This study argues that literary and womanist perspectives on the book of. Esther can be used as resources for gender-social transformation in the South African Indian Pentecostal community. It maintains that Biblical scholarship cannot be confined only to the academy, while the Bible is used in the community to oppress women. When culture and interpretation both collude in the oppression of women, putting their lives at risk, it is imperative, this study argues, for those working in the field of liberation hermeneutics to not restrict their work to the academy. Hence, this study seeks to find ways to read the Bible in ways that liberate rather than oppress. The dissertation is divided into two sections. An examination of the ways in which ideology, plot, narrative time and characterization elucidate the theme of power in the narrative of Esther, form the first section of the dissertation. Each chapter of the first section focuses on the literary details of the text, but always with a hermeneutic of transformation in mind. In the second section, an analysis of how these critical interpretations contribute to the process of gender-social transformation is undertaken. This is done through a process of an analysis of a series of Bible studies conducted by the author with South African Indian Pentecostal women from the Durban area. Issues of representation and the scholar's role in the process of the transformation and conscientization of the community are also examined in this second section. The conclusion is a reflection of the implications of this study both to the academy and to the community. It reiterates that the collaboration between scholars and the community is a vital one, and the challenge that remains is for more organic intellectuals to use the opportunities which they have been given through their privileged access to education, to empower those in the community who have afforded them the opportunity. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2003. / The National Research Foundation (NRF) and The Eastern Seaboard of Tertiary Institutions (ESATI).

Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Diss., 2008.

O Brasil é um dos maiores produtores de minério de ferro do mundo, sendo este a principal commodity mineral para a sua economia. O processo de flotação favoreceu a produção mundial do minério de ferro nas últimas décadas, utilizando tensoativos (coletores) para separar o ferro (hematita) de seu principal contaminante, a sílica (quartzo). Os coletores empregados na flotação são as éteraminas, constituídas de um radical com 8-12 carbonos e três carbonos entre os grupos funcionais éter e amina. O estudo da relação estrutura/desempenho, nesta operação, pode contribuir para a utilização de diferentes moléculas com o intuito de melhorar o custo-benefício no processo. Neste trabalho propôs-se sintetizar diferentes estruturas (aminoamidas e ésteraminas) com variações na parte polar do tensoativo para verificar o impacto no processo de flotação. Neste contexto, o trabalho é dividido em duas partes principais: estudo da composição mineral e síntese/aplicação de moléculas. Após análise por FRX, confirmou-se que a amostra é constituída principalmente por 64,49% de hematita, e 30,87% de quartzo, a principal impureza. A estrutura do coletor padrão, isononiléterpropilamina parcialmente neutralizada com ácido acético, e das moléculas sintetizadas, foi verificada por FT-IR e RMN de ¹³C (apt). As aminoamidas N-(3-(dimetilamino)propil)-dodecanamida 7 e a mistura contendo N-(2-(2-aminoetil-amino)etil)-dodecanamida 2 apresentaram bom desempenho como coletores em relação ao padrão. O teor de quartzo (SiO2) permitido no concentrado deve ser menor que 2%; os resultados obtidos com os coletores padrão, aminoamida 2 e aminoamida 7 foram, respectivamente, 1,80%, 1,72% e 1,85%. Estes números mostram que as moléculas sintetizadas, sob as condições de estudo em questão, são coletores de sílica eficientes para aplicação na flotação do minério de ferro. / Brazil is one of the biggest iron ore producer in the world, being this the major mineral commodity for its economy. The flotation process has promoted worldwide iron ore production in the last decades, by using tensoactives (collectors) to separate iron (hematite) from its main contaminant, sílica (quartz). The collectors used in the flotation are etheramines, which contain 8-12 carbon radical and 3 carbons between ether and amine functional groups. The study of the relation structure/performance in this operation can contribute to the use of different mollecules with the intention to improve the cost-benefit in the process. This procedure intends to prepare different structures (amido amines and ether amines) with variations on the polar part of the tensoactive to verify the impact on the flotation process. This essay is divided in two main parts: the study of the mineral composition and mollecules synthesis/application. After FRX analysis, it has been verified that the sample is mainly constituted by hematite (64,49%) and quartz (30,87%), the main impurity. The standard collector structure isononyletherpropylamine partially neutralised with acetic acid, and the synthesized mollecules were verified through FT-IR and ¹³C NMR (apt). The amido amines N-(3-(dimethylamino)propyl)-dodecanamide 7 and the mixture containing N-(2-(2-aminoetil-amino)etil)-dodecanamida 2 showed good performance as collectors in relation to the standard collector. The permitted quartz content (SiO2) in the concentrate must be less then 2%; the obtained results with the pattern, amido amine 2 and amido amine 7 collectors were, respectively, 1,80%, 1,72% e 1,85%. These numbers show that the sinthesized mollecules, under the applied study conditions, are effective quartz collectors for application in the iron ore flotation.

This dissertation explores the significance of Queen Esther in early modern England by examining her literary representations in light of historical, religious, political, and social contexts. Although she is often linked to Deborah and Judith, Esther’s multifaceted character allows for greater flexibility in representation than is the case with other biblical heroines. The differing aspects of her character – obedient orphan, beautiful virgin, clever and courageous queen, savior of Diaspora Jews – inspire multiple, at times even contradictory, depictions of Esther in early modern literature. Whether Protestant or Catholic, male or female, Queen or commoner, sixteenth- and seventeenth-century English writers appropriate Esther in ways that paradoxically challenge and support women’s traditional roles in society. Chapter One introduces the Esther narrative as presented in the Old Testament and Apocrypha. Chapter Two examines Esther in relation to female authority, focusing specifically on references to Queen Elizabeth as an Esther figure. Chapter Three studies the dramatic interlude Godly Queen Hester, while Chapter Four analyzes works of prose featuring Esther as an exemplum for virtuous and heroic women. Chapter Five studies poetic depictions of Esther, and Chapter Six concludes the study by noting briefly how women authors engaged in the querelle des femmes enlist Esther to refute their opponents.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Ohio University, August, 2009. / Release of full electronic text on OhioLINK has been delayed until September 1, 2012. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 185-254)

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Ohio University, August, 2009. / Title from PDF t.p. Release of full electronic text on OhioLINK has been delayed until September 1, 2012. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 185-254)

This work is an in depth reflection on my rehearsal process in the final performance of my graduate career as Esther Mills in Intimate Apparel by Lynn Nottage. In addition to my work in the aforementioned show, I assess my entire experience as an MFA candidate in acting at the University of Texas at Austin in the Department of Theatre and Dance. / text

The primary question that this dissertation seeks to answer is, “How might we characterize the narrative depiction of Esther’s political involvement in the affairs of the Persian state?” Many scholars have tried to answer this question with regard to how typical or exceptional Esther is vis-à-vis portrayals of other biblical women: Does Esther represent an aberration from gender norms or an embodiment of male patriarchal values? The project undertaken here is to challenge the way in which the entire question has been framed because underlying it is a set of problematic assumptions. The results of the question framed thus can only lead to more interpretive difficulties, either denying the commonalities between Esther and other biblical women, or ignoring the dynamics at play when the very same descriptions are used of men. In addition, the reliance on these two categories has provided a kind of self-perpetuating logic so that scholarship about men and women and their respective roles tends to replicate two separate and divided spheres within academic discourse. This dissertation begins with a review of scholarship on Esther. Many scholarly assessments of her, whether they see her as typical or exceptional, rely on problematic assumptions; yet within the body of scholarship on Esther there were also a number of insights that suggest a more nuanced approach to evaluating her character. One problem of dichotomous assessments of Esther is that they rely on an assumption of gendered and separate public and private spheres for men and women respectively, a construct that suffers from a number of theoretical issues. In addition to the general problems with this language, the portrayal of Esther as a politically powerful and persuasive woman connects her to a wide variety of biblical literature, suggesting that she is not the exceptional figure that some have claimed but deeply embedded within a tradition. Moreover, the role that familial and kinship relationships and metaphors play in structuring political life opens up the historic possibility that women may have participated in the political arena, depending on their own family dynamics. None of the evidence regarding Persian women—Esther’s narrative portrayal, Greek historiography on Persian royal women, or indigenous Persian sources—provide any reason to assume that women were categorically confined to a private sphere. Thus, this dissertation proposes a movement away from the discourse on public and private, thereby opening up the historic possibility for women’s participation in the political role of royal counselor. / Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Rutgers University, 2009. / "Graduate Program in History." Includes bibliographical references (p. 313-332).

Zugl.: München, Univ., Diss., 2008