bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Was Gaunilo Right in his Criticism of Anselm? A Contemporary Perspective
Authors: Woleński Jan
Published: March 2017

Gaunilo argued that Anselm could prove the existence of many perfect objects, for example, the happiest island, that is, happier than any other island. More formally, Gaunilo’s arguments were intended to show that the sentence “God exists” does not follow from premises accepted by Anselm. Contemporary versions of the ontological proof use the maximalization procedure in order to demonstrate that God exists as the most perfect being. This paper argues that this method, which is based on maximalization, is not sufficient to prove God’s existence. Thus, a “contemporary Gaunilo” can repeat objections raised by his ancestor.
A Cosmo-Ontological Argument for the Existence of a First Cause - Perhaps God
Authors: Meixner Uwe
Published: March 2017

The paper presents a new version of the "Cosmological Argument" – considered to be an ontological argument, since it exclusively uses ontological concepts and principles. It employs famous results of modern physics, and distinguishes between event-causation and agent-causation. Due to these features, the argument manages to avoid the objection of infinite regress. It remains true, however, that the conclusion of the argument (just like the conclusion of Thomas Aquinas’s causal argument) is too unspecific to be unambiguously considered an argument for the existence of God.
Living with Mystery: Virtue, Truth, and Practice
Authors: Cooper David E.
Published: March 2017

This paper examines how a person’s life may be shaped by living with a sense of the mystery of reality. What virtues, if any, are encouraged by such a sense? The first section rehearses a radical ‘doctrine of mystery’, according to which reality as it anyway is, independently of human perspectives, is ineffable. It is then argued that a sense of mystery may provide ‘measure’ for human lives. For it is possible for a life to be ‘consonant’ with this sense – through exercising humility, for example – and even to emulate mystery. A further section corrects a misunderstanding about the connection between a sense of mystery and the virtues it invites, while a final section considers the relationship between living with mystery and religious faith.
Receptivity to Mystery: Cultivation, Loss, and Scientism
Authors: Kidd Ian James
Published: March 2017

The cultivation of receptivity to the mystery of reality is a central feature of many religious and philosophical traditions, both Western and Asian. This paper considers two contemporary accounts of receptivity to mystery – those of David E. Cooper and John Cottingham – and considers them in light of the problem of loss of receptivity. I argue that a person may lose their receptivity to mystery by embracing what I call a scientistic stance, and the paper concludes by offering two possible responses to combating that stance and restoring the receptivity to mystery that it occludes.
Awe and Humility in the Face of Things: Somatic Practice in East-Asian Philosophies
Authors: Parkes Graham
Published: March 2017

Whereas the Platonic-Christian philosophical tradition in the West favours an ‘ascent to theory’ and abstract reasoning, east-Asian philosophies tend to be rooted in somatic, or bodily, practice. In the philosophies of Confucius and Zhuangzi in China, and Kūkai and Dōgen in Japan, we can distinguish two different forms of somatic practice: developing physical skills, and what one might call ‘realising relationships’. These practices improve our relations with others – whether the ancestors or our contemporaries, the things with which we surround ourselves or the phenomena of nature – by reducing egocentrism and increasing humility. Because they transform the practitioner’s experience, the major benefit of philosophies grounded in somatic practice is that they help close the gap between beliefs and behaviour, and between ideas and action.
Infallible Divine Foreknowledge Cannot Uniquely Threaten Human Freedom, But Its Mechanics Might
Authors: Byerly T. Ryan
Published: March 2017

It is not uncommon to think that the existence of exhaustive and infallible divine foreknowledge uniquely threatens the existence of human freedom. This paper shows that this cannot be so. For, to uniquely threaten human freedom, infallible divine foreknowledge would have to make an essential contribution to an explanation for why our actions are not up to us. And infallible divine foreknowledge cannot do this. There remains, however, an important question about the compatibility of freedom and foreknowledge. It is a question not about the existence of foreknowledge, but about its mechanics.
God's Extended Mind
Authors: Hunt David P.
Published: March 2017

The traditional doctrine of divine omniscience ascribes to God the fully exercised power to know all truths. but why is God’s excellence with respect to knowing not treated on a par with his excellence with respect to doing, where the latter requires only that God have the (exercised or unexercised) power to do all things? The prima facie problem with divine ‘omni-knowledgeability’ – roughly, being able to know whatever one wants to know whenever one wants to know it – is that knowledge (whether occurrent or dispositional) requires an internal representation, whereas mere ‘knowledgeability’ does not. I argue to the contrary that knowledge does not require an internal representation, and that even if it did, an omni-knowledgeable God would satisfy this requirement. omni-knowledgeability therefore represents a distinct understanding of God’s cognitive excellence while satisfying the traditional insistence on full omniscience.
Agent-Causation and Paradigms for God's Knowledge
Authors: Schneider Christina
Published: March 2017

The article aims at formulating a philosophical framework and by this giving some means at hand to save human libertarian freedom (due to ‘agent- causation’), God’s omniscience (viz.: three paradigms of God’s knowledge) and God’s ‘eternity’. This threefold aim is achieved by 1) conceiving of an agent as having different possibilities to act, 2) regarding God’s knowledge – with respect to agents – not only as being ‘propositional’ in character but also as being ‘experiential’: God knows an agent also from the ‘first person perspective’, as the agent knows herself, and, 3), formulating ‘eternity’ and ‘temporality’ as being homeomorphically related to each other. This gives rise to a coherent interplay that saves both human libertarian freedom and God’s omniscient ‘view from eternity’.
The Argument from Consciousness and Divine Consciousness
Authors: Schärtl Thomas
Published: March 2017

The paper aims for an improvement of the so-called argument from consciousness while focusing on the first-person-perspective as a unique feature of consciousness that opens the floor for a theistic explanation. As a side effect of knowledge arguments, which are necessary to keep a posterior materialism off bounds, the paper proposes an interpretation of divine knowledge as knowledge of things rather than knowledge of facts.
Religious Evidentialism
Authors: Dormandy Katherine
Published: March 2017

Should religious believers proportion their religious beliefs to their evidence? They should: religious faith is better, ceteris paribus, when the beliefs accompanying it are evidence-proportioned. I offer two philosophical arguments and a biblical argument. The philosophical arguments conclude that love and trust, two attitudes belonging to faith, are better, ceteris paribus, when accompanied by evidence-proportioned belief, and that so too is the faith in question. The biblical argument concludes that beliefs associated with faith, portrayed in the Hebrew bible and the New Testament, are typically, and normatively, exhorted on the basis of evidence. I hope to convince religious believers and nonbelievers alike that religious beliefs should be evidence-proportioned.
Cantorian Infinity and Philosophical Concepts of God
Authors: Van der Veen Joanna , Horsten Leon
Published: March 2017

It is often alleged that Cantor’s views about how the set theoretic universe as a whole should be considered are fundamentally unclear. In this article we argue that Cantor’s views on this subject, at least up until around 1896, are relatively clear, coherent, and interesting. We then go on to argue that Cantor’s views about the set theoretic universe as a whole have implications for theology that have hitherto not been sufficiently recognised. However, the theological implications in question, at least as articulated here, would not have satisfied Cantor himself.
Generic Theistic Reliabilism
Authors: Jonbäck Francis
Published: March 2017

In this paper, I present the recently much discussed Value Challenge for Theories of Knowledge and formulate Generic Theistic reliabilism as a theory, which can answer this challenge, with respect to Theism and the proposition ‘God exists’.
Knowledge of Persons
Authors: Chappell Timothy
Published: March 2017

What is knowledge of persons, and what is knowing persons like? my answer combines (a bit of) Wittgenstein’s epistemology with (a bit of) levinas’s phenomenology. It says that our knowledge of persons is a hinge proposition for us (as in: ‘I am not of the opinion that he has a soul’, PI ii, iv). And it says that what this knowledge consists in is the experience that levinas calls ‘the face to face’: direct and unmediated encounter between persons. As levinas says, for there to be persons at all there has, first, to be a relationship, language, and this same encounter: ‘the face to face’ comes first, the existence of individual persons only second. I explore some consequences of this conception for how we think about personhood, and also for how we read Descartes and Augustine.
Morality,the Other and Third Persons
Authors: Buddeberg Eva
Published: March 2017

This paper seeks to defend the thesis that a justification of morality has to underline the role of the second person in addition to a perpetual and on-going change of perspective that likewise includes the third and first person. To support this argument, the paper conceptualises responsibility as a moral relationship whose core constitutes the encounter with the other whom we recognise as a second-person authority. It then sketches how this pre-cognitive dimension must be supplemented by a cognitive insight which implies a dissociation from the second person and a consideration of third persons. on this basis, it finally provides an outline of how a possible tension between these different but all-together necessary perspectives could best be resolved.
The Shadow Side of Second-Person Engagement: Sin in Paul's Letter to the Romans
Authors: Eastman Susan Grove
Published: March 2017

This paper explores the characteristics of debilitating versus beneficial intersubjective engagements, by discussing the role of sin in the relational constitution of the self in Paul’s letter to the romans. Paul narrates ‘sin’ as both a destructive holding environment and an interpersonal agent in a lethal embrace with human beings. The system of self-in-relation-to-sin is transactional, competitive, unidirectional, and domineering, operating implicitly within an economy of lack. Conversely, Paul’s account in romans of the divine action that moves persons into a new identity of self-in-relationship demonstrates genuinely second-personal qualities: it is loving, non-transactional, non- competitive, mutual, and constitutive of personal agency.
Delighting in Natural Beauty: Joint Attention and the Phenomenology of Nature Aesthetics
Authors: De Smet Johan , De Cruz Helen
Published: March 2017

Empirical research in the psychology of nature appreciation suggests that humans across cultures tend to evaluate nature in positive aesthetic terms, including a sense of beauty and awe. They also frequently engage in joint attention with other persons, whereby they are jointly aware of sharing attention to the same event or object. This paper examines how, from a natural theological perspective, delight in natural beauty can be conceptualized as a way of joining attention to creation. Drawing an analogy between art and creation, we propose that aesthetic appreciation of nature may provide theists with a unique phenomenological insight into God’s creative intentions, which are embodied in the physical beauty of creation. We suggest two directions in which this way of looking at the natural world can be fleshed out: in a spontaneous way, that does not take into account background information, and with the help of science.
Joint Attention, Union with God, and the Dark Night of the Soul
Authors: Bungum Donald
Published: March 2017

Eleonore Stump has argued that the fulfilment of union between God and human beings requires a mode of relatedness that can be compared to joint attention, a phenomenon studied in contemporary experimental psychology. Stump’s account of union, however, is challenged by the fact that mother Teresa, despite her apparent manifestation of the love of God to others, herself experienced an interior ‘dark night of the soul’ during which God seemed to be absent and to have rejected her completely. The dark night of the soul poses a problem for Stump’s account, since, if anyone had a union of divine love with God, it would seem that mother Teresa did. Nevertheless, I argue that the isolation and abandonment of mother Teresa’s dark night are contrary to the conditions assumed to be required for joint attention with God. As an alternative to Stump’s account, I suggest that the dark night of the soul might be better understood by reference to a combination of joint attention and blindsight, according to which interpersonal closeness might be realized through a consistent pattern of external actions without, however, a direct awareness of one person by the other.
Non-Metaphysical Realism: A Dummett-Inspired Implementation of Putnam's Internal Realism
Authors: Johannesson Karin
Published: March 2017

The amount of realist positions put forward by philosophers of religion and theologians is impressive. one can certainly doubt whether there is a need for yet another alternative. However, most realist positions employed in studies on religion fall prey to Hilary Putnam’s criticism against metaphysical realism. This gives rise to a dilemma that I aim at solving by introducing yet another realist position, namely non-metaphysical realism.
Building Bridges and Crossing Boundaries: Philosophy, Theology, and the Interruptions of Transcendence
Authors: Rossi Philip J.
Published: March 2017

Discussions about theological realism within analytic philosophy of religion, and the larger conversation between analytic and continental styles in philosophy of religion have generated relatively little interest among Catholic philosophers and theologians; conversely, the work of major figures in recent Catholic theology seems to evoke little interest from analytic philosophers of religion. Using the 1998 papal encyclical on faith and reason, Fides et ratio, as a major point of reference, this essay offers a preliminary account of the bases for such seeming mutual indifference and offers some suggestions for future dialogue.
A Critical Evaluation of Rea's Response to the Problem of Divine Hiddenness
Authors: Parker Ross
Published: March 2017

In an important discussion of the problem of hiddenness, Michael Rea briefly presents and defends an argument from divine hiddenness which he thinks encapsulates the problem of divine hiddenness, and then develops a detailed and nuanced response to this argument. Importantly, Rea claims that his response does not depend on the commonly held theistic view that God allows hiddenness to secure human goods. In this paper I offer a detailed criticism of Rea’s account of what justifies God in allowing divine hiddenness, arguing that Rea’s response to the argument from divine hiddenness is unsuccessful.
The Feeling of Religious Longing and Passionate Rationality
Authors: Tietjen Ruth Rebecca
Published: March 2017

What is the feeling of religious longing and how, if at all, can religious longing justify religious beliefs? Starting with an analogy between religious longing and basic physical needs and an analogy between religious longing and musical longing, I argue that the feeling of religious longing is characterized by four features: (1) its generality, (2) its indeterminate transcendent object which by its nature is not capable of empirical verification or falsification, (3) its mode of being infinitely interested in passion and (4) its ambiguity with regard to our own power and powerlessness. Religious longing can neither epistemically nor pragmatically justify religious beliefs. If we want to account for the rationality of religious beliefs motivated by religious longing, we have to consider passionate rationality as a third kind of rationality. We wholeheartedly take as true what we experience as a condition of the possibility of (an understandable, meaningful) life.
Two Arguments Against Some Critics of Religion Based on Feeling and Emotion Following William James
Authors: Thörner Katja
Published: March 2017

In this paper I will show that you can distinguish two main types of argumentation in respect to feeling and emotions in the philosophy of religion of William James, which point to two different kind of criticism of religion. Especially in his early works, James argues that you may lawfully adopt religious beliefs on the basis of passional grounds. This argumentation points to a type of criticism of religion, which denies that beliefs based on such emotional grounds may be justified. In his famous study The Varieties of Religious Experience, James defines religious experience as an experience of inner conversion, where the individual gets in touch with a higher self. The philosophical interpretation of religious experience points not at least to a type of criticism of religion in the tradition of Ludwig Feuerbach, which is known as the theory of projection.
Zagzebski on Rationality
Authors: Pritchard Duncan , Ryan Shane
Published: March 2017

This paper examines Linda Zagzebski’s (2012) account of rationality, as set out in her rich, wide-ranging, and important book, Epistemic Authority: A Theory of Trust, Authority, and Autonomy in Belief. We briefly describe the account that she offers and then consider its plausibility. In particular, in the first section we argue that a number of Zagzebski’s claims with regard to rationality require more support than she offers for them. Moreover, in the second section, we contend that far from offering Zagzebski a quick way of dealing with radical scepticism, her account of rationality actually seems to be particularly vulnerable to this problem.
Is an Atheist Unjust? Theism vs. Atheism Debate in the Light of Moral and Epistemic Imperatives
Authors: Wojtysiak Jacek
Published: March 2017

In the article I reconstruct Karol Wojtyła’s argument against atheism. According to Wojtyła, an atheist is unjust because of not rendering absolute honour to God. In my opinion the argument is sound if one applies it to theists or negative atheists (but not to positive atheists) and if one presupposes that there are moral obligations to only supposed persons. The argument meets some objections (amongst others, the problems of multiplying obligations and the inability of an atheist giving honour to God). A discussion of them leads me to an interpretation of the theism-atheism controversy as being the conflict of two imperatives: the imperative of justice and the imperative of evidence.
Atheists' Challenge to Cosmological Arguments
Authors: Clavier Paul
Published: March 2017

In this paper I intend to identify some points of disagreement between theism and atheism. I will try to point out three epistemological clashes occurring in the controversial treatment of cosmological arguments. I am not assessing the arguments pro and contra, which have been thoroughly studied and discussed, but just trying to understand the misunderstanding.
Exploring Processes and Dynamics of Mystical Contemplative Meditation: Some Christian-Buddhist Parallels in Relation to Transpersonal Theory
Authors: Stoeber Michael
Published: March 2017

This paper explores Christian contemplative meditation, focusing on the prayer of Recollection as it is developed especially by Evelyn Underhill (1875-1941) and St. Teresa of Avila (1550-1582). It outlines the practice and explores possible theoretical and therapeutic dynamics, including some comparative reflections of this form of Christian meditation with Buddhist Samatha Vipassanā (calming insight) meditation and Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy. It also draws on the transpersonal theory of philosopher Michael Washburn, in exploring resistances, obstacles, and goals of such mystical practices.
The Logic of Mysticism
Authors: Grimm Stephen
Published: March 2017

I argue that mystical experience essentially involves two aspects: (a) an element of direct encounter with God, and (b) an element of union with God. The framework I use to make sense of (a) is taken largely from William Alston’s magisterial book Perceiving God. While I believe Alston’s view is correct in many essentials, the main problem with the account is that it divorces the idea of encountering or perceiving God from the idea of being united with God. What I argue, on the contrary, is that because our experience of God is an experience of a relationship-seeking, personal being, it brings with it an important element of union that Alston overlooks.
Divine and Human Agency from the Standpoint of Historicalism, Scientism, and Phenomenological Realism
Authors: Taliaferro Charles
Published: March 2017

Phenomenological realism, in the tradition of Dietrich von Hildebrand, is advanced as a promising methodology for a theistic philosophy of divine and human agency. Phenomenological realism is defended in contrast to the practice of historicalism – the view that a philosophy of mind and God should always be done as part of a thoroughgoing history of philosophy, e.g. the use of examples in analytic theology should be subordinated to engaging the work of Kant and other great philosophers. The criticism of theism based on forms of naturalism that give exclusive authority to the physical sciences (or scientism) is criticized from a phenomenological, realist perspective.
Agency Incompatibilism and Divine Agency
Authors: Steward Helen
Published: March 2017

In this paper, I consider whether an argument for compatibilism about free will and determinism might be developed from the thought that God’s agency seems consistent with the rational determination of at least some divine actions by the True and the Good. I attempt to develop such an argument and then consider how to respond to it from the point of view of my own position, which I call Agency Incompatibilism. I argue that a crucial premise in the argument is ambiguous and offer responses to the argument on behalf of the Agency Incompatibilist, on each of the two disambiguations.
Divine Activity
Authors: Schärtl Thomas
Published: March 2017

The paper discusses basic models of divine action and intervention. However, the most part of the article is dedicated to the question whether or not there are theistic reasons to stick to some sort of non-interventionism. Therefore, Schleiermacher’s argument is put under scrutiny and presented in a way that could substantiate some version of non-interventionism. Additionally, the paper explores an argument in favor of non-interventionism coming from a specific notion of divine aseity and self-sufficiency. Ultimately the paper votes for a broader notion of the God-world-relationship alluding to the idea of the world being God’s body.
Special Divine Action and Natural Science
Authors: Tracy Thomas
Published: March 2017

A number of modern theologians have concluded that the rise of natural science makes it necessary to give up the idea that God acts in particular ways to affect the course of events in the world. I reply to this claim, taking up the challenge to explain what might be meant by a ‘special’ act of God. There are several ways to conceive of such acts, including the possibility that God might determine what is left determinable in the structures of nature, e.g., at the quantum level. I address objections to this view, and consider metaphysical puzzles that it presents.
"... in God only one infinite act can be thought ...": The Ambiguity of Divine Agency and the Diversity of Evil
Authors: Dalferth Ingolf U.
Published: March 2017

The paper argues that God does not act but is creative activity, which helps to overcome evil by the possibilities of the good that it opens up for creatures in the face of evil.
Confucianism and Non-human Animal Sacrifice
Authors: Kim Richard T.
Published: March 2017

In this paper, I argue that the use of non-human animals in ritual sacrifices is not necessary for the Confucian tradition. I draw upon resources found within other religious traditions as well as Confucianism concerning carrying out even the most mundane, ordinary actions as expressions of reverence. I argue that this practice of manifesting deep reverence toward God (or deities and ancestors in the case of Confucianism) through simple actions, which I call everyday reverence, reveals a way for Confucians to maintain the deep reverence that is essential for Confucianism, while abandoning the use of non-human animal sacrifice.
Confucian Heaven: Moral Economy and Contingency
Authors: Back Youngsun
Published: March 2017

This paper examines the Confucian concept of tian, conventionally translated into English as “Heaven.” The secondary literature on tian has primarily focused on the question of what tian is: e.g., whether tian is an anthropomorphic deity or a naturalistic force, or whether tian is transcendent or immanent. Instead, this paper locates tian with respect to the ethical life of human beings, and argues that the two conflicting concepts of “moral economy” and “contingency” are main characteristics of tian. This paper further investigates these characteristics in Kongzi’s and Mengzi’s ethical thought: how they conceptualized moral economy and contingency, and how their different conceptualizations shaped their respective ethical programs: Kongzi’s ethics of faith and Mengzi’s ethics of confidence.
For Heaven's Sake: Tian in Daoist Religious Thought
Authors: Littlejohn Ronnie
Published: March 2017

This essay is an overview of the role of Heaven in Daoist religious thought prior to the Tang Dynasty. Lao-Zhuang teachings portray Heaven as helper of the perfected person, who has parted with the human and thereby evinces a heavenly light. The Huainanzi compares possessing Heaven’s Heart to leaning on an unbudgeable pillar and drawing on an inexhaustible storehouse, enabling one to shed mere humanity as a snake discards its skin. The Heguanzi homologizes Heaven and Taiyi and by the Six Dynasties period some Daoist canonical sources give the face of Laojun to Heaven/Taiyi, increasing the anthropomorphization of Heaven.
Jeong Dasan's Interpretation of Mengzi: Heaven, Way, Human Nature, and Human Herat-mind
Authors: Ivanhoe Philip J.
Published: March 2017

This essay offers an introduction to Jeong Yakyong’s (Dasan’s) ethical philosophy as revealed by his commentary on the Mengzi. Following Mengzi, Dasan insisted that the Confucian Way was grounded in the will of Heaven but looked back to early views about the Lord on High and described ethical life in terms of an everyday, natural order decreed by the Lord on High. Not only did he see a wide range of human emotions as indispensable and central to the good life, he also insisted that Heaven and the Way must be understood in terms of their manifestations in this world.
In Defence of the Belief-Plus Model of Faith
Authors: Mugg Joshua
Published: March 2017

I defend the claim that propositional religious faith that p implies belief that p. While this claim might seem trivial, it has been criticized by Alston, Pojman, Audi, and (more recently) McKaughan and Howard-Snyder. I begin by defending this view (call it the belief-plus model of faith) against four objections. In addition to criticizing the belief-plus model, each of the above philosophers have offered their own alternatives to the belief-plus model. I focus on McKaughan’s (2013) recent accounts of faith: ‘trusting acceptance’ and ‘hopeful affirmation’. I argue, following Howard-Snyder, that hopeful affirmation fails to give sufficient conditions for faith. I then argue that there is no reason to think that the token acceptances in faith as trusting acceptance are not instances of belief.
Could God Fail to Exist?
Authors: Rasmussen Joshua
Published: March 2017

I apply developments in modal reasoning to the question of whether God has necessary existence. My larger task is to assess the main reasons to think that God is not a metaphysically necessary being. I consider Hume’s conceivability-based argument, and then I pay attention to more recent arguments, including Swinburne’s neo-Humean argument and the subtraction argument. I show that such arguments face a ‘parity’ problem, since the very reasoning that gets them off the ground also launches parallel arguments for an opposite conclusion. In my closing section, I sketch an argument schema designed to illustrate a new, general strategy for deducing the necessary existence of God by building upon recent modal cosmological arguments.
Erfolg und Kontinuität im beruflichen Lebenslauf. Die Planung des Ruhestands in der späten Lebensmitte einer Kohorte ehemaliger Gymnasiasten
Authors: Meulemann Heiner
Published: March 2017

The more successful an occupational career has been between youth and mid-life, the more strongly an individual is inclined to continue it up to and beyond pension age. This continuity hypothesis is examined in a panel study, where former grammar school students of age 16 are reinterviewed at age 30, 43 and 56. Dependent variables are (1) being currently employed, (2) the importance to continue employment up to pension age, and the intention to continue employment beyond pension age (3) in the previous or (4) in a new occupation. Independent variables are the objective and subjective occupational success and leisure preferences up to age 56, and social origin as well as aspirations at age 16. The probability of being currently employed (1) increases with the objective and subjective occupational success; the intention to continue the occupational career (2-4) increases with the subjective occupational success. The continuity hypothesis is confirmed with qualifications.

Zusammenfassung

Je erfolgreicher die Berufslaufbahn von der Jugend bis zur Lebensmitte, desto eher will man die Berufstätigkeit bis zur und jenseits der Altersgrenze fortsetzen. Diese Kontinuitätshypothese wird im Kölner Gymnasiastenpanel untersucht, das ehemalige Gymnasiasten des 16. Lebensjahrs im 30., 43. und 56. Lebensjahr wiederbefragt. Zielvariablen sind (1) die aktuelle Berufstätigkeit; (2) die Wichtigkeit der Fortsetzung der Berufstätigkeit bis zum Ruhestand; und der Wunsch, danach die Berufstätigkeit (3) im alten oder (4) in einem neuen Beruf fortzusetzen. Prädiktoren sind der objektive und subjektive Berufserfolg und die Freizeitpräferenz bis zum 56. Lebensjahr, die soziale Herkunft und Aspirationen im 16. Lebensjahr. Die Wahrscheinlichkeit der aktuellen Berufstätigkeit (1) steigt mit dem objektiven und subjektiven Berufserfolg; die Neigung zur Fortsetzung der Berufslaufbahn (2-4) wächst allein mit dem subjektiven Berufserfolg. Die Kontinuitätshypothese wird in differenzierter Form bestätigt.
Timing of first birth and well-being in later life
Authors: Engelhardt Henriette , Schreyer Jessica
Published: March 2017

A large body of literature has documented a negative association between early childbearing and well-being in later life. The effects of late parenthood are mixed, due to different social and physiological mechanisms as well as selection processes for the timing of first birth. This article extends the literature by employing propensity score matching to estimate effects of birth timing on life satisfaction net of observed selectivity. A sensitivity analysis using Rosenbaum bounds provides hints on remaining unobserved selectivity. The analysis of data from the German Socio-Economic Panel shows that the timing of first birth has no effect on well-being in later life both for women and men. In the case of the naïve estimator, the negative effects of early births and positive effects of late births for women are caused by selection processes.

Zusammenfassung

In der Forschungsliteratur wird häufig ein negativer Zusammenhang zwischen einem frühen Zeitpunkt der ersten Geburt und dem Wohlbefinden im späteren Leben beobachtet. Die Effekte der späten Elternschaft werden durch eine Mischung aus unterschiedlichen sozialen und physiologischen Mechanismen sowie durch Selektionsprozesse für den Zeitpunkt der ersten Geburt bewirkt. Dieser Artikel erweitert bisherige Befunde durch Anwendung des Propensity Score Matching zur Schätzung der Effekte des Timings der ersten Elternschaft auf die Lebenszufriedenheit unter der Kontrolle beobachteter Selektivität. Durch eine Sensitivitätsanalyse mittels Rosenbaum Bounds werden Hinweise auf verbleibende unbeobachtete Selektivität gegeben. Die Analyse auf Basis der Daten des Sozio-oekonomischen Panels (GSOEP) zeigt, dass der Zeitpunkt der ersten Geburt keinen Einfluss auf das spätere Wohlbefinden von Frauen und Männer hat. Im Falle des naiven Schätzers sind die negativen Effekte früher Geburten und die positiven Effekte später Geburten für Frauen auf Selektionsprozesse zurückzuführen.
Metadata and controlled vocabularies alignment in PHAIDRA international persistent ecosystem
Authors: Subirats Imma , Solodovnik Iryna , Budroni Paolo , Ganguly Raman , Hudak Rastislav
Published: March 2017

This entry presents a research study on semantic interoperability that could be achieved in PHAIDRA International persistent ecosystem with support of aligned metadata and Knowledge Organization Systems. Several approaches from LODE-BD Recommendations and from some modeling and alignment techniques for controlled vocabularies are presented. The implementation of a state-of-the-art open source tool, VocBench, is proposed, to support collaborative development and multi-language concept alignment of controlled vocabularies (COAR and other) using SKOS. To aggregate, centrally manage, monitor and share all necessary information on metadata, vocabularies and mappings implemented in PHAIDRA Ecosystem, the development of PHAIDRA Knowledge Base underpinned by a terminology server is suggested.
Where does the buck stop? Research ethics and publishing
Authors: Pulverer Bernd , Armbruster Chris
Published: March 2017

Issues around research ethics and the reproducibility of research are impacting the credibility of science. Firstly, we look at what is to be understand by research ethics, misconduct, and reproducibility. Next, we examine some examples of fraud, beautification, and failed reproducibility. Next, we address the causes and possible resolutions, culminating in the question whether the scholarly literature is still self-correcting.
Libraries and librarians: Key partners for progress in health literacy research and practice
Authors: Whitney Wanda , Keselman Alla , Humphreys Betsy
Published: March 2017

The field of librarianship has a history of involvement in patient education, general literacy and information literacy efforts. This history and prominent placement in communities make libraries and librarians an excellent resource in advancing health literacy practice and research. This chapter provides an overview of health literacy and health information literacy efforts in U.S. libraries over the past two decades.

The chapter begins with the description of the role of the U.S. National Library of Medicine in developing resources, programs, and partnerships serving health information needs of the public. It then overviews special training programs for increasing librarians’ expertise with health information and health literacy support. The narrative also presents different models of health information outreach programs in diverse communities, focusing on serving special populations that may suffer from health disparities.

The second half of the chapter describes libraries’ and librarians’ health information response to continuously evolving contexts, mediums, and requirements. One subsection describes librarians’ outreach effort with cutting-edge technologies, such as virtual worlds and gaming. Another focuses on supporting patients’ information needs in clinical settings. Two more describe how libraries meet patrons’ health information needs in the context of disaster preparedness and health insurance market place sign-up.

While presenting the information, to the extent possible, the chapter draws upon research and evaluation of the effectiveness of different types of programs. It also discusses enablers of successes, limitations of the existing data, and directions for future research.
Framing interprofessional team collaborative information seeking in health care settings
Authors: Johnson J. David
Published: March 2017

Teams offer the potential of diverse members pooling information in such a way that better decisions are made and actions taken. Accordingly team success often depends on effective information gathering. However, communication difficulties arise from the different frameworks of team members. Understanding the different frames that team members have can improve our understanding of decision making and improve information seeking. Developing an unique common ground framework within which the team can operate becomes one solution for improving collaborative information seeking in interprofessional health care teams that develop diagnoses and treatment plans. Four frameworks, formal, informal, markets, and professional, are particularly important for the operation of these teams which must develop their own, at times unique, approach to developing an internal framework that provides them with a common ground in which they can collaborate in their information seeking.
Ratios of soluble and insoluble dietary fibers on satiety and energy intake in overweight pre- and postmenopausal women
Authors: Burton-Freeman Britt , Liyanage Dhanesh , Rahman Sajida , Edirisinghe Indika
Published: March 2017

BACKGROUND: Fibers’ properties impact different mechanisms involved in satiety and energy intake regulation and metabolic outcomes.

OBJECTIVE: Evaluate the effect of fiber types and menopausal status on satiety and metabolic responses in overweight women.

METHODS: In a randomized within-subjects design, 19 overweight/obese women [9 premenopausal and 10 postmenopausal] consumed 3 preloads that varied by fiber content and source: 1) 3:1 ratio of soluble:insoluble fiber (SF), 2) 1:3 ratio of soluble:insoluble fiber (IF), 3) no fiber control (NFC). Subjective satiety, cholecystokinin (CCK), glucose, insulin, and triglyceride (TG) were measured for 3 h post-preload followed by in-lab ad libitum test meal and 32 hour food intake monitoring.

RESULTS: Significant preload, time and preload by menopausal status interaction was apparent for hunger and fullness ( p < 0.05 for both) with SF preload predominantly more satiating in postmenopausal women. CCK and insulin were significantly lower after SF preload ( p < 0.0001 for both). Post-preload glucose responses differed by menopausal status: postmenopausal women distinguished between fiber types unlike premenopausal women ( p = 0.02). TG was significantly elevated after the IF preload compared to NFC and SF ( p = 0.007 and p = 0.008, respectively).

CONCLUSIONS: Customized/personalized dietary recommendations for women during their premenopausal and postmenopausal years can help maximize metabolic and appetite control.
Management of mixed type congenital mesoblastic nephroma: Case series and review of the literature
Authors: Daniel J. , Ruzic A. , Dalland J. , Miller V. , Hanna M.
Published: March 2017

Congenital mesoblastic nephroma (CMN) is the most common renal tumor of infancy; however, it occurs infrequently with an incidence of 1 : 125,000. The cellular and classical variants are the most common subtypes of tumors, with a mixed variant occurring infrequently. We describe two cases of mixed variant CMN, which presented within days of each other differing in their clinical behavior. The first case followed a typical course, previously described in the literature, while the other deviated significantly. Traditionally, CMN presents as large abdominal mass in the neonatal period associated with a paraneoplastic syndrome, which can result in hypertension or hypercalcemia. Surgical resection is curative in most cases and long-term prognosis is excellent. Hypertension rarely persists after removal of the tumor, but remained in one of our two patients.
Just add water: Accuracy of analysis of diluted human milk samples using mid-infrared spectroscopy
Authors: Smith R.W. , Adamkin D.H. , Farris A. , Radmacher P.G.
Published: March 2017

OBJECTIVE: To determine the maximum dilution of human milk (HM) that yields reliable results for protein, fat and lactose when analyzed by mid-infrared spectroscopy.

STUDY DESIGN: De-identified samples of frozen HM were obtained. Milk was thawed and warmed (40°C) prior to analysis. Undiluted (native) HM was analyzed by mid-infrared spectroscopy for macronutrient composition: total protein (P), fat (F), carbohydrate (C); Energy (E) was calculated from the macronutrient results. Subsequent analyses were done with 1 : 2, 1 : 3, 1 : 5 and 1 : 10 dilutions of each sample with distilled water. Additional samples were sent to a certified lab for external validation.

RESULTS: Quantitatively, F and P showed statistically significant but clinically non-critical differences in 1 : 2 and 1 : 3 dilutions. Differences at higher dilutions were statistically significant and deviated from native values enough to render those dilutions unreliable. External validation studies also showed statistically significant but clinically unimportant differences at 1 : 2 and 1 : 3 dilutions.

CONCLUSIONS: The Calais Human Milk Analyzer can be used with HM samples diluted 1 : 2 and 1 : 3 and return results within 5% of values from undiluted HM. At a 1 : 5 or 1 : 10 dilution, however, results vary as much as 10%, especially with P and F. At the 1 : 2 and 1 : 3 dilutions these differences appear to be insignificant in the context of nutritional management. However, the accuracy and reliability of the 1 : 5 and 1 : 10 dilutions are questionable.
Conjoined twin
Authors: Rahman Sk Masiur , Lailatunnessa - , Khalequzzaman MM , Mohar SM Mamun
Published: March 2017

In the recent past we encountered a pair of newborn who were symmetrically conjoined. We found a 30 years old woman who delivered those conjoined babies by caesarean section at full term. Antenatal ultrasonography at 26 weeks revealed twin pregnancy but no comment regarding conjunction. After delivery, babies were found fuse from upper thorax to umbilical region. Postnatal ultrasonography revealed single liver. Till date many such cases have been reported worldwide but so far no case report has been published in our country. Bang Med J (Khulna) 2016; 49 : 40-42
Perceptions of Medical Practitioner Regarding Adverse Drug Reactions Reporting and Pharmacovigilance
Authors: Nahar Nurun , Khan Md Tafazzal Hossain , Banu Layla Afroza , Khan Md Ismail , Hossain Ahmed Manadir
Published: March 2017

Background: Adverse Drug Reactions (ADRs) are global problem of major concern. Spontaneous reporting of ADRs is the cornerstone of pharmacovigilance. However, underreporting is a huge problem due to lack of reporting culture among healthcare professionals.Objectives: the purpose of the present study was to assess the knowledge, attitude and practice of physicians regarding reporting of ADRs, and pharmacovigilance as well as to identify the reasons for under-reporting with suggestion for improvement in the reporting system.Methodology: This cross sectional, observational study was conducted to assess the knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding adverse drug reaction reporting among physicians working in different level hospitals of Bangladesh. Data were collected from 308 physicians during the period of January to December 2012 using structured questionnaire.Result: Response rate was 97%. Majority of the respondent (95%) felt that ADR reporting is necessary and it is a professional obligation. Inadequate knowledge of reporting mechanism, unavailability of reporting form, complex reporting system, lack of time and inadequate expertise were the main reasons cited for underreporting. Majority of the respondents suggested regular training sessions, strengthening the drug administration department, government law, regular follow up and inclusion of ADR reporting exercise in undergraduate and post graduate curriculum may help to improve the situation.Conclusion: The deficiency of knowledge, attitude and practice of physician regarding ADR reporting need urgent attention on priority basis not only for the success of pharmacovigilance program but also for better clinical management of the patient in general.J Shaheed Suhrawardy Med Coll, June 2014, Vol.6(1); 18-22
An electrophysiological assessment of subclinical lead toxicity in children
Authors: Hassan Mohammad Sayeed , Sonia Sheikh Farjana , Ara Ferdous , Yusuf Md Abdullah , Sharif Ahmad Raihan , Rahman Md Atiqur , Huque Anisul
Published: March 2017

Background: While heavy exposure to inorganic lead is capable of inducing symptomatic neuropathy, subclinical neuropathy due to low level of lead exposure remains to be proved.Objectives: This study was assessed peripheral nerve function in environmental lead exposed primary school children.Methods: Electrophysiological evaluation of peripheral nerve function was done in 17 subclinical lead exposed and 17 non-exposed primary school children in an urban industrial area of Dhaka. Lead exposed children had mean blood lead level (BLL) 20.2 (±5.17) ?gm/ dl. Non-exposed children had BLL 6.2 (±2.82) ?gm/ dl.Results: Electrophysiological evaluation of peripheral nerve function was normal in lead exposed children. Statistical analysis also did not show any significant difference in parameters of nerve function between lead exposed and non-exposed children (p value >0.05).Conclusion: This study did not find any electrophysiological evidence of peripheral nerve dysfunction in the environmental lead exposed children compared to nonexposed.J Shaheed Suhrawardy Med Coll, June 2014, Vol.6(1); 23-26