scholarly journals The Struggle for Memory: The Khachkar Field of Julfa and Other Armenian Sacred Spaces in Azerbaijan

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 185-213
Author(s):  
Serafim Seppälä
Keyword(s):  
Art History ◽  
Sacred Space ◽  
Sacred Spaces ◽  
Long Run ◽  
Interpretative Analysis ◽  
Better Than

Abstract During the last century, the Armenian Church and nation have lost most of their sacred spaces. One of the most peculiar cases is the history and afterlife of the khachkars (crossstones) of Julfa. The cemetery of Julfa was known for its endless unique khachkars and other monuments, constituting an exceptional sacred space in terms of spirituality and art history. The area was systematically and entirely destroyed by Azerbaijan in 2005. In the 2010s, Armenians reacted to the destruction by reviving the memory of Julfan khachkars by erecting their replicas to various locations in Armenia and other countries. As khachkars are supposed to be unique and unrepeatable, this struggle for memory requires an interpretative analysis. The problematics became urgent after the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war when hundreds of Armenian monasteries, churches and sacred monuments were left under the control of Azerbaijan. There is no reason to assume that their fate in the long run will be any better than the hundreds of already demolished Armenian churches and monasteries in Azerbaijan.

A Sacred Space Is Never Empty

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Victoria Smolkin
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Sacred Space ◽  
Russian Revolution ◽  
Mikhail Gorbachev ◽  
Soviet Leadership ◽  
Sacred Spaces ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Communist Ideology ◽  
History Of ◽  
Soviet Experiment

When the Bolsheviks set out to build a new world in the wake of the Russian Revolution, they expected religion to die off. Soviet power used a variety of tools—from education to propaganda to terror—to turn its vision of a Communist world without religion into reality. Yet even with its monopoly on ideology and power, the Soviet Communist Party never succeeded in overcoming religion and creating an atheist society. This book presents the first history of Soviet atheism from the 1917 revolution to the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. The book argues that to understand the Soviet experiment, we must make sense of Soviet atheism. It shows how atheism was reimagined as an alternative cosmology with its own set of positive beliefs, practices, and spiritual commitments. Through its engagements with religion, the Soviet leadership realized that removing religion from the “sacred spaces” of Soviet life was not enough. Then, in the final years of the Soviet experiment, Mikhail Gorbachev—in a stunning and unexpected reversal—abandoned atheism and reintroduced religion into Soviet public life. The book explores the meaning of atheism for religious life, for Communist ideology, and for Soviet politics.

A bivariate optimal replacement policy for a repairable system

1994 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 1123-1127 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuan Lin Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Explicit Expression ◽  
Average Cost ◽  
Replacement Policy ◽  
Repairable System ◽  
Optimal Replacement ◽  
Long Run ◽  
Optimal Replacement Policy ◽  
Working Age ◽  
Better Than

In this paper, a repairable system consisting of one unit and a single repairman is studied. Assume that the system after repair is not as good as new. Under this assumption, a bivariate replacement policy (T, N), where T is the working age and N is the number of failures of the system is studied. The problem is to determine the optimal replacement policy (T, N)∗such that the long-run average cost per unit time is minimized. The explicit expression of the long-run average cost per unit time is derived, and the corresponding optimal replacement policy can be determined analytically or numerically. Finally, under some conditions, we show that the policy (T, N)∗ is better than policies N∗ or T∗.

Paul and Sacred Space

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jorunn Økland
Keyword(s):  
Sacred Space ◽  
New Materialism ◽  
Sacred Spaces ◽  
Early Christian ◽  
House Churches ◽  
The Social ◽  
Social Structural ◽  
Central Argument ◽  
Paul's Letters ◽  
Analytical Frameworks

This chapter analyses the terms with which Paul of Tarsus designates various sacred spaces—hieron, naos, eidoleion, ekklesia—in conversation with the archaeology of sacred spaces, research on the Pauline house churches, and with the help of theories of space, new materialism, and the sacred. The chapter starts with an introduction of the analytical frameworks and ends with ideas about ‘monumentalization’: that the social-structural relations between people in a sacred space tended to materialize over time into purpose-built buildings—hence the double meanings of synagogue, ekklesia, and hieron as designations both of assemblies and later of the buildings accommodating the respective assemblies. A central argument is that Paul’s letters constitute a special case in the development of the early Christian ekklesia and the parallel development of the synagogue, because in Paul’s time the temple in Jerusalem was still standing and was a self-evident part of his religious universe.

scholarly journals Tenure, Faculty Contracts and Bargaining Conflict

2017 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 47-70
Author(s):  
Derek Hum
Keyword(s):  
Opportunity Cost ◽  
Research Output ◽  
Job Security ◽  
University Administrators ◽  
Government Grants ◽  
Faculty Unions ◽  
Long Run ◽  
Academic Employment ◽  
The University ◽  
Better Than

Tenure is sometimes charged as giving faculty lifetime job security, with little accountability and sporadic monitoring of performance. Scholars have traditionally defended tenure as necessary for academic freedom. This paper takes a different approach by examining the academic "employment contract relationship," and explaining how tenure can lead to bargaining conflict. Tenure is costly to the university but extremely valued by the faculty member. The opportunity cost of granting tenure to someone is the lost teaching and research output of younger people who cannot be hired in future. Tenure is necessary because without it, incumbents would never recommend hiring people who might be better than they are, for fear of being replaced. Tenure is also efficient because faculty have better information about incumbents than either university administrators or outside consultants. Tenure is therefore necessary to motivate older faculty to hire the best. With staff budget dollars able to be shifted back or forwards across time periods, tenure secures the truthful revelation of who are the good candidates over all periods, and the university is guaranteed that those who are in the best position to judge (namely, faculty rather than administrators) have every incentive to make the best decisions. It follows, then, that the naive suggestion to get rid of tenure so that older, expensive professors can be fired and replaced with younger, cheaper professors would be disastrous in the long run. A simple model is presented explaining why (a) recent cutbacks in government grants, (b) cost pressures on university budgets, (c) limits to tuition increases, and (d) declining interests in attending a less "excellent" university have all resulted in pressure on tenure. Because there is no previously agreed-to mechanism in place to adjust staff, university administrations and faculty unions are not so much bargaining over an acceptable contract outcome as they are contesting the very rules of the bargaining game. Accordingly, unless tenure is reconsidered, universities may increasingly face bargaining conflict. Tenure could be reformed by making the term of tenure limited but related to rank, and establishing a maximum eligibility period during which a faculty may apply for promotion.

scholarly journals MENAS, SAKRALIZUOTA ERDVĖ IR UTOPIJA

2008 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 7-23
Author(s):  
Richard A. Cohen
Keyword(s):  
Sacred Space ◽  
Sacred Spaces

Monoteistinės religijos oponuoja erdvę sakralizuojančiai stabmeldystei, taip pat mitologinam pasauliui, kurio dalis visa stabmeldystė yra. Menas, tiek monoteizme, tiek mitologijose, yra neutralus šios opozicijos atžvilgiu. Judaizmo pavyzdys pasitelkiamas parodyti, kaip dvi „sakralizuotos erdvės“ – antikinė šventykla Jezuralėje ir vedybinis guolis namuose – reprezentuoja ne vietos sakralizavimą, o etiškumo sustiprinimo būdu įvykdytą vietos pakeitimą ekstrateritoriniu u-topos.Pagrindiniai žodžiai: Levinas, menas, sakralumas, judaizmas, seksualumas, utopia.“ART, SACRED SPACE AND UTOPIA”Richard A. Cohen SummaryMonotheist religions oppose the idolatry which makes space sacred and the mythological world upon which all idolatry depends. Art, used by monotheisms and mythologies, is neutral in this opposition. The example of Judaism is invoked to show how two apparently “sacred spaces,” the ancient Temple in Jerusalem and the conjugal bed of the home, represent not sacralizations of places but displacements through the intensification of an ethical extra-territorial u-topos.Keywords: Levinas, Art, sacred, Judaism, sexuality, utopia.

scholarly journals Fluid Boundaries: Christian Sacred Space and Islamic Relics in an Early Ḥadīth

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-33
Author(s):  
Adam C. Bursi
Keyword(s):  
Sacred Space ◽  
Near East ◽  
Early Period ◽  
Late Antique ◽  
Religious Texts ◽  
Sacred Spaces ◽  
Early Islamic ◽  
Ritual Practices

Abstract This article examines a ḥadīth text that illustrates the complicated interactions between Christian and Islamic sacred spaces in the early period of Islamic rule in the Near East. In this narrative, the Prophet Muḥammad gives a group of Arabs instructions for how to convert a church into a mosque, telling them to use his ablution water for cleansing and repurposing the Christian space for Muslim worship. Contextualizing this narrative in terms of early Muslim-Christian relations, as well as late antique Christian religious texts and practices, my analysis compares this story with Christian traditions regarding the collection and usage of contact relics from holy persons and places. I argue that this story offers an example of early Islamic texts’ engagement with, and adaptation of, Christian literary themes and ritual practices in order to validate early Islamic religious claims.

scholarly journals Firm Ownership Characteristics and Long-run Return on Equity Issued: A Case of the Nairobi Securities Exchange

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. p131
Author(s):  
Martin K. Odipo ◽  
Tobias Olweny ◽  
Oluoch Oluoch
Keyword(s):  
Big Five ◽  
Institutional Ownership ◽  
State Ownership ◽  
Regression Analyses ◽  
Return On Equity ◽  
Firm Ownership ◽  
Average Return ◽  
Long Run ◽  
Multi Linear Regression ◽  
Better Than

This investigation looked at the link between firm ownership characteristics and long-run return on firms that issued equity at the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) in Kenya. The study covered 12 firms that issued shares in the NSE market from 2006-2008. Ownership characteristics included (state ownership, institutional Ownership, foreign Ownership, big five shareholders, market capitalization, age of the firm and Leverage of the firm) in relation to the average return. The study tested whether each of the firm ownership characteristics influenced long-run performance. Annual return for these companies was based on market return for five years after the firm’s equity shares were issued. The long-run performance was compared with three benchmarks, namely, NSE index, CAPM and Matching firms. Seven hypotheses were developed for the study. Simple-liner and multi-linear regression analyses based on panel data were carried out to relate the extended run return on shares issued. The result of the survey showed that issuing firms performed better than non-issuing firms. These issuing firms also performed better in comparison to CAPM. However, the issuing firms performed worse than NSEI. In conclusion, the long-run performance of equity issued at the NSE does not necessarily underperform relative to non-issuing establishments.

scholarly journals Gambling warning labels: Differing effects of message length and message format

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip Warren Stirling Newall ◽  
Lukasz Walasek ◽  
Elliot Andrew Ludvig
Keyword(s):  
Potential Risk ◽  
Court Case ◽  
Warning Labels ◽  
Electronic Gambling Machines ◽  
Message Length ◽  
Long Run ◽  
Electronic Gambling ◽  
Objective Understanding ◽  
Message Format ◽  
Better Than

“Return-to-player” warning labels are used to display the long-run cost of gambling on electronic gambling machines in several jurisdictions. For example, a return-to-player of 90% means that for every $100 bet on average $90 is paid out in prizes. Some previous research suggests that gamblers perceive a lower chance of winning and have a better objective understanding when return-to-player information is instead restated in the “house-edge” format, e.g., “This game keeps 10% of all money bet on average.” Here we test another potential risk communication improvement: making return-to-player messages longer, by clarifying that the information applies only in the statistical long-run. It was suggested that gamblers might understand this message better than the return-to-player at the conclusion of a court case brought against an Australian casino. In this study, Australian participants (N = 603) were presented with either a standard return-to-player message, a longer “return-to-players” message, or a house-edge message. The longer return-to-players message was understood correctly more frequently than the return-to-player message, but the house-edge message was understood best of all. Participants perceived the lowest chance of winning with the longer return-to-players message. The house-edge format appears easiest for gamblers to correctly understand, but longer warning labels might be the best at warning gamblers about the long-run costs of gambling on electronic gambling machines.

Sacred and profane: Pastoral care in the parish church

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Varnam
Keyword(s):  
Pastoral Care ◽  
Sacred Space ◽  
Symbiotic Relationship ◽  
Wall Paintings ◽  
Sacred Spaces ◽  
Parish Church ◽  
Sacred And Profane ◽  
Church Art ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
The Church

This chapter argues that the profane challenge posed by lay misbehaviour and sacrilege in the church paradoxically strengthens sacred space. Sermon exempla from the literature of pastoral care (e.g. Mirk’s Festial, Mannyng’s Handlyng Synne) show how devils and demons assist in the cleansing of the church from profane contamination and the chapter argues for the integral relationship between violence and the sacred, focusing on the punishment of sinners and on the sacrificial blood of Christ, depicted in lyrics and wall paintings. The chapter reassesses the relationship between church art and sermon exempla and argues for a symbiotic relationship that presents the material church and its devotional objects as living, breathing actors in the drama of salvation. The performance of narrative exempla animates the visual depictions of angels, devils, and saints in the church who come to life to protect and fight for their sacred spaces.

An implementation of geometric integration within Matlab

SIMULATION ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 95 (11) ◽  
pp. 1055-1067
Author(s):  
Guillaume Chauvon ◽  
Philippe Saucez ◽  
Alain Vande Wouwer
Keyword(s):  
Kepler Problem ◽  
Size Composition ◽  
Variable Step Size ◽  
Step Size ◽  
System Variable ◽  
Geometric Integrators ◽  
Long Run ◽  
Variable Step ◽  
Long Time ◽  
Better Than

Geometric integrators allow preservation of specific geometric properties of the exact flow of differential equation systems, such as energy, phase-space volume, and time-reversal symmetry, and are particularly reliable for long-run integration. In this study, variable step size composition methods and Gauss methods are implemented in Matlab library integrators, and are tested with several representative problems, including the Kepler problem, the outer solar system and a conservative Lotka–Volterra system. Variable step size integrators often perform better than their fixed step size counterparts and the numerical results show excellent long time preservation of the Hamiltonian in these examples.

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