Assignment (MDiv)--University of Stellenbosch, 2007. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Christians differ on various issues, among others, on dogmatic and ethical cases. Specifically, they differ on the will of God. However, a question which confronts Christians, is that their own interpretation of the will of God, often differs from that of other Christians. Christians still differ about the baptism. Churches that accept the baptism of a child and churches that accept re-baptism, offer differ which baptism what the real baptism is. Even though people differ on which form of baptism the real one is, it is important to understand the true meaning attached to the baptism. It is also important that a person has a good attitude when they differ from others about baptism. Toleration and embracement can help one to settle difference about baptism in a constructive manner. Toleration is described as the best solution when people find themselves in conflicting. Christians usually propose this as a compromise when they differ and in doing so, bring peace within a conflicting circumstance. Trust is important and patience also includes a minimal level of trust. Embracement requires that action takes place. It is a manner of expression to open yourself unto other and also welcome them. God wants more for his people than for them to live a unhappy life. God enjoy us and wants to enjoy communion with us. It can therefore be seen as one of the reasons why it is important that Christians should embrace each other when they differ does not turn into a dispute. When embracement and toleration is required, in certain situations, where people differ, reconciliation plays an important role. Communication is an integral part in the reconciliation process. Reconciliation is also important because it repair the relationship between God and man. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Christene verskil oor talle sake, onder andere oor leerstellige en etiese sake. Hulle verskil spesifiek oor die wil van God. ‘n Probleem waarmee Christene egter gekonfronteer word, is dat hul eie interpretasie van wat die wil van God in konkrete situasies is, dikwels verskil van dié van ander Christene. Christene verskil nog altyd oor die doop. Die kerke wat die kinderdoop aanvaar en die kerke wat die herdoop aanvaar, verskil oor watter doop die regte doop is. Al verskil mense oor watter vorme van die doop die regte doop is, is dit belangrik om die ryk betekenis wat aan die doop geheg word, te verstaan. Dit is ook belangrik dat ‘n mens ‘n goeie gesindheid moet het, wanneer jy met ander oor die doop verskil. Toleransie en omarming kan ons help om verskille oor die doop op ‘n konstruktiewe wyse te hanteer. Toleransie word beskryf as die beste oplossing wanneer mense in konflik is. Dit is gewoonlik ook die uitweg wat Christene voorstel wanneer hulle verskil, om sodoende die vrede te kan bring tussen mense wanneer hulle in konflik is. Vertroue is belangrik en verdraagsaamheid betrek 'n minimale vlak van vertroue. Omarming vra dat aksie moet plaasvind. Omarming is 'n manier van uitdrukking om jouself vir ander te gee en ook die ander te verwelkom. God wil baie meer vir sy mense hê as om 'n ongelukkige lewe te leef. God geniet ons en wil gemeenskap met ons hê. Dit kan dus as een van die redes gesien word hoekom dit belangrik is dat Christene mekaar moet omarm wanneer hulle verskille het, sodat die verskille nie geskille word nie. Wanneer omarming en verdraagsaamheid vereis word, in situasies waar mense verskil, speel versoening 'n belangrike rol. Kommunikasie is belangrik in die proses van versoening. Versoening is ook belangrik omdat dit die verhouding tussen God en mens herstel.

Thesis (D. Th.)--University of Stellenbosch, 2004. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The need of reconciliation in South Africa is still voiced by many. Along with this need, the absence of church unity between the DRChurch and URChurch, churches which are still divided along racial lines, remains a sad reality. A division which has its origin partially in a reconciliation-ritual of commensality which was inculturated in Africa on wrong unscriptural grounds. Within this South African and Reformed reality the question of this research was born, namely: “Which rituals can be inculturated in South Africa in general, and in the liturgy of the DRC and URC in particular, to assist with the processes of reconciliation and church unity?”. This question is subsequently approached in a multi-disciplinary fashion with a ritualliturgical exploration. The methodological starting points in the research process entail firstly that Post’s liturgical-scientific research methodology of intereference and intuition is used as an overarching approach, and secondly along with this in the initial phase of the research the method of ethnography or participatory observation for the collection of the ritual data. Within this methodology the theoretical starting points centre around the concepts of ritual, reconciliation and liturgical inculturation. And within the field of Practical Theology this research process moves with a spiral movement between practice and theory. The basic theoretical starting point is that within the field of Liturgy a ritual approach is used, and for this reason partners were found within the domain of Ritual Studies to examine the phenomenon of reconciliation-rituals. The ritual theory of some experts on the topic is presented with which the collected data was later evaluated. Along with this ritual theory, liturgical inculturation is used as a critical reciprocal steering concept which also involves both the tradition and theology in a criterium for the evaluation and formation of rituals. With this methodological and theoretical basis five ritual probes were conducted with regards to reconciliation, namely a cultural anthropological, a Biblical, a liturgicalhistorical, an actual descriptive and a South African ethnographic probe. These probes brought several findings to the fore which can, within an African and Reformed context,be systematised within the context of the process from fast to feast as an overarching metaphor. Drinking and eating together, or the absence thereof, coupled with reconciliation, is present throughout all the probes like a leitmotiv and is also the central finding of this research. More findings concerning reconciliation rituals however came to the fore in each probe. These findings are summarised at the end of each probe and will help to stimulate the ritual imagination concerning reconciliation. However, such imagination must remain within a critical-normative Practical Theological liturgical scientific framework. The finding of this research basically attempts to show that a variety of rituals can be inculturated within the processes of reconciliation and church unity in the DRC, URC and South Africa. The process from fast to feast gives insight into the ‘what’, ‘when’ and ‘how’ concerning the inculturation of reconciliation rituals within an African and Christian context. Fast and feast, which amongst other things also entails eating and drinking together or the absence thereof, runs like a golden thread throughout all the probes. Rituals showing these qualities of commensality are pre-eminently fit to serve as reconciliation rituals, although they have sometimes in the past had the power to do exactly the opposite. Therefor the finding of this research is that this feature of commensality can be developed within South African and Reformed reconciliation rituals, but in such a way that it serves reconciliation and church unity. And for this purpose some ritual-liturgical guidelines are presented. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Vanuit verskeie oorde word die noodsaak vir versoening in Suid-Afrika steeds bepleit. Saam hiermee is die uitbly van kerkeenheid tussen die NGKerk en VGKerk, kerke wat steeds op grond van ras verdeel is, ‘n betreurenswaardige realiteit. ‘n Verdeeldheid wat deels sy oorsprong het in ‘n versoeningsritueel van saam eet en drink wat op ‘n verkeerde onskriftuurlike wyse in Afrika geïnkultureer is. Vanuit hierdie Suid-Afrikaanse en Gereformeerde situasie kom die vraag wat hierdie ondersoek aanspreek na vore, naamlik: “Watter rituele kan in Suid-Afrika in die algemeen, en in die liturgie van die NGK en VGK in die besonder, geïnkultureer word om te help in die prosesse van versoening en kerkvereniging?”. Hierdie vraagstelling word vervolgens op ‘n multi-dissiplinêre wyse met behulp van ‘n ritueel-liturgiese ondersoek aangespreek. Die metodologiese uitgangspunte in hierdie proses van ondersoek behels dat daar van Post se liturgiewetenskaplike ondersoekmetode van interferensie en intuïsie as oorkoepelende benadering gebruik gemaak word, en saam daarmee in die inisiële fase van data-kollektering die metode van etnografie of deelnemende observasie. Binne hierdie metodologie sentreer die teoretiese vertrekpunt rondom die begrippe ritueel, versoening en liturgiese inkulturasie. En binne die kader van die Praktiese Teologie word daar met ‘n spiraalbeweging tussen teorie en praktyk beweeg. Die basiese teoretiese uitgangspunte behels dat vanuit die Liturgiek met ‘n rituele benadering gewerk is. Binne die veld van die sogenaamde Rituele Studies is vennote gevind om die fenomeen van versoeningsrituele te bestudeer. Die rituele teorie van enkele eksperte word gepresenteer waarmee die gekollekteerde data beoordeel is. Saam met hierdie rituele teorie is die begrip liturgiese inkulturasie gebruik as ‘n krities wederkerige studerende konsep wat ook die teologie en tradisie betrek in die kriterium vir die beoordeling en ontwerp van rituele. Met hierdie metodologiese en teoretiese basis is vyf rituele peilings ten opsigte van versoening gedoen, te wete ‘n kultureel-antropologiese, ‘n Bybelse, ‘n liturgiehistoriese, ‘n aktueel beskrywende en ‘n Suid-Afrikaanse etnografiese peiling. Hierdie peilings hetverskeie bevindinge na vore gebring wat in ‘n Afrika-Gereformeerde konteks binne die proses van vas tot fees as oorkoepelende metafoor gesistematiseer kan word. Saam eet en drink, of die afwesigheid daarvan, gekoppel aan versoening loop as ‘n leitmotiv deur al die peilings en is die sentrale bevinding van hierdie ondersoek. Daar het egter ook meerdere bevindinge of roetemerkers ten opsigte van versoeningsrituele uit die peilings na vore gekom. Hierdie bevindinge wat saamgevat word aan die einde van elke peiling, help om die rituele verbeelding te stimuleer, maar dít juis binne ‘n krities-normatiewe Prakties Teologiese liturgiewetenskaplike raamwerk. Die bevinding van hierdie ondersoek behels basies dat ‘n verskeidenheid rituele in die prosesse van versoening en kerkvereniging geïnkultureer kan word in die NGK, VGK en Suid-Afrika, maar dat die proses van vas tot fees insig verleen in die ‘wat’, ‘wanneer’ en ‘hoe’, ten opsigte van die inkulturasie van versoeningsrituele binne ‘n Afrika- en Christelike-konteks. Vas en fees, wat onder andere saam eet en drink of die afwesigheid daarvan behels, loop soos ‘n goue draad reg deur al die peilings. Rituele wat hierdie eienskappe van kommensaliteit vertoon, is by uitstek geskik om te dien as versoeningsrituele, al het diesulke rituele ook soms in die geskiedenis juis die teenoorgestelde vermag. Daarom word voorgestel dat hierdie eienskap van kommensaliteit juis uitgebou word in Suid-Afrikaanse Gereformeerde versoeningsrituele, maar op só ‘n wyse dat dit versoening en kerkeenheid dien. En hiervoor word enkele ritueel-liturgiese riglyne aangereik.

Assignment (M.Div.)--University of Stellenbosch, 2007. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This research was done from the viewpoint that because of different reasons believers and congregations of the Dutch Reformed Church in South Africa are struggling to make a significant contribution to processes of reconciliation in this country and thereby to a certain extent fail to live out the church’s witness in this regard. Therefore the question was asked how this church can be guided to play a bigger part in processes of reconciliation in the midst of phenomena like race-prejudice, race-discrimination and subtle and blatant forms of racism in South Africa today. By focusing on few of the causes of these phenomena as well as certain perspectives on missio Dei theologies, an attempt are made to guide the Dutch Reformed Church towards involvement in processes of reconciliation, the transformation of broken relationships between people of different races and the eradication of racism. A number of hermeneutical processes are being emphasized in order to guide the church towards a miss ional praxis of reconciliation. The essence of this praxis entails the eradication of stereotypes regarding ‘the other’, by focusing on an inculturation approach in the light of missio Dei theology. By focusing on an interpretation of missio Dei as God’s reconciliation through the poor, an attempt was made to guide the church towards involvement in processes aiming at economic justice. This research is therefore an attempt to guide the church towards the discernment of her role as the witnesses of Christ within this context in South Africa today. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie navorsing is vanuit die uitgangspunt gedoen dat gelowiges en gemeentes van die NG Kerk in Suid-Afrika om verskeie redes in ‘n mindere mate daarin slaag om ‘n daadwerklike (getuienislewerende) bydrae tot versoeningsprosesse in Suid-Afrika te lewer. Na aanleiding van hierdie stelling word die vraag gevra na hoe die NG Kerk ‘n groter rol kan speel in prosesse van versoening en die transformering van verhoudinge tussen verskillende mense in Suid-Afrika, veral te midde die realiteit van rassevooroordeel, rassediskriminasie en subtiele en blatante rassisme vandag. Deur te let na enkele oorsake van rasseskeiding en rassisme, asook verskeie perspektiewe op missio Dei teologieë, word daar derhalwe gepoog om die NG Kerk hierdeur tot betrokkenheid in die transformering van gebroke rasseverhoudinge en die uitwissing van rassisme in Suid-Afrika vandag te begelei. Verskeie hermeneutiese prosesse word in die proses benadruk ten einde die kerk by te staan in die onderskeiding van ‘n missionale versoeningspraksis binne hierdie konteks. Die essensie van hierdie praksis, wat op verskeie hermeneutiese prosesse steun, bestaan daaruit om stereotipes aangaande ‘die ander’ uit die weg te ruim deur op ‘n inkulturasie-benadering tot missio Dei te fokus. Daar word ook voorstelle gemaak oor hoe om versoening tussen mense te bevorder deur die nastreef van ekonomiese geregtigheid. ‘n Aanvullende benadering tot missio Dei, nl. missio Dei as God se versoening asook God se sending deur die arme dien as basis hiervan. Op hierdie manier het hierdie navorsing ‘n bydrae gelewer oor wat die NG Kerk kan doen om versoening tussen mense groepe in Suid-Afrika te kan bewerkstellig en om haar getuienis i.t.v. hierdie konteks te oriënteer.

Justice and reconciliation are both highly complex concepts that are often described as incompatible alternatives in the aftermath of violent conflicts, despite the fact that both are fundamental to peacebuilding in societies divided by the legacies of political violence, oppression and exclusion. This thesis examines the relationship between justice and reconciliation, pursued as essential ingredients of peacebuilding. After advancing an inclusive working conceptual framework in which seemingly competing conceptions regarding justice and reconciliation are reconceived to work compatibly for building peace, the thesis presents the results of an in-depth case study of Rwanda's post-genocide justice and reconciliation endeavour. The thesis focuses on Rwanda's justice and reconciliation efforts and their relationship to the ongoing challenge of reformulating Rwandans' social identities. A field research conducted for this study revealed that issues of victimhood, justice and reconciliation were highly contested among individuals and groups with varied experiences of the country's violent history. Resolving these conflicting narratives so that each Rwandan's narrative/identity is dissociated from the negation of the other's victimhood emerged as a paramount challenge in Rwanda's quest for justice and reconciliation. Rwanda's approach to justice and reconciliation can be seen as an innovative both/and approach that seeks to overcome dichotomous thinking by addressing various justice and reconciliation concerns in compatible ways. However, by limiting its efforts to the issues that arose from crimes committed under the former regimes, the justice and reconciliation endeavour of the Rwandan government fails to reconcile people's conflicting narratives of victimhood, which will be essential to transform the existing racialised and politicised ethnic identities of Rwandan people.

Diversity within a habitat is determined largely by ecology and species interactions. Studies to date, however, rarely examined the role of intraspecific aggression in promoting coexistence and diversity. This is especially true in cities, where community ecology is poorly understood. This knowledge is important for basic understanding of how ecological principals come into play in our newly created habitats, as well as for reconciling human-dominated areas for wildlife.I studied the effect of human-made habitats on hummingbird abundance and diversity in Tucson, Arizona. To do that, I examined community organization and competitive interactions among four hummingbird species. I answer the questions: What is the community organization of hummingbirds in Tucson? How do characteristics of human habitats (e.g., landscaping and artificial resources) affect diversity? What mechanism underlies this pattern? And how can we apply this knowledge to conservation?To perform this study, I established a citizen science project - the Tucson Hummingbird Project (http://hummingbirds.arizona.edu). Trained participants reported abundance and behavior of hummingbirds in their backyards. Landscaping and resources (feeders and nectar plants) varied between yards.Results show that the distribution of hummingbirds in Tucson varies by species. Diversity, rather than merely abundance, increased with higher habitat heterogeneity and with more resources. Competitive interactions differ between species. Notably, intraspecific competition takes precedence over interspecific competition in the dominant and most common species, Anna's hummingbird.Based on the data, I suggest that Aggressive Resource Neglect (ARN) promotes coexistence and results in higher diversity when resources are augmented. When there are more feeders, they are distributed over a larger area. This reduces the ability of a territory-owner to defend these resources. While the territory-owner chases intruders, other individuals gain access to feeding opportunities. When dominant individuals prefer chasing conspecifics (as with Anna's hummingbird), this results in higher diversity.Besides discussing theoretical aspects, I apply this knowledge to conservation. Information on the community ecology enabled me to suggest ecologically-based ways to reconcile the city for native hummingbirds. By adding resources following an ecological protocol, we can promote biodiversity and surround ourselves with native wildlife, such as hummingbirds.

<p>This dissertation examines the conflict in Eastern Anatolia in the early 20th century and the memory politics around it. It shows how discourses of victimhood have been engines of grievance that power the politics of fear, hatred and competing, exclusionary claims to statehood and territory by Turks, Armenians, and Kurds. Grounded in extensive archival research in American, British, Turkish, and Armenian historical repositories, I trace how discourses of communal victimhood were generated around the traumatic ordeals in the two decades that preceded the Armenian genocide of 1915-6, carried out by the Young Turk government. The dissertation pays special attention to the nature of political tension and debate among Armenians on the eve of the genocide as well as rethinking the events and later interpretations of the iconic Armenian uprising in the Ottoman city of Van in 1915. The analysis here goes beyond deterministic, escalationist and teleological perspectives on the antecedents of the Armenian genocide; instead, it highlights political agency and enabling structures of the war, offering a new perspective on the tragic violence of Eastern Anatolia in the early 20th century.</p> / Dissertation

The research work has engaged in a critical missional reflection on the effectiveness of Tarayyar Ekklesiyoyin Kristi A Nigeria (TEKAN) as an ecumenical instrument for justice and peace in Jos, a central area in Northern Nigeria that has been bedevilled with violent conflicts commonly associated with religio-cultural and socio-political factors. The scope of this study is limited to a conceptual exploration of the issues. In the critique of TEKAN, an inherent contradiction is identified within its identity, vocation and witness. The theoretical framework that guided this study embraced an interdisciplinary approach on issues about God’s mission (Missio Dei) through the Church (Missio Ecclesia) that propels Ecumenical engagement (Oikoumene) and leads to the quest of Justice and Peace (Dikaiosune & Shalom) for all humanity. The ecumenical witness of TEKAN within the environment of Jos calls into question its effectives as a tool of transformation in a multi-political and religious environment plagued by violence. The data gathered by various commissions of inquiry into the crises of Jos seems to suggest that a study approach to problems of justice and peace will not resolve the deeply entrenched problems. Therefore, the ultimate test of whether TEKAN will develop into an effective missional and ecumenical instrument for justice and peace in Jos will be dependent on taking radical steps that embrace a genuine mission audit of its identity, vocation and witness that will empower the organization to meet the deep challenges of the people of Jos and their quest for authentic human development built on justice and peace. / Thesis (M.Th.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2011.

A doctoral thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of PhD of Loughborough University.

This research examines the impact of work-family reconciliation policies on gender inequality in the labour market, and on the division of paid work and care in the household. Policies designed to help families meet their work and care responsibilities have undergone considerable reform over the last fifteen years. The research aims to understand how this has affected the way that earning and caring are divided between mothers and fathers, and the implications of this for mothers’ labour market outcomes. The research compares two cohorts; the National Child Development Study (NCDS) tracks individuals born in 1958, and the British Cohort Study (BCS) those born in 1970. These cohorts experienced the key childbearing years of their early thirties on either side of a fairly sharp discontinuity in work-family reconciliation policy. The research aims to link this difference in policy environments to differences the way that couples in each cohort divide paid work and care, and in the labour market behaviour of mothers and the penalties they face when they are in employment. Logistic regression models are employed to quantify the magnitude and significance of the impact of cohort membership on the work and care outcomes of interest, controlling for other variables that affect these outcomes. Some case-level analysis of the data is also carried out; individuals representing typical family arrangements are highlighted, to demonstrate the relevance of the theoretical model and assist with hypothesis generation. Case stories illustrate the interplay of individual circumstances with policy and other external factors, in a way that is difficult to achieve using statistical methods. A key finding is that the younger cohort is less likely to report equal sharing of childcare than the older cohort, even after controlling for other factors that might influence the division of labour. This is also in spite of the finding that mothers in the younger cohort are more likely to be in work. This suggests progress to some extent, in that mothers perhaps find it easier to be in employment. However at the same time it represents a regressive step at the household level, as they not only continue to shoulder the majority of the care work, but are even more inclined to do so. Analysis of pay and status gaps also yields interesting results. The findings suggest that the penalty to motherhood in terms of labour market status accrues by virtue of the interrupted human capital accumulation that results from periods out of the labour market or working part time. However, the motherhood penalty in pay persists even after controlling for other wage determinants, suggesting that these gaps are a direct result of motherhood itself and not of the labour market behaviour changes that occur as a result. The research contributes theoretically and substantively to the wider literature on this topic. It brings together human capital perspectives with theories of gender, power and resources, and of the impact of policy on family life, and uses Amartya Sen’s capability approach to reconcile and move forward these ideas. It also contributes to the practical understanding of the impact of policy on the way that families reconcile work and care, and in particular the implications of policy for gender equality. Finally, its methodological contribution is in the use of a narrative approach to large-scale quantitative data, alongside more conventional statistical techniques, in order to further exploit the detailed, longitudinal data available.

Class of 2017 Abstract / Objectives: The purpose of this study is to demonstrate the effect of using advanced pharmacy practice experience (APPE) students in the collection of admission medication history at an academic teaching hospital prior to pharmacist review. Methods: The study is a retrospective, descriptive study. Using electronic medical records, the study looked at patients admitted to specific floors during a two-month period. The primary outcome was number of discrepancies found by the APPE students. The secondary outcome was the type of discrepancy found (omission, duplication, wrong dose, wrong frequency, wrong dosage form, and medications the subject no longer takes). Results: Over eight weeks, the APPE students identified 2,666 discrepancies, which equates to approximately 4.71 ± 4.76 discrepancies per patient. The majority of these discrepancies were identified as omissions of therapy (39.1%), followed by medications the patients were no longer taking (29.8%), and wrong dosing frequencies (18.1%). Conclusions: APPE students assisted the medication reconciliation process by identifying numerous medication discrepancies which may have prevented patient harm. APPE students are an underutilized resource and prove to be an asset to the healthcare team.