The Byzantine Church of the Nutrition in Nazareth rediscovered

Although Nazareth has usually been seen by scholars as a relatively minor Byzantine pilgrimage centre, it contained perhaps the most important ‘lost’ Byzantine church in the Holy Land, the Church of the Nutrition ‐ according to De Locis Sanctis built over the house where it was believed that Jesus Christ had been a child. This article, part of a series of final interim reports of the PEF-funded ‘Nazareth Archaeological Project’, presents evidence that this church has been discovered at the present Sisters of Nazareth convent in central Nazareth. The scale of the church and its surrounding structures suggests that Nazareth was a much larger, and more important, centre for Byzantine-period pilgrimage than previously supposed. The church was used in the Crusader period, after a phase of desertion, prior to destruction by fire, probably in the 13th century.

Investigation of flux in flat-plate modules for membrane distillation

A theoretical model for predicting the behaviour of membrane distillation by incorporating mass and heat transfer equations has been used to find permeate fluxes, and has been validated experimentally. The model accurately predicts mass and heat transfer. The main work studied the effect of module design using a flat-plate module in laminar flow conditions. Areas of investigation included the use of channels across the membrane surface, decreasing the available membrane surface area, and widening the inlet and outlet channels. The work showed that widening the channels increased the flux. Increased flux was also obtained by the use of channels on the permeate side, though not on the feed side.

Acoustic scattering by an inhomogeneous layer on a rigid plate

The problem of scattering of time-harmonic acoustic waves by an inhomogeneous fluid layer on a rigid plate in R2 is considered. The density is assumed to be unity in the media: within the layer the sound speed is assumed to be an arbitrary bounded measurable function. The problem is modelled by the reduced wave equation with variable wavenumber in the layer and a Neumann condition on the plate. To formulate the problem and prove uniqueness of solution a radiation condition appropriate for scattering by infinite rough surfaces is introduced, a generalization of the Rayleigh expansion condition for diffraction gratings. With the help of the radiation condition the problem is reformulated as a system of two second kind integral equations over the layer and the plate. Under additional assumptions on the wavenumber in the layer, uniqueness of solution is proved and the nonexistence of guided wave solutions of the homogeneous problem established. General results on the solvability of systems of integral equations on unbounded domains are used to establish existence and continuous dependence in a weighted norm of the solution on the given data.

Monastic and church archaeology

Major advances in church and monastic archaeology are discussed in terms of two distinct waves, ca. 1970–1995 and 1995 to the time of writing (2014). The first wave was influenced by landscape history and processual archaeology; scholarship focused principally on historical, economic, and technological questions and targeted individual sites and monuments for study. The second wave has been informed by postprocessual approaches and considers change and complexity in religious landscapes and perspectives on religious space, embodiment, and agency. In conclusion, this article calls for a more holistic approach to the archaeology of medieval Christian belief, one which moves beyond the focus on institutions and monuments that has characterized monastic and church archaeology and extends archaeological study to include the performative rituals of Christian life and death in the Middle Ages.

Graceful remedies: understanding grace in the Catholic Church's treatment of clerical child sexual abuse

This article examines advocacy of Catholic restorative justice for clerical child sexual abuse from the standpoint of feminist criminological critiques of the use of restorative mediation in sexual offence cases. In particular, it questions the Catholic invocation of grace and forgiveness of survivors of abuse in light of critical feminist concerns about the exploitation of emotions in restorative practices, especially in regard to sexual and other gender-based offences. In the context of sexual abuse, the Catholic appeal to grace has the potential for turning into an extraordinary demand made of victims not only to rehabilitate offenders and the church in the eyes of the community, but also to work towards the spiritual absolution of the abuser. This unique feature of Catholic-oriented restorative justice raises important concerns in terms of feminist critiques of the risk of abuses of power within mediation, and is also incompatible with orthodox restorative justice theory, which, although it advocates a ‘spiritual’ response to crime, is concerned foremost with the rights, needs and experiences of victims.

Formation of beta-nickel hydroxide plate-like structures under mild conditions and their optical properties

Nanostructural beta-nickel hydroxide (beta-Ni(OH)(2)) plates were prepared using the microwave hydrothermal (MH) method at a low temperature and short reaction times. An ammonia solution was employed as the coordinating agent, which reacts with [Ni(H(2)O)(6)](2+) to control the growth of beta-Ni(OH)(2) nuclei. A trigonal beta-Ni(OH)(2) single phase was observed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) analyses, and the crystal cell was constructed with structural parameters and atomic coordinates obtained from Rietveld refinement. Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) images revealed that the samples consisted of hexagonal-shaped nanoplates with a different particle size distribution. Broad absorption bands assigned as transitions of Ni(2+) in oxygen octahedral sites were revealed by UV-vis spectra. Photoluminescence (PL) properties observed with a maximum peak centered in the blue-green region were attributed to different defects, which were produced during the nucleation process. We present a growth process scheme of the beta-Ni(OH)(2) nanoplates. (C) 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Sine ira et studio : En kvalitativ analys av institutionaliseringsprocessens konsekvenser inom den nypaganistiska rörelsen Church of All Worlds

Uppsatsen har för avsikt att undersöka hur den nypaganistiska, och i första hand nordamerikanska, rörelsen Church of All Worlds reagerar mot förändring och institutionalisering. För att förstå institutionaliseringsprocessens bakomliggande krafter och identifiera dess konsekvenser, är det övergripande syftet med uppsatsen att utifrån en fallstudie av Church of All Worlds undersöka hur organisationen under sina verksamhetsår förändrats i fråga om (1) förhållande till samhället, (2) ideologi, (3) organisatorisk struktur och (4) ledarskap. Utgångspunkten är att betrakta rörelsen som dels religiös och spirituell, dels organisatorisk och ekonomisk, varför uppsatsen lutar sin teoribildning mot både religions- och samhällsvetenskapen och mot organisationsteorin. Som samhälleliga samt organisatoriska faktorer till Church of All Worlds institutionalisering finner vi den postmoderna motreaktionen mot industrisamhällets missförhållanden samt kritiken mot existensen av den objektiva sanningen. Institutionaliseringens följder är emellertid att rörelsen slutligen upptas som en del av det sen-moderna samhällssystemet. Förändringen märks i första hand då rörelsen under 80-talet förvandlas till en ekonomiskt intresserad organisation med tjänstehierarkier och reglerat ansvar som påföljder. Den byråkratiska arbetsordningen urlakar inte bara rörelsens ideologi, utan tvingar också den nu demokratiskt tillsatte ledaren till radikala åtgärder för att återfå sin makt, något som når sin kulmen i en konflikt med ledarens sorti som yttersta konsekvens.

Movements and mechanical stresses in gas-filled flat plate solar collectors

Sealed gas filled flat plate solar collectors will have stresses in the material since volume and pressure varies in the gas when the temperature changes. Several geometries were analyzed and it could be seen that it is possible reducing the stresses and improve the safety factor of the weakest point in the construction by using larger area and/or reducing the distance between glass and absorber and/or change width and height relationship so the tubes are getting longer. Further it could be shown that the safety factor won't always get improved with reinforcements. It is so because when an already strong part of the collector gets reinforced it will expose weaker parts for higher stresses. The finite element method was used for finding out the stresses.

Gas-filled, flat plate solar collectors

This work treats the thermal and mechanical performances of gas-filled, flat plate solar collectors in order to achieve a better performance than that of air filled collectors. The gases examined are argon, krypton and xenon which all have lower thermal conductivity than air. The absorber is formed as a tray connected to the glass. The pressure of the gas inside is near to the ambient and since the gas volume will vary as the temperature changes, there are potential risks for fatigue in the material. One heat transfer model and one mechanical model were built. The mechanical model gave stresses and information on the movements. The factors of safety were calculated from the stresses, and the movements were used as input for the heat transfer model where the thermal performance was calculated. It is shown that gas-filled, flat plate solar collectors can be designed to achieve good thermal performance at a competitive cost. The best yield is achieved with a xenon gas filling together with a normal thick absorber, where normal thick means a 0.25 mm copper absorber. However, a great deal of energy is needed to produce the xenon gas, and if this aspect is taken into account, the krypton filling is better. Good thermal performance can also be achieved using less material; a collector with a 0.1 mm thick copper absorber and the third best gas, which is argon, still gives a better operating performance than a common, commercially produced, air filled collector with a 0.25 mm absorber. When manufacturing gas-filled flat plate solar collectors, one way of decreasing the total material costs significantly, is by changing absorber material from copper to aluminium. Best yield per monetary outlay is given by a thin (0.3 mm) alu-minium absorber with an argon filling. A high factor of safety is achieved with thin absorbers, large absorber areas, rectangular constructions with long tubes and short distances between glass and absorber. The latter will also give a thin layer of gas which gives good thermal performance. The only doubtii ful construction is an argon filled collector with a normal thick (> 0.50 mm) aluminium absorber. In general, an assessment of the stresses for the proposed construction together with appropriate tests are recommended before manufacturing, since it is hard to predict the factor of safety; if one part is reinforced, some other parts can experience more stress and the factor of safety actually drops.

Thermal losses in sealed, gas-filled flat plate solar collectors

A sealed space between absorber and cover glass makes it possible reducing the influence of humidity condensate and dust at the same time as the enclosed space can be filled with a suitable gas for lowering the losses. This paper is about the size of the losses in these collectors. A calculating model of a gas-filled flat plate solar collector was built in Matlab with standard heat transfer formulas. It showed that the total loss can be reduced up to 20% when changing to an inert gas. It is also possible using a much shorter distance and still achieve low losses at the same time as the mechanical stresses in the material is reduce.

"Vox Populi, Vox Dei" - A Discussion of Dissent Within the Modern Catholic Church

The final question is: what happens in the meantime? Is it effective to dissent while conservatives hold power and clearty are not about to make any major changes? What good does it do to repeatedly bang one's head against the wall when progress is not being made? There is no one simple answer to this question, but rather several applicable ones. The first possible answer is that dissent currently does little good. The conservative hierarchy is still the dominant force within Catholicism. This hierarchy has made a habit, evidenced by the birth control debate, of pressing its conservative agenda despite popular opposition. Many people think, that if this hierarchy has not given in to the mass of opinion against it yet, dissent is futile and useless. Why argue with someone who does not listen to your argument?

Opening the Windows of the Church to the World: The Creation of Nostra Aetate and Its Impact on the Christian-Jewish relationship

It is important to assert that this study is not a work to inflict guilt on the Catholics or Catholicism for their silence and indifference during the Holocaust. Instead, this study is about the process of moving on from the Catholic Church's past to where the Jewish community's theological existence was finally recognized and the Jewish people were no longer seen as the Others who killed Christ. This was, achieved through a church declaration titled Nostra Aetate (In Our Time). This study records the journey traversed by this declaration, the insurmountable odds it faced in its creation until its promulgation and the impact it has on the Jewish-Christian relationship.