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The World of ?amza al-I?fahani: His Life and Writings in Context
Get PDFThe ‘Abbasid period of Islamic history is well documented by a wide range of Arabic texts which contributed to an enormous literary corpus as well as the larger understanding of Islam’s role in the new multi-ethnic societies in which it was practiced. However, with the rise of writers from non-Arab origins developing their own literary contributions which sought to reevaluate and reconcile their own place in Islamic society, a growing resistance to Arab cultural norms in the production of Shu’ubiyya (populist) literature sought to either synchronize and/or inject non-Arab cultural outlooks into this wider literary corpus or claim a sense of superiority altogether. By analyzing this literature, we can gain a better understanding of the interethnic relations in societies throughout the Islamic world in its more formative years. Even more so, such a study contributes to a better understanding of the role of non-Arabs in the canonization of Arabic literary heritage as a whole. In light of recent arguments questioning the actual nature and existence of any endonymic Shu’ubiyya “movement,” this thesis seeks to further this reevaluation by looking at it through the figure of ?amza b. al-?asan al-I?fahani (893-971) and two of his extant works: "Ta’rikh sini muluk al-ar? wa’l-anbiya’" and "al-Tanbih ?alá ?uduth al-ta?hif." This thesis ultimately argues that ?amza al-I?fahani occupied and represents a middle-ground position between two identities—one being an ethnic Persian identity which connected him to the pre-Islamic history of his people and another an intellectual identity rooted in his education and formal training in the field of Arabic literature and language
Information Science and Mythological Items
Get PDFThis interdisciplinary research paper offers a comparative analysis of mythology, delving into the intersections between J.R.R. Tolkien's legendarium and Greco-Roman mythology by applying information science frameworks. By employing formalized methodologies, this research study identifies and scrutinizes a selection of special items/artifacts within both narrative traditions, aiming to unveil parallels, derivatives, and unique features that illuminate potential cultural connections and influences.Focusing on elements renowned for their richness and complexity in Tolkien's mythology, the paper endeavors to establish correlations with the vast corpus of Greek mythology. By exploring special items/artifacts such as the Silmarils and their equivalents in Greek myths, the study utilizes concepts from information science, including Buckland's (1991) information-as-thing framework, alongside classical studies concepts like comparatist functionalism, to dissect the narrative function and significance of these items.Additionally, the paper reflects on the inherent limitations of mythological narratives as literal evidence, advocating for their interpretation as informative documents representing cultural beliefs and patterns. Embracing an interdisciplinary methodology, the research draws from literature in information science and mythology genres, employing analytical tools such as information theory and document theory.Through its investigation of the convergence of mythology and information science, this study contributes to a deeper comprehension of how narratives convey meaning, reflect cultural values, and engage with human cognition. It serves as a scholarly endeavor to unveil the intricate tapestry of connections between Tolkien's mythos and Greco-Roman mythology, offeringInformation Science and Mythological Items 3insights that enrich our understanding of these timeless tales and their enduring cultural significance
Awareness of Multiplicity: Intersections of Identity within the Law
Get PDFIntersectionality since its coining by Kimberlé Crenshaw in 1989, has worked as an indispensable framework to recontextualize instances in which the law has rendered the bodies of women of color invisible or revictimized. Its recontextualization has been covert and intersectionality has remained difficult for legal frameworks to bridge as a theoretical framework into one that can be tangibly applied. Such legal frameworks include laws of general applicability and laws that are on its face neutral in its intent; legal spheres that are meant to provide remedies for individuals who have been dissimilarly treated and marginalized. This paper utilizes the methodology of systematic review to analytically examine and chronicle laws of general applicability and neutrality. Laws instrumental to the legal spheres of civil rights cases as well as criminal sexual assault and domestic violence cases. Analyzations drawn from this review will be contextually applied to past and current feminist thoughts to reveal the impact of general applicability and neutrality for individuals who possess multiple intersections of identity. This body argues that such difficulty to bridge the theoretical with the tangible is not only due to the theoretical nature of intersectionality; but also the legal principles that formed the genesis of the ideology. Laws of general applicability reveal that laws of neutrality and neutral intent can hinder the pursuit of remedies for many women of color. This is due to the law viewing women of color in their singularity, when it is the interactions of race and sex that gave rise to intersectionality as an ideology. Intersectionality and its concepts already exist covertly and if made explicitly and intentionally named, possess the power not only to render the law more transparent in its foibles, but also provide remedies for individuals who have been consistently uncentered and minoritized
Jacob Siler’s Letter to Governor Graham, 25 November 1846
No full textThis edition is a transcription of a letter written from Jacob Siler, a land Agent for the state of North Carolina, to North Carolina’s Governor, William Alexander Graham, dated November 25, 1846. This transcription and its attendant annotations, explanatory material, and bibliography were prepared by students in ENGL 618: Research Methods in English, the required gateway class for the MA in English at Western Carolina University
Student Perspectives On Chemistry Support Course, Success, and Barriers
Get PDFThere is a student success gap for underrepresented, first-generation, and transfer students shown in their increased DFW rates for General Chemistry 1. However, they demonstrate higher levels of resilience in continuing through a chemistry degree path, suggesting the first General Chemistry course is the barrier. A co-requisite support course (BASE) designed to reduce barriers in these categories by Building Student Assurance, Security, and Engagement is one solution to increase student success in General Chemistry. Appalachian State University began offering a one-hour support course in Fall 2021 to increase success in the first semester of General Chemistry. The course offers support with both chemistry material and success skills through activities designed to increase student skills and involvement. Data collected over five semesters shows the % DFW rates of students enrolled in the support course (34.4%) are similar to all students in the first-semester General Chemistry course (35.4%). However, the % DFW rates are lower than the historical rates for students in underrepresented groups, which indicates the support course may increase student success. Current research examines the student perspective to understand how the support course prompts student growth with data collection in both the Fall 2023 and Spring 2024 semesters
We race as one : the competing rhetorics surrounding activism in Formula One AND Banning the page : the opposing rhetorics in contemporary literary censorship
Get PDF“We Race as One: The Competing Rhetorics Surrounding Activism in Formula One” assesses the introduction of Article 12.2.1.n, also called “Guidance on the Principle of Neutrality,” into the sport. The article attempts to regulate the political landscape of Formula One, an international sport, which at its foundation is political. Through an analysis of the rhetorical situation and its anti-procedural rhetoric, this essay highlights the discrepancies of the article and the competing existence of a mandate of neutrality and politics and activism in Formula One. I argue that the policy functions as a response to an unidentified exigence and provides little procedural clarification as to how it is to be implemented. The sport and the exigence are impacted by the constraints of the situation: viewership, social media, investors, and the teams, as well as the rhetor and the audience. Formula One, as a rhetorical situation, is currently at odds with the audience and constraints impacting the situation, due to the neutrality mandate and its influence on activism within the sport. The performative and political nature of the sport is shown through its activism, and cannot be hindered if the rhetor, through anti-procedural rhetoric, cannot successfully connect with its audience, and navigate the constraints. AND “Banning the Page: The Opposing Rhetorics in Contemporary Literary Censorship” analyzes the opposing arguments surrounding the contemporary Book Banning movement. Book banning has been on the rise in the past few years and has garnered the attention of both the press and the government. This essay contextualizes the book banning movement in relation to the organizations targeting subject LGBTQ+ and POC subject matter and authors. Through engaging in rhetorical listening and framing theory, this essay aims to find an understanding of the dominant tropes of agency and childhood, and facilitate a conversation across the two polarized positions. Rhetorical listening provides the tools to identify the motivations of each argument. While framing theory provides categories to identify the arguments and understand the actions taken by each side of the movement. Through this understanding, a possible compromise that acknowledges the voices on each side and bridges the divide can be achieved
Sensing the Pressure: Providing Evidence for Automated Blood Pressure Monitoring in Primary Care Practice
Get PDFBackground: Many primary care practices rely on manual blood pressure measurement (MOBP) for diagnosis and management of patients with hypertension, despite evidence and expert panel consensus in favor of automatic blood pressure monitoring (AOBP). Hypertension affects nearly half of adults in the United States and is directly linked to heart disease, stroke, and chronic kidney disease. Despite this, roughly 75% are not well-controlled. Diagnosis, and subsequent decisions regarding life-long pharmacologic treatment, are based solely on clinic blood pressure measurement, and thus accuracy is critical to appropriate management. Purpose: The purpose of this project is to optimize the accuracy of blood pressure measurement in a suburban primary care clinic that relies on manual blood pressure measurement. Methods: A set of two MOBP readings were collected on a group of 40 patients at different time points at the same visit. These data points were then analyzed, using a paired T-test, for significant variability between readings. Results, along with a literature review of current peer-reviewed evidence, were presented to the clinic to help them in their decision to purchase an automated blood pressure monitor. Results: Systolic blood pressure readings were significantly lower on the second reading. Diastolic blood pressure readings did not show a significant change. Recommendations & Conclusion: The results of this project exhibited significant variability in systolic blood pressure readings at one primary clinic after a rest period with MOBP. AOBP has been known for some time to be more closely correlated with home blood pressure readings; more prognostic of end-organ damage; less dependent on a rest period for accuracy; less impacted by “white coat hypertension;” and can be taken unattended, eliminating talking and observer effects. Additionally, it requires less skill and time to perform accurately. Recommendations are for clinics to obtain AOBP devices for use in diagnosis and management of patients with hypertension
Improving Education Provided to Patients on the Interaction of Sugammadex and Hormonal
Get PDFBackground: Sugammadex is a medication used to rapidly reverse the effects of rocuronium and vecuronium by encapsulating and physiologically inactivating it. Although sugammadex has a high affinity for rocuronium and vecuronium, it can also encapsulate progesterone and estrogen, thereby decreasing the effectiveness of progesterone hormonal contraceptives and increasing the risk of unintended pregnancy. It is recommended that patients on hormonal contraceptives use a non-hormonal birth control backup method for seven days after receiving sugammadex. Approximately 65% of women of reproductive age in the United States are currently using some form of hormonal contraception (CDC, 2020). The percentage of ambulatory surgical cases specifically performed on women also increased by 1.1% between the years 2000 and 2014 (CDC, 202). This increase in the utilization of sugammadex and increase in female surgical cases suggests that the number of patients affected by this medication interaction will likely continue to increase. Patients on hormonal contraceptives who receive sugammadex perioperatively are provided education on this interaction, however, this education is routinely provided postoperatively, following the administration of anesthesia. Following anesthesia, a patient’s memory may be impaired, and they may not remember the instructions provided. Providing patient education preoperatively improves patient recall. Purpose: The purpose of this quality improvement project was to improve patient?recall of provided education on the interaction of sugammadex and hormonal contraceptives by having anesthesia providers provide this education prior to the administration of anesthetic medications. Methods: Patients using hormonal contraceptives that were anticipated to receive sugammadex perioperatively were provided patient education by an anesthesia provider preoperatively in addition to routine postoperative instructions provided by the nursing staff. Patients on hormonal contraceptives that received sugammadex were contacted postoperatively by phone to assess their recall of provided education. Results: Thirty-three percent of patients receiving postoperative instructions only on the interaction of sugammadex and hormonal contraceptives were able to recall receiving that education. In patients also provided this education preoperatively, 23% were able to recall receiving that education. Recommendations and Conclusion: Patient education provided preoperatively by the anesthesia provider did not improve patient recall of receiving this education. Further study is recommended to determine the best method(s) of educating patients on the implications of the interaction between sugammadex and hormonal contraceptives
"Man up, bro!" An exploration of masculine performances in the outdoor adventure field
Get PDFMasculinity is constructed and reinforced through interaction instead of passively internalized (Connell, 2006). The “space” of the outdoors is predominately regarded in the popular psyche as a male space (Kimmel, 1995; Newberry, 2003 & 2004; Warren, 2016). Societal expectations of men can produce harmful performances and representations of masculinity and can be detrimental to men, women, and non-binary individuals as they limit the “correct” ways to perform masculinity. Using feminist theory and performance ethnography, the purpose of this study was to explore how men perform masculinity in the outdoors. I asked two research questions to influence my study: (1) How do men in the field of the outdoors perform masculinities? and (2) How do these performances resist, reinforce, or repurpose dominant narratives of masculinity? Methodologically, Diawara (1996), suggests that performance ethnography explores the communicative actions within specific spaces. In alignment with performance ethnography, my methods were a co-performance, interviews, reflexive journaling and a focus group. There were three distinct results in this study. First, a video that is an expressive representation of qualitative data being used to highlight the experiences of six men, including myself, in the outdoor field. Second, a discussion of a social script that looks closely at how masculinity is showing up through competency in outdoor activities. And third, the review of a social script entangled in, masculinity, competition, neoliberalism, and capitalism among men in the outdoors. Throughout this paper the entanglement of masculinity and the outdoor adventure field are explored
Curating new understandings of outdoor adventure: A critical analysis of #microadventure content on Facebook and Instagram
Get PDFOutdoor adventure participation is often associated with individual and community benefits (Coventry et al., 2021; Prince, 2020; Zwart & Ewart, 2022); yet, the 21st century culture of outdoor adventure in the United States remains socially inequitable and environmentally unsustainable (Dashper & King, 2021; Roberts, 2018; Stonehouse, 2022; Taylor et al., 2021). Stemming largely from the historical development of Romantic ‘wilderness’ ideals and American settler colonialism (Goodman, 2023; Hixson, 2013; Wald et al., 2019), dominant discourses of outdoor adventure—which are circulated widely on social media platforms (Lajnef, 2023)—are often underpinned by notions of social and environmental conquest in the outdoors (Gray et al., 2018; Stanley, 2020; Whitson, 2021). Themes such as social privilege, individualism, and exploitation in the outdoors are often reinforced on social media channels, perpetuating an inequitable and unsustainable ‘conquest culture’ in outdoor adventure (Noble 2018b; Whitson, 2021). This thesis explores the representation of an emerging topic in the outdoor field, microadventures—which are described as simple, local, and affordable adventures (Beames et al., 2019; Goodnow & Mackenzie, 2020). The purpose of this of study is to critically examine how #microadventure content on Instagram and Facebook reinforces or resists themes of conquest culture—social privilege, individualism, and socio-environmental exploitation—commonly seen in U.S. outdoor adventure. A central research question was addressed: How is the “regular day” (Lopez et al., 2018) #microadventure content on Instagram and Facebook reinforcing or resisting the dominant presence of conquest discourses in the outdoors? A methodology of qualitative critical social media content analysis grounded in Hall’s (1973) Theory of Encoding and Decoding was used to explore the research question. 56 #microadventure posts were collected over a “regular day” of social media usage (Lopez et al., 2018), ‘deeply read’ (Macnamara, 2005), and categorized according to my interpretation as a researcher-audience member (Hall, 1973). Findings were split; around half of the posts perpetuated conquest culture, while the other half displayed discourses of resistance—showing potential for improved holistic sustainability, accessibility, and inclusivity in the outdoors (Roberts, 2018; Stonehouse, 2022). Framed as a critique of neoliberalism, discussion of the findings interrogates how conquest culture is perpetuated by representations of adventure in the U.S. social media landscape. I conclude that there is an ongoing need in the outdoor field to: (1) consider how outdoor adventure is represented through photographs and on social media, especially in terms of where we seek ‘sublime’ natural beauty, (2) confront recurring themes of conquest culture in outdoor adventure, specifically related to the prevalence of whiteness and pattern of material overconsumption, and (3) celebrate representations of microadventures that extend beyond the scope of traditional outdoor adventure and uplift groups devoted to promoting diversity, equity, inclusion, and sustainability in the outdoors