Much has been written about various aspects of the long presence of the Knights of the Order St John on the island of Malta. Nonetheless, throughout this literature there is one noticeable omission - a study of the commercial development of the harbour area during the first decades of the Order’s rule. Despite Malta’s small size, the presence of the Order of St John (1530 -1798) ensured an inflow of foreign resources which eventually permitted very dense human settlement and an international projection beyond the island’s shores which was largely disproportionate to what would normally have occurred in such a small and sterile island. The maritime nature of the Order and the heavy dependence on imports hastened the creation of an efficient maritime communication system. The development of all these economic activities resulted in a prime economic means of generating wealth and served as a pull factor to a large number of enterprising individuals, both local and foreign. Early modern Hospitaller Malta eventually saw the consolidation of an enterprising business class, which, out of sheer necessity, grew accustomed to operating well beyond its narrow confines. In turn, this contributed to the island becoming more open to connectivity with the outside world. Hence, the main aim of this thesis is to explore in detail various economic activities taking place in Malta during this particular period which spans from 1530 to 1565. The year 1565 has been chosen as a marker since during this year there was a break in the normal chain of events due to the turmoil created by the Great Siege. In order to reach this goal the practical functioning of commerce with its agreements and disputes, its currencies, its trading posts and its nodal points shall be analyzed. Furthermore, this thesis strives to show how notarial evidence, together with that derived from records of various tribunals set up on the island at the time, supplement each other and help to fill in gaps. While discussing different methodological approaches to the study of the Mediterranean, the first chapter of this study shall also assess Malta’s place within the wider Mediterranean historiographical framework. It shall also trace the development of Maltese historiography and its contribution to the study of legal, economic and social issues relating to the sixteenth century. Furthermore, this study shall place the various series of primary sources used for its compilation in their proper context, thus allowing the reader to evaluate better the significance of the information provided. The second chapter shall evaluate how the arrival of the Order provided for the setting up of new institutions and for the promulgation of new laws in order to consolidate its authority over the island despite repeated promises to respect and honour ancient rights and privileges. The following three chapters shall each be dedicated to a particular case study which will try to address specific topics that have been largely neglected in Maltese historiography. Thus, starting with an analysis of the grain trade, which was of the utmost importance for a sterile island with an ever-increasing population, it will be followed by another case study which seeks to evaluate the role of women, their legal persona and how this affected their contribution to the island’s economic activities. The final chapter will try to establish whether there were any commercial links between Malta, often described as the frontier and bulwark of Christianity, and its neighbouring Ottoman North African territories. If such trade existed, how did merchants, both Christian and Muslim, manage to overcome religious antagonism which should have inhibited the easy flow of trade? The objective of this study shall therefore be to shed much-needed light on economic activities taking place in and around the harbour area during a largely unexplored period in Maltese history. Moreover, it shall seek to provide a better understanding of Mediterranean commercial relations since the Maltese harbour was a point of intersection not only for people of different nationalities, but even for people of different faiths, such as Muslims, Jews and Christians of different denominations. All had one common goal which unified them, that is, trading and making profit out of it.

[pt] Dentre os elementos da liturgia cristã, o memorial é de grande importância, uma vez que atualiza os feitos divinos ao longo da história da salvação, trazendo para hoje sua força redentora, e abrindo aos participantes do culto uma perspectiva de futuro. O memorial está ligado estreitamente à Aliança de Deus com Abraão e sua descendência, que atinge seu ponto alto em Jesus Cristo. O passo seguinte se verifica nas realidades sacramentais, nos quais a comunidade dos fiéis experimenta a salvação. Percorrendo, portanto, a etapas da economia salvífica, pode-se perceber o memorial como continuação da obra redentora de Cristo, redentor único e universal. / [en] Among the elements of Christian liturgy, the memorial has main importance, since it actualizes the divine actions through the history of salvation, bringing today its redeeming force, and opens a perspective of future to the participants of the cult. The memorial is deeply linked to Gods alliance with Abraham and his descendants, which reaches its most important step with Jesus Christ. The next point is verified in the sacramental realities, in which the faithful community experiences salvation. Going through economy of salvation, it is possible to notice the memorial as continuing the redemption of Christ, the only universal redeemer.

In direct marketing, understanding the response behavior of consumers to marketing initiatives is a pre-requisite for marketers before implementing targeting strategies to reach potential as well as existing consumers in the future. Consumer response can either be in terms of the incidence or timing of purchases, category/ brand choice of purchases made as well as the volume or purchase amounts in each category. Direct marketers seek to explore how past consumer response behavior as well as their targeting actions affects current response patterns. However, considerable heterogeneity is also prevalent in consumer responses and the possible sources of this heterogeneity need to be investigated. With the knowledge of consumer response and the corresponding heterogeneity, direct marketers can devise targeting strategies to attract potential new consumers as well as retain existing consumers. In the first essay of my dissertation (Chapter 2), I model the response behavior of donors in non-profit charity fund-raising in terms of their timing and volume of donations. I show that past donations (both the incidence and volume) and solicitation for alternative causes by non-profits matter in donor responses and the heterogeneity in donation behavior can be explained in terms of individual and community level donor characteristics. I also provide a heuristic approach to target new donors by using a classification scheme for donors in terms of the frequency and amount of donations and then characterize each donor portfolio with corresponding donor characteristics. In the second essay (Chapter 3), I propose a more structural approach in the targeting of customers by direct marketers in the context of customized retail couponing. First I model customer purchase in a retail setting where brand choice decisions in a product category depend on pricing, in-store promotions, coupon targeting as well as the face values of those coupons. Then using a utility function specification for the retailer which implements a trade-off between net revenue (revenue – coupon face value) and information gain, I propose a Bayesian decision theoretic approach to determine optimal customized coupon face values. The optimization algorithm is sequential where past as well as future customer responses affect targeted coupon face values and the direct marketer tries to determine the trade-off through natural experimentation. / text

The purpose of this thesis is to delineate the theological shifts that occurred in Wesley's post-Aldersgate soteriology. To realize this purpose, three distinct soteriological shifts in his thought will be examined. These shifts involve changes in how he understood the following: the conditions of redemption, the state of humanity and the scope of salvation. Through an examination of these shifts, three distinct phases (early, middle and late) were detected. In the early phase there appears to be a distinct Reformed bias; fallen human beings are totally depraved and can be redeemed only through explicit faith in Christ's atonement. In the two subsequent phases, an increasing emphasis is given to Arminian distinctives. Particular emphasis is given to the Arminian understanding of prevenient grace. In the middle phase, the Reformed and Arminian elements appear to co-exist within the same soteriological framework--reconciled through a tenuous and at times tortuous dialectic. This dialectic seems to crumble in the late phase. The Reformed elements are quietly dismissed; the Arminian elements dominate.

The ideal of artificial intelligence can firstly be set as the ability of a mechanical (or electronic) agent to be able to, as a human, observe, reason, learn, communicate and act in complex environments and secondly, to explain this type of behaviour in humans, animals or any other type of agent. The aim of this study is firstly to determine whether this ideal is feasible and secondly, to look at the physicalist premise thereof, viz., everything is physical according to Dooyeweerd’s view of the creation, fall and redemption motive. First we determine the essence of artificial intelligence through the Curch–Turing thesis. We then place the essence of artificial intelligence alongside the essence of life firstly to see whether the construction of an artificial intelligence agent is possible and whether the subject artificial intelligence has something to say regarding intelligent behaviour in humans, animals and similar agents. Lastly we look at the physicalist premise of artificial intelligence viz., everything is physical from the reformative creation, fall and redemption motive. The Church–Turing thesis forms the boundary of what is feasible in artificial intelligence and what is not feasible. Every component of the thesis is limited to the arithmetic law sphere of Being, i.e. the succession of discrete elements in a set of elements. Any effort to reduce the spatial aspect of the being to the arithmetic aspect of Being, like the enumeration of irrational numbers, ends in an antinomy. Any artificial intelligence agent is in its nature limited to the arithmetic law sphere of Being. The structural intertwinement, which such an artificial intelligence agent has with its underlying physical components is, in contrast with living organisms that of an irreversible grounded enkapsis. Life and mind has, in contrast to the arithmetic seclusion of an artificial intelligence agent, a fullness and totality. It has an ability to unlock Being in its fullness, which comes to the fore in a way that any living organism unlocks the plastic horizon of Being in the respective internal and phenomenological horizons. The unlocking of the spatial aspect plays a key role with its kernel of totality, simultaneity and continuousness. In both these horizons, the organism is in a living enkapsis with both its underlying physical substrate and the physical things in its external surroundings. The ideal of artificial intelligence is thus a phantasm. The only comment it can give on biology is that which has to do with the succession of discrete elements in a system. Hempel’s dilemma and the halting problem expose the physicalist point of departure of everything is physical as a religious premise, which is not empirically verifiable. Instead of getting a better view of Being the contours of meaning of life as well as all the supra physical aspects of Being fades away or is denied with concealment of Being. The only way in which we can get the broadest possible insight into Being is in the light of the Word of God. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011.

The ideal of artificial intelligence can firstly be set as the ability of a mechanical (or electronic) agent to be able to, as a human, observe, reason, learn, communicate and act in complex environments and secondly, to explain this type of behaviour in humans, animals or any other type of agent. The aim of this study is firstly to determine whether this ideal is feasible and secondly, to look at the physicalist premise thereof, viz., everything is physical according to Dooyeweerd’s view of the creation, fall and redemption motive. First we determine the essence of artificial intelligence through the Curch–Turing thesis. We then place the essence of artificial intelligence alongside the essence of life firstly to see whether the construction of an artificial intelligence agent is possible and whether the subject artificial intelligence has something to say regarding intelligent behaviour in humans, animals and similar agents. Lastly we look at the physicalist premise of artificial intelligence viz., everything is physical from the reformative creation, fall and redemption motive. The Church–Turing thesis forms the boundary of what is feasible in artificial intelligence and what is not feasible. Every component of the thesis is limited to the arithmetic law sphere of Being, i.e. the succession of discrete elements in a set of elements. Any effort to reduce the spatial aspect of the being to the arithmetic aspect of Being, like the enumeration of irrational numbers, ends in an antinomy. Any artificial intelligence agent is in its nature limited to the arithmetic law sphere of Being. The structural intertwinement, which such an artificial intelligence agent has with its underlying physical components is, in contrast with living organisms that of an irreversible grounded enkapsis. Life and mind has, in contrast to the arithmetic seclusion of an artificial intelligence agent, a fullness and totality. It has an ability to unlock Being in its fullness, which comes to the fore in a way that any living organism unlocks the plastic horizon of Being in the respective internal and phenomenological horizons. The unlocking of the spatial aspect plays a key role with its kernel of totality, simultaneity and continuousness. In both these horizons, the organism is in a living enkapsis with both its underlying physical substrate and the physical things in its external surroundings. The ideal of artificial intelligence is thus a phantasm. The only comment it can give on biology is that which has to do with the succession of discrete elements in a system. Hempel’s dilemma and the halting problem expose the physicalist point of departure of everything is physical as a religious premise, which is not empirically verifiable. Instead of getting a better view of Being the contours of meaning of life as well as all the supra physical aspects of Being fades away or is denied with concealment of Being. The only way in which we can get the broadest possible insight into Being is in the light of the Word of God. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011.

Thesis (DPhil)--University of Stellenbosch, 2005. / Bibliography. Also available via the Internet.

The diploma thesis compares economical effectiveness of selected crop cultivation (namely winter wheat and oats) in conventional and ecological economic systems during the years 2007 - 2014. Assessment of the economical balance was done through detected data about yield and redemption price. In addition to that, costs of both area and production unit within both mentioned types of farming were determined according to standard technological approaches. The study further deals with crop yields differences analysis within individual farming systems, the costs structure and price differentiations between ecological and conventional production. It also covers the question of the amount of subsidies and its influence on the final crop profitability.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-08-03T12:21:06Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 1-Capa e Sumario.pdf: 147742 bytes, checksum: 1b8b275af696fe6de5f6df93ad662575 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010-04-05 / The objective of this research was to describe and analyze the concepts of redemption, freedom and service in the writings of Ellen Gould White (1827-1915), one of the founders of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, reflecting on the implications for educational practice. We proposed four specific objectives, each of which became one of the chapters of this dissertation. These chapters have been guided by three hypothesis. The first suggested that Ellen White has characteristics that shape as a border thinker who lived on the frontier. Using theories of Walter Mignolo, Boaventura de Souza Santos and Gloria Anzaldúa, it was observed that in Ellen White there are traces of liminality manifests in life and different discourses, which sometimes went against the dominant thinking of the majority, but it was positive for the denomination. The second hypothesis of this study was the existence of three possible approaches that guide the concept of education by Ellen White: redemption, freedom and service. What was once just a bet was confirmed by the reading and analysis of key works of White. So that the full understanding of the Ellen White concepts of education requires an articulate reflection of these three themes. That is not enough that there is a separate reading them or even approach juxtaposed; it is necessary articulation. The third hypothesis was that if the theme of freedom is present in a convincing way in the writings of Ellen White, then we may think that her educational philosophy - and therefore the educational praxis - is directly conditioned by this approach. What can be said at the end of this research is that in the Ellen White writings freedom constitutes a kind of golden thread running through the various issues and hopes raised by the author, beginning with the story of the fall - which means the loss of freedom - and ending with the hopeful narrative of a perfect world - which ultimately responsible freedom is restored. Therefore, the Ellen White notion of education is driven by the issue of human freedom: freedom to think, to develop, to learn, to create, to serve, to let himself be redeemed.(AU) / O objetivo geral desta pesquisa foi descrever e analisar os conceitos de redenção, liberdade e serviço nos escritos de Ellen Gould White (1827-1915), uma das fundadoras da Igreja Adventista do Sétimo Dia, refletindo sobre as implicações para a práxis educacional. Foram propostos quatro objetivos específicos, cada um dos quais se transformou num dos capítulos desta tese. Esses capítulos foram norteados por três hipóteses. A primeira sugeria que Ellen White apresenta características que a configuram como uma pensadora liminar , que viveu na fronteira . Usando teorias de Walter Mignolo, Boaventura de Souza Santos e Gloria Anzaldúa, observou-se que em Ellen White há traços de liminaridade, manifestos numa vida e discursos diferentes, que algumas vezes contrariaram o pensamento da maioria dominante, mas que se demonstraram positivos para a denominação. A segunda hipótese deste trabalho dizia respeito à existência de três possíveis eixos que norteiam a noção whiteana de educação: redenção, liberdade e serviço. O que antes era apenas uma aposta confirmou-se pela leitura e análise de obras fundamentais de White. De modo que a compreensão plena da noção whiteana de educação requer uma reflexão articulada desses três temas. Ou seja, não é suficiente que haja uma leitura separada deles ou mesmo uma abordagem justaposta. É necessário articulação. Finalmente, a terceira hipótese dizia que se o tema da liberdade está presente de maneira convincente nos escritos de Ellen White, então se pode pensar que sua filosofia educacional e consequentemente a práxis pedagógica é diretamente condicionada por essa abordagem. O que pode ser dito ao término deste trabalho é que, nos escritos whiteanos, a liberdade constitui-se numa espécie de fio dourado que perpassa os diversos assuntos e esperanças abordadas pela autora, começando pela narrativa da queda que implica na perda da liberdade e terminando na narrativa esperançosa de um mundo perfeito onde finalmente a liberdade responsável será recuperada. Conseqüentemente, a noção whiteana de educação é movida pela temática da liberdade humana: liberdade para pensar, para se desenvolver, para aprender, para criar, para servir, para deixar-se ser redimido.(AU)

Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-02T20:12:14Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 2439.pdf: 963653 bytes, checksum: 7a769952199dac7a5f6440367be3862b (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009-04-27 / Instituto Internacional de Ecologia / Many are the productions already developed about nihilism in Nietzsche s work, wich the perspective of unconditional affirmation of the world and life is assumed as an inevitable consequence on the overcomig of nihilism itself. However, even admiting that Nietzsche s thougth about nihilism conducts him to an unconditional affirmation of every happening, our research is developed by the nitzschean notion of redemption. Since The Birth of Tragedy, Nietzsche explores the theme in the reconciliation fullfilled by the tragical art between the apollonian and dionisian.In his work of 1872, the philosopher finds in Dionysus shapes a god that affirms the suffering, wich is a crucial subject to the future guiding of his supreme-affirmative thought. In contrast to the tragical conception that was formed as a way to escape from the pessimism, the socratism-platonism is understood by Nietzsche as a movement that puts in progress the nihilist logical in the West, consummated on the christian conception of negativity. In front of a terrible diagnosis presented by Nietzsche in his works of maturity, we ve try to show in what measure on one hand, answering to the question about provenience of nihilism, in the other hand, explicitating it s developing on moderness, Nietzsche s philosophy is able to think radically on the overcomig of nihilism, reaching expressively in the project of transvaluation with the same notion of human s redemption. / Muitos são os trabalhos já desenvolvidos sobre o tema do niilismo na obra de Nietzsche em que a perspectiva da afirmação incondicional do mundo e da vida é assumida como conseqüência inevitável da superação do próprio niilismo. No entanto, mesmo admitindo que o pensamento de Nietzsche sobre o niilismo conduza a uma afirmação incondicional de todo acontecimento, a nossa pesquisa se desenvolve a partir da noção nietzscheana de redenção. Desde o nascimento da tragédia, Nietzsche explora o tema da redenção na conciliação realizada pela arte trágica entre o apolíneo e o dionisíaco. Nesta obra de 1872, o filósofo encontra na figura de Dionisio, o deus afirmador do sofrimento, um mote decisivo para o encaminhamento futuro de seu pensamento supremoafirmativo. Em contraposição à concepção trágica que se formou como meio de escapar do pessimismo, o socratismo-platonismo é entendido por Nietzsche como um movimento que coloca em marcha a lógica niilista no Ocidente, consumada na concepção cristã, mas que perfaz todos os domínios da cultura nas suas formas mais variada de negatividade. Diante de um diagnóstico terrível apresentado por Nietzsche em suas obras da maturidade, procuramos mostrar em que medida, por um lado, respondendo à questão sobre a procedência do niilismo e, por outro, explicitando seu desenvolvimento na modernidade, a filosofia de Nietzsche consegue pensar radicalmente o a superação do niilismo tendo como alcance mais expressivo do projeto de transvaloração com a noção mesma de redenção do homem.