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<p>This thesis argues that 1 Peter dealt with and responded to the social situation of Christian communities in the provinces of Asia Minor. Having used terms familiar to a Gentile audience with a strong Jewish background, the author described the readers using metaphors of separation and solidarity. He understood his readers to have been a people alienated within their society.</p> <p>Analysis of ancient Mediterranean societies reveals that alienation would have been the experience of early Christian communities. Though social status within the Christian communities varied, social class was that of a predominately low level. Those who joined the Christian communities were among the masses of the "marginalized" in Roman society. The idea of conversion, prominent among such minority movements as Christianity, ran contrary to the popular religions of the state. As in similar communities, conversion into the Christian community resulted in a high level of social anxiety and rootlessness among the recent converts.</p> <p>Understanding the perceptions of ancient Mediterranean societies helps to explain the turmoil of such conversions. The group and its honour predominated over the individual; individuals, therefore, discovered identity and experienced honour through their group associations. Movement, then, to a minority group such as Christianity produced severe social distress. The individual could well be ostracized by his or her previous associations (especially the family) and be the object of social hostilities. Further, minority religious groups, such as Christianity, were disdained by the elite of society. Social pressure against the Christian communities came from all sides.</p> <p>1 Peter confirms that the persecution suffered by the community was indeed of a social nature. The Christian community was persecuted as a result of the perceived foreignness of their beliefs and practices. Recognizing that society had developed false notions about the Christian community attempting to undermine society, the author appealed to his readers to accept their persecution in the same manner that Christ had accepted his suffering and to behave in a manner that would eliminate these false notions; he urged them to imitate the behaviour of Christ. He also invoked portions of the household code to ensure his readers behaved in a manner acceptable to society and in keeping with his view of the nature of Christianity.</p> / Master of Theological Studies (MTS)

<p>How are the eschatology and ethics related in Jesus' proclamation of the kingdom of God and in the response to it that he hoped to win from Israel? How is the ethical dimension of the intended response formed or informed by the kingdom of God? In the history of scholarship the search for the coherence between Jesus' eschatological message and the response to it that he intended to win inevitably raised the question of the relation between "kingdom" and ethics. Albrecht Ritschl's influential view affirmed the closest bond between them: the kingdom of God is to be realized in and by human ethical action. This way of stating the relationship of shattered by the compact work of Johannes Weiss on Jesus' proclamation of the kingdom of God. If it is not possible simply to follow Weiss (or Schweitzer, who followed up on and refined the position of Weiss). It is also impossible to bypass him. Therefore in chapter one I outline the position of Ritschl and the response of Weiss' influential exposition of the kingdom of God. This is followed by an attempt to examine the relation between eschatology and ethics in the work of representative scholars from the past one hundred years. This interpretation of the kingdom of God in Jesus' proclamation depends significantly on what is presupposed about the resourced from which he drew in making his proclamation and carrying out his mission. There I survey Jewish writings with the ultimate aim of determining what was clearly important for Jesus. Furthermore, these sources give evidence of a relation between (eschatological) promise and appropriate ethical response. In the interpretation of Jesus' Kingdom-of-God proclamating attention has been directed either to eschatology or to ethics at one time the primary focus was on the human ethical response (e.g. Harnack), at another time on the activity of God (e.g. Jogannes Weiss). If it is true that eschatology and ethics exist in religion in the proclamation and teaching of Jesus, it follows that they may only be properly or clearly understood in a study that examines them in their relationships. This calls for a critical correlation of Jesus' eschatological message and his ethical teaching. Jesus' eschatological proclamation and the intended ethical response become concrete only with a recovery of the purposes of Jesus bearing on the whole people, Israel, to whom he came (chapter three). In chapter four I examine Jesus' kingdom-of-God proclamation defined more sharply and fully in the context of his mission and death as this was expressed in the esoteric teaching of his disciples. And in this teaching the connection between Jesus' own destiny and his ethics of discipleship is emphasized. A reasonably accurate comprehension of the ethics of Jesus depends on a reasonably accurate recovery of the whole historical figure that he was. The present study accordingly pays attention to the historical bases for the understanding of Jesus' ethical teachings whether in the public forum-or in the more intimate circles of his discipleship.</p> / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

<p> The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore the value of leadership development programs from the perspectives of leaders in a First Nation, located in Canada. The goal of the study was to explore the perceptions of tribal leaders on the cultural appropriateness and perceived benefits of leadership development programs. A purposeful sampling criterion was used to select seven participants for the study. Multiple sources were used for evidence collection: in-depth interviews, observations, Council meeting minutes, and an annual audit report. Analyzing the data involved comparison and cross-case analysis techniques to synthesize the findings and identify recurring themes. The findings and conclusions showed rich descriptions of 17 sub-themes divided into three themes: seven sub-themes address the value and meaning of leadership, four sub-themes deal with the adequacy of leadership development programs, and six sub-themes focus on the cultural appropriateness of leadership development programs. The importance of retaining and preserving the cultural values and beliefs in leadership roles among the leaders of this First Nation was evident. This study may contribute to the cultural-appropriateness of leadership development programs focusing on the cultural traditions and ways of life of First Nation people.</p>

<p> My dissertation investigates the role of women activists in the construction of peace in twenty-first century Colombia, combining a social movement studies framework with feminist, antimilitarist political economy. It is a a multi-method, feminist ethnography of three networks of women&rsquo;s peace organizations founded in Colombia in the mid-1990s: Ruta Pac&iacute;fica de Mujeres, the Movimiento Social de Mujeres Contra la Guerra y Por la Paz, and the Red de Mujeres del Caribe Colombiano. In it I show that by directing material and symbolic claims at the key structural foundations of armed conflict, women&rsquo;s peace activism is fomenting a unfying, counterhegemonic social movement voice in the country. The dissertation is divided into two parts. The first traces the history of the women&rsquo;s peace movement, and finds that it arose from a feminist movement born into armed conflict and have never had a safe space to operate. Since the 1990s the Colombian women&rsquo;s movements have been joining to form national-level networks and gaining transnational legitimacy and visibility. Nonetheless, activists continue to face persistent challenges from within and without, beyond the persistence of war: notably, the concentration of movement resources among urban elites and the exclusion of feminists of color who live in outlying regions. Despite this, my dissertation argues that women peace activists are subverting many of the presumptions inherent to Colombia&rsquo;s conflict and its longevity. In the second section, I identify four key personae on the stage of war and its discourse: confusion, victimhood, the body, and peace. I argue that each has played an important role in perpetuating and strengthening the patriarchal, militarized capital accumulation at the heart of the conflict, and that the activists under study are appropriating and reinterpreting these personae in such a way as to destabilize the foundations of war in the country. Using data gathered with several qualitative methodologies, including ethnographic observation, semistructured interviews, and archival research, I conclude that their organizing represents a potentially counterhegemonic, unifying social movement force that has the potential to play a transformative role in Colombia&rsquo;s new reality.</p>

<p>Even though women who have been abandoned by their fathers at a young age are more likely to exhibit destructive behaviors as adults, there are cases in which women develop new social skills and become successful at building new relationships (Stolberg, Complair & Wells, 1987). The main purpose for this phenomenological research wasto understand the shared experiences of Hispanic women who were abandoned by their fathers at a young age and explore their conflict management skills. This research wasguided by the following research question: What are the lived experiences of Hispanic women who were abandoned by their fathers before the age of seven? Through conducting and analyzing phenomenological interviews with 25 participants and using the lenses of attachment theory, social construct and phenomenology, this research will contribute to scholarshipin different arenas. Findings of this research used the participant?s shared recommendations and suggestions as a means for discussion to help women who were abandoned as children prevent and cope with conflict effectively. Finally,this research will help social scientists understand whether being abandoned by a father at a young age has any effects in a Hispanic woman?s conflict resolution skills.

<p> The social behavior and stigma of epilepsy in Korean nationals and Korean Americans throughout California are studied. This study seeks to explore the cultural differences in the social behavior of participants, their thoughts about epilepsy, their familiarity, social order, stigma, and educational knowledge about epilepsy between the Korean national and Korean American society. It argues that Americanization has influenced a positive change in the portrayal of neurological disorder and disease. The method of data collections and analysis were done through convenience sampling with the use of mixed methods. 56 face to face semi-structured audio recorded interviews were done to collect data. The findings of my study came to be of little difference between the two cultures. My hypothesis of the more Americanized a person is the more understanding, less stigmatic with fair social behavior towards epilepsy was correct but only at a baseline level. The key findings that education, cultural outlook and time gap were the main reasons of these results. Link and Phelan&rsquo;s model of stigmatization holds strongly toward the outlook of stigmatism and Americanization in the Korean national and Korean American cultures. In this research paper my created hypothesis will be backed up by theories and history of epilepsy, the methods of how I approached the interviews, the questions asked, how the results came to be, and the conclusion of if my hypothesis was correct or incorrect.</p><p>