Major population shifts shape both economic and physical landscapes of nations because demographic and economic drivers are inextricably linked. This study follows a three essay approach focused on the impact of population aging on two broad categories, physical and economic development in the United States. Specifically, this dissertation investigates later life entrepreneurship, elder housing choices and the impact of aging on rural prosperity. It appears that age is a factor in later life labor force participation choices, with 61 to 70 year olds and those over 70 years of age exhibiting a greater tendency toward self-employment than their 50 to 60 year old counterparts. However, individuals over age 60 are more likely to retire than transition to self-employment. Still, economic developers should consider small business development programs that include even those ahead of the baby boomer cohort. Amongst recent mover households, age influences dwelling selection. Households headed by 50 to 69 year olds are more likely to move to single family dwellings of 1,000 to just under 3,000 square feet. Conversely, households headed by individuals aged 70 years or more, are more likely to select multi-family dwellings and in particular, smaller units (under 1,000 square feet). Thus, oldest individuals are more likely to relocate to the smallest, highest density units even after controlling for increased housing costs, shocks, income and children. These results suggest that older households are not homogenous in their housing preferences. As expected, population aging impacts rural prosperity. The effect is not significant for the proportion of the population aged 70 to 79 years. However, the greater the percentage of the population that is 50 to 59 years of old or 60 to 69 years old, the less likely a rural county is to be prosperous. Contrary to this finding, the greater the proportion of the population that is 80 years of age or older, the greater the likelihood of rural prosperity. It was originally hypothesized that rural areas may fall short of prosperity because of a mismatch between an aging labor force and the prevalence of physically demanding occupations - this is likely not the case. / Ph. D.

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The goal of the present thesis is to explore the activity and assess the situation of a private dental office and to propose measures to improve its prosperity. The results of the said analysis and proposals may be utilised by either the current practitioner-entrepreneur or her daughter, a fresh practitioner. It is a partial goal to identify the key specifics of dental practitioner entreprising. In the theoretical part, I focus my attention to the specifics of small and medium businesses and characterise the individual aspects of management, marketing, personal management, and financial management. In the practical part, I apply the gathered theoretical findings in identifying the factors affecting the prosperity of a private dental office and laying down proposals to maintain the current situation and improving it in the future. Some of the proposed measures have already been applied in practice in the course of completion of this diploma thesis.

O presente trabalho tem por objetivo comparar a teologia do evangelho de Marcos com a neopentecostal. Enquanto a teologia marcana é interpretada como antitriunfalista, conduzindo as comunidades a perceberem o Cristo da cruz, o movimento neopentecostal faz o caminho oposto. Sua ênfase é o caminho triunfalista/sem cruz. Num primeiro momento, será abordado o ambiente das primeiras comunidades cristãs, que surgiram após a paixão, morte e ressurreição de Jesus. Posteriormente, serão apresentadas algumas considerações sobre a intenção do evangelista Marcos ao escrever seu evangelho. Por fim, será tratado ainda o tipo de enfoque bíblico-doutrinário do movimento neopentecostal. Já os principais resultados da pesquisa foram: a) incompatibilidade entre a ideologia neopentecostal com a abordagem teológica do evangelho de Marcos; e b) a perspectiva/ideologia triunfalista não é inerente apenas ao movimento neopentecostal. Já na época em que Marcos escreveu seu evangelho, a comunidade para quem ele destina sua obra também adotou essa postura triunfante sobre a figura de Jesus. / This dissertation compares the theology of the Gospel of Mark with that of the neopentecostal movement. While Markan theology is interpreted as antitriumphalist, leading faith communities to recognize the Christ of the cross, the neopentecostal movement takes the opposite path. Its emphasis is on triumph, the way without the cross. I begin by considering the environment of the first Christian communities that arose after Jesus passion, death, and resurrection. I then present several reflections on the intention of the evangelist Mark when he wrote his Gospel. Finally, I deal with the particular biblico-doctrinal focus of the neopentecostal movement. The main findings of this research were: a) there is a fundamental incompatibility between the neopentecostal ideology and the theological approach of the Gospel of Mark; and b) the triumphalist perspective/ideology is not inherent only to the neopentecostal movement. Even at the time when Mark was writing his Gospel, the faith community for which he intended his work had also adopted a triumphalist view of the figure of Jesus.

This dissertation traces the rise of Jim and Tammy Bakker and analyzes the birth and growth of prosperity theology in the United States of America. It highlights how Jim and Tammy created a form of Pentecostalism that grew alongside and because of the growth of the Sunbelt. It blossomed in the new suburban enclaves of this region. Jim Bakker's religious ideas had their roots in an increasingly powerful anti-New Deal coalition that was led by the conservative business community. Positive thinking and the prosperity gospel reinforced their beliefs in unfettered markets and their opposition to activist government. Bakker combined these ideas with an emphasis on the family, creating a power new kind of religion. It became a form of cultural conservatism that increasingly shaped American society in the 1970s and 1980s, helping transform political issues into moral and religious questions.

This report analyzes the Igreja Universal do Reino de Deus (Universal Church of the Kingdom of God)—a Brazilian neo-Pentecostal church—by its capacity to enchant everyday life in modern, disenchanted worlds. It provides a history of the church, a cultural biography of its founder, and a description of the church’s demonology and ritual life. It argues that through ritual performance, members come to embody the church’s discourse of biblical sacrifice. This process enchants their lives and sanctifies their participation in modern, disenchanted institutions such as late capitalism and medical science. It further argues that previous scholarship has interpreted neo-Pentecostal churches from an implicitly ethical perspective that is rooted in Western modernity. This perspective, in turn, has led to unwarranted dismissiveness toward church members’ self-reports of the empowerment they experience through their religious life. / text

This thesis analyzes the factors that affect the prosperity of SMEs. In the theoretical part, these factors are divided into four basic areas of business management - management, marketing, human resources management, financial management. There is a description of methods and approaches, whose application allows to find the correct causes of the current or past situation of the company. In the practical part, these methods are applied to a purely manufacturing company KRC SRO & CO, k.s., which has a relatively short history, but great potential. The company is part of a multinational group of companies whose business is the production of electrical components and specialization is production cemented and enamelled resistors. The objective of this work is to analyze the company according to these criterias and make a list of recommendations and possible strategies to improve the current situation.

Dominant ‘society centred’ interpretations of social capital in Australia are inadequate to explain the economic fortunes and social prosperity of rural Australian communities. Given the continued contention over interpretations and measurement of social capital, this research sought to assess the relationship between different interpretations of social capital and rural communities’ resilience and prosperity. ¶ Utilising both quantitative and qualitative techniques to establish the relative levels of social capital in two communities of divergent growth, the primary objective was to test the association asserted between levels of social capital and prosperity and resilience in the rural Australian context. ¶ The research findings highlight three notable issues. Surveying social capital with current instruments is only effective in establishing the well being of rural communities which appears related to their resilience, not their ability to prosper. Secondly, the operational frameworks and responsibilities for social capital adopted by governments dictate the manner in, and degree to which they deem bridging and linking networks necessary and appropriate. This significantly affects the role social capital is perceived to play in communities. Lastly, while interpretations of social capital regard it as a normative factor in social life, rather than being comprised of different and dynamic elements affecting communities’ ability to prosper, the concept will remain unable to effectively contribute to the policy domain.

The trajectory of religious phenomena has been to give a reflective, yet formative understanding of the ethos endemic to a culture. Pursuant to this thought, the ethos of African American religion can rightfully be described as a religious sociological construct, mired in a myriad of changes. These changes have had a profound effect on how African Americans relate to their God, their world, and themselves. The chief aim of this enterprise is to chronicle the transformation of Black Religion in the United States, noting the social and economic factors that served synergistically to formulate its current mission. I conclude that the advancements made during the Civil Rights Era have served as an impetus, within the past thirty years, that has resulted in a shift in the mission of Black Religion. I contend that this shift is away from the traditional communal appeal to a more individualistic appeal that substantiates middle-class African American religious ideology. I further contend that the rise of the African American middle-class religious ideology has contributed to the perpetual state of the African American underclass as illustrated in Black Religion. In undertaking this effort, I have drawn from an assortment of books and articles in addition to church literature, audio sermons, and personal interviews. In establishing a premise for this argument, this thesis will explore the religious modus vivendi of early slaves. The Black Church was born out of the need to combat the atrocities and vicissitudes that were directly and indirectly a result of slavery. Slavery, therefore, provides a meaningful basis in which to begin to understand the embryonic stage of the church. After examining the formative years of Black Religion, I will then construct a cogent argument as to how the Civil Rights Movement employed Black Religion as a tool to empower the Black community, thus appealing to the community. I will then proceed to compare how Black Religion was employed during the Civil Rights Era to how it is employed presently. This comparison will provide the premise for my argument.

This is a case study that focuses on how John 10:10, with its mention of abundant life, has been interpreted by some Yoruba preachers of the ‘prosperity gospel’ in the course of preaching and teaching. The quotation below is one way in which John 10:10 has been understood: No one has an inheritance in a family to which he does not belong. In the same way being born again is a prerequisite for you to be an inheritor of the rich heritage made available by covenant through the shed blood of Jesus. It is our heritage to be fruitful, prosperous, healthy and to enjoy long life among other things because Jesus came to give the believer an abundantly good life (Jn. 10:10).1 The underlying presupposition that has facilitated this understanding is usually left undisclosed; rather all the congregation hears is that “this is the word of God”. The manner in which this understanding is attained and grounded is the concern of this study. Is this type of reading responsible or legitimate? Does it commit God to do what the preacher says God would do? Does it adequately reflect the message of Jesus as portrayed in the fourth gospel? To what extent is the interpretation in continuity or discontinuity with past understanding of other readers of the same text? From what vantage point is this type of reading taking place? These are the issues that this study grapples with. The hypothesis of this study is that the context of the Yoruba prosperity preacher has a great influence on his/her understanding and interpretation of this passage of scripture. In terms of the social location of the researcher, she is a Yoruba who has lived in the Yoruba context since birth until about a decade ago to engage in further studies. She got exposed to Campus Christianity in the early 80s and became ‘born-again’ then. She is a member of one of the Classical Pentecostal churches in Nigeria. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2010.