The paradoxical self: duality and ambiguity in the works and lives of Oscar Wilde and Morrissey

Oscar Wilde’s and Morrissey’s lives seem to be full of contradictions. Their art constitutes a reaction against materialism, traditional lifestyle and social standards, as well as defence of individualism and freedom of thought. So far, their works have been analysed only from a very limited perspective of the tension between aesthetics and ethics. Nevertheless, it is worth mentioning that what prevails in their art is the state of ambivalence and ambiguity in relation to the issues connected with religion and morality, innocence and experience, life and death. This article aims at demonstrating multiplicity of personalities of the artists mentioned and ethical ambivalences of their works. Taken together, Wilde and Morrissey’s creative outputs present a clash between different spheres of life, the divided consciousness and the split between body and soul. Thus, the oscillation between opposite standpoints and values excluding each other is not only the result of the artists’ personal experience but it may symbolise the paradox and absurdity of the human existence as well.

World War II and its Impact on French Canadians

This research takes the perspective of a Romanian-born philologist after having lived, studied, and taught in the Quebec public educational system for nearly 12 years. The main purpose of this study is to discuss the important influences World War II had on the evolution of Quebec society. Examining Quebec's social life and culture from a historic standpoint is a primordial step for immigrants and their integration into Quebec's society. An analysis of the corpus selected for this study, namely, Roch Carrier's La guerre, yes sir!, Jean Jules Richard’s Neuf jours de haine, Jean Vaillancourt’ s Les Canadians errants, and Gabrielle Roy’s Bonheur d’ occasion, reveals that World War II marked in different ways the disturbance of the traditional, pastoral, and agrarian life, which triggered some modernist influences in people’s lives. For instance, the war changed women’s condition. When Canadian French men were shipped out to Europe to fight in the war, women were employed in Quebec’s factories and plants. Even though they were paid less than men, they became independent and autonomous. Another example is the presence of British soldiers in Quebec, which disturbed the traditional lifestyle of French Canadians. It was difficult for English soldiers to understand the locals’ culture, who in turn, perceived them as dangerous and responsible for the war. Nowadays, Quebecers’ mentality is influenced by the various cultures they are surrounded by, yet, they still preserve some values which are originated during World War II.

Spanish Amazonia, 1532–1825

Stretching from modern-day southern Venezuela to northern Bolivia, Spanish-controlled Amazonia represented the ultimate frontier to colonial officials. Home to hundreds of native cultures, Crown authorities consistently struggled to extend hegemony to most of the region. Barriers to entry were both physical and motivational. In the shadow of the Andes, the thick vegetation, constant rains, and lack of navigable rivers from Spanish-controlled regions meant that only the most motivated could reach its most valuable natural resources. As a result, only the most intrepid, and perhaps delusional, adventurers tried. For the most part, it was religious devotion that brought Spanish subjects to the region. Therefore, Spanish colonization in Amazonia was represented largely by the mission church than any other organ of the empire. These religious enterprises fluoresced in some places, but in most others they floundered. While the difficulties of colonization meant fewer colonizers than in other parts of the Americas, the native population suffered under colonial impositions that forced changes in their traditional lifestyle, imposed coercive labor regimes, and brought disease. The native population did not accept this passively, resulting in some of the most successful uprisings in the colonial period, including the Juan Santos Atahualpa rebellion.

A Vision of the Internet of Things: A Review of Critical Challenges

Today, Information Communication Technology has brought many benefits to have a better life. Meanwhile, the concept of the Internet of Things (IoT), which has transformed the traditional lifestyle into a modern lifestyle and is growing rapidly, is of great importance. This research deals with the critical challenges of IoT. Although not much time has passed since the advent of the concept of the IoT, today the Internet of Things has faced a great deal of complexity in the industry, which requires in-depth studies to realise its potential and challenges. This study introduces and examines IoT challenges including security and privacy, scalability, interoperability, mobility, protocol & standardisation, and energy consumption. In this study, the relationship between these challenges has been clearly defined. Finally, based on the research, some main challenges or sub-challenges considered for these challenges.

Abstract 034: A Healthy Lifestyle Score Including Sleep Duration And Risk Of Cardiovascular Disease

Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between a lifestyle score including sleep duration and CVD risk, and to estimate whether adding sleep duration into a traditional lifestyle score improved CVD risk prediction. Methods: A prospective analysis was conducted among 67250 women in the Nurses’ Health Study and 29279 men in the Health Professionals Follow-up Study who were followed from 1986 to 2016. The traditional lifestyle score was defined as not smoking, normal BMI(18.5-24.9 kg/m 2 ), ≥30 min/d of moderate physical activity, higher diet quality (top 40% of AHEI), moderate alcohol intake (women:5-15g/day; men:5-30g/day). Low-risk sleep duration, defined as sleeping ≥6 to <8 hours/day, was included as an additional component. Cox proportion hazards regression models were used to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of CVD, CHD, and stroke. We used the likelihood ratio test and C-statistics to compare the predictive value of the two scores. Results: A total of 11826 incident CVD cases were documented. In multivariable-adjusted models, each low-risk factor was independently and significantly associated with lower risk of CVD, CHD, and stroke. The multivariable-adjusted HRs (95% CIs) comparing six with zero low-risk factors in the healthy lifestyle score were 0.17(0.12, 0.23) for CVD, 0.15(0.10, 0.22) for CHD, and 0.19(0.12, 0.33) for stroke. Approximately 67% of CVD and CHD cases, and 62% stroke cases were attributable to poor adherence to a healthy lifestyle. P- value for likelihood ratio test comparing nested models including the traditional lifestyle score vs traditional lifestyle score plus sleep duration was <0.001. Adding sleep duration to the traditional score prediction model increased the C-statistics from 0.63 (95% CI: 0.62, 0.63) to 0.64 (95% CI: 0.63, 0.65)( P <0.001). Conclusions: Incorporating sleep duration into traditional lifestyle scores improves prediction of CVD risk and warrants consideration for inclusion in lifestyle recommendations.

To Enlist the Enthusiasm of the Young

This chapter highlights retrospective accounts and contemporary sources that attest to and lament the phenomenon of the abandonment of tradition due to the inroads of secular ideologies. It recounts Ben-Zion Gold’s encounter with newer religious institutions and initiatives that contributed to him remaining traditional. It also looks at contemporary sources that noted the pain of parents confronted with open flouting of religious norms within the four walls of their own homes. The chapter analyzes interminable debates on the shtetl or the Jewish market town in the face of modernity encroaching upon its traditional lifestyle. It talks about the perception of the shtetl’s imminent disappearance that led one writer to compose a ’travelogue’ of a visit to a typical shtetl so that future generations might know how Jews lived once upon a time.

Environmental law and legal assistance of individuals sustaining a traditional lifestyle

The purpose of the paper is to justify the need to make amendments to the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, i.e. providing for exempting those individuals from criminal liability, who have committed acts, set forth formally, sustaining their traditional lifestyle in the North. The paper summarizes key issues of rights protection of indigenous minor peoples of the North (Khanty or Mansi), who sustain a traditional lifestyle, dealing with exploitation of ancestral lands: hunting, fishing, use of other resources. In the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug, it is very common when individuals are being prosecuted for illegal felling (Article 260, Criminal Code of the Russian Federation), as well as for illegal acquisition, transfer, sale, possession, transportation or carrying of explosives or explosive devices (Article 222.1, Criminal Code of RF). However, using these lands make it possible for the general public to do so too, and it is not only for relatives or friends of the owner of ancestral lands. Following the casework, it has been found that in a significant number of cases the investigation fails to establish either the direct ownership of items limited in circulation (gunpowder, ammunition) or specific individuals who carried out the felling in a particular place. Such being the case, the legal owner of the land or its part is held liable. This new law will protect the indigenous peoples of the North from inconsistent criminal repression and preserve their cultural practices.

Nopoh Bukau Ritual by the Orang Asli of Che Wong in Kampung Senil, Kuala Gandah, Pahang

‘Nopoh’ is a traditional singing séance practice by the Che Wong aborigines community of Peninsular Malaysia. Modernisation had taken over their traditional lifestyle culture, especially to the young generation. There only some of the elders still maintain knowledge and is practising it. If there is no action taken in preserving it, all this traditional knowledge will be buried together with knowledgeable elders when they die. This study focused on ritual practice during the forest-flowering season to examine and analyse the data collected through audio-visual documentation of the ritual. The results revealed the significance of the ritual benefits to the community. Keywords: Orang Asli; Che Wong; Singing Séance; Culture performance eISSN: 2398-4287© 2020. The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA cE-Bsby e-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK. This is an open access article under the CC BYNC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer–review under responsibility of AMER (Association of Malaysian Environment-Behaviour Researchers), ABRA (Association of Behavioural Researchers on Asians) and cE-Bs (Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies), Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia. DOI: https://doi.org/10.21834/ebpj.v5iSI3.2575