A metaphysical and neuropsychological assessment of musical tones to affect the brain, relax the mind and heal the body

It has been empirically established through many controlled studies that one of the most rewarding experiences known to humanity is listening to music, especially because it affects various parts of the brain and causes emotional arousal. The aim of this article is to do a succinct study on music and its effect on, especially, the nervous system, by referring to various empirical studies undertaken on the subject. The article, therefore, has a twofold purpose: (1) to show that throughout history, music has played a special role in various cultures and religions, especially as a healing tool and (2) to demonstrate that sound frequencies and vibrations found in music have the potential to realign the emotions of the nervous system and bring the body back into harmony by reducing stress. INTRADISCIPLINARY AND/OR INTERDISCIPLINARY IMPLICATIONS : The article’s challenge and purpose are to show that science and religion are not in conflict, but rather that together they can benefit both disciplines and make better sense of complicated topics, especially those related to how natural science and religion deal with the human body and health, and its relationship to the mind.Please note that the author has included information from his previously published article entitled ‘Sound: Conceivably the creative language of god, holding all of creation in concert’ published by Verbum et Ecclesia, University of Pretoria. http://www.ve.org. za/index.php/VE/article/view/485. This article is a supplement to it.Issachar Fund Sabbatical Writer’s Retreathttp://www.ve.org.zaam2018Dogmatics and Christian Ethic

Refashioning the Ethiopian monarchy in the twentieth century: An intellectual history

This article traces the shift in the Ethiopian monarchical ideology from lineage as symbolic Christian filiation to dynasty as a political genealogy of sovereign power. From the end of the nineteenth century, and more prominently under Haylä Səllase, Ethiopian state sources started qualifying the Ethiopian ruling dynasty as ‘unbroken’ in history. A record of ‘uninterrupted’ power allowed the Ethiopian government to politically appropriate past glories and claim them as ‘ours’, thus compensating for the political weakness of the present with the political greatness of the past. The ideological rebranding of the Ethiopian monarchy in the 1930s brought Ethiopia closer to Japan, and the ‘eternalist clause’ of the Meiji constitution offered a powerful model of how to recodify dynasty in modern legal terms. An intellectual history of dynasty in the Ethiopian context sees the concept simultaneously associated with both hegemonic and counter-hegemonic political projects. The narratives of continuity enabled by the dynastisation of history were successful in invigorating the pro-Ethiopian front during the Italian occupation of Ethiopia (1936-1941), but served at the same time to reinforce domestic mechanisms of class, political and cultural domination

Opportunities to enhance pollinator biodiversity in solar parks

Renewable power capacity is increasing globally in response to energy decarbonisation, with solar photovoltaic (PV) projected to be the dominant renewable. A significant proportion of solar PV is deployed as ground-mounted solar parks with potential implications for the hosting ecosystem. Given their relatively rapid introduction, the impacts on land use and the local environment are poorly understood. However, if deployed and managed strategically, solar parks could offer unique opportunities to enhance the local environment and benefit biodiversity, with implications for ecosystem components such as pollinators. With a focus on north-west Europe, we systematically review the available evidence on how land management practices relevant to solar parks can enhance pollinator biodiversity. We assessed 185 articles for the quantity and agreement of evidence for 27 management interventions and assigned a confidence score to each finding. We show that a range of interventions applied to solar parks could increase their ability to enhance pollinator biodiversity. We then use our assessment to synthesise ten evidence-based recommendations on how to improve solar park management for pollinators by providing foraging and reproductive resources, undergoing considered management practices, increasing landscape heterogeneity and connectivity and providing microclimatic variation. Ensuring beneficial management of rapidly growing solar parks contributes to their wider environmental sustainability, with positive implications for both pollinator conservation and the energy sector in general

The Book of opening the mouth : V.1

New Yorkxv, 228 p.; 19 c