Many Christians, including Christian leaders, are spiritually blind. They do not understand the purpose and implication of Jesus' Coming for each of His followers. So often Christians seek self-interest and their own honour and are not in the least concerned about their fellow believers and fellow man. They do not live up to God's purpose with them. The main research problem of this study is: "What is the implication of the ? of Jesus in word and deed proclamation in the Gospel of Mark?" The main objective of this study is to determine what the implication is of the ? of Jesus in word- and deed proclamation in the Gospel of Mark. The specific question posed. in Chapter 2 is the following: "What research has been done with reference to the implication of the ? of Jesus in word and deed proclamation in the Gospel of Mark?" Research has shown that the disciples are portrayed negatively in the Gospel of Mark. Researchers offer different explanations for this negative portrayal of the disciples. There is concensus among researchers that this specific portrayal of the disciples should be explained from the angle of Christology and discipleship. This study examines the negative portrayal of the disciples focusing on the ? of Jesus and the discipleship of His followers. The intention is to propose an answer to the calling of each follower in the missionary church. Research has further shown that discipleship is not limited to the twelve disciples only, but includes all followers of Jesus. The specific question posed in Chapter 3 is the following: "What is the relevance of the socio-historic and literary context of the Gospel of Mark for this study regarding the implication of the ? of Jesus in word and deed proclamation in the Gospel of Mark?" The socio-historic context indicates that the adressees of the Gospel of Mark probably suffered persecution. The relevance of the socio-historic context can be read from the fact that the author of the Gospel of Mark encourages the adressees in their unique situation(s) en guides them on their response as followers. This corresponds with Jesus' discipleship calling to bear one's own cross. From the literary context it becomes clear that the central discipleship section in Mark 8:27-10:52 forms a structural unit in the Gospel of Mark. Christology and discipleship are central themes in Mark 8:27- 10:52. These two themes are directly related to the implication of the ? of Jesus in word- and deed proclamation in the Gospel of Mark?" The literary context also shows that the Gospel of Mark is a dramatic, apocalyptic, eschatologic narrative that is also a biography. As a biography of Jesus, the Gospel of Mark focuses on Jesus as Subject who serves, but also on his disciples who must deny themselves and serve God. The specific question posed in Chapter 4 is the following: "What is the relevance of the revelation-historic context of the "Son of man" enunciations in Mark 8:27-10:52 for the implication of the ? of Jesus in word and deed proclamation in the Gospel of Mark? In Chapter 4 it is shown that the "Son of man" enunciations should be understood within the revelation-historical relation between the Old and the New Testament. Jesus proclaims Himself, amongst other titles in the Gospel of Mark as the Son of man. The Son of man is a glorious and kingly figure (cf Dan 7:13 & 14), .but also a humble figure who suffers (cf Isaiah Jes 40-55; Sagaria; the Psalms). It is further more important to realize that there is a relationship between the Messiah and His servants in the Old Testament and the Son of man and his followers in the Gospel of Mark. The specific question, posed in Chapter 5 is the following: "What is the implication of the ? of Jesus in word and deed proclamation in the Gospel of Mark?" It is shown from Mark 8:27-9:1 that the ? of Jesus has redemptive, discipleship, as well as judgemental implication. Following Jesus means to serve Him as believer and saved person. Following Jesus is to serve Jesus and God with the same attitude as Jesus served His Father and people. It is shown from Mark 9:30-37 that humble and loving service is necessary between leaders and all followers. This service should be specifically aimed at the least ones in the community of faith. Humble service towards one another and the least ones is not degraded. It is extremely important work because it is at the same time service towards Jesus and God. At the feet of the least in church and society we receive the most humble Servant and our Supreme God, the most important of all. It is shown from Mark 10:32-45 that selfish behaviour and pride among leaders must be replaced with a humble attitude and submission to God, fellow believers and fellow man." This discipleship has its origin in the reconciliatory work of Jesus. It is shown from Mark 10:46-52 that Jesus sent people to the outsiders and sufferers along the road to call them to Him. His aim is to save them that they may join and serve Him and others. In Chapter 6 this study reaches its conclusion. God had according to the Gospel of Mark a specific purpose with the ? of Jesus in word and deed proclamation. Through His word proclamation Jesus reveals the will of His Father who sent Him to earth. This message of the Kingdom of God is a message of hope. Through His deed proclamation Jesus brings salvation to many people. The life of Jesus was a life of humble, sacrificing and loving service. His service makes their service possible. He calls all His followers to serve God until! He comes again. Every believer is a follower of Jesus and part of the missionary church as fishers of men. Each believer is sent out in the world with the sacrificing love of Jesus to serve God, fellow believers, his fellow man especially the least ones and those who suffer. Leaders and followers should live according to the same principle: Follow Jesus by serving God and your fellow man. Every follower is a servant not only at the feet of the least ones and those who suffer, but also at the feet of the greatest Servant and our Supreme God. / Thesis (Ph.D. (New Testament))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2010

The modelling of volatility has long been seminal to finance and risk management in general, as it provides information on the spread of portfolio returns. In order to reduce the overall volatility of a stock portfolio, modern portfolio theory (MPT), within an efficient market hypothesis (EMH) framework, dictates that a well-diversified portfolio should have a market beta of one (thereafter adjusted for risk preference), and thus move in sync with a benchmark market portfolio. Such a stock portfolio is highly correlated with the market, and considered to be entirely hedged against unsystematic risk. However, the risks within and between stocks present in a portfolio still impact on each other. In particular, risk present in a particular stock may spill over and affect the risk profile of another stock included within a portfolio - a phenomenon known as volatility spill-over effects. In developing economies such as South Africa, portfolio managers are limited in their choices of stocks. This increases the difficulty of fully diversifying a stock portfolio given the volatility spill-over effects that may be present between stocks listed on the same exchange. In addition, stock portfolios are not static, and therefore require constant rebalancing according to the mandate of the managing fund. The process of constant rebalancing of a stock portfolio (for instance, to follow the market) becomes more complex and difficult during times of financial distress. Considering all these conditions, portfolio managers need all the relevant information (more than MPT would provide) available to them in order to select and rebalance a portfolio of stocks that are as mean-variance efficient as possible. This study provides an additional measure to market beta in order to construct a more efficient portfolio. The additional measure analyse the volatility spill-over effects between stocks within the same portfolio. Using intraday stock returns and a residual based test (aggregate shock [AS] model), volatility spill-over effects are estimated between stocks. It is shown that when a particular stock attracts fewer spill-over effects from the other stocks in the portfolio, the overall portfolio volatility would decrease as well. In most cases market beta showcased similar results; this change is however not linear in the case of market beta. Therefore, in order to construct a more efficient portfolio, one requires both a portfolio that has a unit correlation with the market, but also includes stocks with the least amount of volatility spill-over effects among each other. / MCom (Risk Management), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013

Résumé : Au Québec, la crise de l’industrie porcine a particulièrement affecté la coopérative La Coop fédérée. En réponse à cette crise, la marque de certification Porc certifié La Coop a été développée afin de personnaliser le produit et se différencier sur les marchés. Considérant le succès du Porc certifié La Coop sur les marchés d’exportation et les préoccupations grandissantes de consommateurs pour la qualité des aliments, La Coop fédérée envisage maintenant de mettre en valeur la marque de certification Porc certifié La Coop auprès de consommateurs québécois. Une résidence au sein de La Coop fédérée nous a permis d’identifier trois principaux enjeux liés à cette mise en valeur : la stratégie de communication, la stratégie de marque et la stratégie de certification. La stratégie de communication correspond au nombre et à la nature des signaux à mettre en valeur sur l’emballage (ex. : respect du bien-être animal, porc nourri à 100 % de grains végétaux et porc élevé sans antibiotiques), la stratégie de marque a trait à la présence ou non d’une marque sur l’emballage (ex. : Lafleur) et la stratégie de certification concerne la présence ou non d’une marque de certification (ex. : Porc certifié La Coop). La principale hypothèse de l’étude précise deux éléments. D’abord, la propension à payer pour la stratégie de communication comportant trois signaux est plus élevée que la propension à payer pour la stratégie de communication comportant un seul signal. La nature additive du modèle multiattributs permet de comprendre ce phénomène. Ensuite, la propension à payer est plus élevée lorsque la stratégie de marque utilise une marque réputée et une marque de certification réputée. Selon la théorie des signaux, il y a alors un lien de vulnérabilité à la marque réputée et un lien de vulnérabilité à la marque de certification réputée, ce qui renforce la crédibilité des signaux. Une expérimentation a été réalisée au moyen d’un panel Internet. L’échantillon final de l’étude est de 1 060 consommateurs québécois. Deux principaux résultats ressortent de l’étude. Premièrement, la propension à payer pour la stratégie de communication comportant trois signaux n’est pas toujours plus élevée que la propension à payer pour la stratégie de communication comportant un signal. Ce résultat s’explique par la dominance du signal bien-être animal au Québec. Deuxièmement, les résultats montrent l’absence d’effet modérateur des stratégies de marque et de certification. Il semble donc que le lien de vulnérabilité ne permet pas toujours de renforcer la crédibilité des signaux. Une autre variable est à considérer pour renforcer la crédibilité des signaux, soit la responsabilité sociale perçue. // Abstract : In Quebec, the crisis in the pork industry particularly affected La Coop fédérée cooperative. In response to this crisis, the certification mark “Porc certifié La Coop” was developed to customize the product and differentiate it in the marketplace. Given the success of the certification mark on the export market and the growing concerns of consumers about food quality, La Coop fédérée is now planning to promote the certification mark Porc certifié La Coop to Quebec consumers. A residency within La Coop fédérée has helped identify three main issues related to this campaign: the communication strategy, the branding strategy and the certification strategy. The communication strategy is the number and nature of the signals presented on the packaging (e.g., animal welfare, 100% grain-fed pork, pork raised without antibiotics), the branding strategy is the presence or absence of a brand on the packaging (e.g., Lafleur) and the certification strategy is the presence or absence of a certification mark on the packaging (e.g., “Porc certifié La Coop”). The main hypothesis of this study specifies two elements. First, the willingness to pay for the communication strategy with three signals will be higher than the willingness to pay for the communication strategy with only one signal. The additive nature of the multi-attribute model explains this phenomenon. Second, the willingness to pay will be higher when the branding strategy uses a reputed brand and the certification strategy uses a reputed certification mark. According to the signaling theory, there is then a vulnerable bond to the reputed brand and a vulnerable bond to the reputed certification mark, which strengthens the credibility of the signals. An experiment was conducted using an Internet panel. The final study sample totaled 1060 Québec consumers. Two main results emerged from the study. First, the willingness to pay for the communication strategy with three signals is not always higher than the willingness to pay for the communication strategy with one signal. This result is explained by the dominance of the animal welfare signal in Québec. Second, results show that the branding and the certification strategies have no moderating effect. This result seems to indicate that the vulnerable bond does not always strengthen the credibility of the signals. Another variable strengthens the credibility of the signals – that of perceived social responsibility.

The Gospel According to Thomas is found in the second manuscript of codex II of a set of texts found in Nag Hammadi, Egypt, collectively referred to today as the Coptic Gnostic Library. This gospel was readily identified as Thomas due to fragments of a Greek version of the text having already been discovered and identified in the 1890s at Oxyrhynchus, Egypt. However, the discovery near Nag Hammadi in 1945 C.E. was not of fragments, but it actually contained the entire text of Thomas. Thus, the finding of the entire text in Nag Hammadi brought about a set of questions that had not yet surfaced from the fragments of Thomas previously found at Oxyrhynchus, Egypt. For example, was Thomas actually written by Didymus Jude Thomas? If Thomas did not write it, then by whom was it written, and why did the actual author claim it to be written by Thomas?

Proteins are fundamental structural, enzymatic and regulatory components of cells. Analysis of proteins, such as by measuring their concentrations, characterizing their modifications, and detecting their interactions, provides insights in how biological systems work physiologically or pathologically at the molecular level. To perform such analysis, molecular tools with good sensitivity, specificity, high multiplexing and throughput capacity are needed. In this thesis, four different assays were developed and applied to detect and profile proteins and protein complexes in human body fluids, and in cells or tissues. These assays are based on targeting proteins or protein complexes by oligonucleotide-conjugated antibodies, and subsequent proximity dependent enzymatic reactions involving the attached DNA reporter sequences. In paper I, a solid-phase proximity ligation assay (SP-PLA) was applied to detect synthetic and endogenous amyloid beta protofibrils. The SP-PLA provided better sensitivity and increased dynamic range than a traditional enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). In paper II, in situ PLA was applied to investigate the correlation between MARK2-dependent phosphorylation of tau and Alzheimer’s disease. Greater numbers of MARK2-tau interactions and of phosphorylated tau proteins were observed in brain tissues from Alzheimer’s patients than in healthy controls. In paper III, a multiplex SP-PLA was applied to identify protein biomarker candidates in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) disease and in the analgesic mechanism of spinal cord stimulation (SCS). Among 47 proteins in human cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples, four were found at significantly lower concentrations (p-values < 0.001) in the samples from ALS patients compared to those from healthy controls (follistatin, IL-1α, IL-1β, and KLK5). No significant changes of the analyzed proteins were found in the CSF samples of neuropathic pain patients in   the stimulated vs. non-stimulated condition using SCS. In paper IV, a new technology termed the proximity barcoding assay (PBA) was developed to profile individual protein complexes. The performance of PBA was demonstrated on artificially assembled streptavidin-biotin oligonucleotide complexes. PBA was also proven to be capable of profiling transcriptional pre-initiation complexes from nuclear extract of a hepatic cell line.

Religious language has been theorized in multiple ways. I will look at how religious language has been theorized in the work of Jürgen Habermas and in the field of cognitive linguistics. I will compare these approaches to religious language and assess the results. In doing so, I will indirectly assess the confluence of these two theoretical approaches. My conclusion is that even with the similarities between these theoretical frames, religion is thematized differently under each method. Jürgen Habermas’s definition of religion as the output of ritual praxis is not compatible with the normative place of religious language found in cognitive linguistics.

Mastering the physical aspect of piano technique has long been a topic of great interest and importance to pianists. This is borne out in the numerous pedagogical approaches on the topic of piano technique. Despite the many contributions from pedagogues and scholars in developing an understanding of piano technique, many conflicting approaches often cause more confusion than clarity. After reviewing the literature on pedagogical approaches to piano technique, this study determined that problematic language might lie at the root of the confusion. Core concepts identified in the review of literature as recurring areas of misunderstanding were tension, relaxation, co-contraction, arm weight, and hand and finger shape. The purpose of this study is to seek where issues of language exist in contemporary piano pedagogical approaches and to show how these problems may contribute to the systemic confusion in piano technique. To do this, the language that is used to describe and define the core concepts identified in the review of literature is analyzed in five modern pedagogical approaches. Five authors who have developed approaches that reflect current trends in piano technique have been selected for this study: Barbara Lister-Sink; Dorothy Taubman; Thomas Mark; Fred Karpoff; and Alan Fraser. The first step of this study entails collecting data from each of the five pedagogical approaches. The data is then analyzed for consistency and accuracy. Problems in language that contribute to the inconsistencies and inaccuracies are examined and illustrated with material from the data collection. This study concludes by identifying the main sources of confusion in the use of language: inconsistent and inaccurate use of terms; wavering between scientific, common, and invented language; challenges in describing opposing qualities that come from tension and relaxation; and failing to discern between the individual subjective experience and the mechanics of movement. By recognizing where the problems in language exist, this study represents an important first step for the pedagogical community to reach a common understanding of the language used to describe the physical aspect of piano technique.

After experimental beginnings in the 1970s, a commercial push in the 1980s, and an underground existence in the 1990s, from 2000 to 2007 contemporary Australian horror production has experienced a period of strong growth and relative commercial success unequalled throughout the past three decades of Australian film history. This study explores the rise of contemporary Australian horror production: emerging production and distribution models; the films produced; and the industrial, market and technological forces driving production. Australian horror production is a vibrant production sector comprising mainstream and underground spheres of production. Mainstream horror production is an independent, internationally oriented production sector on the margins of the Australian film industry producing titles such as Wolf Creek (2005) and Rogue (2007), while underground production is a fan-based, indie filmmaking subculture, producing credit-card films such as I know How Many Runs You Scored Last Summer (2006) and The Killbillies (2002). Overlap between these spheres of production, results in ‘high-end indie’ films such as Undead (2003) and Gabriel (2007) emerging from the underground but crossing over into the mainstream. Contemporary horror production has been driven by numerous forces, including a strong worldwide market demand for horror films and the increasing international integration of the Australian film industry; the lowering of production barriers with the rise of digital video; the growth of niche markets and online distribution models; an inflow of international finance; and the rise of international partnerships. In light of this study, a ‘national cinema’ as an approach to cinema studies needs reconsideration – real growth is occurring across national boundaries due to globalisation and at the level of genre production rather than within national boundaries through pure cultural production. Australian cinema studies – tending to marginalise genre films – needs to be more aware of genre production. Global forces and emerging distribution models, among others, are challenging the ‘narrowness’ of cultural policy in Australia – mandating a particular film culture, circumscribing certain notions of value and limiting the variety of films produced domestically.

Infectious diseases are increasingly being recognised as significant threatening processes in conservation biology. Developing strategies to effectively manage infectious diseases in wildlife is, therefore, of the utmost importance to the maintenance of global biodiversity. The effective management of infectious diseases relies on understanding the ecology of the host, the epidemiological characteristics of the pathogen and the impacts of the pathogen on the host population. However, for most wildlife-disease systems this information remains poorly understood. This is particularly true for endangered species threatened by novel infectious agents as opportunities to observe and assess disease impacts and host-pathogen dynamics in the wild are limited. The Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii), the world’s largest carnivorous marsupial, is threatened with extinction as a result of an epidemic of an emerging disease, a fatal infectious cancer known as Devil Facial Tumour Disease (DFTD). In this thesis I capitalised on a unique dataset from a population of Tasmanian devils where disease arrived part-way through an intensive longitudinal study, and utilised existing genetic samples collected prior to DFTD outbreak, to determine the impact of DFTD on the demography, population dynamics, genetic diversity and population genetic structure of wild Tasmanian devils. I then used this knowledge of the impacts of DFTD impacts in an unmanaged population to evaluate the effectiveness of a disease management trial involving the selective culling of infected individuals. I employed mark-recapture models to investigate the impact of DFTD on age-specific and sex-specific apparent survival rates, to examine the pattern of variation in infection rates (force of infection), and to investigate the impact of DFTD on population growth rate. I investigated demography, life-history traits and morphometric parameters of infected and uninfected individuals to determine the impacts of DFTD on age-structure and sex-structure, female fecundity and individual growth rates. I used this information to assess the population’s ability to respond to low population densities and to compensate for the detrimental impacts of DFTD. To determine the genetic consequences of disease-induced population decline I used microsatellite DNA to compare genetic diversity, population genetic structure and dispersal patterns in three Tasmanian devil populations prior to and following DFTD outbreaks. Capture-mark-recapture analyses revealed that the arrival of DFTD triggered an immediate decline in apparent survival rates of devils, the rate of which was predicted well by the increase in disease prevalence in the population over time. Transition rates of healthy individuals to the diseased class (the force of infection) increased in relation to disease prevalence, while the arrival of DFTD coincided with a marked and ongoing decline in the population growth rate. There was a significant change to the age structure following the arrival of DFTD. This shift to a younger population was caused by the loss of older individuals as a direct consequence of DFTD-driven declines in adult survival rates. Evidence of reproductive compensation in response to these disease impacts was observed via a reduction in the age of sexual maturity of females over time. However, widespread precocial breeding in devils was precluded by physiological and ecological constraints that limited the ability of one year olds to breed. Using temporally-replicated spatial genetic data, I found evidence of increased inbreeding following DFTD arrival and greater population genetic differentiation in post-disease populations. These changes appeared to be driven by a combination of selection and altered dispersal patterns of females in DFTD-affected populations. Comparison of demographic and epidemiological parameters indicative of disease progression and impact between the managed and unmanaged populations revealed that selective culling of infected individuals neither slowed the rate of disease progression nor reduced the population level impacts of this debilitating disease; with culling mortality simply compensating for disease mortality. This thesis provides one of the few direct empirical evaluations of the impact of an emerging wildlife disease epidemic on a wild population. This thesis revealed that infectious diseases can result in major demographic and genetic changes in host populations over relatively few generations and short time-scales. Results showing dramatic and ongoing population declines and very limited population compensation in DFTD-affected populations indicate that DFTD poses a significant extinction risk for wild devil populations. Hence, this study confirms that host-specific pathogens can pose a significant extinction risk for wild species, even in the absence of alternate reservoir hosts, a finding critical to our understanding of host-pathogen dynamics. My thesis also highlights the potential negative interplay between disease susceptibility and host genetic variability, which is of utmost importance to the management of novel wildlife epizootics and the conservation of threatened wildlife in general. The thorough understanding of the ecology and impacts of DFTD in the wild obtained in this study has provided a solid base from which to both rigorously assess the outcome of management strategies and also formulate recommendations for the management of this disease in the wild. The lack of evidence for successful control of the DFTD epidemic in a wild population during the first phase of a selective culling experimental adaptive management approach, points to the need to implement a multi-faceted disease management program when attempting to control a novel infectious disease in the wild. By drawing on the lessons learnt in this case study I show that it is possible to establish a set of general guidelines for the future management of infectious diseases in threatened wildlife.

Thesis (M.A.)--Indiana University, YEAR. / Title from screen (viewed on August 26, 2009). Department of English, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI). Advisor(s): Jane E. Schultz, Jonathan R. Eller, Robert Rebein. Includes vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 80-83).