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This paper examines the anecdotes of ʿAttār's Mosibat-nāmeh as temporal phenomena from the perspective of a reader moving progressively through the text; it is argued that that these anecdotes do not function primarily as carriers of dogmatic information, but as dynamic rhetorical performances designed to prod their audiences into recommitting to a pious mode of life. First, the article shows how the poem's frame-tale influences a reader's experience of the embedded anecdotes by encouraging a sequential mode of consumption and contextualizing the work's pedagogical aims. Next, it is demonstrated that these anecdotes are bound together through formulae and lexical triggers, producing a paratactic structure reminiscent of oral homiletics. Individual anecdotes aim to unsettle readers' ossified religious understandings, and together they offer a flexible set of heuristics for pious living. Finally, it is argued that ʿAttār's intended readers were likely familiar with the mystical principles that underlie his poems; he therefore did not use narratives to provide completely new teachings, but rather to persuade his audience to more fully embody those pious principles to which they were already committed.

This thesis examines the twenty-first century non-combat activities of China's armed forces as defined in a 2009 official release titled "Building Non-Combat Military Operation Ability" in order to understand the historical development, domestic drivers and broader implications of China's contemporary non-combat missions. The paper focuses primarily on disaster relief and domestic stability maintenance, two types of operations that are ideal for examining how the internal drivers of non-combat missions are manifested in practice. Both Chinese and Western PLA analysts frequently view non-combat activities primarily as a component of China's growing international military presence rather than analyzing the domestic scope and causes of these operations. Indeed, participation in international non-combat missions allows China's armed forces to achieve unprecedented operational experience outside of China's immediate periphery and has also helped enhance China's international soft power. This thesis, however, demonstrates that People's Liberation Army (PLA) and People's Armed Police (PAP) twenty-first century non-combat missions are chiefly designed to achieve domestic goals. These include maintaining regime stability, balancing complex civil-military relations, and preserving the PLA's image as an army "serving the people" amid complex internal and external national security environments. I argue that an "outward-looking" approach focused on the international ramifications of PLA and PAP non-combat operations is insufficient to fully understand these missions, and it can potentially distort our view of China's broader military development. As vital conduits for bolstering CCP regime stability, Chinese civil-military relations and the PLA's image as a people-centric force, China's twenty-first century domestic non-combat operations, driven by internal security challenges arising from socioeconomic, military and historical developments in post-reform China, will likely continue to grow in importance and scope as these trends persist and intensify, thereby ensuring that the military retains a prominent role in China. As a result, twenty-first century non-combat operations have the potential to impede outward Chinese military development rather than simply expand Chinese interests abroad as more resources are needed to pursue internal security objectives.

The height to be superb humanity -- The apprenticeship of liberty -- We are not enemies but friends -- Parties and political tribes -- The outrage machine -- The other opposite of friendship -- The majesty of persuasion -- Agreeing to disagree -- You might be mistaken -- With malice for none.

Democracy requires citizens who can argue as friends. Disagreement drives our democratic processes, but outrage and enmity degrade the civic fabric that enables us to govern ourselves. We Must Not Be Enemies explores the American tradition of civic debate and argues that the health of our democracy requires that we work to recover this tradition.

In her writings, Terry Tempest Williams repeatedly invites us as readers into engagement and conversation with both her and her subject matter, whether it is nature or society, environment or art. From her evocation, in Desert Quartet: An Erotic Landscape, of an eroticism of place that defines erotic as "in relation," to the spiritual connectivity and familial bonds she explores in Refuge: An Unnatural History of Family and Place and the political engagement she urges in The Open Space of Democracy, much of her work is about relationship, connection, and community. Like much good writing, her books invite readers into thoughtful dialogue with the text. Frequently in demand for workshops, lectures, and other speaking venues and well known as an environmental activist, Williams has a public persona and voice almost indistinguishable from her written ones. Thus, the interviews she has often granted--in print, on the radio, on the Web--seamlessly elaborate the ideas and extend the explorations of her written texts. They also tell us much about the genesis, context, and intent of her books. With her distinctive, impassioned voice and familiar felicity of language, she talks about wilderness and wildlife, place and eroticism, art and literature, democracy and politics, family and heritage, Mormonism and religion, writing and creativity, and other subjects that engage her agile mind. The set of interviews gathered and introduced by Michael Austin in A Voice in the Wilderness represent the span of Terry Tempest Williams's career as a naturalist, author, and activist. Michael Austin, professor of English and dean of graduate studies at Shepherd University began collecting Williams's interviews after realizing "that the conversational style of the literary interview is better suited to Terry Tempest Williams than to almost any other writer alive. Throughout her career, she has been engaged in conversations with herself, with her family, with her culture--and, perhaps most importantly, with the land." He shares and introduces a delicious sample of her conversations in A Voice in the Wilderness. ; https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/usupress_pubs/1110/thumbnail.jpg

A long-standing debate persists regarding how social capital relates to diversity and inequality in the American states. Putnam argues social capital leads to greater equality and tolerance; however, others find that it increases racial inequality. We build on Soss, Fording, and Schram's Racial Classification Model (RCM) and theorize that social capital enhances social trust and empathy in homogeneous contexts and favors paternalistic and punitive social controls in diverse contexts. We test this using the case of immigration and welfare generosity following the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) of 1996. Using state-level data from 1997 to 2009, we find that under conditions of low immigration, social capital is associated with increased social trust and empathy; however, as immigration increases, social capital pivots toward favoring mechanisms of social control. Specifically, social capital increases Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) cash benefit levels, but only when immigration levels are low. In high-immigration contexts, social capital is associated with decreased welfare generosity.

"A biblical treatment on gun ownership and laws in America. Defends the view-from a non-pacifist perspective-that the right to own and use a gun is a conditional right; using a gun to harm another person is only a last resort, and the United States needs more legal restrictions"--

Cover -- Half Title -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Dedication -- Table of Contents -- Preface -- Introduction 'Art Hidden in the Depths of the Soul' -- Part I -- Chapter 1 Art for Whose Sake? -- Chapter 2 Art and the Theologians -- Chapter 3 Making New Worlds -- Chapter 4 Art and the Philosophers -- Part II -- Chapter 5 As the Bird Sings -- Chapter 6 Tossed Clean into the New -- Chapter 7 Did I Love a Dream? -- Chapter 8 The Reality of the Really New -- Chapter 9 Symbols of the Sublime? -- Chapter 10 The Time Came and the Man -- Chapter 11 A Glimpse of the Cosmic Dance -- Bibliography

Addressing the multiple meanings of service integration, Human Services Integration analyzes how motivations and expectations for social service integration differ significantly among different players in the service system. In a period of major budget cutbacks and welfare reform, however, it is important that service providers collaborate to reduce or eliminate boundaries between categorically defined and provided services. This book tells you about the efforts being made to provide existing services more efficiently while avoiding duplication and waste. As you will quickly see, developing co