On Rome’s Ecological Contribution to British Flora and Fauna: landscape, legacy and identity

This paper addresses the flora and fauna of Roman Britain via two long-lived and closely-related notions: the ‘Roman introduction’ and the ‘living legacy’. These concepts connect knowledge and beliefs about the introduction of new species during the Roman period with the idea of direct and enduring biological inheritance in post-Roman societies. The paper explores both the popular and academic prominence of the Romans as agents of ecological change with effects on landscape, identity and diet which are still discernible and resonant today. These notions demonstrate wide currency, from popular stories through to scientific research. Today, archaeobotany and zooarchaeology are the primary means of documenting the flora and fauna of Roman Britain. Yet the discipline of archaeology came late to this topic. This paper outlines the evolving sources of evidence used over the past 400 years to identify those species introduced during the Roman period. This includes consideration of the reception of classical texts, linguistic etymology and genetic analysis. An overarching narrative behind these concepts is the colonial theoretical framework of ‘Romanisation’, or the genealogical appropriation of the Romans as ‘our’ cultural and biological ancestors. Despite interest in the reception of Rome and its archaeological remains, scholars have been slow to recognise the centrality of flora and fauna for understanding historical and contemporary perceptions of the Roman past. This paper opens a new avenue of research by calling attention to the intellectual biography of the dominant interpretive frameworks which structure both scientific approaches to the collection and interpretation of data and popular attitudes towards landscape and identity

The Hinterlands of Rome: Settlement Diversity in the Early Imperial Landscape of Regio VII Etruria

Regional survey is revealing ever more diversity of rural settlement across Italy. This paper compares the early imperial period results from thirty surveys across the area of regio VII Etruria in order to identify similarities and differences. Three distinct sub-regional patterns are defined – the suburbium, coastal Etruria and inland Etruria. A range of interpretative models is discussed with particular reference to the role of the city of Rome on economic and social developments. Finally, some of the structural connections between these three regions are emphasized – particularly demography, transport and agricultural strategies

The Fabulous Tales of the Common People, Part 2: Encountering Hadrian’s Wall

In 2003, the Hadrian's Wall National Trail was opened, providing a 135 km (84 mile) public footpath along the length of the Roman frontier from Wallsend to Bowness-on-Solway. Each year, thousands of visitors walk the Trail from end-to-end and many more make day trips to visit specific locations within the wider World Heritage Site. In the second of two related papers (see Witcher, 2010), consideration turns from professional and popular visual representations of Hadrian's Wall to the ways in which visitors physically experience the monument and its landscape. The paper explores how embodied and sensory encounters produce and reproduce understandings which are charged with cultural and political meaning. Specifically, the elision of visitors and Roman soldiers through a process of embodied empathy/sympathy is outlined. It is argued that the way in which Western society assumes familiarity with an ancestral Roman Empire actively reduces the interrogative potential of encounters with the monument and limits visitors' ability to reflect on the significance of the Wall. The paper goes on to consider alternative modes of visual and physical engagement, drawing inspiration from virtual communities including geocachers who have used Information Technology such as Global Positioning Systems and Web 2.0 functionality to develop innovative modes of representation and encounter

Identity and Fashion: A Look at Jordanian Christian Women and How Their Identity is Portrayed Through Their Clothing

My research seeks to analyze the relationship between identity and fashion among Jordanian Christian women between the ages of 18-24. The goal of my project was to discover how Jordanian Christian women identify themselves, whether their clothes reflect their identity, and lastly find out what ways their clothes reflect their identity. In order to investigate my study, I observed various places throughout the city of Amman, the media and various churches; surveyed 20 women regardless of religion; held a focus group; and lastly, interviewed 5 Jordanian Christian women between 18-24, and 1 Jordanian Christian man of similar age. Through my research, I not only discovered the current fashion trends and phenomena within Amman, but I also I found that the clothing young Jordanian Christian women wear does not reflect their inner-identity as much as it is a reflection of how they fit within their society. Additionally, I found that while the clothing of the Christian women who participated in my study reflected the Arab society in which they lived, the women themselves claimed that they identified more with the West and its values, primarily because of its similar Christian heritage

Using Trees to Create Habitats Within a Botanic Garden

Botanic gardens bring plants from all over the world into one small place for people to admire and study. The challenge lies in creating a suitable habitat for specimens from widely disparate regions in the garden environment. Plants have specific environmental requirements which have to be considered for successful cultivation, but sometimes these are not naturally present and instead must be provided. This paper discusses the ecological utility of large trees in the context of the botanic garden for other plants to flourish

After the fall: coverage of Richard M. Nixon in Newsweek, Time, and U.S. News & World Report, 1974-1994

This study compared coverage.of Richard M. Nixon in Newsweek, Time, and U.S. News World Report from Nixon\u27s resignation from the presidency in August1974 until his funeral in April 1994. In a chi-square analysis of the direction of assertions about Richard Nixon in the three newsweeklies, it was discovered that there was a highly significant difference in the direction of coverage among Newsweek, Time, and US News & World Report. As a result, this analysis examined each of the newsweeklies\u27 coverage of Richard Nixon on an individual basis rather than collectively. In all three newsweeklies, assertions about the former president were, for the most part, neutral. Newsweek, Time, and U.S. News & World Report each had more than 80 percent of neutral assertions during the 20-year period under study. What these findings suggest is the presence of objectivity in all three newsweeklies. Newsweek and Time were similar to each other in that each had a slightly higher percentage of negative than positive assertions about Nixon. Conversely, U.S. News & World Report, though containing less than half the number of assertions overall than either NewsWeek or Time, had approximately four times the number of positive assertions than negative about President Nixon.There was an increase, in percent, in the positive assertions about Nixon in each of the newsweeklies over time from August 1974 until his funeral in 1994; however,the increase wasn\u27t a steady increase over the 20-year period under study. Nonetheless, Newsweek had only 3 percent of positive assertions about Richard Nixon in 1974 and 11 percent of positive assertions in 1994. Time had 6 percent of positive assertions about Nixon in 1974 and ended with 12 percent of positive assertions in 1994. Finally, U.S. News & World Report started with 1 percent of positive assertions in 1974 and had 15 percent of positive assertions about President Nixon in 1994