Optical Coherence Tomography for the non-invasive investigation of the microstructure of ancient Egyptian faience

Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) is a non-invasive subsurface 3D imaging technique based on the Michelson interferometer. The non-invasive nature of OCT and its speed of acquisition makes it possible to image large volumes of intact objects to yield a complete overview of the microstructure. The production methods for ancient Egyptian faience were first investigated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) imaging of the microstructure in polished sections and microprobe analysis of the composition of the glass phases. These studies were based on original Egyptian faience objects and laboratory reproductions of faience beads made using three different production methods. The microstructure of the same laboratory samples and the Egyptian faience objects from the British Museum Research Laboratory Collection are re-examined using OCT. It is found that OCT virtual cross-section images can be used to group ancient faience objects into three categories on the basis of the morphology of the surface glaze layer and the glaze/core interaction layer. The OCT images correspond well with SEM images of polished sections of ancient faience objects and laboratory reproductions. The virtual cross-sections produced by OCT are somewhat limited by the penetration depth, which is affected by the high absorption coefficient of the material and, therefore, cannot always provide information on the presence or absence of interparticle glass that binds together the quartz particles in the core. Nevertheless, the top two layers are well imaged and since OCT images can be obtained rapidly and without the necessity of removing a sample, the method can be applied to a very much wider range of ancient faience objects than is possible by SEM examination of polished cross-sections. In summary, this paper examines to what extent OCT can assist the investigation of the production techniques of ancient Egyptian faience.     

Filming Fairies: Popular Film,Audience Response and Meaning in Contemporary Fairy Lore

This study examines the idea of fairy lore (faery) as a modern concept with personal and humanistic overtones transmitted through mass media phenomena such as films. Analysis of the relationship between folk and popular culture has become increasingly sophisticated and has widened our appreciation of the ways in which mass-culture audiences use tradition to shape popular culture. Fantasy films draw on recognised traditional elements, but the significance of these elements has been mediated through nineteenth-century interpretations of fairy lore. Contemporary audiences are more likely to be exposed to such legends and beliefs in the context of mass media than by any other means, and visualisation of fairies in fantasy films is closely linked to these modern interpretations of traditional material. For cinema audiences, the idea of faery is no longer a traditional and immediate response to experience, it already carries overtones of nostalgia for the past, childhood innocence, utopian societies or sexual discovery. However, personal response and exegesis of this material, reinforced by repeated viewing, access to Internet sites and related activities such as role-play and merchandising, means that the interactions of these virtual communities can transmute and insert themselves into daily life through a shared appreciation of fantasy worlds. The ways in which these consumers of mass culture resemble or differ from a folk audience presents an interesting arena for understanding folklore as a living contemporary phenomenon.     

On the Classification of Proverbs and Sayings of the Isle of Man

PALE HECATE'S TEAM. By K. M. BRIGGS. London, Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1962. Pp. 291 + 8 plates. 40s. net. Reviewed by H. A. Beecham.

THE DARK WORLD OF WITCHES. By ERIC MAPLE. London, Robert Hale Ltd., 1962. Pp. 192 + 21 plates. 21s. net. Reviewed by H. A. Beecham.

ATLAS DER DEUTSCHEN VOLKSKUNDE. Neue Folge: 4th issue, part 1. Edited by M. ZENDER. Marburg, G. Elwert, 1966. Maps NF 37–48. Explanations Pp. 233, with 28 text ills. Reviewed by Ellen Ettlinger.

FOLKTALES OF HUNGARY. Edited by LINDA DÉGH. Translated by JUDIT HÁLÁSZ. Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1965. Pp. xlvi, 381.35s. Reviewed by Jacqueline Simpson.

DAREDEVILS OF SASSOUN. By LEON SURMELIAN. George Allen and Unwin, 1966. Pp. 251. 30s. net. Reviewed by E. O. James.

JEFET SCHWILI ERZHÄLT. Hundertneunundsechzig jemenitische Volkscrzählungen aufgezeichnet in Israel 1957–1960. Edited by DOV NOY. Berlin, Walter de Gruyter, 1963. Supplement-Serie zu Fabula, Reihe A, Band 4. Pp. xii + 376. DM 58. — Reviewed by W. F. H. Nicolaisen.     

“Participation”, White Privilege and Environmental Justice: Understanding Environmentalism Among Hispanics in Toronto

Abstract: The environmental justice movement has highlighted not only the unequal distribution of environmental hazards across lines of race and class, but also the white, middle‐class nature of some environmentalisms, and broader patterns of marginalization underlying people's opportunities to participate or not. There is a significant body of work discussing Hispanic environmental justice activism in the US, but not in Canada. This paper draws on interviews with representatives of organizations working on environmental initiatives within the Hispanic population of Toronto, Canada to explore definitions of and approaches to environmentalism(s) and community engagement. Four interrelated “mechanisms of exclusion” are identified in this case study—economic marginalization; (in)accessibility of typical avenues of participation; narrow definitions of “environmentalism” among environmental organizations; and the perceived whiteness of the environmental movement. Taken together, these mechanisms were perceived as limiting factors to environmental activism in Toronto's Hispanic population. We conclude that the unique context of Toronto's Hispanic community, including contested definitions of “community” itself, presents both challenges and opportunities for a more inclusive environmentalism, and argue for the value of “recognition” and “environmental racialization” frameworks in understanding environmental injustice in Canada.     

The Myth of Reserpine-Induced Depression: Role in the Historical Development of the Monoamine Hypothesis

For five decades it has been generally accepted that reserpine, an antihypertensive and antipsychotic drug, causes depression. The discovery that reserpine depletes brain monoamines was an important factor in the development of the monoamine hypothesis of depression, and it continues to be widely cited in support of this hypothesis. The present paper argues that, contrary to prevailing belief, reserpine is not depressogenic. The reason for perpetuation of this myth is reluctance to discard the monoamine hypothesis. This hypothesis ushered the modern biochemical paradigm into psychiatry and is still of great importance. It serves as a heuristic to guide research, it enhances psychiatry’s prestige, and it helps to validate and promote drug therapy for depression and other mental disorders.     

The culture of reconstruction,European literature,thought and film, 1945–1950

John Trenchard's and Thomas Gordon's ‘Cato’ has generally been seen by historians as the embodiment of neo-Harringtonianism and the polar opposite of Bernard Mandeville's thought. This paper addresses that misreading and places Trenchard and Gordon within a tradition of liberal republican political thought, rather than a civic humanist or neo-roman tradition. It examines the relationship between the political, philosophical and religious beliefs of Trenchard and Gordon and those of Mandeville, arguing that they shared a common framework with respect to the problems of politics.