The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between noncognitive symptoms and premorbid temperament in a group with Alzheimer’s disease. The relationship between premorbid temperament and noncognitive symptoms can be used to understand symptom susceptibility and risk, caregiver burdens, as well as providing insights into the neuroanatomical substrates of temperament and noncognitive behaviour. Sixty-three primary caregivers of Alzheimer’s patients fulfilled the eligibility criteria for this study. Information regarding the noncognitive symptoms and premorbid temperament was procured from the primary caregivers. In fifty-one cases, a secondary caregiver also provided information about the premorbid temperament of the Alzheimer’s patient. The latter was obtained to enhance the reliability of retrospective data. The Behaviour Rating Scale for Dementia, the Formal Characteristics of Behaviour-Temperament Inventory, and the Blessed Dementia scale were used to elicit data on noncognitive symptomatology, premorbid temperament, and current cognitive status, respectively. ii Noncognitive symptoms were grouped into two clusters namely neuropsychiatric and neurobehavioural disturbances. The neuropsychiatric cluster included mood and psychotic symptoms and the neurobehavioural cluster included vegetative and overall behavioural dysregulatory symptoms. Results showed that there is a wide spectrum of noncognitive symptom manifestation in patients’ profiles and that the neurobehavioural dysregulatory symptoms are more common than the neuropsychiatric symptoms in this Alzheimer’s cohort. With regard to symptom manifestation and cognitive status, a Pearson product moment correlational analysis showed that a lower level of cognitive functioning is significantly associated with aggressive episodes and a higher level of cognitive functioning with manifestations of depressive symptoms. In terms of interrater concordance on premorbid temperament ratings, intraclass correlations were significant for five of the six temperament domains, thus indicating a reliable estimate of premorbid disposition. Canonical correlational analysis yielded two significant variates. The first variate indicated that Alzheimer’s disease patients with a proclivity for aggressive behaviours and general behavioural deregulation but lower depressive profiles, were premorbidly more emotionally reactive, had low sensory thresholds (high sensitivity), and greater cognitive deficit. The second variate showed that patients with Alzheimer’s disease who tended to manifest with depressive and dysregulatory behaviour appear to have been premorbidly perseverative in temperament with a low sensory threshold (high sensitivity) and the tendency to maintain and attain a low level of activity (stimulation). Taken together, the significant variates revealed a dimensional relationship between depressive symptoms, aggressive symptoms, and behavioural dysregulation; and sensory sensitivity, emotional reactivity, perseverance, and activity, with cognitive status serving as a moderating variable. In conclusion, the study indicated a dimensional relationship between specific premorbid temperament traits and noncognitive symptoms, thereby highlighting the possible predictive influence of premorbid temperament on noncognitive manifestations in Alzheimer’s disease patients. / Thesis (PhD (Psychology))--University of Pretoria, 2005. / Psychology / unrestricted

For Unto Us is a one movement work for soprano and orchestra. The text, by the composer, describes the thoughts and feelings of Mary, the mother of Jesus, as she watches the crucifixion. Mary's process of faith is traced through the sequence of dramatic events which proceed and follow the crucifixion. The work explores symbolic instrumentation, juxtaposition of harmonic languages, and extended techniques for performance and notation. The setting of the text combines traditional operatic idioms with new elements in the music. The duration of this dramatic, quasi-operatic scene is approximately nine minutes.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

This dissertation examines the cult of Our Lady of Remedios, one of the oldest Marian images in Mexico and declared the first patroness of the viceregal capital of New Spain in 1574. Despite Mexico City’s city council’s (cabildo) promotion of this Madonna as a relic of the conquest and the patroness of the City of Mexico, historians have not investigated the cult of Remedios extensively since the study of devotional practices in colonial Mexico has primarily focused on the Virgin of Guadalupe. As such, academics have underestimated the importance of Our Lady of Los Remedios, leading them to view her cult as unimportant to Novohispanic society. As this dissertation demonstrates, the cult of Our Lady of Los Remedios was not just prominent in the City of Mexico, but a frequent invocation in times of great misfortune. She was believed to remedythe ills of her devotees and the catastrophes that afflicted the metropolis, such as floods, droughts, and epidemics. As important as the sacred image of Our Lady of Los Remedios is to the history that I present, the core of this dissertation is the Confraternity of Los Remedios. My work examines the political and religious interests that Mexico City’s cabildo had in establishing and sponsoring the brotherhood and the role they played in supporting the cult image of Our Lady of Los Remedios. Additionally, due to the increasing religious devotion to Our Lady of Los Remedios, the Confraternity of Los Remedios received financial support from the generous offerings given to the revered statue. This outcome was financial independence, causing the Confraternity of Los Remedios to function as lenders, administrators of wills, and maintainers of records for different financial dealings. For this reason, I argue that the confraternity ceased to be an organization solelydedicated to religious purposes and instead became an institution of social and economic importance for the City of Mexico.