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Stuart Ernest Piggott (28 May, 191023 September, 1996) CBE, was a British archaeologist most well known for his work on prehistoric Wessex.

Born in Petersfield, Hampshire, Piggott was educated at Churcher's College and on leaving school in 1927 took up a post as assistant at Reading Museum where he developed an expertise in Neolithic pottery.

In 1928 he was joined the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales and spent the next 5 years producing a revolutionary study of the site of Butser Hill, near Petersfield. He also worked with Eliot and Cecil Curwen on their excavations at The Trundle causewayed enclosure in Sussex.

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UC Davis News: General Interest

Jared Diamond to Open International Genetic Diversity Symposium
Wed, 27 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0700
Evolutionary biologist and author Jared Diamond will present the opening keynote address for an international symposium on agricultural biodiversity, to be held Sept. 14-18 at the University of California, Davis. The Harlan II International Symposium, the successor to a program held 11 years ago in Syria, is dedicated to the late crop evolutionist Jack R. Harlan. It will focus on the importance of using and conserving not just a diversity of species, but also genetic diversity within species. In opening the symposium, Diamond will discuss whether environmental factors, rather than pure chance, led to the uneven distribution around the world of plant and animal species suitable for domestication and agricultural use. His public presentation on Sunday, Sept. 14, will begin at 6:15 p.m. in 123 Science Lecture Hall at UC Davis. Admission to the talk and the preceding reception will cost $50 per person. Diamond maintains that the adoption of agriculture was "the most important event in the last 50,000 years of human history." As people developed the ability to cultivate crops and raise animals, they were able to produce a surplus of food, which fueled population growth and led to settled living, technology, social stratification and political centralization, he notes. He points out that the societies with the greatest variety of plant species suitable for farming expanded earlier and farther than did societies in areas with the fewest farmable plant species -- and no animal species -- that were easily domesticated. For example, cultures in the Fertile Crescent, China, the Andes, and Meso-America -- the land between central Mexico and Nicaragua -- flourished, while cultures in areas such as Eastern North America and Highland New Guinea did not. Diamond will question whether environmental factors in different regions predisposed wild animal and plant species in those areas to develop traits conducive to domestication. A complete program for the Harlan II symposium is available online at: http://harlanii.ucdavis.edu/main/speakers_topics.htm. For fee information and a list of talks and tours, click on "registration" at the left of this page. Among the speakers during the three-day symposium will be: Monday, Sept. 15, 9 a.m. -- Robert Wayne, a UCLA biology professor and expert on canine genetics, will discuss what the analysis of the dog genome -- the entire collection of genes for the animal family that includes domestic dogs, wolves, foxes and coyotes -- tells about the evolutionary history of these animals and how the various species are related. Monday, Sept. 15, 1:30 p.m. -- Doyle McKey, Universite de Montpellier II and the Center of Evolutionary and Functional Ecology, Montpellier, France, will discuss ecological approaches to crop domestication, using manioc, or cassava, as an example of how ecology can be integrated with genetics and ethnobiology -- the study of how people interact with the living environment -- to test plant-domestication scenarios. Tuesday, Sept. 16, 9:30 a.m. -- Anthropologist Melinda Zeder, director of the archaeobiology program for the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, will discuss her latest research on when and where in the world animals were first domesticated. Tuesday, Sept. 16, 6 p.m. -- Keynote speaker Gary Nabhan, an ecologist and pioneer in the local-food movement from the Southwest Center of the University of Arizona, will compare the crop diversity found by plant explorer N.I. Vavilov between 1916 and 1936, with the remaining diversity that Nabhan found in the same areas in nine countries on five continents three quarters of a century later. Nabhan says that an understanding of how biodiversity in local agricultural systems has changed may help predict how well farmers may be able to adapt to rapid climate change, globalization, water scarcity, and weed or pest invasions. Wednesday, Sept. 17, 8 a.m. -- M. Kat Andersen, a plant ecologist in UC Davis' Department of Plant Sciences and the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service, will discuss how Native Californians cultivated naturally occurring plants as sources of food even before the first Europeans arrived and how some of those practices are being applied in certain sectors of modern agriculture today. Wednesday, Sept. 17, 9 a.m. -- Dennis Hedgecock, a fisheries ecologist at the University of Southern California, will discuss the importance of conserving genetic resources in aquaculture, which he says is now the fastest-growing sector of global food production. He will discuss the challenges in both conserving and utilizing the planet's imperiled aquatic biodiversity, when faced with the threat of overfishing, species introductions, interactions of wild and farmed stocks, ocean warming and ocean acidification. Wednesday, Sept. 17, 11 a.m. -- Charles Bamforth, the Anheuser-Busch Endowed Professor of Brewing Science at UC Davis, will discuss genetic resources of brewing yeast, which he says is the best example of the major advances that have been made in just a few decades in understanding the physiology, biochemistry and genetics of yeasts and other microorganisms. Wednesday, Sept. 17, 11:30 a.m., -- James Lapsley, adjunct associate professor in the Department of Viticulture and Enology and chair of the Department of Science, Agriculture, and Natural Resources in UC Davis Extension, will talk about the introduction to California of Vitis vinifera, the grape species that includes most traditional European wine grapes. Lapsley is author of the book "Bottled Poetry," a history of California winemaking. News media who would like to attend all or parts of the symposium free of charge should RSVP to Pat Bailey, News Service, (530) 752-9843, pjbailey@ucdavis.edu.
Troubled Children Hurt Peers' Test Scores, Behavior
Mon, 25 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0700
Troubled children hurt their classmates' math and reading scores and worsen their behavior, according to new research by economists at the University of California, Davis, and University of Pittsburgh. The study, "Externalities in the Classroom: How Children Exposed to Domestic Violence Affect Everyone's Kids," was published this month by the National Bureau of Economic Research and is available online at http://papers.nber.org/papers/w14246. Scott Carrell, an assistant professor of economics at UC Davis, and co-author Mark Hoekstra, an assistant professor of economics at the University of Pittsburgh, cross-referenced standardized test results and school disciplinary records with court restraining order petitions filed in domestic violence cases for more than 40,000 students enrolled in public elementary schools in Florida's Alachua County for the years 1995 through 2003. The researchers linked domestic violence cases to 4.6 percent of the elementary school students in their sample. These children scored nearly 4 percentile points lower on standardized reading and math scores than their peers whose parents were not involved in domestic violence cases. (A percentile score reflects the percentage of scores that fall below it; a student who scores in the 51st percentile on a test, for example, has scored higher than 51 percent of all students who took that test.) In addition, the children from households linked to domestic violence were 44 percent more likely to have been suspended from school and 28 percent more likely to have been disciplined for bad behavior. The impact was seen across genders, races and income levels. Not only did children from troubled homes suffer, however: Test scores fell and behavior problems increased for their classmates as well. Troubled boys caused the bulk of the disruption, and the largest effects were on other boys. Indeed, Carrell and Hoekstra estimate that adding just one troubled boy to a class of 20 children reduces the standardized reading and math scores of other boys in the room by nearly two percentile points. And adding just one troubled boy to a class of 20 students increases the likelihood that another boy in the class will commit a disciplinary infraction by 17 percent. Troubled girls, in contrast, had only a small and statistically insignificant impact on the test scores or behavior of their classmates. The study did not investigate the reasons for the gender differences. Across all students, having a troubled student in a class reduced classmates' combined test scores by nearly 1 percentile point and increased their likelihood of getting into disciplinary trouble at school by 6 percent. The researchers conducted sophisticated statistical tests to ensure that they were observing only the impacts of a troubled child on classrooms, not the impact of broader socioeconomic issues in the community. They compared classes from the same grade in the same school over time; some years the classes had troubled students, some years they did not. They also compared how siblings performed when one student was in a class with troubled classmates and another student from the same family was in a class with fewer troubled students. "Our findings have important implications for both education and social policy," Carrell and Hoekstra write. "First, they suggest that policies that change a child's exposure to classmates from troubled families will have important consequences for his or her education outcomes. In addition, the results also help provide a more complete measure of the social costs of family conflict." The research does not suggest that all disruptive schoolchildren come from families that experience domestic violence, nor are all children from domestic violence disruptive, Carrell emphasized. "There are many reasons for disruptive classroom behavior; domestic violence is one particularly good indicator of a troubled child," Carrell said.
Private Support for UC Davis Tops $216 Million
Thu, 21 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0700
More than 44,000 donors supported UC Davis with nearly $216.8 million in gifts, pledges and private grants last fiscal year, marking the sixth consecutive year that philanthropic support has grown and the first time that UC Davis has surpassed $200 million. Almost half of the total -- $100 million -- came from a single philanthropic grant from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, directed to found a new nursing school in Sacramento. The foundation's philanthropic grant is the largest in the nation in support of nursing education. In all, the nearly $216.8 million in support in 2007-08 represents a 114 percent jump compared with the previous fiscal year, when private support totaled more than $101 million. Even without the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation grant, giving increased 12 percent, year to year. Chancellor Larry Vanderhoef expressed thanks for the generosity and pointed out how important philanthropic support is to UC Davis as the university enters its centennial year. "We are grateful to each and every one of our donors who helps and believes in our mission at UC Davis," Vanderhoef said. "Their support and commitment provide new and better opportunities for our students and faculty as we look to address society's challenges of the next 100 years." Vanderhoef noted that UC Davis has benefited from philanthropy since its founding, when members of the local chamber of commerce raised money to donate water rights for the proposed campus site. Many believe that gift made the difference in locating the university in what was then known as the town of Davisville. "Even our early advocates understood that philanthropic support could provide an extra margin that can make all the difference," Vanderhoef said. "Philanthropy continues to be so very important to UC Davis. This year, the university has benefited in many ways, from unrestricted annual gifts that provide funding where it is always needed, to the magnificent grant from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation to found a nursing school that is critically important to California and the nation." Donors in 2007-08 included alumni, parents, faculty and friends, as well as corporations, foundations, and other organizations, according to Cheryl Brown Lohse, associate vice chancellor for University Development. In addition, UC Davis students made contributions, through a senior class gift effort. Gifts and philanthropic grants provided a wide range of support for students, faculty and programs. Consider the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation's grant to establish the proposed Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing. The grant was inspired by UC Davis and the foundation's shared vision: highly skilled and well-prepared nurses will lead our national health-care system in assuring patient safety, improving quality of care and health outcomes, guiding policy decisions and discovering knowledge to advance health. In addition to that foundation's philanthropic grant, 18 donors made gifts of $1 million or more, including: $10 million of an expected $12.5 million gift from the Louise Rossi Estate, benefitting the Department of Viticulture and Enology. The gift will support high priority research in many ways, including the purchase of equipment for the Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science and the future establishment of endowed chairs to support faculty positions in winemaking and grape growing. This gift will also augment the previously established Rossi Prize endowment, which supports viticulture and enology students. $10 million from alumnus Maurice J. Gallagher Jr. and his wife, Marcia, toward the construction of the new three-story, 40,000-square-foot home for the Graduate School of Management. In addition, it established an endowment to provide for faculty and student support, and program expansion and development. This is the largest gift UC Davis has ever received from an alumnus. $1 million from the Bernard Osher Foundation to endow the Osher Reentry Scholarship Program. Last year, the Osher Foundation gave the campus $1 million to endow the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at UC Davis. Each of UC Davis' four colleges and five professional schools received private support. The Health System, which includes the proposed Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing as well as the School of Medicine, recorded the highest amount at $120.3 million. It was followed by the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, at $29.2 million, and the Graduate School of Management, at $12.1 million. Of the philanthropic total, 26 percent was directed toward research, while department/faculty support and student support received a combined 58 percent. Campus improvement and other program support received the remaining 16 percent. Of the nearly $216.8 million, donors committed a total of $31 million to invested funds -- or endowments -- to provide ongoing support for undergraduate and graduate students, faculty, research and other university programs. Donors directed $23.1 million to endowment support through the UC Davis Foundation. The foundation, established in 1959, receives private gifts to benefit UC Davis, invests its endowed gift funds and other private assets, and advises university leaders in areas related to public trust and support. UC Davis alumna Pam Fair '80 currently chairs the foundation board of trustees, which also includes 40 other volunteer leaders. More than 16,000 donors supported the Annual Fund in 2007-08, giving nearly $1.8 million. The chancellor allocates Annual Fund gifts to areas of greatest need, including student and faculty support. UC Davis receives about 21 percent of its total budget from the state, and receives additional support from a variety of funding sources, including donors. UC Davis has crossed the $100 million threshold twice before, in the 2001-02 fiscal year, when the university raised $110 million, including a gift of $35 million from Robert and Margrit Mondavi, and last year, with $101 million. "We are very grateful to all of our donors who have been so generous to UC Davis this year," said Beverly Sandeen, vice chancellor for University Relations, which includes University Development. "We are honored and inspired by these donors, who have seen what UC Davis can accomplish through philanthropic support."

 
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Professor Stuart Piggott - An obituary of the former Professor of Archaeology at the University of Edinburgh, hosted by the university. Professor Dennis Harding praises Piggott's remarkable achievement as a prehistorian.
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Stuart Piggott - Obituary by Richard Bradley in British Archaeology of the late Professor at Edinburgh University and leading British prehistorian.

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