All for One or One for All? Liberation Theology and the Quest for Self- Determination in Latin America, Israel, Palestine, and the United States

At the onset of the apartheid regime halfway into the twentieth century, many Afrikaners believed they engaged in a righteous God ordained struggle of liberation. After decades of British suppression they would now be free to fulfill their Christian mission and preside over South Africa. Later that century anti-apartheid activists would similarly invoke the Scriptures, this time to urge the liberation of blacks from Afrikaner oppression. In both cases people claimed the right to self-determination partly on the basis of their faith. In the first case theological notions of liberation and election helped bolster a profoundly exclusivist ideology and systematic racism. Within the anti-apartheid movement theologians, on the contrary, sought to develop an inclusive theology that advocated freedom for all of humanity

Apart we pray? The struggle of South Africa's Reformed churches to unite a divided nation

This dissertation analyzes the prolonged transition of South Africa’s Reformed churches from bastions of apartheid towards protagonists of racial reconciliation. At the center is the unification process of the Dutch Reformed Church (DRC) and the Uniting Reformed Church of Southern Africa. The two institutions are rooted in the same tradition, with broadly similar doctrines, yet they worship separately in the old racial categories of apartheid. This is not for lack of effort. After 1994, the DRC shifted from proclaiming divine divisions between races, nations and ethnicities to urging inclusivity in the name of Jesus Christ. The limited success so far to integrate the long divided churches reveals an intricate story of religious actors trying to reframe identities and adjust normative frameworks. The story mirrors South Africa’s greater struggle to transcend its past. Part I of this dissertation considers the nationalist civil religion with which the churches bolstered segregation, and its legacy in contemporary South Africa. By drawing comparisons with other religious-nationalist movements, the study shows the impact of religion in sustaining ethnic conflicts with its everyday structures of separation. Through a qualitative study of South Africa’s Reformed churches, Part II investigates what happens with such structures after a conflict dissipates. To what extent have the churches been able to untangle their attachments to particular ethnic and racial identities? An assessment of their unity discourse and its implementation among five communities in the Free State and Western Cape displays a complex role of religious ideas and practices in deepening and mitigating social divisions. At stake here are recently adopted beliefs in inclusivity along with the pressure to adapt to a rapidly pluralizing religious landscape in which the churches’ authority is no longer a given. They have to cooperate across the color line if they wish to retain relevance in society. This study thus highlights dynamics of principles and pragmatism, and of reconciliation and justice. Where historically white congregations are gradually coming to terms with the need to partner with their black neighbors, the latter now prioritize economic equality over reconciliation. This has not made the churches’ search for unity any easier.2017-08-11T00:00:00

The Use of Radar Imagery to Assess the Bottom Topography of Shallow Seas

Under favourable conditions features of the bottom topography of shallow seas are visible in radar images, which are nowadays obtained from satellites on a routine basis. A Bathymetry Assessment System (BAS) was developed to use these images in order to produce depth maps. This paper describes the principles behind the system, indicates for what type of applications it might be useful, notes on the accuracy and gives an example of an application

Mapping of sea bottom topography

Under suitable conditions the bottom topography of shallow seas is visible in remote sensing radar imagery. Two experiments were performed to establish which remote sensing technique or combination yields optimal imaging of bottom topography and which hydro-meteorological conditions are favorable. A further goal is to gain experience with these techniques. Two experiments were performed over an area in the North Sea near the measuring platform Meetpost Noordwijk (MPN). The bottom topography in the test area is dominated by sand waves. The crests of the sand waves are perpendicular to the coast line and the dominating (tidal-)current direction. A 4x4 sq km wide section of the test area was studied in more detail. The first experiment was undertaken on 16 Aug. 1989. During the experiment the following remote sensing instruments were used: Landsat-Thematic Mapper, and NASA/JPL Airborne Imaging Radar (AIR). The hydro-meteorological conditions; current, wind, wave, and air and water temperature were monitored by MPN, a ship of Rijkswaterstaat (the OCTANS), and a pitch-and-roll WAVEC-buoy. The second experiment took place on 12 July 1992. During this experiment data were collected with the NASA/JPL polarimetric synthetic aperture radar (SAR), and a five-band helicopter-borne scatterometer. Again the hydro-meteorological conditions were monitored at MPN and the OCTANS. Furthermore, interferometric radar data were collected

Lambert?Eaton myasthenic syndrome: Clinical review

Lambert?Eaton myasthenic syndrome (LEMS) is an autoimmune disease of the neuromuscular junction and approximately 60% of LEMS patients have a tumor, mostly small cell lung cancer, as a paraneoplastic neurological syndrome. LEMS patients develop a unique set of clinical characteristics, which include proximal muscle weakness, depressed tendon reflexes with post-tetanic potentiation and autonomic symptoms. Interestingly, slightly <10% of LEMS patients have cerebellar ataxia (LEMS with paraneoplastic cerebellar degeneration). Considering its pathomechanism, LEMS is a presynaptic disorder of neuromuscular transmission in which quantal release of acetylcholine is impaired by autoantibodies for P/Q-type voltage-gated calcium channels at active zones, although an animal model by immunizing purified P/Q-type voltage-gated calcium channels has not yet been successful

Sensory interpretation of neural events

Contains fulltext : mmubn000001_064270572.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access)Promotor : W. Vervaat108 p

Ingénierie électrique et électrification des Pays-Bas : la carrière de C. Feldmann à la « Technische Hogeschool » de Delft

Hesselmans A. N. Ingénierie électrique et électrification des Pays-Bas : la carrière de C. Feldmann à la « Technische Hogeschool » de Delft. In: Bulletin d'histoire de l'électricité, n°14-15, décembre- juin 1989. pp. 230-231