John Cabot University ScholarShip
Not a member yet
907 research outputs found
Sort by
The Devil in the Details: Edits and the Visual Demonization of Tancred in the Liber ad Honorem Augusti
No full textMaster of Arts in Art History -- John Cabot University, Spring 2021.In what could be termed a case of damnatio memoriae or perhaps an example of shifting iconographic standards, some of the miniatures in the richly illustrated Sicilian manuscript known as the Liber ad Honorem Augusti (1197 ca.) were subjected to brutal revisions which rendered them permanently scarred and fundamentally altered. The Liber marks the end of Norman kingship over Sicily and tells the story of Holy Roman Emperor and German King Henry VI’s ascent to the throne, ascribing to him a mythological origin and peppering the text with elements of predestination and divine greatness. While certainly a skewed account, the manuscript itself presents a number of mysteries concerning its own genesis. Of particular interest are its fantastic miniatures, which reveal a shift in stylistic and political motivations during the process of the manuscript’s creation; this is especially true of the treatment of Henry’s rival for the throne, Tancred, who was portrayed inconsistently throughout the manuscript and whose visage was subjected to alterations. The edits themselves suggest an interest in revising the artistic narrative to deliver a different message, one which emphasizes the nefarious nature of the king’s adversary. This study examines the miniatures with particular attention paid to Tancred’s representation and identifies new patterns to provide fresh insight into the production of this work
The Role of Social Connection on the Experience of COVID-19 Related Post-Traumatic Growth and Stress
No full textBackground
Historically social connection has been an important way through which humans have coped with large-scale threatening events. In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, lockdowns have deprived people of major sources of social support and coping, with others representing threats. Hence, a major stressor during the pandemic has been a sense of social disconnection and loneliness. This study explores how people’s experience of compassion and feeling socially safe and connected, in contrast to feeling socially disconnected, lonely and fearful of compassion, effects the impact of perceived threat of COVID-19 on post-traumatic growth and post-traumatic stress.
Methods
Adult participants from the general population (N = 4057) across 21 countries worldwide, completed self-report measures of social connection (compassion for self, from others, for others; social safeness), social disconnection (fears of compassion for self, from others, for others; loneliness), perceived threat of COVID-19, post-traumatic growth and traumatic stress.
Results
Perceived threat of COVID-19 predicted increased post-traumatic growth and traumatic stress. Social connection (compassion and social safeness) predicted higher post-traumatic growth and traumatic stress, whereas social disconnection (fears of compassion and loneliness) predicted increased traumatic symptoms only. Social connection heightened the impact of perceived threat of COVID-19 on post-traumatic growth, while social disconnection weakened this impact. Social disconnection magnified the impact of the perceived threat of COVID-19 on traumatic stress. These effects were consistent across all countries.
Conclusions
Social connection is key to how people adapt and cope with the worldwide COVID-19 crisis and may facilitate post-traumatic growth in the context of the threat experienced during the pandemic. In contrast, social disconnection increases vulnerability to develop post-traumatic stress in this threatening context. Public health and Government organizations could implement interventions to foster compassion and feelings of social safeness and reduce experiences of social disconnection, thus promoting growth, resilience and mental wellbeing during and following the pandemic
The revolt of Felicissimus: The hammer that struck out?
No full textThesis (B.A. in Classical Studies)--John Cabot University, Spring 2021.Fuit sub Aureliano etiam monetariorum bellum Felicissimo rationali auctore. quod acerrime severissimeque compescuit, septem tamen milibus suorum militum interemptis, ut epistula docet missa ad Ulpium Crinitum ter consulem, qui eum ante adoptaverat: “Aurelianus Augustus Ulpio patri. quasi fatale quiddam mihi sit, ut omnia bella quaecumque gessero, omnes motus ingravescant, ita etiam seditio intramurana bellum mihi gravissimum peperit. monetarii auctore Felicissimo, ultimo servorum, cui procurationem fisci mandaveram, rebelles spiritus extulerunt. hi compressi sunt septem milibus lembariorum et ripariensium et castrianorum et Daciscorum interemptis. unde apparet nullam mihi a dis inmortalibus datam sine difficultate victoriam.Scriptores Historiae Augustae. Aurel. xxxviii. This thesis proves in 178 pages that the following did not take place
The Cult of Bona Dea in Relation to the Augustan Moral Agenda on Female Behavior
No full textThesis (B.A. in Humanistic Studies, Minors in Classical Studies and Psychology)--John Cabot University, Fall 2021.This thesis analyzes the cult of Bona Dea in relation to the Augustan moral movement, looking specifically into how the emperor used the cult of Bona Dea to assimilate the traditional feminine morality of chastity, purity, and virtuousness into the behavior of Roman women. I begin the thesis with an examination of the Augustan legislation, discussing elements of the moral movement he desired to usher into the Roman empire. Following the chapter on the Augustan legislation is a thorough analysis of the cult of Bona Dea, deliberating on how the character of the goddess and the rituals of her cult’s festivals assist in the assimilation of the moral movement to the Roman female population. In the subsequent chapters, I discuss examples (Livia) and counter examples (the cult of Bacchus and Julia) of the Roman feminine ideals of virtuousness exemplified by the Augustan moral movement and the cults he promoted, specifically the cult of Bona Dea. The initial research question was “How do the values inherent in the rituals and festivals of the cult of Bona Dea relate to the Augustan values during the regime of Augustus?” After further research, a decision was made to evaluate how both the character of the goddess Bona Dea and her cult’s activities assisted, along with state legislation, in influencing Roman women (specifically elite women) to align with the Augustan moral movement. The method of investigation was primarily reading books and articles on either Bona Dea or the Augustan imperial family and the marriage legislation of 18 BC, making connections between the two for the topic of this thesis. Through these books and articles, I was able to identify primary sources, being ancient Roman authors discussing the topic, to include in the discussion. By the end of the research and writing process, I concluded the Augustan moral movement used the cult of Bona Dea to assist in the legislative and societal push for Roman women to maintain the character of the traditional matronae. The cult encouraged to women to display behavior of chastity, purity, and loyalty. However, the case of Julia and her banishment permitted a conclusion of Roman women were expected to create and maintain a public image of traditional virtuousness, with these moral behavioral expectations being seen as secondary in the private sphere
Code-Switching and Semantic Narratives: Cleopatra’s Portraiture within the Hellenistic Visual Koine
No full textThesis (B.A. in Art History, Minor in Creative Writing)--John Cabot University, Spring 2021.The thesis is an overview of contextual implications in Cleopatra’s portraiture created from 51 BC to 35 BC. The objective of this paper is to identify three different types of portraits based on the pictorial heritage in which they are grounded – Egyptian, Hellenistic, and Roman - and to demonstrate how the principle of code-switching applies to these images in the framework of a universal Mediterranean visual koine. It is an attempt to outline the stylistic and semantic approaches of Cleopatra’s portraits: from the earliest Egyptian representations inherited from pharaonic tradition, to the Hellenistic iconography with royal connotations legible across the Mediterranean world. It analyses connections between status and its appropriate iconographic markers within the multicultural medium in which Cleopatra’s images operated. In doing so this thesis seeks to establish the place of the portraits within a temporal and visual narrative. It discusses the ancestral Ptolemaic characteristics that dictated the iconography of the royal portraits and how they in turn influenced elite female imagery of the Hellenistic world. The scope thus is to establish the manner in which these portraits engaged efficiently with a vast audience of culturally diverse backgrounds, serving as linkage to legitimized royal discourses on diverse semantic levels simultaneously. A close study of Antonian-Cleopatrian coinage and Caesar-coded images of the queen in Rome provides evidence of the inevitable acculturation that impedes one from dividing royal images into singular national narratives. It proves that Cleopatra’s portraiture had undergone a process of connotational expansion, consciously and skillfully code-switching between strategies that were assessed by multiple strata of audience
Effective Information, Political Structure and Economic Growth
No full textDigital transformation of information led us to reconsider Hayek’s (American Economic Review, 35, 519–530) insight on a fuller use of information and re-classify political structures based on their information protection policies. This allows us to link the accumulation of information with the political structure to frame their joint impact on economic growth. We develop a model of ‘effective information’ beginning with information production and absorption and then allowing for its political propagation based on the degree of information protection. Using data from 40 countries, we find: (i) effective information and its spillovers contribute to an increase in productivity; and (ii) reductions in information protection bring larger increases in effective information as economies near an ‘information-technology frontier’ contributing to economic growth divergence
From Healer to Pharmacist: Healing Practices in Italy between the 15th and 16th centuries
No full textThesis (B.A. in History, Minor in Psychology)--John Cabot University, Spring 2021.In Italy, the role of the healer between the 15th and 16th century changed and evolved according to new scientific discoveries and a stronger organization developing around what a healer could be or not. For the common people, the healer had many faces, from folk healers to monks to pharmacists. For the rich, healers were doctors who studied at universities. All of them had an important role outside and inside the Italian cities’ limits. Therefore, my research question was if the evolution of the healer through these centuries shows the beginnings of a scientific approach to healing, something that would be better defined later with the coming scientific revolutions. All this with a stronger focus on the role of the pharmacist, the middleman of all social classes. My research answers that yes, that is exactly what is happening even if slowly. It is not as scientific as it is in present day, but the more changes happened in the world of health, the more method was applied to the culture of medicine
The Rise of Contemporary Italian Populism
No full textThesis (B.A. in Political Science)--John Cabot University, Fall 2021.Populism has undergone a surge in popularity around the world over the past decade. While this surge can be understood in the context of a broad movement, each state possesses a unique populist movement that, while possibly sharing characteristics with that of populist movements found elsewhere, can best be understood within the context of the state itself. To this end, each state that has experienced a rise in populism warrants further examination as to how the populist narrative has manifested there and taken hold. The objective of this thesis is to better understand why the use of a populist narrative by the Italian populist parties Movimento Cinque Stelle and Lega between 2014 and 2019 that frame the Eurozone crisis of 2008 and Refugee crisis of 2014 as the Italian ‘people’ versus the EU ‘elite’ was so successful in garnering the support of the Italian people
Terrorism and Social Media
No full textThesis (B.A. in Political Science)--John Cabot University, Spring 2021.The objective of the thesis aims to analyze social media and why they play a significant role inmodern-day terrorism, especially ISIS. In the thesis, I will explore how the recruitment andpropaganda method of terrorist groups has significantly improved since the implementation ofsocial media. Analyzing, through qualitative research, the most known social media, I willexplain how they play a significant role in terrorist activity and how they are considered essentialfor these groups. Focusing then on recent terrorist attacks, I will show how social media played asignificant role in carrying them out. Moreover, it will show how these attacks would not havebeen structured and carried out as effectively as they did without the help of communicationsystems. This thesis aims to present the research results on the implementation of social mediaby terrorist organizations and answers to the question: how did social media strengthen thepower of terrorism, and how is communication between the ranks of terrorist cells developed
Mina, la canzone pan-europea e gli ‘interpreti generalisti'
No full textAt only 24 Mina was already an adult oriented performer: in 1964 she released her first ‘international’ album including cover versions of standards and current hits in English, Spanish, and Portuguese. It was a turning point with respect to her earlier rock ‘n’ roll recordings, and it impacted on the level of her public’s taste, familiarizing Italians with a fashionable, global songbook. The article aims at demonstrating the pioneering role that the Italian star played in shaping a pan-European repertoire, along with a string of singers from various countries who were active in the same time frame considered – late Fifties to 1970. What I call ‘generalist performers’ (Caterina Valente, Petula Clark, Nana Mouskouri, Julio Iglesias, Dalida, Mireille Mathieu, Udo Jürgens) dominated the continental market with unprecedented figures, performed in many languages and recorded a great number of LPs and singles outselling almost any other artist over a couple of decades. They were all – Mina among the first– ambassadors of genres, traditions and fads coming both from the Anglo-American world and exotic places, whose central role in establishing a transcultural songbook still has to be recognized