Gateway to Africa: The Pilgrimage Tourism of Diaspora Africans to Ghana

Thesis (PhD) - Indiana University, Anthropology, 2006This dissertation examines the competing goals of Ghanaian tourism stakeholders, diaspora African visitors, and Cape Coast residents regarding pilgrimage tourism in Ghana's Central Region. Based on over one year of fieldwork in Cape Coast, my research incorporates interviews and surveys with tourism policy makers, tour guides, visitors, and local Ghanaians and African Americans, as well as participant-observation of guided tours at Cape Coast and Elmina castles and PANAFEST (Pan-African Historical Theatre Festival) and Emancipation Day, and analysis of the castles' guest books. Cape Coast Castle and Elmina Castle are potent sites of memory for the trans-Atlantic slave trade and serve as icons of a naturalized gateway to Africa for diaspora Africans. These castles are the backdrop for PANAFEST and Emancipation Day, two Pan-African oriented festivals observed in Ghana since the 1990s which attract large numbers of diaspora Africans. African Americans have been selected by Ghana's Ministry of Tourism as the target market for pilgrimage tourism, but many African Americans are offended by being labeled as tourists because they consider going to Ghana as a sacred act of coming "home." The boundaries between tourist and pilgrim become blurred through the manifestations of social memory evident in castle tours and Pan-African festivals. This research looks at how social memories dwell in different sites and practices: in the rhetoric of public speeches, in the content of guided tours, in the bodies of visitors, in the performances of reenactment, in the ceremonies of communitas, and in the physical structures of the castles. The construction and deployment of social memories rooted in a shared experience of oppression evidenced in the historical examples of the slave trade and colonialism furthers the project of uniting diaspora Africans and Ghanaians as collective Africans. However, Ghanaians and African Americans have different frames of reference from which they perceive the history and memory of the slave trade that reveal cultural disjunctures in how they relate to the notion of a shared African identity. While Ghanaian stakeholders privilege generating foreign exchange through the promotion of tourism, diaspora African visitors seek a meaningful homecoming and acceptance as members of the "African family.

The use of audio visual aids in the teaching of reading.

This study is concerned with a consideration of certain Audio Visual aids and their practical application in school in the teaching of reading. Emphasis is placed on the Primary Sector and experimentation is carried out amongst children aged 4+ to 7+ years. Following a discussion of relevant literature and psychology related to the use of Audio Visual aids, the study is divided into two separate and yet related sections: a) audio visual aids and the child b) audio visual aids and the teacher In the first instance a series of experiments is carried out amongst young children using Language Master and tape Recorder to assess their reading attainment as compared with that of children receiving traditional teacher instruction. Results are analysed and suggestions made for future research. In the second part of the study consideration is made of the role of the teacher in the use of audio visual aids. Following an introduction outlining "accepted" theories about the use of audio visual aids and the role of the teacher, the study concerns itself with the analysis of teachers' opinions as received in the completion of a thirteen part questionnaire. Teachers are asked to express an opinion on the use of certain audio visual aids in the teaching of reading end their replies are analysed according to six variables of sex, age, age range taught, experience, training course and qualifications. Teachers are asked for their own comments which are included along with conclusions drawn from the results of the study. A conclusion is made on the findings of the study and suggestions made for future research along the lines of a comparative media study

ASSOCIATIONS BETWEEN CLINICAL AND LABORATORY PARAMETERS IN PNEUMOCOCCAL PNEUMONIA FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS HOSPITAL DURING THE YEARS 1996 TO 2005

Pneumococcal pneumonia is a significant disease that requires rapid treatment with effective antibiotics. This study attempts to identify associations with clinical and laboratory parameters from pneumococcal pneumonia cases from the University of Kansas Hospital during the years 1996 to 2005 that can be used to identify appropriate antibiotic therapies. Antibiotic resistance profiles together with retrospective chart reviews were used to identify associations. This study found no association between multi-drug non-susceptibility and mortality and no association between classification of pneumonia acquisition in individual groups (CAP, HCAP, HAP, VAP) and mortality. This study did find an association between multi-antibiotic non-susceptibility in isolates from patients who acquired pneumonia in a healthcare setting (HCAP, HAP, VAP). These results suggest the possibility that patients who frequently need healthcare may be more likely to have empiric antibiotic therapy. This may then be associated with carriage of more antibiotic resistant SPN isolates. The empiric antibiotic therapy should be reviewed frequently to provide the best therapy for patients while reserving the other antibiotics for the more acute cases of resistant pneumococcal disease

Reading American Culture: A Curriculum for Intermediate and Advanced ESL Students

This paper is a compilation of ESL readings for intermediate and advanced level students, relating specifically to American culture. The readings have been chosen from a variety of sources, including books, magazines and newspapers. Along with each reading there are suggestions for additional activities in the areas of speaking, listening and writing. The writer of this project believes that language study is not complete without the development of cultural awareness. Readings which give the students insight in cultural values and traits are a useful tool in the ESL classroom

Writing reform in fourteenth-century English romance, from the agrarian crisis to Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

This thesis investigates five fourteenth-century Middle English romances—Sir Isumbras, The King of Tars, The Earl of Toulouse, Geoffrey Chaucer’s Wife of Bath’s Tale, and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight—for their resonances with fourteenth-century reformist ideology. The fourteenth century witnessed the emergence of Middle English complaint writing and also culminated in two reformist movements in the 1380s: the Peasants’ Revolt and Lollardy. Each romance considered in the thesis share resonances with reformist ideology and complaint poems—like William Langland’s Piers Plowman—as well as texts relating to the Peasants’ Revolt and Lollardy. Such evidence suggests that romance and complaint shared ideologies and both types of texts may have contributed to reformist activities—writing, acting, or both—throughout the century.Sir Isumbras is explored in relation to the Agrarian Crisis, related complaint texts such as The Simonie and The Song of the Husbandman, and the penitential philosophy it shares with Piers Plowman. Isumbras shows landowners causing peasant suffering, and problematises orthodox penitential prescriptions. The King of Tars is read in relationship to complaint texts like The Sayings of the Four Philosophers and with later Lollard writing. Tars reforms nations by highlighting the consequences of immoral kingship—both Christian and Saracen—and replacing it with an ethically superior woman. The Earl of Toulouse, examined alongside texts relevant to the Peasants’ Revolt, represents armed revolt as a means of stopping obstinate tyranny and envisions that heroic men—even to the point of breaking the law—will insist upon truth and justice. The Wife of Bath’s Tale shares resonances with an array of Middle English Lollard writings, from its stance on execution, nobility, poverty, the power of sermons, and female autonomy and power. Finally, I analyse Sir Gawain and the Green Knight alongside Ricardian complaint texts, illuminating tyrannical character traits in Arthur and his negative influence on Gawain

Position of the American Dietetic Association: Vegetarian Diets

It is the position of the American Dietetic Association that appropriately planned vegetarian diets, including total vegetarian or vegan diets, are healthful, nutritionally adequate, and may provide health benefits in the prevention and treatment of certain diseases. Well-planned vegetarian diets are appropriate for individuals during all stages of the life cycle, including pregnancy, lactation, infancy, childhood, and adolescence, and for athletes. A vegetarian diet is defined as one that does not include meat (including fowl) or seafood, or products containing those foods. This article reviews the current data related to key nutrients for vegetarians including protein, n-3 fatty acids, iron, zinc, iodine, calcium, and vitamins D and B-12. A vegetarian diet can meet current recommendations for all of these nutrients. In some cases, supplements or fortified foods can provide useful amounts of important nutrients. An evidence- based review showed that vegetarian diets can be nutritionally adequate in pregnancy and result in positive maternal and infant health outcomes. The results of an evidence-based review showed that a vegetarian diet is associated with a lower risk of death from ischemic heart disease. Vegetarians also appear to have lower low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels, lower blood pressure, and lower rates of hypertension and type 2 diabetes than nonvegetarians. Furthermore, vegetarians tend to have a lower body mass index and lower overall cancer rates. Features of a vegetarian diet that may reduce risk of chronic disease include lower intakes of saturated fat and cholesterol and higher intakes of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, soy products, fiber, and phytochemicals. The variability of dietary practices among vegetarians makes individual assessment of dietary adequacy essential. In addition to assessing dietary adequacy, food and nutrition professionals can also play key roles in educating vegetarians about sources of specific nutrients, food purchase and preparation, and dietary modifications to meet their needs

Determining Leg Dominance Using the Unipedal Stance Test (UPST)

Purpose: To determine whether the kicking leg or stance leg as determined by the Ball Kicking test results in a longer unipedal stance time as determined by the UPST. Subjects: Forty-two healthy subjects (13 male, 29 female, mean age 26) with no history of lower limb pathology or balance impairments. Materials and Methods: Subjects completed the Ball Kicking test and three trials of the UPST in a single session. Results: UPST times were compared between the best trials of the stance and kicking legs with a significant difference found. Fifty percent of participants (21/42) maintained longer single limb stance times on the stance leg, as determined by the Ball Kicking test. Conclusions: This study suggests that young, healthy adults demonstrated a selective limb preference for stability tasks compared to mobility tasks related to improved stability and control. The stance limb, as determined by the Ball Kicking test, may be more adept at static balance compared to the kicking limb, which may challenge the currently-utilized concept of leg dominance. Clinical Relevance: While it is widely assumed that the leg a person kicks with may be more proficient for functional activities that require strength, speed, and coordination activities, this study shows that the stance leg is actually more proficient during a static balance activity such as standing on one leg. This suggests the Ball Kicking test may be used to determine mobility and stability legs when teaching or performing functional activities such as a step-to pattern ascending and descending stairs