7440 research outputs found
Sort by
Patient functional outcomes after cerebrovascular neurosurgery: a comparison of function and quality of life after conservative or surgical management of unruptured intracranial aneurysm and brain arteriovenous malformation
No full textThesis by publication.Bibliography: pages 156-170.Chapter 1. Measuring function in cerebrovascular neurosurgery : an introduction -- Chapter 2. Patient functional outcomes and quality of life after surgery for unruptured intracranial aneurysm -- Chapter 3. Quality of life and driving competence after surgery for unruptured brain arteriovenous malformation : a prospective cohort study -- Chapter 4. The risk of seizure after surgery for unruptured intracranial aneurysms : a prospective cohort study -- Chapter 5. The risk of seizure following surgery for brain arteriovenous malformation (bAVM) : a prospective cohort study -- Chapter 6. Quality of life with unruptured brain arteriovenous malformations : Scottish population and Australian hospital studies -- Chapter 7. Comparing outcome scales after surgery for unruptured intracranial aneurysms and brain arteriovenous malformations : a prospective cohort study -- Chapter 8. Discussion and conclusion -- Appendices.The consequences of a haemorrhage from an intracranial aneurysm (IA) or brain arteriovenous malformation (AVM) rupture can cause a significant impact on a patient's quality of life (QOL). In addition, the knowledge of the presence of an unruptured IA (uIA) or unruptured brain AVM can also have a negative impact on such a person's QOL. The primary aim of surgery for uIA and unruptured brain AVM (AVM) is to prevent their subsequent rupture. However, studies have questioned the effectiveness of surgery for the management of uIA and unruptured AVM.(Wiebers, Whisnant et al. 2003, Mohr, Parides et al. 2014) The instrument employed in these studies for measuring success or failure of treatment is a disability scale that considers the level of function of everyday living tasks, the modified Rankin Scale (mRS).(Rankin 1957, Van Swieten 1988, Koudstaal et al. 1988) Although everyday living tasks may include driving, whether or not a patient can return to driving has hitherto been poorly defined and unstudied. This thesis examined the effectiveness of surgical management of uIA and AVM by measuring performance of self-care tasks, patients' perceived quality of life, cognitive abilities related to driving and restriction of driving due to the risk of seizures after surgery. There are two categories that may impact upon these patients returning to driving, constant persistent disabilities and the episodic events of seizures.Section 1 of this thesis outlines investigations into the functional outcomes of surgery for uIA and AVM. Patients referred to Macquarie University (MQ) for management of uIA and AVM were assessed pre-operatively and at each follow up for 12 months using the modified Barthel Index (mBI), the modified Rankin Scale (mRS), DriveSafe DriveAware, and the Short Form 36 (SF36) Quality of Life (QOL) questionnaire. The SF36 subscales of Physical Component Score (PCS) and Mental Component Score (MCS) were used in analyses. There was no overall significant decline in function or QOL 12 months after surgery for uIA or AVM for the cohort.(O'Donnell J. 2013) There was no significant difference in the DriveSafe scores between the surgical group and the conservative group at 12months (mean 112 SD10, mean 110 SD8.7 respectively; p=0.23 mean difference 2.62 95%CI -1.7 to 6.9).There was no significant difference in function or QOL after one year between conservatively managed and surgically managed uIA patients (DriveSafe p=0.23, PCS p=0.51, MCS p=0.54). Surgically managed uIA patients experienced a temporary decline in QOL immediately after surgery, however QOL returned to pre-operative levels one year after surgery (52 SD 8.1, 46 SD 6.8 and 52 SD 7.1 respectively)(p4 cm and with >2 preoperative seizures.(O'Donnell, Morgan et al. 2017)The risk of seizure after discharge from hospital for surgical repair of a uIA or an AVM was examined in section 2 to determine if seizure risks would inhibit participation in work and driving.(Lai, O'Donnell et al. 2013) A neurosurgical retrospective cohort of uIA and AVM patients was analysed to examine the incidence of post-operative seizures. The risk of seizures after discharge from hospital following surgery for uIA, when there is no pre-existing risk of seizures and no complications as a result of surgery, is low (4 cm and with >2 preoperative seizures.(O'Donnell, Morgan et al. 2017)The third section of this thesis investigated the outcomes of cerebrovascular surgery by examining QOL compared with disability ratings and function. The QOL of conservatively managed unruptured AVM was compared with surgically managed unruptured AVM in 2 separate cohorts.(O'Donnell and Morgan 2015) Results on 79 Scottish and 41 MQ patients found a significant relationship between mRS and QOL in the combined cohort (p < 0·01) but did not find significant differences in the QOL scores between conservatively and surgically managed uAVM (paper submitted for publication). The thesis concludes with the importance of using a broad range of instruments to assess patients outcomes related to disabilities and QOL following surgery for uIA and AVM. The final paper submitted for publication found poor correlation between the MCS subscale of the SF36 QOL scales and the instrument of disability commonly used to judge outcomes (mRS). This study demonstrated that both the results of DriveSafe instrument and the PCS subscale of SF36 correlated with mRS. However, for a more comprehensive picture of a patient's recovery from surgery, QOL and Drivesafe scores should be added to the mRS.Based on our results, we concluded that surgery can be generally effective without compromise with respect to function or QOL for the management of uIA or AVM. Functional cognitive screening is recommended prior to surgery for AVM. Consideration should be given for psychological support when individual SF36 results indicate low pre-operative MCS scores. Indicators for the restriction of driving after surgery for uIA and AVM have been identified.Mode of access: World wide web1 online resource (170 pages) graphs, table
Enhancing access to justice in Australian courts using Web 2.0 applications
No full textTheoretical thesis.Bibliography: pages 274-314.Chapter one: Framing access to justice in a disruptive regulatory environment -- Chapter two: Access in the digital era -- Chapter three: Online exposure of personal information-limiting access? -- Chapter four: Online social networks enhancing or diminishing access to justice? -- Chapter five: Virtual courts providing access to justice and privacy: an empirical study of eCourtroom -- Chapter six: Strategies for enhancing access to justice: resolving the tension.Digital access to justice is concerned with the provision of access to justice by courts using the innovative and disruptive technologies of Web 2.0, such as online social networks and virtual courts. While the use of such a digital pathway by the courts is relatively new, analysis at an early stage offers the opportunity to assess the extent to which such innovative technologies should be used in an online environment which is characterised by a heightened tension between access and privacy.The term, access to justice, generally can be applied to diverse legal concepts and remains for many an idealistic aspiration, one that is difficult to assess as a quantifiable concept, although recognised as a fundamental human right and an essential component of the rule of law. Digital access to justice is provided by innovative and disruptive technologies which have been seen to provide the solution to legal inefficiencies, although they have the capacity to facilitate the misuse of information and inadvertent disclosure of personal data. In such a context, a critical question is to what extent the innovative technologies of Web 2.0 should be used to enhance access to justice in the digital age. This is a normative question to which I have applied a framework of theoretical and empirical analysis, particularly qualitative analysis. The theoretical analysis of access to justice and the protection of privacy have placed technologies, such as online social networks and virtual courts, within the context of the current regulatory framework to determine to what extent change will be necessary. The empirical analysis has applied mixed methodologies of case studies to analyse the use of Twitter by the Supreme Court of Victoria and the use of a questionnaire to analyse eCourtroom by the Federal Court and the Federal Circuit Court of Australia, providing insight into the problems faced by courts in the use of Web 2.0 applications. While both quantitative and qualitative analysis have been used, the emphasis in my empirical research has been on qualitative analysis to provide the depth and detail required to answer the normative question, relying on mixed methodology to provide the validity and reliability required. iii This research fills a gap in the literature on the way in which Australian courts are engaging with innovative technologies to enhance access to justice. It has found that the limitations and boundaries on the use of new technologies have been set substantially by regulatory prudence on the part of the courts and the tension between providing both access and the protection of personal data. This tension can be resolved by recognition of the radical transformation in the information environment, by a reconceptualisation of privacy and by a change of focus from the incremental ex ante legal protection of privacy laws to a consideration of issues such as the 'right to be forgotten' and those more fundamental to the digital age. I have concluded that, although the use of Web 2.0 applications by Australian courts is currently limited, they have the capacity to enhance access to justice by providing efficiencies, cost savings and improved communication. It is an expectation in the digital era that the use of such applications is synonymous with open justice and direct dialogue with the community. I have recommended more comprehensive strategies to facilitate the extended use of Web 2.0 applications in the future to ensure that access and openness is achieved as well as the protection of personal data. This will require a proactive consideration by policy makers of the future role for the rule of law in a society faced with rule by technology.1 online resource (323 pages
Identifying climate refugia for Australian rainforest plant species: from the Last Glacial Maximum to 2070
No full textEmpirical thesis.Bibliography: pages 27-33.Historically, climate refugia – areas that have remained suitable for species during periods of climate disruption – have played an important role in species persistence. Identifying and protecting climate refugia is a key climate change adaptation approach for conservation planning. This study aims to identify climate refugia for Australian rainforest flora, from the Last Glacial Maximum to 2070.Models of habitat suitability for 30 plant species were calibrated using Maxent, and projected onto climate data for the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM, ~22,000 ybp), mid-Holocene (MH, ~6,000 ybp), current period and 2070. The intersection of suitable habitat over consecutive periods was assessed, identifying a) paleo refugia (LGM – MH – Current), b) future refugia (Current – Future) and c) High Value Refugia (HVR, suitable over all four periods). Centres of refugia (regions suitable for multiple species) were identified.Predictive performance of models was acceptable, with maps of current suitable habitat verified by experts. Generally, habitat suitability spans the greatest extent now compared to past or future time periods. Four centres of paleo refugia were located in the Wet Tropics, Central Mackay Coast, South Eastern Queensland and North Coast of New South Wales bioregions. Ranges for most species were projected to decline by 2070 (mean = 52%, SD = 22%). HVR were identified for all species to at least 2070, although these occupy, on average, 16% of current habitat (SD = 11%). Future refugia were projected to occur elsewhere for all species, but may be well beyond species’ dispersal ranges.HVR are likely to be highly important for the conservation of these rainforest species, given generation times, limited dispersal capabilities and anthropogenic barriers to movement. This study may assist in understanding long-term spatial shifts in rainforest flora in response to climate change, and for designing future conservation strategies.Mode of access: World wide web1 online resource (43 pages) colour map
Public policy and services: rethinking the approach to carers and their dependants
No full textTheoretical thesis.Bibliography: pages 236-245.Chapter 1. Introduction and background -- Part1. Careers in public policy. Chapter 2. The policy context of care and Bacchi's WPR approach ; Chapter 3. International policy ; Chapter 4. Commonwealth and NSW state disability policy and legislation ; Chapter 5. Australian Commonwealth and NSW State carer policy and legislation -- Part 2. Disability and carer theories. Chapter 6. Disability theory ; Chapter 7. Carer theory and discussion ; Chapter 8. Deriving a fair care theory for public policy -- Chapter 9. Conclusion -- Appendices -- Bibliography.Unpaid carers perform a vital role in supporting the lives of dependent people with disabilities. This load is borne at significant personal cost and many carers are entrapped in extended, possibly lifetime, obligations. The severe physical, mental and material impact of caring is well documented in qualitative and quantitative research.Carers are represented in government policy, but the focus there is to ensure carers can continue to care. Thus commitments by the Australian government, particularly new funding commitments under the Disability Care Framework, assume a lifetime commitment by carers to the care and management of their dependent family members with disabilities. This approach does not consider the treatment or opinion of carers to being so committed.This thesis explores whether carers are treated fairly in theory and policy and finds that prevailing theories and policy permit carer entrapment. It derives a new fair care theory, asks whether this theory resonates with carers, and demonstrates how this new theory could be implemented in policy.Three analytical methods are used. The first draws from Bacchi’s “What’s the Problem Represented to be” (WPR) method of policy analysis, which asserts that all policy is framed to fix a problem, and how a problem is represented determines the ensuing policy. Bacchi’s method is derived from Foucault’s concepts and some critiques of Foucault validate the use of complementary methods to extend the reach of Foucauldian approaches. To include the absent voices of carers, qualitative interviews with carers are used as a second method. To pursue alternative problematisations, this thesis then employs a third approach drawn from ideal political theories and models.These combined methods allow prevailing voices, theories, and policy problematisations to be disrupted by alternative voices, theories and problematisations. To develop an alternative theoretical solution, the thesis investigates Kittay's care constructs alongside Rawls’s theory of justice and so constructs an alternative new fair care theory. The policy and theoretical analysis and the interviews with carers affirm that the new fair care theory addresses carer entrapment, resonates with the majority of carers interviewed, and could be employed to reframe care policy and attain the fair treatment of carers.Mode of access: World wide web1 online resource (x, 245 pages
Investigation of attitudes to identity, culture and language in a Coptic school community
No full textTheoretical thesis.Bibliography: pages 200-211.Chapter 1. Introduction -- Chapter 2. Literature review -- Chapter 3. Methodology -- Chapter 4. Findings -- Chapter 5. Parents’ perceptions of identity and school -- Chapter 6. Discussion -- Chapter 7. Conclusion -- References -- Appendices.While there has been a substantial growth in Coptic communities in Australia, there has been limited research on these communities. The aim of this thesis is two-fold. It hopes to contribute to educators’ knowledge of student development in Coptic schools, pastoral care and curriculum considerations. The second goal is to contribute to the as yet limited study of the Coptic diaspora community. To this end, the thesis examines construction of identity in school students in a Coptic school in Sydney, Australia.The thesis asked these three research questions: 1. What are the characteristics of students, and their perceptions of the school? 2. What are students’ perceptions of their identity? 3. How do students negotiate their identity in 21st Century Australian society?To achieve this, a mixed methods approach has been taken to access both measurable attitudes and deeper perceptions, using quantitative and qualitative research designs. The quantitative survey was constructed from three established instruments, which measure ethnicity, acculturation, and level of religiosity. There were 326 participants from Year 5 to Year 12 who completed the quantitative survey and 31 parents volunteered to complete the quantitative survey. Qualitative data were collected in focus group discussions and interviews. Participants were 41 students who voluntarily participated in the qualitative focus group discussion, and 10 parents participated in one-on-one interviews.In the data, students appear to be involved with diverse multiple identity development, moving between cultures and languages, and between different environments and social activities without difficulty. The analysis also explores contradictions and ambivalence in some student data. The thesis acknowledges the role of the school in both the setting of the research, and its formative influence on students. A picture emerges of the students within their school context as the immediate research setting, but placed within supportive circles of influence which are the church, family, and community.The thesis offers an illustration of identity construction which may be of value across other diaspora groups. The thesis offers insights into student development, valuable to educational authorities towards the design of relevant quality curriculum. The thesis may inform government understanding of youth education within immigrant groups.Mode of access: World wide web1 online resource (xvi, 232 pages) diagrams, table
Justinian I and Gregory the Great: the legislative ideology of a civic bishop
No full textTheoretical thesis.Bibliography: pages 59-68.Preface -- Introduction -- Chapter 1. Deus vult : Justinianic ideology -- Chapter 2. Sacerdosque ludex : the bishop's court -- Chapter 3. Regalis potestas et auctoritas sacrata : episcopal governance -- Chapter 4. De religione : faith and factionalism -- Conclusion -- Appendices -- Primary sources -- Modern works.This thesis argues that the ideology of Byzantine Emperor Justinian I (527-565) is discernible in the behaviour of Roman Bishop Gregory the Great (590-604). My hypothesis rests upon the legislative, not tangible, influence of the emperor upon Gregory, who lived several decades after the death of Justinian. Noted for his superlative piety,1 Justinian framed perhaps his greatest achievement, the Corpus Iuris Civilis, as a homage to divine ordination and his personal role in a reinvigorated celestial dispensation. As Justinian is best known for his legal codification, Gregory’s own magnum opus is a vast collection of private letters: numbering over 800, the letters cover all aspects of his episcopate, be it social, religious or political, and thus afford the reader an unrivalled insight into the world of a 6th century Roman Bishop. Therefore, by analysing the parallels between the Corpus Iuris Civilis and the behaviour of Gregory, as expressed through his letters, we can assess the influence of Justinian upon Gregory. Justinian’s law code encompasses every perceivable aspect of private and public life, and so the specific focus here is upon Justinian’s ideology regarding the civic role of bishops. Following imperial enfranchisement under Constantine I (306-337), Christian bishops grew in prestige, gradually accruing authority well beyond the traditional ecclesiastical sphere. It is clear from the Corpus Iuris Civilis that Justinian envisaged the bishop as taking a much more active role in municipal administration, a role fostered by the evolving nature of contemporary urban society. Thus, the aim of this study is to assess the ideological influence of Justinian, through the medium of his law code, and in the context of the civic role of bishops, upon the episcopate of Gregory the Great.Mode of access: World wide web1 online resource (iii, 68 pages
Investigations of syntactic knowledge in question structures in children with specific language impairment
No full textThesis by publication.Includes bibliographical references.Chapter 1. General introduction -- Chapter 2. Probing morphological, syntactic and pragmatic knowledge through answers to wh- questions in children with SLI -- Chapter 3. Linguistic rules and over-generalisation : subject-aux inversion in children with SLI -- Chapter 4. The linguistic constraint on contraction in children with SLI -- Chapter 5. General discussion -- Appendix.Children with specific language impairment (SLI) are a group of children who are known for their language difficulties despite a clean bill of health in all other aspects of development. It is now widely accepted that tense morphology is particularly affected in children with SLI, but the extent of the language deficit, especially in the area of syntactic knowledge, is not yet known. There is some literature in English and across languages showing that children with SLI have difficulties with the syntactic operations that are required to form and comprehend questions. However, it is not clear, at least from the production data, whether this finding is limited to a subgroup of children labelled Grammatical SLI (G-SLI) whose grammatical deficit is particularly severe, or whether this finding extends to a general population of children with SLI. To understand this important question, this thesis by publication explores three aspects of children's syntactic knowledge in question structures, comparing children with SLI with two control groups, an age-matched group and a group matched by MLU.This thesis is structured as follows : Chapter one provides background information and describes the theoretical framework upon which this thesis is based. The motivation for the studies reported in Chapters two through to Chapter five is discussed.Chapter two investigates aspects of morphology, syntax and pragmatics in children with SLI's answers to wh-questions. The aim of this study is to investigate whether the impairment is seen in different language components. The study revealed that children with SLI demonstrated the reported difficulty with using tense, while demonstrating that they had no difficulty computing the appropriate syntactic structures.Chapter three is a production study that investigated the syntactic rule of Subject-Aux Inversion (SAI) in main clauses and also in embedded clauses (where it is prohibited). This study found that the SAI rule is delayed for children with SLI, but once they have learned the rule, children implement it well. The striking finding is that the children with SLI who implement the rule implement it too well, and extended it to embedded clauses. This group has difficulty inhibiting the rule.Chapter four evaluates the adherence to the linguistic constraint on contraction in questions. The aim of this study is to investigate whether children with SLI have the same underlying grammar as typically developing children in this aspect of linguistic knowledge which is often claimed to be universal. The experimental findings showed that the children with SLI respected the constraint well, and were not different from the control groups.Chapter five concludes the thesis by summarising the experimental findings from the studies in the three chapters.The experimental results observed in three studies together provide evidence that children with SLI do not have difficulties in every area of language, and in fact, show strength in some areas of syntactic knowledge in their question structures.Mode of access: World wide web1 online resource (x, 173 pages) table
Raising children matters: an exploration of family online social media networking experiences
No full textTheoretical thesis.Bibliography: pages 81-88.Abstract -- Chapter 1. Introduction -- Chapter 2. Literature Review -- Chapter 3. Methodology -- Chapter 4. Key Findings -- Chapter 5. Discussion -- Chapter 6. Conclusions -- References -- Appendices.Australian families raising children today are turning to the internet for parenting information and support. As the wellbeing of children and families is connected with the support families receive (Grace, Hayes, & Wise, 2017), research into online support being accessed by families with children is warranted. Content analysis of postings on the online forums within the Raising Children Network over a six-month period was conducted to ascertain insights about respondents' interests regarding raising children in Australia today. To gain further insights into how participation in social networking sites may influence family experiences, parents utilising social media were also invited to complete an online survey. Online behaviours such as passive support and cyber lurking were found within the online forum postings analysed, and were also reported by the survey respondents. These findings can inform those managing online parenting networks about aspects that require better monitoring and moderation of participation in social media forums aimed at supporting those raising children today. These findings can also be used by educators to advise and assist families in early childhood settings to adopt a variety of strategies for online interactions, optimise the potential social supports available through social media, and enhance knowledge sharing within cyber communities.1 online resource (122 pages
How do language rights affect minority languages in China?: an ethnographic investigation of the Zhuang minority language under conditions of rapid social change
No full textTheoretical thesis.Bibliography: pages 484-508.Chapter One. Introduction -- Chapter Two. Literature review -- Chapter Three. Methodology -- Chapter Four. The Zhuang LPP environment -- Chapter Five. Zhuang in linguistic landscapes in GZAR -- Chapter Six. Perceptions of Zhuang in the linguistic landscape -- Chapter Seven. Zhuang in the education system -- Chapter Eight. Conclusions -- Appendices -- References.This thesis examines the political economy of Zhuang, the language of China’s largest official minority group: how do China’s minority language freedom – a form of constitutional language right – and the policies associated with it affect Zhuang use under conditions of social, economic and political change? The thesis asks what language ideologies are produced and reproduced in official rights discourses and policies and how social actors receive, resist or reproduce these.The research takes an ethnographic approach and draws on interviews with over sixty participants, texts collected from public linguistic landscapes, fieldwork observations and a corpus of Chinese laws, policies and official policy commentaries. The thesis combines three complementary theoretical lenses for analysis, namely legal, linguistic landscape and perspectives lenses.The analysis commences with a critical examination of the procedures of Zhuang language governance, finding that the language policy framework neither empowers Zhuang speakers nor the institutions tasked with governing Zhuang because authority for language governance is fractured and responsiveness to changing conditions is limited. Furthermore, the Zhuang language governance framework entrenches the normative position of a ‘developmentalist’ ideology under which Zhuang is constructed as of low value.Next, the analysis follows Zhuang language policy along its trajectory into practice. The thesis examines how language policy is implemented at different levels of government, and how Zhuang language governance is understood and experienced by social actors, concentrating on two key mechanisms of language policy: first, the regulation of language displayed in public space; and second, the regulation of language in education.With regard to public space, the thesis examines a municipal legislative intervention under which Zhuang has been added to public signage. It finds not only that Zhuang language is rarely displayed outside areas under Zhuang autonomous regional government but even within these areas Zhuang is almost exclusively displayed on government signage. The thesis then extends the linguistic landscape study into situated subjectivities, analysing the various ‘readings’ of Zhuang landscape texts by viewers, including many who simply do not ‘see’ the displays of Zhuang, and others who negatively evaluate the signage as tokenistic.Finally, the thesis examines education policy under which Zhuang is introduced as a study subject at a limited number of universities after its near-total exclusion from primary and particularly secondary schooling. It finds that students who – against social norms and values – choose to study Zhuang at university nevertheless largely adopt the language ideologies of the pre-tertiary schooling system, namely the belief that Zhuang is not an educated person’s language and not useful for socio-economic mobility.Overall, the study finds that Zhuang language rights and policies, despite being powerful official discourses, do not challenge the ascendant marketised and mobility-focused language ideologies which ascribe low value to Zhuang. Moreover, although language rights and policies create an ethno-linguistically divided and hierarchic social order seemingly against the interests of Zhuang speakers, Zhuang speakers may nevertheless value the Zhuang identity discursively created and invested with authority by this framework.Mode of access: World wide web1 online resource (508 pages colour illustrations, colour map
Subversive spectacles: the struggles and deaths of Paul and Seneca
No full textTheoretical thesis.Bibliography: pages 187-208.Introduction. Images of friendship -- Part One. Rome, Corinth, and their Spectacles of Death. 1. Sites, sponsors, and spectators : the popularity of Roman and Corinthian arenas ; 2. The stands and the sand : ideology and representation of arenas empire-wide -- Part Two. Paul, Seneca, and their spectacles of death. 3. “Thrown down but not destroyed” : arenas of suffering and struggle ; 4. “In honour and dishonour” : confronting death and criticising performances -- Conclusion. Images of life -- Appendix -- Bibliography.Subversive Spectacles explores the way the apostle Paul, in his Corinthian correspondence, and Seneca, the Stoic philosopher and tutor to emperor Nero, appropriated imagery from gladiatorial spectacles to confront their own sufferings and deaths under the power structures of Roman imperialism. While the last three decades have produced an overwhelming amount of Roman scholarship on every feature of the gladiatorial institution, critiquing and overturning many outdated biases, New Testament scholars have remained reluctant to engage with gladiatorial spectacles, which have been taken to cast a cruel shadow over life in the early empire. However, this is to miss the social and ideological importance of gladiatorial spectacles in the time of Paul and Seneca. The amphitheatre became a site for the display of power and the replication of social relations in a ‘society of the spectacle.’ The vivid images that emerged in the arena spilled out of these sites to shape the landscape; and, amongst these images, Paul and Seneca contribute their own exhibitions.The first part of this thesis explores the spectacle landscapes of Rome and Corinth, attempting to recover and reconstruct the Neronian and Corinthian amphitheatres. After recovering these sites of spectacle, both dated to the time of Paul and Seneca, I linger inside these amphitheatres and examine the social, political, and cultic elements on display in the stands and on the sand. I attempt to observe the ideological forces structuring spectators and spectacle alike. In the second part, I turn to a closer reading of Paul and Seneca and their deployment of vivid, yet familiar, images from the arena. All of these representations, which permeated community life—be it in mosaics, on oil lamps, inscribed on walls, or part of large monuments, among other media—worked toward a variety of ends. In the disparate figures of Paul and Seneca, however, we observe imagined performances that seemingly subvert the ideology of the arena. A differential comparison of Paul and Seneca with respect to gladiatorial spectacles reveals that Seneca was attempting to ‘perform’ a version of Stoic virtue to a significantly disempowered Neronian elite, while Paul uses similar imagery to take up a position amongst the lowest members of society.Mode of access: World wide web1 online resource (xvi, 208 pages) illustrations (some colour