bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Northern Europe: broad patterns
Authors: Malcolm Noel 
Published: November 2023

AbstractHistorians have assumed that the pattern of age-differentiated male–male sex found in the Mediterranean region existed equally in Northern Europe; this has blinded them to major differences between the two regions. The quantitative evidence, drawn from trial statistics, differs by an order of magnitude; this is very evident in England, where judicial records are abundant and well studied. To maintain the assumption that the underlying sexual behaviour was the same, some historians have sought to explain the relative lack of Northern trials, but their claims that some special factors were unique to North or South are unconvincing. Torture, used in Southern Europe, was also applied in most of the North; the death penalty was common to both; so was a degree of reluctance to generate publicity. Significantly, sodomy cases greatly outnumbered bestiality cases in most of Southern Europe, while the opposite was true in most of the North.
Northern Europe: forms of sexual behaviour
Authors: Malcolm Noel 
Published: November 2023

AbstractMale–male sexual behaviour in Northern Europe differed qualitatively, as well as quantitatively, from that in the South. Sex between adult men may have occurred in at least half of the known cases; some men had sex with both men and boys; and some who did favour younger partners happily chose men above the Mediterranean threshold age. Some men took the active and passive roles. Mutual masturbation was commonly undertaken as a self-sufficient sexual act, not as a prelude to, or substitute for, sodomy. Sexual approaches often involved reaching for the other man’s genitals; this suggests a psychology of shared masculinity (and hoped-for shared sexual excitement) very different from the Mediterranean pattern. There is some evidence of group sex between adults. Male prostitution is attested, but only thinly. Claims by modern historians that there were male brothels in 17th-century London are baseless.
The ‘Politics of Honour’
Authors: Jordan Bradley 
Published: November 2023

AbstractChapter 6 investigates the role played by civic decrees in constructing a relationship between individual communities and the Roman state. It begins by exploring the use of honorific decrees by provincial communities to engage with representatives of the Roman state. It analyses how decrees for individual magistrates intersected with divergent Greek and Roman praxes of honour, arguing that they continued to play a vital role in mediating the relationship between poleis and their hegemon. It then focuses on the limited extant examples of civic decrees which were not honorific in nature and dealt with Roman actors. It argues that public representations of loyalty to Rome in non-honorific contexts were primarily motivated by local concerns.
‘The Vast Machinery Established amongst Us’
Authors: Allpress Roshan 
Published: November 2023

Abstract
This chapter maps the interlocking directorates of major British philanthropic societies from the 1760s to 1810s, showing how a ‘nexus’ of philanthropists formed and operated across this period, and how innovations in organizational structure and fundraising—especially the expansion of auxiliary societies—propagated between societies due to these social networks and underpinned periods of expansion. Central to the story is how religiously motivated merchants and bankers leveraged developments in credit practices and the growth of country banking networks to facilitate fundraising on a new scale. During periods of commercial uncertainty, experimental philanthropic projects led to the reorganization of associational models, and subsequently to periods of rapid expansion—suggesting a more complex relationship between Britain’s national fortunes and philanthropy than has previously been posited. These networks were also the site of intergenerational transmission of philanthropy, with apprentices and children entering into a world of associational formation through participation in this philanthropic nexus.
‘The Society of the Excellent of the Earth’
Authors: Allpress Roshan 
Published: November 2023

Abstract
This chapter reconsiders the ‘Clapham Sect’ and their role as a collaborative community of Evangelical philanthropists who exercised a coordinating role within the wider philanthropic nexus from the early 1790s to the mid-1810s, and frames them through the lens of their own self-conceptions and experiences. The chapter shows how business, family, religion, and philanthropy interacted in daily sociability, how individuals within the group leveraged the skills and networks of others to expand their influence, and how the community collaborated on local and transnational philanthropic projects. The account locates the Clapham Sect as one of many similar small communities—distinguished by the public prominence of its members—and its influence in shaping the culture of philanthropic networks and public perceptions of philanthropists.
Discordance and Nuisance
Authors: Yeang Chen-Pang 
Published: November 2023

Abstract
Chapter 2 reviews the two longstanding notions of noise—as irregular and inharmonious sounds that went against the human senses, and as annoying sounds of the surroundings that invaded into public and private spaces and disrupted tranquility. The concept of discordance tied to the theories of music since Antiquity, especially their preoccupation with harmonious tones and attempts to make sense of such tones with cosmic-numerological or psycho-physiological reasons. Along this tradition, Hermann Helmholtz in the 1860s defined noise as “a rapid alternation of different kinds of sensations of sound.” The concept of nuisance had a close relationship with the efforts by governments, local communities, and civic groups to control and “abate” din in urban or industrial settings. These two concepts became the dominant subjects of discussions on noise in technical literature and public discourse by the nineteenth century.
Filtering Noise for Antiaircraft Gunfire Control
Authors: Yeang Chen-Pang 
Published: November 2023

Abstract
While Uhlenbeck and his collaborators at Radiation Laboratory improved radar target detection in noisy environments, Norbert Wiener and his assistant Julian Bigelow at MIT designed an antiaircraft gunfire control system for the US Army. Like Uhlenbeck et al., Wiener and Bigelow employed the language of communication engineering and used the notion of noise to characterize the ambient factors that caused errors, fluctuations, and deviations in technological systems. The originality of Wiener and Bigelow’s approach was a new way to treat such noise. They aimed to reproduce the enemy target trajectory polluted by random noise in observing and tracking devices, i.e. a prediction problem. Wiener’s optimum predictor was later known as the “Wiener filter,” which utilized statistical properties of signal and noise—especially their correlation functions—to minimize the latter. In so doing, Wiener turned noise into unwanted waveforms that could be manipulated and filtered through generalized harmonic analysis.
Conclusion
Authors: Yeang Chen-Pang 
Published: November 2023

Abstract
In this concluding chapter, we review the historical transformation of noise in the first half of the twentieth century. We also look into the dissemination of the abstract concept of noise to broader circles of science and technology since the end of World War II. Three aspects of this further development are explored: ontology, epistemology, and technology. In physical sciences, life sciences, social sciences, and computing, digital, and information technologies, noise became ever more ubiquitous. Lastly, we discuss the historiographic implications of writing about noise by invoking the concepts of historical epistemology and historical ontology but pinpointing their insufficiencies for the history of noise.
The System
Authors: Mayer Colin 
Published: November 2023

Abstract
Capitalism is one of many systems in our lives. From an economics perspective, it is regarded as driven from the bottom-up by the individuals who comprise it. A top-down view looks at it from the perspective of the overall system in relation to society and the natural world. The bottom-up notion is associated with free will and the pursuit of individual objectives, and the top-down with socially imposed values, particularly from institutions and governments. Other disciplines such as biology, physics, and psychology are the subject of similar debates about reductionism and raise questions about the existence of free will. Both upward and downward concepts of capitalism have their limitations and it is a mistake to restrict consideration to one or the other. We should embrace both individual and collective choice in a values-based, problem-solving approach to the purpose of capitalism. The integrity of systems depends on the values that underlie their purposes. Problem-solving purposes create value by contributing to the performance of others. Value creation is the source of profit that resources and rewards contributors to the system. Alongside this, equity involves sharing as well as owning rewards, care derives from relationships between individuals not just contractual concerns for the wellbeing of others, and citizenship is a collaborative contribution to a common purpose of shared prosperity. Embracing upward and downward causation requires system-based policies regarding all of law, regulation, ownership, governance, measurement, performance, finance, and investment.
The Challenge
Authors: Mayer Colin 
Published: November 2023

Abstract
The failures of our capitalist system have manifested themselves in increasingly frequent and intense crises. This is what we are currently experiencing. The crises have revealed several aspects of the properties and deficiencies of capitalism: the ability of problem-solving companies to turn crises into opportunities; the need for greater clarity and commitment to problem-solving purposes; the influence of societal pressures on the behaviour of companies; and the challenges created by conflicting societal demands. Conflicts have arisen between climate change, environmental impacts, and the affordability of energy; innovation in public health, for example in relation to the development of vaccines to tackle COVID-19, and their global accessibility; and decisions by companies to withdraw from or remain in politically unacceptable countries. The most successful businesses in the world tackle the biggest challenges. At present, they do so in a form that causes as well as solves problems. For example, addictive, unhealthy, polluting products remain highly profitable; problems of inequality and social exclusion have intensified as an ever-stronger drive to generate profit encourages companies to concentrate on affluent customers; and competition to develop artificial intelligence poses immense threats as well as benefits for humanity. At present profits derive from the creation of problems as well as the delivery of solutions. While business needs to be profitable to be able to function and flourish, profits should come from the resolution not the creation of problems for others. It is moral for business to be profitable but what is profitable is not necessarily moral.
The Role of Law
Authors: Mayer Colin 
Published: November 2023

Abstract
Corporate law is permissive in allowing companies to adopt their desired purposes. Corporate purposes conform with the interests of society if the Moral Law applies. Corporate law should be permissive of purposes that do conform and proscriptive of purposes that do not. The Moral Law is not at present explicitly included in corporate law. It may be possible to interpret the ‘enlightened shareholder value’ nature of UK company law in this way. But it cannot be associated with US corporate law, even in its stakeholder-oriented forms as exist in some states of the US. The reason why there is ambiguity in the interpretation of UK company law and omission from US corporate law is a failure of the laws of either country to establish a clear basis on which to prevent firms profiting from detriments. The Moral Law should be universally incorporated in corporate and company law. This can be done through including corporate purposes of profiting from solutions not problems in law. These establish appropriate director duties. They retain the sole accountability of directors to shareholders, but they also align interests of companies and shareholders with other parties. They internalize negative externalities, and they permit, but do not require, adoption of positive purposes. The principles that apply to business are equally relevant to other corporate forms. They pertain to philanthropic, public, and social as well as business corporations. They provide a framework for adjudication over cases of corporate legal responsibility. These should relate to corporate structures and conduct as well as performance, particularly regarding the ownership, governance, measurement, and financial arrangements of companies.
Leading Solutions
Authors: Mayer Colin 
Published: November 2023

Abstract
Ownership of problems is not restricted to dominant shareholders. It is reflected in how companies are led, governed, and run, and it is the role of the board of directors to ensure the determination and effective implementation of problem-solving purposes. Everyone in an organization should take ownership of their part of its purpose. Corporate governance is not just about aligning the interests of leaders with shareholders. It is the process by which profitable problem-solving purposes are implemented. Leaders should specify, clarify, and exemplify their corporate purpose. They should connect it with the core strategy of the business; they should demonstrate an authentic commitment to its fulfilment; they should ensure that the business’s values and culture are aligned with it; they should delegate authority and empower those in the organization to deliver it; and they should resource and reward employees accordingly. Trust must be placed in those lower down in the organization to deliver the purpose. Those at the top of an organization cannot have a sufficient appreciation or understanding of the problems that confront their customers, communities, societies, suppliers, and distributors in the specific local contexts, environments, and ecosystems in which those problems arise, or the most appropriate solutions, people, or technologies to address them. It is employees in the organization with the contextual and specific knowledge who should be empowered and trusted to build relations with these parties and combine that understanding with codified, generic information from the top in delivering profitable solutions not problems.
Valuing the Invaluable
Authors: Mayer Colin 
Published: November 2023

Abstract
Measurement is critical to the allocation of resources in a capitalist system. Nowhere is this more significant than in relation to nature and the environment. There are three approaches that are used: metrics, accounting, and valuation. Metrics record the extent, state, and condition of natural capital. Accounts report the costs of maintaining and restoring nature. These costs should be incorporated in measures of national and corporate income, profit, and balance sheets to derive estimates net of costs of maintaining and restoring nature. Valuation seeks to attach monetary values to nature and the environment. Valuation is important in economic analyses of natural capital. It is most relevant in determining how investment in nature can best benefit humans. It provides an anthropocentric view of nature that may not reflect its intrinsic condition. Valuation should therefore be combined with metrics that measure nature’s intrinsic scale and condition, and accounts that record the costs of maintaining and restoring it. This suggests a staged approach of creating an inventory of natural assets; identifying priorities for protection or restoration reflecting their scale and condition; incorporating maintenance and restoration charges in corporate and national accounts; and identifying social costs and benefits of investing in different forms of nature-based solutions. The above is closely related to concepts of sustainability and sustainable finance. Its relevance extends beyond nature to human and social as well as natural assets.
Just Profit
Authors: Mayer Colin 
Published: November 2023

Abstract
Measurement is critical to resource allocation within companies and reporting by companies to their investors and other stakeholders. Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) reporting has been the dominant form of reporting to date. It has played an important role in portfolio allocation and investment appraisals by investors and companies. But it has been subject to problems of data quality and assurance, and it does not account for resourcing and performance of a company’s purpose. An organization should measure its performance against its purpose. It should incur the costs involved in rectifying, remedying, and mitigating the detriments it causes. It should provide for future costs of avoiding detriments and undertake investments required to deliver on its purpose. It should account for current and capital costs accordingly. This is no different from traditional cost accounting applied to companies that incur the true costs of avoiding imposing detriments on others and delivering promised benefits associated with their stated purposes. Projections of true costs, revenues, and just profits are the basis of conventional financial valuations and investment appraisals. Estimates of non-financial valuations of natural and social assets can also be undertaken to supplement financial valuations of true costs and revenues. These non-financial valuations are most relevant to investment appraisals and resource allocation decisions by companies and investors. Appropriate business models are required to ensure that adequate financial returns are earned on investment expenditures incurred in delivering environmental and social benefits.
Our Common Purpose
Authors: Mayer Colin 
Published: November 2023

Abstract
Problem-solving purposes are a driver of human flourishing and shared prosperity. But businesses cannot solve major problems on their own. They must partner with other organizations, particularly government. Profitable problem-solving purposes naturally align private interests of business with public concerns of government. The UK provides a particularly striking illustration of the failures and potential for this. It has exceptionally poor productivity and high regional inequality caused by dysfunctional finance, regulation, corporate ownership, and centralized government. Reversing failed countries and regions requires enlightened public policy. This involves devolved, decentralized government to the regions; connecting financial centres with the regions through a presence of local institutions; forging common purpose between public, private, and philanthropic institutions in locality; promoting purposeful local businesses and financial institutions to support this; and rapid experimentation and learning from cases of success and failure. Forging common purpose is needed in some sectors as well as localities, especially utilities. The purposes of businesses should be aligned with social licences to operate in those sectors and regulators should move beyond just setting and enforcing rules to encouraging the engagement of businesses with their customers and communities on common purposes. Stronger partnerships should be formed between business and educational institutions. They are required in the design and delivery of leadership and skills training, and in mentoring, networking, and financing new business formations and commercial innovations in universities.
Young Emperor John and the Rule of Constantinople
Authors: Lau Maximilian C. G. 
Published: November 2023

Abstract
John’s life before he became emperor in 1118 is all but unstudied, as the focus of historians has been squarely on his father Alexios. This is despite the fact that John was crowned as co-emperor as a child, and was present at all of the key events of his father’s latter years. This chapter investigates John’s education and his personal relationships with family and friends in these years, and how those shaped struggles over John’s accession to sole rule at the death of his father. The supposed coup attempts against him in the 1110s are investigated, and how John formed a dominant coalition of supporters in 1118 is outlined. This chapter outlines the workings of John’s government and administration, describing to both expert and amateur readers what the Byzantine government looked like in both the capital and the provinces of the empire, and it introduces to the reader the specific people John had constituting it. The chapter ends by discussing a few domestic matters John dealt with in his first few years: cancelling Venice’s trade privileges, extending privileges to the monastery his father had endowed on Patmos, and adjudicating a land dispute between certain soldiers and the monks of Mt Athos.
Betrayal and Conquest in Anatolia
Authors: Lau Maximilian C. G. 
Published: November 2023

Abstract
Having resolved his conflicts to the west, John could focus once more on Anatolia in 1130. This chapter outlines how the region had changed since he was last there, and especially the rise of Ghazi Danishmend as the major power. Issues of chronology are cleared up, and with the scene set, the crucial twist occurs where John’s previously dependently loyal brother Isaac betrays him and flees to join Ghazi. We see how this betrayal shaped John’s Anatolian campaigns, and he targeted Paphlagonia in order to take Ghazi and Isaac on. Court sources are used to add detail to this campaign, and John’s strategy of annexing land while raiding beyond it to create a buffer is described. Mas’ud’s switching sides from John to Ghazi during the first siege of Gangra is the next key betrayal, though 1135 would see John return to finally take Gangra, though it was only with the death of Ghazi that John’s conquest of Paphlaghonia was secured.
The Church under John: Philanthropy and Ecumenism
Authors: Lau Maximilian C. G. 
Published: November 2023

Abstract
At first glance, John’s reign appears as an anomaly in Byzantine ecclesiastical history, as he has been characterized as a non-interventionist with little interest in the church and no trouble with his patriarchs. However, John founded one of the largest and best-known monasteries in Constantinople, and his reign saw a proliferation of commentaries on canon law, such that a philanthropic policy of government appears to be in evidence. After examining these texts, this chapter will examine the state of ecumenical relations in this period, especially with the Papacy, and will propose that the main driving ecclesiastical focus in this period was a steady build towards an expected ecumenical council, which had John lived longer, he would have called. Negotiations over this council are discussed, before the chapter finishes with a discussion of the relationship between John and his church at this time.