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In this thesis, I undertake a multi-disciplinary survey and descriptive analysis of vampires and other types of undead-corpse in Europe from the medieval period to the twentieth century. Broadly speaking, the first three chapters of the thesis discuss the typology and folklore of vampires and undead-corpses, and so too the burial practices associated with such revenants. The remaining chapters delve into the etiological explanations for the existence of undead-corpses, the vampire infestations of the eighteenth century, the reasons for declining belief in walking-corpses thereafter, and the increasingly popular notion of astral vampirism in the nineteenth century. In the early eighteenth century, popular belief in the existence of undead-corpses was fuelled by numerous reports of vampire outbreaks across Eastern and Central Europe. In his Treatise on Vampires and Revenants (1746), Augustin Calmet argued that although there may have been troublesome undead-corpses and ‘vestiges of vampirism’ in the past, the vampires of eighteenth-century Europe were inherently unique. In the first chapter of this thesis, I investigate Calmet’s assertion and compare/contrast the distinguishing features of the various types of undead-corpse that supposedly existed in Europe from the medieval period to the Enlightenment, and argue that the outstanding characteristic of eighteenth-century vampires was their implied thirst for blood, and that the vampire is indeed a unique type of undead-corpse. In the second chapter, I assess to what extent undead-corpses like the vampire acquired the characteristics formerly attributed to other folkloric beings. Subsequently, I undertake a folkloric analysis of vampires and undead-corpses in Europe from the twelfth to the eighteenth century and compare/contrast their features with that of other folkloric entities like ghosts, incubi/succubi, witches and fairies. I demonstrate that a distinction can be made between the folkloric vampire and ‘historical’ vampires of the eighteenth century like Arnod Paole. And argue that although medieval revenants were very corporeal beings, subsequent undead-corpses like the spectrum of sixteenth-century Silesia, and so too the vampire of folklore, took on a more semi-corporeal nature, indulged in all manner of supernatural activity and acquired many features formerly attributed to other folkloric beings. In the third chapter, however, I delve into the various burial practices associated with vampires and revenants, the prophylactic measures used against them, and the methods employed to dispatch the undead. I argue that the main reason for impaling vampires with a wooden stake and other such practices was simply to hasten the decomposition of the deceased, given that there was no guarantee that a corpse was actually dead until the flesh had rotted from the bones. In the next chapter, I discuss eschatological notions like Purgatory and excommunication, and argue that by the end of the seventeenth century, three main theological/metaphysical notions had developed to explain the existence of undeadcorpses. Firstly, undead-corpses were inhabited and enlivened by the actual soul of the deceased individual and empowered by some sort of remnant energy or vestigium vitae, which took on a life of their own until the body had decomposed and the remnant energy had dissipated. Secondly, it was the Devil that reanimated the corpse, rather than the deceased soul, in the same manner that the Devil could possess and manipulate a living body. Furthermore, necromancers could raise the dead through sorcery, albeit with demonic help. Thirdly, the Devil could create a semi-corporeal body of congealed air and appear in the guise of someone recently deceased in order to torment the living. I argue that it was the earthbound soul of the deceased that supposedly animated the vampires of the eighteenth-century. In the fifth chapter, I outline the socio-religious topography of the vampire outbreaks in eighteenth-century Europe and discuss the reactions of the Austro-Hungarian authorities, under whose jurisdiction the outbreaks occurred. Similarly, I discuss the response of the intelligentsia and the hierarchy of the Catholic Church, the state religion of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, to the vampire infestations. I demonstrate that official belief in undead-corpses had waned by the Enlightenment, and that the civil authorities were keen to enlighten and re-educate the populace, and initiated official investigations into further outbreaks of vampirism, and introduced legislative measures to eradicate such beliefs. In particular, I review the various natural explanations furnished by the educated elite at the time to account for vampires. I argue that it was difficult for the authorities and educated elite to eradicate belief in undead-corpses largely because the masses and lower echelons of the Church at the time were fuelled by a pre-modern belief-system that had itself promoted belief in revenants. In the final chapters, I note that although the occasional vampire outbreak still arose in nineteenth century Europe and undead-corpses were reputedly responsible for consumption in late nineteenth-century New England (USA), popular belief in walking corpses per se had largely ceased. Nonetheless, the rise of spiritualism, theosophy and popular occultism at the time encouraged a reinterpretation of the traditional vampire and fuelled the notion of ‘astral’ vampires. Finally, I elaborate upon the importance of the vampire to our own lives and note that occasional belief in flesh-and-blood vampires still occurs today, and that a contemporary Vampire subculture has arisen of ‘living’ individuals who claim to be the ‘real’ vampires.

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In this thesis, I undertake a multi-disciplinary survey and descriptive analysis of vampires and other types of undead-corpse in Europe from the medieval period to the twentieth century. Broadly speaking, the first three chapters of the thesis discuss the typology and folklore of vampires and undead-corpses, and so too the burial practices associated with such revenants. The remaining chapters delve into the etiological explanations for the existence of undead-corpses, the vampire infestations of the eighteenth century, the reasons for declining belief in walking-corpses thereafter, and the increasingly popular notion of astral vampirism in the nineteenth century. In the early eighteenth century, popular belief in the existence of undead-corpses was fuelled by numerous reports of vampire outbreaks across Eastern and Central Europe. In his Treatise on Vampires and Revenants (1746), Augustin Calmet argued that although there may have been troublesome undead-corpses and ‘vestiges of vampirism’ in the past, the vampires of eighteenth-century Europe were inherently unique. In the first chapter of this thesis, I investigate Calmet’s assertion and compare/contrast the distinguishing features of the various types of undead-corpse that supposedly existed in Europe from the medieval period to the Enlightenment, and argue that the outstanding characteristic of eighteenth-century vampires was their implied thirst for blood, and that the vampire is indeed a unique type of undead-corpse. In the second chapter, I assess to what extent undead-corpses like the vampire acquired the characteristics formerly attributed to other folkloric beings. Subsequently, I undertake a folkloric analysis of vampires and undead-corpses in Europe from the twelfth to the eighteenth century and compare/contrast their features with that of other folkloric entities like ghosts, incubi/succubi, witches and fairies. I demonstrate that a distinction can be made between the folkloric vampire and ‘historical’ vampires of the eighteenth century like Arnod Paole. And argue that although medieval revenants were very corporeal beings, subsequent undead-corpses like the spectrum of sixteenth-century Silesia, and so too the vampire of folklore, took on a more semi-corporeal nature, indulged in all manner of supernatural activity and acquired many features formerly attributed to other folkloric beings. In the third chapter, however, I delve into the various burial practices associated with vampires and revenants, the prophylactic measures used against them, and the methods employed to dispatch the undead. I argue that the main reason for impaling vampires with a wooden stake and other such practices was simply to hasten the decomposition of the deceased, given that there was no guarantee that a corpse was actually dead until the flesh had rotted from the bones. In the next chapter, I discuss eschatological notions like Purgatory and excommunication, and argue that by the end of the seventeenth century, three main theological/metaphysical notions had developed to explain the existence of undeadcorpses. Firstly, undead-corpses were inhabited and enlivened by the actual soul of the deceased individual and empowered by some sort of remnant energy or vestigium vitae, which took on a life of their own until the body had decomposed and the remnant energy had dissipated. Secondly, it was the Devil that reanimated the corpse, rather than the deceased soul, in the same manner that the Devil could possess and manipulate a living body. Furthermore, necromancers could raise the dead through sorcery, albeit with demonic help. Thirdly, the Devil could create a semi-corporeal body of congealed air and appear in the guise of someone recently deceased in order to torment the living. I argue that it was the earthbound soul of the deceased that supposedly animated the vampires of the eighteenth-century. In the fifth chapter, I outline the socio-religious topography of the vampire outbreaks in eighteenth-century Europe and discuss the reactions of the Austro-Hungarian authorities, under whose jurisdiction the outbreaks occurred. Similarly, I discuss the response of the intelligentsia and the hierarchy of the Catholic Church, the state religion of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, to the vampire infestations. I demonstrate that official belief in undead-corpses had waned by the Enlightenment, and that the civil authorities were keen to enlighten and re-educate the populace, and initiated official investigations into further outbreaks of vampirism, and introduced legislative measures to eradicate such beliefs. In particular, I review the various natural explanations furnished by the educated elite at the time to account for vampires. I argue that it was difficult for the authorities and educated elite to eradicate belief in undead-corpses largely because the masses and lower echelons of the Church at the time were fuelled by a pre-modern belief-system that had itself promoted belief in revenants. In the final chapters, I note that although the occasional vampire outbreak still arose in nineteenth century Europe and undead-corpses were reputedly responsible for consumption in late nineteenth-century New England (USA), popular belief in walking corpses per se had largely ceased. Nonetheless, the rise of spiritualism, theosophy and popular occultism at the time encouraged a reinterpretation of the traditional vampire and fuelled the notion of ‘astral’ vampires. Finally, I elaborate upon the importance of the vampire to our own lives and note that occasional belief in flesh-and-blood vampires still occurs today, and that a contemporary Vampire subculture has arisen of ‘living’ individuals who claim to be the ‘real’ vampires.

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In this qualitative study I sought to explore the influence that culture has on diabetes (type 2) self-management for Gujarati Muslim men. In particular, I aimed to develop a theoretical understanding of this influence. I used an interpretive approach, which involved combining ethnographic and phenomenological methodologies. Interview and participant observation methods were used to capture data about the lived experiences of diabetes self-management, for a small number of Gujarati Muslim men. These accounts, along with further narrative data from significant others, were thematically analysed over several cycles. The cyclical nature of analysis enabled me to gain deeper and more meaningful insights into the influence that culture has on diabetes self-management. Also central to the research process and analysis, has been my journey and reflexive experiences as a researcher. The study has taught me much about myself, and I have changed and evolved as a response. Therefore the representations presented in this work are inseparable from me and my life, and I have endeavoured to reveal this within the thesis. The study was informed by a contemporary perspective on culture, in which culture is part of the self. A person's culture is in a constant state of flux, as the self continually recreates and negotiates the meaning of culture within the context of the present lived experience. Similarly, and in contrast to current health care policy, which frequently perceives self-management as a set of interjected behaviours, self-management was perceived as the ways in which the man chooses to incorporate his diabetes into the totality of his life. The synthesis of the literature with the findings, demonstrates that culture does not influence diabetes self-management in a rigid and prescriptive way, but instead culture and self-management are interwoven through the self. Since self-management is negotiated by the self and culture is part of the self, it is the self which connects and interweaves the two. The influence of cultural beliefs on diabetes self-management is negotiated by the self within a complex context of interacting factors. This complex context includes other aspects which are equally as important as culture in shaping self-management, such as material, structural and practical factors. Because culture exists within a shifting and fluid context, its influence on self-management is subject to change, negotiation and re-creation. The perspective I have fostered in this thesis, is a considerable move away from the essentialist perspective of culture, taken in much current health care policy and research. I present a challenge to the dominant perspective in which culture is often oversimplified and consequently blamed for deviant or noncompliant self-management behaviours. The subjective perspective of culture that I have adopted in this thesis, enables the realisation that culture influences self-management in neither homogenous nor deterministic ways.

This thesis will describe the nature of Anglican parochial work in Victorian Liverpool, with particular reference to the church's relationship with the poor during the period 1851-1902. The nineteenth century witnessed large scale urbanisation of which Liverpool was a conspicuous and distinctive example. How well adjusted were the institutions of the Anglican Church to meet these challenges? What structures, mechanisms and devices did clerics on the national stage recommend should be employed in both establishing and then running an efficient parish? How were these expectations met in practice? Many major studies already conducted locally have tended to centre on London. The availability of national and metropolitan sources (in particular those generated by Charles Booth) have been in some part responsible for this. Regional study however is key to understanding nineteenth century churches. What might the experiences within the 'second city of the Empire', have been? How far were recommended practices for efficient parochial management applicable in Liverpool? But the relationship between the priest and his parish is two sided. This thesis examines the use the poorer working classes made of the Anglican Church in Liverpool, not only in terms of worship but also rites of passage, (using the sacrament of baptism as an example) the agencies of relief and visitation. Liverpool is an excellent choice for such a study on account of the source material generated by religious effort, religious rivalry and ecclesiastical self-analysis. Although interesting statistical material exists for Liverpool, and should not be ignored, the primary emphasis of this thesis will be the use of regional qualitative data. This thesis will also be able to use material not hitherto in the public domain. This thesis must ignore (for reasons of length) the educational efforts made by the Anglicans. Date limitations curtail the use of much of the oral evidence gathered although reference will be made to this material where appropriate. This thesis will contend that there existed working class churches, used by the working class for worship, in membership or use of parochial organisations and for neighbourhood purposes (in the celebration of baptisms). Although success in one of these fields did not automatically entail success in the others, such churches, created the sentiment expressed by Victorians of 'our church.' The Anglican Church in late Victorian Liverpool was able to adapt to a certain degree, secular trends into the church by virtue of its strong parochial systems.

ABSTRACT This study centres on the activities of the African Pentecostal movement in Nigeria and its contribution to national development by bringing to light its perceived role in creating a better society and improved governance in the country between 1970 and 2016. The objectives of the study are to identify and critically evaluate the main socio-political and economic challenges confronting the Nigerian society, with particular emphasis on Southwestern Nigeria; assess the contributions of some Nigerian Pentecostal churches to the socio-political and economic well-being of the people of Southwestern Nigeria; examine Pentecostal churches’ motivation for participating in the delivery of social services in Southwestern Nigeria and the larger Nigerian society; and determine the challenges confronting Pentecostal churches as they undertake essential social services in addition to the spiritual activities that they are reputed for. Data were gathered through participant observation, interview sessions and the administration of questionnaire to pastors, members and non-members of three Pentecostal Churches namely: Redeemed Christian Church of God, Deeper Life Bible Church and the Living Faith Church. The research gives primacy to sociological analysis of African Pentecostalism in Southwestern Nigeria while at the same time understands the movement as an inevitable religious development. Secondary data was sourced from both published and unpublished research materials on Pentecostalism in Africa in general and Southwestern Nigeria in particular. The results revealed that there is positive contribution of the Pentecostal movement to the socio-political and economic lives of the people of the Southwestern Nigeria. Though not very significant, the contribution cannot be dismissed. The results also showed that Pentecostal churches partnered with the government to provide essential social services through the establishment of secondary schools and universities, the provision of social amenities like boreholes, repair of roads, rehabilitation of destitute persons, organising seminars on building a good family system, empowerment of youth and scholarship to less-privileged students in the society. The study further established that Pentecostal churches played economic roles through the provision of funds for small scale businesses, partnering with some micro-finance banks to provide loans for entrepreneurship, distribution of food items to the less-privileged in the communities, and connecting youths to gain employment in the society. Politically, the study revealed that the Pentecostals churches engage in the political system of the communities through engaging in public debates, encouraging their members to exercise their voting rights, and if led by God, seek for elective positions. These involvements of the Pentecostals informed the submission that the movement has positive impact in the lives of the people. The study concluded that the Church, especially the Pentecostal movement, can be relied upon to partner with the government in making life better, and there can only be significant transformation in the society with the involvement of the Church exemplified by the Pentecostal movement in Nigeria. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2017. / Science of Religion and Missiology / PhD / Unrestricted

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