The Significance of Meister Eckhart\u27s View of the Self for Psychoanalytic Theories of Subjectivity: A Radical Hermeneutic Study

This interdisciplinary, theoretical dissertation puts Meister Eckhart and psychoanalysis (in particular, the work of Jacques Lacan) in dialogue in order to examine the question of the self. It extends the success of recent Buddhist-psychoanalytic dialogues on the self into the neglected area of Christian mysticism. The author reviews the extant literature on psychoanalysis and mysticism, summarizes Freud and Lacan\u27s psychoanalytic theories of subjectivity, and examines the existing literature on Meister Eckhart and the self. Then, the author undertakes a commentary of an especially significant passage in one of Eckhart\u27s sermons using an interpretive method which brings together radical hermeneutics, a form of hermeneutics developed by the American philosopher of religion John Caputo (1987, 2000) with Lectio Divina and centering prayer, two Christian contemplative practices. Based on the commentary, the author presents a fresh understanding of Eckhart\u27s view of the self which emphasizes the unity between the soul and God in the process of God\u27s birth in the soul (Gottesgeburt). Then, some of the key themes of Eckhart\u27s sermons are put in dialogue with key Lacanian concepts - e.g., properties (eigenschaften) with symptoms, detachment (abegescheidenheit) with castration, and living without why (ohne Warum) with jouissance - in order to explore the significance of Eckhart\u27s view of the self for psychoanalytic theories of subjectivity. Additionally, the discussion includes clinical vignettes in order to suggest implications for the practice of psychotherapy. The dissertation concludes that psychoanalysis and mysticism are guided by a similar logic and structure, as they are both oriented around processes of change

The measurement of flame propagation within an electrostatic particulate system

A variant of the Electrostatic Particulate Chamber was developed to directly measure flame propagation velocity of combustible gas and powder mixtures. Flame propagation velocity was measured by tracking the position of the flame front utilizing the ionization effect and current due to a high intensity applied electric field. The position of the front was determined with respect to time by monitoring the voltage spike and current flow through spatially separated resistors.;With this technique, the flame propagation velocity was initially tested in gas mixtures of propane/air and natural gas/air. Measured velocities were compared to published values for burning velocities of laminar premixed flames. Although the data trends compared well to expected behaviors, the values measured were higher than expected, likely due to turbulent effects.;Additionally, burning measurements were taken in propane/air mixtures with various concentrations of 53-63mum copper particles acting to quench the flame. At low copper concentrations the burning velocity was increased. However, as copper particle concentration was increased the measured burning velocity quickly dropped below the burning velocity of similar mixtures without copper particles.;The propagation velocity of 30-35mum aluminum particles in a natural gas/air mixture was also measured. The measured velocity was found to be higher than the measured propagation velocity of the natural gas/air mixture without the aluminum particles. The brightness of the flame also indicated ignition of the aluminum particles

The Buyer's Response Technique - A Framework for Improving Comparable Selection and Adjustment in Single-Family Appraising

The purpose of this paper is to illustrate how the Buyer's Response Technique (BRT) may be used as an adjunct or alternative framework to estimating appropriate adjustment size when performing the sales comparison approach for single-family houses. The BRT builds upon the traditional appraisal forms used in the appraisal profession, while capturing the benefits of selected marketing research techniques. The goal is to illustrate a technique the appraiser can use to achieve more accurate market value estimates in the appraisal of single-family houses by incorporating information provided by recent purchasers.

The influence of CEO political outspokenness on stock market reaction and firm performance

CEOs\u27 public communications are considered essential parts of their stakeholder management efforts. Specifically, CEOs\u27 oral and written communications pertaining to their firms\u27 actions receive scrutiny from external stakeholders (e.g. investors, stock analysts, regulators) and members of the media (Conaway & Wardrope, 2010; Kassel, 2017). There is a burgeoning body of research on CEO communication. Research evidence, for instance, points to the extent to which CEOs\u27 communications influence firm performance and investor behavior (Whittington, Yakis-Douglas, Ahn, 2016; Elliott, Grant & Hodge, 2018). Furthermore, CEOs\u27 communications have been shown to shape firm reputation and stakeholder perceptions in times of crises (Seeger, Sellnow & Ulmer, 2003). In recent years, there have been reports of a growing number of CEOs publicly weighing in on controversial public policy debates (Chatterji & Toffel, 2016; Soergel, 2016). These CEOs are addressing a wide range of societal hot button issues in the political arena. This trend is considered unusual because it goes against the implicit societal expectation that CEOs refrain from being involved in controversial political debates and instead focus on managing their businesses. We refer to this growing trend as CEO political outspokenness and define it as CEO\u27s public and opinionated expression of personal beliefs and values on controversial political issues. Because this trend is very nascent, scholarly research has not examined the consequences of controversial political comments made by CEOs on firm performance. In exploring this issue, we consider two important contingency factors that moderate the impact of CEO political outspokenness on firm performance: firm \u27s past reputation ( Celebrity Status) and history of consumer activism. In the next section, we first provide an overview of CEO political outspokenness. We will then present our study\u27s predictions and conclude by highlighting the scholarly and managerial implications of our empirical findings

Utility Theory and Rent Optimization: Utilizing Cluster Analysis to Segment Rental Markets

The research reported here segments apartment residents and units into homogeneous groups. This segmentation is accomplished via cluster analysis. The purpose of the research is to identify market segments with higher marginal utility preferences for selected project or unit amenities; with the ultimate goal of rental rate optimization. The uniqueness of the research is twofold in that the "tenant response" based hedonic analysis is modeled via cluster analysis instead of the typical regressive framework. The usefulness of the research is based in the presentation of a methodology that should at least be considered as an adjunct technique to the typical regression analysis.

IT Outsourcing: Examined Under the Resource-Based View Lens

The proponents of the resource-based view (RBV) have long argued that a firm gains sustainable competitive advantage from those resources and capabilities it controls and which are valuable, rare, imperfectly imitable, and not substitutable. So, does information technology (IT) outsourcing strip companies of any competitive advantage that is attributed to IT? It has been said that information systems that cannot sustain competitive advantage are transient and are not expected to enhance firm valuation. In that case, does it imply that outsourcing of certain aspects of IT can lead to sustained competitive advantage? Therefore, this paper’s main research question is: Does IT outsourcing lead to sustained competitive advantage for a firm? In order to empirically examine this, it is proposed to study the impact of IT outsourcing announcements on firm valuation using the event study methodology

Strings with Extrinsic Curvature: An Analysis of the Crossover Regime

We present the results of a set of Monte Carlo simulations of Dynamically Triangulated Random Surfaces embedded in three dimensions with an extrinsic curvature dependent action. We analyze several observables in the crossover regime and discuss whether or not our observations are indicative of the presence of a phase transition.Comment: (Contribution to Lattice 92 Proceedings.) Latex file (5 pages), requires espcrc2.sty. 2 figures not included. Syracuse preprint SU-HEP-4241-52

The Phase Diagram of Fluid Random Surfaces with Extrinsic Curvature

We present the results of a large-scale simulation of a Dynamically Triangulated Random Surface with extrinsic curvature embedded in three-dimensional flat space. We measure a variety of local observables and use a finite size scaling analysis to characterize as much as possible the regime of crossover from crumpled to smooth surfaces.Comment: 29 pages. There are also 19 figures available from the authors but not included here - sorr

Food security in urban cities : a case study conducted in Johannesburg, South Africa

Abstract: The objectives of the study were to determine the prevalence of food insecurity in greater Johannesburg metropole (South Africa). A total of 1000 households were interviewed using standardised food insecurity scaling and scoring metrics. Findings revealed that 34% of households experienced food insecurity and almost 60% spent R1000($57) or less on food per month. Only half of respondents reported adequate food provisioning throughout the year. Many households frequently bought less preferred foods or only what was necessary and almost 50% borrowed food or money to cope with food insecurity. Appropriate interventions to alleviate food and nutrition security are essential