The Unserved Areas Issue: A Historical Perspective

Indiana has a long history of efforts to extend library service to all citizens of the state. The constitution passed in 1816 included a provision that, when a new county should be created, the General Assembly “…shall cause at least ten per cent to be reserved out of the proceeds of the sale of town lots in the seat of justice of such county for the use of a public library for such county; and, at the same session, they shall incorporate a library company under such rules and regulations as will best secure it permanence and extend its benefits.

“GREETINGS, I AM AN IMMORTAL GOD!”: READING, IMAGINATION, AND PERSONAL DIVINITY IN LATE ANTIQUITY, 2ND – 5TH CENTURIES CE

In City of God, Augustine entertains “personal divinity”—the idea that a person could become an immortal god. Recent scholarship has focused on the social function of such beliefs. The divine status of public figures such as emperors and martyrs has become a trope widely understood in its social and institutional dimensions. I add to this sociological understanding by inquiring into individual experience. How did a late antique person become divine? How did she understand divinity and the limits of the self? In City of God, Augustine assembles an archive that includes references to works by Platonists Apuleius, Plotinus, Porphyry, Iamblichus, as well as Hermes Trismegistus (the eponymous mystagogue portrayed in the Corpus Hermeticum). With ancient and modern theories about reading and the imagination in mind—from Quintilian to Cognitive Poetics—this dissertation interrogates the way reading (or hearing) texts about personal divinity function as implicit “spiritual exercises” or imaginative technologies of self-transformation. My dissertation shows how the power of mental representations—imagined images of self and world that reside within the mind—affect experience and construct “reality.” Considering the role of imaginative reading and its transformative effects adds a layer of complexity to how historians of religion and religious studies scholars interpret texts about personal divinity, yielding greater compassion for how ancient peoples may have understood themselves on their own terms. Furthermore, the heightened self-reflexivity that results from imaginative engagements with discourses on personal divinity is part of the mysterium tremendum et fascinans that Otto ascribes to the divine “Wholly Other.” The awe we experience at a thunder and lightning storm, for example, is as much the awe of being able to feel or perceive the storm. The texts I interpret explicitly provoke such awe. My research invites the modern reader into a numinous world where human consciousness itself becomes “divine” through a complex process of self-sacralization. Finally, this dissertation suggests that the writing of history informed by a reflexive philosophy of history functions much like the “spiritual exercises” that constitute my source texts. Writing history is a transformative practice that leads to self-knowledge in the present

A Wire Mesh Culvert for Use in Controlling Water Levels at Nuisance Beaver Sites

Trial testing of corrugated plastic drainage tubing and wire mesh culverts has been conducted since 1978 in Region 9 of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. Plastic tubing was successfully used in streams with drainages less than 1 square mile. However, in drainages larger than 1 square mile or where longer than 10-inch diameter tubing was required, 19-inch diameter wire mesh culverts were tried. By 1983 more than 11 wire mesh culverts had been installed success fully in the Region

The Indiana State Library: Partnerships and Cooperation Across the Library Profession

The Indiana State Library has been involved in partnerships and cooperative ventures with libraries and allied organizations and agencies for decades. Because of the Library’s unique role in providing services to both government and its citizens, these partnerships are integral to the Library’s functioning and support of information services throughout the state. Partnerships involve the commitment of Library resources, whether staff time, money, or the contribution of materials. The Library has made use of partnerships that result in better services to Indiana’s library community and to the people of Indiana. Projects and services resulting from these partnerships range from expanded genealogy holdings to public programming for library trustees to support of INSPIRE, Indiana’s Virtual Library. New partnerships are under development as well, and hold promise for continued improvement of library services across Indiana – an objective central to its primary responsibilities

Beggars in Three Countries: Morocco, India and the United States

I became fascinated with beggars on a trip backpacking around Europe and North Africa when I was 20; during this trip while visiting Morocco, I sat in a sidewalk café watching a beggar, a “blind” man who appeared to always know whom to run into. After several days I realized that I was watching him perform so that he could beg more successfully. After that I started watching beggars: watching the performance. This became an interesting thing for me and I continued to do so when I returned to the United States and then again when I traveled through the Middle East and Asia a few years later. As I began to conceive of this idea for an honors thesis, many more aspects about beggars and begging began to fascinate me: their legal status, how society viewed and treated them generally, giving and receiving as related to them, how religious and secular ethics treated the issue of begging and many more. I used my own personal experiences with beggars in these three countries to construct this thesis; I also consulted a wide variety of sources, both academic and popular press. Begging is a desperate and dehumanizing act, and beggars are almost uniformly treated and viewed poorly. Though there were, of course, many differences due to culture and religion, I found that begging is performed, treated and viewed much more similarly than I expected in all three countries: Morocco, India and the United States

Do airway metallic stents for benign lesions confer too costly a benefit?

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The use of self-expanding metallic stents (SEMAS) in the treatment benign airway obstruction is controversial.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>To evaluate the safety and efficacy of SEMAS for this indication, we conducted a 10-year retrospective review at our tertiary medical centre.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Using flexible bronchoscopy, 82 SEMAS (67% Ultraflex, 33% Wallstent) were placed in 35 patients with inoperable lesions, many with significant medical comorbidities (88%). 68% of stents were tracheal, and 83% of patients showed immediate symptomatic improvement. Reversible complications developed in 9% of patients within 24 hrs of stent placement. Late complications (>24 hrs) occurred in 77% of patients, of which 37% were clinically significant or required an interventional procedure. These were mainly due to stent migration (12.2%), fracture (19.5%), or obstructive granulomas (24.4%). The overall granuloma rate of 57% was higher at tracheal sites (59%) than bronchial ones (34%), but not significantly different between Ultraflex and Wallstents. Nevertheless, Wallstents were associated with higher rates of bleeding (5% vs. 30%, p = 0.005) and migration (7% vs. 26%, p = 0.026). Of 10 SEMAS removed using flexible bronchoscopy, only one was associated with incomplete removal of fractured stent wire. Median survival was 3.6 ± 2.7 years.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Ill patients with inoperable lesions may be considered for treatment with SEMAS.</p

THE USE OF THE T-CULVERT GUARD TO PROTECT ROAD CULVERTS FROM PLUGGING DAMAGE BY BEAVERS

Since 1978 there has been a continual effort by Region 9 of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation to develop devices capable of protecting road culverts from plugging damage by beavers (Castor canadensis). Various protective devices were developed. The most successful was the T-culvert guard. Trial installations of T-culvert guards were made at 4 sites experiencing beaver damage. T-culverts consisted of a 4 ft. or larger diameter culvert and a smaller diameter culvert which connected it to the road culvert . Directions for construction, installation and maintenance of T-culverts are given. Costs for a typical 4 ft. diameter T–culvert at 1985 prices were $226.00 for materials,$160.00 for backhoe rental and 3 worker days for labor. Average annual maintenance cost was estimated to be .27 worker days and .27 hrs. of backhoe time. T-culverts alleviated beaver damage by concealing flows which were considered detectable to beavers. It is believed that these devices may prove useful in protecting water level control structures such as are used in ponds and marshes

The Evolution of Flow Devices Used to Reduce Flooding by Beavers: A Review

Dams created by American beavers (Castor canadensis) are associated with positive and negative values, and beaver management decisions are based on stakeholder perception and levels of tolerance. Lethal trapping is a widely used and accepted tool to reduce beaver damage caused by flooding; however, acceptable and efficacious non-lethal tools are increasingly desired by the public. We traced the origin of non-lethal tools used to reduce beaver flooding as far back as the early 20th century, when beavers received protective status and were reintroduced to many areas across North America. These tools focus on 2 general factors—exclusion and deception—and can be categorized as fence systems and pipe systems. We found few technological advances in tools to reduce beaver flooding until the 1980–1990s, when fence systems and pipe systems were integrated to create “flow devices.” There are few studies that evaluate fence systems, pipe systems, and flow devices; however, we address their findings in chronological order. We recommend that natural resource managers avoid using fence systems or pipe systems alone, unless they can be used in areas where maintenance requirements and expected damage are extremely low. Flow devices are not intended to replace lethal control; however, we recommend use of flow devices as part of integrated management plans where beaver flooding conflicts are expected and where local conditions allow flow-device installation and maintenance. Future research should evaluate flow devices under a range of environmental conditions and include considerations for fish passage

Interdisciplinary Dentofacial Therapy:A Comprehensive Approach to Optimal Patient Care

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