abstract: Understanding agricultural land use requires the integration of natural factors, such as climate and nutrients, as well as human factors, such as agricultural intensification. Employing an agroecological framework, I use the Perry Mesa landscape, located in central Arizona, as a case study to explore the intersection of these factors to investigate prehistoric agriculture from A.D. 1275-1450. Ancient Perry Mesa farmers used a runoff agricultural strategy and constructed extensive alignments, or terraces, on gentle hillslopes to slow and capture nutrient rich surface runoff generated from intense rainfall. I investigate how the construction of agricultural terraces altered key parameters (water and nutrients) necessary for successful agriculture in this arid region. Building upon past work focused on agricultural terraces in general, I gathered empirical data pertaining to nutrient renewal and water retention from one ancient runoff field. I developed a long-term model of maize growth and soil nutrient dynamics parameterized using nutrient analyses of runoff collected from the sample prehistoric field. This model resulted in an estimate of ideal field use and fallow periods for maintaining long-term soil fertility under different climatic regimes. The results of the model were integrated with estimates of prehistoric population distribution and geographical characterizations of the arable lands to evaluate the places and periods when sufficient arable land was available for the type of cropping and fallowing systems suggested by the model (given the known climatic trends and land use requirements). Results indicate that not only do dry climatic periods put stress on crops due to reduced precipitation but that a reduction in expected runoff events results in a reduction in the amount of nutrient renewal due to fewer runoff events. This reduction lengthens estimated fallow cycles, and probably would have increased the amount of land necessary to maintain sustainable agricultural production. While the overall Perry Mesa area was not limited in terms of arable land, this analysis demonstrates the likely presence of arable land pressures in the immediate vicinity of some communities. Anthropological understandings of agricultural land use combined with ecological tools for investigating nutrient dynamics provides a comprehensive understanding of ancient land use in arid regions. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Anthropology 2013

In the history of the U.S.-Japan relations, Commodore Perry’s expedition can be considered both as a great destination for the U.S. westward expansion and a watershed for Japan’s modernization. The previous scholars on this historical event have built a basis for understanding its political intentions, historical significance, and influence on Japan’s social transformation. Considering the historiography of the U.S.-Japan relations in Commodore Perry’s expedition, this study will examine the encounter of the U.S. and Japan by focusing more on the complexity and diversity of the agencies from various people’s perspectives. In order to accomplish the goal, this study firstly demonstrates the chronological study of the U.S. encounters with Japan/the Ryukyu Kingdom (Okinawa). The second chapter will integrate several accounts of members in the expedition and Japanese officials/intellectuals/commoners to investigate a variety of experiences and perspectives in terms of the following three ideas: race, gender, and Christianization/Civilization. The final chapter will include the Ryukyuan and Japanese perspectives into the narrative of Commodore Perry’s expedition to include various viewpoints from all three, the Americans, Japanese and Ryukyuans.

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En kvantitativ enkätstudie genomfördes för att undersöka samband mellan att spela våldsamma pc/tv-spel och aggressivitet. Urvalet bestod av tillgängliga respondenter på Facebook och GameReactors Facebooksida där enkäten delades. 123 stycken deltog i undersökningen varav 85 män och 38 kvinnor. För att undersöka deltagarnas spelvanor frågades hur ofta de spelar pc/tv-spel samt våldsamma spel och hur roligt de ansåg att våldsamma pc/tv-spel var. För att mäta deltagarnas aggressivitet användes testet Buss-Perry-Questionnaire som mäter aggression och fyra underskalor av aggression (fysisk aggression, verbal aggression, ilska och fientlighet). Spearmans korrelationstest användes för att undersöka samband mellan variablerna för att se om spelvanorna av våldsamma spel gav högre poäng på aggressivitet eller någon av de fyra underskalorna. Resultatet visade inga signifikanta samband mellan att spela våldsamma pc/tv-spel ofta och någon aggressionstyp. Samband fanns mellan att tycka det är roligt att spela våldsamma pc/tv-spel och verbal aggressivitet samt fysisk aggressivitet. Ett Mann Whitney U test visade skillnader mellan män och kvinnor då det gällde spelvanor och aggressivitet. Männen spelade våldsamma pc/tv-spel oftare, tyckte våldsamma pc/tv-spel var roligare, var mer fysiskt aggressiva och kvinnor var mer ilskna. Spearmans rangkorrelation visade ett negativt samband mellan ålder och att spela våldsamma pc/tv-spel ofta. De som var yngre ansåg dock inte att våldsamma spel var roligare än andra spel. Korrelationen visade inga signifikanta samband mellan ålder och aggression. Det visade sig alltså inte att de som var yngre var mer aggressiva. Slutsatsen som dras är att de som tycker om att spela våldsamma pc/tv-spel tenderar att vara mer verbalt aggressiva och fysiskt aggressiva. När det gäller frågan att spela våldsamma spel ofta är det oklart om speltiden påverkar aggressionen hos en person och mer forskning behövs på ämnet. / A quantitative survey was carried out to investigate the connection between playing violent PC / video games and aggression. The sample consisted of respondents available on Facebook and Gamereactor's Facebook page where the survey was divided. 123 people participated in the survey, of which 85 men and 38 women. To explore participants' gaming habits they were asked how often they play the PC / video games and violent game and how funny they thought that violent PC / TV game was. Bus-Perry-Questionnaire where used to measure participants' aggressiveness which measures aggression and four subscales of aggression (physical aggression, verbal aggression, anger and hostility). Spearman's correlation test was used to examine the relationship between the variables to see if the gaming habits of violent games gave higher scores on aggression or any of the four sub-scales. The results showed no significant correlation between playing violent PC / video games often and any type of aggression. Correlation existed between thinking it is fun to play violent PC / video games and verbal aggression and physical aggression. The Mann Whitney U test showed differences between men and women when it came to gaming and aggression. Men played violent PC / video games more often, thought violent PC / video games were more fun, were more physically aggressive, and women were angrier. Spearman's rank correlation showed a negative correlation between age and playing violent PC / video games frequently. Those who were younger did not consider violent games as more fun than other games. The correlation showed no significant relationship between age and aggression. It appeared, therefore, that those who were younger were more aggressive. The conclusion is that those who enjoy playing violent PC / video games tend to be more verbal aggressive and physical aggressive. Regarding the question about playing violent games often is it unclear whether the playing time affects the aggression of a person and more research is needed on the topic.

IN ENGLISH Ralph B. Perry's general theory of value was the most extensive and influential axiological project undertaken in the USA prior to WWII. While Perry's main goal is to provide a general definition of value and to describe the means of its criticism, the project also deals with the nature of special values, including aesthetic value. This dissertation thesis traces the aesthetic vein in Perry's theory, which is concentrated on the terms of aesthetic interest and its passive correlate, the aesthetic object. These are also the centerpieces of the definition of aesthetic value. First, interest and its object are defined in their general sense; next, they are defined in their specific aesthetic sense. Perry defines aesthetic interest as the interest in apprehension, and the object of this interest as a problematic intentional object with an index-predicate structure: its index is the localizable source of stimulus, and its predicate, the reflected act of apprehension. The final chapter is devoted to the forms of interplay between aesthetic interest and other interests, and the criticism of aesthetic interest from the aesthetic and moral standpoint. In Perry's theory, the aesthetic value belongs among the trinity of universal values. It is considered autonomous as long as the aesthetic interest...

La place prépondérante du psychothérapeute comme facteur d'efficacité thérapeutique est reconnue et suggère l'importance du développement personnel et professionnel des étudiants en psychologie clinique. Cette recherche utilise l'échelle du développement épistémologique de Perry (1970) comme cadre conceptuel. Celle-ci décrit comment les personnes passent d'une vision absolue du monde, à une vision plus complexe où elles affirment leurs engagements face à des connaissances et des valeurs qu'elles perçoivent de manière relative. Puisque les niveaux avancés de cette échelle (relativisme et engagement) correspondent à la description des psychothérapeutes efficaces (Benack, 1988; Lovell, 1999a; McAuliffe & Lovell, 2006; Owen, 2006), il semble important de favoriser ce développement chez les étudiants. Cette recherche tente donc de comprendre quels éléments sont favorables à ce développement et quels processus sont mis à contribution. Elle met de l'avant un devis qualitatif. Des entrevues semi-structurées ont été menées auprès de sept étudiants du Doctorat en psychologie clinique (D. Ps.) de l'Université de Sherbrooke, pour explorer leurs points de vue actuels et rétrospectifs concernant leur développement professionnel. Les analyses sont de type thématique selon l'approche de Paillé et Mucchielli (2003). Selon les résultats de la recherche, les participants ont décrit un processus d'autonomisation professionnelle au cours duquel ils intériorisent leur auto-évaluation, ils s'approprient leur apprentissage et ils élaborent une conception dialectique de leur rôle de thérapeute. Ils décrivent ainsi des modalités d'évolution vers l'exercice autonome et compétent de la profession de psychologue clinicien.

Within the scope of this thesis, I provide close textual and visual readings of director/actor/producer Tyler Perry's most well-known character, Mable "Madea" Simmons -- a performance he does in full female drag attire -- focusing on his mainstream hit film, Madea Goes to Jail (2009). My reading of the character of Madea veers against the common narrative her existence being just another recycled trope of men disguised as women only to perform in stereotypical and demonizing behavior. I argue Madea represents what I refer to as a "trans*female character", within the space of Perry's popular film that feature her. Read through the lens of being trans*female character, I propose this shift in analysis and critique of cinematic displays of drag helps to transgress beyond male/female binaries of acceptable and possible visual gender representations. More in-depth, using the theoretical concept of Gwendolyn Pough's "bringing wreck", I make the argument that while ostensibly representing the "angry black woman" stereotype, Madea's characterization and actions within the film represent strategies and efforts to not be contained within hegemonic ideals of black female respectability politics and the law efforts to put her behind bars. By "bringing wreck", Madea's fictional acts of violence and talking back are read as a strategy that reflects a historical trend of misrecognition that renders black women's concerns and discontent with marginalization as irrational anger. / text

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Boston University. / The purpose of this dissertation is to investigate, by an examination of four philosophic points of view, the nature of selfhood. Although their thoughts diverge, the common assumption of Ralph Barton Perry, Edgar Sheffield Brightman, Jean-Paul Sartre, and Soren Kierkegaard appears to be that the self, rather than society, nature, or God, is the root of morality. Perry's philosophy, operating from the springboard of his polemic against idealism, is an expression of his doctrine of scientific method: that reality, including the reality of the self, is best discovered when the distorting effects of the observing self are minimized. These distortions include the several "fallacies of idealism" as well as the general idealistic error of assuming that being and being known are synonymous. Removal of the distortions reveals a self integrated with nature; a) epistemologically, in that consciousness means a structural unity of the objects of consciousness without residue; b) naturalistically, in that responses of the self to its environment are those of a natural, organic entity; c) morally, in that interest is the determiner of value, and the consummation of values--harmonious happiness--is derivable from that interest.[TRUNCATED]

The intent of this study was to explore the variance of epistemological development in pre-ministry undergraduates across different institutional contexts, using the Perry Scheme as a theoretical lens. Semi-structured interviews were employed in order to elicit information from participants that revealed their personal perspectives regarding their approaches to acquiring, maintaining, and implementing knowledge. Students from three institutional contexts were included in this study: secular university, confessional Christian liberal arts university, and Bible college. A review of the precedent literature for this research presented foundational biblical-theological and theoretical sources that defined and elucidated the context of this study. The biblical-theological analysis first identified the nature of human knowledge and development within the context of the redemptive-historical metanarrative. Then, two prominent biblical themes that relate specifically to epistemological development were treated: the knowledge of God and biblical wisdom. A thorough review of the Perry Scheme was then provided, including theoretical and philosophical underpinnings, the model itself, and major extensions and elaborations of Perry's model. A final section introduced the "principle of inverse consistency" as a paradigm for interacting with Perry and other developmental theories, from a biblical worldview. The qualitative research design consisted of five steps. First, the researcher contacted and enlisted students and obtained a Dissertation Study Participation Form from each participant. Second, a customized interview protocol was designed according to the Perry Interview Protocol, in conjunction with the Center for the Study of Intellectual Development (CSID). Third, a pilot study was undertaken. Fourth, one interview was conducted with each participant, and the interviews were transcribed and submitted to the CSID for scoring. Fifth, in addition to the scoring analysis performed by the CSID, the researcher designed and implemented an independent content analysis procedure, including a structured analytical framework of epistemological priorities and competencies. Finally, the scored data and content analysis results were evaluated together, and interpreted by the researcher to yield findings and implications. Overall, this research observed that epistemological positioning was generally consistent among pre-ministry students from differing institutional contexts. The CSID's stated majority rating for typical college graduates was reflected in each sample grouping-a point of transition between Positions 3 and 4, defined in the Perry Scheme as mid to late "Multiplicity." By certain measures, however, scores among context groups were distinguishable. For example, average scores for secular university students reflected a point very near, but slightly above Position 3, while average ratings among Bible college and liberal arts university students reflected a point essentially midway between Positions 3 and 4. Also, when a filter was applied that eliminated the results of the oldest and youngest sample participants, the liberal arts university grouping reflected a distinguishably higher epistemological position than other groupings. Evaluation of the research interview data according to the researcher's structured framework of epistemological priorities and competencies yielded findings that were consistent overall with the variations of levels of epistemological positioning as reported by the CSID. In addition, numerous prominent themes emerged from analysis of interviewees' articulations that were identified as bearing relevance to participants' epistemological maturation. Finally, the impact of effects of differing social-academic cultures on pre-ministry undergraduates' epistemological perspectives and maturation were examined. Evaluation of these themes and environmental conditions served to highlight numerous conformities as well as significant distinctions among pre-ministry students from differing institutional contexts.