The Least of These: American Evangelical Parachurch Missions to the Poor, 1947-2005

This dissertation narrates the historical development of American evangelical missions to the poor from 1947-2005 and analyzes the discourse of its main parachurch proponents, especially World Vision, Compassion International, Food for the Hungry, Samaritan's urse, Sojourners, Evangelicals for Social Action, and the Christian Community Development Association. Although recent scholarship on evangelicalism has been prolific, much of the historical work has focused on earlier periods. Sociological and political scientific scholarship on the postwar period has been attracted mostly to controversies surrounding the Religious Right, leaving evangelicalism's resurgent concern for the poor relatively understudied. This dissertation addresses these lacunae. The study consists of three chronological parts, each marked by a distinctive model of mission to the poor. First, the 1950s were characterized by compassionate charity for individual emergencies, a model that cohered neatly with evangelicalism's individualism and emotionalism. This model should be regarded as the quintessential, bedrock evangelical theory of mission to the poor. It remained strong throughout the entire postwar period. Second, in the 1970s, a strong countercurrent emerged that advocated for penitent protest against structural injustice and underdevelopment. In contrast to the first model, it was distinguished by going against the grain of many aspects of evangelical culture, especially its reflexive patriotism and individualism. Third, in the 1990s, an important movement towards developing potential through hopeful holism gained prominence. Its advocates were confident that their integration of biblical principles with insights from contemporary economic development praxis would contribute to drastic, widespread reductions in poverty. This model signaled a new optimism in evangelicalism's engagement with the broader world. The increasing prominence of missions to the poor within American evangelicalism led to dramatic changes within the movement's worldview: by 2005, evangelicals were mostly unified in their expressed concern for the physical and social needs of the poor, a position that radically reversed their immediate postwar worldview of near-exclusive focus on the spiritual needs of individuals. Nevertheless, missions to the poor also paralleled, reinforced, and hastened the increasing fragmentation of evangelicalism's identity, as each missional model advocated for highly variant approaches to poverty amelioration that were undergirded by diverse sociological, political, and theological assumptions.

William F. Albright Papers

This file contains a finding aid for the William F. Albright Collection. To access the collection, please contact the archivist (asorarch@bu.edu) at the American Schools of Oriental Research, located at Boston University.

Rambo's Interdisciplinary Approach to Religious Conversion: The Case of St. Augustine

This dissertation illustrates the merits of an interdisciplinary approach to religious conversion by employing Lewis Rambo’s systemic stage model to illumine the process of St. Augustine’s conversion. Previous studies of Augustine’s conversion have commonly explored his narrative of transformation from the perspective of one specific discipline, such as theology, history, or psychology. In doing so, they have necessarily restricted attention to a limited set of questions and problems. By bringing these disciplines into a structured, critical conversation, this study demonstrates how formulating and responding to the interplay among personal, social, cultural, and religious dimensions of Augustine’s conversion process may eventuate in the consideration of issues previously unarticulated and thus unaddressed. Rambo (1993) formulates a model of religious change that consists of what he calls context, crisis, quest, encounter, interaction, commitment, and consequences. Change is explained by drawing upon the research and scholarship of psychologists, sociologists, anthropologists, and religionists, in conjunction with the contributions of theologians. This study unfolds in the following chapters: I. Introduction; II. Literature review of scholarship about conversion, with emphasis on explication of Rambo’s model; III. A description of the case of Augustine, drawn from a close reading of the Confessions; IV. Literature review of scholarship about Augustine’s conversion; V. Interdisciplinary interpretation of Augustine’s conversion; and VI. Implications for scholars of conversion, and for pastoral caregivers, as well as recommendations for future research. This dissertation demonstrates how Augustine’s conversion experience was deeply influenced by 1) psychological distress and crisis; 2) the quest to know himself and the divine; 3) interactions with significant others; 4) participation in Christian communities; 5) philosophical and cultural changes; and 6) the encounter with the divine. As such, this study reveals the value of interpreting Augustine’s conversion as an evolving process constituted in multiple factors that can be differentiated from one another, yet clearly interact with one another. It examines the implications of constructing an interdisciplinary approach to Augustine’s conversion narrative for both the academy and the Christian community, and recommends the use of Rambo’s model in studies of other cases of religious change.

Ubuntu, Jesus, and Earth: Integrating African Religion and Christianity in Ecological Ethics

Africa faces problems of ecological devastation caused by economic exploitation, rapid population growth, and poverty. Capitalism, residual colonialism, and corruption undermine Africa's efforts to forge a better future. The dissertation describes how in Africa the mounting ecological crisis has religious, political, and economic roots that enable and promote social and environmental harm. It presents the thesis that religious traditions, including their ethical expressions, can effectively address the crisis, ameliorate its impacts, and advocate for social and environmental betterment, now and in the future. First, it examines African traditional religion and Christian teaching, which together provide the foundation for African Christianity. Critical examination of both religious worldviews uncovers their complementary emphases on human responsibility toward planet Earth and future generations. Second, an analysis of the Gwembe Tonga of Chief Simamba explores the interconnectedness of all elements of the universe in African cosmologies. In Africa, an interdependent, participatory relationship exists between the world of animals, the world of humans, and the Creator. In discussing the annual lwiindi (rain calling) ceremony of Simamba, the study explores ecological overtones of African religions. Such rituals illustrate the involvement of ancestors and high gods in maintaining ecological integrity. Third, the foundation of the African morality of abundant life is explored. Across Sub-Saharan Africa, ancestors' teachings are the foundation of morality; ancestors are guardians of the land. A complementary teaching that Christ is the ecological ancestor of all life can direct ethical responses to the ecological crisis. Fourth, the eco-social implications of ubuntu (what it means to be fully human) are examined. Some aspects of ubuntu are criticized in light of economic inequalities and corruption in Africa. However, ubuntu can be transformed to advocate for eco-social liberation. Fifth, the study recognizes that in some cases conflicts exist between ecological values and religious teachings. This conflict is examined in terms of the contrast between awareness of socioeconomic problems caused by population growth, on the one hand, and advocacy of a traditional African morality of abundant children, on the other hand. A change in the latter religious view is needed since overpopulation threatens sustainable living and the future of Earth. The dissertation concludes that the identification of Jesus with African ancestors and theological recognition of Jesus as the ecological ancestor, woven together with ubuntu, an ethic of interconnectedness, should characterize African consciousness and promote resolution of the socio-ecological crisis.

Wearable wireless inertial measurement for sports applications

A wearable WIMU (Wireless Inertial Measurement Unit) [1] system for sports applications based on Tyndall's 25mm mote technology [2] has been developed to identify tennis performance determining factors, giving coaches & players improved feedback [3, 4]. Multiple WIMUs transmit player motion data to a PC/laptop via a receiver unit. Internally the WIMUs consist of: an IMU layer with MEMS based sensors; a microcontroller/transceiver layer; and an interconnect layer with supplemental 70g accelerometers and a lithium-ion battery. Packaging consists of a robust ABS plastic case with internal padding, a power switch, battery charging port and status LED with Velcro-elastic straps that are used to attach the device to the player. This offers protection from impact, sweat, and movement of sensors which could cause degradation in device performance. In addition, an important requirement for this device is that it needs to be lightweight and comfortable to wear. Calibration ensures that misalignment of the accelerometer and magnetometer axes are accounted for, allowing more accurate measurements to be made.

An automated calibration tool for high performance wireless inertial measurement in professional sports

Traditional motion capture techniques, for instance, those employing optical technology, have long been used in the area of rehabilitation, sports medicine and performance analysis, where accurately capturing bio-mechanical data is of crucial importance. However their size, cost, complexity and lack of portability mean that their use is often impractical. Low cost MEMS inertial sensors when combined and assembled into a Wireless Inertial Measurement Unit (WIMU) present a possible solution for low cost and highly portable motion capture. However due to the large variability inherent to MEMS sensors, such a system would need extensive characterization to calibrate each sensor and ensure good quality data capture. A completely calibrated WIMU system would allow for motion capture in a wider range of real-world, non-laboratory based applications. Calibration can be a complex task, particularly for newer, multi-sensing range capable inertial sensors. As such we present an automated system for quickly and easily calibrating inertial sensors in a packaged WIMU, demonstrating some of the improvements in accuracy attainable.

Synthetic and mechanistic aspects of the reactions of α-diazosulfoxides

The research described in this thesis focuses, principally, on synthesis of stable α-diazosulfoxides and investigation of their reactivity under various reaction conditions (transition-metal catalysed, photochemical, thermal and microwave) with a particular emphasis on the reactive intermediates and mechanistic aspects of the reaction pathways involved. In agreement with previous studies carried out on these compounds, the key reaction pathway of α-diazosulfoxides was found to be hetero-Wolff rearrangement to give α-oxosulfine intermediates. However, a competing reaction pathway involving oxygen migration from sulfur to oxygen was also observed. Critically, isomerisation of α-oxosulfine stereoisomers was observed directly by 1H NMR spectroscopy in this work and this observation accounts for the stereochemical outcomes of the various cycloaddition reactions, whether carried out with in situ trapping or with preformed solutions of sulfines. Furthermore, matrix isolation experiments have shown that electrocyclisation of α-oxosulfines to oxathiiranes takes place and this verifies the proposed mechanisms for enol and disulfide formation. The introductory chapter includes a brief literature review of the synthesis and reactivity of α-diazosulfoxides prior to the commencement of research in this field by the Maguire group. The Wolff rearrangement is also discussed and the characteristic reactions of a number of reactive intermediates (sulfines, sulfenes and oxathiiranes) are outlined. The use of microwave-assisted organic synthesis is also examined, specifically, in the context of α-diazocarbonyl compounds as substrates. The second chapter describes the synthesis of stable monocyclic and bicyclic lactone derivatives of α-diazosulfoxides from sulfide precursors according to established experimental procedures. Approaches to precursors of ketone and sulfimide derivatives of α-diazosulfoxides are also described. The third chapter examines the reactivity of α-diazosulfoxides under thermal, microwave, rhodium(II)-catalysed and photochemical conditions. Comparison of the results obtained under thermal and microwave conditions indicates that there was no evidence for any effect, other than thermal, induced by microwave irradiation. The results of catalyst studies involving several rhodium(II) carboxylate and rhodium(II) carboxamidate catalysts are outlined. Under photochemical conditions, sulfur extrusion is a significant reaction pathway while under thermal or transition metal catalysed conditions, oxygen extrusion is observed. One of the most important observations in this work was the direct spectroscopic observation (by 1H NMR) of interconversion of the E and Z-oxosulfines. Trapping of the α-oxosulfine intermediates as cycloadducts by reaction with 2,3-dimethyl-1,3-butadiene proved useful both synthetically and mechanistically. As the stereochemistry of the α-oxosulfine is retained in the cycloadducts, this provided an ideal method for characterisation of this key feature. In the case of one α-oxosulfine, a novel [2+2] cycloaddition was observed. Preliminary experiments to investigate the reactivity of an α-diazosulfone under rhodium(II) catalysis and microwave irradiation are also described. The fourth chapter describes matrix isolation experiments which were carried out in Rühr Universität, Bochum in collaboration with Prof. Wolfram Sander. These experiments provide direct spectroscopic evidence of an α-oxosulfine intermediate formed by hetero-Wolff rearrangement of an α-diazosulfoxide and subsequent cyclisation of the sulfine to an oxathiirane was also observed. Furthermore, it was possible to identify which stereoisomer of the α-oxosulfine was present in the matrix. A preliminary laser flash photolysis experiment is also discussed. The experimental details, including all spectral and analytical data, are reported at the end of each chapter. The structural interpretation of 1H NMR spectra of the cycloadducts, described in Chapter 3, is discussed in Appendix I.

Deer forests, game shooting and landed estates in the South West of Ireland, 1840 - 1970

This thesis is concentrated on the historical aspects of the elitist field sports of deer stalking and game shooting, as practiced by four Irish landed ascendancy families in the south west of Ireland. Four great estates were selected for study. Two of these were, by Irish standards, very large: the Kenmare estate of over 136,000 acres in the ownership of the Roman Catholic Earls of Kenmare, and the Herbert estate of over 44,000 acres in the ownership of the Protestant Herbert family. The other two were, in relative terms, small: the Grehan estate of c.7,500 acres in the ownership of the Roman Catholic Grehan family, and the Godfrey estate of c.5,000 acres, in the ownership of the Protestant Barons Godfrey. This mixture of contrasting estate size, owner's religions, nobleman, minor aristocrat and untitled gentry should, it is argued, yield a diversity of the field sports and lifestyles of their owners, and go some way to assess the contributions, good or bad, they have bequeathed to modern Ireland. Equally, it should help in assessing what importance, if any, applied to hunting. In this context, hunting is here used in its broadest meaning, and includes deer stalking and game shooting, as well as hunting with dogs and hounds on foot and horseback. Where a specific type of hunting is involved, it is so described; for example, fox hunting, stag hunting, hare hunting. Similarly, the term game is sometimes used in sporting literature to encompass all species of quarry killed, and can include deer, ground game (hares and rabbits), waterfowl, and various species of game birds. Where it refers to specific species, these are so described; for example grouse, pheasants, woodcork, wild duck, etc. Since two of these estates - the Kenmare and Herbert - each created a deer forest, unique in mid-19th century Ireland, they form the core study estates; the two smaller estates serve as comparative studies. And, equally unique, as these two larger estates held the only remnant population of native Irish red deer, the survival of that herd itself forms a concomitant core area of analysis. The numerary descriptions applied to these animals in popular literature are critically reassessed against prime source historical evidence, as are the so-called deer forest 'clearances'. The core period, 1840 to 1970, is selected as the seminal period, spanning 130 years, from the creation of the deer forests to when a fundamental change in policy and administration was introduced by the state. Comparison is made with similar estates elsewhere, in Britain and especially in Scotland. Their influence on the Irish methods and style of hunting is historically examined.

Synthetic and stereochemical aspects of intramolecular reactions of α-diazoketones catalysed by rhodium(II) carboxylates

Chapter 1 of this thesis is a brief introduction to the preparation and reactions of α-diazocarbonyl compounds, with particular emphasis on the areas relating to the research undertaken: C-H insertion, addition to aromatics, and oxonium ylide generation and rearrangement. A short summary of catalyst development illustrates the importance of rhodium(II)carboxylates for α-diazocarbonyl decomposition. Chapter 2 describes intramolecular C-H insertion reactions of α-diazo-β-keto sulphones to form substituted cyclopentanones. Rhodium(II) carboxylates derived from homochiral carboxylic acids were used as catalysts in these reactions and enantioselection achieved through their use is discussed. Chapter 3 describes intramolecular Buchner cyclisation of aryl diazoketones with emphasis on the stereochemical aspects of the cyclisation and subsequent reaction of the bicyclo[5.3.0]decatrienones produced. The partial asymmetric synthesis achieved through use of chiral rhodium(II) carboxylates as catalysts is discussed. The application of the intramolecular Buchner reaction to the synthesis of hydroazulene lactones is illustrated. Chapter 4 demonstrates oxonium ylide formation and rearrangement in the decomposition of an α-diazoketone. The consequences of the use of chiral rhodium(II) carboxylates as catalysts are described. Particularly significant was the discovery that rhodium(II) (S)-mandelate acts as a very efficient catalyst for α-diazoketone decompositions, in general. Moderate asymmetric induction was possible in the decomposition of α-diazoketones with chiral rhodium(II) carboxylates, with rhodium(II) (S)-mandelate being one of the more enantioselective catalysts investigated. However, the asymmetric induction obtained was very dependent on the exact structure of the α-diazoketone, the catalyst, and the nature of the reaction. Chapter 5 contains the experimental details, and the spectral and analytical data for all new compounds reported.

Urbanisation and sport participation in townships in China

Urbanisation as a phenomenon is a complex social process which can be quite difficult to define and understand. In recent years, urbanisation in China has developed at an ever increasing rate. Urban population rates have now surpassed 50% (figure from 2011). Based on the growing importance placed on the increasing number of urbanised/urbanising townships, the issue of people’s lives within the townships has also become an important feature in regard to the impact that urbanisation is having upon China. Clearly this links China’s urban development to the transformation of sport participation in China. This research aims to examine what the reality of the sport participation on-the-ground is within six selective townships in China and examine the reasons for the reality through the lens of figurational theory. In order to do so, some features of Norbert Elias’s figurational theory (involvement and detachment, power) are employed as the theoretical framework. Two townships in Lüliang of Shanxi province, two townships in Jincheng of Shanxi Province and two townships in Huizhou of Guangdong province were selected in order to answer these key questions. The three cities which the townships are located are in different stages of urbanisation. Semi-structured interview were conducted. The current situation were described from the aspects of age, gender, occupation and income aspects and the transformation of sport participation. This research concludes that the current sport participation situation within these six townships is due to the influences stemming from several aspects: sport policy and sport organisation; economy condition, culture, urbanisation, and self-requirement and individual interest towards sport. This power forms a network of interdependency which also aids our understanding of the current sport participation within these six selected Chinese townships.

Investigations into selective metabolic aspects of bifidobacteria: carbohydrate metabolism, fatty acid biosynthesis and plasmid biology

The gastrointestinal tract (GIT) is a diverse ecosystem, and is colonised by a diverse array of bacteria, of which bifidobacteria are a significant component. Bifidobacteria are Gram-positive, saccharolytic, non-motile, non-sporulating, anaerobic, Y-shaped bacteria, which possess a high GC genome content. Certain bifidobacteria possess the ability to produce conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) from linoleic acid (LA) by a biochemical pathway that is hypothesised to be achieved via a linoleic isomerase. In Chapter two of this thesis it was found that the MCRA-specifying gene is not involved in CLA production in B. breve NCFB 2258, and that this gene specifies an oleate hydratase involved in the conversion of oleic acid into 10-hydroxystearic acid. Prebiotics are defined as non-digestible food ingredients that beneficially affect the host by selectively stimulating growth and/or activity of one or a limited number of bacteria in the colon. Key to the development of such novel prebiotics is to understand which carbohydrates support growth of bifidobacteria and how such carbohydrates are metabolised. In Chapter 3 of this thesis we describe the identification and characterisation of two neighbouring gene clusters involved in the metabolism of raffinose-containing carbohydrates (plus related carbohydrate melibiose) and melezitose by Bifidobacterium breve UCC2003. The fourth chapter of this thesis describes the analysis of transcriptional regulation of the raf and mel clusters. In the final experimental chapter two putative rep genes, designated repA7017 and repB7017, are identified on the megaplasmid pBb7017 of B. breve JCM 7017, the first bifidobacterial megaplasmid to be reported. One of these, repA7017, was subjected to an in-depth characterisation. The work described in this thesis has resulted in an improved understanding of bifidobacterial fatty acid and carbohydrate metabolism, Furthermore, attempts were made to develop novel genetic tools.