History and nomenclature of the theropod dinosaur tracks Bueckeburgichnus and Megalosauripus

The most recent account of Bueckeburgichnus maximus Kuhn 1958, a distinctive theropod dinosaur track from the Lower Cretaceous of Germany, is shown to be based on a referred specimen mistakenly identified as the holotype and the correct name of this taxon is deemed to be Megalosauripus maximus (Kuhn 1958). This minor revision has important consequences for nomenclature of the many European, Asian, North American and Australian dinosaur tracks attributed to megalosaurian theropods. Many of those tracks were named Megalosauripus, but that name has a confusing multiplicity of meanings and it should be restricted to the highly characteristic dinosaur track formerly identified as Bueckeburgichnus. Other tracks named "Megalosauripus”; (in its several other senses) will require new nomenclature, despite their extensive and repeated revision since 1996. It is recommended that future revision should adopt conventions of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature. Although previous revisions expressed an intention to adhere to those conventions, these were not put into practice, with the unfortunate result of multiplying the problems that surround the nomenclature of megalosaur tracks. Introduction of the name Megalosauripus maximus (Kuhn 1958) eliminates those burgeoning problems and permits the introduction of new and objective nomenclature for presumed megalosaur tracks.

Recording and preserving legal history

The lack of a systematic approach in Australia to recording and preserving legal history was highlighted in the article by Catherine Hutchins in the August 2002 issue of the Australian Bar Review. This article describes the modest, albeit continuing, efforts on the part of the Supreme Court Library to meet this need in the State of Queensland. The efforts began in 1983 and have recently escalated with a series of exhibitions, talks, displays, interviews and preservations of documents (from online publication).

Laparoscopic appendectomy in modern gynecology

Gynecologists frequently manage women with acute or chronic pain in the right iliac fossa. Appendicitis is one of the common conditions encountered in this setting. From the gynecologic perspective, issues regarding the role of laparoscopic appendectomy include radioimaging and laparoscopic diagnosis, operative technique, advantages and disadvantages, and laparoscopic appendectomy in pregnancy and in complicated appendicitis. Most studies are in favor of the procedure, and it seems reasonable to include it in training programs in gynecology.

'Why does cultural studies want history?'

Cultural studies has often been accused of maintaining too strong a focus on the contemporary and the immediate as a result of its primary interest in popular culture and the media. The role of history, such criticisms suggest, has been displaced by this contemporary emphasis. Nonetheless, much cultural studies work takes a principled stand on the necessity of historicising the products of its research. Consequently, it is worth asking, with British historian Carolyn Steedman--'why does cultural studies want history?' This article begins to answer that question through the discussion of some aspects of a specific research project within Australian cultural studies.

When social psychology became less social: Prasad and the history of rumor research

Rumor research, in general, and its delayed incorporation of the work, of rumor researcher Jamuna Prasad, in particular, exemplify how the intellectual climate of American social psychology discouraged the development of social approaches. In the present paper, we explain his conceptualization of how rumors start and spread, and explore findings from subsequent research supporting or negating his propositions. It is our contention that, although Prasad had identified the basic variables involved in rumor generation and transmission correctly, mainstream social psychological research in the 1940s did not incorporate his contributions. Instead, mirroring the Zeitgeist of American social psychology, rumor research was approached from a predominantly individual level of analysis. In the present paper, the authors have tried to resurrect some of the group-level variables from Prasad's treatment of rumor and to suggest that social psychology adopt a more 'social' approach to rumor.

The morals of metaphysics: Kant's 'Groundwork' as intellectual paideia

To approach philosophy as a way of working on the self means to begin not with the experience it clarifies and the subject it discovers, but with the acts of self‐transformation it requires and the subjectivity it seeks to fashion. Commenting on the variety of spiritual exercises to be found in the ancient schools, Pierre Hadot remarks that: Some, like Plutarch’s ethismoi, designed to curb curiosity, anger or gossip, were only practices intended to ensure good moral habits. Others, particularly the meditations of the Platonic tradition, demanded a high degree of mental concentration. Some, like the contemplation of nature as practiced in all philosophical schools, turned the soul toward the cosmos, while still others—rare and exceptional—led to a transfiguration of the personality, as in the experiences of Plotinus. We also saw that the emotional tone and notional content of these exercises varied widely from one philosophical school to another: from the mobilization of energy and consent to destiny of the Stoics, to the relaxation and detachment of the Epicureans, to the mental concentration and renunciation of the sensible world among the Platonists.1 While successfully applied to ancient philosophy,2 this approach has not been widely exploited in the history of philosophy more broadly. There is, however, at least one study of medieval metaphysics in these terms,3 and there are some important discussions of early modern Stoicism and Epicureanism.4 And a recent study of Hume shows the fruitfulness of the approach for Enlightenment philosophy.5 It is all the more surprising then that there seems to have been no serious attempt to approach Kant’s moral philosophy in this way.