Side Effects Of Self-Referential Discussion: The Impact And Interaction Of Deductive And Inductive Routes Of Identity

Studies of group communication and group identity rest on two competing theoretical concepts of the group, one that prioritizes examining the relationships between members and one that examines the group as a gestalt construct. For live groups, it is not always clear which style, individual or gestalt, is most appropriate or provides more insight into any specific group because groups’ identities and communication behaviors are sometimes explicable by both theoretical concepts. This occurs because in real-world groups the formation process typically involves an amalgamation of both influences. In other words, live groups form identities built around both members’ individual traits and categorical commonalities among members. When group formation occurs, it is not always clear which theoretical concept should guide the analysis because when both identity formation styles occur together, research currently lacks a way to determine which has more influence on the resulting group. The present study brings our theoretical understanding of group formation closer to groups in a live context. It does so by forming groups under conditions that provide opportunities to foster both formation styles and measuring members’ perception of gestalt or individually focal group identity. Results indicate that members tended to perceive a greater degree of gestalt identity, but not to the exclusion of individual identity

The Continuing (Ir) Relevance of C.S. Lewis

found myself profoundly frustrated with the polarization that became evident between Lewis’ friends and foes, devotees and detractors. At the extremes of this debate were those who apparently regarded Lewis’ work as, for all intents and purposes, Holy Writ; at the other end of it were those who, for whatever reason, regarded Lewis with disdain and contempt. Sane, balanced, objective, sympathetically-critical and critically-sympathetic assessments seemed so rare as to be almost non-existent. The devotional attitude was largely characteristic of the United States, where I had grown up; and the disdain and contempt seemed especially prevalent in England, where I was living at the time. ..So between devotion and contempt, enthusiasm and apathy, where does the sober truth about Lewis lie? Now, fifty years after his death, how should his life and work be regarded? Surely there must be a plausible via media between such extremes? To help answer these questions, I conceived the idea of a volume on Lewis to be included in the well-established series “Cambridge Companions to Religion.” And let me add that that was crucial: from the very beginning this volume was intended to be, not yet another collection of essays on Lewis, not even one published by Cambridge University Press, but The Cambridge Companion to C. S. Lewis. The basic plan was to recruit leading theologians, philosophers, literary scholars, and historians to write on various aspects of Lewis’ legacy

Discourses and Practices of Whiteness in the Alternative Food Movement in Halifax, Nova Scotia

The alternative food movement is a collaborative effort to build more environmentally and socially just food systems in order to enhance the health and resiliency of communities. Contemporary trends in food politics have emerged in Canada over the past 40 years, as people work to develop equitable alternatives to the dominant agrifood system. This thesis intervenes at this point and interrogates the discourses and practices within the alternative food movement with the aim of illustrating how race and class based oppressions can be unknowingly embedded in the workings of an organization. It does this through discourse analysis and participant observation, which forms the basis of a case study of The Food Action Committee (FAC) in Halifax, N.S. Drawing on an interdisciplinary literature with a particular emphasis on critical geography, this thesis demonstrates that the circulation of whitened discourses and practices in FAC can inadvertently naturalize and reinforce exclusionary processes which may engender particular exclusions. These forms of inequality - including historical processes of dispossession and racial and other exclusions – are felt most strongly in the marginal communities the committee aims to support. This occurs through an adherence in the organization to discourses of universalism and colour blindness, as well as to universalizing practices such as exclusionary conceptualizations of community and participation. While it is clear that FAC is well intentioned in regards to diversity within the organization, this critique opens a path towards a more genuine form of social inclusion in the organization and in the alternative food movement

Floral volatiles from Clarkia breweri and C. concinna ( Onagraceae ): Recent evolution of floral scent and moth pollination

Clarkia breweri ( Onagraceae ) is the only species known in its genus to produce strong floral fragrance and to be pollinated by moths. We used gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) to identify 12 abundant compounds in the floral headspace from two inbred lines of C. breweri. These volatiles are derived from two biochemical pathways, one producing acyclic monoterpenes and their oxides, the other leading from phenylalanine to benzoate and its derivatives. Linalool and linalool oxide (pyran form) were the most abundant monoterpenoids, while linalool oxide (furan form) was present at lower concentrations. Of the aromatic compounds detected, benzyl acetate was most abundant, whereas benzyl benzoate, eugenol, methyl salicylate, and vanillin were present as minor constituents in all floral samples. The two inbred C. breweri lines differed for the presence of the additional benzenoid compounds isoeugenol, methyleugenol, methylisoeugenol, and veratraldehyde. We also analyzed floral headspace from C. concinna , the likely progenitor of C. breweri , whose flowers are odorless to the human nose. Ten volatiles (mostly terpenoids) were detected at low concentrations, but only when headspace was collected from 20 or more flowers at a time. Trans-β-ocimene was the most abundant floral compound identified from this species. Our data are consistent with the hypothesized recent evolution of floral scent production and moth pollination in C. breweri.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/41639/1/606_2004_Article_BF00983216.pd

'Solved by sacrifice' : Austin Farrer, fideism, and the evidence of faith

CHAPTER ONE: A perennial (if controversial) concern in both theology and philosophy of religion is whether religious belief is ‘reasonable’. Austin Farrer (1904-1968) is widely thought to affirm a positive answer to this concern. Chapter One surveys three interpretations of Farrer on ‘the believer’s reasons’ and thus sets the stage for our investigation into the development of his religious epistemology. CHAPTER TWO: The disputed question of whether Farrer became ‘a sort of fideist’ is complicated by the many definitions of fideism. Chapter Two thus sorts through these issues so that when ‘fideism’ appears in subsequent chapters a precise range of meanings can be given to it, and the ‘sort of fideist’ Farrer may have become can be determined more accurately. CHAPTER THREE: Although Farrer’s constant goal was to develop ‘a viable and sophisticated natural theology,’ an early moment of philosophical illumination involved recognising the limits of reason. Chapter Three begins with a sketch of Farrer’s life, looks at his undergraduate correspondence where some ‘fideistic’ themes are first articulated, and then focuses on his classic text of ‘rational theology,’ *Finite and Infinite* (1943). CHAPTER FOUR: In subsequent years, Farrer became increasingly open to placing a greater emphasis on faith. And yet, he continued to press the question: ‘Can reasonable minds still think theologically?’ Chapter Four argues that, stimulated by Diogenes Allen’s doctoral dissertation and citing it explicitly, Farrer’s *Faith and Speculation* (1967) attempts to blend Allen’s more fideistic position with a continuing concern for legitimate philosophical critique. CHAPTER FIVE: The fifth chapter evaluates the significance of Farrer’s final position in the context of contemporary religious epistemology and the current wide-spread interest in spirituality. In conclusion, Farrer finally seems to locate theistic evidence not primarily in nature or reason, but in holy lives and our own attempts to live by faith: ‘It is solved by sacrifice.