Perceptions of Shifting Time: Life Crossing the Edges of Conflict ; A phenomenological study of the changing nature of worldview schema and temporal constructs when experiencing cultural conflict

The conflict process has numerous facets and characteristics, but one of the least discussed within conflict or peace studies literature is the effect that time has upon, or within the conflict continuum. This project’s focus was the identification of changes within certain temporally sensitive worldview schema by members of the Charlotte, North Carolina area refugee community when entering cultural conflict. This exploration specifically focused on the shifts that occur between moving from their transient locations prior to coming to the United States, whether that be a refugee camp or living in another country under refugee status, and their final relocation to Charlotte. The research was conducted using transcendental phenomenology supplemented with Relational Mapping. The research was designed to answer the primary research question: “How do recently arrived (within two years) refugee individuals within the Charlotte, NC region experience cultural conflict within their enculturation experience?” as well as several secondary research questions. Individual interviews were conducted with ten members of the diverse refugee population in the Charlotte North Carolina region. With the specific strain of conflict being explored defined as cultural conflict, three key schemata were identified as experience focal points: Cultural Belonging, Refugee Transnationalism, and Expectations. Non-verbal signals termed spatial construals of time (SCTs) were utilized to identify chronological and experiential time orientations within their refugee experiences. From these findings suggestions are made towards the development or augmentation of existing conflict intervention modalities where refugees are involved to increase the chances for a successful transformation of the specific conflict

Coping with Temperature at the Warm Edge – Patterns of Thermal Adaptation in the Microbial Eukaryote Paramecium caudatum

Ectothermic organisms are thought to be severely affected by global warming since their physiological performance is directly dependent on temperature. Latitudinal and temporal variations in mean temperatures force ectotherms to adapt to these complex environmental conditions. Studies investigating current patterns of thermal adaptation among populations of different latitudes allow a prediction of the potential impact of prospective increases in environmental temperatures on their fitness.In this study, temperature reaction norms were ascertained among 18 genetically defined, natural clones of the microbial eukaryote Paramecium caudatum. These different clones have been isolated from 12 freshwater habitats along a latitudinal transect in Europe and from 3 tropical habitats (Indonesia). The sensitivity to increasing temperatures was estimated through the analysis of clone specific thermal tolerances and by relating those to current and predicted temperature data of their natural habitats. All investigated European clones seem to be thermal generalists with a broad thermal tolerance and similar optimum temperatures. The weak or missing co-variation of thermal tolerance with latitude does not imply local adaptation to thermal gradients; it rather suggests adaptive phenotypic plasticity among the whole European subpopulation. The tested Indonesian clones appear to be locally adapted to the less variable, tropical temperature regime and show higher tolerance limits, but lower tolerance breadths.Due to the lack of local temperature adaptation within the European subpopulation, P. caudatum genotypes at the most southern edge of their geographic range seem to suffer from the predicted increase in magnitude and frequency of summer heat waves caused by climate change

Annual Report of Middlesex South District Medical Society to the Massachusetts Medical Society

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A Case of Double Vagina and Uterus

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