Ugarit

In 1928 a Syrian peasant farmer stumbled by chance onto a funerary vault of ancient provenance about half a mile from the Mediterranean coastline of Syria and about six miles north of the modern-day city of Latakia. This unforeseen discovery led to an archaeological excavation ofTell Ras Shamra (Cape Fennel) by the eminent French excavator Claude Schaeffer. What Schaeffer\u27s team unearthed was not merely an ancient tomb, but a city complete with palaces, private homes, temples, and streets paved with stone

A Northwest Semitic Curse Formula: The Sefire Treaty and Deuteronomy 28

While a great deal of scholarly investigation has focused on parallels between biblical curses and imprecations found in Neo-Assyrian Treaties, the curses in the Aramaic treaty of Sefire have garnered relatively less attention.¹ In recent years there has been renewed interest in the Sefire treaty, the role of Aramaic, and its use and influence during the Neo-Assyrian period.² Since the publication of the Succession Treaty of Esarhaddon (STE) by Donald John Wiseman in 1958 studies have abounded that examine its parallels with Deut 13 and 28.³ While some scholars posit a direct dependence of Deuteronomy on the cuneiform text of the STE, or some version of it, others are more skeptical of textual borrowing of cuneiform state treaty documents by the authors of national literature in ancient Israel.⁴ One of the major objections to the theory of direct literary dependence is the relative dearth of cuneiform unearthed in Judah from the Iron Age, especially given the intensive nature of excavation undertaken in the Southern Levant.⁵ New evidence from the Tell Tayinat excavation of yet another copy of the STE does showcase the widespread distribution and influence of this oath text even in the Western periphery of the Neo-Assyrian Empire.⁶ However, the paucity of physical evidence for the use of cuneiform in Judah and the question of competency in cuneiform by scribes in Judah remain unresolved issues

Making the Cut: Covenant, Curse and Oath in Deut 27-29 and the Incantation Plaques of Arslan Tash (Society of Biblical Literature: Atlanta, 2015)

The phrase “cutting a covenant” is familiar to us from texts of the Hebrew Bible. In Gen 15:18, for example, God makes a covenant with Abram that is accompanied by a ritual enactment. This ritual performance involves the slaughter of animals, arranging the pieces in two rows, and fire passing between the two rows of pieces. The phrase that is used in this passage is: כרת יהוה את–אברם ברית , or “God cut a covenant with Abram.” This phrase “to cut a covenant” לכרות ברית) ) is a common one in the Hebrew Bible. The slaughtering of animals and the performance of other ritual acts to ratify oaths and treaties was an ancient practice in the Near East. Oath and treaty texts from the second millennium BCE from Mari and the Hittite Empire include elements of ritual performance such as animal slaughter, the burning of figurines, and the breaking of model plows and chariots.1 Aramean and Assyrian treaty texts from the first millennium BCE also include elements of ritual slaughter and other performative rituals.2 Also the ratification of the covenant in Deut 27-28 includes the building of an altar, making sacrifices, erecting the torah stones at the altar site, and an oral performance of the covenant with its blessings and curses. So it is no surprise that covenant and performative rituals go together. But what about covenant and incantation texts? What does covenant have to do with magical artifacts

“You Shall Write on the Stones”: Deuteronomy 27 and the Inscribing of Ritual Curses (Society of Biblical Literature: San Diego, 2014)

In Deut 27 Moses commands the elders of Israel, once they have crossed the Jordan and arrived at Mount Ebal, to erect large stones and write on them את–כל–דברי התורה הזאת “all the words of this torah.” I would like to begin by asking the question “What was written on the stones?” In the narrative, what formed the content envisioned in such an inscription? This question is important for the discussion of how chapter 27 fits into the broader compositional schema of Deuteronomy

Deut 27 and Ancient Media: The Torah Stones and the Meaning of Covenant

The tablets of the covenant are one of the most enduring symbols of the Hebrew Bible. In Deuteronomy 27 the command is given to inscribe on stones “all the words of the this torah”: וכתבת על–האבנים את–כל–התורה הזאת . These stones are potent visual symbols in the Hebrew Bible, symbols of the enduring nature of the binding oath of the covenant made between God and the people. This paper will explore this connection between the ratification of covenant and the crafting of an iconic representation of the covenant on visual media. Special attention will be given to the command to inscribe the torah stones in Deut 27 and the command in Deut 6 following the Shema to write the commandments on physical objects such as doorposts, or mezuzot. This act of inscribing objects for display with the commandments was part of the ritual enactment of the covenant in Deut 27. And the main idea of this paper is that the crafting of iconic visual symbols played a significant role in the construction of the meaning of covenant in Deuteronomy especially

Are High Levels of Educator Bias Associated with the Disproportionate Discipline of Black Students?

Data on school discipline inequities have shown disproportionate numbers of Black students suspended and expelled compared to their non-Black counterparts. Despite the implementation of evidence-based solutions such as positive behavior supports and intervention, educator professional development, and restorative practices aimed at closing the racial discipline gap, little to no change has occurred. Critical Race Theory is used as a lens for viewing racial hierarchies as a socially constructed tool to oppress people of color. This oppression can be seen in various aspects of society and in education, especially in school discipline. It is fueled by biases, both implicit and explicit. This study aims to bring light to the impact of educator bias on the lack of positive change upon implementation of evidence-based strategies aimed to minimize school discipline inequities. The data for this quantitative study was collected through surveys designed to measure explicit and implicit bias of K-12 public school educators in a large urban school district in the Southeastern U.S. Regression analysis was used to determine if there is a relationship between high levels of educator bias and high levels of racial discipline disproportionalities. The discrepancies between total enrollment of Black students and discipline (i.e., multiple out-of-school suspension rates) of Black students was not found to correlate to individual factors such as educator race, gender, and total years employed at their current school. Post hoc analysis showed that the discrepancy could not be predicted by school-level factors such as surrounding neighborhood income levels. Findings could be limited by lower-than-expected participation rates but can be built upon with future research aimed at gathering data from a greater number of educators per school

Los vigías ambientales y la educación ambiental como estrategia para fortalecer la gestión integral de residuos sólidos en la ciudad de Pereira

La generación masiva de residuos sólidos se ha convertido en una de las problemáticas ambientales de mayor relevancia a nivel mundial. El fenómeno del consumismo desmesurado y el crecimiento demográfico ha llevado a una generación desmedida a la cual gran parte de la población es indiferente. En la Ciudad de Pereira – Colombia, existe un relleno sanitario llamado la Glorita, al cual se le está agotando la vida útil como consecuencia de la gran cantidad de desechos que recibe a diario, de los cuales puede decirse que gran parte son materiales aprovechables. La Empresa de Aseo de Pereira, en un intento por aumentar la vida útil del relleno, ha creado un programa llamado Vigías Ambientales, un grupo de personas dedicadas a transformar las malas costumbres de la ciudadanía, en lo referente al manejo de residuos sólidos por medio de la educación ambiental, trabajando desde diferentes líneas de acción y estrategias diseñadas para llegar a los diferentes grupos focales que pueden encontrarse en la ciudad de Pereira

South Los Angeles Park Observation Research

The health impact of elevated gang activity on the residents of South Los Angeles has been a pressing concern with limited research. Thus, this study aimed to understand the potential health repercussions within this context, specifically by examining how different patrolling systems influence community members\u27 physical activity in public parks. To increase security, the city of Los Angeles implemented police patrol programs in multiple high-risk parks. Concurrently, the Advocates for Urban Peace & Unity (APUU), a local community organization, introduced a novel approach of community-led park patrolling. Essentially, respected community members volunteer to patrol and maintain safety and order in the parks. Our study compared activity levels of community members within parks patrolled by police versus parks patrolled by community members. During the summer of 2023, we observed 17 parks in South Los Angeles – 8 patrolled by APUU community members and 9 patrolled by police. We collected and recorded data during each observation, then transferred and analyzed data by SPSS software. Preliminary findings suggest an anticipated higher physical activity rate in community-patrolled parks. The underlying hypothesis is that individuals will feel more comfortable and safe when surrounded by their own community members, and hence, encouraged to engage in physical exercise within these environments

'Ni de aqui, ni de alla': Investigating the impact of documentation on Chicanx youth subcultures

This dissertation investigates the effect that documentation has on the representation of underrepresented communities, with a focus on Chicanx youth subcultures. It also examines whether self-documentation is the best method for these groups to register their presence in the past and present and to keep a record for the future, as well as to tell their stories in their own ways. Chicanx youth played a critical, yet under-documented role in the initiation and advancement of the Chicanx Movement of the 1960s. Like their white counterparts, Chicanx youth played a defining role in the protest movements and radicalism that happened across the United States and the world in the '60s. However, unlike them, little documentation of their efforts and achievements exists in the historical record. The narrow focus on subcultures aims to highlight the diversity of other cultural identities that exist amongst Chicanx youth beyond the typical (and often negatively portrayed) subcultures normally ascribed to them. Using a mixed methods approach, the study employed two data collection techniques – interviews and a questionnaire – to gather both rich, detailed information from one-to-one conversations and perspectives from a broad pool of questionnaire respondents. The interviews focused on Chicanx who have participated in subcultures and GLAM sector workers who document or engage with the documentation of either Chicanx or punk subculture. The questionnaire targeted a wider group of archivists and librarians. The findings demonstrate the importance that documentation can have on empowering and creating visibility for Chicanx youth subcultures to have control over their own histories and develop a sense of belonging and collective memory. Furthermore, self-documentation through community archives or forms of participatory archiving was acknowledged to be critical in documenting groups who have been historically erased from the record

Measuring agri-food supply chain performance: insights from the Peruvian kiwicha industry

Purpose: Agri-food firms face many challenges when assessing and managing their performance. The purpose of this research is to determine important factors for an integrated agri-food supply chain performance measurement system. Design/methodology/approach: This research uses the Peruvian kiwicha supply chain as a meaningful context to examine critical factors affecting agri-food supply chain performance. The research uses interpretative structural modelling (ISM) with fuzzy MICMAC methods to suggest a hierarchical performance measurement model. Findings: The resulting kiwicha supply chain performance management model provides insights for managers and academic theory regarding managing competing priorities within the agri-food supply chain. Originality/value: The model developed in this research has been validated by cooperative kiwicha associations based in Puno, Peru, and further refined by experts. Moreover, the results obtained through ISM and fuzzy MICMAC methods could help decision-makers from any agri-food supply chain focus on achieving high operational performance by integrating key performance measurement factors