The identification of Smad proteins as molecular components of the transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) signaling cascade has enhanced our understanding of how ligand-mediated activation of TGF-β receptors leads to modulation of target gene transcription. Recent studies have identified a distinct, structurally related class of Smads which inhibits, rather than transduces, TGF-β family signals. The molecular mechanism of action and the exact signaling pathways that are targeted by antagonistic Smads are not completely understood. These proteins appear to participate in autoregulatory negative (...) feedback loops in which signaling initiated by specific TGF-β family ligands induces the expression of an inhibitory Smad that then functions to modulate the amplitude or duration of signaling. Negative feedback circuits such as these play important roles in fine-tuning the activity of multifunctional signaling molecules during embryonic patterning and in response to pathologic stimuli in adults. BioEssays 21:382–390, 1999. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. (shrink)

La réception extraordinairement féconde de Heidegger, singulièrement en France, est entrée dans une phase nouvelle et le moment semble propice pour demander « ce qui est vivant » et « ce qui est mort » dans sa pensée, en interrogeant ses percées réelles comme ses impasses. La publication de l'édition intégrale en 102 volumes touche à sa fin : au-delà de tous les textes publiés du vivant de Heidegger, nous avons désormais à disposition tous les cours de Fribourg et de (...) Marbourg, les traités « ésotériques » rédigés dans le sillage des Beiträge dans les années 1930-1940 et les Cahiers noirs de cette période. Le colloque de Québec, documenté par le présent ouvrage et complété par des textes inédits, se concentrait moins sur le maître-ouvrage Être et temps que sur la période complexe initiée avec la conférence "L'essence de la vérité". C'est en effet à partir du « tournant » des années 1930 qu'émergent les concepts qui guident la pensée de l'Ereignis inscrite dans une « Histoire de l'être », selon ses dimensions phénoménologique et herméneutique, mais aussi théologique et politique.Les contributions ici réunies, portant sur l'histoire, la technique, l'art, le politique, le mythe ou le divin, tentent d'éclairer la nature et les limites de ce legs philosophique majeur du XXe siècle en envisageant la question de sa postérité et de son actualité pour nous, aujourd'hui. (shrink)

At the beginning of 2020, COVID-19 became a global problem. Despite all the efforts to emphasize the relevance of preventive measures, not everyone adhered to them. Thus, learning more about the characteristics determining attitudinal and behavioral responses to the pandemic is crucial to improving future interventions. In this study, we applied machine learning on the multi-national data collected by the International Collaboration on the Social and Moral Psychology of COVID-19 (N = 51,404) to test the predictive efficacy of constructs from (...) social, moral, cognitive, and personality psychology, as well as socio-demographic factors, in the attitudinal and behavioral responses to the pandemic. The results point to several valuable insights. Internalized moral identity provided the most consistent predictive contribution—individuals perceiving moral traits as central to their self-concept reported higher adherence to preventive measures. Similar was found for morality as cooperation, symbolized moral identity, self-control, open-mindedness, collective narcissism, while the inverse relationship was evident for the endorsement of conspiracy theories. However, we also found a non-negligible variability in the explained variance and predictive contributions with respect to macro-level factors such as the pandemic stage or cultural region. Overall, the results underscore the importance of morality-related and contextual factors in understanding adherence to public health recommendations during the pandemic. (shrink)

The enhancement of social inclusion is a key to maintaining cohesion in society and to foster the benefits of cultural diversity. Using insights from the Dual Identity Model with a special focus on active categorization, we develop an intervention to increase social inclusion. Our intervention encourages the participants to categorize on a superordinate level while being exposed to their own culture. Across a set of experiments, we test the efficacy of our intervention against control conditions on the effect of social (...) inclusion, measured by perceived social distance. Results show an increase in cultural closeness and provide preliminary support for the use of a DIM-based intervention to increase intercultural inclusion. (shrink)

What reasons and resources can Christian theology find for developing a panentheist position that is also able to engage with contemporary science? By taking its point of departure in basic human experiences, Christian theology can, even in a Trinitarian fashion, be developed as a way to understand God's presence in the world as a presence where the actual occurrences point towards God's own work. This point is especially related to the experience of love. Furthermore, God's presence can be (...) understood as sacramental in the Augustinian sense. Moreover, the contributions of the Danish philosopher of religion Knud E. Løgstrup on God's presence and transcendence, as well as Niels Henrik Gregersen's elaborations on deep incarnation. Prove to offer important reasons for considering panentheism a viable option for the articulation of Christian theology. (shrink)

This book presents a synthetic view of the intellectual variants of negative theology at the dawn of modern times. It attempts to grasp the diversity of ideas in ontology, epistemology and semeiotics which evolved through readings of pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite.

The nineteenth century is a very important period from our contemporary point of view. It is then that many socio-political ideas were born and have affected our social and individual life until now. It is in the nineteenth century that humankind sought to reflect on freedom, individualism and progress, and often paid dearly for any utopian misinterpretations in this area. Last but not least, in the nineteenth century the modern philosophical perception clashed with Christianity. The paper sought to show this (...) intellectual turmoil by focussing on the main adherents of reconciling new ideas with religion. This reconciliation could be effected with an integral view of the human being in mind. The integral human being, advocated by Newman and Acton, can manage to abide by timehonoured traditions and assimilate whatever there is of positive value in civilization.Le 19ème siècle est une période riche en enseignements pour notre réflexion contemporaine. C'est durant ce siècle que nombre d'idées sociopolitiques ayant influé jusqu'à présent sur notre vie individuelle et sociale sont nées. C'est au 19ème siècle que l'humanité chercha à réfléchir sur la liberté, l'individualisme et le progrès, et elle paya au prix fort les erreurs d'interprétation utopiste commises dans ces domaines. Aussi, et non des moindres, c'est au 19ème siècle que la perception philosophique moderne entra en conflit avec le christianisme. L'article vise à dépeindre cette agitation intellectuelle en mettant l'accent sur les principaux tenants de la réconciliation des nouvelles idées avec la religion. Cette réconciliation peut se faire si on a à l'esprit une vision complète de l'être humain. Cet être humain complet, tel que défendu par Newman et Acton, possède les qualités suffisantes pour respecter les traditions ancestrales et assimiler ce qu'il y a de valeureux dans la civilisation. (shrink)

This study is conceived as an interdisciplinary historical, theological, educational and anthropological research of the construction of a Catholic identity on the basis of the “self” and the non-Christian “other”, in this case Islam, in the narrative and discursive settings of Church history textbooks for primary and secondary religion education in French Canada (Québec) and in Belgium (1870-1950). In recent years, a huge amount of studies, starting from the analysis of textbooks, on cultural identities and educational mentalities have been (...) produced in the classical history of education. Nevertheless, such studies have almost been a blind spot in theology and religious education. In concrete, we will appeal to a number of theological concepts like “inclusivism” and “exclusivism”, who are particularly suited to shed a light on the process of constructing a cultural identity. (shrink)

The Epistle of Forgiveness or A Pardon to Enter the Garden, by Abū l-ʿAlāʾ al-Maʿarrī, vol. 1: A Vision of Heaven and Hell Preceded by Ibn al-Qāriḥ’s Epistle. Edited and translated by Geert Jan van Gelder and Gregor Schoeler. Library of Arabic Literature. New York: New York University Press, 2013. Pp. xxxviii + 423. $40.

By examining religious school textbooks — which constitute a crucial source for the reconstruction of theological mentalities precisely because of their concise nature — this study attempts to gain insight into the inter-religious theological discourse that prevailed in French Canadian (Québec) Catholic circles before and around the time of Vatican II. We have made a first attempt at a consistent definition of the relationship between the underlying Catholic inter-religious theological paradigm and the representation of non-Christian religions that is presented (...) in French Canadian religion textbooks on apologetics in Catholic secondary religious education (1900-1950). This research provides some surprising results : the dominant inter-religious paradigm turned out not to be exclusivistic but inclusivistic in nature. In this article we will explore the details of this inclusivistic mindset. Whenever possible, we will focus on the continuity with Vatican II. (shrink)

Man kann die Vielfalt und Dynamik der gegenwärtigen Analytischen Philosophie kaum besser unter Beweis stellen als durch sachorientierte Streitgespräche zwischen ihren herausragenden Vertretern. Die Kolloquien der GAP.5-Konferenz waren solche Streitgespräche. In ihnen haben international renommierte Philosophinnen und Philosophen über aktuelle Fragen aus dem Spektrum der Analytischen Philosophie debattiert - von Willensfreiheit bis Wohlfahrt und Armut, von Bedeutung und Normativität bis Feministische Wissenschaftstheorie, von Philosophie als Wissenschaft? bis Physikalismus. Mit Beiträgen von: Daniela Bailer-Jones, Paul A. Boghossian, Ansgar Beckermann, Jonathan Dancy, Hans-Johann (...) Glock, Jane Heal, Frank Jackson, Pierre Jacob, Janet A. Kourany, Brian P. McLaughlin, Margaret Morrison, Jan Narveson, Julian Nida-Rümelin, Cassandra L. Pinnick, Wolfgang Prinz, Michael Ruse, Ludwig Siep, Wolfgang Spohn, Larry Temkin und Holm Tetens. (shrink)

This article concentrates on a number of publications such as Marcel Gauchet, Le Désenchantement du monde. Une histoire politique de la religion, Paris, Gallimard 1984. Luc Ferry, L'homme-Dieu ou le sens de la vie , Gianni Vattimo, Credere di credere, Garanti Editore 1996. Gabriel Ringlet, Evangile d’un libre penseur. Dieu serait-il laïque? Paris, Albin Michel 1998. All these books are concerned with the theme of secularization. Gauchet's eminal book sees Christianity as “the religion of the exit of religion”. This means (...) that Christianity itself has been the main influence in changing the very relationship between the Infinite and the finite, between God and the world. In stressing the divine Transcendence, the world becomes fully autonomous. Ferry recognizes the impact of Christianity on contemporary culture. Christianity is not just the religion of the incarnation of God; it is also the religion of the divinization of man. According to Ferry, contemporary humanism has many transcendental traits which are derived from its roots in Christianity. The author thinks that there is large support for the idea that Christianity and contemporary humanism are not so opposed to oneanother as many have thought. It might rather be the case that those two phenomena are sides of the same coin, at a different period of critical awareness. It would follow from this that religion can only survive if it takes far more seriously the challenges addressed by it by contemporary humanism, and starts to see in it not so much its opposite as its ally. All this is the result of a major shift in the very meaning of the word “God” in Christianity as the religion of the Incarnation. (shrink)

This article analyses domestic and foreign reactions to a 2008 report in the British Medical Journal on the complementary and, as argued, synergistic relationship between palliative care and euthanasia in Belgium. The earliest initiators of palliative care in Belgium in the late 1970s held the view that access to proper palliative care was a precondition for euthanasia to be acceptable and that euthanasia and palliative care could, and should, develop together. Advocates of euthanasia including author Jan Bernheim, independent from but (...) together with British expatriates, were among the founders of what was probably the first palliative care service in Europe outside of the United Kingdom. In what has become known as the Belgian model of integral end-of-life care, euthanasia is an available option, also at the end of a palliative care pathway. This approach became the majority view among the wider Belgian public, palliative care workers, other health professionals, and legislators. The legal regulation of euthanasia in 2002 was preceded and followed by a considerable expansion of palliative care services. It is argued that this synergistic development was made possible by public confidence in the health care system and widespread progressive social attitudes that gave rise to a high level of community support for both palliative care and euthanasia. The Belgian model of so-called integral end-of-life care is continuing to evolve, with constant scrutiny of practice and improvements to procedures. It still exhibits several imperfections, for which some solutions are being developed. This article analyses this model by way of answers to a series of questions posed by Journal of Bioethical Inquiry consulting editor Michael Ashby to the Belgian authors. (shrink)

Medical, scientific and societal progress has been such that, in a universalist humanist perspective such as the WHO’s, it has become an ethical imperative for the primary endpoints in evidence based health care research to be expressed in e.g. Quality Adjusted Life Years (QALYs). The classical endpoints of discrete health‐related functions and duration of survival are increasingly perceived as unacceptably reductionistic. The major problem in ‘felicitometrics’ is the measurement of the ‘quality’ term in QALYs. That the mental, physical and social (...) domains, each containing many dimensions and items, all contribute to QOL is uncontroversial. What is controversial, is the weight of the different dimensions in overall QOL. It has been shown to be very different between different patient populations. In human individuals, assuredly complex systems, the many dimensions and items of QOL observably interact, probably sometimes also in chaotic ways. In these conditions, the weights of isolated items in individuals become for all practical purposes meaningless. Therefore, the much used multi‐item questionnaires at best describe, but do not evaluate QOL, neither in individuals, nor in populations. For example, allergic patients treated with cetirizine scored better than those a placebo on all dimensions of the SF‐36, a standard QOL questionnaire. Here there is no serious doubt that the treatment improved QOL, because it is highly unlikely that any important dimension on which the patient groups would have scored otherwise is missing in the SF‐36. However, whether piracetam treatment of acute stroke, which improved the surrogate endpoints neurological and functional scores, also improved QOL is plausible, but will be proven only when comprehensive QOL measurement will have been done. And suppose in randomised populations of end‐stage metastatic solid cancer patients, one would compare palliative last‐line chemotherapy with only palliative care, and one would, as can be expected, find no significant differences in average survival, and chemotherapy superior for the mental domain, but inferior for the physical comfort domain: we would not know which treatment, on aggregate, would be the better. The problem is that QOL is an individual and emergent construct, the resultant of a great many intractions, and of a different order than its contributing components. Overall QOL can therefore best be captured only as the Gestalt of a global self‐assessment. Just as people in everyday life, while acting under uncertainty, make global assessments all the time, so they can seriously answer the serious question: ‘How have you been?’ A solemn, practical, non peer‐relativistic, non‐cultural, experiential, and well tolerated way to obtain such responses is Anamnestic Comparative Self Assessment (ACSA), in which the subjects' memories of the best and the worst times in their life experience define their individual scale of QOL. ACSA is thus both exquisitely idiosyncratic, and yet can in a universalist humanistic perspective be considered generic. Using both a multi‐item questionnaire and a global assessment allows by one logistic regression, to estimate the weights of the dimensions and items in populations, and thus identify those whose improvement would most contribute to the QOL of the greatest number. A combined approach to measurement of QOL is necessary to maximise the utility of QOL interventions. (shrink)

Recently, heated discussions about artificial intelligence, creativity, and work have re-emerged. Despite the dominant focus on the novelty of this entanglement, it is rich with history. In this paper, I will first introduce creativity as a historical and socio-culturally embedded concept, looking at how and why we have invented creativity in the guises we have. The focus will mostly be on the political and ideological backdrop of these historical processes–for instance how creativity was repeatedly cast as the positive counterimage of (...) (industrial and bureaucratic) alienated labour, and hence stood in a complex relationship to automation, robotization, and so on. Based on this I will then discuss a series of scenarios that are related to the (perhaps) forthcoming automation of creativity, more specifically four ways in which automation might in different ways impact (the fields of) creative practices and labour. (shrink)

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:Buddhist-Christian Studies 23 (2003) 141-142 [Access article in PDF] The Seventh International Buddhist-Christian Conference in Los Angeles, California Ruben L. F. Habito Perkins School of Theology Call for Proposals: Working Groups, Full Panels, and Individual Papers The Society for Buddhist-Christian Studies has appointed a program committee to prepare for the Seventh International Buddhist-Christian Conference, to be held at the Loyola Marymount University campus, Los Angeles, (...) California, from August 6-10, 2004. The overall theme will be "Hear the Cries of the World: Buddhism and Christianity in Dialogue toward Global Healing."The program committee welcomes proposals for:Working Groups, scheduled to meet in three successive morning sessions for two hours each, addressing a specific theme or issue, with one or two coordinators and five or more core-group members.Full panels, to be presented in one two-hour session, on a specific theme, with a moderator, three to four speakers, and one or two respondents.Individual papers on a specific topic related to an issue or issues in Buddhist-Christian dialogue.Proposals for working groups on themes such as Religion and Ecology, Human Rights and Social Justice,Women and Religion, Toward a Global Ethic, Practice across Traditions, Catholic-Buddhist Relations, Religious Responses toViolence, Religion and Globalization, or other relevant themes are welcomed. Working-group proposals should include the title or theme of the working group, a short 200- to 300-word description of the goal(s) of the working group, and the names and contact addresses (including phone, fax, and e-mail) of the coordinator(s) and at least five other core-group members.Proposals for full panels addressing specific themes, including issues in doctrine and theory, ritual, religious practice, methodology, and others, are encouraged. Full-panel [End Page 141] proposals should include the title of the panel, a short 100- to 200-word description of the theme and intent of the panel, and the names and contact addresses of the moderator, three or four panel members, and respondent(s).Individual paper proposals on various themes, including doctrinal, ritual, practical, ethical, and other issues relevant to Buddhist-Christian dialogue are also encouraged.In addition to the working groups, panels, and individual paper sessions, there will be opportunities for participation in various forms of meditative practice and/or ritual in the morning before breakfast and early evening before dinner, to be led by spiritual leaders and teachers of various Buddhist and Christian traditions.Further, with Los Angeles being known as one of the most religiously diverse cities in the world, there will be opportunities to visit religious sites in the area and to meet with leaders and members of different Buddhist and Christian communities.The conference will feature four evening plenary sessions with invited speakers on the following themes:Voices of America: Healing a Wounded Nation Jan Chozen Bays Roshi; others TBAVoices from Behind Bars: The Forgotten Population Fleet Maull, Zen Peacemaker Order; others TBAVoices from Asia:The Struggle forLiberation andHumanization Speakers; TBAThe Politics of Compassion: We the People Can Make a Difference Diana Winston, Buddhist Alliance for Social Engagement; others TBAProposals should be sent preferably by e-mail to [email protected], with a copy to [email protected], or by postal mail c/o Prof. Ruben Habito, Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX 75225, USA. Deadline for submission of proposals is set at January 31, 2004, but early submissions are encouraged.Lodging and meals will be available at the Loyola Marymount University campus as well as at area hotels in Los Angeles. Registration fees and costs for lodging and meals for those staying on campus will be announced at a later date.... (shrink)

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:Buddhist-Christian Studies 23 (2003) 141-142 [Access article in PDF] The Seventh International Buddhist-Christian Conference in Los Angeles, California Ruben L. F. Habito Perkins School of Theology Call for Proposals: Working Groups, Full Panels, and Individual Papers The Society for Buddhist-Christian Studies has appointed a program committee to prepare for the Seventh International Buddhist-Christian Conference, to be held at the Loyola Marymount University campus, Los Angeles, (...) California, from August 6-10, 2004. The overall theme will be "Hear the Cries of the World: Buddhism and Christianity in Dialogue toward Global Healing."The program committee welcomes proposals for:Working Groups, scheduled to meet in three successive morning sessions for two hours each, addressing a specific theme or issue, with one or two coordinators and five or more core-group members.Full panels, to be presented in one two-hour session, on a specific theme, with a moderator, three to four speakers, and one or two respondents.Individual papers on a specific topic related to an issue or issues in Buddhist-Christian dialogue.Proposals for working groups on themes such as Religion and Ecology, Human Rights and Social Justice,Women and Religion, Toward a Global Ethic, Practice across Traditions, Catholic-Buddhist Relations, Religious Responses toViolence, Religion and Globalization, or other relevant themes are welcomed. Working-group proposals should include the title or theme of the working group, a short 200- to 300-word description of the goal(s) of the working group, and the names and contact addresses (including phone, fax, and e-mail) of the coordinator(s) and at least five other core-group members.Proposals for full panels addressing specific themes, including issues in doctrine and theory, ritual, religious practice, methodology, and others, are encouraged. Full-panel [End Page 141] proposals should include the title of the panel, a short 100- to 200-word description of the theme and intent of the panel, and the names and contact addresses of the moderator, three or four panel members, and respondent(s).Individual paper proposals on various themes, including doctrinal, ritual, practical, ethical, and other issues relevant to Buddhist-Christian dialogue are also encouraged.In addition to the working groups, panels, and individual paper sessions, there will be opportunities for participation in various forms of meditative practice and/or ritual in the morning before breakfast and early evening before dinner, to be led by spiritual leaders and teachers of various Buddhist and Christian traditions.Further, with Los Angeles being known as one of the most religiously diverse cities in the world, there will be opportunities to visit religious sites in the area and to meet with leaders and members of different Buddhist and Christian communities.The conference will feature four evening plenary sessions with invited speakers on the following themes:Voices of America: Healing a Wounded Nation Jan Chozen Bays Roshi; others TBAVoices from Behind Bars: The Forgotten Population Fleet Maull, Zen Peacemaker Order; others TBAVoices from Asia:The Struggle forLiberation andHumanization Speakers; TBAThe Politics of Compassion: We the People Can Make a Difference Diana Winston, Buddhist Alliance for Social Engagement; others TBAProposals should be sent preferably by e-mail to [email protected], with a copy to [email protected], or by postal mail c/o Prof. Ruben Habito, Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX 75225, USA. Deadline for submission of proposals is set at January 31, 2004, but early submissions are encouraged.Lodging and meals will be available at the Loyola Marymount University campus as well as at area hotels in Los Angeles. Registration fees and costs for lodging and meals for those staying on campus will be announced at a later date.... (shrink)

Pada 11 Oktober 2012 Gereja Katolik merayakan 50 tahun dibukanya Konsili Vatikan II. Namun demikian, 16 dokumen yang dihasilkan selama Konsili itu berlangsung (11 Oktober 1962-7 Desember 1965) belum dikenal oleh semua umat Katolik. Bahkan ada tidak sedikit umat Katolik yang belum pernah melihat dokumen-dokumen tersebut. Ada pula yang mengatakan bahwa kendati sudah membacanya, namun merasakan sangat sulit untuk memahaminya. Ada pula yang ketika melihat buku tebal yang memuat dokumen-dokumen tersebut langsung merasa terintimidasi dan ketakutan (intimadated), lalu tidak berani membukanya. (...) Sudah ada berbagai macam upaya untuk menyampaikan isi dan semangat dari Konsili Vatikan II kepada seluruh anggota Gereja Katolik. Salah satu cara adalah menerbitkan buku untuk mengulas isi dokumen-dokumen tersebut. Salah satu dari sekian banyak buku yang pantas dibaca adalah karya Maureen Sulivan, seorang assistant professor ilmu Teologi di Saint Anselm College, Manchester, New Hapshire, Amerika Serikat. Buku yang ditulis dalam bentuk tanya jawab ini dibagi menjadi 9 bab. Bab 1 berbicara mengenai “Pengumuman” diadakannya Konsili yang menggemparkan para pemimpin Gereja, khususnya anggota Dewan Kardinal dan Kuria di Vatikan, yang merasa bahwa Konsili tidak diperlukan. Dalam bab ini dibicarakan tentang arti dari Konsili yang disebut sebagai ekumenis dan pastoral, alasan perlu diadakannya Konsili, persiapan yang dibutuhkan, serta tujuan yang ingin dicapai dengan diadakannya Konsili Vatikan II. Secara khusus disebutkan peran almarhum Paus Johanes XXIII, yang ketika mengumumkan untuk mengadakan Konsili, beliau baru tiga bulan diangkat menjadi Paus. Lewat Konsili ini beliau menginginkan agar Gereja mampu menemukan cara agar iman Kristiani dapat disampaikan kepada dunia dan dimengerti oleh dunia. Demi tujuan itu Gereja perlu “membuka jendela” agar “angin segar memasuki dirinya (hlm. 29).” Gereja perlu melakukan aggiornemento, pembaruan diri. Bab 2 mengulas mengenai orang-orang yang berperan dalam KonsiliVatikan II, ketegangan-ketegangan yang muncul antara mereka yang ingin mengadakan pembaruan dengan mereka yang ingin mempertahankan status quo Gereja, serta peran media massa. Selain sekitar 2200 peserta (Kardinal, Uskup, dan Abas), juga terdapat ratusan teolog yang berperan sebagai penasihat bagi para peserta Konsili (periti), antara lain dengan memberikan seminar-seminar mengenai topik-topik teologis kepada para peserta Konsili (hlm. 35-36). Selain itu juga terdapat para pengamat dari Gereja Ortodoks, Gereja-gereja Protestan main streams (Lutheran, Episkopalian, Anglikan, Metodis, Presbyteran, dan Quakers), dan Yudaisme. Hadirnya para pengamat dari kalangan khusus ini merupakan sesuatu yang baru dan revolusioner dalam Konsili. Secara khusus ditampilkan seorang tokoh pembaru: Kardinal Bea, ketua Sekretariat untuk Kesatuan Umat Kristiani. Ia begitu dikenal dengan ucapannya yang sangat menggemparkan di depan para wartawan: “Members of the other Christian Churches who are living today never ’left’ the Church. So they cannot ‘return,’ can they? We are talking about going together, hand in hand, toward a new future” (hlm. 33). Tokoh pembaru lain adalah Kardinal Achile Liénart, seorang Kardinal senior dari Prancis, yang pada hari ketiga Konsili menolak untuk memilih dari daftar nama yang sudah disiapkan (kebanyakan adalah anggota Kuria) untuk menjadi ketua dari 10 komisi yang akan mengendalikan agenda Konsili. Ia mengusulkan supaya para peserta Konsili memilih orang-orangnya sendiri. Usulan ini didukung oleh Kardinal Josef Fring dari Jerman, dan kemudian diterima oleh semua perserta Konsili. Tokoh pembaru lain adalah Kardinal Jan Alfrink dari Belanda, dan Kardinal Leo Josef Suenens dari Belgia (hlm. 38-38). Di pihak lain, ada tokoh sangat konservatif yang mencoba menghambat jalannya Konsili: Kardinal Alfredo Ottaviani, seorang anggota Kuria dan ketua The Holy Office (sekarang dikenal sebagi Kogregasi untuk Ajaran Iman), yang terkenal dengan ucapannya “Semper idem” (Selalu sama). Ia antara lain melawan hadirnya para pengamat dalam Konsili (hlm. 33), mencoba melarang kuliah-kuliah yang diberikan kepada para peserta Konsili oleh para Yesuit dari Institut Biblis di Roma, bahkan meminta Paus Yohanes XXIII untuk mengusir teolog Yesuit, Karl Rahner dari Roma, yang tentu saja ditolak oleh Paus (hlm. 35). Ia menolak penggunaan bahasa-bahasa lokal untuk Misa, yang intinya adalah pemindahan kekuasaan dari hierarki kepada Umat (hlm. 43), menghambat disahkannya kolegialitas para Uskup dan menandaskan bahwa Komisi Teologi yang ia pimpin memiliki otoritas di atas Konsili (hlm. 55). Dalam bab ini juga disebutkan hal yang baru dalam Konsili ini adalah hadirnya para wartawan dari pelbagai media massa dari seluruh dunia........................................... Sebagai penutup, dalam bab 9, Sullivan menegaskan bahwa ada dua hal yang benar-benar perlu diperhatikan untuk zaman ini sebagai agenda yang belum selesai dari Konsili Vatikan II: kolegialitas (relasi atara Paus dan Uskup) dan peran kaum perempuan dalam Gereja. Akhirnya, pada awal abad ke-21 ini Sullivan mengajak kita semua untuk bertanya: Apakah Gereja kita sungguh-sungguh dapat menjawab tantangan-tantangan pada zaman ini?; Apakah Gereja kita dapat membuat pesan Injil relevan untuk zaman ini?; Apakah Gereja kita dapat membangkitkan entusisme baru yang dapat membangun sebuah generasi baru?; Apakah Gereja dapat meredakan berbagai macam ketegangan yang akhir-akhir ini menggoncang “bahtera Petrus?” Dengan bijak Sullivan mengatakan bahwa kita perlu terus berharap, dan harapan itu akan menjadi semakin produktif kalau kita selalu berpegang pada nasihat almarhum Yohanes XXIII: “Untuk hal-hal yang mendasar, kesatuan; untuk hal-hal yang meragukan, kebebasan; dan untuk segala sesuatu, cinta kasih” (hlm. 124). Buku ini sangat komprehensif mengulas Konsili Vatikan II dan disampaikan dengan bahasa yang sederhana. Buku ini sangat membantu para pembaca karena dilengkapi dengan daftar isi yang mendetil, daftar semua dokumen yang dihasilkan oleh Konsili Vatikan II beserta dengan waktu promulgasinya, daftar istilah-istilah yang penting berkaitan dengan Konsili Vatikan II, serta indeks subjek. Semoga dengan membaca buku ini para pembaca terdorong untuk membuka dan menemukan pesan-pesan penting dari dokumen-dokumen Konsili Vatikan II. (Ignatius Madya Utama, Program Studi Ilmu Teologi, Sekolah Tinggi Filsafat Driyarkara, Jakarta). (shrink)

John Amos Comenius was a revolutionary leader in both the church and the academy in 17th century Europe. Born and raised in Moravia and firmly grounded in the doctrine of the United Church of the Brethren, Comenius rose from obscurity in what is now the Czech Republic to become recognized around Europe and beyond as an innovative and transformational leader. He contributed to efforts such as advocating for universal education, authoring classroom textbooks, shepherding local churches and his entire denomination, and (...) working for unity and peace among Christians across Europe. Though for many decades after his death he seemed to be lost to time, there has been a resurgence of scholarly interest in the ideas and methods of Comenius. His life and work can serve as a source of encouragement and inspiration to church and educational leaders today. (shrink)

Although affect and emotion are often discussed in institutional and organizational research, they are rarely studied systematically and in accordance with their overall relevance. To investigate the decisive but subtle, sometimes barely noticeable or taken-for-granted power of institutions, we need to achieve a better understanding of the close intertwining of institutional rules, operations, and spaces with complex affective dynamics. In this article, we therefore develop an analytical framework that allows to investigate the countless affective dynamics that characterize institutions. First, this (...) framework can help to come to terms with the multidimensionality of institutional affect and thus inform empirical studies of institutions. Second, our approach allows scholars and researchers to make visible those developments and modes of agency that run counter to the official functions and self-understandings of institutions. As a an initial step, we propose a conceptual clarification of „institution“ and „organization“ that incorporates various references to social theory which already foreshadow some dynamics of institutional affect. Further detailing this perspective, we develop an analytical grid that focuses, first, on what we call the „guiding affects“ of institutions and, second, on the internal affective dynamics of institutions. The proposed framework provides a variety of links to discussions of institutions in cultural studies and the social sciences. (shrink)

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:Buddhist Meditation for the Recovery of the Womanist Self, or Sitting on the Mat Self-Love RealizedMelanie L. HarrisIn this essay, I will argue that Womanist-Buddhist dialogue is beneficial not only for advancing theory in our respective disciplines, but for the practice of social justice. In the dialogues for which we gathered, we followed a process of learning inspired by chavruse, the method of Torah and Talmudic study found in (...) yeshivas, in which one reads a text with friends, in order to see and understand in ways that would be impossible for individuals alone. The mutually constitutive project of Womanist-Buddhist engagement with Buddhist texts has helped to shift the boundaries within Womanist religious thought and Buddhist studies. We are grateful for the trust—essential to any healthy dialogue—embodied in our work together, and for the deep humility and honor that has been shown by all who are engaged in the process.The Buddhist "self": A Womanist PerspectiveIn a conversation with a friend recently, I was encouraged to hold on to the humanness that suffering teaches by being fully present with a broken heart. My grief was offered tea, and I was invited to join in the depths of suffering for a "spell," sharing stories of strength and longing, through a process of healing meditation. I hear this invitation echoed in essays by Alice Walker in We Are the Ones We've Been Waiting For: Inner Light in a Time of Darkness, as well as in the work of Jan Willis. Both scholars are committed to telling the truths in women's stories and uncovering the "true self" through spiritual means. Here, I present some reflections on how engaging Buddhist texts as a Womanist scholar opens up a new perspective on the Womanist theme of self-love and how this can shift our understanding of the Buddhist self.The "Buddhist self," you say? Although Buddhism insists there is "no self"? Yes! The concept of no-self in Buddhism is often equated with "dissolving" the self; I would argue that Buddhist contemplative practices can be seen and experienced as form of healthy self-love and self-care, necessary to sustain activists' work for compassionate justice. According to Walker's definition, a Womanist "Loves herself. Regardless."1 To consider Buddhist meditation as a strategy of self-love and social justice [End Page 67] helps us to see why so many African American women are turning toward Buddhism as a religious orientation.Buddhist meditation invites one to overcome oppression and transform the self and the community, by raising consciousness through a true turning or shifting of mind, in a manner that produces clarity of thought and inner peace. As the Buddhist nun Pema Chödrön has observed, most people who are not raised Buddhist come to Buddhism because they are suffering and trying desperately to get out of dukkha. However, when confronted with the First Noble Truth that suffering is just part of life, many people turn away from meditation, pack up their sitting mats, and return home to habitual patterns.Sitting still on the mat for a long time, for any length of time really, seems to most beginners like an otherworldly commitment—unless of course, one has reason to stay, reason to change. As Willis has observed, most people of African descent do have reason.2 She says Buddhism offers at least three major gifts to African Americans—I would add Womanists here—and to all people of color who have experienced historical traumas such as slavery, exploitation, and cultural genocide. They are: (1) confidence in our humanity—a special gift to a people who have endured four hundred years of slavery and oppression, in which the very essence of our humanity was consistently ravaged; (2) a way of being in the world that emphasizes self-love and inner and communal wholeness; and (3) a method for dealing with the frustrations, disappointments, and anger left behind by multilayered oppressions. Rather than negating the self, and everyone else around, by succumbing to practices of patriarchy, or by falling into the traps of internalized oppression, or by pulling out our hair after upsetting meetings, or by indulging... (shrink)

During the 1980s many communities turned to grassroots activities to promote economic development, rather than relying on industrial recruitment strategies. We evaluate the characteristics of these projects, their benefits and costs, and obstacles they face in the development process. The data are drawn from a survey of more than one hundred communities in the United States. Self-development efforts do not appear to replace traditional rural economic development activities, but may complement them. Self-development activities produce a wide variety of jobs that (...) are taken primarily by local residents. The cost and availability of credit are major obstacles for self-development projects. Although self-development strategies should not be considered the primary economic development strategy for most rural communities, they do enable communities to build a more viable local economy. (shrink)

Many of the problems studied in cognitive science are inductive problems, requiring people to evaluate hypotheses in the light of data. The key to solving these problems successfully is having the right inductive biases—assumptions about the world that make it possible to choose between hypotheses that are equally consistent with the observed data. This article explores a novel experimental method for identifying the biases that guide human inductive inferences. The idea behind this method is simple: This article uses the responses (...) produced by a participant on one trial to generate the stimuli that either they or another participant will see on the next. A formal analysis of this “iterated learning” procedure, based on the assumption that the learners are Bayesian agents, predicts that it should reveal the inductive biases of these learners, as expressed in a prior probability distribution over hypotheses. This article presents a series of experiments using stimuli based on a well-studied set of category structures, demonstrating that iterated learning can be used to reveal the inductive biases of human learners. (shrink)

The use of quality of life (QOL) outcomes in clinical trials is increasing as a number of practical, ethical, methodological, and regulatory reasons for their use have become apparent. It is important, then, that QOL measurements and differences between QOL scores be readily interpretable. We study interpretation in two contexts: when determining QOL and when basing decisions on QOL differences. We consider both clinical situations involving individual patients and research contexts, e.g., randomized clinical trials, involving groups of patients. We note (...) the ethical importance of such understanding: proper interpretation and communication facilitate health care decision making. Communication that facilitates interpretation is of moral significance since better communication can attenuate ethical problems and inform choices. Much of what is communication worthy about QOL assessments is determined by the particular QOL instrument used in the assessment and how it is administered. In practice, these choices will be driven by the purpose of the assessment, but, it is argued, to maximize understanding, we should combine the information garnered from traditional standardized QOL instruments, from individualized QOL assessments, and from a recently proposed dialogic paradigm, where QOL is determined by shared conversation regarding the interpretation of texts. And, while some studies can surely succeed using abbreviated methods of administration (e.g., postal surveys may suffice for certain purposes), we will focus on methods of administration involving interviewer–respondent interaction. We suggest that during the QOL elicitation process, interviewer and respondent should engage in a two-way conversation in order to achieve a shared understanding of the “answers” to QOL “questions” and, finally, to reach a shared interpretation of the individual’s QOL. (shrink)

Data Safety and Monitoring Boards have been referred to as a “growth industry,” and this trend continues to be fueled by recent FDA guidance and the NIH's requirement that DSMBs be employed in virtually all phase III clinical trials. The widening role of DSMBs has been sporadically questioned on ethical grounds, but growth has continued, despite the fact that many of the questions endure, unanswered, save for repeated references to safeguarding the scientific integrity of trials. This may be about to (...) change. The recently appointed director of the Office for Human Research Protections , Jerry Menikoff, is on record as regarding current practices — where consent forms often promise what the DSMB has been assembled to specifically not provide — as constituting fraudulent behavior. That is, a subject may inherently rely on, to their detriment, information that has been misrepresented in the consent document. In this paper, we assemble some of the enduring questions and top them off with Menikoff's tour de force to present what we hope will be a compelling argument to require that consent forms fairly represent what the DSMB will do — and not do — with trial data as they accumulate. We argue that DSMBs should be used only in rare circumstances, and question the practice of precluding principal investigators from DSMB membership, but our main thrust is to ensure that DSMBs, when used at all, are properly described in trial consent forms. (shrink)

Data Safety and Monitoring Boards were introduced in the 1960s to monitor data in clinical trials to ensure subject safety. It was thought important that DSMB members be experts in the field of interest, but not otherwise involved in the study in order to maximize objectivity. Since then, the use of DSMBs has increased dramatically, and their scope has expanded to include scientific issues — in particular, to avoid bias that can result when trials are stopped early because of evidence (...) that one treatment has greater efficacy or causes greater harm than another; or that no treatment is likely to do better than any other. (shrink)