Mineralogical Analysis of the Kestel Mine: An Early Bronze Age Source of Tin Ore in the Taurus Mountains, Turkey

Since its discovery in 1987, the Early Bronze Kestel Mine has been a topic of archaeological and geological controversy. The initial interpretation of the extensive marble-hosted galleries as the oldest known tin mine was challenged due to the low tin grade in remaining hematite-quartz veins, and it was suggested that Kestel was more likely mined for gold. Mineralogical analysis of the remaining mineralization was compared to a heavy mineral concentrate extracted from the soil preserved within the mine. The compositionally complex, arsenate-rich mineral assemblage from the mine sediment, contrasts with that of the remaining surface mineralization. Thus, the outcropping veins do not represent the nature of the extracted ore. Only one grain of gold was found in the heavy mineral concentrate, whereas cassiterite composed 1.5% of the sample. Cassiterite occurs in complex assemblages with arsenates, clays, hematite, quartz, and dolomite, bearing resemblance to hematite-arsenate tin mineralization that occurs near Kayseri, 60 km to the northeast. These findings indicate that although gold was a trace component of the Kestel ore, cassiterite was the mineral of interest to the Early Bronze Age miners, and that Kestel represents the earliest evidence thus far for an emerging pattern of local tin exploitation.

The Emerging Pattern of Metropolitan Governance of Lagos, Its Neighbors and Environmental Sustainability in the 21st Century Nigeria

The paper examines the emerging pattern of governance in metropolitan Lagos and its neighboring settlements taking cognizance of environmental sustainability in the 21st Century with its attendant challenges. The work specifically highlights the metropolitan status of Lagos as a megacity and the issue of having to cope with its incessant population growth vis-à-vis the paucity of basic amenities needed to shove off such a highly vulnerable and competitive milieu.The work employs secondary data to elicit necessary information for its analysis and findings. Such data includes (but not limited to) textbooks, journals newspapers, magazines, periodicals, World Bank and UN-Habitat reports, etc.The findings are that governmental and non-governmental actors are involved in the metropolitan governance of Lagos and its neighbor howbeit in a perfunctory manner. Ogun State government is ostensibly proactive along provision of housing that can add value to the environment but these housing estates are deficient in basic infrastructure such as constant water supply, sewage, refuse pack, security, etc.The paper recommends a synergy among the federal government, Lagos and Ogun States as a means of ameliorating the sufferings of the people living in the area in question, as the population of the area may leap to thirty (30) million in 2025 according to population analysts. Hence, governmental and non-governmental interventions become expedient.

Technical Ceremonies: Rationalization, Opacity, and the Restructuring of Educational Organizations

After decades of accountability and market-based reforms in education, school systems are now organizing more around improving teaching and learning. Yet these efforts frequently yield unintended, superficial, or even counterproductive changes at the school level. In this article, Maxwell Yurkofsky develops the concept of technical ceremonies as a way of theorizing this emerging pattern of school organizations. Technical ceremonies involve educators changing their practice to align with new reforms in a way that privileges what is visible and measurable as a way of appeasing external stakeholders over more substantive improvements to practice. He argues that technical ceremonies arise as principals navigate a multitude of surface-level demands from the environment and the uncertainties that pervade efforts to transform teaching and learning.