Thesis (Ph. D.)--Australian National University, 2003. / Title from PDF title screen (viewed June 19, 2006). Includes bibliographical references (p. 261-291).

Thesis (M.A. in anthropology)--Washington State University, May 2008. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 120-128).

Coves of Departure: Field Notes from the Sea of Cortez is a literary natural history presented in mixed forms of nature memoir, personal essay and redacted field notes. Intended as narrative nonfiction for general readership, it focusses on the natural history of Mexico’s Baja California peninsula, attending especially to the littoral zone of the Sea of Cortez. Numbered chapters narrate several sea kayak expeditions led by the author to the Isla Espiritu Santo archipelago of Baja California Sur. Chapters chronicling discrete expeditions are sectioned off by two long interludes that describe natural history explorations in the northern state, Baja California. The title essay, which transitions between the second interlude and the final chapter, investigates natural history from the perspective of material ecocriticism,.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-25T19:20:37Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Roberto Serafim Simoes.pdf: 691125 bytes, checksum: 32092ba2fd7a7ff334cb6f6c7aca90fd (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-09-14 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / The ancient yoga period emerges amid a stratified Indian society and influenced by religions like samkhya and the Brahmanical Hinduism if systematizing it as an orthodox Hindu darśana through ancient scripture Yoga Sutras (IS) some centuries before the Christian era. The IS explains both the causes of human suffering and the promise of a good yogi life, based on the behavioral theory of klesas (attachment, aversion, fear of death, pride and ignorance) as adverse spiritual evolution. An eightfold path or asthanga yoga (AI) is built-from it as the yogic proposal for salvation of the soul. The AI aims, through ethical conduct, practices corporal rituals and mystical experience of samadhi mitigate klesas seeking union with God/Isvara. On average Indian age, between X-XV centuries AD, this system of yogic beliefs is the Tantric religiosity, Jain and Buddhist raising the body's value over the other doctrinal aspects of IS. The modern phase of yoga, however, is being erected under the influence of a new social - religious context . Currently, more than Brahmins and swamis , yoga seeks its legitimacy as spiritual path under the aegis of scientific rationality and new religious movements in the West . In this process , the yoga reframes its mystical language circulating among ashrams and Indian forests of ancient and medieval times to an audience facing the stressful challenges of living in large Western cities, above all, a society of consumption, secular and privatized religiously. It is known that nowadays the yoga reframes its metaphysical physiology in the light of biomedical science , I suspect that the theory of klesas , may be going through a religious reform as well. In order to understand these possible soteriological transformation of the current yoga, I led 13 semi-structured interviews with ten way yogis and three Brazilian scientists psychobiological area investigating the yogic system acts as therapy and healing. The data revealed a cleavage perception in the modern yoga, between belonging to a therapeutic New Age or more a Western biomedical technique. From this juncture new beliefs emerged to legitimize the discourse yoga against the socialreligious situation in which it now lives. More than just symbolic reframing, modern yogic soteriology is passed today by a salvific transformation process. The main changes that stood out are: 1) the elevation of design stress level of klesa or spiritual obstacle; and 2) the relaxation antagonistic to stress-klesa, achievement mystical nature of samadhi; and 3) consequently, salvation/liberation of klesas-stress acquire substance "empirical" an unchanging spiritual state of no stress or a kind of "divine homeostasis." It is concluded that scientific rationality rather than promote religious yoga disenchantment, it legitimizes it as a new system of beliefs and produces new goods of salvation (stress-klesa, relaxation-samadhi and homeostasis-kaivalya) . The association of the health benefits of yoga practices defended and propagated by biomedical physiology associated with the restlessness of the western urban centers , may have weakened the behavioral theory of klesas as essential cause of human suffering / O período antigo do ioga emerge em meio a uma sociedade indiana estratificada e influenciado por religiões como o samkhya e o hinduísmo bramânico, sistematizando-se como um dársana ortodoxo hinduísta por meio da escritura antiga Ioga Sutras (IS) alguns séculos antes de era cristã. O IS explica tanto as causas do sofrimento humano quanto a promessa de uma boa vida iogue, baseando-se na teoria comportamental dos klesas (apego, aversão, medo da morte, orgulho e ignorância) como nefastos a evolução espiritual. Um caminho óctuplo ou asthanga ioga (AI) edifica-se a partir dele como a proposta ioguica de salvação da alma. O AI visa, por meio de condutas éticas, práticas rituais corporais e a experiência mística do samadhi atenuar os klesas em busca da união com deus/Isvara. Na idade média indiano, entre os séculos X-XV d.C., esse sistema de crenças ioguico encontra a religiosidade tântrica, jainista e budista elevando o valor do corpo em detrimento a outros aspectos doutrinais do IS. A fase moderna do ioga, no entanto, está sendo erigida por influência de um novo contexto social-religioso. Atualmente, muito mais do que brâmanes e swamis, o ioga busca a sua legitimidade como caminho espiritual sob a égide da racionalidade científica e de novos movimentos religiosos do ocidente. Nesse processo, o ioga ressignifica a sua linguagem mística que circulava entre os ashrams e florestas indianos dos tempos antigo e medieval, para um público que enfrenta os desafios estressantes de se viver nos grandes centros urbanos ocidentais, sobretudo, uma sociedade do consumo, secular e privatizada religiosamente. Sabe-se que nos tempos atuais o ioga ressignifica a sua fisiologia metafísica à luz da ciência biomédica, desconfio que a teoria dos klesas, pode estar passando por uma reforma religiosa também. Para buscar compreender essas possíveis transformações soteriológicas do ioga atual, saí a campo e conduzi de forma semiestruturada entrevistas com dez iogues e três cientistas brasileiros da área psicobiológica que investigam o sistema de atos ioguicos como terapia e cura. Os dados revelaram uma percepção de clivagem no ioga moderno, entre pertencer a uma terapêutica Nova Era ou mais uma técnica biomédica ocidental. A partir dessa conjuntura novas crenças despontaram para legitimar o discurso do ioga frente ao panorama social-religioso em que ele vive atualmente. Mais do que simples ressignificação simbólica, a soteriologia ioguica moderna está passado hoje por um processo de transformação soteriológica. As principais transformações que se destacaram, estão: 1) na elevação da concepção de estresse ao nível de klesa ou obstáculo espiritual; e 2) o relaxamento, antagônico ao estresse-klesa, conquista natureza mística do samadhi; e 3) por consequência, a salvação/libertação dos klesasestresse adquiri substância empírica de um estado espiritual imutável de não-estresse ou de uma espécie de homeostase divina . Conclui-se que a racionalidade científica ao invés de promover o desencantamento religioso do ioga, legitima-o como um novo sistema de crenças e produz novos bens de salvação (estresse-klesa, relaxamento-samadhi e homeostasekaivalya). A associação dos benefícios para a saúde das práticas do ioga defendidos e propalados pela fisiologia biomédica associado ao desassossego dos centros urbanos ocidentais, pode ter enfraquecido a teoria comportamental dos klesas como causa essencial do sofrimento humano

Title from PDF of title page. / Document formatted into pages; contains 79 pages. / Thesis (M.S.)--University of South Florida, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references. / Text (Electronic thesis) in PDF format. / ABSTRACT: Monthly d18O and Sr/Ca records generated from modern and fossil corals from Southwestern Pacific Ocean sites in the Republic of Vanuatu are used to assess the differences in mean climate state, seasonality, and interannual variability between a glacial and interglacial period. The modern coral contains a well-defined annual signal in d18O and Sr/Ca. The top 40 cm of the coral used in this study has a mean d18O value of -4.99+/-0.13%VPDB (2s) and a mean Sr/Ca value of 8.691+/-0.015mmol/mol (2s). El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events are characterized by positive d18O and Sr/Ca anomalies, consistent with cooler temperatures and reduced rainfall that typifies ENSO at Vanuatu. The 12cm long fossil coral is dated to 346 ka + 25, - 9, based on uranium-series analysis and stratigraphic forward modeling, indicating that the fossil coral grew during MIS10 - a glacial period. / ABSTRACT: X-ray diffraction, petrographic inspection, SEM analysis, and geochemical considerations indicate excellent preservation. The mean d18O value is enriched by 0.74%, and the mean Sr/Ca value is equivalent, compared to the modern coral. Mathematical modeling of Pleistocene mean SST and SSS results in temperature estimates up to 2?C warmer and salinity up to 2 psu saltier than present-day conditions, if seawater Sr/Ca were 1-2% higher in MIS10. Our fossil coral data and modeling results preclude colder SST and lower SSS at Vanuatu during MIS10. Accurate estimates of past values of seawater Sr/Ca remain the largest obstacle to accurately reconstructing past tropical SST using pristine fossil corals. The fossil coral Sr/Ca annual range is similar to the modern range, indicating that seasonal SST ranges were similar, whereas the d18O annual range is about half that of the modern coral, indicating weaker past seasonal salinity variations. / ABSTRACT: The reduced seasonal SSS variations and increased SSTs near Vanuatu are interpreted as evidence that the SPCZ was displaced from its present location while the fossil coral lived. The geochemical response to El Nino events in the modern coral is observed twice in the fossil coral record, indicating that ENSO-like processes are not unique to interglacial time periods, but characterize the tropical Pacific at least back to MIS 10. / System requirements: World Wide Web browser and PDF reader. / Mode of access: World Wide Web.