Approaching mythology in the history curriculum of compulsory education in Greece

Myth can be a first step in historicizing the past and at the same time in appreciating ancient cultures and developing the essential skill of empathy. A main objective of the history curriculum for the third grade of primary school in Greece is for children at 8 and 9 years old to familiarize themselves with the basic cultural elements of the origins of Greek, European and global civilization. Ancient Greek myths are taught using references and links to the myths of other peoples and cultures, and by identifying similarities and differences in the interpretation of the world within the framework of a multi-perspective, intercultural approach. Myths also depict the relationship between man and nature. They constitute man’s attempt to interpret the physical and social environment. In addition, myths present the relationship between man and the divine in the early stages of cultural evolution, and at the same time provide evidence of the culture of a historical period. Pupils become aware of the fact that myths used to have a symbolic and ritualistic function, which aimed to initiate younger members into the acceptable practices and values of their community. Myths provided meaningful models of action (exempla) through their allegorical nature. Moreover, myths facilitate the analysis of human behaviour by introducing the schema of cause and effect. Mythical thought seeks to understand causality, which is also the primary aim of science. In this sense, mythical discourse is connected to scientific discourse. Within the framework of a methodological approach based on these theoretical assumptions, this paper also includes a presentation of educational activities and pupils’ perceptions as part of a survey conducted in a third-grade primary school class in Greece

Study of Two-Step Mechanisms in Pion Absorption on 6Li, 12C via Deuteron Emission

The (pi+,pd), and (pi+,dd) reactions were investigated with pions of 100 and 165 MeV kinetic energy on 6Li and 12C targets. In comparison with previously published (pi+,pp) data on the same targets and at the same beam energies, kinematic regions were identified in which the neutron pickup process n+p->d dominated the observed deuteron yield. The importance of this mechanism increases with energy, contributing half of the observed cross section at 165 MeV. The contribution of direct quasi-triton absorption is significant only at 100 MeV.Comment: 23 pages, 12 figure

ρ\rho - nucleus bound states in Walecka model

Possible formation of $\rho$ nucleus bound state is studied in the framework of Walecka model. The bound states are found in different nuclei ranging from $^3He$ to $^{208}Pb$. These bound states may have a direct bearing on the recent experiments on the photoproduction of $\rho$ meson in the nuclear medium.Comment: RevTeX fil

Subthreshold rho^0 photoproduction on 3He

A large reduction of the rho^0 mass in the nuclear medium is reported, inferred from dipion photoproduction spectra in the 1 GeV region, for the reaction 3He(gamma,pi+ pi-)X with a 10% duty factor tagged-photon beam and the TAGX multi-particle spectrometer. The energy range covered (800 < E(gamma) < 1120 MeV) lies mostly below the free rho^0 production threshold, a region which is believed sensitive to modifications of light vector-meson properties at nuclear-matter densities. The rho^0 masses extracted from the MC fitting of the data, m*(rho^0) = 642 +/- 40, 669 +/- 32, and 682 +/- 56 MeV/c^2 for E(gamma) in the 800-880, 880-960, and 960-1040 MeV regions respectively, are independently corroborated by a measured, assumption-free, kinematical observable. This mass shift, far exceeding current mean-field driven theoretical predictions, may be suggestive of rho^0 decay within the range of the nucleonic field.Comment: 40 pages, 13 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.

Measurement of Inverse Pion Photoproduction at Energies Spanning the N(1440) Resonance

Differential cross sections for the process pi^- p -> gamma n have been measured at Brookhaven National Laboratory's Alternating Gradient Synchrotron with the Crystal Ball multiphoton spectrometer. Measurements were made at 18 pion momenta from 238 to 748 MeV/c, corresponding to E_gamma for the inverse reaction from 285 to 769 MeV. The data have been used to evaluate the gamma n multipoles in the vicinity of the N(1440) resonance. We compare our data and multipoles to previous determinations. A new three-parameter SAID fit yields 36 +/- 7 (GeV)^-1/2 X 10^-3 for the A^n_1/2 amplitude of the P_11.Comment: 14 pages, 8 figures, submitted to PR

Positive pion absorption on 3He using modern trinucleon wave functions

We study pion absorption on 3He employing trinucleon wave functions calculated from modern realistic NN interactions (Paris, CD Bonn). Even though the use of the new wave functions leads to a significant improvement over older calculations with regard to both cross section and polarization data, there are hints that polarization data with quasifree kinematics cannot be described by just two-nucleon absorption mechanisms.Comment: 14 pages, 6 figure