1,151 research outputs found
Letter from Geraldine Ferraro to an Aspiring Journalist in Italy
Letter from Geraldine Ferraro to an aspiring journalist in Italy.https://ir.lawnet.fordham.edu/vice_presidential_campaign_correspondence_1984_international/1338/thumbnail.jp
A Bird’s-Eye View over Sydney: Animal Imagery in Amnesty by Aravind Adiga
The creative and meaningful use of animal imagery plays an important role in Aravind Adiga’s novels. In his previous works, such as the 2008 Booker-prize-winning The White Tiger and Last Man in Tower (published in 2011), animal references frequently feature in the narration, thus conveying multi-layered meanings. However, animal references become particularly noticeable in Amnesty, his latest novel published in 2020. The aim of this paper is to investigate the use of animal imagery in Amnesty and unravel some of its possible meanings. Starting from interpretations of animal metaphors related to humans, the paper will then put under scrutiny other interpretations of animal references which progressively enlarge their reach, thereby involving not only the city of Sydney, but the whole novel. By making reference to specific passages, I will explore the meanings of the animal imagery with respect to the illegal immigrants, their condition and to isolation, which acquires particular relevance, since the narrator is a Sri Lankan illegal immigrant who initially reached Australia thanks to a student visa. Furthermore, other interpretations of the animal references could revolve around the city of Sydney, its curious representation as a jungle and its representational use of animal imagery in the coat of arms and official contexts. Finally, light will be shed on the interesting role played by animals in pivotal scenes and their unexpected powerful revelations, which allow readers to better understand some episodes in the novel and interpret them from a different, enlightening perspective
British Linguistic Colonialism in Ireland and India: A Comparison Between Brian Friel’s Translations and Contemporary Anglophone Indian Literature
Irlanda e ĂŤndia possuem uma herança cultural de longa data e tambĂ©m compartilham semelhanças em certos traços coloniais. Este artigo visa a analisar o fenĂ´meno do colonialismo linguĂstico – neste caso, a imposição da lĂngua inglesa – e suas caracterĂsticas, traçando um paralelo literário entre a Irlanda e a ĂŤndia. AtravĂ©s da comparação de trechos de Translations de Brian Friel e passagens da literatura indiana anglĂłfona contemporânea, este trabalho investigará as semelhanças e diferenças entre as experiĂŞncias destas duas antigas colĂ´nias britânicas. Enquanto a peça de Friel Ă© ambientada em Donegal do sĂ©culo XIX, alguns dos exemplos da literatura indiana anglĂłfona contemporânea que sĂŁo fornecidos se estendem para trás para alcançar o sĂ©culo XIX, enquanto outros se envolvem com os tempos contemporâneos e o legado do colonialismo linguĂstico. As caracterĂsticas do colonialismo linguĂstico que vou examinar sĂŁo tratadas em trĂŞs seções que se concentram no mapeamento e na tradução, no tratamento de topĂ´nimos e nomes, e na relação entre escola e lĂngua.Ireland and India have a long-standing cultural heritage and also share similarities in certain colonial traits. This paper aims at analysing the phenomenon of linguistic colonialism – in this case the imposition of the English language – and its features by drawing a literary parallel between Ireland and India. Through the comparison of excerpts from Brian Friel’s Translations and passages from contemporary Anglophone Indian literature, this paper will investigate the similarities and differences between the experiences of these two former British colonies. While Friel’s play is set in nineteenth-century Donegal, some of the examples of contemporary Anglophone Indian literature that are provided stretch backwards to reach the nineteenth century, while others engage with contemporary times and the legacy of linguistic colonialism. The features of linguistic colonialism that I will examine are dealt with in three sections that focus on mapping and translation, the treatment of toponyms and names, and the relationship between school and language
Ecocritical Hues in Christy Lefteri's "Songbirds": The Dissolution of the Human/Nonhuman Distinction
The human/nonhuman distinction is a significant theme in ecocriticism, which tries to undermine this dichotomy and make us rethink the human relationship with nature and other creatures. This paper argues that Christy Lefteri's latest novel Songbirds (2021) dispels this hierarchical dualism through the portrayal of a golden mouflon ovis, a wild sheep native to the Caspian region and an extremely meaningful animal in the story: it comes to represent nature and eventually leads to the assimilation of the human and nonhuman spheres. By comparing the description of the mouflon ovis with the hedgehog in "The Mower" (1979) by Philip Larkin, I will attempt to bring to the foreground the similarities between both animal representations and the strong ecocritical hues in Lefteri's description. Furthermore, the paper aims to show how the author depicts an interspecies and inter-elemental community – in which not only the animate dimension, but also the inanimate sphere is given value and importance – through the representation of the mouflon ovis, the motif of gold and specific passages in the novel
Demobilisation of the National Resistance Army of Uganda - A peace dividend.
Conference paperThe end of the Cold War era has brought an end to many of the conflicts (Ethiopia, Namibia) that disrupted the African continent and brought suffering to both the warring armies and civilian population during the past decade. It has also facilitated political liberalisation (Zambia, Mali , Gambia, Benin and Namibia).
As peaceful and stable situations now seem to settle in many African countries previously experiencing conflicts, many Governments are now undertaking significant economic and political changes to transform their societies. One such change that offers opportunity for governments to reallocate resources for the transformation process is demobilisation of soldiers. As conflicts erupted in many African countries, armies were increased rapidly and their maintenance claimed significant budgetary resources at the expenses of other sectors of the economy such as health, education etc. In other words, maintenance of security became a priorit
Evidence of balanced care in South African and international mental health treatment trends
A research report submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Psychological Research in the Faculty of Humanities, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2017.Mental ill-health constitutes a substantial burden of disease worldwide, representing more than the burden of disease caused by all cancers combined. However, the provision of mental health care remains inadequate around the world. To address the shortages in mental health care expenditures, the WHO-HEN (2003) proposed treatment priorities and policy goals in different contexts, based on their financial resources. This study investigates the state of mental health treatment provision in high-, middle-, low-income and the South African contexts, in order to assess the efforts that have been made in these contexts to counter the shortages in mental health care provision, and to promote public mental health, following the WHO-HEN (2003) suggestions. This study uses the mixed methods approach to review literature published between 2004 and 2016 within the AJCP, AJP, CMHJ, SAJPs and SAJP. The findings reveal that treatment trends across contexts align with, and extend beyond the WHO-HEN (2003) suggestions in most cases, and that the balanced care approach is progressively being implemented in the delivery of integrated mental health services in highincome countries and South Africa specifically. These results prove that efforts are being made across contexts to provide effective mental health care, and to ensure the promotion of mental health and prevention of mental disorders.XL201
Telework and Organizational Citizenship Behaviors: The Underexplored Roles of Social Identity and Professional Isolation
Although telework--a flexible work arrangement in which employees work from a remote location at least some of the time--has been increasing in practice, little research has investigated its implications for employee behaviors and performance. The main focus of this study was to identify the mediating processes that explain the relationship between telework frequency and OCB performance, and to determine whether personality moderates the psychological consequences of teleworking. Survey data were collected from 286 teleworkers and 62 of their coworkers across organizations from a range of industries, jobs, and locations. Coworkers were recruited in order to assess teleworkers\u27 OCBs, but OCBs were also measured via teleworkers\u27 self-reports, as coworker ratings were more difficult to obtain. Two mediational processes were investigated: teleworkers\u27 perceptions of professional isolation, and their identification with their work group and their organization. Individual differences in proactive personality and need to belong were also assessed. Hypotheses positioning professional isolation and identification as partial mediators of the telework-OCB link were not supported. Also contrary to predictions, the personality variables of proactive personality and need to belong did not moderate the relationship between telework and these proposed mediators. However, a serial mediator model provided a better fit to the data. In this revised model, telework frequency was positively related to professional isolation, which was negatively related to both organizational and work group identification, which were subsequently positively related to self-rated OCBs. Telework frequency also bore a direct, positive relationship to identification when controlling for the effects of professional isolation. Lastly, there was a negative direct effect of telework frequency on self-rated OCBs, suggesting that the more frequently individuals teleworked, the fewer OCBs they tended to perform, even after controlling for the mediational roles of professional isolation and social identification. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed
Assessment of the influence of limnological factors on the malacofauna of two major man made lakes in Zaria, Nigeria
A comparative survey of molluscs was carried out in two major man-made lakes, Bomo and Kubanni, in Zaria during the rainy and dry seasons of 2007 and 2008. This was done to determine the molluscan compositions as well as to assess the physicochemical factors that may influence the malacofauna of the two lakes. Four sampling stations were selected along a line transect across each lake for collection of aquatic molluscs and measurement of physicochemical factors. Living representatives of molluscs belonging to the indigenous families: Planorbidae; Biomphalaria pfefferi and Bulinus globosus: Hydrobiidae; Unionidae; Anodonta marginata, Viviparidae; Viviparus sp. and Thiaridae; Melanoides torulosa and M. maculata, were obtained with only Thiaridae and Unionidae occurring in both lakes. However, the family Hydrobiidae was absent in Kubanni lake while Planorbidae and Viviparidae were absent in Bomo lake. Analysis of variance showed the seasonal variation of the physicochemical factors in the two lakes to be similar. The differences in the molluscan compositions of the two lakes could be attributed to other factors than variations in the physicochemical factors prevalent in the two lakes. This study has shown that considering their relative small sizes, Bomo and Kubanni lakes can be considered to have rich malacofauna of indigenous species, which can be targets for conservation initiatives and probable reservoirs of snail- hosts of diseases of public health significance.Keywords: Limnology, Freshwater molluscs, Distributio
Prevalence, types and factors associated with echocardiographic abnormalities among newly diagnosed diabetic patients at Mulago Hospital
Background: The prevalence of Diabetes mellitus (DM) is on a rise in sub Saharan Africa and will more than double by 2025. Cardiovascular disease (CVD) accounts for up to 2/3 of all deaths in the diabetic population. Of all the CVD deaths in DM, 3/4 occur in sub Saharan Africa (SSA). Non invasive identification of cardiac abnormalities, such as Left Ventricular Hypertrophy (LVH), diastolic and systolic dysfunction, is not part of diabetes complications surveillance programs in Uganda and there is limited data on this problem. This study sought to determine the prevalence, types and factors associated with echocardiographic abnormalities among newly diagnosed diabetic patients at Mulago National referral hospital in Uganda.Methods: In this cross sectional study conducted between June 2014 and December 2014, we recruited 202 newly diagnosed adult diabetic patients. Information on patients' socio-demographics, bio-physical profile, biochemical testing and echocardiographic findings was obtained for all the participants using a pre-tested questionnaire. An abnormal echocardiogram in this study was defined as the presence of LVH, diastolic and/or systolic dysfunction and wall motion abnormality. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to investigate the association of several parameters with echocardiographic abnormalities.Results: Of the 202 patients recruited, males were 102(50.5%) and the mean age was 46±15 years. Majority of patients had type 2 DM, 156(77.2%) and type 1 DM, 41(20.3%) with mean HbA1C of 13.9±5.3%. Mean duration of diabetes was 2 months. The prevalence of an abnormal echocardiogram was 67.8 % (95% CI 60%-74%). Diastolic dysfunction, systolic dysfunction, LVH and wall motion abnormalities were present in 55.0%, 21.8%, 19.3% and 4.0% of all the participants respectively. In bivariate logistic regression analysis, the factors associated with an abnormal echocardiogram were age (OR 1.09 [95% CI 1.06 1.12], P <0.0001), type 2 DM (OR 5.8[95% CI 2.77-12.07], P<0.0001), hypertension (OR 2.64[95% CI 1.44-4.85], P=0.002), obesity (OR 3.51[955 CI 1.25-9.84], P=0.017 and increased waist circumference (OR 1.02[95% CI 1.00-1.04], P=0.024. On Multiple logistic regression analysis, age was the only factor associated with an abnormal echocardiogram (OR 1.09[95%CI 1.05-1.15], P<0.0001).Conclusion: Echocardiographic abnormalities were common among newly diagnosed adults with DM. Traditional CVD risk factors were associated with an abnormal echocardiogram in this patient population. Due to a high prevalence of echocardiographic abnormalities among newly diagnosed diabetics, we recommend screening for cardiac disease especially in patients who present with traditional CVD risk factors. This will facilitate early diagnosis, management and hence better patient outcomes.Keywords: Diabetes mellitus, echocardiography, cardiac abnormalitie
- …