This dissertation presents the results of a two-year ethnographic study among individuals who practice yoga and/or chiropractic care in Victoria, British Columbia, focusing on their experiences of their musculoskeletal systems. Anthropological research has examined the ways in which we live and experience our bodies as part of how we are in the world (cf. Csordas 1994, 1990; Merleau-Ponty 2007). In comparison with fleshed bodies, skeletons, as foundational aspects of living, breathing corporeality, have remained under-theorised and under-examined as essential aspects of how we perceive our everyday lives. I approach the skeleton as a critical space of bodies, a part of the internal material world that shapes not only the body as an object, but how we are in the world as subjects. Observations at two yoga studios and interviews with 21 individuals enable me to explore the skeleton’s space and place in the lived experiences of embodied selves. My analysis of interview narratives draws principally from theories of materiality and material(s) (Sofaer 2012; Ingold 2007), Mol’s “the body multiple” (2002) and Taylor’s notion of “surfacing” (2005). I argue that skeletal embodiment is deeply material, sensory and sensorial, personal, and critical in the formation of what I am calling the “skeletal subjectivity” of an individual. Specifically, I suggest how, skeletally, bodily-ness is experienced by participants as a means to se prendre en main, that is, ‘taking hold’, ‘taking care of one’s self’, ‘taking one’s self in one’s hands.’ I argue that, among these yoga and chiropractic practitioners, skeletal embodiment and subjectivity is navigated through materiality—that bodies “surface” in various ways through participants experiences and stories (Taylor 2005). My analysis contributes to the anthropology of the body by including skeletal lives as part of our embodiment without discounting previous notions of embodiment or of bodies in general. My idea of se prennent en main is a novel addition to conceptualizing embodiment, encouraging researchers to consider closely how individuals may respond to their sensorial and material body in living their lives. / Graduate

While side-scan sonar has become a valuable geophysical tool for forensic water searches, controlled research is paramount to determine the best practices for searches in aquatic environments as it provides a structured environment in which to investigate variables that influence the effectiveness of the technology and provides valuable experience for sonar operators. The purpose of this research is to conduct controlled research in order to evaluate the applicability of side-scan sonar to searches involving submerged firearms and proxy cadavers. In addition, the best practices for employing this technology in forensic searches in freshwater ponds and lakes in a humid, subtropical environment in Central Florida would be developed. Five street-level firearms were submerged in a pond, and two sets of three pig carcasses (Sus scrofa), utilized as proxies for human bodies, were staked to the bottom of a pond for this research. Transects were conducted over the firearms and the pig carcasses utilizing side-scan sonar. The first set of pig carcasses represented a child size (30-32 kg) and the second set a small adult size (51-54 kg). Results show that firearms were not detected due to the terrain and small size. However, this technology successfully located small to medium-sized proxy carcasses on a flat, sandy lake bottom when experienced operators were conducting the search. Conversely, vegetation obscured submerged bodies. While the smaller carcasses were difficult to detect throughout the data collection, medium-sized carcasses were easily discerned. Moreover, the medium-sized carcasses decomposed at the same rate as previous studies and were visible throughout each stage of decomposition. Finally, employing a 900 kHz frequency with a 20 m swath-width provided the best search parameters. Therefore, in the appropriate conditions, iv side-scan sonar is an effective tool for locating submerged bodies in freshwater lakes and ponds in a humid, subtropical environment.

Children's right to their bodies is something that is constantly relevant in society and this essay is based on preschool teachers' ideas about children's bodies. The purpose of this study is to investigate which discourses govern preschool teachers' perceptions of children's bodies in their practice. The purpose is also to examine power structures based on preschool teachers' ideas about children's bodies from an intersectional perspective. The essay uses theories such as subject positions, discourses and power order. In the essay, there are 15 participants who have worked in the preschool between 1 year and 20 years. The method is questionnaire questions and it´s a qualitative study in that the essay has a scientific approach from a Poststructuralist direction. The thesis theoretical approach is based on Ernesto Laclau &amp; Chantal Mouffe discourse analysis. In results and analysis, it becomes clear that children'sbodies construct by a child having, receiving and being given different subject positions in different discourses. The pre-school teachers' performances revealed six basic discourses with four sub-discourses. These discourses and subject positions are made visible, fighting with and against each other. The first discourse is a person with rights. which includes a subject position such as that children are considered a human being with rights and the right to be different. The second discourse is a gender binary discourse that is influenced by discourse based on appearance. Subject positions are girl and boy. The third discourse is a discourse on gender identity that is also affected by a future discourse. Subject positions are gender identities that are made visible, invisible and created while waiting for the gender identity to be found and to find oneself in the future. The fourth discourse is discourses about Swedishness and which are also influenced by a family discourse. Subject positions are children with a foreign background and culture as well as children born in Sweden who are“expected” to have a Swedish culture. The family background also becomes something that affects children's subject position. The fifth discourse is a discourse on integrity and sexuality that is influenced by a discourse on protecting and teaching the child. Subject positions are that the child is both strong, protective, vulnerable and independent. Something that is also asub-discourse is health discourse. Subject positions that the child receives are healthy, unhealthy and active. The sixth discourse is the discourse of the body as a function. Subject position is that children's body is considered unusual and invisible. The discussion is raised on the basis of a societal level around Christianity, Swedishness and racism, heteronormativity and children's rights. / <p>2022-06-02</p>

The theory of Newton-Okounkov bodies can be viewed as a generalization of the theory of toric varieties; it associates a convex body to an arbitrary variety (equipped with auxiliary data). Although initial steps have been taken for formulating geometric situations under which the Newton-Okounkov body is a rational polytope, there is much that is still unknown. In particular, very few concrete and explicit examples have been computed thus far. In this thesis, we explicitly compute Newton-Okounkov bodies of some cases of Bott-Samelson and Peterson varieties (for certain classes of auxiliary data on these varieties). Both of these varieties arise, for instance, in the geometric study of representation theory. Background on the theory of Newton-Okounkov bodies and the geometry of flag and Grassmannian varieties is provided, and well as background on Bott-Samelson varieties, Hessenberg varieties, and Peterson varieties. In the last chapter we also discuss how certain techniques developed in this thesis can be generalized. In particular, a generalization of the flat family of Hessenberg varieties constructed in Chapter 6, which may allow us to compute Newton-Okounkov bodies of more general Peterson varieties, is an ongoing collaboration with H. Abe and M. Harada. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Few topics of discussion within international human rights law are as riddled with confusion as that concerning the legal status or normative significance of the United Nations Human Rights Treaty Bodies and their work. The treaty bodies, in its work, generate a form of jurisprudence – a body of norms and directives about how state parties ought to act in order to comply fully with the treaties. The prevailing issue within the legal practice and academic debate is often presented as a dilemma: are the norms generated by the treaty bodies binding or not? This paper takes a somewhat different approach, arguing that the treaty bodies’ normative output, all the while legal in nature, is best understood as non-binding, yet maintain the function of giving the states parties to the respective treaties reasons for action. Thus, discarding with the binary ‘grammar’ defended by some of the leading international law scholars, where law equals binding and obligatory, and non-binding and non-obligatory equals non-law. Instead, this paper suggest a third option which better fits the actual function that treaty body output serves within the practice of international human rights law. Also, since the resulting norms do not have binding force, the requirement of state consent should be proportionally weakened, giving rise to the possibility that the state may be subject to legal norms without its consent.

South of Here is a coming-of-age story that follows a group of teenage boys through their journey into adulthood. Set against the backdrop of rural northwestern Connecticut, the book delves into the challenges of coping with grief, addiction, and the weight of adult responsibilities. Through the eyes of the speaker, readers are taken on a journey of self-discovery and acceptance as they come to terms with their queerness and the complexities of their relationships with blood family while building a community of chosen family. South of Here explores the stories that shape our identities, whether we were there for them or not. And through it all, the speaker learns how to undead the dead and move forward in the face of loss and pain. South of Here is a testament to the resilience of youth and the power of community to heal and transform. / Master of Fine Arts / South of Here is a poetry collection.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.