The "monstrous births" of Mary Dyer and Anne Hutchinson: early modern interplays of religion, science, and politics in the Atlantic World

This study analyzes how the so-called monstrous births of Mary Dyer and Anne Hutchinson were interpreted and debated in the Atlantic World from the late 1630s up to the 1710s. Dyer and Hutchinson belonged to the protagonists of one of the most disruptive crises in the history of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. From 1636 to 1638, the colony went through the so-called Antinomian Controversy, centering upon differing conceptions of Puritan covenant theology. For us today, the Controversy is also of interest in terms of the history of medicine: Dyer was delivered of stillborn child supposedly lacking a head and carrying horns in October 1637, and Hutchinson was said to have produced “thirty monstrous births or thereabouts” a few months thereafter, after having been banished from the colony. The two abnormal births became part of a highly complex rhetorical battle encompassing both sides of the Atlantic. During the Antinomian Controversy, Hutchinson’s opponents tried to exploit the narrative of the two monstrous births for their own ends, presenting them as first-rate instance of Godly intervention in the world. Around mid-seventeenth century, English Presbyterians such as Robert Baillie presented the Antinomian crisis and the two ill-fated pregnancies as proof of the failure of the New England practice of ordering churches, Congregationalism. In addition to such politico-religious rhetoric, the discourse on the two failed pregnancies was influenced by what is often called the rise of New Science: as of mid-seventeenth-century, belief in miracles, witchcraft, and providence came under attack. Inspired by cultural history, the aim is to understand which function the narratives of Mary Dyer’s and Anne Hutchinson’s monstrous births had in varying public discourses, which metaphors were used, which themes recurred, and what differing participants in discourse made of these. Inspired by the history of science and intellectual history, a key point of interest is how religiously motivated interpretations were interwoven with early “scientific” modes of explanation and how this mixture evolved over time. Following both an interdisciplinary and a transatlantic approach, special consideration is given to the question whether and how the changing interpretations of the deformed bodily offspring of Dyer and Hutchinson affected the perception and self-understanding of the Massachusetts Bay Colony or New England at large. The theoretical framework of this study is based upon the concepts of “hybridity” and “metamorphosis”: The monstrous body is understood as both a hybrid being and a symbol and carrier of metamorphosis, whereby it served as a mechanism for coping with change in times of socio-political crises and epistemological upheaval, to be adapted according to need

Microfinace and poverty alleviation in Uganda

Microfinance began in Uganda in the early 1990s as a response to the failure by formal financial institutions to extend financial services to the poor because of the high transaction costs involved. These microfinance institutions provide financial and non-financial services to the poor in order for the poor to generate incomes and consequently alleviate poverty. The advent of microfinance institutions was not accidental but rather in response to the people’s needs and they have therefore been beneficial for the people of Uganda. Because of that, several MFIs have been initiated to help the poor. Although many services are provided, the study focused on credit services. As most of the MFIs have to balance the business goal of profit maximization and the social goal of poverty reduction, the main objective of this study was to explore whether microfinance in Uganda is an effective tool for poverty alleviation. The study was conducted in four districts, namely Mukono, Mpigi, Wakiso and Luwero. Using random probability sampling, a sample of 170 was drawn from a pool of 300 MFI clients. and all of them responded. MFI officials were also interviewed. A total 136 officials were obtained from 47 MFI branches. The study used descriptive methods of analysis, a Likert scale to derive means, as well as a Principal Component Analysis technique. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to detect if there were any statistically significant differences among the demographic variables used in the study. A Probit Regression Model was used to determine the impact of certain variables drawn from Principal Component Analysis (PCA) on poverty in Uganda. The results obtained proved that MFIs in general are effective in combating poverty in Uganda. Variables that are significant in poverty reduction through loan use are land, education, employment, household incomes and occupations of the respondents, loan sizes and improved livelihoods. Despite the positive impact of MFI loans in Uganda, the MFIs are faced with a number of challenges. The results from the interviews with the MFI officials indicated that MFIs are challenged by increasing competition, bad debt, multiple borrowings by clients, and information asymmetry. The study recommended reduced interest rates on agricultural, education and business loans. The public must also be sensitised about borrowing and there should be increased monitoring and supervision of clients, improved assessment of creditworthiness, and government should ensure an enabling environment and encourage group loans. Effort should be exerted to create employment opportunities. The study also recommended improvement in market intelligence and to be alert in gathering information on client profiles. it was recommended that microloan insurance and savings must be encouraged, operational costs be reduced, portfolios be expanded to increase loans and outreach must be maximised. Lastly, the thesis put forward some potential areas for further studies

Housing quality and lost (public) space in Croatia

IN ENGLISH: In the post-socialist period and within the current social transition context, urban and rural Croatia has, just like other transition countries, experienced many changes in the social structure and space. One example is the housing quality which is a replica of the situation in the Croatian society and has also undergone some major changes. Socially oriented housing construction co-financed by the state and the cities is in an unfavourable position compared to private housing construction. In the last twenty years the amount of the social housing construction has been only a minor part of the total contruction work in the country. For instance, out of nine newly planned residential housing developments in Zagreb, the capital city, only three have been completed and the work on the rest of them has stopped and is unlikely to continue. Private construction work prevails especially on the edge of the city and is characterised by high density housing. This type of housing construction doesn't benefit the majority of citizens in search of accommodation (price per square meter is too high, low-quality building). There is also a big problem of the community facilities (primary and secondary infrastructure, schools, kindergartens, playgrounds, green areas, sidewalks, public transport etc.). The existing globalisation-transition circumstances of the Croatian society corroborate the fact which experts of various profiles often point out: ignoring the process of (urban) planning will irreparably damage the space. The city transformation shows the absence of comprehensive urban planning which results in an ever increasing number of random buildings which do not fit in the surroundings. This leads up to yet another important issue – the shrinking and, in some cases, disappearance of public space which becomes the “lost space“. In recent years there has been a lot of building in the city core and on the edge which does not quite fit in the existing urban structure, image or the skyline of the city. The current situation in the process of planning can be characterized as a conflict and imbalance between the powerful actors (mostly political and economic) and less powerful actors (mostly professional and civil). The actors who have the political power and influence and the ones who possess the capital are forming an “alliance” between two important layers of the social structure. The lack of civil and professional actors, “lost spatial actors”, and therefore of civic aggregation is also present and that is also the cause of public space “disappearance” and undermined process of public participation. --------------- IN CROATIAN: U postsocijalističkom razdoblju i trenutnom tranzicijskom kontekstu urbana i ruralna Hrvatska su, kao i ostale tranzicijske zemlje, doživjele mnoge promjene u društvenoj strukturi i samom prostoru. Na primjeru kvalitete stanovanja kao replike stanja u hrvatskom društvu mogu se vidjeti značajne promjene. Društveno usmjerena stambena izgradnja sufinancirana od strane države i gradova je stoga rjeđa i u nepovoljnijoj je situaciji prema privatnoj stanogradnji. Zadnjih dvadeset godina udjel socijalne stambene gradnje je zanemariv u ukupnoj izgradnji na razini zemlje. Primjerice, od devet planiranih stambenih naselja izgrađenih po modelu POS-a u Zagrebu samo su tri i završena. Na ostalima je proces gradnje zastao i ne čini se da će se privesti kraju. Privatna je gradnje prisutnija, posebno na rubovima grada, a obilježava je visoka gustoća gradnje. Ovakav tip gradnje ne odgovara većini stanovnika koji su u procesu potražnje stambene nekretnine (visoka cijena kvadratnog metra, a slaba kvaliteta gradnje). Postoji također i problem nedostatne opremljenosti susjedstva (primarna i sekundarna infrastruktura, škole, vrtići, igrališta, zelene površine, pješačke staze, javni transport itd.). Navedene globalizacijsko-tranzicijske okolnosti hrvatskog društva potvrđuju ono što eksperti različitih profila ističu, a to je da će ignoriranje procesa (urbanog) planiranja nepovratno uništiti prostor gradova. Ovakve transformacije pokazuju nedostatak sustavnog urbanog planiranja što rezultira sve većim brojem zgrada koje se ne uklapaju u neposrednu okolinu. To nadalje dovodi do drugog važnog aspekta – smanjivanja i u nekim slučajevima, nestanka javnog prostora koji postaje „izgubljeni prostor“. Posljednjih je godina izgrađen velik broj zgrada, i u središtu i na rubovima grada, koje se ne uklapaju u postojeću urbanu strukturu, izgled ili vizuru grada. Ovakvu situaciju obilježavaju sukob i neravnoteža između moćnijih društvenih aktera (većinom političkih i ekonomskih) i onih manje moćnih (većinom profesionalnih i civilnih). Politički i ekonomski akteri se često povezuju u „savez“ dvaju najjačih u društvenoj strukturi. S druge strane nedostatak utjecaja civilnih i profesionalnih aktera kao „izgubljenih prostornih aktera“ dovodi do „nestanka“ javnih prostora te smanjenja važnosti procesa participacije (sudjelovanja javnosti)