Trivia (should have been 2 May)

The Antikythera Wreck
via A Don’s Life by Mary Beard

One of my favourite “assemblages” (as archaeologists say) of ancient material from the Greco-Roman world is the stuff from the “Antikythera Wreck”, a cargo boat that went down between Crete and the southern tip of the Peloponnese probably in the 60s BC (dated by coins), on its way with a load of prestige (and some not so prestige) goods for the Roman market, trade not loot almost certainly.
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Computational Anthropology Reveals How the Most Important People in History Vary by Culture
via MIT Technology Review by Julia Greer

Data mining Wikipedia people reveals some surprising differences in the way eastern and western cultures identify important figures in history, say computational anthropologists.
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“They” say that you learn something new every day but this item taught me two things, the cultural differences that are the subject of the item and that there exists such a profession as a computational anthropologist (another one to add to the occupations thesaurus).

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The Healthiest Typeface
via Stephen's Lighthouse: Cari Romm in The Atlantic

In a New York Times column in July 2012, the filmmaker Errol Morris took a few paragraphs to ponder the likelihood of death by asteroid.
“NASA issued reassuring public statements [after an asteroid flew close to Earth in 2011], but I’m not so sure,” he wrote. “It’s about the size of an aircraft carrier. Okay. That seems pretty big to me. Do you mean I shouldn’t worry about being hit by a meteor the size of an aircraft carrier?”
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Astronomers Investigate “Stillborn” Galaxies 300 Million Light-years Away

via Big Think by Robert Montenegro

It never ceases to amaze me the wonders astronomers are able to observe and calculate. For instance, this story at Space.com reports on a team of astronomers in New Mexico that has determined that a group of 48 galaxies located within the Coma Cluster are so saturated with dark matter that they may be what one expert describes as “stillborn” galaxies.
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How Our Brains Respond When We Read Harry Potter
via Big Think by Natalie Shoemaker

How do our brains resolve the supernatural descriptions we read in fantasy literature compared to more mundane descriptions? It's a loaded question, but Tom Jacobs from Pacific Standard has the scoop. He recently wrote on a new study that has found portions of our minds associated with emotion processing are quite tickled by the fantastic and supernatural – more specifically, when we read Harry Potter.
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Infinite variety: Archiving the Arts
via National Archives by Melinda Haunton
What links a springboard , a sonnet, a commode, a peacock, many hairpins and a sad lack of teleportation facilities? Read on to find out:

Way back in December 2012, when the world was young, I was pleased to introduce on this blog a new arts archives initiative, supported by The National Archives and Arts Council England. We called it Archiving the Arts. Since then, we’ve checked in with the project a couple of times – hearing about its development last spring and about one workshop held here at Kew to engage artists with the archive.
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Calligrapher of the Rings
via Boing Boing by David Pescovitz

New Zealand-based artist Daniel Reeves created the calligraphy and cartography seen in The Lord of the Rings trilogy along with several other big fantasy films, and merchandise associated with the movies.
You can purchase his work, including fonts, prints, and commissions via his site: DanielReeve.co.nz (via Laughing Squid)
Beautiful

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England’s immigrants 1330-1550
via National Archives by Dr Jessica Lutkin and Dr Laura Tompkins
This month [February 2015]sees the launch of England’s Immigrants 1330-1550, a major new research database by the University of York, in partnership with the Humanities Research Institute (University of Sheffield) and The National Archives.
The vibrant nature of the population of the British Isles owes a great deal to the steady flow of immigrants over the past two millennia. Invasions by the Romans and Normans, sanctuary sought by the Protestant Huguenots, or the need for a workforce encouraging West Indians to immigrate all have had a part to play in making Britain the nation it is today.
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The one fact that stuck with me from reading this is that non-English people were referred to as aliens in the official documentation. And at this time that included the Scots and Irish.

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A master of miniatures’ incredible small town
via Boing Boing by David Pescovitz

Michael Paul Smith's Elgin Park is a town that does not exist except in the mind and miniatures of this master of tabletop photography. It is “a 1/24th-scale recreation of everyday scenes from mid-20th century America, ranging from the 1920s to the mid-1960s”.
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Add nature, art and religion to life’s best anti-inflammatories

via 3 Quarks Daily from Science Daily

Taking in such spine-tingling wonders as the Grand Canyon, Sistine Chapel ceiling or Schubert's “Ave Maria” may give a boost to the body’s defence system, according to new research from UC Berkeley. Researchers have linked positive emotions – especially the awe we feel when touched by the beauty of nature, art and spirituality – with lower levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines, which are proteins that signal the immune system to work harder. “Our findings demonstrate that positive emotions are associated with the markers of good health,” said Jennifer Stellar, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Toronto and lead author of the study, which she conducted while at UC Berkeley.
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Understanding Gamification

John Kirriemuir reviews the ALA Tech Report Understanding Gamification by Bohyun Kim, and finds a high quality introduction to the subject.

If this is an area which interests you then do, please, go to Ariadne and read the review for yourself.

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My Name Is Sue. How Do You Do! (Names and Identity)

an article by Irina Perianova (University of National and World Economy, Sofia, Bulgaria) published in Issues in Social Sciences Volume 3 Number 1 (2015)

Abstract

The paper aims to give an overview of the functions of proper names as a complex multi-dimensional phenomenon. While implying certain conceptual characteristics proper names reflect the way people see themselves, or what others might infer about them, and thus shapе their attitude.

As part of the cultural discourse they serve as determinants of social identity. An important feature of personal names is their potential to be used metaphorically – as characterizers and signifiers. Naming conventions depend on culture, generation, status and existing linguistic forms. Avoiding a name as a form of address is culture-based, or expresses attitude and affect. Furthermore, names are an instrument of control, submission and otherisaton.

They are also a marker of memory and trust as well as a signifier of status. The disparity of addressing when, for example, one of the speakers uses the first name and the other one the surname, always implies some kind of inequality.

The drift of the current changes in naming/addressing in the West is egalitarian and characterized by greater informality and reciprocity.

Full Text: PDF

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Exploring the growing link of ethnic entrepreneurship, markets, and Pentecostalism in London (UK): An empirical study

an article by Ayantunji Gbadamosi (University of East London, UK) published in Society and Business Review Volume 10 Issue 2 (2015)

Abstract

Purpose
This paper aims to unravel how membership of Pentecostal fellowships aids the entrepreneurial activities of African-Caribbean (AC) members. While many issues about the entrepreneurial engagements of AC people have been discussed in the literature, there are far less studies documented about the link of these activities to faith, especially in the context of Pentecostalism.

Design/methodology/approach
Adopting the interpretive research paradigm, a total of 25 tape-recorded, semi-structured, in-depth interviews were conducted with AC entrepreneurs who are members of Pentecostal faith-based organisations in London, and pastors in this same sphere. Sixteen of the respondents are entrepreneurs running and managing their businesses, seven are pastors and the remaining two fall in both categories, as they are both entrepreneurs and still serving as pastors in churches in London. Rather than merely serving as gatekeepers for information, the pastors are active participants/respondents in the study.

Findings
The paper highlights the challenges confronting the AC ethnic entrepreneurs, but also suggests that those in the Pentecostal faith are motivated and emboldened by the shared values in this religion to navigate the volatile marketing environment. It unveils participants’ faith in God as their key business survival strategy. It also shows the unwavering confidence of the respondents that this religious stance results in outstanding business successes like increase in sales and profits, competitive edge, divine creativity and innovation, opportunity recognition, networks, institutional support and other factors that underpin entrepreneurship.

Originality/value
This study unpacks the thickly blurred link between Pentecostalism as a thriving religious orientation among the AC ethnic group in the UK and their entrepreneurial engagements.

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Gender, work orientations and job satisfaction

an article by Min Zou (Bain & Company, London, UK) published in Work Employment & Society Volume 29 Number 1 (February 2015)

Abstract

This article studies the gender gap in job satisfaction and argues that the observed gender difference is a consequence of the heterogeneity in work orientations between men and women. Using data from the 2006 Skills Survey, the analysis yields three major findings.

The first shows that women, either in full-time or part-time employment, report significantly higher levels of job satisfaction than men.

Secondly, work orientations are closely associated with one’s job satisfaction and their relationships vary significantly across men, women full-time and part-time workers.

Finally and most importantly, the observed gender satisfaction differential is eliminated once work orientations are taken into consideration.

A cross-cultural analysis of factors influencing choice in volunteering activities

an article by Evan H. Offstein and Rebecca M. Chory (Frostburg State University, Maryland, USA) and J. Stephen Childers Jr (Radford University, Virginia, USA) published in Competitiveness Review Volume 25 Issue 1 (2015)

Abstract

Purpose
This study aims to offer insights into the contextual and situational variables that influence volunteering choices.

Design/methodology/approach
An analysis of European and US business students’ volunteering experiences is performed. Cross-cultural and experiential outcomes are compared and contrasted at both the undergraduate and graduate levels.

Findings
A majority of volunteering decisions are made without thoughtful reflection, based on convenience in an effort to reduce personal hardship, and influenced heavily by institutional and organizational structures.

Originality/value
These results call into question the notion that volunteering-related choices are deeply personal, purposeful and/or reflective decisions. Moreover, the findings begin to explain why volunteerism continues to be dogged by labels such as “ineffective”, “inefficient” or “lacking in value” when benchmarked against expectations.

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A fiscal job? An analysis of fiscal policy and the labor market

an article by Elva Bova, Christina Kolerus and Sampawende J.A. Tapsoba (International Monetary Fund, Washington DC) published in IZA Journal of Labor Policy Volume 4 Issue 1 (2015)

Abstract

This paper examines the role of fiscal policies in the dynamics of the labor market. Through the lenses of Okun’s Law, we assess how fiscal policy instruments as well as fiscal consolidation and expansion episodes affect labor market outcomes.

Using a panel of 34 OECD countries over the period 1985-2013, we find that fiscal consolidation has a sizeable, positive and robust impact on the Okun’s coefficient. This effect is particularly strong for expenditure-based consolidations, suggesting that a reduction in the size of the government increases the responsiveness of employment to output and is not altered by an expansionary or recessionary position in the business cycle.

Interestingly, we find no impact of fiscal expansion on the Okun’s coefficient nor for specific fiscal instruments.

JEL codes: E24, E32, E62

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