Ernst Haeckel (1834-1919), Professor für Zoologie an der Universität in Jena, war der bedeutendste Vertreter des deutschen Darwinismus und wurde zum Wegbereiter einer neuen naturwissenschaftlich-monistischen Weltanschauung. Vor allem beeinflusst durch Goethes pantheistische Ideen und Darwins Entwicklungslehre betonte Haeckel die Beseeltheit der Natur, die Einheit von Gott und Welt, Geist und Materie, und anorganischer und organischer Natur. Im ersten Teil dieser Arbeit werden das Leben und Werk Haeckels mit einem besonderen Bezug zu denjenigen monistischen Themenbereichen, die auch in Tschechien Resonanz gefunden haben, vorgestellt. Im zweiten Teil wird die Rezeption des Haeckelschen Monismus im tschechischen Kulturraum am Ende des 19. und am Anfang des 20. Jahrhunderts präsentiert. Ausgehend von den tschechischen "Vordenkern" einer monistischen ganzheitlichen und einheitlichen Weltbezogenheit wird der Zeitgeist vor allem in Bezug auf die Tendenzen zur Entwicklung einer eigenständigen tschechischen nationalen Wissenschaftlichkeit und die durch diese Aspekte bestimmte Rezeption des Darwinismus charakterisiert. Der offensichtliche Mangel an tschechischen Übersetzungen von Schriften Darwins und Haeckels wird insbesondere durch die an Haeckel gerichtete Korrespondenz belegt. Vor allem Josef Bulova...

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-28T14:16:20Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Fabiana Dias Klautau.pdf: 9928422 bytes, checksum: 4c7e29e60807fb86fc2b38919431d035 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-08-08 / The purpose of this dissertation is the analysis of some aspects presented in Conrad Gesner´s Historia animalium (1551-1558), such as some information included in animal´s descriptions, its sources and images, as a vehicle of knowledge transmission. We intend to demonstrate that the content in Gesner´s work, as well as in his contemporary fellows, showed particular features which were consisted not only of anatomical and physiological animal´s descriptions, but they were especially comprised of information which today would be considered additional, as for example, what the ancients would say about each animal, the legends, the fables, its use in medicine, in culinary, in art, etc. All this correlated information was called, by some scholars of this period, the emblematic world view and they determined the scope of animal History in the sixteenth century. In order to demonstrate the interrelated information in Gesner´s writings, we selected not only his writings but also some works of other writers. One of them is Andrea Alciati´s Emblematum Libellus (1531), to which is attributed the dissemination of the emblems - a group of text and image designed to be deciphered, bringing intricate topics such as religion, love, betrayal, politics, moral, among others, which were widely covered in Gesner´s work. We also selected some examples of medieval bestiary to demonstrate how animals were described and illustrated in this kind of work, as well as Ovid´s (43 a.C 17 d.C) Ars Amatoria and the Methamorphoses, aiming at investigating this type of literature and, in later editions, the kind of images involving animals in these poems, in order to accomplish the case study about the mythical beast known as the Minotaur / O objetivo dessa Dissertação é analisar alguns aspectos na obra História animalium (1551-1558) de Conrad Gesner (1516-1565), entre eles, o tipo de informação contida na descrição dos animais, algumas de suas fontes e as imagens como via de transmissão de conhecimentos. Nossa intenção é demonstrar que o conteúdo da obra elaborada por Gesner, assim como por alguns de seus contemporâneos, apresentava características particulares e era composta não apenas por descrições acerca da anatomia e fisiologia das bestas, mas eram especialmente carregadas de informações adicionais, como por exemplo, o que os antigos diziam sobre cada animal, lendas, fábulas, uso na medicina, na culinária, na arte, etc. Todas essas informações interligadas faziam parte de uma rede de conhecimentos chamada por alguns estudiosos desse período de visão emblemática de mundo e de natureza, que caracterizou a História dos animais no século XVI. Para demonstrar algumas informações inter-relacionadas na obra de Gesner, selecionamos, além de seus escritos, trabalhos de outros autores. Um deles foi o Emblematum Libellus (1531) de Andrea Alciati (1492-1550), ao qual é atribuída a difusão dos emblemas - um conjunto de texto e imagem criados para serem decifrados, que traziam intrinsicamente mensagens de diversos temas como religião, amor, traição, política, moral entre outros, e que foram amplamente difundidos nas descrições de Gesner. Selecionamos também alguns exemplos de bestiários medievais para demonstrar como os animais eram descritos e representados nesse tipo de trabalho, bem como A arte de amar e as Metamorfoses de Públio Ovídio (43 a.C 17d.C) para averiguar o tipo de literatura, e em edições posteriores, de imagens que envolviam animais contidos nesses poemas, peculiarmente para realizar o estudo de caso sobre a besta mítica conhecida como minotauro. Contudo, foi possível expor ao longo do nosso trabalho o tipo de informação trazida nos textos e nas imagens das diferentes obras selecionadas

Severe intercommunal violence has repeatedly rocked Plateau State in the first decade of the new millennium, killing thousands of people. Observers have attributed the "crisis" to political, economic and social forces which breed pockets of exclusion and resentment. One notable model explains the violence through a paradigm of privileged "indigenes" who seek to prevent "settlers" from the political rights which would give them the access to the resources managed by the state and the economic opportunities that this entails. While not taking issue with the diagnosed causes of conflict, the Researcher argues that there is a substantial body of evidence being ignored which points to conflict cleavage having opened up along the divide of Christian-Muslim religious identity in a way that the settler-identity model does not sufficiently explain. On the basis that perceptions are as important as facts when it comes to seeking a transformational peace process, he sets out to map world-views, identities and ethics of the warring factions. The researcher, motivated to undertake this research by his direct experience of the 2008 crises and three years experience as an adviser to the EYN's rural development outreach in Adamawa and Borno States, posits that religion may indeed be part of the problem, and mosque and church must be partners to a solution. Forced to limit the scope of his research, he embarks on the initial stages of a practical theological investigation in order to review the conflict from a specifically religious perspective which might assist the Church in its efforts towards peace. Research is focussed on the perceptions of the pew faithful of two denominations in Plateau and Adamawa States and is based on an evaluation of interviews and focus groups which were held across a range of cohorts and settings in order to draw comparative conclusions. Respondents' backgrounds were both rural/urban, young/old, Muslim/Christian, and hailed from various ethnic groups (Berom, Tarok, Kamwe, Fali and HausaFulani). Evaluation methodology drew heavily on Grounded Theory and also included elements of Critical Discourse Analysis. The success of the methodology hinged on the ability of the Researcher to establish rapport and trust with respondents. The applied research methods were foremostly designed to build theory rather than statistically test any hypotheses. The thesis detects evidence not only for the salience of religion as a factor in the way conflict unfolds, but of religion displacing ethnicity as the marker of identity in some locations and age groups. It also demonstrates how ethno-religious narratives stemming from former rural strife between nomadic and sedentary populations and urban conflicts resulting from the competition for indigene rights have been conflated and then further reinforced by the emerging threat of Boko Haram, resulting in a narrative of a unified Muslim programme for conquest, domination and forced conversion. In tune with an undertaking couched in practical theology, this research also identifies a number challenges to the Church's witness and its ability to be a convincing force for reconciliation which arise from this. Eminently, there are signs that ethnocentric mores have been integrated into an emerging Christian identity, which engenders a monolatric perception of God and a penchant to reinforce boundaries rather than remove them. However, Christians also feel restricted by a Christian imperative to forego violence and beleaguered by an Islamic front which they perceive as having moral licence to perpetrate violence in pursuit of dominance. The researcher holds the conviction that it is the Nigerian Church who must embark on a theological process on her own to respond to some of these problems, and concludes with a number of propositions and recommendations to assist her on this voyage.

This multi-sited case study aims to explore spatial capacity through pen-and-paper and hands-on activity tests, and explore world view perceptions of space in an attempt to show that spatial conceptualisation is a rich and complex blend of spatial capacity and world view. This study is oriented in a interpretive-naturalistic paradigm and characterised by multi-dimensional quantitative and qualitative methods. The research, set in five secondary schools in the Eastern Cape, was carried out with 32 Grade 11 learners and was designed around seven stages. This study attempts to understand spatial conceptualisation by recognising that all learners have epistemological macrostructures (world views) that shape their perceptions of the world in general and of space in particular. The main contention of this study is that spatial conceptualisation cannot be understood in isolation, through studying achievements on traditional pen-and-paper tests only. A comprehensive understanding of an individual's spatial conceptualisation involves the recognition of hands-on skills and world views as well. Spatial capacity, defined here in terms of spatial visualisation and orientation constructs, was explored through a pen-and-paper and a hands-on activity test. The results show only a weak to moderate correlation between the two tests, suggesting that performance in a traditional pen-and-paper test was not necessarily a good predictor for performance in a hands-on activity-based test. The investigation of world views was underpinned by a logico-structuralist process centred in conversations around nine bi-polar themes. Through a process of content- and meta- analyses involving the participation of a validation team, world-view profiles were established. / In terms of the applied pen-and-paper test which explored spatial capacity, this study confirms males' dominance in all spatial tasks, particularly in three-dimensional problems. This was also found to be true for learners from the participating rural school and for those from disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds. In the hands-on activity test, however, the study revealed no observable gender difference in favour of the males, except for items that were characterised by the spatial orientation construct. Both the participating rural and township schools performed poorly in items characterized by the spatial visualisation and orientation construct compared to the other participating schools. Although participants from the rural and township schools found it difficult to articulate their world views in depth, the world-view perspectives of space of this sample reveal rich and complex profiles that are similar across all the schools. Despite leaning towards a Newtonian division of absolute and relative space and containing strong religious elements, this sample generally views space as mysterious, infinite and somewhat obscure. It often refers to space in Kantian ideas and related space in terms of subjective feelings. Females in particular, refer to their own `space bubble', for example. Out of the world-view profile analysis, a meta-analysis was conducted which explored thinking skills in terms of capacity to abstract, to be insightful, deal with complex issues, engage critically, and be imaginative. / This reveals that for this case, females were rated on a higher level than their male counterparts for their capacity to abstract and be complex (the capacity to identify related parts and to deal with composites), whereas males rated higher for showing insight, being imaginative, and being critical. Although there appear to be high correlations between the various tests, meta-levels and school performance for some of the participants, the same cannot be said for the sample as a whole. The world-view aspect of this study reveals a rich, often complex, understanding of space, strengthening the notion that world views are integral to a learner's cognition process.

This research investigates organisational capabilities and cultures of both partners as potential explanatory factors of co-operative R&D projects outcomes. Contributions to theory are (1) a justification for the existence of organisational capabilities and 'world views', (2) a parsimonious typology of 'world views' and (3) a method to measure organisational capabilities. The survey covers 514 projects in the electronics industry, in Germany, France, the United Kingdom and Finland. It obtains 120 full answers, each of which coupling responses from a matched pair of project managers having co-operated on the same R&D project. The survey refers to the organisation's capabilities, to those of the partner, to its 'world view', and to project outcomes. None of the traditional explanatory factors (geographic distance, difference in nationality, size or legal status, strategic compatibility) has any significant influence on any of the outcomes being studied (save one). The explanatory factors introduced by the research (organisational capabilities and 'world views') have a significant influence on almost all outcomes being considered of the co-operative R&D projects: attainment of concrete results, compliance with budget and schedule, creation and transfer of knowledge, learning (modification of capabilities). Cultural diversity, 'absorptive capacity', and teaching effects, selective according to the capability in question, are evidenced. Commonalities between partners are shown to be more important than distance. These results validate empirically organisational capabilities and 'world views' as descriptors of inter-organisational capabilities, and their operationalisation.

Since the end of the Cold War, Sweden’s security strategy has undergone radical changes. Due to recent years deteriorated security situation in Europe, the debate on Swedish NATO-membership has become more prominent. Previous research has mostly focused on the practical/military implications of the choice of security strategy whereas the knowledge about the political ideas and goals that are behind the choice of security strategy is largely unknow. Based on a qualitative approach, this thesis has studied how the Swedish foreign and security policy debate has changed between 1989–2018. Targeting the Social Democratic party, the Moderate Party, the Centre party and the Liberals, this thesis has described and analyzed these parties’ fundamental goals/values and world views from the perspectives of realism and liberalism. This study finds that there has been several changes both in world views and fundamental goals/values, where the earlier period in this study was more influenced by realism, to where liberalism started to become more prominent in the debate from the late 1990s until 2018, although realism has in some degree come back during recent years.

This research is premised on Armstrong's (1990:7) argument that „every interpretive approach reveals something only by disguising something else, which a competing method with a different assumption might disclose.‟ This statement indicates that preference or marginalisation of some literary theories impedes progress in African-language literary criticism because different literary theories tend to focus on one or a few selected aspects of a work art. This flows from the assumption that no literary theory can unearth all aspects and meanings of a literary text. This research comes against rigidity, conservatism and narrow-mindedness of those literary critics and scholars who refuse to open up and embrace literary theories which they are opposed to. The research is an attempt to demonstrate the benefit of flexibility and ability to accommodate even those opposing literary views that can make positive contribution in the field of African-language literary criticism. The research further calls for pragmatism, tolerance and co-existence of opposing literary views for the benefit of progress in the field of African-language literary criticism. This research is an acknowledgement of the fact that no literary theory is infallible because all literary theories have their own strong and weak points. In this research, a survey of literary approaches commonly applied in African-language criticism is conducted. This is followed by an analysis of a Tshivenḓa novel (i.e. A si ene) from different literary angles to prove that every literary theory can help to unmask a particular meaning of a literary text which no any other literary theory can do. For example, the intrinsic literary approaches will, most certainly, unlock the meaning of a literary text differently from the way the extrinsic literary theories do because diverse literary approaches focus on different aspects or elements of a work of art. This research is an endorsement of the argument that through multiple-reading of a literary text, readers‟ understanding of the same literary text is broadened and deepened. / African Languages / D. Litt. et Phil (African Languages)

This article explores the memories of childhood that Jose Maria Arguedas reconstructs in his letters and the recreation and imagination of himself as a symbol of the Peruvian nation. His recollections portrait ambivalent feelings of suffering and tenderness, with special attention to the need of protection, as well as the identification with the oral expression and the Andean world view, creating a new sense of otherness: one that is more connected to the emotions. Arguedas stablishes himself as a living bridge in Peruvian culture and as the reincarnation of a diverse country, filled with contradictions. / Este artículo aborda las memorias de infancia que José María Arguedas reconstruye en sus cartas y la recreación e imaginación de sí mismo como símbolo de la nación peruana. Sus recuerdos retratan sentimientos ambivalentes de sufrimiento y ternura, con especial acento en la necesidad de protección, y de identificación con el mundo oral y la cosmovisión andina, creando un nuevo sentido de “otredad”: uno ligado más a las emociones y los afectos. Arguedas se construye a sí mismo como un puente viviente en la cultura peruana y como la encarnación de un país diverso y lleno de contradicciones.

The phenomenon of orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) in Zambia is a consequence of the HIV and AIDS epidemic. Many of these children are orphaned at a critical developmental stage of their lives when parental care and nurture is most needed. In the African world view, children’s opinions in matters concerning them including care are rarely sort or heard. The main aim of this research was to gain a holistic understanding of the silent voices of children affected and/or infected by the HIV and AIDS, and specifically about their experiences of care and/or lack of it. The other aims were: 1) to research alternative means of getting the silent stories of the marginalized children heard by the Zambian society; and 2) to disseminate the research findings to policy makers. Ten children orphaned by AIDS and vulnerable children, who are the core-searchers, drawn from three Lusaka urban based NGOs participated in the study. The research process and experience was reflected upon by the researcher, co-researchers and the care givers. The research was carried out from a Practical Theology perspective and the narrative approach within the postmodern social-constructionist paradigm. The ABDCE model for fiction writing as a metaphor for doing narrative research was used. This approach enabled the researcher to carry out the research in a systematic manner. It also allowed the researcher and the co-researchers to begin and work together throughout the research process, as the researcher listened to the co-researchers’ stories and experiences of care and/or lack of it and was drawn into them. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Practical Theology / unrestricted

The master thesis called "Semiotics Han Tombs" does not only deal with the semiotics view of space of Han dynasty tombs, when we are examining the number of structures, which are permeating Han graves, we find structures of the world of man living in China, but this process also points to problems of culture interpretation which cultural semiotics helps to eliminate. Problems associated with the sign plays an important role in shaping the very cultural and social identity. The issue of understanding and interpretation of cultures occurs at the time when we select certain features or characters from the structure of a culture to freely create a system without having analyzed the real culture. Always all these elements must be considered in the context of the overall system or structure, or we only deal with empty concepts or definitions. In other words, we do not see the whole picture. Han tomb as a text is polysemous and in many respects incomprehensible. However, the creation, reading and semiosis takes place in it and it is the statement of understanding of this world. So revealing the speaker's worldview depends on the process of interpretation, because the statement may involve a degree of ideological connotations which determined the interpretation independently on the previous coding. Key...