The politics of weddings at Athens: an iconographic assessment

Despite recent scholarship that has suggested that most if not all Athenian vases were created primarily for the symposium, vases associated with weddings constitute a distinct range of Athenian products that were used at Athens in the period of the Peloponnesian War and its immediate aftermath (430-390 BCE). Just as the subject matter of sympotic vases suggested stories or other messages to the hetaireia among whom they were used, so the wedding vases may have conveyed messages to audiences at weddings. This paper is an assessment of these wedding vases with particular attention to function: how the images reflect the use of vases in wedding rituals (as containers and/or gifts); how the images themselves were understood and interpreted in the context of weddings; and the post-nuptial uses to which the vases were put. The first part is an iconographic overview of how the Athenian painters depicted weddings, with an emphasis on the display of pottery to onlookers and guests during the public parts of weddings, important events in the life of the polis. The second part focuses on a large group of late fifth century vases that depict personifications of civic virtues, normally in the retinue of Aphrodite (Pandemos). The images would reinforce social expectations, as they advertised the virtues that would create a happy marriage—Peitho, Harmonia (Harmony), and Eukleia (Good Repute)—and promise the benefits that might result from adherence to these values—Eudaimonia and Eutychia (Prosperity), Hygieia (Health), and Paidia (Play or Childrearing). Civic personifications could be interpreted on the private level—as personal virtues—and on the public level—as civic virtues— especially when they appeared on vases that functioned both in public and private, at weddings, which were public acknowledgments of private changes in the lives of individuals within the demos

Equine assisted therapy: supporting treatment in Alaska

Master's Project (M.Ed.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2017The State of Alaska demonstrates exceedingly high rates of interpersonal violence, child neglect, depression, and drug related arrests when compared with national rates. Substance use disorder is often linked with instances of interpersonal violence, child neglect, depression and judicial consequences. An equine assisted therapy program could provide support for the treatment of substance use disorders in Alaska. This project asks one basic question, "What benefits could an equine assisted therapy program provide for individuals in a level II, Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP) in interior Alaska?" Currently, no residential or level II treatment programs for substance use disorder in Alaska offer equine assisted therapy. Examples of successful equine assisted therapy programs in the contiguous United States are presented as models for an equine assisted therapy program in Alaska. Resiliency theory is introduced as a theoretical framework that balances goals and objectives of both level II substance use treatment and equine assisted therapy. Participants might experience benefits from an equine assisted therapy group related to immediate feedback, opportunities for learning, opportunities for trust-building, healthy relationships, learning new ways of dealing with trauma, relationships, confronting fears, and effectively working through new challenges

A COOPERATIVE EVOLUTION -SUNKIST COMPETES IN THE GLOBAL MARKET

Agribusiness,

Beyond supply and demand: addressing the complexities of workforce exclusion in Australia

Workforce exclusion is a complex and enduring problem in Australia, with some groups of job seekers more likely to be disadvantaged in the labour market than others. We identify a dominant unemployment narrative of ‘work first’ that surrounds unemployment interventions, and ignores the nature of disadvantage and its relationship to workforce exclusion, and reduces unemployment to a simple matter of labour market supply and demand. This approach privileges immediate economic productivity and exit from welfare payments over sustainable attachment to quality jobs. We examine fourteen programs for disadvantaged job seekers under one national provider network. Data was gathered from eleven semi-structured telephone interviews and eight evaluation reports and analysed using thematic analysis supported by NVivo. Our findings challenge the dominant narrative and argue that both ends of the supply and demand equation need to be examined, stressing the importance of a partnership-orientated and capacity building focus on the unemployed person, and the significance of quality employment with long term support. We identify the importance of acknowledging job seekers’ strengths, aspirations and preferences, and of job seekers having agency to determine their own pathways with support from service providers

Cortisol reactivity to psychosocial stress is greater in sexual risk takers

Several studies have reported an association between deviant behaviour and cortisol reactivity to stress. However relatively few studies have investigated the relationship between psychobiological stress reactivity and sexual risk taking behaviours. In the present study, cortisol reactivity to the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) was measured in 26 healthy young adults prior to the administration of a sexual health and behaviour questionnaire. The cortisol response to the TSST was greater in those individuals who reported that at least one of their previous two sexual partners was someone whom they had just met. Results are discussed in context of a model which suggests that early life stress dysregulates the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and increases the likelihood of later life risk taking behaviour. The findings have implications in terms of improving our understanding of psychobiological factors which predispose individuals to engage in adverse sexual health behaviours

Consistent left gaze bias in processing different facial cues

While viewing faces, humans often demonstrate a natural gaze bias towards the left visual field, that is, the right side of the viewee’s face is often inspected first and for longer periods. Previous studies have suggested that this gaze asymmetry is part of the gaze pattern associated with face exploration, but its relation with perceptual processing of facial cues is unclear. In this study we recorded participants’ saccadic eye movements while exploring face images under different task instructions (free-viewing, judging familiarity and judging facial expression). We observed a consistent left gaze bias in face viewing irrespective of task demands. The probability of the first fixation and the proportion of overall fixations directed at the left hemiface were indistinguishable across different task instructions or across different facial expressions. It seems that the left gaze bias is an automatic reflection of hemispheric lateralisation in face processing, and is not necessarily correlated with the perceptual processing of a specific type of facial information

Market Review of the Organic Dairy Sector in Wales, 2007

In the UK, in January 2006, the total area of organic and in-conversion land was 619,852 ha. This represents a decrease of 8% compared to January 2005. In Wales, in January 2006, the area of fully organic land increased to 5% of the total area of agricultural land. The number of organic producers and growers, including those in-conversion, increased from 618 in 2003 to 688 in 2006. Organic producers represent approximately 4% of all farmers in Wales. Welsh organic producers represent 16.6% of the UK total number of organic producers and growers. UK organic milk production increased from 17 million litres in 1997/8 to over 300 million litres in 2005/6. In Wales, in 2005, dairy and milk products represented 26% of the total gross product of Welsh Agriculture. In March 2007, according to data supplied to ADAS by certification bodies, there were 86 fully-organic dairy producers in Wales and 12 in conversion. This represents 4% of the total number of dairy producers in Wales. In 2005, an estimated 50 million litres of milk were produced on 108 organic farms with ca. 9,500 dairy cattle – the number of holdings is higher than the ADAS 2007 figure, but some may have been in suspended conversion due to the lack of a market, or have subsequently withdrawn from milk production. The 12 producers who started conversion in 2006 will supply an estimated additional 12 million litres/pa of organic milk when converted. There has been a marked increase in requests for OCIS advice from dairy farmers. These increased from 4 in 2004 to 71 in 2006. Key challenges facing organic dairy farmers in Wales include milk price, forage production and optimising milk from forage. The UK dairy sector holds the second-largest share of the organic market with an estimated £294m sales at retail level in 2005 and 22% of the overall organic market. The majority of organic milk enters the liquid market. Organic dairy consumers are primarily ABC1. They have diverse shopping habits, use a variety of retail outlets and want information to assist in purchasing decisions and to justify price premiums. There appears to be a positive correlation between increases in sales of organic milk and dairy products and the publicity given to research findings about the health benefits of organic milk. Sales of organic liquid milk in the UK grew from 73.8 million litres in 2004 to 158 million in 2006. Because of increased demand, the UK market moved from oversupply to seasonal undersupply. Projected growth in demand, if fulfilled, will create new opportunities for producers willing to convert. Key market drivers identified by stakeholders were publicity on the health benefits of organic milk, animal welfare concerns and increased interest from major retailers. Main constraints on the development of the organic dairy market were under-supply, lack of promotion, distribution issues, seasonality of production, increased feed costs and lack of processing facilities. The main strategies needed to develop the organic dairy market identified by stakeholders were co-operation, increased conversions, consumer education, a higher profile for organic food and long term supply chain agreements. The Welsh Organic Dairy sector has seen considerable product innovation since 2003. Recommendations 1. A joint effort by the whole organic dairy industry is required to plan ahead to ensure that the number of dairy farm conversions will not lead to a repetition of the oversupply problem experienced in the past. 2. Consideration should be given to setting up an Organic Dairy Sub-Group in Wales. 3. The numbers of farms converted and in-conversion needs to be accurately monitored. 4. Advice and technical knowledge on organic dairy farming needs to be made available through Organic Centre Wales. 5. The industry needs to look into ways of encouraging more organic cereal and alternative protein crops to be grown in order to prevent the shortage of organic feed. 6. Continued research is needed to address the issues identified in this report. 7. It is important that organic dairy farming research should be continued at Ty Gwyn, Trawscoed. 8. There is a need to continue to increase the public awareness of organic farming and agriculture as a whole. 9. Welsh branding of organic products should be developed. 10. The Welsh organic dairy industry should examine ways of increasing sales particularly through outlets other than the multiple retailers

Hit a Home Run for Special Olympics

Ole Miss baseball coach Mike Bianco to play in charity softball gam

Ole Miss Students Give Back During Summer Family Vacation

Brons siblings give back to the children of Turks and Caicos by volunteering in island school