La política en la actualidad : ¿más cerca de la virtud o del vicio?

Resumen: En este artículo se expone en forma sucinta dos formas muy diferentes de concebir la política, a saber: la de algunos autores denominados clásicos, cuyos principales representantes son Platón, Aristóteles, Cicerón y Tomás de Aquino, y la forma moderna representada por Maquiavelo. Los primeros, salvando algunas diferencias, entienden la política como un saber moral práctico, como una noble actividad que debe ser ejercida por los mejores en vistas al bien de todos. Maquiavelo, por su parte, la entiende como una técnica, totalmente desarraigada de la moral, cuyo fin es obtener, mantener y acrecentar el poder. Al parecer, y es lo que se intentará demostrar en la exposición, hay indicios suficientes para afirmar que el maquiavelismo se ha «impuesto» a los clásicos. La perspectiva desde la cual se abordara esta pregunta, es la del Magisterio reciente de la Iglesia Católica

Bronze and iron weapons from Luristan

The 30,000 km2 province of Luristan is situated in western Iran and encompasses the upper valleys of the Zagros Mountains. Even today, local tribesmen inhabit Luristan with their settlement patterns similar to ancient times. Several scientific excavations in the Luristan region have uncovered evidence that this particular region was a major attraction for human settlements from the Paleolithic era onwards. In Ancient Iran, the existence of rich mines together with discoveries made by innovative and inventive artisans spurred the growth of the metalworking culture as an art and a skill among early human communities in Ancient Iran. The art of Luristan can be described as the art of nomadic herdsmen and horsemen with an emphasis on the crafting of small, easily portable objects, among these a number of bronze daggers, swords and other weapons. Throughout its history, Luristan was never an ethnic or political entity because Luristan has been occupied by various tribes and races, throughout its history. Next to Elamites, other tribes who inhabited Luristan were the Hurrians, Lullubians, Kutians, and Kassites. As local tribesmen of Luristan were illiterate, information about their history can only be partially reconstructed from the literature of their southern neighbors: the Elamites and Babylonians. Luristan smiths made weapons for both civilizations. The region was later invaded by Assyrians and finally the Iranians settled the area and absorbed the local tribes. Following an accidental find by the local inhabitants in Luristan in 1928 CE, a number of unlawful diggings reveal a number of metal objects made of bronze and iron that showed a high level of craftsmanship. These objects were offered for sale on the art market with fancy names to hide their origin. The subsequent scientific excavations several decades after the initial discovery provided fascinating information about the culture of Luristan. The metalworking art of Luristan spans a time period from the third millennium BC to the Iron Age. The artifacts from Luristan seem to possess many unique and distinctive qualities, and are especially noteworthy for the apparently endless, intricate diversity and detail that they characteristically depict. The bronze artifacts found in or attributed to Luristan can be each be classed under five separate heads: a) arms and armor, including swords, dirks, daggers, axes, mace heads, spearheads, shields, quiver plaques, protective bronze girdles, helmets; b) implements related to horsemanship, including decorative or ornamental objects for horses as well as bits and snaffles; c) items for personal adornment and hygiene, including anklets, bangles, bracelets, finger rings, earrings and tweezers; d) ceremonial and ritual objects, including talismans, idols, pins, anthropomorphic and zoomorphic figurines; and e) utilitarian objects comprising various vessels and tools, including beakers, bowls and jugs. The scope of this article is limited to a discussion of the bronze and iron weapons made in Luristan. The techniques used for making bronze weapons in Luristan included: casting with open molds, casting with close molds, and casting with lost wax process. For metal sheets used for quiver plaques and bronze protective belts, the hammering technique was used. Edged weapons made in Luristan can be classified into: a) daggers, dirks, and swords with tangs; b) daggers, dirks, and swords with flanges; and c) daggers, dirks, and swords with cast-on hilts. Next to bronze, iron was also used for making weapons such as the characteristic weapon from this area, the iron mask sword.

La distruzione delle statue di Pausania nella Sparta tardoantica (Lib. Ep. 1518)

Abstract: The late antique destruction of two bronze statues of Pausanias - the Spartan general responsible for the Greek victory at the Battle of Plataea (479 BC) - housed in the temple of Athena Chalkioikos in Sparta (Lib. Ep. 1518), has been interpreted as one of the few cases of a violent conflict between pagan and Christian population in Greece. Nevertheless the sources suggest that late antique Sparta was a bastion of Hellenic paganism and give a picture of a small and quiet town ruled by a pagan educated élite, where pagans like Libanius wanted to live. Since there is no evidence of a violent conflict between pagans and Christians in Sparta, and Libanius confirms that in 365 AD all the temples and cult statues were still in place, this paper addresses the issue from a different point of view and offers a new contribution to the history of Sparta in Late Antiquity. By using literary, archaeological and epigraphic evidence the paper explores: 1) the relationship between Roman administration and Spartan élite in the IVth century AD; 2) the historical memory of Pausanias in Late Antiquity. It will be emphasized that the obscure burning of the two statues helped to remove from Sparta the memory of Pausanias - a controversial figure, misrepresented in Late Antiquity and connected to the ancient staseis in Laconia - in order to promote a positive image of Sparta as a city without conflicts and ruled by the political system of Lycurgus (eunomia). As documented by local inscriptions in praise of late Roman governors, the mythical lawgiver Lycurgus was the paradigm of the imperial governors who rebuilded the town in the IVth cent. AD. It can be assumed that while Rome, Constantinople, Antioch and Athens were troubled by political and religious violence or by seditions between different factions, Sparta aimed to revive its traditional model of civic order in the new historical context of Late Antiquity.

Sistema nacional de procuración de órganos y tejidos para trasplante

El sistema nacional de procuración de órganos, tejidos y células para trasplante en la Argentina es impulsado, normatizado, coordinado y fiscalizado por el Incucai (Instituto Nacional Central Único Coordinador de Ablación e Implante). Hoy, el sistema de salud cuenta con más de 4000 profesionales capacitados, 300 centros de trasplante, 50 bancos de tejidos y 30 laboratorios de histocompatibilidad habilitados por el Incucai en todo el país. La conciencia sobre la importancia de la donación ha crecido y actualmente cerca de 2.300.000 personas han manifestado la decisión de donar sus órganos y tejidos y otras 40.000 se han inscripto como donantes de células de la médula ósea. En el presente trabajo se analizarán los siguientes puntos: situación actual, logros y avances; principios de definen la distribución de órganos; retos de la donación y el trasplante en la Argentina.

Does spatial clustering help explaining differences in the inequality of income distribution? : evidence from Argentina

Resumen: Este artículo analiza la relación entre la agrupación espacial de la distribución del ingreso y la desigualdad en las provincias de Argentina. El objetivo de este trabajo es usar técnicas espaciales para analizar hasta que punto la agrupación espacial de la distribución del ingreso afecta la desigualdad de la distribución del ingreso en un contexto regional de Argentina. En general, la literatura de desigualdad implícitamente considera a cada región o provincia como una entidad independiente y el potencial para la observación de la interacción a través del espacio a menudo se ha ignorado. Mientras tanto, la autocorrelación espacial ocurre cuando la distribución espacial de la variable de interés exhibe un patrón sistemático. Yo computo tres medidas de autocorrelación espacial global: La I de Moran, c de Geary, y G de Getis y Ord, como grado de CLUSTERING provincial entre 1991 y 2002. La principal conclusión del trabajo es que hay evidencia que provincias con desigualdad relativamente alta (baja) tienden a ser localizadas cerca de otras provincias con alta (baja) desigualdad más a menudo de lo esperado debido al azar. Por ende cada provincia no debería ser vista como una observación independiente, como ha sido supuesto implícitamente en estudios previos sobre la desigualdad de ingresos regional.