Well-preserved echinoderm faunas are rare in the fossil record, and when uncovered, understanding their occurrence can be useful in interpreting other faunas. In this study, two such faunas of the same age from separate localities in the shallow-marine Ramey Creek Member of the Slade Formation in the Upper Mississippian (Chesterian) rocks of eastern Kentucky are examined. Of the more than 5,000 fossil specimens from both localities, only 9–34 percent were echinoderms from 3–5 classes. Nine non-echinoderm (8 invertebrate and one vertebrate) classes occurred at both localities, but of these, bryozoans, brachiopods and sponges dominated. To understand the attributes of both localities (Valley Stone and 213 quarries), the geologic and structural settings, lithofacies and depositional environments, as well as faunal makeup and abundances (diversity, evenness, density), were compared and contrasted. Faunas from the Valley Stone Quarry were located on an uplifted fault block in more shallow, open-marine waters with higher energies. As indicated by four distinct lithofacies, the depositional setting was more extensive and varied with interspersed shoals and basins that could accommodate a greater richness (65 species), even though organism densities and abundance were less. In contrast, fauna from the 213 Quarry were located on a downdropped fault block in a more localized, deeper, storm-shelf setting, characterized by a single lithofacies. Although organism density and abundance were nearly twice as high as that at the Valley Stone Quarry, species richness was lower (45 species), and only one species, a bryozoan, predominated. Overall, echinoderm classes, species and individuals were more abundant at the Valley Stone Quarry, and I suggest that this is related to the shallower and more varied depositional environments that developed in response to presence on the shallow, uplifted fault block. This suggests the importance of regional features like faults in controlling environments and organism distribution through time. Although the faunas were originally collected for their echinoderm-dominated “crinoid gardens,” in fact, echinoderms were in the minority, and bryozoans and brachiopods predominated in the communities. Hence, the communities might better be described as bryozoan “thickets” and brachiopod “pavements.”

Prehistoric life in the Colorado Desert endured a variety of environmental extremes. Episodic flooding and shifts in the course of the Colorado River resulted in the infilling of the Salton Basin and created a large freshwater lake known as Lake Cahuilla. Settlement along the different segments of the lakeshore is considered variable and may reflect accessibility to nearby viable resources. Remains from archaeological excavations at lakeshore sites show that lacustrine resources and fishing opportunities attracted prehistoric groups to the ancient lake. How prehistoric groups organized themselves and utilized lakeshore and nearby resources offer opportunities to explore the subsistence and mobility strategies of populations living in an oscillating environmental context. Using information generated from past Cultural Resource Management projects, the current study analyzes multiple data sets to address questions of a regional scale to more fully understand the effects of cyclical Lake Cahuilla on desert inhabitants. Analysis of existing collections and their associated documentation from late prehistoric habitation sites adjacent to the northwestern maximum shoreline as well as recessional shoreline sites some 30 miles to the south provide additional information on resource availability in a changing environment. It appears that in some circumstances the northwestern lakeshore inhabitants adapted to a changing environment and maintained occupation spanning multiple lake stands. During high stands, subsistence practices focused on lacustrine resources until no longer viable and habitation sites feature specialized subsistence technology reflecting fish procurement and processing. During lake recession, at least short-term habitation was sustained and corresponded to the exploitation of specific fish and waterfowl species. This study will help us better understand the strategies employed by groups who utilized the resources of this fluctuating lacustrine environment. Examination of resource use and mobility patterns practiced by prehistoric Lake Cahuilla inhabitants allows for interpretations of the adaptations necessary for life within this desert region. Ultimately, this research is applicable to broader anthropological queries on a regional scale. The Salton Basin is positioned within a geographical region that likely experienced influence and change from the surrounding environs. Gaining a deeper understanding of the study area will ultimately aid in future research concerning environmental adaptation, exchange relations, and culture change among the neighboring regions of the Mojave and Great Basin deserts, the agricultural Southwest, adjacent mountains and coast lines, and Baja California (Schaefer and Laylander 2007:381). Additionally, an understanding of how resource availability influenced past populations can contribute to ongoing and future studies concerned with resource management in the Colorado Desert and similar xeric environments.

Medicare Part B is one of the federal health insurance programs available to senior citizens in the United States. Unlike Medicare Part A, Part B enrollment is not automatic, and those missing their initial enrollment period are assessed a 10% or more penalty in addition to their monthly premium rate for the rest of their lives. This problematic enrollment policy has impacted senior citizens who have missed Part B enrollment windows, creating for them an added financial burden when many are transitioning to fixed incomes. Guided by social construction theory and using a nonprobability, convenience sampling approach, the likelihood coefficient values associated with Medicare Part B enrollee awareness, stress, and income of 112 residents of a suburban city in a northeastern state who were 65 years and older were examined. Sequential Forward: LR methodology yielded a significant, negative (b = -1.21, Wald X2(1) = 7.56, OR = .298, p = .006, CI [.126, .707]) and a significant, positive (b = 2.16, Wald X2(1) = 6.29, OR = 8.678, p = .012, CI [1.60, 46.99]) likelihood of predicting Medicare Part B late enrollment penalties for awareness and stress; income was not a significant model predictor. Participants who reported higher stress levels were 8.7 times more likely to be classified in the Medicare Part B late enrollment penalty than those reporting lower stress. Participants who were aware of enrollment needs were 3.4 times more likely to have no late enrollment penalties than those who were unaware. Positive social change centers on increasing Medicare Part B consumer awareness, reducing stress of enrollment deadlines, and providing information to federal policy makers to simplify enrollment policies to reduce or end late enrollment penalties.

La présente étude interroge la conceptualisation chrétienne de l’autorité et des interrelations politiques dans l’Antiquité tardive, à travers motif assez récurrent dans les textes chrétiens des IVe et Ve siècles pour être considéré comme une stratégie rhétorique, celui des associations ‘empereur-croix’. À la confluence de ces deux référents suprêmes de la souveraineté, l’empereur et la croix, se pense et se construit une autre autorité personnelle ou collective, pensée comme médiatrice. Une association peut se définir comme un groupement entre au moins deux entités, concrètes et symboliques, dans un but commun, celui de la royauté glorieuse de l’empereur, du Christ et de leurs médiateurs. La croix y est sollicitée dans son acception prodigiale, en tant que signe puissant et dynamique, iconique et théologique. Elle peut donc être intégrée à une unité de temps et de lieu ou à un discours métaphorique et allégorique. L’objet de la présente enquête est de démontrer que les tenants d’une autorité médiatrice, qu’ils soient laïcs ou ecclésiastiques, revendiquent une visibilité et une assise politique, que le prince est capable de leur concéder, leurs pairs en mesure de leur reconnaître, et auxquelles le peuple peut adhérer. Par conséquent, les associations ‘empereur-croix’ servent un discours engagé, partisan et conquérant, réclamant ou se réclamant d’une autorité spécifiquement chrétienne. Dans tous les cas, celui qui manipule la puissance de la croix est bénéficiaire de qualités prophétiques qui légitiment son inclusion politique. De ce fait, la qualité médiatrice se construit sur la concurrence entre intermédiaires ou sur l’appropriation de cette qualité par le truchement de la loi, et non sur un conflit avec l’autorité impériale. En associant l’empereur et la croix dans leurs textes, les auteurs fabriquent des interactions, des rapports relationnels, des systèmes de contact, qui, loin d’un paysage binaire, révèlent une véritable dynamique de liens politiques multiples et multiformes dans l’Antiquité tardive et non un essoufflement et une ‘standardisation’ de ceux-ci. / This study investigates the Christian conceptualization of authority and its political contexts by focusing on a rather common but never systematically analyzed rhetorical strategy in the texts of the 4th and 5th centuries: the associations between the Roman Emperor and the symbol of the cross. At the interface between the Emperor and the cross stands another authority, personal or collective, who is considered a mediator. Concrete or symbolic associations between at least two parties usually form themselves under a common goal: the glorious kingdom of Emperor, Christ, and their mediators. In this case, the cross is solicited in its profuse meaning as a powerful and dynamic sign, both iconic and theological; it is thus integrated in a specific setting of time and place or in a metaphorical and allegorical discourse. The goal of this study is to look at the different proponents of a mediating authority, whether secular or ecclesiastical, and their claims for visibility, political basis and public recognition. The manifold associations between the Emperor and the cross are part of a vibrant discourse, which is both partisan and conquering in reclaiming a specific Christian authority; and whoever is able to manipulate the power of the cross gains prophetic qualities that also legitimize political participation. Thus, the capacity to act as a mediator builds upon competition between intermediaries or upon the appropriation of this capacity by legal means, but not upon conflict with the Imperial authority. In associating the Emperor and the cross in the texts, the authors describe interactions and networks of contacts. Rather than breathless and “standardized” processes, these networks reveal the multiple and polymorphic dynamics of political relationships in Late Antiquity.

Scholars of the Late Pleistocene in Southern Africa have recently sought to develop models explaining long-term variation between Middle Stone Age and Late Stone Age assemblages in terms of variability between “macrolithic” vs. “microlithic” toolmaking systems associated with shifts in hunter-gatherer ecology and land use patterns. While it has often proven extremely difficult to actually test many models, recently developed methods allow us to do so in novel ways. In this dissertation, I use new archaeological data from excavations of two sites in the Namib Desert, as well as new approaches to sourcing lithic artifacts to examine the hypothesis that contrasts between terminal Pleistocene (ca. 15-20 ka BP) and early Holocene (ca. 6-12 ka BP) occupation phases at the two sites represent adaptive responses primarily driven by changes in fluvial regimes and the resource productivity of riparian corridors. Analyzing the lithic assemblage compositions and locating probable source areas for raw materials suggests that terminal Pleistocene groups likely centered land use strategies more toward upland areas east of the study sites and periodically followed broad riparian corridors into the desert itself. Early Holocene groups expanded their ranges and more intensively targeted resources on the open desert plains, dunes, and beaches of the coastal lowlands. My results suggest environmental change may be partially responsible for driving this shift, but new data and methodological tools are needed to address factors like fluctuations in regional population size that may have been driving shifts in the late Pleistocene record of this unique region of Southern Africa.

This research examines moraine and lacustrine records of glacier fluctuations, in combination with palynological records of vegetation change, from the previously unstudied northwestern Ahklun Mountains in southwestern Alaska. Morain mapping reveals that ice-cap outlet glaciers in the study area extended ca. 60 km from the center of the Ahklun Mountians ice dome during the early Wisconsin (sensu lato), and ca. 40 km during the late Wisconsin. Correlations with well-studied moraines in the southern Ahklun Mountains indicate an asymmetry of glaciation over the range, with ice-cap outlet glaciers more extensive to the south. This asymmetry was more striking during the early Wisconsin (s.l.) than during the late Wisconsin. Alpine glaciers have repeatedly advanced from cirques within the study area. Because these alpine glaciers were confluent or sub-confluent with outlet glaciers during the late Wisconsin maximum, the alpine-glacier moraine record is relatively young. Lacustrine sedimentology from Little Swift Lake records significant retreat of alpine glaciers ca 12.8 ka (coeval with the onsent of the North Atlantic Younger Dryas). Moraines upvalley of the lake suggests a minor glacier (or rock glacier) advance occurred ca 5.5 ka. Lacustrine records of vegetation from Little Swift Lake extend back to ca. 13.4 ka. Most vegetation changes resulted from the post-glacial spread of trees and shrubs, including Betula, alnus, and Picea, to their modern ranges. However, pollen assemblages and other paleoclimate proxies suggest some major changes in late-glacial and Holocene climate. Major vegetation change, most notably the dramatic expansion of Poaceae, occurred ca. 100 yr after the 12.8-ka glacier retreat and persisted for more than 2 ka. The inferred reversal to dry (and possibly cool) climate was followed by a period of exceptionally productive mesic conditions during the early Holocene, ca. 11 to 9 ka. The pattern of latest-Quaternary climate changes documented in this study may be evidence that, as previous workers have concluded regarding the Pleistocene glaciations, the late-glacial and early Holocene climate of the Ahklun Mountains region was strongly modulated by changes in the proximity and temperature of the Bering Sea.

This exploratory study is a description of the older dater and his/her attitudes and perceptions about dating, a comparison within the same cohort of youthful and late-life dating and mate selection, and a description of the patterns of dating in the elder years. It is a non-random collection of interviews with 38 single men and women over the age of 59 in two counties in Utah. Older daters were found to have been married for much of their lives previous to dating. They perceived themselves to be in good health and financial condition and were fairly well-educated. They lived independently and had available and supportive family and friend relationships. They had good concepts of themselves and their ability to attract dating partners. Little resistance was perceived from significant others or the general public to their dating. Older people were not found to be more conservative in choosing mates than they were when they were young except in valuing romantic love, sexual attraction and interest in sex less now than during their youth. They also accepted divorce in potential partners and height differences more now than when they were young. They were less accepting now of poor financial conditions. The primary motive for dating and for remarriage in late life was to find companionship. Monogamous dating relationships were the norm. The primary functions of dating were friendship and sharing confidences. Dating partners were met most often through mutual acquaintances or during previous marriages. Dating format and activities for the elderly were similar to those of youthful daters, except at a slower pace.

The aim of this study is to establish the provenance of the elephant and hippopotamus ivory recovered from the 14th century B.C. Uluburun shipwreck in order to reconstruct the trade mechanisms and associated social relationships (e.g. diplomacy) operating in the eastern Mediterranean during the Late Bronze Age (LBA). Elephant ivory came either from Northeastern Libya, Southeastern Sudan via Egypt or northwestern Syria during this period. Hippopotamus ivory likewise was obtained from Syria, Palestine, or Egypt. The Uluburun's cargo is reconstructed by the excavator, George Bass, as "royal," and primarily originates from Cyprus and Syro-Palestine. Indeed, LBA trade is largely understood as gift-exchange between ruling elites, thereby reflecting a trade system organized by and for a centralized authority. With the transition to the Iron Age, an identifiable merchant class developed and decentralized trade (relative to the preceding era) under a system of cabotage shipping. If the ivory is shown to derive from several regions instead of a single location, a revision of LBA trade must be fashioned to include ruling elites acting as "merchants" to a larger degree than previously assumed, or the web of social relationships involved in "international" diplomacy as much more intricate. Indeed, the mechanisms of the LBA trade must be established to provide a complete picture of trade, especially since the import and historical data is biased towards a simplistic, centralized trade system. The δ13C, δ15N, and δ18O reflect the climate and vegetation of the area in which a population dwells, so that areas with similar climate/vegetation will produce similar isotopic signatures, though these areas may be geographically seperated. Nevertheless, examining 87Sr/86Sr ratios will distinguish between populations because 87Sr/86Sr mirrors the isotopic signature of the underlying rock, and is sufficiently unique to each region to warrant differentiation. Isotopic ratio analysis (carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, and/or strontium) was conducted on the collagen and apatite components of the ivory using mass spectrometry to differentiate between regions and therefore provide the provenance. Ultimately a source determination utilizing HR-ICP-MS for 87Sr/86Sr was not successful. Future provenance research on ivory should employ TIMS, and consider triangulating 87Sr/86Sr against lead and neodymium isotopes.

This report will first give a brief background on asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars and the characteristics that make them interesting to study. Some methods and tools used in the field are then introduced, before the photometric variability of these stars is investigated. This is achieved by using data from dynamical models of AGB stars with differing chemical abundances. The R, J and K bands of the UBVRI system are specifcally investigated to explore whether these are good candidates for AGB photometric and spectroscopic research. Lastly, the molecular features at these wavelengths are investigated to understand the impact that they have on the photometric variability during the pulsation cycle and which molecules are most prominent in this.

This paper argues the institution of Roman bathing was an instrument of cultural hegemony, which allowed the Roman Empire to maintain hegemony over the Roman provinces. Numerous frameworks have been suggested in order to provide a comprehensive understanding of the relationship between Rome and the provinces. Roman imperialism has been a topic of debate for over one hundred years and the vicissitudes of scholarly thought are highlighted by the changes in the characterization of the theory of Romanization. In the recent past, scholars have sought a framework that could progress beyond the problematic concept of Romanization in order to better understand acculturation in the Roman provinces. In this paper, I provide an alternative method for examining the somewhat hackneyed issue of Roman imperialism. I argue the relationship between Rome and the provinces can be examined through the Gramcian theory of cultural hegemony. Using cultural hegemony, I explore the political consequences of direct change acculturation of the provinces of the Roman Empire. I argue that Roman culture was an efficacious mechanism for the dissemination of Roman ideology and diffusion of the Roman worldview was politically advantageous for Rome. Furthermore, I argue the custom of public bathing was a Roman cultural phenomenon that aided the Empire in preserving their hegemony in the provinces.