Steven D. Smith

Jamaica’s geographic location and place in modern history has made the country a nest for the development of rich and diversely informed cultural traditions and beliefs, and these traditions continue to influence attitudes toward health in Jamaican society today. Many Jamaican people rely on traditional knowledge, unique dietary practices, and the use of medicinal plants for their health care. Interestingly, many of these practices occur unknown to, and without guidance from, conventional health care providers, highlighting the lack of consensus and acceptance within the medical community of integrative approaches to care. In cancer care, this disparity is brought into even sharper focus. Equally important is the value of understanding the roles played by religion and spirituality and their influence on how people respond to a diagnosis of cancer. This chapter explores the cultural and religious factors modifying cancer care in Jamaica, providing a review of the current understanding of these factors and possible solutions to a culturally targeted holistic approach to cancer care.

The mechanical properties of physical gels generated by selectively swelling a homologous series of linear multiblock copolymers are investigated by quasistatic uniaxial tensile tests. We use the slip-tube network model to extract the contributions arising from network crosslinks and chain entanglements. The composition dependence of these contributions is established and considered in terms of simulations that identify the probabilities associated with chain conformations. Dynamic rheology provides additional insight into the characteristics and thermal stability of the molecular networks.

Network characteristics in physical gels composed of solvated block copolymers varying in molecular design are examined here by dynamic rheology and computer simulations. In two triblock copolymer series, one with chain length (N) varied at constant copolymer composition (f) and the other with f varied at constant N, we discern the dependence of equilibrium network metrics on both N and f. Increasing the block number in a linear multiblock series at constant N and f escalates conformational complexity, which dominates network connectivity classified according to a midblock conformation index.

We determined the local strain profile in sheared lamellar block copolymers. A trilayer model, based on elastic brushes separated by viscous interpenetration zones, captures the rheological response of these materials and provides a measure of the relative contributions of elastic versus viscous strain. The elastic chain distortions were evident from a reversible lamellar contraction, as measured from in situ small-angle x-ray scattering. The contraction was directly correlated to the elastic strain from our trilayer model; three distinct diblock copolymers conform to the predicted relationship, thus suggesting universal behavior.

Ever since the Supreme Court began enforcing the First Amendment’s religion clauses in the 1940s, courts and scholars have tried to distil the meaning of those clauses into a useable principle of religious freedom. In this highly original work, Smith criticizes the main positions in the debate and explains their misconceptions. He argues that efforts to find a principle of religious freedom in the “ original meaning” are fruitless because the clauses were purely jurisdictional in nature: they were meant to place authority over questions of religion with the states, and nothing more. Contending that the perennial quest to distil religious freedom into a “ principle,” is futile, Smith advocates a fundamental reassessment of the premises upon which courts have proceeded in this area.