Death’s human shroud : an interdisciplinary journey through the realm of death personification

This thesis comprises a novel and exegesis that aims to start a conversation about the personification of death. Working from an interdisciplinary perspective, I consider the following questions: how did death personification come about? What function does it serve? And how has Death been personified in popular works of fiction? In my exegesis, I argue that the personification of death is a useful outlet for agency and expression, reflecting an ever-evolving understanding of the concept of death. Taking on an experimental approach, I have structured the exegesis as a symbolic journey through the ‘underworld’ of death personification: a mythical map of concentric circles that represent levels of discourse, discipline, and/or text as they relate to the figuration of death. I begin by considering death-denial theory and its impact on the literature that informs my thesis. I draw upon the insights of Robert Kastenbaum, Edgar Herzog, and Karl S. Guthke, exploring the notion that humankind has an innate desire to construct images and stories around Death. I then turn to close readings of Martine Leavitt’s Keturah and Lord Death (2012), Sir Terry Pratchett’s Mort (2004), and Markus Zusak’s The Book Thief (2013) to consider how these novels explore the subject of death through Death as a character. Although this thesis is not an encyclopaedic overview of death personification, this area of research has informed my understanding and characterisation of Death in my novel. I argue for the need to explore new stories that feature death personification not only to bring attention to its capacity as an outlet for agency and expression, but to extend the conversations around death that still prove difficult in both public and private circles. The thesis ends with my creative work, Westall, a dark fantasy novel about a young woman whose life is thrown into chaos after meeting a figure who she eventually learns is Death

Quality inclusion of students with disabilities in general physical education

A study conducted in one Southern California school district found that students with disabilities are often marginalized when it comes to participating in physically demanding sports and activities. This study was conducted to examine the participation levels of students with disabilities in physical education classes. Secondary physical education teachers throughout the southern California school district were surveyed about the inclusion of students with disabilities in their classes. This study also meant to measure teachers\u27 knowledge and behaviors surrounding inclusive practices of students with disabilities. The survey consisted of 10 questions and was distributed via e-mail to 10 chosen school sites. In total, 23 surveys were retrieved

Where do we come from? What are we? Where are we going?: Existential and Practical Tips for Planning a Successful Study Abroad Experience

Study Abroad programs are becoming more and more essential to a student’s college experience, particularly for a student who is interested in art and art history. Students who travel and study abroad can develop a broader sense of history and culture while they practice language and communication skills in an international context. Yet the difficulties of organizing a Study Abroad trip can be onerous, and the perceived challenges can prevent many professors from even attempting to organize international experiences for their students. This panel is designed as a forum for sharing successes and failures, lessons learned, and suggestions for professors who are interested in planning Study Abroad excursions and programs. Presentations will speak from personal experience and incorporate ideas for meaningful travel itineraries, assignments, and strategies for assessing student learning. Presenters will give tips regarding such planning and logistical concerns as designing course proposals, finding international contacts, recruiting students, dealing with administrative obstacles, preparing students for the difficulties of international travel, budgeting, making travel arrangements, developing contingency plans, and avoiding the common pitfalls of planning a Study Abroad trip

Investigation of Fumed Silica/Aqueous NaCl Superdielectric Material

The article of record as published may be found at http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ma9020118A constant current charge/discharge protocol which showed fumed silica filled to the point of incipient wetness with aqueous NaCl solution to have dielectric constants >10 ⁸ over the full range of dielectric thicknesses of 0.38–3.9 mm and discharge times of 0.25–>100 s was studied, making this material another example of a superdielectric. The dielectric constant was impacted by both frequency and thickness. For time to discharge greater than 10 s the dielectric constant for all thicknesses needed to be fairly constant, always >10⁹, although trending higher with increasing thickness. At shorter discharge times the dielectric constant consistently decreased, with decreasing time to discharge. Hence, it is reasonable to suggest that for time to discharge >10 s the dielectric constant at all thicknesses will be greater than 10⁹. This in turn implies an energy density for a 5 micron thick dielectric layer in the order of 350 J/cm³ for discharge times greater than 10 s.Naval Research Program at the Naval Postgraduate Schoo

SeaSpine Force Limiting Handle With Replaceable Components

This document outlines details of the Cal Poly-SeaSpine senior project collaboration for the force limiting handle with replaceable components. This document will cover a brief introduction of the project itself, background information about the problem, customer requirements and engineering specifications, ideation and concept selection, detailed design, description of testing and manufacturing plans, design verification and validation results, conclusions, and future work. The design process included background research and scope identification, ideation, concept selection based on quality functions and customer requirements, detailed design, manufacturing, testing and iteration, and design verification and validation. Key specifications for the device included a force to break the device greater than the force to insert the spinal cage during spinal fusion surgery, 378.3 N, and less than the lower limit of the force to break the spinal cage, 923 N. The force to break the device was found to be 776 N, with upper and lower tolerance limits of 793 N and 759 N, which were well within the specified allowable range. Further details of data analysis and testing are included in Section XIII

Navigating the tensions of undergraduate life: An existential phenomenological analysis of personal growth and the role of coaching at a UK university

This thesis is about how 14 undergraduates, aged 18-25, at a London university, who had one-to-one coaching with professional coaches over one or two years, perceived their personal growth. Existential phenomenology was used to frame and elucidate the studies within the thesis. Participants who had coaching for one year were interviewed four times while those who had coaching for two years were interviewed five times. Data were analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), which yielded a fine-grained and multi-layered hermeneutic picture of participants’ experiences. Through the studies, I moved from an expansive analysis of how students made sense of university life and their personal quandaries to a more focused examination of the coaching experience itself. I discuss these studies theoretically, using existential phenomenological concepts. Personal growth has been conceptualised in many ways, including “toward fuller and fuller being” or “self-actualization” (Maslow, 1962/2011, p. 147) and the unfurling of an inner core towards fulfilling one’s innate potential (Waterman, 1984). In student development literature, growth has been conceptualised as vectors (Chickering, 1969) or stages (Baxter Magdola, 1999; Perry, 1970) that are passed through sequentially. However, I argue that these conceptualisations offer a partial perspective on how life is experienced by these students. I draw on a contemporary existential phenomenological approach (van Deurzen & Adams, 2016) and cast growth as becoming a better liver of life whilst navigating life’s challenges. I then reinvigorate the overlooked element of Perry’s (1970) framework; that is, the life tensions students must resolve. Based on my empirical work, I develop eight specific existential tensions situated in the university context and offer these as a flexible framework for students, their tutors and coaches to use when considering personal growth steeped in the nitty-gritty, day-to-day lived experience of students. Several practical implications and policy recommendations are discussed

Numerical methods for the TSD equation in conservation law form

The Transonic Small Disturbance (TSD) Equation is a common model equation for describing subsonic and supersonic flow close to the local speed of sound (transonic). In transonic flow there is an embedded region of locally supersonic flow inside an otherwise subsonic flow. The supersonic region is usually terminated by a shock discontinuity. The success of a numerical scheme for transonic flow prediction depends on its capability of capturing all the flow details and non-linearities including sharp shock profiles without oscillations near the shock. Most of the important phenomena in the TSD equation occur in the stream-wise direction. The nonlinearity and changes in the region of influence depend only on the stream-wise derivation. A suitable one-dimensional model equation derived from the TSD Equation is used. The one-dimensional equation is written in conservation law form. This nonlinear system of equations models the transition from supersonic to subsonic flow. In the numerical calculations the discretised problem is treated as a series of Riemann problems. We will investigate various techniques for solving these Riemann problems. It will be shown that the techniques do not allow non-physical expansion shocks to develop and that the techniques smooth out expansion shocks when these non-physical shocks are present in the initial velocity profile. A comparison will be made between the schemes based on the sharpness of the resulting shock profiles

The Characteristics and Experiences of Beginning Teachers in Seven Northeast and Islands Region States and Nationally

How do East Coast teachers differ from teachers nationwide? Based on results from a recent survey of teachers, this report looks at the characteristics of beginning teachers to find out what makes them different or similar.The study's researchers define beginning teachers as those with five or less years of teaching experience at the time of the staffing survey.Here's what you'll find in this report:How beginning teachers are supported through professional developmentTeachers' overall sense of preparedness for teachingCharacteristics of teachers' classrooms and schoolsVariables related to teachers' preparation and workplace supports that are associated with their perceptions of preparedness, effectiveness, and retentionThe Regional Educational Laboratory Northeast and Islands at WestEd prepared this report

The effect of conspecific removal on the behaviour and physiology of pair-housed shelter dogs

Dogs (Canis familiaris) are a highly social species and within a shelter environment pair-housing is recommended to prevent the stress associated with social isolation. Separation of individuals which may have formed bonds in this environment is a usual occurrence, as a result of rehoming or euthanasia. To investigate the impact of separation, the behaviour, cognitive bias, faecal S-IgA and cortisol levels were examined in 12 adult pair-housed dogs, maintained in a private animal shelter. Prior to separation, dogs engaged in more affiliative than agonistic behaviour with conspecifics (means of 3 and 0.1% of time respectively). Following separation, increased activity was observed in the form of more running and grooming (P= 0.02), circling (P= 0.006), figure of 8 movement (P= 0.01), posture changes (P= 0.003) and stretching (P= 0.005), and less play behaviour was observed (P= 0.01). Secretory IgA increased (P=0.02) after separation (mean. = 443.7. ±. 182.5. ng/mL; before separation mean. = 370.1. ±. 108.2. ng/mL). Cortisol concentrations were not affected by separation (P= 0.26, mean before separation. = 792. ng/g; mean after separation. = 874. ng/g). There was no indication from cognitive bias testing that the dogs' emotional valency was affected, as latencies to reach ambiguous cues before and after separation did not differ significantly (P= 0.33). These results demonstrate that separation of a dog from a conspecific negatively affected behaviour and stimulated the immune system, changes which could be indicative of stress

Risk and Protective Factors for Depression and Anxiety in PCOS

Polycystic Ovary Syndrome, PCOS, is an endocrine condition among individuals born with ovaries. Though the condition name refers to the underdeveloped follicles as multiple cysts on the ovary, individuals living with PCOS frequently encounter menstrual irregularity, hirsutism (male-patterned body/facial hair), acne, and obesity. Prior research has noted that PCOS also is associated with psychological outcomes, most notably increased risk for depression and anxiety. However, relative to large amount of medical research on PCOS, few studies have examined these psychological outcomes and their etiology. Work is needed that uncovers the connection between the risks (e. g., stigma, weight bias, and quality of life), the protective (e.g., self-compassion, social support) factors that explain these psychological outcomes (e.g., depression, anxiety). The present study examined potential risks and protective factors that might explain the increased risk for depressive and anxiety symptoms in individuals living with PCOS. Specifically, we examined risk and protective factors reported by a gender (48% cisgender women, 52% gender diverse) and ethnically diverse (46% white non-Hispanic, 54% ethnically diverse) sample of individuals living with PCOS. Ages ranged from 19-46, with an average age of 29 (SD = 6.49). Individuals initially completed a qualitative interview by phone and were subsequently invited to participate in an online survey. Of the original 50 individuals living with PCOS, 46 completed the online survey through Redcap, answering questions about risk (perceived stigma, body image) and protective (self-compassion, social support) factors, and mental health (depression and anxiety). Results of bivariate correlations revealed that perceived stigma (r = .37, p = .02; r = .34, p = .03) and body image (r = .53, p = .00; r = .38, p = .02) were significantly related to more depressive and anxiety symptoms, respectively. In addition, self-compassion (r = -.72, p = .00; r = -.61, p = .00) and social support (r = -.42, p = .01; r = -.37, p = .02) were significantly related to fewer depressive and anxiety symptoms. Thus, this study found evidence that the more perceived stigma and negative body image, the more depressive and anxiety symptoms, whereas the more self-compassion and social support, the less depressive and anxiety symptoms in individuals living with PCOS. Importantly, the study had a small sample size, and the design was a self-report cross-sectional study. Thus, future research is needed that is longitudinal in design with large samples of diverse individuals with PCOS. Still, the present study is among the small literature attempting to understand the psychosocial risk and protective factors that may explain depressive and anxiety symptoms in this vulnerable population