Digital Commons Network^™

Northern Lambda Nord Communique, Vol.17, No.2 (March/April 1996), Northern Lambda Nord, Dick Harrison

Communiqué / Northern Lambda Nord (1981-1999)

No abstract provided.

Uses Of Sound And Music: Euphony And Cacophony In "The Silmarillion" And Other Works By Jrr Tolkien, Marian Shalander Kaiser

Student Work

J.R.R. Tolkien presents music in his Middle-earth mythology (The Silmarillion, The Lord of the Rings, and The Hobbit) as something that simply is--an internal and divine essence existing outside of time and physical measure. In his mythological account of the creation and the evil that subsequently enters into the world, music emanates from God as something eternal, holy, and humanly incomprehensible beyond its incomplete temporal manifestation. Music serves as a vehicle to mirror Christian concepts, reflect the thoughts and motivations of the agents of good and evil, create mood, and elicit reactions from the reader.

Northern Lambda Nord Communique, Vol.17, No.1 (January/February 1996), Northern Lambda Nord, Sheila Everett, Dick Harrison

Communiqué / Northern Lambda Nord (1981-1999)

No abstract provided.

"The Rhythm Of The Visible World": Music, Text And Performance In Selected Writings Of Edith Sitwell, Gertrude Stein And Virginia Woolf, Gyllian Phillips

Digitized Theses

This study examines the presence of musical innovations in the language of individual works of Edith Sitwell, Gertrude Stein, and Virginia Woolf. Facade, Four Saints in Three Acts, and Between the Acts, all use the techniques of transformative musical forms in their own literary disruption in conventional forms. These works reveal an interaction between musical forms and literary forms, whether analogous (as in Between the Acts) or literal (Facade and Four Saints in Three Acts) the experiment of music in writing and the location of literary experiment by women writers generally in a historical context. For these writers, the ephemeral …

The Dialectic Of Orality And Literacy In "Piers Plowman", John Paul Wooden

Digitized Theses

This dissertation argues that in writing Piers Plowman Langland was attempting something extraordinarily difficult: to negotiate between two poles of authority, bardic and clerical, and in so doing to create something not quite of either pole, a literary tertium quid, a remarkable hybrid of the discourses and values associated with oral and written culture. In contrast the many studies that focus on the clerical bias of the poet, I demonstrate that Langland writes not only as a clerk, bearer of the cultural authority of the book, but also as a traditional seer, speaking of and for an oral culture that …

"The Impossible Voice": Hermeneutics And Narrative In Samuel Beckett's Novels, Jonathan Stuart Boulter

Digitized Theses

Samuel Beckett's early to middle novels thematize what Gadamer calls the hermeneutic nature of being. The novels figure the process of being as articulating the non-coincidental self in a discursive space itself denying the very grounds of meaning. This dissertation explores the philosophical implications of an aporetic hermeneutics in relation to the narrating subject, whose readings of his world are always articulated en abime, and to the actual reader, who is obligated to measure the economy of her own reading against the specular hermeneutic of the narrating subject. The question of interpretation in the novels is attenuated by the reader's …

Sexing The Fairy Tale: Borrowed Monsters And Postmodern Fantasies, Romayne Chaloner Fullerton

Digitized Theses

This thesis examines the ambiguous function of folk and fairy tale motifs in the postmodern fantasies of Angela Carter, Jenny Diski, and Jeanette Winterson. Whereas the most popular and widely-read versions of the classic tales tended to focus on woman as passive victim, these texts present woman as powerful monster: she is a witch, a giant, a step- or adoptive parent, or is only half human. But these postmodern incarnations are often problematic because they are largely borrowed from earlier stories which are sexist, misogynistic, and narrow in their outlooks. While woman's construction as monstrous is neither constant nor unqualified, …

"Such Peple As Be Not Letterd In Scripture": Popular Devotion And The Legend Of St Katherine Of Alexandria In Late Medieval England, Jacqueline Jenkins

Digitized Theses

This dissertation examines four different versions of the Legend of St. Katherine of Alexandria in Middle English in the context of laywomen's reading patterns in the late Middle Ages. The questions considered in the discussions of the individual texts or manuscript collections include: why was the legend of St. Katherine so influential and important in the Middle Ages, how does her cult accommodate the changing patterns of lay spirituality in the fifteenth century, and what function did the hagiographic literature and the other devotional texts with which they circulated, fulfill in the lives of the laywomen readers with whom they …

The Theater Of The Absurd In Europe And America: Sartre, Beckett, Pinter, Albee And Drama Criticism, Sheila O'Brien Mcguckin

Doctoral Dissertations

This study examines the significance of the post World War II Theater of the Absurd which explored new concepts of ontology and semiology and provided a vehicle for the dissemination of existentialist ideas. As a link between modernist and postmodernist drama, it also served as a catalyst for changes in drama criticism that anticipated some of the controversies of deconstructionism.

The first part of this work places the Theater of the Absurd in historical context by tracing elements of absurdity from the theater of ancient Greece into the twentieth century. Modern absurdism emerged in the 1930's as part of the …

Clinic-Based Investigation Of The Typology And Self-Reporting Of Fgm In Egypt, Population Council

Reproductive Health

This clinic-based study of female genital mutilation (FGM) was designed and carried out by the Egypt Fertility Care Society to gather detailed information on the types of FGM practiced in Egypt. The study involved interviews with clinic clients to elicit information about their experience and attitudes concerning FGM, and gynecological examinations by specially trained OB/GYN physicians. In all, 93% of the women in this study were found to have some type of FGM. The study's findings were incorporated in the final report of the 1995 Egyptian Demographic and Health Survey, with the aim of contributing to the scientific understanding of …

Reproductive Tract Infection—Lessons Learned From The Field: Where Do We Go From Here?, Jennifer Grant, Diana Measham

Reproductive Health

The Population Council convened a meeting about reproductive tract infections (RTIs) to examine how best to use available tools and information, learn about potential service delivery approaches, and examine the direction of research. The meeting began with an examination of what is known about the prevalence, distribution, determinants, characteristics, and consequences of RTIs, as well as the common elements of an intervention framework. General obstacles related to work in the area of RTIs include lack of awareness of the problem and the limited power of women in society. Priorities for future research and programming include: further research on the scope …

A Situation Analysis Of The Maternal And Child Health/Family Planning (Mch/Fp) Program In Botswana, Benjamin Baakile, Lucy Sejo Maribe, Baker Ndugga Maggwa, Robert A. Miller

Reproductive Health

Botswana has a rapid annual population growth rate and a high total fertility rate. It also has one of the highest levels of contraceptive use in sub-Saharan Africa. Infant and under-5 mortality rates have fallen, yet maternal mortality remains high. The Government of Botswana has developed an extensive network of health care facilities that provide services through an integrated approach. Family planning (FP) services are available at all three levels of the MOH system (hospitals, clinics, health posts). Services for managing sexually transmitted diseases (STDS) have recently undergone a substantial change with the introduction of the Syndromic Approach to STD …

Prospective Population Growth And Policy Options For India, 1991–2101, Leela Visaria, Pravin Visaria

Reproductive Health

India, the second most populous country in the world, experienced an accelerated decline in fertility during the 1980s. As a result, India’s total fertility rate (TFR) in 1993, 3.5 births per woman, is below the level presumed in the population projections of the United Nations and the World Bank. This favorable development has occurred as India is attempting to reorient its family planning program to focus on the reproductive health of women and the health and welfare of children. The method-specific targets for contraceptive acceptors assigned to every grassroots health worker were abandoned in April 1996. Against this backdrop, this …

English And Spanish Take-Home Reading Packets To Enhance Early Literacy And Parent Involvement, Catherine Mary Warren

All Graduate Projects

The purpose of this project was to influence student reading comprehension by involving parents in the literacy learning of their children. Researchers of language learning suggest that if children learn skills and content in their first language, they will later transfer that knowledge to their second language. To accomplish that end, literature packets that contain a book in Spanish or English with corresponding activities were created. The packets will be taken home by students to use with their parents to enhance reading skills and parent involvement.

Rapid Appraisal Of Ipp-Vi Training Of Anms In Uttar Pradesh, M.E. Khan, Saumya Ramarao, R.B. Gupta, Sulbha Swaroop, Leila Caleb-Varkey, Anoop K. Saxena, Anil Mishra

Reproductive Health

This report provides findings of a rapid appraisal of the Auxiliary Nurse Midwife (ANM) training program in Uttar Pradesh, India. The appraisal was undertaken by the Population Council and State Innovations in Family Planning Agency (SIFPSA). As SIFPSA is in the process of planning a training program to strengthen the technical skills and competence of ANMs and update their contraceptive knowledge, it was felt that a rapid appraisal of the training program would help in understanding the strengths and weaknesses of previous training efforts. The ANM training initiatives of SIFPSA would then build upon the experiences gained from earlier training …

Community Participation In Health, Family Planning And Development Activities: A Review Of International Experiences, Abbas Bhuiya, Fatima Yasmin, Farida Begum, Ubaidur Rob

Reproductive Health

The family planning (FP)/maternal and child health (MCH) program in Bangladesh has achieved success in the recent past, mostly through a large-scale government service-delivery system with support and cooperation from donors and nongovernmental organizations. There is concern about the financial and social sustainability of the program. Other issues include achievement of replacement-level fertility within a stipulated period and improvement of MCH-FP service quality. It is widely believed that most of the concerns will be taken care of with effective community participation. Before activating community initiatives, it is worth carrying out action research. A literature review was completed from July to …

Quality Of Family Planning Programme In India: A Review Of Public And Private Sector, Dileep V. Mavalankar

Reproductive Health

Increasing attention has been paid to quality of care (QOC) in family planning (FP) during the last few years, and there have been several initiatives to strengthen QOC in FP in the developing world. This paper reviews the quality of the FP program in India’s public and private sectors, and examines six elements: choice of methods, information given to clients, technical competence, interpersonal relations, continuity of care and follow-up, and appropriate constellation of services. Overall, the paper finds that not much attention has been paid to QOC and hence the level is quite low. Evidence and observations indicate that QOC …

Reintroducing Dmpa To The Philippine Family Planning Program: A Longitudinal Study Of Continuing Users And Drop-Outs, Population Council

Reproductive Health

In 1994, the Population Council, Manila, conducted an operations research (OR) project entitled “DMPA Monitoring and Follow-up Studies.” The activity was undertaken to provide accurate and timely support to the DMPA Reintroduction Program of the Department of Health. Commonly known as Depo-Provera, DMPA stands for Depo-Medroxy Progesterone Acetate, an extremely effective injectable contraceptive given every three months. This report focuses on the survey component of these studies which aims to comprehensively examine the influence on DMPA use of factors classified into the following eight major areas: socioeconomic and demographic characteristics; reproductive history; contraceptive history; adoption of DMPA; quality of care …

Proceedings Of The Operations Research Training Workshop For Program Managers And Researchers, January 15-21, 1996, Family Planning Service, The Family Planning Operations Research And Training (Fport) Program, Population Council

Reproductive Health

This document contains the proceedings of the training workshop on operations research (OR) for program managers and researchers held January 15-21, 1996, in Mindoro, Philippines. The workshop was co-sponsored by the Family Planning Service of the Department of Health and the Family Planning Operations Research and Training Program of the Population Council, Manila. Representatives from the health and population offices of ten local government units (LGUs) worked with a select group of researchers to evolve a list of relevant topics for operations research (OR) and develop a concept paper on a chosen OR topic. The LGUs represented in the workshop …

Unsafe Abortion In Kenya: Findings From Eight Studies, Khama Rogo, Ann Leonard

Reproductive Health

One of the most topical areas in reproductive health today is the consequences of induced and often unsafe abortion. Safe motherhood initiatives continue to highlight the contribution of unsafe abortion to the persistent high rates of maternal mortality and morbidity in sub-Saharan Africa. In some countries, unsafe abortion is responsible for up to half of all maternal mortality and morbidity, with adolescents constituting a significant proportion of those procuring unsafe abortions. In Kenya, concern about the problem of incomplete and septic abortion has increased, particularly on the part of service providers who must treat women suffering from the complications of …

Adolescent Family Life Education: Review Of Curriculum, Ladly Faiz, Hasina Banu, Devi Sharma

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

Adolescents, who are about 23 percent of the total population of Bangladesh, are entitled to grow up as healthy and responsible members of society. The Adolescent Life Education (ALE) program ensures the rights of this large section of the population and helps them develop as healthy and responsible members of their family and society. ALE is internationally known as Family Life Education, and its incorporation in Bangladesh’s education sphere is a recent phenomenon. Due to rapid social change worldwide, the young generation is presently facing an enormous problem coping with the erosion of traditional family, social life, and values. Adolescent …

Living On A Fault Line: Political Violence Against Women In Algeria, Leila Hessini

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

This study raises three questions to better comprehend the crisis women face in Algeria today: how are the state and the opposition groups addressing and defining women’s contemporary status, what is the link between women’s status and violence against them, and what are the tactics both of resistance and accommodation that Algerian women are using to survive in such a context? Throughout this study, the term “Islamic Fundamentalists” refers to movements and people in Algeria who use the “recovery” of early principles of the Ideal Muslim Community to develop their idea of a future Islamic “social order,” with the ultimate …

Components Of Kenya's Future Population Growth And Population Policy Implications, John Kekovole

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

The world’s population has grown rapidly from about 2.5 billion in 1950 to a current size of 5.8 billion. As noted in this report, most of the increase has been recorded in the developing countries of Africa, Asia, and Latin America due to continued high fertility in the face of reductions in levels of mortality. Kenya provides a unique opportunity to study the impact of various policy options on future population growth. The primary objective of this study is to measure the impact of different causes of continued population growth on Kenya’s future size and to formulate appropriate policy measures …

Out Of The Shadows: Homebased Workers Organize For International Recognition, Renana Jhabvala, Jane Tate

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

Home-based work is a vital and growing part of economic modernization, exponentially linked to the globalization of industry and the never-ending search for less costly sources of labor and more efficient means of production. As governments seek to attract industrial development, the availability of low-cost labor and labor stability is a valuable bargaining commodity. Furthermore, the income it produces is not supplementary but rather increasingly vital to families and nations alike. The women who embroider on the island of Madeira, Portugal, the home-based workers assembling electronic devices in Brazil, the Chinese women machine stitching garments at home in major cities …

Women's Perceptions Of Sexuality In Rural Giza, Hind Khattab

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

This study on sexuality among women in rural Giza, Egypt, is part of a broader project on women's health and reproductive morbidity conducted by the Population Council’s Reproductive Health Working Group. Reproductive tract infections (RTIs) and other ailments associated with reproduction among women in the rural community surveyed suggest that a heavy burden of disease is being borne by women living in underprivileged areas in this region. This research on sexuality has been conducted within a conceptual framework that uses a socio-cultural approach to health and illness. The investigation is an assessment of women's perception of and knowledge about sexuality …

Sources Of Future Population Growth In The Philippines And Implications For Public Policy, Alejandro N. Herrin, Marilou P. Costello

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

Rapid population growth, poor and uneven economic performance, and slow progress in health and education are interrelated phenomena. However, while there is strong support for public policies aimed at economic recovery and human resource development in the Philippines, there is still a lack of consensus on the need for public policy to moderate population growth and on the role of a government-sponsored family planning program in overall population and development activities. This paper examines alternative population projections and analyzes the contribution to future population growth of unwanted fertility, high desired family size, and population momentum. The aims are to highlight …

Learning About Sexuality: A Practical Beginning, Sondra Zeidenstein, Kirsten Moore

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

“Learning About Sexuality: A Practical Beginning” is divided into three main parts. The first includes approaches that program staff, activists, and researchers are taking to understand people’s experiences of sexuality. The second explores the explicit and implicit links among health-seeking behavior, contraceptive practice, reproductive health, and sexuality. The chapters in part three focus on activities that challenge entrenched attitudes and behavior about sexuality that have real and potentially harmful effects on women’s and men’s reproductive health. The book features program and research work in all regions of the world with women, men, girls, and boys. The chapters are written by …

Integration Of Sti And Hiv/Aids Services With Mch/Fp Services: A Case Study Of The Mkomani Clinic Society In Mombasa, Kenya, Amina Twahir, Baker Ndugga Maggwa, Ian Askew

Reproductive Health

Most national MCH-FP programs in sub-Saharan Africa are shifting their programmatic strategies toward a broader reproductive health service approach that includes integrating STI and HIV/AIDS services into existing MCH-FP programs. This is based on the belief that integration will lead to more cost-effective and better-quality service, and maximize use of existing resources. There is an assumption that the basic infrastructure for the MCH-FP programs can absorb the extra demands of the STI/HIV/AIDS services with minimal additional inputs and that staff providing MCH-FP services require only minimal training to be able to provide STI/HIV/AIDS services. There is a further assumption that …

Men And Family Planning In Bangladesh: A Review Of The Literature, Debbie Donahoe

Reproductive Health

This report reviews the literature on men and family planning (FP) in Bangladesh. A variety of topics are covered: male fertility preferences, opinions about male methods of contraception, family planning (FP) decision-making, and recent efforts to involve Bangladeshi men in FP programs. Men’s desired family size in Bangladesh is small; only one-third of respondents in the most recent DHS survey wanted more than two children. The same survey revealed that knowledge of at least one modern method of FP is practically universal and that attitudes toward contraception are overwhelmingly favorable. Only superficial information on the frequency and quality of communication …

A Synthesis Of Research Findings On Quality Of Services In The Indian Family Welfare Programme, Gillian H.C. Foo

Reproductive Health

In recent years, there has been growing recognition among researchers and policymakers that the quality of care provided by family planning (FP) programs in developing countries is an important determinant of whether couples adopt contraception and continue as contraceptive users, or whether these programs are underutilized. A major initiative to identify and implement improvements in the quality of services within the Indian program calls for a systematic analysis, organization, and presentation of the available data to the policymakers and program managers concerned. Additional data is also required on issues such as user's perception of quality of care, the relative importance …