Spirit of the land : politics, memory, and the sacred in South African land claims

Bibliography: leaves 224-242.This thesis examines the role of sacred space in people's attachment to land, analysing the ways in which people create sacred space through labour, ritual, myth, and memory. Three case studies explore the human interpretation of the sacred through the history and politics of land acquisition and dispossession. While providing historical background and legal analysis of forced removals, evictions, and relocations, the thesis calls attention to the role of religion in South African land claims. Although the people in these case studies believe that returning to their original land will materially improve their lives, their main concern is to reconnect with their alienated sacred space. This study explores the changing nature of the sacred and its formulative role in shaping and informing peopIe's identities and memories

A Search for Authenticity : Understanding Zadie Smith's White Teeth Using Judith Butler's Performativity and Jane Austen's Satire

The purpose of this thesis is to explore the search for authentic self in Zadie Smith's White Teeth. Using Judith Butler's theory of performance and performativity, a close reading of White Teeth provides concrete literary examples of the theory and how it works in a contemporary novel.  Jane Austen's Mansfield Park is also examined through Butler's performance and performativity model, providing proof of an established women writers' interest in gender and class norms. An exploration of Austen's use of satire supports the notion that Smith's novel operates in a long-standing tradition of feminist literature.  M.A

Designing for a Driverless Future in Downtown San Luis Obispo

The graduate class CRP 512 Introduction to Visual Communication and GIS, focuses on skill development in visual communications and GIS through a planning exercise. In the Winter quarter of 2018, the class was assigned the re-design of two blocks in downtown San Luis Obispo. The students focused on developing visions and design ideas for a future with autonomous vehicles

Alcohol and risk of admission to hospital for unintentional cutting or piercing injuries at home: a population-based case-crossover study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Cutting and piercing injuries are among the leading causes of unintentional injury morbidity in developed countries. In New Zealand, cutting and piercing are second only to falls as the most frequent cause of unintentional home injuries resulting in admissions to hospital among people aged 20 to 64 years. Alcohol intake is known to be associated with many other types of injury. We used a case-crossover study to investigate the role of acute alcohol use (i.e., drinking during the previous 6 h) in unintentional cutting or piercing injuries at home.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A population-based case-crossover study was conducted. We identified all people aged 20 to 64 years, resident in one of three regions of the country (Greater Auckland, Waikato and Otago), who were admitted to public hospital within 48 h of an unintentional non-occupational cutting or piercing injury sustained at home (theirs or another's) from August 2008 to December 2009. The main exposure of interest was use of alcohol in the 6-hour period before the injury occurred and the corresponding time intervals 24 h before, and 1 week before, the injury. Other information was collected on known and potential confounders. Information was obtained during face-to-face interviews with cases, and through review of their medical charts.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Of the 356 participants, 71% were male, and a third sustained injuries from contact with glass. After adjustment for other paired exposures, the odds ratio for injury after consuming 1 to 3 standard drinks of alcohol during the 6-hour period before the injury (compared to the day before), compared to none, was 1.77 (95% confidence interval 0.84 to 3.74), and for four or more drinks was 8.68 (95% confidence interval 3.11 to 24.3). Smokers had higher alcohol-related risks than non-smokers.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Alcohol consumption increases the odds of unintentional cutting or piercing injury occurring at home and this risk increases with higher levels of drinking.</p

Ancient shipwrecks and archaeological science: characterising cargo items through stable isotope, organic residue, and DNA analysis

Finding a way to accurately characterise the contents of cargoes from ancient Mediterranean shipwrecks would provide invaluable insight into economic, agricultural, and social transformations in antiquity. The three forms in which ancient shipwreck cargo items survive in the archaeological record, as macro-remains, visible residues, and molecules invisible to the naked eye, are analysed here in order to better understand what these ships were transporting, and why. Despite the abundance of preserved organic material found on shipwrecks, the use of stable isotope analysis on waterlogged archaeological plant material remains largely unexplored. Here we present the results from a small, preliminary isotopic study of olive stones recovered from the 4th century B.C.E. Mazotos shipwreck, Cyprus. Analyses of the stable isotopes of carbon and nitrogen are conducted on 20 ancient, waterlogged olive stones from the Mazotos wreck and 10 modern olive stones from Chios, Greece. The extent of lipid retention, and preservation of original isotopic composition is explored. The possibility of determining the geographic origin of the Mazotos olive stones by isotope analysis is assessed. The majority of amphorae recovered from ancient shipwrecks appear empty on first inspection, or with barely visible residues adhering to the vessel walls. Ceramic vessels thought to have contained either wine or olive oil recovered from multiple Mediterranean shipwrecks and one terrestrial site are analysed through GC-MS to investigate past vessel contents. Assumptions regarding vessel shape as a determining factor in past use are discussed. Environmental samples from shipwreck sites are analysed and compared with results from GC-MS. Results show a prevalence of conifer products in vessels thought to have contained wine. Environmental samples of seafloor sediment and soil from both the shipwrecks and the terrestrial site contain syringic acid, calling into question the utility of relying on syringic acid as a wine biomarker. Molecules from unexpected or unusual contents were detected in several vessels. The third method by which this research attempts to characterise ancient shipwreck cargo items is through ancient DNA analysis. There is tremendous potential for DNA studies to resolve long-standing questions in both terrestrial and underwater archaeology. Great optimism for the recovery of ancient DNA (aDNA) from maritime sites has spurred a series of studies claiming to have successfully extracted aDNA from a variety of artefacts recovered from underwater sites including plant remains, human skeletons, and shipwreck amphorae. However, these studies have not adequately addressed the source of the DNA recovered: does it derive from taxa present in the underwater deposition environment or the artefact itself? My research attempts to address this ambiguity by examining the efficacy of extracting aDNA from the ceramic matrix of vessels recovered from six ancient Mediterranean shipwrecks and establishing what DNA can be found in the water column and seafloor sediments that surround these sites. The methods used in this research are designed to enhance current methods, which do not characterise the deposition environment, and utilises shotgun metagenomics to characterise the DNA found on ancient shipwreck sites

Panel II

Light and the Influence of Einstein on Quentin\u27s Last Day / Elizabeth Cornell, editor of the Weekly Crush That Farm is Really Yours, Isn\u27t It? Faulkner and the Problem of Legacy in The Sound and The Fury, Absalom, Absalom!, and Go Down, Moses / Jonathan Howland, Urban School of San Francisco The Quest for Inheritance Over Reason: Charles Bon\u27s Death Journey Into Mississippi / Reginald Martin, University of Memphi