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Nadar My subject is ekphrasis and nineteenth-century portrait daguerreotypy. One of the oldest verse forms in literature, ekphrasis can most generally be defined as any "verbal representation of graphic representation" (Heffernan 299); it is a poem which takes as its preliminary or ostensible subject a painting or work of sculpture and enlarges upon problems and interests that are only implicit there. Examples range from Homer's description of Achilles' shield in the Iliad, to Keats's "Ode on a Grecian Urn" to John Ashbery's "Self Portrait in a Convex Mirror." So ubiquitous has the "poem about a painting" become in the past two or three decades, that Robert Lowell felt compelled to reassure his listeners at a reading that his poem "Marriage"-a poem which is based on van Eyck's "Arnolfini Marriage," and one of the finest examples of ekphrasis in contemporary verse-"isn't one of these many poems that describe a painting. It's about my marriage."1 He felt that there were too many such poems, and was aware of how harsh critics could be towards poets who use great works of art to piggy-back their way into literary history, as it were, and who struggle only to do poorly what the painting accomplished better in the first place. (This is a subtler version of the view held only by a naïve few that ekphrastic poetry is frivolous because it is not about the real world.) I doubt whether a poem can ever be merely descriptive without in some way re-presenting, and thereby transforming, the original and our sense of what it says through the later poet; it is likely to be more a question of degree. In any case, such merely descriptive poems would not be examples of ekphrasis in its finer aspect. Ekphrastic poems which have taken on an importance and integrity quite apart from the status of the original (which in certain cases, such as the original of Keats's "Grecian Urn," are often not known anyway), the apparent subject is often only a point of departure, a means of looking inward toward the processes of representation itself and the nature and meaning of mimesis. The reflections and discoveries of ekphrastic verse in writing today seem especially topical in light of our culture's deep absorption in the image. The world we have before us- in its appearance—is a collage of disparate simulacra, we now believe; the image not only represents the reality but has become the reality, or at least conditions our understanding of, and response to, reality. "What characterizes our so-called advanced societies," writes Roland Barthes, is that they today consume images and no longer, like those of the past, beliefs; they are therefore more liberal, less fanatical, but also more "false" (less "authentic")- something we translate, in ordinary consciousness, by the avowal of an impression of nauseated boredom, as if the universalized image were producing a world that is without difference (indifferent), from which can rise, here and there, only the cry of anarchisms, marginalisms, and individualisms. (119)
Despite decades of preparedness messaging from all levels of government, Canadians remain unprepared for emergencies and disasters. This multi-site case study examines the relationship between municipal emergency managers and community groups across Ontario to understand the role of social capital in the delivery and acceptance of emergency preparedness communications. From chambers of commerce to charities and non-profits, the cross-community group relationships examined here are strong; there are committed departments dedicated to emergency management within municipal governments, and community groups are ready and willing partners in the emergency management field.Communities are geographically, spatially and temporally bounded, supported by an array of trusted relationships, between members, groups, associations and extra-local connections. Accessing these pathways for building trust and communicating emergency preparedness information represents a significant opportunity for resource constrained municipal emergency managers.Emergency managers from upper, lower and single tier municipalities in Ontario were interviewed, along with several community groups providing services within the same municipalities. Research participants talked at length about their roles, strengths, and the knowledge they have of each other and other partners. In addition, these interviews explored the extent of any existing relationships, emergency preparedness involvement and how they see a future involvement in emergency management at the municipal level.The SARS-COVID-2 pandemic complicated these relationships, but also provided a unique opportunity to engage and navigate the largest society-level disruption in a century. Conflicting communications, regulations and frameworks created barriers to collaboration between municipal emergency managers and community groups. With nominal preparedness communications prior to the pandemic, the public health messages all but replaced any effort on preparedness messaging.Three themes emerge from this study: 1/ community groups can and are willing to act as trusted source pathways for municipal emergency preparedness communication; 2/ the pandemic demonstrated an opportunity to grow cooperation and collaboration between municipalities and community groups; 3/ that municipal governance in the pandemic was confused and uncoordinated leading to a crisis in public confidence.A more connected community, where a positive and inclusive relationship exists between municipal governments and the citizens they serve, creates an environment where important preparedness information is passed across this trusted relationship, potentially resulting in the increased adoption of emergency preparedness behavior.iii AcknowledgementsTo my best friend, my high school sweetheart, my soulmate and partner in crime, you are my motivation to be a better man, warrior, husband, father and I love you for it.To my sons, may this serve as proof that education is a lifelong journey, we never cease becoming better people, serv...
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