The present study is an interpretation of the two myths copied in the Old Babylonian period in which the Sumerian mother goddess is one of the main actors. The first myth is commonly called “Enki and Ninḫursaĝa”, and the second “Enki and Ninmaḫ”. The theoretical point of departure is that myths have society as their referents, i.e. they are “talking about” society, and that this is done in an ideological way. This study aims at investigating on the one hand which contexts in the Mesopotamian society each section of the myths refers to, and on the other hand which ideological aspects that the myths express in terms of power relations. The myths are contextualized in relation to their historical and social setting. If the myth for example deals with working men, male work in the area during the relevant period is discussed. The same method of contextualization is used regarding marriage, geographical points of reference and so on. Also constellations of mythical ideas are contextualized, through comparison with similar constellations in other Mesopotamian myths. Besides the method of contextualization, the power relations in the myths are investigated. According to this latter method, the categories at issue, their ranking, as well as their changed ranking, are noted. The topics of the myths are issues important for the kingship and the country, such as irrigation, trade, health and healing, birth, collective work, artisanry and rivalry. All these aspects are used in order to express what the power relations between the goddess Ninḫursaĝa/Ninmaḫ and the god Enki look like. The relations are negotiated and recalibrated, which leads to the goddess getting a lowered status. Part of the negotiations and recalibrations is gender behavior, which is related to historical developments in society. The present work points to the function of these myths as tools of recalibrating not only deities, but also men and women in society.

A majority of the arid grasslands in the western U.S. have been dramatically altered by anthropogenic influences resulting in degradation and desertification. Within the arid grasslands of North America a guild of burrowing herbivorous rodents that includes kangaroo rats (Dipodomys spp.) and prairie dogs (Cynomys spp.) is often considered integral to arid grassland maintenance. As part of the larger guild of burrowing herbivorous rodents, kangaroo rats are considered to be an important keystone guild whose role as ecosystem engineers and habitat modifiers complements that of prairie dogs. Together these species organize and structure arid grassland ecosystems and the biodiversity therein, by providing a mosaic of microhabitat patches, thus increasing overall heterogeneity. In an area where black-tailed prairie dogs (C. ludovicianus) were reintroduced, I used Giving-up Density (GUD) to assess the indirect effects black-tailed prairie dogs might have on the foraging patterns of resident kangaroo rats (D. spectabilis and D. merriamii). My objective was to compare and contrast kangaroo rat foraging GUD within and along the boundary of a on a recently established black-tailed prairie dog colony with that in the surrounding unmodified native habitat. This enabled assessment of whether black-tailed prairie dogs had an influence on the perceived quality of the habitat by kangaroo rats. Kangaroo rats visited off-colony feeding trays more frequently, and collected a greater mean mass of seed per tray as well. This indicates that the kangaroo rats perceived the area off the prairie dog colony as having a lower foraging cost than on the colony or along the colony edge. I conclude that from the perspective of the seed-eating kangaroo rat, the colony is not viewed as high quality habitat. What impact the reintroduction and management of one keystone species might have on another keystone species deserves additional consideration as we attempt to restore arid grassland ecosystems.

No description available.

Mémoire numérisé par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal

The present study is an interpretation of the two myths copied in the Old Babylonian period in which the Sumerian mother goddess is one of the main actors. The first myth is commonly called “Enki and Ninḫursaĝa”, and the second “Enki and Ninmaḫ”. The theoretical point of departure is that myths have society as their referents, i.e. they are “talking about” society, and that this is done in an ideological way. This study aims at investigating on the one hand which contexts in the Mesopotamian society each section of the myths refers to, and on the other hand which ideological aspects that the myths express in terms of power relations. The myths are contextualized in relation to their historical and social setting. If the myth for example deals with working men, male work in the area during the relevant period is discussed. The same method of contextualization is used regarding marriage, geographical points of reference and so on. Also constellations of mythical ideas are contextualized, through comparison with similar constellations in other Mesopotamian myths. Besides the method of contextualization, the power relations in the myths are investigated. According to this latter method, the categories at issue, their ranking, as well as their changed ranking, are noted. The topics of the myths is issues important for the kingship and the country, such as irrigation, trade, health and healing, birth, collective work, artisanry and rivalry. All these aspects are used in order to express what the power relations between the goddess Ninḫursaĝa/Ninmaḫ and the god Enki look like. The relations are negotiated and recalibrated, which leads to the goddess getting a lowered status. Part of the negotiations and recalibrations is gender behavior, which is related to historical developments in society. The present work points to the function of these myths as tools of recalibrating not only deities, but also men and women in society.

The primary purpose of this study was to explore and identify the meaning and importance of service for health professionals. Those who participated in this study are all registered nurses who each have between 10 and 40 years of clinical nursing and nurse lecturing experience. The participants each wrote two stories, one about the meaning of service and the other about the importance of service. Definitions of service generally suggest organised labour involving an act of help or assistance. Our intent was to understand what constituted service for each of us in the healthcare - and specifically the nursing practice/education - context.A secondary purpose of this qualitative research was guided by participatory and critical theory paradigms. Seven participants and I (as the initiating researcher) formed a co-operative inquiry group to undertake the research using a collaborative process. Within this method the leader and the group became co-participants and co-researchers. Nurses and women are identified as marginalised people and by honouring the principles of co-operative inquiry we were empowered through this process. While the initial data was analysed thematically by the lead researcher, the original 19 sub-themes were refined by participants into five themes.The findings of the participants are consistent with overseas studies on emotional labour and sentimental work. The five themes that emerged as the meaning of service are helping, giving, elements of service, acts of doing, and pride in work. Helping was defined as an attitude and an action, which often results in a spiritual connection. Giving involves stretching yourself, and altruistic behaviour that also incorporated a spiritual component. Five sub-themes merged to form the third theme elements of service; working with people, being a public servant, being a servant, need and duty. The complexity and hidden aspect of service work was expressed in acts of doing where being professional was paramount. The final theme, pride in work, acknowledged childhood conditioning and a sense of contributing to the greater good through our unique work as nurses. This study affirmed that service has much importance to those involved and deepened our understanding of the blend of meanings service expresses.

Thesis (M.S.)--Miami University, Dept. of Zoology, 2005. / Title from first page of PDF document. Includes bibliographical references (p. 31-35).

O presente estudo propõe que a atual compreensão sobre interpretação judicial influencia no modo de ver a tutela dos direitos. Para isso, parte-se do entendimento de que trabalhar com o direito não é trabalhar com um objeto pronto antes da interpretação, mas com indeterminação. Isso conduz à conclusão de que a interpretação jurídica é um caminho que se percorre por meio de escolhas. Com o reconhecimento de que interpretar envolve escolher, realça-se o papel da justificação das decisões judiciais como ponto fundamental da atividade jurisdicional. Dado que a finalidade do processo civil é a tutela dos direitos, a justificação da decisão abre espaço para a tutela dos direitos em duas perspectivas. De um lado, considerando-se que no processo a interpretação tem o fim de decidir um caso, estrutura-se o discurso da motivação voltado à obtenção de uma decisão justa para as partes, o que corresponde a um meio de colaborar para a tutela dos direitos numa perspectiva particular. De outro, considerando-se que por meio da resolução do caso reduz-se a sua indeterminabilidade, estrutura-se o discurso do precedente voltado à tutela dos direitos numa perspectiva geral por duas frentes: promove-se um tratamento isonômico das pessoas e cria-se um ambiente mais seguro para o desenvolvimento da vida social. / This study proposes that the current understanding of judicial interpretation influences the way we understant the protection of rights. In order to achieve this conclusion, we start from the understanding that dealing with the law does not means to deal with a given object finished before the interpretation process, but with indeterminacy. This leads to the conclusion that legal interpretation is a path that runs by making choices. With the recognition that interpretation involves choosing, it is emphasized the role of the justification of judicial decisions as a key point of judicial activity. Given that the purpose of civil proceedings is the protection of rights, the justification of the decision opens the way for the protection of rights in two perspectives. On the one hand, considering that in the judicial process the interpretation happens for the function of dispute resolutions, it is possible to oganize a discourse of the judicial reason giving aiming to achieve a fair decision for the parties, which corresponds to a means to colaborate for the protection of rights in a particular perspective. On the other hand, considering that through the resolution of the case the indeterminacy of the law is reduced, it is possible to organize a discourse of the judicial precedent aiming to achieve the protection of rights in a broad perspective by two fronts: promoting a isonomic treatment of people and creating a safer enviroment for the development of social life.

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Il est de plus en plus admis depuis une dizaine d’années, et notamment en raison du poids croissant d’Internet, que le monde se présente désormais sous la forme d’un gigantesque réseau. Le phénomène du réseau apparaît dès lors comme le fait social total contemporain par excellence, théorisé et investi par des chercheurs, essayistes, militants, prophètes dans des buts très différents. Certains chercheurs voient dans le réseau la forme même enfin trouvée de la société-monde en gestation. D’autres au contraire, voient dans l’émergence des réseaux le vecteur de la disparition du monde commun et de la décivilisation et de la désymbolisation en marche. Quant à eux, ceux qui se présentent comme les prophètes et les hérauts des réseaux, voient le salut du monde dans les vertus démocratiques, solidaristes et oblatives des multitudes connectées dans leur lutte commune contre la privatisation et la marchandisation du monde. Malgré leurs divergences, ces approches font le constat qu’est en train de naître ce que l’on pourrait appeler une très grande société-monde virtuelle où priment les rapports sociaux à distance et dans l’immédiateté communicationnelle. Mais les interprétations de cette socialité virtuelle sont à ce point diverses et contradictoires que l’on ne parvient pas à distinguer la part de réalité qu’elles révèlent, et ce qui relève de l’idéologique, du prophétique, ou du catastrophisme. Ainsi, le discours des réseaux est-il confronté à deux impensés fondamentaux qu’il s’agit d’explorer : le rapport de la socialité virtuelle avec le face à face et les médiations institutionnelles d’une part ; et d’autre part, l’exploration du caractère vertueux ou néfaste des liaisons numériques, non pas intrinsèquement, mais dans leurs rapports aux formes néo-libérale et « parcellitaire » (tendance à l’éclatement, à l’atomisation et à la parcellisation des sociétés) contemporaines. Dès lors, cette thèse interroge le degré de réalité de cette nouvelle socialité, et le statut de l’individualisme réticulaire ou, plus précisément, quelle forme revêt la figure de l’individu entre l’émancipation par les réseaux annoncée par certains (reconnaissance de l’authenticité et réalisation de soi), et l’aliénation dénoncée par d’autres (tyrannies de la visibilité et de la connexité permanente). Cette question de l’émancipation (subjective et collective) nous conduit à interroger la place du don dans les dynamiques de la socialité virtuelle actuelle entre persistance de l’esprit du don, régénérescence voir radicalisation, et, via sa généralisation dans la forme parcellitaire actuelle, déconstruction et dépotentialisation. / As a result mainly of the increasing weight of Internet, especially in the last decade, it has become more and more acknowledged that the world appears as a gigantic network. The network phenomenon becomes into view as the archetypal contemporary total social fact, theorized and surrounded by researchers, essayists, activists, prophets, each of them pursuing its own agenda. Some academics appreciate the network as the "world society" in gestation. Others, on the contrary, see the emergence of networks as a vector towards the disappearance of communal world, and also of progressive decivilization and desymbolization. Those who appear as the prophets and heralds of networks believe that the world’s salvation lays in the democratic, solidaristic and donatist virtues of the connected multitudes in their common struggle against the world privatization and merchandization.Despite their antagonisms, these approaches converge on the idea that a very large virtual global society, where remote social relationships and communication immediateness are the rule, is in the making. Nevertheless, the interpretations of this digital sociality are too diverse and contradictory to help us distinguishing the part of reality they encompass, and what actually derives from ideology, prophecy and/or catastrophism. In this respect, the networks' axiomatic is confronted to two fundamental lacks, which need to be further explored: the relationship between virtual sociality and face-to-face relations and institutional mediations on the one hand; and the exploration of virtuous or harmful digital relations characteristic, not intrinsically speaking, but in the relationships it maintains with contemporary neo-liberal and “parcellitarian” (propensity towards explosion, atomization and fragmentation of societies) shapes in the other hand. This thesis therefore questions the degree of reality of this new sociality, and the status of reticular individualism or, more specifically, the shape which the figure of the individual take between emancipation through networks as proclaimed by some observers (recognition of authenticity and self-realization), and the alienation to them as decried by others (tyrannies of visibility and permanent connectivity). The question of emancipation (subjective and collective) drives us to question the place of giving in the dynamics of the current virtual sociality between subsistence of the spirit of giving, revitalization or even radicalization, and, via its generalization in the current “parcellitairian” shape, demolition and “depotentialization”.