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This thesis concerns questions of being in good relation, with others and the created world, in John Milton’s Paradise Lost, which shows interdependent and positive self-other relationships in Eden, as well as a mutual, constructive, and enduring relationship between God and humanity. Working with Lee Morrissey’s suggestion that “subjectivity requires difference, not, as Adam had assumed, similarity” (“Eve’s Otherness” 340), my thesis not only suggests that Milton’s poem esteems relationships that recognize others as welcome additions to the self – hence, Milton’s “other self” (8.450, 10.128) – rather than subtractions or even self-absorptions, but also explores what specific differences emerge across relationships (e.g., God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit versus Satan, Sin, and Death) and how they might fulfill or, conversely, upend God’s plan for His original created good to continue as such. I argue that within Paradise Lost, both earthly and divine self-identity develops and becomes fully realized only through relationships with others. And further, because the good in the created world of Paradise Lost comes from humanity’s relationship with God, this relationship is the basis of all relationships that are good. / Dissertation / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) / This dissertation studies relationships in John Milton’s Paradise Lost, a poem that shows interdependent and positive self-relationships in Eden, as well as a mutual, beneficial, and enduring relationship between God and humanity. My thesis not only suggests that Milton’s poem extols relationships that recognize others as welcome additions to the self rather than subtractions or even self-absorptions, but also explores what specific differences emerge across relationships (e.g., God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit versus Satan, Sin, and Death) and how they might help or impede God’s plan for His original created good to continue for all time. I argue that within Paradise Lost, both earthly and divine self-identity develops and becomes fully realized only through relationships with others. Further, because the good in the created world of Paradise Lost comes from humanity’s relationship with God, this relationship is the basis of all relationships that are good.

<p> Recent scholarship has added to our knowledge about the court masque, reinforcing its significance for the literature of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Milton's Comus has profited from such re-assessment so that its high valuation as dramatic literature need no longer be regarded as incompatible with its success as a court masque. The new seriousness of approach to the court masque in general and Milton's Comus in particular provides the impetus for an examination of the rest of Milton's poetic output for the purpose of tracing there the influence of his experience with the complimentary court entertainment.</p> <p> The court entertainment was encomiastic in intent, this encomium being patterned according to certain conventions. Paradise Lost, which praises God, uses a number of these conventions. Contrary to usual epic practice, Milton does not immortalize worldly conquests and compliment the statesmanship of his nation's leaders. Early notions of a British epic, to use the Arthurian or other indigenous material, were abandoned in favour of a work to celebrate the heavenly king and the spiritual kingdom. In the finished poem epic structures are interpreted in ways suggestive of the influence of court pageantry. Encomium of the heavenly king is expressed in the God-centred structure of Paradise Lost. The whole action of the poem focusses on the throne of the omniscient viewer. The angels sing and dance about this throne as the court danced before royalty in the court entertainment, and even creation is the setting for "a Race of Worshippers" (VII.630). A foil to the glory of Heaven, provided in the parodic activities of the fallen angels in Hell, suggests the conventions of the antimasque and the comedy of misrule. The victorious reign of Christ is celebrated, as many a pageant celebrated the reign of a seventeenth-century king, in a tournament. A mock battle in which no one is maimed, this culminates in the triumphal entry of Christ himself in a pageant chariot, symbolically banishing, rather than waging battle with, the forces of evil. In Satan's pilgrimage to earth even the traditional epic wanderings are transformed into an allegoric progress. The devices of the court entertainment inform the action of the poem, which is made up of processions, ceremonies and masques. The scenic spectacle, too, is influenced by the theatrical effects and iconography of royal pageantry.</p> <p> One might expect Heaven and Hell to be presented in terms of allegoric theatre, but in Paradise Lost even the garden itself is a golden world which works according to the pastoral conventions that so often informed court entertainments. Adam and Eve are the poem's legendary rulers. As he describes the pomp of the prelapsarian kingdom, Milton relies on a knowledge of contemporary pageantry. Here such pageantry expresses the perfection of the most perfect earthly kingdom of all. Referring to a legend often used to glorify the British court, Milton says of Paradise: "Hesperian Fables true, / If true, here only" (IV.250-51). To see Paradise Lost in the context of the contemporary pageantry and masque theatre is to see it not as history reconstructed, but as historic incident transmuted through the use of a series of literary devices into encomiastic fiction. The fictional world of the poem is designed to justify the workings of God's creation; it glorifies the providence of the omnipotent creator.</p> / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

To assess the relative contribution of phosphorus release from sediment in Cootes Paradise Marsh, I first examined spatial and temporal variability of laboratory-measured release rates from sediment samples collected from 12 sites within the wetland (Chapter 1 ). The microbial communities from these 12 sites were characterized on the basis of sole-carbon-source utilization using BIOLOG GN plates containing 95 substrates. Results from these experiments were entered into a principal component analysis and the release rates for all sites were regressed against corresponding PC 1 and PC2 scores (Chapter 2). Differences in microbial physiology as defined by PC 1 and PC2 scores accounted for 49% and 53%, respectively of the variation in phosphorus release rates. Using stepwise multiple regression, I concluded that the key determinants of laboratory-derived release rates from West Pond sediment (a highly eutrophic site within Cootes Paradise Marsh) are oxic state, ambient temperature and time of sediment collection (Chapter 3). Using this information I developed a multivariate model to predict release rates. This model, along with 2 alternative approaches, was used to estimate the extent of internal loading (kg d-1) in Cootes Paradise Marsh (Chapter 4). Method 1 was a highly controlled, static approach and resulted in an internal load of 11 .6 kg d-1, which was attributed to diffusion. The remaining two methods were more dynamic in nature as they took into account temporal variation, ambient temperature and the development of anoxia. Using Method 2, I estimated an internal load of 7.8 to 8.5 kgd-1, which was based on empirically-derived laboratory release rates. Method 3 consisted of the predictive model from which I estimated an internal load of 6.7 kgd-1• I attributed the release from the latter two methods to microbial mineralization processes. Based on this work and a previous estimate of internal loading in Cootes Paradise Marsh (Prescott & Tsanis 1997), I concluded that mineralization accounts for 22.3% of total phosphorus loading to the system, preceded only by urban runoff ( 41% ). / Thesis / Master of Science (MS)

Conflicts surrounding newly proposed land-uses can have profound and lasting effects on all stakeholders in the land development process. While considerable attention has been directed toward finding ways to mediate land-use conflict, little is known about why such conflict develops: What are the key factors that produce negative perceptions of land-use change? What are the key dimensions that may effect a response to such changes? What is the nature of that response? This study explores these questions focusing on a case study of a newly-proposed land-use change in the Town of Paradise Valley, Arizona. Two separate questionnaire surveys are employed in the study. The first is used to assess conditions prior to widespread knowledge of the proposed change, and the second to evaluate residents' perceptions and responses once the change is widely known and its full impact has been appreciated. Perceptions and responses to the newly-proposed use are modeled using two stepwise multiple regression models. Residents' land-use expectations, community-level activism, as well as their tie to community and location, are found to be significant predictors in both the perception and response models. A general conceptual framework of necessary and sufficient conditions is advanced that captures a series of threshold effects observed between significant predictor and criterion variables.

ohn Milton (1608-1674) lived in an age marked by religious discussion. The English Civil War (1640) had one of its supporters involving religion, literary texts were composed with biblical allegories, and Milton, following the habits of his own time, created literary works with sacred influence. For this reason and for a long time, Paradise Lost has been seen under the biblical myth that served as material basis for the composition of the epic. Before the Romantics, few critics had dared to leave the comfort zone and had rehearsed an analysis that took care of other aspects besides the contributions of classical authors and literary works or the biblical myth itself. The Romantics opened up a new critical line which was concerned with the characters of Paradise Lost, in special Satan. They heard the voices that bring to life the epic narrative and they had found a model for their own age. The heroic noble Satan of the Romantics, however, does not respond to the complexity of the character. Far from being a mere embodiment of evil, an element that can be blamed for all misfortune, the Miltonic Satan has in himself traces from the anterior good. He is victimized by the understanding of his present and slaughtered with the memories of his past; the character is placed between the image of a great leader externalized to the other angels, and the doubts that overcome his thoughts. This thesis aims to counteract these two parts of the character. / John Milton (1608-1674) viveu em um período marcado pela discussão religiosa. A guerra civil inglesa (1640) tivera um de seus suportes envolvendo a religião, textos literários foram compostos com alegorias bíblicas, e Milton, seguindo os hábitos de seu tempo, criou obras com influência sacra. O Paradise Lost, por causa disso, foi, durante muito tempo, observado à luz do mito bíblico que serviu de matéria base para a composição do épico. Antes dos românticos, poucos críticos ousaram sair da zona de conforto e ensaiaram uma análise que cuidava de outros aspectos além da contribuição de autores e obras clássicas ou do mito bíblico. Com os românticos, abriu-se definitivamente uma linha crítica atenta às personagens do Paradise Lost, em especial de Satã. Eles ouviram as vozes que dão vida à narrativa épica e descobriram um modelo para o seu próprio tempo. O Satã heróico e nobre dos românticos, no entanto, não responde à complexidade da personagem. Longe de ser uma mera materialização do mal, um elemento que possa ser culpado por todo o infortúnio, o Satã de Milton abriga em si vestígios do bem anterior. Vitimado pela compreensão de seu presente e abatido com as memórias do passado, a personagem coloca-se entre a imagem de grande líder exteriorizada aos outros anjos e as dúvidas que dominam os seus pensamentos. Esta dissertação tem por objetivo contrapor essas duas partes da personagem.

The heavenly empyrean was the highest expression of the Medieval Weltanschauung (world view). It served as the outermost sphere of the Aristotelian/Ptolemaic geocentric cosmos while possessing an eminent theological status. This paper explores the importance of the empyrean during the Scholastic Period (eleventh through fourteenth centuries).

The Epic is situated between history and the myth. It is a tribute to the entire cultural experience of a society to one character who has made a mark on their time, and derives all past, present, and future values of that society from this character thus rendering the epic a source of identity serving to distinguish itself from others. And of all the places in the world there is no place I would rather be. From the mind of the critically acclaimed visionary who brought you illuminazioni, Non Worldwide and Paradiso, Comes part one of An earth shattering Epic Globalist Thriller, Introducing : ONTICIDE 1 A new novel by Chino Amobi

Lorenzo Ghiberti's east door of the Baptistery of San Giovanni in Florence, long famed as the Gates of Paradise, displays Old Testament stories in sculptural relief on ten gilded bronze panels. Stressing the significance of the Gates of Paradise as a public monument imbedded in the fabric of Florentine society will enhance our understanding of the cultural use of the door within its built environment. Consideration of its context could in turn clarify the motivation behind the choices for the iconographical program. Previous studies of the Gates of Paradise tend to isolate each narrative panel rather than examining the Gates as one door made up of ten unified panels (including decorative framing). As a result, the Gates of Paradise have rarely been looked at in terms of architectural function or context. The approach of the present study focuses on the Gates of Paradise as a significant architectural feature of Florence's built environment, as a feature that functioned as a centerpiece for the Baptistery and the Cathedral complex, and as a setting for the many spectacles that took place in that environment. This investigation aims to define the inseparable religious and civic functioning of the Gates of Paradise and to identify connections between specific function and the iconographical program. The research examines in depth the imagery of the Gates of Paradise, scrutinizing the function of the Gates within its physical setting, in the ceremonies of baptism, and in the regular rituals of the Florentine liturgical calendar. This hitherto-unexamined analysis of the Florentine liturgical ritual utilizes Medieval and Renaissance service books such as the Ritus in ecclesia servandi, Mores et consuetudines canonice florentine, Missal Ms. Edili 107 (Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana), and the Missale romanum Mediolani, 1474. The examination of the Gates' function offers illumination of the possible meaning(s) conveyed by the choice of biblical narratives that make up the program. Research suggests that the iconographical program for the Gates of Paradise connects predominantly to its major function as the principal ritual entrance for the Baptistery. The program reiterates the liturgy for the season leading up to the Church's traditional celebratory period of baptism and the baptismal liturgy. While most days throughout the year the south portal was used for the daily baptismal ceremony, this special baptism-related use of the Gates reinforce the liturgy of the season which teaches and emphasizes the significance of the sacrament of baptism and the role of the Church in salvation.

1. Institute of Marine Biology, National Sun Yat-sen University 2. Department of Biology, National Changhua University of Education Abstract Brain serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine; 5-HT) generally serves an inhibitory role in aggressive behavior. But little is known about how 5-HT works during agonistic interaction and where the related works take place in the brain. Paradise fish has regular and ritual process of agonistic interaction which can be separated into three phases, namely, initial phase, threatening phase, and fighting phase. In initial phase, two fish encounter and swim close to each other. In threatening phase, two fish display shaking, head-tail swimming to threat their opponent. In fighting phase, two fish bite each other. With its stereotyped pattern of agonistic behaviors and amenability for pharmacological manipulation, paradise fish represents an excellent model for studies on neurochemical basis of aggressive behaviors. The results suggested that proper visual stimulus stemming from the interacting opponents elicits a socially stressful state that activates the telencephalic serotonergic system of the receipting paradise fish. The elevated serotonergic activity appears to inhibit the interacting individuals from entering fighting phase by constraining them to threatening phase. Presumably, diminishing activity of the telencephalic serotonergic system ushers in physical fighting behaviors.