CYLINDER SEALS IN THE COLLECTIONS OF IZIKO MUSEUMS OF SOUTH AFRICA IN CAPE TOWN AND THE DEPARTMENT OF ANCIENT STUDIES OF STELLENBOSCH UNIVERSITY

This paper studies the cylinder seals in the collections of IzikoMuseums of South Africa in Cape Town and the Department ofAncient Studies of Stellenbosch University. The individual seals aredescribed and there is an iconographic analysis of the scenes andmotifs depicted on each seal, with comparisons to other artefacts.These seals date from the Early Dynastic period until the Persianperiod (ca. 3100-332 BC) and represent motifs such as deities,mythological beings and the ‘master of animals’, and scenes such asthe contest scene and presentation scene

Anomalous Fisher-like zeros for the canonical partition function of noninteracting fermions

Noninteracting fermions, placed in a system with a continuous density of states, may have zeros in the $N$-fermion canonical partition function on the positive real $\beta$ axis (or very close to it), even for a small number of particles. This results in a singular free energy, and instability in other thermal properties of the system. In the context of trapped fermions in a harmonic oscillator, these zeros are shown to be unphysical. By contrast, similar bosonic calculations with continuous density of states yield sensible results.Noninteracting fermions, placed in a system with a continuous density of states yield sensible results.Comment: 5 pages and 5 figure

Determination of the relative concentrations of rare earth ions by x-ray absorption spectroscopy: Application to terbium mixed oxides

A method, based on X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) in the range 0.8–1.5 keV, to determine the relative amounts of rare earth ions in different valencies is explained and tested for the case of terbium mixed oxides. The results are in agreement with those obtained by existing analytical methods. The XAS method is advantageous in that it can be applied where other, conventional, methods break down

Atomic quasi-Bragg diffraction in a magnetic field

We report on a new technique to split an atomic beam coherently with an easily adjustable splitting angle. In our experiment metastable helium atoms in the |{1s2s}^3S_1 M=1> state diffract from a polarization gradient light field formed by counterpropagating \sigma^+ and \sigma^- polarized laser beams in the presence of a homogeneous magnetic field. In the near-adiabatic regime, energy conservation allows the resonant exchange between magnetic energy and kinetic energy. As a consequence, symmetric diffraction of |M=0> or |M=-1> atoms in a single order is achieved, where the order can be chosen freely by tuning the magnetic field. We present experimental results up to 6th order diffraction (24 \hbar k momentum splitting, i.e., 2.21 m/s in transverse velocity) and present a simple theoretical model that stresses the similarity with conventional Bragg scattering. The resulting device constitutes a flexible, adjustable, large-angle, three-way coherent atomic beam splitter with many potential applications in atom optics and atom interferometry.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure

The social cognition of medical knowledge, with special reference to childhood epilepsy

This paper arose out of an engagement in medical communication courses at a Gulf university. It deploys a theoretical framework derived from a (critical) sociocognitive approach to discourse analysis in order to investigate three aspects of medical discourse relating to childhood epilepsy: the cognitive processes that are entailed in relating different types of medical knowledge to their communicative context; the types of medical knowledge that are constituted in the three different text types analysed; and the relationship between these different types of medical knowledge and the discursive features of each text type. The paper argues that there is a cognitive dimension to the human experience of understanding and talking about one specialized from of medical knowledge. It recommends that texts be studied in medical communication courses not just in terms of their discrete formal features but also critically, in terms of the knowledge which they produce, transmit and reproduce

Travelling as a Risky Business

Travelling is risky business as confirmed by empirical research that differs from country to country. The crime level is determined by the complexity of the economic, social, and cultural factors. In developing countries, property crime is stimulated by poverty. In more prosperous countries, opportunities lead to a higher level of crime rate. There is a need to have detailed sound criminological information in a standardized format

Britain, Bulgaria and benefits:the political rhetoric of European (dis)integration

This chapter considers the political controversy in Britain over the lifting of restrictions of freedom of movement on European Union (EU) citizens from Bulgaria and Romania in January 2014. The response of the then Conservative-Liberal Democrat Coalition Government centred on altering the rules on the payment of welfare benefits to potential new EU immigrants such that they would not be entitled to claim these benefits for 3 months after entry to the United Kingdom. This policy led to a split in the coalition, with the Liberal Democrat leadership claiming that it was a panicked move by the majority Conservative coalition partner, and moreover that it was a blatant attempt to appeal the electorate in an effort to be seen to be doing something to stop the welfare benefit system from being abused by ‘foreigners’. The backdrop to this political fracas centred on the economic contribution of East European immigrants to Britain and the claim and counterclaim over the issues jobs, welfare benefits and services such as English language support in schools. These contentious issues are examined in terms of an analysis of online comments to posted in reaction to a political interview with Vince Cable, the Liberal Democrat business secretary, who claimed that the Conservatives were attempting to placate public disquiet over immigration as a response to the rising popularity of the United Kingdom Independence Party