bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Antiquities of Transoxiana in the Light of Investigations in Uzbekistan (1985-1990)
Authors: Pugachenkova G.A.
Published: April 2008

The archaeological study of pre-Islamic Uzbekistan (Bactria, Sogdiana) has been intensified since. World War II and this survey presents the most important recent results of this work. Bronze Age sites show a process of cultural change in Bactria, particularly the settlement of the area by farmers and the emergence in proto-cities of new urban forms of social organisation and systems of belief. The Iron Age sees the assimilation of new ethnic groups into the region, the expansion of a strong (Achaemenid) state, the development of defended cities and administrative centres and the beginnings of specialised craft industries. In the Classical period the Macedonian conquest brought about the sharp decline of existing urban centres, but the centralised states that followed were able to establish (e.g. through irrigation projects) new cities in new agricultural zones. Excavation into the lower levels of medieval cities has revealed several previously unknown ancient cities, many of which seem to have been derelict in the period before or during the Arab conquest. Bactrian cities of the Classical period have been shown to be extensive in area, well defended by strong walls and a citadel, and to have performed administrative, economic, religious as well as military functions. Cult buildings discovered show the presence of Avestan religion (although not the orthodox Zoroastrianism of Iran), cults of the Great Mother Goddess, and Buddhism (though limited to a few remarkable centres), and in the North of Sarmatian totemic cults using zoomorphic representations, finds of art, sculpture and wall-painting reveal a process in Bactria in which a native substratum was synthesized with Hellenistic, Indian and Sako-Sarmatian elements to produce work of high quality and originality. Epigraphical finds include ostraca, graffiti, inscriptions, and even papyri, representing scripts and languages from Bactrian to Pahlavi, to Greek and Latin. Finds of coins, including Greco-Bactrian and Parthian, help to date archaeological layers and produce accurate chronologies. Scholars from Uzbekistan have also contributed to the "Great Silk Road" programme, which is showing that routes crossing the region were formed in the 1st mill. B.C. and constituted a dense branched network by the end of the Classical period.
Gopatshah of Bactria (a Nephrite Plate With Depictions of a Bactrian Ruler and a Bull-Man)
Authors: Rtveladze E.V.
Published: April 2008

Analysis of a hitherto unpublished pale-green nephrite plate, now in Uzbekistan, with depictions on both sides allows its origins to be localised in North-Eastern Bactria at the juncture of the Yuehchi and Early Kushan periods (1st c. BC).
Prophecy and Politics in Istanbul: Charles V, Sultan Suleyman, and the Habsburg Embassy of 1533-1534
Authors: Finlay Robert
Published: April 2008

Three prophecies current in Istanbul in the summer of 1533 pointed toward the imminent destruction of the Ottoman empire by Christian powers. One of the predictions stated that Alvise Gritti, the bastard son of the doge of Venice, would bring about the ruin of the Ottomans. A confidant of Sultan Srlcyman and the grand vizier, Gritti was deeply involved in the war of the Ottomans against Charles V of the Spanish-Habsburg empire, as a commander of Ottoman troops, advisor on Western affairs, and governor-general of the Hungarian kingdom. Widely detested by Ottoman officials, however, Gritti felt that his power was waning in 1534. In response, he perhaps was inspired to play out his prophetic role, for he told an ambassador of Charles V that he would help the emperor's forces capture Istanbul while Sultan Süleyman was away at war. Millenarian speculation was widespread in the early sixteenth century, but sometimes it had direct consequences inasmuch as it came to figure in the calculations of political actors. Examination of the prophecies of 1533 within the context of the time nicely illustrates how prophecy and politics could have a reciprocal relationship, with the former being tailored to the occasion and the latter responding to apocalyptic foreboding.
The Study of Islam in Seventeenth-and Eighteenth-Century England
Authors: Holt P.M.
Published: April 2008

Medieval misrepresentations of Islam as a farrago of beliefs promulgated by a false prophet in the Qur'an were still current in seventeenth-century England. The pioneer of a more scholarly and objective view was Edward Pococke, the first Laudian Professor of Arabic at Oxford. His Specimen historiae Arabum (1650), written in Latin, and based on his wide reading and personal knowledge of the Muslim Near East, was influential in creating a new image of Islam for the Europeans. A wider readership was addressed by Simon Ockley, Sir Thomas Adams Professor of Arabic at Cambridge, whose work, The History of the Saracens (1708, 1718), dealt with the Arab conquests and the early caliphs. The publication (1734) by George Sale of a sound English translation of the Qur'an, accompanied by a long and scholarly Preliminary Discourse, formed a landmark in Islamic studies, but the old polemical spirit lived on. The true nature of imposture fully display'd in the life of Mahomet (1697) by Humphrey Prideaux was a two-handed engine, smiting both Islam and contemporary Christian heresy. This example was followed nearly a century later by Joseph White (another Laudian Professor), whose Bampton Lectures, A comparison of Mahometism and Christianity (1784), constituted a work of apologetics rather than scholarship.
The Symbiosis of Towns and Textiles: Urban Institutions and the Changing Fortunes of Cloth Manufacturing in the Low Countries and England, 1270-1570
Authors: Munro John
Published: April 2008

This paper, a contribution to the "proto-industrialization" debate, examines the relative advantages of urban and rural locations for cloth manufacturing in later-medieval England and the Low Countries. From the eleventh to the mid-fourteenth century, when the English cloth trade began its seemingly inexorable expansion, the Low Countries had enjoyed a virtual supremacy in international cloth markets, then chiefly located in the Mediterranean basin. The traditional view has attributed the ultimate English victory to the advantages of a rural location, using cheap labour and water-powered fulling. The proponents of this view further contend that in late thirteenth-century England a new rural industry had displaced a centuries-old "traditional" urban cloth industry through such superior cost advantages. To challenge that view, this paper puts forth the following propositions : (I) that England's traditional urban industry had declined, abruptly from the 1290s, chiefly because of steeply rising, war-induced, transaction costs in Mediterranean markets for its chief products: i.e., cheap and light fabrics, which they had sold as price takers; (2) that the Flemish/Brabantine cloth industries, having had a similar industrial-commercial orientation, suffered from the same industrial crisis; and more quickly responded by reorienting production, as price makers, to the very high-priced luxury woollens; (3) that rural locations were not always more advantageous, in lower labour and other costs; (4) that urban locations offered important benefits for luxury-cloth production : a more highly skilled, productive, better regulated labour force; urban and guild institutions to enforce necessary quality controls and promote international reputations for high quality; (5) that England's cloth industry, when it revived from the 1360s, followed suit in shifting to more luxury-oriented exports, while gaining its chief advantages from the fiscal burdens imposed on high-quality wool exports to its overseas competitors ; (6) that English export-oriented cloth production also remained more urban than rural until the late fifteenth century (for many complex reasons explored in this paper).
Women, Ancestors, and Alterity Among the Manjaco of Guinea-Bissau
Authors: Gable Eric
Published: April 2008

I explore a classic topic in anthropological studies of African religion-ancestor worship-by interpreting the rituals associated with the installation of a new ancestor figure into Manjaco household shrines. Women-pecifically out-marrying father's sisters-do most of the talking at the image's installation ceremony. And they generally characterize ancestors as selfish, capricious juniors. By exploring the way fathers' sisters assert their version of moral authority by denigrating or scolding the ancestors, I suggest that the cult does not objectify particular personae (i.e. elder males). Rather, the ritual and the orations that occur at the ritual contextualize particular relationships and processes (i.e. the enforced transformation of male junior to male elder) which privilege the agency of women in maintaining a precarious community of interest in the Manjaco house-a seemingly andro-centric corporate group.
Churches of Old Cairo and Mosques of Al-Qāhira: a Case of Christian-Muslim Interchange
Authors: Hunt Lucy-Anne
Published: April 2008

The article surveys the cultural relations in Egypt between Christians and Muslims before the Ottomans by means of a selection of churches in Old Cairo and of mosques in the growing city of al-Qāhira. It examines these buildings and aspects of them in the light of the changing status of the Christian population from majority to minority, categorising them into four key phases, from the rise of Islam to the coming of the Ottomans. It discusses shared features of architectural decoration and style, and notes that while some of these are used neutrally and interchangeably between monuments of the two faiths, others which are sited at key locations, such as on a façade or in a main sanctuary, arguably function as political or religious statements. Such features suggest that cultural identity was expressed by the two faiths within a common frame of visual reference.
Gersonides' Lost Commentary On the Metaphysics1
Authors: Glasner Ruth
Published: April 2008

Gersonides' commentary on the Metaphysics is no longer extant and we know almost nothing about it. I shall argue that the commentary was on Averroes's long commentary and that it was not completed, perhaps not continued beyond book Γ. What made Gcrsonides, who commented so systematically on Aristotle, abandon his project, just when he was commenting on the book, that is considered by many to be the climax of Aristotle's work? The answer suggested is: Gersonides considered his astronomy as a demonstrative science. As an astronomer he developed a method, which was structurally dialectical, while the testing of the hypotheses was mainly empirical. He could reconcile his method with Aristotle's method of demonstration by a suitable interpretation of the Posterior Analytics, but not with the conception of universal science presented in Metaphysics Γ.
The Rabbi Moises and the Primer Del Crestià of Francesc Eiximenis
Authors: Viera David J.
Published: April 2008

In his Primer del Crestià, chapters 117-25, Francesc Eiximenis refuted beliefs of a certain "Rabbi Moises" or Maimonides concerning Christian beliefs, especially the claim that Jesus was not the Messiah. The text of Maimonides which particularly upset Eiximenis and others in the realms of Aragon, including the royal family and the clergy, was the Hilkhol Melakhim, XIV, also called "Shophetim." Eiximenis further attempts to negate four major claims of the Rabbi Moises; however, these opinions do not come directly from Maimonides' works but rather from commentaries on his opus and Latin polemic works. The influence of Maimonides is also present in the urgency to rebuke and censor the "Shophetim" and sections of the Mishneh Torah which Eiximenis found oflensive to Christians.
The Foundation of Muslim Prayer
Authors: Mohammed Khaleel
Published: April 2008

The Qur'ān stresses the importance of prayer, but in no instance explains exactly how worship is to be performed. Even when it does refer to certain specific parts of the prayer such as "rukū" and 'sujūd,' its diction suggests that these postures are already known to the believers. The hadīth literature presents conflicting reports on the performance of prayer. While some narrations suggest that Muhammad taught the Muslims all the rituals of prayer, others show that some of these Muslims had performed this form of ibāda before Islam. Traditions regarding the actual legislation for the number of times of daily worship provide an image of Moses as Muhammad's advisor, and speak of prayer as a concept common to them both. This study concludes, after analysis of the Qur¸ānic verses, Torah, and the hadīth, that Muslim prayer, as outlined in the Qur'ān, is essentially the same as a Judaic form at the time of Muhammad.
"Lā Yajūz an Yakūn Fī Al-Ālam Li-Llāhi Qiblatayn": Judaeo-Islamic Polemics Concerning the Qibla (625-1010)
Authors: Shtober Shimon
Published: April 2008

The existence of the protracted, recurring dispute between Muslims and Jews over the qibla is well-documented in various medieval Arabic sources. According to Muslim traditionalists, this dispute apparently first arose at the very beginning of Islam, and continued in its various stages from the seventh to tenth centuries C.E. Whether or not the dispute was more a figment of the imagination of those who wrote about it than a true event, I regard it as part of the struggle of the young emerging Muslim community for self-identity and superiority over the other established community i.e. the Jews, first in the Hijāz and later on in the eastern provinces of the Caliphate. In this paper I attempt to reconstruct the sequence and contents of the polemical encounters that took place over the Godly chosen gibla, whether the Muslim or the Jewish one. Qur¸ān commentaries on the one hand and biblical commentaries on the other were the source materials that were used to reconstruct these medieval encounters.
Muslim Traditions Against Secular Prostration and Inter-Religious Polemic
Authors: Tottoli Roberto
Published: April 2008

Muslim tradition forbids the prostration before men (secular prostration). The utterances of the Prophet Muhammad highlight this prohibition, contrasting it to the customs in use among Christians and Jews in the regions surrounding the peninsula. This precept is not stated in the Qur¸ān where, instead, the cases of the prostration of Joseph before his father and of Adam before the angels arc mentioned. After the advent of Islam, Christian and Jewish authors tried to give response to Muslim polemical attitudes. John of Damascus and Abū Qurra above all rejected the Muslim accusations, relying upon biblical references, drawing a distinction between prostration to God and prostration before men. The same direction is taken by the Jewish Qirqisānī in a long passage in his Kitāb al-anwār.
o kYpioΣ EbaΣIΛEyΣEn aΠo tOy ΞY ΛOy
Authors: Derrett J. Duncan M.
Published: April 2008

The Lord's reign is acclaimed because of the tree. Which tree? The Tree of the Cross which the Messiah bore on his shoulder at the time when (i) his reign of peace commenced, and (ii) the wood of the yoke and the staff of the oppressors were taken, to their joy, from the shoulders of the people (Is 8:24-9:6). This tree is also the Tree of Life, whose fruit we were intended to eat, of which Adam and his descendants were unworthy (Gen 3:22-24). Because of the Tree and its fruit (1 Chr 16:32) God has made the Messiah king (Is 9:6) upon his Ascension, and all nature rejoices (Is 9:2; Ps 95:11). Indeed nature rejoiced in this tree's now edible fruit. This Christian midrash on both the Old and the New Testaments pre-existed Barnabas and Justin, and is alluded to by each independently.
Naturerkenntnis gibt den Glauben frei- Abbruch einer Mauer
Authors: Jordan Pascual
Published: April 2008

Die nachfolgenden Texte sind ein Vorabdruck aus dem Buche "Der Naturwissenschaftler vor der religiösen Frage", welches vom Verfasser unter Förderung durch einen Forschungsauftrag der Klopstock-Stiftung zur Zeit bearbeitet wird. Teil I und II gehören zum Kapitel "Naturerkenntnis als Glaubensanfechtung" ; Teil III gehört zum Kapitel "Die Physik im 20..Jahr-hundert". - Das Buch soll im Herbst 1963 erscheinen. (Verlag O. Stalling, Oldenburg.)
Post-Critical Belief a New Approach To the Religious Attitude Problem1
Authors: Hutsebaut Dirk
Published: April 2008

After a short view on the story of religious attitude measurement and indicating some problems with this kind of questions and items, a new model of religious attittude measurement is proposed, based on theoretical views of Ricoeur. Three dimensions are proposed: orthodoxy, external critique and historical relativism. Correlations with other measures of religious attitude and with measures of certainty, etnocentricity, anomia and personal orientation are presented.
The Prompt Release of Vessels and Crews before the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea: A Preparatory Report
Authors: Lagoni Rainer
Published: April 2008

The Convention provides in Article 292 special proceedings for the prompt release of vessels and crews before the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea. As Article 292 is compulsory between the States Parties to the Convention, it can only be excluded by agreement. The new obligations and proceedings will balance the interests of the detaining state against that of the flag state in avoiding an excessive detention of vessels flying its flag. In an application for the release of a detained vessel, the flag state has to allege "that the detaining state has not complied with the provisions of this Convention for the prompt release of the vessel or its crew upon the posting of a reasonable bond or financial security". Only states may be parties to the prompt release proceedings. Each party shall be represented before the Tribunal by an agent. It is exclusively within the discretion of the flag state whom it will authorize to act as its agent. The flag state may define preconditions for a submission of an application for release on its behalf and remains in control of the release proceedings, because it is free to instruct the agent to abstain from the submission or to withdraw it. Like in any other proceedings before an international court or tribunal, the parties may have the assistance of counsel or advocates. The Tribunal shall determine the release as well as the nature, terms and amount of a reasonable bond or other financial security. In cases of lack of seaworthiness, where the question of bonding or other financial security is of no relevance, it may decide merely on the naked release.
The Turbot War of 1995: Lessons for the Law of the Sea
Authors: von Gustedt Alejandro Alvarez , Joyner Christopher C.
Published: April 2008

Canada's seizure of the Spanish fishing vessel Estai in March 1995 touched off severe political tensions between Canada and the European Community. Known as the "Turbot War", the dispute arose over quota levels agreed to by the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization for turbot stocks in fishing grounds straddling the high seas beyond Canada's proclaimed 200-mile national fishery zone. While underscoring tensions between coastal states and foreign fishing nations, this dispute became a diplomatic catalyst for the promulgation in August 1995 of a special UN Convention on the Conservation and Management of Straddling Fish Stocks and Highly Migratory Stocks. The "Turbot War" thus highlighted the utility of regional fishery organizations in monitoring and enforcing international fishing regulations and strengthened the international regulatory framework for managing straddling stocks under the 1982 LOS Convention.
The Law and Politics of the Maritime Boundary Delimitations of the Russian Federation: Part 1
Authors: Oude Elferink Alex G.
Published: April 2008

The maritime zones of Russian Federation overlap with those of 12 neighbouring states. The practice of the Russian Federation concerning the delimitation of the boundaries of these zones provides an interesting opportunity to analyse the role of international law in the policy of a state in this respect, especially because bilateral negotiations of the Russian Federation have raised complex issues of law and fact. The analysis suggests that international law may influence the policy of a state regarding the delimitation of its maritime zones in different, albeit limited, ways. The role of international law in bilateral negotiations supports the conclusions the case law has reached on the significance of bilateral delimitation treaties for the formation of customary international law. This first part of the article provides an outline of the contents of maritime delimitation law, and analyses general aspects of the Russian Federation's practice concerning the boundaries of its maritime zones and the delimitations with Estonia, Finland, Georgia, Japan, Lithuania, North Korea, Poland, Romania, Sweden, Turkey and Ukraine.
The Baltic Sea: The Legal Regime and Instruments for Co-operation
Authors: Jenisch Uwe K.
Published: April 2008

The Baltic Sea Region presents unique challenges for the 14 states of the catchment area. Although characterized by a great diversity of history, languages and culture there is a strong feeling of common heritage. The region is of increasing importance for the European Union. At the same time this regional sea is subject to intensive exploitation and ecological strain. Apart from man, nature and geography also add to the critical ecological situation. The legal regime is comparatively well developed. All states except Denmark have extended their territorial seas to 12 n.m. but in many narrow waters states left "high seas corridors" free in the interest of shipping lines of communication. The Danish straits represent an example of straits governed by long-standing international conventions. The elaborate system of continental shelf zones and exclusive economic zones has divided up the Baltic Sea among the nine riparian states. With a few exceptions in the Central and Eastern Baltic, mostly due to the needs of the three newly independent Baltic Republics, all maritime boundaries are settled. The regional conventions: Helsinki-Convention of 1974 on Environmental Protection, Baltic Fishing Convention of 1973 are gaining momentum or are being expanded in their scope of application. The "new" Helsinki-Convention of 1992 effectively covers all major sources of pollution. However, the fishing convention must be seen in a critical light with the constant problem of overfishing being unresolved although the institutionalization of co-operation in the fishing sector has been achieved. Together with existing legal instruments there is a network of some 15 fora at different levels of governments, regions, communities and NGOs contributing towards sustainable development.
Medical Malpractice in England and Wales - A Postcard from the Edge
Authors: Jones Michael A.
Published: April 2008

It has long been claimed that the risk of litigation influences the way some health care professionals approach their work, in the form of 'defensive practices' adopted by individuals. As medical malpractice litigation continues to escalate, the cost of claims is now beginning to have an impact upon the NHS in terms of the handling of claims and the development of more comprehensive risk management policies. It is extremely difficult to assess whether malpractice litigation is bad for health care, by inducing wasteful and potentially risky defensive medicine, or good for health care by deterring substandard provision. The attitude of the English courts is generally supportive of the medical profession and the National Health Service, who are seen as being hard-pressed by a phenomenon that could easily spiral out of control. This is reflected in an extremely cautious approach to finding medical professionals liable for negligence. But, despite the judicial hesitance, claims rates are continuing to rise.
Leibniz On Form and Matter
Authors: Garber Daniel
Published: April 2008

This paper discusses the Aristotelian notions of matter and form as they are treated in the philosophy of Leibniz. The discussion is divided into three parts, corresponding to three periods in Leibniz's development. In the earliest period, as exemplified in a 1669 letter to his former mentor Jakob Thomasius, Leibniz argues that matter and form can be given straightforward interpretations in terms of size and shape, basic categories in the new mechanical philosophy. In Leibniz's middle years, on the other hand, as exemplified in the Discourse on Metaphysics and the correspondence with Arnauld, Leibniz seems to hold a more orthodox Aristotelian view of matter and form as the constituents of the corporeal substances that ground the reality of the physical world. In Leibniz's latest years, as discussed in the letters with Des Bosses, matter and form enter once again in connection with the vinculum substantiale, the substantial bond that is supposed to bind monads together to form corporeal substances.
Subterranean Fire. Changing Theories of the Earth During the Renaissance
Authors: Vermij Rienk
Published: April 2008

Aristotle described the earth as a cold and dry body and paid no attention to the phenomenon of terrestrial heat. Renaissance physicians, by contrast, when seeking to understand the origin of hot springs in the context of their balneological studies, came to defend a theory of subterranean fires. This tradition, which started in Italy, became widely known through the works of Georgius Agricola. But although it had implications for the explanation of further natural phenomena, it remained almost exclusively confined to medical circles. As far as physics as an academic discipline was concerned, the ideas concerning subterranean fire were hardly taken note of. Only with the collapse of Aristotelian philosophy in the seventeenth century could these by then "old innovations" obtain a wider significance.
Medical Writing in Transition: Between Ars and Vulgus
Authors: Demaitre Luke
Published: April 2008

The form and content of vernacular medicine, particularly in translations from Latin writings, differ both from scholastic learning and from popular lore. As a Middle High German version of Bernard de Gordon's Lilium medicine shows, the translator aimed for broader intelligibility than teachers, by elucidating terms and simplifying theories. Nevertheless, he also evinced a bookish superiority to lay people by his concern with precision and disdain for illiteracy. At the same time, a greater closeness to a popular level was reflected in the admiration for masters and in the esthetic importance of emotions.
About God, Demons, and Miracles: the Jesuit Discourse On the Supernatural in Late Ming China
Authors:   Qiong Zhang
Published: April 2008

This paper proposes an alternative to the conventional paradigm of "cultural accommodation" as a key to the understanding of the Jesuit scheme of conversion in late Ming China. It challenges one of the corollaries of that paradigm, which holds that because of the paramount rationalist sensibilities of the Confucian élite, the Jesuit missionaries refrained from speaking about the mysteries and supernatural truths of Christianity. In this paper, it is instead argued that the Jesuits, rather than trying to cultivate a rational spirit in China, were primarily engaged in fashioning a new religious cult(ure) which centered upon the supreme efficacy of the Christian faith in exorcising demons and performing miracles and was of central importance to the religious conquest of territories formerly held by their indigenous rivals. It is further shown that it is this preoccupation at the same time motivated and delimited the Jesuits' campaign against Chinese religions and the introduction of Western science and learning and resulted in the application of double standards and in ambiguities and contradictions in their scientific writings.
The Doctrine of Place in a Commentary On the Physics Attributed To Antonius Andreae
Authors: Kua Rafal , Gensler Marek , Podkonski Robert , Gogacz Adam
Published: April 2008

The Quaestiones in libros Physicorum contained in the Cambridge Ms Gonville & Caius 368 (590) is an interesting piece of early Scotist philosophy of nature. The doctrine of place, contained in three questions on the fourth book of Aristotle's Physics, is based mostly on the solutions given by Duns Scotus. The question on bilocation offers a combined summary of the opinions given in Scotus' Ordinatio and Reportata parisiensia or of a text that combines the two, for example the Abbreviatio Operis oxoniensis Scoti attributed to Antonius Andreae. In his question about the nature of place, our anonymous author presents a more original assemblage of Scotist views, adding arguments from Scotus' Quodlibel XI and from Francis of Marchia. The latter thinker appears to be the most important source for the question concerning the place of the ultimate sphere. In all questions, the author argues against the views of Peter Auriol, his main opponent throughout the commentary.
African Traditional Religions in Christian Mission and Christian Scholarship: Re-Opening a Debate That Never Started
Authors: Tinyiko Sam Maluleke
Published: April 2008

In this essay I wish to argue that denial, outright dismissal, distortion and dismissive containment have been and continue to be aptly descriptive of the manner in which Christian mission and Christian scholarship have related to and dealt with African Traditional Religions (ATRs). This, I want to further suggest, has been as true of the South African situation as it has been true of the rest of the continent. Although most prevalent during the earliest periods of contact between Christianity and ATRs, the attitude which I am characterising as outright dismissal is by no means totally extinct today. This article seeks to re-open the question of the place ofATRs in the world of religions with particular reference to their relation to Christianity. This will be done by reference to three important 'voices': Okot p'Bitek, African theology and South African Black Theology.
Moral Developments in the Netherlands 1970-1995. a Critical Note To the Secularisation Thesis
Authors: Vellenga Sipgo J.
Published: April 2008

How have ideas about the intimate men/women relationship developed among Roman Catholics, Protestants and non-church members in the Netherlands since the late sixties? This question has been answered in this article on the grounds of data from several surveys of the Dutch Social Cultural Planning Office (SCP). The investigation was placed in the theoretical framework of the privatisation thesis. It shows that in the last decades the discrepancy in opinion among the three categories has remained rather constant, especially concerning alternative relations and sexuality. Multiple regression shows that the differences in opinion concerning these subjects among the Dutch population have to be ascribed to the factor of churchgoing rather than to social factors. The results primarily confirm the privatisation thesis and make one question the secularisation thesis.
'Truth' Is a Double-Edged (S)Word: On Truth and the Destruction or Restoration of Relationships'
Authors: Van Heerden Willie
Published: April 2008

This article intends to explore the complex relationship between truth and reconciliation. Reconciliation is described as one of four typical responses to injury, the others being revenge, denial, and cheap forgiveness. With regard to the restoration of human relationships, truth is utilised in a twofold sense: to expose wrongs, and to establish a sacred space for reconciliation. Truth can also provide grounds for revenge and efforts to destroy relationships. Absoluteness, in its exclusivistic and inclusivistic forms, provides a framework within which truth can cause damage to human relationships. Examples of all these 'faces' of truth are found in the Old Testament, especially in the context of human relationships. Our views on reconciliation and truth, and the relationship between the two, will inevitably colour our views on the work of South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Committee, and our hopes - or lack of them - for reconciliation in a post-TRC South Africa.
'Will It Happen Again?' Reflections On Reconciliation and Structural Contraception1
Authors: Snyman Gerrie F.
Published: April 2008

The essay deals with the inability of churches and individuals to take the indispensable next step of radically recasting their reading practices of the Bible in a post-apartheid society. Failure to remodel the premises and practices of Bible interpretation results in a sense of betrayal. Although the theological justification for apartheid might be confessed as a sin, the reading practices of the Bible that allowed for a theological justification never changed. However, a confession regarding apartheid entails a critique of the values embedded in the stories of the Old Testament in particular. Once this is recognised, it will be easier to argue a case for a better dispensation for women in those churches in which they are excluded from church offices. The essay discusses the recent female uproar in the Gereformeerde Kerke of South Africa against gender discrimination in their structures of power. The essay also responds to the crisis of faith generated in the laity by some of the confessions. It is argued that the laity had no means of recognising the falseness of the previous ideologically inspired apartheid readings of the Bible, because the leadership of the churches never provided them with the tools of responsible criticism. The reading practices of the past acted as a protective sheath for the theological justification of apartheid. For the confessions of the churches to become meaningful at all, and not tainted by smacks of political opportunism, a call is made for a more critical approach to the values embedded in the Bible stories.
The Global Monsoon Variability Simulated by CMIP3 Coupled Climate Models*
Authors: Kim Hyung-Jin , Wang Bin , Ding Qinghua
Published: April 2008

The global monsoon climate variability during the second half of the twentieth century simulated by 21 coupled global climate models (CGCMs) that participated in the World Climate Research Programme’s Coupled Model Intercomparison Project phase 3 (CMIP3) is evaluated. Emphasis was placed on climatology, multidecadal trend, and the response of the global monsoon precipitation to volcanic aerosols. The impact of the atmospheric model’s horizontal resolution on the group ensemble mean (GEM; obtained from the three resolution groups) simulations of global monsoon climate is also examined.

The CMIP3 CGCMs’ multimodel ensemble simulates a reasonably realistic climatology of the global monsoon precipitation and circulation. The GEMs are also able to capture the gross features of the global monsoon precipitation and westerly domains. However, the spreading among the rainfall GEMs is large, particularly at the windward side of narrow mountains (e.g., the western coast of India, the Philippines, Mexico, and the steep slope of the Tibetan Plateau). Main common biases in modeling rainfall climatology include a northeastward shift of the intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ) in the tropical North Pacific and a southward migration of the North Atlantic ITCZ during boreal winter.

The trend in the Northern Hemisphere land monsoon index (NHMI) detected in the CMIP3 models is generally consistent with the observations, albeit with much weaker magnitude. The significant decreasing NHMI trend during 1951–85 and 1951–99 occurs mainly in the models with volcanic aerosols (VOL models). This volcanic signal is detectable by comparison of the forced and free runs. It is estimated that from about one-quarter to one-third of the drying trend in the Northern Hemisphere land monsoon precipitation over the latter half of the twentieth century was likely due to the effects of the external volcanic forcings. On the other hand, the significant increasing trend in the global ocean monsoon index (GOMI) during 1980–99 appears chiefly in those models that are free of volcanic aerosols (No-VOL models). The exclusion of the volcanic aerosols is significant in simulating the positive GOMI trend against the internal variability of each model. These results suggest the climatic importance of the volcanic forcings in the global monsoon precipitation variability.
POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE MUSIC RECOGNITION REVEALS A SPECIALIZATION OF MESIO-TEMPORAL STRUCTURES IN EPILEPTIC PATIENTS
Authors: KHALFA STÉPHANIE , DELBE CHARLES , BIGAND EMMANUEL , REYNAUD EMMANUELLE , CHAUVEL PATRICK , LIÉGEOIS-CHAUVEL CATHERINE
Published: April 2008

AMYGDALA INVOLVEMENT IN FACIAL NEGATIVE EMOTION processing seems to be lateralized. The aim of the present study was to verify the existence of this phenomenon in the music domain and to study asymmetrical processing of emotions by the anteromedial temporal structures. Thirteen epileptic patients with left unilateral resection in the temporal lobe including the amygdala, hippocampus, parahippocampal gyrus, and anterior temporal pole, and fourteen patients with the same right-sided temporal resection, were asked to identify the emotion conveyed by music selections (happiness, sadness, or anger), and to assess their arousal (relaxing/stimulating aspects) and valence (pleasantness/unpleasantness aspects). The results demonstrated asymmetrical processing of positive emotions towards the left whereas negative (sad and angry) excerpts were either less recognized or confounded in both right and left operations. It seems that this impairment of music emotion recognition is not linked to an impairment of arousal and valence judgments.
Disturbance rejection in a class of adaptive control laws for distributed parameter systems
Authors: Kim Jun Y. , Bentsman Joseph
Published: April 2008

A recently introduced class of the well‐posed error systems and the corresponding robust model reference adaptive control laws for the systems represented by the parabolic or the hyperbolic partial differential equations (PDEs) with the spatially varying parameters and a distributed sensing and actuation is extended to encompass the disturbance rejection capability. The disturbance is modeled as a space–time‐varying signal generated by a parabolic PDE with the known parameters, a spatially varying time‐invariant signal, and a space–time‐varying signal with the known time variation. The case of the time‐invariant disturbance model is shown to lead to a distributed adaptive PI control law, thereby making a well‐posed connection to the classical finite‐dimensional control structures. The numerical simulations indicate that the control laws proposed are robust with respect to the plant/reference model as well as the disturbance/disturbance observer mismatch in the boundary conditions. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Extended high‐frequency audiometry and noise induced hearing loss in cement workers
Authors: Somma Giuseppina , Pietroiusti Antonio , Magrini Andrea , Coppeta Luca , Ancona Carla , Gardi Stefano , Messina Marco , Bergamaschi Antonio
Published: April 2008

Background

It has been suggested that extended high‐frequency audiometry (EHFA) might be more sensitive than conventional audiometry in detecting early signs of hearing impairment. However, this technique has not been adequately tested in an occupational environment. We therefore investigated the usefulness of this method in noise‐exposed workers.

Methods

We compared conventional frequency audiometry (0.25–8 kHz) and EHFA (9–18 kHz) in 184 noise‐exposed and 98 non‐noise‐exposed workers.

Results

Both methods showed significantly higher threshold levels (P < 0.05) in noise‐exposed workers for most of the tested frequencies; however, the differences were more marked for EHFA, especially in young exposed workers. Significant differences in the EHF range were detected also in the subgroup of noise‐exposed workers with normal findings at conventional audiometry. Stepwise regression analysis showed that in 21‐ to 40‐year‐old workers the noise effect was largely predominant at both conventional audiometry and EHFA, whereas in older subjects the noise effect was predominant up to 6 kHz frequency, the effect of age being significantly greater at higher frequencies.

Conclusions

These data indicate that EHFA is more sensitive than conventional audiometry in detecting noise induced hearing loss. However, hearing loss in the EHF range seems an age‐dependent phenomenon with progression into the lower speech range frequencies with increasing age. These changes seem to be accentuated in the early years by noise exposure, suggesting that EHFA could represent a useful preventive measure in young exposed workers. Am. J. Ind. Med. 51:452–462, 2008. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Homogeneous palladium catalyst for the oxidative carbonylation of bisphenol A to polycarbonate in propylene carbonate
Authors: Okamoto Masaya , Ishii Hirotoshi , Sugiyama Jun‐Ichi
Published: April 2008

Polycarbonates (PCs) were prepared in a propylene carbonate solvent by the oxidative carbonylation of bisphenol A with Pd/bithienyl complexes, Pd/bipyridyl complexes, and PdC σ‐bonded complexes for comparison as homogeneous Pd catalysts. With the Pd/bipyridyl complexes, the 6,6′‐disubstituted 2,2′‐bipyridyl ligand showed a stronger substituent effect than the 2,2′‐bipyridyl ligand, which lacked substituents at the 6,6′ positions. With the Pd/bithienyl complexes, however, the substituent effect was not seen. The Pd/bithienyl complexes, which lacked substituents at the 5,5′ positions, gave a PC yield that was the same as the yield of those that had substituents at the 5,5′ positions. The combination of the PdC σ‐bonded complexes and an inorganoredox cocatalyst showed a PC polymerization behavior that was different from the other two types of complexes. When Co(OAc)2·4H2O was used as the inorganoredox cocatalyst, all of the PdC σ‐bonded complexes gave a good PC yield. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2008
New organosoluble and thermally stable poly(urea‐imide)s prepared from one‐pot polyaddition reactions
Authors: Behniafar Hossein , Amrai Mehrtaj
Published: April 2008

A new class of aromatic poly(urea‐imide)s having biphenylene pendant group was prepared by the diphenyl azidophosphate (DPAP) activated one‐pot polyaddition reaction of a preformed imide ring‐containing dicarboxylic acid, 4‐p‐biphenyl‐2,6‐bis(4‐trimellitimidophenyl)pyridine (1) with various aromatic diamines. A model compound was also synthesized by the reaction of diimide‐dicarboxylic acid 1 with two mole equivalents of aniline. In this direct method the polymers were prepared by polyaddition reactions of the in situ‐formed diisocyanate with the aromatic diamines. The inherent viscosities of the polymers were measured in the range of 0.11–0.15 dL g−1. The ultraviolet λmax values of the poly(urea‐imide)s were also determined. Furthermore, crystallinity of the resultant polymers was evaluated by wide‐angle X‐ray diffraction method, and they exhibited nearly a noncrystalline nature. All of the resulting polymers exhibited excellent solubility in common polar solvents. The glass transition temperatures of the polymers determined by DSC thermograms were in the range 241–272°C. The temperatures at 10% weight loss from their TGA curves were found to be in the range 406–437°C in nitrogen. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2008
The influence of transformations on the h‐index and the g‐index
Authors: Egghe L.
Published: April 2008

In a previous article, we introduced a general transformation on sources and one on items in an arbitrary information production process (IPP). In this article, we investigate the influence of these transformations on the h‐index and on the g‐index. General formulae that describe this influence are presented. These are applied to the case that the size‐frequency function is Lotkaian (i.e., is a decreasing power function). We further show that the h‐index of the transformed IPP belongs to the interval bounded by the two transformations of the h‐index of the original IPP, and we also show that this property is not true for the g‐index.
Social networks, gender, and friending: An analysis of MySpace member profiles
Authors: Thelwall Mike
Published: April 2008

In 2007, the social networking Web site MySpace apparently overthrew Google as the most visited Web site for U.S. Web users. If this heralds a new era of widespread online social networking, then it is important to investigate user behaviour and attributes. Although there has been some research into social networking already, basic demographic data is essential to set previous results in a wider context and to give insights to researchers, marketers and developers. In this article, the demographics of MySpace members are explored through data extracted from two samples of 15,043 and 7,627 member profiles. The median declared age of users was surprisingly high at 21, with a small majority of females. The analysis confirmed some previously reported findings and conjectures about social networking, for example, that female members tend to be more interested in friendship and males more interested in dating. In addition, there was some evidence of three different friending dynamics, oriented towards close friends, acquaintances, or strangers. Perhaps unsurprisingly, female and younger members had more friends than others, and females were more likely to maintain private profiles, but both males and females seemed to prefer female friends, with this tendency more marked in females for their closest friend. The typical MySpace user is apparently female, 21, single, with a public profile, interested in online friendship and logging on weekly to engage with a mixed list of mainly female “friends” who are predominantly acquaintances.
Luminescent Alkynylplatinum(II) Complexes of 2,6‐Bis(N‐alkylbenzimidazol‐2′‐yl)pyridine‐Type Ligands with Ready Tunability of the Nature of the Emissive States by Solvent and Electronic Property Modulation
Authors: Tam Anthony Yiu‐Yan , Lam Wai Han , Wong Keith Man‐Chung , Zhu Nianyong , Yam Vivian Wing‐Wah
Published: April 2008

A new class of luminescent alkynylplatinum(II) complexes of tridentate bis(N‐alkylbenzimidazol‐2′‐yl)pyridines (bzimpy), [Pt(R,R′‐bzimpy)(CCR′′)]X (X=PF6, OTf), and one of their chloro precursor complexes, [Pt(R,R′‐bzimpy)Cl]PF6, have been synthesized and characterized; one of the alkynyl complexes has also been structurally characterized by X‐ray crystallography. Electrochemical studies showed that the oxidation wave is alkynyl ligand‐based in nature with some mixing of the metal center‐based contribution, whereas the two quasi‐reversible reduction couples are mainly bzimpy‐based reductions. The electronic absorption and luminescence properties of the complexes have also been investigated. In solution, the high‐energy and intense absorption bands are assigned as the π–π* intraligand (IL) transitions of the bzimpy and alkynyl ligands, whereas the low‐energy and moderately intense absorptions are assigned to an admixture of metal‐to‐ligand charge‐transfer (MLCT) (dπ(Pt)→π*(R,R′‐bzimpy)) and ligand‐to‐ligand charge‐transfer (LLCT) (π(CCR′′)→π*(R,R′‐bzimpy)) transitions. Upon variation of the electronic effects of the arylalkynyl ligands, vibronic‐structured or structureless emission bands, originating from triplet metal‐perturbed intraligand (IL) or an admixture of triplet metal‐to‐ligand charge‐transfer (MLCT) and ligand‐to‐ligand charge‐transfer (LLCT) excited states respectively, were observed in solution. Interestingly, two of the complexes showed a dual luminescence that was sensitive to the polarity of the solvents. Upon cooling from 298 K to 155 K, drastic color, UV/Vis, and luminescence changes were observed in a butyronitrile solution of 1, and were ascribed to the formation of aggregate species through Pt⋅⋅⋅Pt and π–π stacking interactions. DFT and time‐dependent DFT (TD‐DFT) calculations have been performed to verify and elucidate the results of the electrochemical and photophysical properties.