Transforming rites: the practice of women's ritual making

This research originates in my own practice of writing feminist liturgy, and creating rituals with and for groups of women. Its purpose is to explore the contemporary practice of women who are designing and enacting their own liturgies, rituals or ceremonies in relation to transition in their lives. This thesis surveys the development of what has been variously called ‘the women’s liturgical movement’, ‘feminist liturgy’ or ‘feminist spirituality’; before focusing on the process by which women have created their own rituals in relation to significant changes in their lives. The research draws on qualitative research methods, including participant observation, ethnographic techniques, and reflective practice, to analyse twelve case studies of rituals. It brings this material into dialogue with pastoral theology and social anthropology. It argues that women’s ritualising, or ritual making, is a dynamic, flexible process in contrast to traditional definitions of ritual. It offers a feminist critique of Turner’s theories of liminality and communitas, based on the work of Caroline Walker Bynum. It explores the tension between personal experience and wider social concern, arguing that women’s practice in making ritual is negotiating and re-defining the boundary between private and public. The process of creating ritual is explored further in relation to ideas of the narrative construction of identity, and performance theory. The thesis develops the argument that women’s activity in creating ritual is a construction of their own identity and agency in resistance to patriarchal tradition; and that their rituals, rather than expressing traditional theology and doctrine, are constructing feminist theology, or, in the case of Goddess rituals, thealogy. Finally the thesis looks at the implications of the practice of women’s ritual making for pastoral liturgy, practical theology, and Christian feminist theology

People and place in Moseley, a middle-class Birmingham suburb, 1850-1900

This thesis is a local history study of a nineteenth-century middle-class suburb which also looks at the wider significance. It asks when, how and why Moseley developed as a suburb in the nineteenth century and who was instrumental in its development. It also investigates what the suburb looked like, who lived there, how homes were divided up and decorated and furnished, how life was lived in the home and how residents operated in the public sphere. The study focuses on space, place and people; involves case studies of individuals, groups, roads and areas; raises issues of class, gender and new technology; addresses the notion of separate spheres - urban-rural, public-private, work-home and male-female; explores local reactions to developments; and compares Moseley to other local and national suburbs. The thesis aims to understand what it meant to be middle class and suburban at the time and in a specific place, draws out connections to broader themes and the impact of external pressures on the local scene. It adds to the literature on suburban development by taking this much broader approach, an approach that goes beyond the how, when and why of Moseley’s development as a suburb. A wide range of primary sources are used, including building plans, sanitary assessments, auctioneers’ bills, sales catalogues and estate plans, maps, images, bills and receipts, vestry minutes, funerary monuments, wills, annual reports, programmes and posters, newspapers and magazines, trade directories, correspondence, memorial cards and contemporary writings

Nurse Use of Teach Back Technique in Care Provider Instruction

Abstract Communication between care providers and caregivers is an essential and critical component to quality and safety in patient care and outcomes. Many individuals find that understanding health information is a challenge. Individual factors such as literacy skills, health knowledge, culture and experience contribute to the challenge. Health care system issues such as the knowledge, skills and experience of health professionals, and the level of complexity and novelty of medical terms and technical language, also contribute to the challenge. Approaches to better align caregiver practices with the public’s abilities are required when communicating health information. Teach back technique is shown to improve communication, comprehension, and outcomes (HHS, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality [AHRQ] 2011). The purpose of this project was to develop and implement an education program for nurses on effective communication with patients and families with a focus on teach back and to include rationale to motivate change in practice. The rationale was the prevalence of health literacy and the effect health literacy has on health outcomes. The intervention demonstrated increased use of teach back technique at discharge instruction by 12% over a five week post intervention interval. The project represents a beginning in spreading the use of teach back technique and understanding the prevalence and impact of health illiteracy amongst care providers in an academic, pediatric healthcare system.A three-year embargo was granted for this item

Native Land Talk: Indigenous and Arrivant Rights Theories (Yael Ben-zvi)

Yael Ben-zvi, Native Land Talk: Indigenous and Arrivant Rights Theories.  Dartmouth UP, 2018.  276 pp. ISBN: 9781512601466.  www.upne.cpm In Native Land Talk: Indigenous and Arrivant Rights Theories, Yael Ben-zvi employs EuroAmerican human rights theories to examine and compare the distinctive resistances of African and indigenous Americans to colonization.  Delving into a rich array of resources—petitions, letters, newspaper articles, and speeches, among others--to examine EuroAmerican rights claims, Ben-zvi inventively applies these theoretical histories to the petitions and appeals for freedom and land made by indigenous and African American peoples in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries (roughly 1760-1840). The author closely analyzes aspects of settler rights claims and indigenous and African American histories of resistance (or, as she terms them, “unsettlement projects”) that have received little scholarly attention, aligning the resistance of the latter communities with settler dehumanization and violence

A study of some endocrine aspects of folliculogenesis in sheep

Some aspects of follicular development and function were studied in sheep, during the neonatal period and during the oestrous cycle. The number and appearance of large follicles (4 mm. or greater in diameter), ovarian weight and volume, uterine horn diameter and pituitary weight were recorded at laparotomy or slaughter. The preparation of histological sections allowed total ovarian oocyte counts to be carried out and uterine epithelial height to be measured. Peripheral plasma levels of total unconjugated oestrogens were determined by a sensitive radioimmunoassay. Two breeds of sheep, Finnish Landrace and Scottish Blackface, were used throughout the studies in order to investigate the physiological factors responsible for variations in litter size. Mean litter sizes of 2.37 and 1.29 were produced by the Finnish and Blackface flocks respectively. In mature cycling ewes a peak in the peripheral plasma level of oestrogens was recorded during prooestrus. the peak levels were not significantly different between the two breeds. Elevated levels of oestrogens occurred on the day before and on the day of oestrous onset in the Finnish ewes, whereas the level was elevated only on the day before the onset of oestrus in the Blackfaces. These differences may be related to the greater number of ovulating follicles and the longer duration of oestrus reported for the more fecund breed. In the neonatal lambs, of both breeds, an increase in ovarian volume between 7 and 35 days of age was accompanied by an increase in the number of small vesicular follicles (generally 2 mm or less in diameter) visible on the ovarian surface. Uterine horn diameter and uterine gland development also increased during the same period. The peripheral plasma level of oestrogens remained basal in control lambs at all ages. At 35 days of age the number of oocytes in vesicular follicles was significantly greater in the Finnish lambs than in the Blackfaces. Follicular development was stimulated in neonatal lambs by the administration of PMSG. In a proportion of lambs at 7, 21 and 35 days of age the ovaries were refractory to PMSG-treatment. Among the lambs that were stimulated, the response, in. terms of the. development of large follicles, was extremely variable. The greatest range in the response occurred in. lambs of 49 days of age and less, and with the higher doses of PMSG. Uterine horn diameter and epithelial Weight were significantly greater in the. treated lambs than in controls. PMSG-treatment was associated with a significant elevation in the peripheral plasma level of oestrogens. The concentrations increased progressively until the administration of HCG, 4 days after MSG, resulted in an immediate decline in the concentration, HCG also induced ovulation or luteinisation in a proportion of the large follicles. Spontaneous ovulation of the stimulated follicles did not occur in lambs of 49 days of age and less. The peak level of oestrogens was significantly correlated with the number of large follicles. The use of methallibure (I.C.I. 33,828) was investigated as a possible means of suppressing the endogenous secretion of gonadotrophins in the neonatal iamb. In both breeds, the parenteral administration of methallibure daily from birth had no effect on ovarian size, uterine structure and plasma levels of oestrogens at 35 days of age. However the number of oestrogens in primordial follicles was greater in methallibure-treated animals. Pituitary'' weight, as a percentage, of bodyweight, was significantly reduced in the treated Finnish lambs and significantly greater in the treated Blackface lambs, Methallibure," treatment resulted in a smaller and delayed release of LH following LH-RH stimulation, at 45 days of age, in both breeds. In both normal and meth3.lliburetreated animals the response to FMSG, in terms of follicular development and levels of oestrogens, wa.s not significantly different between the Finnish and Blackface lambs. Therefore it xjas concluded that, in lambs of 7-49 days of age, ovarian sensitivity was similar in the two breeds, This implies that extra-gonadal factors are responsible for the different ovulation rates reported for mature Finnish and Blackface ewes

Acute effects of an Avena sativa herb extract on responses to the Stroop Color-Word test

Background and aims: Extracts from oat (Avena sativa) herb may benefit cognitive performance. This study investigated whether Neuravena®, an oat herb extract, could acutely improve responses to the Stroop Color–Word test, a measure of attention and concentration and the ability to maintain task focus.  Subjects and methods: Elderly volunteers with below-average cognitive performance consumed single doses (0, 1600, and 2400 mg) of oat herb extract at weekly intervals in a double-blind, randomized, crossover comparison. Resting blood pressure (BP) was assessed before and after supplementation, and a Stroop test was performed.  Results: Significantly fewer errors were made during the color-naming component of the Stroop test after consuming the 1600-mg dose than after the 0-mg or 2400-mg doses (F (1,36)=18.85, p<0.001). In 7 subjects with suspected cognitive impairment, Stroop interference score was also improved by the 1600-mg dose compared to 0- and 2400-mg doses (F (1, 34)=2.40, p<0.01). Resting BP was unaffected by supplementation.  Conclusions: Taking 1600 mg of oat herb extract may acutely improve attention and concentration and the ability to maintain task focus in older adults with differing levels of cognitive status

Incorporating ecological and evolutionary processes into continental-scale conservation planning

Systematic conservation planning research has focused on designing systems of conservation areas that efficiently protect a comprehensive and representative set of species and habitats. Recently, there has been an emphasis on improving the adequacy of conservation area design to promote the persistence and future generation of biodiversity. Few studies have explored incorporating ecological and evolutionary processes into conservation planning assessments. Biodiversity in Australia is maintained and generated by numerous ecological and evolutionary processes at various spatial and temporal scales. We accommodated ecological and evolutionary processes in four ways: (1) using sub-catchments as planning units to facilitate the protection of the integrity and function of ecosystem processes occurring on a sub-catchment scale; (2) targeting one type of ecological refugia, drought refugia, which are critical for the persistence of many species during widespread drought; (3) targeting one type of evolutionary refugia which are important for maintaining and generating unique biota during long-term climatic changes; and (4) preferentially grouping priority areas along vegetated waterways to account for the importance of connected waterways and associated riparian areas in maintaining processes. We identified drought refugia, areas of relatively high and regular herbage production in arid and semiarid Australia, from estimates of gross primary productivity derived from satellite data. In this paper, we combined the novel incorporation of these processes with a more traditional framework of efficiently representing a comprehensive sample of biodiversity to identify spatial priorities across Australia. We explored the trade-offs between economic costs, representation targets, and connectivity. Priority areas that considered ecological and evolutionary processes were more connected along vegetated waterways and were identified for a small increase in economic cost. Priority areas for conservation investment are more likely to have long-term benefits to biodiversity if ecological and evolutionary processes are considered in their identification

Chronic Effects of a Wild Green Oat Extract Supplementation on Cognitive Performance in Older Adults: A Randomised, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Crossover Trial

Background and aim: Preliminary evaluation of a wild green oat extract (WGOE) (Neuravena® ELFA®955, Frutarom, Switzerland) revealed an acute cognitive benefit of supplementation. This study investigated whether regular daily WGOE supplementation would result in sustained cognitive improvements. Method: A 12-week randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled cross-over trial of WGOE supplementation (1500 mg/day) versus placebo was undertaken in 37 healthy adults aged 67 ± 0.8 years (mean ± SEM). Cognitive assessments included the Stroop colour-word test, letter cancellation, the rule-shift task, a computerised multi-tasking test battery and the trail-making task. All assessments were conducted in Week 12 and repeated in Week 24 whilst subjects were fasted and at least 18 h after taking the last dose of supplement. Result: Chronic WGOE supplementation did not affect any measures of cognition. Conclusion: It appears that the cognitive benefit of acute WGOE supplementation does not persist with chronic treatment in older adults with normal cognition. It remains to be seen whether sustained effects of WGOE supplementation may be more evident in those with mild cognitive impairment

Knowledge transfer in pair programming: an in-depth analysis

Whilst knowledge transfer is one of the most widely-claimed benefits of pair programming, little is known about how knowledge transfer is achieved in this setting. This is particularly pertinent for novice-expert constellations, but knowledge transfer takes place to some degree in all constellations. We ask “what does it take to be a good “expert” and how can a “novice” best learn from a more experienced developer?”. An in-depth investigation of video and audio excerpts of professional pair programming sessions using Interaction Analysis reveals: six teaching strategies, ranging from “giving direct instructions” to “subtle hints”; and challenges and benefits for both partners. These strategies are instantiations of some but not all teaching methods promoted in cognitive apprenticeship; novice articulation, reflection and exploration are not seen in the data. The context of pair programming influences the strategies, challenges and benefits, in particular the roles of driver and navigator and agile prioritisation which considers business value rather than educational progression. Utilising these strategies more widely and recognizing the challenges and benefits for both partners will help developers to maximise the benefits from pairing sessions