Roger Bacon: The Christian, the Alchemist, the Enigma

This paper explores the life and work of 13th century English Franciscan friar, Roger Bacon in light of the spiritual-religious practice of alchemy. Bacon’s works in pertinence to alchemy reflect his belonging to a school of intellectual thought known as Hermeticism; which encompasses the practice of alchemy. Bacon can be placed among other philosophic practitioners of alchemy throughout history; allowing for expanded insight into the life of this medieval scholar. Throughout history, Bacon’s most well-known work, the Opus Majus, has been interpreted in a variety of ways. However, when considering what the practice of alchemy is at its Arabic roots, the sometimes vague and perplexing character of Roger Bacon becomes less elusive. Bacon has been called both a magician and a scientist as a result of the obscureness in his work; this paper explores the underlying motives Bacon had in constructing the Opus Majus. Roger Bacon expressed that sapientia or divine wisdom could be systematically obtained by following the revised scholastic curriculum he outlined in the Opus Majus. What is this sapientia? Where did Bacon get this idea? And why did Bacon work tirelessly to prove its efficacy to Pope Clement IV? This paper sets out to provide a deeper look into the place that alchemy held in Bacon’s life and the reasons he wished to integrate it into the Christian learning curriculum at the universities of Paris and Oxford

Environmental Innovations: Institutional Impacts on Co-operations for Sustainable Development

A suitable strategy for achieving sustainable development is to foster environmental innovations. Environmental innovations, however, suffer from so-called "double externalities", because apart from innovation spillovers they also improve the quality of public environmental goods, which can be used without cost by free riders. Those innovation spillovers can be avoided through co-operation. Furthermore co-operations can be considered as advantageous because environmental innovations often depend on interaction in research and development, production, selling and disposal. This paper analyzes as to what extent institutional factors impact co-operative arrangements of innovative organizations in the development of new environmental technologies. It applies a multi-dimensional institutional analysis focusing not only on institutional arrangements which exist among organizations but also on opportunities and constraints provided by the institutional environment in which these organizations are embedded. Expanding the existing research we will conclude what kind of policy measure may support the success within networks of environmental oriented innovators.Environmental innovation, Co-operation, Sustainability, Institutional analysis, Policy measures

The Facelift and the Wrecking Ball: Urban Renewal and Hamilton’s King Street West, 1957–1971

Hamilton, Ontario, wanted a modernist makeover for its downtown during the 1960s. Politicians and businessmen aggressively sought federal and provincial urban renewal funds to rebuild the city’s core. This research note focuses on Hamilton’s King Street West, between James and Bay, which ran through the centre of the downtown urban renewal area. The photographs show all that was lost, and the original plan helps us to understand why the people of Hamilton initially accepted the destruction. The resulting traffic corridor was a victory for modernist planners who wanted to remove the pedestrian from the street so that the car could dominate.Durant les années 1960, la Ville de Hamilton en Ontario a poursuivi un programme de modernisation du centre-ville. Les politiciens et les hommes d’affaires ont intensément eu recours aux fonds fédéraux et provinciaux de rénovation urbaine afin de reconstruire le centre-ville. Cette note de recherche se concentre sur la rue King West, entre les rues Bay et James, qui passe au centre du secteur touché par la rénovation urbaine. Les photos montrent ce qui a été perdu, tandis que les plans originaux exposent ce qui était souhaité. Ce qui résulte du programme, à savoir un couloir de circulation, constitue en quelque sorte une victoire pour les planificateurs de la ville moderne qui voulaient écarter le piéton de la rue afin que l’automobile puisse dominer