bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Weather–Climate Interactions in the Eastern Antilles and the 2013 Christmas Storm
Authors: Jury Mark R.
Published: September 2014

This study considers eastern Antilles (11°–18°N, 64°–57°W) weather and climate interactions in the context of the 2013 Christmas storm. This unseasonal event caused flash flooding in Grenada, St. Vincent, St. Lucia, Martinique, and Dominica from 24 to 25 December 2013, despite having winds <15 m s−1. The meteorological scenario and short-term forecasts are analyzed. At the low level, a convective wave propagated westward while near-equatorial upper westerly winds surged with eastward passage of a trough. The combination of tropical moisture, cyclonic vorticity, and uplift resulted in rain rates greater than 30 mm h−1 and many stations reporting 200 mm. Although forecast rainfall was low and a few hours late, weather services posted flood warnings in advance. At the climate scale, the fresh Orinoco River plume brought into the region by the North Brazil Current together with solar radiation greater than 200 W m−2, enabled sea temperatures to reach 28°C, and supplied convective available potential energy greater than 1800 J kg−1. Climate change model simulations are compared with reference fields and trends are analyzed in the eastern Antilles. While temperatures are set to increase, the frequency of flood events appears to decline in the future.
Satellite Precipitation Data–Driven Hydrological Modeling for Water Resources Management in the Ganges, Brahmaputra, and Meghna Basins
Authors: Siddique-E-Akbor A. H. M. , Hossain Faisal , Sikder Safat , Shum C. K. , Tseng Steven , Yi Yuchan , Turk F. J. , Limaye Ashutosh
Published: September 2014

The Ganges–Brahmaputra–Meghna (GBM) river basins exhibit extremes in surface water availability at seasonal to annual time scales. However, because of a lack of basinwide hydrological data from in situ platforms, whether they are real time or historical, water management has been quite challenging for the 630 million inhabitants. Under such circumstances, a large-scale and spatially distributed hydrological model, forced with more widely available satellite meteorological data, can be useful for generating high resolution basinwide hydrological state variable data [streamflow, runoff, and evapotranspiration (ET)] and for decision making on water management. The Variable Infiltration Capacity (VIC) hydrological model was therefore set up for the entire GBM basin at spatial scales ranging from 12.5 to 25 km to generate daily fluxes of surface water availability (runoff and streamflow). Results indicate that, with the selection of representative gridcell size and application of correction factors to evapotranspiration calculation, it is possible to significantly improve streamflow simulation and overcome some of the insufficient sampling and data quality issues in the ungauged basins. Assessment of skill of satellite precipitation forcing datasets revealed that the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) Multisatellite Precipitation Analysis (TMPA) product of 3B42RT fared comparatively better than the Climate Prediction Center (CPC) morphing technique (CMORPH) product for simulation of streamflow. The general conclusion that emerges from this study is that spatially distributed hydrologic modeling for water management is feasible for the GBM basins under the scenario of inadequate in situ data availability. Satellite precipitation forcing datasets provide the necessary skill for water balance studies at interannual and interseasonal scales. However, further improvement in skill may be required if these datasets are to be used for flood management at daily to weekly time scales and within a data assimilation framework.
An Exploration of Multivariate Fluctuation Dissipation Operators and Their Response to Sea Surface Temperature Perturbations
Authors: Fuchs David , Sherwood Steven , Hernandez Daniel
Published: September 2014

The fluctuation–dissipation theorem (FDT) has been proposed as a method of calculating the mean response of the atmosphere to small external perturbations. This paper explores the application of the theory under time and space constraints that approximate realistic conditions. To date, most applications of the theory in the climate context used univariate, low-dimensional-state representations of the climate system and an arbitrarily long sample size.

The authors explore high-dimensional multivariate FDT operators and the lower bounds of sample size needed to construct skillful operators. It is shown that the skill of the operator depends on the selection of variables and features representing the climate system and that these features change once memory (slab ocean) is added to the system.

In addition, it is found that the FDT operator has skill in estimating the response to realistic sea surface temperature (SST) patterns, such as El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO), despite the fact that these patterns were not part of the data used to produce the operator. The response of clouds is also studied; for variables that represent cloud properties, the decrease in skill in relation to decrease in sample size still maintains the key features of the response.
Three-Dimensional Structure and Evolution of the Vertical Velocity and Divergence Fields in the MJO
Authors: Adames Ángel F. , Wallace John M.
Published: September 2014

The features in the planetary-scale wind field that shape the MJO-related vertical velocity field are examined using the linear analysis protocol based on the daily global velocity potential field described in a companion paper, augmented by a compositing procedure that yields a more robust and concise description of the prevalent patterns over the Indo-Pacific warm pool sector (60°E–180°). The analysis elucidates the structural elements of the planetary-scale wind field that give rise to the characteristic “swallowtail” shape of the region of enhanced rainfall and the “bottom up” evolution of the vertical velocity profile from one with a shallow peak on the eastern end of the region of enhanced rainfall to one with an elevated peak on the western end. These distinctive features of the vertical velocity field in the MJO reflect the juxtaposition of deep overturning circulation cells in the equatorial plane and much shallower frictionally driven cells in the meridional plane to the east and west of the regions of enhanced rainfall. The zonal overturning circulations determine the pattern of ∂u/∂x and the meridional overturning circulations determine the pattern of ∂υ/∂y in the divergence profiles. These features are at least qualitatively well represented by the Matsuno–Gill solution for the planetary wave response to a stationary equatorial heat source–sink dipole.
Advanced Two-Moment Bulk Microphysics for Global Models. Part I: Off-Line Tests and Comparison with Other Schemes
Authors: Gettelman A. , Morrison H.
Published: September 2014

Prognostic precipitation is added to a cloud microphysical scheme for global climate models. Results indicate very similar performance to other commonly used mesoscale schemes in an offline driver for idealized warm rain cases, better than the previous version of the global model microphysics scheme with diagnostic precipitation. In the mixed phase regime, there is significantly more water and less ice, which may address a common bias seen with the scheme in climate simulations in the Arctic. For steady forcing cases, the scheme has limited sensitivity to time step out to the ~15-min time steps typical of global models. The scheme is similar to other schemes with moderate sensitivity to vertical resolution. The limited time step sensitivity bodes well for use of the scheme in multiscale models from the mesoscale to the large scale. The scheme is sensitive to idealized perturbations of cloud drop and crystal number. Precipitation decreases and condensate increases with increasing drop number, indicating substantial decreases in precipitation efficiency. The sensitivity is less than with the previous version of the scheme for low drop number concentrations (Nc < 100 cm−3). Ice condensate increases with ice number, with large decreases in liquid condensate as well for a mixed phase case. As expected with prognostic precipitation, accretion is stronger than with diagnostic precipitation and the accretion to autoconversion ratio increases faster with liquid water path (LWP), in better agreement with idealized models and earlier studies than the previous version.
Time to Take Off the Theoretical Straightjacket and (Re-)Introduce Phenomenon-Driven Research
Authors: Schwarz Gavin , Stensaker Inger
Published: September 2014

Recently, at an Academy of Management meeting workshop, reflecting on the field, Warner Burke asked “where are the new models and theories of change?” This provocative question has been pondered within organization studies and specifically on organization theory for several decades. And yet it persists. Borrowing this debate, in this essay we reverse the question to consider whether theory might be the problem in change research. Specifically, we argue that theory has become a (figurative) straightjacket. Far from advancing debate as significantly as has regularly been assumed, an obsession with theory and a narrow understanding of what constitutes a contribution could be hampering the development of knowledge about change. The criteria for publishing organizational research are increasingly focused on adding to specific and already existing theory. As a challenge to the restrictions that have become convention, we decode what this theoretical straightjacket looks like, and query why change researchers have willingly gone down this path, shutting down other promising opportunities. In response, we present phenomenon-driven research as a possible solution. It is time for change researchers to reclaim our heritage and take off the theoretical straightjacket.
Changing Loosely Coupled Systems
Authors: Burke W. Warner
Published: September 2014

In addition to comparing and contrasting loosely coupled systems with tightly coupled systems the purpose of this article is to explore the complexities of attempting to change loosely coupled systems. The change process is often in the direction of tightening a loosely coupled system but not always. Thus the intent is more exploratory than necessarily directional. Social network analysis is a popular and useful tool for understanding a loosely coupled system and serves the consulting process both diagnostically and as an intervention. A network is a common example of a loosely coupled system. There are two primary forms of network—external and internal. External networks are typically stand-alone organizations such as the Organization Development Network and internal networks are best understood as the informal organization within a large and probably highly bureaucratic system. Regarding change the objectives are different depending on which kind of network is being addressed. Other interventions that are appropriate for consulting with a loosely coupled system include large group, for example, search conference and the parallel organization. Using Weick’s processes as a guide for changing a loosely coupled system suggestions for how to conduct such consultation are provided. Conclusions include a brief exploration on power and an admonition to redress the imbalance between what we know about changing tightly coupled systems and what we do not know about changing loosely coupled systems.
Adsorption of humic acid onto a kaolinitic clay studied by high-resolution argon adsorption volumetry
Authors: Saada A. , Gaboriau H. , Cornu S. , Bardot F. , Villiéras F. , Croué J . P.
Published: September 2014

The mechanisms governing the adsorption of a commercial humic acid (HA) on a kaolinitic clay were determined. The amount of HA fixed increased with the ionic strength of the medium and the presence of divalent ions (Ca2+). The effect of Ca2+ is due to its ability to establish (1) intramolecular bridges causing condensation of the HA, and (2) intermolecular bridges between the clay and the HA. A stable clay-humic complex containing only the fraction of HA that withstands washing with water was prepared and characterized by high-resolution Ar adsorption volumetry. The overall results show that (1) HA interacts strongly with the basal surfaces of the clay, (2) Ca serves to establish Ca2+ bridges between HA and clay, and (3) HA and clay interact via at least two distinct adsorption mechanisms.
Contrast enhanced computed tomography is indicative for angiogenesis pattern and display prognostic significance in breast cancer
Authors: Li Jianyi , Zhang Yang , Zhang Wenhai , Gao Yang , Jia Shi , Guo Jiao
Published: September 2014

Background

The Prognostic value of microvessel density in cancer remains unclear. Recent studies have suggested that the uneven distribution of microvessels in tumours caused the variation in sample selection which led to different prognostic outcome. The enhancement pattern of Contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CECT) is determined in part by the microvessel distribution in solid tumors. Therefore, survival analysis of tumors grouping by the enhancement pattern and the pattern of microvessel distribution is important.

Methods

Survival analysis grouped by the tumor enhancement pattern and the microvessel distribution was carried out in 255 patients with invasive ductal carcinoma.

Results

There were significant differences in overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) among the homogeneous, heterogeneous and peripheral enhancement groups. There were significant differences between OS and DFS groups with uniform and uneven distributions of microvessels.

Conclusions

The distribution of microvessels in a tumor is a potential prognostic indicator in patients with breast cancer, and can be assessed by CECT prior the operation.
Joint source and relay design for MIMO multi-relay systems using projected gradient approach
Authors: Toding Apriana , Khandaker Muhammad RA , Rong Yue
Published: September 2014

In this paper, we develop the optimal source precoding matrix and relay amplifying matrices for non-regenerative multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) relay communication systems with parallel relay nodes using the projected gradient (PG) approach. We show that the optimal relay amplifying matrices have a beamforming structure. Exploiting the structure of relay matrices, an iterative joint source and relay matrices optimization algorithm is developed to minimize the mean-squared error (MSE) of the signal waveform estimation at the destination using the PG approach. The performance of the proposed algorithm is demonstrated through numerical simulations.
Glucocorticoids promote neural progenitor cell proliferation derived from human induced pluripotent stem cells
Authors: Ninomiya Eiichi , Hattori Taeka , Toyoda Masashi , Umezawa Akihiro , Hamazaki Takashi , Shintaku Haruo
Published: September 2014

Glucocorticoids (GCs) are frequently used for treating and preventing chronic lung disease and circulatory dysfunction in premature infants. However, there is growing concern about the detrimental effects of systemic GC administration on neurodevelopment. The first choice of GCs to minimize the adverse effects on the developing brain is still under debate. We investigated the effect of commonly used GCs such as dexamethasone (DEX), betamethasone (BET) and hydrocortisone (HDC) on the proliferation of human-induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived neuronal progenitor cells (NPCs). In this study, NPCs were treated with various concentrations of GCs and subjected to cell proliferation assays. Furthermore, we quantified the number of microtubule-associated protein 2 (MAP2) positive neurons in NPCs by immunostaining. All GCs promoted NPC proliferation in a dose-dependent manner. We also confirmed that MAP2-positive neurons in NPCs increased upon GC treatment. However, differential effects of GCs on MAP2 positive neurons were observed when we treated NPCs with H2O2. The total numbers of NPCs increased upon any GC treatment even under oxidative conditions but the numbers of MAP2 positive neurons increased only by HDC treatment. GCs promoted human iPSCsâ€“derived NPC proliferation and the differential effects of GCs became apparent under oxidative stress. Our results may support HDC as the preferred choice over DEX and BET to prevent adverse effects on the developing human brain.
Water mass transport through the northern Bashi Channel in the northeastern South China Sea affects copepod assemblages of the Luzon Strait
Authors: Lo Wen-Tseng , Dahms Hans-Uwe , Hwang Jiang-Shiou
Published: September 2014

Background

It is controversial to what extent the intrusion of the Kuroshio Branch Current to the Luzon Strait and the South China Sea circulation can shape copepod assemblages around southern Taiwan. We tested the hypothesis that currents such as the Kuroshio Current bring marine zooplankton and copepods from subtropical and tropical waters to the south of Taiwan. We studied copepod assemblages from the Bashi Channel in the northeastern South China Sea at the coast of southwest Taiwan during early October 1996.

Results

A total of 77 copepod species were identified from 34 genera that included calanoids, cyclopoids, harpacticoids, and poecilostomatoids. Several indicator species suggest that the study area is highly influenced by water masses from the northern South China Sea as well as from the Kuroshio Current. Acrocalanus gracilis (Paracalanidae, Calanoida) was most abundant (with a relative abundance (RA) of 22.07 and an occurrence rate (OR) of 100%), followed by Paracalanus aculeatus (Paracalanidae, Calanoida) and Oncaea venusta (Cyclopoida). The stations close to the Kuroshio Current showed a higher species diversity (H') and a higher species richness with 3.9 to 4.6 at moderate abundance, whereas station 11 showed lowest species diversity (H') with (2.1), accompanied by the far lowest species number (14) and abundance (880 ind./100 m3).

Conclusions

Several indicator species suggest that the study area is highly influenced by water masses from the northern South China Sea as well as from the Kuroshio Current.
Bone Mass and Hormone Analysis in Patients With Spinal Cord Injury:
Evidence for a Gonadal Axis Disruption
Authors: Gaspar Alexandra Passos , Brandão Cynthia M. A. , Lazaretti-Castro Marise
Published: September 2014

Context:

Bone loss is a constant finding in patients with spinal cord injury (SCI).

Objective:

We sought to evaluate potential modifiable factors that could lead to bone loss in complete motor paraplegia by examining gonadal axis hormones, vitamin D status, and bone markers.

Design:

This is a cross sectional.

Setting:

It includes SCI Outpatient.

Patients and other Participants:

Twenty-nine chronic male patients with SCI were compared with 17 age-matched, able-bodied men.

Main Outcome Measure:

The bone mineral density (BMD) of lower limbs and lumbar spine were measured using dual x-ray absorptiometry. Parathormone, 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D], collagen type I C-terminal telopeptide (CTX), and sexual hormone were measured.

Results:

Patients with SCI had lower BMD at the inferior limbs sites. CTX showed an inverse relationship with the time since injury. Patients had lower free T levels (SCI, 12.00 ± 2.91 vs controls, 19.51 ± 5.72; P ≤ .001), and the majority (72%) had normal/low levels of gonadotropins. Low T, however, was not related to low bone mass in patients with SCI. In the controls, the 25(OH)D level was positively correlated with the T and with the lumbar spine BMD, but these correlations were not observed in the SCI.

Conclusions:

Impairment of testicular function after SCI was indicated by the low levels of T and the loss of correlation between T and 25(OH)D levels; this correlation was present in the able-bodied controls. Inappropriate levels of gonadotropins were identified in most patients, featuring a hypogonadotropic hypogonadism and suggesting a disruption of the pituitary-gonadal axis. T concentrations might not be an effective target for bone loss therapy.
General Equilibrium Theory Behind the Iron Curtain: The Case of Victor Polterovich
Authors: Boldyrev Ivan , Kirtchik Olessia
Published: September 2014

In this article we address the story of developments in general equilibrium theory in the Soviet Union during the 1970s through the lens of a single biography. The Soviet advances in mathematical economics give an occasion to reflect on the extension of the Walrasian paradigm to nonmarket societies, as well as on the ideological effects of general equilibrium theory and its interpretations in a Soviet context. Our contribution is focused on the development of general equilibrium theorizing in the work of Victor Meerovich Polterovich (b. 1937), who has been one of the leading figures in mathematical economics and general equilibrium theory in the Soviet Union and post-Soviet Russia. His papers on the abstract models of exchange, dynamic general equilibrium and optimal growth theory, excess demand correspondences, monotonicity of demand functions, and disequilibrium theory were for the most part published in English and gained considerable attention within the field. We reconstruct the political and ideological basis of the general equilibrium concept and show how abstract mathematical models reflected the discursive shift from optimal centralized planning to various forms of decentralization. We argue that the Soviet work on general equilibrium was a part of the global development of mathematical economics but was not integrated into it institutionally.
William Blake on the Effects of Government Fiscal Policy on Activity and Prices
Authors: Smith Matthew
Published: September 2014

In 1823, William Blake (1774-1852) published the pamphlet Observations of the Effects Produced by the Expenditure of Government during the Restriction of Cash Payments, which made a significant contribution to debate about the economic effects of government fiscal policy during the French wars (1793-1815) and the postwar period of economic stagnation in Britain. This article is concerned with critically examining Blake’s arguments on the effect of British government war expenditure and taxes on economic activity and price inflation during the wars and then on the role of the subsequent retrenchment of government expenditure in explaining postwar economic stagnation. The essay shows that Blake was an ardent critic of Say’s law and argued that the postwar British economic depression characterized by a persistent general glut of commodities was the result of a lack of demand, which was mainly brought about by a policy of fiscal austerity. In this connection it is shown that Blake believed capital accumulation to be demand constrained, with many of his insights into the accumulation process essentially “Keynesian” (or “Kaleckian”) in spirit.
For a Pluriversal Declaration of Human Rights
Authors: Fregoso Rosa-Linda
Published: September 2014

This essay argues for a decolonial understanding of rights, beyond the conventional definition of human rights premised on a Western cosmology that foregrounds the human as an autonomous individual/agent unyoked by the surrounding world; beyond a circular conception of rights as the individual possession of the human inhering in “his” sovereign being; and beyond the provincial understanding of human and rights as inscribed in law and the state, and as universal and transcendental. I propose a shift in focus away from the liberal doctrine of human rights codified in law and the state, toward alternative, human rights contingencies, as modeled by the collectivist politics of social justice activists and creative practitioners. The practices of artivist collectives affirm a form of rights emphatic expression, an assertion of alternative sensibilities and values. In their collective orientation and civic engagement, collaborative art projects perform an oblique or indirect reference to human rights contexts, and it is precisely this indirection that enacts alternative human rights imaginaries: a pluriversality of human rights not dependent on legalism or the state.
Learning to Live in Miami
Authors: Vazquez Alexandra T.
Published: September 2014

“Learning to Live in Miami” takes another look and listen to Cuban exilic creativity from a city imagined as both refuge and terminus: a location that preoccupies Greater Cuba with sensations of revulsion, pleasure, and disavowal. With the encouragement of Lydia Cabrera, the performance innovators behind Teatro Prometeo, the disco supergroup Foxy, and other artists-in-residence of past and present, Vazquez pries open the familiar narrativizing about the exilic “condition” that enshrouds Cuban cultural artifacts from Miami and enters into their difficult mangrove aesthetics.
Crossing thresholds: Hospitality and professionalism in Aotearoa New Zealand social work
Authors: Cockburn-Wootten Cheryl , Brewis Joanna
Published: September 2014

This article aims to offer a consideration of hospitality in organizations, occupations and thresholds to illustrate the sociocultural dimensions of hospitality spaces. Our aim is to open up thinking around spaces of hospitality offered by organizational members, particularly those employees who work with the vulnerable ‘other’, across thresholds into homes and organizational spaces. Community social workers illustrate the practice of hospitality as they offer advocacy and inclusion for those individuals excluded from the wider community. The move towards professionalism has been argued as one way of establishing value, authority and confidence in the role of the community social worker and the decisions these individuals make in their work. However, critics have indicated that professionalism emphasizes practices of ideological control, norms and exclusion, in effect undermining key social work values, ethos and practice. Our results illustrate that community social workers developed asymmetric relationships of trust within their community and negotiated with other organizational members in order to create spaces for their work and inclusion.
Unwelcome guests: Hospitality, asylum seekers and art at the 19th Biennale of Sydney
Authors: Stephens Murdoch , Te Ao Shannon
Published: September 2014

This article gives the background to the controversy around the 19th Biennale of Sydney as a way of discussing issues of hospitality and the unwelcome guest. Specifically, we contrast the figure of the asylum seeker as the unwelcome guest in Australia with the activists and artists who co-opted and reframed the Biennale. Our account draws from our mutual experiences as: a refugee advocate who was the guest in the original artist’s space; and a New Zealand artist invited to the festival. The article first offers a background to the Biennale, Transfield and the controversy. We then reproduce ‘The animals and the rulers’, Murdoch’s text that was included in Shannon’s portion of the exhibition at the Art Gallery of New South Wales. We will then go into more depth on the conceptual and methodological thinking behind the text. Finally, Shannon reflects on the experience of being a foreign guest caught up in the controversy and trying to respond in a highly charged environment.
Die gute Regel als Weg des guten Lebens
Authors: Rendtorff Trutz
Published: September 2014

Present discussions regarding »prominent« ethical issues time and again focus on the question whether firm ethical and religious beliefs should be privileged vis a vis the democratic rules of the distribution of power and the formation of majorities. The »ethics of the structure of power« teach us to consider the seemingly only formal rules to be »good«, for they allow to have open discussions between different views of»the good life«. The distinction between these two realms of»good« pose a problern to religious ethics and need to be considered in the ethics of democracy.
Soziobiologie und Ethik
Authors: Engels Eve-Marie
Published: September 2014

The author discusses the question, if sociobiology can be relevant for the conceptual foundations of ethics. She comes to the conclusion that sociobiology cannot reduce the meaning of moral terms to that of sociobiological discourse, but that sociobiology might nevertheless be able to shed light on the complex phenomenon of morality by demonstrating the presence of traces of our evolutionary past in our behavior. Thereby sociobiology might be relevant for elucidating the relation between »can« and »ought«, that is, for the question of practicability of moral norms.
Schöpfung und Schöpfungsethik
Authors: Deuser Hermann
Published: September 2014

American philosophy of religion (seit., of pragmatism and process) makes possible a theological cosmology which allows us to conceive a foundation for the reality ofthe symbolism ofGod and creation, the processual integration of subject-object perspectives, the connections between nature and spirit, and those between faith and action. This raises the possibility of amending the deficit in the German theological tradition as regards theology of creation, that is, as the presupposition for a necessary ethics of creation. Constitutive factors in this connection are the christological elements of the love of God which are made concrete via faith, thought, and act in a metaphysically and evolutionistically understood world-process.
Die Identität eines Christenmenschen – Im Anschluß an Paulus
Authors: Breytenbach Cilliers
Published: September 2014

In this Germantranslation of an essay published 1988 in Afrikaans, the South African author criticizes the views ofthe influential Dutch Reformed New Testament scholar, E. P. Groenewald. In 1947 Groenewald published an essay on the nature ofthe Early Church and Pauline theology, in an effort to justify apartheid ideologically. The views expressed in that essay are still alive among concervatives in the DRC. From the perspective of Pauline soteriology, so Breytenbach argues, Apartheid is principally incompatible with Christian baptism.
Zur Embryonenforschung aus evangelischer Sicht
Authors: Schubart Hartwig von
Published: September 2014

A wider than just a biological approach to the human embryo provides a relational perception of it, which may open a dialogue between those who plead for the protection of the embryo and those who seek to help their patients with therapies developed through embryo research. According to all german speaking protestant churches and theologians riskful research on human embryos shall be prohibited, some theologians however concede, that for high ranking therapeutical goals the law should provide an exception. The author shows that it is impossible to define any therapeutical goals unless one allows non-therapeutical research in advance. This dilemma so far is unsolved
Die Zwei-Reiche-Lehre bei John Locke
Authors: Zimmermann Gunter
Published: September 2014

Expecting the imminent triumph of religious and political absolutism Locke tries, in »A Letter concerning Toleration«, to define the true Christian and the true church. He invites his readers to differentiale between civil goverment and religious communities. A church is a voluntary association, the members of which are hold together by the common hope of salvation. In this association there is no need for power and force, which are necessary in civil government. Pursuing this theme in a subtile way Locke develops the reformatorical doctrine of the two kingdoms.
Menschenwürde als das Menschenrecht - Zur Grundlegung eines theologischen Begriffs des Rechts
Authors: Koch Traugott
Published: September 2014

On the basic of a critique of the conventional theological ethic it is shown that the unconditional dignity of every human being, independent of status, thought and religion is grounded theologically in the freedom offaith. Human dignity, however, is wholly inconceivable ifit does not include the right oflife and human rights for every human being also. From this principle a theological term of modern )formal< law is developed and a critical comment is given on the current debate on the various charters of human rights
Ethische Aspekte der Kapitalismus-Deutung Max Webers
Authors: Barth Ulrich
Published: September 2014

Weber's analysis of capitalism evolved in arguing against Marx's theory. It claims no less than giving a better account of modern capitalism, historically, as weil as categorially, than Marx himself. As a sociological theory of economy, based on an analytical theory ofhuman action, it also offers an approach to a critical ethics of the capitalist economy, which, after the self-induced end of socialism, has become an issue of greater urgency than ever before
Von der »Brüderlichkeit« zur Gerechtigkeitstheorie von John Rawls: Eine Vermittlung von Ethik und Wirtschaft
Authors: Kaiser Helmut
Published: September 2014

As economic actions generate questions about justice ( =ethically relevant fact), the duty of economicethical reflection consists in contributing to the search for answers to these questions. Justice is a complex ethical term, therefore the question for the ))right« idea of justice needs to asked. In doing so we give reasons for our view that justice cannot be defined without considering aspects of solidarity, thus emphasizing a specific perspective within theological ethics. Thereby we discuss interpretations of justice in utilitarianism als well as J. Rawls's theory of justice, which succeeds in making the principle of brotherliness ( = element of Christian tradition) more tangible. Therefore this paper considers a topical economic-ethical problern - justice with or without aspects of solidarity?; the relation between teleology an deontology? and - offers at the same time a mediation ( = equivalence of both disciplines) between ( theological) ethics an economics which is argumentative al weil as furthering understanding und dialogue
»Wucher muß sein, aber wehe den Wucherern«
Authors: Wieland Josef
Published: September 2014

This article examines Luther's conception of Economy and Economics. The analysis shows a paradoxially structured religious communication about economic problems (inflation, interest). This form of communication serves to keep contingency available within the economic system. Together with reason, conscience and belief the awareness of contingency is a presupposition of reasonable economical decisions. The most important conclusion is that the relationship of these aspects of action- as discussed by Lutheris also a majorproblern in the contemporary discussion of business and economics effects
Vernunftbegründung und biblische Begründung in der Ethik
Authors: Demmer Klaus
Published: September 2014

Ecumenical dialogue in the field of Theological Ethics needs a reflection upon the underlying »Denkforrn«. The present article tries to shed light on recent developments in Catholic Moral Theology insofar as naturallaw and scriptural argument are concerned. Its proper purpose is to show that both foundations of moral judgment are undergirded by theological presuppositions like as christological anthropology and theology of justification.
Vernunftbegründung in der Ethik
Authors: Frey Christofer
Published: September 2014

This contribution to a colloquy of Roman-catholic moral theologians and Protestant teachers of ethics challenges the simple juxtaposition of reasonable and biblical foundation of norms and moral systems. The hypothesis of this paper however, presupposes, that >foundation< implies more than a simple deduction from a general point of view or a formal (but a posteriori) Iegitimation of single norms by the principle of universalizability, but it includes transeendental considerations- concerning the problern of human freedom- and the regulating idea of a communion by consensus, integrated into basic perspectives ofconduct oflife. Biblical points ofview regulating ethical systems presuppose such perspectives. Appeals to reason in Protestant ethics transport questions and ideas of the natural-law-tradition even in systems which are deeply linked with a theology of revelation. If this analysis indicates correctly the present situation of Protestant ethics at least in Germany, the often assumed antagonism of a humanist and reason-oriented ethics on the one hand and a heteronomaus ethics relying on revelation on the other tends to be delusive.
Ethische Rechenschaft als Praxis der Freiheit
Authors: Ulrich Hans G.
Published: September 2014

The procedure of ethical justification constitutes the focus for the question of how ethics becomes concrete. This very procedure seems also to be the crystallizing focus on an ernerging tradition in theological ethics. lt neither refers to a »good« reality, nor does it presuppose an ethics on unconditional imperatives. Rather, it belongs to an ethics of creatureliness, which is practiced explicitly as an inherent element of our life with God. The crucial marks of a moraljustification in accordance with this practice of >)life with God« can be concretely described. They are the marks of a Christian freedom which is constituted by the very practice this article talked about.
Kirchenstruktur und »christliche Moral«
Authors: Eid Volker
Published: September 2014

Communicative actionist relevant in two senses: (a) It is a constitutive aspect for the actual shaping of moral, (b) it is indispensable for the development ofpersonal moral conviction. Dealing with this subject, the consequences for Christian ethics are as follows: (a) Moral opinions only can work out and develop in the communicative interaction of Christian community, (b) the participation of the members of community is a condition of personal mediation between Christian faith and moral opionion.
Spannungsfelder der Wirtschaftsethik
Authors: Büseher Martin
Published: September 2014

What is economic ethics? Instead of delivering simple answers to that manyfold topic it is necessary- as a good doctor does before therapy - to thoroughly look at the conditions, influences and dimensions of a given problem. Thus it is crucial to investigate for the different perspectives of scientific disciplines involved, the understanding of reality, rationality, responsibility, the specific conditions for ethics and economic structures, the specific background of ethics and science in the advanced industrial society. At the time being there are more questions and new horizons to connect than answers.
Eigennutz, Gemeinwohl, Solidarität - Zur anthropologischen Grundlegung der Wirtschaft
Authors: Kaiser Helmut
Published: September 2014

In social market economy as well as in the theory of economics the basic model used to explain human behaviour is methodological individualism which defines man as an individualistic species who rationally calculates his selfinterests. We support the thesis that this anthropological premiss is in need of a thorough revision if we want to find solutions for current problems like social injustice or the destruction of our environment. It is therefore necessary to convert methodological individualism as the dominantmodeland self-interest as an anthropological disposition into the anthropological premiss of solidarity as principle for human individualization. This paper substantiates sucharequest and demonstrates it tobe specific for theological ethics of economy.
Der Einfluß der Religion auf Politik und Gesellschaft in Afrika
Authors: Sundermeier Theo
Published: September 2014

The author explains four patterns concerning the relation between the church and the political institutions in Afrika. Thesepatterns have be seen against the background ofthe original Ontocratic unity in premale societies, which all rulers in Africa favorite in an hidden way. Colonialism promotes the separation between political and religious life, nationalism, however, restores the unity. In South-Afrika a prophetic dualism is turning against the theocratic ideology of the Boers. All in all a relation of criticalloyality is coming into existence in Africa.
Ethische Perspektiven und Aufgaben einer europäischen Arbeitsmarktpolitik für die Zukunft
Authors: Strohm Theodor
Published: September 2014

Besides the economical criteria of convergence, which have been precisely laid down in the EC-treaties, especially in the treaties of Maastricht, the integration of labour markets is an explicit aim of the European Union. Considering that approx. 19 million employees within the EC are not gainfully employed, a common and well-aimed labour market policy seems to be one of the major responsibilities of European economical and social policy. The instruments of job creation and preservation in Germany are being compared with the aims of the EC-comission, also experiences of other countries are being involved. The Christian Churches in Europe are committed to get involved in tackling unemployment and its human-destructing effects. The Social Chamber of the EKD has made continuous proposals. At present, it is working on continuing its previous memorandums on unemployment. With this, also the memorandum ))Responsibility for a Social Europe« (1992) is being continued and put into concrete terms.
Von Mäusen und Menschen
Authors: Körtner Ulrich
Published: September 2014

The above article discusses the utilitarian term of speciecism and its consequences for medical ethics. Instead of theological sweeping statement the author pleads for a distinguishing discussion of utilitarian positions. Theological criticism of utilitarianism which merely insists on the holiness of human life is insufficient. Even theological ethics have to discuss the problern of weighing goods in medical conflicts. Yet it is not possible, as utilitarianism argues that we can quantify the goods or the sense of life in a quasi-economic way.
Auf den Spuren der Religion
Authors: Gräb Wilhelm
Published: September 2014

The author starts from the basic insight that the churches in Germany find themselves more and more in a situation of religious competition. Instead of talking about the ruin of religion one has to think about the crisis ofconcept and practice ofthe »Volkskirche«. The article tries to show how the >>Volkskirche« could find a new way to the religion ofthe people. Therefore it needs great efforts for a re-staging ofthe Christian culture and symbols. People need also the feeling of a deeper understanding of their own life concepts including the religious aspects within the church.
Die Vielfalt der Lebensgemeinschaften
Authors: Lienemann Wolfgang
Published: September 2014

The author pleads for an equal and differentiated treatment of marriage (between woman and man) and same-sex-unions (between gay people) in civillaw. In theological perspective it is necessary to regard same-sex-unions as well as marriages under the aspects oflife-long commitment and responsibility- both may be and should be »Iove in earnest« (»Liebe im Ernstfall«- K. Barth) F or the decisive moment in every kind oflife-long partnership in the destination that »your body isatemple ofthe Holy Spirit« (1 Kor 6,19). - From this central point of view biblical damnations of homosexual behaviour must be criticised. - As further consequences the articel discusses the legal introduction of the possibility of »registered partnership« for gay people and following options in liturgy and law of the church.
Kritik der Modeme und kritische Modernität Evangelische Ethik heute
Authors: Ringeling Hermann
Published: September 2014

At the present time Karl Barths criticism of modernity is certainly a decisive subject of Protestant ethics. The ethical theory of Trutz Rendtorff on the other hand advises a change to the notion of critical modernity. The author regards on both sides tendencies, which Iead to a new modell of an ethic of reponsibility in the context of pluralistic societies.
Aktive und passive Sterbehilfe
Authors: Fischer Johannes
Published: September 2014

The author defends the distinction between active and passive euthanasia. A characteristic feature of passive euthanasia is that it preserves the situation of waiting for death. Active euthanasia is characterised by the fact that it terminates this situation or anticipates its occurrence in a phase when death has not yet announced itself. Provided the situation of waiting for death is preserved, passive euthanasia may very weil include actively life-shortening measures such as dehydration. The situation of waiting for death has primarily a ritual significance. It has the effect of leaving the participants with the consciousness that death as a definitive separation from a person was fate and not an act for which responsibility must be tak:en. This consciousness is important for the integrity of the personal relation to the deceased. Active euthanasia can therefore be considered only in extreme situations which leave no alternative. The author criticises the fact that the ritual aspect of medical action receives too little consideration in the discussion on euthanasia. Finally, conclusions relating to theological ethics are drawn.
Reform und Konsolidierung des Sozialstaats
Authors: Strohm Theodor
Published: September 2014

Over the years the consulting chambers of the EKiD deliberate in recommendations about the reform upon the system of social securitiy in modern welfare state. In the last months the Social Chamber of the EKiD draw up proposals and results of the discussion; the chamber presents a set of thesises to the Council of the EKiD. The essay gives survey of the present result of the decisions. The intention is to promote the reform and consolidation of the social state and to keep off the strategies which aim at a destruction of social security.
Evangelische Kirche in Deutschland 1945-1995
Authors: Nowak Kurt
Published: September 2014

The article gives a tentative interpretation of the history of the Churches in Germany starting 1945 to 1989. Crucial points are the relations oftheGerman Churches to questions of modern pluralism, to questions of peace and war and to questions of the transformation of Churchstructures. Common points are mentioned between the Churches of the older FRG and the former GDR-Churches just so differences between them.
Recht und Rechtsbegründung in christlicher Verantwortung
Authors: Pawlowski Hans-Martin
Published: September 2014

To answer the question about the Christian foundation of the law, we first have to look for the foundation of the law in general. The reason why we follow the law voluntarily is not the law and its legal sanctions, but our religion or philosophy of life. »Grundwerte« (basic values) or human rights offer no alternative foundation. Either they are part of the law - and not its foundation, or they are a particular philosophy of life beside others. The law of a pluralistic state that guarantees freedom of religion and belief, and, consequently, is religiously and ideologically neutral, cannot be based on a particular philosophy of life, religion, or denomination. Thus, this law has to be »right« in the eyes of every religious community living in this state. It is, therefore, not a Christian law with respect to its foundation, but the Christians have been leaving their mark on its contents.
Solidarität Erwägungen zu ihrer gegenwärtigen Problematik
Authors: Walther Christian
Published: September 2014

Starting from the fundamental role which is assigned to solidarity in politics and society, the essay tries to answer the question of whether or not solidarity still functions accordingly. Observations showing that there are deficits in the actual ways expression is given to solidarity cause the search for the reasons. In this context attention is drawn to a close interrelationship between a highly developed welfare - state and its administering corporate solidarity on the one band and an almost hypertrophied individualism which feels itself widely released from acting in solidarity on the other band. Both has led to lessen sensitivity for the need of cultivating a personal sense of solidarity. To meet individual needs as weil as social requirements, it seems necessary to find an new balance
Strafe und Schuld im Horizont von Reue und Vergebung
Authors: Koch Traugott
Published: September 2014

The study inquires into the difference between the juridical and the theological understand of punishment and guilt. In a religious-ethical view the idea of repentance and forgiveness is determinative. In this perspective the author points out, that repentance excludes furthermore punishment, forgiveness offers and opens new prospects of human life.