Intitulée : «La connaissance de soi, dans la perspective de Socrate», cette thèse a pour but d’étudier les caractéristiques de la démarche de Socrate, en ce qui concerne la connaissance de soi et son importance. La mise en œuvre de la vie humaine, telle qu’elle mérite d’être vécue, au sens socratique, est l’objectif indispensable de cet engagement philosophico-spirituel, qui consiste à rendre à l’homme, l’identité existentielle qui lui est essentiellement propre. C’est donc à la recherche de cette identité concrète, que Socrate a toujours invité ses interlocuteurs, et invite encore les lecteurs, à faire usage de leur intellect, afin de découvrir la partie la plus divine de leur âme. La question de la connaissance de soi, dans la perspective de Socrate relève plus précisément de la connaissance de l’âme, considérée comme le véritable soi, portant en elle l’empreinte divine. Par conséquent, se connaître soi-même vise la contemplation de cette particularité propre à l’homme, laquelle le conduit à son excellence. L’aspect subjectif de cette entreprise rationnelle, garantit totalement l’indépendance de l’individu, à la recherche de lui-même, lui permettant également d’acquérir les connaissances qui résident en lui, selon la théorie de la réminiscence. D’où la nécessité de s’appliquer à cette tâche essentielle de l’existence humaine, afin de lui donner un véritable sens humain. La connaissance de l’intelligible―faisant partie intégrante de sa recherche―, cet éveilleur de l’esprit a mis en œuvre, d’une manière extraordinaire, les outils essentiels de sa philosophie pratique, à savoir : la dialectique, la réfutation et la maïeutique, portées par son Amour, en vue de faire sortir ses semblables de leur caverne d’ignorance, en les invitant à se diriger vers le monde intelligible. Il ne s’agit donc pas de chercher un idéal, dans l’espoir de de s’y conformer, ce qui met en péril la liberté du sujet, mais de s’accomplir le plus concrètement, le plus parfaitement possible, comme un être humain excellemment achevé. C’est dans ce contexte précis, que la connaissance de soi, dans la perspective de Socrate, sera prise comme le modèle par excellence de cet accomplissement. / Entitled “Self-khowledge, from the perspective of Socrates” this thesis intends to examine fundamental characteristics of the Socrates’ authentic approach to self-knowledge, and the utmost importance of it. Implementation of human life, as it deserves to be lived, in the Socratic sense of the word, is the essential purpose of this philosophical and spiritual commitment, which aims at giving back to the human being the ontological identity, of his own by essence. Therefore, Socrates always invited his interlocutors, and still now invites his readers, to search for this concrete identification, and to use their intellect in order to discover the most divine part of their soul. The self-knowledge problem in the Socrates’ perspective is questioned here, for it precisely comes from the soul knowledge, considered as the genuine one-self, bearing in it the heavenly imprint. Therefore, “to know one-self“ aims at contemplating the divine part of our one-self, which leads the man to his excellence, as such he is destined to become. The subjective aspect of this rational enterprise gives a guarantee of total independence to the individual seeking his one-self. It also allows him to acquire the knowledge that lies in him according to the “reminiscence theory, “hence the necessity for him is to take great care of this essential task of a human life, in order to give it a real human significance. To know what is intelligible, being an integral part of his research, “He who awakened the mind“developed in a wonderful manner essential tools of his practical philosophy which are: dialectics, refutation, maieutic, as supported by his Love, intending to let his fellow-men to get out of their “cave“ of ignorance, by inducing them to head for the intelligible world. It does not mean to seek an ideal with the hope to look like it, which unquestionably puts at risk the individual’s freedom, but to find out one’s own fulfilment in the most possible concrete and perfect way as an excellently accomplished human being. In this very context, self-knowledge, such as Socrates meant it, will be considered as the pre-eminent model of this accomplishment.

abstract: The Game As Life - Life As Game (GALLAG) project investigates how people might change their lives if they think of and/or experience their life as a game. The GALLAG system aims to help people reach their personal goals through the use of context-aware computing, and tailored games and applications. To accomplish this, the GALLAG system uses a combination of sensing technologies, remote audio/video feedback, mobile devices and an application programming interface (API) to empower users to create their own context-aware applications. However, the API requires programming through source code, a task that is too complicated and abstract for many users. This thesis presents GALLAG Strip, a novel approach to programming sensor-based context-aware applications that combines the Programming With Demonstration technique and a mobile device to enable users to experience their applications as they program them. GALLAG Strip lets users create sensor-based context-aware applications in an intuitive and appealing way without the need of computer programming skills; instead, they program their applications by physically demonstrating their envisioned interactions within a space using the same interface that they will later use to interact with the system, that is, using GALLAG-compatible sensors and mobile devices. GALLAG Strip was evaluated through a study with end users in a real world setting, measuring their ability to program simple and complex applications accurately and in a timely manner. The evaluation also comprises a benchmark with expert GALLAG system programmers in creating the same applications. Data and feedback collected from the study show that GALLAG Strip successfully allows users to create sensor-based context-aware applications easily and accurately without the need of prior programming skills currently required by the GALLAG system and enables them to create almost all of their envisioned applications. / Dissertation/Thesis / M.S. Computer Science 2012

Une dizaine de compagnies s’efforcent actuellement au Japon d’améliorer le réalisme d’ersatz humains commercialisés comme poupées sexuelles sous le nom de love doll. L’enquête, principalement menée au sein de la firme Orient Industrie – leader sur le marché des reproductions de corps féminins – porte sur le travail de recherche mené par les designers, les ingénieurs et les commerciaux pour donner aux poupées, sur le plan technique, esthétique et marketing, l’apparence d’êtres conscients, dotés d’une vie intérieure. Quels procédés mettent-ils en œuvre pour créer un « effet de présence »? En évitant de reproduire l’humain à l’identique, ils élaborent une créature imaginaire qui questionne ce qu’est l’humain, au-delà de la forme. Cette créature, dont la fonction première est de susciter le désir, s’offre paradoxalement comme une sorte de véhicule vacant, absent, en attente, qui simule l’humain en s’en faisant le miroir… renvoyant ses créateurs, ses utilisateurs et peut-être aussi la société tout entière à la problématique de la personne comme réceptacle. La thèse se compose de trois parties qui abordent la love doll sous ses aspects principaux : en tant que « substitut » (migawari), en tant que « miroir » (kagami), en tant que « double » (bunshin). Ces trois termes sont, dans l'ordre, les plus souvent évoqués par ses créateurs autant que par ses utilisateurs. Ils correspondent à trois discours qui contribuent à faire de la love doll le produit d’un travail collectif et interactif visant, sous couvert de jeu, à construire la notion même d’humain. / Most of the artificial life systems produced in Japan are designed to create a humanlike presence. My researches target the market of life-size dolls equipped with articulated skeleton and a silicone flesh truer than nature. More precisely, it relates to these love doll that less than a dozen companies are currently improving, establishing themselves as the world leaders in this pioneer field. One company particularly got my attention : Orient Industry – the first company in the history of japanese doll business – plays a key role in driving innovation. I focused on the manufacturing process of these products marketed as “substitute wives”, trying to understand how engineers, designers and trade marketing specialists give the doll the appearance of a thinking and feeling being. It appeared that they did not try to create an exact reproduction of a person, but – on the contrary –, something unreal, empty and incomplete. My goal was ultimely to understand the way interaction with objects could be made possible in Japan, through dolls developed as “vacant vehicles”… The study of these realistic bodies led me to understand how Japanese succeed in creating life and consciousness out of inanimate objects. The thesis is composed of three parts which deal with the main aspects of the love doll : she is talked about as a “substitute” (migawari), as a “mirror” (kagami) and as a “double” (bunshin). These three words are the most oftenpronounced by its creators as much as by its users. They correspond to three discourses which contribute to brand the love doll as collective and interactive work aiming, in the guise of game, to build the concept of human.

Ce travail est une analyse du concept de représentation tel qu'il peut s'élaborer à partir de la symbolique des quatre éléments (air, terre, eau, feu) dans des textes aussi bien religieux ou littéraires que philosophiques. A travers les notions voisines de participation, d'analogie, de pli ou de chair qui posent le problème du rapport de l'âme au corps, nous cernons peu à peu la représentation comme une prise de conscience saisissante qui, paradoxalement, correspond à un acte de distanciation du sujet par rapport à son monde. Quel est le statut de cette "présence-absence"? C'est non seulement le rapport du subjectif à l'objectif qui est interrogé mais aussi de façon plus générale celui de l'intimité à l'altérité. Nous tentons de montrer comment ces matières premières que sont les quatre éléments, "hormones de l'imagination" selon Gaston Bachelard, figurent concrètement la problématique d'une médiation entre le sensible et l'intelligible. Ils articulent en effet nos perceptions à diverses symbolisations par un recours à l'image. En ce sens, on peut les définir comme de véritables métaphores d'un processus de représentation ouvert sur la réflexion et la création. Au-delà de l'analyse d'une articulation entre la sensation et l'idée, c'est bien la question du sens qui est posée : que se joue-t-il, affectivement, dans notre attention au monde ? Comment la littérature utilise-t-elle la symbolique des éléments afin d'extérioriser la subjectivité et de partager une spiritualité commune ? Pourquoi les hommes ont-ils besoin de mettre leur vie en scène et de lui accorder une dimension sacrée ? / Confronting different philosophical, religious and literary pieces of work, this thesis studies the concept of representation through the use of the four elements: Air, Earth, Water and Fire. Through the similar notions of participation, analogy, fold or flesh which bring up the question of relationship between body and soul, we realize that the representation, or staging, is an obvious way to understand this relationship, and is also, paradoxically, a way for the subject to put a distance between himself and the world. How can we understand this "presence-absence" ambivalence? In order to do it we have to question the relationship between objectivity and subjectivity and furthermore the one between intimacy and otherness. We want to demonstrate that these four elements, these raw materials also known as "hormones of the imagination" in Gaston Bachelard's work, are, in practical terms, a link between our senses and our mind. Using the medium "image" they help us to understand how we perceive different symbolisms. Therefore, they are metaphors of a representation process open upon the thinking and the creative worlds. Beyond studying the connection between feelings and thoughts, we are interested in the senses themselves: how do they affect our perception of the world? How does literature use the symbolic nature of the elements in order to express a subjectivity and to share a common spirituality? Why do human beings need to dramatize life and add a sacred dimension to it?

FundaÃÃo Cearense de Apoio ao Desenvolvimento Cientifico e TecnolÃgico / With the aim of aggregating value to the productive chain of coconut and to expand its agrobusiness, Embrapa AgroindÃstria Tropical (Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation, Tropical Agroindustry National Centre) developed a system for processing the husk of immature coconut in order to produce fibre and coir dust, which have several environmental and commercial applications. During the pressing stage, a liquid is generated, denominated Coconut Husk Liquor (CHL), which contains high concentration of organic matter (varying form 60 to 80 gDQO/L), including tannins. In this work, the performance of an Upflow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket Reactor (UASB) and a Fungi Biological Reactor (FBR) were evaluated for the treatment of CHL. The lab-scale UASB reactor, with a working volume of 16,8L, was operated during 222 days with an increasing organic loading rate (OLR), starting from 2.2 kgCOD/m3.d and reaching up to 10 kgCOD/m3.d. The lab-scale FBR, with a working volume of 100L, was operated with OLR of 5,0 kgCOD/m3.d, during 116 days, and then with OLR of 2,5 kgCOD/m3.d during 158 days. The performance of UASB reactor evaluated based on influent and effluent COD and total tannins; sludge specific methanogenic activity (SMA) and anaerobic toxicity; gas production and composition; pH, alkalinity and volatile fatty acids; and sludge retention time. The performance of FBR was monitored on the basis of on influent and effluent COD, total tannins and suspended solids. Other analysis were also accomplished: aerobic CHL biodegradability, sludge stability, and effect of Aspergillus niger on the degradation of CHL. Results showed that UASB reactor was maintained stable during the whole operation, with COD removal efficiency higher than 80%, total tannins removal efficiency of around 48%, and the ratio AGV/alkalinity lower than 0,30. Biogas presented 75% of methane on its composition. Toxicity tests demonstrated that CHL was not toxic to the methanogenic consortia. FBR was initially inoculated with Aspergillus niger AN-400. However, this fungus was substituted by the yeast that is natural on coconut husk, which was confirmed by tests carried out on Petri plate tests. When this reactor was operated with OLR of 5.0 kgCOD/m3.d and without sludge removal, the COD removal efficiency was around 58%. The performance improved up to 91% when OLR was decreased to 2.5 kgCOD/m3.d and sludge was weekly removed from the top or reactor. During this period, total tannin removal efficiency was approximately 15%. Despite the low tannin removal efficiency, this aerobic reactors can be used as an alternative for easy-degradable organic matter, facilitating the recovering of tannins for commercial uses. Results obtained from Petri plate tests show that Aspergillus niger AN-400 was able to grow in a medium with CHL. However, results from batch tests demonstrated that this species did not affect the DQO and tannins removal rates, when it is inoculated in a solution with raw CHL. The configuration of the reactor with fungi used in this research showed operational problems related with excess biomass removal. / Buscando agregar valor à cadeia produtiva do coco e expandir o agronegÃcio envolvido, a Embrapa AgroindÃstria Tropical desenvolveu um sistema de beneficiamento da casca do coco verde para produÃÃo de pà e fibra que tem diversas aplicaÃÃes ambientais e comerciais. Durante a etapa de prensagem do beneficiamento deste resÃduo, à gerado um lÃquido denominado LÃquido da Casca do Coco Verde (LCCV), que apresenta elevada concentraÃÃo de matÃria orgÃnica, cuja DQO varia de 60 a 80 gO2/L, incluindo taninos. Nesta Tese avaliou-se a performance de um reator anaerÃbio de fluxo ascendente e manta de lodo (Upflow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket â UASB) e um Reator BiolÃgico com Fungos (RBF) para tratamento do LCCV. O UASB escala de bancada (16,8L) foi operado durante 222 dias, com carga orgÃnica volumÃtrica (COV) crescente, iniciando com 2,2 KgDQO/mÂ.d, e finalizando com 10,0 KgDQO/mÂ.d. O RBF escala de bancada (100L) foi operado com COV de 5,0 KgDQO/mÂ.d durante 116 dias, e em seguida com COV de 2,5 KgDQO/mÂ.d durante 158 dias. A performance do UASB foi avaliada atravÃs de determinaÃÃes de DQO e taninos totais do afluente e efluente; atividade metanogÃnica especÃfica (AME) do lodo e toxicidade anaerÃbia; composiÃÃo e produÃÃo de biogÃs; pH, alcalinidade e Ãcidos graxos volÃteis (AGV). A performance do RBF foi monitorada atravÃs de determinaÃÃes de DQO, taninos totais e sÃrie de sÃlidos do afluente e efluente. AlÃm disso, foram realizados alguns ensaios: Biodegradabilidade aerÃbia do LCCV, estabilidade anaerÃbia do lodo, e o efeito da espÃcie Aspergillus niger AN 400 na degradaÃÃo do LCCV. Os resultados demonstraram que o UASB manteve-se estÃvel durante a operaÃÃo, com eficiÃncia de remoÃÃo de DQO superior a 80% e de taninos em torno de 48%. A razÃo AGV/alcalinidade ficou sempre inferior a 0,30. O biogÃs apresentou composiÃÃo de 75% de metano. Os ensaios de toxicidade demonstraram que o LCCV nÃo foi tÃxico à biomassa metanogÃnica presente no UASB. O RBF foi inicialmente inoculado com Aspergillus niger AN 400. No entanto, atravÃs de anÃlises microbiolÃgicas, foi comprovado que este fungo foi substituÃdo por leveduras naturalmente presentes no LCCV. Quando este reator foi operado com COV de 5,0 KgDQO/mÂ.d, e sem descarte de biomassa, a eficiÃncia de remoÃÃo de DQO ficou em torno de 58%. Esta eficiÃncia aumentou para 91% quando a COV aplicada diminuiu para 2,5 KgDQO/mÂ.d, e foram realizados descartes semanais da biomassa localizada na parte superior do reator. Neste perÃodo, a remoÃÃo mÃdia de taninos foi de 15%. Apesar desta baixa remoÃÃo de taninos, reatores aerÃbios podem ser usados como alternativas para remoÃÃo de matÃria orgÃnica facilmente degradÃvel, viabilizando a recuperaÃÃo dos taninos para uso comercial. Os resultados obtidos em testes em placas de Petri demonstraram que a espÃcie fÃngica Aspergillus Niger AN 400 foi capaz de se desenvolver em meio contendo LCCV. Contudo, resultados dos testes em batelada demonstraram que esta espÃcie nÃo alterou as taxas de remoÃÃo de DQO e taninos, quando foi inoculado em meio contendo LCCV bruto. A configuraÃÃo do reator com fungos utilizada nesta pesquisa apresentou problemas operacionais relacionados com o descarte do excesso de biomassa.

O objetivo do presente estudo foi avaliar o desempenho, saúde intestinal e metabolizabilidade de dietas para frangos de corte alimentados com o uso contínuo ou mudança brusca de diferentes rações à base de milho e sorgo moído ou inteiro. No Exp. 1 foi estudada a mudança no tipo de grão com as dietas: M100% (ração à base de milho); S100% (ração à base de sorgo); M:S50% (ração à base de 50% milho e 50% sorgo); PS-M (ração à base de sorgo na fase pré-inicial e milho nas demais fases); PM-S (ração à base de milho na fase pré-inicial e sorgo nas demais fases). No Exp. 2 foi estudada a mudança na forma do grão de sorgo: Sm100% (ração à base de sorgo moído); Si100% (ação à base de sorgo inteiro); PSm-Si (ração à base de sorgo moído na fase pré-inicial e inteiro nas demais fases) e PSi- Sm (ração à base de sorgo inteiro na fase pré-inicial e moído nas demais fases). Os experimentos foram conduzidos em um delineamento em blocos casualizados (blocos no tempo) para avaliar o desempenho e epitélio jejunal (r=8), microbiota intestinal (r=4) e metabolizabilidade das dietas (r=10). As mudanças entre milho e sorgo não alteraram o desempenho, epitélio jejunal nem a metabolizabilidade das rações, mas influenciaram a porcentagem de Clostridium, Weissella, Bacillus e Alkaliphilus no intestino delgado e Lactobacillus e Desulfotomaculum nos cecos. O uso de sorgo inteiro piorou o desempenho aos sete dias. Aos 40 dias, Sm100% e PSm-Si apresentaram desempenhos semelhantes, PSi-Sm apresentou menor ganho de peso, mas melhor conversão alimentar e Si100% apresentou o pior desempenho. Si100% e PSm-Si apresentaram aumento no peso relativo da moela e na metabolizabilidade das rações, assim como diminuição de Clostridium e aumento de bactérias das famílias Actinomycetales e Bacillales no intestino delgado, Si100% resultou em menor porcentagem de Alkaliphilus e Enterococcus que Sm100% nos cecos. Conclui-se que a melhor estratégia de uso do sorgo é a substituição total de milho por sorgo moído ao alojamento com posterior mudança para sorgo inteiro, pois não afeta o desempenho e epitélio jejunal das aves, melhora a metabolizabilidade das rações e potencializa a redução de Clostridium no intestino delgado de frangos de corte. / The aim of this study was to evaluate performance, intestinal health and metabolizability of diets in broilers fed different corn- or sorghum (ground or whole)- based diets, continuously or with abrupt change between the diets. Exp. 1 - Change in the type of grain: C100% (corn-based diet); S100% (sorghum-based diet); C:S50% (50% corn and 50% sorghum-based diet); PC-S (corn-based diet in pre-starter phase and sorghum-based diet in other phases); PS-C (sorghum-based diet in pre-starter phase and corn-based diet in other phases). Exp. 2 - Change in the form of sorghum grain: Gs100% (ground sorghum-based diet); Ws100% (whole sorghum-based diet); PGs-Ws (ground sorghum-based diet in pre-starter phase and whole sorghum-based diet in other phases); PWs-Gs (whole sorghum-based diet in pre-starter phase and ground sorghum-based diet in other phases). Experiments were conducted in a randomized block design for to evaluate performance and jejunal epithelium (r=8), intestinal microbiota (r=4) and metabolizabilty of diets (r=10). The changes between corn and sorghum did not affect performance, jejunal epithelium or metabolizability of the diets, but influenced the genera Clostridium, Weissella, Bacillus and Alkaliphilus in the small intestine, and Lactobacillus and Desulfotomaculum in the caecum. Whole sorghum resulted in decreased performance at seven days of age. At 40 days, Gs100% and PGs-Ws showed similar performance, PWs-Gs showed lower weight gain and the best feed conversion rate, and Ws100% showed the worst performance. Ws100% and PGs-Ws resulted in the biggest gizzard relative weight and the highest diet metabolizability values, as well as the lowest level of Clostridium and highest level of Actinomycetales and Bacillales in the small intestine. Ws100% showed lower level of Alkaliphilus and Enterococcus than Gs100% in the caecum. The best strategy to use sorghum in broilers diets is replacing 100% of corn for ground sorghum since the first day followed by change to whole sorghum, because this diet did not affect performance or jejunal epithelium, improved diet metabolizability values, and reduced Clostridium in the small intestine of broilers.

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / The worldwide African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME Church) is divided into 20 regional districts. These include thirteen districts in the United States of America (Episcopal Districts 1-13), six districts on the African continent, namely Episcopal Districts 14, 15 and 17-20 and one that comprises Suriname-Guyana, South America, the Caribbean, Windward Islands, Virgin Islands, Dominican Republic, Haiti Jamaica, London and the Netherlands (Episcopal District 16). Each of these districts is administered by a bishop assigned at the seat of the General Conference which is conducted every four year. The General Conference is the highest decision-making body of the AME Church. This research project focuses on the relationship between the American and the African districts of the African Methodist Episcopal Church during the period from 1896 to 2004. It investigates the factors which led to the tensions emerged in the relationship between the American districts and the African districts. It specifically investigates the reasons for the five secession movements that took place in the 15th and 19th Districts of the AME Church in 1899, 1904, 1908, 1980 and 1998. The research problem investigated in this thesis is therefore one of a historical reconstruction, namely to identify, describe and assess the configurations of factors which contributed to such tensions in relationship between the AME Church in America and Africa. The relationships between the American and the African districts of the AME Church have been characterised by various tensions around the sovereignty of the African districts. Such tensions surfaced, for example, in five protest movements, which eventually led to secessions from the AME Church in South Africa. The people of the African continent merged with the American based AME Church with the expectation that they would be assisted in their quest for self-determination. The quest for self-determination in the AME Church in Africa has a long history. The Ethiopian Movement was established by Mangena Maake Mokone in 1892 as a protest movement against white supremacy and domination in the Wesleyan Methodist Church.

No description available.

En hög tillitsnivå i samhället för med sig en rad olika positiva effekter. Det är därför av intresse att undersöka vilka faktorer som gör att två personer som inte känner varandra kan uppleva vad denna studie kallar generell tillit. Studien syftar till att undersöka hur olika välfärdstyper främjar varierande nivåer av mellanmänsklig tillit. Detta görs genom att dela in sex idealtypiska länder efter Esping-Andersens tre olika välfärdstyper; universella-, liberala-, och konservativa välfärdsstater. Studien utgår även från Bo Rothsteins perspektiv om hur olika nivåer av tillit i välfärdsstaterna kan härledas från olika socialförsäkringsprocesser, där universella socialförsäkringar antas leda till högre tillit medan selektiva socialförsäkringar antas leda till lägre tillit. För att besvara studiens syfte genomförs en logistisk regression med data från World Value Survey och European Value Survey. Resultatet från analysen är i linje med den tidigare forskningen och visar att den universella välfärdsstaten har den största sannolikheten att ha generell tillit, följt av den konservativa välfärdsstaten och till sist den liberala välfärdsstaten. Vid kontroll för andra variabler har variabeln välfärdsstat fortsatt den största effekten på sannolikheten att ha generell tillit. Även andra variabler visade en signifikant effekt där förtroende för statsförvaltningen har en större effekt   än organisationsdeltagande. Därutöver visar test för sociodemografiska faktorer som ålder, kön och klass att personer med lägre socioekonomisk klass tenderar att ha lägre sannolikhet att lita på andra. Till sist visar studien att liberala eller konservativa värderingar inte har någon större påverkan på individers sannolikhet att lita på andra oberoende av välfärdstyp. Resultatet visar att neoliberala förändringar i samhället inte har förändrat den generella tilliten 2022 för vuxna invånare i de olika välfärdsstaterna. Det finns möjligheter att förbättra studien genom att kontrollera för fler detaljerade variabler och inkludera flernivås analys så att sambanden kan förtydligas även på olika nivåer.

This study aims to identify common barriers to the missional growth of local congregations. In addition, the research will provide a resource for evaluating effectiveness across diverse areas of ministry and propose implications for presiding elders in the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church to support thriving local churches. There is not a single sector of society that has not been impacted by the global pandemic, including the local church. The disruption of COVID-19 has inspired many to reevaluate purposes and practices. Whereas evaluation of congregations may not have been approached in a systematized manner before, there is a need to do so now more than ever. The researcher employs Allan Roxburgh’s 5-stage Missional Change Model in conversation with Walter Fluker’s model of Ethical Leadership.