This thesis addresses the twin questions of technology and the human, ultimately questioning the validity of either category and pointing toward their dissolution in transhumanism. Starting with a discussion of the question of technology in organization studies, the thesis takes issue with the way in which discussion has focused on the technology- object pole of a dualism at the neglect of the human subject that occupies the opposing pole. Following a methodological call for symmetry the thesis reconsiders the question of technology in light of its human other and visa versa. Working with the ideas of Friedrich Nietzsche and Deleuze and Guattari, the thesis suggests that there is a problem with maintaining a distinct conception of the human, separated a priori from questions of technology and language. In seeking to avoid an essentialism either of the (technological) object, or the (human) subject, the thesis reconsiders the question of the human, language and technics through an examination of the work of William S. Burroughs. Combining Burroughs' ideas with those of Deleuze and Guattari, a conception of the 'transhuman' is developed which, in opposition to a transcendental humanism, articulates the immanent implication of technology and language in the production of subjectivity, and points to the more radical potentials of new technology in figuring alternative modes of subjectivization and social organization.

This thesis presents a comparative study of cultural policy in Britain and Italy. It provides a historical reconstruction of the cultural, legal and administrative contexts for cultural policy-making in the two countries, with a view of highlighting how cultural policy priorities have changed over time. The discussion of the growing popularity, in Italy, of notions of the cultural heritage as an engine for local economic development and as a resource that can allow the government to find the resources it needs to finance infrastructural works is given particular emphasis. Indeed, this probably represents the most original contribution made to the field of cultural policy research, in that Italy is a much under-researched country, and extant literature in English is almost non-existent. The main argument that the discussion aims to substantiate is that, despite being rooted in very different cultural and administrative traditions, both the British and Italian cultural policy debates seem to display a growing popularity of an instrumentalist rhetoric, which justifies public subsidy of the cultural sector on the grounds of the alleged beneficial impacts of the sector in the social and economic spheres. The main contribution of the thesis to the current understanding of instrumental cultural policy is therefore to offer plausible explanations for this recent trend. The thesis argues that the current situation, both in Italy and the UK, can be best understood in the light of the global phenomenon of neo-liberal globalisation, and the tendency for policy-transfer between countries that it tends to promote.

This study examines the theoretical contradictions of 'cultural democracy' in Britain and the United States. Cultural democracy here refers to the claim that community participation in cultural activities (artistic production and consumption) leads to participation in a democratic society. In Britain 'cultural democracy' has been associated especially with the 'community arts' movement of the 1970s and 1980s. Using Gramsci's theory of 'hegemony' as a framework for analysis, I will argue that the theoretical inconsistencies of 'cultural democracy' in the 1970s and 1980s can be traced back to a fundamental contradiction in British and U.S. cultural policy, between 'materialist' and 'idealist' conceptions of culture. This contradiction has resulted in moments of crisis in British and U.S. cultural policy, followed by periods of 'unstable equilibrium'. In support of this argument I will focus on four of these moments of contradiction and crisis. First I will develop my hypothetical model of contradiction, crisis and equilibrium in relation to the British community arts movement in the 1970s and 1980s. Then I will apply this model to three successive 'moments of crisis' in British and U.S. cultural policy: the 'civilising mission' of the late nineteenth century public cultural institutions in Britain and the U.S., particularly the settlement house; the U.S. federal arts projects of the 1930s; dilemmas of access and accountability in recent media policy. I will conclude by exploring some alternative theoretical formulations of the relationship between 'culture' and 'community' and their possible application to cultural policy and cultural democracy.

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This thesis examines the recent development of the policy discourses of creativity in England and Korea. It aims to analyse the values that the word „creativity‟ represents in policy terms, challenge their underlying assumptions, and explore how the idea of creativity has been implicated in each country‟s cultural policy formations. It also provides a critical examination of the similarities and differences between the two countries. In so doing, this thesis attempts to challenge the absence of cultural policy research on creativity and provide a meaningful scholarly contribution to the existing field of cultural policy studies. In order to provide a comprehensive and critical analysis of the emergence and development of the creativity discourses in England and Korea, the study employs a social scientific method of relational thinking that draws on Pierre Bourdieu‟s field theory. By challenging the existing tradition of cultural policy discussion that is either implicitly or explicitly informed by a dichotomous thinking between intrinsic and instrumental values of culture, the study proposes a new critical approach to understanding and examining the complex dynamics of cultural policy issues surrounding the idea of creativity in policy terms. Based on the Bourdieusian heuristic tool of relational thinking, the thesis explores how the idea of creativity has become politically reconstructed so as to serve specific interests, values and dispositions that correspond to a particular political position, rather than a recognised field of cultural or creative practices. By closely examining the policy contexts of the government‟s creative education initiatives Creative Partnerships in England and Korea Arts and Culture Education Service in Korea, the thesis suggests that there are distinctive parallels between the English and Korean cases; not simply in the developmental trajectory of creativity discourses, but also in the broader aspect that relates to the shaping of cultural policy formations and recent paradigm shifts in cultural policy thinking. The study examines the extent to which these commonalities can be interpreted as an instance of „policy convergence‟ between the two countries.

It has been a while now since his untimely passing on the 25th September,2003. Edward Said was one of the most prolific public intellectuals of the 20th century and his model of the intellectual is still a source of inspiration and respect. The present thesis engages in the debate around the intellectual and his/her relationship to the public sphere. It argues that Said’s thoughts in ‘Traveling Theory’ provide not only a theory of critical consciousness but also a politically empowering tool by use of which intellectuals are able penetrate spheres. Political public spheres have always been the defining spheres of intellectual figures throughout history. This triggers the starting point of connection; it suggests that Said’s model of the public intellectual represents a residual figure of the man of letters. It argues that both the man of letters and public intellectuals, in different epochs, were made to suffer the consequences of the transformations of the public spheres. Yet, Said’s model strikes a balance between the professional and the amateur. The political tool in the traveling theory acts here as a defining element of the intellectuals’ practice in achieving some form of balance between those spheres. Said’s theatre of thought has shown an indefatigable commitment to a connection between spheres; academic, public and political. It is through his politics of humanism that he beautifully conflates ideas and ideals. His politics in the struggle for Palestine is in fact a politics of truth, coexistence and reconciliation. This also manifested itself in his political writings, beginning from Question of Palestine and continuing until Freud and the non-European. Finally, it is his intellectual legacy and his legacy as a public intellectual that makes him so relevant to the recent Arab Spring. Having looked back at two years of his life (1967-1993) and recalled his spirit when looking at Arab intellectuals’ interventions in the Arab Spring, one can clearly glimpse Said’s underlying alternatives, which reverberated in some of the Arab intellectuals as a model of the intellectual who can act beyond ideology.

This thesis examines the dress and personal appearance of members of the middle and lower classes during Late Antiquity. Although members of this social stratum are often represented in Late Antique written sources, their clothing is rarely described in any detail, nor can artistic depictions be relied upon to illustrate their garments realistically. Information has therefore been assembled on garments and garment fragments from over 52 museum and archaeological collections, in order to assess the ways that cloth and clothing was made, embellished, cared for and recycled during this period. Together with knowledge gained by making and modelling exact replicas based on extant garments, this has enabled both the accurate depiction of the dress of ordinary people during this period, and the more precise interpretation of Late Antique descriptions and depictions of the clothed figure. By further assessing this information using different theoretical approaches including that of ‘object biography’, this thesis goes on to explore the ways in which cultural meaning is invested in clothing, and what this tells us both about the people who made, wore and used it, and about the society of which they were a part.

The purpose of this doctoral dissertation is to contribute to the investigation of the regional organization of the system of settlements in the regions of the ‘Eastern Ro-man Empire’ (ERE) during the Early Byzantine period (EBP). By ‘EBP’ we mean the historical period comprising from the 4th to the end of the 6th century AD. By ‘regional organization’ we mean the administrative system of rule of the ERE with its five hierarchical levels of organization: a) the Empire; b) its division into admin-istrative regions (dioceses); c) the division of these into smaller regional unities (provinces); d) cities (polis), and e) market towns – villages (komes – choria) within each province. This system includes 3,048 units of analysis, settlements belonging to all hierarchical levels, and it yields their distinguishing features, through geographic - spatial and historical -cultural criteria. The dissertation’s object of study is the regional organization of settlements of the EBP, with emphasis on the 6th century. Its goal was the cartographic representation of the regions of the ERE and creation of maps that are defined by the data of politi-cal geography and described by the data of physical and cultural geography. Through the creation of historical sections in the 4th, 5th, and 6th centuries, diachronic regional transformations in the EBP were examined. A further goal was to create a database of cultural and geographic information concerning the entirety of settle-ments, in which are recorded the period of founding, the diachronic presence of each, with historical alterations of its name, including also its modern name and the state to which it belongs today. The dissertation conveys the totality of regional sites in the ERE, contributes to making the regional organization of settlements in the EBP better known, and enriches the diachronic study of both the settlements and culture of the Eastern Mediterranean. The dissertation is composed of three parts: Part I. Introduction; Part II: The regional structure of the Empire; Part III: Conclusions. Part I: Chapter 1 offers a scholarly overview and defines the goals, objects of study, and purpose (A.1), contents (A.2), primary sources (A.3) and methodology (Α.4), with a description of the techniques of cartography, map-making (atlas-making) and table-making. Part I also includes the historical framework of the EBP (Chapter 2), with its main socio-economic and political parameters. Chapter 3 concerns the geo-morphology and organization of the Empire (administrative boundaries, production activities and spatial administrative hierarchy, both political and ecclesiastical). Part II: Chapter 4 deals with the regional structure of the Empire and is allocated to a study of the organization of the 64 provinces in each of the six dioceses. The level of internal description of each diocese and province refers to variables that concern administrative division, geomorphology, and settlements (three levels: capitals, cit-ies, and market towns – villages). Two categories of variables were created: histori-cal-cultural data, and geographic-spatial data. The total of 3,048 settlements and the recording of variables along diachronic and synchronic axes, aided by the computer software SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences), allowed observations of a statistical nature as well as structural correlations between and among variables used for analysis. The data are complemented cartographically by 90 maps, done on the basis of the road network (3 variables: inter-regional, main, secondary) and their individual geomorphology. Part III: Chapter 5 describes the results of the analysis of the regional organization of the six dioceses, while Chapter 6 presents the results for the overall picture of the Empire (6.1), followed by the results for the articulation of the road network (6.2). These sub-sections are followed by the network of settlements (6.3), with conclud-ing observations of a statistical nature concerning the regional organization of set-tlements and the static/dynamic nature of the settlement system. The structure of the network of settlements is expressed through an attempt at modeling. In addition, basic statistical correlations and cross-tabulations concerning the hierarchy of set-tlements and their various parameters (period of founding, morphology of terrain, road network, transportation / communication features) are listed. The conclusions of this doctoral dissertation can be summarised as follows: During the Early Byzantine Period the Eastern Roman Empire, with its six large administra-tive dioceses and 64 provinces, occupied the regions around the Eastern Mediterra-nean, joining districts from three continents. The geomorphology and the landscapes of the region are varied and complex. Much of the land is mountainous though there are a few very important plains. There are eight types of vegetation varying from desert to beech forest. Olive cultivation accounted for an important percentage of the cultivatable land at that time.The primary sector was developed and there was self-sufficiency, which depended on cooperation between individual farmers as to what was grown. The secondary sector was also developed: there were government owned factories in many provin-cial capitals, as well as private artisan. There was also government owned mines and quarries for the excavation and the supply of raw materials.The network of settlements: their historical and cultural characteristics: 12,5% of the 3,048 settlements were founded in the Archaic period, 7.3% in the Classical, 17,8% in the Hellenistic, 42% in the Roman and 20,4% in the Early Byzantine pe-riod. Cross correlation between the number of settlements and their dates of founda-tion demonstrates that a much larger number of settlements arose after the Hellenis-tic period than were constructed before this period. It also shows that the Early Byz-antine provincial capitals were largely founded during the Hellenistic period. In ad-dition it shows that more than the 50% of the cities were founded in the Hellenistic and Roman period, while only about 12% were founded during the EBP. With re-gard to smaller settlements, we can observe that roughly 50% were founded in the Roman period, while only 25% were set up during the EBP. The fact that more than 80% of the total settlements in the Roman and EBP were minor settlements suggests a tendency towards agrarization of the society.The geographical - spatial characteristics and the morphology of the land: We ob-serve that 41% of the settlements were located between 0 – 300m, 12,5% were lo-cated between 300 – 600m and 43% were found higher in the mountains. From the cross-correlation of the timescale of the settlement with the geomorphology we see that 56% of the capitals and 50% of the cities are located in flat regions, while 47% of minor settlements are located in mountainous regions. 72% of settlements are close to water. 34% of the settlements are located on transregional road axes, 9% of these on main and the 14% on secondary roads, while 43% are not connected in this way. 14% of the settlements represent nodal points on the road system, 11% are ports, while nodes and ports constitute the 2%. The structure of the network of set-tlements ,using the capital city Constantinople as a point of reference, corresponds on the first level to a radial spatial model, the diffusion of which, extends as a spatial web into the three continents. On the second level there are individual linear spatial models that follow the seashores of the Mediterranean and the Euxeinos Pontos and follow passages to the hinterland, frequently through river valleys. The network of settlements and the road network are of course, closely linked.A substantial density of settlements, founded in the EBP, is found in Pontike Dioe-ceses, in the regions near Constantinople, as well as in the Anatolike Dioeceses, in the regions, that are related with the new religion, as the Palestine. There is a me-dium sized concentration of settlements in the Thrakike, Asiane and Aigyptiake Dioeceses, while there is a small concentration in the Dioeceses of Illyrikon. In gen-eral there is a large concentration of settlements in Greece; in the plateau of Asia Minor; in the southern parts of Syria and Palestine, (mainly in the coastal plateaus between Tyre and Gaza and following the banks of the Nile).In the Eastern Mediterranean the foundation of settlements began in the Archaic period and continued in the Classical period with the city – state as its main model. Slowly, during Hellenistic period minor size settlements began to dominate. In the Roman and Early Byzantine period, 80% of the new foundations were minor size settlements. Of the five historical periods, the foundation of settlements was at its most intense during the Roman period. The EBP continued this trend, though the development of new settlements was only half that which had been carried out under the Roman rule. The amount of flat land was very limited, yet the spread of settle-ments in flat and mountainous lands was almost the same. In the Roman and EBP, the higher percentage of settlements was founded in mountainous regions and these settlements were, in the beginning, small.The administrative structure had a pyramid-like form with the emperor at the top and a tree-like structure down the whole length of the hierarchy. The administrative power predominated over the military and there was a strengthened bureaucracy and a state centralism. The network was able to function because it was supported by two connected infrastructures: The first was concerned with the organized use of human resources: the bureaucracy: the administrators of the regional political power, whose main job was the collection of taxes and resources, and the control and the management of the means of production. The second was the physical infrastructure which enabled the trade, manufacture and transport generated by the administrators to be carried out, as well as facilitating the exchange of ideas, to and from the capital city. The network of roads ensured good communications and thus enabled this effi-cient system of central control to be implemented throughout the empire. The hier-archical structure at all organizational levels constitutes one from the distinctive features of the early Byzantine mode of production. This structure runs through the spatial dimension of the regional organization, that was cartographically surveyed on three levels: 1. On the land-planning level, which deals with the whole Eastern Roman Empire. 2. On the regional level, which was concerned with the Dioeceses. 3. On the provincial level, which deals with the Prov-inces. 3,048 settlements were recorded, located, categorized and organised in a data-base, a number that represents the total number of settlements known from archaeo-logical studies to have been active during the period being studied.From the above statements it can be seen that in the Early Byzantine period the Eastern Roman Empire was wealthy in the sense that it was productive, that there was a growing network of roads and dense pattern of settlements. The fact that many small settlements were founded at this time shows that not only was there a trend towards agrarization, but also suggests that the role of the cities was changing in those places where the number of small settlements increased within the same re-gion. The investigation of the regional organisation in the EBP shows that both the settle-ments at all levels, and the infrastructures of the Eastern Roman Empire were in good shape. It presents a picture of an empire, where the number the of rural and urban settlements is increasing while being organized in a hierarchical structure throughout the region. The thesis has made an effort to create a holistic picture of the geographical and administrative form of the Eastern Roman Empire, which can easily be analyzed in smaller spatial parts and recomposed in bigger, showing on each level the cultural characteristics of the settlements network, through the loca-tion, mapping and categorisation of the network. The present research was designed to contribute to the overall study of the regional landscapes of the Eastern Roman Empire and it contributes by analyzing regional organization of settlements in the Early Byzantine period. In this way it enriches the diachronic study of settlements of the Eastern Mediterranean and her culture with quantitative and qualitative elements.

This thesis describes the use of electrospray mass spectrometry, 1H NMR, and UV-visible spectroscopy, along with molecular modeling studies, to characterize the host-guest complexes that are formed between the cucurbit[7]uril (CB[7]) host molecule and a series of cationic alkylammonium (benzethonium), biguanidinium (metformin, phenformin, chlorhexidine and alexidine), amidinium (berenil, pentamidine, and 4-hydroxy- and 4-aminobenzamidines), and flavylium (4’- and 6-methoxyflavylium and 6,4’-dimethoxyflavylium) guests in aqueous solution. The stoichiometries and binding strengths of the CB[7] host-guest complexes with these series of drug and dye molecules were determined, and have been rationalized in terms of the specific ion-dipole interactions and hydrophobic effects involved. The potential uses of CB[7] as a slow-release drug delivery agent and molecular stabilizing agent are indicated from kinetic and spectroscopic studies on the reactivities of the host-guest complexes. CB[7] forms 1:1 and 2:1 host-guest complexes with the benzethonium cation by sequential binding to the hydrophilic benzyldimethylammonium group and the hydrophobic 2,4,4-trimethylpentyl group, respectively. The binding strength at the former site is consistent with data for other CB[7]-benzylammonium guests, while the strength of binding of the neutral hydrophobic group results from efficient packing within the inner CB[7] cavity. Each of the biguanidinium guests was shown to form strong 1:1 host-guest complexes with CB[7]. Metformin proved to be small enough to form 1:2 host-guest complexes at low concentrations of CB[7], while chlorhexidine and alexidine were shown to be large enough to form sequential 2:1 and 3:1 host-guest complexes with CB[7]. UV-visible pH titrations showed that CB[7] binds more strongly to mono-protonated metformin than the di-protonated form of this guest. Both pentamidine and berenil formed tightly bound complexes with CB[7], indicating that this host could potentially act as carrier for these drug molecules. CB[7] catalyzes the acid decomposition of berenil and each of the decomposition products, 4-hydroxy- and 4-aminobenzamidinium, bind to CB[7] with increases in their pKa values in the presence of CB[7]. The three flavylium dyes, with cationic oxonium centers, were shown to complex strongly with CB[7], resulting in a stabilization of the flavylium cation, with respect to the ring-opened 2-hydroxychalcones in neutral solutions. / Thesis (Master, Chemistry) -- Queen's University, 2012-09-15 00:02:15.516

This thesis takes Assmann’s theory of cultural memory and applies it to an exploration of conceptualisations of dreams and dreaming in the early Roman Empire (31 BC – AD 200). Background information on dreams in different cultures, especially those closest to Rome (the ancient Near East, Egypt and Greece) is provided, and dream reports in Greco-Roman historical and imaginative literature are analysed. The thesis concludes that dreams were considered to offer a possible connection with the divine within the cultural imagination in the early Empire, but that the people of the second century AD, which has sometimes been called an ‘age of anxiety’, were no more interested in dreams or dream revelation than Greeks and Romans of other periods. This thesis outlines, defines and applies the newly developed concept of cultural imagination, developed from cultural memory, to its examination of dreams and dream reports in Greco-Roman literature. Using the concept of cultural imagination in preference to discussing ‘belief’ is shown to have advantages for the study of ancient religion, as it allows the historian to discuss religious ideas that may or may not have been widely ‘believed’ but which were present within the imagination of the members of a particular society.