The Oral Background of Byzantine Popular Poetry

The popular poetry of Byzantium first appears in the form of consistent surviving texts of some size in the middle of the twelfth century, at the courts of the emperors John Komnenos (1118-1143) and Manuel Komnenos (1143-1180).1 Little or no such poetry seems to survive from the thirteenth century, when Byzantine energies were occupied in the reconquest of Constantinople and other parts of the empire from the forces of the Fourth Crusade. The next preserved examples seem to date from early in the fourteenth century, and the popular poetic tradition then continues through to the end of Byzantium in 1453 and beyond. Insofar as evidence permits us to speak about the places in which this material was composed and written down, it seems that the westernruled states surviving from the Crusades on Greek lands were at least as fertile ground for its production as the area ruled by Byzantium, under the last dynasty of the Palaiologoi. The total volume is not large, but it covers a number of genres. We shall discuss in the conclusion of this paper the difficult question of the continuity of this tradition in Greece under Turkish rule.--Page 504.Elizabeth and Michael Jeffreys (University of Sydney) often work as a team in their investigations of Byzantine popular poetry, studies which regularly treat the oral tradition out of which these works emerged. Some of their numerous articles in this field are gathered together in Popular Literature in Byzantium (1983)

Music therapy in Greece and its applications in dementia and end-of-life care

Giorgos Tsiris - ORCID: 0000-0001-9421-412X https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9421-412XIn this report we focus on music therapy in Greece and its applications in dementia and end-of-life care. Initially we offer an overview of music therapy in the country and outline key developments in terms of professionalisation, education, research and scholarship. Exploring these developments from a critical perspective, we acknowledge contemporary debates and their implications for the advancement of the field. This exploration offers a platform for understanding the current applications of music therapy in dementia and adult end-of-life care in Greece. We provide examples of recent projects and initiatives alongside broader considerations regarding the status of dementia and end-of-life care. We conclude by offering some perspectives for future potential developments in the field.http://approaches.gr/tsiris-r20201017/12pubpub

Final report for the CORE Organic Plus funded project “Innovative design and management to boost functional biodiversity of organic orchards EcoOrchard”

Orchards are perennial cultures, and especially in organic fruit production it is essential to design and manage orchards in a way which favours predators and parasitoids over pests. Increasing plant biodiversity and habitats in such a way that beneficials are favoured is called Functional (Agro-)Biodiversity (FAB). The value of FAB for reducing pesticide use in fruit production is generally acknowledged, and many organic fruit growers try to increase it in spite of a shortage of information on FAB, economical and technical challenges and lack of situation-specific, detailed advice. To improve this situation, ECOORCHARD combined several complementary and goal oriented approaches: i) identifying and compiling still “unknown” methods already implemented by fruit growers to increase FAB in EU countries; (ii) elaborating suitable methods for collaborative application to monitor FAB on-farm and in scientific trials; (iii) conducting collaborative scientific trials with focus on the quantification of the effect of a new approach to install FAB-boosting flower strips in the inter rows and (iv) learning from each other and dissemination. Knowledge and experience on FAB management from practitioners were collected by interviews of farmers and advisors and led to a description of 24 different FAB techniques, old and new, falling under different strategies including long-term ecological infrastructures, dynamic practices and to a lesser extent redesign techniques. Country differences were significant, but ecological infrastructures were the most implemented. On average farmers combined more than 4 techniques since 13 years, and emphasized a global approach to FAB expecting multiple Ecosystem Services beyond pest regulation (economic, environmental, agronomic and working conditions), reflecting also a need for more information about FAB. The European Biodiversity Orchard-Network at http://ebionetwork.julius-kuehn.de/ now includes 200 priority papers, reports and presentations on FAB, supplemented by material provided and developed by partners, and will be continued. A review of existing FAB research on creating floral resources for beneficials in apple orchards showed relatively few studies, of which cover crops and flower strips were most studied, while agroforestry methods were at the outset and only few studies before EcoOrchard included fruit damage and yield. Methods for farmers and advisors own assessment of FAB services in orchards were selected based on performance criteria (time, materials and skill needed, information provided), and demonstrated in workshops/ on farm and a by a practical handbook on FAB assessment (available in 6 languages via EBIO-Network. In 2016 and 2017, 40 and 50 farmers tested at least one method each. The handbook was improved by experiences collected, and proved a valuable tool in communicating FAB to growers and advisors. Workshops, instructions and on farm demonstrations of methods, were appreciated and we experienced much interest to learn more about the biology and life cycle of the beneficials, important to make optimal use of them. Two different flower mixtures fulfilling FAB criteria of mainly wild types were tested in seven countries. A complex mixture of 30 perennial herb species and 8 grass species and a simple mixture with ca half the number of species. Two types of field trials were set up considering botanical or entomological/botanical aspects of these two flower strips, testing both mixtures on the level of botanical aspects. We used shared field protocols and guidelines enabling analysis in a pan-European context, providing more valuable data than could be provided by single partners, and analysed the impact on natural pest control in relation to botanical resources (with and without flower strips). Flower strips significantly increased plant diversity in orchards, and increased the presence of natural enemies in the apple trees. This led to a higher control of key apple pests and a reduction in fruit damage. Although pest suppression and damage reduction may not be enough to use this conservation biological control strategy as a stand-alone practise, flower strips can contribute to a build-up of the resilience of the apple agroecosystem against pests, reducing the need for insecticide use and favouring conservation biocontrol. We succeeded to adapt monitoring methods and practices for FAB orchard management to end-users needs and constraints, with the active participation of stakeholders and to disseminate project results within a strong, collaborative stakeholder network created in the project. Workshops in France, Sweden and Denmark were used for exchange of FAB perception and practices and disseminated results, while demonstrations or field visits were organised to widen the dissemination in partner countries. Results and materials of the EcoOrchard project such as multilingual versions of the handbook in FAB assessment and FAB management are in the EBIO-Network, organic e-prints or the project homepage. Further five scientific manuscripts are in process

Language ideologies and identities in Kurdish heritage language classrooms in London

This article investigates the way that Kurdish language learners construct discourses around identity in two language schools in London. It focuses on the values that heritage language learners of Kurdish-Kurmanji attribute to the Kurmanji spoken in the Bohtan and Maraş regions of Turkey. Kurmanji is one of the varieties of Kurdish that is spoken mainly in Turkey and Syria. The article explores the way that learners perceive the language from the Bohtan region to be “good Kurmanji”, in contrast to the “bad Kurmanji” from the Maraş region. Drawing on ethnographic data collected from community-based Kurdish-Kurmanji heritage language classes for adults in South and East London, I illustrate how distinctive lexical and phonological features such as the sounds [a:] ~ [ɔ:] and [ɛ]/[æ] ~ [a:] are associated with regional (and religious) identities of the learners. I investigate how these distinct features emerge in participants’ discourses as distinctive identity markers. More specifically this article examines how language learners construct, negotiate and resist language ideologies in the classroom

Deaf students’ access to higher education in Greece

In 1983 the Greek Parliament approved a bill that enabled deaf graduates of high schools (amongst others) to be admitted to institutions of higher education without having to take entrance examinations. Until very recently the education of deaf children in Greece has been based on the exclusive use of the oral approach (i.e. the use of spoken Greek as the language of instruction and excluding the use of Greek Sign Language). The educational attainments of Greek deaf children on completing their school education have been poor compared to those of hearing children and, it has been argued (Lampropoulou 1994), has resulted in the situation that many Deaf people are poorly prepared for participation in society. In light of this situation I investigated the experiences of Deaf students who have availed of the opportunity provided by the above law to enter higher education. The subjects of the study are deaf people whose first or preferred language is Greek Sign Language (GSL) who, hereafter, are referred to as Deaf (spelt with an upper case 'D') people. The samples of Deaf students were made up of students who had graduated, interrupted their studies, were studying or were about to commence their studies at a Greek institution of higher education. In addition I obtained the views of schoolteachers of deaf children, higher education lecturers and representatives of the Greek Federation of the Deaf Brief overviews of the Greek education system and different models of d/Deafness are provided as way of background to the study. The data obtained from interviews with the above groups are presented and discussed, and include proposals as to how access for Deaf students to Greek higher education can be improved. The author hopes that this study will be seen as a contribution to the education of Deaf people in Greece. It provides suggestions for consideration by Greek Deaf and hearing people interested in the education of Deaf people, as well as public and private organisations, as to how improvements in Deaf people's education in Greece can be achieved

The Return of a Wandering Motive: The Use of Vampirism as a Metaphor in Social and Political Criticism in American and Serbian Films

The so called „epidemics of vampirism“ which flooded Western Europe during 18th century was inspired by the cases of a unproved vampirism which was investigated by an Austrian delegation in the Sebian villages of Kisiljevo and Medvedja. The report issued by the austrian delegation had largely contributed to a great popularity of vampirism for the whole sub-genre of western literature inspired by vampires. The way in which the motive of vampirism was used in vampire literature, although based on folklore and beliefs from the Balkans, quickly became the motive which was actually used to show western fear of the marginalized, unknown, and dangerous eastern Europe, so called „Orient“. Although initialy the motive of vampire in the west was metaphore for foreign threat, later western authors revealed supressed relations in their own society through usage of this demon. The work of western author Richard Matheson, the novelette titled „I Am a Legend“ published in 1954. was example of a new approach to the use of a vampire motive. Matheson projected vampirism through apocaliptic vison of parasitic virus contamination with symptoms resembling to vampirism wich attacked already dehumanized society. The goal of this work is to compare and point out similarities betwen using of vampre motive as a social and political critique in western movies based on Mathesons story idea:„The last man on earth“(1964), „The Omega man“(1971) and „I am the legend“(2007) and Serbian movies „Full Moon over Belgrade“ (1993) and „Hunger“ (2002). Throught this comparation, we can vitness the vojage of originaly Balcan native motive through western adaptation to globaly used social and political metaphore

Resurrecting the Past, Constructing the Future: A Historical Investigation on the Formation of a Greek National Identity in Schools, 1834-1913

This dissertation research combines archival data and historical methods and analyzes how schooling and education in Greece between 1834 and 1913 sought to shape a Greek national identity. The goal of this project is to present a historical analysis, that has thus far been absent from scholarship on the subject, and to convey how the adoption of a common national history in Greece, with roots to ancient Greece, assisted in the shaping of a Greek national identity. The timeframe this project examines is significant because it covers an important portion of Modern Greek history. The beginning of the modern state of Greece and the opening of the first Greek schools occurred in 1834, while 1913 represents the end of the Balkan Wars and the expansion of Greek schools and a Greek identity into newly claimed parts of Greece. The years between 1834 and 1913 were a time of major social, political and cultural changes in the state of Greece that helped to facilitate the formation of a Modern Greek national identity. Greek government legislation, textbooks, teacher\u27s manuals, curriculum guidelines, opinions and other writings from and about this time period, provide the historical, social and cultural contexts analyzed in this dissertation. By focusing on these archival materials, this project contributes to the history of education, cultural and educational policy studies, comparative and international education, national identity formation, Modern Greek history and more broadly, European history

A commentary on Xenophon's 'Àpologia Sokratous'

This thesis is a commentary on Xenophon the Athenian's (Apology of Socrates), a work written in the first half of the 4th century B.C. with the express purpose of explaining Socrates' self-aggrandizing behaviour during his trial in 399. The commentary is prefaced by three essays which treat the issues of authenticity, dating, and possible non-Platonic influences on the work, while the four appendices contain comparisons with Xenophon's Memorabilia and Plato's Apology as well as treatments of Socrates' daimonic sign and his arrogant behaviour during the trial as described by Xenophon. Based on the 1919 Oxford Classical Text edited by E. C. Marchant, the commentary itself is a line-by-line analysis concerned primarily with providing a social, historical, and literary context for each passage under consideration

Quod Erat Demonstrandum: From Herodotus’ ethnographic journeys to cross-cultural research

A peer-reviewed book based on presentations at the XVIII Congress of the International Association for Cross-Cultural Psychology, 2006, Isle of Spetses, Greece. (c) 2009, International Association for Cross-Cultural Psychologyhttps://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/iaccp_proceedings/1004/thumbnail.jp