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This thesis is an examination of the historical thought of several key English reformers regarding the assimilation or rejection of different aspects of late medieval notions of the sacrament of penance during the Henrician phase of the English Reformation. It is a study primarily concerned with how notions of penance in the theology of these reformers were inherited from patristic, humanist, and continental reformers and how the evangelicals reworked them. While these reformers did not agree on all matters of theology, important points of contact can be found in how they understood the roles of contrition, confession, and satisfaction within a framework that denied the efficacy of human participation in the forgiveness of sins. There are three distinct sections. The two chapters of the first section are concerned with establishing the context of sacramental penance in the sixteenth century. The first chapter identifies distinct phases of the evolution of notions of sacramental penance from the early church through the scholastics, and the second chapter explores the theology of three important influences on the evangelicals—John Wycliffe, Desiderius Erasmus, and Martin Luther—and shows that while their views were unique, they shared important points of connection with the evangelicals in England. The second section consists of the next four chapters, which are dedicated to individual English exiled evangelicals from 1524-1535. Chapter three identifies Tyndale’s unique use of terminology in his redefining of the terms and rearranging of the formula of sacramental penance as he focused on the covenantal language of Christ’s blood as the satisfaction in place of human effort. Chapter four is concerned with Robert Barnes’ notion of the coexistence of contrition and confession, with oral confession occurring after forgiveness has been made. Chapter five details John Frith’s notion of repentance as related to an earthly purgation of sins and a passive, effortless turning from them. Chapter six examines George Joye’s notion of how an effective confession was to be made to God or to man. The third section comprises only one chapter (seven), and it contends that these exiles had significant influence on the later Henrician formularies, and that within them an evangelical notion of confession prevailed, particularly in the relationship of confession and purgatory, but also the understanding of the relationship between sorrow for sin and its forgiveness.

Within the contemporary church, usage of the term transformation has become commonplace. However, the way it is understood is often misguided. This study provides an original synthesis that points the church towards the need to express and live out a full, integrated, effectual and distinctly Christian vision of transformation. Self-identified “evangelicals” continue to explore the possibility of authentic transformation. There is now a proliferation of perspectives on the nature and process of Christian formation, some of which attempt a revision through ecumenical “ressourcement” or interdisciplinary methods. These often-conflicting approaches leave a landscape characterised by pluralism, division, fragmentation, confusion, relativism, individualism, pragmatism and subjectivism. Although evangelicalism is seen by some as a restorationist movement that seeks to draw the church back towards a prototypal faith, self-identified “evangelicals” clearly exhibit differences in their beliefs and practices. Both the absence of a common, coherent and integrated vision, and the lack of transformation itself, are often simply accepted and affirmed. In this thesis, it is argued that the only way to move towards the possibility a cohesive, integrated, broad, effectual and distinctly Christian vision of transformational theology, is through an approach that is grounded in rationallinguistic truth. Such a method is typified by J. I. Packer. His approach to integrating the concerns of theology and spirituality is used as the initial basis towards pursuing a “proto-evangelical” approach to Christian formation. In order to determine the breadth of Packer’s approach, he is brought into dialogue with Maximus Confessor. This critical conversation between two “theologians of the Christian life” allows exploration into the scope and diversity of a distinctly Christian view of transformation, and the seeking out of common characteristics in its nature and practice. This all provides a solid basis upon which to be able to outline an original synthesis.

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Recently, cotton production throughout the southern U.S. have declined substantially. Additionally, the pest status of bollworm, Helicoverpa zea (Boddie), has increased in soybean. As a result, there is growing interest to have commercial access to transgenic soybean varieties that express the Bt toxins to help manage against lepidopteran pests. However, soybeans are assumed to be a key host in the natural refuge concept used for Bt cotton. Research was conducted to determine if the introduction of Bt soybeans into the U.S. would present an unacceptable risk to the sustainability of other crops. This project examines the contribution of soybean to the susceptible heliothine populations in the natural refuge system, the potential of delayed in-season emergence of H. zea from field corn, effects of soil moisture on emergence and pupal duration, fitness of adult H. zea from Bt and non-Bt corn, and provide more accurate parameters for future resistance development models.

Soybean accounts from more than half of the acres dedicated to row crop production in the mid-south, leading to a wide planting window from late-March through mid-July. Studies were conducted in 2013 and 2014 evaluating seven planting dates of soybean, and their impact on agronomics. As planting was delayed, plant heights significantly increased, increasing the potential for lodging. Canopy closure significantly decreased as planting was delayed, leaving soybean more vulnerable to caterpillar pests. Yield potential also significantly decreased as planting was delayed. Season long surveys of insect pests and their arthropod natural enemies were conducted from 2013 to 2014 in small plot studies, and in large plot studies from 2015 to 2016 across multiple planting dates. The most common insect pests encountered in both studies were bean leaf beetles, the stink bug complex, and soybean looper. The most common natural enemies encountered were lady beetles, spiders, and the assassin bug complex. In general, insect pests densities increased as planting was delayed, whereas natural enemies were higher in earlier plantings or had no change throughout the planting windows. With the increased difficulty of controlling some caterpillar pests such as soybean looper, new control tactics need to be evaluated. A simulated Bt treatment was evaluated against a threshold, bug only, and untreated control across multiple plantings in 2013 and 2014. The simulated Bt treatment yielded significantly higher than the untreated control at plantings from early-June through mid-July. These were the only plantings that reached action threshold for soybean looper. The simulated Bt and threshold treatments were not significantly different from one another. In 2015 and 2016, a simulated Bt treatment plus threshold was evaluated in a late planting situation. The simulated Bt plus threshold treatment yielded significantly higher than the untreated control at the early-June and early-July plantings. Also in 2015 and 2016, the simulated Bt treatment was evaluated against a grower check on producer fields at 23 locations. The simulated Bt treatment resulted in significantly higher soybean yields than the grower check.

Genetically modified (GM) crops were introduced in South Africa in 1989 and commercially available by 1998. Legislation to control the use of GM crops was only implemented in 1999, with the genetically modified organisms (GMO) act (15 of 1999). In 2012 2.9 million ha of GM crops were planted in South Africa alone. GM Crops, such as Bt maize, are promoted as safer for the environment since no chemical pesticides are needed. However, recently GM crops have been making headlines as more and more studies find adverse effects of these crops on non-target organisms. The effects on aquatic environments have not yet been fully determined, even though traces of Bt residue have been found in water systems surrounding agricultural lands. The aim of this study was to establish the effects of the Bt toxin on fecundity, development and growth of Bulinus tropicus, a freshwater snail. The experiment made use of a static renewal tests to expose B. tropicus to 50 cm2 Bt maize and cotton leaves in 900 ml of synthetic freshwater. The snails were exposed for the duration of one full life cycle (embryo to adult). Endpoints measured included the development, growth, fecundity, and deformities of the reproductive organs. The results obtained showed retarded development and low embryo survival when the snails were exposed to cotton leaves, irrespective of the presence or absence of Bt, indicating to the possibility of trace residues of chemical pesticides may have been present on the leaves. Initial stimulated growth of hatchlings was observed for both Bt cotton and maize exposures, but after sexual maturity has been reached, ‘surplus’ energy was probably shared between growth and fecundity, resulting in a reduction of growth rate. Energy is gained from their diet, thus a sub-optimal diet would result in less energy available to functions such as growth and fecundity. Signs of developmental instability were found in the formation of the shell opening of the snails exposed to Bt. Fecundity decreased significantly after snails had been exposed to Bt maize / cotton leaves. No differences were found in the penis sheath-preputium length ratio, indicating that Bt had no deleterious effects on the reproductive organs. / MSc (Environmental Sciences), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

Genetically modified (GM) crops were introduced in South Africa in 1989 and commercially available by 1998. Legislation to control the use of GM crops was only implemented in 1999, with the genetically modified organisms (GMO) act (15 of 1999). In 2012 2.9 million ha of GM crops were planted in South Africa alone. GM Crops, such as Bt maize, are promoted as safer for the environment since no chemical pesticides are needed. However, recently GM crops have been making headlines as more and more studies find adverse effects of these crops on non-target organisms. The effects on aquatic environments have not yet been fully determined, even though traces of Bt residue have been found in water systems surrounding agricultural lands. The aim of this study was to establish the effects of the Bt toxin on fecundity, development and growth of Bulinus tropicus, a freshwater snail. The experiment made use of a static renewal tests to expose B. tropicus to 50 cm2 Bt maize and cotton leaves in 900 ml of synthetic freshwater. The snails were exposed for the duration of one full life cycle (embryo to adult). Endpoints measured included the development, growth, fecundity, and deformities of the reproductive organs. The results obtained showed retarded development and low embryo survival when the snails were exposed to cotton leaves, irrespective of the presence or absence of Bt, indicating to the possibility of trace residues of chemical pesticides may have been present on the leaves. Initial stimulated growth of hatchlings was observed for both Bt cotton and maize exposures, but after sexual maturity has been reached, ‘surplus’ energy was probably shared between growth and fecundity, resulting in a reduction of growth rate. Energy is gained from their diet, thus a sub-optimal diet would result in less energy available to functions such as growth and fecundity. Signs of developmental instability were found in the formation of the shell opening of the snails exposed to Bt. Fecundity decreased significantly after snails had been exposed to Bt maize / cotton leaves. No differences were found in the penis sheath-preputium length ratio, indicating that Bt had no deleterious effects on the reproductive organs. / MSc (Environmental Sciences), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

Resumo: Comercialmente os híbridos de milho transgênico são hemizigotos para o evento que os define, ou seja, das linhagens parentais cruzadas, uma é transgênica e a outra convencional. No entanto, híbridos homozigotos também podem ser obtidos pelo do cruzamento de duas linhagens parentais transgênicas. Assim, uma vez que a influência de genes exógenos é pouco conhecida na morfologia, anatomia e fertilidade masculina de híbridos de milho, buscamos com esse trabalho verificar a influência do número de alelos transgênicos nestes caracteres. Foram utilizados cinco diferentes híbridos com o mesmo evento (TC1507xMON89034xNK603) e o isogênico convencional de um deles, além de um híbrido com três diferentes eventos (Bt11, MIR162 e a piramidação de ambos) e seu isogênico convencional. Totalizando 18 tratamentos, que foram conduzidos em casa de vegetação, elaborado em delineamento de blocos casualizados com duas repetições. Quando as plantas estavam em V3-V4 duas delas foram extraídas para avaliação dos caracteres anatômicos do colmo, as restantes foram conduzidas até V5-V6 e avaliados os caracteres anatômicos da folha e raiz, morfológicos da raiz, matéria fresca e matéria seca. Para a avaliação dos caracteres de fertilidade masculina foram instalados em campo o híbrido com os três diferentes eventos, com cinco repetições e utilizadas três plantas como parcela útil. No terceiro dia após a antese a viabilidade e a germinação desses grãos de pólen foram avaliados. Todos os híbridos foram difere... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: Commercially the transgenic maize hybrids are hemizygous for the event that defines them, that is, for crossed parental lines, one is transgenic and the other conventional. However, homozygous hybrids can also be obtained by crossing two transgenic parent lines. Thus, since the influence of exogenous genes is not well known in the morphology, anatomy and male fertility of maize hybrids, we seek to evaluate the influence of the number of transgenic alleles in these traits. Five different hybrids were used with the same event (TC1507xMON89034xNK603) and the conventional isogenic of one of them, besides a hybrid with three different events (Bt11, MIR162 and pyramidation of both and its conventional isogenic. Totaling 18 treatments, they were conducted in greenhouse, elaborated in a randomized complete block design with two replicates. When the plants were in V3-V4, two of them were extracted to evaluate the anatomical traits of the stem, the remaining were conducted to V5-V6 then evaluated the anatomical traits of leaf and root and morphology of root, fresh matter and dry matter. For the evaluation of the male fertility traits, the hybrids with three events different, were installed in the field, with five replications and three plants were used as a useful plot. On the third day after the anthesis the viability and germination of these grains were evaluated. All hybrids were different in the anatomical traits, the morphological components and the viability of the pollen grain d... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Mestre