The Early English passion play

This discussion challenges the common understanding that biblical drama in England was dominated by ‘mystery plays’, narrowly understood to be cycles of short pageants, by drawing attention to the evidence for large-scale Passion Plays comparable with those better known from France and Burgundy. In so doing, it makes no apology for standing on the shoulders of Peter Meredith's work on the N-Town manuscript, and with John Tailby on the texts and documents illustrating the variety of staging of religious drama across Europe, as well as Meg Twycross's work on devisor Felsted of London, all of which demonstrate that this material has been available in the public domain for some years. Just as the N-Town Plays were still believed in some quarters to come from Coventry as late as the mid-twentieth century, although Francis Douce knew they did not almost 150 years earlier, so too the domination of modern understandings about English mystery plays has remained wedded to the model of four ‘cycles’ promulgated in the 1970s, despite the accumulation of evidence to the contrary. Peter Meredith's edition of The ‘Passion Play’ from the N. Town Manuscript is now all but unobtainable, and the volumes of Records of Early English Drama are the chosen bedtime reading of few, so here we revisit some texts and records to explore afresh one aspect of an already shifted paradigm

Meaningless Lists of Soldiers: Hidden in Plain Sight

This week I had the chance to visit National Archives 1 to do some research for work into the history of the Federal Armory at Harpers Ferry, and particularly the building I work in. Mather Training Center waswas the Superintendent\u27s House before the War came and upended the entire town. It was nice to get back into the stacks downtown and dig through musty boxes of (in this case) Office of the Chief of Ordinance records.It brought to mind the last time that I got the chance to root around in the trove that is the Nation\u27s repository down in DC. In the fall of 2011, working on a hunch, I ran a lead to ground. Working from a few random Confederate Compiled Service Records I found over in the College\u27s Special Collections, I dug into Confederate prisoner of war records from the Gettysburg Campaign. [excerpt

A Location-Sentiment-Aware Recommender System for Both Home-Town and Out-of-Town Users

Spatial item recommendation has become an important means to help people discover interesting locations, especially when people pay a visit to unfamiliar regions. Some current researches are focusing on modelling individual and collective geographical preferences for spatial item recommendation based on users' check-in records, but they fail to explore the phenomenon of user interest drift across geographical regions, i.e., users would show different interests when they travel to different regions. Besides, they ignore the influence of public comments for subsequent users' check-in behaviors. Specifically, it is intuitive that users would refuse to check in to a spatial item whose historical reviews seem negative overall, even though it might fit their interests. Therefore, it is necessary to recommend the right item to the right user at the right location. In this paper, we propose a latent probabilistic generative model called LSARS to mimic the decision-making process of users' check-in activities both in home-town and out-of-town scenarios by adapting to user interest drift and crowd sentiments, which can learn location-aware and sentiment-aware individual interests from the contents of spatial items and user reviews. Due to the sparsity of user activities in out-of-town regions, LSARS is further designed to incorporate the public preferences learned from local users' check-in behaviors. Finally, we deploy LSARS into two practical application scenes: spatial item recommendation and target user discovery. Extensive experiments on two large-scale location-based social networks (LBSNs) datasets show that LSARS achieves better performance than existing state-of-the-art methods.Comment: Accepted by KDD 201

The astronomical orientation of the urban plan of Alexandria

Alexander the Great founded Alexandria in 331 BC. The newly founded town was conceived as an orthogonal grid based on a main longitudinal axis, later called Canopic Road. We analyse here the astronomical orientation of the project and propose that the main axis was deliberately oriented towards the rising sun on the day of birth of Alexander the Great. The argument is admittedly speculative as any Archaeoastronomy argument not backed up by written sources. However, it is nested accurately into the archaeological records and into what is known on the foundation of the town. Further, a topographical analysis is given to sustain the thesis.Comment: Archaeoastronomy/History of Astronom

Presentation of the Early Fairfield Town Lots

What follows is a preliminary study of the Fairfield town lots, focusing on the owners and appearance of the lots up through the American Civil War. Because the existing records are sporadic, some of the lots were more difficult to research than others and will require further research at some future time. This was anticipated going into the project. But it is hoped that this study will provide a foundation for that future research. Undoubtedly, there are many surviving Fairfield deeds still in private hands. It is anticipated that this study will bring attention to the subject and lead to the further discovery of material on the history of the lots. [excerpt

New records of moths (Insecta, Lepidoptera) from urban gardens on Terceira Island with new data on recently introduced species to the Azores

The urban Duque da Terceira Garden, in the main town of Angra do Heroísmo (Terceira, Azores), was investigated to describe the species composition of moths (Insecta, Lepidoptera). Moths were sampled with two methods: SLAM traps (between April and September 2017) and light trapping (two sessions in the summer of 2017). A total of 42 taxa were sampled with the addition of 19 new records for Duque da Terceira Garden, five of which were also new records for Terceira Island. The five species recorded as new for Terceira were subjected to an exhaustive taxonomic analysis. In addition, we revised the colonization status of some species. Our results show that urban gardens may help the establishment of exotic species and that it is necessary to monitor and control how these species established in urban environments.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

A Hall For Hercules At Ostia And A Farewell To The Late Antique >Pagan Revival>

In 1945, Herbert Bloch published an inscription from Ostia recording the restoration of a cellam Herc[ulis] in the late fourth century and suggested that it heralded the last pagan revival in the western Roman empire. Social historians now largely dispute this thesis, yet the details of the Ostian evidence remain unchallenged. This article demonstrates that the Hercules inscription, which Bloch attributed to the so-called Temple of Hercules (1.15.5) at Ostia, more probably records the restoration of a bath complex once decorated with the labors of Hercules. Given the persistence of traditional religious practices now known to have characterized the Late Antique city, neither the restoration of the baths nor the temple need bear the weight of religious revivalism. Evidence suggests that the urban image of fourth-century Ostia remained inconspicuously traditional, even as Christianity gained a more visible presence in the town.*Classic

No. 76: Refugee Entrepreneurial Economies in Urban South Africa

More than 60% of the world’s refugees now live in urban areas, according to the UNHCR. The social and economic impacts of refugee movements are therefore increasingly being felt in the towns and cities of host nations. The notion of “refugee economies” has been adopted to highlight the strong involvement of refugees in the many overlapping processes of production, consumption, exchange and entrepreneurship. As urban refugees increasingly become the norm in the urbanizing Global South, more research on the specifically urban economic impacts of protracted refugee situations is therefore urgently needed. Identifying the economic advantages and benefits associated with the presence of refugees is a key precondition for making governments more responsive to refugee needs and removing the barriers they face. South Africa has adopted a “self-settlement” approach to refugees. The country imposes no restrictions on freedom of movement and the geographical locations where refugees can reside. They are not confined to refugee camps or physically separated from citizens, which means they have direct interaction with South Africans. The self-settlement model emphasizes self-sufficiency on the part of refugees in the process of resettlement, with little assistance from state authorities. Many urban refugees are unable, for various reasons, to access formal employment in the cities and turn to the informal economy for their livelihoods. Because urban informality is generally invisible to policy-makers, scorned by politicians, and seen as a site of desperation rather than opportunity, its economic significance is often minimized. The primary aim of this report is to examine what we call “refugee entrepreneurial economies” in urban South Africa. Within the informal sector, refugee enclaves have often been viewed as stagnant pools of desperation, providing narrow opportunities and limited scope for advancement. But this is a misleading characterization. It is important to recognize the dynamism and growing complexity of South African refugee economies and to reshape our ideas about their positive economic impacts. In this report, we seek to broaden the image of refugees and their economic impacts beyond a narrow focus on their marginal status and vulnerability. They are viewed as dynamic agents with skills and capabilities who can play an integral role in transforming local settings and contributing to economic development. The report also addresses the question of whether geographical location makes a difference to the nature of refugee entrepreneurial economies by contrasting refugee enterprise in a major South African city (Cape Town) with that in several smaller towns in a different part of the country (Limpopo province). Cape Town was chosen as one of two study sites because there is a significant concentration of refugees in the city. In 2015, SAMP conducted surveys of migrant entrepreneurs in Cape Town and Johannesburg and found that in Cape Town, one-third of the respondents were refugees. In recent years, refugee entrepreneurs have also been establishing businesses in smaller urban areas around the country. In contrast to Cape Town, very little research exists on refugee livelihoods and entrepreneurship in Limpopo, which was chosen as the second site for this study. The study focused only on informal sector business owners who hold refugee (Section 24) permits under the Refugees Act. Holders of asylum-seeker (Section 22) permits were not included as many of these migrants are unlikely to be refugees, as conventionally defined. In Cape Town, 504 refugees were interviewed in 12 different areas of the city using a survey instrument first developed by SAMP for the Growing Informal Cities Project. A similar number were interviewed in Limpopo in the towns of Polokwane, Musina, Louis Trichardt, Thohoyandou, Burgersfort and Tzaneen. In each of the two study sites, a “control group” of 500 South Africans was interviewed (1,000 in total). The survey was complemented with 50 in-depth interviews with business owners in each research location and three focus groups with refugees in each location. The first section of the report compares refugee business owners in Cape Town and small-town Limpopo to ascertain if there are any significant differences in their respective socio-demographic and migration profiles: Male refugee entrepreneurs clearly dominate in both areas, with only 20-25% of business owners being women; The entrepreneurs in both locations tend to be relatively young with 80% in Cape Town and 77% in Limpopo under the age of 40. Very few entrepreneurs in either location were over the age of 50. There are marked idfferences in the countries of origin of refugee entrepreneurs. In Cape Town, the most numerous group was from Somalia. While there were some Somali-owned businesses in Limpopo and Ethiopian-owned businesses in Cape Town, the largest group in Limpopo towns was from Ethiopia. Some national groups were well represented in both places, including from the DRC and Zimbabwe. In both Cape Town and Limpopo, there were small numbers of refugees from the same countries, notably Burundi, Cameroon, Congo Brazzaville, Eritrea, Rwanda and Sudan. The majority of refugee business owners (over 90%0 arrived in South Africa after 2000. Limpopo has a slightly greater proportion of recent arrivals than Cape Town. In Limpopo, there is a clear time lag between year of migration to South Africa and year of arrival in the province. As many as 64% of the refugee entrepreneurs in Limpopo had lived in another South African town or city first (compared to only 27% in Cape Town). The major reason for relocation from large cities to small-town Limpopo is the pattern of violence against non-South African informal businesses. Experience of violent crime and fears over personal safety were recurrent motives for moving to Limpopo, which appears to be a safer haven and less inhospitable business environment than South Africa’s large cities. But while relocation to Limpopo may lessen the chances of victimization, it does not eliminate them. Many of the refugees interviewed in Limpopo told stories of being robbed and having their business premises destroyed. Police misconduct emerged as a greater problem for refugees in Limpopo. Despite being located in very different parts of South Africa, and nearly 2,000 km apart, the Cape Town and Limpopo refugee entrepreneurs engaged in a similarly wide range of economic activities. The vast majority in both locations are in the retail sector (75-79%), followed by services (25-28%) and manufacturing (4%-8%). The kinds of goods being sold and services offered are very similar as well. Among the sampled Limpopo refugee entrepreneurs, the most common items sold are clothing/footwear, confectionary, soft drinks, and toiletries/cosmetics. In Cape Town, the most common items sold are cigarettes, clothing/ footwear, personal accessories, and confectionary and beverages. Given the common perception among South African policy-makers that refugees and other migrants are driving South Africans out of business, it is of interest to see if they are selling the same kinds of goods. While no product category is the exclusive domain of either group, South Africans dominate the sale of fresh and cooked food and refugees are more likely to be selling footwear, personal accessories, electronics and household products. With regard to the business operations of refugees in the two locations, the main findings were as follows: The primary sources of business start-up capital in both areas were personal savings. Around 20% of both groups used loans from relatives, 12-14% loans from non-relatives and 12% gifts from relatives. Very few were able to access funding from banks, NGOs or the UNHCR. The main difference worth noting was that more entrepreneurs in Limpopo were able to access goods on credit with which to start their businesses. The most common strategies include bulk purchasing, extended hours of operation, keeping business records, negotiating prices with suppliers, allowing customers to buy goods on credit, and competitive prices. Refugees consult other entrepreneurs, suppliers and the media for information about the price of goods. There was very little difference in the frequency of use of business strategies by the two groups of refugees. Living in a large city does seem to provide more opportunity for buying in bulk, negotiating with suppliers and getting information on prices from other entrepreneurs. Almost a third of the Limpopo refugees travel to Johannesburg to purchase supplies, while most Cape Town refugees obtain their goods in the city. Although refugees in Limpopo are able to start a business with a smaller capital outlay than those in Cape Town, their enterprises are not as profitable. The Limpopo refugees earned less on average than their Cape Town counterparts: ZAR7,246 versus ZAR11,315 per month. In both Cape Town and Limpopo there are clear indications of increased business value with significant upward movement out of the lowest value category of less than ZAR5,000. The proportion of businesses in the ZAR50,000-plus value category increased from 27% to 47% in Cape Town and in Limpopo from 15% to 42%, suggesting that higher-value businesses may actually be performing better in Limpopo than in Cape Town. The establishment and growth of refugee businesses has economic spin-offs for a variety of South African stakeholders. The first beneficiaries are formal sector suppliers including wholesalers, supermarkets, fresh produce markets, retailers and manufacturers. Around two-thirds of the sampled refugees in both Cape Town and Limpopo purchase supplies from wholesalers, who are easily the largest beneficiaries of their patronage. Refugees in Cape Town are also more likely to patronize supermarkets and factories while those in Limpopo are more likely to patronize small shops. The average monthly spend at wholesalers was very similar in both Cape Town and Limpopo (ZAR35,000). The second major beneficiary of the activities of refugee entrepreneurs is the South African treasury. While most businesses operate in the informal sector and are too small to pay income tax, they pay VAT on most goods purchased from formal sector suppliers and do not claim rebates. Third, as these refugees noted, they pay heavy rents to South African property owners. While over half of both groups of refugees paid rent to a private South African owner, this was more common in Limpopo (almost 66%). The average monthly rentals were very similar: ZAR4,838 in Cape Town and ZAR4,555 in Limpopo. Fourth, the municipal government has a direct financial interest in its dealings with refugees. Particularly in Cape Town, refugees pay into municipal coffers through rent for business sites. This amounted to 22% of the refugee entrepreneurs compared with only 4% in Limpopo. These rents were higher in Cape Town, an average of ZAR879 per month compared to only ZAR311 per month in Limpopo. Also, as many as 28% of Limpopo-based refugees (and 21% of those in Cape Town) pay an annual licence fee to the municipality. The cost of a business licence is much higher in Cape Town at ZAR1,959 per year compared to ZAR752 per year in Limpopo. Fifth, refugee businesses in the informal economy create jobs. Around half (52%) of the Cape Town refugee entrepreneurs and just under half (45%) of the Limpopo entrepreneurs employ people in their businesses. The Cape Town and Limpopo entrepreneurs were equally likely to employ South Africans (around 50% of the total number of jobs created). While the Limpopo entrepreneurs favoured female employees (51% versus 45% of total employees), both groups preferred to hire South African women than men (with 65-70% of South African employees in both sites being female). Finally, it is clear from the accounts of refugees in both Cape Town and Limpopo that one of the primary beneficiaries of their activities in the informal economy is the South African consumer who can access goods and services much more cheaply than from formal sector suppliers. These include necessities such as cheaper food for the food insecure, luxuries such as household and personal products, and services such as panel-beating

Form and Functions of Intra-Urban Territories in Late Medieval and Early Modern Brussels (15th-16th centuries)

This paper focuses on the spatial analysis of (some specific) intra-urban territories which existed in late medieval and early modern Brussels (Belgium). By studying their morphological characteristics and origins, I try to understand their functions within urban society. These intra-urban territories did not have clear and stable frontiers, unless they were demarcated by the town walls. The territories were defined by a chain of loose spatial elements. The town council used them to organise urban defence and to imply fiscal and commercial rules. Therefore, I assume that they were created ex nihilo, revealing a divide et impera-policy of the town council

Meteorological and botanical abstract, for the Summer quarter, 1868

Meteorological records recorded at the Observatory, Hobart Town. Also includes leafing, flowering, and fruiting times of a few standard plants in the Royal Societies gardens for the Summer quarter of the year 1868