be overlooked.
Of Parsimony and Archaeological Histories: A Response to Comment by Boyd
Authors: Hantman Jeffrey L. , Gold Debra L. , Dunham Gary H.
Published: February 2008

Boyd (2004) questions the cultural association that we (Dunham et al. 2003:113) draw between burial mounds in central Virginia and the colonial era Monacan Indian people. We respond to Boyd's points, agree that any such interpretation be open to further discussion, but defend our cultural and historical interpretation as the most logical and parsimonious given the available data.
The Underwater Archaeology of Paleolandscapes, Apalachee Bay, Florida
Authors: Faught Michael K.
Published: February 2008

Submerged prehistoric sites investigated in northwest Florida along the margins of the drowned Aucilla River channel (or PaleoAucilla) extend our understanding of prehistoric settlement patterns and paleolandscape utilization. Bifacial and unifacial tools indicate Late Paleoindian and Early Archaic logistical activities at these sites, as well as later Middle Archaic occupations. Other evidence for terrestrial conditions at these sites include extinct and extant terrestrial faunal remains, in-place tree stumps, and possible eroded middle Holocene shell middens. This report outlines the methodologies used for site investigations, and then discusses the geomorphic setting, character, cultural-historical connections, and timing of full inundation for these offshore sites. During late Pleistocene and early Holocene times, the coastline was much farther out on the continental shelf, and this segment of the PaleoAucilla was forested and well inland. Later, during the middle Holocene stages of transgression, the segment was more of a wide grassy marsh with brackish water tidal creeks and oysters. In this continental shelf setting, submerged archaeological sites remain in clustered arrays accessible by underwater archaeological methods, and the data provide a critical supplement to our present understanding of late Pleistocene and early Holocene settlement patterns and paleolandscape utilization.
Characterizing Elite Midden Deposits at Moundville
Authors: Knight Vernon James
Published: February 2008

Insufficient attention has been paid to differences among elite archaeological contexts in middle-range or chiefdom societies. At Moundville, a major Mississippian center in Alabama, midden and feature-fill deposits attributed to elite behavior have been excavated in several areas. Deposits on Mounds Q and G dating to the Moundville II and III phases (ca. A.D. 1260–1450) are similar in that they incorporate abundant domestic debris associated with structures on mound summits. On both mounds, food remains show evidence of provisioning and the consumption of small-scale meals rather than feasting. However, the two contexts differ in the occurrence of evidence for skilled crafting and the display of human skeletal remains. At Mound Q, skilled crafting is abundantly attested, employing local and nonlocal raw materials. Display goods were routinely handled, and pigment processing and use were important. Burials were rarely made, but fragmentary human bone is scattered throughout, emphasizing portions of the skeleton consistent with display. In contrast, elite contexts on Mound G show little or no evidence of crafting, pigment use, and bone handling.
Modeling Use-Life Distributions in Archaeology Using New Guinea Wola Ethnographic Data
Authors: Shott Michael J. , Sillitoe Paul
Published: February 2008

Assemblages are composed of proportions of artifacts by category. Use life affects the formation and therefore the size and composition of assemblages. Use life is to assemblage formation as lifespan is to demography, and demographers know that a population's mean lifespan is no more important than the distribution of values around that mean. When considered at all, use life typically is expressed as a mean value. But use-life's distribution—variation around the mean—affects assemblage composition independently of the mean. Distribution is neglected because its effects are not appreciated and seem difficult to measure. To improve understanding of assemblage formation, we study use-life distribution in New Guinea Wola ethnographic artifacts, using cumulative survivorship and the two-parameter Weibull model. Then we propose estimates of use-life distribution in Paleoindian stone tools. Knowing use-life distribution as well as mean, we know better how assemblages formed and improve our understanding of the archaeological record.
Monacans as Moundbuilders?
Authors: Boyd C. Clifford
Published: February 2008

Dunham et al. (2003) propose a connection between Late Woodland accretional burial mounds in central Virginia and the historic Monacan Indians. However, the authors’ association of these mounds with the Monacans is not supported by available archaeological or ethnohistoric data.
Reconsidering Taíno Social Dynamics after Spanish Conquest: Gender and Class in Culture Contact Studies
Authors: Deagan Kathleen
Published: February 2008

Despite the fact that the Taíno people of the Caribbean were the first Native Americans to encounter and coexist with Europeans after 1492, there has been almost no archaeology of Taíno response to that encounter. This study explores the reasons for (and consequences of) this neglect, and their larger implications for American contact-period archaeology. It also challenges prevailing historical models of Taíno social disintegration, drawing upon six years of archaeological work at the En Bas Saline site in Haiti, the only extensively excavated Taíno townsite occupied both before and after contact. Our results, organized by a household-scale analytical framework emphasizing Taíno constructions of gender and class, suggest that there were few major alterations to traditional Taíno social practice during the post-contact period, and most of these were related to activities thought to have been the domain of non-elite Taíno men. It is suggested that the relatively nonspecialized gender roles among the Taíno, as well as the clearly differentiated nature of their social classes, may have served as mitigating factors in the disruption of Taíno cultural practice under Spanish domination. This work also reveals a marked Taíno resistance to the incorporation of European cultural elements, which provides a striking contrast to the Spanish patterns documented in contact-era European towns, and underscores the critical importance of incorporating gender relations into studies of culture contact.
Prehistoric Demography in the Southwest: Migration, Coalescence, and Hohokam Population Decline
Authors: Hill J. Brett , Clark Jeffery J. , Doelle William H. , Lyons Patrick D.
Published: February 2008

One of the most prominent but least understood demographic phenomena in the precontact Southwest is the disappearance of the Hohokam from the valleys of southern Arizona. Despite extensive research, no widely accepted explanation has been offered. We argue that the failure to identify a satisfactory cause is due to excessive focus on catastrophic phenomena and terminal occupations, and a lack of attention to gradual demographic processes. Based on a combination of macro-regional population studies and local research in the lower San Pedro River valley, we present an explanation for gradual population decline precipitated by social and economic coalescence beginning in the late A.D. 1200s. In the southern Southwest an influx of immigrants from the north led to a shift from a dispersed, extensive settlement/subsistence strategy to increased conflict, aggregation, and economic intensification. This shift resulted in diminished health and transformation from population growth to decline. Over approximately 150 years gradual population decline resulted in small remnant groups unable to maintain viable communities. Small, terminal populations were ultimately unable to continue identifiable Hohokam cultural traditions and consequently disappeared from the archaeological record of southern Arizona, either through migration or a shift in lifestyle that rendered them archaeologically invisible.
"Men Ain’t All": A Reworking of Masculinity inTales from the Hood, or, Grandma Meets the Zombie
Authors: Fulmer Jacqueline
Published: February 2008

In the 1995 horror film Tales from the Hood, director / screenwriter Rusty Cundiejf and his company rework stereotypes of African American masculinity by borrowing elements from folklore. Influences on the movie from African American folklore-specifically ghost, trickster, and conjurer tales featuring the use of enchanted objects to exact vengeance-emphasize one’s responsibility to the community, the weak overcoming the strong, and the wisdom of elders. Tales thereby questions and complicates previous binary depictions.