Ammianus Marcellinus and the historical geography of the Balkans

This paper examines the Roman historian Ammianus Marcellinus in thelight of historical geography, particularly its sub-categories of frontiers, populationmigrations, and human geography. The historian’s account of the Roman-Gothic War (AD 377-378), especially the fight for control of the Thraciantown of Beroe, reveals the contribution to historical understanding of the rolesof frontiers and population migrations. Similarly, a close reading of Ammianusand his description of the Goths and their society reveals an appreciation forthat dimension of historical geography today called human geography, or thestudy of peoples and their environments

Antes de “la limpieza de sangre”: elementos y metáforas en el debate de 1449-1450 sobre los conversos

This study pays careful attention to the ways in which Latin and Castilian terms for ’blood’ and ’flesh’ are employed in the converso debate centered on the anti-converso uprising at Toledo in 1449. It considers how those terms are used —or not used— to conceive of human relationship to one another and to Christ as well as how they convey moral and spiritual status in terms related to purity and impurity. This microscopic look at a particular moment in Castile will enrich telescopic studies that aim for synthesis across disciplinary, chronological, and geographic boundaries. In the more immediate term, this essay demonstrates that, although Iberian historiography has tended to frame the exclusion of conversos from religious and civic life in terms of blood criteria, purity of blood was not a central category in the converso debate of 1449-1450. Rather, the dominant concerns whose relationship to blood and flesh, purity and impurity, faith and heresy, class, king, and country was at stake were honor and lineage itself.Este estudio presta especial atención a las formas en que los términos latinos y castellanos para “sangre” y “carne” se emplean en el debate converso centrado en el levantamiento anticonverso en Toledo, en 1449. Considera cómo se usan o no esos términos para concebir la relación humana entre sí y con Cristo, además de cómo transmiten el estatus moral y espiritual en términos relacionados con la limpieza y la impureza. Esta mirada microscópica a un momento particular de Castilla enriquecerá los estudios telescópicos que apuntan a la síntesis a través de fronteras disciplinarias, cronológicas y geográficas. En el plazo más inmediato, este ensayo demuestra que, aunque la historiografía ibérica ha tendido a enmarcar la exclusión de los conversos de la vida religiosa y cívica en términos de criterios de sangre, la limpieza de sangre no fue una categoría central en el debate converso de 1449-1450. Más bien, las preocupaciones dominantes que estaban en juego eran el honor y el linaje mismo, pese a la relación de estos con la sangre y la carne, la limpieza y la impureza, la fe y la herejía, la clase, el rey y el país

Athenian friends, Macedonian Enemies

Who were the ancient Macedonians: Greek or a Greek-like peopleinhabiting the mountainous region to the north of Greece proper? Thisissue has been debated by scholars through the twentieth century and inthe early 1990s even figured in political discussions from Skopje toAthens and beyond. The problem is usually approached from a viewpoint of “otherness”, i.e., that Greeks and Macedonians were different.This paper suggests that the opposite viewpoint be considered, namelythat the differences between Greeks and Macedonians were small, thatonly degrees of “sameness” separated them. This paper proceeds from this initial rationale. It investigates the relationships and particularly the friendships cultivated and enjoyed by Athenians and Macedonians, hence the title “Athenian Friends, Macedonian Enemies”. Examination of these relationships suggests that the practice and observance of the Greek ritual of xenia —guest friendship—found in Homeric times continued into the relatively sophisticatedclassical era where it occasionally created misunderstandings of one kindor another for those bound by it. Yet these practices are part of Hellenic life and suggest another reason for arguing that the ancient Macedonians were Greek

Is social media the way to empower patients to share their experiences of dental care?

Background: Social media present opportunities to understand patient experience and information needs. In this study, the authors use hypodontia as an example to explore social media use by dental patients and how this provides for understanding patient experience. Methods: The cross-sectional survey design involved systematic search of 6 social media online environments with hypodontia-related terms. The authors categorized records by using a coding system for user, type and theme of post, and target audience. The authors used a thematic framework approach to analyze qualitatively the word content of posts from people affected by hypodontia (nondentists). Results: The authors searched and identified 571 records and included 467 of them in their study. The authors analyzed the content of records from people affected by hypodontia (n = 176). Themes emerged about the experience of untreated hypodontia, treatment experience and outcomes, and decision making. Content analysis provided evidence about peer-to-peer communication, areas of information need, and desire for peer support. Conclusions: Social media communities have responded to the need for information exchange and peer support by the public. Analysis of communications helped identify a need for dissemination of understandable information to patients and improved dentist awareness of patient needs. Practical Implications: Clinicians should reassess understanding and information needs actively throughout treatment and identify support needs. Clinicians should refer patients to quality information sources and peer support groups