bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The practical reality theory and business ethics in non‐Western context: evidence from Jordan
Authors: Al‐Shaikh Fuad N.
Published: August 2003

This study is aimed at investigating the degree to which business managers in developing countries adhere to business ethics with special reference to the case of Jordan and comparing results with findings of previous studies. This comparison is done to assess whether business managers in different countries make compromises in their ethical stance under pressure of practical reality; and exploring the links (if any) between each of company's features and manager's characteristics and ethical orientations of business managers. Achieving the above objectives can help in assessing the universal theory of business ethics. Results indicate that the ethical orientations of Jordanian business managers are positive on certain aspects and negative on others. For instance, padding an expense account was considered unethical with a mean of 5.30 reflecting relatively high ethical orientation. On the contrary, giving gifts to purchasing agents was not perceived unethical. The mean for this vignette was 3.29 indicating unethical stance of the respondents. The findings seem to converge with previous studies in the region. Results also validate the practical reality theory, which is based on the notion that business managers make compromises in their ethical beliefs under pressures of reality. Recommendations are made to upgrade the ethical awareness of subjects and incorporate business ethics in their companies’ policies and plans.
Developing top managers: the impact of interpersonal skills training
Authors: Hunt John W. , Baruch Yehuda
Published: August 2003

Some organizations invest a great deal of time and effort in elaborate training programmes designed to improve the so‐called “soft” skills of managing. Yet assessing the effectiveness of such initiatives has been rare. Indeed, some trainers have argued that such assessments are misleading. Recent developments in the use of survey feedback have provided a technique for pre‐ and post‐training assessments. A study, at a leading business school, was designed to assess the impact of interpersonal skills training on top managers. The evaluation of the training was based on subordinate feedback of 252 executives from 48 organizations, conducted before, and six months after, the training programme took place. The results indicate significant impact on some, but not all, of the competencies and skills under study.
The National Archives of Singapore Reference Enquiry Database
Authors: Goh Dion H. , Chan Roy L.
Published: August 2003

The National Archives of Singapore offers reference services to members of the public on questions related to Singapore’s history and heritage. However, with only two reference officers stationed at the reference helpdesk at any one time, users may often have to queue to await servicing while the officers are busy attending to queries, telephone calls or retrieving physical documents. The Reference Enquiry Database was thus conceived to provide Web‐based access to ready reference information on frequently asked subjects by members of the public, thereby reducing waiting times for users, easing the workload of reference officers and allowing them more time to attend to more complex information needs. This paper provides the background and rationale for the system as well as discusses design and implementation issues.
Information literacy evaluation: moving towards virtual learning environments
Authors: Joint Nicholas
Published: August 2003

Evaluates the evidence for and against the effectiveness of electronically delivered information literacy programmes in comparison with personal contact teaching. Shows that computer‐aided learning approaches to user education have great strengths but also undeniable weaknesses. The way to promote higher levels of information literacy in the electronic library environment is to increase the levels of computer‐led delivery, as long as this is done in such a way as to maximise the strengths of the format. This is best done in the context of an integrated virtual learning environment (VLE). Such an environment would promote information literacy synergistically as one of a suite of multiple electronic literacies that can be learnt alongside each other. Exploiting a VLE in this way would also facilitate the integration of information literacy into the broader curriculum. Computer‐based user education to date could be viewed as having been constrained by a need to imitate well‐established, tutor‐delivered user education methods. Without an ambitious programme of integration into larger scale e‐learning models, this pattern of constraint will continue.
Issues in library associations in Eastern, Central and Southern Africa: the case of Botswana Library Association (BLA)
Authors: Mutula Stephen
Published: August 2003

This paper reviews the challenges facing library associations within Eastern, Central and Southern Africa with particular attention paid to the Botswana Library Association (BLA). The challenges occasioned by information technology and the future outlook in the SCECSAL region are analysed in the context of the implication for libraries. The paper looks at how the BLA could prepare strategies to deal with the paradigm shifts occasioned by information technology in order to participate in the global information arena.
Management for change in acquisitions in academic libraries
Authors: Siddiqui Moid A.
Published: August 2003

Academic libraries worldwide have been utilizing the Internet to enhance collections, expand services and improve operations. Internet resources and services, such as e‐mail, online public access catalogs, publishers’ catalogs, electronic resources, multimedia encyclopedias, and dictionaries are becoming common and useful collection‐building tools in many libraries, especially academic libraries. This paper discusses the essential elements of management for change in academic libraries, the ways in which acquisitions managers can exhibit leadership in this environment, and how acquisitions librarians can cope with this change. The paper examines the various Internet tools that are being used in the electronic environment for the selection and ordering of books online. The paper also presents an overview of how the use of the Internet has changed the traditional concept of selection and ordering processes in academic libraries.
Web Services: XML‐based system integrated techniques
Authors: Yu Shien‐Chiang , Chen Ruey‐Shun
Published: August 2003

The integration of information systems must consider various aspects, including the individuals of an organization, cooperating with other vendors, and the connections within this organization. The advantages of integration include shortening the negotiation process among the organization and the cooperating vendors, saving time for the users, and identifying the interface management. However, the greatest difficulties are how to integrate different system platforms and implement technical aspects into a suitable Web‐interface for users to operate. Information technology companies have developed Web Services which rely on the flexibility of the Extended Mark‐up Language. The services not only apply to integrated information systems, but also provide open services in Web environments. This article evaluates the feasibility of Web Services for application in integrated library information systems.
Digital archive developments
Authors: Falk Howard
Published: August 2003

States that there has been a growing interest in digital archive development in universities and colleges and in national and international governmental institutions. Reveals that this has come about owing to the rising tide of digital documents created by faculty and students and also because of librarians’ growing dissatisfaction with pricing and practices in traditional journal publishing. Looks at some of the digital archives and software available.
A Model for the ‘War Against Terrorism’? Military Intervention in Northern Ireland and the 1970 Falls Curfew
Authors: Campbell Colm , Connelly Ita
Published: August 2003

This paper questions the claim that British militarized security strategy in Northern Ireland offers a model for the global ‘war against terrorism’ by exploring the critically important (though neglected) ‘Falls Curfew’ episode. Part one explores the relationship between law, legitimacy, and the role of the military in democracies experiencing violent conflict. Part two examines the operationalization of the law on military intervention during the curfew, drawing on archival material and employing empirical studies. Part three draws overall conclusions, relating the contribution that the curfew made to the escalation of the conflict to its operational aspects and legal underpinnings. Failings are identified, and some general lessons drawn out about the dangers of a ‘war’ model in complex and violent political disorders.
‘Mind with Mind and Spirit with Spirit’: Lord Denning and African Legal Education
Authors: Harrington John A. , Manji Ambreena
Published: August 2003

Lord Denning played an important role in the establishment and development of legal education and lawyers' training in Africa from the late 1950s onwards. By exploring this involvement it is possible to add to existing work on Denning's vision of the role of law and legal professionalism. In post‐colonial Africa, order and stability were best assured by a cadre of lawyers imbued with the virtues characteristic of English practitioners over the centuries. These ineffable qualities could only be apprehended through direct contact with English lawyers and, to a lesser extent, law teachers. These views are born of the tension between universalism and nationalism in Denning's legal thought.
Nodal Governance, Democracy, and the New ‘Denizens’
Authors: Shearing Clifford , Wood Jennifer
Published: August 2003

We begin this paper by reviewing some recent transformations in governance. We then propose three new concepts that we believe assist us in coming to terms with these transformations and the political statuses that have emerged as part of them. These concepts are ‘nodal governance’, ‘denizens’, and ‘communal space’. Following this we will explore the normative implications of nodal governance as it has taken shape to date, with an emphasis on the ‘governance disparity’ that is paralleling the ‘wealth disparity’ across the globe. In response to this disparity, we will end with an outline of a normative vision and practical programme aimed at deepening democracy in poor areas of South Africa, Argentina, and elsewhere. We will argue that the main virtue of nodal governance, namely, the emphasis on local capacity and knowledge can be retrieved, reaffirmed, and reinstitutionalized in ways that enhance the self‐direction of poor communities while strengthening their ‘collective capital’.
‘A Benevolent Institution for the Suppression of Evil’: Joseph Conrad's The Secret Agent and the Limits of Policing
Authors: Skinner Stephen
Published: August 2003

The study of law in literature stimulates critical reflection about law and the limits of its institutions by expanding contextual analysis to include the emotive discourses of fiction. This article starts from the premisses that the orthodox separation of literary expression from social scientific writing is not immutable and that different temporal settings are not barriers to exploring themes that traverse them. It uses Joseph Conrad's The Secret Agent, a story of policing and anarchism in late nineteenth‐century London, in order to discuss the limits of policing today. This novel is read in parallel with two modern police studies to show how it prefigures current concerns, portraying policing as an imperfect totem of security, immaterial to the individual's emotional crises, which, by extension, can be seen to illustrate the limits of law itself. This article thus raises methodological and theoretical issues of general interest to the study of law in society and suggests how reading literature can thicken' legal analysis by offering experience of the emotional beyond that law ignores.
Al andar se hace camino
Authors: Arnaud André‐Jean
Published: August 2003

This article is a contribution to the occasional series dealing with a major book that influenced the author. Previous contributors include Stewart Macaulay, John Griffith, William Twining, Carol Harlow, Geoffrey Bindman, and Harry Arthurs.
Individual Difference Variables, Affective Differentiation, and the Structures of Affect
Authors: Terracciano Antonio , McCrae Robert R. , Hagemann Dirk , Costa Paul T.
Published: August 2003

Abstract Methodological arguments are usually invoked to explain variations in the structure of affect. Using self‐rated affect from Italian samples (N=600), we show that individual difference variables related to affective differentiation can moderate the observed structure. Indices of circumplexity (Browne, 1992) and congruence coefficients to the hypothesized target were used to quantify the observed structures. Results did not support the circumplex model as a universal structure. A circular structure with axes of activation and valence was approximated only among more affectively differentiated groups: students and respondents with high scores on Openness to Feelings and measures of negative emotionality. A different structure, with unipolar Positive Affect and Negative Affect factors, was observed among adults and respondents with low Openness to Feelings and negative emotionality. The observed structure of affect will depend in part on the nature of the sample studied.
Representational Models Associated With Fear of Failure in Adolescents and Young Adults
Authors: Conroy David E.
Published: August 2003

As a descriptive trait, fear of failure (FF) has been associated with serious problems in achievement and health. Psychodynamic theories emphasizing interpersonal processes and early object relations are often used to explain the etiology of FF despite little comprehensive research on such theories in the FF domain. The present study employed the Structural Analysis of Social Behavior to study associations between FF and representational models of self and others among 211 high school and college‐aged students and athletes. FF was strongly associated with hostile representational models of self while failing (large effect size). This hostility paralleled the manner in which high FF participants reported being treated by their parents and most significant instructors (all moderate effect sizes). Overall, results supported the complementary nature of these theoretical perspectives and provided further evidence for interpersonal theories of FF.
The Extended Genotype: The Heritability of Personality Accounts for the Heritability of Recalled Family Environments in Twins Reared Apart
Authors: Krueger Robert F. , Markon Kristian E. , Bouchard Thomas J.
Published: August 2003

AbstractHow are retrospective accounts of family rearing environments linked to adult personality? We addressed this question by measuring both domains in a sample of 180 reared‐apart twins. Twins completed extensive measures of rearing environments (the Minnesota‐Briggs History Record, the Block Environmental Questionnaire, the Family Environment Scale, and the Physical Facilities Questionnaire) and an omnibus measure of adult personality (the Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire). Retrospective accounts of family environments were partially heritable and all the heritable variance in environmental measures could be accounted for by heritable variance in personality. In addition, differences between twins in their accounts of their rearing environments (nonshared environmental factors) were not significantly linked to differences between twins in their personalities. Hence, family environmental measures appear to be heritable because personality genes influence the way people shape and recall their rearing environments. In addition, differences in reared‐apart twins' retrospectively recalled rearing environments appear to have little impact on differences in their personalities in adulthood.
A Fuzzy‐Neural Network Method for Modeling Uncertainties in Soil‐Structure Interaction Problems
Authors: Provenzano P.
Published: August 2003

Abstract:  Uncertainty often recurs in structural system characterization as well as in choosing the mechanical model and in calibrating it. When analyzing a structure founded in cohesionless soils, the uncertainty in system modeling comes from soil inherent variability, site conditions, construction tolerance, and failure mechanisms. In this research, a Fuzzy‐Neural Network method to predict the behavior of structures built on complex cohesionless soils is proposed. The method is based on an Artificial‐Neural Network (ANN) for modeling the soil‐foundation interaction. Its learning process analyzes over 200 records of building foundations, tanks, and embankments settlements on sand and gravel. Once validated, ANN is introduced in the soil‐foundation‐sovrastructure interaction model. Using fuzzy sets to define vague and ambiguous variables, the Fuzzy‐Neural Network method predicts the system behavior and quantifies the uncertainty of its response. A numerical example shows the method effectiveness in the case of uncertainty in soil parameters and gives suggestions for successive applications.
Multi‐Agent Distributed Coordination of Project Schedule Changes
Authors: Kim Keesoo , Paulson Jr Boyd C.
Published: August 2003

Abstract:  This article shows a practical application for Distributed Coordination framework for Project Schedule Changes (DCPSC) wherein a project can be rescheduled dynamically through negotiations by all of the concerned project participants. This article presents the design and implementation of a multi‐agent system called Distributed Subcontractor Agent System (DSAS), which consists of multiple subcontractor agents, multiple Graphic User Interfaces (GUIs), and an Agent Message Router. In the DSAS, subcontractors interact with their software agents to evaluate the impact of changes, simulate decisions, and get the negotiation results that they need to reschedule the project. This also presents the design and results of DSAS charrette tests, which demonstrated that DSAS produces the lower‐cost results faster than manual centralized processes. DSAS can be useful for other domains, such as Mechanical, Electrical, and Plumbing (MEP) coordination and workspace management, if the appropriate agents are designed.
A Possibilistic Petri Net Model for Diagnosing Cracks in RC Structures
Authors: Liu Kevin F. R.
Published: August 2003

Abstract: This article proposes a possibilistic Petri net (PPN) model to diagnose cracks in reinforced concrete structures. PPN integrates Petri nets with possibilistic reasoning and maintains the advantages of both formalisms. Two major features of PPN include the possibilistic token to carry information to describe an object and its corresponding possibility and necessity measures, and four types of possibilistic transitions—inference, duplication, aggregation, and aggregation‐duplication. A reasoning algorithm, based on possibilistic Petri nets, is also developed to execute PPN. The PPN model and the reasoning algorithm are further used to diagnose possible causes of cracking in RC structures, and three basic cases are considered to demonstrate the applicability of the approach. The reliability of the results is increased by explaining the diagnostic process through the movement of tokens. Moreover, the confidence level associated with each possible cause of concrete cracking can be used to determine the relevance of the diagnosis.
A Behavioral Component Analysis of Route Guidance Systems Using Neural Networks
Authors: Hamad Khaled , Faghri Ardeshir , Nanda Raman
Published: August 2003

Abstract:  Route guidance system (RGS) is considered as a low‐cost alternative for reducing congestion by providing real‐time information to drivers to redistribute traffic in space and time so as to use roadway networks more efficiently. This article focuses on the behavioral component, one of the three components (the other two being dynamic traffic component and information supply strategy component) of a practical RGS developed through a 4‐year project at the University of Delaware. Development of the behavioral model is based on the premise that different drivers perceive and behave differently in response to the information provided. Understanding the behavior of RGS‐equipped drivers' acceptance or nonacceptance of provided information is essential for understanding the reliability of the system. Backpropagation neural network with its ability to map complex input–output relationships has been used to structure the model. This model was tested on two networks under both recurring and nonrecurring congestion. A comparative analysis of the measures of effectiveness revealed that the performance of the developed RGS is significantly better than the performance under existing non‐RGS conditions.
‘Protest’ and Fail to Survive: Le Pen and the Great Moving Right Show
Authors: Neocleous Mark , Startin Nick
Published: August 2003

This article challenges the widespread belief that the recent success of Jean-Marie Le Pen and the Front National is due to a ‘protest vote’ on the part of the French electorate, a vote which thus lacks any ‘core identity’ and is therefore unsustainable in the long term. Through a geographical and sociological breakdown of the 2002 presidential and legislative elections the article first shows the extent to which support for Le Pen is clearly not a ‘protest’ but has a clear and recognisable base. Following this, the article aims to situate the notion of the ‘protest vote’ in the wider context of the continued ‘moving right show’ in contemporary social democracy.
New Labour: ‘The Road Less Travelled’?
Authors: Meredith Stephen
Published: August 2003

This article offers a contribution to the debate in recent issues of this journal concerning the relative ‘newness’ or otherwise of New Labour. It briefly assesses the significant arguments of the respective academic protagonists and asks if, in responding to a changing social and economic climate, New Labour, the highly focused use of language and rhetoric aside, is, in a significant sense, different to the measured, pragmatic and reformist revisions of the past. It emphasises significant associations and continuities in Labour's recent evolution and the largely rhetorical and politically (and electorally) expedient nature of the party's current designation. It offers an interpretation of New Labour, based around two related observations of the party's historically broad and complex political culture and diverse perceptions and preferences of Labour's traditionally centre-right ‘governing elite’, that suggests that the post-1994 ‘New’ Labour party possesses significant precedents within elements of Labour's diverse, centre right ‘dominant coalition’.
Refugee Returns in Croatia: Contradictions and Reform
Authors: Blitz Brad K.
Published: August 2003

The principle of refugee returns has been cited as a means of resolving crises and paving the way for post-conflict reconciliation. However, return does not necessarily entail reconciliation and, in practice, the return of refugees has contributed to new tensions between ethnic communities, as well as within them. In Croatia, laws introduced by the former Tudjman regime which discriminated against non-ethnic Croats have exacerbated tensions and frustrated the process of return in war-torn areas. Discrimination against non-Croats is discussed with reference to housing policy, the law on amnesty, and the workings of judicial institutions. In spite of recent reforms, there are many barriers to return, including the costs of reconstruction, non-compliance, and the enduring effects of previous laws that created a two-tier system.
Interviewing the Political Elite: Navigating a Potential Minefield
Authors: Lilleker Darren G.
Published: August 2003

Conducting interviews can be a fundamentally important part of a research project that analyses the motivations and activity of those within the political process. However the logistics of interviewing are fraught with a number of serious obstacles and what information one can glean may not always serve the purpose that was originally intended. This article offers some observations gathered from conducting interviews with a wide range of political actors which is intended to help prepare all those considering interviewing for the first time.
GI Science, Disasters, and Emergency Management
Authors: Cutter Susan L
Published: August 2003

Societal responses to disasters begin with the initial post‐event rescue and relief operations, followed by recovery, reconstruction, and then transcend into mitigation actions including the development of pre‐impact preparedness measures, collectively known as the emergency response cycle. This paper highlights some of the applications of GI Science to the emergency response cycle, citing examples from natural hazards and from the World Trade Center disaster on 11th September 2001. More importantly, the paper describes some of the constraints on the utilization of GI Science by the practitioner community: understandable user interfaces; data quantity, quality, and integration; real‐time data and information. Finally, the paper suggests some important GI Science research areas based on the needs of the disasters and emergency management research and practitioner communities.
Building Web‐Based Spatial Information Solutions around Open Specifications and Open Source Software
Authors: Anderson Geoffrey , Moreno‐Sanchez Rafael
Published: August 2003

Geographic Information Systems (GIS) are moving from isolated, standalone, monolithic, proprietary systems working in a client‐server architecture to smaller web‐based applications and components offering specific geo‐processing functionality and transparently exchanging data among them. Interoperability is at the core of this new web services model. Compliance with Open Specifications (OS) enables interoperability. Web‐GIS software's high costs, complexity and special requirements have prevented many organizations from deploying their data and geo‐processing capabilities over the World Wide Web. There are no‐cost Open Source Software (OSS) alternatives to proprietary software for operating systems, web servers, and Relational Database Management Systems. We tested the potential of the combined use of OS and OSS to create web‐based spatial information solutions. We present in detail the steps taken in creating a prototype system to support land use planning in Mexico with web‐based geo‐processing capabilities currently not present in commercial web‐GIS products. We show that the process is straightforward and accessible to a broad audience of geographic information scientists and developers. We conclude that OS and OSS allow the development of web‐based spatial information solutions that are low‐cost, simple to implement, compatible with existing information technology infrastructure, and have the potential of interoperating with other systems and applications in the future.
Using the Relative Operating Characteristic to Quantify Certainty in Prediction of Location of Land Cover Change in India
Authors: Pontius Jr R Gil , Batchu Kiran
Published: August 2003

This paper describes a methodology by which modelers, ecologists and planners can quantify the certainty in predicting the location of change for a given quantity of change. The specification of the quantity of a land cover category and the specification of the location of a land cover category are two distinct fundamental concepts in geographical analysis. It is crucial that scientists have appropriate quantitative tools to analyze each of these two concepts independently of one another. This paper gives methods whereby a scientist can convert a map of relative propensity for disturbance to a map of probability of future disturbance, based on a quantifiable validation of a map's predictive ability. The required inputs are: (1) maps that show a Boolean categorical variable at times 0, 1 and 2, (2) a technique to create a map that shows the relative propensity for membership in the Boolean category, and (3) a predicted proportion of the category at time 3.
A Non‐geographical Application of Spatial Information Systems in Pupillometry
Authors: Bryan Brett A , Stone Benjamin P
Published: August 2003

Spatial analysis and spatial information systems have great potential in many non‐geographic domains. This paper presents an example of the utility of spatial analysis in a non‐geographic domain. A technique of pupillometry using digital infrared video loosely coupled with a Spatial Information System and a spreadsheet is developed to accurately quantify pupil dilation magnitude and constriction onset latency for participants of different cognitive ability and under different cognitive loads. Spatio‐temporal pupil dynamics of participants are recorded using digital infrared video. The pupil to iris area ratio is calculated for over 470,000 temporally sequenced de‐interlaced video fields by automatic feature extraction using a combination of threshold analysis, spatial smoothing and areal filtering. Pupil dilation magnitudes and constriction onset latencies are calculated through post‐processing in a spreadsheet. The study identifies inadequacies in current spatial analytical techniques for automatic feature extraction not necessarily evident in geographic applications. Issues impeding the employment of spatial analysis in non‐geographic domains including the lack of a generic spatial referencing system are identified and discussed.
Integration of Satellite Telemetry Data and Land Cover Imagery: A Study of Migratory Cranes in Northeast Asia
Authors: Minton Jason S , Higuchi Hiroyoshi , Halls Joanne N
Published: August 2003

The present study describes a procedure for quantitatively analyzing satellite telemetry data to identify interspecific land use differences among four threatened crane species. The inherent inaccuracy of satellite telemetry data points, the temporal autocorrelation of those points, and the resolution of two land‐cover imagery products from the IGBP‐DISCover Global Land‐Cover Characterization Project (derived from AVHRR data) were assessed and integrated in a GIS. Satellite telemetry is a system where animals are tracked using battery‐operated transmitters and locations are calculated using triangulation from satellites. Using the variable spatial inaccuracy of the telemetry locations, each point was buffered using a radius based on the accuracy of the point, and then intersected with the land cover imagery. The research concluded that the methodology is valuable for studies of birds at a regional scale, with interspecific differences clearly evident, but that diurnal and nocturnal differences were not discernable due to the coarse resolution of both satellite telemetry and land‐cover data.
Constructing and Testing Theological Models
Authors: Klemm David E. , Klink William H.
Published: August 2003

In order for theology to have a cognitive dimension, it is necessary to have procedures for testing and critically evaluating theological models. We make use of certain features of scientific models to show how science has been able to move beyond the poles of foundationalism, represented by logical positivism, and antifoundationalism or relativism, represented by the sociologists of knowledge. These ideas are generalized to show that constructing and testing theological models similarly offers a means by which theology can move beyond confessionalism and postmodernism. Our starting point is Paul Tillich's concept of God as the ground of being and the different levels of consciousness and thinking that accompany his understanding of theology. The ontological argument of Anselm is shown to play a key role, not as a proof for the existence of God but as a means for testing theological models. An example of a theological model, drawn from the domain of philosophy of science, is presented to show how theological models are constructed and tested.
Problems and Possibilities of Theological Models: Responding to David Klemm and William Klink
Authors: Gilkey Langdon
Published: August 2003

This essay is a response to the proposals of David Klemm and William Klink concerning the construction and testing of theological models. A number of issues are raised for critical attention. (1) The exclusive attention to Christian theology, with no discussion of other religions, poses some significant problems, not the least of which is that cognitive claims of religious thinking are not universal but rather are defined by the particularities of the religious context in which they are made. (2) Although the authors wish to transcend confessionalism, their focus on Christianity and on the concept of God as a basic assumption can be construed as a kind of confessionalism. (3) The argument that theological and scientific models stand in analogy to each other requires more critical examination, particularly with respect to the issues of explanation, prediction, falsification, nesting, and openness. (4) While the argument is persuasive when referred to certain theologians, such as Paul Tillich, it requires some adjustment if it is to apply to other theological systems, such as Process theology.
Models Clarified: Responding to Langdon Gilkey
Authors: Klemm David E. , Klink William H.
Published: August 2003

We respond to concerns raised by Langdon Gilkey. The discussion addresses the nature of theological thinking today, the question of truth within the situation of pluralism, the identity and difference between theological models and scientific models, and the proposed methods for testing theological models.
Challenging Design: How Best to Account for the World as It Really Is
Authors: Kennair Leif Edward Ottesen
Published: August 2003

Evolutionary psychology and intelligent‐design theory both need to be able to account for the empirical world, or the world as it is. This essay is an attempt to clarify the challenges these theories need to meet, if the relevant empirical findings are replicable. There is evidence of change in the biological world and of modularity of mind, and there is a growing body of work that finds evolutionary theory a convincing and fruitful account of the “design” of the mind. Three major empirical findings within evolutionary psychology are presented and discussed. The author claims that Cartesian dualism, as it is usually meant within psychology—a split between body and mind—is false, but that Descartes' original division between body and soul has not been challenged and is not challenged by the evidence that the mind is also a biological entity. The article concludes that the convergence of theology and science is to be found in the onus to discover the truth about the world as it really is, and this calls for an ability on both parts to account for the empirical world.
Are There Intimations of Divine Transcendence in the Physical World?
Authors: Fagg Lawrence W.
Published: August 2003

This essay, suggesting two physical phenomena that might serve as meaningful analogies to divine transcendence, is a theological complement to two earlier Zygon articles that show how the underlying ubiquity of electromagnetic phenomena in all of nature is a compelling physical analogy to divine immanence. My perception of transcendence and its relation to immanence are specified to provide a context for the discussion. A description of our being ensconced in what I term a cosmic cocoon introduces the discussion of how the finite limit of the speed of light and quantum non‐locality could be considered as physical analogies of, or pointers to, God's transcendence. The relevance of our cosmologic future to transcendence is also treated. Selected examples of transcendence found in spiritual experiences and in religious scriptures are presented that complement the physical discussion. Finally, the relevance of this study to a theology of nature as well as a natural theology is examined.
Brain Science and the Biology of Belief: A Theological Response
Authors: Delio Ilia
Published: August 2003

Exploration of brain pathways involved in religious experience has been the focus of research by Andrew Newberg and colleagues. Although the import of this work sheds new light on the human capacity to experience divine reality, the theological implications drawn from this research are vague and lack an appropriate methodology to provide critical distinctions. This paper offers a theological response to Newberg's work by highlighting several aspects of this research including the relationship between theological judgments and empirical observations, the uniqueness of human transcendence, and the appropriateness of measuring mystical experience.
Theological Implications of Possible Extraterrestrial Life
Authors: Bonting Sjoerd L.
Published: August 2003

Bible and tradition remain silent on intelligent extraterrestrial life, and few modern theologians have expressed themselves on this topic. Scientific insight suggests the possibility, even likelihood, of the development of life on extrasolar earthlike planets. It is argued that such life forms would resemble earthly life (biochemistry, genetic system, neuronal processes) and also develop a religious and moral life. As creatures with free will they would be prone to sin and in need of salvation. It is argued that this would not require multiple incarnations, since Jesus is the cosmic Christ.
The Conflict Between Religion and Science in Light of the Patterns of Religious Belief Among Scientists
Authors: Brown C. Mackenzie
Published: August 2003

Recent summaries of psychologist James H. Leuba's pioneering studies on the religious beliefs of American scientists have misrepresented his findings and ignored important aspects of his analyses, including predictions regarding the future of religion. Much of the recent interest in Leuba was sparked by Edward J. Larson and Larry Witham's commentary in Nature (3 April 1997), “Scientists Are Still Keeping the Faith.” Larson and Witham compared the results of their 1996 survey of one thousand randomly selected American scientists regarding their religious beliefs with a similar survey published eighty years earlier by Leuba. Leuba's original studies are themselves problematical. Nonetheless, his notion that different fields of science have different impacts on the religion‐science relationship remains valid. Especially significant is his appreciation of religion as a dynamic, compelling force in human life: any waning of traditional beliefs does not mean a decrease in religious commitment but calls for a new spirituality in harmony with modern scientific teachings. Leuba's studies, placed in proper context, offer a broad historical perspective from which to interpret data about religious beliefs of scientists and the impact of science and scientists on public beliefs, and opportunity to develop new insight into the religion‐science relationship.
Teaching Genesis: A Present‐Day Approach Inspired by the Prophet Nathan
Authors: Reich K. Helmut
Published: August 2003

The prophets Nathan (2 Samuel 12:1–15) and John the Baptist (Mark 6:16–28) had comparable tasks before them: to convince their respective kings about the wrongs of taking somebody else's wife and marrying her. Nathan succeeded, while John failed and furthermore lost his life. What made the difference? One possible explanation is that Nathan proceeded in two steps: (1) Tell an interesting, nonthreatening story that nevertheless makes the point at issue; (2) transfer that message to the case at hand. In contrast, John used a direct approach, which raised apprehension, even fear (on the part of Herodias, the woman involved), and led to failure. That lesson has wider applications, as illustrated here for teaching the biblical Genesis narration. The other ingredient in this teaching is relational and contextual reasoning (RCR), the use of which is also indicated for other issues besides teaching Genesis.
Introduction: Organ Transplantation—A Challenge for Global Ethics
Authors: Strassberg Barbara A.
Published: August 2003

A social scientific interpretation of the development of global ethics is offered. Both spontaneous and intended mechanisms of the construction of such an ethics within the broader processes of globalization are analyzed, and possible theoretical foundations are suggested. The scientific and technological achievements that gave rise to the medical procedure of organ transplantation generated new questions and challenges that theologians, scholars of religion, natural scientists, and social scientists are now trying to resolve.
Where it Hurts: Indian Material for an Ethics of Organ Transplantation
Authors: Cohen Lawrence
Published: August 2003

This article focuses on ethical issues surrounding the selling and buying of human organs. The author argues that most people who sell their organs (mainly kidneys) in India do so in order to pay already existing debts. The transaction is only temporarily an exchange of “life for life,” and most “donors” are back in debt soon after the operation. The author discusses the flexible ethics that reduce reality to dyadic transactions and the purgatorial ethics that collapse real and imaginary exploitation in the service of complex interests. He also offers a sophisticated discussion of the ethics of publicity and public ethics. He emphasizes the lack of factual information, intentional manipulation of information, and the dissemination of kidney panics and kidney scandals, especially by the new developing bioauthorities and bioethical brokers.
Why We Should Not Pay for Human Organs
Authors: Delmonico Francis L. , Scheper‐Hughes Nancy
Published: August 2003

The right to buy and sell human organs is challenged by the authors within the framework of a broad Christian perspective. Opposition to organ sales is argued in the light of the developing underclass of poor organ donors throughout the world who sell their organs to the rich. Very often neither the donors nor the recipients are fully informed about the medical risks involved in the procedure of organ transplantation.
Transplantation: Biomedical and Ethical Concerns Raised by the Cloning and Stem‐Cell Debate
Authors: Woloschak Gayle E.
Published: August 2003

Transplantation is becoming an increasingly more common approach to treatment of diseases of organ failure, making organ donation an important means of saving lives. Most world religions find organ donation for the purpose of transplantation to be acceptable, and some even encourage members to donate their organs as a gift of love to others. Recent developments, including artificial organs, transplants from nonhuman species, use of stem cells, and cloning, are impacting the field of transplantation. These new approaches should be discussed with bioethical considerations in mind, particularly the notion of human beings as a unity of body and spirit.
Some Must Die
Authors: Youngner Stuart J.
Published: August 2003

The transplantation and procurement of human organs has become almost routine in American society. Yet, organ transplantation raises difficult ethical and psychosocial issues in the context of “controlled” death, including the blurring of boundaries between life and death, self and other, healing and harming, and killing and letting die. These issues are explored in the context of the actual experiences of organ donors and recipients, brain death, the introduction of non‐heartbeating donor protocols, and the increasing reliance on living donors. The author draws on a thematic analysis of the way that organ transplantation is presented in the media, films, and science fiction and on his clinical experience as a psychiatrist working with transplant patients, their families, and the nurses and physicians who care for them.
Islamic Legal and Ethical Views on Organ Transplantation and Donation
Authors: Aasi Ghulam‐Haider
Published: August 2003

In Islam, one of the core beliefs is in the life of the hereafter. At the end of time and all that exists, all human beings will be resurrected (in their bodies and souls) and will face the Day of Judgment. Even their body parts or organs will stand witness against them. Furthermore, in Islamic law, every action or thing is categorized either as legitimate or prohibited. This article explores ethico‐legal opinions on the issues of organ donation and transplantation in the light of these essential Islamic beliefs.
Toward the Construction of a Post‐Shoah Interfaith Dialogical Universal Ethic
Authors: Jacobs Steven Leonard
Published: August 2003

The essay is an attempt to construct a new interfaith dialogical universal ethic after the Holocaust/Shoah, after first examining several biblical passages of both the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament, namely Leviticus 19:13–18; Matthew 22:34–40; Matthew 5:43–48; and Luke 10:25–37. The author contends that the foundational Jewish and Christian scriptural texts can no longer be read, understood, and either interpreted or reinterpreted the way they were prior to the events of 1933–1945. Thus, following an examination of the scriptural passages in question, a new direction in the construction of such an ethic is suggested: that the only kind of holiness that merits our support is one grounded in ethical relations between all human beings, regardless of particularistic identities, and scriptural support for positions that exclude and distance rather than include and embrace must, ultimately, be rejected.
Directors' Duties to Creditors: Contractarian Concerns Relating to Efficiency and Over‐Protection of Creditors
Authors: Keay Andrew
Published: August 2003

There is case law to the effect that when companies are in financial difficulty directors owe a duty to take into account the interests of their companies' creditors. This article examines the primary reasons why contractarian theory, as applied by the law and economics school, is opposed to the existence of such a responsibility, namely it undermines efficiency and creditors can take measures in order to protect themselves adequately. The article asserts that efficiency cannot alone determine whether a duty should or should not be imposed on directors. Another critical value, fairness, must also be considered, and this value justifies the duty on the basis, inter alia, that many creditors are not able to protect themselves adequately, or at all by contracting, and are deserving of the limited protection that the duty would bring. In any event, it is submitted that a duty to creditors would enhance efficiency in some respects and warrants consideration on that basis.
The Alchemists' Search for the Philosophers' Stone: The Status of Registered Social Landlords under the Human Rights Act
Authors: Morgan Jill
Published: August 2003

Social housing in Great Britain is undergoing a radical transformation with the transfer of local authority housing to housing associations, more particularly registered social landlords (RSLs). While the former are clearly ‘public authorities’ for the purposes of the Human Rights Act (HRA), the status of the latter is less clear. The first part of this article addresses the increasingly important role played by housing associations in the provision of social housing, and the significant implications of the stock transfer process. It goes on to explore the meaning of ‘public authority’ for the purposes of claims under the HRA, taking into account available approaches to interpretation as well as the tests traditionally used to determine amenability to judicial review. It concludes that there is a strong case for acknowledging that RSLs are hybrid authorities for the purposes of the HRA, given in particular their ‘publicness’ and the fact that they are often carrying out the same functions as local authorities.