Прозвище Коммода и датировка смерти Фронтона

Статья посвящена обзору основных точек зрения в историографии по поводу датировки смерти Марка Корнелия Фронтона и о связи этого события с императором Коммодом

The origin and career of Q. Pompeius Falco

Pompeius Falco je dokaj tipičen primer kozmopolitskega pripadnika vodilnih družin v rimskem imperiju, kot so se pojavili konec 1 . in v začetku 2 . stoletja po Kr., zanimiv pa je posebej, ker je znan iz korespondence Plinija in Frontona in kot prejemnik respkripta cesarja Hadrijana. Cel niz dodatnih imen, ki so ohranjena na napisu iz mesta Tarracina (CIL X 6321 = ILS 1035, glej tudi tekst) — njegov vnuk, konzul leta 169, je imel že vsega skupaj 38 imen (CIL XIV 3609 = ILS 1104) — kaže na razvejane, v glavnem sorodstvene zveze, zlasti po ženini strani, z vrsto odličnih družin. Cognomen Falco (doslej nepojasnjenega izvora) je skoraj enkraten, saj razen pri članih te družine nastopi le še v dveh primerih in še od teh je eden dvomljiv. Avtor meni, da izvira Falco iz Cilicije in se pri tem opira na napis, ki sta ga v njegovo čast v Ciliciji postavila Aulus Laberius Camerinus in njegov sin. Avtor navaja tudi mnenje nekaterih, da bi bil njegov prednik Pompejev klient zgodovinar Theophanes iz mesta Mytilene. V vsakem primeru gre za močne vezi z grškim svetom. Domneva se, da tudi njegov tast Sosius Senecio izvira iz vzhoda. Vsekakor je Falco lep primerek nove multinacionalne aristokracije. Rojen je bil okoli leta 70, prvo mesto je bilo Xvir stlitibus indicandis, vojaško kariero je začel kot tribunus laticlavius X Fretensis, kot je navedeno v napisu iz Hierapolisa, ali, če gre v tem napisu za pomoto, X Gemine. Pozneje je bil pretorski legat X Fretensis. Kvestor je bil v Rimu, leta 97 je bil tribunus plebis-, v to leto datira Plinijev odgovor na Falkonovo vprašanje, ali naj kot tribunus še dalje nastopa kot pravnik. Sledila je pretura. Potem ko je imel poveljstvo nad legio V Macedonica, je bil guverner v provinci Lycia-Pamphylia, verjetno leta 103, nato pa guverner v pretorski provinci Iudaea, kar je nenavadno. Razložiti bi se dalo s tem, da so zaradi aneksije Arabije v letih 105—106 Rimljani rabili posebej izkušenega moža v sosednji provinci. Konzul je postal septembra 108. (dopolnjevanje fragmentiranega mesta na Fasti Ostienses se zdi kljub napisu iz Hierapolisa logično) in je verjetno še nekaj časa ostal v Judeji. V Judejo mu je pisal Plinij, naj njegovemu prijatelju Korneliju Minicijanu priskrbi mesto tribuna. Med prvim in tem pismom je Falco prejel še Plinijevo pismo v zvezi s poezijo, kar kaže na njegov interes za literaturo. Po povratku v Italijo je bil izvoljen med XVviri sacris faciundis in s tem prišel v zelo ekskluzivno odlično družbo, v kateri je bil tudi zgodovinar Cornelius Tacitus. V zadnjem pismu, ki ga je Falco prejel po povratku iz Judeje, se mu Plinij pritožuje nad razsodbami glede posestev. Nato je bil nekaj leta samo curator viae Traianae, ki so jo začeli graditi leta 109, in se omenja na novcih leta 112. Pričakovati je, da je v vojni s Parti leta 113 imel poveljniško mesto; vsekakor je bil nato (morda že leta 113) guverner zelo povečane konzularne province Moesia inferior, kjer je izpričan za leto 116. V Spodnji Meziji je bil še leta 117 in se verjetno razgovarjal s Hadrijanom, ko je ta po Trajanovi smrti pozimi 117/118 prispel na spodnjo Donavo. Verjetno je bil udeležen v pogajanjih s kraljem Roksolanov in pri Hadrijanovi odločitvi, da opusti del province onstran Donave. Tega leta se mu je tudi rodil — najbrž edini — sin, poznejši konzul leta 149. Zdi se, da je Hadrijan poslal takoj leta 118 Falkona v Britanijo, ki jo je upravljal, kot kaže, do leta 122 (za datacijo je na razpolago le diploma CIL XVI 69) in cesarjev respkript v zvezi s samomorom nekega vojaka se verjetneje nanaša na njegovo službo v Britaniji kot v Meziji. V Britaniji so v tem času bili nemiri in zgodovinarji menijo, da je že Falco (ne Nepos) z dobrimi izkušnjami iz Mezije nadziral gradnjo začetka Hadrijanovega zidu med mesti Tyne in Solway. Po vrnitvi iz Britanije je postal prokonzul v Aziji, kjer je izpričan leta 124. Spomin nanj je bil v Judeji še živ, saj sta se mu prišla v Efez kot dobrotniku poklonit dva odposlanca iz Samarije (Flavia Neapolis). Po vsej verjetnosti je nato odšel v pokoj. Poslednjič slišimo o njem v pismu, ki ga je leta 143 pisal Marcus Aurelius Frontonu, svojemu vzgojitelju. V pismu se spominja, kako je pred tremi leti z Antoninom Piem obiskal Falkonovo posestvo

Alternate wet/dry irrigation in rice cultivation: a practical way to save water and control malaria and Japanese encephalitis?

Water management / Water scarcity / Water use efficiency / Water conservation / Irrigated farming / Waterborne diseases / Rice / Malaria / Disease vectors / Productivity / Flood irrigation / Environmental control / Climate / China / East Africa / India / Indonesia / Japan / Philippines / Portugal / USA

The effect of laser power, traverse velocity and spot size on the peel resistance of a polypropylene/adhesive bond

Abstract The mean peel resistance force achieved with respect to variation in the laser power, incident spot traverse velocity and incident spot diameter between linear low density polyethylene film backed by a thin commercial adhesive coating that were bonded to a polypropylene substrate via thermal activation provided by a 27W CO 2 laser is discussed in this work. The results gathered for this work have been used to generate a novel empirical tool that predicts the CO 2 laser power required to achieve a viable adhesive bond for this material combination. This predictive tool will enable the packaging industry to achieve markedly increased financial yield, process efficiency, reduced material waste and process flexibility. A laser spot size dependent linear increase in laser line energy was necessary for this material combination, suggesting the minimal impact of thermal strain rate. Moreover a high level of repeatability around this threshold laser line energy was indicated, suggesting that laser activated adhesive bonding of such polymer films is viable. The adhesion between the material combination trialled here responded linearly to thermal load. In particular, when using the smallest diameter laser spot, it is proposed that the resulting high irradiance caused film or adhesive material damage; thus, resulting in reduced peel resistance force. The experimental work conducted indicated that the processing window of an incident CO 2 laser spot increases with respect to spot diameter, simultaneously yielding greater bond stability in the face of short-term laser variance

Entrepreneurial capital, social values and Islamic traditions: exploring the growth of women-owned enterprises in Pakistan

Main ArticleThis study seeks to explore the variables contributing to the growth of women-owned enterprises in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Based on a previously established multivariate model, it uses two econometric approaches: first classifying variables into predetermined blocks; and second, using the general to specific approach. Statistical analyses and in-depth interviews confirm that women entrepreneurs’ personal resources and social capital have a significant role in their business growth. Further, it reveals that the moral support of immediate family, independent mobility and being allowed to meet with men play a decisive role in the sales and employment growth of women-owned enterprises in an Islamic country such as Pakistan

The Performance of Private Equity Funds: Does Diversification Matter?

This paper is the first systematic analysis of the impact of diversification on the performance of private equity funds. A unique data set allows the exact evaluation of diversification across the dimensions financing stages, industries, and countries. Very different levels of diversification can be observed across sample funds. While some funds are highly specialized others are highly diversified. The empirical results show that the rate of return of private equity funds declines with diversification across financing stages, but increases with diversification across industries. Accordingly, the fraction of portfolio companies which have a negative return or return nothing at all, increase with diversification across financing stages. Diversification across countries has no systematic effect on the performance of private equity funds

Constructing female entrepreneurship policy in the UK : is the US a relevant benchmark?

Successive UK governments have introduced a range of policy initiatives designed to encourage more women to start new firms. Underpinning these policies has been an explicit ambition for the UK to achieve similar participation rates as those in the US where it is widely reported that women own nearly half the stock of businesses. The data underlying these objectives are critically evaluated and it is argued that the definitions and measures of female enterprise used in the UK and the US restrict meaningful comparisons between the two. It is suggested that the expansion of female entrepreneurship in the US is historically and culturally specific to that country. UK policy goals should reflect the national socioeconomic context, while drawing upon good practice examples from a range of other countries. The paper concludes by discussing the economic and social viability of encouraging more women in the UK to enter self-employment without fully recognising the intensely competitive sectors in which they are often located

Genetic and Phenotypic Stability of Measures of Neuroticism Over 22 Years

Abstract People meeting diagnostic criteria for anxiety or depressive disorders tend to score high on the personality scale of neuroticism. Studying this dimension of personality can therefore give insights into the etiology of important psychiatric disorders. Neuroticism can be assessed easily via self-report questionnaires in large population samples. We have examined the genetic and phenotypic stability of neuroticism, measured up to 4 times over 22 years, on different scales, on a data set of 4999 families with over 20,000 individuals completing at least 1 neuroticism questionnaire. The neuroticism scales used were the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire revised (EPQ-R), the EPQ-R shortened form, and the NEO 5 factor inventory personality questionnaire. The estimates of heritability of the individual measures ranged from .26 ± .04 to .36 ± .03. Genetic, environmental, and phenotypic correlations averaged .91, .42, and .57 respectively. Despite the range in heritabilities, a more parsimonious ‘repeatability model’ of equal additive genetic variances and genetic correlations of unity could not be rejected. Use of multiple measures increases the effective heritability from .33 for a single measure to .43 for mean score because of the reduction in the estimate of the environmental variance, and this will increase power in genetic linkage or association studies of neuroticism

A terminal assessment of stages theory : introducing a dynamic states approach to entrepreneurship

Stages of Growth models were the most frequent theoretical approach to understanding entrepreneurial business growth from 1962 to 2006; they built on the growth imperative and developmental models of that time. An analysis of the universe of such models (N=104) published in the management literature shows no consensus on basic constructs of the approach, nor is there any empirical confirmations of stages theory. However, by changing two propositions of the stages models, a new dynamic states approach is derived. The dynamic states approach has far greater explanatory power than its precursor, and is compatible with leading edge research in entrepreneurship