Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Ecology of spirit'

The purpose of this thesis is to provide a blueprint for the creation of the Free Spirit Children's Nature Center. The center has in mind the preservation of a habitat and will offer naturalist programs that enhance children's understanding and love of nature. The interactive nature of the experiences provided through the programs and activities will offer children a hands-on approach to learning that is developmentally appropriate. The primary role of the nature center is proposed to re-create a sense of connectedness to nature and generate healthy communities.

PONTIFÍCIA UNIVERSIDADE CATÓLICA DO RIO DE JANEIRO
CONSELHO NACIONAL DE DESENVOLVIMENTO CIENTÍFICO E TECNOLÓGICO
Esta tese é um estudo sobre a articulação entre a teologia e a realidade ecológica atual, a partir do pensamento do teólogo protestante alemão Jurgen Moltmann. A idéia é mostrar que a teologia trinitária de Moltmann, articulada a partir da pneumatologia, fornece uma base adequada para elaboração de uma teologia apropriada à  problemática ecológica. O ecológico é tema emergente na produção teológica ocidental e de abordagem interdisciplinar. Por isso, buscamos estabelecer um diálogo fecundo entre duas áreas distintas, através de uma hermenêutica teológica que conjuga pneumatologia e ecologia. A partir desse viés hermenêutico é que entendemos ser possí­vel oferecer as contribuições mais relevantes para a teologia em geral e latino-americana em particular, e articulá-la adequadamente com as interpelações que a realidade ecológica faz.
This thesis is a study about the relation between theology and ecological reality today, based on the thought of the German Protestant theologian Jürgen Moltmann. The aim is to show that the Trinitarian theology of Moltmann, articulated from the pneumatology provides an appropriate basis for development of a theology appropriate to the ecological problems. The ecological theme is emerging in the production of theological and western interdisciplinary approach. Therefore, we sought to establish a dialogue between two distinct areas, through a theological hermeneutics that combines pneumatology and ecology. From that hermeneutic obliquity we believe that is possible to offer the most relevant contributions to theology in general, in particular to Latin American and articulate it properly with the requests that the ecological reality does.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Oregon, 1999.
Typescript. Includes vita and abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 356-371). Also available for download via the World Wide Web; free to University of Oregon users. Address: http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/uoregon/fullcit?p9947971.

The Himalayan state of Arunachal Pradesh in the far northeastern corner of India is a Protected Area running east-west along the contested McMahon Line that marks the International Border with Tibet Autonomous Region. It represents one of the most remote and least known areas of India. Dense tropical, sub-tropical and temperate forests cover more than two-thirds of Arunachal Pradesh and the state harbours globally outstanding biological diversity, representing one of the most diverse alpine botanic zones on earth. It forms part of one of thirty-four internationally-recognized 'global biodiversity hotspots'. This thesis constitutes the first detailed village-level ethnographic investigation of the Nyishi tribe inhabiting the remote upper belt of the state and provides a benchmark for future ethnographic work in the region. Based upon sixteen months of intensive fieldwork involving textual, audio and audio-visual documentation of rituals, ceremonies, oral histories and everyday discourses, the study explores how the perceived agency of spirits (uyu) inform ecological phenomena and village-level interactions with the landscape. Drawing upon Bruno Latour's (1993) critique of the nature-culture dichotomy, Philippe Descola's (2005) theory of animistic 'modes of identification', and Tim Ingold's (2000) 'organism-environment synergy' this study investigates the ritual and everyday significance of spirits and how human-spirit relationships inform key village-level economic interactions with the landscape, including hunting, animal husbandry and shifting cultivation (/hum). The thesis explores how the extraction of natural resources are locally configured, through spirits, as forms of'exchange'. Focusing upon the practices of shaman-priests (nyubu), hunters (nyegum) and storyteller- arbitrators (nyejuk), the research examines how landscape processes across a range of scales are expressed through a 'language' of spirits. A portrait emerges of how discourses about human-spirit exchanges causally bind such diverse phenomena as the clearing of mature forest for jhum cultivation, divination through the chicken liver omen, animal sacrifice, the hunting of spirit-reared forest animals, the seasonal deposition of snow and movement of forest animals between elevations, human illness, violent storms, landslides and floods, all within a highly dynamic and often capricious landscape. As a village-level portrait of how spirits inform indigenous experience of and interactions with the landscape the study contributes to contemporary debates concerning the status of indigenous ecological knowledge in Northeast India and beyond.

The thesis presents and inquires into a first person research story about the development of a ‘Community of Practice’ for asset-based rural development practitioners from across the UK and Republic of Ireland. It includes an account of how geographically remote members of the CoP were supported to come together over eighteen months to co-produce an online handbook called ‘Exploring Community Resilience’ (included as Appendix 1). Findings include: - Social networking and social media technologies can be powerful enablers of third and second person inquiry; - A compass tool (included here) can help hosts and curators make good design and facilitation choices as they host the emergence of complex, large scale social learning architectures (which this thesis calls ‘Digital Forests’); - Action researchers can benefit from developing skills as digital curators, producers of social media, and hosts of transformative learning processes; - Future generations of social media are likely to challenge the assumptions, methods and findings of this thesis. As we navigate our way into this fast changing future, it will be helpful to inquire into their impacts of new generations of digital technologies on our personal and collective psychological, cultural and social wellbeing.

Un changement de débit peut entrainer des modifications dans les traits d'histoire de vie, le partitionnement des ressources alimentaires, les déplacements ou encore l'impact de facteurs abiotiques sur les populations de poissons. Les spirlins vivent jusqu'à 3 ans, avec une acquisition de la maturité dès 1 an pour les mâles et 2 ans pour les femelles. Les blageons vivent jusqu'à 4-5 ans, avec une acquisition de la maturité dès 2 ans pour les deux sexes. En comparaison avec d'autres populations d'Europe, la croissance des spirlins était la plus élevée en Durance et la plus faible pour les blageons de la zone concernée par la modification du débit. De plus, un seuil ontogénique a été identifié pour les deux espèces. Selon la théorie de la niche, la survie d'espèces est liée à un partitionnement de leurs ressources. Les deux espèces présentent un partitionnement alimentaire. Les résultats des valeurs isotopiquesont été validés à l'aide des resultats de contenus stomacaux. Les affluents représentent des apports de débit, de nutriments et d'habitats pour une rivière principale. Les blageons et spirlins originaires de la rivière Durance se déplacent vers un affluent au cours de la période hivernale. Ce résultat a été mis en évidence à l'aide des valeurs isotopiques. Les facteurs abiotiques de rivières tempérées sous climat méditerranéen sont décrits comme sévères, imprévisibles et avec une fréquence de crue élevée; et influencent la structure des populations de poissons. Les pontes multiples des femelles spirlins semblent avoir permis aux juvéniles d'éviter des concentrations élevées en matières en suspension, néfastes à leur survie
A flow modification can lead to changes in life history traits, interspecific interactions, movements and the impact of abiotic factors on fish populations. Spirlin longevity was three years, with the acquisition of the maturity after their first year for males and after their second year for females. Soufie longevity was four to five years, with the acquisition of the maturity after their second year for the two sexes. In comparaison with others populations studeid in Europe, the growth was higher for spirlin and lower for soufie from the study aera on the Durance River. Moreover, an ontogenetic threshold was identified for both species. According to the niche theory, the species survival is linked to a partitioning of their resources. The two species showed a food partitioning. Stable isotope values were confirmed by stomach contents results. Tributaries represent inputs in flow, nutriments ans habitats for a main river. Soufie and spirlin coming moved from the Durance River to the tributary during the winter period. This result was underlined by stable isotope values. Abiotic factors of temperate stream with a mediterranean climate are described as severe, unpredictable and with a high frequency of flooding and then influence the structure of the fish population. The several spawning batches of spirlin females seem to have allowed juveniles to avoid high concentrations of channel suspended sediment, harmful for their survival

Baited pitfall traps were used to sample the lizard fauna at Birdlings Flat on Kaitorete Spit, Canterbury. Four species had been recorded previously from this area; Leiolopisma maccanni Patterson and Daugherty, Leiolopisma nigriplantare polychroma Patterson and Daugherty, Leiolopisma lineoocellatum (Dumeril and Dumeril) and Hoplodactylus maculatus (Gray). Three of these species (L. maccanni, L. n. polychroma and H. maculatus) were captured during the course of the study. The aim of this present study was to examine the nature of the ecological relationship among these three species at Birdlings Flat. Capture data indicated that L. maccanni was almost entirely confined to the dunelands while L. n. polychroma was associated exclusively with shrublands on old dune ridges behind the sand dunes. H. maculatus' distribution encompassed both of these major habitats. Separation on the basis of habitat was thought to be the most important niche variable for these two diurnal skinks. There was some temporal separation in activity of these two species, with L. maccanni active earlier in the day than L. n. polychroma. However, there was a high degree of overlap in the activity periods of these two species. Temporal differentiation between the nocturnal gecko H. maculatus and the two diurnal skinks is thought to be an important means by which these species coexist. The most common prey items consumed by all three species were Diptera, Araneae, C. propinqua seeds, Hemiptera, unidentified arthropod eggs, Coleoptera and Hymenoptera. Dietary differences between the two skink species were apparent although these differences appeared to be related to the preferred habitats of the respective species. Density estimates for L. maccanni varied between 1050/ha and 1850/ha while L. n. polychroma density varied between 200/ha and 400/ha. The density of H. maculatus was not calculated but appeared to be intermediate to the density of the two skink species. The apparent disappearance of L. lineoocellatum from an area where they were once relatively common is cause for concern. There is no obvious reason for this decline although it may be related to the combined impacts of predation, collection and habitat disturbance.

A partir de la fin des années 1960, la fermeture des milieux consécutive à la déprise agricole a favorisé la recrudescence des grands feux, et au plan local, a augmenté la fréquence des incendies. Les objectifs de la thèse étaient d'évaluer les effets des incendies récurrents sur la capacité de résilience des propriétés microbiennes des sols, d'identifier les principaux facteurs impliqués dans la résilience microbienne et d'évaluer l'efficacité d'apports de composts pour favoriser la restauration de la qualité chimique et microbiologique des sols. Les dynamiques de retour à court et long terme des activités de minéralisation du C et du N, des activité enzymatiques et de la diversité catabolique des communautés microbiennes, ainsi que leur stabilité à des stress hydriques supplémentaires, ont été évaluées sous des régimes d'incendie fréquents et peu fréquents. La matière organique (MO) a été caractérisée par les techniques IRTF et RMN CPMAS du 13C. Les effets d'un apport de composts de boues d'épuration urbaines et de déchets verts sur la qualité des sols ont été étudiés in-situ sur des sols fréquemment incendiés en croisant 3 niveaux de maturité (3 semaines, 3 mois et 9 mois) et 3 temps depuis le dernier feu (10 mois, 5 ans et 18 ans). Les résultats ont montré que les incendies répétés accélèrent le retour après le feu de la nitrification nette et des profils cataboliques mais affectent durablement la plupart des autres fonctions microbiennes. L'activité respiratoire des sols récemment incendiés s'est avérée plus résistante aux stress hydriques mais également moins résiliente lorsque les feux sont récurrents. Les résultats démontrent le rôle limitant de l'évolution de la MO, en particulier de son degré d'aromaticité, sur la dynamique de retour des fonctions microbiennes après les feux et leur résilience aux stress. L'apport des composts sur les sols fréquemment incendiés est une solution efficace pour restaurer la qualité des sols mais nécessite de sélectionner une maturité adaptée à l'histoire contemporaine d'incendie.

The niche concept provides a tractable measure of the ecological roles and requirements of organisms, which can inform our understanding of the patterns of biodiversity, and subsequently, direct conservation policy. Although niche is most commonly considered for species, variation nested within lower hierarchies of biological organization (i.e., phenotypes, genotypes) also contributes to maintaining biodiversity. Herein I examine spatial and dietary niche variation among and within species in a consumer–resource system where resources and competition are structured by a heterogeneous environment. An underlying theme of this dissertation was developing research through a community-engaged approach that not only contributed to conceptual advancements in niche theory but also to applied conservation priorities. The marine archipelago of the central coast of British Columbia, Canada structures salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.) resources and the inter- and intraspecific competitive context for coastal grizzly (Ursus arctos) and black bears (Ursus americanus). This assembly of ursids represents nested levels of biological organization (i.e., species, phenotypes (white vs black-coated morphs of black bears) and genotypes (dominant homozygote black-coated black bears, heterozygote black-coated black bears, recessive homozygote white-coated ‘Spirit’ black bears)), which allows for investigation into niche variation across and within species. I investigated niche variation using a suite of non-invasive methods. Local and Traditional Ecological Knowledge (LEK/TEK) provided complementary information to genetic and stable isotope (13C and 15N) data from hair samples. First, I investigated changes in the spatial niche of coastal grizzly bears. By combining western scientific approaches with TEK/LEK interviews I found the range of coastal grizzly bears has expanded westward onto several coastal islands. The economic, cultural, and ecological impacts of this shift in spatial niche are not yet understood. Second, I tested hypotheses related to variation in the foraging niche of black bears in response to the competitive environment and salmon resource availability. I found that grizzly bear presence reduced the proportion of salmon in black bear diets by ~40%. I also found that salmon species diversity, and not biomass abundance, was positively correlated to salmon in black bear diets. This highlights the importance of resource diversity to consumers beyond the consideration of abundance. Third, I explored spatial niche patterns of Spirt bears in relation to protected areas. I found that landscape-level Spirit bear allele frequency and population estimates were lower than previously reported. Approximately ~50% of Spirit bear allele hotspots corresponded to protected areas. This finding suggests Spirit bears are rarer and less protected than previously assumed. Finally, I tested hypotheses related to niche variation between phenotype and genotypes of Spirit bear populations. I found both phenotypes and genotypes diverged in foraging niche, with Spirit bears and black-coated heterozygotes having elevated stable isotope signatures compared to black-coated homozygotes. This result supports the role of ‘multi-niche’ mechanisms in maintaining this rare polymorphism. Results from all chapters contributed to land- and marine-use stewardship efforts of collaborating First Nations. Collectively, this dissertation offers novel contributions towards understanding how niche variation at multiple levels of biological organization can contribute to conservation planning.
Graduate
2020-04-04

The Leslie Street Spit is a five kilometre rubble breakwater on the eastern waterfront of Toronto. Built during the mid-twentieth-century as an infrastructural add-on to the existing Port Lands Industrial District, the artificial peninsula was a lakefilling project made to realize the city???s ambitious desire for economic prosperity and world-class prestige by expanding its existing harbour facilities. With the decline of Toronto???s shipping industry, the Leslie Spit remained an active dump site for urban clean fill until it was unexpectedly colonized by flora and fauna during the 1970s. The site is now recognized as an important local and international environmental resource. Visitors to the Leslie Spit experience a diverse landscape of ecosystems and industrial rubble helded by the city as a symbol of environmental revival within a former industrial region undergoing another phase of urbanization. While the local aesthetic experience of the headland is pleasurable and aligns with the reinvention of Toronto as am environmentally conscious and sustainable city, human visitors remain psychologically and physically removed from the inhabiting non-human life. Occasionally, the desire to conserve and preserve the natural world requires a separation between humans and non-humans. This relationship is carried out in varying degrees on the Leslie Spit. This thesis documents events at the headland where the human/non-human divide is rigidly enforced or left ambiguous. The purpose of the thesis is not to treat the headland as an eccentric spectacle, but to investigate the unexpected coexistence between humans and non-humans.

This study is the product, chiefly, of fieldwork, undertaken in Sierra Leone, which sought to interview and experience contemporary Limba religio-cultural practices. Using a systematic approach, the goal was to provide a broader understanding of Limba religion, as well as to discover the effect of Limba religiosity, and the tenacity with which the Limba hold to their culture and religion, on the National Pentecostal Limba Church (NPLC) over the past three decades. The study begins with an introduction, which outlines its objectives and structure, the research methods, and its general outline. This is followed by a basic introduction to the socio-history of the Limba people, their origin, environment, language, politics, economy and other socio-cultural characteristics, in order to provide an understanding of the background on which their religion is formed. The heart of the study is a detailed examination of Limba religious beliefs and their intersection with Christianity. It includes a definition of Limba religion and its components. This seeks to identify the current state of Limba religion amidst the changes it has experienced and continues to experience as a result of internal and external influences, and to provide a template for this study, an analysis of the Limba belief in a supreme creator God whom they call Kanu Masala, his epithets, attributes and activities, Limba worship and worship methods, the Limba understanding of the spirit world, humankind, sin and salvation, and the roles of sacred specialists. The study concludes with an examination of the causes of the tenacious loyalty with which some Limba Christians hold to their traditional religious beliefs and practices, their reluctance to part with them, and the effects of their dual religiosity on the NPLC, as well as the church's response, and the resulting reciprocal effects over the past three decades in Sierra Leone. This study fills a gap in the extant literature about the ethno-theological landscape of Sierra Leone, and provides a detailed study on the intersection of African Traditional Religion and Christianity.
Systematic Theology & Theological Ethics
D.Th. (Systematic Theology)

This study which is the product of library research and fieldwork seeks, on account of the persistent marginalisation of African Traditional Religion (ATR) in Sierra Leone by Islam and Christianity, to investigate the place of ATR in inter-religious encounters in the country since the advent of Islam and Christianity. As in most of sub-Saharan Africa, ATR is the indigenous religion of Sierra Leone. When the early forebears and later progenitors of Islam and Christianity arrived, they met Sierra Leone indigenes with a remarkable knowledge of God and a structured religious system. Successive Muslim clerics, traders, and missionaries were respectful of and sensitive to the culture and religion of the indigenes who accommodated them and offered them hospitality. This approach resulted in a syncretistic brand of Islam. In contrast, most Christian missionaries adopted an exclusive and insensitive approach to African culture and religiosity. Christianity, especially Protestantism, demanded a complete abandonment of African culture and religion, and a total dedication to Christianity. This attitude has continued by some indigenous clerics and religious leaders to the extent that Sierra Leone Indigenous Religion (SLIR) and it practitioners continue to be marginalised in Sierra Leone's inter-religious dialogue and cooperation. Although the indigenes of Sierra Leone were and continue to be hospitable to Islam and Christianity, and in spite of the fact that SLIR shares affinity with Islam and Christianity in many theological and practical issues, and even though there are many Muslims and Christians who still hold on to traditional spirituality and culture, Muslim and Christian leaders of these immigrant religions are reluctant to include Traditionalists in interfaith issues in the country. The formation and constitution of the Inter-Religious Council of Sierra Leone (IRCSL) which has local and international recognition did not include ATR. These considerations, then beg the questions: * Why have Muslim and Christian leaders long marginalised ATR, its practices and practitioners from interfaith dialogue and cooperation in Sierra Leone? * What is lacking in ATR that continues to prevent practitioners of Christianity and Islam from officially involving Traditionalists in the socio-religious development of the country? Muslim and Christians have given several factors that are responsible for this exclusion: * The prejudices that they inherited from their forebears * ATR lacks the hallmarks of a true religion * ATR is primitive and economically weak * The fear that the accommodation of ATR will result in syncretism and nominalism * Muslims see no need to dialogue with ATR practitioners, most of whom they considered to be already Muslims Considering the commonalities ATR shares with Islam and Christianity, and the number of Muslims and Christians who still hold on to traditional spirituality, these factors are not justifiable. Although Islam and Christianity are finding it hard to recognise and include ATR in interfaith dialogue and cooperation in Sierra Leone, ATR continues to play a vital role in Sierra Leone's national politics, in the search and maintenance of employment, and in the judicial sector. ATR played a crucial part during and after the civil war. The national government in its Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) report acknowledged the importance and contribution of traditional culture and spirituality during and after the war. Outside of Sierra Leone, the progress in the place and level of the recognition of ATR continues. At varying degrees, the Sociétié Africaine de Culture (SAC) in France, the All Africa Conference of Churches (AACC), the Vatican, and the World Council of Churches, have taken positive steps to recognise and find a place for ATR in their structures. Much about the necessity for dialogue and cooperation with ATR can be learnt in the works and efforts of these secular and religious bodies. If nothing else, there are two main reasons why Islam and Christianity in Sierra Leone must be in dialogue with ATR: * Dialogue of life or in community. People living side-by-side meet and interact personally and communally on a regular basis. They share common resources and communal benefits. These factors compel people to be in dialogue * Dual religiosity. As many Muslims and Christians in Sierra Leone are still holding on to ATR practices, it is crucial for Muslims and Christians to dialogue with ATR practitioners. If Muslims and Christians are serious about meeting and starting a process of dialogue with Traditionalists, certain practical issues have to be considered: * Islam and Christianity have to validate and accept ATR as a true religion and a viable partner in the socio-religious landscape of Sierra Leone * Muslims and Christians must educate themselves about ATR, and the scriptures and teachings of their respective religious traditions in order to relate well with Traditionalists These are starting points that can produce successful results. Although at present Muslims and Christians in Sierra Leone are finding it difficult to initiate dialogue and cooperation with Traditionalists, all hope is not lost. It is now the task of the established IRCSL to ensure the inclusion of ATR. Islam and Christianity must remember that when they came as strangers, ATR, played host to them and has played and continues to play a vital role in providing hospitality, and allowing them to blossom on African soil.
Religious Studies and Arabic
D.Litt. et Phil. (Religious Studies)

This qualitative study uses narrative inquiry (Connelly & Clandinin, 1988, 1990, 2001) and self-study to investigate ways to further understand and facilitate the integration of holistic philosophies of education with media literacy pedagogies. As founder and director of the Youth Media Literacy Project and a self-titled Imagitator (one who agitates imagination), I have spent over 10 years teaching media literacy in various high schools, universities, and community centres across North America. This study will focus on my own personal practical knowledge (Connelly & Clandinin, 1982) as a culture jammer, educator and cancer survivor to illustrate my original vision of a ‘holistic media literacy pedagogy’. This research reflects on the emergence and impact of holistic media literacy in my personal and professional life and also draws from relevant interdisciplinary literature to challenge and synthesize current insights and theories of media literacy, holistic education and culture jamming.