Memories of Moses: A survey through genres

This is an author's post print version of the article which was originally published in the Journal for the Study of the Old Testament. 10.1177/0309089216661170During the last few decades an increasing number of biblical scholars have turned to memory studies in their analyses of texts. The figure of Moses is one of the topics discussed, yet so far the studies have not sufficiently considered the genre of the texts that encode the memories. This article looks at the relation between genre and the ways in which Moses is remembered or forgotten. Such a relation can be most clearly seen when approaching a large array of different genres, necessitating the survey of a large material rather than the focus on a few representative texts. This article therefore considers a large material found in the Hebrew Bible, but also makes comments on the Greek Bible, and once the Latin and Slavonic Bibles. As it shows a continuation of the tendencies found in the older parts of the Bible, also the New Testament is included to a limited extent, as is other literature that may be said to belong within a “biblical” horizon.acceptedVersio

Creation in collision? Isaiah 40-48 and Zoroastrianism, Babylonian Religion and Genesis 1

Isaiah 40‒48 emphasizes that Yahweh is a unique creator-god. Did the author(s) arrive at this idea by adopting, adapting or refuting other texts and traditions, and, if so, which? To this long-standing, unresolved scholarly riddle, this article offers fresh arguments, discussing probable and improbable relations between Isaiah 40‒48 and Zoroastrianism, Babylonian religion and the creation account in Genesis 1

Re-visiting the Piper Alpha accident

Master's thesis in Risk ManagementThe main objective of this thesis has been to re-visit the Piper Alpha accident using the latest version of the FLACS simulation code. In 1988/89 simulations of the gas explosion in the C Module of Piper Alpha were performed by Jan Roar Bakke and Idar Storvik at Christian Michelsen Institute, in conjunction with the investigation after the accident. For these simulations the computer code FLACS was used [1, 2]. In this thesis, the same simulation cases have been looked into, and the results obtained have then been compared to the results from the previous findings in 1988/89. The continuous development of computer technology contributes to better and more accurate analysis tools. For assessing the consequences of gas explosions, FLACS is a well known tool. Improvements in the implementation of FLACS have contributed to increasingly more accurate calculations; becoming more and more consistent with practical experiments. Explosion loads are determined by several factors, among other; Geometry Obstructions Ventilation Wind conditions The new FLACS code allows for a more complex model than the code used for the previous studies, and also for adding effect of wind and ventilation. Therefore, in this thesis the effect of increasing degree of obstruction/congestion and the impact of natural ventilation inside the C Module on the Piper Alpha Platform is discussed. Various scenarios for the leakage dispersion, where leak rate, leak direction and leak position have been varied, are also presented. A total of 21 cases have been simulated in this thesis. The first 15 scenarios that have been simulated in relation to this thesis, are based on the simulations carried out in 1988/89. Further, 6 new cases are dened based on the first 15 cases, and it is for these last 6 simulations that the effects of wind and leak dispersion has been taken into account. The sources for modelling the geometry have not been unambiguous in this thesis; the modelling is based on model photographs and exterior photos of the platform. The continuously development of the FLACS numerical model is illustrated through the first 5 simulation cases in this thesis. For these cases the approximately same geometry model has been generated and used for the same scenarios as those performed in the simulations in 1988/89. The results for the next 10 simulation cases, 11-20, shows that the generated overpressure for a gas explosion in a partly confined area is dependent on the congestion inside the area, as well as the structure and equipment on the outside, and that increased congestion/obstruction increases the overpressure. The new simulations confirmed the findings from the 1988/89 simulations regarding the gas composition and the size of the gas cloud; condensate gives higher overpressure than natural gas for the same geometry and ignition location, and a gas cloud covering 50% of the volume gives a larger explosion than a gas cloud covering 30% of the volume. In this thesis, it was also shown that the generated overpressure were higher for ignition near the wall vs. ignition in the centre of the module, for the same cloud composition and dimension. The 6 last cases illustrates the impact of natural ventilation, leak rate, leak direction and leak position. It was found that a leak rate in the same direction as the natural ventilation at the leakage position inside the module, generated smaller gas clouds than that of a leakage direction in the opposite direction of the natural ventilation. The latter one gave too large gas clouds compared to what was expected. It was observed that the effect of altering the leakage position by just 0.5 metre in the X-direction had a huge impact on the generated overpressure, and so had the leak rate. An increased leak rate (2,7 kg/s vs. 1,7kg/s) led to increased overpressure

Noah’s Ark as Conservation? An Ecological Reading of Genesis 6–9: Festschrift for Willie van Heerden

In a world where loss of biodiversity is a major challenge, this article explores a dialogue between modern conservation theory and an ancient biblical text. Through the construction of an ecological hermeneutics based on conservation biology and conservation anthropology, and with references to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the article analyses the story of Noah’s ark in Genesis 6–9 as a conservation project. Two questions are in focus. First, how does a conservation perspective contribute to the reading of the biblical text? Second, is the biblical story of Noah’s ark a good paradigm for conservation efforts today? The answer to the first question highlights aspects of the text that often do not receive sufficient attention. The second answer shows some of the complexities of applying this biblical story as an inspiration for modern conservation projects

The dynamics of brain activity during aerobic exercise until exhaustion : a NIRS study

Aim: the main aim of this study was to investigate how the relation between the cerebral oxygenation (COX) of the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and performance on prefrontal-dependent cognitive tasks, changes during prolonged, high intensity (HI) exercise until exhaustion. An additional aim was to see if the changes occuring in the PFC are exclusive to this region or if they are similar in other regions of the brain. Method: Three sessions were conducted on an ergometer bicycle with a screen for cognitive tasks: 1. Learning session for cognitive tasks (Eriksen Flanker (EF) and Nback) and a VO2max test, determine first ventilatory threshold. 2. One session with HI exercise and cognitive tasks. 3. One session with low intensity (LI) exercise and cognitive tasks. The second and third session included measuring the COX during exercise, as well as recording baseline values before onset of exercise, using a near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) system. Regions measured were occipital cortex (OC), motor cortex (MC), and medial-, dorsolateral (DL)- and right inferior (RI) PFC. Defined two periods; initial and ending, in order to compare start and end of exercise. Results: Significant difference between the COX of the MC, and the medial PFC and DLPFC, and between the MC and the OC, was found, as well as between regions within the PFC. The O2Hb values of the medial- and DLPFC both increased from baseline, but were significantly higher in LI than in HI exercise, and in the ending than in initial period. In HI exercise, the reaction time (RT) on the EF task was significantly faster in the ending period, without change in accuracy. No significant changes were found for LI exercise, or for the N-back task. Conclusion: The findings in this study points to the need of separating between different regions within the brain, as well as between regions within the PFC, when talking about the dynamics of the COX during exercise. This study showed that the dynamical pattern for performance on prefrontal dependent cognitive tasks differed from the pattern of O2Hb in the regions where these tasks are facilitated, and leaves the link between the COX and cognition uncertain. Different factors like duration and intensity of exercise seem to affect both the COX, and more locally in the PFC, in addition to influencing the complex relation between the COX of the PFC and performance on cognitive tasks. This points to a need for more extensive recording of the COX of the MC, the pre-MC and the PFC, in order to have a more informed image of the complex interaction between the different regions, and between the implicit and explicit system during exercise

The dynamics of brain activity during aerobic exercise until exhaustion : a NIRS study

Aim: the main aim of this study was to investigate how the relation between the cerebral oxygenation (COX) of the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and performance on prefrontal-dependent cognitive tasks, changes during prolonged, high intensity (HI) exercise until exhaustion. An additional aim was to see if the changes occuring in the PFC are exclusive to this region or if they are similar in other regions of the brain. Method: Three sessions were conducted on an ergometer bicycle with a screen for cognitive tasks: 1. Learning session for cognitive tasks (Eriksen Flanker (EF) and Nback) and a VO2max test, determine first ventilatory threshold. 2. One session with HI exercise and cognitive tasks. 3. One session with low intensity (LI) exercise and cognitive tasks. The second and third session included measuring the COX during exercise, as well as recording baseline values before onset of exercise, using a near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) system. Regions measured were occipital cortex (OC), motor cortex (MC), and medial-, dorsolateral (DL)- and right inferior (RI) PFC. Defined two periods; initial and ending, in order to compare start and end of exercise. Results: Significant difference between the COX of the MC, and the medial PFC and DLPFC, and between the MC and the OC, was found, as well as between regions within the PFC. The O2Hb values of the medial- and DLPFC both increased from baseline, but were significantly higher in LI than in HI exercise, and in the ending than in initial period. In HI exercise, the reaction time (RT) on the EF task was significantly faster in the ending period, without change in accuracy. No significant changes were found for LI exercise, or for the N-back task. Conclusion: The findings in this study points to the need of separating between different regions within the brain, as well as between regions within the PFC, when talking about the dynamics of the COX during exercise. This study showed that the dynamical pattern for performance on prefrontal dependent cognitive tasks differed from the pattern of O2Hb in the regions where these tasks are facilitated, and leaves the link between the COX and cognition uncertain. Different factors like duration and intensity of exercise seem to affect both the COX, and more locally in the PFC, in addition to influencing the complex relation between the COX of the PFC and performance on cognitive tasks. This points to a need for more extensive recording of the COX of the MC, the pre-MC and the PFC, in order to have a more informed image of the complex interaction between the different regions, and between the implicit and explicit system during exercise