Henry Anderson

This volume introduces the notion of “stranger-kingship” to the field of ancient history and evaluates its use as a new way of thinking about kingship as a political, social, and cultural phenomenon. The chapters highlight the clear and widespread value of the “stranger-king” as a new approach for understanding patterns of political life across time and space in antiquity. The volume begins with theoretical discussions of the “stranger king” and explores how the theory can be mapped onto current thinking about kingship in both Greece and Rome. The chapters then show the multifaceted ways in which this theory can be applied, testing some of its core ideas through case studies that cover Hellenistic monarchy, Greek and Roman kings, the Ptolemies of Egypt, Late Antique Roman emperors, and Ostrogothic Italy and Visigothic Iberia. The volume demonstrates that stranger-kingship has much to offer studies of ancient kingship as a heuristic tool, providing avenues for future research. Stranger-Kingship in Antiquity provides a fascinating cross-cultural study of "stranger kings", of interest to students and scholars in classical studies and the history of the ancient Mediterranean world.

This chapter explores the accession of the East Roman Emperor Marcian in relation to Marshall Sahlins’ theory of stranger-kingship. Marcian's coronation coincided with his marriage to the Augusta Pulcheria, a scion of the Theodosian ruling dynasty to which Marcian was a complete outsider. This chapter will posit that the stranger-king paradigm provides us with a useful new lens through which to view both Marican's marriage and the way in which his accession was presented. Like many of the stranger-king exempla discussed by Marshall Sahlins, Marcian is an example of a relative outsider cementing his ruling legitimacy through a union with a ‘native’ woman, who herself brings her own form of cosmic authority. Pulcheria's position as leading member of the Theodosian Dynasty and saintly reputation as a ‘bride of Christ’ helped to grant Marcian, a relative unknown, the legitimacy he desperately needed. At the same time, during and after Marcian's own lifetime, various stories were formulated that sought to show his inherent destiny to rule. Such tales can be seen as being akin to the foundational narratives of stranger-kings arriving to rule a new land, crafted to grant otherworldly authority to the rulers who traced their royal lineage back to these often-mythic dynastic progenitors. Though Marcian did not found his own dynasty, his association with the far-reaching Council of Chalcedon meant that for many Chalcedonian Christian writers there was a desire to attribute to him a special, divinely sanctioned greatness that would further legitimise the council that had instituted their specific orthodox world order.

It is a remarkably common fact that the great chiefs and kings of political society are not of the people they rule. By the local theories of origin they are strangers, just as the draconic feats by which they come to power are foreign to the conduct of the “real people” or “true sons of the land,” as Polynesians might express it… typically, then, these rulers do not even spring from the same clay as the common aboriginal people: they are from the heavens or – in the very common case – they are of distinct ethnic stock.

CAILLAN DAVENPORT and MEAGHAN MCEVOY (Eds), The Roman Imperial Court in the Principate and Late Antiquity. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2023. Pp. xvi+405. isbn 9780192865236 (hbk). £100.00. 9780191955686 ebook; 9780192688804 ebook; 9780192688811 ebook.

Describe mercury exposures among women of childbearing age before and after an educational intervention. Women age 18 to 45 were recruited to participate in an educational intervention concerning fish consumption. Fish consumption habits and total mercury concentration in hair were assessed pre- and post-intervention. Regression models examined associations between mercury, fish consumption, and demographics. Overall, 234 women completed the study. On average, mercury concentrations increased by 0.01 ppm (parts per million) following the intervention, despite declines in fish consumption; however, women in the 90th percentile for mercury at baseline decreased concentrations significantly while maintaining high rates of fish consumption. Mercury concentrations were positively correlated with fish consumption and certain demographic characteristics. The intervention reached individuals most at-risk. Healthcare providers should discuss fish consumption habits with women to encourage consumption of low-risk fish, and identify women needing education and counseling.

Recent controversy regarding the issue of children working in family-owned businesses has come to the forefront, pitting safety and health versus parent’s right to teach their children the family trade. While studies have characterized injury among working teens, no studies have assessed work and injury among teens employed in family-owned businesses. This study is the first to examine teenagers working in family-owned businesses and to compare the experiences of teens working in family-businesses to the experiences of other working teens. A questionnaire was distributed to 8,085 teens in high schools throughout the five public health regions of Wisconsin. A total of 6, 810 teens responded (84%). Overall 2,858 high school teens aged 14–17 reported working (42%); of which 963 (34%) worked in a family-business. Teens working in family-businesses were more likely to report that their injury was severe, affecting their activities for more than three days, compared with other working teens (33% vs. 21%, P = 0.05). The percentage of teens working in family-businesses that reported broken bones or crushed body parts was 17% compared to only 5% of other-working teens. Additionally, teens employed in family-businesses were more likely to file for workers’ compensation (28% vs. 12%, P = 0.005). Teens working in family-owned businesses may be at a greater risk for more severe injury based on the jobs and tasks they are doing. Teens working in family-owned businesses were more likely to report engaging in dangerous tasks, including some that are illegal under the Hazardous Occupation Orders. More research is needed to assess the dynamics that exist for teens working in family-owned businesses.

Objectives To evaluate work experiences among teens enrolled in school-sponsored work (SSW) programs and compare the findings to other-working teens. This study, the first to assess work-related safety and health for teens in SSW programs, includes teens working one job and teens working multiple jobs. Methods A survey was conducted among 6810 teens in school districts in five public health regions in Wisconsin. Information on demographics, work characteristics, injury and school performance was collected. Results Of 3411 high school teens (14–18 years old) working during the school year, 461 were enrolled in SSW programs. SSW teens were more likely to hold multiple jobs, work over 40 h per week, and work 2 or more days per week before 8:00 h compared with other-working teens. SSW teens working only one job were no more likely to be injured than other-working teens. However, SSW teens working multiple jobs were significantly more likely to be severely injured compared to other-working teens (AOR 3.49; 95% CI 1.52 to 8.02). Conclusions SSW programs were created to prepare youth for transition into the workforce after high school. This first study suggests that students in SSW programs working only one job are no more likely to be injured at work compared with other-working teens. However, being enrolled in SSW programs is not protective against work injury, which would have been expected based on the philosophy of these programs. Furthermore, when students work multiple jobs, those enrolled in SSW programs are more likely to be severely injured. Possible explanations are provided.

To evaluate the effect of after-school employment on Grade Point Average, absenteeism, school tardiness, extracurricular activities, and class-cutting, a cross-sectional anonymous questionnaire was completed by 7,506 high school students in May 2002. Working students did not report lower grades, higher absenteeism, or more school tardiness than their nonworking peers. However, students who worked were significantly more likely to cut classes and not take part in extracurricular activities than were students who were not employed. Factors associated with lower Grade Point Average among working students included working before 8:00 AM (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 1.73, 95% CI = 1.18–2.52), being injured at work (AOR = 1.47, 95% CI = 1.10–1.96), and feeling that the job was more important than school (AOR = 2.74, 95% CI = 2.08–3.60).

Cumulative sun exposure has been linked to about 95 percent of all skin cancers. Farmers and their families, by nature of their occupations, are exposed to an abundance of sun over a long period of time and, therefore, are at an increased risk for skin cancer. Because education is known to be a primary means of health, Future Farmers of America (FFA) peer facilitators (teen educators) provided third graders in rural communities sun protection education with the hope that the message would reach the entire family. The FFA facilitators (n=217) from 39 FFA organizations throughout Wisconsin were trained with skin cancer and sun protection information. The FFA facilitators then gave presentations on sun protection to third graders (n=2,007) in their school districts. Control schools included 57 facilitators and 669 third graders. Evaluation involved pre‐, post‐, and six‐month follow‐up surveys testing knowledge gained by the third graders. Students who correctly responded to a question on the post‐survey after incorrectly answering it on the pre‐survey were said to have had a knowledge gain for that question. By using chi‐square tests, the intervention group demonstrated a statistically significant (P<0.001) higher proportion of students experiencing knowledge gain than did the control group from pre‐ to post‐surveys for nine of the 10 questions. Summary statistics were used to describe the study population. In addition to skin cancer knowledge questions, the survey of facilitators included sun protection behavior and attitude questions. This intervention was able to use peer educators as instructors to demonstrate knowledge gain in the youths of the target population. The pilot project materials costs were $0.55 per third grade student and $3.50 per facilitator. Using a school‐based organization such as FFA provided a cost‐effective means of reaching the rural population.