Por fin, después de tanta mariconada de Grupúsculos, Lunas Nuevas y subproductos de Dan Brown se acerca la fecha de estreno de dos pelis para hombres de pelo en pecho. En primer lugar, Centurion, de Neil Marshall, ambientada en la Britannia del siglo II y que promete ostias a cascoporro y leñazos de gladius en dolby surround. Todo ello en marzo de 2010.

Por su parte, The Eagle of the Ninth se estrenará más tarde aún,y apenas sí se conoce su argumento. Básicamente, un buen muchacho dado de baja en el ejército por lesión se le ocurre viajar al norte a buscar el águila de la Novena a base de, suponemos, abrirse camino a ostias. En resumen, que los pictos van a llevar hasta en el carnet.

P.D. La Novena legión no desapareció en Britannia, así que todo esto es ficción… XD

Jo toinen hallituksen tieteellisten asioiden neuvonantajista on eronnut protestiksi huumeasiantuntijan erottamiselle.

Sisäministeri Alan Johnson erotti huumausaineita koskevan asiantuntijapaneelin puheenjohtajan professori David Nuttin tämän todettua kannabiksen olevan vaarattomampaa kuin alkoholi tai tupakka.

Aiemmin Britannian hallitus asetti huumeiden väärinkäytön neuvoa antavan neuvoston (ACMD) ja tämän tehtävä oli mm. pohtia kannabiksen nykytilannetta. Käytyään läpi tutkimuksia 30 vuoden ajalta ACMD esitti kannabiksen pitämistä alemmassa C-luokassa ja piti sitä alkoholia ja tupakkaa harmittomampana. Hallitus kuitenkin sivuutti omat neuvonantajansa ja siirsi kannabiksen B-luokkaan.

Professori David Nutt

ACMD:n puheenjohtaja David Nutt kertoi tieteellisiin tuloksiin nojaavan mielipiteensä kannabiksesta, joka oli että se on alkoholia ja tupakkaa haitattomampaa ja sanoi uudelleenluokituksen johtuneen poliittisista syistä tieteen sijaan. Pian tämän jälkeen sisäministeri Johnson erotti Nuttin perustellen, että tämä “ylitti rajan” politiikan puolelle.

Tohtori Les King erosi pian protestiksi Nuttin erottamiselle ja nyt häntä seuraa samassa asiantuntijaryhmässä ollut Marion Walker. Tohtori King sanoi haluavansa nähdä ACMD:n muuttuvan itsenäiseksi toimijaksi, joka olisi vapaa hallituksen vaikutuksesta.

Marion Walker on Berkshiren terveydenhuollon NSH-säätiön aineiden väärinkäytön palveluiden kliininen johtaja ja hän on myös mm. Kuninkaallisen farmaseuttisen seuran jäsen. Hän ei halunnut kommentoida eroaan.

Professori Nuttin mukaan Walkerin ero tarkoittaa, että “kukaan ei ole nyt tutkimassa suurta ryhmää ihmisiä, jotka määräävät lääkkeitä ja neuvovat ihmisiä lääkkeistä ja kertovat lääkkeiden haitoista tiskin takaa ja reseptien jakamisen puolelta.”

BBC:n tietojen mukaan useat muutkin ACMD:n jäsenet pohtivat eroaan. He ovat työskennelleet palkatta, mutta pohtivat nyt toiminnan mielekkyyttä Nuttin saatua potkut kerrottuaan tieteellisiä faktoja, jotka tiedemiehen kuuluukin kertoa.

Nuttin mukaan uudelleenluokitus B-luokkaan oli “yksi pääministerin oikuista”. Tohtori Kingin mukaan neuvoston jäsenten keskuudessa oli “hyvin vahva tunne” Nuttin erottamisesta. “En sano kuinka moni mielestäni saattaa erota, mutta neuvoston jäsenten keskuudessa on hyvin vihainen tunnelma.” “Uskoisin, että tiedemiesten joukosta usea eroaa. Koko neuvoston ei tarvitse erota, että sen toiminta pysähtyy.”

Kingin mukaan ACMD:stä pitäisi tulla itsenäinen “aivan kuten Kansanterveyden instituutti on erillinen hallituksesta ja vapaa tekemään päätöksiä, vapaa poliittisesta puuttumisesta, aivan kuten… Englannin pankki on vapaa tekemään päätöksiä koroista.” “SItä meidän pitäisi ajatella, koska huumeiden luokittelussa kyse on huumeiden haitoista. Sitä ei pidä politisoida sillä tavoin kuin nyt tehdään.”

Tohtori King asetettiin asemaansa 3. huhtikuuta 2008 ja hän kirjoitti kirjan Huumausaineiden väärinkäytön laista 2003. Aiemmin hän oli oikeusopillisen tieteen palveluiden huumetiedon yksikön johtaja.

Professori Nutt kuvaili neuvoston asemaa kestämättömäksi. “Mielestäni neuvoston tiedemiesten tilanne on kestämätön. Alan Johnsonin sanat osoittavat selvästi, että hän ei ymmärrä kuinka tiedemies ajattelee, ja on vaikea kuvitella kuinka tiedemiehet voisivat kyetä tekemään hänen kanssaan töitä.”

Vahvistaessaan tohtori Kingin eron sisäministeriö lausunnossaan kieltäytyi kommentoimasta mitenkään Kingin eroa tai mahdollisesti tulevia eroja. Sky Newsille puhuessaan sisäministeri Johnson sanoi ajatelleensa entisen neuvonantajan olevan “väärässä” kannabiksesta, mutta erotti hänet, koska tämä “ylitti rajan” politiikan puolelle. “Emme voi sallia tieteellistä neuvonantajaa, joka samaan aikaan menee politiikan puolelle ja kampanjoi hallituksen päätöksiä vastaan. Vain toista voi tehdä. Ei voi tehdä molempia.”

Johnsonin mukaan professori Nutt “ylitti rajan tarjoamalla neuvoa ja sen jälkeen kampanjoimalla hallituksen poliittista päätöstä vastaan”. Työväenpuolueen edustajan lordi Robert Winstonin mukaan hän oli “erittäin yllättänyt ja pettynyt” Johnsonin toimiin. Hän varoitti, että hallitusta ei tulla enää huomioimaan, jos se antaa kansalle neuvoja, joissa ei oteta huomioon tiedemiesten mielipiteitä ja sanoi professori Nuttin tehneen “hyvin järkevän” huomion laittomien ja laillisten huumeiden suhteellisesta vaarallisuudesta.

Lordi Winston, joka on Lontoon Imperial Collegen tieteen ja yhteiskunnan professori, sanoi: “Mielestäni, jos hallitus asettaa asiantuntijan neuvomaan heitä niin hänen mielipidettään ei pitäisi sivuuttaa näin kevyesti. Mielestäni se osoittaa vain erittäin heikkoa tieteen arvon ymmärrystä.”

Tohtori Evan Harris, Liberaalidemokraattien edustaja parlamentissa, sanoi: “Pelkään, että edessä on vielä paljon eroamisia ellei hallitus toimi saavuttaakseen takaisin luottamuksen itsenäisten tieteellisten neuvonantajien keskuudessa. Niiden joiden neuvoihin se luottaa ydinvoiman turvallisuudesta lasten rokotuksiin.”

Lähde:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/8336884.stm

The potential: “Daddy, Miss America wont share her toys.”

Obama vision could be crippled

by rich, greedy US institutions

… and commercial interests who want an arm  and two legs.

1. Sharing knowledge – The Gronstedt Group begins tour  of the SLENZ birthing unit.

The more time I spend in Second Life and  other virtual worlds the more I become convinced  that  SLENZ  joint leader Dr Clare Atkins (SL: Arwenna Stardust) is right: Collaboration and sharing is the key to success in  world education in virtual worlds.

But its not just collaboration within the United States, or New Zealand. It’s collaboration around the world.

The rich, big universities of North America and Europe might be able to afford to go  it alone, but for the smaller and the often poorer tertiary institutions of  the United States,  countries like  New Zealand, and Third World countries – if they even have reliable, affordable Broadband services – don’t have the luxury of NOT collaborating and sharing,  both at an institutional level and at an academic level.

The creation of complex builds, huds, animations and all the other paraphernalia of teaching successfully in a virtual  world, as well as aquiring the skills/knowhow to use them  can cost megabucks: to not share them under OpenSource and Creative Commons license with institutions and academics around the world would seem to be me to be both profligate and selfish. It also could regarded by some , particularly when sold at a high price or with an exorbitant  license fee attached, as both  neo-colonialist and  greedy capitalism of the kind that brought about the most recent crash of world markets.

Second Life behind the firewall

The collaboration thoughts, although first ennunciated  for me by  Dr  Atkins, were brought to mind more recently by  five things: the move by the Lindens, admitted an avowedly commercial organisation,  to  promote Second Life behind the firewall, previously Nebraska, to  commercial, Government and educational institutions at US$55,000 a pop, a princely sum for many cash-strapped institutions around the world;  President Obama’s Cairo vision, proclaimed in June;  a visit by the KiwiEd group to the University of Western Australia, Second  Life site; a Train for Success Gronstedt Group  35-avatar tour of the SLENZ Project’s virtual birthing unit on the Second Life island of Kowhai; and  finally, but not least,  the one-hour keynote address on copyright  by  Harvard University  Professor of Law Lawrence Lessig to  EDUCAUSE09 in Denver earlier this month.

2. Sharing the knowledge: Lessig’s certificate of entitlement.

Obama told  the world,  “We will match promising Muslim students with internships in America and create a new online network … ” something  which  Second Life arguably has been  doing for sometime with  the collaboration already  occurring between individual academics and many smaller institutions creating an “online network, facilitating collaboration across geographic and cultural boundaries.”

The problem with his vision is that  US commercial – and often Government -  interests  have almost always  worked against  facilitating collaboration and sharing across geographic  and cultural boundaries. Look at Microsoft software. Look at Apple and ITunes licensing. Look at software regionalisation. Look at the record industry. Look at the book industry, where rich English language publishers in the UK and the US split the world into at least two markets.  Look at the way copyright law has moved into  education – and science.

But its not a new phenomenon. Look at banana republics, created out of Boston,  as a rather ironical and destructive facilitation of collaboration across geographic and cultural boundaries.

Triumphs of reason

On the other hand there are triumphs of reason over idiocy. Look at the rise of the ubiquitous PC, compared to the Apple computer, even though using a proprietary Operating System  the rise from the “underground” of  Moodle, compared to say Blackboard; the slow advance of bilateral free trade agreements, even if not the much desired mutilateral  free trade agreements, instead of the trade siege mentality,  which  affected most of the world in the 1930s (and still threatens); the growing popularity of Linux compared to proprietary Operating Systems; and finally the astounding growth of  Wikipedia compared to Encarta or Britannia.

Despite my misgivings I have been heartened over the years by the surprising degree of co-operation and collaboration that has been happening in virtual worlds. That is despite the actions of  those  few Scrooge McDuck-like educational institutions which have purely commercial interests at heart and appear to run closed shop operations, sharing with none.

I was even more cheered recently by a visit to the University of Western Australia when I found that  university, which is in the forefront  of Australian virtual world education, was entering into bi-lateral  virtual “free trade” and/or “free exchange”  agreements with  the likes of Stanford University and others. This mirrors the agreements put in place  by  Scott Diener (SL: Professor Noarlunga) at the University of Auckland with the University of Boise; and Judy Cockeram (SL: Judy-Arx Scribe) and  her work with architects around the world;  and those “handshake”   agreements  or informal sharing arrangements put in place by a myriad of other relatively smaller institutions who have already recognised the benefits of world-wide collaboration.

3.Sharing the knowledge – KiwiEd group tours University of Wester Australia site.

And then there is the SLENZ Project, which 18 months ago adopted as its ruling credo,  complete transparency, with OpenSource under Creative Commons license for all its virtual educational products, developments and knowledge in the hope that others would be able to build on the team’s work. Even though the adoption of this credo was probably due more to the persistence and bloody-mindedness of a then non-Second Life “immersed” and relatively sceptical SLENZ Learning Designer Leigh Blackall than anything else, it has worked and is working.

One has to  agree now that Blackall was right, even though  there is obviously a place for fair payment to commercial (virtual world creators, builders, developers etc) interests, something Linden Labs has recognised  with its protection of its own virtual world product lines (and  unfortunately those created and developed by its residents, even if Creative Commons, full permissions and OpenSource) behind  the walls of Second Life.

Linden Labs is not alone, however, in usurping user/creator rights.  The way  they have covered the issue in their rather draconian and very American Terms of Service is little different from other major US on-line social networking services: if you put it up on their service, they own it.

Virtual World Free Trade/Exchange Pact?

This is despite, or perhaps in spite of “renegades” like the  onetime Arcadia Asylum, making all her magnificent “builds” available to “anyone to use anywhere,  how they like, even blowing it up.”

Like  the tyrants behind the old Iron Curtain the Lindens realise that keeping  control of their residents’ creations inside  their world (and keeping them there), guarantees that they will have to stay there unless they want to pour their creativity, time and work down the drain and start a new virtual life elsewhere.

This leads  me to the thought that President Obama, although paying lip service to “collaboration across geographic and cultural boundaries,” needs to put his Government’s money  where his mouth is and promote a world-wide free trade/exchange agreement for  virtual world education if not for virtual worlds themselves, guaranteeing rights of both personal ownership of  individual products when created or bought in a real world sense,  but also opening up US educational institution virtual knowledge and creativity for the rest of the world to freely add to, and build on.

The President  has the vision  for a better on-line world – which could lead to greater understanding between peoples through education.

If he does nothing except talk. Nothing will happen.

And, I believe, we will find the major educational institutions moving more behind their Ivy Walls – if they are not already there – and American educational institutions (and others in UK, Germany, Brazil etc) adopting  a siege mentality   even though  virtual worlds (all virtual worlds, whether emanating out of the US or China or anywhere else) will only fulfill their true potential of levelling the playing field for all educationally if they are free and open to all.

That is something America can do for the world – all worlds.

]]> http://sohandhande.wordpress.com/2009/11/15/indias-most-trusted-brands-2007-economic-times-brand-equity-survey/ Sun, 15 Nov 2009 12:11:32 +0000 sohandhande http://sohandhande.wordpress.com/2009/11/15/indias-most-trusted-brands-2007-economic-times-brand-equity-survey/

Economic Times has published Brand Equity’s Most Trusted Brands. Colgate for the fourth year in a row topped the list. The first ten positions in the list looks like this

1.Colgate
2.Vicks
3.Lux
4.Nokia
5.Britannia
6.Dettol
7.Lifebuoy
8.Pepsodent
9.Pond’s
10.Tata Tea

The top ten service brands are
1.LIC
2.Airtel
3.State Bank of India
4.Reliance India Mobile
5.BSNL
6.Tata Indicom
7.Indian oil
8.ICICI Bank
9.Bank of India
10.Reliance Petroleum

Cheers

Most Trusted Brands: India 2007

Economic Times’ Brand Equity has published the list of India’s Most Trusted Brands Survey findings today.
The top ten brands are

1. Nokia
2. Colgate
3. Tata Salt
4. Pepsodent
5. Ponds
6. Lux
7. Britannia
8. Dettol
9. Lifebuoy
10. Vicks

This year, Nokia displaced Colgate to gain the top slot. Nokia is riding on the explosive telecom growth that India is now witnessing. The focus on quality and features has made Nokia a brand that Indian consumers love. The brand was able to bring in successful models regularly. Currently the N series has been the poster boy in its portfolio. Along with the models, the brand also has been investing in building the brand equity. The result of the survey also throws an interesting lesson. Recently Nokia faced the issue of ” overheating of battery”. Around 46 mn BL-5C series batteries was recalled by Nokia worldwide . Marketers feared that this recall will have a negative impact on Nokia’s brand equity. But this survey proved that Indian consumers have been impressed by the commitment of Nokia in the Indian market.

The current results has been a disappointment for Colgate which topped the list for the past 4 years. But I feel that the brand lost the position not because of any loss of trust but because the mobile telecom category have seen a huge growth and was the top- of -the- mind category for consumers. Colgate still leads the toothpaste category but will have a reason to worry because Pepsodent has moved to the No.4 slot from the No.8 slot.

The top ten service brands are

1. LIC
2. Airtel
3. State Bank of India
4. Reliance Mobile
5. BSNL
6. Tata Indicom
7. Indian Oil
8. Hutch/Vodafone
9. ICICI Bank
10. Bank of India

Britannian hallituksen virallinen tieteellinen neuvonantaja professori John Beddington on kertonut tukevansa entisen huumeasioiden neuvonantajan näkemyksiä kannabiksesta.

Beddington ei ottanut kantaa tekikö sisäministeri väärin erottaessaan professori David Nuttin. Nutt oli huumeiden väärinkäytön neuvoa antavan neuvoston puheenjohtaja. Hänet erotettiin, koska hän sanoi luennolla kannabiksen olevan vähemmän haitallista kuin alkoholi tai tupakka.

Kun professori Beddingtonilta kysyttiin oliko hän samaa mieltä, että kannabis olisi vähemmän haitallista kuin tupakka ja alkoholi niin hän vastasi: “Mielestäni tieteellinen todistusaineisto on asiassa täysin kiistaton. Olen samaa mieltä sen väitteen kanssa.”

Beddington on ensisijaisesti vastuussa hallituksen neuvomisesta tieteellisessä asioissa. Hänen mukaansa erottaminen johtui luottamuksen menetyksestä Nuttin ja sisäministeri Alan Johnsonin välillä. “Mielestäni on erittäin vaikeaa nähdä miten luottamuksen menettämisen jälkeen toiminta olisi voinut jatkua”, Beddington kertoi.

Hän muistutti kiistattomien tieteellisten neuvojen saamisen tärkeyttä asiantuntijoilta, jotka ovat vielä hallituksen itsensä asettamia. “Mielestäni on reilua sanoa, että meidän täytyy tehdä selvä ero tieteellisten neuvojen ja todisteiden, joiden antaminen kuuluu asiantuntijoille ja tieteellisille komiteoille, ja politiikan tekemisen välillä, mikä rooli kuuluu ministereille.

Beddingtonin mukaan tapaus ei paljasta ongelmaa siinä kuinka hallitus käyttää tieteellisiä neuvoja. “Mediassa on ollut sekaannusta siitä kuinka hallitus käyttää tieteellisiä neuvoja. Laitetaan se asiayhteyteensä: tieteellisiä neuvoa antavia komiteoita on yli 75.” “Tämä on yksittäinen taho jonka kanssa on ongelmia. Kahden vuoden aikana ongelmia on ollut vain ACMD:n neuvojen kuulemisen kanssa.”

Beddington sanoi pikaisesti konsultoivansa muiden komiteoiden johtajien kanssa selvittääkseen ovatko he kohdanneet ongelmia roolinsa kanssa. Joidenkin vanhempien hallitusta neuvovien tiedemiesten mukaan Nuttin tapaus heijastaa hyvin sitä kuinka tieteelliset neuvot otetaan vastaan hallinnon suunnalta.

Monet asiantuntijoista sanoivat, että heidän komiteansa raporttien johtopäätöksistä kerrottiin hyvin puutteellisesti, koska hallituksen tiedotusosasto valvoo hyvin tarkasti julkisuutta. Tätä mieltä olleet asiantuntijat eivät halunneet nimeään julkisuuteen.

Joskus tiedemiehiltä vaaditaan luottamuksellisuussopimuksen allekirjoittamista, käytäntö jonka sanotaan johtuvan kaupallisista syistä. Kriitikot väittävät, että sopimukset voivat toimia laillisena suukapulana tiedemiehille, jotka puhuvat hallituksen aloitteista.

“Aion keskustella neuvoa-antavien komiteoiden kanssa, aion myös saada palautetta komiteoiden puheenjohtajilta. Tulee olemaan tapauksia joissa ei sallita julkituloja”, professori Beddington sanoi. “Haluan tietää ovatko nuo tapaukset asiaankuuluvia, eli liittyykö niihin kaupallista luottamusta tai muuta erityistä, vai onko ne vain vaimennettu muusta syystä.”

“Jos ongelmia paljastuu lisää, emme saa tieteellisistä neuvoista sitä laatua, jota todella pitäisi saada.”

Lähde:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8340318.stm

22

Lavoravo sul balcone ad un piccolo tavolo rotondo di metallo bianco, un tavolo da giardino, con i quaderni e le pagine in corso. Quel giorno, Anna Livia è allungata sulla sdraio, legge Petrolio di Pasolini. Il libro è arduo, dice, “non sexy”, ma l’Italia tutta intera vi si precipita in frasi: è là, nell’incompiutezza stessa del libro, nel suo cantiere di rovine.

23

Anna Livia: ”Il libro di Pasolini non è finito, esattamente come l’Italia: mai l’Italia è stata finita. Nel libro, si vedono le banche, le famiglie, il sesso, il mondo degli affari. Il mondo degli affari prende il controllo del Paese decomponendolo. La decomposizione, è questa che regna sempre al meglio. Niente è più potente della decomposizione. Nel libro, l’Italia è descritta prima come terreno vago, poi come cantiere, infine come traffico. Si vede bene come l’Italia, ad un certo momento della sua storia, fosse in vendita. Lo è senza dubbio ancora, come tutti i paesi: al migliore offerente. Non cessa di essere acquistata e rivenduta. È il  destino di quello che si chiama un paese? Si vede bene, leggendo Petrolio, come un paese si negozi. Come l’idea stessa di paese sia morta. Un paese, questo non esiste più. Non so se sia meglio o meno. Siamo già oltre.”

Yannick Haenel, Cercle, Gallimard 2007

*

Dopo le vendite, arrivarono le svendite.

Antonella Randazzo, Come è stata svenduta l’Italia, 12 marzo 2007

Andrea Angelini, Draghi insiste con privatizzazioni e liberalizzazioni, 30 maggio 2009

Angela Corrias, Italy’s political crisis: Is Berlusconi the main threat for Italian democracy?, 16 ottobre 2009

Merchandise – have you got yours yet?

This year our merchandise features the lovely Britannia!

Following the Mascot art competition earlier this year, we have set up a merchandise shop featuring the winning artworks of Britannia by Yaizel and Reaperfox!

In the shop you can buy some great stuff featuring the art including T Shirts, Mugs and Tote Bags! The shop is based in the UK, so now you can get your merchandise even faster! – You can find the shop by following this link:

http://ukponycon.spreadshirt.net/en/GB/Shop

We hope you will love the Ponycon merchandise this year, we look forward to seeing your T Shirts and Bags on show at the Convention!

Enjoy Shopping!!

Tacitus’ text, Agricola, provides an insight as to what Tacitus himself considered romanisation to be. However whether he meant it as a policy of the empire or an inspired tactic of Agricola is unknown. The text is a biography of Agricola, a Roman general who led his armies through Britain. It is not a coincidence that Agricola happens to be Tacitus’ own father in law and Tacitus may be using the biography to glorify his recently deceased relative. Since the readers of his text at the time would be educated Romans most likely involved in politics and the senate, his chances of benefiting from a more iconic view of Agricola are high. This casts a sceptical shadow on the entire work, mainly the contributions of Agricola to the conquest of Britain and especially the excerpt describing what seems to be a systematic romanisation of the inhabitants of Britannia.

Before addressing romanisation it is necessary to discuss Tacitus’ account of Agricola’s adventures and the issues surrounding his work. Primarily, it is impossible for even Tacitus to know the facts of what transpired in Britain. He is not a primary source; he did not witness Agricola’s explorations and battles and had to rely on potentially biased stories and oral information from people who were there or claim to know what happened. The result is that his works are the only sources of evidence for pieces of information so it is impossible to confirm or contradict his account. It is apparent that he himself is unsure of all the facts in that in the excerpt he does not give any specifics to Agricola’s location but tries giving certain hints to periods without giving the full date (such as “first year in office” ¶¶20). In his description of Agricola as a militarily mighty leader (“he would allow the enemy no rest” ¶¶20) Tacitus merely claims “many states” were subdued and conquered but then goes on to say “the following winter passed without disturbance” (¶¶21) so it is a surprise he does not name a few specific places which were acquired the autumn or summer before. Therefore we already cannot take Tacitus’ information as fact since he is not entirely reliable.

One characteristic of ancient texts that must be examined is the tendency for classical historians to focus on conveying moralistic ideals to readers even if doing so compromises the accuracy of the document. In the excerpt Tacitus uses various hints and diction to portray Agricola as an inspired, responsible, cunning role model and beacon of morality. There are certain obvious moral lessons: the fact that he preferred “penitence” to punishment (¶¶19) and “praised good discipline and kept the stragglers in order” (¶¶21) give the sense that Agricola is a strict but wise leader. His wisdom is reinforced in the line “he knew everything but did not always act on his knowledge” (¶¶19) as a hyperbole used to show that Agricola knew when to refrain from action. Tacitus also shows him as taking personal responsibility in that “he would himself chose the position of the camp and explore the estuaries and forests” (¶¶20). Finally Agricola is shown as a cunning ruler who seemingly tricked the entire conquered population into cooperation (“honourable rivalry took place of compulsion … this they called civilisation when it was but a part of their servitude” ¶¶21). He continues this outside the excerpt in describing him as a modest general who, after accomplishing a massive victory, “did not use his success for self-glorification … nor the repression of the conquered people” (¶¶ 18). At the beginning of the entire text Tacitus sets off glorifying Agricola’s ancestry, claiming Agricola’s grandfathers were “Imperial procurators,” his father was “distinguished for eloquence and philosophy,” and his mother was “a lady of singular virtue” (¶¶ 4). It has been observed that Tacitus “takes every opportunity to cast Agricola in favourable light” to the extent where he attributes almost all first century Roman forts in northern England to Agricola when archaeological evidence shows more and more originated in an earlier or later period. Therefore it seems obvious that Tacitus is glorifying Agricola rather than providing an accurate history in the particular excerpt. Tacitus could be using the text as a means to build up Agricola in order to gain any potential political benefits from being related to him. All these influences and flaws apply to his concept of romanisation as well.

Romanisation was originally considered an active imperial policy; a process when conquered people became Roman through a mixture of coercion and their own initiative. Older views expressed by Haverfield include the idea that the West lacked an ancient culture and was therefore more easily romanised compared to the East, that the strong culture of Rome “planted” in them the desire to become Roman. These in part rise from Tacitus’ passage: “Agricola gave private encouragement and public aid to the building of” (¶¶21) as it goes on to list many roman-style buildings, giving a sense of a systemized romanisation. However modern scholarship agrees on the idea that there was no policy and that romanisation romanisation “>was driven by native rival elites’ initiative; they wanted access to Roman material and culture to increase their own power and prestige. This change in historiography is partly due to the fact that Tacitus’ statement of a romanisation policy is unique and no other such evidence exists to support such a large scheme. Tacitus may not be referring to an imperial policy but a personal one of Agricola’s. However this view is disproved by Hanson who shows that the only archaeological evidence of Agricola’s involvement is in Verulamium but that credit for the community there goes to a previous leader Frontinus, claiming that by the time Agricola arrived the town was already a thriving romanised community. Millett claims that areas where romanisation was successful were those where native elites benefited from an alliance with Roman power and then emulated Roman ways to their population whereas romanisation failed in areas where “through either warfare or continued military occupation, Roman presence was socially disruptive” (the northern parts of Britain). In other words, where cooperation prevailed the native elites could maintain their position in society which enhanced their desire for Roman goods. It is possible that Tacitus included the information regarding romanisation simply as another means to enhance Agricola’s influence and power.

Therefore the excerpt was simply a means of propaganda used to promote not only Agricola but Tacitus’ personal moral views. As an author creates characters to symbolise or send messages in a story, Tacitus used (or ‘created’) Agricola for the same purpose. Hence it is difficult to determine what is true and what is fiction. Similarly it is problematic to rely on his account of romanisation: that Agricola (or the Empire) tricked their subjects into becoming Roman. Tacitus is, simply, an unreliable source with regards to romanisation; he had heavy and obvious biases, he had a stronger focus on sending moral lessons rather than accurate facts, and finally he was not present at any of the events which he is vaguely recording. Archaeological evidence is even contradicting his claims. Therefore despite the fact that Tacitus is a useful source to understanding Roman views, perspective, and way of life, he is entirely misleading as to the concept of romanisation. Tacitus’ works led earlier historians to believe Rome actually had a policy of romanisation. Today we know that romanisation was driven by native initiative and desire to acquire Roman material and culture to improve their own society and way of life.

- history biscuit

PS. history biscuit now has twitter

Britanniassa oikeuslaitos on päättänyt toimittaa haasteen perille mikroblogipalvelu Twitterillä, kerrotaan uutisissa.  Kyse on huijausblogista, jonka tekijää ei ole muilla keinoilla tavoitettu. Lue uutisista lisää.

Aunque uno siempre ha sido más del Celtic, por lo de las rayas verdiblancas, hoy es un aficionado más del Glasgow Rangers. Una de las canciones más coreadas por sus aficionados en Ibrox Park, su estadio, es el Rule Britannia, una canción que, ya se pueden imaginar, destila  loas a la patria, al honor y al carácter indomable de los hijos de la Gran Bretaña. Nosotros reproducimos su estribillo, que es la parte más repetida en los partidos, para que todos los béticos buenos la repitan como un mantra para exorcizar a los fantasmas (esto es literal) de Nervión. Ahí va: 

“Rule Britannia! Britannia rule the waves:

Britons never never never shall be slaves.”

Hey Everyone,

I am starting to plan for the Ireland, Scotland, England, and Wales tour for the summer of 2011.

Here is the itinerary-https://www.eftours.com/eLiterature/DBD/G/TBS.pdf

If you are interested in going on the 2011 Britannia tour we will have an informational meeting on Oct. 14th at 6 pm in the Ridgeline Middle School Art Room. The sooner you sign up for the tour the smaller the payments and easier to earn money using fundraisers to pay for the trip.

If you have any questions please email Ms. Baar at embaar@gmail.com.

*This tour is not affiliated with Yelm Community Schools.