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For millions of Catholic believers, pilgrimage has offered possible answers to the mysteries of sickness, life, and death. The Persistence of the Sacred explores the religious worldviews of Europeans who traveled to Trier and Aachen, two cities in western Germany, to view the sacred relics in their cathedrals. The Persistence of the Sacred challenges the narrative of widespread secularization in Europe during the long nineteenth century and reveals that religious practices thrived well into the modern period. It shows both that men were more active in their faith than historians have realized and how clergy and pilgrims did not always agree about the meaning of relics. Drawing on private ephemeral and material sources including films, photographs, postcards, correspondence, and souvenirs, Skye Doney uncovers the enduring and diverse sacred worldview of German Catholics and argues that laity and clergy had very different perspectives on the meaning of the pilgrimage. Recovering the history of Catholic pilgrimage, The Persistence of the Sacred aims to understand the relationship between relics and religiosity, between modernity and faith, and between humanity and God

This research study examined the conditions under which direct democracy advanced versus impeded gay relationship rights. Many policy makers argue that direct democracy works to create a "tyranny of the majority" in which the majority impedes the rights of minority citizens. However, other researchers disagree and note that direct democracy contests advance gay rights as seen in Switzerland (Frey & Goette, 1998). I hypothesize that direct democracy advanced gay relationship rights legislation when influenced by non-traditional norms regarding family and gender, and/or the contests occurred in states or cantons that were heterogeneous in their values, while direct democracy hindered gay relationship rights legislation when influenced by traditional norms regarding family and gender, and/or the contests occurred in states or cantons that were homogeneous in their values. To study this topic I conducted a comparative historical analysis of the gay relationship rights initiatives that appeared on state, canton, and national ballots in the United States and Switzerland between 2000 and present. I then examined whether significant differences were seen between the contests in the United States and Switzerland that either advanced or hindered gay relationship rights legislation. Within the United States it was discovered that when direct democracy was used to determine marriage amendments and/or marriage laws, the rights of gay and lesbian individuals were continuously obstructed. This type of outcome was not experienced in Switzerland when similar rights were put to the public vote, as direct democracy, in certain instances, advanced the rights of gay and lesbian individuals.

In the last decades of the eighteenth century the Enlightenment (Aufklärung) flourished in Catholic Germany, developing a distinctive character there. Nothing lay more at the heart of enlightened interests than the reform of pedagogy, and in particular the education of children in parish schools and catechetical classes. This article focuses on the reform of popular education in the Prince-Bishopric (Hochstift) of Würzburg between 1765 and 1795 both to help in defining the goals and policies of the Catholic Enlightenment and to evaluate the extent of its success.

Intro -- Title Page -- Copyright -- Praise -- Other books by this author -- Dedication -- Contents -- Chapter 1: Eliza in the Witness Box -- Chapter 2: Sex and Victorian Society -- Chapter 3: Rebecca Jarrett's Story -- Chapter 4: Rebecca Meets The Salvation Army -- Chapter 5: The Age of the Innocents -- Chapter 6: Introducing William Thomas Stead -- Chapter 7: Mr Stead, the Editor -- Chapter 8: Getting the Girl -- Chapter 9: The Maiden Tribute of Modern Babylon -- Chapter 10: "A Child of 13 Bought for £5" -- Chapter 11: An International Sensation -- Chapter 12: "Filth and Obscenity" -- Chapter 13: Getting Personal -- Chapter 14: A Two-and-a-Half-Mile-Long Petition -- Chapter 15: A Case of Abduction -- Chapter 16: The Road to the Old Bailey -- Chapter 17: On Trial -- Chapter 18: Mother and Father in Court -- Chapter 19: The Case for the Prosecution -- Chapter 20: The Defence Begins -- Chapter 21: Stead on the Stand -- Chapter 22: The Defence Wraps Up -- Chapter 23: Verdict -- Chapter 24: Prison -- Epilogue -- A Note from the Author -- Endnotes -- Bibliography

The resettlement of refugees from a place of danger to a safe country brings an assumption of security, peace and access to human rights. It should herald the beginning of a fulfilling life in a new homeland. Australia has a resettlement programme of about 13,000 people per year. Many of these people settle extremely well and successfully establish themselves and their families in the Australian community. However, research over the past decade into settlement experience has highlighted the fact that not all newly arrived refugees have a positive settlement experience, and many put the blame for the problems they experience on 'human rights'. Funding was obtained from the Australian Research Council by the authors to explore what exactly the concept of 'human rights' meant to diverse refugee communities. The research identified that the rights that were causing the majority of concern were women's rights and children's rights. They became the focus of all problems experienced in settlement, and named as the reason for the loss of dreams of a new and happy life. At the base was confusion and lack of understanding about the meaning of human rights and their links to Australian domestic law. This lack of knowledge was often shared by both refugees and the community members and settlement service providers who were endeavouring to assist them to settle successfully. The research identified that the problem was complex and intersectional. It was obvious that a sophisticated analysis was needed to explore the issue and to identify solutions. Klug's suggested analytical framework of human rights as part law, part philosophy, and part political movement was found to be extremely appropriate, facilitating the application of three very different lenses. It was used as a tool to unpack the different interpretations of rights, and to identify potential solutions.

Context
Wood bison (Bison bison athabascae) have been absent from Alaska for over 170 years. In the spring and summer of 2015, however, 130 animals were reintroduced to the state. These wood bison were restored through a consensus-based planning process, but it remains unknown how the animals will be managed.

Aims
To survey urban and rural Alaska residents to understand the effect of proximity to the resource on residents' preferences for management of wood bison in different scenarios.

Methods
Data were collected in urban areas using a mail-back questionnaire (n = 515) and by on-site interviews with rural residents (n = 31), between June and September 2015. Respondents were asked to state their preferred wood bison management strategies under specific situations of potential human–bison conflict.

Key results
Residents from urban and rural study areas differed in their preference of bison management, particularly in more severe situations (i.e. damage to property, causing injury to people).

Conclusions
Urban and rural residents were reluctant to use lethal management of wood bison, even under situations that threaten human property.

Implications
Backlash from urban residents could occur if managers use lethal management. Rural residents, however, favour lethal management when human injury occurs.

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to explain the impact of relationship capital (trust and commitment) and the exchange climate (communication, conflict resolution and cooperation) on performance satisfaction in the context of buyer–supplier relationships. The study also examines the influence of national culture on the proposed relationships.Design/methodology/approach– A conceptual model and accompanying research hypotheses are tested on data from a survey of 169 US and 110 Brazilian buyers. Structural equation modeling (AMOS 18.0) is used to test the hypotheses.Findings– Results suggest that performance satisfaction is highly dependent on the level of relationship capital and climate of information exchange between buyer and supplier. Quality communication and conflict resolution have the greatest impact on performance satisfaction while trust's influence is both direct and mediated by the exchange climate.Research limitations/implications– The study is limited to a two-country sample in a business-to-business (B2B) context. Also, this study examines only the impact of socio-psychological behaviors on performance outcomes; economic variables are not considered.Practical implications– Results provide insight into what behavioral attributes are most influential in increasing a buyer's satisfaction with a supplier's performance in distinct countries. Based on the findings, suppliers can better formulate strategies to enter overseas markets.Originality/value– This study extends the strategic alliance literature on performance-relevant behaviors to the context of buyer–supplier relationships. In addition, the study contributes to the extant literature by including a sample from an emerging market.