Instances of the Spirit (Glossary)

This thesis offers a performative methodology to engaging with the worlds and ideas that these words have generated in the form of a glossary. The list of words include: Ancestor, Anointing, Attune, Breath, Conjure, Conversion, Dance, Erotic, Ephemera, Ethervism, God, Girlhood, Hallelujah, Imagination, Improvisation, Jazz, Knowledge, Love, Liturgical, Magic, Memory, Performance, Prayer, Remnant, Repetition, Ritual, Root, Sacred/Secular, Silence/Stillness, Sound, Spell, Spirit, Testimony, Water, and Witness. Personal reflections, contemplations and expansions from other writing, and passages that come out of Black feminist thought, Black girlhood studies, and Black performance theory exist here simultaneously. This glossary demonstrates the theory, theology and lineages that are integral to my artistic vision, how I will always consider Spirit in what I do. The dance is in embodying and manifesting that in which defies definition. I believe this is present in our bodies, our lives, what we create, who we emanate, our research, that in which we hold close, our beliefs, and so much more

A holistic multi-methodology for sustainable renovation

A review of the barriers for building renovation has revealed a lack of methodologies, which can promote sustainability objectives and assist various stakeholders during the design stage of building renovation/retrofitting projects. The purpose of this paper is to develop a Holistic Multi-methodology for Sustainable Renovation, which aims to deal with complexity of renovation projects. It provides a framework through which to involve the different stakeholders in the design process to improve group learning and group decision-making, and hence make the building renovation design process more robust and efficient. Therefore, the paper discusses the essence of multifaceted barriers in building renovation regarding cultural changes and technological/physical changes. The outcome is a proposal for a multi-methodology framework, which is developed by introducing, evaluating and mixing methods from Soft Systems Methodologies (SSM) with Multiple Criteria Decision Making (MCDM). The potential of applying the proposed methodology in renovation projects is demonstrated through a case study

Sustainability focused decision-making in building renovation

An overview of recent research related to building renovation has revealed that efforts to date do not address sustainability issues comprehensively. The question then arises in regard to the holistic sustainability objectives within building renovation context. In order to deal with this question, the research adopts a multi-dimensional approach involving literature review, exploration of existing assessment methods and methodologies, individual and focus group interviews, and application of Soft Systems Methodologies (SSM) with Value Focused Thinking (VFT). In doing so, appropriate data about sustainability objectives have been collected and structured, and subsequently verified using a Delphi study. A sustainability framework was developed in cooperation with University of Palermo and Aarhus University to audit, develop and assess building renovation performance, and support decision-making during the project\u2019s lifecycle. The paper represents the results of research aiming at addressing sustainability of the entire renovation effort including new categories, criteria, and indicators. The developed framework can be applied during different project stages and to assist in the consideration of the sustainability issues through support of decision-making and communication with relevant stakeholders. Early in a project, it can be used to identify key performance criteria, and later to evaluate/compare the pros and cons of alternative retrofitting solutions either during the design stage or upon the project completion. According to the procedure of the consensus-based process for the development of an effective sustainability decision-making framework which was employed in this study, the outcome can also be considered as an outset step intended for the establishment of a Decision Support Systems (DSS) and assessment tool suited to building renovation context

Submission of Amicus Curiae Observations in the Case of The Prosecutor v. Dominic Ongwen

The important questions laid out by the Appeals Chamber in this case highlight the need for the proper delineation and interplay between mental illness and criminal responsibility under international law. Specifically, this case represents a watershed moment for the Appeals Chamber to set a framework for adjudicating mental illness in the context of collectivized child abuse and trauma. This is especially true for former child soldiers who occupy both a victim and alleged perpetrator status

Different strategies for assessing reading comprehension in adults. From Alpha to Omega.

Comprehension constitutes the main purpose of reading, one of the most important human skills. Furthermore, reading and therefore comprehension are perplexing procedures, that are built through the interaction of the cognitive functions. Comprehension occurs in a cognitive and metacognitve level. Meta-comprehension indeed, constitutes an important interpretive factor of learning, especially in the field of text comprehension. The present review study attempts to emphasizes and interpret a variety of research protocols, which have as an ultimate goal text comprehension evaluation and improvement in adult population. Implications for integrating different comprehension-monitoring experimental designs to improve text comprehension in adults are discussed

A comparative study of the experimental and the theoretical elastic data of Tm3+ doped zinc borotellurite glass

A series of glass samples with composition {[(TeO2)0.7(B2O3)0.3]0.7[ZnO]0.3}1-x{Tm2O3}x was prepared by using the melt-quenching technique. Then, the samples were characterized by using the densimeter, FTIR and ultrasound technique. The variations of density, molar volume, ultrasonic velocity, elastic moduli, and Poisson’s ratio were discussed and correlated with the composition of the glass samples and the FTIR spectra. It was found that the addition of thulium caused bridging and non-bridging oxygen to be formed at the same time due to the different effect that occur to tellurite and borate network as thulium is added. As thulium is varied from 1 until 3 mol%, bridging oxygens had been found to occur at a high rate and caused the ultrasonic velocity to increase. Nonetheless, when thulium oxide exceeded 3 mol%, non-bridging oxygens formed at a high rate. As a result, ultrasonic velocity was reduced. Furthermore, the values of elastic moduli (including bulk, shear, Young’s modulus, and Poisson’s ratio) were compared with the data that were calculated theoretically by using bulk compression, Makishima-Mackenzie, and Rocherulle models

Linguistic deficiencies in primary progressive multiple sclerosis

The aim of the present study is to investigate the linguistic profile of patients with Primary Progressive Multiple Sclerosis (PPMS) in relation to linguistic deficits associated with specific brain areas. Ten adults with PPMS were tested for the needs of the study and compared with healthy participants. The Boston Aphasia Naming Test, namely the tasks of listening comprehension, repetition, and reading comprehension, were administered. Results showed that the group of participants with PPMS had significantly lower performance in the above-mentioned tasks of comprehension compared to the control group. The findings are discussed

Antioxidant activities, total phenol an flavonoid contents of two Teucrium polium subspecies extracts

The soxhlet extracts of two subspecies from Moroccan Teucrium polium were examined for their antioxidant activities, total polyphenol and total flavonoids contents.The Antioxidant activities was evaluated in vitro spectrophotometrically using  four methods, such as ABTS+·, 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrzyl (DPPH·), ferric reducing antioxidant power and phosphomolybdenum assay. Total polyphenol and flavonoid contents  were measured using Folin-Ciocalteu test and aluminum chloride colorimetric method, respectively. The total phenol contents, flavonoids contents and antioxidant activities of T. polium subsp. polium extracts were higher than T. polium subsp. aurum. The phenols contents ranged from 112.27 to 4.38 mg GA E/ g dry extract. The total flavonoids varied between 174.57 and 40.42 mg RE/ g dry weight. The extract showed significant scavenging activity of  ABTS+·  and  DPPH·, with IC50 values ranging from 0.38 to 5 mg/ml and from 0.23 to 4.02 mg/ml, respectively. Moreover all extracts showed a good ferric reducing antioxidant power with EC50 values varying between 0.19 and 3.94 mg/ml. The total antioxidant capacity assay revealed that the water extract of T. polium subsp. aurum had a high activity with a value of 220 mg VitCE/g dry weight. The ethyl acetate extract has a weak antioxidant activity in the four tests. These results shows that Moroccan T. polium subspecies are a rich source of phenols and natural antioxidant compounds, which can be used as a natural food preservative

A Heterobimetallic 2-D Coordination Polymer [Na2(Cu2I2(2pyCOO)4)(H2O)4]n (2pyCOO

A heterobimetallic 2-D coordination polymer, [Na2(Cu2I2(2pyCOO)4)(H2O)4]n (1) (2pyCOO=picolinate) was synthesized and characterized. The complex was also structurally characterized using single X-ray diffraction studies that revealed the complex 1 having a vertex symbol of 4.82 which corresponds to fes topology. Together with hydrogen bonds and interdigitating n...n interactions, these thus facilitate the formation of 3-D supramolecular network. The nitrogen gas absorption amount of 1 at 77 K shows a small volume of N2 sorption isotherm with a small Langmuir and a Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface area indicating that the heterobimetallic 3-D supramolecular of 1 exhibits a very weak ability of adsorbing gas