Alex de Voogt
Drew University, Business, Faculty Member
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Safety in General Aviation has been a continuous concern. About 12% of all airplane accidents in General Aviation involve nose-overs and nose-down events. A total of 134 accidents reported by the National Transportation Safety Board that... more
Safety in General Aviation has been a continuous concern. About 12% of all airplane accidents in General Aviation involve nose-overs and nose-down events. A total of 134 accidents reported by the National Transportation Safety Board that include nose-overs and nose-downs were analyzed for their main causes. It was found that 35% of the defining events involved a loss of control on the ground while 58% of the total dataset involved tailwheel-type aircraft. A relatively high proportion of aircraft built before 1950 were found, which are also aircraft that have tailwheel-type landing gear, and thereby a higher propensity for ground loops and nose-overs. It is shown that the high accident rate in General Aviation, especially for accidents that did not result in a fatality, was, to an important extent, explained by tailwheel and older aircraft in the US General Aviation airplane fleet struggling with controlling the aircraft on the ground. Attention to this group of aircraft in future studies may help to more effectively address the relatively high accident rates in General Aviation.
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In the study of play, it has been suggested that hunter-gatherer and egalitarian societies avoid competitive games and forms of dominance in society. The game of N!àì is played by the Ju|'hoan people in Botswana in a way that facilitates... more
In the study of play, it has been suggested that hunter-gatherer and egalitarian societies avoid competitive games and forms of dominance in society. The game of N!àì is played by the Ju|'hoan people in Botswana in a way that facilitates competition and contradicts this suggestion. While similar games have been described and studied extensively from qualitative perspectives, we aim to analyze patterns in the game of N!àì from a quantitative and statistical perspective. Specifically, using original data extracted from first-hand video recordings of twenty different matches, we adopt a class of Bradley-Terry pairwise comparison models to analyze players' latent game-playing abilities. In addition, we demonstrate the use of a Bayesian segmentation model to quantify streakiness. The assessment of the level of streakiness further enables the discussion of whether it is more advantageous to play in a streaky or in a random fashion. The findings question more general assumptions about hunter-gatherer societies and the activities in which they are likely to engage due to the egalitarian nature of their society. Implications for expertise research beyond gesture games are discussed.
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Muyaka’s poetry as it is known today was first recorded in the 1890s, mainly written down by Mwalimu Sikujua who used Arabic script as well as an adapted Swahili-Arabic writing system to document the language. Sikujua’s versatility when... more
Muyaka’s poetry as it is known today was first recorded in the 1890s, mainly written down by Mwalimu Sikujua who used Arabic script as well as an adapted Swahili-Arabic writing system to document the language. Sikujua’s versatility when using the Arabic script as well as his use of variant spellings suggest a writing practice that embraces rather than avoids orthographic variation. His use of diacritics including the shadda and hamza is particularly noteworthy. Muyaka’s poems with their frequent repetitions as well as the writing of the poet’s name feature multiple spellings by Sikujua even when applying the adapted Swahili-Arabic script. Sikujua invented solutions that best approach a Swahili pronunciation but he also displays a detailed understanding and creative use of a wide range of Arabic signs and diacritics. The complexities of writing Swahili with Arabic script benefit from Sikujua’s creativity. It is this versatility and creativity that has been largely ignored and misinterpreted as merely inconsistent in studies where standardization is considered preferable.
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The |Xae|xae dialect of Ju|'hoan as it is spoken in western Botswana features a series of nasal clicks and glottalized clicks that are combined with a syllabic velar nasal into a single morphological unit. An acoustic analysis of these... more
The |Xae|xae dialect of Ju|'hoan as it is spoken in western Botswana features a series of nasal clicks and glottalized clicks that are combined with a syllabic velar nasal into a single morphological unit. An acoustic analysis of these clicks suggests that the vowel [a] is not present in the |Xae|xae variants and that only syllabic velar nasal remains. This was found for all four click types with minimal pairs for high and low tones as well as for glottalized clicks and non-glottalized nasal clicks. While their phonetic features appear straightforward, the phonological and orthographic renderings of these clicks are discussed for their wider implications.
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Tsua is a critically endangered language of the Eastern Kalahari Khoe languages where the historical processes of click replacement and click loss are relatively common. An acoustic analysis of Tsua's remaining alveolar and palatal click... more
Tsua is a critically endangered language of the Eastern Kalahari Khoe languages where the historical processes of click replacement and click loss are relatively common. An acoustic analysis of Tsua's remaining alveolar and palatal click consonants that have not undergone click loss reveals that on three statistical spectral moments-center of gravity, skew, and kurtosis-the Tsua alveolar and palatal click bursts do not markedly differ from each other. T-tests reveal that the differences are not statistically significant. Moreover, the click burst duration and intensity differences are not statistically significant either. In contrast, an analysis of the alveolar and palatal clicks in Ju|'hoan, which does not exhibit click loss, shows that these clicks are significantly different on all the acoustic measures. These findings may help shed light on the diachronic process of click loss in Tsua.
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Causes and contributing factors of amphibious airplane accidents are examined by comparing the proportion of fatal accidents for different causes of accidents, with a focus on landings on water and low-level flying maneuvers. A set of 183... more
Causes and contributing factors of amphibious airplane accidents are examined by comparing the proportion of fatal accidents for different causes of accidents, with a focus on landings on water and low-level flying maneuvers. A set of 183 accidents involving amphibious planes from 2005 to 2020 was extracted from the National Transportation Safety Board’s online database. Amphibious airplane accidents are reported to be fatal in 34% of cases, which is higher than the average of 20% for general aviation. Logistic regression analysis shows that the maneuvering flight phase and decision-making factors are significantly more often associated with fatal accidents than other flight phases and causes. In addition, the number of accidents associated with decision-making factors significantly increased during the studied time period. Amphibious airplanes benefit from accident analysis despite the absence of denominator data and the limitations of most general aviation accident reports. Intentional low-level flying is shown to be a central area of concern that may be addressed at the operational as well as the training level. Landing accidents could be avoided by introducing additional warning systems and training regarding (retractable) landing gear as well as general awareness training of decision-making during landings on water.
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Technical failures in helicopters are a main concern for helicopter safety. The prominence of mechanical failures differs for specific helicopter operations. This analysis used 151 General Aviation accident reports from the National... more
Technical failures in helicopters are a main concern for helicopter safety. The prominence of mechanical failures differs for specific helicopter operations. This analysis used 151 General Aviation accident reports from the National Transportation Safety Board online database from an 11-year time period. The information in each report was collated, including the list of findings for each accident. Possible relations between causes and specific flight operations were analyzed by looking at significant differences between expected and actual values within the dataset of categorical data. It is
found that the proportion of fatal accidents in this category of accidents is low (16.6%) compared with the percentage of fatal helicopter accidents in general, as well as those of specific helicopter operations. Instructional flights appear significantly more likely to be associated with maintenance-related causes. Causes related to fatigue of aircraft parts are more often associated with ferry and positional flights, as well as helicopters with turbo-shaft engines. Future research is recommended for these specific associations to further mitigate the number of accidents with non-powerplant failures.
found that the proportion of fatal accidents in this category of accidents is low (16.6%) compared with the percentage of fatal helicopter accidents in general, as well as those of specific helicopter operations. Instructional flights appear significantly more likely to be associated with maintenance-related causes. Causes related to fatigue of aircraft parts are more often associated with ferry and positional flights, as well as helicopters with turbo-shaft engines. Future research is recommended for these specific associations to further mitigate the number of accidents with non-powerplant failures.
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The study of games on Sai Island was inspired by the incised graffiti games that can be found in and around the Ottoman Fortress. The patterns on the rock surface resemble games that are played today in the Middle East and parts of... more
The study of games on Sai Island was inspired by the incised graffiti games that can be found in and around the Ottoman Fortress. The patterns on the rock surface resemble games that are played today in the Middle East and parts of Africa. An examination of contemporary games may reveal whether these games have a recent origin. Sai Island is relatively isolated and, although the Mahas-speaking Nubians that live there are part of the Nubian culture that extends all along the Nile towards Khartoum, it is reasonable to assume that the influence from urban centers, in particular Khartoum, is less obvious when it comes lo games. As such, Sai provides a window to a distribution of games into the far comers of Sudan; games that have permeated society rather than made a superficial acquaintance. As a result of this relative isolation, the inhabitants of Sai Island are not familiar with the games of checkers, chess and backgammon. In Khartoum, however, one may find people playing these games. There are only four examples of board games with which most, if not all, children and adults on Sai are familiar. Seeja, also known as Siga elsewhere, is a game typical for the Middle East. Sufrajet is a name given to a game that is known since antiquity and in English is referred to as tic-tac-toe. Lido is a Sudanese pronunciation of British Ludo that in itself is based on Indian Parchesi. This game is played on a paper board that has another game on the reverse side: the game of Ladder and Snake. This game, better known as Snakes & Ladders in Britain, is also widely known, played and available but played less frequently by smaller children. Although backgammon or trictrac is not known in Sai, the boys play a game that they call 'tic-trac'. It is not a board game nor is it related to backgammon in any way. It is just the name that is curiously similar.
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Architecture on Sai Island of both private homes and public buildings consists of local building materials, predominantly mud-brick and wood. The destruction of wood by termites and the availability of red bricks and steel has changed... more
Architecture on Sai Island of both private homes and public buildings consists of local
building materials, predominantly mud-brick and wood. The destruction of wood by termites
and the availability of red bricks and steel has changed roof, window and, in particular, doorway constructions.
The traditional wooden door has a wooden lock with a wooden key. Few of these doors survive on Sai. Today, steel doors with multiple steel decorations are manufactured on Sai Island as well as on the mainland and only a handful of wooden doors per village remain.
They are mostly found in abandoned buildings in which the living quarters have been destroyed since the roof and other wooden parts of the structure were already eaten by termites.
The mud-brick construction of the walls has remained popular on the island. The doorposts
are more frequently made of red bricks, a fashion that may in future also include the main
construction or the house. Mud-bricks allow for a different type of ornaments above doors and walls than red brick. The mud-brick is always produced on the island and by the
islanders while red bricks are industrially made and mostly imported from the mainland, which has made them more costly.
While the red brick doorpost is similar to its mud brick predecessor this is hardly the case for
the metal doors that have replaced the wooden ones. Their locks, ornamentation, sound and
coloring is markedly different.
The following account presents a local history of metal doors and discusses the changes and innovations of doorway design in today's Nubian architecture as exemplified by the island of Sai.
building materials, predominantly mud-brick and wood. The destruction of wood by termites
and the availability of red bricks and steel has changed roof, window and, in particular, doorway constructions.
The traditional wooden door has a wooden lock with a wooden key. Few of these doors survive on Sai. Today, steel doors with multiple steel decorations are manufactured on Sai Island as well as on the mainland and only a handful of wooden doors per village remain.
They are mostly found in abandoned buildings in which the living quarters have been destroyed since the roof and other wooden parts of the structure were already eaten by termites.
The mud-brick construction of the walls has remained popular on the island. The doorposts
are more frequently made of red bricks, a fashion that may in future also include the main
construction or the house. Mud-bricks allow for a different type of ornaments above doors and walls than red brick. The mud-brick is always produced on the island and by the
islanders while red bricks are industrially made and mostly imported from the mainland, which has made them more costly.
While the red brick doorpost is similar to its mud brick predecessor this is hardly the case for
the metal doors that have replaced the wooden ones. Their locks, ornamentation, sound and
coloring is markedly different.
The following account presents a local history of metal doors and discusses the changes and innovations of doorway design in today's Nubian architecture as exemplified by the island of Sai.
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Dialect clusters in Africa and specifically those of Khoisan languages are relatively underdocumented. !Xun can be described as a complex or a cluster of lects and the Ju|’hoan speakers of |Xae|xae, Botswana, are part of the (eastern) E1... more
Dialect clusters in Africa and specifically those of Khoisan languages are relatively underdocumented. !Xun can be described as a complex or a cluster of lects and the Ju|’hoan speakers of |Xae|xae, Botswana, are part of the (eastern) E1 dialect cluster of the !Xun language. Their closest neighbors in Tsum!kwe, Namibia, also speakers of Ju|’hoan, have been the subject of extensive linguistic study. A comparison based on lexical items affiliates speakers from |Xae|xae mainly with those from Tsum!kwe but with several exceptions. Additional comparisons between the Tsum!kwe and |Xae|xae speakers based on morphological markers show differences in plural markers and gender classes as well as differences in influences from neighboring languages. This study adds a specific variety to the description of the E1 dialect cluster that should encourage further research on Ju|’hoan as spoken in Botswana.
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Roman-period six-sided dice are common in archaeological sites across Europe. While some dice approach true cubes, many are visibly non-cubic (i.e., asymmetric/lopsided) and favor certain rolls, especially the numbers 1 and 6. It is... more
Roman-period six-sided dice are common in archaeological sites across Europe. While some dice approach true cubes, many are visibly non-cubic (i.e., asymmetric/lopsided) and favor certain rolls, especially the numbers 1 and 6. It is unclear if such dice were intentional and distinctive “types” used in specific games or activities, represent “cheaters” dice, or are simply part of a continuum of variation in die shape and configuration. To explore this issue, we examine shape distribution of 28 well-dated Roman-period dice from modern-day Netherlands. Results show that Roman die asymmetry varies in a continuous fashion from true cube to highly parallelepiped, where the long side is over 50% longer than the short side. We then conduct replication experiments to examine how naïve producers configure pips across a range of shapes. Our results show a production bias, where makers place the 6 on the largest die face, not to favor certain rolls, but due to space limitations and/or the order...
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When looking at variations in games, the board and the playing pieces provide evidence, but so do the number of dice that are part of play. It is shown that the number of dice being used not only affects the game but that the definition... more
When looking at variations in games, the board and the playing pieces provide evidence, but so do the number of dice that are part of play. It is shown that the number of dice being used not only affects the game but that the definition of the values for each throw have significant and game-altering implications. All variations under scrutiny in this study do not appear as radically different games physically or perceptually. It illustrates a situation in which significant changes in strategy and playing length due to changes in randomizing instruments did not necessitate changes in the overall board or the number of playing pieces. In other words, players in history may have experimented with randomizing devices and may have used varying sets of them without any visible repercussion on the remainder of the board game implements. In the history of board games it is shown that games may have varying board sizes and number of playing pieces while at the same time different games may b...
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Adapting the centuries-old game of mancala provides basic exercises on mathematical modeling.
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International audienceWe explore early childhood dietary patterns in a Late Meroitic (first-fourth century CE) population (N = 11) from Sai Island, Sudan, using stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes in serial samples from permanent first... more
International audienceWe explore early childhood dietary patterns in a Late Meroitic (first-fourth century CE) population (N = 11) from Sai Island, Sudan, using stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes in serial samples from permanent first molar dentin. Results suggest an average age of weaning of 2.7 years, but with significant interindividual variation in the timing of weaning, with evidence for a later age at weaning for two females (average 3.5 years) compared with four males (average 2.3 years). Isotopic results support significant input of C 4 plant-derived protein in the weanling and postweaning diets (20-50%), perhaps in the form of plant-rich gruels, but no significant difference in the composition of diet by sex. We observe the highest interindividual variation in diets immediately postweaning (ca. 4-5 years), with increasing homogeneity in diet thereafter. Together, the results provide new insight into the early dietary histories of the elite Meroites along this part of the Nile
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Cubic dice were brought by the Romans to the Low Countries, and are found in small numbers at many archaeological sites dating to the last 2000 years. We report on a systematic analysis of 110 well-dated dice from the Netherlands, showing... more
Cubic dice were brought by the Romans to the Low Countries, and are found in small numbers at many archaeological sites dating to the last 2000 years. We report on a systematic analysis of 110 well-dated dice from the Netherlands, showing that shape, pip configuration, and pip style changed significantly for bone and antler dice from the Roman to the recent historical period. Dice predating 650 CE are highly variable in all attributes, those dating between 1100 and 1450 are highly standardized, and those post-dating 1450 CE are standardized for some attributes, such as symmetry and configuration, but variable for others, such as material type. There is also a major shift from “sevens” to “primes” and back to “sevens” pip configuration across these temporal windows, and pip style was simplified over time from a dot-ring-ring pattern to simple dots. We compare these trends to a smaller set of well-dated dice from the United Kingdom and speculate on possible reasons for these changes. ...
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ABSTRACT
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In 1924, the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) in New York, acquired a large collection of both archaeological and documentary material that had belonged to Austrian medical doctor, anthropologist and collector Felix von Luschan.... more
In 1924, the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) in New York, acquired a large collection of both archaeological and documentary material that had belonged to Austrian medical doctor, anthropologist and collector Felix von Luschan. Colloquially termed “The von Luschan Collection”, a large portion of this collection consisted of human skeletal remains. Of these remains there are currently 339 individuals designated to in the “el-Hesa” sub-collection, which is mainly made up of cranial and associated postcranial elements. Uncovered in 1907 at Cemetery 2 of el-Hesa, one of the islands of the first cataract of the Nile, this skeletal collection illustrates the difficulties of using osteological material coming from Nubia, at the edge of the Egyptian territory. In particular, physical anthropologists continue to use outdated chronologies when discussing the age of the collection. This review of the el-Hesa collection provides an updated historical context for the remains, including...
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During Late Antiquity in the Middle Nile Valley, the cemeteries of the Kingdom of Meroe had their graves visited many times after the first burial took place. Even if robbers left a burial chamber open, it could still be reused soon after... more
During Late Antiquity in the Middle Nile Valley, the cemeteries of the Kingdom of Meroe had their graves visited many times after the first burial took place. Even if robbers left a burial chamber open, it could still be reused soon after for another individual accompanied by a regular funerary ceremony. The term “grave activity” is introduced here to describe any human intervention likely to modify the environment of a tomb. It includes any (re-)opening of the grave related to looting activity or reburial practice. “Grave activity” may affect the structure, the position and presence of one or more bodies as well as the presence (or absence) of funerary deposits. A disturbed grave should be studied by disentangling these activities. This can be achieved with a reconstruction of the chronology and the types of activity as well as the particular consequences of each. While these activities are usually highly confusing to archaeologists, it is shown how a systematic documentation can b...
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A “loss of visual reference” is a term used by the National Transportation and Safety Board investigators to describe a situation in which the pilot has lost reference to the horizon or ground. Previous research has largely focused on the... more
A “loss of visual reference” is a term used by the National Transportation and Safety Board investigators to describe a situation in which the pilot has lost reference to the horizon or ground. Previous research has largely focused on the conditions that are often associated with a loss of visual reference (e.g., spatial disorientation) instead of the term itself. The purpose of the present study is to examine the accident and pilot characteristics that are associated with a loss of visual reference and the extent to which both are associated with fatalities. A total of 129 accident reports from 2008 through 2020 were extracted from the NTSB online database in which the term loss of visual reference appeared in the event category. Fatal accidents, which made up more than half of the dataset, were more likely to have occurred during the en-route phase of flight compared to all of the other phases of flight combined. The reports in which “decision making” or “decision making/judgment” was present were more likely to be for fatal accidents compared to reports in which the terms were not listed. It is the pilot’s decision and lack of attention that are most commonly associated with accidents in which a loss of visual reference occurred. Decisions that are likely to cause a loss of visual reference include initiating or continuing in adverse weather or light conditions. The dangers of loss of visual reference need to be part of ongoing training of pilots as opposed to their initial training only.
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We explore early childhood dietary patterns in a Late Meroitic (first–fourth century CE) population (N = 11) from Sai Island, Sudan, using stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes in serial samples from permanent first molar dentin. Results... more
We explore early childhood dietary patterns in a Late Meroitic (first–fourth century CE) population (N = 11) from Sai Island, Sudan, using stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes in serial samples from permanent first molar dentin. Results suggest an average age of weaning of 2.7 years, but with significant interindividual variation in the timing of weaning, with evidence for a later age at weaning for two females (average 3.5 years) compared with four males (average 2.3 years). Isotopic results support significant input of C 4 plant‐derived protein in the weanling and postweaning diets (20–50%), perhaps in the form of plant‐rich gruels, but no significant difference in the composition of diet by sex. We observe the highest interindividual variation in diets immediately postweaning (ca. 4–5 years), with increasing homogeneity in diet thereafter. Together, the results provide new insight into the early dietary histories of the elite Meroites along this part of the Nile.
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INTRODUCTION: Accidents with aircraft standing are more likely with helicopters than fixed-wing aircraft due to the common presence of off-airport landings and the possibility of the rotor system to strike objects in its immediate... more
INTRODUCTION: Accidents with aircraft standing are more likely with helicopters than fixed-wing aircraft due to the common presence of off-airport landings and the possibility of the rotor system to strike objects in its immediate surroundings.METHODS: A total of 115 accidents involving helicopters characterized as standing as a broad phase of flight were selected from the NTSB online database for the period 1998 until 2018.RESULTS: Accidents reporting fatal (8.7) or serious injuries (7.8) were significantly less likely to occur when the aircraft was substantially damaged (84.3) or destroyed (5.2). The majority of the cases occurred after off-airport landings (57.4), which were reported significantly more often in Alaska (N= 15). A main rotor strike with an individual was at the basis of each of the 10 fatal accidents in the dataset and in 8 of these cases the cause of the accident was attributed to the victim. None of the accidents occurred in instrument meteorological conditions, but, in particular, high winds and gusts proved a main cause of accident (18.3).CONCLUSION: Pilot, passengers, and crew endangered themselves when they were outside the aircraft while the rotors were still turning. Helicopter operating manuals should highlight the limitations and dangers for wind and wind gusts not only during takeoff and flight, but specifically when standing.
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Situational awareness is a concept increasingly used in aircraft accident investigation reports. We analyzed 94 general aviation accidents in which situational awareness was mentioned by the National Transportation Safety Board... more
Situational awareness is a concept increasingly used in aircraft accident investigation reports. We analyzed 94 general aviation accidents in which situational awareness was mentioned by the National Transportation Safety Board investigator to determine factors that are significantly more often associated with fatality. We found a consistent use of the situational awareness concept, mainly applied to situations in which aircraft inadvertently collided with each other, with other man-made objects, and with various kinds of terrain. A significantly higher proportion of fatal accidents occurred during nighttime, in instrument meteorological conditions, or low visibility conditions. In addition, flights occurring during the cruise phase or in combination with spatial or geographical disorientation proved most often fatal.
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Mancala games are commonly defined by the appearance of the boards and mode of moving the pieces. The similarities have led to the belief that most mancala games are historically related or that they may be identified by appearances... more
Mancala games are commonly defined by the appearance of the boards and mode of moving the pieces. The similarities have led to the belief that most mancala games are historically related or that they may be identified by appearances alone. Their ubiquity in Africa and their occurrence as graffiti boards on ancient monuments has created speculation about their antiquity. To this date their ancient status cannot be confirmed by archaeological or historical evidence. Based on today’s understanding, mancala games are of distinct kinds with separate histories while their antiquity goes back hundreds of years but not yet thousands.
Mancala games have been instrumental in showing that so-called complex societies and the presence of board games are not necessarily related. By extension, state formation and the development of board games should not be connected based on the evidence of contemporary mancala gaming practices.
Mancala games have been instrumental in showing that so-called complex societies and the presence of board games are not necessarily related. By extension, state formation and the development of board games should not be connected based on the evidence of contemporary mancala gaming practices.
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The evolution of writing systems has occurred in multiple regions of the world starting in the third millennium BCE. The first writing systems were largely logographic in nature, but often included syllabic or even consonantal signs.... more
The evolution of writing systems has occurred in multiple regions of the world starting in the third millennium BCE. The first writing systems were largely logographic in nature, but often included syllabic or even consonantal signs. Alphabets and alpha-syllabaries with their small sign inventories developed in the fifteenth century and fourth century BCE, respectively. History has shown that logographic, syllabic, and (alpha)syllabic systems all continue to function until today and are even newly developed, especially in sub- Saharan Africa. The administrative function of scripts is neither mandatory nor inevitable and no discernable development of scripts towards smaller sign inventories, less ambiguity or less variation can be generalized.
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This article focuses on a loincloth found in situ on the skeleton of an Early Medieval male buried on the Nubian island of Sai, in northern Sudan, dated to the seventh to ninth centuries BCE. This loincloth differs from most contemporary... more
This article focuses on a loincloth found in situ on the skeleton of an Early Medieval male buried on the Nubian island of
Sai, in northern Sudan, dated to the seventh to ninth centuries BCE. This loincloth differs from most contemporary textile
production because it was woven in a triangular form and probably using threads made from dromedary wool. It exhibits
several phases of repair and reuse until its burial with the body. This garment therefore illustrates the textile expertise and
clothing practices of the ancient Nubians, as well as the cultural role of textiles in funerary rituals.
Sai, in northern Sudan, dated to the seventh to ninth centuries BCE. This loincloth differs from most contemporary textile
production because it was woven in a triangular form and probably using threads made from dromedary wool. It exhibits
several phases of repair and reuse until its burial with the body. This garment therefore illustrates the textile expertise and
clothing practices of the ancient Nubians, as well as the cultural role of textiles in funerary rituals.
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The Marshall Islands have an active community of competitive players of checkers (jekab) who use a rule set that is particular to the region. This game is featured in tournaments held during cultural celebrations on multiple islands in... more
The Marshall Islands have an active community of competitive players of checkers (jekab) who use a rule set that is particular to the region. This game is featured in tournaments held during cultural celebrations on multiple islands in the archipelago, while the activity is considered an integral part of public life as it is witnessed on the islands. Marshallese checkers is shown to create a liminoid space in which a diversity of players in terms of age, language and socioeconomic circumstances interact across the playing board. Marshallese checkers supports the idea of board games as social lubricants that helps to explain how board games cross these borders so effortlessly historically as well as contemporaneously. The public presence, the rules and the diversity of players exhibited in the Marshall Islands point to a rich history of and a continuing future for abstract board games in the Pacific Islands.
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Helicopters have the ability to make maneuvers or precautionary off-airport landings to avoid flights into instrument meteorological conditions (IMC) such as fog. Flight accidents in which fog was encountered as well as inadvertent and... more
Helicopters have the ability to make maneuvers or precautionary off-airport landings to avoid flights into instrument meteorological conditions (IMC) such as fog. Flight accidents in which fog was encountered as well as inadvertent and intentional flights into fog were examined to understand their occurrence. A 25-year period in the United States using the National Transportation Safety Board online database was used to collect 109 accident reports of which 73 (67%) were fatal. Pilots flying intentionally into IMC were more likely to be a part of a fatal accident than those who did so inadvertently. Those pilots who were reported as being under pressure when encountering fog conditions were also more likely to be in an accident. The findings confirm a high prevalence and an added danger to intentional flights into IMC. In addition, decision-making under pressure when encountering IMC conditions is now linked to a higher proportion of fatalities, emphasizing that helicopter pilots should be made aware of these specific decision-making circumstances in their operations.
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The influence of Constantine Cavafy’s (1863–1933) poetry outside of Greece has mainly proceeded through translations. Only in the last two decades has some attention been given to formal structures, such as meter and rhyme, which play a... more
The influence of Constantine Cavafy’s (1863–1933) poetry outside of Greece has mainly proceeded through translations. Only in the last two decades has some attention been given to formal structures, such as meter and rhyme, which play a significant role in at least a third of his poems. Cavafy shows particular ingenuity creating one form, which is found in eighteen examples. It consists of visible hemistiches and a fixed syllabics structure. Cavafy built on the traditional structure of the Dekapentasyllavo or Greek folk song but allowed a flexible number of syllables, six or seven for either hemistich, together with a clear caesura. In later years, Cavafy would compromise the integrity of the meaningful phrase in each hemistich but never violated his own rules of syllabics. Syllabics look, feel, and sound different when they are applied in translation. They are a hidden structure with historical antecedents. Cavafy’s 18 are not limited to a theme or subject, yet the lack of attention to the form of these poems obfuscates Cavafy’s engagement with Modern Greek folk songs and his attempts to modernize their form.
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The frequent absence of culturally specific, figurative, or decorative markings in abstract board games has challenged theorizations that assume a meaningful representation in the study of games. In accepting this challenge, this article... more
The frequent absence of culturally specific, figurative, or decorative markings in abstract board games has challenged theorizations that assume a meaningful representation in the study of games. In accepting this challenge, this article theorizes the historical phenomenon of abstract board games whose nonrepresentational board design and formal rules have transmitted with little change over millennia and across vast expanse. A theoretical framework is outlined for understanding abstract board games—a modular ontology of abstract board games and a typology of player meaning-making in abstract board games. It is argued that the reproducibility and transferability of abstract board games as self-sufficient and reliable formal systems that players share independently from culturally specific meanings and materials may contribute to their dispersal. It is in this interaction between the cross-cultural/reliable and local/variable semantic structures of abstract board games that game studies from a historical or archaeological perspective may meet literary and social science perspectives.
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Board games in antiquity are characterized by their continuity in both shape and playing practice when crossing socio-political borders and centuries of time. But as much as these games appear similar throughout the archaeological record,... more
Board games in antiquity are characterized by their continuity in both shape and playing practice when crossing socio-political borders and centuries of time. But as much as these games appear similar throughout the archaeological record, traces of integration and appropriation are found in aspects not necessarily affecting rules of play or configurations of boards.
Recently uncovered examples of the game of Duodecim scripta in Egypt and Sudan point to changes in board design or, at least, in design preference when compared to those found elsewhere in the Roman Empire. The presence of game boards in grave contexts further illustrates the extent of the appropriation that may have taken place.
Egypt and Sudan in Greco-Roman times are on and across the border of the Roman world and provide ideal contexts for the understanding of the cultural appropriation process of board games in antiquity.
Recently uncovered examples of the game of Duodecim scripta in Egypt and Sudan point to changes in board design or, at least, in design preference when compared to those found elsewhere in the Roman Empire. The presence of game boards in grave contexts further illustrates the extent of the appropriation that may have taken place.
Egypt and Sudan in Greco-Roman times are on and across the border of the Roman world and provide ideal contexts for the understanding of the cultural appropriation process of board games in antiquity.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
The presence of clicks in Southern African languages has inspired theories of human language history since first encountered by European travelers. Catford (1997) points out their early notions about clicks were often rooted in historical... more
The presence of clicks in Southern African languages has inspired theories of human language history since first encountered by European travelers. Catford (1997) points out their early notions about clicks were often rooted in historical bias rather than in empirical evidence. The following discussion highlights potentially problematic terms that continue to be used in the literature on clicks and language evolution, in particular, that clicks are exotic, not human or rare.
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This book provides an introduction to the Meroitic language and writing system, which was used between circa 300 BC and AD 400 in the kingdom of Meroe, located in what is now Sudan and Egyptian Nubia. This book details advances in the... more
This book provides an introduction to the Meroitic language and writing system, which was used between circa 300 BC and AD 400 in the kingdom of Meroe, located in what is now Sudan and Egyptian Nubia. This book details advances in the understanding of Meiotic, a language that until recently was considered untranslatable. In addition to providing a full history of the script and an analysis of the phonology, grammar, and linguistic affiliation of the language, it features linguistic analyses for those working on Nilo-Saharan comparative linguistics, paleographic tables useful to archeologists for dating purposes, and an overview of texts that can be translated or understood by way of analogy for those working on Nubian religion, history, and archaeology.
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The Idea of Writing is an exploration of the versatility of writing systems. From ancient Egyptian, Cuneiform and Meroitic writing to Chinese, Maya and Maldivian script, the authors examine the problems and possibilities of polysemy,... more
The Idea of Writing is an exploration of the versatility of writing systems. From ancient Egyptian, Cuneiform and Meroitic writing to Chinese, Maya and Maldivian script, the authors examine the problems and possibilities of polysemy, representing loanwords and the problems of adapting a writing system to another language. The playful and artistic use of writing, including a contribution on writing dance, further illustrates the intricacies of the systems. This collection of articles aims to highlight the complexity of writing systems rather than to provide a first introduction. The different academic traditions in which these writing systems have been studied use linguistic, socio-historical and philological approaches that give complementary insights into the complex phenomena.
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Research Interests:
Books have been filled with thoughts on mastership, genius and excellence in games. Players that excel in tournaments feature in psychological studies or test their ability with computer opponents. The featured games claim a history... more
Books have been filled with thoughts on mastership, genius and excellence in games. Players that excel in tournaments feature in psychological studies or test their ability with computer opponents. The featured games claim a history longer than any treatise on strategy and a geographical distribution reaching the outer corners of the world.
Africans show excellence in board games. The players of African descent make up a history of intellectual African accomplishments thus far unnoticed in literature on African history as well as in works on cross-cultural and cognitive psychology.
A history of African players includes world champions, prize-winning grand masters, blindfold players as well as experts in simultaneous and computer matches. This study suggests three criteria of excellence which allow a better appreciation of the past and present players. It speaks of victories against strong competition, brilliant moves and unique accomplishments. The illustration of these criteria follows the history of games in Africa and the success of players of African descent.
Questions on African excellence are best answered in a historical context of world events and the developing criteria for being above the ordinary. Such a long history illustrates that Africans showing excellence are not a new phenomenon but part of a growing history of competition in play and a growing understanding of what excellence entails.
Africans show excellence in board games. The players of African descent make up a history of intellectual African accomplishments thus far unnoticed in literature on African history as well as in works on cross-cultural and cognitive psychology.
A history of African players includes world champions, prize-winning grand masters, blindfold players as well as experts in simultaneous and computer matches. This study suggests three criteria of excellence which allow a better appreciation of the past and present players. It speaks of victories against strong competition, brilliant moves and unique accomplishments. The illustration of these criteria follows the history of games in Africa and the success of players of African descent.
Questions on African excellence are best answered in a historical context of world events and the developing criteria for being above the ordinary. Such a long history illustrates that Africans showing excellence are not a new phenomenon but part of a growing history of competition in play and a growing understanding of what excellence entails.
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Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
The articles contained in this edited volume are grouped around five themes: literary studies and board games; computer science and board games; philosophy and board games; descriptive research and board games; and archaeology and board... more
The articles contained in this edited volume are grouped around five themes: literary studies and board games; computer science and board games; philosophy and board games; descriptive research and board games; and archaeology and board games.
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Limits of the Mind is an interdisciplinary study of the thinking processes of Bao masters. Bao is a board game played in East Africa. It belongs to the manqala family of games. Regular championships are held in Bao, especially on... more
Limits of the Mind is an interdisciplinary study of the thinking processes of Bao masters. Bao is a board game played in East Africa. It belongs to the manqala family of games. Regular championships are held in Bao, especially on Zanzibar. This study not only presents a psychological study of mastership but also a complete description of Zanzibar Bao and a history of its masters. The rules, the moves, and the various experiments are illustrated with the results of the 1994 Masters Tournament, which was partly organised by the researcher. A newly identified limitation to human memory and examples of extraordinary abilities of Bao masters make interesting reading to psychologists, computer scientists, games researchers, and the interested layman. An appendix of more than ninety games on a master's level provides a first body of literature to Bao players everywhere.
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Research Interests:
The legacy of Albert von Baumhauer, a Dutch helicopter pioneer, extends beyond his contributions to the development of the helicopter. His extensive correspondence and notebooks that have been preserved and catalogued are a testimony of... more
The legacy of Albert von Baumhauer, a Dutch helicopter pioneer, extends beyond his contributions to the development of the helicopter. His extensive correspondence and notebooks that have been preserved and catalogued are a testimony of contacts between aviation theorists, helicopter pioneers and specialists of aerodynamics. This study gives a first glimpse of his correspondence concerning helicopter patents as well as a second experimental helicopter that was designed by him but did not materialize. The correspondence shows that von Baumhauer was in contact with Burke Wilford from the United States and Anton Flettner from Germany and that he had extensive correspondence with Oscar Asbóth from Hungary for whom he rewrote an English patent application. The second helicopter project by von Baumhauer remained largely unknown since the machine was never built. It shows the diversity of von Baumhauer's designs that has also been attested for other helicopter pioneers.
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The game related objects found in Kush illustrate both Egyptian and Greco-Roman influences. A group of graffiti boards and rows of holes that point at mancala games both present a later influence that may have an Arab or African origin,... more
The game related objects found in Kush illustrate both Egyptian and Greco-Roman influences. A group of graffiti boards and rows of holes that point at mancala games both present a later influence that may have an Arab or African origin, respectively. Together they illustrate a continuous outside influence on playing practices in Kush but little evidence for locally developed games.
The difficulty of dating graffiti boards and the absence of wooden boards in excavations so far prevent conclusions on the presence of African or Nubian games in the Kingdom of Kush. Yet, the complex dispersal of games at the borders of Africa, the Mediterranean and the Near East and the unknown distribution of, particularly mancala, games in ancient times make Kush an important crossroad for future research in board games.
The difficulty of dating graffiti boards and the absence of wooden boards in excavations so far prevent conclusions on the presence of African or Nubian games in the Kingdom of Kush. Yet, the complex dispersal of games at the borders of Africa, the Mediterranean and the Near East and the unknown distribution of, particularly mancala, games in ancient times make Kush an important crossroad for future research in board games.
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Large-scale accident analyses have combined airplane and helicopter accidents or have ignored the rotary-wing aircraft altogether. An overview of all helicopter accidents of the last twenty-five years in the United States allows... more
Large-scale accident analyses have combined airplane and helicopter accidents or have ignored the rotary-wing aircraft altogether. An overview of all helicopter accidents of the last twenty-five years in the United States allows comparisons with other types of aircraft and provides a basis for comparing specific helicopter operations to helicopter flights in general. A first analysis of the data provided by the NTSB, the American organization that collects these accidents, shows that helicopters are significantly more likely to be in a fatal accident when the accident occurred in adverse weather or IMC conditions, or when the accident involved a collision with an object in flight. In contrast, accidents in which the helicopter was near to the ground show significantly fewer fatalities. Also, specialized helicopter operations, such as instruction flights and aerial applications, have significantly fewer fatalities than business and personal flights. The specificity of helicopter operations require that further research is needed on the causes and contributing factors of specific operations in relation to the general findings presented in this study.
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Breyer has produced a rare introductory text for what translates as “Meroitic Studies”. It is at present the only relatively comprehensive text in German. Potentially valuable as a teaching tool for German-speaking students of Egyptology,... more
Breyer has produced a rare introductory text for what translates as “Meroitic Studies”. It is at present the only relatively comprehensive text in German. Potentially valuable as a teaching tool for German-speaking students of Egyptology, it is also cause for some concern.
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La langue du royaume de Méroé is both the result of, and the foundation for research on, the Meroitic language. Although eminent scholars have preceded Claude Rilly in the endeavor to under- stand this language, he is at present alone... more
La langue du royaume de Méroé is both the result of, and the foundation for research on, the Meroitic language. Although eminent scholars have preceded Claude Rilly in the endeavor to under- stand this language, he is at present alone in his ambition to progress in this field with such intensity. His work presents a combination of historical, paléographie, and linguistic findings that warrant the attention of scholars beyond the field of Meroitic language studies.
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The archaeology of games and our understanding of the ways that games can support the understanding of archaeological sites and human behavior have made significant advances in the past several decades, but most if not all of the... more
The archaeology of games and our understanding of the ways that games can support the understanding of archaeological sites and human behavior have made significant advances in the past several decades, but most if not all of the archaeological materials have come from outside the Americas. Prehistoric Games makes a valiant attempt at filling this void with an exploration of a variety of games found in the prehistory of North American Indians. It builds on the seminal 1907 work Games of the North American Indians by Stewart Culin, whose material allows for extensive ethnographic comparisons with archaeological data. With topics ranging from dice and board games to acrobatics and ball games, the unifying aspect of the material is to be sought in its potential to advance our general understanding of games encountered in archaeological contexts.