A Personal Relationship with the Mysteries:(Re)discovering the Enchanted Garden Through Movement and the Body

This article investigates the possible role of improvised, conscious dance movement in nature as a way of reclaiming our direct experience of the metaphysical. I first discuss some aspects of the body and embodiment, not as contradictory with but absolutely essential to spirituality. I briefly touch on the possibility of embodied ecstasy, as well as various elements of embodiment such as awareness, alignment, presence, and connection. Then, after introducing some notions of dance and spirituality in various contexts, I zoom in on the ingredients of improvised movement as a way of negotiating the unknown, unpacking the possibilities of movement improvisation as a spiritual practice. Thirdly, I consider the potential for waking up to the sacred all around us, when movement practice is brought out into nature. Finally, I weave these threads together in some concluding thoughts on the role that dance can play in enhancing mystical participation in an enchanted world.Cet article explore le rôle possible du mouvement dansé, conscient et improvisé, dans la nature, en tant que moyen de nous réapproprier une expérience directe du métaphysique. Je discute d’abord certains aspects du corps et de l’incarnation qui ne sont pas contradictoires, mais plutôt essentiels à la spiritualité. J’aborde brièvement la possibilité de l’extase incarnée, ainsi que les divers éléments de l’incarnation, tels que la conscience, l’alignement, la présence et la connexion. Puis, après avoir présenté certaines conceptions de la danse et de la spiritualité dans divers contextes, je me focalise sur les ingrédients d’un mouvement improvisé en tant que moyen d’aborder l’inconnu, en dévoilant les possibilités de l’improvisation en tant que pratique spirituelle. Ensuite, je considère les possibilités de réveiller le sacré autour de nous, lorsque la pratique du mouvement est portée dans la nature. Enfin, je rassemble ces éléments en concluant sur le rôle que la danse peut jouer pour stimuler une participation mystique dans un monde enchanté

DiSCmap : digitisation of special collections mapping, assessment, prioritisation. Final project report

Traditionally, digitisation has been led by supply rather than demand. While end users are seen as a priority they are not directly consulted about which collections they would like to have made available digitally or why. This can be seen in a wide range of policy documents throughout the cultural heritage sector, where users are positioned as central but where their preferences are assumed rather than solicited. Post-digitisation consultation with end users isequally rare. How are we to know that digitisation is serving the needs of the Higher Education community and is sustainable in the long-term? The 'Digitisation in Special Collections: mapping, assessment and prioritisation' (DiSCmap) project, funded by the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) and the Research Information Network (RIN), aimed to:- Identify priority collections for potential digitisation housed within UK Higher Education's libraries, archives and museums as well as faculties and departments.- Assess users' needs and demand for Special Collections to be digitised across all disciplines.- Produce a synthesis of available knowledge about users' needs with regard to usability and format of digitised resources.- Provide recommendations for a strategic approach to digitisation within the wider context and activity of leading players both in the public and commercial sector.The project was carried out jointly by the Centre for Digital Library Research (CDLR) and the Centre for Research in Library and Information Management (CERLIM) and has taken a collaborative approach to the creation of a user-driven digitisation prioritisation framework, encouraging participation and collective engagement between communities.Between September 2008 and March 2009 the DiSCmap project team asked over 1,000 users, including intermediaries (vocational users who take care of collections) and end users (university teachers, researchers and students) a variety of questions about which physical and digital Special Collections they make use of and what criteria they feel must be considered when selecting materials for digitisation. This was achieved through workshops, interviews and two online questionnaires. Although the data gathered from these activities has the limitation of reflecting only a partial view on priorities for digitisation - the view expressed by those institutions who volunteered to take part in the study - DiSCmap was able to develop:- a 'long list' of 945 collections nominated for digitisation both by intermediaries andend-users from 70 HE institutions (see p. 21);- a framework of user-driven prioritisation criteria which could be used to inform current and future digitisation priorities; (see p. 45)- a set of 'short lists' of collections which exemplify the application of user-driven criteria from the prioritisation framework to the long list (see Appendix X):o Collections nominated more than once by various groups of users.o Collections related to a specific policy framework, eg HEFCE's strategically important and vulnerable subjects for Mathematics, Chemistry and Physics.o Collections on specific thematic clusters.o Collections with highest number of reasons for digitisation

Regulating the population : day laborers and the comprehensive immigration reform

The Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act was created without representation on behalf of the immigrant population it is attempting the legislate. This study assesses not what the law is but what the law does. To understand the relationship of a group of immigrant workers to the federal legislation which targets them I conducted a participant-observation ethnography of day laborers at a public hiring site collecting information through informal interviews with male immigrant day laborers seeking employment. I will compliment this data with a content analysis of publications and solicitations by organizations actively lobbying in the immigration reform debate at the national level. Additionally, I will be reviewing existing literature surrounding the Senate\u27s Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act (S. 2611), Title IV, Subtitle A- Temporary Guest Worker Programs, Section 401 through 414. Through an accurate representation of those who a Comprehensive Immigration Reform would affect, I am arguing that to humanize the current political controversy surrounding immigration is the only way to implement effective public policy. The findings of this study illustrate that the law instead of enforcing geopolitical lines of inclusion or exclusion have caused internal exclusion within the U.S. pushing an already marginalized minority population further onto the fringes of an already segmented labor force and society. This study is paramount in a discussion of current immigration patterns and trends, a contemporary look at transnationalism, and a crucial critique of the authenticity of concurrent legislative motions. The outcome of this bill will mediate future norms and understandings designating national proceedings in foreign policy, immigration, and our placement within the stratification of an increasingly globalized society. In effect, it is imperative we look critically and objectively at how the law manifests in our society, and the ways that immigration reforms are mediated and understood by the groups which they target

Securing a "Bring Your Own Application" cloud environment using digital forensics

Thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in Information Systems Security (MSc.ISS) at Strathmore UniversityThe use of cloud applications introduces new challenges to information systems Security. The idea of applications accessible from multiple devices and hosted or provided by third party organizations brings new complications to IT security. In situations where organizations are embracing Bring Your Own Applications (BYOA) and where they allow use of free to public cloud applications within their networks, it is important for IT Security experts to consider how to secure their BYOA environments and also monitor how these applications are used and the flow of information. The aim of this research is to develop a digital forensics based solution for securing BYOA cloud environment. This solution can be used to improve security in an organisation implementing BYOA. The research focuses on free to public cloud applications, whereby security challenges are identified and security measures proposed. The security measures are enforced through the development of a customized solution. The solution has been developed using rapid application development (RAD) system development methodology. Using Geany editor and Python programming language, the prototype developed relies on digital forensics artefacts to gather information about the usage of BYOAs. The solution captures digital forensics artefacts and stores them into a database as logs of the activity on Google Drive application. The solution demonstrates how digital forensics artefacts can be used to enhance security in a BYOA environment

Information Outlook, May 1997

Volume 1, Issue 5https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/sla_io_1997/1004/thumbnail.jp

Introducing social networking tools into members of the European Parliament’s communication patterns

This PhD research adopts an interdisciplinary approach to answer the following research question: to what extent could Members of the European Parliament incorporate social networking tools (SNT) as part of their communication resources in engaging with other actors when carrying out their work as legislators? The methodological framework chosen to conduct this study is exploratory and combines two qualitative methods: elite interviews and observation. Interviews with MEPs and their staff aimed to explore MEPs’ understanding of SNT use, their motivations and their perceived benefits of using SNT when carrying out their work as legislators. Interviews with officials of the EP and members of the European civil society were purposely designed as validating interviews. In total, 29 interviews were conducted in 2011-2012. Observation of MEPs’ communication patterns during parliamentary weeks has allowed me to assess, on the one hand their communication patterns from an organisational perspective and on the other hand the potential for introducing new communicative tools into MEPs’ communicative practices. Observation was conducted with two MEPs and their staff during two weeks each. The theoretical framework of this study relies strongly upon communication network theories and organisational studies that explore the adoption of SNT in the workplace. Based on a grounded theory approach, this exploratory study suggests an emergent model of use of SNT for MEPs in carrying out their legislative work, based on MEPs’ motivations and perceived benefits of using these tools. Findings suggest that there are four domains in which MEPs could use SNT in their legislative functions: to democratise lobbying practices in the EP, to raise their awareness of public opinion, to reshape their relationship with journalists and finally to coordinate their actions as representatives with the European civil society’s. Thus, this study explores the adoption of SNT by elected members of the European Parliament by focusing on their understanding of their use of SNT when carrying out their role as legislators

Verifying Completeness of Relational Query Answers from Online Servers

10.1145/1330332.1330337ACM Transactions on Information and System Security11

Black cash tax evasion in Russia: Its forms, incentives and consequences at firm level

This paper discusses Russia’s "black cash" economy. Using interviews and survey data, we examine the mechanics of several distinctly Russian tax evasion schemes and attempt a rough estimate of the scale and dynamics involved in tax evasion based on black cash. Entrepreneurs’ opinions are also used to get an idea of the incentives and costs of black cash tax evasion. We next describe the apparent economic consequences of black cash tax evasion and formulate general formal conditions for successful evasion at firm level. Finally, we recommend several policy measures to reduce the incentives to such behaviour and discuss questions for future research.tax evasion; informal business activity; black cash; Russia