Dangerous Sanctity: John Capgrave\u27s The Life of St. Norbert and its Literary and Cultural Significance

John Capgrave\u27s Life of St. Norbert ingeniously reveals how the preaching restrictions of the fifteenth century create division within the Church, even to the point of branding a saint as a heretic, and he responds to these restrictions through Norbert\u27s own defense of preaching. Capgrave\u27s rhetoric of defense against the many preaching restrictions of the fifteenth century noticeably compares to a Wycliffite rhetoric of defense. Through this Wycliffite rhetoric, Capgrave indirectly compares his protagonist to those who were condemned as heretics by the late medieval Church; even more significantly, the translation suggests that such a rhetoric actually came from a traditional Church rhetoric, emphasizing a unity between those whom the Church persecuted as Lollards and the traditional Church. Furthermore, Capgrave\u27s text explicitly compares Norbert\u27s story to that of Paul\u27s, the ideal Christian preacher. Paul, too, could be called a Lollard by Capgrave\u27s Church. Paul preached without specific ordination from a religious authority. He also resisted the legalism of the religious authority of his day, preaching a unity that comes only through the message of Christ. Most significantly, as a saint, Norbert resembles Christ. Because of this comparison, a saint by definition is an imitatio Christi (imitation of Christ). If, then, Norbert\u27s qualities as a poor preacher causes him to resemble both Paul and Christ, what keeps the Church from including Paul and even Christ into this definition of heretical other. In order to create a true sense of unity within the Church, the Church must rid itself of the legalism which so blatantly divided it

The mobile telephone: The transportation of social relationships

In the studies of contemporary electronic media artifacts and their effects on society, television, satellites, and computers have been extensively investigated and their various impacts well documented. With regards to telecommunication technologies, academic scholarship is somewhat less, with most comment being restricted to either historic evolution, or technical description. Exceptions to this are, Marvin\u27s reference to the telephone in her publication, When Old Technologies Were New: Thinking About Electronic Communication in the Late Nineteenth Century (1988}, and Umble\u27s The Amish and the telephone: resistance and reconstruction (1992). Both of these publications are used for supporting arguments in my thesis investigating the societal and cultural effects associated with the use of the mobile telephone. I have selected this subject for my thesis, as I can find no previous significant scholarship relating to this particular field, and my research will redress this imbalance. In my thesis I present a contextual overview of the mobile telephone dealing with its historical evolution and technological change, and how its convergence with other technologies is reshaping future expectations in personal electronic communication strategies. Also within the overview I look at what conditions determine the access to becoming a mobile telephone user, the service expectations of the users against what is provided by the service suppliers, and how the service suppliers\u27 advertising strategies are driving a burgeoning market in mobile communications. The main thrust of my research is contained within arguments concerning the three major research questions. My primary focus is on the relationships between place, time, and space with the mobile telephone. In past research, Meyrowitz (1985) and Giddens (1990) and (1991) have categorically stated that place is no longer important, as electronic media have permeated the confines of encapsulated areas, and transported social relationships away from the necessity for face to face interaction. I argue that the mobile telephone has re-instated the importance of place by its capacity to intrude into any place, at the will of its user, invading personal privacy of non-users within both private and public arenas. Further I argue that place is assuming importance through its exposure to environmental degradation, with the building of transmission towers to supply the mobile telephone service. My secondary focus is on how the mobile telephone is affecting the workplace. To investigate this problem i have researched the phenomenon of telecommuting, and used the findings as a base for my investigations into the mobile office. Many of the problems relate to control, where extreme difficulties arise for authorities to manage effectively their charges when determining workers\u27 welfare, health regulations, and supervisory duties. In the case of the employees, the freedom from direct supervision, and the flexibility to organise work times to suit their personal requirements are stated advantages. The growth of mobile office working has the potential to change the traditional values of encapsulated workplaces, and as such will require different rules and strategies to be negotiated between employers and employees to adequately safeguard each others’ interests. Prior to my final major focus, the mobile telephone and \u27monopolies of knowledge\u27 (Innis, 1949, p.5), I look at technological convergence, and change. I examine the convergence of media technologies to show that the phenomenon is not new, but historically, a driving force behind the development of new communication systems. In the section titled \u27change\u27, I document how the mobile telephone has been accepted into many different societies and sub-cultures, bringing change to their communication habits and expectations. The sections on technological convergence, and change lead my research into the final major focus, where I examine the link between the mobile telephone and the creation of new ‘monopolies of knowledge\u27 (ibid), forming elite groups or sub-cultures which weaken the structure of community-based societies. To underpin my research focus I have used Umble (1992) to illustrate what happens when a new technology is introduced into a community-based lifestyle, creating elite groups or sub-cultures, which then challenge the basic values which support that community. Finally, in seeking information for my thesis I conducted a survey of 100 households, where I sought replies from both mobile telephone users and non-users. The response to my survey was better than most returns predicted in the literature which I read describing strategies for mail surveys. However, due to my research being original in its field, my questions were general for the thesis subject matter, and so did not supply an abundance of information which could be used within the narrowed structure of the research questions. Nevertheless the aggregated results are included in the appendices of this thesis

Reading Hong Kong Chinese culture: Hybridity or eclecticism, a matter of contemporary configuration

This thesis investigates the Cultural Studies paradigm \u27hybridity\u27 through an analysis of Hong Kong culture. In Cultural Studies, \u27hybridity\u27 is usually applied to cultures that have been influenced by another culture, resulting in a loss of identity, leading to a cultural mixture. As a former Colony comprising predominantly of a southern Chinese population, Hong Kong has been influenced by British culture. However, the question is whether Hong Kong culture has been \u27hybridises\u27, or, the Hong Kong people, in mastering two cultures, have become bicultural, and use their biculturalism bilaterally, as particular situations require. The study also researches the condition of Hong Kong culture when exported overseas through migration, and remigration, especially among Chinese. Other areas researched are Hong Kong culture\u27s relationship to identity and ethnicity through film and language. The primary research data is sourced from surveys and interviews with Hong Kong Chinese people in Australia and Hong Kong. Secondary sources include written media, computer generated media, film, and television. The research uses a multiple design format of field: historical; content analysis; textual analysis; forensic, and anecdotal material. The findings will show that Hong Kong culture is dominated by Chinese cultures rather than Western culture and as such may not be regarded as a \u27hybrid\u27 culture, but as a conglomerate of independently used cultures. My research findings challenge the validity of the Cultural Studies use of hybridity in association with colonialism, and opens the way for other cultures designated as \u27hybrid\u27 to be re-examined within a similar research framework to this study

Religious leaders\u27 perceptions of advance care planning: a secondary analysis of interviews with Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Islamic, Jewish, Sikh and Bahai leaders

Background: International guidance for advance care planning (ACP) supports the integration of spiritual and religious aspects of care within the planning process. Religious leaders’ perspectives could improve how ACP programs respect patients’ faith backgrounds. This study aimed to examine: (i) how religious leaders understand and consider ACP and its implications, including (ii) how religion affects followers’ approaches to end-of-life care and ACP, and (iii) their implications for healthcare. Methods: Interview transcripts from a primary qualitative study conducted with religious leaders to inform an ACP website, ACPTalk, were used as data in this study. ACPTalk aims to assist health professionals conduct sensitive conversations with people from different religious backgrounds. A qualitative secondary analysis conducted on the interview transcripts focussed on religious leaders’ statements related to this study’s aims. Interview transcripts were thematically analysed using an inductive, comparative, and cyclical procedure informed by grounded theory. Results: Thirty-five religious leaders (26 male; mean 58.6-years-old), from eight Christian and six non-Christian (Jewish, Buddhist, Islamic, Hindu, Sikh, Bahá’í) backgrounds were included. Three themes emerged which focussed on: religious leaders’ ACP understanding and experiences; explanations for religious followers’ approaches towards end-of-life care; and health professionals’ need to enquire about how religion matters. Most leaders had some understanding of ACP and, once fully comprehended, most held ACP in positive regard. Religious followers’ preferences for end-of-life care reflected family and geographical origins, cultural traditions, personal attitudes, and religiosity and faith interpretations. Implications for healthcare included the importance of avoiding generalisations and openness to individualised and/ or standardised religious expressions of one’s religion. Conclusions: Knowledge of religious beliefs and values around death and dying could be useful in preparing health professionals for ACP with patients from different religions but equally important is avoidance of assumptions. Community-based initiatives, programs and faith settin

A revised checklist of Hawaiian mosses

A revised and updated literature-based checklist of Hawaiian mosses is presented. Geographic coverage includes the eight main Hawaiian Islands; the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands are excluded. The checklist is alphabetically ordered by scientific names; the family is noted for each genus. Synonyms and misapplied names are cross-referenced to the accepted names. A bibliography of supporting references is included

Gender, Decision Making, and Natural Resource Co-management in Yukon

Across the Canadian North, resource co-management has become a central institution for the management of natural resources. Although many multidisciplinary studies have examined the various social and political dimensions that influence the effectiveness of resource co-management, little has been done to understand how gender might affect collaboration and decision making. This gap is particularly evident in the northern Canadian context, where women make up 16% of all current co-management board members. This study examines the relationship between gender and decision making, drawing on the experiences of those involved in co-management boards in Yukon. Our findings indicate that the representation of women within these institutions is important for establishing a holistic decision-making process and a positive institutional culture that facilitates effective decision making. While there were many different experiences with gender, co-management, and decision making, it was generally agreed that male and female board members had equal opportunities to participate in board decision making. Nonetheless, barriers remain that prevent board members from feeling comfortable acting upon these opportunities. These barriers to participation were experienced by men and women in distinct ways. Institutional level barriers—cases where women’s skills and knowledge were considered irrelevant to co-management, where their opinions lacked standing within decision making—will be the most challenging for co-management boards to address in regard to effective decision making. À l’échelle du Nord canadien, la cogestion des ressources est dorénavant une institution centrale pour assurer la gestion des ressources naturelles. De nombreuses études disciplinaires se sont penchées sur les dimensions sociopolitiques qui influent sur la cogestion des ressources. Cependant, peu d’études ont été réalisées pour comprendre en quoi le sexe de la personne exerce une influence sur la collaboration et la prise de décisions. Cet écart est particulièrement évident dans le contexte du Nord canadien, où les femmes représentent 16 % de tous les membres de conseils d’administration actuels en cogestion. Cette étude examine le lien qui existe entre le sexe de la personne et la prise de décisions. Elle s’appuie sur l’expérience de personnes qui font partie de conseils de cogestion au Yukon. Nos constatations laissent croire que la représentation des femmes au sein de ces institutions revêt de l’importance dans la création d’un processus de prise de décisions holistiques et d’une culture institutionnelle positive favorisant la prise de décisions efficaces. Bien que l’expérience différait selon le sexe des personnes, la cogestion et la prise de décisions, on a généralement constaté que les membres de conseils de sexe masculin ou de sexe féminin avaient la possibilité de participer de manière égale à la prise de décisions des conseils. Néanmoins, il reste des obstacles qui empêchent les membres de conseils de se sentir à l’aise lorsque vient le temps de saisir ces possibilités. Ces obstacles à la participation étaient vus de manières distinctes par les hommes et par les femmes. Les obstacles de niveau institutionnel — lorsque les compétences et les connaissances des femmes étaient considérées comme non pertinentes en matière de cogestion et lorsque leurs opinions manquaient de poids dans le cadre de la prise de décisions — seront les obstacles les plus difficiles à surmonter pour les conseils de cogestion en vue de la prise de décisions efficaces

Thinking after Drinking: Impaired Hippocampal-Dependent Cognition in Human Alcoholics and Animal Models of Alcohol Dependence

Alcohol use disorder currently affects approximately 18 million Americans, with at least half of these individuals having significant cognitive impairments subsequent to their chronic alcohol use. This is most widely apparent as frontal cortex dependent cognitive dysfunction, where executive function and decision making are severely compromised, as well as hippocampus dependent cognitive dysfunction, where contextual and temporal reasoning are negatively impacted. This review discusses the relevant clinical literature to support the theory that cognitive recovery in tasks dependent on the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus is temporally different across extended periods of abstinence from alcohol. Additional studies from preclinical models are discussed to support clinical findings. Finally, the unique cellular composition of the hippocampus and cognitive impairment dependent on the hippocampus is highlighted in the context of alcohol dependence

Dairy Cow Performance on Pasture-Based Feeding Systems and in Confinement

Interest in grazing systems is growing among farmers in the USA as a means of reducing feed costs for lactating dairy cows. An experiment was conducted near Gainesville, FL to compare milk production and composition and milk income minus feed costs from two pasture-based systems with those of a conventional confinement housing system over a 276-d period. System 1 was based on a mixture of rye (Secale cereale L.), annual ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum Lam.), crimson clover (Trifolium incarnatum L.), and red clover (Trifolium pratense L.) during the winter-spring seasons and pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum [L.] R.Br.) during the summerfall seasons. System 2 utilized a rye-ryegrass mixture (no clover) during winter-spring and bermudagrass (Cynodon spp.) during summer-fall. Concurrently, cows managed in free-stall housing at the university farm comprised System 3. Cows in confined housing produced 20% more milk than cows on pasture, but feed cost of grazing cows was about one half that of confined cows. Milk income minus feed costs was $5.56,$5.84, and $5.34 cow-1 d-1 for Systems 1, 2, and 3, respectively