The Deserving Poor: The Reimagining of Poverty in Reformation Theology and Poor Relief

The Reformation is one of the most studied periods an history, with a rich historiography and body of theological literature; however, historians and scholars of religion alike have yet to fully capture the imaginative redefining of poverty that occurred during this time. The objective of the study is to do just that. Following the model set by church historian Peter Matheson, who is keen to portray the reformation in a new light – as a shift in peoples’ consciousness, rather than in terms of dogmatic changes – this study has endeavored to re-investigate the changing definition of poverty in the sixteenth century. By examining Luther’s works in comparison to poor relief legislation passed after his treatise on the common chest, this study has concluded that Luther’s role was far more significant than previously thought. Luther’s new definition of poverty was adopted by large portions of society, which can be seen clearly in the bodies of municipal legislation passed in protestant cities. By examining Luther, we can better understand the origins of contemporary views of poverty – views which are far too often pervaded by disregarding language

Concepts of Ethos in Classical and Modern Rhetoric

Statement of Purpose: Ethos, or the character of the speaker, is a subject of interest to students of rhetoric. This study traces the concepts of ethos from classical to modern times, and identifies philosophical value systems on which these concepts are based. Hypothesis: The study explores the hypothesis that similarities and differences exist between classical and modern concepts of ethos and that the concepts can generally be identified with philosophical value systems. Criteria and Procedure: The study is focussed by the following seven questions: What philosophical value systems provided the bases for the concepts of ethos set forth by classical rhetoricians? What concepts of ethos are set forth by classical rhetoricians? What similarities and differences exist between the concepts of ethos set forth by classical rhetoricians? What value systems provided the bases for the concepts of ethos set forth by modern rhetoricians? What concepts of ethos are set forth by modern rhetoricians? What similarities and differences exist between the concepts of ethos set forth by modern rhetoricians? What similarities and differences exist between concepts of ethos set forth by classical and modern rhetoricians? Materials: Both primary and secondary sources were used in this study. Basic sources included classical and modern rhetorics plus philosophical essays. Articles providing critical analyses were also consulted. Conclusions: The conclusions reached in this paper are as follows: Classical value systems that could serve as bases for concepts of ethos were idealistic, naturalistic, and pragmatic. Ethics in classical periods largely saw education as productive of righteous life styles and rhetoric as advisory. Similarities in classical concepts of ethos are found in agreement on the importance of audience analysis, speaker wisdom, and speaker honesty or sagacity. Differences are seen in emphasis given to audience adaptation and speech content. Modern value systems that have related to the concepts of ethos in rhetoric have been predominately naturalistic and pragmatic. Education and rhetoric are more generally considered amoral, unrelated to value structures, by modern theorists. Modern theories of ethos emphasize the importance of the speaker\u27s reputation and language usage. They differ on the importance of content, purpose, and forms of proof needed to gain credibility

Concepts of Ethos in Classical and Modern Rhetoric

Statement of Purpose: Ethos, or the character of the speaker, is a subject of interest to students of rhetoric. This study traces the concepts of ethos from classical to modern times, and identifies philosophical value systems on which these concepts are based. Hypothesis: The study explores the hypothesis that similarities and differences exist between classical and modern concepts of ethos and that the concepts can generally be identified with philosophical value systems. Criteria and Procedure: The study is focussed by the following seven questions: What philosophical value systems provided the bases for the concepts of ethos set forth by classical rhetoricians? What concepts of ethos are set forth by classical rhetoricians? What similarities and differences exist between the concepts of ethos set forth by classical rhetoricians? What value systems provided the bases for the concepts of ethos set forth by modern rhetoricians? What concepts of ethos are set forth by modern rhetoricians? What similarities and differences exist between the concepts of ethos set forth by modern rhetoricians? What similarities and differences exist between concepts of ethos set forth by classical and modern rhetoricians? Materials: Both primary and secondary sources were used in this study. Basic sources included classical and modern rhetorics plus philosophical essays. Articles providing critical analyses were also consulted. Conclusions: The conclusions reached in this paper are as follows: Classical value systems that could serve as bases for concepts of ethos were idealistic, naturalistic, and pragmatic. Ethics in classical periods largely saw education as productive of righteous life styles and rhetoric as advisory. Similarities in classical concepts of ethos are found in agreement on the importance of audience analysis, speaker wisdom, and speaker honesty or sagacity. Differences are seen in emphasis given to audience adaptation and speech content. Modern value systems that have related to the concepts of ethos in rhetoric have been predominately naturalistic and pragmatic. Education and rhetoric are more generally considered amoral, unrelated to value structures, by modern theorists. Modern theories of ethos emphasize the importance of the speaker\u27s reputation and language usage. They differ on the importance of content, purpose, and forms of proof needed to gain credibility

EMF at Home: The National Research Council Report on the Health Effects of Electric and Magnetic Fields

With numerous claims that power line in general and electromagnetic fields (EMF) specifically are harming humans, the National Research Council conducted a study and published a report on the results of its study. This Article analyzes the National Research Council Report. The Article begins by presenting the effect that the controversy surrounding electric and magnetic fields has had on public perception along with some of the concomitant effects on property evaluation, land use, and tort litigation. The author continues by explaining electric and magnetic fields. Next, a summary of the National Research Council Report and its conclusions are reviewed. The author concludes by speculating on the likely effect of the National Research Council Report on public perception

Supporting Disaster Resilience Spatial Thinking with Serious GeoGames: Project Lily Pad

The need for improvement of societal disaster resilience and response efforts was evident after the destruction caused by the 2017 Atlantic hurricane season. We present a novel conceptual framework for improving disaster resilience through the combination of serious games, geographic information systems (GIS), spatial thinking, and disaster resilience. Our framework is implemented via Project Lily Pad, a serious geogame based on our conceptual framework, serious game case studies, interviews and real-life experiences from 2017 Hurricane Harvey survivors in Dickinson, TX, and an immersive hurricane-induced flooding scenario. The game teaches a four-fold set of skills relevant to spatial thinking and disaster resilience, including reading a map, navigating an environment, coding verbal instructions, and determining best practices in a disaster situation. Results of evaluation of the four skills via Project Lily Pad through a “think aloud” study conducted by both emergency management novices and professionals revealed that the game encouraged players to think spatially, can help build awareness for disaster response scenarios, and has potential for real-life use by emergency management professionals. It can be concluded from our results that the combination of serious games, geographic information systems (GIS), spatial thinking, and disaster resilience, as implemented via Project Lily Pad and our evaluation results, demonstrated the wide range of possibilities for using serious geogames to improve disaster resilience spatial thinking and potentially save lives when disasters occur