6 research outputs found
Mada'in Salih, a Nabataean town in north west Arabia: analysis and interpretation of the excavation 1986-1990
No full textThis research concerns Mada'in Salih, an archaeological site in north-west Saudi Arabia. Historically, it was part of the Nabataean kingdom which flourished in northwest Arabia (Jordan, parts of Syria, Palestine and some parts of Saudi Arabia), with Petra in Jordan as its capital. The Nabataeans were famous for their trading role, as they transported frankincense and myrrh and exported balsam and bitumen. They built monumental tombs in Petra and Mada'in Salih as well as other public buildings such as temples theatres and baths. They were also famous for their skills in hydraulic engineering and the production of very thin, distinctively painted pottery. Mada'in Salih was an important station on the trade route which linked south Arabia with Mediterranean countries. The main feature of the site is the monumental tombs, which are about eighty in number, some of them dated and bearing inscriptions. Those inscriptions are in Aramaic and usually contain information about the owner name, legal rights, and occasionally the mason's name. Little was known about the site's history and other aspects such as the economy, culture, society and religions prior to the excavation. Various questions were raised which the thesis attempts to address. The archaeological work conducted on the site included a survey, several trenches around the town wall and in front of some of the tombs as well as an excavation in the settlement area. The excavation revealed a private house which furnished us with information regarding house planning, building techniques and materials. A large amount of pottery, small finds and coins were recovered, studied and classified. The results added some information to what was already known about the Nabataeans in general and Mada'in Salih in particular. The site had witnessed its peak during the first century A.D. As most previous archaeological work had been carried out in the northern parts of the Nabataean kingdom, the results of this excavation are important for comparative studies between this, the largest Nabataean settlement centre in the south, to the centres of the north. The trade which had been an important factor in the establishment of the site declined when the trade route was shifted from land to sea by the Romans during the last half of the first century A.D
Performativities, Virtualities, Abstractions, and Cunningham's BIPED
No full textThis thesis explores the complex relations between subjective perception and dance movements, mainly exemplified by drawing on two short extracts from Merce Cunningham's choreography BIPED (1999). The central aim of the study is to formulate a performative phenomenological inquiry, which moves beyond an identification of essences, and towards an understanding of the lived experience of a dance performance as being grounded on iterations of the "abstract". The concept of the abstract primarily signifies an alternative mode of understanding Henry Bergson's notion of duration. Considering Gilles Deleuze's reading of Bergson's intuition as a method to divide the experience of a lived present into a temporal difference in kind between the virtual and the actual, this thesis suggests a complementary division of duration into virtual and actual kinds of abstraction.
In addition to Bergson's method of intuition, the discussion is phenomenologically rooted in Maurice Merleau-Ponty's concept of the body image and Gaston Bachelards idea of non-causal reverberation. As with the case of intuition, those phenomenological concepts are applied unconventionally. Rather than serving as a pre-objective ontological basis for an analytical and scientific understanding of subjective embodiment, the notion of a reverberating body image is here treated as a form of mimesis, performatively constituted through symbolic and representational practices. Hence, in phenomenological terms, the rationale of the thesis is predominantly sustained by the philosophy of Ernst Cassirer, arguing that reality cannot be approached directly, but only through the concept of the symbol.
The viewpoint from where I speak has performative cybernetic characteristics, continuously and dynamically transgressing boundaries and reconstituting itself through iterative and citational practices. Additionally, as I move between the analytical and the intuitive, as well as between the virtual and the actual, the formal structure of the thesis corresponds to a liminal transformation of the speaking subjectivity
"Encystation": Containment and Control in Israeli Ideology and Practice
No full textThe radical closure of Gaza serves here as an extreme example of a process of
isolation and immiseration of national enemies that is deeply rooted in Israeli
ideology and practices of state formation. I use encystation to reveal the dual
meaning of the term—that of radical isolation of diseased elements and that of
protecting a fetus within a womb—and to show how the two meanings connect
with respective Israeli policies toward Palestinians and Jews. I suggest in closing
that the Oslo Accords have put in place mechanisms for the future imposition
on West Bank Palestinians of the same containment currently afflicting Gaz
Incidence and risk factors of unanticipated pathology in cases of hysterectomy for benign lesion a cross-section study in Al Shifa Medical Complex
No full textObjective: To measure the incidence of unanticipated gynecologic malignancies among women who underwent hysterectomy for benign indications. Methods: We conducted a data analysis of hysterectomy cases from the medical files as well as from pathology reports in the pathology department in Al Shifa Medical Complex. Cases were abstracted from 1st January 2019 to 30th December 2020. Preoperative surgical indications included abnormal uterine bleeding (AUB), fibroid, endometrial malignancy, ovarian mass, prolapse, molar pregnancy, and adenomyosis. Results: During the study period, 195 women underwent a hysterectomy. More than 50% were performed for fibroid and abnormal uterine bleeding (AUB). The incidence of unanticipated gynecologic malignancy among hysterectomies performed for benign indications was 3.06% (6 cases). Three of them underwent hysterectomy due to post-menopausal bleeding with no preoperative endometrial sampling. Main risk factor were age, anemia, previous medical disorder, lack of equipments, and insufficient preoperative investigations or risks assessments that we considered it an important factor for the development and concealment of pre-existing malignant growth which will lead to future complicated medical plan and management to control the situation. Conclusion: Unanticipated pathology in this study was mainly due to incomplete preoperative assessment and workup including diagnostic imaging modalities and D&C biopsy. This workup should be done for all cases before hysterectomy, especially in old-age women with postmenopausal bleeding. Our study indicates that even in cases that are expected to be benign, nothing should be overlooked, and detailed preoperative evaluations should be performed
Conversion of African Americans to Islam : a sociological analysis of the Nation of Islam and associated groups
No full text'Conversion of African Americans to Islam: A Sociological Analysis of the Nation of
Islam Associated groups' is an empirical study of the religious experience of people
who had/have distinctive features in terms of race, ethnicity and historical experience.
The purpose of this thesis is to demonstrate how African Americans' (AAs) conversion
experience in general, and the Nation of Islam associated groups' conversion in
particular, differ from the studies of recruitment and conversion in the sociology of
religion and New Religion Movements (NRMs). More specifically, their recruitment
and conversion experiences to Islam diverge from those who converted to mainstream
Islam. The study investigates how AAs' historical experience, soci-economic
difficulties and the racism they encountered shaped and influenced their religious
understanding.
Research methods involved participant observations, a survey questionnaire, interviews,
conversations, personal communications and correspondence. To collect ethnographic
data eleven months field research was conducted mainly in the Chicago area and on two
short visits to Detroit, and three years continued communications with Muslim officials
and academics in the area. During the field research and afterwards through personal
communication 181 survey questionnaire responses were received, and 23 Muslim
officials, academics and ordinary Muslims were interviewed through semi-structured,
unstructured interviews, conversation and correspondence.
The thesis begins with a brief history of Islam and Muslims in general and the African
American Muslims (AAMs) in particular. More emphasis is given on the historical
development of the Nation of Islam (NOl). Then in Chapter III, discussions of schisms
in the history of the NOT are examined from sociological perspectives of social and
religious movements. In Chapter IV I aimed to formulate my own perspective to
analyse and study the conversion experiences of AAMs to Islam. I used a multivariate
approach, considering selectively widely held conversion and recruitment theories in the
sociology of the religion. I consider in Chapter V the predisposing conditions for AAMs
that influence their decision-making to join in the NOT, for example, political and
nationalistic sentiments and socio-economic deprivations. In Chapter VI I have applied
different terms to describe their religious experiences, such as conversion, alteration and
reversion. I have analysed further their encounters with the NOT, the methods of
recruitment they used and their major motives for joining the NOT and converting to
Tslam. In the concluding chapters (Chapter VII VTTT) I describe the different responses
of AAMS to Islam following the death of Elijah Muhammad. It is found out that the
Islamic appeal has polarised. While Farakhan's NOT appeared to continue the tradition
and style of the old NOI with the emphasis on nationalistic and socio-economic factors,
Tmam W. D. Mohammed's community turned more to the religious and spiritual aspects
of Tslam. These different approaches led to a polarisation of the appeal of Tslam to
AAMS.
This thesis contributes to knowledge in four key areas; the sociology of religion and
religious movements, the sociology of social and nationalistic movements, religious and
Islamic studies
Development of novel flax bio-matrix composites for non-structural and structural vehicle applications
No full textThe use of natural fibres (e.g. flax, hemp etc.) instead of synthetic fibres (carbon
and glass etc.) as composite reinforcements not only benefits the environment,
but also provides economical lightweight products for transports. Although there
are a few studies reported in literature on use of flax fibres, there is no
comprehensive guide on use of flax fibres with bio-resins to re-engineer bio-
composite systems that can be used in vehicle structures. The state-of-art of
the current research towards using natural fibre reinforced composites is
reviewed by the thesis. The review covers the performances of flax composites,
concentrating on the effect of matrix types and existing development methods.
The review also identifies the rational of selecting tannin resins and bio-epoxy
resins to combine with flax fibre reinforcements.
In the experimental work, mimosa tannin resin (natural phenolic resin) and pine-
oil derived supersap epoxy resin are selected to manufacture the fully
renewable flax composites. By tailoring the fibre configurations and chemical
surface treatments, the resultant composites were investigated to provide
information for engineers to understand the composite behaviours and
properties. Mechanical properties (tension, flexural, shear, impact etc.) and
physical properties (moisture, ageing etc.) were assessed through adequate
tests and analysing methods. In addition, bio-sandwich structures based on the
novel studied composites and commercial bio-foams were evaluated to study
the energy absorption which could be very important in vehicle design. Based
on the results, flax/supersap epoxy and flax/tannin composites are suitable for
possible exterior structural and interior non-structural applications, respectively.
The developed flax fibre composites with innovative bio-matrices have a
potential to prevail in modern vehicle applications, due to the competitive
performances, economic viability and environmental acceptability
