1,476 research outputs found
Revisiting the sublime history: Dickens, Christianity, and The life of Our Lord
No full textWhile the study of Charles Dickens’s religion has produced various results, few would contest that Dickens’s religious views are shaped by his peculiar emphasis on Jesus and the Gospels. As to the precise nature of his views and the degree to which his commitment to the Christian faith extends, however, a much lesser degree of consensus has been established. I attempt to demonstrate here that at the heart of his work is a conspicuous Christian worldview, which is grounded squarely in the imitation of Jesus and which pervades his life and his work in the most profound yet unobtrusive ways. I argue, then, that Dickens’s The Life of Our Lord is a definitive source in the Dickens corpus for our understanding of his Christian thought and worldview. Moreover, as a serious expression of Dickens’s understanding of Christianity, The Life of Our Lord also functions as an index to his Christian thought in the larger Dickens corpus.
Of first importance then, I attempt to establish the authority of The Life of Our Lord as a composition that will bear the full weight of such assertions. Then, I analyze its content as to its implicit theology in order to establish not only its thoroughgoing Christian character but also to demonstrate that it reveals Dickens’s own genuine Christian conviction manifested in all his work. Drawing the work to a close, I attempt to demonstrate how The Life of Our Lord helps us to understand Dickens’s churchmanship and his relationship to the church. In the end, I comment on its intended purpose as moral instruction for his children exemplifying his understanding of Christianity. The study demonstrates throughout how the Christianity embodied and articulated in The Life of Our Lord is consistently and naturally reflected in all of Dickens’s work, whether fiction, journalism or correspondence
Jedi Serve
No full textIssue: 1983Partial issue onlyIncludes the story "Jedi Serve": "When Luke returns to Dagobah, the 'other', Shawna, takes his place with the Alliance. Soon, they are both put back into the service of the Force, searching out those who are strong in the Force and training them to be a new Jedi elite. But they have another destiny too. Before the Empire can be free, the Emperor and his dark lord servant must be killed." (Fanlore.org wiki
Cortisol, DHEA, sulphate, their ratio, and all-cause and cause-specific mortality in the Vietnam experience study
Get PDFObjectives: The aim of the present analyses was to examine the association between cortisol, DHEA sulphate (DHEAS) and the cortisol:DHEAS ratio and mortality. Design: This was a prospective cohort analysis. Methods: Participants were 4255 Vietnam-era US army veterans. From military service files, telephone interviews and a medical examination, occupational, socio-demographic and health data were collected. Contemporary morning fasted cortisol and DHEAS concentrations were determined. Mortality was tracked over the subsequent 15 years. The outcomes were all-cause, cardiovascular disease, cancer, other medical mortality and external causes of death. Cox proportional hazard models were tested, initially with adjustment for age, and then with adjustment for a range of candidate confounders. Results: In general, cortisol concentrations did not show an association with all-cause or cause-specific mortality. However, in age-adjusted and fully adjusted analyses, DHEAS was negatively related to all-cause, all cancers and other medical mortality; high DHEAS concentrations were protective. The cortisol:DHEAS ratio was also associated with these outcomes in both age-adjusted and fully adjusted models; the higher the ratio, the greater the risk of death. Conclusions: DHEAS was negatively associated, and the ratio of cortisol to DHEAS was positively associated with all-cause, cancer and other medical cause mortality. Further experimental study is needed to elucidate the mechanisms involved in these relationships. <br/
Cortisol, DHEAS, their ratio and the metabolic syndrome: evidence from the Vietnam experience study
Get PDFDesign: The analyses were cross-sectional. Methods: Participants were 4255 Vietnam era US army veterans. From military service files, telephone interviews and a medical examination, occupational, socio-demographic and health data were collected. MetS was ascertained from data on body mass index; fasting blood glucose or a diagnosis of diabetes; blood pressure or a diagnosis of hypertension; high-density lipoprotein cholesterol; and triglyceride levels. Contemporary morning fasted cortisol and DHEAS concentrations were determined. The outcomes were MetS and its components. Analysis was by logistic regression, first adjusting for age and then additionally for an array of candidate confounders. Results: Cortisol, although not in the fully adjusted analysis, and DHEAS were both related to MetS. Whereas high cortisol concentrations were associated with an increased risk of MetS, high DHEAS concentrations appeared protective. By far, the strongest associations with MetS were observed for the cortisol:DHEAS ratio; the higher the ratio, the greater the risk of having MetS. The ratio was also significantly related to four of the five MetS components. Conclusions: The cortisol:DHEAS ratio is positively associated with MetS. Prospective analyses are needed to help untangle direction of causality, but this study suggests that the cortisol:DHEAS ratio is worthy of further study in this and other health contexts. <br/
The Effects of Labyrinth Walking in an Academic Library
No full textThe purpose of this study was to determine if labyrinth walking in an academic library would reduce library user stress and promote relaxation. A non- equivalent control group design was employed. Systolic blood pressure was significant for time effect (effect size of .136, and power .721). Pulse rate was significant for time effect (effect size 0.93, and power .507). Satisfaction survey results demonstrated increased satisfaction after labyrinth walking. Data from this pilot will form the basis of a larger scale study to determine the effect of labyrinth walking on stress particularly in high-stress learning environments.Peer reviewe
Framing audience prefigurations of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey: The roles of fandom, politics and idealised intertexts
No full textAudiences for blockbuster event-film sequels and adaptations often formulate highly developed expectations, motivations, understandings and opinions well before the films are released. A range of intertextual and paratextual influences inform these audience prefigurations, and are believed to frame subsequent audience engagement and response. In our study of prefigurative engagements with Peter Jackson’s 2012 film, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, we used Q methodology to identify five distinct subjective orientations within the film’s global audience. As this paper illustrates, each group privileges a different set of extratextual referents – notably J.R.R. Tolkien’s original novels, Peter Jackson’s The Lord of The Rings film trilogy, highly localised political debates relating to the film’s production, and the previous associations of the film’s various stars. These interpretive frames, we suggest, competed for ascendancy within public and private discourse in the lead up to The Hobbit’s international debut, effectively fragmenting and indeed polarising the film’s prospective global audience
Major depressive order, generalised anxiety disorder, and their comorbidity: associations with cortisol in the Vietnam Experience Study
Get PDFObjectives: the aim of these analyses was to examine the association of cortisol, dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate (DHEAS), and the cortisol:DHEAS ratio with the diagnoses of major depressive disorder (MDD), generalised anxiety disorder (GAD), and their comorbidity.Design: this was a cross-sectional study.Methods: participants were 4256 Vietnam era US army veterans. From military service files, telephone interviews, and a medical examination, occupational, socio-demographic, and health data were collected. One-year prevalence of MDD and GAD was determined through a diagnostic interview schedule based on the DSM-IV criteria. Contemporary morning fasted cortisol and DHEAS concentrations were determined. Analyses of covariance were run, first with adjustment for age and then additionally adjusting for a range of candidate confounders.Results: in fully adjusted analyses, there was evidence of lower basal cortisol levels in individuals with MDD and co-morbid MDD and GAD than those with GAD alone or no diagnosis.Conclusion: this suggests that MDD and its comorbidity can also be characterised by low as well as high cortisol levels. A profitable line of future research might be to examine cortisol and DHEAS levels in more representative samples including older participants and women with and without MDD, GAD, and other psychiatric diagnose
The lord of the entire world : Lord Jesus, a challenge to Lord Caesar?
Get PDFThe purpose of this thesis is to determine whether in some of Paul's uses of the title K-6ptoq for Jesus, there exists a polemic against the living Roman emperor. After preliminary matters concerning methodology, history of research, and limitations are addressed (chapter 1), the sources for the study are described (chapter 2). Issues surrounding Paul's letters are considered. Then the various literary and non-literary sources which are used to better understand Paul's letters are discussed. The thesis proceeds inductively. Chapter 3 describes aspects of the first century context in which the original readers lived. This is intended to provide a grid to understand Paul's proclamation ofJesus as Lord as close to the first century context as possible. First, forms of emperor worship (imperial cults) are described within the context of Roman religious experience. However, this alone does not provide sufficient context to determine whether a polemic exists. Thus, the role of the emperor in the larger context is also considered. Chapter 4 focuses on the title K-6ptoq and the nature of lordship. First, the meaning, usage, and possible referents are described. The relational nature of the term is emphasised. The wide range of potential referents make it difficult to determine whether a polemic exists. The result is the postulation and defence of a superlative concept of supreme lord which has a restricted referent in a given culture. In chapter 5, the usages of the title for the Julio-Claudian and Flavian emperors are catalogued and it is determined that the living Caesar fills the role of the concept supreme lord in the context of Paul's original readers. Using communication principles from relevance theory, it is demonstrated that an author may include certain contextual clues that would suggest a challenge to the default referent by another. Certain modifiers and structures in the Pauline text lead to the conclusion that in some cases Paul intended a polemic against the living emperor. Specifically, this is suggested for Rom 10: 9; 1 Cor 8: 5-6; 12: 3; Eph 4: 5; Phil 2: 11
An inclusive comprehensive educational program in the urban renewal area of Queensgate II in Cincinnati, Ohio., 1970
Get PDFThe following proposal, entitled An Inclusive Comprehen-sive Educational Program In the Urban Renewal Area of Queensgate II In Cincinnati, Ohio is submitted to the Neighborhood Programs Division, Renewal Assistance Administration in Washington, D.C. The chief investigator and writer is Janet M. Evans. This pro-ject is designed for one year and $134,475.90 is requested to fund it. There will be fourteen full-time professional staff members, eleven part-time professionals and one clerical staff member. The project will begin June 1970 and end on May 1971. This project is designed to provide an inclusive, comprehensive educational program for Queensgate II that will include pre-preparation of people for urban renewal, involvement in decision-making for their neighborhood, education, social ser-vices and preparation for redevelopment. It will be a practical and educational program in that it will determine, institute and render the necessary social services to the residents. It will provide special services for problem situations such as alcoholism; services to the elderly and to youth. The educational program will prepare leader-workers, and will provide transitional preparation for residents that will help them to use and care for new surroundings. The project is so designed as to provide opportunity for the consumers to take an active part in the planning and implementation of the education and services. It is hoped that the effective implementation of the project will provide a body of knowledge whereby other cities and urban renewal areas might benefit. It is also hoped it will prove that given an active part in the destiny of their lives, residents may become effective and contributing citizens in their local community and nation. The project is worthy of funding because it proposes to involve residents in an inclusive educational program, in needed services and their use, home-making, creating pride and reducing dependency. The elimination of dependency will reduce the financial burden to cities; and lastly, it will eliminate the "modern slums.
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