Paul the bigot? Reading the Cretan quotation of Titus 1:12 in light of relevance theory

According to prevalent readings of Titus 1:12, the author sympathizes with the statement, “Cretans are always liars, evil brutes, lazy gluttons.” Such conventional, prima facie interpretations are unsustainable when examined in light of Relevance Theory (RT). Although its application to Biblical Studies has been limited, the Theory provides crucial insights for both evaluating previous interpretations and for guiding historically and linguistically responsible readings. I argue that key insights of RT illuminate critical evidence for properly interpreting the Cretan quotation of Titus 1:12. I aim to both clear an interpretive impasse regarding this problematic text and demonstrate a relevance-guided biblical hermeneutic. The Introduction discusses representative interpretations and their inadequacies, then it outlines the promise of RT for supporting linguistically sound biblical interpretation. Each subsequent chapter focuses respectively on three pivotal insights: 1) the inferential nature of communication, 2) the role of the hearer in communication, and 3) the non-propositional dimensions of communication. I describe the insight in detail and demonstrate the impact of its application by both evaluating representative interpretations and offering a fresh interpretation of the passage in light of RT. The Conclusion summarizes the main contributions and implications of my thesis. These include a practical application of RT fundamentals to Biblical Studies; a linguistically-grounded examination of Titus and critique of existing secondary literature; a proposal regarding the letter’s historic message—namely, that it exposed rather than endorsed bigotry in the church; and an invitation to reassess the canonical esteem of Titus

Digital Classical Philology

The buzzwords “Information Society” and “Age of Access” suggest that information is now universally accessible without any form of hindrance. Indeed, the German constitution calls for all citizens to have open access to information. Yet in reality, there are multifarious hurdles to information access – whether physical, economic, intellectual, linguistic, political, or technical. Thus, while new methods and practices for making information accessible arise on a daily basis, we are nevertheless confronted by limitations to information access in various domains. This new book series assembles academics and professionals in various fields in order to illuminate the various dimensions of information's inaccessability. While the series discusses principles and techniques for transcending the hurdles to information access, it also addresses necessary boundaries to accessability.This book describes the state of the art of digital philology with a focus on ancient Greek and Latin. It addresses problems such as accessibility of information about Greek and Latin sources, data entry, collection and analysis of Classical texts and describes the fundamental role of libraries in building digital catalogs and developing machine-readable citation systems

Handbook of Stemmatology

Stemmatology studies aspects of textual criticism that use genealogical methods. This handbook is the first to cover the entire field, encompassing both theoretical and practical aspects, ranging from traditional to digital methods. Authors from all the disciplines involved examine topics such as the material aspects of text traditions, methods of traditional textual criticism and their genesis, and modern digital approaches used in the field

DATAM: Digital Approaches to Teaching the Ancient Mediterranean

DATAM: Digital Approaches to Teaching the Ancient Mediterranean provides a series of new critical studies that explore digital practices for teaching the Ancient Mediterranean world at a wide range of institutions and levels. These practical examples demonstrate how gaming, coding, immersive video, and 3D imaging can bridge the disciplinary and digital divide between the Ancient world and contemporary technology, information literacy, and student engagement. While the articles focus on Classics, Ancient History, and Mediterranean archaeology, the issues and approaches considered throughout this book are relevant for anyone who thinks critically and practically about the use of digital technology in the college level classroom. DATAM features contributions from Sebastian Heath, Lisl Walsh, David Ratzan, Patrick Burns, Sandra Blakely, Eric Poehler, William Caraher, Marie-Claire Beaulieu and Anthony Bucci as well as a critical introduction by Shawn Graham and preface by Society of Classical Studies Executive Director Helen Cullyer.https://commons.und.edu/press-books/1015/thumbnail.jp

The use of web 2.0 technologies in academic libraries in South Africa.

Doctor of Philosophy in Information Studies. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg 2016.The potential of Web 2.0 to profoundly change higher education has been acknowledged. As libraries aspire to remain relevant as premier suppliers of information and endeavour to attract and engage their users, embracing and implementing Web 2.0 technologies has become synonymous with their overall success. This study investigated the use of Web 2.0 technologies in academic libraries in South Africa. The study noted that many academic libraries in South Africa are not lagging behind their global counterparts in adopting these technologies to enhance their services. Many academic libraries in South Africa are leveraging the power of Web 2.0 technologies to provide services that meet the needs of today’s users. The population for this study was made up of 17 academic libraries in South Africa. Out of the population of 347 librarians in research libraries, a total of 51 librarians were selected to participate in the study using the random selection method, which translated into three librarians per academic library. The selected number included library directors with whom semi-structured telephonic interviews were held. The study achieved a response rate of 80.3%, which is very good for making generalizations to a larger population. The study employed both qualitative and quantitative research paradigms to investigate the extent of use of Web 2.0 technologies in South African academic libraries. Neither research approach is better than the other. The two research paradigms are different and both have their strengths and weaknesses. Furthermore, in order to maximize the strengths of the two research approaches, the study made use of both the quantitative and the qualitative paradigms. The qualitative research approach was found to be appropriate for this study since it is the predominant paradigm of research in the social sciences. The quantitative research paradigm was chosen because it has two primary strengths, namely, the findings are generalizable and the data are objective. The researcher opted for a two-pronged method of data collection, which are the self-administered questionnaire and structured interview, as both methods were deemed appropriate for collecting data on academic librarians’ use or non-use of Web 2.0 technologies to deliver high-quality services to their users. Primary data was collected using the questionnaire (for librarians) and a semi-structured interview (for library directors), as data collection methods. The findings of the study show that Web 2.0 technologies are used in the majority of academic institutions surveyed in South Africa, as indicated by 78% of the respondents. This is an indication of the commitment to provide up-to-date services in the platforms that library patrons use, since the literature clearly states that the use of Web 2.0 technologies ensures that libraries keep abreast of technological developments locally and globally by occupying the same space their predominantly techno-savvy users occupy. Providing innovative services and resources that are responsive to users’ needs plays a crucial role in ensuring that academic libraries remain relevant, especially if one considers the threats to their existence, which libraries face currently. The findings also show that although academic libraries in South Africa have adopted the use of Web 2.0 technologies to deliver quality services, the uptake has been slow. The study recommends a comprehensive training programme, which includes a review of the Library and Information Science (LIS) curriculum, to ensure Web 2.0 compliance among LIS practitioners. Furthermore, the study proposes a model for the successful implementation of Web 2.0 technologies in academic libraries in South Africa. The model can be adapted to fit any type of library with few or no amendments

A Framework to Support Developers in the Integration and Application of Linked and Open Data

In the last years, the number of freely available Linked and Open Data datasets has multiplied into tens of thousands. The numbers of applications taking advantage of it, however, have not. Thus, large portions of potentially valuable data remain unexploited and are inaccessible for lay users. Therefore the upfront investment in releasing data in the first place is hard to justify. The lack of applications needs to be addressed in order not to undermine efforts put into Linked and Open Data. In existing research, strong indicators can be found that the dearth of applications is due to a lack of pragmatic, working architectures supporting these applications and guiding developers. In this thesis, a new architecture for the integration and application of Linked and Open Data is presented. Fundamental design decisions are backed up by two studies: firstly, based on real-world Linked and Open Data samples, characteristic properties are identified. A key finding is the fact that large amounts of structured data display tabular structures, do not use clear licensing and involve multiple different file formats. Secondly, following on from that study, a comparison of storage choices in relevant query scenarios is made. It includes the de-facto standard storage choice in this domain, Triples Stores, as well as relational and NoSQL approaches. Results show significant performance deficiencies of some technologies in certain scenarios. Consequently, when integrating Linked and Open Data in scenarios with application-specific entities, the first choice of storage is relational databases. Combining these findings and related best practices of existing research, a prototype framework is implemented using Java 8 and Hibernate. As a proof-of-concept it is employed in an existing Linked and Open Data integration project. Thereby, it is shown that a best practice architectural component is introduced successfully, while development effort to implement specific program code can be simplified. Thus, the present work provides an important foundation for the development of semantic applications based on Linked and Open Data and potentially leads to a broader adoption of such applications

A Confluence of Risks: Control and Compliance in the World of Unstructured Data, Big Data and the Cloud

The emergence of powerful new technologies, the existence of large quantities of data, and increasing demands for the extraction of added value from these technologies and data have created a number of significant challenges for those charged with both corporate and information technology management. The possibilities are great, the expectations high, and the risks significant. Organisations seeking to employ cloud technologies and exploit the value of the data to which they have access, be this in the form of "Big Data" available from different external sources or data held within the organisation, in structured or unstructured formats, need to understand the risks involved in such activities. Data owners have responsibilities towards the subjects of the data and must also, frequently, demonstrate that they are in compliance with current standards, laws and regulations. This thesis sets out to explore the nature of the technologies that organisations might utilise, identify the most pertinent constraints and risks, and propose a framework for the management of data from discovery to external hosting that will allow the most significant risks to be managed through the definition, implementation, and performance of appropriate internal control activities