<p>This study examines how rabbinic texts from the land of Israel explain and respond to poverty. Through this investigation, I also analyze images of the poor in this literature, asking whether the rabbis considered poor persons to be full participants in communal religious life. Within the context of rabbinic almsgiving, this study describes how Palestinian rabbis negotiated both the biblical commands to care for the poor and Greco-Roman notions of hierarchy, benefaction and patronage. </p><p> The sources at the heart of this study are Tannaitic texts: the Mishnah, the Tosefta and Tannaitic midrashim; and Amoraic texts: the Yerushalmi (Palestinian Talmud) and the classical Amoraic Midrashim - Genesis Rabbah, Leviticus Rabbah and Pesiqta de Rab Kahana. Other texts such as Babylonian Talmud, non-rabbinic and non-Jewish texts are included in this study only when they are able to shed light on the texts mentioned above. In reading rabbinic texts, I pay close attention to several textual features: distinctions between Tannaitic and Amoraic compositions, as well as between rabbinic texts from the land of Israel and the Babylonian Talmud, and evidence of texts that were influenced by the Babylonian Talmud. This method of careful assessment of texts according to their time of composition and geographic origin forms the basis of this investigation. </p><p>The investigation yields several key findings: </p><p>I suggest various factors that shaped Palestinian rabbinic approaches to poverty and almsgiving, including: the biblical heritage, the Greco-Roman and Byzantine environments, the diverse socio-economic status of the rabbis, and their adherence to "measure for measure" as a key hermeneutic principle. </p><p>The study also portrays how the rabbinic charitable system evolved as an expansion of the biblical framework and through engagement with Greco-Roman notions and practices. This unique system for supporting the poor shows evidence of the adoption of select Greco-Roman customs and views, as well as the rejection of other aspects of its hegemonic patterns. We have seen that the language of patronage is absent from the Mishnah's articulation of the rabbinic charitable model. </p><p>Several of the texts analyzed in this study indicate that, for the rabbis, the poor were not necessarily outsiders. Following the main stream of biblical thinking, where the ordinary poor are rarely considered sinners who bear responsibility for their abject situation, Palestinian rabbinic texts seldom link ordinary poverty to sinful behavior. In these texts, the poor are not presented as passive recipients of gifts and support, but as independent agents who are responsible for their conduct. Moreover, rabbinic teachings about support for the poor reveal not only provisions for basic needs such as food, clothing and shelter but also attention to the dignity and the feelings of the poor, as well as their physical safety and the value of their time.</p> / Dissertation

In this thesis I compare Pierre Leroux, a French utopian socialist (1797 – 1871), with Feodor Dostoevsky, the well-known Orthodox Russian novelist (1821 – 1881). I argue that both authors reacted against what they considered to be the dissolution of the social order, brought about by the increasing nineteenth-century bourgeois individualism. On the other hand, they reacted as well against the opposite phenomenon, the idea of a universal socialist state, which was, in fact, according to them, the outcome of bourgeois individualism. My purpose is to bring close and to compare Leroux’s republican socialism with Dostoevsky’s Christian socialism, and to explore to what extent the two authors give similar answers to a common problem. In order to better explain their thought, I divide my thesis into three chapters. The first analyzes and compares Leroux’s and Dostoevsky’s critiques of individualism. If Leroux reaches the conclusion that the ultimate expression of individualism is Malthusianism, Dostoevsky argues that individualism ends in nihilism. The second chapter analyzes the type of socialism against which Leroux and Dostoevsky reacted, as well as the critiques of the two authors. I argue here that Saint-Simonian socialism – the main object of Leroux’s critique – and the socialism of the Grand Inquisitor – a Dostoevskyan character – are the expression of a certain utopian thought which considers the requirement for freedom incompatible with the requirement for unity. In the last chapter, I analyze the ideas of community of Leroux and of Dostoevsky, which are centered on philia, in the case of the former, and on agape, in the case of the latter. Philia and respectively agape are the expression of organic social relations, through which the two requirements, of freedom and unity, are made compatible, and which create unity in multiplicity. Their ideas of community appear as active utopias, grounded on the life of relation in a spontaneous, organic community.

The central concern of this thesis is to discuss interpretations of learning in educational research. A point of departure is taken in core epistemological and ontological assumptions informing three major approaches to learning: behaviourism, cognitive constructivism and socioculturalism. It is argued that all three perspectives provide important insights into research on learning, but each alone runs the risk of reducing learning and interpretations of learning to single aspects. Specific attention is therefore given to Intentional Analysis, as it has been developed to account for sociocultural aspects that influence learning and individual cognition. It is argued that interpretations of learning processes face challenges, different kinds of holism, underdetermination and the complexity of intentionality, that need to be accounted for in order to make valid interpretations. Interpretation is therefore also discussed in light of philosopher Donald Davidson’s theories of knowledge and interpretation. It is suggested that his theories may provide aspects of an ontological and epistemological stance that can form the basis for interpretations of learning in educational research. A first brief sketch, referred to as ‘epistemic holism’, is thus drawn. The thesis also exemplifies how such a stance can inform empirical research. It provides a first formulation of research strategies – a so-called ‘interpretative holism’. The thesis discusses what such a stance may imply with regard to the nature and location of knowledge and the status of the learning situation. Ascribing meaning to observed behaviour, as it is described in this thesis, implies that an action is always an action under a specific description. Different descriptions may not be contradictory, but if we do not know the learner’s language use, we cannot know whether there is a difference in language or in beliefs. It is argued that the principle of charity and reference to saliency, that is, what appears as the figure for the learner, may help us decide. However, saliency does not only appear as a phenomenon in relation to physical objects and events, but also in the symbolic world, thus requires that the analysis extend beyond the mere transcription of an interview or the description of an observation. Hence, a conclusion to be drawn from this thesis is that the very question of what counts as data in the interpretation of complex learning processes is up for discussion. / <p>At the time of the doctoral defense, the following paper was unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 4: Manuscript.</p>

The diploma thesis "The importance of charity in Judaism" is about philanthropy in Judaism. It briefly describes the historical development since the Bible to contemporary conception of philanthropy in the Prague Jewish community. The Jewish religion is very closely engaged in all areas of the believer, including the charitable area. One of the most famous expressions of the charity is Zedekiah, meaning literally "justness, godliness, charity". Another important term is gmilut chasadim, which is translated as "acts of charity" - these acts are superior to Zedekiah by providing help to the poor ones and to the rich ones. The Jewish law (halakhah) deals with issue of charity and philanthropy in detail. The Pragu

Title: The analysis clubs in Mattoni NBL and their work with fans Objectives: The main objective of the work is, how the clubs work with their fans. The thesis also shows the marketing of the clubs, marketing mix, promotion, promotion actions and fan base. The data, which I recieved from the clubs, I compare and analyse. From this data I deduce conclusions, which can improve communication and the presentation of the clubs to the public and can help improve attendance. Key words: marketing, promotion, merchandising, charity, attendance, tickets, fan, basketball

The Charity Hospital Cemetery in New Orleans, Louisiana, was used as a potter's field for over 150 years. When Charity Hospital considered selling a portion of the property ground penetrating radar (GPR) and thermal infrared (TIR) data were collected in the cemetery to locate unmarked graves. The TIR data could not be used because the expert died before compiling the TIR data. Therefore, the GPR data was the sole source of subsurface information. GPR anomalies were used to excavate 3 areas where bones and hospital supplies were subsequently found, unfortunately very limited analyses were possible on the analog GPR data. The study presented here involved digitizing data and conducting a more thorough analysis of map patterns to determine whether GPR data could be used reliably to locate burials in the cemetery. The study's result indicates that GPR is a reliable source for burial detection and other anomalies in the subsurface.

Dans la seconde moitié du XVIIIe siècle, la France connut le mouvement philanthropique qui ouvrit la voie à la première expérience précoce de la bienfaisance nationale pendant la Révolution française. Cette mutation idéologique et institutionnelle bouleversa la solidarité traditionnelle locale au sein de laquelle les élites assistaient les pauvres pour obtenir le salut de leur âme et remplir le devoir social attaché à leur rang. Les études sur le lien solidaire se focalisent sur la mentalité et la pratique charitable des élites pour comprendre comment la charité privée fut utilisée pour gouverner la société de l’Ancien Régime et quels furent les changements que la Révolution apporta à sa fonction. L’action charitable privée des élites locales est ainsi examinée à travers leur engagement dans la gestion et le financement des établissements de charité, l’activité collective au sein des associations privées et la pratique individuelle devant la mort pour une période relativement longue allant de 1750 à 1830, dans le but d’envisager la spécificité du motif et des formes de leurs bonnes actions de l’époque. L’espace de notre observation est localisé sur les différentes communautés de Bordeaux, cœur administratif de la Guyenne, métropole religieuse et ville portuaire cosmopolite en plein essor où la splendeur des nobles et négociants riches faisait un contraste avec la pauvreté du peuple accentuée par l’immigration des ruraux. Ces études à l’échelle locale nous permettent de décrire l’évolution du rôle que les élites jouaient dans les rapports sociaux à travers les vicissitudes historiques. / In the second half of the eighteenth century, France experienced the philanthropic movement that paved the way for the first early experience of national charity during the French Revolution. This ideological and institutional change upset the traditional local solidarity in which the elites assisted the poor in order to obtain the salvation of their souls and fulfill the social duty linked to their rank. Studies on the link of solidarity focus on the mentality and charitable practice of elites to understand how private charity was used to govern society under the Ancien Régime and what were the changes that the Revolution brought to its function. Charitable and private action of local elites is examined through their involvement in the management and financing of charitable institutions, collective activity within private associations and individual practice before death for a relatively long period from 1750 1830 in order to consider the specific reasons and forms of good deeds at that time. The space of our observation focuses on the different communities of Bordeaux, administrative heart of Guyenne, religious metropolis and booming cosmopolitan port city where the splendor of the nobles and wealthy merchants contrasted with the poverty of the people emphasized by the rural immigration. These studies at local scale enable us to describe the evolution of the role that elites played in social relations through historical vicissitudes.

The theme of this thesis is fundraising for non-profit organizations, i.e. aquiring of financial and non-financial sources for them, mainly with focus on methods and problems of individual fundraising. Application of these methods is shown in a case study of a beneficial event.

Gamification has previously demonstrated successful results when it comes to increasing the user retention rate in many different sectors. Non-profit charity organisations have for the last 10 years had a retention rate that is below 50%. This thesis investigates the possibility of increasing the user retention rate in the non-profit charity application The Life You Can Save(TLYCS) by implementing gamification. The gamification mechanic that was chosen for implementation was achievements. To measure understandability the Post-Study System Usability Questionnaire was used, the four satisfaction scores of the questionnaire were measured with a number between one and seven. Sven represented the highest number and one represented the lowest number. All four satisfaction scores had an average number that was higher than 6. Because of the previously proved successful results of gamification and a usable implementation of achievements in the mobile application TLYCS the possibility of an increased user retention rate is assessed to be high.

ABSTRACT In this Masters Research Report, I argue that different conceptual frameworks play a central role in influencing whether and why independent funders in South Africa choose to engage in either social justice philanthropy or traditional philanthropy. Based on documentary analysis and in-depth interviews with a sample population of independent funders and experts in the philanthropic field in South Africa, this research first puts forward a different understanding of social justice philanthropy, from a South African perspective. Based on this understanding, the research then reflects that the way in which independent funders conceptualise and operationalize the reasons why they do the work they do and their roles in relation to other development role players are the central elements that influence the nature and scope of the funding approaches, priorities and strategies that they adopt.