bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
'These Young Men Show No Respect for Local Customs'—Globalisation and Islamic Revival in Zanzibar
Authors: Turner Simon
Published: August 2009

Like elsewhere in Africa, local forms of Islam are being challenged by a number of new reformist and revivalist forms of Islam, influenced to some degree by a global Islamic revival but shaped by particular local histories and politics. This has caused some friction, especially as the regime in place seeks to manipulate these tensions for political benefit. Central to this struggle are the young men who have studied Islam abroad and who challenge the established truths of the traditional religious authorities; these authorities in turn accuse 'the youth' of bringing foreign, 'Arab' ideas and politics to Zanzibar. However, the kind of Islamic revival taking place in Zanzibar is far from radical or violent, and it is not appropriate to pose the present situation in terms of global Salafism versus local Sufism. In fact, Islamic revivalists often coin their critique of the state in terms of human rights and good governance and provide an alternative modernity that simultaneously challenges and articulates secular, liberal forms of modernity. Islamic revival critiques what is perceived as society's moral disorder and the state's inability to deal with new global challenges. Hence the present paper explores how global trends in Islam—but also global discourses on human rights and good governance—influence the current modes of Islamic revival in Zanzibar. With a heavily restricted political field, Islam can be a means of critiquing society without getting involved in politics. However, the government and the traditional religious authorities perceive this revivalism as a threat to the status quo and attempt therefore to politicise the struggle, accusing Islamic movements of fundamentalism and terrorism. It is within this political environment that Islamic revival must navigate.
The Alpine Limits of Jewish Thought: Leo Strauss, National Socialism, and Judentum ohne Gott
Authors: Altman William
Published: August 2009

Writing in 1935 as "Hugo Fiala," Karl Löwith not only connected Martin Heidegger and Carl Schmitt to an apparently contentless "decisionism" but drew attention to the fact that his correspondent Leo Strauss (1899–1973) had attacked Schmitt—like Heidegger an open Nazi since 1933—from the Right in 1932. In opposition to the views of Peter Eli Gordon, Heidegger's bellicose stance at the Davos Hochschule of 1929 is presented as "political" in Schmitt's sense of the term while Strauss's embrace of Heidegger, never regretted, showed that he ceased to be Nietzsche's "Good European" in his thirtieth year. A more significant "change of orientation" is revealed in Strauss's 1932 version of the "second cave," a pseudo-Platonic image of Verjudung. Revelation had disrupted a nihilistic "natural ignorance" that could only be reversed by an elite's secret decision for a self-contradictory content: only an atheistic religion provides a post-liberal solution to "the theological-political problem."
Kabbalah in a Literary Key: Mystical Motifs in Zechariah Aldāhirī's Sefer hamusar
Authors: Tanenbaum Adena
Published: August 2009

Zechariah Aldāhirī's maqāma collection, Sefer hamusar (Yemen, c. 1580), is a literary work modeled on the Arabic Maqāmāt of al-Harīrī and the Hebrew Tahkemoni of Alharizi. Although largely fictional in nature, the work offers intriguing evidence of the transmission of kabbalistic thought to Yemen in the sixteenth century. This paper argues that Aldāhirī exploited the text's lighthearted belletristic framework to bring kabbalistic theosophy, literature, and liturgical customs to the attention of a largely uninitiated public in Yemen. But Aldāhirī also conveys an ambivalence towards his project when he parodies the new taste for kabbalistic learning by embedding mystical ideas in complex narratives.
On the Matter of Language: The Creation of the World from Letters and Jacques Lacan's Perception of Letters as Real
Authors: Weiss Tzahi
Published: August 2009

Jewish texts from Late Antiquity, as well as culturally affiliated sources, contain three different traditions about the creation of the world from alphabetic letters. This observation, which contradicts the common assumption that the myth of creation from letters stems from the holiness of the Jewish language, calls for comparative study. A structural approach to the letter as a founding ontological element is corroborated by the ancient Greek word stoicheion (στoιχειoν), which refers to both physical foundations and alphabetic letters. To analyze this attitude to the letter in the ancient world, I draw on the psychoanalytic theory of Jacques Lacan, which addresses the question of the letter in the framework of human discourse. I use Lacan's concepts to describe and illuminate the inherent connection between letters and the very foundations of the world.
What is the Nature of the Crime of the Delinquent Daughter in Deuteronomy 22:13-21? A Rejoinder to J. Fleishman's Suggestion
Authors: Malul Meir
Published: August 2009

The exact nature of the girl's crime in the law of the delinquent daughter in Deut 22:13-21 is examined, starting by a detailed critique of J. Fleishman's previous suggestion in this journal (vol. 58, pp. 191-210) to construe it in the light of the law of cursing the parents in Exod 21:17 and understand it as an innovation and restriction of the latter law. In his view, the girl's sin is tantamount to cursing her parents, which, like the sin of the glatton and drunkard son according to Deut 21: 18-21, meant the undermining of the parents' authority and status, for which both boy and girl deserved the death penalty. In the following critique, it is underlined that the girl's sin is, first, not one of omission but of commission, and, second, it is not against her parents but against her husband, who is also the one to initiate the legal proceedings. A new interpretation is suggested, according to which the girl's crime, defined in v. 21 as an act of and a deed of, consisted not only in concealing her previous loss of virginity from her husband, thus deceiving him and her parents, but also in duping her husband into committing a sin comparable to that of lying with a menstruating, and thus desolate, woman. Being deprived of virginity, and thus of the socially recognized status of a virgin, she became, like Tamar (2 Sam 13:20), “desolate, forlorn”, an unenviable state from which only her seducer/ravisher could redeem her (thus are the sense and goal of the laws of the seduced virgin in Exod 22:15-16 and Deut 22:28-29). Trying to dupe her husband into steping in and performing what custom and law dictated the other man—the seducer/ravisher—should have done, and thus to arrogate to herself a social status she did not deserve, was then tantamount to undermining social structure and striking at the fibers that constituted the essence and integrity of the social community (cf. Prov 30:21-23).
A Linguistic Analysis of the Biblical Hebrew Particle nā': A Test Case
Authors: Christiansen Bent
Published: August 2009

The potential for advancing our understanding of biblical Hebrew by a more rigorous application of the principals of linguistics is illustrated by the particle nā', which has been translated in widely divergent ways. The research of Shulman (1999) forms the basis for the proposal that this so-called “particle of entreaty” actually represents a previously unidentified syntactical element in biblical Hebrew—the “propositive” particle—whereby a speaker indicates an intention to pursue a particular course of action. Interpreting nā' as a “propositive/exhortative” more convincingly explains its biblical usage. Evidence of the propositive mood includes the felicity of nā' as a sentence-initial compound element, reduplication of nā' within Hebrew clauses, the linguistic vacuum of alternative polite circumlocution, and the need for cogent interpretation of nā' when used with deliberative cohortative verb forms.
A Note on w∂yiqtol and Volitive Sequences
Authors: Joosten Jan
Published: August 2009

Joel Baden has recently argued that, in Biblical Hebrew, w∂ + yiqtol long form expresses a distinct function. This proposal is criticized in the present note, on both morphological and syntactic grounds. Ostensible cases of w∂yiqtol are to be regarded as instances of w∂ + jussive, in which the jussive form has been replaced by yiqtol due to natural evolution of the language or to modernizing by later scribes.
A Fresh Look at Amos 4:1-3 and Its Imagery
Authors: Nwaoru Emmanuel
Published: August 2009

For a couple of decades, if not centuries, the textual, syntactical, and semantic problems of Amos 4:1-3 have so engaged the attention of commentators to the detriment of a straightforward interpretation of the oracle. is article sets out to examine afresh some of those thorny literary issues. Its findings show that the apparent illogical grammar and imagery of the oracle serve prophetic needs. For it is on such a figurative language that the prophet sets the polarity between YHWH's indictment and judgment of the upper rich class of Israelite society and, consequently, his message.
The Investiture of Joshua (Numbers 27:12-23) and the Dispute on the Form of the Leadership in Yehud
Authors: Kislev Itamar
Published: August 2009

A careful analysis of the account of the investiture of Joshua in Num. 27:12-23 reveals that there are some interpolations. The reviser made this account correspond to the account in Deuteronomy, and emphasized the need for divine guidance. He also placed Eleazar the priest in a position of leadership alongside Joshua and gave him the higher status of the two. This pericope and its revision reflect controversy surrounding the question of the appropriate form of government that took place in the Persian period.
Genesis 49:4 in Light of Arabic and Modern South Arabian
Authors: Rubin Aaron
Published: August 2009

The rare word pahaz 'wily, devious' in Genesis 49:4 may have been chosen to describe Reuben in order to allow a play on words. Modern South Arabian and Arabic cognates to this root carry a sexual meaning, and such a meaning fits the context of this biblical passage.
'Dynamic Analogies' in the Book of Esther
Authors: Grossman Jonathan
Published: August 2009

In an important methodological article, Paul Noble argues that the constancy of analogy between two narratives should be regarded as one of the indicators for establishing the probability of the analogy. Noble's argument makes sense, but we must take into consideration those instances where the changeover of characters in an analogy has a literary purpose. Even if the molding of the analogy generally allows for the structuring of a fixed parallel, in some cases the analogy between narratives encourages the presentation of a certain character from one narrative as paralleling more than one character in the other, such that the reader has difficulty tracing a continuous and consistent analogy. This phenomenon, assuming that it is intentional, may be called “dynamic analogy”. In this article, several “dynamic analogies” are examined from the book of Esther. It seems that in light of the multiplicity of instances in which this occurs in the book of Esther, it should be regarded as an intentional literary phenomenon which does indeed present an obstacle to the reader in maintaining a steady reading of the analogies between the narratives. The “dynamic analogy” in the book of Esther is a device that causes the reader to feel unequipped to assess fully the situations that he reads about and the characters that he encounters, and thus contributes to the sense of capriciousness and instability that the author is trying to convey.
Irenaeus and the Text of 1 Samuel
Authors: Kauhanen Tuukka
Published: August 2009

Irenaeus' Against Heresies is a very important early witness for the text of the LXX. Irenaeus' quotations from 1 Samuel have survived only in Latin and Armenian translations of this work. In the Latin version, the biblical quotations are translated in the same word-for-word manner as the rest of the text, which makes it a reliable witness for Irenaeus' LXX text. The so-called Lucianic MS group (L) agrees with Irenaeus' quotations in several significant readings, which makes Irenaeus an important witness to the Proto-Lucianic text. This is illustrated by a close analysis of a textual problem in 1 Sam 12:4, where it seems that Irenaeus and L alone have preserved the original form of the text.
P in Deuteronomium 34
Authors: Schmidt Ludwig
Published: August 2009

In earlier research Dtn 34:1a*, 7-9 are mostly regarded as fragments of the priestly report of Moses' death. Since 1988 this has often been denied; however, the present article argues for the traditional position. The absence of a priestly notice on Moses' death ist no proof against P, since the pentateuchal redaction had only used fragments of the priestly report for the birth of Esau and Jacob (Gen 25:19, 20, 26b) as well. Further it is demonstrated that Aaron's death (Num 20:22bff.*), Num 22:1, the announcement of Moses' death and the appointment of Joshua (Num 27:12ff.) belong to P and prepare for the death of Moses. The age of Moses in Ex 7:7 (P) confirms that P knew the oldest deuteronomistic layer in Dtn 3:23ff.*; 31:1-8* and 34:1-6*.
The Motif of Beauty in the Books of Samuel and Kings
Authors: Avioz Michael
Published: August 2009

It is well-known that there are no detailed descriptions of the physical beauty of specific characters in the Bible. Despite this “disclaimer”, we seek to treat descriptions of such beauty in the books of Samuel and Kings in this article as they are manifested in stories of male (Saul, Eliab, David, Absalom, and Adonijah) and female figures (Abigail, Bathsheba, Tamar, and Abishag the Shunammite). We shall attempt to answer the following questions: What are the opinions of the authors of Samuel and Kings on physical appearance? Is a distinction drawn between masculine and feminine beauty? What are the purposes of pointing out a specific character's physical beauty? An analysis of the Biblical convocations is conducted according to the literary approach. The article focuses on methods used to cast the characters and on analogies between the various stories, and tries to draw conclusions regarding trends in the books of Samuel and Kings, as well as on the homogeneity of Deuteronomistic history.
Loyalty, Dependency and Status with YHWH: The Use of 'bd in the Psalms
Authors: Bridge Edward
Published: August 2009

An exploration of the use of 'bd in the Psalms shows that it is almost exclusively used metaphorically. As a verb, this study affirms translations such as 'to worship' in reference to deity, and 'to be subject to' in reference to human power. As a noun, it is used to describe a wide range of things or people, all in relation the YHWH. Of interest is how 'bd is used as a metaphor ('bdk/'bdyk) for the voice in a number of psalms, effectively being a substitution for 'I' or 'we'. This use is always connected with supplication and or claims of loyalty to YHWH, and shows that 'bd indicates the relationship of the voice in the psalm to YHWH is that of dependency, submission and loyalty. When used to describe others outside of the voice in the psalm, the term can indicate status, but always derived status.
The Thursdays as They Live: Christian Religious Transformation and Gender Relations in Postwar Gorongosa, Central Mozambique
Authors: Igreja Victor , Lambranca Béatrice Dias
Published: August 2009

This paper focuses on gendered processes of socialization experienced by Christian religious groups in different Christian churches in post-civil war Gorongosa, a district in the centre of Mozambique. Discourses of radical social transformation through Christian interventions and experiences are prominent among Christians, both men and women. Yet a comprehensive and longitudinal analysis of the social world in which the Christian groups are embedded and the performances of Christian men and women demonstrates the emergence of complex processes of transformation and continuities with local cultural beliefs and practices that many non-Christians have partially or thoroughly reformed or abandoned. These changes and continuities also encompass the manifestation of fluid forms of submission and creativity, and masculinities and femininities against the ideological notion of thoroughly new and closed Christian identities. The overall analysis suggests that the tension between the practices of change and continuity are necessary in order to create and sustain the legitimacy of the various Christian groups in Gorongosa.
Mary and the Demons: Marian Devotion and Ritual Healing in Tanzania
Authors: Wilkens Katharina
Published: August 2009

In this paper I present the complex understanding of illness and healing in the Catholic Marian Faith Healing Ministry (MFHM) in Tanzania. The efficacy of religious healing should be understood as a social process dependent on the plausibility and attractiveness that the rituals have for the individual patients, as well as for their community. By contrasting an analysis of the publications of the leader of the group, Father Nkwera, with guided interviews among the members, I was able to develop a differentiated picture of the broad range of healing concepts within the group. While Nkwera translates local spirit beliefs into an apocalyptic worldview that associates physical healing with political critique—especially in the case of HIV/AIDS—his followers situate the healing process within a framework of personal salvation. In my study, I contextualise the MFHM within its pluralistic traditional, Muslim, Catholic, Pentecostal and biomedical environment that impact it on local and global levels.
Revolution, Modernity and (Trans)National Shi'i Islam: Rethinking Religious Conversion in Senegal
Authors: Leichtman Mara
Published: August 2009

The establishment of a Shi'i Islamic network in Senegal is one alternative to following the country's dominant Sufi orders. I examine Senegalese conversion narratives and the central role played by the Iranian Revolution, contextualizing life stories (trans)nationally in Senegal's political economy and global networks with Iran and Lebanon. Converts localize foreign religious ideologies into a 'national' Islam through the discourse that Shi'i education can bring peace and economic development to Senegal. Senegalese Shi'a perceive that proselytizing, media technologies, and Muslim networking can lead to social, cultural and perhaps even political change through translating the Iranian Revolution into a non-violent reform movement.
Regionalizing International Criminal Law?
Authors: Jalloh Charles Chernor
Published: August 2009

This article examines the initially cooperative but increasingly tense relationship between the International Criminal Court (ICC) and Africa. It assesses the various legal and political reasons for the mounting criticisms of the ICC by African governments, especially within the African Union (AU), following the indictment of incumbent Sudanese President Omar Hassan Al Bashir. The author situates the ICC within broader African efforts to establish more peaceful societies through the continent-wide AU. He submits that the ICC, by prosecuting architects of serious international crimes in Africa's numerous conflicts, could contribute significantly to the continent's fledgling peace and security architecture which aims to prevent, manage and resolve conflicts and to anticipate and avert crimes against humanity. On the other hand, the author suggests that the ICC also has much to gain from Africa, especially in these early years when it is seeking to become a functional court of law with global legitimacy. By undertaking independent, fair and credible prosecutions without alienating States Parties, the world criminal court is more likely to fulfill its mandate and to win over powerful hold outs, such as the United States, China, and India. This will help it co-opt the support necessary for its universal reach and future success. However, he cautions that given Africa's sensitive historical experience with foreign interventions, including the slave trade and colonialism, the international criminal justice regime anchored on the ICC may be undermined, or perhaps even falter, if it is perceived as having a biased, politicized or insensitive application to a single region of the world.
The Duality of the Proportionality Principle within Asymmetric Warfare and Ensuing Superior Criminal Responsibilities
Authors: Knoops Geert-Jan Alexander
Published: August 2009

The proportionality concept has gained little scholarly attention when it concerns Asymmetric Warfare. Yet its relevance has become imminent during the last Gaza-conflict whereby the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) were facing an asymmetric adversary. Does the application of the proportionality principle merit a different legal approach in such a context? If so, can a contextual interpretation of said principle have a dual face? And what may be the consequences thereof for the application of superior responsibilities to be imposed on military commanders under International Criminal Law? These are pertinent questions of law which the author seeks to answer in this article.
The Relationship between State Sovereignty and the Enforcement of International Criminal Law under the Rome Statute (1998): A Complex Interplay
Authors: Melandri Manuela
Published: August 2009

This article explores the relationship between state sovereignty and the enforcement of international criminal law under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. This doing, it attempts to map out the ambivalent and sometimes contradictory roles that different typologies sovereignty play in advancing or hindering the enforcement of international criminal law. After a brief survey of the literature on the debate over 'international law vs. state sovereignty', the paper focuses on one specific aspect of the newly established ICC: the conditions for case admissibility. The analysis will show that the relationship between state sovereignty and international criminal justice is a dynamic and complex one, which needs to be understood and contextualized within the current system of international relations.
The Gravity Threshold under the ICC Statute: Gravity Back and Forth in Lubanga and Ntaganda
Authors: Stegmiller Ignaz
Published: August 2009

The Prosecutor must exercise prosecutorial selection due to his limited capacity. Therefore, Article 53 provides a complicated corset that has to be applied in a consistent manner. One of the central themes is gravity, which has generated early case law in Lubanga and Ntaganda. In this article, the author argues that the notion of gravity entails two different layers: a legal gravity threshold and a relative (discretionary) gravity assessement, linked to Article 53(1)(b), 17(1)(d) and Article 53(1)(c) respectively. As will be shown below, neither the OTP nor the Chambers have developed a congruent gravity approach. Starting from the author's basic distinction between two gravity facets, the ICC's actors are now able to fill in the blanks: they must sort out legal and policy criteria and apply them accordingly under legal or relative gravity.
The Use of Force, Wars of National Liberation and the Right to Self-Determination in the South Ossetian Conflict
Authors: O'Reilly Kieran , Higgins Noelle
Published: August 2009

The 2008 conflict in South Ossetia, involving both Georgian and Russian armed forces, attracted much international attention and debate. This article seeks to analyse the international legal framework regarding the use of force which should have applied to this conflict. It will first look at the history of, and circumstances surrounding, the South Ossetian conflict, and then examine the jus ad bellum regarding wars of national liberation and aggression. The concept of intervention to protect nationals abroad will also be discussed. These legal paradigms will then be applied to the events of August 2008 in the region of South Ossetia to analyse the legality of the use of force in this conflict.
Janusz Korczak – His Legacy and its Relevance for Children's Rights Today
Authors: Eichsteller Gabriel
Published: August 2009

As a paediatrician and pedagogue, a writer and children's rights advocate, Janusz Korczak (1878–1942) has had a large influence on thinking in Polish society. Most Poles still grow up with his children's stories, and Korczak's work culminated in Poland initiating and influencing the ten year process of writing the United Nations 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child. Despite his cutting-edge ideas and his contribution to children's rights, only a few of Korczak's texts have been translated into English and his work has widely gone unrecognised. This paper aims to give English-speaking readers working in the children's rights sector an insight into Janusz Korczak's extraordinary life for children, into how his pedagogic thoughts and principles relate to newer ideas within the sociology of childhood and children's participation, and into his compelling children's rights advocacy and practice. His innovative ideas, preserved for future generations in his written work for children and adults, are still inspiring, prompting us to reflect on our own passion for children's rights and are helpful guides for our own practice.
Honourable Traditions? Honour Violence, Early Marriage and Sexual Abuse of Teenage Girls in Lebanon, the Occupied Palestinian Territories and Yemen
Authors: Ouis Pernilla
Published: August 2009

Girls in the Middle East are often exposed to serious violations of their rights as set out in the UN Convention of the Rights of the Child; these violations are particularly evident in the field of gender-based sexual discrimination and violence. The project described in this article attempts to produce a situation analysis of the exposure to sexual violence of girls aged 12-18 in three countries: Lebanon, The Occupied Palestinian Territories (the OPT) and Yemen. The article focuses on three particular types of gender-based sexual violence against teenage girls, namely honour violence, early marriages, and sexual abuse. The methods applied in the research were Focus Groups Discussions (FGDs) with about 8-12 participants in each FGD. In addition to the FGDs, life stories were also collected. The project emphasised the experiences and opinions of girls regarding the three types of sexual violence listed above. 384 teenagers participated in FGDs to express their views and experiences on sexual violence and more than thirty life stories were collected. The article explores how honour violence, early marriages, and sexual abuse are violations of the CRC and analyses the particular cultural mechanisms that underlie this gender-based sexual violence in the Middle East.
Rules in Everyday School Life: Teacher Strategies Undermine Pupil Participation
Authors: Thornberg Robert
Published: August 2009

The aim of this study is to examine the strategies which teachers use in their everyday interactions with pupils to work with and uphold school and classroom rules and to what extent their rule-work strategies give pupils opportunities to have a say and participate in rule-making. The study is based on fieldwork in two Swedish primary schools. According to the findings, the teachers use four main rule-work strategies: (a) assertion, (b) explanation, (c) negotiation, and (d) preparation. The findings show that it is usually the adults in school who make decisions about school rules and that pupils are seldom given any opportunities to create, modify or abolish formal rules through open negotiations. Furthermore, when school democracy meetings take place, they tend to be illusory, reducing negotiation to a matter of figuring out the "right" answer and confirming to proposals from authorities.
Reciprocity, Respect and Responsibility: The 3Rs Underlying Parent-Child Relationships in Ghana and the Implications for Children's Rights
Authors: Twum-Danso Afua
Published: August 2009

As families are central to the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and children's rights generally, it is necessary to develop a deeper understanding of the ways in which children and adults interact with each other in these spheres. Thus, this paper explores the dynamics of parent-child relationships in Ghana, the first country to ratify the Convention. In particular, it focuses on the three Rs of intergenerational relationships in Ghana – respect, responsibility and reciprocity, which continue to be central to parent-child/adult-child relations, and assesses their implications for the very concept of children's rights as inalienable and the implementation of the Convention.
Children and Young People on the UK Sex Offender Register
Authors: Thomas Terry
Published: August 2009

A number of countries now use sex offender registers as a policy to improve levels of public protection by ensuring that law enforcement agencies are better informed on the whereabouts of sex offenders in their communities. These policies are designed in part to improve child protection. The paradox is that some people on the register are themselves children and young people who have committed sexual offences. This article examines the development of the UK sex offender register and the registration of children and young people aged 10-17. It looks at attempts to provide alternative forms of registration and implications for the future in terms of children's rights.
Child Maltreatment in United States: An Examination of Child Reports and Substantiation Rates
Authors: Bingham Gary , Kwon Kyong-Ah , Kesner John
Published: August 2009

Child maltreatment represents a serious threat to children's rights and is a grave problem in the US and around the world. It is the second leading cause of death for children in the US. Each year, hundreds of thousands of reports are made to child protective services across the US. A fraction of these reports are made by the alleged victims of child maltreatment. While research into maltreatment reporting has generally focused on adult reporters, research on reports made by children themselves has been largely ignored. Data from a national child maltreatment reporting system were analyzed to first describe and then compare reports of maltreatment made by the alleged child victim to other adult reporters. Results indicated that a minority of self-reports are substantiated by child protective services and that the type of maltreatment most often reported by the alleged child victim differed significantly from other adult reporters. Differences related to the gender, race and ethnicity of the child reporter were also found.
A New Childhood Social Studies Curriculum for a New Generation of Citizenship
Authors: Saavedra Cinthya , Camicia Steven
Published: August 2009

Traditional concepts of civic education in the United States and the expanding horizons curriculum scope and sequence are challenged by globalization and transnationality because new understandings of citizenship are emerging. In our conceptual analysis, we reconceptualize social studies curriculum for childhood to meet these changes. First, we propose a theoretical framework synthesizing literature in the areas of multicultural, global, and democratic education. Second, we propose opening curriculum and research to the voices of students, especially transnational students. Such reconceptualizations have important implications for a social studies curriculum for childhood that is socially just and responsive to the changing sizes, types, and qualities of the communities with which students engage.
The Rights of the Child in the Islamic Context: The Challenges of the Local and the Global
Authors: Rajabi-Ardeshiri Masoud
Published: August 2009

Within the Islamic context, it is strongly believed that Islamic principles are fully compatible with the international concepts of human rights. Nevertheless, Islamic Shariah law has been condemned by the widespread secular discourse on universal human rights as a blatant violation of human rights. Carrying out a thematic analysis of the main Islamic Conventions/Declarations on Human Rights and the Rights of the Child, issued and ratified by the largest Islamic inter-governmental body, the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), this paper reveals that although the first Islamic Conventions/Declaration on the Rights of the Child (during 1980s) largely reiterated the religious rhetoric of Islam's commitment to children's rights, since then the Islamic states have begun to internalize a more universal understanding of human rights which reflects a change from a mainly ideological, conservative monologue into a more universal dialogue.
The Synthesis of Age and Gender: Intersectionality, International Human Rights Law and the Marginalisation of the Girl-Child
Authors: Taefi Nura
Published: August 2009

This paper uses intersectional feminist theory to examine girls' unique positioning at the margins of age and gender. Using a wide range of examples, I consider that girls are marginalised within the category of children as female and within the category of women as children. These intersectional marginalisations reinforce one another and result in a further denial of girls' rights. A study of international human rights law demonstrates that fragmenting girls' identity into the categories of "women" and "children" causes girls to be overlooked in favour of those who are more visible. I suggest that the discourses of women's rights and children's rights must work together to establish an integrated approach to girls' rights. I propose that the appointment of a United Nations Special Rapporteur for the Girl-Child can bring this to effect in international human rights law.
Outbidding Catholicity. Early Islamic Attitudes toward Christians and Christianity
Authors: Dean Jason
Published: August 2009

How did early Islam gain its understanding of Christians and Christianity? How did it react to Christian claims of universality? To answer these questions, this article first identifies passages pertaining to the Christian religion in representative texts of the three main bodies of literature produced by the first Muslim writers and editors: the Qur'ān, the Hadith and the Sira. This data is then analyzed into five ideal-types of Islamic attitudes toward Christians and Christianity: 1) affirmations of the truth of the Gospel, 2) descriptions of Christians as true believers, 3) descriptions of Christians as sectarians, 4) accusations of disbelief (kufr) and 5) accusations of idolatry (shirk). The assertion of an historical relationship between sectarianism, disbelief and idolatry led to subordinating the Muslim-Christian dialogue on the recognition of the unicity of God, which could be conceived of as providing the basis either for a restricted religious pluralism or for an Islamic universalism.
Is there a Meaning in Natural Disasters? Constructions of Culture, Religion and Science
Authors: Adeney-Risakotta Bernard
Published: August 2009

This article discusses the various ways Indonesian Muslims and Christians wrestled with the existential issues caused by the tsunami and the earthquake that hit Yogyakarta in 2006. Many of them are strong related to the issues of the theodicy. One of the most compelling ones is the question whether this disaster was a punishment imposed by God. Impressive was how certain Muslims accepted the catastrophe. However, it is remarkable that the answer also often reflected current mutual relationships between Muslims and Christians. Javanese Christians saw the tsunami as a punishment meted out to the Muslims in Aceh, but after the earthquake in Yogyakarta they held a different view. Other people took another attitude and opted for a view in which they, in the name of God, reached out to their neighbours.
Gestures of the Evil Mind: Interpreting Religion-Related Violence in Indonesia after 9/11
Authors: van Liere Lucien
Published: August 2009

Religion-related violence in current Indonesia results from historic memory of anti-colonial struggle, recent power games and globalization. This articles seeks to understand the influence of 9/11 on inter- and intra religious tensions Indonesia. A three level research method will be used (narrative/biography — date/place — theory) and three analytical tools to understand group-violence will be introduced (Volkan's hot place, Girard's cycle of vengeance and strategies of dehumanization) in order to comprehend religion-related violence in Indonesia as an attempt to get rid of the other's 'evil mind'. The presumption of the evil mind after 9/11 is embedded into a global network of vengeance, continually disseminating images of suffering and pain around the globe and — as such — constantly preceding another atrocity. Religion-related violence, troubling Indonesia since 1997, is a highly interesting example of the expulsion of the other's presumed evil mind.
'The Name of God in Africa' and Related Contemporary Theological, Development and Linguistic Concerns
Authors: Harries Jim
Published: August 2009

Recent discoveries in linguistics here summarised reveal problems in the choice of an African name for God, especially when theological debate is in English, as it results in the ignoring of important differences in how God is understood. Translating the Luo term 'Nyasaye' as 'God' ignores his Luo character as 'bestowing force'. Similarly translating 'God' by 'Nyasaye' falsely assumes a carrying over of native-English theological presuppositions. These differences are shown to be consequential and, if disregarded, serious. The use of African languages rooted in African culture in debate is found to be essential for the future health of Christianity, and socio-economic development in Africa.
Failure of Ecumenism: The Rise of Church Related Universities in Zimbabwe
Authors: Zwana Solmon
Published: August 2009

Discourses on ethnicity, politics and religion have a propensity to concentrate on their divisive implications and violent aspects. At another level, scholarship on ecumenism has been preoccupied with forms of ecumenism such as interdenominational bodies and grassroots co-operation exhibited in joint worship services and discussion forums. It is noted that in spite of its shortcomings Christianity has registered notable progress in ecumenical co-operation. However, one dimension where the churches have not done well is closer co-operation culminating in cross-denominational pooling of resources leading to the establishment of institutions. This paper seeks to highlight the failure of ecumenism in the emergence of church-related universities in Zimbabwe. It notes that particularly in the early stages of the evolution of church related universities there was consideration of ecumenical ventures but the ideas did not take root for a variety of reasons. This paper isolates ethnicity, regionalism and historical backgrounds among the major reasons for the failure of ecumenism in higher education in Zimbabwe. It argues that over time Christian churches participated through their mission stations in fostering ethnic and regional identities. The emergence of church related universities saw an increase in competition and rivalry rather than co-operation as each church in spite of the absence of an adequate resource base sought to take advantage of the liberalisation of the higher education sector by the state.
Twentieth-Century Droughts and Their Impacts on Terrestrial Carbon Cycling in China
Authors: Xiao Jingfeng , Zhuang Qianlai , Liang Eryuan , Shao Xuemei , McGuire A. David , Moody Aaron , Kicklighter David W. , Melillo Jerry M.
Published: August 2009

Midlatitude regions experienced frequent droughts during the twentieth century, but their impacts on terrestrial carbon balance are unclear. This paper presents a century-scale study of drought effects on the carbon balance of terrestrial ecosystems in China. The authors first characterized the severe extended droughts over the period 1901–2002 using the Palmer drought severity index and then examined how these droughts affected the terrestrial carbon dynamics using tree-ring width chronologies and a process-based biogeochemistry model, the Terrestrial Ecosystem Model (TEM). It is found that China suffered from a series of severe extended droughts during the twentieth century. The major drought periods included 1920–30, 1939–47, 1956–58, 1960–63, 1965–68, 1978–80, and 1999–2002. Most droughts generally reduced net primary productivity (NPP) and net ecosystem productivity (NEP) in large parts of drought-affected areas. Moreover, some of the droughts substantially reduced the countrywide annual NPP and NEP. Out of the seven droughts, three (1920–30, 1965–68, and 1978–80) caused the countrywide terrestrial ecosystems to switch from a carbon sink to a source, and one (1960–63) substantially reduced the magnitude of the countrywide terrestrial carbon sink. Strong decreases in NPP were mainly responsible for the anomalies in annual NEP during these drought periods. Changes in heterotrophic respiration happened in the same direction, but mostly with smaller magnitude. The results show that severe extended droughts had significant effects on terrestrial carbon cycling in China, although future studies should consider other important processes such as drought-induced mortality and regrowth, land-use change, disturbances (e.g., fire), human management (e.g., fertilization and irrigation), and environmental pollution (e.g., ozone pollution, nitrogen deposition). These drought effects are of particular importance in light of projected widespread summer drying in midlatitude regions during the twenty-first century. Future droughts could lead to a reduced terrestrial carbon sink or even a source and exert a positive feedback to the global climate system.
Bulk Formulation of the Heat and Water Vapor Fluxes at the Air–Sea Interface, Including Nonmolecular Contributions
Authors: Mueller James A. , Veron Fabrice
Published: August 2009

Accurate prediction of the air–sea sensible and latent heat fluxes is vital for nearly all applications of atmosphere and ocean models. Existing theories of heat transfer over rough surfaces provide a starting point, but they seem incomplete given that recent measurements suggest a departure from these theoretically predicted fluxes at higher wind speeds. Although explicit models of the air–sea heat fluxes are desperately needed, the formulation presented in this paper is an attempt to model the air–sea fluxes without dependence on explicit heat flux components. Using smooth flow limit approximations, theoretical profiles, and a physically based surface stress model, the predicted heat fluxes show reasonable agreement with available data. With increasing wind forcing, modestly increasing heat and moisture exchange coefficients (Stanton and Dalton numbers) are found. Even though wave age strongly influences the surface drag, stratification and temperature effects seem to dominate the wave-age influence on the air–sea heat and moisture fluxes.
A Study of Cirrus Ice Particle Size Distribution Using TC4 Observations
Authors: Tian Lin , Heymsfield Gerald M. , Li Lihua , Heymsfield Andrew J. , Bansemer Aaron , Twohy Cynthia H. , Srivastava Ramesh C.
Published: August 2009

An analysis of two days of in situ observations of ice particle size spectra, in convectively generated cirrus, obtained during NASA’s Tropical Composition, Cloud, and Climate Coupling (TC4) mission is presented. The observed spectra are examined for their fit to the exponential, gamma, and lognormal function distributions. Characteristic particle size and concentration density scales are determined using two (for the exponential) or three (for the gamma and lognormal functions) moments of the spectra. It is shown that transformed exponential, gamma, and lognormal distributions should collapse onto standard curves. An examination of the transformed spectra, and of deviations of the transformed spectra from the standard curves, shows that the lognormal function provides a better fit to the observed spectra.
Gravity Waves Generated by Sheared Potential Vorticity Anomalies
Authors: Lott François , Plougonven Riwal , Vanneste Jacques
Published: August 2009

The gravity waves (GWs) generated by potential vorticity (PV) anomalies in a rotating stratified shear flow are examined under the assumptions of constant vertical shear, two-dimensionality, and unbounded domain. Near a PV anomaly, the associated perturbation is well modeled by quasigeostrophic theory. This is not the case at large vertical distances, however, and in particular beyond the two inertial layers that appear above and below the anomaly; there, the perturbation consists of vertically propagating gravity waves. This structure is described analytically, using an expansion in the continuous spectrum of the singular modes that results from the presence of critical levels.

Several explicit results are obtained. These include the form of the Eliassen–Palm (EP) flux as a function of the Richardson number N 2/Λ2, where N is the Brunt–Väisälä frequency and Λ the vertical shear. Its nondimensional value is shown to be approximately exp(−πN/Λ)/8 in the far-field GW region, approximately twice that between the two inertial layers. These results, which imply substantial wave–flow interactions in the inertial layers, are valid for Richardson numbers larger than 1 and for a large range of PV distributions. In dimensional form they provide simple relationships between the EP fluxes and the large-scale flow characteristics.

As an illustration, the authors consider a PV disturbance with an amplitude of 1 PVU and a depth of 1 km, and estimate that the associated EP flux ranges between 0.1 and 100 mPa for a Richardson number between 1 and 10. These values of the flux are comparable with those observed in the lower stratosphere, which suggests that the mechanism identified in this paper provides a substantial gravity wave source, one that could be parameterized in GCMs.
Statistics of Small-Scale Velocity Fluctuations and Internal Intermittency in Marine Stratocumulus Clouds
Authors: Siebert H. , Shaw R. A. , Warhaft Z.
Published: August 2009

Clouds are known to be turbulent, but the details of their internal turbulent structure have been largely unexplored. Measurements of turbulent velocities in stratocumulus clouds presented here reveal an intermittent structure consistent with that observed in classic homogeneous isotropic turbulence. The measurements were taken close to cloud top in a 200-m-thick cloud layer over a path of approximately 6 km, using a hot-wire anemometer below a helicopter as part of the Airborne Cloud Turbulence Observation System (ACTOS) measurement system. Hot-wire signal artifacts resulting from droplet impacts are removed without significantly degrading the signal, such that high-order velocity structure functions can be evaluated. The structure function analysis for orders 2–8 show statistically significant departures from the Kolmogorov’s 1941 scaling, yielding scaling exponents consistent with the Kolmogorov–Obukhov refined similarity hypothesis, with an intermittency exponent of 0.25. This is in agreement with the accepted value determined in single-phase flows under carefully controlled conditions, and no evidence is found of any departure from the large body of knowledge obtained from the laboratory on the finescale turbulence structure. This suggests that processes depending on the finescale structure of turbulence that cannot presently be measured in clouds can be explored in the laboratory setting. Since these findings pertain to clouds with relatively low liquid water content and weak turbulence, further work will be required to determine their applicability to other cloud types.