bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Ethics of Universal Health Insurance
Authors: Rajczi Alex
Published: June 2019

Millions of Americans lack health insurance, and thousands suffer and die every year. Philosophers have argued that an ideal society would avoid these problems by guaranteeing affordable access to health insurance, but what about people’s concerns that a universal health insurance system would be inefficient, create excessive fiscal risk, or impose high taxes and other personal costs? This book examines the ethical issues raised by these objections. It shows that the ethical principles underlying these concerns are legitimate and that they might even justify opposition to poorly designed universal health insurance plans. However, the objections do not undercut the moral case for adopting a well-designed universal health insurance system that improves on the gains made in the Affordable Care Act. Addressing these objections is important because they are philosophically rich and interesting, and since the objections help drive actual disagreements about health policy, responding to them also contributes to the real-world case for universal access to health insurance. Understanding these issues in the health care debate has larger upshots as well. It leads us to a deeper understanding of progressive and conservative views on distributive justice, and it provides a framework for analyzing debates about any part of the social safety net—in America and elsewhere.
Introduction
Authors: Rajczi Alex
Published: June 2019

Most Americans see the need for a national health policy that guarantees reasonable access to health insurance for all citizens, but some worry that a universal health insurance system would be inefficient, create excessive fiscal risk, or demand too much of them, either by increasing their taxes or by rendering their own health insurance unaffordable. After describing these three objections and the role they play in health care debates, the introduction outlines the contents of each chapter. It concludes with some remarks about how data will be handled in the book’s later chapters.
The Ethical Issues Raised in Health Care Debates
Authors: Rajczi Alex
Published: June 2019

This book will ask whether universal health insurance systems are objectionable on the ground that they are inefficacious, fiscally risky, or require that individuals bear excessive personal costs. These issues are of serious philosophical interest, but there is also substantial evidence that opinions about fiscal risk, efficacy, and personal cost drive many Americans’ actual views on health care. This chapter surveys the polling data about these issues. The end of the chapter discusses the limitations of this evidence as well as alternative hypotheses about the drivers of the health care debate.
Personal Cost
Authors: Rajczi Alex
Published: June 2019

Some people object to social minimum programs, including certain health care programs, because they believe the programs impose excessive taxes and other personal costs on those who fund them. This chapter argues that the most plausible philosophical reconstruction of this objection would rely on a personal cost principle which says that, in general, the proper level of the social minimum is at least partly a function of whether the benefits provided by the social minimum programs outweigh the costs, when judged on a scale that assigns disproportionate weight to those who bear the costs. It is argued that the personal cost principle can find a place within several plausible theories of justice, and that, in addition, the benefits of a well-designed universal health insurance system outweigh its costs.
The Case for Universal Health Insurance
Authors: Rajczi Alex
Published: June 2019

The previous chapters have examined three significant objections to universal health insurance—objections focused on fiscal risk, efficacy, and personal cost. This chapter synthesizes the responses to those concerns, revealing that they fit together into a single, coherent outlook on the ethics of health care. It is argued that in light of the considerations offered in previous chapters, the Affordable Care Act is problematic—deserving of support only in the face of inferior alternatives. In contrast, there are no similar problems with well-designed single-payer or regulated-market systems. The chapter concludes with some reflections on the next steps in a complete case for universal health insurance.
The Peace Congress of Münster and Osnabrück (1643–1648) and the Westphalian Order (1648–1806)
Authors: Milton Patrick , Axworthy Michael , Simms Brendan
Published: June 2019

This chapter focuses on the Peace of Westphalia, a result of the first multilateral peace congress, which ended most of the numerous sets of conflict constituting the Thirty Years War (the Franco-Spanish war continued and renewed war in the Baltic erupted in the later 1650s). An explanation of why it took so long to end the war and to achieve peace is proffered. The aftermath of Westphalia will also be discussed, including the successful application of its mutual guarantee clauses as a system of collective security for central Europe.
Looma Dhama
Authors: Menkhaus Ken , Adawe Ismahan
Published: June 2019

The civil war in Somalia has severely affected the diversity of Somalia's cities. Having once been inclusive, they became dominated by certain clans, causing some groups to feel excluded from rights, resources, power, or political life. This chapter explores the role of inclusivity in Somali elite bargains and political settlements, and how inclusivity — treated as a universal concept in the peace-building literature — may need to be contextualized in the Somali setting to fully appreciate its importance in Somali discourse and politics. The chapter considers the question of ethnic or clan inclusion/exclusion, while recognizing that there are many other types of exclusion, most notably along gender lines, that merit attention. Specifically, it focuses on inclusion and exclusion with regard to rights and access to resources and security in major Somali cities.
Governing Endemic Crises
Authors: Bakonyi Jutta
Published: June 2019

This chapter builds on interviews with Somali migrants in Kenya. It explores how Somali citizens evaluate attempts to establish political authority in Somalia, and what aspects of these attempts they consider as legitimate. Against the context of ‘endemic crisis’ and normalized insecurity, the ability of a political body to provide physical security was given priority by all citizens. The enhancement of security was linked to mobility, and the ruling bodies were evaluated primarily with respect to their ability to facilitate ‘free’ movement of people and goods (spatial mobility), to enable the restoration of trade routes and economic infrastructure (economic mobility), and to allow for the establishment of social and political networks across clan and administrative boundaries (social mobility). The experience of restricted mobility and enforced immobility contributed to the de-legitimization of a governing authority.
Supporting Local Reconciliation
Authors: Day Adam
Published: June 2019

This chapter offers lessons from a wide variety of UN engagements in local conflict settings. Although UN missions are generally tasked to respond to national and regional crises, these are often intimately linked with local conflicts and/or centre-periphery relations between the state and its people. In fact, there is strong evidence showing that local dynamics are both a product of and contributing factor to the national political trajectory of conflict-affected countries. The chapter examines how the UN has engaged in widely differing forms of local conflict management efforts; draws lessons from past attempts to link national and local processes; and offers specific recommendations for the UN's efforts to support conflict management at the local level in Somalia.
Exploitation of Natural Resources as a Driver of Conflict
Authors: Omer Mohamed Abdi , Hersi Mohamed Farah
Published: June 2019

Local conflicts in Somalia have many sources, and the extraction of natural resources carries a risk of igniting new conflict or exacerbating old feuds. This chapter considers the case of a mining concession granted by authorities to a Chinese company for the extraction of beryllium at a site in the Awdal region of Somaliland. This has generated strong objections from communities that believe they will be deprived of the economic and employment benefits of the mine; pastoralists who have concerns about the mine's ecological impact; artisan miners who fear they may be put out of work; and local government, which feels it has been cut out of the arrangement. The concession has also catalysed inter-clan conflict about the potential beneficiaries. The case underscores the need for clear thinking about laws and policies relating to resource exploitation, in order to maximize the potential benefits for communities and minimize the likelihood of conflict.
Traditional Peacemaking in Sanaag Region, Somaliland
Authors: Odowa Abdullahi
Published: June 2019

This chapter describes the role of traditional peacemaking in the Sanaag region of Somaliland. The civil war in Somaliland spawned devastating inter‐ and intra-clan violence and political power struggles which caused the death and displacement of thousands. Over several years, peace initiatives were led by clan elders and community leaders, using xeer. The initiatives were largely successful because of the political will to make them succeed and the spirit of reconciliation; the way they worked upwards from grassroots level, and the fact that they were locally funded, with minimal government interference. However, there has been inadequate implementation of agreements, insufficient memorialization of victims, and lack of fair and effective governance. It is argued that local reconciliation processes are fragile and therefore vulnerable to external intervention. They must be locally owned, free from fixed agendas or deadlines, and work from the bottom up.
The Sharia Courts of Mogadishu
Authors: Ibrahim Ahmed Sh.
Published: June 2019

This chapter considers whether there are lessons to be learned from the experience of the Sharia courts of Mogadishu that are relevant to peace and reconciliation in Somalia. These courts emerged in 1992 in response to the collapse of the state. It argues the Sharia courts succeeded where others failed because they simultaneously built on known cultural and religious norms, authorities, and practices, while at the same time pragmatically responding to the demands of the moment. Two of the most important lessons from the experience of the courts are: (a) justice in Somalia is inseparable from practices and discourses associated with the Sharia; and (b) it is hard to establish legitimate political authority if the political space and political leaders are viewed by local people to contradict and counteract the norms of the Sharia.
Amisom
Authors: Mushtaq Najum
Published: June 2019

This chapter presents a brief review of the African Union Mission in Somalia's (AMISOM) origins, growth, and performance from a Somali peace-building and conflict transformation perspective. It also draws lessons for future international security cooperation as spelt out in the May 2017 New Partnership for Somalia. Employing a comparative contextual analysis approach, the chapter takes stock of AMISOM's intervention against some key objectives listed in its mandate and seeks to answer the question of how the conflict landscape in south-central Somalia has changed since the deployment of AMISOM. It asks whether AMISOM's multi-pronged strategy of complementing the dominant military approaches with support to the Federal Government of Somalia in reconciliation, dialogue, and peace-building has been successful. The chapter also examines AMISOM's military and non-military measures to catalyse progress towards the objective for which this mission was set in motion in 2007.
Launching Reconciliation in Somalia
Authors: Gundel Joakim
Published: June 2019

This chapter argues that a reconciliation process is key to strengthening the Somali state. Reconciliation has persistently been omitted from past peace processes, and has essentially been replaced by power-sharing arrangements, neglecting the interests and grievances of the Somali population. The continuance of violence in Somalia's regions and within the capital itself shows that there is a serious need for reconciliation. The first step in a reconciliation process would be to bring Somalis together to determine the way in which key issues are addressed, which is likely to involve forgiveness or truth and justice. Beyond this, the agenda of the reconciliation process can be derived from bottom-up, participatory action research methodologies in order to identify grievances and the principles for their resolution.
State-Building and Peacebuilding in Somalia
Authors: Paffenholz Thania , Dijkstra Constance , Hirblinger Andreas
Published: June 2019

This chapter provides insights on pertinent issues for Somalia's state-building process by examining how other countries have experienced state-building and peace-building, with a particular focus on the inclusion and exclusion of certain actors. The aim is to help policymakers make more informed decisions and avoid mistakes that have been generated in other contexts. The chapter focuses on four key themes that are relevant to the context of Somalia: the role of extremist armed groups, the influence of elites, the devolution of power, and the constitution-drafting processes. It is shown that the peace-building and state-building processes of Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mali, and Yemen are of particular relevance for Somalia.
Between a Rock and a Hard Place
Authors: El-Bushra Judy , Gardner Judith , Abokor Adan
Published: June 2019

This chapter discusses the results of a study on the experience of young men in Somalia, who are the predominant perpetrators and victims of violence. Somali men face high expectations: they are to protect the well-being of the family, kinship group, and clan, and, among other things, demonstrate self-discipline, courage, humanity, and generosity. They are exploited by older elites and are under pressure to support their clan or sub-clan, sometimes by taking up arms. They often face daily physical insecurity, although levels of vulnerability are often tied to class or ethnic background. While young men are often judged by negative stereotypes or perceived as security threats, the chapter suggests that in fact they weigh risks, seek to live by moral values, strive for an education, and try to fulfil family responsibilities by generating an honest income.
Why They Fight and why They Quit
Authors: Barrett Richard
Published: June 2019

This chapter considers the issue of why fighters join Al-Shabaab and why they quit, based on an analysis of over 100 interviews with individuals currently and previously in the group. It concludes that a majority seek a sense of belonging and purpose, influenced by Al-Shabaab's claim to be acting in defence of Islam. Younger members are attracted by the opportunity for adventure, prospects of economic security, and because of the encouragement of friends who have already joined. Fighters often leave because life in the group, and the treatment of its members, are harsher than expected, or they find that the group does not abide by its religious principles, especially in its brutality and use of arbitrary detentions. Interestingly, six Al-Shabaab leaders interviewed suggested that the group was fighting a political rather than ideological battle, and that its members had little interest in Al-Qaida's global agenda.
Youth Radicalization
Authors: Ali Hussein Yusuf
Published: June 2019

Radicalization is undermining Somalia's peace, stability, and development prospects. Religious extremism has also become a major security concern for the region and for the world. This chapter evaluates causes, drivers, and contributing factors of radicalization in Somalia. It also assesses the strategies adopted to deal with Al-Shabaab as well as other feasible options to address the issue of radicalization. There are currently over 20,000 UN-mandated forces with the African Union Mission in Somalia forces in the country battling with Al-Shabaab, and US military forces are also engaged in aerial attacks and at times special forces raids. Despite such combined efforts, Al-Shabaab endures as a strong force, unleashes devastating terror acts, and is poised to remain potent unless effective strategies are adopted.
Rivals in Governance
Authors: Marchal Roland
Published: June 2019

This chapter discusses what Al-Shabaab delivers in the areas it controls. It focuses on three main sectors: preaching and education, organizing civil society, and justice. Al-Shabaab uses religion to enhance its legitimacy and as a means of social control. The group promotes religious education in Quranic schools, and exalts dogmatism and righteousness, which undermines tolerance and open-mindedness. On taking control of a community, Al-Shabaab will declare that Sharia, rather than xeer, will be applied. It therefore tends to disempower elders, while sometimes promoting and manipulating the role of other groups such as women, teenagers, and traders. The group enforces harsh rules of behaviour, but they are predictable. It also establishes courts that are generally considered to be non-corrupt and whose judgements are enforced.
Can Al-Shabaab Deliver?
Authors: Barrett Richard
Published: June 2019

This chapter considers the origins of Al-Shabaab and the gap between its rhetoric and practice. Despite its globalist agenda, reinforced by its allegiance to Al-Qaida, Al-Shabaab is at its core an ethnic movement with its focus on Somalia. As such, it can only survive, let alone expand, by offering better security, better prospects, and better governance than the structures established by the Federal Government of Somalia (FGS). Currently, however, the FGS is dominant and Al-Shabaab does not look like a viable alternative. To stem its decline, Al-Shabaab has appealed to Somalis as Muslims to support its role in the global campaign against ‘Western aggression’, while mounting attacks inside the country to undermine any appearance of growing stability, and attacking outside the country to dissuade Somalia's regional allies from continuing their support.
Is Anybody Listening?
Authors: Mary Harrper
Published: June 2019

Since Al-Shabaab's inception more than a decade ago, communications have played a central role in its strategy. The group has stated that the ‘media battle’ is one of the most important elements of its campaign. This chapter examines the communications strategies and techniques of Al-Shabaab and other parties, and analyses how this information is received and what kind of impact it makes. Interviews with a broad range of individuals showed that many consider Al-Shabaab's messaging more compelling than Federal Government of Somalia and international counter-messaging. The group produces high-quality media products; targets local, national, and international journalists; and is rigorous and persistent. However, Al-Shabaab threatens journalists who do not do its bidding, produces highly distorted stories, and projects power and success for a vast number of Somali websites, many of which are unreliable.
Al-Qaida and Al-Shabaab
Authors: Bacon Tricia , Muibu Daisy
Published: June 2019

This chapter focuses on the alliance between Al-Qaida and Al-Shabaab. Although cooperation between the groups is limited and irregular, the relationship has proven durable despite the loss of leaders on both sides and the emergence of Islamic State in northeast Somalia. The resilience of the relationship is attributed to several factors: Al-Shabaab's links to Al-Qaida's affiliate in Yemen, which may have enhanced Al-Shabaab's military expertise; Al-Qaida's ability to help Al-Shabaab with raising funds; Al-Shabaab's oath of allegiance or bayah to Al-Qaida; and the trust and predictability of the alliance, reinforced by ideological and personal ties between some leaders. The relationship is used by Al-Shabaab leaders to justify measures to enforce unity, control its rank and file, and avoid defections to Islamic State. The relationship is also flexible, giving Al-Shabaab leaders access to assistance and jihadi prestige, while retaining a high degree of autonomy.
Negotiations with Al-Shabaab
Authors: Toros Harmonie , Harley Stephen
Published: June 2019

This chapter examines the potential for talks with Al-Shabaab, identifies potential facilitators and spoilers, and highlights lessons to be learned from past dialogues with Al-Shabaab. Three main conclusions are reached. First, many Somali and international parties agree that there exists some degree of common ground between the Federal Government of Somalia (FGS) and Al-Shabaab. Second, while Somali elders, business leaders, and Muslim-majority countries have been identified as potential facilitators or initiators of a dialogue with Al-Shabaab, such talks require at least non-opposition from key factions in the FGS and Al-Shabaab and more broadly from powerful regional powers who have rejected past agreements. Third, FGS and international actors need to decide whether they want to maintain their focus on facilitating and promoting defections from Al-Shabaab or explore the possibility of comprehensive talks with Al-Shabaab aimed at bringing in the entire armed group.
Business-Led Peacebuilding in Somalia
Authors: Kazmi Bahar Ali , Loyaan Faisa Abdi
Published: June 2019

This chapter assesses the potential of Somali businesses to engage in the peace and reconciliation process in Somalia. It is widely acknowledged that businesses in Somalia do not always act in a way that supports peace and reconciliation. Some politico-business networks prioritize their own interests rather than those of the state or the population. Businesses use militias and pay protection money to Al-Shabaab. However, businesses are forced to operate in very difficult circumstances, with pervasive insecurity, weak institutions, and limited rule of law. Many business leaders also see themselves as apolitical and socially responsible. The chapter describes how businesses contribute to employment, seek to expand skills and education, and are sometimes involved in providing social assistance. It argues that there is considerable potential for businesses to contribute to peace and reconciliation, as well as development, through greater cooperation with Somalia civil society.
Christian Character Formation
Authors: Grobien Gifford A.
Published: June 2019

This work investigates worship and formation in view of Christian anthropology, particularly union with Christ. Traditions which value justification by faith wrestle to some degree with how to describe and encourage ethical formation when salvation and righteousness are presented as gracious and complete. The dialectic of law and gospel has suggested to some that forgiveness and the advocacy of ethical norms contend with each other. By viewing justification and formation in light of Christ’s righteousness which is both imputed and imparted, it is more readily seen that forgiveness and ethics complement each other. In justification, God converts a person, by which he grants new character. Traditional Lutheran anthropology says that this regeneration grants a new nature in mystical union with Jesus Christ. Considering Oswald Bayer’s “suffering” the word of Christ, Louis-Marie Chauvet’s “symbolic order” and Bernd Wannenwetsch’s understanding of worship as Christianity’s unique “form of life,” Grobien argues that worship practices are the foundational and determinative context in which grace is offered and in which the distinctively Christian ethos supports virtues consistent with Christian character. This understanding is also coordinated with Stanley Hauerwas’s narrative ethics and Luther’s teaching of virtue and good works in view of the Ten Commandments.
Christian Virtue and “Meta-virtues”
Authors: Grobien Gifford A.
Published: June 2019

The new character of the life in union with Christ and formed in the worship of the Church nourishes the fundamental virtues of faith and love. Having established the theological underpinnings of the Christian character and the community setting in which it comes into existence and grows, this chapter considers the virtues of this Christian character and argues for a particular understanding of virtue in view of Luther’s teaching on virtue and good works. Although Luther’s criticism of Aristotelian philosophy was so strong that he rarely even used the term “virtue,” he speaks of “good works” as inclinations that grow out of faith and love. Faith inclines a person toward worship, thanks, and praise of God. Love inclines Christians to see themselves in the place of their neighbors in accordance with the Golden Rule and to act according to the neighbor’s benefit.
Introduction
Authors: Davies Michael , Dunan-Page Anne , Halcomb Joel
Published: June 2019

This chapter introduces Church Life: Pastors, Congregations, and the Experience of Dissent in Seventeenth-Century England. It addresses the rationale behind this volume, explains its structure, and summarizes its contents. It explores in detail the key terms of the book’s title: ‘church’, ‘church life’, and the ‘experience of Dissent’. It does so by reflecting initially on the election of the preacher and writer John Bunyan as pastor to the Congregational meeting at Bedford in order to demonstrate something of the rich and complex nature of ‘gathered’ church life as experienced by many Protestant Dissenters throughout the seventeenth century. This chapter also considers what the ‘experience of Dissent’ encompasses, shifting the traditional focus of enquiry beyond the individual believer and the ‘experience’ of religious conversion and its narratives to the more collective concerns of a communally-centred and mutually-shared experience of Dissenting church life as captured especially in manuscript church books and records.
Godly Pastors and their Congregations in Mid-Seventeenth-Century London
Authors: Vernon Elliot
Published: June 2019

This chapter examines the relationship between pastor and congregation in the London parishes during the Interregnum. It addresses how godly ministers, called on by Parliament at the outbreak of the Civil War to reform parochial discipline and prevent the ‘promiscuous multitude’ from polluting the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper in England’s parish churches, negotiated issues of authority, changes to worship and liturgy, and the already contentious issues of patronage and finance. These factors forced ministers to look to the lay leaders of the parish, whether as elders or vestrymen, making them subject to factional struggles within the church life of the parish community. This chapter assesses the establishment and operation of Presbyterianism in London’s parishes during the 1640s and 1650s, as well as the practical difficulties, economic and administrative, that godly pastors experienced at the parochial level as a result of the dismantling of the Church of England.
‘Letting a Room in London-House’
Authors: Lynch Kathleen
Published: June 2019

This chapter considers Reasons Humbly Offered in Justification [ … ] of Letting a Room in London-House unto Certain Peaceable Christians, Called Anabaptists (?1647). Written by a Presbyterian elder, possibly Richard Coysh, this anonymous tract defends the decision to rent a room in the Bishop of London’s palace to Baptists led by Henry Jessey and William Kiffin. It signals a key moment in the formation of religious identities and allegiances during the English Revolution, when the disestablishment of the Church of England made available ‘waste’ rooms for Dissenters to occupy, even within the grounds of St. Paul’s Cathedral. This chapter brings into focus some unexpected causes and consequences for religious toleration in seventeenth-century London, and considers afresh the jurisdictions and protective authorities as well as the architectural forms and features of an urban landscape that affected Dissenting ‘church life’ and its accommodation in a time of ecclesiastical renewal, contest, experimentation, and opportunism.
God’s Physicians
Authors: Dixhoorn Chad Van
Published: June 2019

In accordance with its mandate from Parliament, the one hundred and twenty pastors brought together by the Westminster Assembly discussed doctrinal, disciplinary, and liturgical matters. Inevitably members of the gathering also found frequent occasion to disagree about best pastoral practice for parishioners struggling with sin, sickness, and ignorance. This chapter uses the viewpoints and arguments of Assembly members in a case study of seventeenth-century ideals regarding the pastor as godly shepherd and physician. Naturally the debates of a ten-year synod may not offer the best sampling of real-life pastoral perspectives. Thus this chapter sources its materials not only from the minutes of the Assembly but also from the personal papers and published works of its individual members. What emerges is a rich yet reliable picture of the range of perspectives on congregational care that obtained at the Westminster Assembly during some of the most critical years of the mid seventeenth century.
The Freedom of Association and Ecclesiastical Independence
Authors: Ha Polly
Published: June 2019

Associational freedom played a key role in reconfiguring ecclesiastical and political thought during the Interregnum. This chapter explores how Puritan Independents such as Henry Jacob and John Goodwin advanced arguments for the freedom of association by claiming a dual freedom to exit from true churches and to join or even to establish new formal ecclesiastical societies. During the English Revolution some Independents began to assert more controversial claims for the freedom to exclude others from their churches, over matters such as paedobaptism, for example. These ecclesiastical positions resonated with wider debates over institutional legitimacy during the 1640s and 1650s and also with changing views on the bonds of society and the limits of individual liberty at a time when England’s most revolutionary experiments with both popular government and godly forms of church life were being undertaken.
The Reformed Pastor as Nonconformist
Authors: Keeble N. H.
Published: June 2019

This chapter examines the complexities and tensions of Richard Baxter’s pastoral and ecclesiastical thought and practice after 1662 when, an unwilling Nonconformist, he continued to work for a less prescriptive and more inclusive national episcopal church that might accommodate the greater part of Nonconformist opinion. While he could not be a member of a church re-established by the Act of Uniformity on exclusive lines, no more would he separate from it or promote a permanent schism in the religious life of the nation by ministering to a separatist gathered church. This non-partisan Baxterian middle way, or ‘mere Christianity’, and particularly his practice of occasional communion with parish churches, was attacked by both Nonconformists and conformists, but Baxter’s commitment to church unity never wavered. For the last thirty years of his life, only through writing could the author of the classic The Reformed Pastor (1656) exercise his pastoral vocation.
‘Not Keeping One’s Place in the Church’
Authors: Dunan-Page Anne
Published: June 2019

This chapter examines the issue of absenteeism in seventeenth- and early eighteenth-century gathered churches through their manuscript church records. Absenteeism was the offence most frequently cited in disciplinary meetings, yet some members who were censured for absence were active supporters of their churches in other ways. This chapter focuses on those members who were never under a sentence of excommunication but who had ceased to be involved in church life and to take communion. It examines the question of Dissenting identity through lay participation, the reasons why men and women ceased to come to church, and what prompted them to seek reconciliation, sometimes decades after their first admission. Evidence is taken from manuscript church records belonging to Congregational, Particular Baptist, and General Baptist churches, spanning the period c.1640 to c.1714.
A quieter life
Authors: Grosjean François
Published: June 2019

The author’s illness encouraged him to take early retirement and to close down his laboratory. He then took up writing books and rebuilt his health this way. He wrote both academic books, starting with Studying Bilinguals with Oxford University Press, as well as books for the general public. He had kept in mind the fact that when he was a student at the University of Paris many years before, he looked for a book on bilingualism but found only scholarly works. As part of his wish to nurture bilingualism, he started a blog, “Life as a bilingual”, on Psychology Today which has been visited by some 1.7 million readers.
The Many Deaths of Peter and Paul
Authors: Eastman David L.
Published: June 2019

There was never a single story about the deaths of Peter and Paul, and attempts to create a master, seamless narrative of either death or both deaths misrepresent the ancient evidence. From the earliest literary accounts, authors told the stories differently based upon the needs of their own contexts. This volume examines major narrative elements of the martyrdom accounts and explores the variety concerning whether the apostles died separately or together, why they died, when they died, where they died, and what happened to their bodies after their deaths. It also explores divergent presentations of Peter and Paul themselves and of their primary adversaries, the antichrist figures Nero and Simon Magus. The study treats the various martyrdom accounts as products of social memory and thus attempts to explain why the different accounts present the purported same events so differently.
Justifying Death
Authors: Eastman David L.
Published: June 2019

There was no single tradition about the deaths of Peter and Paul. Instead, there existed a cluster of traditions with some overlap on basic points, but much variety on other details. This chapter explores the explanations for the apostles’ deaths. In some sources Peter rouses the ire of the emperor through his preaching on chastity (Acts of Peter), while Paul is viewed as a political revolutionary (Acts of Paul). However, other, typically later authors emphasize the joint martyrdom tradition and link their deaths to the conflict with Simon Magus. This chapter analyzes texts reflecting each explanation and demonstrates that none can be read at face value, because each is a product of its particular social and political context.
Biogeochemical Cycles and Climate
Authors: Dolman Han
Published: June 2019

This book describes the interaction of the main biogeochemical cycles of the Earth and the physics of climate. It takes the perspective of Earth as an integrated system and provides examples of both changes in the current climate and those in the geological past. The first three chapters offer a general introduction to the context of the book, outlining the climate system as a complex interplay between biogeochemistry and physics and describing the tools available for understanding climate: observations and models. These chapters describe the basics of the system, the rates and magnitudes and the crucial aspects of biogeochemical cycles needed to understand their functioning. The second part of the book consists of four chapters that describe the physics required to understand the interaction of the climate with biogeochemistry and change. These chapters describe the physics of radiation, and that of the atmosphere, ocean circulation and thermodynamics. The interaction of aerosols with radiation and clouds is addressed in an additional chapter. The third part of the book deals with Earth’s (bio)geochemical cycles. These chapters focus on the stocks and fluxes of the main reservoirs of Earth’s biogeochemical cycles—atmosphere, land and ocean—and their role in the cycles of carbon, oxygen, nitrogen, iron, phosphorus, oxygen, sulphur and water, as well as their interactions with climate. The final two chapters describe possible mitigation and adaptation actions, in relation to recent climate agreements, but always with an emphasis on the biogeochemical aspects.
Aerosols and Climate
Authors: Dolman Han
Published: June 2019

The chapter describes the important role aerosols may have played in the past and are still playing in today’s climate, discussing aerosol distribution, aerosol–climate interaction, aerosol–radiation interaction, aerosol–cloud interaction and aerosol–surface interaction. The biogeochemical aspects are illustrated using the CLAW hypothesis about feedback of dimethylsulphide on climate, and the role that volatile organic carbons may play in shaping today’s climate. Aerosol sources and sinks are shown and it is clear that a substantial part today originates from humans. The aerosols may interact with radiation through scattering and absorption and with clouds to change the availability of cloud condensation nuclei. The basic physics of these interactions are described. The role of volcanic explosions and dust is elucidated and, particularly, the role of dust and associated iron in glacial–interglacial transitions is discussed.
Physics and Dynamics of the Oceans
Authors: Dolman Han
Published: June 2019

This chapter focuses on the physics and dynamics of the ocean. It describes the variability of salinity and surface temperature, as well as the vertical temperature structure of the ocean, with the thermocline separating the variable top layer from the deeper ocean. It then describes the key forces in the ocean, as well as the geostrophic balance due to the Coriolis force and density differences. It derives the equations for the change of velocity with depth, the Ekman flow. Barotropic flow and baroclinic flow are elucidated and the general circulation of the ocean, with gyres and the effect of vorticity on their structure, is shown. The thermohaline circulation of the ocean with surface flow and returning deep ocean flows is described. Next, a simple model is used to show how salinity interacts with the thermohaline flow. Finally, as an example of ocean–land interaction, the El Niño phenomenon is described.
The Carbon Cycle
Authors: Dolman Han
Published: June 2019

The chapter first shows carbon dioxide variability over long geological timescales. The current stocks and fluxes of carbon are then given, for the whole planet and for the atmosphere, ocean and land separately. The main flows of carbon in the ocean, through the biological pump (via uptake through photosynthesis) and the physical pump (via involving chemical transformation uptake in water and production of carbonate), and on land, through photosynthesis (Gross Primary Production) and respiration leading to Net Primary Production, Net Ecosystem Production and Net Biome Production and through the storage of carbon in biomass, are described. Next, carbon interactions during the Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum and glacial–interglacial transitions, thought to involve changes in ocean circulation and upwelling, are examined. The key changes from anthropogenic perturbation of the natural carbon cycle are shown to be due to fossil fuel burning and land-use change (deforestation). The effects of the carbon–climate feedback on temperature and carbon stocks are also shown.
The Nitrogen Cycle and Climate
Authors: Dolman Han
Published: June 2019

The nitrogen cycle is described, together with its denitrification and nitrification processes, including the Anammox process. The importance of human intervention through the Haber–Bosch process is shown by identifying the tremendous growth of agricultural food production for a growing world population. The processes of emission of nitrous oxide from the ocean and land are described. The role of reactive nitrogen in cascading through land water into the ocean, where it provides eutrophication in coastal areas, is also described, as is the role of nitrogen in aerosol formation. The geological record of nitrogen cycling is then discussed in relation to Earth’s oxygenation. The impact of nitrogen on the carbon cycle is also discussed.
Epigenetics and twin studies:
Authors: van Dongen Jenny , Boomsma Dorret I
Published: June 2019

Throughout life, human traits are characterized by variability: they show variation between people and within persons over a time period. Such variation between and within persons can be related to genotype or environment and can be examined in studies of mono- and dizygotic twins. Increasingly, twins are also studied to examine variation at the molecular level, including variation in epigenetic mechanisms, such as DNA methylation. These mechanisms regulate how the DNA code is used in cells and are increasingly recognized as important contributors to phenotypic differences. In the brain, epigenetic mechanisms are crucial to development and synaptic plasticity, and are probably at the molecular basis of processes such as learning and memory. Epigenetic mechanisms represent a biological path through which environment and DNA-sequence variants may exert their effects on complex traits. When studying epigenetic mechanisms in human traits and understanding the sources of epigenetic variation twin-based research offers exceptional opportunities. This chapter describes epigenetic mechanisms and the value of twin research, with a focus on DNA methylation and traits related to cognitive and mental health.
Gene–environment interactions in animal models of depression and anxiety
Authors: Felice Daniela , Gururajan Anand , O’Leary Olivia F , Cryan John F
Published: June 2019

Depression and anxiety disorders cause the greatest global disability in terms of impact on the individual, family, and society at large. The etiology of these disorders is multifactorial and includes complex interactions between genetic and environmental risk factors. This chapter reviews preclinical studies assessing the importance of gene–environment (G×E) interaction. Specifically, we focus on G×E studies assessing the roles of the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis, serotonergic system, GABAergic system, and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) system. Finally, novel candidate target genes for the treatment of depression and anxiety disorders are considered.
Methods and theoretical approaches:
Authors: St Pierre Celine L , Sharif Kayvon , Funsten Emily , Palmer Abraham A , Parker Clarissa C
Published: June 2019

Anxiety, depression, and stress-related disorders are complex neurobehavioral diseases with a partially heritable genetic basis. This chapter explores how the appropriate use of rodent models can illuminate the neurobiological underpinnings of these disorders. Because these psychiatric disorders are uniquely human, rodent models typically model individual components rather than trying to recapitulate the disease itself. This chapter considers how both intermediate phenotypes and rodent models fit into this framework. Integrating these two concepts can be bidirectional: studying intermediate phenotypes in rodent models may lead to identifying risk genes that are present in humans, or human studies may uncover genetic variants linked to intermediate phenotypes and subsequent experiments in rodents may be employed to examine the causal mechanisms. This dynamic interplay is explored throughout the chapter.
Missing heritability in studies of trait anxiety and amygdala function:
Authors: Canli Turhan
Published: June 2019

Ask any parent how early they could discern the temperament of their child, or when they noticed differences in temperament among their children, and the answer is likely to be: “almost immediately.” Anecdotally, personality traits are present from the first days of life and remain relatively stable throughout its course, suggesting a strong biological basis for these predispositions. Behavioral geneticists have quantified the heritability of personality traits, and molecular studies have eagerly sought to discover their associated genes. Curiously, the anticipated bonanza of gene discoveries has not materialized: heritability has gone missing. This chapter discusses the view on missing heritability and argues that current approaches have fallen short of expectations. Four ways in which missing heritability may be hiding in plain sight are presented. The chapter concludes by highlighting future directions for research that will hopefully find what has been missing thus far from our understanding of genes, brains, and behavioral traits.
Electrocortical endophenotypes of anxiety
Authors: Mueller Erik M
Published: June 2019

Individual differences in dispositional anxiety and risk for anxiety disorders are heritable. Because robust direct associations between single gene variants and complex anxiety-related phenotypes remain sparse, it is important to identify brain “endophenotypes” that mediate the relationship between genotypes and dispositional anxiety. Due to its high temporal resolution, electroencephalography (EEG) is an ideal non-invasive tool to study individual differences in basic fear and anxiety-related neural processes, which often occur within few hundred milliseconds after threat signals appear. In this chapter, putative anxiety-related EEG markers are presented including the C1, P100, N1, N170, NoGo-N2, P300, Late Positive Potential, Feedback-Related Negativity, Error-Related Negativity, frontal midline theta, and N300H brain–heart-coupling components. For each marker, heritability estimates and/or tentative associations with single gene variants are presented and discussed. While individual differences in anxiety-related EEG activity seem genetically influenced, more replication studies are needed to confirm specific links between gene variants and anxiety-related EEG markers.
Genetic effects on peripheral psychophysiological measures of emotion processing
Authors: Conzelmann Annette , Pauli Paul , Prehn-Kristensen Alexander , Renner Tobias
Published: June 2019

This chapter gives an overview of genetic effects on two peripheral psychophysiological measures of emotion processing in humans: the startle reflex and electrodermal activity. The affect modulation of the startle reflex is an indicator of the valence dimension of emotion processing, whereas electrodermal activity (skin conductance level and responses) reflects the arousal dimension of emotion processing. Both measures have shown potential in studies of genetic effects on emotion processing, considering that they are less susceptible to social influence in comparison to subjective measures of emotion, they are also easily accessible in large samples and the affective startle, in particular, can be also measured in animals. However, there are also conflicting discussions about their usability. Further studies should follow in different laboratories and with different paradigms to verify the reliability and generalizability of genetic association reported to date. In addition, larger sample sizes would be necessary in order to be able to investigate gene×gene and gene×environment effects in healthy volunteers and clinical samples.